//------------------------------// // The Griffon That Would be Queen // Story: Rise of Griffonstone // by PonyPixel //------------------------------// A long time ago, the kingdom of Griffonstone was in ruins. The griffons there were greedier than dragons and it was every creature for themselves to grab much gold they want. Thankfully, this was brought to an end when King Grover presented the Idol of Boreas. With this, the griffons entered an era of peace and harmony in their society. The Idol was passed down from generation to generation until it ended up in the claws of King Guto. He and his guards were attacked by vicious cyclops, who stole the Idol. While making his escape, the cyclops ended up falling into the ravine and took it with him, losing that golden glory forever. Without the Idol of Boreas, Griffonstone, ever since that, fell back into its old habits, it was every griff for themselves. It was so bad, some griffons decided to split up and form their gang. Years have passed, and a few griffons would start to find some more valuable than the Idol. Gilda, Gabby, and Gallus were managing to befriend ponies and other creatures. Then one day, the Gold Gang returned. However, they weren’t planning on the griffons warming up to the other kingdoms and taking down their long reign of tyranny. After a massive rescue mission by saving the prisoners and miners, talk began going around about a new ruler for Griffonstone, Gilda. Gilda is lying in her bed, staring at the ceiling while she was deep in thought. She sat up to look out the window and look at how much Griffonstone had come since the reconstruction had started. Any building that was falling apart had been replaced with a much stronger-looking structure. She was happy this was happening, but she noticed a few young griffons flying around without any parent insight. This was one of the major issues that needed to be fixed and Gilda knew she’d be the first one they’d be looking for a solution. If only she knew how. There were a couple of things that needed to be done, and Gilda knew she’d have to go outside sometime. With a deep sigh, Gilda walked outside to see what she could do. She walked past a couple of griffons, though he was looking for three specific griffons. He found two of them, both of which had metal limbs. One had metal wings, white feathers, yellow, and patches, and yellow talons that matched his beak. The other had a metal right arm, blue feathers, and fur, black talons with a matching beak, and a pair of goggles. “...Glynn, Gadget,” Gilda spoke. “Hello, Gilda,” Gadget greeted. “Hi,” Glynn also greeted. “How are you both doing?” “Fairly well,” Glynn replied. “Everything… seems to be better than before.” “Yeah, exactly. And you know I’ve been trusted to keep you two in line. I don’t fully understand why you wanted me to do that.” “It’s just… personal guilt,” Gadget responded, “since… you know… we were involved in the attack.” The griffon with a metal arm looked away, ashamed of herself. “Right. But you two have more than proofed you’ve made up for what you did during your time serving the Gold Gang. Anyways, both of you can go to Ponyville now.” Both Gadget and Glynn looked pretty happy about this. They quickly flew towards one of the houses and gathered up some supplies. Once they had gathered that, the two quickly flew away to Ponyville. Gilda could tell they were excited and felt happy for them. She then went to try and find the third griffon she had on her mind. Walking into the bakery she used to work at, Gilda found who was looking for at the counter. Greta was now in charge of the bakery until a permanent owner could be found. Gilda walked over to her girlfriend so they could talk. “Gilda! How are you doing?” Greta asked. “…Doing fine,” Gilda responded. “I just sent Glynn and Gadget back to Ponyville. I think they deserve it.” “No doubt. I’ve seen them work until 1 a.m.” “I don’t think it’s just the gang that they want to make up for.” “You mean… you mean Gallus?” Gilda just simply nodded. “Ah. I’d… probably feel the same way as you are.” Greta glanced away for a moment before she noticed Gilda looking down in the dumps. “Is there something else on your mind?” “It’s... It’s nothing.” “Come on, Gilda, I know what’s going on in your mind. Tell me.” The griffon just sighed before she grabbed a seat and sat with her girlfriend. "It’s the idea of being a queen. It just sprung on me instantly. I want Griffonstone to be better, but… I’m just one griffon.” “A griffon who helped infiltrate a mafia organization and took him down,” Greta reminded. “That takes so many guts. You didn’t want any of the griffons to get injured.” “And yet… that still happened to Gallus. He’s only a teen.” “Hey, it was bound to happen if you don’t get involved. Also, you’re a much better ambassador than Grandpa Gruff.” “Yeah, no doubt about that.” “Haven’t you asked the other leaders about any advice for leadership?” Gilda thought back to the meetings she attended since the Gold Gang’s downfall and now. There weren’t that many of them, but she never had asked about any leadership advice. “Maybe I should do that the next chance I get. I know the basics, but I think… Queen Novo knows more of the complex details.” “You see. That’s how you should be thinking. We can put our heads together and figure out what to do with this place.” “Are you sure you want to sell this? I mean… we had a nice time here.” “I know, but you were one of the reasons I wanted to work here. Now that you’re thinking of being a queen, I doubt that you’ll have time to be baking pastries. It’s not the same when I’m doing this on my own.” They had a couple of predicaments at the moment when they desperately wanted solutions. “Yeah… I should go and ask the leaders for advice right now,” Gilda noted. “You do what you have to,” Greta responded, “I’ll keep an eye out for another customer.” Gilda smiled, hugged her girlfriend, then left to get some advice from friends. Meanwhile, in Ponyville, Gallus was struggling to walk forward in between two bars. Some nurses stayed beside him while Silverstream waited at the end of bars as their friends stood nearby. “Come on Gally,” she exclaimed in support. “You’re almost there.” The blue griffon panted as he struggled to keep standing. Still, he kept going, step after step. He panted as kept getting closer to the hippogriff. Eventually, with one last step, Gallus managed to get to the end of the bars and promptly collapsed into Silverstream’s arms. The griffon was out of breath as his girlfriend set him down on a chair. “You did it,” Silverstream congratulated. Gallus managed to smile as he took a minute to catch his breath. “It seems that you’ve almost fully recovered from your injuries,” Nurse Redheart commented. She checked her clipboard to see how far he came. “Ah! It seems all you have to worry about now are your wings. At least you’re able to walk now.” “Yep, I still feel the pain from there,” Gallus responded. He looked at his weak wings, which had not been used since he first got bandaged up. “You recovered pretty fast,” Sandbar noted. “I’m sure you’ll be able to get back into the air again soon.” This helped with Gallus’s confidence. “Thanks a lot, Sandbar,” Gallus smiled. “And, Mr. Gallus, before you go, I recommend that you must do wing push-ups as a practice. It should take as long as the rest of your body. No rush whatsoever. You may leave now, and a good day.” “Thanks, doc!” With that information of knowledge, Gallus and the rest of the young six left the hospital to return to the school. Gallus tried walking their most of the way, but he wore himself out in the process, meaning Yona had to carry him the rest of the way. “It’ll be great to have you flying again,” Smolder said. “Yeah, it sure will,” Gallus agreed weakly. “We could have another race if we have time.” “That sounds cool.” “You know, those gems have been helping out a lot,” Silverstream commented. “How else do you think they’re going to be used?” “I don’t know. It’s hard to say since they were mostly used for weaponry,” Ocellus commented. The friends had seen what these gems were capable of, and they were pretty dangerous. “Speaking of which, does anyone know how Griffonstone is doing?” Sandbar asked. “I heard that Gilda’s bakery is for rent,” Silverstream noted. “I wonder who’s gonna buy it.” Gallus just remained silent and let his friends discuss their theories. They knew he wanted nothing to do with Griffonstone. Halfway back to school, Yona looked up in the sky and could see two familiar griffons flying towards them. Glynn and Gadget saw the kids walking on the ground and decided to land and chat. However, they weren’t sure what to say once they saw their son on Yona’s back. “Oh…. Gallus,” Gadget said. “How… Are you doing okay?” The young griffon just looked between his parents feeling relieved but slightly annoyed he hadn’t seen them until now. “I’m almost finished with physical therapy,” he informed flatly. “That’s good to hear,” Glynn commented. “Have you heard anything about Quartz yet?” “He’s still inside,” Ocellus informed. “He says he doesn’t have anywhere to go. Not to mention his missing leg.” “That’s why we’re here,” Gadget informed. She was carrying a duffle bag, which she opened up to reveal some metal parts. “This is what I’ve got to make Quartz’s new leg. All I need is the measurements of his leg, so it’ll fit him perfectly.” “I can show you where he is,” Ocellus spoke. “Thank you. That’s very kind of you. Lead the way.” Gadget placed the pieces bag into her bag and followed the changeling back to the hospital, leaving Glynn with the rest of the students. The griffon with metal wings felt it would be good to try and break the ice. “I’m… I’m hoping that you all have been doing well in the academy,” Glynn said. “So far so good, sir” Sandbar informed. “Nothing too eventful has happened in class.” “Any plans… like homework or something?" “I was thinking of having a pool party on the best weekend we get,” Silverstream informed. “Are you going to use your shard?” "Of course, I will." “Well, I’d like to stop by and see what happens to other creatures when they use it. But anyway, I’d like to see this school of yours and wanna see how the students are doing. I mean… despite me being part of that group before, I hope they understand me.” Glynn followed the rest of the students to the school, noticing that Gallus had yet to say a word since he met up with them. Gadget followed Ocellus back to the hospital. A little while later, they arrived at Quartz’s room. “Here it is,” Ocellus said to her. She opened the door and Gadget saw him on the bed. He had just finished the meal that was brought to him and was now just reading a book. The kobold looked up at his guests, the griffon he was pleased to see. "Eyy! Gadget, long time no see,” Quartz chuckled. "Hello, Quartz," the griffon responded. She grabbed a seat while Ocellus left so she could get back to school and see how Gallus was doing. “How are you feeling?” “Better. Just wish I could leave this place. I felt like I’m getting in the way and I’m almost finished with this book.” “That’s why I’m here.” Gadget placed down her duffle bag and took out some measuring tape to scale the kobold’s remaining leg. “Oh, good. A new leg is just what I need. I thought the princess wasn’t going to through with that idea.” "Well, there other things to take care of. Such as the miners that were rescued and the reconstruction of Griffonstone.” “And… how’s that going?” “Fairly alright. I’m one of the few in that town that’s been helping. Since it’s practically a charity event, no griff is helping out… unless they get paid to do so.” Gadget frowned as she began writing notes as Quartz could tell something else was on her mind. “Is there anything else bothering you?” Gadget let out a depressed sigh. “I want to make up for something I had no control over and I want to spend time with my son, Gallus.” She brought her claws to her face and groaned. "It feels like I can only do one. If I try and help him, I leave the others griffons to clean up messes made by others. But if I help Griffonstone, I feel like I’m still a bad mother to him!" It sounded like Gadget was at her limit. Quartz thought about his words carefully. “Listen, Gadget, I’m not the parenting type,” he spoke, "But I can understand your problem. I don’t think you should be worried about it. You have Glynn to help you. I’m sure you’ve both more made up for your mistakes. You’re here now and you can make it up to Gallus.” Those words helped cheer up the griffon as Quartz looked over to his wheelchair. “Could you help me up, I could probably use some fresh air. Maybe we could check on how the boys are doing.” Gadget felt a bit better after hearing this. She helped the kobold into the chair. She then packed up her things and the two of them left the hospital to check on the students. Back with Glynn, after a quiet walk, they made it to the school where all of the students were minding their own business. Several of them could see Glynn enter. They knew he wasn’t like most of the gang members, but the thought of the infamous team was too much for some of them caused them some anxiety and they decided to stay from the disabled griffon. Glynn simply sighed as Gallus didn’t like their reactions. “You know you’re one of the reasons they got out of there, right?” he questioned. “Don’t hold it against them,” Glynn spoke. “They’re some of the lucky ones.” The way he said that made the young five shiver a bit. Sandbar walked over to Yona to try and help Gallus off her back. The young griffon still felt weak, but still tried his best to stand on his legs, which shook when he put his weight on them. His father walked to his side in case he collapsed. “Let’s take this one step at a time.” Gallus just nodded. He was still tired from trying to walk from the hospital so talking would take a little more wind out of his lungs. With Glynn by his side, the weak griffon took one step at a time, feeling himself getting stronger with each one. Gallus was feeling more confident and Glynn started helping him out a little less. The father might’ve overcompensated as his son began to struggle again. Yona was about to step in and help, but Gallus declined. He would’ve spoken, but Glynn could see he would have to explain. “He’s not going to get better until he does the work himself. He needs to do more and more of the work.” He looked down at the young griffon, who simply smiled. Gallus took another breath as he kept trying to walk with his father sticking by his side. They took a minute to stop so Gallus could his breath. He was at least able to sit up without assistance. “I’m sorry we couldn’t be there when you needed up,” Glynn apologized. “It’s okay,” Gallus responded. “Somebody had to rebuild Griffonstone. How’s Gilda doing?” Gilda was flying out of Griffonstone at the moment. She looked around and could see she was heading into a hot rocky terrain. Gilda was flying into the Dragon Lands and looking for one particular dragon. Going in for a landing, Gilda looked around. About five minutes of searching later, she could see a blue dragoness sitting in a pool of lava, relaxing. The Dragon Lord looked over to see Gilda, figuring something must be up. Ember got out of the lava and walked over to the griffon to chat. “Hey, Gilda,” the dragoness said, “What brings you here?” “Pardon me if I disturbed you, but I… I need some advice,” Gilda responded. “I’m going to be the new queen soon and I need to know how I keep Griffonstone from falling back down to where it was when the Idol was lost.” Ember thought for a moment. “Well, griffons aren’t as tough as dragons, but we do seem to share greed. I could give you some tips, but if you want some tips for compassion, you should be talking to Thorax. But let’s get started with figuring out some conflict. Let’s say… you have a griffon trying to purchase some food from the market. Normally, it would cost two bits, but the dealer has risen the price to five and refuses to give a reason for doing so.” “Uh-huh. I’d tell that punk to give a reasonable price or he could pay a fine.” “Good. Now, how about one where a griffon steals some food to feed their sick kid because they’re low on funds?” Gilda thought about this as it was a tough choice. Stealing was wrong of course, but then again the metaphorical griffon was in a tricky spot and she had seen some griffons desperate for food. “Depending on the severity, I might give him a light sentence. Maybe just doing the dirtiest work nobody else in town wants to do.” “Hmm, sounds like a fitting punishment. Then again, I don’t know too much about griffons like you. How about something like…” Ember thought for a moment. She was trying to think of a scenario that could stump Gilda. “How about one where you have to choose to help one griffon that’s... got a cure for a disease that could kill you in a week, or save a whole town.” This question looked like to stump the griffon. Gilda thought about this for half a minute before she gave up and tried to change the subject. “Any other leader tips you recommend?” “Of course. You have to make sure that you don’t have the common folk intimidate you. Once they know someone scares you, they’re likely going to exploit that.” “Got it. Sounds pretty simple. I did blend in with a dictator so that should prove I’ve got guts.” “That’s right. Plus, you were the one who helped deal that final blow that knocked that griffondown. They’ll make sure not to mess with you.” The two shared a fist bump as Gilda looked to have more confidence in herself. “Thanks, Ember. And you know, I’ve been planning on asking Thorax and Novo about other advice.” “That’s a good idea. Changelings do seem to be better at compassion than most dragons, and Queen Novo has a lot of experience keeping her kingdom in line with planning. Have you tried asking Rutherford?” “I would… but yaks are like dragons, just with broken grammar and forethought. Uhh… Don’t tell Rutherford that. I don’t want to have any of my body parts replaced.” “Right. Anything else you need from me?” “I’ll drop by if I need anything else. I gotta go. Thanks for your advice.” She quickly took off leaving the Dragon Lord to relax before another problem showed up and she would have to fix it. Back in Ponyville, Gallus and Sandbar showed Glynn their dorm room. Here’s our dorm room,” Sandbar said to Glynn, who went inside with them. “Hmm, not bad,” Glynn commented, slightly closing the door behind. “It’s not much, but it’s home,” Gallus noted. He lied down on the ground and tried putting his wings underneath him. “Seriously, Gallus? Are you trying to do push-ups now?” Sandbar exclaimed. “Hey, I want to get back in shape.” “You barely made it out of the hospital. You need to rest.” “I’d rather listen to your friend, Gallus,” Glynn commented. “You might make yourself worse if you push yourself too much.” The father picked up his son and placed him down on his bed. “You have to rest after what you went through.” Gallus just sighed, knowing he was going against two creatures that he cared about. He was feeling fairly tired so he took their advice. They heard a knock on the door. “Come in,” Sandbar called. The door opened and was surprised to see Gadget and Quartz enter. The mother was a little tense when she saw her son again. Quartz, on the other hand, was happy to see Gallus again. “Hey, Gallus,” the kobold said. “Feeling better?” “Just about… almost,” the blue griffon responded. “Just got to work on my wings and I’ll be good as new.” “That’s good to hear. I might need some help getting back on my feet.” He chuckled as he looked down at where his leg was missing. “This might not be the best room to do this,” Gadget commented. She looked around at all of the flammable materials. “Boys, do you know a place here where I can put his legs together?” “I don’t think that’s a good idea on school ground,” Sandbar warned. Gadget wasn’t used to being outside of her lab, so she wasn’t sure where she could build Quartz’s leg. “You can check with Headmare Starlight,” Gallus spoke. “I’m sure she’ll be able to help.” “Great. I’ll just check with her real quick.” Gadget walked away, leaving the boys to themselves. She halted, realized that she didn’t get the directions. She went back and opened the door again. “Sorry, where’s the headmare’s office? I need the directions.” “Go straight and then turn left. You’ll see two big doors on your right,” Sandbar replied. “That’s the headmare’s office.” “Noted. Thanks again.” Gadget then left again to the office. She was in deep thought when she headed got closer to the Headmare’s office. Entering, the unicorn was filing papers when she saw Gallus’s mother walk in. “Oh, Gadget,” Starlight exclaimed, set her papers aside, stood up, and trotted towards her to greet her. “Hello. It’s nice to see you, mother of Gallus.” She shook her claw with her magic. Gadget chuckled when she said that. “Thanks a lot, madam. This is a very nice place.” “I appreciated it. Speaking of Gallus, have you met him already?” “I sure do, and he’s currently taking a rest. And…” she put down her duffel bag and grabbed her supplies out. “You know me and Glynn were part of the gang before, and I was a blacksmith… making effective weapons and strong armors. Now, I’m also wanting to finish making a new leg for a kobold named Quartz, since his leg was chopped off during the attack. You know a good place around here where I can build it?” “There’s a lab, but it isn’t being used at the moment. I could have someone else help you.” “Um... I just need the room and some tools.” “Alright. If you say so.” Gadget gave a nervous smile and a thumbs up before she turned away to look for the lab. After searching for a couple of minutes, she found the lab and set down her duffle bag on one of the tables. Glynn arrived shortly after while pushing Quartz in his wheelchair. “Need any help with this?” Glynn asked. Gadget looked at the parts that would make up the kobold’s leg but then thought back to their son. “Um… I think I can manage it. Plus, I’m sure that Quartz would like to help." "I mean… yeah… the leg is for me," the kobold noted. “If you say so,” Glynn commented. “I’m going to check on Gallus again.” “…You… You do that,” Gadget spoke. “I’ll find you if I need anything.” The two griffons shared a kiss before Glynn went back to their son. Gadget then handed a welder’s mask to Quartz, who put it on as he saw her take out a blow torch. As the griffon started work on the leg, Quartz wanted to ask a few questions. “Are you still nervous about Gallus?” the kobold asked. Gadget sighed as she put down her blow torch and removed her mask. “I just can’t… It’s been so long. I have to finish your leg, but… Gallus is going to be eighteen soon. Then he’s going probably move in with his girlfriend and…” She paused before lying her head on the counter. “I should’ve been there for him. Glynn and I should’ve just run from the gang. It’s better than having Gallus being an orphan or growing up to be a killer.” Quartz could hear Gadget starting to weep from guilt. He rolled over to his friend tried to make her feel better. “If it helps, I was a part of the kobold clan since I was hatched,” he spoke. “Never enjoyed the part of ‘killing dragons.’ Maybe Gallus would’ve been the same.” Gadget felt a little upset hearing that, but she could understand what Quartz was getting at. There would’ve been a chance Gallus wouldn’t turn out like most of the griffons in that infamous gang. Still, it would be better if he didn’t know anything about the gang at all, but… then maybe he wouldn’t have met her or Glynn. She just sighed again not being sure what to think. Glynn had a feeling that he had forgotten something and was about to check the lab until he heard what his wife had said. He knew how she felt and just simply left to check on their son, not knowing how to cheer her up. Meanwhile, Gilda had made it to the changeling hive and was sitting with Thorax, discussing leadership skills over some tea. “It’s going to be hard to find a balance between kindness and sternness,” the changeling king commented. “That’s what I’m afraid of,” Gilda sighed. She gave a sip of her tea as she looked around the hive, seeing plenty of changelings doing their things. “Your kind used to be love leeches right?” Thorax was taken aback by that. “I… wouldn’t say that.” Okay… Sorry for being blunt.” “It’s okay. Just remember, you need to take into consideration other creatures’ sides of the story.” “Like if a griffon at the market has to raise the prices to make ends meet.” “Exactly.” Gilda set down her cup as she looked up and thought. “Something else on your mind?” “Well, you think I’ve got time to make it to Mount Aris before night?” “Hmm, if you leave now, then maybe.” Gilda looked up to see how low the sun was in the sky. “Maybe I should get going. Thanks for your advice… and the tea, that was some very good and soothing tea.” The griffon that would be queen quickly took off, hoping she would get to Mount Aris before night. The sun moved lower in the sky as Gilda pushed herself to get to the kingdom of the hippogriffs. Eventually, she made it to Hippogrifia by sunset. Most hippogriffs looked up when they saw the soon-to-be queen land to take a breather. After getting some air back in her lungs, Gilda walked around until she came across Queen Novo, who was surprised to see her. “Gilda,” the queen gasped. “What brings you here?” “I came here for some advice, your majesty,” Gilda responded, still fairly tired from her long trip. “I need tips for when I become queen of Griffonstone. Ember and Thorax have already told me some about being forceful and understanding, now I need some planning skills.” Queen Novo understood the griffon’s cry for help. "Hmm, let’s sit down for this. You can join Skystar and me for dinner." Gilda liked the idea of having a meal after her long trip and accepted the offer. The main course appeared to be fish, something quite common around Mount Aris. As Gilda enjoyed her meal, she was fairly curious about the meal considering one of the most known facts about the hippogriff were their pearl shards to turn them into seaponies. “Okay, so... Is there any issue with seaponies about eating fish?” Gilda asked. Novo had a feeling this would be a question her guest would ask. “It’s not an issue to anybody I know her or in Seaquestria," the queen explained. “That’s a fact, most fish each other kind of fish. It’s a circle of life thing.” “Right. Now, the reason why I’m here. How do you keep your kingdom from collapsing in on itself?” "You need to have a good foundation for your kingdom. For example, there should be laws to keep creatures in line.” Gilda had a feeling this was going to be a bit of an issue. “In addition, you should keep the financial situation in mind. You might want to write this down.” One of the other hippogriffs walked over to Gilda and had her a notepad with a pencil. The griffon wrote down what she had been told before looking back at the queen. “Anything else I’m missing?” “Well, there should likely be a fleet of guards. If there’s a threat, you’ll want a reliable team to help take care of it.” "Yeah, Canterlot’s military is so useful," Gilda muttered under her breath. Dinner carried on with Gilda getting more information on what could keep Griffonstone from falling back to rock bottom. As she explained more information, the more Novo noticed that Gilda was frustrated and worried. Eventually, the hippogriff thought it would be best to for herself to ask a question. “How’s Greta doing?” Gilda was about to instinctively write that down before she thought what she just heard. “Excuse me?” “You’re worried about your new role, and I don’t blame you. You don’t just have the other rules to help you, you have close friends like Gabby and Greta, the latter of which I’m sure love you very much.” Gilda blushed a little bit and tried to cover her face with the notepad. “It’s… very stressful. I mean, I’m going to bring a new era to a kingdom of greedy creatures.” “So did Ember and Thorax. They just needed some help to do it, and you can do it too.” This reassurance made Gilda feel a little more confident in herself. She looked back at the notes she had written. She looked at her plate which had the scraps she hadn’t eaten yet. “You can leave that there. It’s getting late.” Gilda was then handed a couple of bits which confused her at first until she heard the whistle coming from the station. “This is for a train ticket, isn’t it?” “Indeed. Have a safe trip home, Gilda. Don’t be afraid of asking for any more help. This is likely one of the most important changes of your life.” The griffon that would be queen thanked Novo for the advice then flew to the station to catch a train back home. Along the way back, she thought about what she had learned from the three leaders she asked. Her coronation was in a few days and Gilda could still think of a few issues that made her concerned about not being ready. That evening in Ponyville, Gadget was putting the finishing touches on Quartz’s new leg. Just as she installed a new gem when she heard a knock on the door. Glynn entered the room and was impressed with the look of the new leg. It looked quite similar to the kobold’s old one, but with a couple of hinges here and there but still looked well. “Wow, Gadget you did an amazing job,” he commented. “Thanks,” Gadget sighed. “Now we just need to test it.” “Maybe it can wait,” Quartz said pointing to the window. They looked to see the moon was starting to come out and the mechanic griffon figured out how late it was. “Huh, I guess time must’ve slipped past me,” she sighed. “How’s Gallus doing?” “He’s fine,” Glynn informed. "He’s sleeping right now. I’ve also been told that we can spend the night in the castle while we stay here. Come on, you need some rest too.” Glynn helped Quartz out of the lab and Gadget followed carrying the leg. They passed by their son’s dorm, where the mother stopped to peek inside. She saw Gallus sleeping tightly in his bed. Gadget continued down the hall and sadly went to find her room in the castle. She didn’t know what to think about this.