Holiday in Canterlot (Gilda/Klepto as RD)

[Gilda]

Following the disastrous incident at the Changeling Hive, Gilda needed to get away. Rainlock was getting on her nerves. She thanked her for her help dealing with the aftermath of that terrible incident, but she needed a break from it all before she broke something or someone. Starling’s words when they parted helped her get over the lingering sense of failure, but she still needed to distract herself for awhile. With most of Equestria under the threat of Diamond Dogs, really only left one place to go – Canterlot.

When she arrived, past the check-points and generally received about as well as anyone these days, she found herself back near the same district she first ran into Starling. Nothing much had seemed to change, except perhaps a pervading tension and unease. On a positive note, she had some extra bits on her this time. Perhaps she’d pick up some special instead of wasting it like she had in Manehatten. The square was quieter than last time too, some store-fronts were entirely boarded up. It was depressing, perhaps the blockade had finally hit the shops.

Gilda peered through the dust choked windows of several shops, stopping longer at the store that had that armor she saw last time she was in town – not closed. She snorted, frustrated. Her plan for the today just went right down the tubes – lame Diamond Dog blockade.

[Bowie]

"Huh. Now that's a tail I didn't think I'd see again. Then again, I never got a good look at it on account of you always being behind me."

Gilda didn't even need to turn around to recognize who that voice was coming from. Rainbow Dash. Her former friend whom she had departed with on less than good terms. And quite a while ago too. By the tone of her voice, the pegasus seemed to be treating Gilda neutrally. The remark had sounded more teasing than antagonistic.

"So uh... what flew you to Canterlot? Diamond dogs finally drive you out of wherever you were staying? Don't worry, you wouldn't be the first."

[Gilda]

Gilda's fur crawled when that high-pitched, excitable voice exploded behind her. Her old friend Rainbow Dash, of course. She'd recognize that voice a mile away. If she was here, probably means her friends - like that pink abomination, weren't far behind. She did not need this after all she'd been through the last few weeks.

"Well, if it isn't my old pal, Dashie." Gilda said in a slither as she turned. There she was, true as day, the cerulean and rainbow pegasus. Gilda was actually excited to see her, but she quelled that quickly recalling once more that disaster in Ponyville. "Psh, right, uh-huh." She scoffed, blowing her crest feathers off her new eye. "I'm not some loser running away from a bunch of gophers. I'll have you know that I'm taking a break from work in Manehatten, came here to spend some bits but this lame city is half boarded up. What about you? Cowering here with your princess like the rest of you grass-eaters." Unlike Dash, Gilda wasn't going to play for a tease. She was still bitter from the altercation in Ponyville and for once, she had something to hang over the bolstering pegasus.

[Bowie]

Rainbow Dash grimaced as Gilda turned around, finally getting a look at her face. "Whoa. What happened to your eye?" The blue-pelted pegasus lifted a foot off the ground, hovering closer to get a better look at it. "Looks like you shoved a zap apple into it." The griffon's former friend spent a good several seconds examining the eye in silence, tilting her head in various directions as she did.

"Huh, well, glad to hear you've kept busy, but never thought you were the Manehattan type. Too many tall buildings to fly freely. You helping out with weather control or something?" Rainbow Dash then set down in front of Gilda, folding her wings back as she did. "As for me, I've only been training with the Equestrian Stars," she said, examining her hoof like it was nothing. "You know, only their prized recruit and all. No big deal." The pegasus glanced up from her hoof at Gilda, her smirk betraying her anticipation for the griffon's reaction.

[Gilda]

Gilda swatted Rainbow Dash out of her personal space. Sheesh, she thought, getting a little friendly all of the sudden. "Hey, bubble here. No need to crowd. Give a bird some space." Gilda ran her talon just over her brow of the new eye, she was still a little self-conscious about it. "Yeah, what of it? Had a little run in with something in the forest outside Manehatten. This was the result of it, gnarly ain't it?"

Gilda stepped around Rainbow Dash, watching she she cooly beamed about her new team training. "Equestrian Stars? What was all that stuff about 'Wonderbolt this' and 'Wonderbolt that' then? Still being same old flip-flop as always, typical Dash." She teased, though she actually wasn't really certain which specialty team the Equestrian Stars were, she guessed they were probably some Wonderbolt adjunct. Either way, she wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of being in awe by it. "And I'm not, but I've been doing some work with the Rainlocks. Popping a few Changeling heads, taking down a god, you know typical stuff. No biggie really."

Gilda gave a suspicious glance around, waiting for that pink menace to pop out of some unimaginable spot to ruin her already lame day. "So where's the rest of your 'friends'? That pink one... what was her name-" Scratching under her beak, feigning as if trying to think of her name. "Lame Pie? Pink Cry? Ah doesn't matter, no one that uncool is worth remembering. So how are they? None got eaten when Ponyville got squashed, did they? That'd be a crying shame." She goaded her on, trying to get a rise.

[Bowie]

Rainbow Dash continued to peer curiously at Gilda's eye as the griffon vaguely explained how she got it. "I dunno, just think it's kind of... weird is all. And hey, the Wonderbolts are still cool. The Stars just really wanted me too. In fact, I heard they were actually fighting over which group was gonna get me. How cool is that? Being so awesome that two elite units want you to join them."

"Anyways, I guess I didn't really get the final say. But being with the Stars has been the best! As soon as I'm out of training, they're gonna send me on all sorts of special missions." The pegasus excitedly sliced a kick through the air to illustrate her point, her hoof swiping less than a foot in front of Gilda's face.

Dash began to settle down as Gilda explained what she had been up to. "Uh... taking down a god?" she asked skeptically. "No offense, Gilda, but it sounds like whatever gave you that eye also hit you pretty hard in the head."

The blue pegasus scowled when Gilda began insulting her friends, heavily beating her wings twice in quick succession. "Hey! You do not talk about my friends like that. Got it? I don't care what you think of them, we're in the middle of a war. And every one of them is doing their part to help the effort. I bet that's more than you can say. Your probably still your same, greedy and self-centered self, aren't you? How much did Lady Rainlock have to pay you to go on that mission in the changeling hive? I bet if she hadn't, you would've been content to sit around while more us grass-eaters were dying."

[Gilda]

"It's not weird, in fact it's a relic. My eye was ripped out, that was jammed back in. Was kinda gnarly."

Gilda rolled her eyes, Rainbow Dash had seriously become lamer since last time - she hardly would have thought it possible. What terrible things had those friends of her done that would leave such a shadow of an awesome pony in their wake, she almost wanted to slap her silly in the hope it would bring back some fire inside her. Instead, Gilda let her brag-on, her voice Gilda droned out. The griffon raised herself and rested with her back against the closed storefront, arms crossed, waiting for the proper moment to interject.

"So yeah, two pony teams fighting over you. That's pretty cool, but haven't been on any missions yet? Imagine that, still lagging behind me." Pointing her talon back at her chest - there were scars under those feathers, still tender. "Rainlock has sent me on several already. One being that little god I mentioned, just a no-name really; Coyote. Blew him up. Was pretty epic." Gilda said as if it was old-hat, just another day on the job.

Gilda was surprised, for all of a second, when Rainbow Dash suddenly showed a little fire again. That's more like it. "Heh, what are you going to do about it, Dash? Sonic Rainboom my butt, pleaasssee."Gilda snapped out and flicked her talon at Rainbow Dash's nose. "Just admit, you were cooler, better, when you were hanging with me." She smugly boasted, "See, if we were still a team, you'd know just how many bits I'm packing - maybe could have even gotten some sweet revenge against that bug-queen who ruined that Purple pony's bros wedding. See, unlike you, I'm actually out there doing something instead of hiding behind some lame-o walls like the rest of you loser 'grass-eaters'. I'm making a difference, and so what if I take a few bits on the side while at it. My right. Maybe you should drop the Stars like a gnarly dragon egg and work for one who knows how to get dirty and get things done."

[Bowie]

Rainbow Dash shook her head after Gilda had suddenly flicked her nose. The pegasus was staring daggers at her former friend, hardly moving a muscle and not saying anything until she had finished. "Like I'd ever drop out of the Stars to do odd jobs with you. I'm getting the opportunity to serve with one of the most elite units in Equestria! Pegasi dream of doing something like this. But all you care about is how many bits you can get from Rainlock. Well you know what? You can keep them. At least I've got loyal friends who support me and have my back. How many friends do you have anyway?"

[Gilda]

"Odd jobs!?" Gilda scoffed with indigence. What did this mare of the state know about work - this was Rainbow Dash, the laziest pony this side of the Catnerlot hills. She could brag all the live long day about real work but in the end, she was just another load riding the tails of her princess. "Look who is talking, Miss Can Barely Get Up From A Nap. So what if some two-bit air team wanted you, speed doesn't count for jack out there where the monsters are. In the end you'll always be the lazy old Dash I knew, all talk and mostly sleep. So what if you can occasionally muster up enough will-power to do something other than lay on your flank once in awhile when your country burns, you'll always just be the rainbow mare who was caught sleeping on a cloud." The griffon scolded, plopping back down to the ground, then circling around the mare like a predator before her prey. She shrugged, she snapped, she scoffed.

"Friends!? What friends!? Hey, Rainbow Crash's friends, come out! Yes come out and strike me down here where I stand!" She mocked, "Admit it, Dashie, your 'friends' are too busy for you or just don't give a Dang. Now when your country burns under the banner of Diamond Dogs and Blackmane, they have their own concerns; and if not for me or Rainlock, you too would be burning right now. Admit it, you know it to be true!." She paused to admire her claws. So fine, like the knives of a master blacksmith. So much more valuable than the hooves of some lowly creature like an equine. If not for their magic, they'd be forced to beg for help from griffons like Gilda. The thought tickled her. "I have friends Dash, powerful friends. Unlike you, my friends are doing something to protect this pathetic empire. Wish you could realize that - heck, wish you could realize I'm only doing this for you. The bits and the glory mean little to me, I only bothered staying around here to protect you." Gilda whipped her talon at Dash, scolding-like. "The lot of you can burn for all I care, but I know you - for whatever lame reason - care about those 'friends' of yours and I can respect that, perhaps even envy. Heaven knows I still remember the good times we had before those interlopers happened and I miss it. So this is my thanks, to you, for all the good times I wouldn't trade for the world, Dashie. I'll have my eye ripped from skull, by bones broken and skin burned, my chest struck with venom, my body used... all for you. Because, you see, you were my friend - my best friend and no matter how you feel about me now, a griffon is always loyal and always protects their friend."

Gilda turned away, glancing back to the dusty armor in the window of the boarded up store-front. "It's pretty isn't it? Surprised the dweeb who owns this place didn't take it down. Psh, typical pony..." She glanced down to her claws, contemplating. The pane of glass was thin, she could break it, take the armor. For her, the sight of it represented everything she needed to close her off from the horrors of the world that were inflicted upon here. With that armor, the Changelings, Coyote, the rainbow mare, whatever else that would come would never be able to hurt her. The thought was tempting, like a ship to sirens on the rocks.

[Bowie]

Rainbow Dash remained still as Gilda circled her, like a shark circling its next meal. The pegasus looked like she was putting all her effort into denying Gilda a reaction. But even so, it was obvious the words had stung her. She looked much less like a pony who didn't care what Gilda had said than a pony who was pretending not to care. The mare's eyes followed Gilda, the fire in them giving way to the dousing effect of insult after insult.

But in an instant they had reignited. All it took was for Gilda to move the topic away from Dash and back to the griffon's big, stupid ego. That was all she needed to block off the lowliness she had felt and replace it with hatred and disgust for the griffon. "Me?! All you care about is yourself! You just took on those jobs for the bits, and now get to play them off as noble efforts. You're not a hero. I care about my kingdom, and if you couldn't give a buck if it burned to the ground, then you clearly don't care about me."

The pegasus took several steps away, making a half-turn to look back at Gilda. "You're not just a terrible friend, you're a terrible person. Go back to the Griffon Kingdom or wherever you crawled out of. I don't want to see you ever again." And with that, Rainbow Dash had taken off, leaving Gilda alone with the boarded-up storefronts.

[Gilda]

Gilda tried to drown out Rainbow Dash's words, each were a dagger into her ears. Poisoned truth, too terrible to believe but so true that it stings to the griffons very core. Yes, she was selfish, that was how she survived. It was her against the world - not like she had many friends. She could live with that though, she had long since learned to live with herself and her less admirable traits because it was survival. However, what stung deep, was that not once did she ever consider herself terrible.

Gilda's talon clenched tighter and tighter upon every word the rainbow mare spoke, bubbling up with rage from within. No - she wasn't getting away, not this time. Gilda turned then and kicked off from the ground, "Get back here!" she screeched out after the Rainbow Dash. Her wings beat fast as she shoot after her former friend, clearing the ground and gaining on the fastest pony in Equestria with every strong beat of her wings. Rainbow Dash may be a fraction faster than Gilda, but the pony had one weakness.

"Got you!" Gilda lashed out and snagged Rainbow Dash by her tail, yanking her back. "Just gonna leave? Like that? You know I could always catch up with you-" She scolded, keeping pace. "What right do you have - Element of Loyalty my moltings, you left me high and dry after those stupid lame pranks and you call me terrible? No no no, terrible are the ponies are the things those Dogs did to all the ponies left behind in the villages, terrible are the things the Changelings did to me, terrible is what happened to my people and my dweeb of a King. Where were you for all that, huh? Answer me that! Where were you when the pillaging began, the looting, and all the other horrible things that went on while you hid yourself away behind these walls to protect some rich snobs and their wealth. I saw it all because I was there, the flames licking at my tail as I moved from one safe haven to the next til finally I found myself in a position to start fighting back. I'm not the one who is terrible, the world is terrible and I'm just surviving it the best way I know how and doing what I can while at it." She sarcastically flouted her talon, "But, whatever, I see that some fancy air-show maneuvers in the skies over the capitol for the sake of the aristocracy so they can sleep better in their beds at night is important too. So go back to your shiny uniforms and clouds and leave the fighting to the rest of us."

She turned and begun to swoop down from the sky, turn only once more, "Take care Dash." She painfully uttered as her decent slowed, making for a spot back in the mostly abandoned district.

[Bowie]

Rainbow Dash hadn't set off at much faster than a moderate speed, though she did slow and turn her head when Gilda angrily called for her to stay put. It was the sight of Gilda chasing after her that 'caused the mare to accelerate, though not quickly enough to avoid having her tail grabbed and yanked back by Gilda. "Hey!"

The pegasus rolled her eyes at Gilda's tirade, not seeming to care much at this point what more the griffon had to say. "Oh please. I'm supposed to feel sorry for you now? What happened to the high and mighty Gilda? The one who a minute ago was taking down gods and popping changelings? I thought she wasn't a 'loser running away from gophers'," Dash spoke as Gilda descended. "And you call me the flip-flop."

Rainbow Dash remained in place over Gilda, waiting to see her reaction. It was starting to become clear that Gilda was getting frustrated. The comments about 'airshows' and 'protecting rich snobs' hadn't even warranted a response. It was a sign of either stupidity or desperation.

[Gilda]

Gilda shot back Rainbow Dash an obscene gesture with talon, one only a creature with individual digits on their hand could do. "Bite me, Dash!" She yelled back. "Just wanted to tell you how it really is, because I know darn well they ain't telling you jack about the war out there. If they did, not a single one of you grassmunchers would sign up - except one like Starling but you're barely half the pony he is." Indignantly she turned away, crossing her arms as she floated in the air. Her wings keeping a pace with steady beats.

"And I ain't running from nothing, specially not you. Besides, least I've stayed true to myself and not put up some phony facade like you've done for your so-called 'friends'. I'm the real deal, a rook, you're just a pawn to have your life played with - tell me, how is Princess Celestia lately? Given her any reports on 'the magic of friendship'?" She accentuation her words with air quotes. "Oh, right, how could I forget - she's corrupted or some bull. Psh, great job you and your friends did protecting her, shouldn't have expected anything less from the great Rainbow Dash. I mean, you made such an impression during that royal wedding letting Chrysalis pull the wool over your eyes and defeating your pretty pretty Princess." She flicked her head, pushing her crest feathers back. "Loser."

[Bowie]

Rainbow Dash remained where she was, frowning as her attempt to fire back at Gilda blew up in her face. "Oh yeah? Well..." The pegasus was genuinely at a loss of words, not knowing how to retaliate. Why was Gilda always one step ahead when it came to these shouting contests.

"You haven't changed at all," she finally stated plainly, giving up on trying to argue with the griffon. "Just leave me alone." Rainbow Dash then sped off to another part of Canterlot, flying at full speed this time and leaving Gilda behind. Hopefully for good this time.

[Gilda]

"Go hit a wall!" Gilda called back to Dash. She never looked back, waiting indignantly for the cyan mare to finally leave. When Dash was long gone, Gilda glanced back, catching only the faintest streak of her rainbow trail and for a moment she felt guilt, maybe even remorse. The feelings didn't last long - she didn't need the mare. She was doing better on her own, a lot better in fact, since she dropped that friendship like a bad habit. She turned away and swooped back down to the ground, landing on her paw-pads gently and tucking her wings in as she came to a stop before the shop with the dusty armor in the window.

From the outside, it appeared that it would fit a griffons proportions with some tweaking of the leather straps - it was already designed for a pegasus of larger stature. She quickly glanced around, the district was as quiet and dead as the shops that lined its street. He reached down and picked up a talon sized rock and made to throw it but she stopped herself. What was she doing - this would be way too loud. She dropped the rock and went to the door, locked of course, but luckly for her there was a checkered window in the door, with one square pane of glass right near the handle. She flicked her talon up, gave it a quick sharpening with her beak then went to work carving out the sealant from around the glass. It only took a few minutes to cleanly and completely cut the glass free from its wooden confine. She tapped it out and unlocked the door from the otherside.

Cautiously, at first, she opened the door and glanced around the dusty shop. Many of its wares still on display as if the owner had never left, except coated in dust and cobwebs. She’d take a gander at that stuff in a few moments, focusing now on the armor in the windows. Upon closer inspection, it needed a good polish and the leather oiled, but it would do fine for now. Taking it down from its stand, she slipped herself into it. Breastplate and plackart first, then the gardbraces. She was surprised to find it as heavy as it was, not terribly so as it was built for fliers but it would require some practice. She finished off with the vambraces and guards, then completed with a garrot. She also snatched up some leather pieces and mail for around her wings. After tightening the straps and lynching the it all together she paused for a moment to admire it. Next time back in Manehatten she planned to make some modifications but for now, it would do.

Before she left, she threw down a sack of Rainlock’s bits behind the counter and hastily scribbled a little note. A quick apology for stealing veiled in gruff language. As she departed, she replaced the popped out pane back into its hole, reengaging the lock and shut the door behind her – it would be sometime, she figured, before anyone realized it was missing. She didn’t bother to hang around the city after that, instead heading out to the forest in a slow crawl back to Manehatten.