It was several hours before Gilda dared move from the floor in Gabby's room. Only for her feet to move to Gabby's nest and curl up inside the deep mass of soft pillows and fuzzy blankets. She cried harder. She screamed into the pile an amount of sadness and fury like she'd never felt before.

My first chance of having a mate and I almost killed her.

She sobbed, whimpered, and thrashed around, ripping feathers out in frantic preenings that failed to calm her down. After nearly an hour of this she lost all energy and slumped into the pile. Slowly her mind shut down, and she drifted off into slumber. A fitful slumber filled with bad dreams and negative thoughts.

Repeated images of Gabby in a coffin, or worse already buried. Around her, her friends and those she considered family mocked her.

You didn't deserve such a wonderful mate. Gallus hissed at her, flaring his wings in rage.

I should never have raised you, worthless cur. Grampa gruff growled at her with sharp glaring eyes.

You took away our friend, forgiveness isn't an option for you. The cutie mark crusaders scowled together at her and with a whip crack of their tails turned away as one.

"No...It was an accident! I didn't mean for it to happen! Stop it!" Gilda shrieked, cowering and covering herself with her wings and wrapping her arms around her protectively as the mists around her swirled closer, her friends faces blurring together in a chorus of curses and cruelty.

We can't trust you

We don't want you

Gabby doesn't love you

One voice spoke out amongst the other louder than the rest. Gilda's heart felt like it had been covered in ice, and she dared peek up. Instantly she recoiled in horror as the broken form of Gabby appeared before her, nearly beak to beak with the frightened hen. Her eyes were milky white orbs, dead sighted, and they stared through Gilda like she wasn't there. Gilda screamed and curled up again, crying harder.

Gabby leaned down and whispered into Gilda's ear two of the worst words a griffon could ever hear.

"Nest Killer."

"ENOUGH!!" A voice boomed out across the shadows.

Gilda gasped as a powerful wind whipped through the area, the forms of her angered friends vanishing in a blast of warm comforting air that washed over Gilda and sifted through her feathers gently. The dark fog around her was washed away to give her a perfect overlook of a pristine and calm ocean blocked with cliffs. The moon hung high in the sky, a sharped bladed crescent shimmering down a single ray to alight on Gilda. Below her the waves gently lapped at the shore, the sound soothing her fears.

"Whuh...What the..." Gilda coughed, sniffed, and rubbed her wet cheeks on her forearm. She turned in circles, looking around, and found she was alone on the cliffside, but it didn't scare her, just confused her. as she stood there, her heartbeat seemed to take a slow dive in intensity. For some reason the hen felt like she was calmer. "Wh-where is this?" She asked, her voice carried gently on the wind, and a voice called back.

"It's your mind's eye, Gilda Griffon. the place you feel safest."

Gilda almost swore. It was the wind speaking to her. For a moment she felt something glide over the nape of her neck, and she looked back to see the wind and moonlight coalescing into a form she knew pretty well.

"Luna? Is...this a dream?"

Princess Luna didn't fully form, but stayed incorporeal, fading in and out as the winds shifted. "It is between dreams and nightmares that you now stand, young griffoness, known as the mind's eye. I bring those hurt by night terrors here, a place of serenity and calm. I felt you needed to be here given your current mental state." She shifted closer and Gilda felt a hoof touch her shoulder fur. When she looked to the spot, nothing was there but ruffled fur from the wind. "You are not to blame for the situation Gabby is in, Gilda. Please, let that go."

Gilda held her breath for a moment, and then sighed heavily, drooping her head. "I feel as if I am. Gabby had to have known those X's in the snow meant something, in fact I know she did because of the look on her face. If I hadn't moved towards her she wouldn't be in the hospital right now."

Luna shifted once more, flowing around Gilda in a gentle circle. In her wake multiple memories popped up in squares, the scenes within playing out. "If you truly feel that way after all the reassurances friends have tried to give you, then you need to be reminded of something..."

In the first scene, hatchling Gilda and Gabby were working on cleaning the dinner table, Gabby wasn't paying attention and her hind paw caught on the carpet beneath her. She slipped and dropped a plate, the dish exploding as it made contact with the floor. They both gasped and looked to one another as Grampas gruff frowned at them from his chair in the living room. Gabby smiled weakly and blushed ."Uhm...oops."

The next scene came into focus. This one was a few years later, a teenage Gilda was alone at flight camp, and waiting for Grampa gruff to pick her up when two mares exited the building. Gilda didn't hear them approach and was startled when one of them touched her shoulder. She had shrieked and scared the two of them. One of the mares fell down the steps and sprained her fetlock. Gilda had tried to help them, intent on apologizing, but they both had shied away from her in fear.

Another scene played out. Adult Gabby, Gilda, and Gallus were all moving the newest furniture into their apartment, Gallus was in the process of moving a chair up the stairs and had made it to the top, only for Gabby to walk out the way he was coming, and the two collided. Gabby had clipped Gallus shoulder with her beak, drawing blood and it had needed stitches.

Gilda smiled lightly, touching the memory and freezing it on Gabby's blushing face. " Heh...Gabby had been distraught for days, said it was her fault she'd not paid close enough attention. She even paid the hospital bill out of her own bits..."

Luna alighted next her still made of wind and moonlight. "I imagine you and Gallus told her not to worry and that it wasn't her fault, yes?"

Gilda nodded. She saw what Luna was doing and scowled, letting her claws drop away from Gabby, letting the memory fade. "These memories are not the same as what I did Luna. I nearly killed her..."

Luna frowned and brought all three memories back into focus. "The severity of the situation was not the point I was showing you. Look closer."

Gilda sighed and watched with a sad expression as the memories replayed, then again, and again--Gilda's hand shot out and paused the middle one, catching Gabby right after she'd dropped the plate. Gabby's expression was one of shock, then confusion as her claws slipped in its grip and the plate fell. Finally a dash of fear shot across her beak as she realized what had happened. Gilda then unpaused it and paused the next one right before the trouble struck. The expressions were almost the same. "They...their all..."

Luna smiled gently. "They are all accidents. Situations out of your or their control."

Luna then waved her horn, and Gilda felt something tug at her heart, the deepest part of her being, and from there came up one more memory, one Gilda was hiding from out of pain. She immediately spun around and covered herself with her arms and wings. "No! Not that one...not yet. It's too soon...too painful...please..." She whispered.

"You must face it, or fear and pain will be cruel friends of yours for a long time, Gilda." Luna's hoof gripped the hen's shoulder and gently turned the hen around, but Gilda shut her eyes.

"No! Please, I can't...I can't see it again....I don't want to."

A momentary silence spread between them. Luna spoke, and it was firm, assertive. "Gilda, only the guilty have to hide from their actions, the innocent do not. I am trying to show you that as much as you wish to believe you're guilty....you are not." She touched Gilda's shoulder once more. "You are Innocent."

Slowly, Gilda blinked open her eyes and looked up. Here eyes first met Luna's, finding kindness and hope behind the mare's eyes. From there, they shifted to the right, to lock with the memory. In it, Gilda was staring through her own eyes at Gabby. The hen looked happy as she was coming closer. The memory played out a little more, and then froze again. Gabby's expression had changed to one of confusion, her eyes looking down at the ground. Again the memory played forward, and this time Gabby's expression devolved into shock, fear, and realization, before locking onto Gilda's eyes as she prepared to leap to the hen's aid.

As thoughts raced through her head, warring for first place on her tongue, Luna pulled up another memory, only this one was weird, it was like Gilda was looking at the scene reversed. It took a moment to realize this wasn't her memory, but Gabby's. She was looking through Gabby's eyes at the same scene.

In it, Gilda looked genuinely overjoyed to see her, and Gilda felt her heart ...no...Gabby's heart flutter as a smile appeared on Gilda's beak. Then her claws scraped a weird texture, and she looked down. Why was the snow red? Red meant X's. X's meant danger...Gabby slowly looked up.

All at once the memory cracked across it's surface. Gilda felt her friend's mind begin to panic.

DANGER! DANGER! GILDA IS IN DANGER! PROTECT GILDA! SAVE GILDA! SAVE HER!

Luna let the memory play out as Gabby leaped forward and shoved Gilda backward, even as pain registered all over her body. Her mind fractured in shock.

ACCIDENT...INJURED...PAIN OW OW ACCIDENT OW BAD BAD STOP OW PAIN.....WAIT.

The memory seemed to stop for a second, as Gabby's barely conscious mind managed to look up and spot the slumped form of Gilda in the snow a few feet away.

GILDA...GILDA...SAFE?...Rose safe...good...Rose...sa......fe.

As the memory faded away, Gilda noted Luna had moved behind it, and was now facing her. Luna was whole and solid, her mane and tail flowing in cascades of stars and galaxies that melded into the backdrop of the sky above them. She stood over Gilda by a full foot, but when she looked down at the hen, Gilda could see only a gentle caring and tenderness in the alicorn's eyes. Luna's large wings wrapped around the hen as the alicorn hugged her. She was acutely aware that she was crying, and sobbing rather hard against the alicorns shoulder fur. She clutched at the alicorn of dreams for comfort and luna was there. She felt Luna nuzzle the crest feathers atop her head as the mare spoke.

"You are not guilty, Gilda. Gabby knew it, we know it, and so do you...in your heart. It was an accident, let it go, young one...Gabby needs you now more than ever."

Gilda sucked in ragged breathes and nodded shakily. She didn't let go of the alicorn, for once in her life feeling like she had a mother figure holding her. If this was a dream then she was gonna get her comfort dammit. "I...I...o-okay, I'll try..."She whispered. She fell silent as darkness seemed to slowly seep into the edges of her vision, and she watched Luna fade as she slowly fell back into sleep.

"Yes...Gabby needs me..." She murmured.

Gilda woke quietly, blinking open stressed and bleary eyes. She merely stared out of the pile at the darkness of Gabby's room for several seconds. The apartment was eerily quiet. Outside however, it had begun to snow again, only a lot harder. A pounding gale that battered the window and shook the frames. She took a long moment to let the sound fill her ears, the roaring pitter patter of thousands of globs of partially frozen water molecules washed away her feelings for a moment and she was still.

Inside she felt scared. For the future, for Gabby, and for herself.

Gabby may never be able to fly again, she might lose her job. Right as that thought sprung up, Gilda crushed it in anger. It didn't matter if Gabby lost her job, Gilda would hire her at the bakery in an instant. It didn't matter if Gabby couldn't fly anymore, Gilda would be her wings for as long as she possibly could be. Both options meant she would also be close to the hen, something that sent warmth through her chest.

She sniffled and wiped at her cheeks, grimacing at the state of herself before ruffling her feathers and growling. She needed a shower, and a good meal, and some good company. Better than those realizations, she also knew exactly who she could go to. Standing, she carefully placed Gabby's nest as close to the state she'd found it in, and replaced the pictures back in the armoire, before exiting gabby's room and closing the door behind her. She spared the enchanted rose one more glance, and a smile blush reached her cheeks.

You love me Gabby...I...I don't know what to do about that information just yet...but maybe I can get some answers...

Entering her own room, Gilda padded over to her desk and pulled out some items. A quill, some ink, a new piece of parchment, and a jar from deeper with a lower drawer. The glass jar had a small amount of greenish purple flame coiling around in it. She hefted the jar and set it on the desk.

Dragon fire messaging. Considered to be the fastest way to send mail, and also the most expensive method. She'd financially binged a few months back and bought two jars for her personal collection. They were meant for emergencies, but she felt that the recipient would understand given her circumstances.

She set the quill into the ink jar and then the tip hovered over the paper for several seconds as she tried to think of how to write the letter as simple and yet assertively. After a few moments, it came to her and she began to write.

Dear Captain Gallus Griffon...

YOU. MY BAKERY. ASAP. WE NEED TO TALK.

--Gilda

Gilda clenched her talons into fists for a moment...Gallus had known it was Gabby. He'd known maybe for a long time, and had kept it from her. She scowled and looked it over, before sighing and unclenching her claws. She would have her answers soon enough. With a quick flurry of movement, she rolled it up. Popping the lid off the jar, she held the parchment over the fire and watched as it ravenously devoured the material. There was no scent of smoke, even as the scroll sifted into a gaseous form. It always fascinated Gilda how the pony folk had found ingenious ways to work with what was around them. Lifting a claw, she opened the window a little bit, and watched as the purple smoke swirled and squeezed through the crack to dissipate into the storm.

Dragonfire had another neat ability that made it invaluable to those who needed a quick response. It seemed unaffected by weather conditions. A sea captain could be in a hurricane and still his letter would reach it's intended target without fail. Or in her case, a griffoness in a blizzard would receive a reply regardless of nature's agenda.

She left her bedroom, padding slowly down the stairs and into her store front. The clock on the wall read around four in the morning, but she wasn't tired. Rather, her mind was so occupied with thoughts that she couldn't go back to sleep. Her paws dragged across the tiles of the kitchen as she activated the lights and set one of the ovens to preheat. Crossing back across the store front, she unlocked the doorway and grimaced. Water was seeping in through the open slots of the wood beams that they had used to protect the bakery from the storm.

Some griff at least had the decency of switching them out for ones that had been...that hadn't hurt Gabby. She didn't care where those beams went as long as they were no where near her. She sighed and rubbed her arms together as a chill swept through the cracks in the beams and tickled her chest feathers. Her eyes tracked the goosebumps as they crawled up her arm and then faded away.

She re-entered the kitchen and grabbed some ingredients. Cooking always helped take her mind off whatever funk she was in. Claws and talons were washed, an apron was donned and dough was slowly formed. Gilda worked her claws into the dough, kneading and squishing the goop as her mind raced with thoughts she couldn't escape.

Her kneading slowed. "...She...She likes me..." Gilda whispered, her eyes staring at the dough as it shifted and moved through her digits. "How...how long has she had these feelings? Before we moved into the apartment, clearly..." Her mind went back to the photos Gabby had collected. Some were older than five years, maybe more.

Has she liked me since before we came back to griffonstone from school? One of the photos was of them when they were teenagers, but Gilda couldn't recall if Gabby had been blushing or merely smiling in it. She stopped kneading and started tearing the dough into into little pieces, her paws held one and she casually started poking and prodding it as she thought. Her touches slowly molded the dough as she tugged and pulled at it.

"Mmm, I guess the amount of time wouldn't matter would it? She likes me, should I just focus on that aspect and let the timing go? I don't know what to do..." She murmured. Her claws removed a few errant piece of dough from her blob and she looked it over, not really paying much attention to what her claws were doing.

Baking was therapeutic for her. She got to make something and share it with her friends. It made her feel good, like she'd accomplished something. Griffons were proud of their achievements. This thought drew her back to the letters Gabby had sent. Each one had been written in a way that hid who the writer was, but confidently told Gilda what they were after.

"I don't get it...Gabby has always been super confidant when it comes to speaking her mind, or showing off her skills...But she hid her writing skills..She hid her love...why would Gabby be afraid to tell me she likes me other than the whole same sex thing?"

She set the weirdly shaped blob back on the tray and rubbed her beak nares, flinching when some dough got stuck to her beak. Removing it she looked to the oven and saw it was a few minutes from being ready. another sigh and a melancholy warble escaped her beak as she plopped the bits of dough in even spacing across the tray. When she reached for the one she'd been fiddling with her heart skipped a beat for a moment.

Gilda was not a sculptor by any means, she'd never excelled at the fine arts when in school, being far more athletic than refined. She gently scooped up the blob and looked it over..."How the hell..." She whispered. The blob looked kind of like a flower...

A rose...

Gilda frowned and held it a few seconds longer. "Why a rose? Why does she think of me that way?" She stroked the clump of dough, nudging it even as it sagged in areas. "Roses are gentle, soft, and hard to work with. They don't flourish where we live...and boy are they thorny, I'm not anything like--"

But aren't you?

She paused and let her description sink in. Gilda was genuinely a tough bird, toms knew to stay away from her and keep their distance and their thoughts to themselves. That could be considered 'thorny'...in a way, it certainly made her hard to work with after all. She was good with the kids too. Hatchlings seemed to flock to her, wanting to prove themselves to her. She wasn't usually harsh with them, but would nudge them in the right direction with a bit of affirmation...could that be her gentle side? Maybe...

Her left hand gently touched her chest, right over her heart. Whenever she and Gabby had been scared or anxious, they would look out for each other, even sharing a nest occasionally when they were young, during the bigger storms of the season. Each hen would snuggle close and burrow into each other's wings or shoulder fur for comfort...

Gilda held the dough rose close and examines it's curves and edges. A smile reached her beak and she chuckled gently, a warm tear slipped down her cheek and she swiped it away. Grover's beak...I am a rose...Gabby saw it long before I did.

Setting the dough rose in the center of the tray, she slid the pan into the oven and quietly closed the door. The heat that washed from the oven bay and over her body made her trill happily as it sifted through her coat and she smiled more. crouching down, she watched the little light inside the oven flicker on and the dough was illuminated within. She stared at the separate blobs and how simple they looked compared to her rose in the center.

"My rose..." She murmured. That was right, Gabby had called her that. In each letter she'd titled Gilda as 'her rose'. Gilda mulled that over before sitting up. She smiled and felt her chest swell with happiness. Her feathers fluffed up and she warbled gently to herself. Then an idea came to mind.

If I'm her rose, what does that mean Gabby is to me? She put her claws to her chin, her tail tuft twitching at her feet. "She isn't a rose...no...what is Gabby to--"

Her musings were halted when a thunderous crack resounded outside her bakery, making Gilda squawk in fright. Her wings shot open reflexively, smacking the side walls and offsetting her balance. She had to grip the oven handle with both hands to not fall over, and her eyes whipped to the doorway.

"What the hell was that?!" She hissed. Standing and walking assertively out to her front counter, she peered over it and saw a form coming into view out of the snow. Gold armor, canterlot style, and blue fur...She knew who that was. All her meticulous time spent calming down was washed away in a tide of fury as Gallus quickly entered the bakery looking very worried. He took a second to rapidly wipe his paws and brush the snow from his cloak.

"Sorry Gilda, I came as soon as I could! Twilight teleported me here as a personal request. Is Gabby alright? What happened? Is there anything I can--"

He looked up in time to see a rolling pin cross the gap between them, smacking him right in the face.

He cried out in shock and reared up, shielding his face with his claws and flared his wings. The rolling pin had bounced off a projectile enchantment that was ingrained in his armor, but it had still startled the heck out of him. "Whoa! Gilda what the hell!?"

"How long?" She seethed from behind the counter, her claws gripped the countertop and dug tiny grooves into the granite. "How long did you know?!"

Gallus blinked an eye at her from behind his arms and she recognition dawn in his eyes. "Uhh did she tell you?" he asked nervously.

"No she didn't tell me, you jerk! She's unconscious!" Gilda let go of the counter with a painful screeching of claws on stone and stalked around the counter, prowling right up to him. She shoved her beak right against his, snarling. "I found out on my own!"

He shrank back, his wings slowly wilting as she backed off and hissed at him. "You...oh...Gilda I'm so--"

She snarled again, cutting him off. "Oh no, you're not apologizing Gallus. I won't take it. I won't forgive you, she's in the hospital and you didn't think maybe I should know something like this?!" Gallus watched as she leaped forward and grabbed him, slamming his back into the brick wall. His armor dug into his back but he dealt with it. Gilda slammed her fist into his chest plate, producing a muffled whump. "Dammit Gallus...how long? How long have you known she loves me?"

His brows raised as a cracked note escaped his friend's voice. She hiccuped, and dully thumped his chest armor again but it wasn't in earnest. "Gilda...I..." He sighed and slowly closed his wings around the hen as she sobbed into his chest plate. Gilda hissed as his feathers encompassed her, but she didn't pull away. "Gabby told me a week before she sent the first letter...She made me promise to keep it a secret."

Gilda lifted her head and glared at him. She sniffed as tears escaped her eyes. "Even in death? Gallus would you have told me if she--"

He quickly leaned in and nuzzled her cheek with a soft trill. She hissed half-heartedly. "Shhh, shhh, IF that had happened, I would have told you. But when this all happened the first thing I did after helping her get to hospital, was see if she was going to survive. The doctors said her chances were low at first, but then Luna and Starlight arrived. after that they took care of the serious stuff. I've been getting every update sent to me from the hospital as it happens. She is going to make it, Gilda. The moment I knew that, I also knew It wasn't my place to tell you." He nuzzled her shoulder and hugged her close. "I'm still sorry, you shouldn't have had to learn about it like this...it's ruined a lot of things."

She growled quietly but reciprocated the nuzzling after a moment. "...I hate you right now...I hate you because you lied to me. You lied to me and you snuck behind my back to keep a secret Gabby easily should have told me from the get go." She poked him in the chest plate with a sickly sweet smile on her beak, and her voice sounded a little higher pitch, like Gabby's. "'Hi gilda, I like you, can we date?' See? Easy, why couldn't she do that? She's always so confident about everything else!"

"Not with love..."He whispered. When she looked up at him in confusion he spoke more, stroking her back fur and warbling. "Gabby told me about some things you don't know yet, things I can't tell you. These things that happened...they scared her away from love for a long time. I didn't even know until she broke the dam open and poured her heart out to me and the CMC at their clubhouse one day."

Gilda frowned. "Wait, you mean the clubhouse they had as foals? that far back?" When he nodded she smacked a hand to her forehead. "Celestia's tits, Gallus, that was almost ten years ago! The CMC are all grown up." She fell quiet and Gallus gently let go of her but she pushed closer and held him back. "Has...has she loved me for that long?" Gilda whispered.

Gallus held up a claw and then lowered it. "Ah...that I don't actually know." When she glared up at him he puffed up his chest fluff defensively. "Honest! I genuinely don't know when she started having feelings for you. Like I said I learned about it a week or so before she sent the first letter to you."

Gilda seemed placated by that and slowly let go of Gallus. The tom seemed a bit relieved by this and backed up. They were quiet for a few seconds. Gilda rubbed her arm and warbled weakly in embarrassment. "S-sorry I threw a rolling pin at you..." She mumbled covering her beak with her claws.

Gallus chuckled half-heartedly and sat down, closing his wings. He had the consideration to at least look embarrassed as well. "It's ah...okay, Gilda, I understand why you did it." He reached up and rubbed the back of his nape feathers, ruffling them as he looked around the shop. "Look, I'm really sorry we held it from you, I told her you wouldn't like it...but she said it was the only way to get over her fear."

"Her fear of what? Love?" Gilda tilted her head and went to speak further but the oven timer in the kitchen went off and she cursed. "Hold that thought." Gallus followed her into the kitchen and watched as she donned some paw mittens and carefully extracted the buns from the oven. Setting them onto the cooling rack happened in silence, Gallus took the time to remove his cloak. He hung it by the door and deposited his helm underneath it.

Gilda had finished up in the kitchen by the time he sat down. She brought four hot buttered buns with a chicken cream cheese spread from the fridge, and slid them across to him. "I bet you haven't had breakfast yeah?" He shook his head and grabbed for one. She glanced at the clock and saw that it was nearly six am. "I suppose this is as good a time as any." She mumbled and snapped one of the buns up in her claws.

They ate in silence for a few minutes until Gallus finished his first one and swallowed. He drummed his claws on the table and seemed to glare a hole into the table before sighing and leaning back into his chair with a slouch. Gilda noticed, "something up?" She asked while nibbling her bun.

He lifted his arm and waved it around the room. "Yeah, she had all these neat things she was going to do, ya know? Bake a pie and put rose petals on top of the crust, then sneak out and make you think your lover had snuck into your bakery to make you something sweet. Or wait until you were asleep and clean this entire downstairs area top to bottom, and then leave a trail of cleaning supplies down to the bakery, with a letter at the bottom step from her." He laughed and rubbed his beak, "This one idea, oof. She was going to fly over the bakery, and ...hehehe, shower you with rose petals made from paper mache, and she had this crazy idea you'd notice the single letter she'd written on all of them! It was supposed to spell out an entire claw written letter, but In the end I talked her down from it."

Gallus sighed and slumped further, nibbling his bun as his smile waned. "Just seems sad she won't be able to do those things now..."

Gilda lowered her gaze to her bun and thought it over. Gabby had really planned ahead. She'd thought of multiple ways to show her affections...hell, half the toms in griffonstone didn't think that far ahead when it came to courtships..."She really did all that planning?"

Gallus nodded, "Oh yeah, when she told me about the jewelry box plan I was sure she'd lost it. That thing cost a pretty bit."

Gilda smirked at the mention of the jewelry box and a thought came to mind. "That reminds me...what the heck is with it? there is a puzzle to it I know, but what the heck is it supposed to do? I keep thinking it's a glitter bomb prank..."

He stopped and his expression grew...somber wasn't the right word...more like he was looking back on a personal memory. He finished his second bun and reached across the table with his hand, setting his claws on hers. "Trust me when I say, it's worth the effort to find out. If you think you love her now, wait till you see how much she does. And no, it's not a glitter bomb."

He leaned back and smirked as she sighed. "Although, that would be hilarious to see."

She growled and flicked a crumb at him which he snapped up in his beak. "Speaking of which, I left it at the hospital. I should probably pick it up." She paused and looked him over. He'd been teleported all the way from Canterlot to griffonstone...and it showed. His armor and fur had a slight burnt look to it, now that she got a closer look. "Heh, so it's true...Princess Twilight has so much magic, she burns her test subjects."

Gallus blinked in confusion before looking down and smiling wryly. "It's called magical burn off and it doesn't hurt, just tingles a bit." He dusted himself a little bit and then frowned. "I'll probably need to get a shower before I leave."

Gilda shrugged. "Sure, you know where it's at." She finished her bun and then slid the plate away with a nudge if her claws. "So, how's that going anyway? You and Twilight?"

Gallus's expression seemed to fall immediately which Gilda noted, but he quickly masked it with a grin and a wave of his paw. "Oh it ah, it's moving along, she's really busy all the time, the life of royalty is a tumultuous one so I get to be with her when I can, and that's good enough for me."

Gilda frowned. "Please tell me that 'getting to be with her' doesn't mean you stand outside her doorway while she works?"

When Gallus's eyes fell to the side she frowned deeper and reached across the table to grab his claws in hers. "Gallus...that's...that isn't okay. If Twilight is too busy for a relationship you should try to just be friends!"

He stared at her claws, and then slowly clasped them around hers. His smile was fragile. "I...I don't want to let go of this opportunity, Gilda. She's one of the only females that has ever really shown any interest in me." He paused and his eyes lingered on her for a moment, his expression seemed to soften for a moment, and Gilda felt her cheeks flush to her surprise.

Why's he looking at me like that? She wondered.

He was quiet a moment before smiling and looking at the table. "I'll admit there were others that caught my interest, but they didn't so much show their interest as much as I felt they just tolerated my presence." He chuckled and the expression changed to a firmer one. "That being said, I wanna give this chance with Twilight a good one. I wanna know I tried my best to court her, before I throw in the towel."

Gilda nodded and then gently pulled her claws from his. He let them go and tapped the table. "We should probably get to the hospital to pick up your jewelry box. Don't want the janitors to confuse it for debris right?" His smile waned. "And we can check up on Gabby...I miss her smile..."

Gilda stood and collected the dish. "Yeah, I do too..." An awkward moment passed between them before Gallus coughed into his talons and stood up. "Alright, yes. Let's um...go." He shuffled past her and donned his Helm and cloak. "If you stay close to my side when we get out there, I have an enchantment that keeps me dry, it has a proximity aura. Those closest to me also won't get soaked, but it doesn't stop everything."

Gilda set the dish on the checkout counter and then sidled up next to Gallus. He nodded and threw his cloak on. The trek to the Hospital was annoying. Gilda had to peer through mostly closed eyes ahead of her to hopefully see where she was going. Gallus didn't seem to have any issues with it, and told her his armor was enchanted to block the wind and snow. She grumbled and made a vow to steal his helmet when he wasn't looking.

He laughed into the storm and told her it was merely 'perks of the job title.' "Normal guards don't have these enchantments, Gilda. It's too expensive to do this for all of the Canterlot garrison. Also, stealing my helmet won't work. The enchantment is in the breast plate."

She'd shoved him playfully only to hiss as she was battered with snow and cold wet wind the moment they separated. Quickly moving beside him again fixed this, though she noted how even with the enchantment active, he'd opened his wing and draped it over her protectively. He proudly fluffed out his chest and walked with that strut male griffons had when they were trying to show off.

Gilda blushed. "You're such a weirdo."

Gallus smiled. "Why, thank you for the compliment."

She groaned and tried to bury her face in her neck fluff. "Ugh not you too! Did Gabby tell you to say that?"

He blinked and nodded. "Yeah, she did. How'd you know?"

Gilda looked at the hospital doors as they came closer. "Gunther told me the same thing early yesterday."

They entered the lobby and were in the process of signing in, when a nurse came out and saw them. She smiled and waved them over. "Oh so glad I caught you two, we were just about to send for a messenger. Gabby has woken up."

Gilda and Gallus looked at one another in shock and Gilda stepped forward eagerly. "Wait really? Can we see her right now? Is she doing okay?" Her tail began frantically whipping back and forth as the nurse nodded and led them through the hallways to Gabby's room.

"She's currently being seen by the doctors, and I believe Princess Luna is on her way over as well, or she's already arrived. They wanna make sure the wards did what they were supposed to first. Once they are done you may visit."

They reached the doorway and the nurse left them there. Gilda walked to the window, where she could see into the room but the blinds were closed. She cursed under her breath and immediately began pacing back and forth. Gallus sat on the nearby bench and for a moment considered telling her to stop, then he chuckled and shook his head.

"What's so funny?" Gilda asked. When he pointed to her, she looked confused. "What? I'm nervous. I wanna see her, I gotta make sure she's okay! There is nothing wrong with being worried over a friend!" Her tail lashed against the door and made her jump, looking at the door with a glare like it had challenged her.

He put his claws up placatingly. "I know, I know, I just find it humorous that you're so...determined." He smiled as she stopped, watching her sigh. She came over and sat down next to him, even leaned against his shoulder. He fluffed out his feathers, and draped a wing around her.

"She has the best doctors looking her over and princess Luna is coming. She made it, Gilda."

Gilda groaned and rubbed her cheek into his shoulder fluff, not noticing his blush of embarrassment or the fact that it sent his neck ruff fluffing out. "I know..I just...she loves me...is it weird i'm acting this way? I don't know!" She warbled nervously and got back up, leaving the tom flustered.

"Well, yeah I mean I guess? She considers you mate material, so you're being protective." He shrugged.

Gilda thrashed her tail and began pacing at the door again. "Right?! She's like...the first bird to ever having feelings for me! I can't lose that chance!"

She then paused and blinked, before grumbling a second time. "Oof now I know what you meant when you said you don't wanna miss your chance with twilight..." She buried her head in her claws. Gallus stood and slowly padded over to her. When she lay down on the cool floor, he followed suit, draping his wing back over her side.

"Dating can be such a pain, ya know?" She mumbled through her claws. He blushed and looked away.

"Y-yeah, totally..."

They both watched the door, Gilda jumping every time a noise made it through the doorway or someone maneuvered around them. Galluss fell silent and merely waited.

After a time, the door swung open and two hens, the doctor, and Princess Luna stepped out of the room. when the saw Gilda and Gallus they all stopped. the Doctor hen went to speak but Luna lifted a wing. "Please, let her through, she's also been through much. Barring her path now will only make it worse."

The Doctor grumbled but nodded to the pair. Gallus fell into a routine where he instantly saluted Princess Luna, who chuckled and smiled. "At ease, Captain, we merely arrived at the behest of Princess Twilight, to make sure Gabby was mentally okay."

He nodded, lowering his claws. "Of course Princess, I am sure with you and the doctors, she's in good health once more."

Gilda growled, catching their attention. The hen was puffed up and fluffy, hissing with her wings flared. "She better be. If one feather on her head is missing I'll--" She was cut off by Gallus who nudged her and shook his head gently. She huffed, blowing her head feathers out of the way a for a second. "Well, I'd do something now lemme through!"

Stepping into the room, Gilda laid eyes on Gabby. The hen was laying down in the bed on her belly, head resting on the pillow so it propped her beak up. Her right wing and arm were both still in casts, but they were cloth now and nothing appeared to be amiss with her anatomy as far as Gilda could tell. Her eyes were closed, and she was breathing gently. Cautiously, like walking around glass shards, or creaky floorboards, GIlda crept up to the bed and stared at the hen.

Gabby had written the letters, Gabby had bought her the jewelry box which still sat on the nightstand next to her. Gabby was safe...

The door closed behind her and she turned to see a glimpse of Princess Luna's eyes before the door closed. The mare winked, and shut them in together for some privacy. Gilda sent a silent thank you to her and turned back. Gabby appeared to be asleep now, so Gilda simply sat down and sighed heavily.

Lowering her head onto the bedding on her hands, she merely watched Gabby rest for a time, before Gabby stirred and her eyes blearily opened. She looked first to her right, and then seeing no one, she turned to the left. Her eyes fell on the jewelry box and Gilda caught the look of warmth as it cascaded across the hen's face. Gabby sighed gently, and then her eyes looked further right and fell on Gilda.

"...H-hey Gilda..." The hen smiled weakly, and then blinked in surprise as tears began to streak down Gilda's cheeks. "Wh-whats wrong?"

Gilda didn't say anything. Amidst the tears that refused to abate, she gently and tenderly crawled up next to Gabby. She hugged her close and purred loudly. Her wing extended out and over her friend and snuggled the smaller female to her body. Gabby was rather started by the sudden affection and warbled nervously.

"G-Gilda?" She whispered.

Gilda responded by nuzzling Gabby's cheek with hers, and the purring intensified. "Y-you are okay...gods i'm so happy you are okay!" She sobbed, happy nervous chirps escaped Gilda's beak as she held her friend close. Gabby was quiet for a time, basking in her friend's touch, her smile grew, and she leaned into the nuzzles.

"Yeah...I am...are you?"

Gilda nodded "Yes, thanks to you...you saved me Gabby..." Gabby giggled lightly when Gilda tried and failed to snuggle even closer to her, the smaller hen fluffing out in embarrassment when she felt Gilda's hind paws shift, one of the paw pads grazed against a teat and she chirped suddenly, pulling back from the embrace.

"W-well that's great to hear--Ack! G-Gilda, y-you're really um, snuggly all of the sudden."

Gilda blinked for a second and then it hit home what she was doing. Her beak was gently ruffling through the hen's neck fluff, she'd almost started preening Gabby! "Oh! Oh my gosh I'm so sorry!" Gabby watched in nervous confusion as Gilda leaped off the bed in a flurry of movement.

Gilda quickly wiped at her eyes and coughed into a hand. Her cheek feathers and neck ruff fluffed out in embarrassment. "I j-just...I had to make sure you were okay, ya know?" She fell silent a moment and then lowered her head onto the bedding again. "I was...scared, like really scared for you..." She sniffed, and warbled into the sheets. "You almost died..."

Gabby seem to take the information in slowly, and when she finally replied it wasn't with much fanfare or shock. A simple "huh" was all that came out. Gilda looked at her incredulously.

"Huh? That's all you have to say?" She watched as Gabby slowly and carefully stretched her left wing out, the feathers arcing over Gilda with a subtle shudder through the primaries, and then her left front leg reached up and her talons kneaded into the pillow. Gabby yawned, and Gilda tilted her head subconsciously, watching the hen's razor sharp beak extend to its fullest, and then clack shut with a click. the wing and arm were pulled back in, and Gabby flopped gently on her side, revealing her teats that Gilda really shouldn't be staring at right then. She forced herself to avert her eyes quickly.

"Well, yeah, not much else I can say to that...except...thank you, I guess." Gabby murmured, resting her head on the pillow once more.

"Thank you?" Gilda scoffed and waved a hand at Gabby. "Why would you need to say thank you? You saved me, not the other way around." Gilda then frowned and mumbled. "If anyone should be saying thank you, it should be me...so...thank you, Gabby."

Gabby smirked and rubbed her neck fluff. "Well, I wanted to say thank you for what you just did."

Gilda blinked in confusion and Gabby chuckled into her claws. "You showed me-very emphatically-how much you cared that I was okay." She let her eyes drop down to the sheets, a loving smile graced her beak and Gilda felt her heart flutter. Gabby's smile was perfect in that moment, and Gilda would give anything to see it more. Gabby reached out and grasped Gilda's claws in her own. "I can't tell you how much that means to me Gilda."

"Yes you can..." She barely whispered.

Gabby's eyes widened and she looked confused. "W-what?"

Quickly realizing what she'd done, Gilda sat up and shook herself. "I uh said you can't, cause um...Gallus is outside and Twilight teleported him all the way from Canterlot and he wants to see you too and I don't wanna monopolize your time before the doctors kick us out so you can sleep ya know?"

Gilda was a terrible liar in most situations, but now was even worse. Her nervous laughter was met with a skeptical squint and head tilt from Gabby. "Um, Okay..." She looked away and around the room. "Did anyone else come and visit while I was here?'

Gilda nodded and walked to the door, gripping the handle. "Yeah, Grampa Gruff. He said the council is going to pay for the hospital bills and do what they can to help us through this."

Gabby's eye fell. "Ah, that's nice..."

Gilda paused a moment and her eyes fell on the jewelry box. Should she tell Gabby she knew? Should she keep it a secret? Gilda wasn't sure what to do in the moment. "I um...I'mma go get Gallus."

Exiting out into the hallway, she found Gallus sitting alone on the bench swinging his hind legs to and fro. His helm was on the bench next to him. He smiled up to her and stood. "It all go okay?" He asked. Gilda crossed the distance slowly, and bonked her head into his chest fluff and groaned. He blushed and looked around awkwardly.

"Oof, that bad?" He quipped.

Gilda shook her head. "Mm-mmm, she's okay, healthy, and safe. A couple casts are still present but that's it. Gallus I...I don't know if I should tell her I know." She felt his wing wrap her in a hug and his talons gently rubbed her back fur.

"Well, do you think she will be bothered by it? I think that would be great news to hear, especially after what she went through."

Gilda shook her head again, rubbing into his feathers for comfort. The tom warbled nervously in response. "She went through all that work, all the trouble to keep it a secret just to surprise me. Plus, you said she was hurt in the past by love. I'm not sure what you meant by that but I don't want to hurt her further. I feel like if she wants to do this slowly for her sake, I should let her."

He stared at her for a moment and then his cheeks flushed with red. He leaned down and nuzzled her head feathers gently, drawing a little chirp of surprise from Gilda. "I think she will genuinely appreciate that. You're a good friend Gilda, and she is lucky to have you in her heart." He drew back, letting her go, and then shook himself. "We should ah, go check on her yeah?"

They entered together and Gallus approached Gabby's bedside, already smiling. Gilda hung back with a smile of her own, watching as Gabby's face lit up in another grin. Gilda's left claws lifted to her heart and she gripped the fur there for a moment.

For you Gabby, I'll do anything to see you happy, even if it means waiting. Write as many letters as you need to, I'll keep them all.

She smiled more and then joined the two griffons who made up her family.

And I'll be ready to love you as soon as you need it.

Author's Note

Happily warbles and starts work on the net chapter ^^

if there are any errors you see feel free to point them out ^^