A Griffon's Farewell

by 1jckuhn

Holiday Hell

Hearth’s Warming was only ten days away. All throughout Equestria, lights of every color and sparkling tinsel decorated the buildings and every creature was in a cheery mood. It was the season to spread joy.

However, at Twilight’s School of Friendship, the mood was anything but cheery. Right after school was let out for winter break, a cloaked figure had snuck into the teacher’s lounge, where the Hearth’s Warming tree and decorations had been set up, and onto the rafters and poured magical powder onto the Hearth's Warming tree, causing the Fire of Friendship to fizzle out and the Hearth's Warming decorations were left covered in purple, glue-like slime. Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Spike were all present when the prank had occurred, spotted a cloaked figure escaping out of the lounge, and quickly gave chase. They saw the hooded creature retreating to the student dorms. Smolder, Ocellus, Gallus, Yona, Silverstream, and Sandbar were just finishing packing up when they heard the three teachers come inside. 

When confronted about the mess, all six students denied any involvement. When they didn’t confess, Twilight had ordered them to clean up the mess while she interrogated them to see if the culprit would crack if they were one on one with her. As it stood, no one had confessed, and the six students were still stuck in the lounge. They still had a lot to clean up and they were becoming increasingly impatient and agitated with their predicament.

“I’m guessing neither one of you confessed,” said Sandbar as Smolder and Yona walked through the door.

“Headmare Twilight say wait here,” Yona grunted, stomping her hoof.

“Maybe they're changing their minds about sending us home,” Silverstream thought aloud.

“Why would they?” Smolder asked. “Face it. We’re stuck here.”

“But-But, I have to go home!” Ocellus cried, tearing up.

“My mom makes the best kelp fritters,” said Silverstream.

Sandbar turned to Smolder.

“How can you be so cool about this?” he asked the orange Dragon.

Gallus looked at the ground.

“We’re mad,” Smolder responded. “We just show it differently.”

“More like you don’t show it at all,” Sandbar shot back.

“What pony getting at?!” a now angry Yona snapped, her normally mild olive-green eyes now blazing with fury as she went nose to nose with the Earth pony.

“Maybe it wasn't just one prankster. Maybe there were three of you, and you're trying to hide your guilt by not being upset!” Silverstream accused.

“It does make sense,” said Ocellus.

“Guys, stop it,” Gallus said simply.

“Or maybe whoever did it is only pretending to be upset to throw us off,” Smolder growled, pointing at Ocellus.

“Me?!” exclaimed Ocellus. “But I didn't!”

“Come on,” Gallus said. “Let it go.”

It was no use. A full-blown argument had broken out and the five students were now at each other’s throats.

“Come on, Ocellus!” barked Sandbar. “You know you did it! Just fess up!”

Gallus’ heart shattered inside his chest. He wanted to just curl up and cry. His hopes of a good holiday had been completely squashed and now, he had ruined his friends’ holidays in the process.

"G-Guys, p-please stop," Gallus choked out, trying, but failing miserably, to stop the hot tears that had welled up in his eyes from rolling down his face.

Gallus' plea went unanswered as the angry voices of his friends began to grow louder and louder and louder. The Griffon lowered his head toward the ground, unable to look at the result of what his actions had led to. With it went his eyebrows as a new feeling began to boil inside Gallus. Anger. He felt anger at the fact that his friends had no clue how good they had it. They had families. He didn’t. His family had been taken from him in the worst way possible during the Blue Moon Festival, leaving him with nothing except his pillow. While he miraculously walked away with no physical injuries and had been taken in by Grampa Gruff, the emotional wounds from that day had cut deeply into his soul and only grew worse as the years wore on. His urge to curl up and cry now turned into an urge to just scream out in agony as his face twisted into an expression of grief-blinded rage. He gritted his teeth as he felt his cheeks begin to grow wet from the streaks his tears left behind. The Griffon’s breath hitched his throat, his chest began to tighten, and his whole body began to sweat feverishly and tremble with fury and despair. With each second that Gallus watched his friends continue to fight with each other, it became more and more apparent to him that words alone wouldn’t be enough to stop the argument. So, through blurred vision, he began to look around the room for another way to get their attention. He soon found it when he looked to his left and locked eyes with a small table that was sitting in the corner of the room. On top of the table stood a pale blue vase that held a single flower with five pink petals.

CRASH!

Sandbar, Silverstream, Yona, Smolder, and Ocellus all stopped arguing the moment they heard the sound of glass shattering. They looked behind them to the last few pieces of what used to be a pale blue vase falling from just inches above their heads toward the floor. In the center of it stood a mound of dirt with a pink flower sticking out of the top of it. The five creatures looked back in the other direction to see where it was thrown from, only to lay eyes on Gallus. They looked back and forth between Gallus and the flower with wide-eyed expressions, trying to digest what the Griffon had just done. After doing this a few times, the reality of Gallus’ actions fully sunk in. Smolder was the first to voice her shock.

“Dude, are you crazy?!” exclaimed the orange Dragon as she marched up to Gallus, her snout mere inches from his beak. “Twilight’s going-”

“SHUT UP!!”

Smolder and the others reeled back at the Griffon’s outburst. Then, the anger they had toward each other started to be directed towards Gallus. They were all stuck in the same situation he was. What did he have to whine about? Little did any of them know, however, that this was just the start of what would be an event that would change not just their lives, but also the lives of the teachers, forever.

“Don’t talk to us like that!” Smolder snapped. “We’re stuck in the same predicament as you are! In case you haven’t noticed our families are probably worried sick about us as we all should’ve arrived home by now!”

“Yeah!” agreed Sandbar. “What do you have to complain about?!”

“Oh, you want to know?!” yelled Gallus. “You want to know what I’m angry about?! I’m angry that you all are fighting like this! That’s not what the holidays are about! No matter what you call them, or how you celebrate!!”

Gallus’ voice was echoing around the room as he continued on. The looks on Smolder, Silverstream, Ocellus, Sandbar, and Yona's faces started to soften. Gallus had brought up a valid point.

"Do you know how damn lucky you all are?! Have any of you even stopped to think about how fortunate you all are to have the ability to share these stories with each other about getting together with everycreature you care about?!" Gallus continued, his eyes beginning to mist ever so slightly.

“Griffons do that too, don’t they?” Ocellus asked cautiously. 

“Yeah, they do, during the Blue Moon Festival,” Gallus sighed. 

Gallus’ gaze dropped to the floor for a few seconds as his angry expression softened into one of sadness. For a moment, the Griffon found his voice had disappeared. A searing pain had taken up residence inside his chest as the urge to just start breaking down and crying right then and there became greater and greater. Then, the anger that he harbored toward his friends’ behavior returned to him as he glared back up at Ocellus and the others. 

“But it sure as hell isn’t a joyous time at all!” the distraught Griffon continued on. “All Griffons do during the holidays is eat together because we’re forced to and just try not to yell at each other!”

“W-Well, certainly your family would want to make sure you have a happy time during the holidays,” Silverstream reassured with a small comforting smile. 

Gallus' emotions had overridden his ability to think clearly, leaving him with no way to prevent him from feeling his stress increase ten-fold. The speed of his scarred heart increased abruptly and rapidly as more fresh tears welled up in his eyes as more sweat began to mat his fur and feathers. His breathing became deep, slow, and forced. Yet, at the same time, he felt like he was being strangled from the inside out. His muscles tightened as he bared his teeth like a rabid dog. Silverstream’s small smile faded upon seeing Gallus’ breathing beginning to grow heavy.

“Did you seriously just say that I could have a good time for the holidays because I have a family just like all the rest of you?” a pained growl left Gallus’ beak as he said his final word, his ability to hold back his grief waning rapidly.

“Y-Yeah, I did,” Silverstream could feel an uneasy feeling beginning to brew in her stomach. She had a really bad feeling about where this was going. So did the others, “Y-You do have a family, right?”

By this point, it was taking every ounce of strength Gallus could muster to keep himself from completely losing it, but the moment he heard the word, “family,” exit Silverstream’s mouth, the last of his self-restraint vanished. He knew, at that moment, he couldn’t hide the truth from Silverstream or the others any longer and it felt like everything was set against him. Gallus squeezed his eyes shut and balled up his fists as he inhaled deeply, opened his beak, and let out a loud, “NO!”

Silverstream, Sandbar, Ocellus, Yona, and Smolder all gasped in shock at this revelation.

“I don’t have a family! None whatsoever!” Gallus yelled, his voice starting to break.

“What about Grampa Gruff?” asked Sandbar. “Certainly he-”

“He’s not my grandfather!” Gallus wailed, cutting Sandbar off. “Everyone just calls him that!”

That was the final straw. Gallus could no longer hold back any of his emotions by this point, and he began to just sob and sob. Smolder, Ocellus, Sandbar, Yona, and Silverstream stood frozen in place, staring at the scene unfolding before them with worry and regret. Any anger they had been harboring was now completely drained. What was worse was that none of them could think of anything to say or do to comfort the downtrodden Griffon. Eventually, Gallus managed to gather his composure, stand back up, although his knees were quivering, and look back at his friends, all of whom were looking very nervous. For a few long seconds, all six creatures just stood there staring at each other, but none dared to say a word, blanketing the atmosphere with a thick layer of silence.

That was until the door to the teacher’s lounge flew open and another voice rang out, getting the six students’ attention.

“What is going on in here?”

Sandbar, Silverstream, Yona, Smolder, and Ocellus looked back to see Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Spike standing in the doorway. They didn’t look happy. Twilight was about to speak again when she noticed something out of the corner of her right eye. She turned her head to look in the direction of what had caught her attention and found herself looking at the shattered vase and the now vulnerable flower that lay in the center of it. Rainbow and Spike also took notice of it too.

“My vase!” cried Twilight, before she turned to face the six students. “Which one of you did-?!”

Twilight's words died in her throat when Spike, Rainbow, and she locked eyes with Gallus. He was breathing heavily, his whole body was shivering, his jaw was shaking, and tear after tear was falling from his face and onto the floor. He looked like he was on the verge of having a full-blown mental breakdown. Sympathy quickly replaced anger in all three creatures.

“Gallus?” Twilight asked cautiously as she approached her distraught student. “Are you okay?”

“NO! I AM NOT OKAY!!” screamed Gallus. “I WAS THE ONE WHO SABOTAGED THE TREE! I PUT GOO POWDER IN THE FIRE OF FRIENDSHIP! I JUST WANTED TO BE HAPPY FOR THE FIRST TIME IN ALMOST A DECADE, BUT NOW EVERYTHING’S RUINED AND ALL MY FRIENDS ARE FIGHTING BECAUSE OF MY ACTIONS! GO AHEAD! PUNISH ME! SEE IF I CARE!!”

Before the teachers even had time to react to Gallus’ outburst, The Griffon did an abrupt one-eighty and flew out of the teacher’s lounge through the windows he had tried to escape from previously, slamming them hard on his way outside.

For a few seconds, the group of creatures just stood there, staring with shock at the windows as they replayed everything that had just happened. They had never seen Gallus act like that before and were at a loss of what to do. Then, Twilight turned around to face the five students to see that tears of their own were beginning to well up in their eyes. More sympathy built up inside Twilight, Rainbow, and Spike and they quickly rushed to comfort their students.

“Are you all okay?” Twilight asked softly.

“Y-Yeah,” sniffled Silverstream as she wiped away her tears. “We’re fine. We’re just a little shaken up.”

“Yona more worried about Gallus,” said Yona.

“We all are,” sighed Sandbar. 

“What happened?” asked Spike. “How did he end up like that?”

Silverstream, Ocellus, Sandbar, Yona, and Smolder all exchanged guilty and nervous glances with one another before looking back at the two Ponies and Dragon.

“Well, Silverstream, Yona, Sandbar, Ocellus, and I all got into an argument over who was the culprit for the prank,” Smolder started.

“Griffon pick up vase and throw it at wall to get Yak and friends’ attention,” Yona spoke up. 

“He started yelling at us for how we were acting because that wasn’t what the holidays were about,” said Silversteam.

“I asked him about what he did to celebrate the holidays back home and he filled us in on a holiday called the Blue Moon Festival,” Ocellus explained. “However, he told us that it was never joyous like all our holidays were. All that Griffons do during that time was, in his words, eat together because they were forced to and try not to yell at each other.”

“I was under the assumption that his family would want to make sure he had a happy time during the holidays,” Silverstream gulped, biting her lip. “B-But when I brought that up, he just gave me this really angry, pained look, and told us that he had no family.”

“I asked him about Grampa Gruff, but it turns out that everyone just calls him that. He’s not actually Gallus’ grandfather,” added Sandbar.

“I was able to read his emotions for a few seconds,” Ocellus spoke up. “All I could sense was anger, sadness, and grief.”

“Did he tell you anything about what might have happened to them?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“No, he didn’t,” said Smolder. “Whatever happened to them, though, obviously must’ve hit him hard.”

By this point, Twilight, Rainbow, and Spike were all mirroring the worried expressions of their students. However, they also began to feel guilty at how far this had gone.

“Well, while we don’t condone fighting, we’re also partially to blame for this,” admitted Rainbow Dash.

“What do you mean?” asked Ocellus.

Now, it was Spike, Twilight, and Rainbow’s turn to exchange nervous glances with each other.

Twilight let out a heavy sigh, “Deep down, we all suspected Gallus was the culprit.”

All five students gasped.

“Headmare knew about Griffon messing up decorations?!” exclaimed Yona.

“Why didn’t you tell him about it the first time he was in your office?” asked a now annoyed Smolder.

“We didn’t want to call him out right away,” explained Twilight. “We hoped that he would tell the truth on his own terms.”

“We’re sorry,” said Rainbow. “We didn’t want things to get taken this far. We’ll arrange for your families to come and pick you all up as soon as possible.” 

“What about Gallus?” asked Sandbar. “We can’t just leave him here alone.”

The other four students agreed. In spite of their annoyance toward their teachers for holding them up, all five creatures knew that they needed their help to make amends with Gallus.

“Well, we’ll talk with him and see if we can’t dig deeper about his past,” explained Twilight.

“Maybe I could stay over here at school and spend the holidays with him,” Silverstream thought aloud. 

“Maybe, if I’m really lucky, I could take him out on a date,” the Hippogriff thought.

“Me, too!” said Ocellus.

“Yona stay also!” Yona added.

“I'm staying!” said Sandbar firmly.

“I guess pony holidays can’t be that bad,” Smolder shrugged. “Count me in.”

“Looks like they don't really need any extra lessons,” Rainbow whispered to Twilight.

Spike, however, didn’t seem to share the same joy as the other seven creatures.

“I hate to dampen the mood here, but we have a problem,” the purple Dragon spoke up. “In order for us to actually go comfort Gallus, we need to find him first. Unfortunately, we have no idea where he could be now and, in these conditions, spotting him would be almost impossible.”

Spike was right. By now, the sun had gone down, and visibility had been made poor by heavy snow and whipping winds.

“If anything, he probably went back to the student dorms,” Smolder thought aloud. “If the weather conditions are too extreme for us to travel in, there’s a good chance the same could be said for him too.”

The others thought over Smolder’s theory for a few seconds before agreeing with it.

“Alright, everyone,” said Rainbow. “Let’s go and put a smile back on that Griffon’s face.”

The eight creatures nodded to each other and quickly to the windows Gallus had exited out of a few minutes earlier and began stepping outside one by one. 

No sooner had the last creature stepped outside than did the doors to the students’ quarters fly open to reveal Gallus. The Griffon took a few steps outside before coming to a stop. 

“Gallus!” Silverstream called, waving to her friend. “Over here!”

Rather than turning to face the Hippogriff, Gallus just wiped his face, spread his wings, and took off into the sky.

“Where’s he going?” asked Ocellus, becoming worried about the Griffon’s possible intentions.

“I don’t know,” said Smolder. “But it’s best we follow him and find out. Whatever he’s up to, I have a feeling that it’s not good.”

With that, Smolder, Ocellus, and Silverstream took off to the sky after their friend, with Twilight, Rainbow, Spike, Sandbar, and Yona all following close behind.

Gallus had heard Silverstream call out to him but ignored it. His eyes were locked straight ahead as he flew higher into the sky.

“Don’t worry, you guys,” he sniffled softly. “None of you will have to put up with me anymo-Woah!“

Gallus’ sentence was interrupted when a huge gust of wind slammed hard into his right side, blowing him jarringly off course. The Griffon tried desperately to straighten himself out, but to no avail. In fact, it seemed the harder he tried, the wonkier his flight pattern became. This eventually caused him to start descending in altitude and it wasn’t long before the ground greeted the Griffon’s sight. At the last possible second, however, Gallus managed to regain control over himself as he slammed his wings to his sides for a split second, then opened them back up, successfully correcting his flight pattern back into a straight line. Although, that didn’t stop him from continuing to hurdle toward the ground, leaving him with no other choice but to stick out his limbs to cushion the impending crash. A harsh, sharp breath exited the Griffon’s beak as he nosedived hard into the fresh, white powder.

After dusting the snow off of his body and making sure he was uninjured, Gallus looked around at his surroundings and realized that he had landed in front of the school. Knowing the weather conditions were too severe for him to travel any further, he began to look around. The pool in front of the school had frozen over. The Griffon stared at it for a few seconds before quickly deciding that it wouldn’t be the right candidate to assist him in what he wanted to do thanks to the weather conditions. Gallus began to peer through the snowfall and locked eyes with the large mountain that stood behind the main school building. He could make out the outline of it through the blizzard and, at that moment, made a plan in his head. He wiped away his tears, spread his wings, and took flight for the top. As Gallus left the ground, he could hear voices in the distance and could see a faint orange glow and purple glow, both of which grew brighter as the voices grew louder. He knew he had to be fast. 

Meanwhile, Smolder, Silverstream, and Ocellus were pushing their way through blinding snow. Smolder had begun to use her fire breath as a torch, making it easier the Dragon, Changeling, and Hippogriff to navigate through the air. As they raced after their distraught friend, Silverstream caught a purple glow out of the corner of her right eye. She looked down to see that the light was coming from Twilight’s horn. Behind the lilac Alicorn were Rainbow, Spike, Yona, and Sandbar. Realizing that they too would need a visual once Smolder, Ocellus, and she caught up to Gallus, Silverstream decided to hang back, acting as a beacon for them, although she still kept Ocellus and the orange glow of Smolder’s fire breath up ahead in her sight.

Soon, the octet found themselves approaching the front of the school. They could see Gallus had landed and was looking around for something. They noticed that he had tears in his eyes. His whole facial expression seemed to signal that he was emotionally crushed.

“There he is!” said Ocellus.

Silverstream spun around and found the three ponies, Dragon, and Yak following not far behind them.

“He’s at the front of the school!” Silverstream yelled down to them.

No sooner did the Hippogriff notify the others of Gallus’ location, however, then did the Griffon spread his wings and begin to take flight. The eight creatures could only watch as Gallus disappeared into the dark clouds, their worry mounting.

“Gallus!” Sandbar called out. “Come ba-!”

Sandbar was cut off when he felt a pair of hooves wrap around his waist and pull him off the ground. He turned his head and found that Rainbow Dash was responsible for why he was now airborne.

"What are you doing?!" exclaimed a now startled Sandbar.

"Helping you get up in the air with the rest of us," Rainbow responded. "We're going to need everyone to help out, so this doesn't have a tragic outcome."

"A-Are you suggesting..." Silverstream trailed off, unable to finish her sentence as the realization hit the rest of her friends and her as to why Gallus had was even headed to the top of the mountain to begin with.

"Yes, I am, Silverstream," the Cyan Pegasus replied.

That was all that everyone needed to hear. Yona found herself being grabbed ahold of by Silverstream on her left and Ocellus on her right and together, the eight creatures took off to the sky to battle their way to top of the mountain, their determination and fear for Gallus overriding any amount of snow or wind that hit their bodies. Two huge streaks of fire, one orange and the other green, stood out bold against the darkening sky, courtesy of Spike and Smolder.

Gallus' joints ached as he blazed upward towards the top of the mountain. The snow grew thicker as the blue Griffon climbed in altitude and the bitter cold wind stung his cheeks. In spite of that, he didn’t slow down. In fact, the conditions only motivated him to go faster. At this point, his adrenaline had kicked in and it was the only thing keeping him moving.

“H-Hold tight, mom. Hold tight, dad. Hold tight, Gracie and Gwen,” he choked through sobs. “I-I’m coming.”

After a few more minutes of climbing, the weather conditions became too severe for him to travel on, stopping the Griffon dead in his tracks again. So, Gallus had no choice but to stop flying upward. So, he began to search for a nearby ledge to land. He soon found one and he quickly made his way to it. As he touched the ground, the icy chill of the fresh snow surged through his limbs, making his whole body shiver. He knew if he’d jump back down from where he had ascended, the others would most certainly be able to see him and catch him before he'd hit the ground. Left with no other choice, the blue Griffon began to slowly trudge through the blizzard. He had only traveled roughly 150 feet before he spotted a large pine tree. He ran under it to shelter from the heavy snowfall and get his energy back to continue onward. After wiping away his tears and recovering for a few seconds, Gallus was back out into the thick snowfall. As he progressed further into the storm, the Griffon began to look around for another ledge. He traveled another 800 feet before he spotted a ledge through the harsh conditions and began to make his way towards it. After what seemed like forever, he finally made it toward the edge and looked down. It was, at least, a five-hundred-foot drop to the ground.

More tears began to well up in Gallus’ eyes and stream down his face as he began to recall all the happy memories that he had made with all his friends. From hanging out at the Castle of The Two Sisters, to saving Applejack and Rainbow Dash from the Bite-acudas, to performing in the play. Each memory that was once happy now tore his heart to shreds. This was supposed to be a new opportunity for him, and he had blown it.

“Goodbye, guys,” he whispered to no one through quiet crying. “I’m sorry for everything. Please forgive me for being such a screw-up.”

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he prepared himself for the fall that would finally end his suffering. Until he heard a voice call out his name, stopping the suicidal creature dead in his tracks.

Smolder, Ocellus, Silverstream, Yona, Sanbar, and their teachers tried to keep pace with their distressed friend and student, but as the conditions grew worse the higher they went, the slower they seemed to be going. Even with the help of Smolder and Spike’s fire breath, they found themselves slowly losing sight of Gallus. Eventually, the octet couldn’t see him at all. Eventually, they were forced to land on a ledge that was roughly five hundred feet off the ground in order to catch their breath and get their strength back.

"Listen, you guys," came the voice of Rainbow Dash. "I think it's best if Twilight, Spike, and I head up to the mountain on our own."

As one could imagine, this statement didn't sit well with the five creatures that Rainbow's comment was addressed to.

"No!" protested Smolder. "We have to go with you guys! You need our help just as much as we need yours to save Gallus!"

"We understand, Smolder, but the conditions are too dangerous," Twilight insisted. "It's better for your safety that you all stay put here rather than continuing onward. One of you could end up seriously hurt in these conditions."

With that, the pair of Ponies and Dragon took off to continue their trek to the top of the mountain.

"Wait!" cried Ocellus, but it was no good. Twilight, Spike, and Rainbow were already out of sight and out of earshot of the protests of their students.

"Great!" Yona stomped on the ground in frustration and anger, "Now, Yak and friends stuck up here and can't help save Griffon!"

“Wait, you guys. Look!” came the voice of Smolder.

Sandbar, Yona, Ocellus, and Silverstream spun around to see the orange Dragon pointing to the ground. They raced over to see what she had discovered, only to lay eyes on what looked like tracks in the snow, but they were being covered up fast.

“You think that could be Gallus?” asked Sandbar.

“They do look like his claw and paw prints,” said Ocellus. “We should follow them.”

“Come on,” said Smolder. “We’re wasting time.”

Smolder used her fire breath to help provide light once more, and the five creatures, through blazing snow, began to follow the tracks. They had only traveled 850 feet before the heavy snowfall had made the tracks almost invisible.

“Can you see anything?” asked Smolder.

“No, I can’t!” cried Silverstream. “The tracks are covered up! The snow’s too thick!”

“Wait a second,” said Ocellus as she peered straight ahead. “Look, everycreature!”

The other four creatures turned their attention to where Ocellus was looking and instantly saw what looked like a silhouette in the distance. They made their way toward it only to discover it was Gallus. They could hear quiet crying. As they drew closer, they could hear him quietly talking to himself.

“Please forgive me for being such a screw-up.”

Then, the quintet could see that no more than six inches in front of their friend was the edge of a cliff. Almost instantly, the worst thoughts raced through everyone's minds, and they knew they needed to act fast. Silverstream took a deep breath and called out her friend’s name.

“GALLUS!!” yelled Silverstream.

The blue Griffon in question looked back to see Smolder, Ocellus, Silverstream, Yona, and Sandbar racing toward him, skidding to a stop just a few feet away from where he was. The group of friends could now get a better view of his face. The Griffon looked like he had seen hell itself with how forlorn he was. With Gallus back in her sights, Ocellus immediately picked up where she left off on reading his emotions. The moment she did, the Changeling felt her gut drop into a bottomless pit. The Griffon’s feelings of sadness, anger, and grief had increased a thousandfold since when they were in the teacher’s lounge. 

“Dude, stop!” cried Smolder. “Gallus, don’t do this!”

“Don’t bother, you guys,” Gallus held up a claw. “I’m not going to be talked out of this.”

"Yak not letting it happen," said Yona firmly. "Yona not letting Gallus jump."

"Neither are the rest of us," added Silverstream. “Whatever you’re going through, there has to be a solution for it, and we will do everything we can to find it and help you.”

“I really wish that was the case,” the depressed Griffon began to cry again. “Sadly, it isn’t. It never will be. You’d never understand the full magnitude of what I’ve gone through or the pain I’m in, and I preferred it stayed that way. If you did, I’m certain I’d just wreck the holidays even more for you. I’ve already done more than enough damage.”

The Dragon, Hippogriff, Changeling, Yak, and Earth Pony felt like they were talking to an entirely different creature as they listened to Gallus speak. The mischievous, cheeky prankster they all knew seemed like he was a distant memory. In his place stood a creature that just wanted a way, any way, for everything to end. Tears of their own were beginning to brim in their eyes. They could feel their own hearts breaking for Gallus as they continued to look into his pain-filled eyes. Ocellus had delved deeper in his emotions and, by this point, could also sense that Gallus was not only in deep emotional pain, but he was also extremely traumatized. 

“Even if it did, we’d work through it,” Sandbar tried to reassure the distraught Griffon.

"It's a lost cause," Gallus sniffled. "I've tried to get myself out of this abyss time and time again, and each time I end up worse off than when I started. I'm not dragging the rest of you down with me. This decision is for the better."

"No, it's not," said Silverstream. "There are other alternatives out there."

"Just stay out of it, Silverstream," Gallus retorted, tears still stinging his eyes. "This isn't your fight."

“No, we won't," Silverstream said defiantly. "You're our friend and we're not letting you go alone in the dark for a second longer, especially so close to the holidays."

"Agreed," added Smolder. "No one deserves to be sad or alone during this time of year.”

“IT’S EASY FOR YOU TO SAY!!” Gallus suddenly screamed, startling them all. “ALL OF YOU HAVE FAMILIES TO GO BACK TO! I DON’T! YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO MY FAMILY?!! WELL, DO YOU?!” 

A sickening feeling began to brew inside the stomachs of the five creatures. By this point, the Griffon’s behavior had already made them come to a mutual conclusion about what had happened to his family, but that didn’t stop Ocellus from confirming their suspicions.

“Wh-What happened to them?” the Changeling asked, her voice stammering as she fought to swallow the lump forming in her throat.

“THEY’RE DEAD!!” Gallus continued on, his voice only rising as his anguish became more evident. “THEY DIED ON THE DAY OF THE BLUE MOON FESTIVAL! MY MOM, MY DAD, AND MY SISTERS! ALL BURNED ALIVE IN A HOUSE FIRE, WHILE I JUST STOOD OUTSIDE GAWKING LIKE AN IDIOT AS MY ENTIRE WORLD SHATTERED BEFORE MY EYES IN THE SPAN OF AN HOUR! ALL I HAVE LEFT TO REMIND ME OF MY OLD LIFE IS A PILLOW! I HAVE NO PICTURES I CAN REMEMBER THEM BY! I HAVE NO BELONGINGS OF THEIRS I CAN HOLD ON TO! NOTHING! EVERY TIME THE HOLIDAYS COME AROUND, THEY JUST PUT ME THROUGH HELL ALL OVER AGAIN, WITH EACH HOLIDAY SEASON BEING MORE GRUELING FOR ME TO EXPERIENCE THAN THE LAST! ALL I'VE WANTED SINCE THAT DAY WAS TO JUST EXPERIENCE ONE MOMENT OF PEACE AWAY FROM MY GRIEF! JUST ONE DAMN BIRTHDAY WHERE I DIDN'T FEEL LIKE BURSTING INTO TEARS! JUST ONE DAMN HOLIDAY WHERE I DIDN'T FEEL THE ACHE IN MY CHEST FROM MY HEART BEING SMASHED INTO A MILLION PIECES OVER AND OVER AGAIN! BUT I GUESS IT WAS JUST TOO MUCH TO ASK BECAUSE NO MATTER WHERE I WENT OR WHAT I DID, I WAS ALWAYS PLAGUED WITH THOSE SAME TRAUMATIC MEMORIES, INCLUDING HERE! WHEN I MADE FRIENDS WITH ALL OF YOU, I THOUGHT I COULD FINALLY ESCAPE FROM MY MISERY AT LAST, BUT IT STILL FOUND ME HERE AND ATE ME ALIVE FROM THE INSIDE OUT JUST LIKE IT HAS SO MANY TIMES BEFORE! THE ONLY WAY I WAS ABLE TO ESCAPE IT WAS THROUGH PULLING PRANKS, HOPING I COULD GET OTHERS TO LAUGH SO THAT I COULD FEEL BETTER ABOUT MY SAD SELF, BUT ALL I DID WAS TIE UP THE TEACHERS' SCHEDULES AND CAUSE ENDLESS FRUSTRATIONS FOR EVERYONE INVOLVED! I COULD NEVER TAKE THE HINT AND QUIT WHILE I WAS AHEAD BECAUSE ALL I WAS FOCUSED ON WAS TRYING TO ABSCOND THIS ORDEAL IN ANY WAY I COULD! NOW, IT'S LED ME TO BECOME SO DESPERATE TO ACTUALLY HAVE A HAPPY DAY FOR ONCE THAT I'VE ENDED UP RUINING EVERYTHING FOR EVERYONE ELSE! I CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE! I’M SICK AND TIRED OF CONSTANTLY BEING A SCREW-UP, A PROBLEM, A FAILURE, AND A BURDEN!! I JUST WANT THIS NIGHTMARE I CALL MY PATHETIC EXCUSE OF A LIFE TO END!!!”

Gallus fell onto his haunches, buried his face into his claws, and began to cry the hardest he had ever done in his entire life. The pain and emotional scars that he had been bottling up for all these years had been fully unleashed by this point and it was rapidly destroying what was left of him from the inside out. His friends could only stare with sorrow and shock as they processed his rant. The tears that had been welling up in their eyes were now falling onto the snow. They had never seen a creature look so devastated in all their lives and had nothing but empathy leaking toward the heartsore Griffon. The quintet looked on towards the cliff’s edge, then back at the bawling Griffon, and then toward each other. At that moment, all five concomitantly realized that this was likely their only shot at intercepting Gallus and in a situation like this, every second counted. Without a word, they all wiped away their tears, took a deep breath to steady themselves, and began to advance toward Gallus. Their pace was slow, at first, but grew faster as they drew closer to him. They were just inches away from grabbing their friend when Gallus regained his composure, saw them approaching him, jumped back up, and immediately backpedaled from them. Now, the inconsolable Griffon was no more than an inch from the cliff’s edge. Gallus looked back over his shoulder, saw how close he was to being free of his pain, and was about to turn around, until he heard Ocellus' pleading voice calling out to him through her own choked sobs.

“Gallus, please!” cried the changeling. “It doesn’t have to be this way! You're not alone in this battle! We're your friends! We can help you get through this!”

"You can't help me if I'm the main thing that's wrong with this situation, Ocellus! None of you can!" Gallus sobbed. "My despair has had me by my neck and the one chance I had to finally break free from it only made things worse! I have no reason to continue to live, nor do I deserve to! I can never be free of my pain in this world, and I'll just keep scotching more events and making more creatures miserable if I keep trying to escape! I'm done with this! I'm done running in circles hoping something will be different the next time I complete a lap! Why can't the five of you see the writing on the walls?! Why can't you three get it through your heads?! I'm nothing but a nuisance and an obstacle in everyone's lives! I always have been, and I always will be!"

Smolder, Ocellus, Yona, Sandbar, and Silverstream all exchanged looks of horror with one another. With each word Gallus spoke, they could feel the agonizing, emotional pain that resided inside of their friend reaching inside of them and cutting into every inch of their insides and no matter what they said, it only seemed to make Gallus feel worse and worse. It was becoming harder and harder not to break down themselves as they listened to the Griffon's lament. By this point, all five creatures were growing desperate in their attempt to provide succor for Gallus and get him to come back from the edge.

“You’re not a nuisance and you're not what's wrong with any situation, Gallus,” Smolder said, voice shaking, but trying to sound firm. “We don’t care how many days it’ll take, or how many tears have to be shed, we won't stop until your grief and demons are quashed, and you are able to find peace. No matter what happens, none of us will give up on you. Not now, not ever. That’s what friends are for.”

For a few seconds, everything was dead silent with the exception of the howling wind. Gallus wiped away his tears and looked at his three friends and they all looked back at him with looks of sympathy and dread. The Griffon could feel his heart being stabbed repeatedly as Smolder's words circled inside his mind. They were all up here dealing with a nuisance that clearly didn't deserve any of their time. Finally, he locked eyes with Smolder and began to speak again.

“I know you won’t give up on me. Because it's obvious you still don't understand."

Smolder, Ocellus, Yona, Sandbar, and Silverstream all felt their blood run colder than the snow they stood upon. The voice that was coming from Gallus' beak didn’t sound like him. While the tone that was filled with sadness, pain, trauma, and anger had now vanished, what took its place was even more unsettling. It was almost monotone, like a robot. It sounded like it was devoid of all life, from a creature that had finally reached the end of his rope. Then, the final eight words Gallus uttered would forever haunt the creatures that stood before him on this dreary December evening.

“So, I won’t let you waste your time.”

Before any of them had a sliver of a chance to react, Gallus spun around, shut his eyes, and leapt off of the ledge in a way that could only be described as an angel attempting to take flight. The five creatures watched in horror as their friend jumped off the edge and disappeared from sight. They peered over the edge just in time to see Gallus’ body being swallowed by the black abyss of the night.

“GALLUS, NO!!!” screamed Ocellus.

Smolder, Yona, Sandbar, and Ocellus felt like they wanted to throw up as the realization simultaneously hit them all at a stroke. The worst-case scenario that could've come out of this situation had happened. They had failed to save Gallus. Now, they could do nothing to stop the tragedy from unfolding. Silverstream, however, wasn’t one to give up so easily. No sooner did Ocellus scream than did she leap off the cliff edge herself, determined not to let the Griffon die.

“Silverstream, what are you doing?!” yelled Smolder.

The Hippogriff ignored her. She had tuned out all her senses, except sight, as she barreled toward the ground, determined to save the Griffon that was her best friend. The Griffon that was her soulmate. The Griffon that she had fallen in love with.

“Hold on, Gallus,” she whispered. “You’re going to be okay.”

“Breathe in. Breathe out.”

Each breath that entered and left Gallus’ nostrils was slow and shaky, but steady, as he let all the tension that had been trapped in his muscles finally release. With his mission now complete, all Gallus could do now was relax and wait for the sweet embrace of death to envelop him and officially mark the end of his struggle. 

“So close.”

Gallus’ mouth slowly began to go from a frown to a smile as a new feeling washed over him. It was one the Griffon hadn’t felt in a long time. Relief. It was like the weight of the world was being lifted off of his shoulders. Despite the fact that tears were still streaming down Gallus’ face, they weren’t because he was sad. They were because he was happy. The Griffon could feel his grief being shredded into tiny, little pieces and pulled away from his fractured soul, exposing it in preparation for the final blow. No longer did the cold, whipping wind feel bitter or stinging against him as he plummeted to the ground. It felt satisfying, as if it were a cool summer breeze. 

“This must be what it’s like to finally find pea-”

Gallus' thoughts were interrupted when a surge of the worst pain he had ever felt shot through his whole body for a millisecond, before all feelings, both physically and emotionally, were cut off. Permanently.

Every drop of strength Silverstream could muster was being channeled to her wings as they flapped faster and faster. Her breaths came out forced and shallow through her clenched teeth as her eyes narrowed further and further. She could feel the ache in every part of her body as the physical strain became greater and greater, but the Hippogriff would not give up as that would mean subjecting Gallus to a death sentence. Thankfully, Silverstream could see him though the thick cloud cover as she was slowly, but surely, closing the gap between herself and Gallus. She could feel the fire in the pit of her stomach growing hotter and hotter as she grew nearer and nearer to the Griffon.

"Almost there."

Silverstream's mouth curled into a slight smile when she saw that Gallus' tail was now almost within her reach. She stuck out her right arm and opened her clenched fist, her fingers preparing close in on their target so she could grab ahold of her friend and pull him back up to safety at a moment's notice.

"You're mine now."

The possibility of victory in Silverstream's mind was short-lived when the clouds abruptly broke away, revealing that she was no more than 150 feet above the ground. Instinct for survival kicked in as Silverstream spread her wings out in an attempt to pull up. The realization that she had failed her mission hit her almost concurrently and the Hippogriff squeezed her eyes shut, not daring to look at what was going to happen next. The sickening, “thud,” rang loudly in the Hippogriff's ears. The terrible sound was simultaneous with her heart finally hitting the bottom of the despairing pit inside her chest and shattering to pieces.

Unfortunately, Silverstream would have no time to dwell on her failure to save Gallus as something rough, robust, and hard smashed into her left side, ripping the air out of the Hippogriff's lungs. Her whole body began to roll as she free-fell through the air, colliding with much smaller, sturdy, icy, and stiff objects, and landing on the ground with a “thud,” of her own. She had enough momentum to do two full barrel rolls through the fresh, white powder before coming to a crashing halt, lying on her back.

She was out for a few seconds before coming back around. The Hippogriff sat up and looked to her right and was greeted by what she had run into, a tall, sturdy tree. Its bare branches looming over her as if it was a giant creature getting ready to pounce onto its defenseless prey. A dull ache began to bud on left side between her front and hind leg and her left wrist and wing didn’t seem as mobile as before. The Hippogriff moaned on pain as she slowly and carefully hoisted herself out of the snow and onto her good claw and hooves and steadied herself. Silverstream felt like passing out. The last bit of her energy she had within her was used to pull herself up. Until her eyes fell upon a patch of blue roughly fifteen feet away from her, still and unmoving.

“No,” Silverstream whimpered, trying to keep herself together as she began to advance toward the patch of blue. “No. He can’t be dead. He can’t be dead!”

Ignoring the now searing pain on her left side, Silverstream's limbs made contact with and left the ground faster and faster as a new surge of energy and adrenaline began coursing through her veins before, at long last, the Hippogriff had finally made it toward where Gallus now lay. The moment Silverstream laid eyes on him, nausea flowed through the shell-shocked Hippogriff as she fought the urge to puke right then and there. There, laying in front of her, on his back, his eyes peacefully closed, and facial expression relaxed, was Gallus. There were tear streaks soaked into his cheek feathers. Several parts of his body were in an odd position, as if the shields of flesh and feathers had failed to save the bones hidden underneath from being broken. Blood had begun to seep out of his ears, nostrils, and mouth. His abdomen also seemed bloated in several places. Trying to push away the likelihood that this was the end of her best friend, Silverstream placed her ear against Gallus’ still chest, praying that the heavens above hadn't called him home at such a young age. No such luxury. She didn’t hear anything. No breathing. No heartbeat. At this point, the Hippogriff completely lost it. She buried her face in her now deceased friend’s chest and began to bawl like no tomorrow.

“Silverstream!”

The Hippogriff looked up to see Smolder and Ocellus racing down toward her. Neither Changeling nor Dragon had even landed on the ground when they saw the crumpled body that lay in Silverstream's grasp. Their faces instantly turned whiter than the snow that continued to fall around them.

“I-Is he?...” Smolder stammered, unable to finish her sentence.

“He’s gone!” wailed Silverstream. “I-I was so close to saving him!”

Smolder turned to face Ocellus, hot tears already streaming down her face, "Ocellus, you're coming with me. We need to get Sandbar and Yona down from the mountain and then we need to alert the teachers of where we are."

Without another word, the pair took off to the sky and began the strenuous task of transporting their friends five hundred feet down through blinding snow. One look at Smolder and Ocellus' faces told Sandbar and Yona all they needed to know. Neither dared to say anything on the way down. Once Smolder and she had completed the task of transporting the Yak and Earth Pony down to where Silverstream now sat, Ocellus raced back up to the sky in search of her teachers.

“Twilight!” she called. “Someone! Anyone! HELP, PLEASE!!”

Near the top of the mountain, Twilight and Spike both looked around frantically, desperate for any sign that their distraught student was nearby. Rainbow did help out at first, but there was a faint sound that she could hear in the distance, even with the harsh howling of wind. It sounded like a creature in distress crying out for any sort of help. It wasn't long before Twilight and Spike took notice of her focusing elsewhere.

“Rainbow, what are you-?” Spike started to ask.

“Shh!” shushed Rainbow. “Listen.”

The Dragon and Alicorn were confused until they heard it too. It was faint, but it did indeed sound like someone crying out for help.

“Someone! Anyone! Help, please!”

“That sounds like Ocellus!” said Twilight.

“I think it’s coming from this way,” Spike said pointing to his left.

The trio began to fly in the direction Spike had pointed toward and, indeed, the voice became louder and louder. Eventually, the source of the voice came barreling toward them in the form of none other than the changeling in question.

“Professor Twilight!” bawled Ocellus. “G-Gallus. H-He-”

She got no further before she broke down into another fit of tears.

Spike, Rainbow, and Twilight all felt their hearts sink into their chests and a sickening feeling immediately began to brew in their stomachs.

"No," whispered Spike. "O-Ocellus, he didn't."

“HE DID!” screamed Ocellus through sobs. “HE JUMPED OFF THE MOUNTAIN! GALLUS IS GONE!!”

The trio could do nothing to stop the feeling of their blood running colder than the weather as Ocellus’ final three words echoed loudly inside their heads.

“H-He’s *hic* d-down th-that way,” Ocellus choked out, pointing down from where she had just flown from. “Th-The others are already with him.”

Without another word, Ocellus did an abrupt one-eighty and made her way back down toward the ground, her teachers following close behind. As they made their way toward where Gallus was, they could hear more crying. At first, it was faint, but it grew louder and more anguished as they drew closer. The wind still felt cold, but this time it had a different effect. It felt less like a typical December chill and more as if the icy fingers of death had descended upon the whole area, blanketing the area with a sheet of melancholy on top of the increasingly thickening blanket of snow. Using her horn as a light and following the sound of the crying, Twilight Rainbow, Spike, and Ocellus eventually found the other four creatures huddled around their fallen friend. Silverstream had picked up Gallus' crumpled body by this point and was cradling him in her arms. Looking upon the scene herself sent an enormous wave of guilt through Twilight’s body. She was the cause of all of this. She had tried to set the record straight between the six of them by pressuring Gallus into coming clean. Instead, it had all gone horrifically wrong. Now, her hooves would forever be stained by the Griffon's blood and his suicide would ride on her conscience until the end of her days. She just stood there, staring blankly ahead of her. It all felt like a dream. She was snapped out of her trance when she heard Silverstream choking out words.

“I-I’m *Hic* s-so s-sorry, Twilight!” Silverstream sniveled. “I-I *sniffle* w-was so cl-close *hic* to saving him!”

“Silverstream, no. I know you tried. This is my fault. I knew Gallus had destroyed the tree. I was trying to pressure him to come clean about it,” Twilight sniffled. “I thought I could teach him, as well as the rest of you, a friendship lesson in honesty. I’ve really, really messed up.”

“Twilight, you had no way of knowing he’d do this,” Ocellus croaked through tears. “N-None of us did.”

“I still could’ve done more to save him,” whimpered Twilight. “Rainbow, Spike, and I shouldn’t have been so hasty to leave you on that trail alone. We could’ve had the chance to go down there with you and this would never have happened.”

“Even if you had followed us down that trail, it wouldn’t have helped,” said Silverstream. “The Gallus that the five of us saw on that mountain was nothing like the Gallus we thought we knew.”

“What do you mean?” asked Rainbow Dash.

“He looked absolutely destroyed. His eyes were filled with pain. I had another chance to sense his distress and what I found was far beyond anything I could’ve ever imagined. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a creature look so sad or hurt. His sobs were even worse. It honestly sounded like his spirit was breaking right before our eyes,” Ocellus said.

Smolder, Silverstream, Sandbar, and Yona all joined Ocellus in slowly recapping Gallus' final moments toward their teachers. With each word that left their mouths, the weight upon the shoulders of Twilight and Rainbow Dash grew heavier and heavier.

“I-I was s-so-so close!” Silverstream sobbed as she went into detail on how she had tried to catch Gallus. “I was no more than a centimeter from grabbing him before I was forced to pull up and I ended up crashing into a tree. I-I heard him hit the ground a-and I-I…”

The Hippogriff got no further before she began to bawl in agony. She looked back down at the still face of her deceased friend, caressing it with her uninjured hand.

“G-Gallus,” she croaked out. “I-I’m so sorry. I tried to save you. I really did. Wh-What could you have done to deserve this?”

The other four students, Spike, Twilight, and Rainbow all embraced Silverstream and began to all cry with her. They were unable to do it for very long as they felt the bitter sting of the wind pummeling their bodies return to them, hitting them all like a fully loaded freight train. They were so focused on the fate that had befallen Gallus that they had tuned out the worsening conditions. They began to feel weak, and their joints ached. Twilight put up a forcefield around them and they slowly made their way back to the student’s quarters, with Silverstream volunteering to cart Gallus’ shattered body back with them. The others noticed that she had a limp and there seemed to be a large bruise on her left side. Her left wing looked like it was practically hanging off of her side.

After what felt like the slowest and most agonizing walk they had ever experienced, the eight creatures had made their way back to the front door of the student’s quarters. Smolder, Sandbar, Ocellus, and Yona all went straight to their rooms, walked inside without saying a word, and locked the doors immediately after shutting them behind them. Silverstream, however, stayed with the teachers and Spike. They went to Gallus’ dorm room, placed the Griffon on his bed, and said that no one was allowed inside the room until a coroner could come down to the school to take Gallus away. Twilight placed a spell on his body to preserve it until then. As Spike, Twilight, and Rainbow turned to leave, they noticed Silverstream wasn’t following them. They looked back to see the pink Hippogriff just staring at Gallus’ lifeless corpse.

“Silverstream?” Rainbow asked cautiously.

“Leave me alone,” Silverstream said back. “I need some time with him.”

The two ponies and Dragon were reluctant to leave the grieving Hippogriff alone, but eventually they fulfilled her request. They left the room without a word and quietly closed the door. The second they were outside, Twilight immediately sat in her haunches, buried her face in her hooves, and began to sob and sob. Rainbow Dash and Spike both wrapped her in a hug and began to cry themselves. They all just sat there in the hallway not saying a word and not breaking the hug as they let their emotions flow. Eventually, they were pulled away when Silverstream creaked open the dorm room door. She still had a limp, and her eyes were bloodshot from all the crying she had done.

“T-Twilight?” she asked timidly. “C-Could you get me some ice packs? My wing, side, and wrist really hurt.”

“Certainly,” said Twilight, as Spike, Rainbow, and she helped the Hippogriff limp her way to the nurse's office.

With her focus on Gallus now wearing off, Silverstream began to feel the pain that was shooting through her wrist, wing, and side becoming more and more vivid. However, no physical pain even came close to the pain inside her chest from her heart being broken in the worst way imaginable. Not only had she lost her love interest in the most traumatizing way possible, but she had also witnessed a side to him that would most certainly haunt her for the rest of her life. As the Hippogriff sat down on a bed inside the nurse’s office, the two Ponies and Dragon noticed her left side looked a little swollen and it had a dark bruise on it. Her wing also seemed to be in an unusual position, and it was missing a few feathers. Upon inspecting Silverstream’s injuries closer, Twilight spoke up.

“You know what, Silverstream? I’m sending a medical team to have a look at you. It seems that your injuries may be worse than I assumed.”

Silverstream winced hearing that but said nothing in return. She just nodded her head.

Twilight used her magic to levitate a trio of ice packs and placed them on the Hippogriff’s wing, wrist, and side and uttered a spell to keep them in place so they wouldn’t have to be held on. Then, she turned her attention to Rainbow Dash.

“Rainbow,” she said. “You stay here and keep Silverstream company. Spike, you’re coming with me to get a medical team and coroner, alert the girls of what’s happened, and notify the families of the students.”

Neither Dragon nor Pegasus needed to be told twice. Twilight and Spike raced off while Rainbow stayed behind to comfort the heartbroken Hippogriff.