Gallus gets interrogated

by Alank2

Rating: teen
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Adventure, Gallus
Length: 5535

Gallus and Gilda managed to bring friendship to Griffonstone. However, as their home changes, others take notice. And some of them have questions.

Gallus came back home for a summer break. Griffonstone is changing, friendship is slowly growing and with it, comes prosperity. Thanks to him, Gilda and the friends they made here, his home is no longer the worst backwater in central Griffonia. But he's not the only one who noticed this sudden change in Griffonstone, and some griffons have questions...

(Some minor Equestria at War references, like names of countries, but takes place in main MLP canon and no knowledge of EaW is required to read it).

Edit: Featured on the day of publishing, 23.12.2022! My first MLP story ever, and first to be posted on FiMfiction, and an instant featured? Thank you!
(...it's 24.12 (and now 25.12) and it's still in featured? Don't know what to say, thank you everyone!)

And now has a Sequel!

Published 2022-12-23 02:40:01 UTC
Last updated 2022-12-23 02:40:01 UTC

Gallus is interrogated

Gallus stretched and yawned loudly, not caring if someone heard him. Not that it would matter much today, since he was alone in the house, not counting Grandpa Gruff. And the old bird was snoring so loud, it was a miracle he wasn’t waking himself up all the time with this ungodly noise.

Although, funnily enough, Gallus heard no snoring coming from downstairs. Huh. Maybe grandpa couldn’t sleep and want on a walk to whine and be rude to someone else for a change?

Gallus mentally shrugged and got up, looking outside through the window. It was summer, and he came back to Griffonstone for a summer break. While he already missed his friends and teachers, Gallus was definitely enjoying the weather of his home more. Ponyville was way too hot this time of year. He wondered briefly if that’s how Yona must feel all the time, considering that yaks live in the freezing north.

He yawned again. He just came back home, and the journey was definitely tiring. At least, he thought looking at Griffonstone, he came to a much better place than when he left last time.

While his home was still far from Equestrian standards of living, it was also far from the ruined city once visited by Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash. Everything was changing. The houses now had visible signs of repair, the roads were sometimes professionally paved, and the train station was renovated; out of all that, the train station was the most surprising development.

When Pinkie Pie came here for the first time and helped Gilda make new, better version of griffon scones, it was a beginning of something unexpected. While an occasion to get some bits by selling something new and original was nothing new for griffons, Gilda, inspired by her friends, decided to do something different.

She tried her best to befriend people. Often sharing her scones for free on parties that she (very nervously) tried to organize. When she found other griffons who were also open to at least trying the idea of friendship, she hired them to help with the Griffonstone’s first bakery.

To the surprise of every other griffon, it worked. A group of griffons, working together, and not trying to cheat or steal from one another? Well, it turns out, not only is it possible – it’s also efficient. Way more efficient then working alone and thinking only about yourself.

When Gallus came back from the School of Friendship for a summer break, panicked Gilda instantly cornered him and almost begged for help. While he was as stressed as she was, he was in the end convinced to help her spread friendship among griffons. After all, he was a student in the school of friendship, wasn’t he? Solving the friendship problems was literally what he was learning!

Slowly but surely, Griffonstone started to come back to life. More griffons saw that working together made them both happy and rich, and suddenly a lot of them decided to try this new thing. Most failed, but some succeeded.

Breaking point came when Gallus, using his knowledge from lessons in Pinkie Pie, came for his second summer break. He helped upgrade the bakery, freely sharing recipes among griffons. More bakeries soon opened, and not only that. New factories and shops appeared, and even the old train tracks were repaired and extended closer to the city itself, allowing traders from other countries to arrive easier with their wares.

The ‘miracle of Griffonstone’ started to appear in newspapers around entire continent of Gryphus. The recipes weren’t even a well-hidden secret, and many copycat bakeries started to appear in other countries. However, everyone agreed that the ‘original Girffonstone scones’ were something else. Gilda and Greta spared no effort, no corners were cut, and exports of baked food, cakes and many other things become a main source of income for Griffonstone.

And now, after all that time and hard work, Gallus could enjoy seeing his home growing. It was so much nicer to be here. As much as ponies were sometimes too much for him, with their constant singing, hugging, and happiness, it was nice to see Griffonstone becoming more friendly.

“What do you think you’re doing, you smelly bastards?! I told you already to get out, you deaf or what?”

… aaaaand here we go again. He sighed and opened the window, flying in the direction of the commotion. Grampa Gruff was a treasure of knowledge, and under his constant whining was a well-hidden dream of seeing Griffonstone return to glory one day. But it didn’t change the fact that he was also extremely annoying and many newcomers to the town fell victim to his sharp tongue.

Gallus flew closer to the entrance to the city, were the voices where coming from. It was easy to spot the commotion: a flying chariot was parked next to the freshly-built gate, with two armored griffons pulling it, visibly tense and ready for takeoff at any moment. On the ground, two other griffons were standing and arguing with Grampa.

All four griffons had their armor and chariot painted in orange and pale yellow. These were Imperial colors, only allowed for the representatives of the Girffonian Empire. Gallus swallowed nervously and half-considered actually going inside and not getting involved this time. He was a student of friendship, not a politician!

However, that choice was taken away from him the moment one of the griffons noticed him. “Hey, you! You are Gallus of Griffonstone, are you not?”

Welp. Here’s that idea going down. Gallus landed carefully, close enough to not show disrespect, but far enough to be able to run away if things turned ugly for him. Only now he noticed multiple griffons – his neighbors from Griffonstone – standing behind Grampa. They were armed with swords, maces, some even just took planks with nails. There were at least twenty of them, which probably explained the nervous look the Imperial agents were giving the crowd.

Correction. It seems the situation was now dangerous for everyone. If Imperials do something stupid, they’ll get clobbered. Possibly even killed. While he would vastly prefer this over being killed himself by the Imperial agents, he definitely wasn’t looking forward to Empire invading Griffonstone because of it.

Alright, mister Student of Friendship, he thought to himself, straightening up and looking at the commotion. Time to put your beak when your bits are.

“Yes, that’s me. What’s the problem?” He had no idea if there wass any kinds of etiquette involving situations like this, so he decided to do his best. Which meant winging it.

“Agent Adelgard, Imperial Ministry of Public Security. You’re coming with us.” The Imperial said in a cold voice. “Comply and surrender now, otherwise things will get ugly.”

“Ugly? Well, that would be new.” Grampa Gruff said, with a very, very evil smile on his beak. “For us, of course, you see ugly every time you look in the mirror!”

Other Griffonstone griffons laughed at that, while Adelgard tensed and looked to be on the verge of exploding. The other agent, realizing how easily the situation could turn south, tried to stop him a moment too late.

“How dare you! When I’m back to the Empire, there will be consequences. The Emperor will not let his servants be treated like this by some… some stinking backwater!” The agent exploded.

Alright, this was on the verge of getting out of control. Gallus walked closer to the agents, ‘accidentally’ standing between them and the angry crowd. “Excuse me, agent Adelgard, but what have I done to be arrested? I never even visited the Empire.”

“We do not need to explain ourselves to a dirty primitive like you.” Was the only answer. Gallus grimaced inside. Great, exactly what they needed. He could already hear Grampa taking a breath, definitely ready for another sarcastic or rude answer.

“You know, I met a Wingbardian once.” Grampa said suddenly, and both agents looked at him. “He was loud, smelly and utterly obnoxious; but at least he wasn't a Prywhenian.” The evil smile returned. “I was wondering if maybe I should invite him here, so he can see how the Empire is doing these days. Or maybe some actual Prywhenians, so they could learn some manners. What do you say, mister agent whatever your name was?”

The suggestion did not escape the agents. “Are you suggesting you would ally with these… barbarians and primitives?! Are you out of your mind? It will be treason against the Empire. We will act accordingly!”

“Now, wait a moment…” Gallus tried to intervene, but was absolutely ignored.

“Last time I checked, we’re not in the Empire. I am the last oldest griffon here, you know? I saw a lot of things, your Empire too. Everygriffon here listens to me. If I say we need some new… ‘friends’, bleh,” he almost spat the word, “we will do that. If you don’t like Wingbardians, maybe some Aqueillans? I heard they really like to trade with us these days.”

“There is no need…” Gallus tried again, and was again ignored.

“The Empire will not stand by while our border is given to our enemy! We will…”

“EVERYGRIFFON. Shut. UP.” Gallus roared suddenly. Friendship or not, he wasn’t Ocellus to just let others ignore him like this. He was really fed up with this. The sudden roar made everygriffon jump and, fortunately, stopped the verbal fight moments before something really bad would happen.

“Thank you Grampa, but I can defend myself.” He turned to the agents, and missed the well-hidden look of surprise and pride in Gruff’s old eyes. “Now, before you say something stupid and get mauled by people here, starting a bloody and unnecessary war that will probably spill over entire continent… how about you will just say what you want from me?”

Agent Adelgard only now seemed to realize the danger he was in. The sudden interruption made him calm down a little, and he saw the angry eyes of locals. He didn’t like what they seem to promise the moment he says something they don’t like. “We want to ask you few questions about Equestria and the… School of Friendship.” Adelgard never in his life expected to say something so stupid-sounding. What kind of idiot calls her school like this?

“Oh. That’s all? Asking question, no torture, summary execution, anything like that?” Gallus asked, while hiding his internal panic. What was going on? Was Empire preparing a military action against Equestria?

“No. If you come with us, we just want to ask some questions and you can return here… if you wish.” The last few words were said with visible disgust.

“…In that case, give me a minute.” Gallus turned around, facing Grampa and other griffons. “It’s alright, you can go back to your homes. Grampa, please let Gilda know I’m going away for some time, so if anything friendship-related comes up, she’s in charge.”

“I’m not your messenger, hatchling. Where are my bits, hmm?” Grampa asked, but without usual bite in his voice. Mostly.

“Charge Gilda for it. I’m sure she’ll be happy to pay you.” Gallus smiled, seeing the usual, annoyed face of the de-facto leader of Griffonstone.

“With her stupid friendship stories instead of hard, cold bits. That chick will be the end of us all, I tell you.” Grampa shook his head, and turned around to the remaining griffons behind him. “You heard him, get to work!”

The mass of angry griffons dispersed and returned to city. Grampa took a deep breath, turned to Gallus and, to his unending surprise, gave him a pat on the shoulder.

“You know, I think you may actually grow to be something else than just a big disappointment like I thought you would be.” He then extended his claws and placed them dangerously close to Gallus’s face. “If you repeat to anyone what I just said, I will tie your wings up and throw you into the ravine so you can look for the Idol of Boreas, understand?”

“Yes, absolutely.” Gallus said, a little nervous. Grampa huffed, turned around and left him alone with the agents. The student of friendship swallowed nervously, and turned to the sky chariot.

“So. No time to waste, right?”

The agents remained silent. Now that crowd was gone, their faces returned to emotionless masks and they boarded the chariot with him without a word.

The journey took over half a day. When they finally left the borders of Griffonstone, Gallus started wondering where exactly were they going. To the Griffenheim itself? That would take at least two more days to reach. Two days, spent in the sky chariot with mute agents. To be honest, the boredom was already driving him insane. He tried to talk with them once or twice, but they either ignored him or gave him cold stares so he stopped. Hopefully they would get some food soon, he was getting hungry. And thirsty.

At least this gave Gallus a lot of time to think about what should he say about Equestria and his school. It was easy to dismiss Gallus as a brute without much finesse, but it would be like saying that Rainbow Dash is stupid. They were both creatures of action, true, and without their friends they used to be prone to acting quickly and without thinking.

However, they were also both much, much smarter than people gave them credit for. Gallus was definitely not on the level of experience and political knowledge of Starlight Glimmer (who ruled her village for years, and had vast interest in politics) or Ocellus (who lived long enough under Chrysalis to learn way too much about manipulation). But, he would rather like to avoid horrible, bloody war in his home, so he scrambled his brain and focused on everything he could think about that was either important or dangerous.

To his surprise, they landed not far away from the border, in the late evening. Instead of flying to the central regions of the Empire, they instead landed on a hill, close to Angriveran city of Dierhoven. It was a small city, far from capital, but with Angriver being under Imperial control it was still officially under the rule of Gover VI.

In practice, the only sign of overt Imperial presence was a small outpost, with flags of Barony of Angriver and Griffonian Empire waving next to one another. And it was this outpost that Gallus was lead to, with agents around him – in front of him, on both his sides, and behind him, making sure he won’t escape. Not that he had any intention on doing so.

The agents were let into the outpost without any questions by visibly stressed guards standing at the gate of the outpost. To Gallus's surprise, inside the outpost, hidden from prying eyes, were dozens of Imperial soldiers. Armed with highest quality weapons and armor, the steel shining in the sun as it was setting down.

You didn’t need to be a master politician to recognize that these soldiers did not come from here. These were elite Imperial units, probably from capital or one of the main military bases in the Empire. Why were they here? Gallus started to worry now. Was it really the worst case scenario? Were they getting ready for war?

And more important question. How is he going to stop it? He’s just a teenager, for Boreas’s sake! When he attended the School of Friendship, he never expected to be interrogated by Imperial agents on the brink of war!

The guards led him to a small, windowless room. It was mostly dark, with only some magical, smokeless torches around, very old and decrepit. They were shining very weak, red-colored light in the room. Probably a dungeon, now that he thought about it – and it wasn’t a nice thought. The agents stood behind him as he entered it, seeing a small desk in the middle of the room. In front of the desk was a simple chair; on the other side of it was another chair. A griffon sat there, mostly covered by the darkness. Quite theatrical, Gallus thought, trying to remember where he last time saw something like that.

“Ah, young Gallus, is it? Please, sit down.” The griffon said, his voice sounding friendly. However, under the mask of friendliness, Gallus could hear steel. Not a griffon you want to anger, that’s for sure, especially while being on his mercy.

He sat down, nervously, when he finally remembered. Once, during Pinkie Pie’s lesson, Counselor Starlight Glimmer was invited to tell them a little about theatrics like that. To be more specific, she told them about those who use them to cover their own inadequacies.

‘Those who do that are usually doing this only to invoke some emotion in you, or hide their own doubts and fears’, she said. ‘In first case, you need to do nothing but realize it for it to have much smaller effect, if any. It means they believe they need to scare you, intimidate you, to achieve what they want. In the second case, remember that telling this person in their face that you can see through them is unwise. It will only make them angry. It’s better to play along and be subtle then force things like these.’

Thank you, Starlight, he thought sitting down. The thought reminded him of his friends, and he felt his fear alleviate a little. Alright, everyone. I’ll have a story for you when I’m back to school, and you won’t believe me.

“Thank you for coming so quickly. I hope my agents weren’t too… forceful?” The griffon asked. His voice was definitely male, but that was all Gallus could figure out. Nothing pointing out to the age of this person, no specific accent. He was definitely good at hiding.

“Unless we count the fact they almost started fighting entire Griffonstone at once, it was alright.” He answered. Well, he definitely wasn’t Ocellus. Where did his diplomatic skills go? “I’m sorry to say it, but while I have no problem with answering any questions you have, your agents decided to start a public argument with armed griffons and insult them instead.” There, that sounds better. Or at least he hoped so.

“My my, you are quick to criticize His Imperial Ministry of Public Security.” The griffon seemed more amused than annoyed.

“Um, I meant no offense. It’s just that I’d rather not see griffons fighting and killing each other. I’m just a kid, you know?” Gallus tried to fix his mistake. Come on, channel your inner Twilight and be a diplomat, Gallus.

“Sure you are.” The griffon took a piece of paper from a drawer under the table and briefly looked at it. “You are probably wondering why I called you here.”

“To be honest, I am. But, if you have some questions about Equestria or the school, I’ll be happy to answer.”

“Indeed I do. Tell me, Gallus, what do you know about the Equestrian superweapons?”

“Equestrian… superweapons?” Gallus was absolutely confused. What did he mean? Equestria barely had a fighting force, let alone some kind of superweapons.

“Don’t play coy with me, Gallus.” The voice suddenly grew colder. “Equestria defeated multiple enemies with them, usually publicly. We know legends of Sombra’s eternal crystal empire, of the great changeling hive. And tales about Tirek are well known among minotaurs. Almost every time, Equestria defeated those threats without much issue through the use of powerful artifacts. Elements of Harmony, Crystal Heart. And of course, the six mares using them. What do you know about these artifacts?”

“They were the embodiment of friendship, or love for Crystal Heart I guess. I never saw it myself. The elements were destroyed by Sombra when he attacked, and they are gone.” Gallus answered. Why was Empire worried about that?

“And then we have reports that the Elements created an impenetrable crystal castle that resists all hostile divination and teleportation magic, and a second, smaller building that is so well-hidden our agents failed to locate it.” The older griffon took another sheet of paper from the drawer and looked over it. “There is also a matter of Storm King.”

“Storm King? Why are you asking me? I wasn’t even there.” Gallus protested. Part of him wanted to ask how does this griffon know about Twilight's castle and 'hostile' magic - he himself had no idea there were any defenses like that in there - but he wisely decided against it.

“You weren’t, but the six mares using Elements were. And, according to multiple eye witnesses, some of which I asked personally, there were no powerful artifacts involved. Just those six ponies managed to defeat a tyrant who conquered almost entire Zebrica. Master of unnumbered armies, with an airfleet capable of facing any flying opponents. And this powerful tyrant, with magic capable of manipulating weather and creating storms capable of destroying entire fleets and drowning armies was defeated by six ponies. Without any magical artifact. What do you say to that?”

“Umm, luck?” Gallus tried. “Friendship and luck, mostly. They made friends out of some of Storm King’s agents from what I hear, some pirates, Fizzlepop…”

“Fizzlepop?” The older griffon interrupted him.

“Oh, you probably have her as Tempest Shadow. She took this name when she joined him, and dropped it afterwards.” Gallus answered. Her real name was no longer a secret, so he hoped Fizzlepop wouldn't mind.

“I see. So, Gallus, what can you tell us about those incidents? About the superpowered weapons these ponies used to defeat these dangers? You don’t expect me to believe that some songs about friendship could defeat immortal tyrants and powerful wizards?”

Gallus was torn between laughter and fear. Oh, that was good. As worried as he was, if he gets out of this alive – and without causing a war – his teachers are going to have a laugh out of it. “I don’t know what to say, then. It just was. Ponies truly believe that friendship is magic, and it just is. Can’t tell you more. I don’t understand it fully, I’m just a student, you know. I can ask some of our teachers to come and explain it, they are much better at this then me.”

“Oh, no need. My agents were present during the… friendship summit with the Princess. I have a transcript here.” He took another paper out of the drawer. “It is surprisingly similar to what you are telling me.”

“So, you see I’m not hiding anything?” Gallus asked with hope.

“I see that a lot of creatures say the same thing. I am going to be blunt, Gallus. If this ‘friendship’ has powerful magical artifact capable of purging all ‘evil’… how do you know you’re not under its control? After all, there are many powerful magic that allow one to control minds.”

Gallus opened his beak to answer, then hesitated and closed it. He started thinking about it. Very intensively.

For around three seconds.

“Nah.”

The interrogating griffon moved for the first time; a subtle movement, but he seemed surprised for the first time in this conversation. “What do you mean by this?”

“What I said. Nah. It’s not mind control. If it was, we would be getting into far less trouble, I wouldn’t be procrastinating my homework all the time, and the spirit of the Tree wouldn’t have to scare us to help us fight our fears. We would just do what it wants. And speaking of that, our teachers got into their own share of troubles many times. They even wrote a book about it, you know. You should read it.”

“I did. And it was as unreal as adventures of Darling Do. Both are obviously fictional, with such absurd claims. It said that Twilight Sparkle mind-controlled dozens of people, including children and elderly, to create a problem to solve, and wasn’t even punished for it. There was a pony changing into a… vampire, like some old Arcturian tales. And it was very… unflattering to the six Elements. The mares, not artifacts.” This time, the griffon seemed to ask a question with actual curiosity, not malice or indifference. “And what do you mean by scaring you?”

Oh, shoot. Well, he already said so much, he may as well continue. He doubted that specific moment was a state secret, after all Twilight never minded him sharing it with anyone who asked, including Gilda. Besides, he was hoping that both the Tree and Twilight were much more aware of any issues that may arise from it after Cozy and her attack on Equestria.
Although he definitely wasn’t going to mention how Cozy Glow was involved into this. Honesty has its place, but sometimes somegriffons shouldn’t know some things. “It started when we saw a door we haven’t seen before…”

It was a long story, and the older griffon was listening carefully, occasionally asking questions. After Gallus finished, his throat was dry and a little sore from all the talking. “Can I have some water?”

The griffon didn’t move, but Gallus had a feeling he smiled. “Of course. I will make sure someone will bring you water. I think we can take a break. Guards.” He didn’t raise his voice much, but the doors opened – Gallus didn’t even notice they were closed, he was so stressed before – and two guards entered. “Take our guest to his room.”

Gallus went with the guards, going over this conversation in his head. Did he make a mistake? Did he just start a war? Was there anything he could have done better?

The guards left him to the much nicer-looking room. It had two big windows, a desk, and few chairs. It was otherwise empty, and Gallus could only guess its original purpose. When the doors closed behind him, he looked through the windows, noticing there were steel bars put in front of it, making sure no one could use them to get in.

Or out. It seemed he was still a prisoner, for now.

He heard the door opening, and turned around. “Thank you for the water, I’m thristyyyyyy!” He jumped back, flailing his arms, hit his head on the stone wall and fell on the floor in a very undignified position.

In the door, flanked by two guards, was not a servant or even soldier with a glass of water. It was a griffon whom he, and every living being on Gryphus, would recognize.

Grover VI, bearer of so many titles Gallus could never remember a tenth of them. One and only ruler of the Griffonian Empire and its vassals. A griffon who could wave his hand and start a war, if he wanted to.

The Emperor of Gryphus looked at Gallus, who was currently in shock, pain, and confused, and shook his head. “Guards, leave us.” When they looked at him like they wanted to protest, he just pointed at the other griffon in the room – still lying on the floor and holding his head in pain and shock. “I don’t think he is a danger to me right now. Leave his water on the table.”

When Gallus managed to overcome his confusion and slowly got up, the guards were gone – no doubt just behind the door, ready to act if they heard anything suspicious. He wasn’t sure what do to – he never met an Emperor! – so he decided to play it safe and bowed. He had no idea how to do it properly, but he hoped he at least avoided an international scandal.

“You wanted water, didn’t you? Drink and sit with me.” Grover said in a calm, but strong voice. Gallus swallowed nervously and very slowly walked to the desk, first taking a sip of water and then sitting down, to the amusement of the ruler.

“You could have just sat first, and then drink.” There was a spark of humor in the Emperor’s eyes. Now that he could see him up close, Gallus realized he doesn’t remember how old the ruler actually was. But he didn’t look to be far older than him, if not younger. “I take it you had no idea of my presence here?”

“No. I mean, no, your highness.” Gallus quickly corrected himself.

“Good. You can probably imagine that my presence here could draw a lot of unwanted attention from local nobles. And not only.” Grover looked at Gallus, the humor gone from his eyes. He now radiated strength and authority; even though the young student saw Princess Twilight with his own eyes, and she was without doubt much more powerful person in terms of raw strength magic, he was still impressed by the royal aura Grover had. It didn’t feel suffocating and oppressive; still more demanding than that of a Princess, but less than he expected.

He remembered the one lesson given by a visiting Princess Luna in the School once. Strength through terror masks weakness. Grover definitely didn’t feel like someone masking his problems like that. That was probably a good sign.

He was amazed some part of him could think rationally. He was sitting in the presence of Emperor Grover VI, ruler of probably second strongest nation on Equus. He thanked his experiences at school, and adventures with his friends, for helping him prepare for unexpected (and crazy) moments like this.

“I have questions, Gallus.” Grover said simply. “I saw Griffonstone come out of dark age, modernizing, becoming a productive nation. One with quite popular exports, as well, capable of trading for what it doesn’t have. Not a powerful nation… yet. But getting richer and we both know that even small nations can be strong if they are rich. Let alone a nation built over our ancient capital.”

Gallus felt tense. That was it. What will happen now? Demands to become a vassal? Griffonstone surrendering to Empire? Treaties?

“I want to know how it happened and how can I use it to make Empire a better place.”

It took Gallus over a minute to realize his beak was wide open. He closed it instantly and started apologizing, feeling all his fear dissolving into shock. Another one this day. At this rate, his feathers will go grey before he comes back home!

Grover smiled, visibly amused. “I take it you expected bold words of conquest, didn’t you? You see, Gallus, right now Empire is not going to start any war. And it’s not even a secret.”

“W-what?”

“Drink some water. It may help. Right now, the Empire is surrounded. Republicans in the north. Aquillans to the west. River Federation to the east. Wingbardy south. All these neighbors weaker alone, but stronger together. No one wants war, Gallus. We’re not some barbarians who revel in bloodshed. Besides, it is now obvious that this is not the right way.”

“Not… right way?”

“Think, Gallus. Who is the most powerful nation in the world right now? Who defeated Sombra and his empire, Discord who overpowered most powerful mages on Gryphus with ease, and the entire Changeling Lands?
We originally thought that it’s thanks to powerful magical artifacts they possess. But recent events proved otherwise… especially events involving you.”

“Me, you highness?”

“Yes.” Seeing Gallus’s empty face, Emperor sighed. “We know about Cozy Glow, Gallus. You were able to harness this power, the power ponies use to secure their kingdom, despite being a griffon without any magical powers. And now, you use this power to continue what they started and make Griffonstone into a civilized place at an amazing speed. And without Idol of Boreas or any other magic.”

Grover VI, Emperor of Gryphus, looked at Gallus intensively. “I am not blind. This power of friendship allows whole kingdoms to be safe, and makes them powerful, rich, and not overtly dangerous. Only the most aggressive warlords and rulers talk about attacking Equestria. Everyone else considers them to not be a danger, but either neutral, or benevolent power, too strong to be attacked and too friendly to attack anyone. Imagine a world where the Empire is not seen as aggressor, and there are no wars between it and its neighbors. Where everygriffon is living in peace.
I want your help, Gallus, to make that happen. One of my advisors will visit Griffonstone soon, and discuss with you what exactly you and the ponies did there lately, what were your social and economical policies. And when you graduate from this school of friendship I heard so much about… who knows. There may be a place for you in my court, Gallus, of your methods prove to work.”

Gallus was so stunned, he didn’t even noticed Emperor leaving. He didn’t even hear his soldiers leaving, he just sat there, stunned.

He just talked with Grover VI. And he was asking him for advice. HIM. He was just a student! That was way too much. Where is Twilight when you need her? He needed her advice. Right now. And preferably for the rest of his studies at the school. He was no politician, he was Gallus! He’s gonna start a civil war by accident!

Nobody will believe him at home.