//------------------------------// // Chapter Three: Expression // Story: The Bonds of Love // by Summer Script //------------------------------// “Okay, so now we add the milk?” “And the mixture,” Silverstream reminded him. “And the mixture too,” Gallus agreed, passing it over. “Here ya go.” “Thanks, Gallus. Okaaay, and that’s that whisked. Pass the melted butter.” “How much butter does this thing need?” “Just a little bit more,” she answered, taking the bowl from him. “Thank you. And now the blueberries.” “Yep, blueberries incoming. Big bowl of blueberries,” he exclaimed, passing it over as well. “Thank you again!” she sang. “You’re welcome, Head Chef Silver.” “Hee-hee. ‘Head Chef Silver…’ Alright, almost done. … And we’re done!” “Wow, and here I thought we were supposed to bake them before we were done,” he snarked. “Oh, hush and pass me the baking tray and ice cream scooper.” “Why the ice cream scooper?” “To scoop the batter into the tray, silly.” “But it’s the ice cream scooper. It’s for scooping ice cream; that’s why it’s called the ‘ice cream scooper’ and not the ‘muffin mix scooper,’” he said as if it were obvious. “It’s still a scooper, Gallus.” “But it’s still the ice cream scooper; we have to use it for ice cream! If we don’t who knows what could happen! The sky could fall, dogs and cats could start living together; the gates of Tartarus could open! Complete and total chaos would ensue!” Gallus warned emphatically. “Hey, Gallus?” Silver asked, catching on. “Yeah?” “You know that’s basically every other Saturday, right?” “…I can’t argue there,” he admitted, pouting. “Then gimme. Thank you,” she said once he turned it over. Silverstream then scooped a glob of blueberry muffin mix and filled up one of the trays before she paused and humored him. “So did the sky fall?” “Uh, let me check.” Gallus looked out the window. “Nope. Doesn’t look like it.” “Cats and dogs living together?” “No more than usual.” “Gates of Tartarus still closed?” “No bugbears or manticores, but if Tartarus did open up, we probably wouldn’t know it yet.” “Well, we can’t wait until Saturday; this mix needs baking.” “Give me a minute; I’m still looking.” “Then you can keep looking, but I’m going to finish scooping these muffins. Let me know if the world does blow up though, so we can make it to the Town Hall’s bunker,” she requested, smirking. “On it. Wait, what the…? Hey, Silver? Does a giant flood of—I think those are pies?—Does a giant flood of pies count as the world blowing up?” he inquired, squinting at the sight beyond the window. “No. That’s either the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Discord, or a giant pie monster. Take your pick.” Gallus hummed in thought before stating, “My bet’s on pie monster.” “Really?” Silverstream asked, filling the other tray. “I thought you’d go with Discord.” “The pie flood isn’t covered in mustard or polka dots,” he elaborated plainly. “Oh. Then yeah, probably a pie monster. Think they’ll have it sorted in twenty-one minutes like usual, or do you think it needs the full forty-two?” “Depends on whether or not it can mind-control us.” “Well, I don’t feel like I’m being mind-controlled. You?” “No.” “Great!” Silver exclaimed. “Twenty-one minutes it is then. So, all we have left is to put these babies in there, close the door, and ta-da! We’re finished,” she cheerfully concluded. “Woo-hoo! I baked my first batch of muffins, hip-hip-hooray!” Gallus cheered, genuinely smiling. “Hip-hip-hooray! Hee-hee-hee,” she laughed, smiling back at him. “Now what?” “Now, we wait,” Silver said, hopping into a seat and watching the oven. “Right,” he said, taking the seat beside her. … “How long do we wait for these things to bake?” Gallus eventually asked. “Eighteen-to-twenty minutes,” she answered. “Just long enough that the pie monster should be taken care of by the time they’re done.” “Ah.” … He looked at Silver out of the corner of his eye, noting that she seemed completely content to continue observing their efforts cook into blueberry-filled goodness, regardless of how glacially they did so. He then quickly averted his eyes when she turned to look back at him, earning a giggle. C’mon, Gallus, just talk to her. It’s easy; all you have to do is talk. Just turn to her and talk. Just turn to her and— Oh Grover, help me! What am I supposed to say!? What am I supposed to think!? What am I supposed to do!? I don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t— No! I’m not going to freak out! I’m going to breathe! In. And out. In. And out. Gallus closed his eyes and leaned back in the chair, resting his head in his talons as he flicked his tail back and forth across the tiled floor. Just relax, Gallus, he soothed. Okay, I’m not going to panic; I’m going to think. This is just a problem, and problems are just a type of puzzle. And puzzles always have solutions. Emotional issues or no, there’s always an answer. So, what is the puzzle here? Gallus calmly asked himself. The problem is that I have no idea what Silverstream thinks of me. She asked if we went on a date, but I don’t know if she sincerely wants it to be that way or if she was just joking. Okay, now that I know the puzzle, how can I figure out the answer? I could call in a favor with Sandbar or Yona and have them talk to Silver about her thoughts on romance, then bring me into the conversation. They could then ask if she had any genuine romantic interest in me; afterward, they can tell me her answer, and I can think and act accordingly. … Or I could talk to her. That’s the healthier course of action. That’s supposed to be my first course of action! he lightly admonished himself. And I want to talk to her anyway. I like talking to her. Gallus looked at Silver again and was met with her warm smile. He tried his hardest to return it in kind, fighting off the sudden flash of heat that was absolutely, definitely, unquestionably from the oven in front of him. I just need to talk to her; it’s not that hard. … For goodness’ sake, just say something! “Hey, Silver?” he managed. “Yeah?” “Thanks. For teaching me how to bake muffins.” “You’re welcome, Gallus,” she replied happily. “And thank you for helping me out with them; it was way more fun than if I had done it all by myself.” “Yeah. … So, you bake a lot, huh?” he asked, unable to think of anything else to say. “Not as much as I used to, but oh boy! My first week here? I asked Professor Pie how to do it, and I practically never stopped afterward.” “Really?” “Yeah! I mean, cooking stuff above water? With fire!? How amazing was that!?” Silverstream squealed, throwing her talons into the air in excitement. Her burst of enthusiasm mellowed out as she finished, “Of course, now I’m used to it, so the novelty’s worn off a bit. But I still sneak down here from time-to-time.” “Huh. I guess you know all about baking more than just muffins then?” “I’d give you the full list, but I wouldn’t even be halfway done by the time the muffins finish.” “Sweet,” he admired. Silver giggled. Okay. That was a good start. Key word being “start.” Come on, Gallus, try to keep talking. “Sooo, how about today, huh?” he began again. Though she kept up her smile, Silver’s chipper mood vanished instantly. “Kindness class?” she guessed tentatively. “I was thinking more about Generosity,” Gallus clarified, trying not to panic at her worried tone. Silver blinked. “Oh! Yeah, I had a lot of fun,” she said, regaining some of her pep. “I was hoping to add more to my painting tonight, but I doubt I will. I still have Drama Club, homework, and the muffin delivery. Oh well.” “I can do the delivery if you want. O-Or did you want to do that together?” “Nah, I’ve got it. I have Drama Club next, and I wouldn’t ask you to stay through it all.” “What? Worried you might embarrass yourself in front of little, ole me?” Gallus teased. “Or are you worried I might embarrass you?” he added, winking. She’s not actually worried about that, right? “What!?” she yelped. “Oh, Gallus, no! Of course I’m not worried about something like that. For one thing, you could never embarrass me,” Silver reassured firmly. “And for another, there’s no way I’d mess up with all the practice I’ve had,” she proudly boasted. “Practice makes perfect after all.” “So muscle memory really is that effective, huh?” Gallus joked. “‘Muscle memory’!?” she exclaimed, affronted by the claim. “You think after all the hard work we put into our performances, we would ever rely on something like muscle memory? Gallus, how could you?” Silver dramatically bemoaned. “Sorry,” he meekly apologized. “That’s okay,” she assuaged, cheering right back up again. “We actually get that comment pretty often for some reason. Much to both Vellum and Scoop’s fury.” “Not hard to see why,” he said, shrugging. “If you put a lot of hard work and effort into everything you do, and someone assumes—joke or otherwise—that all your skill is born of something other than all of that effort… Annoyance is pretty obviously going to be felt,” he ended smartly. “That sounds suspiciously like psychology,” Silver said, grinning. “And here I thought you fell asleep during Professor Twilight’s lesson on psychology.” “I probably did,” Gallus nonchalantly confessed. “But her lectures were like parasites. No matter what, they always dug their way into my brain,” he lamented. “Ugh, that reminds me… I really hope we go back to the play we were practicing for today, and not another Horror. I know Professor Rarity wanted us to broaden our acting ranges, but I really didn’t like playing the monster,” Silverstream admitted, shivering. “Wait! Wh-What?” he chortled. “You’ve got to be kidding me; you played a Horror monster? No way, I don’t believe it.” “Is it bad that I’m relieved you don’t want to believe I could do the role?” Would she feel better if I agreed with her or disagreed with her? Gallus wondered, shrugging. “Ehhh, I don’t know either. But you now what? I’m gonna feel relieved anyway.” Phew. “Is that because I didn’t get to see you run around in a humongous alien costume?” “Try a giant, zombie monster suit that weighed more than Yona with annoyingly unworkable tentacle appendages.” After a moment of trying and failing to envision that scenario, Gallus asked, “What kinda play were you guys doing?” “Scoop mentioned something about it technically being a video game plot and not an actual play, but I don’t know. And to be perfectly honest, I don’t want to know,” Silver grumbled, giving him a dry smirk. Gallus blankly stared back. “O-Of course,” she nervously added, her smirk swiftly collapsing. “It was still a lot of fun.” She continued to grin awkwardly at him, expecting a reaction. Any reaction. He just continued to stare at her blankly, unsure of what reaction would be best. “Sooo, yeah. That was a fun two weeks,” Silver said, returning her saddened gaze to the oven. Okay, silence was probably not what she wanted from me! Gallus stressed. “It definitely sounds like fun. Did you get any of it on camera? Because I would have loved to see it all go down.” Silverstream blinked and turned back to him, hesitantly inquiring, “You… Would?” “Well, seeing you run around in a giant monster suit sounds way too awesome to pass up for one thing,” he pointed out, eliciting a bashful smirk. “And for another…?” “Yes?” she urged, a tinge of hope in her voice. Okay, Gallus, you may not have read all of her stupid letter, but Cadence did say I needed to be more aware of Silver’s feelings and take any chances I could to be more considerate. One way to be more considerate is to take a larger interest in things that are important to her, like with her painting. And Silver is part of Drama Club, so logically, Drama Club is important to her. All that being said… Gallus concluded, hiding another nervous gulp. “For another, you make Drama Club itself sound like a lot of fun. … … … So, yeah.” ”So, yeah”? “SO, YEAH”!? That’s all I’ve got!? If it weren’t for Silverstream being in the room, he’d have likely smacked his talon against his forehead. Thankfully, Silver didn’t seem to care one iota how stupid his words had been. “You mean you really want to…?” Silver started, perking up. Not even a second passed before said perkiness evaporated, replaced by something akin to weariness. “I mean, obviously it’s fine if you don’t, but… If you really…? Oh, who am I kidding? Of course you don’t,” she sighed in defeat. Okay, I think this conversation might have gotten steered into a different direction because I don’t know what she’s trying to ask me. “Did I want to what?” “N-Nevermind,” she said, looking away again. Gallus opened his beak to speak further but ultimately closed it, turning to stare out the window. The pie monster looked to be halfway through being taken down by Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash. C’mon, Gallus, she obviously wanted to ask you something, so ask her what it was! But what if I’d be intruding, or I mess something up, or— Just talk to her! I can’t! You just did! And I ended it with “so, yeah”! Two stupid words that obviously show I have no idea what I’m supposed to do, say, or even think! You got this far; are you really going to give up now? …No, Gallus decided, turning back to Silver and asking, “Okay, what is it?” “Huh!?” she gasped, taken out of her own daze. “Oh, it’s nothing; don’t worry about it.” “I’ll stop worrying once you tell me what it is that’s bugging you,” he said resolutely. “N-Nothing’s bugging me,” Silver protested badly. Thankfully, a mere second passed before she relented, “Okay, fine, you win! Yona wins. Scoop, Shimmy, and Patty win… Everycreature wins,” she murmured mournfully. “Just promise you won’t say no immediately. Please?” Gallus swallowed. Oh peck! Is she going to finally ask about that!? Okay, stay calm, Gallus; you’ve got this, he encouraged himself. “I promise not to say no immediately to whatever it is.” “Do you want to come to Drama Club with me today!?” Silver rapidly spat out. The panic in his mind ground to a screeching halt. I was only asking to come and watch her and the others practice, but is she talking about me actually joining the club? If so, then… “Sure,” he answered, still a tad confused. “Of course, it’s perfectly fine if you say no!” she continued. “Uh, Silver? Did you hear the part where I said sure?” Gallus asked uncertainly. “I-I was just asking because you asked about today’s Generosity lesson, and I know you were having some trouble figuring out what you wanted to do for the assignment,” Silver kept rambling on. “So I thought it would be a good idea since Drama Club is all about art and expression anyway!” “Silver, you can stop now, I already said I wanted to—” “Besides, I figured it might be fun for you or m-maybe the both of us, and you did say it sounded like fun. … … … So, yeah!” Gallus felt far less self-conscious about his own usage of those last two words; although, he now wanted to face-claw for having been self-conscious about it in the first place. “B-But I know you might also be busy with Ocellus and her project or something, so if you didn’t want to go then I would more than understand!” “I already said I’d go, Silver,” he said, trying not laugh. “Of course, if you did want to come with me, that’d be perfectly okay too; I promise I’m not forcing you or any—” Silver finally stopped. “Did you say yes?” “Technically, I said, ‘sure.’ But, eh, semantics.” “And I’ve been just rambling on despite that?” “Were you? Whaaat? I didn’t even notice,” he answered with a playful smirk. “Ohhh,” she groaned into her claws. “Don’t worry about it, Silver. I’ve heard these things tend to happen to the best of us.” “But… You do want to come to Drama Club with me today?” Silverstream double-checked, looking back up. I’m still not sure if she’s actually asking me to join the Club out just check it out, but I’m good with either, I guess. “It’s not like I have anything better to do. Besides…” he trailed off. “Besides what?” It will give me another chance to talk to you about that. … Okay, maybe a bit more cowardice, Gallus thought as he settled for saying, “Besides, why wouldn’t I want to spend more time with you?” Silver grabbed him in a gentle hug, not even disturbing either of their chairs. He waited a second before wrapping his own talons around her back, embracing the hug. “Thanks, Gallus,” she whispered. “That’s really sweet.” “Yeah? Well, thou knoweth mineself, Fair Silverstream, for I doth be Lord of All Things Sweet!” he declared theatrically. Silverstream could only giggle merrily. DING! “Ooh, the muffins are done!” Silver celebrated, leaping from her chair and opening the oven. Gallus took a second to recover from the hug and asked, “It’s been twenty-one minutes already?” How long was I just silently sitting there, debating with myself for? “Hee-hee, I guess time really does fly when you’re having fun with your friends,” she laughed, carefully extracting the muffins. “I guess it does.” The ground violently shook as a loud, defeated roar echoed from outside. “And that’d be the pie monster being beaten by our Professors,” Silverstream acknowledged. Gallus looked out the window again and suggested, “Or Pinkie Pie burping after having eaten it.” Silver blinked and shook her head, saying, “Don’t question it. I shouldn’t question it. Everycreature else says not to question it, so I’m not going to question it either.” “That’s probably the wisest course of action,” he agreed. They snickered at the absurdity of the moment. “Anyway, what do we do now that the muffins are done?” “Make sure they’re good to go, let them cool, and then wrap ‘em up in a basket for Mrs. Doo.” “Oh,” Gallus said, disappointed. “So we’re done done. That didn’t really last long, did it?” “It’s like I said: Time flies when you’re having fun with your friends,” she repeated, putting all of their utensils into the sink. “Yeah. It really does, doesn’t it. … You want to do this again, sometime?” he blurted out. Silver paused and gave him a neutral stare. Abort, abort, abort! I went too far; I screwed up! I repeat: I screwed— “Hey, Gallus?” she suddenly asked. “Y-Yeah?” he replied anxiously. “What other pastries do you know how to bake?” “Uhhh,” he droned, taken aback. “Some, but not a whole lot. Why do you ask?” She gave him a smug smirk and answered, “Just trying to think of ideas for next time.” Gallus smiled back, feeling that earlier warmth return. *** A gargantuan theater hall stood before the two of them. Sconces lit with an ethereal flame were carved into the walls, and velvet curtains hung from them all, accentuating the display. A good three hundred cushioned seats were embedded into the well-polished floor with many more likely hidden within the confines of the balconies above. The stage itself was practically a sign of divinity; intricate patterns danced and swirled along its edge, and the whole thing gleamed with a golden light despite the ambient dimness of the auditorium. “To this day, I still don’t know whether to be more impressed that this was somehow in Princess Twilight’s budget, or terrified that this is what Professor Rarity can do with too much free time and a bit of Bits,” Gallus whispered to Silver, afraid of disrupting the atmosphere of the room. She quietly chuckled. “I’m pretty sure that was everycreature’s first reaction. But I’ll tell you one thing: It’s definitely better than the set-up we had for Celestia’s ‘Ones-versary’ thing.” “Oh yeah, why didn’t we do that thing in here?” “Beats me. Unless Princess Celestia raising the sun during it was the plan all along, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t.” “True. So, now that we’re here…” “Yeeeees?” she hummed. “What exactly do we do in Drama Club?” “Depends. What do you think we do?” she asked as they started walking toward the stage. For whatever reason, his mind defaulted to some high school musical movie Sandbar had made them all sit through. “Sing?” he sarcastically surmised. “Ooh! We do do musicals sometimes, yes,” Silverstream confirmed. “But what else?” “I don’t know. Wanna tell me?” “Okay-okay-okay!” she said excitedly. “We pretty much do exactly what you think we do. Professor Rarity will have us come on stage and pick certain parts we want to try out, and then we try them out. Afterward, she tells us how we did and how we can improve to be even better. Of course,” she continued. “That’s when we’re not practicing for any major performances; when those happen, we practice for weeks until we’ve got everything perfect for the big day.” “Definitely sounds like fun,” Gallus said, nodding. “Oh, it is; it’s so much fun! We do all kinds of plays too: Tragedies, Comedies, Romances; Thrillers… That one Horror,” she ended, grimacing uncomfortably. “I still want to hear about that by the way,” he reminded her. “Seriously, how did you get landed with the role? No offense, but I can’t imagine you would ever want to play as a giant monster.” “I didn’t want to be the bad guy!” she moaned. “But Professor Rarity said I could benefit from playing a different role. Although, even if the costume did chafe, it was pretty fun chasing Scoop around while growling about stars. Heh-heh. Er, that makes more sense in context.” “Most things do,” Gallus stated as he tried once again to to imagine Silver dressed in a monster costume and pretending to legitimately scare someone. Nope. I still can’t do it, he conceded. “That’s all just an example of what we do here anyway. At the end of the day, it’s about having fun with everyone else,” Silver ended, both of them finally reaching the stage. “‘Everyone else’?” he echoed, grinning. “Pray tell, Fair Silverstream! Where be this fabled ‘everyone else’ thou speaketh of?” he inquired, earning another giggle. “Oh sure!” whined a sarcastic voice suddenly. “Ignore me even though I’m right here.” Gallus turned to see a violet-blue stallion with an auburn mane reclining in the front pew and staring at them through golden amber eyes, a condescending frown marking his face. “Vellum! Whoops, didn’t see you there,” Silver greeted. “How’re you doing?” “Well enough,” he said, unknowingly making Gallus twitch. “You?” “I’m great. Sooo, as you can see… I brought my friend, Gallus, to Drama Club with me. I asked him, and he said yes!” she announced happily. “About time,” the exasperated stallion sneered. “Huh?” Gallus asked the suddenly very nervous Silver. “Eh-heh-heh, nothing,” she dodged. “Have you two ever been properly introduced?” “Ummm?” Gallus hummed. Thinking about it, he did recognize the earth pony from around the school, but no name came to mind. “Obviously not, Silver,” the pony droned as he rose to his hooves. “I’m in Class 1B, remember? If he knew my name, it’d be because you had told him before-hoof.” “I suppose that’s true,” Silver conceded, grinning awkwardly. “Sorry. Anyway, Gallus, this is Vellum Codex. Vellum, this is Gallus.” Oh, so this is the guy they mentioned at lunch? Gallus thought as he said, “Nice to meet you.” “Charmed,” Vellum said, giving a curt nod. “I already knew your name though.” “Because I’m a ‘Hero of Equestria’?” Gallus jokingly guessed. “No, your friends’ constant talking about you was what seared your name into my brain.” “Oh,” he replied, having no other response. Should I say sorry, or…? “Vellum!” Silver yelped. “We— We don’t talk about Gallus all the time!” “Your embarrassment is palpable, Silver; you might want to try harder if you wish to hide it in the future,” he advised with a condescending smirk. Don’t. Punch. The pony, Gallus told himself, trying to bury the outrage he felt on Silver’s behalf. Don’t be angry, that’s not something you’re supposed to feel. Especially in front of her. After succeeding at that task, he turned to Silver and teased, “So, you talked about me, huh?” “M-Maybe once or twice; we’re friends after all. And friends talk about their friends with their other friends,” she offered weakly. “You do know that Honesty is a core element of friendship, correct?” Vellum asked rebukingly. “Of course I know that!” she fired back angrily. “Mhmm. You’re doing a wonderful job showing it.” Silver stammered for a moment, clearly hurt by the comment. Peck it! I’m defending her! “You don’t need to be so rude to her,” Gallus remarked, scowling. Vellum met his gaze and didn’t back down, saying, “Rudeness isn’t the same thing as crit—” “I don’t care,” he interrupted. “I don’t appreciate you being mean to my friend.” “Is that so?” he inquired with a quirked brow. “What do you think?” Vellum didn’t reply; instead, the two simply maintained their locked gaze. Eventually, he cracked a smile, saying, “Loyalty is certainly something I appreciate. It’s also something our Club needs desperately,” he added, shooting an angry glance elsewhere. “So, if you truly intend to join…” Vellum held out his hoof. Okay, what is this guy’s deal? Gallus asked himself as he stared at the offered hoof. Is he’s crazy? Really bad at friendship? Or is this some in-joke among the Club? Well, it’s not like I can just ask him if— He blinked, then gave Silver a questioning glance. “Yeah, he does this kind of stuff a lot,” she answered with a tired shrug. Okay then, at least now I know exactly what they were talking about at breakfast. Gallus turned back to Vellum and shook his hoof, asking, “So this whole ‘spiel’ of yours is routine then?” He smirked. “Welcome to Drama Club, Mr. Gallus. Try not to quit in the first week, please.” Hidden beneath his drawling tone was a note of sincerity that Gallus almost missed. Still, he wasn’t quite sure if he had heard right, so he simply said, “Thanks? I’ll try not to disappoint.” “You will,” Vellum said bluntly. Before Gallus could retort, his now enraged friend yelled, “Vellum! Play nice!” Sighing, Vellum rolled his eyes and practically recited, “Everyone fails in the first week. It’s not something to be ashamed of; it’s just a simple truth regarding the art of acting.” Once again, Gallus didn’t know how to react, so he just said, “Oh. That makes sense.” “See? Now was that so hard?” Silver asked Vellum hotly. “Not really. But I’d prefer it if somecreature didn’t compromise the plan.” Gallus had every intention of speaking up in Silver’s defense again, but she beat him to it. “Oh, shut up, Vellum!” she shot back. “We all keep telling to stop doing that!” “At least I try to make sure everyone’s committed,” he countered. “As opposed to prolonging the eventual traitors’ dalliances.” “Do you always have to act so self-righteous?” “‘Self-righteousness’ is a term created to belittle one for acting upon their personal convictions.” “Ughhh!” she moaned in frustration. “Fine. You want to keep doing your ‘thing,’ then fine. But please, do me a favor and don’t do that to Gallus.” “If an exception is made for one individual—” “Vellum!” she snapped. After taking a deep breath, Silver quietly asked, “Please?” He remained silent for a moment, but Vellum soon sighed and wearily replied, “Fine.” “Thank you,” Silver said, giving him a quick hug. “No need for gratitude,” he sighed, pushing out of the embrace. “I should have taken into consideration just how desperate you were for Gallus to join us.” “Vellum!” Silver shrieked, her blush returning as he snickered. “Could I have an explanation, please?” Gallus asked, his brain racing to keep up. “Which part requires one?” Vellum inquired. “Uh, the last part?” “Vellum, don’t you dare!” Silver warned before he could even open his mouth. “He asked for an elaboration; do you wish to deprive him of it?” “I—” “Didn’t think so,” he interrupted self-righteously. “Silver and Yona have been wanting to ask you to join Drama Club for the past month,” Vellum explained. “There, I kept it brief, happy?” Silver let out a huge sigh of relief, nodding. “Good.” He then hummed and quickly added, “Silver technically has been wanting you to join for the past two-and-a-half months, but—” A talons swiftly slapped over his muzzle, and Silver faced Gallus, laughing nervously. “Heh-heh, ignore him. So, uh… How do you, um… Er… Darn it,” she bluntly ended. “Couldn’t think of something to distract him, could you?” Vellum asked, stepping out from behind her. She shook her head sadly, and to her annoyance, he broke down laughing. “You… You’ve wanted me to join Drama Club? Before my— I mean! Before that?” Gallus asked. Vellum quieted down considerably. “W-Well, I mean— I, uh— Well, I— Uh, I— Yes?” Silver awkwardly stammered. “It always seemed like something I thought you’d enjoy, so… Yeah. I have wanted to ask you to join.” Gallus tilted his head in confusion and asked, “Why didn’t you?” “W-Well, um… Er, you see, uh…” She preemptively held her claw over Vellum’s muzzle again, but she needn’t have bothered since he was suddenly too preoccupied with studying his hoof to pay their conversation any mind. “I guess I was just scared you wouldn’t like it,” Silver admitted. “Really?” She… She actually cared about whether or not I would…? “You didn’t have to be worried, Silver. It’s not like our friendship would have ended or something if I hadn’t.” “I know, I know. I was just worried that if you didn’t like it, you would pretend otherwise on my behalf. Trust me. Vellum and Scoop don’t exactly make it easy to be in Drama Club, and I didn’t want you to feel like you had to suffer through it just… Well, just because of me,” she concluded softly. “That’s… Rather pessimistic of you, Silver,” Vellum observed neutrally. Her subsequent glare quickly silenced him, and he returned to mutely studying the condition of his hoof. She was afraid of that? Is that what she was worried about earlier in Generosity class? She was worried I would… Hide my feelings again? His heart thundered in his chest as Gallus fretted, It’s all my fault! She shouldn’t have been worried, but she was anyway! I worried her! I— I need to fix this! I need to fix this! “Silver, you didn’t have to be worried about that,” Gallus hurriedly protested. “If I didn’t want to join, I would have told you.” She winced, not meeting his eye. Oh no… “Silver, look, I—” “YONA HAS ARRIVED!” Yona joyfully shouted, chuckling as her greeting echoed through the empty theater and drew their gazes. “Hi, Yona!” Silver shouted back, turning away from Gallus as fast as she could. I… I scared her; I scared Silver, he realized, revolted with himself. Oh no! What do I do; what do I do; what do I— Okay! Gallus snapped at himself. I need to stop panicking first. This… This is just another problem which means it can be fixed. So, how do I fix Silver being worried about me? Well, why is she worried about me? Okay, dumb question. Better question: Why is she still worried about me? I’m fine. Even if I can’t say that, she knows I am or, at least, I will be. I haven’t given her a reason to believe otherwise, right? I am fine, right? At least, I’m better than I was… Right? While Gallus was busy worrying, Yona scampered down to the front section. I-I think I need to talk to Headmare Starlight again, he determined. Maybe I’m not healing as much as I thought? At the very least, she’d know how to help me stop worrying my friends. “Gallus? Yona not expect you here,” she greeted brightly, breaking him from his thoughts. Alright, Gallus, we’ll worry about this later. For now? Let’s try to have fun with Silver and Yona, he ultimately decided. “I didn’t expect to be here either, but here I am,” Gallus announced. “Let us hope you stay here,” Vellum drawled. “We are in desperate need of a new member.” The others started at him. “What?” he asked, genuinely ignorant to the reasoning behind their annoyance. “Yeah. Yona sorry for Vellum,” she said. “Yona hope he not give Gallus too much grief.” “Eh, he’s fine,” Gallus reflexively said. Their gazes were then drawn to the auditorium’s entrance when somepony called out, “Hey, guys! We’re sorry we’re late!” Of the two newly arrived mares, Gallus recognized Peppermint Goldylinks from his class which wasn’t hard given she was never without her signature purple bow. The other mare was a tan earth pony with a bubble-gum pink mane with pale highlights. “Oh, hey, Gallus. What’s up?” the former inquired as she and her friend approached. “Hey, Patty,” he casually greeted. “I’m apparently part of the club now, or something.” “You are? Yes!” Patty cheered. “Ha, I totally called it. Berry so owes me ten Bits,” she muttered, smirking. Meanwhile, the mare Gallus didn’t recognize had rushed up to Vellum and asked him in a threatening tone, “Are you scaring the newbie again?” “No. … Maybe,” he said, pretending to look ashamed of himself. “Ugh!” the mare groaned. “When are you going to realize that! No one! Gets! What! You’re! Doing!” she snapped, punctuating each word with a stamp of her hoof. Vellum made to retort but got cut off by said stamped hoof. “You don’t get to talk!” she barked angrily. Gallus snorted but quickly hushed after the mare suddenly set her gaze upon him. “Hi,” the mare said with a smile scarily similar to Pinkie Pie’s. “You must be Gallus, right?” “I—” “Well, I mean, of course you are; you’re the only griffon in the school, so what am I even asking for,” she fumbled, chuckling awkwardly. “Well, I—” “Eh, whatever. My name is Strawberry Scoop,” she continued, picking his talon up and giving it a hearty shake. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. We’ve heard tons of good things from Patty, Yona, and, of course, Silverstream,” she said with a wink. Gallus gulped, both terrified and curious to know what that wink meant. “Scwop? Pluf blith muh mlff blk.” “Huh? What did you say, Vellum?” Scoop asked, removing her hoof from his mouth. “I asked you to do that,” he answered, wiping his muzzle off. “Oh, and before you coyly wink again, I feel obligated to inform you that I do not believe Silver has told him that part yet.” “SILVER!” the pony roared, rounding on the hippogriff. “Explain! Now!” “N-Now, Scoop, I—” “You’re telling me that after all this time, you finally asked him, but you didn’t even tell him about why you—” Scoop got a taste of her own medicine via Silver’s talon. “Yes, I asked! But he hasn’t talked to me about it yet, so could you please not—” Scoop pushed her claw away and zipped back to Gallus, angrily demanding, “What does she mean you haven’t talked to her about it yet!?” “Uhhh,” he droned, slowly backing away. “Don’t you ‘uhhh’ me, griffon-boy! Now, you tell me what Silver asked you and what you’re—” “Scoop, stop it!” Silver yelled defensively. “Give me a minute, Silver; I’m trying to get an answer for you.” “You don’t need to; I trust Gallus will—” “Not even five minutes in and you two are already going after each other?” “Shut up, Vellum!” they both shouted. “Why should I exactly? Of the three of us, I’m the only one who hasn’t raised their voice.” “Says the idiot who scares half the student body away from Drama Club,” Scoop accused. “At least it helps prevent traitors like November from slipping in.” “November isn’t a traitor; he just had other commitments!” “Aiding one group of friends at the sacrifice of another is exactly what betrayal is, Scoop,” he deadpanned. “Do you even hear yourself!? November didn’t sacrifice us for anything; he had the Yearbook and Science Clubs to help out! Plus, he decided he was done dealing with your crazy flank,” she snarled. “To call one ‘crazy’ is to imply they suffer from some modicum of mental or psycho—” “You know what I mean!” “Could friends please settle down?” Yona spoke up worriedly. “Yona not like friends fighting.” “We wouldn’t be fighting if Scoop didn’t insist on intruding in Gallus and Silver’s love life.” “VELLUM!” Silverstream screamed, horrified. When did the room start spinning? Gallus wondered, stepping toward a nearby chair and using it for support. Is it my fault the room’s spinning? I think it is. I should probably fix that. “Oh, that does it! Come here, you little blabbermouth!” Scoop shouted, lunging for him. “Agh!” Vellum shrieked, fleeing behind Silverstream. “Could we please hold off on physical violence until after Professor Rarity lets us know what we’ll be doing today? At least then you can—Yipe!” he squealed after dodging Scoop once more. “Please stop trying to smack me!” “Hah! Scared, are we!?” “Very much so!” “Uh, G-Gallus!” Silver fearfully began. “I swear this isn’t how Drama Club usually goes! I even Pinkie Promise it! Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a—Ow! Scoop, you hit me!” “Sorry, Silver, I’m just trying! To get around you! So I can get! Him!” she growled through gritted teeth. “I reiterate!” Vellum interjected. “Could you please wait until Professor Rarity shows up!? At least then you could channel your anger into your acting,” he grumbled. “I could, but I could also channel my anger into hitting you, and I bet that’ll feel way more satisfying! Now, come here!” “Scoop, Vellum, stop it! You’re freaking Gallus out!” “Friends freaking Yona out too!” “Sure, just let me get one more slap in!” “Or you could stop before you get us all into trouble!” “Too late for you; you’re already in trouble!” “That’s not what I meant!” The two ponies continued dancing around attempting to either hit or dodge the other with Yona and Silver trying to avoid the crossfire and keep the two from properly engaging. Gallus backed further away from the chaos, coming to a halt by Patty who stood idly by, casually munching on a sandwich and utterly unfazed by the sight before them. “Does this happen often?” he asked, unsure whether to laugh at the absurdity, intervene before someone did get hurt, dwell on the “love life” comment, or run before he made everything worse. She swallowed and said, “Normally, End Zone would gotten between them and stopped ‘em from doing any real damage.” “End Zone?” An image of a teal earth pony with a blonde mane flitted to the surface of his memory, and he asked, “That guy’s in Drama Club?” “I know, right? I couldn’t believe it at first either,” she confessed, shrugging. “You’d totally think he’s a sports-only guy but nope. I mean, he totally loves sports—you should hear Shimmy Shake talk about him!—but he’s got a soft spot for acting too. Vellum said his Romeo was… Hey, Vellum?” “Yes!?” he replied shrilly. “What did you say about End Zone’s Romeo performance again?” “I said it was a valiant showcase of originality and passion,” he answered, ducking under Scoop’s hoof. “And that even though he botched over three of his lines, his personality and enthusiasm perfectly sold his portrayal of the character.” “Thanks! Yeah, Vellum said that about End Zone’s acting.” “Just a reminder: I also said his Carlos performance was phenomenally underwhelming due to the severe lack of charisma with which he acted,” he added. “Yeah, I know!” Patty turned back to Gallus and whispered, “Don’t listen to him; none of us ever do. Vellum knows his theater stuff, but when it comes to interacting with others, he’s—” “And while it’s on my brain, Scoop!” Vellum suddenly spoke up again. “Your version of Officer Valentine was atrocious! Seriously, didn’t you read the character description!? She was supposed to be confident-yet-unnerved, not cowardly-and-whimper—Ow! My eye! You poked me in my eye!” “—dumb,” Patty finished. “So, yeah. Welcome to Drama Club!” she proclaimed happily. “Ow! My other eye!” “If you didn’t move so much I would have gotten your cheeks not your eyes, and I’d have been done already, so stop moving and let me slap you properly!” “Would you two please stop!” “Yona not want friends fighting, so stop before Yona get mad!” Gallus turned back to Patty and asked, “So this actually is normal?” “Oh, this?” she asked, gesturing the chaotic tumbleweed of creatures. “This doesn’t even crack the top twenty. Vellum and Scoop practically live for getting into fights with each other.” He sighed, relieved. I think I need to calm down. I’d probably be enjoying myself more if I did… “Okay! That’s twice you got me in the eye! Happy!?” Vellum yelled, rubbing the indicated eye. “Happy? No. Content? Yes,” Scoop answered coldly. “Whatever,” Vellum groaned, shaking his head. “Now that you mentioned him, Patty, where is End Zone? And Shimmy Shake for that matter. They should have been here by now.” “Zone’s trapped doing a gazillion drills with the rest of the sports teams. Something about everyone turning into wimps over the break, or something? Same thing with Shimmy.” She took stock of his scowl and added, “They said sorry, but you know how Professor Dash gets.” “Yes. Yes, I know,” he sighed. “Hopefully, she’ll let them free by our next meeting.” “And if they aren’t?” Scoop asked spitefully. “What? You gonna make ‘em choose between—” “Obviously not!” he retorted. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t be annoyed that they—” “Excuse me for just a second,” Silver suddenly interjected. “But could you two please… Maybe, just maybe…” Once Scoop and Vellum were both listening, she screeched, “STOP FIGHTING!” Everyone stared at her. Silverstream looked back meekly; her gaze briefly lingered on Gallus before she took a breath and said, “I’m sorry for raising my voice, but first impressions matter, and…” She gestured to him. The two ponies followed her gesture and had the decency to look away. “Sorry, Gallus. We’re not doing a good job at welcoming you, huh?” Scoop mumbled. “Quite the opposite, I’m compelled to admit. My apologies for the behavior of both my companions and especially myself,” Vellum declared, bowing his head regretfully. “Thank you,” Silver gratefully sighed. “Sorry, Gallus. This was all such a big mistake; I shouldn’t have even bothered! I’m— I’d understand perfectly if you wanted to leave, or…” she trailed off dejectedly, unable to meet his eye. For a minute, everyone was silent. Then Gallus broke down, guffawing loudly. “Is this standard behavior for him?” Vellum whispered to Scoop who merely shrugged. “Uh, is Gallus okay?” Yona asked. “Are you two happy!?” Silver demanded, glaring at Scoop and Vellum. “He’s literally laughing at the idea of being in our club! I hope! You’re! Happy!” she screamed in a cracked voice. “S-Silver,” Gallus spoke up, regaining his composure. “You’ve got it all wrong.” Bewildered, Silver turned back to him and muttered, “Huh?” “Sorry. It’s just… You think I want to leave?” She winced. “Leave and what? Ditch you in this madhouse?” he joked, earning a surprised stare. “Pfft. As if I would leave and let you have all the fun.” “You thought our fighting was—Mlph!” “Shut up, Vellum,” Scoop urgently whispered, retracting her hoof from his mouth. “Understood,” he replied, wiping his mouth off again. “Besides,” Gallus continued despite the interruption. “You and I still need to deliver a certain somepony her ‘Thank you’ muffins, and no way am I doing that without you,” he concluding with a wink. Scoop gasped excitedly and tapped Silver, whispering not-so-subtly into her ear, “He winked, girl; you know what that means!” “Stop that, Scoop,” Silver said, gently pushing her away. “R-Really?” she asked Gallus hopefully. “You’re not upset? You still want to join even after the, er, terrible first impression?” “Who cares about first impressions? You’re here; Yona’s here; and it seems like plenty of fun. Why wouldn’t I be on board?” he wondered, smiling happily. Gallus blinked and suddenly found himself being jostled up and down by Silver’s bouncy hug. Phew, he sighed internally. “EEEEE!” she squealed. “Yes, yes, yes! Thank you so much, Gallus! Are you absolute, positively sure though?” she suddenly asked, looking him directly in the eye. “I just said—Glrk!” he yelped when she redoubled the hug. Gallus then shook his head and patted her back until she broke away, beaming brightly. “Awww,” Scoop and Patty cooed. Oh peck! Gallus swore upon remembering he had witnesses beyond his two actual friends. “Yes, yes. It’s all very sweet… I think,” Vellum said, reacquiring everyone’s attention. “But now that the chaos has died down, where is Professor Rarity? She definitely should have been here by now.” “Did somepony say chaos!?” The crimson curtain lifted to reveal Discord in a garish orange suit and purple bow tie. Quite coincidentally, a collective dread descended upon the creatures present. “And so I appear! Like an unforeshadowed plot twist in a novice’s fan-fiction! Here to answer the call of all things chaotic! Hee-hee-hee,” he chuckled, leering at them through a fanged smile. Yona glared at the unwelcome visitor, and Scoop and Patty swiftly backed away. Silverstream completely froze, staring at Discord as if he were Doomsday incarnate, and Gallus cautiously frowned, suspecting this wasn’t going to end well. Vellum, however, resolutely stood his ground despite his quivering hooves and calmly greeted, “Mr. Discord. How has your day been?” “Oh, my day has been simply divine,” he laughed, tossing a package of tie-dyed toilet paper into Vellum’s grasp. “You can keep that; I don’t need it anymore.” Is that the same stuff Smolder got tangled in earlier? W-Why did Discord have that? Gallus pondered, hoping the answer wasn’t what he thought it was. “Thank you?” Vellum said, gently setting the gift on the ground. “If you don’t mind my asking, what exactly are you doing here? I get the feeling it’s not because you wanted to join Drama Club.” “Don’t give him any ideas!” Scoop angrily whispered. “Now, Scoop, you know we’re supposed to welcome newcomers without prejudice or hostility.” “Why, how kind of you, Mr. Whatever-Your-Name-Is,” Discord said while an outraged Scoop gaped at Vellum. “However, Mr. Discord,” he continued. “If you were to join Drama Club, we would demand your absolute loyalty to the group. Is that something you’re willing to provide?” “HA! No,” Discord answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “Thought so,” Vellum replied, a bead of sweat falling down his neck. “S-So… You’re not here to join Drama Club?” Patty asked optimistically. “Oh, you needn’t worry about that, Little Miss Background Character,” he said, gently patting the shivering mare. “I decided against joining your little ‘madhouse’ a long time ago.” Though she remained silent, Gallus got the feeling she wanted to scream, “Thank Celestia!” “Don’t get me wrong, I totally considered it,” Discord added. “But my thing is chaos and disharmony, and you already have enough of that going on without my help.” “If that’s the case, what exactly are you here for then, Mr. Discord?” “Well, duh! I am your substitute teacher for the day!” he declared, throwing aside his orange suit for a rumpled shirt, khakis, and a pair of square-rim glasses. He did keep the bow tie though. “…Okay, which of us should go get Headmare Starlight?” Vellum asked the others. Patty immediately spread her wings and fled toward the entrance. “Now hold on a moment,” Discord said, holding up a paw. “Just what do you mean by that!?” “Which part requires an elaboration?” Vellum asked, quickly stepping in Discord’s way. Sadly, Patty only made it halfway to the door before being teleported back. It took three more failed attempts before she gave up and joined Scoop in praying for their lives. “About getting Glimmy-Glammy,” Discord said, irked. “What? Are you worried I can’t teach you? No, no! That can’t possibly be the case. I know! You’re worried you won’t be able to live up to my standards! Yes, that’s it; you’re intimidated by how great a teacher I am,” he lied to himself. Vellum wordlessly stuttered as he struggled to both process Discord’s words and not explode in indignation. While he was caught up doing that, Yona took the opportunity to get her own words in. “Yona rather not be taught by Discord because Yona nearly eaten by bugbear last time.” “Well, excuuuuuse me, princess! My bad for wanting to help you lot exercise by way of providing a very good motivation to do so.” “Discord not know safer, more creative motivation for Yona and friends?” “If you’re asking why I didn’t give you all super-speed and make you run down an unrealistic, hyper-surreal highway full of loop-de-loops, obstacles, and epic cinematic moments and set pieces with amazing, adrenaline-pumping music blaring in the background…? I didn’t think of it at the time.” Vellum’s face-hoof echoed throughout the hall, as did the “Ow!” that accompanied it. “Now, now! You know you shouldn’t hit yourself, Mr. Whatever-Your-Name-Is.” “I’m well-aware, Mr. Discord. I’m well-aware.” “Ah-ha! So you admit that I am a great teacher and know exactly what I’m talking about! Thank you. I’m happy you agree it was absolutely the best decision ever to make me your—” “Ahem,” coughed a kind voice. Everyone then turned to see Fluttershy confidently stroll down to the group; Discord, however, audibly gulped at the stare she shot his way. “Sorry for the wait, everycreature, but I’m finally here. Discord,” she acknowledged with a frown. “W-Well, uh, I mean that I’m happy you all agree it was absolutely the best decision to make Fluttershy your substitute teacher for today,” he corrected, smiling awkwardly. “Oh thank Celestia, we’re saved!” Patty quietly sighed. “But of course you’re saved,” Discord responded smugly. “Not only do you get the best of all of your Professors—if I do say so myself—but you also get me! Fluttershy’s Great and Powerful Assistant!” Elsewhere, a blue unicorn jolted awake and glared in the direction of the auditorium, irked for an unknown reason. She then yawned and went back to reading the book she had fallen asleep on. Back in the aforementioned auditorium… “Discord,” Fluttershy sighed, maintaining a polite smile. “I told you that while I appreciate the offer, Rarity’s instructions were very thorough.” “Yes, yes; I know. But please? I want to help out.” “Well…” she said hesitantly, noticing Patty and Scoop’s frantic protests. “I don’t know, Discord. You don’t exactly have the best reputation among the students.” “Yona! Almost! Eaten!” Yona shouted, emphasizing each word with a stomp of her hooves. “I apologized,” Discord grumbled. “C’mon, Fluttershy, pleeeaaase?” Vellum sighed and begrudgingly said, “You may as well, Professor. He sounds bored, and I don’t particularly want to know what he’ll do if he’s left alone that away.” “I both resent you for saying that because of how offensive it was, but I also respect you for even having the gall to say that in the first place,” Discord said, nodding approvingly. “Again! Yona! Almost! Eaten!” she repeated. Vellum put his hoof around Yona and pulled her to the side, whispering, “And he’ll throw a hissy fit and release that pie monster from earlier in the auditorium; you want to deal with that?” Yona blanched and shook her head. “Do you think by taking a step to the side, I somehow can’t hear what you’re whispering? Because I can, and I had absolute nothing to do with that pie monster from earlier,” Discord swore. Everyone, including Fluttershy, stared at him in complete disbelief. “What? Come now, you all know I would have covered it in mustard or polka dots if it had been me, but no. It was purely boring, old, ordinary apple. And I don’t do ordinary,” he protested proudly. “Maybe Sugar Belle should start checking what ingredients she haphazardly throws into her pies,” Discord suggested, crossing his talon and paw indignantly. Everyone rolled their eyes. Fluttershy sighed and asked the Club, “Are you all sure you won’t mind?” “I can tolerate his presence. What of the rest of you?” Vellum inquired. “Scoop?” “As long as he promises not to do his poltergeist shtick again… I guess it’ll be okay. Patty?” “Same,” she whimpered, clearly not wanting to have agreed. “If Yona have to deal with bugbear, pie monster, or other monster, Yona not gonna be happy!” Silver was still a little too frozen to answer, so Gallus gave a talons-up for both of them. “Alright then,” Fluttershy began. “Discord? I suppose you can help, but! Like they asked, you can only help if you don’t add your, er, ‘usual flair’ today. Can you promise that?” Discord sighed melodramatically, lamenting, “Oh, woe is me! I won’t be able to provide scene changes and prop alterations to assist with the mood of today’s acting like I intended!” Vellum perked up, all traces of fear and apprehension gone as he asked, “Was that a genuine—” Scoop practically teleported to his side in her quest to plant her hoof in his mouth. “Ah well! I suppose I can make such a sacrifice if it means helping my friend even just a little.” Fluttershy tittered. “Thank you, Discord. I’ll hold you to that though.” “And I’m happy to oblige.” The duo shared a giggle, much to Scoop’s disgust, Vellum’s apathy, and Patty’s disappointment. “Like I said,” Gallus whispered to Silverstream. “No way am I leaving you in this madhouse.” The moment his words reached her, Silver snapped out of her petrified state and emphatically promised, “Gallus!? I! Swear! It is not usually like this!” Is she still worried I won’t join up? I am literally standing in a room with this wannabe eldritch horror and saying I will stay with her regardless! … Yeah. Definitely need to talk to Starlight. I can’t keep worrying Silverstream like this. “Hey, even if it were usually like this, I still wouldn’t leave you behind,” he promised softly. “Aww, Gallus!” she exclaimed, trying and failing not to blush. “You’re so sweet!” Well, at least her panic’s gone, annnNNNDDD HOLY PECK! She said I’m sweet! What does that mean! Does she really think that, or is she just saying that! Does she really want us to be together, or not! I don’t know! And you know what!? I just remembered that this is, like, the third time she’s called me that today! I didn’t freak out then! I’m not going to freak out now! “Aww, uh, thank you,” he said gratefully. “Thank you”? “Thank you”!? That’s all I got!? Really!? That’s worse than the “so, yeah”! “Hee-hee!” she tittered. “You’re welcome.” Gallus smiled serenely. Okay, maybe it wasn’t so bad after all. “Professor Fluttershy? Where is Professor Rarity?” Patty asked. “Oh. Well, um, she had a very special commission come in at the Boutique yesterday, and she said it needed a lot of time to perfect. She did want to apologize for the inconvenience though.” Silverstream suddenly looked very uncomfortable. “Ohhh! Gotcha.” “Yes, yes. Financial security is certainly the more important choice,” Vellum agreed after escaping Scoop’s grasp and wiping his muzzle off again. “In that case, do you require any assistance regarding today’s activities?” “I think she’s got it, Vellum.” “Can I not offer my assistance, Scoop?” “You mean kiss up to Professor Fluttershy in order to get better parts, right?” “Excuse me!? I would never do such a thing!” “Suuuuure, riiiiight…” “Are you suggesting I would ever lower myself to engage in nepotism!?” “It’s not like you haven’t done it before.” “Why you—” “Um, before you continue?” Fluttershy interrupted, pausing their argument. “Rarity mentioned you two and that when you inevitably argued I was supposed to…” She looked at her paper. “‘Threaten to switch their parts if they don’t stop arguing,’” she quoted, looking up to see the duo’s terrified faces. “I’m not entirely sure what she means by that, but that’s your first warning.” Vellum gulped and clarified, “The first one is the only one I require, Professor.” “Y-Yeah, we’ll stop arguing now. Heh-heh,” Scoop nervously laughed. “Great. Now, Rarity also mentioned your rehearsals stopped because of Friends and Family Day. So, to compensate for this, she wanted all of you to spend the day warming up instead of properly practicing for… The Epoch of Majesty Serendipity Daydream?” she read, bemused. “Bah-hah-hah! What!?” Discord bellowed, looking at the paper himself. “No way! That can’t be a real play; that sounds more like some basement-dweller’s fan-fiction than an actual, legitimate play.” “I’ll have you know, Mr. Discord, that it is an actual, legitimate play,” Vellum scoffed indignantly. “One that Professor Rarity intended us to perform for the rest of the school later this month.” “Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, Mr. Whatever-Your-Name-Is. I’ve got to read this,” he said, pulling out a pair of X-ray glasses. He sat down and opened an upside-down book that he suddenly had now. “Carry on,” he said with a wave. “I can read and help at the same time.” “That’s the wrong book, Mr. Discord,” Vellum deadpanned. Discord shut the book, threw it over his shoulder, reached under his seat, and pulled out a new book with the play’s title on the cover. “That’s still the wrong… You know what? Nevermind.” “Wise,” Discord and Scoop both said simultaneously. He looked between the two but ultimately decided to ignore it and ask, “So, Professor? If we’re not to rehearse for the main play, I’m assuming we’re to be given individual parts to recite instead?” Everyone looked to Fluttershy who held up the paper again, saying, “Oh! Um, yes, actually. Rarity left me several scripts for me to give you all, so if you’re ready?” “I had a feeling this was the most we would be doing today,” Vellum lamented as he took some of the offered pages. “Ah well. At least it will be time well-spent.” “Yeah, because listening to you wax poetic is ‘time well-spent,’” Scoop said, rolling her eyes. “Listening to your performances tend to be so,” Vellum responded. “So long as you capture the true essence of the character while providing your own individual style to the performance, of course.” “You almost had it,” she sighed wistfully. “You were so close too.” “So close to what?” “So close to giving her a genuine compliment with no criticisms attached,” Patty answered, retrieving her own paper from Fluttershy. Vellum nervously looked away, providing no further comment. Gallus turned his attention from the ponies and stepped up to Fluttershy. “Oh, hi, Gallus,” she greeted, passing a set of papers to Yona and Silverstream respectively. “Were you here to watch them perform?” “Actually, I was kind of here to join up.” Fluttershy blinked and then rifled through Rarity’s notes. She then looked back at him after going through them all and quietly said, “Uh-oh.” “She didn’t expect me to be here, did she?” Gallus asked, drawing the others’ attention. “Eh-heh-heh,” she awkwardly chuckled. “No. Sorry, Gallus. Luckily, she gave me a lot of extra papers, so I’m sure I can just split some between you and the others.” “Don’t worry, Professor,” Silver said, wrapping a wing around him. “We know what to do.” Gallus quickly found a lump forming in his throat. He tried to speak his thanks around it, but before he could, Vellum chimed in, saying, “You know? Perhaps Professor Rarity not having us continue with our rehearsals is far more fortuitous than I thought. Scoop?” he asked, grinning. “Yep,” she replied, smiling too. “I almost forgot we had a newbie today.” “Yona think it might have something to do with somecreature showing up,” she suggested, leveling a glare at Discord. “Don’t blame me for your own short attention spans!” “Regardless, we have a new member. Time to break him in.” “Please remember to go easy, guys,” Silver requested pleadingly. “I shall refrain from my usual harshness,” Vellum assured calmly. “Thank you.” “You’re welcome.” “…So, what am I supposed to be doing?” Gallus asked, unnerved by everyone’s behavior now that his “newbie-ness” was on their minds. “That depends on you,” Vellum answered. “Would you prefer to go up and perform first so we know what we’re working with? Or would you rather wait and watch us perform so you’ll have a better idea as to what we expect of you on your turn?” Unsure which Vellum actually wanted him to do, he looked at Silverstream. Unfortunately, she was also silently anticipating his answer. “Which do you want me to do?” Gallus finally asked. “I care not which you do so long as your choice is the one you’re most comfortable with.” “Since when did you care about newbies being comfortable?” Scoop asked sarcastically. “I’ve always cared; I’m simply being more vocal about it at Silver’s behest.” Silverstream gave Vellum a grateful smile. “Huh. Well, in any case, Vellum’s right, Gallus. It doesn’t matter to any of us which you do.” “Uh,” he mumbled, unsettled by the creatures crowding around him in their zeal to stare into his soul. Luckily, before his silence could go on for too long, Patty came to his rescue, saying, “If you want my advice? It’d probably be easier if you watched these guys first so you know what to do.” Peppermint Goldylinks, I owe you so much right now, Gallus thought, relieved. “I guess I’ll go with that then,” he answered thankfully. “Ah well, I was hoping to see what your raw acting abilities were as of now, but I suppose I can make due without.” If that was what you really wanted me to do, why didn’t you just say so!? “Save the melodrama until after you’re onstage, Vellum,” Scoop said as she and Yona passed the stallion, each taking a seat in the front row. “C’mon, Gallus,” Silver beckoned as she sat down beside Scoop. He followed suite, sitting between Silver and Patty. “Thanks,” he whispered to the latter. “No problem,” she replied. “They did the same thing when I joined up, and maybe this is just me? But I can’t stand it when I get choices sprung on me out of nowhere.” “Same,” he agreed. He then turned back to Silverstream to see her staring at him through downcast eyes. “What?” he asked, feeling a note of worry creep back into him. “It’s nothing,” she absolutely lied, turning her attention to Vellum onstage. Gallus wanted to say something—anything! But he didn’t. He had already caused her enough worry and panic, and Gallus wasn’t going to drag it on any longer just because he didn’t know what he could say to make her feel better. “Well, um… It seems like you all understand what you’re doing?” Fluttershy murmured. “Indeed we do, Professor Fluttershy,” Vellum confirmed from the center of the stage. “Then I guess I’ll leave you all to it,” she said, sitting by Discord and waiting eagerly. “Thank you. Before I get started, however, I want to reiterate something. Gallus?” “Y-Yeah?” he asked, caught between his worry for Silver and surprise at being called on. “I want you to watch carefully; even we in Class 1B know how notorious you are for not paying attention. Don’t take that as a derision, take that as a request,” he added before Silver could defend him. “Observe how I and the others perform our roles, and take what you observe and apply it when it is your turn. We’ll criticize you accordingly afterward. Understand?” Gallus see; Gallus do. How hard can it be? “Aye-aye, Captain Codex,” he replied, saluting. Vellum snorted. “Well then. Ahem!” Before he could begin, the auditorium fell into darkness, save for a lone spotlight that shone down on Vellum, courtesy of the second Discord happily waving at the group below. While everyone was distracted, no one noticed the fluff of Discord’s tail make a snapping motion. “That’s the wrong light, Mr. Discord.” “Well, at least it’s devoid of my ‘usual flair’!” the draconequus chided. “I didn’t say I didn’t appreciate the sentiment, but if you want to know which is the right one—” “Oh, just get on with it! Not all of us enjoy putting off after-school tea with their best friend!” “…Oh yeah, Patty. You definitely lost the war.” “Shut up, Vellum!” “Heh-heh. Alright then.” Vellum cleared his throat and began. “The abyss. The dark, eternal abyss. A place of nothingness. Of hopelessness. Of worthlessness. A spiraling vortex of oppressive darkness and decay where not a drop of love may bloom, nor a single ray of light may shine. Maddening. Everlasting. Beckoning,” he recited ominously. “Is this what you really think of it!?” he asked fervently. “Do you truly believe the abyss is but a cold, empty void, devoid of life and light? That its purpose is to prolong the nightmares that we suffer from nightly? That its incomprehensible silence only serves to drive one mad? Is that truly what you believe?” he whimpered, shaking his head in pained denial. “If so… I feel only pity for you.” “You ask me why I stare into the abyss, knowing its most terrible nature. You ask how could I not lose my already crumbling mind, staring into its despondent depths of despair. You ask what could possibly command me to stand upon these grounds and stare into the whirling void of quiet insanity?” “To that I say… How could I not!?” he angrily screamed. “Why would I not!? Why would I choose to ignore that abyss!? Why would I ever choose to turn my eyes away from the limbo within which resides our nightmares! Our losses! Our fallen…!” he whispered, pausing for effect. “You say that to stare into the abyss is to open yourself to madness, and yet here I stand, staring into it nonetheless! And for that you call me a fool!?” he roared at his imagined companion. “You call me a fool…?” he asked in a cracked voice. Shaking his head in disbelief, he softly said, “How dare you!? How dare you assume that it is I who have forgotten my sanity! That it is I who have lost all hold on this reality! That it is I who have been robbed of my mind and my soul!” “…” “Nay. I cannot indulge these flames of anger; for while they are borne of righteousness, they are also wreathed in impatience,” he rebuked himself. “Your words are spoken not in hostility and vitriol, but rather care, fear, and perhaps a dash of ignorance. And if the latter be the only truth among the three then I have no choice but to enlighten you.” “Permit yourself a glance beyond these shattered windows,” he requested, gesturing to said imagined items. “What do you see? A broken world being slowly repaired? A smoldering ruin freed from fear? A somber city filled with countless souls thankful for its salvation? Good!” he rejoiced as tears formed in his eyes. “That is what you—what all!— should see! For we fought for that world. We fought down to our very last breath! Our last drop of blood! Our last wink of life! We fought to create this world. To drive back the destruction that had befallen it. To bring about peace. To bring about hope,” he cheered, wearing a rapturous smile before it slowly faded away into a mournful frown. “Yes, we fought… But we also lost,” he continued, fury returning to his voice. “Countless brave stallions and mares fell to bring about this world! To bring about this so-called peace! The sounds of their dying shouts, their hardened battle cries; their anguished screams…!” he lamented, closing his eyes to blind himself to the dying ghosts. “The shouts of innocent foals, begging for the land to cease its quaking, screaming for their beloved parents to wake up; crying as the ruin soon reached for them…!” he wept, flicking his ears back to deafen himself to the echoing screams. “The wails of not just ponies, but griffons, buffalo, changelings, and all manner of other living creatures alike…!” he added, falling to his rump as shivers engulfed his body. “Silenced.” “Thousands of courageous heroes fighting against the plague of war for all that they loved…! Thousands of terrified innocents losing everything they loved to that same plague…! Thousands of souls deserving of memory—no! Not just deserving of memory! Deserving of a grave!” he screamed. “And yet… When you look out into that world we fought so hard for…? When you look at the banners, and the decorations, and the creatures… What do you see!? You see a celebration! You see joy and peace!” He paused for a moment before adding, “You do not see a single grave.” “You ask why I stare into the abyss? It is because that nightmare is the last place these souls reside,” he tearfully explained. “Their bodies have long-since passed on, yet their spirits linger still.” “The voices of the fallen cry out. They beg for their memories to remain if only for another day, if only so someone—anyone!—may remember them and their loss!” he wailed. “They weep for the dreams that have been stolen from them by the pride and desperation of creatures they would never come to know!” he shouted, panting heavily afterward. “Within the abyss, the fallen remain. Within the abyss, their voices cry out. Within the abyss, their memories linger. So what right have I to not stare into the abyss?” he demanded, sniffling. “I need not even ask for I have no right to not stare into the abyss! No right to not remember the lives lost, enemy or ally! No right to not recall the horrors these souls have fallen victim to!” “What does it matter if I am driven mad!?” he asked, his mane disheveling. “What does it matter if others wish me to move on!? What does it matter if the abyss might gaze back!? What matters is remembering! All that has been lost and all that has been sacrificed! And if I must stare into the abyss to do so… Then I shall gladly stare into that void,” he declared, stamping his hoof in determination. “You still ask me why does it matter?” he asked wearily. “Tell me why it does not. Tell me why I should allow all these souls, innocent and guilty alike, to be forgotten! Why!? WHY!?” he roared, gasping for breath. “Why must they be forgotten!? Though they are gone, their ghosts remain! All that they were, and all that they could have been has remained. Their hopes and dreams… Their friends and families… All linger still. And you dare—YOU! DARE!—ask why I wish not to forget!?” he bellowed before falling into a brief coughing fit. After regaining his breath, he whispered, “You dare ask why these things still matter? You dare ask why I do not simply… Move on?” “If you dare to be so bold as to ask such things then permit me to be bold enough to ask this: If I were to cease my staring and forget all of the depravity that this world has burdened us with… Then who would remember?” he asked, shaking his head in shame. “Clearly not you if you must ask such things! Clearly not them if not a single grave has been crafted! Clearly not our leaders if not a single eulogy has been given among their rejoicing!” he yelled, gesturing back out the imagined windows. “Perhaps I am not the only one to stare into the abyss, but what if I am? If I were to cease, then who would remember the tragedies, the nightmares, and the losses?” “The answer is no one.” “Allow me to ask one more question of you,” he practically begged. “All of this destruction, bloodshed, and heartache… If they had ever mattered, then surely they deserve to be remembered? You say they do not deserve to be remembered? Then what was the point to all of it!?” he shrieked in a cracked voice. “If these horrible tragedies befell us then surely there had to be a reason!? And if not, then surely they still deserve to matter and be remembered, for if they are not remembered… For if they do not matter… For if the devastation, the ruin, and especially the heartache never mattered…” “Then tell me why must we have suffered them?” “…Even if there is no reason for why we have suffered, we have suffered nonetheless. So they must matter! Trauma without reason must matter just as much as trauma with reason, or am I wrong!? Can you truly look me in the eye and tell me that the ruin of the world, the sacrifices of the fallen, and the heartache of the abandoned do not matter!? That they should not matter!? That I should move on and forget all of the pain, and all of the heartache!? That the very world should do the same!?” He took a moment to catch his breath once more, waiting for an answer. “I didn’t think so. The fallen may have died in body, but until they are lost to the sands of time, then they are never truly gone! So, no! I shall not stop staring into the abyss. I shall stare into that darkened void, and I shall remember the memories of the lost!” he resolutely decreed. “I shall remember their voices, their wishes, and their pain! I shall remember all that were dragged into a nightmare that they should not have dreamed! Who were pulled into a conflict that they could never hope to understand! Who were sent into an inferno to perish for an empire!” “I shall remember every ally, comrade, and friend! I shall remember every foe, enemy, and rival! I shall remember every brother and sister, son and daughter; and father and mother!” “I shall remember the fallen! I shall remember their suffering! I shall remember their dreams! And I shall remember their families! Until my final breath! Until my body is nothing but dust among the rubble, and dirt beneath an empire! I shall remember! For if I do not…!” he paused, sighing sadly. “Who will?” His final words were spoken so softly that they didn’t even echo in the soundless room. That same spell of silence lingered even when the lights of the theater returned in full-force. “Ahem,” Vellum soon coughed. “Thank you,” he said, giving a deep bow. With the spell of immersion broken, Gallus finally realized just how truly, completely, and utterly pecked he really was. I just had to ask how hard it could be, didn’t I? he groaned to himself. “Well, bravo! I must say, Captain Codex, that was quite the brain-scratching monologue you gave there,” Discord commented. “Even if I could have done better,” he whispered to Fluttershy. “Oh, hush, Discord,” she playfully retorted. “That was quite moving, Vellum. Good job.” “Thank you, Professor,” he said with nod. “What are your thoughts and criticisms?” “Oh!” she yelped. “U-Um, sorry, Vellum. I don’t think I can offer any criticisms the way Rarity could. It was a very good performance as far as I’m concerned, but…” “That’s fine, Professor; I understand. The rest of you?” he asked, turning to them. Wait, what? Gallus thought, snapping out of his own musings. Why’s he asking us? “Voice inflection and body movement were good, and you absolutely nailed the emotional part, Vellum,” Scoop admitted with a mix of pride and jealousy. “However, you are still doing the thing you do where you read and act off the paper without maintaining eye contact with us, your audience. I think you only did it twice. Granted, it might have been a stylistic choice, considering the nature of your character, but the audience still needs to know they’re the ones being talked to.” Vellum flinched angrily, muttering, “Darn it. I don’t mean to do that; I just… No, no. I have no excuse. My apologies, Scoop. I must ensure I follow that advice in the future.” “I look forward to congratulating you when you do. Whenever that is,” she snarked. Vellum smirked, shaking his head before asking, “Any other thoughts? Patty? Yona?” “Vellum still really good at conveying character’s emotions,” Yona tried to admit begrudgingly despite failing at the “begrudgingly” part. “Though, Vellum should remember to breathe and take time,” she added worriedly. “That was long monologue, and Vellum barely stop to catch breath.” “Yeah, that’s definitely a bad habit of mine,” he admitted, rubbing at his chest. “I’ll work on that from now on as well. Thank you.” Yona nodded and asked, “Does Silver, Patty, or Gallus have criticism to make?” What the peck can I even say!? Gallus wanted to ask. Even if I knew half as much as Vellum and the others clearly do, would they even want my thoughts? I’m the newbie here. Maybe that’s a tad too cynical, he suspected, remembering his conversation with Ocellus. “Can’t say I have anything negative to say, Vellum,” Silverstream answered happily. “That was really good. It was so moving, yet so tragic! So wise, yet so sad! And you sold it perfectly,” she complimented. Vellum nodded and turned to Gallus, asking, “Gallus? Your thoughts?” “Uh, same as Silver?” he offered. Okay, that worked, right? A good neutral answer that echoes the answer of someone more valued and important than—annnd he’s still staring at me. “No, seriously, I have nothing to add. Silver nailed it on the head,” he stressed, trying very hard to melt into the cushioned seat. “Really? You truly have no other thoughts to add?” Vellum just had to ask. Gallus definitely wanted to melt into his seat after that. Luckily, Silverstream noticed his discomfort and gave a slight shake of her head to Vellum, telling him to back off. Even more luckily, Vellum caught Silver’s message and said, “Alright then. Thank you for your input, Gallus.” He then proceeded to step down from the stage. “Sorry it was all I could say,” Gallus quietly apologized before he could stop himself. “It’s perfectly understandable why you wouldn’t be able to say more,” Vellum responded, stepping over to the rest of them. “You’re new to this activity, correct?” Not counting the Ones-versary stint? “Yeah…?” “Then there you go. If you’re a novice, you’re not exactly going to be able to provide a more thorough critique. It’s nothing to apologize for, and it’s certainly not something I judge you for.” “What? Did you think you had to give a critique to stay in the club?” Scoop asked incredulously. I was worried for nothing again, wasn’t I? “But… I thought…” “Are you okay, Gallus?” Silver asked worriedly. Why can’t I stop making her ask me that!? “Yeah. I just got a little caught off-guard.” “I have been told I elicit that reaction sometimes,” Vellum acknowledged bluntly. “Sometimes!?” Scoop laughed. “Pardon me, who is it that always tries to scare off the newbies because he’s paranoid they won’t fully commit to his precious club?” “Oh, hush up!” he countered in spite of Scoop’s chuckling. After fighting off a shiver, Patty finally spoke up, “So is no one going to mention just how dark that monologue was? I know Professor Rarity wanted us to try out new genres, but war!? Trauma!? Death!? Yeesh, I think that’s the darkest role we’ve ever played outside of our big performances.” “Yona thought darker tone more interesting. Yak authors back home say dark themes in story best used sparingly so impact not lost. Same with roles.” “Very wise,” Vellum agreed, nodding approvingly. “Yaks tend to be,” Yona agreed pridefully. “Though Yona wonder if Vellum’s monologue excerpt from book or if Professor Rarity thought it up herself?” “Considering Professor Rarity’s idea of ‘dark’ is the Shadow Spade series? It had to have been something that she got from another book,” Scoop confidently answered. “…Unless of course, it was somecreature else who wrote these scenes,” Vellum suggested, shooting Discord a suspicious glance that all but Fluttershy caught. “Well, whomever it was Rarity consulted with, I bet they were really clever,” Discord said devilishly, winking at Vellum. “Because that was genuinely good, if I do say so myself.” Yep, he messed with the papers, the students realized with varying degrees of panic. “I didn’t know you liked these kinds of stories, Discord,” Fluttershy said, not noticing the creatures around her frantically rifle through their papers for fear of just what Discord had done to them. “Oh, Fluttershy, I love all kinds of stories. The hard part is finding my favorites,” he clarified. “Ah, I understand.” Gallus was very tempted to follow everyone else’s example, but he ultimately decided against it. He was already nervous enough without Discord’s meddling adding to it. How the peck am I going to do this thing? he contemplated uncertainly. It’s bad enough I’m going to make a complete fool of myself, but Discord decided he wanted to show up and make things even worse! Other than to hang out with Fluttershy, why is he even here!? Gallus blinked and thought, Okay, don’t panic, Gallus. And don’t demean yourself! Just because you won’t compare whatsoever to Vellum and the others’ performances, doesn’t mean that you can’t go up there and have fun. Besides… I promised Silverstream, he reminded himself determinedly. “In any case,” the stallion said. “As Patty mentioned, Professor Rarity wished us to experiment with other genres and roles, so I suppose I welcome the opportunity to try out something new.” “Hee-hee. Rarity will be happy to hear that,” Fluttershy giggled. “So who wants to go next?” After giving her paper a once-over, Scoop raised her hoof and said, “Me! Definitely me!” “Alright then, Strawberry. You go up there and wow us.” “Don’t worry, I will!” she declared, bolting up the stage. “What do you think Discord did to her part?” Patty asked Silver. “I don’t know,” she answered anxiously. “But we’re about to find out.” As they quickly did find out, Discord—in a complete breach of the chaotically consistent inconsistency he was known for—ensured Scoop’s part matched up with Vellum’s rather well. Emotionally charged monologue from inferred war veteran? Check. Overarching theme of loss, heartache, and remembrance? Check. Several implications of death, despair, and destruction? Check. The only difference that Gallus picked up on was how radically different Scoop’s character was from Vellum’s. While Vellum’s character was overwhelmingly passionate about remembering the pain and loss, Scoop’s spoke more about moving on from the ordeals they had suffered from and finding solace in the reprieve that had fallen as of the war’s end. Gallus couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off about the whole thing, but he didn’t know what it was until Scoop’s equally remarkable performance drew to a close. “—I understand, my friend! Truly, I do! I understand you care for me and seek only my peace. But please,” she whispered. “Allow me to remember. The battle is won, my friend. And here, within these sacred halls lies something that neither the war, nor my leaders could ever gift unto me…” “Rest, my friend,” she softly elaborated. “I can rest here. I can grieve and weep over those that I’ve loved and lost. But I can do so peacefully. I can do so knowing that though they are gone, I can still hold onto their voices and remember them always. Within these walls, I have been given reprieve. From the war, the destruction; the madness! I’ve escaped it all!” she rejoiced loudly. “But…” she sighed. “I know you are right as well. Though I cannot bring myself to wish away this respite, I must not distract myself from the healing my spirit has yet to do. If I do not save myself, then my pain shall last forevermore… That is what you are afraid of, is it not?” “My friend, please do not fear. I. Am. Healing,” she promised. “But I am doing so at my own pace. Yes, I know you worry still, and I cannot judge you for this. For how can you believe me when I have worn my mask of falsehood so often before… But please. Just this once… Please believe that I am okay. I beg you… Please believe me,” she concluded, tearfully. Scoop then bowed as well, smiling at the applause that she immediately received. Gallus clapped along with the others, but he paid very little attention to the motion as he was more focused on fighting the chill crawling along his spine. No. No-no-no! No! I’m being paranoid! There’s— There’s no way Discord would— How would he even know about Ocellus and Silver being— Even if he did know, he wouldn’t— As the others gave their thoughts and critiques about the performance, he gave Discord an expressionless stare that the draconequus met out of the corner of his eye. For a split second, Gallus saw Discord smirk and give him a talons-up. Oh Grover’s Treasure, he is! Gallus wanted nothing more than to hurl himself through the theater doors and run until he was halfway back to Griffonstone. He then glanced at Silverstream and took a calm breath. No, Gallus. This isn’t exactly “fine" but neither is running away after I promised I would stay. So… So buck up! No more cowardice, right? You’ve got this, Gallus. I don’t think I do! What if Discord spills the beans to everyone else!? I can handle my friends knowing about my problems, but the others!? M-Maybe I could just ask him to stop? …Pfft. Yeah, no. Okay, I can stay calm. This isn’t a problem yet. I’m still okay, and I won’t freak out. I made a promise, and I am going to keep it. If not for myself… For her, he decided, meeting Silverstream’s eye. “Who knew Discord had a thing for war novels, eh?” Gallus whispered to her. “I know I didn’t. Pretty interesting stuff so far though,” Silver said thoughtfully. “Maybe I’ll ask Ocellus if she knows any good ones I might like later. You?” “Eh, maybe. … You want ask her together? That way we both get the list?” “That sounds nice,” she agreed. “Ahem!” Vellum coughed, gaining their attention. “Scoop asked if either of you had any—” “Vellum!” Scoop groaned, face-hoofing. “What? They weren’t paying attention when you asked if they—” “Not the point, Vel,” she elaborated, jumping off the stage and making a beeline for her seat beside him. He gave her an inquisitive look, but she just whispered, “I’ll explain later.” “Does this have something to do with—Mlph!” “I said I’ll explain later,” she said, retracting her hoof from his mouth. “Patty, you’re up.” “On it,” she replied, spreading her wings and hovering onto the stage. “Ooh, I wonder what Patty’s part will be like!” Silver wondered enthusiastically. “I don’t know,” Gallus answered, keeping his casual grin up. Two down. Three to go. And then me. He gave another look to his own altered papers, but once again, decided against viewing them. Both Patty and Yona proceeded through their parts much in the same way Vellum and Scoop had before them: With fervent passion and trained skill. Patty spoke with an earnest charm that suited her character perfectly as she bounded through the air, practically dancing as she rejoiced in the multitude of creations that she and her fellow survivors could bestow upon the broken world, reviving the beauty that had been lost in the wake of the war. Quite a number of her lines, in fact, struck Gallus as oddly reminiscent of his earlier Generosity lesson. Unfortunately, that—along with the tie-dyed toilet paper from earlier—pretty much confirmed that Discord had indeed been spying on him all day, and that terrified Gallus down to his core. Once Patty had finished, she too asked about her performance and what she could improve upon. The others all had their own inputs, but Gallus just defaulted to mirroring Silver’s again since he was a little busy trying not to panic as his performance drew closer. Next was Yona who acted the most animatedly of her peers by far, bouncing across the stage with every step despite tripping more than once. And yet, Gallus found the clumsiness to only enrich the performance. For a character who spoke so optimistically and excitedly about the future of a battle-torn world, the awkward stumbling seemed natural. Then again, it also might have been the result of Yona’s hair braid coming undone halfway through her performance which everyone suspected was Discord’s doing. Eventually, Yona came to a halt, breathing heavily from the routine. And yet, she still gleefully beamed down at them all, savoring the following applause. “That was excellent, Yona!” Fluttershy cheered, clapping her hooves. “Wonderful job!” “Thank you, Professor Fluttershy,” Yona said, blushing. “What friends think of Yona?” “Energetic as always, Yona. I’m impressed by how quickly you adapted to your braid coming loose. Also? Excellent job integrating the circumstances into your portrayal,” Vellum commended. “And as usual, Vellum sums it up perfectly,” Scoop agreed. “I could practically feel just how enthusiastic you were, and that resonated perfectly with your character’s personality.” Huh. Well, what do you know, Gallus thought after hearing his own thoughts being mirrored. “Aww, thanks. Yona not want to brag, but Yona been working hard to be better actor. As much as Yona love doing backstage work, Yona want to perform more too.” “You’ve always been welcome to perform, Yona. … So long as you don’t break the stage again anyway.” Ignoring Scoop and Yona’s scowls, Vellum sat up and looked at the area around Yona’s hooves, adding, “And it doesn’t look like you so much as scuffed it this time! Hooray!” “Thank you, Vellum,” Yona deadpanned. “Yona hoped to be reminded of stage incident today.” “Oh. Sorry.” “Apology accepted,” Yona happily chirped as she stepped down from the stage. “Alright then!” Fluttershy declared, clapping her hooves together. “Only two more to go. … Wait a minute. Discord? What time is it?” “Time for you to get a watch,” he said, pulling out a pocket watch from nowhere. Fluttershy snickered at the corny joke as she looked at the watch and whispered, “Uh-oh. Eh-heh-heh. Sorry, everycreature. We’re going to have to wrap this up soon,” she revealed sadly. “What? How late is it?” Vellum inquired, hurrying over and looking at the watch himself. “Oh.” “I keep telling Professor Rarity that we need a clock in here,” Patty muttered, shaking her head. “Ehhh,” Vellum groaned. “We do still have some time, but judging from how long all of our parts were, I don’t think we’ll be able to do both of yours, Silver and Gallus.” Did the world just make it easy for me? “That being said…” Vellum continued. “Gallus? Sorry to make this abrupt, but if you could, please step up and give your part.” Of course. “Um,” he hummed. “Are you sure? Newbie, remember? No way am I going to be as good as you guys if I go up there. You might as well not waste time and have Silver go instead.” Silverstream and Yona both immediately noticed his distress; the others…? “It’s because you’re a novice that I want you to go up there, Gallus.” “Say again?” “Well, if you do plan on being loyal to Drama Club, we’re going to need to understand where you are in your performance ability and what improvements are needed.” “As much as I dislike agreeing with Vellum, he’s got a point,” Scoop said firmly. “We need to know where your strengths and weaknesses are, and you need to start practicing. Otherwise, you’ll remain a novice forever, and there’s no way we’re going to let that happen! Right, guys?” “Definitely,” Patty concurred, nodding. “C’mon, Gallus, show us what ya got.” Yona and Silver both shared an uneasy glance, but the peer pressure caused Yona to cave. “Well, if Gallus up for it, Yona would love to hear him perform,” she admitted optimistically. That left Silverstream who looked at him warily, asking, “Are you up for it though? I’d understand if you’re not! I don’t want to force you or anything; I just…” … “Heh, darn. And here I thought I would get to hear you perform,” Gallus lamented. “Ah well. Alright, let’s see just how badly I’ll do,” he said, rising up in spite of the terrified buzzing in his head. “Everycreature does poorly on their first run, Gallus,” Vellum pointed out. “It’s the matter of improving afterward that you should be concerned with.” “Cut the poor griffon some slack, Vellum,” Scoop reprimanded. “Everycreature is also nervous on their first try too, don’t forget.” “I know!” he protested. “In any case, Gallus? Show us what you can do.” “I can sit back down and watch Silver go instead. Would that be okay?” he asked snidely, climbing atop the stage. “No.” “Ugh. You’re no fun,” he jokingly grumbled, turning to meet his audience’s stares. Gallus couldn’t help but look at the bringer of his doom who gave him yet another wink. He then looked back to his friends, comforted by the sight of their encouraging smiles. “You’ve got this!” Silverstream whooped merrily. You know what, Silver? Yeah. I totally got this, he realized, emboldened by her words. How hard it can it be to read some stupid lines on a paper anyway? He cleared his throat and began. “I didn’t imagine this is where my life would end up,” he read neutrally. “I would have thought I’d be elsewhere. I expected to be literally anywhere else in the world. Not here.” He gave a quick glance to his audience and felt considerably relieved that no one had fallen asleep just yet. He turned back to his paper and confidently resumed. “I expected that I would be in a home somewhere. Maybe I’d have bought it, or maybe I’d have built it, but a home nonetheless. I can almost see it now, you know. Comfy carpeted floors… Big beautiful kitchen… Maybe a nice garden in the back…” “I expected so much out of my life. Out of this world, even! I didn’t expect to be rich, or powerful, or whatever others dream of. I just expected to be elsewhere. Living a normal life. A normal, comfortable life with friends and neighbors alike. But above all else, I expected to be—” His voice hitched the moment he saw the rest of the line. His silence persisted until Vellum gave a slight cough, reminding him that he wasn’t alone in that moment. Steeling his courage, Gallus nearly whispered the remaining part. “But above all else… I expected that you’d be there with me.” Gallus didn’t want to go on after that. He didn’t know why Discord was screwing with him, but he didn’t care. After saying that line, Gallus was almost ready to break his promise to Silver and bolt. “…But above all else, I expected that you’d be there with me!” he repeated again, a note of anger slipping through. “I thought that you’d be there! I thought that after everything, you and I would be there together! That the home I’d be living in would be our home!” he nearly shouted. “So why then!? Why do you leave me now!? Why do I have to be here!? Of all places… I never expected—I never wanted!—to be here! So why am I here!? Why couldn’t you and I just be here together! Well!? I’m waiting! Why couldn’t you stay with me!?” Gallus demanded furiously. “How much have we been through together!? War!? Famine!? Destruction!? Despite all of that, we survived! Together! And yet, here I am! Alone! … I’m alone!” he shouted again. “And why am I alone!? Because you! Left! Me!” he snarled spitefully. I need to calm down! I’m not supposed to be angry; I’ll only worry Silver and the others if I— “Everyone else is gone! All we had was each other, but now I’m alone! Why!? Why did you leave me alone!? I never wanted to be standing here by myself, yet here I am! Because you couldn’t stay with me! Because you wanted to—” His voice cracked. “Because you— Because—” Gallus took the moment to reattempt to regain control of himself, determined to not have a breakdown again when he knew full-well he wasn’t supposed to. Especially in front of Silverstream. Just hurry up and get this over with, Gallus! he told himself, skipping to the next page. “Sorry. I know you wouldn’t want me saying these things. But can you really blame me? What else am I supposed to say? You and I promised each other to be together forever, but here you are. At the bottom of a tomb of your own making. Knowing that… Can you really blame me for being angry? Can’t I be angry? Can’t I be even a little mad? I want to be,” Gallus admitted. “I want to be mad! I want so much to wave my talon over this stupid mound and wake you up! Because I want to yell at you! I want scream at you! I want to scream until my throat bleeds!” he screeched hatefully. “We were supposed to be together! We decided that how long ago!? Was it when we were just children!? Was it when they threw weapons into our claws and told us to go to war!? Was it when they blew the trumpets only after we carved a valley of blood!? It’s been so long, I can’t even remember. I can’t…” Gallus gulped and continued, “I can’t remember without you.” “But I do remember the promise we made. I know we promised each other that when we would be elsewhere, we’d be elsewhere together. That the house would be our house. That we weren’t friends anymore, we’re something more! We promised, didn’t we?” he whispered. “Am I remembering it wrong, or did you forget? At this point, I don’t even know. I’m not even sure if I want to know.” “…But I do know that I want you here,” he continued weakly. “I want you back! I don’t want to see your face in only my dreams, I want to see your face with my eyes! I don’t want to hear your voice in only your letters, I want to hear your voice with my ears! I don’t want to feel your warmth in only my memories, I want to feel your warmth by my side! I want you here with me! I want you here… I just want you back!” Gallus lamented, barely succeeding in holding back the tears in his eyes. “I just want you back,” he repeated shakily. Gallus was only halfway through the paper, but he couldn’t care less. He was done. He was done. He would have burned the paper with a flamethrower if he had one, but since he didn’t, he settled for forcing himself to give the same short bow that the others had given. Don’t you dare make me go on, Vellum Codex! Don’t you pecking dare! he thought vehemently. … Fluttershy leaped into the air, clapping with all her strength. “Bravo! Bravo! Bravo! That was absolutely incredible, Gallus!” she cheered, shattering the spell of immersion one final time. Following Fluttershy’s example, Patty happily clapped, saying, “That was definitely better than my first attempt at this gig; that’s for sure!” “Wow!” Scoop gasped. “Gotta admit, Silver, you weren’t lying when you said he’d be really good at it,” she said, giving her a knowing wink. Silver didn’t respond. “That was certainly impressive for a first foray,” Vellum reluctantly admitted. “However, I do still have some criticisms.” “Of course you do,” Scoop sighed, rolling her eyes. “Silver asked we go easy on him, but that doesn’t mean we should ignore his mistakes. And don’t pretend that his performance was flawless. You know just as well as I where he struggled.” Scoop shifted uncomfortably, clearly torn between following Silver’s request and siding with Vellum. Gallus decided to make it easy for her by assuring, “Eh, I can handle a bit of criticism. Besides, I get the feeling Vellum will explode if I don’t let him criticize me.” “Not necessarily ‘explode’ but…” the stallion mumbled as Scoop snickered. “Firstly, I want to congratulate you on a job well-done, Gallus. Most tend to struggle with the emotive part at first, but the sheer anger and sadness you spoke with were both raw and focused. You did struggle at first, but you soon hit your stride and were very convincing. Very convincing indeed,” he commended. “Thanks,” he said curtly. “That being said however! While you were able to nail the emotionally charged delivery, you didn’t quite nail the physical aspect of the performance.” “Yeah, once you got into the groove you never looked up. I said it earlier to Vellum, but you need to maintain eye-contact with your audience to further the immersion, and you were just yelling at the paper by the end,” Scoop reluctantly said. “I know you needed to read it to know what to say, but…” “‘Body language is just as important to giving a proper performance as emotion,’” Patty quipped wisely. “I had to be told that a lot too, so don’t worry too much, Gallus.” “Good to see you still remember that advice.” “How could I have forgotten, Vellum? You only told me it—oh, I don’t know—thirty times?” “And I’m glad to see it stuck.” Patty and Scoop just rolled their eyes. “I should also add that in a proper performance you need to finish your part, not skip half of it in hopes of getting it over with quicker,” Vellum remarked. “I understand you were nervous, and I don’t judge you for being so, but you cannot allow your nerves to hinder your performance.” “Yeah. Sorry about that.” “Like I said, I don’t judge you for doing it.” “Especially since we all know why you really did it,” Scoop added with a pointed look at Silver. “On that note, what of you two?” Vellum asked Yona and Silverstream. “Did either of you have any thoughts you’d like to share? I know you likely won’t have criticisms.” “Vellum right because Yona have no criticisms! Gallus do just fine!” He knew Yona enough to know when she was using her “Everything is fine” voice. Everyone had one, and Yona’s was as obvious as Applejack’s favorite food. “Nothing from me either, Vellum,” Silver quietly answered, giving Gallus that same haunted expression that he had seen and caused far too many times. I think I’m going to be sick. “Yes, I thought as much. Now, Gallus? You still have a lot of work to do. Clearly. And we’ll certainly help you in that regard, but for now? I’d say you did well enough,” Vellum ended. “I hope to see you again Thursday for our next meeting. You are going to be here, right?” he asked grimly. Even if Discord returns and messes with the scripts to screw with me again…? “Same time this Thursday, you said? … Yeah, why not?” he said genuinely. “YES!” Vellum exclaimed out of nowhere. After realizing that everyone but Silverstream was staring at him he cleared his throat and nodded. “Thank you,” he said simply. “You’re welcome, I guess. Can I get off the stage now? I, uh, really need to go to the bathroom,” he lied, resolutely avoiding Silver’s gaze. *** “And that’s the end of that,” he ended, sipping at his water. “I came straight here afterward.” Starlight nodded wordlessly. … … … “Okay, should I talk first, or did you want to?” Gallus asked, unable to take any more silence. “Well, what did you want to say?” she asked. “Honestly?” Gallus opened and closed his beak before giving up and shrugging. “I don’t know.” “Hmm. Well, I now understand why you mentioned being worried about Drama Club. I’m sorry you had to deal with Discord’s…” She inhaled, dispelling the red cloud around her horn. “Antics,” she finished. “I can’t imagine how hard it must have been enduring his ‘attempts’ to help you out.” “So he was trying to help me, huh?” he groaned, trying not to let his anger show again. “For better or worse, Discord’s modus operandi is manipulation with a side of chaos… I don’t know why, but it sounds like he was trying to make you ‘confront’ your issues head-on.” “I had a feeling that’s what it was about, but…” “Yeah. At least, that had better have been his intention! Otherwise…” She shook her head and reiterated, “I’m really sorry that he did what he did.” “It’s fine. Besides, for as uncomfortable as it was dealing with all of that, at least it was easier.” And I didn’t have a complete breakdown. … Even if Silver is still— “I’m very proud of you, Gallus. You absolutely should not have had to deal with that, but I’m still very proud of you for being so patient with Discord,” she said encouragingly. “Thanks, Headmare Starlight. … So what do I do now?” he asked, gulping. “About Discord? Nothing. I’ll take care of him,” Starlight promised ominously. “But if you’re referring to Drama Club? I’d say go for it,” she advised joyfully. “It sounds like you had a lot of fun in spite of Discord’s meddling, and the others were all very welcoming of you. I think you’d like it.” “No! I meant… What about… About Silverstream?” “What about Silverstream?” she asked obliviously. “What do you mean ‘what about Silverstream’!?” Gallus snapped. “I ditched her! I promised I’d see Drama Club through with her, but right at the end—right! At! The! End!—I ditched her and came here! And on top of that, she’s still worried about me! What do I do to fix this!?” “I’m pretty sure Silver would understand you needed some time after—” “No!” he interrupted. “No, she won’t! And besides, I promised her I’d go with her, and then I just… Ughhh,” he groaned, sinking lower into the sofa. “You promised her that you’d go to Drama Club, and you did…?” she said uncertainly. “Yeah, I may have gone to Drama Club, but did you not hear me about how worried she was the entire time? What do you think she’s going to think when, after I get done yelling at a stupid bundle of papers, I just decide to vanish under the lame ‘bathroom break’ excuse?” he grumbled. “Even if she is worried, I’m sure she’ll understand. She knows how hard a time you’re having.” So does Smolder; doesn’t stop her from being angry with me, Gallus barely stopped himself from saying. “Look,” he said instead. “I know that. I know that Silverstream will understand, but that doesn’t mean she won’t be worried! I promised everyone I was doing better, but she’s still worried about me, just like Ocellus! So, what do I do about that; how do I fix this!?” “We talked about this earlier, Gallus,” she stated calmly. “You can’t just wave your talon and make your friends stop caring about you.” “I know, I know! But you didn’t see Silverstream. She… She looked at me like I was dying or something! I scared her,” Gallus emphasized, wincing. “So please… Please tell me what I’m supposed to do to fix that.” For a moment, Starlight’s eyes wandered to the papers on her desk before looking back at him. “The only thing you can do, Gallus. Talk to her,” Starlight answered resolutely. “I understand you don’t want them to be worried about you, but it’s okay. Like I said before we got interrupted, the best thing you can do is be there for her and your friends and let them know you’re okay.” “But you said I am okay! And I’m glad that I am doing okay, but… But it still wasn’t enough! They’re still worried, and it’s all my fault! So… Doesn’t that make it my responsibility to fix this?” Starlight raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Your responsibility? What do you mean?” “I mean that I screwed up! I wasn’t supposed to have a meltdown; I should have been fine, but I wasn’t. My friends are worried about me, and it’s my fault,” he ended, hiding his face in his talons. “Again, we’ve been over this. Your friends are going to worry because they’re scared you’re not well.” He dropped his talons and declared, “And I was supposed to be fine! But I failed at that, so… So, that means I have to make them stop worrying! That’s what I was trying to do all day, but since they were still worried anyway, I thought that maybe I wasn’t healing as much as I thought, but… But you said I was, so that can only mean I’m doing it wrong, right?” “‘Make them stop worrying’? What do you mean by…” She blinked and asked suspiciously, “Gallus? How much of what you said to Ocellus earlier was what you thought she wanted you to say?” “U-Uh, w-well, I, uh… I, uh…” he stammered, blindsided by the accusation. He swallowed and admitted, “The… The part about how I knew it wasn’t my fault for everything screwing up.” “And yet, you still believe that it is?” “Yeah? My friends wouldn’t be scared now if it weren’t for me. So that makes it my fault,” he stated matter-of-factly. “So what you’re saying is… You lied to Ocellus to make her feel better?” Starlight deduced. “Well, what was I supposed to say!?” Gallus asked hotly. “‘Hey, Ocellus! I’m not really as fine as I thought I was, and I will never stop thinking that all of this mess is my fault no matter what, but whatever’? Was I supposed to have said that!?” he asked, scowling at the mere idea. “No, that’s not what I’m saying you should have done. What I’m saying you should have done was be honest with her,” Starlight professed bluntly. “But I was honest with her!” “Fully honest, Gallus. Fully honest!” “Yeah, but if I had been ‘fully honest’ she’d still be worried about me! Maybe she still is, but she’s a far-cry less so because I—” “Because you said what you thought you were supposed to say?” she guessed, raising her voice. “Well… Yeah?” he said, not comprehending the problem. Starlight inhaled, bringing her hoof to her chest. She then exhaled slowly, pushing it away. She repeated did this twice more before giving him a stern glare that made his insides crawl in anticipation. “Gallus?” she began through gritted teeth. “What I am about to say to you is something I feel very strongly about. So if I get a little preachy, I’m sorry. Alright?” “Alright,” he said uncertainly. Oh thank Grover! She’s going to tell me how to fix this! “Gallus? Your feelings are just as important as everyone else’s. Every feeling. Your happiness and hope, your anger and fear. All of it. Every single feeling you can or will feel and express is equally important. They are never—ever!—otherwise.” “Look,” Starlight continued before he could retort. “I know you don’t want your friends to be worried about you, and I also understand you feel like it’s your fault that they’re worried, especially Silverstream,” she added, making him flinch. “Gallus, I understand your frustration, but… You cannot—I repeat!—cannot! Accept responsibility for other creatures’ feelings. And what I mean is that you cannot blame yourself for others—including your friends—being worried about you.” “But they wouldn’t be worried if I hadn’t—” “Hadn’t what, Gallus?” Starlight interrupted. “Hadn’t cared? Hadn’t cared about everyone else being happy when you weren’t? Hadn’t cared about being alone when you knew you did nothing to deserve being so alone? Hadn’t cared when Silver wanted to help you feel better?” she asked, scowling. “I… I…” Gallus looked down, defeated. He hadn’t intended to say any of that, but it wasn’t exactly far from what he was going to say. “Exactly. Your feelings are just as important as everyone else’s, not lesser than. If you want to feel angry then feel angry; it’s okay. If you want to feel sad then feel sad; it’s okay too.” “But those aren’t things I’m supposed to express around others! Look at you now! I get just a little upset—just a little afraid—and suddenly you’re… Angry at me,” he ended, looking up. “Angry at you?” she asked, stunned. “Gallus, I’m not angry at you. I’m…” Starlight stopped and followed his gaze, seeing another nimbus of scarlet magic. She then looked back at Gallus and found him staring at her in apprehension. Starlight soon did her breathing exercise again, calming down far more significantly and withdrawing the rage cloud into her horn once again. “I’m sorry for raising my voice, Gallus. I should know better, and I’m sorry,” she said gently. “Look,” Starlight continued. “I really am not angry at you. What I am angry at is that you’re taking responsibility for your friends’ feelings at the cost of your own,” she explained, frowning sympathetically. “That’s something you should never have had to deal with, Gallus, let alone at your age! And yet… You are.” “But this is my fault,” Gallus hesitantly argued. “The others are scared because of me. Silver is scared because of me!” he lamented. “It’s all my fault, so I should fix it! I’m supposed to fix it! I don’t want my friends to worry about me; they should never have had to in the first place because I’m supposed to be fine! But I wasn’t, and… And…” “You say that it’s your fault everything is messed up, and I get that. But I don’t blame you. They don’t blame you. Silver doesn’t blame you. No one is holding anything against you, Gallus. No one except yourself,” she said morosely. “But what about Smolder!?” Gallus angrily blurted out. “Smolder doesn’t blame you either, Gallus,” Starlight elaborated, wincing. “I won’t deny she’s angry, but it’s not because she thinks you’re at fault for something.” Wait… She knows why Smolder’s angry? he realized, asking, “Then why is she mad at me?” “That’s something we both need to talk to her about,” she mumbled. “But getting back on the subject,” Starlight said, stepping out from behind her desk and sitting beside him. “Gallus? I understand you blame yourself for your friends worrying about you, but please listen when I say this…” “Don’t. Don’t hold yourself responsible for the feelings of your friends. Your emotions are your emotions, and theirs are theirs. That includes worry, fear, anger, and everything else.” “But they’re worried about me!” “And you’re worried about them being worried about you,” Starlight countered. “And you know what? You are perfectly allowed to worry about them as much as you wish, but by that same logic, they’re also allowed to worry about you as much as they wish. And yes. I know they wouldn’t be as worried as they are now if you weren’t upset during the holiday. But that doesn’t matter, Gallus.” “But it does matter!” Gallus contended. “It’s my fault that they’re worried! It was my mistake, and I need to fix my mistakes, especially when it pertains to my friends!” “Gallus, the only creature this matters to is you,” she stated bluntly. “And that’s okay too. It’s okay that you’re worried, and it’s okay that you’re afraid you made a mistake. But what’s not okay is hurting yourself trying to make your friends less worried.” “But I’m not hurting myself!” “Maybe not in the short term, but in the long term? How long will it be before everything you say and do with your friends is just another ‘attempt’ to make them stop worrying about you?” “What does that even mean?” Starlight gave him a hard stare before saying, “Silver said she was afraid that you’d endure Drama Club on her behalf, even if you didn’t like it.” “Geez, thanks for the reminder, Headmare,” Gallus groaned sardonically. “But guess what!? I did enjoy Drama Club!” “Yes. Yes, you did, yes. And if you hadn’t?” “Th-Then I would have told her?” he lied. “Mhmm. Annnd, what if you don’t like Chess Club with Ocellus?” she asked, maintaining a steady tone. “Or what if Sandbar follows up on that gym membership question, and you don’t want to go but go anyway just because ‘you know you have to’? How long before you bottle up your feelings every chance you can because ensuring that they’re happy is ‘more important’ than being happy yourself?” “I… I hadn’t really thought of it like that before,” Gallus weakly admitted. “That’s because you care, Gallus,” she explained, smiling sadly. “You care about your friends so much. And I’m glad you care. The problem is that you care so much about making them happy, that… That you’re stressing yourself out trying to keep making them happy. Or, at least, you will.” “I just don’t want them to be worried…” “And that’s not a bad thing, Gallus. It’s okay that you want to make things better with your friends and help ease their fear, but it must not come at the cost of your own feelings. You shouldn’t feel the need to force yourself to pick and choose what you can or can’t say or think because you want them to be happy before yourself. That’s not noble. That’s not healthy. That’s toxic.” Gallus quietly contemplated her words, contrasting them against his own actions. After a while he questioned, “What am I supposed to do then? How do I help my friends stop worrying? I know I’m healing, but is it enough? What can I do?” he asked pleadingly. “You’re a clever griffon, Gallus,” she answered knowingly. “Talk to them and let them know that I am doing okay?” Gallus guessed, sighing. “And be honest,” she added. “But what if I just scare them more? Clearly I’m not exactly… Great.” “I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Healing takes time. So give it time. They’re worried now, but one day they won’t be. Because one day, they’ll know you’re doing better. One day you’ll be better. But it takes time, patience, and above all else…” “Reassurance?” “Honesty,” Starlight corrected. “Be honest with yourself, and be honest with them.” “Heh. Okay, Professor Applejack,” he snarked, earning a chuckle. A moment later, Gallus began, “Headmare Starlight?” “Yes, Gallus?” “Did you have this same problem when you were healing?” “…Yes,” Starlight reluctantly admitted. “I don’t want to go into specifics, but… Let’s just say I, uh, bottled up my feelings in more ways than one. And yes, I did hurt myself doing it. I almost hurt my friend and a few others too. So, yeah,” she concluded, grimacing uncomfortably. Really regretting having fallen asleep during Magic Lesson One Hundred and Forty-five, Gallus bemoaned to himself as he continued pondering over her words. … “Does this mean that it’s okay to… To admit that I’m scared?” Gallus finally asked. “Of worrying your friends?” “Of talking to Silverstream.” It took Starlight a second to realize what he really meant. “The date question?” “Yeah,” he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. “Well, first off? Yes. It’s perfectly okay to be afraid. And second? If you’re about to ask for advice on what to do…” “Go talk to her?” Gallus preemptively surmised. “I was actually going to recommend flying kites together in the park, but talking to her works too,” she agreed, grinning awkwardly. “Flying kites?” he inquired, raising an eyebrow in disbelief. “Don’t knock it till you try it,” Starlight protested, blushing. “Flying kites can be just as romantic as it can be platonic, just ask Maud Pie and Mudbriar,” she concluded sagely. “Riiiiight,” he droned, rolling his eyes. Eventually, Gallus took a deep breath and said, “So, I probably need to talk to you about this whole thing more. A lot more,” he begrudgingly admitted. “But, uh, do you mind if I go? I need to go and, uh… Silverstream,” he ended abruptly. “Of course. But please make sure to remember what we talked about today, alright?” “I actually am healing despite only just beginning to do so, and I shouldn’t try to reassure my friends at the cost of my own sanity?” “That’s, uh, a fair enough summation, I suppose,” Starlight tentatively agreed. Gallus snorted. “What?” “Just a joke between Ocellus and me. Before I go though? Am I really doing okay, Headmare?” “Yes, Gallus,” she answered confidently. “I do believe you are.” “…Thank you. Right! I’ll see you later,” he said, grabbing his bag and making for the door. “Tomorrow, or…?” “Uhhh,” Gallus droned, pausing at the door and thinking. “Yeah,” he said, nodding. “Yeah. Tomorrow is good, right?” “Of course.” “Thanks again. Oh! And did you ever figure out what happened with Sugar Belle’s pies?” “Oh. Yeah,” she sighed in irritation. “Same culprit as the pie monster. Which is the same jealous brat throwing a temper tantrum over her game getting more attention than his at the festival.” Discord, you’d better run, Gallus thought as he requested, “Do me a favor and make sure that same ‘jealous brat’ stops messing with Mrs. Belle’s mail, would ya? Spike needs her for the party.” “Noted,” she said, scowling scarily. “Thanks. See you later, Headmare Starlight.” “See you later, Gallus,” she said, waving goodbye as the door clicked shut behind him. Starlight sighed in relief and sat back down in her desk chair, levitating a stained, crumpled-up paper to her face and reading the words inscribed upon it once again. “Oh, Smolder… Now what am I going to do with you?” *** Gallus leaned against his bed, sighing and trying really hard to calm down. “Okay,” he said to himself. “Okay. We’re going to talk to Silver. We’re going to ask her about the date thing. No more cowardice, Gallus,” he ended confidently. He opened Cadence’s letter. —Anyway! Now that we’ve got the general stuff out of the way, it’s time to get into the hefty stuff! My first major piece of relationship advice is this: Don’t be afraid to express your feelings. Out of everything I’ve said so far, this is probably the most obvious. After all, how can you possibly be in a relationship with someone if you don’t ever express your emotions? Unfortunately, this particular rule is something way more creatures tend to take for granted than you’d think. Relationships are relationships regardless of whether they’re friendships or romances. They’re all “Bonds of Love” as Twilight told me you were fond of calling them. However, every relationship has its ups and downs. And that applies to romances just as much as it does to friendships. To put it simply: Relationships can get strained. A little frustration here, a bit of irritation there. Something said in the heat of the moment here, something thought in a moment of vexation there. It doesn’t take much for creatures to be upset with one another. Why is this such a big deal? Because a lot of creatures will bottle up their anger, fear, or sadness instead of expressing it openly. Why is that such a problem? Because it goes against the one fundamental rule of any healthy relationship. Communication. That’s my first major piece of advice for you: Communicate with Silverstream. If you’re happy, let her know you’re happy. If you’re upset, let her know you’re upset. If you’re afraid, let her know you’re afraid. If something is wrong, let her know something is wrong. Don’t try to hide away your feelings just because you think you need to for her sake. To never let her know how you’re feeling is to sacrifice the foundation of trust your relationship is built upon, and to make matters worse, it will have adverse effects on the both of you personally. For you, hiding your feelings will only worsen whatever you’re hiding in the first place, harming your emotional health in the process. And that’s assuming you don’t get accustomed to doing it every time you’re upset, and if that happens… Don’t. Don’t let that happen. Don’t ever let yourself get used to hiding your feelings. As for her, if you’re never honest with her about your feelings then she’ll never be able to fully trust you. That’s already the biggest mistake any couple can make, but what’s worse is that she won’t be able to know whenever you are upset or how to help you should that happen. The same goes for you. That’s why I want you to express your feelings openly. I know that sounds a little scary at first. Frankly, I’d be shocked if you didn’t find the idea of being completely, openly honest about your feelings a little daunting, especially since everyone finds it daunting at first. The fact of the matter is this: Relationships need healthy communication. And that means you need to—you guessed it—communicate with her. If you don’t do this, you’re only making it harder for the two of you to properly converse with each other when problems do arise. And if you two can’t healthily communicate with each other… Then why be in a relationship in the first place. All that being said! I know just how terrifyingly difficult it is to be like this with someone when you’re only just starting to do so. So! I took the liberty of providing a list of different, simple ways to communicate with Silverstream for if and when you were unsure of how to do it verbally. It should be attached to this letter, or else it’s somewhere mixed in with the rest of the advice pile I had express-shipped to you. Sorry about that. I think I’ll leave what you do next up to you. If you want to read my other letters, read them. If you want to take the advice I’ve given you so far and talk to Silverstream about the question, go talk to Silverstream. And don’t worry, Gallus. You’ve got this. I believe in you. P.S. Gallus? This is Shining Armor. I wrangled this out of Cadence’s grasp before she could send it to you, or more accurately, before she could teleport it directly into your face in your sleep. I wanted to add this here since I had a feeling she forgot to say this in her excitement: We’re sorry about your situation, and if there’s anything we can do to help, we’re a letter away—as is my sis. At the very least, I hope you’re doing better by the time you read this. Overcoming trauma and growing from it as an individual is a difficult thing to do, but you have tons of support from your friends—or should I say: Family—and teachers. And if there’s one thing I know, it’s that having creatures you trust be there to support you makes the ordeal far easier. In any case, I hope you’re doing well, staying out of trouble, keeping your grades up, and hopefully not suffocating at the bottom of a pile of my wife’s advice. I really need to get her a better hobby I’ll try to keep her limited to one scroll per day, but for some Celestia-knows-why reason, the Crystal Empire has scrolls that reach half a mile in length. To this day, I still don’t know if that’s a traditional thing they’ve always done since the Empire’s founding, or a remnant of some whacked-out torture method from Sombra’s reign that these ponies couldn’t shake. Either way, expect some very long letters in the future. May my Aunts-in-Law help you. Oh! And Flurry Heart sends her love too! See you later, Gallus. P.P.S. Hi! Cadence here! Again. And about Shining limiting my replies to one a day… No. Sincerely, Cadence, Shining, and Flurry. Gallus re-read the letter one last time as well as the extra document that was, of course, at the bottom of the giant pile of letters. After reconfirming that Cadence had indeed suggested it, he placed the two parchments aside in favor of re-re-re-re-reading the letter that he had written for Silverstream. I guess this will have to do, he thought, swallowing nervously. “Let’s do this,” Gallus said with renewed determination as he rose up, stepped out into the hallway. He then politely knocked on her door despite his trembling talon. “Just a minute!” called out the voice from within. A minute later, the door opened to reveal Silverstream standing there, happy as can be. And then she saw Gallus, and out the door her happiness went in exchange for nervous panic. “Gallus!” she cried. “Uh, um, uh… Hi, how are you doing?” she asked with a shaky smile. “I’m… A little worried,” he managed to admit. “How about you?” “I-I’m good,” she lied. “That’s good. I need to talk to you,” Gallus quickly said. “Do you mind if I come in?” “O-Oh! Uh, sure. Sure, come on in,” she welcomed, stepping aside. Having never fully seen Silverstream’s room before, Gallus was rather surprised by how simple she had kept it. Aside from the Wonderbolt poster beside her bed, the only decorations Gallus saw were a few sketches of various landscapes and some knick-knacks he suspected were from her home. His eyes were then drawn to the flower painting from earlier which Silver had propped up on an easel to dry from her latest additions. “Hey, that’s looking pretty good,” he bantered, nodding toward the painting. “Aw, thanks, Gallus,” she bantered back, her voice still resonating with worry. “I didn’t interrupt you painting, did I?” “Huh? Oh! No, no! You’re good. I’ve been letting it dry for a while.” “Ah. … Um, do you mind if I, uh…?” he began, pulling out his letter. “Um, sure?” she answered, unsure of what he was doing. Gallus nodded in thanks and began reading. “‘Dear, Silverstream. First off, Sorry for reading a letter to you instead of just talking like a normal creature, but I was advised that it would be a good way to talk to you if I was terrified of doing so. Which, as you can probably tell, I am.’” “You’re terrified of— Oh no! I’m sorry, Gallus!” she swiftly apologized. “You don’t need to be scared of talking to me! … Uh, why are you scared of talking to me?” “I’ll, uh, get to that in a minute,” he answered nervously. “O-Oh. Okay. Sorry for interrupting.” “No-no, you’re good. Ahem!” he coughed. “‘You’re probably wondering why I am terrified of talking to you.’” Silver quietly snorted. “‘Well? I am terrified of talking to you normally because of that question you asked me. Specifically, the date question.’” Silver gulped but remained silent so that he could continue. “‘The truth is I have have no idea what you want my answer to be, let alone whether you genuinely meant it or were only saying that because—’” “I meant it!” she immediately answered. Gallus looked at her, opening his beak to say something. No words came out since he was too busy screaming internally, so he merely nodded and looked back at his letter. “‘—Or were saying that because I was having a breakdown. Which, now that I’ve brought that up, I wanted to apologize profusely for scaring you. Regardless of whether or not I shouldn’t have been upset in the first place, I scared you. And for that I am so, so sorry! I never wanted to hurt you or any of our friends, but I did. And, uh, please don’t say that I didn’t because I know I did.’” “Gallus, I— I didn’t know you were— I’m sorry for being scared; it’s just—” “No!” he exclaimed, startling her. “Sorry. It’s just that Starlight said it wasn’t a good idea to hide or bottle up your feelings. So did Princess Cadence. So, i-if you want to be scared…? It’s okay to be. At least, that’s what I’ve been told.” Please don’t be, please don’t be; please don’t be! Silver opened her beak but then slowly closed it, nodding again. “Okay.” Gallus gulped and resumed reading, “‘I worried you and the others. And I know you don’t want me to say it, but it’s my fault.’ It is!” he added, cutting off his horrified friend. “‘However, I’m not going to blame myself. What I am going to do is heal and move on.’” Gallus was thankful that Silver remained quiet even though she clearly didn’t want to. “‘And that is what I’m trying to do. I’m trying to move on after everything that happened. And yes, I am moving on,’” he reassured. “‘Headmare Starlight has told me a lot about how it works—apparently, she’s been through this thing before, who knew?—and one of the things she told me was that it takes a long time. And since I’m only just starting, that means it’s, well, gonna take a long time. But! She also said it’s easier to move on when I have my friends to help do so. So for that? Thank you.’” A weak groan managed to escape Silver, but she placed a talon around her beak to keep it shut. She then gave him a talons-up, signaling him to keep going. “‘Whelp, now that we got that out of the way…’” He took a deep breath and hurriedly read, “‘I have no idea about that date question you asked! I said it before, and I’ll say it again: I don’t know whether you really meant it, or if you were joking, or if you were just trying to make me feel better. And because of that, I have no idea how to respond. If you were joking…’ Well, I guess I don’t need to say that part since you already said that you meant it. … You did mean it. Right?” he asked, terrified. “Mhmm!” she answered through her clenched beak, nodding vehemently. Well, at least I wasn’t worried over nothing. On that note? AAAAAHHHHH! “In that case, I’ll just skip ahead.” Gallus flipped the letter over and read, “‘If you did mean it then I want to be honest and say that… Until now? I had never thought of you—or anycreature else for that matter—in that way. Please don’t take offense to that because you are incredibly awesome, and I care about you a lot! I’ve just never really thought about that before.’” A note of sadness penetrated her worried stare, making Gallus wince. “‘Again, I really don’t mean any offense by that. And to be honest? If you want to be in a relationship with me? If you genuinely, truly want you and I to date? Then yeah! Let’s call Friends and Family Day a date and go on from there!’” he declared, smiling as confidently as he could. Silverstream caught him in a warm hug, and quickly said, “Sorry for interrupting you again, but can I keep hugging you? I really want to hug you right now!” “Uh,” he muttered, blushing. “Sure, I don’t mind.” Her hug intensified, and Gallus suspected she wanted to shout in joy. To be honest, he did too. Gallus held the letter up as best as he could around Silver’s hug and continued, “‘If, uh, that is what you genuinely, truly wanted to do—’” “Yes, yes, yes, yes; yes!” Silver rapidly confirmed. “Right. ‘—then I want to warn you right now that I have no clue what I’m doing. Like I said, I’ve never really cared about my potential, er, relationships, so I’m completely clueless as to how it works, what I’m supposed to do, or anything. I’ve asked for advice and got a lot of it, but I haven’t really read anything past the very first letter. So, yeah. I don’t know what I’m doing. Sorry.’” “You don’t have to be sorry, Gallus; I understand.” “Thanks. ‘But in spite of that, I want to promise you something, Silver. I promise that even though I don’t know what I’m doing, even if I screw up massively, even if—’” Gallus gulped again. “‘—I scare you again… I promise to try to be as kind, considerate, and thoughtful as I can. I promise I’ll try my absolute best to be the best special somegriff I can be, and hopefully, the special somegriff you deserve. And I promise I will try not to worry you ever again!’” “‘I am still healing; I fully admit that. But I am doing better; I promise that too. With all that said, thank you for listening to me read this letter instead of talking normally. Sincerely, Gallus,’” he concluded. Silver gave him one last squeeze before retracting from the hug, giving him a teary smile. “Do you really mean all of that?” she asked hopefully. “Silver? It took me two hours and twenty rough drafts to write this stupid thing,” he deadpanned, holding the letter up. “I better have meant everything I wrote; otherwise, I wasted two hours of my time and twenty pages of paper for nothing.” She snorted. That snort turned into giggles. And those giggles turned into full-blown laughter. Gallus couldn’t help but chuckle along with her as he put the paper in his bag. “Heh-heh! I’m sorry; I know I shouldn’t laugh, but I can’t help it,” she apologized, snickering. “You don’t have to apologize,” Gallus comforted. “Besides, if you’re laughing that means I’m getting my snark back. Yaaaaay!” he cheered. “Yaaaaay!” she cheered back. They smiled at each other for a moment, but Silverstream soon frowned, saying, “I’m sorry, Gallus. I wouldn’t have said anything at all if I had known you’d be so worried about the ‘date’ thing. Or at least asked it after you were feeling better. I’m sorry for making it worse,” she whimpered. “Hey, don’t feel bad about it. That’s my… I’m not gonna make that joke since it’s in poor taste; so instead, I’ll just say this: Silver? I’m sorry for scaring you and making you worry about me,” he apologized, holding her talon. “I should have talked to you and the others. I’m sorry that I didn’t. But please don’t worry about me! I am doing better, and I am okay. I promise,” Gallus said firmly. “Don’t worry, I believe you,” Silver replied. She looked away and asked, “Do you mind if I stay just a little worried though? I didn’t mean to make you feel like I was afraid or terrified! It’s just… I don’t want to see you huddled up in a bed talking to yourself again…” “You won’t!” he assured. “Unless I’m talking in my sleep, or reading aloud. Do those count?” She snorted again and said, “No, those don’t count, silly!” “Hee-hee! That’s good. Because I don’t know if I talk in my sleep or not.” “If you did, we wouldn’t hear you over Yona’s snores.” “Ha! Yeah. Yeah…” He paused for a moment before apologizing, “Sorry about ditching you after Drama Club. I didn’t mean to worry you or the others, it’s just… You were scared, and Discord’s antics, and… It was just a bit too much at once.” “Don’t worry,” she muttered balefully. “Discord won’t be bugging you again anytime soon.” *** Meanwhile, elsewhere in the School of Friendship… “Hello? Anyone? Hellooooo! Draconequus down! Fluttershy!? Starlight!? Tri—wait, I don’t actually want her to see this…” Discord mumbled quietly. “If you can hear this, Trixie, do not look in the chest! I repeat: Do not look in the chest; there is nothing of interest in here! No sirree! I am serious!” The chest opened with a creak. “…Bah-hahahahahah!” the Great and Powerful Trixie bellowed. “Darn it! The only time reverse psychology works, and it has to be when I’m not using it!?” he snarled, crawling out of the box and stretching his cramped limbs. “Hee-hee-hee! I’m definitely not going to forget that image any time soon! Ha-ha! What exactly were you doing in there anyway?” she asked, still smirking. “Beats me! Why don’t you tell me how the Drama Club managed to get me in there at all!?” Before Trixie could speak, a turquoise flash ignited at the doorway, followed swiftly by a crimson hurricane that thundered with the haunted screams of an unspeakable wrath. “Discord!” Starlight greeted sweetly. “There you are, you… You… You annoying, meddling, pie-poisoning, little turd noodle with horns!” she screeched furiously. “Have I got words for you!” Discord reeled back in terror. He then blinked, remembered he was the Lord of Chaos, and said, “And I have one for you too, Glimmy-Glammy! Toodles!” he said, snapping. Or he would have snapped, if his paw and claw hadn’t both been frozen in clouds of turquoise. “Uh-oh,” he whimpered. “Not so fast, Dissy-Cordy!” she hummed venomously. “You and I are in need of a chat! So unless you want me to tell Fluttershy about your recent screw-up, you’re going to sit in that chair and listen!” “But—” “NOW!” “Uh… Um… Help?” he weakly pleaded to Trixie. Trixie smiled and pulled a bag of popcorn out of her hat. “Does this count as helping?” “No, that doesn’t count as—MEEP!” he cried out after Starlight teleported him into the chair. “Now then!” Starlight said, trotting to the front of the room. “Let me explain to you the difference between ‘helping’ someone and ‘screwing’ with someone! Because Celestia knows! You’ve needed to learn this lesson for a long time, you mail-stealing, jealous brat!” “I don’t know what’s going on, but I am sooooo going to enjoy this,” Trixie squealed happily. “I’m not!” Discord roared fearfully. “No talking when the teacher is talking, Discord! Now then…!” *** Meanwhile, back in Silverstream’s room… “Yeah, well, I’m still sorry,” Gallus repeated morosely. “I’m also sorry for getting riled up when I was doing that speech, but… It kinda hit close to home.” “I know,” Silver sighed. “I’m so sorry you didn’t have a good time; I really should have thought better of it. I’m sorry for even asking you to come,” she lamented, flinching. “Hey. Hey, Silver,” he said, giving her a gentle poke. “Yeah?” “We’re still on for Thursday, right? Or is Vellum ticked off that I ditched you guys?” “Wait, what?” she uttered, taken aback. “You mean you… You want to come back!? After Vellum, and Scoop, and the fighting, and Discord, and… Everything?” “I already told you that there’s no way I’m leaving you in that madhouse all by yourself. And you know what else? It gives me a chance to hang out with you more too,” he said, winking. She hugged him again, wrapping even her wings around him too. “First off, no, Vellum isn’t mad at you,” she confirmed. “He and the others figured it was Discord’s fault. And second? Five minutes in, and you’re already the best special somegriff ever!” Silver rejoiced sweetly. “Yeah, well? I try,” he said, hugging her back. … “Sorry about not coming with you to deliver Mrs. Ditsy’s muffins,” he eventually apologized. “Oh, that’s okay. I put ‘em in the fridge to keep them fresh so we could deliver them tomorrow,” she revealed. “Besides, we can always bake another batch if we need to.” “Sounds like—” A date. “—fun.” … “Gallus?” Silver began softly. “Yeah?” “Do you promise that you’re doing better?” “I promise, Silverstream. I promise,” he swore without hesitation. She hugged him tighter, whispering, “Yay!” “Yay!” he echoed. … “Oh! And Gallus?” “Yeah?” “All that stuff you said about not knowing how relationships work and whatnot?” “Yeah?” “Same goes for me,” Silver confessed with a small chuckle. “My only experience is the few romance novels I’ve read, but Scoop and Patty suggested them, so I don’t think they’re very reliable,” she wisely concluded. “Well, I asked Princess Cadence for advice, so I’m not sure if my knowledge is reliable either.” “You asked— Wow! Uh, can I read some of that advice too then? I kinda want to be the best special somegriff I can be too, you know!” she sang enthusiastically. “Of course you can. I’ll have to organize it first though; it’s kinda flooding my room right now.” “Oh. Oops.” “Yeah. Oops. But hey! At least I’m not alone in the ‘romantically-disinclined’ group.” “Of course you’re not alone, silly! You have me.” “Yeah. I guess I do.” Elsewhere, deep in the Everfree Forest, within the walls of a magnificent crystalline tree, and standing along one of its many balconies… A glimmering spirit stood, looking out toward Ponyville and smiling. “Do not be afraid, my friend. You may not have the serenity you seek just yet, but it awaits you at the end of your journey. I promise.”