//------------------------------// // Glum Gallus // Story: Dual Discovery // by Jonny Manz //------------------------------// “I- I’m… I’m sor…” This wasn’t like Gallus - he knew what he had to do! Why was it so much trouble? “I’m sorry, Silverstream, but… it’s over.” He felt a vise constrict around his heart when he saw the emotions flash across the aforementioned hippogriff’s face. “W-what?” she meekly mustered, in a tone very unlike her normally bubbly speech. “Well, um… it’s just that, y’know, my duties in the guard, with training and all that, and you taking that position to be a teacher at the school… It’s just that…” he trailed off, as he could feel his confidence start to waver. “It’s just that, our lives have been pulled in opposite directions more and more lately, and we don’t have time for each other anymore… not-not really. I spend so much of my time in Canterlot, while you have to be here, in Ponyville.” “Oh, uh, I guess that makes sense…” Silverstream said, plastering a half-hearted smile across her face. “Yeah, I suppose what with how busy we are… But still…” she continued as she grasped her forearm, teeth chewing on her bottom beak. “Hey, c’mon, don’t worry, Silv, we can still be friends. We don’t have to hate each other’s guts! Remember? We learned about that when Headmare Starlight brought in Princess Cadance to guest-lecture that class about love!” Gallus finished, feeling on firmer footing. “Y-yeah, I guess so,” Silverstream replied, not as waveringly as before. “And I’m sure we’ll find other creatures to be our special someones – and we can look back at this fondly without missing it!” “Exactly!” Gallus exclaimed. “I dunno why Cadance made it sound like break-ups were such a big deal.” Gallus shot awake, that last bit of his dream sticking in his mind. The irony was not lost on him. Was it just him, or had he been having that dream a lot lately? He looked at the calendar. It was Hearth’s Warming Eve. Duty tonight – the night shift. Gallus groaned. The night shift was always boring – except on those rare occasions when there was a heist to foil or something like that. He secretly kind of hoped for something like that tonight, then mentally scolded himself. He checked the clock. 8 PM. Looks like he was right on schedule. It seemed some of Princess Twilight’s habits were rubbing off on him. Gallus looked around his apartment. Nothing fancy, but nice. It held all the essentials – a bed, a fully stocked kitchen, a bathroom. Plus, it was nice and clean. Cleaner than anything in Griffonstone, anyway. Satisfying, in a way. Gallus gave an approving nod. It was time to make “breakfast”. The bell in the clocktower sounded 9 times. Gallus knew that meant it was time to report for duty. He flew into the guard locker room. Opened up his locker. Inside was his guard armor. Looking over it, the way the gold glinted in the light, he couldn’t help but be reminded of the reactions of his friends, let alone the griffons back in Griffonstone, when he announced that he was joining the Equestrian Royal Guard. He remembered how Yona declared how “Yak very proud of griffon!”, and how Smolder lightly ribbed him, trying to play the thing off as a joke, even though he could tell she was proud of him. Then, there was Ocellus, who gave him a big, literal bear hug – he would have thought he would have been crushed by Yona – and Sandbar, who seemed as excited for him as he could be, considering his easygoing style. And Silverstream… well, Gallus thought Ocellus’s hug had been crushing. He also never forgot that kiss she gave him – it might have been his favorite kiss, now that he thought about it. If only they knew what was to come… Gallus shook his head to dispel those thoughts. No, he wouldn’t be going down that path, not tonight. The past was the past for a reason. He started remembering the griffon reactions. Gabby had given him a tight hug – almost as tight was Ocellus’s and Silverstream’s – what was it with the females in his life crushing him in hugs? He instinctively rubbed his ears as well – that screech of joy she gave was something he would never forget. Gilda’s fist-bump was satisfying, but not as satisfying as what she said – along the lines of the fact that she had figured he would make something of himself, and she was proud of him. It was by far the nicest thing he ever remembered her saying to him, even if she ended it by calling him a “total dork”. Gallus chuckled as he remembered how Grampa Gruff had made a big fuss about how he was glad that he wouldn’t have to worry about providing anything for Gallus ever again, and how he was glad that Gallus was Equestria’s problem now. He could tell that deep down, though, he was as proud as could be. Gallus put on his armor. As long as he could keep his mind on thoughts like that, and off of that day, or his dream from the previous night, perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad. And yet… …And yet, that was easier said than done. After relieving the prior guard of his post – he still felt a little spark of giddiness in his heart whenever he saw them salute him, and address him with a “Yes sir, Guard Captain sir!” – it seemed like it had been an eternity since anything had happened. Anything other than the clock tower ringing 10 times, and then 11 times after that, anyway. Gallus remembered that time, about 4 or so years ago, when there had been a burglary ring that had struck all over Canterlot, and they just so happened to target Canterlot Carousel. He was making one of his routine patrols, flying over the city, when he saw them break a window. He focused his wing flaps and made it so that his armor was not clacking against itself, so he then drew in close. A smile grew across his beak as he remembered that – Princess Twilight always did praise him for his stealth ability, saying how he was perhaps the stealthiest guard she’d ever seen. Anyway, as soon as he got in range, he put his bird parts to good use, letting out a screech loud enough to put the fear of Twilight into the group. He was certain one of them jumped so high, they nearly literally hit their head on the ceiling – but that one might have been a Pegasus anyway – and another one dropped the multiple reams of fabric that they were trying to carry off. He subdued two of the three, and just when it seemed like the third might escape, backup arrived, having heard his screech. He vividly recalled the chase that occurred – the wind whistling through his fur and feathers as he rapidly closed the gap, the scent of righteous fear heavy on the air. These were the times that made him truly happy to be a guard – when it felt like he was making a difference in the world. But nothing like that was happening tonight. Oh well, he had bragged about it so much to his friends when he saw them after that – they all seemed so impressed by it all. Even Smolder couldn’t hide her awe! And Silverstream… He shook his head, tried to focus on his other friends. It occurred to him that he had not seen them in a long time – he remembered the last time he visited being at least a year ago, maybe a year and a half. Had it really been that long? How time flies, he noted. The whole gang was there, including… Silverstream. Gallus sighed, conceding defeat. Obviously, his mind was going to continue to torture him until he confronted those thoughts head-on, so better sooner rather than later. Might as well take a sojourn down to the realms of repressed memory. (Wait, “sojourn down to the realms of repressed memory”? Sheesh, Princess Twilight had been rubbing off on him even more than he thought.) He winced as the first memory his mind brought to the fore was the ending of the dream he’d had the previous few days – specifically, the line he remembered Silverstream saying, about how they’d find new special someones, and all that. If only it had been as easy as they made it sound. He had tried dating for a little while after that – but to no avail. The relationships never seemed to last longer than a week or two at the most. The longest lasted for a month. Eventually, the whole thing started to seem more and more like just a chore. When they got to being only one disastrous date after another, he decided to swear off the whole relationship thing, and redouble his focus on his Royal Guard duties. To be fair, that was probably what allowed him to advance to the rank of Guard Captain so quickly, but still. Every time he thought of his achievements, there was a part of him, that just felt so empty. He knew he had friends – they were almost like family to him - and a great boss in Princess Twilight, but there was that part of him, always gnawing away at the edge of his consciousness, that was… lonely. It was a specific kind of loneliness, as it was nowhere near as severe as the loneliness he felt throughout his early years, but it ate away at his heart all the same. He tried to push it out of his mind, to tamp it down in some dark recess, but it always seemed to find a way to come to the fore. Gallus had a good idea as to what, exactly, this loneliness was about, as it always seemed to flare up the strongest when he thought about… Silverstream. He silently cursed to himself – he was such a coward! He could never manage to look directly at it – he was always scared that a direct inspection of all that nibbling would reveal that he had lost that part of him forever. And he seemed to be ever more aware of it with each passing day… Great, now he was thinking about exactly what he hadn’t wanted to. Well, hopefully she had found some creature to settle down with, someone deserving of her. The gnawing increased in intensity. Great, so he was a scumbag too now? The bell chimed 12 times, mercifully derailing Gallus’s train of thought. Only 6 hours left in the shift. He sighed. Suddenly, to his right, he heard a familiar sound. The clack of guard armor – but why? He turned to look. Landing right there was a Pegasus guard. Glistening Splendor, if memory served. “Alright, Captain, go ahead and clock out. I’ll be handling the rest of the shift,” Splendor said. “Hold on, I’m on shift for another 6 hours. This is always my shift, every Hearth’s Warming Eve,” Gallus replied, the confusion evident in his voice. “The night shift, until the Princess raises the sun.” “Orders for a shift change – directly from Her Majesty herself,” Splendor responded. “Copy that, soldier,” Gallus said, no less confused than at the beginning. He flew off to change out of his armor. Back home, Gallus turned the knob on his door. Odd, he didn’t remember leaving the lights on when he left. And he definitely didn’t remember that Hearth’s Warming tree and giant present. He decided to approach with extreme caution. It could always be a trap, he reasoned. He lifted the lid, his feline curiosity getting the better of him. Suddenly, he heard a perky voice exclaim, “Happy Hearth’s Warming, Gallus!” He barely had time to muster a shocked, “Silverstream?!” before his beak locked up with hers, and he found himself pulled into the box.