About a couple weeks after Gallus applied for royal guard training, a letter was delivered to Twilight’s castle. It was from the recruiting station.
“Mail’s here!” a royal guard called as he gave Twilight the letter.
“Thank you. Hey, it’s from the recruiting station! Can you get Gallus and bring him here? I want him to hear what Tempest has to say about his application” Twilight said.
“Sure thing, your majesty” the guard said as he went over to Gallus’s room.
Gallus was in the middle of playing trains. “Chugga chugga chugga chugga, choo choo! Next stop, Funland!” he announced.
Soon, he heard a knock on the door, and he went over to answer it.
“Gallus, your mother would like a word with you” the guard announced.
“Oh? Am I in trouble?” Gallus asked.
“No. It’s about your application or whatever” the guard replied.
Gallus gasped and said “My application! Of course! Oh boy, oh boy, I hope I got accepted!” Soon, he bolted out of his room and to the common room.
“Hey! You know the rules, no running in the castle!” the guard called out as he tried to catch up to Gallus.
When Gallus made it into the common room, he tried to stop but crashed into a wall.
“Gallus, are you okay?” Twilight asked as she went over to him.
“Yeah, I’m fine” Gallus replied.
“This is why we don’t run in the castle. You know better” Twilight said sternly.
“Sorry, mommy. I’m just so excited to see how well I did!” Gallus replied.
“Well then, I have the letter right here. Want me to read it to you?” Twilight offered.
“Yes please” Gallus replied.
Twilight opened the letter and read:
Dear Gallus,
It is with pleasure that I inform you that you have been accepted to undergo royal guard training at the Canterlot Training Base. You should be proud of yourself as you have chosen to embark on a life-changing journey that will benefit Equestria and, quite possibly, the world. Training will last one to two months and will be in a very strict environment, but I can assure you that it is worth it. In one week, I will come over to help you transition from the home environment to life at training. Once you arrive at the training base, you will be body searched and you will be able to move into your dorm room and meet your roommates. Trainees can call home once every night to make sure that trainees don’t get homesick, because many of our trainees have got homesick and even left the program so that they can go home. I hope that doesn’t happen and that is why we have implemented that policy. Here is a complete list of things you need to bring to the training base with you. Items marked with a * are not required, but are recommended:
· Bedding accessories (bedsheets, blankets, pillows, etc. Mattress protectors are provided.)
· Basic hygiene products (toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, etc.)
· A few things that remind you of home in order to curb homesickness*
· Laptop computer*
· Communication device (cell phone, pager, etc. Laptop computers are also acceptable.) *
And now, here are things that are provided:
· Three meals a day (breakfast, lunch, and dinner)
· Clothing (Uniforms and pajamas are provided.)
· Notebooks and writing utensils
· Transportation to and from the training academy
· Toilet paper
With all that said, we will see you in a week.
Best,
Tempest Shadow
“Wahoo! I’m in!” Gallus cheered.
“Congratulations, Gallus! I’m so proud of you!” Twilight said as she hugged Gallus.
“Say, we should do something to celebrate. Want me to take you out for dinner and ice cream?” Twilight offered.
“Sure” Gallus replied
One week later, training has started for Gallus. Tempest Shadow is coming over to get Gallus ready to go to training. Having packed everything he needed, Gallus went into the common room to meet Tempest, who walked into the castle.
“Hi, Gallus! Ready to go?” Tempest asked.
“Almost. There’s one more thing I need to do first” Gallus replied as he went over to Twilight to give her a farewell kiss.
“Aw, Gallus! You’re such a sweetie!” Twilight said as the two hugged.
“I’m really gonna miss you, mommy” Gallus said.
Twilight gave Gallus a kiss back and said “I’m gonna miss you too, honey. Just remember that you can call home every night. I love you”
After their affectionate moment, Gallus went over to Tempest and made their way out of the castle. It was then that Gallus looked back to wave his mother goodbye. She blew a kiss his direction in response and he caught it and put it to his chest as they left.
When Tempest and Gallus made it to the training base, Gallus was waiting further instruction.
“Ok, Gallus. I’ll put your stuff in your dorm room. Please report to the first room on your right for your body search” Tempest announced as Gallus went into the room for his body search.
“Name?” the officer requested.
“Gallus Griffon” Gallus responded.
“Stand right here, Gallus” the officer said, pointing to an X.
As soon as Gallus stood on the X, the search began. The officer looked everywhere: his wings, beak, eyes, talons, paws, tail, even his…*clears throat*…you know what I mean.
Gallus giggled at one point, saying “That tickles!”
A few minutes later, the search was finished.
“Okay, Gallus. You’re all done, head to the next room so that you can get your picture taken” the officer announced as Gallus went into the next room.
“Name please?” the photographer requested.
“Gallus Griffon” Gallus responded.
“Please stand back here. When it’s your turn to have your picture taken, I’ll call your name and I’ll have you sit on the stool” the photographer announced.
A few moments later, the photographer called Gallus’s name, prompting him to sit on the stool to get his picture taken. He presented a big grin at the camera as his picture was taken. After his picture was taken, the photographer had him wait in the corner to get his ID.
When Gallus received his ID, he began checking into his dorm room where his belongings were. He saw that Tempest had already made his bed for him while he was out doing his other responsibilities. On the other side of the room was his roommate. He was a white earth pony with a black mohawk and muscular build.
“You Gallus?” the pony asked, prompting Gallus to nod in response.
“Name’s Maximus. No offense, but you’re not…what I expected from a roommate” the pony replied.
“Oh?” Gallus asked.
“Thought griffons were frowned upon in Equestria” Maximus replied.
“Well, that’s kinda true. But that’s why I’m here, you see. I’m here to show that not all griffons are bad. I’ve recently graduated from the School of Friendship and I was even adopted by Twilight Sparkle herself. Believe me, Maximus, I hate Griffonstone as much as you do. All my life, I’ve been treated unfairly, ridiculed, and beaten just because I wasn’t like them” Gallus explained.
“Eh, sounds like something they’d do. You seem like a cool guy. Maybe together, we could take the power away from Grampa Gruff and give it to somegriff more deserving” Maximus replied.
“Sounds like a plan!” Gallus agreed. “But I’d like to focus on becoming a royal guard first”
“Well, that’s why we’re here, ain’t it?” Maximus asked sarcastically.
“Now you’re speaking my language!” Gallus replied.
“Sarcastic as well, huh?” Maximus asked.
“Yep. I try to be as cool as possible, but my friends think I’m more sweet than sour” Gallus replied.
“Yeah, I get that a lot too. Mischief is fun, until someone gets hurt. Especially when it’s a friend of yours. I had to learn that the hard way” Maximus replied.
“The hard way? Were you a bully before?” Gallus asked, hoping that Maximus doesn’t get too offended.
“Actually, yes. I thought that friendship was a waste of time. Why befriend people when you could pick on them? That’s what I did. This one time, I thought I’d pull a prank on a classmate who I always thought of them as a nerd, a teacher’s pet. Anyways, I pulled a prank on this kid, it was meant to be a harmless prank. I set up this contraption that if he walked into it, he’d land into a trash can and I’d roll him down a hill. Harmless on paper, but what really happened was that I rolled down a hill and he landed into a nearby lake, a lake that I didn’t know was there. At the end of the day, I tried to find him, but he was nowhere to be seen. Then, I saw that the trash can was on the bottom of the lake and that was when I became worried. I swam down to the trash can and successfully got him out. I tried to revive him, but he didn’t wake up. I tried CPR, but that didn’t work. I took him to the hospital and that was when I found out he passed away. I felt terrible and decided to run away from home. That was when the police found me, and I knew right then and there that I was in deep trouble. The family of the kid who I pranked pressed charges against my family and when my court day arrived, the judge gave me a choice for what my punishment should be: life in prison or having to enroll at the School of Friendship. I didn’t want to be behind bars for the rest of my life and I didn’t really want to learn friendship, either. However, I felt that the School of Friendship was a much lighter punishment in comparison to my other choice, so I chose to enroll. After that, you’d think I would change my ways, but no. The friendship school bored me, so I picked on my classmates” Maximus explained
“Oh yeah, I remember you now. You were the pony that shoved me in my locker three years ago after you found out that I was claustrophobic! That was very mean, and you should be ashamed!” Gallus retorted.
“It was funny at first, but after a good number of pranks, Headmare Twilight threatened to expel me from the school, not only because of how I was treating other students, but also because of my poor grades. My first six or so report cards had straight F’s. Then, at my more recent meeting with her, I found out that she had the nerd’s family’s phone number on speed dial. That family had a condition that I had to follow. When I graduate, my marks had to be straight A’s. If they saw that I had any mark that was below an A, that was enough to lock me up for the rest of my life. And that was my wake-up call to put my misdeeds behind me and work on reforming myself, and my effort got me to third in the class. Sure, you and your changeling friend did better, but it was enough for my victim’s family to drop charges and that was a huge weight taken off my shoulders. Now, I’d like to take this time to make amends with you and apologize for what I did to you. I’m sure you felt traumatized when I shoved you in that locker that one infamous day and I probably gave you emotional scars that you’ll have to live with for the rest of your life. Looking back, I feel terrible knowing that you’re emotionally scarred from that experience, all because of my deplorable actions. I’m sorry, Gallus” Maximus continued, feeling ashamed.
In a very shocking gesture, Gallus went up and hugged Maximus. “I-I’m sorry that you had to go through that. I’m just glad that you changed your ways before it was too late”
“So am I. I wish I never turned into the monster I was. But now that I’ve been exposed to the magic of friendship, I now know how great friendship is. If it changed me, it can surely change everyone. And that’s why I’m here today. I want others to listen to my story and respect one another and if we all come together and perform even a little act of kindness, the world would be a better place” Maximus replied.
“That it will, Maximus, that it will” Gallus replied.
“Say, Gallus, I wanna start doing that right now. Y’see, I-I’ve never had a friend before. Would you like to be my first ever friend?” Maximus offered.
Now, Gallus’s eyes began to water. “Maximus, that’s so sweet. I would love to be your friend!” he said as he gave Maximus a big hug.
“Now, I think we should go to sleep and get ready for tomorrow. Guess they want us up very early” Gallus said.
“Yeah, like 5 in the morning or something like that. It’s crazy!” Maximus replied.
“Anyways, good night” Gallus said as he hopped into his bed.
“Good night, Gallus. And…thanks…for…y’know…being my friend and stuff” Maximus replied as he got into his bed.
“Anytime, my friend. If you need anything at any time, I’ll be right by your side. That’s one of the best perks of having a friend” Gallus replied.
“That it is, Gallus…*yawn*…that it is” Maximus replied as he and Gallus drifted off to sleep.