Chapter 1: Griffon The Untold Story

The brown and white feathered griffon named Gilda was so excited. She was finally seeing her best friend, the cyan blue pegasus pony known as Rainbow Dash. The two were best friends back when they had attended Flight School. However some unfortunate incidents caused Rainbow Dash to drop out and lose touch with Gilda. Now however they were back together after three and a half years apart. Gilda couldn't be happier as she laid down on a cloud inside her best friend's home. She glanced at a photograph that she'd pulled from a leather bag and smiled. Soon Gilda fell into a peaceful sleep, happily anticipating the next day where the two would undoubtedly catch up on old times and have fun just like they used to. However their reunion would be a short and bitter one.

The next day arrived and both Gilda and Rainbow Dash woke up feeling ecstatic about having their best friends back after so long apart. They ate a light breakfast, chatted about their lives, and planned out what they were going to do with the day. Just as they were about to get started on some flying, they were interrupted.

"Rainbow Dash!" a high pitched voice called out excitedly.

The pegasus looked down from her cloud house, noticed a pink earth pony, and after realizing what she was wearing, she tried her hardest to stifle a laugh. The pony known as Pinkie Pie was wearing some crazy combination of glasses, a mustache, a party favor, and an arrow placed over her head.

"Come on G!" Rainbow Dash called to the griffon. "You gotta meet my new friend. She's so cool."

New friend? Gilda thought worriedly. But the two of us were best friends. Gilda was worried about meeting Rainbow Dash's new friend. Not only was the pegasus her best friend, she was her only friend. Throughout her time in Flight School, Gilda had been ignored and bullied by every pony except for Rainbow Dash. Gilda had formed an extremely close friendship with the pegasus as a result and she didn't need some pony taking her away. Noticing Rainbow Dash's concerned look, Gilda spoke up.

"Sure Dash." she said with false cheer in her voice. "That sounds cool to me." As long as she doesn't try to steal Dash from me I should be okay. she thought. She didn't want to cause trouble with anyone, especially not a pony that was friends with Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash flew down to greet Pinkie Pie as Gilda tried to keep herself calm. Stay cool Gilda. she told herself. Stay cool. She summoned her courage and introduced herself to Pinkie Pie.

"This is my best friend from Junior Speedsters, Gilda." the pegasus explained to Pinkie Pie. "She's half lion and half eagle."

"And all awesome." Gilda finished proudly. It was a little joke between the two of them and it certainly helped Gilda calm down a little. Though her mood took a downturn when Rainbow Dash suggested that they show Pinkie Pie the chant that they had been forced to recite every day at Flight School.

"I'll never get that lame thing out of my head." Gilda muttered. Aside from meeting Rainbow Dash, Flight School had been one bad experience after another for the griffon. That chant was just a reminder of all the pain that she went through. She did not want to have to relive those memories, but Rainbow Dash was giving her such a cheerful look that Gilda couldn't resist. That look gets me every time. Gilda thought to herself. She joined in with the pegasus in singing the school's song, but she was definitely far from enthusiastic.

"Junior Speedsters are our lives
Sky bound soars and daring dives.
Junior Speedsters it's our quest
to someday be the very best." they sang, as they performed a little routine to go along with it.

When the duo had finished they noticed that Pinkie Pie was laughing. Both the pegasus and the griffon ran their hoof and paw through their manes in an effort to make themselves look cool. Gilda reminded Rainbow Dash about how they had planned to go flying that day, and after Rainbow Dash told Pinkie Pie that she'd hang out later, they were off.

Pinkie Pie doesn't seem too bad. Gilda thought. As long as she doesn't bug us she might be kinda cool.

Once Gilda and Rainbow Dash really got going with their stunts, the griffon had pushed all thoughts of Pinkie Pie out of her mind. This, she felt, was where she truly belonged. Gilda really enjoyed flying through the air with her best friend and performing awesome stunts. This was what she had been waiting for throughout all those years that the duo had spent apart. This was what she had missed all that time. Once the duo had finished their stunts, they landed on a cloud and were talking when they got interrupted. Pinkie Pie showed up again. This time she was tied to a bunch of balloons.

Why is this pony following us? Gilda thought angrily. No, no, don't get angry. Keep cool. Maybe Dash will let her down gently.

Rainbow Dash however, seemed to have no intentions of letting Pinkie Pie down in any sense. She took off into the sky again, leaving Gilda and Pinkie Pie behind her. Gilda turned to Pinkie Pie and tried her best to keep calm, but made sure that the pony knew to leave her and Rainbow Dash alone. She used her claws to pop a few of Pinkie Pie's balloons. She only popped a small amount so that Pinkie Pie would float gently down instead of crashing. Gilda might have been annoyed by the pony, but she didn't want to hurt her. Taking to the sky, the griffon flew off in pursuit of her best friend.

The two of them had a race and were about to bump their fists, or rather hoof and fist together, but both hoof and fist collided unexpectedly with a pink head. Pinkie Pie had caught up with them again by bouncing on a pogo stick. Even after the duo left her behind, she caught up with them once more, this time flying some weird vehicle that the griffon couldn't describe.

This pony is really getting on my nerves. Gilda thought. The griffon was getting more and more annoyed with each interruption. Guess I'll need to make sure she knows to leave us alone.

As Rainbow Dash took off again, Gilda beckoned the pink pony to come closer to her and then she grabbed a part of Pinkie Pie's flying machine.

"Listen Pinko." she growled, in a voice that was much more harsh than she intended, as she put her face right in front of the pink pony. "Don't you know how to take buzz off for an answer? You're dorking up the skies Stinkie Pie." And with that she sent Pinkie Pie back down to the ground. Gilda gazed at the place where Pinkie Pie used to be and regretted her actions.

I shouldn't have done that. Gilda thought sadly, while shaking her white feathered head. But if it will get her to leave me and Dash alone then it'll be worth it. I can always make it up to her later. She saw that Rainbow Dash had returned from wherever she had flown off to. The light blue pegasus started glancing around looking for Pinkie Pie.

"Hey where's Pinkie Pie and her crazy contraption?" the pegasus wondered.

"Oh she left. Said something about being busy as a bee." Gilda replied. Did I really just lie right to her face? Some best friend I am.

Rainbow Dash then said that she had to go to work and told Gilda to walk around and see what Ponyville was like while she waited for the pegasus to return.

"You'll love it here G!" she exclaimed. "The ponies here are really cool."

Gilda did just what Rainbow Dash told her to. She was seeing what Ponyville was like and boy she hated it. Some old pony with a walker had yelled at Gilda for quite literally no reason. Among the screaming, Gilda heard a few words which she was certain were racial slurs against griffons. Things didn't improve later as some pony selling apples refused to let Gilda buy one.

"We don't serve your kind here." the pony growled giving Gilda a glare. "Get out."

"But I have bits why can't I buy an apple?" Gilda asked. She was definitely getting hungry and this pony wouldn't sell her anything.

"I said no. Now beat it!" the pony snapped. "The only apples I'll give you are horseapples!"

Gilda walked away and she was definitely getting angry now. These residents were treating her terribly and she hadn't even done anything. She never said a word to the old pony. Heck she didn't even look at her and she got yelled at and insulted. All she wanted to do was buy an apple and the shopkeeper was acting just as bad as the old pony.

See what the place is like she said. Gilda thought. You'll love it she said. Well half an hour here and I feel like I'm back in Flight School.

Gilda's thoughts were interrupted as a young pony approached her. What did they call their kids? Gilda wondered, racking her brains to remember. Was it foals? Fauns? No, fillies. That's it fillies. The filly had seen the shopkeeper's rudeness and had offered Gilda an apple from his store, her treat. This filly's probably the nicest pony I've met besides Dash. Gilda thought. The filly had a light yellow coat and a dark red mane which had been accessorized with a large pink bow. Gilda took the filly up on her offer. The filly gave Gilda some bits and walked away, saying something about trying to get her cutie mark. Gilda walked over to the apple stand and saw the old mare from before. Suddenly a mischievous grin grew on her face.

This could be fun. the griffon thought. That pony insulted me, so I think I'll give her a little scare. Gilda had always had a bit of playful mischief in her. That was just one of the many traits that she and Rainbow Dash shared, and just one of the many reasons why the two of them were best friends.

Crouching down low, Gilda hid in the apple stand and let her tail stick out of the apples. Soon enough the old mare yelled in fright. Gilda couldn't understand everything that the pony was saying, but she heard something about a rattler, whatever that was, before the old mare took off. Smiling a little to herself, Gilda grabbed an apple from the stand and left the filly's bits on the counter. It was only after she finished the apple that Gilda had realized what was happening to her.

Is this what I've turned into? she wondered. A jerk? A thief? This town is messing me up. I better bail and fast!

But even that wasn't going to be easy. As Gilda tried to get away, she bumped into some yellow pegasus pony with a pink mane. The pony had been escorting a family of ducks across town. She tried to apologize to the griffon, but Gilda snapped. She insulted and made fun of the pony before letting out an almighty roar that sent the pegasus running away in tears. Gilda noticed that a bunch ponies, including Pinkie Pie, were glaring at her, but she scoffed at them and flew off back to Rainbow Dash's house and into the spare empty room that she slept in. She curled herself up into a ball on the floor and cursed herself.

What have I done? Gilda thought angrily. She wasn't angry with the residents of Ponyville. She was angry with herself. I scared some old mare, then I stole an apple, and now I made some pony cry for no reason. What's wrong with me? Gilda briefly thought about just grabbing her bag and leaving Ponyville behind right away. But she thought of Rainbow Dash and knew how heartbroken her best friend would be if she left right then and there. She knew that she couldn't leave no matter how much she wanted to. Soon enough Rainbow Dash had returned from work and apparently she didn't know about what Gilda had done. She told Gilda that Pinkie Pie was going to throw a party to welcome her to Ponyville, much to the griffon's panic.

Oh no! Gilda thought. Pinkie saw everything I did before. If she tells Dash what I've done I'm screwed. Dash'll hate me for sure. I can't show my face at that party.

However Rainbow Dash looked so happy at the thought of Gilda meeting her new friends that Gilda couldn't bring herself to refuse to go to the party or to tell Rainbow Dash about the horrible things that she had done that day. Soon enough the two were on their way to some place called SugarCube Corner. They entered and were greeted with many cheerful ponies and what looked like a good party. If only Gilda knew what was going to happen. Apparently before the party started, somepony had set up a bunch of pranks and Gilda of course walked right into each and every one of them. The griffon was getting increasingly annoyed with each one. She enjoyed a good prank most of the time and could even appreciate one when she was the one being pranked. However, this amount of humiliation, coupled with all the anger and stress she was feeling from what had already happened was pushing the griffon to her breaking point. As each prank humiliated her more and more, she also started feeling extremely paranoid.

This pink pony is out to get me. Gilda thought nervously. She's trying to get me to lose my cool. I just gotta stay calm or bail. She tried to give Rainbow Dash a warning glance, but the pegasus either didn't notice or didn't care. Come on Dash. Gilda thought pleadingly. We've been best friends for years. Please realize when I'm about to lose my cool! Please! She kept trying to get Rainbow Dash's attention but she was unsuccessful.

Soon enough Pinkie Pie said they were going to play some game called pin the tail on the pony. Gilda noticed a white pony with a fancy purple mane excitedly wish that she'd get to go first and use the purple tail. Gilda harshly responded that since she was the guest of honor she'd go first and use the purple tail. Wow I'm really becoming a jerk. Gilda realized. Snapping at her like that over nothing is not like me. Pinkie Pie spun Gilda around and told her to walk forwards. Probably another prank. Well this pony's not tricking me this time. Gilda went the opposite direction that Pinkie Pie told her to and of course, set off another prank. She was really close to losing it now. Come on Gilda. Keep cool. Don't lose it. Not in front of Dash.

However it was no use. Gilda had finally had enough of the pranks and she insulted Pinkie Pie mercilessly. She was venting all of her frustration from the day's events on the pink pony, seething with rage the entire time. However the biggest shock for her was when Rainbow Dash defended Pinkie Pie and declared that she was the one that had set up the pranks.

"So I guess I'm Queen Lame-o." Rainbow Dash spat angrily. "If being cool is all you care about then maybe you should find some cool friends somewhere else."

No. Gilda thought. She's lying. She couldn't have done it. It had to be Pinkie. There's no way Dash set up those pranks.

"You you." she sputtered. "You're such a flip flop." she screeched. "Cool one minute and lame the next." Gilda walked towards the door and turned to Rainbow Dash. "When you decide not to be lame anymore give me a call." And with that she took off, leaving a bunch of stunned ponies, as well as her only friend behind her. The griffon flew off back to Rainbow Dash's house, grabbed her bag, and left Ponyville, blinking the tears out of her eyes as she flew. Her tears were of anger, sadness, betrayal, and remorse. Gilda flew high in the air and watched as her tears hit the ground below her.