Land and Sea
Gallus gazed out the window of the train car he was riding in, tapping a claw against it in a nervous tell. His eyes weren't really focused on any one thing in particular, though there was something they hoped never to see but feared they would: Mount Aris.
Ask any creature on the block and by now you'd probably get a response like "That's where the hippogriffs live". But to Gallus he knew it as the home (or one of the homes anyway) of Silverstream, the hippogriff/seapony who he was currently in a relationship with. To think it all had started after a test by the Tree of Harmony, if not for that Gallus might never have given Silverstream even a second glance. He found her cheerfulness to be cute, but at first he'd been comfortable solely knowing her as a friend.
Now he wondered how he'd ever looked at her and not found her attractive. She seemed to know just what to say or do whenever he was in one of his gloomy moods (which was quite often), delighted in sharing all the details about her homes in the coral reef and on Mount Aris proper, and even flew with him whenever Smolder wasn't in the mood for a race.
But unfortunately, Gallus wasn't in the comfortable confines of the School of Friendship anymore. No, against his better judgement he'd allowed himself to be talked into going on a train ride to Mount Aris with Silverstream. Specifically so she could introduce him to her family.
Silverstream was too busy gushing about home to take much notice. "It'll be wonderful, Gallus! I'll get to see Terramar again, brush up on my whale singing, and maybe Dad will let me into a screech off in the Harmonizing Heights! Heck, maybe Aunt Novo will stop by for a visit, won't that be lovely?!"
"Yeah, lovely." Gallus sarcastically grumbled, the young griffon nervously drumming his claws against the window.
The hippogriff easily noticed Gallus' troubled look. She fluttered close to him and wrapped a wing around him, comforting her boyfriend to the best of her ability. "Hey, come on now, Gallus. Don't be such a gloomy gus, or I guess gloomy griffon in this case. You're gonna love Mount Aris, and Seaquestria too! Worse comes to worse, I can just give you an air bubble while you're underwater."
The griffon with feathers of blue just continued to gaze out the window. "It's not that, Silverstream. I'm just worried about what your family's going to think of me, think of us."
"Gallus, why in the world would they ever think anything other than positive thoughts?" Silverstream commented. "I've already written several letters to them about our relationship. You even helped me get Edith house trained."
Gallus shivered ever so slightly as his wings bristled outward. "I still find it weird you befriend a cockatrice, and even weirder that it decided to stay with you as a pet."
"It helps that I'm part bird, kind of like you," Silverstream chirped. "Maybe someday we'll even get married, and have little chicks of our own to take care of."
"It's too early to be thinking about family, especially because I never had one. For now, I just wanna get through this trip back to your home without somehow screwing it up for both of us." The young griffon growled even as he forced his eyes to turn towards Silverstream and away from the window.
The hippogriff only laughed, pulling Gallus close and kissing him on his beak. "Stop being such a silly griffon, Gallus. You worry too much. My family says they've been looking forward to meeting you."
A gulp left Gallus' mouth. "That's exactly what I'm afraid of. I'm sure they plan to interrogate me to within an inch of my life. Or at least your aunt will."
"And why would they do anything like that?" Silverstream innocently inquired.
Gallus put a claw to his face. "Because you're the queen's niece, and the official hippogriff ambassador to Equestria. Of all our friends, you're the one with the closest connections to your leader. It's a big deal if even one of us goes missing, but when you go missing they have to form search parties to find you."
At that Silverstream's face flushed redder than a tomato. "Oh, you heard about my staying in Equestria during Spring Break to finish my project?"
Gallus nodded his head. "I'd expect that from Ocellus, not from you. Still, at least you've got others who care about you. If I disappeared off the face of the world, Grandpa Gruff wouldn't care," He sighed. "That's exactly what I'm so worried, I'm a nobody. Just some random orphan the griffons tossed at Headmare Twilight. You on the other claw, you're the queen's niece, and you've got the head of the navy as your chaperone."
"But that doesn't matter, I love you for who you are and you love me for who I am," Silverstream insisted. "That's all that should be needed to convince my family. Besides, I'm old enough to be on land and attend school in Equestria, I can make my own decisions. Even Aunt Novo knows that, or she wouldn't have let me go," She stomped a paw down. "Look, Gallus, I know you're nervous. But everything is going to be just fine! We've had to face our worst fears, and a crazy filly who wanted to take over all of Equestria! If we can handle stuff like that, a visit with my family should be a piece of cake."
"It's not like I have a choice in the matter anyways." Gallus declared. Just as he'd finished delivering that sentence, the train pulled into the station at the base of Mount Aris and slowed to a halt in a cloud of steam.
"We've arrived at Mount Aris, everycreature off!" The conductor shouted as the car doors slid open. There was no turning back now, even if Gallus wanted nothing more than to fly off. Holding onto Silverstream's paw, he reluctantly plucked up courage and walked with her out onto the station platform. Somehow he resisted the urge to run back inside the car and lock the door until the train had left the station.
Silverstream's eyes lit up! "We made it, Gallus! I'm home!"
As soon as the young couple had left the train station they were greeted by a very recognizable (to Silverstream anyway) hippogriff. He sported a pale, light grayish-blue coat that glistened in the sunlight. His eyes were the kind of orange you'd see in the sky at sunset. And his mane was a light bluish-white and light whitish-gray.
Silverstream flew up and hugged him at once! "Dad!"
The hippogriff simply smiled as his daughter nuzzled into his chest. "So good to see you again, Silverstream. I must say, you're getting pretty big. Almost as tall as yours truly."
"Oh come on, Dad, you always say that," Silverstream waved a paw as she ended the embrace and turned to Gallus. "Gallus, meet my dad, Sky Beak. He's head of the hippogriff army."
Gallus gulped anew as he swallowed a lump in his throat. It wasn't that hot out, but the griffon still found himself breaking out into a cold sweat. "H-hello Mr. Spy Beak, sir." He tried to salute.
Sky Beak's cheerful attitude and look didn't falter or fade as he extended a paw to Gallus. "Hey now, there's no need to be nervous. I know all about you from Silverstream's letters. I must say, you're a pretty lucky griffon to be dating my daughter. I tend to give her some space to be herself, but every so often there have been potential suitors I've had to turn down."
"R-really?" Gallus nervously asked. The fact that Sky Beak said it so calmly only further unnerved him.
Sky Beak winked. "Just kidding, that's not my thing. As long as anycreature treats her right, I'm fine with them dating my daughter. And I know you'll treat her right, because it sounds like you two have known each other for quite some time. I especially owe you for helping her overcome her fear of the Storm King. You'd never guess from the way she acts, but growing up she was downright terrified of him coming back."
"Well, from what I heard of him the Storm King was a real monster. I'd probably be scared of him too if I didn't know he was dead." Gallus commented as he somehow found the courage to speak.
Sky Beak flashed an exceptionally bright smile at Gallus. "All the same, I'm glad you were there for her when she needed it. Silverstream even says that while you like to act tough, you can be a real sweetie on the inside. And you're cute when you try to hide it."
The griffon groaned. "Figures she'd say something like that," Then he eyed Sky Beak's neck, more specifically the object that was fastened around his neck. "So, do all hippogriffs and seaponies have those little necklace thingies?"
Sky Beak grinned as he held his necklace up. "Not all of them, some like being hippogriffs or seaponies so much that they choose to stay in one form all the time. Heck, my wife's one of them."
"Oh, I see. Wasn't working out, so you two went your separate ways." Gallus remarked.
Silverstream flew over and protested. "No no no, it's nothing like that, Gallus! It's just that someone had to take over Aunt Novo's duties in Seaquestria while she rules over Mount Aris. Since my mom is Aunt Novo's sister, she volunteered to stay behind and be Seaquestria's acting queen. She still turns into a hippogriff as necessary, like for the Three Days of Freedom Celebration."
Sky Beak smiled again as he nodded his head. "Couldn't have put it better myself. I fully respect my wife's decision, but just as she enjoys being a seapony, I enjoy being a hippogriff. I still come back to visit her as much as possible though, and she can see me whenever she wants. All she has to do is come up to the beach."
"Speaking of beach," Silverstream chimed in. "I think it's about time I took Gallus down there, so we can go see Mom in Seaquestria. Is Terramar gonna be there?"
"Probably, haven't seen him on land all day," Sky Beak suggested to the two. "Feel free to come back up and see all Mount Aris has to offer though. I'd especially recommend the Harmonizing Heights, you can't come to Mount Aris and not see them." Then with that, he spread his wings and flew away.
"Come on, Gallus!" Silverstream encouraged as she lead her boyfriend down to the beach. "You've gotta meet my mom, Ocean Flow! And Terramar too! Classes aren't going to start up again for another week, and the sooner you meet my parents the sooner you can see everything Mount Aris and Seaquestria have to offer."
Gallus eyed the water with concern. "Uh, I'm not a terrible swimmer, but how am I even supposed to get to Seaquestria without one of your necklace thingies? Do we even know if it works on griffons?"
"Can't hurt to try," Silverstream declared with a grin. "And they're fragments of the Pearl of Transformation, it's what allowed us to turn into seaponies in the first place. Otherwise the Storm King would've driven us to extinction."
"It's true," An unfamiliar voice called out with a splash. "And it's not exactly easy to come by the pearl fragments either. Usually you need Queen Novo's permission." Suddenly, who should come swimming up to the young couple but a seapony with a coat of apple greenish white? His fins were the same moderate cyan as his mane, just without the added pale turquoise. His eyes were the same moderate cyan. And in his fins was clutched a necklace similar to the ones he and Silverstream were currently wearing.
Of course to Silverstream the seapony was instantly recognizable. Clutching her own necklace, she transformed into a seapony and swam out to meet him. "Terramar!" She greeted him. "So good to see you again, little brother!"
Terramar hugged Silverstream tightly. "Same to you, big sis!" Then he turned to Gallus. "Hello, name's Terramar, Silverstream's brother. I'm sure she's told me about you."
Gallus waved a claw. "Yeah, she has. Hard to believe she's a big sister with the way she acts sometimes."
Terramar appeared to blush. "I get that a lot," He held up the necklace. "Aunt Novo says you can borrow this Pearl of Transformation necklace as long as you're here. But you can't take it back to Equestria or Griffonstone with you." Swimming over, he leapt up and tossed it to Gallus who was standing on the beach.
The griffon blinked, examining the necklace. "How... does it work?" He nervously asked, dipping one of his claws into the water. It wasn't warm and it wasn't cold, it felt wet (but then, it was water).
Silverstream swam up to the shore, clutching her necklace as in a flash of light she transformed back to her hippogriff state. "Well, you gotta put it on first, silly. Let me help you," In no time at all she had tied it around Gallus' neck so the pearl fragment now dangled beneath his chin. "Now, just hold it and think about transforming. It should activate automatically," She demonstrated this by flying back over the water, transforming in mid flight as she landed in the water with a splash. "See? It's easy!"
"Go ahead, try it! It's tons of fun!" Terramar encouraged.
Taking a deep breath, Gallus stood at the edge of the water. The griffon didn't move. He had no idea if the necklace would work for him the same way it did for Silverstream. Griffons weren't exactly the same as hippogriffs or even ponies. But Silverstream clearly wanted him to come with her to Seaquestria, and this seemed to be the best way to do so. "What the heck, what have I got to lose?" Gallus thought to himself as the young griffon clutched the necklace he'd been given and stepped into the water.
A dazzling flash lit up the sky! When it faded, Gallus looked at himself and nearly gasped in surprise! His entire body had changed, instead of feathers and claws he now had fins. His beak had been replaced with a snout. And his fins now matched the color of his claws and his wings. In short, if one looked at him now, they would see a seapony version of him and not a griffon.
But looking like a seapony and being a seapony were two very different things. He flapped a fin or two, trying out his new appendages. They didn't seem to respond very well, he couldn't do much besides tread water.
Silverstream swam over to him. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it. What's most important is that you can swim and breath while underwater. Now come on, Seaquestria awaits!"
Like before, Gallus was whisked away before he could say anything in protest.
Gallus relied on Silverstream and Terramar to guide him, mostly because he still getting used to be a seapony. Learning how to flip and flap his fins was a difficult process, to say nothing of how he didn't know where he was going.
At last, his eyes fell upon what could be said to resemble a city but built underwater. There were coral reefs serving as houses, and various seaponies swimming about with whales, squids, and other sea creatures for company. He'd never seen anything like it before.
Swimming up into one particular reef, the trio of seaponies met a female seapony with a beautiful pale, light grayish olive coat. Her mane and fins were a lovely grayish pink and moderate magenta in color, and her eyes were a gentle purple in color. The seapony immediately swam out to greet them, embracing Silverstream and Terramar in a hug. "Welcome back!" She greeted.
"Good to see you again, Mom." Silverstream and Terramar both said at once. Gallus remained silent.
The unidentified seapony waved a fin, ushering Gallus over. "Come on, there's no need to be shy. You're a guest, and guests are always welcome here in Seaquestria," She warmly greeted. "I'm Ocean Flow, but you probably know me as Silverstream's mother, and the acting queen of Seaquestria."
Gallus nodded slowly. "Yeah, I do. You're not going to pretend to intimidate me like your husband did, are you?"
"Oh, did Sky Beak give you a hard time?" Ocean Flow seemed to tease. "Don't worry, he does that a lot. It's his way of having fun. Plus, I think he's even more excited than I am that you're dating our daughter."
"It's not exactly a secret when Silverstream sends letters home," Terramar explained. "At this point, every hippogriff on Mount Aris, and every seapony here in Seaquestria probably knows."
"Does that mean Queen Novo knows too?" Gallus nervously asked with a gulp.
Ocean Flow nodded. "Don't worry, she'll be here eventually. She's currently holding court on Mount Aris, but you're sure to run into her either up there or down here. You're staying for the week, right?" Gallus nodded again. "Good!" Ocean Flow clapped her fins together. "Then you're staying for dinner with my children, I won't take no for an answer."
"Uh, what's for dinner, exactly?" Gallus questioned. "I don't suppose you've got any meat?"
"Not at the moment, no," Ocean Flow shook her head. "It's my homemade specialties: Kelp fritters topped with whale oil, and seaweed stew. It gives you extra fiber."
Silverstream flashed a grin. "My mom makes the best kelp fritters, Gallus. I mean it, you take one bite of them and you'll wonder how you ever lived your life not trying them."
Terramar added. "And don't worry about making a mess, it's only kelp and seaweed. It's nothing compared to the time I accidentally spilled squid ink all over myself, that stuff takes forever to wash off."
Ocean Flow swam over to Gallus. "And as long as you're staying here, you can tell me everything that's happened between you and my daughter since you two hooked up," She waved a fin. "I've even made special seashell necklaces for you and Silverstream, you have to stay for those."
Gallus reluctantly replied. "I guess it can't hurt to stay and try some new things," He looked to Silverstream. "What do you guys like to do for fun while you're down here?"
"How about a game of hide and go seek?" Terramar suggested. "There's a lot of great hiding places you can find down here, it's actually really easy to get lost."
"Ooh! Ooh! Can I be the seeker this time, Terramar?!" Silverstream eagerly commented as she put her fins to her face. "You always get to be seeker!"
"Sure sis, that way I can help your boyfriend find some good hiding places." Terramar said with a cheeky grin.
Silverstream beamed! "Great idea! You two better get going now, because I'm gonna start counting!" Gallus and Terramar took off the moment they saw her put a fin over her face.
All things considered, Gallus' trip had turned out to be pretty good so far. Silverstream's parents and even her brother seemed to have accepted him without quarrel. But there was still the matter of her aunt, Queen Novo. And Gallus was still dreading the inevitable encounter. "She's going to be a hippogriff or seapony of an entirely different color." He thought to himself.
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I bet that was an adventure and a half.
And yet Gruff was among those most vocally wondering where the missing students were
A couple of critics 1) Ocean Flow's title would be Princess-Regent, as she a princess (younger sister of a queen) and a regent (a person tasked to rule a domain in a monarch's stead as the monarch is often not of age or otherwise incapacitated)
2) Gallus' torso would take on the look of a lion, as Silverstrem's horse half shifted to be her torso and head and her lower half became fish, it would steam to reason that Gallus' lion lower half would become a fish and his upper half would become a lion
I'd love to read about Gallus and Silverstream housetraining Edith.
Gallstream is always something good to enjoy any day!
9735709
Probably because of obligation as the eldest griffon, rather than actually being concerned about Gallus.
Have you ever heard of show, don’t tell? Most of this fanfic consists of characters talking about how they’re feeling, or things that happen in canon. Also, Terramar has his own tag.
10166066 I know, but the other tag also includes Queen Novo since she has an important role as well.
Gasp Edith aww so she adopted the cockatrice thats cool
Whoa ok slow down silverstream you guys are still kids
Aww gallus come on now don't sell yourself like that you're a better Griffin dude
Ohh ok that makes sense
I remember there was a story that he got lost when he was a very little during the storm Kings Rampage
Well it looks like silverstream and Gallus are visiting her home to meet with the family which he was pretty nervous especially meeting with royalties but silverstream wants to reassure and that he's got nothing to worry about and they will like him he's still not sure but he trusts silverstream word so it looks like they met up with her father Sky beak on the land and it looks like they're going to meet up with Terramar and it looks like they got an extra Pearl for Gallus so that he can swim and breathe down there which that helps and it looks like they finally meet up with their mother ocean flow which they look like they will meet up with Queen Novo very soon and that makes him even more nervous now the queen of both sea and land is visiting them I wonder how this will work out for him guess we'll find out