Once Gallus and Sandbar had returned back to the school, the griffon suffered from a rather nasty cold. For weeks, his body ached, nostrils being stuffed up, sneezes wouldn’t let up, and continually felt miserable just getting out of bed. His illness was so bad that he was excused from his classes until he fully recovered. However, being sick at the School of Friendship wasn’t exempt for not doing one’s homework.
So Sandbar, along with their friends, decided to take up the task of not only providing their bedridden comrade the essential notes from their classes for him to study from, but for them to lend him some help when it came to the homework. However, when it came to actually be looking after the sneezing griffon, the young stallion was the one to really step up.
Every morning, Sandbar would check up on his friend and pick up the discarded wadded up tissues and the boxes of snacks he brought the previous night off the floor. After waking Gallus up, he would bring him some breakfast and his cold medicine. He would go to class until lunch where he rushes from the school’s cafeteria to bring the ill griffon something to much on (usually some fruit like oranges and bananas). Then after all classes were concluded for the day, he and his friends would go to him for their study group until dinner. From there, Sandbar would travel up to Troy and Canvas’s home to fetch a soup that was made for Gallus that had the most essential foods he needs. After that, the two of them would talk before Sandbar had to go to bed.
It was one evening, while Gallus was reading through his textbook, sniffing and barely focusing on the endless parade of complex words that he heard a knock on his door. “It’s open Sand.” He said in a nasal voice.
As expected, Sandbar pushed open the door and in his teeth was a bag that held his dinner, along with a small box on his back. Gallus raised an eyebrow as the pony walked in and set the bag down. “Canvas said that he made some chicken soup with cheese biscuits for tonight.”
“What’s with the box?”
“This?” He carefully set the box down on his bed. “This is also from them, something for us to snack on.”
“What is it?”
“Well… you do know what today it is, right?”
Gallus tilted his head in confusion. “Tuesday?”
Sandbar chuckled. “No, I mean yeah that, but do you know what holiday it is today?” The blue, sneezing griffon only stared at him. “Today is Hearts and Hooves Day. I know you don’t exactly celebrate it where you’re from, but the other day, I asked Canvas to do this favor that I just thought it would… ya know… be nice for me to get something for us.” He flipped open the box, and inside of it was a small heart-shaped cake that was covered in mostly red icing and a little bit of decorative white frosting on its edges.
The young, coughing griffon looked between it and the stallion next to his bed. “You asked the guy to bake a cake for us that’s in the shape of a heart?”
“H-Hey!” Sandbar blushed, “It’s tradition, alright? On Hearts and Hooves day you always get sweets that are heart shaped. I mean, it’s just a cake. Don’t read too deep into it.”
“So… what are you trying to say with cake?”
He shrugged. “Just that I… care for you. I mean, you did save me on our last field trip and… I just… ya know…”
“Fair point.” He pointed over to the bag. “Can you pass me up that soup?”
Out from the bag was a thermos that held the still hot soup. Sandbar unscrews the lid and carefully poured the liquid into it. Gallus picked it up and held it in his claw and spotted what was in the soup. Shredded chicken swam in broth, bumping up against thinly chopped carrots, celery, green onions, and noodles. Here and there, herbs floated to the top, no doubt a subtle touch from the couple that created it. Although the blue griffon couldn’t smell a thing, he imagined it to be heavenly it tasted when he sipped on the broth.
“Ya know,” Gallus remarked, “that Troy is really lucky to have a spouse that can cook this. If he were to set up shop in Griffonstone selling nothing but this, he’ll probably buy the place in a matter of days.”
“I’ll be sure to pass the message along.” Sandbar told him as he gave him a paper bag that had the biscuits. “He said he made enough for both of us to snack on so may I…”
“Help yourself.” As the young stallion opened up the bag, a passing thought came to him. “So… what do your parents do?”
“What do ya mean?”
“I mean, do they have jobs or what? From I’ve heard, living anywhere near Applewood can’t be cheap. And you said that you live near the beach so, what did they do so they could live there?”
“Well, dad’s a marine biologist.”
“In plain Equestrian please.”
“He’s a scientist that studies sea creatures.” He clarified, taking out one of the biscuits. “We live where we do because the beach in our back yard is in a way, his office. He would study what living things would hang around near the shore. Especially the sea turtles.”
Gallus raised an eyebrow. “So, I’m guessing that’s probably where you got your mark?”
“Actually, yeah!”
“Is it just as exciting as the time you nearly spilled grape juice on the couch?”
Sandbar laughed. “Actually yeah! Ya see, where we live, the sea turtles at a certain time of year lay their eggs in the sand, and on the day that they hatch, we help the little guys to reach the sea. And for good reason. Because on the day that they’re hatched and crawling into the sea, flocks of black frigates are there to eat them.
“It’s very difficult work not only trying to keep the birds away for the nests to make it out into the open water but just trying to make sure those turtles are going in the right direction. I remember very early one morning after dad woke us up that we were out on the beach where he set up these wall things, so it helps the babies go in the right direction. We were out there, keeping one eye on the dark sky and the other on the ground for movement. However, the sun hadn’t risen yet so we couldn’t see where the birds were, but we can hear them.”
He sat on the edge of his bed and continued on with the story. “We had only lanterns on us, watching and listening until we noticed the little dudes poking out of the sand, making a dash towards the sea. But as soon as they did so, we saw the frigates swooping down. So, we try to get these birds out to give them enough time to make it to the water. But then I noticed that there were three turtles had gotten over the wall and were moving away from us. So, I went after them, trying to get them to move in the right direction.”
“Then what happened?”
“Well, I tried to get them to go towards the ocean, at first by standing in front of their path so they would have to move in another direction. However, those frigates try to keep swooping over them and right over my head. I tried to wave a hoof in the air to try to get them to go away, but they kept coming back. So, I decided to right there and then to pick up those three turtles and made a run for the sea. Those birds tried to claw at my head, I even dropped the lantern, but I still ran until my hooves touched the water. I cast them out into safety before those birds could try to take a bite.
“I didn’t realize that I earned my cutie mark until the sun was up and dad noticed it.”
Gallus sniffed. “So, what? Does your mark mean that you’re good at rescuing baby sea turtles?”
Sandbar shook his head. “I think there’s more to it.” He looked over at the image of the three sea turtles on his flank. “To me, my cutie mark is about trying to help others out when they’re in trouble.” He heard his griffon friend laugh before coughing. “What?”
“It really suits you.” He said. “I mean, your cutie mark, you’ve always tried to help us whenever way you can. Even with me.”
“Hey, if the same thing were to happen to the others, I’d probably still try to help.”
Another thought came to Gallus. “So if you’re so helpful… why are you sent here? I mean, from what I can make out from your folks, you don’t seem to be the kind of guy that would need to learn about friendship.”
Sandbar became quiet while he sipped on his dinner. “Actually, there is a reason.”
“Yeah?”
“Well… I’m not sure if I told any of you guys this before, but back home, I don’t exactly connect with others that well.”
Gallus raised an eyebrow. “How? You’re probably the most easy-going guy on the planet. How can you find it hard to connect with anyone?”
He rubbed his foreleg. “For one, there are not many ponies that are around my age, most of them are either really young foals or full-grown adults. There’re no teens for miles where I’m from. And never mind the age gap either! Over there, there are not many ponies that have the same interests that I do or a connection that I could sit down with and talk to. So, in a way, my parents sent me here for a couple of reasons, not only so that I can learn how to make friends, but given the lack of teens, I’m basically sent here to earn my high school education, and probably college too now that I think of it.”
The griffon finished up on the soup and turned towards the biscuits. “You must have been pretty lonely in your paradise, huh?”
“You’re not wrong. I mean, I still had my family, sure. But actual friends… For a long time, I didn’t see the point as there wasn’t many within miles that I could laugh with, hang out with, do stuff that’s actually fun that doesn’t need to be dumbed down or too smart that goes over my head. Friends that are interesting, and that they wouldn’t mind of me taking part in the stuff they talk about. Until I came to this school and meet you guys, I never had that.”
“But don’t you miss your paradise? Your beaches and reasonable weather?”
Sandbar laughed. “Of course, I do! Every now and then I tend to get homesick to be with my family and all. But I think that if I left this school tomorrow, I’d probably miss it more. I would miss hanging out with you and the girls. I’d miss the stories all of you would tell about your homelands and learning about what other creatures do. There’s a reason why I didn’t go back home after the school was shut down and me trying to hide all of you. I’ve gained real friends that I didn’t want to lose so quickly. While I do miss the waves and the swaying palms, just being with you and the girls, I feel like that I’m already home.”
Gallus smiled. That feeling in his chest was present again, but this time, it wasn’t as harsh nor offsetting. Rather, it was a warm, comforting rush in his bloodstream that was welcoming. But his mind turned to other things. “So… have you heard any news from your parents about the wedding?”
He nodded. “Yeah. Mom has already sent out the invitations to the family and they wanted us to finalize some details about what the wedding and the reception are going to look like.”
“First off, how big is your family anyway? I’ve already met your mom, dad and baby sister.”
“Well…” He heavily exhaled. “If we’re including family on both sides… let’s just say that there’s gonna be… a lot. Maybe not exactly Apple family big, but… there’s gonna be lots.”
“So we’re expecting a family reunion at this point.”
Sandbar nodded. “Yeah. Pretty much. But hey, they’re going to be your family too.”
Gallus paused and let what he heard sink in. He hadn’t thought about it, but he was right. When he does marry him, his family would also be his as well. One with not just a mom and dad with a sister to boot, but one that had uncles and aunts, nieces and cousins, and maybe grandparents. All this time he had to make do without a family, yet here, in the coming month, he’s going to be a part of that once again.
“You okay?” the young stallion waved a hoof in front of his face, snapping back into reality. “You kinda drifted off there.”
“Huh? Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. You wanna go ahead and cut up that cake now?”
Sandbar got up to pick out a butter knife out of the bag as well as a fork for each of them. After cutting half, he carefully placed one of the pieces on the cardboard lid and sat it on his friend’s lap. “Happy Hearts and Hooves day, Gallus.”
“Thanks, dude.”
A week later, Gallus felt well enough to get out of bed and breathe again. On a Saturday evening, he was flying alone towards the apple orchards towards the home of Troy and Canvas. He circled around the colorful barn until he reached the backdoor of the home where he knocked on it. Some moments later, the backdoor opened up to the very large griffon who looked down at him in confusion.
“Gallus? What are you doing out here?”
“Sir, can I have a minute to talk to you?”
“We’re just about to have dinner.”
“It’s important.” The young griff said quickly. “Just hear me for a minute and I swear I’ll be out of here.”
Looking over his shoulder, Troy stepped out into the snow and closed the door behind him. “Okay, what’s going on?”
“Well it’s about the wedding itself, so since you’re about to have dinner, I’ll just get straight to the point.” Gallus took in a deep breath. “You know that piercing ceremony we griffons have?” He nodded. “Since you’re the only Griff that I know, so I’m gonna ask you to do this favor for us. Would it be possible for you to perform that at our wedding?”
Wide-eyed, the older griffon looked down at the younger for a moment. “Uh… why?”
“Because my friends have a point. They said that if I have any chance to be free, the marriage has to be legitimate in the griffon’s eyes. If we did it the pony way, those from the Griffon Kingdom would think that what we’re doing isn’t serious. But if we had our ears pierced, then it would give them proof that what happened, actually happened. Look, I know that we’re nowhere near related, but if this is gonna work, I need you to do the ritual. I mean, it’s clear that you and your spouse have done it.” He pointed it out at Troy’s ear.
The grey griffon lifted a talon up to the golden ring in his right ear. “Are you sure kid? Sure, this thing is traditional and all, but the ritual that Canvas and I underwent was painful.”
“Sir, I’ve already talked to Sandbar about this, and we agree that it’s the only way to show that our marriage is legit. And I know that this thing is usually done by family, but looking around, all I can do is ask to do this for us. Please. If you do, I’ll never ask another favor from you again. I’ll try to pay even!”
A claw was pressed up against the blue griffon’s beak. “Okay. I’ll do it. Just be sure to tell whoever is getting the rings to make absolutely sure that they’re earrings. I’ll have to talk to Twilight about this. And you can keep your bits kid. You are in need to get out of a messed-up place and I’ll offer what I can to do just that.”
Gallus sighed in relief. “Oh thank gods! Thank you, Mr…” He trailed off. “Sorry, I just realized that I don’t think I’ve caught your last name.”
“Clawston.”
“Okay, thanks Mr. Clawsto…” The young griff’s eyes widened. “Hold on! Clawston?” He nodded. “You don’t happen to be related to General Jonas Clawston by chance are-”
“He’s my dad.” There was a pause between them. “I take it that you know him?”
“Know him? He’s the only respectable griffon out there! The closest thing we have to a king without being one.”
Troy chuckled. “I wouldn’t go that far, but I get that he’s known in military circles. Although I’m surprised you’ve heard of him.”
“It’s rather hard not to. I mean in Griffonstone, his troops were the closest thing to a police force we have to prevent it all going up in flames. While there’s very little that I like about my home town, I do have to give credit in that. So… I guess speaking from one griff to another, it would be a huge honor to have you carry it out at the wedding.”
He smiled. “Don’t mention it, kid. Now if you excuse me, there’s a buttery shrimp pasta with my name on it.”
“Got it.” He spread his wings. “Still, thanks for agreeing to this.”
“See you around.” Troy waved at him as the blue griffon took off into the sky.