Gilda desperately shoved her way past a thick branch, panting for air. The coniferous needles poked through her fur and feathers as she moved through the dense cover. An irritating sensation to be sure, but outright ignored as she scanned the area.

"Gabby!" She screeched into the dark. "Gabby please, come back!" She warbled. A moment later, nothing.

The woods around her were dense, ominous, and had an ever present scent of doom and gloom to them. Gilda heard noises the hen was positive she didn't want to know the origin of, emanating all around her. The trees were warped into strange intimidating shapes, the wind had scents she was unfamiliar with, and the flora varied in colors and designs ranging from ooh that is pretty to I should never touch that.

some times it was both.

She ducked her head low, walking forward and sniffing at the dirt, grass, and loam, but came up empty. It was entirely possible the forest was purposely hiding Gabby's scent from her. That fucking zebra had shouted as such to Gilda has she'd bolted out the door after her friend.

Gabby and Gilda had screamed for several seconds inside Zecora's hut after consuming the potion, before Gabby had made a break for the exit. Gilda had been so shocked by the outcome of the potion, so scared of talking or moving that she'd simply sat there for a few seconds staring at where Gabby had been.

Zecora had chosen that time to touch her shoulder, no doubt attempting to part some stupid pony wisdom or whatever.

She'd socked Zecora right in her snout, ending any attempts. She did it so hard in fact, the zebra had crashed backwards into her cauldron, spilling the potion everywhere. While the damn mare lay there holding her bloodied muzzle in her hooves, Gilda had ran outside and started looking around for Gabby. It was then she learned a nasty fact about the Everfree forest.

If something or someone in these woods wishing to hide away did so, finding it was nearly impossible. Gabby was in a blind panic, scared, and trying to do exactly that. Gilda saw it all dance across her friends face before she'd vanished.

A growl leaped from her beak and the hen lifted her talons to slash a nearby tree, but then frowned and lowered it. Better not piss off the magic forest more...She'd learned that the hard way the first time she punched a tree. It had immediately twisted, groaned, and slapped her hard in the chest with a gnarled branch, bowling the griffon over several times until she'd smacked into another tree.

She stopped for a moment and rubbed at the bruise on her sternum, knowing it would be sore for a while. Gilda slumped to the ground in a sitting slouch, her wings drooped. The primaries got dirt on them but she paid it no mind. She needed to find Gabby.

"Damn forest, just LET ME GO TO HER!!!" She screeched in anger and pain, slamming her paw into the dirt. The trees gently creaked and swayed in the wind. Gilda wrapped her wings around herself and gripped each forearm, shivering in emotional stress.

"She's...She means so much to me..." Gilda felt the beginning of tears on her eyes and clenched them shut. "I have to help her, damn you." She whispered. "Gabby is...I love her, okay?!" she snarled up at the canopy. Getting back on her paws, she kept walking.

"I fucking love that hen and she needs me right now!" She pushed through some unruly bushes and flinched back immediately. A patch of blue flowers about forty feet across had come into view. Poison Joke, a flower you really didn't want to tangle with, dotted the area in large patches. Tiny glowing motes of light floated up away from the plant, giving the whole area a magical, but creepy vibe.

Gilda slowly went around it and her eyes caught sight of the stars above. She grimaced. there were two things she'd learned about the Everfree forest. One, you probably shouldn't fly in it or around it. Weird stuff happened to flying creatures when in the proximity of the forest. The other was don't touch the flowers. Several other flowers, not just Poison Joke, inhabited the forest and not all of them were just existing for a good laugh. Gympie Gympie for example was one she'd already seen a few times, and she very adamantly avoided it.

The opening in the trees made Gilda pause for a moment, she watched the galaxy above shimmer and sparkle. She even caught a shooting star as it streaked out of sight. Gilda had never put much faith in their wishing lore...but right now?

Please...please just let me find her and see she's safe... Gilda thought as the ghostly remains of the star faded. a couple seconds later she continued, sniffing occasionally, but coming up forest. Her search caught sight of movement nearby and she narrowed her eyes as a timber wolf came out of the shade of the trees. Judging by the size, scent, and color, it was a male, juvenile, and he seemed alone. He tilted his head at her and yipped lightly, curious.

After no reply, he took a couple steps closer.

Gilda let out a primal snarl and flared her wings. The beast immediately wilted and shied back into the cover of the trees, but stayed. It's glowing eyes watched her as she glared back. She wasn't in the mood for a fight, anything she fought right now would need several doctors to patch em up. Snorting and closing her wings after a moment, she moved onward, passing the blue flowers and heading deeper into the woods.

She kept growling though. That damn zebra had ruined everything! Why did she have to do that anyway?! It wasn't in her jurisdiction to do it, and that drove Gilda over the edge in fury. Rearing up, the griffoness roared, flapping her wings in rage and slashing her talons through the air.

Birds flew from their nests, the timber pup, having gotten closer, took off like a shot, yelping with his fern tail tucked between his legs. Small critters evacuated the area, such a roar leaving Gilda panting, growling and tired.

The forest fell quiet around her. She blinked several times, her cheeks were wet. Lifting a claws to her beak, the hen wiped at them even as more tears came down her cheeks. Gilda let out a choking sob and hunched over herself.

"G-Gabby, dammit...why...why can't you l-let me love you..." She whimpered. She lifted her beak and screamed again, this time in sorrow.

"I know you, Gabby!" She cried. "I love you! A-and I...I know you're hurting and I-I want to help! Let me help you!" She stood once more and panic set in. "J-Just come back to me! Let me explain!"

The hen ran through the brush and around trees, hopping over logs, and searching around large rock formations, hoping desperately that her eyes would spot movement, that Gabby would merely be around the nearest bend. That she'd be waiting and Gilda could pull her close.

She wasn't though and Gilda screeched in desperation, a cry similar to when a mother hen has lost her child. Gilda had never made the sound before, but it felt right. It felt so damn right in her heart and she did it again.

"Please...Gabby I can't, I can't take this!" She warbled weakly as her steps took her over dirt, then stone, then...shaped stone?

Gilda blinked in surprise, and slowed to a stop. Down around her feet, cut stones, old and worn down, but definitely pony made, stretched half visibly out in front of her. This was some kind of ancient road.

Sucking in a haggard choked breath, she started following it. The road led down a sort of clear winding path, the occasional tree base breaking up the stone work with large root structures. At one point the canopy opened enough for her to see the stars again, and she sighed, wiping at her cheeks to clear up the wetness.

She knew vaguely about Gabby's past with her horrible father and the terrible things he'd done to her, so it made sense that Gabby was afraid of deeper love...but couldn't she give Gilda some credit? She wasn't like that, she wanted nothing more than to love and protect Gabby.

Maybe that's how her father said it too. His atrocious actions had conditioned her to believe love was painful. Gilda thought as she meandered down the path.

I guess that means anything I do, I need to do it slowly. Gabby isn't remotely ready to handle ...well,heavier stuff. Gilda felt her rear end spike in sensations at the thought of mating. Those feelings fell away pretty quickly though. Gabby was no where near ready for such things.

Gilda let her eyes wander over each stone as she walked, her vision catching the subtle differences between each slab. The road told her an interesting story.

The road had been through a lot. Built by masters of their craft, the stones had once been precisely placed next to one another. With time and neglect, they now were upturned, damaged, or cracked. Worn down by weather, eroded by mother nature's ever growing strength.

Gabby was similar. While her road might look better, the path she'd taken, no, the path she'd been forced down, was filled with bumps, damage, and misaligned feelings. She put on a smile to hide the cracks, she assisted others as much as she could to hide that she needed help, and she kept it close to her heart to hide from the pain of acknowledgement.

Gilda warbled quietly as she moved, realizing that the best thing for Gabby, might not actually be just her.

"With all this fear, she needs to see a professional about it. Someone that can guide her and ease her pain so she can accept it and move on..." Gilda murmured. "Or work with it, I guess the pain never really will go away, but I hope I can make it easier for her."

She stumbled suddenly when the road dropped a bit. looking up she found herself at a cliff side, the old bridge had fallen into the depths below a long time ago. Gilda saw beyond the crossing point was a massive structure, ancient and also worn down by time.

"Some sort of fortress, looks like." She mumbled. Rainbow Dash had said once that there were some ruins in the Everfree forest, but Gilda hadn't really been listening at the time. They held little importance to a griffon after all, but what was important to Gilda at the moment was that the fortress was a potential place Gabby might have disappeared to. She easily flew over the gap in the cliff side, and then made her way up the steps. At the doorway she felt hope surge in her chest.

There was a small dark feather just in the doorway, and it looked like the door had been firmly moved not to long ago. Leaning closer the feather, Gabby's scent filled her beak nares. She nearly screeched in joy, but then caught herself. Gabby would be scared, flighty, and wanting space most likely. Bursting in there all bombastically would scare her off again. Taking a moment to compose her self, Gilda calmly entered the area and looked around.

The main hall was in shambles from years of misuse. Tapestries that once held colorful hues were faded and ragged. One side of the hall was blown outward from some kind of explosion. The burn marks around the lower stones still attached the wall gave that way. A couple nearby bookshelves still stood amazingly, but their contents were well beyond dust. An old set of doors on both sides of the room led deeper into the structure. There were two stair cases that curved around the room to connect to one another, on a raised platform. Two thrones, one marble white, and the other, onyx black, sat empty. Above them, a pair of large banners swung, the faded symbols of the sun and moon being their only noteworthy designs.

Gilda opened her mouth in a slow exaggerated "oh" shape but made no sound. She knew where she was now. The ancient pony capital.

Extra time spent scanning the area proved fruitless. No other signs of freshly moved objects , paw tracks, or stray feathers gave Gilda any information on where Gabby had gone.

Had Gilda missed her?

She grit her beak, clenched her talons together, and flexed her wings a little. "No, don't give up, this place is massive, she might be somewhere else inside."

Deeper she went.

An hour of searching gave Gilda hope that Gabby had indeed passed through the castle. Her scent was present in several rooms, her paw prints had come into view after a couple hallways had passed by, giving Gilda the impression that Gabby had flown down them before landing. A knocked over suit of armor in one of the more untouched hallways gave her more confidence that Gabby was still present.

Then she saw light from a nearby doorway. Crouching and slinking up to the ancient wood, Gilda peered through the crack. The room beyond was old like everything else but there was a pile of hay as well. Dusty old hay it might have been, but it made for a bare bones nest at a moment's notice too. Gilda knew of mother hens that still gathered twigs and hay when they were nearing their nesting cycles. A deep instinct to build a nest out of natural implements from their avian sides, a trait that Gilda hoped she personally didn't have.

Gabby lay in the nest, curled up tightly and breathing slowly. Gilda gently eased the door open and crept inside. Taking care to close the door all the way without much noise. No point in finding Gabby only to let her escape again. Gilda then dropped to her belly, and lay down in front of the door. Resting her head on her claws, she simply watched Gabby as the hen slept. She saw puffy cheeks, dark stained feathers, and erratic twitching, it all told Gilda that they had both been in pretty deep turmoil.

She must have fallen asleep from the stress. Gilda thought. She curled up too, trying to look as calm and comfortable as she could. She could tell sleep was coming to her as well.

Not sure how long we were out here, but it's late now... She didn't want to go to sleep, she wanted to make sure she was awake when Gabby woke up, so they could talk...but not much later she ended up drifting off against those wishes.

"Love you, Gabby" She murmured as she fell away to dreams.

Gilda woke maybe a couple hours later, to the feeling of fur and feathers gliding over hers. She blinked blearily and lifted her head to find Gabby had gotten up, crossed the room, and was shuffling up against her side as carefully as she could. The hen was already crying, sniffling, and warbling lightly as she gripped Gilda's wing gently around the edge and drew it over her side. Gabby then cutely nosed her beak under Gilda's left forearm so it draped over her shoulder, and pushed her nape against Gilda's neck feathers. The smaller hen's head came to rest gently under Gilda's beak. Gilda lowered her head in the same motion so it felt natural, and Gabby didn't seem to notice.

Gabby sucked in a shaky breath, and started talking quietly, unaware that Gilda had woken up.

"Y-you damn hen...you damn wonderful, perfect, terrifying, glorious hen...why can't I just have you? I need it...I need your strength, your confidence, y-your love." Gilda watched as Gabby not once looked up at her and noticed she was listening.

There is so much pain in your eyes Gabby.I want to take it all away and give you those things.

"After he...a-after what he...I-I couldn't...I just couldn't let anyone close, I couldn't trust anyone. I lost faith that other griffons were safe. Everyone could be the same, ya know? The other toms might just see me as a toy...a plaything, l-like he did. A-a means to an end...he always said." She murmured. She nuzzled Gilda's neck and chirped lightly.

"Even now, I fear your touch...but..." Gabby nuzzled a little harder.

"I...I want you Gilda...I want you to take me in your nest and love me...so much, e-every night I crave for your claws to h-hold me close...b-but then my fear takes hold and I lose control...what if...what if you are like him...and try to--"

Gilda gripped Gabby's chest with both her talons and pulled her close, startling the hen. Gabby froze up and jerked her eyes to meet Gilda's.

Gilda stared at the wall a moment longer, then her eyes slowly slanted down to look at Gabby. They both were crying it seemed. "I'm not y-your father, Gabby." She whispered. "I promise you I'd never--"

Gabby gave a full body twitch, it was all the warning Gilda got before Gabby started thrashing in her arms.

"Get off! L-let go of me!"

Gilda did so without even fighting it. Her arm and talons flopped to the floor and her wing drooped as Gabby's weight disappeared. The golden hen watched as her friend and lover, in fear, fell over backwards and scooted into the corner. Growling weakly, hyperventilating, gripping her arms and wrapping her wings around herself, Gabby started crying harder.

"Y-you were awake!?" She gasped and sucked in air. "I...I t-thought you w-were..."

Gilda simply lay her head back down. "I know, Gabby...I know..." She huffed, blowing dust up in front of her in swirls. As it settled she slanted her gaze to Gabby.

"Gabby...I'm so sorry." Gilda crooned gently, slowly sat up right but still stayed laying down. She didn't make eye contact and gently rubbed at her cheeks. "I uhm, I found out about the letters when y-you were in the hospital..."

"W-what?"

Gilda fell silent for a time, Gabby shuffled her feathers and looked anywhere but Gilda as she thought it over. "S-so then the next letters...it was all an act?" She grimaced and glared at Gilda. "You were f-faking it, you were lying to me t-that night with the n-noodle!"

Gilda shook her head adamantly. "No, no it was never an act, Gabby. It was still real, because those letters were...are real. They are written from your heart, and the letters I wrote back were from mine. I still love reading them, because it brought me closer to understanding you. It helped me grow too."

Gabby looked away, seeming conflicted. "I...I can't believe that Gilda, not entirely...you...why didn't you just tell me then?!" she hissed in anger. "Why keep me in the dark about it?" Gabby sniffled and wiped her eyes with a talon. "I...I even told you about h-him, you know what I've been through..."

Gilda slowly lifted a claw and pointed at her, a sad frown on her beak. "It's because of that actually...I saw you for once...for real. The real Gabby griffon. Behind those forced smiles, the over cheerfulness, I saw the real hen hidden underneath all that..." she paused just keeping her gaze locked on Gabby's. "All that fear..." She clasped her claws together, "Also, you made it pretty clear in your letters that a direct confrontation of the truth would cause this."

Gilda lowered her gaze first. "It...it really hurt to see how scared you were, so I sought to understand why, and I needed to know more about the hen who loved me...The letters helped in that regard. Plus, you worked very hard, Gabby. You planned the letters, the drop off locations, hell, the paper was special even! Then that enchanted flower, the petals, all of it! I was...I am proud of you..."

Gilda scooted closer and then paused when Gabby flinched back. Gilda faltered and sat back down, rubbing an arm. "Look, Gabby, I'm not going to push you away. I'm not...I'm not gonna say no to your love!" Gilda stood taller but her voice remained gentle.

"What I heard you say moments ago...You want me to love you like you said? Hold you every night in my nest?" Gilda watched Gabby's eyes track back up to hers. "I will. Gabby I will hold you and do so as long as you need or want me too! I..." She lifted a paw and then thought better of it.

"I'm not gonna force you to come over to me, not with how you've been treated, and I won't encroach on your space right now, but...if you're willing," Gilda lay down on her belly and lifted her wing in an arch, the same way a mother would for a hatchling and then lowered her head.

"I'd really like to hold you now...I do love you, Gabby."

Several moments went by where Gabby went from flinching away, to trying to move closer. Her mind was so conflicted that Gilda could see the war in her friend's eyes. Eventually Gabby gabbed her head with her glaws and screeched in sorrow and fear. She backed right up into the corner, the hen vehemently shaking her head. She started sobbing into her claws, curling into a ball. Her wings shook and the feathers rattled as she cried.

"I-I can't! I can't d-do it!" Gilda started crying harder too, just watching her friend. Gabby screeched again. "I...I can't...I can't...not yet...please...no..."

Gilda rest her head on her paws and sighed.

"O-okay, Gabby. lets...let's just take t-this slowly alright?" She lowered her wing and warbled sadly. "I'm here for you, you're not alone...not anymore..."

Gabby sobbed harder. "I...I wanna hold you...I really do, l-laying next to you on the train...it felt so wonderful..."

"But..." Gilda said quietly. "You need time...right?"

Gabby vigorously nodded. "T-too much pain...too much fear....can't...can't escape it..."

Gilda sighed and slowly sat up. "Okay, then I'll give you as much time as you need. We are running on high emotions due the heat cycle anyway...so...maybe some space is a good thing...I don't like it, but we'll work it out."

Gabby gave Gilda a very weak smile, it felt forced, but in her current position, Gilda would take what she could get.

"Thank you very much, come again." Gilda said quietly. She barely made eye contact with her customer. Her heart just wasn't in it today.

No shit my heart is upstairs in Gabby's room.

The griffon across the counter, an older tom with dark purple plumage that visited often, tilted his head at her in confusion.

"Erm, of course, First Pillar..." He stood there a moment longer, enough for it to be annoying, before he turned and left the café. Gilda grumbled something unacceptable for customers to hear and then slipped back into the kitchen. 'Going through the motions', a term that she'd heard when a creature was mentally lost, came to mind as Gilda worked.

It fit too, and she hated it. The train ride back with Gabby had been very uncomfortable. Hell the walk back to Zecora's was even worse. Gabby would only let Gilda get so close before she got jumpy or tried to run away. Gilda ended up taking the lead and letting Gabby follow her back by twenty or so feet. Finding their way back hadn't actually been hard because Gabby knew how to find The Zebra's hut when lost.

What was hard was that Zecora had been outside her hut waiting for them, intent on apologizing for her actions, but neither griffon would accept it or in the moment, even acknowledge it.

Well maybe Gabby did, a little, but Gilda was furious with the damn mare. She was lucky one punch was all she got.

And I'm lucky she didn't have me arrested for assault. Then again she did technically drug us...so that might hold up in pony court. Who knew, who cared.

The walk into town had been better, but mostly because of how early it was. No one was even awake, and the local guard took one look at the morose pair of hens and left them alone. Gilda had murmured to Gabby that they should look into some private counseling for her, but the hen had soured at the idea almost immediately.

"I'm not crazy, Gilda, I'm fine..." Gilda had quietly disagreed with her, but let it go after that. Arguing with a person who needed help, was a battle she didn't think she knew how to win.

They'd made it to the train station and simply sat twenty feet apart after getting their tickets. With both of them being in the full swing of their heat cycles, and not having the dampening effects of the beads, it was gonna be rough on both of them. Gilda genuinely worried that Gabby might try to take the next train, or that she'd get a ticket in a different car, but a surreptitious glance at the pay stub from the previous sale while she purchased her ticket, told her Gabby would be close by.

The train ride itself had been awkward because they'd been forced to sit a booth across from each other. For some reason, the early train that morning, had been full to the brim with reporter ponies and journalists headed to Canterlot. Something Big was going on up at the capital and they were like predators diving at easy prey.

Which meant they wanted to talk to anyone they could, including the two sad looking griffons.

Well one of those sad griffons became a very angry griffon very quickly after the third attempt at inquiry. Gilda was not in the mood.

A fourth attempt never happened.

Gilda glanced at the stairs to the apartment. Gabby hadn't come down at all the next day, or the day after that. When Gilda brought her some food, the hen had said she'd already eaten. Gilda hadn't believed her until she'd been taking the trash out and caught a delivery griffon outside their house handing Gabby a meal through the window of her bedroom.

She's doing everything she can to avoid me and it's not just because we are in heat...Grover's crown, this sucks.

Thankfully Gilda still had the special balm Gabby had loaned her, and was able to block the scent of the males that came into the café. Most of them also were well aware she owned a red brooch, and didn't try anything untoward. A couple embarrassed teen toms complimented her scent and feathers, but she ignored them.

Gilda half heartedly started kneading at some dough on a cutting board. All she could do now was make sure Gabby knew she was safe to come to Gilda whenever she was ready. Gabby was safe in her home, in Gilda's nest, In her arms, it didn't matter where. Gilda would do what she needed to to make sure Gabby knew that. She paused in her movements and simply sighed, closing her eyes and pinching the bridge of her nose, caring little that she'd smeared flour on her beak.

"I need to find a way to tell her." She grumbled. "Things can't go on like this." Scooping up the dough, she dumped it back in its bag and put it in the freezer box, before washing up. The bell jingled as she came back out into the main café area as a younger griffon tom entered. She blinked, she knew him, he was the griffon that worked a couple desks over from Gabby...what was his name again?

He glanced around hopefully and then his wings drooped when he failed to find what he was looking for. He came over to the counter. Reaching into his bag, he withdrew some mail for her and handed it over.

"Hey, um, Gilda, got some mail for ya."

She nodded, accepting it and watching him. He sniffed the air a couple times and then blushed and looked at the stairs.

She sighed. "You looking for Gabby?" she asked quietly.

He nodded, trilling quietly. "I...I was hoping to see her, yeah..."

Gilda grimaced as she looked over the mail. Bills, that's all it ever was. "Well she's not coming down from her room...Girl is shook up at the moment, what was your name again?"

He wilted further. "Y-you forgot my name?"

She growled. "Yes, I forgot your name, alright? Half the customers that come in here I subconsciously hear their chatter and names get thrown around as much as the dough I sling, so I tune it out, okay?"

He backed off, putting his claws up defensively, and shuffled his wings, "O-okay, okay...sorry..."

She raised an eyebrow. "So? What's your name?"

He blinked and then snapped out of it. "It's Gunther, ma'am." He scratched at his neck fluff and glanced at the stairs. "Is ah...she okay? Is her injury acting up?"

Gilda shook her head, wiping down the counter top half-heartedly. "No, she's not, and that isn't the cause of it." She too glanced at the stairs and grimaced. "A long term plan of hers was ...well utterly destroyed and it had some personal issues pop up that has her mental state very muddled."

Gilda looked at Gunther and saw his feather droop farther. The damn kid looked like he was melting. His eyes were downcast as he clasped his talons together. "O-oh...well I hope she gets well soon, we miss her at work." He gave a small smile up to Gilda. "She means a lot to us."

She nodded. "I know, bud, I know. She...She means a lot to me too."

Gunther twiddled his claws a second or two later before he turned and left, wishing her well. She let him go, and her eyes fell to the bills on the counter.

An idea struck suddenly and she perked up. That was it! She knew how to get through to Gabby!

Energy quite suddenly revitalized, Gilda hopped over the counter and put the 'back in five-ISH' sign on the counter. Hopping the stairs three at a time, she burst into the living room and was thankful for once that Gabby wasn't down stairs. She slunk upstairs to her room, giving Gabby's door a glance, and finding it still closed, she slipped into her room unhindered.

She opened the drawer to her desk and pulled out parchment and several quills, two ink bottles and a dabbing cloth, before she sat down and set the paper in front of her.

Gabby wrote Gilda letters to show her feelings, and it really seemed to boost her confidence.

Gilda would do the same. Better yet, now she knew what Gabby was to her, she'd said it once before to herself too. If Gilda was a rose...

She set the quill to paper....

"To my one and only lover, and my Song..."

Author's Note

--Bird with a broken wing-- by owl city. GO LISTEN TO THIS.

that song started playing as I wrote this...it ah...totally made me teary eyed...

OKAY I CRIED. and ...I genuinely enjoyed it.

I hope as much that you enjoyed this chapter. It gets better from here ^^ I promise.