The First Pony to Time Travel Without a Spell

"Fluttershy!" called Rainbow, flying up to the door of her friend's house, "Fluttershy!"

"Um, yes?" asked Fluttershy, opening the door a crack.

"I've got a bit of a problem, can I come in?"

"Sure!"

Rainbow walked inside and carefully maneuvered through the many animals on the ground and in the air. She pulled out a letter, and then handed it to Fluttershy, who looked confused.

"I got this letter from somepony named Gilda," said Rainbow, "Do you know who that is? Because I can't remember."

"You don't remember Gilda?" asked Fluttershy, "She's a griffin that you became friends with in Flight School. But, um, I find her kind of scary..."

Rainbow was about to say something in reply when her eyes began glowing pink, again. She saw Pinkie on some sort of flying-contraption, which was being held still by a griffin, who she assumed was Gilda.

"Don't you know how to take get lost for an answer?" said Gilda aggressively, "Dash doesn't need to hang with a dweeb like you now that I'm around! You're dorkin' up the skies, Stinkie Pie, so make like a bee and buzz off!"

The scene switched to Fluttershy carefully leading some baby ducks through the street, before bumping into Gilda.

"Hey!" snapped Gilda.

"Please excuse me." said Fluttershy nervously.

"I'm walkin' here!"

"Oh, um, I'm sorry. I-I-I was just trying to...

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" mocked Gilda, "Why don't you just watch where you're going, doofus?"

"B-b-b-but I... I..."

Gilda took in a deep breath, before letting out a huge roar at Fluttershy, causing her to run away in tears. Rainbow's eyes stopped glowing, and she took in a deep breath.

"Uh, Rainbow?" asked Fluttershy, "Did you have another one of your vision things?"

"Huh?" asked Rainbow, "Oh, yeah! It was about Gilda..."

"What's wrong?"

"Well... Was Gilda nice to you in Flight School? Or was she a bully?"

"She was a little bit intense at times, but Gilda was nice. She was all alone until you became her friend. Sort of like me..."

"She was nice? But... She was being a jerk in my visions... She wouldn't let Pinkie hang out with her and me and... She yelled at you and roared at you!"

"I don't think I'd like Gilda when she's angry!"

"But... The vision I had with Applejack never ended up happening... So maybe this one won't happen either!"

"I'd really like if Gilda didn't roar at me..."

"Then again, you and Pinkie did look different in the vision... Pinkie still didn't have her metal leg encasement, your mane didn't have the tips of it dyed the same as your eye color, and I think your cutie mark was pink instead of blue-green..."

"It's emerald."

"Don't you worry, Fluttershy, even if Gilda turns out to be a complete jerk, I won't let her scare you like that!" Rainbow flew out the door, "Thanks for all your help, Fluttershy!"

"Um, you're welcome?"

Rainbow took a deep breath and stopped pacing around her balcony. Gilda was supposed to be flying in any second now, and Rainbow was very nervous.

Okay. Gilda is your griffin friend from Flight School. She was nice to Fluttershy, but could be a bit intense at times. She might be a jerk. Oh mare, this might be really difficult.

Rainbow could have sworn that she saw a figure approaching in the distance, but she didn't see a speck on brown, so didn't bother with it.

Gilda has brown feathers, whoever that is has green feathers. Why would she have different colored feathers? Wait a second...

Gilda landed on the balcony in front of Rainbow, which surprised Rainbow.

"Hey, Dash!" said Gilda, "Where ya been?"

"Gilda!" said Rainbow, "It's, uh, nice to see you! I hope..."

"Like this dye that I used?"

"Yeah! It's nice!"

Gilda flashed Rainbow a smile, and then walked inside.

"This your place? Sweet. I thought that the newspapers were just exaggerating!"

"N-newspapers?" asked Rainbow, following her in.

"Yeah!" Gilda tossed Rainbow a newspaper that showed her and her friends with Celestia and Luna, "You're kinda famous for stopping eternal night or whatever. I'm surprised that you don't have this photo tacked up all over your house!"

"Note to self: get a newspaper subscription..." muttered Rainbow.

"So where can I put my stuff?"

"Oh! I have a room that you can go in!" Rainbow led Gilda to the room she had prepared, "I hope you're okay with it."

"It's fine, Dash!" Gilda threw her bag in, "Much better than the rooms they gave us at Flight School, huh?"

"Uh, yeah... At Flight School..."

"By the way, cool metal wing-thing."

"Oh, it's my wing encasement. It can stand temperatures up to five thousand eight hundred degrees Kelvins and down to two degrees Kelvin."

"Since when you get so nerdy?" asked Gilda jokingly, "Anyways, want to go for a flight?"

"Sure that sounds-"

"Rainbow!" called Pinkie from outside suddenly, "Rainbow Daaaaash!"

"Looks like you got an adoring fan calling for you!" said Gilda, "Better go give 'em an autograph!"

"It's not an adoring fan, it's my friend Pinkie Pie!" said Rainbow.

"Then she's gotta meet me, because I am your one and only griffin friend!"

"Uh, sure!"

Rainbow and Gilda both flew outside, and gazed over the edge of the cloud. Pinkie was standing on the ground, smiling as happily as ever.

"Hey, Pinkie!" called down Rainbow, "What's up!"

"You are, silly!" called back Pinkie, "By the way, who's your friend?"

Gilda flew down and landed in front of Pinkie.

"Hey." she said.

"Neat-o-riffick!" said Pinkie happily.

Rainbow quickly flew down and landed in between the two.

"Pinkie," she said, "This is my griffin pal, Gilda. Gilda, this is my friend, Pinkie."

"Sup?" asked Gilda.

"She's a griffon! Part bird, part lion!"

"That's so amazing!" said Pinkie.

"Anyways, did you want something?"

"Oh yeah! I was hoping that you could help me with something!"

"Sorry, Pinkie, but I'm hanging with Gilda for now. She's only going be here a couple of days."

"Dash needs to hang with her cool friends!" said Gilda.

Rainbow tensed up with nervousness. She wanted Pinkie and Gilda to get along, so hopefully Gilda wouldn't end up being a jerk.

"Just wondering," said Rainbow, "What was it that you needed help with?"

"Pulling a prank on Spike!" said Pinkie.

"A prank?" asked Gilda, "What kind of prank?"

"One that will shock him!"

"Dash, we can't skip on doing some cool pranks! Let's go help out your friend! I need a good laugh, anyways."

Rainbow resisted smiling too much and nodded.

"Alright!" she said, "Let's go prank some ponies!"

"Over to the right!" said Pinkie as Rainbow and Gilda directed the cloud they had, "No no, a little to the left! Oh wait, back to the right! Now a little leftish while staying rightly. Stop. Hmm. Maybe a few inches to the south. Now a couple centimeters north... Okay. One more smidgimeter to the-

"Pinkie Pie!" cried Rainbow and Gilda.

"Uh, I mean, perfect! Now wait for my signal."

Rainbow and Gilda flew just above the cloud as Spike walked out of the town hall. Pinkie gave the signal (she waved a flag around), and Gilda and Rainbow jumped on the cloud, letting out a crash of thunder.

"Aah!" cried Spike, dropping the scrolls her was carrying and hiccuping.

"We startled Spike into getting the hiccups!" said Pinkie, her, Rainbow, and Gilda all laughing.

"Good one, Pinkie hic Pie!" said Spike good naturally, "Hic You're always pulling a fast one hic on me hic!" Spike accidentally blew out a breath of fire that caught one of the scrolls and made it dissapear.

"Oh no, you're not hurt are you?"

"No, hic don't be hic silly! Dragons are hic fire-proof.

"Oh, good!"

Spike started to pick up the scrolls he had dropped, but he accidentally hiccuped each time and breathed fire on them.

"I wish the same thing hic were true with scrolls, though." he said.

Rainbow, Pinkie, and Gilda all laughed, again.

"Have you ever seen anything more hilarious?" asked Pinkie.

"Maybe..." muttered Rainbow, before suddenly kicking the cloud.

Both Gilda and Pinkie both yelled in surprise, before they both started to hiccup.

Oh! I hope Gilda isn't mad! thought Rainbow.

Pinkie started laughing, with Gilda following soon after, relieving Rainbow.

"You hic know," said Gilda to Pinkie, "At first hic I thought that Dash had hic some dweeb friends, but hic now I think you're pretty fun hic, Pinkie! Sorry for hic thinking you were lame, hic dude."

"It's hic totally cool!" said Pinkie.

Whew... Looks like Gilda won't be like in the vision I saw at all!

...

The three snickered as they rang the doorbell to Carousel Boutique and jumped in the bushes to hide. Rarity came to the door and saw the flowers they had set up, and picked them up with her magic. She sniffed them, and the powder they had put on them caused her to start sneezing. Rainbow, Pinkie, and Gilda burst into laughter, holding up their container of sneezing powder.

...

The three all grinned as Applejack walked outside to see that all the apples in her line of slight were colorful and patterned.

"Land sakes!" cried Applejack.

They giggled, holding paintbrushes and paint pallets just a little bit away from Applejack. Somehow, Applejack managed to pick several apples from the tree in just a few seconds and threw them at Pinkie, Rainbow, and Gilda, who all ran off laughing.

...

"Is someone over there?" asked Pinkie, holding the water squeezer in her mouth.

"Yep!" said Gilda, looking through the telescope they had, "A pegasus with a pink mane and yellow fur! We're totally gonna get her!"

"Wait, she's pink and yellow?" asked Rainbow, "Lemme see," she looked in the telescope to see Fluttershy, "Oh, it's Fluttershy! We can't prank her! She's too sensitive!"

"You're right!" said Pinkie, dropping the squeezer, "It would hurt her feelings!"

"You sure?" asked Gilda, picking up the squeezer, "Because I've got a perfect shot!"

"We're sure." said Pinkie and Rainbow at the same time.

"If you say so," said Gilda, "But Pinkie Pie, you should totally look in the telescope!"

"Okay!" said Pinkie, looking in it, "What do you want me to see?"

"Just look in the water!"

Rainbow and Pinkie both looked in the water to see lines of ink surrounding their eyes.

"Got'cha!" said Gilda.

The two ponies laughed.

"Good one, G!" said Rainbow.

"But you forgot one thing!" said Pinkie.

"What's that?" asked Gilda.

"My party cannon prank!" Pinkie pulled out her party cannon and fired it at Gilda.

Rainbow held in her gasp, and Gilda blinked in surprise, as she was now covered in glitter.

"Oh yeah?" asked Gilda, grabbing Pinkie's cannon, "Prank fight!"

Gilda blasted the cannon at Pinkie, who threw a paint ball at Rainbow. After several minutes, the three of them were covered in pranks from each other. All three of them were laughing their heads off.

"Wait!" cried Pinkie, "I need to give you a Welcome-to-Ponyville Party!"

"A party for me?" asked Gilda, "That sounds awesome? You'd really do that for me?"

"You're my friend, silly! Of course I would!"

Gilda smiled, which made Rainbow smile, too.

You're a great friend, Gilda. I wonder what that vision was even of?

...

"Pinkie said that the party would be all set in an hour," said Rainbow as she and Gilda walked through the market, "Do you want to do anything specific before it?"

"Nah, not really," said Gilda, "I've been having so much fun just hanging with you and Pinkie, so maybe it's time for a break."

The two laughed as they walked further, before Gilda bumped into Fluttershy. Gild suddenly let out a humongous roar, and Rainbow gasped in shock.

"G!" she cried.

"I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!" cried Fluttershy, tearing forming.

"No, it's not your fault!" said Gilda, "I wasn't looking where I was going and my tail got caught, which made me roar! I'm sorry if I scared you!"

"R-really?" asked Fluttershy as Rainbow let out breath of relief.

"Really, uh, Fluttershy, was it? Here, I'll even get you something to make up for it!"

"No, it's okay," said Fluttershy, who was now smiling, "You don't have to get me anything. After all, you did apologize for roaring at me, so there's nothing more I need."

Gilda smiled again, and Rainbow nearly cheered with joy.

Take that, stupid vision!

...

The party Pinkie had planned went off without a hitch. Sure, she had set up pranks for Gilda, but she had laughed along with the other ponies as they had happened. Although, Rainbow still couldn't figure out when they had the time to set the cloud outside and gave her hiccups.

Wow, today was unexpectedly perfect! thought Rainbow as she sat down at her desk, My vision was so different from the outcome, so I wonder what was different? That doesn't really matter, though. It's just a vision. Right now, it's time for my letter to Luna.

Dear Luna,

Today, I learned that you shouldn't judge somepony, or in this case, some griffin, based off of a single prior experience or idea you've heard about them. You need to find what they're like to you and others. They're your friends for a reason. Just like how ponies shouldn't judge you based off of what Nightmare Moon was like, because that wasn't even the real you.

Your friend and student, Rainbow Dash