//------------------------------// // ...To The Pony's Parents // Story: Coming Out // by Melody Song //------------------------------// "Come on Gallus!" "Do we have to?" the blue colored griffon whined as his pony companion looked back at him from a few paces ahead. "Yes Gallus, we agreed. Come on, let's go." "Why can't we wait until the holidays though?" "Even if we did, I'd still need permission from my parents to go with you to Griffonstone and tell Gabby and Gilda." "We still haven't decided whether or not to actually tell them though..." "Gallus, we're telling them." Sandbar trotted back and put his hoof over Gallus' claw. "They may not be that close with you, but they're griffons who you know and trust and who actually care about others. Besides, you actually have talked with them before, and both of us know Gabby since she's the mail carrier." "Still, it's not fair. Smolder 'n Ocellus get to wait until the holidays." "Because their parents don't live anywhere remotely close to Ponyville. But they'll still tell them." Sandbar leaned up and pressed a quick kiss to his boyfriend's cheek. "Come on, the quicker you go, the faster it'll be over." "Ugh, fine." Gallus sighed, then gently jabbed the pony in the chest with a claw. "But you better give me some really good snuggles after this." "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." Sandbar said, doing the motions, then taking Gallus' claw in his hoof and beginning to pull him along. "How do we know your parents will be supportive of this?" "Oh, they're really cool about this sort of thing. I've never told them I'm...y'know...but they support the community and everything. They're kinda anti-segregation, so they believe in equality for everycreature. It's part of why they wanted to send me to Headmare Twilight's school. Why do you ask?" "It's just...Ocellus was telling me about these scenes in books she knows about awful coming out experiences...the parents going so far as to kick their kids out. And I'm already homeless, I couldn't bear knowing I was the reason you-" "Gally." Sandbar's voice made him stop talking. "Those books...I won't say that they're wrong, because they're not...but things like that hardly ever happen anymore. And my parents are amazingly accepting. They're going to love you, and be very happy for us, I know it." Sandbar then hugged Gallus tight and they continued walking. Sandbar brought Gallus to a simple looking house on the outskirts of the town. He gave his boyfriend a comforting smile before turning and knocking on the door. It opened to reveal a yellow coated earth pony mare with a soft pink mane and the same green eyes as Sandbar. She smiled when she saw the colt. "Sandbar! Sea Kelp, dear, Sandbar's here!" Sandbar smiled and laughed, blushing softly as he led Gallus in. An earth pony stallion trotted over, smiling just as wide as the mare. He had a green coat, ocean blue eyes, and a light blue mane hanging in dreadlocks. "Son! Good to see you again!" the stallion said, reaching to hug Sandbar around the neck. Sandbar's mother finally noticed Gallus. "And who's this, Sandbar?" "Oh..." Sandbar walked over to Gallus. "Mom, dad, meet Gallus. Gallus, this is my mom and dad, Shell Scallop and Sea Kelp." "Hey..." Gallus said, suddenly shy "Cool, a gwiffon!" a little filly, no more than five years old, came running up. She had a sea foam green coat, a messy mane striped in pink and teal, and teal eyes. "Can you reawwy woar wike a wion?" "Heh, Gallus, this is my baby sister, Coral Reef." Sandbar said, picking up the filly and holding her gently. "Sanba, Sanba!" "Hi little one." Gallus said, and the filly reached out and touched his beak. "Heh, hey, that tickles!" "Coral, c'mon, back off." Sandbar set her down and she trotted to her parents. "So, what brings you two here?" Shell Scallop asked, and the two boys looked at each other. "Hm...I see there's something you two are probably wanting to tell us." Sea Kelp said, beckoning them further into the house. "Why don't we sit down and talk." "Okay dad." Sandbar said, and they followed the adults into the living room. The four ponies and one griffon sat down on the couch, facing each other, and Sandbar took a breath. "Mom, dad, we came here today because...well, you see, Gallus isn't just one of my friends. He's, well..." Sandbar looked over at Gallus, who looked away, not sure how to offer support. "He's my...my boyfriend." Shell Scallop and Sea Kelp just smiled. "Oh, honey, I'm so happy for you!" Shell Scallop leaned over and hugged her son. "Honestly, Sandbar, we suspected for a while. We just never knew the right time to ask you." Sea Kelp added "So...you're okay with it?" "Of course we're okay with it." Shell Scallop replied "Was a boyfwiend?" Coral asked "Well Coral...it's when you really care about somecreature deeply, in a romantic sense." Sea Kelp told her "And if that creature happens to be a boy, then it's called a boyfriend." Coral nodded like she understood and looked up at her brother and Gallus in awe. "Now tell me, how did you two start dating?" Shell Scallop asked eagerly. "Well, we share a dorm in the Friendship School, and...do you remember the Hearth's Warming when I stayed at the school because our professors invited me and my friends to join them for their celebrations?" "Of course. We were so proud of you for getting such an amazing honor." Sea Kelp said "Mwissed you." Coral interjected, moving and nuzzling up to her brother. "I missed you guys too. But a little bit before Hearth's Warming, I approached Gallus. Part of the reason we stayed behind in the first place was because we realized Gallus didn't have a family to spend the griffon's holiday with. Gallus and I had grown closer before then, and it was kind of the time I thought I should confess to him." Sandbar looked over at Gallus, who blushed. "Yeah, I'm embarrassed to admit it now but at the time...I thought it was wrong to feel that way about another guy, that I myself was mentally ill for being attracted to Sandbar that way. See, Griffonstone isn't a very nice place to live, and I had been told my whole life just by hearing other griff's conversations that it was wrong. And Gruff, the one adult griffon who talked to me on occasion, told me I was wrong when he overheard me talking to a fellow griffon, Gilda, about how I might like boys. So...I was scared when Sandbar told me he liked me." "You poor thing, and you have to go back to that place?" Shell Scallop asked worriedly "He didn't have to that year." Sandbar put in. "I talked to Gallus and ended up convincing him it was okay to feel that way. We ended up...kissing, and started dating a few days later." "Oh, that is just the sweetest thing." Shell Scallop said "Gallus, sweetie, are you going to go back to your home?" "Well...I don't exactly have much of a reason to. My parents are gone and the only griffs who really care about me are only a couple years into being adults, Gilda and Gabby." "Actually, mom, dad, I wanted to ask you two things..." Sandbar said "First, if Gallus could stay with us for Hearth's Warming." "Of course he can Sandbar." Sea Kelp replied "Great...the other thing...is if I could go with Gallus to Griffonstone. Just for a day, so he can tell Gilda and Gabby about us." "If you feel like you need to, we'll let you Sandbar. But we want you boys back here for Hearth's Warming." Sea Kelp told him. "Of course dad. We wouldn't miss it." Sandbar said "See Gallus, what did I tell you?" Sandbar asked. Gallus had his arms around Sandbar as they laid in bed, snuggling together. "Yeah...you did keep your promise about cuddles." Gallus murmured "Not about the cuddling you silly griffon!" Sandbar kissed Gallus' forehead. "About how things went with my parents." "Well...you were right about that too." Gallus admitted, and Sandbar nuzzled him. "Mm-hm. My parents do really like you, and they're glad for us. Just like I said they'd be." "Yeah, yeah. You were right..." Gallus sighed, then yawned. "Mind if we take a nap?" "Not at all." Sandbar snuggled up close into Gallus, burying his muzzle into Gallus' chest fur. Gallus smiled and pulled him closer, resting against his coltfriend and falling asleep.