As the two griffons stepped forward, more crystals lit up, revealing a large, circular chamber. A great round room with arching supports leading up to the domed ceiling. Tapestries hung down, eight in total. Four were large and golden, while the other four where smaller and crimson, all of them having a profile of a griffon with a crown on his head. In the center of the room was a throne, made of dark wood, with golden accents. Sitting upon the throne was a sculpture of King Grover, made of the same material as the seat itself. An exact duplicate of his crown rested on his head, and his forelegs were outstretched, talons up. In his open palms laid a scepter. It was made of gold, and silver, inlaid with gemstones. One end had an eagle head, encompassed by the inner curve of spread out wings. The other had a lion's tail, curving into a S-shape before ending back against itself.
That was perfect. If Gallus came out of the mountain with that, it would absolutely be proof that he had succeeded. No griffon could argue that he had cheated or anything.
Crouching slightly, Gallus extended one wing and lowered the tip to the ground.
"Wait here," he ordered.
"Why?" Leo asked. Still, he made his way down off Gallus's back and onto the floor.
"I'm going to grab that scepter," Gallus replied, motioning toward it. "Then we're going to find another exit and see if we can get out of here." He shifted to look at Leo. "I want you to wait here just in case there's a trap."
After getting a nod, he took off and flew to the throne. In front of it, Gallus slowly lowered himself to the ground, making sure none of the spots his feet touch suddenly sank down. Once all his weight had settled and nothing had shifted, he reached up for the scepter.
"Gallus," a feminine voice whispered out. "Gallus, sweetie."
It sounded like it was coming from right in front of him.
Looking up, Gallus noticed that the statue's eyes were not wood or gold, but a pale yellow-green gemstone of some sort. Gemstones that were currently glowing. In the gems, he saw himself. Not as he was now, but as a young tom, about the age he went to The School of Friendship. Another griffon then joined him. A hen, much older than he was, with the same markings.
Mom? Gallus thought as he stared.
The two were joined by an older tom, with a dark brown coat, silver feathers, and white markings.
Dad.
Another hen showed up, older than Gallus, but younger than Mom. She had a bright purple coat and darker purple markings. The hen grabbed him, putting one foreleg around his neck and pulled in close. She then brought the other claw to his head, giving him a noogie.
A griffon cub ran up and lunged at Gallus, slamming into his chest. Gallus let out a laugh as he wrapped his forelegs around the kid, pulling him into a hug.
A mom. A dad. A big sister. A little brother.
A family. One that raised him. Took care of him. Spent time with him.
Loved him.
They were in a field, surrounded by lots of lush, green grass. The rest of the family sat on a blanket, a picnic spread out before them.
"Come on, Gallus," Mom called out. "We're waiting for you."
His family waiting for him. His family. A father, a mother, and siblings. It was perfect. It was everything he wanted.
It...
It was not real.
Other memories pushed into his mind. Real memories. A Hearth's Warming break where all his friends decided to stay at school with him, just so he would not have to spend the holiday alone. The next winter break, when he spent it with Grampa Gruff and the others, because Gruff insisted on it. That same "Grampa" who Gabby to keep an eye on him, see how he was doing in school. Gilda's teasing, giving him a hard time. The same kind of teasing he got from Smolder. He and Smolder reaching the exit from the cave when they were being tested. Sharing his greatest fear with Silverstream.
The looks of pride he got when he graduated.
The congratulations he got when he became a guard.
Family. His real family. Not by blood. By choice and shared experiences.
Gallus grabbed the scepter, then ripped his gaze away from the glowing green eyes as he turned around.
"Are you okay?"
Gallus jumped at the sound, eyes going wide. He had been so caught up in the visions from the stones and his own memories, he had forgotten about the cub.
"Yeah," Gallus said. "Yeah, I'm fine."
Making his way over to Leo, he gave the cub a pat on the back.
"Come on, kid. Let's find a way out of here."
After a quick search, they found the exit hidden behind one of the larger tapestries. It was another staircase, although smaller. The passage was narrower until only a single griffon could comfortably pass through, and the steps just long enough for a single paw to fit on.
Tucking the scepter under one wing, and placing Galileo back on his back, Gallus started his descent. They made their way down in silence. Gallus knew he should say something, to get the kid talking to help pass the time, but he was not feeling very talkative. Either Galileo picked up on that, or was not feeling very talkative himself. He seemed perfectly fine to ride along in silence.
Or maybe he stole something from the chamber, and did not want to draw attention to himself while he had it.
After walking down stairs until his legs ached, Gallus saw it. Up ahead was a patch of light. Natural light. Not another set of crystals glowing to give them a way to see their path, but good, honest, Twilight-raised sunlight. It brought fresh excitement to the griffon. Excitement enough that he had to keep himself from speeding up.
Be pretty embarrassing for him to fall and break his neck at the very end. He could even imagine the headstone:
HERE LIES
GALLUS THE GRIFFON
POSSIBLE PRINCE
DEFINITE IDIOT
Reaching the exit, Gallus stepped out of the cave... and found himself standing in front of everyone. He had somehow come out from the same point he had gone in through.
Curious, he turned around to look back in.
He could not see anything.
"LEO!" someone cried out.
"MOM!" Galileo called back. Hopping down, the cub took off, running full speed into the waiting forelegs of his mother. She picked him up and pulled him tight, squeezing him against her chest.
"Oh, my boy," she cried out. "I was so worried about you."
Setting the cub down, she bolted over to Gallus and pulled him into a hug. Her grip was so tight, it felt like his head was going to pop off.
"Thank you! Thank you!" the mother said. "You brought my little Leo back to me."
"You're welcome," Gallus wheezed out. "It was no problem."
The hug finally came to an end, only to be replaced by another. Not as bone-crushing, but just excited.
"You're okay!" Silverstream squealed out as she picked Gallus up off his feet and shook him with the hug. "And you were able to find a lost griffon and bring him back to his mother!"
"Yeah," Gallus replied, trying to keep himself limp as he let her vent her enthusiastic excitement. "How long was I in there, anyways?"
"About three hours," Princess Twilight answered as she approached. "Were you able to find anything that could prove you made it through?"
Shifting, Gallus pulled free of Silverstream's grasp and got back to the ground. His chest puffed out and neck straightened as he stepped forward, allowing everyone gathered to see him. Reaching into his wing, he took a hold of the scepter and raised it up high.
A gasp passed through the crowd, followed by murmurs.
Several griffons moved to bow.