Friends, Family, and Traitors Day
Friends and Family Day has arrived at the School of Friendship. Once a semester, the friends and family of the students spend a day at the school with their student as they celebrate the magic of friendship and their student’s success. For Gallus, it’s just another opportunity to eat. And I wouldn’t say I blame him, the food they serve at Friends and Family Day is great! For Brony, this is his first Friends and Family Day since enrolling at the school earlier this semester. Although a late bloomer, he’s already achieving high marks in his classes and making friends left and right. He is currently in his room getting ready for today. However, he is very nervous. Soon, Headmare Starlight knocks on his door.
“Oh, hello there, Headmare Starlight” Brony greeted.
“Hi, Brony! Ready for Friends and Family Day?” Starlight asked.
“Uh…yeah, kinda” Brony replied.
“Is everything okay? Is something bothering you?” Starlight asked, feeling concerned for Brony.
“Yeah, I’m okay. Just got butterflies in my belly if you know what I mean. My mom’s coming to see me today and I don’t know how it’ll play out. When I told her that I’d be going here, she was kinda weird about it” Brony replied.
“I see. Well, I’m sure she supports your decision and that it was all just a misunderstanding. Friends and Family Day starts in five minutes, so I think you should report to the field” Starlight replied as Brony made his way to the field.
When Brony arrived at the field where the celebration was taking place, he spotted his friends and landed majestically in front of them.
“Hey guys!” he greeted as he noticed that Gallus was missing.
“Where’s Gallus?” he asked.
“At the food tent stuffing himself” Smolder replied.
“Ok, I’ll go find him and say hi” Brony said as he flew to the food tent.
When Brony spotted Gallus grabbing his food, he decided to pull a prank on the griffon by pulling tightly on his tail, causing him to fall on his bottom. Upon seeing this, Brony snickered before bursting into laughter.
Gallus let out an annoyed sigh and said “Y’know, there are many more polite ways to say hi. You’re lucky none of my food spilled onto the floor”
“Sorry, I had to do that. Anyways, how are you?” Brony said, hoping to get the prank behind him.
“Pretty good. Especially when there’s food around! You should take a plateful or two. It’s good!” Gallus replied.
“Maybe later. Think I’m gonna head back to where the others are” Brony said.
“Ok, I’ll follow you” Gallus replied as he went to Brony to find their friends.
“Hi, Gallus! That’s a lot of food you got!” Ocellus greeted.
“Sure is! Best thing about Friends and Family Day!” Gallus replied as he sloppily digged in.
Soon, Brony’s mom arrived at the school and spotted Brony hanging out with his friends.
“BRONY!!” his mother called as she ran up to Brony and hugged him.
“Mom, you’re here!” Brony greeted.
“Of course, I am, sweetie! I wouldn’t miss a second of spending Friends and Family Day with my son! Mind introducing me to your friends?” Brony’s mom replied.
“Of course! The one eating is Gallus, the pink hippogriff next to him is Silverstream, the yak is Yona, the other pony is Sandbar, the changeling is Ocellus, and the small one is Smolder” Brony introduced.
“Who are you calling ‘small one’?” Smolder murmured to herself.
“Nice to…*URRRRP*…meet you!” Gallus added.
“Gallus!” Brony retorted, annoyed by Gallus’s burping.
Brony’s mom giggled and said “Nice to meet you, everyone! So, Brony, tell me how you’ve been doing in school”
“Really good! Only a few weeks in and I’m already a straight A student! Headmare Starlight said that if I keep it up, not only will I make it into the honor roll at the end of my first semester, but I’ll even make it into the honors program!” Brony cheered.
Upon hearing this, Ocellus gasped and said “Oh my gosh, I’m in the honors program! And so is Silverstream! You’ll love it, Brony! It’s so much fun!”
“If studying for a whole day is fun for you, Ocellus, I feel very sorry for you” Brony joked.
“That’s wonderful, Brony! I’m so glad you’re doing well in school!” Brony’s mom cheered.
Soon, Corn and Peg arrived with Mayor Montagu.
“Sorry, we’re late, everyone! We were just giving Mayor Montagu a tour of the school! Anyone remember him?” Peg said.
“Nice to see you again, everyone!” said Mayor Montagu as he walked up to Brony.
“I don’t think I remember you. Are you new here?” Mayor Montagu asked.
“Actually, I am. Name’s Brony. I moved here from California” Brony introduced as he shook Mayor Montagu’s hoof.
“Name’s Montagu. Mayor Montagu. I’m the mayor of Galloping Grove, about six hours north of here” Montagu introduced.
“Six hours? Nah, that’s nothing! When I first came here, I’ve been on the train for what felt like a whole day!” Brony replied.
“I see. I’ve heard that California is very, very far from here” Montagu replied.
“It is. And, I’m just so glad to be out of there. Believe it or not, I’m actually on the run from a cult leader that kidnapped me an-…oh no!” Brony started as he spotted Taris and Pega in the distance.
“They’re here? Did you invite them with you?” Brony asked his mother.
“No! I don’t know what they’re doing here!” Brony’s mom replied.
“BRONY!” Taris called as he and Pega walked up to Brony.
“Whaaaaaaaaat? No hugs for your old friend?” Taris asked.
“Sorry, guess I’m a bit rusty on my etiquette” Brony replied, deadpanning at Taris.
“No, you’re not! You’re the nicest-“ Silverstream started.
“Silverstream, shut up!” Brony interrupted, causing her to hang her head in sadness.
“Anyways, what are you doing here?” Brony asked Taris.
“Just wanting to check up on my old friend, that’s all!” Taris replied.
“Taris, you and I both know that’s not why you’re here!” Brony retorted.
“Fine, so this is where I see you, huh? You leave town to go to some shitty pony school and you think that could excuse you from your duties as a YouTube Crusader!” Taris retorted.
“Look, Taris, what you’re having us do is wrong! I don’t want to be known for murdering children just because they don’t know how to make good videos yet! You disgust me!” Brony replied.
“Oh, I disgust you? I DISGUST YOU?! At least I’m not a quitter like you! And you leave for a friendship school? Puh-lease! Being a YouTube Crusader is not about friendship! It’s about making sure YouTube is free of cringe!” Taris retorted.
“By killing innocent children and covering it up? You’re fucking sick!” Brony yelled, prompting Headmare Starlight to see what’s going on.
“What’s going on here?” Starlight asked, but before she could get an answer, Taris turned her into stone.
“Starlight!” Silverstream cried.
“Let that be a warning to you all: nobody messes with Taris Galloup!” Taris announced as he ran off to case more mischief.
“Oh no! Taris is ruining everything!” Corn said.
“No! Taris is right! Brony did ruin everything!” Pega said, pointing at Brony.
Brony felt betrayed. Pega was his lifelong best friend, and for her to turn on him like Taris was heartbreaking to him.
“Pega, what do you mean?” Brony asked, trying his best not to cry.
“You make me sick! You think you could run out on us? Your own friends? You think you could leave me while you start this new life? And for all I know, you’re probably dating someone else!” Pega retorted.
“Well, fuck you too, you spoiled bitch! I would never befriend anybody who thinks murdering children is okay!” Brony shouted.
“And I don’t befriend quitters, cheaters, and traitors! And you’re all three!” Pega retorted.
“Whatever! I’m gonna go chase after Taris and deal with him! Make sure that you free Starlight from the stone jail!” Brony said as he ran.
Suddenly, he was stopped by Mayor Montagu. “Wait! I gotta go with you!”
“And why’s that?” Brony asked.
“Trust me, I’ve seen this before many times. Before I became mayor of Galloping Grove, I was in the Royal Guard under Princess Celestia many moons ago. I was here during the attacks from Nightmare Moon and Tirek. Taris is easy to control given his small stature, but he’s still powerful. Too powerful for you to deal with him alone” Mayor Montagu explained.
“Ok, I guess. But we’re gonna have to find him before he makes things worse” Brony replied as he and Mayor Montagu went off to find Taris.
Meanwhile, Corn was attempting to revive Starlight Glimmer. However, Pega tackled him to stop him. This caused Corn to light up his horn and blast Pega off him. And that’s not all, Pega screamed in agony as her fur and flesh melted off her body before finally succumbing and becoming a puddle of blood and guts.
“Oooooooooooh, that’s brutal! But that’s her taken care of! Now to free Starlight” Corn said as he cast a spell on Starlight to free her.
Starlight let out a moan. “W-what happened?”
“It’s a long story” Corn replied.
Starlight looked around and was horrified with what she’s seeing. “Oh my gosh, what’s happened here? Friends and Family Day is ruined! And where’s Brony?”
“He went with Mayor Montagu to deal with Taris, the unicorn that he’s been arguing with” Peg replied.
“What? He could get hurt! We gotta help him! Come on, everyone!” Starlight replied as she and everyone else went to find Brony.
“You should’ve never messed with me, Brony! You’re a disgrace to the YouTube Crusaders!” Taris shouted.
“Good! I’ve never wanted to join your filthy cult! Get him, Montagu!” Brony retorted as Mayor Montagu tackled him to the ground.
“Get off me, you fat geezer!” Taris said as he attempted to push Mayor Montagu off. However, it didn’t work.
Soon, Brony’s friends and headmare came to help them.
“Lemme guess, you’re here to provide backup” Brony greeted.
“Sure are. Hold still, Mr. Montagu! I don’t wanna hit you by mistake!” Starlight instructed Mayor Montagu as she attempted to aim at Taris.
When the spell was cast, Mayor Montagu jumped out of the way and Taris was turned to stone, prompting cheers from everyone.
“Boy, is that a relief! I’ve been worrying that he could come get me for a long time now!” Brony said.
“Worry no longer, Brony. Taris will be far out of reach once we take him to Tartarus. I’ll contact the royal guards to transport him there” Starlight replied.
“Excellent! His family also has a bunch of money in their savings. My mom and I can use that to finally get out of Windcrest!” Brony suggested.
“Great idea, Brony! But now that Pega is dead and Taris is going to Tartarus, it’s gonna be a challenge to get through Harold and Barbara. You’re gonna need to take a friend with you to help” Brony’s mom replied.
“I’ll go with you” Gallus said as he walked up to Brony.
“Gonna be nice to have you, Gallus!” Brony replied, smiling at the griffon.
“Hope so. I’ve been spending every break with Sandbar and his family, but they can be boring sometimes. Plus, I wanna get to know you more” Gallus said before he turned to Sandbar.
“Sorry, Sandbar” Gallus said to Sandbar.
“Eh, don’t worry about it. I know how bored you get when we’re out doing lame pony stuff. Besides, spending a summer with Brony would be a good experience for you to make new friends. I’ll tell my parents that you won’t be with us and I’m sure they’ll understand” Sandbar replied.
“Thanks, Sandy!” Gallus said, giving a thumbs-up to Sandbar.
Once Taris arrived at Tartarus, his stone prison wore off as he didn’t need it for as long as he was staying in Tartarus.
“So, he thinks he could imprison me because he’s pathetic! Well, Brony, you’ve got another thing coming!” Taris thought to himself as he thought of a plan to escape.
