Commissioned stories by Fabulous Diva Rarity in which helped me write despite my anxiety and depression
2019 was a rough year for me. Outside of continual lack of blind-friendly software to use at my job, I also had to have my right eye physically removed. Then the ever-dwindling accessibility of my work software with my JAWS Screen Reader caused me to have a series of panic attacks coupled with physical manifestations of anxiety through muscle pain in my neck, shoulders, and arms.
As you'd guess, I had ideas I wanted to write but just couldn't bring myself to it. It is during these times I turned to Fabulous Diva Rarity.
Ms. Rarity took my ideas and made them into cheerful works that helped me feel so much better as I muddled through the 2019 struggles. I hope, in reading these, you can feel a bit more happiness, too. :)
She saw it every day. In the first steps a foal took into the terrifying outside world beyond their home. In the way her parents cooked using fire- fire!- Inside of the house. In the way her brother Zephyr Breeze played at bath time, with no concept of the danger of drowning. She saw it all of the time, and sometimes she wanted it for herself because it was something she lacked, but then she saw ponies do something stupid and reconsidered. Still, there was that tentative wanting of courage kept inside of her.
Her parents were certainly wanting her to have courage. Fluttershy had gotten to the point of being at the age to potty train, but was too afraid to try the training potty. Her parents easily assessed the problem. Fear of the unknown, and fear of what would come after. Fluttershy was a foal who depended heavily on routine. If things happened in a certain order during the day, and the next one of those things didn’t happen, she couldn’t get past it and ended up hiding in her room. She was painfully shy, to the point where she had not made very many friends, apart from Rainbow Dash, the daughter of Windy Whistles and Bow Hothoof, whose easygoing and confident nature seemed to rub off on her in a good way.
Mr. And Mrs. Shy were, in essence, stuck. They had tried everything they could think of to get Fluttershy to start potty training. They had tried rewarding her, bribing her, taking a toy away (and subsequently not following through with it because she had cried so much), and letting her get comfortable with the potty on her own, which did not happen because she was too afraid to go near it. Their daughter’s fears were never allayed, and it was wearing them out. Between dealing with Fluttershy’s emotional needs and Zephyr’s physical ones at barely a week old, they were beyond tired, and the stress of the situation was not helping matters any. Neither of them could take a nap or a day off, because two kids completely changed the game. When one was calm the other was not. Fluttershy alone demanded constant emotional support, and Zephyr was loud when he did not get his needs met, so it kept them hopping.
Today though, might be a bit of a break. Today they were going over to Bow and Windy’s house for a playdate with Rainbow Dash for Fluttershy, and Zephyr was going to be foalsat at home while it happened because right after they had to go get some paperwork done, and they could not bring a fussy baby with them. Fluttershy was old enough and well behaved enough to know when to be quiet, and it wasn’t like she wasn’t quiet to begin with. As long as the room did not change, she would be fine, and those offices were as about as unchanging as you could get. So, Mr. Shy paid the sitter and picked up his daughter while Mrs. Shy packed a bag for her child before grabbing her things to leave. Fluttershy trembled upon her father’s back. She did not like being up so high, and clutched him in a vice grip. Mercifully for him, it was his back and not his neck. His little girl was tiny, but she could be powerfully strong when she was afraid. The last time she had her legs around his neck, she had squeezed so hard she choked him a little. Her squeezing at his back just felt more like wearing saddlebags.
When they were all packed up and ready to go, they walked outside. This was a harrowing endeavor for Fluttershy, who panicked at leaving the safety of her home. This was mitigated slightly by the presence of both her parents, but nonetheless terrified her. It wasn’t being outside itself that terrified her. She loved to go in her backyard and look up at the sky or see the animals flying by. What terrified her was the idea of what waited for her outside of her home. Other ponies, other foals, large crowds, open spaces, the possibility of being separated from her parents. Her fears were numerous.
Mr. And Mrs. Shy had a lot of guilt in that regard. They had been overprotective of her and made it a point to coddle her in her earliest days and eventual years. Their daughter had been bashful from the start, afraid of strangers, of change, even as a newborn, and thus so had they in their high strung state. They had taken it upon themselves to make sure she felt extra safe and love by narrowing the circle of who could visit her, and thereby narrowing the world around her. They did not even take her outside until she could walk, for fear of what might happen to her. The instinctive drive to protect their daughter had blinded them to a simple fact: children learn what they live. Because they were afraid for her all the time, she interpreted that as needing to be afraid of everything. When they realized their mistake, they had tried to correct it, but it was a firm imprint on their daughter’s mind, to fear things. And now they were paying the price for what they had taught her.
The trip to Bow and Windy’s home was mercifully short, and Mr. Shy was grateful for it because of how his daughter was digging into his sides with her hooves. When they knocked on the door, they waited. Windy answered, smiling brightly.
“Hi there! Come on in, please!” Her voice was perky but not loud, as she had learned the first time she had over enthusiastically greeted Fluttershy, and the foal had burst into tears. Mr. and Mrs. Shy thanked her, and entered. Fluttershy seemed to relax once she was in a contained space again. Rainbow’s house was familiar to her at the very least, so it wasn’t as scary. As Mr. Shy pried his daughter off of his back and set her down, Bow came over to shake his hoof.
“Pleasure seeing you again.” He said in a deep, rich tenor.
“Thank you for having us.” Mr. Shy responded, gently taking his hoof.
“I was about to go out back and get a few things set up for the girls to play with. Mind giving me a hoof?”
“Sure.” He said and walked off.
That left Mrs. Shy and Windy Whistles. Windy Whistles bent down to Fluttershy’s level, careful not to overcrowd her.
“Dashie is waiting for you in her room over there.” Windy pointed to the direction of the room with her hoof. “We can take you up there if you like.”
Fluttershy just nodded mutely. Windy gave her a gentle smile and nod, and Mrs. Shy made her way to the room alongside Windy with her daughter attached to her leg. When Windy opened up the door, she spoke.
“Dashie sweetie, somepony came to play with you!” Windy called.
Rainbow Dash was sitting on a rainbow rug, stacking some blocks when she heard the sweet sound of her mother’s voice. She looked up and saw Fluttershy, and her tiny wings buzzed in anticipation. She knocked over the block tower and tripped over one of them, but she did not cry to Fluttershy’s shock and awe. How on earth was Dashie so brave?
“Fwuttews!” Dashie called, and reached to give her friend a hug. Fluttershy responded in kind, but was still awed.
“Dashie!” Fluttershy responded in kind.
Windy and Mrs. Shy smiled at each other.
“We’ll be in the kitchen if you need us.” Windy said.
“Kay Mama!” Dashie chirped, and the two mares walked away, leaving the foals to play.
Dashie immediately gestured for Fluttershy to follow her. “Pway?”
Fluttershy nodded and followed Dashie into the colorful room, where the rainbow haired pegasus plopped down and started to build another block tower. What Fluttershy had not heard, nor seen, was the distinctive sound of a diaper crinkling or seen one itself. Instead, Dashie was wearing something that kind of looked like a diaper but was much thinner.
“Wha dat?” Fluttershy asked, pointing to the garment.
“Is my puww up!”
“Puww up?”
Dashie nodded. “Mama an’ Dada gimme fow potty twaining. I wike it! No mowe diapees!” She cheered.
Fluttershy nodded. “Mine wan me ta potty twain too, bu’ I dun wanna.”
“Why no?”
“Scawy. How ya do it, Dashie? How ya bwave aww da time?”
Dashie grinned proudly. “‘Cause I happy. I wan do big pony tings. I wan go in da potty an’ fwy, an’ be big wike Mama an’ Dada.”
“Ya no scawed?”
“Why I be scawed? They no scawed. Ya dun hafta be scawed. I not. I bwave pony. So awe ya.”
Fluttershy smiled tentatively at the praise. Maybe she could give this a try. If a brave pony like Dashie could do it, maybe she could too.
In the kitchen, Windy Whistles poured herself and Mrs. Shy a cup of tea. “Sugarcube?” She asked, holding up the sugar bowl.
“Two please.” Mrs. Shy asked. Windy nodded and plopped two in. Mrs. Shy thanked her, and they both took a seat at the table nearby.
“Any luck on potty training?” Windy asked her friend.
Mrs. Shy shook her head. “Not yet. We’ve tried everything we can think of, and now that we have Zephyr it’s much harder to give the issue the attention it needs.”
Windy nodded thoughtfully. “I think I can understand that. Nopony ever said raising kids was easy.”
“I’m hoping her playing with Rainbow will open her up to it.”
“I hope so, for your sake.”
“Thank you.”
“Of course.” Windy said, sipping her tea. “It’s funny though,” She said after a pause, “Zephyr is so much younger than she is but I can see that he’s far more outgoing than Fluttershy is.”
“Yes. I think that’s our fault. We coddled her too much from day one.”
“You did what you thought was best.” Windy soothed her. “Nopony can ever prepare you for being a first time parent. You did the best with what you had.”
“And look what happened. She’s so afraid… She’s not enjoying her life.”
“You were trying to protect her.” Windy reasoned. “You followed your instincts. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. Everypony makes mistakes their first time doing anything, let alone being a parent.”
“You seem to be doing a fairly perfect job.”
Windy smiled, but there was no mirth in it. “They say that children are our second chance. We raise them into who we wish we were. I try and keep that in mind with Dashie, but more than one time it’s gotten me into trouble. Like when she tried to run out of the backyard when I had my back turned for a second. There are perils of raising an overly confident child, just like there are a shy one.”
Mrs. Shy nodded. “We’re going to try and be less overprotective with Zephyr. We’ve seen the results of that and we don’t want to make him afraid of everything too.”
“The good thing about having two kids is that you’ve become an expert by the second one.” Windy joked, and they shared a laugh. She beamed at her friend. “I am proud of you, though. You’ve grown a lot since having Zephyr. I can tell.”
“Thank you. That means a lot to me.” The two women shared a smile and drank their tea in silence for a few minutes. “What do you think the future holds for our kids?” She asked.
“I don’t know. I hope they grow up to be loyal and kind, smart, brave, empathetic, and hardworking. Really that’s all I can ask for for them.” Said Windy before she smiled and set down her emptied tea cup. “Who knows? Maybe someday our kids will grow up and get married to each other. Now that would be an incredible future!”
The sun crested over the horizon of Canterlot, Princess Celestia dutifully raising the yellow orb into the sky to begin another day for her citizens. Inside the Sparkle household, all ponies were still sleeping peacefully. Twilight Velvet, Night Light, Shining Armor, and Twilight Sparkle all dreamed without care. But one member of the household was stirred awake by the sunbeam hitting his eyes as he slept.
Spike The Dragon, just barely out of his hatchling years and now more of a toddler, yawned and stretched, blinking at the world around him. Asleep atop Twilight Sparkle, he rolled off of her and onto the bed, before he shook her awake with his tiny claws.
Twilight groaned. “Five more minutes.” She mumbled, turning onto her side.
Spike wouldn’t have it, and shook her again, babbling things that might have been actual words but Twilight’s sleep-addled mind couldn’t make sense of. Twilight sighed and sat up.
“Okay, Spike, okay I’m up.” She mumbled, and climbed out of bed onto her hooves, only for her baby dragon to hop onto her back, as was their custom. Twilight trudged out of her room and into the hall bathroom to use the toilet, settling Spike on a plush rug nearby as the young dragon sucked his claw. When she was done on the toilet and washed her hooves, she turned her attention to the tiny dragon. Spike, though a toddler now, was still in diapers. Potty training for him was scheduled to be in a few weeks, and she could only imagine the stars she would earn for completing that task. For now though, she might as well earn as many stars for taking care of Spike’s diapers.
She had opened the bathroom door to float in some supplies to change him, and so it was open when her parents came down the hall when hearing the door creak. They looked in to see their daughter in the midst of changing Spike’s diaper, and smiled.
“Looks like Twily’s getting an early start on earning her stars for the sibling supreme weekend.” Commented Velvet.
Twilight’s head whipped around, eyes bright and excited. “Really?!”
Nightlight nodded. “Taking care of a baby is a big chore, and a very responsible thing. I think you’ve earned you’re first star of the day, missy.”
“Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!” Twilight squealed. She eagerly finished taping up Spike’s diaper.
Shining Armor moved grumpily out of his bedroom. “Can you please keep it down? Some of us are still trying to sleep.”
“Suuuure I’ll keep it down, Shiny. You can sleep the whole day away while I win the sibling supreme crown for the weekend! I’m already beating you for it!” She grinned.
“What?!” He looked to his parents for an explanation.
“She changed Spike’s diaper for the morning.” Nightlight explained.
“Oh!” He groaned. “Come on, that’s not fair! She gets stars all the time for taking care of Spike! That’s only one thing! I have to do a whole bunch of different things for my stars!”
“Now Shiny, you can either keep complaining about this, or you can help me make breakfast and earn your first star of the day. You want to win, don’t you?” Velvet said in a motherly tone.
His ears perked up at the mention of earning a star. “I’ll be right there!” Shining said, and dashed out of the hall.
Twilight giggled at the sight, and Spike managed to climb up onto her back on his own. She looked surprised.
“Wow, Spike! You’ve never done that before! Good job!” She grinned.
The dragon giggled and clapped from his place perched upon her back. Twilight trotted down the hall to where the chart for Sibling Supreme was kept, and happily added a star to her chart. She barely noticed Spike getting off of her back, picking up a yellow crayon, and clumsily drew a star for himself. He admired his work, before dropping his crayon and looking to Twilight. She looked down at him and giggled.
“Come on, Spike. Let’s get some breakfast.” She said.
The pair went to the kitchen where Shining Armor and Twilight Velvet were in the midst of making scrambled eggs for breakfast. When the eggs, perfectly fluffed, were slid onto plates, Shining was awarded his first star of the day. The competitive part of Twilight flared up, wanting to outdo her brother, so she offered to clear the table once she was done feeding Spike his breakfast. Both activities were worthy of stars, so the score thus far was Twilight with three and Shining with one.
As Twilight cleared the table, Spike watched with interest at the two competing siblings. He was still a baby, and thus didn’t completely understand all that was going on, but he understood a few things. The stars were good, and a big shiny crown was the reward. Those points of thought were able to be pieced together in his mind. He wanted the shiny crown! But… A lot of the time Twilight got the good stars for taking care of him. Much as he wanted the stars and the shiny crown, he wanted Twilight to be happy. Still, that didn’t mean he couldn’t do good things too. So, when Twilight came back to get his tiny plate and silverware, he gathered them up and handed them to her like he’d seen her do at the table.
“Thank you, Spike!” She smiled, and nuzzled him quickly before taking his plate to the sink.
Spike smiled and clapped, satisfied with himself. He was going to get stars!
Breakfast soon transitioned into Playtime for the household’s younger members. Though Shining was in his pre teens now, he highly enjoyed playing with his little sister and her baby dragon. Playtime always came as an opportunity for more stars, too, so that didn’t hurt. Velvet and Nightlight watched over them as they tried to solve a puzzle together. That earned Shining a star for helping Twilight, and another one for stopping Spike from chewing on one of the pieces and giving him a teething ring instead. That tied up the score.
After the puzzle was done, board games were played, and they both earned stars for being good sports. Spike gave himself a star for not putting the small pieces in his mouth like he sometimes wanted to. By that point, it was nearly eleven in the morning. Twilight, Shining, and Spike all turned their heads in unison when they saw their mother carrying saddlebags.
“Mommy? Where are you going?” Asked Twilight.
“I’m afraid I have to go to the book store for a signing.” She said, looking sympathetically at her children.
“Does that mean I’m in charge?” Shining asked, chomping at the bit to earn more stars for being a good leader and foalsitter.
“Shiny, Daddy will still be here. But I wouldn’t leave him without an extra helping hoof, so Twily, Cadence is coming over to help look after you.”
Twilight squealed at the mention of her foalsitter, and Shining deflated at not being put in charge.
Velvet simply laughed at her children’s completely polar opposite reactions as she kissed each of her babies on the head as she went to leave, Shining blushing a little at that- seeing as how he thought he was too big to be kissed by his mother. Velvet simply shook her head at his folly. Someday when he had a foal of his own, he would understand.
“Be good!” She called to them before she headed out the door.
“Bye, Mommy!”
“Bye, Mom.”
When the door shut, Nightlight felt the spotlight of parenting turn to him. Luckily, he knew how to handle it.
“Alright kids, let’s try and do something outside. It’s a beautiful day out today, and I want you to enjoy it!” He said.
Shining and Twilight didn’t need any more provocation than that, and with Twilight scooping Spike upon her back, the three of them raced out the back door.
Spike laughed as Twilight trotted along, enjoying the way he bounced slightly on her back. He loved to be outside. They had a small sandbox in the yard, and Twilight immediately challenged her brother to building sandcastles. While the two of them went at it, Spike was happily digging holes in the sandbox, giggling as he pretended to dig for whatever treasure might be there. And there very well might be treasure there. Twilight’s parents hid small toys or plastic gold coins in the sandbox fairly often to surprise them and make all of them feel like they found something. Spike dug his hole, sometimes with a tiny shovel, and other times simply with his claws, loving the feel of the warm sand between his fingers. He barely noticed the competition going on at all, he was so focused on his own digging, but when he thought he saw a star shape on one of the castles, he remembered what was going on. He stopped digging his hole, and made his way to Twilight, pulling lightly on her small tail.
Twilight turned to him. “What is it, Spike?” She asked.
Spike pointed to the star shape she had drawn on her castle, and then to himself.
Twilight smiled. “Oh! Do you want to guard my castle?” She asked.
Spike shook his head no, and pointed to the star again with a little whine.
“The star? You want-“
She was interrupted by another voice. “I hear there’s a sandcastle contest going on here!”
Twilight immediately reacted, squealing jubilantly as she turned to see Cadence there. She got up out of the sandbox and went to hug her. Cadence chuckled and hugged her back. Then, they did their traditional greeting.
“Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!” They said together as they did the appropriate motions. When it ended and they both stopped giggling, Cadence spoke.
“Do you two need a judge for the sandcastle contest?” She asked Twilight.
“Please?!” Twilight begged.
Cadence nodded and went over to the sandcastles. Shining’s castle was more architectural, with a moat, several smaller castles atop the base, and some texturing. Twilight’s, by contrast, was simpler but more decorated. An amalgamation of Twigs, leaves, flowers, and small stones decorated her castle, with a leaf put on a stick on the top to make a flag. Cadence studied both castles for a long time, and eventually declared it a tie. They both got a star for it.
A round of kite flying followed, Cadence helping Twilight with hers and giving them an edge, to where they got a star for working together by Nightlight. Shining had pouted about that, but he had to admit that it was a nice kite.
The competition continued on, rolling into lunch. Shining and Cadence ended up making lunch, while Twilight got Spike changed. She fed the baby dragon his lunch, while Shining mumbled complaints about Twilight getting extra stars for caring for Spike, until he was silenced by his father asking him to Clear his plate. When Shining immediately complied, Nightlight smirked. He knew when to use diversionary tactics. He’d have to tell Velvet about this later. She’d appreciate it, he knew.
After lunch was a whirlwind for Spike, who was caught up in the hurricane of sibling rivalry, healthy as it might have been. Contests, competitions, stars going up on boards so quickly it made him dizzy. Velvet returned just before dinner, and Cadence stayed with them, leaving shortly after.
Not long after Cadence’s departure, it was time for Spike to head to bed. Twilight tucked him into bed, and soon fell asleep herself, with the day’s activities done. Shining went to bed, and they all slept, smiling in anticipation for the next day.
Sunday seemed to go by in the blink of an eye. It was chore day around the house, so Twilight and Shining earned their stars by helping their parents. Shining swept the porch, Twilight helped her father make a chart for a meeting, and Spike colored said chart with the crayons provided. It was impressive that he managed to say mostly inside the lines. Shining swept, Twilight mopped, Spike helped dust with his tiny tail, and they all went to the park for a picnic lunch as a treat for getting their chores done so quickly. Lunch quickly devolved into contests, with Twilight and Shining competing to see who could swing the highest while Spike was pushed on a baby swing by Velvet’s magic.
When the time at the park was over, multiple stars were earned, a few by Spike himself. This evolution continued into dinner, and on until it was nearly time for him to go to bed. Sunday was when they crown of Sibling Supreme was awarded, and they always did it before Spike’s bedtime so he could feel like he was a part of it. A lesser part of it might have been that they did not want to leave him on his own while they went to award the crown, but they liked to think of the first as the primary reason.
Twilight Velvet held the crown in her magic. “This week’s Sibling Supreme goes to… Twilight Sparkle!” She cheered, and floated the crown onto Twilight’s head.
Spike giggled and clapped for her, proud that she felt so accomplished. He watched Twilight give a somewhat boasting smirk to Shining Armor, who simply rolled his eyes.
“Next week, Twily, you won’t be so lucky."
“Luck had nothing to do with it!” Twilight said. “I learned!”
Shining allowed himself a partial smirk at her words. “You did. But you don’t know everything.”
“Yet.” Twilight added with a sly grin.
Twilight went over to Spike, picking him up and settling him on her back as she prepared to take him upstairs to bed. She kissed her parents goodnight, gave her brother a (mostly) earnest hug, and turned to leave.
As Twilight left the basement, Spike was staring at the chart. Twilight and Shining both had lots of stars, but that wasn’t what caught his eye. He had a lot of stars too! More than he had ever had before! He couldn’t help but think that someday, when he was a big dragon, he would get the Sibling Supreme crown. He liked how shiny it was, and he wanted to be just like Twilight and Shining Armor. Someday, it would be on his head.
Twilight took him to the bathroom to get him changed into his nighttime diaper, and he found his eyelids closing. He was moved, feeling like he was floating, onto Twilight’s bed to snuggle with her. He wasn’t quite ready to have his own bed yet. As she tucked him and herself into bed for the night.
Twilight gave him a kiss. “Goodnight, Spike.”
Spike smiled very faintly, a claw entering his mouth as he drifted off to slip. That night his head was filled with dreams. Someday, he would be the Sibling Supreme. He just knew it.
Gallus skulked around the ruins of Griffonstone, grumbling to himself. Grandpa Gruff had ordered him to go to some pony school just now, despite his vigorous protests against it. But, since Grandpa Gruff was pretty much their appointed leader, he couldn’t refuse, and there were no parents to have to refuse for him. Not that he wanted those. Griffons were pretty much terrible creatures in general, to each other and others. The only Griffon he didn’t know who was like that was-
“Hey Gallus!” Came a perky voice. As if summoned by thought, Gabby The Griffon appeared and started walking by him. Gallus started at the sound of her voice, so lost in his own murmurings that he hadn’t heard anygriff approach him. Not half a second later, he relaxed again.
“Hi Gabby.” It was muttered, hostile. Gabby, hearing it, frowned.
“You seem super grumpy today. Wanna talk about it?”
“No… Yes… I don’t know.” It was a defeated sigh. Gabby was the only Griffon who really was nice to everygriff, even when they weren’t nice back. Gabby didn’t touch him, but the feel of her eyes somewhat felt to him like a wing being wrapped around him. He sighed. He might as well complain about this to somegriff.
“Grandpa Gruff is making me go to some prissy pony school. So uncool.” He said.
Gabby somehow perked up. “Pony school? Where?”
“Ponyville, I think?”
Gabby let out a piercing squeal. “Ponyville?! That’s where the cutie mark crusaders are! You are so lucky! You’ll get to meet them! I’d love to see them again!”
He made a disgruntled noise. “Yeah, sure. Lucky.”
Gabby came down from her dreamy bubble and looked at him. “You don’t sound happy to go there.”
“Because I’m not.”
“Why not?”
“Because I belong here! Among my own kind! I already feel like I don’t belong here, and I don’t want to go someplace just to feel that again but a thousand times worse! At least I actually know griffs here! Why would I want to go to another place just to not find a home there too?!”
Gabby had paused at his outburst. For a minute maybe, silence prevailed over the pair of them. Finally, Gabby broke it.
“So, you don’t have a home too?”
Gallus looked up. “What?”
Gabby nodded. “I didn’t have a home or family here either.”
“B-But I saw you! You had dinner with Gilda and Grandpa Gruff at the Blue Moon Festival!”
“Yeah, because Gilda invited me. She remembered that I didn’t have a home.”
“You know Gilda?” He asked.
She nodded. “When I was a chick I kind of looked up to her. Like, not in a big sister kind of way, but like, “Someday I want to be like her” kind of way. I mean, She was brave and tough and strong, and all the stuff Griffons were thought to be, but once in a while she’d give me a free muffin or smile at me, especially when I was young and didn’t have a job. She kind of became family. Or, the closest thing I ever had to it, anyways.”
Gallus was still reeling from all of that. “Gilda smiles?”
“Not often, but sometimes. And usually when she does the most is when she’s getting or sending a letter to Ponyville! Her friend Rainbow Dash lives there.”
“She’s got a pony friend?”
“Mhm! They went to junior speedsters camp together, from what Rainbow Dash told me!”
Gallus didn’t know what to say to that, so he just shut his mouth.
Gabby, seemingly realizing she’d gotten off topic, picked up again. “I grew up without a family, Gallus. And I would see what they had and I didn’t have, and sometimes it would make me really sad. But Gilda showed me that one small thing from another griffon can make a really big difference. She made me want to be that griffon for others. That’s why I smile all the time. I hope that one day, I can do that for somegriff. Someday, maybe they could think of me as family…”
“What’s the point of that? If you don’t know where you came from, what’s the point of even having a family? It’s not like they actually do things for you. All the families in this town do is argue and fight. There’s no point to that. I don’t wish I had a family, but I do wish I had a home to sleep in.”
“You don’t get it, do you?” Gabby’s voice was quiet, surprised.
“Get what?” He asked. Huffing angrily.
“Gallus, family doesn’t end with the griffs you’re related to. It’s who you want around you. Gilda became my family. And I know even though you only spoke to her a few times, she could be yours too. Especially since you’re going to a pony school! You could tell her about Rainbow Dash’s adventures while you’re there! You would always have something to talk about.”
“I’m not going to that school!”
“Why not? A chance to get out of here, to have a roof over your head and a bed to sleep in, to meet new creatures- what’s not to like?”
“Because I-“ He simply stopped, and went silent.
It took Gabby a second to realize where he might have been going with that, but when she did, her eyes grew sad. “You still don’t know who they are, do you? Your parents?”
“No…”
“And you don’t want to leave because you think they’ll come back?”
He nodded.
Gabby straightened up, tougher, bolder all of a sudden. About as cocky as Gallus himself might be on a regular day. “Well I think that’s pretty sad!”
He looked up. “What?”
“If your parents couldn’t be bothered to stick around and see what an amazing griffon you grew up to be, that’s pretty sad! You’re a good griffon, Gallus, and anygriff who won’t give you the time to show how amazing you are doesn’t deserve to get to know you!”
He stared at her, half bewildered, and half amazed, before he smiled a tiny bit. “Thanks, Gabby.”
“It’s true.” Gabby smiled. “But that’s why I think going to Ponyville would be good for you. When I went there, the Cutie Mark Crusaders showed me real friendship for the first time ever. I was kind of scared at first you, know.”
“You were?”
“Uh huh! I knew when I went there to find them that I wanted to get a Cutie Mark because every pony there seemed so nice and friendly, but It was really scary being with all these creatures I never met before. It was overwhelming. But you know what I found out?”
He was curious now. “What?”
“They were as nice and friendly as I thought they would be. They smiled at me, and they welcomed me, and they made me feel like what I thought home was supposed to feel like. But I learned that home wasn’t just having a roof over your head. Sometimes home is the place where everyone is nice to each other and cares about them. Sometimes home isn’t a place. Sometimes it’s another creature. But you’ll never find it if you don’t go.”
Gallus pondered this for quite a while. He thought about how alone and Isolated he’d felt, growing up in Griffonstone. He’d wondered time and again what home would feel like, what family was like. He’d long since come to grips with the fact that he would never have a family, and that he was doomed to be alone. But now, Gabby’s words were making him rethink everything. He could recall snippets of griffins smiling at him, rare as the Blue Moon festival. He’d always thought they were pity smiles, smiles that said, “Oh you poor orphan”, or “Someday you’ll understand what you’re missing”. But maybe… Maybe he was wrong? Maybe it was a subtle way of saying “Keep your head up.”. Griffons didn’t do well with feelings other than anger or spite. But… He thought about Gilda, and realized that maybe in some way, he had looked up to her in some way too. She was older, after all. He remembered- or thought he could- her smiling at him that way when he’d been very young. Had he really misinterpreted that all this time?
The only griff he was sure didn’t feel that way was Grandpa Gruff. He was the stereotype of Griffon’s that made the rule. But yet, there was Gabby, who broke every one of those rules. It was so confusing, and the thoughts and images swirled around in his head like some churning cauldron brewing a new cocktail of emotions. He had to stop himself a minute, clear his head, before he tried to understand what he felt now.
It was a new feeling. Different, and weird, but good in a way. He tried to find a word for it, and a memory to match it. Finally, he remembered a griffon smiling at him, very faintly, and feeling that feeling. He knew now what it was. Hope. It had been so long since he’d felt such a thing, that he could hardly remember it. He’d learned not to pin his hopes to the chest of another griffon, but this was different. He wasn’t putting them onto another griffon. He was putting them onto a place now. He lost his hope that Griffons could change. But maybe he could change, and Ponyville would be the place to change him.
He still wasn’t sure how he felt about leaving Griffonstone. Sure, he hated those dirt roads, those crumbling buildings, and those decrepit statues. But they had been home to him for as long as he could remember. The comforting familiarity they provided was something he would miss. But as he knew all to well from the countless hours watching other Griffon families, everygriff had to leave the nest sometime. And even if he didn’t make it over there, he could always come back here. But the promise of hope for change called to him like a siren song. Freedom from the past that encircled him could be reached at last.
It was time. He had reached the point of fission. He was ready to separate from Griffonstone for a while, and leave the nest. He didn’t know what would wait for him out there in Ponyville, but he hoped for something great. It was time to leave the dusty roads and desecrated buildings behind him. He knew better than anygriff that if you always stay where you are, you will never get to where you want to be. And he knew where he wanted to be.
A place with a roof over his head. A place where griffons weren’t jerks to each other. A place that wasn’t falling a part at the seams. A place where he could have fun, and be himself, and enjoy his life instead of having dread about waking in the morning and worrying what the day would bring.
He looked at Gabby, finally, her eyes covered in worry for him. He smiled at her, gave her a nod. “Okay. I’ll do it.”
Gabby looked as though she would explode in relief and happiness. Though she usually would have bounced off the walls with joy, she kept it contained for the sake of Gallus’ dignity.
“I’m so happy for you.” She said sincerely, eyes sparkling.
He nodded. He couldn’t think of anything else to say.
Some time later, After a short time making friends at the School Of Friendship in Ponyville, Gallus was drifting between the line that separated wakefulness and sleep. Before bed, he remembered the wonderful day he had had at school with his friends. An image of the School Of Friendship flashed before him, just before he crossed the border into sleep. And as it’s image was in his mind, burned into the back of his retinas, a soothing voice spoke one sentence to him.
As the sun fell below the horizon of Ponyville, Spike The Dragon lit a candle in his room and began to write.
Dear Gabby,
This is Spike from Ponyville. It was really great getting to meet you today! I think it’s really cool that you wanna be the first Griffon to get a cutie mark. It’s kinda like how I was the first dragon to do friendship. And even though you didn’t get a cutie mark, I think you really helped a lot of ponies today, and you made some new friends too! I just wanted to let you know that you can count me as one of them.
Spike
A few days later, a letter came for Spike in the mail.
Dear Spike,
Hiya! It’s so awesome that you wrote me! I couldn’t believe my luck when I got your letter on my postal route! Talk about a great surprise! I’m so glad to hear from you! I admit, coming back from Ponyville to Griffonstone was kind of a downer. I just have so many things I want to teach everygriff, and they seem so uninterested in friendship. How do you deal with that? I know you’ve been there before, and I could use all the advice I could get.
Big Hugs,
Gabby
Spike smiled at the letter on his desk, grabbed some parchment, and began writing a reply.
Gabby-
I wish I could give you a good answer, but I don’t really think there is one that works for every creature. For me, when I introduced friendship to the dragons, I really only got through to one dragon at first. Of course, it helped that that dragon was Princess Ember, but that’s not really my point. Change starts with one creature, and sometimes the way to do it is to start trying to reach one more, and then work your way up. I know how awesome it would be to change every creature at once, but some of them aren’t going to want to change. But if you can find one that does, it can be a chain reaction, you know? So maybe try and find that one griffon, then I think you’re all set.
Hope That Helps,
Spike.
Gabby eagerly wrote a reply to Spike a week later.
Spike-
Your advice TOTALLY helped! I think I found that one Griffon. His name is Gallus, and even though he’s not very interested in what I have to say, he still listens. In Griffonstone, that’s saying something. Every griff here is really uninterested in everything unless they get something out of it, which is totally sad. Like yesterday, I found this totally amazing patch of flowers on my way home from making deliveries, but no griff even wanted to hear about it! They don’t even see half the things I see. They’re always muttering about how Griffonstone is in ruins. If they looked, they’d see this really beautiful patch of flowers. And just outside the village is this really beautiful little pond. It’s hidden away by the cliffs a little, but you can still see it if you look. I love sitting there sometimes on my break, because there’s this little frog on a lilly pad who just croaks over and over again, and sometimes if you think of a tune, it can be a song! I wish they bothered to take time to enjoy the little things, you know?
Sorry, I know I’m rambling. Say hi to Twilight and the Crusaders for me!
Gabby
Spike smiled at that and began to write back.
Gabby-
Twilight and the Crusaders say hi back. And don’t be sorry, I know exactly how it feels to want everycreature to slow down a while. Hay, I wish that from Twilight every day. Last week was a frenzy. She was scheduled to read to the sick foals in the hospital and then her brother and Princess Cadence came and asked her to foalsit her niece. Twilight couldn’t say no, and she ended up in way over her head. She was running, and I mean literally running, all day. I just wanted to tell her to slow down, but Twilight doesn’t take any direction to calm down so well, unfortunately. But in the end she did realize her mistake. On the plus side, while she was making up with Flurry, I got to read to the foals at the hospital. One of them even told me that I look like the Dragon from the book. It was great! I hope you get to see a little reward for your efforts like I did.
Take Care,
Spike
Gabby’s reply to him came the next day, ironically enough.
Spike-
It’s been a really crazy day here, so (weirdly enough) I was the one who didn’t get to stop and smell the roses because I couldn’t slow down. It doesn’t happen to me a lot but there are some days when I accidentally do too much and then I just have so much to do I can’t slow down. Yesterday somegriff at work got sick so of course I said I would help out, but the extra mail not along my usual route took me way longer than usual to do, and I’d scheduled this time for flying with Gilda so we could talk about what she heard was going on in Ponyville. She told me something about Rainbow Dash writing a book? What’s that about?
Hope to hear from you soon!
Gabby
Spike let out a breath as he replied to her letter.
Gabby-
Don’t even get me started on what a mess that book caused. Twilight and her friends all contributed to it, and it’s been total chaos ever since it came out. People are always stopping Twilight to ask her questions and trying to get her to sign their books, and asking for pictures. I was kind of used to it to a point because she’s a princess and all, but when it got to the point where all of her friends and I were holed up in the castle trying to wait out a mob of fans and critics, it got out of claw really quickly. I didn’t really get to slow down either that day, so I know what you mean.
I hope you get to relax soon!
Spike
Gabby smiled at that and wrote.
Spike-
Thankfully as I write this it is my week off from work. I’m using the time to stay at home and just take some time for myself. I visited the pond again today, and I found out that frog again. Guess what? He has a friend now! They two of them kind of chase each other around in the pond and it makes me smile every time! I hope you get to see it someday if you ever come to visit. Here’s an idea: Want to come here to take a vacation sometime? You could stay with me if you liked, and we could go see that pond, and those flowers I mentioned, and maybe say hi to Gilda. Maybe not the best vacation, but I’m sure we’d have a lot of fun!
Talk to you soon!
G
Spike’s reply came a few days later than normal that time.
Gabby-
Sorry it’s taken me longer than usual to write back. It’s been a busy week. Twilight’s parents invited her on a Zeppelin cruise, and I offered to take over for her for a few days. I’ve been answering fan mail so much I almost started writing this letter as a reply to a fan letter! Other than answering fan mail, I’ve been visiting everywhere the last few days, trying to help keep everypony’s spirits up. On top of that I’ve been keeping track of the friendship log, too. So you can see why I’m a little stressed out. But getting Twilight to take a break for once and get some quality time in with her family? Totally worth it. Once she gets back I’m planning on taking a day off, just to do the things I like. I’m thinking of going to the gem caves and getting myself some gems to eat, before making something delicious. A jewel cake or some deep friend gems, maybe. Possibly both, because who knows?
I think it’d be fun to take a vacation, but I’m not sure Griffonstone would be my ideal vacation. Maybe we could go to Las Pegasus or something? Anyways, It’s probably the best mini-vacation I could give myself. Hope I get to talk to you soon!
Spike
Gabby grinned as she wrote him back.
Spike-
Sure, we could go to Las Pegasus sometime! I hear the food is amazing! My week home was just what I needed to relax and enjoy myself. I’m sorry you didn’t get some time to yourself this week, but I hope your week went well after that! Hopefully you got a lot of sleep. It’s been pretty calm around Griffonstone this week, but I keep getting the feeling something is gonna happen. I just don’t know what yet. Maybe it’s just me. Ah well. I have to get to bed soon, but I hope things go well for you.
-G
Spike frantically penned a letter to Gabby the next day.
Gabby-
I have awesome news! Twilight has decided to start a friendship school and she’s getting Princess Celestia’s help in reaching to the neighboring kingdoms! So that means Grampa Gruff might be sending a griffon over to learn about friendship! Now it won’t just be you out there if the lessons sink in! I don’t have all the details yet, but hopefully you and I will get to see more of each other soon!
-Spike
Four days later, Gabby wrote him back, Grinning.
Spike-
That’s amazing, But it’s about to be doubly amazing with the news I have for you!
Remember Gallus, the griffon I told you about a while ago? Well, it turns out that when Rainbow Dash came to Griffonstone a week ago, It was to see Grampa Gruff, and to see who he’d picked as a student. And guess who he picked?! Yep, Gallus! So you’ll be seeing at least one of us griffons in Ponyville! I’ll have to try and get back there sometime, but you’ll have to let me know how things go! I’m really excited to think that somegriff other than myself is gonna care about friendship! Gilda tries, but she doesn’t quite have that “friendly disposition” down yet. Hopefully the lessons you give Gallus can help us bring friendship to the Griffons! Keep an eye on him for me!
-G
Spike wrote her back a few days later.
Gabby-
I’m happy to say that Gallus is doing really well in the school of friendship. He’s made friends with a few other creatures, and he’s pretty well liked. We had a rocky first few days (I’m sure you heard all about that) but now everything is good. So hopefully things will start to get normal soon.
-Spike
Gabby was beaming the next time she wrote him.
Spike-
I’m so excited! Guess what??? I get to come to Ponyville next Thursday! Grampa Gruff made an all-call for volunteers to go and help check in on Gallus, and we’ll get to see each other more! I can’t stay for too long this time, because I have a different mail route than usual, but the next time he calls, we’re hanging out! Can’t wait to see you!
-G
Spike grinned at that.
Gabby-
You’re coming to Ponyville? Awesome! I can’t wait to see you. If you can’t stay for long, we could just talk by the Ponyville Cafe, or maybe by the lake if you want. They’re both pretty great. And maybe we could schedule a day to see each other later in the month? It might be easier that way. Let me know what your work schedule looks like.
-Spike
Gabby wrote back immediately.
Spike-
Would Friday the 5th work for you? I have that day off from work, but I wanted to check in because you must be busy with things for the School of friendship right now. Let me know!
-G
When that letter came, Spike had a lot to write her about.
Gabby-
The fifth works fine for me. I’m so excited I can’t even see straight right now! And not just because we’re hanging out. I molted! I finally have wings like other dragons and I can fly now! Twilight and Smolder have been giving me all sorts of lessons. I can’t wait to fly with you!
See you soon!
-Spike
Spike-
I can’t believe you got your wings! That’s awesome! Unfortunately I don’t think I’ll be able to make it like we thought. They rearranged this one griffon’s mail route and because he wasn’t paying attention when he flew he knocked into this building and broke a wing. So now we’re all working overtime and each taking a bit of his route. I’m so sorry. I can maybe do next month? Would that work?
-G
Gabby-
Next month works great. It’ll be nice to get away for a while. Goodness knows I need it. Twilight just found out that Celestia and Luna are retiring and they’re leaving the kingdom to her. So I’ll be in for a lot of chaos as she tries to sort that out. I’ll do my best to keep writing to you in the meantime, but If I get a bit slow, you’ll understand why. If nothing else, I’ll see you the next time you drop by.
-Spike
Dear Spike-
I can’t wait till we get together! I’m thinking we can maybe get some sweets at Sugarcube Corner and go flying now that you have your wings. Maybe we can have a picnic by the park. Let me know!
-G
Gabby-
Sounds great! I can’t wait to take a day away from home for this. I’ll see you in two weeks!
-Spike
Spike-
I’m set for our day together! I got off work a little early especially for the occasion! We can meet up at the post office when I reach Ponyville. We can go flying, have our picnic, and get some sweets too! If you like we can even go back to the castle of friendship and play Ogres and Oubliettes. I know how much you like it!
On a more personal note, I just wanted to say thanks for all the help you’ve given me. I know it can’t be easy doing all the things you do and maintaining a penpal at the same time. You’re really such a good friend, and I’m so excited to see you again.
I can’t wait to talk to you face to beak next week. It’s going to be a great day, because you’re a great friend. I’ll see you soon! Have a great rest of your week, and say hi to every pony for me!
