//------------------------------//
// Chapter Ten: Home 
// Story: The Bonds of Love 
// by Summer Script 
//------------------------------//

“Wow…” Starlight Glimmer muttered, gaping in surprise. She then passed the letter back to him, exclaiming, “I’ll admit! Sounds like Gilda’s made a lot of progress.”

“Eh, I doubt it,” Gallus said, taking the item and stuffing it into his bags. “Gabby’s probably just exaggerating again. Make it seem more appealing and whatnot…”

“Maybe,” she agreed, resting her cheek against her hoof. “Then again? I’ve heard from Twilight herself that the Restoration Project has been going strong, so I doubt that’s the case.”

“Uh-huh. Sure,” he replied, frowning indignantly. “So…? What do you think I should do?”

Starlight bit her lip and slowly said, “I don’t know, Gallus.”

“Well, I don’t know what to do either,” he admitted with a groan. “Should I go and spend the holiday with them, or should I just stay here?” Gallus asked, twiddling his talons.

“…Look, Gallus, this is your decision,” she began hesitantly. “If you want to go then you can; I won’t stop you. Or, if you don’t want to go, you can stay here over the break. But? I know how much you, er, ‘dislike’ Griffonstone. So, if going there will just dredge up bad memories…?”

“I shouldn’t go?”

“Not if it means you hurt yourself by doing so.”

For a split second, Gallus looked happy she had told him that, but his smile slowly faded away. “But if I went anyway and did have a good time there…? Then that would kind of be like healing?” he inquired.

“I suppose so,” she reluctantly conceded. “But is it worth the risk of not having a good time?”

“That’s what I’m asking you; do you think I should stay, or should I go?”

“I… I can’t make that decision for you, Gallus,” Starlight said, shaking her head sadly. “This is your choice, not mine. All I can do is give you whatever advice and help that I can.”

“Ughhh!” Gallus moaned into his talons. “Fair enough, I guess. In that case, got any advice for how I can figure out what to do?”

“Talk it out with your friends and see what they think about the offer,” she readily answered.

“Oh please, I already know what they would say,” he boasted. “Sandbar and Yona would say I should, and Smolder and Ocellus would say I shouldn’t. And Silver would just say it’s my decision too.”

“You know your friends so well,” she praised dryly. “Nonetheless, I really do think you should talk to them about it, even if you do turn out to be correct.”

“Will do. … Hey, Headmare Starlight?”

“Yes?”

“H-How has everything been going with Smolder?” Gallus asked tentatively.

Starlight blinked, caught off-guard by the question. She quickly recollected her composure and explained, “She and I have talked. A lot. And…? I think she’s doing a lot better now,” she sighed, relieved. “But what about you and the others? How have you all been holding up?”

“Well, it’s been a few months, so…” Gallus shrugged. “I think we’ve all moved on from what happened. Things are still a little awkward, but… Smolder is smiling again!” he rejoiced. “To be honest, I think she’s been trying to hang out with us even more than usual too.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“Definitely.” He paused and hesitantly added, “In fact? Smolder wants to be with us so much—”

“That she’s not going back to the Dragon Lands for the holiday?” Starlight guessed.

“So you knew about that?”

“Mhmm. She discussed that with me too,” she elaborated, taking a sip of her hot chocolate. “It’s nothing to do with any of you; she just doesn’t feel up to going home this year.”

“I wonder if that would be true if…” Gallus hung his head and fell silent.

“What happened, happened, Gallus. There’s no use in dwelling on the past, wishing it had been better,” Starlight advised sagely. “The most you can do is accept it and move on from there.”

“Yeah. I know,” he mumbled, rubbing his shoulder anxiously. “I just wish she hadn’t been upset for so long! I don’t blame myself for what happened, but I do regret we didn’t solve it sooner.”

“Well, you have nothing to feel guilty for,” she assured. “Besides. Chances are that even if you had tried talking to Smolder, she wouldn’t have told you anything.”

“Like with Silverstream?”

“Like with Silverstream.”

…

“She does still feel guilty, you know,” Gallus whispered.

“I had a feeling,” Starlight mumbled, looking away pensively. “But from what I’ve seen, Silver’s been doing better. How does she act around you?”

“Happy,” he answered truthfully. “Silver and I sorta agreed to put off our second date until everything settled down, but a few days ago, she asked if we could start working on it again!” Gallus exclaimed, beaming enthusiastically. “I already got a schedule planned and everything!”

“Woo-hoo!” she cheered. “I hope everything goes well for you two.”

“Me too. I still need to run everything by her, of course, but…” He smiled serenely, finishing, “I think she’ll really like what I’ve got in store.”

“Oh, I’m sure she will. And make sure to let me know if you need any help with anything.”

Gallus blinked. “Actually? There is something you can help me with. I’ll have to get back to you on it though,” he ended suspiciously.

“O-Okay,” she said, wondering what exactly he had in mind. “So? Is Silverstream doing alright, regarding Smolder? You said she was still feeling guilty?”

“Not as much as she was, but Silver’s still pretty quiet around her.”

Starlight simply hummed, rubbing her chin in thought.

…

“Whelp,” Gallus resumed after finishing off his own cocoa. “Speaking of Silverstream? I gotta get back to her. She was going to show me some more of her drawings today!” he proclaimed eagerly. “And I definitely don’t want to be late to that.”

“I can tell,” Starlight said, giggling. “…Sorry I couldn’t give you any more advice about Gabby’s request.”

“Nah, it’s okay,” he assuaged as he stood up and stepped toward the door. “I’m sure I’ll figure it out.”

“You still have a few days before the Hearth’s Warming break, so don’t worry,” she comforted. “Just remember your choice should be the one that makes you the most happy.”

“Thanks, I will. See you later, Headmare Starlight.”

“Goodbye, Gallus.”


***


“Aww!” Gallus cooed at the picture in his talons. “That’s so cool, Silver; Sandy’s going to love this!” he praised, giving her drawing back.

“Hee-hee-hee,” Silver tittered, putting it and her other sketches back into her portfolio. “Thanks. It took a while to do, but I think it looks great. Now, I just need to frame and wrap it.”

“And get it to him before he and Yona leave for Yakyakistan,” he reminded her.

“Eh, they don’t leave until Friday, so I’ve got time.” She then gave him a warm smile and softly said, “I’m glad you liked my drawings.”

“What’s not to love?” he wondered, smirking. “They’re detailed, beautiful, and done by you. A pretty fantastic combination, if I do say so myself.”

“You wouldn’t be saying that about my earliest drawings,” Silver challenged, shuddering at the memory of them. “Those were terrible.”

“Did you get red streaks in your mane like you did when you first tried painting?”

“…I don’t want to answer that,” she grumbled, earning a delighted snicker. “B-But I will admit most of them were just plain, ole stick figures.”

“What’s the problem with that? You have to start somewhere, after all.”

Silver merely smiled bashfully.

“And besides, look how far you’ve come,” he continued, gesturing to her latest masterpiece. “From stick figures to a starry night sky that could make Luna jealous. Now, that’s amazing!”

“And look at you! From blueberry muffins to the best brownies in the school!”

“Aside from Pinkie’s?”

“Aside from Pinkie’s,” Silver begrudgingly conceded.

Gallus chuckled lightly, looking back at Silver’s painting and sighing. “It really is beautiful, Silverstream. I think Smolder’s really gonna like it,” he promised, placing a wing around her.

“I hope so,” she wished, leaning into his embrace. “I know how much she loves the stars…”

“She really does,” Gallus confirmed, thinking back to their last round of stargazing. He then took a breath, steeling his nerves. “You know…? You are going to have to give it to her,” he bluntly acknowledged. “Are you going to be okay when you do?”

Silver remained silent for a moment. “I think so,” she eventually said. “I just— I know it’s been a long time since that night, but I just keep wanting to tell her I’m sorry.”

Gallus gave her a comforting nuzzle, saying, “That’s okay, Silver. I think we all want to keep telling her that.”

Silver crooned in acknowledgment, nuzzling him back.

…

…

…

“Hey.”

“Hmm?”

“Were you planning to head home for the holiday?” Gallus asked gently.

“Back to Mount Aris? Uh? I…haven’t decided yet,” Silver admitted, wincing.

“Well? If you do stay here, maybe you and she can hang out? You know? Since Smolder’s not going home this year either. Sounds like the perfect opportunity to make amends,” he encouraged.

Silver mulled the idea over, mumbling, “I don’t know, Gallus. What would I even say?”

“‘Hey, Smolder, how’re you doing?’” he suggested, shrugging innocently.

She snorted and said, “Sure. We’ll go with that. … Assuming I do stay here for the break.”

“True. I bet your folks really want to see you again, huh?”

“Mhmm,” she hummed, shooting a nervous glance at her desk drawer. “Yep. They do.”

“Yeah. After all,” he added, smirking. “I bet they’re both dying to interrogate you about your new boyfriend.”

Giggling, Silver nudged him playfully and groaned, “Oh, believe me! That’s one of the reasons I’m considering not going.”

“No way! Oh come on, Silver, don’t tell me you’re—” Gallus gasped melodramatically and concluded, “Embarrassed of me!”

“Oh yeah. I’m totally embarrassed of you, Gallus,” she deadpanned. “You’ve only helped me tell off that fake Storm King, brought us to victory at Lyra’s Laser Tag, and given me the warmest hugs ever,” Silver listed off merrily. “Yeah. Totally embarrassed to be your girlfriend.”

Gallus smiled, murmuring, “Thanks. Seriously though? I doubt they’d bug you that much about me.”

“You’d think that, but as for Dad? Ugh! He would spend the entire holiday begging to know everything about you,” Silver elaborated, rolling her eyes. “Not even Terramar would be able to get him to stop.”

“Oof. Any chance you could stay with your mom for the break? Or would she do the same?”

She grimaced angrily, stating, “My mother is the other reason I don’t want to go.”

Gallus blinked in surprise and asked, “Did something happen between you two?”

“…Kinda. I don’t really want to talk about it,” Silver groused, giving him a pleading look.

“Let’s not talk about it then.”

“Thank you. But? Yeah, Dad will absolutely love you when you meet him.”

“Sweet! I’ll make sure to be on my best behavior,” he promised teasingly.

“You better be.”

“I plan to be.”

“Hee-hee-hee. … In any case? I think I will stay here this year,” Silver ultimately decided. “For one thing, I should talk to Smolder like you said… Pluuus!” she sang as she snuggled even closer. “Since you’re here too, we can spend the whole holiday together! Maybe we’ll even finish planning our next date,” she suggested, grinning eagerly.

“Heh-heh-heh,” Gallus laughed awkwardly. “About that?”

“Huh? What do you— Wait! You mean…!?”

“Yep. At long. Pecking! Last! I have finally finished planning the date.”

“YES!” she screamed, bouncing into the air for a second before collapsing back onto the bed and grabbing him in a tight hug. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”

“You’re welcome, Silver,” he managed to get out. “Do you mind letting me breathe again?”

“Whoops! Sorry,” she apologized, loosening her grip. “Sooo? What’s the plan?”

“The plan is to give you this,” he said, retrieving a notebook from his bags. “It’s the schedule, and I wanted you to go over it. You know? Just in case there was something I planned that you didn’t want to do, or something you did want to do that I didn’t plan.”

She scoffed and exclaimed, “Gallus!? You’re giving me homework!? For the holiday break!?”

“W-Well, um, uh…” he stammered. “Yeah, pretty much.”

Rolling her eyes, she quickly took the schedule into her talons and stared at it in pure glee. Said glee soon dissipated into a mild hesitancy. “Gallus? Are you sure you want me to read this? I know you don’t exactly want me to be spoiled…”

“Scoop tell you that?”

“Repeatedly.”

“Figured. But honestly?” Gallus gave her a small smile and said, “If you don’t want to read it, I won’t ask you to. I just… I would rather have your input before I do anything for certain.”

“You are so sweet,” she complimented, nuzzling his cheek. “I really hope you know that.”

“Don’t worry,” he said, nuzzling her back. “I know.”

“Good. You… You can pay for everything, right?”

Gallus blinked, holding back a groan as he confirmed, “Yes, Silverstream. I can pay for it. Just like I could pay for it every other time you asked me about it.”

Silver awkwardly chortled, fixing her gaze on the schedule rather than his unamused frown. After a moment, she put the book aside, saying “Anyway, about reading the schedule? I’ll…think about it. It doesn’t go over everything everything, does it?”

“First page is the times and events, nothing more. Everything after is full details.”

“Gotcha. Out of curiosity, how long did it take you to whittle it down to just one notebook?” she asked with a knowing smirk.

“About a week,” he confessed unashamedly. “There were a lot of things I really wanted to include but couldn’t.”

“Like what?”

“Well, I was hoping to include kite-flying somewhere in the schedule, but…?”

“You were gonna take me kite-flying for our second date?” Silver asked incredulously.

“Hey, don’t knock it till you try it,” Gallus objected. “Starlight wasn’t kidding when she said it was awesome.”

“Hee-hee! Don’t worry, Gallus, I’d love to go kite-flying with you. But for our a second date?” she bemoaned. “Ehhh, no.”

“Exactly why I cut it.”

“Ahh. Anything else cool you wanted to do?” she asked, batting her eyelashes innocently.

“Ha! Nice try, Silverstream, but I ain’t telling you everything,” he retorted, playfully booping her beak. “Not when some of ‘em could be for other dates.”

“Come on! At least tell me if one of ‘em was karaoke?”

“Are you kidding me!? You may love turning all our drama recitals into musicals, but I have the singing skills of a cheese grater,” he proclaimed, snickering.

“I don’t sing my lines all the time!” she protested, fidgeting sheepishly. “Just some of them. And only when I’m too excited to not sing them!”

“I know. That’s what makes it so adorable whenever you do it,” Gallus praised.

Flushing faintly, Silver wondered, “How do you keep getting sweeter and sweeter?”

“I don’t know. I guess I just like taking my duties as your boyfriend seriously.”

They both shared a quiet laugh, but soon, his eyes fell back upon the schedule.

“There was one thing I really wanted to do for the date,” Gallus divulged as his headcrest drooped slightly. “But it’s too late to do it now. Stupid deadline…” he grumbled.

“What was it?” she asked, perplexed.

“Spoilers,” Gallus teased, cheering back up slightly. “That’s definitely something I plan to do for another date. No question.”

“Awww! I can’t even get a hint?”

“Mmm? Fine. Let’s just say it was something Sandbar helped me learn.”

“Ooh, macaroni art?” she speculated, genuinely thrilled by the possibility.

“While I’m certain most would call it an art? No. It’s not macaroni art.”

Silver snapped her talons, jokingly lamenting, “Dang. Oh well.” She then sighed peacefully, admitting, “I’m still not sure if I’ll read the schedule. I might; I might not…? I do want it to be somewhat of a surprise, after all,” Silver then clicked her beak and concluded, “But I won’t lie, working with you on the date sounds pretty fun too.”

“Yeah, it does,” he agreed, grinning happily. “But if you don’t want to read it, you don’t have to, Silver.”

“I know. … I’ll let you know when I decide.”

“Understood.” After a brief stretch of silence, Gallus swallowed nervously, mumbling, “Although, speaking of decisions? There’s something else I needed to talk to you about.”

“Oh? What is it?”

“Do you, uh, remember that letter I got from Gabby last week?”

“Uh-huh?” Silver said, nodding in confusion. “What was that about anyway? Another letter from that kid? Er? Gavin, right?”

“His name is Gavin, yes. But no. It wasn’t from him. It’s, uh… A little hard to explain.”

“Okay. So, what was going on? Did something happen?” she questioned, a note of concern creeping into her voice.

“No, not really. … Gabby invited me to visit Griffonstone for the holiday,” he relented, twitching his wings anxiously. “And, um, I was thinking about going.”

Silverstream was speechless for a moment, but she soon collected herself enough to mutter, “But…? You hate Griffonstone. Why would you consider going back?”

“W-Well, Gabby said the place is really cleaning up well. Even the library’s rebuilt apparently!” he revealed, perking up excitedly. “And since they invited me, I figured… Why not?”

“Even the library is back!? That’s hard to believe. Amazing if it’s true, but…?”

“I know. Griffonstone? Repairing the library!?” Gallus groaned sarcastically. “Come on, Gabs, I know you told me that was your next big project, but did you really expect me to believe you actually followed through on that?” he ended, shaking his head.

“…They did fix the library. Didn’t they?”

“She sent a picture of it with the letter. Whole new building and everything! Looked really nice…”

“Wow,” she whispered, flabbergasted. “Gilda really is fixing the place up.”

“Evidently.”

“But you still don’t like it there… Do you?” she asked, watching him carefully.

“I— I mean, well? No,” Gallus confirmed shyly. “Griffonstone isn’t my home, so if I don’t have to go back then I never will! I promised myself that a long time ago.”

“If that’s the case, why are you thinking about going back this time?”

“…I want to see Gruff,” he confessed.

A moment of silence passed while Silver simply held him close, rubbing his back comfortingly. “Don’t worry, Gallus,” she requested. “I understand.”

“I-I know he probably doesn’t care about me, and maybe I’m just in denial,” Gallus continued, grateful for Silver’s presence. “But I still want to see him! That’s— That’s not bad, is it?”

“I don’t know. I wouldn’t think it is, but maybe it would be better if you didn’t go? At least that way, you don’t have to risk being…”

“Disappointed?”

“Hurt,” Silver corrected, holding his talon in hers. “I know you want him to care about you, Gallus. I just don’t want you to be upset if it turns out he…doesn’t.”

“You’re really sweet too, you know that?” Gallus extolled, planting a quick kiss on her cheek.

Silver’s wings gave a feeble flutter as kissed him back, saying, “I try.”

“And you succeed brilliantly,” he complimented joyfully. “So? You don’t think I should go?”

“…It’s ultimately your decision, Gallus,” she said, unknowingly making him smirk. “If you want to go, you can; I won’t stop you. But…? No,” she stated firmly. “I don’t think you should go.”

“Maybe you’re right,” Gallus acknowledged, flicking his tail warily. “I have nothing but bad memories of that place, so I probably shouldn’t go anywhere near it.”

“Exactly.”

“But,” he resumed hesitantly. “Wouldn’t it be better if I could make some good memories there? Like it or not, I was raised there. I am a griffon,” Gallus said, staring at his talons. “And Gabby and Gilda are my friends, so even— Even if seeing Gruff doesn’t pan out, I can spend time with them.”

“Still seems like a risk,” Silver addressed, not bothering to hide her worry. “I don’t mean to sound paranoid, but if that place will only upset you…?”

“No one can be happy all the time,” he said darkly. “And in this case, it’s less about me being upset by Griffonstone and more about finding reasons not to be. Moving on. … Isn’t that better?”

Silverstream thought about it and uncertainly agreed, “Yes. It is. But, Gallus?” she continued. “If you do go to Griffonstone, would you like me to come with you?”

“No,” Gallus answered resolutely. “There is absolutely no way I want you to go there!”

“Yet you’re willing to go yourself?”

“Willing to consider going. I am far from decided on the matter,” he clarified, sighing. “But if I did go, I would not want you anywhere near that place.”

“And I wouldn’t want you to be there all alone if you end up getting upset.”

“Thank you for caring so much, Silver,” he said, giving her another kiss. “Believe me, I’d love it if you could come. But as awesome a job as Gilda and Gabby are seemingly doing, I know full-well they haven’t fixed all the bad parts of that place.”

“Then why not stay here. With me,” Silver whimpered softly.

Gallus said nothing.

“…Well. Whatever you decide? Just know I’ll be right here,” she promised, kissing him once more. “Always.”

He kissed her back, whispering, “Yep. Definitely succeeding brilliantly.”


***


The Friendship Express whistled loudly into the snowy air of Ponyville while its conductor, All Aboard, urged the crowd to hurry onto the train and bask in its warmth.

Meanwhile, a trio of friends stood at the end of the station, deep in conversation despite the icy bite of the winter wind…

“Are you sure about this, Gallus?” Silver asked for quite possibly the hundredth time that day.

“Silver? It’s okay,” Gallus reassured. “I know what I’m doing.”

“I-I know,” she muttered, unconvinced. “I’m just worried.”

“I am too,” Smolder said, rubbing her shoulders in a futile attempt to stave off the chill. “Are you sure you don’t want us to go with you?” she asked, sharing an anxious look with the hippogriff.

“Girls, I appreciate the concern; I really do!” he proclaimed, swooping them both into one last hug. “But seriously! Nothing bad is gonna happen, I promise.”

If it weren’t so cold or windy, smoke would have begun billowing from Smolder’s nostrils.

“Plus,” Gallus continued, grinning at Silverstream confidently. “If anything does happen—which it won’t! Then I’m coming home immediately, no matter how much Gabby or the others protest.”

Silver scoffed and grumbled, “I can’t believe that actually has to be a concern…”

“Yeah. I know,” he settled for saying, unable to come up with a better response.

Smolder bit her lip and cautiously checked, “Y-You’re not gonna be there for the whole holiday, right? I mean, you hate that place! Don’t you?”

“I do…” Gallus then took a deep breath and let it out. “But maybe I don’t have to anymore. And call it crazy? But I don’t want to hate it. If that makes sense.”

Both Smolder and Silver desperately wanted to say it didn’t, but rather than discourage him any further, they remained silent.

“Gallus?” Silver slowly resumed. “We understand this means a lot to you, and we absolutely support you! We just want you to be happy. And if Griffonstone ends up upsetting you…?”

“I’ll head straight back here and spend the holiday with you two,” Gallus swore. “Besides? Like you asked, Smolder, I don’t plan to be there long. I’ll give that place a chance on Gabby’s behalf, but I’d rather hike my way back here through a pecking blizzard than stay there for the full two weeks.”

Neither of them seemed remotely relieved.

“Last call for Griffonstone! Last call for Griffonstone!” the conductor announced loudly. “All creatures heading for Griffonstone, please board now! Thank you,” he said, eyeing them specifically.

Gallus frowned at the display. “Look, girls, don’t worry about me,” he requested one final time. “I’ll be fine. See you two soon. Happy Hearth’s Warming,” he said, stepping towards the train.

“Happy Hearth’s Warming, Gallus,” Silver said, forcing a small smile for his sake.

“Just— Just be safe! Okay?” Smolder pleaded, tightly clenching her claws.

“I will,” he promised, giving Smolder a comforting smile. “Just promise me both of you will have fun while I’m gone,” he ended, shooting Silver a wink.

“Y-Yeah, we will,” she assured. “Buuut? We’ll have a lot more fun when you get back!”

“Tch. Obviously,” Gallus drawled. “My very presence is enough to triple the fun anycreature is having at any given time,” he declared jokingly.

Smolder snorted while Silver merely rolled her eyes.

“AHEM! Last! Train! To Griffonstone!” the conductor repeated, sternly glaring at them.

“Uh-oh! That’s my cue, girls!”

“Okay. We’ll see you soon, Gallus,” Silver said, blowing him a kiss.

Gallus blew a kiss back then promised, “And I’ll see you soon… Goodbye,” he said, trotting into the train car and waving from the window. They happily waved back.

Less than a minute later, the train emitted another loud whistle and chugged away into the foggy, white distance beyond.

…

“Silverstream?” Smolder began, dropping the fake smile.

“We shouldn’t have let him leave?” Silver guessed, her tone neutral.

She nodded, staring after the train even though it had long-since disappeared into the snowstorm. “If the others were still here they’d say the same thing.”

“I know.”

Smolder’s maw peeled back to reveal an enraged snarl as she growled, “We should’ve stopped him! That stupid place is— He hates— You— I—” She sighed furiously and weakly rebuked, “We didn’t even try to stop him…”

“No, we did try,” Silver argued sadly. “But Gallus made his choice. I just wish he had let me go with him! If he does get upset, I-I could have helped him! But I can’t… I’m stuck here,” she lamented.

Smolder hesitantly reached out and patted Silver’s back consolingly. “W-Well? Even if he is going back, we’ll still be here,” she said awkwardly. “Gallus promised he’d come back the instant that place starts screwing with him again. So…? Everything will be okay. Right?”

“I don’t know… But?” Silver continued with renewed hope. “You’re right. If anything happens, he’ll come back. And we’ll be right here, ready to help him however we can!” she declared, feeling somewhat comforted by that fact. “In the meantime, we’ll just have to be optimistic.”

“Yeah… Yeah! Optimistic! We can do that,” Smolder mumbled more to herself than Silver. “We can be optimistic. We can be optimistic…”

“Hey,” Silverstream called out, drawing Smolder’s attention. “Are you gonna be okay?”

Smolder flinched and fiddled with the threads of her scarf. “I-I guess? Although? Not gonna lie, I really feel like melting something right now,” she said, huffing angrily.

“You’re not the only one.” A second later, an idea sparked in Silver’s mind, and she beckoned, “Speaking of melting? C’mon, Smolder, let’s go get some hot chocolate and warm up! Sugarcube Corner? My treat?” she offered.

Smolder shot one last glare in the direction of the train before turning to Silver and protesting, “Y-You don’t need to do that, Silver. I-I—” She paused, realizing what she was doing and correcting herself, “Actually? That sounds pretty nice. But I’ll pay for mine!”

“Are you sure?” Silver asked, silently celebrating that Smolder wasn’t trying to run away this time. “I’ve got plenty of Bits to spare; it’s no problem.”

“I’m sure; I can buy my own cocoa,” Smolder claimed proudly.

“And how many marshmallows can you get with that cocoa?”

“…Crud. Okay, uh? You mind if we stop at the School first, so I can—”

“I’m buying your cocoa and marshmallows, Smolder.”

“Fine,” she pouted, much to Silverstream’s amusement.


***


Okay, Gallus! This is fine, he told himself, nervously tapping his seat as the train began slowing down. Everything will be fine; there’s no need to worry.

Once the Friendship Express jostled to a stop, All Aboard stepped into their car, announcing their arrival and permitting them to get to off the train. As the other passengers proceeded to do just that, Gallus remained exactly where he sat.

This is a good idea, right? Gallus asked himself yet again. I— I don’t have anything to worry about. It’s been—what?—over two years since I last lived here? A-And everygriff listened to me and helped Equestria fight those idiots off too! he remembered, feeling a bit more hopeful. If nothing else, that proves the griffons are at least a little nicer.

But what if that was a fluke? What if Gabby was exaggerating and Griffonstone is still a giant pit of despair!? What if this was a mistake!? he panicked. What if Silver and Smolder were right, and I am just going to get hurt!?

Gallus put his talon to his chest, sharply inhaling. He then slowly exhaled, pushing his talon away, commanding, Calm down, Gallus. You are okay. And Gabby’s not a liar; Griffonstone probably is better. Maybe I really don’t have to hate that place anymore… he considered, optimistic.

“And even if something bad does happen, I can leave,” he quietly reminded himself. “No guilt. No shame. No problem. I don’t owe this place anything.”

Knowing that, Gallus felt marginally better, enough so, that he finally stood, collected his luggage, and donned his scarf and parka.

As Gallus approached, All Aboard turned and exclaimed, “Ah! There you are, Mr. Gallus. I was wondering where you were; I expected you’d be the first to disembark.”

“How’d you figure that?” Gallus wondered, pausing in front of the stallion.

“I simply assumed you’d be eager to return home, is all,” All Aboard explained casually. “I imagine the, er, quirks of Ponyville likely get overwhelming compared to the charm of Griffonstone.”

Charm? “This isn’t exactly my home,” Gallus corrected, rubbing his shoulder.

“O-Oh. My apologies then.”

“Th-That’s fine; you don’t have to apologize. … Um? May I ask you something?”

“Of course. What did you need?”

“When, uh, when does the next train arrive?”

The conductor raised an eyebrow and asked, “You need to head back?”

“I-I don’t know. I might,” he admitted curtly.

“Well? The next train doesn’t come in until Monday, three days from now,” he apprehensively answered. “Of course, if you need to head back now, we can take you back to Ponyville, no problem.”

“W-What!? No-no-no!” Gallus protested. “No, you don’t need to do that for me!”

“You sure, son?”

“…Yeah. Yeah, I’m good,” he said, trying to sound assuasive but not exactly succeeding. “But, um? You said Monday, right?”

“There was some chatter about a blizzard that might roll in, but since it’s a pretty slim chance, we should arrive just fine. And even if the storm does come in, it’ll only delay us a few hours at most.”

“A blizzard delays you for only a few hours? Not days, but hours!?”

“Heh. Son, this here train trudges to the Crystal Empire and back every other week. She can handle a trip through the worst of white-outs,” he proudly professed.

“Wow! I didn’t know that; that’s cool!” I also hope it’s true.

“Indeed it is.”

“…So, Monday then? Yeah. Yeah, I can make it to Monday,” Gallus believed, far more confident now that he knew when he could leave if he needed to. “Thank you, sir.”

“It’s no problem at all,” All Aboard assured. “But, Mr. Gallus? Do you need to head back to Ponyville?” he asked, mildly concerned by his passenger’s obvious dismay. “It really is no hassle.”

This is it. Last chance to change my mind, Gallus realized, warring one last time over whether to continue or return home. But? Why would I change my mind?

Starlight and Silver were right. This is my choice, he understood. I’ve already made it, and I can stick with it. If everything goes well, maybe I can finally get some closure with this place. And if anything goes wrong, I can go back home and never return.

With all that said… Gallus calmly chose, “No thank you. I’ll be fine.”

“Alright, son. But only if you’re sure?”

“I’m sure. Thank you for the offer though, I really appreciate it.”

All Aboard simply tipped his hat in acknowledgment.

“In any case? I really should be going,” he said, stepping around the stallion and toward the door. “Thank you again. And have a Happy Hearth’s Warming,” Gallus wished.

“And you have a Happy Blue Moon Festival.”

“Thanks, I’ll try,” he said, trotting out onto the station and wincing as a blast of cold, mountain wind swept over him. “Y-Y-Yeesh,” Gallus stuttered, clutching his coat tighter. “I forgot how cold it got up here,” he whined, spotting the creature he suspected would be waiting for him.

Said creature saw him instantly and bounded over in a flash of gray feathers.

“EEEEE!” Gabby squealed, tackling him to the ground in a tight hug. “Gallus, you came! You really came!” she celebrated.

“Yep, I’m here,” he confirmed, struggling to both breathe and quell his remaining anxiety. “So, uh? How are you doing?” Gallus asked after she helped him stand back up.

“I’m amazing! Especially now that you’re here! I won’t lie,” she said shyly. “When you didn’t leave the train at first, I was worried you had changed your mind. But nope, here you are!” Gabby rejoiced, somehow managing to give Pinkie Pie’s smile a run for its Bits.

Gallus coughed, confessing, “Well, I almost changed my mind. But I figured I might as well give this place a shot.”

“And I’m glad you did!” Gabby’s smile drooped a little as she timidly admitted, “Although, I am surprised you didn’t want to spend the holiday with all of your friends?”

“I do,” he said bluntly. “And I still plan to spend it with them.”

“Huh? You mean…? They didn’t come with you, did they!?” she inquired, glancing excitedly at the train behind him.

“No. I just don’t plan to stay here for the full holiday break.”

“O-Oh,” Gabby muttered, frowning sadly. “How— How long do you plan to stay then?”

Well, the next train out is Monday, but… “Eh. I’ll give it a week. Maybe longer,” he added for her sake. “But I’m spending Hearth’s Warming with my friends. No exceptions.”

Her smile returned; although, it was noticeably subdued. “Understood. … Thank you again for coming, Gallus,” Gabby said, giving him another, softer hug. “It’s really good to see you again.”

“It’s good to see you too,” Gallus said, happily hugging her back. After they broke apart, he inquired, “So? How’re Gilda and Greta?”

“They’re both doing great, and so is everygriff else. Ooh!” she suddenly squeaked. “You need to see Gavin; he’s been so happy, helping at the library!”

“Oh yeah, Gavin said he was looking forward to the place being rebuilt,” Gallus remembered from his last correspondence with the fledgling.

“Grover’s Treasure! Is that the biggest understatement of the year!” she exclaimed, tittering. “I kid you not—When it reopened, he ran in there and tried to check out over a hundred books!”

“Whoa. The little scamp likes books,” he commented. The library has over a hundred books now!? he wondered, joking, “I bet Princess Twilight would be proud.”

“Oh, she was,” Gabby casually confirmed. “She was here that day, and she’s also why Gavin didn’t get to be the first to browse the new library. … He’s still bitter.”

“I would be too.”

After sharing a quiet laugh, Gabby resumed, “But yeah. We’ve done a lot since you were last here! Griffonstone feels like a totally different place, so I just know you’re gonna have a great time!” she claimed, beaming.

“That’s the plan,” he replied. Now, will I have a good time is the question.

Gabby giggled and began trotting away, waving for him to follow. “Well, c’mon then! Time for you to see the new and improved Griffonstone!” she sang, bouncing forward energetically.

Gallus said nothing and did nothing, staring at the speck in the distance he knew to be his hometown. Just the mere sight of it was enough to make him pause and fight back memories.

Just breathe, Gallus, he thought, doing exactly that. It’s okay to be afraid, but try to be optimistic. It won’t be that bad. Still? Be on your guard. You know what this place was like, and who knows how much it’s still like that, Gallus recognized, holding back a scowl. Just be ready.

“Grover’s Treasure, I sound paranoid,” he despised, combing a talon through his headcrest. C’mon, Gallus! You chose to give this place a chance, don’t let your terrible memories stop yourself from making better ones, he admonished himself, remembering Starlight’s advice.

“Hey, Gallus! What are you doing?” Gabby called out, breaking him from this thoughts. “Come on!” she beckoned, already halfway to the mountain path. “Let’s get out of the cold; you wouldn’t want to get sick right before the Blue Moon Festival after all,” she joked innocently.

Gallus shuddered involuntarily, whimpering No! No, I do not want to get hypothermia! Not again! Never again…! He gave a quick shake of his head and rushed to catch up with her. “Don’t worry, Gabby, I’m coming!”


***


“—I can’t believe you guys put a guard rail along the pathway,” Gallus admitted as they approached the archway leading into Griffonstone. “Like? Of all the things you could spend Neighsay’s donations on, you pick a guard rail up the mountain trail?”

“Actually, Princess Twilight’s donations went to it,” Gabby corrected. “And we put it up since so many creatures have visited our home recently. Of course we wouldn’t want any of them to, er, you know…” she trailed off, not wanting to finish that particularly morbid thought.

“Huh. Yeah, I guess that makes sense,” he agreed, shocked anygriff would have actually been concerned about something like that. That surprise quickly ebbed away into annoyance once his gaze locked onto a sign placed in front of the arch.

“‘Welcome to Griffonstone: Home of the Proud Griffon Race,’” he read, frowning.

“Yep!” she chirped happily. “Look—we even printed up brochures!” Gabby exclaimed, reaching to the box next to the sign and pulling one out.

“What the— Seriously!?” Gallus asked, taking the pamphlet and opening to the front page. “‘All tourists welcome! Please feel free to enjoy our famous Griffonscones, Boffyball stadium, and Hyperborean Mountain tours.’ Oh, so we’re giving tours now?” he pondered.

“Uh-huh! Gigi and Gimme both agreed to do it!” She then flicked her tail and remarked, “Gimme was a little hard to convince, but Gilda eventually won her over.”

“Let me guess? By promising her fifty Bits an hour? Or did she have to shoot for eighty?”

Gabby chuckled awkwardly, mumbling, “We’re, uh, still figuring that out. But Gigi was more than willing to volunteer.”

“Mhmm. Yeah? Well, keep your eye on Gigi then. She always had some kind of a plan from what I remember,” Gallus warned. That card-counting, little cheat…

“Gallus, we weren’t born yesterday,” Gabby deadpanned. “Fortunately, we didn’t have to prepare for any swindling attempts.”

“Keep telling yourself that and you’re gonna get swindled.”

“No, seriously, Gallus, she really didn’t ask for Bits,” she revealed, completely serious.

Gallus blinked rapidly, trying to wrap his head around that concept. “W-Well, she had to have asked for something in return! So, what was it?”

“Believe it or not? She just asked for us to help fix her house up,” Gabby elaborated. “I mean, we were already planning to do that, but…”

“Her house!? You’re telling me Gigi wanted help with her house!? Not Bits!?”

“Yep. No Bits, no favors; no deals. Just a few new windows and some roof repair. Of course, there was no way we were going to settle for that!” she laughed.

“You didn’t…?”

“We sure did! We rebuilt her house from the ground-up! Oh, Gallus, you really should have been here,” Gabby continued, smiling blissfully at the memory. “When she saw her new house, she started crying; she was so happy!”

Gallus worked to comprehend that revelation, muttering, “Well, uh, I-I guess that happened.”

“Hee-hee. A lot more happened too,” she stated, taking his talon and leading him into Griffonstone proper. “Come on, let me show what we did for the Festival!”

What they did, he quickly learned, was throw a celebration for the Blue Moon Festival.

An actual, full-fledged, proper celebration.

Never before had he seen such vibrancy permeate the kingdom. Ribbons and streamers were hung across practically everything, and almost every residence had at least some decorations put out for the holiday. And while most of it was simple stuff like a holiday flag or a string of lights, the mere fact Griffonstone had put up anything completely floored Gallus.

In fact, he had to do a double-take when he saw that one particular house had put out an inflatable snowgriff. The fact it was still there and slash-free nearly made him pass out in shock.

And as Gabby led him further into the city, Gallus noticed the decorations started changing. Gone were the colored lights and holiday streamers, and in their place were silver and blue banners depicting the moon and the occasional string of resplendently dyed feathers.

All traditional hallmarks of the Blue Moon Festival. And decorations Gallus had almost never seen before in his life.

Griffonstone is celebrating! Gallus acknowledged, no longer able to even remotely think otherwise. Actually celebrating! He looked around himself, and while there weren’t many griffons walking the streets, those who were all looked…happy. Genuinely happy.

“What?” was all he could say as he took everything in, overwhelmed by the sheer volume of positivity and cheer surrounding him. “What!?”

Gabby giggled, declaring, “Yep! Welcome back to Griffonstone, Gallus!”


***


“—It’s ice cream and soda pop in the same drink! Isn’t that amazing; I never would have thought they’d make a great combination, but lo and behold! They do!” Silverstream squealed, sipping at her float. “What about you? What’s your favorite dessert?”

“Mm? I would say mint chocolate chip ice cream with ruby sprinkles,” Smolder answered, munching on an oatmeal cookie. “It’s not the most sophisticated of snacks, but it! Is! Tasty!”

“I’ll have to take your word for it since I can’t eat gemstones.”

“Shame. Gems are delicious!” she professed, licking her maw.

“Well, I’m glad you enjoy ‘em.”

The pair fell into a calm silence as the flurry of snow continued to beat against the windows of Sugarcube Corner.

With the exception of the Cakes, Silver and Smolder were entirely alone within the establishment, but neither were really bothered by that. In fact, they both appreciated being able to spend some time together with nocreature else around.

C’mon, Silverstream, she thought as she massaged away a light brain-freeze. Everything is okay; all you need to do is apologize. For leaving her to stew in her paranoia. Which led to the whole Nightmare Night incident… Silver concluded, shifting uncomfortably in her seat.

“Please don’t think any of this is your fault,” Gallus had begged of her.

After recalling that, Silver proceeded to play with her straw, telling herself, It’s not my fault Smolder was upset. I understand that. But…? I still shouldn’t have left her that day, she chastised, wincing faintly. Not when I could have helped her.

But how do I even apologize for something like that!? Silver wondered. It’s not like I can ask anyone for advice; everycreature would just say I don’t need to apologize. Yona would be the only exception, but all she’d say is that I should have hope everything will be fine, she groaned, looking up from her drink and staring at Smolder guiltily. She then blinked in realization.

But you? You would just tell me to get it over with, wouldn’t you, Smolder?

Silver swallowed nervously, gathered her courage, and began, “Hey, Smolder?”

“Hmm?”

“How are you doing? With everything?”

“Oh. Uhhh?” Smolder frowned uncomfortably, muttering, “I’m fine. You?”

“I’m doing good,” she confirmed. “Glad to hear you are too.”

“Yeah. … I mean, I could really do without the teachers pity-staring at me all the time,” she griped, determinedly looking away from Silver. “But I guess I brought that on myself, didn’t I?”

Rainbow Dash has been avoiding calling on her in class lately… “I think they’re mostly just worried about you. We all are.”

“I sorta figured that out,” Smolder said, scratching at her chair’s cushion. “Shimmy hasn’t let me skip a single cheer-leading practice since that night…”

“But you are practicing again; that’s good, right?”

Smolder grinned and said, “Oh yeah! Honestly, I almost forgot how much fun cheer-leading and Science Club are! Definitely helps that November and Ocellus have been bringing me up to speed on what I missed in the latter,” she added, finally meeting Silver’s eye again.

“Well, I’m happy you’re having so much fun!”

“I am too.”

For one heavenly minute, the two smiled at each other, all fear and awkwardness forgotten. Sadly, once that minute passed, Smolder frowned again. “Do you think he’s having fun? Back there?”

Silver stared at the frothy bottom of her empty cup, searching for an answer. Settling for honesty, she whispered, “I don’t know. But I like to think he is,” she said, smiling optimistically. “Gallus knows what he’s doing, so if he didn’t think it was a good idea, he wouldn’t have gone.”

“You, uh, you do know he probably only went there because of…him. Right?”

“I know,” Silver answered coldly. “And even if that place is better and Gallus manages to have fun with Gabby and Gilda…? I’m really scared of what will happen if Gruff…”

“Hurts him?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m glad I’m not the only one who’s scared,” Smolder eventually mumbled, taking a nearby napkin and slowly ripping it into pieces. “After all that place put him through…? After that stupid git didn’t bother to show up to the Fair or your play…!” she growled as smoke leaked from her nostrils.

Silver reached out and took Smolder’s claw into her talon. “It’s going to be alright, Smolder.” It has to be. I can’t… It— It just has to be! she kept herself from adding.

“Sure. Maybe,” she sneered, barely acknowledging Silver’s touch. “And what if it’s not? What if he gets hurt? What if he comes back, and he’s not okay anymore?” she asked, tearing up.

“We’ll help him feel better,” Silver answered, feeling her heart race in fearful anticipation. “Just like you said we would.”

Smolder took in a slow breath and let out a cloud of steamy air, squeezing the feeling out of Silver’s talon. “I wish we didn’t have to help him. Why couldn’t he just be okay forever?”

“Because…” Silver sorted through her lessons in search of a suitable response. Once she found one, she stated, “Because nocreature can be happy all the time. Sometimes, sorrow is something somecreature needs to show,” she explained, despising that fact. “Even fear and loneliness have to be expressed sometimes. It’s not exactly a fun fact, but… It is okay to feel those things.”

After a second, Smolder laughed weakly, leaning back and rubbing her eyes. “Oh geez!” she groaned, smiling hollowly. “You know? I think I needed to hear that, Silver. Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it. I think we all need to remember that lesson sometimes.”

“Yeah. It is a pretty good lesson,” Smolder conceded, exasperated. “Still though? Do you think there was anything we could have done to stop him from going?”

“I doubt it highly. Gallus can be pretty stubborn when he think he needs to do something,” Silver pointed out, even more relieved he had finally given up on planning their second date alone.

“He’s not the only one,” she sighed. “But you never know, m-maybe if one of us had gone home for the holiday, we could have invited him to tag along?” Smolder suggested weakly.

“Oh, believe me. I did think about that,” Silver wistfully confided. “But? On top of the fact that going to Griffonstone was his decision and I didn’t want to force him to go against it…? I am not ready for him to meet my family yet,” she confessed, grimacing. “Especially my mother!”

“I guess that makes sense,” Smolder said, still somewhat perturbed. “You guys haven’t even gone on your second date yet, so it’s no wonder you’re not ready for that step.”

“That— That’s not at all what this is about!”

“Hey, I didn’t mean to judge you; I-I know you love him!” Smolder yelped. “I swear!”

Terrified she had upset Smolder, Silver frantically protested, “No, no! I know! I-I’m not upset! I perfectly understood what you meant! No— No worries!”

“O-Okay! Okay…” Once both of them calmed down, Smolder resumed, “So? If that’s the case, then why aren’t you ready for him to meet your folks?”

“…Promise not to tell Gallus?”

“Cross my heart, hope to fly; stick a cupcake in my eye,” she recited, performing the motions.

“Well? The truth is…” Silver inhaled sharply, forcing herself to answer, “The truth is my mom isn’t exactly fond of him.”

Smolder blinked. “What? Why not?”

“I have no idea!” she shouted, resting her head on the table. “But almost every letter she writes to me has some kind of comment about him. And not the nice kind.”

“Like what?”

Silver raised her head back up, brushed her mane from her eyes, and sweetly quoted, “‘And don’t forget, honey! There are plenty of seaponies in the ocean; you don’t have to settle for less!’”

“Well then!” Smolder groaned as her eyes widened in shock. “That’s… What!?”

“Yeah, I know. I stopped reading her letters after I saw that one.”

“Yikes!” she exclaimed, giving Silver a sympathetic look. “W-Why would your mom say things like that?”

“I have no idea!” she growled. “Oh, I want to know! Believe me, I do! But I don’t…” Hugging herself, Silver concluded, “Mom just doesn’t think Gallus and I should be together, I guess.”

“Is— Is that why you didn’t go home this year? ‘Cause you were always excited about celebrating the Three Days of Freedom before.”

“That. And if I did go, Dad would never stop asking me about Gallus.” Silverstream noticed Smolder sneer angrily and clarified, “About who Gallus is and what he likes. You know? The normal stuff.”

“So he’s not…?”

“Making sly remarks that I could do better, like Mom? No. But sweet sea kelp! Will he not leave me alone!” Silver bemoaned. “I swear, I think I’ve gotten more letters from him about Gallus than Gallus got relationship advice from Princess Cadence.”

Smolder couldn’t help but snicker.

“Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up,” she pouted. “Go ahead, I don’t mind.”

“In that case, let me laugh harder,” she said, proceeding to do exactly that.

You laugh now, Smolder, but just you wait till you get a special somecreature, Silver thought, unamused. Then you can come to me and complain about nosy parents. … Speaking of which?

“While we’re on that note?” she began once the dragon had quieted down. “How come you didn’t go home for the Feast of Fire?”

Smolder’s mirth vanished instantly, replaced by something akin to shame. “Same reason as you,” she said, shredding another napkin. “My parents are acting pretty weird right now too.”

“Why? What happened?”

“Headmare Starlight contacted them,” she answered curtly. “And told them what happened.”

“O-Oh. They’re worried about you then?”

“Tch. ‘Worried’ is an understatement,” Smolder laughed icily. “My dad said Dragon Lord Ember had to step in to stop Mom and Garble from flying across Equestria to drag me back home.”

“Whoa. Well, uh, look at this way: At least they wanted to come and help make you feel better,” Silver said jubilantly. “I think that’s really sweet.”

“Yeah, it is,” she agreed, smiling gratefully. “Although, I am glad Ember stopped them. I don’t know what I would have done if they had shown up.”

“Afraid they would’ve embarrassed you?” she teased.

“Pfft, no way! My mom is five times as tall as Celestia and can toss a room full of ponies into next week!” Smolder boasted proudly. “Nothing to be embarrassed about there.”

“Hee-hee. But if that’s true, how were they stopping you from going home this year?”

“…Because they would’ve wanted me to stay in the Dragon Lands. A-And I think I would have,” she admitted, morose.

Nope! She’s definitely still not okay! “Smolder? If you needed a few extra days off, our teachers would totally understand. Everycreature would!”

Smolder shook her head and clarified, “It wouldn’t have been for a few extra days, Silver. I… I don’t think I would have come back.”

Ohhh boy! Silver fretted mentally. Okay, Silver! This time, we are not leaving her alone until we know she is okay! she vowed, asking, “Why not?”

“I-I-I don’t know,” she said, shrugging wearily. “Just… Things used to be so simple over there! It was easy to be a dragon; you just needed to surf lava, eat gems, and hoard cool junk!”

“That does sound fun.”

“It was! It was— It was fun, and simple, and— Y-You know? But here? No, nothing is ever simple here,” Smolder stammered, ripping apart the last of her napkins. “Over here, you— You got friends who won’t stop worrying about you, teachers who won’t stop staring at you, and Headmares who won’t leave you alone!” she maundered off distractedly. “N-Not to mention I— I didn’t— I wasn’t—”

“It’s okay, Smolder, take your time,” she pleaded. “I promise I’m not going anywhere.”

Smolder twitched violently and replied, “You know that— That’s another thing! Back in the Dragon Lands, I wasn’t afraid of outliving everycreature around me!” she whimpered, struggling to breathe steadily. “I really miss those days. I really, really—”

Before Smolder could finish, Silverstream stood up and brought her into a comforting hug that she slowly returned.

“It’s okay, Smolder,” Silver whispered soothingly.

“…No. No, it’s not,” she argued weakly. “I-I love you guys, you know that?”

“And we love you too, Smolder.”

“Yeah, but— But— I don’t want to wake up one day and… And forget what you look like! Or what you sound like! Or who you are!” she mewled, quietly crying into Silver’s shoulder.

“You won’t forget any of us. We’re your friends, Smolder; we’ll always be with you.”

“No, you won’t. Sooner or later, you’ll—”

Silver put a talon over her maw, silencing her. “If… When that happens,” she corrected grimly. “We will be with you, Smolder. Right here,” she ended, placing her talon over Smolder’s heart.

Smolder looked down at Silver’s talon for a solid minute before sniffling and wiping her eyes dry. “I know,” she croaked. “I just don’t want you there. I want you here!” Smolder sobbed, leaning back into Silver’s embrace. “I want all of you here forever.”

“That’s okay, Smolder,” she consoled. “We want to be with you forever too.”

Smolder fell silent as she processed those words. In the end, she remained silent and simply continued to hug her friend closely.

…

…

…

“Are you two dears alright?” asked a new voice, startling the friends apart.

“Oh! Hi, Mrs. Cake,” Silverstream greeted, keeping a wing held around Smolder. “We’re fine; we were just having a heart-to-heart about something,” she explained, covering for her friend.

“Okie-dokie. I just thought I heard… Eh, nevermind,” Mrs. Cake dismissed after noticing Smolder’s reddened eyes. “Would you two like some more refreshments? On the house?” she offered.

Silver looked quietly to Smolder who shook her head lightly and answered, “N-No thank you, Mrs. Cake. Those cookies were enough for me. They were really good too, thanks.”

“Aww, you’re welcome, Smolder dear; I’m glad you liked them.” She then glanced out at the half-frozen window and exclaimed, “Goodness! The snowstorm is still going strong?”

“Apparently,” Silver commented, passing Smolder a napkin discreetly. “Guess the Weather Management Team really wanted to let it snow this year, huh?”

“Evidently. That said? You girls might want to think about heading back to the school soon,” she warned. “Not to sound like a worry-wort, but I don’t think either of you want to go through that if it happens to get worse,” Mrs. Cake guessed smartly.

“You would be correct. You ready, Smolder?”

“Mhmm,” she answered, nodding and putting her scarf and hat back on. “You?”

“Yep. Let’s go,” she said, standing back up and helping Smolder do the same. After Silverstream slipped back into her coat, she said, “Thanks again for the lunch, Mrs. Cake.”

“You’re welcome. Have a Happy Hearth’s Warming, and do be careful on your way back!”

“We will. And Happy Hearth’s Warming,” she wished, following Smolder out of Sugarcube Corner. Silver then flinched as her mane whipped wildly in the bone-chilling zephyr. “O-Okay! Yeah! It’s cold,” she acknowledged. I really wish Gallus were here to hug me right now!

“Y-Y-You’re telling me!” Smolder stuttered, blowing flames onto her claws to warm them up.

Whelp. Gallus may not be here, but I definitely am. Silver wrapped her wing around Smolder yet again, earning a surprised stare that quickly morphed into a smile. And I’m never going away again.

“Thanks,” Smolder said, wrapping her own wing around Silverstream as well.

“Anytime. Now, let’s go home and get out of this cold!”

“You don’t need to tell me twice!”

The two then trekked back through the flurry.


***


Gabby’s picture didn’t do the library justice.

Finely polished mahogany composed the cylindrical floors and walls, stretching at least four stories upward. And while most of the cases had yet to be filled, the amount of books that did line the walls was nothing to scoff at.

“Grover’s! … Treasure!” Gabby heaved, slumping against the door after successfully shutting out the roaring storm beyond. “Yeesh! The winds are even worse than we thought!” she yelped, recollecting her breath.

Gallus didn’t respond as he was too busy gaping in shock at the sight before him. He blinked a few times before trotting to the nearest shelf and inspecting the titles while Gabby giggled.

“I know. Pretty cool, huh?” she supposed, depositing her scarf on a nearby rack. “This is what Chancellor Neighsay’s donations went to! Oh! By the way, I did remember to get all forty-two volumes of the Starswirlian Guide to the Arcane,” she boasted, gesturing to said collection. “We’re still waiting for the Me and My Shadow trilogy to arrive though. So? What do you think, Gallus?”

“I… I… I think I need to sit down,” he moaned, doing exactly that in a nearby reading chair.

“Are you okay?” she asked, quickly sitting beside him and placing a talon on his shoulder.

“Y-Yeah, I’m fine. I just need a minute to process everything.” Okay! Fixing the library is one thing, Gallus thought, releasing the breath he had been holding for the past few minutes. But getting Griffonstone to decorate for the Blue Moon Festival? Rebuilding Gigi’s house!? Giving pecking tour guides!? “So much has changed, Gabby,” he stated plainly. “A-And I haven’t even seen everything! I just don’t know what to think right now,” Gallus explained, shrugging awkwardly.

“Ohhh,” she sighed, looking a tad relieved now that she understood the issue. “I guess it is a little weird. I mean, we hadn’t even considered rebuilding the library when you were last here.”

“And yet, here it is,” Gallus acknowledged. “Only a few months later, and…? Wow. Not gonna lie though, I’m kinda bitter this place only got better after I left,” he growled, glaring at nothing in particular.

“At least it did get better? You’re, uh, not bitter about that, right?”

“Peck no!”

“Hey, language!”

“Heh-heh. Sorry,” he apologized, grinning. “But yeah, you girls have done an amazing job from what I’ve seen so far. Congratulations.”

She hugged him tightly, saying, “Thanks, Gallus. That really means a lot.”

“I call ‘em like I see ‘em,” he said, hugging her back. “And Griffonstone looks a lot better than it did the last time I was here.” Once Gabby let him go, he asked, “So, uh? Did Gigi really cry?”

Gabby opened her beak to answer, but before she could, a crash echoed through the library, followed by a muffled swear.

“I’m coming; I’m coming!” shouted a voice from the upper floor. A moment later, a black-and-gray griffoness softly landed on the ground floor, reciting, “Hello! Welcome to the Griffonstone Li—oh! Hey, Gabby, it’s you. And…Gallus too?”

“Griselda!? What are you— Wait!” No way! No pecking way! “You’re the new librarian!?”

“Duh. What? Did all those friendship lessons make you oblivious to the obvious or something?”

Okay, that does it! Gallus threw his talons into the air and declared, “I give up; the world really is ending! Quick! Somegriff tell me where Gramp’s bunker is so I can camp out for the apocalypse!”

“Har-har, bluebird,” Griselda deadpanned. “I see you’re still as witty as ever.”

“And I see you’re working in the library of all places now…?”

“Eh, wasn’t my idea.”

“Uh, yes, it—”

“Zip it, Gabs!” she yelped, failing to hide a faint blush.

“But you really wanted to—”

“Zip! It!”

“Okay, okay,” Gabby gave up, smirking. “Fine. What’ve you been up to, Grissy?”

“Don’t call me ‘Grissy’!” Griselda squeaked, flicking her tail indignantly. “To answer your question? The fledgling and I were putting that new shipment up, so we were up on the fourth floor,” she explained, stretching out her wings. “Thought I heard something, so I looked down and spotted ya.”

“Aww, thank you for putting those books up, Griselda,” Gabby said, smiling. “That was very nice of you.”

“Yeah, I know. No need to get all mushy about it,” she protested, despite clearly appreciating the compliment. “So? I see you did come back, Gallus. Gabby showing you around?”

“Pretty much,” he answered.

“Cool. Well, welcome to the new-and-improved Griffonstone Library, kid,” Griselda said, waving to the shelves around her. “Looking for anything in particular? Horror? Adventure? What?”

“Close,” Gabby answered on his behalf. “Try: A fledgling named Gavin. We’re on our way back home, and we needed to pick him up for supper.”

“Gotcha. HEY, SQUIRT!” Griselda suddenly shouted at the floors above.

“Yeah?” a quiet voice called down from above.

“Gabby’s here to pick you up, so get your rump down here!”

“Can’t I have ten more minutes!?” he whined.

“You can! But just so you know,” she began teasingly. “That’s ten more minutes you could be down here spending with your idol!” Griselda ended, giving Gallus a smug grin.

They heard the faintest of gasps before he yelled, “You mean he’s…!?”

“Yup! Better hurry before I tell him how much of a fan you really are!”

“No-no-no! Griselda, don’t you dare!”

“If you don’t want me to spill the beans, put those books up and get down here!”

“You suck!”

“Hee-hee-hee,” she snickered, shaking her head as the telltale sound of books being rapidly sorted echoed down to them. “I love that fledgling. You remember Gavin, right, Gallus?”

“Of course I do. He and I have been writing each other,” Gallus said, taking note of Gabby’s widening smile. “I mean, it’s been mostly just one or two letters a month, but…”

“So that’s what he’s got tucked away in that diary of his…” Griselda theorized, smiling evilly. “Either way, good to see you didn’t forget everygriff over there in ponyland.”

“Not like I could; you all burned yourselves into my memory,” he shot back. “Especially considering how many times you cheated me out of my lunch.”

Griselda chortled nervously. “Yeah, about that? Well, I know you probably don’t want to hear it, but… Sorry,” she mumbled.

Gallus flinched back and inquired, “Did— Did you just apologize?”

“Yeah? Did, uh… Did I do it right?” she asked, glancing at Gabby and receiving a firm nod.

The world really is ending… “Oh, y-yeah! You did it fine,” Gallus confirmed, still struggling to process the apology. “I-I just didn’t expect it.”

“At least I did apologize correctly. Woo-hoo!” Griselda cheered sarcastically. “Guess that pony book really does give good advice.”

Before anygriff could say anything more, a small, tan griffon descended the stairs, grumbling, “I swear, Griselda, if you’re pranking me again, I’m gonna—” Gavin froze upon seeing the group.

“Hey, Gavin,” Gabby greeted, waving politely.

“Uh— You— I— G-Gallus!” he shouted, sprinting toward him. “You really are here!” Gavin rejoiced, hopping excitedly.

“Eeyup. I’m back,” Gallus said, not exactly certain how to react to the bouncing fledgling before him. “Good to see you, Gavin. How’re you doing?”

“We fixed the library!” he celebrated, fluttering into the air and beaming brilliantly. “And Gabby, Gilda, and Greta all let me help Griselda with it! And we have over two hundred different books, and we’re gonna get over four hundred more! And— And— And—”

“Easy there, Gavin,” Gabby cooed soothingly. “Take a moment to catch your breath.” Gavin did as he was told, panting harshly while she continued, “Gallus only just got back today, and he’s still adjusting. Go a little easy on him, okay?”

“Okay, okay! Play it cool, Gavin!” he muttered to himself, blissfully unaware they could still hear him. “Sooo? Gallus, you’re back. How’s it going?” he asked, decidedly calmer.

“Good. How’s it going with you?”

“I’m cool, I’m cool,” he said, stroking his headcrest much to the amusement of Griselda. After noticing her tittering, Gavin groaned, “Something funny?”

“Yeah, you. You’re adorable.”

“Sh-Shut up!” he croaked, wincing in embarrassment as Griselda only cackled louder.

Gabby turned her attention away from the display, trotting to the window and checking on the status of the snowstorm outside. Upon noticing she wasn’t going to do anything about Gavin’s clear discomfort, Gallus took it upon himself to help the fledgling.

“Hey. Take it as a compliment, kiddo,” he advised, patting Gavin’s shoulder reassuringly. “I know I do when I get called that,” Gallus boasted, smiling dreamily.

“You get called adorable!?” Gavin asked, eyes widening in shock. “By whom!?”

“My girlfriend, duh!”

“You have a girlfriend!?” both the other griffons shouted. “But— But— But relationships aren’t cool!” Gavin protested. “Why would you ever have a girlfriend!?”

“Because she’s beautiful, amazing, and I love her,” Gallus answered without hesitation. “And for the record, relationships are cool,” he added, winking.

Gavin tilted his head in confusion and wondered, “They are?”

“When they’re with the right creature.”

“Huh. … I don’t get it,” he admitted bluntly. Gavin then yelped as Griselda shoved him aside and screeched, “Dude! Your girlfriend! Details! Need details!”

I didn’t think I’d get a practice run for this, but I’ll take it, Gallus thought thankfully, pulling a photograph of Silver from his coat pocket. “Okay, do you remember my friend, Silverstream?”

“I think I know the name,” Griselda said, eagerly snatching the photo from his talons. “Wow. That’s a lot of pink.”

You don’t know pink until you have to sit in a classroom, staring at Pinkie Pie for half an hour, he joked to himself. “Yeah. Anyway, that’s her; Silver’s the sweetest girl in the school!” he proclaimed giddily. “I’m so lucky to be with her!”

Gavin hovered in the air so he could see the photo. Once he did, he asked, “Why does she have hooves?”

“That’s because she’s a hippogriff,” Gallus elaborated as Gabby returned from the window, appearing rather relieved. “She’s from Mount Aris and Seaquestria.”

“‘Seaquestria’?” Griselda repeated, giving him back the photo. She then blinked and exclaimed, “Oh, right! The hippogriffs transform into seaponies; I remember now. Grover’s Treasure, Equestria’s lore is weird.”

“I can’t deny that,” Gallus said, giving the picture one last blissful look before stuffing it back into his pocket. “It’s still awesome though.”

“I bet. … Sooo? A seapony, huh? I didn’t know you had a thing for fish, Gallus,” she accused.

“I have a thing for her,” Gallus said, not letting Griselda bring his happy mood down. “It doesn’t matter one iota to me if she’s a hippogriff or a seapony.”

“Oh, I can think of one way it will matter to you.”

“Griselda!” Gabby yelped, blushing crimson. “Not in front of Gavin!”

“What? The kid doesn’t even know what we’re talking about.”

“It’s true; I really don’t,” he confirmed, looking at everygriff in utter bewilderment. “So, uh? What are you all talking about?”

“You’ll understand when you’re older,” all three of them answered simultaneously.

Poor Gavin looked even more confused. However, Gabby continued speaking before he could get a chance to inquire further.

“Anyway, I looked outside, and the storm seems to have calmed down. So we need to get going before it gets a chance to pick up again.”

“Oh come on, Gabby!” Gallus groaned reproachfully. “I didn’t even get a chance to look around.”

“And I still wanna hear more about bluebird’s new girlfriend!” Griselda pouted, crossing her talons in outrage. “I at least wanna hear how he got her. C’mon, Gabby, you can’t have to leave yet!”

“I just want to know what you were all talking about?” Gavin interjected hopefully.

“You’ll understand when you’re older,” they all repeated again, making him groan in defeat.

“I’m sorry, guys,” Gabby resumed. “But we’re already running late, and Gilda’s probably started making dinner by now.”

“And we wouldn’t want to keep her waiting, right?” Gallus guessed.

“No, we do not. So c’mon, Gavin, we gotta go,” she beckoned, marching toward the door.

“Awww! But, Gabby, I wasn’t done reading!” he complained, staring at the shelves longingly.

“Would you rather stay here and read or come home and have dinner with us and Gallus?”

“…Dinner with you and Gallus.”

“That’s what I thought. Now, let’s go,” she said, putting her scarf back on.

Did I just get used to blackmail a kid? Gallus pondered, furrowing his brow.

“Okay, okay,” Gavin said, begrudgingly retrieving his own coat off a nearby chair and putting it on. “But I can come back here tomorrow, right?”

“Like we could even stop you,” Gabby joked, giving him an encouraging smile.

“Yay!”

“Eh-heh-heh, sure,” Griselda chuckled bitterly. “Just come in, steal my assistant, and ditch me to put six dozen more books up by myself… Thanks.”

“If you’d like to, you’re more than welcome to come and join us for dinner,” Gabby invited kindly. “Gallus came back today, so Gilda’s probably made enough to feed fifteen griffons for a week.”

“W-W-Well, I was, uh…” Griselda stuttered. “I-I mean, I wouldn’t want to intrude, but if you’re offering…?”

“Mhmm.”

“Then y-yeah, sure! Whatever! I-I’d like that,” she murmured, timidly tapping her talons together.

“Of course,” Gabby chirped, giving Griselda a bright smile. “Just so you know though? We decided to have an all-vegetable meal tonight. So, no, uh…you know.”

“Who cares!? A meal’s a meal! Thanks, Gabs,” Griselda said, surprising Gabby with a hug.

Things really have changed, Gallus accepted, having no idea whether he wanted to laugh, cry, or sigh. I wonder if that means…? “Plus,” Gallus began, cutting off that train of thought. “I’m here for the whole week, so I can help you out with putting those books up.”

“W-Week?” Gavin echoed so quietly nogriff heard him.

“Thanks, dude,” she said, lifting up a claw. After Gallus bumped it, she added, “Good to see you back.”

“…Good to be back,” he replied, still unsure if he meant that or not.

Once Griselda had grabbed her own coat, the group entered into the flurry, braving its subdued winds in their quest toward Gilda’s house. Luckily, it didn’t take them long to reach said location…

“Thank Grover! We’re finally here!” Griselda shrieked, yelping as another blast of air washed over them. “Can we finally get out of the cold now!? Please!?”

“D-D-Door should be open!” Gabby stammered as she spared a glance to the passenger atop her back. “Just a little bit longer, Gavin; we’re almost there!”

“I’m okay!” he squeaked out, snuggling into her feathers. “But, Gabby? C-C-Could you ask Gilda to move her house closer to the library before next winter?”

“Heh-heh. I’ll see what we can do. You okay, Gallus?” she asked, turning her gaze to him.

“Yeah… I’m okay…” he mumbled, staring at one particular house just a little down the road.

Neither a single decoration was in sight nor a hint of remodeling had been done, yet it was still the most recognizable house in all of Griffonstone. At least, as far as Gallus was concerned.

He’s right! Pecking! There! Gallus realized fearfully. Just a few steps in that direction and—

“Gallus!” Gabby called out, laying a talon on his shoulder and acquiring his full attention.

“Huh! Oh, uh, yes! I’m fine,” he lied. “Sorry, I got a little distracted,” Gallus said, casting another forlorn glance at the derelict house.

“It’s okay, Gallus. I know,” she comforted, draping a wing across his back. “But if you want to talk to him, he’s not there; Gilda invited him over too.”

“S-So, Gruff is…!?” he squealed, no longer shivering from just the cold.

“Mhmm. C’mon, I’m sure he’ll be glad to see you too,” she said, closing her eyes and gently coaxing him forward.

She’s not meeting my eyes; that’s one of her tells! Gallus mildly panicked. He then took a deep breath of icy air and coughed it out, reminding himself, Don’t be paranoid, Gallus. This’ll be fine; this will all be fine! No problem! We’re having a good time, and not even Gruff is gonna take that away!

“…I want him to love me too,” Gallus remembered admitting so long ago. “I wanted him to show up, look me in the eye and say… ‘I’m proud of you, Gallus. I know love doesn’t need to be earned, but… Why do I need to earn his? Why am I never good enough?”

“Gallus… You are good enough for him,” Ocellus had promised him.

“Then why does nothing I do ever matter to him?”

“…I don’t know. What I do know is that, no matter what happens, you’ll always be more than good enough for us.”

“But I want to be good enough for him too.”

“And you are, Gallus. You’ve always been good enough.”

I’ve always been good enough, Gallus reassured himself, relieved to find his pocket still held Silver’s photograph. Here we go… he dreaded as Gabby led him into Gilda’s domicile.

“Oh thank Grover! Warmth!” Griselda rejoiced, darting over to the lit fireplace.

“Hello to you too, Grissy,” Greta replied curtly, setting aside her book and raising an eyebrow.

“Ahhh,” Griselda sighed sedately, warming her talons over the fire. “Don’t call me ‘Grissy’!”

“Mhmm. Hello, everygriff,” she said, approaching the others and pausing when she noticed Gallus. “Oh. Hi, Gallus, so you did come.”

“Yep. Hey, Greta. How’re you doing?” he asked politely.

“Well enough. You?”

“Also well enough.”

“Good to hear. Hey, Gilda! Gruff! They’re here!” she announced over her shoulder.

“Cool! Let ‘em know I’ll be out in a minute!” Gilda’s voice requested from the kitchen.

Gruff didn’t respond.

“Like the lady said, she’ll be out in a minute.” Greta then looked over the shivering forms of Gavin and Gabby and disclosed, “Cocoa’s on the counter and tea’s in the fridge. Take your pick.”

“Got it,” Gabby said, gently depositing Gavin beside Griselda and darting into the kitchen for said drinks. “Did you want anything, Gallus?” she asked over her shoulder.

“Tea would be fine,” he answered. “I have enough cocoa back home as it is,” Gallus chuckled, taking in all of Gilda’s new refurbishments.

A ridiculously soft, velvet carpet hid the cold, dirt floor beneath it, and a few new pieces of furniture had been collected and arranged to give the room a rather cozy feel.

Hanging from the repainted walls, were pictures of various Griffonstone residents and one particular rainbow-maned pegasus. A number of these photos, Gallus noticed, showed griffons standing in front of their own newly restored houses.

Gallus approached one of them and recognized Gigi as its subject. And while she did indeed seem to be crying, Gallus had never seen her look so happy.

Greta took Gavin and Griselda’s coats, exchanging them for a thick, toasty blanket. Afterward, she trotted up to Gallus and asked, “I see you saw the photos. … Pretty weird, right?”

“What? The pictures?”

“Yeah. But what can I say? Gilda likes taking them after we help somegriff out. To be honest, I do too,” she confided behind a talon.

“It’s a nice reminder, I suppose,” Gallus whispered, tearing his eyes away from the portraits and focusing them on Greta. “That what you’re doing is worth it?”

Greta simply shrugged.

“Yeah. Well? It’s a great reminder,” he commented, nodding happily. “Not weird at all.”

“Heh. Gilda’ll be happy you think that.”

“Probably. … Thanks for letting me stay with you girls for the week.”

Unbeknownst to all, Gavin flinched.

“No problem, Gallus,” Greta affirmed. “It’s nice to see you back.”

“Nice to see you too, Greta. … So, uh? Where’s Gramps?”

“Sulking in the kitchen,” she answered, frowning pensively.

“Thanks. Er, do you mind if I leave my stuff by the door? I’ll take care of it later.”

“That’s fine. Gonna go talk to him?”

“Yeah. I wanna at least say hi,” Gallus elaborated, optimistic.

“You do that then. Here, let me take your coat,” she requested.

“O-Oh! Uh, thanks,” he said, giving it to her. “And thanks again for letting me stay here.”

“You’re welcome,” she mumbled, watching as Gallus turned and trotted to the kitchen.

Okay, Gallus, just play it cool, he commanded, running a talon through his headcrest. This will be fine. So what if I haven’t seen Gruff in almost half a year? So what if he never showed up to our play or the Fair!? So what if he may or may not care about me!? I care about him!

And that’s okay…right? Gallus contemplated, almost bumping headfirst into Gabby.

“Whoops!” she grunted, struggling not to drop the drinks. “Sorry, Gallus. Here’s your tea.”

“Thanks, Gabby,” he said, quickly taking it out of her grasp.

“No worries. Oh! And Gilda said dinner will be up in a few minutes; she’s just waiting for the biscuits to finish.”

“Understood. I’ll clean up in a bit,” he promised as Gabby strode past him, gifting Griselda and Gavin their drinks as well. Gallus then took a long sip of tea and echoed, “This is will be okay.”

Unlike practically everything else, Gilda’s kitchen looked almost exactly like it had been when Gallus was last in it. Although, the stove she was currently hunched over was certainly new.

There he is, Gallus thought once he spotted Gruff’s telltale fez peeking over the Griffonstone newspaper. Oh Grover’s Treasure, I’m not sure if I’m ready for—

“Ah still don’t get why you go to all this trouble decoratin’ everywhere!” Gruff loudly groused, interrupting Gallus mid-panic. “It’s all gonna get taken down a week from now anyway.”

“It’s to celebrate the holiday, you grumpy, old buzzard!” Gilda shot back, not noticing Gallus had entered. “Just ‘cause you’re too cheap to hang so much as a light-bulb, doesn’t mean the rest of us are!”

“Tch! Whatever you say, oh mighty savior of Griffonstone!”

Please stop fighting…! Gallus prayed, going stiff.

“Hey, at least I’m trying to clean this place up! You can’t even be bothered to clean your own pigsty of a house!” she shouted, closing her oven and taking off her mitts.

“Well, excuse me! Didn’t know you had some weird fetish for cleanin’ other griffons’ houses!”

“Why you little—” Gilda began, rounding on Gruff and freezing when she spotted Gallus standing in the middle of the kitchen. “G-Gallus! Hi!” she swiftly greeted with a wide smile. “Didn’t see ya there!” she nervously laughed while Gruff went dead silent.

Don’t freak out! You just overheard an argument; that’s normal! Gallus thought, calming down. “Hey, Gilda,” he said, averting his eyes from the other griffon. “I’m back.”

“Good to see ya, nerd,” Gilda said casually, offering him a claw which he gladly bumped. Relieved he didn’t comment on their argument, she continued, “Glad you could make it. How are you?”

“I’m good. Going through a bit of a culture shock, but otherwise, I’m good.”

“Gabby showed you around town, huh?” Gilda guessed, leaning against the counter and giving him a knowing smile. “So? What’d ya think?”

“It was…certainly festive.”

“Yeah. Even I have a hard time believing just how much progress we’ve made with this place, and I’m the one in charge of fixing everything up!” she scoffed, chuckling.

“And you’ve done a marvelous job as far as I can tell.”

“Heh. Thanks, kid,” she said, jabbing his shoulder playfully. “We still have a long way to go, but if even you are enjoying this place so far? Guess we’re doing something right.”

“Hey, at least you’re actually doing something.”

“Better than some,” Gilda growled, shooting Gruff a nasty scowl. “Hey, Gramps! In case you weren’t paying attention, Gallus showed up. You gonna say anything, or…?”

“Yeah, yeah! Hey,” he deadpanned dismissively, flipping to another page of his newspaper.

He can’t even look at me?

Gilda groaned and shook her head. “Sorry about him. He hasn’t had his milk bottle today.”

“Shut your beak!” he snapped, glaring at her over the paper but not even sparing Gallus a glance.

“How about you open yours,” she countered, trotting around Gallus. “Take a moment to talk to your kid, why don’t you?” Gilda suggested before swiftly sneaking into the other room.

“He ain’t mah—Ughhh!” he moaned, face-clawing at Gilda’s antics. Unfortunately, while Gruff hadn’t finished his retort, he may as well have as far as Gallus was concerned.

I’m not his kid…? Heh-heh, okay. Okay! We knew that; we knew that! Gallus insisted, struggling to stay positive. He doesn’t think of me that way, but that’s okay! That doesn’t mean he doesn’t care about me at all! I mean, Gilda certainly seemed to think he does; she even gave us the room!

…

Aw peck, she gave us the room! he realized, tapping the floor nervously. Dang it, Gilda!

“H-Hey, Grandpa Gruff,” Gallus warily greeted. “How are you doing?”

Gruff looked up and gave Gallus a cold stare. “Eh,” he replied, hiding behind his paper again.

Annnd, there we go, Gallus sighed, feeling his wings sag a little. Just like old times. “So? Anything exciting going on?” he tried continuing, joining Gruff at the table.

“Eh.”

Oh come on! What do I need to say to make him actually talk to me!? “H-How about the Blue Moon Festival, huh? Griffonstone’s really gone all-out this year, don’t you think?”

“Eh.”

“Yeah. Yeah…” Gallus whimpered, hanging his head sorrowfully.

…

…

…

“So,” Gruff finally started, making Gallus perk up eagerly. “You’re back, huh?”

“Y-Yeah! I’m here!” he declared, ecstatic. Think, Gallus, think! What else can I say to make him happy!? “It’s, uh, it’s really good to be back; I really missed Griffonstone!” Gallus lied wildly. “I missed Gabby. I missed Gilda. I-I missed you,” he quietly confessed.

“Mhmm.”

Gallus flinched. He then blinked and grinned, pulling out his photo of Silverstream. “S-So? Now that I have a chance, I-I wanted to tell you something.”

“Oh really?” Gruff droned, raising an eyebrow. “What?”

He’s interested! Grover’s Treasure, he’s actually interested! “You remember my friend, Silverstream?” Gallus asked, showing him the photo. “You, uh, you know? The hippogriff?”

Gruff spared the photo all of a glance before asking, “What about ‘er?”

“Well, I know this might come across as a bit of a shock, but… We’re dating!” Gallus announced, smiling rapturously.

“You are?”

“Yes, we are!” he affirmed, feeling his heart thunder against his chest in elation. “She’s the sweetest girl in the school, and we’re even gonna go on our second major date soon too!” he rejoiced.

“Mhmm. That’s nice.” Gruff then tucked the newspaper under his wing and stood up. “Whelp. Good to see you’re back in one piece. … Bye,” he said, departing for the living room.

“W-Wait!” Gallus called out desperately. “Did— Did you want to know more about…?”

Too late. Gruff had already trotted away, leaving Gallus all alone.

“…Good to see you’re back in one piece…”

A part of Gallus wanted to take joy in that statement because it meant Gruff was glad to see him again, if only to know Gallus was okay.

Unfortunately, Gallus felt no such happiness and simply laid his head against the table, staring longingly at Gruff’s empty chair.

“He can’t even tolerate being in the same room with me?” Gallus questioned, dreading that likely possibility. Oh Grover, what am I doing wrong? he wondered, wiping at his eyes.

Almost as soon as he asked that, Gilda cautiously stepped back into the room. She then shot a quick glare back at Gruff before approaching Gallus.

Gilda opened her beak to say something—anything!—but nothing came out. Instead, she simply patted his shoulder as reassuringly as she could and went back to work at her stove.

“…Thanks for trying,” Gallus managed to mutter.

“He, uh…” she began, giving him another pitying look. “He cares more than he lets on.”

I wish I knew that were true, he thought despairingly, rising from the table. “I’ll just, uh, go put up my stuff.”

“Alright. Guest room’s prepped for ya.”

“Thanks again, Gilda.”

“Don’t mention it, Gallus,” she said quietly.

Gallus then trotted away, keeping his eyes glued to the ground.


***


A quarter of an hour later…

“Alright, evergriff, supper’s on!” Gilda announced. “Get your talons washed up and rears in gear! I’m hungry; let’s go!”

“Yay!” Gavin cheered, rocketing into the kitchen at full-speed. “About time, Gilda.”

“You can’t rush culinary genius, kiddo.”

“You can in restaurants; all you have to do is complain enough.”

“Well, this isn’t a restaurant, and if you complain anymore I’m going to make you clean all these dishes by yourself,” she threatened, pointing a ladle at Gavin menacingly.

“Y-Yes, ma’am.”

“Take it easy on the fledgling, Gilda,” Greta requested, giving her a small smile. “Frankly, we’re all a little hungry,” she stated, taking her own seat at the table.

“Yeah, yeah…” Gilda grumbled, cowed for now.

“Hey, Gavin?” Gabby began as she helped Gilda serve the food. “Who exactly told you that ‘fact’ about complaining at restaurants getting you your food faster?”

“Uhhh, n-nogriff! Nogriff taught me that; I just…found out?” Gavin tried, shrugging.

Gilda, Gabby, and Greta all shot an unamused look at Griselda who whistled innocently.

“Don’t know why your askin’ about it; kid’s right,” Gruff growled as he planted himself at the end of the table. “All them fancy, pony restaurants care about is satisfyin’ their customers so they can get their Bits. Even if it means rushin’ out the order,” he ended, certain in his correctness.

“Well, restaurants do need to get paid,” Gabby placated. “That doesn’t mean it’s right to harangue the staff just to get your order sooner.”

Gruff merely rolled his good eye. He then sneered at the food before him and shot a scowl Gilda’s way.

To her credit, Gilda glared right back and demanded, “Eat it and like it, old griff!”

“‘Eat it and like it, old griff,’” he echoed mockingly. He then noticed Gallus finally enter the kitchen. “Ah. There you are. Wonderin’ when you’d show up.”

I was wondering the same thing about you, Gallus wanted so much to fire back. Of course, I can’t say that, so… “Sorry. I was just finishing up in my room. Didn’t mean to hold anygriff up.”

“You didn’t hold us up, Gallus,” Greta assuaged, shooting Gruff a cold frown. “Don’t worry.”

Gallus smiled weakly as he took his seat at the table and noticed Gavin staring at him with a huge grin on his face.

“Hey, Gavin. You look happy,” he said. “What? This your favorite meal or something?”

“N-No!” Gavin yelped, looking away to hide his flustered blush. “I’m just, er, really happy to be having supper with you!” He blinked and face-clawed, continuing, “Ah geez! I-I mean, I’m glad to be having supper with everygriff! That— That’s what I meant.”

Oh, I swear this kid is just the best, Gallus thought, giving Gavin a playful noogie. “Yeah, I’m sure that’s exactly what you meant,” he teased.

“Hey, he’s not wrong,” Griselda piped up, covering for her assistant. “I’m glad I get to be here too. Speaking of which? Thanks again for inviting me, Gabs.”

“Of course. I’m just glad Gilda did make enough to feed fifteen griffons,” she added, giving Gilda a relieved smile.

“So am I. Otherwise, we’d be having a decidedly more awkward conversation,” Gilda pointed out as she finished serving everygriff. She then sat down herself and said, “Alright, everygriff good?”

After receiving various nods, she declared, “Good! Let’s dig in!”

The kitchen was then filled with the sounds of various griffons chewing and the clinking of silverware against plates.

“Oh dang! This is amazing, Gilda!” Griselda complimented, swallowing a bite of sweet potatoes. “Maybe you should consider opening a restaurant.”

“Heh-heh. Thanks, Grissy.”

Griselda looked rather annoyed to be called that again, but she elected to not comment on it and instead plunged another spoonful of potatoes into her beak.

“It’s just potatoes,” Gruff whispered rudely, receiving a good smack to the back of his head, courtesy of Greta. He glared at her for a moment before returning to his own bowl of potatoes.

I see dinners between griffons are still as awkward as ever, Gallus observed, laughing to himself. Guess that’s one thing that’ll never change.

Hoping to inject some more conversation into the meal, Gilda asked, “So, Gallus? How was your trip?”

“It was good,” Gallus answered, munching on a hunk of broccoli. “Can’t really complain.”

“You should have seen the look on his face when he found out we put a guard rail on the mountain path,” Gabby said, tittering. “He stared at it for, like, five minutes then gave up and asked about it. It was priceless,” she said before taking a bite out of her biscuit.

Gallus rolled his eyes and argued, “You try leaving Griffonstone for a few years and come back to find out everygriff suddenly cares about whether or not somecreature falls of the cliff.”

“At least you’re back now,” Gavin stated, grinning widely despite the food stuffed in his beak. After swallowing, he added, “Now you can see first-talon how much cooler Griffonstone is.”

“That’s the plan, Gavin; that’s the plan,” Gallus confirmed.

The girls all smiled and watched as Gavin nearly exploded in joy. Even Gruff looked like he was hiding a smile.

“On that note?” Gilda paused to sip at her water before asking, “How long did you plan to stay for? Gabby told me you were planning to stay only a week, but…?”

Gavin’s cheer wilted instantaneously, replaced by a terrified frown which he aimed squarely at Gallus.

“Yeah, a week’s the plan. It’s good to see all of you again, but I do want to get back home and spend the rest of the holiday with my friends,” he clarified, biting into an apple.

“…But you are home…”

The table went silent as all eyes locked onto Gavin.

Gruff tried to stand up to leave, but Gilda grabbed his shoulder and forced him to sit back down, much to his evident fury.

“Uhhh, Gavin? You do understand I’m living in Ponyville now, right?”

“W-Well, yeah,” he said shyly. “But— But that’s just so you could go to school! Griffonstone is still your real home!” Gavin declared, flicking his tail anxiously. “L-Like… You’re gonna move back when you graduate, aren’t you!?”

Oh peck, Gallus cursed as he rubbed his neck awkwardly. A little help here, girls! he silently pleaded, exchanging glances with the others.

“Now, Gavin,” Gilda began coolly. “We talked about this, remember?”

Gavin flinched back, desperately avoiding her disapproving glare. “I-I-I know! I know you d-didn’t want me to ask, but—”

“Then why did you ask?”

Wait a minute. “You told Gavin not to ask if I was ever moving back?” he asked, frowning.

Gilda cleared her throat and explained, “Well? We knew you wouldn’t exactly like being asked that, considering…” That we all know you never will, she left unsaid.

A spark of anger lit in his mind, and Gallus deadpanned, “I don’t mind being asked something, thank you very much.”

“Hey, Gilda was just looking out for you,” Greta defended calmly. “No need to get uppity.”

There it is. I knew they didn’t weed out every evil from this stupid place. “No need to discourage Gavin from asking a question,” he retorted. “Or anygriff for that matter…”

“Okaaay!” Gabby spoke up loudly. “Let’s not get into a fight. Please?” she wished, taking note of Gavin’s overwhelmed expression and Grizelda’s confused grimace.

Calm down, Gallus, he instructed himself, sighing. You know what’ll happen if you get angry, and you’ve already trudged through that blizzard once today. “We’re not getting into a fight, Gabby.”

“Good. Because it’s a holiday, and a holiday isn’t the time to be angry with friends and family.”

“As if griffons ain’t always angry with each other,” Gruff argued, aggressively eating a carrot.

“We certainly try to be less angry more often than you do,” Gilda reprimanded, rounding on him. “‘Mr. I-can’t-spend-more-than-two-seconds-alone-with-Gallus.’”

“Excuse me for wantin’ to read the paper and not listen to the boy gush ‘bout his girlfriend!” he countered, narrowing his eyes balefully.

“You’d rather read a dumb newspaper than hear about your kid’s love life?”

“He ain’t mah kid! Ah don’t know where you got that stupid idea, but you need to get over it!”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Gramps,” she hummed sweetly. “My bad for assuming you loved Gallus when you constantly demand Gabby to bring you updates about him.”

“Well, you assumed wrong!” he snarled venomously.

Silence.

“I’m sorry,” Gavin suddenly apologized, drawing everygriff’s eyes back onto him. “I-I didn’t mean to start a fight; I w-was just… I was just…” He sobbed, falling silent.

“Hey,” Gallus gently began, rubbing Gavin’s back comfortingly. “You didn’t start a fight, kid.”

“B-But—”

“It wasn’t your fault, Gavin,” he interrupted, passing Gavin a napkin. Gavin hesitantly took it and wiped at his eyes as Gallus comforted, “You just asked a question; you didn’t do anything wrong.”

“But… But Gabby and Gilda said…?”

“And they thought wrong,” he stated resolutely. “I don’t mind if you ask me a question, Gavin. In fact? I really like answering questions,” Gallus whispered behind a talon, eliciting a light giggle from both Gavin and Gabby. “So go ahead and ask away.”

Gavin’s smile slowly faded away, and he timidly asked, “A-Are you… Are you going to come back home? When you’re done learning about friendship?”

Gilda and Greta both shared a knowing look, and Gabby bit her talon nervously. Griselda, meanwhile, wore an expression that plainly communicated her desire to stay out of the conversation, and it was impossible to tell whether Gruff’s glare was born of cold indifference or sheer hatred…

Gallus took a deep breath. “Okay? Gavin, I… I don’t know if I’m ever going to move back to Griffonstone. And to be honest? I don’t think I am,” he answered.

Gavin’s beak quivered as he stuttered, “W-W-Why?”

“That’s…a little complicated.”

“N-No, it’s not!” Gavin protested. “Griffonstone is our home! It’s every griffon’s home, a-and you’re a griffon too! Like Gilda, and Gabby, and m-me…! Why— Why don’t you want to come back!?” he whimpered, tearing up again.

Because no matter how much Griffonstone improves, it’s still Griffonstone. And I still hate it, Gallus knew better than to tell Gavin. But what the peck do I say instead of that!?

“W-Well, Gavin?” Gabby started, swallowing nervously. “Gallus doesn’t have to come back; you understand that, right?”

“No, I don’t understand it!” Gavin shouted, flaring his wings angrily. “Why can’t Gallus stay here in Griffonstone!? Why did he even need to go away in the first place!?” he inquired, staring at Grandpa Gruff and shirking away when the elderly griffon glared back furiously.

“Gavin—”

“No, it’s not fair!” he wailed, cutting Gallus off. “Why do you have to go back to Ponyville at all!? Haven’t you learned enough about friendship!?”

“Gavin, friendship isn’t the kind of thing you can just ‘learn enough’ of…”

“I don’t care! I don’t want you to go!” Gavin admitted, trying to rub his eyes dry but to no avail.

“Gavin, you’re making a scene,” Gilda reproved. “We will talk about this later, but—”

No! Gallus unfolded his wing, blocking the others from view and silencing her instantly. You will not make Gavin bottle his feelings up, Gilda! I won’t let you! he vowed, hiding his own fury behind a calm smile. “Hey?” he whispered, lifting Gavin’s head to meet his eyes. “It’s okay, Gavin…”

“No, it’s not okay! I don’t want you to go away again!” he squealed, sniffling. “Why do you have to go away again!?”

“Gavin, I know you want me to stay, but I have friends back in Ponyville.”

“B-But you have friends here!”

“I know I do. You’re one of them, after all,” Gallus said, winking at the dumbfounded fledgling. “But? I have friends over there too. And I love them and want to be with them.”

“But d-don’t you love us too?”

“Of course I do, Gavin,” he promised truthfully. I’m mad as peck at the others, but they’re still my friends. … Probably shouldn’t say that part.

“Then why don’t you want to be with us?”

Gallus hesitated for a second before relenting, “Because Griffonstone isn’t my home.”

A chair scraped against the kitchen floor, and although Gallus knew exactly who was leaving the table, he never lowered his wing. He did, however, feel a sudden sense of weariness wash over him.

“But why?”

“Like I said, it’s complicated,” Gallus repeated, looking away. Okay, Gallus, get your mind off Gruff and figure out how to explain this to Gavin. “You see,” he resumed. “A home isn’t just where you live. It’s where you’re happiest. And I’m happiest when I’m with my friends,” he concluded calmly. Especially when I’m with her.

“I-I don’t understand,” Gavin said, tilting his head in confusion. “Griffonstone is better now, and g-griffons are being nice to each other again. So, why can’t you be happy here?”

“I…could be,” Gallus conceded, not entirely certain if he was lying or not. “But when I’m with my friends, I’m happy. Really happy,” he stressed, smiling joyfully. “I love them. And they love me.”

“But we love you too,” Gavin whined, staring at the floor.

…Oh. “Is that why you don’t want me to leave, Gavin?”

Gavin looked like he was trying not to say something, but after seeing that the others were still blocked from view, he whispered, “I-It’s just… Y-Y-You’re really cool. A-And I…miss you.”

“I— You think I’m— Whoa…!” Gallus sputtered, caught off-guard. Is that why he started writing me? I-I always wondered, but… “Heh. Thank you, Gavin. That means a lot.”

Gavin blinked and looked back at Gallus, asking, “R-Really?”

“Really,” Gallus affirmed, giving him a bright smile. “I really appreciate that, Gavin.”

“D-Does that mean you’re not gonna go? I-I know you have to go back to Ponyville sometime,” he continued before Gallus could respond. “But why do you have to stay for only a week?” he mewled. “Why— Why do you have to leave so soon?”

“…Gavin? I know you want me to stay here longer, but I can’t,” Gallus stated softy but firmly. “I have friends waiting for me back home, and I want to spend the holiday with them too. It wouldn’t be fair of me to stay here longer when I already promised them I’d be back soon.”

“It’s not fair that you have to go at all!” Gavin growled, rubbing his eyes again.

“Maybe. But would it be fair for me to stay here even though I don’t want to?” he asked quietly.

“…No,” he conceded despite clearly not wanting to.

Gabby suddenly yelped, and Gallus had the sneaking suspicion it was because Gilda had stopped her from saying something.

“Hey,” Gallus resumed, placing a talon on Gavin’s shoulder. “For what it’s worth, I’m here for a whole seven days straight. And like you said, this place has changed a lot,” he acknowledged, smirking. “I bet you know about all of the cool, new sights, right? Not just the library?”

Though thrown-off at first, Gavin slowly nodded. “Mhmm.”

“If that’s the case? Then how about you show me around the new and improved Griffonstone, instead of Gabby?” Gallus proposed. “That way, we can make this week the best week ever.”

“You— You mean it?”

“Yes, I do.”

Gavin immediately lunged at Gallus, trying his hardest to wrap his tiny talons around his midriff and squeeze the life out of him. Gallus simply smiled and hugged him back.

“It’ll be okay, Gavin,” he consoled.

“I’m s-sorry, Gallus.”

“You have nothing to apologize for,” Gallus assured, passing him another napkin that Gavin gratefully took. “So don’t be sorry. Okay?”

“O-Okay…”

Gallus smiled encouragingly as Gavin finished wiping away his tears. Once that was accomplished, Gavin glanced at the field of blue feathers blocking the dinner table and grimaced.

“It’s, uh, g-gonna be really weird when you lower your wing, isn’t it?” he guessed.

“Yeaaah,” Gallus confirmed, nodding reluctantly. “Do you want to go to the living room and eat? That way, you don’t have to deal with the stares?”

“I-It’s okay. I’m used to it anyway…”

You shouldn’t be. “If you’re sure? Alright then. I’m going to lower my wing now. But! If they start making you uncomfortable or anything, we’ll go eat in the living room,” he said, deliberately not lowering his voice. “Okay?”

“Okay,” Gavin accepted, combing a talon through his headcrest soothingly.

“You ready?”

“Mhmm.”

Gallus relaxed his wing, revealing three griffons who all swiftly looked away, attempting to pretend like they hadn’t been staring and listening the entire time. Griselda, oddly enough, was the only one of the four who kept her concerned gaze locked on Gavin.

“Hey, Gav, you okay?” she asked before Gallus could even open his beak.

Gavin shied away from the question, but he slowly nodded. “Y-Yeah. I’m fine.”

“Okay, kid,” she replied, clearly still uneasy. “But if you do need anything, let us know, okay?”

He blinked. “Th-Thanks, Griselda. I-I will.”

“Don’t mention it!” Griselda said a little loudly, pointedly staring at Gabby.

Aww, Grissy does have a heart, Gallus silently jibed, giving her a thankful smile. She grinned back, giving him a discreet talons-up that he gladly mirrored.

“Anyway!” Gilda began, eating a celery stick and acting as if dinner hadn’t just been interrupted. “Now that you’re back, Gallus, we need to know!”

“You need to know what? How I’ve managed to keep up my roguishly good looks?” he joked, grateful she wasn’t pushing the issue.

“Nah, I’m assuming that’s entirely that Rarity mare’s doing. No, we need to know about Silverstream,” Gilda clarified bluntly. “Details, nerd. Now!”

Gilda. Of all the creatures in this vast, unknowable world of ours… Gilda! Is more interested in Silverstream than Gruff… he ruminated, staring at Gruff’s empty chair. That’s… That’s not nice.

But you know what is nice? That somegriff does care! And I can be glad for that, Gallus thought encouragingly, not quite vanquishing his heartbreak. “Heh-heh-heh,” he chuckled, returning to his dinner. “Oh, where do I even begin with this one…?”

“The beginning, duh,” Griselda chimed in, already finishing off her sweet potatoes.

“Well, in that case? Strap yourselves in, boys and girls! This is gonna be a looong story…”