A Mother's Fears

And at long last, we’re here: The Gallus/Ocean Flow scene. And of course, it gets a whole chapter dedicated to it!

I feel it best to begin by reiterating how Ocean Flow’s beach-side tirade was the very first thing ever conceptualized regarding the Mount Aris arc, becoming fully realized thanks to Great White Prime’s suggestions.

That concept was a relatively simple one: Ocean Flow didn’t want Silverstream to date Gallus for reasons stemming from motherly concern and fear. But what caused that, I asked myself. What could Gallus have possibly done to cause Ocean to so thoroughly disapprove of his and Silver’s relationship?

A question I hadn’t yet fully resolved until writing the first of Ocean’s letters during the Griffonstone chapters where I was finally forced to confront the question of why she wouldn't support Gallus-Stream. Thankfully, it didn’t take long to settle on an answer, especially since the Smolder subplot required asking similar.

It wasn’t Gallus who Ocean feared. He was merely the scapegoat; her real fears lied in Silver being in Ponyville at near-constant risk of death by Ponyville’s, well, Ponyville-ness.

As she said earlier, Twilight couldn’t keep Silverstream safe from a filly. So how could Ocean trust Gallus could keep her safe from that same filly, her two not-adopted parents, and whatever other monsters that frequent Ponyville?

But then that raised two far more important questions:

#1) Why would Ocean Flow be so afraid for Silver’s safety now?

And #2) Why would she direct those feelings toward Gallus?

The answers, we’ll soon discuss, but firstly, like Smolder before her, Ocean Flow has not been present nearly so kindly, so let's get her some better characterization!

What better way than through opening on her perspective and showing it’s been a while since the beach blowout. So long in fact, that seaweed loaf of hers is now finished and untouched, showing show Ocean has been sulking this entire time.

The family pictures are waterproofed because they’d realistically need to be; how the seaponies waterproof anything is anyone’s guess. And of course she’d have pictures; being underwater and divorced doesn’t mean she no longer wants anything to do with her family—the exact opposite. Plus, in canon, she has baby pictures of Terramar, so her having photos was pre-established anyway.

Unfortunately, I’m a firm believer in kicking a character when they’re down—as proven by Silver’s arc—and the pictures presented the perfect opportunity to do so.

It was a photo of her and her family back when they were hippogriffs and long before the Storm King’s assault.

They all looked happy.

Silverstream looked happy…

Ahh, those good old days… When she and Sky were together, and things were simpler, devoid of monster attacks and mad tyrants. Back when her children were genuinely, undeniably happy…

Maybe it was cruel to have her look at them, but then, she was cruel to Gallus. But at least, now she finally recognizes:

“Oh, Ocean… You idiot,” she groaned rebukingly.

Which in tandem with:

“Novo,” she called out, turning toward the door. “If you’re here to yell at me too, just go away. I already know I screwed…” Ocean hushed when, rather than her sister, Terramar and Gallus swam into view. “Up.”

Clues us in to her understanding exactly what she did wrong, truly regretting it. And while that’s not yet worth much, it proves she’s willing to accept her own mistakes before she even begins apologizing for them.

Not that she’s about to begin apologizing yet; the scapegoat and her son just entered completely unannounced, so how else could she react but defensively? And while Gallus is merely exasperated he has to deal with that, Terramar is further incensed, and he was already mad enough to oh so subtly remark, “You’re not the one who needs to apologize, Gallus.”

Terry’s role was to simply get Gallus to Ocean then get out. Nothing more.

But how exactly would Terry react to everything Gallus would have had to tell him happened? Well, plot had a suggestion: He already had to get kicked out of the scene for Gallus and Ocean to have the room, so why not play into that? Thus, his reaction became “Too mad at his mom to bother talking to her directly.” So he focuses on confirming Gallus will be okay before reassuring he’ll be outside should Gallus need either support or a fast getaway swimmer.

But with Terramar gone, Gallus and Ocean Flow are left entirely alone…

First thought was to have Gallus be the one to initiate the conversation, beginning with a rougher, yet rather similar version of the upcoming “You don’t like me” dialogue. However, not only did it feel more appropriate to have Ocean be the one to speak first, I felt T.B.O.L. Gallus would prefer letting her begin anyway to not accidentally overstep any boundaries(Same reason he went along with Ocean sending him, Starry, and Salina away earlier).

Second thought was to have Ocean be afraid of Gallus somehow, but the age difference made the notion completely implausible.

How then to get Ocean to start the conversation proper? At present, it made more sense for her to continue automatically assuming the worst of him: That he hadn’t come to rebuke her, but rather to rub it in her face how horribly she had self-sabotaged.

That is when I allow Gallus to have his “And you don’t like that I’m dating your daughter.” spiel. I already had too high of a word count, so I couldn’t afford the two spending half the section dancing around actually sitting down and talking.

Enough was enough, so Gallus forgoes his “Must make sure Ocean likes me!” behavior and gets straight to the point: Ocean doesn’t like him, and he wants to know why. But he’s at the end of his character arc, so his development has him acknowledge that, even if Ocean’s disapproval hurts, that doesn’t make her feelings invalid, nor would he ever pretend otherwise. Such an act would be downright cruel, and as he mentions himself: That’s Cozy’s job.

But as he also explains, even if Ocean doesn’t approve of him, he wants to understand why. Both because it’s the question that’s plagued Silver this entire arc, and because if he can, he wants to work on it and become someone she could approve of.

Now, how exactly would Ocean react to all this? Simple: She’s dumbfounded. Because here her scapegoat is, yet he shows far more maturity here than she ever has, comforting her of all things.

Though partly to keep the brisk pace, it’s also to give Ocean a good slap in the face reagrding how horrendously incorrect her perceptions of Gallus were—So much so, she can’t help but openly admit she’s been awful to him and ask why he’d be so kind in return.

“Because you’re Silverstream’s mother. And you’re important to her,” he explained as if it were obvious.

Such a small moment, but powerful nonetheless. Powerful enough to finally make some headway with Ocean.

But after some realistic stalling—Naturally, Ocean wouldn’t be able to articulate her feelings immediately—she gets yet another dose of good characterization. So far, she’s acknowledged she was acting terribly, but this was predominantly for helping lead you, the audience, into empathizing with her more easily. But now, she pointedly begins by apologizing, which Gallus doesn’t hesitate to forgive her for.

So that’s taken care of, but mere hurtful words aren’t why Gallus is here. But neither is his species or orphan-hood, yet he still asks if those are the source of her dislike.

He was wasn't originally going to ask her about that, but upon a re-edit, I realized I had already made it a point to have Gallus fret over it. And it was Great White Prime’s suggestion that his orphan-hood would earn him some ire, if nothing else. So I slipped this in here to get those concerns resolved, and it was to an even greater benefit since it allowed me to have Ocean confirm she cares more for who a creature is than what.

Great characterization for her, especially this exchange:

“Heh. Silverstream is the same way, you know,” he said, smiling slightly.

“Of course she is. Sky Beak and I raised our children right,” she proclaimed proudly.

But then, if racism isn't the problem, then why does she hate him?

“I don’t hate you!” she swore, aghast by the accusation. “Really, Mr. Gallus, I don’t. You’re her friend; I know you care for her.”

“Aghast by the accusation” is there to convey her emotions on the matter; to be accused of something so vile as legitimately hating another—her daughter’s boyfriend no less!—pains Ocean, as it would all seaponies and hippogriffs. Furthermore, Gallus was Silver’s friend before he became her boyfriend, so obviously Ocean would know they genuinely care for each other. But as Gallus addresses:

If you know I care for her, why do you think she’s not safe with me?”

Ain’t no mercy for Ocean here, I’m afraid. She can’t even get away with something as minor as calling Gallus merely Silver’s friend and not boyfriend—Bonus points for Gallus noting that.

But yes, Ocean knew Gallus cared for Silver, so not only are her actions even more deplorable, but Ocean’s “Silver isn’t safe with him” belief is made even more nonsensical.

And after Ocean struggles again to explain her emotions, Gallus comforts her and encourages her to take her time.

Might as well take time myself here to acknowledge the one part of this scene I don’t like: Gallus is a pseudo-audience insert. Meant purely to prod a backstory out of Ocean, with only the most basic of remarks made in reaction to it. It isn’t until he talks about Silverstream or defends himself more fervently does he start feeling like a character reacting to Ocean Flow rather than an interrogator/plot device.

“We went to the Everfree…” is probably the most standout example of this issue, but it's ultimately a minor thing, and one that’s entirely drowned out in the quality of Ocean’s backstory.

Moving on, after sneaking another glance at her family photo, Ocean seemingly out-of-nowhere admits she didn’t want Silver attending the Friendship School.

“A-After everything that— That— That wretched ape put us through!” she spat out virulently. “I didn’t want my family to leave Seaquestria. W-We’re safe down here, you see? We… We were safe,” Ocean repeated shakily.

Here’s a question for you guys: Did Seaquestria exist before the Storm King invaded?

I’d like to think it did, given the Pearl’s significance to them, but considering “Surf and/or Turf” established the Pearl-pieces were made only after they could return to the surface…? That implies they didn’t exist before, meaning nogriff/nopony had their own personal means of transforming. Which only makes sense if no one ever needed to transform since everyone was a hippogriff at that point, only becoming seaponies to escape the Storm King.

But that raises another question: If everygriff was forced to become an entirely different species against their will, then wouldn’t they all be ecstatic to return to the surface? No matter how used they got to Seaquestria, wouldn’t everyone always subconsciously know it wasn’t their true home?

But then, “Surf and/or Turf” also confirmed that, no, not everyone was ecstatic to go back. Half the population had chosen to remain as seaponies. There are any number of reasons why this was the case, but let’s talk about Ocean’s reasons.

What Ocean Flow says is meant to imply she remained in Seaquestria out of fear. Fear it wasn’t safe for her and her family to live on the surface andnever would be again. Being confined to the water—To the point she couldn’t even go after her fleeing daughter—was worth it and all the lost freedoms so long as it meant she, her family, and her fellows were absolutely safe from outside harm.

This was all too perfect to not incorporate into Ocean’s character.

It showcased more of the Storm King’s lasting effects, and added a more complex undertone to the existence of Seaquestria as a whole. It also added a more positive, though bittersweet element to the seaponies, considering they were able to find happiness and fulfillment despite the horrifying reasons behind their first becoming seaponies.

Ironic I say that—I was terrified this would accidentally imply all seaponies remained as such out of fear. The last thing I wanted was to say half a kingdom deliberately forced themselves to stay trapped in a glorified aquatic prison, in bodies they may not have even liked. Not by choice. Not by preference. But because of some malignant form of learned helplessness and paranoia they’d fall victim to invasion again.

Those were Ocean’s reasons for staying a seapony, and while they’re not unique to her, she is far from the precedent. Case in poitn: Salina being so perky instead of shy, her and Stratus hooking up without issue, Seaquestria being as vibrant as Hippogriffia, and Silverstream loving both halves of her identity and culture.

As is obvious, I overcame my concerns regarding this because of the single biggest advantage it afforded: It was a massive narrative parallel.

Here Silverstream was, wasting herself away, terrified for Gallus’ well-being throughout the the story, only to finally overcome it.

And then there’s Ocean Flow… Who never overcame her fears. From the moment she entered Seaquestria to now, she’s been wasting away, trying to make the best of her life yet forever burdened by her own lingering paranoia, and look at what it’s led to...

Just one of her paranoia's consequences concerns the circumstances behind Silver attending the Friendship School. More specifically, Ocean adamantly opposed it, but had to grin and bear it as everyone else in her life overruled her, including her husband—the one who should have been as concerned for Silver’s safety as she had been.

So yeah. There’s one more reason why they couldn’t make it work.

As uncertain as he was about where this conversation was going, Gallus took comfort in the fact Ocean Flow was actually talking to him at all.

Which is code for: Please give me(and Ocean) some patience, people; you’ll understand her reasoning momentarily.

“Ohhh boy. Here we go…”

Which is code for: Brace yourselves, it’s time for Ocean’s backstory! And hoo boy, what a loaded backstory it is!

“‘We are extending our hoof in invitation to all creatures so they may come and learn all about the value and importance of friendship,’” Ocean mockingly recited. “‘And we’d ever so love it if you could provide a student to act as a representative for your kingdom.’” She rolled her eyes, murmuring, “As if somehow ponies were the only creatures who knew how to be friendly to one another…”

How Twilight convinced the other nations to provide a student wasn’t a question that needed answering, but I’m glad I got the chance to answer it anyway. Especially with how I handled its wording: It’s polite enough to not be offensive, but as Ocean pointed out, it’s also presumptuous for Twilight to believe other creatures NEED to attend her school or else never know or understand basic friendship. Never did like that particular implication…

As a bonus, it further enforced that background distrust Ocean had for Twilight implied during the beach blowout.

After vowing to never discuss Griffonstone with Ocean Flow, Gallus divulged, “We got the same message. But I’m guessing you didn’t take it that well, huh?”

Simply Gallus continuing the conversation along.

“Clever griff… Er? Clever seapony,” she corrected, drawing out a snicker from Gallus.

Another moment to help better Ocean’s overall portrayal; after all, who was the last adult to call Gallus a “Clever griffon”?

Once my niece learned of the letter, she wasted no time telling Silverstream, and she practically exploded in excitement over the chance of going to Equestria and meeting new creatures.”

And now’s where we begin addressing why Silver went and not Skystar. The obvious reason is Skystar’s voice actress, but we’re talking about the in-universe reason.

“Well, I didn’t want her to!” Ocean barked. “I didn’t want her to leave. Or— Or to get hurt… But since we all agreed Terry was too young, it was either Silverstream or Skystar.”

And here Ocean’s anger peaks again through how emphatic her dialogue tag is—and it’s only one word too! Not my usual shtick of overly pretentious verb + overly long adverbial phrase.

More importantly, it explains away Terramar not attending the school either: He is indeed the little brother. But that leaves the question:

None of the other seaponies or hippogriffs were interested in the offer?”

“Oh, there were some. But Novo didn’t want to send anyone else until she knew for certain they’d be safe. Which was why she—like me—didn’t want her daughter to go either. And since my sister is the Queen, you can tell which of us got their way,” she sneered, voice dripping with spite.

So that’s two questions answered: Why other hippogriff/seapony characters didn’t go, and why Skystar didn’t either. And it’s fittingly enough due to Novo sharing her sister’s fears. Both for the safety of her people and her daughter. Unfortunately, despite Ocean being more paranoid than Novo, the latter is the Queen. And it’s with no shortage of bitterness, Ocean acknowledges that as the sole reason Novo got her way.

Luckily for Ocean, Gallus is quite the kind griffon.

Gallus winced sympathetically. “Sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing? It wasn’t your fault,” she mollified. Ocean Flow then looked away, recognizing, “It wasn’t anyone’s fault. I’d have done the same thing if I were the elder sister.”

“Still, I’m sorry you had to go through all of that.”

“Well? Thank you for your condolences,” she thanked, giving him a soft smile. “But what’s in the past is in the past. Silver was going to Equestria, and that was final. I-I just had to accept that.”

Gallus apologizing to the grieving mother, only to have her stamp out any need for apologies. It’s a nice parallel between now and when Ocean defended Silver against her own self-reprimands earlier.

Furthermore, Ocean admits she’d have done the same thing in Novo’s position, showing there’s no true bad blood between the sisters over the situation, even if Ocean would love nothing more than to give Novo a good smack all the same. Plus, it also discreetly confirms she’s the younger of the two, explaining why Novo’s the Queen.

Gallus still gives his condolences, though, because he's a sweetheart. But as he says next:

“It couldn’t have been easy,” he commented, stifling another reflexive apology.

Both a lead-in to the next portion of the backstory dump, while also carrying some nice characterization for Gallus via the dialogue tag: Him wanting to apologize again, but not, due to Ocean’s words moments prior.

“It wasn’t. So you can imagine how relieved I was to learn that Neighsay fellow closed the Friendship School not one day later.” Ocean hesitated a moment before adding, “And then you can also imagine how terrified I was when Silverstream didn’t immediately come home.”

I love this. Both because Neighsay got some plot relevance again, and because I got to circle back to something seemingly as insignificant as the Student Six’s impromptu Everfree foray and give it plot relevance too. Because, yeah, a child disappearing into a monster haven would be terrifying to any parent, especially Ocean Flow. Made worse by:

“Yep. Rather than come home to her family, my daughter ran off to spend the rest of her life living in a monster-filled forest with a bunch of creatures she had only just met,”

She's not wrong. Silver barely knew the others at the time, yet she took off into the Everfree regardless. But while I wanted to acknowledge the realism of how Silver fled into a monster-filled forest with a bunch of almost-strangers, I wasn’t about to truly condemn the act. Thus, Gallus’ line:

“Yeaaah. In hindsight, that was really dumb of us. But it wasn’t like we were gonna just leave each other! Not… Not when we just became friends.”

Acknowledging the incident was indeed dumb of them, while defending the action overall. I do lament not adding extra emphasis to this line via a dialogue tag. I didn't want every single line to have a cumbersome tag, and since I couldn’t think of anything fitting for this line, I left it tagless; although, I pointedly included the exclamation mark, hoping at least that conveyed the emphasis.

Ocean at least understands why they traversed the Everfree, despite it worsening her paranoia. She also admits to something far more important:

Silver wanted to stay there,” she said weakly. “She wanted to stay in Ponyville. And most importantly, she wanted to stay with her friends.”

Which of course gets a smile out of Gallus.

It’s also where we begin performing plot-hole cleanup, starting with our newest question: If Ocean was so worried for Silver’s safety, why did she let her leave at all? Yes, she only did so after Sky and Novo basically forced her to accept the decision but she did ultimately cave. Sooo…? What then?

Before we address that, I couldn’t resist letting Gallus interject:

“As, um, as sorry as I am you went through all that junk?” Gallus spoke up, still smiling. “I’m really glad you let Silverstream stay.”

“Oh, I know you are,” she said, shooting him a sly smirk.

And as humorous as that response is, there are two reasons this happens:

#1) Gallus almost got screwed over during this scene in the dialogue department. All that happened initially was Ocean's backstory dump. What dialogue he did have was more audience surrogate prodding to keep Ocean talking. So, on a later re-edit, I endeavored to give Gallus as many extra lines as I could. This was one of them.

I also tried making these lines be Gallus adding his own commentary to the conversation as opposed to blankly reacting to Ocean’s dialogue.

And #2) To continue the development of Ocean’s opinion of Gallus.

Getting back to the plot-hole cleanup, what exactly do I mean by that? Simple: As discussed way-back-when, I wished to adhere to canon as best I could, and that was the case even now. As such, “Surf and/or Turf” is canon to T.B.O.L.—no duh.

But Ocean appeared in that episode, devoid of any paranoia. That’s naturally because this is a fanfiction, but nevertheless. Her appearance there was canon, so I had to explain why her demeanor then was so starkly different to her demeanor now. Thus:

“Thankfully, it became far easier as time went on. Silverstream was… Oh, Gallus, she was so happy over there!” she rejoiced.

Which is pretty much the perfect explanation, but as if I’m going to settle for that alone.

My word, the letters she sent!” Ocean exclaimed blissfully. “She loved everything. Painting, singing in Drama Club; taking a shower…” she listed off.

Putting aside the “Hey, guys, don’t worry! I remember Silverstream’s canon personality is more upbeat!” aspect of this scene--My goodness, it’s so adorable! Silver’s mom and sweetie are finally in the same room, coming to terms with each other, and talking about her… There was no chance they wouldn’t gush about Silverstream eventually!

It was also going to be a full two lines shorter, but on a re-edit, I wanted Gallus to have to praise his girlfriend more, so I slipped the plumbing manual and cupcake lines in, capping off with the stairs comments because every story with Silver in it has to feature a stairs joke.

“Speaking of her letters, did Sky Beak show you any? I assume he would since it was his turn to have them.”

This is perhaps my favorite line regarding the divorce element since it’s the subtlest.

“And you’re gonna love them. They’re so adorable, and sweet, and wonderful…”

“Like Silverstream herself,” he praised merrily.

“Like Silverstream herself,” she concurred.

What an absolutely heartwarming moment. One which spotlights Ocean’s current feelings toward Gallus. Sadly, however amicable those feelings now are, they don’t account for all her feelings regarding him…

“Those letters helped a lot,” Ocean whispered after some time. “For the first time in years, my daughter wasn’t just surviving. She was living!” she celebrated, shooting a joyful smile at her family picture once more. “She was learning about the world, making new friends; having fun…”

Ocean looked back at him, her smile drooping but not fading. “I couldn’t take her away from that. I’m her mother, so a part of me was always worried for her… But who cares? For once in far, far too long my daughter could explore the world, and she loved every second of it.” She shrugged. “So what if your teachers took you on that dumb field trip into the Everfree, or that draconequus threw a temper tantrum at Headmare Starlight? Silverstream was happy. And that was all I could ask for.”

Behold! The full explanation why Ocean’s paranoia hadn’t been an issue until midway through T.B.O.L.

And as a bonus, we even get references to some of the worst episodes of Season Eight. And how even other creatures in-universe look back on those incidents with disdain. Because you can bet Ocean Flow(And by extension, Sky Beak and Novo) would have some rather choice words for that aforementioned draconequus and his temper tantrums.

But as I have Gallus realize:

There was very obviously a “but” coming, and Gallus bit his lip in anticipation of it.

And who else could that “but” refer too?

“But then the filly happened.”

“The saviors of Equestria, the slayers of the Storm King, and the ponies I trusted to keep my daughter safe and sound… And they were duped by a child,” she growled, flicking her tail angrily.

After the Season Eight finale, I remember some fandom discourse regarding “How did Cozy do everything she did when she’s barely older than the CMC?” And while answers ranged from Tirek’s tutelage to Cozy secretly being Chrysalis… The answer was plot. We all know it.

Nevertheless, it inspired this aspect of Ocean’s concerns—So much so, I needed to re-edit the dialogue to be less a direct copy/paste of it, and more Ocean in-universe expressing those concerns. One such edit was this exchange:

“To be fair, would you have thought the punk was a world-ending psychopath?”

Ocean Flow let out a loud, bubbly huff, reluctantly conceding, “No. I wouldn’t have.”

But that doesn't exactly help matters when:

you all almost died in the process.”

Aw yeah, baby! It was time to parallel the Smolder/Gallus conversation! But rather than being from the perspective of someone who lived through all the super-villain shenanigans, we’re seeing the story from that of their immediate family. And you know what that means!

My daughter… My daughter had to save the world,” Ocean chirped in a cracked voice. “And she almost died doing it, along with you and your other friends.”

“But we didn’t—”

“You could have, and that’s all that matters,” she cut him off curtly. “For goodness’ sake, Gallus, the Tree of Harmony had to save you! An ancient, unknowable god-tree had to rescue all of you because no one else had been there to save you,” she acknowledged, suppressing a terrified shiver.

“Oh, but you see,” Ocean Flow rambled on before he could respond. “I was the one in the wrong. I was the one being a needless worry-wort. You and your friends had saved Equestria, so everything was okay in the end. Tch, as long as the day was saved, it didn’t matter how close you all came to dying! Nor did it matter I almost had to plan a funeral for my own daughter,” she whimpered, wiping her eyes despite her tears already mixing into the surrounding water.

Such a darkly beautiful moment. It’s not just that Silver almost died saving the world, it’s that she had to save the world at all. Where were the real heroes? The Elements, the Princesses; the Pillars of yore?

Stuck in a glorified animal shelter, struggling to open a door.

Sitting in Canterlot doing nothing until after the day had already been saved.

And written out of the plot, lest they’d solve the conflict in under ten minutes.

Thus, here’s Silver and her merry band of friends having to apprehend a demon child, only to need the Tree of Harmony to swoop in and Deus Ex Machina them out of a black hole.

How exactly is any parent supposed to react to that?

It gets worse when you realize, if Cozy had succeeded, Ocean likely wouldn’t have even been able to attend the funeral, considering she’d be trapped underwater, the Pearl no longer functioning.

“Oh Grover…” Gallus swore quietly. “Ms. Ocean Flow, I— I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, Gallus dear. E-Everything was fine after all,” she forced herself to say.

Yep. It’s that line. Not one Gallus is fond of, and because I wanted him to have more dialogue, he interjects:

“No, it wasn’t,” he countered firmly, much to her astonishment. “You had every right to be worried. We did almost…” Not wanting to say the word, Gallus instead said, “Get hurt.”

Nice to see Gallus’ reaction to Ocean’s revelations, even avoiding using a particular word like he and the others did back during Ch.9(Fear). Even better to see Ocean finally talk to someone about all of this who validates her concerns!

We already know Novo prioritized her own concerns over Ocean’s, and while Sky may share them, he has the benefit of remaining optimistic despite them. Ocean…doesn’t. And that disconnect…? Well. It didn’t exactly help their already strained relationship.

“Even after all of that, Silverstream still wanted to stay in Equestria.”

“We all did. I mean? One stupid brat wasn’t gonna stop us from loving each other. We’re practically family…”

“And I am her family!” she snapped, flinching at the harshness penetrating her tone. “Not— Not to say you and the others aren’t also her family, but…”

“But it’s different,” he finished for her. “It’s okay, Ms. Ocean Flow. I get it.”

Blah-blah-blah, just ‘cause I wanted to tackle the realism of the Student Six nearly dying doesn’t mean I was going to condemn them living in Equestria, blah-blah-blah…

The realtreasure here is Ocean’s outburst and Gallus’ reaction. Throughout T.B.O.L. there’s been that undercurrent theme of Gallus’ friends being his true family. But the thing is? Reality isn’t that simple. Found family is great and all, but family by blood is still important.

And although Ocean’s developed enough to apologize and back-pedal, Gallus reassures she doesn’t have to worry. Because who else would better understand the importance of family by blood than the one who’s suffered the most from a lack thereof?

“Then congratulations. You’re officially the first creature who does,”

I could have let the implications of this line speak for themselves, letting you all form your own theories for what manner of indifference it implied Novo, Sky, etc. responded to Ocean’s concerns with… But? It’s me. And I’m not subtle. And I both needed to realistically continue the conversation and wanted to avoid accidentally insinuating Sky Beak didn’t care about or respect Ocean’s fears. Thus:

Upon noticing his confused frown, she clarified, “Oh, Sky and Novo were obviously as peeved as I was over the whole ordeal, but they were far more accepting of Silver going back. I, on the other flipper, wanted to drag Silverstream back to Seaquestria and never let her leave.” Ocean Flow let out an irked snort and confided, “Which is what I did do when that red-horned freak-show returned as well.”

For the briefest of seconds, Gallus flashed back to Nightmare Night and the last creature he had talked to about Sombra. “Y-Yeah, even Grandpa Gruff was pretty freaked when we found out about it,” he disclosed after shoving that memory aside.

Hey! It took me this long to resist calling attention to the Smolder Subplot parallels in-universe; that’s a new record. But what’s important is continuing those parallels by addressing where the Student Six were during Sombra's return:

Silver was back at Mount Aris, dragged back into Seaquestria by an Ocean Flow teeming with “I was right all along!” energy. Even Grandpa Gruff panicked over Sombra—Another nice retroactive touch to his character.

Unfortunately, as Ocean mentions, Sombra was bested too, and you know what that means!

“Everything was fine again!” she angrily echoed.

And now a darker twist to the earlier episode reference spiel, and one I took forever to fully figure out.

At first, all I had to draw attention to were the second Cozy incident and Edith’s introduction—due to Silver’s disappearance being a canon plot point there. And well? Rule of three required a third incident be acknowledged, and upon a re-edit, I remembered “Uprooted” and how the Student Six all had to double back and say, “Hey, mom, dad? God asked us to resurrect her today, ya mind if I go do that, thanks!” Thus, that’s referenced, and the rule of three is upheld.

But while Ocean may disagree with that “” she’s in luck. Because with her woes finally confessed, it’s time to address them!

“Don’t be sorry, Ms. Ocean Flow,” Gallus implored, causing her to blink in surprise. “It’s okay to feel angry and afraid. Those feelings are important too; you shouldn’t just bottle them up.”

Boy does it feel cathartic to see how far Gallus has come, his character development on full display without any trace of stagnation. Even better given how hesitant Gallus has been with Ocean earlier this arc, to see him interject and reaffirm Ocean’s fears were entirely valid. Just like Silver’s were…

“I-Is that something else you learned at the Friendship School?” she questioned, flabbergasted by the teenager’s wisdom. “I don’t remember Silverstream telling us about that lesson.”

And then there’s Ocean Flow, the adult, recognizing, appreciating, and being dumbfounded by Gallus’ aforementioned wisdom. It even afforded the Friendship School(And Twilight by proxy) some appreciation as well—Considering how critical Ocean was toward Twilight and her school, it was nice to show her one of the major benefit of attending it.

Also helps keep the conversation moving along by referencing that one lesson in A.D.F.F. Gallus and Silver half-argued about, the former having slept through it. Considering he’s now fully informed of that lesson, it’s clear a certain someone got him caught up on it.

Regarding Gallus sleeping in class, however?

I, uh, may or may not have even fallen asleep in class.”

Nice to see Gallus straight-up admit to it—Shows a subtler strength of his development: His willingness to accept his more flawed behavior/traits without using them as self-loathing fuel.

“Did you genuinely fall asleep, or just pretend to?”

Courtesy of Silverstream’s letters, Ocean knows Gallus enough to understand he only pretends to fall asleep sometimes, even thinking to inquire about it instead of automatically assuming the worst.

“Genuinely,” Gallus sheepishly admitted, staring everywhere but at Ocean’s knowing grin.

“For shame, Gallus dear. For. Shame,” she remarked, shaking her head disapprovingly.

“Yeah, yeah… I know. If it helps, I don’t nap in class anymore.”

“You’d better not,” Ocean warned, chuckling along with him.

And now we both know Gallus’ character development has allowed him to mature beyond paltry class napping, and see Ocean teasing him about it, even playfully warning he’d better not still be snoozing. Otherwise, she’s gonna have to step up and give him a stern “Mom Talk.”

We then shift back to the main conversation via Ocean asking the same question I intended to answer for all of you:

“You’re likely wondering how I could have let Silver keep attending the School…?”

Or well? I intend to answer this question, but since I wanted Gallus to have more dialogue, he gets it:

“Actually? I’m more curious as to why Silver never talked to me about this,” Gallus clarified as his tail swished uneasily. “We don’t hide things from each other, so the only reason I can think of…”

Yet another healthy aspect of their relationship: Full honesty. You’ve seen it play out all throughout this arc, and we’ve already discussed it, so let’s get to answering away this almost-plot-hole:

“Is that she didn’t know?” she guessed, receiving a nod. “Well, you’re correct. She didn’t.”

And why didn’t Silver know? What possible issue kept Ocean from speaking her fears to her and being honest from the get-go?

Answer: “Surf and/or Turf.”

“And what? Risk repeating the same mistake we made with Terramar? Make Silver feel like she had to choose between Ponyville or Mount Aris? O-Or worse! Make her feel worried and afraid as well!? Well, no!” she yelped, her back fins flaring in outrage. “There were many things Sky and I disagreed on, but we both fervently agreed upon not letting our daughter know about any of this,” she ended, folding her back fins back in.

Nothing more need be said; you understand my intentions from the dialogue alone. We are left with a rather nasty implication, however:

“You mean you just pretended you weren’t worried out of your mind about Silverstream?” Gallus inquired, feeling a horrified pit form in his stomach. “How!?”

Ocean did. We’ve already gone over it, but it bears repeating: Ocean did the one, single thing T.B.O.L. has been constantly hammering in as the absolute worst possible thing to do…

She bottled up her emotions.

And as the dialogue tag expresses, Gallus is horrified by it, understandably so.

And now, to explain why Canon Ocean Flow never did this, Gallus asks how she could do such a wretched thing for so long, and Ocean’s response is one of my favorite lines in the story:

“Gallus dear? A parent’s—” Ocean Flow paused, looked him over, frowned, and corrected, “A proper parent’s greatest wish is their children’s happiness. And Silverstream…? She was happy in Equestria. So, yes. I bit my tongue, put on a smile, and told myself everything was fine.”

Yeah! Fk your parents, Gallus!

It’s wonderful to see Ocean Flow—see someone!—say that. She was going to be even harsher—A parent as viciously protective as Ocean would not have anything remotely nice to say about Gallus’—but I didn’t think Ocean would be that much more “Disrespectful,” I suppose, of Gallus’ feelings on the matter. For all she knew, Gallus still cared for his parents, or there were circumstances she didn’t know, etc. Thus, even if Ocean would’ve preferred standing on a soap box, lambasting the absentees to Tartarus and back, she doesn’t.

Instead, we focus on:

“Every time something terrible happened, I would just tell myself, ‘Oh, the day is saved now, and my daughter is still happy. Everything truly is fine.’ Over and over, I told myself this and dozens of other mantras just like it,” she explained, nervously tapping her flippers together.

“And you know what? For a while, I fell for it,” Ocean confessed. “I moved on. I went about my life, believing my daughter was okay. Believing she was safe. And even when I knew full-well she wasn’t, I just told myself that all the worry, fear, and murder attempts…!” She took a deep breath and concluded, “That it was all worth it. Because Silverstream. Was. Happy.”

And there it is: The real reason Canon Ocean Flow was never paranoid, and it parallels the Smolder Subplot once again, given the dragon in question went through a similar mentality.

But then, with that question answered, now we must ask: What happened between then and now to make Ocean’s metaphorical bottle break?

After a brief dramatic silence during which Gallus realizes the answer because he’s a smarty-pants, we get our answer:

“‘I was so worried about him, Mom, Dad,’” Ocean Flow began quoting in a meek, pained voice. “‘After everything that happened, I just couldn’t get it out of my head that he still wasn’t okay. Or worse, that even if he was okay, something bad would happen and hurt him all over again.’”

“Silverstream…” Gallus whispered to himself, slumping in his chair and fighting back the urge to vomit.

“‘I just wanted him to be okay again,’” Ocean continued, her bottom lip trembling. “‘I wanted to help him; I needed to help him. I didn’t want him to be upset again. I-I didn’t like seeing him that way. It—’” Her voice hitched for a second. “‘It scared me,’” she finished.

Now that’s what I call a callback! It took me sooo long to figure out this development too; while I had the paranoia and Smolder Subplot parallels plotted out, the source of her woes had yet to be determined. That is? Until I remembered a certain background detail.

Silverstream’s tape.

Every Drama Clubber got one, and obviously she’d have sent hers to her family. Except? She acquired/sent her tape when her paranoia was at its peak. And all throughout this arc, we’ve acknowledged the impact Silverstream’s letters have on her family multiple times—both just now with Ocean and Gallus fawning over them, and through the absence of those letters being a major conflict catalyst. And well? Silverstream would obviously message her family about her paranoia. She managed to admit her fears to Starlight and to Gallus, heck no would she not discuss the issue with her own flesh and blood.

[Insert triumphant “Ah-Ha!” here]

Once that piece fell into place, it was smooth sailing from there, especially with this same letter having been set up during the Silver/Terramar dock scene.

Gallus reacts with utter horror—again—before resuming his “Audience surrogate” role since I had to answer why Ocean remained terrified over the debacle despite Silverstream overcoming it. Thus:

“B-But Silverstream talked to Headmare Starlight about that,” Gallus protested, his heart thundering violently. “She talked to me about it too. Didn’t— Didn’t she tell you?”

“Oh, she did. The rest of the letter was all about the advice she got from her and Yona, and how she was going to try not to be paranoid anymore. But while that may have been good enough for Sky Beak and Terramar, it wasn’t good enough for me,” she declared, scowling.

“I-I don’t follow…?”

“Silver said she was doing better, and Sky Beak believed her. Terramar and Novo both did too. But me?” Ocean Flow shook her head. “No. No, I had had enough. This was the last straw.”

“Ms. Ocean Flow—”

“My daughter has almost died half a dozen times,” she interrupted, struggling desperately to not raise her voice. “And all this time, I believed that all the worrying was worth it so long as she was happy. Except…? Silverstream wasn’t happy anymore. Sh-She was scared. My— My baby girl was scared!” she sobbed, dropping her gaze to the floor.

See, guys! I knew all along paranoia wasn’t a character flaw traditionally assigned someone as upbeat as Silverstream; the other characters even comment on its unnaturalness in-universe! That proves I knew what I was doing all along! I art totes smart.

This, however, is where I hit a roadblock. Because now I had to determine how Gallus would react to this. Initially, he would simply continue the “Audience surrogate”/“Impromptu therapist” angle he’d been reduced to so far; however, upon hitting the roadblock, I circled back to do some re-editing, and during it, give Gallus better dialogue.

And then inspiration struck.

While I wasn’t particularly fond of having him say it, especially in light of his character development, the arc’s more cheerful tone, the respect I wanted to afford to Ocean Flow and her issues, my still-present belief he wouldn’t risk saying something like this to his girlfriend’s mother, and just… Not wanting Gallus to say it in general…? It wasn’t up to me.

As the author, it was my obligation to do whatever I felt benefits the story the most. And here, that was for Gallus to say:

“And let me guess… It was my fault, right?”

I still wince at this line. Not because it’s a bad line, quite the opposite. Rather, every time I read it, I can’t help but wonder if it was too spiteful-sounding for Gallus to have said. It’s a tiny insecurity regarding it that I doubt will ever fully go away, but hey, still better than the Schizophrenia debacle.

Especially since it furthers the plot along fantastically! At long last, the time for mere implications was over. It was time to truly address Ocean Flow’s feelings toward Gallus. And well? Even though no child, let alone Gallus, deserves to hear it, Ocean Flow respects him enough to answer honestly:

“There’s a very dark, very vile part of me that wants to say yes,” she admitted. “That wants to hold you accountable for my daughter being so afraid.

In spite of her steadily building cordiality toward Gallus throughout this scene… Ocean still feels that way about him, if only partly. It’s only realistic, and to be brutally honest myself, correct. Silver’s paranoia stemmed from Gallus’ breakdown. And yet…?

But I can’t do that. I-I won’t do that!” she vowed earnestly. “Silverstream told us about your situation, and I— I know you couldn’t have helped what happened. So, no, Gallus dear, it wasn’t your fault. And I don’t blame you.”

Ocean Flow isn’t a terrible creature. She did terrible things, of course, but redemption has always been a core tenet of MLP since the very beginning so, yada-yada, you get the point.

I would never have let Ocean genuinely hold Gallus accountable for everything; Ocean wouldn’t let herself do so either. And to prove it, she acknowledges she too knows what Gallus has been through and verbally recognizes how nothing Gallus went through and the resulting drama was his fault. Certainly a step up from Gruff.

But as for Gallus' reaction?

“That so? Well, there’s a ‘very dark, very vile’ part of me that thinks you’re lying,” he shot back wearily. “It’s pretty clear you do blame me.”

Because even if we’re in the midst of Ocean's redemption arc, it doesn’t change what she did. It doesn’t mean we’re going to blatantly ignore all the heartbreak she’s caused. Ocean screwed up. And like Gruff and Discord before her, she will be held accountable for it.

“But I—”

“You shoved Silverstream onto some random noble neither of us knew and basically said, ‘Here! Love this guy, not Gallus!’” he interrupted. “Say you don’t blame me all you want, but your actions sing a whole different tune.”

Even though Ocean tried to interrupt and defend herself, Gallus hit her right where it hurt. By basically quoting Silverstream’s exact concerns for what Ocean would do and did right back at the seapony in question. It took way longer than I care to admit to realize I could do that, so this line was rather garbled for a time.

While I still question if I should have allowed Gallus to be so spiteful here, even with all his development in mind, it’s far greater than the alternative. Because, yeah, Gallus would be peeved right now. Because for once, that “Everything is my fault” nonsense was not only true, but someone else believed it and was using it to justify treating him like garbage.

Boy am I glad this is Gallus post-development—I do not want to think about how distraught early-story Gallus would react to this revelation.

Though that begs the question why I made this choice. Yeah, it works as a proper in-universe explanation for Ocean’s woes starting seemingly out of nowhere, but…? Doesn’t it also fly in the face of everything T.B.O.L. has stood for so far?

#1) I didn’t care. Rookie writer, remember? That particular concern was, at the time, little more than a background concern, easily disregarded with a mere, “Eh, no one will care.”

#2) It was far too important to Ocean’s development to throw out simply because it risked compromising on T.B.O.L.’s overall message. Especially considering we weren’t done with the scene yet, and I had absolutely no intention of validating Ocean Flow’s stance, as evident from how fervent she is in apologizing for it.

#3) Life sucks. Whether we like it or not, sometimes IRL we just… Have to grit our teeth and bear whatever storms cross our paths, no matter how they ravage us. We’d all love it if we could go through life never feeling afraid, worried, or angry, or better yet: Feeling free to express those feelings no matter the context. But life comes with jobs, and I and anyone else with experience in retail will tell you it’s not always wise to express your frustrations with certain aspects of the job in question.

Thankfully, this a fanfiction, not real life. So I get to guarantee a happy ending. And to lead us toward it, we take a moment to “restart” the conversation flow:

“Whelp,” he resumed in a calmer voice. “At least now I know why you thought Silverstream wasn’t safe with me.”

“Gallus dear, I…” She sighed ruefully, questioning, “How could I think she was safe with you? I don’t know you. All I know is what Silverstream tells me about you, and…”

“And I’m her friend. You know that, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

With everything revealed, it’d be a colossal waste of time having Ocean pretend she didn’t still disapprove of him or deny why. Plus? It was better for Ocean’s character to have her respect Gallus enough to genuinely continue the conversation despite her stance, the subject matter, and his age.

Doesn’t mean I’m not gonna acknowledge how, realistically, she doesn’t even know Gallus, merely what Silverstream tells her. But then again? That fact goes both ways.

“When Silverstream told me about your letters, I… I didn’t know what to think. I mean, I don’t know you either,” he pointed out. “So, what was your problem with me? How could you— How could you ever think I’d hurt her?”

“I could understand you not liking me,” Gallus continued, hanging his head. “Maybe you just didn’t want Silver dating yet? Maybe you wanted her to date a hippogriff or seapony? Maybe… Maybe you didn’t want Silver to choose some ‘orphaned street rat,’” he suggested, wincing at his own words.

Always love seeing more of Gallus’ logical side. And here, we have a retroactive additional reason why he could be so calm back when Silver first told him about the letters, along with some theories he formed for why Ocean thought so lowly of him.

As Gallus has said numerous times: Puzzles always have solutions.

Shame two of those solutions were either Ocean was a racist who didn’t want “That griffon…” dating her daughter, or that horrid “Stuffy noble” stereotype he feared and Great White Prime proposed he’d face.

Thankfully, Ocean is the complete opposite of both, and more importantly, she’s a loving mother.

“Gallus dear, you are not some ‘orphaned street rat’!” Ocean Flow protested instantly.

“Huh?” he blurted out in befuddlement.

“Look, I don’t know you. I only know of you,” she began. “But what I know of you is that you…” Ocean struggled to find the words for a second until she laughed weakly and said, “That you love doing paperwork but don’t want to admit it. That you’re so kind-hearted you actually feel pity for those three monsters. That— That you love my daughter,” she whispered.

“And I also know my daughter loves you too,” she recognized, shivering at the memory of Silverstream throwing away her necklace. “I may be a fool, but I’m not a blind one.”

She does to him exactly what she did for her daughter earlier: Furiously stamp out his momentary self-deprecation. And in the best possible way: By calling back to Silver’s letters.

As she says, she doesn’t know Gallus personally, but Silver’s gushed about him plenty. Enough that Ocean has a general understanding of who he truly is: A paperwork-loving nerd who’s so embarrassed of being one he can’t help but put on a “Cool guy” façade and nap in class all the time to prevent such accusations, yet despite this, he’s one of the most caring and compassionate creatures in Equestria, who loves Silverstream above all else.

There was going to be more here. More little references to earlier examples of Gallus’ nerdiness, possibly even a mention to both his and Ocellus’ project and his role in the Smolder Subplot. Why’d it get reduced so heavily?

#1) I couldn’t think of anything else to reference. The “Napping in class” aspect was the only other thing I could think of, but I opted to weasel it into the conversation earlier so it could still be included, just not here.

#2) I didn’t want to waste time, dragging the scene on for any longer than necessary. I mean? Have you seen the word count!?

#3) I didn’t want the references to distract from the overall mood of the scene.

I’m still bummed at how little else Ocean Flow speaks about Gallus here, but the fact she even can comment about him shows, even if she buried it beneath her paranoia for so long… Now that she’s forced to confront her feelings and be honest about everything…?

Ocean Flow does know Gallus. Well enough to know the most important truth of all: He does 100% genuinely love and care for her daughter. And she already knows Silverstream enough to know the same is true for her.

“I may be a fool, but I’m not a blind one.”

This line bore repeating. Because I love it, and it’s yet more proof Ocean knows how badly she screwed up and feels genuine regret, even if she remains hesitant about Gallus-Stream. But then again? That’s what we have the rest of the scene for.

“And yet, you still don’t approve of us. Do you?”

“How can I?” she mewled somberly. “Y-You heard her at the beach, yes? She said she wanted you to be part of her future. Don’t you understand what that means?”

“It means we love each other and we both want a long-term relationship,” Gallus answered without skipping a beat. “Well? Yeah. We do want that.”

Ocean Flow dithered for a moment before saying, “And I want my daughter to be happy and safe. Th-That’s all I want. But how am I supposed to trust she’ll be those things with you when you…” she trailed off.

“Scared her?” he finished for her.

“…Yes.”

Tragically, I cannot comment on this exchange due to having completely forgotten the story behind it. I know there were complications regarding it. And from what I do remember, I think this was added later during a re-edit, and Gallus wasn’t going to answer, remaining silent or simply saying “I do…” which would prompt Ocean to continue whining about him.

Another thing I remember is I got hit by another roadblock. A minor one, thankfully, but it led to me considering a wildly different sequence following this one than what we ultimately got. Namely: Gallus was going to acknowledge his fault for scaring Silverstream, and even admit to and address the 2^nd Date argument. Yep, Ocean Flow was going to get the full story there, whereas Sky only got the truncated version.

Gallus would reveal they almost broke up, how Silver was scared she’d continue being scared, and how he was adamant he’d rather be alone than risk Silver’s continued paranoia. But he’d also speak of how they recovered from that argument. How even now, Silver still has moments of anxiety, it always hurts to see them, and he still feels slightly guilty for being the initial catalyst for it. But more importantly, they’re both okay, regardless.

Gallus is always there to support her whenever she’s feeling anxious, and Silver’s always there to remind him he needn’t feel guilty. They are each other’s support network, and no matter what happens, they will forever be there to comfort and help one another.

In the end, he would emphasize how, despite Ocean’s disapproval, he and Silverstream would still be together, and they’d work through all the bad days together. And if there ever came a point when everything became too much, they’d have the fortitude to call things off. Because even then, they’d still have their friendship, and whatever heartache they’d feel, they’d recover from. Even if they weren’t together, they’d still be together.

No one tell Gallus about the “Bad Ending” idea

Why was this scrapped? Simple: I could not think of a single way telling Ocean Flow about the 2^nd Date argument would end well.

From a story perspective, Ocean would be completely devastated to hear all of that, to hear she almost unknowingly succeeded in sinking the S.S.Gallus-Stream; furthermore, why on earth would Gallus think telling her about everything would be a good idea?

And from an authorial perspective: Remember my earlier comments at how Gallus’ “Audience surrogate” position almost left him with darn near no Gallus-specific dialogue at all? Well, the same would be true here, only it’d be Ocean’s turn to suffer the plague. She’d just be sitting there, silently, gasping in shock and making timid, hesitant inquiries when appropriate.

Thus, the idea was thrown out before a single word of it had ever been typed out. But that didn’t mean elements of this concept didn’t carry over into the finished product…

They both timidly looked away from each other, neither knowing what to say next, but after some time, Ocean Flow lamented, “But it’s not like I have any grounds to judge you, let alone disapprove of you. Seriously, Gallus dear, I-I-I must apologize again for the ‘outsider’ line,” she exclaimed, grimacing sorrowfully. “That was absolutely abhorrent of me.”

Yet another example of a conversation flow reset, but this one feels more natural, helped along by me poking fun at myself via “Neither knowing what to say next.” Get it? Because I threw that first concept away, I had no idea what to have them say next too!

But onto the true focus of this next sequence—No more little “hints” and “proofs” Ocean understood how wrong she was; the time had come to initiate Ocean’s redemption arc proper.

And what better way to start than with Ocean outright admitting she’s had zero grounds to hate Gallus since the very beginning, even more so in light of her recent actions, and apologizing again?

It took a lot of willpower for Gallus to not ardently agree with that statement. “Don’t worry, Ms. Ocean Flow. I really did mean it when I said I forgave you,” he assured.

There goes Gallus still being rather spiteful, but at least his development kicks in this time, preventing him from saying anything he’d later regret. Instead, he reaffirms his forgiveness because of course he does—the cinnamon roll.

“And I really don’t know how you could,” she whined, rubbing her eyes tiredly. “I’ve been acting like a complete and total fool.”

“You’re Silver’s mother. It’s not wrong to worry about her and want her to be safe.”

More Ocean Flow acknowledging her mistakes, alongside more Gallus validating her concerns as Silverstream’s mother.

“But what is wrong, however, is freaking her out with my incessant, paranoid ramblings.”

“…Yeah. Yeah, you did freak her out,” he agreed, keeping his tone neutral.

Yet more Ocean Flow acknowledging her mistakes because I can’t stop myself, especially since she deserved it wholeheartedly. Fear for her daughter’s safety did not justify instilling that same fear into said daughter—something Gallus agrees with, saying nothing more and possibly nastier. Because even if he’s incensed over Ocean’s behavior, he still sympathizes with her reasons behind it.

Yay character development!

“I know I did,” Ocean bemoaned. “And in light of that, I’m exceedingly glad Terramar stopped me from having Seaspray go check on her. Goodness, I cannot possibly imagine how terrible that would have been for Silverstream.”

Since Gallus had nothing nice to say to that, he opted to say nothing at all.

A quick callback to that one scratched-out line we saw Silverstream read back in Ch.11(Closure), and a fun joke at that whole “If you’ve got nothing to say, then don’t say anything at all” mentality.

“Heh. Isn’t it ironic?” she soon resumed. “I wanted to protect my daughter, but all I did was hurt her more.” Ocean Flow harrumphed, snarling, “But apparently, I wasn’t satisfied with just that, and I had to go and hurt you too. Sea kelp, I owe you so many apology cakes,” she grumbled, face-flippering.

The corners of his muzzle twitched as Gallus inquired, “Are… Are you serious about that?”

Because we’ve had enough of the overly serious “Oh woe is me, I was an antagonist!” bemoaning—and we’ve driven that word count through the roof—Ocean confesses one last time to hurting Gallus as much as her own daughter, before swinging right back into Mount Aris’ signature fluff.

Because Ocean’s a seapony, and guess what?

We seaponies and hippogriffs take our apologies very seriously!” she proclaimed, brimming with pride.

More importantly, she was Sky’s wife, and what did Sky promise he’d do for Gallus to make up for his intimidation attempt? Better yet, what was it Gallus wanted to do after that promise?

Oh that’s right!

May I bake those apology cakes with you?” he requested, grinning widely.

He wanted that.

Ocean, meanwhile, is gobsmacked. Gallus being kind to her despite her actions is one thing, but for him to genuinely crave spending more time with her…? That’s near unthinkable, and yet it’s the truth.

And the reason why is where we see that scrapped “2^nd Date Recounting” sequence influence the final version:

“It’s like I said earlier, I want to be somegriff you can approve of. Because, to be frank? Ms. Ocean Flow, I love your daughter,” he confessed, smiling serenely. “I know you disapprove of me, and I know I scared Silverstream, but… I love her. And I don’t plan to stop loving her. Ever,” he concluded resolutely.

In spite of Ocean’s story, unintentionally scaring Silverstream, and that same fear still partly clinging to her…? Gallus, without a doubt, loves Silverstream. And where he might have once crumbled under the pressure and guilt, breaking things off with Silver to appease Ocean Flow, he’s stronger now. Strong enough to remain firm in his own stance. Even if Ocean doesn’t approve of him, he’ll keep loving Silverstream, keep being there for her, and doing everything he can to help her be happy and be someone Ocean canbe proud of and approve of.

Because Gallus… Is awesome. And Silver’s sweetie—Something Ocean gushes about because now, with her redemption arc halfway done, Ocean’s true personality shines through. We glimpsed it when they were fawning over Silver’s letters, but now it’s time for it to be unleashed proper. And we start with her praising Gallus’ declarations of continued love for Silverstream:

“…That was quite possibly one of the sweetest things I’ve ever heard,” she commented, holding a flipper to her heart and staring at him in disbelief.

Which is a far cry better than her simply feeling more afraid since Gallus just decreed he was gonna date Silver whether Ocean liked it or not.

But as if Gallus would only get one adorable line here!

“Well? I am her sweetie,” he bragged, winking. “Being sweet is sorta my job.”

“Oh my gosh, she calls you ‘sweetie’!?” Ocean Flow squealed, beaming excitedly.

“Yeah, why?”

Had it not been for the context behind their entire conversation, Ocean Flow would’ve swept Gallus into her flippers and hugged him tightly, celebrating her daughter having a sweetie. Rather than that, she bewailed, “As if I didn’t have enough reasons to think I’m an idiot…”

There’s that aforementioned gushing over Gallus’ “sweetie” status from Ocean Flow, and it even comes alongside confirmation of what Ocean would have done had her paranoia not sparked so much drama.

And from there, we see Gallus give Ocean a taste of her own medicine:

“Ms. Ocean Flow, you’re not an idiot,” Gallus comforted kindly.

“I’ve certainly been acting like one,” she said, figuring he wouldn’t be able to argue otherwise.

She figured wrong because he hastily countered, “Acting paranoid? Maybe. Acting idiotically? No. I mean, you’re not entirely wrong,” he noted gravely. “I did scare her.”

Heading off her own self-disparaging, deserved or otherwise, and once again validating all her concerns and feelings.

Naturally, Ocean’s not gonna let him do that without comforting him back:

“Not intentionally,” Ocean Flow fired back. “And don’t you dare try to say it doesn’t matter,” she preemptively interjected. “It does, Gallus. I refuse to blame you whatsoever for what happened.”

“But—”

“No buts,” she interrupted again. “You were having such a hard time that you found solace in being in that psychopath’s bedroom. I— I can’t even begin to imagine how horrible you must have been feeling for that to be the case,” she said, looking over him pityingly.

“Yeah,” he murmured morosely. “Yeah, it… It was pretty bad.”

“And if you think I’d ever blame you for going through such an ordeal, you’re mistaken. To hold your—for lack of a subtler word—trauma against you…? That wouldn’t just be cruel. That would be sick,” she said, disgusted with the mere idea of doing so. “And as you said, that’s the brat’s job.”

This exchange speaks for itself, but let’s all appreciate how, unlike her first attempt, you can actually believe Ocean here when she reaffirms she would never blame Gallus for his breakdown. Also good to, once again, see Gallus able to comment on and appreciate how bad off he truly was back then; that took a lot of strength, I assure you.

Gallus snorted. That snort turned into a light chuckle, and that chuckle quickly turned into full-blown laughter. Ocean Flow didn’t hesitate to join in said laughter.

After the heaviness of the conversation until now, it feels so wonderful seeing the two share a good, hearty laugh together.

A shame the following comfortable silence is ended with:

“I… I’m sorry, Gallus.”

“You don’t have to apologize for anything, Ms. Ocean Flow,” he assuaged.

“Oh no. No, I have plenty of things I must apologize for,” she insisted, running a flipper along her mane-fin again. “And one of them is that I… I…”

“Still don’t approve of me?”

Because realism demanded this be the case. Coming to care for and know Gallus won’t wipe away all of Ocean’s previous feelings, but it does lay the groundwork for improvement. And after she strokes a flipper along her mane-fin like Silver does with her own mane—because of course I needed to explain where Silver got that nervous tick from—we see that improvement:

“…I want to approve of you,” Ocean Flow said, staring him directly in the eye. “Really, I do. I know you’re happy with each other, but I want my daughter to be happy and safe. And I… I just don’t know if she’ll be safe with you. I’m so sorry, Gallus,” she apologized.

No more of her earlier nonsense; what we have now is a simple summation of her main issue with Gallus and even an apology for it, with an added acknowledgment and acceptance of the love shared between him and her daughter.

That said, it is still disapproval. And that’s exactly what Gallus and Silver came to Mount Aris to amend.

“I want so badly to promise you that everything will be fine. That you have nothing to fear, and that Silverstream will never be afraid again.”

“But I can’t promise that,” he lamented, shaking his head plaintively. “I can’t expect perfection from myself, let alone the world. And as much as I hate to admit it, bad days are just a part of life.”

Yet more demands for realism, alongside demands to spotlight Gallus’ development one last time.

That second line is the ultimate culmination of his arc throughout The Bonds of Love. Perfection truly is an impossible pursuit, and bad days are an inevitability of life; he can’t and won’t believe, let alone promise, otherwise. Nor will he ever judge himself accordingly for failing to reach perfection, for failing to prevent the bad times entirely.

And at long last… He finally understands that. No stagnation. No hint he’s still struggling to understand, accept, or embody it. None of that. Gallus has completed his character arc, and it’s pecking beautiful!

And then there’s Ocean Flow, praising Gallus for this realization:

“Wise,” she placidly commented.

While noting:

We may not be able to expect perfection, but we certainly do wish for it, don’t we?”

A line I have uttered to myself too many times to count…And if I may get personal here, this lineis probably one of the core reasons I still have my own issues with perfectionism.

Luckily for Gallus, he’s conquered that flaw to the point he counters:

“That we do. But having said that?” Gallus continued, his eyes shining with determination. “Ms. Ocean Flow? I love Silverstream. Disapprove of me all you want, but I love her, and that’s never going to change.”

“I know. And I’m not going to tell you that you shouldn’t love her; it’s just… I’m afraid,” she admitted.

“And that’s okay. But while it may be okay to be scared or angry, I know Silver hates feelings those things. And I gather you do too.” Gallus paused to take a calm breath. “So? Although I can’t promise nothing bad will ever happen again… I can promise this: If Silverstream is scared, I will be there to protect her,” he swore without a hint of hesitation. “If she is sad, I’ll be there to comfort her. If she is upset, I will be there to help her. Always.”

Ocean Flow said nothing.

“I understand that’s not ideal. Frankly, I wish I could wave my talons—er?—flippers,” he corrected, grinning awkwardly. “And make all the world’s problems go away, especially hers. But I can’t. However, that will not stop me from being there for her, nor will it stop me from doing everything I can to help and protect her,” he pledged adamantly.

“I love your daughter, Ms. Ocean Flow,” Gallus repeated one final time. “And I want to be with her. I want to be part of her world, and I want to be part of her future. No matter where she is, or what she’s doing… I want to be right there with her. Right by her side,” he concluded, smiling serenely.

#1) Absolutely adore Ocean swearing she wouldn’t ask him to stop loving Silverstream just because of her; once again, that’s much better than her fears being arbitrarily reinforced by his proclamations.

#2) Oh sweet Celestia, this is way too buckin’ cute!!!!

#3) I feared Gallus’ proclamation would be either too self-indulgent or even cringe-y, but writing them out and re-reading the finished product quelled those fears. So what if it’s either of those issues, it’s beautiful, adorable, and a fantastic showcase of Gallus’ development.

#4) Another reason for Gallus’ complete and utter confidence in saying all this were Jack of a Few Trades’ criticisms. I figured Canon Gallus would have no fear whatsoever in making such a pledge as this, swearing to protect his girlfriend(And other friends) with every fiber of his being. And with all his development, T.B.O.L. Gallus was finally at a point where he had access to all his Canon self’s charisma, courage, and swagger but with the emotional maturity and sincerity afforded to him by that same development. So of course he’d do an outright “I will love and protect her!” proclamation right to Silver’s mother’s face without fear of shame or embarrassment.

#5) I’m so glad FanficReader920 commented “All this talk of protecting Silverstream I think cements Gallus’ career path as a guard, I’d say.” That was another thing I was going for with this segment. Given we were at the story’s end, I didn’t have any more opportunities to foreshadow Gallus’ future career, but I saw a chance to get at least one last thematic implication in with all the emphasis on, as FanficReader920 commented, protecting Silverstream.

#6) Of course I sneaked the “wave my talons—er?—flippers” joke in there, amid all the emotionally charged dialogue. Of course I did… It’s made even better when Ocean Flow steals this joke later when apologizing to Silver.

#7) Gotta love the callback to Gallus declaring wanting to be part of Silver’s world. Even better: It’s paired alongside Gallus proving Gruff absolutely correct:

I want to be part of her future. No matter where she is, or what she’s doing… I want to be right there with her. Right by her side,” he concluded, smiling serenely.

The exact same thing he declared to the others back at the end of Ch.8(Tension) and Gruff told Silver he wanted back in Ch.12(Serenity, Part One).

And obviously this line wouldn’t have been complete without the word “serene” being used somehow in the dialogue tag.

And how does Ocean react?

The way any loving Mom would:

Following his proclamation, Ocean Flow simply stared at him with an unreadable expression. Before long, a tiny grin graced her muzzle. “You really mean all of that?”

“Yes, ma’am, I do,” Gallus confirmed, nodding firmly.

“You are at your happiest when you’re with my daughter?”

“Yes, ma’am, I am.”

“And do you promise you’ll protect her? You’ll— You’ll keep my daughter safe?”

“Yes. Yes, ma’am, I will,” he promised.

Shout-out to Gallus referring to her as “ma’am” as a nice showing of respect, to Ocean unknowingly matching Gruff’s own criteria for true love with the “You’re at your happiest with my daughter?” inquiry, and to how her voice hitches briefly—it’s the little details, ya know?

But with Gallus’ stance reaffirmed, what else could Ocean do at this point but play along a wee bit more?

Ocean’s grin grew wider. “You promise you’ll protect her?” she asked again, though decidedly less worriedly. “And you’ll respect her, love her, and be there for her whenever she needs you most?”

“I already do all those things, Ms. Ocean Flow,” he confidently reassured.

“Yes, well? I want to hear you say it,” she said, winking.

“Then I promise I’ll protect her, respect her, love her, and be there for her whenever she needs me most.”

Ocean Flow waited for all of a second before letting out a quiet snicker. “Sea kelp, you’re so sweet,” she praised, causing him to perk up hopefully. Ocean then shrugged and said, “Alright then. If you truly mean all of that, if you truly will keep my daughter safe, and if you’ll both truly be happy with each other…? Who am I to say no?”

“Wait! You— You mean…?” He fell silent, unsure if he had heard right but praying he had.

“Yes, yes, yes. You have my approval,” she stated, rolling her eyes. “It’s not like you actually needed it though; Silverstream is free to love whoever she wants. Just be glad you’re the one she chose to love,” she teased slyly.

And thus completes the main point of the Mount Aris arc. At long last, Ocean Flow finally agrees to let the S.S.Gallus-Stream set sail unimpeded, even furthering along her redemption by recognizing how—let’s be honest—they never really needed her approval anyway, nor did Ocean have much a right to say no when the two were so obviously happy with and good for each other. None of that stops her from making the same remark Terramar did: That Gallus should count himself lucky Silverstream chose him.

But Gallus couldn’t care less about any remarks or Ocean’s subtle redemption arc. All he cares about right now is finally having his future mother-in-law’s approval.

“Also, um? I know it’s a little inappropriate to ask this, but…? Can I hug you?”

Ocean Flow gasped, excitedly squealing, “You’re a hugger!? Silverstream never said you were a hugger!” She quickly floated up from her chair and held out her flippers, saying, “Well, come on then! You’re my daughter’s sweetie, and I wanna hug you too!”

Gallus wasted no time darting into her embrace.

I low-key expected to get more criticisms along the lines of Jack of a Few Trade’s own for having Gallus do this; Canon Gallus absolutely would not! … I think? But this is T.B.O.L. Gallus, he’s a kid who was deprived of emotional support for far too long, I was dead tired of the drama, we had just resolved a major source of said drama and were now in desperate need of fluff, and this is MY story…

Just this once, I disregarded all possible “This isn’t what Gallus would do!” criticisms and my own worries this would be more awkward than happy, given Ocean’s antagonist status, and simply let Gallus hug his future mother-in-law. Because yay hugs!

Doesn’t stop me from slipping in “Silverstream never said you were a hugger,” implying he likely wasn’t all that keen on hugs until after his T.B.O.L. development, but I digress.

And now… With all that finally taken care of, with Ocean Flow’s approval finally won, and with roughly 24k+ words under this chapter’s belt… It was time to begin playing rapid-fire clean-up, resolving all the lingering plot threads. The first of which is Ocean’s redemption arc.

“Thank you,” he whispered happily.

“Nahhh, don’t thank me, Gallus dear,” she pleaded, hugging him back. Once they broke apart, Ocean gave him a rue frown, acknowledging, “I understand it was okay to worry for my daughter, but I shouldn’t have directed my frustrations onto you. That wasn’t fair; that was cruel.”

I considered having her resume her “I don’t deserve to be thanked ‘cause of all the problems I’ve caused” spiel, but cut it to show how Gallus’ constant validation of her feelings stuck. That now, she fully understood and accepted her concerns were valid, but her actions weren’t, recognizing she “Directed her frustrations onto Gallus” and how unfair it was. Which, you can glean from the story’s text itself because I am, again, not subtle.

How many of you are bored out of your minds right now by my commentary because of exactly this?

“And I already said I forgive you,” he laughed, beyond relieved to know he had finally earned her approval. “That is…? So long as you were serious about those apology cakes?”

“Obviously. And you were serious about baking them with me, weren’t you?”

“Obviously,” he echoed. “Besides, why wouldn’t I want to bake with my girlfriend’s awesome mother? Great chance for some mother-daughter’s boyfriend bonding time, wouldn’t you say?”

“…I am going to dote on you so much,” she nonchalantly swore, grinning almost maniacally.

“And I’m going to do everything I can to earn that doting.”

“You’d better.”

“Oh, I will.”

They both giggled for a moment.

Yet more Gallus/Ocean fluff. Even better is the confirmation Sky Beak was right: Now Ocean has gotten to know him, she instantly promises to dote on him. And you can bet she upheld that promise.

“Although,” Ocean Flow began again, recoiling regretfully once more. “I-I must apologize yet again for this whole debacle, Gallus dear. Please don’t let my, er, ‘attitude’ color your perceptions of Seaquestria or Mount Aris as a whole,” she implored.

And hey, there’s that last apology I cut out a few lines earlier. At least here it stands out more by being a direct copy parallel to her ex-husband’s own apology last chapter.

“Goodness, I really was a fool if I couldn’t see how charming a boy you truly were.”

“Eh, you were afraid; I can’t fault you for that.”

“Well, I can certainly fault myself for that.”

“Don’t. You don’t have to be ashamed of being afraid, Ms. Ocean Flow.”

She smiled. “You really are just the sweetest creature ever, aren’t you?”

One final validation of Ocean Flow’s concerns and paranoia.

“I try.”

“And you’re certainly succeeding brilliantly as far as I’m concerned,” she complimented, happy to see his smile widen.

And of course that joke gets reused.

I really should have talked to my daughter about my fears. If I had, perhaps all of this drama wouldn’t have gotten so…dramatic,” she ended shyly.

Still wish I had tagged T.B.O.L. as “Drama” from the beginning so this joke would be even more appropriate. Sadly, I didn’t, and I’m not going to, given T.B.O.L. is now… How many years old!?

Ocean Flow swam toward one of her kitchen drawers and searched through it. Before Gallus could question it, she extracted her own Pearl-piece from the drawer’s depths. “Come on, Gallus dear. I’ve got a daughter I need to go apologize to.”

Though I claim subtlety is my antithesis, details like this contest otherwise.

This brings us to the end of the hotly anticipated Gallus/Ocean Flow conversation. Was it everything I hyped it up to be? Maybe, maybe not, but so long as you all enjoyed it regardless, I’ll be happy.

I’m not so happy I don’t have any particularly interesting closing thoughts, but alas. Anyway, let's go tell Silver that Ocean is officially a Gallus-Stream shipper now! ... In the next part of this discussion, of course.

Obligatory Google Doc Link.

Comments

[Summer Script]

~ Additional Tidbits ~

– 1)

“But… You guys are safe up there too,” Gallus argued, having no clue what this had to do with her not approving of him. “The Storm King is dead.”

“Yes, and he’s not the only monster in the world, now is he?”

“Okay, that’s a fair point.”

For realism’s sake, Gallus does the one thing everyone has done regarding Ocean Flow’s paranoia: Inquire why she’d be terrified of returning to the land when the Storm King is dead. The one thing he does that literally no one else does is validateher stance, admitting her fears are indeed “A fair point.” Why? Because he’s Silver’s sweetie, and he tries to respect everyone’s feelings and woes, especially his future mother-in-law’s.

– 2)

“Mhmm. You see? When we learned of that tyrant’s defeat, we were thrilled. For years we were trapped down here, but now? We were finally free. It was a very happy time for us all.”

“Bet you guys threw one peck of a parade,” he joked.

After stifling the sudden, bizarre urge to reprimand his language, Ocean laughed brightly. “Yes! Yes, we did. We even dedicated a holiday to it.”

“Three Days of Freedom?”

“Bingo.”

Couldn’t resist giving more context to Mount Aris’ reaction to finally being free of the Storm King, alongside Gallus referencing the hippogriffs and seaponies’ well-established adoration for parades which had culminated in the founding of the Three Days of Freedom—literally the only reference I’d be able to make to that holiday this chapter.

I definitely couldn’t then resist having Ocean Flow instinctively sense Gallus swore and want to rebuke him for it(She is a mother, after all), though quell such instinct out of not knowing he truly did swear.

– 3)

“We’re all happy over there.”

Another of those sneakily added Gallus lines, and one I especially love for how cathartic it feels to have Gallus openly adore Equestria for being such a genuinely happy, healthy environment for him and the others.

– 4) I didn’t want to break the tension when discussing Ocean’s lines earlier, but I am very glad for this particular dialogue tag:

she whimpered, wiping her eyes despite her tears already mixing into the surrounding water.

Since it’s one more way the characters interact with the water around them—something I’ve already noted I wish I had done more with.

– 5)

“Whelp,” he resumed in a calmer voice. “At least now I know why you thought Silverstream wasn’t safe with me.”

Still not a fan of this line. I meant it earlier when I said we “restarted” the conversation flow; it may continue the plot along, but you do feel the abruptness in how we go from Gallus angrily acknowledging Ocean Flow’s actions as wrong to him bluntly “accepting” the reasoning in question.

I tried making sense of it by implying it was his character development kicking in, affording him the opportunity to calm himself down and quell the frustration enough to approach the issue more rationally, but it still feels like a dialogue hiccup.

Ah well. At least we got Gallus hitting her with “Say you don’t blame me all you want, but your actions sing a whole different tune.” a moment prior, so that makes up for it somewhat.

– 6)

“Of course. We seaponies and hippogriffs take our apologies very seriously!” she proclaimed, brimming with pride. She then noticed Gallus snickering faintly and asked, “What? What’s so funny?”

“Nothing. It’s just…? May I bake those apology cakes with you?” he requested, grinning widely.

Gotta love how Gallus can’t help but laugh a little at Ocean’s declaration; it is, after all, the second time a seapony has offered him exactly the same thing as a hippogriff back in the last chapter. Silverstream really was telling the truth when she said both were the same in spirit, huh?

– 7)

“You were having such a hard time that you found solace in being in that psychopath’s bedroom. I— I can’t even begin to imagine how horrible you must have been feeling for that to be the case,” she said, looking over him pityingly.

Another line I want to reemphasize. Not just because it’s a powerful line, especially from Ocean Flow, that helps highlight how much she’s empathizing with Gallus’ own side of the story now, but also because it’s a direct in-universe acknowledgment of how horrifying it was that, out of all Equestria, where Gallus first “sought solace” was that nutjob’s old bedroom.

And you can bet all the “Cozy Glow”-related criticisms were in mind when I wrote that part of this segment…

– 8) I had to butcher a good half of this part of the discussion to get Fimfiction to accept posting it. Apparently, it’s not a word limit that Blog Posts suffer from, so much as it is a character limit of about 100,000 or so, I believe it said? Either way, trying to post it only made Fimfic spit out an error message at me. So that was "fun." You’re not missing much, just a few lines and a paragraph or two, but the Google Doc version of this discussion, is unquestionably the true version of it.