//------------------------------//
// Chapter One: Transition 
// Story: The Bonds of Love 
// by Summer Script 
//------------------------------//



Dear, Gallus…

First, I want to clarify beyond any doubt that you are perfectly allowed to send me and Spike letters! I always wanted my students to feel they could ask me for help and advice whenever they needed it, and this remains true even now that I am no longer Headmare.

Second, I am so sorry for the heartache that you had to endure this past week. Friends and Family Day was something I devised as a way to commemorate my school’s opening by celebrating the bonds between a creature and those they loved. I had never considered it could be a source of pain for those with your particular circumstances.

On a happier note, it seems you managed to overcome those ordeals and have fun in spite of them. And I’m so very happy for you! You deserve to be happy with your life, yourself, and your friends, and I hope that, moving forward, you’ll find it easier to manage these wounds.

It can’t be easy having to live with the thoughts and worries you spoke of. Tragedy is something no one should ever suffer, but I have faith in you. You have a kind heart and a strong mind, and I know you can persevere through anything, even this.

But please, Gallus. Please never think that your fears are something you have to deal with alone. Your pain is not something you need to hide away, and your loneliness is not something you must tolerate alone. You have friends, Gallus. I’ve seen the bond you share with them, and it’s as strong as the bond I have with my own.

Silverstream, Yona, Ocellus, Sandbar; Smolder.

They all care about you, and they will be there for you if ever you wish them to be. As will my friends also.

And never, ever think for even a moment that you are burdening me by sending us a letter. If you need advice, or help, or just someone to talk to… I am a letter away. No matter where I am. No matter what I am doing. I will always make time to help you, my student.

So stay strong, Gallus. Your friends, your teachers; your Princesses…

We will always be here for you.

P.S. No, I don’t hold any judgment for your not agreeing with the ‘Friends are your family’ moral. Friendship is undoubtedly a wondrous thing, but it will always mean something different to every creature. I’m happy that to you, friendship is a bond of love.

P.P.S. I trust Cadence’s replies to your question were helpful? I certainly hope so because if there’s anything I fully admit to not knowing, it’s relationship advice. Luckily, I think she knows enough about the subject that her advice will prove beneficial.

I really need to talk to Shining about getting her a better hobby.

P.P.P.S. Hey, Gallus? Spike here! If you, Silver, and Edith wanted to join our next O&O campaign, you’re more than welcome to; I’ll let you guys know when I’ve got it ready. It’s gonna be a while though; I only just started planning out a new one.

Also, could you do me a favor and remind Sugar Belle that she still needs to let me know if she’s joining the party too? I asked a while back, but she never sent me a response.

I swear if Discord is messing with her mail again…

But anyway, I hope you’re doing alright. And remember, if you ever need anything just let us know. Until then, see you later.

Farewell, my student.

Sincerely, Twilight and Spike Sparkle.



Gallus put the letter down and sighed contently.

“Well, at least I didn’t waste their time…”

“No, but you did put a target on your back,” a sinister voice giggled behind him.

“You’re still here!?” he nearly shouted, his heart racing.

“Golly! You sound as if you don’t want me to be here.”

“You…” Gallus sighed. “It’s just a figment of your imagination, Gallus.”

“Or a sign of your madness.”

“You can talk all you want, but I’m done listening to you. So go away.”

…

…

…

“Did you really think I’d go away if you just said that to me?”

“I was hoping.”

“Sorry, but you’ll be stuck with little, ole me for the rest. Of. Your—”

Gallus groaned and turned away from the imagined ghost, focusing his gaze on the sea of parchment that now occupied half of his room, all of which bore the insignia of the Crystal Empire.

Like a light-switch, the memory of the prior night played in his mind, speeding through his perfectly normal interactions with his other friends until it came to the very end where it abruptly halted and replayed Silver’s final words once again.

“Gallus? Was today supposed to be… Well… A date?”

Gallus gulped, rose from his bed, and trotted to the countless responses he had received from one Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. Anxiously, he swept his gaze over the entire pile before slowly reaching for the nearest letter with a shaking talon.

“Still as cowardly as ever.”

“Oh, shut up!”

“No. Making you feel terrible is way too much fun to stop!”

“Why do you take so much joy out of my misery?”

“You should ask yourself that question. After all, I am nothing more than a figment of your imagination, right? So if I enjoy seeing you be whiny and mopey then you enjoy being that way too.”

Gallus rolled his eyes, returning his attention Cadence’s replies.

“You must feel like you’re in a fairy tale.”

“Oh yeah?” Gallus said, yanking his talon away from the terrifying mound of paper. “How so?”

“You managed to trick a princess into pitying you, a worthless little orphan.”

“Ughhh, it’s just a voice in your head, Gallus; ignore it.”

“Still your voice though. And as your voice, I have to congratulate you on a job well done.”

“What job?”

“Manipulating Silverstream of course.”

“How did I manipulate her?”

“She has a bleeding heart, and you’re desperate for love. All it took was a bit of moping and question dodging to get her worried. Friends and Family Day was a perfect date opportunity, and, of course, having a ‘heart-to-heart’ with her helped make her feel like you’re worth repairing.”

“What. In King Grover’s Lost Treasure. Are you talking about?”

“Ugh! This is why you’re the stupid one; you don’t listen! I’m talking about your plan to get the ‘family’ you wanted! And hey, not gonna lie? Manipulating someone is far less likely to land you in prison than stealing a unicorn’s horn and engaging in mass-brainwashing.”

“Are… Are you saying I manipulated my friend into caring about me!?”

“Well, yeah. Don’t pretend you haven’t done it before. Bumping into Sandbar the day you all met… Sabotaging everyone else’s Hearth’s Warming…”

“You’re completely wrong about bumping into Sandbar!”

“Though not the latter one. You tried to manipulate them all into spending time with you once before; are you telling me you couldn’t do it again or that you didn’t do it this time?”

“You’re crazy!”

“You keep saying that. But I’m still technically a part of you, so crazy or not, I know what I’m talking about. My words are your thoughts, remember?”

“No! No, no, no! There’s no way I would— I don’t think those— Okay, that’s it! I’m talking to Ocellus! You have to be some kind of curse; you can’t possibly be a part of me!”

“And once again, you leap back into that sea of delusional denial. Ever as desperate to pretend you don’t need help, eh?”

“I don’t need help!” Gallus glared at the imagined monstrosity in silence. “Anymore. I’m fine!”

“If you’re so fine then why are you so nervous about touching those replies from the Princess? You’ve had all morning to go through them, yet there they sit. Untouched and unread.”

Gallus blinked and looked at his own talon. It was still shaking.

“You know what I think it is? Deep down, even you know there’s no other reason why Silverstream—a literal princess—would ever fall for a demented, abandoned orphan like yourself.”

“She’s my friend!”

“Just because she cares about you, doesn’t mean she likes you. If you’re being honest, and you really didn’t trick her, then I guess that means she’s only humoring you. You’re just that pathetic.”

“I’m not… I’m not pathetic!”

“Awww, you actually think you believe that?”

“Shut up and leave me alone!”

“I can only leave you alone if you stop thinking, but uh… That’s not happening anytime soon.”

“Silver is my friend, and she cares about me, enough she went out of her way to try to make me feel better! And I do feel better, and you can’t undo that! So stop trying!”

“You talk like you actually believe stealing her time with her family away was a noble thing. Of course you’d believe that though; you were the one who benefited from the theft after all.”

“Don’t even try that! Silver said—”

“Yeah, yeah. She’d help you no matter what; she never needed a reason to care about you; blah, blah, blah! You wanna know what I heard when she said that?”

“No.”

“Too bad. All I could hear was someone acknowledging it.”

“Acknowledging what?” he demanded, fighting to keep his heart from exploding.

“That your parents tossed you away because they did need a reason to love you. And you didn’t give them one. I wonder how long it will be before Silverstream needs a reason to care about you?”

In a burst of blue feathers, Gallus fled through the door and slammed it behind himself, leaning against it to regain his breath.

Don’t listen to that… he told himself. That… Thing! It’s just a stupid voice in your head or some crazy curse! Nothing it said was true, and you’re not… She isn’t… She wasn’t lying! She cares about me, and I care about her! We’re friends!

But… She did hint that she maybe wanted something more?

W-Well… I—

Or suspected that you did. But you don’t. Right? Or do you?

I… I don’t know!

She asked you though, so she’s looking for an answer. You’re going to need to give her one.

But— But— I don’t know!

Don’t you? Didn’t you ask Princess Cadence for advice about this scenario? Or was that just a lie, and you really couldn’t care less?

I don’t know how to deal with any of this! I don’t even understand what any of this—

Excuses, excuses. Was it a date. Yes. Or no. There are no other answers. No complications. No issues. Just yes. Or. No. What’s your answer?

I-I’m scared!

That your answer ultimately is or will be no? If so, you’ll have been leading her on and giving her a false hope. And you of all creatures should know that is the cruelest thing anyone can do.

Or are you afraid your answer is actually yes? If so, then what next? You and Silverstream. What will you do for her? What can you offer her? What are you to her? A friend? A love? Well? What are you to her?

I don’t know!

“An orphan? A mess?” the ghost whispered again. “Or how about broken and crazy?”

Shut up! Stay— Stay out of my head!

“You’re still broken. You know it, and she knows it. Your parents knew it too. And now, even the Princess and her friends all know it as well… Oopsie!”

And they still care about me! Th-They care!

“Maybe the Princess, but that’s her job. Why would Silver ever care about you? Or rather, does she? Does she really think of you that way? Possibly. Probably not. I bet the only reason she would ever do so is the same reason she sought to distract you from your problems yesterday.”

“She pities you.”

“Because you’re just that pathe—”

I! Am not! Pathetic!

“Two griffons elsewhere would care to disagree.”

Shut up!

“Fool yourself all you want, but she’s the only one who doesn’t think you’re pathetic. And unfortunately, you don’t know if it’s because she genuinely cares about you, or if she only pities you.”

I’m her friend!

“But is that bond forged out of genuine love or cheap pity?”

Genuine love!

“You’re not a mind-reader.”

I don’t need to be!

“You’ll never know for sure.”

I already know for sure!

“No, you don’t.”

Yes, I do!

“You won’t unless you ask her.”

W-What?

“Get over your own cowardice and go ask her. Confess your love for her, or deny it. Perhaps she’ll embrace you, or perhaps she’ll reject you. Either way, only then will you know for certain.”

Gallus turned to behold one of the neighboring doors.

If you want to know what she meant and that she really, truly cares… She’s right there. You don’t have to feel afraid. You’re not alone, Gallus, and she’d be honest if you asked. So do it. Ask her. Just ask her. Do not hide away your heart, urged a voice that was very much not his curse’s.

Gallus rose from the floor and stared at the door, feeling a demon’s glare crawl up his spine.

And she’s right there. Mere steps away. A single knock is all it would take.

A single knock.

…

Gallus turned away from the door and quickly walked away. 

“Coward.”


***


His journey through the halls of the Friendship School was ultimately uneventful. While the previous week had been an endless cycle of growing anticipation and eagerness with yesterday serving as its culmination, today was the accursed holiday’s epilogue, and with it followed an ambiance of tranquility and relaxation.

The halls were almost entirely devoid of roaming bodies; most had already secluded themselves away to rest for the following day’s return to the scholastic grind.

The kitchens remained a hurricane of pink; although, it’s instigator’s motions were now performed in order to recover the area for tomorrow’s luncheon.

The classrooms were still covered from ceiling to floor in decorations, but they now served as little more than an epitaph to what had come and gone and a reminder that it would return once more.

Gallus made his way to the library, seeking both a better location to reside within and a different, more preferable activity than organizing an ocean of relationship advice. He then peaked his head into the room and sighed in relief upon finding it devoid of chaos spirits. Afterward, Gallus slowly entered the domain.

“Now what?” he asked himself.

“Golly, you didn’t think this through, did you? Shame. Because I’m still—”

The voice abruptly silenced as Gallus practically teleported to the Magic section. His talon slowly ran over book after book, and his eyes rapidly glossed over the titles in search of something that could potentially explain the brat being in his—

“Accursed Curses: An Encyclopedia on Heinous Hexes, Malicious Malformations, and Atrocious Actualizations. … Perfect!”

Gallus grabbed the tome, sat in a nearby chair, and propped it open on the table. He then did a double-take after turning to the table of contents and finding a note scribbled into the page.

“‘If you’re reading this book because you think something bad has happened or is happening to you or someone you know then you shouldn’t be here; you should be finding a teacher and telling them about the problem before it gets worse,’” he read blankly.

“‘And if you’re reading this because you wanted to use the spells inside, ask a teacher for permission first before you perform them. We’re looking at you, Ocell—Pfft! Hahahahah! Oh, I would pay to have seen her reaction to reading that. Please tell me she did!”

According the card, yes; in fact, she was the only one to have even touched the book. Assuming that anyone else who had read the book admitted to having done so of course, but Gallus found that unlikely.

Then again? He might simply be paranoid, and no one else really had used the book. Even Cozy Glow.

“But that would mean I really am just a voice in your head, and you don’t want to admit that.”

He shook his head and resumed searching the table of contents for a chapter on mind curses. Unfortunately, he didn’t get a chance to peruse the pages since a pair of hooves began clicking against the stone floor, bringing with it the smell of smoke and fireworks.

Gallus jumped out of his chair before the newcomer had a chance to notice him and hurriedly stuffed the tome back into the shelf he had taken it from.

“Oh! Hello, Gallus,” Ocellus greeted after coming into view. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“I’m like a ninja that way,” he hastily responded, desperately trying to appear normal.

Ocellus smirked and rolled her eyes. “So, what are you up to?”

“Bored. Came to library to alleviate. Still bored. You?”

“I’m doing some research for my Science Fair presentation. I figured I wouldn’t be disturbing anycreature since everyone’s resting after last week. I’m not disturbing you, right?” she timidly inquired.

Help me! “You’re fine,” he assuaged.

“Okay. Thanks.”

She then joined in him in looking around the Magic section.

…

Her horn lit up and carefully relieved the shelves of over forty books. She then levitated them all over to a table and began organizing them alphabetically by their authors’ names.

Gallus shifted his gaze to her, to his book, to her, to his book, and finally back to her.

“Sooo,” he began, taking a seat next to his friend. “Whatcha doin’?”

“Science Fair presentation,” she repeated.

“Isn’t that, like, three months from now?”

“Forty-six days.”

“And what exactly are you doing that needs forty-six days to prepare?”

“Teleportation research.”

“Oooh, Ocellus! Looking to warp space-time, are we?”

“That’s a glorious oversimplification, but I suppose it is a fair summation.”

“Mm. Wait, didn’t you already know how to teleport?”

She shook her head.

“Oh. Need help?”

Some time later…

“Okay, are you ready?”

“I was ready the last dozen times we did this; I’m still ready now.”

“Alright. Beginning teleportation in three! Two! One!”

A spark of aquamarine fire ignited and spread forth around the cerulean griffon, pulling him into an ethereal void. A moment later, Gallus rose back to the surface as the fire dissipated.

“That! Was weird,” he noted after regaining his bearings.

“Could you elaborate?”

“I don’t know?” She waited for him to elaborate anyway. “Like I was being drowned, I guess?”

“‘Drowned’?” she asked, confused by the word choice. “Drowned how?”

“How else can I describe being pulled down into—” An unending vortex of nightmarish calamity. “—a giant pool of liquid fire?”

“It’s not technically liquid fire. In fact, fire isn’t even a state of matter; it’s… Not the point?”

“You’re learning,” he congratulated, giving her a wink.

“Okay, but please continue. Were there any other significant feelings?”

The fire felt like a bottomless whirlpool of horror, closing in around the helpless, lifeless puppet held by an unmerciful deity, reaping joy from the marionette’s slow, torturous, inescapable drowning.

“Uncomfortable.” Do not hide away your heart, Gallus. “Very uncomfortable.” That’s…better?

“Hmm. Which part was the most uncomfortable?”

The entire thing. “Probably just the suddenness? Could have done without being dragged into—” The bowels of a demonic maelstrom. “—the ground without any warning.”

“I did forewarn you about the vertical displacement, but was the potential vertigo that severe?”

“No, it just could have been gentler.”

“Hmm. ‘Gentler’? Perhaps I could integrate a medical spell into the fire to lessen the roughness? Or perhaps include a matter distortion charm to remove any tangible sensations entirely? Ooh, but that would put the portal’s stability at risk, and I’m finally getting that part down…”

“Hey, at least I’m not reappearing on the other side of Ponyville. Anymore.”

“Eh-heh-heh, sorry.”

“Don’t sweat it.”

“In any case, I think we’re done for today. I need to spend some time analyzing the data I’ve collected and adjusting the spell’s casting and formatting accordingly. While I’m doing that, maybe I can figure out why I’m still struggling with it.”

“You say you’re ‘struggling’ with the spell, yet you’re still opening wormholes in space-time.”

“That’s still an oversimplification.”

“Still a fair summation though, right?”

“Indeed. To answer your question: I’ve practiced enough that I’m no longer having difficulties with casting the spell proper, but I’m not even close to doing it efficiently,” Ocellus explained.

“I suppose that makes sense.”

“Yep. A more advanced mage could create dozens of active portals at once! Of course, I’m stuck not being able to make more than one at a time on a good day.”

“Hey, don’t stress out about it, Ocellus. How many other creatures in this joint can say they know how to bend reality?”

“Oh please! ‘Bend reality’!?” she repeated, holding back a laugh. “I’m definitely nowhere close to being able to do that! Maybe one day one though.”

Gallus didn’t know how to respond to that, so he simply remained silent.

“And I’m not stressed out. I’m just a little disappointed in my progress.”

“I’d like to remind you that I got stuck in Discord’s Chaos Realm the first time,” Gallus pointed out, a hint of a smirk gracing his beak.

“Please don’t remind me of that,” Ocellus whined, wincing. “I still don’t know how that happened.”

“That’s okay; I don’t think Discord knew either.”

“It would have helped if he had; I could have solved that glitch in the spell formula, and you wouldn’t have gotten stuck there the second time.”

“Or the third?”

“Ughhh. Or the third time.”

Gallus softly chuckled at her embarrassed blush. “Why do you need to learn this portal spell first anyway?” he asked after a minute. “Can’t you just learn normal teleportation like Princess Twilight or Headmare Starlight?”

“I’ve got my eyes set on that spell family next. But I have to account for some differences between my magic and unicorn magic before I attempt those.”

“There are differences between changeling and unicorn magic?”

Ocellus deadpanned.

“You know what I mean.”

“Regarding functionality, they’re mostly similar, but they differ greatly in regards to their inherent natural properties and energy sources.”

“So the spell we’ve been testing this whole time was a changeling spell?”

“Correct.”

“Oh. I just thought it was a different type of unicorn spell or something.”

“I understand your confusion. Funnily enough, the Portal spell family—a derivative of the classic Teleport family—actually operates near identically to the spell I have been using.”

Again, Gallus remained silent.

“And I needed to practice and master the changeling spell first before I can isolate the differing properties between standard teleportation and changeling teleportation, but once I do that I can figure out a conversion formula to let me use both styles.”

“…Okay. Want any help with that too?”

“That depends. Have you recently studied up on the fundamentals of Advanced Manaphysics.”

“Is there a book I can read on the subject?”

“There are over a thousand books you can read on the subject.”

“Which one is the best.”

“I don’t understand the question.”

“Which of those thousands of books would be best for me to read?”

“All of them of course.”

I don’t know why I wasn’t expecting that answer. “Okay, so why should I read all of them?”

“Because they’re all equally fantastic and important; there is no single superior book on the matter. There are some with outdated fallacies that you should avoid, but I can give you a list of those,” Ocellus said, shrugging.

“In that case, what would you recommend I start with?”

“Well, I suppose you could start with The Starswirlian’s Guide to the Arcane.”

“Sounds like a fun way to spend a weekend,” Gallus noted, feigning sarcasm. Certainly better than shifting through all those letters…

She snorted.

“What?”

“There is no way you can read all forty-two volumes of that series in a single weekend.”

“How many volumes!?”

“Forty-two,” she answered smugly.

“Huh. Well, if you can read all of that in a weekend, I guess I can too!” he boasted.

“Hee-hee! It’s so cute that you think it still takes me a weekend to read that.”

“It still takes you an hour at least though, right?”

Ocellus merely smiled. “Moving on, I want to thank you again for all of your help, Gallus. I’ve made far more progress today than I would have if I had practiced on inorganic materials only.”

“Good thing I’m an organic material then,” he said dryly, earning a small snicker. “But I’m happy to help, Ocellus. It definitely beats the soul-crushing boredom of being in my room all day with nothing to do.”

“Can’t argue there. Luckily, I’ve got a whole new batch of calculations, formulae, and theorems to solve, so we won’t have to worry about that.”

“You mean you don’t have to worry about that.”

“Huh? I thought you were going to help me out with this?”

“But you said— Wait, you really wanted my help?” Gallus asked, blinking in surprise. “I thought you didn’t since I’m not caught up on Advanced Manaphysics or whatever.”

“That doesn’t mean you couldn’t help at all. Unless…? Are you already planning something for the Science Fair?” she questioned. “I wouldn’t want to keep you from doing your own project.”

“I was just planning to bring in a cup of dirt and hide in the bathroom so our teachers couldn’t get on my case for it.”

“A cup of dirt? Seriously?”

“Better or worse than a jar of dirt?”

“Gallus, you… Oh! Ohhh, I get it. Sarcasm. I need to work on recognizing it more. For a moment, I thought that was what you were really intending to do.”

If I didn’t think of anything better to do between then and now, it would have been.

“Anyway, yes. I would like your help,” Ocellus confirmed, nodding. “I’d really appreciate having a helping hoof with all of this research. Or talon, rather.”

“Research buddies then?” he asked, offering a claw.

“Research buddies,” she replied, bumping said offered claw. “Let’s meet up again later though. I’ve got a lot of spell properties I need to analyze, and a whole species-magic conversion equation to draft. I’ll let you know when I’m done with that part, and then we can start working together on perfecting it. Sound good?”

“Sounds good.”

“Right. Just let me sort this out really quickly,” she said, lighting her horn and returning half of the books back to their original places. The other half swiftly found purchase within her saddlebags.

“‘Quickly’ is right! Must be really nice having magic.”

“It is certainly versatile,” she agreed.

“I kinda got that. But I guess I’ll have to stick to having digits.”

“Hey, at least you don’t have to worry about getting headaches from horn overuse.”

“That can happen?” Gallus inquired, raising an eyebrow. “I’ve heard of magic exhaustion, but headaches?”

“Yes. And you’ll never know how lucky you are to not have to deal with them.”

“Aren’t there any spells to help with that?”

“You realize the irony of that statement?”

“Well, if anyone would have an answer to that question, it’s you.”

Ocellus remained quiet for a moment before blurting out, “Soothe Alpha and Beta are helpful in the early stages, but if it’s a full-blown migraine, the best spell to use for it is Healing Alpha. Or maybe Recovery Gamma if you don’t mind knocking yourself out for a few hours. Then again, you could also use any of the Medic or Tranquility spell families. Those are always good secondary options.”

His silence prompted her to meekly ask, “W-What?”

“Nothing. I’m just waiting for you to keep going.”

“Oh. Do you want me to?”

“If you want.”

“R-Really!? Wow! Usually, nopony likes hearing me talk about the practical uses of magic in everyday life.”

“Maybe they’re just jealous of your awesome magic skills?” he suggested.

“Uh, I don’t think it’s that. It’s generally more akin to exasperation.”

“Whelp. It takes a lot for me to get exasperated, and I’ve got literally nothing better to do.”

“Well, I suppose I still have some time myself, so… Let me tell you all about the new Daydream Beta modification that came out in Wizard Weekly over the break!” she began excitedly.

A looooooooooooooong time later…

“…And that is how Shadow Pyre became known as the Father of Necromancy,” Ocellus concluded.

“Wow. Just. Wow.”

“I know, right!? So many different spells, techniques, and runes were created by him; it’s such a shame his work got so eclipsed by others like Starswirl the Bearded and Clover the Clever,” she lamented, resting her cheek against her hoof.

“He did make a name for himself by resurrecting the dead; I doubt Princess Celestia would have wanted him romanticized,” Gallus reasoned.

“True. But for as amoral as he was, his works are still incredibly fascinating to read.”

“I bet.”

They shared a small laugh.

After a moment, Ocellus continued, “It’s been really nice talking to you, Gallus. You and I never seem to get a chance to spend time together.”

“Yeah, why is that?”

“Probably due to a lack of shared hobbies.”

“I’m shocked, Ocellus,” Gallus playfully exclaimed. “I thought you’d know me better than to think I have hobbies.”

“Oh, don’t be like that. You have plenty of hobbies.”

“Like?”

“Uh… Hmm.”

Thoughtful silence.

More thoughtful silence.

Yet more thoughtful silence.

“What do you do when you’re not hanging out with the rest of us? Or doing school work.”

“Wandering about. Aimlessly!” he answered dramatically.

“Funny. But I am serious. I know I spend all my free time in the library, but I still try out some of the school’s extracurricular activities from time to time.”

“Chess Club, right?”

“Mhmm. Hey! Speaking of that, November Rain quit a while ago, and we’ve been looking for a new member. If you really didn’t have anything better to do, did you want to join?”

“Me? Chess? I don’t know, Ocellus. I don’t play all that often, so…”

“Oh come on, I’d be more than happy to teach you, and it is a lot of fun. Please?”

“…Sure, why not?” he conceded.

“Yay! I love Chess Club, and I know you’ll love it too!” she cheered. “We meet up in Classroom 12B every Thursday and Friday; I’ll let the others know you’re coming.”

“You do that, Ocellus.”

A new set of steps sounded off, announcing the arrival of a familiar orange and orchid dragon.

“So, how long have you nerds been in the library?” she asked, drawing their attention to her.

“Huh? Oh, hey, Smolder,” Ocellus greeted, giving her a polite wave. “How are you doing today?”

“Bored out of my mind and still regretting trying out Sugar Belle’s game yesterday,” Smolder groaned, approaching their table.

“Uh-oh. Are you and your brother alright?”

“I’m fine, and Garble’s stomach is stronger than Pinkie’s. Trust me. He’s doing swell. … I think,” she added uncertainly. “Anywho, what were you two doing?”

“We were just talking,” Gallus answered.

“I was originally telling Gallus about this new spell modification I read about, but then he asked what PSI spells were, and that led to tangent after tangent after tangent…” Ocellus trailed off.

“Uh-huh. Hey, by the way,” Smolder began, addressing Gallus. “I bumped into Headmare Starlight on the way here, and she said she wanted to see you, dude.”

Ohhh nooo. She wanted to start that today!? “What did she want?”

“Didn’t say; she just asked me to tell you next time I saw you.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“Why would she want to see you?” Ocellus asked.

Because I was stupid enough to tell her I was going crazy all week, and landed myself with a month of guidance counseling torture sessions.

“I don’t know,” he answered, shrugging. “What are you up to, Smolder?”

“Science Fair project. It’s less than two months away, you know.”

“I do know. Which is why I came here to practice for my own presentation,” Ocellus elaborated.

“And I was already in the library and bored out of my skull, so I offered to help.”

“Gotcha. Although, were you guys messing with explosives or something? Because the library reeks of—”

“Oh! Come! On!” Ocellus lamented, face-hoofing.

Gallus smirked and added, “I didn’t want to say anything, but…”

“I have taken three showers, emptied an entire bottle of cherry blossom shampoo, and sprayed myself down with perfume! How do I still smell like gunpowder!?”

“Oh yeah, you spent yesterday hanging out with Trixie, didn’t you?”

“Yes. And as fun as it was to learn a few things about stage magic and pyrotechnics, I could have absolutely lived without smelling like a barrel of used fireworks.”

After sharing a mirthful glance with Gallus, Smolder began, “Aw, cheer up, Ocellus. You were always a real firecracker; now you just smell like one.”

“Oh, hush up.”

“Gotta agree with Smolder, Ocellus,” Gallus continued. “After all, you were on fire today with your magic.”

“Don’t you start either!”

“Should we keep it going?”

“Nah. Let’s just randomly sneak one in every now and then so she doesn’t forget.”

“Oh, this going to be an absolute blast; don’t you agree, Ocellus?”

“Guys!”

The dragon and griffon snickered while the changeling huffed.

“Hey! Since you’re here, Ocellus, do you mind if I ask you a few questions about my project?”

“I don’t know, Smolder; I’m feeling a little burnt out.”

“Okay, okay. I deserved that. But c’mon, Ocellus, please? It’s just some science babble I need help understanding.”

“Science babble…” Ocellus sighed despairingly. “‘Science babble’ she calls it.”

“Well, what else am I supposed to call it?”

“You call it what it is, Smolder.”

“Except I don’t know what it is. But you can change that, you know,” Smolder sang, smirking.

“Fine. But I hope you don’t mind keeping it short. I’ve still got some stuff I need to do and not much time to do it since I got so distracted talking. No offense, Gallus.”

“None taken. I’ve, uh… Gotta go too.”

Now would be a good opportunity to ask her a certain question.

“Before I go though? Do you mind if I ask you something too?”

“Sure. What did you need?”

Did Cozy Glow curse her room to mentally screw with anyone who entered it? No, that’s way too obvious and indicative.

Let’s try: Is there a spell that can permanently mess with your mind? Nooo! Definitely not that!

Hmm… Is there a curse that can strengthen the worst parts of your mind?

“So I really am a part of your mind, am I? Took you long enough to admit—”

Could you tell if I’m being negatively influenced by some crazy dark magic stuff?

“You truly are so desperate to ignore your problems that you’ll pretend they’re caused by some unnatural, outside force? How pathetic. It’s so entertaining! Do it more! MORE!”

Am I going insane!?

“You sure you want to ask that? You can, but if you really want to make two of your other friends go crazy worrying about you…”

Oh peck! I can’t tell her about this! Wait, the book! I can still get the book; I can just come back later when Smolder and Ocellus aren’t here and get it!

“And then what? Waste a week of your life lying to yourself that I’m a curse and not another rotten, little speck of your broken mind?”

You’re not part of my mind! You can’t be! I refuse to believe it!

“Deny it all you want, but in the end—”

Two quick snaps echoed in front of his face.

“Hellooo! Equestria to Gallus? Are you still in there?”

“H-Huh?”

“You asked if you could ask Ocellus a question and then spaced out,” Smolder said, bewildered.

“G-Gallus?” Ocellus began tentatively as her horn dimmed. “Are— Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m perfectly fine!” he professed instinctively. “Just got lost in thought.”

“You got lost in thinking of how to ask a question?” Smolder asked, her voice oozing skepticism.

“Yep!”

“Okaaay then… So, you gonna ask it or what?”

“Smolder, don’t rush him; I don’t think—”

“Yeah, I was, uh, going to ask when did you want to meet up again to, uh, continue the teleportation research stuff?”

Ocellus blinked, having not expected that response. “O-Oh. Umm… Well, uh… How— How about after Chess Club,” she managed to sputter out. “That’s my last extracurricular activity on Friday, and by then I should have most of the conversion formula solved.”

“Great! See ya Friday,” he said, dashing for the door.

“G-Gallus, wait!” Ocellus called out worriedly.

He was already gone.

In the wake of his absence, Smolder openly asked, “What was that about?”

Ocellus bit her lip, still staring after Gallus.

“Ocellus? You look a little scared…” Smolder acknowledged, feeling a growing sense of unease at the sight of her friend’s dismay. “Seriously, is something going on?”

Their eyes met, and she whispered, “I don’t know.”

Silence filled the library.


***


“Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!” he chanted, lightly smacking his head against a wall in the empty hall.

“Were you thinking something different?”

“Shut up!”

“No! You’re suffering! And I looooove it!”

“Get out of my head, you stupid curse… Hex… Thing!”

“And plague someone else? Okay, how about Silverstream?”

“Don’t you dare!”

“Well, I have to haunt someone, don’t I? Being a ‘ghost’ and all.”

“You’re not a ghost; you’re just a stupid curse!”

“You mean voice. Remember: Everything I say is—”

“My words, right? Well, you’re in my head, so of course you’d be speaking my thoughts!”

“So you finally admit it, huh? That my words are your own, just unspoken?”

“That’s not what I—”

“So everything I’ve ever said is something you’ve thought, right? That’s what you said.”

“Not like that! You’re—”

“So the idea to steal a unicorn’s horn and brainwash others into giving you adoration was something you’ve entertained before? The pleasure in your self-loathing is something you feel constantly? The fear that you manipulated—”

Gallus rushed down the hall, blindly fleeing from the ghost.

“You can’t run.”

Gallus didn’t bother responding.

“You keep wanting me to be some stupid curse, but the truth is that I am a voice in your head. Your voice, no one else’s. You’re just hiding from that fact, coward.”

That word reverberated in the slowly darkening world.

Coward.

It crawled along his spine and bled down the walls, paralyzing his wings and repeating mercilessly. The world fell otherwise silent. Cold. Dark. Gallus could hear nothing but that same word echo over and over.

Coward. Why aren’t you okay?

Coward. Why can’t you be happy?

Coward. Why are you so cruel?

Coward. She thought you were better; why did you lie to her?

Coward. She wasted her time with you instead of them; why did you steal from her?

Coward. She cares about you, so why did you betray her?

Pathetic.

You’ve always been pathetic.

You’ll never be anything but pathetic.

“S-Stop… Please! Please stop…”

Nothing answered his whimpers.

When the silence merely continued, Gallus opened a teary eye.

A closet. He had hidden himself in a supply closet. Probably for the best—he didn’t exactly want anyone to see him shivering in a cold sweat with his wings stubbornly clasped around himself.

His breaths came in short, harsh pants as he frantically swept his gaze across the cupboard, terrified the demons would return again. 

Eventually, he finally regained control of his breathing and slowly uncurled himself; a talon reflexively combed through his headcrest and batted away the dampness from his eyes.

“What is wrong with me!?”

He flinched, anticipating some nightmare to answer. It didn’t; instead, it was an angel that did.

There is nothing wrong with you.

Gallus blinked and sighed.

“I wish.”

…

“Ugh! C’mon, Gallus. Stop being stupid and just… Go do something! Get your mind off of whatever is going on. Let’s go!”


***


“And that why hot cocoa now illegal in Yakyakistan.”

“No way. You have to be making all that up because there’s no way that really happened.”

“Yona not lie!”

“Are you sure? Because I swear I’ve heard this story before. Now that I think about it? I think that’s beat-for-beat the exact same plot in this story I once—Ow! Careful with the needle!”

“Yona be more careful with needle if Gallus be more believing of Yona.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Gallus grumbled, still wincing. “How much longer do I need to stand here?”

Yona merely smiled at him cheekily. Her smile then became far more joyful when the shop door opened a moment later, and in walked her boyfriend, Sandbar.

“Hey, Yona,” the young stallion greeted. “I got us some lunch, so I hope you’re… Uh? Gallus?”

“Hey, Sandbar, look! I’m snazzy! Dapper! And ten levels of suave!” Gallus declared, raising his head and giving his most confident smile.

“I can see that. Wait, isn’t that the suit I was helping you with, Yona?” he inquired, trotting toward the duo.

“Sandbar had sister to watch, and Gallus offered to help in Sandbar’s place,” Yona explained.

“Oh. But I thought I was your modeler,” he jokingly whined.

“Jealous, Sandy?”

“No. … Maybe.”

“Don’t worry, Sandbar still Yona’s favorite. Plus, suit still Sandbar’s when done; Yona needed only little more time to perfect.”

“Aww. Love you too,” he said, sneaking her a quick hug and missing a certain somgriff’s eye twitch. “Of course, if you’re almost done with the suit, I guess that means that next up is your dress?”

“Pfft! Yona not need some new, fancy dress,” she said unconvincingly.

“If I can get a cool suit that’s snazzy, dapper, and ten levels of suave then it’s only fair you get a beautiful dress that’s all those things and more.”

“Oh, fine! Yona needed more practice with hemming anyway.”

“Can I pick out the colors?”

“Yona not know. Sandbar have any ideas in mind?”

“Nope. Don’t need to when every color would look amazing on you.”

“Aww! Sandbar so sweet.”

“I try.”

The blushing couple shared a cute giggle.

“Bleghhh! Get a room,” Gallus jokingly exclaimed.

“We are in a room,” the pony shot back.

“Get a different one.”

“Should Yona remind friend that Yona still holding needle?”

“Go easy on him, Yona. He’s just jealous he doesn’t have his own special somegriff yet.”

“Gallus? Was today supposed to be—”

“Heh-heh,” he chuckled, shutting down the replayed memory. “Yeah, I’m just jealous. Awkwardly cute hugs, shared giggles, and repeated ‘I love yous’! Those are things I’m absolutely jealous of,” he scoffed.

He had the feeling that someone somewhere in the world was raising an eyebrow.

“Glad to see you admit it, Gallus. It’s nice to see you finally be honest with yourself.”

Every instinct in the griffon’s body lit ablaze with overwhelming terror, but Gallus remained rooted to the spot, forcing himself to acknowledge that Sandbar had no clue about his current issue.

“Oh please! I’m never honest with myself!” he squeaked out, unable to stop himself.

“I know. That’s why I got that jab at ya,” Sandbar added, winking.

“Yep. And I met it with a cut of my own,” Gallus replied, struggling to stay calm.

“No talk about cutting when Yona concentrating! Cutting make Yona think of ripping, and ripping make Yona nervous. Very nervous,” she murmured darkly.

“How exactly am I gonna rip something when I’m standing still?”

“Gallus certainly not standing still earlier.”

“I guess I’m just terrified to move now that anything I do could trigger another cutesy-romance session. Eughh. Of all the things in this world, that scares me the most.” Why can’t I stop talking!?

“I’ll make sure to remember that this coming Nightmare Night. Speaking of which, that is coming up soon… Yona? Did you want to maybe go for a couple’s costume this year?”

“‘Couple’s costume’?”

“Yeah, we dress up as a well-known duo instead of each of us having our own unique costume. I figured since we’re a couple now you’d might want to try it.”

“Sure, sounds fun. Does Sandbar have costumes, or can Yona make them too?”

“If you want to make the costumes, you go right ahead. As long as I can still help.”

“YES! Even more practice for Yona!” she bellowed, pumping a hoof into the air in glee.

“And even more time to spend with you,” Sandbar said, giving her a loving nuzzle.

Couple’s costumes? Nightmare Night? Spend time with!? Gallus panicked.

Yeah! Maybe you could do something like that with Silverstream, cheered an alicorn’s voice.

“Please!” scoffed a demon’s. “He doesn’t want that; all he wants is her pity, so he can pretend he doesn’t have an empty, hollowed-out husk of a heart. Or is bat-guano nuts.”

Oh, quit it! Sure, maybe he’s a little scared, but who wouldn’t be?

“The yak and pony currently nuzzling?”

They’re a special case.

“Are they really? What does Gallus even have to be scared of? It’s not like he even knows what love is; he only thinks he does because of the friendship rhetoric you shoved down his throat, Princess.”

It is not rhetoric, thank you very much! I’m sorry you didn’t want to learn it because you’re crazy, but friendship is the most important—

“Hold that thought! Gallus, why do you now have Twilight Sparkle’s voice in your head?”

Excuse you, I’m glad I’m a voice in his head. It means he has someone reminding him of the values and strengths of friendship and—

“Hold that thought! Gallus, why do you have a platitude vending machine in your head?”

Hey! Listen—

“Help me.”

“Hmm? What Gallus say?”

“Huh!? Oh, nothing. Sorry to ruin the mood, but the suit’s getting a little… Overheated,” Gallus went with.

“Is it maybe your feathers, dude?” Sandbar figured, wincing in sympathy.

“Y-Yeah! Just, uh, just my feathers.”

“Hmm. Well, when Yona make proper suit for friend, Yona will remember issue.”

“You… You don’t have to make me a—”

“Gallus wasting breath; Yona will make Gallus suit, and it will be BEST!”

“Right. So, uh… Mind getting me out of this in the meantime? It is getting really hot.”

“Oh, right. Here, Yona got it.”

An uncomfortably overheated minute later…

“Whew! Glad to be out of that.”

Yona frowned.

“I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Gallus better not have,” she warned.

“You really better not have,” Sandbar wisely warned as well.

“Okaaay, I’m gonna vamoose before I get gored and trampled.”

Yona and Sandbar chuckled at the “joke” while Gallus forced a smile.

“Don’t worry, Gallus. Yona in creative mood today, not smashing.”

“Way too late for that, Yona! I’ve been worried all day, nothing new.” 

Gallus had intended that to be a joke. Something in-character for him to say to stave off whatever suspicions he might have raised with his earlier losses of composure. Naturally, it backfired. 

“Why Gallus worried all day? Something wrong?” Yona asked, picking up on his weary tone.

So many words flooded to the edge of his beak, desperate to spill forth, and it was by sheer ingrained habit that he was able to keep the dam holding against the deluge.

Do not hide away your heart, Gallus.

For a sweet second, Gallus thought about finally following that advice. Unfortunately…

“You got detention, didn’t you?”

“Detention?” Yona repeated. “Why Sandbar think that?”

“I bumped into Headmare Starlight at the sandwich shop, and she asked that if I saw Gallus to tell him she wanted to see—”

SMASH!

Only the rattling door disturbed the following silence.

“Huh. I guess he forgot the Headmare was looking for him,” Sandbar soon speculated. “Good thing I reminded him then.”

Yona said nothing.

“You think he did get a detention? Would explain his, er, abrupt departure.”

Yona still said nothing.

“Ah well. At least he didn’t break the door; that wouldn’t have been…” Sandbar finally caught on to his girlfriend’s silence. “Yona? Something up?”

“…Sandbar?” she began, frowning. “Yona not think Gallus was worried about detention.”


***


The sounds of another lazy afternoon filled the air of Ponyville.

Ponies trotted about with neither aim nor care; birds sang out into the sky, dancing in delight; and the Everfree Forest swayed passively in the autumn breeze, allowing the town to enjoy the peace.

Above it all, a single, fluffy cloud stood against a canvas of cerulean. And on that cloud, a lone griffon lied on his back, staring into the firmament.

The ghosts had long-since vanished into whatever rusted cesspool they had come from, leaving him trapped with only the muffled exchanges below to disrupt his solitude.

…

“What is wrong with me?” Gallus whispered.

…

“Didn’t I… Didn’t I get over all of this? Silver and I had so much fun together, and yet… I said I was feeling better! I told her I was! So why am I…?”

…

“What did Cozy do to me!?”

…

He turned to face the Everfree Forest.

…

“No. No, I’ll just get the same speech as last time.”

…

“Is this why Griffonstone is the way it is? Because nogriff has any idea how to solve their problems, so they just hide it? Is that maybe why I’m like this? That it’s just… A griffon thing?”

…

“Tch. No, Gallus, you’re the only who has this problem. You. No one else. You’re all alone.”

…

“Why am I so alone?”

…

He turned to stare at the Friendship School.

…

His gaze returned skyward, only to meet the soft golden eyes of the pegasus above him.

“GAAAHHH!” he yelled, leaping into the air and dispersing his makeshift cloud in the process.

“Whoopsie! Sorry for scaring you, Mr. Gallus.”

“It— It’s alright, Mrs. D. You didn’t scare me that badly.

“Phew! That’s a relief. So whatcha doing up here?”

“Just relaxing. We go back to school tomorrow, so I’m just trying to rest up.”

“Ooh, that sounds nice.”

“I guess. What are you up to?”

“Delivering letters of course,” she answered with utmost enthusiasm. “I just finished delivering another batch of yours, actually.”

“Huh? But Gabby only writes to me on… Oh no,” Gallus groaned in fearful realization.

“Ms. Glimmer said it would be okay to leave it in your room, so that’s where I left it. Sorry about not bringing it to you personally, but it was really heavy! By the way, could you sign this?” she requested, passing him a clipboard and pen.

“Oh, uh, sure,” he agreed, signing the paper with a shaking talon.

“Thank you. That’s one giant, one-day-express delivery from the Crystal Empire delivered, hee-hee. And on time, yay!” she cheered. “You know? I’m not used to delivering packages from the Crystal Empire, or ones so big, but that just made it more fun. So, did you make a friend there?”

“Something like that,” he whimpered, terrified of what awaited him back in his room.

“Wow! That must be really nice having a pen-pal all the way across Equestria.”

“Yeah. Nice.”

The ambient noise of the marketplace below echoed in the silent sky.

“Whelp, I have more mail to deliver. See you later, Mr. Gallus.”

“H-Hey, Mrs. D, before you go?”

“Hmm?”

“Uh… Thanks again for helping Silver and me with laser tag yesterday.”

“Oh, you’re welcome; it was a lot of fun!”

“It was. You were pretty good.”

“Hee-hee. Thanks, you were too.”

“Mrs. D?”

“You know you could just call me Ditsy if you want.”

“O-Oh. Sorry. So, Mrs. Ditsy?”

“Yup?”

“…”

“…”

“Nevermind.”

“Okay,” she replied instead of prying further. “Oh, almost forgot! After I dropped off your mail, Ms. Glimmer asked that when I saw you to—”

“Uggggggghhhhhhh!”

Mrs. Ditsy blinked. “Is something wrong? That ‘ugh’ went on for a while.”

“No, nothing is wrong. Nothing is wrong at all…” Gallus deflected badly.

She tilted her head.

“I got landed with some stupid counseling stuff. That’s all.”

“Oh!” she chirped in understanding. “Well, that sounds fun.”

“Not really,” he groaned, giving the Friendship School a wary glance.

“How come?”

I’m going to be told I’m going crazy. “I’m just going to be told a bunch of stuff I already know.”

“So you think it’s going to be boring?” she asked innocently.

“More a waste of my time.”

“I doubt that. Talking to your friends is never a waste of time!”

“Ms. Glimmer is my teacher, not my friend.”

“But you go to the Friendship School; aren’t your teachers supposed to be your friends too?”

Gallus paused before shrugging and saying, “I guess. But only because she has to be.”

“No one ever really ‘has’ to be friends; friends just choose to be.”

“Then why would she choose to be my friend?” he inquired, thinking more about Silverstream than Starlight and more about her question than their friendship. “Why would anyone?”

“Hmm, that’s a tough question to answer,” Mrs. Ditsy stated simply.

What the… She didn’t say the usual… What? “Because there is no reason to care?” he guessed.

“Nope! Because the answer would be different for everyone, so you can never really have one single answer. But I think that’s actually really, really cool! After all, if everyone has different reasons to be your friend, that means there’s that many different ways you’re special!”

“But how would someone know that though?”

“I don’t know,” she answered, shrugging. “I guess you just have to ask.”

“What if you’re scared to ask?”

“Why would you be scared to ask a question?”

“Because you’re scared of the answer.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re worried about what the answer means for you.”

“Hmm. I’m not sure I know what kind of answer could mean something bad for you,” Mrs. Ditsy said, tapping her chin in thought. “But I bet that even if it does, you’ll still have friends to help make it better.”

He gave that statement some thought before asking, “What if they don’t know about it?”

“Then I’d just tell them.”

“What if you’re scared they won’t help?”

“A real friend would always help! That’s what makes them your friends,” she declared, smiling.

Gallus looked down at the untroubled ponies below him as he contemplated that idea.

“Well, it’s been nice talking to you, but I do need to get back to my route.”

“Okay. Have a nice day, Mrs. Ditsy,” he said, waving goodbye.

“You too, Mr. Gallus. See you later!”

After she departed, he turned to the Friendship School.

…

“Peck it! Let’s get this over with!” Gallus told himself as he swiftly flew to the school before he had a chance to change his mind.


***


Knock! Knock! Knock!

“Come in!”

Gallus took a deep breath. “Headmare Starlight?” he asked, poking his head into the room.

“Oh, hello, Gallus,” Starlight greeted, closing her book. “I’ve been waiting for you.”

“Yeah. I got your message, er, messages, I guess.”

“Heh-heh. Yeah, I hope I didn’t make your friends worry.”

“Eh, most of them think you’re probably giving me a detention or something.”

She raised an eyebrow but remained silent.

“Sooo, what exactly am I supposed to do?”

“There’s nothing you’re ‘supposed’ to do, but please, take a seat,” she encouraged. “The sofa’s really comfy.”

Gallus slowly obliged, reclining into the lime green couch. He couldn’t quite meet his Headmare’s eyes just yet, so he shifted his own around the room.

An assortment of kites hung from the ceiling above her desk; twin bookcases stood to the side, one filled with books, and the others with dozens of scrolls whose contents Gallus wasn’t privy too.

She was still staring at him.

In one corner, rested a metal filing cabinet with a picture frame atop that he couldn’t quite see properly, and in the other corner rested a glass hutch filled to the brim with multi-colored jars and vials.

Her periwinkle eyes wouldn’t stop staring into his soul.

A calendar rested behind the mare, marked with stickers, notes, and sticky notes, and scattered around the wall, several other pictures hung, depicting a few ponies and a dragon he didn’t recognize.

She was still staring at him!?

“Seriously, what am I supposed to do?”

“What do you want to do?”

Run away. But I know you don’t want me to say that, so… “I don’t know.”

“Do you maybe want to talk?”

Yeah, I had a feeling that’s what you really wanted me to do. “Sure?”

“Okay, what did you want to talk about?”

“Uh… What do you want to talk about!?”

“Hmm. Well, my day has gone pretty well. Especially now that we have the last of the Friends and Family Day Festival cleaned up and the School ready for tomorrow. But what about you? How has your day been?”

I’ve had some psychopathic filly’s curse screwing with my head all day. “Meh. My day wasn’t really interesting.”

“Oh? That’s odd; I thought you’d be spending the day going over Princess Cadence’s advice.”

AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH! “Y-You know about that?”

“Well, Twilight did mention it in her letter.”

Gallus groaned into his talons.

“I’m guessing you weren’t ready for anyone else to know about you and Silver?”

“Please! PLEASE! Tell me you didn’t tell anyone else!”

“No one around to tell. Everyone else is busy catching up on some much-needed rest.”

Gallus kept his head down, not relieved by that at all.

Noticing this, Starlight took initiative and added, “You look kinda down. Did you want some Empathy Cocoa?”

He looked up to find a steaming mug of liquid chocolate hovering before him. He took it and gently sipped at the hot beverage, ignoring what Yona had told him about the stuff earlier. The warm froth seared his mouth and throat, but the sweet taste of marshmallow and chocolate overrode the pain.

“Thanks.”

“Of course.”

There was yet another brief stretch of silence where the two did nothing but sip at their cocoa.

Gallus cracked and asked, “You’re a unicorn, so you know all kinds of spells and stuff, right?”

“Oh, you have no idea,” Starlight said, failing miserably to hide a cocky smirk behind her mug.

“In that case, what do you know about… About mind magic?”

“I’m competent,” she answered neutrally.

“Okay. So, this is going to sound a little bit crazy, but… If, say, something was up. Like— Like if I thought maybe I was—I mean! Someone I know was being effected by mind magic… Would you be able to—you know—tell?”

“Depends on the spell. Some have pretty obvious signs, but others are a fair bit more subtle.”

“O-Oh. Nevermind then.”

Starlight waited a minute before asking, “So, who is it?”

“Huh? Oh, sorry. It’s— It’s nothing; I’m probably just being stupid—I mean paranoid!” he quickly corrected. “I’m just being paranoid. Nothing to worry about.”

Awkward silence returned with a vengeance.

“Gallus?”

“Look, I know what you’re going to say, and no! I promise there’s nothing to worry about! Everything is fine! Nothing is wrong; I’m just worried over nothing is all. That’s it.”

“I was going to say I double-checked Cozy Glow’s room.”

“W-What?”

“Mhmm,” Starlight nodded.

“Wh— But that— What did you— I mean—” he stammered.

“Take your time, Gallus; I’m not going anywhere,” she promised, still maintaining her neutral expression.

Gallus took the offered moment then said hesitantly, “Twilight told you that too, huh?”

“That everything yesterday snowballed when Silver found you in the kid’s room? Yep. She also asked that I go over it just in case. Good thing too since you’re asking about it.”

“I’m guessing she also told you I’ve been seeing that nutbar in my head ever since?”

“…”

“Oh peck.”

“Language.”

“I’m not— I promise I’m— Nothing is—” Gallus blinked. “Did you just say ‘language’?”

“Yep. You think I don’t know about other nations’ cuss words? Please. I know ‘em all.”

The absurdity of Starlight criticizing his expletive rather than commenting on his admission of insanity floored him. And then he remembered that he just admitted to being insane.

“I think I should just leave; sorry for wasting your time!”

“Gallus.”

For as much as the griffon wanted and intended to move, he hadn’t so much as twitched.

“Yes?”

“You say you’re seeing Cozy Glow in your mind?” she asked, quirking an eyebrow.

And there it is. “N-No! I’m not— I’m not crazy!”

“I didn’t say you were.”

“But you were thinking it!” he accused.

“Why would I do that?”

“Well, duh! Only crazy creatures hear voices in their heads!”

“Unless it’s your own voice of course.”

“But… What if it’s not my voice? I’d be crazy then, right?”

“Why don’t you start from the beginning,” Starlight suggested, placing her cocoa aside.

“Do I have to?”

“You can just give me the cliff-notes if you want; I’m sure I can keep up.”

“Fine.” Gallus took a slow, shaky breath and began, “I was miserable for the past week, so I tried avoiding everyone. The day before yesterday, I wound up in Cozy’s room and killed time talking to myse… To her. Not even a minute after stepping paw in that room and there she is! Like some kind of ghost. And she talked to me, telling me every possible thing she could to make me even more miserable.”

He spared a quick glance at Starlight, but she remained unreadable.

“She sort of went away, but now she’s back. Kinda. I can’t even last more than a day before my mind breaks down, and…” He sighed morosely. “Now I just feel…”

“Miserable?”

“Paranoid.”

“Of?”

“HER! Duh!”

“What about her makes you paranoid?”

“Are you seriously asking me that!?”

“I have my own thoughts, but I’d rather hear yours first.”

…

“I’m… I’m scared that everything she says… That she might be right.”

“What kind of things has said to you?”

“That I’m a coward. A useless, superfluous… Monster.”

“Well, those are certainly lies. You are no coward, and by no means are you a monster. And only a true monster would think of you as useless or superfluous.”

But what if I think that about myself? “I know she’s lying. I know I’m— I’m not— I-It’s just that she kept spinning everything to make it seem like whatever she said was something that I actually thought! And that— That can’t be real! She has to be wrong, right!? I’ve never thought the— The— The things she said I have! I would never— I-I could never!” he proclaimed.

“What kind of things has she said you think?”

“You don’t want to know.”

“Humor me,” Starlight challenged.

“There’s nothing humorous about the thoughts she keeps putting in my head.”

“I don’t doubt that. But still. Go on.”

“She told me that… That if I… Argh, I don’t want to say it!” he weakly groaned. “You may want me to be locked up in an insane asylum, but I prefer open air, thank you very much!”

“That’s not what I want, Gallus.”

“Oh, really!? Then what do you want!?”

“To listen. And to help,” she assured readily, her tone remaining placid.

Gallus panted for a moment before slumping and finally allowing the earlier dam to break.

“Before Silverstream and I had fun at the Festival, I was… Really down in the dumps,” he confessed. “I just wanted to know why… Why they left me. I just wanted so much to know why I couldn’t have a family like everyone else! I wanted that too. I wanted it so badly! And Cozy—or her curse, or whatever—said that I… She said that if I wanted to have that love then I could always just force others to love me.”

“Hmm. How would you go about that?”

The gears in the griffon’s mind ground to a halt. “W-What?” was all he could mutter.

“How would you force others to give you love?”

“She suggested stealing a… A unicorn’s horn and using it to mind-control others.”

“Oh?”

“‘Oh’? ‘Oh’!? That’s all you can say!?”

“No, I’m just thinking still.”

THIS IS MY HEADMARE!? “What’s there to think about!?” he demanded. “I literally have some demon child in my brain telling me to hurt and brainwash ponies! And all you can say is ‘Oh’!?”

Starlight’s unflinching silence sparked a fuse in his brain, urging him to continue.

“I have some…thing! Haunting me! Telling me that I— That I’m a monster! That I may have murdered my parents! That I don’t care about others! That the bonds I have with my friends aren’t real! That I manipulated them! That I made them pity me! That I— That I don’t know what real love is…”

…

“I don’t understand! How is she still in my head!? I’m better, aren’t I!? I told you, Princess Twilight; Silver! Grover’s Treasure, I told Silver I was doing better, but no! No, I’m not better! I still have that psycho in my head, and I can’t get her out!”

…

“And you! You said you searched her room, right!? Please! Please tell me that whatever curse she placed on her room, you lifted! I’m begging you! Please tell me she’s gone!”

…

“No… No-no-no. Don’t you dare say it. Don’t you dare say you found nothing!”

“I’m sorry, Gallus, but there was nothing to—”

“Check me then! All these crazy thoughts are in my head! It has to be some kind of curse, spell, or something! Come on! Light up your horn and get it out of me!”

“I don’t need to, Gallus. I know exactly what’s—”

“NO! SOMETHING! IS! WRONG WITH ME! You can’t pretend otherwise; look at me! Look at me,” he whimpered. “I’m supposed to be getting better, but I’m not! It’s still in my head! Just waiting for me to stop drowning it out so it can remind me of how pathetic I am!”

His panting was the only sound in the room.

“Here,” Starlight gently said, hovering a box of tissues in front of him.

“Thanks, but I don’t exactly feel like sneezing!” he snapped.

“You’re crying, Gallus.”

He put a talon up to his eyes, feeling the droplets. “…Oh. Might’ve missed that. Thanks.”

Outside, the sun slowly began it’s journey downward as the two sat in silence. Several minutes passed before Gallus sniffled, and wiped away his dried eyes one last time.

“What’s wrong with me, Headmare Starlight? Just… What’s wrong with me?” he practically begged.

“Something I know all too well.”

He blinked. She didn’t say no? She didn’t say no! “S-So there is something wrong with me?”

“Wrong only in the sense that it’s hurting you.”

“So what is it? What’s wrong with me; what do I do!?”

After a moment of thought, Starlight asked, “Gallus? May I ask you something?”

“Sure…?”

“It’s something personal. Are you sure you’re okay if I do?”

Personal? What does she mean by that!? What does she mean by— “Just get it over with.”

“Alright. … Gallus, what was the happiest thought you’ve ever had about yourself?”

“Huh?”

“What was the happiest—”

“No, I heard; I just… What do you mean?”

“What is the nicest or happiest thought you’ve ever had about yourself. Maybe an accomplishment you took pride in, or perhaps something fun you treated yourself too? Simply put: Have you ever looked into a mirror and smiled? Not boasted. Not bragged. Just… Smiled?”

“I… I… I still don’t understand.”

“You said you keep being told you’re pathetic. Or cowardly. Or useless. Have you ever had a day, or even a moment when you told yourself you were great or brave or smart? A single moment when you genuinely congratulated yourself for just being yourself?”

“…I don’t know.”

She closed her eyes, falling silent.

Gallus gulped. Stupid, stupid, stupid! She didn’t want honesty! She wanted—

“This truly is surreal,” Starlight said, opening her eyes and cutting off his internal rebuking.

“What is?”

“You.”

Gallus didn’t know how to respond to that. Okay, so she’s not treating me like a maniac; that’s good! I guess she actually did want genuine honesty? Huh. But what does she mean by ‘surreal’?

“Gallus…? How long have you been alone?”

“I-I’m not alone. I’ve never been alone,” he reflexively deflected. “I— I had Grandpa Gruff. And I have my friends now too! Silver, Smolder, Sandbar, Yona, and Ocellus! See!? I’m— I’m not alone!”

“That’s not what I meant, Gallus,” she countered knowingly.

…

“I think I’ve always been alone,” he quietly admitted.

“Never knowing why?”

He nodded.

“Did you ever blame yourself?” she asked, noticeably uncomfortable with doing so.

“I never wanted to believe it. I never wanted it to be the truth! But…” He gulped and said, “But what else could I have blamed? What reason could they have had? It had to have been me. Right?”

“No, Gallus. It was never your fault.”

“But how do you know? How would I know!? How would anyone!?”

“Does it matter how?”

“YES!”

“Why?”

“Because— Because— It just does! I don’t care what anyone says! It! Matters!”

She calmly nodded. “Alright then. … You didn’t answer my question though. Did you ever truly blame yourself? Not just this week, not just today, but… Have you always blamed yourself?”

Fighting back the instinct to sugarcoat things, Gallus mumbled, “I don’t want to. And I guess I’m not supposed to, but… But I’m scared that I…”

“That you should?” she guessed.

He finally locked eyes with her, blurting out, “Maybe? I don’t know. Should I blame myself!?”

“No,” Starlight said simply, decisively, and gently. How she did so all at once, Gallus didn’t know.

“But I don’t know why they left; I never will! So, how will I ever know if I really am to blame? What if I’m alone because I deserve to be!? How will I know that!? I can’t— I can’t know.”

“No one deserves to be alone, Gallus. Even the cruelest, most despicable monster in the world deserves at least one soul willing to reach out to them in the end.”

“But I… I am alone. Was! I mean… Am I still alone? Or am I not? I don’t know! If no one deserves to be alone then what did I do to be alone in the first place!? What’s wrong with me!?”

“Nothing is wrong with you, Gallus.”

“But—”

“Everyone has a reason for why they do things, but choices are still choices, regardless of what led to them,” Starlight said sagely. “Many will make terrible choices, and just as many others will suffer as a result. That doesn’t mean that bad choices can’t be made up for or forgiven, but that doesn’t matter now. You’re not the one who made the choices; you’re the one who suffered because of them.”

“But what if I made them make that choice!? Look at me! I’m a pathetic coward, and all I do is just whine and make everyone else waste their time,” Gallus claimed. “First the Tree, then Silver, and now you!”

“First, you are neither pathetic, nor a coward. Second, sitting here and talking to me is not whining by any means. And third, don’t ever believe you are a waste of time. You are worth so much, Gallus. Never think otherwise.”

“But what if—”

“And finally… I said that it didn’t matter what led to a choice being made—Yes, I know you said it did matter. But the only creatures it ever mattered to…? They made the choice, and in the end, you paid the price. Knowing why they made that choice will never change that.”

Gallus winced. “You don’t understand,” he spoke up. “What if I was the reason they left? How many times do I have to say that for you or anyone else to get it!?”

“I won’t pretend to know why they are gone. Perhaps they had a reason, perhaps not. Maybe it was a justifiable reason, maybe not. But regardless, what matters is—”

“YOU STILL DON’T GET IT!” he yelled over her. “I need to know why they’re gone! I need to know why they left me alone! I need to know why they made that choice! I need to know if it was me! I need to know if I was the reason they’re gone! I don’t ‘want’ to! I don’t ‘think’ I need to! I! Need! To! Know!”

…

“I’m sorry! I— I shouldn’t be yelling. It’s just— It’s just so frustrating! Wanting so badly to know but having everyone tell me that it doesn’t matter or that it shouldn’t…”

“It’s okay, Gallus. I understand.”

“Tch. Really? Or are you just saying that?” he snapped, recoiling immediately after.

“Hmm? Well, I suppose there is one thing I don’t understand. You say it’s frustrating… Is that because no one else seems to think it matters even though you know it does? Or is it because you think it matters despite everyone telling you it doesn’t?”

Gallus gulped, mulling over both her words and his next ones. “Silver wanted so badly to help me feel better. But here I am… Having some stupid meltdown like a pecking toddler.”

“So it was that one…” she mused. “Well, a creature can’t get over their pain in a day, Gallus.”

“Why not? Friends helping friends get over their issues—Isn’t that how friendship works?”

“That’s exactly how friendship works,” Starlight confirmed. “Friends help their friends. But that doesn’t mean your friends can instantly wipe away all the bad days you’ve had.”

“Isn’t that the point of all of your friendship missions?”

“They were about helping repair bonds that had been broken or were strained. Just that: Helping as best as they could. Not clapping a hoof and solving every problem in a snap.”

“Still instantly solved all the problems from what I know.”

“Go ask the Princesses if I solved all of their sibling issues in a weekend. Go on, I dare you.”

“…”

“Gallus?”

“Yeah?”

“May I ask you another question?”

“It’s not like I could stop you.”

“I understand you want to know why they left, and I know that you’re scared you might be in some part responsible for their absence. But—”

“It matters,” he interjected.

“I know. And I think I know why too.”

“Do you? Do you really?”

“Yes.”

“Well then, oh, Grand Headmare! Pray tell, what’s wrong with me?”

“You’re not only afraid you might have been the reason why your parents are gone… You’re afraid that somehow, someway you might once again drive those around you away. Aren’t you?”

Silence. All around him was silence. Everything else had pulled back, fleeing from his twisted, nightmarish visage. Even the darkness had fled away in terror, leaving only the silence to—

“Gallus, you’re crying a—”

“I’ve never wanted to think that!” he yelled, panic returning. “I don’t want to even consider that! They’re my friends! They’re my FRIENDS! Right? Friendship requires loyalty, so they— They wouldn’t leave me, right!? They care! I know they do! B-But… What if— What if they stop!?”

“They wouldn’t.”

“But they could! I already made one family run away, so what’s s-stopping me from driving them away too!? Silver tried to help me, but it didn’t matter! I’m still m-messed up in the head! I’m still alone! I’m still scared and sad and p-pathetic! And I still have that psycho in my head!”

His voice hitched, allowing for only a harsh sob. The sobbing continued, and his eyes blurred and stung with warm tears that began falling despite his frantic swiping.

On a different day, Gallus would have kept his beak closed and face expressionless, ignoring the uncontrolled rapids and maintaining his practiced cool. Today was not that day.

“Stupid tears! I’m not supposed to— I don’t— I don’t want to cry!” he rebuked.

A hoof gently gripped his shoulder, igniting a different fire in the griffon.

“Why am I not better!? What’s w-wrong with me!? Why c-couldn’t I j-just be happy!? Why am I still feeling these s-stupid things!? What am I doing wrong!?”

The hoof slowly moved up and down along his back.

“I want to be happy, so why can’t I be!? Am I just cursed!? Scratch that! I am! And I don’t know why! Why can’t I be h-happy!? Why can’t I move on!? I just want to move on!”

Another box of tissues hovered in front of him which he went after with reckless abandon.

“I want— I want to spend time with m-my friends! I want to— I want to be with them! I love them! I l-love my friends, but what if I screw it up!? I almost screwed it all up once! I’ve a-almost lost them all twice! And it’s all my fault! It has to be, r-right!? I’m the one that can’t be happy! I need them; they don’t n-need me! So why would they keep caring about— About someone like me!? I want to be happy! I don’t want to be sad, but I can’t get over it! Why can’t I just be happy!?”

The world wouldn’t answer.

“Why!?”

The world still wouldn’t answer.

“WHY!?”

The world finally answered.

“It’s okay, Gallus.”

“No! It’ll never be okay! I d-don’t know why, but it can’t! It just— It just can’t!”

“It can. It takes a long time, but it will.”

“You say that! But here I am! And it isn’t okay now! So what reason do I have to think it w-will be okay later! And how much longer before it becomes okay!? It’s easy to say it will b-be okay now, when you’re not the one who can’t… Who isn’t… Who…”

“Shhh. Just let it out. It’s okay.”

Only now did Gallus realize he had been pulled into a comforting hug. A moment later, he softly wrapped his own talons against her, leaning into the hug.

…

His sobs slowly quieted.

…

His tears soon finished.

…

His grip eventually let go.

They remained sitting on the couch—griffon and unicorn. One was too exhausted to do anything but stare at the floor, and the other remained alert, awaiting the faintest of movements.

“Is this why I lost them in the first place? Because I couldn’t be happy? If it is then I’m doing it again. I’m g-gonna lose my friends. I’m gonna lose my f-family again! I don’t want them to go! I don’t want to be the r-reason why my family is gone! I don’t— I don’t want to be alone!”

Gallus was beyond returning to the piercing sobs; instead, his tears flowed forth from the gentlest of whimpers. Wordlessly, he gratefully took the next batch of offered tissues.

“I’m so sorry! I— I shouldn’t be— I’m not supposed to— I just— I’m sorry!”

“Gallus, it’s okay.”

“But— But I’m not supposed to be like this! I’m not—”

“Never be afraid to show your feelings, Gallus,” Starlight interrupted. “It’s okay to cry. It’s okay to be sad and upset. And it’s okay to be afraid. These aren’t things you need to hide away and bottle up.”

“I just don’t understand. What’s wrong with me, Headmare Starlight? Why can’t I move on?”

Starlight took a deep breath and answered, “You’re hurt, Gallus. You’ve been hurt for a long time, and you’ve been carrying that pain all by yourself for I’m guessing almost your entire life?”

A nod.

“But now you’re healing—”

“No, I’m not! I’m not heal— Sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologize.”

Liar, he thought, keeping his beak shut for once.

“And thanks to Silverstream, you’re beginning to heal. You’re trying to be happy now. Genuinely happy. What you weren’t prepared for was the transition.”

“The what?”

“The transition. The long, winding, annoying road of healing. The path to happiness is laid before you, but it goes on forever, is arduous as Tartarus, and just looking at it fills you with dread.”

“Language,” he reflexively joked.

“Ha! Sorry. … You didn’t know how hard healing would really be,” Starlight resumed. “The truth is it’s difficult, confusing, and painful. Sometimes it feels like you’re going nowhere or worse: Backtracking. And on top of that, it only gets longer and harder the bigger the burden you carry. So many can look at the path to healing and complete it in a hop, skip, and jump. Others have to hike the thing for months on end.”

Gallus gulped.

“But, Gallus? That road does end. It will feel like an endless nightmare you can’t wake up from; it will rip and tear at you and leave you with scars deeper than the oceans; and it will challenge you and make you wonder why you bothered trying at all. But it does end.”

“You say that like it’s easy…”

“‘Easy’? Gallus, teleporting is easy. Time travel is easy. Mistakes are easy. Giving up is easy. Having the determination to walk that road? The strength to look into the face of the world despite the pain it’s given you? The bravery to keep walking that road and never stop until you reach the end? Gallus, that’s the single hardest thing a creature can do in this world.”

“Then how do I do that then?”

“You walk the path. Bit-by-bit; step-by-step. And with every step it gets that much easier. The end gets that much closer. And soon the days you had to force yourself to continue will become days where the challenge is taking one hundred steps instead of settling for ninety-nine. Yes, it is hard now. It will remain hard until the absolute end, but with every single step… It gets easier.”

“How do you know? H-How… How can you possibly know what it’s like t-to… To heal?”

“Because I’ve walked it myself,” Starlight revealed.

“You have?” Gallus asked, trying to remember if he had heard anything that implied as such.

“Mhmm. I lost a lot. My best friend. My home. … Myself. I walked around in circles for the longest time, afraid of even thinking about moving on, let alone trying it.”

“But you did?”

“I like to think I did, but honestly? Even now, I think I’m still on the path, just right at the end of it. Still carrying my burden, but it’s so light now I barely even remember it’s there.”

“So it was easy for you then, huh?”

“Nope. It took me a long, long time. But this isn’t about me and my journey. I just want you to know that I do speak with experience. A lot of it. And I promise you, Gallus. It does get easier.”

“How? How did it get easier for you then? Er, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“I met Twilight. I met her friends. I made new ones, and I kept old ones.” He looked away but said nothing, so she continued. “The hardest part is that for as easy as the path becomes, you have to carry that burden the entire away, loneliness and all. But you don’t have to carry it alone. And the more friends you have, the lighter your burden. And you already have a few friends willing to help.”

“What if they won’t care?”

“Why wouldn’t they?”

“Because they’d get tired of caring?”

“True friends never stop caring. Ever.”

“What if I drive them away?”

“Then you go after them and make amends.”

“What if I can’t?”

“Then you come to me and the others and you ask for help.”

“What if I drive you all away too?”

“Ha! Ha-ha… Kiddo, you’d have to do something truly awful to make us not want to help you.”

“It was pretty easy for Cozy Glow…”

“The choices she made were ones she made knowingly and willingly. And in the end, she reveled in the pain she brought. … Well, almost brought.”

“You still gave up on her. That means that you could give up. If you wanted to.”

Starlight looked away for a moment before sighing. “Fair enough. You wouldn’t be afraid if you didn’t have a reason to be. But even still, I know you’ll never do anything to make us give up on you.”

“And why’s that?”

“Because unlike Cozy Glow, you care.”

They quietly sat there for what could have been hours for all Gallus knew. But soon, he regained his breathing and finished drying his tears; his cocoa slowly hovered before him afterward.

“Thank you,” he said, gratefully taking the drink back.

“No problem,” Starlight said, levitating her own drink over to her.

“Why does it have to be so hard?” Gallus eventually resumed. “Can’t I just have a nice day with my friend and move on? Why do I have to deal with any of this?”

“Your heart isn’t a light switch, Gallus. You can’t just snap your talons and stop feeling, even if that feeling is loneliness.”

“I wish it were that simple. I’m tired of feeling this way! I’m tired of always wondering why they left! And I’m tired of having all these stupid thoughts in my head! Why can’t it just be easy!?”

“The world is a difficult place to understand sometimes. But if getting over heartache were that easy… Would the pain have meant anything at all to you?”

“What do you mean?” he asked, dumbfounded.

“Our worst experiences should never define nor control us, but they should always teach us. The days we’re sad should emphasize the days we’re happy. And if nothing else, heartache proves that we loved. If not to others, to ourselves. At least, that’s how I’ve come to think of it.”

“Huh. That sounds like a nice way to look at things.”

Starlight shrugged.

“I wish I could look at it that way. But all of this just feels like pain to me.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s not like any of this is your problem.”

“No, but that’s because it’s not my ‘problem.’ It’s my duty: Helping you heal.”

“Is it even worth it?”

“Yes.”

“Am I even worth it?”

“You’ll always be worth it, Gallus.”

“It’s hard to remember that when… When…” Gallus sighed. “When the ones who were supposed to teach me that never did,” he slowly let out.

“Then I guess it’s lucky you have all of your friends who’ll always help remind you.”

“…Yeah,” he agreed, perking up a tad. “Yeah, it is. It’d help if I actually told them about this.”

“That would certainly help,” she chuckled.

They shared a small smile, but his soon turned back into a frown.

“But why do I keep seeing Cozy Glow in my head?”

“You’ve only just begun healing, Gallus.”

“That doesn’t exactly answer my question.”

“You asked if it was a curse? The answer is no, Gallus. What you’re seeing isn’t some evil hex she placed on you.”

“Then what is it?”

“Hmm… You remember I said I had walked the same path as you are now? Well, the same thing happened to me. Words whispered in the back of your mind that you’re afraid are your own? Thoughts that haunt you like phantasms from day to night?”

“That’s exactly it. That’s exactly what she’s doing; h-how do I get rid of her?”

“The thing is, Gallus, that’s not Cozy Glow. This has nothing to do with her.”

“Then what is it?”

“The transition.”

“You said that already, but I still don’t get what you mean.”

“You’ve been alone for a long time, Gallus, and you’ve spent that time viewing the world and everything within it from that perspective. Right?”

“…Maybe.”

“Well, now you’re not alone. And you know it, and you’re trying to accept it and look at the world from a completely different view. But all that time you’ve spent alone isn’t going to go away, and the thoughts and fears you accumulated from it are going to bleed through from time to time. Not because you still think those things, but because you’re so used to thinking from that perspective.”

“You mean I’m used to thinking of stealing unicorn horns and mind-controlling others!?”

“Everyone has bad thoughts, Gallus. Some are born of anger. But most come from desperation and fear. They’re only dangerous when we’re willing to act on them, and I know you’re not.”

“But I’ve never thought those things before! Not once!”

“Maybe not that one specifically, but are you saying you’ve never once had even one like it?”

The memory of their first Hearth’s Warming flitted to the surface. “No.”

“Mhmm. And these thoughts seem more apparent now that you’re trying so hard to not think that way again. So whenever they do cross your mind, you’re more aware of them. And more afraid.”

“But then why do I keep seeing Cozy?”

“Eh-heh-heh,” she laughed hesitantly. “Now that I don’t have a concrete answer for, but if I were to hazard a guess? It’s because of how you view her.”

“As a nutbar?”

“As a sadist.”

“No! You’re suffering! And I looooove it!” echoed in his mind.

“I mean it could also be some subconscious psychological thing since all of this started when you went into her room, so you just connect these thoughts to her in some capacity, but…”

“Heh. But then why do I keep seeing anyone? Shouldn’t they just be—you know—thoughts?”

“Now that’s definitely because of some subconscious psychological stuff.”

“Really?”

“Well, the worst possible thoughts are always easiest to accept if they’re from someone else.”

“Oh. Yep, that definitely sounds like some subconscious psychological mumbo-jumbo.”

“Heh-heh-heh. Yeah.”

The two took a minute to just sit there and drink their cocoa.

“Headmare Starlight?”

“Yes?”

“Thanks. For… For listening.”

“Always.”

“Do you mind helping me tell the others?”

“Of course. Do you want to go tell them now?”

“Um, could we wait a little bit longer? I’m still not ready. Not yet.”

“I understand.”

“Thank you.”

“Anytime.”


***


A battle raged in the sky between the sinking sun and rising moon. To one horizon, a warm, hazy orange desperately clung to wakefulness, unwilling to fade away. And to the other, a sea of cool indigo served as the backdrop for the pale moon and it’s twinkling friends.

Along the streets of Ponyville, remnants of the populace were finally headed home, eager to rest in their homes and with their families after a long day of work.

Within the walls of the Friendship School, many a flickering light burned onward still, but just as many were quelled by ponies seeking an early rest to prepare for tomorrow’s return to studies.

Down the hallway leading to the dormitories, one particular pair stalked forth.

“She told you that!?”

“Yep. So was there any truth to it?”

“I’ve no idea; never traveled there myself.”

“Huh. Maybe I’ll visit one day and ask?”

“Oh, definitely. Because if that actually happened, I’m going to need to tell Pinkie to stop putting chocolate in anything she gives to Yona.”

And with that, they had finally reached their destination. Through the door before them laid another hallway, and in that hallway laid another set of doors, and through those doors awaited…

Gallus gulped.

“Are you okay?”

He nervously nodded.

“It’ll be easier if you tell them sooner rather than later, but if you’re still not ready…?”

“No. No, I need to tell them; otherwise, I probably won’t. Let’s get this over with!”

He opened the door.

And was immediately face-to-face with an orange dragon. Said dragon immediately started scowling and said, “Well, well, well… If it isn’t Mr. Lost-in-Thought himself.”

Oh no. What did I do!? “Hello to you too, Smolder. Something—”

“Smolder, wait! You can’t just—” Ocellus bellowed, racing behind her before skidding to a stop before them all. “Ohhh… Uh, h-hi, Gallus,” she greeted timidly.

Immediately, the other three quickly darted out from Silverstream’s room with the hippogriff in question being the last to exit, her head down and eyes averted.

She didn’t…

Gallus nervously looked to Starlight who awkwardly smiled and shrugged.

“Do I even want to guess?” he asked, putting a talon to his face.

“W-We were j-just—”

“No, no!” Smolder interrupted Ocellus. “I want to hear it from him. So, Gallus, what have you been up to? You having a good day? Enjoying the day off? You didn’t get a detention, did you? Don’t lie now; honesty is a core foundation of friendship after all.”

She did.

“Okay, Silver, how much do they know?”

“Um—”

“Oh, we know everything, Gallus!”

He flinched at the anger in Smolder’s voice but still asked, “Everything everything?”

“Pretty much,” Silver weakly admitted.

“Aw geez, Silver!” Gallus exclaimed.

“I’m sorry, Gallus, but—”

“Hey, don’t you be mad at her! We came to her when you had your freak-outs in the library and Carousel Boutique, and at least she was honest with the rest of us! Unlike a certain griffon…”

“Smolder!” admonished everyone, save Silver and Gallus.

“I ain’t taking it back.”

“M-Maybe, we s-should all c-calm down first?”

“‘Calm down!?’”

“Creatures are able to m-make better judgments when they a-are in a state of tranquility as opposed to frustration and anger,” Ocellus recited from some book or another.

“Yeah? Well, I don’t plan on making any judgment calls until after he looks me in the eye and tells me the truth! So, Gallus!? You look me in the eye, and you tell us if everything she said about you being on the brink of a meltdown all week was true!”

“‘Brink of a meltdown’ is kind of an over-exaggeration, dude.”

“I’m not talking to you, Sandbar!”

“Now, Smolder…”

“Headmare Starlight? Relax, I’ve got it.” No, I don’t, Gallus thought before he took a breath and began anyway, “Yes, I wasn’t feeling well over the break. You guys may have had fun getting ready for the holiday, but to me the whole thing was just a reminder that I don’t have anyone but myself, and—”

“You have us! If you were feeling crummy why didn’t you just come and talk to any of us!?”

“And what? Friends and Family Day was supposed to be something to enjoy, and all of you were having fun. I wasn’t, and there was no way I was going to push my problems onto any of you and make you all worry about me.”

“So instead of talking to us about this so we could help you feel better, you decided you didn’t trust us enough to tell us the truth!?”

“S-Smolder, I don’t th-think it was a question of—”

“I’m not talking to you either, Ocellus!”

The changeling winced.

“Smolder, I did trust you. I trusted all of you; I just— I didn’t— I—” He paused, hesitant to add the next bit. C’mon, Gallus, you’ve come this far. No more cowardice, he decided, continuing on, “At the time, I didn’t even think I was worth your concerns anyway. All of this stupid… Loneliness, or whatever it is; it was something I should have been able to deal with myself.”

“But Yona and friends’ happiness not more important than friend’s feelings!” Yona protested. “If Gallus upset, Yona and friends would have helped!”

“I knew that. It’s just… You were all supposed to enjoy the holiday, and I was too, but I… I couldn’t. You all know why… So, I did the best thing I could think of at the time and that was pretend I was happy and not tell any of you the truth.”

Smolder’s eye twitched.

“B-But it was Friends and Family Day! It w-was a time to have fun with our friends too! Why didn’t you want to spend time with us if you were s-so m-m-miserable?”

“Because I felt like I would drag you all down with me. The whole thing was my problem. Not yours. You didn’t deserve it; you guys deserved to be happy. Even if I wasn’t.”

A faint trail of smoke began billowing from Smolder’s nostrils.

“But that was how I felt. Key word being ‘was’ since—spoilers—Silver basically forced me to spend the day with her and helped me out. A lot.”

He tried to give Silver something of a smile, but she hadn’t yet looked up from the floor.

“Yeah, we know,” Smolder growled. “But we should have known because you should have told us. We shouldn’t have had to hear it from someone else!”

“I know, Smolder, but… I was too scared to be honest, alright!” Gallus groaned, shrugging. “I’ve said that a lot in the past two days, but I don’t know how to say it any other way. I was just scared.”

No one talked, following his declaration.

“But you are feeling better now at least, right?” Sandbar asked after some time.

Everyone’s eyes locked onto him, and he reflexively leaned back from the intensity.

“I’m… I’m…”

While they all looked at him with equal worry, what else their gazes held was unique to each of them. Yona still looked troubled; Ocellus was far paler than usual; Sandbar stared at him with uncertain hesitancy; Smolder’s scowl had deepened with his every word; and Silverstream…

Her eyes held the same fear they had yesterday.

Don’t you dare lie to her, Gallus! To any of them!

“I’m doing well enough. Not as well as I should be, but well enough. And I am getting better, I promise. I’ve got, like, three weeks of mandatory guidance counseling for a reason, you know?”

A coin could have fallen into the dusty dunes of Saddle Arabia and still be heard in the hallway.

“That’s great!” Sandbar declared, beaming. “I’m glad you’re feeling better, Gallus.”

“Yeah, I am too, Sandbar.”

The others didn’t look quite as satisfied, especially Smolder. Yona, on the other talon, rushed to Gallus and trapped him in a bone-crushing hug.

“Yona promise Gallus not alone!” she bellowed. “And Yona and friends will always be here for Gallus to help friend feel better! Yona promise!”

“Gah! Th-Thanks, Yona, but— I can’t! Breathe!”

Yona lessened the force of the hug but didn’t relent. Soon, Ocellus and Sandbar joined in.

“Yona’s right; we promise we’ll be here for you, Gallus,” the former assured calmly.

“Yeah, dude. No way we’re not gonna be here to help you out. What are friends for after all?”

Silver darted into the hug and squealed, “We all promise!”

His eyes watered again, and a genuine smile tugged at his beak.

“Y-You guys…”

…

Smolder walked away, and while she may not have slammed the door, Gallus still flinched at the final piercing glare she gave him before she went into her room.

“Golly, looks like your biggest fear just came true.”

Everyone else stared after her as well.

“S-Sorry about her; she’s just… Um, uh… Help?”

“Smolder happy Gallus okay. Yona think Smolder just mad Gallus not tell friends his feelings.”

“Yep, that’s probably it. Don’t worry, dude, she’ll come around.”

Silver was quiet.

“Heh. She’s not wrong; I should have told you all what was going on.”

“It’s okay, Gallus, we understand. We’re here for you now, and that’s the important thing.”

“And we’re not going anywhere.”

Warmth spread through his entire body, and the last of his tears finally broke free.

“Guys… Thank you. Just… Thank you.”

Five minutes later…

“Alright, kids,” Starlight spoke up. “As much as I don’t want to intrude on this, it’s getting pretty late. And you’ve all got school tomorrow.”

“But, Headmare Starlight, Yona and friends still hugging Gallus!”

“And you can all hug him in the morning, assuming you’re not too tired to do so.”

“She’s not wrong,” Ocellus recognized, leaving the hug first. “And I still need to take another quick glance at my notes before I go to bed. Plus, I’m pretty sure we’re all exhausted after today.”

“Reading our emotions again, Ocellus?”

“Sandbar, I keep telling you it doesn’t work that way!”

“Hee-hee, I know.”

“Ugh, why do I even bother? Goodnight, everyone.”

“Goodnight!”

“I need to go to bed too; somehow, I get the feeling we’ve got a long day ahead of us,” Sandbar said.

“Is it because Headmare staring at Yona and friends with ominous-yet-knowing expression?”

“Yep, pretty much. G’night, everycreature.”

“Goodnight!”

“Yona need sleep too. … Gallus remember friends will always be there for him, right?”

“Considering how often I keep hearing it, I probably won’t be able to even if I tried.”

“Gallus not try though, right!?” Yona nearly screeched.

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he quickly clarified.

“Phew,” she sighed. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight!”

“Well, um, goodnight, Gallus.”

“Night, Silv—”

She threw her talons around him and held him like a lifeline.

“Gallus…? You are feeling better, right?”

Her voice was quieter than a mouse’s whisper, but the worry rang louder than a siren.

“Yeah, I am.”

“Promise?”

…

“Promise.”

She squeezed him even harder then quickly broke apart and said, “Alrighty then. See you in the morning, Gallus. Sweet dreams.”

“Sweet dreams, Silver,” he replied, watching as the last of his friends disappeared from view, leaving only him and Starlight in the hallway.

“Whelp. That’s that,” she said. “Now, you’d better get to bed yourself too, Gallus.”

“Hey, Headmare Starlight? You called it a ‘burden,’ right?”

“Mhmm.”

“Is this what you meant when you said it got lighter?”

“Pretty much.”

“It’s just that it takes forever before that burden completely goes away, if it does at all?”

“I wouldn’t say it takes ‘forever,’ but it does take a lot of time, yes.”

“Well, at least I’ve still got my friends. And as much as I don’t want to worry them, having them with me will help the time go by faster… Right?”

“That’s a pretty neat way of looking at things,” she said, smiling. “Now go on. School starts back up tomorrow, and you need some rest.”

“Yeah, sleep sounds good right now. See you tomorrow.”

“See tomorrow. Goodnight, Gallus.”

“Goodnight, Headmare Starlight.”

She trotted back down the hallway, and he sighed. Everything was fine. Nothing had gone wrong. He still had his friends. Everything is fine, he thought as he absentmindedly opened his door.

An ocean of parchment crashed out of the door and dragged him into the undertow. After a solid minute of swimming through the flood, he broke through to the surface, gasping for air. Upon gaining said air, Gallus looked around and both winced in fear and gaped in awe at just what exactly it was.

“Oh yeah, Princess Twilight, you definitely need to get your sister-in-law a better hobby,” he deadpanned. His eyes then slowly widened once the realization fully struck. Oh peck, I forgot all about the date thing! he cried out internally.

Gallus swallowed anxiously and looked at Silver’s room, simply staring at it.

…

…

…

I’ll uh… I’ll just ask her later! Yeah, later. Sometime later…

He turned his gaze back to the paper around him and groaned. Without hesitation, he quickly shoved the disarrayed mass back into his room and closed the door behind him.