Sleep took Gilda back into its soothing embrace, but it would not last long. Even though she doubted the possibility of more spirits arriving, she had a feeling this dream would force them upon her. The clock struck one and sounded out to signify so, stirring the half-sleeping gryphon slightly. The window behind her opened up, letting in a chilling gale accompanied by a light snowy assault onto Gilda's covers.

"D-damn breeze," she shivered, pulling her covers off and climbing out of the bed to shut the window.

What she saw through the ice-rimmed gateway legitimately shocked her. She stared into the eyes of a fledgling gryphon with yellow talons, small wings flapping to keep her steady in the air and a smile Gilda thought she'd never see again. It was like looking into a mirror of the past.

"...You've gotta be kidding me."

"Well, look at you!" exclaimed the young gryphon. "You grew up all big and strong! Or should I say, I did."

"You're not me," Gilda said, backing up.

"But I am...or at least, I am who you used to be...back when you first met Rainbow Dash."

"...Wait a minute, since you're me, does that mean-"

"Yes," interrupted the young Gilda. "I am the Ghost of Festive Past...I am also your long-desired past. A past which you want more than anything in the world."

"Oh, please," the elder Gilda scoffed. "My childhood sucked. Outside of hanging with Dash, I was miserable."

The young spirit smiled. "That's not true, and that's what I've come to show you."

"How?"

"Take my claw," the spirit said, extending its arm to Gilda.

"...There's no easy way out of this...I might as well..."

Gilda reached forward and grasped the spirit's tiny claw, a rush of nostalgia filling her as she remembered just what it was like when she was that small. The spirit smiled again and pointed out into the town.

"Off we go!"

In an instant, Gilda and the spirit became a bolt of lightning, flying across the sky as fast as possible. Not nearly as fast as Rainbow Dash in a Sonic Rainboom, but it was fast enough to make Gilda cringe from the wind shear. The two gryphons came to a sudden stop, arriving above a familiar location.

"No way...it's Junior Speedsters."

The flight track was a somewhat distant memory to Gilda, but it was a memory nonetheless. She saw several pegasai and gryphons soaring around in the skies above, and the chilling veil of winter covered the ground in a blanket of white. Sitting together in a set of bleachers were a familiar pair, one that Gilda recognized immediately.

"...It's me and Dash."

"Oh, come on, G!" exclaimed the image of a young Rainbow Dash. "It'll be fun!"

"I told you, Dash," replied the young gryphon. "Pony holidays just ain't my thing, especially this Winter Festival thing. And it doesn't help that it's one of those stuffy formal parties."

Dash frowned. "But everypony from Junior Speedsters is gonna be there!"

"Just not my thing, Dash. Sorry." Gilda began to walk away, the snow crunching beneath her claws.

Dash was disheartened, but her expression soon turned to a grin. "You'll miss out on all the attention."

Gilda stopped suddenly, turning her head back to the cyan filly. "...I'm listening."

"We're the best fliers here, aren't we? We'll be getting all sorts of hero worship!"

Gilda formed a grin across her face that matched Dash's. "We'll be the coolest ones there!"

"Heck yeah, we will! So you'll go?"

"You bet!"

"All right!" exclaimed the pegasus filly, leaping up into the air and slowly hovering back down. "Meet you here later on, kay?"

"You got it, Dash."

From above, Gilda watched the scene, her nostalgic thoughts overflowing from her memories. "Man...I forgot how cool things were back then...how much cooler Dash was before she moved to Ponyville."

"You need to accept that she's just as cool now," spoke the spirit embodying her younger self.

"But I just don't see it anymore," Gilda scoffed. "She's just...went lame."

"Maybe you'll see it better along the way."

"Whatever."

Gilda and the spirit soared off, the sun in the sky descending as they arrive before a large banquet hall in Canterlot.

"That's the Skyvale Hall...I remember this...this is where that party was."

"Exactly!" the spirit declared. "What do you say we head inside and take a look?"

"But...what if they see us?"

"We don't exist in this timeline, Gilda, so they won't be able to see us!"

"...Okay, I'll admit, that's pretty cool."

The two made their way to the window of the building to get a glimpse inside. Tables were set up throughout the room and ponies were conversing among each other. Gilda looked in, but seemed to shy away more so than the spirit.

"What's the matter?" the spirit inquired, noticing Gilda's slight retreat.

"I remember what happens here...I don't want to see it again."

"Watch, Gilda."

"But-"

"Watch."

There was no arguing with the spirit. Gilda looked closely through the window as her younger self entered through the door. In all of five seconds, the entire room full of ponies went to dead silence, most all eyes in the room directed at the gryphon, but not in a way she'd expected. These glares were filled with hate.

"Whose idea was this?" somepony asked from the back of the room.

"What a dreadful situation," spoke another.

"Who invited that to our party?" asked another.

'That.' The inanimate word she had just been called pierced through the heart of both the younger Gilda and the one watching her past through the window. Without a single word or change in facial expression, the young gryphon about faced and took flight. A high-speed cyan streak bolted out after her.

"Take me back," Gilda said, holding back both anger and tears. "Take me back to my room right now."

"I'm sorry, Gilda," spoke the spirit of the past. "There is but one more thing for you to see. I have to show you your conversation with Rainbow Dash."

The gryphon spirit soared across the sky once more, dragging an unwilling Gilda close behind her. They arrived in a park of sorts with a frozen lake, a snow-free dirt path and a single bench. The young Gilda stood along the path before the bench, punching the ground repeatedly. Dash arrived on the scene and immediately rushed over to Gilda.

"G, I'm sorry, I didn't-"

"Save it," Gilda interrupted. "I knew that would happen. I had a feeling that was gonna happen."

"I could go back and talk to them about it, Gilda. You can come back!"

"For what, Dash?" Gilda asked, looking up and glaring at her friend, tears starting to form. "Just to get made fun of again?"

"Gilda..."

The young Gilda turned away from her friend, wiping her eyes. "I'm done, Dash. Sorry. I'll be heading back home tonight."

The cyan filly gasped. "But...what about Junior Speedsters? What about wanting to be the best? What about...your friends?"

Gilda looked back at Dash. "Dash, you were really my only friend here...so I'll keep in touch with you, no matter what."

"You promise?"

She turned around and held out her balled-up fist, which Dash met with her hoof.

"Promise."

"Junior Speedsters Chant? One more time?"

The young gryphon chuckled. "Yeah. Sure."

The two took flight and energetically chanted, "Junior Speedsters are our lives! Sky-bound soars and daring dives! Junior Speedsters, it's our quest to some day be the very best!"

Rainbow Dash landed on the path, but Gilda stayed hovering in the air.

"I'm gonna get going, Dash. Stay cool, all right?"

"I will, G! Just you wait! I'm gonna be the coolest pegasus around!"

With a two-clawed salute, the young Gilda soared off as Dash just walked back toward the party, almost as if she'd completely forgotten that she could fly to.

"Just get me out of here, seriously," Gilda demanded the spirit. "I can't take this anymore. All this sappy stuff is making me gag."

"You've seen all you needed to see in your past...but there are two more spirits yet to arrive before you."

"What? No, no more of this. I'm not putting up with any more of these spirits. You lied to me. You said it wasn't going to suck, and it did. My childhood was miserable, I told you."

"Stop being so stubborn, Gilda," returned the spirit. "Try to see through the eyes of others for once instead of just looking out for number one."

In a flash, the spirit vanished into an ethereal cloud, and Gilda found herself underneath her covers. She was back in the room. Everything was as it had been before she left. The window was closed, no snow had blown in at all and there wasn't a single sign of anyone but her having been in the room at all.

"I don't need all this right now," she complained, nestling into the blankets to maximize warmth. "I just need to sleep..."