This story is a sequel to A Day for Family
Friends and Family Day has come and gone, leaving behind both many happy families with a plethora of newly-forged, long-lasting memories, and one exhausted griffon with a multitude of hauntingly bad memories that he would rather forget.
Of course, he also made quite a lot of good memories as well. Funnily enough, almost all of them focus on a certain pink hippogriff. These are memories he wouldn't trade for the world.
Unfortunately, it's never really that easy even if Gallus wishes it would be. So while he may be in a far better place than he was before, he's still far from being as well as he could or wants to be.
Luckily, he has a great number of others, willing to stand by his side to help him heal. His teachers... His friends... Silverstream... All of the ones that he loves are standing with him as he makes his journey toward serenity. And while that long, arduous journey is still his to walk...
He doesn't have to walk it alone.
WARNING: Though the Suicide Tag is included, the act itself does NOT occur! In fact, it is added specifically because of Chapter Nine - and ONLY Chapter Nine - where the topic is brought up and discussed briefly.
All other chapters are devoid of any major discussions of the subject matter.
EDIT: Apparently, as of 1/15/2021, this story got featured! Thank you, everyone, so, so much for this! It really means a lot!
EDIT(8/18/2021): Much thanks to Johnerose126 for being awesome and gracing us with a brand new cover art!
Here's the link to the Cover version: https://www.deviantart.com/johnerose126/art/The-Bonds-of-Love-COVER-889056152
The full image version: https://www.deviantart.com/johnerose126/art/The-Bonds-of-Love-889054653
And Johnerose126's DeviantArt account: https://www.deviantart.com/johnerose126
Now go give them some love!
For anyone interested, the original cover art was found via Google Images; here's the link to it: https://www.deviantart.com/ejlightning007arts/art/Gallus-and-Silverstream-773813568
That was deep. I look forward to wherever this goes.
I think we should probably also acknowledge the possibility that Gallus' parents may have lost him when he was just an egg.
THERE! RIGHT THERE! That's why Gallus is imagining Cozy Glow's voice, because NO ONE even tried to give her a second chance or even attempt to understand why she was evil. They just threw her in Tartarus, which forced her to go along with Grogar's scheme because she was NEVER GIVEN A CHANCE TO CHANGE. Discord and Cozy Glow were both equally evil, and yet the all powerful one got forgiveness.
I believe that Gallus feels bad for Cozy Glow on a subconscious level, hence his fixation on her voice. The best possible ending to this story would be Gallus successfully getting Cozy Glow released and reforming her himself using the lessons he will inevitably learn during this story
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Twilight tried to convince Cozy Glow of the error of her ways, but Cozy threw her words right back in her face, making it clear that she was going to keep trying to amass power through friendship.
Please do continue it's a great read
I've read it, I loved it,
And now I need to find someone to talk about something. Thank you!
I smell one-shot!
Dang. I am LOVING the back and forths in this story.
So excited to see where this story goes!
I'd put money on Gallus' parents having not given him up, given the life that's expected of an orphan in Griffonstone. I suspect something happened to them when he was very young.
media2.giphy.com/media/kRmg8zeReOYXm/giphy.gif
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Nice to see you here!
That almost gave me the creeps right there because I thought Cozy Glow had actually appeared for a second, but turns out it was just an italicization error.
And looks like Ocellus just denounced the entire field of psychology. As a student who studied AP Psychology, I am deeply offended. *dramatic feigning heartache movements*
Geez, Gallus is really used to having this fear, isn't he? Makes me want to tell him that it's okay to forget things once in a while. I always forget my friends' clubs, and yet we stay friends, even though they do get mad at me. And I mean 'mad at me in a friendly way'
Does Twily have the Pinkie Senses now as well?
I loved this chapter, especially the bit where Gallus and Silver have their little back and forth session! Gave me a good laugh!
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Thank you for pointing out; it should be fixed now.
I was worried I might have forgotten to italicize a line.
I expect hate comments for this, but let me make one thing clear. I'm NOT saying that you should just throw pills at mental illness. What I AM saying is that if mental illness is caused by a chemical/hormonal imbalance in the brain, OF COURSE a medicine that can restore that balance is the best course of action. You CAN'T fix mental illness with nice words and talking. Therapy is what builds up a person's confidence and improves their mood while their medicine stabilizes their brain. Unless Gallus gets some medicine, he's gonna relapse eventually. HARD. He is literally hearing the voices of multiple personalities in his brain, and the author has hammered it in that they are not being caused by magic or a curse. It's just something inside of him. Gallus either has Schizophrenia or some other type of Multiple Personality Disorder on top of his trauma over having no family.
And I know I had the medicine come from the human world in my little scenario, but we do know that Equestria has pills (A Bird in the Hoof), so antipsychotics/antidepressants could exist in Equestria as well.
Dang. That conversation with Ocellus and Gallus was really well-crafted.
You really do a great job with these one-on-one conversations.
My only criticism is that Starlight’s sounding a bit too sage-y, becoming out of character from her usual quirky self.
more of this when? soon I hope. This is just, yeah, hit the nail on the head,
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Still plan on it being around the 20th-23rd of June, sorry! Things are returning back to normal where I am, and it's cutting my writing time in half. Nonetheless, I'm still writing with the time I do have, so don't worry!
Also, thank you for the compliment! I'm glad I haven't screwed anything up just yet!
Spike: “Twilight did that once in a single night. Of course, it took three weeks for the insanity to bleed off....
”
”
...I’m such a slacker!
”
Twilight: “Spike! Stop exaggerating! It took me a day and a half to read those! And it was only twenty days...
Ocellus: “
The type of healing Gallus needs to go through will take years, since he has been thoroughly messed up for his entire life!
As for some of the mysterious crimes going on (at least as far as the tie died toilet paper), there’s a clue back in the first class where Gallus sparked the shipping fight when he threw Sandbar and Ocellus together. My money is on either November Rain, or Peppermint Goldylinks for the toilet paper, and maybe one of those two plus possibly Vellum Codex for the poisoned pies
Did you retcon Gallus' schizophrenia/multiple personality disorder? I mean, you didn't respond to me comment, so it looks like you realized what a can of worms it was after you read my take on it and decided to ditch it. I guess im just annoyed at how inaccurate your portrayal of this mental disorder has become, and you were doing so well up to this point.
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Admittedly, I did decide to tone down(Not entirely nix) that aspect of this story, going forward. Originally, I planned to have "Cozy Glow" have a line or two in this particular chapter, but I ultimately chose to rewrite those parts because of that decision.
As for why I made that choice? In all honesty, I don't know that much about Schizophrenia, the consequences it has on an individual's life, or whatever methods people employ to aid in managing it.
In fact, I didn't even consider the possibility that "Cozy Glow" could be considered evidence of such a condition when writing this. That's not to say that I don't find the concept interesting(And I'm honored to know that I was doing well with it until this chapter) , but something like Schizophrenia deserves to be handled with as much respect as possible.
To put it simply: I'd rather change something in the story(Even if it's to the story's detriment) than misrepresent a serious issue out of sheer ignorance. I know that might be disappointing, and I'm sorry.
Conditions like Schizophrenia deserve better, more accurate presentations(Even in a fanfic), but I don't feel confident in my knowledge of the condition to properly speak about the subject.
If it helps—just because "Cozy Glow" didn't make an appearance in this chapter, doesn't mean that Gallus is entirely back to normal again. And I do fully plan to talk about some of the other issues that he has as a result of his upbringing.
Also, I'm sorry I never replied to any of your other comments. I did read them, and I appreciate you for taking the time to post them! I just never thought of anything to reply to them with.
Dogs and Cats living together... mass hysteria!
Getting fucking deep!
)
LOVE it!!
And that was a totally awesome choice of drama recitals, especially Gallus’!!!
Plus the wonderful advice he’s getting from Starlight, Cadance, and Shining (yes, I know you used “Cadence”, and that Hasbro currently uses that spelling, too—but there’s an undeniable history how her name was originally “Cadance” for trademark reasons....besides, I have my own fanfics here and it helps keep me consistent in my writing, so......
Keep up the great work!
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Thanks! Glad you're enjoying it so far!
And Cadence's name was originally going to be spelled "Cadance"? Huh. You really do learn something new every day.
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What does schizophrenia have to do with this story? I thought this Gallus fighting inner demons and dealing with insecurities while trying to get with Silverstream? What's the mental disorder talks about, I'm confused?
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You are absolute correct! That is exactly the story I wish to tell with The Bonds of Love.
However, what had happened was that Gallus imagining Cozy Glow was taken as a potential implication that he had some degree of Schizophrenia or something similar by Matthais Unidostres. They weren’t the only one who asked about it either.
As a result, I felt the need to clarify to them that I do not intend for The Bonds of Love to be a story about Gallus dealing with something like Schizophrenia or anything similar, nor am I properly equipped to do so.
Sorry for the confusion.
Luckily, this whole debacle doesn’t really mean anything bad for the story going forward. I still very much intend to tell same story that I had planned before this whole thing happened.
Again, sorry for the confusion. I hope this helps clear things up a little.
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It's fine thanks.
I wanted to ask this real quick down in the comments, so I didn't make the Author Note any longer than it was.
I plan to do another "The Writing Of..." for The Bonds of Love when I finish the story. So my question is this: When I do that, should I post it as a chapter attached to this story, so you can read that after finishing the story itself? Or should I make it another Blog Post, so people don't accidentally think it's another chapter when it isn't?
That being said, if it's the latter, should I do the same thing with A Day for Family?
I know it probably doesn't matter which I do, but I wanted to ask what all of you would prefer?
I love how you handled the villain topic. It actually gave me a story idea you could be interested. I could message it to you if like to hear it?
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Sure!
If this isn’t a SpongeBob reference, I’m going to be very disappointed.
Please tell me this was a Thor: Ragnarok reference.
You did read my comment! Wow, I'm honored! This is a very good psychologically based story and I'm proud to be a part of it.
Note to self ask starlight for the keep discord still spell for future events
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I think Loki shouts that as Thor gets pancaked by hulk
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I might have to pick ya brin sometime for advice on writing stuff like this
I'm really enjoying this story!
I particularly liked the part where Silverstream talks about the villains/statues. I was surprised by her reaction at first, because she's such a generally upbeat character, but it didn't feel OOC at all. Considering her history with the storm king, it makes perfect sense for her to feel the way she does about them and forgiveness in general, it's just that not a lot of tackle that. I felt like I saw a side of her I don't get to normally, and not a lot of fics have done that specific thing for me.
Long story short, I'm looking forward to what comes next!
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Admittedly, I was a little uneasy about how I portrayed Silver in this chapter because of that issue, but I’m relieved to know that I didn’t fall into that pit-trap again. 
Glad you’re enjoying it so far!
I suppose now comes the hard part: Keeping it up going forward!
Will there be a chapter where Gallus gets to meet Silver's family?
I love this and why oh why do I see ocellus sitting smugly in the recliner after arriving first and calling dibs
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Maaabye...
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Could I message you an idea?
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Sure!
sorry if i've said this before, but as someone with simular issues as your version of Gallus, I appreciate the detail you're putting into this. keep up the good work why the balls did writing this make me tear up!? gah!!
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I hope you'll enjoy everything else I still have in store too.
I'm glad that you're still enjoying the story so far!