He couldn’t sleep, and it wasn’t because he just had sex two short hours ago. No, it was something that he heard Silverstream whisper under her breath after their love making. He could still hear it echo in his ears as he stroked her haunches with one talon while holding her close with the other. His head nuzzled atop of her sleepy form as she continues to snore in blissful sleep. She muttered three words he had heard before many times and sometimes it was said to him. Yet, for some reason hearing those three words were really making him think.
“I love you.”
Love.
Love was complex. He knew what it was and had seen it even before coming to Equestria. A land full of love. Back in Griffinstone, despite the attitude Griffins had for each other, they still had families. Relatives who they loved. A mother kissing her child goodnight. A husband hugging his mate before he left the house. Siblings playing together even during the crappy weather.
That was love.
Love that Gallus never had.
He thought back to his parents. He didn’t know what happened to them and none of the other residents in Griffinstone knew either. Grandpa Gruff stated they found his egg, he hatched, and he was put into an orphanage. Nobody was there to love him.
He knew what love was, but he never knew what love was.
Until he came to Equestria. He hated it at first. Thought it would be boring and lame. A place of pretty googly eyed ponies who didn’t know how to act cool. Gods was he wrong. So wrong. This place was everything he had needed and wanted in his life. Adults who actually looked to him with full attention and seeking to make his life better. Teachers who gave him the time of day and taught him what he needed to know. A community that didn’t care if he was an orphan or a griffin, they welcomed him with open arms.
That was when he first started to feel love. The love of a home. A society. A community.
Equestria was more of a home then Griffinstone would ever be. Home is where the heart is and he gave his heart to Equestria. Maybe that’s why he became a guard after graduation. He wanted to give this land something back something for taking a lonely broken loveless griffin in. Becoming a guard gave him respect. Being the first non-pony to become one was pretty awesome in his books. It gave him new friends he was proud to serve with. The smiles he got as he did his patrol across the streets or in the air. The feeling that he was doing something right in this world by enforcing the law and protecting the citizens. Citizens that became like family to him.
It was much better than Griffinstone where he was lucky to even get a “good morning”.
He loved Equestria.
Then there were his friends. Friends that became his family. His pack. The ones he would live and die for. Even when he almost ruined it in his selfish attempt to keep them with him during Hearth's Warming Eve they stayed for him. He was welcomed to their homes any time. Their families treated him as one of their own. They were there to laugh, cry, and chill with him whenever they could. He was always there for them and they were always there for him. Maybe that’s why the Tree said he represented the Element of Magic so much.
His friends encouragement and support for heading into the Guard had been his rock through all the hard drills, training, and teasing for those who felt like he didn’t belong. He could remember all his friends congratulating him upon finishing boot camp. The day he first put on the uniform and they all saluted at him before hugging him with joy. It was one of the few times he would admit he cried that day as they all embraced him.
Together they were amazing, but each of them was special to Gallus.
Sandbar.
The closest thing to a brother he had. A bro to the end. Loyal and forever there for you. He was a simple pony with a simple view of life. It was weird having so many girls as your friends, so there were days when Gallus and Sandbar would have a guys night out. Those were fun days of hitting the town, doing what they wanted, and getting into all kinds of crazy scenarios. He could still remember the time they got too drunk, passed out, and found out they got married by accident. Yona nearly challenged Gallus in a duel to the death for her colfriend’s hoof. Thankfully, they got divorced before Gallus got a horn in his throat. Still, Sandbar had been with Gallus all the way and was the first person to treat him not as an annoyance or with pity, but as a friend.
Yona.
Before he met her, Gallus believed that yaks were big, loud, and stupid. Yona was big and proud of her size. She was loud and wasn’t afraid to speak her mind. She wasn’t dumb, but even she would admit she wasn’t the smartest of creatures compared to bookworms like Ocellus. But she was the sweetest yak you would ever meet. She was a proud yak, but with that pride came love. Nopony expected her and Sandbar to get together, but Yona loved him so much she was even willing to defy yak traditions to marry him. She was the heart of their group and always there to remind them of who they were together and what they stood for. That despite their cultural and racial differences they were all best friends. That, and she trusted Gallus to be their adopted son’s godfather. A duty he took to heart as serious as his job.
Smolder.
If Sandbar was the brother he never had, Smolder was the sister he never had. She was fun and was willing to do some mischief that would cause all sorts of trouble. The two of them still had the record for most detentions. Maybe it was because things like friendship weren’t important for the environment they were born in, and both of them had a rough childhood. Granded, Smolder had a family growing up, but due to how dangerous the dragons' lands were, you tended to focus on living to grow up. She was also one of his two friends who knew about his long time crush on Silverstream, saying it was obvious and to ask her out or she would burn his butt. He was also the only one to ever see her cry because she was scared of losing them all when she outlived them. Gallus told her that they would always be with her and wait for her to arrive in the next life. Only after he promised to never say she cried or it would be his funeral.
Ocellus.
Despite his jokes about Ocellus being a nerd, both of them knew that he respected her greatly. That, and she was the one that Gallus trusted the most out of all their friends. One thing forever cemented it in his mind. It was embarrassing to mention it to the teachers that he didn’t know how to read or write. Having no family meant that you didn’t have much of an education. He couldn’t even do math beyond simple addition and subtraction. Ocellus had been assigned to help him learn, but instead of mocking him or treating him like a baby, she was patient. Caring. And determined to help him. Maybe it's what helped her become a teacher in their later years. He learned to read and write because of her and he would always be grateful for it. That, and she had helped him overcome his fears of confessing to Silversream. A changeling always knows what the heart wants as the saying goes.
Silverstream.
His Silver.
The girl he held in his arms and never wanted to let go. He was hers and she was his. Nothing could separate them. Not the hippogriff nobles who disagreed with her dating a commoner. Not the purists who were against mixed raced relationships. Not even death would prevent them from loving each other.
He was hers and she was his.
Of all the creatures in his life, she was the one he treasured most. He could feel his grip on her increase while pulling her closer to the point where he could feel her warm breath. Her angelic smile glowing in the pale moonlight from their window. Silverstream was more than just a friend and had been for the longest time. If there was one creature who loved everything and everyone it was her. You would think that being of royalty she would have a sort of snooty noble like attitude, but the only noble thing was her heart. She treated everyone fairly regardless of their status and seemed to think everything in life was a new adventure waiting to be explored. She brought such joy and smile that she could have been a clone of Pinkie Pie only feathered and avian.
It was the opposite of what Gallus had viewed in his life for so long. He hated so much about his life that he couldn’t see anything positive. He sometimes wondered what was even the point of living if he had nothing. She opened his eyes. She shed the darkness in his heart and gave it the warm light that bathed it to this day. There was a great world out there. With great creatures to befriend. Adventures to experience. Lessons to be learned. Wonders to discover. Life was hard at times, but it was worth it. It was beautiful like Silverstream. She spent every day treating it like it was a celebration and Gallus couldn’t help but admire it. Then there was her courage. She was braver the most thought. Gallus had seen it in the caves when Silverstream stood up to her fear of the Storm King of all things. That was when she first hugged him in a special way.
Silverstream was there for him when he told the truth of his parentage. That night, after cleaning everything up, Silverstream told him he was always welcomed at her place any time and that she forgave him. He had asked why she and the rest of five all did so without any hatred in their hearts for what he did. And then she said it...
“Because we love you, Gallus.”
That was the night Gallus wept for the first time in front of another creature. It was the first time he heard anyone ever say that to him. That was the second time she hugged him in a special way.
The third time was when they defeated the terrible trio. During the celebration, they danced and laughed. They sang and smiled. She fell asleep in his arms from exhaustion and he carried her to a guest room to let her sleep. Silverstream didn’t let go and he was forced to sleep next to her. But as he did her arms wrapped around his body and hugged him in a special way for the third time.
That was when Gallus knew he had fallen in love with her. He tried to deny it and make excuses, but Smolder and Ocellus were able to get him to accept it. He loved her and he wanted her.
It took their second year's school dance to get him to ask her out. To kiss her beak, and ask for her to be with him not a friend, but something more. She was more than happy to do so and they had been together since. They had their ups, their downs, but one special hug and everything was as it should be.
Graduation was the first time they made love. The first time they became one. He had been nervous to take away something so precious as her virginity. He didn’t even care if they waited until years later, but she wanted it. She wanted them to be as one. To be hers and to be his. That night was magical and they explored a feeling of love that they repeated as many times as they could.
It was not the first time she said she loved him. Nor was it not the first time he said he loved her. But now, in this moment, he truly realized just how much love he had now in his life compared to when he had not. He had a home. He had true friends that were like family. He had a mate that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.
He was happy. He thought back to the little griffin looking out the windows of families who seemed to be filled with love and happiness for each other and thought it was forever out of his reach.
Yet, here he was.
Gallus just smiled and let a single tear drip down his eye as he kissed Silverstream’s sleeping face. He whispered four words before he let sleep take him, and they were four words he would say for the rest of his life until it came to an end.
“I love you too.”
Author's Note
If there are any technical problems its cause I did this in like a short hour. Gallus is my favorite of the Student Six and one of my favorite characters overall of the show. Not just because he has such an interesting backstory, but because I think he grows up the most out of the six. He goes from a lonely and bitter orphan to a dependable friend who grows up to become the first non-pony Captain of the Guard. I really do wish we had more episodes of the Student Six, but I guess there is always fanfiction.
