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Holiday Hell9,959 words
Notifying the others2,466 words
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Visitors in the Dream Realm: Pt.14,890 words
Visitors in the Dream Realm: Pt.26,477 words
A Surprise from Twilight5,101 words
Neighsay strikes again4,410 words

Visitors in the Dream Realm: Pt.1

Not one peep was heard out of Sandbar, Smolder, Yona, Ocellus, or Silverstream as they made their way back home with their families. They just looked blankly forward and grew sadder as they drew further and further from the cemetery. The moment each of the five creatures stepped inside their individual abodes, they made a beeline straight for their bedrooms and refused to come out until it was dinnertime. When they did come down to eat, all their parents and siblings immediately began to feel more worried as they noticed that their eyes were bloodshot. After dinner, the five creatures went back to their bedrooms. It was where they stayed until, one by one, they finally cried themselves to sleep.

Grampa Gruff peered sadly into the permanently empty bedroom that belonged to his grandson. No matter how many times he looked into it to see it vacant, he always expected to see Gallus in there. Each time he did look in there just shattered his heart and it reminded him of his own bitter failures in the six years, closer to seven, when he was taking care of the young Griffon. The old Griffon had barely touched his dinner that night. He really didn't have an appetite after what had happened today. No matter what activity he did, the only thing that was on his mind was Gallus.

"What have I done?" he would often mumble to himself. "How did I go so wrong?"

Eventually, Grampa Gruff checked out for the night. He trudged slowly to his bed and climbed inside. The moment he closed his eyes, an image of Gallus appeared in his mind. He didn’t bother trying to shake the memory. He knew any attempt at escaping his thoughts were futile. Eventually, like Gallus' friends, he cried himself to sleep.

Luna's Dream Realm
10:30 P.M.

It was ordinary for Luna to be doing her usual job around this time, watching over the dreams over the numerous creatures that inhabited Equestria. However, it wasn't normal for her to not be alone. This was one of those abnormal times. Behind her were five Griffons. The first two Griffons looked middle-aged. Behind them was a third griffon, who looked to be in their mid-teens. To the right of the teenage Griffon were the fourth and fifth Griffons. The fourth Griffon stood as tall as the teenaged Griffon's chest and looked like they were about eleven or twelve. The fifth Griffon stood as tall as the fourth Griffon's knees and looked no older than five. They had been taken to the dreams of six specific creatures at the request of the teenage Griffon.

"Thank you for doing this," said the teenage Griffon.

"Anytime," smiled Luna.

The teenage Griffon turned back to face the other four Griffons.

"Are you four ready?" they asked.

The other four Griffons nodded.

The teenage Griffon turned back to face Princess Luna.

"Alright, then," said the teenage Griffon. "Let's go."

Grampa Gruff's Dream

Grampa Gruff flashed a small smile as Gallus and he prepped the table for the food that was to be served at the Blue Moon Festival. Gallus looked like he was enjoying it, but Grampa Gruff could see that there was something on the back of the younger Griffon's mind that seemed to be bothering him. He was about to open his mouth to ask if everything was okay when, everything suddenly went black. Nothing was around him and it felt as if all life, excluding his own, had stopped. Instantly, the older Griffon realized that what he was experiencing was nothing more than just a cruel reminder that nothing would never be the same.

He was about to start crying once more when a blinding, white light suddenly appeared in front of him. Before he even had time to react, Grampa Gruff was lifted off his paws and claws and pulled into the white light. The old Griffon shut his eyes and waited for the end.

Smolder's Dream

Smolder sat in class, eagerly waiting for the bell to ring to signal that school was out for winter break. At that moment, the harsh ringing of the bell echoed throughout the whole school. Smolder was out of her seat like a rocket and was racing toward the classroom door. As she opened it, however, what she found in front of her wasn't a crowded hallway. Instead, it was a blinding, white light.

"What the-?!" was all she had time to say before she was abruptly pulled into the air and sucked towards the light without warning.

Ocellus' Dream

Ocellus was in the middle of a gift exchange with her parents and siblings. The tempo of how they handed gifts off to one another was just right. The young Changeling was having a blast and nothing could possibly ruin this event.

Then, as she was handed a gift from her mother, the wrapping paper suddenly turned from dark green to a blinding white. Ocellus barely had anytime to realize what was happening before the gift abruptly sucked her into the white light.

Yona's Dream

Yona was on top of the world doing her usual holiday tradition in Yakyakistan, smashing things.

“Yak holiday always so fun!” she laughed.

Then, without warning, as she landed back on the pile of debris she had made, the ground gave way beneath her without warning. Below the ground was nothing but a bright white abyss. Yona could do nothing but shut her eyes to shield them from the light as she fell through the ground and into the abyss.

Sandbar's Dream

Sandbar let out a yawn and stretched as he got up. He wasn't exactly eager to shake his fatigue that morning, until he took a look at the calendar on his wall. Instantly, his face lit up.

"It's Hearth's Warming!" he said aloud.

The Earth Pony quickly freshened up before racing down to the living room where his parents and little sister were waiting by all the presents.

"Who's ready to open presents?" asked Beachcomber.

"I am!" said Sandbar.

High Tide handed the giddy Pony the first gift and he ripped off the wrapping paper without hesitation. As Sandbar pulled the top off of the box underneath, what met his eyes was a blinding, white light. He felt a force of some kind pulling him off his hooves and into the box. He tried to pull himself out of it, but his attempts were futile. He was sucked inside within the span of a second.

Silverstream's Dream

While her friends' dreams were relatively cheery, Silverstream wasn't so lucky. In her dream, she was chasing down Gallus as he raced toward the same mountain that he had jumped off of just six days earlier.

"Gallus, stop!" she cried.

Gallus wouldn’t listen. He just flapped his wings faster in an attempt to widen the gap between himself and the Hippogriff.

Eventually, the two creatures had flown their way to a ledge that was easily five-hundred feet off the ground. Gallus landed on the ledge and took off down a dirt path that was now covered in snow. Silverstream was right on his tail. The two creatures soon found themselves coming another ledge and Silverstream turned pale upon seeing Gallus making his way to the edge of it. The Griffon had stopped to let out a few tears before he turned around at the sound of Silverstream’s voice.

“Gallus, please!” pled the Hippogriff. “We can help you!”

“You can’t help me, Silverstream!” said Gallus.

“You’re my friend, Gallus! I’m not letting you be alone for the holidays,” Silverstream said firmly.

“You can say that because you actually have a family to go back to, Silverstream!” Gallus began to cry again. “My family is dead! DEAD! I just wanted to skip out of setting up for the Blue Moon Festival! Instead, I’ve wrecked the holidays for everyone! I can’t do this anymore! I can’t live like this!”

Before Silverstream could stop him, Gallus leapt off the ledge and began to plummet to the ground below.

“No!” yelled Silverstream.

She jumped off the ledge and raced downward toward the ground right after her friend, determined to pull him back up to safety. As she raced toward the ground, a blinding, white light appeared between Gallus and her without warning. Silverstream had no time to react as she flew directly into the light. She disappeared from sight and the white light immediately vanished afterward.

Silverstream, Sandbar, Ocellus, Smolder, Yona, and Grampa Gruff all opened their eyes to find themselves no longer in the blinding, white abyss. Instead, they were all in an empty, dark blue room. There was nothing around them except the other creatures. Before they could ask themselves, as well as each other, what they were doing here. Princess Luna landed before them.

“Greetings,” she said simply.

“Princess Luna?” asked Ocellus. “Did you bring us here?”

“Yes, Ocellus,” Luna responded calmly. “I have.”

“Why?” asked Smolder.

Luna didn’t respond to this question. Instead, she stepped off to the side and her horn lit up.

Five silhouettes began to appear just a few feet ahead of the ahead of the six creatures. At first, no one could recognize what they were. Then, after a few seconds, they could see that they were taking the shapes of Griffons. Two of them looked like they were fully grown Griffons. The third one looked a little smaller than the first two. The fourth silhouette topped out at the third silhouette's shoulder level. However, it still towered over the fifth silhouette, which stood as tall as the fourth silhouette’s knees.

Then, the silhouettes were abruptly enveloped in a cloud of white smoke. The cloud of smoke lingered in the air for about ten seconds before it began to disappear, revealing the four silhouettes had now become four Griffons. Instantly, Grampa Gruff, Sandbar, Smolder, Ocellus, Silverstream, and Yona locked eyes with the third silhouette upon seeing his body gain its color. The majority of his body was brilliant cerulean blue with his underbelly being a light grayish amber and his eyes were a moderate azure blue. There were a trio of feathers that stuck up on top of his head. They matched the blue color on the rest of his body on the bottom but faded to a bright amber near the tips of each feather. His wings were snow white and he had a glowing, yellow halo hovering just above his head.

"GALLUS?!!” the six creatures exclaimed simultaneously.

Gallus' facial expression was a mix of concern and relief.

"Yeah, it's me," he said.

"How did you even get here?" asked Smolder.

"I don't just manage the dreams of living creatures," explained Luna. "I also manage the dreams of spirits as well. Celestia and I were able to find a spell to merge the dreams between Gallus and his family with all of yours."

Upon hearing the word, "Family," Gallus' friends and Grampa Gruff began to take a better look at the other Griffons that stood beside Gallus. The first of the other three Griffons had brilliant orange fur and feathers covering the majority of his body. His underbelly was a light grayish amber, and he had scarlet eyes. The second Griffon had cerulean blue fur and feathers covering the majority of her body. Her underbelly was as white as snow, and she had moderate cerulean blue eyes. The third Griffon was almost completely white from beak to tail, with only a few small teal and orange spots sprinkling the area just above her beak. Her left eye was scarlet like the first Griffon, but her right eye had the same tone of blue as the second Griffon's eyes. The fourth and smallest of the three Griffons had brilliant orange fur and feathers covering the majority of her body and had scarlet eyes, matching that of the first Griffon, while her white underbelly matched that of the second griffon. Like Gallus, they too all had snow white wings and golden, yellow halos hovering above their heads. Their expressions all showed concern for the half dozen creatures that stood before them.

"That's your family?" asked Sandbar.

"Yes," said Gallus.

He gestured to the orange and amber Griffon.

"That's my dad..."

He gestured to the blue and white Griffon next.

"...that's my mom..."

He gestured to the smaller, spotted white Griffon.

"...that's my big sister, Gracie..."

Finally, he gestured to the small, orange and white Griffon.

"...and that's my little sister, Gwen," Gallus finished.

After introducing each of his family members, Gallus spun around and was about to open his beak to speak when he was abruptly tackled to the ground in a tight hug by his friends and Grampa Gruff. All six of them were softly crying by this point. Gallus could only sigh softly as he let them embrace him as long as they needed to and get their emotions out before he talked to them. After about a minute of hugging, Gallus’ friends and Grampa Gruff reluctantly broke away so that Gallus could get back up. As he got back up onto his paws and claws, Gallus was about to speak again, only for Silverstream beat him to the punch.

“We know what you’re going to say, Gallus,” she sniffled. “Our mistakes led you to this and there’s no two ways about it. It’s perfectly understandable if you’re not willing to forgive us, especially me. If I had just confessed how much I loved you, I could’ve maybe changed the whole outcome of this. I could've shown you that your depression wasn't an issue and that you weren't a problem to anyone, especially not to me.”

“I’m mainly to blame for this too,” added a crestfallen Grampa Gruff. “I had numerous red flags presented to me and I ignored every single one of them. I was supposed to take care of you, and I did the exact opposite. I made you create a mask to hide your feelings. If I had just picked up on signs that you were depressed, I could've intervened and gotten you the help you needed when it was most crucial. I'm a horrible grandfather."

Sympathy quickly built up inside Gallus as he listened to Silverstream and Grampa Gruff’s lament, as well as looking at the sad, guilt-ridden faces of the rest of his friends. The Griffon’s parents and sister also grew more worried as well.

"W-We messed up too," choked out Ocellus through soft sobs. "We weren't there for you when you needed us the most either."

Upon hearing that, a fire was lit in the pit of Gallus' stomach. A newfound determination washed over him as he listened to his friends continue to put blame upon themselves for his suicide. The angel Griffon knew he needed to make this right here and now.

"None of you messed up on anything," Gallus said firmly. "I hold no ill will or anger towards any of you."

All six creatures were taken aback by this.

"Wh-What?" stammered Sandbar.

"You heard me," Gallus said simply. "My family and I don't harbor any resentment to you over what happened that night.”

“Why?” asked Ocellus.

“Because you had no control over what happened that night,” replied Gallus. "You even said it yourself, Ocellus. No one knew what I was going through or that I had any intention of doing what I did."

"You were among friends at school, though," said Smolder. "The only reason we can think of as to why you hid your past from us was because somewhere along the line in the three months we knew you was because we did something that hurt you to the point where you didn't trust us, and we didn't realize it."

"I'm still analyzing memories I made with you moment by moment to try and see if there was anything I did to unintentionally hurt you or if there was a red flag I may have missed,” added Sandbar.

Gallus winced as he heard that. His family and he had seen how hard Grampa Gruff and the five students had taken his death, as well as how they had acted at his funeral.

"None of you did anything to hurt me or make me lose trust in you," Gallus assured. "My family's death left a hole in my heart that my demons thrived in, and it slowly overwhelmed me over the years."

"Demons?" asked Smolder, confused.

The Griffon let out a heavy sigh, "I think it's time I told you all a story about my life on the streets and what it led me to become."

Smolder, Ocellus, Yona, Sandbar, Silverstream, and Grampa Gruff immediately perked up their ears as the angel Griffon cleared his throat and began to speak.

"In the first few months that I was on the street, I had tried countless times to ask other griffons for help in the forms of either money, so I could go buy food or for one night of sleep in their homes. Every time I asked, they just blew me off. Even though I was an orphaned child, the Griffons of my own town treated me like I was dirt. So, I had to resort to stealing food just to stay alive and sleeping in tents I made from sticks and leaves. Each day that I had found myself waking up inside those tents, the reality quickly set in for me that I was on my own and I had no one to turn to. The extended family I did have had all died through either illnesses or old age by the time I had turned five. As Griffons continued blowing me off, self-blame began to set in. I started to think that, somehow, I didn't do enough to get my parents and sister out of there and everyone was mad at me for what had happened. Eventually, as I continued stealing food to keep myself alive, I became careless in my attempts to be sneaky, and more Griffons began to get better looks at me. Some had even gone out of their way to track me down and I had to relocate where I set up my tents several times to avoid them getting a hold of me. Each time I relocated was just another bitter reminder of how hopeless my situation was and how the town I had once considered a dream come true had now become my worst nightmare."

The other creatures' eyes were glued to Gallus. They didn't dare say a word as he continued on.

"By the time, I experienced my second Blue Moon Festival without mom, dad, Gracie, and Gwen, I wanted out of there. So, on the morning after the new year celebration, I spent my time gathering a few days' worth of food to help me survive. I left my hometown two days later. I really didn't have any set destination in mind. I just wanted to get as far away as possible. Unfortunately, I ended up getting caught in a fierce snowstorm. The memories from that night are now mostly a blur. The only thing I do remember is burning through all my food in one night just to stay warm and have enough energy to keep going. I don't know how long I went after that, but at some point, I ended up passing out due to how extreme the weather conditions were."

Gallus turned to face Grampa Gruff.

"When I had woken up in your house, I honestly thought that I was dreaming. With my experience interacting with Griffons of my own town, I thought that I'd never find someone who'd be kind enough to take me in. When I told you my name when you had asked me who I was, I thought for sure you were either going to throw me out or take me to the authorities because I was under the assumption that everyone had heard of me. When you had offered me to live with you so you could take care of me, I felt like I was in debt to you for what you did. I didn't just fabricate that tale about me escaping an orphanage with a cruel staff just because I wanted to forget about what had happened on that day and I thought myself to be a problem for you to deal with. I also didn't want you to know about the fact that I was a thief. As the days turned to weeks and weeks turned to months, I began to worry less and less about being found by authorities and I had less nightmares about losing my family inside your house than I did fighting for my life on the streets. I thought I could finally start over with a grandfather. That was until I had my first birthday with you. I woke up that morning feeling sad and empty inside, and I didn't know why, but I put on a smile, and try my best to enjoy that day. It was the same story when the Blue Moon Festival came two-and-a-half months later. As time went on, I realized that I was feeling sad and empty because I still missed my parents and sister. My grief, as well as my self-blame, only grew worse and worse as the years progressed. I kept it bottled up because my worst fear was that the holidays would be ruined if I had told anyone. While I didn't mention this in my diary because, in the back of my mind, I was afraid that you'd read it one day, Grampa Gruff, I felt like I had owed you everything for taking me in when I didn't deserve an ounce of kindness. There were so many times that I wanted to come clean about my past, but each time, my self-blame and demons always convinced me to keep my issues out of your life because they made me believe that I was the one at fault for my situation."

Grampa Gruff and Gallus' friends just stood there, mouths and beak agape as they continued to process the Griffon's story.

"So, that is what I want to make it clear to all of you. You did nothing to make me feel sad or unwanted. On that day, I was locked in a battle with my demons as my worst fear had played out right in front of me, which was watching my five best friends going at each other's throats because I wanted to escape my own private hell. They convinced me that everything was my fault and that you all didn't deserve to be stuck here with me and I gave into them. I allowed my grief to finally destroy me from the inside out completely and it led to take my own life," Gallus finished.

Gallus' parents and sister stepped up to speak as well.

"We never got the chance to truly teach this to Gallus or Gwendolyn, but when someone you know and love dies, regardless of if they're a friend, lover, or family member, they're always still there beside you. Not physically, but spiritually," Galena explained. "We felt that they were too young at the time to fully understand the concept of death and we had decided to wait until they were both about Gracie's to fully explain it. It was a decision that ultimately hurt all of us rather than help us. Even if we had to put it into a rather simple, summarized version, it could've ultimately been something that helped out Gallus move on from what had happened on that fateful day."

"It hurt us more than anything watching Gallus being drug down a dark path and we couldn't do anything to prevent it," said Gared. "We could do nothing as we witnessed him being pushed aside and growing more and more depressed with each day that passed. All we could do was just pray that he could find some shred of peace in his life, but it seems that it wasn't meant to be."

"However, you all have the chance to help both yourselves and each other move on," said Gallus. "We all saw how sad you, as well as the teachers, were going home after finding my diary and suicide note. I prayed that, somehow, there could be a way, any way that I could talk to you all and stop you all from going down the same, self-destructive path that I went down, When I had ascertained that Luna was able to patch us into the dream realm to do just that, I could not even describe how much of a weight was taken off my chest. If you really want to me to find peace, I ask only three favors from the six of you. The first one, obviously, is don't blame yourselves for my suicide. None of you contributed anything to push me to this. Second, I want you to not skip out on celebrating your respective holidays with your families. You're only going to cause them to worry over you if you continue to battle your grief alone. The third thing I want you all to do is share my story to the world and use it as an example for others. Like Twilight said, there are so many more creatures in this world who are in the exact same predicament I was in. Let them know that asking for help does not make you weak or seem like a problem. Let them know that they matter and are loved."

As Gallus finished off his speech, a fire was lit in the pit of the stomachs of Smolder, Ocellus, Sandbar, Yona, Silverstream, and Grampa Gruff. They knew the Griffon and his parents were right. The six creatures stepped up and wrapped the Griffon and his family in another tight hug.

"Thank you, Gallus," whispered Ocellus. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, Ocellus," Gallus whispered back.

After a solid minute of hugging, everyone broke away.

"Before we wrap this up, there's one last thing I need to say," Gallus said, turning to Silverstream.

The Griffon slowly made his way toward the Hippogriff, cheeks on both creatures beginning to dawn a shade of red. He stopped directly in front of her, his beak being no more than two inches from her nose.

"Silverstream," he began softly. "This is something I've wanted to say to you since the day I met-"

Gallus would never get the chance to finish his sentence. Silverstream abruptly leaned forward and captured his beak in a passionate kiss. Gallus stood stunned for a full second before he melted into it. Gallus' claw found Silverstream's claw, and their fingers intertwined. No one said a word as the two creatures shared their first kiss. After two minutes, Gallus and Silverstream both needed to break away for oxygen. They pressed their foreheads against together and enjoyed the heat the other gave off.

"I love you, Gallus," Silverstream whispered.

"I love you too, Silverstream," Gallus whispered back.

The two creatures just stood silently for another thirty seconds, looking into each other's eyes lovingly, before Gallus spoke up again.

"You know, I was kind of hoping to have a dream of going back to Sugarcube Corner and I was wondering if you'd be willing to accompany me."

"Are you asking me on a date?" asked Silverstream.

"If that's what you want to call it, yes," said Gallus. "Tomorrow night?"

"Absolutely," beamed Silverstream.

"My little Gallus has a date!" squealed Galena as she pulled him into a bone-crushing hug. "I'm so proud!"

"Mom, not here, please," Gallus groaned as the others snickered.

"Oh, sorry," giggled Galena as she let her son go. "I got a little excited."

After getting his breath back and recovering from the hug, Gallus looked back at his friends and Grampa Gruff.

"My family and I still have one more stop to make before we officially call it a night," he said. "If you want, you could come with us."

"Where Griffon going?" asked Yona.

"We've still got to visit our teachers," explained Gallus. "They took my death just as hard as you all did."

"He's right," said Sandbar. "They need closure just as much as we did. I want to come to."

"Yona going too!" said Yona.

"I'm in," said Smolder.

"Me too," said Ocellus.

"Me three," said Silverstream.

"Count me in too," said Grampa Gruff.

Gallus looked at his parents and Gwen, "I guess we've got some more company, you three."

"I don't see why they can't come along," said Gared.

"Ooh!" squeaked Gwendolyn, jumping up to meet the gaze of the taller creatures, her small wings flapping rapidly. "Maybe I can tell them about all the fun games that Gallus and I play in Heaven!"

The others could help but smile at the chipper fledgling as Gallus spun around to face Princess Luna.

"Luna, could you please take us to the teachers' dreams?"

"Absolutely," smiled Luna.

The eleven creatures crowded around Luna as the Night Princess' horn lit up and enveloped them all in a ball of white light.

Within seconds, the dark blue room was empty once more as Gallus, his friends, his family, and Luna made all made their way toward the dreams of Twilight, Spike, Starlight, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie.

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