Not much of the day was eventful for anyone, especially for Gilda, who’ll soon be the queen of Griffonstone. She had gotten up from her bed in the castle’s bedroom, which was hard for her since it was one of the best ones she ever laid on, and occasionally checked with the other parents whose children were at school. It was among the same story as Gloria with Grayson. Either the parents gave an excuse for their behavior that held any water or they just ignored Gilda’s words like they have a language barrier. She vented her issues to Greta, who figured out an idea to let out some stress.
The evening arrived and many griffons were back home. Gustave le Grand got out of the bakery and was just about to close his new business down for the night. Until Gilda and Greta came by and walked into the bakery. “Eh, what brings you two here this late?” Gustave asked.
“Sorry for coming in late,” Gilda apologized, “but Greta said that she thought it was nice to have a nice snack after a long day of dealing with griffons who… presumably shouldn’t be parents.”
The bakery’s new owner thought about this for a moment. “If you were just some random griffon, I’d be pushing you out right now. Nonetheless, since you’re going to be a queen, I can make an exception. Wait here, I’ll prepare something special.”
The chef walked away to the back of the bakery as his customers sat down at the new table had set up. “Wow… How long has this been here?” Gilda questioned.
“Who knows,” Greta shrugged. “He did say that he was planning on remodeling this place a little after your coronation.”
“Nice.” The future Queen rested her head on her talon while looking out the nearby window.
“Are you still upset about what’ll happen?”
“You’d be too if you can’t get a single griffon listening to you!” Gilda groaned in frustration unsure what to do.
“Well, give them something more than a slap on the face. Try explaining to them the punishments they’ll get if they don’t clean up their acts. The worse their acts were, the worse the penalty they’ll get, even for a murder or a robber.”
Gilda remembered some of the consequences she and Twilight had talked about. She has said that Equestria is very strict when it comes to punishments for criminals who’ve done sinister acts to the common, and seldomly or periodically gave them death sentences and execution depending on their crimes given to the Supreme Court. Giving them second chances is often, again, depending on their actions, if they sincerely and truly promise to never do such a thing again. Gilda understands why Equestria’s justice system is very adequate, despite ponies having their rights, they knew about the consequences following that and wanted to have a peaceful lifestyle rather than a chaotic and disorderly one. A confident smile reappeared on her beak.
“You’re right, Greta! They should and must understand the harsh consequences they’ll face if they never listen. First thing tomorrow, we’re laying down the law.” Greta smiled back at her girlfriend’s confidence returning.
“See, there’s a smile I’m looking for.” A few minutes later, Gustave walked back with a light blue box of half a dozen red velvet cupcakes decked with whipped cream frosting.
“I present to you a preview of one of the pastries on your special day,” Gustave announced. He handed the cupcakes to the two impressed customers.
“Wow, Red velvet! You went the extra mile, le Grand,” Gilda remarked complimentarily.
“Anything for a queen who’s willing to rebuild the kingdom.”
She handed the chef his payment. “Thanks a lot, chef. I’ll see you later.”
“You too.” Both Gilda and Greta waved their goodbyes to him and took their cupcakes home to them.
“Gilda,” Greta asked, “you think we should spend the night in the castle?”
“Hmm, well… it’s technically mine, right?” Gilda questioned.
“Yeah… you’re correct.” The two griffs flew back to the refurnished castle and made themselves comfy in the dining room. While the cupcakes weren’t that big of a meal, the two enjoyed the treats anyway. Besides, they weren’t that hungry anyway.
“You know, Greta, I don’t want to do anything extreme for punishments. These will be only used for the big cases.”
“Right, like with Grayson… To be honest, you know he’s gotta go instantly. It’s going way too far for his broken family.”
“Agreed. Never pulling his weight and whatever he has done to Gloria and Geena.”
“I swear if he’s letting his aggression out on them…”
“Greta, take it easy. As the new queen, I’ll make sure he’s properly taken care of. I’ll run by the new laws once Twilight takes care of them. We need to wait until then.”
“Alright then. I doubt the other griffons will understand you.”
“They’re not used to change. They’ll learn soon.” The future queen took a big bite off her cupcake, leaving a bit of frosting on her beak, which Greta noticed something and giggled about it. “What? What’s so funny?”
“You… got something on your beak.” Greta pointed to the location of the frosting, which her girlfriend quickly noticed. Gilda gave an embarrassed laugh as she wiped some of it off.
“You want some?” Both lovers laughed at this before leaning closer to nuzzle Gilda. Neither of them said anything as they embraced each other warmly.
Gallus wasn’t doing as well. Geena had finished her paper before he did and Gallus hasn’t seen her since. Even at dinner in the cafeteria, she was nowhere to be found. Gallus would’ve asked one of the other griffons, but he felt like what he said to Geena had damaged his relationships with them. The young blue griffon simply sat and ate his dinner, often just stirring his utensil while staring at his plate. His friends were concerned about him and tried to get him to talk.
“Gally, don’t worry. Geena will soon forgive you,” Silverstream reassured. “She needs some more time to get hold of herself.”
“Yeah, my dad has said that already,” Gallus muttered. He placed his fork down and held his head on his claw. “I can’t believe I said that.”
“You said you were furious,” Sandbar reminded. “No one thinks straight when they’re enraged.”
“But to bring up that kind of topic?” Gallus then glanced at Ocellus. “Celly, how’d you feel if I brought up Chrysalis to insult you?”
“I’d…. likely to lose my control,” the changeling responded. The tone of her voice made Gallus add another thing to his list of things he shouldn’t have said. The griffon banged his head on the table a few times until his friends stopped him.
“Gallus, stop beating yourself up over this!” Sandbar demanded in an imperative tone. “Just not to think about and…” His words were interpreted by Garry, barged into the conversation.
“Sorry for the interruption,” the orange griffon spoke, “but have any of you seen Geena? I’ve been looking for her since she was in detention..” The young six glanced at each other before all shaking their heads.
“Garry, I apologize for what I said earlier to her that made her cry,” Gallus apologized. “If there’s anything I can do to help…”
“Gallus,” Garry raised his claw, gesturing him to stop talking. “I understand and I don’t blame you for that. I’d be jealous too.” Garry walked away still wondering where Geena was.
“I think I know where Geena could be,” Ocellus spoke.
“You mean our treehouse?” Silverstream asked. The changeling nodded in confirmation. “I’ll go check it out with Garry.” The hippogriff flew to help the griffon search the treehouse while Gallus laid his head on the table with a sigh.
Silverstream has caught up with Garry and told him where Geena could be, asking him if she’ll tag along with him to help. He accepted her request and they both left the school together and were about to go to the Treehouse of Friendship to find her. It was nighttime, so going to the Everfree Forest was risky and dangerous because the surroundings were pitch-black. Luckily the moon shines the reflected sun’s bright rays for them to see their way.
They’ve reached the treehouse and begin their search. They checked both inside and outside, but she was still nowhere to be found. They kept searching and searching, even in the tightest spaces. And again, still ain’t there. Until they heard the rustling of the leaves.
“What was that?” Silverstream freaked out.
Garry looked just in time to see a blue tail slip into a bush. He could tell who was hiding just by the tail color. “I think I know who’s there,” he said to Silverstream. “Wait here.”
He stealthily sneaks towards the hedge, and at the right moment, he tackles the one who’s hiding the bush, Geena. She freaked out and fiercely thrust Garry out, trying to make a run for it only to have Silverstream block her escape.
“Geena, what are you doing out here in the…” Silverstream paused as she noticed something from her, “middle… of the… night?” She saw some streaks of aqua across Geena’s face, starting from her eyes. “H… Have you been crying?”
“Get out of my way!” Geena shouted. She shoved Silverstream to the side, nearly making her collapse. Geena would’ve gotten away if Garry didn’t tackle her to the ground. “Gah! Garry, GET OFF ME!”
“Were you trying to run away?” Garry questioned, “…from us?!”
“I said get off!” Geena tried kicking the orange griffon in his stomach, but Garry wouldn’t budge. Even when she kept repeating this action. The pain was getting to her friend.
“Geena… please! Where do you think you were going?”
“Why won’t you let me go?!”
“I’m worried about you, that’s why! I know what your dad is like.”
“Shut up, Garry!” If kicking wasn’t going to work, Geena resorted to biting. She bit down on Garry’s arm, who retaliated by biting her wing. Silverstream was concerned about this and tried to separate them.
“You two, please!” she begged. “Stop brawling!” She jumped back when Geena tried biting her talon, which was annoying Garry.
“Seriously, Geena?” he questioned. “Are you going to act like that?”
“I SAID, SHUT UP!” Geena cried. Her eyes were beginning to water as she tried kicking again, only to have Garry catch her paws.
“Geena, this needs to stop now! Gallus and Gus indeed crossed the line, but they want to apologize to you.” Geena kept on kicking while listening to her friend, with each kick getting weaker.
“They were just angry,” Silverstream spoke, trying to help with the situation. “We all do bad things when our minds aren’t in the right place.” Geena wiped her tears away as she was trying her best not to cry.
“Geena, please,” Garry begged. “You can’t act like this.”
“Then what should I act like then?!” Geena snapped. “If I listen to him but don’t get it exactly right, I get a smack. I break something by accident and try to explain myself, a punch! Answer his questions with the slightest tone? I get kicked on my spleen!” Tears were starting to pour down her face like waterfalls. She stopped kicking Garry as he gave a sympathetic look and she loudly wailed afterward. “What did I ever do to deserve him?” She tried to say more but could only muster a couple of sniffles before bawling into her friend’s chest while wailing.
Silverstream was covering her beak, flabbergasted by what she had heard. Garry kept hugging his friend before he turned to the hippogriff. “You go back first, Silverstream,” he spoke quietly. “We’ll meet you back later.”
Silverstream just nodded and flew out of the forest while Geena let out all of her repressed emotions.
After getting back to school, Silverstream told her friends, who’re just finished their supper and were about to go to their dorm rooms, what she heard from Geena. Needless to say, they were horrified. “…And that’s what I’ve heard from her.”
“Yikes! That’s terrible!” Ocellus cried.
“What kind of father does that?!” Yona questioned.
“I would help Geena with her dad if she wants,” Smolder spoke. “I’ll be ready if he goes wrong with our friend.” She cracked her knuckles as a thumping sound could be heard. The friends looked to see Gallus banging his head against a wall.
“C’mon, Gallus!” Sandbar cried. “Stop! Why the heck are you doing to yourself!?”
The blue griffon stopped banging his head so he could look at his friends. “I want to forget what I said to Geena,” Gallus answered. “It’s better to forget than remembering it again.” He soon resumed head butting the wall before Silverstream placed her claw in between him and the wall to stop him.
“Gallus!” Silverstream scolded, “Do not hurt yourself over this! This is getting absurd!”
“I insulted someone who’s beating treated like a punching bag. I might as well…” He paused before he looked at Ocellus, knowing what he would say could offend her. He was about to bang his head on the wall again, only to be caught by Silverstream’s claw.
“For goodness sake, Gallus! Stop!”
“What’s going on in here?” called a voice. The Young Six looked to see Glynn and Gadet enter the room. “Gallus, are you trying to injure yourself?” his father suspected.
“I… I fully deserve it this time,” the young griffon muttered.
“What are you talking about,” Gadget asked.
The students all looked at each other before Silverstream decided to answer the question.
“It’s about Geena’s dad,” she spoke.
“What!?” Gadget and Glynn said in shock.
“I and Garry went out to find her and…” As she explains about she heard about the scenario with Geena, both of them were already feeling disgusted towards Grayson. The explanation was something that the parents weren’t expecting.
“And that’s it,” Silverstream finished.
“How could… out of all of the griffons!” Gadget cried. “I swear if I ever see him…”
“Gadget, should we not stoop to his level?”
“And what level were you on when you whacked Gideon with your wing?” Glynn didn’t have a response to this. He just stood there thinking that whatever he said would contradict himself. There was a long awkward silence. Nobody quite knew what to say.
Gallus read the room and simply reported, “I’m going to bed.” He walked away to his dorm, leaving his parents at a stalemate.
“Gadget…. I’m not sure what to say here,” Glynn admitted.
“I do,” Gadget spoke.
“Are you seriously going to beat that father up?”
“It would give him a taste of his own medicine.”
“…Gadget, listen, I know you want to help Geena, but there, her father has to be dealt with professionally.”
“Glynn, we can do something other than just tell somebody off and give them a slap on the wrist. He beats her! She’s only a teen, and she has a long life journey just like the rest of the students here, including Gallus.”
Glynn couldn’t find his words. The situation was upsetting and blunt. The parents and students went silent as they heard someone walking over to them. It was Geena and Garry, who didn’t say a thing with her simply staring at the floor as they passed by the parents and students. Silence remained in the room as Garry took his upset friend to her dorm.
Gallus wasn’t sure how to feel given what he knew. He arrived at his dorm room, together with Sandbar, and just simply lay in his bed staring up at the ceiling. He just sighed as he felt terrible about what he had said to Geena to make her feel so bad.
The next morning, the sun rose over Griffonstone. Gilda and Greta were fast asleep, snuggled up tight in the queen-sized bed. The sun shone through the sparkly clear huge window and hit the eyes of both griffons. They groaned, yawned, and stretched as they started waking up.
“Good morning,” Greta muttered.
“Good morning, Greta,” Gilda replied. Neither griffon was wanting to get out of bed, but Gilda knew she had a job to do. “I better go. We’ll be together again later, okay?” she blinked with a smile.
“Alright,” Greta chuckled. “See you later.” Gilda stepped out from under the covers, leaving Greta alone in bed. She slowly started getting up just in time to see her leaving the castle.
Gilda figured if she wasn’t able to get the parents to listen to her, she figured she would stop wasting her time and focus on other griffons who’re willing to listen. After grabbing a quick breakfast from Gustave’s bakery, and Greta catching up with her, they began flying around town and checking on other griffons Gilda hadn’t taken notice of before. While a couple of them were still stuck in the mud, a few of them had learned about Gilda taking charge of the kingdom. They wised up and decided to give some amount of respect to their future queen.
So far, Gilda was enjoying herself. However, her mood changed when she found Gloria, who was sitting down with her eyes being covered with her claws. Gilda even heard her… sobbing?
“Gloria?” She then stopped by. “Are you okay? …What’s going on?”
Gloria gave her the answer by revealing her left black eye. Gilda was shocked. “Sweet Grover! Gloria, what happened?!” Gilda asked in a concerned them.
“It’s… it’s Grayson,” Gloria answered. She stared the soon-be-queen dead in the eye while pointing at her bruise. “You see this right here? This is my life! The life I’ve been roped into because I trusted the wrong guy! Not only do I suffer this, but so does my daughter! And his reason for this? Geena got in trouble at school. And since she wasn’t home, Grayson took his aggression out on me!”
Gilda took a look at the upset mother and thought about the horrible treatment she and Geena had to go through. There was no doubt this was the last straw. “Gloria, say no more,” Gilda spoke. “I’m going to get some help and take care of Grayson… once and for all!” With that, the future queen flew off to get some serious help. If Grayson wants to play rough with them, she’d bring creatures that played rough too.
Back at the School of Friendship, the word had spread around about Geena’s horrible treatment from her father back home. The students felt sorry for her, making her outburst at Gallus feel more understandable. Several of them gave their concerns to her, which in turn was making Gallus feel worse about himself. He hardly said anything to anybody, which wasn’t helped by some of the looks he was given by the students on her side.
Glynn and Gadget stopped by some times to try and cheer their son up, but Gallus was still showing melancholy about losing his temper. He felt like one of the worst creatures in Equestria at the moment. His friends were getting concerned about him. They tried to talk with him, but they were lucky to get any words out of him. It was clear that Gallus felt like he was at rock bottom.
A moment before lunch, Gallus was trying to find a spot to be alone. That’s when he found Geena walking towards him. From the look at her impression, she was still feeling under the blue like him. Gallus felt a quiver as she slowly walks towards him. Both of them had a bit of bad blood with each other since yesterday, so Gallus wasn’t sure what to say since he didn’t think she wanted an apology; all he wants is to say sorry to her. The moment Geena stood in front of him, a few seconds of awkward silence has filled the air until she has something to say.
“Gallus,” Geena asked, “is it true you and the others have discovered a secret tunnel to Griffonstone?”
“Uhh… yes,” Gallus responded. “…Why did you ask?”
“I… I want to check on my mother. Maybe my dad has likely found out about the letter they got and that’s bad news for her.”
Gallus thought about what he had just learned last night. This felt like a chance where he can do something to make up for his mistake. “Okay, let’s make it quick,” Gallus sighed. “I’ll have a chat with you later after this. Follow me.”
A smile grew on Geena’s face as she followed Gallus to the library.
They arrived at the edge of the library to see a grate where Gallus and his friends have gone before in their previous adventures. After checking left and right to see nobody was looking, he removed the grate with some help from Geena, though he didn’t take notice of the saddlebags she was carrying. Gallus allows her to go first before he came in last. Once they were down in the tunnels, Gallus pulled the grate back in place, but it was heavy, and he hadn’t fully recovered from his injuries yet. The grate only partly covered up the hole as the two griffons made their way to Griffonstone. Gallus was going a bit slow though, which was concerning to Geena.
“Are you okay, Gallus?” she asked.
“Just… feeling fine,” Gallus panted. “Let’s all make sure that your mom is alright.” He forced his muscles to pick up the pace and lead the way with Geena behind him.
Back in the library, Terry was grabbing some books when he tripped over the grate that Gallus left out of place. “Ow!” the minotaur groaned. He looked at the loose grate before he tried pushing it back into place. “Who the heck moved that thing?”
Terry shrugged it off and went to check his books out before lunch.
Later, in the cafeteria, Garry looked around seeing that somebody was missing. “Geena?” he called out. “Geena!? Where are you!?” After failing to find his friend there, the orange griffon kept searching around the school. He saw Terry, who had stopped to check on his hoof again after his trip. Garry was confused about what he was doing. “Why are you checking your hoof?”
“Some idiot moved the grate in the library,” Terry explained.
“Which one? The one at the edge of the library?”
"Yeah, I think so. Why do you ask?"
“Uhh… Nothing, I only need to check something.” Garry quickly flew away as a confused Terry carried on towards the cafeteria.
Glynn and Gadget had decided to try and think of something to cheer up their son and were just heading to the cafeteria to talk with him. “Maybe he simply needs a day off of school,” Glynn suggested. “He’s been going through a lot lately.”
“Are you sure that’s wise?" Gadget asked. “I’m not sure if it’s at the point where he should put off his schoolwork.” Both griffons were suddenly taken by surprise when Garry flashed by them. “Hey, slow down!”
“Sorry, I’m in a hurry!” Garry replied. He made a beeline for the library, confusing Gallus’s parents. Wanting to know what was wrong, Glynn followed him with Gadget soon joining him.
They found Garry, struggling to move the grate out of way. He felt like it would’ve been harder if it wasn't for it being out of place. When he finally got it out of the way, he saw the parents walk in. “What are you doing?” Gadget questioned.
“There’s a secret tunnel that leads to Griffonstone, right there. I have a feeling that Geena went there. I’m going to get her!” He began climbing into the tunnel just missing Gadget trying to grab his tail.
“Kid, get back here! This place looks damn dangerous!” She jumped in after him with Glynn now getting concerned.
“Gadget, wait! I’m coming with you!” he cried. He dove in after his wife, who was busy chasing down the runaway teenager.
In Griffonstone, Gallus was struggling to push the plate out of the way. Geena did her best to help, but it was a workout for both of them. Geena had to help lift Gallus out of the tunnels after they were done. “You should rest here for now,” Geena suggested. “I’m going to just… check on my mom.”
“Okay… You do that…” Gallus sighed. He was out of breath and could barely move.
“Why are you so tired?”
“I did… some wing push-ups last night. Had trouble sleeping as well.”
“…Right.” Geena flew away, leaving Gallus to his rest, right beside the open hole.
Meanwhile, Geena flew until she arrived at her house, which is only a few meters from where Gallus is resting. Knowing that her dad was in there, she carefully opened the door, trying not to create any creaking noises. She could hear the audio coming from her dad’s film projector, and saw him just sitting still, staring at the screen. Geena stealthily snuck in and went to her room as fast as she can, and started to grab everything that was hers. It wasn’t that much, just some blankets and valuable items she kept hidden from her father, like her pocket watch that was missing an arm, a couple of bits, and even a ruby shard. She stuffed them all into her bags but felt that she needed a few more bits.
Desperate to get out fast, Geena snuck into her parent’s bedroom and quickly scavenged around for whatever amount of money she could find. Figuring her mother had hidden the money somewhere Grayson wouldn’t find it, Geena gave up her search and decided to just get out of there. In her haste, she unintentionally ended up slamming the door too hard. The sound grabbed Grayson’s attention.
He opened the door to see who opened and slammed it and could see Geena about to take off with her stuffed saddlebags, dropping a couple of bits while rushing. Just as she tried picking them up, she heard her father call out, “What are you doing here!?” Geena froze before she turned around to see Grayson approach her. Geena was terrified as he walked over to her.
“Oh… no!” Geena muttered frighteningly with fear in her eyes.
Back at the secret tunnel, Garry had wandered around a little bit until he got to the Griffonstone exit. He barely took notice of Gallus, who was just about to take a nap, and instead just flew away to find Geena. Gadget and Glynn eventually found their way to the exit, thanks to following Garry, and poked their heads out to see their worn-out son. “Gallus, what are you doing here?” the mother questioned.
Gallus looked up and saw both his parents climbing out of the hole. “Oh, hi,” he responded, now that he regained his energy. “I came here because Geena was worried about her mother.”
“And from what we learned,” Glynn spoke, “Garry is worried about her.” He helped his son step up and was about to help him step into the hole when they heard someone.
“Get away from her, ya beast!” called a voice, followed but some grunts that were mostly associated with pain.
“That sounded like Garry,” Gallus commented. Glynn was surprised with what he had heard, thus losing his focus and allowing Gallus to run off to where he heard Garry.
“Ah, for crying out loud, Gallus!” Gadget cried. She was starting to lose her patience with her son.
Gallus managed to find Garry, who was being pinned down by Grayson. Geena was desperately trying to get her dad off of his friend. “Dad, please, stop!” Geena pleaded.
“Stay out of this, kid!” Grayson ordered. He quickly shoved his daughter to the side as he pushed his claw down on Garry’s head, who was groaning. “Do you not understand that you should stay away from my daughter?”
“As if you treat her with respect, punk!” the orange griffon groaned with sarcasm. This comment got on Grayson’s nerves, so he pulled up Garry’s face before forcing his face into the dirt. Geena tried tackling her father to the ground and while it did get him off her friend, gasping for air. Geena tried to through a punch, but her dad was much stronger and ended up pinning her to a wall.
“You stupid son of a b****,” Grayson growled. “You’re a waste of space. I know pieces of s*** that have more value than you. It’s times like this that make me wonder why I didn’t just smash you before you hatched!” Gallus never thought he’d ever hear something that cruel. He quickly picked up a stick on the ground and ran over to smack him hard in the back of his head.
Grayson hit the ground and Geena wasted no time running over to Garry to make sure he was okay.
“Garry! Are you okay?”
“I’m alright,” Garry replied, still lying on the floor with his injuries.
Gallus's parents showed up to see the disaster. Gallus glanced back at them, letting his guard down for Grayson to grab him around his neck. "Who do you think you are!?" he roared. Gallus gasped for air as Gadget immediately thought back to her time with Gideon.
Without hesitation, she pounced at Grayson, decking him in the face with her metal clam. It left a back bruise on the abusive father’s face before looking up at Gadget. “DON’T YOU THINK ABOUT LYING ONE FINGER ON MY SON!” she roared.
“Oh yeah? Who's going to make me?" Gadget was about to show off something with her metal arm if it wasn’t for someone speaking up.
“Grayson!” called a voice. Everyone looked to see Gilda had returned, far from happy with what she was seeing. By this point, an audience started to build, watching the conflict ensue. “Enough is enough, I warned you about your actions! I have given you many chances but you haven’t changed a bit.”
“So what? All I see is a bunch of cripples, punks, and egg machines telling me what to do.”
“Egg machine… An egg machine? Are you trying to make everyone here hate you!? This ain’t a slum anymore, this is a prosperous society.”
Grayson just laughed, not taking anything seriously. “Who’s going to make me listen to you anyhow?”
“You’ll regret this… Garble!” Gilda then drew attention to a friend she brought over from the Dragon Lands. True to her word, Garble had followed her home to take care of the horrible excuse for a griffon. The dragon towered over Grayson, who was now looking as pale as a ghost. “Grayson, as I said, I’ve warned you so many times, and yet you chose to ignore me. Grayson, this is your last chance to make the right decision. Either… you get out of town and never come back again, or I have Garble here to let him deal with you in any way he chooses.”
Smoke puffed out of Garble’s nose as he cracked his knuckles. Grayson looked around at all of the griffons that chose to watch what was happening. Some were horrified with what they had witnessed, while most were disgusted by what they witnessed. With a growl, Grayson stood up. “Fine!” he huffed. “There’s nothing I want to do with this dump anyway!” He was about to walk back inside to grab his things, but Gilda stopped him by yanking on his tail.
"Did I tell you to pack your things? I only gave you one other choice; LEAVE!” Grayson was wanting to strangle Gilda right there and now, but he knew that Garble would do far worse things to him. With no chance of victory, he simply took off, flying away from the recovering kingdom with citizens throwing whatever items they had on hand at him. “And don’t even think about coming back!”
Geena watched her father fly away, leaving her speechless. “Are you okay?” Glynn asked, checking the bruises she and Garry had.
“I… I think so,” Geena responded. She looked speechless from what she witnessed. “He's… gone? For good?”
“Trust me, Geena” Gilda spoke, “I’m already thinking of punishments for him when he comes back.” Seeing her dad leave, therefore no longer being able to do anything to her was something Geena never thought would happen. She didn’t know how to react. She was overjoyed but she felt like crying.
Gloria flew in from the crowd over to her daughter, seeing her starting to cry. “Geena!” the mother gasped. She quickly hugged her daughter in an attempt to calm her down. “It’s okay, Geena. It’s over. We’re finally free. He’s out of our lives." Gloria could feel the waterworks coming on. She eventually joined in with her daughter’s crying with tears of joy, knowing the worst creature of their lives was gone.
It took a little bit for everyone to calm down from the drama. At this point, Gallus had checked over his griffon friends’ injuries. Aside from a few bruises, they were fine. Geena was still crying a couple of tears of joy, but she was quiet now. Everyone that witnessed Grayson being banished had quickly learned to wise up to Gilda.
“Citizens, listen up,” Gilda spoke, “I want to make sure about everyone here to follow orders, but I want to make one thing clear; I am no dictator like Gideon, it is different from a monarchy like Equestria has. Grayson was given plenty of chances, but he refused to listen. Even to the point of slamming the door in my face.”
“We’d never do that to you,” blurted out a random blonde griffon. He didn’t want to be banished or get beaten up by a dragon.
“I'm not going to do that to anyone. You’ll only find yourself in positions like that if you push your luck with the law.” Just then, Gabby had returned from her mail runs. She could see Gilda giving an announcement to everyone and felt a little awkward right now. The future queen saw the mail griffons and called her over. “Gabby, you’re here. Did you bring over the new laws?”
“Um, yes. Yes, I do.” Gabby responded. She pulled a scroll out of her saddlebag and handed it to Gilda. "What did I miss?"
“I’ll explain later.” Gilda opened the scroll up and began reading the laws that Twilight had recommended. While she did that, Gallus was still feeling down.
“Gallus?” Gadget called. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, mom,” Gallus responded. “I’m alright.”
“Are you? You still sound awful.”
“It’s just... I could’ve done something more than just hitting Geena’s dad with a stick. Heck, if I could start a domino effect that takes out of one of the worst gangs in the world, I could’ve at least gotten rid of one guy.” He looked beside him at Geena, Gloria, and Garry, who were all looking happier. “Yet… I still managed to get some creatures caught in the crossfire.”
He placed his face in his claws with his mother doing what she could to comfort him.
“I understand you just want to stand up for your friend, but you haven’t fully recovered.” Gallus looked at his wings, he was able to hold them up, but they still felt fairly weak. “I know what it’s like trying to make up for your mistakes, I’ve been doing that ever since the gang was disbanded. I tell you what, when we get back to Ponyville, we’ll get you flying again.”
Gallus smiled at this comment, but then looked over to Geena, who was approaching him. “Hey, Gallus,” she spoke. “I’m sorry about… not accepting your apology.”
“No, you don’t have to apologize,” Gallus responded. “It was mostly on me. I crossed a line. I’m sorry for reminding you of… him. It was a bad mistake I’ve made”
“It’s okay. I forgive you. He’s gone now, and we don’t have to worry about him anymore.” Geena looked in the direction her father flew away from, meekly smiling.
“Thank you, Geena. What I know is… that you’re as better as your friends like me and Garry. I know all of us deserved better, including you… Geena.” Gallus’s words just made her heart pound with joy, and without doubt, gave him a tight warm hug. Both Geena and Gallus have finally reconciled with each other. “Um… What’s going to happen with you and your mother?”
“We’ll be fine after this. I think mom will do better knowing that we won’t have to deal with dead weight. That and she’ll likely sell some of my dad’s stuff.”
“Salt in the wound?”
“Oh yeah.”
Gadget couldn’t help but laugh at this, then she remembered about school. “Kids, we should take you guys back to school,” she said. “I’ll try and talk with your headmare, but I can’t promise you guys not getting in trouble.” The teens agreed to this and quickly went to the tunnels.
Geena stopped by her mom real quick before she left. “Bye mom,” she said. “I’ll see you at the coronation.” The mother and daughter shared a hug before the younger one left for the tunnels with Gallus’s parents following her.
After they left, Gloria looked over to Gilda, who was finishing the list of laws she was reading. Griffons started disbanding after they heard the new laws that would be put in place. Griffons started to disband and carry on with their day. Gilda turned her attention to the mother that still had a black eye.
“Gloria, I’m sorry for taking so long to deal with your husband,” Gilda spoke. “As your new leader, I should’ve dealt with him sooner.”
“Don’t get upset about doing the right thing,” Gloria spoke. “He’s out of my life, and I don’t have to worry about Geena.” Gilda was confused until she was shown the young griffon’s saddlebags. “I think she was going to run away today.”
“Oh…. Where do you think she would go if I haven’t taken action against him?”
“Would it matter? She’d never survive out there.”
Sensing that she was getting worried, Gilda did her best to comfort her. “She’s heading back to school. She’s got good friends there. Friends, that if she didn’t have them, I think she’d be a worse place than she is now. It’s going to get better from here. You’ve been a good mother getting her this far.” Gloria smiled as for the first time in a long time, she was truly delighted. She took Gilda by surprise with a hug, which Gilda humbly accepted.
Gallus, Geena, and Garry were given a warning about ditching school when they got back. However, given the conflict they went through, Starlight gave them a warning. The three students had a lot of work to catch up on, which was made more difficult with their hunger.
Fortunately, they managed to get it finished when the sun started to set. Gallus was doing some light exercise out at the buckball field when he saw his parents show up. “Are you feeling alright?” the mother asked.
“Doing fine, thank you,” Gallus responded. He stood up and looked at his wings. “I’m feeling stronger now. So, you said you were going to help me.”
“In a certain way. Glynn, are you ready?”
“Ready on standby,” Glynn responded. Gadget looked up to a nearby glow then grabbed onto her son’s talons. Slowly but surely she started lifting Gallus into the air. The young griffon was practically dangling before he started flapping his wings. He wasn't fully recovered yet so he was mostly relying on Gadget to keep him up.
When they got to the cloud, Gadget helped set her son down on it then flee a few feet away. She turned back to her son and held out her arms. “Okay, Gallus,” she spoke, “Try flying to me.”
The young looked at his mother and then at his wings. He could see his dad below them, ready to catch Gallus if things went wrong. Gallus took a deep breath before he started flapping his wings again. The young griffon started lifting himself upwards and slowly started moving closer to his mother. Gallus nearly fell a couple of times, which nearly made Glynn fly in and catch him, but the young griffon didn't give up. Inch by inch, he finally made it over to Gadget’s arms where he nearly collapsed.
Gadget held onto her son who breathed heavily as they slowly came to the ground. “You did great,” the mother said. “A little shakey, but you’ll get there.” She let her son go and looked him in the face before placing a kiss on his forehead. “Let’s go back inside, shall we? You have to help give me a proper introduction to Terry. He says he's been trying to build this functioning model."
“Oh, so that's why he’s been so cranky lately,” Gallus chuckled. “Of course, I will, mom.” Glynn joined his wife and son as they walked inside to do something calming and likely get something to eat.
It was nighttime in Griffonstone. Most of the citizens had gone to sleep at this point, two of the ones that were still awake were Greta and Gilda. The future queen lay back on her bed with her royal advisor soon joining her. “Hello Gilda, how are you feeling?” Greta asked.
“A little bit better,” Gilda responded. “I’ve sent Garble home a while ago. He said that he’ll support me on my coronation and also would tell Ember about what happened recently”
“You mean kicking that deadbeat out of town?”
“Yep. Still, I took care of him sooner.”
“Better late than never. Besides, I’ve talked to Gloria before she went home. Grayson’s now dead to her.”
“He will be dead if he tries to come back or even try getting revenge on us.”
“Then you must get five more dragons if that happens.”
“I would’ve said I must lock him up with Gideon, but that works too.” The two started getting comfy pulling the blankets over them. “Have you heard how Gustave is doing?”
“He’s great. Already getting started on the pastries for your coronation.”
“Mmm… That’ll be nice.”
“You know, I think some careers around here need to be reworked. Like maybe knights to help enforce the rules and help with security.”
“That’s a good idea. Just hope that we don’t go too far with it. I don’t like being abusive using the forces.”
“Just relax. You chose me to be your advisor, I’m giving you some advice to settle things down, and allowing me to help you with some of the decisions around here. Like maybe hiring the staff around this castle. You’ll need a maid soon.”
“We’ll work it out. I need to make sure that the griffons respect the one in charge. I hope that doesn’t make me sound big-headed.”
“You’re just being cautious.” Greta let out a yawn. “If I were you, I’d just sleep on it.” She closed her eyes and soon drifted off to sleep. Gilda stayed up a little longer, thinking about what other features would need to be fixed. Eventually, she got tired enough and fell asleep.
When she woke up, Gilda found she wasn’t in bed. She wasn’t in the castle. She was still in Griffonstone, but there was a thick fog all around her. It looked like it was cutting off the rest of the world. “Hello?” Gilda called. She was feeling a little scared. “Greta? Gabby? Dash?” She tried to fly around and find somebody until the future queen heard a voice.
“Sorry about the look of the place,” a male spoke. “This is the first time I’m doing this.”
Gilda was fairly confused by what this meant, but she had a feeling she heard that voice before. “Who’s there? Whoever you are, come out! I’m not afraid to fight!”
She looked around until she saw a silhouette walking out from the fog. Gilda was about ready to pounce in defense, but she gasped when she saw who the figure was; King Grover. He’s wearing the crown as well.
“What the… How are you here? Where are we?!”
“No need to panic, Gilda,” Grover spoke. “Again, pardon me for this all looking ominous. Rules for being a spirit are very complex.”
“Uhh… okay then. You’re not going to haunt me, are you?”
King Grover chuckled. “Not at all, Gilda. I’m here to have a chat with you. I’ve done my best to give a demonstration. Follow me please.” Grover walked through the fog, which made Gilda nervous. Trusting the spirit of the king, she followed him. She kept walking until things started to clear up. Griffonstone looked a lot more clear and there are griffons wandering about in the cliche nature they were known for.
Everyone Gilda could see was angry, trying to get away from everyone, and some were trying to get a few bits in any way they could. She saw Grover flying above the chaos and flew over to join him. “What is this?" she asked.
“What you’re seeing right now… is the past,” Grover answered. “The day I became king.” He pointed over to another version of himself who was carrying the Idol of Boreas. He held it above his head and it shined in the light of the sun, grabbing the attention of everybody. “I made the idol as a way of bringing peace to all griffons. It was the only solution I could think of, the greed was destroying us.”
“You made that?”
“Yes. I was hoping it’d be the start of something new, and to bring the kingdom into a new era. Unfortunately, I was unable to bring myself, to tell the truth about the Idol of Boreas. Even though I managed to keep the kingdom afloat, my fear of telling every griffon that the idol was just a piece of gold kept holding me back. I was nervous they would release their rage on me and the kingdom would fall back to what it was before I stepped in. Then… Well, you know… the idol was lost.”
“Oh, yeah. King Guto, right?”
“That’s correct.” Griffonstone went dark as they soon saw Guto leaving the kingdom, with various griffons throwing junk at him in disgrace. “I don’t hold any grudges against Guto. There’s very little that griffons can do against a cyclops the size of the castle.”
“No kidding.”
“I lost hope. And years have passed, and Griffonstone fell into ruin again. Then, you chose your friends over the idol.” Gilda looked and saw herself with Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, likely right after they got out of Abysmal Abyss, judging by the cast around Dash’s leg. “I was angry when I saw the idol lost into the abyss.”
“Why? Am I doing something wrong? I tried spreading friendship.”
“Aye, but you made a mistake. You gave up.” They both watched as Gilda tried talking to some griffons, offering them a scone and friendship. Nobody took her offer, and when some punks even tried stealing her scone, Gilda chased them off, but the container the scones were in fell over, spilling the pastries on the ground. After wasting her time out there, Gilda tossed her remaining scone on the ground and flew home.
Gilda sighed as she didn’t like remembering this. “I lost my patience, your majesty, and… I guess the rest of Griffonstone suffered from it.”
“We all have bad days. What’s relevant is how we overcome. And you Gilda, you certainly did.”
The Gilda from the flashback zoomed past both of them. Turning around, they saw the battleground of the Gold Gang defending themselves from Equestria’s armies. A loud explosion could be seen followed by Gideon crashing to the ground with the remains of his fake idol. Gilda landed in front of him with her armor on.
Gilda chuckled. “Yeah, I remember that moment. It felt so satisfying.”
“Agreed. You have the potential, Gilda. Unlike most of our kind, you never cared about anyone else or how to make things better. Instead of worrying about yourself, you looked for ways how to make things better for everybody. Not just griffons like us…” Grover removed his crown and placed it on Gilda’s head, “but for all creatures as well. All you need is to keep your spirits up. You cannot let your doubts hold you back as mine did. If you put your mind to it, you’ll be a perfect fit for Griffonstone’s queen.”
Gilda looked up at the crown then noticed a scarf with the kingdom’s emblem appearing around her neck suddenly. Looking at her surroundings, she and King Grover were at the grand castle’s balcony. She then looked down and saw a crowd of griffons showed up now that they were back in Griffonstone, cheering for her. Some waved the flags of Griffonstone, big and small, patriotically and proudly, and others brought their children too to see the historic moment. They even chanted ‘Viva Griffonstone!’ numerous times.
Gilda looked back at Grover, who gave a warm smile. “Thank you, your majesty. I promise I’ll make you proud.”
“No need to worry, Gilda… Because you already have.” King Grover smiled. “Good luck… your majesty.” With that, Grover started flying into the sky until he was out of sight a few moments before Gilda was blinded by a bright flash.
Gilda, with her eyes wide open, woke up while breathing. She was awoken by the sunlight shining in her eyes. She looked around at her surroundings and realized that it was a dream. “What a dream,” she muttered. “It felt so real.” She laid down again for a few minutes until Greta came in.
“Rise and shine, Gilda!” called Greta. The soon-to-be queen sat up in bed as she looked at her girlfriend up and ready. “Your coronation is coming up soon, so let’s get ready.”
“Alright, I’m up. I’ll be with you in a second.” Greta got out of the room first. Gilda jumped out of bed and quickly muttered to herself, “I’m ready,” before following her girlfriend outside. It was time. “This is for you, King Grover! I promise!”