Fugue - Volume 1

"She keeps stealing Rainbow Dash away from me! She popped my balloons, and she told me to buzz off! I've never met a griffon this mean! Well, actually, I've never met a griffon at all, but I bet if I had, she wouldn't have been as mean and grumpy as Gilda!"

Huey's eyes opened wearily as the angry rant unfolded. He and Twilight had completed their plan with time to spare, however it turned out far less successful than he had imagined. The quilts sewn together to act as an enlarged one for him to wrap up in had functioned perfectly. However, the quilts that had been put together to act as a mattress were far too thin. As such, he had to make do with sleeping on the hard, wooden floor of the library. After much wrangling and discussion, he and Twilight had agreed that he would just sleep in the library proper. In the event that a pony came to visit, in the capacity of a customer, Huey had agreed to being woken up by Twilight and quickly ushered upstairs to sleep on the floor in her bedroom.

The very familiar voice used by Pinkie Pie clearly showed that this was not a professional visit, so it didn't warrant waking him up. However, it was clear that whatever was bothering the party mare was important enough for her to forget that there was an individual sleeping in the room. Huey yawned loudly and stretched his arms as far as he could before rolling onto his side to look at who was in the room. Upon discovering that Twilight was reading a book on the central lectern, Pinkie Pie was pacing around her and Spike was sat in the corner with a tome of his own, he waved in greeting.

"Hey, everyone!" He mumbled. "What's going on?"

"Huey!" Pinkie squealed. "I'm sorry! I forgot that you were asleep!"

The human waved his hand dismissively and let his face slump against the floor. The fact that his sleep was less than satisfactory meant that he did not have the energy to properly wake up, or crawl out of his makeshift bed.

"It's fine!" Huey assured her. "What's this about popping balloons?"

"Oh!" Twilight exclaimed. "Pinkie Pie was telling me about her experiences with Gilda. She's a griffon Rainbow Dash knew from Flight Camp."

"Griffon?" Huey interrupted. "You mean half bird, half lion creature thing?"

"Mhm!"

Huey stared at the occupants in the room and blinked. It was hard enough that dragons existed and equines could speak, but it was getting ridiculous with the revelation that griffons existed too. Huey let a hand drag its way down his face in exasperation.

"I'm not even going to argue." He mumbled. "It's meaningless anyway, since we're not in my world. Where I'm from... Griffons are a myth and don't exist. Just like talking ponies, unicorns... And basically everything else here."

The trio of Equestrians glanced at each other. Huey, on the other hand, sluggishly picked himself up off the floor and stumbled his way towards Pinkie.

"So, you were saying, Twilight?" He murmured in exhaustion. "Griffons stole Rainbow Dash."

"Just one griffon!" Pinkie corrected. "Mean, old, grumpy Gilda!"

"Pinkie..." Twilight began carefully. "I'm sorry to say this, but I honestly think this is a case of jealousy on your part."

"Jealousy!?" Pinkie Pie exclaimed in surprise.

"Yup, green with envy!" Spike remarked from his corner of the room. "Well, in your case, it's pink with envy, but you get the idea."

"Just because Rainbow Dash has another friend, it doesn't mean Gilda's mean or a grump!" Twilight continued. "And it's actually unfair on everyone else if you were to keep Rainbow Dash to yourself. She is her own mare, after all."

Pinkie Pie glanced between Spike and Twilight, her expression displaying her dismay at her friends not backing her up. She then turned towards Huey and looked up at him. Huey stared back, his eyes burning with fatigue as he ran a hand through his hair.

"What?" He asked. "I've literally just woken up. I mean... Sure, the balloon popping thing sounds pretty mean, but the rest sounds like she just wants to spend some quality time with Rainbow Dash. So, I don't know, I'd have to see this griffon for myself before I make a judgement here."

Pinkie Pie looked down at the floor dejectedly. Huey looked at Twilight, who just shook her head. However, the sombre silence was broken when Pinkie Pie suddenly perked up.

"I'll just have to show you what a meanie she is!" She declared before biting the hem of Huey's t-shirt and dragging him towards the exit. "Come on, Huey!"

"Uh, can't I get breakfast or something first!?"

"We'll get something while we're out, come on!" Pinkie replied insistently. Huey looked back at Twilight desperately, who frowned and shook her head as a signal that she had no idea what she could do. Resigned to his fate, Huey stopped resisting and let the earth pony drag him into the streets of Ponyville.

"Pinkie, I really think this is a bad idea!"

"What?" Pinkie replied in disbelief. "It's bound to work! No pony will even know you're here!"

"Handing over a large pair of sunglasses with a red nose and a party horn is hardly the perfect disguise for a creature that's six foot tall, walks on two legs and is literally the only one of its kind!" Huey hissed quietly. "You might as well just give me a massive sign with flashing lights that reads 'Do Not Look At Me!' to wear as a hat!"

"Well, what do you suggest!? I don't see you making any suggestions!"

"How about a bloody newspaper!?" Huey suggested with growing annoyance. "It's better than the stuff you've given me!"

"Fine!" Pinkie huffed. "I'll go inside and get you a newspaper. What kind of milkshake do you want?"

"Surprise me."

Pinkie nodded before vacating her seat and wandering into the ice cream parlour she and Huey had ventured to. The two reasons this location had been picked above all others was the fact that it was situated in the centre of town, where the majority of ponies congregated, and it allowed Pinkie to get something for Huey to eat that wouldn't run the risk of being inedible due to the presence of grass or daisies. Realising he was on his own, Huey glanced around and noticed a number of ponies actively keeping their distance, huddling into groups to whisper, point and stare and generally demonstrating that he stuck out like a sore thumb.

Sighing, he averted his gaze and stared down at the table he and Pinkie had occupied. It was clear that his choice of words after waking up were the worst possible ones to say. Huey shook his head and began drumming the fingers of one hand onto the table and forced himself to look around.

The architecture was, as he'd noticed upon arrival, reminiscent of sixteenth century Europe back in his world. The homes were made of wood with, what he assumed was, wattle and daub, a mixture of a woven wooden lattice smeared with mud or clay to keep the wind out, for the walls, while the roofs were thatched. However, there were three notable exceptions that he noticed. The first being the town hall, which was a round, layered spire in appearance, which indicated that a great deal more time and effort had been put into its architecture. The second was Pinkie's home and place of work, Sugarcube Corner, which was the unusual in that it looked like a giant gingerbread house. Finally, Rarity's home and business, Carousel Boutique, which was clearly based off the architecture that was prevalent in Canterlot.

The equines themselves were wandering around the myriad of wooden stalls that had been set up by those seeking to sell their wares. The variety that was on sale was staggering. Not only were there stalls for fresh fruit and vegetables, some were selling more intricate items such as hoof-crafted wooden toys and books. It was, if one disregarded the inhabitants, an almost perfect parallel to medieval Europe.

"Here you go!" Pinkie chirped as she placed a glass filled to the brim with pink liquid and a newspaper. Huey tore his gaze away from the surroundings to watch the mare add a parasol to their table.

"What's that for?" He asked, while pulling the glass closer and sucking some of the milkshake through a straw. "The weather's not that hot."

"It's so Gilda can't see us from above!" Pinkie explained quietly. "She's a griffon, remember? Griffons can fly!"

Huey paused his drinking of the strawberry-flavoured beverage he had been provided and nodded.

"That's actually really smart. Good thinking, Pinkie!" He complimented before reaching over and gently clinking his glass against hers. "Also, this milkshake is delicious! Good choice!"

Pinkie smiled happily and giggled.

"No problem, Huey, and you're right, these milkshakes really are awesome!"

The pair settled down and began to drink their respective milkshakes. Huey glanced down at the paper Pinkie had obtained for him and skimmed the front page. Much to his disappointment, there was a very dull story being used for the headline, which was referring to the aftermath of Nightmare Moon's return. Admittedly, if he hadn't known about what happened from Princess Celestia herself, Huey would have been eager to read it, but that was not the case.

Huey's ears pricked up when he registered the faint sound of what he thought was a jet-powered aeroplane. The low droning sound was clearly emanating from the skies overhead, so he leaned back to see what was happening outside of the protective dome provided by the parasol. Much to his surprise, a pair of hooves grasped him by the t-shirt and pulled him back under cover.

"What are you doing!?" Huey hissed in surprise.

"That's them!" Pinkie replied quietly. "It's Gilda and Rainbow Dash!"

"That was sweet!" A tomboyish voice Huey recognised as the sky blue pegasai's said with a giggle. "But, I've gotta take care of a few weather jobs around here. Shouldn't take long! Just, uh... Hang out in town and I'll come find you!"

Huey and Pinkie watched as Rainbow Dash landed close by with a massive griffon, blessed with a head covered in white feathers with purple tips and a body of brown fur, beside her. The human swiftly grabbed his newspaper and opened it up onto a random page. Pinkie immediately joined him, the pair squashed up against each other like love-sick sweethearts to keep themselves hidden from view behind the pages of ink.

"That's cool, I guess?" A lower, more gravelly female replied. "I'm gonna go chow down!"

"Later!" Rainbow Dash said before zipping away, the breeze created causing the pages of Huey's newspaper to flutter. With Rainbow Dash gone, the pair peeked from their respective sides of the newspaper to observe Gilda.

"Wow," Huey whispered. "It's a real griffon! A real, breathing griffon!"

"Kind of cool, isn't it?" Pinkie replied. "But watch out! She really is a meanie mean pants!"

Huey raised an eyebrow and glanced at Pinkie, who was busy watching Gilda like a hawk. Shaking his head, Huey returned his gaze to the griffon, who had wandered towards a fresh vegetable stall. Quietly, Gilda crept behind it as an elderly, green earth pony walked up to the same stall. As the elderly mare leaned forward to sniff one of the carrots, a long, brown tail with a tuft of dark brown fur on the end reared itself from the pile of vegetables, causing the mare to scream in fright.

"A rattler!" She cried. "A rattler! Run for the hills! Everybody run! Save yourselves!"

Huey and Pinkie watched as the decrepit earth pony lead by example in the slowest manner possible. Gilda popped up from behind the stall with a devilish smirk, but it vanished when she noticed the stall owner glaring at her. With a disinterested expression, Gilda prodded one of the tomatoes on the cart.

"This stuff ain't fresh!" She declared angrily before stomping away. Huey and Pinkie looked at each other.

"Did you see that!?" Pinkie complained. "She played prank on Granny Smith and didn't even tell her afterwards that it was one!"

"Yeah, but I wouldn't really call that mean," Huey replied with a grimace. "Maybe a little bit unpleasant, but it's not exactly being an outright jerk, is it?"

Pinkie Pie huffed before they returned to watching Gilda, who had wandered past a cart selling apples. The griffon glanced back at the cart, who's owner was busy chatting with two mares. With an amazing show of agility, Gilda's tail wrapped around an apple sat at the top of one of the many buckets filled with them on the cart and took it. Huey gasped as he witnessed the griffon pop the stolen apple into her mouth and, in her own words, 'chow down'. He leaned towards Pinkie and nudged her.

"She just stole an apple!" He hissed. Pinkie looked up at him with an unsure expression.

"Maybe she'll give it back?" She suggested weakly. Huey blinked in bewilderment at the ludicrous suggestion. After taking a few moments to process the her response, he shook his head.

"She's eaten the bloody thing!" He argued. "What do you expect will be left to give back once she's finished digesting it!? Free first grade griffon dung!? Also, why are you even defending this thief? You're the one who wanted to show me she's a meanie!"

"Hey! I'm walkin' here!"

The pair swiftly broke their attention away from each other to see what was going on. Stood in the centre of town, with a familiar butter yellow pegasus cowering before her, was Gilda. All of the ponies in the area had backed away from the disturbance, leaving Fluttershy on her own during this confrontation.

"Oh! Um... I-I'm sorry. I-I was just... Trying to..." Fluttershy stammered, her whole body almost pressed against the ground as she backed away from Gilda. However, it was clear that the griffon was not interested in apologies due to her stomping after Fluttershy.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Gilda replied in a tone meant to imitate Fluttershy's before reverting to her normal voice. "Why don't you watch where you're going, doofus!?"

"B-B-But... I... I..."

Suddenly, the griffon took a deep breath and then released a deafening roar. The sound was so piercing that Huey let go of the newspaper to cover his ears. However, instead of falling onto the table, the newspaper blew into his face due to being propelled by the gust of wind created by Gilda's roar. Ears ringing, he tore the paper away from his face, once the roar had concluded, just in time to see a sobbing Fluttershy fly away. Mouth agape, he then turned to look at Gilda, who was rolling her eyes in annoyance.

"Urgh..." She groaned indignantly. "Please... All these lame ponies are driving me buggy! I gotta bail!"

Huey's blood boiled. Not only had this disgusting excuse for a griffon stole an apple, she'd also traumatised two ponies, one an elder and the other the most timid creature ever born. His skin burning with fury, he stood up and strode over towards Gilda, who was about to take off into the skies.

"OI!" He yelled at the top of his lungs, causing the griffon to stop and turn towards him.

"What do you want!?" She asked, the 'you' emphasised to convey her annoyance at being disturbed.

"You know what I bloody want, you jumped up chicken!" Huey bellowed, totally unaware of all the ponies watching him. "Who died and gave you the right to be an utter prat towards Fluttershy!?"

"Uh... Duh... Every griffon ever?" Gilda replied nonchalantly with a raised eyebrow. "Like, everyone knows griffons are way cooler than ponies. What are you anyway?"

"I'm a human," Huey began, every word dripping with unconcealed hatred. "My name's Huey, and you're nothing, but a disgusting piece of trash waiting to be swept up."

The white feathers covering the griffon's neck fluffed up in fury. Gilda closed the gap between herself and Huey before pressing her forehead against his, the pair boring holes into each others eyes.

"I can gut you with one flick of my talons, human," Gilda stated, her eyes slowly becoming bloodshot with rage. "So, you better take that back before these ponies get a front row seat in finding out what your entrails look like."

"Bring it on," Huey replied defiantly. "I eat chickens like you for breakfast!"

Suddenly, Huey became aware of something tugging on his t-shirt. He turned and found Pinkie Pie pulling on it frantically.

"Stop!" Pinkie shouted. "Just let it go!"

"Ha! I should have known you would be chicken enough to send your hairless weirdo to do your dirty work, Stinky Pie," Gilda scoffed. "I'm outta here."

Huey's eye twitched as he watched the griffon fly away. As soon as the brown speck that was Gilda vanished from view, he turned away and stormed towards the library with Pinkie chasing after him.

"Huey, stop!" Pinkie begged as the human pushed the library's front door open so hard that it slammed into the wall, causing the room to shake. "She isn't worth getting hurt over!"

Huey whirled round and looked down at the party mare.

"She is a thief, a complete prat and an idiot!" He ranted. "She deserves to be skinned alive!"

"What in Tartarus is going on here!?" Twilight exclaimed in surprise as she wandered into the room from the kitchen.

"Pinkie was wrong!" Huey yelled. "Gilda isn't a meanie. She's the most evil creature I've ever seen! That birdbrain saw fit to roar at Fluttershy like she was... I don't bloody know! Granted, I've yet to have a proper conversation with Fluttershy, but even I'm capable of noticing that she's timid and nervous!"

Twilight shook her head in confusion, while Huey stomped towards the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Pinkie asked sadly.

"Upstairs." Huey replied bluntly before slamming Twilight's bedroom door shut behind him. Pinkie frowned and sat down, while Twilight walked over and embraced her.

"Tell me everything from the beginning," Twilight soothed, her hoof gently running through Pinkie's mane.

"Well..." Pinkie began tearfully. She was about to divulge everything she had witnessed between Gilda and Huey, but suddenly stopped herself. After shaking her head vigorously, Pinkie returned to her cheerful self.

"It's okay!" She chirped with a giggle. "It was just an itty-bitty misunderstanding between Gilda and Huey. I'll just go and smooth things over with Huey."

Twilight tilted her head and raised her eyebrow in incredulity.

"An 'itty-bitty' misunderstanding?" She repeated. "It sounded more like he and Gilda were going to tear each other part."

Pinkie's smile faltered slightly, but swiftly recovered. An ecstatic giggle that ended with a snort erupted from the party mare.

"Oh Twilight! You worry too much! I assure you that everything's just fine!" She lied. "Auntie Pinkie Pie will take care of it!"

"Take care of what?" Twilight enquired as Pinkie trotted towards the stairs. Sadly, she received no reply as the pink earth pony ascended the stairs with a spring in her step and a happy tune to hum. This facade quickly evaporated once Pinkie was sure Twilight couldn't see or hear her. Nervously, she knocked on the bedroom door. A few moments elapsed before a very angry Huey opened it.

"What!?" He asked abruptly.

"Huey, can we talk?" Pinkie asked. "Privately?"

The human huffed and stomped away without shutting the door. Interpreting it as permission to enter, Pinkie trotted over to Twilight's bed and laid down on it, while watching the furious human pace the room.

"Stupid chicken-hearted..." Huey cursed. "Thing! Who does she think she is!?"

"Huey?"

"I swear, how can she be like that? Fluttershy's clearly a shy and nervous soul! Yet she still... I can't even..."

"Huey..."

Huey suddenly turned towards the wall and punched it, causing Pinkie to jump slightly. The pair remained silent for a few moments before the human sighed and began to smack his head against the wall repeatedly.

"Huey!" Pinkie called out insistently. "Stop!"

Huey obeyed and slowly turned his head to look at Pinkie Pie. It was barely noticeable, but his forehead possessed a small red patch from the abuse he'd inflicted on himself with the aid of the bedroom wall. Pinkie frowned and patted the empty space next to her on the bed.

"Sit."

Huey blinked at the calm, yet clearly authoritative tone Pinkie was adopting. At first, he wanted to argue against her, but decided against it. After all, his quarrel was with Gilda, not Pinkie. After breathing a heavy sigh, he wandered over and sat down next to Pinkie. To his surprise, she immediately lay down, her head, legs and upper torso laying on his lap like a large dog.

"What are you doing?" Huey asked passively.

"I'm helping you calm down, Huey," Pinkie explained while looking up at him. "You can't let what happened make you unhappy."

"I'm not unhappy!" Huey argued, his hand gently patting the mare's chaotic mane. "I'm just outraged. How can you not be outraged? Fluttershy's your friend, yet you don't bat an eyelid when she got treated like dirt."

"Hey!" Pinkie interrupted. "I'm not saying Gilda ISN'T mean and grumpy-wumpy... I'm just thinking that maybe..."

"Maybe what?"

"There's a reason why she's so grumpy?" Pinkie finished thoughtfully. "I mean... You have to have a reason to be nasty, right?"

Huey sighed and shook his head. While his personal memories were very much gone, he was still aware of general memories regarding his race.

"Pinkie..." He began solemnly. "Actually, could you get up for a minute?"

Pinkie immediately obeyed and hopped off the bed. Huey then lay on it properly and gestured towards Pinkie, who immediately retook her position of laying in his lap. The human took a deep breath and continued to pet her mane before continuing.

"Where I'm from," He mused. "Being nasty is easy. You don't need a decent reason to be utter scum. Some enjoy making others miserable, there are individuals who just... Like to make others suffer."

"How do you know if they're like that?" Pinkie asked, while leaning a little closer towards his hand.

"You judge them by how they act," Huey explained. "You see how they interact with their others, watch how they act and treat those around them. What I saw today was just nastiness without reason. I don't know if you have the phrase here, but I am certain that Gilda is a 'bad egg', Pinkie, as rotten in the inside as she clearly is on the outside."

"You really believe that?"

"I do," Huey replied solemnly. "I mean... I'm more than happy to admit that I'm wrong, if she suddenly turns out to be okay, but, from what I've seen and heard today, I am certain that I'm right."

Pinkie grimaced and nuzzled Huey's hand. The small problem she had with 'jealousy' had spiralled into something far worse. What was originally just concern about a griffon's bad attitude had turned into Equestria's first human holding a vendetta and damning opinion of someone who he had never actually spoken to properly. Pinkie's heart sank when she realised that she had also not actually interacted properly with the grumpy griffon. Maybe it was her fault? Her initial insistence on following Rainbow Dash and Gilda around had put the griffon into a bad mood, which had boiled over into the confrontation with Fluttershy and Huey? Had she even given Gilda a proper chance at all? Reviewing the course of the day's events, Pinkie frowned as she realised that she had not given Rainbow Dash's guest a real chance.

As a wave of guilt began to wash over her, Pinkie's focus turned towards how to fix the problem she believed she had created, the gentle petting from Huey providing a comfortable backdrop for her to think carefully and clearly about the best way forward. Huey, on the other hand, was gazing mindlessly at the ceiling. He had already made up his mind that Gilda was trouble, what more was there to consider? Now, all he wanted to do was just relax and let the remnants of his anger towards her slip away. Much to his embarrassment, petting Pinkie Pie's candy floss-like mane was helping a great deal, but he did not wish to admit that yet.

"I've got it!"

Huey looked down at Pinkie inquisitively, who was looking back at him ecstatically.

"You've got what?"

"An ideeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaa!" Pinkie Pie sang before hopping off the bed. "You and Gilda are now super-duper angry at each other. She's also super-wuper-duper angry at me for being jealous! Well, what if I was to throw a party that helps you two make amends and help make her feel welcome in Ponyville!?"

Huey sat up and shook his head, a look of despair and incredulity plastered over his face.

"Pinkie," He began. "Forgive me for being sceptical, but I don't think a party's going to change what is clearly a disgusting individual."

It was Pinkie's turn to show incredulity as she raised an eyebrow at him, which, much to his amazement, continued to rise until it was no longer a part of her face. Huey watched in disbelief as the eyebrow rose up towards the ceiling. His gaze then returned to Pinkie, who was clearly not affected by the sudden detachment of a body part. Once it was clear that Pinkie was not going to relent, Huey facepalmed.

"Fine!" He mumbled in annoyance. "Do what you have to do. Merge our parties together or whatever, just understand that I think this is a stupid idea."

"Duly noted!" Pinkie chirped, her eyebrow suddenly fading back into existence in its intended place. Without a single indication the physically impossible had occurred, she turned and trotted out of the room, leaving Huey on his own to wallow in despair at the outright ludicrousness of the pink mare.

"I swear, that pony is a law unto herself." Huey remarked to himself.