For Pinkie Pie, the day started out as a day not at all out of the ordinary. A day where she had nothing to do: No parties to plan or gather supplies for, nothing related to any of her friends, and no need to foalsit the Cake Twins. Which for her meant it was the perfect day to do something she'd been wanting to do for a very, very long time! She was going to bake a cake. Not just any cake, though. She was going to bake a very special cake, made from a very special recipe that had been passed down from her Granny Pie.

So the pink party pony went about gathering up the ingredients and the baking instruments, creating a bit of a mess in the kitchen of Sugarcube Corner in the process to the point where her own coat was covered with splatters of batter and cake mix. But she didn't care in the slightest, she would clean up the mess in due time. For right now, there was baking to. And the only thing better than baking by herself was baking with Gummy. She could always count on him to keep her company during things like this.

And as Pinkie went about the process of baking the cake, she started humming a cheerful little tune to herself. "This is gonna be so great, Gummy! We have absolutely nothing to do today except bake!" She said to the baby alligator.

Gummy, for his part, just blinked and did not move in the slightest from the countertop he was currently on.

Pinkie's smile grew brighter as she went on talking to herself. "I've been waiting for just the right time to finally try my hoof at making Granny Pie's super-special triple-chocolate, fifteen-layer marjolaine recipe! It's gonna be amazing! This will be a true taste of my baking abilities! Everything the Cakes have ever taught me are going to come in handy here!"

Again, Gummy just blinked. And then he used his tongue to lick some of the batter and frosting off his face.

"Alright, let's see here," The pink party pony said to herself as she began listing off the ingredients in her head. "We've got: Nutty meringue, chocolate ganache, praline and nuts, cocoa-flavored buttercream... yup, I think we're good to go! Wouldn't wanna have to go out and gather more ingredients midway through, that would be a total disaster." As she began baking, she was unaware that her cutie mark was glowing and start to buzz ever so faintly.

If he was aware of what was happening to his earth pony master, Gummy didn't show it or make any effort to bring it to her attention. It seemed that not even seeing her cutie mark glow could prompt a reaction from him.

So Pinkie kept on talking and kept on baking, even as she thought she could feel a faint tingling sensation on her flanks. "An hour per layer: That's fifteen hours of pure baking bliss! Good thing I planned ahead and cleared my schedule in advance, eh, Gummy?" She asked the baby alligator, only to (of course) receive no reply of any sort.

After opening and closing the oven and pulling out a finished layer of the huge cake, the pink party pony said to herself. "Okay, Gummy, I think we're ready to start prepping the second layer!" Yet it was then that she finally became aware of the fact that her cutie mark was glowing, vibrating, and ringing audibly. She hastily cleaned off her flanks, realizing at once what this meant! "Oh, my gosh! My cutie mark! You know what this means, right, Gummy?!" Leaning in close to the baby alligator, she whispered. "The map!" And she quickly moved to clean herself up, wanting to look presentable when she reached Twilight's castle.

However, Pinkie Pie realized that if she went to go see what the map was calling her for, she would have to leave behind her planned baking project. Not wanting to pull the plug on it after she'd already gotten everything all set up for it, she hastily placed a whisk in Gummy's mouth before opening the back door and saying to him. "Uh, Gummy? Could you take over for a bit, please? I've already measured the baking powder for you," With a happy squee, she added. "And when the first layer cools, you can drizzle some of the ganache over it. And don't forget to beat the egg whites for the meringue!"

The ringing and glowing of the cutie mark didn't cease. The map was clearly not willing to wait for Pinkie, so she prepared to depart. Still, she looked back to Gummy and said to him in encouragement. "I know you can do this, Gummy! You're the best alligator baker I've ever met! I promise, I'll be back as soon as possible! It'll be like I was never even gone! If this really takes a while though," She blushed. "Feel free to ask Mr. or Mrs. Cake for help." Then after kissing him softly on the forehead, she zoomed away!

Gummy, for his part, just continued to hold the whisk in his mouth as he slowly lost his balance and fell onto the kitchen countertop with a creek and a thud. It didn't look like he would be able to do any sort of baking at all.

Pinkie Pie, meanwhile, was already racing across town to Twilight's castle! This was the first time the map had been active since the time it had sent Twilight and her friends to a village at the far end of Equestria. The pink party pony had no idea where the map would be calling her to, or who she might be going with. But she knew that the map's call was important.

What the pink party pony couldn't have anticipated, though, was that the map was going to not only send her to someplace she'd never been to before, but that it was also going to specifically be up to her to ensure the mission was a success.

When at last Pinkie Pie arrived at Twilight's castle and was ushered into the throne room, she was able to see with her own eyes where the map was calling her. Her cutie mark, along with that of Rainbow Dash's was hovering around a place high atop a mountain that appeared to contain several huts stacked on top of each other not unlike nests. Unlike the last time the map had done this, however, it did not show the cutie marks of anypony except for her and Rainbow Dash.

Twilight happily explained what this meant. "This is so exciting. The map is summoning you to Griffonstone, the very heart of the griffon kingdom! You're so lucky, I've always wanted to visit a place like that," As her smile grew brighter, she explained. "I did some research, I read and re-read 'Bygones Griffons of Greatness'. It's a fantastic book, I highly recommend it. It says that griffons were known to be-"

Rainbow Dash grumbled and rolled her eyes as she interrupted. "-Rude, insensitive jerks? Because that's what Gilda turned out to be. She seemed nice enough during her time at Junior Speedsters, but when she showed in Ponyville a few years back she'd changed completely. If Griffonstone is where she's been all this time, then either she was always a jerk and I just never noticed, or something about Griffonstone changed her for the worse."

"Funny," Twilight remarked as she blinked her eyes. "That's not at all what my research reveals, Griffonstone has a very rich history. It's a shining city on a hill if all my books are to be believed."

"What do they say exactly?" The brash speedster questioned as she sat up in her throne, locking eyes with the book loving alicorn.

The princess proudly explained as she held up a well worn book and flipped open its pages, showing off detailed illustrations that could've been mistaken for the stained glass window displays in Canterlot. They depicted griffons of various colors all flocking together and gathering around, admiring a griffon who wore a crown atop his head. "In ancient times, griffons were known to be as greedy as dragons, always hoarding their bits and other treasures. But all that changed when King Grover found the mysterious golden Idol of Boreas."

"Never heard of it." Rainbow retorted with indifference.

"Is it like those treasures Daring Do finds in her books?" Pinkie Pie questioned, suspecting a possible connection.

Twilight shook her head from side to side. "Daring Do's never been beyond the borders of Equestria, there's no way she would ever know about something like this," She then flipped the page, showing off a depiction of the golden idol in all its shining, shimmering glory, and she continued. "Legend says the Idol of Boreas was made from the dust of golden sunsets, blown across the mountains by the north winds. Possessing the Idol of Boreas filled the griffons' hearts with pride, and with it they were inspired to build Griffonstone into the envy of all the kingdoms in all the world!"

Rainbow Dash's eyes began to light up like stars in the night sky, suddenly intriguing. "Okay, that's definitely caught my attention. Wonder why Gilda never brought it up. If I came from a place as awesome as Griffonstone appears to be, I'd make sure everypony knew about it."

Pinkie could only shrug her hooves. "I guess maybe griffons didn't want other nations to feel jealous. Or maybe they feared their idol would be stolen? Seems kind of ridiculous if you ask me, who would want to steal from griffons just because they have some legendary idol?"

"Well, obviously, something is amiss in Griffonstone. The last time the map called us to somewhere, we discovered that things weren't as cheerful and peaceful as they seemed," Twilight concluded as she closed the book, then sighed. "Even so, you two get to go to Griffonstone all by yourselves. I can't help but feel a little jealous, I wish I could go with you."

"Why not?" The brash speedster inquired. "There's nothing that says you can't go. And Spike didn't get called by the map last time either, but he still went."

The book loving alicorn could only shake her head in disapproval. "We don't know what the situation is in Griffonstone. I wouldn't want to risk an international incident. Besides," She lamented as she began to prattle on at length. "If the map really wanted me to go to the coolest kingdom of all time and tour the palace and see the actual idol that unites an entire species, which would be super amazing, I'm sure it would've said so," She then lit up her horn, deactivating the map as she said to her friends. "I'm sure you two can handle whatever the map might be calling you for. Plus, you already know a griffon in Griffonstone, so that should be a big help."

"Then it looks like it's up to us to do... whatever it is we need to do in Griffonstone!" Pinkie Pie excitedly exclaimed as she turned to the throne room doors! "Come on, Dashie! This is gonna be fun!"

The rainbow maned pegasus remarked with a shrug of her hooves. "What the heck, I had nothing better to do anyway."

The pink party pony happily kicked her back legs in satisfaction! "That's the spirit, Dashie!" And she blew on a party horn as she and her occasional prankster partner set off on their important mission.

As luck would have it, there were train tracks that led out to Griffonstone. Well, not Griffonstone proper, but close enough to where one could walk into the kingdom without having to journey too far. So Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash bordered a train out to that location, and were soon on their way as the train departed from Ponyville with a blast from the whistle and a puff of steam.

Since the train ride to Griffonstone would take quite a while, Pinkie Pie opted to pass the time by looking out the window of the train car she was in. But as she prepared to do so, she noticed that Rainbow Dash seem preoccupied reading what appeared to be a book with a pink colored spine. And that was something that struck the party pony as most odd. "Say, whatcha reading, Rainbow?" She questioned.

With a groan and a moan, Rainbow frowned and said with a sigh. "Twilight literally wrote a book on what she thinks we need to do in Griffonstone."

Pinkie shot her friend a puzzled look. "You mean like a guide on how to figure out what problem we're supposed to fix?"

The rainbow maned pegasus lamented as she placed the book over her head. "And then some. It's like Twilight herself in book form. Listen to this:" She cleared her throat and styled her mane to look like Twilight's as she read aloud: "Always carry plenty of bits. The griffons are sure to help you as long as you share the wealth." She stopped reading just in time to see that Pinkie had already plopped down a huge stack of bits to pay for a dessert from a small snack stand that had just passed through.

Sheepishly, the pink party pony asked. "Uh, can I borrow some bits?"

Rainbow Dash could only put a hoof to her forehead. Whatever enthusiasm she might have had for going to Griffonstone was starting to fade. Between Twilight's book and Pinkie having already spent a lot of bits, it seemed like the mission the map was calling them for was going to be a lot more difficult than first anticipated.

Fortunately, the rest of the train trip passed uneventfully. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash got off the train when it stopped at a station near the bottom of a tall mountain. Presumably, at the top rested Griffonstone.

The two friends set off to finish their journey to Griffonstone, all the while they occasionally consulted Twilight's book to see what else she had written down for them as not so secret suggestions. "Upon arriving in Griffon Gorge, be sure to pause and cast your eyes northerly, up the Hyperborean Mountains, taking in the breathtaking beauty of Griffonstone. Once you're in Griffonstone proper, go immediately to the palace and introduce yourself to the king."

Pinkie and Rainbow scaled the mountains and made their way across the gorge without fanfare. Everything seemed to be just fine right now, though it seemed a little odd to them that Griffonstone's supposed majesty and wonder was not visible to them from afar. One would've assumed that a kingdom as splendid as Griffonstone was said to be would surely make itself known long before reaching its outskirts. That did not seem to be the case.

But it seemed that Twilight had anticipated just such a problem, because the book she had written said. "'Bygone Griffons of Greatness' was written a long time ago, and it ends with the coronation of the fourteenth king of the griffons, King Guto. I have no idea who's in charge now. If for some reason the king can't help, I'd try the Griffonstone library next. It's a little known secret that if you befriend a librarian, you can usually find out anything. Plus, as a bonus, there's a statue of King Grover outside that makes for a great photo-op!" It concluded by saying. "Oh, and don't forget to sample some famous griffon scones. They're supposed to be the best."

Suspecting nothing, the two friends made their way across a rickety rope bridge and at last they approached the gates of Griffonstone. They were ready to be greeted with the most splendid sight that would ever greet their eyes.

"Twilight really should've come along!" Pinkie Pie said to Rainbow Dash as they entered the kingdom. "Then she could see first-hoof that Griffonstone is..." But almost immediately upon entering, she and her prankster partner saw that Griffonstone appeared to be run down and neglected, far from the majestic kingdom it had been said to be. And that made the pink party pony finish her sentence by saying. "A total dump! What's going on here?!"

Once the initial shock of seeing Griffonstone in such a sorry state had worn off, Rainbow and Pinkie tried to process what was going on. "Are we sure we're in the right place?" The rainbow maned pegasus questioned aloud as she and her friend roamed the streets, noticing how even the dwellings for the griffons were of very poor quality. "Maybe the map should've called Rarity instead, because this place needs a makeover."

"Maybe we took a wrong turn somewhere?" Pinkie Pie nervously asked as she rushed up to a griffon who had a light brown coat, dark brown feathers around their neck and atop their head, and orange eyes. "Excuse me," She asked the griffon. "This is Griffonstone, right?"

The griffon just replied by brushing the pink party pony aside with a wing, then walking away as if it had never seen her in the first place.

Pinkie could only remark to the rude reply. "Well, that wasn't very nice."

Rainbow Dash, meanwhile, retorted with. "I can't say I'm shocked. This is exactly what I feared: Gilda wasn't the odd one out, she was just like every other griffon. Living in a place like this, I guess you have to become rude and grumpy just to survive." And she swished her tail in protest.

The pink party pony didn't want to give up hope so easily. "W-well, I'm... sure we can fix that... somehow," She sheepishly proposed. "Maybe we should focus on finding the palace so we can ask the king what's going on. Whoever it is, I bet they'll know how we can make this place be as great as it was said to be."

But a rude, almost condescending voice sharply snapped! "We don't have a king anymore, losers! We haven't had a king for a long time!" And sure enough, who should then show up but a griffon with light, brilliant amber eyes, gold talons white and grey feathers on her face, and brown colored wings and lighter brown colored feathers underneath?

Recognizing the griffon at once, Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes and frowned in disapproval. "Oh, hello, Gilda."

"Dash." Gilda snarled back.

"Pinkie!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, breaking up the tension for but a brief moment.

"I should've known I'd run into you here, Gilda," Rainbow bitterly remarked. "I can see now why you never wanted to talk about where you came from."

Gilda just growled in a low, bitter tone. "You never cared anyway, Dash. You forgot all about me the moment I left Junior Speedsters," She then saw fit to complain. "What are you even doing here? Who invited you dweebs?"

Pinkie jumped in to defend her pegasus friend, proclaiming. "Hey, these 'dweebs' are here to help Griffonstone!"

"Is that so?" Gilda hissed. "Help it with what, exactly?"

The pink party pony sheepishly replied as she shrank from Gilda's harsh gaze. "W-Well... we're not sure, exactly," She gave off a nervous laugh. "But we know it's got something to do with a map, and our cutie marks, and a problem. So we were just thinking of-"

The griffon only retorted by turning her head and raising a claw. "-Bored now! I don't care! We don't need your help, and we don't want your help! So why don't you just scram already?!"

"Hey, wait, don't leave!" Pinkie pleaded as the party pony jumped in front of Gilda, trying to block her path. "You said you don't have a king, right? So if you don't have that, can't you at least point us in the direction of the Idol of Boreas?"

Gilda rolled her eyes. "That old story again?" She gave off a mocking laugh. "Don't tell me you puny ponies actually believe in that silly legend."

"It's no legend, you'd better believe it's real," A raspy, wheezy voice croaked out from afar. "I'm old enough to remember when we actually had that idol, and old enough to remember how we lost it long ago," Then, out strolled a griffon with an ash gray coat, medium grey feathers around his neck, dark grey wings, and black eyes that looked tired yet apparently full of knowledge. Atop his head rested a red hat with a yellowish-green line running through it near the bottom. "Let me tell you something, whippersnappers! That idol was the best thing that ever happened to us griffons!"

Gilda groaned, putting a claw over her face. "Oh great, now you've got Grandpa Gruff started on his stories! Hardly anyone cares what this old gezer thinks. He hardly ever does anything anymore, aside from occasionally look after orphaned fledgelings."

The considerably aged griffon didn't seem to care what Gilda had just said. He simply slowly strolled and stumbled his way towards the ponies, then stretched out a claw. "I'll gladly tell you the whole tragic tale, for a couple of bits that is."

Sensing that the old griffon was not going to be satisfied without payment, Rainbow Dash reluctantly hoofed over some bits to him.

Grandpa Gruff took possession of the bits, even putting one into his beak and bitting into it. He appeared to be satisfied with the payment, as he cleared his throat and started to speak. "It was a long time ago, before any of you youngin''s were ever born," He started picturing the events in his mind as he recalled. "The first griffon king, King Grover, united our kind like we've never been united before or since! And he did it all with that incredible Idol of Boreas. Yes sir, that idol brought pride and joy to the heart of every griffon that saw it! From one king to another, Griffonstone had our golden idol. We were the envy of all other species."

As the elderly griffon prattled on, he was uanware that Gilda was mockingly imitating him, right down to the mannerisms and the gestures. And it made Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash both chuckle and snicker ever so slightly.

Grandpa Gruff, undeterred and unaware of the mocking, just continued his story. "It held us together – it gave us an identity to be proud of – right up until the reign of King Guto. It wasn't long after he took the throne that everything went wrong," He shut his eyes, recalling what was known about the day everything had changed for the worse. It had all begun during a sudden, intense thunderstorm. Lightning had flashed, thunder had clapped, the wind had roared and howled, and the rain had poured down with a ferocity unlike anything any griffon had ever seen before. "That's when the creature known as Arimaspi came to steal our griffon treasure, right in the middle of the worst storm any griffon had ever known! King Guto tried to fight him off, but Arimaspi managed to get away with the idol! And then it got worse!"

As the memories continued, the old griffon could recall how Griffonstone's fourteenth king had pursued the idol thief even as the storm grew more and more intense with each passing minute! He made an attempt to fight back against Arimaspi, briefly managing to wrest the idol away from him. But at that very moment, a bolt of lightning struck the ground on which King Guto and Arimaspi had been standing! It gave way, plunging them into the abyss below as the idol fell with them! King Guto flapped his wings, managing to get back up. But alas, he could not retrieve the idol as it faded from his view, swallowed up by the darkness.

Grandpa Gruff opened his eyes as he snorted and remarked with bitter indifference. "King Guto spent the rest of his life trying in vain to get that idol back from the Abysmal Abyss it had fallen into. But all the griffons lost confidence in him, telling him not to bother coming back without the idol. They say that when our treasure fell into the Abysmal Abyss, our pride went with it. That good for nothing King Guto was the last king of Griffonstone, once he left there was no one willing to take his place. Thanks to him, Griffonstone fell into decay and despair. And we all lived miserably ever after. The end!"

Pinkie Pie was the first to react once Grandpa Gruff had finished speaking. With tears in her eyes, she whimpered. "That was the saddest story I ever heard!"

"Well tough tailfeathers, missy!" Grandpa Gruff snapped. "No refunds! You asked for my wisdom, and you got it!" He turned his back to the ponies. "Now you know why Griffonstone is so bad. But we don't need your pity! We've been carrying on as best we can on our own. Someday, maybe, some griffon will find something worthwhile to replace that idol with. Until then, we'll just have to muddle through somehow." He slowly limped back into his house, slamming the door shut behind him.

The pink party pony blinked, turning to Rainbow Dash. "It's no wonder Twilight's book ended with the coronation of King Guto, and no book was written after that. Who'd ever want to record a history so sad?"

Gilda snorted. "It's not sad! Do we look sad to you, ponies?!" She unfolded her wings! "You know what: I've wasted enough time talking to the both of you! Do whatever you want, I don't care!" And she quickly flew away with an audible screech.

Rainbow just sighed and looked down at the ground. "Guess nothing's changed with her, unfortunately."

"But we can't just go back! There has to be a reason why the map called us here!" Pinkie protested.

Then, suddenly, it came to Rainbow Dash as she let out an audible gasp! "Wait a minute, Pinkie! Grandpa Gruff's story has given me an idea! I know what we gotta do to bring Griffonstone back to its former glory!"

Pinkie's eyes began to light up. "You do?"

The rainbow maned pegasus happily nodded. "Of course I do, it's so obvious. We need to find the Idol of Boreas! When we do, we'll bring pride and glory back to Griffonstone!" She unfolded her wings! "So we need to find some griffon to take us down to that abyss. I'm sure I can find the idol, I've flown through Gastly Gorge, an abyss shouldn't be any tougher to tackle."

The earth pony mare with a pretty pink coat was rather skeptical of her pegasus friend's proclamation. "I don't know, Rainbow Dash. It can't be that simple. If it was, some griffon would've gotten the idol back by now."

Rainbow rolled her eyes in disbelief. "None of them cared enough to bother trying. That's where we come in!"

"But what about Twilight's advice?" Pinkie Pie spoke up as she remembered the book Twilight had given her and Rainbow Dash earlier.

"What? Taking pictures? In case you haven't noticed, Twilight's information was way off!" The brash speedster retorted. "There's no king here, and I doubt there's anything else worth checking out," She groaned. "If you wanna spend all your time snooping around, looking for something to do, be my guest."

The pink party pony suddenly proclaimed. "Wait, what if Gilda's the reason why the map called us?! We both know her."

"Maybe you'll have better luck with her than I did," Rainbow grumbled in frustration. "I think it's clear to me she doesn't want anything to do with me. And the feeling's mutual. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going off to search the Abysmal Abyss to find that lost idol! This'll be just like one of Daring Do's adventures!" And with that, as if to make herself heard, she took to the skies and flew away as fast as she could.

Rainbow Dash wasted no time in heading towards what looked like a promising shop for an adventure loving pony like her. Upon entering the shop, she boldly proclaimed! "I'm here to find your missing idol and save Griffonstone! You're welcome!" But the only reply was the sound of rushing wind and a door falling off its hinges. So that made her continue in a far less excited and more matter of fact tone of voice. "So uh... I'll need some rope, a grappling hook, and a guide to take me down to the Abysmal Abyss."

A brown feathered griffon with dull blue eyes, light brown feathers around her face and neck, and wearing a bluish-green cap and matching jacket just bluntly replied. "And I'll need some bits. I'm not running a charity, you know."

Rainbow sighed and had to resist the urge to roll her eyes again. The one thing that Twilight's book wasn't wrong about was that the griffons would be happy to help anyone as long as they were willing to "share the wealth". Still, at least it seemed that everything was going well for her. With a little luck, she would soon find the Idol of Boreas and with it would rekindle the pride and joy the griffons had felt when they had possessed it long ago.

Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie quickly spotted Gilda as the grumpy griffon strolled alone through the impoverished streets of Griffonstone. Despite what had happened the last time the two had met, Pinkie was determined to stay in a cheerful mood with Gilda and hopefully get some information out of her. "Heya, Gilda!" She greeted as she bounced over to the griffon.

Gilda groaned with annoyance and frustration. "Not you again."

"Hey, come on, there's no reason to be a gloomy gus about things," Pinkie said with a smile. "Twilight always says it's never too late to make amends and be friends."

The grumpy griffon just groaned further. "I don't want to be your friend. I'm not interested in friends anymore, they're just a waste of time," And she questioned. "What do you want from me? Make it quick, will you?"

The pink party pony's smile just grew brighter. "Word on the street is that Griffonstone has an amazing library chock-full of answers!"

Griffon pointed a claw to the burned down and worn down remnants of a building outside of which rested a large stone statue of King Grover. "It's right over there, you dweeb. Why don't you get lost in the books and leave me alone?" And she quickly walked away.

Pinkie Pie was horrified to discover what was left of Griffonstone's library! Just how bad had things gotten in Griffonstone that they no longer had a king or a world famous library? "Oh Twilight, it's a good thing you didn't come here. You'd have hated to see what's become of this kingdom," She then approached the statue of King Grover, eyeing it and talking to it as if it were alive. "It's sad what happened to your kingdom, King Grover. At least you weren't around to see it. But I don't think Rainbow Dash is right, this can't just because of some missing idol of gold. It doesn't even sound like it was magical or enchanted."

The party pony then not so subtly made the statue's stone beak move, and threw her voice to sound like what she thought a famous king of old would sound like. It sounded naturally kind of high pitched and squeaky, not that Pinkie seemed to care. "You are right, Pinkie! You're so smart, and you've got amazing hair too!"

Blushing ever so faintly, Pinkie giggled and waved a hoof. "Aw, King Grover, you old charmer! You sure are a sweet talker." But as soon as she had finished saying those words, the statue's beak broke off and fell to the ground, shattering into tiny stone fragments. It was clear that the library (or what was left of it) would be of no help at all.

Did that stop the earth pony mare with a poofy pink mane and tail? Not even for a second. She may not have had an exact idea of what was wrong with Griffonstone, but she had a pretty good idea in her head about how to fix it. "Wait a minute, I see what's going on here! I know just what Griffonstone needs!"

Gilda happened to be nearby, and overheard what Pinkie was saying. "What? Less ponies?"

"No, silly," The pink party pony giggled. "A song! I've got a super song about smiling that's sure to make even the most grumpy griffon grin! I'll even teach you the words so you can join in too!" She took a deep breath and inhaled, ready to burst into a song.

But Gilda immediately clamped a claw over Pinkie's muzzle and coldly pointed to a sign as she said quite bluntly. "Can't sing here, dweeb." Sure enough, the sign had a red circle drawn over musical notes coming out of a griffon's mouth.

Pinkie frowned ever so faintly. "What?! Who even made up such a silly rule? How do you break into uplifting musical numbers with no singing?"

The grumpy griffon just growled and sarcastically retorted. "Yeah, sure, that's Griffonstone's biggest problem: A lack of uplifting musical numbers," Then she added. "In case you haven't noticed, this isn't Equestria. We don't do things the way you ponies do."

Undeterred, Pinkie Pie just asked. "Well if I can't sing, how about a party?" And she explained. "Parties are an even better way to spread joy and cheer than singing. So where's your party store? You at least have to have that."

"What party store?" Gilda blinked. "We never had one, and I don't see that changing anytime soon. What other useless ideas are you gonna come up with, you bozo?"

Pinkie just gasped! "No party store?! Don't you griffons ever have anything to celebrate?!" And she quickly and nervously asked. "Well... uh... how about cake? Nothing cheers folks up like cake! Please tell me you've got a bakery! You've got shops, so you've gotta had a bakery!"

Gilda just shrugged her claws. "We do all our baking in-house. Griffons don't really do sweets."

The reality slowly sank in for Pinkie Pie about just how bleak and dreary Griffonstone was. "No singing, no party store, no bakery?! What even is this place?!"

The grumpy, grouchy griffon growled and roared! "You're welcome to leave it at any time! Don't you know how to read a room?! Are all of you ponies this dense, or is this just your thing, Dorky Pie?"

The pink party pony ignored the insult, instead retorting. "Well that just takes the cake. Wait, no! It can't take the cake 'cause there is no cake! Or muffins! Or griffon scones!"

Much to Pinkie's surprise, Gilda replied. "Oh, we got griffon scones. That's my specialty," She quickly whisked some of the aforementioned baked goods out from a wagon she'd been hauling. "It's the one thing I know I'm good at."

Pinkie's mouth watered and she licked her lips in anticipation! "Why didn't you just say so?! I'll buy one!"

"Bits first!" Gilda impatiently demanded. And only gave the pink party pony a scone once she had forked over the bits to pay for it.

Pinkie Pie wasted no time in devouring the scone, doing so with an audible crunch.

"Well?" The grumpy, brown feathered griffon questioned. "Do you like 'em? They're Grandpa Gruff's special secret recipe. Even that old coot is good for something."

But the pink party pony and part time baker could only groan as she reacted to how hard the scones were. "I think I broke a tooth!"

The grouchy griffon snapped back. "Well, whatever. No refunds. I don't even care anyway. I just want to sell enough of these so that I can leave this lousy place for good."

Pinkie Pie spat out the scone she had just tasted, and said to Gilda. "Hey, I can help you with that! I am a baker too, you know!"

As Pinkie was preparing to help Gilda improve her scones so that they'd taste better, Rainbow was currently making her way to the edge of the Abysmal Abyss. Even to a pony like her who was used to living life on the edge and being in dangerous situations, the depths of the abyss were enough to unnerve her. But she wasn't about to turn back. Rainbow Danger Dash was not a quitter.

Still, the brash speedster felt obliged to make extra sure that every piece of safety gear she had on her was working properly, including the rope and her yellow safety helmet. Looking back to the shop keeping griffon who had accompanied her, she asked. "Uh, you think you could tighten the strap on my helmet a little?"

The shop keeper griffon only coldly retorted. "You got any more bits?"

Rather than pay what seemed like a bribe, Rainbow just sighed and tightened the strap herself as best she could. "Never mind, I've got it," She stared down into the abyss once more, taking notice of the wind gusts that rose up from it at regular intervals. And that prompted her to ask a nagging question that wouldn't leave her alone. "So... how deep is this abyss, exactly?"

The shop keeper griffon shrugged her claws. "Depends. How deep are your pockets?"

"Do you ever talk about anything besides bits?" Rainbow Dash grumbled with impatience.

The griffon replied with indifference. "Give me some bits and I might answer that. Otherwise, stop wasting my time. I don't have to help you, you know."

The rainbow maned pegasus sighed, groaning and mumbling under her breath. "No wonder Gilda's such a delight." It seemed that she would be getting no further help from this shop keeping griffon, or from any griffon at all. She could only hope that her occasional prankster partner was having better luck on her end with befriending the griffons.

Unaware of what her pegasus friend was up to, Pinkie Pie was taking a closer look at Gilda's scones. To her dismay, she found them all to be incredibly rock hard, which is not how scones' should be. She tried to frame it in a better way, though, by saying. "Well, Gilda, I think I know the problem. Grandpa Gruff's recipe is good, but it's missing one important ingredient."

"Let me guess: Friendship?" Gilda rolled her eyes at what seemed like such an obvious statement from a fun loving pony.

But Pinkie shook her head from side to side. "No, silly, baking powder," She reached into her mane and pulled out a large container of the aforementioned substance. "Lucky for you, I never leave home without it! A good baker must always come prepared for any baking emergency!" She quickly poured a generous helping of baking powder onto the scones, then instructed. "Now just pop 'em in the oven, and you'll have scones worth their weight in gold!"

The scones took very little time to bake, and Gilda soon pulled them out of a small oven. They rested on a tray, and the scent of them started to waft through the air.

As it just so happens, the scent caught the attention of a griffon with sea green feathers around her eyes and who was wearing a greenish-gray colored scarf. Because of that, she forgot to pay attention to where she was going. She collided with another griffon and fell to the ground, more dazed than outright hurt.

"Greta!" Gilda exclaimed and rushed over to help the dazed griffon to her paws, only to be coldly and rudely brushed off as soon as she had done so.

Pinkie Pie, however, was quick to comment! "Aha! I saw that, Gilda! You may act like a gruff, grumbling griffon, but inside you're gracious and great! You can't fool me!"

"What are you talking about?" Gilda asked, appearing to feign ignorance.

Pinkie pointed out. "You just helped your friend up when she got knocked down. I saw the whole thing."

"You mean Greta over there?" Gilda gestured a claw to the griffon she had just helped. "We're not friends, not really. We just know each other, that's all. We don't have friends here!" She let out an unhappy sigh. "Well, I did have a friend once, but you saw how well that turned out," Then she grumbled. "Why am I even telling you this?! Why should you care?! You don't know me!"

"Well I'd sure like to get to know you better, Gilda," Pinkie Pie said with an innocent smile. "If Twilight were here, I'm sure she say that it's never too late to start again and make new friends," Then, suddenly, it dawned on her! It was like a lightbulb had been switched on inside her brain! Her eyes went wide as she gasped and jumped up, shouting happily! "That's it! It was staring us right in the face all along!" Then a realization struck her and she sped away! "Oh my gosh! I gotta tell Rainbow Dash!"

As it just so happened, at that very moment Rainbow Dash was preparing to make her descent into the Abysmal Abyss via a rope. Over the roar of the winds, she called out to the griffon who had accompanied her. "You sure we can't just fly down there?" And she unfolded her wings, only for a strong current of wind to push her back and prevent her from descending at all! "Whoa! Never mind, totally got my answer there." She remarked, then carefully made her way down the side of the abyss, clinging tightly to the rope tied to her body.

How long the pegasus pony spent down in the depths of the abyss, she couldn't tell. She just going, descending deeper and deeper, all the while her surroundings grew darker and it became more difficult to see. She kept scanning her surroundings with her eyes, looking for any sign of the idol. She wasn't having much luck, though. The idol continued to elude her. If the stories were true and King Gluto had never found it despite a lifetime of searching, the Idol of Boreas had to be very far down into the abyss, perhaps even at the very bottom.

Suddenly, however, the brash speedster heard a horrific snapping sound! "Whoooa!" She screamed as she lost control and slipped off the edge of a cliff as her rope broke! The wind currents caught her, tossing her around for a bit and then throwing her against one of the walls of the abyss! Her entire body flooded with pain, and she soon knew where the source was as she looked at herself! "My hoof!" She exclaimed as she eyed her back left leg, noticing its bruised and red marked state. Then she hollered, hoping to be heard up above! "Help! Throw me another rope!" There was no reply. Either she hadn't been overheard, or the shop keeper griffon who'd accompanied her had left.

Whatever was the case, Rainbow was immediately faced with a grim reality! She was trapped down in the abyss, too badly hurt to climb back up on her own, and unable to fly due to the strong wind currents blowing all around.

Pinkie Pie wasn't too far away. She had already been making her way towards the Abysmal Abyss as it was. But when her ears picked up the faint sound of screaming, her journey became much more urgent and frantic! "Rainbow Dash?! Rainbow Dash?!" She called again and again, finding that there was no trace of her friend at the abyss' surface.

"Down here! HELP!" Rainbow Dash hollered, apparently having overheard her friend despite her current location. In the brief amount of time she'd been left to her own devices, she had managed to hastily bandage her injured hoof.

Pinkie looked down, and managed to catch the faint outline of her friend, resting a ways down into the abyss itself. "There you are!" She exclaimed! "You can forget about finding the idol! I know what the real problem is and how we can solve it! We'll need more scones!"

"Nevermind that!" Rainbow protested. "Get me out of here! Toss me a rope or something! Hurry!"

The pink party pony looked all around. "I can't see a rope, Dashie," She called, and quickly got a new idea. "We need help, and I know just the griffon who can help us. Don't go anywhere, I'll be right back!" And she zoomed away once again!

The rainbow maned pegasus groaned. She didn't know what her friend was doing running away like this. "Where do you even think I'd go, Pinkie?" She remarked, before suddenly feeling and seeing some of the cliff face she was perched on start to crumble! That terrifed her enough to make her say outloud! "I hope I don't go anywhere!" And she began to panic, terrified of the prospect of plunging all the way down to the bottom of the abyss!

Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie had raced back to Gilda's location, nearly out of breath! She was relieved that the grumpy griffon was still there. "Gilda, you're just the griffon I wanted to see!" Pausing for only a moment to catch her breath, she then urgently stated. "Rainbow Dash is stuck on a ledge in the Abysmal Abyss, and I need your help to save her!"

Gilda coldly replied. "Not my problem!"

"Whaddya mean?! Of course it's your problem!" The pink party pony pointed out. "She's your friend!"

"Was my friend," Gilda admitted. "But that was a long time ago."

Pinkie then pleaded. "Well, don't you remember that time? Come on, you just gotta! Rainbow Dash never forgot about you."

And just like that, the griffon began flashing back to the day she had met Rainbow Dash. It was the day Gilda had, as a young griffon chick, begun attending Junior Speedsters flight camp.

Not long after having arrived at the camp, little Gilda had found herself the target of three pegasus colts who seemed intent on mocking and teasing her relentlessly.

"Doesn't that griffon know she's supposed to fly at the Junior Speedsters Flight Camp?" A young Hoops had cruely taunted, making poor little Gilda all but tear up.

Fortunately, young Rainbow Dash had come swooping in and showed up the bullies, quickly dismissing them by teasing them with confidence. "Well maybe she just doesn't want to make you look bad!" She then approached the little griffon chick and introduced herself. "Hey there, I'm Rainbow Dash! And you are...?"

The young, considerably less confident and sure of herself Gilda nervously replied. "Uh... G-G-G-G-Gilda."

Rainbow happily extended a hoof. "Well just stick with me, Gilda, and those guys won't give you any more guff. Come on!" She then took to the skies, inviting Gilda to follow her. The filly was quickly impressed by what her new friend could do. "Whoa! You're awesome, Gilda!"

"You too, Rainbow Dash!" Gilda laughed in reply. And then together she and her new friend started to chant:

Junior Speedsters are our lives!

Skybound soars and daring dives!

Junior Speedsters, it's our quest,

To someday be the very best!

The flashback ended as a wave of guilt washed over Gilda in the present. Try as she might, she had never actually forgotten about the one pony who had befriended her when no one else would. The one creature in the world who'd never cared about where she had come from, and had given her the confidence to believe in herself. Now that pony needed help, and Gilda knew she couldn't live with herself if she stood by and refused to do so. She even wiped a tear from her eyes as she said. "Alright, fine, I'll help you rescue her! But it doesn't mean she's my friend."

Pinkie Pie nodded. "Duly noted," Then she looked aside and winked as she whispered. "Except it does!"

Pinkie and Gilda raced to the edge of the Abysmal Abyss as fast as they could! When they arrived, even over the roar of the winds they could hear the sound of rocks crumbling! They didn't have much time.

"Hang on, loser! I'm coming for ya!" Gilda shouted as she hastily tied a rope to herself and strapped on a helmet, ready to begin her descent into the abyss.

Rainbow Dash hollered back! "What took you so long, doofus?!" She then pressed herself up against the wall, trying to get as far away from the edge as she could as it continued to collapse.

As soon as Gilda and Pinkie Pie were certain they were secure, they began their descent. The pink party pony boldly took the lead, all but jumping down the sides of the abyss in an attempt to reach her pegasus friend. In the process, she was inadvertently pulling the griffon down with her.

Rainbow saw her rescuers approaching, and was very grateful that they had come when they did. She reached out a hoof to grab Pinkie's, ready to be hoisted up and to safety.

But unfortunately, it was at that very moment that the last of the cliff face the rainbow maned pegasus was on gave way! She didn't have a firm enough grip, and thus tumbled further down into the abyss, screaming all the way! In doing so, she ended up pulling Gilda and Pinkie down with her!

Gilda only just thought to unfold her wings to slow the descent, finally managing to come to a rest on a cliff face that was just across a small gap from another. Then, she saw a sight that made her eyes widen! Resting next to a large skull and what was left of a crown, was a golden idol that still shone brightly despite all the years that had passed. She realized at once what it was! Grandpa Gruff had been right all along. "The Idol of Boreas!" She exclaimed, and delicately reached out a claw to try to grasp it.

Rainbow Dash, however, was fast losing her grip on the cliff face on the other side from where Gilda was. Try as she might, she couldn't hang on! "I'm slipping!" She cried, desperately extending her hooves and unfolding her wings in the hopes it might stop her perlious descent.

Gilda, meanwhile, was so close to the Idol of Boreas that she could almost touch it. Just a couple more seconds and she was sure she'd have the idol safely in her clutches. Yet as she became aware of the tugging sensation on her rope, she realized that those were seconds her pony partners didn't have to spare. There was no way she could retrieve the idol and rescue them both. So, reluctantly, she made her decision on the spot. She turned away from the idol, watching as it slowly started sliding away. Then, gritting her teeth, she began to climb back up the side of the abyss with all her might!

Rainbow, however, managed to get a glimpse of the idol as it began to fall! She hurridly reached out a hoof to try to grab it, and for a second or two she did. But alas, her grip was not quite firm enough to maintain it, especially since it was coming from her injured hoof. She winced, and dropped the idol, watching it tumble further down into the abyss while fading from view.

There was very little time for anyone to catch their breath, however, because it still took a very long time to climb back up out of the abyss and to safety. Only once that had been accomplished did all three climbers remove their safety gear, pausing to catch their breaths.

Gilda was the first one to speak up, now filled with regret for her earlier behavior. "I'm really sorry about how I treated you two. Especially you, Dash. I know that doesn't make up for the way I behaved in Ponyville. If you can't forgive me right now, I understand."

Rainbow Dash, however, waved a hoof. "Eh, it's in the past. And you came back to save me, so I'm thankful for that. Maybe we can still be friends after all."

And Pinkie Pie added with a smile. "I accept your apology too, Gilda. Looks like I was right: You do care about others."

The griffon blushed ever so faintly. "Yeah, I guess I do. Feels kind of... nice, actually. But it's definitely going to take some getting used to."

The brash speedster just sighed. "Well, I'm just sorry that because of me, you lost your only chance to get the idol back," She hung her head in shame. "Thanks to my attitude, Griffonstone lost its last chance at fixing that problem."

But the pink party pony giggled and grinned. "Dashie, I've been trying to tell you: That idol wasn't the way to fix the problem. The map didn't send us here to retrieve it, it sent us here to replace it with something better: Friendship!"

"Friendship?" Gilda blinked in surprise. "How is that better? Nothing's more valuable to a griffon than gold."

Pinkie pointed out. "That's because you've never given friendship a chance. If you can learn to care about each other again, Griffonstone could be a mightier kingdom than it ever was before! And you don't need some golden idol to do that. You just need each other," She then encouraged the griffon. "So go on, Gilda, give it a try! Make a new friend!"

Hesitantly, the no longer grumpy griffon replied. "A-alright. Here goes nothing!" And she quickly set her sights on Greta, the griffon she had helped earlier. Deciding that the best way to appease someone who might be suspicious of you was by offering them something tasty, she opted to give Greta one of the scones that Pinkie Pie had helped her to bake earlier. That seemed to do the trick, Greta smiled and thanked Gilda for her kind gesture. Gilda then came back, a smile slowly creeping onto her face. "Okay, so Greta was really weirded out until I gave her that scone. Then she tried it and said it tasted good! That's the first nice thing anygriffon's ever said to me! I can't believe it worked! You ponies truly are amazing!"

Just then, both Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash felt their cutie marks start to glow and tingle. It was possible to see them flashing brightly. And to them, that meant only one thing: They had accomplished the mission the map had sent them out to do.

"Whoa, Pinkie! Guess you were right after all!" Rainbow said with a bright smile.

The pink party pony grinned from ear to ear while saying. "It's like I always say: Baking powder makes baked goods and friendships fluffy and delicious!"

The rainbow maned pegasus then declared. "Well, guess our work here is done. Time to head home. Twilight's definitely going to ask for details, and boy will she be surprised to learn how much Griffonstone has changed."

Gilda was taken by surprise by the sudden announcement! Her earlier optimus now became replaced by worry! "W-wait, you're leaving, now?!" She received two strong, confirming nods! "A...and you're leaving me to spread friendship here all by myself?! How am I supposed to do that when I haven't even made one friend yet?!"

"It's easy, Gilda. You haven't made one friend, you've made two!" Rainbow Dash pointed out. "And I know that if there's anygriffon who can pick up where Pinkie and I are leaving off, it's you!"

The no longer grumpy griffon replied. "But... you'll still come back and visit someday, right?"

Both Pinkie and Rainbow nodded, before Pinkie promised. "Of course we will, Gilda. And in the meantime, feel free to write to us."

"You bet I will!" Gilda vowed! "I know it's gonna take a long time to get Griffonstone to change. But I'm not going to give up! By the time you next come and visit, you'll see just how much of a difference I can make!"

"I don't doubt that, Gilda," Rainbow Dash proclaimed. "Go get 'em!" And then she and her occasional prankster partner headed for the entrance to Griffonstone, ready to depart and head back to Ponyville.

Briefly, the pink party pony looked back to the staute of King Grover, and winked at it while whispering. "Hope I'll see you again, you old charmer."

"Did you say something, Pinkie?" Rainbow questioned in reply, apparently having partially overheard.

Pinkie quickly feigned ignorance and replied. "Who? Me? Nah," And she quickly changed the subject. "Now come on, let's go home and see how Gummy did with Granny Pie's marjolaine recipe!" She had no way of knowing that Gummy had (of course) not been able to do anything by himself. The recipe would have to be attempted again some other time.

Author's Note

The overall story structure didn't need to be changed that much, the only real problems lie in Rainbow Dash's attitude throughout most of the episode and the fact that Griffonstone ultimately doesn't change whenever the show comes back to it.

There is also the occasional bit of stupidity from Pinkie Pie, mostly during the climax when she throws herself down the side of a cliff without securing herself. Even if it's in character, it's a stretch that serves mostly to get Gilda into a situation where she has to scarifice the Idol of Boreas to save the ponies. And there had to be a better way to go about it then that.

I did also want to acknowledge the fact that, given my rewrite of "The Cutie Map", I had someone not called by the map go on a map mission.

~~Stare Master~~
~~Pinkie Apple Pie~~
~~The Cutie Map, Parts 1 and 2~~
~~The Lost Treasure of Griffonstone~~
Hard to Say Anything (Bonus Chapter)
A Health of Information
Uprooted
The Royal Apologies (The Point of No Return)
The Big Mac Question (Bonus Chapter)