Brothers
While Gallus stirred a pot of soup upon it, he couldn’t help but wonder when the last time this stove had been used, considering how long the family home it inhabited had stood unoccupied following his parents’ deaths. But however long it’d been, the stove still worked wonderfully and helped to fill, even if just temporarily, the lonely house with a warmth and sense of purpose it’d lacked for long enough now. He couldn’t help but savor it, wondering if it had been like this back in his youth when it was his parents who were cooking meals. He’d like to think it was.
But the constant simmering sizzle within the kitchen was interrupted when a creature entered, not through the backdoor as expected but rather from the front. “You boys are making sure you won’t poison any of us with all that, right?”
Gallus and Spike looked up from their respective food preparation tasks and saw Gruff had walked into the room. “Gruff!” Spike declared with delight. “You made it!”
“Of course I did,” Gruff snarked in reply, like him not attending was ever an option. In retrospect, Gallus probably should’ve figured he’d be like that. “I may be old, but I’m not so old that I can’t still travel from there to here. It wasn’t that far a hike.”
“Maybe,” Gallus countered, “But you have your limits now. After all, the doctors did say…”
“The doctors can stuff it,” Gruff growled as he eased himself down at the table next to where Spike was slicing and dicing vegetables for the soup. He gave them both a very pointed look with his good eye. “I am not missing this.” The statement couldn’t be made any more definite than that.
Gallus nonetheless gave the elder griffon a look somewhere between frustration and concern. It’d been some months now since Gruff’s head injury and coma, but while those injuries had since healed, Gallus couldn’t help noticing how it left Gruff looking a little older, a little frailer. It all served as an unfortunate reminder that Gruff wasn’t so young anymore…and it may finally be catching up with him. All the same, he was inwardly pleased to see him here too. “Well…glad you could make it anyway,” he assured.
Gruff nodded at that and took a moment to look around. “Where are the others?” he asked.
“Princess Twilight and Ditzy are out back, setting things up,” Gallus replied, turning back to the soup he was stirring. “They’ll come get us when they’re ready to begin.”
Gruff nodded again, falling silent for a moment. “So…” he abruptly continued, changing the subject, “…it’s been a while since I’ve last seen you squabs, hasn’t it?”
“Long enough for the winter season to have come and gone, yes,” Gallus confirmed.
“We still saw each other at Kibitz’s trial, though,” Spike reminded gently.
Gruff huffed but begrudgingly nodded. “I suppose we did,” he relented, “albeit briefly.”
And Gallus saw the elder griffon’s point. “We kinda did have other things on our minds at the time too, didn’t we?” he agreed before reflecting briefly on the demanding trial that’d taken place back in mid-autumn.
Gruff huffed as he did likewise. “And you two were the lucky ones who only had to testify once, without much cross-examination,” he reminded. “For the rest of us, however, the court wasn’t so…gentle. If the defense had gotten their way, we definitely wouldn’t have won.” He stopped to pinch the bridge of his beak in frustration, recalling all he’d endured on the stand. “You know, so much of what that so-called lawyer of Kibitz’s said in that was a farce,” he muttered aloud. “He was grabbing for anything and everything that might overturn the case.”
“Though to no avail,” Spike reminded with a smug grin, stopping his slicing to put a reassuring paw on Gruff’s, “since it still didn’t end well for Kibitz.”
“The guy still refusing to testify one way or another on anything certainly didn’t help him,” Gallus added with a bit of smugness of his own. This had meant Kibitz’s testimonies were extremely limited, giving his lawyer little to work with. Said lawyer had tried using this to argue they were attempting to force Kibitz into incriminating himself, but it didn’t really help. “By the time it was wrapping up, you could tell they weren’t winning this.” And they didn’t—the jury still found Kibitz guilty of all charges and ruled he be imprisoned for fifty years, though at Kibitz’s age it might as well have been for life. But seeing Gruff still seemed bothered, he went on. “But I guess it wasn’t exactly fun getting there, was it?”
“No, it wasn’t,” Gruff confirmed then sighed, the frustration draining back out as quickly as it’d filled him, “Though I suppose it was all worth it so to see that…fiend…be put away finally. I just wish it happened years sooner.”
“Don’t we all,” Gallus mumbled to himself, staring into the soup he stirred.
“Anyway,” Gruff then continued, again changing the topic, “I imagine you’ve both been keeping busy since then.”
Spike laughed dryly at that. “Oh, you’d better believe working as a royal advisor keeps me busy,” he said. “Sometimes you have to get creative so to find any free time at all.”
There was a brief glimmer of concern on Gruff’s face at that. “You two still find time to visit each other though, right?”
“Every chance we can, Gruff,” Gallus assured him with a warm grin. “And we’ve been very lucky to get as many as we have.”
“And when we can’t do that,” Spike added, “we still keep in touch by letter.”
“Heck, it was barely a day after Spike went back to Canterlot that I got his first letter,” Gallus quipped. Not that he was complaining. All the letters he’d since gotten from Spike were reverently filed away into a box for safekeeping and later rereading, even the routine “How are you? Here’s what I’ve been up to” sort of letters. It wouldn’t surprise him if Spike had been doing the same.
Gruff nodded to all of this. “So you’re saying you’re both doing fine?” he asked, “Even after the princess went public with…everything?”
At that, a heavy silence fell. The first month after Kibitz’s arrest had gone almost like nothing had changed, with only their close friends and acquaintances knowing otherwise. But partway into the second month was when Twilight, as promised, sent forewarning about news of Kibitz’s crimes going public soon. The very next day, all of the major newspapers ran headlines concerning the matter. For Gallus, the local Ponyville Express didn’t mention him or Spike by name, at most referring to them vaguely as the “targeted victims,” but it hadn’t been hard for everybody in town to figure out the rest. This left the two caught in the public spotlight whether they’d wanted it or not…and for better or for worse since, also as predicted, not everyone took the news of them being hybrids as well as preferred.
“Well…” Gallus eventually began sardonically, “…no one’s tried to kill us yet.”
Gruff scowled at him. “That’s not funny, boy.”
“It’s true, though,” Gallus pressed with a shrug.
“It is,” Spike assured genuinely as he slid the vegetable he’d been slicing to one side and pulled out another. “The worst either of us faced has only been…verbal…that I know of.”
Gruff’s scowl didn’t fade though. “That you know of,” he repeated.
“If anything worse was ever attempted, we’ve been left unaware of it,” Gallus explained. “I suspect Ditzy has had a lot to do with it.” He had heard the odd rumbling about bad actors existing, but all being thwarted before anything serious could be attempted…as if a secret guardian angel was watching over him and Spike. One he strongly figured had uneven eyes, but whenever he had the rare chance to discreetly ask (as she usually kept her distance), Ditzy either denied everything or just told him not to worry about it.
“What makes you so sure?” Gruff asked, perhaps thinking similar things.
Gallus made a smug grin. “Because she once appeared out of nowhere to pull aside a critic trying to hound me, acting like she recognized him from her graduating class, and allowing me to slip away. I don’t know what she did after that, but that pony never bothered me again so it can’t have been a coincidence.” He then shrugged. “Whatever the case, Princess Twilight was right—making such a public example of Kibitz left its mark on the haters.”
“Yeah, most seem to recognize there’re lines they shouldn’t cross unless they want the same fates happening to them,” Spike added as he diced up vegetables. “So most they do is voice their disapproval and then…keep everything else to themselves.”
“Some even make clear that though they’re anti-hybrid, they still thought what Kibitz did was atrocious,” Gallus said. “A good example being Spoiled Rich.” Realizing Gruff probably didn’t know who that was though, he went on to clarify. “She’s this trophy wife of the local rich guy in Ponyville. Awful mare, hated her even before everything with Kibitz happened, and I’m sure she already hated me, since she’s loudly objected to the school enrolling foreigners ever since it opened its doors. But she still took the time to pull me aside…” Well, she’d more cornered him in the local marketplace but Gallus figured that detail wouldn’t reassure Gruff, “…and make clear that regardless of her thoughts about my mixed-breeding…” Of which she had many, but he again omitted those details, “…she thought Kibitz was very wrong to have tried to murder anyone and was glad he’d been punished for it.”
Gruff huffed again. “I suppose it’s the thought that counts then,” he grumbled sarcastically, still not happy about it. He breathed a throaty sigh and pinched his beak again. “And you?” he asked of Spike.
“Gruff, I spend most of my day in the palace, surrounded by guards,” Spike reminded pointedly. “Any pony who tries anything there isn’t getting very far.”
“Not unless any of those guards are in on it,” Gruff reminded.
“Of which there have been none,” Spike swiftly retorted.
“Gruff, we’ve got plenty of friends in our court this time,” Gallus said. In fact, all of his friends at the school, even some he knew only in passing, had made clear they would to throw down for him on this. Heck, of all of his friends, Silverstream had been the first to get into an actual fight with someone who’d said the wrong thing in her presence. “I know that doesn’t mean the danger is gone, but…it does mean it isn’t as bad as it’d been for…well…” he trailed off uncomfortably and suddenly became self-conscious about just where they were currently.
Gruff looked around at the kitchen, similarly thinking of the previous owners before their tragic deaths. “…you both ready for this?” he then inquired seriously, referring to why they’d gathered here in the first place.
Gallus and Spike exchanged glances. There wasn’t really a simple answer to that question. “We’re ready enough, at least,” Spike opted to reply while getting up to slide the vegetables he’d cut into the soup. Gallus silently showed his thanks by reflexively draping a wing over his shoulders. “That’ll just have to do.”
Gruff was quiet as he watched them for a moment. “I’m sure it’s the hardest for you two, having to live without Gwen and Spark at your sides,” he mumbled.
Gallus didn’t reply to that comment. Nor did Spike. He liked to think they’d both been remarkably mature about dealing with the murder of their parents, and most days keep moving on with life as he was sure was wanted of them. But it didn’t mean they didn’t still have rough days coming to terms with it.
Not so long ago, in fact, Spike had lapsed into a severe bout of survivor’s guilt, lamenting that he’d lived when their parents had not and leaving him in bad shape. Gallus attempted to help him overcome it via letter, but it eventually became clear this was too inefficient and only making Gallus deeply aware of his own survivor’s guilt he’d been trying to ignore. It got to the point that he finally had to walk out of a class, march into the headmare’s office, announce to Starlight that he needed to make an emergency trip (she’d fortunately been more than understanding—it must’ve been obvious how much he was hurting right then), and flew without stopping straight to Canterlot so to visit Spike and talk it out in person. Instead, they spent most of that impromptu visit holding each other and letting out the sadness they’d jointly let build up.
So to say it’d been hard was an understatement.
Gruff seemed to realize this and let the two have a moment in silence, spending it looking around the kitchen instead. Gallus and Spike had cleared out most of it so to have space for preparing food, but there were still plenty of boxes piled in an out of the way stack, full of the possessions Gwen and Spark had left behind. Sighing, he closed his eyes and leaned back, resting against the table behind him. “I wish you two could have your parents again.”
Gallus took a deep breath and pulled Spike close. “We’ve still got each other, Gruff,” he reminded seriously, staring longingly into the simmering pot of soup before him. This was something he couldn’t stress enough.
“And we’ve got others helping to refill some of the gaps they left,” Spike added in.
His eyes then noticed someone who must’ve appeared while they’d been talking. “Do you agree, Twilight?”
“I’d like to think so, at least,” Twilight Sparkle replied from beside the kitchen table, startling Gruff who’d failed to notice her quietly entering. “In any case, I apologize for interrupting.”
“That’s okay, Twi,” Spike said, motioning to the simmering pot of soup and the rest of the food they’d prepared, set aside for later. “This is all pretty much done anyway.”
“Then perhaps my timing isn’t so bad,” Twilight remarked optimistically, though there was still a somber tone to it. “We’re ready to begin outside anytime the rest of you are.”
A moment of silence passed as that was allowed to sink in. Gallus then nodded. “Okay,” he said, taking the pot of soup off the stove. “Let me and Spike go change first and then we’ll be right out there.”
“Are you sure, though?” Twilight asked cautiously. “We don’t need to rush into this. We can still give you time to…brace…first, if you need it.”
But Gallus wouldn’t have it, giving the alicorn a resolute look. “Princess, they’ve been waiting for nearly fifteen years for this,” he said, pointing a claw in the direction of the house’s backyard. “They shouldn’t need to wait any longer.”
Getting changed basically entailed gussying themselves up real quick. For Gallus, he made sure his appearance looked right in the upstairs bathroom and there weren’t any feathers or tufts of fur out of alignment. He then put on a simple tie and collar since the occasion did seem to call for the added formality, and this was admittedly about as formal as his wardrobe got. He’d wondered if he should invest in a tux or something so to up his formal game, but set that thought aside upon seeing what Spike had chosen to wear—a maroon bowtie embellished with small diamond-shaped gems sown into the fabric, alluded to have had been a gift from Rarity which tracked in Gallus’s head as it matched the fashionista’s style. But it also matched the same level of formality as what Gallus wore, so it made them both feel confident they weren’t under or overdressing for this.
They then went out into the lonely backyard behind the house where the others were waiting. It was a small gathering, consisting in addition to themselves only Gruff, Twilight, and Ditzy (all also lightly dressed except for Ditzy, who’d touchingly come in military dress). Twilight mentioned earlier that Raven Inkwell had been offered to come as well, but with both Spike and Twilight away from the royal palace, someone needed to stay and make sure affairs continued without problem, so Raven opted to do it. She nonetheless sent her regards, which was appreciated with both Spike and Gallus.
Once they were all there, some nods were exchanged as they silently agreed to begin and start taking up positions. Gallus did so awkwardly and feeling anxious. Even with the evening weather of late spring giving the scene some tranquility, he still wasn’t very comfortable being in this backyard. This was, after all, where his mother had met her tragic end, beginning the unraveling of his family, and Gallus suspected he would never be able to disassociate that haunting fact from it. The charred foundation of the destroyed greenhouse being right there in front of them certainly didn’t help. But unlike before, the spot had been cleaned up, with the loose debris removed and the wild weeds growing in and around it pulled. Twilight planned to plant a stretch of green turf over the area too once they’d finished, so to further beautify the spot.
For the moment though, the area held two large holes pre-dug down to the traditional six feet while two simple but elegant coffins stood beside them, awaiting burial.
The one on the right contained Gwen’s remains. Once the requisite control of the land had been secured and with Spike and Gallus’s permission, Twilight had arranged to have the griffoness’s remains exhumed. This was so they could be reburied in a more proper grave with all the ceremony thought befitting, which was agreed would be more deserved than the crude grave she had hurriedly, but lovingly, been buried in originally. That had been simple enough to arrange. But it was the coffin on the left that had taken some doing, and why these renewed funeral proceedings were taking place so many months later, as that coffin held the remains of Spark.
Spark’s remains were the most key to this, in fact, as it was locating them that gave rise to the idea of reburying both him and Gwen altogether, reuniting the couple at last. Finding his remains had taken some doing however, since its original location had been left unmarked. But working with what Gruff could remember and Twilight’s calculative skills to help further narrow it down, the exact location was eventually rediscovered and, again with Gallus and Spike’s permission, the remains exhumed for relocation and reburial. Where they’d be reburied was initially debated, but eventually they agreed that here, in the backyard of the family home, seemed the most fitting location. For Gwen and Spark, after all, it was their home. And it seemed fitting to bring the matter full circle.
Naturally, this all necessitated it be a closed casket funeral, as their remains were by this time just that—remains, just shy of skeletons. Or so Gallus had been told. He’d asked if he could see the remains for himself after they were exhumed, but Twilight had flatly refused, not wanting his last memory of them to be their mostly decayed bodies. And she was probably right to do so, but Gallus nonetheless still wanted the chance. Just standing here by their coffins was physically the closest he’d been to his parents in far too many years, and despite how morbid it’d be, he couldn’t help but long to get closer still, even if it mattered to no one but himself.
In any case, it didn’t take long to assume positions in a rough semi-circle and once she’d confirmed they were ready, Twilight stepped forward so to begin the proceedings. “We are gathered here this evening to pay final respects to our honored dead,” she opened before taking a deep breath. “Some of us here, such as myself, never had the honor of meeting Gwen and Spark. But nonetheless, their influence has been strongly felt in recent months as we’ve all learned just what sort of creatures they were. And they were very good creatures, who sadly paid the ultimate price in being so, a price no creature should ever have to pay. It is my deepest regret that they were ever put into such a situation, and I think I speak for all of us here when I say we wish we could have done something to prevent it. But we’re here now, acknowledging—nay, venerating—everything they did and lived for, in the hopes to take up the cause they were tragically removed from entirely too soon. A cause we hope can now continue via the legacy they’ve left behind.”
She then let the silence help settle that thought before turning to the others and continuing. “We will keep this simple. I’m sure everyone has something they’d like to say before we proceed with the burial, so I will…open the floor, so to speak, for each of you to do so. Just know there is no rush and you can take as long as you need.”
She then stepped aside to allow someone to begin. It seemed no one was eager to be first though as there was an awkward pause with everyone glancing at each other, wondering who’d take the leap. Ultimately, seeing no one else seemed ready, Ditzy stepped forward.
“Hello,” she began formally, addressing the coffins. It struck Gallus as a little odd, unsure he’d ever heard the pegasus greet someone with anything other than her trademark “hiya.” “Like Twilight, we never met. And sadly, I wasn’t in a position to have done anything about it at the time, even if I had known. I still wish I could’ve, because I want you to know, I would’ve done everything in my power to stop it if I had…and maybe then we’d all be gathered here for very different, and happier, reasons.” She breathed a heavy sigh. “But…we can’t change the past. We can, however, change the future. So if nothing else I want you to rest easy—the creatures that did this have been brought to justice, and I vow to ensure it will never happen again, to your sons or anyone else who might suffer as you had. And, with time, build a world that’s far more welcoming of a family like yours.”
She lingered for a moment longer, as if debating, but then nodding in satisfaction she gave the pair of coffins a sad salute and stepped away for someone else to come forward. Another brief pause followed as everyone wondered who it’d be before Gruff approached the coffins. He started with his usual gruff demeanor, but Gallus watched in amazement as it all slowly stripped away with every step until, finally in position to say his piece, he seemed like a totally different griffon, one uncharacteristically ready to bear his heart out.
Gruff took in a deep breath as he respectively doffed the fez from his head, regarding the two coffins. “Gwen, Spark,” he began, his voice heavy, “I am so deeply sorry I hadn’t been able to save you. Looking back, there was so much more I could’ve done, been far more aware of the dangers you faced, and not been so quick to downplay those trials when they came up. And maybe if I had, you’d both still be here.” He then scoffed and waved a paw dismissively. “And I know what you’d say, that I couldn’t have known any more than either of you had, but that doesn’t mean it was right. Besides, I still have to live with what happened.” His paw wiped at his face and Gallus realized with a start that he was on the verge of tears. “What happened was devastating for me. The…the guilt over these long years…there were times I was about ready…ready to just give up and…resign myself to whatever came next.”
Gallus bowed his head at this. He had, of course, picked up on how heavily this weighed on Gruff, but to both hear him admit it and to understand just how heavily it’d weighed on him for so long…it was nearly heartbreaking. And with that dark cloud hanging over it all, Gallus wondered how anything could ever make it even just a little better for Gruff.
Gruff, however, wasn’t finished speaking. “But then I found your sons again.”
Gallus’s head whipped up with a soft reflexive gasp. And the faint twitch he saw from Gruff proved he’d heard and knew he had Gallus’s undivided attention now. But despite that, Gruff pressed on as if he and the two coffins were the only things in the world right now.
“Despite everything,” he went on, “there they were. Alive, healthy…been through their own trials and had their own scrapes…but there they both were, after years of me thinking otherwise.” He chortled to himself. “I nearly couldn’t believe it when I laid eye on Gallus, certain he could not be that same little cub from so long ago. Yet despite having grown so much, the more I looked at him, the more I talked to him…the more I knew. And then I found Spike and that all repeated for him too.” He shook his head as if amused. “They both take so much from you two…you should be proud for bringing them into the world.” His sadness then returned full force. “If only you could be here for them.” He wiped at his eyes again. “But know that what Ditzy said was true. We got the blighter responsible for all this. He won’t hurt anyone again. So even though I wasn’t there for you…at least know I still saw your sons to safety. I owe you both that much.”
Then, like a switch was thrown, that strange and vulnerable creature transformed back into the sequestered and closed off griffon Gallus knew while walking away from the graves again. Their eyes met briefly and Gallus felt a chill run through him as he realized that, though he’d probably never hear Gruff openly repeat it again, he’d meant every word. Words that Gallus needed a moment to sort out, so when Spike looked at him, silently inquiring if he wanted to go first or to wait, Gallus motioned for the little dragon to go on ahead.
So Spike was the next to step forward, standing somewhat awkwardly before the graves. “Um…hi,” he began uncertainly. “I, uh, I guess like Ditzy and Twilight, we’ve never really met, at least not without an eggshell standing between us.” He said it with a faint smile on his face like he was trying to make a joke, but the attempt swiftly imploded as the smile collapsed into a frown. “Yet I feel like I know so much about you already…and there is so much more I’d love to know too. But…we can’t. We…” he swallowed uncomfortably. “…we were robbed of that chance. And that’s…that’s unfair. But, uh…” he glanced back at Gruff who, suddenly embarrassed, avoided eye contact, “…if what Gruff said was anything to go by…I hope you’d be…proud…of us both, really.” He turned back to the coffins and shook his head sadly. “I miss you…I never even met you and I miss you. And I’ve spent the past several months just trying to…trying to come to terms with that. But I want you to know…we’re going to be okay. I’m going to be okay. Others are looking out for us on your behalf, and they’re all being great at it. I’m…so lucky to have all of them. And…belated though it is…far more than it ever should be…I’m glad I got the chance to know what I have about you. You both seemed like such great creatures…I would’ve loved to have you as parents.”
He then stood there awkwardly for another moment, rubbing at his elbow as if lost on what else to say. Gallus had to fight the urge to run out and comfort him. When Spike finally did step away, Gallus stepped out to meet him part way so they could share a brief hug. Then, Spike went to join the rest and Gallus was left standing before the two coffins on his own. Feeling the inside of his beak go dry, he licked its edges uncomfortably as he faced his deceased parents.
“Saved the best for last, I suppose,” he began by attempting to quip. It felt hollow though, so he pushed ahead with a sigh. “Look, I’ll be honest, I don’t…really know what to say. I’m not an eloquent speaker, and…and nothing I could say really feels like it’d be…enough.” He took a slow shuddering breath. “But one thing I know I can say is…thank you. Thank you for everything you did for me and Spike during the…all-too-brief time we had together. Spike’s right, you were great parents, and…and it’s tragic we couldn’t get to have you for longer than that. I’m not even sure I can say just how tragic, because…” he licked the sides of his beak nervously again. “…well…I understand too well just what it was I lost.”
His gaze turned distant, finding himself thinking of a recent example. He wasn’t exactly eager to do so, but he felt compelled to speak of it anyway. “See, I…had this dream…not that long ago, a really simple dream. It was just me waking up and…having a normal day, a day like any other, except…you were both there. All of us were, like the happy family we should’ve been. Saying good morning to each other, laughing and joking over breakfast, wishing each other a good day as we went off to school or work or whatever, coming home and telling each other about our day…it was wonderful. It was just a fantasy, but it felt so good that I wanted it to be real so badly.”
When he woke up and realized it was all just a dream, in fact, he’d felt so devastated that he broke down sobbing and woke Sandbar, who came to see if Gallus was all right. And he wasn’t, but well-intentioned though it was, nothing Sandbar could do would fix that. So he’d angrily blown the colt off even though he didn’t deserve it. And Gallus spent the rest of that day in a miserable mood, bitterly wondering if knowing the truth of his parents was really worth it after all, because he’d just traded out the pain of not knowing for the pain of knowing…and he couldn’t decide which of the two hurt worse. But even though just thinking of that dream felt like he was strangling his own heart…the sheer joy that also came with it…he wasn’t sure he could bear to do without that either.
“I wish we could still have that,” Gallus eventually went on. “I’d give anything right now to just…just have one more day with you both, so to…just be your kid one last time. So to feel your love and to let you both know…you still have mine. And you always will. It all still…hurts, somedays more than I can bear, and…I gotta admit, I haven’t always done the best job dealing with that over the years.” He still felt so guilty for burying so much of what he could remember about them. Not a day went by now in which he didn’t fear there were memories he would never get back because of that. “But please…know you’re still loved…and most certainly missed. Though I’m sure, if you both were here now, you’d say the same about missing us.”
And then, just like that, it was over. Gallus turned and rejoined the group, having said all he could think to. The moment he did, Spike embraced him in another hug, Gallus returning it by numbly wrapping a wing around him. Gruff even reached over and gave him a gentle pat on the back, as if silently saying it would be all right. He suspected the only reason Twilight and Ditzy didn’t do something similar was out of fear of crowding him. Gallus wasn’t sure if he wanted that or not but he didn’t object either way.
Twilight then stepped forward again so to make some closing statements, but by that point it was all in a haze for Gallus, so little of it actually sunk in. It mostly sounded like what she had opened with though. Once she’d finished, she turned her magic to the coffins and, with great reverence, began lowering each one into the prepared graves. Watching each one vanish into the earth made Gallus’s heart clench with how final it seemed. But after both had been placed, it was Twilight using her magic so to refill the graves with dirt that really got to Gallus, his eyes starting to well up with tears. It wasn’t a harsh crying, instead quiet and somber, broken only by slow but sharp inhales rather than gasping sobs. Crying like this made Gallus feel weird, like he was sad, but also…something else he couldn’t quite settle upon yet.
Whatever the case, he wasn’t the only one shedding tears. Spike did as he clung to Gallus’s side, and though he seemed determined to not let them fall, Gallus noticed Gruff’s eyes were notably watered too. He was pretty sure he also saw Twilight shed at least one tear while she filled the graves. The only one he wasn’t sure about was Ditzy, and that was only because she had her eyes closed in a sign of respect. It didn’t stop or slow the burial though, and as Twilight finished clearing away the dirt piles, the new headstone marking the grave slowly came back into view, reading:
Here Lies
SPARK and GWEN
Loving Parents
Gallus found himself staring at it long and hard while Twilight smoothed over the refilled graves and rejoined them. They stood there in reverent silence for a long moment, taking in the sight and processing their emotions about it. Eventually, Twilight turned to Spike and Gallus and noticed their conflicted expressions.
“How are you two holding up?” she asked, her voice soft and gentle. “Are you feeling okay?”
Spike responded with a mere shrug, unsure how else to respond.
“With respect, princess,” Ditzy commented reverently, “we did just bury their parents.”
Realizing the answer should be obvious, Twilight bit her lip and went quiet.
When Gallus heaved another of those slow but sharp inhales, Gruff somberly spoke, giving the younger griffon a glance. “You hanging in there, boy?” he asked gently.
Gallus pondered the question for a moment. “Maybe,” he unhelpfully concluded.
Twilight couldn’t resist inquiring further. “How are you feeling?” she prompted.
Gallus mulled it over. Considering his heart felt like he’d stubbed it on a table leg, he couldn’t exactly say he felt good, but…there was still that other unknown feeling filling him that seemed very effective at smoothing over the harsher edges of the pain. He strained his brain trying to identify it.
“Peace,” he finally concluded in a soft voice. “I feel…at peace.”
There didn’t seem to be a better way to sum it up, so they all fell silent again, savoring that peace.
Eventually Gallus remembered that there was food waiting for them inside the house, and while going in to eat right after a burial did seem a little weird, he suddenly felt ravenous. So once confirming everyone was okay with going back inside (they were more concerned with whether he and Spike were okay with it anyway), they did so and started setting out the food.
“Thank you both for preparing all of this, by the way,” Twilight told Spike and Gallus as they worked. “You didn’t have to.”
“Eh, funerals traditionally call for a complementary meal, right?” Gallus soberly replied as he and Spike brought the food to the kitchen table a few at a time. “It wasn’t a big deal either way.”
“Looks like we’ve got a bit for everybody,” Ditzy noted encouragingly. She motioned to a plate Spike was bringing to the table. “You’ve even got some gemstones for Spike.”
Spike glanced down at the varying gems before setting it down. “Well, the quartz is for Gallus, at his request,” he said as he went back to get more.
That got Gruff’s attention who gave Gallus a strange look. “You’ve been eating gemstones?” he asked.
“I’ve been…experimenting,” Gallus admitted defensively before scoffing. “Look, Smolder insisted I try.”
It was all part of her self-proclaimed mission to get Gallus more in touch with his dragon side. She even went as far as teaching him how to find and break them up into easy-to-swallow portions, since he couldn’t chew them. Initially Gallus was reluctant to do anything more than taste them, because he still wasn’t convinced trying wouldn’t be problematic, half-dragon or not. Smolder rectified that though by getting him to sample a sapphire (a flavor he could only liken to a savory-tasting blueberry) then thumping him hard on the back so to force him to swallow on reflex. Gallus then tackled her to the floor and sat on her until she said uncle as revenge. But it still broke the ice and got him to try more before eventually deciding he kinda liked quartz the best (disappointing Smolder since she saw quartz as commonplace), not enough to make it a regular thing but rather an every now and again thing.
“Well either way it works out for me,” Spike added as he brought over a pitcher of drink next. “It means he should be open to having some of this dragon-style limeade made with powered limestone.”
Gruff raised his eyebrows at that. “I remember Spark making that every now and then,” he commented.
“All the more reason to serve it now then,” Ditzy observed happily while they all sat down.
They began eating in relative quietness for a long moment. There were compliments all around about the food being good, and Gallus poured himself a glass of the dragon limeade and sampled it. It had a gritty sharp flavor that kind of reminded him of tart candy in a good way. Eventually though, Twilight started looking around the kitchen they sat in, taking in the house’s interior.
“I’m glad we decided to have this here,” she remarked aloud after a moment. “It’s nice to see this home have some life in it again.”
There were some nods in agreement around the table. Gruff paused with his eating so to take in their surroundings too. “It’s a pity, then, that it’s only temporary,” he nonetheless had to solemnly note. He went quiet as he glanced down at his food in a moment of silent contemplation. “Have you two decided what you’re going to do with the house yet?” he then asked Spike and Gallus.
The two brothers stopped to look around at the interior of the family home. Even now, being here still gave Gallus mixed feelings he wasn’t sure what to make of. “No,” Spike admitted aloud after a moment. “Neither of us is really comfortable staying here longer than brief visits, but…we don’t really want to just give it up either.”
“I’m not sure anyone else would really want it anyway,” Gallus admitted. Not only did the property have a known history, it apparently fell outside of Griffonstone’s jurisdiction and had no real legal control of the land at all. As such, Twilight had declared the site protected land under Equestria’s authority for the time being, but so far no griffon seemed to have even noticed.
Quite probably, they were the only creatures in the world that still cared about the place.
“I get it,” Gruff nonetheless relented with a nod. “There’d…been times that I wondered why I even still cared about the place myself, thinking there wouldn’t ever be anybody visiting it again.” He then grinned a little, looking at Gallus and Spike. “I’m glad I stuck with it anyway, though.”
“So you can make it our problem now?” Gallus quipped teasingly as he sampled the soup that’d been served.
Gruff’s grin turned into a smirk. “Sure, we’ll go with that,” he replied, playing along. Though the real reason was plenty clear—it pleased him to see Gallus and Spike get to return to their family home regardless. And Gallus understood that pleasure. None of them could clearly articulate a reason why, but it still felt important they have that chance.
“I suppose this place would leave you two with mixed memories anyway,” Ditzy thoughtfully observed as she too glanced ponderously around the room.
“It’s…more that we just don’t have enough memories of it, I think,” Spike admitted. “All we really have is the reminders from Spark’s logbook and the family photo album.”
“And that’s sort of like…” Gallus paused, chewing on his tongue as he considered how to best phrase this. “…like looking at the individual pieces of a puzzle before you put it all together. You can tell clues from the pieces about the overall picture the puzzle is supposed to come together into, but you still don’t have the final complete picture to get the full…effect, you know?”
Twilight somberly gazed at the pair for a moment. “I don’t suppose there’s anything we could do to help correct that then, is there?” she asked.
Gallus hesitated, unsure if he could even answer that. Spike seemed equally uncertain. “Not anything more than what you’ve all already done, I think,” the little dragon said, “Though if you can think of any suggestions, we’d be happy to hear them.”
Another moment of silence lapsed as they pondered the dilemma briefly. “Speaking of the photo album,” Gruff suddenly spoke up, “I don’t suppose either of you brought it here, did you?”
As it happened though, Gallus had, figuring someone might want to refer to it for the funeral, so he was able to quickly retrieve it from his bag and hand it over to Gruff. Propping it up against the edge of the table, Gruff then proceeded to quietly thumb through it, looking at the pictures. Gallus initially thought he’d wanted to find something specific in it, but quickly realized that what Gruff truly wanted was the stroll down memory lane and so let him be. As he flipped through the photos though, both Ditzy and Twilight leaned over so to see as well, taking in the images of a now bygone time.
Ditzy heaved a sad sigh finally. “Mm, what should’ve been,” she mumbled more to herself than the others.
Twilight had begun to regard the photo album more pensively though. “You know,” she began, glancing at Gallus and Spike. “There’s no reason you can’t add your own photos and memories to this album. Help add a bit more of yourselves to it, rather than solely that of your parents.”
Spike blinked owlishly at that, as if he hadn’t thought it was even possible before that moment. “…photos of what, though?” he asked, suddenly overwhelmed by the possibilities.
“Well…how about here and now, and how you still have each other?” she asked, motioning to the pair sitting at the table. She then glanced around, as if feeling unprepared. “I don’t suppose anyone has a camera handy, do they?”
Ditzy thumped a hoof decisively on the table. “I’ve got you covered,” she announced, and now she was the one to get up and go over to her bag of things. When she came back, she carried a simple instant camera.
“You brought a camera to a funeral?” Gallus questioned as she reentered the room. “Don’t flatter yourself—it’s part of my normal Night Guard gear for case work,” Ditzy explained as she hoofed the camera over to Twilight.
Twilight took a moment to familiarize herself with the camera’s controls before turning her attention back to Gallus and Spike. “Um…strike a pose, I suppose,” she quipped half-heartedly before adding, “Whatever you feel is appropriate.”
Spike and Gallus awkwardly considered to themselves for a moment what pose felt right for what was still a solemn occasion, but ultimately settled on holding each other in a one-armed hug and making soft grins for the camera. Immediately after Twilight snapped the photo, Gallus thought for sure it would turn out looking cheesy as heck, but as they watched the picture’s image slowly develop, he had to admit it turned out looking pretty good instead, filling his heart with welcomed warmth.
Gruff, meanwhile, had set down the photo album so to watch this, bringing his paws together and resting his head upon them. “I’m suddenly reminded of a time just after Spike’s egg had been laid,” he mumbled aloud, drawing everyone’s attention to him. “It was only the day after, recent enough that Gwen was still feeling…you know…sore.” The two mares in his audience both made understanding hums at that. “Word was already getting around though, so I’d come to make sure you were all okay. And that day you were…though maybe a bit worn out from all the excitement. Spark clearly had bags under his eyes, and Gwen was struggling to keep hers open.” He pointed a claw at Gallus. “And you’d already zonked for the afternoon and been put to bed for a nap. They hadn’t gotten a proper place for Spike’s egg to incubate yet though, so they were using part of your bed in the meantime. They’d tried to section it off so you’d keep on one side and not bother the egg.” He waved a paw in the air helplessly. “But in your sleep you’d managed to wiggle your way on over anyway, and we found you snuggled up to the egg like it was a big teddy bear.”
“Aww,” Ditzy cooed softly, putting her hooves over her heart while looking at Gallus, who felt his cheeks warm but was touched by the mental picture himself.
“Point is,” Gruff continued, “I probably should’ve known then that you’d two would end up inseparable.” He glanced at Gallus and Spike. “Because just like then, even with everything standing between you…you still found each other anyway.”
Gallus looked at Spike, who looked back. “Well…what did you expect?” he said before, with a grin, he brought Spike in close for a hug, who in turn welcomed it. “We’re brothers, aren’t we?”
“Yeah,” Spike agreed with a happy grin. “We are.”
A moment of silence passed as they all savored the moment, then Ditzy glanced to Gruff. “You’ve got me curious now, Gruff,” she remarked to the griffon. “You have any other stories like that?”
“Nah,” Gruff replied, waving the suggestion aside. “Most of them after that are just…normal day to day things—the sort of thing you’d find in any family.”
But Gallus and Spike still stared expectantly at him, thinking their reasons for wanting to hear them anyway should be self-evident.
“Gruff,” Twilight then began gently, “Part of the reason we’re here in the first place is to remember Gwen and Spark’s lives.” She grinned faintly. “That still includes the mundane.”
“And some days,” Ditzy added, “even the mundane can feel incredibly special.”
“Especially when you know it’s something you’re not going to get again anytime soon,” Gallus added, trying to not sound pleading. He wasn’t sure he succeeded though.
But it seemed to warm Gruff up to the idea, because he gradually started getting into telling other tales with growing enthusiasm after that. Soon the food was all but forgotten as they listened to Gruff regaling them with tales he’d seen of life within the family of Gwen and Spark, some humorous, some heartwarming, and some…just good to know. Eventually, while Gruff told these tales, Gallus and Spike remembered the photo Twilight had taken of them. So while continuing to listen, they worked together to turn it into the first addition in the family photo album in nearly fifteen years. In addition to dating it, they gave it a straightforward and comprehensive caption:
“Alive and well and brothers again.”
So like with writing every story, there were things throughout this one that had been written but then were ultimately cut out as either not working or simply a better idea was adopted instead. That said, once started in what would be it's final plotline, this story managed to stay fairly light on any major instances of this (minus one or two)...except for this chapter, which ultimately ended up getting a lot cut out of it. Mostly this was greater details about everything that had happened between the gap of time between this chapter and the last chapter, like Gallus and Spike spending Hearth's Warming with Twilight's family, Smolder inviting them on a visit to the Dragon Lands, additional things about how they were adapting, how the court trial had gone, what the public's reaction had been like, and so on. All of which you'd think would be good ideas to include.
But no matter how I arranged all of it, I found it all just bogged down the chapter, making it feel unfocused and uneven in tone. Eventually I realized the reason why was because I was approaching the chapter wrong--this chapter needed to be about the final closure the funeral was giving Gallus and Spike and how much they were embracing their newfound family relations. Everything else was just background noise and was getting in the way of that. So except for the parts that still had to be there regardless given the time jump, all the rest of it was either cut out or greatly shortened to just brief summaries at most. And that seemed to resolve the flow issue, so hopefully it pays off for you readers as well.
Anyway...last chapter either way. Hopefully it's a satisfying ending. 
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Thank you for writing this one, Scyphi. What a journey to go from start to finish on this one. Felt like Grief Is The Price We Pay Again when it was being released, waiting for each chapter to be put out. Will be keeping my eye out for whatever else you'll be writing!
You know, I'm honestly surprised Gruff lived through it all. I honestly expected him to die along the way, likely in an attempt to make up for the imagined sins of the past.
Thank you for the story. It's been a fun one!
And so it ends.
This was definitely an interesting read. When I first started reading, I had Grief Is The Price We Pay in my mind and (spoilers for that fic) I was afraid to see another current character die or Twilight being super unlikable, but glad those didn't happen and this was an interesting read. Definitely a bit shorter than Grief Is The Price We Pay but didn't mind it as it was easier to read then. All in all, a nice story you made and I should definitely check out more of your upcoming new stuff you'll write these days. Especially ones with Spike.
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Hey. wait a minute, you forgot about Gilda, you evil son of a-
Such an awesome tale from start to finish, glad to see Kibitz's sentence example as a deterrent for any lingering haters who even think of trying some murder crap! Good closure during the funeral scene with everyone involved saying some parting words to Gallus/Spike parents, especially Ditzy's words there :
I couldn't have said it better myself, she pretty much became the MVP of this tale & my personal fave!
Thanks again for another awesome story Scyphi, till the next one!
Thank you so much for this story, I greatly enjoyed this from beginning to end. I'm a bit sad it's over, but I think you ended it on the right event (though I did think maybe you were gonna do a far flash forward to very far in the future)
If you ever do any one shots in this universe in the future though (like I do like the idea of Gallus spending Hearths Warming as like it's own story), I will for sure read and most likely enjoy. But I do understand this was written as a swan song story, so if this is the end It was great to be apart of it and I just want you to know how much this story impacted me.
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I did actually consider it at one point, but opted not to on the grounds "Grief" had done something loosely similar and I was deliberately wanting to produce a fic that hit a little differently than "Grief" had this go-around.
Besides, I also stopped to consider the emotional blow that would've been to the likes of Gallus and Spike and decided they didn't need that.
What other stories do you plan write?