//------------------------------//
// Chapter Thirteen: Serenity, Part Two 
// Story: The Bonds of Love 
// by Summer Script 
//------------------------------//

“Remind me again why I have to be here, Sister?”

“Hush up, Tia,” Luna angrily whispered. “It’s not like you had anything better to do tonight.”

Ignoring Cadence’s snickers, Celestia bewailed, “Oh, I don’t know? I could have been relaxing on the beach? Participating in that pie-eating contest? Hiking up Mount Everhoof?”

“At this hour? Sister, I had no idea you enjoyed late-night hiking.” Luna spared her a judgmental glance and acknowledged, “Especially since you certainly don’t show it.”

“Says the mare comfortable with having the flattest flanks in Equestria,” Celestia shot back.

“Ooh, she got ya there, Auntie Luna,” Cadence remarked, smirking at the blushing ex-Princess. “Seriously, you’d have all the stallions chasing after you if—”

“No thanks! That is enough! Thank you!” she interrupted, only causing their grins to widen. “Back to the topic at hoof: Are they here yet?”

Cadence returned her eyes to her binoculars, peering through the bushes the three alicorns had hidden themselves in. “Hmm? Oh! Yes! Yes, they are!” she announced maniacally.

“Ooh! Let me see, let me see!” Luna pleaded, eagerly taking the binoculars from her niece. “Now, where are…? Oh. Ohhh myyy! Cadence, look! Look at Silver’s dress!”

“Oh yeah, definitely Rarity and Yona’s work. What did you think of Gallus?”

“He looks positively dashing. Especially that bow tie.”

“I know, right? That thing looks so cute on him.”

“I trust Silverstream feels the same way,” Luna remarked with a knowing grin. “On that note, do you recognize her talon polish?”

“Uhhh? Nope, but I love that color!” Cadence praised. “Lush orchid was a great choice.”

“Speaking of choices? Can I go home now?” Celestia bluntly asked.

“No!” they both barked furiously.

“Why not? I have no interest in this, and if somepony discovers our presence—”

“They won’t if you keep your voice down.”

“Cadence, you of all ponies have a lot of nerve,” she chastised. “If anypony had spied on your dates with Shining you’d have thrown them through a window!”

“Yeah, so?”

Celestia paused, calming herself down. “Your flagrant hypocrisy aside—Would you not rather be home with your family?”

“Pfft, relax. Shiny’s taking care of Flurry. Now, do you want a peek or not?” she asked, passing her the binoculars.

“…Ugh, why not?” she groaned, rolling her eyes as she took the offered item. “You two have already dragged me out here; I might as well go all-in.”

“See, that’s the spirit, Auntie. Just have some fun.”

“If spying on two young adults going on a date is ‘fun’ to you, Cadence, then I clearly didn’t raise you right.”

Cadence stuck her tongue out at her.

“Okay, Sister, just stare ahead,” Luna advised giddily. “I think they’re still at the door.”

“Whatever you say, Lulu…” Celestia then put the binoculars to her eyes and frowned at what she saw. “Okay, why can I only see pink?” she questioned, looking back up and coming face-to-face with the eerily wide smile of Pinkamena Diane Pie. “Oh. That’s why.”

“Yep,” she said, bouncing energetically. “It’s me! Hi, Princesses Celestia, Luna, and Cadence!”

“H-Hello, Pinkie,” Celestia said, hurriedly thrusting the binoculars into Luna’s grasp. “How are you doing tonight?”

“I’m doing super-duper-tacular! How about you? Enjoying retirement?”

“I am indeed, yes,” she agreed while hastily stepping back.

Pinkie just closed the distance, squealing, “Cool! I bet you must be doing all kinds of awesome things, right? Relaxing on the beach? Participating in a pie-eating contest? Hiking up Mount Everhoof?” she suggested knowingly. “Spying in the bushes…?”

“N-Now, Pinkie Pie—” Cadence tried to negotiate, only to have a hoof jammed into her mouth.

“Hold that thought!” the hyperactive mare commanded. “I have a quick question for you: Did you know I keep stashes of random stuff all across Ponyville in case of certain emergencies?”

“Uh…? No?” Luna muttered, exchanging a terrified glance with her sister.

“Ooh, good! That means you didn’t know one of those stashes was booby traps! You know? For booby trap emergencies,” Pinkie giggled as her smile became decidedly more sinister.

“Oh, son of a—”

“Language!” she interrupted, grabbing a nearby branch and pulling it down with a mechanical thud. Immediately, a massive hatch in the ground released beneath the Princesses.

“AAAAAHHHHH!” all three of them screamed as they tumbled into the darkness while Pinkie Pie’s maddened laughter echoed to them from above. After a few minutes of nonsensical sliding, the trio landed in a heap within a brightly lit, crystalline corridor.

“Why couldn’t she have pulled the wrong lever?” Luna groggily asked, shaking the stars from her vision as she cautiously stood up. “Um? Tia? Cadence? Where are we?”

“Looks like the catacombs under Twilight’s school,” Celestia observed after casting a glance upward. “I have to hoof it to Pinkie Pie. She is very prepared.”

“Well, she can suck it,” Cadence wearily cursed, stumbling to her hooves. She then charged forward, screaming, “I am not missing their ki—” A loud bang echoed through the room as she fell back onto her rump, rubbing her muzzle. “Ow! What the hay!?”

On cue, Starlight Glimmer stepped out of the shadows, greeting, “Welcome! How was the ride?” she asked, raising a cup of Empathy Cocoa to the dumbfounded alicorns.

“Unquestionably unpleasant,” Luna snarled, rubbing her still-sore back.

“You’re telling us.”

Startled, the Princesses quickly turned around to find a large group Friendship School students situated behind them. All of them looked the worse for wear, and one even appeared to be petrified.

The one who had spoken up previously—a green pegasus mare with a nifty, purple bow—griped, “Well, if even the Princesses got caught, we stood no chance. That’s a bit comforting to know.”

“How so, Patty!?” Shimmy Shake screeched. “They were probably the only ones left!”

“Shouldn’t we be glad their privacy can now be properly respected?”

“Shut up, Vellum!” all of the other students roared.

The stallion in question simply scoffed but said nothing further.

“So, all of you endeavored to observe Gallus and Silverstream’s date as well?” Luna inquired.

They all nodded in sync.

“H-How long have you all been down here?” Celestia asked concernedly.

“I got caught halfway through their bowling match,” Patty pouted, resting her head in her hooves.

“I still can’t believe he actually took her bowling,” Shimmy angrily sighed.

“Yeah, like? Bowling ain’t romantic at all,” Lighthoof grumbled, disgusted. “And Shimmy and I? We know romantic,” she proclaimed, receiving a vehement nod from the other mare.

“At least we managed to see Silver geek out at that guy’s art exhibit.”

“Oh yeah! She was so adorable, and did you see Gallus when they found my sculpture!? Silver had to drag him away from it again! Oh sweet Celestia, that was priceless…”

“Ahem!” Vellum coughed, reacquiring the mares’ annoyed glares. “Firstly, hello, Princesses. Secondly, I distinctly recall Silver assuring all of you that bowling, in fact, could be romantic.”

“Vellum?” End Zone began grumpily. “Bro? Please be quiet. None of us are in the mood.”

“On that, we can agree,” Luna spoke up, turning to the group’s captor. “Greetings, Starlight Glimmer. Am I correct in suspecting you orchestrated this whole ordeal?”

“Eh, Pinkie Pie set up the trap; all I did was erect the barrier,” she acknowledged, knocking on the crackling blue sphere they were trapped within. “Next time: Don’t spy on our students.”

“I told you two this was a bad idea,” Celestia rebuked, eliciting only infuriated glares from her fellow alicorns. “I even said as much half a dozen times!”

“Big talk coming from the one who let them do it,” Starlight countered, raising an eyebrow.

“You try stopping these two from being colossal idiots!” she shot back.

“Don’t need to; I already have.”

“Oh yeah?” Cadence sneered as her horn thrummed with power. “We’ll see about that!”

She then unleashed a cascade of magic against the barrier for a full minute, accomplishing absolutely nothing. Though surprised at first, Cadence growled and slung more magic at it only to fail once more. “W-What? WHAT!?” she bellowed, whipping her tail angrily.

“Awww, did you think you could escape? How cute.”

“Oh, we will escape!” Cadence declared, pounding her hooves against the sphere. “No mere unicorn magic can resist the might of an alicorn!”

“You may be alicorns, but magic is magic. And I know magic,” Starlight bragged.

“And just what magic is this?” Luna inquired, rubbing a hoof across the shield. “It seems familiar,” she noted.

“That’s because it’s a modified version of Cozy Glow’s magic magnet,” she explained simply. “You know how her spell drew all of Equestria’s magic into one confined bubble? And how she trapped me in that bubble? This is essentially the same bubble, minus the magic-draining part.”

Starlight then smirked spitefully and added, “I figured, after everything that brat put my students through…? It was only appropriate to use her work to help ‘em have a fun time.”

“Your magical prowess never fails to impress to me, Starlight,” Celestia praised, nodding.

“Eh, I can’t take all the credit. Ocellus was a huge help in getting it set up so fast.”

“Yeah, yeah! Whatever,” Cadence groaned, taking a second to recuperate from her magical barrage. “Let us out.”

“No.”

“Let! Us! Out!”

“Why? So you can go stalk my students again?”

“It wasn’t—”

“I don’t care; you were trying to intrude on Gallus and Silverstream’s date!” Starlight shouted, casually waving away the red cloud coming off of her horn. “After all they’ve been through, they deserve to have a nice night out. Free! Of! Interlopers!”

“I beg your pardon? We were not intending to intrude upon—”

“You were already intruding just by spying,” she snarled, cutting Luna off. “Nothing you say will change my mind. And nothing you say will make me let you out. Deal with it.”

Cadence frowned coldly, snorting. “In that case? Auntie Luna! Auntie Tia! I require assistance!”

“And assistance you shall receive,” Luna readily vowed. “We shall not miss their kiss!”

“Count me out,” Celestia said, turning away and trotting toward the students.

“Sister, you get back here this instant and help us blast down this wretched barrier!”

“No.”

“Auntie Tia, if we miss their first kiss because you’re too lazy to help us—”

“Then you’re more than welcome to whine and complain about it for days on end.”

“You sure you want to give me permission to do that?” she deadpanned.

“Nay, dearest Niece,” Luna said, shooting Celestia a disappointed scowl. “You need not her permission for such things. Besides, I shall gladly help you in your whining and complaining.”

“Duly noted. Now come on, Auntie, we have a kiss to see!”

As they both proceeded to make no progress whatsoever toward freedom, Celestia sat down beside Vellum and greeted, “Hello. Vellum Codex, correct?” She offered him her hoof and added, “Twilight sent me a recording of your play, and I must say you and your friends were quite good.”

“Th-Thank you,” he said, shaking her hoof. “That’s high praise coming from you, Princess.”

“Celestia is fine, dear.” She then turned her attention to the strange statue beside him and asked, “May I ask why that mare is petrified?”

“Oh, her? That’s Strawberry Scoop,” he explained, giving her frozen form an indignant frown. “Silver’s pet cockatrice got to her before even Headmare Starlight did.”

“We’ve been debating on whether Silver put Edith up to it or if she just knew to go after Scoop first,” Patty disclosed, shrugging. “My vote’s on both.”

“She’s also the reason I’m even here in the first place,” Vellum resumed, sighing haughtily. “Had she not roped me into this whole thing, I would have been enjoying my Saturday night.”

“Yeah, I’ll give you that one, Vel,” End Zone admitted, kicking away a pebble. “November was probably on to something when he barricaded himself in his room for the night.”

“Is that why his door was coated in ice?” Lighthoof asked, receiving an affirmative nod. “I just thought somepony was pulling a prank on him again, but if it was intentional…? Huh. No wonder, I lost second place to him,” she grumbled. “Dude really does know his weather spells.”

“Hey, if there was a fourth place winner, we all know who would’ve won that,” Shimmy comforted, pulling her into a one-hoofed hug.

“Yeah, yeah…” she replied, hugging her friend back.

“Well, I can certainly say I envy Mr. November’s intelligence,” Celestia groaned, shaking her head exasperatedly. “I too would be enjoying my Saturday evening if Cadence and Lulu weren’t so—oh, what’s that modern word, again?—hardcore ‘shippers’?”

“Yep, that’s the right term,” Patty calmly confirmed. “Also, Princess— Or, er? Miss Celestia? If you don’t mind me asking? How far along were Gallus and Silverstream on their date?”

“Well, you see—”

Scoop’s petrified form jerked closer to Celestia, wobbling unsteadily. Vellum then smiled deviously and gave it a firm tap, knocking her over proper. “Oops.”

“Scoop is definitely gonna kill you for that, you know,” End Zone commented with utmost indifference. “And I don’t think I’ll be able to stop her this time.”

“Worth it.”

“If you say so, Vellum,” he mumbled, rolling his eyes.

“How did that— How did that even happen?” Celestia questioned, hastily shuffling away from the statue and the eldritch fury it burned with.

“It’s Scoop; don’t question it,” was the students’ collective response.

Before anycreature could speak further, a loud burst of static came from Starlight, pausing Luna and Cadence in their futile escape efforts. She then levitated a radio from her bags, pushed the button, and asked, “Rainbow? Applejack? That you?”

“Eeyup,” the latter confirmed. “We got the varmint jus’ before he fled Ponyville.”

“Excellent,” Starlight hissed wickedly. “Drop him down the chute.”

“Ya sure ‘bout that now?”

“Positive.”

“Alright,” Rainbow Dash responded, slightly muffled. “One heap of garbage coming your way!”

A series of dull thumps and swears thundered from the same pitfall the Princesses had fallen through, and out of said tunnel tumbled none other than Grandpa Gruff.

After a moment of stunned silence, he bolted upward and threw off the lasso that had been tied around his barrel, screaming, “Ah am gettin’ too peckin’ old for this!”

“Language!” Starlight and Celestia reflexively rebuked.

“Oh, shut up!” Gruff snarled, brushing himself off and marching over to Starlight, not even flinching when he rammed face-first into the shield. “Mind explainin’ why ya sent your goons after me?”

Keeping her icy gaze locked onto him, Starlight held the radio to her muzzle, saying, “Thanks, girls. I’ll take it from here.”

“Got it,” Applejack said calmly. “Rainbow and Ah’ll go help Fluttershy, Sandbar, and Yona. If Ah know Rarity, they ain’t gonna stop ‘er for long.”

“Understood.” Starlight then played with the radio’s dials a moment before casually revealing, “Oh, Cadence? Just to let you know? He tried scaring Silverstream into dumping Gallus.”

“HE DID WHAT!?” everycreature screamed while Scoop soundlessly teleported within hoof’s reach of Gruff’s neck.

“H-Hey! No! Ah did not do that! Ah—”

“You evil, senile, heart-crushing, pathetic, old roach!” Cadence screamed, flaring her wings as magical force sparked around her entire body.

“As much as I champion pacifism and mercy, this particular grievance requires the opposite response,” Celestia ominously decreed, ignorant to the fire slowly consuming her mane.

“To translate for my sister and niece…?” Luna virulently murmured as her eyes became cat-like slits. “Prepare to die.”

Her mission complete—Starlight trotted away contently.

“No! No, let me explain!” Gruff shrieked, swiftly backing away from the furious mob surrounding him. “That ain’t what Ah did! That unicorn knows! Hey, Luster Dawn!? Er, Dusk Shine!? Eh, whatever your name is—come back and tell ‘em what really happened!”

“I already did,” she called back over her shoulder, unabashedly relishing his sheer terror.

“…Aw, peck me…”

After walking a considerable distance away from the ensuing chaos, Starlight pulled the radio back out, calling, “Hey, Smolder? Ocellus? Do you copy?”

“Yep. We hear you loud and clear, Headmare Starlight.”

“Good. Gruff and the others are taken care of; how’re Gallus and Silver doing?”

“Uh? About that…?”


***


Okay, stay calm, Gallus told himself as he helped Silverstream step out of the carriage. This is just a dinner, nothing more. You have nothing to fear. “You okay?” he asked politely.

“Yep,” Silver replied almost instantly. “I’m great.”

I really hope you are, Gallus wished, reminding himself yet again to not ask about Gruff. “Okay. I just wanted to ask.”

“And I thank you for asking,” she said, curtsying. “‘Tis very sweet of you, Sir Gallus.”

Well, at least she’s still up to joking, he thought thankfully, curtsying back. “You knoweth mineself well, Fair Silverstream. For as the Lord of All Things Sweet, I doth try mine hardest to be as such.”

“And thou doth succeedeth brilliantly,” Silver praised merrily. She then turned her sights onto the restaurant and frowned, looking oddly frightened. “W-Well…? We’re here.”

Gallus nodded. “That we are.”

“At the restaurant.”

“At the restaurant,” he echoed neutrally.

“To have dinner together as a couple.”

“Yep.”

“A-And it’s not like we haven’t eaten meals together before,” she acknowledged.

“Yeah, we just did a few hours ago.”

“Exactly! Plus? We’ve helped save Equestria from near-destruction twice. Twice!” she emphasized. “I mean, compared to that, this is…”

“Absolutely terrifying?” Gallus guessed, remembering the nearly identical conversation they had had earlier that day.

“Yeah,” Silverstream murmured, gulping audibly.

Rather than respond verbally, Gallus laid a gentle wing across her back, giving her a comforting nuzzle that she tentatively returned. “I know it’s a little late to ask this, but are you sure you’re up for the restaurant?” he asked. “If you’re not, we can totally go somewhere else.”

“What!? No, no, no!” she frantically protested. “After all the trouble you went through to get the reservation and everyone else’s help with—” Silver suddenly paused, blinking in realization. Before Gallus could question it, she shook her head, assuring, “No, Gallus, it’s okay. I’m just a little nervous…”

Grover’s Treasure, what did Gruff say to her!? Gallus fretted, struggling to stifle his reinvigorated worry. A second later, he determinedly thought, No. No fear. No anxiety. None of that. Silver and I are going to have a good time, regardless of whatever he said.

“It’s okay if you’re nervous, Silverstream. I am too.”

“Y-You are?”

“I am. But I know everything will be alright,” he added truthfully. “We’re here to have a nice, quiet evening where we stuff our faces with a bunch of overpriced fruit and vegetables. Nothing more to it than that.”

Rather than laughing at the joke, Silver just impulsively inquired, “Are you sure you don’t want me to pay for the meal?”

“No thank you, Silver. Thanks for the offer, but I’ll be fine,” Gallus reassured. “Next time we go out to a restaurant, you can pay the bill all you want. But for tonight? I’ve got this,” he pledged, winking.

“Next time…?” she repeated quietly. Silver then grinned and warned, “I’ll hold you to that.”

Gallus simply chuckled, extending his talon yet again. After Silverstream took it, he led her forward into the restaurant.

To say the establishment was glamorous would be an understatement.

Practically every surface was polished to the point of acting as a functional mirror, and from the ceiling, a dozen crystalline chandeliers hung, filling the space with a warm, ambient glow.

In the back corner, a group of ponies filled the building with a pleasantly serene harmony; it was quite the feat, considering the restaurant was huge enough to be mistaken for a ballroom.

Along the walls, several portraits had been arranged so that no matter where anycreature sat, they would always have at least one glorious artwork to admire.

This last fact in particular almost sent Silverstream into another excited frenzy, but she managed to contain her jubilance once she noticed Gallus giving her a knowing grin. After letting out an embarrassed huff, she whispered, “You know me so well.”

“You bet I do,” he stated with just a hint of smugness.

“Well, you don’t have to rub it in,” she grumbled, smiling all the same.

“Fair point. So, do you like it?”

“So far. Now we just need to try the food.”

“That we do,” Gallus agreed, trotting up to the receptionist mare. Upon approaching, she looked up and warmly greeted, “Hello, dears. How may I be of service?”

“Uh, we should have a six o’clock reservation for Mr. Gallus and Ms. Silverstream?”

“Hmm, Gallus and Silverstream?” she hummed, looking at her list. “Ah-ha! There you are. If you could just come with me…”

The couple shared a small smile as they swiftly followed her, striding past several other patrons enjoying their own meals until they reached a seat at the far back of the restaurant.

“I believe this was your desired table?” the receptionist asked.

Gallus looked at the nearby painting and nodded. “Yes, it was.”

“Alright then. Here are your menus,” she said, depositing said items onto the table. “Your waiter shall be here shortly.”

“Thank you, ma’am.”

“Of course, of course! Thank you for stopping by tonight, and I hope you enjoy your meal.”

“We will. Thank you again,” Gallus said as the mare trotted back to the front desk. He then turned to see Silver staring at the portrait beside their table.

“Th-That’s…” she muttered, utterly slack-jawed.

“Mount Aris? Yep,” he casually confirmed. “Spotted it when Sandy and I checked this place out. Sorry about it being in the back of the restaurant though; I know you like sitting closer to the front…”

“Please don’t apologize, Gallus.” Silverstream then gave him a small, almost forlorn smile as she added, “It’s really sweet that you thought of that. Thank you.”

Gallus smiled shyly, a faint blush rising to his cheeks. He then coughed awkwardly and pulled out her chair, saying, “Well, uh, shall we?”

“O-Oh! Right, right!” she blurted out, quickly taking her seat and picking up her menu as he sat opposite her. Her eyebrows then shot up upon finally discovering the prices, but rather than voice her concerns once again, she simply asked, “So, uh? What do you think you’re gonna get?”

“I don’t know,” Gallus mumbled, looking over his own menu. “I’m considering getting an appetizer, but I’m undecided on that. How about you? Any ideas for what you want?”

Whatever’s easiest on your Bits, Silver luckily stopped herself from answering. Instead, she replied, “I’m still undecided too. There’s a lot of good stuff here.”

Oh gosh! That apple-broccoli salad looks so good! Silverstream silently exclaimed, trying not to drool. Wait! It can come with shredded cheese on top of that!? With croutons! Oh, that sounds heavenly! … Annnd it’s the fourth most expensive item on the list, she realized, wincing.

“You know? I don’t think I’m gonna get an appetizer,” Gallus said, thankfully not noticing her current discomfort. “Those cheddar-stuffed celery sticks sound good, but if I get them, I’m gonna order, like, five bowls of ‘em,” he laughed. “Eh? Maybe I’ll ask for that as a side.”

“Whatever makes you happy,” Silver commented, shutting her eyes and letting out a quiet groan. Subtle, Silver. Subtle, she reprimanded herself.

“What would make me happy is if I could order fifteen bowls of them and not gain a single pound. Or spoil my actual dinner.”

She blinked. “Seriously? Fifteen? Wow, you really love your cheesy celery,” Silver acknowledged.

“Says the apple fanatic.”

“Hey!”

“Do you deny it?” Gallus asked, peering at her over his menu.

“…No,” she pouted. Silver then noticed him snickering and playfully barked, “Oh, stop laughing! You love apples just as much as I do.”

“Yes, I do.”

“Then why are you judging me for my love of apples?” she wondered, raising an eyebrow.

“Because you’re cute when you’re flustered,” he answered nonchalantly.

Blushing, she swiftly contended, “N-No, I’m not!”

“Yes, you are.” Gallus smirked and concluded, “Then again? You’re cute all time.”

Though Silver’s blush intensified, she still found herself smiling. “Whelp, I’m definitely flustered now,” she confessed, trying her hardest to sound annoyed but failing miserably. “You happy?”

“Heh-heh-heh. Yeah, I’m happy,” Gallus said, smiling serenely.

You really are, aren’t you? “Good. Because I’m happy too,” she swore, returning her gaze to her menu while trying to quell the burning in her cheeks.

His smile merely widened. Gallus then flipped to the next page, examining the remaining options until he eventually found one he was satisfied with.

Almost as if in response to this, a finely dressed stallion arrived, carrying a tray of drinks in his mouth. After placing it upon the table, he greeted, “Good evening. I am Savoir Fare, and I shall be your waiter for tonight. Please do accept these complimentary waters.”

“Thank you,” Silverstream said, immediately grabbing the glasses and passing Gallus his. She then put hers to her beak and sipped greedily.

Gallus put his menu down, saying, “Yes, thank you, Mr. Fare. I’m Gallus; this is Silver. It’s nice to meet…” He looked closer at the stallion and asked, “Wait. Don’t you work at the Hay Cafe?”

“I do indeed work there as well.”

“Oh. … Cool. How’s your night been going?”

“Very well. Things have been rather tranquil today, even by Ponyville standards,” Savoir said, nodding gratefully as Silver finally put her drink back down.

“Huh. Wonder why?” Gallus murmured, winking at Silverstream.

“Whatever the reason, I must say it’s a significantly enjoyable change of pace.” He then withdrew a pen and paper from his pocket, asking, “Now! Can I interest you in our new roasted asparagus and cheese platter?”

Ooh! I didn’t even see that one! both Gallus and Silverstream thought excitedly. After some consideration, however, Gallus shook his head and said, “Nah, not me. Silver?”

“Mm? No,” she answered, shaking her head. “Sorry. Thank you for the offer though.”

“No worries,” Savoir assuaged. “In that case, have either of you made any decisions for what you would like tonight?”

“I think I have, but I wanted to ask about the fruit platter,” Gallus said, pointing to said item on the menu. “Is there a way I can get that without the pineapple?”

“Unfortunately, sir, I do not believe so.”

“Really? Aw well. In that case, could I get the beet soup with a baked potato? And, uh, I’d also like to have a side of the cheddar-stuffed celery.”

“Beet soup and baked potato… Side of cheddar-stuff celery sticks…” Savoir repeated, writing them down on his paper.

“U-Um, could I have two helpings of those celery sticks?” Gallus requested, pretending that Silverstream wasn’t shooting him a sly smirk. “Please?”

“Yes, sir. Two bowls it is. And what would you like to drink, sir?”

“Just some tea will be fine, thanks.”

“Understood. And what shall you have, madam?” he asked, turning his attention to Silver.

After some hesitation, Silver cleared her throat and answered, “I’d, um, just like the lettuce and tomato sandwich. No sides or anything. A-And the water is enough, thank you.”

While Savoir raised an eyebrow at how meager her request had been, Gallus rubbed his temples, interrupting, “Just a moment, Mr. Fare. Silver, come on!”

“What? W-What do you mean, Gallus?”

“You know what I mean,” he accused, causing her to look away ashamedly.

“Yeah, but—”

“No ‘buts.’ I told you that you don’t need to worry about it.”

Silver looked ready to protest, but she ultimately conceded with a sigh. “Actually, Mr. Fare? Could I instead have the apple-broccoli salad, topped with shredded cheese? With some croutons too?”

“Of course, madam. Would you like to change your drink order as well?”

“No, no. I really did only want water. Anything else this late, and I’ll be up way past midnight,” she mumbled to herself.

“Understood. Now then, will that be all?”

“I suppose so,” Gallus said, maintaining a polite smile. “Thank you again, Mr. Fare.”

“It was my pleasure, Mr. Gallus. Ms. Silver,” Savoir said, bowing his head to each of them in turn. “I shall return with your orders shortly,” he assured, trotting away.

Gallus dropped his smile in exchange for a deadpan and a quirked eyebrow, aiming both at his girlfriend. In an effort to avoid acknowledging it, Silver drank her water again, unable to meet his gaze. Sadly, her glass ran dry before he stopped staring at her, so she was forced to ask, “What?”

“You tell me?”

“Tell you what?”

“Silver, did you seriously think I wouldn’t notice you tried to order the cheapest item on the menu?” he inquired, thoroughly cross.

“Maybe?” she responded with a weak shrug.

“You didn’t have to do that, Silver. I told you I have the Bits.”

“But you didn’t tell me the prices were this high!”

“Does that matter?”

“Yes, it matters!” she snapped, keeping her voice low. “I wouldn’t have agreed to the restaurant at all if I had known just how exorbitant this place really was.”

“What? Do you not want me to treat you out to a place like this?”

“Not if it’s gonna bleed you dry!”

“It’s not gonna bleed me dry, Silver!” he insisted.

Silverstream just groaned, turning away from him and gazing intently at the Mount Aris picture.

I’m trying to look out for you, she chose not to say. I just want you to be happy.

Her stomach may as well have done a barrel roll once she realized what she had just thought.

Utterly ignorant to her rising panic, Gallus sighed and apologized, “I’m sorry, Silverstream.”

“D-Don’t be sorry,” she said instantly. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“No, I should have been fully honest about the prices here,” he said regretfully. “I didn’t want you to worry about the bill any more than you already were, but that’s no excuse. For that, I’m sorry.”

“And I forgive you, Gallus,” Silverstream adamantly swore, facing him once more. “I’m just… I’m just worried,” she ended, barely stopping herself from continuing.

“And I appreciate your concern, Silver; I really do. But as I’ve said before, I can pay the bill perfectly fine. In fact, I want to,” Gallus proclaimed determinedly. “And yes! If I did have a problem paying it, I would let you know. I promise.”

Silver sharply inhaled, rubbing her eyes tiredly. After dropping her talons back to her sides, she stared at Gallus for a solid minute before warily saying, “Okay. I believe you.”

“Thank you. … Are you okay?”

Judging by her facial expression, the answer was a firm no. Silverstream seemed to recognize this because she quickly forced a smile, professing, “Yep! Absolutely fine!”

Gallus didn’t believe her. She knew full-well he didn’t believe her. But bless his sweet, little heart—Gallus pretended to believe her anyway.

“Good to hear. But if you do need one of my patent-pending, Gallus-brand hugs of ultra comfort, let me know. I know how much you love ‘em.”

Silver couldn’t help but giggle. “Thanks, I will. Even if the staff would probably disapprove.”

“Hey, if my girlfriend wants a hug, I’m giving her a hug,” he declared. “And there’s not a single pony on this planet that could stop me.”

“Oh? Even if hugging me would tarnish your reputation as ‘The Cool and Mysterious Part-Time Savior of Equestria’?”

“Hugging you would be worth it,” Gallus said unabashedly.

Blushing once again, Silver looked away and playfully twirled her braid in her talon. “Hugging you would be worth the world too,” she concurred.

“Well, duh. I’m a big ball of adorable fluff,” he boasted, gesturing to himself proudly. “If I were any fluffier I could be confused for a pillow.”

“Is that what you think?” she pondered, chuckling disbelievingly.

“That’s what I ‘know,’” he corrected confidently.

“Uh-huh. Keep telling yourself that, sweetie.”

Gallus blushed and continued, “What, you don’t think I could cut it as a living body pillow?”

“Eh? No offense, Gallus, but Yona’s a better pillow than you.”

“And how exactly would you know that without first falling asleep on her?”

“Maybe I have…” Silverstream hummed slyly.

“Okay, hold up!” Gallus chuckled. “I have several questions.”

“Okay?”

“First of all… You’re not gonna answer any of them, are you?” he guessed.

“No,” she confirmed, smirking.

“Rats.”

Gallus and Silverstream both just laughed.

Eventually, he stopped and sighed happily. “I love being with you.”

“I love being with you too,” Silver chirped, feeling a fair bit calmer. “…Sooo?” she resumed, knocking on the table distractedly. “Spike’s finally got the next Ogres and Oubliettes campaign set up.”

“‘Bout time. Didn’t expect to find that out the way we did though,” Gallus commented.

“Nope. Then again? I didn’t expect Discord to show up either.”

“Or apologize! That was the real shocker.”

“Really? For me it was the fact he didn’t try—I don’t know?—unleashing a pie monster on me for the whole chest thing,” she grumbled.

“And risk dirtying our clothes, subsequently invoking the wrath of Rarity and Yona? Ha, I don’t think Discord’s that dumb.”

“You sure about that? Even after he disguised himself as Grogar and… You know?”

“Okay, that’s a fair point.”

“You bet it is,” she chortled. After a moment, Silverstream looked around and asked, “Speaking of disguises? Which one of these ponies is Ocellus?”

“Dark gray mare in the back. Black mane with magenta highlights,” Gallus answered, nodding toward a table several rows down from them.

Silver then turned, spotting her instantly. “Isn’t that the form she wore for Nightmare Night?”

“I think so.”

“Huh. I guess she really likes that form.”

“Well, that. And also none of us recognized where it was from, so she’s probably banking on that tonight,” he suggested.

“True.” Silverstream sighed somberly and turned back around, murmuring, “Could you imagine what our date would have been like if our friends hadn’t helped us out?”

“Scoop would be sitting right there,” Gallus began, pointing at the nearest table. “Shamelessly pointing a camera at us the entire time. Well? Scoop and Patty. And probably Shimmy too.”

“All the while, they’d be smiling at us. Not even blinking, mind you. Just smiling.”

“Grover’s Treasure, I can already hear Scoop now. ‘Do it! Dooo iiit! Dooooo iiiiit!’” he chanted.

Silver tittered as she reached for her water. “Do what though? That’s the real question,” she said, raising her cup only to remember it was empty and lower it back down, frowning sadly.

Gallus pushed his untouched glass over to her. After she gratefully accepted the offered water, he speculated, “My guess? Kiss you.”

Silver choked for a second, and after taking a few steady breaths, she agreed, “Yeah, that’s probably it. I mean… We haven’t actually done that yet.”

“Not on the beaks, anyway,” Gallus clarified teasingly.

“No. No, we haven’t.” After properly quenching her thirst, Silver put the glass back down and lamented, “I really wish we hadn’t had to get our friends involved in our date.”

“Same,” he concurred, fiddling with the salt shaker out of boredom. “But it’s not like the others were gonna leave us alone otherwise.”

Silverstream flinched. “True. … Why can’t we just trust everything will be fine?” she growled, nervously thumping her hoof against the floor. “That we could be together without something interrupting us o-or ruining it?”

Gallus raised an eyebrow, saying, “Well? Everything is fine.”

“Yeah, because we had to ask our friends to tag along with us and make sure it stayed fine,” she countered angrily. “If we hadn’t, we’d probably have half the school on our tails right about now.”

“I doubt that highly. Scoop? Probably. Half the school? Nah. They got better things to do with their time,” he reasoned, keeping his worry from showing.

Though obviously not convinced, Silver conceded, “I suppose you’re right. Even so, the fact that’s actually something we needed to worry about…? It’s— It’s scary.”

After shooing away memories of Silver Frames’ Art Gallery, Gallus vowed, “Hey, even if somecreature did barge in our date, I’d just make ‘em leave.”

“Wouldn’t change the fact they messed up our date.”

“True. But we didn’t need our date to be perfect,” he reminded her in a soothing voice. “We just needed to have a good time together. And we are having a good time. Right?”

Silverstream looked at him and saw nothing but his tender smile. She then smiled herself, answering, “Yes. Yes, we are. I’m always happy when I’m with you.”

“Awww! Thanks, Silverstream, I’m always happy when I’m with you too,” he said brightly.

“Heh-heh.” Silver then shot another glance at the Mount Aris portrait and whispered, “That’s all there is to it, right? We just spend time together, have fun, and be happy?”

“Uh, I guess so?” Gallus responded, a little confused by the question. “Yeah, that’s pretty much dating in a nutshell. As needlessly complicated as it is…”

“Everything is needlessly complicated,” she complained out of nowhere.

Gallus swiftly shrugged off his initial bewilderment and said, “I suppose you could say that. Luckily, dating is one of those things that gets easier with time.”

“I guess…” Silver hummed, fidgeting her wings anxiously. After clearly contemplating something, she tried to begin, “But…? But what if—”

“My apologies for the wait,” interrupted a calm voice.

A look of sheer defeat upon her face—Silverstream slumped in her chair and stared upward, deliberately ignoring her boyfriend’s concerned gaze.

Once Savoir Fare finished approaching their table, he gave them both their food, declaring, “For you, fine sir: One bowl of beet soup with a baked potato and two helpings of stuffed celery sticks. And for the lovely lady: One apple-broccoli salad with shredded cheese and croutons. Here are your beverages also,” he said, swapping out their two empty glasses for full ones.

“Y-Yeah,” Gallus spoke up for the both of them. “Thank you, Mr. Fare.”

“Of course, sir, of course. Now, I shall be waiting other tables, but should you require my assistance, simply wave me down and I’ll be here in a jiffy. Beyond that?” Savoir Fare turned to trot away, concluding, “I shall let you both enjoy your meals.”

“Thank you again, Mr. Fare.”

In the silence that followed his departure, neither of them so much as looked at their food.

“Silverstream?”

“Yes, Gallus?”

“Are you okay?”

Burying another flinch, she quickly claimed, “Yes. I’m okay.”

“Seriously, if something is wrong—”

“Nothing is wrong!” Silver barked, startling both of them with her intensity. “Nothing is wrong, Gallus,” she reiterated, grabbing the nearby dressing and applying a thin layer of it to her salad. “Can we— Can we just have our meal? Please?”

Gallus flicked his tail worriedly, but he ultimately yielded. “Okay. Yeah, no problem. Just so long as you’re okay…?” he ended, keeping his eyes on her while he plunged his spoon into his soup.

Silverstream said nothing as she speared a clump of her salad onto her fork and brought it into her beak, chewing quietly.

Thankfully, having some good food did absolute wonders for both of their moods. And although a faint sense of awkwardness still lingered in the air, neither Gallus nor Silverstream payed it any mind as they were both too busy enjoying their supper to care.

After having finished his potato, Gallus paused and asked, “So? How’s your salad?”

“Oh sea kelp! It’s sooo good!” Silverstream ecstatically moaned. “I swear, I couldn’t make a salad this good if I tried.”

“Oh, don’t be like that,” he said, relieved to see her smiling again. “I’m sure you could make a salad ten times better than that any day of the week.”

“Thanks for the encouragement,” she said, smiling brightly. “Actually? I probably could if I knew where they got the cheese from. Seriously, this stuff is amazing!”

“Seems I’m not the only one who appreciates the delicacy of cheesy veggies,” he cooed, crunching on the last of his celery sticks.

“You are the only one who appreciates the ‘delicacy’ of beet soup though,” she shot back.

“Hey, now! What’s your problem with beets?”

“Oh, I don’t know? The fact they taste like dirt?”

Gallus gasped, affronted. “Don’t you dare denounce the most glorious vegetable in the world!”

“I’m not. Besides, why would anycreature hate broccoli?”

“Okay,” he groaned, face-clawing. “I totally should have seen that one coming.”

Silver chuckled before taking another bite of her food. After swallowing, she said, “Sorry. I just don’t really like beets that much.”

“Nah, that’s fine,” he assuaged, stirring his soup for a moment. “They are a bit of an acquired taste, not gonna lie.”

“Which is why I’m kinda surprised you like ‘em.”

“I didn’t use to, but Ocellus and End Zone both told me how nutritional they are. Needless to say, I’ve been hooked ever since.” He then shrugged and added, “I may be a ball of adorable fluffiness, but I gotta keep fit, you know?”

“Don’t worry, I understand perfectly. You’re not the only one who needs to exercise after all.”

“Oh please! You could eat fifty plates of pancakes and never lose that heavenly figure of yours,” Gallus teased candidly.

Silver’s face burned scarlet as she stammered, “That— You— I— I don’t—” After heartily gulping at her water again, she squealed, “That’s not what I meant, Gallus!”

“And I did mean the ‘heavenly figure’ comment, just so you know.”

“W-Well, thank you,” she mumbled, fluttering her wings. “I appreciate it.”

“Don’t mind me; I’m just stating facts,” Gallus said, winking. “That said though, what did you really mean?” he asked, sipping at his tea.

Pretending that her cheeks weren’t still blushing, Silverstream coughed and clarified, “I meant about what happened when we returned to Mount Aris. Magical transformation or no—we were underwater for a while, and not all of us had an easy time getting used to having hind legs again.”

“The talons were probably helpful though, right?” he asked, waggling his own for emphasis. “Magic is cool, but it’s got nothing on having digits.”

“Oh yeah,” she agreed, examining her own polished talons. “It’s way easier to paint with these than flippers, I can tell ya that much.”

“I imagine so.” He then frowned, befuddled. “Wait, how could you paint underwater? Wouldn’t it just wash away?”

“Yep. Hence why I never got into painting until after we got back on dry land,” Silver divulged, her tone wistful. “On the other talon, we could always collect sea shells and make art with those.”

“You and Skystar do that a lot?”

“Uh-huh. Although, she was always better at it than me.”

“I doubt that would be true today,” Gallus argued.

“No, hers would be better,” she casually admitted. “Starry is still practicing since she spends most of her time in Seaquestria, and I haven’t tried making sea shell art in months.”

“Nonetheless, your art would still be great. And if nothing else? I’d love it.”

She blushed. Again. “Awww! Thanks, Gallus.”

“You’re welcome.” They both returned to eating their meals for a minute before Gallus spoke up again, “You know, while we’re talking about Seaquestria…? I’ve always wanted to know this: What did you all eat down there?” he inquired.

“Oh, the usual. Seaweed, seaweed cakes, seaweed burgers; seaweed loaf…?” Silverstream listed off bitterly. “I think my mother accumulated, like, seven different recipes for seaweed loaf.”

“That’s a lot of seaweed.”

“Yep. Don’t worry though. Every so often, we’d forgo having boring, generic seaweed, and we’d instead have sea! Kelp!” she stressed, smiling sarcastically. “Good, ole sea kelp. Can never go wrong with sea kelp…”

“Yikes,” he winced.

“Yikes indeed.”

“H-Hey, wait a minute! If you guys ate sea kelp, why do you use it as a swear word?”

“I don’t know,” Silver said, shrugging. “Why do you use ‘peck’ as a swear word?”

“Honestly, I just sorta picked that up from Gramps,” Gallus elaborated, leaning his head against a talon. “Although, now that I think about it? I think everygriff else got that from him too.”

Not wanting to talk about the elderly griffon, Silver remained silent and simply picked at the remnants of her salad. Gallus did much the same with his soup.

“So, uh?” he resumed after a short time. “What— What about the fauna? ‘Cause I remember you told us hippogriffs could process… You know?”

“As hippogriffs, yes,” Silver emphasized. “Not as seaponies though. Nope, we had no choice but to completely overhaul our entire diet. Yaaay. Thanks, Storm King…” she ended, scowling.

“At least he’s dead now,” he replied consolingly.

“Yep, he totally is. Woo-hoo!” Silver then blinked and ashamedly rebuked, “A-Actually, that’s a really morbid thing; I shouldn’t be cheering for that.”

“After everything he put you and the other hippogriffs and seaponies through? I think you guys are entitled to hating him, dead or alive.”

“I guess so.” She then shook her head, lamenting, “But I don’t like doing it. I don’t— I don’t like being angry. Or afraid.”

Gallus reached out and gently held her talon, promising, “It’s okay, Silverstream. You don’t have to be.”

Silver held his gaze, grateful for his calming touch. After a while, her smile faded as she said, “I know. Thanks, Gallus.”

He gave her talon one more reassuring squeeze before releasing it and refocusing on his soup. Silver, meanwhile, stared at her plate, secretly wishing he had held on just a little longer.

“S-So,” she muttered, managing to work up the courage to continue eating as well. “Why the sudden interest in Seaquestrian cuisine? I didn’t see any of it on the menu. And I definitely wouldn’t recommend it if I had,” she laughed.

“Th-That’s, uh? That’s a funny story, um…” Gallus trailed off, chuckling nervously. “You know how we were talking about what I’d be if I visited Seaquestria?”

After some hesitation, Silverstream confirmed, “Yep. You wanted to be a Ghost Leviathan or something, right?” she asked, praying this conversation wasn’t going where she feared it was.

“Uh-huh. So, um, after we talked about that, I started wondering what would happen if you ever did invite me there? You know, what we would do? Where we would go…?”

“Your point?” she coldly questioned, aggressively eating another bite of salad.

Gallus cleared his throat and finished, “I, uh, just figured that since we were talking about Seaquestria, and food, and stuff… Just thought I’d ask. That’s all.”

“Well, you don’t need to worry about any of that.” Silver paused and downed another gulp of water. “I wasn’t planning to invite you to Seaquestria anytime soon,” she forced herself to confess.

“Y-Yeah, I sorta figured that out.”

Managing to not reflexively apologize, she asked, “But you do still want to visit there, right? To— To see my home…? Meet my family…?” she suspected, swishing her tail irritably.

If Gallus hadn’t felt awkward before, he certainly felt awkward now. “Y-Yes,” he admitted, wincing when she quietly sighed. “But I know you don’t want to talk about it, so—”

“I don’t. I really, really don’t.”

“I-I know, and it’s totally okay that you don’t. I’m not trying to seem pushy or anything; I promise.”

“Well, it—” Silver stopped herself mid-sentence, but after a short mental battle, she finished, “It kinda feels like you are.”

Gallus flinched, looking away. “I’m sorry, Silver. I really don’t mean for that to be the case.”

“No, no! Don’t— Don’t apologize,” she pleaded, leaning back in her chair as she massaged a building headache. “It’s not a problem…”

His first instinct was to cave-in and move on from the obviously touchy subject, but upon realizing just how distressed Silver seemed, Gallus decided otherwise. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure,” she lied terribly.

“Are you?” he mumbled, tentatively tapping the table. “You seem really upset.”

“Yeah, well…” Silver took yet another swig of water only to run out once again. Afterward, she tried and failed to meet his eye, grousing, “I just really don’t want to talk about it.”

“If that’s the case, I’ll gladly shut up right now.” Silverstream didn’t reply, so he added, “I just don’t like seeing you upset. If something’s wrong, I want to help.”

“And if I don’t want your help?”

“Why would you not…?” Gallus paused and thought for a moment. After taking a deep breath, he resumed, measuring his words carefully, “If you don’t want my help, that’s okay too. I’ll back off.”

Silverstream blinked, not expecting that response. “You… Would? Just like that?”

“Just like that,” he confirmed, ignoring the uneasy twitch of his wings. “Don’t get me wrong, I’d still be worried, but… I trust you,” Gallus stated, giving her a small smile. “Although? If something is wrong, and for whatever reason you can’t talk to me about it…?”

“Talk to someone about it,” she completed, remembering his words on the eve of their Canterlot performance. “Yeah, I know.”

“…I just want to make sure you’re okay, Silverstream,” he whispered worriedly.

Before the following silence could continue, Silver apologized, “I— I’m sorry, Gallus.”

“Don’t be. If I’m prying into something that’s none of my business, then I’m the one who should be apologizing.”

“No! No. No… I-It’s complicated,” she defaulted to saying. After yet another intense internal debate, she softly asked, “We promised not to hide problems from each other… Right?”

Although taken aback at first, Gallus quickly recovered, affirming, “Yes. Yes, we did.”

“Okay. Okay!” Silverstream inhaled sharply and blurted out, “It’s my mom.”

“Your mom? What about your mom? Is— Is she alright?” he asked, concerned.

“Probably. I, um, wouldn’t know; I stopped reading her letters,” she confessed, glaring longingly at her empty cup.

“Wait, what?”

“Eeyup.”

Despite being utterly dumbfounded by this revelation, Gallus found a modicum of comfort in that she was actually talking to him about this. “Okay, hold on! I remember you said something happened between you two, but…? You seriously haven’t been reading her letters?” he inquired, checking if he had heard correctly.

“Not since Hearth’s Warming,” she said, forcing a smile. “Not. One.”

“Why? What— What happened?”

“You could say we, er, had a fight…”

“W-Well? What about? ‘Cause—” Gallus shifted in his chair, addressing, “Because it had to have been something serious if you stopped reading her letters.”

Silver went dead silent, quashing every instinct urging her to shut down the conversation. Finally, after scrounging up an enormous amount of willpower, she answered, “She hates us.”

…

…

…

“What?” Gallus muttered, tilting his head in confusion.

“Actually? I’m sorry, that’s a bit of an exaggeration,” she admitted, rubbing her eyes again. “She doesn’t hate us. She hates… This,” Silver clarified, gesturing between the two of them. “Us.”

“Us being a couple?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Your mom hates us being in a relationship?” he asked again, trying to comprehend that fact.

“Yes, she does. Mother made that abundantly clear,” Silverstream snarled, jabbing a piece of broccoli with her fork. “Hence why I stopped reading her letters.”

“Okay… But she’s still your mom,” Gallus appealed, keeping his tone neutral. “Wh-What kind of stuff was she saying?”

“Oh, you know?” she mumbled, rolling her eyes dispassionately. “I don’t have to settle for you… I’m not safe with you… My, uh, my favorite one—Or? ‘Least’ favorite, I suppose—was when she tried convincing me. To dump you. For some random hippogriff noble I don’t know,” Silver growled venomously. “Yeah. Some ‘mom,’ huh?”

“She really said that to you?”

“Yep. I mean, I was already putting off looking at her letters, but that last one? That was the one that made me stop reading them completely.”

“Grover’s Treasure,” Gallus cursed under his breath. “W-Why would she say any of that? I mean… ‘You’re not safe with me’? W-What does that even mean?”

“I don’t know!” Silver yelped, throwing her talons up in frustration. “She’s nuts! I had to stop reading every letter from home because she started sending hers under everygriff else’s name too.”

“Hold on! Back up! What!?” he squawked, eyes widening in shock. “You stopped reading everygriff else’s letters too? Even your dad’s? Even Terramar’s!?”

“And Skystar’s. And Auntie Novo’s. And Salina’s. And even General Seaspray’s,” she confirmed, struggling to not raise her voice. “Evidently, my mother doesn’t think I can be happy with you, and she wants to make darn sure I know it.”

“That… That’s horrible!”

“Yes, it is! It is horrible!” Silverstream wearily assented. “I want so badly to write to Terry again, but I can’t. If I do, Mom’ll snatch up the letter and send me a thousand more, trying to tell me I can’t love you, or…something!”

“I doubt she’d be able to do that, Silver,” he argued. “A-And even if that is a risk, they’re your family.”

“Well, what do you want me to do, Gallus!?” she snapped, shoving her plate away from her. “I-I-I can’t— I don’t want to keep reading about how much she hates you!”

Confusion and horror swirled in his mind as Gallus asked, “Why does she hate me then? Your mom and I don’t know each other, so w-what gives!?”

“I already told you I don’t know!”

“But there has to be a reason, right!? Th-There…” Gallus put a talon to his chest, inhaling deeply before pushing it away as he exhaled slowly. “There must be some kind of reason why she would be so against us being together,” he reasoned tranquilly.

“I don’t care if there’s a reason she doesn’t like you!” Silver shrieked, voice cracking. “I-I don’t care if he— If she!” she corrected. “Says that I shouldn’t be with you! That— That we won’t work out together. Or that we’re not good for each other. O-Or that I… That I won’t be happy with you.”

Her slip-up hadn’t gone unnoticed, but Gallus decided against bringing up Gruff. Instead, he merely assuaged, “But we are good for each other. We are happy together.”

“Yeah, but for… For how…” Both unable and unwilling to finish that question, Silverstream whined weakly and struggled not to tear up.

“Silverstream…? Are you okay?” he slowly asked.

She grimaced, whispering, “No. No, I’m not.”

“O-Okay. What’s wrong? Is— Is it something else your mom said?”

“No. That’s not it, Gallus. I— I can’t— I don’t—” she uselessly stuttered. “I don’t know what— I just— Aghhh!” she groaned, resting her head in her talons.

“Hey, hey, hey! Don’t worry!” Gallus exclaimed, swiftly extending a wing around the table and laying it across her back as best as he could. “Take your time; I’m listening.”

After taking a few unsteady breaths, Silver sniffled, explaining, “I just want to be happy, Gallus. I don’t want to be angry. O-Or afraid. Or paranoid. Or— Or anything like that. B-But the more I think about it… The more I… I… I don’t want to be paranoid,” she repeated, choking back a sob.

“And that’s okay, Silver,” he comforted, unsure of where exactly this was coming from but having a good hunch. “You don’t have to be scared.”

“That’s just it, Gallus. I— I am,” Silver whimpered, dropping her talons back onto the table. “I am scared…”

“Of what?”

“I-I’m scared of… Of…”

“It’s okay, Silver,” he dulcified, reaching out to hold her talon as well only to stare in utter shock when she pulled hers back. Opting to ignore that for now, he said, “I’m here… Just tell me what’s wrong.”

“I… I’m…” Silver sniffled again, looking at him through glistening eyes. “We— We promised we wouldn’t lie about these things,” she reminded herself in an effort to work up her courage one last time. Before Gallus could reply, she confessed, “I-I’m scared of us.”

“You’re…scared of…us?” Upon receiving a trepid nod, Gallus swallowed nervously and speculated, “Is— Is this because your mom doesn’t like me?”

“N-No,” she denied, shaking her head fervently. “No, that’s not it.”

“Then what is it? Wh-Why would you be afraid of us being a couple too; we love each other!”

“Yes. Yes, we do.” Silver gulped, wondering, “But…? F-For how long?”

“How— ‘For how long’!?” he echoed, feeling his heart thrash wildly against his chest. “Silverstream, what do mean ‘for how long’!?”

Silver mouthed silently, struggling to say the next words until she eventually spat out, “What if this— What if this doesn’t work out?”

Praying with every fiber of his existence that she didn’t mean what he thought she did, Gallus tentatively asked, “You mean, what if we don’t work out?”

“…Yes.”

The quiet sounds of their fellow diners was the only thing intruding upon the grim silence that fell across their table.

Gallus took a breath and let it out shakily, realizing, “This isn’t just about your mom, is it? … He got in your head too, didn’t he?”

“So Ocellus did tell you?” Silverstream muttered, feeling her wings droop.

“Yes, and I’m very glad she did. Otherwise, I would be very confused right now,” he said, nervously stroking his headcrest. “What did Gruff tell you, Silver?”

“Does that matter?”

“Yes, it matters!” he snapped, remaining as calm as he could. “You just asked what would happen if we broke up. Don’t tell me you would have asked me that if he hadn’t talked to you.”

Silverstream looked away ashamedly. “N-No. No, I wouldn’t have,” she agreed.

“Then tell me what he told you, Silver,” Gallus begged, reaching across the table again. Much to his relief, she didn’t jerk away this time and allowed him to hold her talon. “Please?”

Silver immediately held his talon back, hesitantly answering, “He asked if I was still paranoid.”

“But… You’re not. Y-You’re happy—We’re happy!” he emphasized, a weak smile tugging at his beak. “Right?”

Nodding apprehensively, she promised, “Yes. I am happy, Gallus. I’m so happy to be with you!”

“And I’m happy to be with you! So…? If we’re both happy, what’s the problem?”

“We’re— We’re happy now, yes,” she stressed. “But will we still be happy forty years from now?” Silver wondered, shooting him a knowing look.

Still holding her talon, Gallus leaned back in his chair. “O-Oh. He told you about my…”

“‘Future plans’? Yes. … Is that what really took you so long to take me out again? All this time, you’ve been thinking about…?” She couldn’t finish the question.

“You, uh, you make it sound like that’s a bad thing,” he said in a cracked voice.

“It’s not. Gallus, any other time, I’d be jumping into your talons and hugging you harder than even Yona,” Silverstream declared, running a talon through her mane in a futile attempt to calm herself. “But— But I— Gallus, how far along are these ‘plans’ of yours!?” she screeched.

“Just two dates: The aquarium and Las Pegasus,” he explained. “I didn’t want to plan any other dates without you.”

“I didn’t ask about the dates, Gallus.”

Gallus sighed. “Complete honesty? I got a little over a thousand Bits saved up. And, um? Smolder… Smolder gave me a ring,” he revealed, swallowing anxiously.

“A ring!? Smolder gave you a— Oh my gosh!” she exclaimed, struggling not to hyperventilate.

“If it makes you feel any better, I wasn’t anywhere near ready to give it to you.”

“No, Gallus, that doesn’t make feel better!” Silver mewled, trying and failing to maintain her composure. “Do— Do you have any idea how unbelievably sweet it is that you were thinking about that? That you were considering a long-term relationship with me?”

“If it’s so sweet of me, why are you so upset?” Gallus asked, giving her talon a soft squeeze that she reciprocated. “I-I don’t understand. Are you mad? Happy? Scared? What!?”

“Gallus, I’m not mad, I—” Silver’s voice gave out for a second. Upon recovering it, she confessed, “I love you, Gallus. I love you. And— And when I’m with you, I feel like the happiest creature in the world!” she announced with a smile.

“And I feel the same way about you!” Gallus promised happily.

Silverstream shook her head sadly. “No, you don’t, Gallus. Because I’m not just happy. I’m scared too,” she elaborated, crying openly.

“Because of what Gruff said to you?”

“He didn’t say anything to me, Gallus. All he did was—”

“Ask if you were paranoid,” he interrupted. “Which you weren’t until after he talked to you.”

“And what if I have been scared all this time?” she proposed, brushing a strand of mane out of her eye. “And I only thought I wasn’t?”

“Oh, so that’s what he said to you, huh?” Gallus growled, furious. “Silver, you were not paranoid. He just put that thought in your head because he was screwing with you.”

“Even if that is the case, he was still right!” Silver shouted, pausing to double-check that nopony else had heard her. Once she affirmed that was the case, she finished, “Gallus, I am scared.”

“You don’t have to be,” he swore, never taking his eyes off of her. “Silverstream, nothing is wrong. We’re happy.”

“And how long is that going to last? H-How long before Sombra comes back? Or— Or Cozy and the others break free? Or my own mother tries to screw with you too?” she suggested fearfully.

“Sombra is dead, Silverstream,” Gallus countered. “And the others may as well be too. And— And your mom isn’t some crazy super-villain.”

“That’s not the point, Gallus,” Silver rebuked, beak quivering. “The point is I’m not— I’m not Princess Twilight. I-I can’t just give a cool friendship speech and fix all the world’s problems. I can’t— I can’t even fix yours half the time,” she lamented.

“I’m not asking you to; I never have asked you to!”

“You literally called me the ‘solution to all of your problems’ once!”

“As a joke!”

“You still said it!”

“Well, I don’t care! Silver, I— I don’t want you t-to be Princess Twilight or some glorified personal therapist!” Gallus yelled, blinking away his own panicked tears. “I just want you to be you!”

“And I just want you to be happy.” Silverstream’s response resulted in a short stretch of silence until she added, “I will always want to help you be happy.”

“And I’ll always want you to be happy too,” he whimpered.

“No, Gallus…” Silver hung her head, saying. “I’m still worried about you. I’m not sure I ever stopped worrying about you. And I know it’s okay to worry for my friends, but this isn’t healthy!”

“Of course it isn’t healthy!” he concurred, voice cracking. “But you don’t need to worry, Silver; I’m okay!”

“I know! I know that,” she avowed, breathing heavily. “But I’m scared anyway.”

“W-Why?”

“Because I love you, Gallus,” Silverstream cried. “I love you so much, and… And all I want is to keep seeing you smile and be happy,” she said, tenderly holding his cheek in her other talon. “And I will do everything I can to help you be happy, first and foremost.”

She then retracted her talon and focused her gaze on the one Gallus still held. “But I can’t do that forever,” she admitted to both him and herself. “I just can’t. I can’t live, constantly being afraid you’ll be upset again and running myself ragged making sure you’re not.”

“I don’t want you to do that either!” Gallus shrieked, disgusted with the mere suggestion. “I don’t want to be happy ‘first’; I want us to be happy together! Can’t— Can’t we be that?” he timidly inquired.

“We could,” she supposed, nodding. “But how long will it be before I do stop feeling scared? I-I don’t want to be scared anymore, Gallus.”

“And that’s okay,” he said, now holding her talon in both of his. “I don’t want you to be scared either. You deserve to be happy.”

“Yeah… Yeah, I do.” Silverstream let out a quiet sob, saying, “We both deserve to be happy. B-But I can’t be happy if I’m scared all the time.”

“But—”

“Gallus…?”

“Yes?”

“Please… I love you,” Silver promised one final time, smiling warmly. Her smile quickly faded away as she continued, “But I can’t live a life where I’m just scared and paranoid all the time. I already did that once in Seaquestria. I— I can’t do it again.”

“But you wouldn’t have to!” Gallus protested desperately. “Silverstream, I… I…”

He fell silent when Silverstream carefully pulled her talon back toward her. “I-I’m sorry, Gallus. I’m so sorry!” she wailed, hiding her face in her talons as she began sobbing quietly.

Time slowed to a crawl as Gallus slouched back against his chair, fixing his horrified gaze upon the table and doing his best not to vomit.

Eventually, Silver’s cries abated somewhat, so she began drying her eyes with her napkins, repeating, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I-I’m just so sorry!”

After a moment, Gallus tonelessly questioned, “Do… Do you really mean all of that?”

Silver’s subsequent snivel was all the answer he needed.

Gallus wiped his own tears away, letting out a pained whine as he requested, “Silverstream? Please— Please look at me.”

It took a moment, but Silver soon worked up the strength to do so. “Y-Yes?”

“You…? You were there for me when I needed you most,” he began. “You helped me through so, so much! I’m not gonna— I’m not gonna pretend like you didn’t help me or that I don’t appreciate it. I’m always going to be grateful for that,” Gallus stated resolutely.

Silverstream winced, but she perked up again when he added, “But, Silver? I don’t love you because you helped me through all of that.”

“Y-You don’t?” she asked, completely caught off-guard.

“No! No, I love you because—” Gallus struggled to find the words for a second before he laughed weakly. “I-I love you because you geek out over plumbing pamphlets,” he said, causing Silver to blink in surprise. “Because your favorite part of baking is watching the oven cook. B-Because you burst out into song during Drama Club recitals just because you want to.”

“I-I… I can’t help it,” she squeaked, feeling a faint blush rise to her cheeks. “Singing is just so much fun. And so is watching the brownies bake.”

“And that’s what makes you so amazing, Silver,” he continued joyfully. “This world has so many wonderful things about it. A-And you try to find them all, no matter how big or small they may be.”

“Sure, you’re not all sunshine and rainbows,” he recognized, avoiding her gaze as he said it. “But that’s okay; no one is always happy.”

“Even fear and loneliness have to be expressed sometimes,” Silver mumbled, hanging her head regretfully. She then felt his talon gently pull her gaze back up.

“Yeah… But you?” Gallus smiled. “Sure, you don’t like feeling afraid or sad, but you’re never ashamed to feel those things. And that’s what I love most about you, Silverstream,” he elaborated, crying freely himself. “You love who you are, and you love the world around you. And call it ‘cheesy’? But I think that’s beautiful,” Gallus ended serenely.

“Gallus, I— I’m sorry,” Silver wept. “I-I shouldn’t have said anything; I should have just—”

“Don’t apologize. It’s okay, Silver…”

“No, it’s not okay!”

“I know it’s not okay!” Gallus paused to dry his eyes once again, taking a deep breath afterward. “Silverstream? I love you. I want to be with you. I’m so happy whenever I’m with you!”

“Gallus—”

“No, I… I need to say this,” he fervently insisted.

“…Okay,” she said, nodding. “I’m listening.”

“Thank you. Look? I want to be with you,” he repeated. “But I want you to be happy, Silver. You deserve all the happiness in the world. So, if you can’t be happy when you’re with me…? Then I won’t ask you to be,” Gallus concluded, looking hurt beyond measure.

“W-What?” she gasped. “You— You can’t mean that!”

“I… I do. Don’t get me wrong, I hate this!” he snarled, lashing his tail. “I wish you weren’t scared, but…? But I would rather be alone than ask you to be with me, if it meant you wouldn’t be happy.”

Silverstream stared at him for a moment before letting out a humorless chuckle. “I hate this too. I love you, Gallus. I-I love the way you smile w-when you’re reading,” she praised, eliciting a shy grin out of the griffon. “How— How you always blush whenever we snuggle. I… I even really love that thing you do with your headcrest,” she said, rubbing her reddened eyes.

“Huh? You mean this?” he asked, combing the aforementioned feathers.

“Yes! That! I don’t know why, but I find that so adorable,” she admitted shamelessly.

Gallus slowly smirked and did it again.

“Oh no. No, that’s cheating,” she squealed, giggling nonetheless.

“Don’t care. I am going to absolutely abuse this newfound power, and you can’t stop me,” he laughed, stroking the feathers one more time.

“No, please! Have mercy,” Silver implored, reaching out and taking his talon into hers.

“Fine,” he reluctantly conceded.

They both simply snickered.

Once their laughter subsided, Silver glanced at her talon and found it still held onto his. She then turned back to him, whimpering, “It’s… It’s not fair, Gallus.”

“No. No, it isn’t,” he concurred, forcing a tired smile. “But it’s okay, Silver. You deserve to be happy, and if you can’t be that with me then—”

“But we both deserve to be happy!”

“A-And we can be! We’ll just— W-W-We’ll just be happy by ourselves,” he proclaimed, ignoring the twitching in his eye. “If we can save Equestria twice, we can totally do that. Besides, it— It’s better than being paranoid all the time, right?” he supposed, trying to convince himself more than her.

“I don’t want to be paranoid,” she agreed, causing his heart to sink even lower. “But I don’t want to be happy by myself either; I want to be happy with you.”

“And I don’t want you to hurt yourself for me,” Gallus adamantly affirmed. “So, if you can’t be happy with me without being afraid all the time…?” He sighed regretfully.

Trying not to break down again, Silverstream returned her sights to their talons. And the longer she stared at them, the more certain she was she didn’t want him to let go. She then looked back at Gallus, horrified by the forlorn grimace that had overtaken the bright smile she loved so dearly.

Silverstream gave his talon a firm squeeze, prompting him to look up and meet her gaze. And though his eyes still glistened faintly, there was not a hint of fear or anger in them. Only sorrow.

Sickened by that fact, Silver protested, “This isn’t right.”

“Neither is being afraid and pretending you’re not,” Gallus replied resignedly. “I don’t want you to do that. Our friends wouldn’t either. So…” His grip loosened, but Silverstream just tightened her own before he could even try pulling away.

“No,” was all she said.

“Silverstream, I—”

“No.” Silver closed her eyes, taking a slow, steady breath. “I… I don’t like being afraid. O-Or angry, or sad.”

“I don’t like that you feel that way either.”

“But it is okay that I feel those things,” she accepted, letting out a small sigh as she opened her eyes again. “Even if I hate being afraid, it’s not something I need to bottle up or be ashamed of.”

“No, it is not,” he agreed somberly. “I would never say otherwise.”

“I know you wouldn’t.”

“Yeah. But if… If you really are paranoid again…?”

“Then that’s wrong.”

“Silver—”

“No, Gallus. Fear is…” Silver blinked and quietly cursed, “Oh sea kelp, how did it go again? … Ooh! That’s right!” She cleared her throat, ignoring his confusion, and quoted, “‘Fear is necessary for courage. But too little invokes hubris, and too much reaps cowardice.’”

“…What?”

“It’s something Yona told me,” she explained, waving her talon dismissively. “But the point is… Gallus? I’m scared,” Silver reiterated, frowning sadly when he flinched. “I’m scared of the future. I’m scared Mom doesn’t think we could be happy together. I’m scared she could be right…”

“But I am not scared of you,” Silverstream promised, a determined sparkle in her eye. “I’m not scared of being with you. I love you! And more importantly? I believe you.”

“You believe me…?” he echoed, cocking an eyebrow. “About what?”

“What you said earlier. How… How we can be happy together.”

A hopeful smile briefly graced his beak before vanishing instantly as Gallus worriedly argued, “N-No! Not if it means you’re scared all the time! I won’t ask you to be with me if you—”

“Gallus, we both deserve to be happy!” she asserted. “Not just me. Not just you. Both of us. No more worries. No more paranoia. I just want us to be happy.”

“I want you to be happy too, Silverstream.”

“And you want to be happy yourself too, right?”

“…Yeah. I do. But—”

“No ‘buts.’”

“Silver, if you’re not happy with—”

“Gallus,” she interrupted one last time. Once he had closed his beak, Silverstream gave him an oddly peaceful smile. “I love you, Gallus. I’m happiest when I’m with you,” she stated decisively.

“And I love you too, Silver,” he said, smiling through his tears once again. “Grover’s Treasure, I want to be with you so much! But I can’t— But I won’t ask you to be with me if it means you’ll be paranoid all the time,” Gallus concluded, resolute.

“You won’t have to,” she assuaged, clenching his talon reassuringly. “I love you, and nothing will ever change that. Not— Not my mother. Not Gruff. And certainly not my stupid paranoia!”

“Don’t say that, Silverstream; you can’t bottle up your feelings!” he rebuked, panicking.

“I’m not,” she said simply. “I won’t pretend I’m not scared. But I refuse to be paranoid any longer!” Silverstream declared, her heart and resolve both unfaltering. “I love you. I’m happy with you. I want to be with you. And I am through letting my fear overshadow that.”

Silver then took several deep, calming breaths as if she were preparing for something. “So, with all that said…? No more cowardice, right?” she ended, smiling optimistically.

“Silver, you’re not a cow—”

Silverstream leaned forward and planted her beak against his, silencing him instantly. And although Gallus was shocked at first, his eyes slowly fluttered closed, and he joyfully kissed her back.

…

…

…

They both then broke away, each giving the other a serene smile. Silver then squirmed in her seat, blushing furiously as she exclaimed, “W-Wow!”

“Yeah!” Gallus blurted out, unable to stop smiling. “Full disclosure though? That was my first ever kiss. So, uh? I’m not sure if I did it right.”

“Don’t worry, that was my first kiss too,” she said, giving her wings a tiny flap. “I have no idea if I did it right either.”

“Well, I certainly think you did.”

“Likewise.”

“Heh-heh. So…? W-What did you think of it?” he asked shyly.

“Admittedly, I didn’t expect to get a whiff of cheese and beet soup,” she chuckled, making him blush just a little more. “But who cares? It was amazing! … Er? How did I do?”

“Amazing, duh,” he answered, eliciting an elated smile. “I’m just glad our beaks didn’t get in the way of it.”

“Oops! Hee-hee,” she tittered. “I didn’t think of that.”

“Doesn’t matter now. It worked. We kissed,” Gallus acknowledged, not ashamed in the slightest that his tail was wagging.

“Yeah, we did,” Silverstream whispered, merrily playing with her mane. “…I kinda want to do it again,” she admitted bashfully.

“Really!?”

“Really!”

“O-Okay. Uh, on three then?”

“On three!”

“One!”

“Two!”

“Three!”

Gallus and Silverstream both kissed each other again. After breaking away, Silver collapsed into a fit of ecstatic giggles while Gallus merely watched her with a blissful smile.

Eventually, however, Silver quieted down and sighed contently. “So…? What now?” she questioned, her smile drooping slightly yet not fading entirely.

“You’re asking me?” Gallus wondered, laughing feebly. “We just went from talking about your mom, to breaking up; to kissing. Frankly, I have absolutely no idea what’s going on right now,” he said, shrugging. “Not to say I didn’t like that last part.”

“That was definitely the best of the three. … Wanna kiss again?”

“We just did it twice.”

“Yeah, well…? Third time’s the charm,” Silver cooed, batting her eyelashes mischievously.

Gallus had to fight to keep his wings from unfolding, but after winning that battle, he concurred, “I guess it is hard to argue with that logic, huh?”

“On three again?”

“On three again.”

“Okay, okay, okay!” she chanted, bouncing in her chair energetically. “One!”

“Two!”

“Three!”

Silverstream practically lunged forward in her zeal to kiss him, but it unfortunately resulted in both of them letting out a quiet, “Ow!” as they recoiled, rubbing their sore beaks.

“See? That’s what I was talking about,” Gallus said, snickering faintly.

“I sorta figured that out,” Silver chuckled. “Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. At least now we know for next time.”

“On that note, I demand a do-over!”

“If it’s a do-over you want, then it’s a do-over you shall receive,” he proclaimed, just as eager as she was. “But, uh? Let’s try taking it a little slower this time?”

“Ooh, that’s gonna be hard,” she grumbled teasingly. “But I think I can manage.”

“Okay then. Shall we?”

“Yes!”

They both carefully leaned forward, kissing one last time. It lasted for nearly a full minute before Silver broke away, squeeing, “Oh my gosh! That is so much fun!”

“It is. It really is,” Gallus agreed, resting his head in his talon as he smiled at her dreamily.

“I know! And we’re both new to kissing too!” she gasped, struggling to keep her own wings down as well. “Can you imagine how much more fun it’s going to be when we really get good at it?”

“Oh… Oh boy,” he yelped, trying and failing to hide the crimson flooding his cheeks. “Th-That’s gonna be a whole different ballpark of awesome.”

“Yes. Yes, it will,” Silver chirped. “And it is an absolute travesty we have to wait and practice before we can experience it. A travesty, I say!” she declared dramatically.

“Agreed.”

…

…

…

“But seriously though,” Gallus resumed anxiously. “What do we do now?”

After some intense contemplation, Silverstream gave him a bright smile and answered, “I have no idea.”

He snorted. “Yeah, neither do I.”

“Well,” she began, twiddling her talons. “Are you okay?”

“I think so. You?”

“After all those kisses, I’m pretty sure I now know what Professor Pinkie Pie feels like all the time.”

“You didn’t already?”

“I hadn’t kissed you until now, silly! Duh!”

“Ha-ha-ha-hahhh! I suppose that makes sense.”

Silver giggled.

…

“Does this mean we’re still together?” Gallus asked, frowning in anticipation.

Silverstream held out her talon to him, and he swiftly took hold of it. “I want to be with you, Gallus,” she said in a soft voice. “I’m always happy when I am.”

“And I’m always happy when I’m with you.”

“Thank you.” Silver paused, looking away nervously before continuing, “I… I am still a little scared. But I meant what I said. I won’t let that stop me from loving you,” she reaffirmed even more strongly than before.

“What if… What if you never stop being afraid?”

“Then…? I’ll let you know,” she promised. Silverstream then grinned, pledging, “And we’ll work through it together. I mean? We kinda just did work through it, so…? Yeah.”

Gallus smiled slightly, asking, “You really mean that?”

“Hey, I still remember Cadence’s first letter. Communication!” she sang, tittering as she waved her talons in an arc. “I promise I won’t hide my feelings, Gallus. You promise that too, right?”

“Always,” he assured with a firm nod.

Silverstream let out a quiet sigh of relief and gave him a serene smile.

…

…

…

“So,” Gallus began again. “What do you want to do now?”

“Kiss you again!” Silverstream immediately cheered, unable to stop her wings from flaring.

“I meant about the restaurant,” he clarified, chuckling as she rapidly retracted her wings. “I mean, you can absolutely kiss me again if you want to, but—”

Silver did just that and pulled away before he could react.

“Hey!” he yelped.

“Whaaat?” she asked innocently. “You said I could.”

“Yeah, I know. Just make sure to give me a chance to actually kiss you back next time,” he requested, only making her laugh harder. “I’m being serious, you know.”

“Hee-hee, I know. It was lot better when you kissed me back anyway,” Silver said jubilantly. “As for the restaurant?” She thought it over, saying, “Honestly? I’m not hungry anymore.”

“Not even for more kisses? Awww,” he whined in mock-disappointment.

“Oh, I can totally have more of those if you’re offering.”

“How about after we decide what we want to do next?” Gallus said, trying not to giggle at how adorable her subsequent pout was. “Now, you really aren’t hungry anymore, right?”

“Not really,” she confirmed, shooting her remaining salad an uncomfortable look. “I think I’ve had enough for tonight. … Both in terms of food and emotional turmoil,” she deadpanned.

“Same. You want skip dessert then?”

“Ehhh, yeah,” Silver begrudgingly decided. “While I would love to try their sundaes, I don’t think I want that on my stomach right now. A little too busy dealing with the butterflies.”

“Understood. I guess we’ll just call over Mr. Fare and get the bill,” Gallus said, looking around for the waiter in question. “Where is he anyway?”

“I was wondering about that too,” Silverstream said, searching for him as well. “Even if I am thrilled he didn’t show up while we were, er, ‘talking’? I really expected him to.”

“At least he didn’t.”

“Thank goodness,” she said, smiling just a little wider.

“Yeah. Oh, found him,” he announced, waving at the stallion. “Annnd? Yep. Here he comes now.”

“Let me guess? Ocellus was keeping him at bay?”

“Surprisingly, no. Looks like he was just busy with waiting other tables,” he clarified, much to her surprise. “As for Ocellus…? Huh. I don’t see her anywhere actually.”

“Maybe she went to the bathroom?” Silver suggested.

“Probably.”

Savoir Fare then came to a stop at their table, looking a little winded but professional nonetheless. “Ah, yes! Terribly sorry about that wait, sir, madam,” he apologized, nodding to each of them. “Has everything been going well for you tonight?”

After sharing a tired grin with Silver, Gallus answered, “Yeah, I’d say so. You?”

“All is well with me. Can’t say the same for the night crew since they’re still not here yet for some reason,” he grumbled beneath his breath. “But in any case, how may I be of service to you?”

“We were just hoping to get the bill,” he explained. “Neither of us are up for dessert tonight.”

“No? Alas, our strawberry shortcake is quite sublime.”

“Strawberry shortcake?” Silver echoed, perking up excitedly.

Gallus deadpanned at her. “Silver…”

“What?”	

“Butterflies,” he said smartly.

“Awww! But strawberry shortcake, Gallus!” she bemoaned longingly.

“Hmm? Ooh! Compromise! Could we get one serving of strawberry shortcake to go?” Gallus requested, savoring Silver’s elated cheer. “And then could we have the bill?”

“Understood,” Savoir Fare said, nodding. “I shall return momentarily.”

“Gotcha.” After the stallion departed, Gallus withdrew a pouch from his pocket and turned to Silver, saying, “So? Strawberry shortcake, huh?”

“You have no right to judge me, Mr. Orange Sherbet,” she said, smirking.

“Fair enough,” he laughed, extracting some Bits from his bag.

After eyeing just how many Bits Gallus took out, Silver mumbled, “Gallus…?”

“Are you about to offer to pay for the meal again?” he guessed, raising an eyebrow.

“No, I know you want to do it,” she accepted peacefully. “But can I at least pay the tip? Pleeeaaase!”

Gallus sighed, smiling exasperatedly. “Okay, fine. You can pay the tip if you want.”

“Yay!” She then pulled out her coin purse and dumped most of its contents onto the table. As she began divvying them up properly, Gallus bluntly acknowledged, “That’s a lot of Bits.”

“Considering he didn’t interrupt us while we ate, I figured I’d make my thanks known,” she explained.

“Heh. You are just the best, you know that?” he complimented.

“We both are,” Silverstream said, winking.

Gallus winked back.

About a minute later, Savoir Fare returned to give them both the bill and Silver’s cake box. He then almost broke down into tears of joy when he saw how huge a tip she had given him.

Once he recollected himself, Savoir accepted the Bits Gallus passed him for the bill, thanking them once again for both the tip and for dining there. But especially for the tip.

And so it was that Gallus and Silverstream rose from their table and trotted back to the front of the restaurant, wishing the receptionist mare a goodnight as well…

“Ughhh,” Gallus groaned, exhausted. “I don’t know about you, but I am ready to call it a night.”

“Me too,” Silverstream agreed, cozying up to his side as they trotted toward the door. “I can’t wait to get out of this dress and into my pajamas, and then just sleeeeep,” she whined.

“Same,” he yawned, opening the door and stepping out into the crisp night air.

“DEATH TO ALL WHO OPPOSE BLUEBERRY PANCAKES!” roared the voice of the flaming alicorn above.

“WE DECLARE HERESY!” the opposing alicorn screamed, causing visible ripples in the air with how loudly she did so. “CHOCOLATE CHIP IS SUPERIOR! SUPERIOR, WE SAY!”

“Yeah! Bow to the majesty of the Chocolate Chip Kingdom!” Lighthoof shouted, donned in makeshift Lunar Guard armor. She then threw a massive pie at the furious fiery figure above.

She gasped and ducked under it, screeching, “THOU DAREST AIM TO STRIKE ME!? FOR THINE CRIME, THINE PENALTY SHALL BE MOST SEVERE! TAAAAAKE AAAAAIM!”

“Down with your chocolaty lies!” End Zone bellowed, doing the best he could to match his leader’s Royal Canterlot Voice. “Surrender to the Blueberry Empire!” He then released a catapult, flinging a veritable mountain of blueberry jam at the opposing side.

Luckily, it missed its mark and landed squarely in the face of the Ursa Minor that, quite frankly, looked like it had absolutely no idea what was going on or how it got there. Unluckily, it didn’t take too kindly to being splattered with gunk and instantly rounded on the opposing armies, roaring loudly.

“NIECE! WE DESIRE THINE ASSISTANCE!” both Ex-Princesses screeched.

“AND ASSISTANCE THOU SHALT RECEIVE!” Cadence hollered, descending from the heavens and mounting herself upon the Ursa Minor’s back. It reared up and roared once again, but its rider’s voice rang louder, “RIDE, MY NEWEST STEED! RIDE INTO THE WIND! HYAAH!”

The Ursa Minor then slammed back onto all-fours and charged into the heart of the burning village beyond, plowing its way through the terrified masses that had gathered.

Gallus and Silverstream both looked at each other with the same baffled expression.

“W-Well? I, uh, didn’t expect this,” he mumbled, blinking rapidly as he still wasn’t sure what he was currently witnessing.

“Nope,” she said, shaking her head slowly. “I did not expect this either. … Looks like fun though,” Silver remarked, smiling expectantly.

“True. But we’re both still in our clothes,” Gallus mentioned, straightening his bow tie. “Yona would kill us if we got ‘em dirty.”

“Also true. But come on,” she pleaded impishly. “I think the Chocolate Chip Kingdom could use some back-up.”

“Really? I was thinking of helping the Blueberry Empire.”

“Oh, were you now?”

“Yes, I—” Gallus blinked at the devious smile she was giving him. He then smirked back.

Sadly, before either of them could pick a side, Pinkie Pie and Shimmy Shake burst out of the ground, riding ginormous party howitzers.

“For the glory of the Chocolate Chip Kingdom!”

“Down with the Blueberry Empire!”

They both then pulled the strings attached to their respective cannons, unleashing a barrage of chocolate syrup into the air to rain down upon the battlefield.

Someone screaming, “WHY MEEE!?” was the only warning they got before a glob of the stuff landed right in front of the restaurant. Thankfully, it was all the warning Gallus needed, and he quickly shielded both of them with his wings.

After shaking the appendages dry of chocolate droplets, he folded them back to his side and checked over Silver, ensuring she was untouched and breathing a sigh of relief upon discovering she wasn’t.

Silver then smiled gratefully and planted a gentle kiss on his cheek, giggling when he blushed and kissed her back.

They both then jumped in surprise when a figure erupted from the chocolate mass and stumbled forward, collapsing a few steps away from them. It then wiped the goop from its face, revealing itself to be an extremely distraught Vellum Codex.

Both parties blinked at each other until Vellum reached out a hoof, grimacing in sheer terror as he shrieked, “SAVE YOURSELVES!”

Before either could say anything further, he was buried under another wave of chocolate and blueberry, courtesy of the madly cackling green pegasus hovering over him. Patty then spotted the couple, gasped, and smiled wickedly.

“Oh peck!”

“Oh sea kelp!”

Patty then inhaled deeply, preparing to announce their presence; however, before she could, a shadow pounced her and pinned her to the ground, holding a talon over her muzzle.

“Hey,” Grandpa Gruff greeted as casual as could be, covered from head-to-paw in burns, bruises, and batter. Somehow, in spite of all of this, he still sported his awesome fez. “Your date goin’ well?”

“No thanks to you!” Gallus snarled, holding a protective wing around Silverstream.

“Yeah, Ah know,” he wheezed, grimacing apologetically. “Really poor timin’ on mah part.”

“You’re a jerk!” Silver cried out, glaring even more harshly than Gallus.

“Ah know that too.” Gruff struggled to keep Patty down for a moment before assuring, “Don’t worry, Ah plan on skedaddlin’ back to Griffonstone before this lot realizes they didn’t do me in yet.”

“Don’t go too far,” Gallus requested coldly. “I fully intend to yell at you. A LOT!”

“That makes two of us,” Silverstream concurred.

“Got it,” he said, nodding nervously. “But that’ll have to wait. Right now, ya both might wanna follow that theater kid’s advice and get outta here. Ah don’t know what that statue thing was, but it exploded. And whatever the peck was in it is now—”

Gruff’s warning was cut short when Patty kicked him in a rather tender spot and shoved his cringing form off of her. Once she had risen to her hooves, she kicked him again while he was down.

“Cheap shot! Cheap shot!” he whimpered, curling into a ball of pain, misery, and regret. “Ah demand compensation!”

“No, you deserved that! … Creepy, old fart,” Patty grumbled, kicking him once more for good measure, much to both Gallus and Silver’s immense satisfaction. Their smiles then fell the moment she turned and faced them.

“You’re not gonna…?” Gallus murmured, leaning back from her sinister smile.

“I’m gonna!” Patty proclaimed manically.

“Oh, please don’t,” Silver begged.

“Sorry!” She then inhaled once again and announced, “EVERCREATURE! THEY’RE HERE!”

Instantly, all warring factions locked gazes onto the couple.

“Back exit?” Gallus asked quickly.

“Back exit,” Silver agreed, nodding ardently.

“TRUCE, SISTER!?”

“TRUCE!”

“EVERYCREATURE! CHARGE!” both alicorns declared.

Before either of them could react, Starlight appeared before them in a turquoise flash. She then swung her horn downward, erecting a giant blue barrier between them and the oncoming armies.

“RUUUUUN!” she commanded her students, flinching as the collective forces of the Blueberry Empire and Chocolate Chip Kingdom hammered against her shield.

“Understood! C’mon, milady!” Gallus beckoned, grabbing her talon and pulling her along.

“I’m coming, sweetie!” Silverstream giggled, racing alongside him.


***


Five minutes later, the pair found themselves coming to a stop on one of the only few hills that wasn’t currently on fire or flooded with sugary confections.

“Okay,” Gallus panted, still holding her talon. “I think we lost ‘em.”

“I certainly hope so,” she moaned, struggling to catch her breath. “This dress is hard to run in.”

“Gotta let Yona know about that for your next dress,” he said, gasping for air. “Get her to— Get her to make it good for both wearing out to dinner and running away from crowds,” he panted.

“Heh-heh-heh. My ‘next dress,’ huh?” she asked, sidling up to his side and giving him a happy nuzzle. “And here I thought I looked like an angel in this one.”

“Of course you do. You look like an angel all the time, with or without the dress.” Gallus then smirked, nuzzling her back as he added, “That doesn’t mean you don’t look even more beautiful in one though.”

She laughed blissfully. As they slowly crested the hill, Silver blinked and recognized, “Hey, check it out! Isn’t that Saddle Lake?”

“I think it is,” Gallus said upon catching sight of it. “Geez, we haven’t been here in ages.”

“Not since our first day of school,” she corrected, clearly regretting that. Silver then gasped and suggested, “We should all come out here and have a lake party when it gets warmer. What’d ya think?”

“Definitely,” he agreed. “I think we could all do with a lake party after the crazy night we’ve had.”

“Worst part is it’s probably only going to get crazier from here…” she muttered warily.

“And the best part is that no matter how crazy it gets, we’ll always have each other,” Gallus consoled, giving her a soothing smile as they approached the bank.

Silverstream met his gaze and happily grinned back. “I guess that’s worth the crazy, isn’t it?”

“I certainly think it is.”

“Hee-hee-hee,” she tittered, nuzzling him again. Silver then sighed, turning her gaze onto the lake and smiling in wonder at the full moon reflected within. She then frowned upon gazing at her own reflection and seeing how disheveled her mane had become.

“Ughhh! Stupid mane,” she griped, sitting down in the sand and working to undo the remnants of her braid.

“Here, let me,” Gallus said, sitting behind her and taking over, drawing out an elated blush from her cheeks. “Yona’s probably gonna throw a chair at us for getting sand in our clothes.”

“Not like she’d hit us with her aim,” she joked, rolling her eyes.

“Doth mine ears deceiveth me? Did thou, Fair Silverstream, indeed just insulteth thine friend and dressmaker?”

“T’was not an insult, Sir Gallus. T’was only truth.”

They both snickered.

“There. I think I got it,” Gallus eventually announced, retracting his talons as her mane fell away into its usual condition. He then winced when she shook it loose, flicking him in the face.

Upon realizing this, Silverstream suppressed a laugh, apologizing, “Whoops! Sorry, Gallus.”

“No problem. Just give me a warning next time, please.”

“Alright, I will,” she promised, shifting so she was sitting beside him rather than in front. “Thank you for helping with that though; I should have known better than to let them convince me the braid was a good idea,” she pouted.

“You still looked nice in it.”

“I know, but I prefer keeping my mane free, thank you very much.”

“It does look cuter that way, not gonna lie,” Gallus confided.

“Still out-sweeting me, eh?” Silverstream questioned, snuggling up to him.

“What can I say?” he said, extending a wing around her and hugging her close. “I just love seeing you smile.”

“I love seeing you smile too.”

…

…

…

“Are you okay?” both of them asked simultaneously. After sharing a quick laugh, Gallus said, “But seriously, are you okay, Silverstream?”

“Yeah,” she answered truthfully. “Like I said? No more stress. No more worry. No more paranoia. I just want to be happy with you.”

“And I want to be happy with you,” Gallus said, gently caressing her cheek. “Will you be happy though?”

“Oh, Gallus,” she hummed, staring at him lovingly. “When I’m with you…? I’m the happiest hippogriff in the world.”

“Funny. Because when I’m with you, I’m the happiest griffon in the world,” he boasted, giving her cheek a soft kiss.

“OH! COME ON!”

Gallus and Silverstream both yelped, turning to the nearby bushes and the furious mare hiding in them. Said mare then blinked and face-hoofed upon realizing she had revealed herself. “Dang it!”

“Seriously, Scoop?” Gallus snarled, scowling at the mare.

“Don’t you ‘seriously’ me, griffon-boy,” she reprimanded, giving him the most overly dramatic frown she could. “Kiss her on the beak already! Go on! Do it! Dooo iiit! Dooooo iiiiit!” Scoop encouraged, a maniacal glint in her eye.

“You think we should tell her?” Silverstream asked dryly.

“It would drive her crazy,” Gallus said, considering the option.

“Tell. Me. What!?” Scoop growled, praying her suspicions were incorrect.

Thankfully, Gallus was spared the burden of answering; for at that precise moment, a circlet of fire consumed the bush Scoop had hidden within.

“Yipe!” she yelled, leaping from the bushes and racing along the bank.

“Get back here!” Smolder bellowed, flying after her.

“No! I want to see them kiss! I want to see them kiss! I want to see them kiiiiisssss!”

Before Scoop could get far, Ocellus teleported in front of her and shape-shifted into a bugbear, pile-driving her to the ground.

“Nooo! No-no-no! Get off of me!” Scoop screamed, kicking and thrashing under her captor.

“Thanks, girls!” Silverstream shouted, sharing a bemused grin with Gallus. “You need help?”

“No, you two stay over there; we got this crazy mare,” Smolder said, giving them a claws-up.

As if to prove her wrong, Scoop bucked herself free of Ocellus with a triumphant, “Yaghhh! Ha-hahahaha-haaa!” the mare cackled, sprinting toward the couple only to get tackled back to the ground by Smolder. “Augh, not again! Let me go!”

“No,” Smolder bluntly denied. She then grunted when Scoop lurched forward, clawing her way closer to Gallus and Silverstream. “Agh! Ocellus! Little help! Now!”

“Hold on, I’m coming,” she said, returning to her changeling form as she quickly caught up to the dragon and mare.

“No! No! No! No! No!” Scoop shrieked, desperately struggling to escape Smolder’s grasp.

“Oh, would you just zip it already!?” Smolder barked, snorting a plume of flame. She then turned to Gallus and Silver, nodding as she assured, “Don’t worry, we got you!”

“Thank you again, Smolder,” Gallus said, waving. “We owe you one.”

“Yes! Yes, you do! Now keep having a good night, would ya!?”

“‘Night…’” Ocellus distractedly echoed, looking at moon above. She then gasped and urgently shouted, “Gallus! Open mic night! Open mic night!”

While Gallus blinked in understanding, Silver tilted her head in befuddlement.

“Ocellus, hurry! I don’t think I can keep her down much longer!” Smolder squealed, barely holding on to the frantically frenzying date-crasher.

“O-Oh, right! Sorry.” Ocellus coughed and lit her horn. “Teleporting in three!”

“No!” Scoop roared, watching in horror as another ring of fire surrounded the trio.

“Two!”

“No! Please! I need to see them kiss! I need to see them kiss!” Scoop wailed, bucking with all her might but to no avail. “Let me go!”

“One!”

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO—”

They vanished in a swirl of ethereal flames.

“—oooooooooooooooooooo!” Scoop’s final scream echoed from the depths of the Everfree Forest.

Gallus and Silverstream stared at each other for a moment before keeling over, howling in laughter.

“Oh my gosh!” Silver yelped, trying to catch her breath. “You called it. She said the thing you said she would say.”

“Yep. Yep, I noticed. Heh-heh-heh!”

“Yeah… Sooo?” she hummed, raising an eyebrow. “Mind explaining what Ocellus meant by ‘Open mic night’?”

Instead of answering, Gallus grinned and stood up, stepping closer to the lake. “You know? The moon is beautiful, isn’t it?” he commented blissfully.

“Gallus?” Silver called out, swiftly following after him. “What did Ocellus mean by ‘Open mic night’?” she asked again.

“Oh, you know? That’s just her subtle, little way of suggesting you and I dance,” he elaborated, smiling serenely.

“Really?” she asked, nonplussed. “Huh. And here I thought she was trying to suggest we go to karaoke or something,” she said, chuckling as she shook her head in exasperation. “I mean, you don’t even know how to dance, do you?”

“…”

Silverstream’s wing fluttered excitedly as she mumbled, “Gallus, did you actually…?”

“Started taking lessons after we got back from Canterlot,” Gallus revealed, squawking when Silver grabbed him in a tight hug.

“EEEEE!” she squealed, jostling him slightly as she hopped in place. “You learned how to dance! You learned how to dance! You learned how to dance!”

“Yes, I did, yes,” he said, loving just how thrilled she was.

“Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

“You said it was one of your favorite things to do,” he explained, combing a talon through his headcrest and receiving a quiet giggle. “And I wanted it to be a surprise.”

Silverstream blushed, cooing, “Awww, thank you. So? Do you like dancing too?”

“Love the dancing. Hated the teaching,” he said, shuddering at the memory. “Sandbar’s a great dance partner, but Ms. Hoofer Steps absolutely loathes it when we look down.”

“Oooh, yeah… She really does, doesn’t she?” she tittered.

…

…

…

“Well? Shall we?” Gallus asked, offering a talon.

Silverstream just giggled ecstatically, quickly taking hold of his claw.

“Now, uh, just so you know? I only really know pony dances,” he warned as he carefully led her in a slow waltz. “Griffons don’t really dance, and I don’t know a single hippogriff dance, so…?”

“Hee-hee! That’s okay,” she said, glancing at her talons to make sure she wasn’t stepping on his. She then looked back up and added, “I can teach you some later if you want me to?”

“If it means I get to dance with you again? Peck yeah!”

“Language,” she playfully reprimanded.

“Heh-heh-heh. Sorry.”

A few minutes passed as they trotted to-and-fro under the beautiful moonlight, smiling serenely as they moved in perfect time with each other. Gallus then held his talon up, allowing Silver to do a little twirl he couldn’t help but find adorable.

After giggling again, Silver spoke up, “Can I ask you something?”

“Yeah?”

“With all of the planning you did for our second date… How come dancing wasn’t on the schedule? Was it for spoiler reasons, or…?”

“Well, that. And I couldn’t figure out how to work it into the second date,” Gallus admitted sourly. “I almost did. But the event ended before we went out.”

“What event was it?”

“Did you notice the restaurant was really big? You know, like a ballroom?”

“You mean…? Oh, that is so cool! Okay, exorbitant prices or no, we are so going back again.”

“I think the next time they do it is Hearts and Hooves Day.”

“Yeah, but then everycreature is gonna go there,” she bemoaned. “It’ll be like the Royal Balls all over again.”

“And probably a little cramped too,” he noted, frowning at the thought of being surrounded by an army of other couples dancing alongside them.

“That too. Ooh! When’s the next time they do it?”

“Not sure. I only knew about the ones for Hearth’s Warming and Hearts and Hooves Day.”

“Oh. Wait, there’s one for Hearth’s Warming?”

“If you’re wondering if I planned to take you there for the holiday? Yes, I was,” he confirmed, nodding sorrowfully. “But then everything happened, so…”

“We could have gone on our second date as early as Hearth’s Warming!?” she screeched, eyes widening in shock. “Augh, darn it!”

“At least we’re on our second date now.”

“Yeah. Yeah, we are.”

Silver then raised her talon, allowing Gallus to do a twirl as well, chuckling as he did so. When he stopped, he draped his wing across her back and felt her do the same to his.

They spent another two minutes gracefully dancing along the sandy bank, never once looking away from the other’s eyes.

“Not gonna lie?” Gallus began nervously. “It’s a little weird not doing this to any music.”

“I could always sing a song if you want,” Silverstream offered excitedly. “What’s that one Pinkie Pie song you like?”

“Oh no. No, please don’t.”

“‘Cause I like to see you smile, smile; smile,’” she began melodiously.

Gallus just shook his head, snickering. Eventually, he smirked and quietly hummed, “‘Yes, I do…’”

Silverstream’s eyes sparkled giddily as she swiftly continued, “‘It fills my heart with sunshine all the while!’”

“‘Yes, it does,’” he added, letting her do another twirl.

“‘Cause all I really need’s a smile, smile; smile!’” Silver sang, beaming as radiantly as the sun.

“‘From these happy friends of mine!’” Gallus and Silver both sang the last part, smiling at each other. A split second later, they both broke down laughing.

“I really do love that song,” he soon confessed.

“Hee-hee! I do too.”

Grinning joyously, Gallus gave her a soft kiss on her beak that she eagerly returned.

Once they broke apart, Silverstream gently rested her neck against his, sighing, “This is nice.”

“Yeah. It really is,” he said, nuzzling her.

“Mmm,” she hummed appreciatively, nuzzling him back.

…

…

…

“Hey, Gallus?” Silverstream happily whispered.

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too,” Gallus said serenely.

They then shared another kiss.