Yes, I watch MLP. My friend got me hooked on it while we were sitting backstage our freshman year fall play. More Gelphie friendship in this.

"Glinda, I've never ridden astride a horse before," Elphaba said as Glinda pulled her through the garden.

"I know, Elphaba," Glinda said, struggling to pull the green girl behind her. "But you'll have fun. I promise."

"Is this what friends do?"

"Of course. Friends do things for each other."

"And what, pray tell, is this going to do for me?" Elphaba sighed. Oz, if she had known that being friends with the blonde was going to be this much work, she would have considered it for a bit longer.

"I have a surprise for you." Out of the corner of her eye, Glinda saw the princess' face brighten up a bit and she giggled to herself. "You'll love it. Trust me."

"If you say so."

"I do."

The two friends quickly made it to the stables. "Wait here," she told Elphaba before going inside. Elphaba obeyed and watched as the blonde opened up the door and slipped inside, closing it behind her. She heard her speaking to someone in a hushed whisper, but couldn't identify the person she was speaking too. Finally, Glinda peaked her head back out. "Close your eyes, Elphaba."

"Why?"

"Because that's what you do when someone has a surprise for you. It helps with the 'surprise' part."

Elphaba rolled her eyes, but complied and closed her eyes. She heard the sound of the horses' hooves against the ground, and heavier, human footsteps. Daintier footsteps caught her attention and she felt Glinda slip her hand into hers. "Are you ready?"

"Yes."

"Okay, you can open your eyes now."

Elphaba opened her eyes and gasped, seeing her father standing in between the two horses. He smiled at her, holding the two horses in place by their reins.

"Hello, Fabala," he smiled.

"Glinda, what is this?" Elphaba whispered, her gaze never leaving her father.

"You're going riding with your father. Surprise!" Glinda squealed, bouncing up and down.

The blood drained from Elphaba's face. She stumbled back and broke into a run.

"Elphaba!" Glinda shouted. "Don't worry, Your Ozness, I'll get her back. Elphaba, come back here!"

The princess ran back into the castle and hurried down the hall. She ran into the smaller room in the gallery that housed the royal family portraits and slammed the door behind her. She didn't realize that she was crying until she stopped and collapsed in a heap on the floor.

"Elphaba! Elphaba, where are you?" Glinda shouted as she ran through the palace halls. She sighed, wondering why the princess had run away. She was supposed to like her surprise, not run away from it. Even someone new to surprises should know that.

She decided to check the gallery, knowing that Elphaba might be there. She walked through the large gallery to the smaller one and found the green girl curled in a fetal position under the last painted portrait of the royal family.

"Oh, Elphie," the blonde whispered, approaching the green girl. Slowly, she lowered herself next to her and gently placed her hand on her shoulder.

Elphaba pulled away, still sobbing. "G-Go away!"

"Elphaba, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to… you were supposed to like your surprise."

Elphaba pushed herself up and turned away from the blonde. She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs.

"I didn't mean to upset you."

Elphaba still refused to acknowledge her presence and hugged her knees tighter.

Glinda slowly pushed herself up. "I'm sorry, Elphie," she whispered before turning and walking away.

Glinda didn't see the princess for the rest of the day. She had to go back to the Wizard empty handed and had the stable boy untack the horses and put them back in their stalls. The Wizard looked disappointed, but he understood. He saw the friendship his daughter and Glinda were building and didn't want to ruin it by taking Glinda riding instead.

Later that evening, Glinda walked to the princess' room, dressed in her nightgown and robe with a pillow clutched against her chest. Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the princess' door and waited for her to open it.

Malky could be heard barking once again and Glinda giggled. The door opened a moment later, revealing Elphaba, also wearing her nightgown.

"Hi," Glinda smiled, hoping Elphaba wouldn't slam the door on her face.

"Hi," Elphaba said, staring at the blonde. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to know if you were still mad at me," Glinda said, hugging her pillow closer.

Elphaba smiled faintly. "I was never mad at you, Glinda. I was just… surprised."

"You were supposed to be surprised. That's the whole point of a surprise."

"I know. I just… I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Elphie. I know your relationship with your father is a bit… rocky right now, but it will get better."

Elphaba nodded slowly and her eyes fell on the blonde's pillow. "Why did you bring your pillow?"

"Well… I was wondering if we could have a slumber party."

"A what?"

"A slumber party."

"What's a slumber party?"

Glinda smiled. "It's when girls get together and have some girls only time and they talk and play games before going to sleep."

"And you brought your pillow to sleep in my room?"

"Well, I figured you would want as much time in your new room as possible."

"How considerate. And this is what friends do?"

"All the time."

Elphaba ran her hand through her hair. "Very well. Come in."

Glinda smiled as she bounced into the room. Malky immediately got up and licked her foot.

"Hello to you, too, Malky," Glinda giggled, crouching down and stroking the puppy's belly.

"What do we do first?" Elphaba asked, stepping closer to the blonde.

"Well, we already did the first step," Glinda said, rising to her full height.

"Which was?"

"Get into our pajamas." The blonde put her pillow down and took off her robe, placing it on the bed next to her pillow. She thought for a moment before pulling Elphaba's quilt from her bed.

"Glinda!" Elphaba exclaimed, frowning.

"We need this." She shook out the quilt a few times before spreading it onto the floor. "Now, we sit on the quilt."

Elphaba look a bit upset that her bed was now ruined, but complied and sat down on the quilt. "Now what?"

"Now," Glinda smiled, grabbing her pillow again and handing Elphaba her own pillow, "we tell each other secrets."

"I don't have any."

"Come on, Elphie. Everyone has secrets."

"Well, I do have a question. Why did you call me 'Elphie'?"

The blonde blushed. Were she and Elphaba at the nickname stage in their friendship yet?

"You called me that earlier, too."

"I did?"

The emerald girl nodded.

"It's a nickname. Just like how your father calls you 'Fabala'."

Elphaba visibly winced and Glinda bit her lip. "Of course, I can stop if you want. I didn't mean to –"

"No, it's alright. It's just… a bit perky."

"Would you like me to stop?"

Elphaba shook her head. "I just said it was perky. I never said that I didn't like it." She gently took her friend's hands. "Besides, it's what friends do, right?"

Glinda smiled. "Right. And you can call me…"

"Glin?"

"That works."

Elphaba smiled and slowly began to let her guard down. "What else do people usually do at slumber parties?"

Glinda smiled as she reached into her pillowcase and pulled out small bags filled with an assortment of colors of yarn and two small clipboards. "I was thinking we could make friendship bracelets."

"Friendship bracelets?"

The blonde nodded. "I know you've never made one before, but they're really fun. First, you pick the colors you want." Instead of letting the princess choose for herself, Glinda handed her the pink and gold yarn bags and she took the green and the second pink yarn bags.

"You have all this stuff in your pillow case?" Elphaba said as she examined the colors.

"Well, I don't sleep with these things under my pillow. I just didn't want to carry a lot in here. I still have my pillow, though." She quickly got Elphaba started and taught her how to make the bracelet before she started on her own.

"I don't believe I wished you a happy birthday, Elphie," Glinda said as they worked, looking up at the green girl.

Elphaba was so focused on her bracelet that she didn't hear the blonde. Glinda reached over and poked Elphaba's side to grab her attention.

"Glin!" Elphaba yelped.

The blonde smirked. "You didn't hear a word I said, did you?"

"What did you say?"

"I said 'I don't believe I wished you a happy birthday'," Glinda repeated.

Elphaba put the clipboard down. Glinda took the opportunity to scoot over to her and give her a hug. "Happy belated birthday, Elphie."

"Thank you. It's okay, though. We weren't really on the best terms on my birthday," Elphaba said, slowly returning the hug.

The girls stayed like that for a while before pulling away to finish their bracelets. Once they were done, Glinda took the bracelet she made and tied it around Elphaba's wrist. "Pink goes good with green," she giggled.

Elphaba lifted her hand and admired the bracelet. It was thick and pink, with the one green yarn strand in a diagonal pattern. She smiled before doing the same with her bracelet to Glinda. Hers was exactly like the blonde's, except she made it green with the one gold yarn strand in a diagonal pattern.

"Oh, Elphie! I love it!" the blonde giggled.

"I'm glad you like it, Glin. And I love mine. You were right. This was fun."

"I'm glad you had fun, Elphie, but we're not finished yet."

"What else is there to do?"

"We seal our friendship with a promise." She gripped the green girl's hands and squeezed them. "Let's promise to always remain friends, no matter what. We'll always be here for each other and stick together."

"I would like that. I promise," Elphaba smiled, squeezing back.

"I promise, too."

In the next chapter, we will get as close to Fiyeraba as we can get without a romance.