A brony of few words who writes many.
When what should've been a simple visit with a geneticist for some tests ends in disaster, Spike and Gallus suddenly find themselves the targets of a deadly conspiracy.
Now, running for their very lives, they have to work together so to uncover a stunning secret that has been kept from them both...for long enough.
!!! BEWARE OF SPOILERS IN COMMENTS !!!
First Featured 2/6/2024
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Baby, wake up. Grief is the Price We Pay 2 has released.
Nah but for real, haven't read a novel sized Spike story from ya before so this one should be interesting.
I've called you an evil man before for delaying chapters in GITPWP when the story is getting intense, but looks like this story won't be getting that, according to the author notes
Rest assured that I'll find something to call you out on your evilness.
I await to see what happens next...
11817802
Genuinely thought of the same thing when I first saw the cover art. Then I realized it was just Spike Adventure 2 with Gallus running the show.
Not a bad start Scyphi, hope to see more!
11817802
Oh, I'm absolutely sure you will. There are definitely spots in the story where I was thinking to myself as writing it that I would be called "evil" for.
Besides...you know I love my cliffhangers.
11817835
It's because I admittedly used the same font as I did for Grief's cover art. What can I say? I used that font once, and now I can't stop myself from using it again and again (this isn't the only fic I've reused it for)
Incidentally, though, I have thought to myself that, if I ever were to write it, I absolutely would post a "Grief 2" just out of the blue completely without fanfare and let readers figure out for themselves what it is. So your comment suggests there would indeed be merit to that approach.
HYPE
Novel-length Gallus and Spike adventure? Where do I sign up?! I really like the set-up. Have some thoughts below!
For a second, I thought this was going to go the direction of Silverstream suggesting time travel to Starlight because if any student would know about her past... adventures, it would be Silverstream.
Ouch. Poor Gallus. I could see why he'd feel this way. After all, looking at it from his shoes, they cared about him just about as much as a speck of dirt, so why does it matter who they are? They're a bunch of kid-abandoning jerks.
Now poor Yona has to worry about shattering him to pieces each time she hugs him D:
Given their longevity, it doesn't surprise me they'd be good at writing stuff down--or whatever dragons do.
This line is just setting herself up for heartbreak haha.
Family is just as much bond as blood. Even if she is related to Chrysalis, she knows who her TRUE family is. Wonder if that mindset will come into play with Spike's or Gallus' discoveries?
Yona uses her fur as a pocketbook. Headcanon accepted.
“
Interesting. Silverstream seems the type to jump right at any opportunity to do, well, anything.
Then she could hug all her friends at the same time!
I love how levelheaded Yona is. Yaks really are best at friendship :)
Somewhere in the distance, Princess Twilight screams at the lack of capitalization! (Not calling this a typo. Actually, seems in character for Gallus to not bother with proper capitals)
As a teacher this part make me cringe because lord I can HEAR that tone of voice haha
Five minutes later. "Why does Gallus have all these heart-shaped notes addressed to me on his desk?"
I agree. Suspicious...
Just in general, I can see both sides of Gallus and his friends about this testing. I can see where, to the others, closing that door might be a good way of bringing closure, but I can understand where Gallus is coming from to. Clearly, in his eyes, his family wanted nothing to do with him, so why should he want anything to do with them? I reckon that'll be a question that him (and maybe Spike) will pursue an answer to throughout. I'm not sure where this is going, but I'm liking the set-up so far and am looking forward to see where it goes (and, based off of another comment you made, some evilness haha). I do hope the Young Six outside of Gallus have a part to play in this. They're not tagged and might not fit neatly into the story at hand but you're so good at writing them that I'd love to see more.
Keep up the good work!
Exciting start, been hyped for this since you dropped a release date!
11817970
As I recall, I went back and forth a couple times about whether or not to capitalize it both when initially writing it and again later in subsequent edits. You're probably right in that it'd be more proper in capitalizing it, technically, but it never quite felt right in context to me, so I didn't.
Unfortunately, no, they'll be absent in the story from this point on until the concluding chapters, but ONLY because the nature of the story necessitated it. I think you'll understand better why by the third or so chapter, but basically there wasn't a good way to justify having them play a larger role in this story, even though it hadn't originally been my plan for it to be like that (but the story also evolved a lot from how it was originally conceived).
11817989
Makes sense. Looking forward to this journey. I got a good feeling it'll be a fun ride!
A very interesting team-up here with these 2, looking forward to their dynamic though this tale!
This fic is overall well-written, with an intriguing premise that looks set to focus on the story-rich theme of family. I like this fic, and I'm tracking it and giving it a thumbs up.
There's just one thing that struck me as weird in it, though. When Sandbar is manipulating the tweezers and cotton ball with his hooves, it doesn't feel like attention is paid to the fact they're HOOVES. I know that the ponies on the show can do a lot with hooves that normal hooves can't accomplish, but this feels like a stretch, even considering that.
11818623
If there's one thing I've learned about writing for MLP, it's to not think TOO hard about how the hooves can grab let alone work anything, because if you do, then it ALL breaks down and suddenly the universe doesn't work as portrayed anymore, and then you'd have far bigger problems to work out.
In other words, you gotta know when to just overlook it and roll with it.
...that, and I admittedly just didn't even think about it in the first place, because I guess I'm just too used to ponies doing the impossible with their hooves to even question it at this point.
11818650
Lol- fair enough. It's overall not too big of a deal, in the grand scheme of things, so much as a minor nitpick in the first place. Like I said, overall a really great story.
11817970
How do you know this story is going to be novel-length?
Getting the same vibe as Spike and Gallus here that something's a bit off about this dude and the guard. Great chapter, Scyphi!
Gene Type killed the guard
I find it fascinating how Gallus and Spike are acting as foils to each other, both in how they're reacting to the potential to discover their family, and also as to the quality (or lack thereof) of the caretakers/adoptive family they currently have. Beyond that... While we know how Gallus feels about other people trying to persuade him how to feel about this, we haven't heard anything from Spike's end on that matter. From what I know about real-life adoption issues, real-life adoptees with happy adopted families often face pushback when they still want to learn about their biological family. I'd be surprised if Spike avoided that- although given how Spike has avoided talking about others' reactions to what he's doing, it's very believable he's keeping it under wraps. Certainly, he talked about negative things in his past regarding Sludge's trickery- but he made no mention at all of how others- even Twilight- felt about what he was doing, and I can't help but wonder if that's on purpose.
When it comes to there being something off about Gene Type, the part where I was caught most off-guard was when he described himself as working for the Royal Guards. That doesn't seem like a typical employer for a genetic researcher, and I can't help but wonder whether that's a key slip of the tongue on his part.
Also, I detected a single typo in this chapter, I think. The phrase is 'champing' at the bit, but you wrote 'clamping' at the bit. It's a minor typo though, easily overlooked and not caught by spellcheck, plus it's the only one I noticed, so it's not too big of a deal.
11820450
Because I said so in the author's notes.
11820759
The reason Spike doesn't say as much about it is because the chapter is building off of what the show itself had already revealed on the subject, showing that Spike does indeed have an interest in learning more about his biological family if at all possible (if just for the closure) but also that he does love and appreciate his adopted family as well, especially after the Sludge incident (hence why it was mentioned at all). So there's really no double-meanings or anything like that with his words--he means precisely what he says. Further, last chapter it was indicated (though I suppose not explicitly stated) that Twilight both approved of Spike doing this but also encouraged him to do so, much like how she had for Gallus.
In the previous chapter, it was established that Gene Type does forensic work for the Royal Guard (and it was through this that his services were suggested in the first place) and thus he would legitimately be on their payroll as a civilian employee. So him saying as such wouldn't be too abnormal outwardly, at least to Gallus, Spike, or other characters involved.
In doing a bit of research, I found there's actually a few variants of the phrase, with "chomping at the bit" actually being the more frequent at present, even though "champing at the bit" came first, and both are generally considered accurate. No "clamping at the bit" though, but as you say, it's not too big a deal, so I haven't decided yet if it's worth the effort to go back and correct. I will keep it in consideration though.
11821294
Ah- thanks for your response. It looks like my speculation was way off, then. Again, thanks for taking the time to explain the actual situation to me.
“Euthanization, I’m afraid.”
Ah hell.
The moment he did so, Gene Type went immediately limp, flopped to the floor, and remained still, eyes staring blankly and unseeing at nothing.
AH HELL.
“That we’re stuck flying into a storm on a runaway airship with a dead guy?” Gallus recapped bitterly. “Yeah…it does.”
EVIL MAN!
Wow that sure escalated quickly, guess now we know why that airship took off with them!
Now I wonder if that guard's even alive after seeing Gene showing his true colors, not to mention who's this *we* that told him to do this!
11823379
Toooooold yoooooou!
Whatever I was expecting, it sure wasn't that. Like the previous commenter said, that escalated quickly. It was just as unexpected for the readers as for the characters, I think. Beyond that, I am completely at a loss as to what the answer could be for Gallus/Spike's 'dangerous' heritage, and am looking forward to learning the answer.
Also, on a more minor note, I did spot a single typo. "it’s most eye-catching feature was its large and sweeping forward window". Basically, just an easily overlooked example of 'it's' being used when 'its' should have been used.
Damn, things got real fast!
Can I just say I'm impressed with the level of thought and detail that went into the engineering of the airship- especially when it would only be relevant for this one chapter? Because I definitely am, and it's obvious it took a lot of research into engineering terminology, plus creativity for Equestrian magical systems.
Beyond that... I'm trying to speculate as to why Gallus and Spike would both be reacting to the bloodline stone. I don't have anything that answers the question as to why Gene Type wanted to kill them, but I do have some theories as to how they could be related despite the species difference. The first is a shapeshifting species such as a Changeling, who had a child with a dragon, and then the Changeling-dragon hybrid had both dragon descendants and, via shapeshifting, the potential to have descendants from other species such as griffons. The second is a dragon who had a species-shifting spell briefly cast on it, similar to when the Mane 6 were changed into Breezies by Twilight, and sired a child with a griffon. The first theory at least goes some way to partially explaining Gene Type's worry about what the two of them are, while the second would be just one much smaller piece in a larger puzzle.
I strongly suspect that neither theory is correct, and the truth will be something far more creative.
Sweet banter between Gallus/Spike during this tense situation, including the discussion of dealing with that nut Gene's body!
And speaking of which, Gallus spoke my thoughts about whether that guard's alive or not after his mysterious disapperance after their Gene encounter, here's hoping he made it though!
Finally as for the crash, well any landing you can walk away from is a good landing, which it's good in this case since we don't know what's out there when they step out of that airship! Guess we'll find out next time!
11827438
Scyphi is a confirmed nerd for airships. Grief is the Price We Pay involved an airship in great detail too.
11827438 11828406
'Tis true, but it's also true I do pride myself on doing my research for stories where relevant and possible, and the cited areas of this chapter is a good example of such.
Ohhhh HECK NOOO, you did not just dropped this bombshell on us to make us wait till Friday for some answers Scyphi, you really are evil!
Seriously though that was quite the revelation, still gotta wonder how those 2 got separated for that long, not to mention what happened to the parents & more importantly why the *hey* Gene wanted to get rid of them!
lol nearly forgot Spike did the same thing in *Grief is the Price we Pay* good one!
Looking forward to start digging deep into this mystery next time around!
Okay, this was kind of an obvious twist. But I suppose the real question is why this means they need to die? I hope this isn't some lame self fulfilling prophecy, those are always annoying.
Sees that my constant teasing of calling Scyphi evil has made its way into the Author's Notes
Oh brother.
Sees the end of the chapter. Actually I better spoiler what I said above...
I knew it! Should have called it.
11829828
No, no prophecies here. Honestly, everyone might be overthinking it a little.
11830662
I was actually waiting for someone to (not that I would've acknowledged it for obvious reasons but still), as I knew very early on that it wouldn't be hard to catch the set-up for it from the very first chapter. I had tried in earlier versions of the idea to conceal this as much as possible until the big reveal, but it just wasn't working out that way--it didn't make sense in-universe for such details to be omitted for so long like that--so I eventually gave up and just let it happen.
11830707
The plausable deniability still got me tho. It was my first thought when the bloodstone came out but I didn't want to believe it was that straight forward.
DUN! DUN! DUN!!!!!
After I finished reading this, I realized: all of this action and dramatic revelation has taken place in the course of less than a single day. No wonder Gallus and Spike are having trouble immediately recognizing the pieces, such as Spike taking a while to remember the Bloodline Stone in the face of this evidence, given how much they've been overwhelmed with all at once.
Anyways, it seems that it was a seemingly simple case of Spike and Gallus just having the same parents who are apparently a normal griffon and dragon- but that does lead to the question of HOW they managed to have an egg in the first place, and WHY it was a secret. I'm trying not to horribly overthink it this time like I was the last, as it has now become obvious.
You mean the second hurried to rejoin the first?
That was too close! Had me tensed up in bed with that one.
And we're jumping into peril again with these guys hunting our duo, talk about a very short respite!
At least we got a huge lead at the end there, that old bird better come clean for his sake!
Oh boy, the plot thickens and given how the next chapter will have a longer wait time, dis gonna be interesting.
Oh boy and also Gruff is gonna have an interesting time.
The moment the other airship was noticed, I knew it was going to be trouble, given we knew Gene Type wasn't working alone. When Gallus and Spike sent up that flare, I was cringing in secondhand embarrassment. They KNEW that this went way beyond a single pony, and they still lacked caution... While it makes a bit of sense that the situation hadn't sunk in yet, given how rapidly it transpired, it was still enough to give second-hand embarrassment.
11835408
Hopefully this will be a lesson for them both to *stop* throwing caution to the winds & actually tread with care from here on out till this is over & these creeps get punished!
11835408
To be fair, up until about that point in time, they didn't have any reason to think it'd really gone up that far the chain of command, or that the griffons as a species were even directly involved (because, keep in mind, the only other conspirator they've knowingly had contact with was a pony, and while he did work jobs for the Royal Guard, he was still a civilian technically).
Further, given their current location in relation to where they should be, any actual rescue coming for them would likely be arriving in an airship anyway.
That said, it was kind of my point to spin the whole scene as the characters not foreseeing what was about to happen, but letting the readers do so, and thus generate dread feeling certain a shoe was about to drop.
I hope Gruff doesn't end up dying. That would be just the kind of twist to add drama and keep our heroes from getting answers. But killing Gruff and framing Spike and Gallus would be a galaxy brained move by the villain of this story.
Mmm, sweetsticks
Wait, I prefer drinking alcohol instead. Hate smoking.
Oh man I want a glass of Jameson now...
Hmmm, there could be another reason for Gruff, getting them out ... (sent in by whom is another question) ...
11835850
They'll have to find him first.
Oof. As much as Gallus' childhood and criminal contacts were uncomfortable to read, the whole thing was very well-written. You created a believable street slang and culture that I have a feeling we'll be seeing plenty more of.
Dang quite the info dump on Gallus childhood there, also good way of showing how big of a heart our fave little dragon has!
Author, just wanted to say: this is shaping up to be a very good side-by-side with Grief is the Price We Pay, and I'm so down to see where this goes. I should've been commenting on this more but I find myself usually being rendered speechless and then forgetting to return to comment my thoughts. Thank you for writing this one thus far. Cheers to many more updates!
Yay,
DerpyDitzy is a night guard and unlike Grief is the Price We Pay (spoilers) Twilight isn't a hopeless bad guy!Aw, but Dream Chaser's dead. :(
Well the plot thickens until Monday then.
Oh, what a relief! I thought they were going to be trapped "homeless" in griffonstone with no money and no place to sleep. They really dodged a bullet there.