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// Introduction 
// Story: Collateral Damage 
// by Metemponychosis 
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Gallus was a griffon. Like most griffons, he hailed from Griffonia, but Harmony had been so kind as to allow him to live in Ponyville. It was a place where even a griffon could make many friends and allowed them to challenge the idea that all griffons were jerks. Truth be told, he considered himself a jerk, but! But he used his powers of jerkiness to the benefit of his friends. That was about as much as one could expect from a griffon who had come to the ‘friendly place’.

Most had an idea that he was important, as he was the griffon in Princess Twilight Sparkle’s school. There were others, but everybody knew Gallus. And that was not a good, but the important thing was that when the offer to enroll came, he didn’t even care what it was about. He took it. He held it with his talons as though his life depended on it. 

Gallus was not particularly ‘nerdy-smart’, but he was ‘clever-smart’, and he could see Griffonia was like a beached whale begging for mercy. He knew the griffon nation was ripe for all sorts of trouble. Really, any griffon with half a brain could see that. From shady politicians, and shadier politicians promising to fix the problem to deep-seated corruption that bled the nation dry. It was almost like a philosophical matter. The problem with Griffonia was the griffons.

Of course, many claimed to have the solution while not being shady politicians themselves. But there was a dangerous and vicious griffon lady living in the northernmost hold of Griffonia who thrived on being shady. The kind of griffoness that liked it when the horny kids talked about her as ‘dommy-mommy’. And not in a funny way. She had a thing about telling griffons who they could marry and really, really hated ponies and hippogriffs, and griffons that mingled with ponies and hippogriffs. Like Gallus.

And she was important, too. Sufficient to say, griffons living in the northernmost hold of Griffonia didn’t like hippogriffs, and that they had their own champion to fix Griffonia. Not only someone to succeed the present Griffonian Chancellor, but to be crowned King of the Griffons. Because, apparently, griffons thought that democracy was overrated! ‘Complex’ could barely describe the situation. Unfortunately for Gallus, that griffon who would fix all Griffonia’s problems was his half-brother. And more than that, he was married to that griffon lady.

Gallus was effectively hiding and shielding himself behind Princess Twilight Sparkle and her school. There was a problem, though. Schools close during vacations and Gallus’ friends, most of them coming from different places of the Equestrian Confederation, went home. Gallus, however, was not going back to Griffonia. No sir, no way, no how. He could have stayed with Sandbar, but Gallus had grown close enough to Silverstream that they might be called more than just friends.

It meant making a choice. His legal guardian lived in Griffonstone and hated the fact he had joined the School of Friendship. Grandpa Gruff was not his grandfather, but he was old and treated Gallus as though he were his grandson. The truth was much more complicated than that, and another thing Gallus would rather not deal with. That was a theme with his past.

‘Yeah, cool’, he said casually when Silverstream invited him to spend their vacation together. Silverstream understood Gallus’ situation and probably didn’t want him in trouble, so he traveled with her to Mount Aris. Queen Novo had a problem with the angry griffon lady saying that hippogriffs are a blight upon the world. Fortunately, Her Majesty believed Gallus was a good rooster, especially since he wanted nothing to do with the northerner griffons or the drama in Griffonia. She kindly accepted the teenager rooster to live in her palace with her niece and her daughter.

Hippogriffia was the best holiday location in the world by several standards. Like a paradise, even compared to the nice and welcoming pony cities. With two of his friends, Gallus was hopeful about his chances for a more mature adventure. Who could say? He was happy he was safe from the mess Griffonia had become, and there was nothing keeping their relationship from developing. A young griffon could dream.