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How to Lose a Griffon in Three Days (Hippogriffs/Seaponies only, ask for invite)


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Free food? Count him in. Never say no to free food. It was the best aspect of Professor Applejack's class. You could count on her having some apples and maybe a pie to share. He doubted that this would go as easily. The acrobatic displays were pretty damn impressive. They moved back and forth, flowing lazily and then moving like lightning to the point. They never made full contact however. The first time or two Gallus would admit to a little wonderment. Why weren't they hitting one another? Were they scared to hit one another? It wasn't cool enough to justify not getting the impact right. Then he realized it was more just of an athletic display than anything else, and then he got into it a bit more. They answered the calls of the crowd, barrel rolling and scraping against one another in a dazzling display of athletic prowess.

 

This went on for some time before another armored figure hovered near the crowd. "Welcome and well met, Citizens and Friends alike! Do any of you wish to join in this mighty contest of skills, courage, and strength?" He asked the crowd at large, the enthusiasm in his voice leaking into the crowd at an accelerating rate as more than a few claws went up in an attempt to get his attention. Gallus did not raise his paw. Maybe if he knew who he'd be jousting but as far as he knew it was gonna be a guard or somecreature else that knew what he was doing. Behind the recruiter, the hippogriffs who had been pulling off the moves separated at a much greater distance before turning about and flying at one another at top speed. The smaller, thinner one was hit at the point of contact and went tumbling down into a strategically placed pool below, his jousting lance landing with a thick crunch against the ground next to the pool. Yep, he was fine not raising his paw just yet!
 

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  • 4 weeks later...

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Silverstream lit up at the prospect of the event speaker inviting onlookers to participate. She knew that there were very few moments when this would ever happen. One time she got to be a honorary participant in the celebration jousting event. To her, it meant a lot to be a part of the action and excitement with everygriff watching. What she would never remember to mention though, is that as a member of the Seaquestria Royal Family, she would always face a competitor who was scripted to either let her win, or act in such a way that made an amateur flyer like Silverstream look like a future captain of the hippgriff aerial squadron.

 

She inadvertently bumped Gallus, but then egged him on. "Gallus you should volunteer. It's super fun, and no griff ever gets hurt for volunteering. I'll cheer you on!" The reality of danger didn't phase Silverstream, but maybe that was because there hasn't been anything to fear on Mount Aris since the Storm King was sacked.

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Silverstream bumped him an soon had his attentions given over to the prospect of joining the festivities. He had so very little interest in it, but was trying his best to safe beak in front of her. He looked around for a good reason to not volunteer. "Oh, me? I'm-" he began, not realizing that he had raised his talon to point to himself. The scanning guard turned jousting enthusiast saw this and took it as the worst possible sign.

 

"Oh, looks like we have a volunteer!" He yelled out, and the crowd parted slightly. That left Gallus and Silverstream as the 'stars' of the moment. Gallus looked around, knowing what he had to do to not lose face and hating every moment of it. "...Yeah. I mean, yes! I'd love to!" He lied loudly, puffing out his chest and flaring out his wings in a display that would be impressive were he not surrounded by older hippogriffs.

 

The guard reached down and pulled him up and into the sky, where Gallus hovered in great anxiety. "Great! Haha, what courage! Tell us, who are you?" The guard asked, his booming voice displaying for all to see just quite how much of a disparity existed between this fit, tone guard and the only-recently well fed bastard griffon. For all of that though Gallus wasn't going to let them know he was born in Griffonstone. He didn't even consider that place his home, not anymore.

 

"I'm Gallus. Gallus from the School of Friendship," he said with as much pride as he could muster, trying to maintain the front as best he could. Some of the crowd murmured in understanding, not that it came as a shock. Anygriff with eyes could see he had been traveling with Silverstream, and the Princess had been at the School of Friendship herself. It all clicked easily in the minds of many. Rumors would spread.


"And does this foreign friend of yours have your consent, Princess?" The Guard asked playfully. Gallus had volunteered, but it was going to be fun to needle the volunteer regardless. Behind him, Gallus' smile was wide, strained, and pleading.

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  • 2 weeks later...

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The theatrics and banter of the guard's voice entertained the crowd. And with the added intrigue of a classmate of the queen's niece at the School of Friend that was began by Princess Twilight Sparkle, the audience began clamoring with chatter and suspense. The shakiness of the griffon's voice could be heard, but was mostly drowned out by the sheer fact a griffon had approached as a challenger, his bond with the royal niece notwithstanding.

 

Silverstream giggled. "Oh, yes. He's with me. Oh! Also, he told me once he is a fierce flyer, one of the most vicious from Griffonstone, and can beat anygriff in an air joust!" Silverstream played along with the guard, building up the atmosphere of the festival. Silverstream knew it would be a fun experience for Gallus, but she had no idea they would give him this personal of an experience right from the start!


A large hippogriff wearing heavy black armor landed near the guard. His armor covered most of his chest, and all of his head. His helmet had a vent that allowed the hippogriff knight to breathe and speak. In an chambered voice, the hippogriff growled up. "If this is the best the griffons have to offer, then allow me to counter his challenge." The strong hippogriff turned to the guard. "If you will allow me the privilege to defend Mount Aris from this foreign threat, it would be an honor." The mysterious hippogriff stood still and obedient, awaiting the guard's projected decision.

 

Silverstream started tapping her talons together with excited anticipation.

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  • 4 weeks later...

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Gallus really liked Silverstream. She was smart, smarter than what most creatures thought and more than they gave je credit for. She had a good eye for detail and was more driven than you would think. She was friendly, playful, and silly- such a good contrast from him, and he knew that. And that was to say nothing of how cute she was, which was a lot to say because Boreas above! He liked her. She didn't know just how much she liked her, not yet, but he knew it was a lot and he knew he wanted to find out more. He thought they would have a lot of time to really get to know one another and while he would never say it this way out loud, he was pretty jazzed about it.

 

But at this moment, he wanted her to never ever talk again.
"I didn't say-" he began as a challenger approached. Now, not a challenger. THE challenger. Or champion? Gallus didn't know, he was to busy shaking. Oh sweet feathers he was big. Gigantic. Enormous. And he looked like a serious competitor, too. They all were, right? He assumed most of the guards did it on a regular basis, probably for fun. But this stallion didn't look like he did anything for fun. No, he spent his days training for jousts, dreaming about jousts, getting angry that he wasn't in a joust, and winning jousts and sometimes all at once. That and eating and eating anything he could to help him build that muscle.

And he was angry. Angry at Gallus because of Silverstream! He was gonna get his butt whipped so bad he'd go back to Ponyville one bald cat. While he considered how best to hide the bald spots on his body, the leader of the guards made his announcement!


"I accept you as Mt. Aris' champion. That settles it. The match will be Gallus the Griffon of Ponyville-" He held Gallus up and the blue bird was nearly killed by the whiplash, "-versus Mt. Aris' own champion, Sir Stoneheart the Talonbreaker!"
Gallus looked around the crowd with his fear starting to break through, gulping once.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Silverstream stepped back with an overwhelming look of glee radiated from her smile. The champion stepped forward towards Gallus and gave him a nod, readying for the aerial joust. As soon as both competitors gave each other their signal to ready, they would both take off into the sky and begin flying at each other, attempting to best the other in flight dominance. The cordial version of these typically relied on artistic moves rather than real combative aggression. But occasionally, two fierce competitors would attempt to uneven their odds by being slightly more abrasive in the air, resulting in a power creep of soaring tension. And it was entertaining to watch. Silverstream grabbed a snack from a nearby food vendor and sat down to enjoy the show she instigated. She had no fear for Gallus' livelihood.

 

The champion jumped up and fluttered in the sky, his giant wings creating quiet the downwash of wind. He chuckled. "What are you waiting for, Gallus of Ponyville? Do you not want to defend your friend Silverstream's name?"

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Okay, really? Honestly? This guy was being a jerk. And he was a jerk because...well, he seemed confident. It was easy for others to mistake confidence for arrogance or even cruelty. He had seen that first claw. Maybe the guy was really nice, but Gallus felt backed into a corner. Silverstream had been kind by allowing him to experience the holiday she loved so much and he had loved it so far. But now she had tossed him into a situation he knew would fail at, and to top it off, he would fail in front of her. Fail hard. Maybe get hurt. And make everygriff here thing griffons were weak and arrogant and stupid. All because he couldn't just say 'nah not today' and walk away. Or fly away. Too much had been said and now Silverstream's respect was on the line. 

 

Gallus took a deep breath. He had lived by one motto his whole life, and it had served him well. From the streets to school to here now, all he had to do was stick close to this creed and he would prosper. 
If you couldn't make it, fake it.
He composed himself, returned with a steely gaze and a cocky smile, getting himself free of any other griff's claws. "Oh, I will. I was just trying to give *you* a chance to back down. You know, to safe face in front of everygriff. But ya know, I guess you want to be all brave or whatever," he shrugged and crossed his front legs over his chest with a smile. "I win no matter what."

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  • 1 month later...

The large hippogriff stepped forward. "Then let us begin." The horns around them sounded, and the hippogriff took to the sky, waiting for Gallus to do the same. Once they were both in the air and facing each other, the joust would begin.

 

Silverstream sat down and watched in excitement. She was not concerned at all for Gallus' safety, but maybe she should have been. Instead she was wondering if the salmon juice she was sampling while watching the ordeal was different than she remembered or if Ponyville had changed her tasting palette a little.

 

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Gallus took a deep breath. He slowly started to ascend, looking at the sky and trying to think of angles. Then he realized that a joust offered little of that and he was gonna have to take it near head-on with little or nothing to protect him from getting his tail kicked. As he ascended some hippogriffs would flutter about. First he was armored. Relatively lightly but well enough in the critical spots so he wouldn't get horrifically, outrageously hurt when he lost. As he reached the end of his ascent he was given the long jousting lance. Combined, these made him feel imbalanced and slow and he had to flap harder just to keep himself airborne. His heart hammered and he took a deep breath.

 

He took another breath. A last few hippogriffs set some lane markers in the sky and as the colors trailed behind them, the horns sounded and the two were off. The hippogriff barreled through the sky, straight, fast, and true. As he did so there was a wind vacuum behind him and a growling, mewling sound of fury. Gallus charged at him, his heart loud enough to suffocate his thoughts. He tried to go as fast as he could but his wings weren't that strong, the armor was too much, and the jousting lance too imbalanced. It was hard enough to keep it straight at his target, let alone match the speed or skill. He was only a quarter through the marker when his opponent arrived, having covered thrice the distance.

 

There was a mass collision as one jousting lance  crashed against the chest of the opponent. Gallus was sent tumbling, first up  due to momentum and then end over end towards the ground, smacking into the ground with a screech and a caw, tumbling into the dirt and at the claws of the crowd.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The hippogriff champion recoiled back when his lance hit the loaned chest piece the griffon was wearing. It was obvious he was going to have a better shot at knocking Gallus down, though he never intended to make him wipe out as badly as he appeared to, even though he pulled as much from his contact as much as possible. As the hippogriff crowd gasped and cheered, the winner of the joust hovered down to the ground and slowly approached Gallus.

 

Silverstream winced at Gallus' hit and fall, and flew over to him to check on him. As soon as she could see his eyes open, she exhaled a margin of relief. "Gallus, that was so...  Wow! I can't believe you competed in a joust. Most visitors just chicken out and don't like to participate. There is always a spare defender on standby when the guest decides to not play along." She pointed towards the picnic tables by the food vendors. Sitting and drinking coffee at one was an armor hippogriff with his lance on the ground next to him, as if he was on break from a job.

 

The champion's shadow covered Gallus. "Do you yield?"

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There were multiple embarrassing elements coming together at once to thoroughly humiliate him, even if only he realized it. Gallus could feel the opponent pulling his punch at the end. That lance hit was nowhere near his strongest blow and Gallus had been sent flying. And the second was that even at the worst part of his tumble a reasonably good flyer could have pulled out of it. He was just a poor flyer with not very strong wings. He was also not very strong, period. That was the problem with growing up the streets. He ate what he could and did what he needed to get by. And once in Equestria he had so much access to so many different kinds of foods and the luxuries he never would have dreamed about back home that working on his muscle mass and wing strength was far and away from a concern of his.

Maybe it should have been.


He rubbed his head as Silverstream came by and showed some appreciation for his work. Or was it concern? Relief? His head was swimming but it was far more due to having been beat than anything else. He looked over at the Hippogriff who should have been in Gallus' position and couldn't help but think that he was being an even bigger idiot than normal. He wanted to blame everygriff other than himself for the situation at claw but by the end all he could do was focus on the here and now. Here, next to Silverstream. Now, having her worry avbout him. Oddly enough, that was a win. "Lucky griff. I can smell his lunch from over here..." he said, licking his lips as he imagined how righteous he would feel stealing it from that griff. Should have been him, not Gallus.

 

Then the champion landed. He was ver intimidating, but the threat was all gone the moment Gallus felt him pull the hit. It was enough to floor Gallus because Gallus sucked at this. "Yeah, I yield. You hit pretty hard for a Hippogriff."

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large.pngThe champion pulled his helmet off. "Ha! Well, you're a good sport. And not so bad of a jouster," Sky Beak held up a claw, "considering your size." Silverstream's dad was very pleased to see his daughter again for the holiday, he wasn't sure when she would arrive. It was likely she spent most of yesterday in the water. "Silverstream! So, this is the Gallus I've heard so much about?" He held a talon out to help Gallus up from the ground. "My name is Sky Beak. Welcome to Hippogriffia!" Sky Beak raised his head 2235283.pngand screeched a loud caw. "Everygriff, this is one of Silverstream's classmates." Several curious hippogriffs who previously were praising the violent collapse of the young griffin were now called to attention to be interested in the origin of the student.

 

 

"Uh huh!" Silverstream proudly answered. "He didn't want to go Griffonstone for the break, so I invited him here to experience seapony and hippogriff traditions."

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  • 2 weeks later...

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Ahh, so the champion was her dad. That was nice, maybe? Possibly? Wait, had he now met both of her parents? Was this a trick? He didn't think he was easy to trick but he was being tricked alot lately, disproving through action a belief held in passing. He could only hope that over time he could regain that street sense of his. It was all over the place and he was failing pretty hard at being smooth, cool, or all together all that attractive. He would have to step it up...after ribs felt better.

 

"Oh, hey there Mr. Beak Sir," he said awkwardly as he dusted himself off. "You know, Silverstream talked a lot about you but she never said you were a great jouster," Gallus said as he looked around. With Sky Beak's urging a lot of the hippogriffs were crowding around him, firing off hyper-active greetings while he did his best to respond. He wasn't as uncomfortable with crowds as he was when he first arrived at school- hard to save the world when you were, Fluttershy notwithstanding- but still, he was happy enough when he heard Silverstream speak. The crowd died down a little out of respect.

 

"Yeah. Thought this would be an...interesting adventure. And I am happy to say that, so far, it has been everything I hoped it would be," Gallus said as he looked around. "And from what I have heard, there is a lot left to go."

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  • 1 month later...

"Please, call me Sky. Well, we like to put on a show. Didn't know we had out-of-towners visiting though. What else did Silverstream say about me? Did she mention I know where all the best drinks in Mount Aris are? She has shown you Mount Aris salmon juice, right?" Skybeak eyed his daughter playfully and was gauging a chance to embarrass her in classic fashion. Although, Silverstream was much tougher to make blush than her brother. He would hold off for now.

 

"Oh, yeah. No, we haven't been to any of the snack bars yet. We did already eat earlier though, a few fish on a stick."

 

Sky Beak shook his head. "Nonsense, let's go to the Talon-hooved Tavern. I know the guy who owns it." Sky Beak knew everygriff. And everygriff knew Sky Beak. Having been married into the royal family gave a hippogriff that kind of publicity. Although, he would probably have been well known regardless.

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  • 4 weeks later...

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Gallus found himself becoming increasingly comfortable around her father. Not because he liked the idea of salmon juice any more than he did as a kitten but purely on account of the fact that he didn't seem the type to have a bad time. Or a boring time. Gallus hated both bad times and boring times so feeling pretty assured that neither was on the menu was a good omen. He also seemed a bit laid back and Gallus didn't feel on edge around him.
Well, maybe a little, he was still a royal.

Gallus knew for a fact that there would be certain expectations that were left unsaid. Gallus was used to dealing with some royals so it wasn't that bad, but it just made him all the more aware of what should and should not take place. Like almost tripping on himself the first step he took to follow like a big oaf, save the big but double the oaf.

 

"She said you were really energetic," he said as he still mentally nursed his bruised backside. "Can't say she's wrong, either. You moved really fast up there despite carrying all that. Makes sense, knowing who you are," he said as he took flight. He might not be much of a jouster but he was good at hiding just how much his pride had been wounded by getting so thoroughly licked, so what was more valuable? "Never had Mount Aris Salmon Juice, either. Last time I had Salmon Juice was some Equestrian attempt at mimicking a Talon City special," he said, blanching widely. "It was...an effort?"

 

He wasn't somegriff who loved a party, not really. He attended them often enough that he felt comfortable at them but he always liked staying back and observing. he told himself that it was because he was observant to a fault. The truth was more likely that he was worried he'd make a fool of himself. He'd done it before! Would he do it again? Probably, but he would also probably be given an opportunity to show her father that he was the right sort of griffon to befriend his daughter. Gallus didn't even tear into the fisah under the waves, how cool was that?
 

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As Sky Beak led the other two, and all the other followers, to the Tavern, he reacted affably to Gallus' banter. Sky Beak appreciated the praise Gallus gave him from the joust, but blew it off theatrically. He leaned to him and whispered. "Pfft. I wasn't even trying."

 

Sky Beak lifted off the ground and flew to a ledge of a building. It was kind of like a balcony but was actually the entrance to the tavern. He opened the door and shouted the barkeeps name inside. "Galecrest! Prepare the kegs!"

 

Half-listening to Gallus' perspective on salmon juice, Sky Beak focused on him in jest. "I'm surprised they even tried. Good on them, I suppose. We have the best salmon juice, even better than Griffinstone's, I'm sure of it. No offense to your kind, Gallus, or Griffinstone in general. I've had some imported stuff from there. Other than the scones, I really can't recommend."

 

Silverstream trailed the two. She felt like an afterthought, but she knew how much her dad loved meeting visitors, especially one that was one of her best friends. At least he seemed to like him. "Oh, I've had the fake salmon juice before. It's not that bad!"

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Yeah, that made sense. Gallus knew he got his tail kicked and whipped but he knew for a fact it could have been a lot worse if Sky Beak was everything that he said he was. Which Gallus had no real reason to doubt, mind you. He still partially blamed Silverstream for putting him in that position, but any thought that toed that line was shortly rebuffed. He had every opportunity to withdraw but his ego hadn't allowed him. He would have to get better at this whole ego thing if he wanted to be a quarter of the griffon he wanted to be. Until then, he could only hope to not run into a strong-winged dude like Sky Beak again.

 

Thankfully he didn't have to relearn how a city's architecture worked like he had when he first moved to Ponyville. Constantly flying at windows was disconcerting for the ponyfolk, it seemed. Griffons liked to build their buildings vertically, with the higher floors being of greater import and the lower floors being trashier. Griffonstone was so broken that there wasn't much that was beyond a few stories, but other Griffon cities did a good job of reminding him just how awful his home city was. As they made their way inside and the father took a seat, he waited for Silverstream to find hers. "Can't say that it shocks me. Everything about Griffonstone sucks. Though I do know that we don't like to share, so I doubt we exported anything good. Why do that when you can hoard the good stuff for yourself?" he asked, trying to keep most of the bitterness off his tongue. He finally took his seat.

 

"What do you normally get here? Besides salmon juice, I mean?" Gallus asked Silverstream as he tried to make himself look as casually comfortable as he could, and stressing out the whole time about it.

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  • 1 month later...

Sky Beak made pleasantries with the other patrons of the tavern, who undoubtedly had positive remarks on his enterance. Silverstream, who had taken a back seat in the stride to the venue stepped next to Gallus to enjoy the experience with him. She hadn't been here in a while, so it was kind of fresh to her as well. "Oh! They have the best shrimp poppers. I used to get them all the time. They also have oysters for the fancies, kids meals for the kiddos, and..."

 

Sky Beak stepped up, and slammed a claw on the table next to them and yelled to everyone in a performative voice. "...And tales of triumph for the adventurers and all those who seek it." Sky Beak hovered to the bar where he stood over everyone. "Like the time I defeated a sea manticore with nothing but a rope and my bare claws. We were out patrolling the high winds near the Cape of Abyssinia, when a ginormous sea manticore jumped onto the deck and began whipping it's tail at my deckhands. Before I knew it, I was rolling with it, inching for a better grasp on the slippery monster. And then, I managed to get hold of a loose rope, tied the beast up and thrusted him back into the sea, the creature whimpering as he hit the water!" Everygriff in the establishment gasped and then applauded. Sky Beak grabbed a drink from the barkeep and held it high. "To Strength!" Skybeak shot his drink down his throat and heaved. He looked down to Gallus. "What about you, Gallus the griffon. Tell us a story, one of triumph, accomplishment, and adventure!" Sky Beak clinched his fist at the idea and pleasure of an adventurous story he had never heard.

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Shrimp Poppers sounded really good. He didn't know what a popper was but he imagined it was a small morsel, like an appetizer, and he liked shrimp. He wondered if he couldn't order an infinite supply of them and hide them back at school so he could have some good chow there. But that would be on Silver's bit and he wasn't about to do just that much on it! "Oh, that does sound good. I'll have to get some of that. The royal shrimp special, they should call it," he said as he started to gander at the menu. While he did so, he overheard the dad telling a pretty tall tale about his exploits, and he had heard some big ones. He thought the dad was pretty cool and likely good in a fight but a manticore? Yeah he wasn't gonna buy that for a bit.  Though he had no doubt that Big Poppa Silverstream could handle a lot of monsters himself...something smaller, of course.

 

The attention then turned to him, just as he was about to ask Silverstream a question. Did he have a tale of triumph? Accomplishment? Adventure? He thought about it, though he knew within the asking of the question what his answer would be,. And luckily, it involved Silverstream too, so he didn't have to make any of it up. "Yes, I guess I do. I didn't do it alone, though. I had my friends, and it was because of my friends, that I was able to help save Equestria when everycreature else had failed. If it wasn't for Silverstream, Smolder, Yona, Sandbar, Ocellus, and myself, well, there would be no magic left in Equestria, probably the world.  Silverstream, wanna hit them with the details?" He said, offering his claw up for a 'hoof bump'.

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  • 6 months later...

The moment Gallus relayed his story-telling opportunity to Silverstream, she finished gulping down a pint of salmon juice, in a fashion that was not necessarily her style. Perhaps she was just trying to read the room. Silverstream half-heartedly bumped knuckles with Gallus' talon. "Oh, are you talking about the time we had that evil student try to take over all of the magic? At the academy, and evil student named Cozy Glow tried to take all the magic by using the power of friendship to defeat all the leaders of the school. But when Gallus, my friends, and I all escaped the room we were locked in, we were able to reverse the spell that kept harnessing magic away from everyone. And the crazy thing is, we didn't even try to cast any crazy spells or anything!" A tray of shrimp poppers arrived between Silverstream and Gallus and she ate one quickly before continuing. "I mean, we tried hard to be friends, and that's what ended up mattering, because our friendship was more powerful than some little menace using spells to manipulate others to be her allies. It was the best example of showing how even in the face of fear," she put a talon on Gallus, "it was our bonds and our dedication to each other that helped us conquer evil." She sat back to her spot and ate another popper. "Is that the one you were talking about, Gallus, or was there another one?"

 

Skybeak was impressed. Although he wanted to hear it from Gallus, it was good to hear from his daughter a moment of triumph that could make him proud. He had heard this story before during hearings of news from outside of Mount Aris, a task he finds himself in a lot more than the average Hippogriff. But to relive it again at one of his favorite social spaces was never going to be replicated. He leaned down close to Gallus and Silverstream. "That is beautiful, and creatures of all shapes and sizes shall learn from the benefits of your tale." The teary-eyed hippogriff stood back and yelled once more. "TO FRIENDSHIP!" The tavern echoed his shoutout and everygriff took their own swigs of their beverage.

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Gallus was more than happy to call in Silverstream for the assist. For all of his faux arrogance he wasn't somegriff who could easily talk up his legitimate accomplishments. He never felt he earned them or did anything all that special, or anything that somegriff shouldn't have done if they were in his position. Why be treated like a hero when you were as bag average as he was? Much easier to talk up the small things he knew he was good at. Nogriff could really call him out, nor would they, because who really cared if Gallus got a small win. Besides, it wasn't just his story. He was only one part. Silverstream played just as big a role, and she was amongst her own kind. Why not give her the time to be the heroine? She deserved it.

 

"To Friendship!" He said as he joined in the toast, drinking down the relatively disgusting drink and drowning it with te sweet taste of shrimp. At least this was going pretty well so far! He nodded along to Silverstream. "Yeah, that's the one. Or maybe the time I tried to get us out of our homework assignment with Rockhoof..." he said with a winking smile, before looking out over the bar. "I helped rally the Griffons back 'home' when the trio of villains were trying to take us all down. Same with the rest of the group- we all pitched in. To friendship indeed!"

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Skybeak raised his glass as Gallus' followed up to his witness of the power of friendship. The focus of the entire tavern was on the space between Gallus and Skybeak. Although, after a moment a voice from the background could be heard. It said, "Last week I finally got that rash under my left wing taken care of that had been there for months! To health!" Evergriff clamored in agreement, but maybe with softer enthusiasm than from the stories before.

 

Sky Beak continued. "Yes, yes, to health." Sky Beak leaned towards Gallus. "Tell us more about the griffons. What are they like? How did you convince them to come to Equestria to help Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends?"

 

Silverstream's mouth was full of snacks and she was in entertainment mode. At her father's request, she was actually really excited to hear what Gallus had to say about his rallying of the griffons, as it was something he had never talked to her about.

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Dude, rashes under the wing sucked. It was bad enough when you lived among griffons but in Equestria the proper creams were less common. How bad was it when you lived under the sea half the time? Gallus couldn't really imagine a happy answer to that question. Gallus clamor of agreement was thus somewhat more agreeably enthusiastic than many others, even if still wasn't on board- seemed weird to share it so openly, but these hippogriffs seemed pretty open as a species anyway. That just reminded him that he needed to make sure he really washed and dried the inner wing well. He didn't want a rash or a smell- did he smell now? No. No he was fine, which was good because he would probably have to drown himself if somegriff said something now.

Wait, what was he being asked again?


Oh, the griffons. How he brought them together and all that. He wanted to tear into his own kind like he would normally, but he didn't want anygriff here to get a bad tingle running up and down their spine and feathers whenever they saw one. Saw him. He also didn't want to lie, so he did what he did best when the truth threatened to rear its ugly head: Bend it. "Griffons can be...difficult. We are proud of who and what we are and sometimes that can make us seem aloof. But if you can see past it and make friends with us, you'll have no stronger friend or ally. We don't have tons of friends but the ones we have, we are very close with," he took a drink. "It was easy enough to get other griffons on board once I told them what was up. Equestria was our friend and no way no how were we gonna allow anything to happen to them."

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  • 1 month later...

Sky Beak was amused by Gallus' story, if not a little suspicious of the truthfulness of the tale. It was only the reluctance that the hippogriffs had during the Storm King's oppression that made him feel as though it wouldn't necessarily be in the best interest to the griffons, at least not aesthetically, to ally with the ponies they rarely say eye-to-eye on. It made him wonder if the Princess Council in Canterlot had a diplomatic strategy that Mount Aris leaders could learn from. Despite their willingness to share experiences, hippogriffs were mostly homogenous prior to Equestria's unification attempts. "I wish I could have been there by your side Gallus so that I could see the looks on their faces, the humility of the griffon warriors, the anxiety of the nest-makers, and the young griffon chicks worried, tears streaking down their down as you bolster their spirits to fight a common enemy!" Sky Beak exhaled and reached a talon around Gallus' shoulders. "What a moment in time that must have been."

 

Silverstream nodded along, not letting Gallus simmer down her father's excitement. In between bites of snacks, she looked at the angle of the sun streaking through the tavern and realized how late in the day it had already gotten. "Oh! Dad, they're doing the sky-dancing today right? I wanted to make sure Gallus got a chance to see it. We have so many things to see!"

 

Sky Beak was not excited about sky dancing, but he felt somewhat satisfied with the amount of comradery that had been on display, especially coming from the griffon guest of the day. "Oh, alright." Sky Beak released Gallus from his story-telling shackles. "Would you do me a favor, Pumpkin. If you see Mrs. Featherflit, ask her if she plans on making any of her battered mackerel fillets tomorrow, they are delightful!"

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Gallus inwardly chuckled at what he could feel coming off of Sky Beak at that moment. He was good at reading creatures, save that incident the day before. Sky didn't really believe him. It wasn't the first time he had faced such reactions from non-griffon creatures. He understood that it was difficult for them to comprehend the pride and honor that griffons held in their hearts, and how that same pride that could see them sink so low could see them fly so high.

 

"Well, I guess it wasn't easy to convince them per se," Gallus said with a half-grin, shaken by the older hippogriff. "But when we saw that our only option was to fight alongside each other or perish, we put our differences aside and fought together. Sad that it took all that, but we did. We're a noble people, even the anxious nest-makers," he replied with a wink. Hopefully that term meant what it meant in Griffonstone.

 

"I would love to see the sky-dancing," Gallus said with enthusiasm. "I'm not any good at water dancing or ground dancing or swamp dancing or whatever it is that Twilight does, but I like the sound of Skydancing! And I can't wait to explore your home more, Silverstream." As Sky Beak mentioned Mrs. Featherflit's battered mackerel fillets, Gallus's stomach growled in anticipation. He had never heard of the delicious dish before and couldn't wait to try it.

 

"Mackerel filets...that does sound good," Gallus replied. he looked back at Silver as he started hovering up. "But I have a feeling that we won't be disappointed with whatever snacks we find along the way to finding this elusive Mrs. Featherfilt. Which way is the sky-dancing, Silver?"

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