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“Why don’t ya have a cutie mark!?” the small yellow filly screamed, drawing the attention of several other ponies.

“Rarity said that everypony gets a cutie mark when they grow up!  What if she’s wrong?  What if we never get a cutie mark?” a white unicorn filly lamented as tears began to appear in her eyes.

Seeing the brewing tension Gallus galloped over to the fillies and began to try and console them.  “You mean my… uh… emblem right?  I…  uh…”  His eyes darted back and forth until they settled on Gilda.  “I used to be griffon!” he blurted out.  The three fillies stared at him in shock, but seemed to calm down slightly.  “And emblems are only gotten when you… realize your talent or use it a lot and have fun with it right?  You can’t get one with magic, so when I was turned into a unicorn they couldn’t give me a mark!”  A mad desperation glinted in his eyes as he prayed harder than he ever had before that the little fillies in front of him would buy his ruse.

“Why would you want to be a unicorn if you were a griffon? Why not become a pegasus so you could still fly around and be awesome and stuff?” the orange one demanded.

Damn it!  Gallus’s mind kicked into overdrive as he tried to figure out what sort of answer the angry looking filly would accept.  “My… wings never worked… and I always wanted to know… what it was like to use magic.”

“But Damien uses magic all the time and he’s a griffon,” the white one pointed out.

“Damien is a cheater and a sneak,” Gallus grumbled, not having to fake his tone for the first time since starting his conversation with the foals.  Far too late he caught himself and began to worry whether or not he had said the right thing.  Relief surged through him as he saw the three fillies nod solemnly.  Apparently they had dealt with the usurper before.

http://www.fimfiction.net/story/8553/27/retired-to-equestria/of-tours-and-tribulations