Chapter 18 – A Brush with a Griffon

Sleep never did come easy for Ford Mustang during his time in the Everfree Forest, whether it’s either through the aching aftermaths of his intense training or from reliving the nightmares of his forced separation from his beloved Rainbow Dash. But this time, he barely had any sleep at all after mourning the loss of his good friend, Hindel the All-Seeing Dragon. In fact, the only reason why he was able to doze off despite his restlessness is because his body became so worn out from crying not-stop over the departed dragon.

Eventually, Ford wakes up from his restless nap and rubs out the sand and dried-up tears from his eyes. Grudgingly, he gets up from the floor and prepares himself for the next of his journey: finding Wagner, a great friend of Hindel’s, and asking for his aid into defeating Arrogon the Destroyer, the menacing stallion who is responsible for Ford’s constant grief, and most recently, for the death of his friend, Hindel!

But before he takes his leave, the emotionless pony takes one last look at his deceased master from where Ford has slept nearby during his agonizing rest. Once he turns around, the Pegasus is slightly surprised by what he is looking at. With the Hindel’s scales being turned into hardened stones due to that devastating hellfire he endured, the great dragon looks more like a sculpted mountain than an actual corpse. And frozen on the mighty reptile’s face is that unforgettable grin of his.

As the respective Ford observes the eternally sleeping dragon, he feels a familiar radiance dwelling inside his heart-beating chest. Even without the need to close his eyes, he can see the aura’s growing warmth of golden Dragonian Magic. This reassuring warmness serves a reminder to him on all the times he has spent with Hindel since they first met inside the dragon’s home.

With a grateful smile, he muses to himself, “Hindel… even when you are gone… you are still with me, aren’t you?”

After eating some of nature’s bounties as well as partaking on those energizing, delectable Rock Crystals that Hindel has gathered up before, Ford Mustang finally takes flight and heads up north for the Talos Mountains.

The journey to these mysterious mountains is very dreary due to the expanded sky being nothing more than dark, thick clouds, so it didn’t make traveling all the more enjoyable. But Ford doesn’t have time to sight-see. He’s been tasked with an important mission by Hindel in his final moments, and he will see to it that he will follow it to the letter!

Passing the great Equestrian plains, the determined Pegasus has entered a mountain range. As the environments have shifted into a different setting, so has the change in the weather. The snowstorm is not as terrible, but because of how fast Ford is flying, his vision starts to become hazy. To get away from the blinding blizzard, he reaches for a higher altitude to use the clouds as a way to shield himself from the snow. After passing-by the scattered clouds, he merges within the great, gray blanket in the sky. Once he is inside, he starts to think that this was a bad idea since now his vision now more obscured than ever due to blanket’s thick grayness.

Before he decides to go back down, he spots a dark spot ahead of him in the overcast. Soon, that vague spot gets bigger as it takes shape and spouts two large wings. While Ford tries to figure out on who that shadowy figure is, he fails to realize on how close it is approaching him.

SLAM!

With a firm, head-on collision, both flyers fall out of the gray, cloudy mass. While Ford is quickly able to recover with ease from that crash, the indistinguishable flyer is at least lucky enough to plummet into one of the scattered clouds down below. Frantically, the winged stallion rushes to the collided flyer’s aid as he lands on the lone cloud. Upon landing, Ford is slightly startled to see that fallen flyer is a brown griffon just by looking at its distinctive features: the hindlegs and tail of a lion, and the wings and fore claws of an eagle. The only thing that is missing is its head, which is stuck in the dense cloud’s fluffiness.

“Ohmygosh!” the humble pony apologizes. “I’m so sorry! Are you alright?”

“I’m fine! Leave me alone!” the gruff, female griffon snaps as she struggles to free herself.

With one final pull, the griffon manages to get her head out of the cloud. Angrily, she turns around to face the punk who crashed into her while Ford’s eyes grow as big as saucers when he recognizes on who she is. From her facial features, she has piercing, golden eyes, large, light purple eye shadow, and head feathers that form a fringe, which hangs ahead of her white eagle face. Glaring right at Ford Mustang is Gilda, an old, former friend of Rainbow Dash!

“Hey, dweeb!” she screeched out loud. “Watch where you’re going next time!”

“G-Gilda?” Ford responds quietly in surprise.

“Yeah, what about it?” she grumbles as she brushes herself off for any cloudy residue. But then, her pupils shriek a bit after hearing on what Ford just said. “Wait… how do you know my name?!”

Ford is about to response, but he just lets his jaw hang opened as he realizes the mistake he just made. When he was human, he knew all about Gilda through her only appearance in an episode of its cartoon counterpart as well as through the immense fandom. But as a real pony, he really can’t say that he knew her at all. So he is confounded on how to recover from that slip up.

“Well?!” Gilda demands impatiently as her beak got really close to the stallion’s muzzle.

Without any alternatives in mind, he answers nervously, “I was… at that party Pinkie Pie hosted for you… when you were in Ponyville! Remember?”

As he mentally prays to himself that his lie will actually tie-in with this magical world’s timeline, Gilda continues to glare with narrowed eyes at the pony stranger as he displays a broad, sheepish smile. Eventually, she steps away from the stallion and dismisses it with a harrumph.

“Oh, right… that!” she growls under her breath. “Sorry if I don’t recognize you. You ponies all look the same to me.”

“It’s… fine, Gilda.” Ford didn’t care how insensitive the griffon was towards him. He’s just happy that she bought that little lie of his.

“Tsk! Pinkie Pie!” she scowls at that name. "You know, if it wasn’t for that queen lame-o, she wouldn’t have caused Rainbow Dash to turn against me like that!"

“Oh come on now.” Ford tries to correct the grumpy griffon. “Pinkie was just trying to cheer you up and show you a good time, that’s all.”

Gilda turns her head sharply as she glares back at Ford with furious eyes before questioning him, “You think tricking me into those ridiculous pranks and making me into a complete laughingstock is her idea of ‘showing me a good time?!’”

“No, of course not.” he answers calmly and assuredly.

“Hmph! Whatever!” she says without a care. “As much as I should be mad at that pink dweeb, I’m more pissed off at Rainbow Dash for abandoning me like that! I was her best friend, and I’m like a hundred times cooler than any of them combined! How dare she choose them over me! Heh, Equestria may considered her as the “the Element of Loyalty”, but if you ask me, Dash is nothing more than a friggin’ hypocrite when it comes turning her back on her real best friend!”

Ford is not amused by the way she was mocking Rainbow as his friendly smile flips into a disapproving frown. This time, it is his turn to snap back at Gilda. “Hey! Don’t talk about my marefriend like that!”

"Marefriend?!” she exclaims in surprise.

“That’s right!” he nods firmly as he angrily stares at her. “You got a problem with that?”

It takes a while for Gilda to process it, but then, she uproariously laughs right in front of the puzzled Pegasus. “Are… are you serious?! You and Rainbow… are an item?! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Now that’s funny! No offense, pal, but I never thought that Dash would sink so low with the likes of you!”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” he inquires in an irritated tone as he narrows his intense glare at her.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Gilda points it out in a scornful chuckle. “You’re a dork! And what’s more, you don’t even have a Cutie Mark on ya! Last time I check, those things are essential when it comes to ponies like you! And for a pony at your age to never receive one is a clear sign that you are the lamest out of all the ponies in Equestria! Of course, for somepony as cool as Rainbow Dash to go out with you, I guess that makes her even lamer than you, huh? Heck, I wouldn’t even be surprise if she dumps you at some point! But hey, what do you expected from a backstabbing traitor like her to do something like that?”

Ford Mustang has all he could take from her! He's already accepted his fate on never being able to get his own Cutie Mark one day. What he won't stand however is the rentless insults of Rainbow Dash that this smug griffon is spewing in front of his face, no matter how great of a fandom she has back on Earth!

“Gilda?” he gets her attention in unusual calmness.

“Yeah, what?” she snaps at him.

“You’re welcome to mock all you want about me… but don’t you dare insult Rainbow Dash like that ever again!” he shouted in a tremendous outburst.

The earth-shattering voice of the fuming stallion greatly startles Gilda as she tries to reassume her assertive persona, “H-hey! Watch what you say--!”

“NO, YOU WATCH IT!” he sharply interrupts her as he hovers right at her eye level while he continues his scolding at the disrespectful griffon. “I am so sick on hearing you talking trash about Rainbow when you clearly don’t even know her at all like I have! Such as how she enjoys reading her favorite stories! Or how supportive she can be to those who admit their fears to her! You may expect that from someone you would classify as a ‘big softie’ or an ‘egghead’, but in my book, Rainbow Dash is a thousand times cooler than you will ever be!

And yeah, I remember you from that party, but I also remember on what you did before that! How you scared an elderly mare just to get a kick out of that! Or how you stole some food without paying for it! Oh, and how could I forget on what you did to the kindest mare in Equestria when she accidentally bumped into you! She even apologized to you, and what did you do to her?! You mocked her in so many ways and purposefully scared her off! As far as I know, only bullies take enjoyment out of something so juvenile like that! And Rainbow Dash would never do anything like that. That’s the real difference between you and her! You just never learn on when to grow up!

And lastly, you keep telling me how she betrayed you and such, but you the one who got it all backwards! You saw how happy Rainbow Dash was with her new friends, so you threw a tantrum and left her instead! She didn’t turn her back on you, Gilda! You turned your back on Rainbow just because you were too stubborn and jealous to admit you own mistakes to her! So tell me something ‘Ms. I’m-So-Cooler-Than-Anyone-Else’, what do you got to say to that?!”

Gilda is utterly speechless by the time Ford finished chewing her out mercilessly. Nopony has ever spoken to her like that before. She should be furious at the pony’s accusations, but somehow, she detects a hint of truth in Ford’s harsh words, and that's what really hurted her the most.

“You… YOU…!” is all she could say in a trembling growl. Despite her rising emotions, it didn’t do much to falter Ford’s firm attitude towards Gilda’s misbehavior. And just as it looks like she’s about to reach her boiling point, she lets out a sad sigh and he mutters in a defeated manner, “You’re right… It… it is my fault.”

Ford is quite astonished by the sudden reaction from Gilda as he softens his expression. But then, Gilda breaks down into aggravated tears as she admits loudly, “I was jealous, okay?! There, are you happy now?! I just… I just want to be with my best friend again, alright?! You have no idea on what it was like for me! You just… sigh… don’t.”

After laying down her haunches onto the cloudy cushion, Gilda depressingly pours out her feelings to the lone, attentive stallion, “When I transferred to Junior Speedster flight camp, I… didn’t start out with any friends. The fact that I was the only griffon there is what caused most of the fillies and colts to be too scared to even come near me. I usually don’t mind being seen as fearsome, but back then, all I really wanted was to have a friend.”

As she recollects from her days at camp, Gilda begins to smile to herself as she continues her story, “But then, there was one pony who wasn’t afraid of me at all. That was when I first met Rainbow Dash! Not only did she say that I was pretty awesome just because I was a griffon, but we also have so much in common, such as competing in just about everything, performing the coolest tricks ever, and pulling off some of the biggest pranks! We were like the coolest flyers ever!

But eventually, we had to separate once flight camp was over. It sucked so bad for us to split like that, let alone with the best friend I could have asked for! So yeah… a couple years before, I went to Ponyville, just so I can hang out with Dash again. Just like old times. But then, Pinkie Pie came in and… well… I was bitter about because… this was supposed to be about me and Rainbow Dash. And… I was afraid that Pinkie was going to ruin that for me. So… yeah… I guess I got so mad about it that I nearly took out my angry on everypony. And… you’re right… about everything about me. I was so blinded by my own anger that I didn’t realize that I was the biggest dweeb of all. I guess what I’m trying to say is… I’m sorry!” she sobs greatly as fresh tears pour out of her heavy eyes. “I’m so sorry! If only I realized that earlier, than maybe… I won’t have to lose Dash like that.”

“Gilda…” Ford says sympathetically as he gently pats on the griffon’s foreleg. “I’m sorry on what you have gone through. And I’m also sorry for snapping at you like that earlier. I’ve been through a lot lately, and I too let my own frustration get the best of me.”

From hearing the Pegasus’s sincerity after wiping away her tears, Gilda breaks into a small smile as she chuckles softly, “I guess we just had to let it all out, huh?”

“Yeah, I guess so.” he agrees with a soft smile as well. “…Hey Gilda?”

“Hmm?”

“If you like… I can speak for Rainbow Dash on your behalf if you still want to be her friend again.”

“R-really? You would do that for me?”

“Sure! I can see just how honest you are when you confess your guilt towards me, so I’m sure that Rainbow will forgive you as well. And… that’s not the only thing I can give you.”

Greatly puzzled by all of this, Gilda says, “You’re willing to do all this for me, and I don’t even know you. What else is there you could give me?”

With a friendly smile, Ford extends his fore hoof and answers matter-of-factly, “My friendship, of course! After all, Dash doesn’t have to be your only friend, right?”

Gilda just stares at the pony’s hoof for a while. Then, she’s hesitate a bit before she scratches her head as she responds with a mild blush, “You know… this is rather embarrassing for me to say, but I didn’t even get your name yet.”

“I’m Ford… Ford Mustang.”

As Gilda shakes his welcoming hoof, she perplexes with a smirk, “Ford, huh? That’s… quite unusual for a pony name. Uhh… no offense!”

“It’s fine, Gilda. After all, I am an unusual pony myself.”

They share a brief, hearty laugh together before Ford grins widely, “You know what this calls for?”

“What?”

With his fore hooves spread out, he answers with a very wide and goofy smile, “A HUUUUUUUUG!”

With a heavy blush, Gilda refuses in a shaky voice, “N-N-NO WAY! I am not doing that!”

“Come on!” he teases her while maintaining that ridiculous grin of his. “You know you want to!”

“No!” she repeats herself as she grumpily crosses her fore arms while turning her gaze away from Ford’s.

“Gilda, either you hug me, or I’m gonna hug you! And just to warn you, I am lot stronger and faster than I look!”

With a peek over her shoulders, Gilda still sees that mischievous grin on the kindhearted stallion. And while she wants to preserve her image of coolness, she starts to fall into temptation a receiving a welcoming hug from her recently new friend, even if it is rather “dorky” for her to do that.

“Don’t worry! No one’s looking! I promise!” Ford reassures her in a slightly teasing manner.

Reluctantly, she gives in and stammers, “F-f-fine! But this stays between us! Got it?!”

“My lips are sealed!”

Slowly, Gilda approaches the grinning stallion, who still has his fore legs out in the open. With the discomfited griffon in his reach, Ford gently pulls her in and softly embraces her. Still on the edge, Gilda quickly looks around as she makes sure no one’s watching her. She would never hear the end of it if any of her griffon comrades spot her in this embarrassing situation. Yet, despite her initial discomfort, Gilda is actually kind of glad that there’s someone is willing to be her friend. Giving in to this comforting embrace, Gilda gradually wraps her fore arms around Ford as she gently pulls him in closely towards her.

“You know? This is… kind of nice actually.” she muses with a satisfied smile.

Meanwhile, Ford Mustang is too drawn in by the soft density of Gilda’s feathers. It’s been so long since he felt such a plushy surface when he started his Dragonian Magic training. Almost right away, he would start to doze off into this all-natural pillow cushion.

“Mmmm… you have such nice breasts…” he murmurs quietly with a dreamy smile.

“Wait, what did you say?” Gilda raises an eyebrow at Ford’s unusual choice of words.

Upon realizing on what he just said, Ford immediately snaps out of Glida’s cozy, feathery chest and breaks the hug right away before trying to rephrase his previous statement, “I… I meant plumage! You have a very nice plumage! Wait, is that a dirty thing to say to a griffon?! I’m sorry! I… umm…!”

Gilda doesn’t know why Ford is so embarrassed all of a sudden, but just from seeing how red his face is getting instinctively causes the griffon to laugh uncontrollably. As she rolls on the cloud, she continues her spontaneous laughter as the flustered pony takes a moment to observe the griffon’s sudden hysteria.

In the midst of her heavy chuckling, she confirms to Ford, “You seriously are the strangest pony I have ever met since Pinkie Pie!”

“Gilda, you don’t even know the half of it!” Ford chuckles all-knowingly.

Once she is done, she wipes a tear from her eye and says with an amused smile, “But thanks, Ford! I really needed that!” Ford may not know on what Gilda is thanking him for, but he is glad to see her feeling much better since they’ve first encountered.

“So Gilda… if you don’t mind me asking… what are you doing out here?”

“Well right now I’m serving as a scout for the Griffon Kingdom. For over two weeks, we’ve received nothing but dark gray overcasts in our country! Recently, the weather griffons speculated that the source of this strange forecast originated in Equestria. So, I volunteered to check out the strange phenomenon myself and report back on what I could find over there. Also… I was… kind of… planning on stopping by Dash’s place… in case she missed me yet or not.” she murmurs the last part to herself.

“In that case, perhaps I can save you the trip instead and tell you myself.”

“Really? You know what’s happening?”

Ford lets out a distressing sigh before he answers in a more serious tone, “Unfortunately, I do. Ever since those dark clouds have appeared, Canterlot has been taken over by a demonic pony named Arrogon the Destroyer! He is the terrible fiend that not only captured the Princesses, but also the Elements of Harmony!”

“Wait! Even Rainbow Dash?!” Gilda asks alarmingly.

He starts off very hesitates, but then he responds dishearteningly, “Yes… even her.”

“Then what are you doing out here?!” Gilda snaps at Ford. “You should go back and rescue her!”

“Believe me, Gilda! I really want to! I’ve been through hell and back just so I can confront Arrogon one day! But first, I have to seek someone out in the Talos Mountains before I can challenge that monster myself!”

“Really?” Gilda tilts her head slightly in confusion. “Who do expect to find out here?”

“A dragon, who goes by the name of ‘Wagner.’”

Suddenly, Gilda froze in place with wide eyes after she heard that name. It’s a name her race will never forget, and a name that sends dreadful goosebumps all across her feathers!

“W-W-WAGNER?! As in ‘Wagner the Inferno Dragon King?!’ That Wagner?!” she inquires in complete shock.

“You know him?” Ford inquires eagerly.

“‘Know him?!’ Ford, every griffon knows who Wagner is! And trust me, you do not want to face him!”

“Why is that?” Ford asks in a clueless manner.

“Are you thickheaded or something?!” Gilda chews out the supposedly naïve pony before she lectures him on this historical figure. “Wagner the Inferno Dragon King is one of the most infamous dragons to have ever existed in our country’s history! When Wagner and his dragon clan first came into the Talos Mountains, the Griffon Kingdom sought a regular settlement from them if they wanted to stay in our country. Mostly it’s because since dragon on known for their incredible senses on finding jewels, the bureaucrats figured that it would be easier to collect what the dragons dig out for them. But Wagner would not have that, and refuse to bargain with us! So the Griffon Army tried to force the dragons out of their home if they would not cooperate! Of course, their means to drive the dragons out were only met with the furious might of Wagner! Some say that he breathes fire like no other dragon, and his strength rivals that with our most legendary warriors! After that, the Kingdom made peace with Wagner and his clan by vowing to never come into the dragons’ territory ever again as long as they don’t bring destruction into our cities. We were lucky enough that Wagner accepted our treaty, and we’ve maintained over 400 years of peace with them ever since then! That’s why it is forbidden for us to enter the Talos Mountains, and why it is absolutely suicidal to even go there, let alone just to speak with Wagner! Not even our king is foolish enough to provoke the dragon’s wrath again!”

Ford would be lying to himself if he didn’t make a nervous gulp to himself after hearing Gilda’s story on the supposed ally of his cause. Still, despite his sudden uneasiness, he realizes that there are more important things to consider, like defeating Arrogon or more personally, saving Rainbow Dash.

Resolvedly, he asked her, “So where is the Talos Mountains?”

“Wait, what are you doing?” Gilda fears on what Ford’s going to do next despite her warning.

“I need to know where the Talos Mountains are so that I might speak with Wagner.”

“Haven’t you been listening to what I just said?!” she strongly snaps at him. “IT’S… FOR-BID-DEN! Wagner will not allow any outsiders to enter his domain, and from what I’ve heard, Wagner shows a great dislike to ponies! If he sees you, then you will be dead on the spot! It’s suicide! So please Ford, trust me on this one, and don’t do this to yourself!”

Calmly, Ford reassures her, “I do trust you, Gilda, and I appreciate all that you have told me. But either way, I still have to see Wagner on this important matter! It’s urgent that I gain an audience from him! Beside, my master entrusted me with this task as his last request, and I can’t let him down no matter what! Wagner and his clan may be the best chance I have at crushing Arrogon and his army! Who knows, maybe Wagner wouldn’t be such a bad guy to talk to once you get to know him! So, I’m sorry, Gilda, but I have to do this, and there’s nothing you can do that could convince me otherwise!”

Dumbfounded by Ford’s boldness to go forward and face the mightiest dragon head on, Gilda just shakes her head as she breaks into a chuckling grin, “Dude… you’re absolutely crazy! But you know what? I like that about you! So, I’ll help you!”

“You… you will?” he asks in surprise. “But I thought you were too scared to confront the dragon yourself!”

With a bold smirk, Gilda boasts to her new pony friend, “Me? Scared? No way! I’m half-eagle and half-lion, not half-chicken and half-scaredy cat! I laugh at the face of danger! I was just pointing that out for your own good! Besides, you’re doing me a solid by allowing me to patch things up with Rainbow Dash, and I figure that I should return the favor this time! So, I’ll lean you a claw and show you where Wagner lives!”

“Thanks, Gilda. I really appreciate that.” he gratifies with a gentle smile.

“Hey, no prob, Ford! Well come on then, we don’t to end up as a bunch of dork-sicles in this kind of snowy weather! Try to keep up, Mustang!” she playfully winks at her before she darts off the cloud and begins her lead to Wagner’s mountains.

As he easily catches up with Gilda, Ford Mustang thinks to himself, Well pretty soon, I will finally meet up with Wagner. I know Gilda and Hindel have been mentioning that this dragon has a deep grudge against ponies. But surely, since this guy was Hindel's friend, he’ll be reasonable enough and help me out in my quest, right?

…

Right?

Author's Notes:

For those who have offered their ideas on a respectable title for Wagner after the release of Chapter 17, I just want to thank you all for your participation!