Tough Love

Chapters

A Simple Hangout
A Bit of Help
Break It Up

A Simple Hangout

Griffonstone was currently in progress towards reformation, thanks to the new ambassador of Griffonstone, Gilda. Although there are a few mishaps along the way, there’ll still be hope for a bright and better future for the kingdom. For Gilda, it was just the beginning, there’s still a long way towards success. She did face different challenges before ever since she was appointed as ambassador of Griffonstone by Princess Twilight, especially last time when she and the other leaders of different kingdoms were transformed into different creatures from a magical geode and went to the mountains to find another magical geode to transform them back to normal. That was quite an adventure she got.

Her bakery is still under business though, she’s been learning to make other baked goodies aside from those scones she made before. It became a success when the customers enjoyed the taste of those delicious treats. There are, of course, a lot of blunders along the way, especially with the prices.

Gilda was just sitting in front of the wooden counter of her bakery tapping her talons on the top slab and her claw bagging onto her head. Feeling a bit bored, she looked around for a while without turning her head. She was making homemade bread, which it’ll take 20-25 minutes to be fully baked. Yes, she was waiting for it to be done. She perked up as she heard a loud ding from the timer. She quickly wore on a pair of oven mittens and opened the oven door to take out a loaf of bread on a baking tray. She placed it on another counter beside it to cool down while she placed another tray with round smooth clumps of raw dough with small bits of, what it looks like, chocolate chips into the oven before closing the door. As she started the timer again, Greta walked in with Gabby, both of them carrying some bags.

“Okay, just place them in the closet,” Greta said to Gabby. The mail griffon did as she was told and start moving the bags into the back of the bakery. Greta sniffed at the smell of freshly-baked bread. “Wow, Gilda, you weren’t kidding when this would smell good.”

“Well, if I’ve been making scones for so long, I might as well try something new,” Gilda said. “Wanna slice of it?”

Greta looked outside before answering, “I will, but just give us some help with these bags first.”

Gilda nodded before lending a claw. In these bags were ingredients perfect for a bakery. Flours, sugar, yeast, everything Gilda would need to bake a variety of pastries.

“Where did you get these anyway?” Greta asked.

“From Pinkie Pie. She offered to help get some supplies for my business. I think it’s about time I did more than just scones.”

“Oh boy! Are you going to do muffins next?” Gabby asked with excitement.

“I’m trying out cookies right now. They should be ready in about… ten minutes." The brought a smile to Gabby's face as she soon brought in the last of the groceries.

"Oh, by the way, I've got some letters for you." The mail griffon pulled two letters out from her saddlebag before she carried the last of the ingredients into the closet. Gilda took a look at the first letter, which had a purple stamp seal shaped like a star. The ambassador of Griffonstone used her talon to open the letter up and took a look at what was in the envelope.

Dear Gilda,

I’m hoping that your settling in well. As you're now an ambassador, it's very important that you must take part in monthly meetings to discuss with other leaders about the future of Equestria and other kingdoms and our relationships with different creatures like you. We'll be having other species joining us for the first time and I’m hoping you'll bring a good first impression.

Sincerely, Princess Twilight Sparkle.

"Huh, a letter from the princess," Gilda commented.

"What's the reason?" Greta asked.

"Some new creatures. I think I met a few at the Grand Galloping Gala. It shouldn't be too bad."

"Well, good luck with that." Greta walked outside to see if she and Gabby had forgotten anything. While they did that, Gilda took a look at the second letter she was given. It looked like it had a couple of scorch marks on it and felt a little heavier than it should've been. The envelope was much larger than the one from the princess.

Opening it up, Gilda was shocked to find a stone tablet inside. That explained why it weighed so much. She placed it down on the counter so she could read it.

Dear Gilda,

I enjoyed our time when spent at the Grand Galloping Gala last time. I’m glad I’m not the only creature who’s trying to make for their mistakes. I’m hoping that we could visit each other when we have the chance to. We could probably share more than just poetry. Dragon Lord Ember and my sister, Smolder, suggested it would be nice if I tried other hobbies like sculpting. Maybe could talk about how things have been doing. I’d like to get out of the Dragon Lands more often and we could have a nice chat.

Sincerely, Garble.

“Wait, Garble?” Gilda pondered. “Oh right, he was that dragon I met.”

“Who are you talking about?” Greta asked.

“Oh, it’s just someone I met at the Grand Galloping Gala last time. We became best of friends given our history of... acting like bullies,” she replied with the air quote gesture on the last phrase.

“Don’t be like that. Anyways, you said he’s a dragon?”

“Yeah. I’ve told you about Garble, right?”

“Ah, that’s who you’re talking about. Does Garble go those meetings?”

“No, aside from me, the meeting just consists of the rulers of the other kingdoms. I think Garble usually just stays in the Dragon Lands to my knowledge.”

“Well, when he decides to get out more, let me know how it goes.”

“Will do.” Gilda doubled checked Twilight’s letter and could see the date when their first meeting with the new creatures would begin. The date was written on the bottom left. It was only in a few days and it would give Gilda plenty of time to prepare. She heard the timer ding signaling that the cookies were finished baking. Putting her pair of oven mittens back on, she took out the hot tray and set the cookies out to cool.

Meanwhile, Garble was pulling some gems out of some stone as Ember walked over to him. He saw her and halted for a while.

“So, did she get my message?” the drake asked.

“I’m pretty sure that Gabby, I think that’s what the name was, got the slab there,” Ember answered. “She’s a really determined griffon.”

“You think that Gilda will have time to hang out?”

“From what I know about Griffonstone, she’s probably got plenty of time on her talons. Besides, you’re really similar and I think you’d have a lot to talk about.”

“Yeah. I do hope it goes well.” He then continued pulling out the gems.

“Hey, you’ve done some stupid things in the past, but you’re making up for it. You’re not the worst creature I’ve seen.”

“That’s true.” He breaks one stone and found crystals in it, knowing it as a geode. “Ooh, cool, a geode.”

“A what?!” Garble was a little confused by the Dragon Lord’s comment. “It’s nothing.” Ember decided to leave before she spilled any more information. She knew about the last time when she turned into a hippogriff by the same stone.

The next day, Garble was playing with baby Cinder. The baby dragon giggled as the older one tickled her. Once Garble stopped, he was a little confused by Cinder’s expression. It looked like she saw something. Garble looked behind him and could see a certain griffon flying closer to him.

“Gilda?” he said with a surprised look.

The griffon landed nearby and walked over to the drake. “Yep, that’s me,” she confirmed. She looked around at the Dragon Lands. She was pretty impressed. “So, this is your home?”

“Yep. It’s a tough place, perfect for a dragon. I’d be careful around the pools of lava though.”

“Noted. So, are there any notable things around here?”

“Well, we have some streams for lava boarding.”

“Hmm, you have anything that won’t burn me to a crisp?” Gilda then noticed the baby dragon he was holding. “Who’s that little fella you’re holding?”

“Oh, this? Meet my young sister, Cinder.” He held the baby dragon up to the griffon to which Cinder reacted out for. Gilda carefully picked her up and the baby dragon grabbed her beak.

“She is really cute.”

“Yeah. Can’t wait to see what she’s like with wings.”

“Wait, how do you get wings? I thought that was something you were born with.”

“Not really. It’s a process called Molting. Follow me and I’ll tell you more about it.” Gilda handed Cinder back to Garble and they walked off as the griffon was told about the molting process.

“Okay, so you get pimples and smell like a toilet before you turn into an explosive statue?”

“… Pretty much.”

“It’s… kind of surprising to me.”

“If it makes you feel better, that thing about dragons forced out of their homes is a bit of a myth. It’s often spoken as a way to motivate others as we are old enough to live on our own once we have wings.”

“Makes sense to me. Is there anything else unique to dragons?”

“Well, around here there are underground rivers of lava. We use that to help heat the eggs for the hatching season.”

“I’m surprised they would need them. I feel like I’m going to sweat a waterfall here. I was freezing when I was in Griffonstone.”

“Whenever you need a place to warm up, you can come here anytime.”

“You know, Garble, let me ask you something, have you ever wanted to go other places like Mount Aris, Yakyakistan, the Changelings’ Hive, have you ever been to Ponyville?”

“I don’t think so, I’ve been here for a long time. What are those places like?”

“Well, I think Yakyakistan might be out of the subject until Spring because I’m having enough of winter right now and that place is super winter. Plus, it’s a mountain village.”

“Isn’t Mount Aris one too?”

“Well, yeah, but it’s kind of interesting. I’ve heard that it’s two different kingdoms, one on land and the other in the sea.”

“I think Dragon Lord Ember told me about that. How do they survive underwater.”

“The hippogriffs have a magical pearl piece that can turn them into seaponies. I’ve only seen hippogriffs use it. I have no idea what it does to griffons or dragons like you and me.”

“And I don’t want to know. I like being a dragon.”

“And I’m good with being a griffon. Anyways, what did you want to show me?” Garble pointed to a steep slope that had a couple of boulders on it.

“I figured since lava would be too dangerous for you, I thought we’d try the next best thing; surfing down this cliff.”

“Boy, that sounds dangerous.” The two flew up to the top of the incline and Garble placed Cinder down in a safe area. As he soon got two large stone slabs big enough to be surfboards. “You know I’ve never surfed before.”

“Relax, I’ll help you on the first ride.” Garble placed one of the slabs in front of Gilda to which she stepped onto it. Garble started pushing the slab closer to the edge of the slope. Once the board started tipping, Gilda started sliding down the hill. The griffon instinctively had her wings spread in case things were to go wrong. Garble flew by her side to make sure she was safe as they are closer to the bottom.

Gilda soon slid to a stop a little shaken from her first ride but she kind of enjoyed it. “Man, I think I just got an adrenaline rush.”

“That’s good, isn’t it?”

“It is for me. Let’s have another race this time.” Garble liked the sound of that and they took the slab board back to the top.

Cinder was asleep so she didn’t take any notice of the dragon and griffon starting to race each other, they had a blast. Garble even tried pulling off a couple of tricks, impressing her. Gilda tried a couple of stunts herself, but the slab was quite heavy. That didn’t prevent the two from enjoying themselves.

When they returned to the top again, Cinder had woken up and was starting to cry. “I was afraid of this,” Garble sighed.

He picked up the baby dragon and tried cradling her. The drake flew off to find his bongos to try and play some music for the bawling baby. Gilda followed behind feeling a little concerned. “Come on, where did I leave them?”

“What are you looking for?” the griffon questioned.

“My bongos. Just... Could you hold Cinder for a minute?” Gilda agreed and the drake handed her the crying baby so Garble would have an easier time find his bongos.

“Oh, why did I agree to this? Uh... Hey little guy. Don’t cry.” Gilda tried tickling the bawling baby to little success. She tried hugging which seemed to make lessen the crying. She felt the baby dragon rubbing her claws on her soft feathers and fur. Cinder hugged Gilda tightly as it was nice to feel something soft as her in a land with jagged rocks.

Eventually, Garble flew back to them are getting his bongos back. “Okay, that took longer than I thought,” he admitted. He was quite surprised when he found Cinder hugging the griffon. “I can see that she likes you.”

“Yeah, you can say that.” Garble chuckled and sat down as he started playing a little beat to which Cinder started giggling. “Smoke and flares, lions and bears. Carry on, just beware, things tend to happen without care.” These weren’t the lyrics Gilda would think would be for a baby, but Cinder seemed to be enjoying it. The baby dragon would soon start getting tired from the poetry and fell asleep.

“Man, she is cute.”

“Yeah. Though, I think Cinder is going to cause a few issues. I have to keep watching her for the rest of the day.”

“Listen, I understand. I have a baking business to get back to in Griffonstone.” Gilda handed the baby back to Garble before she started flapping her wings. “Should we try this again soon?”

“Ugh... Yeah, that would be great. How does tomorrow sound?”

“I’ll try and make it work. See you soon, Garble.” Gilda flew off back to Griffonstone as Garble gave a bashful wave. The griffon was a little puzzled by it but she kept flying back home.

It was a long way back from the Dragon Lands to Griffonstone. She finally arrived back home and landed on the rocky ground, just right beside her bakery. When Gilda got into her bakery, she found Greta, with a grumpy look, holding a snowball, pressing it onto her left eye.

“What are you doing with that?” Gilda questioned, feeling a bit puzzled. Greta just placed the snowball down to reveal a black eye. “What the heck happened, Greta?!”

“Somegriff doesn’t want to pay a full price for the cookies,” Greta groaned before placing the snowball back on her bruise as her concerned friend walked over to her. “When I told them they couldn’t have it any cheaper, they couldn’t accept that and just smacked me with a bag of bits.”

“Are you sure you’re okay with that black eye?”

“I’ll be fine.”

“That’s what I thought. Maybe you should take a rest. I’ll handle the bakery for the rest of the day.”

“Hey, I’m not letting you get treated like that.”

“You can’t keep going like this, Greta.”

“Look, you know what Griffonstone is like, you either fight back or get stomped on. Period.”

“Greta, Princess Twilight wants griffons to know more about friendship. That’s not how friendship works. I think you should take a break before your anger gets the better of you.”

Gilda’s friend took a deep breath before responding. “Okay, fine. I’m getting tired anyway. Give me a call if you need help.”

“Will do.” Gilda took a look at some of the muffins that she had on display and decided to give one of them to the bruise griffon. “Here, take this.”

“What are you doing?”

“Clearly, you need this. You’ve deserved it.”

“Alright. Thank Gilda.” Greta promptly hugged her friend, much to Gilda’s shock before heading to the door. She took a bite of the muffin and it tasted terrific. “Man, Gilda, you were right to get those ingredients from that pink party pony. Tell her I said thanks.”

“Can do.” With that, Greta left the bakery leaving Gilda to her business.

A few hours and a few problematic customers later, Gilda began closing up shop. She saw Gabby returning from Ponyville. “Hi Gilda,” the mail griffon said. She gave a tired yawn.

“Long day?” Gilda asked.

“Yeah. I’ve been helping deliver mail from the Dragon Lands, Changeling Hive, Mount Aris, and Yakyakistan.”

“I thought you were just delivering mail for Griffonstone only.”

“They don’t have one for the other kingdoms, so I volunteered.”

“You sure it’s not going to be too much for you? I’m starting to feel very concerned about you.”

“I’ll let them know if I start struggling.” She then looked around for a bit. “By the way, have you seen Greta?”

“Um, she left a couple of hours ago. She should be home by now. Why’d you ask?”

“Oh, I just want to tell her about some news. I heard about an 8-year-old griffon’s being adopted in Cloudsdale.” This news made Gilda felt shocked in excitement.

“Wait, really!?”

“Yeah. You want to hear about it?”

“Sure, I’ll be there in a minute. I just have to close the bakery first.” Gabby nodded before she walked off leaving Gilda to finish up.

Later, the three griffons met up so Gabby could explain the event of the griffon adopted in Cloudsdale. “So, that kid’s got a new home? Good for him,” Greta commented.

“Yeah, it’s about time something like this happened,” Gabby commented. “How soon do you think others are going to be adopted?”

“Most likely very soon,” Gilda said. “I hope this place gets a new makeover. Look at that building, it’s falling apart.” The griffons looked over to a partially collapsed building.

“You’ve got a point, this place is very depressing.”

“Hopefully Princess Twilight will have a plan to get this place fixed up.”

“Good point,” Greta commented, and then faced Gilda. “Gilda, when do you go to that meeting?”

“In a few days,” Gilda answered. “I’ll be sure to bring up this place’s condition.”

“Please do. Honestly, I’m a little worried about my roof caving in.”

“I’ll bring it up, don’t worry.”

“Thanks, Gilda.”

“Your eye is looking a lot better.”

“It feels better. You managed the bakery?”

“Just fine. I told you I could manage on my own.”

“Well, you know I’m just worried about this place getting the better of us.”

“I understand that.”

“You know, if you have an important role such as ambassador, you should probably get to bed early,” Gabby suggested.

“Probably a good idea,” Greta commented with a chuckle. She looked towards Gilda who just rolled her eyes.

“Alright, I know it’s two against one here,” Gilda stated. “I’ve already closed the bakery.” The griffon each went back to their homes to get comfy for the night.

Since Rainbow Dash had visited Gilda and their friendship had been repaired Greta and Gilda had moved in with each other. They had some nests, which were the best things most griffons could use as beds, which Gilda and Greta lied down in. “So, how was Garble?” Greta asked.

“A nice guy. Got to listen to some more of his poetry. We weren’t able to do much because he was babysitting.”

“Ah. Oh, so he’s good with kids.”

“It seemed like.” Gilda yawned as she lay her head down. “Night, Greta.”

“Goodnight, Gilda.” The two griffons soon fell asleep to prepare themselves for the next day.

The next day, Garble was hanging out with his friends as they collected some more gemstones. A black and green one had decided to ask Garble a few questions. “So, you’ve met this griffon at the…”

“Grand Galloping Gala,” Garble finished.

“Sounds pretty nice,” the dragon commented. “Think you try and get me an invite?”

“It depends if you like the place where you stand around, talk, and sometimes dance.” Garble’s friends thought about it as the red drake saw something flying towards them. It was Gilda, who had some saddlebags with her. Garble waved to her and the griffon soon landed beside him.

“Told you I’d be back tomorrow,” Gilda chuckled.

“Glad you could make it.” He then turned to one of the dragons, Baff, to introduce Gilda. “Baff, I want you to meet my friend, Gilda.”

The black and green dragon shook Gilda’s talon. “Nice to meet you,” Baff greeted.

“Nice to meet you as well,” she added. Baff then noticed the saddlebags she carried beside her.

“What’s in the bags?”

“Some pastries from my bakery,” the griffon answered. This grabbed the attention of a couple of Garble’s friends, particularly one with brown scales and blue horns.

“Don’t mind if I do,” he chuckled. He was about to reach into Gilda’s bag until Garble slapped his claw.

“Clump, really?” he questioned. “She just got here.”

“Hey, I’m like a moth to a flame. I can’t help it.”

“Look, just because I want us to get along well, I’ll show you what I have,” Gilda said. She opened her bag and showed what she had. Cookie, muffins, even one of her newest pastries, banana bread. “Choose wisely guys. I’ve only got so much of this stuff.” She handed the muffin to Clump, who enjoyed the chocolate chips in it.

Gilda took notice of a purple and blonde dragon, who looked to be lacking energy. When Gilda offered him one of the cookies the drake just snatched it from the griffon. “He’s not himself at the minute,” Garble explained.

“What happened?”

“He got rejected from Prominence. He’s been trying to date her for a while.”

“That’s rough.” Spear just groaned while he munched the cookie he got. “So, what are you guys doing now?”

“We’re just collecting some gemstones. Wanna join?” Gilda agreed to join the other dragons in their gem hunting.

“So, what kind of gems do you find around here?”

“Usually rubies, sapphires, emeralds, common stuff. Some of them like amethyst or diamonds are hard to find. Good luck if you find any.”

“Hmm, I could use a couple of these to help pay off Pinkie Pie.” Gilda tried to pull off one of the gemstones from the wall, but she had a bit of trouble. She tried holding onto her paws and push harder, but it still won’t budge. “Come on.”

“Hang on, let me help.” Garble grabbed onto the gem that the griffon was struggling with and pulled it out without much issue. He then handed it to her who placed it into her bag. The next gem Gilda saw she tried to break it free by smashing it with a rock. She gave it a couple of whacks but it looked to be damaging the rock more than losing the gem.

Eventually, after a couple of whacks, the rock broke apart in Gilda’s talons. “Darn it!” Garble helped her out again and just easily yanked the gemstone out of the wall.

“I feel that dragons are some of the only creatures strong enough to do this.” He then threw it to Gilda, and she caught it with both claws.

“Yeah, I could tell.” Gilda then kept it in her bag, together with the other one she just got.

“Listen, if you’re not liking this, we can try something else.”

“Like what?”

“Well, what kind of things do you do in Griffonstone?”

“Most of the activities in Griffonstone are trying to get money out of each other, no matter how fair it is.”

“Kind of sound like old school dragons, just less physical.”

“Exactly.” Gilda found another gemstone that looked a lot bigger than the rest. “Boy, look at this gemstone right here.”

“Yeah, that’s almost twice as big as regular gemstones. I’ll try to get it some other time.”

“Say, Garble, you think we could try that cliff surfing again?”

“Yeah, sure, we can do that.” Garble then turned to his pals. “You guys want to join us?”

“I’m good,” Baff said. “I’m still going to find some gems.”

“Suit yourself.” Garble and Gilda flew off to cliffs where their stone slabs were waiting for them.

“So, where’s baby Cinder?” Gilda asked.

“My mom’s watching her today. So, it’s just you and me today.”

“Nice.”

He handed Gilda her slab which the griffon struggled a little bit before she got a good grip on it. The two soon skated down the steep incline getting to high speeds. This got Gilda thinking about what else she and Garble could do together. When they both got to the bottom, Gilda got airborne.

“I just had an idea for what we could do,” the griffon said. “How fast can you fly?”

“Not sure. Why do you ask?”

“Griffons are pretty fast. I’d like to see how fast they are compared to a dragon.”

“Sounds good to me. How’s about to that volcano and back?”

“Perfect.”

Both dragon and griffon got onto their feet and unfolded their wings. Right on the count of three, the two took off. Many of the dragons watched them soaring at high speeds. Garble struggled to keep up with Gilda at first but started keeping up thanks to his better stamina. Gilda was starting to get a little tired as she had flown quite a distance from Griffonstone.

The two were soon neck and neck as they passed the volcano. Garble gave his competitor a smug look, which caused Gilda to get angry and motivated her to go faster. The two were starting to come back to where they had started trying their best to keep in the lead, Gilda managed to pull ahead and crash-landed before Garble could land on the ground.

“Are you okay?” the drake asked.

“I’m fine,” the griffon panted. “Still... Beat you.” She let out a tired chuckle which just made Garble smile. He helped her up and the sound of a grumbling stomach could be heard. “Sorry about that. I had a light breakfast.” Gilda looked in her bag and was about to take out one of her pastries when Garble had a suggestion.

“How about some fish?” This confused the griffon a little bit but it started making sense as she was taken to the nearby river. “This place is loaded with fish. We just have to dive in and grab one of the suckers that are swimming by.”

“Don’t you use a fishing pole?”

“Yeah. Usually, we only do that one in the colder weather.” Both of them could feel a nip in the air as they were further away from the lava pools so they didn’t have much heat. Garble got a stick and some string before he dug up some dirt to get a worm and combined them into a fishing pole and tossed the bait into the water. The two waited for something to bite as the cold was starting to get to them.

“How often do you come out here?”

“More often in the summertime than now.”

“Can you take extreme coldest?”

“I honestly don’t know any dragon who was brave enough to test that out.”

“So you guys only stick around the fire and other hot things?”

“That’s true.” After a while of waiting, the two had yet to get any fish. The cold was really bothering them. “Okay, I’m going to dive in and grab one.”

“Are you sure that...” Gilda couldn’t finish as the drake leaped into the cold water and swam around until he managed to pull out two fish. He dropped them on the ground as he shivered from the cold.

“I was about to say that because it was very cold.” Gilda then grabbed the two fishes he just dropped and helped him back to the areas with lava to help warm him up.“You feel better now?”

“Yeah. Much better. Did you bring the fish?” Gilda showed the two average-sized fishes that the drake had caught. Garble grabbed one of them and used his fire breath to cook it. It only charged a few bits but other than that he managed to perfectly cook. He did the same thing to the other fish after handing the cooked one to the griffon. “What do you think?”

“Hmm, a bit bland, but still it’s nice to have some good meat. I think I could try and get some seasoning if you want to go fishing again.”

Garble chuckled. “Don’t hold your breath. I’m not going swimming in this weather again.”

“No sane creature would expect you to.” Both creatures enjoyed their fish, even though it was a little bland. Garble attempted to step out of the lava but still felt a little chilly.

“Man, you think a dip in lava would help warm you up.”

“Yeah. Do you think your fire breath was affected by the water?”

“I’m not sure that’s how it works.”

“Just what I’ve thought.” Gilda then noticed that her bag was in a worse condition than she had left it. It wasn’t exactly burned but there were a couple of rips and all the contents inside were all gone. No gems, no pastries, nothing was in there. Gilda brought her claw to her face. “Gah, I can’t believe I just left my bag unattended like that.”

“Dragons get to them?”

“Yeah.” Garble sympathized with the griffon and got out of the lava, somehow still feeling chilly. “Look, how about I help you find some more gems so you can pay off whatever those things cost.” The two walked back to where the gems were sticking out.

After a couple of tugs, the two managed to fill up Gilda’s bags with enough gems to pay off the ingredients she ordered but still light enough for her to fly home. “Thanks a lot, Garble.”

“No problem. Many dragons are still in their old ways.”

“Same with griffons. Still, hopefully, the future will be brighter. I should probably get going before my bags get messed up again.”

“Right. See you again, Gilda.” The two waved goodbye as the griffon flew off to get back home. Stay so close to hot lava heated her and moving away from the Dragon Lands caused Gilda to get hit by the cold like a brick wall. Still, she fought through the colt and carried on home.

Greta was managing the bakery in Gilda’s absence when the door burst open, nearly breaking off the fragile hinges. Gilda walked in with bits of snow in her feathers and fur. “Are you okay, Gilda?” Greta asked.

“I’m totally fine. Remind me to wear something heavier than a scarf,” Gilda chuckled. She placed her bags on the counter as one of the holes opened up bigger letting one of the gems slip out. Curious, Greta opened the bags to find the rest of the cargo.

“Where did you get these?”

“Dragon Lands, of course. They are like blades of grass in the Dragon Lands. Quick, help me find a spot so other griffons don’t try to steal them.” The two griffons looked around and decided to place the bags of gems behind some stale scones.

“So, how was Garble?”

“Way more fun the second time. We got to have a good race. He’s not as fast as I thought he would be, but man does his stamina make up for it.”

“That’s good to hear.” Greta’s expression and tone appeared to have gone down a touch. Gilda was a little confused as they walked back to the counter.

“Well, it wasn’t all fun. I was so excited to try new things with him, that I accidentally left my bags unattended, letting all of my stuff inside got stolen. Luckily it was only the pastries I brought to the Dragon Lands and Garble was able to help me get a couple of gemstones. They should be more than enough to pay Pinkie back.”

“Right. Anyways, the bakery’s been calmer than yesterday. No griffon is trying to attack me over prices.”

“That’s good to hear. You can take a break now.” Greta smiled as she walked off as her friend took control of the business. Gilda enjoyed the quiet time as she served some customers and baking some pastries. A little while later, Gabby entered the building, shaking off a bit of snow.

“Hi, Gilda. Could you get me anything warm?”

“Sure thing. You’ve actually got perfect timing.” There was a ding from the timer and Gilda took out a couple of freshly baked cookies. “Just give them a minute to cool.”

“Okay. So, I heard from Greta what the Dragon Lands were. She didn’t make it sound that fun.”

“...Is there something wrong?”

“I’m not sure. It kind of sounds like she’s jealous about something. Did you see anything that could’ve upset her?”

“Well, I could’ve sworn I heard her tone changing when I mentioned... Garble.” Gilda paused to think about what this meant. “You think she’s upset because I’m leaving her to do most of the work?”

“Maybe. You are Griffonstone’s ambassador, so you are going to have a lot more to do.”

“That’s true. Still, she knows I want to make this place better. Even though that isn’t that a high bar.”

“Yeah, but if she was upset about that she would’ve been acting cranky before now. You said something about Garble?”

“Yeah, we had much more of a blast this time. Actually, the other time I visited him he waved while I was leaving and seemed to have that kind of grin when you’ve just done something embarrassing.”

“I think I saw Greta have that kind of face.”

“You have?”

“Yeah. Usually, it’s when you’re walking away from you two meet.”

“I’ve never seen her with that face. I could understand it with Garble because we were both at the gala and it’s you could’ve looked at it as a da...” Gilda paused as she started piecing some things together. “Oh, man. They’ve got crushes.”

“Who?”

“Garble and Greta.”

“But... They can’t both have one on the same creature.”

“They can, it just won’t end well.” Gilda gave some of the cooled cookies to Gabby, who paid and then left. This left Gilda alone, giving her plenty of time to think about her situation.

A Bit of Help

Few days have passed, and it’s time for the ambassadors of different kingdoms to have their private meeting with Princess Twilight. As just like the letter said, it’s important to have a monthly meeting to discuss topics about the future of Equestria and the relationship between creatures. Princess Twilight and Spike were in a big room, setting up extra chairs for the meeting. Although Spike is the one doing the work for her, Twilight will always be there to give him an extra boost. They stood by at the side as they finished putting up the last set of chairs.

“Okay, the extra chairs are set,” Twilight commented. “Now, we just wait for the other creatures.”

“Yep,” Spike commented as well, looking at the clock on the wall behind him. “They should be here any minute now.” As soon as he sat down on the nearby chair, they heard the doors burst open, both Twilight and Spike turned as they saw Ember and Thorax entered the room side by side.

“See, I told you we were early,” Thorax said.

“It still gives us some free time,” Ember stated, and then turned to Spike and waved at him. “Hey there, Spike.”

“Hi, Ember, Thorax,” Spike responded. “What are you doing here so early?”

“Ember here left the Dragon Lands sooner than she was planning,” Thorax explained. “Along the way she thought she’d stop by the hive for some nice delicious sushi...”

“I misjudged what time it was,” Ember interrupted. Judging by her blushing, she looked to be embarrassed by something.

Thorax smirked as he bent closer to Spike to whisper. “She wanted to visit with me before we started a meeting.” The younger dragon tried his best not to laugh. Ember didn’t seem to like showing her emotions. He then stood back up and then faces Twilight, which she was beside him. “Anyways, Princess, you said that someone else would be joining us?”

“Indeed,” the alicorn confirmed. “They should be here soon with the rest of the ambassadors. Please, make yourselves comfortable.” The changeling and dragon lord did so, each of them sitting in one of the chairs that were placed out for them.

“So, are we going to discuss the plans for the future before they get here?” Ember asked.

“I think you’d be wasting your time,” Spike commented. “I mean, it’s like...” He paused in mid-sentence as they heard the door burst open again. He turned to see, this time, two more creatures entering the room.

“And the stream of silence was torture for me,” spoke a voice. Looking towards the entrance to see a kirin, Autumn Blaze, walking in with Queen Novo. “Oh, hey, there are other creatures here,” the kirin commented.

“Indeed,” the hippogriff added. “It’s nice to see all four of you again.”

“Hello, Queen Novo,” Thorax said. “How’s your daughter doing?”

“Just fine. If she were here, I think that she and Autumn Blaze would get along great.”

“Wow, so I get to talk with you guys,” the kirin said. “It’s so great I get to talk with so many different creatures I mean-”

“Do you think she was a distance cousin?” Ember whispered to Thorax.

“I doubt it,” he admitted. “Though, it could still be possible.”

“-And I just can’t wait to help plan things out,” Autumn Blaze continued speaking.

“Does she have an off switch?” Ember jokingly asked. Someone was happy enough to provide her with one. The castle suddenly shook with loud stomps being heard. The sounds of laughter could be heard as a yak and a minotaur walked around the corner.

“Yak like Iron Will,” Rutherford spoke.

“Iron Will impressed with yak’s strength,” the minotaur spoke.

“Oh, gosh, there’s two of them,” Queen Novo muttered.

“Rutherford, who’s your new friend over there?” Thorax asked.

“The name’s Iron Will!” the minotaur answered. He flexed his muscles with a big grin on his face. He and Rutherford shared a fist bump before they walked over to the chairs.

“So, where are you from?”

“There’s a village full of minotaurs, but it doesn’t have an actual name.”

“Yaks get function over form idea,” Rutherford commented.

“At least you guys talked with each other,” Autumn Blaze spoke.

“Ah, yes,” Novo said. “The Stream of Silence doesn’t sound like something I’d want to take a dip in.”

“What are you talking about?” Ember questioned.

“A cursed river that whoever swims in it, it prevents you from speaking,” Autumn explained. “You’ll be muted forever. It. Is. Terrible.”

“I could imagine.”

“Where griffon at?” Rutherford asked.

“Excuse me?” Autumn questioned.

“Oh. He’s talking about Gilda. She’s Griffonstone’s ambassador,” Thorax explained, then turned to Twilight to ask. “Shouldn’t she have been here by now?”

“She should’ve,” Twilight commented. “I hope she’s alright.”

After about another minute, the creatures all heard the loud yelps followed by some grunts and thuds.

“What was that!?” Thorax exclaimed in shock.

“I swear if it’s another attack like with those three dummies,” Ember commented.

“I’ll go find out,” Spike said, stood up from the chair, and ran towards the door, and open it. “You all stay here. I’ll be right.” He left the room and investigate. After a while, he found Gilda had crashed into Little Strongheart. He saw what happened to them and quickly sprinted towards them.

“Are you two okay?” the dragon said.

“We’re fine,” Little Strongheart replied while Gilda quickly got up and helped him get up from the crash.

“I’m so sorry, buddy,” the griffon apologized. “I was… I was… Thinking about something else.”

“It’s fine,” he replied. “I was honestly a little lost. This castle’s so huge”

“Don’t worry, just follow me, and you’ll be there.” He then led Little Strongheart and Gilda to the room to start the conference. They all arrived at the door afterward, Spike opened the door, and they all went inside.

“Don’t worry,” Spike declared, as Little Strongheart and Gilda took their seats, “everything’s fine. There’s no major attack going on but just a little accident of some sort.”

“Oh, thank goodness,” Ember said, feeling relieved. “I was about to sprint outside, with my fist clenched, and…”

“Okay, okay. Enough,” Queen Nova said to her. “We get it. I felt the same way as you are.”

“Sorry, just… got carried away,” she said in excuse.

“Okay, now that every creature is here,” Twilight started, “I think we can start with our meeting for today.” She then turned towards Gilda. “Now, Gilda, last time, I requested you to bring photos of the issues in Griffonstone. Did you bring them with you?”

“Yes, I do, Princess.” Gilda then hastily checked her bag and pulled out a couple of pictures. “Here you go.”

Twilight grabbed the photos with her magic and passed one to each ambassador sitting at the table. They grabbed one each and examine the photos they’ve received. They consisted of many of Griffonstone’s common issues, which include some of the unstable and poorly-constructed buildings, homeless griffons from the youths to the elders, conflicts with each other, robbery, and various other problems. This made some ambassadors felt surprised and concerned. They haven’t seen or been to Griffonstone like that firsthand. Everything they see in these photos is in ruins.

“Wow, is it that dreadful?” Thorax questioned.

“Sadly, yes.”

“I do feel sorry for anyone living in these conditions,” Novo commented. “My kind felt the same way when the Storm King attacked Hippogriffia.”

“Have any griffons leave bad home?” Rutherford asked.

“Not that I know of,” Gilda admitted. “I wouldn’t blame them.”

“So, what do we do about it?” Autumn Blaze asked.

“That’s the reason why I invited all of you here,” Twilight explained. “Griffonstone was under ruins ever since the Idol of Boreas was stolen by Arimaspi and lost in the Abysmal Abyss. That’s because it’s their most possessed treasure, it makes the kingdom united as one. Now it’s gone, the kingdom became like a living dumpster. This causes a lot of issues like the ones in the photos I handed out.” She then turned to Little Strongheart, who was sitting beside Prince Rutherford. "Little Strongheart, what do you see in that photo you’re holding?”

He then looked at the photo. “I see a dark brown griff stealing a pouch full of bits from a kid,” he replied.

“Exactly. It’s their greed. Because of it, they don’t even care about upgrading their society, and just let time pass and let the kingdom fall by itself. This is why I appointed Gilda as Griffonstone’s new ambassador in the first place, to make Griffonstone a better place for its future generations to come. Now you’re all here, it’s our job to help other individuals in need, and to build a better society for all of us. And right now, I was planning that we would have one team to help provide the high-quality materials for the construction. With many of them, they will help with the process.”

“Yak could easily smash bad buildings,” Rutherford spoke.

“Yes, we know that Prince Rutherford, but getting the right materials would be another story.”

“The minotaur village has plenty of trees we use for wood,” Iron Will spoke. “We’ll ship those logs for you.”

“That’ll be perfect.” She then faced towards Ember and Thorax, who are sitting beside each other. “Thorax, Ember, do you think the changelings or dragons could help with the development?”

“I think our strength on moving giant boulders and breaking walls will be more than enough,” Ember said. “Plus, if there are any accidents, we should be fine.”

“Changelings might be as tough as well, but we’re still versatile,” Thorax added. “They’ve been experiencing great reforms ever since I became their leader, so they’ll be happy to help the griffons as well on reformation.” He then turned to Gilda, who’s beside him. “Gilda, any input?” The changeling king looked over the griffon beside him, who looked to have her head in the clouds. “Gilda?” He tapped the griffon’s shoulder, startling her a bit.

“Huh? What?” she asked, going back to her senses. “I’m sorry, what’d you say?”

“I said any input about the reconstruction of Griffonstone?”

“Well... Someone’s gotta be in charge once the place is rebuilt. Once there wasn’t a king anymore, the place fell into ruin.”

“That’s true,” Novo commented. “Someone has to make sure that the place doesn’t fall downhill again.”

“I don’t think there’s any royal blood left in that though. That’ll be harder for me to search for one griffon to be appropriate for the job.”

“But that didn’t stop Thorax from taking the throne,” Spike noted.

“Yeah, he’s right,” Thorax commented. “If there’s a griffon who’s responsible enough to be in charge of the new Griffonstone, it should be a much stabler society.”

“Hmm, Gilda, do you know any griffon that would likely be responsible enough?” Queen Novo asked.

“Only Gabby and Greta. And they’ve got the work that’ll keep them busy. Not to mention, I’m busy here and with my bakery.”

“Understandable. Hopefully, another one will show up to take care.”

“It would change,” Autumn Blaze commented. “I mean, I’m not in charge of the kirins but I’m the ambassador.”

“You’re right, Autumn” Twilight commented. The conversation carried on with Gilda being very silent through all of it. Thorax noticed that something was wrong as he tasted something bitter.

Eventually, the conference was over and the ambassadors walked out of the room. “Iron Will wants to see dragon strength,” the minotaur said.

“So does yak,” Rutherford agreed.

“Maybe we would have an arm-wrestling contest sometime,” Ember chuckled. While they were chatting about their strength, Thorax walked beside Gilda.

“Is there something wrong?” he asked her, feeling concerned. Gilda then turned to face him.

“What are you talking about?” Gilda questioned.

“I can’t taste your confused emotions. I can’t even put my hoof on it. Can you help me explain what’s wrong?” Gilda looked towards the other creatures before she pulled Thorax down the hall away from them. Once they were around the corner, Gilda explained the problem quietly to prevent anyone from hearing.

“Okay, a few days ago, I got a letter, or a slab to be precise, from Garble, and I visited the Dragon Lands so we could hang out and I noticed that he probably has a crush on me. Now, get this, my friend, Greta, also seemed to have a crush on me from what Gabby has heard.”

“Oh. ...Oh dear.”

“Yeah, I know. Now I’m stuck between a dragon who’s been in the same boat as me or the griffon that was with me through one of the worst homes in Equestria. If I chose one over the other, somebody’s… going to be upset. What do I do?”

“Um... I’m honestly stumped here. I don’t have any experience with love triangles.”

“Well, I have to get some help. If I don’t fix this, they’re going to find out and it’ll be a huge disaster.”

“Okay, don’t panic. We’ll try and figure out what we can do. Maybe we need some more input.” Thorax peeked around the corner to see Ember and Iron Will in the middle of an arm-wrestling contest. “Let’s just give her a minute.”

After her little match, Ember was taken away from the rest of the ambassadors and was told about Gilda’s situation. “Wait. They both have a crush on you?” the Dragon Lord questioned.

“That’s what it seems like it,” Gilda spoke. “I have no clue what I’m going to do.”

“Okay. I’m not the best at romance, but I can keep an eye on Garble.”

“You sure about that?” Thorax asked.

“Well, what else can we do without telling them? I mean, it’s probably too late to ask anybody else.”

“I’m starting to regret telling you about this,” Gilda sighed.

“Gilda, are you saying that you want us to forget about this?” Thorax asked.

“I don’t know. It’s just…” she grunted. “So confusing to me.”

“Okay, I’ll keep an eye on Garble if you want,” Ember said.

“Fine. Just... Just don’t tell him about my problem.”

“Got it.” The ambassadors soon started leaving for home. Most of them, especially Gilda, took the train, while Thorax and Ember flew home. Along the way, they both talked about Gilda’s situation.

“So, have you ever witnessed dragons with the same kind of problem?” the changeling king asked.

“Only a few,” the Dragon Lord answered. “Though, all of them ended with the two who had crushes on the target got into a fight. Boulders smashed, other dragons injured, it’s what you’d expect.”

“Yeah, we can’t let that happen. Not just because of the violence, but Garble probably has Greta outclassed.”

“Most likely. It definitely won’t be pretty.”

“Still, we can’t do anything about this.”

Ember quickly brought her boyfriend to a stop. “Even if we do something it’s going to be a lose-lose situation. If she chooses Garble over her, Greta’s going to resent her which will be bad since they live in the same place. If she chooses Greta over him, well he’s going to slip back the slippery slope and probably become a bully again.”

“Man, I feel so bad for Gilda. She’s going to upset someone no matter how hard she does it.”

Ember brought her claw to her chin while she thought of an idea. “How about we give her a practice course.”

“Excuse me?”

“You can just change into either Garble and Greta so Gilda can practice telling them what’s going on so she won’t struggle as much.”

“That... Doesn’t sound like it’ll make things easier.”

“Well, hey, she can’t ignore forever. She can either address the problem as soon as possible or wait until this erupts into a fight where Greta gets slaughtered.”

“...You make a good point there. Go home and keep an eye on Garble and I’ll go to Griffonstone and see what Greta’s like.

“Right, I’ll just explain to the other changelings that I have a friendship problem to help with.” Ember gave a thumbs up and the two resumed their flights home.

The train arrived at the platform, Gilda got out and walked away from the train station as she looked towards the tree with many crummy buildings on it. She sighed as she walked past some gambling griffons and into the comfort of her bakery. Greta was inside sweeping the floor as she saw her friend lingering in.

“Hey, Gilda, how was the meeting?” Greta asked.

Gilda looked at her friend and did her best to keep up a smile. “Pretty well,” she told. “There were some new faces there. Iron Will the minotaur, Autumn Blaze the kirin, and Little Strongheart the buffalo. Honestly, I wish I could get to know them longer.”

“The sound nice. Is this Iron Will a wrestler or something?”

“Probably. I mean he did challenge Ember to an arm-wrestling contest.”

“Is Ember the dragon?”

“Yeah, the dragon lord.”

“You know, I was kind of jealous that Gabby got to go with you at the gala last time. I would’ve loved to see those creatures. I mean, I’ve heard about hippogriffs from Gabby, but I still haven’t seen one. How different are they from griffons?”

“They’ve got hooves where there should be paws. I can provide a photo if you want.”

“That would be great. Anyways, nothing too exciting happened while you were gone.” As they had their conversation, a certain changeling landed nearby and changed into a griffon. The griffon had dark green fur and feather with some orange highlights on his crest. There were also purple highlights on his wings and tail. He took a look around his surroundings and it was bad as the photos had looked.

“No wonder why they’re so miserable here,” he muttered to himself. He passed by a few gambling griffons, who gave him a few threatening looks. This motivated him to move a little faster and run into a bakery. Gilda and Greta were surprised to see him.

“Um, hi there,” Greta said. “I’ve... never seen such a colorful griffon like you.”

Gilda took a good look at the colorful griffon and started to figure out who it was. “I think I know this guy,” she spoke, “Greta, could you give us a minute alone? He’s a little nervous around other creatures.”

“...If you say so.” Greta left the building as the strange-looking griffon looked towards Gilda, who seemed a little annoyed.

“Come on. Drop the look.” The colorful griffon gave a cheesy grin before it had a flash surrounding him and showing his true changeling form. “What the heck are you doing here, Thorax?”

“I was trying to find a way to help with your issue,” the changeling king explained.

“How?”

“Simple, Ember thought I could pretend to be Garble or Greta.”

“Well, that’s kind of a good idea, except I don’t know who I’m going to date!”

“...yeah, I didn’t think this plan was going to work that well. Look, I’m already here and I want to help you with this problem. I can ask Greta what she’s like and how she’s feeling about you.”

“Uh-huh. You know you could also put your hoof into a bear’s mouth.”

“You sure you want me to help or not?”

“I mean if you’re going to make things worse, probably not.”

“If I leave now, you might have some trouble in the long run,” Thorax said in almost a rigid.

Gilda held up her talon as she paused thinking what to say next. “Okay, fine. You can talk with Greta and get to know her better for our practice. However, if this crashes and burns, I’m blaming you.”

“Noted.” Thorax changed back into his griffon form and walked outside to see where Greta went. Griffonstone’s ambassador still had a sinking feeling that things weren’t going to end well.

Back in the Dragon Lands, Ember was scanning the area from a cliff edge. She could see Garble hanging out with his gang in a nice pool of lava. “So, Clump,” Garble said, “Why did you think that draining lava out of the underground rivers was a good idea?”

“Hey, I wasn’t getting hot enough,” the big drake stated.

"Of course you weren't." Garble looked over to Spear, who still looked to be in a sulk. "Spear, are you seriously still upset over Prominence?"

"You don't get it, man," Spear stated. He dipped his head into the pool of lava. A few bubbles forming from the air coming from his sigh.

"I have a feeling he's going to know what it's like," Ember muttered to herself. “I better do something.” She was about to fly down to talk with them until a purple dragoness landed next to her.

"Hey, Ember," the dragoness said.

"Prominence? What are you doing here?"

"Ballista was wanting me to help find some other girls so we could hang out. Wanna join?"

Ember looked back down at Garble and his gang before looking back at the dragoness. She thought for a moment. "Okay, fine. Just please don't get carried away."

"No promises." The two girls flew away as the Dragon Lord kept thinking about her friend's predicament.

They met up with Ballista, a pink dragon who possessed a very long tail. She was with a few dragons, chatting when they saw Prominence and Ember show up. "There you are," the long-tailed dragoness said. "Whoa, you got Dragon Lord Ember to join us?"

"Yeah," Ember responded, "Now, why were you trying to call me here."

"We were just looking for a nice girl hangout."

"Uh-huh. And what do you plan on talking about?"

"Oh, just getting great jewelry, talking about our dates..."

"Figures." Ember wasn't the girly type. Even a girl was still pretty aggressive compared to other creatures like ponies. Though, this did give her an idea. This would be a good chance to get some more information on how she could help Gilda. "Okay, I'll give it a shot."

"Great," Prominence said. "I'm not up for the lovey-dovey stuff either." That helped make Ember feel a little bit better. She and Prominence were tossed fancy looing bracelets as they looked over to an excited Ballista. The two tomboyish dragons looked at each other and both sucked up their pride for what was going to happen.

Back in Griffonstone, Greta was looking at the remains of the library as a disguised Thorax walked over to her. "Um... Hey," the changeling disguised as a griffon. "Is this the library?"

"Yeah," Greta said. "I honestly wish this place was in better condition. Could've had more nice stuff to read."

“I’m sure they would’ve had a lot of great books.”

“Yeah, I’d like to have something interesting. Anyways, what’s your name?”

Thorax thought for a moment before coming up with his name. “I’m George. I don’t remember being born here.”

“Lucky you. Growing up here is a punishment I wouldn’t throw on my worst enemies. I honestly wish I could move away from here but Gilda’s the only reason I stay.”

“Why’s that?”

Greta took a deep breath before she sat down and explained. “I was planning on getting out of here but then Gilda offered a scone to me, it made me feel like this place isn’t all bad.”

“So... You two have been friends ever since, right.”

“Of course. Still, I think it’s been more than that to me. We’ve moved in with each other and dirtying that... Well, my feelings towards her kept developing. I think I might be in love with her.”

“I know that feeling. I have a pretty tough girlfriend. She’s not one for emotions but we’re getting there. Especially… after our first kiss.”

“Good for you. I’m not sure if Gilda would accept a date. I’m not even sure she’s into girls.”

“Uhh… Yeah, I bet that’s pretty hard. You never know until you try.” George kept up a smile which was a little harder for Greta to do.

“I guess you have more experience than me. I’ll... I’ll tell her. Thanks, George. I honestly wish more griffons were like you and Gabby.”

“I heard that’s what the School of Friendship is for.”

Greta was starting to feel better now. “Anyways, wanna help me with the library’s tarp?”

“There’s a tarp to this place?”

“Yes, there is, it helps keep the books dry.” George was a little puzzled but still helped the griffon to make sure the books didn’t get into a worse condition.

Back in the Dragon Lands, Ballista and the girls had gathered plenty of gemstones and gold to lie on. Not to mention plenty of jewelry for them to wear. Ember was wearing some rings on her horns while Prominence had on a nice-looking necklace on her neck. “Gotta say, she has done a good job with her hoard hunting,” Prominence commented.

“I’m honestly shocked that she isn’t as big as my dad,” Ember added.

“I guess some dragons can handle their greed better than others. Anyways, what are you doing looking at Spear and his friends?”

“Oh, well... A friend of mine was asking me for some dating advice. Honestly, I wouldn’t say I would be the best creature for that kind of advice.”

“Yeah, me neither. I honestly didn’t think it would work out with Spear.”

“Why would you say that?”

“Well, when it’s just the two of us, he’s too lazy for me. His lack of interests kind of made him boring to me.”

“Couldn’t you just try and get him into other things. He didn’t want to change so I tried looking for somebody else.”

“I know that dragons aren’t the best with emotions, but that’s just cold.”

“I gave him a chance, but he didn’t want to give anything other than sleeping and slouching and eating and sleeping a chance, so I looked for someone else.” Ember thought about this statement and she knew it was probably was something that Gilda nor her crushes should do.

“Did you find any other dragon that would be right for you?”

“Not yet. I’ve tried to go for Barry, but I think he’s taken.”

“Well... How about one of Spear’s friends?”

“Eh, it’s too soon. I think I’m just staying single for now.”

A curious Ballista overheard the two having their conversation. She flew over and asked them a question. “What are you talking about?” she asked.

“Just about relationship advice,” Ember muttered. This statement made the long-tailed dragoness squeal delightedly.

“Perfect! Did you know that Baff asked me out?”

“I didn’t,” Prominence admitted. “What did you say?”

“Yes, of course. I think we were both made for each other. He’s so smart and I love how resourceful he is. Have you ever tried mixing gemstones?”

“...I don’t remember doing that, no,” Ember answered.

“You got to try it. Just be careful when your mixing three together. We’ve tried adding a bunch of rubies, sapphires, and emeralds together. That’s when we made sure to measure.”

Ballista gagged a little bit to inform about the bitter taste. Ember, who was curious followed her fellow dragoness to get some gems. Prominence meanwhile started to get a sinking feeling about something she did.

Gilda was sitting behind her bakery counter. Since she had expanded her variety business had been booming. She was finally able to give out the last order for the one griffon that remained. Once he left Gilda wiped her sweaty brow.

She heard the door open and she groaned in frustration. “Sir, could you give me five minutes to...”. She quickly paused when she a green griffon standing in the doorway. “Oh, it’s you.”

“You look a little stressed,” George said. “I’ve spent a bit of time with Greta, and it’s true, she’s in love with you.”

“Perfect.”

“Don’t worry, we can still practice. Look, just pretend I’m Greta.” The disguised changeling had a flash surround him and his form was now an exact replica of Greta. “Go ahead,” he spoke in the griffon’s voice, “Try it out.”

Gilda took a deep breath before she stepped in front of the fake Greta. “Go ahead.”

Thorax cleared his throat and started acting. “Gilda, there’s something that I’ve been hiding for a long time. I love you.” The fake griffon gave a big smile with sparkles in her eyes. She held Gilda’s talon which went into a hug. Gilda began blushing and began to fumble over her own words. Thorax released the hug and dropped the smile. “Too much?”

“Pr... Probably.”

“Okay, let’s try again.” Thorax tried acting like Greta again, this time keeping her grounded. “Look, Gilda... I...” He rubbed his arm while blushing. “I think I might be in love with you.”

“You... You do?”

“Yeah. I mean... We’ve moved in with each other and... Ever since you’ve shown some kindness to me, it just happened.”

“Really?”

“Uh-huh. I know that we’re girls but... I was hoping that... Maybe we could go on a date.” Gilda didn’t respond. She just seemed to get a thousand-yard stare while her beak moved with bits of gibberish coming out. “Gilda?”

“I... I... Ugh... I can’t do this.” She ran forward pushing the fake griffon to the side and out the door. Thorax changed into his original griffon form and followed his upset friend.

“Gilda, let’s just try again.”

“No, Thorax, I can’t do this. If I say yes to Greta, I’m going to break Garble’s heart. However, the opposite would happen if I went with Garble. I can’t win this!” She sat down and brought her claws to her face which muffled her groans of frustration. Thorax sat beside her and placed his talon on her shoulder.

“Listen, I understand your frustration. It’s not doing wonders on my stomach right now.”

“You’ve got to explain how that works when this is over.”

“Right. I know things are hard right now, but if you never tell one of them you’ll feel like this forever.” Gilda looked at the disguised changeling who gave a supporting smile.

“You’re right. It’s never easy, but I’ve got to do it. I just need to figure out who I tell.”

Ballista had found some wine glasses to add some drinks and gem dust into them. Ember would be happy for a drink as she took a look towards Prominence, who was looking down at her feet. “Something bothering you, Prominence?” Ember questioned.

The dragon jumped a little when she heard the Dragon Lord speak. “I’m fine,” she responded quickly. “You... Want to be the first to try that gem wine?”

“Later. If there’s anything I’ve learned from my boyfriend when you talk like that, something’s wrong.”

Prominence growled. “Does he know when not to get into someone’s business?”

“Only when it’s bringing themselves down. You feel guilty for dumping Spear?”

“It’s not dumping him if we didn’t start dating.”

“So, trying to get him into other hobbies doesn’t count?”

“Shut up!”

“That’s not the way you should talk to the Dragon Lord.” Ember grinned with a bit of sass which only annoyed the dragoness more.

“I should’ve known you’d do something like this. Listen, Spear was a cool guy but I couldn’t stand just lying around not doing anything. I needed action or at least something new.”

“I get that. Th... Bismuth isn’t like most dragons. He’s a little nervous but he knew a lot about arts and crafts and how to make sushi. It’s a nice treat that you should try.”

“Sure. What does this have to do with Spear?”

“We’ve had a similar struggle to the point where we had to have Smolder and her friend get involved. I think his name was Sandbar, and they were told to do it by Twilight’s map... It’s too complex for me.”

“Uh-huh. What are you trying to say with this?”

“I’m saying, just quitting on Spear isn’t going to help either of you. Smolder said we’re practically just running from our problem by ignoring them. I think you should probably talk to Spear while you have the chance. Like... Right now.”

“...Right.” The two got rid of their jewelry and explained what they were doing to Ballista, who understood the situation. The two flew off to find Spear and his group. They weren’t sitting in the lava pool now so they kept looking around until they found them sitting by the river. The boys looked to be fishing.

“So, how long have you been like this?” Garble questioned.

“I don’t know,” Fizzle admitted.

“I had no idea it was like that.”

“Have you been eyeing anyone?” Baff asked. Fizzle held his hands as he didn’t quite know how to respond to this.

“Hey, Garble, do you have a minute?” Ember questioned. The drakes looked over to see the Dragon Lord and Prominence land and walked over to them.

“What do you want?” Garble asked.

“We were wondering if we could talk with Spear. Or Prominence wants to.” The said dragoness tried to look away from her embarrassment.

“Is this because of the breakup?”

“...Well,” Prominence spoke, “That’s...”

“Entirely true,” Ember finished. The dragoness growled at the Dragon Lord. “Where is he?”

Garble pointed over to the river where Spear and Clump were swimming around, struggling to get a grip on some of the fish. Fortunately, they managed to toss them onto the ground beside the dragons that were on land.

“Told you,” Spear spoke. He and Clump quickly swam out of the water, shivering a bit from the colder wind hitting them.

“Okay, is this good?” Clump questioned.

“I think so,” Garble commented.

“Good, because I’m going back to the lava pools.” With that, Clump flew off to get himself warm again. Spear looked up at the girls and could see Prominence.

“Oh... It’s you,” he said with little care.

“Why did you make me do this?” Prominence questioned the Dragon Lord.

“Now or never,” Ember reminded.

The purple dragoness clenched her claws and swallowed her pride. “Okay, Spear, I know that dumping you was probably a bad idea.” She stopped leaving the dragons a little confused.

“And...?”

“Ugh, and I probably should’ve tried harder with our relationship. I didn’t have the patience and it was bad for both of us.”

“...Yeah, about that,” Spear spoke, “I think I’m good with us breaking up.”

“You what?” both girls questioned.

“We got him to talk about the situation,” Garble explained.

“Yeah, he’s over it,” Baff added. “Took him long enough.”

“So, you’re not going to date her again?” Ember questioned.

“It would probably be a bad idea. If you try the same thing twice and get the same result expecting it to be different, you’re insane.”

“Hey, I said I was going to change!” Prominence stated.

“Does that mean you’re going to change?”

“Okay, stop now!” Ember ordered.

“Dragon Lord, I think it’s best if they don’t start dating again,” Garble commented.

“Just... Shut up and let me think.” Ember held her head and groaned. “Okay, Spear, how do you feel about this situation?”

“I feel like I should take my friends’ advice and play it safe,” the purple and blonde drake spoke.

“I think that’s a smart move,” Baff commented.

“Well, you know what... Fine!” Prominence growled. Before anyone could say anything else, the dragoness flew off in a huff.

“Welp, I tried,” Ember sighed.

“No sane creature would blame you,” Garble said. “Anyways, Fizz, are you saying...?” The rest of the drake’s conversation would be just white noise to Ember as she began thinking how this would be like Gilda’s situation. Either Garble or Greta would be just like Prominence; unable to accept that the one they desired didn’t want to be with them.

“Um, Dragon Lord Ember?” Fizzle asked. This snapped Ember back to reality and looked back at Garble’s gang. “You okay?”

“Just... felt frustrated that I wasn’t able to help Prominence.”

“You tried,” Garble said. “You want to stay and fish with us?”

“Uuuuuuhh, no, I think... I have to take care of something.” Ember quickly took off leaving some confused dragons behind. The Dragon Lord flew as fast as she could making a beeline for Griffonstone.

When the Dragon Lord could see Griffonstone insight. It looked just as bad as the pictures described. She landed at the village entrance and then walked down the path. “Gilda?” she called. Many griffons looked towards the dragoness and most of them were afraid and hid from her sight. On them was brave enough to throw a rock at Ember. It felt more like a tap when it hit her and when she looked to see who threw it. The griffon quickly flew in the process.

“Ember?” questioned a voice. The Dragon Lord looked over to see Gilda and disguised Thorax walking towards her.

“Oh, good. Finding you was easier than I thought.” She looked around to see if anyone was paying attention to them before they went into Gilda’s bakery, hid in the backroom, and Thorax dropped his disguise. “So, what did you find out?”

“My chances of hurting both of them are way up there,” Gilda said.

“But we are getting better for preparing her,” Thorax noted.

“Right,” Ember said. “I saw a dragon that was in a similar situation to this. She dumped someone and he refused to take her back and now I think she’s upset right now.”

“Well, that’s how either one of them is going to feel,” Gilda groaned.

“It’s not going to be that bad,” Thorax said. “Within some time, they’ll get over it.”

“Uh-huh, good luck with that,” Ember commented. “Anyways, I was too busy to get any information out of Garble.”

“Don’t worry, I think I managed to know enough about him to get him as accurate as I can. So, Gilda, how do you want to do this?” The griffon took a deep breath before she attempted to speak before someone outside screamed.

“It’s another one!” another cried. The three creatures ran towards the bakery window to find that Garble had landed in Griffonstone and wasn’t given a warm welcome.

Gilda was alarmed. “What is he doing here?!” she questioned as she stared daggers at Ember who was quick to defend herself.

“Don’t look at me,” she uttered, “I was just flying over here solo.”

“We should probably talk to him before something bad happens,” Thorax spoke. The other two agreed to this and ran out of the bakery. Garble saw them run over to him and they scared off the rest of the griffons.

“Ember,” he gasped, “The guys were wondering where you were going. They told me to follow you.”

“Tell them to mind their business next time,” the dragoness ordered. She crossed her arms as the drake looked towards Gilda, who was trying to hide behind Thorax.

“Gilda, is this seriously where you live?”

“...Sadly yes,” the griffon responded. “Did you... Have an easy time flying in here?”

“Not really. I was honestly wanting to turn back but one of my friends is going through an embarrassing thing he’s having trouble admitting.” As Garble explained his reasons for what he did, Greta saw the uninvited guest.

“So, Gilda,” she called, “Is this Garble?” Gilda froze as her roommate flew over to join in the conversation.

“Um... Yes,” the drake said. “Who are you?”

“I’m Greta. Has she told you about me?”

“I don’t think she has.”

“Really? Because she’s mentioned you a couple of times.”

“Ember, stop this, please,” Gilda begged.

“On it,” the dragon lord said. She was about to step in before Greta blocked her with her wing.

“Stay out of this,” the griffon ordered.

“Wha... I’m the Dragon Lord… You…”

“Have control over dragons, now shut your mouth,” Ember growled as smoke was starting to rise from her nostrils. Thorax quickly pulled her back before she tossed some fuel on the fire. “Listen, Garble, Gilda and I have been with each other much longer than you have.”

“What are you implying?” Garble questioned.

“I’m saying that do not get any ideas.”

“Ideas?” Garble was starting to piece things together but he wanted to know what Greta was implying.

“I’m saying just because you went to a special party doesn’t mean you can take her away from me.”

“Are you saying you two were dating?”

Thorax managed to get Ember to calm down before he spoke up. “Gilda, I think now would be a good time to...” He stopped when he noticed that the griffon had vanished. “Where’d she go?”

“Where ever she is, I’m getting involved,” Ember proclaimed. She walked back to the arguing creatures with Greta trying to block her with her wing only to have the Dragon Lord force it back into a folded position. “Look, I’m stopping this argument right now.”

“What would you even know?” Greta questioned.

“Because Gilda knows how both of you are feeling. She’s in a bad place and neither one of you is helping.”

“What?” both creatures questioned.

“Has she been dating you?” Greta questioned Garble.

“Well, I wouldn’t blame her,” Garble responded. “This place is a dump. The dragon lands aren’t normally for a creature that isn’t for ones that aren’t born there, but it’s probably a luxury to her compared to this.”

“Hey! We’ve been through the crud this place has to offer! She’s been there how often, twice?”

“Still, it’s practically heaven compared to this.”

Ember groaned, “Would you two just...”

“STAY OUT!!!” both creatures roared. Ember was shocked by this, she’d expected that Greta wouldn’t know about her authority, but Garble didn’t even hesitate. The griffon and drake continued with their argument before Garble turned around and slapped Greta with his tail, it was unclear if this was intentional or not. When he flew off, Greta wasn’t having it.

“Get back here!” she ordered. The griffon quickly took off after the drake to finish their business, leaving the dragon lord and changeling by themselves.

“I think... We might’ve made things worse,” Thorax muttered.

“Yeah, I can’t defend myself from this,” Ember agreed.

Break It Up

Ember and Thorax paced around at what they had just witnessed. They felt very bad on seeing these two argue very harshly, especially seeing Greta chasing him to punch right in the face.

“Maybe Gilda was right,” Thorax sighed. “We probably should’ve just stayed out of the way.”

“You can say that again, and now things were going to get worse if we just sit on the sidelines,” Ember stated. “What do we do now?”

Thorax then thought about it for a minute. “The only thing we need to do is to find Gilda and the other two. Greta’s chasing after Garble and was about to beat his tail until he’s dead. Gilda disappeared without us noticing and we don’t know where. If we don’t, then it’ll cause a lot more trouble, and it’ll be neither us, Gilda, or all of us will be responsible for this conflict.”

“You’re right. Where do you think they went?”

“I don’t know, but we’re splitting up. We cannot make situations worse. Who knows what’ll happen next.”

“Right. You know dragons are very deadly when they’re angry. I am not sure about the griffons, but I’ll see if I try to catch them.”

“You do that, and I’ll go find Gilda. She might be still around here.”

“Go ahead. I’ll see you later.”

Ember then spread out her wings and flew out of Griffonstone to find them. She did her best to get to the top speed as she couldn’t see Garble nor Greta anywhere. Feeling that they could be anywhere, she pushed herself to keep going before it was too late. Thorax, meanwhile, had changed back into his griffon form and looked around for Gilda. She wasn’t in the bakery, so Thorax tried finding her in the library. And Gilda wasn’t there either. He tried asking a couple of the other griffons around, but only a few of them have given him proper answers. Most of them ended up telling him along with the lines of ‘buzz off.’ A couple of them were vulgar.

“Gilda?” he called loudly. “Gilda?! Where are you?” He kept searching and searching around the town, even in different corners, and still no sign of her. “Oh, where did she go?”

A little while later, Thorax has reached close to the edge of town, rather close to the cliff. It’s not as wide as the ones in the deserts of Appleoosa. But, it was pretty as deep as a lake, almost like the Abyssal Abyss. This is where he also spotted a brown figure sitting at the edge of the cliff. It was Gilda. He finally found her.

“Gilda,” Thorax yelled, Gilda jumped when she heard her name being called. “There you are!”

She turned around and could see the disguised changeling walking over to her. “Oh, hi Thorax,” she said with a depressed tone. She looked down at the cliff with a deep sigh.

“What happened? I’ve been searching all around Griffonstone just to find you. You vanished without me and Ember noticing.”

“It’s just that…” Her tears start to build up in her eyes. “I couldn’t do it.” She then held both of her claws to her face, covering her eyes.

“Gilda, I understand why it was becoming too much for you.”

“But I kept telling myself to do it,” she wailed, while intensively inhaling and exhaling. And then calmed herself afterward. “When I just saw both of them arguing... I just froze and my instincts told me to run. This cliff is the most deserted part of Griffonstone. It’s the perfect place for someone who wants to be alone.” Thorax walked over to his upset friend and sat beside her.

“I’m sorry for you, this is very hard for you. Then again, I’ve seen harder situations before.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know about Queen Chrysalis, right? The one who’s already turned into a statue with the other two foes?”

“Vaguely. Wasn’t she the ruler of the changelings before you? ”

“Yeah. It wasn’t a pleasant time. Many of us were starving all of the time just because Chrysalis wanted to keep in charge. I hated it. Then, I had enough and I left the hive so I could help bring new hope for them, and to share the love. After traveling to the Crystal Empire and having Spike stand up for me, I went on a misadventure with some other new friends and... Here we are.”

“Sounds a little simplified. What are you getting at?”

“What I’m saying is that you need to push through your worries to get the job done. Equestria would be completely under Chrysalis’s control if I didn’t do that in the first place.” Gilda thought about his words. She looked at the nearby gorge and remember when Dash and Pinkie had visited Griffonstone for the first time. She had to help rescue her rainbow friend and sacrificing the Idol of Boreas to save her.

“Yeah, you’re right. Let’s... Try this again.”

“Okay, but we’re going to have to find them first.”

“...Where did they go?”

“Ember’s finding them. Hope she gets them soon.”

Garble hadn’t been out of the Dragon Lands that often, so he had gotten a little lost. He had no idea that he was flying in the wrong direction and soon found himself flying above some sort of western town. He must be in Appleloosa. “What’s this place?” he asked himself. “Am I lost or something?”

Suddenly, without warning, Greta rammed into the back of the drake. The two of them crash-landed in the middle of the town, dragging the dirt of the road. Several ponies and buffalos in this town, who’ve seen and heard the crash, were in dismay seeing the two creatures landed vigorously, and some of them ran away to prevent themselves from getting hurt from them. They watched the rumble before Greta continued with their fight.

“Why do you think that Gilda would go for you?” she furiously said to him, grabbing his chest with both claws.

“Maybe if she doesn’t bring you up,” Garble replied with the same tone as hers. He suddenly decked the griffon in the face, knocking her off of him. “If you want to get physical, it’s time for you to stop pulling my punches!” He quickly stood up and was about to breathed fire.

Ember, meanwhile, was scanning deeply in the area back at the Dragon Lands as she didn’t find Garble or Greta there. “Not here,” Ember sighed. “I should keep looking. Maybe in other locations.” She began to look at other places in Equestria, like Canterlot, Ponyville, Manehattan, Hippogriffia, Yakyakistan, just to name a few, but to no avail, they’re not there. She doesn’t stop there, she didn’t give up on searching for them.

A little while later, she made it to the desert. And that is when she heard some panicked screams from a mile away. She quickly flew over and arrived at the scene of disaster where Greta was having a hard time against Garble. There’s so much destruction going on there. Everything from crushing barrels, destroying wagons, and hard punches. Ember knew that she needs to think quickly or it’ll get worst. Greta’s best counter was to grab whatever random item she could and toss it back at the drake. More often than not, Garble would catch or destroy whatever item with his fire breath.

“You think just because you two lived in the same home means you’ll automatically be a couple?” he shouted.

“It’s better than living in a place that’s filled with things that could kill her like lava,” Greta responded angrily.

She tossed an empty barrel which bounced and rolled towards the dragon before he stopped it with his foot. He then picked it up and hurled it back to her again. Greta ducked out of the way before it shattered upon impact. Many of the residents of the town quickly grabbed some apple pies as their ammo before tossing them at the dragon and griffon. They landed several shots until Ember landed nearby, making sure she stayed out of the crossfire. Some pies almost splattered her and ran towards the side to take cover. As she takes cover, she then saw one buffalo accompanying the shooters. Ember recognized her, it was Little Strongheart.

“Strongheart?” The little buffalo perked up when she heard her name, and turned to see Ember beside her.

“Ember,” she exclaimed. “What’s going on?”

“I can explain,” Ember spoke. “It’s… something about a love triangle. Look, you just get that griffon over there. The dragon’s all mine.” Strongheart nodded and told some of the buffalos and ponies who to target while Ember ran towards Garble and tackled him to the ground without warning.

“Grh.” Garble groaned. “ Hey! What are you doing?” He was forced onto his chest as Ember stepped on his back while tugging on his arm. This caused a good amount of pain to turn Garble’s anger into fear. “GAH! Uncle!”

“About time,” Ember muttered.

She let go of the drake’s arm as stood on his back and looked towards Greta, who was being bombarded by pies. She quickly grabbed a white scarf she saw lying on the ground and waved it in the air like a flag, telling them that they already surrendered. Both Sheriff Silverstar and Chief Thunderhooves, who’re also accompanying the citizens together with Little Strongheart, saw the scarf she waved.

“Everyone, halt!” Sheriff Silverstar called.

The ponies and buffaloes all heard him and stopped throwing the pies just as he said. Both Sheriff Silverstar and Chief Thunderhooves then walked over to her and looked at her. “I swear I wasn’t planning on this.”

“We believe you,” the chief said. “What I want to know is what we should do with these two.” They looked around at damages the two arguing creatures had caused. Not to mention the pies being thrown left a bigger mess.

“I think I know what they can do.”

Meanwhile, Thorax and Gilda were flying, still looking to see if they could find Greta and Garble. “You found them yet?” the changeling asked.

“Nothing,” the griffon sighed. “Where they could be? I hope they’re okay.”

“Just keep searching.” They both searched everywhere, but still, they can’t find them. That was until Gilda found a town that was in a big mess with scattered wood and splattered pies everywhere. She was in shock.

“Thorax,” Gilda said, calling him. “You might wanna see this.” Thorax then looked down to see what she’s talking about.

“Woah! What happened there?”

“We should take a look.” Curious, the two flew downwards to get a closer look. When they landed, they saw broken material and splattered pies were all over the place. Walking down the aisle, the two found Greta and Garble cleaning up the mess they were responsible for. Sitting by the town saloon, they found Ember and Strongheart enjoying some slices of pie that weren’t splattered.

“Gotta admit, these ponies make a good pie,” the Dragon Lord spoke.

“Yeah, but most of them are relating to the Apple Family,” Strongheart noted.

“I see.” She then could see Gilda and Thorax walking over to them, with the griffon tried to hide in the shadows.

“Hey, Ember,” Thorax said. “What going on here? That’s the huge mess.”

“The town helped me end their fight,” the dragoness explained. “Honestly, I’m surprised this wasn’t all Garble.”

Gilda poked her head out from her hiding spot behind the building. “Hey... Strongheart,” she said meekly.

“Come on, Gilda, we’ve already talked about this,” Thorax said.

“Gah, I know but... I keep getting this feeling. It’s dragging me down.”

“Again, don’t let your emotions hold you back. They’re right over there.” Thorax pointed over to the two creatures that were still mad at each other as they cleaned up.

Gilda took a deep breath before responding. “Okay. Be sure to stop me if my body starts to run.”

“Got it,” both Thorax and Ember said. Swallowing her pride, the griffon stepped towards the two creatures who she had been worried about meeting together in the first place.

Greta and Garble could only stare daggers at each other until Gilda slowly walked over to them. “Hey... guys,” she said meekly. The two gave a low brow at the griffon before she spoke again. “Listen, I know you’ll not believe me, but I wasn’t even planning on dating both of you. You were the ones who jumped at the fact that you both had crushes on me and decided to fight to see who got to be my date. I got so distressed because I have to choose neither one of you, and I knew that you’ll be upset if I didn’t. And now look at this,… Appleloosa became a sweet battlefield full of apple pies and broken barrels. Please, you guys, what’s the point of brawling with each other just for the one who’s very close on your side? I’m still your close companion.”

The two creatures look at each other realizing that their friend was right. “Yeah, you’re right,” Garble sighed. “Not our best moments.”

Greta knew that she was right. “Uh-huh,” she sighed as well, “We were kind of dumb for doing this.”

“Sorry for dragging you into this Greta.”

“Nah, I’m the one who started this mess. I was just very mad.” Both of them looked towards Gilda, knowing there was still an elephant in the room. “So... about the dating.”

“Uh-huh,” Gilda said. She looked between the griffon and dragon feeling a little unsure. Ember was watching this with Thorax and Strongheart, the dragon lord looked like she ready to pounce.

“Hold on, Gilda, before you say anything, let me speak first,” Garble said. “Since you, Greta, and I have been together longer, I think you should date her.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. It’d be better if we are just friends.”

“You really think so?”

“Yep. It’s probably for the best. I mean... We’re quite a distance apart and I don’t think we’d do well if we stayed at each other's home.”

“Right. I don’t like the idea of getting burned.” Both of them turned their attention to Greta, who remained a bit silent throughout this. She just smiled as she continued with the cleanup. “Don’t you have anything to say?”

“Sure do,” Greta replied. “The sooner we get this finished, the sooner we can go home.”

“Sounds good to me,” Garble commented. He went back to picked up broken debris while Greta resumed with the splattered pie. Gilda thought it would be a good idea to give them a claw to speed up the process.

“Is she allowed to do that?” Thorax asked.

“We never said anyone could help them,” Strongheart said. “Nobody here wanted to, however.” Ember offered the rest of her pie to Thorax, who accepted the offer.

“So, you sure you’re going to be okay, Garble?” Greta asked.

“I think so,” the drake responded. “Besides, I think there’s someone else in the dragon lands that might need some help.”

In the Dragon Lands, Prominence was doing some target practice. Some other dragons were there and even to them, the dragoness was quite violent. She completely obliterated every target in her sight followed by the sound of her low growling. A few of the dragons were tempted to stay away from her. Spear and Flicker both looked towards the angry dragoness with the white and pink one hiding behind the blonde and purple one.

“Relax, she probably doesn’t want anything to do with us,” Spear stated.

A few moments later, Garble and Ember landed nearby, along with Thorax and the griffons. “Hey, guys, I’m back,” Garble said.

“There you are, Garble. What took you so long?”

“We... Had a bit of a fight,” Greta explained. “Both verbally and physically. It didn’t end well for either of us. Long story short, pies are surprisingly good weapons.” Both of Garble’s friends were pretty confused by this.

“Long story,” Garble said. “I’ll tell you later.” He looked past his friends to see Prominence letting out her anger. “How long has been like that?”

“About five minutes after you left,” Fizzle explained. Bits of rumble landed beside him as the dragoness had blown up another boulder.

“I’m going to talk with her.”

“Whoa, dude, do you want to lose your spine?” Spear questioned.

“Well, if I do I’m going to, at least try to make sure nobody else will lose theirs.” Garble bravely walked towards the fuming dragoness. Prominence looked at him and looked like she had a vein showing.

“What do you want?” she yelled.

“...Just to talk,” Garble said. “I understand that Spear didn’t want to take you back. I technically had a breakup myself. Someone I was trying to go for was already taken.”

“How’d you take it then?”

“Similar to you. I got into a fight with the girl who beat me to the punch.” Prominence looked a little puzzled from this claim. “They’re both girls.”

“...So, those two girls are dating each other?”

“Pretty much. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with that. Heck, Fizzle admitted he’s like that.”

Overhearing the conversation, Ember, Thorax and the griffons looked at the white drake, who blushed from the embarrassment. “Good for you,” Greta said.

“So it didn’t work out with Spear, but I had the same luck with Gilda over there. Either you can keep up this kind of attitude or you catch a breath and try again.”

Prominence crossed her arms in a huff but thought about what was just said. “Okay, I’ll give it a shot,” she grumbled.

"That's the spirit. Listen, I think I know a few bits of poetry that could help calm you down. Think that'll help?"

"Be my guest." Her tone depicted that she was still upset but still she followed Garble as they went to get his gear.

"I say our work here is done," Ember commented.

"Looks like it," Thorax said. "I should really get back home."

"Us too," Greta spoke. "We probably shouldn't have let the bakery unattended."

Gilda realized her mistake. "Uh... Yeah," she said, "Bye guys." She quickly took off back to Griffonstone as Greta followed shortly behind. She caught up with her fellow griffon and held her talon. Gilda blushed.

"Listen, Gilda, I'm sorry for acting like that. It was pretty immature."

"No, it's fine. I just... Didn't understand how I didn't find out about this until now."

"Maybe I should've just told you how I felt instead of just chickening out." Greta sighed as her friend gave a sympathetic grin.

"We all make mistakes. As long as we learn from them, they're okay." Gilda nuzzled up against the griffon holding her talon as they both blushed while they flew home.