Chapter 7: Friends Versus Fiends
The next day Gilda woke up feeling incredibly angry. Her old enemy Giovan, or as he was known as now, Grayback, had sent ponies to rob and prank her friends and other residents of Ponyville. Then he insulted her and her friends when they confronted him. Then he sunk to an even lower level when he attacked Lightning Dust. The daredevil pony was going to spend the next week in the hospital and then another week being unable to fly because of his attack. Gilda replayed the pegasus' words in her head.
"Next time you see Grayback give him a good kick in the tail for me." the daredevil had said.
Gilda had promised Lightning Dust that she would definitely do what she had asked. The brown and white griffon had absolutely no problems with fulfilling her promise. Gilda didn't really like to cause pain towards other living creatures but Grayback had done the one thing that was certain to provoke her. He had attacked one of her friends. This was something that Gilda would not stand for. She was very protective of all of her friends. Grayback would get what was coming to him soon enough.
The griffon got out of her bed and went into the kitchen. Rainbow Dash was making breakfast for them and there was a slight stiffness in the way she greeted Gilda. Rainbow Dash wasn't angry with the griffon but she was irritated that Grayback had attacked her friend. She was itching to give the rotten griffon some punishment. However Gilda had promised Lightning Dust that she would give Grayback his just desserts so Rainbow Dash agreed to let the griffon fight Grayback alone if it ever came down to a battle.
The two fliers ate their breakfast in silence. They knew that they would see the group of four thieves again. They were definitely eager to show them what happened when somepony attacked their friend. Gilda and Rainbow Dash weren't violent by nature but this attack had struck a nerve with them. They were angry and the only thing that would calm them down was making sure that Grayback got exactly what he deserved,
Once their morning meal was finished, Gilda and Rainbow Dash left the cloud castle and strolled the streets. Most of the residents in Ponyville had barricaded themselves in their home. Gilda and Rainbow Dash weren't scared of the four thieves. In fact they were looking for them. The duo walked side by side until they met with their other friends. The group of eight stayed together and searched for Grayback or his crooks Chunker, Monochrome, and Psyke. While the others didn't have as much of an urge to attack the thieves they were still angry. Normally Twilight Sparkle would try to talk Rainbow Dash and Gilda out of the fight but this time she didn't bother. The alicorn knew full well that there was no way she was going to stop the two fliers and she would be extremely foolish to try. Rainbow Dash and Gilda had a sort of camaraderie with Lightning Dust. The three of them shared a dream of someday becoming Wonderbolts. This caused them to care for and understand each other on a much deeper level than the other ponies. Attacking one of them was like declaring war against them. If somepony messed with one of them, they were messing with all of them.
The eight friends marched on in silence for a while. There was nothing for them to say to each other. A fight would happen once Gilda and Rainbow Dash found the thieves. The most that the others could do was watch and hope that their friends wouldn't get hurt. Standing in the way of the duo at a time like this was dangerous. In a state of anger like the one they were in now, Gilda and Rainbow Dash became much different than what they normally were. They would not let anypony or anything stop them. They would fight Princess Celestia herself if she got in the way of them getting to their targets. Finally Gilda broke the tense silence.
"You guys don't have to stick with us." she said.
"We know you don't like fighting so if you wanna leave go right ahead." Rainbow Dash agreed.
The other six friends shook their heads.
"We're staying with you." Twilight Sparkle said firmly.
"Lightning Dust is our friend too." Fluttershy whispered in agreement.
"We're not letting you face that big Meany McMeanPants alone." Pinkie Pie said.
"If he wants ta fight ya then he better be ready to face all of us." Applejack said fiercely.
"We will not allow that ruffian get away with hurting poor Lightning Dust." Rarity agreed.
"We'll fight them with you if we have to." Spike said in a determined tone.
Rainbow Dash and Gilda nodded and the group of eight kept walking onwards. They'd find those thieves soon. While Gilda had made sure that the others knew to let her take on Grayback alone, she said that they could attack the other three as much as they wanted. Gilda had made her promise to Lightning Dust. Gilda always made sure to keep her promises. Especially when those promises concerned friends who had been attacked. Soon enough they noticed the group of four thieves standing in a group. Rainbow Dash and Gilda nodded to each other. This was it. The huge battle would begin very soon. Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy had agreed to help them fight the thieves in the air while the other four friends would do what they could from the ground.
"Hey Grayback!" Gilda yelled.
Instantly the dark griffon turned and faced Gilda. His face held a look of amusement as he gazed at the group of eight.
"Well what now?" he said mockingly. "Come to get hurt again?"
His three cronies snickered as he continued.
"Did I hurt your little friend?" he asked. "Did I scratch her little wing too hard?"
"That does it!" Gilda snapped. "I've had enough of you! Time to settle this. Me and you."
"Eight against four?" Grayback asked. "And here I thought you preferred a fair fight."
"This is a fair fight." Rainbow Dash said. "There's only four of us that can fly."
The rainbow maned pegasus stepped up next to Gilda along with Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle.
"You've got to be kidding me." Grayback said. "Hardly any of you are actually fighters." He pointed his claws at Fluttershy and spoke. "This one looks like she'd run away from seeing a fight." Then he turned his attention to Twilight Sparkle. "And this one looks like she had only read about a fight." He sneered at the group as he continued. "You have no chance of beating us. But if you insist we shall prove it." He spoke his next words over his shoulder. "Are you guys ready?" he asked in a cocky tone.
Instantly his crew nodded. Psyke's horn glowed in anticipation. He looked like he was eager to do some fighting. Chunker showed off her rather large muscles towards the group just to prove that she was intimidating. Monochrome gave the group of eight an arrogant grin as she bent her legs and prepared to take to the skies at any moment.
The eight fliers glared at each other for a moment and then they all rose into the sky at once. Gilda had went straight for Grayback. Unfortunately she hadn't formed a clear strategy with her teammates so they were left in a state of confusion. This was something that Grayback was quick to pick up on.
"Attack Pattern Alpha." he said to his team with a grin.
Instantly the three ponies got into a formation. They flew in a way that made it nearly impossible for Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Twilight Sparkle to get a clear shot at them. The trio of thieves worked together in perfect harmony. They attacked their opponents so rapidly and flawlessly that they had no chance to react. Meanwhile Gilda was doing everything that she could do to defeat Grayback. Hopefully his team would get confused once their leader was forced to ditch the battle. However Grayback was an expert fighter. He dodged Gilda's attacks effortlessly and countered with his own. Gilda took punch after punch from the griffon. She got the wind knocked out of her by Grayback. Gilda was a talented fighter but Grayback was better. He hardly broke a sweat as he brutally punched, kicked, and tackled the brown and white griffon.
Gilda took a huge punch from Grayback and she was forced backwards by its strength. Grayback floated in the air with his wings and smirked at Gilda. Then he gestured towards the battle that was taking place below them. Gilda's eyes widened in shock. Battle wasn't the word that she would use to describe the situation. The term that first came to the griffon's mind was massacre. Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Twilight Sparkle were getting picked apart. The three thieves definitely worked well together. It was clear that Gilda needed to do something and quickly.
"Guys regroup!" she yelled.
Her friends didn't need to be told twice. They quickly broke off from their fights and gathered around Gilda.
"We're getting destroyed out here G!" Rainbow Dash said in a frustrated tone.
"We can't beat them." Fluttershy whispered in a hopeless tone.
"We need a plan." Twilight Sparkle said as she looked at Gilda.
"What are you looking at me for?" she asked.
"You're the leader Gilda." Fluttershy said.
"You know much more about fighting than any of us." Twilight Sparkle agreed.
"If anyone can get us to win this it's you." Rainbow Dash said.
Gilda closed her golden yellow eyes. She needed a plan. She noticed the way that Chunker, Monochrome, and Psyke stuck to each other like they were glued together. They had never strayed away from each other. They had moved and attacked as one. This thought gave Gilda an idea.
"Guys we need to divide and conquer." she said.
The three ponies gave her a questioning look as she continued.
"Dash you go after Monochrome. Twi focus on Psyke. Fluttershy you're up against Chunker." she explained. "If you beat them help each other out."
The three ponies nodded to confirm that they understood Gilda's plan. They split up and resumed the battle.
Gilda flew back up to continue her one on one fight with Grayback. She tried her best to avoid glancing at the battle below her. It wouldn't do her any good to get distracted.
"Had enough?" Grayback taunted.
"This isn't over." Gilda said. "It's just getting started."
The two griffons faced off against each other in a ruthless battle.
Meanwhile down below them six ponies were also in their own fight.
"Remember the plan guys." Rainbow Dash shouted to her friends.
The three of them watched their opponents carefully. Monochrome was in the middle so Rainbow Dash was going to have to strike first. She prepared herself and then she lunged at the gray mare. Her ferocious attack broke up the trio's formation long enough for Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle to separate Chunker and Psyke from each other. Now instead of one big battle there were three smaller battles.
Rainbow Dash fought Monochrome and she saw how quickly Gilda's strategy had paid off. Monochrome worked well with her teammates but when she was alone she was vulnerable. Rainbow Dash attacked her enemy without any sort of hesitation and the gray mare couldn't even react in time to any of the rainbow maned pegasus' attacks. Within less than a minute Monochrome fell from the sky and hit the ground. The gray mare tried to get back up but she ultimately collapsed. One of the thieves was down.
"This cannot be happening." Monochrome grumbled angrily.
Rainbow Dash grinned to herself as she watched her friends tie the gray pony up. Then she went off to help her friend Fluttershy with her fight.
Twilight Sparkle was in combat with Psyke. The purple alicorn was now seeing what Gilda meant. Psyke really liked fire. The bright red alicorn blasted flame after flame towards Twilight Sparkle, who desperately avoided the attacks and searched for an opening.
"What's the matter Your Majesty?" Psyke asked with a mad cackle of laughter. "Can't stand a little heat?"
Twilight Sparkle's horn glowed as she shot a stream of water towards Psyke. It didn't hurt the insane alicorn but it did prevent him from using his fire attacks. The red pony quickly flew away from the stream of water and he tried to fight back. Unfortunately Twilight Sparkle then fired an ice spell at him which froze up the water that was dripping from his wing. Psyke fell to the ground as the frozen water weighed him down.
"Can't believe I'd get beat." he said. The four on the ground quickly tied him up the same way that they had tied up Monochrome. There was no way that Psyke was escaping. He was far too weak to use his fire. Now only Chunker and Grayback remained.
Chunker had been fighting against Fluttershy this whole time and now she had Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle to deal with as well. The massive mare grabbed Rainbow Dash and hurled her towards Twilight Sparkle. The two friends collided but they stayed in the air. What happened next was too quick for anypony to see. One moment Chunker was laughing at what she had just done. Then a few seconds later she was lying on the ground and being glared at by a very angry Fluttershy. The muscular pegasus was quickly tied up and now only the two griffons were fighting.
"Looks like it's just you and me Grayback." Gilda said.
"I wouldn't have it any other way." Grayback growled.
The two griffons fought with each other. Their teammates watched from the ground, unable to help them. Grayback's crew had been tied up while Gilda's team had agreed to let her fight Grayback by herself. Gilda heard the cheers of encouragement from her friends which pushed her to fight on.
"How pathetic." Grayback said. "I always knew that ponies were weak with all their friendship junk."
"Well those weaklings just demolished your team." Gilda shot back. "Those wimps are my friends."
"Some friends they are." Grayback said. "They're not even trying to help you."
"They're doing everything that they need to." Gilda said. "I wanted to fight you by myself and they're letting me do that. They're cheering for me because they care about me. But it looks like your team doesn't really care about you. They haven't said anything since we beat them."
This was definitely true. Chunker, Monochrome, and Psyke were not cheering for Grayback. The trio of thieves hardly cared anymore about the fight. They had already lost so what was the point of giving any support? Whether or not Grayback defeated Gilda, he still had seven others to deal with. There was no way that he would win that kind of fight.
Grayback ignored Gilda's statement. The duo kept up their fight for a while. While Gilda's friends kept on cheering for her, Grayback's team remained silent. Psyke didn't even bother trying to burn away the ropes that bound him. The red alicorn knew that he'd get attacked if he tried to escape.
The two griffons fought on. They were not going to let the other win. Gilda was determined to fulfill her promise to Lightning Dust. Grayback only cared about keeping himself out of jail. Grayback would ditch the fight if he could but he knew that Gilda would not let him escape. All he could do was defeat Gilda and then fly away from Ponyville as fast as he could. Once he escaped he could figure out how to get his team out of prison.
Grayback slashed at Gilda's wing the same way he had attacked Lightning Dust. However Gilda had seen that coming and she grabbed hold of Grayback's claws. Then she grabbed his other claws and flew high into the air. She made circles in the air and flew straight downwards. She could hear the cheers from her friends as she got closer and closer to the ground. At the very last second she let go of Grayback causing him to slam into the ground. Then she flew upwards into the sky. Grayback had been defeated by her. As she watched her enemy get tied up, Gilda stretched out her forelegs and let loose a thunderous roar of pride. The battle was over. They had won.