Guarded Emotions: The Final Season

by Alabenson

A Horse Shoe In

Gallus let out a dejected sigh as he absentmindedly flipped through the history textbooks in front of him. Truthfully, Gallus knew that he needed to concentrate on his studies, essentially since Headmare / Princess Twilight was almost certainly going to try to squeeze in one final test on the History of Friendship before he left. However, now that the heady catharsis of watching Trixie stand up to Grandpa Gruff on his behalf had worn off, Gallus found himself stuck with a gnawing melancholy that made it impossible to concentrate.

“Pardon me, Gallus, do you have a moment?” Gallus looked up to see a stallion he vaguely recognized as the headmare’s coltfriend standing nearby. “I hate to interrupt, but I was hoping I could have a chat with you regarding the recent developments concerning your guardianship.”

Gallus inwardly groaned. While he doubted that the school would actually send him back to Griffinstone, Gallus knew they’d want to find some sort of replacement for Grandpa Gruff. In all likelihood, this would mean Gallus could look forward to a parade of Griffins giving excuses as to why they were too busy to take on the (unpaid) responsibility, and that was assuming they were even polite enough to bother coming up with an excuse in the first place. Even in the best-case scenario and they did find somegriff willing to act as his guardian, Gallus suspected he’d spend the rest of his life hearing about how he owed a debt to them for their ‘selflessness’.

“I heard about what happened with Grandpa Gruff from Miss Starlight, and I’d like to talk to you about a potential resolution,” Moonwhisper said, snapping Gallus back to reality.

“What, you already found somegriff willing to take the job?” Gallus asked.

“Not exactly. Under normal circumstances, we would prioritize finding somecreature from you home region is out as your guardian, preferably a family member or governmental representative. However, it’s come to our attention that Griffinstone lacks any formal central authority, and that Grandpa Gruff’s position was mostly the result of the population of Griffinstone humoring his delusions so he’d leave them alone,” Moonwhisper said.

“I probably could have told you that. So, what’s your point?” Gallus asked.

“The point is, under the circumstances Princess Twilight has concluded that there isn’t any real requirement for your guardian to come from Griffinstone or even be a griffin,” Moonwhisper explained.

“Huh,” Gallus said as he digested what Moonwhisper had just told him. The possibility of having a non-griffin act his guardian had never really occurred to him, and Gallus had to admit there was a certain appeal to the idea. “So, did you guys have anycreature in mind?”

“Well, we haven’t officially reached out to anycreature as of yet, but before we did, I wanted to talk to you about the situation…and ask how you’d feel about having myself take on the role.

Gallus froze for a moment as he processed what he had just heard. Not even ten minutes prior, Gallus would have counted himself lucky if his appointed guardian was somegriff who wanted to use his defeat of Cozy Glow to sell overpriced t-shirts. Now, his headmare’s coltfriend, soon to be the reining princess of Equestria’s coltfriend, was offering to become his guardian completely out of the blue. Obviously, there had to be some sort of catch. “So, is there a reason why you’re offering, or is this just something that pony bigshots do that I didn’t know about?”

“There isn’t really a specific reason,” Moonwhisper replied. “You need somepony to take responsibility for the role while you’re here at the school, Twilight has spoken quite highly of you…” Moonwhisper paused and let out a deep sigh before continuing. “Also, if I’m being perfectly honest, I have a certain degree of sympathy for individuals with unfavorable parental situations.”

Gallus bristled at Moonwhisper’s last statement. Of course that was it, in the eyes of this pony Gallus was nothing more than some poor orphan in need of saving. Even worse, it sounded like Moonwhisper was trying to claim that he somehow understood how miserable Gallus’ life in Griffinstone had been. “Look, I appreciate the offer, but I don’t need somepony to come swoop in and save me or something.”

“I didn’t mean to suggest that you did –”

“And another thing, don’t sit there and try to tell me you understand what it was like for me growing up in Griffinstone,” Gallus continued as he slowly worked himself up more and more.

“I will admit, I don’t know the specifics, but I do have a general idea of what you’ve had to deal with. Beyond that, I know what it’s like to have a difficult time growing up –”

“Please, what the heck would you know about having a rough time?” Gallus demanded.

“Misery like that isn’t some kind of contest…”

“You’re just saying that because you know you’ve never had it nearly as rough as I have,” Gallus said.

“I was magically tortured on a daily basis from the time I was able to walk until I was approximately your age,” Moonwhisper replied matter-of-factly after a brief pause.

“Yeah, sure. You know, if you’re gonna try making something up then at least try coming up with something believable,” Gallus snorted derisively. As Gallus watched Moonwhisper’s face, however, the smirk slowly fell from his beak. Growing up in the streets of Griffinstone had made the ability to tell when somecreature was lying a vital survival skill for Gallus. Looking into Moonwhisper’s eyes, it slowly occurred to Gallus that Moonwhisper was being completely serious. “You’re…you weren’t kidding, were you? Wow, that kinda puts all the stuff I had to deal with from Grandpa Gruff into perspective.”

“As I said, it isn’t a contest,” Moonwhisper replied.

“Why not, you’d be winning,” Gallus quipped.

“Perhaps. In any event, you don’t need to make a decision right now if you’re not sure what you want to do. It is a major decision, after all. Besides, at the very least, Twilight will need time to pull together all the necessary paperwork. Give it some thought and, when you’re ready, let us know how you’d like to proceed,” Moonwhisper said. As Moonwhisper started to turn to leave, however, Gallus suddenly spoke up.

“Wait, hold on. If you’re really serious about wanting to be my guardian and stuff, then, yeah, let’s do it!” Gallus said.

“Excellent, I’ll let Twilight know so we can have the proper forms processed. Speaking of Twilight, you may want to focus your current studying on the material her course has covered since the beginning of the current semester,” Moonwhisper said.

“What’s that supposed to – oh. Seriously, all the way back to the start of the semester? I’ve got to get back to studying!” Gallus aid as he rushed back to seat.

Comments

[Onyx Quill]

Ooooooo!! Cool idea!
I can definitely see how this ties in to Gallus' story later. We know he ends up being a Guard Captain in The Final Problem.

[zimmerwald1915]

Single fatherhood's a major undertaking, Moonwhisper - are you sure you're ready for that?

[Onyx Quill]

Meanwhile in Starlight's office

Sunburst: And working in a school is what I always thought I'd do! I mean if you'll have me...?
Starlight? Are you kidding?? OF COURSE I'LL MARRY YOU!!! GYAAHHH er ummm, I mean... You're hired! Y-you're hired is what I said!