Adopting and Adapting

Chapters

Welcome to the Family
Sibling Struggles
Cockatoo on the Loose

Welcome to the Family

It was another ordinary day at the School of Friendship. The students were just getting some breakfast at the canteen as the journalist trios, Sunshine, Emerald, and Gus, walked in with a stack of newspapers on the griffon’s back. All of them looked to be happy, especially Gus, since he was kind of cranky during those school days before. Gallus and his other five friends were at their own spots eating their breakfast, as Sunshine, Emerald, and Gus came from behind.

“Good morning, guys,” Gallus greeted them, with an affable tone.

“Good morning Gallus, good morning everyone,” Emerald greeted back to him and the others.

“What’s up?” Gallus asked. “I understand you two being happy, but for Gus though, it’s gotta be special if he’s smiling right now.”

“Oh, it really is,” Gus blissfully exclaimed, and grabbed a sheet of newspaper from the stack he carried. “Here, check it out. They’re finally doing something useful.” He tossed his fellow griffon one of the papers. Gallus spreaded out the paper and took a peek at the front page. “Cloudsdale’s First Griffon!” it read.

“Huh, it really is special.”

“Told ya.” Gus then walked away with Sunshine to help him hand out the school newspapers.

“What is it?” Sandbar asked.

“Listen,” Gallus then read the first line out loud. “Husband and wife, Bronze Box and Summer Bloom, have adopted a lost eight-year-old young griffon, who they've named Peter. And there’s a picture of him as well.” He then showed the picture to his friends while the rest of the papers were handed out to the students. In the picture, this young griffon has beige coating, dark beige wings, small golden yellow beak and claws, white tail tip, and chocolate brown eyes.

“Aw, he’s so cute,” Silverstream cooed.

“He definitely is,” Emerald agreed.

“Yeah. It’s really nice that he doesn’t have to fend for himself now,” Sandbar commented.

“I agree. I really also hate to find out what he had to do to survive this long,” Ocellus also commented and felt a little bit concerned afterward.

“I think it’s more messed up he had to do it at such a young age,” Smolder added.

“Yona wants to know, yet same time don’t want answers,” Yona spoke.

“My thoughts exactly,” Emerald agreed, then turned towards Gallus. “So, Gallus, we wanna know what you and the other griffons have to say about this.”

“In my opinion, I’m just glad he doesn’t have to go through what I and the rest of my kind had to go through,” Gallus spoke. His expression went down after he said it, and his friends could feel the conversation was getting a little awkward.

“I think that’ll be all. Thank you very much.”

“Yeah, no problem.”

“Have a good day, guys.” The dragoness walked away to ask the other griffons their opinions.

“Okay, that happened,” Sandbar commented.

“Yona going back to breakfast,” Yona spoke. She picked up her bowl and started slurping the milk down from it.

“You think they’ll adopt other creatures as well?” Ocellus asked.

“Ooh, I wonder if they’ll adopt a dragon,” Silverstream commented and added an eager gasp afterward. “Or maybe a hippogriff. I’d love to have a little griff to play with.”

“Well, with ever adopting, there’s usually a set of parents that didn’t want the kid,” Gallus grumbled. His friends all looked at each other. By the tone of his voice, he was already in a bad mood.

“Gallus, do you want some time alone?” Sandbar asked.

“No. I’m fine. Let’s just eat and get on with another day where we’re stuck inside with no fun.”

“At least friends not cold,” Yona spoke up.

“Shut up, Yona!” The group of friends knew he was in that mood now. Saying anything now might make it worse. Gallus rested his head on his talon as his beak abruptly started to glow. “Oh, what now?”

Silverstream gasped dramatically. “The map’s calling you!” she cheered.

“Me too,” Smolder noted. Her spines were glowing just like her friend’s beak. Gallus stood up and walked out of the cafeteria. Smolder grabbed what she could of her lunch and followed him.

“Friends think map calls for griffon’s new family?” Yona asked.

“Well...” Ocellus said. The fact that Gallus and Smolder were being called just after discussing what was in the paper, the rest of the group followed their friends to see if this was the case. It wasn’t too hard to catch up as Gallus wasn’t going very fast.

“Come on, G,” Smolder said, “Pick up the pace!”

“Yeah, you go ahead of me,” Gallus mumbled. Smolder looked towards Yona, who was walking right behind the blue griffon. Seeing her friends giving a nod with a smirk, Yona rammed into Gallus who was knocked onto her back. “GAH! YONA!”

The yak didn’t stop until they got into the castle’s map room. Yona came to an immediate stop, sending Gallus flying onto the map before she toppled over. “Was that really necessary?” Ocellus asked.

“Does it look like it?” Gallus got off of the table and took a look at the map. They found the heads of him and Smolder floating around Cloudsdale.

“I knew it,” Sandbar spoke.

“Ooh, I guess it’s their turn now,” Silverstream shrugged.

“But they sounded so happy in the papers,” Ocellus said.

“If I wrote a story about Cozy Glow being a good pony, would it be true?” Gallus asked. The changeling didn’t respond as the answer was obvious.

“Yeah. You got the point.”

“You know what that means, Gallus? It means that we get to skip class,” Smolder chuckled. “Now that’s something right.”

Gallus thought about this and smiled. “True.”

After getting their winter wear from their respective dorm rooms, the griffon and dragoness flew off to Cloudsdale, where their next friendship problem is. “You know, it’s kind of nice that we don’t have our professors to babysit us this time,” Smolder commented.

“Yeah,” Gallus agreed. “And besides, this place isn’t too far away from the school.” They both looked and still saw Ponyville from where they were. “Nice view from here, though,” Gallus admitted.

“Yeah, it really was.”

They soon finally arrived at the floating city. They then landed on it and started wandering around. “Okay, we’re here. So, where does that kid’s family live?”

“You think something like this making the front page would have a lot of ponies talking about them.”

“Hey, you!” called a voice. The two looked to see two mares walking towards them. Both had purple coats and blue manes, and they also wear identical white earmuffs, light red jackets, and brown boots.

“Uhh, yes? Can we help you?” Smolder asked the two pegasi.

“Hi there,” one of them said. “I’m Cloudchaser, and this is Flitter. You might have heard about the adopted griffon in the papers, right?”

“We did,” Gallus responded. “That’s actually the reason why we’re here. Do you know where he lives?”

“Oh yeah, it was just right around the corner,” Flitter said. “Just follow us and we’ll get there.” The two pegasi lead the griffon and dragon through the city to a nice set of houses in the neighborhood. Eventually, they came to a stop outside of one that had some ponies looking towards it. Just like other houses in Cloudsdale, this one has a path towards the porch, a light cyan mailbox, a roof has a cloudy pattern to it, and it’s only two stories high.

“So this is the place,” Smolder noted. “Looks pretty nice.”

“On the outside, though,” Gallus stated. “Let’s see what kind of mess is inside.” They then turned back to Cloudchaser and Flitter and thanked them. “Anyways, thank you very much for your help.”

“Anytime,” Cloudchaser and Flitter replied, and the two mares flew away.

They both took a step towards the door. Afterwards, when they reached it, Gallus knocked on the door three times. After a bit of waiting, there’s no reply yet, and he knocked it again, this time with a rhythmic pattern. A little while later, the knob clicked and twisted, and the door opened, and they found a mare answering the door. She had a bright blonde mane with a lovely blue coat. She also has a cutie mark of a daisy flower.

“Oh, hello there,” she said, with a timid look. “I haven’t seen faces like yours before.”

“Hi there,” Gallus greeted and then introduced himself and his friend. “I’m Gallus, and this is Smolder. You must be Summer Bloom, right?”

“Of course. Guessing that you’ve read that newspaper, am I right?”

“Oh yes, we did,” Smolder replied. “We’re here to see that li’l griff you just took care of.”

“I see. Well, come inside, you’re letting in the cold.” The two students did just that quickly and after closing the door behind them, a small filly flew right in front of them. “Star Drop! Be careful! I’ve told you multiple times not to fly around in the house like that!” The mare looked towards her guests feeling a little embarrassed. “Sorry about my daughter, she’s like that most of the time.”

“Nah, it’s fine,” Smolder shrugged. “Dragons back home are way worse than her.”

She and Gallus started removing their winter clothing as the griffon looked around the building. “Anybody else living here?” Gallus asked.

“My husband should be back soon with Peter soon. Other than that, there’s our eldest son, Sun Snow. He should be in his room right now.”

“I think we’re curious about the griffon you’ve added to your family,” Gallus added as he and Smolder hanged their winter wear on the back pillows of the sofa.

“Like I said, Peter’s with Bronze. They’ll be back any minute now. You want me to get you something to eat?”

“Nah, we’re fine,” Smolder said. “We just ate breakfast before we got here.”

“If you say so.” Just then, Star Drop flew past them again, much to the mare’s annoyance. “Star Drop!”

“You want us to stop her?” Gallus asked.

“No thanks, I’m sorry. You’re our guests.”

“Then, if that’s the case, can we talk with Sun Snow?” Smolder asked.

“Oh, yes. Upstairs and second door to the right.” The two guests gave a thumbs up and walked upstairs and followed the mare’s directions.

They arrived at the door and opened it. Inside, they found a room with many posters hanging on the wall, many of them containing images of the Wonderbolts. There was a bird’s cage in the room that was quite large which would fit the cockatoo, which was sitting on the perch that was next to the bed. On the bed, there was a teenager colt with dark orange fur and a snow-white mane sitting while feeding the cockatoo some seeds.

“Ricky roo,” the cockatoo spoke.

“Yes, you are,” the colt said. The bird looked over to the entrance and saw Gallus entering first. Without warning, the cockatoo flew off his perch and landed on the griffon’s back.

“Whoa!” the blue griffon cried. “What the heck?”

The young colt looked at both creatures and stood up from his bed. “...You’re not Peter,” the colt responded, looking at Gallus.

“My name’s Gallus. This here is my friend Smolder.” He moved to the side to show the dragoness that walked in. The cockatoo looked at Smolder and started flapping his wings to try and intimidate her.

“No!” Smolder spoke. She violently pointed at the cockatoo, who froze. “Stop it!”

“Sorry about Ricky,” the colt responded. “He likes being a bully to anypony.”

“No problem. You’re Sun Snow, right?”

“Yep. I see you’ve met Ricky the cockatoo.” The colt walked over to his pet bird and held out his arm. “Step.” The cockatoo stepped onto his arm and was taken back to his perch. “So, are you here about Peter?”

“More or less,” Gallus said. “This isn’t our first rodeo and our friends have been called for things like this. By the way, how long have you known Peter?”

“Only a few days. I was honestly surprised that Ricky was warming up to him so fast. Maybe it’s because he’s part bird, but he’s not like most ponies.” Ricky suddenly took off again and flew out the door. “Oh crud, not again. Ricky!” Sun Snow gave chase after his pet. Gallus and Smolder soon followed.

Star Drop saw the cockatoo flying towards her and dive-bombed to avoid colliding with him but rammed into the wall instead. Ricky landed on the back of the couch just as Sun Snow slowly approached him. “Ricky, you can’t do that. Step.” The cockatoo didn’t listen and looked around for a snack. “Step.” The colt said this a little more stern. This time, Ricky listened and stepped onto his arm.

While Sun Snow took Ricky back to his cage in the room, Smolder and Gallus looked down to see a crying filly. Summer Blossom sighed. “Star Drop, I warned you about this,” she said. She walked to the kitchen to get her daughter and ice pack as the dragoness and griffon inspect the damage.

“Don’t help her,” Gallus spoke. “She won’t learn if you help her.”

“I think you should be telling that to her,” Smolder said while pointing to Summer Blossom. Both creatures didn’t say anything as the mother returned to give her daughter an ice pack for her nose.

Soon, they heard the door opened up and an orange stallion walked in with a small beige griffon. This orange stallion has green eyes, an almost stylish white mane and tail, and a stack of crates as his cutie mark. It must be Bronze Box.

“Bronze, Peter, you’re home,” Summer cooed.

“We are. We’ve finally got the papers,” Bronze Box said, “So now, Peter is now the official part of our family.” His attention turned to the guests that were hovering in the air. “Who are those two strangers there?”

“That’s Gallus and Smolder,” Summer Blossom explained. “Apparently… they’ve been sent over here by someone.”

“Well, we were some of the first international students at the School of Friendship,” Gallus noted, “Plus, I’m a griffon, I think it makes sense.”

“I see the logic,” Bronze admitted. “Anyways, this is our new son, Peter.” He showed his guests to his newest son. Sun Snow walked back from his room after taking care of his pet as Star Drop stood beside him.

Gallus decided to introduce himself to Peter, but the younger griffon looked a little nervous and backed away. “Hey, don’t worry, I won’t bite you, buddy,” the blue griffon noted. Peter looked past Gallus and towards Smolder, who looked rather intimidating, thus he hid behind his father. Gallus looked at his friend who just gave a shrug.

“Peter, you don’t have to worry,” Summer Blossom said. She held the young griffon’s talon and helped him on Bronze Box’s back. This allowed him to get a better view of the room and everyone in it. The mother brought the guests over to her new child. “Go ahead, Peter, introduce yourself.”

Peter looked at the guests and held out his talon and wave. “Hello,” he said bashfully.

“Hey there, little fella,” Gallus spoke. He and Peter both shook talons before the older griffon introduced him to Smolder.

“Really nice to meet you,” the dragon said. Peter managed to crack a smile as he shook Smolder’s claw. She turned her attention to Bronze Box. “So, just a quick question, how long have you had Peter?”

“We found him about a week ago,” Bronze explained. “Poor little thing was just scrounging around for food.”

“But he’s much safer now,” Summer Blossom said. She walked over to her new son nuzzled against him. “Ooh, he’s just too cute.” Gallus looked over to the parents' biological children. Sun Snow looked pretty pleased while Star Drop looked to be pouting.

"So, what's the plan for Peter now?" Gallus asked.

"Well, we only just got his adoption paper," Bronze Box explained. "Now we just have to get him enrolled at a school."

"Are there any good schools in Cloudsdale?" Smolder asked.

"Of course there are," Summer Blossom stated. “There's a lot to choose, but I just hope that he did well.”

They then heard Peter’s stomach growl a little bit. “Welp, I knew we should’ve had a heavier breakfast,” Bronze Box noted.

“I’ll take care of it,” Summer Blossom spoke. She took Peter into the kitchen with their guests deciding to join in.

“So what do you have to eat?” Gallus asked.

“Gallus, really?” Smolder questioned.

“No it’s fine,” the mother said, “Be our guests.” Smolder and the griffons sat at the table while Summer Blossom prepared them something to eat.

After a while, she managed to prepare some delicious looking muffins. Smolder didn’t have to wait for them to cool down and grabbed one as soon as they were placed out to cool.

“How do they taste?” Gallus asked. He looked to be the only one unfazed by what his friend did.

“Mmm, blueberry,” Smolder commented.

“Thank you for noticing,” Summer spoke. “Doesn’t that hurt?”

“Nah, dragons can take a lot of punishment. It’s going to take a lot more than a fresh muffin to cause us pain.” The dragon took another bite as Gallus had to ask something.

“I know you’re ponies, so this is probably unlikely,” he said, “But do you have any meat?”

“Meat?” Summer Blossom questioned. “You mean the one in animals? Why do you ask that?”

“It’s because that’s what a growing griffon needs. Sure, I can eat things other than meat now, but a griffon in Peter’s age needs to eat meat so he can get strong.”

“Well, I’m afraid we’re out of luck. We don’t really keep meat on standby, because, of course, like you said, we’re ponies, and we’re herbivores. What counts as meat anyway?”

Gallus thought for a moment thinking about some animal that ponies won’t mind using for meat. “Fish. Are there any lakes nearby Cloudsdale?”

“Down below the city,” Bronze Box answered, “But it’s frozen all over now.”

“I think I can make it work. Smolder, I’m going to need your fire breath, a pole, some string, a hook, and something for bait.”

“Like a worm?” the dragoness asked.

“Yeah. That could work.”

“I’ve got some spare junk in my closet,” Sun Snow said.

“Oh, that’s perfect. Thanks. Lead the way, buddy.”

“Follow me.” He took the guests to his room as the mother and father walked over each other.

“Do you think we’re doing bad?” Summer Blossom asked. “That sounded like an important detail.”

“Peter is a griffon,” Bronze Box said. “We’re ponies. Our bodies work differently so we probably have to eat different things. We’ll get used to it.” He walked off to help find the items for Gallus to go fishing.

Sun Snow’s closet was filled with various items, it was quite a mess. “Man, I thought Gallus’s dorm was a mess,” Smolder commented while chuckling.

“Ha… ha… ha,” Gallus laughed sarcastically. “Seriously man, how do you even close that door?”

Sun Snow just shrugged as Ricky started screeching from inside his cage. “Ricky, you’re not helping.”

Bronze Box walked into the room and gave some seeds to Ricky so he could stay quiet. He helped his son and the guests dig through the closet until they found a roll of string and a sturdy pole. “Sun, why do you have all of this stuff?” Smolder questioned. The colt just shrugged.

Gallus soon rolled his eyes and started tying the string around the top of the pole and the other end on the hook. He gave it a tug and it held on. “Perfect,” he commented, “All we need now is bait.”

“I’ll dig around for some worms,” Smolder said.

“You do that, I’m going to find a good place for us to fish.” Both Gallus and Smolder got into their winter clothing from the sofa before they flew outside and down to the snow-covered ground. Gallus flew down to the frozen lake and went quite a distance before he stopped and landed. Now all he just had to wait for Smolder.

While he waited, he could see Peter flying over to him. The griffon landed before trying to stop, causing him to slip around for a little bit until he bumped onto Gallus’ soft belly. He looked a little embarrassed and looked away from the blue griffon.

“Hey, it’s fine buddy. How often do you fly?” Peter just held his talons together as he didn’t know what to say. “I know you’re not mute. Listen, it’s just you and me out here. We’re both griffons.”

“...How... Long have you been in Cloudsdale?”

“I don’t live in Cloudsdale, I lived in Griffonstone. Smolder and I are currently staying at the school in Ponyville. It’s a great place. I was also planning on moving to Canterlot in the future.”

“Really?”

“Oh yeah. I’m probably getting ahead of myself, but I do have good feelings that the future’s on my side.” He looked over to see Smolder, who was carrying some worms with her claws very dirty.

“Here are the worms.”

“Perfect. Hand it over.” She handed her friend onto the worm and he placed it on the hook. Smolder blasted some fire on a patch of the ice and created a hole for Gallus to toss the hook into the water. “Now we wait.”

Thus would be the most boring part. In order to pass the time, Smolder decided to ask a few questions. “So, Peter, do you… uh… like your new home?” she asked.

The little griffon nodded giving a small smile. “You aren’t much of a talker, are you?” Peter just shook his head. “I’m sure you’ll warm up when you get used to it.” Suddenly, Gallus felt a tug on the string.

“Whoa, I got a bite! Help me out, will ya?”

Smolder helped her friend out and they pulled out a rather large fish. "Sweet! That's a perfect catch."

"And a perfect fish for a griffon. Come on Peter, let's get this thing cooked." The griffons and the dragon flew back to the house and showed their catch to Summer Blossom.

"Well... That's quite impressive," the mare commented. "Um... I’ve never cooked fish before.”

“Don’t worry, I have a few friends in Griffonstone that showed me how it's done,” Gallus said. “I’m just going to need some seasoning. Get me a knife and a cutting board.”

As the blue griffon and mother went to the kitchen, Smolder watched Peter go upstairs. She followed him and they walked into a room that she hadn’t noticed before. It had nice regular violet walls with a bed on the right side of the room and a sleeping bag on the left side. On the wall, there was a shelf that had a few trophies on it. They looked like he'd won in different races. She found Peter digging through a chest that contained a couple of toys.

“What are you doing buddy?” the dragon questioned. Peter jumped when he heard the dragoness as he took out a Wonderbolt action figure. “Hey, cool, is that Spitfire?” Peter looked at the action figure and nodded in confirmation. “I didn’t know they made that stuff like that.” She walked over to the young griffon and was handed the action figure.

“Hey!” cried a voice. Both of them looked over to see Star Drop standing in the doorway and she didn’t look happy. Without saying anything, she flew over and snatched the action figure out of Smolder’s claws, putting it back in the chest. She then whipped the dragon with her tail before flying out of the room.

“...Is that why you were nervous all of a sudden?” Smolder asked while rubbing her cheek from the whip of the tail. Peter just nodded. “I should’ve known.”

Back in the kitchen, Gallus seasoned the fish in the frying pan. “I should warn you,” he said, “Fish can stink really bad if it spoils. So, be careful with that.”

“Right,” Summer Blossom said. “Noted.” Gallus gave the fish a flip and examined the cooked meat.

“Okay, I think this stuff’s done.” The blue griffon turned the eye and looked for a plate. “You can go get Peter now.” The mother did so and brought him back to the kitchen. The young griffon sat down at the table where Gallus placed down a plate with the freshly cooked fish. Taking a piece off with the fork he was given, Peter took a bite and his eyes widened when he tasted it. He quickly started chowing down on the dish much to his mother’s shock.

“Whoa, now, Peter, take it easy!” she requested pulling the plate away from her newest son. While this was happening, Smolder walked up beside Gallus.

“Gallus, I think I might have a theory of why the map called us here,” she whispered.

“Why’s that?” Gallus asked.

Smolder pointed to Star Drop who tried to get her father’s attention, but he looked to be a little busy, making the filly pout again. “I feel like that kid right there is very envious about Peter.”

“That would make sense. Judging by Mr. Box’s reaction, Peter’s the center of attention now. We should keep a good eye on her.”

“Got it.” Just then, they both heard Peter letting out a satisfied burp.

“Excuse you,” Gallus smirked. “Welp, that’s the answer that the tank’s full.” He held out his talon to high-five Smolder, who only just gave a low brow. “Okay, fine, not my best.”

Sibling Struggles

After Peter was finished with his meal, Bronze Box then decided to take him out to get him enrolled in a good school in Cloudsdale. Gallus decided to go with them and give Bronze Box a couple more bits of info about griffons. Since that’s his first time adopting another creature, he listened attentively.

“So, griffons aren’t like pegasi,” the blue griffon told Bronze Box. “We can’t control the weather as you can, and our wingspan is much bigger than yours.”

“Uh-huh,” Bronze Box commented, “That makes sense. And about his diet.”

“If you can keep getting him at least one good serving of fish a day, he should be good. Although,... I recommend at least two servings. One is only if things are a little tight. We griffons could also eat other stuff like pigs or chicken, but I doubt that many ponies would have that kind of business, because… you know…”

“Yeah. Probably. I understand.”

“Anyways, what school are you getting Peter into?”

“Easy. Flight school. Right over there.” Bronze pointed over to the said school, where plenty of colts and fillies were flying around. Looking back at Peter, he was just sitting on his father’s back. “Peter doesn’t seem to be the best at flying yet, so I think a school made for such a subject would be a good place for him to learn.”

“Sounds logical to me. Let’s go.”

They flew over to the floating building, where a bunch of the colts and fillies could see Bronze Box with the two griffons. The building was only two stories high, but taller than their house. Then from the entrance, they went inside to go towards the Principal’s Office. Bronze Box remembered what route should he take, but asked some of the students there in case if he forgets. They finally arrived at the door with writings on the top center, telling that it is the Principal’s Office. Bronze Box then knocked on the door.

“Anyone in there?” he called.

“Yes,” the female voice replied, “Come in.”

He grabbed the knob with his right wing, opened the door, and went inside. Inside, they found the principal in her office sitting in front of the desk.

“I’ll wait for you,” Gallus said to him. “You go ahead.” Peter and Bronze Box went inside the office while Gallus, meanwhile, then sat at the bench, where it’s just right in front of it, at the corridor to wait for them.

“Mr. Bronze Box, I suppose?”

“Yes, ma’am,”

“Take a seat.” He then sat down on a chair, together with Peter beside him.

“So, I’m aware that you’ve just adopted this young griffon.”

“Yes, Peter does have a bit of an issue settling at our home,” Bronze Box said, “but it’s better than on the street.” He looked to see that Peter was uncomfortable hearing that sentence.

“That’s a very good thing that you decided to adopt him and give him a good shelter. If you just let him leave him there, he would’ve been starved to death. That’s an act of heroism right there.”

“Thanks. I’m just glad to help him.”

“Right. So, tell me more about Peter? Is he shy? Is he talented? Tell me.”

“Peter is not much of a talker, so he’s kind of shy. He also loves to play with some toys or anything like that. Ever since I and my wife found him, he’s a very loving and caring one.”

“Does he enjoy your new home? Sounds like he does from the look.”

“He does, actually.”

“Okay then. Now, I just need you to fill out these forms right here.” Box was handed some forms and he looked through everything he needed to fill out.

“Okay, this may take a while.” There was a sudden tapping on the window which made the stallion, mare, and griffon look over to see the fillies and colts trying to get a look at Peter. The principal had to shoo them away.

“I’m very sorry about that. We don’t normally get griffons enrolled here.”

“It’s alright.” Box started filling out the forms again as Peter looked around the room. The principal noticed his curiosity and spoke up.

“You don’t have to worry about showing up here too often. You’ll only find naughty children, which they’ll end up here.” Peter felt a little nervous now and tried to hold onto his father’s wing. Box stopped to look at the young griffon before smiling and continuing with the forms.

Gallus sat on the bench, whistling to the tune while waiting for the stallion and griffon to get out of the office as he then noticed some of the colts and fillies had come back and were staring at him. “Can I help you?” he asked.

“Are you being adopted too?” a filly asked.

“What? No. I’m not with Peter. Just... Don’t you have classes?” The young pegasi raced off, leaving Gallus by himself. Soon he saw Bronze Box and Peter leaving the office.

“Alright, that seems to be everything,” the principal said. “We’ll see you next Monday.” She then closed the door and the stallion and his new son walked over to Gallus.

“Okay, we can go now,” Bronze Box said. “We’ve got to pick up the new bed.”

“A new bed?” Gallus questioned.

“Yeah. Peter can’t keep sleeping on the floor, can he? Let’s go.” The three soon left the school with Peter still riding on Box’s back.

“You know, I could’ve sworn I’ve seen you flying around the house before,” Gallus said, remembering that he saw Peter try to fly and fell and slipped towards Gallus’ belly.

“Peter’s just in a need of confidence. Once he learns a few things from this school and makes himself at home, he’ll be much more cheerful.” The three carried on to collect the young griffon’s new bed.

Back at the house, Smolder was helping to move stuff around to make room for Peter’s new bed. “Okay, so where do you want this chest?” the dragon asked.

“Uh… Just move it into the left corner over there,” Summer Blossom requested. Smolder pushed the chest into the location she was told.

“You know, this room is a little smaller when you imagine the bed in here.”

“Hmm, you got a point. Maybe we try a bunk bed?”

“Yeah, that could work. We have those beds back at the dorms in the School of Friendship.”

Summer Blossom pondered for a little bit as she walked back downstairs. Smolder decided to take a break and looked around the house. She looked around for Star Drop, who seemed to have disappeared. That was until something flew outside the window. Poking her head outside, Smolder found the filly flying around the house as fast as possible.

“Hey, kid!” Smolder called, “What are you doing?!”

Star Drop suddenly rammed into the dragon as she stepped outside, making them both crash onto the cloud. The filly stood up and looked rather angry. “You got in my way, dragon!” she cried.

“Well, you were just flying around the house for no stupid reason.”

“I can’t fly at top speed inside, so I’m doing it outside.” She took off and started flying around the house again. She didn’t really change course as she nearly hit Smolder again. The dragon ducked and decided to walk back inside as talking with the filly might be like talking to a brick wall. She instead went for Sun Snow, who was sitting on the couch reading a book.

“Star Drop crashed into you, huh?” he asked.

“Yeah. Does this happen often?”

“As much as Ricky screams.” The colt placed his book down and looked towards the guest. “What were you trying to ask her anyway?”

“I was going to ask how you two were getting along with Peter.”

“He and I were okay. He’s been getting along really great with Ricky. That’s not an easy feat. Star seemed to be a little angrier since the little griff showed up.”

“Has she been envious?”

“Kind of. Our parents haven’t noticed. They’re probably too busy helping Peter get settled.”

“Well, Star’s jealousy isn’t going to end well, right?”

“It’s already kind of bad. One time, she left the door open and Ricky nearly escaped. Cockatoos don’t do very well in the cold.”

“Yeah, one of our professors discussed that with us. What else did she do?”

“She’s stopped helping to clean up dinner, barely cleans up her room, which mom does most often now, still don’t know how they haven’t noticed her behavior change.”

“Well, how do you think it’s going to play out when Peter gets his bed?”

“Probably downhill. I thought she was just acting like this because they were sharing a room.”

“I saw some shelves with trophies on them. Those are actually hers, right?”

“Oh yeah. Star Drop’s trying to be a Wonderbolt when she grows up.”

“That explains that action figure Peter found.”

“I honestly think that Star’s a little spoiled. She hates it when things don’t go her way. I swear, she refuses to have fun when it’s not something wants to do.”

“Do you have an example?”

“Let's see, one of them is when I wanted to go to the trade market at Rainbow Falls. Star refused to get on the train and she’d even pulled the emergency cable, making everypony late. When we did get there, she refused to get off the train. And you know what the worst part of these kinds of acts? She doesn’t get punished half the time!”

“No way. You’re joking.”

“I wished. While she gets what she deserves, sometimes it’s like they think she can do nothing wrong.”

“So, do they see it and just pretend it doesn’t happen?”

“Honestly, I think she just gets lucky when they’re not looking. It really gets on my nerves."

"Well, now she has to deal with Peter being the center of attention." Both dragon and colt chuckled a little bit but it made Smolder think a little bit.

"Hey, Sunny," Summer Blossom spoke.

“Yes, mom?”

"Can you help me decide where to move the furniture around Star's room?"

"Just wait until dad gets back with the bed."

This didn't take as long as they would think. With Gallus tagging along, loading the bed's crate onto Bronze's cart took much quicker. "Thanks, Gallus," the stallion said.

"No problem," the blue griffon said. "I'm just helping a fellow griffon into his new home." Peter smiled at Gallus's comment as he noticed another stallion flying towards them. The stallion had a very pale blue coat and a dark mane. Bronze Box knew who he was.

"Soarin?" he gasped.

"Yep," the stallion said.

“What’re you doing here?”

"I was just flying by when I thought I saw somepony in a Wonderbolt's uniform." He looked towards Gallus feeling a little embarrassed. "No offense."

"It's fine," the blue and yellow griffon said, "I get that a lot."

"Okay. So, you guys getting your new kid a bed?"

"Yeah," Bronze Box said. "It can be a regular or bunk bed. In case the room isn't big enough for two."

"Welp, I was just dropping by. I'll be on my way now." Soarin was about to take off again, but Bronze stopped him.

“Hold up,” he called.

“Yeah?”

"Before you go, my daughter's a huge fan of you and the other Wonderbolts. Could I..."

"I just need something to write with a piece of paper." Box had a spare piece of paper and a pen in the cart. Using the crate for a surface, Soarin wrote down his name and handed the signed paper to Bronze. "There you go. Now, I should get going. See ya." Soarin flew away as Bronze and the griffons headed back home.

When they arrived back at home, Smolder came out and helped unload the crate and carried it upstairs. She was quite strong and moved it like it was just a throw pillow. “We really have to thank you for the help,” Summer Blossom said.

“It’s no problem,” the dragon responded. “Gallus and I are happy to help.” She placed the crate down in the bedroom and it was soon opened up to show many bits and pieces of the bed.

“This is one of the build-it-yourself beds, isn’t it?” Gallus questioned.

“Sure is,” Bronze Box said. He looked through the box until he found the instructions and the Allen wrench. “Okay, now let’s see.” While the stallion took a look at the instructions, Smolder told Gallus everything she found out about Star Drop and her attitude to Peter.

“That makes sense to me,” Gallus commented.

“Yeah, I was about to tell Mrs. Summer until you showed up.”

“You’ve only been here for a few minutes. I doubt she’d believe what you’ve found out.”

“I only found out because Sun Snow told me.”

“Okay, that makes things a little better, but I feel like the girl’s going to make it sound like Sun Snow was lying. He probably was.”

“I beg to differ. Peter was just trying to find a toy to play with and when he gave it to me, Star just snatched it back and placed it back in the chest. She even whipped my face with her tail. Kind of like she doesn’t want Peter to play with it.”

“What are you talking about?” Bronze Box asked. He had been focusing on the bed and didn’t fully hear what the guests were talking about.

“Uhh… We’re just talking about why we were sent here,” Gallus answered.

“Oh, okay then. Could you give me a hand with this? I think the bed’s going to be better if it’s a bunk bed.”

“I think I can help with that,” Smolder said.

“Yeah, she’s stronger than me,” Gallus noted. “I’m going to check on Peter.”

“Great,” Bronze Box commented. Gallus left them to their work while he looked around the house until he found Peter. The young griffon was in Sun Snow’s room, as the said colt was taking Ricky out of his cage.

“Okay, Ricky,” Sun Snow said, “you know what to do.” He carefully took the cockatoo out of the cage and held his arm out to Peter. The young griff was holding out his arm and Ricky stepped onto it. Peter was a little nervous but kept still as the cockatoo climbed onto his back. “You’re doing great, Peter, just stay calm.”

He gave his adopted brother some seeds and told him to feed them to Ricky. Peter did so and almost flinched when the cockatoo snatched it from his talon. “What are you doing?” Gallus asked.

The colt, griffon, and cockatoo looked towards the guest standing in the doorway. Ricky started flapping his wing and squawking until Sun Snow quickly grabbed a jar of peanut butter and a butterknife. He placed some of the peanut butter on one of Ricky’s dishes and the bird stopped squawking and went back into his cage for a snack.

“Do you just keep that jar of peanut butter in your room?” he asked.

“It helps keep Ricky quiet,” Sun Snow stated, “Can’t argue with the results. Anyways, to answer your question, I was just helping Peter get used to Ricky. I thought it would be easy considering that he seems to like griffons for some reason.”

“Good to know. By the way, Smolder told me what you just told her about Star Drop. I just want to check to see if you’re telling the truth or not.”

“Trust me, everything I told your friend was true. Star is just a brat who tries to make others miserable when she doesn’t get what she wants.” Ricky let out an angry squawk to make his owner’s attitude. “That’s right, Ricky.”

“Okay, that’s good information. Have you seen your sister lately?”

“I think in the kitchen.”

“Thanks,” Gallus replied, giving him a thumbs-up before he flew to that location. Star Drop was standing next to her mother while complaining.

“Why can’t I have a donut now?” the filly questioned.

“Because, it’ll spoil your appetite for lunch,” Summer Blossom stated. “Then your appetite for dinner will be ruined too. Plus, now I have to get fish for Peter to be healthy.”

“It’s really not that bad,” Gallus remarked. The mother and daughter both looked towards the blue griffon. “I mean, you just need to keep that fresh fish in the freezer and prepare them for Peter later. Just need to make sure that they don’t spoil and they’ll be fine to eat.”

“Okay, that’s good to know. It’s probably a little difficult for biologically vegetarian creatures.”

“Yeah, my friends were talking about that at our school. Anyways, I wanted to ask Star Drop about how she and Peter have been…” The young flew away from the griffon not wanting to talk. “… doing.”

“I’m sorry about her. She’s been a little moody lately.”

“Yeah, I think I might have a theory why. I just need her to talk.” Gallus began following the filly who could see what he was trying to do. She began picking up the pace and flew into the bathroom, locking the door behind her. “Oh, come on.” Gallus knocked on the door only to get a sassy response.

“Occupied,” she responded.

“Look, kid, you’re not going to stay in there forever. I’ll get a key from your parents. I’m serious.”

“I can’t hear you!”

“...As if I didn’t need another kid like Cozy Glow. Untrustworthy and annoying.” Gallus flew away to tell Summer Blossom about the locked door.

Star Drop just minded her own business messing around in the bathroom until she heard the door unlock. Summer Blossom opened the door with Gallus by her side. “Star, what have I told you about locking doors?” the mother asked. The filly just stood and stared at her. “Star, answer the question.”

Again, the filly didn’t say anything. She turned to the mirror to look at her reflection. Summer grabbed her by the tail and dragged her into the living room. “I know you can hear me!” Star Drop stayed silent. “Star Drop, answer me right now!”

“Hold on, let me try something,” Gallus spoke. He flew upstairs for a moment and into Star’s bedroom. Summer had her daughter sit down on the chair in the dining area and forced her to sit there as she still refused to respond. Gallus returned and landed in front of the pouting filly.

All of sudden, Smolder appeared from behind the couch and let out a roar. This frightened filly enough to make her fly up to the ceiling. “Welp, she’s not deaf,” Smolder chuckled. She walked over to Gallus to share a fist bump.

“Why would you do that?!” Star Drop angrily exclaimed.

“You wanna know why? Because you’re acting like a brat,” Gallus explained.

“Star Drop, what did I say about locking doors?” Summer Blossom asked. She had yet to get her answer.

“To not to only because of emergencies,” Star Drop answered.

“Good. Now, why did you lock it?”

“Because that griffon was bugging me.”

“I just wanted to ask you a few questions,” Gallus stated. “You’re making it harder than it needs to be.” The upset filly flew back down onto the couch. “Okay, how have you been dealing with Peter?”

“Not good. I don’t want to share a room with him.”

“Star, you know why you have to,” Summer Blossom said. “Our home only has so much room. Either we get a bigger house, which will be too expensive, or Sun Snow moves out. He’s not going to do that for a long time and frankly, I don’t want that to happen.” That only made Star Drop pout more.

“Only, I don’t think it is going anywhere,” Smolder commented. “I’m going back to help Mr. Box.” The dragon flew back to the bedroom to see if the stallion needed help with the bed.

“Should I leave this to you?” Gallus asked.

“Please do,” Summer Blossom replied.

“Got it,” The blue griffon flew away and went to check on Peter again. The young griff was petting Ricky, who was sitting on the perch next to Sun’s bed.

“That’s the spirit,” the colt said. “He’s starting to like you.”

“Pretty bird,” Ricky cooed. Peter started lowering his arm and the cockatoo stepped on it. Peter was a little shocked by the bird’s action.

“Okay, Ricky. We’ll give you a treat.” Sun Snow flew over to Ricky’s cage and opened a bag that was sitting on top of it and took out an orange treat. He took it over to his new brother and gave it to him. Peter then gave the treat to Ricky who happily chewed on it.

Gallus smiled that they were getting along and walked over to the other bedroom. Smolder helped him hold a part of the bed rest in place while Bronze Box tightened the bolt. “Okay, I think we’re almost done here,” the father said. “Now we just need to lift it into place.” He took a look at Star Drop’s bed and removed some parts to make Peter’s bed fit.

“It shouldn’t be too hard for me,” Smolder stated.

“It’s a little more awkward than heavy.”

“So, you need someone else for support?” Gallus asked. He grabbed the attention of his friend and the father.

“That would be great. Thanks.” After making some modifications to Star’s bed, Bronze Box and Gallus got on one side of the bed and Smolder got on the other side. They lifted the new bed upwards and carefully lowered it onto the other one. “Okay, I think we’re good.”

“It’s missing the mattress,” Smolder commented.

“Don’t worry, we’ve got a spare one in the attic. Could you help me move it?”

“Sure.” Smolder then went out of the room to go to the attic to get a spare mattress. Before Bronze Box goes out to help, he turns to Gallus and asks him for his help.

“Gallus, we’ve got some bed sheets and blankets in the closet, could you get those? I’ll be right back with the mattress.”

“Sure, I will.” The blue griffon gave a thumbs up and went to the closet to collect the bedsheets and a blanket. As he placed them down on Star’s bed while he waited for Box and Smolder to return, Star Drop flew in. “What do you want?... Are you going to make things harder for me?” Star didn’t say anything she flew onto her bed, pushing the extra bed sheets off. “Oh, real mature.”

Bronze and Smolder soon walked back in to see Gallus picking up the sheets that were tossed onto the ground. “What are you doing?” the dragon questioned.

“Someone decided it would be fun to knock Peter’s bed sheets onto the floor.”

“That’s not true,” Star Drop fibbed. “He tossed them on the ground and tried to blame me.”

“Now why would I do that?”

“Yeah, she’s clearly lying,” Smolder added.

“I can see that,” Bronze Box commented. He and Smolder placed the mattress against the wall as the father stared down at his daughter. Star Drop wasn’t feeling very confident. Gallus and Smolder decided to leave the room as they could feel the tension.

“Okay, so I think we’re starting to fix the problem,” Smolder commented.

“Yep, sounds like it,” Gallus said. He eavesdropped on Box who was telling his daughter what she was doing was wrong. However, something didn’t feel right. “Smolder, don’t you think this was a little too easy?”

Smolder thought about it for a while. “Yeah. I think our bodies would've been glowing by now. Something’s not right. What are we missing?”

Gallus poked his head back into the room to see Box had just finished giving his talk to his daughter. He pulled back before he could be seen. “Maybe we should be the ones to get Star to talk with Peter.”

“If we can get Peter to talk. All I’ve heard him say was a quiet hello.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty tricky. I’ll give it a try.”

“Go for it, Gallus.”

They checked with Sun Snow’s room again. Ricky was being placed back into his cage before the door was closed. “Okay, Ricky, let me know when you want out again,” Sun Snow said.

“Why are you putting him up?” Gallus asked, walking inside the room.

“He was getting tired of being out of his cage. He does that sometimes. Usually, when he doesn’t want to go back in his cage, we just wrap a towel around him and he just seems to go limp.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Anyways, have you had a nice chat with Peter?”

Sun looked over to his brother, who was sitting on the bed. “He’s not much of a talker around strangers.”

“I probably know why.” Gallus walked over to the young griffon and sat beside him. “Listen, I honestly know what it’s like living on your own. And trusting others might seem a little scary, but you’re in a much safer place than Griffonstone. You can talk to us if you want.” Peter looked away from Gallus as some bad memories were coming back to him. Gallus frowned as he sympathized with him. “Okay, if you don’t want to talk about it, I won’t force you. Don’t worry.”

He patted his head, stood up, and walked back to the doorway where Smolder was standing. “I thought you said you were going to get him to talk,” Smolder spoke.

“I’ve been in his position before. It’s a set of bad memories we don’t want to talk about.” Smolder knew what Gallus was talking about and they both walked downstairs.

“Okay, so if we can’t get Peter to talk, we have to get Star to spill the beans.”

“What are you talking about?” Bronze Box questioned.

“We think that Peter and Star don’t have the best relationship.”

“Yeah, I was afraid of this. I’ve tried getting her to talk with him, but she always keeps her mouth shut. Summer tried too, but she always finds a way to slip out of talking.”

“Let us try,” Gallus said.

“Are you sure about that?”

“Trust us, she’s not the first filly we’ve had to deal with,” Smolder chuckled.

Lunch was now being served and it looked like there was only one plate on the table containing a PB&J sandwich. Star Drop walked into the kitchen and found what she was hungry for. She sat down and was about to take a bite from the sandwich when she heard two creatures approaching her. Standing on each side of the filly, stood Gallus and Smolder.

“Hello, Star,” Smolder said.

“What do you want?” the filly asked.

“We want you to answer our questions and grow up,” Gallus said. The filly just stood silent. “So, are you going to grow up?” Star said nothing. She tried reaching for her sandwich but Smolder snatched it away from her.

“Hey!”

“You want this?” Smolder asked. “You’ve got to answer our questions.” Star tried to fly up and take her sandwich back, but Smolder placed her claw in her face to keep her back. Gallus grabbed the filly by the tail and pulled her back into her seat.

“So, are we going to cooperate?” Gallus asked. He gave a smug grin and Star sat back in her seat crossing her arms.

“Fine,” the filly groaned.

“Okay,” Smolder said. “First of all, what’s your problem with Peter?”

“I don’t want a new brother. Sun’s already bad enough. Plus I’m not sharing a room with Peter.”

“Well, duh. That’s life.”

“Look, you might not want to be a sister to Peter but think of it like this,” Gallus spoke, “You could probably warm up to him if you don’t keep acting like this.”

“But he hasn’t done anything noteworthy.”

“And that’s important, why? How long has he been living here?”

“I don’t know. Three days?”

“He’s been trying to befriend your brother,” Smolder stated. “Why can’t you just grow up and try and get to know your new little brother more.”

“He’s not my brother! He’s just some bird cat that came from a dumb village where a bunch of nobodies are born. No one knows about them and nobody cares!” This struck a chord with Gallus and he was now red in the face. Without warning, he grabbed the filly by her arm and brought her to his face. Smolder felt shocked, startled, and speechless when her blue friend grabbed her like that.

“Listen here you little twerp,” he growled. “If you knew what Griffonstone was really like, you wouldn’t be talking like that. Peter and I have been through crud nobody should’ve been through. If you think you can just push him to the side and put him back on the street, I’m going to smack that out of your head.”

“Gallus, calm down!” Smolder cried. She separated her friend from the filly, who was now a little frightened. The blue griffon breathed heavily while looking at Star Drop.

He took a deep breath before speaking again. “We’re leaving.”

“What?”

“There is no helping this kid. Her parents need to learn to do more than a slap on the wrist.”

“They won’t know what to do unless we help them.” Smolder grabbed her friend’s wrist trying to stop him from leaving, Peter and his parents walked into the kitchen after hearing Gallus’s outburst.

“What’s going on in here?” Bronze Box questioned.

“I think we need a ten-minute break before we can continue,” Smolder said.

“No, you guess we're going to punish your daughter,” Gallus furiously stated.

“What are you talking about?” Summer Blossom questioned.

“It’s obvious you don’t even fully pay attention to her behavior when you do, a slap on the wrist is all she gets. Not even that sometimes!”

“Are you saying I’m a bad mother?”

“Well, if you’re not willing to look into how different a griffon is from a pony, then I would say yes.”

“Okay, Gallus, maybe we should leave,” Smolder said. She tried to grab her friend’s talon only for her to be pushed back.

“No, not until I tell these two to get some guts and show their kid that there are consequences.” Sun Snow was opening one of the doors to get to Ricky’s water bowl as he heard Gallus’s anger. He left the room to listen to the griffon’s outburst leaving the door to the cage open.

“Hey, it’s not like we’re trying to be bad,” Bronze Box defended.

“Well, you’re really good at it.”

“Gallus, please, calm down,” Smolder begged. “You’re going to make things worse.” She tried to pull her friend away but Gallus stood his ground.

“No, I think I know the reasons we’re called on these missions because creatures don’t know what’s wrong. You’ve clearly seen your daughter acting like a twerp and barely do anything to stop her!”

“You have no clue what it’s like to be raising two children,” Summer Blossom sternly stated right in front of his face.

“Well, you clearly don’t know what it’s like to live in a place like Griffonstone!” Gallus said it back. “Not to mention being homeless.”

“What?” Bronze and Snow questioned.

“You don’t think I know how bad homelessness is?” Summer Blossom questioned. “Why do you think we took Peter under our wing.”

“He’s just a child,” Gallus stated, “Why not help an adult or a teenager?” The mother and griffon were both staring daggers into each other’s eyes. “Speaking of which, you can’t just keep treating them like they’re incapable of doing nothing wrong.”

“You don’t think we try!?” The yelling was starting to make Peter nervous and he quickly went to Sun Snow’s room to block out the noise. Bronze saw this and quickly got in between the two yelling creatures.

“Okay, break it up!” he cried.

“I’m really sorry about this,” Smolder apologized. “I think it’s best if we just go.”

“I think that’s good,” Star Drop said. She tossed them their winter clothing and then opened the door.

“Star, stay out of this,” Box ordered. By the tone of his voice, it was best to listen to him. Star quickly flew back to her room, leaving the door wide open.

“I think it’s safe to say this is a failed mission,” Gallus said. He put on his cap and his scarf. “Let’s go Smolder.”

“Gallus, you can’t just quit like that!” the dragon stated.

“I’m not helping a filly like that.”

“Don’t you talk about my daughter like that,” Summer Blossom ordered.

“Summer, just calm down,” Bronze begged. “Maybe you should go.”

“Couldn’t agree more,” Gallus spoke out. Suddenly, they could hear some wings flapping as Ricky flew out of Sun Snow’s room. He scored past the guest and out the front door.

“Ricky!” Sun Snow cried. He quickly ran to the door to try and catch his bird, but when he got outside the cockatoo had disappeared. “Ricky? Ricky!”

“Oh crud,” Smolder gasped.

“Maybe you should stick around a little longer,” Bronze commented. They all now felt a little bit worried

Cockatoo on the Loose

It was not going so well for Gallus and Smolder after a very heated argument with Summer Bloom and Bronze Box. It was very severe. Star Drop was just in her room placing some of her toys on top of Peter’s bed as Sun Snow burst into the room. He was really bitter when he busted the door open.

“Why did you leave the door open!?” he fiercely shrieked, making her turn to see his elder brother came in, together with his parents, Gallus and Smolder.

“What?” the young filly asked, with a slightly baffled look. “What’re you talking about?”

“You left the door wide open,” Gallus stated. “Didn’t you notice?”

“I did?”

“Well yeah. Did you not feel the cold air leaking into the house?” Smolder questioned. Star Drop didn’t know what to say, especially when her parents are already walking into the room.

“Star Drop, what do you have to say for yourself?” Summer Blossom questioned sternly.

“I don’t know what’s going on,” the filly stutteringly responded.

“How do you just leave a door wide open?” Sun Snow questioned.

“Stop it, we’re wasting time here,” Bronze Box said. “We’ll take care of Star’s punishment later.”

Sun Snow knew his dad was right and quickly flew out the door to find his pet bird. Bronze Box was about to follow him, but he had to check something first. Yes, just to see if Peter’s still there. He reached towards the door, cranked the doorknob, and opened the door. He looked in Sun Snow’s room but couldn’t see the young griffon in there.

“Peter?” he exclaimed, with a worried look. “Peter?” He then checked around the room to see if he’s still there. He peeked under the bed, and Peter was not there; and he then checked the closet, and it’s no use, he’s not there. His heart was already racing, knowing that he’s also run away just like Ricky. “Oh no.”

Gallus, Smolder, and Summer Blossom followed suit and saw that Peter was not in Sun Snow’s room as Bronze Box was really worried about his disappearance.

“Wait, did he vanish as well?” Gallus asked Smolder.

“He must’ve gone after Ricky,” Smolder guessed.

“Oh no!” Summer Blossom gasped, starting to feel panicked. “This is not good. First, Ricky, and now Peter!?”

“Okay, everyone,” Bronze Box said, as he walked out of the room, “please calm down, we’ll just split up and look around Cloudsdale,” he suggested.

“Or Ponyville,” Smolder added.

“Yeah, that as well. Let’s go.” He looked towards Star Drop, who was just peeking her head out of her room. “You! Stay in your room. We’ll talk about this later.” Star Drop and just sat down on her bed before her mother closed the door to keep her in there. She sighed as she felt very bad about what she just did. Gallus, Smolder, and the rest of the family, excluding Star Drop, quickly flew out of the house with their winter clothes on and searched for the missing griffon and cockatoo.

Gallus groaned in both anger and sadness, “This is all my fault. I shouldn’t have lost my temper like that.”

“Snap it out, Gallus. We’ll worry about that later,” Smolder stated. “Just keep an eye out for them.”

They two split up both heading downwards. Gallus decided to look through the area away from Ponyville, while Smolder headed into town.

The dragon landed on her feet and then started running to find Ricky. As she’s looking around for that bird, she asked some of the residents if they had seen any kind of griffon or a cockatoo flying by their path. Many of them pointed over to the Ponyville Cafe, so she knew instantly that Ricky headed towards that cafe. She finally arrived at the Ponyville Cafe, and she saw many customers had run out of the building as loud squawks could be heard from inside. Smolder went in quickly into the cafe and found Ricky flying around terrorizing the customers. Some of the customers were hiding under their tables to protect themselves.

“There you are,” the dragon cried. She walked over to the cockatoo which screeched at her and even tried to bite her. However, due to Smolder’s tough scales, he didn’t leave much of a mark. That didn’t stop Ricky from trying, he kept biting the dragon as she walked over to one of the employees of the cafe. “Excuse me, sir, do you have an extra towel so that I can wrap this little fella up?”

“Oh yes, madam, I think we have a spare,” the employee said.

“Perfect. I think I know a trick I could use with that.” The pony went to get Smolder the towel while Ricky was trying to bite through the scales. When the pony returned with a towel, Ricky stopped trying to bite Smolder and just went limp when he saw the towel.

“I’m sorry,” he squawked.

“Yeah, I bet you are.” Smolder looked outside and had a feeling that Ricky probably wouldn’t make it back giving the distance from the cafe to his home. “Hmm, I think I'm going to need an expert for this.” She looked to see a mare walking over to her.

“I can help you keep an eye on this bird,” the mare spoke. “My parents do have a parakeet at home that was acting like a little devil”

“Thanks. I just need to keep someone great at taking care of animals. Be right back.” Smolder handed the lost cockatoo to the mare and flew off towards the school to get an expert she knows about. Ricky tried to bite the mare but held up her hoof right to his face.

“No! Don’t do that. That’s rude.”

Meanwhile, Gallus searched through the forest (not Everfree) calling out for the missing griffon and cockatoo. “Peter? Peter! Where are you, little fella?” Gallus cried. He kept looking around until he saw something rather big on one of the tree branches. It was Peter. He was just sitting at a sturdy branch on a hollow tree, with his claw on his forehead gesturing that he’s searching for something. Gallus then flew slowly towards Peter, without him noticing. Peter, at the same time, heard the rustling of the leaves.

“Ricky, are you in there?” Peter questioned. Gallus flew up to him from behind and tapped his shoulder making the young griffon jump in shock. “Oh, hi Gallus.”

“Hey, buddy. I’m glad I found you. I’m actually kind of surprised that you’re talking so much.”

“Well, I wanted to help them find Ricky.”

“I know. You’re a good kid for doing that. Let’s get back home before your parents freak out anymore.” Gallus reached for Peter’s talon, but the younger griffon pulled back.

“I… I don’t think I can go back home any longer.”

Gallus felt shocked when he said that. “Why not?” he asked.

He then noticed that Peter started to tear up, and sob a little. “...Why does she hate me?”

“...You mean your new sister?” Peter just nodded before sniffing. Gallus then sat beside him, with his arm wrapped around his body. “Listen, from what I’ve learned, there are some creatures out there who are complete jerks like her. However, they… they just act like that because of their cowards. They feel threatened and putting others down is a way to make themselves feel safe.”

“Is that what Star’s like?”

Gallus then thought about it for a while. “I guess so. She probably can’t handle not being in the center of attention. She’ll learn one way or another. Whether she likes it or not, you’re staying there.”

“But… I don’t want her to hate me. Most griffons hate me as well.”

“I know bud. I really know what it’s like being you.” This really caught his attention. He then looked back to face Gallus. “Growing up, I didn’t have a home either. The closest thing I have is the School of Friendship and my friends who are always close to me. You don’t have to have that same rotten luck. Mr. Box and Mrs. Summer both love you and want to give you a great life. You’re in a good school, you have a home that I’m kind of jealous of. You’ve got the potential for a great life, don’t let one kid ruin it for you.”

Peter thought for a moment. He then sighed. “You’re right. Thanks for the advice.” He soon started flapping and started getting airborne. “Can you lead me home?”

Gallus smiled. “Of course, little buddy.” Holding his talon, Gallus and Peter flew back to Cloudsdale.

Along the way back, they could see Smolder flying back along with another pegasus beside her. It turned out to be Fluttershy, who was carrying Ricky, wrapped in a soft white blanket. “Now, Ricky, that was a very foolish thing to do,” the mare spoke to the cockatoo. Ricky looked like he was regretting his actions.

“I thought you would get Fluttershy to help,” Gallus commented.

“Well, I didn’t really have a good way to keep him warm and calm at the same time,” Smolder commented. Peter flew over to the wrapped up cockatoo. Ricky allowed the young griffon to pet him.

“Oh, you must be Peter,” Fluttershy commented.

“Yes, that’s me,” he replied softly. The young griffon felt a little shy around Fluttershy but wanted to stay brave around the cockatoo. “It’s okay, Ricky. I’m not going to hurt you.”

“I think it’s Ricky you should be more scared of,” Gallus commented.

Eventually, they all made it back to Peter’s home. They all went inside, and then up the stairs to Sun Snow’s room and reached towards the cage. Fluttershy gently unwraps the blanket and let the cockatoo fly inside the cage. She then closed it afterward.

“Thanks for your help, Professor Fluttershy,” Smolder said, feeling appreciated for her help.

“No problem,” she replied, “I’m just happy to help.”

“Hey, Smolder. We should go find Sun Snow and his parents so we could announce that we found them already.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Let’s go.”

“Oh, and could you keep an eye on them again, so there won’t be another chase?” Fluttershy nodded yes. “Thanks.” Smolder and Gallus then went out again to find Summer Blossom, Bronze Box, and Sun Snow, while Fluttershy stayed to watch Peter and Ricky.

“How’re feeling with your new home, Peter?” Fluttershy asked kindly.

“… Very lucky,” he replied softly.

After a while of searching, they finally found them and told them that they found Peter and Ricky already. They felt relieved after they said it. Gallus and Smolder then brought the family back home. When they finally arrived, they saw Peter coming down the stairs with Fluttershy, and Summer Blossom immediately flew over to her adopted son to hug him. “I’m so glad that you’re okay.” she wept. “Don’t you ever scare us like that!”

“Yes, mom. I’m sorry,” Peter apologized.

“Well, he does talk,” Smolder chuckled. Though she said this to herself.

“Dude, I’m happy that you tried to find Ricky, but please warn us next time,” Sun Snow requested. Peter nodded as the family looked over to Fluttershy to promptly introduce herself to the family.

“Miss Fluttershy, I suppose,” Bronze Box said to the yellow pegasus.

“Yes sir,” she replied, giving him a handshake. “Nice to see you.”

“You too. I thanked you for your help in eyeing our son. Now, I think we just have one more thing to take care of,” Bronze Box stated. He and his wife then walked up the stairs to Star Drop’s room, where the door was still closed.

“I think I should get back to Ponyville,” Fluttershy said. “I think I’ve still got another class to teach.” She left as the parents walked over to Star Drop’s bedroom. Once they had entered, they closed the door behind them. Smolder and the boys all stayed in the living room until they heard the bedroom door open up. The mother, father, and daughter all walked downstairs and over to Peter.

“Alright, Star, what do you have to say for yourself?” Bronze Box asked.

The young filly looked at her new brother with her ears drooped. “I’m sorry,” she sighed.

Gallus leaned closer to Smolder. “Do you buy that ‘apology’?” he whispered. The dragon just shook her head.

“Alright now, Star Drop,” Summer Blossom said. “Back to your room.” Holding her daughter’s hoof, she took the filly back to her room.

“So, how long is she being grounded for?” Smolder asked Bronze Box.

“Only for a week,” Bronze Box said. “No toys, no racing, all of her favorite activities are off-limits.”

“Sounds good to me,” Gallus commented. “You going to be okay, Peter?” The young griffon looked up and flew towards Star’s room. “Peter?”

He flew up towards the door, opened it, and walked inside. Star Drop was sulking on her bed feeling sorrowful when her new brother walked in. “Leave me alone, Peter,” the filly sighed and turned to the opposite position. The griffon didn’t listen, instead, he flew up and hugged his sister. “What?”

“I forgive you,” Peter said.

“...What?”

“Gallus said he knew what it was like to be hated. I don’t want you to hate me.”

“So, you don’t hate me?” Peter just shook his head and he sat next to his sister. “Okay, I really thought that my parents wouldn’t pay any more attention to me. Now they are.”

“Can you try again?”

Star looked at her new brother, who looked much more cheerful than he did when the day started. “Will you let me.” Peter nodded before giving his sister another hug. The filly looked like she was finally warming up to him. She smiled and wrapped her arms around him.

Gallus and Smolder smiled while they watched from the doorway. The griffon’s beak and dragon’s spines started glowing, grabbing their attention. “Welp, our job’s done,” Gallus commented, and gave Smolder a high five.

Summer Blossom was very surprised by what was happening. “Is Peter going to do that?” she asked.

“I doubt it,” Smolder responded. “It’s probably something only we can do. Besides, we can’t control it anyway.”

“What does it mean though?”

“It means our job is done,” Gallus answered. “We should probably get out of your manes now.”

“Well, be sure to visit if you have the chance.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Oh, and please forgive me for throwing my tantrum to you, I should’ve not done that in the first place.”

“That’s okay, Gallus. At least everything’s already settled.”

Gallus looked towards Peter, who was just listening to their conversation. “We need to get going now. We can still visit each other when we’re free. Maybe the first weekend after you start school?” Peter smiled at this remark and quickly hugged the bigger griffon. “Yeah, I’ll miss you too buddy.”

After their hug, the guests got out of the door and said goodbye to the family before they flew back to the school. “I’m gonna say, you were kind of like a big brother to Peter,” Smolder commented.

Gallus was a little surprised by his friend’s comment. “You really think so?”

“It seems like it. You’re a good role model for him. I think if you were both being adopted, you’d get along great.”

“...That’s good to hear. Thanks, Smolder.”

The two soon made it back to the school just as classes were being dismissed. This pleased them as they walked in narrowly avoiding a stampede of students being set free. They soon found their friends and many griffons walked over to them.

“Hey, guys,” Sandbar said. “Welcome back.”

“Thanks,” Gallus replied with a smile. “It’s another success.”

“Nice to hear that. By the way, how was that new griffon going?”

“Peter was pretty nice. We had to help his family more than just with their relationship.”

“Were they giving him meat?” Gus asked.

“Now they are,” Smolder responded. “That family even had a pet cockatoo.”

“A cockatoo?” Silverstream and Yona questioned.

“It’s a type of bird who enjoys intimidating others.”

“Anyways, they should be okay now,” Gallus said. “And also, there’s a chance he’ll drop by here on the weekend.”

“Ooh, really?” Grace asked. Gallus nodded. This really made the griffons feel very excited. “Oh boy, I can’t wait to see him!”

“Yeah, me too. Maybe we could teach him a couple of flying tricks as well,” Garry commented. He and Geena shared a fist bump.

“I’m not just jealous you got to see him,” Gus said, “You got to skip all of school.”

“Don’t they still have school work?” Gregoria questioned. “As you said, it’s been a whole day already.”

“Let them have this.” Gus pushed the blonde griffon back as Gallus and Smolder took off their winter clothes and walked deeper into the warm school.

“So, is there anything left from lunch?” Smolder asked. “I think we skipped it while trying to find Ricky.”

“Who?” Ocellus questioned.

“He was the cockatoo Peter tried to find,” Gallus answered.

“Hey, maybe you could try fishing again,” Gus suggested. “As long as I don’t freeze my paws off, I’ll join you.” Gallus chuckled as he started thinking about the supplies they would need to get fish.

“Yeah, we can.”