Rainbow sighed. She volunteered to do these entries for the Bestiary. She said she would help Twilight. It was only natural that she was the one who was chosen for this. After all, she had history with them. She flew into the old cloud bank they used to hang out in. She didn’t expect the creature she was looking for to be here. Landing on the nearest cloud to the entrance, she stared straight ahead.

“What are you doing here, Rainbow Crash?” That voice had always affected her. When they were younger and still friends, it made her wings flutter and her hips twitch. Now, it just made her skin crawl. The venom in the words was almost physically painful.

“Hello Gilda.” Rainbow said as Gilda came into view and landed a good four to five pegasus lengths away from her.

“I ask again, what are you doing here?”

“It’s complicated.”

“Uncomplicate it.”

“I can’t because you won’t believe me.”

“Try me.”

“I need you to eat me.”

“Yeah right. Funny joke Crash. What’s the real reason.”

“The real reason is I need you to swallow me whole.”

You could cut the tension with a knife. Gilda stared at Rainbow for a long while. It was lucky Rainbow didn’t have anywhere to be. “Cut the crap Crash. There’s no way you want me to swallow you. You’re way to cocky and proud to even joke about that.”

“It’s all right here Gilda. All you gotta do is read it,” Rainbow said, holding up the scroll that Twilight wrote to go with nearly every single situation like this.

“Hello, sir, madam, or otherwise.

“Perhaps you are curious as to the situation you currently find yourself in. What the pony before you says is fact. I, Princess Twilight Sparkle, am currently in the process of adding more information to the Royal Canterlot Bestiary. The pony before you has volunteered to assist me by getting devoured, whole and alive, with a special camera that will record everything they see so I can write it into the Bestiary at a later date. Please do not misunderstand, the pony standing before you is not suicidal, nor are they in any other way sick, having ill-intentioned thoughts, or are they mentally unstable. They are simply helping me add information that the Royal Canterlot Bestiary is sorely lacking. Please and thank you for your cooperation.

“Princess Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship, Third Princess of Equestria, Barer of the Element of Magic.”

“Wow… official. So this is legit. I get to swallow you whole.”

“Yup. You won’t digest me though. Twilight cast a spell on all of us so if we’re eaten, we won’t die.”

“Bummer. I was looking forward to holding this over your head forever. Literally. Alright Crash, bottoms up,” Gilda said. Before Rainbow had a chance to react, her former friend pounced on her. The beak in front of her opened wide and began to descend on her. Rainbow reached up and pushed Gilda back.

“Let’s get one thing straight here Gilda. I’m not doing this because I like you again. I didn’t even want to be the one to come and do this. I wanted to wait until Fluttershy was back and have her come out here and do it. But she’s not and I know you. That’s why I’m here. I’m not here to reconcile or anything so no touchy-feely crap while I’m in there, got it?”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Shut up and let me eat you Crash,” Gilda said, lunging forward and engulfing Rainbow’s head in her maw. Rainbow didn’t even fight, and Gilda growled, pulling her former friend out. “I’m eating you here, stupid. At least put up a fight.”

“Why? You know why I’m here, so you know I’m letting you eat me.”

“Because… because… oh screw it. Find another gryphon.” Gilda said before shoving Rainbow into the cloud and flying off. Rainbow stared at Gilda’s retreating tail, bewildered. She’d thought that Gilda would leap at the chance to eat her. When Gilda didn’t fly far, Rainbow got up and followed her.

“Hey. What’s eating you huh? You’re the one that’s supposed to be doing the eating.” Rainbow said as she landed nearby.

“Yeah, well, not like this. I wanted to stay mad at you forever. Wanted to hate you. Something like this comes along and I wanted to be all too happy to stuff you down my gullet and have you padding out my ass. Not like this. I don’t want you to want it. I don’t want you to be ok with it. Damn it, you’re Rainbow Dash. When we were little, you kicked all the ass. Now here you are, practically shoving your way into my throat without a care in the world.”

“You know it’s…”

“It’s for that stupid book, I know. That doesn’t change the fact that you are willingly feeding yourself to me. I want to eat you but not because you want me to eat you. Hell, if this is how it is, go talk to Grandpa Gruff or Gabby. Have one of them eat you instead.”

“No way. It’s either you or somepony else does this with somegryphon else.”

“Why? Why me?”

“Because we were friends and I figured this could be one step towards becoming friends again. You eat me, we do this documentary thing, maybe we do it again however many times you want. I dunno. Twilight didn’t say if this spell was permanent or not so maybe sometime down the line, if you outlive me, you can actually add me as padding to that fat ass of yours.”

“My ass is not fat.”

“Hell yeah it is. You eat too many of those crepes.”

“No it’s not Crash. I work out more than you do.”

“Yeah right. You already getting flabby in your old age, old gryph.”

“Take that back Crash, I mean it.”

“Or what? You gonna fly away home to mommy?”

“Can it Crash.”

“Make me flabby feathers.”

Gilda glared at Rainbow. Her glare only intensified as Rainbow continued to tease and mock her. “That’s it. You asked for it Crash.” Gilda said, lunging at Rainbow and engulfing her head in her beak.

Did she know this was what Rainbow had planned all along? Yeah, she did. Sure. Did she care right now? In her anger, no not really. Gilda tipped her head back and bobbed, gulping Rainbow down into her waiting crop. Like all bird like creatures, Pegasi included, Gilda had a crop. Gryphons stored food in their crops for their young after long flights. She didn’t know what Pegasi did with their crops. Gilda gagged for a moment as she swallowed Rainbow’s tail.

When the blue pest was in her crop, Gilda stood up on her hind legs. Her chest looked like she’d just stuffed an extra gryphon or two into one of those shirts the Abyssinians liked to wear. “There. Not so cocky now, are ya Crash. What are you gonna do now?” Gilda asked before pausing. “Oh for crying out loud. Dang it Crash… you knew I’d do that if you made me mad.”

A laugh was all the answer she got. Rainbow did know. The only way for something her size to go now was down. Normally the crop would mash food down into a past for young gryphs. Rainbow was far too big. She’d simply pass into Gilda’s stomach soon, whole and unharmed. When she came out, she be a little singed and missing some fur but otherwise unharmed. “Fine. Stew in there for all I care. I’ll just crap out your remains and show off my new curves to the boys back at Gryphonstone.” Gilda lied. She knew it was a lie. She knew Rainbow knew it was a lie.

She couldn’t digest Rainbow. Even if she wanted too she couldn’t Rainbow knew she couldn’t. Instead, Gilda sat on her rump and let Rainbow stew in her crop for a little longer. She could draw this out at the least. Rainbow would get bored sooner or later.

After around thirty minutes, Gilda growled as she pushed Rainbow down. She hadn’t moved herself, so Gilda had to do it. Swallowing gulps of air was keeping them both alive. With Rainbow in her crop, she was pressing against Gilda’s lungs, making it hard to breath. As Rainbow slipped from her crop to her stomach, Gilda sucked in a much-needed breath. She’d keep swallowing breaths of air to keep Rainbow alive.

Having food in your stomach was one thing. Having a whole, dead, pony in your stomach was something else entirely. There were stories of griffons who had raided pony villages and returned with ponies stuffed in their crops and in their bellies. The ponies in their crops had been let out to be used for manual labor. Or relieving urges. The ponies in griffon bellies had suffocated and died. Subsequently, the griffins had died as well since their stomachs were in a constant state of stasis. That much food had sent them into hibernation mode, shutting off their stomachs.

Gilda would let Rainbow out later. Long before there was any danger. Then she would throttle her.

Hours passed and Gilda finally stood up. Rainbow hadn’t moved in a bit. Asleep probably. Good way to save air. Gilda heaved, using her claws to lift her stomach and push Rainbow back up into her crop. More heaving and Rainbow soon spilled out of her crop, her mane and tail burned off but otherwise she was unharmed. “You look stupid bald.” Gilda said as she tried to fight off further vomiting.

Rainbow opened her mouth to say something, but Gilda turned and sat on her head. “You owe me Crash. Puking something up sucks, even for mother gryphs. Start licking.” Gilda ordered her current seat as she squirmed her hips. Rainbow mentally shrugged and pushed her snout into Gilda’s slit. She supposed that was the least she could do.

Author's Note

Rainbow tangos with Gilda one more time. Looks like G's been hiding some feelings. Or she's just being a pain, like always.