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!