Trixie the Griffon and the Great and Powerful Gilda

by Smileyface1010

Rating: everyone
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Trixie, Comedy, Gilda, Random, Adventure, Main 6
Length: 8143

When a magic spell goes wrong, Trixie and Gilda switch bodies and have to work together to get back to normal.

Trixie decides to pay a visit to Ponyville for no reason at all. While walking through town, Trixie sees Princess Alicorn Twilight Sparkle and is immediately jealous of her status. She would do to anything to switch lives with her. She remembers a really complicated spell that can let her do just that. But right as she is about to perform it, a certain griffon gets in the way and something goes horribly wrong.

Published 2014-01-29 01:30:03 UTC
Last updated 2014-02-13 02:06:52 UTC

Paying a Visit to Ponyville

Trixie stood at the train station in Baltimare, carrying bags packed with everything she owned.

After she recovered from the side effects of the Alicorn Amulet, her career as a traveling performer was comepetely ruined. So the unicorn decided to return to her hometown of Baltimare until she could get her life back together. It was only a few months before her parents kicked her out of the house... again. With nowhere else to go, the mare packed all of her things and went to the train station, where she stood now. She had no idea where she was going, only hoping to get a job and make a few bits so she could find a permanent place to stay.

A loud hiss was heard in the distance as the colorful train came into view. The hiss was followed by a painful sounding screech as the train came to a stop in front of the station. Trixie and a few other ponies climbed aboard. Trixie found a secluded seat near the back of the train, pulled out her copy of Star Swirl the Bearded's Encyclopedia of Advanced Spells for Advanced Unicorns: Vol. 3, and began reading. She figured if she could learn more advanced spells, she could get her performing business up and running again. But until then, she needed to find a temporary job.

Out of the corner of her eye, Trixie saw the last few ponies board the train. Before closing the door, the conductor yelled, "All aboard to Ponyville!"

Huh, I guess I'm going to Ponyville, Trixie thought, still caught up in her book. That'll give the Great and Powerful Trixie a fresh start.

"Wait, what?"

Trixie looked out the window to see the conductor pony walk inside the train and closed the door. The same hiss was heard as she felt the train slowly starting to move.

"P-Ponyville?" said Trixie, remembering the place where her career was originally destroyed. "But... Trixie can't go there!" She jumped up and started running towards the door. But it was too late. The train had already pulled out of the station and was on its way.

A few ponies in the seats around her gave Trixie strange looks for jumping up and running towards the door. Reluctantly, she walked back to her seat (and tripped on the way there). Dark memories of the Ursa Major, Twilight Sparkle defeating it, and the other ponies laughing at her came to her mind. She couldn't go back to that place. Trixie tried reading to get it off of her mind, but it didn't help much.

*****

Gilda works as an employee at the Mail Center of Equestria, or the MCE. Her job is the same as many others, to fly the incoming mail to other parts of Equestria. It is located in the Griffon Kingdom, so almost all of the workers are griffons like her. Some say this is because griffons have much better endurance than pegasi.

Gilda was never satisfied with her job, though. Although she gets a good paycheck, it was never what she had hoped to be. She had always wanted to become a racer, like many of her friends. Heck, some of them were going to the Equestria Games! Even though the griffon was fast, she just wasn't fast enough to join the griffon team in the Games.

But she couldn't think about that right now. Following her daily routine, Gilda walked into the MCE building and signed in. She then followed the crowd of several other griffons to the bulletin board. This was where each of the workers found which load of mail to take and where to take it to. Gilda found her name fairly quick.

GILDA : MAIL BAG #641 : 12 LETTERS, 5 PACKAGES : PONYVILLE

The griffon didn't give it much thought. She left the bulletin board and started walking over to the mail bag area. Gabe, one of her friends, caught up with her.

"Hey, Gilda, wait up!" he said, trying to catch up. When they were finally walking side by side, he said, "So, where you going today?"

"Ponyville," said Gilda, trying her best to be cool. "You know, that little dumb town at the bottom of Canterlot Mountain. Haven't been assigned there in a while, though."

"Ponyville? Isn't that where your old friend Rainbow Dash lives?"

"Oh yeah," said Gilda slowly, realizing this. "Rainbow Dash, that dweeb who abandoned me last time I visited her..." She never really thought about Dash all that much. She was like most of her old friends, gotten successful at racing and left her behind. Although none of her old friends told her off like she did.

Gilda was lost in thought for the rest of the walk to the mailbag area. Gabe eventually left to go to the Trottingham section where he was assigned to go. Gilda made her way to the Ponyville section, where several mailbags were lined up, each with a different number. Gilda found number 641 and double checked that it had 12 letters and 5 packages (and chuckled when she found that one of them was a love letter). After that, she went to the landing deck, checked in with the supervisor griffon that she was ready to go, and took off with Rainbow Dash still on her mind.

*****

The train ride seemed quicker then it should have been. Trixie tried to stay as calm as possible as she gathered her things and followed the other ponies out of the train.

Trixie looked around. Everything seemed the same. Town hall, Town Square, and all of the houses and businesses that surrounded it. More dark memories appeared in Trixie's mind as she slowly stepped off of the train platform. She was about to walk into town when she realized something.

Maybe I can just wait here at the station until the next train comes! Then no pony will see Trixie, or worse, remember her...

Trixie immediately turned around and ran over to the train schedule.

"And the next train will be here in.... six hours! Trixie can't wait here for six hours!"

Well that option's out, she thought. Trixie stood there for a few minutes, deciding what to do now. She was actually considering staying there for six hours, but her stomach told her otherwise. She was starving.

"Hm... Trixie will go into town and get lunch. She will need to get it as quickly as possible so no pony notices her. Then she will come back to the train station and wait for the next train. There! Trixie has a plan!" She trotted off into town, eager to get food, but praying that no pony would notice her.

Town Square was just as Trixie remembered it. A large, open area with many carts selling various things from flowers to hay chips. It was lunch hour, so everypony was out buying things from the carts. Trixie was worried about this, but everypony seemed to be busy doing their own business.

Trixie looked around at the different food carts and decided to get something from the fruit stand. She started trotting over there when she saw a familiar pony out of the corner of her eye. Freaking out, she jumped into a nearby bush.

"Twilight Sparkle," muttered Trixie under her breath.

*****

With her mind still on Rainbow Dash, Gilda flew slower than usual. She remembered all the fun times she had with her old best friend. Playing together, racing each other, laughing together...

Eventually, Gilda did reach Ponyville. She came in for a landing outside the post office and walked inside. She slowly made her way over to the desk to turn in the mail. In a daze from her thoughts and not paying attention, Gilda walked straight into another pony, making her drop the mailbag and sending letters everywhere.

Gilda suddenly snapped back to attention. "Hey! Watch where you're going, dork!"

"Oh, I'm so sorry." said the pony. It was a gray mare with a yellow mane. Gilda was about to yell at her some more, but she hesitated when she noticed how out of line the mare's eyes were. "Here, I'll help you." The mare proceeded with picking up the letters that fell under tables and chairs, knocking them over in the process. She didn't seem to notice, though. Some other ponies were giving the mare some angry looks, so Gilda pretended not to notice either. Then she put the fallen letters into the bag.

"Oh, this is bag number 641! I need to deliver this mail across Ponyville! When I got here, the pony at the desk said the mail bag was running late, but here it is! Thank you!" The mare trotted off, muttering something about muffins.

"Um, you're welcome?" Gilda was still amazed with that mare's eyes. Even though she mentioned that the mail was late, Gilda didn't care. She would face the consequences later.

The griffon left the post office building and was about to take off again when she suddenly smelled something. Whatever it was, it smelled delicious. She turned around to see the Town Square, filled with carts selling things, including the food she was smelling. It looked surprisingly familiar, and she remembered the last time she was here, with Raingbow Dash...

Gotta stop thinking about Dash, she thought. Never really had breakfast this morning. I guess I'll get some grub and then go back to the Griffon Kingdom. I just hope she doesn't see me here. Gilda saw a fruit stand and started walking towards it.

*****

Trixie stared at the purple unicorn in disgust. She was talking to some orange pony at an apple cart.

Twilight Sparkle. You always have to ruin everything for me! You're probably the reason Trixie got on the Ponyville train in the first place! You just have to be better at everything don't you- what the hay?

Trixie had noticed the wings properly folded on Twilight's back.

An alicorn? But how? Then she remembered. Oh right. The coronation. It was all over Equestria Daily. So you're a princess now, aren't you Little Miss Perfect Sparkle?

Trixie fumed with jealousy. She got so mad she started going through a list in her head of spells that would cause her pain. She reached behind her for her book of advanced spells, only to realize it wasn't there... she had left all of her stuff at the station. After doing a face hoof, she kept going through a list of complicated spells she had learned.

"I would give anything to switch lives with you- Wait that's it! Trixie has a plan!" Trixie remembered a spell that she read about on the train that let her switch bodies with someone else. It looked really complicated, but she thought she could to it. "Now how exactly did it go..."

Trixie stuck her head out of the bush, her eyes fixed on Twilight's plot that was facing her. She closed her eyes to concentrate and feel the magic energy travel through her body. She didn't notice the griffon that was about to walk in between Trixie and her target.

This is a lot more complicated than I thought.

Finally, the magic told her it was ready, and Trixie shot a beam out of her horn in Twilight's direction. There was a bright flash and everything went black.

*****

Gilda and Trixie both woke up at the exact same time.

I was walking to the fruit stand, and I thought I heard something behind me, so I stopped to look over my shoulder and- It was all Gilda could remember. She stood up to realize she was standing in a bush. For some reason, that didn't surprise her. She was more focused on the fact that she didn't quite... feel right. She felt something heavier than usual on her forehead, and she didn't feel anything on her back where her wings should be.

She started to look at herself. Her claws were now hooves, and her body was pale blue. A symbol with a wand on top of a crescent moon appeared on her flank. The feathers on her head were now hair.

What the buck?

*****

Trixie stood up and looked around. She was standing in between the bush she was hiding in and the apple cart. A few ponies were staring at them, but they seemed like they were losing attention.

"Are you alright there, sugar cube?" It was the pony behind the apple cart Twilight was talking to. She nodded, unable to speak.

"Good. You know, you look familiar... Oh yeah! You're Rainbow Dash's old griffon friend! Gilda, ah think. Never see many griffons around here." she hesitated. "Well, ah guess the lunch rush is over. Better get back to the farm." And with that, she packed up her apple-related foods, folded up her cart, and trotted off.

"Griffon? I'm not a griffon, I'm you're friend, Twilight Spark-" she stopped to look at herself. She felt wings on her back, but they seemed... larger than they should be. Her front hooves were claws, and the back half of her was a lion, with large wings. Which could only mean that the front half was an eagle. It was then that Trixie realized she wasn't Twilight Sparkle the alicorn. She wasn't even a pony anymore.

A Spell Gone Wrong

Author's Note

Okay, just to clear any confusion from now on, when I say say Trixie I'm talking about her in Gilda's body. When I say Gilda I'm talking about her in Trixie's body. Hope that makes sense ;)

A Spell Gone Wrong

"A-A GRIFFON? But how? Trixie's spell went just as it was supposed to! Somepony must have gotten in the way! Or some griffon... Wait! Who is in my body? Show yourself!"

Gilda, hearing someone shouting nearby, reluctantly came out of the bushes she was hiding in. She looked around angrily, trying to find whoever did this to her. It wasn't long before she found herself staring at... herself. Whoever was controlling her body turned around and the two just stared into each other's eyes, speechless.

It was a good two minutes before the two looked away from each other. But immediately when they did, both of them got a throbbing headache worse than they ever had before. It was about three minutes before it passed.

Gilda spoke first. "Y-YOU'RE THE LAME-O WHO TURNED ME INTO A UNICORN?!? WHY ARE YOU IN MY BODY? WHAT WAS THAT HEADACHE? CHANGE ME BACK, YOU... YOU... UM... GRIFFON!!!" she growled, trying her best to intimidate her. Of course it's hard to intimidate someone when you're a blue unicorn.

Trixie was still too shocked for words. Her eyes were filled with fear, confusion, and pain. "T-Trixie can explain! At least... she thinks she can."

Trixie turned away from the unicorn to think. But it seemed harder to concentrate in this new body.

Trixie did read somewhere that unicorns have a clearer mind and concentrate better than other species... wasn't it because of their magic? Oh never mind that! I need to think! Let's see... The only way Trixie could be a griffon right now is if one walked in the way of my spell. Wasn't her name Gilda? Anyways, if I'm her and she's me, then where's Twilight? The alicorn was nowhere to be seen. Must've left while we we were passed out-

"HEY! I'M TALKING TO YOU, DWEEB! CHANGE ME BACK! I CAN'T BE A UNICORN! THIS IS SO LAME!"

Trixie had no choice but to talk to her. "I-I don't know how!" She couldn't remember the reverse spell from her book. If there was a reverse spell. But she couldn't do any spells in the first place without a horn. I have to go back to the train station to get that book! She looked over at Gilda, who looked ready to kill her.

"Listen!" said Trixie. "J-just come with me! I'll explain everything on the way!"

After realizing she had just snapped, Gilda had no choice but to follow her and try her best to keep her cool.

"Sup," she said. "The name's Gilda. Just.. get me back to my old cool self, and I promise I won't kill you."

Trixie sighed. She didn't know what exactly happened or what she was going to do, but she needed Gilda's help. "Ok, so here's what I think happened..." Some pegasi were moving clouds above their heads, and a light rain had began.

"Trixie- er, I, was hiding in that bush you woke up in, spying on my worst enemy, Twilight Sparkle. You know, the alicorn princess who has everything and I don't... Um, anyways, I was preparing a GREAT and POWERFUL spell that would make me switch lives with her. You must've gotten in the way though, and now..."

"So you were jealous of your lame friend and you used your magical horn on her but you used it on me instead." said Gilda. "Alright, cool. But that doesn't explain the terrible headache." Gilda had almost vomited it was so bad, and she was pretty sure it was the same for Trixie.

"One, Twilight is NOT Trixie's friend. Two, I think the headaches are a side effect of the spell. If we stare at each other for too long, they will come back. Three, Twilight Sparkle will NEVER be Trixie's friend."

Gilda glared at her, still trying to say cool. It was hard with her being so arrogant, but for some reason, her mind seemed... clearer than it usually was. Like she could concentrate better.

By the time the two got to the train station, the light drizzle had turned into a heavy rain, and they were both soaking wet. Luckily Trixie's things still lay in a small pile on the train station platform.

"Okay, so what are we doing here?" Gilda was losing her patience. She just wanted to be turned back as quickly as possible.

"Trixie needs to find her book of highly advanced spells to look up how to reverse this." It felt strange without the usual weight of her horn on her forehead. She wondered how Gilda was doing in her body.

Trixie used her claw to open her suitcases and saddle bags. It is easier to have claws instead of hooves. Although immediately after opening the first suitcase, water dumped out and the contents inside were soaking wet. The next suitcase was the same. So were all of the saddle bags. Trixie found her book in the last bag, only to see it was wet like everything else. It's pages were tearing out and the ink was bleeding, making it unreadable.

"No! The Great and Powerful Trixie can't read this! Now how am I- er, we, going to switch ourselves back? This book cost a good ten bits, too!"

Gilda couldn't take it anymore. She had had enough of Trixie's annoyance. "I'm going to fix this myself," she muttered under her breath. While Trixie was yelling about her book at the clouds above, Gilda snuck off.

*****

Several minutes later, Trixie turned around to find Gilda gone. "W-where did you go? Trixie needs you to reverse the spell!" She looked everywhere around the station, but the unicorn was nowhere to be found.

She must be back in town. I need to find her. Before she left, Trixie looked at the train schedule. Three hours. All I have to do is find Gilda, find a way to reverse this, somehow get my stuff dry, and make it back to the train in three hours. Trixie has her hooves full... She looked at her claws with sadness. Then she looked behind her and spread her large, brown, griffon wings. Maybe it'll be easier to find her if I fly over town.

Trixie gulped, hoping flying was as easy as it looked. She flapped her wings as fast as she could. It didn't take many flaps before she was off the ground. She was going higher and higher until Trixie realized she didn't know how to stop. She was going higher than the clouds. Trixie panicked and closed her wings, letting herself fall. She closed her eyes and prepared for the worst, but instead of hitting the hard ground, she felt something soft beneath her. Opening her eyes, Trixie discovered she had landed on a cloud.

"Amazing!" Trixie said out loud. She stood up and walked in a small circle. But her fascination didn't last long. She had a unicorn to find. Spreading her wings again, Trixie flapped slower than she did last time. She rose higher in the air. Trixie flapped faster and slower until she found a pace where she was hovering. Now to go forward. She leaned forward slightly and her wings obeyed, making her go forward. I think I'm getting the hang of this!

It wasn't long before Trixie was flying over town, scanning everywhere for a sign of Gilda. Surprisingly, she found what she was looking for fairly quickly. A blue unicorn was walking out of a small building. Trixie swooped down towards it, only to realize she was coming in too fast for a landing. It was too late to fly back up. Trixie crashed into the unicorn, making them both tumble several feet.

Trixie got up first. "Gilda!" she exclaimed. "I'm so sorry, but Trixie needs you to find the reverse spell!"

Only this mare wasn't Gilda. "Gilda? Who the hay is that?" Her coat was the wrong shade of blue with a navy blue and white mane. She got up, brushed herself off, and walked inside the building. Trixie looked up at the building. In large letters it read COLGATE'S DENTISTRY. She facehoofed. With a claw.

Well that's enough flying for one day, she thought. Trixie wandered around a little bit, unsure where to go.

"Hey, there she is!"

"Oh yeah! Hey Gilda! What are you doing slacking off?" Two griffons were coming straight toward her. And neither of them looked happy.

"Decided to hang around Ponyville for a little while, huh?" said the first one.

"No! You don't understand! I'm not-"

"Yeah yeah yeah, we don't want to hear your excuses!" said the second one, who grabbed her claw. "Come on now, you have work to do!" He flew up, dragging Trixie into the air. She had no choice but to flap her wings while the two griffons flew her to the Griffon Kingdom.

*****

Gilda wandered aimlessly around town, looking for anything that might change her back to normal. After stealing the last bag of hay chips from the snack stand, she didn't know what to do.

There didn't seem to be anything helpful in the town square, so she wandered into the outskirts of Ponyville. Even though she just wanted to be back to her old self, Gilda's mind still couldn't get off Rainbow Dash. She remembered all the good times they had together. She was her best friend, and now she was gone.

Stop thinking of all this cheesy stuff, Gilda! Dash used to be cool, but she's just another lame-o now. She told you off, the jerk!

As if on cue, Gilda found herself standing right underneath Rainbow Dash's cloud home. She sighed, wondering how she was doing here in Ponyville without her.

I would give anything just to be friends with you again.

A squirrel ran by Gilda's hoof. She wanted to catch it and eat it, but something told her not to.

"Mr. Squirrley! Come back!"

The voice was coming from behind Gilda. She turned around to see a strangely familiar yellow pegasus crash straight into her.

"Oh, I'm so, so sorry! Are you okay?" Her voice was soft. Gilda knew she had seen this pony before somewhere...

"Just get off of me, dweeb!" she shouted. The pony whimpered as she got up. She started to walk away, but she hesitated and turned back around.

"Wait, y-you're Trixie? Oh my gosh, I'm so, so sorry! Please don't hurt me!" The pony was starting to tear up.

Of course, thought Gilda. This is the pony you ran into and yelled at the last time you were here. "Actually, I'm not Trixie. I'm... Gilda."

"G-G-Gilda? B-but aren't you in Trixie's body?" Now she was starting to shake out of fear.

"Yeah, it's a long story. But listen, I need your help. You're friends with Rainbow Dash, right?

*****

It wasn't long before Gilda was telling Fluttershy all of the feelings she had about Rainbow Dash. They were walking to Sugarcube Corner, since Fluttershy needed to pick up something there.

"Well, we were best buds back in flight school, and we loved hanging out with each other, racing and doing all sorts of cool stuff. Then when we both graduated, I had to go back to the Griffon Kingdom to make some bits for myself. Dash went to Ponyville to also get a little money. We had the same dream in mind- to become racers. We agreed that when our dreams came true, we would see each other again." Fluttershy stayed quiet, listening to everything Gilda had to say.

"Next thing you know I'm coming to Ponyville to visit her. And I'll admit it, I was a jerk to everypony else, including you." Gilda looked up at Fluttershy, as if saying sorry. "She told me off in front of everyone, pretty much saying we weren't friends anymore." she sighed.

"I never really thought about Dash that much after that. Apparently she didn't think about me either, and she became one of the fastest ponies in Equestria and even got into the Wonderbolts Academy. But now I'm back here, in Trixie's body, and I can't stop thinking about her and... I'm jealous, alright! I just wish I could be like her, with tons of fans and a future Wonderbolt!" Gilda suddenly got quiet. "I just wish... we could be friends again."

Fluttershy finally spoke. "Well... um... why don't you try apologizing to Rainbow Dash? I'm sure she'll forgive you, she's a really nice pony. Then maybe you can hang out again." Fluttershy's voice was barely audible.

Gilda considered this, but said nothing. But by then the two arrived at Sugarcube Corner, which once again looked strangely familiar to Gilda...

"No! We can't go here! This is the place Dash told me off!"

"Oh, I'm sure it'll be fine. Rainbow Dash can't be in there. She told me she would be stuck at meetings all day in the weather building." She walked inside. Gilda had no choice but to follow.

"Hey Fluttershy! Having a super fun day, because I am! This morning, I was playing with the Cake twins and- Oh look! You brought a friend!"

Pinkie Pie. Oh Celestia, why...

Back to Normal?

Gilda and Fluttershy stood at the entrance of Sugarcube Corner as Pinkie Pie bounced up and down in excitement.

"Ooh, a pony I haven't seen before! You know what that means? Time for another Welcome to Ponyville Pinkie Pie party! We'll have balloons, and cake and-" the pink pony stopped in her tracks as she remembered who the pony was. "Oh wait, silly me! You're the Great and Powerful Trixie! How could I forget? Anyways, whatcha doing Ponyville, Trixie?" She invited the two to sit at a table and offered freshly baked cupcakes.

I better not tell her who I really am, Gilda thought. "Yeah, I'm Trixie. What's up?" she said slowly. Pinkie only stared at her with that usual stupid grin on her face. I guess my lie worked.

Fluttershy interrupted. "Um, actually Pinkie, that's not Trixie, that's-"

"No, I'm Trixie. W-what the hay are you talking about?" Gilda laughed nervously.

"But you just said you were Gilda-"

"SHUT UP!!"

Fluttershy squeaked out of fear and hid under the table. Gilda gulped and looked around nervously. What have I done? The bakery suddenly went quiet. It was as if time had slowed down. Nopony dared to move.

Gilda stared straight at Pinkie. For once, her smile faded and her eyes filled with confusion. She looked under the table.

"Um, Fluttershy? Are you alright?" The pegasus nodded and reluctantly came out from under the table. Gilda noticed she was shaking.

"Sorry," said Gilda quietly. "It's just... a lot of things are going on, okay? Like this new body I'm stuck in."

Pinkie stared at Gilda with the same confused look in her eyes. "So wait... You're Gilda? The griffon?" Gilda nodded.

Something flashed through Pinkie's eyes that neither Gilda or Fluttershy had ever seen before. It was a look of anger and despisement. A brief scowl came upon her face. It only was there for a second, but it was noticeable by the two ponies. But the scowl quickly faded and the dumb grin returned.

"Oh! Hey Gilda!" she said. "I didn't know you came to Ponyville! You catching up with Rainbow Dash?"

"W-what?" Gilda didn't know what to say. How could she switch emotions just like that? "Yeah, I'm alright." Her mind flashed back to her memories with Rainbow Dash for a second, but she shook them away quickly.

There was a moment of awkward silence before Gilda spoke again. "But don't you remember last time?" She didn't want to say she was sorry for last time, since that pony is as annoying as a hundred parasprites.

Pinkie shrugged. "Meh, forgive and forget, I guess."

Huh?

"Um, Pinkie? I think-"

"HOLD ON A SECOND!" Fluttershy jumped as Pinkie banged on the table. She looked like she had just discovered the secrets of the universe. "If you're Gilda in Trixie's body, then Trixie must be in your body, right?" Gilda nodded and Pinkie chuckled. "That's funny, because I just saw your body being carried off by a couple of other griffons! I was going to offer them some cake, but they left before I could talk to them."

"Wait, WHAT?" Gilda facehoofed. She got up from the table and started pacing around. "Of course, my job! I haven't come back to the Griffon Kingdom to get my next load of mail, so the lame-o boss thinks I'm slacking off. Which I do occasionally since I'd rather do other cool things than work but... Anyways, we need to get her back! A dweeb like Trixie won't survive in the Griffon Kingdom!" she groaned. Why does it have to be Monday...

*****

Trixie was shaking nervously the whole flight as the other two griffons dragged her along.

Where are they taking me? What are they going to do to me? Where the hay is Gilda?

Trixie tried to focus her thoughts on something else instead of worrying. She listened to the other griffons' conversation, figuring out their names were Gary and George. When she got bored of that, she looked at the road ahead. Below her were empty fields, but she noticed mountains in the distance. Maybe that's where they're taking me. She didn't think, the only part of her body that moved were her flapping wings. She focused on nothing but the mountains ahead.

It wasn't long before Trixie noticed the mountains were getting closer, and she could point out details in them. On the tallest mountain, Trixie started to make out a few buildings on top of it. She realized there was a city on the mountain. She stared at it until the three griffons arrived.

They landed in front of a large, gray building. The words MAIL CENTER OF EQUESTRIA were printed clearly on the front.

"Huh?"said Trixie, turning to Gary and George.

"What do you mean, huh? Get back to work!" yelled Gary. "You're way behind!"

"And don't think the boss doesn't know about this," said George, smiling. "He was the one who sent us, after all. This is being placed on your permanent record. Do it again and you're fired." With that, the two griffons left.

Trixie had no choice but to walk inside the building. Immediately, the smell of paper, ink, and sweat filled her nostrils. Griffons were all around her. There were some on their own, but most of them were walking in groups, talking to each other. Not knowing where to go, Trixie joined a large group of griffons. Luckily, no one seemed to notice. As they were walking, Trixie tried to figure out what exactly was going on.

This must be where Gilda works. Because we switched bodies, she must have been missing work. Gary and George must have come to get me. That explains that. Now, this is the Mail Center of Equestria. Does her job involve delivering mail around Equestria? The crowd suddenly came to a halt. I guess I'll find out for sure...

*****

Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy stared in confusion as Gilda paced and talked to herself. Eventually the unicorn turned to look at them.

"Well don't just sit there like dweebs! We need to find a way to get to the Griffon Kingdom and find Trix... I mean get this magic spell reversed!"

"Magic spell? Oh, that must be why you're in Trixie's body!" Pinkie Pie chuckled and snorted. "Silly me, why didn't I think of that before?" Gilda only rolled her eyes. "Why don't you ask Twilight to help you? She's real good with magic and stuff."

Twilight. I swear I've heard that name before. Didn't Trixie mention her? Wasn't she the pony she was jealous of? Oh great, so she's the reason I'm stuck in a unicorn's body... Wait, no! It's Trixie's fault! She was the one who was jealous! Once I'm back to normal and get my claws on her... Oh yeah, I guess I better talk now. Those two keep staring at me like I'm crazy.

"Yeah, sure, let's get Twilight to help us." She started pacing again. "Now, the Griffon Kingdom is too far to get there on foot... er, hoof. We need to fly." Gilda turned to look at her wingless back. "Fluttershy, you're a pegasus. You think you could pull a cart with me and Twilight to the Griffon Kingdom?"

The yellow pony gulped. "Um, I don't know. I-I'm a very weak flyer. How about asking my friend Rainbow Dash? She's a really great flyer. And a really nice pony."

"Don't talk about Dash!"

Fluttershy jumped again. "Oh, sorry. I forgot..."

Gilda sighed, making a mental note to not scare that pony again. "Well, come on anyways, Fluttershy. We may need you. No, let's go find Twilight... and Rainbow Dash." I guess I haven no choice. We need Dash.

"Ooh! I wanna come!" The pink pony started bouncing with excitement. "It'll be and adventure!"

Gilda groaned. "Fine, you can come. But we need to hurry. The other griffons will send her to other parts of Equestria, and she's inexperienced. She'll definitely get lost, and we might not be able to find her and reverse the spell. So don't get in the way of anything." And don't be annoying either. "Now come on!"

*****

Trixie looked upwards to see what the other griffons were staring at. In front of her was a huge billboard, which was covered with papers. Each of the papers had a list of names, places, and numbers. Everyone else seemed to be looking for their name, so Trixie decided to do the same. Just as she started to scan the names, she felt something ram into her behind.

"Hey! Watch where you're going! No one runs into the Great and Powerful... Oh wait."

"Gilda? Where have you been? You've been gone for hours! I know you like to slack off sometimes, but not this much! You almost got fired!"

"Oh, um, hey..." Trixie assumed this was one of Gilda's friends. She didn't want to make a fool of herself, so pretending to be Gilda was the best option for now.

The blue and black griffon looked confused. "You sound different. Are you losing your voice or something? Oh well. Hey, there's my name! And yours is next to it!" He pointed to two of the names on the list:

GABE : MAIL BAG #603 : 11 LETTERS, 6 PACKAGES : CANTERLOT

GILDA : MAIL BAG #289 : 13 LETTERS, 4 PACKAGES : TROTTINGHAM

"Sweet! Canterlot! That's where all of the rich ponies live! Too bad we never get assigned to the same place. Come on, let's get our mailbags." He started walking to an area lined with shelves. Trixie followed.

"What are you doing over here? This is the Canterlot section. Trottingham is over there." Gabe pointed to a smaller area. Trixie had no choice but to go over there. She said nothing.

So I have to find the mailbag with the number 289 and then... take off? She turned to look at the landing deck and gulped. But I don't even know where Trottingham is!

But Trixie did as she was told. She found bag number 289, went to the landing deck, and started flying away. She had only gone a couple of yards away from the building when she heard familiar voice behind her.

"Trixie? Where are you? Trixie!"

"There she is! Over there!"

Trixie turned around. As she did, she felt her left wing hit something hard. A sharp pain, even worse than the one before, went through her, and the next thing she knew, she was falling.

*****

Gilda, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight were walking together on their way to Rainbow Dash's cloud home.

Getting Twilight to join had been fairly easy. She seemed interested once Gilda had mentioned that a spell had caused them to switch bodies. She said she could reverse it, but she needed both of them to be present.

"Um, Gilda? We're here." said Twilight. Occasionally she would open up her book, which looked surprisingly similar to the one Trixie had.

Gilda suddenly snapped back to attention. The whole walk she couldn't stop thinking about Rainbow Dash. She didn't want to talk to her. But before she could object, Fluttershy flew up to the door and knocked.

Rainbow Dash was home. She and Fluttershy had a short conversation that no one on the ground could hear. Then the two pegusi flew down to meet the rest of them. Rainbow Dash landed right in front of Gilda.

"So, you're Gilda, huh?"

Gilda almost automatically converted into her cool mode. "Hey Dash! What's up?"

"Don't try and be all cool, Gilda." she sighed. "I'm only going to help you on one condition. Apologize."

Gilda stared at Dash. She was the same pony she had always been: light blue coat, rainbow mane, and a multicolored lightning bolt engraved on her flank. But her personality had changed. Gilda remembered all the fun times they had as fillies. She might be just as cool as she was back then, except for one thing. She was loyal to her friends, and Gilda respected that. All she wanted was to be her friend again. All she had to do was apologize. She closed her eyes to keep away tears.

"Listen, Dash, I'm-"

"Not just to me," said Rainbow Dash. She turned around and motioned to Pinkie Pie, who happily bounced over. "To me and to Pinkie."

As soon as Rainbow Dash said that, Pinkie Pie got that same look she had at Sugarcube Corner. A look of anger and despise. It sort of scared Gilda.

"I-I'm sorry! About everything! I didn't mean to be a jerk, it's just who I am! But I've changed, I swear! I'll never be a jerk to you again, Pinkie Pie! I'll never be a jerk to anyone again! And.." she suddenly got quiet. "And I'll never abandon you again, Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow finally smiled. She looked satisfied. "Good. I forgive you, and I'll be happy to help. What about you, Pinkie?" she turned to look at the pink pony, who ran and gave Gilda a great big hug.

"Oh, don't worry about it! I forgive you!" She whispered something in Gilda's ear that she couldn't quite make out. It sounded like she said, "Thanks."

Rainbow Dash flew up behind her house, and, after a few minutes, returned with a chariot. "I've been waiting for the chance to use this. But it needs two ponies to pull." She looked at Fluttershy. "You up for it?"

Fluttershy looked at the ground nervously. "Oh, um, I don't know. I'm a pretty weak flyer, and-"

"Oh, come on! You're a great flyer, Fluttershy! You were so awesome when we brought the water up to Cloudsdale, remember?" She walked over to the yellow pony and patted her on the back. "So, what do you say?"

Fluttershy suddenly got a look of confidence in her eyes. She looked at Rainbow, then the chariot. "Okay, I'll do it."

"Don't worry, Fluttershy. If you need to take a break, I can take over. I need a little flying practice anyways." said Twilight.

Gilda was amazed at how good of a pony Rainbow Dash had become. She felt something strange inside her. It felt... warm. I wish I never abandoned you...

*****

The chariot ride was long, slow, and boring. Occasionally Pinkie Pie lightened the mood by telling a joke, but for the most part, nopony talked. Luckily, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash did a good job pulling the cart, but they were both worn out by the time they arrived. Twilight spent most of the time reading.

"Land right over there," Gilda said as the two pegusi landed in front of the MCE building. She, Twilight, and Pinkie Pie hopped out of the chariot as Rainbow and Fluttershy detached themselves from it.

"This is so super-duper cool! I've never seen so many griffons before! Maybe I should throw them a party!"

"No time for parties, Pinkie," said Twilight. "We need you to help us find Trixie." Twilight seem to act as the voice of reason for things. Gilda appreciated that.

The five ponies entered the building, not knowing what to expect. Everything was the same as Gilda had last seen it, only the other griffons seemed surprised. Some of them whispered to each other. She wasn't surprised. Ponies rarely show up in the Griffon Kingdom. The other ponies didn't seem to notice. Instead, they started shouting.

"Trixie? Trixie!" yelled Twilight.

"Triiiiiiiiiiiiiixie!!!!" sang Pinkie Pie.

"Um, Trixie?" whispered Fluttershy.

"Where is she?" said Rainbow Dash.

Gilda didn't say anything. Instead, she headed straight toward the bulletin board. She wasn't there. She went toward the mailbag area. Not there either. Her only hope was the landing deck...

"There she is!" yelled Gilda. "Over there!"

The other ponies ran over and tried to flag her down. Trixie noticed and turned around, only when she did, her wing hit a tree branch, and she started falling to her death.

*****

Trixie felt the wind in her feathers as she fell. It actually felt kind of nice. She closed her eyes, preparing for the worst, just like she did in Ponyville. And just like in Ponyville, the worst never came. She suddenly felt something grab her, and she started slowly floating upward.

She opened her eyes. A pair of light blue hooves were wrapped around her stomach. She looked up.

"Don't worry. I got you," said the pony. Trixie was in too much shock for words. The pony didn't seem to mind. She flew her back up to the deck and landed safely.

"T-thank you..." said Trixie.

"Hey! No problem! I can't let somepony just fall to their death, now can I?" said the pony.

Trixie's legs shook as she walked over towards Gilda, two other ponies, and... Twilight. She stopped dead in her tracks.

"Twilight? But... what are you doing here? What are all of you doing here?"

"Getting you back to normal, duh!" said the pink pony. "I mean, why else would we be here? Unless of course you think we were going to throw a party here, which means you're partly right because I'm totally going to throw a party here! There will be balloons and cake and-"

"PINKIE!!!!!"

Twilight glared at the pony before turning back to Trixie. "Come on Trixie. I can do the reverse spell and get you back to normal. Just stand over there next to Gilda."

"Ha! No way I'm letting Twilight Sparkle help me!"

The alicorn walked over to her. She spoke softly. "Listen, it's perfectly okay for a friend to help a friend."

"Friends? The Great and Powerful Trixie will never be friends with you."

"I don't know. I would like to be friends with you."

"But... But you're so much better than me!"

"I'm not better than anyone else!" yelled Twilight. She sighed. "Look, just let me help you, and then we can hang out sometime. I can show you some of the spells I'm working on."

Trixie stared at Twilight. She realized she meant no harm to Trixie. All she wanted to do was help. At that moment, Trixie felt something inside her. Something warm and happy. She spoke for the first time in a calm, friendly voice.

"I'd like that, Twilight. I'll let you help me." she walked over next to where Gilda was standing.

While Trixie and Twilight were talking. Rainbow Dash leaned in next to Gilda. "You know, we could be friends again if you want. I would love to hang out sometime."

Gilda was shocked. "Really? After the things I did in Ponyville?"

"Well, you apologized. And a good friend will always forgive one another."

"Rainbow Dash, step away from Gilda," said Twilight. "Time to preform my spell!" She had a look of excitement on her face. "I've been waiting so long to do this!"

Twilight's horn glowed brightly. A lavender bubble formed around Trixie and Gilda as they were lifted off the ground. The bubble got less and less transparent until you couldn't see the two inside. Beams of magic swirled around them, until finally Twilight lowered the bubble. As soon as it touched the ground it faded, leaving Trixie and Gilda on the floor, unconscious.

Trixie and Gilda woke up at the exact same time. Both of them immediately examined themselves.

Hooves? Check. Blue coat and silver mane? Check. Cutie mark? Check.

Half eagle, half lion... Sweet! Back to my awesome self again!

"So... what now?" asked Gilda.

"Well I don't know about you, but I think we should get out of here..." whispered Trixie. Everything had happened inside the building, and all of the griffons were staring at them. The five ponies and one griffon awkwardly made their way out of the building.

"Um, guys? I sort of need to get back to Ponyville. It's getting late, and my critters need dinner... but you know, whatever is okay with you." Fluttershy finally spoke up.

"Yeah, I guess we better get going," said Twilight. She turned to Trixie and Gilda. "What about you two?"

"Well, I have to get back to work. Apparently I have mail to deliver to Trottingham." For some reason, Gilda chuckled at that. Pinkie laughed, and soon everyone else was cracking up for no reason at all.

After the laughter died down, Trixie spoke softly. "I guess I can take a train to another town. Maybe I can start a new career."

"Well, have fun with that," said Twilight. "I hope we get to see each other sometime."

"Yeah! I can't wait to hang out with you again, Gilda!" said Rainbow.

With that, the pegusi attached themselves to the chariot as the other ponies hopped in.They all turned around and waved goodbye as they left. With Pinkie Pie talking the whole way.

Trixie and Gilda stood in silence for a few minutes before Trixie spoke. "Um, Gilda? Do you think you could take me to Trottingham? It seems like a nice little town for me."

"Sure! Hop on!" She unfolded her wings.

"But didn't I injure you wing? Can you fly?"

"It's just a little bruise. It'll heal."

Trixie hopped on Gilda's back. Gilda walked back inside the building, picked up the mailbag that was left on the floor, and took off. Neither one of them spoke. But both of them were happy.

At that moment, while Gilda was flying Trixie to Trottingham, the same warm feeling passed through Gilda and Trixie at the same time. Neither of them questioned it, though. Because both of them now knew in their hearts that that feeling was the feeling of friendship.

Author's Note

Well, that's the end. Hope you all enjoyed it. Sorry about the delay (I was supposed to have this up last week, but you know, real life and stuff...) Also thanks SO much for all the positive feedback on this! (My last fic sucked, so I had doubts about this one.) I can't thank you enough. Well, that's enough Trixie and Gilda for me. Keep an eye out for my next story!