Chapter 23: Reunion

Von continued to aid Zecora around her hut for the next couple of days. The work she had to do wasn't so difficult. All she mainly needed were some extra herbs or other ingredients to make her potions. It was HOW he needed to get the ingredients that annoyed him to no end. He either needed to get the ingredients from a poisonous bush, climb a tree or wrestle a creature for it. With his lack of wings, it made a couple of the tasks more difficult for him but he continued to work hard for the mare who aided him. When they came back to the hut, Von collapsed on the floor.

"Ooooh....Are we done yet?" Von whined. Zecora nodded her head and her attention slowly directed towards his wounds.

"The wounds you suffered are still quite new but with the work you've done, I'm proud of you. Rest is what you need to heal what is lost, yet you push yourself no matter the cost." She rhymed with a touch of worry in her voice.

"I'm always like that", Von said with a weak smile. "I prefer to work my hardest for everypony else rather than myself. They're all so precious to me, so I'd do my best to make them happy." Von's smile slowly turned into a frown as he continued to speak. "But it's not like they care much. Who could ever care for me? I try my hardest to be like them, but I know that'll never happen. I don't even know how I'm supposed to act. Am I supposed to be like a dragon or a changeling?! I can't do either given what i am. After all, I'm just a thing." Von looked down sadly and looked away from Zecora. Zecora herself seemed saddened by the fact that this young 'stallion' was putting himself down after he graciously and selflessly aided her when she requested it.

"I know not why you call yourself a thing, for what I see in front of me is a halfling." She said to him. Von lifted his head and looked towards the striped mare.

BGM 1

"A...halfling....." He mumbled to himself. Von suddenly remembered that Celestia said something similar like that to him. He wasn't a pony, a dragon or a changeling. He was a halfling, a creature in Equestria that was born from two mixed bloods. Those mixed bloods could have been anything: a pony and a dragon, a pony and a griffin, a dragon and a griffin and more combinations. But no. He was born to a dragon and a changeling, a highly rare union. That meant he was special. If his parents, both from a species that disliked the ponies with a passion could love one another to bring forth this miracle, then he could probably bring about many things that are not or have yet to be existent in Equestria. Von managed to smile and looked towards Zecora as he stood up. "Thank you, Zecora. Now...if you'll excuse me, I have to go back home. My brother has to be stopped." Von turned around and was about to leave her hut until she called out to him.

"Have you gone mad?!" She yelled. She wasn't aware of what was going on, but she felt like he was about to do something he wouldn't come back from. Von stood still and looked down at his hooves. Given his current injury and level of power, going after Nova in his state DOES sound like an insane idea. But this was Von's brother. Von's problem. It was Von Nova had his eyes set on in the beginning and he dragged the rest of his friends...his family into this dilemma. And it was up to him to fix it.

"This is my problem. I have to fix it. But I won't confront him right away. He's far too strong for me. But I do know he won't listen to me. He's too far gone to be persuaded with words. I have to stop him in the only way he'll actually respond: by force." Von declared. There was no arguing about that. Nova would only respond to action rather than words. And given Nova's strength, it will be very difficult for Von to stop him. I won't be able to learn anymore magic just yet. So I have to train more in the ways of the elder, he thought. Without another word, he opened the door to Zecora's hut but was quickly tackled to the ground as a young very recognizable filly came into Zecora's hut.

"Ow..." moaned the filly, She looked and noticed that she was laying across Von's chest, while he himself writhed in pain as he was laying on his wounds. "Von?! What are y'all doin' here?"

"Applebloom? What are you doing here?" Von asked.

"Ah was coming here to help out Zecora. Why are you here?" Applebloom retorted.

"I just got finished helping her."

"Oh....well...I guess I'm not needed." Applebloom said with a frown.

"Don't worry about it. I was just about to leave. But hey. Can I ask you a question?" Von asked.

"What?"

"Can you get off of me now?"

"What do y'all mean you can't find him?!" Applejack yelled.

"I mean I really can't find him! I don't know where he is. He left the party and I haven't seen him since!" Rainbow Dash argued back. Since Von left his own birthday party, the girls had been worried sick about him. They had no idea where he was and as the days had gone by, they started a search party to locate him. However, it was to no avail. They couldn't find him anywhere and started to think about giving up, praying the worst did not befall him.

"Listen girls. I'm sure Von's ok. Maybe he just went back home." Twilight said, trying to calm down her two panicking friends.

"But where would he go? He can't go back to the mountain. Nova rules that place now, remember?" Kamen said. "And plus, I doubt he'd go stay with Chrysalis....at least, he wouldn't just yet. He's a tough little.....halfling. I'm sure he'll come back." As he finished speaking, something caught the attention of one pink mare.

"Hey! Look at that!" Pinkie yelled. She pointed her hoof in the air and noticed something flying towards them. Smiles appeared on their faces as they began to believe that the creature flying towards them was their missing friend. However, Rainbow Dash did not smile. Instead, she scowled at the creature, for she knew it was not Von at all. In fact, she was quite familiar with what was flying towards them. When the creature came into view, they stopped smiling. It was a bit larger than Von and was a completely different shape. It landed on the ground and the moment it did, Fluttershy squealed and hid behind Pinkie Pie.

"G-g-g-g-g-g-g-g...." was all she could get out in her frightened state. However, they knew what she was trying to say. Rainbow Dash had the urge to yell at the griffin before her, but she managed to keep calm.

"What do you want, Gilda?"

BGM 2-Gilda

"I was in the neighborhood and decided that I'd stop by and see how all you flip-flops are doing." The griffoness said as she scratched her chest. Twilight had the right mind to yell at Gilda as well, for her actions after the Nightmare Moon incident but her common sense told her not to cause a scene. "So, Dash. What have you been up to?"

"..." Rainbow Dash stayed silent. She wasn't in the mood to talk to this jerk, but it also seemed like there was something else on her mind. She was curious as to why Gilda, out of everyone she knew, would bother to come back to Ponyville. After what she said at Pinkie's party, she thought that Gilda wouldn't come back anymore. So there had to be another reason.

"Well?"

"Why are you REALLY here?" Rainbow Dash inquired. Gilda said nothing. She just stood there, staring at the pegasus until Kamen took a step forward.

"Come on. Whatever it is, you can just say it." He said. Gilda looked at him and back at the rest of the group. After a good minute, she sighed and looked at them.

"I'm looking for someone." She finally said. Rainbow Dash smiled a bit.

"Who is it?" asked the pegasus. Before Gilda could answer, the voice of a young filly called out to them.

"Applejack", Applebloom declared. "Look who I found!" Applejack and her friends turned to see what Applebloom was talking about when they saw something that put a huge smile on their faces. Walking next to the young farm worker was their half-blooded friend, Von.

"Von!!!" They cried. Von smiled and opened his hooves to embrace his friends as they tackled and hugged him. Gilda sat there and watched as Von was nearly squeezed to death by his friends and scowled. Her anger started to build as she kept staring. Rather, not anger but more like....jealousy. But at the same time, she was rather confused. She'd seen Von in the past, but he looked different than she remembered. VERY different.

"Von?" She called out questioningly. Von got out of his friend's embrace and looked at her. He never saw her before and was curious as to how she knew his name as he stepped forward.

"Yes?" He asked. "Do I know you?" Gilda looked down and for the first time, she looked sad. The way she looked was new to the girls, especially Rainbow Dash. Even though they used to be good friends, Rainbow Dash never once saw Gilda express sadness.

"You really don't remember?" Gilda asked.

"Should I?" Von responded.

"It's me, Gilda. Remember?" Von stood there and tapped his chin with his hoof. For an odd reason, the name seemed familiar to him. Gilda, Rainbow Dash, Twilight and the rest stared at him with anticipation, Gilda mainly. He closed his eyes and continued to think. Where had he seen this griffin before? As he thought more on it, memories and images began to flow through his mind until he finally arrived at the answer.

"I remember now!" He shouted. Gilda lifted her head and smiled at him.

"You do?! You know who I am, right?" She asked with excitement in her voice.

"Of course. How could I forget you, Gildy?" He said with a smile.

BGM 3

"Gildy?" The girls said in unison. Gilda's face flushed with red as she looked back towards them.

"N-n-no. I have no idea what he's talking about!" She shouted. Von smiled and placed a hoof on her back.

"Aw come on. You said you loved it when I gave you that name." Von said. Gilda looked him in the eyes and smiled nervously but then glared at him.

"I do, but I told you to never call me that in public!" She screeched. The moment those words escaped her lips, her face turned completely red when she realized she had said that out loud. Kamen smiled and approached the two childhood friends.

"I guess you must've met her before you met me. Judging by the way it seems, she really loves that name." Kamen teased as he looked in Gilda's direction. Von took his time to think about Kamen's words. It was foggy, but in his memories he knew that he had met Gilda around the same time, if not before, he met Kamen. He had met Kamen a week before he lost his memory. But nevertheless, he was happy to have met them both. Gilda especially.

"Of course she does. I called her that when we were kids. Oddly enough, she never found a nickname for me." Von said. Gilda gave Kamen an angry stare and gave Von a glare mixed with anger and embarrassment, but she tried her best to keep her cool.

"Wow. Who knew you had a name like that, eh Gildy? I had no idea you were like that." Rainbow Dash said with a teasing voice. She was on the brink of laughing, but she stopped when Gilda glared at her.

"I'm not like anything! Shut up, Rainbow Crash!" She hissed. Rainbow Dash glared and flew up to her until they were face to face.

"What'd you call me?!" Von looked at the both of them and stepped in between them.

"Whoa. Dash. Gildy. Let's calm--"

"Stop calling me that!" Gilda screeched, her cheeks burning hot with embarrassment. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie smiled at the two of them.

"Wow. I never knew you were that close to Gilda, Von." Fluttershy said.

"Of course. She used to be my girlfriend." He said. Both Von and Gilda blushed when those words escaped his lips. The girls and Kamen just stared at the two of them while they were looking away from each other.

"She was your girlfriend? Since when?" Pinkie asked with a smile. Von looked to Gilda and smiled at her and the look in his eyes embarrassed her and she sighed.

"We started 'dating' back when we were kids." She answered. "But we were young, so it doesn't count!" She quickly defended. The group stayed silent, unable to find a response to what was said. Gilda remained silent as well while Von just stood there and smiled at her until Kamen broke the silence.

"Well..." Kamen muttered.

"They do make a lovely couple, don't they?" Rarity asked.

"Do we really?" Gilda asked, scratching her head. Von just stared at his hoof and smiled having heard that compliment. To be honest, despite not having seen her since his time on the mountains, Von had always thought Gilda was attractive...despite being a griffin. They hadn't been around each other in so long. So before he could even THINK of ever asking her out...IF he could ask her out, they needed to catch up first.

"Hey Gildy?" Von asked. Gilda cringed and blushed at being called by her nickname and looked at Von.

"Yeah?" She responded.

"Why don't we go for a walk? I'd like to catch up. It HAS been years since we've seen each other." The young halfling reminded her. Gilda chuckled and placed on of her claws on Von's shoulders.

"Fine. I'd like to know what you've been up to all these years." The griffoness said to him. She spread her wings and took flight, but she stopped when she noticed that Von did not follow. She came back down to his level and gave him a confused stare. "Why aren't you flying?"

"Um..." Von looked behind him with sadness in his eyes and when Gilda looked, she saw the reason why. Guilt riddled her body as she felt that she just dug up something painful that Von wanted to forget. But when she looked him in the eyes, she saw him innocence as he just gave his feathered friend a smile

"Uh...let's go for a walk then." She corrected. Von smiled again as he got next to Gilda and the two of them made their merry way out of Ponyville. The girls smiled as they saw Von and Gilda having their own little private conversations as they walked away from them, but Kamen just stared at them in silence. Rainbow Dash looked over at her friend.

"What's up, Runner?" Rainbow Dash asked, calling him by his nickname. Kamen tapped his muzzle with his hoof and smiled as he opened his mouth to speak.

"Oh yeah. She's definitely gonna take him for a ride." He said, causing Rainbow Dash and the others to groan.

"I see. I heard about those changeling things back home." Gilda said as she and Von continued their stroll. The sun was setting and the clouds were starting to move in. But they didn't care. They wanted to spend as much time together again after how long they've been apart. "To think you were one of them. Well, sorta. But anyway, about changelings. They're supposed to be able to change into other ponies or whatever, right?" She asked. Von laughed and looked at her.

'We can change into ponies, yes. But we can also..." Von's horn glowed a violet color as a green light rose up around his body and when it disappeared, he was in the guise of his griffin friend. "...turn into other creatures as well." He finished in Gilda's voice. Gilda laughed and smiled at how ridiculous her old love was acting. But at the same time, she was admiring his appearance...or her appearance actually.

"Hmm. Have I always looked that cool?" She asked with a smug grin on her beak.

"The real question is, have you ever been this hot?" Von retorted as he changed back to normal. "And the answer is: yes. Yes, you have." Hearing that compliment come from him caused Gilda to blush through her feathers. She turned away and hid her face in one of her wings. Von laughed and moved her wing out of the way and kissed her cheek. "You always got like this back when we were kids. Back when...I was just a dragon. But now...I'm this. I wouldn't be surprised if you got over me and found some sta...sorry. Griffin..." Von corrected. "...that loved you alot and you loved him back. But I'm not that worried. Like you said, we were kids so it doesn't co--" Before Von could finish his sentence, Gilda reached around and grabbed him by the back of his head and pulled him in for a kiss. Her eyes closed as his eyes widened in shock and he thought about pulling away......and yet, he didn't.

He closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of Gilda's beak against his lips. As his eyes fully closed, he started to notice something. Her kiss was.....passionate. It wasn't forceful or full of lust. It was meaningful. There were true feelings behind her kiss. Feelings that had long gone unnoticed. He finally was able to realize exactly what those feelings were: Gilda was in love with him. As their kiss went on, Von's heart started pounding. It was much more powerful than before. If it beat any harder, he'd be mistaken for a drummer in the Canterlot Symphony. He then saw images while his eyes remained closed. It didn't take him too long to notice why these images came to him.

Another vision..., he thought. In the vision, he was running through the forest again, just like his vision of Zecora. In fact, it was the exact same scenario. But it was different. He saw Zecora but the moment he blinked, he saw Gilda. With each time he looked towards the one who was with him in his vision, it changed. This was a first for him. Why does it keep changing? Is something wrong?, he kept thinking. Wait. The reason I had my vision of Zecora was because I was bound to meet her and I thought I'd have to be with her. But now, I'm seeing Gilda. And yet, I feel torn between them. Realization struck when he figured out what was going on. The reason they keep changing...it's because I don't know who I want. The future I'm seeing, who I'm with will depend on who I pick. This is a future that I must decide for myself.

Von and Gilda finally broke their kiss. They were at a loss for words and breath, a bit of saliva hanging from the others' lips. Von stared into the golden eyes of his friend. She was blushing again and her attention didn't divert away this time. She wanted to look into the eyes of the one she kissed, the one she loved for so long.

"How long have you felt this way?" Von asked while trying to catch his breath.

"Ever since we met." Gilda responded as breathless as he was. Von kept staring her in the eyes. Her words...her actions....she wasn't lying. Her love wasn't fake like Rainbow Dash's and her kiss wasn't full of lust like Chrysalis. And the way he was feeling...he didn't want to latch onto Gilda like he was about to do with Zecora. He'd known Gilda for a long time. The two of them were almost inseparable. And even though he barely remembered her, she still meant alot to him. There was no doubt about it. This was real love. And finally, Von was able to make his choice.

"Yes." Von said. Gilda looked at him with confusion. Von laughed at her clueless expression and smiled. "Maybe this will help clarify things." Von stepped closer to her until their lips almost touched again. "Gilda, I want--" Gilda put a claw up to his lips to shush him and smiled.

"....Call me Gildy, like you always do." Gilda said with a sultry stare. She giggled when Von started to blush. Her giggle almost sounded feminine, but it was hardly anywhere near that level.

"Gildy...I would like to be your stallion. If you'll have me." He said. Gilda simply nodded her head as words were no longer needed. It was settled. Von and Gilda, two friends that had been apart for so long, were now dating. Gilda smiled and stood beside him.

"Why don't we head back? It's startin' to get late, don't you think?" Gilda asked. Von smiled at her.

"Yeah. Let's head back." The two of them turned around and proceeded to head back into Ponyville. Gilda opened one of her wings and wrapped around her stallion and glanced at him, giving him a small smile. Von smiled back and enjoyed the feeling of his girlfriend's wings. However, Von suddenly felt something tickle underneath him. He looked down and noticed that Gilda's tail was rubbing against his balls and slowly trailed up the sheath of his stallionhood before retreating back to her backside. Von blushed and looked at her. "Heh....um....I'm not ready to go through with that just yet...not again. I wanna wait for a bit." Von told her.

"I know. We can wait." Gilda reassured him. Von sighed happily and looked ahead and continued walking with her. "But I don't want kids just yet."

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