Feather stayed silent as he and Skystar made their way up to the hippogriff village. He couldn't believe that he was going on a date with an actual princess. Feather thought he had nothing to worry about due to his experience with dating mares, but dating a princess was a whole new level. There were times during the walk where Feather looked around his environment in case if Queen Novo sent some of her guards to keep surveillance on her daughter.
"Um, are you alright Feather?" Skystar asked curiously. This made Feather startled for a bit.
"Oh! Um...I'm fine!" Feather said with a fake smile. "It's just hard to believe that you were a princess. Not that there's anything wrong with that!" Feather assured.
"Yeah, I didn't want to get that much attention while I was outside of my home." Skystar said.
"I guess that makes sense." Feather said. He then noticed that he and Skystar finally arrived to the top of Mount Aris where he saw more hippogriffs in the area. Some of the hippogriffs greeted Skystar and sometimes bowed to her as she and Feather passed by.
'It would make sense that they all know Skystar. She is a princess after all.' Feather thought as he continued to follow Skystar.
"So, where should we go first?" Feather asked.
"I do feel a little hungry. How about a place to eat? I know this really great place that serves the best meals!" Skystar said as she took Feather's hoof and led him further into the town. It was a few minutes before Skystar and Feather arrived to a small cafe where ponies and hippogriffs were eating at.
"Princess Skystar!" A male hippogriff said as he approached the couple. "What brings you back to Mount Aris?"
"I'm just here on a little outing while showing this pony what Mount Aris is like." Skystar said as she lean to Feather.
"Then allow me to show you to a table." The male hippogriff said as he led the couple him to a small table. Once Feather and Skystar were seated and told the waiter their orders, they stayed silent for a long time. It wasn't until Feather broke the ice in desperation.
"So, it seems that most of the hippogriffs here are happier now that they returned here." Feather said.
"I know, most of the hippogriffs really wanted to return to Mount Aris way before Princess Twilight and her friends came here. But they were too afraid of getting caught by the Storm King." Skystar said.
"I don't really blame you guys, the Storm King really was a bad guy." Feather said. He recalled from various stories that the Storm King and his army were able to capture all four alicorn princesses and stole their magic.
"I felt glad that I came with Princess Twilight's friends to fight back against the Storm King." Skystar said.
"Really?!" Feather said in surprise.
"Yeah, I couldn't just stay in Seaquestria. Princess Twilight's friends showed me that I could make some differences for doing a few things. Thanks to that, the Storm King was defeated and the hippogriffs got to return to their homes." Feather felt amazed from Skystar's act of bravery.
"Wow, that is impressive. I was with all the other ponies who got captured during the Storm King's invasion." Feather said as he remembered being in one of those black cages while surrounded by the Storm King's monsters.
"I felt so sorry for you guys when I saw what the Storm King did. That was what exactly my mom was afraid of when she hid us in the sea. She was able to keep the hippogriffs safe, but she didn't care much about those who were already attacked by the Storm King." Skystar looked down in sadness. Feather quickly thought of a way to cheer the princess up.
"But it's like you said, it was thanks to your efforts that the hippogriffs were able to enjoy living on the surface again." Skystar smiled.
"Yeah, you do have a point." Skystar said before the waiter returned with the couple's meals. Feather had a troubled look on his face when he saw his dish. It was made up of what looked like rolled up seaweed filled with rice. At the center of the rolls were colorful corals and some strange green paste on the side of the food.
"So, what is this?" Feather asked.
"You'll love this! This is what we call a coral wrap. It's a fried coral wrapped in salty seaweed. It's absolutely delicious!" Skystar said as she began eating her coral wrap. Feather slowly picked up his coral wrap to take a closer look at it. He wasn't exactly familiar with different kinds of cuisines outside of Equestria. Feather took a small bite from the coral wrap and took his time to chew on it. The coral was strange to taste but Feather was able to swallow it with satisfaction.
"This is really good!" Feather said while taking another bite.
"What did I tell you!" Skystar nodded as both of them continued to eat their meals.
"Cous!" A female voice said from nearby. Feather turned to see a female, light pink hippogriff coming towards his table. She was shorter than Skystar and she also had light blue hair.
"Silver!" Skystar said as she stood up to give the light pink hippogriff a hug. "What brings you back to Mount Aris?"
"It was spring break at the School of Friendship, so I came back here to see how our family has been doing." The pink hippogriff said as she pointed to her table which was made up of what looked like her family.
"That's so great to hear!" Skystar said before she realized that Feather was also here. "Oh right! Feather, this is Silverstream. She is one of my cousins."
"Umm...it's nice to meet you." Feather said sheepishly.
"Silver, this is Feather Bangs. I'm showing him around Mount Aris since this is his first time here." Skystar said.
"Wait, are you two...on a date?!" Silverstream gasped. "I feel so excited for Skystar! I can't believe you're on your first date, especially with a stallion!"
"I'm just showing him around the area. It's more like a hangout." Skystar corrected.
"Any date is a date if you ask me! Good luck, Skystar!" Silverstream then turned to Feather to give him a wink. "And you too, Mr. Feather Bangs." Silverstream then returned to her table.
"Your cousin seems to be nice." Feather said.
"Yeah, that's family for ya." Skystar said as she sat down so they could continue with enjoying their meals.
When Skystar and Feather were done eating, they left to continue exploring the village. Feather saw that the street was also made up of booths where hippogriffs could play different games and activities.
"How about we play some games here? There are a lot of fun things to do!" Skystar suggested.
"Sure!" Feather agreed as both of them went to a booth that was filled with bottles.
"Come and toss the rings into the bottles! You'll win a prize if you're able to toss at least one ring into at least one bottle!" A male hippogriff behind the booth said as he offered three rings to Feather.
"I got this one." Feather said to Skystar as he began to toss one ring to the table full of bottles. Unfortunately, he missed the ring toss after two tries and got really frustrated.
"Is it alright that I give it a shot?" Skystar said as she tossed the last ring into one of the bottles. Feather was stunned from Skystar's good aim.
"Congratulations, your majesty! Here's a prize for getting one ring into one of the bottles!" The male hippogriff said as he gave Skystar a small teddy bear.
"Thank you!" Skystar said as she cuddled with her teddy bear. "Let's go to another booth, Feather!" Skystar said as she led a shocked Feather.
'Okay, my first try to impress Skystar wasn't so good. Maybe the next time will work!' Feather thought with determination.
Feather had some bad luck during the next two booths as he kept losing or missing during the games. It made Feather feel more frustrated from each loss from the booths. What's worse was that Skystar gave it a try and she kept winning prizes. Skystar noticed Feather's struggles and she decided to led Feather to a small cart where cotton candy was being served.
"Ta da!" Skystar said as she presented a cone of cotton candy to Feather. "Consider it a treat for showing me a fun time!" Feather said nothing as he took the cone and took some bites from the cotton candy.
"It's good." Feather said as his eyes lit up from how tasty it was.
"I know," Skystar said as she also took a bite from her cotton candy. As the couple continued to eat their fluffy goodness, Skystar noticed the entrance to the Harmonizing Heights and came up with an idea.
"I bet you haven't seen what the Harmonizing Heights are like during the nighttime!" Skystar said as she took Feather's hoof and they made their way to the forested area. Skystar stopped until she and Feather were in a good amount of the forest where it was completely dark.
"Umm, Skystar, Are you sure it's a good idea to be this far into the woods?" Feather said in a bit of fear.
"Don't worry, it will be all worth it in about a few seconds." Skystar pointed to an area in the woods where some small lights appeared. Feather took a closer look to see that the small lights were fireflies and they flew closer to him and Skystar.
"Whoa!" Feather said in surprise as the fireflies flew up in the air to show off more of their bright lights.
"Amazing, huh?" Skystar said while also looking at the lights. "That was how I felt when I first saw them when I was younger." The fireflies continued to fly around Feather and Skystar. Feather couldn't help but feel like this scenario was very romantic. It almost made him want to write poems about the shining lights giving off from the fireflies and how it brightens the dark woods. Feather's thoughts were interrupted when he heard a booming sound from the sky. He looked up to notice that dark clouds were forming from the sky and the fireflies were leaving the area.
"Bummer, there's a storm coming." Feather said as he turned to Skystar. He noticed something was wrong as Skystar was shaking in fear from watching the sky.
"Sky?" Feather asked in concern.
"No...no...not again!" Skystar said as she trembled. She began running deeper in the woods while Feather galloped in pursuit.
"Sky! What's wrong!?" Feather shouted. He then noticed that Skystar was about to reach a large lake.
"Sky, stop! You're about to reach some water!" Feather yelled. It was too late as Skystar took a big leap towards the lake. Feather quickly jumped after her. As he was about to reach Skystar, she suddenly glowed that almost blinded Feather. Both of them splashed into the water and Feather tried to recover from his temporary blindness. He slowly opened his eyes and saw that he was in the water. Feather thought something was weird as he noticed that he saw things more clearly in the water and he isn't drowning because he was breathing as if the water was air. It was then Feather looked down to see that his hind hooves were replaced with a large fish tail that had light brown fins on the side. He continued to look all over himself until he realized that he had become a seapony just like Skystar.
'I must've transformed along with Skystar when we fell into the lake.' Feather thought before he remembered why he was in the lake in the first place. He began trying to swim around the water to find Skystar. It was difficult for Feather to swim with a tail since it was his first time as a seapony. He continued to swim around until he noticed an underwater rock formation.
'It would make sense that she could hide there.' Feather thought as he looked up to see the surface as light flashed to indicate lightning. Feather swam around the rock formation until he noticed a small opening on the side. He thought Skystar could've been in there since it was big enough. Feather entered the hole to find a crying Skystar curled up like a ball.
"Sky." Feather said as he approached her. Skystar got startled until she recognized Feather.
"Feather? How did you get here and how did you become a seapony?" Skystar asked.
"I was behind you when you jumped into the lake." Feather said. After another thunder hit, Skystar screamed in fear and continued to curl up in fear.
"Are you afraid of storms?" Feather asked. Skystar looked up to Feather with a sad look on her face.
"Yes, I'm terrified of them." Skystar admitted. "They remind me of when the Storm King tried to invade Mount Aris. He was so fierce when he and his army came with those dark clouds and lightning. Any dark storm reminds me of that horrible day. It makes me think that he or any of his minions might return and try to take away my home." Skystar then resumed crying. Feather made his way towards Skystar to wrap a hoof around her shoulder.
"It's okay, I'm here." Feather assured as he comforted Skystar while the storm raged on.
It was about an hour when Feather popped his head outside of the water. He noticed that the storm had passed.
"It's all clear." Feather said as he and Skystar got out from the water and transformed again.
"Woo, I'm glad I'm back as a pony." Feather said as he fixed his mane.
"I'm sorry if I ruined our date with my little scare back there." Skystar said sheepishly.
"It's no problem. I used to have a fear of talking to girls." Feather said.
"You did?" Skystar said in surprise.
"Yeah, I used to believe that talking to a mare was more scary than loneliness." Feather replied. "It was thanks to some good friends and practice that I was able to get over my fears."
"I got to admit, I was actually impressed when you told me you jumped into the lake with me." Skystar said. "What made you do that?" Feather looked at Skystar in confusion as he didn't know why.
"I honestly, don't know. You were acting scared and I wanted to make sure you were alright." Feather said before he noticed Skystar giving him a tender hug.
"Whatever what's worth, thank you for keeping me company." Skystar whispered. Feather blushed a deep red from not only hearing such a praise but from being extremely close to Skystar.
"It's...it's no problem!" Feather said as he rubbed the back of his neck. "We should probably head back to the beach so your mom could pick you up." Skystar nodded in agreement. The couple made their way down Mount Aris until they reached the seashore.
"Thanks for the date, Feather." Skystar said.
"I should be thanking you, you were the guide of this date." Feather replied.
"You have a point," Skystar said with a giggle. "Oh yeah! I forgot to give you one last gift!"
"A gift?" Feather asked.
"Yeah, but you have to close your eyes so you won't ruin the surprise!" Skystar demanded.
"Okay." Feather said as he closed his eyes shut. He waited for a few seconds until he felt Skystar's beak kissing his cheek. Feather's eyes shot open from Skystar's sudden move.
When Skystar was done with the kiss, she leaned to Feather's eyes and whispered "We should definitely do this again." Skystar then made her way to the beach where Queen Novo and her guards were waiting. As Skystar transformed and dived into the water, Queen Novo gave a small smile and a nod to Feather as a sign that she approves of him. Once the queen and her guards also dived into the ocean, Feather was by himself at the beach. He smiled with joy and turned to leave the beach.
'Way to go, Feather!' Feather praised himself as he couldn't wait for his next date with Skystar.