Misperceptions (v2)

Chapters

1: Guilt
3: Stormy Weather
4: Revelations
5: Reconciliation
6: Always There
7: Stepping Stones
8: The Air and Sky
9: A New Day
2: Getting Started

1: Guilt

Misperceptions v2
By: Winter Quill

Adapted from the original "Misperceptions" by Arbiter Balemead

1: Guilt

Twilight Sparkle thought it was a perfect summer day in Ponyville. The sky was a textbook shade of blue without a cloud in sight. The smell of the early morning showers was still lingering and the ground had just a hint of moisture to it, but not enough to be muddy. In her mind there was only one way to spend a day like this; curled up under a tree with a book, or even better a brand new book!

She trotted along the road, Spike riding on her back while half asleep. He was tired out because she had woken up early so she could get to the shop the moment it opened but the book was that important. She didn't mind his napping, he was a growing dragon after all and needed his rest.

With quick steps she walked up to the door of the town library, which also happened to be her home. She was going to pick up a blanket to rest on and maybe a light lunch before heading to her favorite reading spot and the anticipation was driving her to distraction. Though she wasn't so distracted that she couldn't hear someone inside the library.

"Twilight?" Spike asked with a yawn, waking up as she reached the library.

"We have a guest," she said, reaching up with one hooves and pushing open the door. She had no idea who might be in the library but they were more than welcome. It was open to everyone in Ponyville, no matter who they were. Every pony or donkey was welcome, from the youngest foal to the oldest stallion. Pushing the door open she was about to welcome the library patron only to have the words turn to ash in her mouth. Her mind couldn't quite make sense of who she saw pacing across the wooden floor.

"Gilda?" she gasped.

The griffon froze in place, her hand resting on top of a hard bound book. For a moment she seemed to be at a loss for words, her beak moving without making a sound. Finally she seemed to compose herself before turning to face the purple pony.

"I-uh..." she said, the words seeming to flee her as fast as they came.

Twilight took a step towards the griffon. She hardly knew Gilda, only exchanging a few words with her at Pinkie's party before she had stormed out after her fight with Rainbow Dash. She was a stranger, but even a stranger was welcome in the library as long as they behaved themselves and didn't damage the books.

"Can I help you?"

Gilda cleared her throat. "I need your help... with... friendship... stuff..." she said, her voice falling to a whisper. The cringe on her face made it look as though asking for help from the equine librarian caused her physical pain.

Her request was met with two blank stares from the unicorn and the dragon on her back. From what she could tell the griffon was being honest in asking for help and from the way her wings fidgeted against her back it was clear she didn't want to be there.

"Spike?" Twilight said, not taking her eyes of their visitor.

"Yeah?"

"Would you please go make us some tea?"

Her young assistant nodded and jumped clear of her back, hurrying into the kitchen and leaving the two of them alone together. A thousand thoughts raced through her mind as she looked at the griffon, all the things Pinkie Pie had said about her and how she had acted at the party. She had been angry and needlessly cruel, but that was gone now and it left her looking deflated.

Without a word she closed the door and walk across the library to take a seat at the table then motioned for Gilda to do the same. They sat in silence, looking across the table at each other each one waiting for the other to speak. She looked different than how Twilight remembered her; she still had the large pompadour of feathers over her face but they were sagging down over her face. The purple eye shadow was missing as well, leaving her with just the natural color of her feathers to highlight her golden eyes.

The silence lasted until Spike brought the tea on a small platter. "Thank you, Spike. Now would you please go over to Rarity's, and don't tell her about this, please?" she asked.

The young dragon frowned, looking between the two women. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure," she replied, giving her assistant a reassuring smile.

"Okay, Twilight, if you're sure," he answered then reluctantly waddled away, only stopping at the door to look back one last time before stepping out of the library.

The moment the door closed behind him Twilight reached out with her telekinetic magic and locked it behind him. This was not the time for her to be disturbed. She turned her attention back to Gilda, not taking her eyes off the griffon as she used her magic to pour the tea and then lift the cup to her lips.

Gilda watched her in return as she carefully lifted the tea cup with one talon and took a slight sip of it. Her beak pulled into a frown the moment she tasted it and tried to spit it back into the cup without her host noticing.

"So… how can I help with you friendship 'stuff'?" Twilight finally asked, pushing the sugar bowl across the table.

"I..." her eyes fell from Twilight's as her voice caught in her throat. The feathers along her neck started to ruffle out in frustration but instead of soothing them down she started to spoon some sugar into her tea. Once she had regained her composure she tried again. "I've been trying to find a way to win Dash back," she said.

"Win her back? You realize that it's been almost a year, don't you?"

The griffon seemed to be about to snap something, but bit the words back. "I know... but at least she won't hate me as much now as she did a month after the party, right?" she asked with a weak smile as her wings sagged against her back.

Twilight flicked her ears back and frowned in a way that made it clear she thought very little of that logic. "Yes, the anger will be gone, but I don't think she'll appreciate how long it took you to apologize. You are planning to apologize?"

"Duh! What else would I do?" she asked, taking another sip of her tea before making another face and setting it to the side; apparently there was nothing that could be done to improve her opinion of the flavor.

"It might take more than just words," the pony explained as she took another sip of tea. From the look on her visitor's face it was clear that she didn't really understand what she meant by that. "Think about it this way: Say I kicked you and waited a week to say I was sorry when I was actually sorry the whole time. You would want more than just a simple apology, right?"

"Uh... I suppose," Gilda replied, her wings dropping to the ground. Apparently it had never crossed her mind that Rainbow Dash might not have accepted her apology. She slumped down further as she thought about it, trying to hold onto her cool composure. "She was my best friend. I don't want to lose her."

The librarian could tell she was near tears, apparently the thought of losing her old friend was almost too much for her. It was a strange sight, she had seemed like such a tough griffon during the party but now it seemed like she was ready to fall apart.

"I didn't mean to upset you," Twilight said gently, moving around the table to sit next to Gilda, offering her a shoulder if she needed it.

All the griffon did was to move a few inches away while still trying to compose herself.

"Why did you wait so long to come back?"

"Are you kidding? If I had come back right away she would have kicked my tail all over the sky. After that I just couldn't work up the guts to come back. Then I began to think she didn't deserve someone as bad as me, so for a while I just gave up all hope of it..." she trailed off, slumping down again.

Twilight moved a bit closer to her. "What changed your mind?"

The griffon started to say something but bit the words off with a snap of her beak and a shake of her head. After taking a moment to think about she started to explain: "I felt bad about yelling at her and about how I treated her. I knew I needed to apologize," she said, dropping her head down until her chin was resting on her feathers, her golden eyes wavering slightly. "I couldn't live with myself if I didn't know whether I could win her back."

"What made you come to me first? Why didn't you go straight to her?"

Gilda looked up, a frown pulling at her flexible beak. "I'm... I'm not good with apologies, I never know what to say. You are one of her friends, you know her, and you're supposed to be studying friendship for your princess. I couldn't think of anyone else to come to for help."

The purple pony nodded her head as a smile flashed over her face. "Well... she probably still likes you but just not with the whole yelling at her friends over a few pranks."

Her golden eyes drifted back down to the table as she tapped her talons on the surface. "I guess I shouldn't have done those things. I was--I was just trying to impress Dash, to show her that I was still the same as I was in the Junior Speedsters. I didn't know that she wasn't like that anymore..."

"Like what? Mean? Jerky? Sno--"

"I get it, I should have been better," Gilda muttered, her head dropping down again as the tips of her wings brushed over the floorboards. The poor girl was looking more dejected by the moment.

Twilight bit her lips, her ears twisting back slightly. That wasn't the right thing to say, and she knew it. Of course Rainbow had never been like that, at least as not as long as she had known her. Maybe she was a bit impulsive but never outright mean.

"Were you really trying to impress her when you lost your cool at the party?"

The blush returned to Gilda's face, this time so bright that it showed through her feathers. "No, of course not. I was... I... I'm not like that anymore, okay?"

"I'm sorry, but I have trouble believing that."

The look that crossed over Gilda's face was one of despair. "I don't blame you," she said, then turned away, her shoulders and wings dropping even further, if such a thing was possible.

Twilight was stunned by this turn of events. This wasn't the griffon she had met at the party, back then if anyone had implied that she was less than the best she would have lashed out. Instead here she was, trying her hardest not to break and only succeeding by the width of a pen feather. She was here hoping to mend a broken friendship and willing to be the one who made the very first move. It seemed odd that she was so desperate for this reconciliation.

There was more to it, anyone could see that, but she just didn't know what it was. Without a thought she moved closer, lifting up a hoof and setting it gently on her back right between her wings. "Gilda..."

"Yeah?" she asked, turning her head slightly to look at the unicorn.

The librarian wasn't sure how to tactfully phrase the question, so instead blurted it out. "Rainbow Dash, is she special to you?"

"Excuse me?" Gilda asked, straightening up and turning to glare at the pony. "You aren't seriously asking me if I-- You've got to be kidding me, right?"

Now it was Twilights turn to blush, her ears twisting back slightly in embarrassment. "I... I was just being sure. It's clear you care about her a great deal. I just... I didn't mean too... just forget it," she said, dropping her head down.

After a long sigh the griffon shook her head. "She was my best friend and I cared about her a great deal, but not like that," she turned away again, moving around the table and out of the pony's reach.

Twilight sighed and nodded her head, rubbing her hooves together as she tried to think of something else. "If you want to apologize to her, then you should find her and apologize. If you're truly 'not like that anymore' the I'm sure there will be a positive response."

"Apologize, that's all you want me to do, just apologize? I came here to learn to be a better friend."

"What?" Twilight asked, her brow raising up into her mane.

"You study friendship and stuff, I mean you write freaking letters to your princess about it! You stopped that strange beast--"

"Discord."

"You stopped that Discord with your friendship stuff... and you know Rainbow, you're one of her new friends."

Twilight couldn't argue with that, but it only sounded reasonable. She was sure it really wasn’t but couldn't quite say why. "I guess I could... but are you sure you want ME of all ponies to teach you?"

"Of course," Gilda replied. "I can't think of anyone better."

Twilight tried to hide the small that fluttered over her lips. It seemed like the griffoness was being honest, and she could quit at any time if it wasn't work out or she really hadn't changed. She turned her attention back to the library books, it had been a long time since she had to read up on friendship and it would take her time to collect her thoughts.

"Okay, let's start with the basics, but first thing in the morning."

Gilda's golden eyes lit up at the positive answer. She rushed around the table, her wings fluttering behind her as she grabbed Twilight in a big bear hug, holding her tightly against her feathery neck. Twilight felt her cheeks heat up as she was pulled into the intimate embrace. Two thoughts flashed across her mind at the same moment. 'Gilda can hug someone?' and 'Why do I almost enjoy this?'

"Thank you so much!" the griffon said as she held the pony tightly in her grip. "I promise I'll try my hardest to get everything right. I'll be the best student you ever had!"

Twilight blushed and twitched her tail back over her flank. "I'm sure you'll do fine," she finally said, squirming a little bit under the griffon's tight grip.

Gilda finally seemed to noticed what she was doing and dropped her avian legs away from the pony. "Sorry," she said, rubbing the back of her head and smiling sheepishly. There was a spark in her eyes, but one that only lasted a moment.

"That's okay. Do you have a place to stay in Ponyville?"

"I can always find a cloud," the griffon replied, cocking her head sideways and looking up towards the sky; not that she could see it through the ceiling.

A slight pang of worry went through Twilight, she didn't like the idea of leaving Gilda out in the cold but she didn't want to risk inviting her to stay. Rainbow Dash or Fluttershy might show up unannounced, and that would cause no end of trouble. Still, she hated putting anyone out, even someone like Gilda. It just wasn't in her nature.

The matter was solved by Gilda herself as she turned back towards the door, her tail flicking just above the wooden floor of the library. "I'll get out of your way."

"Okay."

Twilight watched as griffon as she walked towards the door, a part of her analyzing the woman's gate. It wasn't like a pony, there was more rolling of the shoulders and her back. When she reached the door she hesitated and glanced back at Twilight, who quickly made a show of starting to magically clean up the tea cups.

"Be here at eight in the morning, okay?" the librarian requested as she unlocked the door, hoping that her observations had gone unobserved.

A smile crossed over Gilda's beak. "Yeah, count on it," she replied before opening the door and flying into the warm summer air. In a few moments she had become nothing but a spec in the sky before vanishing into the blue. Twilight found herself watching the griffon leave, wondering what she had gotten herself into. She excelled at being a student—learning came as easy to her as breathing—but teaching... that was a whole other matter.

In the past she had tried to tutor other students at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, but it had never gone well. They always complained that she tried to teach them far too much far too fast. Her teachers had eventually asked her to stop trying to help and let them worry about teaching.

But this was different. She was going to be teaching someone about Friendship, and outside of magic that was her specialty. No one in Equestria knew more about the subject then she did, and she’d had to learn it based on her own experience. She was the perfect person to teach it! She could do it, she knew she should could. As long as Gilda was willing to learn she was sure she could teach her and she seemed very eager to learn.

"I hope I don't regret this," she said, then with a flick of her ears she turned back around and walked back into the library. She had a lot of planning to do before the morning.

Author's Note

Well here we are, my first foray into writing Friendship is Magic fanfiction, and it's a rewrite. Arbiter Balemead, the author of the original Misperceptions, has graciously allowed me to give a try at rewriting/extending his story as he had moved on from the original. I'm not doing a direct recreation of the original story, and more things will change as the story goes on.

As for why this story? Well I always been fond Gilda, and the idea of shipping her and Twilight is fun and interesting. They are so different and the contrast between them is so stark... well, it's just a fun idea!

3: Stormy Weather

Misperceptions v2
By: Winter Quill

Adapted from the original "Misperceptions" by Arbiter Balemead

3: Stormy Weather

"Oh, come on Gilda, it wasn't that bad," Twilight commented as they walked away from the boutique. Tea had turned into lunch and more general chit chat and then the afternoon had turned into early evening, the sun was sitting low on the horizon.

"It tasted horrible, I think she tried to poison me!" Gilda replied with an exaggerated gag which turned into a laugh.

"I think her tea is pretty good," Twilight muttered. She tried not to smile but she failed. Finally she laughed herself as she paused and looked up as the sunset painted over the thick clouds. "It's too late to go see Applejack, so I guess we're free until the morning. What should we do?"

"I don't know... what did Rarity mean when she said 'just the two of them' like that?"

The purple unicorn flicked her ears back at the sudden change in subject. "I thought you knew them in flight school?"

"Junior Speedster," she corrected. "Fluttershy didn't attend, though she would visit now and then.”

Twilight smiled at the confused griffon. "They've been together since her freshmen year. Did they keep that a secret from you?"

"What... that actually lasted?" she asked as the memories came back to her. Sneaking the yellow pony around the dorm and her regular visits. She was always hiding from everyone else in the dorm, even if she didn't need to. She was such a contrast to Dash, she had no idea why they were friends and she had just learned to avoid them when they were together.

"What, didn't you think it would?" the unicorn asked, amused at Gilda's shock.

She fanned out her wings a bit. "Well...."

Twilight laughed and rocked her ears. "Yes, they are still together, and very happy too. They try to keep it private. You know; just among friends."

"Then why are you telling me?"

"I... well ... I guess I trust you..." she answered, sounding a bit unsure of herself.

"Oh... thanks..." Gilda replied, turning away as she felt the blood coming up to her cheeks, thanking the Emperor that her feathers hid the blush. A small part of her wondered why she was blushing in the first place.

They fell into silence for a few moments as they walked down the street, the wind starting to pick up around them. "So... I'm going back to the library," Twilight said, finally breaking the silence. "You can come if you like, it's going to rain tonight and you shouldn't be out..." she trailed off.

"Oh, I'll be fine," she replied, fanning her wings out and crouching down against the dirt road. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

Twilight nodded as the griffon leapt into the air while flapping her wings down to gain lift. As soon as was airborne she started flying up towards the clouds, circling in the updrafts coming off the town. As she rose up she took a moment to glance back down at the unicorn. She was still standing in the center of the road, watching her rise higher and she remained there until she vanished into the clouds.

Once above the clouds Gilda searched for a place to rest for the coming evening. She was tired from all the walking they had done. It was simply something she wasn't used to, preferring to fly any distance that she needed to travel. She picked a nice full looking cloud well away from town and clawed gently at the surface before dropping onto it, sinking down slightly into the plush surface.

She didn't want to let Twilight know, but she was worried. So far everything had come to easy, first with Pinkie Pie and then with Rarity. Neither one of them had a good reason to forgive her, yet they both did. The fashionista had even invited Gilda into her home to share a meal... and tea. Why had she done that, why had any of them done that?

Gilda held no illusions about the sort of person she was, or had been, she had attacked anyone she hadn't thought was up to her standard of 'cool' which left her with few friends. Rainbow Dash hadn't just been her closest friend in Junior Speedsters, she had been her only friend... and then she had gone and ruined it.

Even worse, she had blamed Rainbow Dash for everything that had happened. She had be willing to badmouth her old friend to anyone who would listen, at least until...

She didn't want to think about that, instead she thought back to the party. She had been such a unwarmed egg, getting angry at all the pranks and taking it out on everyone. Every person who had tried to talk with her had received a slice of her temper, they all deserved an apology from her, every last one.

Then there was Pinkie Pie, that made her head spin. There was no reason for the bubbly earth pony to have forgiven her. Gilda had been nothing but terrible to her, yet she had forgive her! Why? Why did she do that? Just because she was Rainbow's friend? Was that a good reason to accept her apology?

And Twilight, why was she so willing to help? She was being so nice to Gilda, kind in a way the griffon never had been. Was she doing it because she was Rainbow's friend, or because she took pity on her, or maybe just because she wanted to help? She just didn't know, though she was happy that the unicorn was willing to help and she was even enjoying her time with her.

It was with all of that swirling in her mind that she closed her eyes and fell into a deep dreamless sleep.

* * *

Twilight watched as Gilda flew up into the sky until she vanished into the clouds. She was left with a strange feeling now that the griffon was gone but she didn't know what it was. That bothered her a bit but then again not knowing something always bothered her.

It teased at her mind as she walked back to the library, like a name of a pony she could almost remember. It had something to do with Gilda, maybe she was just worried about her? She didn't like seeing anyone out in the rain, especially not her friends, but she didn't know how to make her stay.

Maybe she could do something for her? Even Twilight could tell that she didn't care for the tea, maybe if she found something that would be a better match for a griffon's pallet? That would allow her to join in with their tea without being disgusted by it. It would be a nice gesture and would make her feel more welcome.

With that settled she moved onto the library, a smile on her lips as she trotted along. She pushed the door open and cleared her throat. "Spike?" she called out.

The young dragon looked down at her from the top of the stairs, "Hey Twilight, how did it go with Gilda?" he asked, putting a bit of distaste in the other woman's name.

"Better than I had expected," she said with a smile as she walked into the center of the library, starting to scan over the books.

Spike nodded and started walking down the stairs. "What are you looking for?"

"The Art of Tea."

He thought for a moment, tapping his nose with a claw. "Sparkleworks checked it out, it's due next week."

Twilight's ears dropped as she sagged a bit. "Oh," that was the only book she had in the library that cataloged tea by species. She wasn't sure what else she could find the information. Maybe she should send a request to the Canterlot Library? She knew they had more than one copy so they could spare one.

"Is everything okay? You look a bit worried," Spike asked, walking up to stand in front of the purple pony,

She shook her head and put the smile back on her face. "Oh, everything is fine, I just wanted to do something nice for Gilda." She nodded to herself, pleased by that, and started walking up the stairs towards her room, leaving Spike standing in the middle of the library watching her go.

"Why would you do anything nice for Gilda?" he asked the thin air, glad Twilight didn't hear him... not realizing that she was thinking the same thing herself.

* * *

The feeling of water on her face woke Gilda with a start. She lifted her head up from her leg, feeling wind howling across her cloud and buffeting it in the sky. Rain was flying into her face, soaking her in moments as her bed started to break up under her.

She took to wing moments before the cloud dissipated, only to be grabbed by the wind and slammed into the layer of clouds below her. She struggled to right herself as the wind spun her around, forcing the rain between her feathers and her fur. Flapping her wings as hard as she could she leveled herself out and allowed the wind to take her lower.

Reaching up, she used the fur on her foreleg to wipe the water from her face, but it didn't help. Deep in rainclouds in the middle of the night meant there was no light to see by, leaving her lost. She hadn't realized that the rain that Twilight had warned her about would be a storm like this, if she had she would have stayed on the ground.

A gust of wind crashed around her, slamming her down in moments; forcing her out of the underside of the cloud and into the heavy rain. She found herself maybe a thousand feet above Ponyville and falling fast. "No, no, no," the griffon growled as she struggled to get out of the downdraft. Finally clearing it as she skimmed over the roof of a large building in the center of town.

The rain was even worse down here, the wind buffeting her all around as she skimmed along the tops of the building. She searched for a place to land, scanning the rain soaked roofs before settling on the familiar tree of the library. She banked through the air, struggling through the wind as she made her way to the tree, finally coming to land on a balcony that was half covered by the canopy.

Gilda squeezed up against the balcony door, hiding from the rain as the wind howled again. Her wings ached from fighting with the storm, her fur and feathers soaked. She shook her wings out, trying to get them dry and wrapped them around her body to stay warm. It wasn't the best place to spend the night, but it was better than being in the rain.

* * *

The thump was almost inaudible over the sound of the rain pattering against the windows of the library, but Twilight still heard it. She lifted her head up from her notes, her eyes a bit blurry from reading them for so long. She blinked in surprise that it was dark out, the heavy clouds blocking out Luna's moon. She was a bit distracted by that when she heard another thump in the distance.

Carefully she stood up and stretched out her legs as walked across her room. Spike was asleep in his basket, a half finished gem resting on his stomach. She carefully picked it up with her magic and set it to the side, where he couldn't roll over on it. An adult dragon might have had impervious scales, but that was not the case for him.

She slipped out of the room and into the library proper, looking around for the source of the sound. It was probably nothing, the storm was windy enough to knock down some small branches and there was no risk of another tree trying to tour the library.

Another thump echoed through the building, this time louder than before. She turned her head, looking at the door to the balcony, a small bit of light falling in through the window and the shadow of a person huddled against it.

Carefully she walked up to the door. She wasn't sure who would be out there so starting to gather some magic around her horn just to be safe. Bracing one hoof against the wall she pulled open the door far enough that she could peek out, letting out a yelp as a lion's tail dropped through the crack and onto the library floor.

She looked down at it for a few moments before making the connection. "Gilda?" she asked, pulling the door further open, the griffon falling through to land in a wet heap on the floor. She was shivering under her wings, and soaked to the bone.

"Hey, Twilight," she replied.

"You could have used the door," she said, using her gathered magic to pick up a large towel from her room and bring it floating down the hallway. She had meant the comment in jest, but the griffon just turned her head to look away, a frown on her beak.

“You look horrid,” Twilight added, bringing the towel down on the griffon’s back, trying to soak up some of the water, a futile gesture as the rain was still blowing in from the open door.

“I didn’t want to impose,” she said, her eyes dropping down to look at the floor.

Twilight shook her head, working the towel over the ruffled feathers, being very careful not to push them out of place. “I wouldn’t allow anyone to stay out on a night like this, it’s not fit for pony or griffon tonight.”

“Thank you,” she replied, her wings spreading out across the floor, water rolling off the dark tan feathers and collecting on the floor. She curled her tail around herself, trying to keep it out of the rain as the wind gusted behind her.

The librarian smiled, whipping the water away from Gilda’s face. “I’ll have Spike make up a bed for you, assuming you sleep in one?”

“I can nest with a couple of blankets,” she replied, fluttering her wings a bit.

That made sense to Twilight, the avian part of her nature would want something different than just a bed. She went through her mental list of everything in the library, seeing if there was something large enough she could use to sleep on but there wasn’t anything. She would have to use the floor. Luckily there was enough extra blankets in her room to make due.

“Come on, let’s get you set up. We want to be up early to catch Applejack before she gets too busy.”

“I still have a lot of people to apologize too, your friends, everyone at the party,” the griffon replied as she pulled herself up to her up to her feet, water dripping from her wings and feathers. Puddles were forming all over the floor and around the still open door.

Twilight turned and started towards her bedroom, getting only a few steps before she heard a soft gasp behind her. She turned around to see Gilda looking at her, her golden eyes catching what little light there was, a look of worry and fear on her face.

“Gilda?”

“I’m sorry,” she said, almost whispering it.

This caused the unicorn to cock her head to the side, trying to think of what she could possibly mean. “What are you sorry for? You’ve done nothing wrong, in fact you’ve been a very pleasant guest.”

Gilda shook her head, the feathers on her crown falling down over her face, dripping water across her beak. “I just realized, you were at the party too. I treated you just like everyone else, I yelled at you, I insulted you. I was angry, and jealous and I was lashing out. I shouldn’t have done it and I’m sorry.”

Her ears dropped down to rest against the side of her head, her tail drooping as she lowered her head. “Oh Gilda, you don’t have to apologize to me.”

“Of course I do, I wronged you. I wronged all of you. Not just Rainbow Dash and all of her friends, but everyone who was there. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. Can you forgive me?”

Twilight took a step closer to the griffon, lowering her head ever further so she could look her in the eyes. “I can forgive you,” she said.

Slowly the griffon lifted her head, looking the pony directly in the eyes. “You can?” she whispered.

“Of course I can,” was her whispered answered, knowing it was true. The fact that she had even been at the party had slipped her mind.

There was something in the air, something unfamiliar. It was like static electricity, or the feeling in the air after a lightning strike, but also something more. It was building by the moment as the two woman looked at each other, rising until it almost seemed like the world would shatter from the force of it.

Then it came to a sudden end as the door slammed closed behind them. Both Twilight and Gilda jumped up, pulling back from each other as Spike walked between them. “You’re letting all the warm air out,” he said with a yawn and then waddled back towards the bedroom and his basket.

The mood between them was broken, but at the same time the tension in the air had slipped away. Gilda shook out her wings, shedding most of the rain before turning to look back at Twilight.

She turned her head away, a blush burn crossing her cheeks. “Come on, I’ll get you some blankets,” she said, then started towards her room. The griffon following a few steps after.

4: Revelations

Misperceptions v2
By: Winter Quill

Adapted from the original "Misperceptions" by Arbiter Balemead

4: Revelations

¬Gilda stretched out her wings in the center of the library, spreading them out as far as they could go. She had slept well enough but her wet feathers were all out of place and it was going to take her an hour of preening just to get them neat again. She wasn’t going to argue, it was better than having spent the night out in the storm.

Rocking her head from side to side she tucked her wings against her back and walked up to a window, pleased to see that the skies had almost cleared. Only a few clouds hanging in the air over the town and few of the weather ponies were working to get rid of them. By all rights it was a beautiful summer day.

She let out a sigh and folded her talons on the window sill, dropping her chin on top of them. The upper half of the sun was over the horizon and rising slowly into the sky. The job of the princess who controlled the movement of the sun, even in the Griffon Empire. That control had been the cause of the first and fourth Griffon-Equine wars, though that was centuries in the past.

There was something relaxing about watching the sunrise, no matter who controlled it. It shined across the city, drying the muddy ground while the color of the sky slowly turned into a perfect shade of blue. It almost made up for being battered around in the rain storm… almost.

Gilda heard the sound of hooves coming down the stairs but didn’t bother to look. There was only one pony who it could be.

“How did you sleep?” Twilight asked.

“Better then outside,” she replied, flicking her tail along the floor.

“That’s good. Spike is making breakfast, would you like to join me in the kitchen?” she asked.

The idea of a pony breakfast didn’t really appeal to her, it was probably oats in milk or something equally bland. Even so she had allowed her to spend the night so there was no reason for her to turn down the meal. "I would be happy to," she replied, and oddly meant it, as she followed Twilight into the kitchen.

"I know you don't like tea, is there anything you do like?"

"Juice would be fine," Gilda replied, sitting down in front of the table. As she expected the baby dragon had set down a bowl of oats on the table in front of Twilight as well as another glass of tea. A few moments later the dragon brought her a glass of apple juice.

She took the glass in her talon, sipping at it and enjoying the flavor and wondering where her breakfast was. Her answer came as a surprise when she started to smell the unmistakable scent of bacon. Her mouth began to water as she licked her beak, she hadn't had bacon since she left home months ago.

Twilight laughed, covering her mouth with one hoof. "I thought you would like something a bit more meaty, so I had Spike pick up some while we were out yesterday," she said with a smile.

"You didn't have to do that," she replied, blushing again as Spike brought over a small tray with a dozen thin strips of bacon sizzling on it. The young dragon set the tray down on the table and gave her a wary smile.

"Cooked with the finest in dragon's fire," he said with more than a little bit of pride.

"Thank you," she said to the young dragon, then turned her attention back to the pony. "And thank you as well."

"Oh, don't mention it. It's the least I can do for a friend," Twilight said, followed by a honest smile before she returned to her own meal.

The griffon blushed a bit more as she picked up the first piece of bacon and bit into it, savoring the flavor as it rolled down over her tongue. Did Twilight really think of her as a friend, or was it just a slip of the tongue? From the look on her face she wasn't having any second thoughts about it.

Gilda took another drink of her juice and gave the pony a smile before going back to her meal.

"So, we're going to see Applejack today?" she asked as she ate another strip of bacon. They were perfectly cooked, crisp without being crumbly, juicy without being floppy. Apparently dragon fire was the best way to make it, she would have to remember that.

"I have to send a letter after breakfast but that will only take a moment."

She nodded and fluttered her wings as she continued to eat. "Is there anything I need to know?"

Twilight laughed softly. "You're asking me like this is a covert mission. She's the Element of Honesty, so she never tells a lie and is really good at spotting one. She's not a pony you should try and fool. You didn't do anything to Applejack that you didn't do to me, so I'm sure she will accept your apology. She's a hard working pony and you might have to help out of the farm to get her attention, but it wouldn't be too much work."

Help around the farm? It wasn't like she was against hard work, but if it was what it took to apologize to Applejack she would do it. She used to help out her Grann around the family estate, as well as her school work and playing on the Stormball team. She was pretty sure she could manage any work she might find.

"I can do that," she said.

The pony nodded and wiped her muzzle with a napkin. "I'll be back in a moment, I need to write that letter," she said, standing up from the table.

Spike was at her side in a moment, holding a quill in one hand and a piece of parchment in the other. "I'm ready!"

Twilight smiled and leaned down to nuzzle the top of his head. "Not this time Spike, I need to write this one myself," she said, using her magic to take the writing implements from him. Without another word she walked out of the kitchen.

The young dragon watched her go, "That's weird, she always has me write her letters."

Gilda shrugged out her wings. She didn't really have an answer for him on that subject, not that he was even talking to her. The purple dragon shook his head and brushed back his spines before he started to walk away from the table.

He was almost out the door when she found herself speaking up. "Spike?" Causing him to freeze in place before slowly turning around to look at her, crossing his arms across his chubby belly. He didn't say a word but the look on his displeasure on his face said at all for him.

"Would you like a piece of bacon?" she asked, pointing at the tray.

"Nah, I prefer gems."

The griffoness nodded and fanned her wings again. "Well, thank you for making it for me."

He nodded slightly, then left her to her own devices. It was clear the young dragon didn't like her very much, which was funny as she had never meet him before returning to the library. Or had she? She thought back to the party as she ate her bacon, trying to remember if he had been there... a few moments later she had a flash of a purple dragon digging through the cake with trick candles.

Gilda let out a sigh and covered her face with a talon, another person she owned an apology to. "At this rate I'm going to need a party to apologize for the party," she grumbled.

"I'm sure Pinkie Pie can arrange that for you, in fact she's probably already planning one," Twilight said as she came back into the room, a scroll levitating next to her flank.

"I doubt she would do that, not after what I did," she replied as she ate the last of her meal.

With a laugh the unicorn shook her head. "She like her parties, she would use any excuse to throw one. She even has parties to celebrating having a successful party."

"Really?" she asked, finding it very doubtful.

Twilight smiled, floating the scroll over to Spike as the dragon came back into the room. "I've given up trying to understand Pinkie, I've just learned to go along with whatever she does."

Without a word Spike took the scroll and burnt it with his fire, but instead of turning to ashes it became green smoke. It swirled up through the air then slipped out the window like it had a mind of its own, which might even have been true.

The pony nodded and flicked her long tail. "It's a bit of a walk to Sweet Apple Acres, you ready to go?"

Taking the last piece of bacon in her claws, she ate it quickly then gave her friend a smile. "I'm ready."

* * *

Sweet Apple Acres was located on outer edge of Ponyville, it was a longer walk then it had looked at first and by the time they had started to come upon apple trees Gilda's talons and paws were starting to ache. She thought about making her way by air but she didn't want to leave Twilight behind. At least the long walk had given her time to get her wings decently preened.

They were walking along a low wooden fence, the boards aged and warn from years in the weather. On the other side of the fence were tree after tree filled with apples. They were of mixed ripeness, one section of trees would have bright fresh apples, another would have small ones that were still growing. There seemed to be an order to it, but she couldn't quite tell what it was.

Finally they came to a section of fence that had fallen off the fence posts. A large red pony stallion, wearing a equally large yoke, was in the process of repairing it. He had a log braced against his flank as he hammered in a nail with his horse shoe.

"Hello Big Macintosh," Twilight said politely as they stopped in front of the stallion. He paused and looked up from his work, setting down the nails held in his mouth.

"Well, howdy Miss Twilight," he said with a smile. "Who is this ya've brought with ya?"

Twilight gently tapped the griffon in her flank, making her jump and fan out her wings.

"Er... I'm Gilda," she said.

"Pleased ta meet ya Miss Gilda. I'd shake yer claw, but my hooves are a bit full," he replied, motioning to the broken fence.

"Thanks okay, Big Mac. We're just here to see Applejack, where can we find her?" Twilight asked.

His eyes narrowed slightly to look at the griffon and mare. "She's out by the barn."

"Thanks," she said, giving a nod to the stallion and starting back down the road. "Thank you," Gilda added, following after the unicorn. They walked along the road for a few more minutes before coming to a large open gate. They turned off the road and onto the winding path that cut its way through the trees until they came up to a large barn.

There were two ponies standing inside the door, an adult mare with a bright orange coat and a yellow foal who was bouncing around from side to side, her red hair flying around as she did so. They were both facing inside and didn't see the approaching women.

"Applejack," Twilight called out.

The orange pony lifted her head up, a large Stetson hat perched on top of her ears. "Hello Twilight, Gilda," she said, still looking away from them.

"How did you know I was here?" the griffon asked, not liking the rather unpleasant tone in the earth pony's voice.

Slowly she turned around, her eyes narrow as she reached up to pull her hat down over her head. "Pinkie stopped by and told me ya were in town. Now what in the hey are you doin' here?" she asked, taking a step forward, the foal moving deeper into the barn.

Gilda gulped and flicked her tail slightly. "Well, I was here too--"

"Ya know what? I don't much care," she snapped, punctuating it with a slam of her hoof. "As long as you aren't plannin' on screamin' at Pinkie or Fluttershy again, you can do whatever ya'all want."

"Oh... I forgot to mention that she was as mad at you as Rainbow was," Twilight muttered, taking a step back from the earth pony.

Gilda pulled her wings to her flank, trying hard not to ruffle out her feathers as she eyed the purple unicorn. It would have been nice to know what she was getting into before she found herself up to her feathers in it.

Finally the griffon took a step forward, and lowered her head slightly. "I just... I want to apologize to you for what I did the last time I was here."

"Ya do, do ya? Well good for you, it's 'bout time. Why are ya talkin' ta me about it?"

She found herself at a loss for words, she wanted to explain the logic behind apologizing to all Rainbow's friends, but the more she did it the less it felt like it was enough. "Erm--"

Twilight took a step forward to explain. "Gilda is trying to make amends with everyone she wronged, to fix a broken friendship. I firmly believe it has a chance if at least one pony--er--griffon has the will to fix it."

"And you're helpin' Gilda with this?" Applejack asked, she wasn't accusing her of anything, she was simply curious.

"Well... yes," the unicorn replied.

With a nod, the farmer turned her attention back to Gilda. "So, ya're here seeking forgiveness, tryin' to fix your friendship with Rainbow?"

She nodded.

Applejack, reached up and pushed her hat back, turning her full attention to Gilda. "Ya seem to know that ya did wrong,"

"So, will you accept my apology?"

"No, I won't."

Gilda's wings dropped down to smack against the ground. If Applejack felt the same way about her as Rainbow Dash did, and she wouldn't accept her apology what was the chance that Rainbow would? "I see," she said, slumping down slightly. "I'll go," she whispered, then started to turn in palace.

"Not so fast there," the farmer added, taking a quick step forward. "I ain't going to accept your apology 'cause words ain't enough. Ya yelled at my friends, insulted everyone in Ponyville and scared Granny Smith out of her wits. Now ya want to make nice with us all in the hopes to get Rainbow Dash back, but unless ya start actin' different then ya did before, your words are just words."

Twilight jumped to her defense. "But, Gilda has changed, I've seen it."

She turned to look at the unicorn. "Sorry Sugar, but she's only been in town a day or two. Hardly long enough to prove that she's changed."

"Well I believe she has."

Applejack bit her lip, looking between the unicorn and the griffon. "Then I'm willin' to let her prove it."

"Thank you," Gilda said, picking her wings up.

"You're welcome. I'm sure I'll see ya around," the earth pony replied. "Now if ya'all would excuse me. I got work to do," she said, then turned back and vanished into the barn.

Gilda look in a long breath, feeling her feathers ruffle a bit as she let it out. "That could have gone better," she said.

"If Applejack is willing to give you a chance then I'm sure Rainbow Dash will as well. Just keep on acting like you are and you'll prove yourself to both of them," Twilight replied.

She nodded, she had changed, really she had. At least that's what she believed, the trick was going to be in proving it to Applejack, and Rainbow Dash. It shouldn't be too hard, she just had to kept acting like she was, instead of insulting every pony around town. She could do that, she had been doing it ever since...

"Where's your cutie mark?" a young voice asked from her side.

Turning her head she was surprised to see the young foal standing next to her, her red hair pulled back with a large bow and the look of curiosity in her orange eyes.

Beside them Twilight laughed. "Griffon's don't have cutie marks, Apple Bloom."

"Oh... that's weird." the foal said, looking back at Gilda. "How do you know what your special talent is?"

"We don't have special talents, not like ponies. That's what makes you special, you can learn what you're best at, but we're never sure," she replied, reaching out with one talon to gently fluff the top of her mane. "And what's your special talent?"

Apple Bloom blushed a bit and turned to look at her unblemished flank. "I don't know yet."

Gilda was surprised, she had never seen a pony without a mark before. She gave Twilight a look, hoping she would come to her rescue. Luckily the unicorn was quick to understand the unspoken question. "It takes time to discover your special talent, I'm sure you'll find it someday soon."

The foal smiled a bit. "I wish it could be today, but I got chores to do around the farm and you don’t earn your cutie mark by doing chores. I bet it will be tomorrow!"

"I bet it will," Twilight said.

Apple Bloom smiled and nodded. "Tomorrow!" she said, then turned around and trotted back into the barn with her sister.

Twilight and Gilda started back down the path towards the road, the sun filtering through the apple trees that lined the way. As they walked the griffon thought about what Applejack had said, that she had insulted everyone. A small part of her wondered if she had really changed, or was just hiding who she was to win back her old friend. She thought she had changed, she knew it deep down, but was it true?

Finally she let out a sigh and looked at Twilight. "Do you really think I've changed? Do you really think that this could all work out?"

Twilight nodded. "Of course I do, there is something different about you," she said, looking over to the griffon. For a moment the two locked eyes, looking into each other for before the unicorn jerked away from her amber eyes and back to reality. There was a strained moment of silence between them as they both tried to regain their composure.

“As for you and Rainbow, everything has a chance to happen and anything is possible. I've seen all kinds of things that no pony would have believed possible until it happened. I mean, Discord made clouds out of cotton candy and it rained chocolate milk. I believe that you and Rainbow can be friends again, and everything you've shown me makes me believe you're willing to put in the effort needed to win her back... and you seem like a better person then you were before."

"So, anything is possible?"

Twilight smiled. "Anything."

* * *¬

Gilda’s feet were killing her as they neared the outskirts of town, ever step sent a jolt of pain up her legs and into her back, making her grind her beak and thrash her tail from side to side. She found herself glancing up to the sky, wanting to get off the ground. Instead she found herself not watching where she was going and tripped over a root in the road. Letting out a squawk she crashed forward, landing beak first in the hard packed dirt.

“Are you alright?” Twilight asked, turning around and moving to the griffon’s side.

“I’m fine,” she lied, brushing a talon through her feathers to shake off most of the dirt.

She shook her head. “I may not be Applejack, but even I can see you would rather be flying. It does seem to be the perfect day for it.”

A hint of a smile crossed over Gilda’s face. “Well, I could use some practice... you know, to pass the time until Rainbow gets back.”

“That’s fine, you go ahead,” the unicorn said, a moment later her eyes lit up with an idea. “Can I watch?”

That caught the griffon by surprise. “I don’t see why not, and you don’t really have to ask,” she replied, fanning out her wings.

“Oh, yeah... of course... I don’t have to ask,” Twilight said, cocking her head. Her ears twisting to the side as she pawed one hoof at the ground, a hint of a blush showing through her purple coat.

Gilda flicked out her tail, bracing herself before leaping into the air. She stretched her wings as she flew into the clear blue sky, feeling the warmth of the sun on her feathers and fur. She spun through the hair over Ponyville, getting a feel for the air currents and updrafts caused by all the buildings. When she felt comfortable she turned to fly over a large park, happy to see Twilight sitting on a small on a small hear nearby, watching intently.

When she was ready she started to really fly, doing spirals, loops and rolls in the air. Dipping down low over the park and Twilight before taking off high into the air. She was showing off, and she knew it, even though there was no reason to do so. She could see the pony watching her with wide eyes, her eyes tracking her across the sky, an enraptured look on her face.

After about half an hour she came in low and slide to a stop in the grass next to Twilight, she smiled at the unicorn and preened a little bit.

“That was fantastic, you fly so differently then Rainbow Dash. She’s faster and uses more complicated tricks, but you’re more graceful in the air. It’s similar, yet completely different,” she said with a smile. “It was amazing,” she added a moment later.

Gilda preened a bit more, trying to hide her blush. “Amazing?”

“Amazing,” she repeated.

The griffon smiled and fanned out her wings. “Would you like to see more?”

“I would love to!”

With a smile she flapped her wings and took back into the air, smiling down at the librarian. It was nice to have someone to watch her again, and one who seemed so honest in what she thought of her abilities. She rose into the air, getting ready to do a series of somersaults combined with spins, but on the way up a blue blur whizzed past her, knocking her off course.

Gilda let out a gasp as she pulled back, her wings tucking against her flank and causing her to lose lift and stall. She twisted to try and recover but only managed to cause herself to go into a spin. She found herself twisting her body, flicking her tail quickly to try and stop her horizontal motion before pulling up to a hard landing, her talons digging into the grass and pulling up some chunks of it.

“What’s up, G?” a familiar high-spirited voice shouted from above her in the air.

The griffon lifted her head up to see the familiar cyan form of her old friend hovering a hundred feet above her. “You just love showing me up, don’t you Dash?” she asked with a bit of a smile.

“You say that like I need to try,” the pegasus replied, slowing sinking down towards the ground.

Twilight ran over at a full gallop, sliding on her hooves to a stop next to Gilda. “Are you okay?”

She brushed her feathers back over her head, trying her best to keep her cool detached look, but she fact that the unicorn would even ask made her smile. A few moments later Fluttershy hovered down and landed a short distance from the three of them, a look of worry on her face.

A hint of a frown crossed over Dash’s muzzle as she moved over to the yellow pegasus and wrapped a wing around her. “Seriously though, why are you in town, Gilda?”

Gilda felt a rush of emotion crash down over her, this was it, the moment of truth, after all that she had done for the past few days, all that she said, it came down to this. Eye to eye with her old friend, who she had yelled at and dismissed. Now that the moment was upon her she found that her beak was dry, her feathers on her neck ruffling out.

“I... I came here to apologize. You know, for the last time I was in town,” she said, the words sounding empty even as she spoke them. She closed her eyes, looking away from her old friend, not sure what else she could say.

“Really?” Rainbow asked. “And why is that?”

This wasn’t going to be easy. “I was a bad guest,” she said, struggling for the words. The blue pegasus didn’t seem to be impressed with this, a frown starting to pull at the corner of her muzzle. “I said a lot of things, a lot of bad things, and I acted like a jerk and done things I shouldn’t have done.”

“Like?”

She took in a long breath, and looked at Twilight. She had a worried look on her face but motioned for her to go on. “Like yelling at Pinkie, and insulting you and your friends at the party just because I was angry at some pranks. And for roaring at Fluttershy, she wasn’t even in my way, I just... I wanted to have a rumble and she was escorting the ducks... and it was stupid, I was so stupid,” she voice caught in the back of her throat, the words getting hard and harder to say. “I was a complete idiot. I was jealous of your new friends just because they were your friends. Then I got mad, and frustrated, and I didn’t even pay attention to what you were doing.”

She shook her head, finding that she was starting to tear up, she tried to fight it, but she just couldn’t hold it back. Not now, not anymore. “I was a fool, and a jerk. I should never have said those things to you, none of it was true. You were happy with your friends, and I should have been happy for you. I shouldn’t have hurt you.... I should... I should have been a better friend,” she dropped to the ground, starting to sob in earnest. “I should have been better...”

Author's Note

It's hard to get a good grip on Applejack's accent. I hope I did okay with it this time.

Oh, and I now have an image to go with the story!

5: Reconciliation

Misperceptions v2
By: Winter Quill

Adapted from the original "Misperceptions" by Arbiter Balemead

5: Reconciliation
¬
The three ponies stood in shock as Gilda crumpled to the ground, her feathers soaked with her tears as she cried great gasping sobs, her body shaking with each and every one. Twilight was the first pony to recover and moved quickly to her friend’s side, wrapping a leg around the large griffon’s shoulder and pressing her snout up against her feathers.

“Gilda?” she asked softly.

In response the griffon lifted her head before burring her face against the purple pony’s shoulder, her body shuttering as she cried. Gilda didn’t seem to be the type to cry, she was too tough for that. This shook them all as she gasped, trying to stop herself before starting to cry again.

Her oldest friend was the next to react, she moved to the griffon’s other side, placing a wing on her shoulder. “Gilda? Are you okay? What’s the matter?” she asked, worry lining her face and her wings dropping slightly. Even Fluttershy had moved up the griffon, a mix of emotions crossing over her face. It was clear she wanted to do something to help but wasn’t sure what to say.

“I’m so pathetic,” she whispered into Twilight’s ear. She looked up, her golden eyes red with tears, her feathers matted down over her cheeks. Her eyes locked with unicorn’s, the both of them freezing in place. There was a feeling between them, much like there had been earlier in the day and even the night before. She starred at the griffon, her eyes wide, not fully understand what was going on.

Gilda lifted her head and leaned in slightly, her beak pressing at Twilight’s muzzle for a moment. “I don’t deserve to be happy,” she said before leaping away from the ponies, her wings snapping out in the process. They slapped against Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, pushing them both away, then she jumped into the air and flew as fast as she could towards a distant cloud.

Twilight watched her go, feeling both worried and confused. What did she mean she didn’t deserve to be happy? Why was she running away from her friends? And why was she filled with a sense of regret as she watched the griffon vanish in the distance?

“Gilda!” Rainbow called out, leaping into the air about to follow after her friend regardless of what might have transpired between them in the past. She was brought up short as her tail snapped taunt, held tight with Twilight’s magic.

She craned her head around to look at the unicorn. “What are you doing Twilight? Let go!”

“No, Rainbow. I should talk to her, I’ve been helping her the last few days, she trusts me.”

The pegasus dropped to the ground. “First, there’s no way you could fly up to where she is. Second, you don’t know her like I do. I’ve known Gilda for years, you’ve know her for what, a week? She’ll open up to me.”

“Have you ever seen Gilda cry before?” Fluttershy asked.

Rainbow frowned a bit, turning back to look at where the griffon had gone. “Never, she just got angry before.”

“She’s changed,” Twilight said, releasing the multi-hued tail from her magic. “I don’t think she’s the same griffon as she was before.”

“But...”

“Let me go and talk to her first. I think she trusts me.”

Rainbow turned to look at the unicorn, then back up at the sky. She shifted her head back and forth a few times, trying to make up her mind before finally snapping her wings outwards. “I’m going—“ she started to say, the words dying as Fluttershy placed a hoof on her side.

“No, Rainbow. Let Twilight try to talk to her first.”

“But—“ she started to protest.

The yellow pegasus shook her head, her pink hair fluttering around her shoulders. “Let her help, she’ll talk to you when she’s ready.’

Rainbow Dash let out a low groan as she pawed a hove at the ground. “Buck it all, she’s my friend! I just can’t let her fly off, not when she’s hurt.”

“So is Twilight. She won’t hurt you, and won’t let Gilda be hurt. Trust her.”

“Oh, alright,” she said, finally relenting, her wings falling back against her side as she turned to face Fluttershy. “But only because you asked.”

Without a word the two pegasus rubbed their nuzzles against each other, a small look of content passing between them. Finally the cyan pony pulled away and turned to the unicorn. “Go Twilight, help her.”

Without a word Twilight nodded and closed her eyes, magic rolling from her horn to wrap tightly around her before she teleported. Winking through the spaces between spaces, finding herself in no place and all places at once. It was a strange feeling, the moment seemed to last forever yet take less than the flapping of a humming bird’s wing. She returned to the real world just under a small cloud, a familiar looking tail hanging off the side.

She gathered more power and cast the familiar cloud walking spell, one that she knew so well that it was almost second nature to her. As she felt the magic falling over her she cast the teleport spell again, this time it was a much shorter hop, taking her only a thousand feet into the air to appear on the could next to Gilda.

The griffon didn’t even jump as the pony popped into existence next to her. All she did was lift her head from her talons for a moment before dropping her chin back down on her paws. “Go away,” she said softly, the tears still running down her face.

Without a word Twilight laid down on the could next to her, leaning up against her leonine side trying to comfort her friend. They sat like that for a few moments before she finally found herself leaning down to rest her head on the griffon’s neck. “I’m here for you.”

“Just go away,” she replied, her voice thick from the crying.

Twilight shook her head. “No. I’m not going anywhere. I’m your friend and I’m going to be here even if you don’t want to talk to me. You can tell me what’s wrong.”

The griffon shivered and turned away, though not before fanning her wing out to drop it down over Twilight’s back. They stayed like that for a few minutes before she turned back to look at the unicorn. Then almost unbidden the words started to fall from her beak.

* * *

The memory didn't come easy, not at first. It was a memory she hated, but one that dug at her like a thorn in her paw every time she touched it. But now that she was here, on the cloud with Twilight, she found that the pain wasn't as bad. Her mind turned to three months before, the familiar memories coming back to her.

"Gilda! Get down here! I need your help," her Grann shouted up the stairs, her voice echoing through the walls of the house.

Gilda lifted her head from her soft bed, shaking out her wings. Letting out a groan she slipped out of the warm nest and stretched out her body. "Coming, Grann," she yelled back out her door as she rubbed her back against the scratching hook on the wall, getting that spot right between her wings that she couldn't ever reach herself. With a smile she walked out of her room, along the narrow hallway, and down the stairs, taking them carefully so as not to fall down them. The older griffon wasn't in the house anymore, but the wall of the dining area was wide open to the warm spring breezes.

"Grann?" she called out through the wide open wall.

"Over here Gilda," the voice came across on the wind from the smaller out building across the yard of the estate.

She moved quickly across the yard, the old building had been her playhouse when she was just a welp, but she hadn't been inside for years. It was just a place to her now, though a place that held a lot of memories for her. She took a moment to bask in the sunlight as it shown down from between the high peaks behind their home before moving on.

Gilda finally walked up to the entrance of the building, moving past a small cart that was pushed up against the wall. "Grann?" she asked again, stepping inside the dusty room, the floor creaking slightly under her. It looked smaller then she remembered and was filled with a number of crates and boxes.

"Thank you for helping dear, could you start gather the boxes marked with ‘toys’?" the elder griffon asked, looking out from behind some of the boxes. Her black feathers were streaked with dust, yet it somehow matched her perfectly made up face. She rose up, tucking her thin wings to her back as she started to pull something from a shelf near the ceiling.

Without a thought Gilda moved up next to her Grann and rose up on her hunches to get the box on the shelf, setting it down on the floor. "Why are we getting out the toy ones?" she asked, brushing the dust off of her chest.

"To donate, what else would we do with them?" Grann said with a thin smile as smile on her beak as she took the box under one leg and walked out of the building.

Shaking her head she started to sort through the boxes, setting aside a framed copy of the family shame and pulling out the ones that were marked as toys, peaking in a few of them. She remembered a number of the toys, she had even played with a few of the growing up. Most of them were antiques but still in good condition.

No matter how much she loved her Grann, she was simply too nice. The toys would have been worth a great deal more if sold to collectors, not just donated so some young welp could play with them while not knowing what they were holding. Even better she would make enough money to provided for her until the next tribute. But nooo... 'we should give them away', 'we should give them to the less fortunate', 'we should be better than others expect of us'.

Gilda sighed as she started on a number of crates by the open door, making sure they weren't stacked too tall for the elder griffon. Soon Grann had come back, starting to carefully pick up the boxes and load them onto the back of the cart. It was this point that she decided it may actually help if she made her suggestion instead of just thinking about it.

"Grann?"

"Yes, dear?"

She lifted herself up on her hind legs, folding her talons on the top of the stack of boxes. "You know, you should sell these toys instead of donating them. I'm sure a couple of my professors from university would love to have them and you'd make a lot of money."

"No Gilda, it isn't about the money. It's about what you actually DO with what you have."

She simply didn't understand it. "Then why are you donating these?"

"Not every child can afford toys like these, we're making it better for them."

Gilda snorted. "Well, maybe those welps should get some mon--" she was cut off by a slap of her the elder griffon's wing, which made her stumble back off the stack of boxes.

"Gilda Grypon, we don't talk like that," she snapped, shaking her head in disappointment. "You're better than that, and you know it."

With a sigh she turned away from her Grann, instead starting to look through the other boxes to find any more marked with toys. That was the sort of thing she was always going on about, and it just made her head spin. Why couldn't she just be herself if that's who she was? Why did she have to try to be anything else?

She heard an odd flopping sound from outside but didn't turn to look for it. It was better to stay low when Grann was angry. A moment later the house echoed with the sound of something heavy hitting the ground.

"If you dropped that box to give me more work, I'll get to it later," she muttered, picking up another box and adding it to the stack. Out the corner of her eyes she saw the Grann's tail laying on the ground by the door, the tail tuft laying in the mud.

"Grann?" she called out, but no response came.

Worry shot through Gilda's body as she carefully walked around the stack of boxes, moving towards the door. "Grann, are you okay?" she asked, her wings shaking as she looked around the edge of the door. The worry turned to a sick feeling as she saw her Grann laying on the ground, one wing twisted under her body, her eyes were half open, the light gone out of them.

She ran over to the elder griffon's side, pressing her claws against the flank, but she wasn't breathing.

* * *

Twilight pressed her arm over Gilda's back as she finished her story, "What happened to her?" she asked.

"It was a heart attack. I shouldn't have riled her up like that. I must have visited her ten times in the last year, and father said I shouldn't make her angry. Plus she was working herself so hard, she had asked me to come to help as she was organizing the whole estate. It was too much work for her... I shouldn't have said those things!"

"Don't blame yourself like this. You didn't know," the unicorn said.

Gilda shook her head. "But I did know! I knew that her heart was weak, she hadn't been able to fly for years. I shouldn't have said those things, I should have been bet--" she was cut off by a swift hoof across her face, her head snapping to the side. It took a few moments for her to register that she had been slapped... by Twilight.

Shaking her head, the griffon stared incredulously at the pony, her break half open. Twilight just sighed and looked back at her friend, their eyes locking together. The unicorn found herself looking deeply into the golden eyes, even though they were swollen and puffy from crying they still pulled her in. She couldn't look away from them; there was something deep and enchanting, so close and yet so far away. She leaned in closer, wanting to find out what it was as Gilda leaned in as well. There was a moment when she realized that she was getting lost in the griffon's eyes...

Without a word Gilda grabbed Twilight and wrapped her forelegs around the pony in a tight hug, a moment later adding her wings to the embrace. She nuzzled at the fur of her cheek in a manner that was a little more than friendly but not in bad way.

A jolt ran through Twilight's body, making her shiver at the griffon's touch. The hug felt good in a way she had never felt before. The close contact made her feel so very good, a blush rising up in her cheeks and ears. After a few moments she found herself nuzzling the griffon back, rubbing fur against feathers. Then almost without thinking about it she turned her head slightly to kiss Gilda on the cheek.

The griffon let out a sound that could almost be a purr and returned the soft kiss, her eyes closing as she just pressed up close against the unicorn.

Twilight cuddled up a little closer to the feather covered chest, feeling it rise and fall with each breath Gilda took. It felt wonderful to be so close to her, and the librarian had never felt anything quite like it before. The only time she had felt it before was when she was still in school and had been dating Shooting Star, he was a pleasant stallion and she certainly had feelings for him, but they hadn't been this strong.

She looked at the griffon, smiling when she saw the look of content on her beak. It was strange, she had know Gilda for only a few days, yet this connection between them felt stronger than the six months Star had been her special somepony. What did that mean?

Her head spun as she nuzzled her friend. Was she falling in love? Was this what being in love really felt like? Could she be falling in love? Was it even possible, what did the two of them have in common other then Rainbow Dash?

Lowering her head down, she looked at Gilda again. Maybe it didn't matter, didn't love conquer all? Every book she had read said love was worth trying for, worth fighting for.

But she didn't know Gilda, not really. Was it safe to be falling in love? Was it worth it, was she even ready? There were so many questions that made her head spin and she simply didn't know the answers. She didn't even know where to start finding them! It was too much for her.

Twilight pushed her way out of Gilda's embrace, making her squawk in surprise. "I--I'm sorry. This is too sudden, I'm not ready," she whispered, looking at Gilda for one last moment before she teleported away, leaving a confused griffon in her wake.

Author's Note

There's a lot of information about Gilda's past in this one, and quite a lot of it won't become obvious until later on. The joy of foreshadowing.

6: Always There

Misperceptions v2
By: Winter Quill

Adapted from the original "Misperceptions" by Arbiter Balemead

6: Always There

Rainbow Dash was not a foal, and when it came flying and speed she knew as much as the best of the Wonderbolts, so when Twilight Sparkle popped into existence in front of her she was sure it was because the situation was well in hand. What she didn’t expect was for the unicorn to burst into tears and gallop off towards town leaving both Rainbow and Fluttershy gasping in her wake.

“What just happened?” the cyan pony asked, fluttering her wings out and rocking her ears backwards.

“I don’t know,” Flutteryshy replied, worry filling her soft voice.

The two pegasi stood in silence for a few moments, trying to decide what to do. It was clear they had to go after her to see what was wrong but what about Gilda? What had she done to Twilight to make her run off like that? Craning her head up she looked at the cloud above them, seeing the feline tail hanging over the edge.

She bit her lip, torn between her two friends. Something was wrong with Twilight, but Gilda was still hiding in the cloud. She wasn’t yelling after the unicorn, or cursing her out, or any of the things she would normally do when she was angry. There was something going on between them, there had to be.

“We should go after her,” Flutteryshy said, motioning back towards town.

“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash replied, not looking away from the cloud. Someone had to deal with Gilda, and ‘Shy was not the pony to do it. She shook her head and fanned her wings again. “You check on Twilight, I’m going to find out what she did,” she said, narrowing her eyes as she looked up at the long tail.

“Okay… but don’t do anything that will cause more trouble,” the yellow pony said, then starting towards Ponyville as quickly as she could go.

Rainbow took in a long breath and leapt into the air, lifting herself up with long strokes of her wings. She didn’t know what to think but if Gilda had gone off on Twilight she was going to get a piece of the pegasus’s mind. She was preparing herself for a good yell at her old friend when she reached the cloud, but of all the things she had expected the griffon sitting hunched over on the cloud, her feathers soaked with tears, was not one of them.

“Gilda? What happened?” she asked, alighting on the cloud, her worry for Twilight turning to her old friend.

Gilda didn’t reply she just whipped her eyes across the back of her leg and turned away from the pony.

She moved a bit closer to the griffon. “Twi was really upset, and I don’t know why she was crying but I bet you do. So come on, tell me?” she asked in her most comforting voice, leaning closer and attempting to wrap a wing around the avian shoulders, but before she could get close Gilda shoved her away. It wasn’t a move of anger, but more of desperation.

“Gilda, you didn’t mean to hurt her, did you?”

Letting out a sigh she pulled her wings close and shook her head. “No, I didn’t. I... I screwed up, okay. I did something stupid and I thought she was going along with it, but she wasn’t and she ran away. Would you just leave me alone, please?”

‘Please?’ Gilda was asking please without being sarcastic? Was it possible that she really had changed? She took a closer look at the griffon, trying to see her with fresh eyes. Everything about her was different, her posture of her back, the sadness in her eyes and face, the way her wings kept fluttering down before pulling back to her side. Somehow she was both the same woman she knew, and someone different as well.

Though however she changed, she was still Rainbow Dash’s friend, and she wasn’t going to push her away, not now. “I don’t leave my friends alone, not when they need me.”

Gilda looked at the equine, her head cocking to the side as a hint of a smile pulled over her beak—but only for a moment. “Thank you,” she whispered.

Lifting up a wing, Rainbow leaned in closer to her, dropping it over her back. “What happened?”

The griffon took in a long breath, her feathers ruffling out around her neck. “Twilight and I... she’s been helping me, and she’s been so good to me. We... she kissed me, and I kissed her, and things were feeling nicer then they have in a while, then she pulled away.”

“Twilight kissed you?”

“O-on the cheek,” she said, a hint of a blush starting to show through her feathers.

Rainbow gave her a sly grin, this was a side of her friend she had never seen before. “Did you like it?”

“Excuse me?! That’s a bit personal, don’t you think?” she asked, her old self returning in a flash, only to start melting away as the pony’s sly grin grew wider. Her blush grew even brighter as she fluttered out her wings, her shoulder dropping in defeat. “I did, it was nice. She was warm and felt nice and I didn’t want it to end.”

The pegasus smiled and pressed a bit closer to Gilda. “But it ended, why did it end?”

“I don’t know. She pushed away from me, said it was too sudden and winked away,” her reply was filled with sadness and doubt, her head dropping ever lower.

“Then how did you screw up?”

Gilda lifted her head slightly, her golden eyes bloodshot. “I shouldn’t have hugged her. I guess it threw her off and stuff... I don’t know but I screwed it up. Whatever we had, or could have had, I screwed it up.”

“You did not screw up,” the cyan pony said, flicking out her tail and rocking her ears back into her mane.

“Of course I did… I always screw things up,” she replied, dropping her eyes to look at the cloud.

Rainbow Dash shook her head and pressed herself a bit closer to her old friend. “You did not screw up, you hugged her, and you said it felt nice. She must have thought so to, otherwise she wouldn’t have kissed you.”

The griffon shook her head quickly from side to side. “It’s more complicated than that.”

“Fine,” she replied, holding up her hooves. This was a very different Gilda then she used to know, the Gilda she knew would take whatever she wanted, not worry and fret about it… not to mention worrying about her own actions.

“So, what are you gonna do about it?” the pony asked.

“What do you mean?”

Rainbow made a show of rolling her eyes and shaking her head. “Oh come on! You two were hugging and she kissed you, now you’re all broken up over her running off. You ARE going to do something, right? You can’t just let it end like this, you have to try something.”

A look of confusion crossed over her beak. “I guess... but what can I do?”

“You tell me, G.”

The look of confusion on her face grew as she thought about the question. Rainbow knew there were only a few options if Gilda wanted to try and win her over. The question was which one would she take? Something big and showy, like standing outside the library with music blasting? Or maybe just a special dinner?

“Maybe I should talk to her?”

Rainbow shrugged her wings. “Why are you asking me? I’ve only ever dated one mare!”

“For years, apparently. Were you two together back in the Junior Speedsters? Because I never noticed.”

The pegasus smiled at the memory, but decided that this wasn’t the time or place to go into it. “We weren’t really together then, but we sort of grew into it over time. By the time I asked her out we had been together for months. That’s not important right now, what is important is what YOU are going to do.”

Her feathers ruffled out in frustration. “I... I suppose I should go talk with her.”

“Since when were you so indecisive?” Rainbow asked, laughing softly.

A strange look passed over the griffon face, which was replaced by a small smile. “I will go talk with her,” she said, sitting up a bit.

“Good idea!” she said with a wink, then gave her old friend a hug.

Gilda smiled and returned the hug. “Thank you Rainbow Dash, you didn’t have to do this, not after what I did to you.”

It was the cyan pony’s turn to blush, she had forgotten all about what had happened at the party and the fact that Gilda had been attempting to apologize not an hour before. It just wasn’t important, not when compared with helping her friend. Her friend who had changed in some way and it seemed for the better.

“You’re my friend, and what kind of friend would I be if I didn’t help you? And I accept your apology.”

“Really?” Gilda asked, her tail snapping through the cloud under her.

Rainbow smiled. “Really. Now get going, you have a unicorn to talk to!”

With a quick nodded the griffon hugged her friend one more time then left off the cloud, diving down through the air, picking up speed and heading back to Ponyville. Rainbow Dash watched her go, smiling to herself and hoping that things worked out between the unicorn and the griffon.

* * *

Gilda flew like a goshawk, hugging low to the earth as she put in as much power to her wings as she possible could. The ground passed only a dozen feet under her, including a few rather surprised ponies. She only gained some altitude as she came to the edge of Ponyville, enough to rise up over the buildings, skimming so low over them that her claws brushed over the well tended roofs.

She swooped down towards the library, pulling up so abruptly that she felt them s¬tall, the lift vanishing from under her. She dropped the last dozen feet to the ground, landing awkward on her hind leg and wrenched it to the side.

With a grunt, she tried to shake it off, walking to the front door of the library and knocking her fist on it. The sound seemed to echo forever inside the tree, filling the air for a few moments before finally settling away.

The door slowly opened and Spike looked out through the door, a frown crossing over his face. “It’s you,” he said with disgust.

“Can you let me in, I need to talk with Twilight,” she asked. A moment later she heard the sound of a door slamming upstairs.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he said, starting to close the door.

She reached out, grabbing the door before it closed and pushing it back open. “Please?” she begged, looking intently at the young dragon.

Spike looked back at him, his eyes narrowing slightly. “I’m not sure,” he said, looking back over his shoulder.

“It’s okay, you can let her in,” a familiar voice said from behind the dragon, the light notes of her voice almost vanishing in the air.

He looked back at Gilda for a moment, then back over his shoulder before he shook his head and slowly opened the door, allowing her inside. She stepped over the threshold, her wings and tail fluttering with nerves. Standing in the center of the room, her own wings shaking, was Fluttershy. The yellow pony watched Gilda as she stepped inside, a frown on her face.

Spike slammed the door closed and stalked back to the kitchen, grumbling under his breath only pausing to give the griffon an dirty look before vanishing through the doorway.

With a long gulp, she turned her attention back to Fluttershy. “How is Twilight?”

“She’s crying in her room, what happened?” she asked.

A blush crossed over her face, hidden under her feathers. “I don’t know, we kissed then she ran away. I didn’t mean to hurt her, and I don’t want her to cry, not over me.”

“Oh,” the pegasus replied, dropping her head down slightly so her pink hair dropped over her eyes. “Why did you kiss her?”

“She kissed me,” she replied in a soft voice.

Fluttershy started a bit, her wings fanning out in surprise. “She kissed...you?”

Her blush grew even stronger at that and she dropped her head down low enough that her chin was touching the feathers on her chest. “Yeah, she kissed me.”

“I see... then I don’t know why she’s crying.”

Gilda sighed and shook her head. “Because of me, this is my fault. I need to talk to her, I need to make this right,” she said, finding it hard to describe what she was feeling at the moment, or even how she had felt pressed up so close to Twilight. It just made her head spin... and yet...

“You should go up and talk to her,” the pony said, motioning her head to the stairs.

She nodded and started walking up the narrow stairs, the wood warn smooth by years of hooves going up and down them. She got half way up before stopping and turning to look back at Fluttershy. “I want to apologize to you for what happened before.”

“Go talk to Twilight, you can apologize later,” she said, taking a step back and fluttering her wings.

The griffon nodded and climbed the rest of the stairs to the second floor, then walked down the short hallway to the bedroom door. Reaching out she took the door handle in her talon and gently turned it only to discover that it was locked. She gave it another harder twist, trying to see if she could force it open, but it wouldn’t move.

“Twilight, please let me in?” she asked through the door, but there was no answered.

Gilda sighed and bent down, looking through the keyhole. It was an older style lock, the sort that you could easily see through, though it was a very limited view. She could see Twilight’s flank as she was curled up on the bed. “Please?” she asked again, but the unicorn didn’t move.

She sighed, taking a closer look at the lock. It wasn’t that complicated, no more so then the sort they had back on the family estate. Flicking out her smallest talon she slipped it into the lock, feeling around for the tumbles. They were bulky and large against the point of her talon and were very easy to move. While pulling down on the handle with one forepaw, she started to work on the tumblers, one by one.

After less than a minute worth of work on the lock it suddenly snapped into place, the handle dropped and the door swung open. “I didn’t think it would be that easy,” she muttered to herself, pulling her talon back and stepping into the room. Twilight was curled up on her bed, her head tucked up against her flank, her mane falling down over her face. She looked at Gilda through the strands, a look of shock on her face.

“How did you do that?” she asked, her voice rough from crying.

Gilda flicked out her talons and polished them against the feathers on her chest. “I picked it, you ponies make easy locks,” she bragged as she walked into the room, looking around as she did so. The floor was covered in a number of books and scrolls, each one having been thrown haphazardly to the side. A few had landed badly, resulting in pages being folded over and bent spines.

She walked over to one of the bent books, picking it up and gently readjusting the pages. “Twilight, we need to talk,” she said, turning the book over. She came up short when she saw the title. ‘To Love a Woman: A Guide for Fillies’. Gently she set the book down, picking up another one. ‘Interspecies Romance’.

Carefully she set the books to the side and walked over to where Twilight was. She could see the matted fur on her face, still wet with tears. Her purple eyes were bright red and her face was filled with worry. Gilda knew she had to say something, to talk to her, to reassure her... but all she wanted to do was hold her and tell her it was going to be alright.

All she could see when she looked at Twilight was a scared chick... and that made her feel even worse. She thought back to what seemed like moments before, when Twilight had kissed her, when they had held each other close. It was... it was nice. She enjoyed the feeling of being so close to the unicorn... and she didn’t understand why.

She carefully walked over to the bed, climbing gently onto it but staying just out of Twilight’s reach. “So... we barely know each other, right?”

“Right,” Twilight answered, turning her red eyes to look at the griffon.

“And we’re getting along well,” she added.

“Yeah, really well.”

She nodded, leaning a bit closer to her friend as her train of thought brought her to the details she didn’t quite know how to handle. “You’ve been nicer to me then I’ve deserved,” she said, trying to change the subject.

Twilight sighed and shook her head, her mane dancing over her face as the various colors fluttered around her head. “I shouldn’t have run off like that. Not while you were so open to me. Not after I...” she trailed off, her cheeks turning a pinkish purple as she blushed. “Not after I kissed you.”

Their eyes locked together for a few moments before they both turned away from each other as an awkward silence falling over the pair of them. She really didn’t know what to say next, or what she could say. Here she was, with a pony she hardly knew, worried about how she felt and maybe even a little bit scared. She didn’t quite understand how she had gotten into this situation. She had come to Twilight in search of friendship advice and the next thing she knew she was nuzzling at the purple unicorn.

Even worse, she didn’t even understand why she had done it… no, that wasn’t true. She felt an attraction to the pony, and she didn’t even understand why. Maybe it was because she had been nice to her, maybe it was that she actually seemed to care about her on some level, or maybe it was how her mane would catch the light when she turned around. To make matters all the worse, she wasn’t sure if the attraction was genuine or one of her flings, and that was something she had never worried about before.

Never in her life had she been torn up because the object of her affections had run off. Never had she been worried that a relationship was falling apart even before it started, and the very idea that somehow she had pushed Twilight away made her feel awful. This was a new feeling. Maybe this was more than just a fling?

“We’re so different from each other,” Twilight muttered under her breath, almost too soft for the griffon to hear.

“Because I’m a flyer like Rainbow?”

“And I’m an egghead,” she replied, her ears dropping down into her mane.

Gilda shook her head, holding back a weak laugh, she wasn’t sure now was the time to tell her friend that she had minored in history in university. Instead she just moved a bit closer, allowing them to sit together in silence. She tried to find the right words to say to tell Twilight that she enjoyed the kiss, enjoyed the closeness… but she just didn’t know what those words would be. If she said something wrong, something to kill this before it really started, she knew thought of what could have been would haunt her.

And even that was a new idea for her.

A short time later Twilight took in a long breath and slowly let it out. She turned to towards Gilda, her eyes focused intently at the ground between them. “I don’t want this to just stop here…” she said, her voice quavering slightly.

“I don’t either,” Gilda replied.

With a touch of magic, Twilight pushed her mane back out of her face and looked up into the griffon’s eyes. “This is going to come off cheesy to you, but I feel something here,” she said, gesturing between them with a forehoof. “I don’t want to let it go, or just stop because I’m scared. I… I kinda wanna give it a try, if you want to.”

“I want to,” Gilda replied softly, reaching out and placing her forefoot on the unicorn’s hoof. They fell silent against, just touching each other as they both looked away. She quickly started to scan around the room, trying to avoid those deep lavender eyes while the pony looked down at the floor, her ears twisting back and forth.

Finally she couldn’t bare it anymore, and looked back at her friend, at the same moment Twilight looked up at her. Their eyes locked onto each other, holding their gaze for a few more moments before Gilda leaned forward and pressed her neck up to Twilight’s, her wings fanning out to wrap around both of them, holding her friend close.

The pony seemed to melt into the embrace, putting her weight up against the griffon, holding her close and nuzzling gently at her neck feathers. Without another word between them they started to nuzzle each other’s neck, a soft rumbling coming from deep in the half-feline’s body as they did so.

They stayed together for what seemed like ages before Spike walked into the room, the young dragon letting out a yelp in surprise. They two women jerked away from each other, both their faces burning with embarrassment as they looked at the interloper.

“Spike! Uhm… this is—“ Twilight started.

“Don’t bother,” he replied, making a show of rolling his eyes and rubbing the side of his head, a bulky scrolled held in his other hand. “After walking in on Rainbow and ‘Shy, I’ve stopped caring,” he said, then left the room.

The two of them sat there for a few moments before Twilight slide down to the floor. “I should go talk to him,” she said.

“Okay,” Gilda replied.

The unicorn hurried out of the room, only to look back in a moment later. “Would you like to stay for dinner?”

“I would like that.”

“I’ll make you something nice,” Twilight replied, then trotted back out of the room, her tail swaying happily from side to side.

7: Stepping Stones

Misperceptions v2
By: Winter Quill

Adapted from the original "Misperceptions" by Arbiter Balemead

7: Stepping Stones

Twilight’s head was spinning around with all that happened. Everything was going so fast, she had been only spending time with Gilda for a couple of days and now they were kissing? Then again, did the pace really matter? If they were going fast maybe it was because that’s what they needed to do?

She trotted carefully down the stairs, the griffoness following a few steps behind. She didn’t really understand why she was feeling the way she was. By all rights she and Gilda were simply too darn different. She lived in a library and spent her free time reading and studying. Gilda was an athlete, one who played Stormball and could keep up with Rainbow Dash in the air. They had nothing in common, she hadn’t even played sports in school!

Star had almost been her male double, they had even meet in the library. They would read together, study together, quiz each other and even traded notes. They were so much alike that she felt like she was losing a part of herself when he had to move to Fillydelphia. Even so it had take months of talking before they even started to date, it was nothing like this. This relationship had sprouted up in two days. Two! How was she suppose to handle that?

At least that question had an easy answer. She would just have to take it step by step… though she only had a rough idea of what those steps would be.

Fluttershy had left, leaving only Spike in the tree with them and he was nowhere to be found. That was nice, it meant she could focus on making dinner for the pair of them without having to try and explain herself. That left her with the task of trying to make something… which wasn’t really her strong point, usually relying on her assistant to do that work.

After some digging around in the kitchen, she settled for a large green salad with flowers. Sadly she didn’t have anything better suited to Gilda, she was going to have to correct that at some point in the future. Though the griffon didn’t seem to be bothered by that, taking a plateful and eating carefully. So far neither one of them had said a word since they had come downstairs, which left the pony to think about what was going to happen next.

She was at the point of mental creating a list of things she could do when Gilda spoke up. “So, what are we gonna do?” she asked.

“About what?” Twilight asked in return.

“Our first date,” she replied, a smile flashing across her beak. “They are always boring, right? We should do something different.”

A number of options flashed across her mind, far too many to catalog in the few moments she allowed herself to think about it. “I don’t know. I’ve only had one ‘first date’ before.”

“Trust me, they always are. We should avoid that this time, instead of just sitting around talking I should show you something awesome and you can show me something as well.”

Twilight cocked her head to the side, her mane falling across her face. “Like what?” she asked.

“Well, something you’ve never experienced,” she said, picking up a daisy in her talons and carefully popping it into her beak, chewing on it while she thought. A moment later she fluttered her wings and slapped her own forehead. “Duh! I could take you flying!”

“I’ve been to Cloudsdale before…” she said, not wanting to put a damper on the griffon’s enthusiasm.

“Oh no, I don’t mean just walking around town, I mean real flying. Taking you up high and low, showing you all the ways that I see the world.”

Twilight’s eyes went wide. “You would be holding me while you do stunts?” she asked, blushing madly at the thought of being held tightly to Gilda while she was flying at high speeds. Even the thought of it made her heart start to race.

“Maybe not stunts… mostly flying and stuff. Don’t worry, I would never let you go. I promise,” she said, fanning her wings out and rising up so she could place a paw over her heart.

She had never gone flying, and Rainbow had always described it as one of the best things in the world. The idea of it was daunting, but also a bit seductive; soaring through the air, the wind blowing though her fur and mane and her tail flying out behind her. The twists and turns, flying up high above the world then back down to land. It was very tempting but frightening as well.

Her blush grew a bit brighter as she looked up into Gilda’s eyes. It might be scary, but with Gilda… with Gilda it wouldn’t be. “Sure, I would like that.”

* * *

Both women were tired out by the end of the evening, turning in soon after the sun vanished under the horizon. They took separate rooms, Twilight in her own bed and Gilda taking the guest room, nesting in the thick bedding. Even though both of them were tired neither one could get to sleep right away.

Twilight found herself laying on her back in her bed, staring up at the carved ceiling of her room. She was nervous about their date the next day and yet she also found herself struggling to come up with something she could do for Gilda, but what could she do that the griffon couldn’t do herself?

She had insisted that Twilight didn’t need to do anything special, instead just to be herself, but she refused to equate flying with something simple like a nice dinner or a stroll through the park. She needed to do something special, but she had no idea what that would be. She probably had no interest in ninety-seven point eight-three-six-two percent of the books in the library that weren’t about flying, of course she didn’t know what things really interested her outside of flying.

That was the thing, how much did she really know about Gilda; about her likes and dislikes? What sort of food did she like? Did she enjoy reading at all? What did she do for fun? What about her family, or her other friends? There was just so much she didn’t know, but wasn’t that the point of dating? To learn more about each other and to find out how well you worked together. There were a number of things she didn’t know about Gilda, but she liked the griffon and liked being with her. That was good enough reason to spend more time with her.

She started to think about how she could learn all about her, starting to collect a mental list of all the things she needed to know, but after she got to fifty-seven items she made herself stop. This wasn’t the right way to go about it, this was a date, it wasn’t about lists! She couldn’t study Gilda like she would study a book; who she was wasn’t written down, she would have to learn it for herself. One step at a time. One date at a time.

Twilight let out a sigh and rolled over onto her flank. Once again she came back to the same problem as before, what to do on her date. She wracked her brain for an idea, anything at all, but nothing came to her. Maybe take her to Canterlot, show her around and possibly introduce her to the Princesses? She doubted that was something Gilda would enjoy. Finally she started to going through her list of friends to see if any of them could help. Rarity wouldn’t work, her ideas would involve high fashion and that didn’t fit Gilda at all. Pinkie… no, not another party. Applejack and Fluttershy were out, no way she would get along with them. Rainbow Dash was always an option, she knew Gilda better than anyone else. How about Shining Armor? He always knew how to impress the fillies but that might not help in this case. Princess Celestia would be willing to help, but she was a Princess! When would she ever had time for romance? The same was true of both Luna and Cadence.

Her eyes suddenly shot open as she let out a soft yelp of glee. Luna, now that was an idea!

* * *

Gilda and Twilight walked slowly into the park, the nearly clear sky tantalizingly open above them with only a few low lying alto clouds breaking up the blue. It was a tantalizing sight calling to the griffon, but it was too early for their date to start. There were other things that had to be done first so she suppressed the urge, instead walking side by side with the lavender unicorn.

It wasn’t hard to see where their destination was, as a familiar rainbow blur danced in the air over the center of the park. Fluttershy was waiting under it, sitting on her haunches and watching as Rainbow Dash practiced across the sky. Her eyes were wide with joy, never leaving the cyan pegasus, no matter how fast she moved.

“Hello, Fluttershy,” Twilight said as they sat down next to her.

The yellow pegasus jumped a bit, looking between the two woman. “Twilight, Gilda,” she said, her voice falling slightly. “So… what happened?”

Gilda blushed and suddenly found the sky incredible interesting, watching the fluffy cotton like clouds slowly passing overhead. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the unicorn blush through her fur as she found her hooves to be very important. Neithor one seemed to be willing to answer the question, as perfectly innocent as it was.

Finally Twilight found the words to answer. “We sort of resolved our issues,” she said.

“Oh?” Fluttershy asked, a hint of a smile crossing over her face. “Does that mean two are…?”

The griffon and the unicorn looked at each other, both of them blushing more. Twilight’s ears flicked sideways as Gilda fanned out her wings. “We’re having a date later.”

Fluttershy’s smile grew wide as she looked up as Rainbow Dash streaked overhead. “Yay!” she cheered softly, leaving the two woman unsure whether it was for them or for the pegasus. Rainbow did a loop in the air and the swooped down to land near them.

“What’s up?” she asked as she trotted up to the group, a smile on her face.

Twilight looked to the griffon. “Your turn,” she said slyly.

With a blush burning brightly under her feathers as she turned to look at her oldest friend. “We’re a uh… sort of trying to be a… thing,” she said lamely, the right words fleeing her mind the moment before she spoke them.

“A ‘thing’?” Rainbow asked with a hint of a laugh at the choice of words, a sentiment that seemed to be shared by the rest of the group.

Gilda rolled her eyes. “Fine, we’re together, okay?”

“I like ‘together’ more than a ‘thing’” Twilight said, leaning over and nuzzling her head against the feather’s of Gilda’s neck. Then the unicorn let out a small giggle as she found a wing draped over her back.

Rainbow and Fluttershy shared a knowing look at this display of affection between the new couple. Without another word the cyan pegasus moved over to sit next to her special somepony and laced their primary flight feathers together.

“So, whatya gonna do first?” Rainbow asked the other pegasus leaned in closer, resting her chin on top of the multi-colored mane.

Gilda smiled, leaning down to preen Twilight’s mane around her horn. “It seems kind of stupid now, but I was going to take her flying,” she said, her voice getting quieter with every word.

“I see,” the cyan pony said, somehow making the two words sound like height of innuendo.

“It’s not like that, she’s going to hold me,” Twilight added.

“Oh... that sounds like fun,” Rainbow said, not doing anything to lessen the double entendre.

The griffon shook her head, laughing slightly. That was her old friend all right, the one who laughed with her, who went out to party and dance. The one who was nice, not cruel, the one who was better then she had been. “There’s something else I need to do before that.”

Twilight lifted her head up, “What’s that?” she asked.

Carefully she untangled herself from the unicorn and walked over to Fluttershy. The pegasus started to cower slightly as she approached, but Rainbow held her close, stroking a comforting hoof along her side. Gilda lowered her eyes as she reached the yellow pony, sighting softly. “Fluttershy, I want to apologize for what I did to you. I was looking for trouble, and I saw you there walking those geese--”

“Ducks,” Fluttershy whispered.

“Yes, the ducks. You weren’t watching where you were going and I wanted to screw with you, I recognized you from when you visited Rainbow at Junior Speedsters and I let you run into me, just so I could yell at you. It was stupid and petty, I had no reason to be mean to you… or to anyone. You were nearly in tears and I was gloating about it. It was stupid and cruel, and I shouldn’t have done it. I’m sorry.” Gilda let out a breath as she finished the apology, hoping that it sounded as sincere as it was meant to be.

The shy pony blushed a bit but also started to relax, no longer cowering in front of the griffon. “You don’t have to apologize, I was—“

“Doing nothing wrong in any way,” Rainbow said. “You don’t have to make excuses.”

Fluttershy nodded her head, leaning down to nuzzle her girlfriend on the side of her nose before turning back to Gilda. “I accept your apology,” she said.

It felt like the weight of the world had been lifted from her shoulders. She lowered her head, blushing a bit as she fanned her wings slightly. “Thank you, and if I can do anything to make it up to you just ask. I owe you that much.”

“Oh, you don’t owe me anything,” the pegasus replied, blushing a bit herself.

Rainbow moved up and placed a wing over her mate’s shoulder. “Don’t look a gift griffon in the beak.”

“Okay,” she said, looking up at the cyan pegasus with wide eyes and a hint of a smile.

Stretching out, Gilda smiled at the pair of love bird ponies before tucking her wings close to her side. “Now I just have to apologize to everyone else who was at Pinkie’s party. That’s going to be hard, I don’t even know half of them.”

“That’s easy G. Pinkie will know everyone at the party.”

She cocked her head to the side and looked a Rainbow. As forgiving as the bubbly earth pony was, she didn’t think it was a good idea to be spending a lot of time with her. On the other hand if that was the only way to meet with everyone then it was what she had to do. “Okay, I’ll ask her. I should do something nice for her, after going to all that trouble to throw me a party and all.”

A soft laugh crossed over all the ponies. It was the sort of laugh that meant she was missing something that was obvious to everyone else. At least the laughing wasn’t meant to be mean, not like what she would have done in the past. “What?” she asked softly.

“Pinkie throws parties like I read,” Twilight said.

“I still don’t believe it,” she said. That would be an insane amount of parties.

“Believe it!” the pink earth pony declared, popping out from behind a nearby tree that seemed too small for her to have been hiding behind. “If you want to apologize to everyone who was at the party, the best way to do it would be to have another party!”

Gilda’s beak fell open as she looked at Pinkie Pie. No one else seemed to be even phased by her sudden appearance in the park, let alone her perfect entrance into the conversation. This was just normal for her. Finally she snapped her beak closed and fluttered out her wings. “It is?”

“Yep, an ‘I’m sorry for ruining the last party’ party!”

She turned to look at Twilight and the unicorn responded with a slight nod of her head. It would make it easier to talk with all the other ponies, they would all be in one place and she could make amends. As crazy as it might have sounded, it would be a good idea. “Okay Pinkie, let’s have an apology party.”

“Tomorrow,” Twilight quickly added.

“Tomorrow it is!” the earth pony said, the headed back towards town, her curly hair bouncing with each step she took.

Gilda watched her go for a few moments, then shook her head to clear it. “That was… random.”

“That’s Pinkie Pie,” Rainbow said with a laugh.

That was not the sort of explanation she was looking for, yet random was the perfect word to describe the pink earth pony. It seemed like all the ponies in Ponyvile were all a little peculiar, though not in a bad way. In fact that was what made the small village stand out compared to all the others. She had been to Couldsdale, Canterlot and even Manehatten, but Ponyvile was by far the most interesting.

She turned and looked at Twilight, then back at the pair of pegasi. Without a word she fanned out a wing and dropped it over the unicorn’s back, moving up close to her. Twilight leaned up and pressed her nose against the feathers on her neck, taking in a deep breath.

“They are cute together,” Rainbow said.

Fluttershy let out a soft laugh and nodded her head. “They are.”

Both the mare and griffon blushed at that, turning to look at each other and sharing a hint of a smile. She liked the feeling of being so close to Twilight, feeling her pressing up under her wing, smelling the scent of her mane and fur. It just felt right,

Twilight leaned up and nuzzled at Gilda’s cheek. “I’m… a little eager to go,” she shy shyly.

This brought another shared laugh from Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. “That’s our cue, come on, hon,” Rainbow said, poking the other pegasus before flaring out her wings and leaping into the air. She flew slowly along about two dozen feet in the air.

The yellow pony followed after her, trotting along happily. “You two have fun,” she said with a smile before she vanished down the curve of the hill. They were heading away from town and towards the distance forest.

8: The Air and Sky

Misperceptions v2
By: Winter Quill

Adapted from the original "Misperceptions" by Arbiter Balemead

8: The Air and Sky

Gilda took a step back from Twilight, rubbing a talon along the underside of her beak and fanning out her wings, her gold eyes glowing intently as she looked over the unicorn. Slowly she cocked her head to the side and for a flash of an instant she had the look of a predator about her.

“I hope you’re not shy,” she finally said, moving behind the pony, her tail flicking slowly from side to side.

“N-no, I’m not,” Twilight said as her ears twisted to the side, not sure what was about to happen.

Without another word Gilda reared up onto her hind legs and then carefully lowered herself onto the pony’s back, slowly adding her weight until it was bearing down on the equines legs. The griffon wasn’t as heavy as she had expected, but she still had to brace herself to hold both of them up.

“This might feel weird,” Gilda said, slowly sliding her arms under Twilight’s forelegs, the rough scale like skin on her avian limbs pulling at the pony’s fur. She pulled her talon’s up against Twilight’s chest, lacing them together and locking them in place. It wasn’t the most comfortable grip, but it felt like she couldn’t easily slip out of it.

Gilda lowered her head down until her beak was against the pony’s ear. “Ready?” she asked.

“I’m ready,” she said, her ears twitching back and forth, betraying just how nervous she really was. She tried to hold them in place but couldn’t quite manage it.

The griffon responded by lowering her beak down to nuzzle softly at the top of Twilight’s head before spreading her winds out as wide as they could go. Her full wing span was impressive, reaching out far larger then it seemed when they were closed at her side. She thrust them down, sending a gust of wind across the ground and cause a cloud of dirt gathering up around them. She flapped again and again, the air swirling about the two women as they slowly started to rise, paws and hooves breaking free from the ground until they were hovering a few inches above it.

Gilda adjusted her grip slightly and then started moving, climbing slowly upwards in a large lazy circle, the trees rising about them until they were over the very tops of them. Once clear of the trees they started to pick up speed, wind blowing across Twilight’s face making her squint her eyes for a few moments before she cast a quick spell to cover them like she was wearing goggles. She found the wind was pressing her back up against Gilda’s chest, a feeling that wasn’t at all unpleasant.

The rose higher into the air, the land shrinking below them as the sky seemed to grow bigger by the moment. Soon she could see all of Ponyville, as well as Applejack’s farm, but they were getting smaller with every passing moment. She was higher than she had never been in a hot air balloon or chariot, and they were still climbing. A layer of scatted clouds was getting closer by the moment and what from the ground looked like fluffy balls of cotton took on a different texture up close. They edges were rounded in places, but had small wisps of vapors trailing from them. Not a single part of the cloud was smooth, it was a fractal, never getting simpler no matter how close she looked at them.

And close was exactly the right term as they flew right towards one of the clouds, then dove head long into it. Suddenly the whole world turned bright white and cold, she hadn’t expected it to be so cold against her fur. She shivered as they kept rising up through the dense haze, the light growing dimmer before starting to brighten up again. Then just as fast as they had entered it they broke free of the cloud, coming out into a deep blue sky.

She found herself letting out a joyful ‘woop’ as they rose up even higher into the air, the clouds sinking down below them. It seemed like the whole world was mapped out under her, she could see almost make out the far edge of the Everfree forest, as well as Princesses castle in the distance. The land under them seemed like a mash of different sorts of farmlands outlined by winding roads and the railroad track.

“Enjoying yourself?” Gilda asked, lowering her head down so Twilight’s ear.

“This is amazing! How high are we?” she asked back, the words being stolen from her lips by the fast moving wind. Even so her date was able to hear them.

“Around seven thousand feet.”

Twilight’s eyes went wind as she looked back towards the ground. They were over a mile in the air! There was nothing between her and the ground except a thin layer of clouds; that and Gilda’s arms, but those arms seemed stronger strong enough for the job. No matter how high they might have been, she felt safe in those arms. “It’s amazing,” she reiterated.

“Ready for some fun?”

The unicorn nodded her head.

Gilda let out a laugh, twisting her wings and tail as she started to dive towards the distant ground, picking up speed as they descended. The layer of clouds rushed up towards them at an incredible speed, but this time she turned her body slightly, sending the pair through a small gap between two of them. The space was so small that the edge of her wings and Twilight’s hoofs passed through the clouds, sending swirls of white trailing behind them.

They continued down out of the sky, the ground spreading out under them as the world grew larger with every passing second. Finally she leveled out just above the tallest trees of the Everfree forest, skimming over them before lifting back into the air. Rising back up to the now distant clouds, flying lazily around them until she was just above the wispy surface… and then Gilda started to dance with them.

She flew around the clouds, spinning about prominences and down through the valleys. She moved from cloud to cloud with an amazing amount of grace. Every move was controlled and precise as she skimmed along the surface, sometimes diving into the clouds for a moment before coming back above them.

Twilight found herself reaching out with one hoof, letting it brush across the surface of the clouds and creating a small wake in them. They felt so thin and insubstantial, hardly like they were real at all, yet they were there. She could see them, she could feel them and while she couldn’t hold them, she could still touch them.

With a smile on her face she turned her head to look up at Gilda. The griffon was concentrating on flying, her eyes wide and her beak pulled into a look a pure joy. Lifting her head up, she rubbed the side of her head against the feathers on the underside of the other woman’s neck, her ears flicking forward at how nice it felt.

Gilda teased one of the pony’s ears as she started to glide down towards the surface, slowly circling over Ponyville as they sank towards the ground. They took their time, letting the air carry them and sometimes lift them back upwards. Finally they came back towards the park, the ground growing closer with every moment. As they neared it Gilda reared back and flapped her wings hard, halting their forward momentum and slowly lowering them until Twilight’s hoofs returned to the ground.

Gilda sank down onto of the pony’s back as her wings hung lazily from her side. She slowly unclasped her talons and pulled them away as she rolled of the pony and landing back first onto the trimmed grass of the park. Twilight dropped down at her side, listening to the woman pant, her chest rising and falling quickly. They had been in the air for almost an hour, and it had tired her out.

“Thank you,” Twilight said, looking up at her date.

The griffon returned the smile, then rolled over onto her belly and lifted up one wing, offering it to Twilight.

A blush crossed over her face as she looked at the offered wing, but she still slipped under it, pressing her flank to Gilda’s and allowing the heavy wing to drop down over her back. She looked up at Gilda, right into her bright amber eyes, and smiled happily. A small part of her was unsure of whether or not they were being to physical for a first date, but soon decided that wasn’t the case. They were both comfortable being so close to each other, and the griffon’s fur was warm and her feathers very soft. Soon she found her eyes drooping closed…

Gilda could hardly hold back a soft laugh when Twilight started snoring softly under her wing.

* * *

Gingerly Gilda lifted the lid of the stew pot, the smell of it rolling out from under the lid and across her face. She took in a long breath, smiling a bit as she dipped a spoon in and pulled it free, allowing it to cool a moment before she tasted it. Stew was one of the few things she knew how to make without burning down the kitchen, and while a vegetarian stew wasn’t quite what she was used to it tasted pretty good to her.

She added a bit of spices to the stew, stirring it in and putting the lid back on.

“Is it ready yet?” Spike asked, looking into the kitchen from the main part of the library, a frown on his face.

“It will be ready when Twilight wakes up, you can wait to eat until then,” she said, moving back to the table and sat back down.

The young dragon snorted and started towards the stove. “I don’t see why I have to wait, I’m not going to be eating with you.”

She made a show of rolling her eyes and flicked her tail towards him, keeping it low to the ground. Without even breaking stride he jumped over the feline appendage and then pulled over a small step stool. Scampering up it he lifted the lid on the pot and took in a long breath. “Hey, this smells pretty good.”

“It would be better with meat, but I don’t want to make Twilight ill,” she replied.

“Better with gems too,” he replied as he set the lid back down.

“Listen dweeb, I’m not putting jewels in my stew.”

This time Spike rolled his eyes. “Why not, they taste great! You should try expanding your pallet to more exotic foods.”

She was about to reply with what she was sure was going to be the perfect sharp retort when they both heard the sound of hooves walking down the stairs. Spike quickly climbed on the counter top and opened one of the cupboard. He pulled out a pair of bowls and handed them over to Gilda who quickly place them on the table, a moment later Twilight came into the kitchen, her mane quite the mess sticking out all over the place with a pink cowlick jutting up over one ear.

“Did you bring me home?” she asked, the sleep still in her eyes.

Gilda nodded, carefully lifting the stew pot off the stove and walking awkwardly on her hind legs to carry it to the table. “I also made dinner,” she said.

Twilight blinked and walked over to the table, using her magic to lift the lid on the stewpot. She took in a long breath and smiled. “Oh, I was dreaming about this. Thank you Gilda,” she said, giving the griffon a smile.

“Well, you seemed to tired after our flight, you didn’t even wake up when I carried you back to the library,” she said as Spike brought over a large wooden ladle, dropping it into the pot before the lid was returned to it.

A pleased smile crossed over the unicorn’s face, her ears turning forward and her tail flicking slightly. “I had never even imagined the world could look like that.”

Gilda smiled and started to ladle out the stew into the bowls. “I can’t wait to see what you have for me.”

Suddenly Twilight’s face fell as she slumped slightly in place. “What time is it?”

“About an hour after sunset,” Spike replied.

Twilight let out a long sigh. “Good, we didn’t miss it.”

“Did you have something planed for tonight?”

The pony blushed a bit. “I wasn’t counting on falling asleep before I could make us a dinner and something warm to drink for a starlight picnic. I don’t have time for that now, we have to go without it.”

Gilda carefully placed the ladle back in the pot and looked at the unicorn. “Oh, this is one of those ‘short lived, but still special’ things?” she asked, hoping there was something in the cupboards could be used to store the stew.

“Yeah… you could say that,” she said with a hint of a blush.

She looked down at the stew, then back over to the pony. “We could take some of it with us, and eat under the stars.”

Twilight thoughts for a few moments then quickly nodded her head. “We’ll have time for that, but I just need to get something. Spike?” she asked.

“I’m on it,” the young dragon replied, turning to the cupboards and starting to pull out some ceramic containers. With that Twilight turned and rushed out of the kitchen, running back of the stairs, leaving Gilda holding a single bowl of stew in her talons. She debated pouring it back into the pot, but couldn’t bring herself to do it. Instead she set it on the kitchen table and turned to the pantry.

It only took a moment for her to find a small container of gems, tucked up high here the dragon couldn’t find them. She took it down and pulled out a handful of the small jewels, amused at just how common they were in Equestria when they were incredibly rare in the Empire.

Holding the jewels in her hand, she put the container away and walked back into the kitchen. Spike was in the process of moving the stew from the pot into a container with a screw on lid, not even looking at her.

“Hey dweeb,” she said.

He made a show of rolling his eyes as he turned to look at her. “What?”

Gilda lifted of her hand and dropped the jewels into the bowl of stew, enjoying the look on his face as they fell from her talons. The way his eyes slowly opened wider, his jaw dropped down far more open then she had thought possible. As the last one fell into the stew she gave him a knowing smile. “Thanks for helping me with dinner.”

He nodded, gulping a bit as he snapped his jaw closed.

“And don’t tell Twilight,” she whispered, giving him a wink.

Spike nodded again, his eyes wide and a hint of drool forming on the side of his mouth, at least until he heard Twilight coming back down the stairs. He shook his head, cleaning off his face and then screwing the lid on, setting it on the table just as the pony came into the room. “Everything ready to go?” she asked, a saddle bag hanging across her back, the cutie mark prominently displayed on the side of it.

“All ready,” he said, setting out a pair of bowls and spoons.

The unicorn smiled and used her magic, picking up the items from the table and levitating them into her saddlebag. She turned to Gilda, almost dancing on her hoofs in excitement. “Shall we?”

“Of course,” she said, and followed Twilight out of the door, pulling it closed with her leonine tail. The night was dark and clear, the stars shining high above them. The moon wasn’t visible and there were only a few scattered clouds allowing for perfect stargazing. The heat of the summer day had already started to fade leaving a slight chill in the air that would only grow throughout the night.

Gilda moved up to walk side by side with Twilight, allowing their tails to brush against each other as they trotted along the road. Soon she found the pony moving closer and closer to her so she lifted up one wing, allowing her to cuddle up under it. They walked like that, side by side, all the way across town and to the a small hill away from any houses.

They arrived at the top of the hill just as the moon started to peak over the horizon, a small sliver of silver light rising over the distant mountains and glowing across the sky, glittering off the top of the distant peeks and the scattered clouds.

Twilight opened her saddlebag and used her magic to pull out a large blanket and carefully spreading it out on the ground. She pulled her bag off, setting it to the side as laid down and the motioned for Gilda to join her. The griffon sank down next to the pony once again spreading out a wing to cover her back.

“It’s very pretty out here, you can hardly see the stars where I grew up. There were always too many clouds,” Gilda said, leaning up to look at the sky, then back down at Twilight before lowering her head to gently nuzzle along her cheek.

Carefully she pulled the stew out of the bag, opening the container and pouring it out into the bowls. They snuggled together and ate at the stew as the moon rose above them. Its light was growing brighter by the second, casting a warm glow over the ground around them and making Twilight’s mane sparkle softly.

Then without warning a shooting star streaked across the sky above them, moving quickly and leaving behind a glowing trail of light. As it neared the horizon in burst into a bright ball of amber light, glowing against the firmament of the universe. A moment later a second shooting star followed after the first, streaking in a parallel path before bursting next to the first one. Strangely the light from the shooting starts didn’t seem to fade, they just hung in the ai, bright gold next to the other stars, yet they didn’t seem out of place with the constellations.

Gilda squinted, turning her head slightly to the side as she looked closer at the sky’s above them. The constellation was one she had never seen before. She traced the shape of the bright stars, finding the outline of first a head, then a back, and even wings. It took her a few moments to realize it was a detailed constellation of a griffon. One with a suspiciously similar built to her own, and the glow left by the shooting stars were placed perfectly to be a pair of amber eyes.

She felt an intense heat across her face as she started to brush brightly through her feathers. Slowly she lowered her head down and whispered into Twilight’s ears. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen that one before.”

“It’s a special, only for tonight,” she replied.

Gilda leaned closer, nuzzling gently at the unicorn. “How?”

“Oh, Luna owed me a favor so I asked her to make it for me,” she replied, saying it like it wasn’t a big deal.

She froze for a moment, her mind rolling in surprise. Luna, the now returned Princess of the Night, Guardian of Dreams and the Keeper of the Night Court… and Twilight just… asked?

“You called in a favor… for me?” she asked , hardly believing that the unicorn would use a political boon on her. That made her head spin, she had never thought anyone would do something like that for her, let alone the lavender pony tucked under her wing.

“Too much?” she asked, starting to sound nervous.

Gilda shook her head. “Maybe, but I don’t care. I’m just flattered you would do this,” she answered, pulling her close with her wing, then lowering her head down and touching her beak to the pony’s lip. There was a moment of hesitation between them before they kissed. It only lasted for a few moments, but it left them both panting for breath.

They sat together in silence, watching as the moon rose over head as they finished off the last of their dinner. Eventually Twilight lowered her head against the griffon’s neck, pressing up close and nuzzling into the warm feathers.

“Hey, Gilda?”

“Yes?” she replied, looking down at the pony.

“Do you think this will last?” the unicorn asked, using a fore hoof to gesture between them.

Gilda thought about it for a few moments, then smiled down to her friend. “I don’t know, but I hope it will. I hope...”

“So do I,” Twilight replied. Smiling as they looked into each other’s eyes. For the first time, neither one of them wanted look away, and they didn’t try.

Author's Note

Well, this pretty much puts me current with the original story, everything after this (though there's not much left on this story) will be all new.

Thanks for all the kind words in the comments, I'm so happy that everyone seems to be enjoying the story! I've had a blast writing it as well!

9: A New Day

Misperceptions v2
By: Winter Quill

Adapted from the original "Misperceptions" by Arbiter Balemead

9: A New Day

Twilight lifted her head from her pillow, blinking the sleep from her eyes as she slowly came awake. She had slept like she hadn’t slept in a very long time and it felt wonderful. Even a late night of stargazing wasn’t enough to make her tired that morning. The room was bathed in sunlight, but not the warm glow of the morning. Instead it was the brighter light of mid afternoon. She slipped out of her bed and moved to the window, confirming how high the sun was in the sky. She had slept in, much longer then she normally would have. She suspected that Gilda had done much the same as the day before had been full for the both of them.

Using her magic, the lavender unicorn picked up her brush and started running it through her unruly mane, humming a wordless tune as she walked out of her bedroom. She wasn’t sure where the song had come from but it was a happy little thing that seemed to fit the wonderful morning. It was going to be a great day, she knew that from her hooves to her horn.

She started down the stairs, taking them carefully as she got her mane into some sort of order. As she reached the ground floor she started to call for Gilda but stopped when she spotted the griffon curled up on the window seat to bask in the sun.

Twilight carefully moved up behind the woman, planning to surprise her but instead she was the one surprised. Gilda had a small stack of books next to her and another book held in her claw. Even more surprising was what was next to her, she had a roll of parchment along with an ink well and was dipping a talon in the ink to take notes on what she was reading. The scroll was already half full.

“What are you reading?” she asked.

The griffon didn’t even start, she just fanned her wings slightly and looked up to smile at Twilight. “It’s a history of the Five Griffon-Equine wars. Though you have more interesting names for them.”

“And what are you taking notes on?”

A hint of a blush crossed under her white feathers. “Well, ponies have a different interpretation of the wars then we do, I wanted to see what they were,” she said, looking down at the book in her talon and then to the other stack.

Twilight flicked her ears back and leaned in a bit closer to Gilda. “You’re a history buff?”

“My minor was in history, I was always interested in the wars and skirmishes. I even wrote a couple papers on the tactics of the Fourth War,” she admitted, blushing a bit more, the glow turning her feathers pink.

That made the unicorn laugh softly as she nuzzled against the feathered cheek. “So, does that make you an egghead?”

“Would you like that?”

She nodded.

Gilda nuzzled the pony in return then kissed her softly on the cheek. “Then I guess I’m an egghead, though you still outrank me,” she teased.

“Well I’m the eggiest egghead in all of Equestria,” she boasted, placing a hoof against her chest and smiling at the wonderful griffon next to her. A moment later she kissed her again and smiled.

Carefully Gilda wiped her talon clean on the bottom of the parchment and closed the book. “I think it makes you very attractive,” she said before slipping off the seat and moving up to press her flank against Twilight, lifting one wing to rest over her back. They held themselves for a few more moments before breaking apart.

“I should get cleaned up,” Gilda said, brushing her dirty talon against her feathers.

“Okay, I’ll make breakfast,” the pony replied, smiling as they separated. She walked into the kitchen, each step accompanied by a fluttering in her chest. It was something she had never felt before, at least not like this. It was the same sort of feeling she got when she thought about her family but much stronger. It felt like it was lifting her off her hooves, allowing her walk along in the air… It was amazing.

“I think I’m in love,” she whispered to herself as she entered into the kitchen. It was the truth, and exactly how she had never expected it to happen. Her fantasies about finding love had involved a careful selection process of potential suitors, evaluating each one on a number of criteria: their skeletal structure, balance, strength of their family line, coat color, power of magic and even attractiveness. The list covered four pages, front and back… and every single question was meant for a stallion, not a griffoness.

This was a new experience for her, never before had anything so unplanned felt so right, at least not since she had met her friends. It was a strange and amazing feeling and she couldn’t quite find the words to describe it, they just kept slipping out of her grasp. On a normal day it would frustrate her but this wasn’t a normal day.

The kitchen was still a bit of a mess from when they had returned from their date and there was no sign of Spike. Among the clutter on the table, sitting under a dirty bowl, was a small wrapped package. She let out a cry of glee as she rushed over to it, forgetting the rest of the mess. She carefully opened the package pleased to find that it was filled with lose leaf tea. It had a strong smell to it but not quite like the tea she was used to.

Carefully she filled a kettle with water, turning on the heat while she prepared the tea pot and a pair of mugs. When the water started to whistle she poured it into the tea pot along with a measured part of the tea. After that she started to make a cold breakfast for the both of them. Everything was ready when Gilda walked in, a hint of water hang on the feathers of her face and a touch of her familiar purple makeup around her eyes.

“More tea?” she asked as Twilight used her magic to fill both mugs.

“It’s special,” the pony said, offering a mug to Gilda. The griffon sat down at the table and took the teacup, giving the dark liquid a wary look. Slowly she lifted it to her beak and took a short sip, her eyes going wide with surprise as her leonine tail thumped against the floor. She took in a longer drink of the tea, a hint of a smile on her beak.

“You like it?” Twilight asked.

“It’s good,” she said, setting the mug down and smiling. “It’s sweet as well.”

That made the unicorn smile as she started eating. “It’s a special blend for griffons, I had it sent it from Canterlot.”

“For me?”

“For you,” she replied.

That made the griffon blush again, a smile on her face as she started to eat the cold breakfast. Every few moments her amber eyes would look up at Twilight, and her beak seemed to be pulled into a perpetual smile.

Twilight couldn’t help but smile back, she was filled with such a mix of emotions, but they were all so good! She didn’t want the feelings to go away, she wanted to hold onto them as long as she could. It was strange, their two countries and species had been at war with each other for centuries. It had only come to an end two centuries before with the Summer War. Though the animosity between them had only lessoned it but had never really gone away. Yet when she looked into Gilda’s eyes she saw none of that, all she saw were two pools of amber light, pulling her in. They were the deepest eyes she had ever seen.

She decided to amend her previous comment, she knew she was in love, and it was amazing!

“What should I call you?” she asked, half to herself.

Gilda fluttered her wings slightly. “Excuse me?”

“Well, I can’t call you my Marefriend, or my Special Somepony. I want to call you something more than just Gilda.”

The griffon rocked back on her four feet, her wings fluttering out a bit wider. “There’s always ‘girlfriend’,” she suggested.

That made Twilight smile. “I know, but that just sound so pedestrian. You deserve something more special than that.”

Gilda moved around the table, leaning in to rub her cheek along the pony’s neck. “You’re my Special Somepony.”

The blush that ran over the unicorn’s face was so bright that it nearly glowed under her pelt. Her heart was fluttering in a delightful way, lifting her off her hooves almost like she had her own wings. She smiled and nuzzled Gilda in return, her ears flicking back slightly as she pressed her flank against the griffon’s side. They stood like that for a number of minutes, only breaking up when Spike came into the kitchen, though he turned around a moment later grumbling under his breath.

“I think you might want to bell the dragon,” Gilda said with a laugh. Twilight laughed in return, shaking her mane at the joke. Spike would just have to learn to accept that they were together.

A moment later Rarity walked into the kitchen. “I’m not sure that Spike is feeling well, he was looking—“ she stopped when she saw the pair of a woman, a small gasp of surprise and glee escaping her lips.

Twilight smiled and pulled away from her... well girlfriend would do until she found a better word. “Hello, Rarity.”

The white unicorn nodded and smiled between the two women. “Twilight, I was hoping I could talk to you about something.”

Gilda slipped away and gave Twilight a shy smile. “I need to get ready for Pinkie’s party,” she said then slipped quickly out of the kitchen, giving Rarity a look in passing. The unicorn returned it with a smile and a flick of her mane.

As soon as the griffon was out of the room Rarity rushed over to Twilight’s side, letting out a soft squeal of excitement. “Are you and Gilda seeing each other?”

All Twilight could do was nod.

Rarity let out another cry and hugged her friend. “You look so cute together! I’m so happy you finally found someone. I was worried that you weren’t even looking at stallions, I didn’t even suspect that you would be interested in mares, or hens... female griffons are hens right?”

“I didn’t suspect either, not until it happened. And they are hens when they are young, it would be like calling you a filly,” she explained, blushing a bit at her friends excitement.

Rarity moved to quickly hug her friend. “Well, whatever the word, I’m so happy that you found someone! I’m going to have to get her measurements, do griffons wear dresses? I would love to the challenge of making her one, the body type is so different.”

“Only for special occasions, I think,” she replied, a bit taken aback by her friends excitement.

“Well then, I’ll have to make a very special dress for her,” she replied, her ears flicking back as she got that faraway look in her eyes that meant she was thinking about a new design.

Gilda in a dress, that would be interesting to see. She could almost see it in her minds eyes, a long gown flowing down her back and over her tail. The rolling material hugging around her wings while it crossed around to her breasts. It would probably be purple and amber, to bring out the color of her eyes. She would look so wonderful elegant in such a dress.

“I see you like that idea,” the white unicorn said with a laugh.

Twilight shook her head and brought herself back to reality. “I think I do but that’s for later, for now we have a party to go to!”

* * *

Gilda wasn’t sure what to expect as she walked with the pair of unicorns to Sugar Cube Corner. She knew that there was a party waiting for her, but was sort of party would it be when everyone was there because of how she had acted at the last party? Would they even want to be there in the first place, and what would they expect from her? She knew what she had to do, but what would she say? This wasn’t going to be like apologizing to Twilight’s friends, this was far more complicated. Hopefully there wouldn’t be any pranks this time, or if there were they wouldn’t all happen to her!

Applejack was waiting in front of the split wooden door of the shop, leaning against the closed lower half. The sounds of conversation and music along with the occasional laugh echoed from the open half of the door.

“Hey there,” the earth pony said, smiling a bit as she walked over to the trio of women, her eyes flicking to Gilda for a few moments.

The griffon found herself wilting under the attention, moving slightly to press her flank to Twilight’s.

“Oh Applejack, we have the most wonderful news! Gilda and Twilight are a couple!” Rarity said, blurting out the words. The purple unicorn and the griffon both blushed a bit and leaned a bit closer together.

“Really?” the earth pony asked, her eyes going wide for a moment before turning to the couple. She flicked her ears and then reached up to adjust her hat. “Well, ain’t that beat all! Congratulations!”

“Thank you,” Twilight said with a blush, turning to nuzzle at Gilda.

Applejack turned and opened the door motioning for the three of them to step inside.

Gilda froze for a moment, looking at the wide open door. Everyone was waiting for her inside, waiting and enjoying themselves and she had to go in and apologize to everyone. She took in a deep breath and slowly let it free. “I should be better than others expect of me,” she whispered, her Grann’s words not filling her with confidence. Composing herself she stepped inside, the ponies following after her.

The main room of the shop was filled with ponies of all kinds, though the majority of them were earth ponies. The rest of Twilight’s friends were there as well as a number of other ponies from around town. Even though she said nothing everyone turned to look at her as she came in, the conversation in the room falling silent. A moment later Pinkie rushed across the room, dogging ponies left and right to get to the record player, just so she could scratch the needle across the record.

“Um... hello,” Gilda said, her confidence flying away from the party as fast as she wanted to be going.

“G! I’m glad you could make it,” Rainbow Dash said, coming through the crowd with a smile on her face. Fluttershy was following a short distance behind.

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” she replied, though the words felt fake as she spoke them. There were so many eyes on her, all of them watching to see what she would do or say. It was so intense that she could almost feeling the attention drilling into her, making the feathers on her neck ruffle out.

Slowly she took in a long breath and took a step forward, taking a moment to look back at Twilight. She was standing a few steps behind, a smile on her face, all five of her friends lined up with her. All of them watching like they were judging what she was about to say though she knew that wasn’t true.

“I would like to say something,” Gilda said, her voice catching at the last word, failing her a moment later. She took in another breath and reached up with one hand, blushing her feathers back down. “The last time I was here, at a party much like this, I acted… badly. I treated many of you in a very foul way, and there is no excuse for it. It was wrong, and I was wrong. So I would like to apologize to all of you. I’m sorry for how I acted, I’m sorry for yelling at you, and for what I said about all of you and your town. I should never have done any of it.”

Silence fell over the room for a few moments, all the ponies looking at each other but not saying anything. After a few moments an orange earth pony with a bright pink mane stepped forward, her purple eyes reflecting the smile that was on her face. “I forgive you.”

“So do I,” someone else said, and then another and another. Soon the words came like a roar across the room, all the ponies accepting her apology. Not a single pony in the room refused or rebuffed her, and every single one of them seemed sincere.

It brought a smile to the griffon’s beak as she swished her tail quickly behind her and fluttered her wings. “Thank you all, this is more then I deserve,” she said. Her head was spinning around even as she stood stock still. She had never expected them to be so forgiving, to be so welcoming. She knew she had to live up to it, to earn their forgiveness. It was on her to make it more than words.

Taking in a deep breath, she walked out into the crowd of ponies as the party started again, the music coming back on a few moments later. While the ponies were still casting her looks, they were more looks of curiosity then anger. They just wanted to know who she was.

The orange earth pony from before came up to her, her ears flicking forward through her pink mane. This time Gilda could see her cutie mark, which looked like fireworks going off. “Hello, I’m Sparkleworks,” she said.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she said, offering out one of her forepaws. The pony gave it a look, then gently tapped the soft part of her hoof against the bottom of the paw. Oddly there was a small pink heart in the fur of her left leg, just above her hoof. “Thank you for accepting my apology.”

“You were sincere, how could we do anything else?” another earth pony said, this one with a tan coat and a black mane. A pair of glasses where perched on the top of her muzzle, connected to a gold chain that hung around her neck. “I’m Thea Winters,” she offered, it was a strange name for a pony.

“Gilda Grypon,” the griffon replied, offering her family name without thinking about it, a moment later wishing she hadn’t. Maybe they wouldn’t know it?

Thea smiled and nodded to the orange pony. “I hope you have a good time in Ponyville, it’s a nice town,” she said, then together the pair of earth ponies started towards the sweets table. In passing she noticed that the tan pony had a cutie mark of a pen writing on parchment along with a small heart.

A moment later Twilight was at her side, moving up so their flanks touched. Her friends were a few steps behind. “How are you feeling?” the purple unicorn asked.

Gilda smiled at her marefriend. “I feel good, better than I have in a while,” she turned her attention to Pinkie, the earth pony had a wide smile on her face, her ears perked up and her tail swishing. “And thank you for the party.”

“It’s no problem! I’m glad you’re having fun! And totally congratulations on you and Twilight! I could hardly believe that you two would be together, what with you being a jock and her being an egghead, but here you are!”

“Thanks,” she said, the pair of them blushing a bit. Without a thought she lifted one wing and dropped it over Twilight’s back, holding her close.

Rainbow smiled at her friends and looked across Rarity to where Fluttershy stood. The fashionista was carefully placed between them, apparently not by accident. “So, how are you going to tell your Grann, you always said she wanted you to get with some hawk of a griffon.”

A flash of sadness crossed over Gilda’s face as she quickly turned away from her old friend, and Twilight pressed up closer to her, holding her close.

“Gilda?” the cyan pegasus asked, quickly realizing she had touch on something sensitive.

She let out a sigh and turned back to her friend. “Grann passed away a few months ago.”

“Oh Celestia, I’m sorry,” Rainbow said, looking shocked and saddened for a moment, then moving up to rub her head under the griffon’s chin. “How did it happen, how are you doing?”

“Her heart gave out, and I’m doing okay, but I had to get away from there,” she explained, pressing up to the pony, finding it rather comforting to be between someone she loved and her oldest friend.

“I understand,” she said, then suddenly pulled back in surprise. “Wait… did she actually—“

“She did,” she said, almost whispering it.

Rainbow’s eyes went wide as she looked at her friend. She started to say something but cut herself short, shaking her head to send her rainbow mane dancing across her neck.

They seven of them sat in silence for a few moments before Pinkie spoke up. “Then let’s have a toast to your Grann, and make this party for her as well?” she said, making it both a statement and a question.

Gilda smiled. “I would like that.”

The pink earth pony nodded and started towards the refreshment table. “I know just the thing we can use. Oh, and I’ll make sure you won’t get the dribble glass this time, but only this time!” she said with a smile and bounced off into the crowd.

She couldn’t help herself, her smile growing wider as she looked around at her new friends and to Twilight. The party was back into full swing and all the ponies seemed to be enjoying themselves. “Should we see what pranks she has in store for us?”

The purple unicorn nodded, and then they started walking through the party, flank to flank. For the moment everything was perfect for the griffon, she had taken the right steps to save her friendship with Rainbow Dash, and she felt they were going to be able to rebuilt it stronger than ever. She had apologized to all the ponies she had wronged and had found someone special in Twilight Sparkle. Someone she could care about, someone that maybe she could even love.

And all she had to do was to stop being an angry, arrogant jerk of a rotten egg. To stop just thinking about herself and throwing away anyone that didn’t live up to her impossible standards. To try and be the griffon her Grann always believed she could be. Oddly, she still felt like herself, like she was still the same person and that wasn’t something she had expected. She had always thought being better would mean being different… and she was different, but only in some ways. She was still herself, but hopefully a better version of herself. Even with her family history and her new responsibilities, she was still better then she had been before. It was a pity that it took the passing of her grandmother to help convince her to finally change.

Now wasn’t the time to dwell on her loss, that would have been the last thing her Grann would have wanted. If she had been there with her, she would tell Gilda she should go out and spend time with her newfound friends, and her new marefriend. To not worry about the bad things that were now in the past and to look towards a brighter future.

Leaning in one last time Gilda kissed Twilight deeply on the lips and allowed herself to join the party.

Author's Note

So, here we are, the end of Misperceptions. This was not where I had planed to end the story but it's a very natural place to conclude it. I do have plans to follow this up soon with "Summers Past" (though that is a tentative title). It will pick up a few interesting plot threads that I've laid down in this story and flesh out more of Gilda's past and the history of the Emperor.

And yes, I wrote my OC in as a background pony and that is where she will stay. I have no plans of making myself a main character. As for Spakleworks she's an Gen3 pony, which is why she has the heart by her hoof. She's also my favorite pony, so I thought she should be in the story as well.

I hope you've all enjoyed the story! I'll be doing a full edit of it soon and the follow up will be posting in a few weeks. I want to talk you all for reading the story and your wonderful comments as well. It's been amazing! You are the best!

2: Getting Started

Misperceptions v2
By: Winter Quill

Adapted from the original "Misperceptions" by Arbiter Balemead

2: Getting Started

Low lying clouds were drifting into Ponyville in preparation for an evening storm. It provided enough cover that Gilda could slip past the weather ponies without being seen then spin around to come in for a landing in front of the huge tree turned library. She found herself stopping at the door, one forepaw lifted to knock. It took a minute for her to realize what was wrong, she was scared.

She clenched her beak, knowing she had to do this. If she had any hope of getting Rainbow Dash back as a friend she had no other choice. Finally she knocked. The sound was weak through the wood door but it was loud enough as a moment later the door swung open, revealing the face of an annoyed dragon.

"You're late. I've been standing here waiting for you for almost five minutes," he said, crossing his chubby arms over his chest.

Gilda made a show of rolling her eyes. "Five whole minutes? Oh, poor you! I had to fly for half an hour to make sure no pony saw me coming here, but I'm sure standing around doing nothing is just SO exhausting."

The young dragon huffed and gave her his most intimidating look before shaking his head. "Twilight is upstairs."

"Thanks," she replied with a flick of head, then walked past him and into the library. She didn't even bother giving him a second glance as she fanned out her wings and leapt up the length of the stairs, coming down gently on the landing at the top. She found Twilight in her room, reading through a carefully organized pile of scrolls and not even looking up as the griffon came in. It amused her that while the dragon was worried about her being late, the unicorn hadn't even noticed.

She took another step forward, watching the purple pony as she read the scroll, another one was held in the air next to her glowing magenta with her magic. She waiting a few more moments before she finally spoke up "Hey?"

Twilight's head whipped up in surprise, the floating scroll falling to the desk. She had a slightly perplexed look on her face for a moment before her eyes focused on the griffon. "Oh, sorry. I was just looking over some of my old friendship reports to the Princess."

Gilda bit back her first, sarcastic, response and instead took a step closer. "You actually have notes?"

"Of course," she said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "How else would I keep tabs on everything I've learned about friendship?"

She looked once again at the carefully sorted collection of scrolls, she couldn't believe that all of the scrolls were just her notes... on friendship. "You put a lot of work into something a silly as friendship."

"Don't get funny with me about my job," Twilight said, picking up the fallen scroll.

The griffon held up her talons. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to insult your hobbi--"

"Job," the pony insisted.

"Right. Your job. Sorry," she said, oddly finding herself meaning it.

Twilight nodded and placed the scroll with the others. "The first thing we should do is figure out if you and Rainbow Dash can still be friends," she said as she brought out a clean scroll and her quill.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you and Dash are a lot alike, aside from one major detail."

Gilda lifted her wings slightly as she sat down next to the pony, she wasn't sure what she was going on about or what it had to do with winning Dash back. "And what's that?" she asked.

The pony took in a long breath before slowly letting it back out. "You're attitude is appalling compared to hers. She's really quite nice to other ponies, she draws a line with rudeness and even though she isn't good at it she does know how to use subtlety. While she might be caustic at times she is never uses it to be cruel, just dismissive. I had other points I could make but I think I've already insulted you enough."

In many ways that sounded like the Rainbow Dash she went to school with, but it many ways it wasn't. The pegasus had never been one to be subtle, and never held back on a barb if it was a good for a laugh. Back then she hadn't cared about what other people thought, as long as she looked cool doing it. Gilda had been the exact same way, but in the years since Dash had changed where she had not.

"Are you using this as an excuse to trash on someone you hate?"

Twilight shook her head. "I don't hate you Gilda, I'm not sure I like you much either. After all, you haven't given me much reason to."

Gilda's eyes dropped to the floor, her beak pulling into a frown. "I guess not," she said softly.

"And as to whether or not I'm using this situation to trash on you? No, I'm not. I'm just pointing out the differences between you and Rainbow, the same differences that seem to have been behind your falling out. She was obviously offended by the way you treated her friends and she was not happy to see that you weren't willing to accept that her friends weren't that 'cool'."

"I know, I was there," she muttered.

Twilight shook her head. "I'm not sure that you do, take me for example."

She lifted her head up, looking at the pony, the long bang like feathers falling down over her eyes.

The pony continued. "I'm an obviously an 'egghead' right? I live in a library, I've read every book in it multiple times each. I study friendship and send my findings to Princess Celestia on a near weekly basis," she twitched a bit as she said that, but didn't linger. "I might as well have a sign on my flank that says I'm a massive egghead."

Gilda cocked her head to the side, she did have a point.

"Now, can you see ME as a possible friend for you?"

"Um... sure?" she said, not really meaning it.

"Let's be honest. If you didn't think I could help you, you would never talk with me," the pony said, obviously unamused.

"That's not... true," Gilda said, then shook her head. "I could see you as... someone... I know...of..." her voice slowly trailing off.

Twilight nodded, happy to have made her point. "That's going to be a huge stopper in your friendship with Rainbow. She is the Element of Loyalty after all. If you can't get along with her friends then she probably can't get along with you, and she isn't going to drop her other friends for you, just like she wouldn't drop you for us."

She felt herself wilting, her wings dropping down across her back as her tail dropped onto the floor with a thump. "Yeah, probably not," she said, admitted the unpleasant truth.

The librarian was about to say something else, but was interrupted by the rumbling of her stomach. She looked down, her ears dropping slightly. "Would you like something to eat? I forgot dinner last night, and breakfast this morning."

"Okay..."

She smiled and nodded, calling out for Spike. Twenty minutes later they had moved down to Twilight's kitchen, quietly eating some hay fries. Twilight was enjoying herself, but Gilda was sitting quietly, bored with the odd food that ponies would eat. She would have preferred a good steak but she didn't think it would be worth pushing. She still tried to enjoy the fries, which in reality weren't that bad. They had enough seasoning on them to hide the bland flavor of the hay. It reminded her of the food when she attended school in Cloudsdale, edible but unimaginative. She still preferred the taste of meat, especially fresh off the grill and still juicy.

The griffon coughed at the thought put it out of her mind, instead chewing on another fry.

Twilight looked up at Gilda, then down at the half eating plate of food. "Oh... Griffons normally eat meat, don't they?"

"Yeah, but I'm fine with this. Really," she said, taking another fry.

The purple equine cocked her head to the side. "Are you sure?" she asked, as slight look of confusion crossing over her face.

Gilda nodded, munching on one a fry while flicking her tail from side to side behind her.

"Well, if you say so."

They fell back into silence as they continued eating, soon it was getting oppressing as she found herself eyeing Twilight, trying to understand the strange pony. She really didn't get why she was so happy to live in the library, to be surrounded by books every single day. The pony seemed to be obsessed with learning and knowledge. In and of itself it wasn’t a bad thing—even she could admire that—though Twilight seemed to take it too far. It seemed like her whole life was all about learning, moving in endless study… yet she still had her friends and could make time for them.

How could someone like Twilight, a self-professed egghead, have so many friends who were so different from her? How could she and Rainbow Dash be such good friends? What did Twilight see in her, and what did she see in Twilight?

"Gilda?" Twilight asked.

The griffon lifted her head up and dropped the fry she had been mindlessly chewing on. "Huh?"

"Are you okay?"

She nodded and fluffed out her wings. "I'm just thinking about what we are going to do about this 'difference between me and Rainbow' thing. I'm not sure what to do."

Twilight thought for a few moments. "Well, we could try to see if you really can get along with her friends. If that takes too much effort then we know it's a lost cause."

"Lost cause? Because I can't be friends with her friends?"

"You don't have to be their friends, no one is expecting you to be friends with your friend's friends, but there needs to be a common understanding. If they can't accept you and you can't accept them..."

Gilda frowned a bit and shook out her feathers. "What could we do?"

"Well, we are NOT going to change everything about you for the sake of a dead friendship," the pony deadpanned.

"Oh... I guess that makes sense," Gilda replied, her hope for rekindling her closest friendship beginning to fade. It was hard to believe that any of Rainbow's friends would accept her, not after what she did and how she acted. Especially Pinkie Pie.

Twilight moved around the table and sat down next to the griffon. "Looks like you're off to a good start as it is."

She cocked her head slightly to look at the pony with her golden eyes.

A smile crossed over the purple pony's lips. "We seem to be getting along. I don't have any complaints."

Gilda cocked her head a bit more and found herself smiling a bit. She didn't have any complaints either. Twilight was willing to listen to her and to help her win Rainbow back. It was more then she had ever expected from any pony in Ponyville.

"So... what's the plan, then?" she asked, pulling away from the pony.

Twilight stood up on all fours. "First off, I'm going to help you make amends with our other friends for the sake of helping you with Rainbow and maybe even make friends with them. You'll have to make up with them before there is any chance that Rainbow will forgive you."

"You really think?"

"I'm pretty darn sure," the librarian said with a quick nod.

Gilda stood up on her own four paws, her wings fluttering slightly against her back. Twilight seemed so sure of herself, oddly it made her feel better about it as well. "Okay... where should we start?"

"Oh that's easy. Pinkie Pie."

"Oh curd."

* * *

Sugar Cube Corner hadn’t changed in the last year, it was still the same garish building decorated to look like a sugary treat. The roof had the appearance of gingerbread with frosting and the spire on the roof was decorated to look like a cupcake of all things. Just looking at it made her stomach roil from the sweetness.

Twilight Sparkle walked up to the door and knocked on it with the edge one hoof, sending a thump through the wood. A moment later the door sprung open faster than should have been possible, revealing the familiar form of a pink pony with cotton candy hair.

“Hi Twilight, hi Gilda! Oh, are you in town to apologize to Rainbow?” the earth pony asked as she bounced on her hooves.

“Er... yeah...” she replied.

Pinkie cocked her head to the side. “So why are you talking to me... OH! You want to make up for being mad at me, right? Well don’t worry! I forgave you a LONG time ago. Although it wasn’t to your face, so I'm not sure it really counts, so I guess I should say it again.” The pink pony took a few steps forward until she was nose to nose with Gilda.

She closed her eyes, lifted up one hove and said in a formal tone. “I forgive you.” The she broke back into her ridiculous grin. “Feel better?”

The griffon could only look at the earth pony with disbelief. “Yeah... a bit... but why?”

“Because you apologized! Or you were going to apologize, which is almost the same thing.”

Gilda shook her head. “No, I mean... why would you forgive me?” she asked, not quite understanding how things had gotten to this point. While she had hoped to make good with Rainbow, she had never thought Pinkie would be willing to forgive her for how she acted. “After I popped your balloons and yelled at you?”

“And yelled at Fluttershy, tricked Granny Smith, ruined your party and stole that apple,” the pink pony helpfully added.

She pulled her wings closer to her back, her feathers fluffing out along her neck. “Yeah, I had forgotten about that apple.”

“It’s okay, I paid for it after you left,” Pinkie said with another wide smile. “I forgave you because you’re Rainbow Dash’s friend! You must have been a good person otherwise she wouldn’t have liked you. So you might have been kind of a meany and yelled at everyone and called your friend not cool but you couldn’t have always been that way otherwise you would have never been friends. So knowing that you used to be really nice I forgave you.”

“I was always kind of a meany, even at school,” the griffon replied as she smoothed down her feathers. “But I am sorry for how I acted towards you. I shouldn’t have treated you like that. I was jealous that you were Rainbow’s friend and I didn’t want to share her,” she admitted.

Pinkie Pie nodded her head, her curly hair bouncing behind her head. “I understand, and I still forgive you.”

“Thank you,” she replied.

“You’re welcome,” the earth pony replied, and with that she turned around and trotted back into the shop, the door closing half way behind her. A moment later she popped back out and handed both Gilda and Twilight and cupcake before vanishing back inside, leaving Gilda staring at the confectionary in complete confusion.

¬“When I said she would be easy, I thought I would at least have to coach you through it,” Twilight murmured as she ate her cupcake.

“I did too...” she replied, still holding the cupcake in her talon. When Twilight wasn’t looking she opened her beak wide and shoved it in, eating it quickly while enjoying the sweet flavor of the frosting and dense texture of the cake itself. She licked the last few crumbs from her beak just as the unicorn was turning back around.

She didn't seem to notice the quick meal. "I don't think the rest of my friends will be that easy."

"So who's next."

"Rarity," she declared, turning to look across town.

Gilda cocked her head to the side, trying to focus on what Twilight was looking at. She had a vague memory of the pony when Rainbow introduced her at the party. All she could dredge up as a flash of white and purple. She tried to remember more as they walked across Ponyville and by the time they arrived at the round building she had only managed to remember that Rarity was a unicorn.

Twilight walked up the to the elegant looking front door, and knocked on it. A second later it opened to reveal a unicorn. She looked very elegant, with a pure white body and a long purple mane that was curled slightly over one eye. Her pelt had a shine to it but not so much that it looked like she was putting on airs.

"Why hello, darling!" she said, taking a step towards Twilight. "How can I help-- Gilda." she said, her eyes turning to the griffon, her voice growing cold as she spoke. Even so she still stepped aside to allow them entrance.

"Good afternoon, Rarity," Twilight said as they walked into the shop. It seemed like an upscale clothing store with gowns laid out on a number of pony shaped mannequins around the room. Everything seemed to be highlighted by a number of gems but in a very tasteful way.

"Afternoon, Twilight," the white unicorn replied, sounding cheerful again even as cast an apprehensive look at Gilda. "So, what brings you two here today?"

Twilight stopped in the middle of the shop floor, then turned to glance at the griffon. Her ears flicked back slightly against her mane as she motioned with her head.

With a hesitant step Gilda moved past Twilight, her wings dripping down to hang against her back. "I... I wanted to apologize," Gilda said, almost whispering the words.

"Whatever for? I don't recall you ever wronging me," she asked.

Taking in a deep breath, she tried to continue. "At the party... I acted really badly. I was being a complete jerk to everyone. I yelled at your friends and I insulted everyone at the party, even Pinkie Pie and she went out of her way to throw me a party. I was mean and for no good reason. I shouldn't have done what I did and I'm sorry," her voice grew louder as she spoke, gaining confidence in her words.

"Well... I suppose I forgive you. Though you will have a chore apologizing to everyone at the party. The ones you really wronged was Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. You should apologize to them," Rarity replied, her voice losing its cool edge.

The griffon nodded her wings pulling to her side. "I'm going to."

"Right. Well, would either of you like some tea? I have a pot on already," Rarity asked with a smile, turning towards the back of the shop.

"Why thank--" Twilight began.

Gilda blanched, remember the tea from the day before. "No!" she called out, blushing a bit as both ponies turned to stare at her. "I just... I wanted to go talk with Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, sooner rather than later," she added, trying to recover, though the words fell rather lame.

"Oh, pish posh. Didn't you tell her that they are in Cloudsdale?" Rarity asked Twilight.

"They're in Cloudsdale?"

"They were going to see a Wonderbolts show, just the two of them," the white unicorn answered with a meaningful look.

A frown crossed over Twilight's face. "Oh, no I didn't know."

"They're not it town? That what can I do?"

Twilight was about to answer, but Rarity beat her to it. "Well for now, you could have some tea with Twilight and I."

Gilda suppressed a groan, maybe this tea would be better. "Sure, why not?"

Author's Note

While Gilda is trying to change, she's still willing to give as good as she gets, that and it's kind of fun to write her and Spike bouncing off each other. Also, Pinkie Pie is just fun to write all around, there's just something about her bubbly personality that flows easily.