They couldn’t really get back to movie watching after that.
Instead, Gallus spent most of the next couple of hours pacing in circles, concerned about what might be happening and frustrated that they were being left completely out of the loop. Spike likewise seemed on edge as he fitfully went about the room in search of something to distract himself. This mostly translated to him spastically cleaning up the popcorn they’d spilled, then anxiously eating all of that popcorn once Gallus signaled he didn’t want any, before going to clean whatever else he could lay claw on in the room. During all this they got absolutely no new information on what happened other than, whatever it was, it had shaken the whole palace and put everyone on high alert. It wasn’t enough information to even try and speculate theories, though it didn’t stop either of them from doing so with little avail.
Finally, long after the sun had set, Twilight Sparkle arrived at their room, looking somber and stern.
“Finally!” Gallus snapped, rounding on her as she entered. “What the heck is happening out there? Nobody will tell us anything!”
“I apologize for leaving you two in the dark for so long, but a lot has happened and we’re only just starting to get things under some semblance of control,” Twilight responded, all business. “I’ll try to explain along the way, but right now I need you two to come with me.”
Gallus exchanged a glance with Spike, wondering what was up, but they didn’t delay following her out of the room. The now four guards stationed at their door immediately fell into formation around them, escorting them as they walked at a somewhat urgent pace. Outside, things seemed to have mostly calmed down again, but a nervous energy was still apparent all throughout the palace, so Gallus knew he and Spike weren’t the only ones on edge currently.
“First things first,” Twilight began as she resolutely lead the way to a predetermined location. “I need to know everyone you two have spoken with today, what their names are if you can tell me, and, above all else, just what exactly you told them.”
Spike’s face screwed up in a confused grimace at that. “Well,” he began to reply uncertainly, “we spoke with you, your two aides, Gruff, Ditzy…”
“Anyone besides them?” Twilight cut off, narrowing it down.
Both creatures racked their brains for a moment. “Well, there were the guards you had assigned to escort us,” Gallus said, motioning to the two they’d been with for most of the day and were still escorting them even now. “I suppose we also spoke briefly with the kitchen staff when we went down there to make lunch…”
“There’s also all of the medical staff who ran those tests on us this morning,” Spike added. “But all we really talked about with them was the results of those tests.”
“So you haven’t spoken to any other creatures about what we’ve been doing to try and resolve this mess?” Twilight asked. At this point Gallus realized with a jolt of alarm she was leading them back into the medical portion of the palace.
“No, not really…there wasn’t ever any need to,” Spike replied.
“And we knew we should be careful about what we say to who right now anyway,” Gallus added before pointedly asking, “Princess, what’s going on here?”
Twilight breathed a weary sigh. “Not good things, I’m afraid,” she said. “First, those two airships carrying the evidence from Griffonstone and the Dragon Lands arrived, and their cargo was immediately transferred into an evidence locker in the security wing where it was to be processed on demand by the other departments.” Her eyes narrowed. “However, almost immediately after this was finished, an incendiary charge went off inside the locker and promptly destroyed all of that evidence.”
Gallus’s eyes went wide in horror and anger. “…what?”
Spike, however, was thinking about other things. “What about Diorite?” he asked urgently, partly in hopes they still had something worthwhile from the whole endeavor and partly because he didn’t want to hear yet another creature had perished from all this. “You still have him, right?”
“Thankfully, yes,” Twilight confirmed with a short nod. “He was elsewhere at the time the charge went off, being transferred to the dungeons for holding. He’s still there now and under heavy guard, more for his own protection than ours, and I’ve ordered that absolutely no one is allowed to see him under any pretense except in a confirmed medical emergency or Ditzy coming to interrogate him.”
“And what has Ditzy learned from him?” Gallus asked, figuring the pegasus would’ve started on that immediately.
“Ditzy hasn’t begun interrogating him yet and probably won’t get to until tomorrow morning at the earliest,” Twilight however explained, and going from her tone, she was upset and frustrated this was the case. She stopped them at the door to a particular medical room and started to push it open. “That’s the other unfortunate half of what’s happened this evening.”
Inside they found two Night Guard ponies on cots wearing oxygen masks. One was a female bat pony Gallus didn’t know, but the other was Ditzy. Both ponies had their eyes closed, but Ditzy’s opened when they entered the room.
“Ditzy!” Spike declared in alarm and hurrying forward to the pegasus’s side, Gallus trailing behind him in a concerned daze.
“Shh,” Ditzy swiftly shushed in a somewhat raspy voice further muffled by the oxygen mask she wore. She pointed beside her at the other mare. “Swoops is trying to sleep over there.”
Spike glanced at the bat pony and lowered his voice accordingly. “Are you okay?” he then asked, voice dripping with concern.
“I’m fine,” Ditzy assured, waving them both off, “A night on oxygen and probably another thaumic neutralizer booster as a precaution and I should be back on my hooves by morning.”
“But what happened?” Gallus prompted, wanting answers.
Ditzy didn’t reply right away however and instead glanced in Twilight’s direction. Gallus only then noticed that the princess hadn’t followed them into the room right away but stopped in the doorway so to speak with their four escorts. When she’d finished, they all remained outside of the room while Twilight entered, closing and locking the door behind her. She then cast a spell on top of that, which Gallus suspected was done to curtail any eavesdropping and ensure absolute privacy, sending a chill down his spine at how serious the situation was being treated.
It was only when Twilight had taken all of these measures and joined them that Ditzy spoke again, and even then it wasn’t to answer Gallus’s question. “Gallus and Spike,” she began seriously, drawing their full attention back to her. “I need you to listen carefully and answer with complete truthfulness. You two are among only a hoofful of creatures who knew I would be investigating Streamline today, the second-in-command of the airship that attacked Spark. Did you tell anyone else about this?”
Spike was taken aback at the suggestion. “No, of course not!” he promptly assured.
“You made it pretty clear what could happen if we didn’t keep quiet about it,” Gallus added, filling with dread as he started to suspect where this was going.
Ditzy sighed wearily and leaned back on her cot. “I figured you two would say that,” she said and gave them a relieved but bittersweet grin, though it quickly faded. “But that also means we potentially have a very big problem.”
“What are you saying?” Spike asked, also growing concerned.
“Earlier, I took Swoops to go and meet Streamline at his home on the outskirts of Canterlot, so to question him about what happened the day Spark died,” Ditzy explained seriously, “But as we were wrapping up, a grenade filled with Choker’s Gas suddenly smashed its way through his living room window.”
“Choker’s Gas?” Gallus repeated, unfamiliar with the substance.
“A magically imbued gas meant to be used for extreme combat situations,” Twilight explained darkly. “If inhaled, it directly targets the victim’s lungs and causes them to completely stop functioning, effectively suffocating the victim.”
“And this grenade released enough to fill the whole room nearly instantly,” Ditzy continued as Gallus and Spike both looked on in horror. “Swoops and I were lucky enough to get to safety with minimal exposure and further countered the gas’s effects with thaumic neutralizers from some first aid kits I had the foresight to bring along.” Her expression turned grave. “But we weren’t the targets, Streamline was. And unfortunately…we weren’t able to get to him in time.”
Gallus groaned and buried his face in his talons in dismay at this newest complication while Spike closed his eyes and hung his head. Meanwhile, Twilight finished driving the point home. “About a half-hour after this happened,” she concluded, “that incendiary charge I told you about went off in the evidence locker.”
“Someone planned all this,” Gallus deduced with a frustrated growl.
“And in order for that someone to do it all this swiftly,” Ditzy continued, “they would have to be getting reliable inside information from someone very high up the chain of command.”
“And to have that,” Twilight added seriously, “means that someone in this palace is a traitor. We just don’t know who.”
A heavy silence fell after that reveal. Gallus sat down on his haunches, feeling blown away by how much worse this mess was getting with what felt like every passing day.
“There is a small upside though,” Ditzy then continued, shining a faint ray of light on all this gloom and doom. “The fact our mystery ringleader has done this by resorting to such extreme measures suggests they’re trying to cover their tracks very urgently. That tells me we’re on the right track to uncovering them and the fact we’re getting so close has them spooked.”
“That doesn’t mean all that much if creatures keep dying over this though!” Spike bemoaned in frustration.
Gallus draped a wing over the little dragon and shifted the subject. “Did you at least get something out of Streamline before everything went south?” he asked.
Ditzy nodded. “Like I said, Swoops and I were wrapping up when that grenade dropped in,” she explained. “And Streamline was more cooperative than I expected. He seemed to have understood the seriousness of his situation for years.” She nodded her head at Spike. “You were actually right to guess that Static Lift’s death spooked him, fearing he’d be next if he didn’t keep quiet.” She closed her eyes sadly for a moment. “And he’s now been proven right…but at least he died trying to come clean.”
She glanced at Twilight at this point, who nodded for Ditzy to continue. “Go ahead and tell them what you told me, Ditzy,” she said. “It’s clear whoever the leak was, it wasn’t them.”
Ditzy nodded and turned her attention back to Spike and Gallus. “Streamline confirmed things basically as I’d already deduced,” she explained. “He, Static Lift, and a civilian pilot Streamline had never met before but assumed was under private contract with the Royal Guard, boarded an airship undergoing refits and disembarked under the cover of a brief test cruise. In reality, Streamline was told they were undertaking a secret mission to stop a dangerous creature. He was told little else beyond that, leaving only Static Lift, as the flight commander, to know the full mission details. Streamline had the impression they were hunting a deadly criminal.”
“In reality, they were hunting Spark,” Spike surmised coldly.
Ditzy nodded. “It was as they were approaching Spark that Streamline started to suspect something amiss,” she said, “because according to him, when Spark came into view and sighted them, no doubt IDing them as a Royal Guard craft, he flew directly towards them as if trying to flag them down. He didn’t seem to be posing any meaningful threat at all. Nonetheless, Static Lift, operating the ship’s harpoon, shot Spark down with one lethal shot. Then, to Streamline’s further bewilderment, Static Lift went alone down to Spark’s body, taking a dagger with him.”
“He was staging the crime scene to look like Spark was mobbed and stabbed to death instead of killed by a harpoon, like how Gruff later found him,” Gallus realized with a scowl.
Again, Ditzy nodded. “Streamline said Static Lift returned to the airship with both clothes and dagger bloodstained, having retrieved the killing harpoon. He then ordered they return to Canterlot, leaving Spark’s body effectively where it’d fallen. On the way back, Static Lift destroyed the harpoon, dagger, and bloodstained clothes. He also made Streamline and the civilian pilot swear to secrecy and promised they would be well paid for their troubles. Streamline did indeed receive a hefty but anonymous paycheck deposited into his bank account just days later, but he strongly suspected something was very amiss and it left him rattled. But he didn’t know who’d assigned this mission or told Static Lift to carry it out, much less why, leaving him uncertain as to who he could turn to. In the meantime, he also noticed Static Lift was never quite the same afterwards and suspected the murder weighed on him far more than let on, at least until he died nearly a moon later.”
“Was that why he was killed?” Gallus asked. “It was clear he was starting to get second thoughts about the whole thing?”
“Streamline thought so,” Ditzy said. “And he didn’t believe Static died of natural causes for a second. So, fearing for his own life, he continued to keep it all to himself…until Swoops and I came knocking on his door and asked him directly, at which point his resolve caved.” Her gaze turned distant. “I can’t help but wonder if he hoped us investigating it now meant he’d finally have a way out and into safety. I’m just sorry we weren’t able to give him that.”
“What about the civilian pilot?” Spike asked.
“I don’t know and neither did Streamline,” Ditzy admitted sadly. “He’d never seen the pony before that day and never saw him again afterwards. He never learned his name either. But as morbid as this will sound, at the rate things are going, I worry that even if we do ID that pilot, we’re just going to find out he’s been killed too.”
“But you’re still going to try anyway, aren’t you?” Twilight guessed knowingly.
“Of course,” Ditzy vowed. “I still have a few routes through which I can try to find out more. But to be honest, princess, I’d rather try and interrogate Diorite first and get what we can out of him before something happens to him too.”
“Agreed,” Twilight said before patting the recovering pegasus on the leg. “But you can’t really do that in this state so we’re taking the risk and letting you finish resting up first. Like I told you earlier, I’ve got Diorite under heavy guard and constant watch, so much so I’m hoping that even if someone tries to attack him, they’d still be discouraged from it with how many eyes are watching him.”
“What about the evidence locker?” Spike asked. “How does that fit into this?”
“Personally, I suspect it was the same creature who set fire to Gene Type’s apartment,” Ditzy said. “Possibly even the one who threw that grenade of Choker’s Gas. Whoever they are though, I’ll bet they were hired by our mastermind, the one getting the information needed so to stage these attacks.”
“In any case, I worry this…mercenary, for lack of a better term…could still be lurking nearby, maybe even hiding in plain sight,” Twilight said. “So we absolutely cannot let our guard down any more. If anything, we should be upping it.”
Gallus rubbed at his face. “Yeah, we don’t want anyone else to end up like Streamline did,” he said. “Or anyone else who’s been hurt in all this nonsense.”
“Speaking of, I meant to ask earlier,” Spike piped in. “Was anyone hurt in the evidence locker fire?”
Gallus noticed in the corner of his eye Ditzy sharply looking at Twilight, as if disappointed she hadn’t already answered this question, which led Gallus to focus his full attention on Twilight, fearing that answer.
It seemed he did indeed have cause for concern, because Twilight hesitated to reply. “There were no deaths,” she reported, “but there were creatures injured—two guards and…an assisting civilian.”
“Assisting civilian?” Gallus repeated, but then his body went cold as he realized who that could only be. “…Gruff.”
Gruff was in another room, lying in a cot and out cold. His head bore a white bandage wrapped tightly around it and he appeared to have been in a scuffle as his body bore other visible scratches and bumps. He seemed oddly still and frail lying there, so much so that if it wasn’t for the heart monitor steadily beeping beside him, Gallus wasn’t sure he could even tell the elderly griffon was still alive. For a long moment Gallus just stood there, taking in the unfortunate sight with more horror than he was prepared to experience. Finally, he swallowed uncomfortably and turned to the attending physician.
“What happened?” he demanded.
“He suffered a blow to the head, resulting in a concussion,” the doctor explained patiently but sympathetically. “He also suffered bruising to the ribs. Physically speaking, he’ll live, but these are serious injuries for a creature of his age, so he’s lucky he doesn’t seem to be suffering from any additional complications that we can find. As it is, though, he’s lapsed into a coma so now coming back out of it is up to him. Until then, all we can do is wait and hope for the best.”
Twilight, standing behind Gallus, placed a hoof on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. “We’ll make sure he gets all the treatment he needs until then, Gallus,” she reassured.
Gallus shrugged off her hoof though, staring at the incapacitated griffon and trying to process just what he was feeling about this.
“How did this happen?” Spike meanwhile asked, looking likewise concerned for Gruff, but from the looks he kept giving Gallus, he was even more concerned for the younger griffon.
Instead of the doctor or Twilight answering though, a new voice replied. “He was trying to catch the culprit.”
Gallus turned to see the other patient in the room, a female unicorn, lying in her own cot and with a faraway gaze on her face. Judging from the armor left lying nearby, she was a member of the Night Guard and presumably one of the two guards Twilight had mentioned were also injured in the evidence locker’s destruction. The bandages around her barrel certainly seemed to indicate that at least.
Twilight motioned to the unicorn. “Spike, Gallus, this is Lieutenant Eve Spark,” she introduced calmly. “She was one of the guards overseeing the delivery and securing of the evidence.”
“Before it all went up in flames in front of everyone,” Eve Spark mumbled depreciatingly.
“I’m sure you did all you could’ve, lieutenant,” Spike offered gently, trying to comfort the clearly upset mare.
Eve snorted but didn’t argue the point further.
Gallus stared forlornly at Gruff for another moment before forcing himself to give the unicorn his full attention. “What exactly happened with Gruff, lieutenant?” he asked. “How did he get injured?”
Eve didn’t reply right away, reflecting internally on whatever had transpired. “Honestly, he shouldn’t have even been there,” she began by stressing, but her resolve for that statement crumbled as soon as she said it. “Or maybe he should’ve, because he had little faith we could really keep the evidence secure…and clearly he had a point.” She shook her head. “In any case, he was insisting on at least observing the storing of the evidence and ensuring it went as planned. He must’ve made a scene doing so, because the higher-ups granted his request and so there he was, right there beside us, waiting for the first of the airships to arrive. I…didn’t really want him there, so we butted heads until I got him to follow my instructions. Most I heard out of him after that was him grumbling about this and that.”
“Yeah, that sounds like Gruff all right,” Gallus admitted softly, unable to stop himself from glancing over at Gruff once again.
“Still, he wasn’t just dead weight once the airship from the Dragon Lands arrived,” Eve continued, gaze still distant. “He was right there helping us offload it and move it into the evidence locker, though I think he did that mostly because he didn’t trust us with it.”
“He…has been through a few things involving this whole matter,” Spike reasoned aloud here in an attempt to defend Gruff. “It kinda made him…” he paused, seeking the right word.
“Paranoid,” Gallus offered bluntly, his gaze turning back to Eve and trying to ignore Gruff lying behind him for the moment.
Spike winced, looking like he didn’t entirely agree, but rather than debate it, he pressed on like he hadn’t trailed off at all. “…about strangers he didn’t know. So he was just…wanting to be sure.”
Eve snorted again, sounding like she had mixed feelings about it. “Well, we got the Dragon Lands evidence loaded into the locker without incident and proceeded to wait for about a half-hour or so until the airship from Griffonstone arrived and we started doing the same with it,” she continued relating. “We’d just finished and were closing up the locker again when I catch sight of him shouting and running off behind some nearby storage shelves. I shouted at him to come back then started to go after him myself when he didn’t. I barely got three trots in before the evidence locker beside me suddenly explodes in flames and I’m on the floor. At first I thought the blast simply knocked me over, but then I realized I took a sizeable piece of shrapnel to the belly.” She grumpily motioned to her bandaged barrel at this.
Spike winced again. “Guess that’s why you’re here now, huh?” he surmised.
“Fortunately, it missed anything vital and she mostly just needed stitches,” the doctor, who had been listening, piped in. “We’re just keeping her here for observation as a precaution. The lieutenant got lucky, as did the other guard who was injured—he only suffered a bad gash to their wing and some whiplash from the blast.”
“Whatever the case,” Eve snapped at that point, getting back on topic, “It left me wounded enough that I’m basically immobile and can’t do anything, much less pursue someone, until other guards come running in to assist.” She lowered her head. “I of course send some of them after Gruff, but he was already like that when they found him several feet away.”
“You did everything you could exactly as you should’ve, lieutenant,” Twilight interjected here, trying to reassure the injured unicorn. “It wasn’t your fault Gruff rushed off on his own without telling anyone or bringing anyone with.”
Eve averted her gaze from the alicorn though. “…doesn’t make me feel any better about it though…”
“You said Gruff was chasing after the culprit though?” Spike asked at this point, ensuring he understood clearly what had happened. “What makes you so sure? Did you see them?”
“No,” Eve admitted flatly, “but from the way Gruff had been shouting and hollering when he ran off, he’d clearly seen someone who shouldn’t have been there. And considering the evidence locker went up in flames almost immediately afterwards…”
“It is too much of a coincidence to have been anyone else,” Gallus admitted, beginning to pace aimlessly in circles. He was keeping his eyes on the floor now in an attempt to keep from looking at Gruff.
“He clearly caught up with the culprit enough to attack them before getting knocked out,” the doctor added, trying to be informative. “His other scratches and bumps are consistent with a fight.”
“Then at least he got a few blows in on our guy,” Gallus noted, glancing up at Gruff. He somewhat regretted it as the sight of the unconscious griffon made his heart sink and feel confusing emotions once again.
“The culprit must’ve managed to get behind him though, as he was clearly struck to the back of the head with enough force it probably knocked him out almost immediately,” the doctor surmised.
“And unfortunately, that culprit still got away,” Twilight added with a heavy sigh, “with no one else having seen them or knowing who they were, let alone how they got inside the palace to begin with.”
“Making Gruff the only one who got a good look at them,” Spike concluded, also gazing forlornly at Gruff lying in his cot.
“Whoever they were, they knew precisely what they were doing,” Eve groused aloud, still inclined to beat herself up over it. “They waited until all the evidence was in the locker and everyone was looking the wrong way except for Gruff before hurling that incendiary charge into it.”
“How do you know the charge hadn’t been planted inside the locker in advance, operating on a timer?” Twilight asked more out of curiosity than doubt.
“Then they wouldn’t have stuck around waiting for it to go off and risk getting noticed like they did, princess,” Eve answered without meeting Twilight’s eyes. “Besides, charges like that typically only come in the grenade sort and work on short enough of a fuse that throwing them at your target is really the only way to do it. Anything else would’ve been too big and bulky to not have been noticed right away while we were moving the evidence. And anyway, we were in and out of that locker often enough we would’ve easily noticed if someone was there setting something up, so if it had been planted in advance, it would’ve had to have happened aboard the airship that brought it, and if they could’ve done that…”
“…then why not just destroy the evidence there on the airship?” Twilight quietly finished, nodding her head in agreement with Eve’s assessment.
“They probably knew another airship was carrying evidence too, so maybe they were just waiting until it was all in one spot before detonating it?” Spike suggested.
“That still doesn’t disprove Eve’s points about how the grenade was probably the easiest way to do it without immediate detection, in which case there wasn’t much point being on the airship for sabotage at all,” Twilight countered. “And now that I think about it, if our masterminds behind this whole plot could get a saboteur on one of the airships, then why not just ensure saboteurs on both airships and be done with it?”
“Point is that none of us know enough to say one way or the other!” Gallus snapped at them without warning. “So there’s no good speculating!” He then gazed forlornly at Gruff, having given up trying to ignore it. “We’re back at square one anyway.”
Spike was suddenly at his side, concerned. “Are you okay, Gallus?” he asked.
Gallus hesitated, unsure how to answer.
“Well, in any case,” the doctor said, seeing the debate had largely run its course, “I have other patients I need to attend to and for now there’s little else to do here.” He motioned to the visiting trio. “You’re welcome to stay if you wish. I just ask you do not do anything to disturb my patients, particularly as they should be getting some rest at this late hour.” He gave Eve a pointed look at that. “If anything is needed, you know how to call for me or others of the medical staff.”
Twilight sighed as the doctor left. “I admittedly still have more messes to sort through myself,” she admitted as she likewise prepared to leave. “Will you two be going back to your room?” she then asked, glancing at Spike and Gallus.
Gallus didn’t respond or break his gaze from Gruff. He felt Spike shuffle at his side and the dragon’s eyes glance up at him. “…I think we’re going to stay here for a bit, Twilight,” Spike replied on the behalf of them both, staying close to Gallus.
Thankfully, Twilight understood. “All right then,” she said. “If you’re still here when I’m done, I’ll come back to check on you two. I just ask that you have two escorts in here to keep watch while the other two keep standing guard at the door outside, okay?”
Getting a silent nod of agreement from Spike, she left too but not before sending in two of their Night Guard escorts. Gallus side-glanced at them, feeling somewhat annoyed by their presence, but he also understood why enough to not protest. He resumed locking his eyes with Gruff lying in his cot.
After a moment of silence, Spike quietly urged him to sit down in a nearby chair against the wall. “You sure you’re okay?” he asked as they did this.
“…I don’t know,” Gallus finally admitted, unable to put into words how he was feeling. “I just…this all caught me off guard. I wasn’t prepared for this.” He snorted. “Somehow despite everything else that’s happened before now.”
“I’m sorry I couldn’t do more to stop him from being hurt,” Eve remarked suddenly, proving she was still listening.
Gallus made a sarcastic and fake singular laugh at that, turning his head in her direction. For the first time, she was looking back at them directly. “You know, he brought this upon himself,” he snapped, pointing at Gruff. “It’s like you said, he shouldn’t have even been there, but he was because he just couldn’t trust others. He doesn’t trust anyone, let alone me, so much so he actively tried to push me away. So what makes you think I care?”
Eve’s gaze became pointed. “You wouldn’t still be here if you didn’t.”
That silenced Gallus. So her point made, Eve settled down on her cot and tried to get to sleep. Spike, meanwhile, looked back and forth between the two. Eventually, he settled his concerned gaze back on Gallus.
“Look, it’s okay,” he assured Gallus, rubbing at his shoulder. “There’s nothing wrong about showing concern anyway.”
“Why him though?” Gallus asked aloud in a soft whisper, staring at Gruff again. “Why do I care? That griffon has not only been a jerk to me pretty much the whole time I’ve known him, he also lied and deliberately withheld information from us both. Part of the whole reason we’re in this mess is because he never bothered to forewarn me of the dangers lurking out there, giving me no chance to take precautions that could’ve avoided it. I should have no reason to want to care about him. So why him?”
Spike was silent for a moment, continuing to rub Gallus’s shoulder. “Because now you know why he did all that—so to protect you. He proved that he does care about you…a lot more than he let on.”
Once again, Gallus found he couldn’t counter that. So he didn’t, instead letting the silence fall and his mind quietly process the quandary while Spike sat beside him and kept him company, allowing him the peace and time to do so. They stayed like that for a good long while, though Gallus barely noticed with how gridlocked his brain currently felt. Eventually, it grew late enough that Spike fell asleep, snuggled into Gallus’s side, and Gallus in turn reflexively wrapped one leg around him to keep him close, glad to have his company, awake or asleep. Tiredness was starting to seep into his own body too, but Gallus stubbornly ignored it, still trying to come to terms with what he was feeling.
“You know, my mother used to say that if you keep making faces like that, it’ll freeze like that one day.”
Blinking, Gallus snapped out of his revere to see that Twilight had returned as promised and was now standing beside where he and Spike sat. Gallus blushed a little and averted his gaze, embarrassed that he hadn’t noticed the princess enter. “Sorry, I’ve just…been thinking.”
“Pretty hard, apparently,” Twilight observed, taking the liberty of sitting down beside him. Her gaze turned from joking to sympathetic as she nodded her head at Gruff in his cot. “You’re really worried about him, aren’t you?”
Gallus hesitated, making a frustrated moan, but at least conceded he could no longer deny it. “…yeah, I guess I am,” he admitted finally. He stopped to draw in a deep breath. “I’m…still not sure why though.” He gazed sadly at Gruff’s unconscious form. “I’m still not exactly pleased with how he handled…all of this. And I still feel like I should be at least a little furious with him, but now, seeing him like this…” he sighed, saddened. “…I guess it’s not as straightforward as I thought.”
“Being unhappy with someone isn’t the same as wanting harm to befall them,” Twilight pointed out wisely. She gave him an encouraging nudge. “Honestly, Gallus, I think it just proves how good and caring a creature you actually are, still feeling concern for those that also have your ire.” She studied him for a moment. “If it helps, I’ve been there a few times myself. You don’t fight and then reform as many villains as I have—Discord, Trixie, Starlight even—without feeling that…conflicting clash of emotions…at some point.”
“How do you come to terms with it then?” Gallus mumbled, propping his beak on his talons as he continued gazing forlornly ahead at Gruff.
“Usually, I try to focus on all of the good things that creature’s also done, or still has the potential to do,” Twilight replied and nodded her head at Gruff. “We may not like some of his methods, but can you really say he hasn’t done what he has with good intentions in mind?”
Gallus sighed again. “…I suppose he did save my life earlier,” he admitted, thinking of the incident with Commodore Garrett. He grinned a little. “He also tried to help…my parents…when they were in trouble and at great risk to himself. Even when he ultimately couldn’t prevent what happened…he didn’t give up trying in other ways. And he did try to stop whoever blew up the evidence locker, even if unsuccessfully.” Gallus’s grin grew a little more as he started to see what good Gruff had done. But then it faded as he thought about how it related to himself. “It’s just…when he found out I was still out there…he wasn’t there for me when I needed him. Or at least it didn’t feel like it to me.” He felt his eyes water a little. “And I don’t think he realizes just how much I needed that…then or now.”
Twilight sighed herself and nodded. “I can see how that’s frustrating for you,” she relented gently. “And I won’t say everything he’s done was correct, especially in regards to you, because there probably was more he should’ve done. But Gallus…” she leaned closer. “…did you ever consider that maybe the reason why that bothers you so much is because you wanted him to be there for you?”
Gallus turned that over in his head for a moment. He wasn’t sure he liked the implications. “Well…he wasn’t in any case,” he conceded, brushing aside the point. He let his body sag a little, dejected nonetheless. “And…I don’t think he ever will be…not how I needed him to be, at least.”
“Perhaps not,” Twilight said, “and it’d be unfair to expect either of you to be. That’s not really my point anyway. I’m just…trying to help you come to terms with the fact that, conscious of it or not, you care about what happens to him a lot more than you thought, and…that needn’t be a bad thing.” She nodded her head at Gruff again. “I think there are some aspects of him that deserve that care, even past his other failings.” She looked back at Gallus. “Regardless of however you think you should feel about him, you didn’t want to see him hurt any more than you would anyone else.”
Gallus hummed to that, unable to deny it. “So many have been hurt throughout all of this though,” he pointed out, semi-deliberately shifting the topic. “And I’m getting…kinda sick and tired of it.” He finally pulled his gaze off of Gruff and onto the alicorn beside him. “How many more are going to end up in harm’s way before we’ve put an end to this, princess?”
Twilight breathed a heavy sigh. “I wish I could tell you, Gallus,” she admitted. “But I’d be lying if I haven’t been asking myself that same question. Just when I think we’re finally making progress, finally about to end it, things like this happen and prove we’re not actually as close as we thought…and I still don’t know how much longer we’ll have to endure it until we finally get there.” She shook her head and attempted to put on a braver face. “But…you should realize just as well as I do that…you aren’t enduring it alone.”
She motioned to Spike asleep against Gallus’s other side. His heart warming at the sight, Gallus gave the sleeping dragon a friendly squeeze, again savoring the company.
Twilight watched this in thoughtful silence for a moment. “You know, I’m surprised at just how much you two have bonded in so little time.”
His grin returning a little, Gallus gave her a knowing look. “We’ve been through a lot the past few days with only each other to count on, princess,” he pointed out. “And besides, it turns out we have a bit in common…brothers or not.” His gaze turned distant for a moment. “That’s still weird to think about, though…him being my little brother.”
Twilight’s gaze turned distant for a moment too before she drew in a deep and bracing breath. “I’ve…been meaning to talk to you about that, in fact,” she admitted quietly. “I had thought about maybe waiting until after we’ve got this current situation sorted out, so to not have it weighing on our heads too, but…” she licked her lips uncomfortably, “…after Spike hatched and my family ended up taking him in…we’ve…I’ve…always seen him as part of that family, adopted or otherwise, so…”
Gallus nodded, believing he understood. “Don’t worry, I won’t stand between you and him being family still,” he quickly reassured.
“I know you won’t,” Twilight agreed back. “And I don’t want to stand in the way of you two embracing your newfound brotherhood either. That’s…not what I’m trying to say here.” She took another deep breath and tried again. “Gallus, with you being Spike’s brother, I want you to know that, as far as I’m concerned…that makes you part of the family too.”
Gallus’s eyes widened, not expecting that. “Ah…wow, okay…” he swallowed awkwardly. “…I, uh, I don’t know what to say…so…”
Twilight waved a hoof for him to not sweat about it so much. “Of course I’m not expecting you to suddenly think of me as a sister or anything like that,” she clarified, easing the expectations some. “You don’t need to feel like you have to give me or the rest of my family special treatment or that you’re now obligated to associate with us if you don’t want to.” She put a comforting hoof on his shoulder. “I know that you’re a…very independent sort of creature, Gallus, who wants to go at it alone more often than not. And I understand that. Respect it, even. I just want you to know that, if you ever don’t want to do that for anything, you don’t have to. You have that option now. And if you ever find yourself in over your head, you can count on me and the rest of my family to help you out in those times. So mostly I just want you to know that, if you ever need anything, anything you wouldn’t be comfortable taking to anyone else, or even just questions or concerns on anything in general…you can come to me or the rest of my family with it and we’ll do whatever we can to help you.”
Touched to the point of feeling overwhelmed, Gallus opened and closed his beak several times, trying to figure out what to say. “I…thank you, princess. That’s…very kind of you to offer.” He averted his gaze, feeling awkward. “I, uh, don’t know if I’ll actually take you up on that offer anytime soon, but…”
Again Twilight waved that matter aside. “That’s fine,” she said. “I just want you to know it’s an option and…I don’t want you feeling like I’m a stranger for these sort of things. I owe you that much. Especially after everything you did to help keep Spike safe.”
Gallus humbly shrugged at that. “It was a group effort, really,” he reminded.
“I know, and I know Spike’s very capable on his own too,” Twilight confirmed. “But…in these particular circumstances…I don’t know if he would’ve gotten out of it safely if you hadn’t been there looking out for him.” She bit her lip for a moment. “Can I relate one more personal thing with you, Gallus?”
Gallus glanced at her in surprise, wondering what other personal things she could possibly have to say at this point. “Of-of course!”
“Though he’s always been happy to be part of my family…Spike’s also self-aware we weren’t his biological family. And he’s gotten good at keeping that to himself over the years, but I’d long wished I could bring him some closure on that.” She glanced approvingly at Gallus. “So…even though it wasn’t how any of us expected…I’m glad he’s finally found a bit of that biological family now.”
Gallus breathed a heavy sigh, suddenly feeling like the weight of the world was on his back. “I just hope I can live up to his expectations.”
Twilight smiled as she watched him give the sleeping dragon another caring squeeze. “I think you already are,” she assured.
Gallus couldn’t begin to put into words just how reassuring that vote of confidence was for him. So he settled by letting a big and happy grin spread onto his face. They both fell silent for a long moment but eventually Gallus’s eyes wandered back to the injured creature that’d originally brought them here and sighed. “I suppose there really isn’t much else I can do for him right now, huh?” he asked, gazing at Gruff.
Twilight sadly shook her head. “I’m afraid the doctor was right—recovering fully is now up to Gruff, so the best we can do is just make sure he stays healthy and leave him to it.” She glanced around for a moment. “If it will help, I can have a guard stationed at his door as a precaution, have them send for you right away should there be any drastic changes.”
Gallus considered that for a moment then nodded his head. “Yeah…I think I’d like that.”
Twilight nodded back. “I’ll see to it then,” she assured before giving him a gentle nudge. “In the meantime…I think it’s past time you both got to bed yourselves. Spike’s obviously already out and you look exhausted yourself.”
Suddenly Gallus felt dead on his feet and was forced to agree. “Bed does sound like a good idea right now,” he admitted.
So with that, he stood up and, transferring the sleeping Spike to his back, allowed Twilight to escort him back through the now quiet palace to their room. Bidding the princess a good night and another thank you for all she was doing, she then departed for her own bed while Gallus turned his attention to theirs. He first made sure Spike was caringly tucked in first before also crawling into the covers on the other side of the spacious bed. As he curled up and let sleep take him finally, he mulled upon the warm and fluttery feeling filling his chest. He felt…loved and looked after. Pleased by that, he hoped he wouldn’t have to go without that again anytime soon.