Gilda woke up screaming. She had been having a nightmare, but those had become such a common plague she was used to them by now. What made her scream was the agonizing pain that rippled through her left wing and lower back. She had never felt such pain in her life, and clawed blindly at the air, sure she was being attacked by some sort of monster. When she felt a weight try to restrain her arms, these suspicions were confirmed, and she snapped her beak wildly until she closed it upon something warm and yielding. There was a bark of pain, and Gilda felt something solid punch across her beak. She went limp after that, her brain rattled, and the agony in her back still bringing tears to her eyes.

“Are you going to calm the buck down or should I hit you again?”

Gilda’s eyes opened, and she found herself looking into a pair of deep, green eyes. The eyes narrowed in a show of anger, and the head moved back, revealing it belonged to a large, black stallion, his obsidian coat almost camouflaging him in the perpetually shadowed forest. She wiggled slightly until he lifted a hoof menacingly, and she stopped. The pony backed away, and Gilda slowly rolled to a seated positioning, whimpering softly at the pain in her wing, as well as her beak. Before her was a roaring fire, with several odd looking plants slowly roasting, mounted on a stick. She must have been out for a while, then, enough the stallion was cooking breakfast. “Who are you?” she asked.

“You can call me Black Jack. Who are you?”

Gilda saw no need to answer some nosey stallion. She remained silent, slowly flexing her wing, biting back whimpers each time. There could be no doubt: it was utterly shattered.

“Every few days I come into the Everfree Forest to enjoy some peace and quiet, away from all the hustle and bustle. This time, when I came, I saw a blurry figure racing across the sky. I figured it was some Pegasus twit showing off, so when I saw them crash, full speed, into the side of a mountain, I raced over to see if they were alright. You can imagine my surprise when I came upon a griffon. What’s your name, anyway?”

Gilda didn’t see the use in answering. She stood up to leave. “I don’t know what you were expecting in return, Black Jack, but the joke is on you. I haven’t got any bits to repay you and my wing is so busted, I doubt I’ll ever fly again. Thanks for nothing.” She started off.

“Not a very cheery bird, are you?” Black Jack asked. “Nursing a broken heart, huh?”

Gilda turned, glaring. She stomped towards Black Jack, who casually rose from his seated position and came to face her. He was larger than her, and by how hard he punched, significantly stronger. And her wing was still aching something fierce, as was her jaw, as was her chest. Broken wing, broken ribs. She was dizzy, which meant a concussion. If she tried to fight him, he would probably kill her. She sighed, and backed away.

“You must have seen the mountain,” he continued. “It’s not like you were racing someone and distracted, so you must have seen the mountain. Which makes me wonder, did you want to hit it? And, if so, are you now wishing you had hit it just a little harder, to break more than just your wing? Not many things can do that to a pony, but a broken heart sure can.”

Gilda’s claws dug large holes in the ground. She was shaking slightly, and once more turned to Black Jack, only to see he was now eating one of the roasted plants. “I’m a bit of an amateur alchemist,” he said between bites. “Comes with being an Earth walker I guess. If you come back with me to Ponyville. I might be able to mix something up for the pain, but to heal all your aches, that will just take time. You’re welcome to stay with me for a day or two, though.”

Gilda looked down at the ground, and then shrugged, before following the black stallion through the dark forest. If nothing else, she should get out of such a place as this. One wing shattered, belly empty, head still spinning, she would be easy prey for a pack of timberwolves or an ornery manticore, or a pony who wasn’t as friendly as the black brute.

XXX

“Do you read all these?” Gilda asked, standing before a bookshelf in Black Jack’s bedroom.

Black Jack nodded. One hoof brushed over the books, quickly reading the titles on the spine, until at last he came upon the one he wanted. “Here it is. I borrowed this one from a zebra,” he said. “Trying to find the perfect prank to get a friend back.” Holding the book in his mouth, he trotted to the table, and began to flip through the pages. “Forget Me plant, Forget Me Not plants, Growth plants, Heart’s Desire potions, Love potions, Invisibility… ah, here it is. Pain remedy. I broke three ribs a couple years ago. I doubt I would have been able to get through the nights without this one.”

Gilda peeked over Black Jack’s shoulder, looking at the page. There was a mixture of very odd writing (though, what could be expected from a species that had to write with their hooves or mouth,) and pictures of plants that Gilda recognized from the forest. “Have you got everything you need?” she asked.

Black Jack shook his head. “No, sorry. But I’m sure Zecora, the zebra who I borrowed this book from, has got some, and I’m sure she wouldn’t mind lending it to me since this is a bit of an emergency. You can wait here. There’s some stuff to eat in the kitchen if you don’t mind pony food. I’ll be back in a bit.”

Gilda growled at him. “Why are you being nice to me?!” she snapped. “Green haired twerp. Why should you do anything for me?! Not like I would do anything for you.”

Black Jack stared a moment, before casually saying, “Food is in the kitchen. Try not to break anything while I’m gone.”

Gilda watched the black plots shift side to side as Jack trotted out of the room, and then listened to the “clop clop clop” of his annoying hooves as he left the house. The front door opened and then slammed shut, marking his exit. Gilda was left alone in the whole house.

For a while, she was bored. She trotted to the kitchen, although she found she didn’t have an appetite. She settled for knocking a bowl off the counter with her tail, but even that was boring. She walked back to the bedroom.

With delicate fingers, she flipped through the book Black Jack had been reading, until she finally found a page detailing a “Forget Me” plant. A claw brushed over the page, looking at the shape, and how it was described. She could make out some of the words. She guessed the plant was “blue” and “leafy.” The picture looked like something she had seen in the forest. And, if she was reading the results of the plant right, the drinker would forget their most recent memories. The more they ate, they more they forgot. A rare smile spread across Gilda’s lips. Yes, that was interesting.

XXX

“Thanks for coming gals,” Rainbow Dash said. Her head was hung low, her steps were shaky, and her wing tips were dragging on the ground.

Twilight Sparkle gently bumped against her. “Hey, what are friends for?”

“Are you sure Gilda won’t mind us tagging along?” Fluttershy asked. She was standing towards the back of the trio, even more nervous than Rainbow Dash.

“What does it matter what she minds?” Rainbow Dash muttered. “She’s lucky I’m even coming. Probably just wants to brag about how great her life has been.”

“Or maybe she wants to rebuild the bridge,” Twilight Sparkle offered. “Maybe she’s sorry.”

“She can’t be sorry. Ever since camp, she never apologized for anything. And how she treated you, and she thought she could just hide it from me! All you all did was try to be nice, and look at what she did!”

Awkward silence dominated the walk into Everfree Forest. Rainbow Dash shifted between nervousness and bitter rage, sometimes stomping forward with fire in her eyes, other times stopping almost completely. Fluttershy was nervous, as usual, although seemed to be putting on a brave front for Rainbow Dash’s sake. And Twilight Sparkle simply walked. A week ago, Rainbow Dash had knocked nervously on her door, and showed her the letter, sent to her by Gilda the griffon. The letter simply gave directions, and asked if she would come over for lunch. Twilight Sparkle offered her company without being asked. And after all Gilda had put Fluttershy through, they thought it might be cathartic to face her aggressor.

Far off the beaten path, they finally came to a small, humble shack, which barely seemed to be holding together. Rainbow Dash lifted her hoof and gently rapped upon the door, but when no one immediately answered, she turned around and started to trot away. “Guess she’s not home. Whole invitation was probably a prank anyway. Oh well, nothing to do.”

Twilight Sparkle rolled her eyes, gripping Rainbow Dash by the tail with magic to keep her from flying away. Several locks could be heard clicking out of place, and eventually the door opened slightly. A golden eye peeked out of the shadows, the pupil shrinking, and then the door opened more to reveal Gilda, who wore a scolding expression. “The letter I sent said to come alone, Dash.”

Rainbow Dash fluttered back to the ground, and trotted before Gilda. “These are my friends, Gilda. And if you’re going to act like a bratty hatchling, then I’m not going to stay.”

Gilda’s eyes opened wide a moment, before she took several steps back, the door swinging open all the way. “I… didn’t make enough stew for… everyone though…That’s all I’m saying…”

“We can all share,” Twilight Sparkle said, coming inside. “What happened to your wing? Are you alright?” she asked.

Gilda tried to position her wing behind her back, but bandaged and braced with a splint this proved impossible. “Flying accident,” she said quickly. “Timberwolves! A couple timberwolves got me. They… leapt into the air when I was flying and…They leapt off each other’s back to reach and… There’s really not enough stew for everyone.”

Twilight Sparkle used her magic to take hold of a quartet of bowls, and placed them on the table. She looked to the large cauldron, which was simmering and filling the house with delicious smells. Corn, celery, apples, nuts, Gilda had really gone all out for this lunch. “There’s plenty of stew here,” she said.

“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash said quickly. “My friends aren’t leaving, Gilda.”

Gilda took a step forward, but almost knocked into Fluttershy, who was not fast enough to get out of the way. The griffon’s beaked clenched, her eye twitched and her temper raced to boiling point, as she stared down at the yellow Pegasus who coiled into a tight, shaking ball. Gilda took a deep breath, and sighed, “Why don’t you got sit at the table?”

In a blur, the yellow pony had zipped away. Twilight sat down beside her, and very gently rubbed her back, trying to keep her calm. Rainbow Dash made a show of squeezing between the two other ponies, which left only one seat for the griffin: as far away from Rainbow Dash as she could sit. Gilda cast a scolding, angry glare at Fluttershy, who whimpered pitifully. Her beak twitched, and she wanted nothing more than to yell, but she managed to take her seat without saying a word. Twilight Sparkle used her magic to fill the bowls and placed them down before the guests.

“So, Gilda… how have you been since… you were last in Ponyville?” Twilight Sparkle asked.

“I’ve been… alright. I saw you pull off the Rainboom, Dash,” she said, meekly. “During the Best Young Flyer competition. I was… watching from a cloud… Congratulations.”

“That was a year ago,” Rainbow Dash said curtly.

“You know Gilda…” Twilight Sparkle said. “You were kinda mean to Fluttershy last time you were in Ponyville. Maybe you’d like to apologize for the way you treated her?”

Gilda looked to Fluttershy, and swallowed. “I’m… sorry… I was… I don’t really interact much with ponies except for Dash and… I don’t really know…You just bumped into me, you should watch where you’re going but I guess I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that… I guess… you were helping the ducks. They’re kinda like my cousins. I guess…”

“Fluttershy, maybe you would like to forgive Gilda?”

Perhaps to occupy her mouth, Fluttershy opted to take a spoonful of the stew and gulp it down, followed by another, followed by another.

“Rainbow Dash… maybe you and Gilda would like to schedule another race? I know you’ve gotten faster in the past year. I’m sure Gilda has as well. I mean… after her wing has healed, maybe you and she can race again?”

“No,” Rainbow Dash said quickly, and casually took a spoonful of stew.

Twilight Sparkle sighed. “Thank you for inviting… accepting us into your home, Gilda. And I must say, you are an excellent chef.” Twilight took a sip of the stew. The taste was quite pleasant, actually, reminiscent of what her big brother would make after school. She took another sip, and another. “Would you like to come into Ponyville sometime and cook for us? I’m sure you and Applejack would be able to make up some marvelous dishes. Griffon can eat apples, right?”

Gilda looked down at her bowl passively. Even if it wasn’t tainted with the “Forget Me” herbs, she genuinely wasn’t hungry, and was actually feeling rather sick. She looked to Rainbow Dash, who refused to meet her gaze, and then she looked to the fire in the corner of the room. “We need some more firewood,” Gilda said, and got up from the table. She left, slamming the front door with enough force that the entire shack shook and threatened to collapse.

She was gone for several minutes, but soon she returned, several pieces of firewood carried in a fabric bag draped across her one good wing. She walked inside, head held low, expecting… what? The ponies to greet her? To say hello? She heard nothing, and lifted her head, to see no one sitting at the table. Bowls still sitting there, still steaming, but no ponies to eat them. She had been gone for less than ten minutes, but they had taken the chance to bolt.

“Invite her over,” Gilda muttered, tossing the bag against the wall, and once more making the whole shack creak and moan and shake. She slammed the door shut, and twisted every lock into place. “Bury the hatchet, yeah, that’ll work. Why don’t I just bury the hatchet in the yellow one’s skull?” She walked to the table, sighing. “Fine Dashie, I get it. You hate me. I really, really get it! But by the winds, don’t I even deserve a letter saying you’ve run off with your new friends? Would that really take too long?! A little note, Thanks for the stew! That’s all, but no. What? Did the pink one come rushing in with some sort of super awesome party emergency? Or maybe you have to go out and save the world.”

Gilda sighed and walked back and forth, something that always helped her gather her thoughts. “What was I even thinking? Slip her some “Forget Me” herb in a stew? And what… she’d forget about this stupid grudge against me and remember the good old times at camp? Heh, yeah… what I was thinking? Probably just managed to make her forget why she was here.”

XXX

Rainbow Dash woke with a splitting headache, which was not helped by what sounded like thunder up above. The ground shook and rattled, her body bouncing up and down again and again until she managed to brace herself on four hooves. She attempted to take to the air, flapping her wings furiously, but found no matter how hard she worked, she could not get airborne. What the buck had happened?

Far off, she saw a spot of yellow, immediately identifying it as Fluttershy. She raced over the quaking ground to her, quickly inspecting her for signs of harm or cuts in the skin, but found nothing.

“Rainbow!” came a voice, and she turned to see Twilight Sparkle galloping towards them.

“What happened?!” Rainbow Dash demanded.

Twilight Sparkle sighed. “Do you remember what happened to Applejack when she got exposed to the Poison Joke? Well… we’re even smaller.” Each of them took a foreleg, and they hoisted Fluttershy up to carry her out from under the table. They had just escaped from beneath it when a massive claw came crashing down, mere inches from them. The gust of wind the claws caused was so great, Twilight and Fluttershy were both knocked back, but Rainbow Dash buckled down and braced herself, not allowing the wind to overtake her. “Gilda, you bucking monster! You did this to us!”

Rainbow Dash stared at the towering creature, waiting for some sort of reply, and received it with Gilda’s booming voice. “And what… she’d forget about this stupid grudge against me and remember the good old times at camp? Heh, yeah… what I was thinking? Probably just managed to make her forget why she was here.”

“You’d better hope I never get big again, Gilda, because I am going to make you pay for this!”

Rainbow Dash watched as Gilda’s foot once more lifted. The three, large toes stretched out from a massive center of the foot, covered in scrapes and scratches. Rainbow Dash watched as Gilda brought her forefoot down, the sight so frightening and awe inspiring, she did not know how to run. Magenta magic embraced her by the tail suddenly, and yanked her back to the relative safety under the table.

“She shrunk us!” Rainbow Dash screamed.

“No Dash, she didn’t. Or at least that wasn’t her intention. Just listen to her.”

“Oh, mind wiping me. That’s so much better!”

“Rainbow Dash, just calm down for one minute, please.” Twilight sighed, and looked down to Fluttershy, who was starting to recover from the shock and confusion of being shrunk. “Look, Gilda didn’t mean for this to happen, which means she doesn’t want to hurt us… or at least you. If we can get her attention somehow, I’m sure there is a way to reverse this.”

“And then I beat the living tar out of her,” Rainbow Dash said, smashing her hooves together.

One by one, Gilda took the bowls of stew in her beak and walked into the kitchen, where she set them down in the sink. She was in no rush, and feeling generally depressed and lethargic, she only took one bowl and one utensil at a time. What was she expecting? Rainbow Dash to come barging back in, explain she got called away but now they could sit down for a nice lunch, alone? In fact, she did clear Rainbow Dash’s seat last, first the spoon, then wiped the area around the bowl with a napkin, then cleaned the rest of the table, and then last, took the bowl itself to the sink. A twitch of anger surged through her, and she snapped her head, throwing the bowl into the wall with enough force it shattered, raining shards of pot and stew through the room. She sighed heavily, and then spread her legs, sitting down casually to wash whatever bowls were left.

The ponies had been rushing alongside Gilda, squeaking and sending sparks of magic out, struggling to get her attention, but she seemed preoccupied with her own thoughts. They threw their bodies against her feet, and Rainbow Dash even wrestled with her tail briefly, but nothing attracted her attention. When it was clear Gilda would be sitting down, they raced after her, struggling to adapt to their new bodies, and when Gilda came to a stop, Twilight Sparkle found it prudent to simply teleport the rest of the way. In a splash of magenta light, she was gone, only to reappear far into the kitchen. She was proud of herself, that despite her reduced stature, her magic was still as potent as ever. She looked back to Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, as if expecting some semblance of praise. They had stopped running, actually, and were staring at Twilight Sparkle, mouths agape. Twilight Sparkle looked up just in time to realize she had teleported right between Gilda’s rear feet, and her massive lion rump was quickly descending upon her. Twilight Sparkle attempted a quick teleportation spell, but before her horn could even spark, the tons and tons of griffin flesh and fur had smothered her from the world.

For several breathless moments, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash stood before the giant griffon, terrified of what had happened to their friend. A sigh of relief escaped them both when, with an explosion of magenta magic, Twilight Sparkle appeared at their hooves, panting and groaning and shaking.

“I think, perhaps, we should rethink getting Gilda’s attention,” Fluttershy said.

Twilight Sparkle was shaking slightly. She was sore, but nothing seemed broken. She breathed deep, savoring the fresh, clean air, and sighed. “We’re too far away from anypony. Even if Spike notices we’re gone tonight and they send out a search party, we’re so deep in the forest, it could be days and days before anyone finds us. And in the meantime, we’ll have a giant, oblivious bird stomping around. Why does Gilda have to live so deep in the woods all alone, anyway? I thought griffons lived in Cloudsdale?!”

Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Griffons are from a land across the sea. I think maybe one or two live in Cloudsdale. But Cloudsdale was founded by Pegasi. It’s a Pegasi city. Not like they aren’t allowed, but only a few ever even go there.”

“But… you went to Junior Speedster Flight Camp with her, didn’t you?”

“Gilda was the only griffin that whole year. The only reason she attended camp with us is ‘cause she doesn’t have any parents, and she had to be put somewhere. Besides, she hated every minute of it. Sure, I got bullied cause I had some trouble stopping, but they had a field day with Gilda. I was the only one who ever talked to her I think.” Rainbow Dash sighed, thinking to herself. She looked up to the griffon, who was now sitting casually in front of the fireplace.

Gilda spent a few moments feeding the flames, watching them dance and grow fat. The warmth was pleasant on her feathers and fur, and she took a moment to expose her neck to it, letting it soak inside her. Then her feet, and then her badly wounded wing. “Time,” she muttered. “Time heals all wounds. Dumb dweeb,” she muttered. “All ponies. Bunch of lollygagging dweebs, putzing about with their heads held high and their hooves making an awful racket. Why did I think Dash was any different?”

She stood, and headed for her bedroom.

“Look out!” Twilight Sparkle shouted, and leapt out of the way as a pair of massive feet came crashing down. Rainbow Dash leapt as well, but as Fluttershy looked up and saw the sight: the three massive toes and center foot, which was larger than her whole body and only growing larger, she found herself rooted to the spot. She screamed suddenly as the foot came down, but her scream was smothered as the bird foot came to rest fully. For painful moments, Fluttershy’s fate was a mystery. Twilight Sparkle stared, sickened, expecting an explosion of red at any moment. Gilda took another step, and lifted her foot up. Rainbow Dash raced for Fluttershy, picking her up and carrying her somewhere safe, as the griffin’s massive feet continued to stomp by.

“Are you alright Fluttershy? Anything broken?”

“My… my wing I think,” she said, looking back at her left wing, which looked as if it had snapped in the middle. Her eyes rolled back into her head and she nearly fainted.

“It’s alright,” Twilight Sparkle said. “It’s a clean break, it looks like. It’ll heal soon. I promise.”

Fluttershy nodded, and got to her hooves slowly.

Gilda soon came back in, an odd, square something carried in her beak, and a satchel carried beneath her wing. She took up residence at the fireplace, and watched the flames a while, her long, feline tail swaying behind her.

“Twilight,” Rainbow Dash said. “Stay with Fluttershy, alright? I’m going to get Gilda’s attention even if it kills me.”

The purple unicorn nodded, and Rainbow Dash raced forward as fast as her legs could carry her.

Gilda took the picture out of her beak and held it in her fore claw. It was an old picture, well-worn and faded, taken Graduation Day when she could finally kiss camp goodbye. There was Gilda, an arm around Rainbow Dash. Her other claw was up, and she was giving a thumbs-up to the camera. Rainbow Dash’s smile was wide and relieved, stretching ear to ear. This was probably the only time Gilda had ever smiled on camera, too. Aside from the fact her beak wasn’t as flexible as lips, she wasn’t often that happy. She sighed. “Flip-flop,” she muttered, and tossed the picture into the fire, frame and all.

She reached into the bag she was carrying, and took out a jar of minced herbs, blue in color. She unscrewed the jar slowly, and sniffed it. This was what was supposed to erase memories, at least that was what the book of potions said. “I put a couple pinches in the stew,” she muttered. “I didn’t want to give her too much, but I just wanted her to forget about last time… But if I take the whole jar, maybe I’ll forget about Dash. Forget about the camp… and the bullies, and ever meeting Dash.”

Gilda sighed, and shrugged. “Yeah, that’ll work. Goodbye, Dash,” she muttered, before fixing her beak over the jar, and tilting her head back. She could feel the herbs sprinkle over her tongue, and although they tasted absolutely awful, she forced herself to swallow. She used her tongue to brush through the jar, licking every bit of the blue plant up, before allowing herself to fall back. She was tired now, for some reason. Was it the herbs? Or was the lack of sleep for the past week finally catching up to her? It didn’t matter. She thought she heard Rainbow Dash off in the distance, but that was probably just her imagination, and in another moment, she was asleep.

Gilda woke slowly. Her first thought, upon awaking, was of Rainbow Dash, which meant the herb didn’t work how it was supposed to. She let loose as many curses as she could, hissing and screaming and shouting, stomping the ground, until her lungs began to feel fatigued and she was forced to take a seat, panting.

“Gilda!” came a voice as loud as thunder, and in an instant she whirled around, only to come face to hoof with a blue wall. Gilda had seen dragons and giants, even raced a few and won, but never in her life had she seen anything as massive as the blue pony standing before her. She turned in an instant, attempting to flap her wings but that only caused a surge of pain, causing her to crash to the ground. She attempted to run, but looking over her shoulder, watched as a massive wall of blue descended upon her. Just one of Rainbow Dash’s hooves was twice the size of her body, so the blue wall could smother the poor griffin with absolute ease. The hoof was surprisingly squishy and warm, and Rainbow Dash did not apply enough pressure to hurt Gilda, only keep her pinned. Nevertheless, Gilda was sobbing weakly as the hoof remained on her, and she continued to struggle and squirm, struggling to escape its embrace, sure at any moment the pressure would increase and she would go pop. For a brief moment, Rainbow Dash took some enjoyment in this. Not that she was hurting Gilda specifically, just how awesome it was to have another under hoof like this. But it got boring just as quickly, and Rainbow Dash actually lowered to her belly, resting on the ground and keeping her hoof there until Gilda finally exhausted herself, and just lay there, covering herself with a wing as if that might ward off the next crushing blow.

“Gilda,” Rainbow Dash said sternly. “You tried to wipe my memory? You tried to make me forget my friends?”

Gilda looked up at her weakly, and then hid herself beneath her wing. Rainbow Dash stomped her hoof down next to Gilda, the gust of wind knocking the lithe griffon over the ground until her other hoof stopped her. “Answer me, Gilda.”

“No!” she screamed. “I mean… I did but I don’t care. I don’t care if you know your friends or not. I just wanted you to forget… forget what happened. I wanted you to be able to come here and visit and not be pissed at me, alright?!” She stood up, staring at the giant Rainbow Dash, who was passively laying on her front, red eyes unyielding, never blinking. “I wanted to go back to the way things were. I wanted us to be best friends again. I wanted to believe you would always have my back and I would always have yours, like when we were at camp. You and I against the world, Dash. Don’t you remember that?”

Rainbow Dash sighed. “I remember that, Gilda. But things change. I changed. If you want to be friends again, why wouldn’t you just apologize for what you did?”

Gilda looked down, like a scolded child. “I don’t know how…”

“Are you sorry for what you did to me?”

“Yes,” Gilda said lowly. “I’m sorry for everything I have ever done to you. I’m sorry for ever meeting you and putting you through this and-“

“G, stop,” Rainbow Dash said softly. She smiled, which calmed Gilda down a great deal. “Are you sorry to Fluttershy and the others?”

Gilda looked up at the softening stare of the blue Pegasus. “I don’t know,” she said, which was the truth, however much it made her stomach churn. “I think though…” She tried to smile. “I can understand why the pink one wanted to be with you so bad, never let you leave. You’re just so damn awesome.”

That earned a laugh, however slight, from the blue giant.

“And now, to have to spend all this time away from you, all alone. I know we didn’t see each other much after camp, but I could always send you a letter or stop by for a visit and you could always come by for me. It was just… the door was open. But now we can’t. And to lose you like that. You’re the only one who ever looked at me without a scoff or a glare.”

“My friends won’t scoff and glare at you, but you have to work at it too. G, I know you’ve been through more than any griffon or pony should. I know your first instinct is to act tough and take on the world and never let them see you cry, but how has that turned out for you so far? Do you think you can just… lighten up a little?”

“I’ll try… I will. I promise.”

Rainbow Dash turned her hoof over, offering Gilda a flat surface. Gilda was still scared, but Rainbow Dash waited patiently until she finally climbed on, and lifted the griffon to her mane. She allowed Gilda to crawl forward, settling awkwardly in the long hair. “I missed you too, G,” she said, as she trotted back to the others. “You put a blue herb into the soup? That’s what you had swallowed yourself?”

Gilda nodded weakly. “I… I had a book. It’s supposed to clean memories.”

“I saw the herbs you were holding. You got the wrong one; you picked a plant called Shrinking Violets. It causes… well, shrinking.” Rainbow Dash laughed, and when she came upon the other two ponies, she set Gilda down between them. To say Gilda was utterly petrified to be surrounded by the trio was an understatement, but she struggled to maintain a brave front. The idea that this was all some sort of trap had crossed her mind. Hell, for all she knew, this was just another nightmare.

“You stepped on Fluttershy, G,” Rainbow Dash said. “Apologize to her.”

“When did I step on her? Why are you all so huge?!”

“Gilda, apologize to Fluttershy.”

Gilda looked up at the towering yellow pony, and swallowed a lump in her throat. Oddly enough, Fluttershy seemed more frightened of Gilda than the other way around. “I’m sorry,” the griffon said. “I don’t remember stepping on you, but I’m sorry I guess.” She paused. “And I’m sorry for yelling at you. Look… in camp, if you ever showed weakness, you were going to get torn apart. You had to be tough and yell and shout at everyone, and eventually, I just don’t know how to act any different than that. But really, you should watch where you are going.”

“It’s alright, little Gilda.”

“And, I don’t really know who you are,” Gilda said, turning to Twilight Sparkle. “But… I’m sorry for whatever I did to you.”

“Just… don’t ever bring it up, please,” the purple pony said. “Look, I’m happy that you two seemed to have reconciled, but in case you haven’t noticed, the only sentient being within miles of this place is now even smaller than we are. Anyone have any idea what to do?”

“I have plenty of food, stocked here,” Gilda squeaked. “And the fire should last a while. We can just wait, and eventually someone will come looking for you ponies, right? Won’t your queen notice you aren’t home, and she’ll focus on your magic?”

Twilight Sparkle nodded softly. “It’s probable. Spike will probably contact her when I don’t return tonight, and if she really focuses, she should be able to sense my magic. Maybe I can send out a few SOSs if I can get to a window. I just don’t know how long it’ll take, but it’s better than nothing.”

Gilda shrugged. “Yesterday I was living here all alone. I wouldn’t mind spending some time with… a couple friends…”