//------------------------------// // Chapter 14: Rite of Passage // Story: Freeing Gallus // by CrackedInkWell //------------------------------// In Equestria, there are a few ponies that would be up before dawn. Bakers to make bread, the Lunar Guard to patrol the streets looking for crime, Baristas to prepare coffee, Mailponies to organize and make deliveries, newspaper colts, garbage collectors, and farmers. Before Celestia could wake up to raise the sun over the horizon, not many ponies in towns and cities are up at such an hour. On that spring day, however, when all is still cold and dark, a griffon and two ponies walked into the empty market place where only a small number of ponies were preparing to open up shop. Autumn Wave, with a mug of coffee in hoof, dragged himself following Gallus behind while his mind was trying to catch up with him. “So…” He said, “How exactly do you know how this thing works?” “It’s always held in public for all to see,” Gallus explained. “That’s the point, really. If you wanna show the community that you’re becoming an adult so that there’s absolutely no doubt of it. Besides, I’ve seen it happen plenty of times.” “But all you’ll be doing is just flying… right?” Sandbar inquired. “Kinda. It sounds simple, but it’s more of an endurance test than anything. Regardless of the weather, I have to keep myself off the ground from sunrise to sunset. Which means that I’ll be completely in the air the whole time.” “So why do you need us for?” Gallus’s now father-in-law questioned. “I mean, if this ritual thing is meant for all to see you do it, why have us be here the whole time?” “In the old Griffon Kingdom, the family members are like reliable referees. If I’m able to become an adult, I have to do it in front of you so that I won’t be able to cheat or keep me alert. Once the sun peaks over those mountains over there, it’s your guys' job that I don’t make any contact with the ground or anything that’s touching it. Which means that I can’t sit down for rest or go to the bathroom. And I can’t exactly pick anything up from the ground unless you guys toss me up a canteen or a snack.” “What about clouds?” “It’s considered cheating.” Gallus stopped; his face turned towards the east as the sky there was starting to change into brighter colors of blue. “This should be a good spot. So how long do I have until sunrise?” Sandbar glanced over at the clocktower. “The sun should be peaking out in a few minutes.” “So, are you actually going to do it?” The three of them turned to a new voice – Grandpa Gruff holding a lantern in one talon and a folding stool in the other. “What are you doing here?” Gallus questioned coldly as the morning. “Believe it or not, I’m here to watch.” He flipped open his seat, setting it on the ground. “I just wanna see with my good eye if you could actually do it.” “Did you forget that I had to fly across an entire ocean just to get here?” “I didn’t.” The old vulture deadpan, “This, however, is a different matter. What you’re about to do isn’t easy, even for the youngsters. Only the mature could withstand such endurance to keep off the ground while the sun is still in the sky.” “Good thing I’m here to prove I’m not a kid anymore.” Grandpa Gruff’s eye narrowed. “We’ll see.” Gallus felt a hoof on his shoulder, his husband, despite how obviously tired he looked with his reddish eyes, still offered a compassionate smile. “You can do this.” The young griffon shook his head. “I must do this. By sunset, I’ll be free. And I won’t come this far only to fail.” “Would there be anything you need?” Autumn Wave asked. “Just be sure to keep me feed and to toss up me something to drink when I need it. But otherwise, I’m ready.” Gallus did some last-minute stretching, especially with his wings as the last thing he needed was to have it cramped up when he’s hovering four hours on end. Then over on the horizon, rays of the morning sun had ascended above the mountains, painting the sky in pinks, oranges, dark blue with light. Then, as soon as that bright orb itself was spotted, Gallus jumped up off the ground and hovered there above the ponies beneath him. The trial of persistence had begun. “Kid, you must find shelter.” A Pegasus from the local Weather Team said. “There’s a storm coming from the Everfree Forest that’s on its way here now.” It was noon when Gallus was told this. But despite the sweat that dripped from his face and how numb his wings were, he dares not stop. His lungs felt they were on fire, and regardless of how many bottles of water he gargled down, he refused to land – not with his husband, father-in-law, or Grandpa Gruff especially were watching. “We can’t stop this thing.” The Pegasus told him. “The winds are too strong, the rain too blinding and there’s a good chance that you might get struck by lightning. So, you need to leave.” From where the young griff could see, the mare wasn’t exaggerating. From his point of view up in the air where he could look over the thatched rooftops, dark rumbling clouds from the forest rumbled and loomed over the town like a tsunami. He shook his head. Seeing this was pointless, the mare flew down to the other two ponies and Griffon to take shelter until the storm passes – but the Pegasus had to move on to warn the rest of the town. “Sandbar,” Autumn asked his son, “do you know anyplace that has umbrellas?” “I think Professor Pinkie Pie might have a few, and her place isn’t too far away.” “Go fetch a couple for us and Grandpa Gruff over here. I think we’re gonna need it.” Sandbar nodded before rushing off towards Sugar Cube Corner. Autumn Wave glances over to the old Griffon. Ever since the start of the ritual, he noticed that the vulture hadn’t moved or said anything. For several hours, he sat there on that stool, arms folded and head upward. It was as if he was waiting, and Autumn could already guess what he was waiting for. “I think he’s gonna pull this off.” The pony in dreadlocks said to him. “He’s still up in the air for about six hours now and still going strong.” “But he still has about eight or nine hours to go.” Gruff replied, still refused to look anywhere else except on Gallus. “So, he’s not done yet.” “Still, you got to admit that his endurance is already impressive as it is.” “We’ll see.” Autumn frowned. “What do you got against him anyway? Do you want him to become an adult by your own rules?” “Believe it or not, I think it’s about time that he’s finally able to do the ritual. I couldn’t care less if he’s able to pull it off so he could renounce his own nationality.” “Funny, my son told me that you were upset the other day.” “Oh, I was, and still am. Not for this, but for going behind my back. I’m still mad that they had the audacity to trick you into getting married so that he could be able to do this.” “That’s where you’re wrong.” Autumn shook his head. “Never once did my Sandbar tricked or manipulated me into giving my consent. My son did it out of selflessness and compassion for a creature that would be trapped unless he did something about it.” “Did he also tell you of what they were getting themselves into?” “What do you mean?” “In our culture, the practice of divorce doesn’t exist. The moment one swears the oath, their fate is sealed. There are married until death takes them. It’s the other but the bigger reason why I’m upset. Forget the fact that they’re both male – something that’s considered taboo to us, by-the-way, but because they got married so fast and so young that we just see it as reckless. Which is why I was shocked that you’ve allowed two children to get married as they could never undo what they’ve just done.” “So what?” Autumn raised an eyebrow. “If Gallus is gonna renounce his nationality, why should you care?” “You don’t understand! Even if he’s able to pass this sacred rite to become an adult, and his own guardian, just saying that you’re no longer part of the Griffon Kingdom still won’t excuse you from what other Griffons would do. Regardless of where we’re from, there are just certain things that we just don’t do. Forget about the whole gay thing, if he does succeed, than Gallus would have to face being married to someone that’s considered underaged is fundamentally wrong and disturbing. At best, he would be forever known as a pedophile. Mark my words, one of these days, your boy and his husband are going to have to encounter other griffons that would only see them as deviants, disgusting degenerates. This isn’t an opinion either, but a fact that later on they will be harmed or outright killed over something like this – and there’s nothing, not even this kingdom’s laws could do about it.” “Are you saying that that they're in danger?” “For their sheer stupidity? Yes. That’s exactly what I’m saying. It’s exactly the reason why I’m upset. Just telling Gallus that he could just go ahead and get hitched to someone that, even for Equestria isn’t old enough to get married – you might as well paint a target on his forehead.” A clap of thunder was heard. “Yes. There’s a part of me that hopes he might succeed. If he does… he better move to a place where he won’t encounter another Griffon in his lifetime.” At this point, Sandbar gallops back into the empty marketplace with two umbrellas in his teeth. As soon as he was near enough, Grandpa Gruff snatches one of them to open it. Autumn put a hoof around his son, opening an umbrella for the coming storm, and their eyes turned towards the sky. Gallus was convinced that he knew what his personal Tartarus was like. Aching wings screaming for rest that will never come. Up in the air shivering in the blinding wintery rain, the brunt wind that kicks and punches in every direction, and the risk of being strike by lighting that could easily kill him. The rain had come down so fast and thick that not only could he see, but he felt like he was being drenched underneath a waterfall that refused to let up. On top of all of this, with his wings being dampened, with each flap of his wings becoming heavier as if each of them had to lift up a house over and over again. Yet, from below, although he was blinded by rain, he could hear the voice of his husband cheering him on. “You can do it!” He would say. “Don’t give up!” For the griffon, his own body was telling the opposite. That his wings couldn’t take it anymore. He needs to stop. Give his wings a break or he’ll collapse. Let himself breathe. Yet, Sandbar’s voice inspired in him not confidence, but a realization. If he fails this, he would be letting his husband down – after the amount of planning, of getting his parents to perform an elaborate ceremony, and the sheer amount of compassion and sacrifice the earth pony has done for him – he must pass this trial. After all the effort being put in so he could do this at all, he could not let his own wings bring all what Sandbar has done for nothing. Frosty winds blast against him, nearly knocking him over as he tried to stay upright. But with his eyes closed, he couldn’t tell if he was right side up or upside-down. Even the rain, no matter what direction he turned to didn’t give him a chance to see. And the constant thunder that echoed in the valley, he felt like he was a lightning rod just waiting to happen. “Gallus, watch out for that tree!” “Huh?” “Just stop!” He hadn’t realized that he was moving until he forced an eye top open, and through the blur of the water in his eye, he saw the branches that were coming up too quickly. Instinct took over in which he tried to fight against the wind to make him stop from touching what was connected to the ground. Flipping around to face the wind, he flapped harder, his breaths in short painful gasps while his beak was being filled with rainwater. “Guys!” Gallus called out. “I can’t… see!” “Dude!” He heard Sandbar’s voice right below him. “Do exactly as I say and go down!” “Why?” “The wind is too strong! You need to get to a place where you can get out of the rain! So come down!” “But if I… touch the… ground-” “You won’t! Trust me!” Gradually, Gallus started to lose altitude letting each flap of his weary wings to lower closer to the earth. “Stop!” Sandbar commanded this time it was close, almost right in front of him. “Now follow the sound of my voice! I’m going to lead you to a place where you can get out of the storm.” The Griffon obeyed and followed his husband’s voice as he directed him away – still being mindful of keeping him up in the air all the same. He felt the stabbing winds dying down, and before he knew it, the rain had stopped but the sound of it and thunder was still all around him. Using his claws to clear the accumulated water aside, he was finally able to see. Sandbar, as drenched as he was, had led him to underneath a bridge that connected two buildings. He can also see Autumn Wave and Grandpa Gruff following behind carrying their umbrellas. “Should this still count?” Autumn asked the old vulture behind him. “I mean, he’s not touching the ground or anything.” “It does. He didn’t touch that tree back there so it’s all still qualified.” Folding his umbrella as he walked underneath the arch, he looked up at the young griffon. “Not so easy now, isn’t it, kid.” “Screw… you!” Gallus gasped. Sandbar’s farther looked between the two boys. “Listen, I’m going to go get some towels so at least you two can get dry. Stay right here, I’ll be back as quick as I can.” Autumn Wave, still with an umbrella in hoof, galloped off into the storm, leaving the three of them underneath the bridge. Gallus still hovered above them, dripping wet and panting like a dog. All Sandbar could offer up was a smile. “You’re still doing great dude.” “For once, there’s promise.” This caught both young griffon and pony off guard when Grandpa Gruff said this aloud. “Not many Griffs that undergo the ritual during a storm would last five minutes. Yet, you were up there for at least an hour.” “That… long?” Gallus asked, out of breath. He nodded. “I still don’t know if you’ll make it to sunset, but you’ve got endurance. There’s no denying it. You may already get a good distance up the mountain already, but you’re not at the top yet.” “Excuse me, Grandpa Gruff,” Sandbar asked, his legs and his body shivering from the cold. “What’s the point of him to stay off the ground when the sun’s up? How does it make him an adult when to me it looks like torture?” The old Griffon huffed. “Of course, you wouldn’t understand, pony. I mean, finding out what your talent is and just like that, you get a magical butt tattoo that says that you’re all grown up. Blah! How soft are you that all you have to do is find something you like and that makes you a stallion. This,” he waves a claw at Gallus, “you may see as torture, but in my good eye, a Griffon who could endure being in the air when the sun is in the sky shows that they can get through anything! This is important to us, so much so, that there’s a reason why this has to be done in the open. It sends a message to weaklings like yourself.” “And that being?” “It doesn’t matter what you do to us today, tomorrow, or after all of that – by doing this, it shows that we’re not so easily put down! That even though it hurts, that often times we’d beg for our personal Tartarus to stop, we keep going to show that we’re capable of doing hard things. Any Griff that could do just that is not a child that’s so easily a pushover, but an adult that stands his ground. Or in this case, never let his own body to touch the ground.” About an hour later, the rain had ceased and howling winds had died down. By then, Autumn had returned with a couple of towels on his back with Spring Tide with Aqua joining him. With the whole family present, they did whatever they could to refresh Gallus and toss up enough snacks to keep his energy going. For the griffon, however, although the weather had improved, he kept one eye on the ground, and the other to check where the sun was. To him, the seconds had turned to hours, minutes into years, and the hours into eternity. There were times where the griffon was convinced that the sun wasn’t moving at all, that time has disappeared altogether. Or perhaps time had gone so remarkably slow that it only makes his own torture all the more tedious. It was as if just being up there for nearly all day was playing tricks on his own mind. That the sky seems to stay still while below, ponies had come out and buzz around at remarkable speeds. At other times, he could have sworn that there was more than just Sandbar and his family to cheer for him to keep going. The latter almost as if there were more voices; distant, ghostly ones that encouraged him to stay up just a little longer. He kept a watchful eye on the sun, on time itself as it crawled across the wide sky towards the west. It would be over soon. Freedom was just beyond the horizon and all he had to do was to ignore the rebelling aches in his wings just a little longer. “You’re almost there Gallus!” He heard Sandbar called out. “Just a few minutes more.” Normally he would love to make some sort of comeback. However, even his own brain was running on fumes like the rest of his body. He had his eyes on the sinking golden disk that was finally touching the mountains. Moment by enteral moment went by, watching Celestia gently place the eternal child into its cradle for the night. As he watched, for a brief second when the rays were waving about at the gentle clouds and the rocky sloping mountains with its trees – that he saw something. Perhaps it was the way the light was casting light and shadow. Maybe it was the placing and shapes of the clouds – or more likely that his mind was probably gone at that point – he thought he saw them lowering the sun beyond the horizon. That the cloudy leftover of the storm looked like his mother and the rocky forest was his father. Both lowering the sun to rest. “Gallus!” Autumn Wave cried out. “It’s sunset! You can come down now!” And down he came, hitting the ground with a thud. “Gallus!” The griffon’s husband rushed over, calling his name, feeling his neck for a pulse. Thankfully, there was one. “He must be completely exhausted.” Spring Tide said. “Autumn, Sandy, lift him up, let’s get him to bed.” As the two Earth Ponies left the griffon up and onto their backs, Grandpa Gruff approached the unconscious Gallus, lifting a chin up in his claw. “I don’t know if you can hear me.” He said to him. “But you’ve done it. You’re no longer a child, that you’ve already proven. You may have earned your freedom and the ability to leave the Griffon Kingdom behind, but since you’re an adult married to one who isn’t… I hope that the cost you paid was worth the price from this moment on.” “Let’s go.” Sandbar said as he and his father took him back to the school, back to the young griffon’s room so he may sleep. That night, Sandbar feel asleep at the foot of his husband’s bed, so that he may be there when he wakes up.