Chapter 4: Escape From Grifforia

Gilda, Rainbow Dash, and Princess Luna walked through the prison and marveled at how fortunate they were. Here were two ponies and a traitor inside of a secure prison in Grifforia and nobody was paying attention to them. Gilda was extremely tense as she led the group out of the prison. Once they were outside they'd take to the skies at the earliest safest moment and fly back to Equestria. Princess Luna had been weakened greatly by her capture and imprisonment so she couldn't teleport the trio to safety. The three of them walked onwards and were unaware of the plan that was being formed.

"I can't believe this." Rainbow Dash muttered in a surprised and excited tone.

"Don't jinx it Dash." Gilda warned. "We're not safe till we're back in Ponyville."

"A little paranoid aren't ya G?" Rainbow Dash asked in a playful tone.

"I'm trying to keep us alive and not start a war." Gilda replied in an annoyed tone. "I'm not gonna take any chances."

"Don't worry G." Rainbow Dash said soothingly. "I'm not gonna blow our cover."

The trio walked on until Gilda's head perked up. She heard movement near them. Quick as a flash she grabbed Rainbow Dash and Princess Luna and hid them against a wall. They might have had a believable story but Gilda wasn't going to risk getting caught. She watched as two griffons walked past them and talked.

"Can't believe we got that Princess." the first one said in a proud voice.

"You know the plan right?" the second griffon asked his comrade.

"Yep." the first replied eagerly. "We bait those wimpy ponies out with their precious Princess and then take 'em down when they least expect it."

"You got that right." the second griffon agreed. "Those ponies have no army and even if they did our secret weapon would take care of them."

"That thing is awesome." the first griffon said in an enthusiastic tone. "But those new troops give me the creeps."

"I know." the second replied with a shiver. "Using machines as soldiers. But it'll work. Those ponies are going down."

"I just wanna give that traitor Gilda a piece of my mind." the first griffon said with a scowl.

"Don't even joke like that." his companion warned. "You know that the general and the director have already claimed her. Gilda's a traitor but she's out of bounds for us. If we hurt her we're in some big trouble."

The first griffon nodded though he didn't look particularly happy. It was clear that he had a serious grudge against Gilda for being a traitor.

"So what happens when we win the war?" the first griffon asked.

"We take over Equestria and those ponies serve us forever." the second replied with a grin.

The two griffons walked away laughing. Gilda waited a moment before she left her hiding place with Rainbow Dash and Princess Luna. The three of them exchanged very nervous and alarmed glances. They needed to get out of there right away. The trio moved upwards until they were back on the main floor of the prison. Gilda peeked out the doors and then she signaled for the others to follow her quickly. The trio escaped from the prison and they headed back to the front gates of the city. The capital of Grifforia was surrounded by a thick forest which would give them plenty of cover to take off into the sky.

The three of them were roughly ten feet away from the gates when they heard a shout.

"Freeze right where you are!" an angry voice yelled.

The trio turned and saw ten griffons racing towards them with bows slung over their shoulders. They all had extremely angry looks on their faces and they seemed to know what was going on.

"Take them down." the leader said. "Don't let the prisoner escape."

The griffons charged towards the trio. Princess Luna looked frightened while Rainbow Dash looked straight at Gilda for instruction.

"Time to bail?" she asked.

"Time to bail." Gilda replied.

The three of them took to the skies and flew away from the capital city. They heard an alarm sound and saw the ten griffons flying behind them. Their cover was blown and they were now flying for their lives. Gilda, Rainbow Dash, and Princess Luna tried to outfly their pursuers but the griffons were very fast. While Gilda and Rainbow Dash could easily escape from them, Princess Luna wasn't as fast of a flier. The duo needed to protect her until they were safely back in Ponyville. A griffon caught up to them and tried to tackle Princess Luna. Gilda however got in the way and fought. The griffon quickly ripped Gilda's mask off and his eyes widened in shock and anger as he saw who he was looking at.

"It's Gilda!" he shouted. "The traitor is helping the ponies escape!"

Instantly the other nine griffons took out their bows.

"Take them down." the leader said. "There's a huge reward for catching that traitor if we bring her to the general."

Immediately the nine griffons started firing arrows at the trio. Gilda, Rainbow Dash, and Princess Luna dodged the many projectiles as they flew. They knew that they couldn't keep this up forever. The griffons weren't great shots but they were still threatening. If they didn't manage to hit the trio then they'd certainly cause trouble if they made it all the way to Ponyville. Gilda and Rainbow Dash knew that they couldn't let the griffons follow them back to Equestria.

"We need a plan G!" Rainbow Dash shouted.

"Got any ideas?" Gilda shouted back.

"No." Rainbow Dash replied. "You?"

"I've got one." Gilda said. "But it's crazy."

Gilda turned around and faced the gang of griffons.

"Get Luna and get out of here." she said to Rainbow Dash. "I'll keep these guys busy."

"You're crazy G!" Rainbow Dash replied.

"Just GO!" Gilda shouted.

Rainbow Dash nodded and then she flew off with Princess Luna following behind her. Gilda watched them until they both became small specks in the sky. Then she turned towards her enemies and glared at them. The ten griffons tried to follow the duo but Gilda was determined to keep them at bay. She wasn't going to let them hurt Rainbow Dash or Princess Luna. There wasn't a chance of that.

"You're going down traitor." one of them yelled as he fired another arrow which Gilda dodged.

Gilda roared and then she began to fight the group of ten angry griffons. They fired their arrows at her as she flew towards them and punched them out. Gilda felt a few arrows hit her but she paid no mind to them. She had to make sure that Rainbow Dash and Princess Luna could escape back to Ponyville. Gilda knew that injuries like this were to be expected from the moment that she had agreed to go on this mission. The brown and white griffon took down two griffons as she focused her energy on the fight.

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash and Princess Luna were flying back to Ponyville. None of the ten griffons were following them and it didn't look like any reinforcements were coming. The two of them breathed easily since they felt like they were safe. However both of them were very concerned about Gilda. The griffon was tough but she was up against ten armed guards. Rainbow Dash was extremely scared for the safety of her best friend.

Come on G. she thought desperately. You can make it. I can't lose ya. It's bad enough I kicked you out of my life for a year. I can't lose ya forever.

The duo managed to make it to Ponyville. They saw Princess Celestia waiting for them along with Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, Spike, Lightning Dust, and Trixie. The group of nine surrounded the duo as they came to a smooth landing. Princess Celestia held her sister in a comforting embrace. The others surrounded Rainbow Dash and they were all excited to see their friend back in Ponyville. Lightning Dust looked around and her eyes narrowed a bit.

"Where's Gilda?" she asked.

"She stayed behind to help us escape." Rainbow Dash said.

"Is she all right?" Twilight Sparkle asked urgently.

"I don't know." Rainbow Dash replied uncertainly.

The group of eleven watched the skies and looked for any signs of Gilda. Pinkie Pie was extremely nervous. She had become very good friends with Gilda and she didn't want the griffon to get hurt.

Come on Gilda. Rainbow Dash thought. Where are ya? Ya gotta make it back. Ponyville wouldn't be the same without ya. I wouldn't be the same without ya.

The group of eleven kept scanning the night skies for their friend. All of a sudden Pinkie Pie hopped up and down and shrieked in a very excited tone.

"There she is!" she yelled as she pointed her hoof towards a small speck in the sky.

The others looked and sure enough Pinkie Pie was right. Gilda was flying straight towards them. She seemed to have escaped from her attackers since she was flying by herself. Twilight Sparkle's eyes narrowed as she looked at Gilda. The purple alicorn knew that something was wrong. She might not have known much about Gilda or about griffons in general but she knew that Gilda was badly hurt. The griffon was flying in a very strange way. It was as if it took all of her energy just to stay airborne. Twilight Sparkle also noticed that several of Gilda's feathers were sticking out at very odd angles. As the griffon got closer, the purple alicorn realized that those objects were too thin and long to be Gilda's feathers. The group of eleven watched as Gilda crash landed in front of them and crumpled in a heap. The brown and white griffon was unconscious and she had several arrows sticking out of her body.