Gilda, walking in on what looked like some horror movie set up, felt a flurry of emotions.
She felt fear. Not fear for herself. Living in a slum, spending her childhood being tormented by her crazy mother, and her own military training had made her desensitized toward violence. Being face to face with some horror villain didn't scare her. No, she felt fear for one of her classmates, who was unconscious on the ground and bleeding profusely from her cheek.
The next thing she felt was outrage. She may have not liked Apple Girl, but she would never stand for someone being tortured this way. As hard as it was for her to admit, she was horrified when Sunset had been drowned and pushed down the stairs. While Gilda had mercilessly tormented Sunset to get her to leave, she never wanted Sunset to be permanently injured or killed.
Lastly, Gilda felt was disgust. Living under the roof of Glider Griffon, Gilda was raised to believe in notions of chivalry, bravery, and honor. One of the things she was taught is that if you confront someone or bully someone, you should at least do it face to face. And that if you do something wrong, you should be man enough to accept the consequences.
Her hatred for Sunset was not just for getting her in trouble and the pain she caused Micro Chip and the others, but the weaselly way she had done it. She was also annoyed at Sunset's feeble attempt at getting out of trouble. She now accepted that taking revenge on Sunset was wrong. But at the time, she felt she was acting in self-defense, and she had at least had the decency to confront Sunset face to face.
But this..worm apparently sent Sunset threatening messages anonymously, and had pulled sneak attacks on her from behind. She knew how tough Apple Girl was, so it was obvious this maniac had pulled a sneak attack on her too. To Gilda, this idiot was no different than the pervert trolls who insulted her anonymously online. Little cowards who hid their creepiness behind closed doors.
Gilda also believed it was wrong to drag a neutral person into your disputes. Even if she hated someone, she wouldn't hurt someone related to that person. While she hated Sunset, she would never threatened someone who was related to Sunset.
Well, she did attack Fashion Queen in the locker room, but Fashion Queen was interfering in her revenge against the fire-haired girl.
It was obvious why this nut wanted to hurt Apple Girl: to punch Sunset in her heart. It was one thing to attack Sunset. While she now believed Sunset had earned her right to stay at CHS, she wouldn't blame someone for still having it in for her.
But was another thing to hurt someone else to do it. With this final, furious realization, Gilda strode forward, her mouth sent in a thin line.
"So you're the little pussy everyone's complaining about," Gilda said in a low, contemptuous tone as she raised her fists. She said those nasty, dismissive words not only because they were true, but because belittling her opponent was a good way to wage psychological warfare.
She also wanted to take the time get a feel of her opponent. While she had a reputation of being an impulsive hothead, her training taught her to observe her opponent first, and deduce any strengths and weaknesses she could. While she was tough, she couldn't take chances with a knife-wielding sadist.
Even with a mask and a shawl covering his body, the freak couldn't truly conceal his weaknesses. The worm's legs, which had black sneakers, black socks, and black leggings, were already shaking. She felt a bit of trepidation at that the freak's size, but it was clear by his atrocious, almost unstable, stance that he couldn't really fight. Size was only good if it was combined with skill. She deduced she had more than enough training to face an assailant with a knife.. Especially one has feeble as this.
"I prefer my school without freaks like you," Gilda said, her mouth curled into a smile as she prepared to charge. But before she could launch her attack, the freak bent over toward Applejack, albeit without getting in his/her knees.
"Leave her alone!" Gilda yelled. She charged, but stopped when the lunatic lifted the head of the still unconscious Apple Girl by her hair and put a knife near her throat. Gilda's bravado was replaced by anger and frustration when she realized what the freak was doing.
Without words, he was saying "attack me and Apple Girl gets it in the throat." The knife itself looked sharp enough to cut through bone, and the masked jerk was putting it near Apple Girl's jugular. While Gilda was quick, she didn't want to risk the farmer girl getting another serious wound when she was already losing blood. Gilda felt panic, especially as blood continued to flow from Apple Girl's cheek onto the maniac's sleeve.
While glancing at her watch, Gilda had a flash of brilliance. With a smile, Gilda instead backed away and placed herself in front of the door, crossing her arms and putting on an image of nonchalance.
"Go ahead," Gilda said with a carefree tone, while crossing her arms. "Do it. Cut her throat." The freak's head moved in confusion. "But remember this. Class is going to end in about three minutes." Gilda's smile grew wider when the masked figure's head titled in guarded panic. "Once class ends, I'll call everyone over, and they'll see what you did. You could try and get past me," Gilda continued, spreading her arms to emphasize how it would be like trying to go through a brick wall, "but the way you stand, it is obvious you'd trip over a butterfly. When the boys catch you, they might be merciful to the guy who tortured a hot blond girl who bakes pies, but I doubt it." The freak's grip on the knife slackened in fear, as did the grip on Apple Girl's hair.
"Or, you can put your knife down, surrender, and we can go right to Luna's office instead," Gilda said in a much more reasonable tone. "And I promise, I won't hurt you." Gilda imagined the nut was looking at her confusion. While Gilda would love to beat this asshole to a pulp, Gilda didn't want to put Applejack or herself into anymore risk. All the books of war told her the best victories were ones that didn't involve firing a shot, but breaking your enemy's will to fight. Not to mention having a reputation for being merciful, she understood, could be powerful too.
"The reason I'm offering to going easy on you is I understand," Gilda mused, "Sunset was a bitch. I hated her. But someone asked me if making her miserable was worth it." Gilda let out a sigh. "It wasn't. Is being seen as a freak by everybody worth hurting Sunset?" Gilda said in an even softer tone. The freak's grip on the farmer weakened even more.
"I'm giving you three choices," Gilda said in a softer tone. "You can wait here until class ends and be caught by everyone when they get out of class, you can come with me to Luna's office right now and not suffer as much embarrassment," Gilda then frowned, "or, you can hurt that girl again, I beat you within an inch of your life, and leave you to get caught by everyone." A few seconds passed as the masked figure considered the options, while Gilda watched him with a calm expression. "Clock is ticking."
The masked figure finally let Applejack go on the ground after a few moments, taking care to let her head hit the floor peacefully.
"Good," Gilda said with pride, "you actually have some brain cells-," the masked figure charged at her, knife in hand. "I guess not," Gilda muttered. With a calm smile, she used her military training to the fullest. She dodged the knife with a sideway step and slammed her arm down on the knife-wielding hand to slow it down. She then caught the arm in her grip by its elbow. Using her leg and forward momentum, she tripped the nut, who fell out of the storage closet and down on the ground in a heap, the bloody knife falling out of his hand and clattering on the floor.
"What's a matter?" Gilda asked in a falsely calm tone, stomping slowly but ferociously to the creep writhing in what looked like agony. He (based of the sound) let out a pained moan, and a whimper. A kinder person might've been merciful, but Gilda had no mercy left for someone who attacked her. "Feeling under the weather?" She bared her fists, a vicious smile forming on her face. "Well, maybe when you're lying in the hospital bed at juvie, the pain will teach you to be careful who you fuck with." Gilda stood over the creep, gleefully preparing to deal the final blow.
Or she would've had the seemingly helpless creep not suddenly got onto his knees and performed a double-leg takedown. With a whimper, Gilda fell backwards onto the ground. Slightly weakened by the shock of the fall and the pain, Gilda didn't notice the creep climbing on top of her. She noticed some kind of aerosol in his hand, taken from the storage closet, pointed toward her.
"What are you-," a mist erupted from the spray. It felt like Gilda's eyes had been stabbed with a flaming dagger.
"AAAAAHHH!" Gilda screamed, moving her hands to her eyes in a vain attempt to get rid of the pain and clear them. "YOU FUCK! YOU FUCKED UP MY EYES!" She felt the creep climb off of her and run away from her. "GET BACK HERE, YOU FUCKING COWARD! STAY AWAY FROM HER!" She sat up, tears flowing out as her eyes continued to throb in brutal agony. "Get back here!" She continued to sit on the ground, her screams and threats gradually giving way to pained moans and whimpers. The moans were drowned out by the ringing of school bells. The students all piled out of the classrooms, not yet aware of the commotion that had taken place.
SHOOT! Gilda almost got that perp!
Well at least Applejack was saved!
Urge. To kill. Rising...
This probably means one of the others is probably next since the perp got Aj question is who's next?😳😳
That was.... actually a REALLY intense fight scene. On top of it was a really well done and written escape. This person clearly wasn't counting on being caught by anyone nor were they intending to actually kill AJ judging by the nervousness that their legs were struggling with. But at the same time they still scarred her face so whoever's doing this REALLY fucking hates Sunset enough to hurt one of the few people connected to Sunset. Not to mention they REALLY do not want their identity found out considering that they went an extra mile in escaping Gilda by blinding her with Aerosal..... I hate this person but.... mad props on the escape attempt and the fight. Now if only you could've tripped and broken something to make it easier to identify then I'd have enjoyed it even more.
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I was really worried about how the fight scene would come across.
I wanted it so that neither side, hero or bad guy, would come across as too incompetent. That the fight scene also felt realistic for the environment. I wanted Gilda to lose, but not in a way that made her look stupid, and so that her skills as a fighter are demonstrated. Not just her physical prowess, but her emotional intelligence, and the non-violent way she tried to assume control of the situation.
I'm glad to have created a compelling battle scene.
The legs are a hint as to the nature of the person. But it will take more puzzles before you can see how it fits into the identity of the perp.
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..... well see NOW you're really getting me thinking... because this means either the attacker is a athlete.... or they're more on the lines of someone timid..... and either one makes it harder.
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That should still be seeking justice, preventing further harm. Justice isn't necessarily within the law. Vengeance is motivated by hate, not the desire to protect.
Ah well, perhaps we have different interpretations of Sunset. It always felt to me like she was seeking recognition. Maybe not from anyone specific, though maybe Celestia. I did leave out a point. Even if she succeeded... she'd be what, ruler over a populace enslaved? No one would ever really relate to her. And even if she didn't care about that, then what? Nowhere to go, nothing to do, no goal to accomplish. If your identity is driven around conquest, what happens when there are no more worlds to conquer? And sooner or later, she'd die, unmourned, probably even celebrated. Any happiness would be fleeting at best, and most likely derived from sadism, which in your own interpretation isn't really her. It's like what Tolkien said of Melkor's goals in The Silmarillion: Even if he had won, he'd ultimately have been left alone in the void, futilely trying to create life as his rage devoured the only thing left to strike against: himself.
Oh come on! I can't take all this! Someone get that murderer already!
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"Twilight" hah! I see what you did there! (...may not have been intentional.)
Ah, inside. Didn't think of that. I grew up down south-ways, so we'd usually have dunking booths outside, typically late spring to early fall. Some people would volunteer and encourage people to dunk them 'cause it meant they'd stay cooler than the other fair workers.
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Quick is an OC.
I think reality is more...hit and miss.
There are happy endings in life, and there are also bad endings. Sometimes the wrong person goes to jail, sometimes the right person does.
Sometimes you survive a car crash, sometimes you don't.
It is possible to make amends, but sometimes it isn't. But you have to work at it.
EG is slightly more cynical than FIM, since even though the Rainbooms did give Sunset a chance, they had no problem dredging up her past. Nor did they invite her into their band, which Adagio was all too happy to point out.
I do intend to do an Anon-A-Miss story, but at a far different angle than it has been done.
But my main point is that real forgiveness is earned, and that being blasted with a rainbow isn't enough.
It is one of the reasons why Sunset was given this as her punishment. So she has greater appreciation for the working people she scorned.
Yeah. As I've said, I wrote the story to explore why Sunset would want to change. I don't think brainwashing would be the kind of thing done in a setting that teaches you about love and respect. If Sunset had been brainwashed, she still wouldn't have her infamous outbursts.
Applebloom's next
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Was referring to the nickname "Sunny".
Depends on what is meant by that. Can't make amends to someone who's dead of course, but where there's life, there's hope.
I'd have said redemption or reconcilliation rather than forgiveness but I take your point.
Sadly though we are constrainted by canon to some extent, where at least to an outside observer it really WAS that quick. The only ways of finessing that involves assumptions about what's not seen.
The option that doesn't involve rainbow visions would be that it was initially a feint, a way to keep the mob off of her. I'd say 'from killing her', but it is still a kids' show.
My current guess: The perp is gonna be the one RD and Gilda wronged. Don't spoil it author, I'm just marking my guesses as I go. [edit: and I just realized I've caught up]. It's the classic mystery trope: the innocuous secondary character.
You may ask why? Not enough info. Framing Gilda might be a motive.
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One fanfic goes with the theory that Sunset was faking it, but eventually decided she liked having friends.
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Kinda are being cynical, though. For that matter, the princesses aren't all-powerful in Equestria. It's the setting itself that's the real mover towards positive outcomes. Anyway, personally my elementary school was pretty good on that, but that's beside the point. I know not all are, I'm saying in the context of this world, it's a bit too far on the cynical side to coincide with cannon. It's fine if that's the story you want to tell, just that to my eye that strays from cannon's 'feel'. Yes I know in Equestria they were bullied, but adults at least attempted to do something about it, and it wasn't nearly as severe as mentioned in the case at issue.
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Link?
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Naturally. :)
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https://www.fimfiction.net/story/366213/hell-high-water
Never thought I'd see Gilda do something like this but good for her
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That is precisely why I wrote Gilda this way. A lot of fanfics often portrayed Gilda as an irredeemably bloodthirsty monster, which I found to be ridiculous. I thought it would be more interesting to portray her as a person who is still decent at heart despite having a chip on her shoulder.
I feel like I'm starting to say this every chapter, BUT GILDA KEEPS RAISING THE BAR ON AWESOMENESS!
--Holy crap what the FU--
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GET BACK HERE YOU KILLER!!!!!