//------------------------------// // Chapter 6 - Bonding // Story: The Equestrian Odyssey - A Tale of Two Worlds // by Kamahido //------------------------------// Arc wakes up early the next morning. Derpy is still snuggled up next to him. He strokes her mane gently for a time before waking her. “Derpy? It’s time to wake up.” She slowly opens her eyes and give Arc a tired smile. “Good morning, sleepyhead.” Derpy slowly stands up. “Good morning, Arc.” “Did you sleep alright?” “I had a bit of a bad dream last night.” “Oh? What about?” “No idea. I just snuggled up closer to you and went back to sleep. Sorry if I woke you up.” Arc smiles at her. “You didn’t. But I’m happy I was here for you when you needed me.” Natalya and Gallus sit up slowly. Gallus yawns. “Morning already?” Natalya looks out the window, albeit a big groggily. “It would appear so.” Derpy walks slowly toward Arc’s room. “Sorry to wake you two up so early, but Dinky and I need to get to the orphanage. Breakfast doesn’t cook itself!” She quietly opens the door and steps inside. A moment later Dinky walks out yawning and stretches as her mother quietly closes the door behind them. “Good morning everypony.” “Good morning, sweetheart. Sleep well?” Gallus looks to Dinky. “I hope my friends didn’t keep you awake last night.” Dinky shakes her head as she trots toward the bathroom. “Nah. They all fell asleep pretty fast. I guess they were pretty tired.” Arc looks over at Gallus and Natalya. “They weren’t the only ones. I think we all were pretty sleepy.” Derpy nods as she turns toward the bathroom as they hear Dinky turn the sink on. Not to be a bad host, but I need to get ready for work now. Natalya nods. “We understand.” Derpy joins Dinky in the bathroom and closes the door behind them. The pair emerge a few minutes later with brushed teeth and manes. They head for the front door together. “We’re off!” Dinky grabs her saddlebags. “Bye dad!” Arc waves. “Have a nice day you two.” Derpy and Dinky leave the house as Natalya turns to Arc. “What now, sir?” Arc grins. “Breakfast?” Gallus smiles. “I was hoping you would say that! How about letting Natalya and I cook it though?” Arc chuckles. “Oh? Fancy a bit of time with your sister now?” “Something like that. Besides, I’m not too bad a cook myself. When you don’t have anything, you quickly learn the fine art of ‘making do’.” Arc nods and heads for the bathroom. “Go ahead. I think I’ll take a shower while you two cook.” Natalya turns to her brother as Arc disappears into the bathroom. “What should we make?” Gallus walks over to the kitchen. “Let’s see what we have to work with first.” They find flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Natalya looks up at her brother. “Pancakes?” “Thinking the same thing, sis.” Natalya puts the ingredients on the table as Gallus begins combining them in a large bowl. She calls out from the refrigerator. “There’s some blueberries in here.” Gallus looks up. “Great! That should make them extra tasty!” Natalya smiles as she sets out plates, cups and silverware. “This kinda reminds me of the good old days.” Gallus pours some of the batter into a pan on the stove. “If by ‘good old days’ you mean when we three were left home alone, then yes I suppose it does. The only difference is that you were always the one at the stove.” “Sorry.” Gallus sighs as he flips the contents of the pan. “Don’t be. Back then you were the one who took care of Gabriel and I. But we’re old enough to look after ourselves now.” Natalya giggles. “I suppose, in my mind at least, you two will always be in need of someone to care for you.” “Well, we do appreciate all you did for us. Please don’t tell anyone this, but… when I think of our mother, I think of you.” “Oh?” Gallus nods as he puts the freshly cooked pancakes into a pan in the oven and refills the skillet. “Gabriel and I… we never knew her.” Natalya looks down as she finishes laying out the last of the dishes, sadly. “My own memories of her have faded with time. I’m a rather poor substitute though.” “Maybe. But you were all we had!” “I’ve always wondering if… if I did a good enough job. If maybe I could have done more!” “You did fine Natalya.” The younglings come out of Arc’s room slowly. They rub their eyes and yawn. Gigi looks around, still half asleep. “I… was it all just a dream?” Geoffrey sniffs the air. “That food certainly smells real enough!” Ginny stretches. “If this is a dream, I don’t ever want to wake up!” They sit down at the table as Natalya and Gallus set out the food. Gigi looks around. “Where is everyone else?” Gallus turns to her. “Miss Derpy and Dinky headed out already and Lord Arc is in the bathroom.” Natalya nods as she puts some pancakes on a plate in front of Arc’s chair. “We should wait for him!” A few minutes later the bathroom door opens and Arc steps out. He looks at the younglings sitting around the table. “Sorry for making you wait.” Gallus pulls Arc’s chair back for him. “It was no trouble, sir.” Arc sits down and looks over the food. “This smells wonderful, Natalya!” “Thank you, sir. But it was actually Gallus who cooked this.” Gallus looks over at the younglings. “I’ve had plenty of time to practice.” Arc chuckles. “Well, let’s not stand on ceremony. Eat up everyone.” The younglings do so at once. Arc takes a bite and looks over at Gallus. “This is very good!” Natalya nods. “I agree! But where did you learn to cook?!” “Mostly by watching you, Natalya.” “Really?!” “Yes. Although I quickly found there was much more to it than I thought.” Arc chuckles. “Practice makes perfect.” Gigi grins. “Yeah! But we don’t usually eat this well!” Geoffrey looks at his food, nervously. “What are these blue things in here?” Arc chuckles. “Those are blueberries.” Ginny pokes them with a fork. “What are they?” Gallus looks over at Arc. “Forgive them sir. They’ve never had much in the fruit department, as its prohibitively expensive back home. Gigi sighs. “Yeah. Other than the rotten fruit some of the wealthy like to throw at us!” Geoffrey turns to Arc. “Can we go see Glynda this morning sir?!” Ginny nods. “We really miss her!” Arc nods. “I’m sure she’s fine. After we finish eating and get the kitchen straightened up, we’ll go see her. Okay?” The younglings all smile at him. “Yes sir!” All of them finish eating. Gallus and Natalya quickly wash the dishes as Arc and the younglings put the kitchen back in order. “Everything’s back where it should be, Lord Arc.” Gallus nods. “Even better than we found it,” Arc surveys the kitchen. “Good. Everyone ready to go?” The younglings nod their heads expectantly. Ginny looks to the sigil in the corner. “Are we going to use the magic path again?” Natalya smiles at her. “It’s a portal, dear.” Arc shakes his head. “Nah. Why don’t we walk? I could use the exercise. That and it’s still a bit early for visitors at the hospital.” Geoffrey looks out the window. “Really? But, the suns already up!” “True. But the patients need time to eat and have Doctor Horse look them over.” Gallus nods. “Think of it this way. We can look at all the nice buildings on our way there.” Gigi smiles. “That sounds nice! This town is pretty!” Arc heads for the door. “Let’s be off then.” They follow Arc out the front door. Gallus and Natalya take up the rear together as the younglings stay at Arc’s heels. Ginny looks around at the neighboring houses. “So what’s the name of this town, sir?” “Ponyville.” Geoffrey raises an eyebrow. “Really?! That just sounds a little too spot-on.” Arc nods. “Well, your country has a town called Griffinstone.” Gigi looks confused. “We do?” “Yes. It’s where the Grand Aviary is.” Ginny shrugs. “The what?” Gallus shakes his head. “Forgive them, sir, but they don’t know much about the world outside of Griffon’s Gate.” Arc frowns. “What about your original homes?” Geoffrey shakes his head. “I don’t really remember anything about it or my parents.” Gigi looks sad. “Me either.” Ginny looks up at Arc. “Dinky’s lucky to have you and Miss Derpy, sir!” Arc nods. “And I’m lucky to have them.” A short time later they arrive at Ponyville Hospital. Arc walks up to the nurse at the front desk. “Excuse me, nurse. Is Glynda the griffon able to have visitors?” “I don’t know, sir. Doctor Horse is examining her now.” Gallus frowns. “Is anything wrong?!” “I don’t think so. The doctor should be done soon though. He’ll be able to answer that question definitively.” She gestures to the benches in the waiting room. “Please make yourselves comfortable while you wait.” “Thank you, nurse.” He turns back to the others. “I guess all there is to do now is wait.” The younglings appear distraught as they sit down. Ginny sighs. “I hope the doctor isn’t too busy to see us!” Geoffrey nods. “Yeah! I miss Glynda!” Gallus looks over to them. “Don’t worry about a thing. She’ll be fine.” He looks worriedly to his sister. “Right, Natalya?” “If Lord Arc says so, I imagine he knows what he’s talking about.” Sometime later Doctor Horse walks up to the Nurse’s Station with a stack of medical reports. The nurse accepts them and points a hoof in Arc’s direction. The doctor quickly makes his way over as Arc stands up with the others. “How is she, doctor?” “I’m very happy to report she’s responding very well to treatment.” The younglings cheer. Arc smiles as he watches the youngling’s reaction. “That’s good. Her friends have been beside themselves with worry.” Ginny looks to the doctor. “Can we see her now?” Gigi nods with sad puppy eyes. “Please?!” Doctor Horse nods. “Yes. If everypony would please follow me.” The doctor leads them to Glynda’s room. He stops just outside the door. “Please remember that she’s still recovering. If she starts to get tired, please let her rest.” The younglings nod soberly as Doctor Horse opens the door. They rush inside as the adults follow behind. Geoffrey jumps around. “YAY!” Gigi hurries over to the bed. “Visiting time!” Ginny bounds over! “Glynda! How you doing?!” Glynda smiles weakly. “Okay, I guess. Where’s Gallus?” “Right here, Glynda. You really gave us a scare.” “S-sorry about that.” Gallus walks over to the side of the bed and pats her head. “Don’t be. I’m just glad you’re going to be okay.” Doctor Horse nods. “That she will. If she rests and continues her treatments.” The younglings jump up and down happily. Gigi accidently bumps into Ginny. The youngling collapses to the floor in pain. “Oh no! I’m sorry Ginny! Did I hit your wing?!” Ginny nods as she winces in pain and does her best to stand. “Y-yes.” Arc walks over to her. “I’m sorry, Ginny! With all that happened yesterday I forgot the ask Doctor Horse to look at you!” He turns to the doctor. “She told me her wing took a heavy blow a while back. I took a look at it, and the bone feels a bit funny to me. Could you take a look at it please?” Doctor Horse nods. “I’d be glad to.” Doctor Horse walks over to Ginny who looks suddenly frightened! “Now then miss, would it be all right if I took a look at your wing?” Ginny responds in a frightened tone. “That… that’s okay! It’s not too bad! Really!” Doctor Horse frowns. “If it still hurts that bad after an extended period of time the injury could be more severe. I’ll be as gentle as I can, okay?” Gallus looks over at her. “Let the doctor take a look at you, Ginny.” “Well… okay.” Ginny hops up on the end of the empty bed next to Glynda. Doctor Horse carefully extends her wing. She winces in pain as he slowly runs his hoof along the bone a few times before gently folding the wing and putting it back in position. Turning back to the others, he frowns. “I think this injury warrants further examination.” Gallus looks nervous. “What do you mean?” “I’d like to take some x-rays of her wing.” “But…” Natalya puts a claw on his shoulder. “Gallus. She needs help.” Arc nods. “I’ll pay for it.” Gallus sighs. “Thank you, sir. I’ll find a way to pay you back somehow.” “If you would come with me down the hall miss, we’ll get that wing checked out.” Ginny looks frightened. “Gallus? Would you come with me please?!” Gallus nods. “Of course. Let’s go!” He leads Ginny out the door after Doctor Horse. About ten minutes later they return to Glynda’s hospital room. “I’ll see about getting you x-rays developed right away, miss.” Ginny smiles. “Thank you!” Gallus nods. “We’ll wait here.” Doctor Horse nods and walks out of the room. The three younglings sit at the side of their friend’s hospital bed. Glynda looks to Gigi. “What exactly happened the other day?” “You… you got attacked by a Marauder. Several of them actually.” “I did?” Natalya looks suddenly nervous! “You didn’t hit your head, did you?!” Glynda shakes her head. “N-no. I think I remember that! Yes! I remember trying to get away, but couldn’t! They came at me so I tried to hit them! The rest is really just a blur.” Gigi nods. “About then Gallus came back and chased them off! Then he went to find you some bandages!” Gallus sighs. “Sorry I wasn’t a bit faster.” Geoffrey smiles up at him. “You did your best!” Glynda looks around. “Gallus? I… I’m confused. Where are we?” “Equestria. Ponyville to be exact!” “How…?” Geoffrey points a talon at Arc. “We met a new friend who brought us all here!” Ginny nods happily. “Yes! He’s really nice!” Gigi smiles at her bedridden friend. “You’ll like him!” Gallus motions for Arc to come forward. “Glynda, this is Lord Arc. Equestria’s Hero of Light. He was visiting Griffon’s Gate yesterday and befriended Ginny and Geoffrey.” Arc nods at her. “Hello there, miss. You feeling better?” Glynda nods nervously. “Y-yes sir! Thank you!” Geoffrey grins! “You should have seen him and his friends fight!” Ginny nods excitedly. “We saw him take out the Marauder Alpha like he was a bug!” Gigi sighs. “I wish I could have seen that.” Glynda smiles weakly. “That’s… really cool! Thank you! He’s been trouble for as long as we can remember!” “You’re welcome, miss.” Glynda turns back to Gallus. “Who’s your other friend, Gallus?” “Oh right! This is my older sister, Natalya.” “I didn’t know you had a sister!” “Sorry I never mention her before. She helped me take care of the others while you were resting here.” Gallus turns to Arc. “Glynda is the oldest here. She tries to help me take care of everyone. Kinda like my sister did when I was little.” Glynda nods fervently. “You NEED help! We’re a lot of work!” Natalya laughs. “Don’t I know it!” “That’s really nice of her! Miss Natalya? Are you going to stay with us when we get back to Griffon’s Gate?” Natalya shakes her head. “No. I have a lot of things to do in Griffonstone.” Gallus nods. “She’s actually a lieutenant in the military.” Glynda looks confused. “Really?! But she’s so nice!” Geoffrey nods. “That she is!” Gigi looks to Natalya happily. “She helped Gallus get us clean yesterday!” Ginny nods. “That and she didn’t even hurt my wing!” “It wasn’t easy considering how dirty everyone was!” Glynda looks confused. “Clean? Where?” Geoffrey points to Arc. “Lord Arc has a friend here in town! She let us spend the night at her house!” Gigi nods! “She even had real beds for us to sleep in!” Ginny closes her eyes and smiles. “They were VERY comfy!” Glynda sighs. “I bet! This bed I’m in now is wonderful! I slept like a log last night!” Geoffrey chuckles. “The food’s better here too!” Glynda laughs. “I know! The nurses already gave me breakfast! It was delicious! Does everyone around here eat like that every day?!” Arc nods. “Pretty much. Your friends told me about what you’ve been eating back in Griffon’s Gate.” Glynda looks suddenly sad. “It’s… not the best. Gallus does his best to feed us, but… it’s not very tasty.” Ginny turns to Gallus. “Some other griffons offered us something to eat the other day!” Geoffrey shudders. “It looked pretty tasty. But they were really making us nervous, so we ran!” Gigi frowns. “Did they look kinda rough?” Ginny nods. “They did! You know them?!” Gigi shakes her head. “No, I don’t. But they offered me some food too! Even said they had plenty more if I wanted to come with them!” Arc steps forward. “Wait! They offered to take you somewhere else and feed you?” Gigi nods. “Yes. I told them no and flew away as fast as I could!” Natalya breathes a sigh of relief! “Good! Who knows what they were up to!” Gallus nods as he takes on a serious tone. “I know.” Glynda looks confused. “You do? How?” “Earlier that day I had been making my rounds, checking in on some of the others. They told me similar things had happened to their friends as well!” Geoffrey’s eyes grow wide. “You mean there’s some griffons going around town offering free food to others?” “It’s not free! I’m told they offered food to another youngling. When she refused, they tried to grab her!” Gigi steps back. “What?! Why?!” Natalya frowns! “Sounds like they were trying to kidnap her.” Gallus nods. “Right! They reported it to the guards! But as you all know they don’t really believe what we tell them.” Ginny looks to Gallus. “Who were they?!” “Some of the others say they’re with some kind of rebel faction. Another youngling was told by them he would always have plenty to eat if he would join them.” Natalya looks angry. “The rebels are recruiting younglings?!” Arc frowns. “That’s terrible!” Geoffrey looks to Gallus, nervously. “Anyone join up?!” “Not that I’m aware of, no.” Glynda looks frightened. “What do they want with them?!” Gallus shrugs. “Who knows. “ Arc sighs. “Maybe they’re looking for troops that can hide in plain sight.” Natalya looks at him. “Sir?” “Think about it. A youngling is small enough to get into places no one else could. That and if they did get caught, no one would assume someone as small and young as they are could possibly be with the rebels.” Natalya frowns. “That does make sense. Maybe even scout targets out for them! The guards would be suspicious of a couple adult griffons hanging around. But probably wouldn’t look twice at a youngling skulking about.” Gallus looks to his sister. “Do you know any more about these rebels, Natalya.” “A bit.” She and Arc tell Gallus what they know about the rebels thus far. Gallus clenches his talon angrily! “These little ones aren’t weapons to be used and discarded like that!” Arc sighs. “I don’t know if that’s the rebels plan. But it doesn’t sit well with me to know they’re trying to recruit such young members. Even if this is a Griffon Kingdom problem, I wish there was something I could do. Without it looking like I was meddling, that is.” Gallus looks at him, incredulously. “Meddling?!” Natalya turns to her brother. “Please understand, Gallus. As a diplomat, Lord Arc can’t just step in and try to help. If he did it could be misconstrued as an act of aggression.” “But… but…” Arc nods. “Your sister is right. Even bringing you and your friends here was a risk.” Gallus looks confused. “Then why did you?” Arc turns his gaze to the youngling in the hospital bed. “Because Glynda would have died without help.” Natalya steps in front of her brother. “Gallus, listen to me. Lord Arc has always done the right thing as long as he’s been in his position. But right now, he’s put the diplomatic relations of his country and our own on the line to save one griffon youngling! Please don’t think ill of him!” Gallus sighs. “I… I’m sorry. It just burns me up inside knowing that there are younglings in trouble, and no one seems to be doing anything!” Arc nods. “I have an important meeting with some of your leaders this evening. I’ll let them know about this.” “Thank you, sir.” Arc sighs. “Yes well… I just wish I could do more.” There is a small knock at the door as Doctor Horse walks in with a folder. Gallus looks over to him. “So what’s the situation, doctor?” Doctor Horse puts the x-rays up on a glowing screen. “It doesn’t look too good.” He gestures to a large knob on the x-ray and turns to Ginny. “Apparently when you were struck, miss, you fractured you wing. At some point you developed an infection which led to this growth. It caused your wing to heal incorrectly.” Ginny shudders. “What can I do?! Am I going to end up like Glynda?!” Doctor Horse shakes his head. “No miss. We can easily treat your infection just like we did your friend here. However, you’re going to need surgery to repair the damage to you bone.” Gallus nods. “What kind of surgery?” “We’ll need to go in and cut out the infection and scar tissue. Then I’ll very carefully break the bone again so it can be set correctly this time.” Ginny scrambles backwards! “WHAT?! But it hurts enough as it is!” Natalya turns to the doctor. “Will the infection heal on its own?” “I’m afraid not. Truthfully, it’s a good thing she came in when she did. Had the infection spread, she would have ended up very sick like her friend. By then it would have been too late.” Ginny peers out from behind the bed. “Can’t you just treat the infection and leave my wing as it is?” Doctor Horse shakes his head. “The infection would simply come back. You see, there’s a reason your bones are the way they are. Partially for flight, but also for your general health. If left as-is, the pain will only worsen as you get older. Have you tried flying lately?” Ginny shakes her head. “N-no. It hurt too much!” “That pain will be with you for the rest of your life if we don’t take care of it.” Gallus walks over to the frightened youngling. “Ginny, I want you to let the doctor fix you up right. You do want to fly with your friends again, don’t you?” Geoffrey looks to his friend. “Yeah! We miss you flying with us!” Gigi looks sad. “We’ll never be able to play tag again without you!” Ginny looks at her friends. “I… I do, but… I don’t want my wing broken! That hurts!” Doctor Horse smiles at her. “Not to worry, miss. We’ll put you to sleep when we do that. You won’t feel a thing.” Ginny frowns. “Are… are you sure?!” “I am. In my years I’ve set many pegasi’s wings. They’ve all recovered and gone on to fly again.” Natalya nods. “Please Ginny! This really is for the best.” Gallus turns to her. “Listen to my sister. She knows what she’s talking about.” Ginny looks frightened. “Well… okay. I’ll do it.” Doctor Horse nods. “It’s a fairly quick and easy procedure. I can perform it right now if you’d like.” “Will it hurt much?” “No miss. As I said, you’ll be asleep for the entire surgery. When you wake up, it will all be over and you’ll be on your way to recovery.” Ginny looks at Gallus. He nods. She turns back to the doctor, a bit frightened. “What do I have to do?” “I’ll send some orderlies with a gurney. They’ll take you to the Operating Room.” Gallus looks over. “Can I come with her?” Doctor Horse nods. “Yes. You can stay until she falls asleep.” He walks toward the door with his clipboard in hoof. “The orderlies will come for you when I’m ready. Please wait here.” Natalya smiles at him. “Thank you doctor.” Doctor Horse leaves the room as the younglings surround their friend. Gigi and Geoffrey give her a hug. “It’ll be okay, Ginny!” “Yeah! We’ll be waiting for you here with Glynda!” Glynda nods. “The doctor will make you good as new again! It’s been too long since we flew together!” Ginny nods. “Thanks!” True to his word, the orderlies soon arrive with a gurney. “If you would lie down miss, we’ll take you to the Operating Room now.” Ginny nods as Gallus helps her up onto the gurney. She lies down and allows Natalya to cover her with a blanket. Gallus stays by her side as she’s wheeled out to the room. “Geoffrey, you and Gigi be good while I’m gone, okay?” Geoffrey nods. “We will, Gallus!” “Promise!” The door closes behind them. Arc sees the worried looks on the youngling’s faces. “Don’t worry. She’ll be alright.” Natalya nods. “And we’ll stay with you until Gallus gets back.” Glynda nods. “Thank you. It means a lot to us!” Arc chuckles. “One should surround themselves with friends in times of trouble.” Gigi looks up at him. “Why’s that?” Natalya walks over. “It gives you someone to lean on. Life can sometimes be a bit lonely. And it’s always nice to have company.” Geoffrey looks to them. “I know I’d be lost without Ginny!” Glynda nods. “You two are always together!” Geoffrey nods as he looks down at the floor. “Yeah. I… I already miss her!” Arc kneels down in front of him. “She’ll be back soon. You can count on it.”