As undeniably stunned as Sunset Shimmer was, her reaction did not stop the veritable swarm of thoughts that raced through her mind as she gazed at the full roster of Griffons. These thoughts ranged from hopeful to dark and from reasonable to outlandish. There was, however, one thought in her mind that was louder than the others;

Her friends were also visibly stunned, but no other Rainboom could hold a candle to the abject shock that Rainbow Dash was expressing, her mouth hanging open for added effect. To say nothing of the internalized horror she was silently trying to reign in. Spike, by stark contrast, was surprised and curious, but not utterly perplexed. He kept his right eyebrow raised while visually inspecting each Griffon present. The pup couldn't sense or smell any signs of danger from the new kids, Gilda... Oh, he noticed the stench of bad news coming from her with but a whiff! The six Canterlot High newcomers were giving the Rainbooms friendly smiles that were as honest as what any Apple could muster. Gilda's smug smirk, however, was a clear sign that she was silently feasting upon the band's reactions like a glutton. Twilight, who was absentmindedly adjusting her glasses to make sure she was not seeing things, had to wrestle with a mind that was doing its best to freak out;

"Okay, Twilight, let's NOT fly off the handle over something you couldn't plan for! It would be far more optimal to calmly unpack this unexpected development and go from there. Let's see..."

She glared at each of the six young folks who stood with the lead Griffon as she mentally sorted things out;

"The recent additions to CHS's student body, who have shown nothing but positive behavior up to this point in time, just so happen to be members of Gilda's gang..."

It was at that moment that Twilight had realized that there were at least three reasons why that fact could spell disaster later on. This revelation drove her to laugh nervously as Gabby exclaimed in a jovial welcoming fashion;

Due to her pure excitement over seeing her favorite band, the young lady did not recognize that the girls were not doing well at all. By contrast, Gallus was more observant. With concern in his voice, he remarked to them;

Immediately, the Rainbooms tired their best to keep up appearances, albeit with mixed results. Thankfully, it was Rarity who had the most success. With several dignified and somewhat restrained coughs, she resettled herself just enough to respond in a polite fashion that was expected from those who knew her;

"I hope you can pardon our initial reaction, darlings. You see, we hardly expected to see you all together here..."

Her gossip senses tingling and seeing the need to get some helpful information, Rarity decided to tempt fate by adding with carefully chosen wording;

Even with her currently rattled nerves, the fashionista was able to maintain her usual graceful demeanor, if nothing else but to hide said nerves from sight. Her quick change of tact mid-sentence got her an equally quick side-eye and tiny smirk from Sunset before the mare went back to staring Gilda down with a serious frown. By this point, Rarity had given her friends just enough time to calm down before the bad girl explained herself;

"Yeah, I figured I'd surprise my flock by bringing them to you Raindo-Rainbooms as soon as I could," she said with a chuckle, her smile losing all of its earlier venom and smugness within an instant while showing a hint of genuineness. None of her Griffons had caught her near slip of the tongue, but the Rainbooms and Spike took a mental note of it. With an eye roll, she added out of clear annoyance;

Gabby, like a speeding bullet, pounced upon Gilda with a tight hug on her right side. There was something terribly familiar about that hug in the mind of Rainbow Dash and it troubled her. It also troubled Applejack and Rarity, as fascinated as the latter was by Gilda's response to her remark. What came next was, for the band, an even bigger shock than the earlier revelation;

"Can you blame me for wanting to show off my big sister to the coolest band around?" Gabby asked the older Griffon with pure sisterly love in her voice, her eyes closed and her contented smile prominent on her face. Gilda patted her head with her right hand while letting a tiny grin form on her face. She also gave her a glare that one had to closely examine in order to recognize the strain it carried. Every Rainboom present did their best to not gasp over the notion of those two Griffons being related in any way. Rainbow Dash, her mouth noticeably agape, was using all of her self-control to not make a scene, even as her right eye twitched. Thankfully, no Griffon noticed the band's collective shock. Especially Yona, who belted out a hearty laugh that, much to the relief of the band, gave them a much needed distraction from their cares. Once the laughter died down, the large young lady exclaimed to them;

"Yona is happy to see new Wondercolt friends! Yona suggests we all hang out together!"

The one thing that matched the Rainbooms' happiness at the thought of hanging with their new friends was their utter distaste for the notion of hanging with Gilda. The resulting clash between the two starkly different feelings held them firmly in place as they tried to think of a safe way out of this conversation. Evidently, the lead Griffon herself was not at all fond of Yona's idea, for her eyes went wide as she suddenly stopped patting Gabby's head, effectively freezing in place. Even her grin was as stiff as a statue, which only made its strained state much more apparent. All was silent for three seconds before Gilda coughed loudly in an attempt to regain her composure. Internally thanking her lucky stars that no Griffon caught her freezing up, she turned to face her flock and declared with renewed calmness and a well acted easy-going demeanor;

She released Gilda from her grip and turned to face the Rainbooms, who were slowly resettling themselves. She then told them in an apologetic fashion that they would have normally found to be adorable, her large sparkling eyes adding to the effect;

She suddenly gasped excitedly before noting with an ear-to-ear grin and a gleeful hop;

"Oh! You can join us for that movie club's screening tomorrow! It's gonna be so much fun!"

The eyes of every member of the band, Spike included, fixated on Gilda from the moment the CMCs were referenced. They caught her glaring at Gabby with a smile that was even more strained than before and a twitchy right eye. Pinkie, ever the smiles expert, instantly took a mental note of this for later while giving the bully a slightly narrowed glare. Sensing an opportunity, Gilda took a breath to shove down her growing anger and ordered her flock with authority and revitalized calm;

The kids nodded their heads as they turned to walk down the street and away from the Rainbooms, with their leader following suit. But, not before she turned her head to give them one last smirk that oozed with vile satisfaction before looking ahead once more. The seven magic-powered heroes stood as still as stone carvings while they watched the Griffons walked out of sight. Their silence was deafening and their shared appetite for Sugarcube Corner's delicious baked goods was utterly lost. A worried Spike looked up at the girls with his big puppy dog eyes, hoping that his adorableness would help them. Twilight was the first to notice this attempt. Slowly, she lowered her body, picked Spike up, and held the puppy in her arms for comfort. She only felt a little better, but she was grateful to him regardless.

Ten-to-fifteen minutes later, at Sweet Apple Acres.

The band sat together at the wooden dinner table in the Apple Family's kitchen, with Spike lounging on the floor with Winona. Even now, the girls were stunned by the recent surprise that was thrust upon them by their brutish enemy. By this point, however, they were able to reasonably communicate with Granny Smith and Big Mac, who sat with them while looking as terribly concerned as they felt. Regardless, none of the young ladies could bring themselves to speak on what had happened. Their eyes were wide open as they tried to sort out their wild thoughts, with some of them having wilder thoughts than others. Granny Smith, refusing to let this silence be, poked the feathered bear as gently as she could;

"What's buggin' ya'll more than a mosquito on a farmer's neck?" she asked with worry in her voice. Turns out, asking a question was all the poking she needed to do to get one of them to speak up on the matter.

Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on who one were to ask, the girl who spoke up was Rainbow Dash. Pounding on the table with both of her cyan fists, she sharply tilted her head to face the ceiling and screamed out to the sky with a fierce combination of shock and anger;

The thunderous cry practically kicked the other Rainbooms out of their stupor with the combined force of a dozen Equestrian Applebucks to the gut! Pinkie nearly tilted her chair over on its backrest out of pure surprise, while Rarity gasped and recoiled. Applejack shot up out of her seat and took a step back away from her competitive friend while keeping a firm grip on her hat with her right hand. Twilight slowly slid down her seat a bit while holding the top of her head with both hands in an attempt to hide from athlete's rage. Fluttershy quickly took cover behind Sunset, who was also visibly taken aback by Rainbow's explosive behavior. Like Applejack, she too was standing. But, compared to the others, her reaction was more controlled, for she was able to keep her surprisingly calm gaze locked on her irate friend, unwilling to take one step away from her. Granny and Big Mac, however, remained seated and gazed at Rainbow Dash with calm quiet intent. Rarity, hoping to bring some manner of sensibility back to the room, pleaded with the irate athlete;

Rainbow sharply turned her head to face the tailor with wide eyes, shrunken irises, and gritted teeth. Her breathing was short, rapid, and audible. Fear nearly silenced Rarity, but she remained steadfast as she spoke with surety;

"Your anger is valid, but it would be unwise to let it rule over you like a tyrant!"

The flaring of her cyan friend's nostrils was proof that her words only inflamed Rainbow's anger even more. Before she could yell again, however, a soft frightful whimper had gotten her attention;

The furious guitar player aimed her wide eyes at the source of the voice. At the precise moment she had done this, her fury froze along with her body. It was Fluttershy, who's head was poking out from behind Sunset's back. Her face was oozing with a combination of fear and worry, tears building up in her eye ducts. The mere sight of this heart-wrenching display instantly weakened Rainbow's anger considerably. Out of pure instinct, she closed her eyes and performed a deep breathing exercise taken right from her morning yoga sessions. One long deep breath was enough to ease her mind and body. Re-centered, Rainbow Dash opened her eyes and gave her childhood friend one of her best confident smirks to send her sadness packing, only this one had a layer of regret added to it. To seal the deal, she got up out of her seat, slowly walked up to Fluttershy, and got down on her right knee to be at her level. All of this helped to soothe the animal lover's mind, but it was staring into Rainbow Dash's red eyes that finished the job. To Fluttershy, it felt as if her fears and sadness were being pulled in by the gravitational pull of Rainbow's eyes, a feeling that she gratefully welcomed. Rainbow herself had gained a better appreciation for the coolness of her friend's cyan eyes, not to mention her slowly forming smile. This silent demonstration of the bond between the two girls had the knock-on effect of cooling their friends' heads as well. With warm smiles all around, they watched as Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy hugged it out, with Granny nodding her head in approval and Big Mac smirking out of relief. Once the pair had returned to their seats, Rainbow apologized to everyone with a sheepish grin and a nervous chuckle;

"It's like what Rarity said, your anger is valid," she declared with that sweet little voice that could calm any person and animal. Rainbow would not have any of that, however. With a quick head shake and growing frustration with herself, she responded;

"It's understandable though and Ah'm proud of ya' for takin' responsibility," said Applejack, who gave her friend and rival a proud grin as Rarity noted with a dramatic sigh;

"Indeed, darling. Of all the people for those little ones to align themselves with, who would have thought it would be-?"

Rarity was interrupted by the concerned southern drawl of Apple Bloom, who called out to them from just beyond the opened kitchen door. Every person in the room froze up upon hearing her as they all had a terrible thought. It was one that reminded Twilight of her equally terrible thought from earlier as she darted over to Apple Bloom. She was quick to notice that Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were standing right behind her, which did nothing to ease her flared up nerves. As she tried to hold back the urge to panic, she listened to Scootaloo speak with worry radiating from her being;

Her two friends looked just as worried. Twilight was finding it quite hard to reign in her overthinking brain long enough decide on a response. While the bookworm tried to sort through the huge mental pile of ideas in record time, Rainbow zoomed up next to her with her super-speed and covered for her just as quickly;

"I'm totally okay, squirts!" she exclaimed with an oversized smile that was so forced, Pinkie Pie could feel it from her seat at the table. Thankfully, Twilight was able to think of an adequate way out of this situation for the both of them;

"Could you three give us a moment, please?" she asked the kids with a more genuine grin that looked no less nervous. With raised eyebrows, the CMCs nodded, prompting the scientist to slowly close the door. She and Rainbow then turned around, with the former almost whispering to the others as soon as they walked up to the table;

They all did so in a hurry, which gave Twilight the chance to quietly express the worry she had been carrying inside ever since the debut of Gilda's flock;

"The CMCs don't know about the new kids being Griffons! How are we going to break that to them?"

"Nnnope," Big Mac simply noted with a frown and a head shake of his own. While the others deliberated on their next move, Applejack was silently wrestling with her mind over her own decision. Her face clenched tightly as she thought to herself;

"We gotta tell the youngin's somethin'! Maybe a little white lie will buy us some t-."

She suddenly and tightly shut her eyes while mentally defending against that notion;

The truth would hurt them though.

It was not so much the thought itself that gave the farmer pause, but the voice it had used. It was her voice and that thought was certainly hers. But, that voice sounded afraid and resigned to fate all at once. Applejack's eyes shot open when the voice echoed in her mind, Her breathing stopped and her body froze in place. Even then, her mind was still at work. Yes, the truth about the CMCs' new friends would hurt them and, much to her shame, she was tempted to protect them with a lie...

Well, tempted for roughly two seconds. Two seconds that felt quite long to the Apple, to be clear.

Right as a third second had arrived, she reclaimed her breath, breathed deeply, and asked herself a simple question;

She could almost feel her answer rise from her heart as she looked at her friends and kin, who were still softly debating in the huddle, and declared with an Apple's honesty and time-tested stubbornness without being too loud;

Her voice, clear and strong, flew into the ears of the folks around her, silencing their argument with ease. She had made no effort to whisper, for in her mind, she had no need for subtlety. They all looked over at her out of surprise for a moment or two before confident smiles filled their faces. Granny Smith, with a grandmother's pride in her eyes, told her granddaughter sweetly;

"We all want to tell the little gems the honest truth, Applejack. What we are trying to figure out is how we ought to go about doing so."

"I'm surprised you didn't catch on to that sooner, AJ!" she told her with a smirk. Applejack chuckled sheepishly while adjusting her Stetson hat before explaining;

After letting out a polite giggle over her dear friend's silliness, Rarity steered the conversation back to the matter at hand;

"Anyway, I suggest that we break it to them gently. Blurting the truth out will almost certainly drive them into an unhelpful state of shock and panic."

As she spoke, the fashionista made sure to give a certain peppy party planner a knowing glare, to which she responded with loud confusion;

Rainbow used her super-speed to rush over to Pinkie and cover her mouth before she could finish proving Rarity's point. Before anyone could scold her, however, Sweetie Belle's voice rang through the door;

That got Pinkie Pie a whole kitchen's worth of death glares from the group, to which she responded with sheepish apologetic giggles as Rainbow Dash removed her hand from her mouth. Well, they couldn't delay this any longer if they tried. Sunset called out to the CMCs;

Within moments, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle walked through the door in a row, with the youngest Apple leading the trio inside. After moving to stand near the table side-by-side, they looked at each of the obviously nervous older folks in the room with curiosity and concern on their faces. Scootaloo appeared to be the most worried. She glared at Rainbow Dash and spoke to her;

Just then, she recognized a possibility that strengthened her concerns. With worry and an old hurt in her voice, she exclaimed;

Her two pals looked just as worried as she did as they gazed at Rainbow as well. Thankfully, the athlete was quick to sooth their worries, albeit with some nervousness on her part;

"She didn't hurt anyone this time, squirts!" she declared with a strained smirk before trying to add with a sigh;

She looked off to the side while internally wrestling with herself to find the right words to say to the movie club. Her anger from before rising up a second time was not helping matters much, but she was able to keep it reigned in regardless. Granny Smith, much Rainbow Dash's relief, stepped in for her;

"Gather around this 'ere Apple, youngin's," she told them with genuine warmth in her eyes and smile. Although they were still quite concerned, the CMCs wouldn't say no to being around Granny. They ran up to her seat and stood around her, which prompted the old lady to sweetly offer to Apple Bloom;

The young Apple would hardly say no to that! With a giggle, she climbed up Granny's lap and sat comfortably on it while resting her back on Granny's chest, with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo standing at both sides. As the others watched attentively, Apple Bloom asked while looking up at her grandmother in a most adorable fashion;

Granny Smith took a good moment to think on her words before answering carefully;

"Wait a moment, a bad girl?" Apple Bloom thought to herself as the gears in the movie club's heads began to turn. Applejack, with a shaky laugh, added as gently as she could;

Rarity chimed in with as much grace as she could muster, in spite of her growing nerves;

"Indeed! They seem like quite the charming bunch. However, their friend most certainly does not like us."

"She doesn't like us?" was the thought that crossed Sweetie Belle's mind. Now, the kids could feel like they were close to figuring something out about all this and, frankly, they were starting to dread what the truth could be! Rainbow Dash, out of pure frustration and with whatever restraint she could bring to bare, added with a soft groan;

"An absolute jer-?" was what Scootaloo had thought before she and her two best friends in the whole world had simultaneously connected the dots to a certain possibility. One so terrible and heart-wrenching that it made their eyes grow wide with shock and horror. They gasped as well for good measure as they tried to think of some other possibility that had to be more plausible than the one they had just come up with, but to no avail.

In their minds, it couldn't possibly be true! Not in a million years! But, they had to be sure, and they knew that the good folks around them would not lie to them.

It was Scootaloo who found the courage to double-check. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath to calm herself down a little, and opened them back up to gaze at the band and older Apples. With a pleading expression that was shared by Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, she asked them with her eyes locked on Rainbow Dash and a soft voice filled with fear;

None of the older folks, not even the deeply experienced Granny Smith, could find the stomach to answer her question with words. Simple, slow, saddened nods were utilized instead. The CMCs gasped at this confirmation of their terrible suspicion and instinctively held each others' twitchy hands for emotional support. Granny made it her business to wrap Apple Bloom up in a gentle hug. Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash rushed over to give the kids comfort as well, with the rest of the Rainbooms and Big Mac following suit. It was a good thing they all did this so quickly, for they had managed to prevent the troubled trio from having another Gilda-induced emotional episode. It would take them a few minutes to fully recollect themselves though.

Once the kids were calm again, they listened intently as the Rainbooms recounted to them their earlier encounter with Gilda and her Griffons. By this point, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were sitting on their sisters' laps, with Apple Bloom remaining on Granny Smith's. The others had already returned to their seats at the table. Once the story was told, the CMCs pondered to themselves for a few seconds before Scootaloo asked;

"Soooo... the newbies weren't mean to you in any way? No insults, lies, or attacks?"

"That doesn't change the fact that those kids are friends with a violent and mean-spirited bully!" Twilight exclaimed out of concern rooted in an old pain. Rainbow's smirk vanished to make way for a frustrated frown as she replied with a groan;

"Ugh, I know! I mean, what if she decides to hurt the new squirts or manipulate them into hurting our squirts?!"

She crossed her arms and shook her head while adding with a somewhat softer tone of voice that revealed her disbelief;

"If anything bad happens to those little angels, they've got friends like us who can help them."

Hearing her words drove the athlete to look right at Fluttershy. Her confident smirk returning with renewed strength along with her enthusiasm, she responded with gusto;

"Yes, indeed..." Rarity noted softly with her chin held by her right hand. Sensing that the tailor was deep in thought, Applejack asked her;

"I am thinking, darling, that the feathered brute had let slip an otherwise hidden truth."

That comment got everyone else's rapt attention, with Apple Bloom wondering aloud;

The fashionista turned her head to give the little Apple a warm smile before explaining;

"When I told the Griffons about us not expecting the kids to be connected with Gilda, the rube explained that she wanted to surprise her flock by bringing them to us. She went so far as to add that Gabby was quite excited to introduce her to us."

With fluttery eyes filled with anticipation aimed at each person at the table, she asked them;

"That Gilda hadn't met us beforehand, or rather, Gabby thinks that was the case!" she revealed while adjusting her glasses. Pinkie, her hair bouncing a little, chimed in with rare seriousness in her voice;

"And her change of tact when she almost called us Raindorks..." added Applejack. Right then and there, everyone came to the same conclusion, which they declared aloud in unison;

"Ah'm surprised that girl hasn't lied to that flock of hers about any of us yet."

"Then again, it wouldn't be the first time she's kept secrets from the people around her..."

She gave Rainbow Dash a look full of pure understanding, to which she responded in kind. While most of the people present discussed the issue at hand, the CMCs watched and listened in utter silence. In their minds, they were having a tough time with making an important decision, one that had scary possible consequences. Eventually, Twilight brought up a key detail;

"Those eighth graders have been nothing but good to our young friends here as well as to us."

"So far, at least," Rainbow Dash admitted with a small grin before letting out an exasperated sigh. With a renewed frown, she added;

She unconsciously wrapped her arms around Scootaloo in a most protective fashion. It was at that moment, however, that the young daredevil had made her decision. She tightly held Rainbow's arms with her orange hands and spoke with clear confidence;

"A really awesome girl once told me that, sometimes, you have to take a chance on someone to see if they deserve your loyalty."

Rainbow gently tightened her grip on Scootaloo while looking down at her with a smile full of sisterly pride. Scootaloo gave the people around her a large confident smirk that was laced with hope before declaring;

"Ah second that notion!" exclaimed a proud and happy Apple Bloom, with Sweetie Belle following suit;

"Third for me!" she said with a beaming smile. The three friends looked at each other with goodwill in their sparkling eyes. The Rainbooms stared at the trio for a brief moment before letting their own smiles spring forth. Fluttershy gave them a sweet comment;

"I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time. I think those little ones won't hurt a fly."

"Just because they associate themselves with Gilda does not inherently mean that they are brutes like her."

Applejack chuckled slightly before noting while giving the CMCs a supportive glare;

The other Rainbooms nodded in agreement, with Pinkie Pie bouncing on her seat out of pure Pinkie positivity. The CMCs locked eyes on Sunset, who did the same with them. The smiles on all four girls slowly grew larger for a few seconds before the trio started giving each other fist bumps. Granny Smith, after belting out a hearty Apple laugh, told to the others;

"Ah'll be fixin' us up some grub durin' the screenin', but don't think Ah won't be checkin' in on ya'll every now and then."

"Ah want ya' to keep a sharp eye out for any trouble-makin' that might come up while the youngin's are havin' their fun, ya' hear?"

With the matter settled, the CMCs got off of the laps they were sitting on and walked over to the door. They stopped, turned around to face the group, and smiled at them some more while Apple Bloom announced;

"We'll be decidin' on a film for tomorrow in the clubhouse. We welcome any and all suggestions!"

Before the others could blink, the kids zoomed out of the kitchen like little bullets. Applejack, with a hopeful chuckle, noted aloud;

The Griffons' Hideout. At around the same time.

"I'm so excited for tomorrow's screening, guys!" exclaimed an exuberant Gabby as she bounced in place with a wide dopey smile on her face. She was surrounded by her fellow Griffons, who were all sitting on wooden chairs in a circle while watching her gush. The room they were in had all manner of items adorned to the dark-green walls, including pictures depicting happy moments shared by the gang, numerous drawings on pieces of paper ranging from birds to yaks, graffiti art painted on large pieces of cardboard, and so forth. Of particular note was the large flag that hung on the wall behind Gilda, who sat between Gallus on her left and Smolder on her right. It showed a gold-colored take on the mythological griffon standing on its hind paws while holding its claws up in an attack position over a lavender background. The flag itself bore a horizontal rip in the middle of the griffon itself that was large enough to be noticeable but not enough to leave a wide gap in the flag. A ceiling fan spun at a stead pace directly above Gabby and a single unlit lamp stood on the otherwise empty desk behind Ocellus, who sat to the right of Smolder. Silverstream sat opposite of Smolder, with Yona sitting at the side opposite Gilda. Gabby's seat stood empty next to Yona as she continued her joyful ranting;

"I mean, those Canterlot Movie Club kids seemed like super-nice kids when we talked to them and they're friends with Sunset Shimmer! I can't wait to get to know them! I wonder what movie we're gonna watch? Should we bring snacks with us? Oh, I'm about to-"

Most of the other Griffons enjoyed watching Gabby rant, but Gallus figured it was time to put a clamp on it. So, he did just that by walking up to the excited girl and gently placing his right hand on her left shoulder while saying with an easy-going voice;

Gilda, who normally found Gabby's excitement over things she liked to be both endearing and slightly annoying, was trying her best to hide her growing frustration behind a facade of calmness. As she watched her little sister show Gallus a sheepish grin, she couldn't help but think to herself;

"Why did my flock's folks have to enroll them into CH-freaking-S?! There has to be a better school within driving distance of us than that den of trash-protecting dweebs!"

She thought of Crystal Prep for half of a second before mentally writing it off as entirely uncool. Her breathing became short and audible as she tightly closed her eyes. With gritted teeth, she asked herself while her frustration slowly turned into anger;

"For that matter, why did Gabby have to find that stupid, sappy, ultra-lame song on HoofTube?!"

Before her negative feelings could morph any further, however, Gabby called out to her with worry in her voice;

Gilda opened her eyes to see her sister, who had just walked up to her, giving the gang leader a concerned gaze. The other Griffons had followed suit. Within an instant, Gilda's anger weaken as she listened to Gabby ask her;

Shoving the anger inside herself, Gilda gave her sister a smile that looked genuine enough to fool her flock and answered confidently;

She then reached over to her head with her right hand and ruffled her hair while explaining;

The choice of words and the ruffling made Gabby smile brightly. With their worries eased for now, she and the other Griffons returned to their seats, prompting Gilda to declare;

"I know you birds are excited for tomorrow. But, let's make sure we're on the same page here."

"We're going to Wondercolt Apple Bloom's house! Sweet Apple Acres, she calls it!"

"Great, the hillbilly hub. That sounds soooo cool," Gilda thought with no small amount of biting sarcasm. Keeping up her composure, she asked another question;

"Yeah, the movie club kids said they were going to invite at least two more people from the school. They didn't say who though."

"Two more... wait, they better not be who I'm thinking of!" was what Gilda nearly yelled in her mind. With considerable self-control, she kept that thought, and certain unhappy memories, from being verbalized while Gabby exclaimed to Smolder;

"Oh, I hope they bring in the Rainbooms! That would make the screening even more fun!"

It was all the lead Griffon could do to contain the urge to gag violently. Thankfully for her, Silverstream had changed the subject out of pure excitement;

"While we're talking about CHS, I wanted to mention that I've been reading up on the school's history!" she exclaimed with cheer. This, for Gilda, may not have been the ideal topic of choice, but a break was still a break. Sighing out of relief, she listened to Silverstream as she went on;

"I've barely scratched the surface with the historical texts and I'm already fascinated by our school's humble origins. Sunset wasn't kidding when she said it used to be a one-classroom school!"

"I... did not know about that," Gilda mentally noted out of genuine curiosity. Ocellus, with a relaxed smile, chimed in softly before Silverstream could speak further;

"Science class has been quite engaging and informative as well, not to mention enjoyable. I look forward to when we start doing lab assignments."

"Gym class has been pretty solid so far," Smolder noted with a smirk. The six kids continued to talk about their first day of school, with Gilda listening in. Slowly, but surely, a tiny smile began to form on her face as a pleasant thought came to mind;

"CHS sucks eggs... But, I'll take my flock having a good time over what happened at Mount Aris any day."

Soon enough, the meeting had come to an end, which meant that it was time for Gilda's flock to leave the hideout. Before they did this, however, the Big Bird herself had them all gather round in a circle. Sighing deeply, she gave them some advice while giving them a serious glare and choosing her words with the utmost care;

"Look birds, I'm not gonna stop you from going to that movie screening with those..."

There was something else she wanted to say, but she held the words back, if nothing else but to keep her true feelings hidden. The other Griffons nodded their heads and smiled in agreement, with Gabby speaking for them with positivity in her voice;

Her little sister's words eased Gilda's worries. Slightly. Marginally even. But, it was enough for her to begin calling out with a smirk;

One by one, the young ones walked through the door at the far end of the room opposite the flag. Gabby was the last one to go, who gave Gilda one more look of pure sisterly love before closing the door behind her. The gang leader waited for them to be well out of earshot, her old anger slowly rising to the surface as she stood as stiff as a statue in the room. After ten whole seconds of waiting, she let out a low menacing growl as she sat down on her seat to contemplate things. This time, she didn't need, or want, to keep her thoughts hidden;

"Of all the stupid things those chicks chose to get into..." she complained with a grunt. Her hands, which were hanging at her sides, clenched into tight fists as the echos of a bad memory played in her mind;

"Why would you help THEM?! They had hurt you girls! They had hurt-!"

"YOU'VE DONE FAR WORSE, YOU CONTEMPTIBLE BRUTE!"

Such a dreadful memory only added fuel to her anger's fire, which compelled her to grit and bare her teeth as she tried to cool back down. Just then, an idea came up that served to weaken that fire enough for her to think straight;

"I could tell my flock the story..." she said in a somewhat softer tone of voice. She considered the notion for all of three seconds before making a fateful decision;

"No... I don't want them involved in my revenge. This is my problem," she declared with surety. After taking a deep breath to calm her anger down completely, she stood up and walked over to the flag. Gazing up at its horizontal rip, she added;

"Besides, I taught the birds well. They can take care of themselves and each other."

Her smirk became venomous before she finished with ill intent oozing from every word she uttered;

Fillydelphia Juvenile Detention Center - Around the same time.

The distinct sounds of metal being raised and lowered could be heard throughout the gym area as many prisoners of various shapes and sizes performed their afternoon exercises without pause. Dumbbells, barbells with benches, power racks, leg presses, and many other types of equipment were heavily used. Of course, weight lifting was not the only form of exercise that was being practiced. Some prisoners focused on basic push-ups, sit-ups, and the like, while others settled for doing simple stretches. However, there were a few of them who saw fit to either sit or lean on a wall to relax while they could before it was time to return to their cells.

Watching the gym from her spot on the wall to the left of the locked doors, she kept her arms crossed as she gazed in silence. As she had done before ever since Cinch's short visit, she silently contemplated what was to come;

This time, she was not listening to music with her music player, preferring instead to keep a sharp eye and ear out for any sign of trouble. She caught such a sign in the form of a tall and muscular tan young man who carried himself with a furious scowl and fists ready to fly. He walked up to the infamous woman and angrily declared to her;

The Wrecker chose to not give this man the time of day as she gazed at the barbells that rested on the rack above an unused weight lifting bench. The man did not take being ignored well. He furiously pointed his right index finger at her face and warned her;

"You embarrassed my homie earlier! Show some respect or I'll disrespect your goggles and hat with my fists!"

Wasting no time, The Wrecker walked over to the unused bench, leaving the young man confused as well as angry. He yelled out while stomping after her;

She stopped to stand before the barbell that rested on the rack above the bench and inspected the round metal weights attached to each side of the bar. Going by the size of each weight, she figured that the bar weighed three-hundred pounds at least. There was an equal amount of weights on each side and they were all placed in the same spots, so the distribution was balanced. This was perfect in The Wrecker's mind, but the troublesome man insulted her before she could proceed further;

"What? You think you can lift something that heavy? I'll bet those arms are made of noodles and not bricks," he exclaimed with mocking laughter. He wanted to beat her face in for his homie initially, but seeing her embarrass herself was an even better idea to him! While all this was going on, some of the prisoners had caught wind of what was going on and promptly spread the word through the gym. Now, all of the prisoners present were watching the scene unfold, curious as to what The Wrecker would do. They all found that out really quickly. She grabbed the barbell with both hands, placing each hand on the correct spots for proper weight lifting. She then took it off of the rack with effortless ease, taking the young man by complete surprise. But, what came next left him dumbfounded. While holding the bar down at her legs, she carefully backed up away from the bench and stopped at a spot where she had decent space around her. Without so much as breaking a sweat, she lifted that bar, weights and all, straight up to hold it above her head. She held it there while standing in place for five seconds while showing no sighs of weakness whatsoever. She then began to walk back to the bench while still holding the bar up and stopped to stand at the rack once more. Slowly, she lowered the bar back onto the rack. Throughout all of this, her stance was strong. Her breathing was stable. Her form: perfect. Silence filled the gym as The Wrecker returned to her spot at the wall. The utterly stunned young man would trouble her no further, his mind focused on a single thought born from terror;

The other prisoners whispered their own comments to themselves and each other. Some of them were in awe, while others simply respected her. They all feared her;

"That's The Wrecker for ya'."

"The Wraith of the Streets herself..."

"She disrespected that fool without throwing a punch!"

"I hope she doesn't wreck me!"

It didn't matter if the lady herself could hear such comments or not, for she was too focused on her thoughts to even notice them;

Juvenile #448: The Wrecker - 2 days until freedom

Spring Surprises

by TheGJ90

Chapter 17 - Griffon the Reality Check