Gilda reared on her hind legs and roared with bestial fury. "This is your idea of a good time!? I've never met a lamer bunch of dweebs in all my life! And Pinkie Pie..." Gilda pointed a claw at the party pony, frowning intensely. "You are Queen Lame-o with your weak little party pranks!"
Pinkie smiled nervously, not sure how to react to the outburst. Gilda moved her head mere inches from the pony's and continued her rant. "Did you really think you could make me lose my cool? Well, Dash and I ..." she said smugly, taking a place next to the cyan pegasus and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "... have ten times as much cool as the rest of you put together! C'mon, Dash, we're bailing on this pathetic scene." The griffon made her way to the door, but turned around when she noticed Dash was not in tow. "Come on, Rainbow Dash," she said, eyes narrowing in frustration. "I said we're leaving."
Dash closed her eyes and hung her head for a moment, then lifted it with open, determined eyes. "You know, Gilda... I was the one who set up all those 'weak pranks' at this party. So I guess I'm Queen Lame-o."
"C'mon, Dash, you're joshing me!" Gilda sheepishly exclaimed, a shocked expression crossing her face.
"They weren't all meant for you, specifically," said Dash. "It was just dumb luck that you set them all off."
Gilda couldn't believe it. She wouldn't believe it. "No. Way. I-It was Pinkie Pie! She set up this party to trip me up, to make a fool of me!"
Pinkie's eyes widened at the accusation and appeared hurt. "Me? I threw this party to improve your attitude. I thought a good party might turn that frown upside down!"
"And you sure didn't need any help making a fool of yourself," Dash continued, a bit angrily. She took a step toward the griffon, who shrunk back reflexively. "You know, this is not how I thought my old friends would treat my new friends! If being cool is all you care about, maybe you should go find some new cool friends someplace else."
Gilda growled in frustration and spread her wings intimidatingly. "Yeah? Well, you... you... you are such a... a flip flop! Cool one minute and lame the next! When you decide not to be lame anymore, give me a call." At that, she strode out the door and took off into the sky at a clip.
"Stupid ponies with their stupid tricks!" Gilda vented to the clouds as she flew out of Ponyville as fast as her wings would carry her. "They're all pathetic!" She pointed herself north, toward the griffon homeland, and disappeared into the horizon.
Gilda's party had continued without its guest of honor. Nopony wanted to waste the opportunity to have fun. Rainbow Dash's enthusiasm, however, had dulled ever so slightly after what had transpired and Pinkie Pie quickly picked up on the vibe despite the pegasus's efforts to hide it. When the party ended and everyone filed out the door to return to their homes, she engaged the pegasus in private conversation.
"Wasn't that party just great, Dashie?" Pinkie said, beaming in delight. "Streamers and balloons and cake and -- oh! -- the pranks! They were the best part! Too bad Gilda didn't have fun even though she said she liked pranks as well but we still managed to have fun, right?"
Dash smiled half-heartedly. "Yeah. It was a fun party, Pinkie. You sure do know how to throw 'em."
Collecting herself enough to address the issue she intended, Pinkie asked, "Are you okay, Dashie? You were a mopey dopey sadpants most of the night and that's no way to be at a party!"
Sugarcube Corner had been completely vacated by that point, leaving only Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash in the main room. The latter glanced over her shoulder for anyone else before speaking. "Pinkie, Gilda has been my best friend since I was a filly." She swallowed, aware of the lump that had formed in her throat. "I thought we'd be best friends to the end. Seeing her like she was today... and when she said those things before leaving..."
Dash stared into her friend's blue eyes with a grim expression. "Pinkie, promise me you won't tell anypony what I'm about to say." She was never a pony to reveal her feelings, but she felt that Pinkie could be trusted to share the ten ton weight that had fallen onto her earlier.
"Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" Pinkie swore, drawing a hoof over her chest and poking it into her eye. It looked painful every time she did it, but it was the strongest oath to secrecy known to her friends.
Dash drew a deep breath and exhaled, hesitating momentarily before speaking. "I put on a brave face in front of everypony, but I was being ripped apart inside." A tear rolled down her cheek, darkening her fur slightly. "And I'll probably never see her again."
Pinkie couldn't bear the sight of the pegasus before her and wrapped her hooves around Dash in a tight embrace, the cyan pony's defenses crumbling as her shoulders heaved. She had never felt so ravaged inside, and bared her soul through the tears that now flowed freely down her face.
Pinkie wore a look of determination. She knew what to do.
Gilda lazed on a cloud, basking in the sun's warmth. She had come home earlier than anticipated and still had some vacation time remaining, which the griffon planned to enjoy to the fullest. Ponyville was a distant memory, out of sight and out of mind. She'd initially harbored anger toward the ponies, especially that accursed Pinkie Pie, but Gilda no longer cared.
She was home. Which is why a sudden whirring noise caught her attention. Nothing she knew sounded like that, nothing except...
"Pinkie Pie," Gilda snarled at the pink pony who had quite suddenly appeared in the sky, pedaling the same strange contraption she had used to barge in on her and Dash while they were hanging out. Her eyes narrowed to slits, casting daggers at the intruder. "Why are you here, dweeb?"
"Hi, Gilda! What's going on?" Her cheerful demeanor served only to ruffle the griffon's feathers even more.
Gilda got to her feet and spread her wings. "Get lost! I don't even want to see you!" she shouted, taking off into the sky.
"Hmph!" Pinkie pouted. "This is going to be tougher than I thought! And I already thought it was going to be tough!" The earth pony steered her flying machine after Gilda and pedaled to catch up.
When she couldn't see the pony anymore, Gilda stopped on the next cloud. "Stupid brat. She's not content with ruining everything in Dorksville, she has to harass me in my own hometown!"
The whirring sound returned, and Pinkie seemed to appear from nowhere. "Gilda! I just want--"
Gilda was gone in a flash, Pinkie in pursuit. Their game of stop and go continued for the next handful of minutes.
"-- to talk--" Whoosh.
"-- to you about--" Zip.
"-- Rainbow Dash!"
Rainbow Dash landed on the cloud she claimed as home and trotted past the rainbow pool into the cloudstuff domicile. Today's weather job had taken longer than usual to complete and the pegasus was beat. She flopped down on her bed and lay there for a while before she felt the sensation of being watched.
She opened one eye, followed sharply by the other when she cast her gaze across the room. She didn't know how long her silent visitor had stood in the doorway. Their eyes met and Dash got to her hooves.
"Gilda."
"Dash."
Their voices were neutral in tone, both desiring to remain cordial. They stood fixated in place for a long while, neither seeming to find the motivation to continue until, finally, the griffon spoke.
"Dash, I... I'm sorry," Gilda stammered, breaking eye contact to hang her head remorsefully. "I was a huge jerk at that party. I thought Pinkie Pie was out to get me and I overreacted," she spoke slowly, lifting her head to look back and forth between Dash's eyes, searching for a hint of emotion.
"I regret the things I said about you, Dash. About everyone. You were always my best friend, and you always will be." She waited a moment, waited for the pegasus to respond. "I just didn't want our friendship to end with bad blood. I'll... I'll be going now."
Just as she was about to fly away, Dash's voice stopped her. "Gilda."
The griffon turned around and looked back at Dash. Tears fell down the pony's face, staining her light blue fur a darker shade. The pegasus ran forward and embraced Gilda. "I missed you so much, Gilda. I'm sorry about the party. I'm sorry about what I said." Her friend returned the embrace warmly, tears of her own dotting the pony's shoulder. "When you walked out the door, I thought I'd never see you again. I thought I'd lost my best friend."
They hugged each other in silence for what felt like an eternity before Rainbow Dash broke the silence and stepped away, wiping her tears away with a hoof. "Can we put this behind us, Gilda? Can we be friends again?"
The griffon dried her own eyes. "You bet, Dash. But next time, how about you come visit me?"
Dash nodded. "You bet."
The two smiled warmly at each other before Gilda stepped toward the door once more. "I'll see you later, then. Take care, Rainbow Dash." With that, she took off into the sky and disappeared into the distance.
"Take care, Gilda," Dash responded belatedly, still processing what had happened. She walked to the edge of her cloud and watched her old friend fly away. Once the griffon was out of sight, she stole a glance downward and saw a pink pony jumping up and down, clopping her hooves together excitedly. Dash flew down to meet her.
"Pinkie, what are you doing here? You didn't... you didn't tell anyone what I said, did you?"
"Of course not, you silly filly! Pinkie Pie never breaks her promises because that's how you lose friends!" She took on a grim, albeit humorous, expression and leaned in toward Dash. "Forever!" Her smile returned a heartbeat later. "So, what did you guys talk about, huh? Are you guys bestest best friends again?"
Rainbow Dash couldn't help but smile, herself, as she turned her gaze into the sky. She didn't know what led to their reunion today and was fairly certain she didn't want to know.
"Yeah, Pinkie. Yeah, we are."
