Blood dripped from Gallus’ face and into the night sky as he flew away from Sheila’s house, several emotions contradicting each other inside of him. He flew past the hospital, having no bits with him to cover any bills. Maybe he’d find a cloth somewhere to stop the bleeding, but for now, he was covering as much distance between him and his former home as possible. A memory of him and Sheila chasing after each other down the streets, giggling and swiping at each other as other griffons scoffed and looked the other way, played in his head as he flew down to a back alley empty of any other griffons. Gallus felt renewed tears mixing in with the blood as both liquids dripped onto the cement.
He couldn’t understand how the friend that had been his light throughout his hardships had soured and twisted into this creature beyond recognition. He leaned against the dumpster in the back alley, holding himself as he wept for the friend that used to hold him after his parents would yell at him, the friend that made him feel as though he was worth her time and gestures. What, he wondered, did he do or say that led their relationship to this point?
Why did she want to keep him there? Was...was that what he deserved?
Gallus heard a sound in the distance, and shrieked as he ducked and crawled underneath the dumpster. Silence returned to the back alley once more, but Gallus remained in his spot, laying there and closing his eyes. Tomorrow, he would attempt to clean himself up. Tomorrow, he promised himself, would be a new beginning this time.
And next time, he would think twice before letting another creature be the light in his life. He could do without that light.
Gallus walked with both his mothers by his side, occasionally glancing at his friends as they followed Twilight to the School of Friendship. His heart felt full, overflowing even, with the emotions that he’d held back for too long. Resting his wings over his mothers and allowing a small smile to appear on his beak, he witnessed Twilight step to the magical lock over the school’s entrance, before a voice called out behind them.
“Twilight!”
Gallus stopped, tucking his wings back to his sides, as he looked over his shoulder. His beak nearly hit the floor when he saw a pony that resembled a swan with a tri-colored mane that flowed on its own. Sporting a set of wings and horn like Twilight, the tall mare gently landed on the ground as she approached Twilight.
“I was so relieved to get your letter!” Celestia beamed down at Twilight.
The purple mare blushed and glanced the other direction, and before Gallus could think twice of it, he was face-to-face with an old hag that he knew all too well.
“Don’t expect any welcome party from me!” Grandpa Gruff growled, biting Gallus’ head feathers. “It’s time to get you away from these two-faced jerks and back home!”
“This is his home now.”
Gallus felt magic surrounding his entire body as he was pulled out of Grandpa Gruff’s grip and levitated to Starlight’s side. Trixie stood in front of Gallus as she used her magic to shove a paper in Grandpa Gruff’s face. Gallus had a hunch regarding which paper it was, as Grandpa Gruff grabbed the paper and read it over, his already wide and buggy eyes widening even more as he continued reading.
“How...he was…” Grandpa Gruff stammered before throwing the paper back at the unicorns. “Horseshit! You can’t be telling me that you’re a pony now! Quit with these games and return to Griffonstone!”
“Technically, none of us are going back home,” Ocellus pointed out. “Sorry, Thorax.”
“How do you suppose you’re going to get in?” Thorax asked, pointing his hoof in direction of the lock.
“Well, Twilight can when she’s done flirting over there,” Starlight remarked, speaking the last few words louder as she glanced over at her former teacher.
Twilight’s ears perked up as she ceased speaking with Celestia, turning around and snapping the lock with the magic from her horn. Just as Gallus and the creatures around him started to cheer, a portal opened up, revealing Chancellor Neighsay.
“Who dared remove my seal?” Chancellor Neighsay growled.
Gallus wrapped his wings around his mothers once more as Twilight and Chancellor Neighsay went back and forth, the purple alicorn stating that her school would follow its own rules. The fact that she managed her argument without the other leaders declaring a national war astounded the griffon. Chancellor Neighsay’s face eventually twisted before he hissed one final statement about the destruction of Equestria, turning around and jumping back into the portal.
It had been two days since the reopening of the school, and Gallus had finally found himself in Pinkie Pie’s party cannon once more. With the party canon pointed towards the trees in the distance, Gallus kept all of his limbs close to his sides as he braced himself.
“Gallus…” Sandbar frowned, staring at the griffon from several feet away.
“Trust Pinkie Pie, she says that nobody has died from this,” Gallus reassured him.
“Yet,” Pinkie whispered as she lit a match against the cannon’s rope.
Gallus felt his body being launched out of the cannon, another emotional high surging throughout his body as he felt himself spiraling out of control. His heart started racing inside his chest as he thought of Sandbar’s warnings. Just as he saw the trees closing in, he felt something catch him and carry him away from the trees. Glancing up at Silverstream, the hippogriff grinned at him.
“Thank you,” Gallus whispered as she set him down, landing beside him.
She hugged the griffon, nuzzling his neck briefly before pulling away as their friends arrived on the scene.
“Thank Celestia you caught him in time,” Sandbar panted. “Gallus, you’re going to kill me one of these days. Stay safe, okay?”
Gallus stared at each and every one of his friends, their fur and scales shining brightly in the sunlight. They all looked back at him, either wide-eyed at his near injury or grinning in his presence. And he could feel something from the five of them that he hadn’t felt in many months.
In that moment, he felt like he was worth it after all.