//------------------------------// // Part 25 - Boys // Story: The Student from Warpla // by SparkStone //------------------------------// Gallus noticed a tired Valiant resting in his room shortly after returning from his trip with Ocellus. Valiant looks up and greets his blue griffon companion. “Hi Gallus.” “Hey Valiant,” he greets back. “How are you? I heard you’ve been going out for the past three days with the girls.” “I’m doing alright,” Valiant tells him. Gallus couldn’t help but notice Valiant has been exhausted more than usual. This is the same friend who managed to kiss a boy without batting an eye. The past three days has Valiant been on edge, making him curious about the behavior change. He decides to press on the matter. “Are you sure? You don’t look like you’ve been acting yourself. Did the girls do something that made you get so tired these past few days?” “No, I don’t think...” Valiant paused and thought about it some more. To be fair, the symptoms he’s been experiencing and his wandering thoughts have been acting up ever since he began spending time with them. Chewka promised to explain it to him, but perhaps letting Gallus know won’t cause any harm. “Actually, yes. I’ve been getting… well, hotter, for the past three days.” “Hotter?” Gallus repeated. “Like, a fever?” “No, it’s...” Valiant rubbed his chin, not quite sure how to make proper sense of it all. “Lately, when I was spending time with Silverstream, Smolder, and Ocellus, I’ve been getting more excited. In the sense that my emotions would have short spikes.” “Uh huh...” Gallus nodded. “What made you flare up like that?” Valiant held his chin in thought. “I believe there was a time when Silverstream was helping me cough up food that was choking me. When she embraced me to perform the procedure, I felt strange. My head felt warmer...” “Wait… what?” Gallus muttered. “What else made you feel like that?” “I saw Sm- I mean, went with Smolder out the other day and we saw someone else wearing very beautiful clothing. Ocellus also asked me about human females and their body structures which was a very difficult subject to discuss.” Gallus looked at Valiant with knowing eyes staring right at him. ‘Was he serious?’ Gallus wondered. ‘Am I going to have to talk to him about birds and bees? I guess I should have expected this since he’s kind of clueless about that kind of stuff, but still!’ Gallus didn’t want to be the one to explain the whole concept to Valiant, especially since he should have already had the talk back then. Then again, Valiant didn’t have a family to grow up with to explain it to him. Perhaps the place he was raised didn’t offer that kind of basic knowledge growing up to him. Of course, there’s the matter of when Valiant will have to learn all of this. He turns to Valiant, about to give him the talk. But something stops him. Gallus didn’t want to scar him for life like how his own life went. He needed to be tactful, but most of all, he needed Valiant to be relaxed with his own peers. This may be something ridiculous, but right now, it makes sense to have Valiant be relaxed and happy. “Boys night out!!” Spike announced happily. The young dragon, Sandbar, Gallus, and Valiant stood in the lights of Manehattan as they marched forward to really soak in the city vibes. “It was really cool of you to get just us to hang out,” Sandbar told Gallus. The blue griffon leaned over to his pony friend and said, “Yeah, just don’t forget that Valiant kind of needs this to ease up a little. He’s going through a… phase.” “I know, I know,” Sandbar assured him. “But man, I knew he was clueless about some stuff. But that?” “Where are we heading?” Valiant wondered. “Well, I heard the Little Las Pegasus here has a ton of stuff we can do there!” Spike suggested. “Isn’t that for adults?” Sandbar commented. “I mean, would they really let kids in?” “There’s not just stuff for kids,” Spike assured him. “There’s a spa, an arcade, and a food court around the world!” “Silverstream isn’t gonna be upset with you again for eating out without her, is she?” Gallus half-joked. “We discussed it last time, and she seems to be forgiving of me,” Valiant assures him. “Alright! But before we go, we have to look our best!” Spike declared. The group were visiting a tailor who made very nice formal attires. Gallus, Sandbar, and Spike were being measured for their clothing to be made. Valiant, who already had a suit ready, was browsing through the shop and noticed a variety of dresses, including one made for a bipedal like him. “Do we really need these suits?” Gallus questioned. “Come on man! It’ll be good to get into the spirit of things!” Sandbar told him. “Besides, you need to be dressed to attend the Dune star Cultural exchange,” Valiant reminded them. “So it would be best to get used to them.” “Wait, we do!?” Gallus responded with shock. “Well, I don’t know about you guys, but I’m totally used to stuff like this,” Spike said somewhat smugly. “It’s fun to look this good!” Valiant grinned at Spike’s behavior as he paid for the clothing. When he did, he looked to the dress and decided to purchase it as well for Smolder. “Can you wrap this one in a present box? I intend to give it as a gift.” “Oh! I hope your special human likes it!” The tailor told him, thinking that the bipedal-designed dress was for a human. Valiant merely smiled at him before the boys left for Little Las Pegasus. Since they were going someplace pretty fancy, they decided to go all out even further by getting a ride. A sleek white carriage with purple cushioning and snacks inside. Valiant was simply letting Gallus and Sandbar take the reins of their purchases since they were the ones who decided on this Boy’s night out. He wasn’t really clear on why they decided to do this, but Valiant wasn’t opposed to the idea. He spent so much time with most of the girls that he thought it’d be nice to spend some time with the guys this time around. Upon arrival at Little Las Pegasus, the carriage ponies opened the door to let out the four gentleman creatures and view the gorgeous, albeit smaller version of Las Pegasus. It’s strewn with lights beaming up and sounds of many ponies having a grand old time. As most of them head to the casinos, the boys head towards the arcade. They look around to see arcade cabinets lined up against the wall with screens shining out to them. Various minigames like skee ball and balloon darts were scattered about in the arcade with ponies their age playing them. Many of these kids were dressed with hats on hats and t-shirts that look like one of the prizes from the arcade’s shop. “These prizes are intriguing,” Valiant pointed out the colorful merch ranging from t-shirts to eye-catching toys. “That stuff is at the kiddie level,” Spike told Valiant. He points his claw up higher to the shelves above and said, “This is the good stuff you wanna aim for!” Valiant squinted his eyes at one of the prize’s ticket conditions. “How difficult would it be to obtain Fifty thousand tickets?” “We’re just here to have some fun, guys!” Sandbar reminded the two. “We’ll check out the prizes after we play some games,” Gallus suggested. With that quickly settled, the boys hung around the arcade to play around. Valiant showed excellent scoring in the skee ball game once he was quickly explained how to do it. Tickets started to erupt from the machine. They move their fun over to the arcade machines where Gallus and Sandbar went one on one in some sort of competitive game. When Spike and Valiant were at the controls, Valiant had a hard time understanding the concept, letting Spike easily snag victory from the bewildered human boy. The balloon darts went as well as they expected from Valiant, easily popping balloons, even the ones that were rigged. Valiant was having a good time with the guys. The way they cheered for him for playing a couple games. It was a far better game than their slumber party games. They had a good time too, but their pleasant activities weren't enough to accrue the necessary tickets. They racked up about a thousand tickets, far from any of the really good prizes. “Well, that’s a bust,” Spike sighed as he turned away from the prize shelf and to the students. “Anything you want from the prize shelf?” “Well, since it’s Valiant’s first time, he should pick something for himself,” Sandbar suggested. “Are you sure?” Valiant looked to the boys, and received the okay to do so. He looked back to the prizes to see what he could possibly want. None of them stood out to appeal to his tastes. However, he did find something that would make a decent gift. Some sort of scope that had images similar to that of stained glass. He thought that a certain changeling might find it interesting as well. The kaleidoscope was exchanged for his winnings and the boys moved on to the next part of the Little Las Pegasus. The boys arrive at the massive segment of restaurants serving all kinds of food. Rice, pasta, burgers, pizzas, noodles, and so on. Valiant eyes some interesting treats being scanned by Sandbar. They were various cheesecakes that had fruity decorations and colorful syrup, almost enough variety of colors to make a brand new kind of rainbow. Sandbar bought two and had them wrapped up. “You’re not eating them?” Valiant wondered. “Nah, I’m planning to give this to Yona,” he explained. “Yona didn’t have a lot of chances to go out and try new food, so I’m bringing some desserts I think she’ll like.” “Hmm… That’s a good idea,” Valiant stated. “I was planning to do the same.” “For Silverstream?” “How did you know?” Valiant wondered, raising his eyebrow. “I mean… isn’t it obvious?” Sandbar spoke before holding his mouth. Valiant looked to the side, thinking about that comment. What should have been obvious about it? Perhaps it was all of the times they spent eating out. He and Silverstream go out eating together a lot. “Uuuh, I mean, hey, is there anything you want to eat?” Sandbar said, trying to have him think about something else. “Oh, Um… I suppose the ‘fry anything’ looks interesting,” Valiant pointed to the shop with the chef frying a kebab of carrots, broccoli, potatoes, licorice, and cheese into the fryer. He pulls out the fried abomination and gives it to Spike who chomps away at the deranged treat. Sandbar flinched upon seeing that ludicrous combination. The boys had a good night spending time together at the Little Las Pegasus. What way to finish off a night of games and junk food than a nice dip into the spa. The boys entered the shop and approached the counter to talk to the clerk. She guided them to the room where they can leave their belongings and disrobe. After stripping off and locking up their belongings in a locker, they went for one of the spa tubs, free of strangers. The boys rested in the warm bath as it soothes their aching feet. It was quite a walk, but the day went by smoothly and kindly to all of them, especially for Valiant. Gallus looked to see him almost napping in the pool. A rare site considering this is one of the only students in their group who can stay up to do homework after a day of walking about. “Pretty nice, huh?” Sandbar commented. “Yes, truly relaxing,” Valiant nodded. “You know, compared to the time I swam in lava, this is kinda lukewarm,” Spike thought. “Still nice though.” “I’ve never swam in lava before.” “Uh, that’s cause you’d get burned alive, Valiant,” Gallus retorted. “Oh, by the way Valiant!” Spike called out as he looked at his body. “What’s with all of those doodles on you?” “These are markings that have given me abilities that humans don’t normally possess on their own.” “Right, okay then,” Spike nodded. “Also, why did you wear speedos here?” “Because I don’t want to get naked,” Valiant explained. “Yeah, don’t even bother trying to get him to think otherwise,” Gallus warned the little dragon. “Human culture and stuff.” “But you never go in the nude?” Spike questioned. “It’s just kind of… weird. Humans always, always wear something?” “Not all of the time,” Valiant answered. “Private quarters and special occasions.” “Like what?” “Well… Such as when a person is with someone they love.” The three of them stared at Valiant making a grossed expression. The annoyed human responded, “You asked!” in quick reaction. The boys laughed and continued the conversation. “Someone you love, huh?” Spike wondered. “Do you have anyone you love?” Gallus couldn’t help but think of Snowy Trails when asked the question. He coughed into his talon, at the same time Sandbar happened to whistle away on the subject. “I don’t think I ever loved anyone before in that sense,” Valiant stated. “Do you know what it feels like?” “Oh yeah!” Spike said, remembering the feeling so easily. “Your heart’s beating, your head feels light, and you can’t help but be mesmerized by her~” “That sounds like serious ailments.” “Nah, it’s a great feeling,” Spike sighed. “Being around Rarity is fun too.” “Rarity? As in, Professor Rarity?” “Yeah, we do a lot of stuff together. Sometimes we go mining for gems or helping her with some designs at the boutique!” “That sounds like what friends would do too.” “You’re not getting it, aren’t you?” Spike pointed out. “How about you guys? Do you have any wisdom for your dear friend?” “Um, well...” Gallus spoke, trying to find the words for it. “You kind of… do things with them because that itself makes you happy?” “Yeah, like if someone you like is happy, you also feel very happy too,” Sandbar adds. “Do you two have experience?” Valiant wondered. “Errrr,” Sandbar stuttered. “Well, I… heard about it.” “Uh huh...” Valiant muttered, unconvinced by Sandbar’s claim. “I feel the same way about friends though. Making you and the others happy has given me joy as well. I don’t know if I can say that I have found you all attractive.” “That’s fair,” Gallus shrugged. “What I mean is, when you do stuff with some pony you love, you get a weird happy feeling. Like butterflies in your stomach, or feeling warm when they’re close by.” Sandbar added. “Butterflies in the stomach?” Valiant spoke, thinking about that symptom. He took a moment to ponder at that. As he looked back at his previous experiences with the girls, he noticed something. The feeling of butterflies or warmth, the desire to make them happy, and even the gifts Valiant had just bought from today alone. Valiant wondered why his heart had been feeling this way. Why such emotions that have remained dormant and unknown to him suddenly spike all at once. How did his mind turn to this? The heat from the spa had him nearly pass out from his thoughts going into overdrive. Gallus noticed this and got the others to help him out. Valiant and the boys returned after a fun night out. After everyone returned to their rooms, Valiant was lying on his bed and staring up at the ceilings. He never had thought about love or to find someone he resonated with. His mind drifts to the only ones who triggered this response: Silverstream, Smolder, and Ocellus. Was he interested in them? There’s still so much he doesn’t know, especially why it happened now of all times. Valiant knew one thing however. He didn’t want to hurt any of them. He prays that only he has these feelings so that he would not have to break anyone’s heart. His sleep was difficult that night.