Where There's a Will, There's a Way
Gallus felt the fuzziness in his head start to recede. Where was he? Wherever he was, it was rather dark – were it not for his excellent night sight, he doubted he would have been able to see anything at all.
He slowly turned his head, only to realize there was another figure lying next to him. A very familiar figure. Silverstream?, he wondered to himself.
As he began to regain more of his faculties, he felt a familiar feeling, right in-between his hindlegs. They hadn’t! Then, he caught a whiff of the overwhelming scent of the area – musk, no doubt about it. They had.
“Silverstream, what’s going on here?”
Silverstream rubbed a claw behind her head. “Uh, Happy Hearth’s Warming, Gallus! I had wanted to surprise you with just a kiss, but, uh, I guess I missed you more than I thought, and one thing led to another… I’m so sorry!” She clapped her claws together in front of her face, closing her eyes.
“No, don’t be, it’s not like I didn’t go along with it. Just wasn’t expecting it, is all. It had been a while…” Gallus trailed off, clearing his throat. “So you wanted to give me a Hearth’s Warming surprise? Why?”
“I just wanted to surprise you, see how you’re doing and all – it’s been a while, y’know.”
Gallus raised an eyebrow. “Really, you went through all this trouble, surprising me like this, just to find out how I am?”
Silverstream looked away before sighing. “Alright, you got me, that’s not the real reason. But I really think we should break the ice first, before I get into the true reason.”
Gallus wanted to protest – he raised a talon as if to make a point. However, his feline instincts started screaming at him to take Silverstream up on her offer of small talk, for now.
“Alright, well, I’ve been doing well. Making sure the new recruits are whipped into shape, ensuring peace and justice across Canterlot, and the rest of Equestria, same old, same old. How about you? How are things at the School?”
“Oh, the classes are great. The kids today are so much more accepting – things that were so taboo, like, well… like interspecies relationships, back when we first came to Equestria, now don’t even get a rise out of them,” Silverstream replied, the familiar bubbliness in her tone out in full force.
“Well, that’s good to hear! How are Smolder and Ocellus doing?”
“Well, they’re fine. I think their feelings for each other go deeper than mere friendship, though,” Silverstream replied mischievously. “They’re just in denial.”
“Oh really?”
“Yeah, at least, I think so. The other teachers think so, too.”
Gallus chuffed in amazement.
“So, anyway, I remember you talking about that crime ring you stopped when they broke into Canterlot Carousel. Anything exciting like that happen of late?”
“Nah, nothing too special, just watching over the Princess, and her personal protégé, Luster Dawn. I don’t think you’ve met her yet,” Gallus replied.
“Ah, okay. Hey, that reminds me, I don’t think you’ve met any of my current students! I’d love to introduce you to them.”
“Yeah, that would be cool,” Gallus ruminated.
An awkward silence descended upon the inside of the box until Gallus thought of something.
“Wait, how did you get into my apartment? I know I locked it before I left – I always lock it before I leave,” Gallus said, scratching the underside of his beak.
Silverstream rubbed the back of her head. “Oh, yeah, that. I asked Princess Twilight for some help in setting up this surprise.”
Pieces started to click together in Gallus’s mind. “Ah, I see. That would also explain the sudden shift change.”
“Yeah, she also told me you weren’t seeing any creature right now – that’s why I planned this surprise. If you had been, I would’ve thought of something more subdued.”
Gallus chuckled – leave it to the Princess of Equestria to have noticed something like that.
Suddenly Silverstream’s eyes widened. “Wait a minute, I just remembered something! Weren’t you claustrophobic, Gallus? How come you’re not freaking out about being in this box.”
Gallus shifted his wings a bit, continuing to rub at the underside of his beak. “I guess it’s my guard training – I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m still not exactly comfortable, but this doesn’t scare me like it once did.”
“Oh, that’s great news!” Silverstream exclaimed, clapping her claws together. “I’m so happy for you!”
“Yeah, yeah…” Gallus’s patience was wearing thin by this point. “So, anyway, you got Princess Twilight involved in this surprise – more importantly, she went along with this. So I figure, it’s gotta be important. What’s the real reason for this surprise?”
Silverstream chuckled wryly. “Fair enough, I guess it's now or never. Well, the reason is… I wanted to find closure, either with you or without you.”
The reasoning clicked into place in Gallus’s head, and his eyes lit up. However, he decided to proceed with a little caution – just to be sure. “Come again?”
Silverstream sighed, her posture slumping noticeably. “I… came here, to either get you back, or so that I could finally move on with my life.”
Gallus recoiled at hearing it stated so bluntly. “W-what do you mean?”
“Well, it’s just that, whenever I think of you lately, I can’t help but think about that day, when you- when I- when we, ended. I just stall out, and it’s tougher and tougher to snap out of. Ocellus used her changeling senses, and she could tell just how important it was that I do this.”
The sudden mention of their changeling friend caused Gallus to ask what he would later admit was a dumb question. “Wait, so did she think up this plan, or like, put you up to this, or anything like that?”
Silverstream shook her head. “No no no, nothing like that. No, I came up with this plan on my own – she was just the one who inspired me to come up with it in the first place. The only one who helped me out was Princess Twilight – and I guess Ambassador Spike, too, since he sent the letter to the Princess for me so she would know I was coming.”
“Alright, well, I guess you’ll have to move on without me, because I’ve put that part of myself behind me now. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I never regretted what we had, not for a second, but that’s in the past now – I don’t have a need for a relationship like that,” Gallus said, trying to not let the full extent of the memories flood back.
“So that’s why you’re not seeing any creature? You’re saying you’ve sworn off relationships entirely?” Silverstream asked, obviously trying to keep her emotions in check as well.
“Yeah, basically. I mean, at the end there, they were only lasting for, like, one or two dates. So, I figured that I could just focus all my time on my guard work. Heck, that’s probably what made me get up to Captain so quickly,” Gallus replied, the words sounding more hollow than he intended.
Silverstream was not about to give up so easily, it seemed. “But, remember the time we first kissed?”
“Hm, when was that? Oh yeah, wasn’t it at that after party dance for the Princess’s coronation?”
Silverstream perked up. “Exactly! That slow number had begun, and you pulled me in close. The gleam in your eyes, the way the lights were shining off your head feathers, your natural flighty scent… oh, it was just so romantic! And then when we drew in closer, and our beaks met – I remember the electricity that ran up and down my spine, left me tingling all across my body afterward! You remember that too, right?”
That all sounded familiar, so Gallus responded in the affirmative.
Silverstream continued, getting more worked up. “And-and then, you remember our first date outside of the School of Friendship, right? You took me flying all over Equestria! There wasn’t a plan, right?”
Gallus chuckled. “Nope, I figured we’d just go wherever the currents took us, see what there was to see. That time we spent, just riding wherever that cloud took us… It’s always so lovely seeing the ground from so high up,” he finished, in a semi-flippant manner.
Silverstream, clearly not happy with the progress, soldiered on, the emotion now starting to strangle her words. “And then… do… do you remember the first time we… we made love?”
Gallus winced. As much warmth as that particular memory provided, it also caused the old knife wound in his heart to flare up again. “Yeah, I remember, it was our graduation day from the School.”
Silverstream picked up the slack. “We were all getting ready for the ceremony – in fact, I think all the other students in the seniors dorm had gone off to be fitted for their gowns.”
“Yeah, we had hung back – I remember your heat was particularly bad that year.”
Silverstream blushed. “That it was.”
“I remember you asking for my help with something, practically dragging me over to your room. The begging tone you took, as you pleaded for me to take you, the flush across your face, how your body glistened with sweat, your intoxicating musk… there was nothing about you in that moment that I didn’t find absolutely attractive,” Gallus said, the warmth growing, and its light revealing the blade still sticking in.
“And do you remember after that?” Silverstream insisted.
Gallus sighed. “Of course I do – I remember two-becoming-one, the scratches our talons left on each other and the bed, and the loud screeches both of us were making.” He paused to chuckle. “Y'know, it was lucky that every other senior was already on the other side of campus – otherwise we would’ve been busted for sure.”
Silverstream chuckled. “Yeah, probably.”
“Thank Grover we had to wear those gowns – those scratches might have been awkward to explain away.”
“Although I’m pretty sure Headmare Starlight figured out what we had been up to when she came looking for us. Since we fell asleep together and all,” Silverstream finished with a giggle.
“That’s right, I remember – I fell asleep listening to your heartbeat, because it… always… made me so comfortable…” Gallus trailed off, the warmth turning to a heat and the blade starting to twist around.
“Right…” Silverstream murmured.
“I’m sorry, but that was then and this is now. I… I should be going,” Gallus said, making to climb out of the box.
Silverstream grabbed his arm. “Wait, please! Don’t go! Don’t… go…” Any pretense at checking her emotions was lost now, as the tears started to stream down her face and out of her voice. “I truly did love you Gallus. Do you remember the first time we told each other ‘I love you’?”
Gallus grimaced, the pain starting to become too much to bear. If this continued for much longer, he was going to lose it as well. “Yeah, I do.” He made for the lid once again.
“Gallus… I… you’re the only one for me! Every day, I feel that loneliness, that emptiness, because you’re not in my life! I thought I could distract myself with throwing myself headlong into teaching, but it only worked for so long! Damn it, Gallus, I… I… I still love you!”
And just like that, the knife twisted free, reopening all the ossified scars.
“You think I didn’t feel the same way?!” Gallus replied in a low tone, absolutely seething. “For so long, I felt so lonely! I didn’t want to get into a new relationship after ending it with you – but eventually the loneliness got too large to bear!”
Gallus started huffing, the heat rising to his cheeks. “After you, I met this griffon. Her name was Glinda! At first, I thought I was going to move on, that she would turn out to be the one! That relationship lasted for a month. I can still remember her parting words to me – ‘Gallus, you know I care for you, and you care for me. I might even love you. I’m sorry, but I don’t think you can love me. I think you’re hung up about something in your past – and it makes you so distant. I do wish I could help you move past it. By now, though, I’ve figured out that it’s futile. So, I think it’s only fair for the both of us if we end this here. I really hope you can manage to move past it someday.’”
Silverstream winced, the tears rolling at full speed down her face, forming a waterfall.
Gallus continued, just short of shouting. “That was the last time I ever saw her!” He chuckled wryly. “For all I know, she’s married and has a couple kids now. And from there, it was all down hill! I don’t think I had a single relationship last more than a couple weeks! Eventually, it got to be where they would only last a date or two before calling it off!”
A spark ran across Silverstream’s watery eyes – she had to place her claw over her beak just to keep from sobbing.
“From that point on, I focused exclusively on taking care of my guard duties, and, and…” At this point, the dam within Gallus broke and the tears started streaming down his face. “And whenever I was doing something, stopping crime, protecting the citizenry, learning more about what it meant to protect, racking up accolades, I could ignore the biting loneliness, gnawing away at me. But… but whenever I was alone, with my thoughts, I… that part of me would torture me, at the edge of my consciousness, because… because I was always too afraid to look at it, afraid of what I would find!”
“W…what were you afraid of?” Silverstream whimpered.
Gallus wanted to shout, but he was out of energy by this point. “I… I was afraid that I would find that I was broken, beyond repair – or worse, that that part of me would be completely gone, and I could never get it back.”
Silverstream scooted closer to Gallus, seemingly instinctually.
“And then, out of the blue, you show up with this surprise, and I was forced to confront those things I buried a long time ago! I regretted it every day after I broke up with you! I thought those relationships, and then guard duties, would help me to get over it, but it always lingered! Because I did love you, Silverstream!” Gallus stopped, panting furiously. It was this pause that allowed him to realize that, suddenly, the pain didn’t feel so bad anymore. Instead, the warmth had spread from his beak to his paws, enveloping him in a warm hug.
He gasped – this feeling was familiar! “Because… because I do love you, Silverstream!”
The two broke down into full sobbing, desperately embracing one another, their bodies pressing so closely together that not even Ocellus would be able to transform into something small enough to pass between. Gallus stuck his head into Silverstream’s shoulder, greedily inhaling her familiar, comforting scent of lilacs and sea salt. He could feel her do the same to him.
After the two had worn themselves out, as the tears were beginning to abate, Gallus felt that he was struck with a bolt of lightning. “Wait… I-I love you. I love you, Silverstream!” He began to chuckle, which evolved into laughter, which evolved into full on joyous guffawing.
Silverstream looked at him, confusion evident in her eyes. “Wait, why are you-”
“Because, I just realized, I can love again! You helped me to re-discover the part of me that I thought was gone, broken! I was so scared I could never love again, but you’re the key!” Gallus responded, cutting Silverstream off.
“The key?”
“To unlock all the love inside my heart! You came back for me, and saved me from myself. I love you so much, Silverstream,” Gallus said, part of him trying not to roll its eyes over the sappiness.
Silverstream chuckled. “I guess, in that way, we’re finally even.”
Now confusion danced across Gallus’s face. “How so?”
“Well, remember way back when, the first time I started feeling what I feel about you? In the cavern underneath the School?”
Realization flashed across Gallus’s face. “Right, when I helped you conquer your fear of being trapped by the Storm King.” Gallus chuckled, a smug grin crossing his face. “I remember that hug you gave me. To be fair, that’s when I started feeling the way I do about you,” he finished nonchalantly.
A comfortable silence descended upon the pair, until Silverstream started. “Wait, you said that you broke up with me?”
Gallus raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, because that’s what happened. And then, no matter how much I wanted to get back, I didn’t want to feel like I was crawling back to you, so I felt like I couldn’t go back.”
“Wait… but I remember breaking up with you…” Silverstream trailed off, breaking out into laughter. “You mean… you mean…”
“Wait, so we couldn’t get back together because of how immature we were back then?” Gallus queried, breaking out into laughter as well.
“All that emotional pain – and for nothing!” Silverstream guffawed.
“This shouldn't be so funny, but I just can’t help it,” Gallus laughed.
After the laughter died down, Gallus and Silverstream stared deeply into each other’s eyes.
“Let’s not make the same mistake again,” Silverstream said.
“Yeah, we earned our second chance, let’s not waste it,” Gallus agreed.
“But, wait… you still live in Canterlot, and I still live in Ponyville. Wasn’t that what made the relationship so difficult in the first place?”
“It will work this time, trust me. Not only are we older and more experienced now, but we know what will happen without it. Trust me, I really feel like it’s gonna work this time.”
“Yeah… yeah.” Silverstream sighed contentedly.
Gallus fidgeted his index talons. “Hey, uh, Silv?”
Silverstream grunted in acknowledgment.
“Would you mind if I listened to your heartbeat again?”
Silverstream beamed. “I would love that.”
The two of them fell asleep, Gallus listening to that comforting metronome the whole way. He felt a contentedness - like that painful loneliness was now a distant memory, never to haunt his idle thoughts again.
END MAIN STORY
Gallus awoke with a jolt and looked around.
“Hey, uh, Silv?”
“Yeah, Gally?”
“You think we should go ahead and get out of this box?”
Silverstream sheepishly rubbed the back of her head. “Oh, yeah.”
Stats
Page generated in 0.018 seconds
Total duration
671 users online
814,722 hits today, 2,054,621 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
This was deep bro. That monologue on that Glenda griffin & when they were remembering the moments they had together. A very deep and emotional chapter.
These two are very articulate
10083825
Well yeah. They're adults in this story.
Wow the way how both of them really pour out their emotion to each other that how much they still care for each other even though they said they were broke up they still felt like they can't live without each other and it took them this long that they still love each other and silverstream still feel like how the relationship will work if they're in the separate City but Gallus still can work this out know how much they do care for each other and he still is not comfortable in closed spaces lol this was still pretty nice and very emotional too