The Student from Warpla

by SparkStone


Part 21 - Karaoke

    Valiant woke up with a rather messy bed hair and a few bags under his eyes. He holds a cup with his toothbrush and a towel over his shoulder as he heads on over to the bathroom. However, he sees Smolder, Ocellus, and Yona waiting right by the door. Through the walls, Spike’s voice can be heard singing as running hot water sprinkles in the tub. He could tell that it was going to be a while before he got a turn and decided to see if the kitchen sink was available.

    Seeing the sink being free, he readies his toothbrush and cleans away. Nothing was running through his mind at the moment, as simply getting ready for whatever would happen for the day was his first objective. As he brushed his teeth, he overhears Gallus and Sandbar discussing something in their room.

    “You’re busy too, huh?” Gallus sighed.

    “Sorry man, it’d be kind of risky for me to do that. Also, I have plans with her today,” Sandbar said with an apologetic tone, not happy about leaving Gallus on the deep end.

    “It’s alright,” Gallus assured him. “I also wanted to ask him, but I think he was still asleep.”

    As Valiant listens, Silverstream sneaks up behind Valiant and gives a cheery shout. “Good MORNING VALIANT!”

    Valiant spins around to see the lively Hippogryph greeting him with a big and joyful smile. The human smiles back in return to her energetic appearance. “Good morning Silverstream. How are you?”

    “I’m doing GREAT!” She tells him before placing her talons onto his shoulders. “I’ve been seeing a couple of places we HAVE TO TRY!”

    “That sounds wonderful!”

    “Doesn’t it!? I was thinking if we can go check them today.”

    Before Valiant could respond, Gallus grasps his hand and pulls him a bit to catch their attention. “Sorry Silverstream, but I kinda need Val’s help with something today.”

    “Oh… Well, maybe tomorrow?” she wondered.

    “I’ll be sure to make time tomorrow,” Valiant assured her.

    She gives a warm grin before leaving the two to themselves. Gallus brings Valiant to his room where they’re left alone to talk. Gallus looks a bit tense, whatever is on his mind has him pacing his own room for a while as Valiant simply sits on the bed, waiting to hear from the griffon.

    “Okay, so… um...” He begins, scratching his head. “Do you remember that one pony we saved a while back?”

    “Snowy Trails?”

    “Yeah, so… I ran into her the other day.”

    “Oh, that must’ve been nice.” Valiant felt happy for the blue griffon. “How was it?”

    “Well, it was pretty okay until...” he pauses almost as if something had caught his tongue.

    “Until…?”

    “She asked if I wanted to go out with her somewhere.”

    Valiant tilts his head, confused by Gallus’s twiddling over what sounded like a normal meeting of friends. Gallus turned to his companion and said, “She said she’s bringing a friend so it doesn’t get too weird. I was hoping if... you could come with me too.”

    “That sounds fine to me,” Valiant agreed. He doesn’t think much of what’s so big or important about this and casually accepts. Gallus’s mood shifted to a more positive spirited griffon. “Great! You should go get ready, they’re meeting us at the market later.”

    Following his instructions, Valiant goes and gets dressed for the day. Gallus seemed very excited about this and decided to make sure he can look his best if not for his griffon friend.


    Valiant exits from the hotel entrance, equipped with a blue sweater vest, a white collar buttoned shirt, navy blue slacks with a silver chain, and black dress shoes. It was a snug and comfortable selection with help from Smolder at the last minute. He meets up with Gallus who seems to have a red bowtie around his neck with a slightly combed feathers on his head, not sticking out as much as it usually does.

    “You seem awfully prepared for going out today,” Valiant pointed out.

    “Well, duh,” he retorts. “Come on, I don’t want to keep them waiting.”

    Valiant follows Gallus close by as he passes through the Griffon Market. Just as Gallus had said before, the market is closed during the day, so the shacks and windows are closed. All of the tents are absent and not a griffon in sight. Valiant and Gallus make their way to Snowy’s father’s shop. Upon arrival, Snowy is waiting by with an unfamiliar lime green griffon. Her plumage was groomed quite nicely making it look like long hair. Her violet eyes look at the two boys as she readies the camera that was wrapped around her neck. She takes a picture of the two without warning, stunning them for a bit as she waits for the film to process. She whips it out and smiles at the photo.

    “Oh my gosh! You two look so cute!” she says as she holds her cheek in adoration of the picture.

    “Um… who is this?” Valiant questioned as he rubbed his eyes.

    “This is my friend, Ima,” Snowy introduced her friend. “She likes to take photos, so she may suddenly take one out of nowhere.”

    “I think I got your good side!” she giggles as she shows a photo of them jumping in surprise, eyes widened and even Valiant’s teeth showing. The human and the griffon lean in and exchange raised eyebrows to each other.

    “How… nice,” Valiant responded with a shallow tone.

    Snowy rubbed her hooves together and was looking away, trying to think about what to do now that they’ve all gathered. Gallus notices her plight and decides to take the initiative.

    “Um… Let’s get going! I know a great place to eat!”

    “Oh! You do? That’s good! I ate a light breakfast since I was kind of in a rush thanks to a certain some pony.”

    Snowy’s cheeks puff as she avoids eye contact from her friend but playfully responds. “I said I was sorry.”


    Sometime later, the four of them arrive at a ritzy restaurant. The soft green building shows off its tall, white pillars with golden etchings and the sign reading Equine’s Garden written in glittery yellow. Gallus approaches the receptionist who escorts them to their table. They pass by tables with clean white table cloth and are seated at a booth with green cushions.

    “Wow, this place is super fancy!” Ima exclaimed.

    “Are you sure we can afford this?” Snowy asked in concern.

    “No worries! We can foot the bill for something like this for today.” Gallus was making good use of the trip money being provided by the Dune Star Tribe, something that Valiant had no qualms about. He was more concerned about the fact that he’s eating someplace new without Silverstream. She was quite adamant about them eating new places together, and has never betrayed that until now. The three of them open their menu with Valiant still staring blankly at his own menu sitting on the table, unopened. Gallus sees his strange behavior and nudges his arm and whispers, “Dude, what’s wrong? You didn’t open the menu.”

    “I don’t know Gallus,” he says to him with unsureness. “I usually eat at new places with Silverstream.”

    “I’m sure she won’t get mad over one place,” Gallus assures him. “And it’d be weird if you didn’t eat with us. Just try and find something you’ve already eaten before if you’re that worried.”

    Not wanting to disappoint, Valiant opens the menu to see what he can order. As Valiant’s thoughts drifted to Silverstream’s possible reactions to all of this, Snowy was looking up from her menu to catch a glimpse of Gallus before hiding behind the menu again before he could notice.

    “So!” Ima began, looking at Valiant. “Snowy told me a lot about you!”

    “Has she?” Valiant looked at Ima as she snapped another photo of Valiant. He does his best to ignore the camera flash and says, “I’ve only been able to talk to her once before.”

    “Well, you made a good first impression.” She winks at Valiant playfully. The human is thrown off for a bit before the waiter comes in to take everyone’s orders.

    “Have you decided what you’ll be having?”

    “I’ll have the Valley Scone Special,” Snowy and Gallus ordered at the same time. The two winced once they realized they ordered the same thing with Ima taking a photo of the moment.

    “Oh, were you getting that?” he asked the mare.

    “Well, yeah,” Snowy nodded. “My parents often bring back griffon scones once in a while, so I thought I’d see what it’s like here.”

    Valiant and Ima finished ordering their food. The waiter gave a light bow before leaving to get their orders informed. Snowy and Gallus were smiling away at the coincidence while Ima turned her attention to Valiant.

    “So, I heard that you and Gallus were quite the team a few days ago,” Ima stated. “I hope you don’t mind me bringing it up.”

    “It’s quite alright,” Valiant assured her. “We did our best to stop the kidnapper and succeeded.”

    “If it weren’t for Gallus and Valiant, I don’t know where’d I be right now,” Snowy said gratefully. There’s a slight chill in her mind about what would’ve happened if Gallus hadn’t come and only smiles more at the blue griffon. “I honestly can’t thank you two enough.”

    “Uh, it was nothing… I mean, it was something! Just that… everything happened the way it did,” Gallus stammered, trying to make sure he doesn’t outright say something rude. Snowy and Ima giggled at his loss of composure while Valiant merely stared at the flustered griffon.

    “So, I’ve also been meaning to ask about Valiant,” Ima stated as she leaned close to Valiant’s face. “I’ve never seen a creature like you before! And the way you apparently came from the ceiling sounds straight from a story book! It must have been quite heroic.”

    Ima’s gaze gives off a seductive lure as she peers into Valiant’s eyes. Valiant presses his body against the seat, a hopeless attempt to gain distance from Ima as she draws close. Gallus sees his plight and as politely as he can, places his talon onto Ima’s chest and stops her from her advances.

    “Hey, let’s calm down, alright?”

    Snowy places her hoof on Ima’s shoulder, frowning at her friend’s behavior. “Ima, what are you doing?”

    “Sorry! Sorry!” she apologizes once she realizes she overstepped her boundaries. “I’m just so curious. I just never saw many bipedal and strong creatures like you. Maybe one minotaur, but none as… compact and cute.”

    “O-Oh...” Valiant responds with a slight blush on his face. “Well, humans like me aren’t that strong. We require… adjustments to be able to perform such feats.”

    “Really?” Snowy spoke in surprise. “From first glance, I thought that was your own strength.”

    “What would happen if you didn’t have those, ‘adjustments’?” Ima wondered.

    “I’d definitely not be able to fight such a foe.” Valiant admitted. “I would require a more stealthy and adaptable approach.”

    “Your food, sir,” the waiter suddenly interrupts as he places everyone’s order on the food. Snowy and Gallus see scones placed in front of them with green leafage peeking out. Valiant had ordered the soup of the day which had hints of tomatoes and onions while Ima had a fruit salad dazzled with strawberries and cuts of pineapple carved like gems.

    “Wow! Is this what a five-star restaurant gets you?” Ima thought aloud before taking another picture of the spread of food with her companions in it. The picture shows her performing a selfie with the others and the table in the back as the main focus.

    “You really didn’t have to do this, you know,” Snowy stated, concerned about Gallus and Valiant.

    “No, it’s totally alright!” Gallus told them. “Today, we can afford stuff like this no problem!”

    “In that case, would you mind going to one more place after this meal?” Ima asked him.

    “Ima! We really shouldn’t push it!” Snowy warned her friend.

    “No, it’s alright,” Valiant assured them. “What is this place you want to go to?”


    The four went to a tall pink building with symbols of music notes hanging on the signboard outside. Inside has a small seating area and a receptionist by the counter. Valiant looked confused at what this place could be, though he can hear singing from the other nearby rooms along with music seeping through.

    “What is this place?”

    Ima turns to the bewildered Valiant and says, “it’s a Karaoke Parlor!”

    “We can sing here in our own rooms. They have a lot of recorded music using magic crystals and enchanted books.” Snowy explained.

    After purchasing a room for an hour, they head down the pastel violet hallway and into their room. There, they find a large couch with plenty of seating room, a large oakwood table, and a bell hanging in the corner with a string attached to it. The crystal is in the very front of the room with stereos nearby and a book of songs.

    “This is quite an impressive sight,” Valiant thought aloud. “All of the machinery is connected to the magic artifacts.”

    “It’s quite a harmony of technology and magic, isn’t it?” Snowy giggled as she turned to Gallus. “Have you ever sung before, Gallus?”

    “Oh, uh… No, not really,” he admitted sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. “I might need help picking out something.”

    “Don’t worry, I’ll help you,” Snowy assured him. “I know a couple of good songs that are easy to sing.”

    “And I’ll help you!” Ima declared to Valiant. “There’s a lot of songs to pick from, but I can help you narrow some down!”

    “I’d appreciate that,” Valiant said honestly. “I’ve never sung either.”

    The two girls brought the boys to the large sofa and opened up the book of songs. Each song had a rune code that must be placed onto the device to have it be played. Gallus was up at the bat first as Snowy picked out something for him to sing.

    “Let’s sing this one together,” Snowy suggested.

    “T-Together?” Gallus stammered. “I don’t know, I’ve never sung on the spot like this before...”

    “Don’t worry! It’s all in good fun!”

    She and Gallus went up to the crystal and put in the ID for the track. The crystal spins and the stereo soon plays a song. Words emit in a holographic wonder in front of them. As Gallus was astounded by such technology, he looked to Snowy who told him to follow her lead before she cleared her throat and began singing.

    When the bubblegum pops, I want you to smile
    Remember every good time
    We had when skies were grey
    Oh, Bubblegum dear, why are you crying?
    I’ll never let them take, my Bubblegum away

    Gallus was quite amazed by her voice. He was mesmerized by her melody before realizing it was his turn to sing. It didn’t take long before he realized the lyrics were pretty much the same as hers, giving Gallus enough reference to sing along to. He and Snowy were having a good time together on the mic. Valiant and Ima were quite pleased to see the two having a joyous time. By the end of the song, the two were smiling at their performance before a flash from the other side of the room was emitted. They look over to see Ima giving a goofy grin with a smiling Valiant.


    Several tracks later, the sun began to set and the four wrapped up their Karaoke session. One they had been extending because Valiant was too curious about the machine and how it worked. There was luckily lots of food to be served and plenty of fun tracks for them to try out. Plenty of pictures to be taken as well. The four checked out of the room at the lobby and exited the building to see the moon rising with its pale beauty. Snowy and Gallus looked at each other and knew it was time to end the day.

    “Well...” Snowy spoke solemnly, knowing that they’ll have to say farewell for the night. “I guess we should go home...”

    “Yeah...” Gallus responded in a similar mood. “I guess we should before it gets too dark.”

    “Oh no!” Ima suddenly exclaimed. “I left my camera in the room! Hey Valiant, can you come and help me find it?”

    “Huh? I-” before Valiant could question why he needed to be present with her, Ima pulled him back into the Karaoke parlor, leaving Snowy and Gallus to themselves. Upon entering the lobby, Ima dragged Valiant not towards the room they were singing in, but to the window where they could spy on snowy and Gallus, but they wouldn’t be able to see them. Valiant was confused as to why Ima had lied about something so trivial at all.

    “What was the point of this?” Valiant questioned, only to be shushed by Ima as she pointed through the window. Beyond the glass, Gallus and Snowy stood around awkwardly waiting for their friends to return.

    “I wanted to give them some time alone,” Ima explained. “Snowy was telling me how much she wanted to see Gallus again, but she begged me to go with her so it wouldn’t have gotten weird.”

    “What’s so weird about them spending time together?” Valiant asked.

    Ima was surprised by Valiant being so blissfully unaware of what was going on. “You really don’t know what’s going on?”

    Valiant’s bewildered expression confirmed it for Ima. He had no idea that Snowy had a crush on Gallus. It was a shame since she wanted to hear from Valiant if Gallus was interested in Snowy. Before she could explain to Valiant, their attention draws back to Snowy who shivered a bit from the night breeze. Gallus notices her plight and opens his wings to wrap around her. Snowy is embraced by Gallus as she was politely invited to stay close to him. Valiant soon put two and two together and realized the harmony emanating between the two.

    “Do you get it now?” Ima said with a smirk.

    “I never realized it,” Valiant admitted. “I was never good with understanding… feelings I suppose.”

    Ima looked to the two outside and turned back to Valiant. She suppose there’s no harm in spending a little longer to chat with Valiant about his love life either. She broadly and openly asks the question to him. “Valiant, are you interested in any creature?”

    “Hmm? No, none comes to mind.”

    “I see,” Ima nods. “No one comes to mind?” Valiant shakes his head, having Ima continue her inquiry. “Do you have any preferences? Guy or girl? Human or other creature?”

    “I’ve never thought of it...” Valiant responds. “I’ve only focused on helping my tribe. Though, my time in Ponyville has allowed me to explore myself greatly, but I never felt attracted to anyone before...”

    “So no preferences at all?” Ima questioned.

    “Hmm… I suppose a girl,” he shrugged.

    “What about me?” she asked as she winked at him, only to receive a deadpan stare. “Doing nothing for ya?”

    “No, sorry,” he apologized.

    “No, don’t sweat it,” Ima assured him. “Does nobody really come to mind?”

    Valiant rested his head by a wall and gave it some thought. He has never given much thought about love nor has he ever wondered what he wanted for himself. He has suspected it was a strong sense of devotion to someone, but he can only imagine his efforts for his tribe. That has always been the bottom line of it all. The greatest change would have to be with his friends who have given him so much more. The only ones he would do more for is probably his friends. “I suppose… if I had to choose someone, It’d have to be someone I’ve known for quite a while.”

    “Ah, so I’m definitely not your choice,” Ima giggled. “That’s alright. I’m glad to have gotten to know you though. I wanted to see the saviors of Snowy myself.”

    “I’m glad to get to know you as well,” Valiant told her. “You’ve given me a lot to think about myself as well.”

    Ima smiles and hands over a photo to him. It was a picture of their time at the restaurant together in a group. “Here, to remember the fun day we had!”

    “I’ll be sure to hold onto it,” Valiant said to her. He looks back to the griffon and the unicorn and asks, “When should we go back to them?”

    Ima smiled at the pair and replied, “Just a few minutes while I get ready to take another picture.”


    Valiant and Gallus open the door to their room where they see the rest of their friends. Smolder and Ocellus are sitting on the couch reviewing some of their assignments while Sandbar is helping Spike and Chewka write up a shopping list for groceries. Silverstream was sitting around until she realized the two came home and quickly approached them.

    “Hey you two! Back from your trip?” Silverstream asked. “Where’d you go out all day?”

    “Oh, here and there,” Gallus told her.

    Yona then went up to the two with something on her mind. She wasn’t her usual self as she had an expression that was expressing deep thought.

    “Gallus, can Yona ask an opinion on something?”

    “Uh, sure.” Gallus agreed, not knowing where this was going. Yona brought Gallus away for some privacy, raising Valiant’s suspicion.

    “Is something the matter?” Valiant wondered.

    “She’s been asking each of us something about it,” Silverstream explained. “I’m sure she’ll talk to you about it later, but it is kind of private.”

    “I see,” Valiant nodded. It had been quite a day and Valiant was stretching his arms to get ready for bed for the night. “I think I’ll go to bed early for the night.”

    “Oh, okay then!”

    Valiant walked towards his room, not noticing something fall out of his pocket. Ocellus sees it fly by the couch and picks it up to return it. “Hey Valiant, you dropped your pic-”

    Suddenly, she pauses as she inspects the photograph. It was a picture of Valiant and a griffon girl she had never seen before. Smolder notices Ocellus’s blank stare and takes a peek, suddenly going into a similar state as her changeling friend.

    “Oh, sorry about that,” Valiant apologized as he reached out to the photo. Ocellus pulled back before he could take it as she and Smolder gave him a glare he didn’t expect.

    “Hey, what are you two looking at?” Silverstream wondered before finding out for herself. She gasped and flew up to Valiant with her beak pressing onto his nose. “YOU ATE OUT SOMEWHERE NEW WITHOUT ME!?”

    “Gallus took me someplace to eat, I didn’t have a choice!” Valiant quickly explained, only to reach death ears.

    “You had a choice! You could have brought me over!”

    “So...” Smolder began with a stern look. “Who’s the griffon?”

    “She’s a new friend I met,” the human claimed.

    “So you spent all day with a girl you’ve just met, hmm?” Ocellus’s smile was anything but happy as her eyes looked as if raging fire was dancing within them.

    Valiant suddenly felt murderous intent coming from the three girls as they surrounded him. He had no idea why they’re acting like this, but they definitely weren’t pleased with him going out with some stranger apparently.

    “Gallus was with me too, though...” Valiant reasoned.

    “Don’t bring Gallus into this!” Silverstream scolded. “Where’s our time together?”

    “We hang out together, don’t we?” he pointed out.

    “Yeah, but not just us,” Smolder noted.

    “But you can spend time with some new friends, can you?‘ Ocellus huffed.

    Valiant had no idea how he alone got into trouble by the three. However, if he did something wrong, he was the kind of person to make things right. He sighed and told them, “I don’t know what I did wrong, but I don’t want to hurt your feelings anymore than I already have. If you have someway for me to make up for it, then I’ll gladly do so.”

    The three girls had a surprised look at Valiant easily willing to do anything for them only to calm them down. They exchanged looks of surprise before looking back to the boy and smiled.

    “Well, I could think of something,” Smolder shrugged.
    “Okay! You said it, not me!” Ocellus sang happily.
    “Alright, I’ll forgive you this time,” Silverstream warned him. “But you’re making up for it~!”

    Valiant’s heart sank as what was going to be a peaceful night of sleep may have him tossing and turning at what they may have in store for him.