Gilda's Nightmare
Rainbow Dash walked out of Twilight Sparkle's castle in high spirits. She along with her five friends had defeated the comic book villainess known as the Mane-iac. Though she had corrupted several of their friends as part of her plan, the Mane-iac just couldn't beat Rainbow Dash and her friends. The group of six used the costumes and powers of the Mane-iac's enemies, the Power Ponies, to defeat the evil pony. Each and every one of their corrupted friends had been convinced to leave the Mane-iac by the six ponies that they were forced to fight.
Rainbow Dash shuddered as she remembered having to fight Scootaloo. Despite not being a blood relative to the orange filly, Rainbow Dash acted like a big sister towards her. It hurt her to have to physically harm the pegasus pony that she had taken under her wing. Scootaloo felt like Rainbow Dash had been making fun of her behind her back. Thankfully Rainbow Dash had been able to convince Scootaloo that she respected and cared about her. Scootaloo then broke free of the Mane-iac's control and was reunited with Rainbow Dash. The young pegasus had also showed the rainbow maned pony some very interesting pictures.
Rainbow Dash grinned to herself as she remembered the pictures. A few weeks ago she had a fan club that had been started by Scootaloo. Rainbow Dash's friends Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Twilight Sparkle all joined the club recently. This choice led to them all wearing wigs that were designed like Rainbow Dash's mane. The light blue pegasus laughed hysterically at each picture. Rarity in particular was embarrassed by her new look. The unicorn took a lot of pride in her fancy appearance and she had always been trying to persuade Rainbow Dash to get a more 'civilized' manecut. Rainbow Dash wiped the tears out of her eyes as she flew up to her cloud castle in the sky. Her best friend Gilda had already fallen asleep in her bed. Rainbow Dash's pet tortoise Tank hovered with his helicopter as he slept peacefully. The rainbow maned pegasus brushed her teeth and laid down on the cloud that she used as a bed. The inhabitants of the cloud castle were all sleeping peacefully.
All of them except for one.
While Rainbow Dash and Tank slept well, Gilda was tossing and turning in her sleep. The griffon was having a terrible nightmare about an event that had occurred that night.
Gilda shivered in her sleep as her nightmare progressed.
Gilda watched the Mane-iac send a blast of magic towards Rainbow Dash. She saw her best friend fly high into the sky and then fall into a lake. Gilda ran as fast as she could towards the body of water. However the faster she ran the further away the lake became. Gilda kept on running towards it. She couldn't let Rainbow Dash stay underwater for too long. Gilda might be afraid of water but she couldn't let her best friend die. Gilda cared a lot about Rainbow Dash. She didn't know what she'd do if she were to lose her best friend. Gilda had already gone through one miserable year alone after she lost Rainbow Dash's friendship. She couldn't let that happen again.
The brown and white griffon finally made it to the edge of the lake but she was too late. Rainbow Dash's body floated up to the surface of the lake. She was still and lifeless. Gilda held her best friend in her forelegs and saw a ghost rise from it. The ghost of Rainbow Dash had an angry expression on her face as she spoke to Gilda.
"Finally." she said in a disapproving tone. "I've only been under there for what ten minutes? I should have known you couldn't save me. Goodbye Gilda."
The ghost floated up into the sky and vanished from sight. Gilda felt tears form in her eyes as she watched her best friend leave the world of the living and go to the world beyond. The griffon turned and saw Rainbow Dash's five friends glaring at her.
"It's all your fault!" Pinkie Pie screamed at the griffon.
"Ah shoulda known we couldn't trust ya." Applejack said angrily.
"We should never have allowed Rainbow Dash to associate with a brute like you." Rarity said in a furious tone.
"Haven't you done enough damage to her?" Fluttershy asked in a dangerous whisper. "Did you really have to kill her?"
"You killed Dash." Twilight Sparkle said firmly.
"You killed Dash."
"You killed Dash."
These three words were repeated by all of the ponies as they surrounded Gilda.
The griffon tried to defend herself but it was no use. She crumpled towards the ground as the five ponies assaulted her physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Gilda woke up from her sleep. She sat upright in her griffon shaped bed. Her face was covered in sweat. Her breaths came fast and deep. Her mind was racing and her heart was pounding faster than it had ever pounded before. Before Gilda knew it, she was crying.
Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash woke up in the middle of the night. She stretched her forelegs. She knew that it was still late at night. The pegasus got out of bed and walked into the bathroom. She filled up a glass of water and drank it down. Hopefully she could get back to sleep. Rainbow Dash was feeling perfectly healthy. She just had a nagging feeling that there was something wrong. She passed by Gilda's room on her way back to bed and she heard muffled noises coming from inside the griffon's bedroom. Rainbow Dash hesitated for a moment. Then she lifted her foreleg and knocked on the door of her best friend's room.
Gilda's sobbing ceased immediately and her body stiffened when she heard the knock.
"G?" Rainbow Dash's voice asked. "You okay in there?"
Gilda couldn't bring herself to answer. As much as she liked Rainbow Dash, she did not want to be seen like this. The griffon couldn't bear the idea of her best friend seeing her look so weak. She tried to ignore Rainbow Dash in the hope that the pegasus would assume that Gilda had fallen asleep. However Rainbow Dash wasn't fooled. The door was opened and the rainbow maned pegasus' jaw dropped in shock when she looked at Gilda.
"Gilda what's wrong?" Rainbow Dash asked in a voice filled with concern. The pegasus quickly flew to Gilda's side and wrapped a comforting foreleg around her.
"It's nothing." Gilda lied as she turned away from Rainbow Dash. She was not going to let her best friend see her tears. "I'm fine Dash."
Though Gilda couldn't see it, Rainbow Dash's eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"Don't lie to me Gilda." she said in a firm tone which soon softened. "We're best friends. You can tell me anything. I'm always here for ya remember?"
Gilda looked her best friend in the eyes and before she could stop herself, she launched into an explanation. She told Rainbow Dash all about her nightmare. The pink and purple eyes of the rainbow maned pegasus pony widened as she listened to Gilda's story. When Gilda finished her tale, Rainbow Dash sat in a stunned silence.
"Don't worry Gilda." Rainbow Dash said in a comforting tone as she wrapped her other foreleg around Gilda and held her in a hug. "I'm still here. You didn't kill me. You saved me. I'm always gonna be here for ya."
Gilda controlled herself a bit as she nodded.
"Yeah you're right." she said. "I shouldn't have gotten so worked up about that."
"You gonna be okay?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Yeah." Gilda said as she looked down towards the floor of the room. "Sorry that I was so weak. I shouldn't have been such a wimpy coward."
Rainbow Dash put one of her hooves under Gilda's chin and then she lifted the griffon's head up. The duo stared each other in the eyes before Rainbow Dash raised her other hoof.
SMACK!
Rainbow Dash slapped Gilda across the face. Gilda stared at her best friend in a state of utter shock. Rainbow Dash had just hit her. Rainbow Dash gave Gilda a firm gaze. She spoke in the most serious voice that Gilda had ever heard from the rainbow maned pegasus.
"Listen to me Gilda." Rainbow Dash said sternly. "Don't ever talk about yourself like that again. Do you understand?"
Gilda stayed silent. The light blue pegasus frowned a bit and then she shook the griffon.
"I said do you understand?" Rainbow Dash asked fiercely.
Gilda nodded silently. She still couldn't believe that Rainbow Dash had slapped her.
"Look at me Gilda." Rainbow Dash said.
The griffon did as she was told. She stared into the eyes of her best friend. Rainbow Dash's pink and purple eyes had a look of seriousness to them. Gilda's golden yellow eyes widened a bit. Her best friend wasn't angry but there was still an air of firmness to the way she was staring at Gilda.
"Listen to me carefully Gilda." Rainbow Dash said very firmly. "You are not a coward. You are not a wimp. You are not weak. Don't ever let me hear you say that about yourself again. Do you understand me?"
"But I was crying." Gilda said. "Crying is weak."
"Gilda you're not weak." Rainbow Dash said. "You had a nightmare. You had every reason to be scared. You almost lost your best friend. If I went through that kind of nightmare I'd have been crying too."
"Really?" Gilda asked in a stunned tone.
"Really." Rainbow Dash replied honestly.
The two stared at each other for a moment before Rainbow Dash spoke up again.
"You want proof that you're not weak?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Who fought a group of punk bullies and risked getting expelled from Flight School because her best friend was miserable?"
"Me." Gilda said quietly.
"Who went to a town full of ponies that could hate her just to see her best friend?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Me." Gilda answered again.
"Who risked losing her pride just to get her old friend back?" the pegasus asked.
"Me." Gilda said once again.
"Who risked public humiliation to prove to her friend that she was sorry?" Rainbow Dash asked fiercely.
"Me." Gilda said in a bit of a louder voice.
"Who fought a manticore all by herself to save a friend?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Me." Gilda said clearly.
"Who gave a bunch of bullies what they deserved to help another friend?" the rainbow maned pegasus asked.
"Me." Gilda said firmly.
"Who fought a dangerous criminal to save her friends and her town?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Me." Gilda said as her head perked up.
"Who faced one of her greatest fears and risked her own life to save her best friend from dying?" Rainbow Dash asked as she looked Gilda in the eyes.
"Me." Gilda said determinedly.
"And who just risked losing the respect of her friend by admitting that she got scared." Rainbow Dash finished.
"Me." Gilda answered.
"That's right." Rainbow Dash told her. "You see Gilda you're not a coward. A coward would never have done all of that stuff you did. A coward would never risk getting hurt or humiliated. And a coward wouldn't admit that she was scared, You're definitely not a coward Gilda. You're the bravest friend I've ever had. So you had a nightmare? So what?"
"You really mean that Dash?" Gilda asked.
"I do." Rainbow Dash answered firmly. "You're not a coward and I'm not gonna let ya think any different."
"Thanks Dash." Gilda said.
"No problem G." Rainbow Dash replied. "Sometimes in life ya just need a friend to talk some sense into ya."
"Or knock some sense into ya." Gilda said.
The two friends chuckled a bit before they settled down.
"So you gonna be okay?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"I think so." Gilda said.
Rainbow Dash could tell that Gilda wasn't being completely honest with her. The griffon wasn't lying but she wouldn't admit that she was scared of having another nightmare.
"You want me to stay here for the night?" Rainbow Dash asked.
Gilda nodded silently. Rainbow Dash was about to make herself comfortable on the floor but Gilda stopped her. The griffon slid over a bit and allowed Rainbow Dash to sleep next to her in the bed. The rainbow maned pegasus got settled underneath the blankets and spoke to Gilda.
"You're not gonna have another nightmare G." Rainbow Dash said firmly. "And if ya do I'm right here for ya. All ya gotta do is open your eyes. I'm always gonna be here for ya."
"Thanks Dash." Gilda replied. She laid her head down on her pillow. "Good night."
Rainbow Dash decided to do something that she hadn't done before. She remembered hearing something about a lullaby that was made specifically for griffons. She took a moment to remember how it went and then she started whistling. The tune was soft and melodic. Gilda's eyes widened as she recognized it. While she hadn't heard it from her parents she had heard other young griffons have it whistled to them as they fell asleep. Gilda's eyelids began to droop and then the griffon was asleep. Rainbow Dash stopped whistling and she smiled at her snoozing best friend. She remembered when her friends had pranked her that one time. Gilda had done something very odd but Rainbow Dash was certain that it was a dream. Without even being conscious of what she was doing, Rainbow Dash leaned her head close to Gilda's head and then she gently kissed the griffon on the cheek.
"Good night Gilds." Rainbow Dash whispered softly. She hadn't used that pet name since Gilda's first night sleeping inside of the cloud castle. The pegasus wondered if she was starting to have feelings for the griffon that she called her best friend.
Do I love her? Rainbow Dash thought to herself. Nah. There's no way I love her. Besides she doesn't feel the same way. I'm just her best friend.
Rainbow Dash laid her head down to rest. Instead of laying her head down on a pillow, she laid down on Gilda's chest. The rainbow maned pegasus couldn't help but be amazed at how soft the griffon's feathers were. Rainbow Dash got comfortable as she started to fall asleep. Despite preferring clouds, Rainbow Dash had to admit that the bed that she and Gilda were sleeping in was very comfortable. The pegasus yawned widely as one final thought ran through her brain before sleep overcame her.
I don't love Gilda. Rainbow Dash thought to herself. She's just a really good friend.
The rainbow maned pegasus closed her eyes.
A really good friend that I kissed on the cheek.
With that, Rainbow Dash feel into a peaceful sleep. Her head was resting on Gilda's chest and both of them were perfectly comfortable with that. The duo slept on in peace and comfort. Gilda had no more nightmares for the rest of her slumber. Rainbow Dash was holding her and Gilda was holding her as well. The griffon had no reason to fear for the life of her best friend. All she needed to do was open her eyes and she'd find a peacefully sleeping Rainbow Dash resting in her forelegs. The two friends were in a state of serenity that stayed with them for the rest of the night.
The End!
Author's Note: Thank you all for reading this story. This is an idea that came to me one day and honestly I could see this kind of moment happening between Rainbow Dash and Gilda should they ever become friends again. While this story is much darker compared to my other works and especially compared to the actual show, I'm still very pleased with it. The Mane Six might have seemed out of character in the nightmare scene but that's the whole point of Gilda having that nightmare. I really hope you guys enjoyed this story because I enjoyed writing it. What's next you might ask? Well I'm in the mood to write something a bit greater than my other stories. I hope that the emotion I put into it will be more powerful than what I've written so far. Reviews are appreciated as always. Thanks for reading!