//------------------------------//
// Chapter 4 - Unbreakable Bonds 
// Story: The Equestrian Odyssey - A Tale of Two Worlds 
// by Kamahido 
//------------------------------//

Gallus pushes past Natalya. 

“Sorry, sis, but I have a friend to help!”

Natalya walks after him. “Don’t you walk away from ME, young griffon!”

Gallus kneels down and unrolls the bandages. “I’m back, Glynda. Sorry it took so long. This should make you feel better.”

Natalya rushes over. “Woah there! Aren’t you going to clean those wounds first?!”

Gallus narrows his eyes as he holds up a bottle of antiseptic. “Uh, yeah. I’m not a youngling anymore Natalya!”

“Yes, you are! As soon as you’re done helping your friend, I’m taking you right back to Griffonstone!”

Gallus glares at her. “Not happening!”

Natalya gets right in his face. “Yes, it IS!”

Arc walks over and takes the bottle of antiseptic from Gallus.

“I’ll take that.”

Gallus nods, not taking his eyes off his sister. “Thanks.”

Arc begins cleaning the injured gryphon’s wounds as Gilda watches from a nearby hill through binoculars.

“Huh? What is that dweeb DOING?! Is he… is he HELPING her?! After what he did to the Marauder…?”

Glynda winces in pain as Ember kneels down to support her head.

“It’s okay, little one. We’re right here. You’re safe now.”

Meanwhile, Gallus and Natalya continue to go back and forth.

“Quit treating me like a baby!”

“Then quit ACTING like one!”

“I’m more grown up than you think!”

Natalya rolls her eyes. “Oh?! Old enough to run off and live on your own now?!”

“Actually, I AM!”

“Wait until father hears about THIS!”

Gallus laughs! “Good luck finding time to go see him… lieutenant!”

“I AM part of the military! We can’t exactly just get up and leave anytime we so choose!”

“Yeah?! Well, your around about as much as father is these days! Congratulations on growing up to be just like him!”

Flash Sentry holds up the injured griffon’s legs one at a time as Arc wraps them up carefully.

Natalya snarls at him. “At least I’M grown up! You’re just a youngling!”

“Like you?!”

“You watch your tone with me! I…”

Arc looks over to the pair. “Sorry to interrupt, but are those Marauders venomous by chance?”

Gallus shakes his head, not taking his eyes off Natalya. “No. Why?”

Flash Sentry points down at Glynda. “Because I think this griffon is going into shock.”

Gallus runs quickly over to his friend. “What?! HOW?! She wasn’t bleeding anywhere near THAT badly!”

Arc turns to Ginny. “Get me a blanket! Hurry!”

She runs into a nearby cave. “Right away!”

Gallus looks down at his injured friend. “How did this happen?!”

“Because you’re too young to handle this level of responsibility, Gallus!”

Arc looks around. “My guess is the environment. Something on her skin when she was scratched got into her blood. Or there was something on the beast’s claws. No way to know for sure, but she needs some kind of an antibiotic.”

Gallus points a talon. “There’s a medical center in town! But we don’t have any bits!”

Ginny returns with a thin blanket. Arc wraps up the small gryphon and picks her up.

“We’ll take her there anyway! I have money! Let’s go!”

Arc jumps on Sereb! He holds onto the handle with one hand and Glynda with the other! Gallus takes flight! 

“Follow me!”

Gallus leads the procession. A short time later they burst into the local hospital. The doctor sits behind the counter looking bored.

“Can I help you?”

Arc hurries over to the desk. “This griffon was attacked by a Marauder! She’s somehow caught something from it!”

The doctor sighs. “Probably just a common disease. Those things pick up all kinds of illnesses from the dump.”

He comes around the counter to examine Glynda as Arc sets her on a nearby examination table. As the doctor approaches her, he wrinkles his nose.

“UGH! What stinks?!”

He unwraps the blanket slowly and looks to Arc.

“It’s either her or this blanket! What is she?! A transient?!”

Flash Sentry frowns. “If you’re asking if she’s an orphan, than yes.”

The doctor turns around and walks back to the counter. “We don’t serve their kind here!”

Ember looks to him, clearly furious. “Say WHAT now?!”

“Thieves and vagrants the lot of them! This town will be better off with one less street rat!”

Arc pulls out a bag of bits from his ring. “Look, I can pay your fee!”

The doctor sits back down in his chair. “I already told you! We don’t serve orphans here! Now please get her and these other urchins out of here before I have to fumigate the entire clinic! She’s stinking up the whole place!”

Arc stomps over to him. “Why you little…!”

Natalya quickly jumps in front of him.

"Lord Arc, please! If you make a scene here, it’s bound to get back to the House of Lords.”

Arc tosses the bag of bits to Ember and picks Glynda back up. “Let’s get out of here everyone! I don’t keep company with cretins like him!”

They leave the hospital as the doctor scowls after them. Arc turns to Gallus.

“Anywhere else we can take her?”

Gallus shakes his head. “There really isn’t! This is the only medical facility in town!”

Ember looks to Natalya. “What about the Grand Aviary?”

“I doubt they have the proper medicine there to treat her. Those beasts are indigenous to this area only. So that clinic probably has the only medicine around.”

Ember calls forth her spear. “Arc. Permission to smash up the place until that snake gives us the medicine!”

Flash Sentry nods. “I’m with you on that one, Ember!”

Arc shakes his head. “I’d love to. But we don’t even know what the medicine looks like. You two could destroy it without even knowing.”

Gallus nods. “That and you’d be wrecking the only medical facility around. If anyone else needed help, they would have nowhere else to turn.”

He looks at Arc, Ember, Flash Sentry and Sereb long and hard.

“Just… who are you all?!”

Natalya glares at him. “They’re with me, okay?!”

Geoffrey looks at his friend in Arc’s arms. “Is there nothing we can do for her?!”

Ginny begins to cry. “Glynda…”

Arc thinks for a moment. “There’s one other place we could take her.”

He turns to Gallus. 

“Gallus, was it? I might know of someone who can help your friend. But you’re going to have to trust me.”

Gallus folds his talons over his chest as he hovers in front of Arc. “I don’t even know who you all ARE!”

Natalya looks to Arc. “Where?”

“Equestria.”

Gallus frowns. “What? Why would they help? And how would we even get there?”

“I can arrange it. Do you trust me?.”

Gallus thinks. “Well…”

He looks to his sister. She rolls her eyes and nods. 

“Fine. I trust you. Now how…?”

Arc interrupts him. “Good! This way.”

He leads everyone behind the clinic and hands Glynda to Ember as he looks around.

“This should do it.”

Arc quickly focuses his magic, as the gem in his forehead begins to glow. In a moment a portal opens. Gallus and the younglings take a step back.

“What is…?!”

“No time! Everyone in!”

Everyone does so including Gallus. In a flash they are teleported to the Ponyville Hospital Waiting Room. Geoffrey looks around, confused.

“Where…?”

Arc steps off the sigil and hurries to the front desk with Glynda. “Nurse! We have an emergency!”

The nurse on duty wastes no time paging Doctor Horse as two orderlies hurry over with a gurney. Within moments Doctor Horse arrives and quickly looks her over.

“Get her to Treatment Room 1, stat!”

Arc and Doctor Horse walk down the hallway at a brisk pace. Everyone else follows them to the examination room. Glynda is transferred to a hospital bed. She appears to be in quite a bit of pain. Doctor Horse quickly begins a more in-depth examination.

“What happened?!”

Arc steps forward. “She was attacked tooth and nail by a creature called a Marauder in a garbage dump.”

Doctor Horse nods. “I see. Where is the creature that attacked her now?”

Gigi peeks out from behind Gallus. “It ran off!”

“Any way to locate it?”

Ginny shakes her head. “No. Those things are everywhere up there!”

Doctor Horse sighs. “Great. If I only had a sample, treating her would be easy.”

The doctor removes a syringe from a nearby drawer and takes a blood sample. Gigi and Ginny bury their heads in Gallus’ chest as he does so. Picking up a nearby phone the doctor calls for help.

“Blood sample pickup in Examination Room 1, stat!”

In moments a nurse enters and takes the vial. The doctor calls out after her.

“I need those results as soon as possible nurse.”

She nods and leaves the room. Doctor Horse turns back to Arc. 

“What can you tell me about these creatures?”

“All claws and teeth from what I saw.”

The doctor nods. “Did it bite her or scratch her?”

Arc looks to Gigi.

“I… I don’t know! It all happened so fast! Probably both actually!”

Arc sighs. “While I didn’t have time to properly examine her, it appeared her wounds were mostly limited to her hind legs. I cleaned them with antiseptic before wrapping them up.”

Doctor Horse pulls back the sheet. “Let’s have a look then.”

He unwraps the wounds and examines them carefully.

“It looks like there are indeed claw AND teeth marks here. I’m guessing whatever we’re dealing with here is bacterial in nature. Some of these wounds are very deep. The bacteria probably went straight into an artery.”

Gallus winces. “Can you help her?!”

Doctor Horse nods as he starts an IV. “I think so. Assuming it’s not anything too exotic, she should be fine with powerful antibiotics. Those lab results will tell me if I’m on the right track.”

Geoffrey points a talon at the bag of liquid. “Is that what’s in the bag?”

Doctor Horse shakes his head. “No. That’s just saline.”

Ginny looks worried. “Saline?”

Flash Sentry nods. “To keep her hydrated.”

Arc turns to them. “Think of it like taking a big drink of water.”

Natalya looks at the doctor. “Is there anything you can do for her in the meantime?”

“I’ll have a couple nurses give her a special antibacterial bath to kill any lingering bacteria on her skin. After all, no point in curing the sickness without first getting rid of the source.”

Gallus looks to him, nervously. “Is that… expensive?”

“I don’t handle the billing aspect of the hospital so I really don’t know. Why do you ask?”

Ginny sighs. “We… we don’t have any money.”

Arc looks over to Doctor Horse. “I’ll pay for it. Have the bill sent to me, doctor.”

Doctor Horse makes a note on the patient’s chart. “Very well.”

He gestures for everyone to follow him.

“Please wait for me in the Waiting Room. The nurses will need more space to properly bathe your friend.”

Gallus and the others nod. They slowly walk out of the room and down the hall. Upon reaching the Waiting Room they spot two nurses heading for the room with a cart of towels and a large bowl of steaming liquid.

Arc sighs as he and the others sit down. “All we can do now is wait.”

Gallus turns to the younglings. “You three stay here. I’ll be back in a little while.”

Natalya quickly stands up. “And where do you think you’re going?!”

Gallus walks past her. “To find me and my friends someplace to sleep tonight. There has to be an alley or something around here. No use waiting until dark, after all. Just makes the job that much harder.”

Arc shakes his head. “That won’t be necessary. I know of a place you four can stay.”

Ginny looks happily at him. “You do?! Where?!”

“There’s a house a short walk from here. It isn’t exactly a palace, but it’s warm and safe.”

The younglings look to Gallus.

“Very well. We accept.”

Ember looks up. “Say, is anyone else hungry?”

Flash Sentry raises a hoof. “I am.”

Arc turns to the young griffons. “There’s a cafeteria here in the hospital. Do any of you want anything?”

Ginny looks confused. “What’s a cafeteria?”

Gallus looks to them. “It’s a place that sells pre-cooked food.”

Ginny’s eyes light up. “I’d like that! 

Geoffrey nods. “Me too! I’m starving!”

Gigi sighs. “We haven’t had much to eat lately.”

Gallus looks to Arc, grateful for the help. “Thank you, sir.”

Arc leads them to the cafeteria. He orders a large tray of food for each of them as Ember gives his back the bag of bits to pay.

“Here you go, Arc.”

Arc takes the bag and pays the cashier. “Thanks Ember.”

Gallus overhears Ember and mutters to himself. “Arc? Nah, I must have heard wrong.”

They sit down and eat together. The younglings eat hungrily. Ginny is the first to speak.

“This food is great!”

Geoffrey nods and replies between bites. “Sure is!”

Gallus, the only one observing proper table manners, turns to Arc. “Thank you again for the food, sir.”

“No problem. Truth be told, I didn’t realize just how hungry I was myself.”

Everyone goes back to eating. A short time later, Gallus looks to Arc.

“Sir? How good a doctor is looking after Glynda?”

“A very good one. He’s saved me a time or two.”

Gallus looks nervous. “Is he… do they charge a lot here?

Arc shrugs. “Does it matter?”

“I… I’m sure it does to you! You offered to pay for it after all!”

Natalya frowns at him. “Don’t be rude now, Gallus.”

She turns to Arc.

“Please forgive my little brother, sir.”

“It’s fine.”

Twenty minutes later a nurse enters the cafeteria and walks over to Arc.

“Doctor Horse has some news on the patient’s condition. He’d like to see all of you in his office.”

Arc nods and stands up. “Thank you, nurse. We’ll head over there now.”

He leads the group to the familiar office and knocks before entering. Doctor Horse is sitting behind his desk going over a chart as they walk in.

“Have a seat everyone and I’ll bring you up to speed on your friend.”

They sit down.

“The lab report came back positive for a bacterial infection. Several different strains are involved.”

Gallus looks concerned. “Will she be okay?!”

“We’ve started her on a regime of very powerful antibiotics. They should knock out the infection in a day or two. Barring any complications, she’ll be fine.”

Gallus and everyone else in the room breathes a sigh of relief.

“How long would she be here?”

“If she responds well to the antibiotics, the patient should be able to return home the day after tomorrow. Just no more playing around garbage dumps.”

Gallus looks uneasy. “I’ll… see what I can do about that.”

“Good.”

Ginny looks up at the doctor. “Can we see her?”

Doctor Horse shakes his head. “I’m sorry, but she’s very weak right now. It would be best if you just let her sleep for the day.”

Geoffrey sighs. “Aw… okay.”

“You can visit her tomorrow morning after breakfast.”

Gallus nods. “Thank you, doctor.”

“It’s my pleasure. Now if you will excuse me, I need to make my rounds now.”

They leave the office and head back to the Waiting Room. Gallus turns to Arc.

“That’s quite a load off my mind, sir. Knowing that Glynda will be okay and all.”

Arc smiles. “Yes indeed. Now why don’t I show all of you where you’ll be spending the night?”

Gigi looks out the window at the late afternoon sun. “Isn’t it a little early for bed?”

Arc nods. “It is. But we should head there anyways.”

Gallus looks to him, suspiciously. “What for?”

Ember frowns. “So all of you can take baths, for starters!”

Flash Sentry nods. “The smell is rather hard to ignore.”

Natalya looks at Gallus and shakes her head. “Boys…”

Arc leads them to the sigil in the corner of the Waiting Room. He calls forth his gauntlet and activates it. A moment later they find themselves in Derpy’s small house. Ginny looks around happily.

“This is a nice place!”

Geoffrey looks to Arc. “Are we going to sleep here?!”

“Yes. But first all of you should take nice long showers. The bathroom is right over there.”

Gallus looks at the door Arc points to. “Yes sir. Thank you.”

He looks over at the three younger griffons and leads them toward the open bathroom door.

“This way! Come on!”

Natalya follows them. “Gallus, I’ll show you how to…”

“I can handle this, Natalya!”

“But…”

Gallus slams the door in her face. Natalya seethes!

“Why that little…”

Arc turns to Flash Sentry. “Lieutenant, you and Sereb can head back to Light’s Hope now. Good work today you two.”

Flash Sentry salutes. “Thank you, sir.”

Ember walks over. “I think I’ll go with them. You already have a full house here!”

“Alright. Thanks for your help today.”

Ember smiles and nods before leaving the house with Flash Sentry and Sereb. Natalya walks over to Arc.

“Sorry about all this, Lord Arc.”

“Oh?”

“Thanks to my brother, you’re stuck with medical bills and a trio of young griffons!”

Arc gestures to the couch. “I think they’re going to take a while in there. Can we talk about your brother?”

“Sure.”

Natalya sits down on the couch as Arc puts a few logs on the fireplace. In a few moments a roaring fire lies before them. He joins her on the couch.

“There. That should warm this place up.”

Natalya shivers slightly. “Yes. Equestria is a rather cold place!”

“You should see it in the summer. It’s much nicer. But in any case, I wanted to talk to you about your relationship with you brother.”

“What about it?”

“It just seems like you two don’t get along very well.”

Natalya sighs. “I admit, our relationship is a rather… complicated one. Ever since our mother left, our family has been what one might describe as… dysfunctional.”

“How so?”

“Well… I’ve had to take care of my younger brother and sister as long as I can remember. Our father was always very busy with his work, so it fell to me to keep our home somewhat in order. He still is actually! It made me have to grow up early, as it were.”

Arc nods. “Is Gallus the youngest?”

“Yes. How did you know?”

“From what I saw earlier, it looks like he’s had to grow up early as well.”

Natalya looks at him, confused. “What do you mean?”

“Well, it looks like he’s been taking care of those four griffons for a while now. They really seem to trust him.”

“That isn’t good. He’s still a child himself!”

“Maybe in your eyes, but that’s not how they see him.”

“But… I don’t understand. What is it you can see, that I can’t?”

Arc looks over his shoulder toward the closed bathroom door. “I see a very responsible young fellow who wants to make the world a little better by helping those who cannot provide for themselves. You may see him as a child, but he’s growing up.”

“What should I do?!”

“Start by not jumping on every mistake he makes. You were there for him when he needed you. Now he’s there for them. But he does still need you as much as you need him.”

“I need him?”

Arc nods. “You two are brother and sister in a dysfunctional family. He probably feels pushed away and abandoned by both your parents. He doesn’t need to get that feeling from you too.” 

Natalya looks down, sadly. “I… I wasn’t trying to…”

“Try being more supportive. He’s learned to take care of them by watching you. Help him with that.”

“I’ll do it. But where should I start?”

Arc stands up and puts a hand on Natalya’s shoulder. “How about by helping Gallus bathe those three? Don’t try to take over though. Do the job with him, side by side.”

Natalya nods as the pair walk toward the bathroom together. Arc knocks on the door. A few moments later Gallus opens it and peeks out.

“I’m sorry this is taking so long, sir.”

Arc smiles at him. “It’s okay. They’re VERY dirty after all. In fact, I think you could use some help in there.”

Gallus turns his head to look back at the younglings in the tub. “That I could!”

“I’ve asked Natalya to help you with that.”

Gallus narrows his eyes and sighs. “Oh… great…”

Natalya steps forward. “Gallus. Have you ever bathed a youngling before?”

“N-no.”

“How about I show you how I kept you clean back when you… when WE were little?”

He looks at her, surprised. “Um… okay.”

She enters the bathroom with her brother and closes the door behind them. Arc walks back to the couch and shakes his head.

“Natalya. I’m so jealous of you and Gallus. To have siblings must be nice.”

An hour or so later the bathroom door opens and Gallus leads his three friends out to the living room.

“All clean, sir!”

Arc stands up to look them over. “Much better.”

Natalya smiles at Gallus. “You did very well bathing your friends.”

“Um… thanks, sis.”

Ginny prances around happily. “It feels good to be clean!”

Geoffrey smiles. “Yes it does! Thank you, Arc!”

Gigi preens her feathers. “I finally smell pretty!”

Gallus looks over at Arc, soberly. “Excuse me, sir. I need to know something.”

“What is it?”

“Is Geoffrey right? Is… is your name REALLY Arc?”

“Yes it is. Why do you ask?”

Gallus takes a step back, his eyes wide! “But… that means… are you really who I think you are?!”

Gigi looks confused. “I don’t get it! Do you know him, Gallus?”

Gallus turns to the others. “Everyone! This is Lord Arc! Equestria’s King and Hero of Light!”

He and the three younglings bow.

“It is true that I am the Hero of Light. However, I am not the king.

Gallus looks up. “What?! But we heard…”

Arc holds up a hand for silence. “I did serve as the Lord Regent for a time while this land’s princesses were recovering from an illness. You don’t need to bow though. Not anymore.”

“But how… why did you help us?!”

Natalya frowns. “Gallus!”

“It’s okay, Natalya. He asked a fair question.”

Arc turns to look back at Gallus.

“We all need a little help sometimes. And right now, all of you need a LOT of help!”

Ginny looks up at Arc with a small smile. “Please sir! Is there any way we can repay you?!”

Geoffrey nods. “Yes! We have to give back somehow!”

Arc stands up. “Well… you can help me get supper going.”

They follow Arc to the kitchen. He opens the refrigerator.

“Let’s see here… what should we make… hmmm…”

He turns to the younglings. 

“What kind of food do you like?”

Ginny smiles. “We’ll eat whatever you want us to, sir!”

Geoffrey nods. “That’s right! Beggars can’t be choosers, after all!”

Gigi giggles! “We’ll help you!”

Gallus nods. “I’ll help you too, Lord Arc!”

“It looks like we need quite a bit of food for this meal. How about I make us some soup?”

He quickly looks over to Natalya as he puts a large pot of water on the stove.

“Don’t worry. It will be much better than the terrible soup you’re used to. That I promise you!”

Natalya breathes a sigh of relief. “Thank you, sir!”

They quickly get to work chopping vegetables, peeling potatoes and setting the table. Arc stirs the pot and turns around to look at the table.

“Gallus, can you please set two more places?”

“Yes sir!”

Gigi look up at him. “Are you expecting company, sir?”

“Not exactly. You see…”

Arc is interrupted by the sound of Derpy and Dinky walking through the front door. Dinky spots Arc and runs over to him. She jumps into his arm happily!

“DAD! You made it!”

Gallus mutters quietly to himself. “Dad?”

Arc hugs his daughter. “Hi Dinky! I’m glad to see you too!”

He turns to Derpy. She has a confused look on her face.

“Arc? What’s going on here?”

“Sorry, Derpy. These young griffons needed help.”

“Oh, it’s fine! I was just a bit… surprised! Who are your friends?”

“This is Gigi, Geoffrey, Ginny and Natalya’s younger brother, Gallus. Everyone, this is Miss Derpy. She’s the one who owns this house.”

Derpy waves a hoof. “Hello everyone!” 

Arc looks to his daughter. “And this is our daughter, Dinky.”

“Hi everypony! My dad took me and my mom in when I was a baby!”

The younglings look rather nervous. Gallus walks over to Derpy.

“Hello ma’am. I’m sorry for the inconvenience.”

“It’s okay. I know Arc. He can’t help but help others in need!”

Arc smells the air. “I think the soup is almost done. Why don’t we all sit down and have a nice talk?”

Dinky grins as Arc sets her down. “Yeah! I want to hear what kind a day you’ve had, dad!”

Arc laughs. “A busy one, sweetheart.”