//------------------------------//
// Chapter One: Frozen Dreams 
// Story: Prison of Ice with Silver Keys 
// by RadBunny 
//------------------------------//

Gallus had only felt clouds twice in his life; first during the class field trip to Cloudsdale, and then the follow-up visit a few months later, (which thankfully was much more pleasant than the first attempt!) The strange semi-solid fluffiness under his claws and paws had been an odd but comforting sensation. If he was honest to himself, the current feeling of being wrapped up in such things was about as nice as Silverstream’s cuddles; Almost. The blissful warm awareness then faded, Gallus opening his eyes to look around and blink.
Odd. I don’t remember falling asleep in the crystal caves…

At his side, Silverstream stood up and walked a short distance away. Her beak twisted in a strange expression of disgust. This is wrong. Horror flooded through the gryphon’s frame as the hippogriff snagged the necklace around her neck, yanking the special-somegriff representation off and tossed it to the floor. “S-silver? What are you doing?” Gallus croaked, his limbs feeling weighed by metal as he slowly stood.

“You know what I’m doing. You’ve always known.” She replied with a slightly annoyed tone. “An orphan? No family, no home, nothing but problems? Did you really think we would end up together?”

“I-I had hoped…” Gallus whispered, the crystal caverns beginning to shake and shiver all around him, grey-tinted walls vibrating.

“You ‘hoped?’ I don’t need more problems in my life, and you are nothing but that.” The pink hippogriff turned to walk away, but Gallus took a few steps forward after her.

“Wait, you’re not her, you can’t be.” He hissed, prompting Silverstream to laugh. Green fire surrounded the hippogriff as a familiar black-carapace covered creature appeared in her place.

“Smart gryphon. Pity she’ll be drained of any emotions by the time you get to her.” The changeling cackled. 

The crystal walls widened into a long hallway, and Silverstream visible at the ending room surrounded by a dozen changelings. Their magic held her in a tight stasis field, the hippogriff calling out briefly;
“GALLUS!”

What looked like hundreds of changeling stood in the hallway, some glowing with an odd ethereal magic. Gallus ran forwards; but got a blow to his beak for his troubles. Swinging with a fist, the offending changeling simply laughed and ducked, the insectoid face briefly shifting into a gryphon’s, dredged from a memory long since buried away.
“Oh, look at that. Pulling your punches again, even to save the one you love? You’re definitely not worth her time.”

Something snapped inside Gallus’ heart. A primal surge of energy that raged like the blizzard winds which had once cut into his feathers and fur all those years ago. It sent him into a rage, a desperate struggle against whatever foe lay in front of him, be it weather or ice-wolf.

With a swipe of his claws, Gallus sent the changeling spinning into pieces like tissue paper as the massive horde charging him as one entity. Letting out a screech, the gryphon ripped into the creatures even as they continued to laugh.
“Too late.” 
“Too late.” 
“If only he had actually tried!” 
“And the one time it mattered.” 
“And he still thinks she loves him!”
“How pathetic. She doesn’t want him.” 
“Or need him.” 
“Oh but he needs her.”
“What a one-way street that must be.”

“SHUT UP!” Gallus screeched, the dozens of shredded creatures still laughing at him. The horde of changelings pounced, crowding Gallus into a tight ball. The mass of changelings changed into formless shapes, forming a small room with glowing eyes. 

“Shut up he says.”
"Doesn’t like the truth?”
Gallus grasped his head with a set of claws, the room closing tighter around him. The floor turned to a grey putty, swallowing the gryphon slowly.
Not this again.

“SOMEONE?! ANYONE?!” He called out, prompting the room to shiver with laughter at him.

“Who would help you?”
“You’re all alone.”
“Why would anyone help you?”
With his final breath before being swallowed by the nightmarish room, Gallus reached out with a final cry.
“IS ANYONE OUT THERE? HELP!” So cold. Why is it cold? Gallus felt a firm hoof grasp his claws, yanking him upwards. A gentle and strong voice pierced through his muffled thoughts.

“What is this?! BEGONE!”

Gallus’ vision then went white, a beautiful and pure energy burning away the scenery and everything in his view. Then there was silence, the gryphon still keeping his eyes closed.
He heard the soft clip-clop of hooves, and Gallus cracked opened his eyes, apparently having curled into a ball at the last minute.

The tender gaze of Princess Luna gazed back at him, her eyes shining with regret.
“Gallus, we are so sorry.” She whispered, spreading her wings and changing the plain white scenery to that of a peaceful forest. "Gryphon dreams are different from that of ponies. We had no idea you were this troubled. Is this why you haven’t been sleeping?” Luna asked, prompting Gallus to scrub his eyes.

“I-wha? This is a dream? Are you real?” He asked, forelimbs still shaking slightly.

“Yes, and yes. I am the guardian of the night, namely dreams. I am sorry I was not here earlier…” Luna’s regretful tone caused Gallus to shrug.

“But you’re here now. So, thank you.” He mumbled, looking around briefly. 

The dream realm? That makes sense I guess.

“You never answered my question, Gallus.” Luna remarked, sitting down next to the gryphon.

Gallus’ wings slumped, the gryphon nodding slowly.
“Has it been that obvious? I know I’ve been slacking in class, not on purpose though.” He sighed, head shaking back and forth slightly. Luna looked over to him curiously, a simple nod in reply.

“Very obvious. Enough so that your friends are worried, including someone who loves you very much.”
Ears perking up at the last few words, Gallus looked over to Luna curiously.

“Silverstream? She-no, of course she is. Because I’m an idiot and haven’t talked to her about it yet.” He muttered, placing a set of claws on his head.

“Not talking about my resentment and hate is what caused my transformation all those years ago, Gallus. You know that history lesson.” Luna remarked, looking to the star-filled dream sky. “Holding it all in benefits nobody. You save no-one pain- only cause them to worry. Making my mistakes even on a small scale still leads to the same end. Your own pain and isolation, despite others being more than willing to help.” 

Gallus couldn’t help but smile, an ache in his chest slowly blossoming.
"Now I know why everyone calls you and Celestia wise.” He said softly, taking a few deep breaths.

“When you have lived as long as we have, it comes with time.”

Staying silent for a time, Gallus finally venture to ask the next question on his mind.
“How much of that dream did you hear?”

Now it was Luna’s turn to stay quiet for a moment.
“Most of it, as I had to adjust my magic to interact with that of a gryphon’s.”

The ache in Gallus’ chest blossomed, threatening to close his throat as the gryphon shook his head. 
“How do I tell her all of that? That dream laid it all out. I’m not-she could do so much better than me…”

A hoof gently placed itself on Gallus’ shoulder, the Alicorn of the night shaking her head.
“You know how to tell her, but you have to trust her, and open yourself up to hurt. That is how stronger bonds are forged.”

The gryphon nodded slowly, taking a shaky breath.
“I know. But, thank you for making it more plain, Luna-erm, Princess Luna.” He stammered.

“Just Luna in this place, Gallus. I must go now, but know that you are surrounded by friends and family who want you to succeed. In particular, there is one who wants nothing more than to be at your side. She woke up a few minutes ago, actually.” Luna remarked, spreading her wings and beginning to fade into the background.

“Luna, thank you. Really.” Gallus called, his world fading to a peaceful pink glow.

“Anytime, my little gryphon.”

Gallus woke up soaked in sweat. Tangled in his bedsheets, the gryphon grumbled as he struggled to free himself. Thankfully he and Sandbar lived in bordering rooms, rather than the bunk-bed arrangement from the previous schooling semesters. That had proven to be a blessing when Gallus had been waking in a cold sweat for the past week and a half.
Nightmares. And Princess Luna? That was real? Gallus mused, slowly standing on his shaky legs. 
She was right, of course. I’ve been an idiot, and probably worrying Silverstream sick. I do trust her though; that’s the best way I’ve heard it put.

Walking out of the room to the main lounge, Gallus flopped onto the large sofa, then hearing a few hoof and claw steps nearby. Luna had said Silver had woken up too? Did they talk?
A pair of familiar purple eyes peered over the tan sofa, Silverstream walking around to sit next to him.

“Hey, you doing ok?” She asked softly, letting out a slight yawn.

“Yeah, I’m-” Gallus shut his beak, taking a deep breath as he turned to look at her. The genuine concern in Silver’s eyes tugged at his heart like nothing else ever could.
All she wants to do is help. Do I trust her enough for that?
The answer was immediate and obvious.

“Silverstream, I’m-I haven’t been doing so g-great. I’m not ok” Gallus replied, his voice shaking slightly.
“Nightmares every night. It’s all the same thing. Losing you in all sorts of ways. I-Luna was there this time. But this past week, I thought I could handle it on my own. I was-that was-” He stammered, Silverstream reaching over to hug the gryphon close. 

Her embrace unlocked the warm lump in Gallus’ chest that escaped through his eyes, hot tears burning down his cheeks as he returned the gesture, burying his face into her welcoming shoulder.
“I’m s-sorry I haven’t told you. Haven’t opened up, even though I said I would. That’s not what you do with someone y-you love.” In any other time the gryphon would have been horrified to hear his voice come out as a whimper, but between his own fears being laid bare and utter exhaustion, Gallus couldn’t find the energy to care. It was freeing in a way, to show a tender part of one’s self to the one you love. 

“I want to tell you, I need to tell you about it all. The dreams, my past. I said I would and I haven’t. You’re always there for me, but n-not in return… I’m just a wreck! I’m s-sorry. I j-just-I can’t do this alone anymore-”

“Gallus.” Silverstream’s voice cut through his exhausted stammering, the hippogriff hugging him close, his head resting on her shoulder. “We’ll talk, ok? But for now, you need to sleep. We’ve all been so worried about you. Sandbar, Yona, Ocellus, even Smolder; And of course I’ve been wanting to know what’s going on. But right now, we need to sleep.” Silverstream explained, her calm voice prompting Gallus to nod and curl up next to her. She pressed against his side, pulling the gryphon close with a wing briefly.  "And you aren’t alone, not even close. We’re here for you, I’m here for you, ok?”

Gallus simply leaned back against her, head nodding ever so slightly. 
“Are you going to stay here?” He whispered, eyes already closing with exhaustion.

“Why do you think I brought my favorite pillow?” Silverstream asked, prompting the gryphon to let out a slight huff.
“Mmm. I thought that was me?”

As the gryphon drifted off to sleep, the hippogriff ran her claws through his head feathers with a tender smile.
“That’s the joke you featherhead…”

As Gallus' breathing settled into a deep and regular rhythm, Silverstream scooted closer and spread a wing over the distraught gryphon. Oh Gallus, why didn’t you tell me about this sooner? The pink hippogriff thought, her own heart aching at seeing the one she loved so distressed. 
“Could do much better. Why me…” Gallus mumbled, final thoughts before totally drifting off to sleep. The gryphon moved slightly, shifting to rest against her side. Ah, and there it is.

Gallus had only mentioned it once before seriously, when they had first started becoming close. Since then, it had only come up in joking or passing once or twice. Apparently those words had apparently been eating at him for some time, possibly ever since first bringing it up. Silverstream's first major clue that Gallus still was troubled by the matter had been from a joke; a casual remark of ‘She could do so much better than me, and yet…’ It had simply passed into conversation, but the look in Gallus’ eyes had burned themselves into Silver’s heart. He truly believed those words.
You really think I could have someone better than you?
Silverstream wanted nothing more than to wake Gallus up and give him a kiss to erase that thought as best she could- but resigned herself to gently stroking the feathers on his head and cheek. 
If only you had told me sooner, I’d have gladly told you how wrong that is. Probably while crying, but still would have managed to tell you. How can you possibly think I could do better than you? Do you truly think so little of yourself?

How could she tell him in plain words? His exhausted rambling just a few minute ago proved her suspicions; there was a great deal she had to explain to him. 
You said I’m always there for you, but you’re just…not? You’re ‘you’ Gallus. Do you have any idea how much that means to me? How much I love you just for that? What else could I possibly want? I don’t have specific battles to fight, while you do. That doesn’t make it any less important.

While nightmares had been plaguing her mind as well, they were more of a growing annoyance rather than a disruption. She planned on telling Gallus of course; the dreams having started shortly after he had admitted to loving her- and her ecstatic reply in kind. 
It was always the same dream though; the storm king taking Gallus away in some manner or the other. Now that she had someone to lose, that fear had resurfaced apparently.
Hmm. Luna appeared in that nightmare and woke me up then. I guess that was real too. She did say Gallus needed my help… The Princess certainly had been correct. Silverstream could see the bags under Gallus’ eyes, the poor gryphon clearly not having slept well for over a week. In short, he looked awful.

How do I tell you how much it hurts, seeing that I can’t help you through this? I want to, so much…
Silverstream let out a slight sniff, eyes dampening with tears as she traced Gallus’ cheek with a set of claws. He wasn’t alone, but in not telling her, he only made it seem like that.
He’s been alone his entire life, so it’s not fair to expect a sudden change. But he knows that too, all I can do is be there for him. That’s all I want.

Silverstream sighed, the rise and fall of Gallus' sides against her own soothing her slightly frazzled thoughts. She just wanted to make him happy, but unless he told her what was wrong, there was only so much she could do. Never having loved someone like this before, Silverstream hadn’t been prepared for how much she just wanted to see Gallus happy. 
How much it hurt to see him suffer, both from his own stubbornness and the nightmares was still surprising.
We’ll talk tomorrow Gallus. It’s the weekend, so we can just get food, and talk. Somewhere quiet and alone. I don’t know what you’ll say exactly, but I promise to listen and love you all the same.

“I don’t know what you think I’m going to say tomorrow Gallus, but I love you. I’ll be right here.”
Maybe it was a trick of the dim lights, but as Silverstream lay a wing and her neck over Gallus' back protectively, she could have sworn a slight smile edged onto his beak.