In Equestria, any creature with wings would tell that flying at night is a bad idea. Limited visibility and waning judgments made night flying a very bad idea. …Though, despite what most every pegasus told him, White Mercury still needed to get home early tonight. He flew high above the clouds, hoping that the full moon’s light and his miniscule size would work to his benefit. After such a long week of work, the currier just wanted to go home and sleep for an entire day. ...And, with his record, he probably could. The pegasus dipped under a large cloud, adjusting the rainbow colored scarf he had tied around his neck. Cities like this got cold at night. He looked around, expecting the shimmer of his silver feathers to illuminate the clouds around. …But, he immediately knew something was wrong when they didn’t.
A large shadow loomed over him.
That cloud wasn’t that large. He should have been one of very few flying at this time of night, so, what was it casting a shadow over him? He looked just in time for something to slam into him! He went down hard, happily hitting a cloud before hitting the ground. “No, wait!” he pleaded, trying to protect his face. Looking up, he found an interestingly rare sight.
A large, angry griffon loomed over him. Her feathers faded to purple atop her head and the pale purple markings around her eyes only served to accentuate their bright yellow hue. She had a fist raised and the other set of talons wrapped around his foreleg, holding him down. “No time for your old friends, huh?” she asked with a very distinctive slur, “I’ll show you, stupid flip flop!!”
Mercury was glad that only his black mane was caught by the griffon’s strike. He didn’t have to move much to avoid her fists. Reacting quickly, he grabbed her arm, making sure she couldn’t attack him again. He opened his mouth to speak to the griffon, but hesitated. “…This isn’t about me, is it?”
The griffon’s expression changed from rage to flustered annoyance. Slowly, she deflated, seeming to lose her train of thought instead of continuing her tirade.
He let her arm go, hoping she’d come to her senses and go away instead of keeping her spot over him. “Uh, you know, if you’re having problems, then I could help,” he suggested.
The griffon turned her yellow eyes back to him and almost immediately adopted her glare again. “What do you know?!” she snarled, making him flinch. She snatched his scarf, pulling it from around his neck. “And why are you wearing a stupid rainbow colored scarf?!”
He shrank away from her, sinking into the plush cloud. He’d never had anyone—griffon or pony—so angry with him. “I-if you’re really that angry, then maybe I can help.” He squirmed a little, trying to give her a good view of his flanks. “My, uh, special talent is actually mending broken hearts! If you give me a chance, I’m sure it’ll do some good.”
The griffon stared at him. She was utterly confused now. She slowly backed away, letting the small pegasus up. “N-no,” she muttered, shaking her head, “I’m not… I don’t have a broken heart!” She tried to regain her hardened tone, but his inviting smile only served to deflate her distain more and more.
The pegasus closed the gap she tried to make. “Come on!” he chimed, “I’ve helped other ponies before. I’m sure you can’t surprise me that much!”
The griffon’s eyes shifted, darting around as if looking for any pony nearby to tell of her confiding in this young pony. After a moment, tears welled in her eyes and she practically crushed the white pegasus with a tight hug. “Why doesn’t she want to be my friend anymore?!” she wailed, “I-I didn’t do anything wrong! And she goes and ditches me f-for some stupid pink pony and a big dumb wuss!!”
Pressed against her coarse feathers, he could easily confirm it: she’d been drinking very hard. “Okay, but first, we have to get you to bed so you can sleep off your hangover…”
“B-but…” she stammered, but hesitated when the pegasus used his silver pinions to wipe the tears from her cheeks.
“Don’t worry,” he requested, “Everything will be just fine.” He gently pried himself away from the griffon’s breast. “I’ve got a spare room you can use. I’ll take care of everything.”
The griffon tried to debate the thought, but she couldn’t find anything wrong. She let out a heavy sigh. “Alright, let’s go then.” She started toward the edge of the cloud, but stumbled, nearly falling off the edge! Luckily, the little pegasus was there to keep her from falling.
“Uh, maybe we should go to the ground first…” He helped the griffon to the ground, compensating for her alcohol induced coordination—or lack thereof. He leaned against her, helping her to stay on her feet. Something told him he’d bitten off more than he could chew.
Gilda couldn’t remember a night that she’d slept more soundly. She woke with a well deserved hangover and a blurred memory of most of the night before, but she had to admit, she’d actually slept quite well. Opening her large yellow eyes, she found a soft pillow under her head and a warm blanket wrapped around her. This didn’t even seem like any hotel room she’d been in. Where was she? Why were her eyes so crusty? And what was moving under her? She squirmed around and spotted an odd sight.
A pegasus was curled up in the bed with her! His black mane was short and shaggy, but his white coat was perfectly pristine. He seemed smaller than most Pegasi, but his demure size probably added to his speed.
Gilda couldn’t recognize him. She barely remembered the rainbow colored scarf still wrapped around his neck, but the silver pinions of his wings brought back some vague images. …But, then she started thinking harder about the situation. She was in a house she didn’t know, practically cuddling with a little pegasus and she felt worse about herself than the week she’d reserved to visit her multicolored friend in Ponyville. “Oh no,” she groaned, “Please tell me we didn’t…”
That was more than enough to awaken the white pegasus. As a matter of fact, he was so startled from the sudden snarl of anger, he fell out of bed. “Ow!” He jumped up, rubbing the new bump on his head. He looked up at the clearly peeved griffon. “Oh, hey, you’re awake,” he said needlessly.
“Answer me, small fry,” she growled, “Did we do anything last night?” She could remember going to the bar clearly, but her memory got fuzzy somewhere around drink number twelve.
“No,” he chuckled, raising a brow, “What? Do you think that all stallions are low lives? Please!” He turned his back theatrically. “Some of us have some dignity!” He paused. “But, you did cry a lot about that Rainbow Dash and you asked me to give you some company.” He gave her a smug grin. “You passed out before the first kiss…”
Not a word escaped her, but her yellow eyes blazed with a fiery death glare that would make a Manticore loose its bowels.
Regardless, the pegasus kept his cool. “Oh, calm down,” he chided, “You were really freaking out about something last night. You almost pummeled me because of my scarf!” He slipped the multicolored scarf off. Based on its colors and, if this was the same Rainbow Dash he’d read about in Cloudsdale, then she probably mistook him for her. “You were yelling about her being a flip flop or something…” He shook his head, bringing the fluff back to his mane. “If it’s the same Rainbow Dash that lives in Ponyville, then I don’t know what you were so mad about. She’s pretty cool to me—ow, ow, ow!!!”
Gilda yanked the pegasus back to reality, pulling on one of his silver feathered wings. “No she’s not!” She jabbed a talon to his nose, nearly giving him a new piercing to his face. “She is totally un-cool!!”
The young pegasus stared at her for a moment before gently lowering her hand. “I-I can understand why you’d hate her so m-much…” He proceeded to pry her talons from around his wing as well. He’d have to preen off the now ragged feathers later. “But, I’ve met her before, and she’s not that bad. She’s loyal to a fault, in fact…” He jumped up, taking flight to avoid the griffon’s fist. “I told you before: my special talent is mending broken hearts and the first step to recovery is facing the prob—well… The first step is admitting that there is a problem—but the second step is facing the problem!” He landed in front of the irate griffon. “Besides, did you ever consider that the problem might not be Rainbow?”
Was he really suggesting that? “What did you say?” she growled. She encroached on the Pegasus’s personal space. “Are you siding with her?!”
He shriveled, but it didn’t last. He let out a short sigh and gave her a hard glare. “As the saying goes, I can only help you if you want to help yourself.” He trotted out the door, letting the griffon follow as he failed to finish his enigmatic statement. He stopped at the front door, opening it wide. “I only wanted to help, but if you don’t want it, you can leave at any time.”
That was new. The pegasus had been so playful and inviting only a moment ago and he made such a drastic change. Gilda hesitated. She didn’t know what to say to that. “I-I didn’t… You just…” She tried to be mad at him again. He’d so randomly snatched her out of the air and practically poured salt into a very fresh wound and he was treating her like the bad guy? Who did he think he was?!
What if he was right?
The single thought quieted her growing anger. All this time, she’d been wondering what Rainbow Dash’s problem was. Why didn’t she want the griffon as a friend anymore? What was her problem? So, what if he was right and it was her fault instead? She deflated, absently sitting on the floor. She barely noticed the sound of the door closing.
The young pegasus nudged his new friend. “I forgive you,” he cooed. He trotted to his room, grabbing a journal bound in a purple cover and balancing it atop his head. “I’ve done this before, so I’ll be documenting all your progress in here. You can read it whenever you want.”
“I still never asked you for help, shrimp,” she grumbled, “And I don’t even know your name!”
“Funny since we’ve already slept together,” he mused, “You know, just without the fun stuff…” He put the book on the table in his living room and spun around to face her. “But, Gilda Gryphon, I guess you’re right about that. Since you’ve lost probably everything we talked about last night, I’ll introduce myself again.” He bowed regally. “I am White Mercury—royal messenger and local relationship councilor.”
That seemed strange. “You’re a royal messenger? Why are you living in Trottingham?” If he worked for royalty, then why wasn’t he living in Canterlot?
“Well, they don’t need me all the time,” he stated, “Besides, my flying habits are weird. I can either fly quick messages or go for a long time. It’s the gift of speed and stamina in one. They usually ask me to come to Canterlot when they have messages to send to the Crystal Empire or to Dragon Territory.” He looked at the clock and his heart nearly stopped. “But, uh, here, I’m a relationship councilor, and I have an appointment to get to!” He shod his hooves in silver and slipped on his saddlebags. “Sorry to run out on you, but I have to go. I’ll be back in about an hour and a half.” He paused. “…Please don’t destroy my house…” With that, he turned and took off, flying to his next appointment.
Gilda couldn’t help but wonder about him. He seemed too nice and his personality seemed to change a little too fast for her liking. Before she shut the door, she couldn’t help but notice it: he never answered her question—not directly at least. She let out a heavy sigh as she sat on the couch and cracked open the book he’d brought her. And to think, she was staying with this crackpot of a pony.
Day 1
“Alright,” Mercury chirped, “Now, today is your first official day of Heartache Counseling, and, in that, we must administer the first step to solving a problem: admitting that there is a—”
“Why are we here?” Gilda looked around them, glaring at ponies staring at her irregular form. If there was a reason he’d brought her to the market, she couldn’t see it.
“…Problem…” He let out a short sigh. “From what you told me last night, Rainbow disowned you because you were mean to her friends.” He grinned at her. “You’re actually not really that nice…”
She glared at the young pegasus, but didn’t respond immediately. “Are you gonna answer me, shorty?”
That was different. “Huh… I guess you really are paying attention…” He spun around, walking backwards to face her. “Well, I noticed that the problem doesn’t seem to be Rainbow. It looks to me that you have problems with your friends not being cool and with ponies not excepting you. We’re here because I know almost every pony in town and a lot of them owe me favors.” He spun again, nearly running into a large stallion. “Eep!” He looked immediately at the pony’s Cutie Mark. “And, this is one of mine, right now!”
The stallion was huge compared to the miniature pegasus. The large Clydesdale had a white coat with a compass rose Cutie Mark. His blonde mane fell to his shoulders and he had a wide smile on his face as he chatted with a mare at a stand.
Mercury quickly slipped around the stallion, opening his wings and taking flight to join the conversation. “Don’t encourage him,” he requested from the mare, “He’s done this to every mare in town.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” the mare giggled as the large stallion glared at his friend.
“Thanks for that, shorty,” the stallion grumbled. He stepped aside to scold the pegasus, but hesitated when he saw the grumpy looking griffon with him. “Hm?” A wide grin crossed his face. “And who’s this lovely lady with—”
“Don’t go there,” the pegasus warned, “I’m still not sure if she plays for that team…” He moved in time to dodge the griffon’s fist.
“Well, even so,” the stallion offered a hoof to her, “The name’s Northbound. Nice to meet ya.” He grinned, keeping a friendly look on his face.
Gilda hesitated for a moment, taking in the large earth pony’s appearance. She was almost surprised to find that he was even larger than her. She glanced at the Pegasus before shaking the stallion’s hoof. “I’m Gilda,” she grumbled.
“Sorry, North, she’s not very friendly…” The little pegasus wanted to give a good reason as to why she was so ornery, but it was a toss up as to the real reason. “I’m trying to help Gil with a broken hear—ow!!”
“I do not have a broken heart,” she growled into his ear. The griffon, again, wrapped her talons around one of the most sensitive parts of Mercury’s body: his wing. She gave him a sharp yank, keeping him from saying anymore. “So, stop saying that!”
North hesitated in helping. He had the muscle and body mass, but he couldn’t do much against a griffon her size. “Uh, Mercy, you got this?”
The little pegasus nodded. “I-if you don’t have a broken heart, then why did you come to me for help?”
She opened her mouth to snarl an insult or a retort, but she hesitated, closing her mouth when she failed to fight his logic. “Fine, whatever,” she grumbled, letting go of his wing. She didn’t have to argue with him.
Again, Mercury flattened his feathers, worrying about the preening he’d have to do later that night. “So, I’m trying to help Gil, here, but I need a little help. You’re an insightful pony. You mind helping me out?”
The older pony looked the two of them over. He quickly shrugged. “Eh, why not? …But, you owe me a few drinks at the bar tomorrow night, shorty.”
“Agreed,” Mercy chirped. He may not have been old enough to drink, but he was allowed by certain bar tenders in town to buy drinks for the ponies he was around the most.
“Alright, you two, trot with me.” North led the way down the street. As the small pegasus nearly galloped after them, he turned his attention to his friend. “So, what are we dealing with here, Mercy?”
Mercury looked at Gilda for a moment, getting the usual glare from her. “A good bit of anger, possible rage problems, abandonment issues, and a good chance of gender confusion with unrequited feelings.” He paused. “And that’s just from a few hours with her.”
“Hey!” the griffon grumbled.
“Sounds about right,” the stallion muttered, “Well, it’s nothing to be ashamed of. It’s probably the reason she’s alone, after all…”
“What?!” Gilda jumped in front of them, stopping the two stallions. “You’re taking their side, too?!”
“The problem might not always be with the opposing party,” Mercury said quickly, “You have to be willing to show someone you’re nice.”
“And you keep talkin’ about it like it’s all my fault!!” She encroached on the pegasus, but was slightly startled when he didn’t back down. “Why’s it always gotta be my fault with you?”
“Because you’re not always in the right,” North said quickly, “You keep thinking that you’re not wrong.” He looked at Mercury, avoiding her glare. “Which step are we on?”
“The first one…” Mercury was getting a little worried and a little optimistic. Most ponies would have accepted the first step—admitting the problem—by now. Were griffons really just that stubborn?
“Wow, really?” He looked up at Gilda. “How long have you been staying with this kid again?”
“Three days,” the griffon answered, still glaring at them both.
“I’ve been helping her for two,” Mercy said quickly. He spread his wings, hovering to sit on eye level with the large stallion. It was really unfair. He was shorter than most ponies and North was taller than other stallions. “I swear I’m doing all I can to help this griffon—she asked me to—but I might need some help seeing as how she’s incredibly difficult…”
Northbound was no stranger to helping his young friend in his times of need. With is talent of pointing others in the right direction, he was the best choice for helping Mercury in his work. “Well, shorty, you can count on me. I’ll do whatever I can to help.” He looked at the griffon. “Even if it is dealing with her…”
“You think you’ve got it bad,” the pegasus grumbled, “She’s staying at my house… I’ve got this twenty-four seven!”
“You know what?!” Gilda snarled, forcibly ending the conversation, “I don’t have to take this from you two!!” She spread her large, powerful wings and took off, soaring into the clouds and out of sight.
Mercury let out a heavy sigh, dropping to the ground once more. It was then that he was glad all the ponies in Trottingham knew about him and his counseling. “Something tells me I bit off more than I can chew…”
“Eh, you just need to work at her. Knowing you, you’ll probably have her worked and done before the month is out.”
“I dunno…” He looked up at the clouds. “She’s not willing to help herself and her temper keeps getting in the way…” He sighed. “Oh well… Thanks for the help. I’ll tell you in advance the next time I need your help.”
“I’d like that, Mercy,” he growled, thinking back to the way the pegasus had so rudely interrupted his possible booty call.
Mercury chuckled. “She would have been disappointed anyway.” He spread his wings, taking flight again. “See you later, pal!” Without any more hesitation, he flew off. He was more respectful than to follow her. If she flew off, she was far to angry to talk. Instead, he went ahead and enjoyed his day off.
Sitting in the Dos Equus tavern, White Mercury waited patiently for his friends. Working on his second Shirley Temple, he let the bar tender keep him company the way she usually did. “Seriously, you should see this griffon. She’s a real piece of work.”
“I bet she is,” the mare giggled, “Just to be clear, this is in a good way, right?” She’d never had a taste for many stallions. Mercury was one of few stallions she really liked.
He snorted a little. “No! In a bad way. She’d stubborn and obnoxious.” He poked and tipped his glass, but never let it fall over. “She’s probably got the potential to be pretty nice, but she’s way too mean now.”
“Oh wah! You’re a good kid,” she chimed, “And you’re an even better councilor. You’ll get her to come around sooner or later.” She looked the young pegasus over. “And by the looks of it, you’re trying to sooner more so than later.”
“Can you blame me? She’s… She’s just so… So…” He paused, failing to find the right word.
“Annoyingly attractive?”
Both the young pegasus and the unicorn bartender flinched at the sudden sound, but they quickly found the source of it: Northbound and a brown pegasus.
“There you are,” Mercury chimed, “You two sure kept me waiting long enough!” He crossed his forelegs. “I might just not pay for your drinks!”
“Aw come on!” the brown pegasus complained, “We aren’t that late!” She took a spot on Mercury’s right as North took the spot on his left. “And besides, with what North told me, I wanted you to go first this week.”
Mercury fought hard to keep from grinning. There was no way he could deny his friends for very long.
The group—White Mercury, Northbound, the bartender, Midori and the pegasus Stargazer—would usually gather every week to swap stories of each other’s escapades. The lively bar that Midori’s brother owned seemed like the perfect place for them to meet.
The large bar was made with a classic design, made to accommodate plenty of ponies. It was a lively and welcoming place for most ponies in Trottingham.
“C’mon Mercy,” Stargazer whined, giving the younger pegasus a playful nudge, “We’ll make it up to you next week, and you get to start this week, too.”
After a little bit of coaxing, Mercury finally cracked a smile. “Okay, okay! First round’s on me.”
“Yay, you’re a push over,” Midori teased before going to get their usual drinks: spiced cider for North, a white Russian for Stargazer and a virgin daiquiri for Mercury. She’d have gotten a drink as well if she weren’t such a lush already.
“Don’t make me come and…” He trailed off. “There’s like nothing I can do to you…” For the entire year he’d been coming too this bar with his friends, he’d always racked his brain to find anything he could to threaten Midori with. The only reason she could insult him was because they were friends and because he couldn’t find a way to retaliate.
“And that’s why I’m the only one who can insult you,” she said, giving them their drinks, “Now, go ahead and start the story before some pony needs me to make a drink for them!”
“Okay!” He pulled the purple journal he’d dedicated to Gilda’s progress from his saddlebag. “The other night, I met a griffon. She was really pissed off about some pony named Rainbow Dash.”
“The same Rainbow Dash from Ponyville?” Star asked quickly, then put on a cheeky grin. “That Rainbow Dash?
“One and the same,” Mercy said, swatting his friend’s snout, “She was so mad that, when she got drunk, she mistook me for her when I was wearing that rainbow scarf you got me.” He opened the book, flipping past his disorganized notes page to the evaluations. “I’m guessing from her drunken rambling since she refuses to even admit there’s a problem, but I think she’s got some abandonment issues.”
“In English, please?” Midori requested. She still failed to understand almost half of the technical jargon that Mercury went on about with his job.
“She doesn’t like to be left alone,” he chided, “She’s really pissy about Rainbow running out on her for her new friends. From her side, it sounds like Rainbow’s the bad guy, but I was going to go to Ponyville tomorrow and get the other half of the story.”
“What about your griffon friend?” Stargazer asked.
“She flew off into the wild blue yonder earlier today,” North stated. He could understand her just flying off to cool off a bit, but then again…
“She never came back either.” He closed the notebook. “She’s been staying with me,” he said in response to the confused looks the two mares gave him.
“What are the odds of her coming back while you’re gone?” North asked.
“Beats me…” Mercury turned his large sky blue eyes to the brown pegasus. “So, uh, Star, would you mind house sitting while I’m gone? It’s just in case Gilda comes back.”
Star gave him a skeptical look. “If that griffon of yours is as ornery as you say she is, then I definitely don’t want to be there when she shows up looking for you.”
“Please, Star?” the little pegasus pleaded, “It’ll only be for, like, a day and a half! I’ll be quick!”
“I keep forgetting how fast you fly…” She sighed heavily, “Fine, but I’m raiding your fridge while you’re gone.”
“Yay!” He gave her a warm hug. “But, if you touch the cheesecake bites, I’ll pop your head off like a grape.
“You’re such a violent little guy,” Midori stated.
“I have to be to make up for my size. It’s not easy being tiny.”
“Yo, barkeep,” a stallion called from the other end of the bar, “Can I get another beer?”
Midori seemed to only then remember that she was still on the clock. “Oh, right!” Her horn popped alight with a blue aura as she catered to the stallion’s request. “I’ll be right back. No juicy details, okay?” She didn’t wait for their replay and quickly ran off to do her job. She wouldn’t have been able to do such a good job without her magic.
“So, what’s the deal with, uh, Gilda?” Star asked, “Is this gonna be an easy fix for you or do you need some help? I’m sure my sister would love to come in to help with therapy again.”
“No… Thanks for the offer, but Gilda’s not really the type to put kids around… She’s a little scary, to be honest…” He let out a short sigh, sipping his daiquiri. “She’s not an easy fix. She still doesn’t want to say there’s a problem…”
“Well, persistence is key,” Northbound said.
“And it’s better than failure,” Star stated, giving North a sly grin. “Let’s not forget about North and Midori.”
“That date ended horribly, by the way,” the bartender said, rejoining the conversation, “But, thanks for the thought.”
North’s cheeks turned red as he glared at Star. “I still blame you for not telling me that she isn’t into stallions.”
“Oh, wah!” Mercy chided, “For a player like you, its just par for the course.”
“Says the kid who actually got Midori to say yes to a date on the first try,” North said angrily, “That’s still unfair! I asked twelve times!”
The mares giggled at North’s misfortune. After all the stories they’d told about their excessive romps together, they were sure both stallions would kill to have at least one turn with them.
“I can’t help it!” the bartender giggled, “Mercy’s cuter than you are.”
Mercury glared at North as his white cheeks turned red. “Thanks for getting her to give up that so very private bit of information.”
Midori poked the young pegasus’s head. “You’re also a lot bigger than him where it counts—”
“Hey!!” he growled as his entire face turned red. He really wished she wouldn’t so casually give out information like that.
The skies over Ponyville were the best out of all the cities White Mercury had been to. He loved it there. It was always so peaceful. Passing over Sugar Cube Corner, he could feel his cheeks turning red with the memories he’d made in Pinkie Pie’s room. He shook his head, trying to dispel the memories.
The best place to find Rainbow Dash was in the skies. There was hardly a moment of the day when she wasn’t flying.
Looking around, the little pegasus flew low enough to see the ground on the off chance she wasn’t flying. “This is Rainbow, after all,” he thought, “Where is she?” He honestly thought it would be easy to find one of his favorite color schemes in the world down in Ponyville. With his eyes scanning the ground, he didn’t even notice he was being targeted until he was forced into a cloud! He knew who it was immediately. It was hard not to with a body structure made up of two different species of animals. “Ow… Can we agree on saying hi instead of mutual tackling?”
“Not now, shorty,” Gilda growled, “You gotta hide me!” She looked around. “Dash’s right on my tail!”
“Really?” he grumbled, “It’ll be a lot easier to hide you if you get off of me.”
The griffon rolled her eyes, jumping off of Mercury’s back and letting him up. “Hurry up and hide me! She’s gonna find us!!”
The pegasus got back to his hooves, cracking his back before jumping on the griffon’s head, forcing her into the soft cloud’s interior. He made a quick adjustment to make her completely invisible before sitting on her exposed tail. He looked up just in time to spot Rainbow Dash flying toward him. “Hiya, Rainbow!” he chirped, waving to the determined looking pegasus.
“Hey, Mercury,” she said, panting slightly, “Have you seen a griffon around here?”
He shook his head. “Sorry, but I thought this was called Ponyville, not griffon-ville.” He smiled cheekily as she glared at him. “No, I haven’t seen one here. I’ve been trying to help a griffon in Trottingham, though.”
“Huh?” She landed on the cloud with him. “You actually take griffons? I thought you only counseled ponies.”
“Nope! A friend in need is a friend indeed,” he cooed cheerfully, “But, even so, it’s been forever! Can’t I get a hug or something?” He was about to stand and close the gap, but then he remembered that he was still sitting on Gilda’s tail to keep it hidden.
Hugs weren’t necessarily Rainbow’s forte, but, for a friend like Mercury, she was willing to make an exception. She gave him a tight hug, making sure he felt welcome. “It’s good to see ya again, Mercy!”
“Likewise,” he chirped. In his mind, he was having quite a conniption. If his scale was correct, he was sitting on Gilda’s butt, but Rainbow was sitting on her head. He had the feeling he’d be getting strangled for that later. “What’s the deal with this griffon you’re after?”
Rainbow’s jovial expression changed immediately to one of annoyance. “Ugh! Gilda… She’s a total jerk! She came here trying to pick a fight with me!”
“Really?” he asked, cramming a hoof into the cloud to hit Gilda in her back. “Well, I was trying to help a griffon named Gilda in Trottingham the other day… She flew off in a huff, so this might be the same, uh, hybrid…”
“You might wanna give up on that one,” she growled, “Gilda’s a lost cause when it comes to giving help. She yelled at Fluttershy and she tried to pick a fight with Pinkie Pie, too!!”
He nodded. “Yup, same griffon… She was talking about you the last time I talked to her. …You mind shedding some light on it?”
She crossed her forelegs, turning her nose up in a display of repulsion. “No way! I don’t want to talk about her!” Her expression changed almost immediately. “Hey! How about a race to Sugar Cube Corner? You haven’t visited Pinkie yet, have you?”
“N-no, but I really need to talk about Gilda. …If I don’t fix her, I’ll never get her out of my house…”
“Aw man, she’s staying with you?” She gave him a skeptical glare. “I thought you said you didn’t like it what clients were around too much…”
“I did, but she had nowhere else to go! Even for a griffon as ornery as her, I refuse to turn away any po—er, anyone, I guess, in need.” He put on a smug grin. “I let you stay over, didn’t I?”
The multicolored pony nearly cringed at that memory. She would be sure to never again challenge Midori to a drinking contest. “Alright,” she groaned, “What’s up with Gilda?”
He grinned, knowing he’d won. “I was hoping you could tell me. Gilda was complaining about you ditching her for Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy,” or at least that’s whom he thought she meant by a pink pony and a big wuss, “So I got kinda worried and, uh, got mixed up in all this…” Honestly, he just wanted to make sure he didn’t have a blow to the jaw waiting for him with all the time he’d spent telling the griffon she was wrong.
A harsh snort escaped the cyan pegasus. “I didn’t ditch her—she ditched me! She only wanted be cool. She didn’t even care that I got new friends. If all she cares about is being cool, then I don’t want to be her friend!”
“Okay, okay,” he cooed, “It’s not that big a deal.” That definitely gave him and Gilda something to talk about! She’d been so angry about Rainbow, but she never considered how the multicolored pegasus or even the other ponies’ feelings. “That’s why it pays to have both sides of the story,” he thought, remembering his older brother’s words. “Thanks for the tips… I’ll be sure to ask Gilda about that the next time I see her…”
“Yeah… Hey!” She opened her wings and grabbed his foreleg. “Now, let’s go!” She didn’t want to talk about Gilda all day.
“Alright, let’s go!” He opened his wings as well and took off with Rainbow Dash. He glanced back, spotting the griffon as she popped up out of the cloud. If she had any sense, she’d go back to Trottingham and wait. …And he really hoped she had some sense.
The door slammed open as Mercury made his entrance. After flying to and from Ponyville in one day, he was ready to do his work and get to bed. He kicked the door closed and headed in.
A pegasus had once slept on the couch, but, the slamming of the door, roused her from her slumber. “I didn’t do it!” she said groggily as she awoke. She searched around for a moment, but relaxed a bit when she saw Mercury. “Oh… Hey, Mercy…” She was about to lie back down until she saw the annoyed look on the Pegasus’s face. “Mercy? Are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” he said quickly, “But, Gilda’s gonna get an earful when I see her.”
“Oh, yeah… She got in a little while ago—probably when the sun was still up. …What are you gonna say?”
“I dunno…” He went to the room Gilda was using and, without a second thought, kicked it open! …He was actually glad it hadn’t been completely shut. Otherwise, he’d have a bothersome repair to make.
Gilda flinched, nearly falling out of the bed Mercury let her use. “Huh?” She looked to the door, rubbing her eyes. “Oh… Hey, shorty…” She rolled over in bed. Hopefully, if she ignored him, he’d just go a—
Mercury quickly shoved the griffon out of bed, letting her fall on the floor. “My name’s White Mercury,” he said as she tried to recuperate, “I accept Whity, Mercy and, in some cases, even Merck, but it would be really nice if you didn’t call me shorty, alright?”
She barely caught any of that. She jumped up, ready to tear into him. “What’s the big idea you little—”
“Quiet!” he snapped, getting the griffon to fall silent. “I’m actually a little surprised that worked…” He cleared his throat and continued. “But, as you know, I went to Ponyville today and talked to our good friends, Rainbow, Pinkie and Flutters.” Somewhere in his mind he wondered if she knew them by the same nicknames he knew them by. “Popular consensus says one thing and one thing only. …You’re a jerk…”
Gilda was almost surprised he’d say such a thing to her. The youthful pony has never insulted her so directly before.
“I think I found more than one problem with you, too,” he continued, “You don’t want to be rejected. …And you only care about being cool…”
“Cooler than you,” she grumbled.
“Yup, and that’s why you’re in my house, asking for my help with a problem you don’t even want to acknowledge!” He let out a heavy sigh. “One of two things is going to happen: we make progress tomorrow, or you leave and find another pony to help you.” Without another word, he turned to leave.
“Okay! Just—w-wait!” Gilda quickly darted over, standing between the little pegasus and the door. “I… I just…” She lowered her gaze, trying to keep from looking at his large blue eyes. “…I didn’t want to lose my friend…” She looked up when she felt two hooves on her shoulders.
Mercury smiled at the griffon. It was a smile he’d given almost all of his clients at one point or another. Even without words, it said that he was going to help. “Thank you,” he said, “Now that we’ve gotten past that, we can move on to the next part.”
Her beak curled in the beginnings of a grin, but she quickly wiped the hints of tears away and pulled herself together. “Y-yeah, yeah, whatever… I was wrong. Now, what’s the next step of your stupid process?”
“Oh, ha, ha,” he mocked, “The second step of solving a problem is facing it. We’ll start that tomorrow.” He looked past the griffon. “Star?”
The brown pegasus leaned over, looking into the room with bright, expectant eyes. “Yes?”
“I know Midori’s off tomorrow, but I’ll need a little more help. Can you get your brother and sister for me?”
“Can do!” she said with a mock salute, “They’ll be ready for you tomorrow morning!” Without any more instruction, she took off, heading home to get her siblings.
Once she was gone, Mercy deflated. “Four days,” he groaned, rubbing his eyes, “That’s the longest day one, ever!”
Gilda rolled her eyes, but was taken off guard by a sudden hug. She froze up, failing to react to the sudden display of affection. “Huh?”
“I promise I’ll help you with this problem, no matter how long it takes,” he said cheerfully.
For once, the griffon dropped her gruff outward act and let a small grin cross her face while he couldn’t see it. “Right… Thanks…”
He let go of her, touching back down on the floor. It almost annoyed her how much taller she was. “Then with that, I bid you adieu. Good night, Gilda. I’ll see you in the morning.” He headed off, thinking over what he was going to do in the morning.
Author's Note
As always, tell me if there are any errors or inconsistencies.
Thank you for your cooperation! King, out!
EXPLICIT WARNING
There are explicit situations in this chapter. Read at your own risk.
You have been warned.
Day Two
Any pony that knew him knew that sitting on the roof was something Mercury did far too often. It was a common sight and it wasn’t always his roof. It happened most naturally when he was taking care of a client. …Though, today, it seemed a little odder than usual. The pegasus sat on his roof, staring at the sky. The clouds seemed a little too dim for the day.
“Hey, Mercy, what’s up?”
He let out a heavy sigh. “Are the… Twins okay?” The rehabilitation with Gilda hadn’t gone even remotely as planned. It was meant to be to help her with rejection, but it turned into an explosion instead.
“Still a little shaken up, but they’ll be fine,” Stargazer said, “Midori’s still there with them. …And, since I’m the only one that can follow you, I came to check.”
He nodded, noting every word. “Be sure to apologize to Cetus and Vela for me.”
“I will. …Any idea where she ran off to?”
“None whatsoever. I can’t imagine she has many friends to run to. At best, I’d think she went home to the Griffon Kingdom.”
“That’s about six million miles north,” she stated, scratching her head and running a hoof through her mane, “And probably a ten day fly for you. It seems like a really rough commute for some alone time.”
“She is a griffon,” he said, “I’d say that anywhere she can be… Feral is good for her. …Do you know any pony that would harbor a, uh, griffon of her status?”
“Only one,” she said, giving him a friendly nudge, “You’re the personality expert. Shouldn’t you be able to find out with just her personality?”
“Yeah, but I’m just bouncing ideas around now.” He looked up at the cloudy sky. “I kinda feel like she’d go to the forest or something. She is part lion.”
Star pointed at a huge mass of cloud. “And she is part eagle as well. She can walk on clouds just like us.”
He let out a heavy sigh. “This is such a pain!!” He opened his wings. “I’m going to go and look for her.”
“Good luck,” she said, giving him a mock salute as he took to the air. She still needed to go and take care of her brother and sister.
The white pegasus flew high into the sky, scanning the ground for the griffon. Trottingham was too large for him to search every nook and cranny. He let out a heavy sigh. “Where is this hybrid jerk?” He flew up past the clouds and found one to sit on. “Jeez… She’s really starting to become a pain in my flank.”
“What did you call me?!”
A sly grin crossed his face. It seemed as though thinking out loud and throwing insults around worked about as well as he’d thought it would. He looked up and found an angry griffon flying toward him from a high cloud. “Hi there, cranky butt,” he teased.
“What did you call me?” she asked again, sounding a little more annoyed. She was starting to get used to asking the pegasus her questions twice to get an answer from him. That seemed to be the only way to get a cogent answer from him.
“A jerk,” he said quickly, “But, I only calls ‘em as I sees ‘em.” He gave her a more serious look. “And speaking of being a jerk… Are you feeling okay?”
“I’m fine,” the griffon growled, “Now, what’s the next step of your stupid process?”
“To redo this step. You failed this part kinda hard, Gil…” He sighed a little. “You’re acting even more enraged than usual.”
“You got a problem with it?!” she growled, puffing herself up some. It made her look even more muscular than she already was. It was useful for other griffons as an intimidation tactic.
The pegasus glared at her. “You know what happened the last time you tried to get all pissy with me,” he stated, “Now, cool it and tell me what’s wrong.” As opposed to his normal tone, this one was much more demanding.
Her glare continued for a moment, but that only led her to look around for other ponies around them. When she found none, she deflated a little. “I’m… Going through some girl things, okay?”
“Girl… Things…?” He pondered what the statement meant, but his mind went into overdrive with that statement. It made him a little worried and a lot nervous about what she meant by that. He took a hesitant step away from her. “W-what do you mean by that?” He hoped it wasn’t what he was thinking.
She glared at him and let out a heavy sigh. “It’s called estrus. It means that you should leave me alone.”
A grimace crossed his face. He was hoping she’d have pulled another feminine ailment out, but since she presented that one, it just made a few problems for him. It wasn’t that he couldn’t handle whatever she dealt out. It was just that he didn’t want to have to deal with it in the first place. “Well, where does that put me?” he mused, “We still have to get through your counseling and I don’t want to give up another week. And when did you even go into heat?” He couldn’t smell it at all on her.
“A couple days ago,” she grumbled, “My room reeks because of it…” She continued to use the clouds to snuff out the scent before he caught it. Keeping her door closed and the room “scent proof,” she’d kept him from finding out.
“It does?” He shrugged, opening his wings. “It’s not all bad.” He went to the edge of the cloud, looking down at the ground. He could understand why ponies and griffons disliked their estrus cycles. It was a time when they were wrought with desire for carnal relations. When they didn’t get that pleasure, it made them unreasonably angry. That desire was changed into anger when they didn’t get what their bodies wanted. “There are some stallions that like that smell.”
“Ugh!” She didn’t need to know that! The thought that some stallion would gladly huff her primal scent was just too weird. “Why? That smell’s gross!” It disgusted her a bit to even consider that smell coming from her.
“Not really,” he said, but his voice started to trail off. “I-in fact… I k-kinda like it…” He fell silent when he realized what he’d said to the griffon. He’d never live that down!
Gilda stared at him. Slowly, a devilish grin crossed her face. “Wow,” was all she said as she stood, walking past the blushing pegasus. She was a little surprised he’d admit something like that.
“Why did I say that?!” he thought, scolding himself silently. He conducted an immediate face hoof, trying not to look at her again. That had to be one of the worst things he could have said to her. “L-look… I didn’t mean that in a creepy way. I-I just mean that…” He trailed off again when he looked up at her. …And when he saw what she hid with her tail, he was simply speechless.
The griffon decided to tease him. She wanted to torture him as long as she could. She lifted her tail and spread her cheeks, giving him an unobstructed view of her female slit. “You actually like that smell? Wow, what a freak!” She could already smell it now. It was a thick musk that anyone—pony or griffon—could identify.
Mercury stared at it for a moment. That image would forever be in his memories now. He didn’t have a bias for one species or the other. Ponies or griffons, he didn’t mind. …But, he’d never dare to tell her that. He quickly recovered, lowing his tail to cover his growing excitement. “F-fine, then,” he growled, “We’ll skip this week since you’re so incapacitated!” He turned up his nose, trotting past her. “Jeez, blame a pony for trying to like you.” He quickly took off, trying his hardest to hide the rigidity of his wings. Feigning anger was a great idea, but it didn’t always work. Midori and her brother, Vodka, would be the first to attest to that. The pegasus was in the air for less that ten seconds before he was tacked into another cloud. “Ouch,” he squeezed out. “What did I say about the tackling?”
“Yeah, whatever,” she said, still practically sitting on him, “Did you just say that you liked me?”
Every muscle in his body tensed at once. “Uh… Y-yeah, I did…” He quickly saw what she meant by that statement and tried to cover his tracks. …But, that was getting a lot harder to do with the wet spot on his back where she sat on him. “Not like that, pervert! There’s more than one kind of fondness, you buzzard.”
Gilda grimaced, but it quickly faded when she had an idea. Taking her weight off of him, she quickly flipped the small pegasus over, exposing the one part of him that wasn’t smaller than regular. “Oh yeah, and I’m the pervert.”
“You flashed me!” he accused. Thinking quickly, he pushed himself through the cloud and went around, landing in front of her again. “I think I’ve got a prize winning idea for you, Gil.”
“Oh yeah?” she grumbled, sitting like a big cat waiting for something to take up her time. “What’s your big idea?”
“You’re in heat and I’m a, uh… Semi-willing young stallion. If you get through the next few steps, I’ll indulge you.” Fighting through his embarrassment, he did a similar motion to her previous flashing, showing her the underside of his swollen testicles. “Get through the next few steps before the end of the week and I’ll let you have it.”
Gilda stared at his member as it swung back and forth like a pendulum. He was really offering to have sex with her! …If she finished the next few steps. She jumped up, making him flinch and hide his stallion-hood again. “You got a deal, shorty,” she said with a devilish grin, “What’s the next step?”
“Well, first I have to hide my sixteen inches, but after that, we go back to the second step. After that, we head to the third step, and… Sadly, that’s about it…” He shriveled a little as the griffon loomed over him. He thought it would take longer to regret this bet.
“Alright. Let’s go then,” she ordered. If his measurement was right, then she’d have a lot of fun with him.
Author's Note
Sorry for such an extreme delay. College hates my life.
Don't forget to tell me if there are any errors. I may be a writer, but I fail at life and can't notice all my screw ups at once.
Thank you!!
