Benefits of Being a Hippogriffby AppleodyChapters1: A Peculiar Dream2: Confronting the Griffon3: Waking the Hippogriff4: Confronting the Pegasus5: Going HomeEpilogue1: A Peculiar DreamChapter 1 In the corridors of the dream world, everything was peaceful and serene as usual. Well, it would have been had the keeper of dreams not been so irritable on this fine night. As Princess Luna made her way through her usual nightly patrol, her metallic shoes stomped unusually loudly, while she occasionally shook her head in exasperation. We cannot believe Our dear sister would have the gall to send us to Our room like-like some mere filly. As the thought once again resonated through her skull, she halted her gait and sighed. Maybe We did act a little hastily, but throwing the minotaur’s ambassador out of the dining room window was perfectly warranted. Those slanderous remarks, how could Celly let him say those things about our little ones? Taking a moment for some calming breaths, a ritual she knew well, Luna took the time to review the nearby dreams in search of any potential nightmares. One of these dreams managed to distract her from her complaints, as it was very clearly different from the rest. Normally, each pony’s dream entrance consisted of a colourful door, adorned with that particular pony’s cutie mark. This final door possessed no such mark and even appeared to be made of mundane wood. It took the Night Princess a moment to search her memory for the reason this door was so plain. How curious, it appears a griffon has graced Equestria with their presence, how wonderful. After taking further note of the door, the slightest ominous glow appeared to be seeping through the cracks. One who appears to be suffering a nightmare, what an excuse to visit. With her usual conviction, she opened the door as she said, “let it be known, that the Princess of the night protects all beings within Equestria’s border. Even those who speak such heinous words.” Upon stepping through the dream portal, Luna took a quick glance around, instantly knowing the area from numerous fond memories. Huh, it appears this griffon is visiting fair Ponyville. This town truly attracts all sorts. The sounds of commotion coming from the other side of a few buildings, threw the Princess back into the moment. As her wings unfurled, she made her way to the area with a slightly stealthier approach than she had been travelling in the dream realm. This allowed her to be pleasantly surprised by what she witnessed. On the streets below, it appeared one of Pinkie’s legendary parties were taking place, with numerous ponies all clearly enjoying themselves. Everything appears in order, but where is Our dreamer? Floating further overhead, it wasn’t long before the Princess’s eyes met the lone griffon. Ah there is our star, she doth seem happy enough. The griffon in question, was clearly a female and was coloured in a plain brown fur for her lion half, while her eagle half was coloured that of white. On first glance, the griffon was clearly taking part with the party games, but on continued observation, it was obvious she didn’t truly enjoy what was happening. This was mainly because, at every turn the ponies she was attending the party with, appeared to be pulling various pranks on her and gathering in a group to laugh at her expense. Quite unfair, but not the worst as nightmares go. ‘Tis likely her pride has been marred by a similar real life experience. As the dream progressed towards sugar cube corner and the pranks continued, Luna’s initial assessment of the dream proved to be inaccurate. This was mainly due to the final prank, that of a peculiar game of pin the tail on the pony. A game which sounds quite painful to be involved with. For the griffon it was immeasurably more so, seeing as she was steered in the wrong direction causing her to trip and fall. This time, instead of grinning and bearing the laughter of each pony, her temper flared causing her to lash out verbally towards the other patrons of the party. That was until one particular individual, the element of loyalty Rainbow Dash, confronted her, causing the griffon to react much more nervously. The exchange became more and more heated between the two until the griffon said, “when you decide not to be lame anymore, give me a call.” She then turned and fled from the scene leaving a group of very angry ponies behind. With no dreamer present, the party soon began to dissipate, giving Luna no choice but to follow the distressed bird on her journey. The path she followed led to an isolated wooded area beside the local river, where the bird finally rested. She then took a moment to see if anypony was looking, before starting to quietly sob to herself. Ah, and the crux of the nightmare is revealed. This young griffon likely fears the end of her friendship with Rainbow Dash. A most serious matter. Author's Note Welp, thought I'd try writing a daft short story while I fix my brain melt on my main one. Not only that, but I thought it might be interesting to try a third person point of view. Hope you enjoy whatever mad ramblings this story is supposed to be. 2: Confronting the GriffonChapter 2 Now that the nightmare had reached the tipping point, Luna could see it was time to intervene. Quietly landing behind the softly weeping griffoness, the night Princess attempted a polite introduction. “Greetings young Griffon…” she began in an emphatic tone, before being immediately interrupted by the bird’s reaction. Seeing as something had completely unexpectedly ambushed her when she felt most vulnerable, the young griffon immediately leapt away in shock. Not before attempting to make a threating swipe of her talons at the all-powerful alicorn. She then began arching her back much like that of cat, while spreading her wings. This was probably in an attempt to somehow scare away the Princess. Luna took the display in her stride and sat patiently waiting for the cat to react a little more rationally. It didn’t take too long for the surprise to wear off, causing the griffon to slightly reduce her threatening posture, but not entirely. “What do you want?” she said in a begrudging manner not to dissimilar to that which the Princess earlier observed. Seeing she had been given the opening she desired, Luna calmly exclaimed, “We were observing the dream realm on Our usual patrol, and noticed thou appeared to be suffering some distress. Is this correct?” She punctuated her question, by gesturing to a single tear that had just started to fall down the bird’s face. Quickly wiping away the betraying droplet, the griffon quietly mumbled, “figures this isn’t real.” She then looked up to the taller alicorn and snapped, “and what’s my problems got to do with you?” In a practiced manner from explaining so many times already, Luna smiled before saying, “as Princess of Equestria, ‘tis Our solemn duty to ease the burdens of all those who dwell within. That includes thyself. Even if thy tone is what We would consider… undesirable.” She is nowhere near as brash as that fool hardy minotaur. For the first time, the griffon lost her glare and clearly started to become a little nervous. If the little step back her paws made didn’t tell Luna what the hen was thinking, her new tone did. “A-A Princess? Oh bugga.” With newfound nervous hesitation, the griffon moved to a seated position before asking, “okay, so, you’re here to help me out?” Her voice clearly possessed the tint of hope. “’Tis our duty to help thou, help thyself,” Luna said while proffering a welcoming hoof. The statement didn’t quite resonate with the bird, as she cocked her head in confusion. “How?” “By giving thou advice on how best to proceed.” When all Luna gained was a flat stare she continued to say, “well, to start us off. Please tell Us what ‘tis thou believe bothers thee.” The words were more of a statement than a question, as Luna had already figured out the main issue. If she can admit the problem on her own, ‘tis half the battle. The first response that came was quite weak. “Rainbow’s new friends, they ganged up on me. They wanted to make me look a fool in front of her.” The way she said it, it was clear she didn’t believe her own words. Instead of flat out calling her new acquaintance a liar, Luna again raised her hoof and patiently asked, “is that truly what thou feels is bothering thee?” The only pony she is lying to, is herself. Hmm, birdy? As the griffon’s resolve had already been cracked by the nightmare, it wasn’t long before another set of tears began to well in her eyes. After an audible sniff, she met Luna’s eyes properly. “What those idiots think doesn’t matter to me. It’s Dash. I-I said something I didn’t really mean… and now she… might not ever see me again.” She punctuated her words with a single suppressed sob. Seeing the state she had driven the young bird to, Luna took a few steps forward before gently placing a hoof onto her shoulder. “We all make mistakes my little griffon. ‘Tis our duty to learn from them and rectify them.” Hopefully she will learn something today. Once the words had managed to sink in, she whined, “but how can I fix it? That doesn’t tell me anything.” “Quite simply if We are honest,” Luna nonchalantly said, while letting her hoof gently fall back to the ground. “Thou only need to seek out thy dear friend Rainbow, and apologise for thine actions. If she is a true friend to thee, she will grant thou the forgiveness thou art after, of that We guarantee.” She finished her words with a large smile. Hopefully with the ground work We have established, this young one shalt solve her issues in the morning. Speaking of ‘tis nearly time to lower the moon. Rather than accepting the words like Luna had hoped, the griffon only covered her face once more. “I can’t just go up to her like that. I’d die of embarrassment.” A little taken aback by the unwillingness to try, Luna asked, “so pray tell, what would thy own solution be?” The result was entirely expected. The griffon only shrugged sadly, before looking off towards the river. “I don’t know. Just return to boring old Griffonia and try to forget all about this… I guess.” Abandoning thy attempts will serve no purpose. Maybe She will be more willing to listen if We show more interest? Thinking her plan sound, Luna attempted to make a connection with her. “Ah, fair Griffonia. Such a unique culture,” she said in a wistful tone. There honourable ways were always so enticing. “Nah, it’s just full of lame old griffons saying, honour this, don’t do that,” the griffon responded, shooting down the princess’s compliment to her nation, but losing a hint of her sadness. Latching on to the tiny thread of a conversation Luna continued to try and connect with the young bird. “It has been well over a millennium since We have had the pleasure of visiting thy home country. Has it changed much?” “You’re not really missing out, it’s changed into a dump,” the griffon admitted, ending any semblance of a conversation. We do not believe such a vibrant land could fall into such a state. “Let us agree to disagree,” Luna said diplomatically, before being lost on how to proceed. Rather than flat out command the griffon to follow her instructions, she decided another attempt at proving the merits was in order. “We must protest thy desire to leave Ponyville without fixing this issue. The end of a friendship… ‘tis something thou could regret for the rest of thy life.” A fact We are all too familiar with. With nothing left to say, the two sat quietly. Luna observing in thought, while the bird appeared to clutch at straws. Surprisingly, it was the griffon who finally broke the silence when she asked, “say, aren’t you an all-powerful pegacorn or something?” “Yes, We are indeed a powerful ‘alicorn’,” the alicorn replied while emphasizing her species name. That strand of hope the bird earlier possessed, seemed to return with much greater strength. “Don’t you have spells that could help me? Anything at all?” The brash request for magic shocked Luna for a moment causing her to immediately say, “We cannot cast any spell upon Rainbow that would compel her in anyway. Thou cannot just look for the easy… wait a moment.” As she spoke, thoughts of other spells that could fix the issue crossed her mind. There are many charms that could entice this griffon to make the moves she knows she must. They are all quite invasive. While thinking up these spells, she looked over to the griffon, who was rubbing her palms together in anticipation of what Luna might reveal. She is clearly desperate for assistance; she would likely accept any spell. A small selfish glimmer seemed to rise within the alicorn at that thought. This does present us with many opportunities, We have long desired a break from our sister’s presence. Maybe this being is the key? She could receive Our aid and We could gain a useful disguise. “There is a spell that We can cast on thee to gain thy desired effect. But let it be known, it will come at a price to thee,” Luna finished in a warning tone. A tone that the griffon gleefully ignored as she happily said, “as long as it gets Dash to stop hating me, I’m game for anything.” Game for anything, but straight up apologising it would seem. Well, do not look a gift griffon in the mouth. “Before We cast this spell, may We ask thy name?” Luna asked while feeling a little guilty about not requesting it earlier. “It’s Gilda, now lay the good stuff on me,” Gilda said with some slight impatience. “Okay, prepare thyself, we are about to become very well acquainted.” That gave the bird a moments pause, as she tilted her head. “What does that mean?” The question however came a little too late, as the blue glow from Luna’s horn soon became the only thing Gilda could see. 3: Waking the HippogriffChapter 3 For the next few seconds, a blinding blue flash was all Gilda could see, until almost at once, it stopped. The reason for this was pretty evident, as she opened her beak in a yawn. Currently, she was quite snuggly curled up within a makeshift campsite, the fire of which was just starting to burn down. After a moment of lazing, she began tilting her head around in search of the mysterious Princess who’d visited her. Sadly for Gilda, there was no sign that she had ever been present. Figures I’d have a dream about getting what I want. What a shame, that Princess probably doesn’t visit griffons. With that disappointing realization, Gilda didn’t see any point in getting up, so returned to snuggling her beak near to her dark blue furred legs. Today wasn’t going to be very good. Even with the almost exhausted fire and the steadily rising sun, her eyes steadily started to shut once more hoping for, a this time, peaceful rest. This was not to be the case however, as the griffon’s eyes suddenly opened wide with a much brighter expression. She then appeared to take a second look at her surroundings, before getting to her talons and wandering over to the nearby stream. On first glance, it appeared like she was about to take a drink, but she stopped just a couple of centimetres short and gazed at her reflection. For the longest time Gilda stared into her piercing, light blue, predatory eyes as a small smile seemed to grace her beak. As she looked, her eyes went to the white feathers across her face, prompting a taloned claw to raise and run through them. This promptly caused them to stick out. I suppose, I could use a preen. Ah, I’ll do it back home. As the talon entered her vision, she immediately stopped her fondling and instead switched her focus to her large sharp talons. The talons of a powerful predator. Turning them over a few times, Gilda inspected them before opening and closing them in apparent experimentation. Once complete, she looked at her beak once more and opened it to have a look inside. After running her tongue along the sharp protrusion, she gained a quizzical look and seemed to ask no one in particular, “how would one eat with such an appendage?” What a stupid thought, the same way I always have. Ignoring her stupidity, she leaned in to take her sort after drink. The water from Ponyville’s river was delightfully clean and refreshing. You gotta love pony lands, they really know how to make a nice place. With her thirst satiated, she was about to turn back to the fire before some hint of curiosity over took her, causing her to look at her full body in the river. What met Gilda’s sight was the griffon she’d always known. Obviously, there was the already inspected eagle qualities, but there was also something else. Where her white feathers ended, there was the stark contrast of her midnight blue coat. This continued down her form to her legs that felt strangely lither than usual. Strangely she felt the desire to look further down, her eyes settling upon her usual pristine hooves, somehow appearing much more well-kept than the rest of her. Almost instinctually she raised one of the hooves off the ground and made an attempt to flex it, like one would a paw. Strangely, the appendage had no reaction. Something feels off about all this. Her final bit of self-exploration was to look upon her rump, which possessed her faintly billowing stary tail. It was all so normal and expected but… Gilda couldn’t help reaching a talon out and rubbing it along a rear leg. Why is everything so smooth? Did last night’s dip in the river really do my fur this much work? Shame it didn’t work on my feathers. As she was lost in thought, now scratching at her hoof, her tail flicked out at her beak bringing the griffon back to reality. “Do We not think We have leered enough for one day?” Gilda said as she lost interest in her strangely clean appearance and decided to head back towards her fire. The improvement wouldn’t help, dash would still hate her. That thought stung her brain as she threw a couple of sticks onto the fire, hoping to make it last another half an hour. A light sigh escaped her as the sun continued to rise, meaning the day was clearly coming whether she wanted it or not. Not caring about that for now, Gilda stretched out like a cat pony, to get a couple cricks out of her back. Once done, she tried her best to curl up. It was strangely more difficult than usual. “Bleh, why do legs have to get so stiff in the mornings?” After eventually giving up and lying flat on her front, Gilda took one last look at the sun and tried to gauge something. “Hmm, probably have an hour before that train’s due,” she absently considered, before moving to rest her head on her ready talons. Just before her head met its desired talon pillow, she once again found herself bolt upright. Before she could even think about what she was doing, she’d already turned around and used a hoof to kick dirt over her fire, extinguishing it. As her brain started to catch up, she looked in the direction of a certain pegasus’s house. Her wings then began to unfurl of their own accord as she vocally thought, “We wonder if young Rainbow hast awakened yet?” For the briefest time her eyes opened in fear, before she found herself rocketing skyward far faster than any griffon had ever managed previously. Author's Note And there's the fusion. The random idea that made me write this mess. 4: Confronting the PegasusChapter 4 The journey was a blur to poor Gilda. One moment, she was trying to get some last-minute sleep in, the next, she had propelled herself to somewhere she would never be welcome. That being the cloud home of her once good friend, Rainbow Dash. Despite her misgivings, she came in for a gentle landing on the ominous house’s porch, not eliciting any sound as her hooves met the soft surface. Staring straight ahead at the front door, Gilda flinched back as her brain started to flood with memories of the previous day. Why would I ever come here? Seeing no counter argument, she did a 180 before leaping to safety from the wronged pegasus. A sigh of relief escaped her beak, as she glanced up at the steadily shrinking home. Thank the emperor she never saw me. At least I can save a little face. With her escape almost assured, the lone griffon started to feel a little sadness at throwing away her last opportunity to save her friendship. Shaking her head clear of that stinging realization, she extended her wings with the intent on riding a nice thermal towards the train station. The moment she took this thermal however, her wings pivoted almost unnoticeably. This small change had a large effect, causing the bird to instead rapidly circle back towards the scene of her crime. This time, she landed only a paw step from the door, narrowly missing hitting it with her beak. It took all her might not to caw in panic at her almost complete failure. How the flying feather did this happen? Okay, it’s fine, I can still get away. The moment the panicking griffon began to repeat her previous actions, a strange development occurred. Rather than completing her 180, she found her blue hooves almost welded to the cloud. What was more, she couldn’t even twitch her rear legs in the slightest to help free them. “What gives? I can’t have cramp this bad.” With no further option to escape, the strange idea to bite herself came to mind. That would gain some cooperation from her body… somehow. So, Gilda the griffon spun her beaked head around and bit down upon one of her blue furred forelegs. The slightest squeak escaped her as a tiny jolt of pain rang through the limb. As she didn’t let go, the limb in question lightly shook itself, easily freeing from Gilda’s maw. “Why would I think that was a good idea?” Gilda complained as she reached a claw back rub the bite mark… or lack thereof one. Somehow, her perfectly groomed pony limbs didn’t even have a scratch. Huh, that’s weird. Either my beak needs a sharpen or my furs gotten a bit thicker. As she debated her predicament, the unmistakable feeling of cloud against her rear filled her world. “Oh, come on, give me a break,” she pleaded to her now seated rear, that somehow seemed to be defiantly waiting for her next move. What would that even be? How could she escape when suffering such severe muscle cramp? The idle thought to spend more spare time working out crossed her mind, before the door to her friend became the focus of her vision once more. It was still right there, so close she could touch it. Maybe, it’s like fate or something? That’s a thing that happens in the pony lands, right? With that in mind, she raised one of her talons and held it in front of the door. She could so easily knock, then she’d see Dash again. That was still the problem, but it was also a solution, in a way. With a vast amount of will, Gilda balled her talon into a fist and moved it forward. The moment it made contact, she immediately flinched back putting a talon over her beak in the hopes to hide her terror. The terror soon receded when no pony came to the door to answer. “Hey what gives?” she complained, before the sound of a bell filled her ears. Looking to the origin, she noticed her wing subtly retracting from what was clearly a doorbell. “Oh yeah, cloud door,” she said with a hint of amusement, as she set about pressing the button a few more times. A distant familiar voice ended her small spell of amusement. “Yeah, yeah, I heard ya the first time.” The clear irritation in Dash’s voice was obvious, causing a slight burst of panic to take hold. It was then she started to undertake a strange breathing exercise, one that seemed to steadily calm her nerves. “We can do this, We must only persevere,” she calmly said in the hopes of calming herself. “Yeah, Rainbow can learn to love this Griffon again,” she then continued with a little false confidence. Her reassurance seemed to work and not work at the same time. Internally, she felt as ready as she ever would to face judgement, but externally, her eyes bugged out for a moment. Her head then immediately turned to her cleaner than normal hooves. Part of her actually felt a little pride at the way they shone. Dash might actually think she’d put a little effort in for once. Despite this thought, she began looking around the house’s doorway and found a loose cloud. Wasting no time, she pulled the cloud down to her waist, obscuring it from the doors point of view. That would rather disappointingly hide some of her best features, but maybe showing off wasn’t the best way. Don’t want Dash to be put off by my all-powerful hooves. Her awful internal joke did its job of reducing the tension, right up until the door started to open. “So, why on Equestria is anypony bothering me this… early.” The last word escaped the Rainbow maned pegasus, right as she set her eyes upon the intruding bird. As her friend’s face shifted from that of surprise, to more of a scowl, Gilda could only think to say one thing, “sup duffus.” A nervous smile followed her attempt at banter. “What do you want?” came the expected joyless reply. Opening her beak a few times, Gilda only let out a few strange mumbles that couldn’t quite be classed as any known language. In truth, she really had no idea of how to approach a situation like this. It’s not really one any griffon would willingly enter. After the third clack of her beak and a nervous cough, some real words finally escaped. “We have come to beg for thy forgiveness of Our previous transgressions.” The strangeness of Gilda’s reply seemed to confuse the element of loyalty. It was pretty obvious thanks to the look of bewilderment she gained as well as her next statement. “Say what now?” It seemed to be so confusing, that Rainbow had even forgotten to tint her words with hatred. With a start made, Gilda decided to continue her apology, in a slightly more broken fashion, “Erm, I mean that, erm. You know, we’ve been friends so long and erm…” An eye roll from Rainbow and the get on with it rotation of her friend’s hoof motivated the griffon to take a moment to think. She closed her eyes, while licking her beaks edge before more confidently saying, “look, I didn’t want things to end between us like they did. Sooo… I’m… sorry for what I said about you.” After freeing the words, Gilda couldn’t help the small smile from appearing on her face. It really felt like a victory, however small. Even if she doesn’t forgive me, this was worth it. An, “and,” from Rainbow, gave a moments pause to her hopefully partially forgiven bird friend. The word was puzzling, but clearly implied the pegasus wanted a little more. It should have been obvious what she’d been after. With the moment of realization dawning on her, Gilda sighed before saying, “and, I’m sorry for what I did to your friends. It’s just, that pink pony. She really knew how to get on my nerves, she made me want to…” Before she could start digging a deeper hole to jump into, Gilda’s beak seemed to violently snap shut, surprising the pair. She then shook her head with the slightest look of disappointment, “nay, We are here to make a sincere apology to thou.” “Ahem, I know,” she seemed to answer herself sarcastically, before returning to the matter at claw. “At least… she seemed like she was trying to be friendly… in her stupid way. Maybe… one day we could hang out, the three of us.” Weirdly, she actually meant every word. That pink pony can’t be all bad if Rainbow tolerates her, can she? With the desired message delivered, the two individuals sat quietly once again. Gilda, sweating bullets, while Rainbow appeared to be studying her friends face. The silence ended, when the pegasus let out a light laugh, causing Gilda to sigh in relief. “Wow, what an apology, you must really want this,” Rainbow said with a small smile. She then scratched the back of her head before continuing, “look, it’s okay and if you’re going to do it, then so should I.” “B-but why? You didn’t do anything wrong. You’re all cool with me,” Gilda all but fumbled out. Her own wrongs being the only thing she could think of in the heat of the moment. A small wince came from the spectrum bound pegasus as she admitted, “that isn’t true, I did pull all those pranks.” “Yeah... you did. They were really, interesting,” Gilda said as she tried to crush down the hint of bitterness that started to arise. “Oh, nice save,” came the dead pan response, before she lightened up once more. “Anyway, those pranks weren’t all meant for you, but it probably wasn’t the best to have everypony laughing at your expense like that. It wasn’t really the best example of loyalty I’ve ever shown.” Those final words seemed to pull on Gilda’s heartstrings a little stronger than usual. So much so, that she leaned forward to put a comforting talon on Dash’s shoulder. “Rainbow, thy loyalty to thy friends is beyond compare. Without thine efforts, many a pony would be in dire straits.” As she spoke, Gilda spread her wings in an attempt to make her words more grandiose. Her words did get Rainbow to perk up again, almost causing her to laugh at the strangeness. She was then even more surprised, when her usually prideful friend asked, “would thou wish for a hug from thy loving friend?” Before she could respond, the griffon easily pulled her in close and folded her wings around her, trapping Rainbow in amongst her feathers. “Wow, never thought you were a hugger,” she said while awkwardly returning the gesture. “I’m really not. I’m… just glad you don’t hate me,” Gilda responded. It was strange that griffons didn’t really hug each other. It felt so natural to the bird as the friendly action was taking place. More hugs would have to happen in future, when no one was looking of course. As the hug was going on a little too long for her coolness to bare, Rainbow used a modicum of effort to push the griffon off. “By the way, could you stop with the weird dorky speech prank. It was funny at first, but now it’s getting weird.” Taking a moment to look behind herself, Gilda conceded, “I honestly have no idea where that’s coming from. It sorta picked up this morning.” The brief look back caused Rainbow to follow her gaze, which immediately landed on the suspicious cloud covering her friends back. As a quizzical look formed and the potential for a question arose, Gilda decided to remind herself of something important. “Well We, ahem, I have a train to catch. In future I shall hopefully meet thou on sweeter terms.” Her friend's continuing peculiar accent caused Rainbow to laugh lightly again before she agreed, “You bet.” With a light bow of respect, the Griffon took a couple steps backward, causing her to quickly fall from view. A moment later, Rainbow could see her rocketing off in the direction of the train station. She appeared to squint for a moment before saying, “huh, did she dye her fur blue? Wow, she must really have missed me. Wrong shade but meh.” After observing the blue dot for a few more seconds she shrugged, before heading back inside to gain a bit more sleep. 5: Going HomeFrom the numerous happy zigzags to her flight path, it was pretty obvious Gilda was feeling pretty good right now. She’d faced her overwhelming fear of embarrassment, and even managed to save a friendship she deeply valued. What an improvement to the day. To think that wouldn’t have happened if she didn’t have a mammoth case of pins and needles. After a few giddy loops in the air and caws of elation, she finally settled into the warm feeling within her and glided gracefully down towards the train station. There were still a few minutes left, so there wasn’t too much need to rush. Upon closing the distance, instead of landing violently like usual, she made her best attempt to not make a scene. The only real noticeable sound being the light clop her hooves on touch down. This landing still drew quite a large amount of undesirable attention, seeing as ponies will always look at things that are new and different. It was the same for her when she arrived. Each of the ponies who looked seemed to appraise her appearance and one even waved. For a moment, Gilda debated on growling at the nosy herbivores like before. They should keep to their own business. Her earlier experiences however gave her some pause. And so, in a mild attempt at learning from them, she instead waved back and started to walk towards the awaiting train. As she continued on her way, a few stray voices started to invade her hidden ears. “Wo, is that a hippogriff?” “They eat meat don’t they.” “Say, that birds rear looks really familiar, and what a tail.” “Hey! What are you doing checking out other mares?” “Sorry, it’s just, look at that moon.” A slight nervous twinge over took the griffon at their observations, causing her pace to increase and altering her path towards that of the nearby ticket office. Luckily for her there was no que left, allowing the rushing bird to immediately interact with the moustached pony within. “Yes?” he asked politely when he noticed the newly formed que. He then had to wait patiently as the bird nervously scanned the various ticket boards surrounding his booth. Her worry seemed to steadily increase until she turned to him and sheepishly said, “We are a little unfamiliar with the modern system of admittance to thy carriage.” That was a little surprising to the ticket clerk, seeing as he did have a pretty good memory. “Aren’t you that griffon that came through here yesterday? You sort of stand out.” She did seem to be a little taller than before, but no other griffons had come into town for months. The sheepish demeanour the bird had, seemed to evaporate in an instant. Instead, it was replaced with the familiar irritation she bore on arrival. “That’s because griffons are awesome. Of course I know what I’m doing, see? I have a return ticket; you think I’m an idiot?” she punctuated her statement by shoving her ticket in his face. She then turned around, flicked her tail in the clerk’s direction and began heading towards the waiting train. As she began to walk away, the attendant just looked at the observing ponies and shrugged in confusion. Upon taking another look in the griffon’s direction, he noticed that she had paused and was looking back towards him. “Apologies, that was a little unbecoming of Us after that mistake.” She then continued on her way without waiting for a response. Wow, what a weird griffon. Wait… hippogriff. Maybe that was a different person after all? The clerk idly thought before returning to his work. “The nerve of that pony,” Gilda mumbled to herself as she closed in on her designated carriage. Who was he to judge her? She thought while also internally complaining about making such a basic mistake. Just as her claw reached up for the doors handle, she took a moment to notice her own reflection. “It appears We shall have to learn friendship together,” she surveyed, before stepping aboard. Moving down the aisle, the same thing occurred as before. Each pony she passed would take notice of her and some would start to wonder where she came from. One particular stallion wearing golden armour, even said to his friend, “that birds got a copy of the Princess’s cutiemark. Should we report this?” Trying her best to shut them out, she found her seat at the carriages window and began looking outside. Outside back towards where a certain cloud house was. The sight of a rainbow forming brought a smile to her face as she thought about her recent success. All because of a daft dream about some magic pegacorn. If she was real, Gilda would have to find a way to pay her back. As the thought floated through her head, she gently rubbed one of her dainty hooves. They felt just that bit more special today for some reason. Her musings were interrupted by the newfound rumble of the carriage, as it began steadily departing the station. “Welp, back to boring Griffonia,” she mused before deciding to try and get some rest across two seats. No pony would want to sit next to her. The word try was quite an accurate description, as the moment she mentioned her home country, the bird’s heart rate started to rapidly increase. It was a little, strange seeing as there was nothing interesting going on back home. Maybe it was just the settling of her nerves? Unbeknownst to the griffon, a separate set of thoughts from a certain misbehaving alicorn was becoming lost in the potential her holiday held. We cannot believe We are actually having a real holiday. All thanks to that simple magic show spell, and Our unusual companion. As the thought progressed, a talon affectionately started to preen some of the failing to sleep griffon’s feathers. The attention, though unexpected was welcome. Gilda really did need to take better care of her feathers. A wistful look formed on griffon’s beak as Luna began to ponder what was to come. Yes, We cannot wait to see what adventures she brings Us on! Maybe she will introduce Us to some of Griffonia’s legendary honour bound knights. Getting to practice swordsponyship with worthy opponents once more will be a dream. For her part, Gilda had never held a sword in any real meaningful way, and as for meeting knights? She felt pretty much the same way about them as she would any regular guard. That being mild contempt at them stopping her fun. Ooo, We wonder what it will be like to engage in one of their fabled legendary hunts? It has been so long since We have had any reason to hunt a real hydra. Assisting the local populace with their food supplies will be a worthy endeavour. It’s a shame that most griffons don’t hunt very often and all Gilda herself had hunted was small rabbits and rats. Not the kind of game the princess was really after. This train seemed to have so many stops. Gilda could potentially live anywhere. There are probably so many new interesting cities she will explore on her journey. We cannot wait to explore them. As Luna finally managed to supress her excitement to allow her unknowing co holidayer to rest, one thing became clear. She would try her very best to ensure the two of them had the best time together. Meaning, even though Gilda had never done any of the things Luna thought she had, the night princess would ensure she will have before they parted ways. EpilogueDear sister We hope thou art doing well after Our little disagreement. We have never been better and have even used Our minor spat as an excuse for a little incognito holiday. We shall see thou in a few weeks. Do not worry, for We shall endeavour to send a number of post cards, like this, relating to Our many adventures. Yours Faithfully Luna PS. please excuse the poor quality of our writing. While a novel experience, use of talons will take Us some acclimating to. Not to mention that of the beak. Author's Note And there's the end. I accomplished my goal of making something I haven't seen before exist. Maybe it would have been better for me to consider whether I should, than whether I could? If people enjoy this story, I may write a few one-off chapters about some adventures in Griffonia. Might write them as the postcards back to Celestia or something. An example of one could be: hello sister, today I found out that my companion cannot face down a hydra with just her sharpened claws. This has caused quite a predicament.
1: A Peculiar DreamChapter 1 In the corridors of the dream world, everything was peaceful and serene as usual. Well, it would have been had the keeper of dreams not been so irritable on this fine night. As Princess Luna made her way through her usual nightly patrol, her metallic shoes stomped unusually loudly, while she occasionally shook her head in exasperation. We cannot believe Our dear sister would have the gall to send us to Our room like-like some mere filly. As the thought once again resonated through her skull, she halted her gait and sighed. Maybe We did act a little hastily, but throwing the minotaur’s ambassador out of the dining room window was perfectly warranted. Those slanderous remarks, how could Celly let him say those things about our little ones? Taking a moment for some calming breaths, a ritual she knew well, Luna took the time to review the nearby dreams in search of any potential nightmares. One of these dreams managed to distract her from her complaints, as it was very clearly different from the rest. Normally, each pony’s dream entrance consisted of a colourful door, adorned with that particular pony’s cutie mark. This final door possessed no such mark and even appeared to be made of mundane wood. It took the Night Princess a moment to search her memory for the reason this door was so plain. How curious, it appears a griffon has graced Equestria with their presence, how wonderful. After taking further note of the door, the slightest ominous glow appeared to be seeping through the cracks. One who appears to be suffering a nightmare, what an excuse to visit. With her usual conviction, she opened the door as she said, “let it be known, that the Princess of the night protects all beings within Equestria’s border. Even those who speak such heinous words.” Upon stepping through the dream portal, Luna took a quick glance around, instantly knowing the area from numerous fond memories. Huh, it appears this griffon is visiting fair Ponyville. This town truly attracts all sorts. The sounds of commotion coming from the other side of a few buildings, threw the Princess back into the moment. As her wings unfurled, she made her way to the area with a slightly stealthier approach than she had been travelling in the dream realm. This allowed her to be pleasantly surprised by what she witnessed. On the streets below, it appeared one of Pinkie’s legendary parties were taking place, with numerous ponies all clearly enjoying themselves. Everything appears in order, but where is Our dreamer? Floating further overhead, it wasn’t long before the Princess’s eyes met the lone griffon. Ah there is our star, she doth seem happy enough. The griffon in question, was clearly a female and was coloured in a plain brown fur for her lion half, while her eagle half was coloured that of white. On first glance, the griffon was clearly taking part with the party games, but on continued observation, it was obvious she didn’t truly enjoy what was happening. This was mainly because, at every turn the ponies she was attending the party with, appeared to be pulling various pranks on her and gathering in a group to laugh at her expense. Quite unfair, but not the worst as nightmares go. ‘Tis likely her pride has been marred by a similar real life experience. As the dream progressed towards sugar cube corner and the pranks continued, Luna’s initial assessment of the dream proved to be inaccurate. This was mainly due to the final prank, that of a peculiar game of pin the tail on the pony. A game which sounds quite painful to be involved with. For the griffon it was immeasurably more so, seeing as she was steered in the wrong direction causing her to trip and fall. This time, instead of grinning and bearing the laughter of each pony, her temper flared causing her to lash out verbally towards the other patrons of the party. That was until one particular individual, the element of loyalty Rainbow Dash, confronted her, causing the griffon to react much more nervously. The exchange became more and more heated between the two until the griffon said, “when you decide not to be lame anymore, give me a call.” She then turned and fled from the scene leaving a group of very angry ponies behind. With no dreamer present, the party soon began to dissipate, giving Luna no choice but to follow the distressed bird on her journey. The path she followed led to an isolated wooded area beside the local river, where the bird finally rested. She then took a moment to see if anypony was looking, before starting to quietly sob to herself. Ah, and the crux of the nightmare is revealed. This young griffon likely fears the end of her friendship with Rainbow Dash. A most serious matter. Author's Note Welp, thought I'd try writing a daft short story while I fix my brain melt on my main one. Not only that, but I thought it might be interesting to try a third person point of view. Hope you enjoy whatever mad ramblings this story is supposed to be.
2: Confronting the GriffonChapter 2 Now that the nightmare had reached the tipping point, Luna could see it was time to intervene. Quietly landing behind the softly weeping griffoness, the night Princess attempted a polite introduction. “Greetings young Griffon…” she began in an emphatic tone, before being immediately interrupted by the bird’s reaction. Seeing as something had completely unexpectedly ambushed her when she felt most vulnerable, the young griffon immediately leapt away in shock. Not before attempting to make a threating swipe of her talons at the all-powerful alicorn. She then began arching her back much like that of cat, while spreading her wings. This was probably in an attempt to somehow scare away the Princess. Luna took the display in her stride and sat patiently waiting for the cat to react a little more rationally. It didn’t take too long for the surprise to wear off, causing the griffon to slightly reduce her threatening posture, but not entirely. “What do you want?” she said in a begrudging manner not to dissimilar to that which the Princess earlier observed. Seeing she had been given the opening she desired, Luna calmly exclaimed, “We were observing the dream realm on Our usual patrol, and noticed thou appeared to be suffering some distress. Is this correct?” She punctuated her question, by gesturing to a single tear that had just started to fall down the bird’s face. Quickly wiping away the betraying droplet, the griffon quietly mumbled, “figures this isn’t real.” She then looked up to the taller alicorn and snapped, “and what’s my problems got to do with you?” In a practiced manner from explaining so many times already, Luna smiled before saying, “as Princess of Equestria, ‘tis Our solemn duty to ease the burdens of all those who dwell within. That includes thyself. Even if thy tone is what We would consider… undesirable.” She is nowhere near as brash as that fool hardy minotaur. For the first time, the griffon lost her glare and clearly started to become a little nervous. If the little step back her paws made didn’t tell Luna what the hen was thinking, her new tone did. “A-A Princess? Oh bugga.” With newfound nervous hesitation, the griffon moved to a seated position before asking, “okay, so, you’re here to help me out?” Her voice clearly possessed the tint of hope. “’Tis our duty to help thou, help thyself,” Luna said while proffering a welcoming hoof. The statement didn’t quite resonate with the bird, as she cocked her head in confusion. “How?” “By giving thou advice on how best to proceed.” When all Luna gained was a flat stare she continued to say, “well, to start us off. Please tell Us what ‘tis thou believe bothers thee.” The words were more of a statement than a question, as Luna had already figured out the main issue. If she can admit the problem on her own, ‘tis half the battle. The first response that came was quite weak. “Rainbow’s new friends, they ganged up on me. They wanted to make me look a fool in front of her.” The way she said it, it was clear she didn’t believe her own words. Instead of flat out calling her new acquaintance a liar, Luna again raised her hoof and patiently asked, “is that truly what thou feels is bothering thee?” The only pony she is lying to, is herself. Hmm, birdy? As the griffon’s resolve had already been cracked by the nightmare, it wasn’t long before another set of tears began to well in her eyes. After an audible sniff, she met Luna’s eyes properly. “What those idiots think doesn’t matter to me. It’s Dash. I-I said something I didn’t really mean… and now she… might not ever see me again.” She punctuated her words with a single suppressed sob. Seeing the state she had driven the young bird to, Luna took a few steps forward before gently placing a hoof onto her shoulder. “We all make mistakes my little griffon. ‘Tis our duty to learn from them and rectify them.” Hopefully she will learn something today. Once the words had managed to sink in, she whined, “but how can I fix it? That doesn’t tell me anything.” “Quite simply if We are honest,” Luna nonchalantly said, while letting her hoof gently fall back to the ground. “Thou only need to seek out thy dear friend Rainbow, and apologise for thine actions. If she is a true friend to thee, she will grant thou the forgiveness thou art after, of that We guarantee.” She finished her words with a large smile. Hopefully with the ground work We have established, this young one shalt solve her issues in the morning. Speaking of ‘tis nearly time to lower the moon. Rather than accepting the words like Luna had hoped, the griffon only covered her face once more. “I can’t just go up to her like that. I’d die of embarrassment.” A little taken aback by the unwillingness to try, Luna asked, “so pray tell, what would thy own solution be?” The result was entirely expected. The griffon only shrugged sadly, before looking off towards the river. “I don’t know. Just return to boring old Griffonia and try to forget all about this… I guess.” Abandoning thy attempts will serve no purpose. Maybe She will be more willing to listen if We show more interest? Thinking her plan sound, Luna attempted to make a connection with her. “Ah, fair Griffonia. Such a unique culture,” she said in a wistful tone. There honourable ways were always so enticing. “Nah, it’s just full of lame old griffons saying, honour this, don’t do that,” the griffon responded, shooting down the princess’s compliment to her nation, but losing a hint of her sadness. Latching on to the tiny thread of a conversation Luna continued to try and connect with the young bird. “It has been well over a millennium since We have had the pleasure of visiting thy home country. Has it changed much?” “You’re not really missing out, it’s changed into a dump,” the griffon admitted, ending any semblance of a conversation. We do not believe such a vibrant land could fall into such a state. “Let us agree to disagree,” Luna said diplomatically, before being lost on how to proceed. Rather than flat out command the griffon to follow her instructions, she decided another attempt at proving the merits was in order. “We must protest thy desire to leave Ponyville without fixing this issue. The end of a friendship… ‘tis something thou could regret for the rest of thy life.” A fact We are all too familiar with. With nothing left to say, the two sat quietly. Luna observing in thought, while the bird appeared to clutch at straws. Surprisingly, it was the griffon who finally broke the silence when she asked, “say, aren’t you an all-powerful pegacorn or something?” “Yes, We are indeed a powerful ‘alicorn’,” the alicorn replied while emphasizing her species name. That strand of hope the bird earlier possessed, seemed to return with much greater strength. “Don’t you have spells that could help me? Anything at all?” The brash request for magic shocked Luna for a moment causing her to immediately say, “We cannot cast any spell upon Rainbow that would compel her in anyway. Thou cannot just look for the easy… wait a moment.” As she spoke, thoughts of other spells that could fix the issue crossed her mind. There are many charms that could entice this griffon to make the moves she knows she must. They are all quite invasive. While thinking up these spells, she looked over to the griffon, who was rubbing her palms together in anticipation of what Luna might reveal. She is clearly desperate for assistance; she would likely accept any spell. A small selfish glimmer seemed to rise within the alicorn at that thought. This does present us with many opportunities, We have long desired a break from our sister’s presence. Maybe this being is the key? She could receive Our aid and We could gain a useful disguise. “There is a spell that We can cast on thee to gain thy desired effect. But let it be known, it will come at a price to thee,” Luna finished in a warning tone. A tone that the griffon gleefully ignored as she happily said, “as long as it gets Dash to stop hating me, I’m game for anything.” Game for anything, but straight up apologising it would seem. Well, do not look a gift griffon in the mouth. “Before We cast this spell, may We ask thy name?” Luna asked while feeling a little guilty about not requesting it earlier. “It’s Gilda, now lay the good stuff on me,” Gilda said with some slight impatience. “Okay, prepare thyself, we are about to become very well acquainted.” That gave the bird a moments pause, as she tilted her head. “What does that mean?” The question however came a little too late, as the blue glow from Luna’s horn soon became the only thing Gilda could see.
3: Waking the HippogriffChapter 3 For the next few seconds, a blinding blue flash was all Gilda could see, until almost at once, it stopped. The reason for this was pretty evident, as she opened her beak in a yawn. Currently, she was quite snuggly curled up within a makeshift campsite, the fire of which was just starting to burn down. After a moment of lazing, she began tilting her head around in search of the mysterious Princess who’d visited her. Sadly for Gilda, there was no sign that she had ever been present. Figures I’d have a dream about getting what I want. What a shame, that Princess probably doesn’t visit griffons. With that disappointing realization, Gilda didn’t see any point in getting up, so returned to snuggling her beak near to her dark blue furred legs. Today wasn’t going to be very good. Even with the almost exhausted fire and the steadily rising sun, her eyes steadily started to shut once more hoping for, a this time, peaceful rest. This was not to be the case however, as the griffon’s eyes suddenly opened wide with a much brighter expression. She then appeared to take a second look at her surroundings, before getting to her talons and wandering over to the nearby stream. On first glance, it appeared like she was about to take a drink, but she stopped just a couple of centimetres short and gazed at her reflection. For the longest time Gilda stared into her piercing, light blue, predatory eyes as a small smile seemed to grace her beak. As she looked, her eyes went to the white feathers across her face, prompting a taloned claw to raise and run through them. This promptly caused them to stick out. I suppose, I could use a preen. Ah, I’ll do it back home. As the talon entered her vision, she immediately stopped her fondling and instead switched her focus to her large sharp talons. The talons of a powerful predator. Turning them over a few times, Gilda inspected them before opening and closing them in apparent experimentation. Once complete, she looked at her beak once more and opened it to have a look inside. After running her tongue along the sharp protrusion, she gained a quizzical look and seemed to ask no one in particular, “how would one eat with such an appendage?” What a stupid thought, the same way I always have. Ignoring her stupidity, she leaned in to take her sort after drink. The water from Ponyville’s river was delightfully clean and refreshing. You gotta love pony lands, they really know how to make a nice place. With her thirst satiated, she was about to turn back to the fire before some hint of curiosity over took her, causing her to look at her full body in the river. What met Gilda’s sight was the griffon she’d always known. Obviously, there was the already inspected eagle qualities, but there was also something else. Where her white feathers ended, there was the stark contrast of her midnight blue coat. This continued down her form to her legs that felt strangely lither than usual. Strangely she felt the desire to look further down, her eyes settling upon her usual pristine hooves, somehow appearing much more well-kept than the rest of her. Almost instinctually she raised one of the hooves off the ground and made an attempt to flex it, like one would a paw. Strangely, the appendage had no reaction. Something feels off about all this. Her final bit of self-exploration was to look upon her rump, which possessed her faintly billowing stary tail. It was all so normal and expected but… Gilda couldn’t help reaching a talon out and rubbing it along a rear leg. Why is everything so smooth? Did last night’s dip in the river really do my fur this much work? Shame it didn’t work on my feathers. As she was lost in thought, now scratching at her hoof, her tail flicked out at her beak bringing the griffon back to reality. “Do We not think We have leered enough for one day?” Gilda said as she lost interest in her strangely clean appearance and decided to head back towards her fire. The improvement wouldn’t help, dash would still hate her. That thought stung her brain as she threw a couple of sticks onto the fire, hoping to make it last another half an hour. A light sigh escaped her as the sun continued to rise, meaning the day was clearly coming whether she wanted it or not. Not caring about that for now, Gilda stretched out like a cat pony, to get a couple cricks out of her back. Once done, she tried her best to curl up. It was strangely more difficult than usual. “Bleh, why do legs have to get so stiff in the mornings?” After eventually giving up and lying flat on her front, Gilda took one last look at the sun and tried to gauge something. “Hmm, probably have an hour before that train’s due,” she absently considered, before moving to rest her head on her ready talons. Just before her head met its desired talon pillow, she once again found herself bolt upright. Before she could even think about what she was doing, she’d already turned around and used a hoof to kick dirt over her fire, extinguishing it. As her brain started to catch up, she looked in the direction of a certain pegasus’s house. Her wings then began to unfurl of their own accord as she vocally thought, “We wonder if young Rainbow hast awakened yet?” For the briefest time her eyes opened in fear, before she found herself rocketing skyward far faster than any griffon had ever managed previously. Author's Note And there's the fusion. The random idea that made me write this mess.
4: Confronting the PegasusChapter 4 The journey was a blur to poor Gilda. One moment, she was trying to get some last-minute sleep in, the next, she had propelled herself to somewhere she would never be welcome. That being the cloud home of her once good friend, Rainbow Dash. Despite her misgivings, she came in for a gentle landing on the ominous house’s porch, not eliciting any sound as her hooves met the soft surface. Staring straight ahead at the front door, Gilda flinched back as her brain started to flood with memories of the previous day. Why would I ever come here? Seeing no counter argument, she did a 180 before leaping to safety from the wronged pegasus. A sigh of relief escaped her beak, as she glanced up at the steadily shrinking home. Thank the emperor she never saw me. At least I can save a little face. With her escape almost assured, the lone griffon started to feel a little sadness at throwing away her last opportunity to save her friendship. Shaking her head clear of that stinging realization, she extended her wings with the intent on riding a nice thermal towards the train station. The moment she took this thermal however, her wings pivoted almost unnoticeably. This small change had a large effect, causing the bird to instead rapidly circle back towards the scene of her crime. This time, she landed only a paw step from the door, narrowly missing hitting it with her beak. It took all her might not to caw in panic at her almost complete failure. How the flying feather did this happen? Okay, it’s fine, I can still get away. The moment the panicking griffon began to repeat her previous actions, a strange development occurred. Rather than completing her 180, she found her blue hooves almost welded to the cloud. What was more, she couldn’t even twitch her rear legs in the slightest to help free them. “What gives? I can’t have cramp this bad.” With no further option to escape, the strange idea to bite herself came to mind. That would gain some cooperation from her body… somehow. So, Gilda the griffon spun her beaked head around and bit down upon one of her blue furred forelegs. The slightest squeak escaped her as a tiny jolt of pain rang through the limb. As she didn’t let go, the limb in question lightly shook itself, easily freeing from Gilda’s maw. “Why would I think that was a good idea?” Gilda complained as she reached a claw back rub the bite mark… or lack thereof one. Somehow, her perfectly groomed pony limbs didn’t even have a scratch. Huh, that’s weird. Either my beak needs a sharpen or my furs gotten a bit thicker. As she debated her predicament, the unmistakable feeling of cloud against her rear filled her world. “Oh, come on, give me a break,” she pleaded to her now seated rear, that somehow seemed to be defiantly waiting for her next move. What would that even be? How could she escape when suffering such severe muscle cramp? The idle thought to spend more spare time working out crossed her mind, before the door to her friend became the focus of her vision once more. It was still right there, so close she could touch it. Maybe, it’s like fate or something? That’s a thing that happens in the pony lands, right? With that in mind, she raised one of her talons and held it in front of the door. She could so easily knock, then she’d see Dash again. That was still the problem, but it was also a solution, in a way. With a vast amount of will, Gilda balled her talon into a fist and moved it forward. The moment it made contact, she immediately flinched back putting a talon over her beak in the hopes to hide her terror. The terror soon receded when no pony came to the door to answer. “Hey what gives?” she complained, before the sound of a bell filled her ears. Looking to the origin, she noticed her wing subtly retracting from what was clearly a doorbell. “Oh yeah, cloud door,” she said with a hint of amusement, as she set about pressing the button a few more times. A distant familiar voice ended her small spell of amusement. “Yeah, yeah, I heard ya the first time.” The clear irritation in Dash’s voice was obvious, causing a slight burst of panic to take hold. It was then she started to undertake a strange breathing exercise, one that seemed to steadily calm her nerves. “We can do this, We must only persevere,” she calmly said in the hopes of calming herself. “Yeah, Rainbow can learn to love this Griffon again,” she then continued with a little false confidence. Her reassurance seemed to work and not work at the same time. Internally, she felt as ready as she ever would to face judgement, but externally, her eyes bugged out for a moment. Her head then immediately turned to her cleaner than normal hooves. Part of her actually felt a little pride at the way they shone. Dash might actually think she’d put a little effort in for once. Despite this thought, she began looking around the house’s doorway and found a loose cloud. Wasting no time, she pulled the cloud down to her waist, obscuring it from the doors point of view. That would rather disappointingly hide some of her best features, but maybe showing off wasn’t the best way. Don’t want Dash to be put off by my all-powerful hooves. Her awful internal joke did its job of reducing the tension, right up until the door started to open. “So, why on Equestria is anypony bothering me this… early.” The last word escaped the Rainbow maned pegasus, right as she set her eyes upon the intruding bird. As her friend’s face shifted from that of surprise, to more of a scowl, Gilda could only think to say one thing, “sup duffus.” A nervous smile followed her attempt at banter. “What do you want?” came the expected joyless reply. Opening her beak a few times, Gilda only let out a few strange mumbles that couldn’t quite be classed as any known language. In truth, she really had no idea of how to approach a situation like this. It’s not really one any griffon would willingly enter. After the third clack of her beak and a nervous cough, some real words finally escaped. “We have come to beg for thy forgiveness of Our previous transgressions.” The strangeness of Gilda’s reply seemed to confuse the element of loyalty. It was pretty obvious thanks to the look of bewilderment she gained as well as her next statement. “Say what now?” It seemed to be so confusing, that Rainbow had even forgotten to tint her words with hatred. With a start made, Gilda decided to continue her apology, in a slightly more broken fashion, “Erm, I mean that, erm. You know, we’ve been friends so long and erm…” An eye roll from Rainbow and the get on with it rotation of her friend’s hoof motivated the griffon to take a moment to think. She closed her eyes, while licking her beaks edge before more confidently saying, “look, I didn’t want things to end between us like they did. Sooo… I’m… sorry for what I said about you.” After freeing the words, Gilda couldn’t help the small smile from appearing on her face. It really felt like a victory, however small. Even if she doesn’t forgive me, this was worth it. An, “and,” from Rainbow, gave a moments pause to her hopefully partially forgiven bird friend. The word was puzzling, but clearly implied the pegasus wanted a little more. It should have been obvious what she’d been after. With the moment of realization dawning on her, Gilda sighed before saying, “and, I’m sorry for what I did to your friends. It’s just, that pink pony. She really knew how to get on my nerves, she made me want to…” Before she could start digging a deeper hole to jump into, Gilda’s beak seemed to violently snap shut, surprising the pair. She then shook her head with the slightest look of disappointment, “nay, We are here to make a sincere apology to thou.” “Ahem, I know,” she seemed to answer herself sarcastically, before returning to the matter at claw. “At least… she seemed like she was trying to be friendly… in her stupid way. Maybe… one day we could hang out, the three of us.” Weirdly, she actually meant every word. That pink pony can’t be all bad if Rainbow tolerates her, can she? With the desired message delivered, the two individuals sat quietly once again. Gilda, sweating bullets, while Rainbow appeared to be studying her friends face. The silence ended, when the pegasus let out a light laugh, causing Gilda to sigh in relief. “Wow, what an apology, you must really want this,” Rainbow said with a small smile. She then scratched the back of her head before continuing, “look, it’s okay and if you’re going to do it, then so should I.” “B-but why? You didn’t do anything wrong. You’re all cool with me,” Gilda all but fumbled out. Her own wrongs being the only thing she could think of in the heat of the moment. A small wince came from the spectrum bound pegasus as she admitted, “that isn’t true, I did pull all those pranks.” “Yeah... you did. They were really, interesting,” Gilda said as she tried to crush down the hint of bitterness that started to arise. “Oh, nice save,” came the dead pan response, before she lightened up once more. “Anyway, those pranks weren’t all meant for you, but it probably wasn’t the best to have everypony laughing at your expense like that. It wasn’t really the best example of loyalty I’ve ever shown.” Those final words seemed to pull on Gilda’s heartstrings a little stronger than usual. So much so, that she leaned forward to put a comforting talon on Dash’s shoulder. “Rainbow, thy loyalty to thy friends is beyond compare. Without thine efforts, many a pony would be in dire straits.” As she spoke, Gilda spread her wings in an attempt to make her words more grandiose. Her words did get Rainbow to perk up again, almost causing her to laugh at the strangeness. She was then even more surprised, when her usually prideful friend asked, “would thou wish for a hug from thy loving friend?” Before she could respond, the griffon easily pulled her in close and folded her wings around her, trapping Rainbow in amongst her feathers. “Wow, never thought you were a hugger,” she said while awkwardly returning the gesture. “I’m really not. I’m… just glad you don’t hate me,” Gilda responded. It was strange that griffons didn’t really hug each other. It felt so natural to the bird as the friendly action was taking place. More hugs would have to happen in future, when no one was looking of course. As the hug was going on a little too long for her coolness to bare, Rainbow used a modicum of effort to push the griffon off. “By the way, could you stop with the weird dorky speech prank. It was funny at first, but now it’s getting weird.” Taking a moment to look behind herself, Gilda conceded, “I honestly have no idea where that’s coming from. It sorta picked up this morning.” The brief look back caused Rainbow to follow her gaze, which immediately landed on the suspicious cloud covering her friends back. As a quizzical look formed and the potential for a question arose, Gilda decided to remind herself of something important. “Well We, ahem, I have a train to catch. In future I shall hopefully meet thou on sweeter terms.” Her friend's continuing peculiar accent caused Rainbow to laugh lightly again before she agreed, “You bet.” With a light bow of respect, the Griffon took a couple steps backward, causing her to quickly fall from view. A moment later, Rainbow could see her rocketing off in the direction of the train station. She appeared to squint for a moment before saying, “huh, did she dye her fur blue? Wow, she must really have missed me. Wrong shade but meh.” After observing the blue dot for a few more seconds she shrugged, before heading back inside to gain a bit more sleep.
5: Going HomeFrom the numerous happy zigzags to her flight path, it was pretty obvious Gilda was feeling pretty good right now. She’d faced her overwhelming fear of embarrassment, and even managed to save a friendship she deeply valued. What an improvement to the day. To think that wouldn’t have happened if she didn’t have a mammoth case of pins and needles. After a few giddy loops in the air and caws of elation, she finally settled into the warm feeling within her and glided gracefully down towards the train station. There were still a few minutes left, so there wasn’t too much need to rush. Upon closing the distance, instead of landing violently like usual, she made her best attempt to not make a scene. The only real noticeable sound being the light clop her hooves on touch down. This landing still drew quite a large amount of undesirable attention, seeing as ponies will always look at things that are new and different. It was the same for her when she arrived. Each of the ponies who looked seemed to appraise her appearance and one even waved. For a moment, Gilda debated on growling at the nosy herbivores like before. They should keep to their own business. Her earlier experiences however gave her some pause. And so, in a mild attempt at learning from them, she instead waved back and started to walk towards the awaiting train. As she continued on her way, a few stray voices started to invade her hidden ears. “Wo, is that a hippogriff?” “They eat meat don’t they.” “Say, that birds rear looks really familiar, and what a tail.” “Hey! What are you doing checking out other mares?” “Sorry, it’s just, look at that moon.” A slight nervous twinge over took the griffon at their observations, causing her pace to increase and altering her path towards that of the nearby ticket office. Luckily for her there was no que left, allowing the rushing bird to immediately interact with the moustached pony within. “Yes?” he asked politely when he noticed the newly formed que. He then had to wait patiently as the bird nervously scanned the various ticket boards surrounding his booth. Her worry seemed to steadily increase until she turned to him and sheepishly said, “We are a little unfamiliar with the modern system of admittance to thy carriage.” That was a little surprising to the ticket clerk, seeing as he did have a pretty good memory. “Aren’t you that griffon that came through here yesterday? You sort of stand out.” She did seem to be a little taller than before, but no other griffons had come into town for months. The sheepish demeanour the bird had, seemed to evaporate in an instant. Instead, it was replaced with the familiar irritation she bore on arrival. “That’s because griffons are awesome. Of course I know what I’m doing, see? I have a return ticket; you think I’m an idiot?” she punctuated her statement by shoving her ticket in his face. She then turned around, flicked her tail in the clerk’s direction and began heading towards the waiting train. As she began to walk away, the attendant just looked at the observing ponies and shrugged in confusion. Upon taking another look in the griffon’s direction, he noticed that she had paused and was looking back towards him. “Apologies, that was a little unbecoming of Us after that mistake.” She then continued on her way without waiting for a response. Wow, what a weird griffon. Wait… hippogriff. Maybe that was a different person after all? The clerk idly thought before returning to his work. “The nerve of that pony,” Gilda mumbled to herself as she closed in on her designated carriage. Who was he to judge her? She thought while also internally complaining about making such a basic mistake. Just as her claw reached up for the doors handle, she took a moment to notice her own reflection. “It appears We shall have to learn friendship together,” she surveyed, before stepping aboard. Moving down the aisle, the same thing occurred as before. Each pony she passed would take notice of her and some would start to wonder where she came from. One particular stallion wearing golden armour, even said to his friend, “that birds got a copy of the Princess’s cutiemark. Should we report this?” Trying her best to shut them out, she found her seat at the carriages window and began looking outside. Outside back towards where a certain cloud house was. The sight of a rainbow forming brought a smile to her face as she thought about her recent success. All because of a daft dream about some magic pegacorn. If she was real, Gilda would have to find a way to pay her back. As the thought floated through her head, she gently rubbed one of her dainty hooves. They felt just that bit more special today for some reason. Her musings were interrupted by the newfound rumble of the carriage, as it began steadily departing the station. “Welp, back to boring Griffonia,” she mused before deciding to try and get some rest across two seats. No pony would want to sit next to her. The word try was quite an accurate description, as the moment she mentioned her home country, the bird’s heart rate started to rapidly increase. It was a little, strange seeing as there was nothing interesting going on back home. Maybe it was just the settling of her nerves? Unbeknownst to the griffon, a separate set of thoughts from a certain misbehaving alicorn was becoming lost in the potential her holiday held. We cannot believe We are actually having a real holiday. All thanks to that simple magic show spell, and Our unusual companion. As the thought progressed, a talon affectionately started to preen some of the failing to sleep griffon’s feathers. The attention, though unexpected was welcome. Gilda really did need to take better care of her feathers. A wistful look formed on griffon’s beak as Luna began to ponder what was to come. Yes, We cannot wait to see what adventures she brings Us on! Maybe she will introduce Us to some of Griffonia’s legendary honour bound knights. Getting to practice swordsponyship with worthy opponents once more will be a dream. For her part, Gilda had never held a sword in any real meaningful way, and as for meeting knights? She felt pretty much the same way about them as she would any regular guard. That being mild contempt at them stopping her fun. Ooo, We wonder what it will be like to engage in one of their fabled legendary hunts? It has been so long since We have had any reason to hunt a real hydra. Assisting the local populace with their food supplies will be a worthy endeavour. It’s a shame that most griffons don’t hunt very often and all Gilda herself had hunted was small rabbits and rats. Not the kind of game the princess was really after. This train seemed to have so many stops. Gilda could potentially live anywhere. There are probably so many new interesting cities she will explore on her journey. We cannot wait to explore them. As Luna finally managed to supress her excitement to allow her unknowing co holidayer to rest, one thing became clear. She would try her very best to ensure the two of them had the best time together. Meaning, even though Gilda had never done any of the things Luna thought she had, the night princess would ensure she will have before they parted ways.
EpilogueDear sister We hope thou art doing well after Our little disagreement. We have never been better and have even used Our minor spat as an excuse for a little incognito holiday. We shall see thou in a few weeks. Do not worry, for We shall endeavour to send a number of post cards, like this, relating to Our many adventures. Yours Faithfully Luna PS. please excuse the poor quality of our writing. While a novel experience, use of talons will take Us some acclimating to. Not to mention that of the beak. Author's Note And there's the end. I accomplished my goal of making something I haven't seen before exist. Maybe it would have been better for me to consider whether I should, than whether I could? If people enjoy this story, I may write a few one-off chapters about some adventures in Griffonia. Might write them as the postcards back to Celestia or something. An example of one could be: hello sister, today I found out that my companion cannot face down a hydra with just her sharpened claws. This has caused quite a predicament.
