A/N: alright everyone, we have a bit of a tie going on at the moment. Two votes for Trixie, two votes for Zecora. Beyond those two, we have one vote for Twilight, one vote for Lyra, and one vote for Berry Punch, so someone please vote and break this stalemate! But, most importantly, enjoy the story!

“You are quite lucky, my friend,
Were it not for that branch, your fall would have been your end.” Zecora says, hoofing you a potion for your soreness. You had successfully harvested the nut, but had fallen on the way down, breaking branches until you landed on one that was strong enough to hold your weight.

“Yeah, well it certainly didn’t do me any favors beyond that.” you say with a chuckle before drinking the potion you were given. You soon feel numb in the areas you are sore, and fix her with a slightly confused stare.

“Your pain is gone temporarily,
You should still work very warily.” she explains. You simply nod as you stand from the bench you were sitting on.

“Well, I hope that nut helps with whatever you’re working on.” you say before letting out a small laugh. “Damn thing was large as my fist.” you say, and the two of you share a laugh. She gives you a small bag with a grateful nod. You accept it, and walk out the door, finding the path towards town and following it. As you walk, you open the bag to find it full of small gold coins, which your memory vaguely marks as bits. You smile slightly as you tuck the bag away into the inner pocket of your jacket. You stop for a moment, simply taking in the beauty of the natural world around you as you light up for the third time that day and watch the sun slowly begin to set over the horizon. You hear a slight rustling in the trees above you, and snap around, ready to run if necessary. “Who’s there?” you ask loudly, taking a slow step back. You hear another rustle, though this one is louder, and much closer, you turn around to find nothing there. “Must be my imagination.” you mutter to yourself. But then you feel something tap on your shoulder, and turn to find yourself face to beak with a creature you knew to be myth. All you do is sigh and shake your head. “Honestly, I’m not even surprised to find a griffon here.” you say jokingly.

“Well well, maybe you’re not as much of a dweeb as I thought, after that nasty fall you took.” it says with a chuckle, it’s voice making you assume it to be female. “And you’ve got a sense of humor. That definitely scores you some points.” she says cracking a smile. You don’t even feel like questing how smiling with a beak is physically possible considering what you’ve already seen.

“Yeah, well being the new guy in town means I have to be something, I chose to be a smart-ass.” you say with a shrug. “So what’s your story? Is living in the forest normal for griffons, or are you some kind of hippie?” you ask with a straight face. She only chuckles, and then takes a sadder tone.

“Funny story, actually.” she says, holding up her claws for a moment for emphasis. “I kinda came to town a while back ‘cause my parents were all like ‘you can’t live here anymore, you’re twenty-three, go get a job’ and all that happy stuff. Anyway, I came to town hoping one of my old buddies could give me a place to stay for a while and, well it didn’t exactly work out the way I planned, and I…… may have been run out of town.” she says cracking a nervous smile. You only bust out laughing, causing her to become angry. “Hey douche bag, it’s not funny! This is some serious shit!” she says indignantly.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” you say as your laughter dies down. “But… what exactly has been stopping you from going back into town? I mean, its not like there’s any for of law there from what I’ve seen, and it’s not like they can just make you leave if you’ve got nowhere else to go.” you say, and she suddenly takes a look of thoughtfulness.

“Why didn’t I ever think of that?” she mutters to herself, making you chuckle slightly.

“Shit happens, kid. Anyway, I’m heading back into town anyway, so if you want you can walk with me.” you say, gesturing to the path with you free hand as you take another drag on your cigarette. She shrugs her wings, and starts walking beside you. “What’s your name anyway?” you ask as you exhale the smoke in your lungs.

“Name’s Gilda, remember it.” she say proudly. “Cause one day, I’m gonna be famous! More than that damn Rainbow Dash, that’s for sure.” she says, muttering the last sentence under her breath, but still loud enough for you to hear. Whether that was intentional or not, you’re not sure, but a sudden recognition clicks in your mind.

“Oh yeah, I’ve heard about you!” you say as you finally remember where you’ve heard her name before. “Yeah, all the ponies in town told me you were a HUGE bitch.” you say before shrugging. “But you don’t seem all that bad so far.”

“Heh… so you heard about that?” she asks, rubbing the back of her neck with one claw. You respond with a nod as you stop to put out your cigarette. “Well, in my defense, that Pinkie Pie is annoying as all hay! I mean jeez, obsessive much?” she says, causing you to laugh.

“Yeah, Pinkie Pie seemed a bit…. What’s the word I’m looking for…..” you say, snapping your fingers as you rack your mind for the correct word.

“Crazy?” Gilda suggests with a laugh. You chuckle lightly and shake your head.

“I was gonna say ’hyper’, but I guess that’s a more blunt way of putting it.” you say, laughing a little bit. You don’t feel right talking about her behind her back, but at least it’s nothing too serious. “By the way, my name’s Joe.” you say, offering your hand for a shake, which she takes.

“Cool name, I guess.” she says with another shrug.

You soon reach the border of town, but Gilda stops short. “What’s up? What happened to just kinda walking in like nothing happened?” you joke, but she just shakes her head.

“I don’t know, what if everypony’s still mad at me? I mean, they ran me out once, who says they can’t do it again?” she asks, looking at you nervously. You sigh heavily and shake your head.

“The things I do for strangers…. Look, I’ll vouch for you, just don’t do anything stupid.” you say, trying to reassure her.

“Really?” she asks, looking at you slightly confused. You nod and she takes a deep breath. “Alright… Let’s do this.” she says, and you both walk into Ponyville. You get most of the way into town without incident, but you are soon stopped by Pinkie Pie.

“Hey miss meanie-Mc’meanie-mean-pants!” she says with a broad smile on her face. “Did you come back to apologize to everypony for being so mean last time? Oh oh oh, or did you come back to finish that party we had last time? Huh? Huh? Huh?” she asks, overwhelming you with the sheer spead of her speech.

“Uh….” Gilda says, at a loss for words. She looks to you for guidance, but all you can do is shrug. “I’m, uh, just passing through Pinkie, yeah, not gonna be here very long.” she says with a nervous smile. Pinkie starts to say something, but then she notices you and stops for a moment. She looks from you to Gilda then back to you, her smile replaced by a straight face of thought. Then she smiles again, more broadly and brightly than before. “Oh my gosh, you met Joe! I bet you two are super-duper best friends now, and any friend of Joe’s is a friend of mine, unless they’re super-duper mean, like you were last time, but if you’re friends with Joe now, that means that you’re my friend now too, and I throw all my new friends the bestest best parties ever!” she yells before disappearing in a pink blur.

“Wait what?” is all Gilda can say after Pinkie runs off.

“It’s Pinkie Pie, it’s best not to ask questions. Anyway, now that that’s cleared up, I’m going to the park. It’s getting dark, and I need some sleep.” you say with a yawn. “I’ll see you around Gilda.” you say with a wave as you walk towards the park, knowing there’s nothing waiting for you there but the same bench you’ve used since you got out of the hospital.

“Yeah, I guess I’ll see you around Joe.” she says, returning the wave before flying off. You walk alone in silence towards the park, tired and worn out. You can feel Zecora’s potion beginning to wear off, and plan on falling asleep before it does. You get to the park by the time the moon is at it’s peak, finding it empty once again. You sigh as you lay down on the familiar bench, using your jacket as a blanket once again. No one knows you sleep out here, and if you have any say in it no one ever will. You look up to the sky and see a star twinkle, and think of home. You sigh.

“I miss you, Deb.” you whisper to the sky, knowing she probably can’t hear you. You soon fall into a dreamless sleep.

The most peaceful sleep you’ve had in months.