Equestria And The Wonderbeasts!

The school bell rang out and colts and fillies began rushing out of the schoolhouse, all too happy that school was out. “Man that test was hard.” Scootaloo said as she and her friends walked out.

“Only because you didn’t study Scoots.” Sweetie Belle said.

“Who has time for studying when we could be earning our Cutie Marks?” Scootaloo said with a smirk.

“Um, pretty much everyone who wants to pass the test?” Kipo said, causing Scootaloo to roll her eyes.

“Yeah yeah, whatever.” Scootaloo said before she grinned at her friends. “I got an idea of how we can get our Cutie Marks with the cannon Pinkie let us use.”

“Its not gonna involve Mr. Moon getting another pie to the face is it?” Applebloom asked, earning giggles from the others.

“No, but we could do that for fun.” She laughed before she pointed ahead. “We use the cannon to fire ourselves at a large trampoline for either a daredevil or trapeze Cutie Mark!”

Her friends sweatdropped at that. “Why do nearly every one of your ideas involve us getting into a dangerous situation or something along those lines?” Applebloom asked.

“Because aren't those the most awesome Cutie Marks?” Scootaloo asked in return. “I mean seriously would you want a lame Cutie Mark like stamp collecting or grass clipping?”

“No way!” both fillies exclaimed at the same time, causing Kipo to laugh at her friends' reactions.

“Well, maybe instead we don’t try to get your Cutie Marks with such extreme ideas. They can still be cool but not too extreme you know?” Kipo suggested.

“Aww, fine.” Scootaloo tapped her chin as she thought of ideas.

The others began to think as well. “Hmm, what would be a good Cutie Mark for us?” Applebloom wondered.

“How about we try being music stars?” Sweetie Belle suggested.

“Music stars?” Kipo asked.

“You know, singing for large crowds of ponies, being a star and the height of fashion?” Sweetie Belle said with a smile.

“Hmm, not a bad idea.” Scootaloo said, grinning a bit.

“Well, ponies do sing a lot so I don’t see why not. Plus, I have an instrument that I got from a friend.” Kipo said and the instrument she was talking about was Edwards Token. She and Full Moon ran into it during one of their little training hunts and brought it back.

“You do? Cool.” Scootaloo said with a smile. “What is it?”

“A guitar. I haven’t really practiced with it but hey, this would give me a chance to!” the half jaguar girl said with a grin which then turned sheepish. “Though sorry in advance if I end playing really badly.”

“That's ok, we will all have some work to do.” Sweetie Belle said.

“Hey! What if we become a band?” Applebloom said with a smile.

“That’s a great idea!” Scootaloo said, wings buzzing in excitement. “I bet we can definitely get our Cutie Marks like that!”

“Kipo can be guitar, Sweetie can sing, and uh…” Applebloom tapped as she looked at Scootaloo. “Can you play the drums, Scootaloo?”

“Pft, please, it’ll be easy!” Scootaloo confidently said.

“Can ya get a drum set?” Applebloom asked her.

“Uh….no.” she said, shaking her head. “But I can probably make one. All I need are some buckets and a couple of sticks.”

“I don’t know Scoots, it might not sound that good with buckets.” Sweetie Belle said.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine.” Kipo said.

“Let’s go find our instruments and meet up at Kipo’s place.” Applebloom said with a smile.

“Ok, and I can either help you Scoots or I can go ahead and head to my home and get some practice in.” Kipo said, looking at the purple maned filly.

Scootaloo smiled and shyly dug at the ground. “I wouldn’t mind the help.”

Kipo smiled and nodded. “Ok. Then we’ll see you girls back at my place.”

“Ok, see ya soon.” Applebloom said as she ran off.

“Yeah, see you there.” Sweetie Belle said before she trotted off.

Kipo placed a hand on Scootaloo’s back. “Come on Scoots, let’s go find some buckets and a couple sticks. Shouldn’t be too hard and if we find them quickly, we can get some practice in before the others arrive.”

“Right.” Scootaloo said with a smile. The two went off to find any unused buckets they may need. Surprisingly, there were more than a few that were left out or were given to them by ponies who didn’t need them anymore. They actually had to get Scootaloo’s wagon just to carry them all.

“Wow, look at this haul.” Scootaloo said with a grin as she looked at all the buckets.

“Yeah, I thought it would take us a little longer to get this many.” Kipo said then held up two branches. “And we also have two sticks! I can use my claws to shape these into drumsticks when we get to my place.”

“Cool!” Scootaloo said with a smile before she looked up as a pair of shadows passed over them. “Huh?” She saw a blue and brown blur speed past them and head for Rainbow’s house.

“Was that Aunt Rainbow?” Kipo questioned and Scootaloo shrugged.

“Maybe, but who was the brown blur?” She asked before glancing back at her wings and pouting a bit.

Kipo just shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe another pegasus?”

“Maybe, anyway let’s get going.” Scootaloo said as she buzzed her wings.

“Yeah, we can ask Aunt Rainbow about it later.” Kipo said as the two of them kept walking towards the cottage and eventually arriving.

“Alright we’re here, I’ll get everything set up and you go get your guitar.” Scootaloo said and Kipo nodded before dashing inside while she got the buckets set up into what she thought a drum set looked like.

“Hey pup, what are ya doing?” Full Moon asked when he saw Kipo walk inside.

“Oh, just getting Mr. Edwards Token to use for me and the girls new band.” she told him as she headed up the stairs to her room.

Full Moon blinked. “A band?”

“Yeah!” Kipo shouted from her room. “Who knows, we might be really great and end up famous!”

Full Moon chuckled and smirked a bit. “Kinda hard to be a band with just a guitar.”

“Oh don’t worry, the others are getting their instruments. Well, me and Scootaloo already got hers, a bunch of buckets that will act as her drums!”

“I see…do you have somepony watching you?” He asked as he got up from the couch.

“We don’t but we’re just right outside the cottage!” Kipo called back followed by the sound of objects crashing. “I’m ok! I also found the guitar!”

He chuckled and rolled his eyes. “Ok, I will be back in a bit, you make sure you and your friends stay out of trouble.” He said as he walked to the front door.

“I promise we won’t get into too much trouble!” Kipo said as she rushed down the stairs, Ed’s Token in hand.

He chuckled and nodded his head. “Alright pup, see you in a bit.” He started trotting away from the cottage, passing by Scootaloo who had set up all of the buckets and was now waiting on Kipo.

Kipo ran over to Scootaloo with a grin on her face. “Hey! Found the guitar! Now all I have to do is carve those sticks into drumsticks.”

“Cool!” Scootaloo said as she looked at the guitar. “That is a cool guitar, can I try it?”

“Go ahead. Just be careful with it.” Kipo said as she handed the guitar to Scootaloo who gave her the two sticks. She then shifted one of her arms into a Mega Paw and used a single claw to start carving.

“It is so cool you can do that.” Scootaloo said before she played with the guitar.

“Yeah, and the best part is that whenever I swing it around, I don’t seem to lose my balance.” Kipo said, swinging her Mega Paw around for emphasis.

“Probably because your tail compensates for your movements.” Scootaloo said before strumming the guitar a few times.

“Maybe.” Kipo said before she went back to carving, already nearly done since her claws were so sharp.

Scootaloo watched her, her tail wagging a bit. “You are really skilled with those sharp claws.”

Kipo nodded her head. “Yeah, Mr. Moon taught me how to use them so I don’t accidentally hurt someone or break anything. I mean, these things can slice through metal!”

“Whoa! Really?” Scootaloo asked, shocked.

“Yeah, it was an accident when we found out so Mr. Moon taught me how to be careful with them.” Kipo said, done with carving the drumsticks and handed them to Scootaloo. “Here you go Scoots!”

“Wow, you are really good.” She said as she looked the sticks over.

“Ah it’s nothing. I just pretty much cut it until it was in the shape of two smaller sticks that’s all.” Kipo said followed by a giggle.

“Still, they are well balanced.” Scootaloo said before she started banging on the buckets. Kipo winces a little since the banging was a little loud but still smiled and grabbed her guitar before strumming it a little.

Scootaloo was having fun, randomly banging on the buckets but slowly she started making a beat. Kipo noticed this and grinned before she played the guitar a little louder and the two of them just kept playing, not paying attention to anything around them.

Angle poked his head outside through a small rabbit door and squeaked while shaking his little paw, but Kipo couldn’t hear him over their noise. The bunny huffs before going back in while covering his ears just as Full Moon returned, a cart full of different instruments behind him.

“Hey you two, I could hear you from across town.” He said with a small smirk.

The two of them didn’t hear him as they still kept playing very loudly. Full Moon chuckled and shook his head before he tapped on Scootaloo’s shoulder and then shook his hoof across his neck. Scootaloo stopped banging on the drums which made Kipo stop as she was confused why her friend stopped until she saw Full Moon. “Hi Mr. Moon, what’s up?” both of them said at the same time.

He chuckled and pointed at the cart. “If you are both careful you can use these.”

“Whoa! More instruments?” Kipo asked as the two of them rushed and began looking over the instruments in excitement.

He chuckled and sat down. “Yeah, I used to practice playing each of them whenever I had to…hide for a long time.” He said before smiling. “Now with all these you four can form a real band if you want.”

“Awesome! Wait, did you bring a drum set as well? I don’t think the buckets are working out for me.” Scootaloo said, looking at the buckets.

“Yep.” Full Moon lifted a tarp. “Here, I will set them up and show you how to play.”

“Thanks Mr. Moon!” Scootaloo happily said then noticed that Sweetie Belle and Applebloom were trotting up the path to the cottage.

Full Moon started setting up the drum kit and teaching Scootaloo how each piece is meant to be played. “Whoa, where did all this come from?” Applebloom asked, surprised to see that many instruments.

“Mr. Moon brought them for us to use for our band.” Kipo said.

“Wow!” Sweetie Belle said as she looked it all over. “There are so many!”

“Yeah! Guess I didn’t need to bring AJ’s bass guitar.” Applebloom said and they noticed that said instrument was on the filly’s back.

“That is a nice bass, you can use it if you want.” Full Moon said with a smile.

“You sure? It won’t sound out of place with the others right?” Applebloom asked, taking the bass off her back.

“Not really, and if it is out of tune we can change it.” He said with a chuckle. “Give It a strum.”

“Ok.” Applebloom said before giving the guitar a couple of strums, they were off key a bit so it made Kipo wince from the terrible noise.

“Oof, yeah let me see it.” He checked the bass before tuning it a bit.

“That hurt my ears.” Kipo said, and Applebloom gave her a sheepish smile.

“Sorry.” Applebloom said softly.

“It’s ok, no need to worry about it.” she told her while patting her back.

Full Moon strummed the bass and it sounded great. “There, all set.”

“Cool. Thanks Mr. Moon.” thanked Applebloom as she took the bass back. “So that leaves you Sweetie Belle, what instrument did y’all bring?”

“Oh, I didn’t really find one other than a little flute. Maybe I can find one in the cart?” Sweetie Belle asked, looking at the cart full of instruments.

“You can look if you want, but I would suggest you sing.” Full Moon said with a smile.

“Me? O-oh I don’t know. I’m not all that great.” Sweetie Belle said with a nervous blush.

“Are you kidding? You’re great at singing! You have one of the most beautiful voices I know!” Kipo complimented, earning a shy smile from Sweetie Belle.

Scootaloo looked between them and pouted a little. “Y-yeah, Sweetie is really good at singing.”

“So we have two guitar players, a drummer, and our singer. That sounds like a good band make up right?” Kipo asked.

“Yep, you can actually make a band out of any combination of instruments if you're good enough but that is the classic band set up.” Full Moon said with a smile. “Now who wants some music lessons?”

“We don’t need lessons! I bet we’re already gonna be good!” Scootaloo said with a confident smirk on her face.

He chuckled and smirked, looking at the other girls. “And you three?”

“Maybe we can give it a trial run? See how we do the first time?” Applebloom suggested and everyone agreed.

“Yeah, and if we don’t do so well then we can get some lessons.” Kipo said.

“Alright, have fun.” He said and walked over to some grass before laying down.

“Alright girls, what kind of song should we play?” Kipo asked her friends.

“Oh I know!” Sweetie Belle said with a smile. “Let’s sing something simple to start, like the happy birthday song?”

“The happy birthday song?” Scootaloo asked.

“Yeah, it is easy and we all know it.” Sweetie Belle said, still smiling.

“It is a good starter song for us.” Kipo said in agreement.

“Aww fine.” Scootaloo said with a pout.

Kipo pats her back. “Don’t worry, we can sing a song of your choice next. Ok?”

“Ok.” Scootaloo said with a nod.

The Crusaders all gathered together and after making sure they were ready,they began to play and sing happy birthday, except they weren’t doing so great, in fact, they were doing pretty poorly that it made Full Moon wince from the off-key playing. Sweetie Belle was the only one doing good but combine her good singing with the others poor playing, it really didn’t matter how well she sang. This went on until they reached the end of the song and they all looked at Full Moon. “Soooo? How’d we do?” Applebloom asked.

“Well…” Full Moon started before he looked away. “I can still teach you how to play.”

“It was bad wasn’t it?” Scootaloo asked.

He looked back at them with a sigh. “Sorry girls, it was bad.”

“We kinda figured based on your reaction.” Kipo said.

“If you want I can try to teach you all at once or do separate lessons.”

“Eh, we’re in no rush so how about we do separate lessons?” Kipo suggested.

“Eh, I’m cool with that.” Scootaloo said, shrugging her shoulders a bit.

“Ok, I will let you girls pick the order in which I teach.” He said before standing up. “And while you do that I shall get lunch.”

“Yes Mr. Moon.” they all said before they began to discuss with one another about who’s going to be first to get taught how to play while Full Moon went inside to get food.

“I think Sweetie or I should go first.” Scootaloo said before pointing at Kipo. “He can teach you any time, and Applebloom has AJ to teach her how to play.”

“Ah kinda have to agree with that. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle don’t really have anyone to teach them.” Applebloom said and Kipo nodded her head.

“Yeah, I’m ok with that.” she said.

“Well there are a few musical ponies in town.” Sweetie Belle said with a small smile.

“Well true but Full Moon knows us well enough to know how to teach us in a way that we’ll understand it better.” Kipo said and they had to agree with that. “Besides, who would have the time to teach us how to play?”

“I don’t know, but maybe that white unicorn?” Sweetie Belle suggested before elaborating. “DJ PON3.”

“DJ PON3? Who’s that?” Kipo asked.

“You don’t know who that is!?” Scootaloo asked, shocked. “She is a super cool DJ that shows up at all of Pinkie's parties!”

“Oh. Really? Isn’t she the pony who’s always wearing sunglasses and a pair of headphones all the time?” Kipo asked and her friends nodded.

“Yeah that’s her, she is super famous.” Sweetie Belle said before scratching her head. “I wonder why she moved to Ponyville though.”

“Maybe she wanted a change of scenery?” Scootaloo guessed.

“Yeah, Ponyville is great.” Applebloom said before her eyes widened. “Hey! I got an idea! What if we go see her and tell her we want to help out at the next party? We will be her opening act!”

“Yeah! It can be the start of our rise to being all time music stars!” Scootaloo exclaimed, jumping into the air as her wings buzzed in excitement.

“What’s got you so pumped up?” Full Moon asked as he came out with a tray of food on his back and a portable table in his mouth.

“We were just talking about asking DJ PON3 to see if we can help her by becoming her opening act.” Sweetie Belle said.

“Yeah! It’ll definitely make us super famous if a lot of ponies see us play!” Scootaloo said, her wings still buzzing in excitement.

Full Moon winced lightly at the idea. “Oh…I see, perhaps I should go with you girls when you go meet her.”

“Wait, so that means we can ask her?!” Applebloom asked as she and the others began to gain huge grins on their faces.

“Yes, but you won’t go on stage till you at least know how to play your instruments.” He said before adding. “Also ask your guardians.”

“We will! Don’t worry! I’m sure Rainbow Dash will want to hear how we’re gonna become famous!” Scootaloo said.

He chuckled and waved a hoof at the food after sliding it onto the table. “Well my little band, eat up first.” The Crusaders put down their instruments and walked over to the plate of food and began to eat while also still talking.

“I wonder what we should call ourselves if we do become famous rockstars.” Kipo said before taking a bite out of a sandwich.

“Well first we need to pick who is the lead.” Scootaloo said with a smile.

“You mean lead singer or something?” Applebloom asked.

“Kinda, in a band there is always one pony in charge of the group. Iit isn't always the singer, sometimes it's the guitar player.” Scootaloo said with a grin.

“Oh, so a leader then. But um, none of us are the leader type.” Kipo said.

“I was gonna suggest you actually.” Scootaloo said with a small smile.

“Wait, me?” Kipo asked and Scootaloo nodded. “Why me? I don’t really know the first thing about being in charge. All I’m good at is making sure you three don’t get hurt.”

“Exactly, you are probably the most responsible out of all of us and you also make sure that we don't do anything too reckless.” Scootaloo said with a smile, getting the others to nod.

“Well, I guess I have to agree with you on that. But I’m still not sure if I’m up for it.” she said, nervously rubbing her arm.

“Give it a try, you may like it.” Sweetie Belle said with a smile.

“Yeah, plus, Ah’d think you would be great at it!” Applebloom encouraged.

Kipo smiled a little and nodded. “Ok, I’ll give it a shot.”

“Now that that is settled, how about the Cutie Rockers?” Applebloom suggested with a smile.

“Hmm, Cutie Rockers? It doesn’t really roll off the tongue.” Scootaloo said.

“Sweetie and the Belles?” Sweetie Belle suggested next with a sheepish smile.

Her friends giggled a bit. “Maybe if we don’t have any other ideas.” Applebloom said.

“Oh! How about something with Kipo’s name?” Scootaloo suggested.

“My name? I mean, there really isn’t much to work with. You have Kipo and then you have Shy.” Kipo said with a shrug. “Can’t really create something with those.”

The girls hummed in thought before Sweetie Belle suggested. “Kipo and the ponettes?”

“Ponettes?” the other Crusaders questioned.

Sweetie Belle shrugged. “It is a suffix that is usually given to female groups.”

The Crusaders thought it over, it did sound good and they didn’t have any other ideas save for Sweetie and the Belle’s. “Hmm, it does sound good.” Applebloom said.

“We can use it till we come up with something better.” Kipo said shyly.

“That’s ok, we have a band name. All we need to do is get some lessons.” Scootaloo said.

“And with that we can begin.” Full Moon said with a smile. “Who’s first?”

“You want to go first Sweetie Belle?” Scootaloo asked her.

“Ok, but aren’t I just singing?” She asked.

“You are but you could still be taught how to sing in sync with the music so you’re not out of sync.” Full Moon said. “So I could teach both you and Scootaloo at the same time.”

“Cool!” They said at the same time.

Full Moon chuckles a bit. “You four just keep saying everything in unison huh?”

“It is our thing.” Applebloom said with a chuckle.

“Yeah, plus it would feel weird to stop now since we’ve done it for so long.” Scootaloo said and Full Moon chuckles.

“Alright, let’s start with Scootaloo, get on the seat and I will show you how to play.”

Scootaloo nodded before running over to her drum set and picked up the drumsticks Kipo made her, ready to get started if the excited grin on her face was any indication.

“Alright start with a simple beat, in your mind count to one and tap this drum each time.” Full Moon said before demonstrating. “One.” He tapped the drum. “One.” He tapped again, he repeated this a few times before looking at Scootaloo.

Scootaloo nodded, even though she thought it was lame and boring, she counted to one before tapping on the drum each time. “One.” she tapped the drum. “One.” another tap.

“Good, now while you are doing that try to do the same with this drum but count to two.” Full Moon explained, tapping another drum.

Scootaloo nodded. “One, two.” she tapping the first drum on one and the second one at two.

“Good work, now this part is tricky.” Full Moon went on for the next half hour teaching her the basics of playing the drums. Scootaloo managed to follow his instructions thanks to him making it easy for her and soon, she was playing the drums. Not expertly since she still had a long ways to go but she was decent enough.

“Good work, now the hard part.” Full Moon said before he grinned. “Homework!”

“Aw man!” Scootaloo whined and everyone laughed at her reaction. “Not homework! I hate homework!”

“Sorry kiddo, but you have to do it or you won’t be much of a drum player.” Full Moon said before handing her a book. “Read this when you can, it is a book on how to read music.”

“Darn it.” grumbled Scootaloo as she took the book.

“Hey, that is not a word a filly should use.” Full Moon said with a frown before looking at the others. “I don’t want any of you saying that word, especially you Kipo.”

“You don’t want us to say darn it?” Kipo asked, a bit confused.

“Huh? Didn’t she say…” Full Moon frowned and rubbed his ear, pulling out a small ball of wax.

That immediately grossed out the Crusaders as they all grimaced at it while exclaiming. “Ew! Gross!”

He rolled his eyes and tossed the wax into the forest. “It is just ear wax, we all make it.”

“But it’s still gross dude!” Scootaloo said, still grimacing.

He shook his head. “Anyway, I must have misheard you, I thought you said something else.”

“What did you think I said?” she asked him.

Full Moon raised an eyebrow. “You really think I would tell you the bad word that little fillies should say?”

“Uuhh, maybe?” Scootaloo said and Full Moon just shakes his head while smiling a bit.

“Nice try.” He looked up at the sun and checked the time before humming. “If you’d like, I can take you girls to a music store and get you each books on how to read music.”

“We would like that Mr. Moon.” Kipo said, her friends agreeing.

“Plus, it’ll be a nice break to have after practicing for a while.” Sweetie Belle added.

“Alright, help me get these things backed into the cart and then we can go.” He said as he started disassembling the drum set.

“Ok Mr. Moon.” The Crusaders then started to help him put the instruments they had taken out, save for Kipo’s guitar as she decided to keep it on her, back into the cart.

After they finished he pulled it over to the side of Fluttershy’s house. “Alright, let’s go kids.” He smiled and started walking away from the house. Kipo and her friends quickly followed and the five of them made their way into Ponyville before something caught Kipo’s eye and she looked up.

“What was that?” Kipo asked after seeing something colorful spin out of control in the sky before disappearing.

“What was what?” Scootaloo asked as she looked up, following Kipo’s gaze.

“I thought I saw something in the sky. Not too sure what though since it disappeared before I could get a good look at it.” Kipo said.

“Maybe you’ll see it again, or it could have been a pegasus.” Scootaloo said with a small shrug.

“Maybe.” Kipo shrugged as well as they continued to follow Full Moon to a nearby music shop.

“Ah here it is.” He said as he looked at the sign to the store. “I haven’t been here before.” He muttered before sniffing the air while reaching for the door but froze.

“But it does seem like a pretty cool place.” Applebloom said as she and the other Crusaders entered.

Full Moon gulped before he followed in after them. He looked around to spot what he smelled but so far nothing. “You girls head to the book section, Kipo, keep an eye on them.”

Kipo giggles a bit. “I always do if I want to keep them out of trouble.”

Full Moon looked around and sniffed a few times before covering his nose. ‘Damn, wolf’s bane is all around the shop.’

“Yo, you good dude? Place is not dusty is it?” he heard someone say and turned to look at a unicorn mare with a white coat, a mane and tail with two different shades of blue that was unkempt, and was wearing a pair of magenta shades that covered her eyes with a pair of headphones around her neck. He recognized this mare as Vinyl Scratch, or otherwise known as DJ PON3, a mare who usually kept quiet most of the time.

“Just…something smells off.” He said softly and lowered his hoof, he looked at her eyes and raised an eyebrow. “You run this shop?”

She nodded her head. “Yup. Kinda figured I could start a small business, because being a DJ for some of Pinkie’s parties doesn’t exactly help much with bills. Plus, there’s also the fact my roommate gets on my case about it too.”

“I see.” Full Moon glanced around before looking back at the mare. “Are you new to town?”

“Nah dude. Been here for years. Why do you ask?” she asked him.

“I just didn’t know you lived in town.” He said as he tried to sniff the air but only smelled the wolf’s bane.

“Are you sure you’re good? You keep smelling something ever since ya got in here.” Vinyl said, raising an eyebrow at him.

“I think so…I just smelled something…batty.” He said with a frown.

“Batty?” she asked then hummed a bit. “Well I did find a couple of bats up in the attic just yesterday when I was cleaning this place up a bit. They made a mess out of that place like you wouldn’t believe!” she chuckled, “Maybe you’re smelling bat turd that I haven’t managed to fully clean out and haven’t noticed.”

“I don’t think that’s it.” He said with a frown. “You are the bat…aren’t you?” He asked letting out a growl.

“Uh, do I look like a bat to you? Because last time I checked, I had a horn, no wings, and certainly no fangs.” she then showed him her teeth which were all flat like everyone else’s. “See? No fangs. So you gonna keep accusing me of stuff or you here to buy something? Because if it’s the first, you can go ahead and leave buddy.”

Full Moon frowned and looked around again, once he knew they were alone he said. “I know what you are, I warn you, don’t you dare hurt my family or friends.” The fur on his back lifted up as he bared his teeth as they shifted to sharp fangs.

She just scoffs before pulling her shades down a bit, revealing a pair of blood red eyes with slit pupils. “You don’t scare me mutt. I’ve been around long enough to know how to scare you guys away. Like the wolfsbane that you keep picking up. So. Back. The. Buck. Off.” she then lifted her shades back up to cover her eyes.

Full Moon struggled to keep his fangs out but they slowly changed back. “If you hurt my pup and her friends, you won’t be able to run fast enough.” He said before tilting his head. “Go sell them the books they came for so we can leave.”

“Yeah yeah, don’t need to tell me what to do mutt.” Vinyl said as Kipo and the rest of the Crusaders came up with books.

“Hi Mr. Moon, we have the books and are ready to check out.” Kipo said, then she and her friends noticed the tension between Full Moon and Vinyl. “Is something wrong?”

“No, get your books girls, we should get you all home.” Full Moon said, not taking his eyes off of Vinyl.

The girls all looked at each other in worry before placing their books on the checkout counter, letting Vinyl ring them all up while she kept her eyes on Full Moon though one could barely tell with her shades blocking their view of her eyes.

“Here you go kiddos.” She said while passing the bag of books to them.

“Thank you.” They said as they grabbed their bags.

“See you around, Mr. Moon.” Vinyl said to him with a smirk that showed off one of her fangs.

He lets out a low growl as he ushered the Crusaders out of the shop. Once they were outside they all began to walk back to the cottage, silent for a few minutes until they were far enough away. “Girls, I want you to be very careful around that mare.”

“Why? She seemed nice.” Scootaloo said, confused.

“Did it have something to do with the wolfsbane I smelt in there?” Kipo asked and Full Moon nodded.

“Yes, but we can’t talk about it here.” He said as his ear twitched.

“Ok.” Kipo said quietly and they all remained quiet all the way until they reached the cottage.

Full Moon sat down and sighed. “I need something to get that smell out of my nose.”

“Um, what smell?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Wolfsbane, Miss Zecora told me about it once. Said it was like a repellent for wereponies or something?” Kipo said, not sure if she got the details right.

“More or less, it weakens them.” Full Moon said before looking over at the fillies. “Would you girls go back to town and get Fluttershy for me?”

However, before any of them could respond, they all heard a loud, beastly roar coming all the way from Ponyville, shocking them all. “What the hay was that?!” Scootaloo shouted as they all stared at the town.

Full Moon twitched his ears before nodding a bit. “A griffon.”

“A griffon?!” Scootaloo excitedly exclaimed, jumping into the air as her wings buzzed. “A griffon is in Ponyville!? We have to go see it!”

“I wouldn’t, from the sound of that roar they…no she is very upset.” Full Moon said as his ears kept twitching.

“She? How can you tell it was a girl griffon that roared?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“The pitch of the roar. Male griffons sound more deep.” Full Moon said softly.

“Really? Huh, Ah’m gonna guess you’ve been around griffons before?” Applebloom asked and Full Moon nodded.

“Yeah, I ran with a …not so nice group a while before I met Fluttershy.” He said with a soft smile.

“What do you mean Mr. Moon? Why weren’t they nice?” Kipo asked, curious to learn about Full Moon’s past.

Full Moon sighed a bit. “I…don’t like talking about that time of my life.” He said while looking away in shame.

“Oh, that’s ok. You don’t have to tell us if you don’t want to.” Kipo said, giving him a small smile as she pats his leg.

He smiled at her. “Thank you pup.” He said before everyone heard hooves trotting up to the cottage and looked over to see Fluttershy, looking a little worried.

“You ok momma?” Kipo asked her mother as she walked up to them.

“I’m fine sweetie, though I would advise you and your friends be careful when out in town.” Fluttershy said.

“Because of the griffon in town?” Full Moon asked.

“Yes, she’s not very friendly. I learned that the hard way when I accidentally stepped on her tail while leading a family of ducks to a nearby pond for them to stay at.” Fluttershy said then sighed. “She roared in my face as a result.”

“Yikes, not fun, even for us.” He said before he smiled at the kids. “Why don’t you four start reading your books? I need to talk with Fluttershy for a minute.”

“Ok, Mr. Moon.” Sweetie Belle said before she and the others ran back over to the instruments with the bag of books.

Fluttershy watched them go before looking at Full Moon. “What did you want to talk to me about?”

“There is someone in town that we may have to worry about.” He said with a frown before pointing at her. “Another vamp.”

That made Fluttershy worried even more as she had not noticed that there was another vampony living in Ponyville before. “What? Are you sure?”

“She flashed her fangs and eyes at me, I am pretty sure.” He said before sighing. “She also has her shop filled with wolfsbane.”

“Wolfsbane? She must be pretty knowledgeable to know about that.” Fluttershy said, frowning. “Who is it?”

“A white unicorn mare, Vinyl Scratch.” He said with a frown and rubbed his nose. “That darn smell is still stuck in my muzzle.”

“Vinyl? She works as a DJ for some of Pinkie’s parties. I didn’t expect her to be a vampony.” Fluttershy said before sighing. “As long as she doesn’t come around here or look for trouble with us, we should just leave her alone. But if she does anything to Kipo or our friends, then I’ll deal with her.”

“I already gave her a warning about staying about from Kipo and her friends, though…I don’t think she took me seriously…she probably thought I was all bark.” He scoffed a bit.

“Most vamponies would think that. Same with wereponies, they won’t take us vamponies seriously.” Fluttershy said. “Anyways, like I said, if she comes around here looking for trouble I’ll take care of her.”

“Alright, just be careful.” He said with a sigh then he smiled. “Mind if I sniff you?”

Fluttershy blinked a little in surprise before raising an eyebrow at him. “Um, why?”

He smiled and got closer. “So I can smell your scent all day long.” He said with a soft growl.

That made Fluttershy’s face turn a bright shade of red and she began to stammer a bit. “W-well, I, u-uh, maybe we, o-oh dear.”

He chuckled and nuzzled her. “You are so adorable when you are shy.” Fluttershy just squeaks in response, making Full Moon laugh. “I love you.” He said softly as he placed his forehead on hers.

“I-I love you too. Even if you like to tease me most of the time.” Fluttershy finally managed to say, giving him a small pout.

He chuckled a bit and sat back. “Aww but you're so cute when I tease you.” He smiled and looked over at Kipo and the others as they read their books. “They seem to be having fun.”

Fluttershy nodded her head. “Yeah, though it makes me wonder if they might end up being a band when they grow older, if they didn’t already plan on becoming one.”

“It would be nice if they could.” He said before he got up and stretched. “Welp, I need to go get that smell of wolfsbane out of my nose.”

“Alright, want me to take over teaching them how to play?” Fluttershy asked.

“If you don’t mind.” He said with a smile and nuzzle.

She nuzzled him back. “Alright, I’ll handle teaching them while you try to get that smell out.”

“You are so kind to me.” He kissed her cheek before trotting into the house.

Fluttershy smiles before walking over to the Crusaders who noticed her. “Hi momma. Where’s Mr. Moon?”

“He is just getting cleaned up, and after a little bit all of you should get cleaned up too. It is almost lunch time.” She said with a smile.

“It is? Wow, time sure flies by when you’re having fun. Well, as much fun as you can have with reading a book.” Scootaloo said, holding up said music book with an annoyed look on her face.

Fluttershy giggled a bit. “Reading can be fun.”

“Maybe for someone like Twilight but not to me.” Scootaloo said.

“But hey, at least if we read these we can get better with our instruments and maybe one day become one of the greatest bands ever.” Kipo said and Scootaloo nodded.

“That sounds fun.” Fluttershy said softly before she giggled. “Rainbow tried to get me to join her band once.”

“Rainbow Dash nearly made a band?!” Scootaloo asked excitedly.

“And you were asked to join momma?” Kipo asked next.

“Oh yes, but this was back when we were in flight school and I was far too shy to go on stage and play with her.” Fluttersny said before frowning a bit. “But she did find another pony to play with…but she wasn’t a pony. Gilda…” She looked back towards town. “Was that her?” She asked herself.

“Gilda wasn’t a pony? What was she then?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“I bet she was something cool like a dragon!” Scootaloo suggested.

“She is a griffon, she was as shy as I was but I guess she toughened up.” Fluttershy sighed softly.

“Maybe she’s the griffon we heard from Ponyville?” Applebloom said.

“Maybe, she seemed similar.” Fluttershy said softly. She then shook her head a bit. “Anyways, let’s go ahead and get back to practicing, ok?”

“Whoo!” Scootaloo cheered as she set the book down and ran over to the drum set.

“Settle down Scoots. Oh what am I even saying, you’ll get excited no matter what I say huh?” Kipo asked as she, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom walked over with the latter getting her instrument.

“This is gonna be fun.” Applebloom said with a smile.

“Yeah, hopefully we’ll get pretty good enough for our first gig.” Sweetie Belle said. Soon, all four of them were ready to practice.

“One two three!” Scootaloo shouted before she started playing, however, a few seconds into playing, her drumsticks suddenly snapped in half, causing the two pieces to go flying. Thankfully they didn’t hit anyone and instead landed in a bush or on the ground.

Scootaloo looked at the sticks in sadness. “My sticks…”

“Don’t worry Scoots, I can make you another pair.” Kipo reassured as she pats her back.

“Really?” She asked with a smile.

Kipo nodded her head. “Yeah, and this time, I’ll try to make them a little better so they don’t break so easily.”

“Ok.” Scootaloo said with a smile.

“I just need to find a stick and-”

“You can use these!” Everyone jumped when they heard Pinkie’s voice, making them look to see her pulling out a pair of drumsticks from her mane and holding them out to Scootaloo. “Hi girls!”

“Hi Pinkie!” All the girls said together.

“Thank you for the drum sticks!” Scootaloo said with a smile.

“No problem Scoots!” Pinkie Pie said as she ruffles Scootaloo's mane a bit. “Oh! Before I forget, I wanted to ask if you girls wanted to play at the party I’m planning!”

“You want us to play at your party?” Kipo asked as she and her friends began to grow excited.

“Yep! Vinyl is a bit busy so she can’t play and I heard you four were starting a band.” Pinkie Pie said with a smile.

“We are but we’re not sure if we are good enough yet so we were about to be taught by Fluttershy before you suddenly appeared.” Applebloom explained.

“That's ok, I am sure you girls will be great!” Pinkie Pie said with a smile.

The four of them began to think about it. “Well, it would be a good way to see how well we do performing for a crowd.” Sweetie Belle said.

“Yeah, plus, imagine how cool we’ll be if we become a big hit!” Scootaloo added.

“We should practice more though.” Applebloom said before she asked. “When is the party?”

“Oh in about an hour. Plenty of time to get that practice in!” Pinkie said before she began to hop away. “Welp, gotta go! Got to get the party ready!”

“An hour? Oh dear.” Fluttershy said with a frown.

“What’s wrong momma?” Kipo asked.

“Well that isn’t much time, you’ll want to be cleaned up for the party after all.” She said with a slight frown.

“Oh. Well I’m sure we can get that done quickly. Right girls?” Kipo asked her friends.

“Yeah! We can be super fast.” Scootaloo said with a grin.

“Well…” Fluttershy then sighed and smiled. “Ok. As long as you are quick about it.”

The girls cheered before getting back to practicing. They practiced for a while before Full Moon walked out, after having finally gotten rid of the smell of wolfsbane from his nose, and smiled. “They are getting better.”

“Yeah, they are. Probably because something is driving them to get better. Want to know what that is?” Fluttershy asked her coltfriend.

“Sure.” He asked as he sat next to her and smiled at her.

“Pinkie asked them to perform at the party she’s setting up.”

“Oh wow, lucky them.” He smiled at that.

“Yeah, but the party starts in an hour so now they’re gonna get as much practice as they can before needing to get cleaned up for it.” Fluttershy said, wincing slightly when she heard Kipo play a bad note, making her frown before trying again.

“I see, well I will be sure to let everypony know ahead of time to be gentle with them.” He said with a small chuckle.

“I’m sure Pinkie would already take care of that but thanks.” Fluttershy said just as the Crusaders stopped playing and looked at them expectantly.

“So how did we do?” Scootaloo asked.

“You did good, kids, a bit more work and you”ll be ready. Speaking of being ready, have you picked a song?” Full Moon asked with a small smile.

“Oh, um…” They all looked at each other.

“We haven’t exactly thought of that yet.” Applebloom said.

“I suggest you think about it and pick something simple.” He said with a chuckle.

“Ok Mr. Moon.” Kipo said and they began to discuss what kind of song they should play for the party.

After a while the Crusaders had figured out a song to play and, after getting cleaned up for the party, they, Full Moon and Fluttershy began to make their way to Sugarcube Corner with Full Moon pulling the cart that had Scootaloo’s drum set. “Wonder what kind of party Aunt Pinkie is throwing this time.” Kipo wondered.

“It is probably a welcome party for the griffon in town.” Full Moon said with a small frown.

“If it is Gilda then I am surprised to see her here, she lives all the way in Griffon Stone.” Fluttershy said as she watched the girls, making sure they were being careful.

“Wonder what she’s doing all the way out here.” Full Moon said, humming in thought. “Maybe she’s here for something?”

“She and Rainbow were close friends, she could be here for her.” Fluttershy said to him.

“Really? Dash was friends with a griffon?” Full Moon asked, a bit surprised by such news. “Wonder how that happened.”

“She went to flight school with us as a transfer student.” Fluttershy said with a smile. “She was pretty shy at first but eventually came out of her shell when she and Rainbow Dash became friends.”

“Ah, I see. Wonder why Rainbow doesn’t talk about her.” Full Moon said the last part more to himself than to Fluttershy.

“I’m not sure, maybe she was hurt when Gilda had to leave back home?” Fluttershy guessed as they arrived at the Sugarcube Corner, inside they saw Rainbow Dash setting up a few pranks.

“What’cha doing Rainbow Dash?” Scootaloo asked the rainbow maned pegasus.

Rainbow Dash jumped into the air. “Oh geez! You scared the hay out of me!” She took a few breaths to calm down before smiling. “Hey squirt, I am just setting up some pranks.”

“Pranks? For who?” Scootaloo asked, she and the others curious on why Rainbow Dash was setting them up and who they were for.

Rainbow shrugged a bit. “For whoever trips them, everypony gets a good laugh and have some fun.”

“Just make sure you don’t set them up near whatever Pinkie Pie has designated as the stage area. The pup and her friends are gonna be playing for the party.” Full Moon said.

“They are what?!” Rainbow asked with a grin.

“We’re gonna play for the party! As of right now, you’re looking at Ponyville’s newest band, Kipo and The Ponettes!” Scootaloo declared proudly, striking a pose as she did.

Rainbow Dash let out an excited laugh. “That is wonderful Scoots! After the party I will show you my guitar skills.”

“Really?! Awesome!” Scootaloo exclaimed happily, causing her friends to roll their eyes a bit but were still smiling.

“Welp, go ahead and ask Pinkie where she wants you to play and I’ll get the drum set ready ok?” Full Moon said to them.

“Ok Mr. Moon!” Kipo said before she and her friends went to look for the hyperactive pink mare.

Fluttershy walked up to Rainbow Dash. “Are you sure there should be this many pranks?”

“Relax Shy, all of them are harmless. No one is going to get hurt from them.” Rainbow Dash said, smirking a bit. “If anything, everyone will get a kick out of them.”

“If you say so.” Fluttershy said softly.

“Relax will ya? Besides, not all these pranks are meant for everyone else. Let’s just say I had a specific target in mind.” she then snickers a bit.

Fluttershy raised an eyebrow. “As long as everyone has fun I guess its fine.”

Scootaloo then ran up to them. “We found out where Pinkie wants us to play.”

“Cool, let’s get everything set up.” Full Moon said with a smirk. He and Scootaloo then went off to another part of the bakery, leaving Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash alone.

“So, how have you been Shy?” Rainbow Dash asked her long time friend.

“I have been alright. Discovered something today but it’s nothing to worry about.” Fluttershy said but then thought to herself, ’For now at least.’

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Well if we don’t have to worry them it is probably nothing. How has Kipo been?”

“She has been doing fine. She has been enjoying practicing playing her guitar though she is a little nervous since her friends suggested she be the leader of the band.”

“She is the leader?” Rainbow Dash asked with a raised eyebrow. “Huh, it could be good for her confidence.”

“I think so too. I just hope she doesn’t freeze up when they begin to play.” Fluttershy said, her voice had a hint of worry in it which Rainbow Dash noticed and just chuckles.

“I don’t think she will, but you should be in the first row so she can focus on you if she starts to freeze up.” Rainbow Dash said with a smile and light push.

Fluttershy nodded. “Yeah, probably a good idea.” The two then began to make their way over to the food table. “So, I saw Gilda not that long ago. She here for a visit?”

“Yeah, but with my busy schedule we haven't had much time to hang.” Rainbow Dash said with a groan. “Sometimes it bites to be in charge of the weather.”

Fluttershy pats her friends back. “It does but hey, someone has to do it. Plus, you are good at it.”

“Oh I know I am the best at it, but I get so busy.” She sighed and rubbed her face.

Fluttershy just giggles a bit before frowning a bit. “Um, Rainbow Dash? Can I ask you something? Something about Gilda?”

“Sure, what's up?” Rainbow Dash Asked with a smile.

“U-um, well, has Gilda acted a little different since she got here?” she asked.

“Well…maybe a bit.” Rainbow Dash said before looking ahead. “But like I said I haven’t been able to hang with her much, I am either busy with work or Pinkie Pie showed up and kinda…butted in.”

That made Fluttershy raise an eyebrow but decided to focus on what she was trying to say. “Well, earlier today she roared in my face very loudly after I accidentally stepped on her tail and apologized to her. I’m not saying this to create a rift in your friendship with her, I just wanted to let you know.”

Rainbow Dash frowned a bit before she looked away and sighed. “Yeah, her tail is…sensitive. I will try to talk to her when she shows up.”

Fluttershy nodded. “Ok.”

Rainbow Dash looked over at the stage where the kids were finished setting up. “Hope they do good, their first gig is always the scariest.”

“Yeah. Remember how nervous you were when you and Gilda first started your band?” Fluttershy teased, causing Rainbow Dash to blush in embarrassment.

“Yeah…we kinda didn’t know what we were doing back then.” She chuckled a bit. “But hey, at least we did well.”

Fluttershy giggles a bit. “Yeah, you did.”

“Is the reason you never joined us was because of your secret?” Rainbow Dash asked her.

“Oh no, that was me being too shy to do so.” Fluttershy said and Rainbow Dash nodded.

“Ok, I asked because…well after you told us I started thinking back on everything and I was worried I may have been pushing you too hard.” Rainbow Dash said softly as she rubbed her foreleg.

“What do you mean?” Fluttershy asked.

“Well…I always tried to get you to come out of your shell but…I could have been putting you in danger without realizing it.” Rainbow Dash said with a frown as she looked at the ground.

“Rainbow Dash it’s fine. You were just trying to help me so you don’t need to feel guilty about doing so.” Fluttershy reassured, hugging her friend.

Rainbow Dash hugged her back. “Thanks, I just hope I never said or did anything upsetting to you.”

“You didn’t.” Fluttershy then smirked. “Oh, by the way, whenever you and Pinkie try to prank me, do remember that I can still hear you even if you are behind a bush some distance away.”

Rainbow blushed a bit and chuckled. “Right…I will be sure to remember that.”

They then heard the doors open and looked to see a griffon standing at the entrance. She was mostly brown save for her head which had white feathers with three bigger feathers sticking out the top of her head that had purple tips, and she had yellow eyes.

“Hey G!” Rainbow said with a smile as she flew over to the griffon. “You remember Fluttershy right?” She asked while gesturing to Fluttershy.

“Fluttershy?” Gilda asked, confused as she looked at Fluttershy before it clicked. “Oh yeah, Fluttershy. Wait, didn’t I…” her eyes widened as she recalled what she had done earlier. “Oh…oh buck.”

Fluttershy waved shyly. “H-hey Gilda, s-sorry again for…s-stepping on your tail.”

“It’s uh, it’s fine. I um..” Gilda looked uncomfortable before she sighed. “I’m sorry for roaring in your face. It was pretty uncool of me.” hearing that made Rainbow Dash smile a bit.

“O-oh thank you for apologizing. I do hope you like our small town.” Fluttershy said with a smile then she used a wing to point at the stage. “In a bit my daughter and her friends are gonna play for everyone, but…well…” She looked like she was trying to find a nice way to say it.

“Your kid? Well now that’s a surprise. Who’s the lucky stallion that you started a family with?” Gilda asked, smirking a bit.

Fluttershy blushed bright red and looked at the ground. “Oh u-um I…don’t…we…”

Rainbow sighed a bit. “Fluttersny has a coltfriend but they didn’t do it to make Kipo, Kipo is adopted.”

“Ah, ok. But still, congrats on the kid.” She then looked around. “So where are they? Lost somewhere in this little party or something?”

Fluttershy looked around before smiling and pointed at Kipo as she adjusted her guitar. “That is her.”

Gilda looked and blinked a bit in surprise. “What the hay is she? She reminds me of a minotaur, except, less bull and more ape and stuff.”

“She is called a human.” Fluttershy said with a soft smile. “I found her as a baby and raised her.”

“Human? Never heard of them. You sure she ain’t just some odd minotaur or something?” Gilda asked.

“She…well her story is very complicated, but she is a human. Would you like to meet her?” Fluttershy asked with a kind smile.

Gilda became slightly nervous. “I don’t know. What if the kid is scared of griffons? I don’t want to make a bad first impression.”

“Well…she actually hasn’t met one before, but she is very friendly and will want to be your friend.” Fluttershy said before she frowned a little. “But please…don’t roar in her face.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t. As if I’d ever do that to a kid.” Gilda said.

Fluttershy nodded and smiled again. “Good, and it is nice to see you again, Gilda.” She started walking to Kipo and the other fillies.

“Same to you Flutters. Glad to see that you’ve been doing well.” Gilda said as she, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were about to reach the girls when suddenly, Pinkie appeared out of nowhere.

“Hi girls! You’re just in time!” she said, causing the three of them to jump.

“Pinkie, you shouldn’t do that.” Fluttershy said with a small frown.

“Do what?” Pinkie asked innocently.

“Pop out of nowhere.” Fluttershy said with a soft sigh.

“Oooh! Ok! Sorry about that. Anyways, you three are just in time to hear Kipo and her friends play!” Pinkie excitedly said.

Fluttershy smiled softly. “Wonderful, I can't wait to hear them.”

“Okie doki! Welp, I better go tell everyone that the Crusaders about to play!” Pinkie then dashed off.

“I bet they’ll sound great.” Rainbow Dash said.

“Not if you taught them.” Gilda said with a chuckle as she elbowed Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash just chuckles. “Well, I didn’t. I think they practiced on their own or something.”

“My coltfriend helped them.” Fluttershy said softly before Pinkie began to speak loudly.

“Hey everyone! Today we have a special surprise for you as a newly formed band is gonna be playing for us! So give a round of applause for Kipo and the Ponnettes!” cheered Pinkie as she gestures to Kipo and her friends and they begin to play.

[Kipo]

“♪Look, here, are three little ponies
Ready to sing for this crowd
Listen up, 'cause here's our story
I'm gonna sing it♪”

[Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, Kipo, and Scootaloo]

“♪Very loud!♪”

[Scootaloo]

“♪When you're a younger pony
And your flank is very bare
Feels like the sun will never come
When your cutie mark's not there!♪”

“♪So the three of us will fight the fight
There is nothing that we fear
We'll have to figure out what we'll do next♪”

[Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, Kipo, and Scootaloo]

“♪Till our Cutie Marks are here!

We are the Cutie Mark Crusaders
On a quest to find out who we are
And we will never stop the journey
Not until we have our cutie marks!♪”

[Scootaloo]

“♪They all say that you'll get your mark
When the time is really right
And you know just what you're supposed to do
And your talent comes to light!♪”

“♪But it's not as easy as it sounds
And that waiting's hard to do
So we test our talents everywhere!♪”

{Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, Kipo and Scootaloo]

“♪Until our face is blue!

We are the Cutie Mark Crusaders
On a quest to find out who we are
And we will never stop the journey
Not until we have our Cutie Marks

We are the Cutie Mark Crusaders
On a quest to find out who we are
And we will never stop the journey
Not until we have our Cutie Marks!♪”

Everyone began to cheer when the song ended, making the Crusaders all smile proudly. “Wow, the kids aren't bad, still need some practice but if this is their first gig it is pretty good.” Gilda said with a small smirk.

“Yeah, bet you’re pretty proud huh Shy?” Rainbow Dash asked Fluttershy who just smiled and nodded her head.

“I am, but I am mostly just happy Kipo is having fun.” She said as she watched Kipo.

“She does seem happy.” Gilda said before picking up a glass of punch and drank it, however it was a prank glass that spilled the punch onto her chest feathers. “Gah! What the heck!?”

Rainbow Dash began laughing. “Oh man that was priceless!”

Gilda growled and crushed the cup. “Whoever did that is dead.”

“Whoa easy G. No need to go all crazy. It’s just a harmless prank.” Rainbow Dash said to her old friend, smirking a little as she asked, “You’re seriously not gonna freak out over something as small as that, right?”

“Do you have any idea how hard it is to get punch out of griffon feathers?!” Gilda all but yelled before she covered her face and tried to calm down.

“Ok yeah, I do know since you told me about it back then. Don’t worry though, I’m sure it isn’t gonna stain too bad so there won’t be much of a hassle.” Rainbow Dash said, hoping to calm her friend down while Fluttershy looked a bit worried.

“Just…get me something to clean my chest off with please, I am trying really hard not to snap.”

“Snap?” Fluttershy asked while Rainbow Dash left to get something for GIlda to use to clean herself up.

“You know, start yelling at everyone here, being a bitch to everyone.” Gilda said with a frown.

“O-oh. Have you started getting some anger problems after the last time I saw you?” Fluttershy asked but quickly added. “If you don’t mind telling me that is.”

Gilda sighed and rubbed her face. “Look, sorry again about the roar, and yeah…I have been working on my anger problem but…sometimes life can really test my patience, ya know?”

Fluttershy nodded her head. “I understand Gilda. Life is like that sometimes.”

“Yeah, I suppose havin a chick would let you understand how I feel some times.” Gilda said before she groaned and rubbed her face. “I came here to see Dash again and maybe make up for all the time we missed but that pink pony keeps getting in the way.”

“You mean Pinkie Pie?” Fluttershy asked and Gilda nodded. “Oh, she does tend to be a bit...much but she means well. She’s always trying to make new friends but can get carried away.”

“Whatever.” Gilda huffed. “I just wanted to spend time with Dash…and you as well, now that I know you are here.”

“Maybe I can talk to Pinkie to ease up a bit. That way you can hang out with Rainbow Dash more without having to worry about her constantly trying to butt in.” Fluttershy offered just as Rainbow Dash made her way towards them with a rag in hoof.

“Thanks, I would really appreciate it.” Gilda said with a hint of a smile on her beak before she accepted the rag and started cleaning her chest feathers. “Thanks Dash.”

“No problem Gilda. So, you two been catching up?” She asked them.

“Oh yes, Gilda was just telling me about how she is trying to control her anger.” Fluttershy said with a soft smile.

“Anger? You got anger issues G?” Rainbow Dash asked and Gilda just sighs.

“Yeah…I often snap at somegriff, er…somepony whenever the slightest thing makes me upset.” Gilda said with a frown. “I didn’t want to snap at you because of something small so before coming here I tried ro get better.”

“Geez, that must suck. Always snapping even at the littlest of things. Must be a terrible way to live.” Rainbow Dash said.

Gilda frowned and looked away from Rainbow. “It’s all I’ve known since returning to Griffon Stone.”

Both Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy pat her back. “Well, if you need help, me and Shy can help ya anytime. Right Shy?”

Fluttershy nods. “That’s right.”

“As much as I appreciate the offer, I don't want to ruin our friendship by giving into my greed by just asking for a bunch of bits. Back in Griffon Stone everygriff won’t do anything unless you pay them.” Gilda said with a frown. “It gets to you, and you start acting like that soon enough.”

“Geez, that’s a rough way to live.” Rainbow Dash said and Gilda nodded.

“It is.” She sighed and rolled her eyes. “I even tried selling my family scones from a cart but nogriff wants them…”

Both Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash just pat their old friends back just as KIpo and her friends ran over and began to excitedly talk to the two mares. “Did you see us play momma?!” Kipo asked her mother.

“I bet we looked cool huh Rainbow Dash!?” Scootaloo asked her sister figure.

“Yeah! Did you see how the whole bakery cheered after we were done?!” Applebloom asked.

“Yeah, you girls did awesome!” Rainbow said with a grin.

“It sounded much better than when you practiced.” Fluttershy said before thinking to herself. ‘I wonder if they triggered a heart song by mistake?’

That is when the Crusaders noticed Gilda and gasped. “Oh my gosh! You’re a griffon!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed.

Gilda took a step back. “Y-yeah I am. My name is Gilda.”

“It’s nice to meet you Gilda, my name is Kipo!” Kipo happily introduced herself.

“Ah’m Applebloom!”

“I’m Sweetie Belle.”

“And I’m Scootaloo! Rainbow Dash’s number one and biggest fan and I gotta say it, you look so cool! Not as cool as Rainbow Dash of course but still pretty cool!” Scootaloo said and Gilda just smirks a bit.

“Almost as cool huh?” Gilda said before she puffed out her chest and spread her wings. “I’d say I am the cooler one.”

“No way! Rainbow Dash is!” Scootaloo argued.

“How about we just say that the both of them are cool?” Fluttershy suggested.

“No! Only Rainbow is the cool one.” Scootaloo said but Kipo placed a hand on her shoulder.

“There can be more than one cool one, Scoots. No need to get so worked up about it ok?” Kipo asked with a smile.

“O-ok.” She said as she looked at Kipo. “Sorry Miss Gilda.” She said to the griffon.

“Nah, it's fine, squirt.” Gilda said as she ruffled Scootaloo’s mane. “Kinda expected that from Dash’s number one fan.”

Fluttershy smiled, seeing everyone getting along. “Momma, do you think I could get more lessons?” Kipo asked as she held up a piece of paper that showed an ad for music lessons taught by two mares, Vinyl Scratch and Octavia Melody.

Fluttershy frowned a bit when she saw Vinyl’s name. “Oh, well, you can but wouldn’t it be better if Full Moon taught you instead?”

“Well…he is just one stallion, he can’t teach all of us at the same time, I thought if two of us learned from them, you and Mrs. Moon can teach the other two.” Kipo explained her reasoning.

“Well…” Fluttershy then sighed. “I’ll think about it ok?”

Kipo nodded her head. “Ok momma.”

Pinkie then popped up right next to her with a big smile on her face. “So what do ya think Gilda?! Are ya having lotsa fun?!”

Gilda frowned at Pinkie. “I was…”

“Um, Pinkie? Mind if I talk to you? Oh, and you too Rainbow Dash.” Fluttershy said to her two friends.

“Sure what's up?” Rainbow Dash said as Pinkie nodded her head.

“Well,” Fluttershy then whispered in Rainbow Dash’s ear about her needing to take her pranks down to avoid upsetting Gilda. “Can you do that?”

Rainbow Dash hummed a bit before she smirked. “I got a better idea.” Rainbow Dash whispered to Gilda warning her about all the pranks she hid while Fluttershy talked with Pinkie about boundaries.

“Oh, so you’re the one responsible for the punch that got all over my feathers.” Gilda said with an unamused expression at first before chuckling. “Should’ve figured that was your doing.”

Rainbow Dash chuckled and rubbed the back of her head. “Yeah, sorry about that.”

“It’s fine. You’re lucky they didn’t stain.” Gilda said.

“Even if they did, you will shed them soon, right?” Rainbow Dash said with a smile.

“No, while I do have fur, feathers are another story, we can only shed them once or twice a year and I’ve already shed twice so if they do stain, I’ll have to pluck them out myself instead.” Gilda explained.

“Will it hurt?” Kipo asked her.

“Yeah, it is a bit more painful than pulling out fur.” Gilda said before she shook her head. “Anyway, I will have to look for a place to stay the night after this party, does this little town have a hotel or something?”

“Yeah but you’re more than welcome to crash at my place if you want.” Rainbow Dash said.

“I am?” Gilda asked before raising an eyebrow. “How much?”

“Um, how much what?” Rainbow Dash asked in confusion.

“How much do I have to pay?” Gilda asked her.

“Oh, nothing. I’m not gonna charge my friend bits while she’s staying at my place. The only thing I ask is that you help with the chores.” Rainbow Dash said.

“Why did you ask how much you needed to pay for staying with Rainbow Dash?” Scootaloo asked.

“Because nothing is done for free back in Griffon Stone.” Gilda said with a frown.

“Really?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Yeah…it…it gets exhausting.” Gilda said with a small sigh.

“Well, like Aunt Rainbow Dash said, you don’t have to pay her to stay with her.” Kipo said and Rainbow Dash nodded.

“Th…thanks Dash, I will probably leave in a day or two.” Gilda said while rubbing the back of her head.

“That’s fine G. I’m just happy you visited after all this time.” Rainbow Dash said with a smile.

“Yeah…me too.” Gilda said as she started to smile. Fluttershy and Pinkie then walked back to the group with Pinkie having an apologetic look on her face.

“Hey um, Gilda? I wanna say I’m sorry for constantly butting in like that. I guess I kinda got a bit carried away when I wanted to hang out with Rainbow Dash.” Pinkie apologized to the griffon.

Gilda looked at her before glancing at Rainbow Dash and sighing. “It…it’s fine, just…it's fine.” She said with a small huff as she tried not to be mad at her.

“So are we friends now?” she asked.

Gilda grumbled a bit before sighing. “Sure.”

“Yay!” Pinkie cheered loudly, making nearly everyone around her giggle at her usual antics. “Now let’s go ahead and get to partying!”

Kipo smiled and leaned on Fluttershy. “Momma, can I sit down and rest?”

“Go ahead sweetie. I bet playing for such a big crowd has you a bit tuckered out huh?” Fluttershy asked as Kipo climbed up onto her mothers back.

“Yeah, a little.” she said but had a big smile on her face. “But it was still so fun!”

Gilda smiled a bit. “You got a brave chick to play in front of a crowd this big.”

“Yes, she is very brave.” Fluttershy said softly.

Kipo chuckles while sheepishly rubbing the back of her head. “I’m not that brave.”

Fluttershy looked onto her back and smiled. “Shh, you can rest sweetie.”

Kipo nodded her head, “Ok momma.” then she snuggled into her mother's mane with a content smile on her face.

Rainbow chuckled and shook her head. “Still a surprise you became a mother first out of all our friends.”

“Yeah, no offense but I would have figured it would be after most of us had kids that you’d get one.” Gilda said.

Fluttershy blushed and smiled a bit. “Well…Kipo is special and I still haven’t…” She cleared her throat a bit. “Anyway, I just felt like Kipo needed me.”

“Well it’s a good thing you did. I don’t know how our lives would have been if you hadn’t adopted her.” Rainbow Dash said.

“Yeah, we would have never became such great friends.” Scootaloo piped up.

“And you wouldn’t have met Full Moon either.” Rainbow Dash added then looked around, “Speaking of which, where is he? I thought he came here with you girls?”

“He did…” Fluttershy looked around and frowned. “Where did he go?”

“I’m here. Sorry about that. Pinkie wanted me to do some things for her.” Full Moon said as he walked over to them.

Fluttershy smiled and nuzzled him. “Oh, ok.”

“So I’m guessing this is your coltfriend?” Gilda asked with a smirk on her beak.

“Yes, this is Full Moon.” Fluttershy said with a shy smile.

“Sup. Names Gilda. Rainbow Dash’s and Fluttershy’s old friend from Flight School.” Gilda said, holding her talon out and Full Moon shook it.

“I see.” He shook her talon before pulling her closer and whispering. “Make her cry again and I will knock your beak off.”

Gilda’s eyes went wide a bit before she chuckles. “Yeah, he’s definitely a keeper Shy. You got really lucky with him.”

Fluttershy blushed and weakly pushed Full Moon. “Full! Don’t be mean.”

“What? Just giving Gilda here a little warning is all.” Full Moon said, narrowing his eyes at Gilda.

“Mr. Moon, please don’t be mean to Miss Gilda.” Kipo said.

Full Moon sighed and lowered his head. “Why must my girls not let me defend them?” He muttered overdramatically.

This caused everyone to just laugh which made him start chuckling a bit. “You’re silly sometimes Mr. Moon.”

“I just want my girls to be happy.” He said with a small smile.

“And you are doing a great job at it.” Fluttershy said and then nuzzled his cheek.

He smiled and muzzled her back. “Do you girls want anything from the snack table?”

“Nah I’m good.” Gilda said.

“Same.”

“Can you get me some cookies please Mr. Moon?” Kipo asked. “Chocolate chip ones?”

“Sure thing pup.” He said with a smile as he walked off.

“Pup?” Gilda asked, confused.

Fluttershy grew a bit nervous but quickly came up with a lie. “O-oh, it’s just a silly little nickname he calls her sometimes along with other ones. Right Full?”

“Huh?” He looked back before smiling. “Yeah, what she said.”

Gilda just raises an eyebrow before shrugging and thinking it was just an odd quirk or something. “Alright, if you say so. Anyways, let’s get back to partying instead of just standing around and yapping so much.”

“I’m with you on that G.” Rainbow Dash said as she and Gilda walked off into the crowd to join in on the festivities. This made Fluttershy roll her eyes with a smile.

“Those two never change.” she said to herself as she and Kipo waited for Full Moon to return with Kipo’s cookies.

KIpo yawned as she laid on her mothers back as they all walked back to their home after the party was over. “That was really fun momma.”

“Yes it was dear.” Fluttershy said softly as they walked.

“Yeah, it was especially fun when you and your friends played pup.” Full Moon said as he pulled the cart of instruments, including Ed’s Token.

“It was pretty fun playing with my friends. I do hope we can do that more often.” Kipo said with a smile.

“You can, as much as you want.” Fluttershy said as they walked over the small bridge that leads to their home.

“Yay! I wonder how Mr Ed will feel about me using his Token to play in a band.” Kipo wondered.

Full Moon and Fluttershy chuckled. “I am sure he would love it, maybe you can…” Fluttershy started to say before she noticed a familiar scent in the air so she raised her nose and sniffed the air before she frowned. “Full…watch Kipo.”

“Why?” He asked before he too picked up what she was smelling and frowned. “Come on pup, let’s get you inside.”

“Um, ok.” Kipo said, clearly confused as she and Full Moon, after he unhitched himself from the cart, walked into the cottage, leaving Fluttershy alone.

Fluttershy followed the scent and walked all around her house making her frown as her eyes changed from blue to blood red with slit pupils. “That bitch…”

“Momma said a bad word!” Kipo shouted from within the house after hearing her mother swear thanks to her super hearing.

Fluttershy flinched a bit and sighed before she shook her head and started walking away from the house. “You are in big trouble now.” She whispered to herself as her eyes narrowed.