"You okay, Gallus?" Smolder asked.
The griffon's train of thought having been violently derailed by the sudden question, he looked up from his lunch and turned to face his dragon friend.
"H-huh, what?" he sputtered.
Smolder scratched the side of her neck. "Sorry, it's just... you weren't talking as much as you normally do, and the way you were staring at that apple looked kinda wierd, and- Ugh, You get what I'm saying." She groaned and turned to the rest of their friends. "C'mon, guys, back me up here!"
Ocellus looked up from her Honesty notebook. "You did seem a bit distracted, Gallus," she commented.
Sandbar finished swallowing the hayburger chunk in his mouth. "Ditto."
"Eh, didn't really notice," Silverstream shrugged. Her expression quickly became one of concern, however. "But now that you mention it, Smolder, he did sound quieter than usual. I mean, technically he wasn't making any sound because he wasn't talking, but still..."
Yona remained silent, but did give Gallus a similar look of worry to Silverstream's.
Gallus responded to those concerns by lightheartedly rolling his eyes. "Okay, wow. Way to put me on the spot, guys," he quipped. "I'm fine."
He looked back down at the shiny red apple in his hand. Remembering his hunger, he ripped a piece out of it with his beak and let it rest on his tongue for a few seconds.
The apples grown at Sweet Apple Acres, Gallus mused to himself as he savored the taste, were the greatest thing he'd ever eaten. Sure, there other foods that he objectively considered better (in particular, cupcakes came to mind), but there was just something about the apples grown at the Apple family's farm that felt, for lack of a better word, special. Maybe it was because apples had been such a large part of his diet back when he was growing up in Griffonstone. There were a lot of experiences and memories he could theoretically associate with the taste of that particular fruit; in fact, he'd just been thinking of one such memory. To be fair, though, the apples grown back in Griffonstone didn't taste anywhere near as good, and most of those memories weren't exactly fond ones, but still. Heck, maybe that was why eating these apples felt so amazing. It was like they reminded Gallus of home, but if everything about home wasn't as terrible.
It was almost... nostalgia, in a way. Nostalgia for feelings he'd never felt, for a life he'd never lived.
Or maybe he was just crazy.
He swallowed the bit of apple, then looked back up at his friends. The looks that still lingered on their faces suggested that his previous remarks had only added to their concern.
"Seriously, I'm okay. I was just, uh... reminiscing," he added, silently thanking Grover that someone had invented the dictionary. It felt so bizarre that just a month ago, he hadn't even known what cousins were.
The rest of the group continued to give each other uneasy glances. Gallus hadn't told them much about his life before he'd met them all, but given the few pieces to the puzzle he'd offhandedly revealed to them, the half-finished picture didn't make his childhood sound like a particularly happy one, to say the least. And given the "Hearth's Warming Eve Incident" from last month, his choice of words wasn't as reassuring as it normally should've been.
"Just 'reminiscing', huh?" Smolder remarked, a hint of suspicion present in her voice. "What exactly were you reminiscing about?" She reached for one of her rubies and took a small bite out of it.
Gallus couldn't help but feel the slightest tinge of annoyance at his friends' persistence. At the same time, however... Gods, it felt so good having creatures who were willing to be that persistent for him. Who cared about him that extent.
When Princess/Headmare Twilight Sparkle first announced the whole "Friendship School" thing, Grandpa Gruff had taken the initiative to hunt down somegriffon to send there. It just so happened that someone had anonymously given a letter to Gruff suggesting that Gallus would be the perfect candidate. And Gallus knew for a fact he wasn't the one who sent it; even back then, he wasn't willing to stoop that low. He still didn't know for certain who it was.
Even so, Gallus had accepted the offer in a heartbeat. After all, he'd be getting a welcomed change of scenery, free lodging, and he wouldn't have to pay for some of his meals! All he had to do in return was sit in a classroom for a few hours every weekday and pretend to give a hoot about the things he was "learning". He'd have to be the dumbest creature alive to turn down an offer like that!
But Gallus had quickly gained something worth just as much, if not more than ventilated rooming, or free food, or any of the other luxuries the opportunity had given him. The best thing he'd gotten out of the experience was, of course, the friendships he'd formed with the five creatures currently sitting beside him and fawning over his mental wellbeing.
Meeting Sandbar, Smolder, Ocellus, Yona, and Silverstream was undoubtedly the greatest thing that'd ever happened to him, and it would likely hold that title for the rest of his life.
And you know what? If there was anyone in all of Equestria — no, all of Equus — he could make himself a bit vulnerable to, that he could let see the exposed, vulnerable underbelly of his mind, it would have to be them.
"It was a random thing from, like, a year ago," he confessed. "Before I met you all. I was hungry, some stuff happened, I found food, the end. It just... got stuck in my mind, I guess. No big deal." Especially not now, he thought to himself.
"Huh," was all Smolder could really say in response. She took another bite out of her ruby.
"Were you hungry a lot?" Ocellus asked.
"Eh, every once in a while," Gallus answered.
Ocellus gave him an empathetic look. "Yeah, I know the feeling."
Everycreature understood what Ocellus meant. Before Thorax had taken the throne, she'd once told them, there had been days where there wasn't enough love to satisfy everyling's hunger. Fortunately, with the new king's arrival and the introduction of friendship to their lives, those days had become a thing of the past. Still, there were moments where the young changeling couldn't help but reflect on those darker times.
In that regard, she and Gallus had something in common.
"Soooo," Ocellus continued, "Are you feeling better now?"
Gallus's eyes trailed over to one of the room's many windows. Up in the skies, Celestia's sun could be seen shining brightly from just behind a cloud. The winter weather had held out for as long as it possibly could, but it looked as though it was finally conceding victory to the forthcoming springtime. Quite a fitting metaphor, actually.
"Yup," he said, a small smile visible on his beak, "It's alright."
END.