The School of Friendship, though only open for a week so far, had been a resounding success. That is, assuming you didn't count the time it was forcibly closed, or that other time when several of its students nearly met their ends in the Everfree Forest. Still, aside from those two very tiny absolute disasters, the place was thriving. Ponies, griffons, dragons and every creature known were gathering there, meeting one another for perhaps the first time, and learning to co-exist in a way that had simply never been possible before now. The classrooms were full, the hallways were abuzz with friendly chatter, and wherever one went, there was a welcoming air of acceptance. In the midst of this, two students were enjoying their daily lunch break; Sandbar and Gallus. The latter was utterly wolfing down his meal, an undisclosed meat of some kind, all while Sandbar seemed to be more thoughtful right now. Gallus, after swallowing a particularly large chunk, looked to him and chuckled.

"Don't worry, it wasn't anycreature you know."

Sandbar turned to him.

"Hm? Oh, it's not that. I've just been thinking about that Neighsay guy."

Gallus rolled his eyes.

"Him again? Come on, Sandy! He's gone! Stop worrying already!"

Sandbar frowned.

"You're new to Equestria, Gallus. So trust me, this kind of stuff tends to come back and bite us a lot of the time."

Gallus snorted.

"Pfft! Whatever! We didn't come here to get stuck in the middle of all that politics and stuff. We came here to eat!"

And eat he did, gnawing on his meat in a manner that clearly didn't suit Sandbars own personal table-manners.

"You know...they did provide knives and forks."

The Griffon chuckled again.

"Where's the fun in that?"

This time, it was Sandbar's turn to roll his eyes.

"Fine."

Having finally finished his meal, Gallus wiped the remnants off his beak before turning to his companion.

"So...what do you think of the school so far?"

Hearing that, the young stallion looked up and around himself. He looked to the other students, to the building itself, and started to smile.

"Well, I know it's still early days, but...I'm liking it so far. Everycreature here has been pretty great to meet. The Professors are all doing good in their jobs and...it's just good here."

Gallus nodded, smiling.

"Yeah...it's been pretty neat."

Then, he looked over to Sandbar, and a mischievous smirk started to grow on him.

"And our new friends? Like Yona and Smolder?"

Sandbar smiled to that.

"Meeting them, and you, has been great, Gallus. I've had a lot of fun with you guys. I never really had that many friends, but...now...I have a whole bunch I couldn’t imagine not having."

Gallus chortled briefly.

"Hehe, glad to be of service then. And the others...they're pretty great, right?"

Sandbar nodded, prompting Gallus to continue.

"They're sweet...nice...good to be around..."

Again, Sandbar nodded, and again, Gallus smirked to him.

"...and they’re pretty cute, right?"

"Yeah, they're definitely..."

The stallion stopped, wide-eyed.

"...wait, what?!"

Gallus shrugged his shoulders.

"What? It's a simple enough question. Our female friends, Ocellus, Silverstream, the rest, they're cute, right?"

Sandbar looked to him, mouth hanging open.

"Wha...you can't talk about them like that!"

Gallus arched an eyebrow.

"What? Why?"

Sandbar looked around, making sure nocreature else was within earshot, before continuing to berate his friend.

"Because...they're our friends! We're supposed to respect them, treat them nicely! Not talk about them behind their backs on how cute we think they are!"

Gallus slapped a claw onto his own forehead, letting out an irritated grunt.

"Oh, great, you're one of those kinds of ponies."

He looked to his friend with a frown.

"Seriously, Sandy, this conversation's gonna be really boring if all you're gonna do is play the knight in shining armour with me."

Sandbar frowned back.

"We're not talking about our friends that way, Gallus. Period."

Gallus sighed.

"Fine..."

Then his smirk returned.

"...but how about those Professors then? Rainbow Dash has a pretty tight fla..."

"NO!!!" Sandbar yelled.

As before, Gallus rolled his eyes.

"Fine, we won't talk about them either!"

He paused for a moment, considering his position.

"How about Princess Celestia then? She was pretty hot, right?"

He then chuckled to himself.

"Get it? Hot? Like the sun she raises?"

Sandbar slapped a hoof to his forehead in a move not dissimilar to Gallus.

"I...just...no, Gallus! Definitely not Celestia! She's, like, Equestria's Mother for goodness' sake!"

Gallus, in response, placed a claw to his chin, pondering that.

"Huh...so she's got the Mom angle too? Huh...sweet."

To that, Sandbar slapped his hooves to his ears, forcing them down.

"Lalalalala! I'm not listening to this! Lalalalalala!"

Gallus, naturally, couldn't help but laugh to that.

"Come on, buddy. We're not demeaning our friends by talking about them this way. It’s, you know, all stuff we like about them. Like how tough Smodler is. That can be attractive, right? Especially to us Griffons. This is just...a harmless chat."

Though clearly suspicious at his friend's sudden shift in tone, Sandbar, after lowering his hooves again, slowly sighed.

"Okay...fine. Since you clearly can't be dissuaded...but we keep it civil, okay? No dirty talk, right?"

Gallus raised one claw, placing the other upon his chest.

"On my honour as a Griffon...no dirty talk."

Sandbar studied him carefully with a raised eyebrow, then slowly nodded.

"Alright...it's settled then."

Then, after once more looking around to see whether there was anycreature close by, he let out another long sigh.

"Well...as long as this stays between us...I suppose...Ocellus is...really nice."

A smile came to him.

"She's just...really sweet. I like being around her."

Gallus nodded, giving his friend a warm smile.

"Ocellus, eh? Yeah, I can definitely see that."

Then, inevitably, that same old look of mischievousness returned to him.

"So...pretty interesting that the female you'd choose is the one who can look like anything, right?"

Sandbar's head snapped in Gallus' direction.

"W...what?!"

Gallus carried on in spite of his friend's reaction.

"Hey, I'm not judging. A pony and a Changeling? Progressive, friend, very progressive.”

He snickered.

“Seems pretty hot actually, one day you could be dating her, and then the next, boom, it could be like you're dating anyone! Yona, Twilight, Princess Luna, you name it!"

He slapped a claw down on his friend's shoulder.

"I approve, buddy!"

Sandbar stared at him, aghast.

"But...but...you said...!"

Gallus laughed.

"Yeah...probably should've told you...we Griffons don't really have much honour."

As one would expect after that, Sandbar responded to all of this by slamming his head down on their lunch table, groaning in discomfort all the way. Gallus, reaching over, patted him on the back, speaking in a reassuring tone.

"Hey, if it makes you feel any better, I'm sure our friends would probably have these kinds of talks too."

Slowly, Sandbar glanced up to him, his expression one of incredulity.

"Somehow, Gallus...I doubt they'd be as relaxed about this kind of thing as you are. If you think Ocellus and the others would talk about us like that, you’re dreaming!"

Meanwhile, on the far side of the school, Yona, Smolder, Silverstream and Ocellus were all sitting around their own table, eating their own various meals, and there was just a general sense of calm and relaxation between them. Then, after a long silence, Silverstream glanced up to her fellow females, before speaking up in her usual cheerful way.

"Say...I'm curious."

The others looked to her.

"About what?" Ocellus asked.

Looking to her, Silverstream's smile widened.

"Which of our friends has the nicest tush? Sandbar or Gallus?"

The other three females glanced at one another for a bit, their expressions utterly nonchalant about that particular question, before looking back to their Hippogriff colleague.

"Sandbar, duh!" Smolder answered.

"Sandbar tush is best tush!" Yona added.

"Um...yeah, Sandbar," Ocellus finished with a blush.

Silverstream giggled.

"Yeah, figured as much. Glad we got that sorted out."

And back to their lunch they went.

The bell had rung, and the day had come to a close for the School of Friendship. With classes finished, doors swung open and students throughout the building began to pour into the hallways, gathering into their various groups to spend the rest of the afternoon with one another. The place was abuzz with excited chatter over whatever recent lesson they'd learned, or what they'd experienced from their respective Professors, and all-in-all, the whole mood of the School was good and happy. That is, except for one solitary colt. Sandbar, having left his classroom some time ago, was instead looking more than a little nervous. And this was surprising, given his reputation for being fairly laid-back and easy-going. Something was clearly on his mind, as evidenced by the way he muttered to himself as he walked down the hallway. It was little more than random ramblings, to be perfectly honest, and many of his fellow students gave him odd looks as he passed them by. But, as he neared one corner in particular, his words became slightly more coherent.

"Okay...okay...okay..."

And he just kept on saying that same word, over and over again, like a thing possessed. That is, until he reached that aforementioned corner, and slowly looked up to it, nerves taking centre stage in his expression. Taking a deep breath, he promptly exhaled, before poking his head around to see those who stood around in the next hallway. It was his friends, or, to be more specific, four of them. Yona the Yak, Smolder the dragon, Silverstream the Hippogriff and, finally, Ocellus the Changeling. Seeing that last female in particular caused Sandbar to suddenly erupt into a fierce blush, and he darted his head back around the corner before they could see him.

"I...no! This is crazy! I...I can't do this!"

He spun around, ready to leg it in the opposite direction, only to be stopped when he came face-to-face with the frowning visage of his other friend, Gallus the Griffon. For a time, neither male said anything to one another, with Sandbar starting to sweat a little at seeing his colleague like that. But, after a time, Gallus finally broke the silence.

"So...Sandbar...where are you going?"

Sandbar cleared his throat before replying.

"Oh, I was...erm...just...going...that way?"

Gallus raised an eyebrow.

"You wouldn't, by any chance, be trying to, you know...avoid her, would you?"

Sandbar shook his head frantically to that.

"What?! No! I was...just...going for a jog! Yeah! You know how I love my exercise!"

But Gallus simply sighed.

"Sandy...you really need to work on your excuses. Even Professor Applejack can lie better than that!"

Sandbar slapped his forehead in frustration.

"It's just...I...I can't just ask her!"

Gallus snorted.

"Of course you can! Just walk up to her and ask her to join you for lunch or something!"

Sandbar shook his head again.

"But...but...but...!"

Gallus frowned to him.

"None of that! You're going over there and asking Ocellus out, got it?"

Sandbar, in response, let out a long and tired-sounding sigh.

"You're never gonna leave me alone if I don't, are you?"

The answer to that was simply a scowl and a shake of the head from Gallus, prompting Sandbar to grimace slightly before looking over his shoulder to the corner once more. Hesitation was the order of the day for him, and when he finally did start moving, his steps were slow. Gallus rolled his eyes once more at this display, watching his friend move with almost painful levels of slowness. Then, just as he was approaching that corner, the Griffon finally got tired of waiting. He lunged forward, pushing Sandbar forward, right out into the other hallway. The moment this happened, the four females noticed him, with several smiling at his arrival.

"Hey, Sandy!" Silverstream called out.

Sandbar, naturally, was almost paralyzed right now, turning to give a quick frown of his own to Gallus, who simply snickered. Then, realising that it was far too late to hide again, Sandbar took in a deep breath, then began to march forward. The other four could soon pick up on the fact that something was bothering him, but for the time being they said nothing on it. Instead they simply watched as their pony colleague drew nearer. Once there, Sandbar said nothing, and appeared to be desperately avoiding Ocellus' gaze in particular, much to the latter's confusion. Then, after what seemed like ages, he finally started to speak.

"So...um...nice weather we're having, right?"

Even though Sandbar couldn't see him, he knew Gallus was banging his head against the wall after a remark like that. Meanwhile, Smolder raised an eyebrow to her friend.

"Er...Sandy? You okay?"

Sandbar cleared his throat in a clear display of nerves before, finally, looking over to Ocellus. The small Changeling had no idea why he was looking to her like that, but she remained silent as he began to speak, albeit with fumbled words.

"So...um...Ocellus? I was, erm...wondering...are you...you know...doing anything at lunchtime tomorrow?"

Though taken aback at the question, Ocellus started to furrow her brow as she considered it.

"Oh...well...I don't think so. Why do you ask?"

Sandbar gulped, realising the gaze of all the other females was upon him as he was speaking to her.

"Well...it's just...I was wondering if, maybe...you'd like to have lunch with...me?"

Again, Ocellus just looked to him with confusion.

"Um...sure. I mean, we have lunch together a lot, don't we?"

But Sandbar shook his head.

"No, I mean...would you like to have lunch with...with...just me."

Now, this might have been enough to clue most people on what it was that Sandbar was really trying to ask, but, sadly for him, Ocellus was instead one of those more oblivious people, and she just blinked a couple of times to his question. Realising that he'd have to be even more clear was a thought that did the poor colt no favours whatsoever, and so he opened his mouth to speak yet again. Unfortunately, it appeared as though their other friends were not so oblivious, and Silverstream especially began to react to this with a loud and happy-sounding squeal, clasping her claws together and looking from one to the other.

"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!"

Both of the other youths turned to her, all while Yona grinned widely and Smolder folded her arms with a knowing smirk on her face.

"W...what?" Ocellus asked.

Silverstream moved forward, grabbing both of Ocellus' cheeks and smiling with utter joy towards her.

"Ocellus! Don't you see it? Sandy's asking out out! You know...on a date!"

Immediately, understanding came for the Changeling, and a blush as prominent as the one on Sandbar's face now came for her. As for the colt himself, he was so taken aback by the intervention of his Hippogriff friend that he had suddenly found himself incapable of speaking.

"I...I...I...I...I..."

Ocellus, meanwhile, seemed to be similarly at a loss for words.

"Oh! Well...um...I...I mean....not that I don't...oh dear."

Sandbar opened his mouth to respond, only to be halted by Silverstream, who placed her claw to his lips.

"One moment, Sandy. Girl talk."

Then, before any of them could react, Ocellus was hoisted up by Silverstream and flown off, with Smolder and Yona close behind, leaving Sandbar alone with understandable confusion. The females all rushed around another corner close by, setting Ocellus down and crowding around her.

"You've got to accept!" Silverstream encouraged.

"What?!" Ocellus responded.

Smolder chuckled.

"Yeah, Ocellus! Go ahead! Claim your male! I mean he’s offering himself on a silver plate here!"

Ocellus' blush grew brighter.

"W...what?!"

Yona laughed.

"Take date! Dates is fun!"

Ocellus looked from one friend to the other and, perhaps on some level, she realised that she was never going to be able to dissuade them from what they were doing. So, after letting out a long sigh, she glanced to the side.

"Well...he is nice to me, and I like being around him, so...maybe a date...won’t be so bad?"

Silverstream squealed for joy once more.

"Yes! Argh! We've only been friends for less than a month and we already have a happy couple!"

Ocellus' head snapped in her direction.

"What?!"

But again, they said nothing, instead picking her up yet again and flying her back off to Sandbar, who, it turns out, had not moved from that one spot since the interruption earlier. Ocellus, after being lowered to the ground finally, was given further looks of encouragement by her other friends, and after giving them a brief frown, her expression softened as she turned to face Sandbar.

"Um...Sandbar?"

The colt stepped closer to her.

"Y...yes, Ocellus?"

The Changeling female's blush returned, and she awkwardly avoided looking to him, at least for a few moments, before glancing back up with a small and adorable smile.

"I...I think...I would like to have lunch with you tomorrow. It could be fun, having just the two of us there. You know if...if you like?"

Sandbar blinked, clearly not believing what he'd just heard. Then, after going through a second gulp, he took another deep breath, then started to give that warm and comforting smile of his.

"In that case, Ocellus...I'll meet you there."

The two smiled to one another, but, as time went on, smiling was the only thing they were doing. Minute after minute passed with them just standing there, much to the bored irritation of their colleagues. Then, after a while, Ocellus let out a brief giggle.

"We...um...we should probably get going."

Sandbar, realising what they'd been doing and what they must have looked like, let loose a nervous chortle.

"Yeah, um...so...see ya?"

Nodding, Ocellus started to walk off, followed shortly by Sandbar, who moved in the opposite direction. The latter, after turning that same old corner, started to lean against it and let out a long sigh, clearly exhausted from this. After catching his breath, however, he turned to see the smirking face of his friend, Gallus, to which he simply frowned.

"Well...I hope I entertained you out there, Gallus."

Chuckling, his Griffon friend slapped a claw down on his shoulder.

"Yes, friend...you did."

Meanwhile, over with the females, Ocellus found her colleagues all smiling or smirking to her, with Smolder very much in the latter category.

"Hehe, not bad, Ocellus. Bagged yourself a nice colt, eh?"

Ocellus' only response to that was one more blush, after which, Silverstream squealed again.

"Oh, this is so great you guys! Oh! Maybe we can set up more of our friends?"

She turned to Smolder.

"Say, Smolder? How do you feel about Gallu-OMPH!"

She was kept from saying anything further by a claw to her lips from that same dragon.

"Yeah...I think one match-up is enough for today, don't you, Silver?"

Twilight looked on with a smile on her face, proud at what she had created. The School of Friendship, which glistened well in the light of the new day. Its doors were open, and already the students were entering, ready for another day of eager learning and spending time with their friends. It had been given a rough start in life, but now, the school was serving as a beacon of friendship, not just for Equestria, but to all the world. Twilight's chest swelled up with all the good feelings she now felt as she started to happily trot towards the font of learning that she and her friends had forged together. Everywhere she went, she could see ponies and a variety of other creatures all smiling to her, even waving as she passed them by. It was a good day, and the young Princess had every intention of starting things off right. But, for now, she first needed to get important things going, and so began to look for her friends. Strangely, she couldn't find them in any of the classrooms. But, after a while, she did see somebody she knew walking the halls.

"Spike!"

The small dragon halted at the voice of his carer, turning to smile at her while carrying a large box of pencils.

"Hey, Twilight."

Reaching him, Twilight looked around briefly before regarding him yet again.

"Have you seen Applejack or Fluttershy or any of the others around?"

Spike thought on that, then looked to her with a nod.

"Yeah. I think I saw them all heading to the lake. They looked pretty excited about something."

Twilight tilted her head in confusion, unsure of why her friends would have done such a thing. Still, she nevertheless smiled to her number one assistant, giving him a quick pat on the head in appreciation for his help, before promptly starting to run off in the direction he'd given. There was still plenty of time before classes began in earnest, so her friends not being here wasn't too much of a problem right now. Still, it would probably be better for them to be gathered up all the same. Knowing the lay of the land fairly well by this point, it took little time for Twilight to make her way over to the lake Spike had spoken of, and sure enough, she saw her friends there. But, bizarrely, she saw them all huddled together behind a large series of bushes, looking out to the water. Curiosity came to her, and she slowed her pace as she drew nearer.

"Um...hi?"

All eyes turned to her, but as she once more opened her mouth to speak, every single one of them raised a hoof to their lips.

"Shhhh!" they hissed in unison.

Naturally, Twilight was a little taken aback by this, but then noticed Rarity gesturing for her to come closer, looking quite giddy as she did so. Though Twilight still had no idea what was going on, she approached them all the same. Getting to her knees, Twilight herself was now part of the same huddle as everypony else.

"Um...what are we doing?"

Pinkie, doing her best to stifle a giggle, answered her by pointing to something through the bushes. Twilight, raising an eyebrow, let out an exasperated sigh before peeking through the gap in the plants her friend had pointed out. And it was here that Twilight finally discovered what it was they were all looking at. For there, sitting just on the shores of the lake, were two of her students; Sandbar and Ocellus. Twilight blinked a little at this before yet again looking to her friends.

"You're spying on those two?"

Rainbow chortled.

"Heck yeah we are! This is some juicy stuff right here, Twi!"

Twilight looked to her with confusion.

"Juicy? Two friends spending time with each other? I mean, I'm as happy as anypony that a pony and a Changeling can be friends like that these days, but..."

However, before she got another word out, Rarity let out a sigh od her own, shaking her head slightly.

"Oh, Twilight, you naïve mare."

Twilight looked to her, arching an eyebrow, which prompted Fluttershy, smiling widely, to finally just spell it out for her.

"They're on a date!"

Of course, to words like that, Twilight was rather taken aback.

"A...a date?!”

Her friends all nodded in unison, leaving Twilight to once more look to the young couple far away. She stared at them for a long while, considering what she'd learned, and after some time, she started to nod and smile to herself.

"Yes...yes! This is good! The Friendship School is succeeding! Not only are people of different species learning to co-exist, but now they're starting romantic relationships with one another! This is truly a sign that what we’re working for is, well, working!"

She clasped her hooves together happily.

"This is so great!"

Applejack let out a chuckle.

"Eyup, they make a pretty cute couple over there."

Rainbow leaned over to her farmer friend.

"Can you guys make out what they're saying?"

The other mares all shook their heads, with Rarity speaking up first.

"I'm afraid not, darling. But I would like to know what they're talking about. The poor dears are clearly new to this sort of thing. Who knows how awkward this is for them."

Pinkie snorted to that.

"Relax, Rarity! They're doing fine! Look at them! They're smiling, laughing, that's a good time right there. And I know good times!"

Rarity opened her mouth to respond, only to stop when Twilight, right out of nowhere, let out a loud gasp.

"Oh no!"

Her friends all looked to her.

"What is it?" Fluttershy asked.

Twilight looked to them all.

"Don't you see what this could mean?!"

Applejack shrugged her shoulders.

"Well...yeah. It means that those two friends are a couple now, or are tryin’ ta be. Seems pretty straightforward ta me."

But Twilight shook her head to that.

"No! This could be bad, you guys! As in, really bad!"

The mares all looked to one another, clearly having no idea what she was talking about, which led to Twilight starting to explain things.

"Sure, things are good now, but what about later? What happens if this doesn't work out? Their friendship might be in jeopardy! If they break up, they might avoid each other in future! Or worse! What if their group decides to split right down the middle because of this? Gallus might not spend time with Smolder because the latter hangs out with Ocellus, and he doesn't want Sandbar to think he's siding with his ex-girlfriend! And if things keep escalating after that, we could well have another near-war on our hooves!"

Rainbow looked to her with some incredulity.

"Er...I think you're over-reacting, Twi."

Fluttershy nodded in agreement with her childhood friend.

"Rainbow's right, Twilight. They may be young, but I'm confident that they know how to be careful with this. If they do break up, it may hurt, but I'm sure they'll find a way to make it work and stay friends afterwards."

Twilight considered that, seeing the looks of certainty on her friends' faces. After a while, she let out a sigh, calming herself down, before regarding them all with a smile.

"You're...you're right. I was...just being worried for no reason."

Pinkie giggled.

"Hey, don't sweat it, we're used to you going nuts over stuff like that, remember?"

Twilight frowned to her over that, then turned again to look to her two students.

"So...when did this happen, anyway?"

Her friends all shrugged their shoulders.

"Dunno, Twi. Ah reckon' it were bout a week ago maybe?" Applejack answered.

"Well, whenever it happened, they do look rather sweet together," Rarity added.

Fluttershy nodded.

"They do. And who knows? Maybe this could last a really long time? Maybe it could end in marriage even?"

Twilight considered that prospect with a smile.

"Hehe, marriage? Wouldn't that be something? Just a few years ago, Changelings were this new race we didn't even know about, then whoosh, onto the scene they came to attack Canterlot. And now? Now, we're considering the long-term relationship between one of them and one of us!"

The mares nodded together, silently acknowledging that dramatic shift in feelings between the two groups. Twilight, for her part, pondered it further.

"Besides, we know romantic feelings between differing groups is no rare thing. I mean, just look at how Spike feels about you, Rarity."

A fond smile came to the fashionista at that.

"He's a sweetheart to feel that, to be sure. But this right here? That's a proper relationship. Oh, I just imagine all the sweet nothings they might be whispering to each other by the time this is over. So cute!"

Twilight looked like she wanted to say something further, only to stop when Fluttershy let out a gasp. Everypony looked to her slightly startled.

"What is it, Flutters?" Rainbow asked.

Fluttershy looked to her friend with a wide smile.

"If...if they stay together after this...if they even get married...maybe they'll even have children one day!"

Rainbow rolled her eyes at her friend's remark.

"Er...don't you think it's a bit early to be thinking about kids? They haven’t even held hooves yet!"

Fluttershy frowned in response.

"It's never a bad time to think about adorable little babies!"

Then, Twilight chimed in, seemingly sharing her friend's excitement.

"Oh! I could write a whole book on the prospect of inter-species offspring! Think of the literary acclaim!"

Rainbow slapped her forehead in frustration.

"Guys...can we just appreciate seeing those two being sweet with each other for now? I mean, I now it's me saying that, but still..."

"You said it, Teach."

At the arrival of the second voice, all eyes turned, and they saw that it was not one person standing close by, but four. Gallus, Yona, Smolder and Silverstream. The Hippogriff in particular seemed utterly giddy at the romantic scene unfolding on the shores of the lake, all while their Professors regarded them with both surprise and a little sternness.

"Um...aren't you supposed to be getting ready for class?" Twilight asked.

Gallus looked to her, folding his arms and raising an eyebrow.

"Aren't you?"

Silence was the Griffon's only answer, as all of the mares looked to each other. Finally, after letting out a sigh, Twilight shrugged her shoulders to her feathered student.

"...Touché, Gallus...touché."

Gallus, naturally, enjoyed his moment of victory with a smirk, and shortly afterwards, every single one of them turned their attention yet again to the happy-looking couple by the lake. Silence passed between them all for some time, and at the end of it, Rainbow finally spoke up again.

"So...how do you think this is gonna...?"

But then Silverstream leapt out of the bushes and, to the horror of all of them, called out.

"JUST KISS ALREADY!!!"

Immediately, Sandbar and Ocellus snapped their heads in the direction of the bushes, and as soon as they saw their large audience, they erupted into blushes so fierce that it looked like they had bright red tomatoes for heads. Silverstream, meanwhile, suddenly found herself being started at by everyone with gaping jaws, completely disbelieving what she'd just done. As it finally dawned on her the error she'd just made, she giggled nervously, before speaking up in an uncharacteristically meek fashion.

"Um...to answer your question, Professor Dash...I guess...that’s how it's gonna end. So...yay?"

The Castle of the Two sisters, in ancient times, would have been seen as a place of grandeur and awe. A place where the greatest of ponykind dwelt and ruled their domains. Now, however, it served a somewhat different purpose. For within the grand entrance hall, laughter rang throughout, as six young students of the School of Friendship had once more gathered there to spend time with one another. Sandbar, Ocellus, Yona, Gallus, Silverstream and Smolder, all sitting together upon large cushions in a circle at the bottom of the stairs, looking more than happy to be here. Which was surprising, given the rather dangerous time they had the last time they found themselves here. Still, danger seemed to be the last thing on the youths' minds right now, as all of them were instead looking to Sandbar, who was right in the middle of relaying a story, speaking with great passion and excitement as he did so.

"...and then wham! Princess Twilight used her magic and slammed Tirek right into the ground! But it wasn't over! The big guy got up and fought back, breaking off this huge boulder and throwing it at her!"

But, unfortunately, the young earth pony was soon interrupted by the snort of his friend, Gallus, who rolled his eyes before speaking up.

"Pfft! No way!"

Sandbar frowned to him.

"Yeah way!"

Gallus folded his arms.

"You're telling me that Princess Twilight, the Princess of Friendship, our by-the-book head-mare, got herself into a scrap that epic?"

Sandbar smiled widely.

"Yeah! It was awesome! You should have seen it! All of Equestria had been brought down by this guy, and then boom, along came Princess Twilight to show that monster what's what!"

Smolder chuckled.

"Real or not, it's still a pretty neat story."

Yona then looked to the storyteller, adding her voice to the matter.

“Ha! Tirek no scare Yaks! Yaks just smash big horned guy!”

Smolder looked to her.

“What, a great big magic-eating monster and you'd just...smash him?”

Yona nodded with a look of pride.

“Yes! Yaks mighty warriors! We no scared!”

Smolder let out a hearty chortle.

“I like the way you think, Yona. But we dragons would just roast the guy! Way cooler!”

Ocellus looked to her and tilted her head.

“Um...wouldn’t burning him mean it was hotter, not cooler?”

Smolder slapped her forehead.

“Ugh! It’s just a figure of speech, Ocellus!”

Ocellus looked a little embarrassed at that, and soon afterwards, she instead looked over to Sandbar, resuming her prior smile.

"Well...whatever the case, it was a really good story. You tell it well, Sandy."

Sandbar blushed to the small Changeling's remark, and together, the two of them laughed awkwardly, all while their friends looked to them both with knowing smirks. It was an image made all the sweeter by the fact that the young couple had scooted closer to one another than anycreature else in the group, making for quite a cute-looking moment between them. Yona, meanwhile, was busy chomping down on a particularly tasty-looking apple the group had brought with them.

"Hmmmm! Professor Applejack's apples is good!"

Silverstream giggled.

"Oh, I know, right?! They're so crunchy and sweet and...ooooh! I just love them!"

Gallus looked to her.

"Let me guess...you don't have apples down in Seaquestria?"

Silverstream gasped.

"How did you know?!"

Gallus rolled his eyes again.

"Just a hunch."

Gulping on the last of her aforementioned apple, Yona smiled widely to her friends.

"This place fun! Glad to be back!"

Ocellus looked over to each of her friends before responding to that.

"Yes...um...we're sure those creatures from before aren't going to come back?"

Sandbar looked to her with as small smile, placing his hoof upon her shoulder.

"Don't worry, Ocellus. Professor Fluttershy said they probably won't be coming back here anytime soon. And if they do, we know how to get away fast now. Remember that neat escape route map you came up with after reading those books on this place? That’ll be pretty helpful."

Ocellus appreciated her boyfriend's words, complete with yet another blush on her part, which Sandbar, naturally, matched her in. Smolder, looking around the place, leaned back into her large pillow before chiming in.

"That's all good to hear. Because I don't know about you guys, but I don't really want to have do deal with a bunch of nasty critters every time we come here."

Turning to her, Gallus took on a somewhat mocking expression and tone of voice.

"Oh, what, is the fire-breathing dragon getting scared?"

Naturally, Smolder responded to that with a frown.

"Hey now, how useful were you in that fight?"

Sandbar raised a hoof, pointing to them both.

"Come on, guys! Do we really want to start a fight here?"

Gallus and Smolder's answer to that was to silently turn away from one another, letting out a distinct "huff" as they did so. Though thankful that the two had settled down for the time being, Ocellus started looking around at the castle they were in.

"Um...do you think we'll get in trouble? You know, being here again?"

Yona shook her head.

"No trouble! Trouble only come from us running away! Us no run away now!"

Silverstream nodded, turning to her Changeling friend soon afterwards.

"She's right, Ocellus! It's not like we're staying here! It's just...um..."

She tapped the end of her beak.

"...hmmm...what's the right word for it?"

Smolder looked to her and raised an eyebrow.

"A club-house, maybe?"

To that, Silverstream let out a loud gasp and a squeal for joy, and Smolder, who immediately regretted opening her mouth, was soon on the receiving end of a very tight Hippogriff-induced hug.

"A club-house! Yes! Great idea, Smolder!"

Smolder, on her side of things, was simply trying to breathe properly under the crushing force of her friend's embrace.

"Ach! I think I made it clear how much I liked this last time, Silver!"

Gallus, of course, couldn't help but chuckle to this display, much to Smolder's chagrin.

"Oh, just you wait till I get out of here, Gallus!"

Silverstream, hearing that, tilted her head in confusion, letting her friend go.

"Oooh! What will you do?"

Smolder, giving her blue Griffon friend a dark smile, answered.

"This!"

And so she flapped her wings, sending herself shooting forward. Gallus reacted just in time, and spread out his own wings to escape her. The others watched, and as time went by, what had started out as an aggressive act on Smolder's part, soon became a playful chase, with the two fliers laughing loudly as they zoomed around the higher parts of the castle chamber. The others smiled, and soon, Ocellus started flying up to join them, followed shortly by Silverstream. Yona, grinning happily to this, charged out from her sitting spot, and though she could not fly herself, she nevertheless ran in circles in mimicry of her friend's movements high above. Sandbar, meanwhile, smiled warmly to this, sitting right back down on his pillow and watching each and every one of his friends, one of whom soon noticed him down there.

"Isn't this fun, Sandy?" Ocellus called to him.

The colt laughed, nodding back to her.

"Yeah, Ocellus...it is."

And so it was that Sandbar continued to watch his unexpected colleagues run and fly around one another, showing a great deal of enjoyment as they did so. As for the pony himself, he turned, looking out of one of the open windows of this ancient castle, in the direction of Ponyville and the school. And in that moment by himself, he smiled in a fond manner.

"Thanks, Princess Twilight. Thanks...for my new friends."

"Um, Ocellus? Are you sure this is a good idea?" Sandbar asked.

His Changeling girlfriend smiled sweetly to him.

"Don't worry, Sandbar. Everything will be fine."

The colt nodded to that, trusting her yet still bearing clear nervousness over his presence here. While he was not against travel in general, Sandbar had never once gone as far as this from Ponyville. And yet, here he was, just entering the borders of the Changeling Empire. As he and Ocellus drew nearer to the towering sight of the Hive, they were greeted by many of the other Changelings who dotted the landscape. Calls of greeting, smiles and waves were all thrown their way, leading to a clear look of happiness on the part of Ocellus, all while Sandbar waved back, still looking more than a little uncertain. However, there came a time when they had arrived at the Hive in earnest, at which point Ocellus stopped and turned to her pony boyfriend.

"Well? What do you think?"

Looking around, Sandbar gave a slow nod to the place.

"It's pretty...well...pretty."

Giggling, Ocellus took a step closer to him.

"I know. It really has become a nice place to live. I was still pretty young when the big change happened, so I can't really speak with any authority on how bad things were. But even so..."

A warm smile came to her.

"...I can't deny it's good to be home."

Sandbar matched her smile, taking a step forward himself and gently placing his hoof upon her shoulder.

"Thanks for inviting me."

A blush came to the young female at that, and she laughed nervously, as indeed did Sandbar. But, when it was over, Ocellus cleared her throat, turning her attention away from him and towards the Hive.

"Well, we came here for a reason, remember? Chapter two of the relationship book Twilight gave me stated very clearly that one of the most important steps in helping a romantic connection grow is for a boyfriend to be introduced to his girlfriend's Father."

Sandbar nodded, scratching the back of his head.

"Yeah...didn't you say that wasn't going to be...um..."

Looking back to him, Ocellus let out a sigh.

"I did say it would be difficult, yes. Changelings don't really have child-parent relationships in the same way ponies do."

Her smile returned.

"However, there is a Changeling here who can fill the role of my Father for this. So...let's go!"

And with that, she started to run off, and Sandbar, though a little taken aback by this, soon started off after her. He caught up with her soon though, and before long, the two of them eventually turned a corner, coming upon a wide open area. Here, Ocellus stopped, shortly followed by Sandbar, where the latter looked on with wide eyes. For there, sitting upon his throne in the very centre of that open space, was none other than the leader of the Changelings himself, King Thorax. Seeing Ocellus start to walk ahead, Sandbar followed suit, and before long, they were close enough that the Changeling leader finally spotted them, bearing a wide grin as he did so.

"Ocellus! Hello! I wasn't expecting a visit today!"

Flying down from his throne, the King stood next to his favoured subject, giving her a friendly pat on the head, much to Ocellus' delight. When it was over, she cleared her throat, taking a step backwards and gesturing to Sandbar.

"King Thorax...I'd like to introduce you to Sandbar."

A fierce blush returned to her.

"He's...well...my boyfriend."

Hearing that, Thorax blinked a few times, as though uncertain that he'd heard that correctly. Then, he looked over to Sandbar himself, who forced a smile, even though it would have been obvious to anyone that he was pretty worried over the King's reaction. But, rather than be angry or dismayed at such news, Thorax instead broke out into an even wider grin than before, lunging forward and looking down to Sandbar with great enthusiasm.

"Your boyfriend?! Oh! Isn't this wonderful? Ponies and Changelings getting together! Forming emotional bonds with one another! Oooooh!"

Then, he danced in place, much to Sandbar's slight surprise, all while Ocellus, for some reason, simply planted her hoof into her forehead.

"No!" she exclaimed.

Immediately, both Thorax and Sandbar looked to her with confusion.

"Um...did I say something wrong?" Thorax asked.

Sighing again, Ocellus looked up to him, trying to sound as composed as possible.

"Your Majesty, with respect, it's apparently an important part of relationships in pony society that the boyfriend be introduced to..."

She paused, before speaking out as though reciting from that very book.

"...the girlfriend's stern and disapproving Father."

After pausing again, she looked once more to the tall Changeling.

"You can't just be happy that we're together! You've got to be sceptical, harsh, critical of who he is and what he does."

Slowly, Sandbar raised a hoof, as though trying to get the attention of a teacher in class.

"Um...for the record, I actually wouldn't mind if he wasn’t all those things, Ocellus."

Looking to him, Ocellus again gave him a sweet smile, reaching forward and giving him a quick pat on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, Sandy, this is all good for our relationship."

The earth pony blinked slowly.

"Oh...um...good?"

As for Thorax, he casually tapped the end of his chin with his hoof, thinking over what his subject had just told him.

"Hmmm...stern and critical."

Slowly, he nodded, smiling all the while.

"Yeah, I think I can do that."

Ocellus raised an eyebrow, prompting Thorax to chuckle nervously.

"Oh, right, no smiling. Got it."

Closing his eyes, the King took a few deep breaths.

"Okay...get into character...get into character..."

When he opened his eyes again, he started frowning towards Sandbar.

"Ocellus? Who is this you've brought before your King?"

Thorax was clearly trying to do a deep and imposing voice, but it just didn't suit him, so it pretty much just came off as being forced. Though a little disappointed by that, Ocellus could at least work with it, and so, as she stood beside Sandbar in earnest, she smiled as she pointed to him.

"This is Sandbar, Father. He's my boyfriend, and we like each other very much!"

Again, Sandbar forced a smile to all of this, while Thorax tried his best to glower angrily at him.

"A boyfriend you say?! Why, that is preposterous! No Changeling of mine is going to...to...to..."

Then, he let out a grunt of frustration.

"Oh, I can't do it! I'm just so excited!"

Again, he leaned forward.

"How did you two meet? Have you been on any dates yet? What do your friends say about this? Have you been having fun?"

Those and a great number of other questions were sent towards the young couple in a rapid-fire manner, much to Ocellus' irritation.

"No...this isn't going to work."

Stepping forward, she spoke to her King as respectfully as she could.

"King Thorax, I'm sorry...but I don't think we're going to be able to do this."

Sandbar, for his part, tried his uttermost best to avoid looking and sounding relieved at that notion, instead bringing himself closer to his girlfriend and attempting to sound sympathetic to her disappointment.

"It's okay, Ocellus. We can't always go by the book, remember?"

But, to his surprise, Ocellus merely regained her smile from earlier.

"Oh, don't worry, Sandbar. We can go by the book! We just need to follow the instruction from chapter three instead!"

Like she'd done before, she spoke as though she had that book right in front of her.

"In the event that a stern Father is unavailable, you may instead go to a stern uncle!"

Looking back to Sandbar, Ocellus' smile widened even further.

"And I know just who to go to for that!"

Then, before either Sandbar or Thorax could stop her, the young drone called out.

"Captain Pharynx! Are you here?"

Sandbar looked on with confusion, all while Thorax looked to him with some measure of concern.

"I am so, so sorry for this."

Sandbar looked to him, looking even more worried than the King now.

"Wait...what?"

But, before anything else could be said, they were interrupted by the distinct and loud sound of a Changeling's wings buzzing, prompting all of them to look upwards. Sure enough, Thorax's brother, Pharynx, now descended from his flight overhead, landing close by. Sandbar was somewhat taken aback by this newcomer, while Ocellus walked closer to him. And it was as the latter did this that Pharynx finally spoke.

"Ocellus. Good to see you back home again."

His tone certainly matched the idea of the "stern parent" that Ocellus was looking for, much to her delight, and as she got closer, she turned, once more gesturing to Sandbar.

"This is Sandbar. My boyfriend. We came here for the traditional pony relationship step of introducing him to the disapproving Father-figure of his girlfriend."

Despite only being given a very abridged summary of their reasons for being here, Pharynx, to his credit, apparently needed no more than that, and gave a short nod.

"Very well."

He stepped closer to the colt, much to the latter's dismay, but as he did this, Pharynx cast his brother a glance.

"Watch and learn, Thorax."

Naturally, Thorax was a little irritated by this, but said nothing as Pharynx finally arrived at the poor colt. He looked him over, all while maintaining a very critical look to him. Gulping, Sandbar suddenly found his legs shaking slightly, though he tried to hide it. After a while of just nothing but uncomfortable silence, Pharynx started to speak, his voice commanding and authoritative.

"Tell me, young stallion...do you truly care for our dear Ocellus?"

Sandbar nodded.

"Y...yes, Mr Pharynx."

Pharynx frowned.

"You will address me as Captain...or Sir."

Another gulp from Sandbar.

"Yes, Mist...er...Sir."

Pharynx nodded.

"Good. Do you believe you will be able to serve her faithfully as her companion?"

"Yes, Sir!" Sandbar replied.

"Good. Will you respect her Changeling heritage during your time together? And keep her safe, as per your role as her partner?"

"Yes, Sir!"

"...Do you believe that, when the two of you come of age, that you will be potent enough to be able to provide her with a large and healthy clutch of eggs?"

"Ye...wait, what?!"

Despite the rather unexpected turn the conversation had taken, Pharynx merely shrugged his shoulders.

"We must consider the future of the Hive as a whole after all. So, do you believe you will be able to help Ocellus to continue our people into future generations?"

As one would expect, Sandbar was as white as a sheet right now, and Ocellus immediately leapt to his side, pointing an accusing hoof to her "Uncle" for the day.

"Uncle Pharynx! You can't ask questions like that! I'm totally embarrassed right now!"

Shaking himself out of his shocked state, Sandbar looked to his girlfriend with a genuine smile.

"Thank you, Ocellus!"

Looking back to him, Ocellus giggled.

"Thanks. It said in chapter five of the book that I'm supposed to be embarrassed and indignant when the parent asks personal and probing question to my boyfriend. Pretty good performance, right?"

Sandbar's mouth was hanging open right now, and after blinking slowly, he sighed, letting his shoulders slump.

"Yeah...great performance, sweetie."

Meanwhile, Pharynx watched this with great amusement.

"Take your time, lad...I could do this all day."

Even though she had only had the role of Head-Mare for a relatively short period of time, there was no denying the fact that Twilight had settled into said role quite well. As such, she was the very model of prim and proper as she sat behind her desk, with all of her stationary and folders and papers all neatly arranged in that typical Twilight-esque way of hers. However, while she was usually upbeat about her work here at the school, there seemed to be less joy in her today. Indeed, she actually came across as being somewhat nervous about something, as she simply sat in silence, listening to the gentle ticks and tocks of the wall upon her clock. However, there came a time when this solitude was brought to an end, and the door of her office began to slowly creak open. Twilight looked to it intently, and soon saw, poking around the thing, was the head of one of her students, Silverstream the Hippogriff.

"You...wanted to see me, Miss Twilight?"

Nodding, Twilight gestured to a chair on the opposite side of her desk.

"I did. Please, take a seat, Silverstream."

Now, Silverstream was well-known at this point to practically radiate positivity, and because of this, she entered the office with a smile that no other student would have even considered wearing when told to arrive at a Principal's office. Naturally, given what she knew she was going to have to say, this aforementioned joy on the part of her student didn't give Twilight any comfort at all. But, for now, she stayed quiet, watching as the young Hippogriff got comfortable in her chair.

"So...what did you want to talk about?"

Taking a deep breath, Twilight soon let out a long sigh.

"Silverstream...it has come to my attention that, during your time here, you've developed...a hobby of some sort."

Here, Silverstream blushed a little.

"Oh...um...you heard about that?"

Twilight nodded.

"I have. It seems that you've taken quite an interest in...how was it called...shipping?"

Silverstream hung her head, but only briefly, as she looked up once more, bearing a wide smile as she did so.

"I just can't help it! Ever since Sandbar and Ocellus got together, I've just been so excited about it! I look around and, oh, I see potential for it everywhere!"

Leaning closer, the Hippogriff female began to whisper to her Head-Mare.

"Do you think your assistant Spike would go better with Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo or Apple Bloom? Because I've sort of been on the fence about that one."

Twilight briefly rolled her eyes to this before finally answering.

"Silverstream...I realise it's important for a student to have interests outside of their work...but such interests may become a problem if it begins to interfere in that work. And unfortunately..."

Looking over to a pile of papers on her desk, Twilight placed her hoof on it.

"...that's exactly what's been happening with you."

Here, Silverstream's smile faded, but only a little.

"Oh...have I been...failing?"

Twilight shook her head.

"No, your work has been going well, as has all of you and our friends' work. But there's been a noticeable decline in your work standards specifically. And when I see you during our lectures, I can't help but notice that you seem...distracted."

She raised an eyebrow.

"You look to your classmates and...to put it bluntly...you keep making goo-goo eyes at them."

The Princess leaned forward, resting her hooves upon the desk.

"I take it you spent that time trying to make up these pairing of yours in your head?"

Silverstream looked away, and for the first time since the two had met, Twilight saw a little bit of disappointment in her student. But, let it never be said that Twilight was insensitive to this sort of thing, and so, after letting out another sigh, she regained her smile.

"Silverstream...I'm not going to condemn you for being this passionate about something that, quite frankly, isn't doing anycreature any harm."

The student looked back to her, her face lighting up slightly.

"So...you're not going to write to my parents about this?"

Twilight giggled.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to cause a diplomatic incident by letting it known that Queen Novo's niece is slipping in her school-work. However..."

A slightly sterner look came to her.

"...I will have to ask that you try and keep this urge to match-make under control."

Upon hearing that, Silver scratched the back of her head in a nervous manner.

"I...I don't know if I can!"

A smirk came to Twilight at that.

"Don't worry. There's somepony who can probably help you with that."

Silverstream opened her mouth to speak, only to be kept from doing so when, all of a sudden, there was another knocking upon the door of the office, prompting Twilight to look to it again.

"Come in!"

Again, the door let out a loud creak as it opened, and Silverstream was struck with curiosity as she looked over to see who it was who now entered. And when she did finally get a good look of who it was, she was utterly awe-struck. For there, now standing regally in the doorway, was none other than the Princess of love herself, Mi'Amore Cadenza.

"I hope I'm not too late?" she asked.

"Not at all, Cadence. Come in," Twilight replied.

Using her magic to close the door behind her, the pink alicorn entered the office in earnest, and as she did this, Silverstream practically leapt from her chair.

"Oh...my...gosh! You're Princess Cadence!"

Though taken aback by this, Cadence quickly composed herself, giving a smile and a nod to the enthusiastic Hippogriff.

"Indeed I am. And you must be Silverstream, yes?"

Silverstream let out a gasp at that.

"You...you've heard of me? You've heard of me!"

Cadence's smile widened to this.

"Yes...and I hear from Twilight that you've been a little...distracted lately."

All at once, Silverstream remembered why she was here, and soon lowered herself back into her chair, seeming just a touch less exuberant than she was moments before.

"Yes...I...I think I have a...shipping problem?"

Giggling, Cadence stepped forward, gently placing her hoof upon Silverstream's shoulder.

"Fear not. Admitting it is the first step on the road to recovery. After all, I was much like you when I was younger. Always seeing potential pairings and obsessing over them. It was a hard thing, learning to cope with those urges, but I assure you, with a little bit of dedication, you can learn to get a grip on them."

Silverstream looked to her with wide eyes, maintaining her sense of awe at this apparent icon of hers. Meanwhile, Twilight, who seemed more than satisfied at how things were progressing here, got up from her desk, using her magic to levitate another pile of papers to follow her as she walked past Cadence.

"Well then, Cadence, if you don't mind, I have a lesson to get to. If you would...?"

She didn't finish, as Cadence merely gave a nod.

"Not to worry, Twilight. We've got things under control here."

Twilight smiled to that, and so went off on her merry way, ready to face another lecture with her various classes. Cadence watched her go, as indeed did Silverstream, and as soon as the young Princess had left the room, Cadence's head snapped back in the direction of her Hippogriff ward.

"Okay, kid, if you want to ship right, here's how you do it."

Of course, Silverstream was rather shocked by such words.

"But...but aren't you supposed to...?"

A chuckle escaped the Princess.

"I was brought to help you be able to continue doing well in your studies and school-work while continuing this hobby of yours, and I will. But..."

She leaned forward, bearing a sly smirk.

"...that doesn't mean I can't also teach you how to do that hobby better now, does it?"

Slowly, Silverstream's face developed into an utterly giddy expression, looking like she was about to burst at the seams with pure joy. But, after seeing a sterner look from Cadence, she got herself under control, sitting upright and clearing her throat.

"Alright then, Princess...teach away."

Smiling again, Cadence began to pace up and down in front of her.

"Lesson one...anyone can be paired up with anyone."

To that, Silverstream snapped her claws.

"I knew it!"

With the final bell of the School of Friendship having rung at last, the students of the place began to make their way out at various paces, from those eager to get home, to those who took a more relaxed stance on the whole thing. But, as befitting of a place intended to forge friendships, several groups stayed behind for a time, spending their afternoons with one another and trying to have a fun time while doing so. Of this latter category were two of the school's more noted students, Gallus and Smolder. Not long ago, it would have been inconceivable for a Griffon and Dragon to be seen close to one another, let alone consider each other as friends, and yet, there they were, passing the time by hanging out together. Sitting upon one of the benches that littered the school's grounds, the two youths watched as their fellow students made their way home, with Smolder chomping down on a large and tasty-looking gem, much to Gallus' slight amusement.

"I'll never get over how weird it is for you Dragons to eat those things."

Looking to him, Smolder put on a slight smirk.

"Oh, I'm weird, says the creature who's half one animal and half another?"

Chuckling, Gallus shrugged his shoulders to that.

"Yeah, sure, fair enough."

The two shared a laugh, and at the time it died down, they looked on as a group of three young mares, more fellow students of theirs, began to walk on by, and were eagerly chatting with each other over the lessons they'd learned today. However, a moment came when they turned, seeing Smolder and Gallus watching them go, and they gave a friendly wave to them as a result. Smolder waved right back, but Gallus reacted somewhat differently, and instead gave a wink to the three females. Naturally, this led to a shared giggle on the part of the mares as they headed off, with one or two of them blushing as they did so. Chuckling to himself, Gallus leaned back into his side of the bench a bit.

"Oh yeah, they want me."

Smolder, as befitting of one like her, rolled her eyes to this macho display, before taking another hearty chomp of her gem, almost finishing it off in the process. However, as she chewed on her favoured snack, she glanced over to her Griffon companion, and raised an eyebrow. She appeared to be deep in thought over something, though it wasn't until she'd finally swallowed her mouthful of gem that she finally started to speak.

"Hey, Gallus...can I ask you something?"

The Griffon looked over to her.

"Yeah, sure, go ahead."

Frowning slightly, Smolder finally asked her question.

"...How come you never try to flirt with any of us?"

Taken slightly aback by that, Gallus frowned right back.

"What are you talking about?"

Turning, Smolder gestured to some of the ponies that were still trickling out of the school and, more specifically, to the mares.

"Seriously, buddy, you throw on the charm for every mare around this place, but when it comes to the girls you actually spend time with, there's...nothing."

Folding his arms, Gallus let out a slight sigh.

"Well, one of them already has a boyfriend, so..."

Smolder once more rolled her eyes.

"Yes, yes, Ocellus goes without saying, but what about Silverstream? Or Yona? Or me even?"

Gallus let out a hearty chortle.

"Never took you for the kind who wanted folks to flirt with them."

Smolder's frown deepened.

"I'm not, but the point's the same. Why don't you go that way around us? What, you prefer pony girls over Dragons and Yaks or something?"

Gallus looked away slightly.

"No, it's just...um..."

Here, he appeared to be far less confident than normal, which seemed to prompt even further curiosity on the part of Smolder.

"...What? What is it?"

Gallus' expression started to become more and more nervous, and he started looking around them, making sure that nobody else was close enough to hear them.

"Okay...you have to promise not to tell anycreature!"

Sighing, Smolder put her claw upon her chest and then raised the other one.

"On my honour as a Dragon, I..."

But, she was then cut off by Gallus.

"Oh no you don't! I know that ploy! I used it myself on Sandbar, remember?"

Smolder grunted to that.

"Ugh! Fine! I Pinkie-promise then! Better?"

Gallus nodded.

"Better," he confirmed.

Letting out another long exhale, the young Dragon looked to her friend.

"Okay then...so what's the problem?"

There was a silence between the two, and during that time, Gallus folded his arms and looked away from her. Smolder, for the most part, seemed to give him all the space he needed, watching as he took a few deep breaths. Then, at the end of it all, he finally looked to her.

"I'll be honest...I thought about maybe trying to go after you or the other girls, but...I kinda...um...got worried about it?"

Smolder looked to him with confusion.

"What, you? Mr I'm-suave-and-cool-with-the-ladies got all nervous around us?"

Burying his face in his claws, Gallus let out his own grunt before looking to her again.

"Look! You're a Dragon and Yona's a Yak! I like you girls, but if I actually started dating one of you and things got serious, I'd be worried about getting my bones crushed or something if we ever, you know, made out and stuff!"

Smolder blinked to that, and then again, and finally, after slowly taking in those words and understanding them, she started to break out into a smirk.

"Wait...let me get this straight. You're...intimidated at the thought of dating us?"

A blush came to Gallus at that, prompting Smolder to chuckle slightly.

"Oh...oh this is rich! Gallus, the Ladies' Griffon, scared of getting tangled up with big and strong Dragon and Yak girls!"

Watching her laugh, Gallus gave another deep frown.

"Oh, sure, laugh it up, scaly! But need I remind you how hard it was to breathe when Yona hugged you that one time? Imagine if she did that if you were dating her?"

Here, Smolder stopped, thinking on that very memory, and as Gallus' words became more prominent in her mind, a shudder passed through her.

"Okay...yeah...good point."

Smiling again, Gallus felt at least somewhat vindicated.

"Told ya."

Then, curiosity returned to Smolder.

"Wait...what about Silverstream? You haven't said why you haven't gone after her yet."

Gallus shrugged his shoulders.

"Oh, that one's much easier. She's the niece of a Queen, and if I date her and things don't go well, it could start some diplomatic incident. Let's face it, we've already come close to starting a war between our people once, so do we really want to risk it again?"

Smolder nodded.

"You know...I appreciate that you have these reasons for not wanting to go after us, and trust me, I'm actually kinda glad that I'm off the list. But you probably don't need to get so worked up about it."

Gallus looked to her, but said nothing as she continued.

"You having a few bad dates with Silver won't cause a war, and I'm sure that...well..."

An amused look came to her.

"...if it was me or Yona you went with, I'm sure we could be gentle...for your sake."

Gallus frowned to that, much to Smolder's delight.

"But seriously, buddy, if you have these worries, you shouldn't try putting on some big "I'm cool and I love the ladies" act all the time."

Slowly, Gallus sighed.

"Yeah...maybe. And yeah, maybe I was getting worked up over nothing with you and the girls. It was just...some stupid thing I got focused on, you know?"

Smolder nodded, reaching forward and giving him a pat on the head.

"Hey, if it makes you feel better, I'm actually kinda glad that was your reason for not going after us. Dragons tend to view strength and danger as attractive qualities. So you thinking of me like that, well...I can definitely take it as a compliment."

Gallus' blush returned.

"Er...I didn't actually mean for it to come over that way, Smolder."

But his female companion was unconcerned with this.

"Yeah, I know. Still, I was sort of worried you just felt we weren't good enough for you or something."

To that, Gallus snorted.

"What? No! You girls are great!"

Folding her own arms, Smolder leaned back into her side of the bench.

"You're darn right we are!"

The two shared another laugh at all of that, and for a time, they once more settled into their prior state of quiet relaxation, watching the other students of the school walk on by. But, after a while of this, Smolder again looked to her Griffon friend with a degree of curiosity.

"You know...I just thought of something. If you did go after us, and we turned you down and stuff...what would you have done then?"

Gallus considered that for a moment before looking to her.

"Meh, if I was still in the mood for a date, I'd just look for somecreature else. There's plenty of fish in the sea, remember?"

A pause, and then, he stared to look nervous.

"Huh...wonder if that expression would be offensive to Silverstream?"

Smolder too pondered that.

"Hmmm...good point."

Then, Gallus shrugged his shoulders.

"Still, push comes to shove, I'd just wait for Sandbar and Ocellus to break up and then ask him out."

Slowly, Smolder looked to him, raising an eyebrow, which led to Gallus looking to her with a measure of indignity.

"Don't look at me like that. You think he's got a nice butt too, remember?"

Blinking, Smolder then shrugged her shoulders.

"Yeah, touché."

The small lake that rested just on the outskirts of Ponyville was, as per usual, an image of serene calm amidst the otherwise hectic life of the town. The still waters that glistened with the light of the sun overhead were always a pleasant sight, and as such it was no surprise that many would come here for a fun time during whatever day off they might have had. Such was the case today, as two of the students of the School of Friendship, Sandbar and Yona, were busying themselves with a friendly race against one another. Judging from the smiles they had upon their faces as they charged forward, they were clearly having a fun time doing this, and for a while it seemed as though there would be no clear winner, as both were neck-and-neck in this. But, towards the end, Sandbar just edged it out, crossing a crudely-drawn line in the sand at the end of their "race-track". After they'd both crossed it, the two youths laughed together, with Yona especially seeming pleased at having taken part.

"Racing fun! Let's do again!"

Chuckling, Sandbar was looking just a touch tired from his exertions, as his tone very much reflected.

"Maybe later. How about we just relax for a bit?"

Though a tiny bit disappointed, Yona nevertheless agreed to that, and so it was that the two of them started walking together along the shores of the beach, looking very much relaxed and at peace as they did so. However, while Yona seemed happy just having this slow little walk, she soon turned and saw that Sandbar was looking deep in thought over something. Not unhappy exactly, but it was obvious that something was on his mind, and Yona, being the curious type, couldn't help but ask about it.

"Friend Sandbar bothered by something?"

Looking to her, Sandbar quickly put on a smile.

"Oh, it's nothing. It's just..."

His smile became a genuinely fond one.

"...I've got an old friend coming over to visit me next week. Comet Trail. We haven't seen each other since we were little colts, and...well...I'm looking forward to seeing him again."

Yona matched his smile, letting out a hearty laugh before responding.

"More friends is good! Hope you get happy with visit!"

Sandbar chuckled to that, nodding in agreement. But then, before either of them had a chance to say anything else to one another, they were interrupted by the sound of something zipping past them very quickly overhead. Looking up, they both saw that it was, naturally, one of their teachers. Rainbow Dash, who appeared to be right in the middle of one of her practice flying sessions, perhaps for the Wonderbolts. Yona was, naturally, amazed by this, while Sandbar, by contrast, was a little more thoughtful. As Yona watched her Professor do all sorts of flying manoeuvres, she then watched her zoom off at great speed, much to her delight.

Pony flying is great! Fast! Exciting! Fun!"

Sandbar nodded.

"Yeah...the pegasi are pretty great with that, aren't they?"

A small laugh escaped him, catching Yona's attention.

"Something funny?" she asked.

Sandbar shook his head.

"Oh, I was...I was just thinking of when me and Comet were colts together. Before he and his family moved to Canterlot, he'd always come to me with some kind of new magic trick he'd learned. His parents always encouraged him to try out his magic, and he always showed off to me to show what he could do."

A nostalgic look came to him.

"I was amazed by his magic. The way he made things float, the way he'd shoot rocks with some simple magical laser...it was all great stuff back then."

But then, his smile faltered. Not by much, but certainly enough to be noticed by Yona.

"Is...is friend Sandbar sad?"

Again, Sandbar shook his head.

"No, not sad exactly, but..."

Slowly, he looked around, as if worried somebody else might overhear them. And when he was certain there was nobody to hear, he sighed, taking a step forward.

"Look, Yona...sometimes...we earth ponies feel a bit...like we don't really do as much as the pegasi or unicorns."

Yona tilted her head, prompting Sandbar to continue explaining.

"It's just...unicorns can do all these amazing things with their magic. Make giant boulders float, teleport, turn one thing into another. And pegasi? Well, you just saw how impressive Professor Rainbow can be."

Yona nodded, but again, she kept quiet.

"And as for us? The earth ponies? What do we have compared to that?"

Thinking for a moment, Yona once more resumed her smile from earlier.

"Earth ponies good at growing things, remember? You all good farmers!"

Another sigh escaped Sandbar at that, and he gave a slow nod.

"Yeah, that's what we're all taught. Unicorns wield magic, pegasi aid the weather, and the earth ponies tend to the earth."

But then, a frown came to him.

"But tell me this. How many earth ponies around here do you know of who actually do farming?"

Yona blinked to that, then started to think on the question.

"Well...there's Applejack, and...um..."

Her confidence began to leave her as she thought harder on that.

"...Applejack's...family?"

Sandbar nodded.

"Exactly. We earth ponies are best at that, and yet most of us don't actually do that one thing. The rest of the time, we're just...just...ordinary."

Slowly, he sat down at the edge of the lake nearby, looking to its waters.

"Look...I'm happy being who I am...and I know I've had a good life that I'd never trade for anything, but...when I think of all the amazing things other types of ponies have been able to do, I just..."

He looked down to the ground.

"...I don't know."

Silence fell over the two youths, and Yona looked to her friend with clear surprise upon her face. After all, Sandbar was known as perhaps the most easy-going of all of their friends, so to see him this upset over something was quite a shock to her. How long had he felt this way? Like he was somehow lesser than other kinds of ponies? Did other earth ponies feel this way perhaps? All these questions and more worked their way through Yona's head, and she very much looked like she wanted to say something to cheer her colleague up. And so, slowly but surely, a smile crept onto her lips and she reached forward, giving him a quick pat on the shoulder. This caught his attention, and as he looked to her, she began to speak in her usual cheery way.

“Fluttershy no need for flight when caring for animals, yes?”

Sandbar, a little taken aback by her sudden cheeriness, fumbled for a bit before replying.

“Um...I guess not?”

Yona nodded.

“Pinkie no need earth pony talents to make big party, yes?”

Sandbar nodded back.

“Sure.”

“And Rarity no need magic to make pretty dresses.”

Sandbar sighed.

“Okay...I see where you’re going with this.”

Yona’s smile widened.

“Friend Sandbar may think being earth pony is no good...but that not true! Ponies do great things no matter what kind they are! Same too for Yaks!”

She pounded her chest briefly, taking on a look of pride.

“We Yaks no fly like Dragons, and we no have magic like Hippogriffs or Changelings...but we strong and fierce! We no need those things to be happy with who we are! Never have done!”

She slapped her hoof down on Sandbar’s shoulder, which, unbeknownst to her, was so strong a gesture that it almost dislocated it. But Sandbar, while trying his best to hide the grimace from that pain, nevertheless put on a smile for her benefit as she carried on speaking to him.

“Sandbar special without wings or horn! Sandbar special because he is good pony! No need magic or flying to be good pony, or good friend”

Then, much to Sandbar’s slight horror, Yona embraced him, hugging him tightly and looking very much satisfied with her pep talk.

“Sandbar no feel sad! Sandbar can do amazing things too! So no need for sad, friend Sandbar!”

The young stallion, naturally, was simply having a hard time breathing right now, but, as Yona finally released him, giving him a chance to catch his breath, he looked to her. He saw the honesty and earnestness she had as she’d said all of that, and deep down, he knew she was right. Slowly, he gave her a more genuine smile than before, and in return for earlier, he gave her a friendly pat on the shoulder.

“Thanks, Yona. I...I guess I just needed to hear that from a friend.”

Yona practically beamed at that.

“Friends help each other! Lift each other up!”

Then, as if to emphasise her point, she grabbed hold of him and, with her extraordinary Yak strength, lifted him over her head.

“See? Lifting friends up!”

Together, the two youths shared a laugh, and as Yona finally let Sandbar down again, he sighed, giving her a warm look.

“You know, Yona...I’m pretty happy you’re my friend.”

Yona was obviously happy to hear that, and gave a short nod to her friend’s words.

“Yona happy to have Sandbar as friend too! And me looking forward to seeing his friend, Comet!”

Sandbar’s own smile widened.

“Yeah...I can’t wait to introduce you all to him.”

He looked out to the lake, another nostalgic look coming to him.

“It’ll be good to have him back.”

"So...how long has he been doing that?" Smolder asked.

"Dunno. About an hour, maybe?" Gallus replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Think he'll wear out the road pacing up and down like that?" Silverstream enquired.

"Ponies do many weird things, so maybe?" Yona added.

Sandbar, looking excited and nervous in equal measure, was indeed frantically pacing in the main street of Ponyville, always looking out to the main road out of the town, fully expecting to see the one he knew was coming. But, with every time he looked, he only ever saw more empty road. He took several calm breaths, trying to keep himself from just going nuts over how much he was looking forward to this, but it was clear that such efforts weren't going his way. Eventually, after letting out a sigh, Gallus walked over, and finally brought his friend's pacing to an end by slapping a claw down on his shoulder.

"Sandbar! Buddy! Just relax! I know you haven't seen this guy in ages and you were big childhood besties and all that, but you're starting to make us nervous now!"

Chuckling to this, Sandbar nodded.

"Yeah...sorry about that. It's just...I don't even know what I'm going to say to Comet when he gets here. I mean, what, I'm just going to ask how Canterlot's been? What kind of question is that?"

Gallus rolled his eyes, but said nothing, as it was now the turn of Yona to walk closer to speak words of encouragement.

"Sandbar no worry! Friends always know how to talk to one another!"

The young stallion offered his Yak friend a warm smile, then looked over to Silverstream who, as usual, added her usual cheeriness to the proceedings.

"Just be happy you get to see an old friend again! I mean, not old exactly, since you're both still kids technically, but...you know what I mean."

Sandbar allowed a brief laugh to escape him at that, which was shared by Smolder as she too spoke up.

"I'll just be happy if this guy lives up to all the hype you've given him over the last week."

The earth pony opened his mouth to speak, ready to reply to those words, only to be halted in that moment when, to the shock of all of them, there was a sudden bright flash, causing all of them to take a step back from it. Then, when the light of that teleportation spell died down, there was a newcomer to their group. A unicorn stallion, about Sandbar's age, with white fur and a red mane, looking more than a little satisfied at the still-shocked look on Sandbar's face.

"Hehe, you never did know how to react to my spells, Sandy."

Immediately, Sandbar shook himself out of his state, then smiled, moving forward and embracing his new arrival in a hug.

"Comet! It's been ages!"

The other stallion chuckled to this, and as they parted, he shrugged his shoulders slightly.

"Yeah, I've been meaning to visit earlier, but, you know how busy big cities can get, right?"

Sandbar blinked.

"Er...never been in one, so no, can't say I do...but it's good to see you all the same."

Comet nodded back to this, then looked over his friend's shoulder, seeing the motley collection of other students behind him. There was, it had to be said, a tiny moment of uncertainty and hesitation on the part of the unicorn as he looked to them, but, seeing how they were clearly associated with Sandbar, he smiled all the same.

"So...made some new friends?"

Smiling, Sandbar turned, gesturing to each of his friends in turn.

"Comet, this is Gallus, Smolder, Silverstream and Yona."

Each of the other students gave a wave and a smile to the newly-arrived unicorn as soon as their name had been called out, and Comet, in turn, gave a wave right back to them.

"Pleased to meet you. So, you all go to that fancy new school that Princess Twilight opened?"

Smolder chuckled.

"Yep. It's been pretty sweet so far."

Gallus leaned in closer to his dragon companion.

"Weeeeeeeeell...it's sweet when the Professors aren’t putting our lives in danger over competitions between them."

The others gave him a simultaneous "shhhh" to that, prompting him to simply shrug his shoulders. Comet took on a look of confusion, but didn't enquire further. Instead, he looked again to Sandbar.

"So...is this everycreature?"

Sandbar nodded, then stopped, realisation coming to him.

"Actually, no! There's...um...somecreature else."

A blush came to his cheeks, and he avoided his friend's eyes for a time, causing Comet to suddenly gain a knowing smirk.

"Okay, I know that look! You've got yourself a sweet little mare, right?"

Silverstream giggled.

"Oh, he's got himself a sweetheart alright! But, when you say mare..."

Comet raised an eyebrow, but before he could ask about that, there was a new sound all of a sudden. It was an incredibly loud buzzing, like the wings of an insect, and while Comet began to look around to see where it was coming from, Sandbar gained a fond smile, looking up to the sky.

"There she is!"

The gathered creatures all looked on as Ocellus swooped in for a graceful landing. Smiling to her friends, her welcoming outlook only grew further when she gazed upon her boyfriend, and she moved closer towards him.

"Sorry I'm late."

But Sandbar shook his head.

"No problem, Ocellus. I know how important it is for you to get that essay done."

The young Changeling smiled sweetly to her beau, and Sandbar himself blushed fiercely to this. But then, after enduring the giggling and snickering by his other friends at this, he soon remembered why they were all out here to begin with, and so, after clearing his throat, he turned yet again to Comet.

"Comet...this is Ocellus."

Ocellus herself gave another smile to Sandbar's old friend, but that smile faded when she noticed how he was looking at her. Gone was the jovial and open look he was giving everycreature else, and instead, Comet regarded her with a look utterly devoid of warmth. He looked to her with what could only be described as disgust, and soon, he slowly turned his eyes to Sandbar.

"...Is this a joke?"

Sandbar looked to him, confused.

"Um...what?"

Comet frowned, then raised a hoof and pointed it straight at Ocellus.

"You...you mean to tell me you're seriously dating...that?!"

Immediately, all smiles vanished, and they looked to Comet with pure shock.

"Wha...what?" Ocellus whispered.

Comet narrowed his eyes to her.

"You heard me, shapeshifter! What did you do to him?! Did you use some of your creepy Changeling magic on his head or something?!"

Ocellus took a step backwards, and Smolder stepped forward, glaring at the young unicorn.

"Hey! What's your problem?!"

Comet snorted to this.

"My problem?! I was there when these things attacked Canterlot! I know what they are! They're monsters!"

Ocellus flinched to that, and this time, Yona spoke, stomping the ground angrily as she did so.

"Changelings no monsters! Changelings friends! Ocellus friend!"

"Bah! What would some dumb Yak know about this?!" Comet spat back.

Silverstream, though clearly nervous about all of this, nevertheless spoke in defence of her friends.

"Hey now, I know you had this bad experience in Canterlot, but there's no need to go name-calling like that!"

"She's right! You've really gotta chill, Comet!" Gallus added.

Comet looked to each of them, looking more and more infuriated as the moments passed.

"Pfft! Do you think I care how you guys think of me! I know I'm right! You wanna stand up for some filthy Changeling? Fine! See if I care! And you know what?"

He glanced around the immediate area, then back to the group.

"Me and Sandbar are gonna go someplace a bit nicer to be around. Maybe...with better people."

Swiftly, he turned, starting to walk away.

"Come on, Sandy!"

"...No."

The unicorn stopped dead in his tracks, spinning around and looking to his childhood friend. Sandbar himself had been completely silent during this entire exchange, but now, he had the attention of everycreature there, Ocellus and Comet especially. The latter, though clearly taken aback at what his friend had said to him, took a moment to get his thoughts in order before speaking up.

"Er...what do you mean no?"

Slowly, Sandbar looked to him, frowning slightly.

"Exactly what it sounds like...no."

Stepping forward, Comet frowned right back.

"Sandy...you're not seriously telling me you'd rather be with them than me?"

Sandbar turned his body, facing him fully, his voice now bearing a sternness that most had never heard from him.

"Comet...these are my friends. And Ocellus? She's even more than that."

He took a moment to look down to her, his expression softening, before once more looking to his older friend with severity.

"They are some of the nicest, kindest people I've met in my life. They did not deserve to have you say all those things. And so I ask you..."

He stepped forward.

"...to apologise for what you said."

Comet blinked, clearly not having believed what he'd just heard.

"You...you can't be serious?"

Sandbar didn't flinch.

"I am serious."

Here, Comet's breathing started to get heavier, and he too started to look on with a degree of scorn.

"...I...I am not going to apologise for what I said! She's a Changeling, Sandbar! You can't trust them!"

To that, Sandbar moved closer to Ocellus, wrapping a hoof around her and holding her close.

"I trust her. I trust all of them. Because they're my friends. And if you really consider me your friend...that should be enough for you."

Comet shook his head.

"I...I can't let you do this! I mean...going out with a changeling?! She's...she's a filthy, disgusting...thing!"

To that, Sandbar sighed, lowering his head and closing his eyes.

"If you can't accept this...if you can't accept them...then I guess...that's the end of it."

Silence fell, and everycreature seemed too terrified to say a word right now, and so simply looked from one stallion to the other. Eventually, and after wrestling with a great deal of disbelief, Comet's expression slowly morphed into one of disdain.

"...You're not the friend I remember, Sandbar. You've changed."

In response, Sandbar's eyes opened again, and he looked to his childhood friend with nothing but disappointment.

"...So have you."

No further words were spoken between them. Instead, Comet gave one final look of disgust to both Sandbar and his new friends, before turning around and walking off. Sandbar watched, as indeed did all of his other friends, and eventually, there came a time when Comet was simply too far away to be seen anymore. Even so, the uncomfortable silence persisted for quite some time, broken only when Ocellus looked up to her boyfriend, her voice tinted with shakiness.

"Are...are you okay, Sandy?"

Looking down to her, Sandbar gave a small smile.

"I was about to ask you that question."

Ocellus' expression was one of sadness.

"Changelings are used to other creatures not liking us. But...I’m not the one...who just lost a friend."

To that, Sandbar let out a long sigh.

"I think...I lost that friend a long time ago. I just..."

He shrugged his shoulders.

"...just didn't know it...until now."

Anger came to him for a brief moment.

"And you shouldn't have to be used to that, Ocellus. I...I always knew there were ponies out there who felt that way. I just...I just never thought...that Comet would be one of them."

His anger subsided, replaced instead with the sadness and disappointment he'd been feeling before. None of his friends knew what to say to console him right now, but even so, they looked to him with a degree of pride over what he'd just done for them, and for Ocellus especially. After some time had passed, Yona was the one who finally asked the question that was one everycreature's minds.

"Will...will friend Sandbar be...okay?"

The young stallion considered that, then, as he looked out to the road, no longer able to see the unicorn he had once called "friend", he gave the only answer he felt he could.

"I will...but not today."

Though Silverstream had spent a great deal of her recent days in the open air and upon dry land, that did not in any way diminish her joy when she felt the familiar sensation of water coursing past her scales and fins. And today, she got to experience that to its fullest, as she darted through often-swum waters of her beloved home; Seaquestria. Corals, and shoals of fish she knew well from her childhood would enter her gaze, bringing immense delight to her, as did seeing many faces who would offer greeting as she passed. But, as pleasant as all this was, the young Seapony was here for a reason, and before long, she found herself outside of her family's home. Taking a moment to brush herself down and ensure she was presentable, she entered through the front entrance. It took only moments before she spotted somecreature, and of course, it was her younger brother.

"Terramar!"

She lunged forward, embracing her younger sibling in a tight hug. Terramar himself, who had not noticed her arrival, was taken aback by this unexpectedly affectionate assault, but soon relaxed into it, chuckling slightly and returning the embrace.

"It's good to have you back, Silverstream."

As they finally parted, Silverstream was practically beaming at him, bearing a wide smile and looking as inquisitive as ever.

"So, how have you been? Have you made any other friends yet? How's Mom and Dad?"

"You can probably ask us yourself, sweetie."

Silverstream turned upon hearing the second voice, and again, her face lit up. For it was now her parents, Ocean Flow and Sky Beak, who now swam to greet her. Much like with her brother, Silverstream rushed forward to hug them, and they, in turn, welcomed it. It was a heart-warming family moment, nocreature could deny that, and Silverstream seemed so happy over it that she might even have burst over it. But, as giddy as she was, she kept it under control, and when she moved away from her parents, her voice was tinted with pure excitement, as it always was.

"I have so much to tell you guys! It's been so much fun at the School of Friendship! Oh, you wouldn't believe the stuff that's happened over there!"

While her parents were, of course, eager to hear what their daughter had to say, they seemed to get knowing smirks all of a sudden, much to Silverstream's confusion. But, before she had the chance to ask what was going on she found, to her slight surprise, somecreature swim up behind her and cover her eyes with their fins.

"Guess who?" the newcomer asked.

Now, Silverstream was always up for a good guessing game, and so decided to do just that.

"Oh! Um...Joe the mail-pony? No! Old Lady Doris? Oh! Maybe you're that fish I passed by on the way here?"

A sigh was heard.

"Oh, for the love of..."

The fins were removed from Silverstream's eyes, allowing her to turn and, to her immense shock, look upon the regal form of their leader, Queen Novo.

"You haven't changed a bit, little Silver," she said with a smirk.

Silverstream's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, and she took in a sharp breath before speaking out.

"AUNTIE NOVO!!!"

As had happened so many times now, she lunged forward for another hug, only to be stopped by her Mother, Ocean, clearing her throat. Silverstream stopped, giving her Mother a quick look before gaining realisation.

"Oh! Right!"

Stopping herself, Silverstream swiftly started to look regal and composed herself, giving a deep bow to the Queen.

"You honour us with your presence, my Queen."

But Novo simply rolled her eyes to this.

"Oh no, none of that! Come over here and give your Auntie a hug!"

With permission granted, Silverstream burst out into another happy squeal, giving the Queen exactly what she'd asked for. Everycreature smiled to this, and Silverstream seemed happiest of all, but then, as she parted from her royal Aunt, she started to look curious about something.

"Wait...if you’re here, does that mean...?"

Before her question was finished, she looked on to discover that, from behind Queen Novo, another Seapony emerged. One who seemed just as eager and excited as Silverstream was. There was a moment of silence as the two stared at one another, and everycreature else in the house, after giving knowing nods to one another, elected to put some already-prepared earmuffs over their finny-looking ears. And just in time, as Silverstream and Skystar rushed to greet one another, they spoke in voices to loud and so filled with energy that no ear could have possibly handled it.

"SKYSTAR!!!"

"SILVERSTREAM!!!"

"IT'S SO GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN!!!"

"YOU TOO!!!"

"HOW'S LIFE?!?!"

"IT'S BEEN GREAT!!! HOW’S THE SCHOOL?!?!”

“ALSO GREAT!!!”

"WHY ARE WE SCREAMING?!?!"

"WHY NOT?!?!"

A pause, and then, the two youths giggled frantically, moving forward for the sake of yet another hug. With safety now assured, the other Seaponies got their earmuffs off, taking a moment to give one another looks of amusement over this. As for Silverstream and Skystar, they eventually moved away from each other, with the former looking out to her whole assembled family.

"I can't wait to tell you all about what's been going on!"

A chuckle escaped the Queen, and she started to gracefully drift in the direction of the family dinner table.

"Well, it can wait until we start eating. I haven't had any of my sister's best seaweed salad for ages!"

Ocean rolled her eyes, bearing a warm smile as she too moved to the table.

"Oh shush! My cooking is terrible and you know it!"

The family all shared a laugh to that, and one by one, they made their way to the table, each taking a seat and looking down at the spread that had already been placed there prior to Silverstream's arrival. It all looked good, to be fair, and Silverstream eagerly awaited the chance to get some home-cooking again. There was a time of peace and quiet before that, however, as her Mother got to serving each and every one of her guests. Before long, everycreature had a good portion of just about everything there was to eat, and with a single nod of permission, they began to take their first bites. As soon as she’d sampled some of the food, Silverstream moaned with pure satisfaction.

"Oh, Mom! This is so good!"

Ocean took on a look of pride to that.

"Well, I certainly hope those ponies are feeding you well over at that school of theirs."

Silverstream giggled.

"Oh, it's so wonderful over there! I'd love to introduce you to all my new friends one day!"

Her Father, Sky Beak, smiled to his daughter.

"And I'm sure we'd love to meet them, sweetie. After all..."

He turned, looking over his shoulder.

"...you can't really stop talking about them."

The group turned, looking to a pile of opened letters in the corner of the room that was so large it almost reached the ceiling, and all of them bearing Silverstream's writing. Silverstream herself, after seeing that pile, chuckled nervously before shrugging her shoulders.

"Okay...maybe I get a bit too excited."

They all shared another laugh to this, and before long, it was Terramar who now looked to her, seeming more than a little curious to hear what his sister had to say.

"So what's it like? Having Changelings and dragons and stuff as friends?"

A squeal escaped the pink Seapony at that, and she once more gave her brother a cuddly assault.

"Oh, Terramar! It's been the best time of my life! Every day there's some new lesson or adventure for us! It's just great!"

She paused as she considered that.

"I mean, sure, there have been one or two occasions where one of us have almost died and stuff, but that's no biggie, right?"

Hearing that, her Mother nearly chocked on a bite of shrimp, looking to her daughter with confusion and incredulity.

"Pardon?!"

Silverstream opened her mouth to reply, only to be kept from doing so when Novo, of all people, placed a fin on her sister's shoulder, calming her.

"Now, now, Ocean. Let the young ones have their fun. Remember all the trouble we used to get into when we were her age?"

Though reluctant at first, a nostalgic smile crossed Ocean's face.

"Yeah...I suppose you're right."

A frown came to her.

"Still...I truly hope that awful Neighsay fellow isn't going to give you any further grief, sweetie. From what I hear, he was positively dreadful."

But Silverstream waved her off.

"Oh, don't worry, Mom. I don't think we have to worry about him. Besides, all the other ponies have been super-nice!"

Raising her fin, she started the motion that, on any other creature, would have been "counting fingers", even though she, naturally, didn't seem bothered by the lack of such appendages.

"Fluttershy is really sweet, Pinkie's always fun to have around, Rarity's just so glamorous all the time..."

Her smile widened.

"...and as for Princess Twilight? She knows so much about friendship! It's amazing!"

Her smile widened further as he looked to her Aunt.

"I know I wasn't there at the time, but I'll bet it was great when you first met her, right?"

Here, Novo paused, gaining a look of uncertainty. She considered her words carefully, then glanced down to Skystar, who looking to her in an almost pleading way. Seeing that, the Queen sighed, putting on a smile for her niece's benefit.

"Yes, it was...quite memorable."

Silverstream was unsure of what had just happened, but then, she turned, hearing her Father clear his throat.

"Well...how about we get back to the food. My precious little girl is back home, and I don't know about the rest of you, but I'd say that's worth celebrating!"

Taking a cup, he raised it to her.

"Here's to you, Silverstream! May your time at that school continue to be as wonderful as you say it is!"

The others too raised their cups, and Silverstream, regaining her smile, did the same.

"Oh, it certainly will, Dad...it certainly will!"

She paused, then chuckled in a sly manner.

"Well...it will if I have anything to say about it.”

Then, she looked back to her family, continuing to bear her usual grin as she began to regale them.

“Now then, let me tell you about the time one of my best friends nearly drowned!”

With the sun beating down on it, the surface of the Ponyville lake was practically glistening right now, creating a beautiful and calm image for all to see. That is, it was calm, until that surface broke with the sudden leaping up of a certain pink Seapony. Silverstream giggled loudly as she rose high above the water, doing a quick backflip, before once more tumbling down into that cool blue below. And she wasn't alone here today, as a second Seapony emerged not long after her, doing a similar move and joining her back in the water within moments. Though water was not her natural habitat, with this imitated form, Ocellus proved to be an adept swimmer, much like Silverstream herself. The two laughed together, racing against one another around the edge of the lake for a time, before finally stopping, coming to the edge of the place and resting their fins against it. Panting briefly, Silverstream smiled widely as she looked on to the one who stood beside the lake nearby.

"Come on in, Yona! The water's great!"

Sure enough, their Yak friend was indeed close by. However, rather than the confident figure she usually was, Yona was instead looking to the water with nervousness and uncertainty. What's more, she was clearly dressed to go in there, having foregone her usual garb, like her shawl, and was instead wearing a pair of floaties around her forelegs. Taking a step forward, the young Yak took a gulp, before slowly raising a single hoof and dipping it in the water before her. Immediately, she pulled it out, shaking her head rapidly.

"Yona no think this good idea. Yona no good with water."

Ocellus tilted her head.

"But you're the one who asked us to help you."

Yona nodded.

"That true. But Yona still no like this."

Though sympathising, Silverstream's tone was nevertheless just as bubbly as it usually was as she responded to that.

"You're going to have to learn to do this sooner or later, Yona. And don't you worry. Ocellus and I are here to help!"

Ocellus nodded in confirmation of that, which did a little to ease Yona's fear, though not by much. Again, the Yak took a step forward, and again, she was struck by nerves.

"Pony lands...have so much...water."

Ocellus poked the end of her own chin with her fin, then smiled to her friend.

"Well...think of it this way. Yaks are surrounded by water all the time back in Yakyakistan, right?"

Yona frowned to that.

"Yak water all frozen! We surrounded by snow and ice! Not...this!"

She again poked the water with her hoof, never actually putting it in all the way. Ocellus, rather than be deterred by her friend's words, simply smiled once more.

"Just think of it like walking through a whole bunch of snow. Other creatures have difficulty doing it, but Yaks find it easy. This is sort of like that."

Yona still seemed uncertain, and here, Silverstream gasped, as if having just thought of something.

"Oh! I've got it!"

Her friends both looked to her, just in time to see her place her fin upon the magical pearl necklace she always wore.

"We Hippogriffs have the power to change not just ourselves into Seaponies, but other creatures too!"

She then gestured to Yona.

"Maybe, if I use that power on you, Yona, it'll make swimming easier?"

Yona was, understandably, not quite sure of the idea of being transformed into some other creature. But, as she pondered this offer, Ocellus sighed, shaking her head.

"I don't think that'd be a good idea, Silverstream."

The pink Seapony looked to her with confusion.

"What? Why?"

Ocellus took a moment to get her thoughts in order, then began to explain herself.

"True, Yona may be better at swimming if she takes on an aquatic form, but that doesn't change the fact that she still needs to learn how to swim as a Yak. They're two different creatures and two different styles of swimming, and helping her swim as one won't necessarily translate to teaching her how to swim as the other."

Silverstream opened her mouth to reply, only to have her friend's words truly sink in for her, creating a moment of brief dejection.

"Oh...right...silly me."

But, as with many down-feelings, it lasted very little time with her, and within moments she was back to her usual perky self.

"Well, we can still help her."

Ocellus nodded.

"We can. But..."

Slowly, she turned again to face Yona.

"...we can't force you in here, Yona. That first step? You have to take that yourself."

Yona nodded, appreciating her Changeling colleague's words. As before, she stared at the water, at her own reflection, which rippled every time the wind blew a gentle breeze. Her friends were here, and they wouldn't let anything happen to her. That was what she kept trying to tell herself, over and over, hoping it might do the trick. And soon after, it seemed as though that was indeed the case, as Ocellus and Silverstream watched their larger friend take that very first step. There was hesitation at first, but then, at the end of it, Yona finally put her hoof into the water in earnest. It was a step into the shallow end, but it was a step all the same, leading to smiles on the faces of the others.

"There you go!" Silverstream exclaimed.

"One step at a time, Yona," Ocellus added.

Yona nodded back to that, and then started to take another step into the water. Her movements were slow, nervous and hesitant, as they all knew they would be. But even so, the young Yak was truly working her way in. The feel of water rising up and over her fur seemed strange to her. Something she didn't like in the slightest. However, she powered through, though her expression made it clear that this was all still an unwelcome experience for her. But, then again, given what happened the last time she was deep in water, her friends could hardly blame her for that. After a while, the water was up high enough to have reached her chin, and it was here that she stopped, looking to Ocellus.

"What Yona do now?"

Smiling, the Changeling female gave a nod to her, swimming gently over to her and taking hold of Yona's right forehoof. Silverstream mirrored her actions, moving over to the other side of Yona and holding onto her left. After pondering what to do, Ocellus began to calmly explain.

"Okay now...Silverstream and I are going to hold you here, and we want you to use your back legs like paddles."

Yona practically froze at that, but again, Ocellus spoke in her reassuring tone.

"It's okay, we're here. We won't let you go under. No matter what you do here today, we're going to help you."

Her expression softened.

"We're your friends, Yona...trust us."

Yona did trust them, and she let them know with a single nod. Then, after taking one or two calming breaths, Yona did as instructed, lifting up one of her hind legs, and then the other. Immediately, it felt as though she was going to go under the water, and panic nearly set it. But, just as they'd promised, Ocellus and Silverstream held her forelegs firmly, keeping her up and giving her support. Yona's breathing was rapid, and the fear of going under was all over her face. But as she did this, it was Silverstream's turn to speak to her reassuringly.

"It's okay! We've got you! Now...paddle!"

Yona, who had shut her eyes tightly during this, kept on breathing heavily, but she had put her trust in her friends, and so she did indeed start to use her back legs as she'd bee asked to. She moved them slowly at first, and it felt strange. She'd never once used her hind legs this way. But, after trying a few times, she started to get into a slow but steady rhythm. Ocellus and Silverstream smiled to this, watching as she became faster and faster with her movements back there. Yona herself, though clearly still new about all this and feeling a great deal of uncertainty about it, slowly found herself getting more and more into it. Her friends still supported her at the front, and her back legs were paddling just fast enough so that her back end was starting to rise up through the water.

"Is...is Yona doing it?" she asked.

Giggling, Silverstream nodded.

"Yes! You're doing it!"

With trepidation, Yona cracked one eye open, seeing her two friends smiling warmly to her. She could feel her body floating, not only through the floaties or her friends holding her, but through her own efforts. It was an unfamiliar and strange feeling, but also one that she, rather surprisingly, found herself starting to enjoy. Though still clearly nervous about this situation, she actually started to break out into a smile. Her movements in her hind legs were becoming more used to the pattern she'd fallen into, moving faster and with greater thrust, and after a while, though her breathing remained heavy, Yona started to feel as though she was actually doing something great here.

"Y...Yona doing it? Yona doing it! Yona swimming!"

The others widened their smiles at her, and Ocellus gave a nod.

"Yes, Yona! You're doing it!"

"How does it feel?" Silverstream asked.

Yona laughed heartily.

"It...it feel good! Swimming good!"

Silverstream giggled to that.

"I know, right?!"

Ocellus too laughed, but then, after casting a quick look over to Yona's back legs, still paddling away, she calmed down somewhat, letting out a deep sigh before speaking up to her friend again.

"Okay now, Yona...we're going to take you a bit further along now, into slightly deeper water. If you like, we can stop right here for today. But if you do want to go on, I promise you, we'll be right there all the way."

Yona, just for a moment, showed hesitation. But that moment was short-lived, and she looked out onto the water of the rest of the lake with a smile, showing confidence and defiance towards it.

"No! Yona go on! Yona no scared of silly water! Yona swim now! Yona no afraid of water!"

Silverstream cheered loudly.

"Yeah! That's the spirit!"

Again, Ocellus joined in on the laugh, though she was sure to keep her exuberance a bit more controlled than her friends.

"Alright then, onwards it is. Silverstream, keep a steady hold on her. And Yona? Be sure to keep up the pace back there with your back legs."

But Yona looked completely unconcerned now, continuing to smile at her companion.

"Thank you, Ocellus. And thank you too, Silverstream. Yona no worried. Yona has friends with her."

The Changeling and Seapony exchanged smiles of their own, with Ocellus looked back to Yona soon afterwards.

"Yes you do, Yona...yes you do."

With Princess Twilight herself leading the lesson, things went along about as you'd expect. All the students were sitting in alphabetical order, all neatly arranged according to the head-mare's lists. Everycreature had their books out and were meticulously taking notes, though admittedly not as much as Twilight herself would do. There were charts and graphs plastered all over the chalk-board before them, and Twilight herself, smiling happily as she paced up and down the thing, pointed to many a statistic and page, emphasising each and every statement she made. But, she was not alone here today, as Rainbow Dash was also present, smirking slightly as her more academic colleague carried on with her lesson plan. But, this brief reprieve from her duties did not last forever, as Twilight soon turned to her, gesturing for her to come over.

"Rainbow? Would you care to discuss how your story relates to all of this?"

Though a little taken aback at first, Rainbow soon got into a proper groove for it, clearing her throat and taking a step forward, looking to the students before speaking aloud.

"Well, it all happened a while back, just around the time Twilight first came to Ponyville. My old friend, Gilda, she came over to visit me after having been away for a real long time."

A grimace came to her as she dwelt on that memory.

"Things were going well at first...but then I realised she was becoming kind of a bully to my other friends. Things...didn't go all that great between us after that."

Then, after a brief pause, a smile returned to her.

"But a few years later, when me and Pinkie went over to Griffonstone, we met up again. We had a bit of a face-off, but after a dangerous and exciting mission down a nearby chasm, she pulled through, and we were friends again!"

Twilight nodded proudly, stepping forward herself and speaking up in a firm yet reassuring tone.

"Let Rainbow's story serve as an example to you all, my students. Friends may go through many difficult times, and may even separate from one another..."

Her smile widened.

"...but if you work at it, and manage to get past those difficulties, you'll find your friendships will become stronger than ever before!"

Many students were clearly interested in that story, and were eagerly writing down notes in their books. But, amidst all this, there was one who apparently had something to say. Silverstream had her claw straight up in the air, going "ooh" several times over. Twilight, who recognised a question waiting to be asked when she saw it, giggled slightly before addressing her.

"Yes, Silverstream?"

Here, however, Silverstream hesitated, and quickly glanced over to Sandbar who, thanks to the alphabetical seating, was close by. The stallion, by contrast, was himself writing notes, and so didn't notice this look by his Hippogriff friend. Silverstream, glancing from him to Twilight and back again, eventually settled on Twilight, before starting to ask what she needed to.

"Um...I have kind of a "what if" thing to ask about all of this, if that's okay?"

Twilight's smile widened further still, and she happily clapped her hooves together.

"Ooooh! A hypothetical scenario? How delightful!"

Rainbow rolled her eyes to that, but said nothing as Twilight assumed her more professional appearance, clearing her throat slightly.

"I mean...go ahead."

Again, Silverstream cast a nervous glance in Sandbar's direction, and when she looked back to her head-mare, she started asking her question with a suspicious lack of her usual positive tone.

"Well...let's say there were two best friends, who maybe knew each other since they were kids, and they met up after a really, really long time."

Twilight was nodding to this, but as the question was being asked, Ocellus, Yona, Smolder and Gallus looked to Silverstream with nervousness of their own. Sandbar, meanwhile, was simply starting to look uncomfortable, but said nothing as the pink Hippogriff continued.

"And let's also say that one of these two friends started acting...well...mean. As in...really mean. Meaner than anycreature should be. The kind of mean that just hurts really bad."

She nervously poked the ends of her claws together.

"If the other friend, the one who was hearing all that, decided to...well...end their friendship...would that be...um...okay? You know...under the circumstances?"

Twilight blinked, looking somewhat taken aback that her student would ask such a question. For a moment, she looked over to Rainbow, who just shrugged her shoulders, before turning back to Silverstream, assuming her prior smile.

"Well, I realise that a situation like that would be very difficult, but, as you all heard from Rainbow, ending a friendship may well only be a temporary thing."

Shutting her eyes, she took on a look that suggested absolute confidence in what she was saying.

"After all, friendships are important. And while one friend may be trying at times, cutting them out of your life is by no means the answer. For as we should all come to learn here at this school...friendships can last forever."

"...You're wrong."

Instantly, Twilight's eyes snapped open, and she scoured the collection of students before her to find the one who had spoken. It was Sandbar, who was simply looking down at his notebook right now. They way he'd said that, it didn't sound like he was angry or sad. It just sounded, for lack of a better word, resigned. Though looking a touch uncertain, Twilight raised an eyebrow.

"I...I realise that it may take a lot of work to hold onto friendship, but you'll always find that it's worth it."

But Sandbar, now slowly raising his head, looked her right in the eye.

"...You're wrong."

The same words, and the same tone. He'd meant what he'd said, and all the other students, his friends especially, looked to him with utter bewilderment. For nocreature had ever said such a thing to their head-mare during one of her classes like this, yet there he was, saying exactly that. Twilight, naturally, was completely shocked to have been spoken to in such a way, and Rainbow too was pretty confused as to what was going on. But then, before anycreature had a chance to say anything, the school bell suddenly rang, which shook Twilight out of her shocked state. As she watched her students start to pack away their books, she assumed, at least for the moment, the image of the professional teacher.

"Yes...um...I want you all to read chapters two-through-four tonight and make notes. Study hard and...well...enjoy the rest of your evening."

The other students began to trickle out of the lecture hall, but all the while, Twilight kept her gazed fixed on Sandbar. When he began to move away from his spot, however, Twilight halted him with her words.

"Mr Sandbar...could you stay behind after class...please?"

Her eyes drifted over some of her other students also.

"...And your friends as well?"

Sandbar stopped where he was, as did Ocellus, Gallus and the others. The remaining students walked out, unsure of what to make of all this, but never saying anything about it, all while those six remained. Eventually, the lecture hall was vacated, save for Twilight, Rainbow and the six youths. Now alone here, the youngsters made their way to the front of the class, practically lining up in front of their head-mare, and Twilight herself, after looking them over, made sure all the other students were gone, lest anycreature listen in on this private meeting. Eventually, she focused her gaze on Sandbar specifically.

"So...would anycreature like to tell me what that was all about?"

The group looked to one another, with Ocellus especially keeping her eyes on Sandbar, seeming particularly concerned for him. Eventually, and after enduring the inquisitive stare of her teacher, Silverstream was the first to speak.

"It was my fault, Princess! Just a silly little thing I thought about, no need to worry about it!"

But Twilight wasn't buying it, and raised a single eyebrow to show this. Silverstream looked away from her, unable to look her teacher in the eye, and Twilight, in response, let out a long sigh.

"Look...whatever it is...it's clearly bothering you all. If you tell me...I'll be able to help you."

Sandbar, who had been looking down at the ground this whole time, slowly looked back up to the head-mare, and Twilight, in turn, looked to him. The two stared at one another for a minute or two, and at the end of it, Sandbar began to speak, albeit with a somewhat hesitant tone.

"I...I had a friend. Comet. We hadn't seen each other since we were kids, and...he came to visit me the other week."

Twilight nodded, and Rainbow, walking beside her, cocked her head to the side.

"And...things didn't go so well?"

Sandbar frowned, glancing away from them briefly.

"Things started okay...until he met Ocellus."

The young Changeling, upon being mentioned, also looked away, looking like she was clearly uncomfortable about something. But, as before, she said nothing as her boyfriend continued.

"Comet was...not happy about meeting her. When I told her she and I were close, he...he..."

Slowly, he looked back to Twilight, his eyes narrowing.

"...he was...disrespectful of her."

Twilight started to gain a look of discomfort about this story, her eyes quickly darting over to Ocellus, who was still looking away from her. Eventually, Twilight looked back to the lone pony among her students.

"Disrespectful how, exactly?"

Here, Sandbar hesitated, and looked over to Ocellus. The Changeling, for her part, glanced back to him, her expression softening. For a moment, she looked to each of her friends, and after a short while of just thinking the matter over, she let out a sigh of her own.

"It's...it's okay, guys. You can tell them."

Twilight, sensing that she wasn't going to like what she was about to hear, stepped forward, trying to speak as openly and calmly as possible.

"Whatever it is...it won't leave this room...you have my word."

With that assurance given, the other students, after quietly giving each other nervous looks, began to speak. Silverstream was the first, and was followed shortly afterwards by Yona, Smolder and Gallus. As they spoke, they began to paint a picture of the events that had transpired just a few short weeks ago. Twilight and Rainbow listened patiently, and as time went on, their expressions turned to shock, horror and even a degree of revulsion. The students described everything that had happened, every hateful word that had been thrown to Sandbar and especially to Ocellus. Rainbow, hearing this, looked like she wanted to break something, but Twilight, by contrast, listened with a look of shame upon her face. After a while, the story ended, and all that was left was a long and uncomfortable silence between them all. A silence that Twilight eventually broke.

"...I see."

Rainbow, as one would expect, turned to her alicorn friend, and appeared to be very angry.

"Let's call that little punk back here! Nopony says things like that to our students and gets away with it!"

But Twilight, of course, dealt with this with a far cooler head, and soon, her eyes focused on Ocellus. The young Changeling had been silent through her friends' telling of the story, but it was obvious to anycreature that she was still upset over what had happened, and for good reason. Taking a step forward, Twilight placed her hoof gently upon Ocellus' shoulder, gaining her attention.

"I'm...I'm so sorry, Ocellus. You didn't deserve to have such things said to you."

She frowned slightly.

"What was said...it was inexcusable. I wish...I wish my people were better than that...but I know from experience how deep that kind of hate and mistrust can go."

Ocellus, ever so slowly, gave a nod.

"Th...thank you, Princess."

Twilight nodded back, and then looked back to Sandbar. It was his anger over all this that had sparked this meeting, and now he stood silent. The retelling of the incident had upset him just as much as it had upset Ocellus, and he continued to look bitter and raw over it. Twilight, in a similar move to before, walked over to him.

"Sandbar..."

The young stallion looked to her, prompting her to continue.

"I'm sorry...that your friendship ended."

Sandbar, for his part, tried his best to keep his feelings under control as he responded.

"I...I meant no disrespect earlier, Princess, when I spoke up in the lesson. I just...I just..."

Twilight sighed, giving a slight nod.

"...I understand."

Sandbar, after a while, looked to his teacher, and seemed, of all things, worried.

"Are...are you going to ask me to reach out to him again?"

And here, Twilight understood the crux of his feelings from earlier. The way he'd said what he'd said, and the way he'd seemed so utterly opposed to what she was trying to teach. She couldn't blame him, not after what she'd heard, but at the same time, she knew she had a responsibility to be as honest with her student as she could.

"In my time...I've come to see all sorts of peoples become friends...even those who were once enemies."

She cast a brief glance to Rainbow, who gave her a silent nod, before looking back to her students.

"I have come to believe that anyone can be friends with anyone...and that even friendships that have become strained and broken can be healed, given enough time."

Her gaze focused on Sandbar.

"In fact, if I'm being completely honest here...in recent years, that notion hasn't simply been a belief for me...it's become more akin...to a rule."

To that, Sandbar started to hang his head, with the other students looking to him. Twilight, for a time, stayed quiet, but then, after thinking the matter over, she gave yet another deep sigh.

"But...funny thing about rules..."

Like with Ocellus, she placed her hoof upon Sandbar's shoulder.

"...there are always exceptions to them."

Sandbar looked to her, surprised, as indeed did the other students. Twilight, thinking over how best to say what she needed to, instead just spoke from the heart.

"Sandbar...your friendship ended for a reason...a good reason. Comet hurt you, and more importantly, he hurt someone you cared about. You have every right to be angry with him, and to not want to see him again."

A brief pause, and then she continued.

"I believe in friendships enduring...but if you've decided that you don't want yours to continue...I cannot call you wrong for choosing that."

Sandbar was more than a little surprised to hear what he was hearing, as were the other students, and Twilight, seeing their faces, soon gave a small smile.

"If you were worried that you were being a bad student of friendship...then please know...you're not."

She looked to the others.

"You stood by them. People you hadn't known that long...yet you stood up for them even in the face of one you once called friend."

The Princess then looked back to the young stallion.

"You did something a true friend would do, and for that...you should be proud of yourself."

Sandbar, though still astonished that she was saying this, nevertheless gave a nod of thanks to her words. Twilight, after nodding back to him, turned her attention to Ocellus, and here, her expression became far more serious.

"And Ocellus...words can never make right what was said to you. And since it's unlikely Comet himself will say this...let me offer you my profound apologies for the way you were treated."

Ocellus smiled to her teacher, giving a slight bow of her head.

"Thank you, Princess. I...I'm grateful to you for that."

Rainbow, stepping forward, looked to her Changeling student with utter seriousness.

"And if anycreature gives you trouble like that again, you come to us, okay kiddo?"

Ocellus nodded, giving a silent promise to do just that. And Twilight, soon afterwards, looked to the others.

"That goes for all of you...alright?"

The group nodded to that, and Sandbar, hesitating for just a moment, stepped forward.

"Th...thank you, Princess. I can't say...how much I appreciate you saying this."

Twilight smiled, giving a quick nod to her student.

"Don't worry, Sandbar...it's what we're here for."

The mood of the room lifted up from what it had been at the start of this whole debacle, and after a few moments, Sandbar and Ocellus looked to one another, smiling warmly. It was a sweet and tender moment between them, and one that all the rest of them couldn't help but be happy about. When the moment was over, the young couple looked back to their royal teacher, giving yet another bow of their heads in thanks to what she'd said, and Twilight, glancing up to the exit door of the lecture hall, soon widened her own smile as she regarded her students yet again.

"Now then...if that's all taken care of...I believe you six have a few chapters to read through."

It had to be said, Griffons weren't exactly the most patient of creatures, and Gallus was, admittedly, a typical example of this. Tapping his claws against the floor of the hallway, he leaned against the wall just next to the dormitory door beside him. A groan of irritation escaped him, and he occasionally glanced to the many other students of the School of Friendship as they passed him by. Every once in a while, they'd give him a wave and a smile, and to his credit, he'd always return the gesture. But, as soon as he was all alone, he'd return to his prior look of discomfort. Turning, he looked to the dormitory door, and could hear his friend moving about on the other side. Sadly, she had yet to finish what she'd gone in there for, leading to a long sigh on the part of the young Griffon. Eventually, and after having a lot of uncharacteristic restraint, Gallus finally groaned in annoyance, walking over to the door and banging on it a couple of times.

"Hey! You finished in there, Smolder?! Suagr Cube Corner's not gonna be open forever."

Mere moments passed before he got an answer.

"Give me a break, will ya? I told you I'd be out when I found it. It can't be far off now."

Gallus slapped his forehead.

"Okay, that does it! I'm coming in!"

The young Griffon unceremonious barged into the room, much to the surprise of Smolder, who was right in the middle of rummaging around one of the drawers next to her bed. The dormitory room, technically assigned for female students only, was pretty much identical in appearance to the males' quarters. A pair of bunk-beds in a moderately-sized room that led to a nice balcony beyond, which gave them a nice view of the Friendship Palace. Everywhere one looked, they could see little touches that told of the ones who dwelt here, from a bowl of gems for Smolder, to a pile of neatly-ordered books belonging to Ocellus. And speaking of Smolder, she understandably looked to her blue friend with a degree of indignation.

"Hey! Dude! Do I need to remind you that this is one of the girls' rooms?!"

Gallus rolled his eyes.

"Oh please, like you dragons ever did separate room stuff like this before now."

Smolder folded her arms and frowned at him.

"It's the principle of the thing!"

Still irritated, Gallus shook his head slightly, taking a moment to lean against a nearby dresser as he regarded his dragon companion.

"And you're sure you left your notebook in here?"

Snorting a little, Smolder looked back to the drawer she'd been looking through.

"For the last time, yes! I swear it was right here!"

In the silence that followed, Gallus took a moment to glance around the place, and it was here that he noted that the dresser he was leaning on had a rather unique object resting on top of it. It was a small wooden figurine of some sort, about the size and height of a small lamp, with a narrow "trunk" that led up to what appeared to be a carved imitation of a Yak's head. Doubtless, this belonged to Yona, and the young Griffon looked to it with interest, though only for a few moments. For after he'd looked to it, he let out a sigh, walking over to Smolder and casually tapping her on the shoulder.

"You know...you can admit you need help, if you like. I promise I wont make too much fun of you over it," he said with more than a little smugness.

Here, Smolder's patience with him finally ended, and without even looking, she gave him a quick shove to his chest, knocking him back slightly. Unfortunately, she had been a bit more forceful than she'd intended, and as Gallus stumbled backwards, he ended up knocking into the dresser he'd been standing next to before. The impact of this caused the aforementioned Yak carving to topple, and then, tumble over the edge. Both youths looked on with horror as this happened, with Gallus trying desperately to get a hold of it. But, alas, his efforts came too late, for the idol fell straight down to the floor, snapping straight in half. A deathly silence fell over the two of them, and they looked to one another with pale faces.

"Um..." Gallus began.

"Um..." Smolder mirrored.

It was clear just from looking that neither of them knew what to do here, and Gallus, taking hold of the now-broken belongings of their friend, started to speak up nervously.

"We...we can fix this."

Smolder, shaking herself out of her stunned state, walked beside him, nodding frantically.

"Y...yeah! We can totally..."

But, before she could finish, they both found, to their continued dismay, that the idol now broke apart into even more pieces as Gallus held it, and soon, the two of them were looking at nothing more than a pile of wooden fragments on the ground. Gallus, seeing this, gulped loudly, before shrugging his shoulders slightly.

"You know...no offense to Yona's people...but that was some pretty shoddy construction."

To that, Smolder snapped her head in his direction.

"This is no time for jokes! Do you realise what we've just done?!"

Gallus, as before, let out a long sigh.

"Yeah...we've just broken something that means a great deal to one of our closest friends...and all while bickering with each other."

He slowly nodded to nobody in particular, then looked over to his fire-breathing friend.

"Just a guess here...but if this was one of Princess Twilight's friendship assignments, this would probably be a straight up F."

Smolder frowned even deeper to that.

"I don't know what that thing was, Gallus, but it was probably some super-important Yak cultural thing! If Yona finds out what we've done..."

Gallus nodded, understanding fully the bad mess they'd gotten themselves into.

"So...what do we do?"

Smolder, again looking down to the broken idol, started pacing up and down.

"Well...we can't fix it. The thing's too smashed for that. We could try and make another, but it'd just look like some cheap imitation that she'd see through in a heartbeat."

Stopping, she looked to her Griffon colleague.

"Any ideas?"

Gallus shrugged his shoulders once more.

"We could try telling her somebody else did it?"

Smolder considered that, then shook her head.

"No...no! If we did that, she'd think some stranger was creeping about in our room! Then she'd go to the Princess, and before long we'd have the whole school in a panic over some sneaky-creepy guy going about!"

Gallus tapped his chin.

"Yeah...good point. The ponies do have a knack for panicking at stuff like that."

The two stood together in silence for a time, trying to figure out how best to handle this situation. But, as thoughts and ideas passed through their minds, they were interrupted by the one sound that sent a shiver of fear through their spines. For on the other side of the dormitory door, they could hear hoofsteps. And moreover, they were far too loud and heavy-sounding for them to have belonged to a pony. As such, they knew instantly who it was, and so turned to one another with wide eyes.

"She's here?!" Gallus stated.

"What do we do?!" Smolder asked, panicked.

Gallus scratched the back of his head, trying desperately to think on what to do, but, as he slowly looked down to the broken wood upon the floor, he stopped. Moments passed, and he slumped his shoulders, letting out a very long sigh.

"Smolder...we both know what we have to do here."

In truth, Smolder looked like she already knew what her friend was talking about, though it brought her no joy to consider it. Kneeling down, Gallus picked up the broken wood, holding it behind his back, and together, he and Smolder awaited the opening of the door. And open it did, revealing a happy-looking Yona on the other side. She gave a nod of greeting to Smolder, but as soon as she noted Gallus' presence, she paused, tilting her head slightly.

"Um...Gallus? This girls' room."

Gallus exhaled, nodding.

"Yona...we...I have something to tell you."

Yona looked confused, as indeed did Smolder, who looked to her friend with a raised eyebrow. Slowly, the young Griffon pulled out the wood from behind his back, presenting it to Yona.

"I...accidentally broke your idol."

Yona blinked at what had been shown to her, her eyes slightly widening as she looked over to the dresser, where the thing had been standing before. As for Smolder she was utterly stunned that Gallus had taken full responsibility for this, and so, mere moments afterwards, spoke up for him.

"No! It wasn't all him! I...I kinda pushed him into the dresser and it...fell over."

Gallus looked to her, silently giving her a look of appreciation, before promptly turning back to face Yona.

"We're really sorry, Yona. I...I know this...this whatever-it-was was probably really important to you. We should have treated this part of your culture with more respect."

A pause, and then, they both looked to their Yak friend with genuinely apologetic expressions.

"We're sorry. We won't blame you if you're angry with us."

Yona, who had been staring at her dresser for a few moments now, now finally looked back to her two friends, seeing the remorse with which they looked back to her. Then, she glanced again to the broken wood in Gallus' claws, and appeared to be deep in thought over something. Then, to the utter shock of both Gallus and Smolder, she actually cracked a smile. And afterwards, in an even more bizarre move, she started laughing. Naturally, the other two weren't quite sure why she was doing this, but after waiting for her to finish, the listened as she spoke to them.

"Friends no worry about wooden thing! Wooden thing no important!"

Gallus blinked, looking down to the former possession of his friend.

"But...isn't this, like, some sacred Yak idol? For, like, worship or something?"

Yona rolled her eyes.

"Why Southerners always think old wood is important Yak stuff?"

She grumbled slightly, then took a single step forward and pointed to the wooden fragments.

"It cheap novelty knick-knack! For tourists! Yona only have it because she found it in pony shop! Yona find it funny, so she got it!"

The other two, blinking slowly, looked down at the thing they'd spent so much time worrying about, and when they looked back to Yona, Smolder took on a somewhat confused tone.

"Wait...so it wasn't even made by Yaks?!"

Yona shook her head, clearly amused by her friends' position.

"Nope! Yak stuff much better made!"

A minute or two passed, and when it did, the other two let out simultaneous sighs of relief.

"That...wow! You have no idea how much better we feel about that now, Yona!" Gallus confessed.

Giggling, Yona reached forward, taking the two of them and, much to their slight worry, held them in a tight hug.

"Yona no care about broken thing! Yona happy! Friends honest with her! That's what's important! Professor Applejack always say so!"

The other two chuckled.

"Yeah...guess so," Smolder admitted.

Then the young dragon gained a look of curiosity, looking over to Gallus, who was similarly struggling against the cuddly embrace.

"I was surprised you were so willing to be open with her about this."

Gallus, though largely restrained, nevertheless managed to shrug his shoulders at his friend's remark.

"Meh, back when I lived in Griffonstone, when I was way younger, I accidentally knocked over one of Grandpa Gruff's old vases. He didn't even care that much about the vase, but I lied about having done, it, and when he found out...well..."

He chuckled.

"...let's just say he didn't let me forget it for some time afterwards. I swear that guy could hold a grudge. If you thought his complaining on the first day of school was bad, whoo-boy!"

A pause.

"...Oh, and I guess being open and honest with your friends is just good in itself and all that, right?"

The three laughed together at that, but, after a time, Gallus and Smolder very much wanted to get free of Yona's grip on them. Unfortunately, as they tried to do so, they found that she was holding on somewhat tighter than normal.

"Um...Yona? You might want to let go now?" Smolder noted.

But Yona, looking down to her, shook her head.

"Nope!"

Gallus, blinking slowly, looked back up to her.

"Um...nope?"

Again, Yona shook her head, before then glaring down at them both.

"Friends no break important stuff, but still break Yona's stuff. So friends stay...until Yona get tired of hugging!"

The two, realising that this was now their comeuppance for their actions, looked to one another with a degree of melancholy.

"Well...since we're stuck here....I'm...sorry for shoving you earlier," Smolder said, sounding like she'd meant it.

Sighing, Gallus nodded.

"Yeah...and I'm sorry for being difficult and annoying and making you want to do it," he returned.

The two smiled.

"Still friends?" Smolder asked.

Gallus chuckled.

"Yeah, still friends."

Then, before any of them could say anything else, the dormitory door opened once more, revealing, of all people, Silverstream on the other side. The young Hippogriff, who had entered with her eyes closed, was holding up what appeared to be a small book in her claws.

"Hey, Smolder! Sorry I didn't tell you, but I needed to borrow your notebook earlier and..."

It was here that her eyes opened, and she finally took note of what was going on in the room. Though clearly confused as to why Gallus was here or why Yona was holding both him and Smolder, the pink female simply blinked and looked over to Smolder for clarification. The latter, though a touch irritated at finding out who had her notebook this whole time, let out a deep sigh.

"Silver...could you do me a favour? Go and get Gallus and me some tea or something."

Slowly, she looked up to the still-committed face of Yona.

"...Because I think we're gonna be here a while."

On a day with beautiful weather, ponies always enjoyed being out and about, ready to get going with whatever they needed to. And today was no exception, as there was a small site just on the outskirts of the town where a great deal of activity seemed to be going on. A construction of some sort was being worked on, not only by professionals, but also many in the local community. All were working hard here, and all while wearing looks of satisfaction. Everypony was getting on well with everypony else, helping each other out and just generally having a good time of it. But, among these ponies, there was one who stood out somewhat, and that was the young Yak, Yona. Upon her back was a massive pile of wooden planks, but, with her great Yak strength, it was no issue to cart it around. And cart it she did, bringing it to one of the foremen at one corner of the site, who promptly smiled as he saw the youth bring the new materials.

"That's great, Yona! Just leave it there!"

Smiling, the friendship student did as requested, getting down to her knees before gently sliding the aforementioned planks off herself into a neat little pile. The older stallion, smiling to this, tipped his hard-hat to her, before turning to one of his colleagues. Yona, who was clearly happy at having rendered this assistance, looked behind herself, still smiling widely as she did so.

"How your work, Smolder?"

Sure enough, her dragon companion was indeed close behind her, carrying a similar-sized pile of planks. However, given her relative lack of strength when compared to Yona, this, understandably, proved to be a more difficult undertaking. So much so that, when she finally placed her pile right next to where Yona had put hers, she let out a grunt of irritation, looking more than a little uncomfortable.

"Why are we out here doing this again, Yona?"

Yona, who had been smiling all the way, started to explain.

"Assignment from Princess Twilight, remember? Learn teamwork by helping out with volunteer work in Ponyville."

Smolder, folding her arms, rolled her eyes.

"Yes, yes, I already know that, Yona, but why are we here? Why can't it be Gallus or Ocellus doing this stuff?"

Yona tilted her head, displaying a degree of confusion.

"They already do their part. Sandbar and Ocellus start on Monday, then Silverstream and Gallus on Wednesday, and now our turn."

Smolder blinked slowly, then grimaced a little.

"Right...forgot that."

But Yona was unconcerned with her friend's obvious displeasure with their situation, instead just maintaining that smile of hers, turning around and starting to head off to collect more planks. Smolder, reluctantly, followed, and as she did this, she looked over to her young Yak colleague.

"Do these ponies really need our help to build this community centre? They're doing okay on their own."

But here, Yona frowned.

"It always good to help! It no matter if they don't need it!"

Again, Smolder rolled her eyes.

"We dragons don't really do the whole community thing, Yona. We just keep to ourselves most of the time."

A hearty chuckle escaped Yona after she'd heard that.

"Yaks different! We all help each other out! Hut need fixing? All help! There no Yak that other Yaks don't know, so we one big family!"

To that, Smolder couldn't help but put on a slight smirk.

"Well, glad to know one of us is enjoying themselves."

Yona gave a firm nod to those words.

"Yona is happy! Nothing better than knowing she helped! Smolder will be happy too!"

"Pfft! I doubt it!" the dragon female responded.

But Yona was undeterred by the lack of enthusiasm her friend was showing, and instead, she simply carried on, with Smolder not far behind her. Soon, the two of them once more reached the massive pile of planks that had yet to be carried over to where they were needed, alongside the ponies who were handing them out to the local volunteers. They both smiled and nodded to Yona and Smolder as they approached, directing them to the small piles that had already been prepared for them. As before, Yona took hers upon her back, looking more than pleased at the chance to get to carry on helping. She made her way back where she'd come from, leaving Smolder to pick up her part of the materials.

"Okay...let's get this over with."

With a grunt and a groan, she hoisted the planks onto her shoulder, looking on at the nearby stallions as they gave a respectful nod to her as she did so. Smolder nodded back, and so began the long walk back to where the planks were needed. But, as Yona forged ahead, Smolder lagged behind a bit, showing clear distaste for this activity of theirs. And it was while this was happening that another of the workers, a mare, stopped and looked to the young dragon with a raised eyebrow.

"Hey there. You need some help?"

Smolder, taken aback by this sudden offer, looked to the mare with confusion.

"Er...what?"

Smiling, the mare gestured to the planks she was carrying.

"You look like you might be overdoing it a bit, kid. Want me to take one off your hands?"

Smolder blinked to this, her eyes darting from the wood on her shoulder, to the mare, then back and forth for a bit. After a while, and with some uncertainty, she gave a slow nod.

"Um...sure?"

With her smile widening somewhat, the mare walked over, taking hold of one of the planks and starting to carry it herself. Smolder, though surprised by the help that had been given to her, nevertheless gave a look of thanks to the mare as she made her way off. Now alone again to carry the rest of the wood, Smolder saw a number of other ponies around, some of whom were simply chatting to one another. As she walked, a look came to her that suggested that an idea was forming in her mind, and after checking around to make sure that Yona wasn't close by, she smirked. Clearing her throat, the dragon female started to grunt in the way one would when completely overburdened with something, though it was clearly in an obviously forced manner.

"Ugh! What a really heavy load of planks to carry!" she declared, sounding like she'd never acted in her life.

But, bad acting or no, it got the attention of several nearby ponies, many of whom walked over to her.

"Need some help, Miss?" one of them asked.

Putting on a look of softness, Smolder raised a claw, halting them.

"Oh, don't worry yourselves! I'm doing fine!"

This was punctuated by her letting out another fake groan, and that, rather predictably, led to a greater degree of determination for the assembled ponies around her.

"No! We insist! Let us help!"

And help they did, each taking hold of one of the planks she'd been carrying until, finally, she was relieved of all of them. She had to do her uttermost best to make sure she didn't cackle with glee over this, and instead put on her "innocent" voice once more.

"Wow, Mister! I don't know what to say!"

The stallion, chuckling, looked to her happily.

"Think nothing of it. Always happy to lend a hoof."

And with that, they headed off, leaving a now-unburdened Smolder behind. And so, now that she was no longer the centre of attention, the dragon quickly darted off to the side, walking around one of the corners of the as-yet unfinished community centre. Thankfully, nobody was around here, so Smolder knew she didn't have to worry about being interrupted. Chuckling to herself, she picked one spot in particular, and then got herself comfortable, sitting down upon the grass and leaning against the wall, settling in for a good rest.

"Well...if the work's getting done, why should it matter if it's not me doing it?"

Another cackle escaped her, though she was sure to keep it quiet, just in case somepony heard her. Her eyes closed, and for a few moments, she enjoyed the peace and quiet that came with no longer having any work to do. But, after only a few moments of this, a voice was heard.

"Yer Smolder, right?"

Immediately, the dragon's eyes snapped open, and she leapt to her feet. She fully expected to come face-to-face with some disapproving foreman, waiting to chastise her over slacking in her responsibilities. Instead, she was greeted with the smiling face of an elderly green earth pony mare. The two stared at one another for a time, until Smolder, getting herself into a somewhat calmer standing position, finally responded.

"Oh! Um...you're Granny Smith...right?"

The mare nodded.

"Eyup! Saw all the hoo-ha down here and though ah'd come over fer a look. Y'all hard at work, Missy?"

Smolder cleared her throat, glancing away so as to not look the elder mare in the eye.

"Er...yep! All working hard, that's us alright!"

Laughing again, Granny Smith reached forward, giving Smolder a quick pat on the shoulder.

"Ah were lucky ta find ya, little dragon. Ah wanted ta properly thank ya and yer friends fer what ya did fer me."

Smolder glanced back to her, scratching her own head with confusion.

"Um...what did we do?"

Barely a moment passed before the green pony began to explain herself.

"That Sandy fella and his Changeling Sweetheart. They helped patch up ma barn the other day, remember?"

Understanding came to Smolder after that.

"Oh! Right! That!"

Calming down considerably, she let out a genuine laugh.

"You're welcome, Miss!"

Nodding to that, Granny Smith turned, and began to rummage around in a pair of saddle-bags she'd arrived with. Smolder watched as she took out a big and bright red apple, giving it a quick once-over before handing it over to her. Smolder, understandably, was confused to this, and after looking back up to the older pony, she was given an explanation.

"You yung-uns are a good lot. Always helpin' us folks around here. Ah figured it'd be good ta give a little somethin' back!"

Smolder, ever so slowly, looked down to the gifted apple in her claws, then, after a moment or two, looked back to Granny Smith, guilt creeping onto her face.

"Oh...you don't have to..."

But, she was halted by a raised hoof from the mare.

"Nope! None of that! Ya done good work, you an' yer friends, and y'all deserve it! All us here in Ponyville think so!"

Smolder blinked to that, unsure of what to say, but after a while, she gulped, muttering the only thing that came to mind.

"You're...you're very welcome."

Giving a quick nod, the old pony turned, starting to head off back where she'd come, making sure to call back to her young friend as she did so.

"Make sure ya don't swallow it whole now, ya hear? Hehe!"

And so it was that Smolder watched the elder mare walk away, and after about a minute, she was once more left alone, save for the apple in her hands. Again, she stared at it, and again, many different and conflicting thoughts poured through her mind. A new notion came to her, and slowly, she turned, looking around the corner to where all the other workers and volunteers were. As expected, they were still hard at work, especially Yona, who continued to bear that happy smile of hers as she carried load after load of materials to where they needed to be. Smolder retreated from this sight, leaning against the wall again, and after a while, a grimace came to her, and she slapped her forehead with frustration.

"Ugh! Geez! For the love of...!"

With a determined look upon her face, Smolder marched out from behind that corner, heading straight back for the work area proper. Many ponies passed her, and several, seeing the narrowed eyes she bore, gave her a wide berth. She headed right for the still-enormous pile of planks, and there, she once more encountered Yona. While her Yak colleague was once again starting to pick up her latest collection, she noticed her approaching, and her smile widened.

"Hey, Smolder! Where you go? Yona not-OMPH!!!"

Before she could finish, she found that a big red apple had been unceremoniously shoved into her open mouth, and moments afterwards, Smolder walked right past her, getting to one knee and starting to pick up some planks of her own.

"Come on, Yona! This centre's not gonna build itself!"

Yona, taking hold of the apple, gave a bite into it, taking a moment to enjoy the sweet flavour that followed. But soon, confusion came to her, and after swallowing her bite, she looked over to Smolder, just in time to see her finally stand up with her arms fully laden with wood.

"Smolder no eager for work before. Why now?"

Smolder, walking a few steps past her, eventually stopped, turning back to her and pointing a single claw straight at her.

"Because I'm gonna make sure I earned that apple, Yona! And..."

She hesitated, and then, after showing more than a little nervousness, she sighed, putting on a small smile for her friend.

"...you were right...it is good to help. It just...took me a while to realise it."

The words had been genuine, and while Yona was understandably confused as to this unexpected change in attitude for her friend, her now-resumed smile made it clear that she was pleased with it all the same. Taking another few hearty bites of the apple, Yona soon joined her, and together, the two females made for their destination at a good pace, with the young Yak casting her scaly friend a glance.

"Yona glad Smolder back. Work better with friends!"

Chuckling, Smolder couldn't help but nod to that.

"Yeah...no argument there."

While it was true that Sandbar had become known throughout the school for being among the more relaxed and calm students there, there were nevertheless times when even he would appear nervous or apprehensive about stuff. And today, it appeared as though this was the mood that had taken him, as a great many of the other students of the Friendship School watched him rush past them, panting furiously. If they had to describe it, they'd say that he looked like somebody who just saw a fire and was trying to get away from it. But, this was, in fact, the opposite of what was going on. For the young stallion was not running from something, but rather to something. And that something was the dormitory of some of his closest friends. Speaking of whom, one of those friends, Silverstream, was pacing up and down the front of the door to that dormitory, looking up only when she heard her colleague approach.

"Sandbar!"

The green pony halted dead in his tracks as soon as he reached her, taking a moment to catch his breath before finally speaking up.

"Yona said there was an emergency. What's happened?"

Looking slightly nervous, Silverstream looked over to the nearby door, then back to her Equestrian friend.

"It's...it's Ocellus."

Immediately, fear took hold in Sandbar's eyes.

"W...what?! What happened?! Is she alright?!"

Silverstream shook her head a bit, speaking in a somewhat more reassuring tone.

"Oh no, she's fine! She's not hurt or anything! It's just...well..."

Again, she looked over to the door.

"...perhaps you should see for yourself."

Naturally, Sandbar tilted his head with confusion over this, leading to his young Hippogriff friend moving over and opening the aforementioned door. Peeking her head in, she spoke, sounding uncharacteristically nervous as she did so.

"Um...Ocellus? We're coming in now."

Slowly, she opened the door wider, and here, Sandbar was able to get a look inside the dormitory himself. Much like Gallus had discovered not so long ago, the one assigned to the girls was not all that dissimilar to the one the guys had. However, rather than dwell on this particular point, Sandbar soon took on a surprised look. For there, sitting at a desk at the end of the room, was what appeared to be his Head-Mare, Princess Twilight. She was hard at work, writing frantically on a parchment lying on the desk before her, with her expression one of pure focus. Sandbar, as one would expect, was a little taken aback by her presence here.

"Oh! Princess Twilight! I didn't know you'd be here!"

But Silverstream to his slight confusion, put a single claw to his lips, cutting him off from saying anything further.

"Just watch..."

Her tone had been ominous, but Sandbar nevertheless did as she'd instructed. Sure enough, something did happen, as Twilight soon became engulfed in what Sandbar recognised immediately as Changeling magic. Before long, Twilight was gone, replaced instead with one of his other Professors, Applejack.

"Ah tell ya! This work ain't gonna finish itself, now will it?"

Sandbar blinked a couple of times, then slowly glanced over to Silverstream, who sighed and shrugged her shoulders.

"Yeah...she's been like this for a while now."

Letting out a long sigh, Sandbar gave a slow nod, looking to Silverstream again briefly before starting to enter the dormitory in earnest. Silverstream, for her part, closed the door behind him, bearing a worried look as she did so. Now inside, the young pony looked around, and already he could see signs of just how long Ocellus had been at work here. There were piles and piles of notes and essays strewn about the place, each fully organized and arranged in that way only Ocellus seemed to know how to do. Turning back to her, he noted that she'd now taken on the form of Professor Rainbow Dash, and spoke in about the same way.

"Gotta keep going! Can't let up! One slip-up and boom, I'm done!"

Blinking, Sandbar raised a hoof to his mouth, clearing his throat.

"Um...Ocellus? Sweetie?"

Here, the still-disguised Changeling finally looked up from her work, and her eyes widened upon seeing her pony boyfriend.

"Oh...Sandbar!"

Again, she was engulfed in Changeling magic, but this time, when it was over, she had assumed her natural appearance. Taking a moment to rub some sleep out of her eyes, she chucked nervously before speaking up to him.

"I...I didn't hear you come in. How are you doing?"

A chuckle escaped the stallion at that.

"I was about to ask you that question."

Ocellus' smile faded somewhat, and after letting out a long sigh, she glanced back down to her current paper.

"I've just...well...I've been doing a lot of work lately."

Sandbar nodded.

"Yeah, I can see."

Walking over to one of the aforementioned piles of essays, he began to read off some of the titles he found there.

"Theories on the Effectiveness of Sharing...Discussions on the Consequences of Withholding Honesty...Thesis for the Practicality of Empathy."

Here, he frowned slightly.

"Pardon me, Ocellus...but I don't remember Princess Twilight ever assigning us stuff like this."

Smiling again, Ocellus shook her head.

"Oh, she didn't. I just wanted to do a little...you know...extra-credit work?"

Turning to face her, Sandbar raised an eyebrow.

"Um...don't you think you're overdoing it a bit? I mean, I'm sure Twilight would appreciate you going out of your way to do extra friendship assignments and stuff, but...this?"

Ocellus, upon hearing all that, yet again found herself changing shape, and this time took on the look of Professor Rarity.

"Why darling! One simply cannot settle for anything less than the best! To do anything else would be nothing short of atrocious!"

Sandbar looked on with uncertainty at his girlfriend's new persona, and Ocellus, upon gaining a look of realisation, immediately changed back to her original form, blushing slightly and letting out a small giggle.

"I...um...I sometimes change shape when I'm feeling nervous."

Sandbar's face softened, and he started to approach her.

"Ocellus...how long have you been in here doing this work?"

Ocellus considered that.

"What time is it?"

Sandbar turned, looking to the clock on the wall, before glancing back to her.

"About three?"

The young Changeling gave a nod.

"Then it's been about twelve hours."

The stallion's eyes widened immensely to that.

"What?! You've been doing all this work and haven't left the room in twelve hours?!"

Ocellus opened her mouth to create some excuse for herself, only to be met with the realisation that, quite frankly, she had none. So, again with a blush on her face, she sighed.

"Yeah...I guess I have."

Sandbar, calming down from the revelation about how long she'd been doing this, approached her further, reaching forward and placing his hoof gently upon her shoulder.

"Ocellus...why are you doing this? Everyone at this school knows how hard you work. Heck, you're probably Princess Twilight's best student."

Ocellus, despite the reassuring tone Sandbar was giving her, looked away from him.

"I...I know that's how everyone feels about me, but...it's just..."

Hearing the tone of her voice, and the stutter that was coming with it, Sandbar could tell that there was something else going on here.

"Whatever it is...you can tell me."

Ocellus, as ever, looked more than a little worried about simply blurting out what was on her mind. But, after a while, she looked to her boyfriend's face, and saw nothing but honesty there. He was there to help her, and she knew it. So, now feeling somewhat calmer than before, the young Changeling spoke, albeit with a rather hesitant manner.

"It's just....it's because I...I'm a Changeling."

Hearing that, Sandbar took on a confused look.

"What do you mean?"

Ocellus' expression now became one of stress and worry.

"Sandbar...I'm the only Changeling at the school! The one person here to represent them!"

She grimaced.

"Just me...representing my entire race!"

Silence fell between them, and Sandbar looked to her with both worry and surprise over what she was saying. Ocellus, looking away from him, slowly got down from her desk. She walked a few steps away from it and just stared out of the window for a moment, before speaking up again, but with a much quieter tone.

"Do you know what my King said to me? On the day I first came to this school?"

In a flash, she had assumed another form, and this time, it was that of the one she spoke of. King Thorax. The imitated form of the Changeling leader looked back to Sandbar, smiling in that gentle way Thorax was so known for.

"We know you'll do well here, Ocellus...make us proud."

Sandbar watched as Ocellus again returned to her natural state, and again, he saw her look away from him.

"So...that's what I've been doing. What I do here...it reflects on all my people. So I...I've felt that I have to do well..."

A frown came to her.

"...no...I need to do well! I can't let them down! I can't do anything less than...than..."

Sandbar, glancing over to the assorted papers nearby, then slowly looked back to her.

"Ocellus...have you told anybody else about this?"

With a look almost of shame, she shook her head.

"No. I...I didn't want them to think I was being silly for thinking that way."

Here, it was Sandbar's turn to frown, and he took a step closer to her.

"They wouldn't. They know how important it is for you to do well. They know how seriously you take all this stuff. And more importantly..."

Finally, he reached her.

"...they know how devoted you are to making your people proud."

His face softened.

"They wouldn't call what you're doing here silly, Ocellus."

Gradually, Ocellus looked to him, her eyes hopeful.

"You...you really think so?"

Sandbar gave her a gentle smile.

"I do..."

However, his face soon took on a somewhat sterner look to it.

"...but...what they would say...is that this..."

He gestured to all the essays she'd written.

"...this is pushing yourself too far for any student."

Ocellus, looking to the papers herself, struggled on how to respond to that.

"I...I just..."

Sighing, Sandbar nodded.

"I know. And believe me, Princess Twilight would be delighted that one of her students would show this much dedication to their work, both in class and outside of it."

Like before, he placed a hoof carefully onto her shoulder.

"But that work shouldn't come at the cost of you running yourself ragged."

He leaned in closer to her.

"I don't think I'll ever know what it's like to think that the expectations of my whole race is on my shoulders. And I also can't say that I know king Thorax as well as you do."

A pause, and the young stallion considered his words carefully.

"But...do you really think he'd want you to feel this overwhelmed? To feel that you were so afraid of letting your people down that you'd just close yourself up in your room all day and do nothing but write?"

Thoughtfulness came to Ocellus as she dwelt on her boyfriend's words, and after a few false starts, she started speaking.

"I...no...I don't suppose he would."

After a moment or two of thinking, she actually let out a short giggle.

"He'd probably get so nervous about seeing me this worked up that he'd spend all day stressing himself out. Might even fly all the way out here to offer me a blanket or a bowl of soup to calm me down."

The two, to their eternal gratitude, shared a laugh over that thought, and much of the discomfort of the previous moments began to lift away from their thoughts. In the calm that arrived after the laugh had died down, however, they started to stare at one another, with Sandbar speaking in a tone that made it clear that he was trying to reassure her a great deal.

"Ocellus...this school is very lucky to have a student like you. A student who puts this much energy into their studies and their work."

She smiled to that, which was a sight the young stallion was more than happy to see. But, that didn't stop him from saying everything else he needed to.

"But remember...there is such a thing...as too much work."

Quickly, he glanced over to one of the nearby piles of essays.

"And I'm no expert...but I think writing so much that your papers rise high enough to nearly count as a load-bearing column probably counts as too much."

Again, the young couple laughed, and again, it did a lot to help the mood of the room. When Ocellus at last felt calmer at the end of it, calmer than she'd probably felt all day, she looked to Sandbar with obvious appreciation. He smiled back to her, and without warning, he watched as the young Changeling moved forward, nuzzling him affectionately. Naturally, he couldn't help but develop a fierce blush to this, which he did his best to hide, coughing nervously.

"Yes...um...glad you're feeling better."

Giggling again, Ocellus withdrew from him, and after letting out a few calming breaths, she spoke, sounding far more relaxed than she had been before.

"You know...when I see Silverstream, Yona, Gallus and Smolder...I should have understood a long time ago that they're all representing their people too. They probably feel the same way as me every once in a while."

Slowly, she turned, looking to the open window, and the bright blue skies beyond.

"And none of them ever drove themselves to near-insanity trying to go overboard with their extracurricular activities."

Sandbar nodded in agreement.

"Well...you weren't there yet."

Ocellus smiled to him.

"No...and I thank you for that, Sandbar."

Sandbar stared at her for a time, then spoke.

"Look after yourself first...and your work can come after."

The stallion smiled to her, and the two of them blushed, clearly feeling more than just friendship in this private moment between them. The matter had been discussed, and thankfully, it was now behind them. Ocellus was relaxed, and Sandbar was happy that he was there to help her. So, after giving her another quick pat on the shoulder, the young Equestrian spoke to her with encouragement in his voice.

"Come on...I think our friends are getting together for lunch."

Hearing that, Ocellus chuckled.

"Yeah...after twelve hours of work...I think I could use some."

With the sun having set beyond the horizon some time ago, a blanket of darkness had befallen the land of Equestria, and before long, all of Ponyville was wrapped in the calm and coolness of Princess Luna's night. Lights were going out in many homes throughout the town, showing all the families who were turning in after a long day. For the School of Friendship, this was also the case, even though there were still one or two flickering candles to let people know that there were a few late-night study sessions going on. But, among these lights, there was one that was lit not for the purposes of homework, but for simple fun. For within one of the many dormitories of the school, six of its most noted students had gathered, sitting upon the floor around the lone candle of their room, smiling to one another. Currently, they were all clad to one degree or another in their respective blankets, and at present, all of them had their eyes tuned to Gallus, who was trying to sound as scary as possible.

"And then...it turned out she was dead the whole time!"

Silverstream let out a loud scream to that, prompting all of the rest of them to look to her and give an immediate "shhhh" in response, lest she accidentally wake someone else up nearby. Blushing, the young Hippogriff did her best to contain her giddy terror at the story, and in truth, all of them seemed to have enjoyed it, as evidenced by the amused looks they all had.

"Not bad, Gallus. But I could see that twist coming a mile away!" Sandbar remarked.

His Griffon friend gained a smirk, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah? I'd like to see you tell a better one!"

But Sandbar shook his head.

"Nah, I've never been that good at them. I prefer listening."

Smolder, who leaned back so her head was resting at the bottom of the bunk-bed behind her, matched Gallus' smirk as she regarded him.

"I've never really been that into scary stories. Dragons don't really get frightened all that much."

Yona looked to her with curiosity.

"What about when we got attacked by creatures in Everfree?"

Smolder, blinking slowly to that, cleared her throat in an obviously nervous manner.

"Yes...well...we nearly don't get frightened."

The group all shared a laugh to that, which even Smolder herself joined in on. When it died down, however, It was Ocellus' turn to speak, who looked to all of her friends before doing so.

"Now that you mention it, I've sometimes heard that real life is often more interesting than fiction. And given some of the things I've seen since coming to this school, I can safely say there's truth to that statement."

The others nodded to that, seemingly agreeing with her. Silverstream, giggling happily, leaned in closer towards the candle, before wrapping herself tighter within her blanket.

"Oh, I have so many stories from when I was little. You should hear some of the stuff me and Skystar used to get up to!"

Gallus turned to her, taking on a curious look himself.

"Oh yeah? A couple of royal Hippogriffs getting into trouble?"

Silverstream snorted.

"Pfft! No...we were Seaponies at the time, not Hippogriffs."

Gallus, who understandably rolled his eyes to that, nevertheless smiled to her.

"Well then...we're all ears."

Silverstream, to her slight surprise, suddenly found that her Griffon colleague was correct, as she had, in fact, become the centre of attention all of a sudden. But, while this was unexpected, she was still eager to say what she wanted to say, and so, after having cleared her throat, she began to tell her tale.

"Well, it was just before my brother Terramar was born. Me and Skystar crept out of our homes one night and decided to do the one thing Seaponies were absolutely positively forbidden to ever do!"

She paused for dramatic effect, glancing left and right, as if looking for any eavesdroppers, before finally blurting it out.

"We were going to the surface! To see the city of Mount Aris!"

The others leaned in closer as she continued.

"We actually got there too! Poked our heads up through the water and looked out. Not much there except some rubble and crumbly buildings..."

Her smile widened.

"...but we were there! The home of our ancestors! A place no Seapony had been to since way before I was born!"

Ocellus looked to her, wide-eyed.

"Were you excited?"

Silverstream giggled.

"Yep!"

Then, her smile faded a little.

"Well...until my Aunt found us. Novo wasn't all that happy about us sneaking out there, especially in the middle of the night. She and my parents gave the two of us quite a talking to when we got home again."

Folding his arms, Gallus chuckled.

"Yeah, old-timers will do that. They say "don't go there", and when you do, then bam, trouble!"

Silverstream looked over to him, gasping excitedly.

"Oh! Have you been somewhere you weren't supposed to be?!"

Taking on a look of pride, the young Griffon's chest swelled up slightly.

"Yeah, you could say that."

Smolder, rolling her eyes to this bravado, frowned to him soon afterwards.

"Well? We're waiting!"

Gallus, rather than say anything straight away, instead left a long and drawn-out pause, no doubt to heighten the anticipation of the moment, much to Smolder's irritation. But, thankfully, he didn't linger too long, and so began his story.

"Well, here was this one time I got it into my head to scope out the old royal Palace. You know, where the Kings of Griffonstone used to live? I snuck in there, went through a whole bunch of old rooms, trying to see if there was anything...you know...worth picking up."

Sandbar looked to him, aghast.

"You went grave-robbing?!"

Gallus, in response, waved him off.

"Firstly, there weren't any graves there, and secondly, no. I never ended up taking anything. Whatever good stuff there might have been had all broken apart or rusted away hundreds of years ago."

His earth pony colleague calmed down a bit, allowing him to continue.

"Anyways, I decided to mess around on the old throne for a bit, you know, act like a King and all that? And while I did, a piece of stone from the ceiling just so happened to break off, falling right down towards me."

His friends looked to him, worried, but saying nothing as he continued.

"Luckily, Grandpa Gruff had followed me in, and he was there just in time to push me out of the way before the thing hit me."

Shrugging his shoulders, he chuckled.

"I was safe...but boy did he give me an earful afterwards."

Nodding, Yona smiled to him.

"Yona know feeling. Elders always mad when young ones get in trouble."

The rest looked to her, with Ocellus especially seeming intrigued.

"Talking from experience, Yona?"

The young Yak's smile widened, and as before, she nodded enthusiastically.

"When Yona was little, she hear stories of great Yak warriors who travel to top of highest mountain to prove their strength. Yona inspired, so she try to go there herself."

A thoughtful look came to her.

"But young Yona not as strong as Yona now, so it hard journey. And cold journey. Blizzard came in."

She frowned.

"But Yona no let bad weather stop her, so on she went. She vowed to make it to top of mountain."

However, her expression soon softened, and hesitation came into her tone.

"But...blizzard kept getting worse...and night started falling. Yona...Yona get lost. Couldn't see way home."

The group started looking to her with worry, even though, by knowledge of the fact that she was sitting there among them, that she must have gotten herself out of that bad situation. And this was further proved when, after a while, her smile returned.

"But...Prince Rutherford find her. He bring her back to village, back to warm hut and good meal."

Ocellus scooted slightly closer to her.

"Did you get in trouble?"

Here, Yona shook her head.

"Yona thought she would, and Prince seem angry at first...but no. Rutherford proud Yona get as far as she did. But he asked that Yona not try again until older."

A look of determination came to her.

"And one day...Yona will get to top of mountain!"

Her friends matched her eagerness at that thought, with Smolder moving closer to her and giving her a pat on the shoulder. Ocellus, having heard all of that, nodded slowly while appearing somewhat thoughtful.

"You were certainly brave back then, Yona..."

She turned away.

"...braver than I was at that age."

The group all turned to her, and Ocellus, after seeing this, sighed, knowing that she would be next in speaking a story from her youth. So, after getting her thoughts together, she did exactly that.

"There comes a time when all young Changelings are required to undergo...well...I guess you could call it an evaluation. To see how well we shapeshift. And while King Thorax is much kinder and more forgiving than the last leader our people had...I was still..."

She shuddered briefly, prompting Sandbar to move closer to her, wrapping his hoof around her and holding her close. Ocellus, grateful at this attempted consolation, smiled warmly to him, but then looked to the rest of them, carrying on with her tale.

"The thing is...I was something of a late bloomer when it came to my transformation abilities. All others my age could do it...but I couldn't."

She hung her head.

"I was so scared of failing my exam that...I ran away."

The others looked to her with shock, and Ocellus, understandably, felt a little ashamed at having said what she'd said. But, she wasn't so ashamed as to stop her storytelling.

"But after a while...I strayed so far from the hive that...I came into the territory of the Maulwurf."

A frown came to her.

"It was stupid, going out there like that. And...when I heard it come, I...I was so scared."

Then, to her friends' surprise, she started to smile.

"But...that fear triggered something in me. When the Maulwurf was getting closer, I finally changed! I'd transformed into a large stone, and used that appearance to hide myself. The beast walked right past me, never knowing I was there."

Pride came to her.

"When I returned to the Hive, I went through the evaluation...and passed."

The group all looked to her with amazement, which prompted an expected blush in the young Changeling, especially when Sandbar smiled to her in that loving way of his. But, the silence that followed that moment didn't last, as Smolder eventually broke it with a hearty chuckle.

"Hehe, not bad, Ocellus. Could have had a bit more action in it, but still, pretty great."

Sandbar, who was looking a little irritated that his girlfriend's story had been somewhat undercut with those words, looked to Smolder with a frown.

"Oh, I suppose you have a more exciting story?"

Smirking, Smolder leaned in closer to the candle in-between them all.

"Gather round, friends! For years ago, your friend, Smolder, tried her luck in challenging none other than Dragon Lord Torch himself!"

They all stared at her with disbelief, particularly Gallus, whose tone was one of clear incredulity.

"...No way!"

Smolder, folding her arms, gave a firm nod.

"Yes way! I was quite the fire-starter back then. So one day, after my molt, I decided to take on the big guy myself, so I walked right up to him, looked him right in the eye, and yelled hey, I wanna challenge you!"

Silverstream gasped.

"And then what happened?"

Smolder, for a moment, hesitated.

"Well...we fought. And I walked away from it in one piece!"

Gallus frowned.

"Okay...how did a little Smolder take on a guy as big as what Torch was supposed to be?"

Here, Smolder cleared her throat in a nervous-sounding way, scratching the back of her head and avoiding everyone's gaze.

"Well...okay...it wasn't so much a fight so much has it was me charging at him and trying to claw at his foot...only for him to then nudge that foot and...um...send me flying."

There was silence, and then, when they couldn't hold it in any longer, the group all burst out laughing. Smolder blushed to this, but then, after a while, she started snickering herself, laughing at the absurdity of her story. When the laughter ended, however, all eyes turned to the one person who had yet to say anything; Sandbar. The young stallion, knowing this had been coming, sighed, shrugging his shoulders.

"Well...there really isn't that much to say about me. All the really interesting stuff I've seen when I was growing up here all started when Princess Twilight moved to town."

He paused for a few seconds.

"Well, okay, she wasn't a Princess back then, but still, as soon as she got here, all sorts of weird stuff happened. And every once in a while, I'd be there in the crowds to watch along with everypony else."

Ocellus, looking to him, smiled, giving him a friendly nudge.

"You may not have been involved in it yourself, but those must have been some amazing sights all the same."

To that, Sandbar chuckled.

"Yeah...can't argue with that. Nightmare Night, the fiasco at her first Winter Wrap-Up, seeing her and her friends fight that one bugbear...it's been quite a ride."

Hearing that, Gallus rolled his eyes and groaned.

"Ugh! I was hoping to hear some story of you getting in serious trouble or something! You know, show that you're not always a goody two-shoes?"

Sandbar looked to him with an arched eyebrow.

"Oh, you mean like the time I helped keep you guys hidden from your leaders in the Everfree Forest and joined in with you while we were all attacked by a bunch of dangerous critters that nearly killed us?"

Gallus, thinking on that, looked to his pony friend with a smile, nodding in acknowledgement of that.

"Yeah, okay, good point."

Silverstream, giggling to this, looked to all of her friends before speaking up.

"Well...I guess we're all troublemakers when you get right down to it..."

Quickly, she glanced over to each of them.

"...and you know what? I'm actually kinda happy about that."

Smirking, Smolder let out a hearty chuckle.

"Well...makes for some good stories at least."

Ponyville, though it had experienced its fair share of catastrophes over the years, was nevertheless regarded as one of the more quiet and peaceful corners of Equestria. But, while this may have indeed been the case, it was also fairly well-accepted that the town was surrounded by a number of other places that had a somewhat less pleasant reputation to them. The Everfree Forest was one such notable example of this, but coming second to that was the towering mountain that lay just outside the fields around Ponyville. This place was treacherous to go to, both for its unstable terrain, but also because of the rather noted incident of the time when it became home to a fierce dragon. Granted, the beast had departed some time ago, but even so, the knowledge that it had been there had kept many away from that mountain ever since.

But, it appeared a though, today at least, yet another dragon would be making their way up to that high place, though admittedly not to the same statue as the previous one to go up there. That dragon was Smolder, who strode confidently up the rocky path at the mountain's side. However, she was not alone here today, as all of her friends, Sandbar, Gallus, Silverstream, Ocellus and Yona, were accompanying her. And from the looks on their faces, it was clear that only Smolder was really that happy at being here today. As for the others? It appeared that even Silverstream wasn't all that thrilled about having to take such care with each of her steps, as one such motion even nearly sent her tripping forward. Thankfully, Yona was there to take hold of her and stop her just before her face hit the ground. The young Hippogriff gave a thankful smile to her Yak friend, only for that smile to fade once she finally spoke up to the one leading them.

"Um...Smolder? I'm as excited to see new places as much as the next girl, but are you really sure that this is the best place for us to be going?"

A chuckle escaped the young dragon at that, and she looked back to the rest of her friends, pointing her thumb straight into her chest.

"Don't you worry, Silver. If there's one thing we dragons know, it's mountains. Trust me, we'll be fine."

Sandbar, walking past Silverstream and sharing a concerned look with her, added his voice to the proceedings.

"Not to sound like I doubt your...um...expertise, Smolder...but I've lived in Ponyville my whole life, and nopony has ever said that this place is even remotely safe!"

He paused, glancing upwards at the great distance they had yet to travel.

"There are landslides, falling boulders, the occasional earthquake, and...well..."

He looked back down to her.

"...just...why are we here again?"

Stopping, Smolder turned to face her friends in earnest, placing her hands upon her hips before speaking up.

"From what I heard, there's a whole bunch of treasure up here, and I, as a self-respecting dragon, can't just let a rumour about gold and silver pass me by without at least checking it out!"

Gallus, giving a dry laugh to that, shrugged his shoulders.

"Hey, girl's got her priorities right at least. You hear about treasure, you go for it."

The others gave their feathered colleague a joint frown, leading to him raising an eyebrow at them.

"What? Griffon, remember?"

Yona, though she too displayed some trepidation at being here, strode forward, even to the point of going straight past Smolder.

"Yona no scared! Yona beat mountain! Good practice for great warrior mountain back home!"

Smiling, Smolder nodded firmly to that, giving Yona a friendly pat on the shoulder.

"That's the spirit! Now let's go!"

And so it was that Smolder and Yona led the way, with Gallus not far behind. Silverstream remained further back for a while, as did Sandbar and Ocellus, and the latter, flittering her wings in a nervous manner, looked over to her other two friends.

"Think we'll be okay?"

Sandbar, thinking on that, sighed, then offered the young Changeling a warm smile.

"As long as we stick together and don't do anything crazy...we should be."

Ocellus returned the smile, and Silverstream had to contain herself, lest she overtly giggle at the sweet moment between the two. So, silently, the group continued on their journey, with Silverstream even starting to sing a few songs on the way to pass the time. But, one could only listen to "ten thousand bottles of cider on the wall" so many times before they got sick of it, and Gallus, who was especially irritable at such moments, looked to his Hippogriff friend with barely-restrained annoyance n his voice.

"You know...how about we carry on with some talking, eh, Silver?"

Though the young royal briefly looked disheartened by that comment, she soon returned to her naturally-exuberant state, clapping her claws together.

"Ooh! Smolder! What other stuff can you tell us about dragons and mountains?"

Smirking at the fact that one of her friends was now seeing her as something of an expert on the matter, Smolder tried to carry herself in a more professional manner, in both the way she walked and spoke.

"Well, you have to understand, we're very territorial about things like this. If we decide a mountain is ours, then it's gonna stay ours."

A thoughtful smile came to her.

"I remember my Great-Grandpa Blazer. Now there was a guy who knew how to hoard some gold! I tell ya, once he had something, there's no way he was letting it go!"

A sigh escaped her.

"A true example of a great dragon if ever there was one."

Sandbar, who had since caught up with her after their journey began, looked to her with curiosity.

"But...didn't this dragon, you know, the one who lived up this mountain, give up his hoard? Professor Fluttershy managed to get him to go, remember?"

To that, Smolder frowned.

"Whatever! There's always some exceptions to rules like that. I bet that dragon just didn't have it in him to stand his ground. I mean seriously, giving ground to a pony of all people? Sheesh!"

Sandbar raised his eyebrow to that, and Smolder, realising how her words must have come across, chuckled nervously.

"Oh! Um...not that I'm saying he should have stayed and caused Ponyville more trouble, you know?"

Sandbar was still somewhat sceptical over how earnest she was over that, but accepted her quasi-apology, at least for the time being. So, instead, the group carried on without saying a single word to one another. And in truth, silence really was the best option right now, for the path was starting to look even more dangerous than it had been before. Giant cracks in the path, the remains of what looked like crumbled boulders, this clearly had seen its fair share of damage over the years. They even came across a small gorge, but, thanks to the flying skills of four of the friends, those like Sandbar and Yona were able to get across with little issue. And so, on they went, always making sure that they took particular care, knowing that they were getting closer and closer to their destination. And about an hour later, after turning a few more sharp corners and narrow ledges, Smolder looked on with wide eyes and a smile, speaking up excitedly.

"Alright...here we are!"

She stepped forward, allowing her friends to come up shortly behind her. And sure enough, they saw that she was right. They had indeed reached the top of the mountain, and the great ridge that lay there before the enormous cave opening. The place looked, understandably, foreboding, as befitting of a dragon's lair, and some, like Ocellus and Silverstream, backed away from the sight of it, hiding behind Sandbar, though he himself felt an instinctive need to get away from this place too. Others, like Yona and Smolder, were not so fearful, and so made their way forward without any sense of hesitation. Eventually, the whole group was at the entrance, and after staring into the endless gloom of the cave within, Yona took a single step forward, speaking up loudly.

"Hello?"

A few moments, and them, her words were echoed right back to her. But rather, than be intimidated by this, Yona spoke up a second time.

"Echo!"

Sure enough, the word was bounced back to her yet again, causing a look of amusement for her. The others smiled to this, but Smolder, remembering that they were here for a reason, took a deep breath before starting to walk inside. The others, while clearly hesitant, started to follow, not wanting her to go in there by herself. The cave was truly enormous, and at some points it even seemed like it was bigger on the inside than what it's exterior might have suggested. But, they were here, and after a few moments of wandering further inside, they stopped. Their expressions were ones of pure shock, even Smolder, and after blinking slowly, the young dragon spoke the only thing that could have been on any of their minds right now.

"Okay...I'm impressed."

Just as the rumours had said, there was indeed treasure to be found here. Gold and silver coins piled so high that they looked as large as big hills, if not bigger. Jewels of every type, from sapphires, rubies, diamonds, emeralds and everything in-between could be seen nestled among all the precious metals that glistened in the admittedly low levels of light in here. Goblets and swords and trinkets of gold and silver were also here, and the whole place just screamed of wealth and opulence of a scale none of those youngsters would have ever even dreamed of, much less seen. But, they were seeing it, and now, as they slowly looked to one another, they could contain themselves no longer, and broke out into wide smiles.

"Oh yeah! Now that's what I'm talking about!" Gallus bellowed.

"Race ya!" Smolder called back.

And race they did, darting straight for the nearest treasure pile, leaping up and landing themselves right on top of it. The two poured through all they saw, inspecting gems, gold bars, silver cups, anything that took their fancy. The others walked behind them, and while not as enamoured with this fortuitous find, they nevertheless remained impressed by it.

"I'm royalty, and even I've never seen this level of treasure before!" Silverstream remarked.

"It's all so...pretty," Ocellus commented, her eyes widening.

"Yona like! Yona like very much!"

Sandbar chuckled to this, but before he could say anything, he looked up to Gallus as the latter called down to him.

"Hey, Sandy! What the heck, buddy? Why'd you ponies never come up here for any of this stuff?"

Sandbar shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, aside from the fact that it's pretty dangerous to get up here, there's probably too much stuff here for anyone back home to even know what to do with it!"

Hearing that, Smolder let out a hearty cackle.

"Well, I know what I'm doing with it! Taking some home!"

The others, while they were all happy to have found all this stuff, were still surprised at her remark. But, ever so slowly, they looked to one another.

"You know...we could take some of it back. As a souvenir, maybe?" Silverstream suggested.

Sandbar tapped the end of his chin with his hoof, nodding slowly.

"Yeah...maybe a few small things. A reminder of our day here together."

A knowing smirk came to him.

"Celestia knows we can't haul all this stuff out."

Though she agreed with that sentiment, Smolder let out an irritated grunt to it.

"Ugh! I know! Shame."

She deliberately fell back into the treasure pile, making some "gold angels" with her motions, all while the others looked on with amusement at her. But, they said nothing as she spoke up again.

"One thing I will say though...it'll take a while to get the stink of that other dragon off this stuff."

The others looked to her with confusion, prompting her to elaborate.

"Trust me, dragon noses are way more sensitive than yours. And believe me when I say that I can still smell whoever...whoever..."

Her words had become slower and slower with the last few moments, as an odd look soon came to her. She looked down to the gold coins she was sitting on, and quickly picked up one of them. Then, to her friends' confusion, she started to sniff that coin a few times. Her eyes widened, and realisation came to her.

"Wait, I...I know that smell."

The coin dropped from her claws and back into the pile, and she looked to her friend with a clear look of disbelief.

"This...this treasure was hoarded by my Great-Grandpa Blazer!"

Stepping forward, Sandbar looked to her with a mixture of both surprise and incredulity.

"Wait, what?! You mean it was someone from your family who nearly covered Ponyville in endless smoke?!"

Smolder frowned to him.

"Nevermind that! Now I have to deal with the fact that my idol was beaten by a bunch of ponies!"

She paused, then softened her expression as she, once again, saw Sandbar's slightly insulted look.

"I mean...no offense."

The young stallion rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, none taken."

But Smolder was still looking distraught.

"Ugh! How's my family gonna live this down?! Heck how am I gonna live this down?!"

With that, she flopped back into the pile of coins beneath her, and Sandbar, letting out a long sigh, walked closer to her and spoke in a calmer tone than before.

"Hey, look, I know this seems like a disappointment to you, but think about it this way..."

Smolder looked to him with a raised eyebrow as he continued.

"Sure, your Grandpa was beaten by ponies, but not just any ponies. It took six world-saviours, including a mare who would one day become an alicorn to do it!"

Smolder remained silent, thinking on that, before slowly starting to nod.

"Yeah..."

Her smile returned.

"...yeah! It took the best Equestria had to offer to oust him out of here! Yeah, I can live with that!"

Her chest puffed up with pride yet again, promoting another eye-roll from not only Sandbar, but also all the rest of the youths as well. Then, before any of them had the chance to say anything, Smolder, looking a little nervous, cleared her throat, gaining their attention.

"Um...Sandbar? Would you mind...er...helping me with something?"

Sandbar tilted his head to that, and soon after, Smolder took on a more aggressive stance, stamping her foot into the treasure.

"This gold is mine, pony! And you're not making me give it up!"

Naturally, Sandbar was more than a little taken aback by this sudden shift in behaviour his friend was displaying, but then, he turned to Ocellus as the latter placed her hoof upon his shoulder. A moment of silence passed between them, and then, understanding came to the stallion.

"Oh! Right! Um..."

He too cleared his throat, then took another step forward, towards Smolder, before giving a very formal-looking bow to her.

"And I, the pony entering your cave, do hereby surrender my attempt to get you to leave."

Smolder smiled to that, flapping her wings and launching herself off the treasure, before landing back in front of Sandbar. The stallion, standing up from his bow, looked to her with a somewhat done look.

"So...honour satisfied?"

Smolder, after thinking on that, gave a nod.

"Yes...very."

She then showed a moment of hesitation before speaking again.

"Oh...and I'm sorry my Great-Grandpa nearly covered your home in smoke for, like, hundreds of years...or something."

Sandbar, hearing that, gave a quick shrug of his shoulders.

"Sure, I can go with that."

Even though he'd never considered himself particularly skilled at it, Sandbar nevertheless had times when he was actually able to do it. Taking the stone into his hoof, the young stallion threw it as well as he could across the surface of the water. Many times before, it had sunk, but today, it appeared as though he was in for a treat, for the tiny pebble successfully bounced off the water, and then again, before finally plopping down. A smile crept onto his lips, and he sat himself down at the edge of the Ponyville lake. It was a pleasant day to be out here, with a warm sun beating its rays down upon him. But, he was not meant to be here alone, and he sighed as he counted the moments. She'd be here, he was sure of that, and a smile touched his lips as he dwelt on the thought of having her be with him today. But, before he could truly enjoy such thoughts, he was interrupted by the noticeable sound of somebody trying to clear their voice behind him.

"Um...hi?"

Turning, Sandbar looked on with slight surprise to find that there, standing not that far away from him, was a young earth pony mare, about his age. Her fur was a light blue in colour, and her mane was distinctly pink, and she carried herself with clear nervousness in both her stance and her expression. Although he'd never seen this person before, that did not mean Sandbar had forgotten his courtesies, and so, after getting up to his hooves, he responded.

"Hi. Er...can I help you?"

The mare smiled to him, raising a hoof and attempting to sweep aside some of her mane in some fancy gesture. But, this attempt failed when her hoof simply passed through random strands of it, as though she'd never attempted such a thing in her life. A brief look of annoyance came to her, but she moved past it soon afterwards, waking towards the stallion and sounding hesitant as she spoke.

"Well...um...I was wondering...do you come here often?"

Sandbar blinked.

"You mean...to the edge of this lake?"

The mare looked away for a few moments.

"It's just...a stallion like you could probably do with some...company?"

Here, a smile came to Sandbar, and he gave a brief chuckle.

"Oh, you don't need to worry about that. I'm actually waiting for someone right now. She should be here any minute."

The mare blushed slightly, again looking away from him. After a few moments of worry on her part, she sighed, looking back to him, with her smile now gone.

"Um...hi, Sandy."

Sandbar looked to her with confusion, for he could have sworn that her voice now sounded different from what it had been before. Then, ever so slowly, recognition came to him, and his eyes widened.

"O...Ocellus?"

The mare nodded, prompting Sandbar to ask the obvious question.

"Wha...what are you doing?"

Raising a hoof, the disguised Changeling nervously scratched the back of her head.

"Well...um...I was thinking it might be nice if I...you know...put on a face for our date that was...that was more..."

Sandbar tilted his head.

"More...what?"

To that, Ocellus slumped her shoulders.

"More...pretty."

A silence passed between them, and while Sandbar looked to his girlfriend as though he didn't understand what she was saying, his face gradually morphed into a softer look, as he let out a long sigh.

"Ocellus...change back...please."

There was no waiting on the part of the Changeling before she complied with that instruction, and within moments, she was engulfed in the distinct transformation magic of her people. But soon, it was gone, and Sandbar now looked upon Ocellus' TRUE appearance. Though, for some reason, she was continuing to just not look at him, which led to him taking a step closer before gently placing his hoof upon her shoulder.

"Ocellus...what's this all about?"

Slowly, the young Changeling turned her gaze back to him.

"I guess...I just felt a little worried that...it might be strange for you...being with, well...someone who looked like me...on a day like this one."

Sandbar frowned, but only a little bit.

"Ocellus, I've been with you when you're like this ever since we met."

Ocellus nodded.

"I know...but today is...different."

A blush came to the both of them.

"Yeah...but that doesn't mean you have to change," Sandbar remarked.

Ocellus looked back to him, and for a while, neither youth said a word to one another. Instead, Sandbar smiled to his girlfriend, walking away from her and going back to the spot by the lake where he'd been sitting. Ocellus watched as he sat himself down, patting a bare patch of earth next to him. The young shapeshifter knew what he was saying to her, and so she made her way over, sitting herself down beside him. Again, there was nothing but quiet between the young couple, even though they both clearly looked nervous for some reason. And Sandbar's eventual breaking of the silence merely added to this.

"Did...did you think I wouldn't want to try this with you if you looked like...you?"

Ocellus hung her head slightly.

"...Maybe."

Sandbar's expression again softened, and he once more reached forward. But this time, it was not for her shoulder, but for the underside of her chin, and once there, he gently guided her face to look at him, wherein he offered her a warm and loving smile.

"Ocellus...you don't need to change to try and make yourself look pretty. Because..."

Another blush came to him.

"...because you're already pretty."

As expected, Ocellus too blushed fiercely to those words, and while it would have been a simple matter to use her Changeling magic to alter her appearance so she wasn't blushing right now, it appeared as though the present circumstances weren't allowing her brain to provide her with that obvious escape route. Instead and after a few moments of hesitation, she responded, albeit slowly.

"You...you're just saying that."

But Sandbar shook his head.

"No...I mean it!"

If the stallion had fingers right now, he'd have been counting them off as he spoke.

"The way your eyes sometimes glitter, your beautiful wings, the..."

His blush deepened.

"...the smile you have."

Slowly, his own smile returned.

"When I said you were already pretty...I meant it."

Ocellus partly looked like she didn't believe him, but even so, she found herself gradually scooting to be closer to him. Both of them knew why they were here, and what they were going to want to do here. And both of them, understandably, looked almost terrified to even be attempting it right now. It was expected for ones as young as they were, and yet, here they were, ready to give it a go. It was something they wanted, even though neither of them really knew what to do first. Instead, Sandbar kept on speaking.

"And prettiness isn't all that would make me want to be with you, Ocellus. The drive you have to do well...how happy you are at everything you've seen since coming to Ponyville...the...the fun we've had together since we started dating."

His posture relaxed.

"All of it...I would want to be with you...because of you."

Here, Ocellus herself now began to speak, though looking a touch less confident than her boyfriend had been.

"And you...you've made me feel so welcome since I came here, Sandy. When I'm with you, I...I feel safe. You've not just made me feel like a friend...you've made me feel...so much more than that."

Her smile widened.

"I...I really am lucky that I met you."

Slowly, they were both moving closer to one another, their heads gradually leaning in towards the other. But, as this occurred, Ocellus again showed hesitation, and started to move back away from Sandbar. The stallion, seeing this, did not seem angry or upset, but rather understanding.

"Ocellus...you don't need to worry. If you don't think we're at that point, or if you don't think you're ready, then we don't have to go through with this right away."

But, Ocellus simply shook her head to that.

"It's not that, it's just...just..."

Letting out a long sigh, she looked right into Sandbar's eyes.

"I'm a Changeling...and you're a pony."

Fear took hold in her eyes.

"Two people like us have never tried doing something like this together. What if...what if it doesn't feel good to us? What if we do this and...and we find out it can only feel good if we experience it with those of our own kind?"

She paused, continuing to look almost distraught over these new thoughts of hers.

"What do we do if things go...wrong?"

Sandbar looked to her earnestly. In truth, it seemed as though he might, on some level, share the same fears. It was a valid concern after all. What would they do if this didn't go the way they expected it to? But, after a while, Sandbar put away whatever fears he might have felt over the matter and, in a move similar to what he'd done before, reached forward and patted her shoulder.

"If there's a problem...we'll work it out. And if another problem show up afterwards...we'll work that one out too."

He took on a more determined look.

"We'll try to move past whatever problem comes our way, Ocellus...because something like this...like us...it's worth working for to make it, well...work."

Ocellus stared at him for a long time, utterly astounded that he was so willing to say such things.

"Do...do you really think we can work past all that?"

Slowly, the stallion smiled.

"Ocellus...I know we can!"

With that, Ocellus, the shy, timid and ever-understated student, leaned forward, and without even warning him that it was going to happen, she was upon him. Their lips met, pressing hard against each other, and Sandbar's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. As confident as he had been in the moments leading up to this moment, now all that was left in him was shock and bewilderment, as evidenced by the tomato-red blush his face was now drowning in. Ocellus, for her part, had her eyes closed, and she too was overwhelmed with a fierce blush. It was a first kiss if ever there was one, with neither party really knowing what to do now that their lips were together. But, after a while, relaxation started to come to them. Gradually, Sandbar too started to close his eyes, but not before he gently placed his hoof upon the side of his girlfriend's face.

This state lasted for some time, with both youths easing themselves into the kiss, even though Ocellus' wings flittered a little, making it clear how excited she was about this. There was no serious passion or anything beyond this simple lip contact, but even so, this was what they wanted. Minute after minute passed, with neither one of them doing anything besides what they were doing, but, there eventually came a time when, at long last, their lips finally parted. A deep exhale escaped the both of them, and like before, they stared deeply into each others' eyes. No words were said, at least for now, and instead, the awkwardness of the moment finally got the better of them. The two burst into adolescent giggling, snorting occasionally as their laughs echoed across the surrounding area. After a time, however, they calmed down, sighing together before, finally, speaking.

"That was...wow," Sandbar began.

"Yes, it was...nice," Ocellus added.

Slowly, the young stallion leaned forward, placing his hoof upon hers, holding it carefully.

"Was it...what you thought it would be like?"

Ocellus, thinking hard on that, looked to him with a slightly-fading smile, before slowly shaking her head.

"...No...it wasn't."

Naturally, Sandbar looked devastated at those words, but said nothing as his girlfriend swiftly resumed her smile.

"...It was better."

Sandbar, allowing a relieved sigh to escape him, joined in with Ocellus as the two once more laughed together. As before, that laughter soon ended, and without saying anything, they moved closer, embracing one another in a warm hug. The embrace was tender, and both of them smiled widely, both for this moment, and for the threshold they'd just crossed together.

"Well...guess we don't need to worry about what we're going to have to do if kissing didn't work out for us," Sandbar remarked.

Ocellus giggled to this, and as the two again parted, they contented themselves in the calm and quiet of the moment. They looked over to the lake, to the waters that glistened brightly in the still-shining sun above them. This moment between them had gone perfectly, and what's more, they had this moment all to themselves. No craziness, no stress, just the two of them, feeling happy with each other. It was a thought that brought nothing but ceaseless smiles for the young pair, and after a time, Ocellus looked to her pony companion, seeming just a touch uncertain.

"So...um...do you want to try...another kiss?"

Sandbar looked to her, opening his mouth to reply, only to halt himself as a look of wariness came to him. At first, Ocellus didn't understand why seemed to be looking this way, and her confusion only deepened as she saw him get up and walk away from her. She observed him walking further and further from where he'd been, until he finally reach a long bush just a short distance away from where they were. Immediately, understanding came to Ocellus, and a small smile crept onto her lips as she gave a single nod. As for Sandbar, he quickly looked over the top of the bush, making sure that nobody was there. Thankfully, nobody was there, and once he was satisfied of this, he returned to his earlier smile, before promptly making his way back to his girlfriend. Sitting himself down, he let out a sigh, giving a brief look of apology to her.

"Sorry about that...just had to be sure."

Nodding, Ocellus leaned forward, giving his hoof a quick pat.

"No need to apologise. Though I hear it is rude to keep a lady waiting."

The two again laughed together, and Sandbar, taking Ocellus' hoof into his own, lifted it up before delivering a gentlemanly kiss upon it, bringing yet another blush to the young Changeling.

"So...another kiss?" he asked.

A pause, and then, Ocellus regained her composure, taking on a somewhat sly smile.

"Yes...I believe that would be appropriate."

Now, anyone who knew anything about dragons would tell you one definitive thing about them; They simply could not resist a challenge. As soon as somebody gave even the tiniest hint that they weren't as good at something as they thought they were, it became something that had to be settled, right then and there. Sadly, Gallus had made the rather predictable error of making just such a challenge, as he had taken to insinuating that his flying skills could match or even beat that of Smolder. Naturally, such a declaration had to be answered, and so, that was exactly what the two of them sought to do. Standing at the edge of the Ponyville Lake, the two youths were currently engaged in some routine exercises to prepare them for the big test. Stretching out their wings, their limbs, making sure they were as flexible as possible, all that good stuff. However, as they were doing this, Gallus, in that typical way of his, gave a smirk to his draconic colleague.

"Sure you don't wanna back down, Smolder? Nobody will blame you if this is too much for you."

The young dragoness merely snorted to that.

"Yeah, right! If you seriously think I'm gonna let the flying skills of dragons go undefended against a Griffon, you must have feathers in your brain!"

Gallus gave a quick chuckle to that.

"Yeah, figured as much. But, let's not forget, it's not just Dragons and Griffons involved in this."

Hearing that, Smolder stopped, and she turned to look to her other side. There, hopping happily in one place, was none other than Silverstream. The pink Hippogriff was practically giddy over being here today, as she was barely able to contain the giggles that, at any moment, threatened to escape from her mouth. And it wasn't long before she turned to her two other friends, finally unleashing her enthusiasm for the event that was to happen between them.

"Oh! Isn't this just the best thing ever?! Dragons, Griffons and Hippogriffs! An epic race to determine who truly rules the skies! Oooooh! I can already feel the excitement people will be having when they hear about this!"

Of course, as charming as her boundless energy usually was, today it earned her a mere eye-roll from Smolder.

"Try not to get too happy about this, Silver. Might make you a little upset when you lose."

Silverstream looked to her, tilting her head to show her confusion.

"Don't you mean if I lose?"

Here, Smolder gave a chuckle, reaching over and patting her friend on the shoulder.

"Sure, you just keep telling yourself that, Silver."

Then, moments later, Smolder herself felt somebody tapping on her shoulder, and she turned to face the rather smug-looking face of Gallus as he began to speak.

"Let's not forget our illustrious judge. She'll be deciding this race's winner."

Folding her arms, Smolder raised an eyebrow to that.

"Oh, I'm sure she'll make the right call."

Her head turned, and she looked over to another side of the lake.

"Hey! Ocellus! You ready to...oh no."

Confused, Gallus looked over to see what she was so worried about, and in an instant, he understood, placing his claw to his forehead in a display of exasperation. Ocellus was indeed there, but she was not alone. For beside her was none other than Sandbar, and currently, both he and Ocellus were staring lovingly into one another's eyes. It had only been a week since their first kiss, and ever since, they'd been completely and utterly lovesick, to the point where they now seemed oblivious to virtually everything that was going on around them. Yona too was close by, though she simply gave a happy-looking wave and smile to Smolder, who reluctantly returned the gesture. Rubbing her temples, the young dragoness sighed.

"Okay, we've gotta snap her out of it. Silver?"

"Shipshipshipshipshipshipshipshipshipship..."

"...Yeah, looks like Silver's not gonna help us on this one. Gallus?"

Gallus grumbled, but nevertheless nodded to the request, yelling at the top of his lungs towards the happy couple.

"YO!!! SANDY!!! YOU GUYS GONNA ACTUALLY WATCH THIS OR WHAT?!"

Immediately, the young couple looked away from one another, and towards the waiting racers. Naturally, they blushed a little over their apparent distraction, with Ocellus clearing her throat and trying to look as composed and professional as possible.

"Yes...well...I hope you all know that this is going to be a good clean race."

She looked down to the pad of paper she had before her, looking over her notes for a brief time before slowly nodding.

"By my calculations, it will be a close thing, as each of your peoples have distinct advantages when it comes to flight. Griffons have greater muscles in their wings, Dragons have greater endurance for long-term flight, and so on."

She looked back up to them.

"This really is anyone's race."

Silverstream again giggled to all of this, looking over to Ocellus and gesturing for her to come over.

"You're still welcome to come over and join us!"

But Ocellus, smiling to that, raised her hoof, silently declining.

"Thank you for the offer, Silver, but I'm not the competitive type."

Giving herself another stretch, Smolder chuckled to that.

"Well, I am! And I'm itching to get this thing started!"

Gallus smirked to her.

"You and me both, Smolder!"

With that, the three racers got down onto all fours, ready to launch themselves forward and get this thing going. Ocellus took out a stop-watch, ready to get it going the moment the contest began. Sandbar and Yona watched them intently, all while the contestants muttered among themselves.

"So much fun! This is gonna be so much fun!" Silverstream declared to herself.

"Hey, Smolder, don't get too upset when you lose, okay?" Gallus whispered.

"Ha! In your dreams, bird-brain!"

Ocellus, who was not listening in on this, got to her hooves, narrowing her eyes and speaking aloud for all to hear.

"Okay...are you ready?"

The three fliers nodded in unison, prompting her to continue.

"Alright, the race will begin in three..."

The contestants tensed up.

"...two..."

They narrowed their eyes at the far end of the lake.

"...and GO!!!"

Instantly, they flapped their wings as hard as they could, launching themselves like missiles from the banks of the lake. In fact, so great was the flap that the sand behind them was kicked back into a massive sand-cloud, showing just how much strength was being put into this. Ocellus, Sandbar and Yona, sitting to their side, watched with amazement as their friends trailed across the sky, going faster and faster with every flap they gave. Just as Ocellus had predicted, it was a close thing between them, with all three contestants appearing to be neck-and-neck so far. But, with the competitiveness that they had, it was inevitable that things did not end up being squeaky-clean between two of them for long. Gallus, allowing his need for victory to get the better of him, subtlety strayed to the right, putting himself more or less in Smolder's, for lack of a better word, "lane" in this race.

"Hey! Watch it!" the dragoness demanded.

The Griffon chortled.

"Hey, a real good flier wouldn't have any problems with that, would she?" Gallus said back to her.

And with that, the gloves were off, and Smolder narrowed her eyes at her friend. She was gonna win this race, no matter what it took. So, after allowing herself a brief smirk, she opened her mouth, took in a deep inhale, before bellowing out a torrent of fire just ahead of herself. Gallus, seeing this, widened his eyes with shock, straying to his left to avoid hitting the fire. This diversion he put himself in gave Smolder the edge she needed to get further ahead of him, and she cackled loudly as she passed him by. Of course, Gallus couldn't let something like this go, and so he decided to up his game. Like Ocellus had said, Griffons had very strong wing muscles, and as such, his flaps provided him with just enough power to be able to force himself to go a little faster, getting closer to Smolder.

"Now I've got you!"

Now, while this had all been going on, the three non-racers on the lake's edge had been watching, and Sandbar, seeing the expected foul-play between his two friends, let out a long and tired-sounding sigh, slapping his forehead with frustration.

"Yeah...I thought as much."

Ocellus, who looked similarly irritated at her friends' behaviour, put her paper pad down, looking to it with some degree of disappointment.

"Well...guess I'm not getting any accurate scientific data from this race."

Sandbar reached over, offering her a warm pat on her shoulder.

"Come on, let's at least see who ends up getting to the end first."

Ocellus smiled to him, and together, the three of them started to make their way over to where the finish line had been placed on the far edge of the lake. Yona, walking alongside them, tilted her head slightly, before then glancing back to Sandbar.

"How big is lake anyway?"

To that, Sandbar shrugged his shoulders.

"Meh. It varies from day to day usually."

Meanwhile, things had become even less sportsmanlike among the racers, with Gallus having finally caught up to Smolder. But, rather than provide some distraction or subtle tactic, he instead opted for a more direct approach. Reaching forward, the now-aggressive Griffon grabbed hold of Smolder's ankles, seizing them tightly. Of course, the dragoness herself did not appreciate this, as evidence by the angry glare she now gave him.

"Hey! Let go!"

But Gallus did not, and after an almighty yank, he pulled her back, giving himself the means to get further ahead. Unfortunately, Smolder had elected to do the same, and grabbed onto Gallus ankles, trying to pull him back too. However, when she did this, she caused him to become so distracted that he briefly lost control of his flight. It was a small thing, but it was just enough to cause him to start falling out of the sky. Smolder, her eyes widening, watched as her Griffon friend collided with her, causing both of them to fall. Down and down they went, until, finally, they collided with the water. A few moments passed, but eventually, they both re-emerged from the lake, panting furiously over this.

"What's the big idea?!" Gallus demanded to know.

"Oh no! Don't you put this one on me, Gallus!" Smolder spat back.

The two knew they had a race to finish, and so they again flapped hard, sending themselves back into the sky. The end of the lake was near now, and they knew they could no longer afford to be underhanded with this. So, it was simply back to pure speed and effort for the final leg of the thing. Faster and faster they went, hoping beyond hope to be the first one there. It was a tense moment, but finally, the two of them made it over the finish line, practically collapsing onto the sands of the lake's shore as they did so. They panted heavily again, looking utterly exhausted from their efforts, but, not so tired that they couldn't look up and see Ocellus, Sandbar and Yona arrive to greet them.

"So...winner?" Smolder asked through her panting.

"Yeah! Who came first?" Gallus added.

The three others looked to one another, and then, with simultaneous motions, they pointed to the side.

"She did!" they said together.

Turning, Smolder and Gallus looked on with amazement and shock to see that it was Silverstream that now stood at the end, waving happily to the two of them and smiling widely.

"Hey, guys! Wasn't that great?"

The two still-tired racers blinked slowly to this, gradually getting themselves off the ground and staring at her with pure disbelief.

"But...but...how?!" Smolder uttered.

Silverstream shrugged her shoulders.

"Well, while you two were busy having your little...whatever-that-was...I just, you know...raced. I've been here for a couple of minutes, actually."

Getting himself dusted off, Gallus groaned with irritation.

"But...why didn't you try anything to get ahead and win like we did?"

Silverstream looked to them as though that was the most ridiculous thing she'd ever been asked in her life, culminating in the expected giggle.

"Duh! Because this was just a bit of fun, right? What's fun about causing friends to lose?"

A silence hung over the group, and slowly, Gallus and Smolder turned, looking to one another. Neither of them wanted to be the one to say it, given their equally-massive pride and all that, but, after a while, it was Gallus, the one who had sparked this all off, who did so. Sighing, he turned to face Smolder fully, raising a claw and scratching the back of his head before finally saying what he needed to.

"I guess...what we did wasn't really all that fun, was it?"

Letting out a sigh of her own, Smolder shook her head.

"No...in fact...it was kind of a load."

The two shared a dry laugh together, and Gallus soon stepped forward.

"I'm...I'm sorry for saying I was a better flier than you."

Smolder nodded.

"And...I'm sorry...for using fire during the race."

"And I'm sorry for trying to pull you down," Gallus continued.

"Yeah, same here," Smolder confessed.

Then, to heir slight surprise, they were interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat. Turning, they saw the still-irritated face of Ocellus, looking to the two of them like she was expecting them to say something. After a few moments of pause, Smolder gained some realisation, chuckling nervously.

"Oh...um...and we're sorry for messing up your notes and science...stuff."

Ocellus gave a nod.

"Thank you."

Looking back to her feathered friend, Smolder took a step forward of her own, stretching her claw out.

"So...we cool?"

Looking to the offered claw, Gallus gave a quick smirk, then took it, giving a firm shake.

"Yeah, we're cool."

Then, to their great shock, they were immediately seized and jointly hugged by Silverstream, who squealed happily at the resolution of this issue.

"Eeeeeeeee! So we had an exciting race and learned an important lesson about not being overly-competitive? AWESOME!!!"

The other two groaned to this overabundance of excitement from their friend, but they nevertheless smiled to it shortly afterwards, with Smolder giving Gallus one final smirk.

"So...a proper race this time?"

After letting out a hearty laugh, the Griffon looked right back to her with determination.

"You're on!"

There was a time, just a few short years ago, when the idea that a Yak and a Hippogriff walking down the streets of Ponyville would have been little more than a pipe dream. And yet, as Yona and Silverstream now proved, things had changed in Equestria. They walked here among the ponies like they were one of them, smiling and waving to passers by as though they were close and trusted friends. Everyone had accepted the students as part of the community, given all they had done since their arrival, and Silverstream and Yona seemed more than happy to be a part of all this. After all, there was little the two females enjoyed more after a long day of school work than to casually stroll through the town. The markets were in full swing, and there was just this buzz of activity that seemed almost infectious. Silverstream especially marvelled at everything she saw, gasping and looking wide-eyed at all the wares she came across.

"Oh! These jewels are so pretty! And those fruits! They look so tasty! And is that a genuine wood-carving of a hydra I see over there?!"

Yona, while similarly excited to see what the ponies had to offer, nevertheless walked over to her over-enthusiastic friend, placing her hoof upon her shoulder.

"Yona like pony stuff too, but watch out for pony wood stuff. Last one Yona buy not last very long."

Silverstream looked to her, and together, the two shared a laugh, clearly showing how much they were enjoying the moment. But, as they continued to do this, they were soon interrupted by the sound of ponies muttering to themselves. Many mares and stallions in the immediate area started to move, either from browsing the market or from some other activity they were in the middle of. The two students watched them, confused, seeing them all gather towards one end of the market. Naturally, their curiosity got the better of them, and it wasn't long before the two started to join the crowds. Silverstream was pretty excited, as the prospect of doing something completely mysterious and unknown always gave her a giddy sense of fun. Yona was a bit more wary, but otherwise wasn't all that worried. After a while, however, the crowd stopped, and Silverstream craned her neck upwards, trying to get a better view.

"Oooooh! What is it?"

Yona, naturally, took a more direct approach, and carefully nudged the ponies in front of her out of the way. There was plenty of room for these other ponies to move to, so this move on Yona's part wasn't any issue. Once towards the front of the group, both she and Silverstream saw what it was that had gathered so much attention. A pair of earth pony stallions, standing right in the middle of the town square, lookign to the crowds with confidence. They were dressed quite unlike anybody else here, though the students were still able to recognise the uniform of a gymnast when they saw them. After regarding the crowds they'd gathered for themselves the two stallions took a bow, before the first, the older-looking of the two, finally broke the silence.

"Mares and Gentlecolts! My brother and I have travelled from town to town, seeing the length and breadth of all Equestria! We have performed in Manehattan, Baltimare, Canterlot, and even as far North as the Crystal Empire!"

The younger one then spoke up, adding his voice to the proceedings.

"Crowds have marvelled at our skill and feats all over, and we assure you, that today, you too shall watch with awe and disbelief at what we can do!"

There were many excited murmurs and chatters of speculation over what was happening, and Silverstream was very much among those who were keen to see what was about to happen. Yona seemed more sceptical, but nevertheless watched as the brother gave each other a nod. Without any further warning., they literally leapt into action, jumping high and performing an immediate backflip. It was a move that caused "oooohs" and "aaaahs" in the crowd, but the brothers were not done yet. They continued to move and jump about, flipping over pre-set-up obstacles and even each other on occasion. The crowds continued to watch, stunned at every single high jump and flip and other acrobatic movement they were witnessing. Silverstream, as one would expect of her, was practically jumping in one place over how awed she was, and even hugged Yona over this.

"Oh! Yona! Aren't they great?!"

But the young Yak did not seem so impressed, and continued to watch the brothers as they got down to performing their final act. And this was, by far, their most dangerous feat yet. One held aloft a ring, about a width-and-a-half of the average stallion, before, to the shock of the crowd, setting it on fire. The other gave a bow to the onlookers, before promptly running towards the flaming hoop, giving an almighty leap, and flying straight thought it. The flames had never even touched him, even in spite of how small the ring had been, and the stallion landed back on the other side, eliciting a massive cheer from the crowd around them. The brothers bowed, and Silverstream, in that usual way of hers, practically screamed with excitement over what she'd witnessed.

"Oh! That was amazing! The flips, the jumps, the movements! Ooooooh! It was all so great!"

She turned, looking to her larger friend.

"Wasn't it fantastic, Yona?"

But, to Silverstream's slight surprise, her Yak colleague was not so enthused, and let out a snort soon afterwards.

"Yona no like pony brothers. They too gloaty."

Silverstream tilted her head.

"Er...gloaty?"

Yona looked to her, giving a hearty nod.

"Yes! Gloaty! They come here, spend big time talking about how great they are! They type to look down on others!"

She frowned.

"In Yakyakistan, Yaks who boast and talk of greatness must prove they as great as they say!"

Silverstream blinked, looking from her friend, to the still-bowing brothers nearby, before again looking to Yona.

"Um...the brothers did prove they were great. I mean, did you see all those acrobatics?"

Yona huffed again.

"Hmph! Yona still no like braggers!"

Raising a hoof, Yona pounded her chest.

"Yona show them! Yona challenge brothers!"

Silverstream immediately leapt into action, standing between Yona and the very first step she was about to take.

"Waitwaitwaitwaitwait! Let's just think about this, shall we?"

Yona tilted her head.

"Why Silverstream stop Yona?"

Silverstream sighed.

"Yona...I realise that Yaks have this whole action-over-words thing, and believe me, I respect that a lot!"

She stepped forward, placing her claw upon her friend's shoulder.

"But you have to remember, these guys are performers Their whole job is entertaining people! Giving them an exciting show or something big to look forward to!"

She gave a quick shrug of her shoulders.

"I mean...when you stop and think about it...they're kind of like storytellers."

Yona's face was filled with confusion now, as was her tone when she spoke.

"How?"

Silverstream's smile returned.

"Well...when people tell stories, they'll sometimes add little things here and there to make it seem more interesting. They'll say something like...like...it was a fierce battle! Or that...um...my heart was pounding when it happened!"

The young Hippogriff let out a quick giggle.

"Little things like that can make a big difference, and can turn some matter-of-fact account into a real story. Something people can have fun with! And it's the same with acts like these!"

She gestured to the brothers.

"Sure, they could have just arrived and started doing their act, but by doing what they did, by talking about all the other people who've seen their stuff and enjoyed it, they crank up the anticipation."

Slowly, she looked back to Yona.

"I know this can be difficult for you, but...what they did wasn't wrong...and it wasn't done to hurt or insult other people."

Yona stood there, absorbing everything her pink friend had said to her, and after a while, she looked to the side letting out another snort. But, while she was reluctant to accept this new way of thinking that her friend had presented to her, she did, after a slow while, start to look back to her, her voice tinted with just the tiniest bit of uncertainty.

"So...Yona shouldn't challenge brothers?"

Letting out a sigh, Silverstream gave a slow shake of her head, before speaking up yet again.

"Yona...just think about it. If you did go over there and challenge those two...those two professional gymnasts...what would happen?"

The Yak female paused, thinking on that question for a good long while. Then, her earlier confidence started to melt away slightly, and she gained a small blush. She didn't want to admit it, but as the moments rolled on, the truth was right there, staring her in the face. Prideful she may have been, just like all Yaks, but even so, she could not deny it any longer, not with her friend looking to her and awaiting an answer.

"Yona...would no look good doing gym stuff."

Another quick giggle on the part of Silverstream, and she gave a slight shake of her head.

"I'm afraid not. I mean, no disrespect to you, Yona, but..."

She scratched the back of her head, trying to think on how best to say what she needed to, before just coming out and saying it.

"...you're...well...not exactly the most graceful of people."

A pause fell between them, but, rather than be offended or angered by what had been said to her, Yona instead let out a hearty laugh. Silverstream, who was understandably relieved that her friend was not upset with her, joined in on the laugh, and together, they continued to do so even as the surrounding crowds started to at last disperse. The brothers had finished their performance, and the day was over for a great many of them, so the ponies trickled away, one by one, even the brothers themselves, before, at the end, it was only the two students left here. They continued to laugh, the potential scenario of Yona's plan passing through their minds. Clearly, they were amused by it, with Yona herself coming out and declaring how absurd it might have been.

"Yona no do jumps and flips! Yona just trip and fall!"

Silverstream continued to giggle.

"Yeah...it'd be like when you first arrived at the school!"

Another hearty laugh from Yona.

"True! Yona's head hurt a lot back then!"

She gave a slow nod to herself.

"Yona probably go over there, try big jump...then fall flat on face."

She shuddered slightly.

"Yona no like to think how ponies laugh after that."

Silverstream gave her a soft look, reaching over and giving her a quick pat on the shoulder.

"I'm sure they wouldn't have been to bad. But, at least you know it's not a good idea to go and publically out-do professionals. I mean, boasts or otherwise, they probably know what they're doing."

Yona nodded, acknowledging that point.

"Yeah...they just do their job. Making people happy...exciting them..."

Slowly, she smiled again.

"Yona can respect that. Performers no bad people because of boasts and chest-puffing. They make acts better!"

Silverstream nodded back, opening her mouth to no doubt say something further on the matter. But, before she had the chance to do so, the two of them were interrupted by the sound of somebody sniffing. Together, they turned, and saw that, while almost every other pony had vacated the town square, there was now one lone resident here. A blue unicorn mare, with an almost white mane, looking to the two students with a happy smile upon her face. It was Trixie. More than that, however, she seemed to be welling up with tears, and while the two didn't understand why this was the case, they were even more surprised when, without warning, the mare leapt forward, embracing Yona in a big hug. Now, Yona liked a good hug as much as the next person, but having it happen unexpectedly with one of her substitute teachers was not exactly how she usually went about them. And speaking of whom, that mare, through her sobs, started to speak.

"Thank you...thank you so much for saying all that, you wonderful, beautiful Yak you!"

Yona, though flattered, nevertheless chuckled in a manner far more nervous than she was known for, as indeed did Silverstream. Trixie, after hugging as much as she was able, parted from the youngster, giving her a look that spoke of pure respect towards her, before giving a similar nod to Silverstream. Then, without a word, the blue unicorn headed off, wiping a tear away from her eye as she did so. Now alone, Yona and Silverstream moved closer to one another, looking to each other with confusion.

"Um...why substitute teacher Trixie do that?" Yona asked.

Silverstream, in an uncharacteristic look of concern and worry, shook her head, then looked Yona in the eye and brought her voice down to a whisper.

"I'm not sure...but I think it's best if we just smile, nod...and walk away slowly."

Among students of any school, there was one universally accepted situation that nobody wanted to find themselves in. And that was being called to the Principal's office. Yet, that was exactly where Sandbar now found himself, sitting quietly and alone outside of Head-Mare Twilight's chambers at the school. A long sigh escaped the young stallion, and every once in a while, he would look to some of the other students who passed him by, offering them a friendly smile as they did so. But, he could not escape the gnawing sensation he felt as he waited out here. What had he done? Had he failed one of the exams? Why was he being made to wait as long as this? All these questions and more poured through the fellow's mind, and he did not look in the least bit happy about any of it. But, before long, he soon discovered that he was not entirely alone here, as the clearing of someone's throat alerted him to another. Turning, a smile touched his lips as he saw that it was none other than his girlfriend, Ocellus.

"Hey," he said to her.

"Hey," she said back with a blush.

Finally reaching him, the young Changeling cast a glance in the direction of the large doors nearby.

"Any idea why we were called here?"

That took Sandbar by surprise.

"Wait...you were called too?"

Ocellus gave a grim nod.

"I was...but I can't think of what I could have done to be called here. Did we miss a spot when we were cleaning up after Hearth's Warming?"

Sandbar chuckled to that.

"If that was the reason, all the others would be here too."

Ocellus giggled, though it was admittedly a nervous-sounding one. Then, before the two youths had a chance to say anything else to one another, they were interrupted by the sound of the doors opening up nearby. They took simultaneous gulps, then began to walk inside together. Princess Twilight was there, sitting at her desk and smiling warmly to the two of them as they entered.

"Thank you both for coming. Please, take a seat."

Sure enough, there were indeed two chairs just in front of her desk, clearly having been set up for the two of them. The young couple were still nervous, but they nevertheless did as instructed, with Sandbar closing the office door behind him as they entered in earnest. Choosing their respective chairs, the two got themselves comfortable, or at least as comfortable as they could be, given the circumstances. Twilight, for her part, could see that the two were unsettled about being here, and so offered them a calm and reassuring tone as she spoke.

"Don't worry...neither of you is in trouble. It's just...I wanted to talk to the two of you about something...well..."

She glanced around, making sure that both the doors and windows of her office were properly closed, before looking back to the two in front of her.

"...personal."

This was quite unlike how their Head-Mare usually acted, so Sandbar and Ocellus gave each other a justifiably confused look, before turning again to their elder.

"Um...personal?" Ocellus enquired.

Twilight nodded.

"Yes. You see...it's recently come to my attention that the relationship you two have has become somewhat...for lack of a better term...physical."

Instantly, the two erupted into blushes so prominent and so absurdly red that one could be mistaken for thinking that their heads had briefly been replaced with giant tomatoes. Now, these youngsters were by no means embarrassed about their relationship, quite the opposite in fact. But to sit here, having their Head-Mare actually talking about it to them, that was quite another matter entirely. They looked to one another, perhaps silently hoping the other would let them know that this was all a bad dream and that they would wake up at any moment. Sadly, this was not to be, and after shakily turning back to the older mare before them, Sandbar was the first to speak up.

"Well...er...we have sort of...kind of...kissed...if that's what you're referring to?"

Twilight gave a firm nod.

"Yes. And let me just first start things off by saying that I'm happy for the both of you that your bond with one another is growing like this."

Her smile widened.

"It warms my heart to know that ponies and Changelings have managed to become this close to one another in such a short span of time."

Then, she raised a hoof to her mouth, clearing her throat.

"However...as your Head-Mare, I feel that it's my responsibility to prepare you in case any further steps in your relationship start to happen."

The two stared at her blankly.

"Um...further steps?" Ocellus asked, very much terrified as to what would be said to her next.

Another nod from Twilight.

"Oh, certainly! After all, the two of you are young, healthy, and will undoubtedly be quite passionate about your first romance with another person. Feelings will swell, and you'll want to start doing things you never considered before."

With realisation coming to him, Sandbar hung his head lower, holding himself tightly.

"This...this isn't happening! This isn't happening! This isn't happening!"

And he just went on and on like that for some time, with Ocellus looking between him and Twilight, eventually settling on the latter.

"Prin...Princess Twilight. I appreciate that you want to help us, but..."

She looked away.

"Okay, how do I put this?"

She looked back to Twilight.

"Is this actually something you should be talking to us about? I mean no offense or anything, but..."

Twilight was not offended, thankfully, and instead continued to smile at the two of them.

"I realise it's not exactly conventional to think of such things at a friendship school, but I feel it's my responsibility to help the two of you through this new experience in your lives."

She gently placed her hooves upon her desk.

"Let's not forget, this is entirely new ground for all concerned. After all, no pony has ever entered into this kind of relationship with a Changeling before, much less one that actually went as far as kissing."

Here, Sandbar stopped sitting in a foetal position, looking to the Princess with some measure of curiosity.

"Wait...didn't your brother marry a Changeling once?"

Here, rather than the calm, measured and collected mare they were used to, Twilight instantly took on a look of rage, pointing in an accusing manner to the both of them.

"That ceremony was never finished, so it doesn't count!"

The two, naturally, were taken aback by this sudden outburst by the Princess, and Twilight herself, realising how she had just behaved in front of the two of them, immediately retreated back to leaning against the back of her chair, raising a hoof to her mouth and coughing in a very deliberate manner.

"Yes...what I meant to say...was that this is the first genuine relationship of this nature to get this far."

A smile returned to her.

"One day, perhaps we may even see relationships like a Hippogriff and a Griffon? Or a Yak and a Buffalo?"

She giggled, clapping her hooves together.

"Oh! I can just imagine it!"

Sandbar, ever so slowly, leaned closer to his girlfriend, keeping his voice to a whisper.

"And here I thought Silverstream was the worst shipper at this school!"

Ocellus giggled to that, but again, kept herself as quiet as possible while doing so. The two youths stifled their laughs as best they could, making sure to sit up straight and look attentive as Twilight finally looked back to them.

"In any case, we need to make sure that the two of you are properly prepared. After all, a day may soon come when you'll want to take things even further."

Her horn lit up, and out of a nearby drawer emerged a massive pile of pamphlets and fliers, which hovered over her desk before being unceremoniously dumped on it. After staring at this pile of papers in front of them for a time, Ocellus and Sandbar gave each other an uncertain look, before starting to take a few of those papers for themselves. As they'd expected, and even feared, they talked in detail about those sorts of things. Steps in relationships where things had become very intimate. And of course, the two, who had probably never even considered talking to each other about these kinds of topics, could not help but blush as they looked at paper after paper. After a while, however, it all proved too much, and Ocellus let out a sigh, leaning over slightly so as to be able to see Twilight from the other side of the pile.

"Princess...don't get me wrong, I appreciate everything you're doing. We both do."

Sandbar looked to her with a raised eyebrow.

"We do?"

An elbow into his side was his response from his girlfriend, and after nursing that spot for a few moments, the young stallion forced a smile of his own.

"Oh! Right! I mean...of course we appreciate this! I mean...how could we not?"

His acting was pretty terrible in that moment, but he was trying at least. Even so, Ocellus, after releasing another sigh, turned her gaze back to Twilight.

"It's just...I'm not sure if we're all that...comfortable talking about it."

To that, Twilight's smile faded a little.

"Oh...I see."

Ocellus wings drooped slightly at seeing her Head-Mare seeming a little bit down after that.

"I'm sorry, it's just..."

But she was halted by a raised hoof from Twilight.

"No, it's fine. Honesty is an important part of friendship after all and..."

After a quick sigh, she smiled.

"...and I appreciate you being honest with me, Ocellus."

The Changeling female smiled back, as indeed did Sandbar.

"Yeah...I don't know what's gonna happen between the two of us, but...I'm pretty sure we aren't at that level just yet," he added, gesturing to the many pamphlets that remained.

Looking to those papers herself, Twilight nodded.

"I can understand that. It's just..."

She paused, thinking on how best to say what she needed to.

"...I figured that, as your Head-Mare, it was my responsibility to help the two of you with what's been happening to you. Your wellbeing is part of my duties here after all. Although..."

Her eyes briefly darted again to the paper pile.

"...maaaaaaybe I went a little overboard."

"Yep," her two students replied simultaneously to her.

Twilight was a little surprised by that, but soon responded with a giggle.

"Well...I can certainly accept that the two of you want to do this at your own pace and in your own time. And I wish you the best of luck with it."

Sandbar and Ocellus, happy that this matter had been settled with, looked to one another, giving each other warm and loving smiles. It was a sweet moment that Twilight was definitely happy to see, and it made her want to give them some further encouragement with regards to their relationship. However, before she had the chance to do so, the doors of her office suddenly started to open. Turning, all three of them saw that it was Rarity, who entered with a few books being levitated by her magic alongside her.

"Twilight! I'm sorry I'm a bit early, but I was wondering if we could go over the lessons..."

She paused, having finally noticed that her royal friend was not alone here today. Sandbar and Ocellus, though pleased to see another of their teachers, gave her a somewhat nervous wave and joint smile, leading to a slightly unsure Rarity looking over to Twilight.

"Oh my! I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

Twilight shook her head, smiling back to her fashionista friend.

"Don't worry, Rarity. I was just offering some help to these two regarding their relationship."

Rarity, having heard that, started to smile herself, before giving a quick nod of understanding.

"I see...well, I can certainly understand wanting to help to nurture a young romance."

The two students winced, fearful that they would have to deal with yet another one of their teachers wanting to talk to them about their relationship. Instead, when Rarity finally spoke up again, what she talked about took the youths completely by surprise.

"Besides, I'm sure you can certainly speak to them from experience, given that your first crush wasn't a pony, Twilight."

The students blinked, confused, before looking back to their Head-Mare. Even though the alicorn was still smiling, she was showing all the tell-tale signs of being in the middle of grinding her teeth right now, and her left eye was twitching somewhat.

"Yes...thank you, Rarity. I'm sure these two don't want to be bothered by that story."

Her tone had very clearly stated "I don't want these two to know about that", but, sadly, Rarity had not picked up on it, and so walked further into the room with a proud smile on her face. When she reached the desk, she looked to Sandbar and Ocellus, completely oblivious to the irritation that her lavender colleague was experiencing.

"If there's anyone who can tell you about cross-species relationships, it's Twilight here."

She gestured to the aforementioned Princess.

"Why don't you tell them how the first male to catch your eye was a two-legged monkey person who lives on the other side of the magic mirror you keep in your castle."

Twilight was trying so hard to keep her annoyance pushed down deep inside of herself that a vein could be seen throbbing on the side of her head. As for the two students, they leaned in closer to one another, once more keeping their voices to whispers in case they were heard.

"Do...do you think Professor Rarity just made that up?" Ocellus asked.

Sandbar shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, look at it this way. If she didn't, then I guess we shouldn't think our relationship is all that strange anymore."

Giggling, Ocellus afforded him a quick and tender kiss on the cheek.

"I'll take it."

Now, the students of the School of Friendship enjoyed their lessons and seminars as much as anyone, but even they enjoyed the occasional quiet moment that was granted to them in-between such times. Their lunch break was one such moment, and many of the youngsters here were enjoying their respective meals, looking up with smiles at the sunny skies they were blessed with today, and just generally having a good time. At one table in particular, in the middle of the vast open space at the centre of the school, sat three particular friends, Gallus, Yona and Silverstream, all getting down with what appeared to be a combination of sandwiches. They seemed to be looking over a few open textbooks as they did so, always careful not to let their cups of juice spill over, even though those refreshments were placed rather close to them. Gallus, after biting down on his sandwich, and after downing a good glug of his juice, looked over to his two female companions, letting out a hearty chuckle.

"So I hear Princess Twilight managed to expose those two frauds over at that Friendship University."

Yona laughed.

"Yona glad! Yona no like liars and tricksters!"

Gallus matched her laugh, nodding in agreement.

"I hear ya, Yona. Besides, I wouldn't want a bunch of ponies over in Las Pegasus snickering about our school behind our backs."

Yona snorted in response to that.

"No! And no want pony Chancellor to have his pony-only school either!"

Gallus responded to that one with a smirk.

"Oh yeah, that was the cherry on the cake, right, Silver?"

He looked over to his Hippogriff friend, as indeed did Yona, but, to their slight surprise, she didn't answer. Instead, she was munching quietly on her food, staring intently at the open book before her, and just supremely focused on what she was doing. This was quite unlike her, as both of her friends well knew, and the two looked to one another with confusion. They wanted to speak to her, to try and see if something was up, but they also got the sense that maybe it might not be best to actually do so. In the end, it was Yona who spoke, raising her hoof and gently nudging Silverstream in the shoulder.

"Silverstream?"

The reaction was immediate, as the young royal immediately jerked out of her concentration, almost to the edge of terror, to the point where she accidentally knocked over her juice glass. It fell, shattering upon the ground below, much to everyone's shock. Silverstream, for her part, immediately realised that she had been so focused on what she'd been doing that she hadn't noticed her friends, and so, soon after, put on the happy smile she was so well known for.

"Oh! Hey guys! Sorry, I was...um...just focusing on my work!"

The smile was there, as was her upbeat tone, but there was something not quite right. It all seemed, for lack of a better word, forced, as if it was all just an act on Silverstream's part. And while Yona hadn't quite picked up on it, Gallus most definitely had, and so raised an eyebrow to her. However, before he said anything, Silverstream swiftly noticed the now-broken cup on the ground beside her.

"Oh no! Did I do that?!"

She got down from her chair, picking up the broken glass as best she could, which inevitably led to Yona and Gallus soon joining her. The latter two, naturally, looked to her with concern, with Gallus eventually breaking the silence between them.

"Hey, Silver? You okay?"

Again, another forced-looking smile from Silverstream.

"I'm fine, Gallus! Don't you worry! Oh!"

She looked down to the small pieces of glass that remained.

"We should probably use gloves to do this! Stay here, I'll get some!"

And so, without even waiting for her friends to say anything, she spread out her wings and flew off, straight for the open window that, even from this level, they knew led to the girls' dormitory. Gallus narrowed his eyes to this quick departure, and so looked to Yona.

"Hey...is everything okay with her?"

Yona shrugged her broad shoulders, giving a quick shake of her head soon afterwards.

"Not sure. She fine this morning...until mail came."

Gallus frowned.

"Mail?"

The young Yak nodded back.

"Silver get letter from home. She say nothing after reading it. Looked strange, with...with black edges."

Immediately, understanding came to the blue Griffon male, and he soon let out a long and uncomfortable sigh, raising a claw to his temples.

"Oh geez..."

Yona tilted her head.

"What problem?"

Gallus scratched the back of his head, turning to look up at the window Silverstream had flown up to. He thought long and hard, and then, at the end of it, he unleashed another sigh, before looking to Yona with a softer expression.

"Just...wait here. I'll talk to her."

Yona was still confused, but she accepted her friend's request, watching as he too stretched out his wings and launched himself up into the air. Gallus didn't look even remotely comfortable with this situation, but he also knew that, now that he knew what he knew, there was little choice for him. He showed no hesitation when entering through the window, as the girls had made it clear in the past that the boys were welcome there. And once he'd landed on the windowsill, he looked over and immediately saw Silverstream. Just as she'd promised, she was looking through her drawers to find some gloves for the broken glass. However, there was a look of distress upon her face as she did so, showing clearly that she was upset.

"...Hey," Gallus spoke softly.

Silverstream halted dead in her tracks, standing up and looking sharply to her friend, with yet another obviously-fake smile on her part.

"Oh! Gallus! You've, erm...come to help?"

Slowly, Gallus nodded.

"Help? Yeah, that's what I'm here for."

The tone in which he'd said that sent perhaps some unspoken message right into Silverstream's ears, and she now looked very aware of why he was really here. In response, she looked away, trying her best not to look at him.

"So, um...those gloves, right? Tricky little things, aren't they?"

Another sigh from Gallus.

"Silver...tell me...about the letter."

Silverstream paused, standing utterly still, and in this quiet, Gallus entered the room in earnest, never letting his eyes stray from her.

"I understand you probably don't wanna talk about it, but...I know enough to know what a black-edged letter means."

Silverstream continued to remain silent for a long, long time. But, to his credit, Gallus didn't try to urge her into speaking before she was ready. Instead, he just stood there, waiting for his friend to make the next move. Eventually, however, she did so, slowly turning to face him. And here, Gallus looked on with utter shock at her. For her usual happy, sunny and upbeat look was completely gone, replaced instead with an expression of being distraught, with tears forming in her eyes as she started speaking.

"M...my...my Great-Aunt. Her name was...Moonlight Wave."

Gallus took a step closer, his own face one of softness.

"...How?"

Silverstream looked away, raising her claw and thoughtlessly fiddling with her necklace with it.

"...She just...went...in her sleep."

Her Griffon friend, after having heard that, gave a slow nod.

"Well...I know there'll never be a right way, but...at least you can say she went without going through all that bad stuff."

Silverstream nodded, sniffing slightly, which prompted Gallus to continue.

"...Were you close?"

To that, Silverstream's smile returned. But, thankfully, this one was not forced, even though it was far smaller than those she usually wore. It was a melancholic smile, one tinted with happy memories that were now also sad.

"Yeah...we were close. I remember, when I was little, whenever me and Skystar went over to visit, she's always make these cute little fish toys for us. Made them out of shells and pebbles and...well..."

She turned, looking to her dresser.

"...whatever she could find, really."

Gallus followed her line of sight, and here, he at last noticed what she was looking at. There, resting atop her dresser, was one of those small toys, no doubt a memento of her home. It was indeed shaped like a fish, and seemed to have been crafted out of all manner of undersea items, including using seaweed to make little fins on the side. Silverstream giggled through her sniffing as she looked to it.

"I was always happy to see her. She'd always have a smile or a laugh or a joke, and...she was always kind to everyone."

Slowly, she glanced back down to the ground.

"There wasn't a single Seapony in Seaquestria who didn't know her or considered her a friend. Everyone always had good things to say to her, and even as she got older, she never stopped doing what she loved."

Afterwards, her smile disappeared once more.

"And now, she'll...she'll...she'll never do any of that stuff. She'll never laugh...or joke...or come over to visit, or..."

She stopped herself, looking very much like she feared that, if she did continue, she simply wouldn't be able to hold back the tears. And speaking of which, several of them now started to trail down her cheeks, though she again tried her best to hide them. Gallus, seeing that, took on a slight frown, taking yet one more step closer.

"Silver...I know this stuff is hard to talk about...and if you didn't want to say any of this stuff to us, we'd have understood, but..."

He paused, thinking on his next words carefully.

"...why were you pretending to be happy back there? Like nothing was wrong?"

Silverstream didn't look at him as she spoke.

"...Because I'm Silverstream."

Gallus raised an eyebrow.

"So?"

Silverstream sighed.

"Silverstream doesn't cry or look sad or make others around her feel bad or...or...any of that stuff. Silverstream is happy and smiling!"

Gallus narrowed his eyes just a little bit more.

"Silverstream...you shouldn't worry about how people see you. Not at a time like this."

The pink Hippogriff looked to him as he carried on.

"I'll probably never know what it's like to lose family, not when I never had one. But I know you're probably feeling alone...like things can't get better after this."

He hung his head slightly.

"You shouldn't worry about looking happy to others when you're not. You're sad, and...and that's okay."

Eventually, he looked back up to her.

"If you want to talk about it, we'll be here for you. I know I'm not exactly the best at this sort of thing, but...even I don't want you to just pretend to be smiley and stuff. Not now...not after this."

He approached her again, carefully placing his claw on her shoulder.

"We're your friends, Silver...and we're here for you, smiles or no smiles."

Silverstream looked to him as though she wasn't quite sure of that. But, as she saw him give her a small but genuine smile, she knew it had all been true. Every word of it. As soon as that knowledge sank in for her, it was as if some silent permission had been given. Her sniffs became more frequent, and whatever effort she'd been putting into keeping herself from crying was now brought to and end. Her eyes shut tightly, and tears now flowed freely. Without warning, the Princess rushed forward, holding Gallus to her and bawling her eyes out. Gallus, though a little taken aback by this, soon settled into it, returning the embrace.

"Why?! Why did she have to go, Gallus?! Why?!"

It was the most upset he'd ever seen her, but the young Griffon, in stark contrast to the aloof and snarky persona he usually showed to people, did nothing but hold and comfort her, giving her all the time and space she needed to do what she needed to. Tears continued to flow and her sobs could undoubtedly be heard outside through the still-open window, even though any students that might have heard her were at least courteous enough to simply walk past rather than stay and listen. Many minutes passed, and when it was over, Silverstream slowly parted from her blue friend, wiping another tear from her cheek.

"I...I'm sorry...about all that."

But Gallus shook his head.

"You don't need to apologise for anything, Silver. This was a bad time for you, and only a jerk would be annoyed with you right now."

Silverstream giggled through her still-wobbly voice, and it was a calm and content moment between the two. The Hippogriff looked to her friend with pure appreciation, like he were a knight in shining armour, and Gallus, in turn, looked to her softly, in a way he'd perhaps never done so before. Then, Silverstream's smile faltered a little, and before Gallus could react, she leaned forward, pressing her beak against his. Gallus' eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, and he was completely nonplussed as to what to do. Silverstream, though lost in the moment for a few seconds, soon realised what she'd done, and immediately pulled back, bearing a look of utter guilt.

"I'm sorry! I...I'm so sorry!"

Gallus blinked slowly.

"Um...I...er...I don't..."

Neither of them knew what to say or do right now, at least at first. But, after almost a full minute of awkward and uncomfortable silence, Gallus finally snapped himself out of it, nervously scratching the back of his head and glancing away from his pink friend.

"You...you were distraught. You weren't thinking straight, and we were hugging and stuff and..."

Silverstream nodded frantically, desperately looking like she wanted to buy into that.

"Yeah! That's it! My head just wasn't in it! You were just being nice and...and...I just let the moment get to me!"

Gallus nodded back, deliberately clearing his throat before slowly looking back to her, even though both of them continued to look mortified over what had happened.

"We...we don't need to mention this to anyone."

Silverstream shook her head.

"I'm...I'm fine with that if you are."

So, with their secret agreement of silence made, Gallus, finally, was given a moment to calm himself, as indeed did Silverstream. In that long quiet, Silverstream looked back to her Griffon companion, returning to her earlier small smile.

"...Gallus?"

The blue male paused briefly before replying.

"Y...yeah, Silver?"

Silverstream's smile widened.

"For what you said before...thanks."

Gallus, in response, gave a similar friendly smile.

"Hey...it's what friends do...they're there for each other."

The library of the Friendship School was, as one would expect of an establishment run by Princess Twilight Sparkle, always kept immaculately neat, tidy and organized. If someone wanted to find something, it took very little effort to do so. For many of the students, while there was no getting around the fact that their Head-Mare's meticulousness was tiring at times, they could not deny that her organizational skills helped a great deal when it came to their homework. And speaking of which, homework was indeed the order of the day for several of the more stand-out students there, as Smolder, Gallus and Ocellus were all busying themselves with their respective assignments. At first, things were quiet among them, as expected of those studying in a library, but as time went by, it was clear that only Ocellus was really that enthusiastic about doing this. Because while she bore her usual smile when going through her book, the other two were looking bored out of their skulls.

"Do we have to be reading stuff like this?" Gallus remarked.

Smolder snorted.

"Seems like it. Talk about the benefits of the co-operation between loyalty and honesty in modern Equestria? Ugh! That title sounds gross to say!"

But Ocellus, in stark contrast to her two colleagues, kept on smiling, even giggling a little as she regarded them.

"Oh, it isn't that bad! In fact, I'd say this is fairly interesting. Like when you look at this chapter here when it talks about pre-industrial Equestrian..."

But the other two just groaned loudly, leaning back into their chairs and staring at the ceiling in a clear display of disinterest. Ocellus, seeing this behaviour, frowned, holding her book to herself.

"Alright then, guess I'll just read it to myself."

And read she did, practically burying her face in her book, all while the other two just continued to sit there and stare into space, utterly unenthused about their work. Silence passed between them, and after a while Ocellus glanced over the top of her book to look at them.

"You know...you two really should put more effort into your time here. This school is important, and so is our work. I realise that Dragons and Griffons might find it not as exciting or fun as other stuff, but still..."

Smolder, looking down to her Changeling friend, gave a smirk.

"No disrespect, Ocellus, but I'm pretty sure we'll do okay even if we aren't giving our all for it."

Ocellus frowned to that.

"Oh? Where did you get that conclusion from?"

Smolder shrugged her shoulders.

"Well, think about it..."

She leaned forward, gesturing to all of them.

"...this school is supposed to teach us the importance of friendship and getting along, right? You know, treat others with respect, play nice, do good things, all that stuff. You get me so far?"

Ocellus nodded, as indeed did Gallus, who himself had taken an interest in what his draconic colleague was saying. And Smolder, now realising that she had the undivided attention of her two friends, deepened her smirk, before leaning back into her chair and looking more than a little smug about herself.

"But when you get right down to it, we're already good at that stuff!"

Gallus chuckled dryly to that.

"We're not exactly perfect friends, Smolder. Ever since we met each other there have been hiccups here and there."

But Smolder rolled her eyes, looking again dismissive of such words.

"Sure, we've had bumps on the road, but hey, what friends haven't? I mean, have you seen the kinds of stuff Head-Mare Twilight and her friends have done with each other?"

She let out a chortle of her own.

"They've known each other for the better part of a decade now, and yet even then, they still manage to have some big issues every few weeks with each other. Like that whole mess between Professor Rainbow and Professor Rarity the other day, remember?"

Ocellus, begrudgingly, nodded to that, acknowledging the point, even though she soon returned to her earlier frown and pointed to Smolder.

"That may be, and I'm willing to admit that even they have flaws when it comes to their friendship. But that just highlights the importance of our work here. Because of ponies that have known each other as long as they have can still go through hard times, then it's all the more important that we keep working on our friendship! And trying to understand it!"

She glanced over to Gallus, then back to Smolder.

"After all, we haven't known each other anywhere near as long, so we don't have the luxury of having some years-long bond to keep us together if some problem comes along!"

Smolder snorted to that.

"Pfft! You're over-worrying, Ocellus, as usual. I'd say we're pretty good friends already! All the stuff we've done since meeting up? Yeah, I don't think anyone can say we're not good at this stuff!"

She laughed again.

"Heck, it's because of our friendship that this school was able to open up again to begin with, remember?"

Ocellus paused, thinking on that, and Smolder, perhaps under the assumption that she was winning this argument, pressed her advantage.

"I mean, what can you expect with students as important as we are?"

Here, Gallus, who had been quiet for a good chunk of this conversation, looked to his scaly friend with a raised eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

Smolder shrugged her shoulders before starting to explain herself.

"Well, we're not just any youngsters, are we? We were personally selected by our nations' leaders. We were chosen as the ones to represent the Griffons and Dragons and so on!"

A look of pride came to her.

"When Thorax and Ember and all the rest of them were asked to send one of their own to come here, to this important Friendship School, it was us they picked! That says a lot!"

She smirked again.

"So how's it any surprise that we're already pretty great at friendship?"

A pause came to her, but only for a moment, as she soon looked over to Ocellus.

"Tell me, why did King Thorax pick you?"

Though taken aback by the sudden question, Ocellus soon tried her best to answer, albeit with an understandably hesitant tone.

"Well...um...he asked for volunteers from the Hive, and I...you know...volunteered."

Smolder raised an eyebrow.

"...That's it?"

Ocellus nodded.

"Yes. A lot of the others were still pretty nervous about having to deal with ponies, since the last time any of us had anything to do with them, we got into a fight with the Maulwurf."

She giggled slightly.

"I guess King Thorax figured if I was brave enough to put my name forward, I must have had at least some potential to do well here."

Smolder chuckled.

"Not bad, Ocellus, not bad."

The young dragon's smirk resumed itself shortly afterwards.

"As for me? Dragon Lord Ember was going all over the Dragon Lands looking for someone. And when she came to me, she just said outright that I'd be good enough for it."

Placing her claws behind her head, Smolder again leaned back into her chair, looking more than a little satisfied with herself.

"Guess she might have assumed I was pretty great. Which I was, of course."

"Or maybe not."

The second voice caused Smolder's eyes to snap open, and she turned to look over to Gallus, who was looking at her with a degree of incredulity. After a while of saying nothing to one another, the dragoness narrowed her eyes.

"...Excuse me?"

Gallus shrugged his shoulders.

"Hey, maybe she just thought you were such a small dragon that you would be the one least likely to cause too much trouble for the ponies over here."

Smolder continued to frown, all while Gallus carried on with his speculation.

"Or maybe it was something else? Maybe she felt that you were the least aggressive dragon she could find, so you wouldn't put up too much of a fight coming over here."

This time, it was his turn to smirk.

"And you know that's gotta sting. After all, a dragon who's not aggressive? Whoo-boy! I can't imagine how embarrassing that must be for you!"

Now, as anyone who knew Smolder could tell you, saying things like that to her was likely to get you burned or worse, and Ocellus, after looking from one friend to the other, knew that some kind of fight was going to break-out between the two of them, as it so often did.

"Um, guys? Maybe we could talk about something else?"

But her words had fallen of deaf ears, as Smolder leaned forward in her chair, eyeing Gallus with venom.

"Do you have a problem, Gallus?"

The blue Griffon frowned right back.

"My only problem is little dragons who think they're special just because they got picked to come here!"

It was official, something bad was going to happen between these two, and Ocellus, in stark contrast to her usual nature as "the quiet one", immediately stood up in her chair and called out to the two of them.

"STOP!!!"

Immediately, all inkling of a fight was ended, and Smolder and Gallus looked to their Changeling friend with utter bewilderment. They weren't the only ones either, as virtually everyone in the library had halted what they were doing to look over to the usually-timid drone who had spoken. Naturally, Ocellus herself now bore a bright red blush, clearing her throat and slowly sitting herself back down into her chair. After a long and very awkward silence, everyone else got back to what they'd been doing before, albeit with more than a little bit of worry over this unexpected outburst. As for Ocellus, she took a few calming breaths, before eventually focusing on her two friends.

"Now then...what's all this about?"

Smolder turned from her Changeling companion over to Gallus.

"That's what I'd like to know!"

The two females looked to their feathered friend, and the latter, seeing them awaiting some kind of explanation for his earlier provocation, let out a long and tired-sounding sigh.

"It's just...you shouldn't assume any of us are special just because our leaders picked us."

Smolder shrugged her shoulders.

"Why not? It's not like anyone can just come here."

Gallus didn't look to her, instead just staring down at his still-unfinished assignment.

"Well...I know I wasn't picked because I was special."

As one would expect, a remark like that earned him the undivided attention of his two colleagues, and after yet another lengthy quiet between them, Gallus explained further.

"When Grandpa Gruff got that message from Princess Celestia, he went all over Griffonstone looking for someone to send to this school."

Gallus turned, looking out of a nearby window, taking a moment to stare at some of the other students outside.

"He went from house to house, asking every family he could find. He'd say the same thing over and over. Would you like to go to that school in Ponyville?"

Looking back to the two females, Gallus returned to the frown he'd been wearing before.

"And do you know what they all said to him? They told him no, or to get lost."

A chuckle escaped him, but it was dry and devoid of any sense of humour.

"Basically, nobody in Griffonstone had any interest in coming over here or having anything to do with the ponies."

He paused, thinking on that point for a while.

"I guess...the only reason Gruff was invested in the idea was because he wanted to feel all Official and stuff."

He shook his head, getting back to his earlier point.

"Anyway...after going to pretty much everyone in town...Gruff eventually came to me."

A wince.

"No home...no family...nobody to complain if I was sent somewhere else."

The frown returned.

"As for why I took the offer? Well...you can only look at the same run-down streets for so long before getting sick of them and wanting to leave."

Slowly, he looked up, seeing the faces of his two friends, which had by now turned into expressions of concern and shock. Gallus, after seeing this, let out another sigh before giving a dismissive shrug of his shoulders.

"Maybe some of us were picked to go here because we were special, but...I know that at least one of us is only here...because they were the only person that nation wouldn't have missed."

The females stared at him, astounded over hearing all of that, none more so than Smolder, who now took on an enormously guilty look for herself. She didn't want to say that she'd been wrong to say what she'd said before, Dragon pride and all that. And yet, having heard Gallus' story, and realising what it must have been like for him to have sat there and listened to her saying all those things earlier, she soon found that she had no choice but to say something.

"I...erm...I don't...I don't know what to...say."

Gallus looked back down to his open book.

"There's nothing to say, Smolder."

Frowning, the Dragon looked back to him.

"Yes...there is something to say."

Gallus looked to her, and after quite a while of debating and wrestling with herself over her words, Smolder just decided to say the first thing she was feeling about this whole matter.

"I'm...sorry. I guess...I just let the idea of me being picked for this place get to my head. I should have realised that being a student here doesn't give me the right to think I'm better than others."

Gallus blinked, and after a while, he smiled.

"Hey, it's...it's okay. You couldn't have known. I never said anything."

Smolder slapped her claw against her forehead.

"Ugh! I must have sounded like a total jerk back there!"

Ocellus nodded.

"Yes, you rather did."

The other two looked to her, astonished at her uncharacteristic words. Then, after a while, and seeing the Changeling smile to them, the whole group broke out into a laugh. Much of the tension of the past started to ebb away and when it was over, they all let out simultaneous sighs.

"Well...just goes to show you, doesn't it?" Smolder started.

Gallus nodded.

"Yeah...even those who are friends still have a few kinks to work out every once in a while."

Ocellus, while nodding in agreement to that, took on a slightly smug look of her own.

"Well, I won't say I told you so, but..."

He breathed in slowly, and then breathed out. In and out, in and out, in and out. For Sandbar, his world was quiet and calm. The school day was done, his homework was complete, and there was nothing he was needed for. So, he had taken himself to the side of the Ponyville Lake, and there, he'd simply found himself a nice spot, laid down, closed his eyes, and just relaxed. Again, his breathing was slow, and his expression through it all was one of pure contentment. There was nothing to bother him or cause him stress in this moment. He was simply okay. And that was the way for him for quite a while, until he felt the unmistakeable sensation of somebody giving his nose a little boop. Cracking one eye open, a smile soon came to him, for he now looked up into the loving gaze of Ocellus. The young Changeling leaned down, giving him a tender kiss upon his forehead, before finally breaking the silence between them.

"So, you doing okay?"

The young stallion nodded, taking a moment to give himself a quick stretch, followed by a yawn.

"Yep, just enjoying the peace and quiet."

Ocellus nodded, taking a seat beside him.

"I know. It's just so...nice right now. No work, no craziness..."

Sandbar chuckled.

"Careful saying that, Ocellus. Now we're bound to have something weird happen."

Of course, the young couple laughed together, which eventually settled into them just enjoying being in each others company. Another silence fell, and they gazed out together into the sparkling waters of the lake, the only sounds that of their breathing. But, after a time, they looked again to one another, with Sandbar giving his girlfriend a loving smile.

"So...back to Ponyville?"

Ocellus nodded.

"Yeah."

They both stood, and together walked along the edge of the lake, enjoying just a few more moments of peace before returning to the ever-active town. Leaving a long trail of hoof-prints in the sand behind them, the two eventually made it onto a more grassy area, and they soon saw the outermost edges of Ponyville quickly approaching. Eventually, however, the two's time of quiet was swiftly interrupted when, all of a sudden, a bright pink blur soon zoomed past them. They halted dead in their tracks, and saw, panting heavily, that Silverstream had arrived in front of them.

"Hi...guys! Great...day...today...right?" she declared, continuing to breathe heavily.

Of course, seeing her this way, the two soon glanced to one another, sharing arched eyebrows, before turning back to speak to their Hippogriff friend.

"Um...are you alright, Silver?" Ocellus asked.

But Silverstream just waved her off.

"What? Me? Sure! Of course I'm okay!"

The young royal then focused her gaze on Sandbar specifically, leading to some nervousness on his part. Then, before he knew it, he was shocked to find Silverstream leaping forward, embracing him in a tight yet friendly hug.

"Have I ever told you how great you are, Sandy?"

Sandbar, though understandably taken aback by this, glanced over to Ocellus, who was just as nonplussed on this unexpected display of affection as he was.

"Um...thank you?" the stallion responded.

Silverstream giggled, then parted from him, bearing a wide smile.

"Great! Just wanted to make sure my good friend knows how much of a good friend he is to me!"

She gave a little wave, then spread out her wings.

"Well...see ya!"

And off she flew, giving a great flap of her wings before shooting off into the sky. Where she was going, the other two didn't know. All they did know was that they had no idea what had just happened, as evidenced by their tone as they spoke again.

"Um...Ocellus?"

"Yes, sweetie?"

"Is Silverstream acting a bit more...cuddly than normal?"

"...Maybe she just had a bit more sugar in her breakfast this morning?"

They slowly looked back to each other, then, after an awkward moment of silence, just shrugged their shoulders.

"Well...it was nice...I think," Sandbar remarked.

Giggling again, Ocellus leaned in closer to him, prompting a smile on his part. Together, they resumed their journey, hoping that this would be the last strange encounter they'd have to deal with today. But, alas, this was Ponyville they were dealing with, and strange occurrences weren't about to let them go that easily. So, barely had they taken two steps into the borders of the town when, to their shock, another of their friends suddenly arrived onto the scene. It was Yona, and the young Yak female charged towards them, bringing herself to a screeching halt, stopping herself barely an inch away from them. Naturally, the two were taken aback and worried by this almost crash from their friend, but after recovering from it, they looked to her with curiosity.

"So...you doing okay, Yona?" Sandbar asked.

Yona smiled widely to them.

"Yona good, friend Sandbar! Truly Sandbar is wonderful friend for asking!"

Sandbar blinked to that, turning to Ocellus, who again had no explanation for him. Looking back to Yona, the pony soon saw her offer him what appeared to be an empty ice-cream cone. He stared at it for a time, before promptly accepting it from his northern friend.

"Um...thanks. Wha...what is it?"

Yona laughed heartily, then pointed to her gift.

"Yona get friend Sandbar an ice cream to cheer him up!"

Sandbar glanced down to the cone in his hoof, then looking back up to Yona, who looked around nervously before scratching the back of her head.

"Well...it was ice cream...until Yona drop it a block back while running."

Her smile returned, even wider than before.

"But it thought that counts, yes? Yona good friend, right, friend Sandbar?"

Seeing the expectant way she was looking to him, Sandbar suddenly felt like an insect under a microscope, being examined by eager eyes. Gulping, he forced a smile.

"Yeah, um...it's...really nice, Yona. I...really appreciate it."

It wasn't exactly a lie, as he did like the gesture, even though it hadn't really worked out as Yona had probably wanted it too. Yona herself, laughing again, soon gave Sandbar another of her infamous tight hugs, which, unfortunately for him, was even more rib-crushing than the one Silverstream had given him. With that done, Yona merrily ran off, leaving a confused and somewhat winded Sandbar behind her. Ocellus, who had been watching all this with uncertainty, helped her boyfriend get up to his hooves after collapsing from the aforementioned hug.

"Well, our friends certainly seem to be rather...forward in their liking of you today, sweetie."

Catching his breath, Sandbar nodded.

"Yeah...I just hope that all of our friends aren't going to..."

"Hey! Sandy!" another voice called out.

Sandbar sighed.

"Well...speak of the Devil."

The two of them looked up, and there, flying in from the sky, was Smolder. The young dragon looked to Sandbar, smirking and looking very pleased with herself. As she landed, making sure to look as impressive as possible while doing so, she strutted towards him, slapping her claw down on his shoulder in greeting.

"Hey there, friend! Pretty sweet day today, right?"

Sandbar raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah...I guess. A bit odd, all things considered...but yeah, nice."

Smolder chuckled, giving Ocellus a quick nod before getting her attention back onto Sandbar.

"Say, I was just thinking, you and me, we're pretty good friends, right?"

Though more than a little wary of his friends' behaviour at this point, Sandbar nevertheless gave a nod in acknowledgement of the dragoness' comment.

"Yeah...have been for a while now."

Smolder's smirk widened.

"And I was thinking, hey, good friends should do nice things for one another. You know, favours and stuff? Am I right?"

Sandbar paused, trying to see where she was going with this, but again, he gave a slow nod to her.

"Um...yeah?"

Here, Smolder reached behind herself, pulling out what looked like a few sheets of paper, presenting it to Sandbar and holding it up like it was some priceless treasure.

"Ta da!"

Sandbar squinted at the papers.

"Is that...a friendship essay?"

Ocellus, meanwhile, took a step to the side, trying to look behind Smolder.

"Where were you keeping that?"

Smolder merely shrugged her shoulders.

"Meh, not important."

Her smirk returned.

"What is important is that I've done our buddy Sandbar here a huge favour!"

Nervously, the young stallion accepted the essay, reading it over.

"Wait...is this the assignment Professor Fluttershy said she was gonna assign us...next week?"

Smolder nodded, looking proud.

"Yep! All done and in your name!"

She gave him a wink.

"Let it never be said that your good friends don't do anything for you, buddy!"

Another slap down on his shoulder, this one somewhat harder than the last. Sandbar grunted to this, but still smiled, trying to show his appreciation for what his friend had done. But, as Smolder was giving herself a metaphorical pat on the back, the stallion leaned over to his girlfriend, whispering to her.

"Sooooooooo...how likely is it that our Professors won't know this wasn't written by me?"

Ocellus shook her head.

"Nope. Never gonna happen."

Sandbar sighed.

"Yeah, thought not."

He looked again to Smolder, opening his mouth to speak, only to be kept from saying anything further when, all of a sudden, another voice called down to him.

"Yo! Sandy!"

Sandbar groaned, for he'd already guessed who it was, and he craned his neck upwards to see that it was indeed Gallus landing nearby. Smolder frowned to him, but for the time being simply watched as the blue Griffon walked over to his pony friend.

"Sandy! My bud! My compadre! My dude!"

Sandbar frowned.

"Gallus...you have never once used any of those words before. What's up?"

Gallus snickered.

"Oh, you know, just checking in with my number one friend!"

He sauntered over, taking hold of Sandbar's hoof, lifting it up and giving him a quick hoof-and-claw-bump. Sandbar, unimpressed with this, took his hoof back and raised an eyebrow at his feathered friend, just as the latter let out a cackle.

"We close friends gotta stick together, am I right? Remember the good old days? You know, when you'd confide in me about your little secret crush on Ocellus and stuff? Oh yeah, good times."

Sandbar slowly looked over to Ocellus, and together, the pair shared the exact same "I am so done with this" look to one another. But, sadly, they hadn't the chance to voice their joint concerns, as it was now apparently time for Silverstream and Yona to burst back into the scene, coming by both sky and land respectively.

"Friend Sandbar like ice...er...almost ice cream, yes?"

Silverstream giggled.

"Oh, Yona! Everyone knows a good friendly hug from the most chipper friend of all is way better than an ice cream!"

Smolder snorted out some smoke as she looked to her two fellow females.

"Hey, what I did actually took effort! Do you have any idea how boring all that research was that I had to do for that essay?"

Gallus rolled his eyes.

"Research all you want, nothing beats having a dude-friend, right?"

Sandbar and Ocellus watched, seeing their four friends bicker among themselves, acting completely annoyed with one another in a way they hadn't seen since their first introduction to one another at the start of the school year. Naturally, they were worried about this, and so glanced to one another nervously before, finally, Sandbar just sighed.

"Guys...stop."

His words had been calm and collected, even though it would have been the easiest thing in the world to just yell at the top of his lungs right now. Even so, the words had done the job, and the four all looked to him, seeing the utterly tired expression he wore. Raising a hoof, Sandbar rubbed his temples a bit, then looked to each of his friends in turn before finally asking the obvious question.

"Alright...explain."

Realising that their very exasperated friend wasn't going to accept any kind of diversion or fake story, the four all looked to each other, silently hoping that one of them would be the first to step forward and say something to him. After a while, however, it was Silverstream who did the honours.

"Well...we were having lunch together a while back, and we started talking about a bunch of random stuff. And one of those random things was how our group only has, well...one pony in it."

Sandbar blinked, prompting the pink Hippogriff to elaborate.

"I mean, not that that's a bad thing, but it just struck us as, you know, a funny thing. You know, pony town and a mostly pony school and our group has...well...just you."

The pony in question raised his eyebrow further, which led to Gallus stepping forward next.

"Yeah, and one of us...okay it was me...just said out loud how neat it'd be to be the, you know, best friend of that one pony in our group."

Smolder sighed.

"And I may have possibly...probably...definitely gloated that maybe I'd be that best friend."

Yona hung her head.

"Yona take that as challenge and said she'd be friend Sandbar's best friend."

Silverstream, nodding to all of that, looked back to Sandbar, trying to force a smile.

"And...well...it all kind of spiralled out of control from there."

Sandbar looked over to Ocellus who, like him, seemed just as dumbfounded by this revelation as he was. The other four, perhaps realising just how ridiculous this situation was now that they'd actually said it out loud, winced briefly. Letting out the Mother of all exasperated sighs, the green stallion took a step closer to his friends, looking them each in the eye, and then just coming out and saying it.

"Guys...I have no best friend, okay?"

The other four nodded, and Sandbar continued.

"...I have five."

They smiled to that, but, rather than letting them off the hook that easily, Sandbar raised a hoof, stopping them from responding.

"Fighting over my attention and approval is silly...okay?"

They nodded, and he continued.

"We don't want this group fighting each other over something like this, okay?"

Another nod.

"Now...are you gonna say sorry to each other for all this?"

The four looked to one another, reaching out and giving each other shakes of their various claws and hooves.

"Sorry," Silverstream started.

"Sorry," Yona echoed.

"Sorry," Smolder grumbled.

"Sorry," Gallus finished.

Sandbar sighed again, albeit in a less tired way than before.

"Okay then...are we finished?"

The others nodded, and so started to move away, each carrying a look of guilt mixed in with pure embarrassment over just how far they'd allowed this trivial issue to get. But, realising that his friends would at least get over it after a while, Sandbar afforded himself a small smile, shaking his head slightly, before looking over to Ocellus as the latter spoke.

"Well...that was something."

Sandbar chuckled.

"Hey, we're a collection of six friends. Around these parts, that's bound to cause a ruckus every once in a while."

The two shared a laugh, and Ocellus, finally feeling relaxed after all this, leaned her head against her boyfriend's shoulder, incurring a smile from him.

"So...how much time do we have together before some more craziness comes our way?" she asked

Sandbar, poking the end of his chin, pondered that.

"Hmmm...I'd say about five minutes, give or take."

Dragons, by their nature, were often grumpy, irritable and quick to anger. As such, the idea that a dragon was having a bad night's sleep would not have really appealed to anyone, even at the best of times. And yet, that was what Smolder now found herself going through. Tossing and turning in her bed, she grumbled under her breath, annoyed at not being able to just doze off as easily as her other friends had. And speaking of whom, she cast a glance through the gloom at the other three females sleeping in here, Ocellus, Yona and Silverstream. In stark contrast to her, they were each sleeping soundly, looking content and rested as they lay in their beds. Seeing that kind of restfulness irked her, made her jealous, and yet, she knew there was little she could do about it. So, taking her pillow, she buried her face in it, unleashing a louder-than-average groan, though doing her best to try and muffle it, lest her friends wake up in response.

"This sucks! Three hours I've been trying to drift off, and nothing!"

She flipped back onto her back, staring at the underside of the bunk-bed above her, seeing the occasional creak as Yona herself moved about up there. The young dragoness' mind raced, coming up with images and sounds, basically any distraction that would have managed to keep her up further, much to her continued irritation. But, as her troublesome mind did this, her eyes drifted to the other side of the room, and saw her pink Hippogriff friend. Silverstream was the very model of a Princess over there, not only sleeping soundly, but also doing so while looking as peaceful and graceful as a royal was expected to be, unlike Smolder, whose sheets were unceremoniously thrown off her quite some time ago. It was quite the division between them, and just one more thing the dragon found herself focusing on. On and on this went, with her just fixing her gaze on her happy-go-lucky colleague.

"I bet Silver never has trouble sleeping"

Then, as she muttered to that, a stray bit of moonlight, passing in through the open window, caused Silverstream's magical necklace to shimmer slightly. Now, as a dragon, Smolder was naturally drawn to shiny things, even if they weren't necessarily treasure. Looking at that pendant, the orange female paused for a moment, and thought long and hard on her friend's ability to change shape from Hippogriff to Seapony. All that power, going from one race to another, and it was kept in that tiny little bauble. A trinket that most dragons would just toss away in favour of some larger or shinier jewel. But, in the darkness of the dormitory, Smolder's mind pictured, just for a moment, what it would be like to be something other than a dragon. She turned, sitting upright on her bed and looking out of the window. There, far away, was the Ponyville Lake, whose water shimmered in the moonlight.

"...Hmmm...never really been one for swimming."

She glanced back to the still-sleeping Silverstream, who was oblivious to the attention she was getting right now. Smolder, for a moment, grimaced at the thought that now took hold in her.

"No...no, it's wrong. Bad idea. I can wait until morning, then I can just ask her."

But, as she again looked outside, to the darkness and stars of the night sky, it suddenly dawned on her that "morning" was a very long time away. Before that time came, she'd still have to go through the rest of the night, enduring the long and tiresome hours of just laying in bed, unable to fall asleep, tossing and turning with no chance for sweet unconsciousness. She grunted, scratching the back of her head, utterly put off my a notion like that. Sure, dragons could go for years just lying down on a big pile of gold or something, but those massive beasts usually had the benefit of sleep to get them through it. So, ever so slowly, this idea, which now served as some kind of unseen Devil on the dragoness' shoulder, continued to whisper to her. Regret and doubt were at war in her, but after a while, when faced with the prospect of an hours-long period of boredom and unpleasantness, she sighed, getting herself off the bed.

"This...this is a bad idea. A really bad idea."

She took a moment to give herself a stretch, because quite frankly, just because someone can't sleep doesn't mean they don't need one of those. After this, however, she started to carefully tiptoe over to Silverstream's bed, which was no small feat, given that Smolder wasn't exactly the most delicate of females. And it certainly didn't help that every floorboard threatened to creak with every step she took, leading to grimace after grimace after grimace on her part. But, after a long time, she finally got there, and gradually got down to one knee so that she was eye-level with her friend. Smolder gulped, looking again to the pendant, and with as much care and precision as a dragoness was capable of, she reached out with both claws, going around the sleeping Hippogriff's neck and, with extreme caution, unclasping it from the back. But, as she did this, Silverstream snored all of a sudden, causing Smolder to go as pale as a sheet. Thankfully, nothing came of it, and the Princess resumed her gentle slumber, leading to a quick and quiet chuckle on Smolder's part.

"Snoring, Silver? Gotta remember that one for later."

But, getting back to the task at hand, Smolder finally took the pendant for herself, taking a step backwards from the bunk-bed, before sighing with relief. This part was done, but now she had to go to part two. So, again with great care, she took a step to the side, climbing out of the window, before stretching out her wings and starting to fly off. Though she hated being up this late at night, she did have to admit that the experience of flying out at this time wasn't all that bad. The cool air, the beauty of the night sky itself, it really was quite something. She again sighed with relief over having seemingly gotten away with this, but she remembered to try and keep as quiet as possible, because even now, at this stage, there was a chance she could screw up and wake everybody up. So for now she stayed quiet, focusing on her flying and heading straight for the edge of the lake. Thankfully, this flight did not take long, and within only a minute, she was there, landing upon the sands that surrounded that great body of water.

"Okay...so...how does this work?"

In all her efforts to get this thing and get out here, it suddenly occurred to Smolder that she didn't actually know how this pendant was actually used. Naturally, this put something of a dent in her "use Silverstream's pendant" plan, but, let it never be said that dragons weren't stubborn when they wanted something, and so, Smolder, at the very least, started putting the thing around her own neck. It took a while, since getting it off someone else was actually much easier than putting it on yourself, but eventually, she managed to get it on. Now she was left with the still-lingering issue of how to actually use the thing, which she frowned and grunted at for quite some time. She paced up and down on the beach, poking the side of her head with her claw, trying to think back or provoke some past memory of when Silverstream had used it. She recalled the times, and when her Hippogriff friend's motions came to mind for her, she stopped her pacing, glancing down to the pendant.

"Alright...I think...she just...touched it?"

And touch it she did, reaching up and simply placing a claw upon the tiny fragment of the pearl that hung off it. In an instant, there was a bright light, and Smolder now found herself surrounded by what could only be the transformation magic of the Hippogriffs. It was a strange sensation, a warmth of sorts, without pain or discomfort, and yet Smolder was still very much disturbed by the experience. However, just as quickly as it had come, it stopped, leaving her once more in the darkness of the night, with only the moonlight reflected off the lake for illumination. But, Smolder knew that something had changed. At first, everything seemed fine for her, but then her eyes widened considerably when she looked down at herself.

"What the...?!"

True to its name, the transformation magic had changed her. Gone was Smolder the dragon, and there instead was Smolder the Seapony. Her wings were gone, as were her fangs, and many of her purple scales had been changed into fins, much like her claws in fact. But the biggest change, by far, was that she no longer had a pair of legs, but instead a long and scaly tail. Now, when she first saw all of this, Smolder was a mixture of excitement, trepidation and uncertainty, which was quite an intoxicating mix. But, unfortunately, these feelings were soon superseded by the very simple fact that, without legs, she had nothing to stand up with, and so soon found herself falling over. She landed face-down into the sands of the beach, and after just a brief pause, she lifted herself up as best she could, spitting out some stray sand that had managed to get inside her mouth.

"Okay, note to self, transform after I get in the water."

She chuckled at her own actions, then glanced over to the water in question, which seemed to look more inviting than ever. With great struggle, she used her newly-acquired fins to drag herself through the sand, getting closer and closer to the lake. Eventually, she managed to get in, and as soon as this happened, it was like she was a totally different creature. No longer cumbersome and struggling to move, she swam through the water with the same grace and instinct as a fish, as though such movement were embedded in her new form itself. She cracked a smile, spinning in the cool waters, even laughing as a result. With a powerful flap of her tail, she launched herself upwards, bursting through the surface of the lake and jumping high, sending droplets of water everywhere. She practically sparkled in the moonlight, and very much looked like she was enjoying this entire experience, as evidenced by the excited expression she wore.

"Ha! No wonder Silver likes this so much!"

For a time, she carried on like this, swimming as fast as her new form would allow, cutting through the water and even trying to make a game out of it, seeing just how fast she could do a lap around the edge of the lake. Even she was impressed at just how fast a Seapony could travel underwater like this, as freely as a bird would through the skies. After a time, however, she stopped right next to where she'd first entered the water, looking very much satisfied with all of this, even though her pants made it clear that her efforts had been somewhat tiring.

"Well...that was fun."

"Ahem."

Immediately, her smile vanished, and the former dragon winced at the sound of the second voice. Slowly, and knowing beforehand exactly who it was she was going to see, Smolder turned. Sure enough, Silverstream was there, standing at the edge of the lake. The young Princess, in stark contrast to her usual demeanour, was not smiling or happy or jovial in any way, but rather scowling and looking to her friend with clear disapproval. Smolder, gulping at the sight of her, chuckled nervously.

"Um...hey, Silver. Nice...er...nice night...right?"

But Silverstream said nothing, instead just tapping her claw against the sand impatiently. Smolder knew she'd been caught red-finned here, and though she would have wanted anything to get out of this, she knew that this just was not going to happen for her. So, after a long and incredibly awkward silence between the two, Smolder sighed, her head hanging low.

"I'm...I'm sorry."

Silverstream, seeing that those words had been spoken genuinely, softened her expression, though only a little, and she took a single step forward, stretching out one claw, as if expecting to receive something. Smolder, seeing that, understood immediately.

"Oh...right."

And with that, she reached behind her neck and unclasped the pendant, which was even harder to do with fins than it was with claws. Swimming closer to the edge, she offered it to Silverstream, who took it back for herself. After securing it back onto her own neck, Silverstream fixed her friend with a look that, if put into words, would have been described as "snarky smugness".

"Now then...what have we learned today?"

Smolder, who was never one for lectures, nevertheless sighed and gave the appropriate answer.

"That stealing from your friends is wrong."

Silverstream nodded.

"And...?"

Smolder grumbled a bit.

"And that if I wanted to try out your necklace, I should have waited until morning and asked for it."

Silverstream nodded again, this time putting on one of her customary smiles.

"Good. Now then, if you still want to try this stuff out, I'll maybe help you with some swimming lessons tomorrow. If I can help Yona, I'm pretty sure I can help you. Because between you and me, you had some pretty terrible form back there."

Smolder, though surprised by her friend's unexpected burn, soon snickered to it.

"Yeah, that'd help. Thanks."

Silverstream herself giggled, then spoke again soon afterwards.

"Now that that's all finished with, I think I'll head on back to bed. This is way too late for me to be up!"

Smolder, seeing her pink friend turn around, started to make her way closer back to land. But, as she did this, she suddenly realised one very important fact about herself, and looked down to see that, yes, she was indeed still a Seapony. Nervously, she glanced back to Silverstream.

"Um, Silver? Can I have that pendant back? I kinda forgot to turn back before giving it to you."

Silverstream stopped, looking back to see her friend's predicament. Placing a claw to her chin, she pondered this situation, then, in an uncharacteristic manner, smirked.

"Hmmm...I will..."

Smolder smiled, until Silverstream continued.

"...tomorrow."

Smolder's smile vanished utterly, replaced instead with a look of resignation.

"Right...consequences for my actions, right?"

Silverstream gave a hearty nod, then stretched out her wings and started to fly off, giving her now-water-bound friend a wave as she left.

"For what it's worth, sleeping underwater can be very relaxing!"

Within moments, the Hippogriff female was gone, leaving Smolder alone in the lake. She sighed, because knowing she'd brought this on herself would never really make it any better to have to put up with.

"Okay, yeah, I deserve this. I don't like it, but fine."

Then, after a while of just looking around her watery bed in silence, realisation came to her, and she slapped her forehead with annoyance.

"Oh no...this is just gonna lead to a whole bunch of 'sleeping with the fishes' jokes, isn't it?"

Sugar Cube Corner had, ever since the opening of Princess Twilight's School of Friendship, become more popular than ever, especially with many of the young students who had travelled to Ponyville. Barely a day went by when the place was not full to bursting, seeing unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies from all corners of their nation, here to enjoy all the delicious cakes and confectionaries the now-renowned Cakes had made for them. Business was booming, and all over, the place had an air of excitement and fun. Nowhere was this more evident than in a little corner table by the window, where the school's six most notorious students had taken themselves. Each of the youngsters had gained some sweet or other treat to enjoy, and Silverstream, naturally, was enjoying hers more than any other, downing her meal down at a pace that impressed even the likes of Yona and Smolder.

"Geez, Silver, remember to breathe, will you?" Smolder remarked.

Wiping away some icing from her beak, Silverstream giggled.

"I can't help it! This is just...so...good!"

Sandbar chuckled.

"Yeah, Mr and Mrs Cake have always baked up some good stuff here. Every Birthday, my parents would take my sister and me here and let us pick out our favourite stuff."

Ocellus smiled to her boyfriend's brief tale.

"That sounds nice. We Changelings aren't used to sweet things like this, but I have to admit...it is pretty good."

Yona gave a hearty chuckle.

"Yona happy too! Yona with friends having cakes, and Yona get to keep best substitute teacher ever!"

Gallus, though he gave a quick roll of his eyes to that, raised a milkshake towards his hairy friend.

"I'll drink to that. To Rockhoof."

The others mirrored his actions, taking hold of their own milkshakes and raising them up.

"To Rockhoof!" the all echoed.

After downing their drinks, they let out simultaneous sighs of contentment, with Yona, naturally, being just pleased as punch over this situation.

"Yona really like Rockhoof's stories! They fun and exciting!"

Smolder nodded in agreement.

"They sure are! Who'd have guessed a pony of all creatures would ever have done so many amazing things?"

Sandbar looked to her with a raised eyebrow, prompting her to chuckle nervously.

"Er, no offense."

But Sandbar merely laughed.

"Hey no sweat, not all of us can lead big adventurous lives like him and the others."

Silverstream glanced over to her earth pony companion.

"Others? Oh! Right! He was part of a group, right? The Pillars?"

Sandbar nodded to her.

"Yep, some of the greatest heroes in Equestria's history. There's not a single colt of filly in the country who hasn't been raised on stories of them and what they did, from Somnambula's facing of the Sphinx down in the south, all the way to the legendary magic of Mistmane."

Silverstream looked to him with wide-eyes, as indeed did Yona, who was clearly still in the mood for more stories of ancient times. Sandbar, seeing this attention, chortled with more than a little embarrassment, and he scratched the back of his head.

"Well...I don't really tell the stories as good as Rockhoof. Sorry."

But the others did not, in any way, seem concerned by this, as shown when Smolder leaned forward and gave Sandbar a quick pat on the shoulder.

"Hey, don't worry about it. We've all heard stories of these guys at one point or another."

Sandbar looked to her, looking just a touch surprised.

"You have?"

Smolder snorted.

"Er, yeah? I mean, have you heard some of the stuff those guys were said to have done? Like Flash Magnus?"

She chuckled, glancing away with clear amusement in her expression.

"A pony that's willing to go head-to-head with two dragons? And come out a winner? Oh yeah, my people have definitely heard about him."

Gallus looked to her with interest.

"You seem pretty chill about the idea of a pony who could go against your kind and beat them."

Smolder shrugged her shoulders.

"Hey, a win's a win, right? Plus, you gotta respect a stallion who's got that kind of guts to him."

Silverstream giggled.

"Oh, that reminds me of the story of when Starswirl faced down the fearsome Sirens! Such a tale that was!"

Yona tilted her head.

"Who are Sirens?"

Sandbar shuddered.

"A creepy trio that enchanted and sowed conflict centuries ago. Ponies turned against ponies because of them, so Starswirl and the Pillars stepped in to stop them."

Silverstream nodded.

"Yeah, and I promise you, my people were hugely grateful for that!"

Ocellus gained some curiosity as she looked to her pink friend.

"Oh, why?"

Silverstream, in a move quite unlike her, frowned.

"Well, from what my Aunt tells me, my people, at least the ones who liked living in the sea most of the time, they often got bad reputations because of those nasty Sirens."

She folded her claws.

"Ponies kept on mistaking one for the other, and so ran away whenever my people came to the surface to say hi and stuff!"

Then, she resumed her normal smile.

"But then, Starswirl came along and banished the real deal, and just like that, boom, ponies weren't scared of Seaponies anymore!"

Sandbar pondered that.

"Huh...never really thought of comparing one to the other. You guys don't look anywhere near as scary as the Sirens were."

Silverstream, apparently touched by that, grabbed hold of her pony friend and held him close in a tight hug.

"Awww! You're so sweet for saying that!"

Sandbar blushed a little, much to Ocellus' amusement, but the latter soon looked over to the rest of her friends.

"Well, if Starswirl was able to do all that with the other Pillars, then it's small wonder Princess Twilight idolised him so much. From what I've heard, he was quite the spell-caster."

Her boyfriend, who had thankfully managed to get himself out of Silverstream's huggy grip, took a moment to catch his breath, then smiled over at her.

"That's an understatement! The way the Princess tells it, he probably invented about half of all the spells we ponies know, and that's a low estimate!"

Gallus snorted.

"Yeah, the guy has some book smarts, I'll admit to that. But how smart can he be if he was able to get himself hoodwinked by those two con-artists a while back?"

Yona frowned to Gallus' words.

"Anyone can get tricked, friend Gallus! Even smart ponies like Starswirl!"

Ocellus nodded.

"She's right. I mean, all it takes is a little bit of deception to come across as a friend sometimes. And, as a Changeling, I think I speak with some authority on that matter."

The others, who quite frankly couldn't really argue with that, nodded among themselves, eventually leading to Sandbar reaching over and placing his hoof upon Ocellus' shoulder.

"Flim and Flam have been trouble for Princess Twilight and her friends before, more than once. They're always coming up with some new con or another, so it figures they'd trying cashing in on the whole Friendship School idea."

Yona snorted angrily.

"Yona no like con artists! They should try honest work..."

Her smile returned, even wider than before.

"...like Rockhoof!"

The others, though happy to see her so enthusiastic about her favoured teacher, remained silent as she continued.

"In old Yak tales, they speak of pony from long ago who could lift mountain with bare hooves! Maybe Rockhoof was that pony!"

Smolder looked to her with incredulity.

"Well...I'm not sure about that, Yona. I mean, sure, the guy's strong...okay, he's ridiculously strong, but I don't think he's that good."

Putting her hoof to her chin, Ocellus pondered that for a time.

"You might be surprised. After all, if a pony like him could re-direct the flow of a volcano's lava single-hoofedly, then it might not be outside the realm of possibility to actually do what Yona said he did."

Smolder, folding her claws, gave her Changeling friend a raised eyebrow, leading to a small blush on the part of the latter.

"Though...it might have just been a small mountain, admittedly."

Though Yona was a little irritated that Ocellus had backtracked on that one, she soon resumed her smile, looking over to Gallus.

"What about you, friend Gallus? Do Griffons have stories of Pillar heroes?"

Gallus shrugged his shoulders, giving a quick "meh" sound before answering his friend in earnest.

"Sometimes. Every once in a while I'd overhear some old Griffon telling hatchlings about stories of ladies like Meadowbrook, who came over to treat the sick a long time ago when everyone in Griffonstone came down with something."

The others looked to him with horror, and he raised both claws, giving them a reassuring tone.

"It's fine, it's fine, everyone was okay. But that's about it, some story of an old pony lady who helped us when we were sick."

Sandbar smiled after having heard that, leaning back into his chair.

"You know, it's funny."

Yona loaded over to him.

"What?"

Sandbar took a moment, then, after getting his thoughts together, answered.

"Well...think about it. So much of how Equestria is today is because of them and what they did over a thousand years ago. The fights they fought, the spells they made. Heck, we have them to thank for the Elements of Harmony being around!"

Smolder chuckled.

"Well, it's not like you guys shouldn't already be used to that sort of thing, right?"

Sandbar looked to her, seeming a little bit confused.

"What do you mean?"

The young dragoness again shrugged her shoulders.

"Er, in case you haven't noticed, Sandy, your country kind of has a history of groups of six heroes coming along and saving the day or changing the world and stuff."

Gallus, amused by where Smolder was taking this, gave a nod, then looked over to Sandbar and joined in.

"She's not wrong, Sandy. We have Starswirl and the pillars, sure, but then we also have Princess Twilight and her friends."

Upon hearing all that, Silverstream immediately gasped with joy, slapping her claws against her cheeks and zipping over to press her nose against Sandbar's.

"Oh my gosh! That makes Princess Twilight and our Professors, like, the Pillars of modern times!"

She wasn't wrong, they had to admit, but before any of them had a chance to say anything further on the matter, the young royal, in what had to be a rush of sugar in her system right now, gave a loud and excited sounding "squee", much to the confusion of the other patrons of Sugar Cube Corner.

"Oh my gosh...again! Do you know what this means? It means that they might be one day remembered as legends, like the Pillars were! And we get to say we were taught by those legends! We're students of legends! We're...!"

Thankfully, before she could go off on another hyper-excited rant of some sort, Smolder reached forward and held her beak shut.

"Silver? Remember what we said? Breathe!"

And, having been released by her friend, breathe she did, taking in a deep inhale, and then just letting it all out. After a moment of pause, she smiled to her draconic companion.

"Okay...okay...I'm good now."

Smolder smiled, but then she turned, for she, like all the others, had noticed that Mrs Cake had suddenly arrived onto the scene. The older mare, after looking them over somewhat, put on a warm and welcoming smile.

"I'm terribly sorry for interrupting, but I was wondering of you youngsters would like anything else?"

The students looked down to their empty plates, glancing to one another afterwards, before turning in unison to Mrs Cake.

"Some cupcakes might be nice," Ocellus remarked.

Mrs Cake smiled again, giving a nod to that before turning to the shop's counter.

"Honey? Six cupcakes for the students!"

Seeing her walk away, the friends all took a moment to enjoy the calm and quiet that followed. But then, after looking more than a little thoughtful, Ocellus spoke aloud.

"Huh...six."

Sandbar looked over to her.

"Something up, Ocellus?"

The young Changeling shook her head.

"Oh, it's nothing, really. I was just...it's silly, but I was just thinking about the Pillars and Twilight's friends and...well...there's six of us, so..."

Understanding where she was going with that, Smolder let loose an amused-sounding chuckle.

"What, you think we're some destined heroes or something?"

Gallus too joined in with a brief laugh of his own.

"I know we've have a few adventures here and there, but I don't think we're at that level, Ocellus."

Blushing slightly, Ocellus giggled, letting out a sigh before nodding in agreement with her friends.

"Yeah, you're right, it was silly."

Sandbar gave her an encouraging pat on the shoulder, which she certainly seemed to appreciate, but then, before any of them could say anything else, Mrs Cake returned, and sure enough, she was carrying a large plate that bore six delectable cupcakes. The students licked their lips, or beaks, at the sight of this, giving the mare appreciative looks as she set it down on their table. When she was gone, however, all pretence dropped, and they each took hold of their respective confectionary, downing them down in one almighty gulp. Having swallowed this, the six of them laughed together, and when it was done, Yona smiled to them all.

"Yona go now. Yona wants to find Professor Rockhoof and hear more stories!"

Sandbar looked to her.

"I think he said he was gonna go down to the train station. Baltimare's his next port of call in this new job of his, so if you hurry, you might catch him."

Yona gasped, and she leapt up out of her chair.

"Wait, Rockhoof! Yona coming!"

And with that, she bolted, heading straight out of the building while the others watched. After a short while without her, however, the others silently looked to one another.

"Okay, cards on the table...raise your claw, or other appendage, if you want to go and talk to Rockhoof before he goes?" Gallus asked.

There was no hesitation, and all five of them raised their claws and hooves, leading to a chuckle on Gallus' part.

"Yeah, figured."

They all turned to the door, with Silverstream voicing their shared sentiment.

"Yona! Wait up! We're coming too!"

It was a gloriously beautiful day today, and the sun shone brightly down upon the School of Friendship. But, as gorgeous as the weather was, very few, if any students were out and about, instead apparently preferring to spend time with one another indoors, on whatever projects or activities they'd planned for the day. This, naturally, left the central courtyard of the school pretty much vacant, save for one lone student. Gallus, who now leaned against one of the many trees that was planted there, smiled to himself as he enjoyed this peace and quiet, looking more than a little bit satisfied. But, then again, after having been through an ordeal like he and his friends just had, it was small wonder that he would have preferred being out here, just relaxing, to doing anything else. However, his solitude did not last long, as another of his friends, Silverstream, gently landed down from her flight close by.

"Hey, Gallus," she said happily.

The young Griffon chuckled.

"Hey."

Silverstream walked over, looking around at the still-empty courtyard, before again regarding her blue friend.

"So...doing anything interesting?"

Gallus shrugged his shoulders, closing his eyes as he leaned further into his tree.

"Not really. Wanna enjoy the shade?"

Silverstream smiled to the offer, nodding enthusiastically, even though she knew full well that Gallus could not see her doing so. She walked over to him, finding a spot on the grass right beside her colleague, before getting herself comfortable. Gallus cast her the barest of glances as she did this, but got his eyes closed again soon afterwards. Soon, the two were just sitting there together, in the shade of the tree, in utter silence. But, as time went on, Gallus again cracked an eye open. Something was wrong, he realised, and it took little time for him to figure out what. Silverstream was being quiet. Sure, she had her calm moments, just like anyone, but there was something about the way she was being quiet right now that truly caught is notice. Turning slightly, he saw that she was looking deep in thought, staring out at nothing in particular. Something was on her mind, that much was obvious, and after considering his options for just a moment, Gallus finally spoke to her.

"Are you okay?"

Silverstream put on a smile, though Gallus knew already that it was forced, as indeed was her happy and upbeat tone as she responded.

"Oh, yeah! I'm fine! Just...just thinking about some stuff."

Sighing, Gallus took on a somewhat more serious look.

"...It's about the cave, isn't it?"

Realising that the jig was up, Silverstream hung her head slightly, before giving a slow nod.

"Yeah, I...I just can't stop thinking about it."

Gallus, having heard that, let out a dry chuckle.

"I don't blame you. A trek through a dangerous underground cave, a talk with a magical tree? It was pretty weird alright."

Silverstream shook her head though.

"No...it wasn't just that."

Gallus again looked to her, but said nothing as she continued.

"When I was down there...seeing the image of...of him. I...I just couldn't cope."

She looked away, almost ashamed.

"I was terrified. I wanted to run, to swim right down to the bottom of the water and hide away."

Gallus seemed confused by this.

"I don't think anyone could blame you for that, Silver. The Storm King was a big mean monster, remember? Anyone would want to get away from him."

Looking back to him, Silverstream frowned.

"You don't get it, Gallus! My people spent years hiding away from the rest of the world because of him! We made ourselves prisoners in our own oceans rather than face him. We were terrified of what he'd do to us if he got to us...and we ran away!"

Shame returned to her.

"After he died...we were so sure that time was behind us...that the fear was behind us. The Storm King was gone, and our freedom was ours again."

Slowly, she frowned, angry at herself.

"But it wasn't true. Even now, even after everything we've got back for ourselves...we're still afraid of him."

Reaching down, she grabbed some stray blades of grass with her claw, yanking them off the ground. She held them in front of her for a while, then frowned again before just chucking them away from her.

"Even after his death...he still has his grip on us."

Gallus, having heard all of that, didn't really know what to say. At least at first. But as time wore on and he continued to look to his friend, he soon cracked a smile, reaching over and giving her a pat on the shoulder.

"Hey, it's okay. At least you managed to get out of that."

Silverstream looked over to him as he continued.

"The way you told him off, how you said all that stuff about how your people are done with him? That was pretty awesome, Silver."

Despite her still-lingering doubts on the whole matter, Silverstream nevertheless smiled to her friend's attempts to cheer her up. Gallus' own smile widened at the sight of her looking at least a little bit better than before, and watched as she spoke in a calmer way than she did previously.

"Thanks, Gallus. I guess...I've just been feeling a bit down when I stopped to think about it."

Gallus chortled.

"Hey, it's no problem. I'm pretty sure anyone would have had a hard time down there."

Silverstream giggled.

"Well, I guess I'm lucky I had you with me then. Who knows what trouble I'd have had down there if you hadn't come along!"

The Griffon looked to her, thinking about that.

"Hey, we're friends, remember? Friends help each other. It's what got us out of there in the end after all."

Another giggled from Silverstream.

"Well, you certainly didn't need any help. From what I hear, you got out of the Tree's test for you all by yourself."

The male puffed up his chest a little bit, looking just the tiniest bit prideful over that achievement.

"Yeah, not to brag or anything...but I was pretty great doing that, wasn't I?"

But, his sense of accomplishment faded soon afterwards, and he dwelt further on that bad experience he'd been through.

"I've never liked tight spaces...ever since I was little. Feeling like I can't get out, like I'm trapped and might never see the sky again. It...it's just never been good for me."

Silverstream, showing more than a little sympathy, gave him a quick claw on his shoulder.

"At least you managed to get yourself out of it. You faced your fear, just like I did. And you did it all by yourself. Whatever problems you had growing up with that terror...you've beaten it. And that's something you can be happy about."

Gallus again cracked a smile, looking to his pink friend with obvious appreciation.

"You're right, Silver. Those little places? Yeah, they're not gonna bother this Griffon. Gallus is officially no longer gonna let himself get down by a small room anymore!"

But, as he dwelt on his own declaration, his bravado started to shake just a touch, and he glanced over to his friend again.

"But...just to be on the safe side, let's not actually put me in any small spaces in future...just in case, okay?"

The two shared a laugh, helping to elevate the mood from what it had been before. But, as it died down and the air became quieter around them, Silverstream again looked to her colleague, looking thoughtful once more.

"I...I never really said thank you."

Gallus looked to her, tilting his head slightly.

"For what?"

Silverstream gave him a light punch on the side.

"For helping me, Silly!"

Rubbing the spot where he'd been hit, Gallus chuckled nervously.

"Oh...that...hey, it was no big deal."

Silverstream frowned at him.

"It was a big deal. Gallus, I was frozen down there! I couldn't think straight! All I could do was shake behind that rock!"

Slowly, she smiled again.

"Then you came...my friend. You gave me the encouragement I needed to step up. I..."

She blushed, looking to him with utter warmth.

"...I really am grateful for what you did for me."

Seeing her look to him like this, Gallus too blushed, although, trying to keep up his "touch guy" act, he glanced away slightly, nervously scratching the back of his head.

"Yeah...er...you're welcome?"

Then, before he got the chance to say anything else, he suddenly found his Hippogriff friend leaning against him, complete with her resting her head against his shoulder. After blinking slowly, he gradually looked down to her, seeing the peaceful and content look she had upon her face. Now Gallus, naturally, was at a complete loss on what was happening here, and after opening and shutting his mouth several times, he gave a loud gulp, before asking the obvious question.

"Um...Silver? What...what are you doing?"

Slowly, Silverstream looked up to him, bearing a loving smile.

"I just...felt like snuggling up to you a little bit."

Another gulp on the part of Gallus.

"Well...er...not that I mind that kind of thing or anything, but...you do know what that would probably look like...right?"

Silverstream, after taking just a moment to think on that question, developed into a look that Gallus recognised instantly as one of amorousness, complete with a more "you know what I want" tone of voice.

"Maybe I want people to think that."

If Gallus wasn't covered in feathers right now, any passer by would have seen that he was sweating buckets at this moment, made all the more evident by his more frantic breathing.

"I...I...I...I...I just...I didn't really think you...you know...felt that way."

Silverstream's smile widened.

"What, a big, strong, brave Griffon who saved me from my own fears in a dangerous cave? Who's been with me through thick and thin and who I feel safe and happy with? You really think I wouldn't have started feeling this way at some point?"

Gallus blinked slowly, considering all of that.

"Okay...when you put it that way...it does kinda sound like this was a likelihood."

Silverstream giggled to those words.

"And you? Do...do you feel anything about me?"

He was trapped, and he knew it. But, as he continued to look into Silverstream's big wide eyes, he soon found his nervousness starting to ebb away, instead replaced with a sudden urge to tell her what feelings he did have.

"Well...if we're being honest? I've kinda always liked how happy you are about stuff. Coming from Griffonstone, it's like the exact opposite of everyone I've ever known. You just love everything, no matter how small or ordinary."

His own smile grew.

"I guess...I sort of love that about you. You're passionate, you're fun to be with, and...yeah...I think I am happy when we're around each other."

Silverstream, in a move that would have surprised absolutely nobody in a situation like this, leapt forward, wrapping her claws around him and holding him close in a tight hug. Gallus, though clearly taken aback by this, soon relaxed a great deal, smiling to his friend's actions, and even returning the hug. It was a sweet moment between the two youths, and one that actually lasted quite a long time. After a few minutes, however, they parted, with Silverstream looking perhaps happier than Gallus had ever seen her before.

"So..." she started.

"So..." Gallus added.

Another pause, and when it was over, the two just simultaneously snorted, sharing another laugh with one another.

"Oh, geez...just look at us!" Gallus sighed.

Silverstream nodded.

"Yeah...pretty silly..."

She smiled once more to him.

"...but the kind of silly I like."

Gallus matched her smile, nodding in agreement.

"Yeah...I think I can like it too."

His smile faltered slightly.

"But...are you really okay with something like this? I mean, I'm not exactly the most prestigious of Griffons."

Silverstream snorted to that, giving him another quick hug before providing him with his answer.

"Oh, Gallus! I don't care about that! I care about you!"

Hearing that, Gallus again smiled.

"Yeah...and I care about you, Silver."

When they slowly parted, they found themselves looking down, seeing that they were holding claws. As they looked back up to each other, Gallus chuckled.

"Well...I didn't expect this to happen today."

Silverstream giggled.

"Same here."

A look of amusement came to the blue Griffon shortly afterwards.

"At least we know we don't have to worry about anyone around these parts hiding behind bushes and stuff while we're together here."

Silverstream too looked tickled by that.

"Nope, so we're starting off better than Sandy and Ocellus at least."

But then, just for a moment, Silverstream's eyes darted upwards, and here, her smile faltered a little.

"Although...windows are a pretty good viewing spot too."

Gallus took no time whatsoever to figure out what she'd meant by that, and at the pace of a snail, he slowly turned his head around. Looking up, the scene he now saw before him was exactly what he'd feared. High above them, staring out of all the windows that encircled the school's courtyard, was every conceivable pair of eyes that could have been looking at them. Their fellow students, their Professors, even their closest friends. The males all looked to this with expressions of "heck yeah", while the females largely seemed dominated by the "dawwww" side of things. Of course, both of the new couple found themselves blushing fiercely to this, Gallus especially so, and as he scoured his and Silverstream's newly-acquired audience, he eventually settled his gaze on the window where all of their close friends were. Now, being the kind of Griffon he was, he naturally frowned at them for having watched this little get-together take place, even though he had no way of knowing just how long they'd been watching. And among their friends, Smolder merely shrugged her shoulders before calling down and saying the obvious.

"Oh, right, like anyone here wasn't gonna want to watch that happen!"

Slowly, Gallus looked back to Silverstream, who, having recovered from her own sense of embarrassment, gave a quick shrug of her own.

"Let's face it, sweetie...she's not wrong."

Another day finished, another set of friendship assignments done and dusted, and another sight of Smolder walking down the halls of the school looking completely and utterly knackered. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy the work given to her here, but boy did it take it out of her sometimes. Still, the afternoon was over and she was looking forward to an evening of just kicking back and relaxing back at the dormitory. Several of the other students passed her by, giving her waves of greeting and smiles to boot, which the young dragoness was sure to return, even though she was largely too tired to really want to do anything right now. Still, after a time, she smiled at the sight of the door of her room in the dormitory, but as she drew nearer, she couldn't help but hear a familiar voice on the other side. Raising an eyebrow, Smolder paused, hearing the sound of Silverstream, though who she was talking to, she couldn't say. After hesitating for just a moment, Smolder knocked on the door.

"Er, Silver? You got someone in there with you?"

At first, there was no response, which was quite unlike her Hippogriff friend. But, after about a minute, the door suddenly burst open, and a pair of pink claws shot out and gabbed Smolder by the arms. Before she could react, the youth was yanked inside, much to her surprise. After taking a moment to recover, Smolder looked on at the face of Silverstream, who, if possible, seemed more excited than she'd ever seen her before, and that was saying something. She was hopping in one spot, barely able to contain what had to be a barrage of giggles. Smolder, who was already pretty tired right now, let out an exasperated sigh, rubbing her temples slightly in preparation for what, she assumed, was going to be an even more exhausting time for her.

"Okay...what is it?"

Clapping her claws together, Silverstream quickly spun around, moving over to her bunk-bed, before getting onto her knees and reaching around for something that had been tucked away behind it. When she turned back around, she tried to look all innocent and stuff, like a child that had some big surprise, all while holding whatever it was she'd found behind her back.

"Okay, I just came across the most amazing thing ever!"

Smolder, folding her arms, gave a smirk to that.

"Oh yeah? What?"

No longer able to contain herself, Silverstream brought forth her hidden secret, holding it up for Smolder to see. It was a tiny puppy, about the size of Silverstream's head, with light brown fur and big floppy ears. It wagged its tail happily, an image that was made all the more adorable by the tongue that constantly stuck out of its mouth. Silverstream, of course, was ecstatic, but Smolder just looked on with confusion.

"Er...what?"

Silverstream giggled.

"I know, right?! Isn't he just the sweetest thing ever?!"

Smolder, though hesitant, leaned forward, getting a closer look at the newcomer. And the puppy, naturally, responded to this by leaning forward himself and giving the dragoness a quick lick on her nose. Now, Smolder was by no means a hater of cute things, quite the opposite in fact. But, give how tired she was, she responded to this unexpected lick with a long sigh, then looked up to her feathered friend.

"Okay...what, how, who, when, and why?"

Silverstream blinked to that, then set her new pet down on the floor before again looking to her scaly companion.

"Well, I was going out to Sugar Cube Corner to try out one of their new donuts, and I heard this sound from behind the store. I went to see what it was, and..."

She looked down to her young canine.

"...I found this little guy!"

The puppy yapped happily at having been mentioned, and Silverstream knelt down to give him a pat on the head.

"And I knew I couldn't just leave him there! Not just scrounging for scraps in some trash bin!"

Smolder frowned.

"Wait, you picked up a stray that was just going through someone's trash?! That thing's gonna be covered in gross dog germs or something!"

Silverstream seemed insulted.

"I'll have you know that I gave him quite the bath when I brought him back here earlier!"

Her smile returned, and she leaned in towards her pet to rub noses against him.

"Isn't that right, Mr Yappy McScrufferson?"

Smolder slapped her own forehead.

"Oh no, please tell me you didn't really call him that!"

Silverstream beamed.

"I certainly did! I wanted to give him a name that sounded elegant, regal and dignified."

Smolder sighed.

"Silver...that name is none of those things!"

After again rubbing her temples, the dragoness glanced around their room, before once more looking to Silverstream, this time taking on a slight look of worry.

"Silver...are we even allowed pets at this school? I mean, I know our Professors are a pretty chill bunch and all, but I'm not sure they'd be willing to just let us keep some animals around."

Silverstream giggled.

"Oh, you silly! Of course it'll be okay! Remember all those little critters Professor Fluttershy likes to bring into classes?"

Smolder begrudgingly nodded.

"Yeah...sure...but the Professor is pretty good at controlling animals. It's kind of her thing."

Folding her arms, she gave her pink friend an incredulous look.

"Are you good at keeping animals under control?"

Silverstream waved her off with a giggle.

"Oh, I'm pretty good at dealing with animals, Smolder. Like back when I was living in Seaquestria, I had this pet fish. Beautiful little thing. And just before I came over here, I actually managed to get her to stay when I asked her to!"

Smolder seemed surprised by that.

"You did?"

Silverstream's chest swelled with a little pride.

"Yep! And even better, she even rolled upwards, probably expecting a belly rub from me afterwards. Now that's good pet stuff, right?"

Smolder grimaced, nervously scratching the back of her head.

"Er...yeah...sure. Let's go with that."

The Hippogriff Princess, still sensing that her friends wasn't totally on-board with this, placed her hands upon her hips, trying to sound as authoritative and in-charge as a girl like Silverstream was capable of being.

"Well, I've made up my mind on this already. I'm keeping Mr Yappy and he's going to love it here!"

In spite of everything, Smolder chuckled.

"Hehe...well, let it never be said you don't know what you want, Silver. Alright, I guess maybe it won't be so bad if he stays."

Silverstream squealed with delight, clapping her claws together again.

"Wonderful! Now, I think it's time to feed him!"

Reaching over to a nearby table, Silverstream picked up what appeared to be an already-prepared bowl of meat for the little guy, though where she'd got it from, Smolder couldn't even fathom. Soon afterwards though, Silverstream turned around to feed her pet.

"Alright, Mr...Yappy?"

Confused at her friend's sudden pause, Smolder stepped to the side to see what had concerned her, and as soon as she did, her eyes widened. The puppy was no longer there. Immediately, both females started snapping their heads in all directions, looking at every conceivable corner of the room to try and see where he was. But soon, their eyes both focused on one very worrisome aspect of their room. The door, the one Smolder had been brought through to be here today, had been left wide open. With a sense of overwhelming worry, Silverstream dropped the bowl of dog food, and immediately launched herself forward, pushing Smolder out of the way, before landing outside the dormitory.

"Mr Yappy? Mr Yappy?!"

She called out over and over, and Smolder, having recovered from her friend's earlier push, walked out with her, before taking hold of her claw and gaining her attention.

"Silver, clam down!"

The Princess turned to her, eyes threatening to well up with tears.

"But...but...but...but..."

She wasn't thinking straight, that much was obvious, and Smolder, after letting out yet another sigh, looked to her with a calmness that was very much absent in Silverstream.

"Just...take a deep breath. Breathe in...and then..."

But, sadly, her attempt to make Silverstream feel better wasn't apparently going to work today, as the latter grabbed hold of the dragoness' face, bringing her own face right up to it, so as to be staring right into her eyes.

"My...puppy...is...MISSING!!!"

Smolder gulped nervously.

"Okay, um...apparently this is the mood we're going for today."

Letting go of her, Silverstream started flying speedily down the hall, no doubt to try and find her pet. Stretching out her own wings, Smolder followed, doing her best to try and catch up to her.

"Silver! Wait!"

But the female Hippogriff was in no mood to slow down.

"Can't! Gotta find him! He might get hurt! Or lost! Or...or..."

Realising she was distraught, Silverstream started hyperventilating.

"What if he runs into some monster and gets eaten?!"

Smolder rolled her eyes.

"Oh, come on, Silver! This place is perfectly safe! He's not gonna die like your fish did!"

Hearing that, Silverstream ground to an immediate halt, looking back to Smolder with pure disbelief.

"MY FISH DIED?!?!"

Smolder, realising what she'd just done, nervously poked the ends of her claws together.

"Okay, that...that didn't really help, did it?"

Silverstream's eyes went as wide as dinner plates, and she again looked back down the hallway she'd been flying through.

"DON'T WORRY, MR YAPPY!!! I'LL SAVE YOU!!!"

She bolted away at top Hippogriff speed, leaving a still-tired Smolder behind her.

"This is gonna get worse before it gets better, isn't it?"

She tried flying after her, but it was clear that she wasn't going to be able to catch up with her, not when she was like this. She went around corners, she looked into empty classrooms, she even chanced trying to look inside Princess Twilight's office. In all cases, there was no sign of either the puppy or Silverstream. At first, Smolder was struck with the same kind of worry her friend had been feeling, thinking on what might have happened to her during her search. But then, as she continued to look, she suddenly started to hear something. Someone was crying, and they were nearby. Flying towards the source of the sound, Smolder soon landed, walking around one final corner. In only a moment, she saw who it was.

"Silver?"

The pink Hippogriff was indeed there, sitting on the floor of the hallway and leaning against the nearest wall, crying her eyes out. Now, Smolder may not have been the most empathetic of individuals, but even she felt the need to comfort a friend when they were going through a hard time, and so she went over and soon sat next to her colleague. There was a silence between them for a time, with the only sounds being that of Silverstream's near-constant crying. Thankfully, there were no other students nearby to see her do this, which suited Smolder just fine. After a while, however, the orange dragoness looked to her friend, trying to put on a smile for her benefit and giving her a quick pat on the shoulder.

"Hey, it...it's gonna be okay, Silver."

But Silverstream just shook her head to that.

"No! It's not gonna be okay!"

She wiped away some of her tears.

"I brought Mr Yappy here! I thought I could look after him! And now he's gone!"

Smolder's face softened.

"Hey, I'm the one who left the door open, remember?"

Silverstream frowned to that.

"Only because I yanked you inside before you could close it! And besides..."

She exhaled deeply.

"...Mr Yappy was my puppy! I was the one who was supposed to be responsible for him! And now he's...he's..."

She couldn't bring herself to say the words, regardless of whether or not her unspoken fears were actually true. Smolder looked to her, very much wanting to comfort her further on this loss. But, before she got the chance to do so, the two of them were taken aback when, all of a sudden, a familiar voice spoke to them.

"Are you two alright?"

They turned, and to their slight concern, they saw that it was Professor Fluttershy, looking to them both with worry. Smolder opened her mouth to speak and try and explain what they were doing there, but before she could, both she and Silverstream looked on with wide eyes as, just then, a small figure waddled out from behind the older mare. It was Silverstream's puppy, who happily wagged his tail just like always. Silverstream, naturally, took in a sharp breath, before leaping forward and scooping the puppy up in her claws.

"MR YAPPY MCSCRUFFERSON!!!"

Fluttershy smiled to this reunion, then spoke in a calm manner to them both.

"I was heading over to the supply closet to get some extra paper for my class, when this little one suddenly wandered through the hall I was in. I couldn't just let him stay there alone, so I was just taking him over to my animal sanctuary."

While hugging her pet tightly, Silverstream looked to her Professor with pure appreciation.

"Oh, thank you, Professor Fluttershy! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Fluttershy was happy to see her happy, naturally, but her smile faded a little as she took on a more inquisitive look.

"Silverstream...I'm not sure if students are allowed to keep pets here."

Embarrassment came to the young Hippogriff at that.

"I...I just found him back in town and I...well...I wanted to bring him here and look after him."

Fluttershy nodded, understanding.

"I see. Well, I can certainly speak to Twilight about it, if you..."

But, she was kept from saying anything else, as Silverstream suddenly held up a claw. She looked to her puppy, deep in thought, and though she appeared to be struggling with something, she soon sighed.

"No, Professor, I...I don't think it's a good idea for me to keep him."

Both of them looked to her with shock, especially Smolder.

"What?! But...but you love Yappy!"

Silverstream nodded.

"I do, more than I can say, but..."

She took a moment to rub noses with him one last time.

"...if there's one thing this has taught me...it's that I'm maybe not quite ready for the responsibility of owning a pet. If Professor Fluttershy hadn't found him, he could have wound up hurt, or worse."

She looked at her puppy for a time, then took in a deep breath before, at last, offering him to Fluttershy.

"Professor...I think it might be best for him to actually go to your sanctuary."

Though Fluttershy did indeed take the small dog, she looked to her student with uncertainty.

"Are...are you sure about this, Silverstream?"

Though it brought her great pain to do so, she nodded.

"Yeah. I have to do what's best for him. And right now...that's not being with me."

Fluttershy considered that, seeing Silverstream's resolve in this choice, before giving a nod of her own.

"Very well...if that's your choice."

And so it was that Silverstream watched her one-time pet be taken away. But, after just a few steps, Fluttershy stopped, giving a smile to her student.

"You can come and visit him any time you like. I'm sure he'd be thrilled to see you again."

As expected, Silverstream smiled to that.

"I'd...I'd like that."

The two youths watched as Fluttershy took the puppy further and further away, with the latter whining at no longer being with Silverstream. When the pegasus was finally out of sight, Smolder looked to her friend, placing her claw on her shoulder.

"You okay, Silver?"

After a moment, Silverstream exhaled, giving a quick nod.

"Yeah...I am."

Smolder smiled.

"I'm proud of you. You did the right thing for the little guy."

Silverstream smiled also, finally turning to look at her friend.

"I wasn't ready for a puppy. But maybe one day...I will be."

Smolder chuckled.

"Hey, could have been worse. At least Yappy didn't end up like your fish, right?"

Slowly, Silverstream frowned darkly at her, causing Smolder to cough nervously.

"Right...sorry...too soon."

The Ponyville markets were thriving and active today, with earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns all gathered here for groceries, exotic goods from beyond Equestria's borders, and everything in-between. It was a fun and exciting day, and amidst all of this, three females walked down the main street of the town. Ocellus, Smolder and Yona, walking together as they purveyed all the wares on display, from interesting knick-knacks to some tasty-looking food. Yona salivated at the sight of all the various treats on display, and Smolder was herself enthralled by some of the shinier stuff being sold. Ocellus, for her part, was focused on a local book-seller, who was particularly interested in selling some mint edition of ex-villain Stygian's latest novel. "My Shadow and Me 2: The Re-Darkening". It looked like a it'd be a good read, and Ocellus smiled at the sight of it, handing over a few bits to be able to get it. The stall's owner gave her a hearty nod, then watched as she re-joined her friends further down the street.

"There's certainly a lot of stuff here today," Smolder commented.

"Yona happy! So many tasty treats!" the young Yak added.

Ocellus giggled.

"Indeed. It really looks like the opening of Princess Twilight's school has brought in more people to Ponyville than ever before."

They all nodded in agreement to that, once more heading down the street. Opening up her new book, Ocellus glanced at a few of the first pages, smiling to herself as she did so. However, as the trio turned one corner in particular, Smolder looked around, and something caught her eye. Something that caused those eyes to snap open wide. Within an instant, she used her dragon strength to take hold of the scruff of not only Ocellus' neck but Yona's as well. With great effort, she hoisted them both back around the corner they'd just come from, before letting go of them. Naturally, this unexpected turn by their scaly friend had been both surprising and, for a certain Yak, most unwelcome.

"Hey! Why friend Smolder go and...?"

But, before she could finish her question, Smolder raised a claw to her own lips, gesturing for Yona to be silent. Then, moments afterwards, she looked over her shoulder to the corner, before glancing over to Ocellus.

"Okay, Ocellus? I...I don't think you're gonna like what you see back there."

Naturally, a comment like that earned her both confusion and curiosity from her Changeling colleague, not to mention a justifiable amount of fear. Slowly, Ocellus watched as Smolder tiptoed back to the corner, looking around it ever so slightly. Yona and Ocellus, after looking to one another, soon joined in, looking to see what their friend had been so concerned about. And when they, did, Ocellus let out a sudden gasp. Far away, further down this new street, was Sandbar. But, he was not alone here, for beside him was another pony, a mare, and one that the three of them had never seen before. She was an earth pony, like him, with colouring the same as his, only reversed, with her mane bearing the lighter shade of green. They couldn't hear what they were talking about, only that they were smiling at one another, even laughing at a few points. Retreating back around the corner, Ocellus looked to her two other friends, bearing understandable concern.

"Who...who is that?"

The other females glanced at one another, then looked back to Ocellus, with Smolder shrugging her shoulders.

"Dunno. Sandbar seems to know her though."

Ocellus' gaze darted from one friend to the other, and then she looked back to the same street corner.

"Maybe...maybe she's some childhood friend?"

Smolder seemed doubtful, and as the three looked around the corner again, they bore witness to the two earth ponies moving closer to one another, embracing each other in a hug. Ocellus gasped again, and Smolder sighed.

"Yeah...they're certainly looking friendly alright."

As they again retreated back around the corner, Ocellus, in her overly-analytical way, went through all the options her mind was conjuring.

"Maybe...maybe they're acting out a play? Or maybe she's another student we haven't met yet that Sandbar helped out with some homework?" Or...or...or..."

Smolder sighed, reaching forward and placing her claw on Ocellus' shoulder.

"Ocellus...I don't want to think about it either, but...from what we saw back there...we may have to accept that Sandbar is...well..."

Ocellus frowned at her dragoness friend.

"What...that he's seeing some other female? Behind my back?"

Smolder didn't seem happy at having suggested that, and was even less happy when Yona suddenly stepped forward, pointing her hoof straight into her chest.

"No! It not true! Friend Sandbar would never betray Ocellus! She mean too much to him!"

Placing her hands on her hips, Smolder looked to the two of them.

"Look, I don't like thinking about it either, but you both saw how they're acting with each other back there! And trust me, I've seen enough males do this kinda thing back in the dragon lands plenty of times. So, as much as I hate thinking about Sandy like that...it's not impossible."

Ocellus hung her head low, wandering back over to the corner, peering over it and seeing the two ponies start to walk away. After frowning deeply, she grunted.

"What would he see in her anyway? She's not even that pretty!"

Smolder and Yona, while somewhat taken aback by their friend's sudden spiteful tone, gave each other nervous glances. When they were done, Yona stepped forward, poking Ocellus in the side and gaining her attention.

"What friend Ocellus going to do?"

Looking to her furred friend, Ocellus sighed.

"I...I don't know."

Yona nodded.

"Ocellus could...talk to him? Go there now and ask him about her?"

Ocellus looked up at her with wide eyes.

"No! I...I can't just confront him!"

Smolder raised an eyebrow.

"Er...yeah you can! If he's seeing someone else like this, you absolutely can walk right over there and ask him to explain himself!"

Ocellus shook her head.

"I just...we need to be careful about this."

She took a few calming breaths.

"Right now, we're letting ourselves get worked up over something we don't even know is true or not. We're upsetting ourselves over an assumption, and until we can confirm that assumption, we shouldn't make any rash decisions."

Folding her arms, Smolder let out a snort.

"Well, you're certainly being calmer about it than I would in this situation."

Yona gave an uncharacteristic smirk to her orange compatriot.

"Yes...we know."

Smolder glared back at her, but Yona just kept on smiling at her successful burn. Ocellus, for her part, patted the end of her chin, carefully pondering their next course of action.

"I think...we need to keep an eye on them. We trail them for now, and once we have more information, then we'll decide on something else."

Here, Yona's smile faded, and she looked to Ocellus with both shock and worry.

"We...we going to spy on Sandbar?!"

Ocellus hung her head slightly.

"It's not a pleasant thought, spying on a friend, but given the circumstances..."

She trailed off, unwilling to finish her words, all while Yona continued to show understandable uncertainty about this plan.

"But...but spying is no good friend thing! Friends trust!"

Smolder frowned to that.

"And if Sandbar's just betrayed that trust? What then?"

Yona seemed unable to consider an answer to that point, and looked down at the ground, disheartened. Ocellus too sighed, looking to both of her friends.

"I won't ask either of you to be a part of this if you don't want to be."

Smolder chuckled dryly.

"Thanks for the out, Ocellus...but I think we're both in too deep at this point."

The three shared a nod to one another, then turned simultaneously. They made their way around the corner, seeing that Sandbar and his mysterious female companion had vanished. Wandering out, they made their way in the direction they'd last seen them go, and made sure to go as quietly as possible, lest they be heard from afar. Eventually, they reached another street corner, and after peering around it, they saw the pair yet again. They'd stopped for another chat, and this time, the three were close enough to actually make out some of the words.

"...Good to see you again...happy for you to be here...a lot of fun with you..."

Each utterance only drove Ocellus' fear deeper and deeper into her heart, and her two companions could see just how much this was bothering her. But again, they remained silent, watching as the other two eventually started to walk off again. Once more, they followed, peering around corners and finding whatever hiding place they could, doing all in their power to avoid being spotted by those they followed. After a time, they saw Sandbar and the other mare stop, and again the two spoke to one another. This time, however, things were more coherent.

"What are you doing, Sandbar?" the mare asked.

The young stallion chuckled.

"Oh, I was just keeping an eye out for my friends. I think they're supposed to be out here today."

Ocellus winced. Was he looking out for them to try and avoid being found out? That question, and a plethora of others, they tore at her mind constantly, making her worry more and more with every passing moment. But then, before she could take any further action, she spotted Yona. The Yak female had, inadvertently, caused one of her braids to become loose after finding a hiding spot behind a nearby bush, and as she stood to again move, she tripped on it, just as she had when she first came to school. Ocellus and Smolder grimaced at the sight of their larger friend tumbling out, causing such a ruckus that Sandbar and his companion at last noticed her.

"Wha...Yona?"

Yona, getting to her hooves, took on a look of terror at having been discovered, and Ocellus, unwilling to let her take the fall for this, emerged from behind the tree she'd chosen as her hiding spot.

"I'm here too!"

Sandbar looked to her, surprised.

"Ocellus?"

Annoyed that their pursuit was over, Smolder grunted, then walked out from the shop corner she'd been hiding behind.

"Yo," she said dully.

Sandbar looked to his three friends and, rather than looking worried at their presence, just seemed confused. He blinked a few times, and then looked back to the mare he'd been walking with, clearing his throat slightly.

"So...yeah, these are my friends."

The mare, though similarly confused about this, nevertheless smiled, walking over to Ocellus and stretching out her hoof in greeting.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Breezy Leaf."

Ocellus blinked. This was not the behaviour of someone who was afraid of having been found out. This, quite frankly, just looked like an everyday friendly greeting. After getting herself looking somewhat more presentable, the young Changeling put on a smile, accepting the offered hoof.

"I'm...I'm Ocellus."

"Smolder," said the dragoness as she drew nearer.

"Yona," spoken after she'd brushed off some stray leaves from her fur.

Breezy giggled at this assembly.

"It's wonderful to meet you all. Cousin Sandy's been going on about you all day!"

Ocellus stared at her, not quite sure at what she'd just heard.

"Um...cousin Sandy?"

The mare nodded.

"Yeah! I'm in town for a few days so I wanted to come on over and catch up with him a bit."

She smiled back to her relative.

"It's been pretty fun so far!"

Sandbar siled back, nodding in agreement.

"I'll say! I've been looking for you guys all day to introduce you to her!"

Smolder and Yona glanced to one another and, while Sandbar's attention was focused on Ocellus, gave each other very definite looks of "we've made a terrible mistake", complete with winces. As for Ocellus, she simply stood there, mouth agape, taking in all of this new information. In one fell swoop, all of the things she'd seen, all of the words she'd overheard, all of it came into focus for the first time, and she now saw a picture that she had been utterly blind to until this very moment. Then, at the end of it all, she offered her boyfriend a weak smile.

"I'm...I'm glad you're having a fun time with your cousin, Sandy."

Sandbar smiled to his girlfriend, and he then looked over to Yona and Smolder.

"Hey, why don't you girls show her around the school? I'm sure she'd love to see it!"

Breezy seemed pretty excited at that prospect, and the other two females, having recovered from their shock at learning the truth of this situation, regained their own smiles, nodding to the suggestion.

"Sure thing," Smolder declared.

"Yona happy to show around family of friend Sandbar!"

Then, Smolder scratched the back of her head.

"Maybe it'll help to make up for...erm..."

She cast Ocellus a glance, looking very guilty and apologetic right now. Ocellus, on her side of things, gave her a genuine smile and a nod, silently giving her friend the sense that she didn't need to worry about anything. Smolder looked back to her with appreciation, and then, both she and Yona started to walk off, leading Breezy away from the couple. The two watched them leave, and as soon as they were out of sight, Ocellus looked to Sandbar with earnestness.

"Sandbar, I..."

But, she soon found her boyfriend's hoof upon her lips, and he looked to her with a soft expression.

"Ocellus...let me guess...you saw me with Breezy, you assumed that she was a mare that I was seeing behind your back, and you and the girls followed me to see if it was true...right?"

Now free to speak, Ocellus blinked at her boyfriend with surprise.

"But...how...?"

In spite of the situation being far from funny, Sandbar still laughed.

"Come on, Ocellus, a person only need to look at all this to get the gist of what was going on. It's, like, the oldest story in the book!"

Though pleased that she wasn't going to have to explain herself, Ocellus still looked ashamed.

"I'm...I'm sorry. I should have trusted you."

She sighed.

"Yona was right. I should have come to you and just talked with you about it from the start."

Sandbar nodded.

"Yeah...you should have."

But, rather than seeming angry or disappointed, he simply continued to smile to her, placing his hoof under her chin and looking into her eyes.

"Ocellus...you should know by now how much you mean to me. All we've been through together, how close we've become...I would never betray you like that."

The female smiled.

"I...I know, sandy."

Sandbar gave a nod.

"So...no more spying?"

Ocellus shook her head.

"No...no more spying."

"Good. Now then..."

Sandbar looked around.

"...let's get back to our friends before they get my cousin lost or something."

Ocellus giggled, and as she and her boyfriend walked down the streets together, she looked to him with curiosity.

"So...why weren't you angry with me. After what I did, I...I thought you'd be furious."

Sandbar considered that, then looked to her with a touch more seriousness than before.

"Ocellus...one mistake isn't gonna make me turn against you. Especially if it was made because of a misunderstanding."

Ocellus smiled to that.

"You know...you really are the most chill pony I've ever met."

Sandbar chuckled.

"Well...when you have lives as good as ours...who wouldn't be?"

Now, Ponyville was no stranger to having experienced near end-of-the-world scenarios, and the recent events at the School of Friendship, though certainly a tense time for them, had largely settled into more local gossip and discussion. For the students especially, things were abuzz with talk over what had happened and where things might go from here. But among them all, there were five in particular who had perhaps more reason than any others to be happy right now. Gallus, Silverstream, Yona, Smolder and Ocellus were all sitting with each other on one of their favourite tables out in the great courtyard of the school, smiling to one another while downing some milkshakes that had been brought for them from Sugar Cube Corner. Beside them, in one corner of the table, were the "graduation" outfits they'd made for themselves, though now they lay folded and untouched, much to Gallus' amusement.

"Well, I know we think we did pretty well. Head Mare Twilight may think we still have a ways to go, but hey...we were pretty awesome back there."

His four friends all raised their cups to that, giving themselves a toast to their accomplishments, and once they had finished slurping them, Smolder let out a contented sigh.

"Oh yeah, becoming Equestria's heroes? Now that's something to be proud of!"

She chuckled.

"Who'd have ever guessed a dragon of all things would ever help out with something like that?"

Silverstream smiled over at her.

"Actually, I think Spike helped save the Crystal Empire once."

Hearing that, Smolder slumped her shoulders.

"Great, just when I think I might be the first!"

The others laughed in a good-natured way, which even Smolder soon joined in on. Yona, for her part, looked especially proud right now.

"Yakyakistan will be happy to hear Yona story! Yona and her five friends, heroes!"

But, as happy as they all were at that, her words suddenly caused Gallus to start looking around.

"Speaking of there being six of us...anyone seen Sandbar around lately?"

Realising that their earth pony friend was indeed absent from this gathering, the others all started looking around. After a time, however, Yona gained a look of realisation.

"Oh! Yona see friend Sandbar go to his room a while back. He looked distracted about Something."

Nodding to that, Ocellus got out of her chair, starting to walk off in the direction of one of the doors leading into the school.

"I'll get him."

The others nodded, watching her go, and as soon as she was out of sight, Silverstream giggled, looking over to Gallus.

"Can you imagine it? Us, saving the school and Equestria?!"

Gallus smirked.

"Yeah, it was pretty neat. I'm betting we can probably ride this wave of goodwill for a while, maybe get some of the other students to finish some of our homework for us."

Silverstream gave her boyfriend a frown to that, prompting the blue Griffon to chuckle.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding! I would never do that..."

He glanced away.

"...more than once," he muttered under his breath.

For that remark, he was given a playful punch in the side by Smolder, but rather than be upset by that, both he and the rest of his friends joined in on yet another shared laugh. When it finished, Gallus sighed, once more thinking on his and his friends' achievement.

"It's weird, isn't it?"

Silverstream turned to him again.

"What?"

Gallus glanced back to her.

"When this school first opened, we were basically its troublemakers. We were the ones getting into bad situations and causing a ruckus and stuff."

A smile soon came to him.

"And now? Now...here we are...the ones who made sure it's still standing."

It was a thought that brought smiles to the faces of all of his friends, and they all gave silent nods of agreement to that. Silverstream especially seemed pleased by the notion, reaching forward and gently placing her claw upon Gallus' shoulder.

"I'm sure Grandpa Gruff and the rest of your people will be proud of what you've done."

But Gallus, rather than be touched by that sentiment, simply chortled in amusement.

"Oh yeah, I can just see them now. Gallus, the runt of Griffonstone that was sent here because nobody else wanted to go...and he ends up doing something awesome with his life here!"

He continued to snicker.

"When I get back, I'll just love their faces when they hear that. I wanna see that image framed and put on the dormitory wall!"

Smolder sighed.

"Well...it was a sweet moment."

Then she too smirked.

"But it will be pretty nice to go back to the dragon lands and get a thumbs up from Dragon Lord Ember over this. I mean, come on, a dragon actually helping to save ponies? She wanted our peoples to become friends, so I'd say I've done a pretty good job helping out on that one."

Gallus gave a nod and a shared look of accomplishment on that one.

"Darn straight!"

The two balled their claws into fists, bumping them against one another. But, as pleasant as this moment was, it was soon undercut when, as Silverstream noted, Yona was looking just a little bit down over something.

"Something wrong, Yona?"

Gallus and Smolder too looked to their larger friend, and Yona herself, while staying silent for a time, soon let out a long sigh.

"Yona just...thinking."

Smolder raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah? About what?"

At first, Yona seemed hesitant to speak, as though worried about what her friends might say if she actually did reveal what she was dwelling on. But, after a while, the young Yak sighed, looking to each of her colleagues before finally confessing.

"Yona thinking about...Cosy Glow."

At the mere mention of that name, Gallus frowned, and his tone was one of restrained anger.

"What about her?"

Yona looked down at the table again.

"Yona just...sad. Yona thought Cosy Glow was friend. Yona trusted her. We all trusted her. And she...she..."

She didn't finish, and while it was clear that she was upset, Gallus continued to scowl, folding his claws and looking away.

"That filly can rot for all I care! She lied, she turned the whole school against us, and now she pays the price for it. I hope we never see her again!"

Silverstream looked over to her boyfriend, again putting her claw on his shoulder. When Gallus turned to look at her, he saw her silently gesturing to Yona, prompting him to look at her and see just how upset the issue of Cosy really was for her. After only a few moments, the young Griffon sighed deeply, softening up and speaking in a calmer tone than before.

"I'm...I'm sorry, Yona. I guess...it just gets under my skin, what she did."

Slowly, Yona nodded.

"Yona understand. Cosy not nice filly. From moment she came, she tricked, she lied, she did bad things."

After a time, Yona too frowned.

"She did bad...hurt all Equestria...all for power."

Her eyes narrowed.

"She bad pony. Yona not sad to not see her again."

Then, after a while, another sigh came to her, and she hung her head low.

"But...Yona is sad that she didn't really want friends. Not for right reasons anyway."

Silverstream, who very much looked sympathetic to Yona's feelings of betrayal, reached forward, holding gently onto her hoof and trying to reassure her through one of her smiles.

"Hey, it's okay, Yona. We made it out of that okay, right? And we still have each other."

Yona smiled back, if only a little.

Yes...Yona still have friend Silverstream and others. Yona happy about that."

Though he would never have wanted to admit to it, the look on Gallus' face made it clear that he was feeling the same feelings of hurt that Yona and the others were probably going through. Turning away from Yona and Silverstream, he instead looked to Smolder who took to staring right back at him. They said nothing, those two "tough ones" of the group, but after a while, they smiled, silently acknowledging what their pink friend had already said. The had each other, and that was still pretty good to them. So, having had that sad moment come and go, Silverstream, naturally, wanted to turn the conversation to something more pleasant, and as she merrily clasped her claws together, she looked to each of her friends with that big wide smile of hers.

"So, anyone else happy for our vacation?"

Chuckling, Smolder nodded to that.

"Oh yeah! After having gone through a year like this, I'll be pretty grateful to take a break from it all."

Gallus too laughed.

"Honestly? I'm surprised Head-Mare Twilight even considered giving her students a vacation. She always seemed the kind of mare who'd just keep on working and working without any notion of a break!"

Silverstream looked to Gallus with a knowing smile.

"Well, I heard that she got the suggestion from Professor Fluttershy. Apparently she was so focused on getting everything back in order after Cosy's stuff that it completely slipped her mind that students needed time off from their work."

Gallus blinked, then snorted, shrugging his shoulders to that revelation.

"Okay, that makes way too much sense!"

The group shared another laugh to that, and when it was over, Yona looked to each of them, bearing an unmistakeable look of curiosity.

"So...what friends doing on break?"

A moment passed, and it seemed as though, at first, none of the four youths actually had any notion of what they were actually going to do in the following weeks. Then, Silverstream slapped her claws onto her cheeks, going wide-eyed and letting out a loud gasp. Seeing that, Smolder grunted.

"Ugh, look out, guys. Silver's on a sugar rush again."

But the Princess was unfazed by her scaly friend's remark, instead taking hold of Gallus and giving him a quick shake.

"Gallus! I have the perfect idea!"

The Griffon male blinked to his girlfriend's greater-than-usual level of excitement.

"Er...yeah?"

Silverstream nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah! I can take you to Mount Aris!"

Gallus was taken aback by that.

"Wait, what?!"

Silverstream nodded again.

"I know, right? I can introduce you to my family! Oh, you're gonna love them! It'll be so great!"

Scratching the back of his head, Gallus seemed hesitant.

"Um...are you sure? I mean, are they gonna be okay with you bringing your boyfriend over for a visit like that?"

Silverstream giggled.

"Oh, I'll make it a surprise Like when I tell them that we're dating!"

Gallus took a moment to absorb that.

"Wait, you haven't told them yet?"

The Hippogriff shook her head.

"Nope! I wanted to see how happy they were in person when I told them for the first time! And now I get to do it at the same time as showing you to them!"

She leapt forward, taking him into a hug and squeezing tightly.

"Isn't this gonna be wonderful?!"

Gallus, realising what was going to be happening to him in the near future, resigned himself to his fate and released a long sigh.

"Oh yeah, it's...it's gonna be something alright."

Smolder and Yona, who were a bit more savvy than Silverstream was right now, gave each other knowing looks, snickering quietly as they watched this play out. But then, mere moments afterwards, Yona too gasped, looking over to Smolder.

"Yona have good idea too! Yona take Smolder to Yakyakistan!"

Smolder seemed surprised by this offer.

"Seriously?"

Yona nodded.

"Friend Smolder will really like it there! Yona promise!"

After taking a moment to consider the proposal, Smolder shrugged her shoulders, giving a quick chortle.

"Sure, why not? Might actually be pretty fun."

She looked again to her Yak friend.

"And who knows? If we get enough time, I might take you to go and see the Dragon Lands."

Yona took on a wide-eyed look not dissimilar to Silverstream, and she too moved forward in a hug to her dragon companion.

"Yona love that idea!"

Though just as taken aback by this hug as Gallus had been with Silverstream's, Smolder nevertheless eased into it, smiling and returning the gesture. After a while, however, when the two pairs of students finally parted from one another, and Gallus, having recovered from the shock of his surprise plans for the next few weeks, looked around, frowning slightly.

"Okay, seriously, where have Sandbar and Ocellus got to? How long does it take to go and fetch the guy?"

Yona opened her mouth to speak, perhaps to suggest that she to would go and look for them. But then, before she got the chance to do so, she was interrupted by the sound of a familiar voice from behind.

"It's alright...we're here."

Turning, the four friends looked on to see that Sandbar was indeed arriving, with Ocellus walking beside him. The four of them were, naturally, happy to see their pony friend, but that joy faded a little as they noticed that Sandbar, while he was certainly smiling at them, also appeared to be looking thoughtful right now, as though something important was on his mind. Ocellus too seemed to share the same look, and as soon as the couple had arrived at the table to join the rest, it fell to Gallus to ask the obvious question.

"You two okay? You look kinda...well...preoccupied."

Neither Sandbar or Ocellus refuted that point, and so soon looked to one another. They said nothing, instead sharing a silent glance that seemed to convey more than the other four were able to discern. But, the two eventually did look back to them, with Ocellus speaking first.

"Don't worry. It's nothing."

Sandbar nodded.

"Yeah, we were just...talking about stuff."

Gallus didn't believe that for an instant, but for now he was at least courteous not to press the issue. By contrast, Silverstream was ecstatic about all of her friends being gathered here like this, and so now reached out for her milkshake, holding it up in yet another toast for the group.

"Here's to our first year at the Friendship School! It's been weird, it's been dangerous...but boy, have we loved every single minute of it!"

The others smiled, and as they raised their own cups, they spoke with one voice.

"To the Friendship School!"

But, after downing their milkshakes, Silverstream, as usual, giggled.

"And here's hoping next year will be just as fun!"

Hearing that, Smolder rolled her eyes at her friend's tempting of fate, slapping her own forehead with frustration.

"Aaaaaaaaand now it's probably gonna blow up or something!"

"Speaking of there being six of us...anyone seen Sandbar around lately?"

Realising that their earth pony friend was indeed absent from this gathering, the others all started looking around. After a time, however, Yona gained a look of realisation.

"Oh! Yona see friend Sandbar go to his room a while back. He looked distracted about Something."

Nodding to that, Ocellus got out of her chair, starting to walk off in the direction of one of the doors leading into the school.

"I'll get him."

And so it was that Ocellus got up from her chair, leaving her four friends, Gallus, Yona, Silverstream and Smolder, behind her. She made her way into the school from the courtyard, heading down the often-walked path through the hallways, passing many a fellow student as she did so. Now, having been instrumental in the saving of both the school and Equestria, it was no surprise that the young Changeling received more than a few nods and smiles from the other students, all showing their appreciation to her. She smiled back to this, but her focus was on getting up to Sandbar's dormitory. Sure enough, she found herself there shortly afterwards, seeing the closed door before her. She took a moment to try and listen for any sounds from the other side, but soon realised that there were none. Slowly, she raised her hoof to the door, giving a few gentle knocks upon it.

"Sandbar? You in there?"

There was no response, leading to a somewhat worried look on Ocellus' part.

"It's me...Ocellus."

Another pause, but this time, it was Sandbar who ultimately ended it when he, at last, spoke from the other side.

"...I'm here."

Ocellus gave a small simile to that, then opened up the door. Once she saw the interior of the dormitory, she saw that Sandbar was indeed there, standing over at the window. His hooves were resting on the windowsill, and he was staring out at what was beyond. He didn't turn to look at her, which was something that caused Ocellus to realise straight away that something was up with him. So, slowly, she entered the room in earnest, closing the door behind her. Walking forward, she soon stood alongside him, looking to him with interest, and it was here that she noted that he appeared to be deep in thought over something.

"Are...are you okay?"

Sandbar, again, didn't look to her, instead just answering, his voice almost monotone.

"I'm fine."

Now, as a Changeling, Ocellus was more suited than most to be able to read people, though in fairness, even a novice to such things would have been able to tell that he was upset by something. So, after just a moment, she frowned.

"Sandbar...you're not fine."

Gently, she reached forward, placing her hoof upon his.

"Please...tell me."

There was a long silence between the young couple, and Ocellus grew increasingly concerned over his continued lack of response. But, after a while, the green earth pony sighed.

"I'm...I'm sorry."

Ocellus tilted her head.

"Sorry? What for?"

Sandbar finally turned to look at her, his face one of pure regret.

"For...for what I did."

He hung his head low, shame as clear as day upon his face.

"For...betraying you."

It took only the barest of moments for his Changeling girlfriend to realise what he was talking about, and though she was surprised to see him feeling this way, she wasted no time in trying to reassure him.

"Sandbar...you had to do what you did! If you hadn't tricked Neighsay like that, you'd have been stuck with the rest of us. You wouldn't have been able to get help and...and Cosy would have probably won!"

Sandbar gave a nod, but it was slow and unenthused.

"I know that...but no matter my reasons, no matter how things turned out...I still betrayed you. I made you all feel like I didn't care about you. I...I..."

He looked her right in the eye, appearing more pained than Ocellus had ever seen him before.

"I...I hurt you!"

Ocellus said nothing to that, instead watching as he again looked away from her, his face twisting into a grimace.

"When I said what I said...you looked at me...a pony you cared about...saying all of that. You thought I'd abandoned you, that I'd thrown you aside to save myself."

He shut his eyes tightly.

"Even if it was just for a short while...I made you feel like...like you meant nothing to me."

Slowly, his eyes opened again, and he cast the quickest of glances to his beloved companion.

"I'll never forget that look, Ocellus. And I'll never forget how much it tore me up to say all of that, even if I did it to save everyone."

Ocellus could see how distraught he was over this, how angry he was at himself and his actions. For a long while, she didn't know what to do or say to make him feel better. He'd clearly been building this up in himself for some time, and it was unlikely that a few kind words from her were going to dislodge this sense of self-loathing he was going through right now. Instead, she watched in further silence as Sandbar hung his head down again, his words as bitter as they had been yet.

"I was no better...than him. No...no better than Comet!"

At the mention of that name, and the way he'd compared himself to him, Ocellus had finally heard enough, and she placed her hoof on his shoulder, gaining his attention instantly.

"You are nothing like Comet! Do you hear me, Sandbar?"

The earth pony turned to look at her.

"But..."

However, before he could say anything, he was stopped, seeing Ocellus place her hoof upon his lips to silence him.

"No buts! Sandbar...I'm going to say something to you, and I want you to listen carefully, alright?"

Realising that she wasn't going to budge on this one, Sandbar gave a quiet nod, leading to Ocellus taking in a deep breath. When she exhaled, she looked to him again, her expression one of seriousness.

"You are one of the nicest, kindest, most considerate people I have ever known. You love your friends more than you can ever say. And you love me."

Carefully, she placed her hoof on the side of his face, giving him a quick moment of warmth there, before starting to smile with tenderness at him.

"You...have never betrayed me. Or anyone else. What you did back there? It was painful...but it was needed. If you hadn't...we all know how bad things would have really been."

Shame returned to Sandbar's face, and here, Ocellus seemed to relent just a little bit.

"I realise that this anger you feel about yourself isn't going to go away any time soon. And I won't stand here and force you to feel one way or another. But I want you to know that..."

Slowly, her smile widened.

"...I'm...I'm proud of you, Sandbar. You did the right thing. You stood by us, even when the whole school thought we were their enemies. When it came down to standing with your friends, or siding with those who thought of us as monsters...you chose us."

Her face softened.

"And me and Gallus and all the others...we can never thank you enough for that."

Her words, if only a little, had reached him, and at least some of the anger he'd been feeling about himself began to dissipate. As before, a silence fell over the young couple, and as they stared into each others eyes, a time came when both of them were smiling. Sandbar exhaled deeply, as though releasing all of the stress and strain this ordeal had put onto him. Ocellus, seeing that, smiled sweetly still, and before long, the two of them moved closer, embracing one another in a loving hug. This lasted for several minutes at least, and as they parted, Ocellus saw that her boyfriend had actually been on the cusp of shedding a few tears, which he now wiped away from one of his eyes.

"I...I don't know what to say."

Ocellus giggled slightly.

"You don't need to say anything. Just...just be there for us...and for me."

She, as before, placed her hoof on the side of his face.

"...Just as you always have."

Sandbar sighed again, giving a slow nod to her, and though he said no words at all, it was obvious from looking that he had appreciated every single thing that had been said to him by Ocellus. The Changeling herself was happy to see him like this, particularly when, at last, he finally did speak.

"Don't tell Professor Applejack I said this, but...I guess there really were a few perks to lying."

The two shared a laugh, and when it was over, it was Ocellus' turn to speak.

"Believe me, Sandbar, you're talking to a Changeling. If there's anyone at this school who can appreciate using a little bit of deception to make things happen, it's me."

Again, the two laughed, and that did much to make the two of them feel better than they had done before. But, as time wore on, Ocellus' smile faded, and it wasn't long before Sandbar took note of this. Much like he was minutes ago, she appeared to be thinking on something, and from the looks of things, it wasn't anything pleasant.

"Ocellus? What's wrong?"

The young Changeling had a grimace of her own, knowing that she wasn't about to say anything he'd enjoy hearing. And yet, as she finally looked him in the eye, her voice was tinted with the resolve of one who knew that her words were something that had to be spoken.

"Sandbar...I think..."

She briefly took a deep breath.

"...I think you need to try and reach out to Comet again."

Immediately, Sandbar's eyes widened immensely, and he actually took a step backwards from her out of pure shock.

"Wh...what?! Are you serious?!"

Ocellus gave a firm nod.

"Yes...I am."

Sandbar, who was understandably flummoxed at his girlfriend's declaration, glanced around with confusion for a time, and when he finally looked back to her, he spoke what anyone would have in that situation.

"But...but why?! Everything he said, to you, to the others, how...how can you possibly suggest that I go back to him?!"

Ocellus' face softened a little.

"Sandbar...it's been months since the two of you last saw each other. Months since that stallion lost the closest friend he ever had in his life. What he said...it hurt me. Hurt all of us. But..."

She sighed again.

"...I think it might be worth at least trying to mend what happened between you."

Sandbar frowned, looking angrier with his girlfriend than he ever had done before.

"Oh yeah? Pardon me for saying so, Ocellus, but if he still feels the way he does about Changelings and Yaks and all the rest of you, there's no way in Tartarus I want anything to do with him! What makes you think he could have changed?"

To that, Ocellus offered her beloved stallion a small smile.

"...Because Neighsay changed."

Those three simple words caused Sandbar to halt dead in his tracks. He very much looked like he wanted to argue further with her, and yet, as that utterance from her sank in for him, he soon found that he couldn't. He looked away, continuing to seethe at the thought of seeing his former childhood friend again. Ocellus, seeing this, reached forward, touching him on the side of his foreleg as she spoke.

"I know I'm asking for a lot...but remember...Neighsay hated people like me more than any other pony. He viewed us as nothing but a threat, a danger to ponies and to Equestria."

A quick pause.

"...And at the end...he saw that we were none of those things. If a pony like him can change...then maybe Comet can too."

Sandbar glanced away from her, narrowing his eyes as he stared out of the window again. Ocellus looked to him, taking a small step closer, before speaking in an almost pleading tone.

"I'm not asking for you to be friends with him again. I'm not asking you to forgive him, or forget what he said. I know I certainly can't. I'm just...asking for you to see...if he can change."

Sandbar, for a time, said nothing, continuing to stare out of the window. But, after a long and uncomfortable while, he sighed deeply, looking back to her. He wasn't happy, but he at least seemed to begrudgingly acknowledge her words.

"I'll find him...and I'll try to speak to him. I won't promise anything will happen...but I'll try."

Ocellus nodded.

"Thank you."

Sandbar frowned further.

"Please remember...I'm doing this for you...not for him."

Again, Ocellus nodded.

"Understood."

Letting out another deep exhale, Sandbar soon looked to her with a softer expression. As they had done before, they embraced one another, which continued to make them feel better after a, quite frankly, very uncomfortable discussion. When they finally moved away from one another, Sandbar smiled for the first time in a while.

"Come on...let's meet up with the others. They'll probably be wondering where we've disappeared to."

Ocellus giggled to that, and together, the two of them finally made their way out of the dormitory. They walked down hallways, down staircases, passing other students several times over, before finally reaching the great courtyard at the centre of the school. There, they soon caught sight of their friends, sitting around their chosen table and chatting to one another. As they approached, the other four looked to them, and Gallus especially spoke with a degree of inquisitiveness.

"You two okay? You look kinda...well...preoccupied."

Neither Sandbar or Ocellus refuted that point, and so soon looked to one another. They said nothing, instead sharing a silent glance that seemed to convey more than the other four were able to discern. But, the two eventually did look back to them, with Ocellus speaking first.

"Don't worry. It's nothing."

Sandbar nodded.

"Yeah, we were just...talking about stuff."

Not so long ago, Mount Aris was a desolate ruin. A tomb of the memories of the glorious and bright heritage and past of the Hippogriff people. Now, that brightness was back, free at last from the fear of the Storm King. The great mount itself shone brightly in the sunlight, like a beacon, beckoning all to come and see it. And indeed, many did. The train system that connected it to outside regions brought in fresh visitors every day, all eager to see the marvellous place with their own eyes. They gawked at its splendour, and laughed together with the happy residents within. It was a place of joy and peace now, a far cry from the monument to fear and terror it once was. And yet, fear was exactly what one certain feathered youth now felt as he too stepped off the train and glanced up at the impressive locale. Gallus, taking deep breath after deep breath, nervousness as clear as the sunny day above him. However, he was not alone in this place, as Silverstream soon leapt off the train beside him, nuzzling him affectionately moments afterwards.

"Don't worry...it'll be fine."

Smiling to his girlfriend, Gallus let out a nervous chuckle, scratching the back of his head while always keeping an eye on the nearby mount.

"Sorry, Silver, it's just...I've never really done this sort of thing before."

The pink Hippogriff giggled, giving him a playful punch on the side.

"Oh, don't you worry, Gally! My parents are really nice! They'll just love you!"

Gallus looked like he wasn't so sure, but for the time being, he kept his concerns to himself. After all, he didn't want his girlfriend's homecoming to be spoiled by his fears. And yet, those fears persisted, and with every step he and Silverstream took away from the train platform, his heartbeat increased. He would soon be meeting her parents. In his mind, he already conjured up images of stern Fathers or disapproving Mothers. The kinds of parents who would never abide having their "previous perfect daughter" associate with a lowly Griffonstone orphan like him. These thoughts, and a barrage of many others, haunted him like a ghost, even as Silverstream, by contrast, continued to look to her home like everything was right with the world. On they went, leaving the platform and eventually making it to the massive sandy beach that decorated the outside of Mount Aris. It was a place full of life and fun, as families, both pony and Hippogriff, gathered to enjoy themselves. Once here, Silverstream stopped, glancing around with squinted eyes.

"Hmmm...let's see..."

Gallus, of course, continued to contrast this calm behaviour of hers by carrying on with his heavy breathing.

"How...how are my feathers? Do they look clean enough? Did I wash my beak enough?"

His eyes widened, and his pupils shrank to pinpoints.

"Am I gonna be tall enough for them?!"

Looking to her boyfriend, Silverstream put on an amused look.

"Gallus! Relax! I told you they'd be fine with it...so they will be fine with it!"

He wanted to believe her so very much, and as he looked to her, and her affectionate smile, it was hard not to get at least a little bit caught up with her good feelings on the matter. However, before he or she had the opportunity to say another word to one another, they were interrupted by a sudden call.

"Silverstream!"

Turning, Silverstream's eyes widened, and she let out an almost glass-shattering squeal of joy, one that many of the nearby beach-goers, Gallus included, had to cover their ears to defend themselves against. Gallus watched as Silverstream darted forward, and soon embraced what appeared to be a smaller male Hippogriff. At first, Gallus didn't know who this newcomer was, but then, memories began to kick in for him. Memories of conversations Silverstream had given to him about her home life and, more specifically, the family she had. With a genuine smile coming to his face, the young Griffon walked over to this now-smothered arrival.

"So...I take it you're Terramar?"

The cream-coloured male, after chuckling a little, finally wrenched himself free from his sister's grip, and after dusting down his feathers a little bit, he reached out a claw.

"And you're Gallus, right?"

Gallus nodded, taking the offered claw and giving it a shake. Silverstream, naturally, was thrilled to bits to see her boyfriend and brother have such a cordial meeting, and her enthusiasm was so great in fact that the latter soon found himself, once more, nearly being hugged to death.

"Oh! I've missed you so much!"

Again, Terramar struggled against the huggy death being afforded him, but even so, he seemed to take it all in stride, no doubt due to years of having to endure this kind of behaviour from his sister. Gallus took a quick moment to be amused by this display, but as Terramar finally regained his freedom for a second time, he looked to the older feathered pair.

"I've missed you too, sis! Mom and Dad are waiting for us."

Silverstream giggled with delight, but at the mention of her parents, Gallus again found himself in the icy grip of his own fears. His eyes drifted upwards, along the beach, and soon, in the distance, he could see them. At the edge of the beach, where it met the sea, he could see two individuals conversing with one another. A female Seapony and a male Hippogriff. They seemed to be looking to one another affectionately, and as Silverstream too looked to them with a smile, Gallus could only conclude that those were her parents. The blue youth took a deep breath, taking a step forward, with Silverstream and Terramar close beside him. As they drew nearer, he could see that some sort of picnic blanket had been laid out where the parents were, perhaps ready for some sort of meal they would be having? In any case, as soon as they were close enough, their daughter called out with all the joy expected of her.

"MOM!!! DAD!!! WE'RE HERE!!!"

The older pair looked over, wide smiles on their faces as they saw their daughter. But they did not move, instead waiting for the youngsters to get to them. And as soon as the blanket was reached, her Father moved forward first, taking his daughter close and hugging her.

"Oh, my dear little Silver. It's been far too long!"

Silverstream maintained her wide grin, but soon looked up to her Father.

"It's good to see you too, Dad."

Before long, she turned her gaze over to her Mother, leaping over to her and nuzzling her warmly. Ocean Flow smiled back to her after this, raising her fin and brushing aside some of her daughter's hair.

"Your Father and I were so worried after hearing about what happened back at the school!"

Sky Beak let out a hearty chuckle.

"Oh, your Mother's just exaggerating! I wasn't worried!"

Ocean looked to him with a raised eyebrow.

"That's not even remotely true! Oh, you should have seen your Father pacing up and down with concern over it all!"

Sky blushed to that.

"Yes...well...one can't really help that, dearest."

Everyone had a good laugh together over that, even Gallus, but it was this latter sound that finally caught the attention of the two elders, who looked to him with interest.

"Ah, and who's this? One of your friends from school, sweetie?" Sky asked.

Gallus looked to him with worry, realising that this was it. This was the moment when they'd realise who he was and what connection he had with their daughter. Silverstream, who was not so concerned, continued to smile as she leapt over to Gallus' side, nudging him a little before finally addressing her parents.

"Mom...Dad...this is Gallus. He's, well...my boyfriend."

Immediately, both parents looked on, utterly stunned, as if frozen in place by this revelation. Gallus gave another loud gulp, and then, in an effort to at least TRY and keep things good here, stepped forward, stretching out his claw towards Silverstream's Father.

"Um...it's good to meet you, Sir."

But Sky narrowed his eyes at the blue youngster, causing no end of bad feeling for Gallus. Then, after a long and very uncomfortable silence, the Father finally spoke.

"So...what can you tell us about yourself, lad?"

Gallus scratched the back of his head, trying to think of what to tell them.

"Well...er...I come from Griffonstone, and I've been a student at Princess Twilight's school for about a year now. I...um..."

Then, it was as if some insanity fell over him, and he just started blurting out the first things that came to mind for him.

"I have no family back home, and heck I don't really have a home. I'm kind of a snarky punk a lot of the time and I still, to this day, have no idea what your daughter sees in me."

All eyes, Silverstream's included, looked to Gallus with pure shock over such words, and Gallus himself, after chuckling a little, gave a quick shrug of his shoulders.

"But...at least I'm plucky...right?"

Sky continued to narrow his eyes at him, and Gallus now actually feared for his life. But then, in a move that completely took him by surprise, the elder Hippogriff threw back his head and let out an almighty laugh.

"Ha! I like this one!"

He gave Gallus a quick slap of his shoulder, nearly forcing him down into the sand it was so strong. Gallus, after recovering from that, exhaled deeply, showing just how relieved he was over the experience. But then, it was Ocean's turn to speak.

"You know, I never really considered what sort of fellow my daughter might take an interest in. I see she's gone for the roguish variety."

"MOM!!!" Silverstream snapped.

Gallus, in spite of everything, actually started to laugh, and laugh well. Whatever fears he might have had over this quickly melted away, and soon, both he and everyone else all gathered onto the picnic table, sitting down upon it, with the obvious exception of Ocean, who simply floated by the beach's edge.

"So, Gallus, how did the two of you meet?"

Gallus gave a shrug.

"Well, it was sort of the same time we met everyone else at the school. Stuff happened, and then me, Silver, Sandy and the others all sort of met up and hung out."

Sky smirked to him.

"And caused quite a ruckus, as I recall."

Gallus blushed, clearing his throat.

"Um...yeah."

The older male laughed again.

"And your relationship with my sweet little girl? When did that happen?"

Here, Silverstream was the one to answer, and, as was probably expected at this point, Gallus immediately wished she wasn't.

"Oh! Well, it all happened when we found this secret tunnel under the school that led to this big cave where the Tree of Harmony was spreading out its roots and stuff! We all got separated and got put in a whole bunch of different tests by the Tree, and mine was having to face this big and scary shadow of the Storm king! It was terrifying, but then Gallus came along and encouraged me to face my fears, and I gave the King the biggest telling off in the history of telling offs! It was awesome! Anyway, after that we sort of had this quiet moment a little bit later, and then boom, we were a couple!"

Ocean and Sky blinked slowly to all that, all while Gallus nervously looked from them to his girlfriend and then back again. After a minute or two of silence, however, it was Terramar that broke the silence.

"That...sounds pretty neat."

Silverstream giggled to her brother's words.

"Oh Terry, you have no idea!"

Having finally recovered from the shock of all that, Sky let out a cough, then smiled again to his daughter's new boyfriend.

"Well, I'm happy to hear you've been good to my little Princess."

Gallus, though nodding to that, suddenly looked thoughtful.

"Yeah...and she's a literal Princess too. That...that was kind of a lot to get my head around."

Ocean, who had similarly recovered from her daughter's story, looked to the blue Griffon with a smile.

"Oh, you needn't worry, Gallus. We may be royalty, but we're not the royalty. That honour belongs to my sister and Skystar."

Sky Beak nodded again, looking over to Gallus and placing his claw upon the lad's shoulder, albeit far more gently this time around.

"I know what you're thinking kid. I was in the same situation when I first started courting Ocean here. A young lad, trying to make things work with a Princess? It can be quite daunting."

Silverstream, contrary to her usual bubbly tone, had instead started to bury her face into her claws out of sheer embarrassment.

"Dad! Don't compare me and Gallus to you two! That's weird!"

But Sky merely laughed.

"Oh Silver, no it's not! I'm just giving your beau here a few helpful pointers."

He leaned in closer to Gallus, bringing his voice to a whisper.

"Although, just between you and me, Silver is far more energetic than her Mother was at that age, so...good luck, son."

Gallus' face became somewhat paler, as his mind race to try and find something other than the implications Sky was suggesting there. After a while though, he found himself grateful to Terramar, as the latter then looked to his sister's partner with curiosity.

"So, how's Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo? I haven't seen them since they visited me here a while back."

Thankful that he now had something normal to talk about, Gallus jumped on that chance.

"Oh, they're doing great! Heck, they actually helped us with all that crazy stuff that happened at the school before we came over here."

Terramar smiled.

"I'm glad. I hope to get to see them again one day."

Silverstream giggled.

"Oh, I'm sure they'd love to visit you. I mean..."

She looked back to Gallus.

"...everyone is sort of visiting everyone right now, right Gallus?"

Gallus chuckled.

"Yea, they are."

Curiosity came to him.

"Hmmm...wonder how Smolder's doing over in Yakyakistan?"

Leaning over to him, Silverstream gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Oh, I'm sure she and Yona are doing fine! How bad could a trip like that even be?"

Beyond the borders of Equestria, beyond even the northernmost point of the Crystal Empire, there lay frozen mountains, eternally wrapped in snow. And beyond those? There was the ancient and proud nation of Yakyakistan, home to the mighty Yaks. Though isolated from the rest of the world for many generations, these people had come to mingle in recent years, thanks to the efforts of not only the ponies, but the willingness of their leader, Prince Rutherford. Even so, this place saw far fewer visitors than the likes of nations like Mount Aris. In spite of this, however, there were those who did deign to go there, and right now, one of them was trudging through the snow to do just that. Yona, a young Yak, coming home after a long time as a student in Princess Twilight's School of Friendship. A happy smile was upon her face as she walked through familiar paths, passed familiar trees, and allowed herself to rejoice in the warmth, or lack thereof in this case, of home. Stopping for just a moment, she took in a deep breath, then exhaled.

"Ah! That more like it! Pony lands is good, but Yak lands is better! A Yak can breathe up here!"

She laughed heartily, and this had the unexpected effect of causing a nearby tree to suddenly lose some of the snow it had been collecting on its branches, which now promptly fell onto Yona's head. Now, most people would be rather upset to have this happen to them, but not Yona. Instead, she continued to laugh, shaking the snow off herself before falling backwards and merrily starting to make snow angels.

"Oh, Yona missed this! You never know how good snow is until it no longer with you!"

Sighing, she maintained her smile as she got back to her hooves, taking a moment to further shake any leftover snow from her fur. Then, all of a sudden, she remembered that she was not alone out here today, and her smile widened as she turned around.

"Smolder! You having fun too?"

There was silence as Yona looked to the trees over there, waiting patiently for a response. Then, after almost a full minute of nobody talking back to her, she finally saw her friend. Smolder, taking slow step after slow step through the snow, holding herself while her teeth chattered. Adding to the image was, rather embarrassingly, what appeared to be icicles that had formed on her upper lip from drips out of her nose. And all the while, she looked to Yona with narrowed eyes.

"Yona...there's...there's kind of a good reason why we dragons prefer warm places!"

Yona rolled her eyes, snorting.

"Pfft! Dragons supposed to be tough, like Yaks! Tough things can handle cold and ice!"

Here, Smolder just dropped whatever act she might have wanted to give.

"You know what, forget toughness! I just want to be out of this cold!"

Realising that her friend needed some help, Yona tapped the end of her chin, and then, after looking over her shoulder, she smiled.

"Don't worry, friend-Smolder...we're here!"

The young dragon looked up, and saw that her friend had the right of it. Yakyakistan was indeed there, standing out among the mountains and the snow, ancient and imposing, with the great Yak statues towering over all. It was an impressive sight, to be sure, and one that brought a great deal of joy to Yona. Smolder wished she could appreciate it, but right now, all she could think about was her continuing discomfort over the absurdly low temperatures. Yona, realising this, gave her friend an assist, picking her up and placing her on her back. Smolder was a little taken aback by this, but did not turn down the help. Instead, she clung to Yona's fur for dear life as the latter started galloping towards her home. Sure enough, she reached it within minutes, and then, after setting Smolder to one side, began to bash the front gates fairly loudly.

"HELLO?!?! IT YONA!!! YONA HOME!!!"

Smolder raised an eyebrow to this, then looked on as, with a very loud creak, the old wooden gate started to open. Moments afterwards, the head of a young Yak, a male from the looks of it, poked out, looking to the two beyond. Instantly, a smile appeared on his face, and he rushed forward, giving Yona a good hug.

"Yona!

Yona smiled back down to him.

"Yona missed you too, brother."

As the two parted, the nice family moment was suddenly interrupted by the sound of Smolder clearing her throat, prompting the two of them to look to her. And it was at this point that Yona noted that her dragon companion was actually starting to turn a little bit blue, which, when combined with her somewhat irritated look, made the young Yak female remember why they were in such a hurry to get here.

"Oh! Right!"

She looked back down to her brother.

"Go and tell family Yona will be there shortly. Yona bring friend."

Her brother smiled and nodded, rushing back through the gates, leaving his sister to once more collect her friend from her potentially icy death out here. Again, Smolder grabbed onto the massive amount of fur on Yona's back as she was carried in, and once they actually were in, she took a few moments to glance around and see this home of her friend. There were, of course, many other Yaks here, and every once in a while, they'd look to her oddly. She may well have been the only dragon to have ever come to them, and while she would normally have taken some measure of pride in that thought, right now she was simply too cold to do so. Instead, she contented herself with just looking around as Yona carried her. Thankfully, it wasn't long before the two of them found themselves at the entrance of a hut in the middle of their village, and as Yona entered, Smolder immediately perked up.

"Is...is that?"

Sure enough, it was a fire, right in the middle of the room, having already been prepared, and was roaring nicely, filling the room with a great deal of warmth. Like a thing possessed, Smolder leapt off Yona's back and, in a move that would have been complete and utter suicide for any other creature, laid herself within the flames. It was like a nice warm bath for her, and as the heat set in for her, she sighed with contentment.

"Oh yeah...now that's more like it!"

"...Why little dragon in fire?"

Smolder, realising that this was not Yona's voice that had spoken to her, snapped her eyes open, looking to the side to see that a much larger male was standing nearby, looking to her with incredulity. He was soon followed by a large Yak female, Yona's brother and what, presumably, had to be Yona's sister too. As they all looked to her, Smolder suddenly realised how she must have looked to them, and after letting out a nervous chuckle, she started to slowly climb out of the fire.

"Hehe...um...sorry."

Yona, who had actually been somewhat amused by her friend's antics, walked beside her, gesturing to her before looking to the other Yaks.

"Mother, Father, brother, sister...this Smolder. She friend from School."

Smolder raised a claw, giving a little wave to them.

"Um...hey."

The Yaks looked to her, then, after a moment of utter quiet, they all opened their mouths and let out a massive bellowing scream. Smolder had no idea what was going on, and she soon found herself completely terrified as four massive bundles of fur charged towards her. She spun in place, ready to run out and get out of here before she was stampeded to death, only to be caught by Yona's Father, who held her tightly in what, Smolder realised, was actually a hug.

"Ha! Welcome to Yakyakistan, friend-Smolder! Any friend of Yona is friend of us!"

Smolder, of course, who thought she had become used to the strength of Yak hugs through her experiences with Yona, now realised that she knew absolutely nothing. The strength Yona's Father was putting into this was like a bear, and it actually felt like she was being outright crushed. And it certainly didn't help that all the rest of the family was pitching in. Dragons may have been strong, but even they had their limits, and Smolder was fast reaching hers. Recognising this, Yona cleared her throat, gaining the attention of her family.

"That enough...for now," she said with a smirk.

Understanding, the other Yaks let go of their visitor, allowing Smolder to recover not only her breath, but also her strength, as that experience had taken quite a bit out of her. Having finally regained her footing, Smolder stood upright, looking to her friend with appreciation over her intervention. Yona smiled back, but soon, the latter's Mother spoke.

"How school, Yona? You have fun and learn much?"

Yona smiled proudly to her Mother.

"Yes! Yona and friends help save school! We help save all Equestria!"

Her Father gave a pride-filled laugh to that.

"Haha! That my girl! Ponies know now how great Yaks are! Yak help save them! This will be tale for Yona's children! And their children! And their children And..."

This went on for some time, and Smolder slowly leaned in closer to her Yak colleague.

"Um...how long does he usually go with this?"

Yona shrugged her shoulders.

"Meh, sometimes an hour...or more."

Smolder grimaced at the prospect of having to hear this guy say the same few words over and over for that length of time, so, in a move she knew was probably a big risk on her part, she cleared her throat, getting the attention of all the other Yaks.

"Sorry, but...we've come a long way, and I was looking forward to meeting you all. Yona's said a lot of good stuff about you."

Yona's Father, who, thankfully, was not insulted at having been interrupted, looked to his daughter with a smile.

"Me glad. Me miss Yona being here. It like hole in heart!"

Yona blushed, walking over and giving her Father a hug.

"Yona miss you too, Father."

Smolder smiled at the overwhelmingly-touching moment, but then, a new thought occurred to her. She glanced around, looking to all of Yona's family, and realised that there appeared to be a few missing.

"Hey...Yona? Didn't you say your Grandparents lived here too? Where are they?"

However, it was Yona's Mother who soon answered that question in her daughter's stead.

"They go to elder meeting with Prince Rutherford. Big debate. Very important."

Folding her arms, Smolder looked to them with interest.

"Oh yeah? What's it about?"

Yona's Father now added his voice to the proceedings.

"They discuss which great song of Yak traditions be sung during big festival tomorrow!"

Hearing that, Smolder started to smile.

"There's a festival tomorrow? Sweet!"

She gave Yona a playful nudge with her elbow.

"Guess we got here just in time, eh Yona?"

The two shared a laugh, and Yona's Father soon joined in, continuing to explain what was going on.

"Good time indeed! There will be many songs! Dances! And most importantly, the great melodies of the beloved yovidaphone!"

However, while Yona's face lit up with joy over that prospect, Smolder, by contrast, had a somewhat different reaction. At the mere mention of the word yovidaphone, her mind conjured up a torrent of images featuring a certain pink mare back in Ponyville. Her ears ached over memories of echoes of that instrument being played in the way that it was, and all the headaches that came with it. As a massive grimace crept onto her lips, and she nervously poked the ends of her fingers together.

"Well...maybe we can't stay too long. I mean, it is a pretty long trip for the two of us to the dragon lands after all."

Yona's ears drooped, and while Smolder felt bad at having said what she'd said, she soon discovered, to her horror, that Yona's Father had a different idea in mind.

"That no problem! If Yona and friend-Smolder not here for festival, then we just play our yovidaphone right now!"

Smolder's pupils shrank with fear, and she watched as, just as promised, Yona's Father brought out his very own yovidaphone, which Smolder only now realised had been resting in the corner of the room this whole time. She winced, ready for the terrible music she fully expected from that feared instrument, and as Yona's Father blew into it, she covered her ears. Yet, there was no discomfort, no bad sounds, no sense of having to hear something she knew was bad. Instead, through the muffling of her claws over her hears, she started to hear something else. It was, for lack of a better word, pleasant. Slowly, she lowered her claws, allowing herself to fully hear the music being played.

"That...that..."

Yona looked to her, smiling.

"Yes, Smolder...that true yovidaphone music!"

In stark contrast to the sounds she'd been subject to the last time she'd heard this instrument, the music that now played in this home was, in all honesty, good. True, Smolder was no music expert, not by a long shot, but she did enjoy what was being played here. It was soothing, calming, and all in the family swayed their heads from side to side as they allowed themselves to hear and enjoy it. Pretty soon, even Smolder herself was letting herself enjoy the moment, and she smiled genuinely.

"Wow, that...that's actually kinda...well...nice."

Looking over to her friend, Yona smiled back, placing her hoof upon her shoulder.

"Welcome to Yakyakistan, friend-Smolder."

Smolder looked to her, then back to the pleasant and musical family image before her. And as she took this moment to enjoy the calm of the whole thing, she sighed with a little contentment, before letting out a hearty chuckle.

"You know...maybe we could spend a little time at this festival of yours."

With a massive smile breaking out onto her face, Yona rushed forward, embracing her scaly friend and, as was the norm at this point, nearly crushing her ribcage from the effort, all while Smolder wheezed through the experience.

"Ach! Yep...shoulda seen that one coming!"

"Um...Sandbar? Are...are you sure this is the right place?"

After taking in a deep breath, the young stallion beside her exhaled, giving a slow nod.

"Yeah...this is where we'll find him."

Of all the places the two expected to find themselves on this trip, Canterlot General Hospital was not one of them. But, here they were all the same. They glanced to one another, and it was clear that neither of them really wanted to be here. Yet they knew they had to see this through. So, after affording each other a small but genuine smile, they proceeded onwards. Entering through the front doors, they were greeted by a great deal of activity, doctors and nurses and patients of every variety all involved with one another in one way or another. But Sandbar wasn't thinking about them right now, but rather where they needed to go, and so, after getting his bearings, he started to lead his girlfriend further into the hospital. Ocellus was silent, at least for a little while, but soon, after walking down one hallway in particular, there came a point where she had to say something.

"...Are you going to be okay?"

Sandbar's face was stony, but he answered all the same.

"This needs to happen, Ocellus. It doesn't matter if I'm okay with it."

She knew he was right, but it brought her no joy to hear it. So, they continued down the hall, with Sandbar glancing to the side to read door numbers as they passed by. He counted them all, his eyes narrowing as they drew nearer and nearer to the one they knew was coming. After about five minutes of walking, they found it. And for almost an age, they paused, staring at that static number. Ocellus could feel her friend's discomfort, and she reached over, giving him a warm hoof upon his shoulder. He smiled to her, but it was clear that he was only doing so for her benefit, not his own. Then, he took another deep breath, unleashing a second exhale, before finally looking on with a frown at the door.

"Well...guess this was gonna happen sooner or later."

He reached upwards, pushing the door open, and on the other side the two were greeted with the sight of a nearly empty ward, with many beds ready for whatever patients might need them. However, this place was not completely empty, as one bed near the window had a single occupant. A long unicorn stallion, about Sandbar's age, if a little older. He didn't look to them, instead just staring out of the window right now, but Sandbar was practically seething at the sight of him. Ocellus wanted to comfort him, but she knew he had to make this on his own choice, not hers. And eventually, he moved, with her following. Soon enough, they were close to the aforementioned bed, and it was here that Sandbar finally spoke, albeit with a low tone.

"...Hey."

The unicorn turned, having clearly not been expecting visitors. And as soon as he saw Sandbar, his eyes widened with shock. But then he took on a sterner look, with silence falling between them. A minute passed, then another, and then another, before the unicorn finally uttered something.

"Sandbar."

The young earth pony gave a small nod.

"Comet."

Again, a silence fell, and this time it looked as if the two weren't so willing to break it. Ocellus, who was glancing from one to the other, eventually cleared her throat, before finally deciding to at least ask the obvious question.

"So...how'd you get hurt?"

Comet looked to her, the first time he'd seen her since their unpleasant last encounter. But, rather than the same pure disgust he had before, instead he looked to her with, of all things, thoughtfulness. Slowly, he turned his attention to one of his hind legs, which was encased in a cast, and he frowned.

"I was in the middle of one of my teleportation practices. You know, disappear and then re-appear high up, then teleport again before you hit the ground?"

A dry chuckle escaped him.

"I could usually do that kind of thing with my eyes closed, but..."

He grimaced.

"...but when I went to the ground...the spell didn't happen."

Sandbar looked to him with a reserved expression.

"You lost your magic?"

Comet looked back to him, giving a single nod.

"Just like everyone else."

After a while, the bed-ridden stallion sighed, and he gestured over to Sandbar.

"I hear I have you to thank for getting all that stuff back?"

Sandbar shook his head.

"No...it wasn't just me..."

He turned, gesturing to Ocellus.

"Ocellus was there too."

Then, he looked back to Comet.

"And Yona...and Smolder...and all our friends."

His eyes narrowed.

"All those non-ponies...they saved Equestria."

The meaning behind his words would have been impossible to miss, and yet, for whatever reason, Comet did not look away. He did not try to defend his past actions, or try and say something to refute Sandbar. Instead, he simply nodded.

"Well...I guess that's that then."

Sandbar looked to him with surprise, then a little irritation.

"...Is that all you have to say? Everything that happened...everything that was said...and that's all you have to say?"

Comet frowned right back.

"Sandbar...what else can I say? The last time we were all together...things ended between us. We made it very clear to each other that we wanted nothing more to do with one another."

His eyes narrowed further.

"I don't even know what you're doing here!"

Sandbar exhaled deeply, and he then looked over to Ocellus.

"I'm here...because Ocellus convinced me to come here."

Again, Comet looked surprised, and he looked over to the small Changeling beside his former friend.

"...Why?"

Ocellus, who had been showing a great deal of discomfort during this entire conversation, finally spoke up, albeit with a tone far quieter than the other two.

"Well...honestly? I've never been happy that things ended between you the way that they did."

She looked to him, and gave a frown of her own.

"You said many terrible things, Comet, and not just to me. You insulted Yona, and Gallus, and Silverstream, and Smolder. You blamed all of us for something we were not responsible for."

Her eyes briefly darted in Sandbar's direction before again settling on the injured stallion.

"You hated us so much that you were even willing to cast aside Sandbar. Your friend."

Here, she paused, taking in a deep breath before letting it all out, if only to try and calm herself.

"But...as hateful and vile as your words were...that doesn't mean I was happy seeing Sandbar's oldest friend leave him. And recent events have shown us..."

Slowly, she again looked to her boyfriend.

"...that ponies we think are too far gone can change."

Comet looked at her, surprised, confused and utterly at a loss on how to respond. He, like many ponies around here, would not really have been aware of the finer details of what happened back at the school, so he likely had no clue as to who she was referring to. Even so, he understood the feeling behind what she'd said, and his expression soon softened. But, in spite of this, he said nothing, and instead just turned to stare out of the window again, just like he'd been doing when they first arrived. They waited for a response, for him to say something, but nothing came. After a while, Sandbar, more than irritated with his former friend, started to turned around.

"Come on, Ocellus...we're wasting our time here."

Ocellus too was disappointed, but she too felt that this had gone as far as it could, and so she also turned. But then, before she began to walk away, she heard something.

"...Ocellus."

She stopped, as did Sandbar, and they looked back to Comet. At first, he didn't look back to them, but he spoke nevertheless.

"...I'm...sorry."

Ocellus stared at him, completely uncertain.

"...What?"

Sighing, Comet finally looked back to her, and though his expression was stern, his words were soft.

"I'm...sorry. Sorry for what I said. To you...and to the others."

Ocellus, naturally, was shocked to hear that, but Sandbar, by contrast, was not so swayed.

"Why are you saying that?"

Comet looked to his childhood colleague.

"It used to be so simple. Ponies were good...and others were bad. Dragons, Changelings, every creature we would find in the world. All of them...bad. At least...that was what always seemed to be the case. But things aren't that simple anymore."

He paused, but only for a moment.

"A pony took my magic. A pony was responsible for me being hurt."

Then, his eyes drifted back to Ocellus.

"A Changeling helped to save us...and a Changeling brought our magic back."

Another pause, and then his frown faded, if only a little.

"I...was wrong. That's...all that needs to be said."

A dry chuckle escaped him.

"Besides...it was you who convinced Sandbar to come and visit me. So...maybe he was right to see something special in you after all."

It was an unexpected turn for the visit, it had to be said. Sandbar looked at Comet and was clearly wrestling with what had just been uttered. After a while, however, he looked over to the unicorn's cast.

"...Have you been told when you'll be getting out?"

Comet shrugged his shoulders.

"Another few days, maybe."

Slowly Sandbar nodded.

"Alright then...I hope you get better."

Comet nodded back.

"Thank you."

Ocellus, seeing this exchange, began to perk up, a smile forming on her lips.

"This...this is great! I'm...I'm so glad the two of you might actually become friends again!"

But, upon hearing that, the softness in Comet's face faded again, and he closed his eyes, giving a quick shake of his head.

"...No, Ocellus. We're not friends. And...we're never going to be friends again."

His eyes opened, and he turned to his fellow pony.

"...Are we, Sandbar?"

Ocellus, her own smile now diminishing, looked to her boyfriend, and found, to her dismay, that he too nodded to what Comet was saying.

"No...we're not."

Ocellus was completely bewildered by this. She looked from one to the other, trying to wrap her head over what had just happened, and her stuttering tone only added to that feeling.

"But...but...but...Comet said he was sorry! Things...things can be better between you now...right?"

One look at Comet's face, and the flicker of emotion in his eyes, made it abundantly clear that he wanted to believe Ocellus' words. He wanted that scenario to indeed be what was happening, or what was going to happen. And as he looked to Sandbar, though neither said anything on it, it was obvious to him that he too felt that way. However, in this quiet moment, one inescapable fact lingered, hovering over all of them and bringing down everything.

"Ocellus...some friendships...can't be fixed," Comet muttered.

Ocellus looked to him, but said nothing as he carried on.

"What I did...what I said...that was more than what any friend should ever do to another. A dagger through Sandbar's heart."

Sandbar winced, but he stood his ground all the same, watching as his former friend continued.

"This bridge? It burned down a long time ago...and I'm the one who set it alight."

Slowly, he shook his head.

"There was never any coming back from this. Not for me."

Ocellus was dismayed, and she turned to Sandbar, who, to her further sadness, nodded in agreement with the injured unicorn. Ocellus' ears started to droop, her hopes of some kind of reconciliation between these two now as broken as Comet's leg.

"...Oh."

It was an uncomfortable moment, but, to the surprise of both Ocellus and Sandbar, Comet actually started to laugh. Granted, it was more of a dry and empty chuckle, but it was something.

"But you know...if nothing else...I'm glad. If he and I never see each other again...I'd rather things between us end like this, instead of...well...last time."

Sandbar, in spite of everything, in spite of all he wished to say to the one he had known for so long, actually cracked a smile albeit one that was more of a smirk.

"That much, Comet...I think we can agree on."

The two smiled to one another, perhaps the last time they would ever do so. But then, after a time, Comet's smile faded, and he looked down to his cast.

"I think visiting hours will be ending soon. You two should make yourselves scarce."

Sandbar nodded, looking over to his girlfriend.

"Ocellus?"

The Changeling female nodded, and while she was clearly disappointed, she knew this was as good as things were ever going to be, and she allowed herself to accept it, giving Sandbar a quick nod before starting to make her way out. Sandbar followed, but, before he left the ward in earnest, he paused, looking back to his old friend.

"...Comet?"

Comet looked back to him.

"Yeah?"

After just a moment, Sandbar smirked.

"Try not to do any more teleportation stunts after this, okay? I always told you you'd get hurt one day."

Comet blinked, then frowned.

"...Really? An 'I told you so', Sandbar?"

Sandbar shrugged.

"Hey, it's my last ever chance, so no way am I gonna miss it!"

Comet rolled his eyes, then used his magic to levitate a nearby pillow and throw it at Sandbar. Thankfully, the latter had already closed the door behind him, and now it was just him and Ocellus outside in the hall together. Sandbar looked to his girlfriend, who seemed somewhat dejected, and listened well as she finally spoke to him.

"Sandbar...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked you to come here. I hoped you two would be friends again, but..."

Then, she stopped, feeling Sandbar's hoof under her chin, guiding her face upwards so as to be looking him in the eye. He smiled to her, then spoke softly.

"Ocellus...if it wasn't for you, I would have only ever remembered Comet as something painful. Something that made me angry. Now, because of you...I think I can actually move past that."

Ocellus blinked, and watched as he kept speaking.

"He and I may never be friends again...but we're not enemies. And that...that matters."

His smile widened.

"...So thank you."

He leaned closer, giving her a quick but tender kiss on her lips. Ocellus was taken aback, but blushed and eased into the kiss soon afterwards. As the two finally parted, Ocellus too smiled.

"I'm...glad I could help."

Sandbar nodded.

"So...what do you want to do now?"

Hearing that, Ocellus looed rather stumped.

"I...was actually hoping you'd have a suggestion."

Sandbar chuckled.

"Well...maybe it's best if we head on home. I don't know about you, but I could do with some R and R after this."

Giggling, Ocellus leaned forward and gave him another kiss, this time on he cheek.

"You and me both, sweetie."

While it was true that Mount Aris had gone through tough times, there was nevertheless a feeling that things were getting better. The people were happy, things were getting fixed up, and everything, all-in-all, looked like they were entering a new golden age for their people. Sadly, the same praise could not be given to the likes of Griffonstone. This place, in stark contrast to the lands of the Hippogriffs, seemed to have taken the opposite approach, where it had entered tough times and just decided to stay there. Whether this was out of pure Griffon stubbornness or simple lack of hope for getting out of it, none could say, but even so, things looked bleak here. The Griffons, as ever, eyed each other with, at best, annoyance, and at worst with scorn. But, there was one face here that was the complete opposite of all that, and that was Silverstream.

"Oh...my...gosh!"

The young Hippogriff squealed with glee as she finally finished her trek up the mountain paths that led to the ancient Griffon settlement. Like with all things, she had a passion for seeing new places that was unrivalled by anyone in the world, save for maybe Pinkie Pie. And as she entered through the gates of Griffonstone, she marvelled at everything, no matter HOW bad it looked.

"Just look at this place! The history! The culture! The people! Have you ever seen anything so wonderful in your life?!"

"Er...yeah? I'm from here, remember?"

Turning, Silverstream smiled to her boyfriend, Gallus, as the latter finally entered through the gates himself. Now, while Silverstream was overjoyed to be here, Gallus was not so enthused. In fact, he looked downright upset to be back here, despite it being his home. Silverstream, while continuing to be enthralled with seeing new things, was still able to recognise that her beau wasn't all that thrilled about it himself, and so walked over to him.

"I'm sorry, Gallus. I was thinking, you know...you'd be glad to be back?"

Gallus chuckled, but it was a dry one, with no hint of humour to it.

"Honestly? I think I prefer it back in Equestria. No good times have ever been had here, Silverstream."

But the pink female scoffed to that.

"Pfft! Nothing good? I'm sure you're exaggerating!"

Gallus rolled his eyes.

"Trust me, even you're going to have a hard time finding anything or anyone to like about this place!"

"Gallus!"

The new voice caught both youths off-guard, and they simultaneously turned to see, rushing towards them, another Griffon. It was a female, with largely grey colouring, and in a move quite unlike what many other Griffons would have done, she tackled Gallus with great force, hugging him in a manner that wouldn't have been out of place with Yona here. While Silverstream was clearly amused by this unexpected hug, Gallus, of course, was not exactly as happy as she was.

"Ach! Hey...Gabby!"

Lamenting the fact that his fellow Griffon had some pretty poor timing here, Gallus at least appreciated that she let him go soon afterwards, giving him a chance to catch his breath. And as he did so, Gabby looked to him with enthusiasm which rivalled even Silverstream's.

"It's been so long Oh! How's Equestria! Are the Cutie Mark Crusaders doing okay? What's it like at Princess Twilight's school? Is it true you helped save the world? Are you some big famous celebrity down there now? Oh, you have to tell me everything!"

Gallus, in the face of this overwhelming enthusiasm, merely blinked to her, slightly terrified that she might even pop with her sheer joy in this moment. Quickly, he glanced to the side, hoping that Silverstream might be willing to lend a claw, but, sadly, all she did was shrug, looking on with interest at how her boyfriend might interact with his fellow Griffonstone native. Sighing to this, Gallus put on a small smile, if only for Silverstream's benefit, as he finally addressed the enthusiastic Griffon female.

"Well...it's kind of a long story."

Gabby, who was clearly very interested in long stories, waited with a patience that Gallus honestly didn't think she had in her. So, realising there was no escape from this for him, he began to explain everything. The theft of the magic of Equestria, the discovery of who was responsible, everything. Gabby, naturally, watched, utterly transfixed with the tale, as was Silverstream, even though she had actually been there for all of this. When it was finally over, Gallus simply shrugged his shoulders.

"And...yeah, that's kind of it."

He didn't think he'd told it well, but even so, Gabby had been utterly fascinated, and soon leapt forward, embracing him in yet another tight hug, much to Gallus' chagrin.

"Oh, Gallus! I'm so proud of you! I always knew you'd do well down there, and I was right!"

In spite of again being crushed with this display of affection, Gallus was at least able to release another dry chuckle.

"Yeah, you were the only one to think that, Gabby!"

Parting from him, the young she-Griffon seemed incredulous.

"What? No! Who here would have possibly felt...?"

But, sadly, she didn't get the chance to finish, as just then, the conversation was interrupted by a sudden, and rather irritated-sounding voice.

"Oh, he's back, is he?"

Gabby didn't turn at first, but after seeing the "I told you so" look on Gallus' face, it wasn't long before realisation came to her.

"Oh...right."

All turned, including Silverstream, and just in time to see an ageing Griffon male, wearing a fez, land close beside them. He didn't look at all pleased to see any of them, not even Gallus, and as the latter walked closer, he sighed.

"Hey, Grandpa Gruff."

The elderly Griffon let out a huff.

"So, ya got kicked out or what?"

Silverstream, who was trying her best to stay upbeat in the face of such an unhappy-looking individual, put on a smile, walking forward and stretching out one of her claws.

"Er, no, Sir. Gallus and me have some time off from school, so he decided to invite me here, to Griffonstone."

Gruff arched an eyebrow to that, turning away from the pink Princess to glare at Gallus.

"What? Why the heck would you do something that stupid, boy?!"

Gallus, who looked like he'd clearly been expecting that kind of reception, rolled his eyes again.

"Well, she showed me her home, so I guess it was worth returning the favour?"

Gruff coughed violently, causing several of the others to turn away, lest they get some of his spit on their faces, and when he was done, he continued to look annoyed at the young blue male.

"Ya silly fool! What, you think this place is worth showing off or something? Now she's just gonna think yer crazy!"

"Well, it'd put him in good company at least."

As had happened frequently when an unexpected voice turned up, all turned, though Gruff apparently had some neck trouble, given how his turn-of-the-head caused him to wince. Gallus and Gabby smiled a little, though Silverstream merely titled her head as they all saw who it was who had spoken. It was another Griffon female, albeit one who looked like she was a few years older than Gabby, and as she approached, she chuckled.

"So, had fun with the ponies, Gallus?"

Snorting, Gallus stepped forward, balling his claw into a fist and giving a quick "claw-bump" to this newcomer.

"Yeah, nice to see you too, Gilda."

At the mention of this name, Silverstream's eyes widened, and she swiftly zoomed over to the older female. Gilda, though taken aback by this, still stood her ground as Silverstream let loose a barrage of excited statements.

"The Gilda?! Professor Rainbow's old childhood friend?! Oh, it is such a pleasure to meet you!"

Having heard all of that, Gilda chortled.

"Professor Rainbow? Well, well, well, looks like old Dash is doing pretty well."

Raising an eyebrow, she glanced Silverstream over a little bit.

"I'm guessing you're one of those students?"

Silverstream nodded enthusiastically.

"Yep! Silverstream. A pleasure to meet you!"

She stretched out her claw in greeting, but, as Gilda took it to give it a shake, Gruff, who had been glaring at everyone as always, started to look a little bit thoughtful.

"Silverstream...Silverstream...Silverstream...hold on!"

He pointed a claw straight at her.

"Ain't you supposed to be Queen Novo's cousin or something?"

Silverstream blushed a little.

"Er...no. I'm her niece."

Gilda and Gabby looked to her, surprised.

"Oh! A Princess! How exciting!" Gabby exclaimed.

But, while Gilda was just as intrigued as her younger colleague, she soon took on a more confused look, turning instead to Gallus.

"And how exactly did you manage to become friends with a Princess, squirt?"

Gallus, as expected, was a little annoyed at the nickname, but before he had the chance to refute her, he was interrupted when Silverstream, out of nowhere, blurted out the one thing that, in hindsight, he really should have seen coming.

"Oh, we're actually a couple now! Have been for a while."

As anyone could have predicted in this scenario, all eyes were now darting from one youth to the other, all while Silverstream looked back with obliviousness over what she'd just done. Gallus coughed nervously, and after a long and utterly confused silence, Gilda threw back her head and unleashed a roaring laughter. Gallus was, to begin with, unsure of this, but then, to his surprise, he saw her move closer, putting him in a headlock and using her free claw to rub how now-undefended scalp.

"Scoring yourself a Princess, eh? Not bad, little Gallus! Not bad at all!"

Gabby too was excited, and rushed to Silverstream's side.

"Oooooh! How long have you been together? Has it been totally romantic? Is he a good kisser?"

Of course, questions of that nature caused blushes for both of the young couple, but, in spite of the jovial tone everyone else was taking with this, there was, as ever, one soul among them who was unable to take any light-heartedness in anything. Grandpa Gruff, letting out another hacking cough, looked to the smaller blue male and frowned.

"Ugh! Ya gone soft, boy! What, time at that school made you all lovey-dovey all of a sudden?"

Gabby, for once, frowned to that.

"Ugh! Have you no romance in your heart, Gruff?"

Gruff, in response, merely grunted.

"Nope! Just cholesterol!"

Gallus, who had actually managed to get himself free from the grip of Gilda, finally took a moment to calm himself down, and once he'd finished doing so, he looked to all this fellow Griffons and, in a move he'd clearly been wanting to do for a while now, spoke up to them.

"Well, this has all been...nice. But Silverstream and I didn't just come here to talk to you three. So, if you don't mind..."

He reached over, gently taking Silverstream's claw and leading her away from the assembled Griffons.

"...we'll be making our way."

Silverstream, while understanding her boyfriend's need to get away from those three, nevertheless smiled to them all, giving a happy wave as she walked further and further away from them.

"It was nice meeting you all!"

Gabby waved back of course, and Gruff just grumbled as he too started walking off, but Gilda merely smirked, calling back to the young couple.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do, kids!"

Gallus too let out a grunt.

"Not giving us many options on that one, Gilda."

Thankfully, the older female hadn't heard him, so he and Silverstream were able to make their way further into Griffonstone without much issue. Sure, there were a few here and there that gave them scowls, but at this point the two were used to it. Instead, Gallus led Silverstream past the main streets, and into back-alleyways, much to her confusion. Eventually, they made it into a more open area, but one that was further towards the interior of the city walls. There, they spotted a lone house, though it would have been more accurate to call it a hovel. At first, Silverstream didn't know why Gallus had brought her here, but after looking to him, she saw him finally explain.

"Well, you wanted me to take you home, so..."

Now, she understood, but given the disappointed way Gallus was looking at the place, she didn't comment on anything. Instead, she began to follow him, and before long, the two were inside it. It had all the hallmarks of a place that had been abandoned and neglected for a long time, as Gallus was, presumably, the only Griffon that had ever lived here. Cobwebs, cracks in the walls, dust on every scarce piece of furniture, it had it all. And after a long silence, Silverstream finally spoke.

"...I can see why you didn't want to come home for the holidays."

Gallus again chuckled dryly.

"Yeah, you're not wrong. This was home. It wasn't much, but it was home."

he sighed.

"All that time in Equestria...it was like I actually had someplace that was worth living in."

He slowly glanced over to Silverstream.

"At least there I had friends who didn't get on my nerves every other minute."

Silverstream smiled back to him, walking over and giving him an affectionate nuzzle.

"And we're happy to have you as a friend, Gallus! Your home may not be the best, but at least it gave the world someone as special as you."

Gallus, naturally, chuckled to the cheesy sentiment, but he appreciated it all the same, allowing himself to ease into the embrace his girlfriend was giving him.

"I wonder if this is what it feels like...you know...having family?"

Parting from him slightly, Silverstream offered him a warm smile.

"It is...and I'd be honoured if you considered me family."

Gallus' smile widened, and though he blushed fiercely, he was not so overwhelmed as to be unable to respond to that.

"You know...maybe coming home wasn't such a bad thing after all."

For many of the differing races and peoples of the world, there was always something about their respective homelands that could be seen as great or beautiful when viewed by outsiders. The green fields and gentle hills of Equestria. The mighty seas surrounding Mount Aris. The new and lush greenery of the Changeling Hive. The awe-striking snow-caps of Yakyakistan. Even Griffonstone, as run-down and troubled as that place was, had a certain majesty to its high-up mountains. But then, after all of that, there was the Dragon Lands, and here, outsiders would be greeted with far less to be happy about. No pleasant fields, no soothing seas. No, this was a blasted Hellscape of charred rocks and open lava pits. Smoke rising in all directions and air so hot that it threatened to burn. Appropriate then that it was home to the dragons, the most feared race in all the world. Ferocious, resilient and aggressive, they had carved a name for themselves in many cultures as beasts of legend, who would rather kill you than speak to you.

However, the dragon that now approached those lands could not have been further removed from this nightmarish mental image. She was smaller for one thing, and walked about with a smile on her face that could only come from someone who was genuinely happy. And in truth, she had every reason to be happy. Having endured the frigid lands of the Yaks in the far-North, Smolder now instead looked upon the sight of her own home. Gone were her chills and look of discomfort, for here, she felt right. Taking in a deep breath, she exhaled, placing her claws upon her hips before giving a firm nod.

"Oh yeah, that's more like it! No snow! No ice! No cold! This is where a dragon is supposed to be, right, Yona?"

A moment passed, and then another, and then another, but no response was heard. With her smile fading somewhat, Smolder raised an eyebrow, looking over her shoulder.

"Er...Yona?"

Her fellow student was indeed there, but unlike Smolder, she seemed far less comfortable in being in a place like this. And she had good cause to feel that way. For just as she was approaching Smolder, she happened to pass by an admittedly small lava pit, which immediately burst out a broil of fume as she was close enough. Yona, understandably, recoiled from this, letting out a yelp of surprise and fear. She rushed over to Smolder's side, even hiding behind her for a time, all while she looked to the surrounding lands with terror.

"Yona no like friend-Smolder's home! It dangerous!"

Smolder snorted to that.

"Come on, Yona! The Dragon Lands aren't that bad!"

As soon as she'd said that, there was an immediate eruption of lava from the ground close to where the two had been standing, prompting Yona to shrink behind Smolder even more, lest she get doused in the fiery substance. Smolder, after watching the lava die down, scratched the back of her head.

"Huh...you know, living with ponies, you forget how often that happens around here."

And if that wasn't enough, it was around this time that the two students actually saw another of Smolder's kind arrive onto the scene. But, in contrast to the comparatively small figure of Smolder, this dragon was far more in-keeping with the image most had. It was massive, almost as big as their school in fact, and it flew over them with such speed that it caused wind to nearly blow them off their feet. But, thankfully, they held their ground and watched as the towering reptile continued to fly off, none the wiser to the damage it might have caused them.

"Hey! Watch where you're flying, jerk!" Smolder raged.

Then, she turned, and saw that Yona was curled up on the floor, terrified of what had just happened. With her expression softening, Smolder walked over to her, giving her a friendly pat on the shoulder.

"It's okay, Yona. He's gone now."

Slowly, Yona opened her eyes, and after an encouraging smile from Smolder, she got to her hooves.

"Um...other dragons here aren't all that big...right?"

Smolder chuckled.

"Don't worry, I know a place. Come on."

Understandably, Yona continued to be wary of this place, but she trusted her friend, and so followed her away from that spot. On and on the two went, passing by many dangerous-looking geysers and lava holes, with Yona cowering from each one she saw. Smolder was not so afraid of the dangers of her homeland, but nevertheless continued to guide Yona through the safest route through it all. After a time, they entered a relatively less dangerous place, and here, Yona looked on to see a collection of smaller dragons, around Smolder's age, all hanging out with one another.

"There we go!" Smolder exclaimed.

She looked back to Yona.

"I think these dragons will be a bit more to your liking!"

Yona stood beside her scaly companion, looking on at what the younger dragons ahead were doing. There was a lot of rough and tumble, in much the same way that there would be with the Yaks back in Yakyakistan, and as such, Yona started to smile. She and Smolder walked ahead, drawing closer to the other dragons, and as soon as they were close enough, another of Smolder's kind, a female, looked down to them and gave a loud whistle, gaining the attention of all the others.

"Hey! It's Smolder!"

All eyes were upon them, and several of the dragons flew over, ready to greet their long-absent colleague.

"Smolder! You're back!" one declared.

"How's life with the ponies?" another asked.

"Are they scared of you? And was it awesome?" a third added.

Smolder, amused by the attention she was getting, let out a hearty laugh.

"Yeah, it's pretty neat. The ponies and all the other creatures are kinda great. Plus, there's a whole bunch of other stuff I gotta tell you guys about!"

The other dragons certainly seemed eager to hear her story, that much was certain, but before long, it could no longer escape their notice that Smolder was not alone here today, and so it was that the dragons turned their attention instead to Yona. The young Yak female, smiling nervously, gave a little wave.

"Um...hello?"

The dragons blinked to her a couple of times, then one of them, a male, looked down to Smolder again.

"Who's this?"

Still smiling, Smolder walked over, putting her claw on Yona's shoulder.

"This is Yona, one of the other students. She's a friend of mine..."

Her eyes narrowed.

"...so be nice to her!"

Though Smolder was, by far, the smallest dragon there, her words had the expected effect, and it was clear that nobody here was willing to even try and put on a dangerous face for Yona. So, rather nervously, one of them stepped forward, stretching out a claw.

"Um...hey, Yona! Nice to meet you!"

Pleased that at least one of them was making an effort, if only out of fear of Smolder, Yona smiled back, taking the offered claw and shaking it.

"Nice to meet you too!"

"So, you brought back one of your precious little classmates, Smolder?"

Yona didn't recognise the new voice, but Smolder did, and she grunted with irritation over it.

"Okay, here we go!"

Looking up, the collection of youths watched as a bright red dragon, larger than all of them, descended to the ground. Unlike the others, he looked like he was in a a permanent state of being ticked off, and after looking to Yona, he then glanced over to Smolder.

"Remember the days when only tough and ferocious dragons came to the dragon lands? Whatever happened to that?"

Smolder folded her arms and raised an eyebrow.

"They went away, Garble. Maybe you should follow their example?"

Garble frowned to that, taking a few steps over while the other dragons backed off.

"Oh, little Smolder acting all big and scary! How cute!"

He looked over to Yona.

"And what's this? One of your little pony friends?"

Smolder chortled.

"Wow, I knew you were dumb, but mistaking a Yak for a pony? That's stupid even by your standards!"

Yona, who could sense a conflict brewing, looked on with worry at her friend, even though the latter continued to act as though absolutely nothing was wrong. Garble, on the other hand, did not take kindly to what had been said to him.

"Tough talk, little Smolder. But guess what? Dragon Lord Ember ain't here to see what goes on, so I guess nobody will mind if I give this outsider a piece of my mind."

Immediately, Smolder stood between him and Yona, glaring angrily at the older male.

"Back off! Unless you wanna get hurt!"

But Garble simply laughed at that.

"Awww! How cute! Smolder standing up for her friend! Like a little pony!"

Reaching forward, the dragon teen gave Smolder a rather insulting pat on her head.

"Move aside, squirt! The big kids got this one!"

Smolder fumed at this, but then, her ears perked up slightly, because she'd just heard something being whispered to her from behind. At first she seemed uncertain about what she was hearing, but after a while, she gained a knowing smirk. Looking back to Garble, she shrugged her shoulders.

"Alright, you wanna do something to her? Be my guest."

Though at first surprised that the younger dragon seemed to be giving up without a fight, Garble still smirked, eager to get down to what was probably a long-brewing period of bullying. But, as he watched Smolder step aside, he soon found, to his dismay, that he was not looking at a cowering Yak, but rather a Yak with fury in her eyes, who now charged right at him. Before he could have any kind of reaction, Yona rammed her head right into his stomach, and with her great Yak strength, this impact sent him flying backwards, right into a nearby rock. All others were stunned by this, and Yona herself snorted angrily.

"Yona no like bullies! Be nicer next time!"

Smolder looked to her friend with pride, then turned to see Garble slowly get up, nursing the spot on his stomach where he'd been hit. Angrily, he grinded his teeth, then looked to several of the other teenage dragons.

"Don't just stand there! Get her!"

But nobody moved, instead looking between him and Yona. After a while, another of the dragons, a male, shrugged his shoulders, shaking his head at Garble.

"Dude, are you crazy? I ain't gonna mess with a girl like that!"

Garble, dismayed that he was going to get no help from the others, seethed at the sight of Yona, before starting to march towards her.

"Oh, you little punk! When I get my claws on you, I'm gonna...!"

"You're gonna do what, Garble?"

Garble froze after hearing the other voice, and he, like everyone else, turned to see that it was none other than Dragon Lord Ember herself. Though she looked far calmer than she usually did, there was still a steel to her eyes, especially when she looked to Garble. Stretching out her wings, she flew off the high rock she'd been standing on, landing right between Garble and the two students. Garble himself, seeing his leader right there in front of him, gulped.

"Oh! Dragon Lord! I was...er...just giving this little...um..."

Smolder rolled her eyes.

"Yak?"

"Right! That! I was just giving her a good Dragon Land welcome!"

Ember raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced.

"Leave...now."

Garble stepped forward, his voice pleading.

"But...but...but..."

However, Ember simply frowned at him further.

"Look, it's either you leave, or I teach you some proper manners. Which is it?"

Sweat rolling down his forehead, Garble turned tail and flew off, much to Ember's amusement.

"Yeah, that's what I thought."

She turned, looking to all the other teens.

"Alright, that's enough for one day. Now scram, all of you!"

Obediently, the other dragons flew off, leaving just the lord and the two students. Putting her claws on her hips, Ember let out an amused chuckle, then walked over to Yona.

"Well, you certainly made an impression."

She glanced over her shoulder.

"To Garble's stomach if nothing else."

The three enjoyed an expected laugh over that, and when it was over, Ember looked down to the one she had chosen to go to Equestria in the first place.

"So, I hear you gained quite the name for yourself down there, Smolder?"

The younger dragon took on a prideful look.

"Yeah, you could say that."

Ember smirked.

"Don't let it get to your head. But, I am happy you've done good over in Equestria. We wanted to show them that dragons could be their friends, and I'd say you've done a pretty good job of that."

Smolder smiled to her.

"It's been pretty great at the school. And Yona..."

She looked over to her companion.

"...has been a pretty good friend."

Yona smiled back, as indeed did Ember as she regarded the two.

"Well, if a dragon like Smolder says you're good, then you're okay by me, Yona."

Yona gave a quick bow of her head, and soon afterwards, she and Smolder watched as the leader of the dragons turned, ready to fly off again. Before she did so, however, she paused, looking back to Smolder.

"Oh, and Smolder?"

"Yeah?" the younger female asked.

Ember chuckled.

"Try not to have too many fire-breathing contests with Spike when you get back. Wouldn't be good to have one of our people be responsible for that school going up in smoke."

Smolder smirked right back, and watched as her leader began to fly off. As soon as she was gone, the two youths enjoyed the rare moment of quiet, save for the occasional bubbling of the lava pits nearby.

"So...welcome to the Dragon Lands, Yona," Smolder declared.

Smiling, Yona moved forward, embracing Smolder in one of her trademarked bone-crushing hugs.

"If friend-Smolder here, Dragon Lands is best place in world!"

Through the tight embrace, Smolder nevertheless smiled back to her.

"Yeah, yeah...it's good to have you here too."

There's no place like home, or so the old saying went. And for Sandbar, that statement was at the forefront of his mind as he and Ocellus returned from their trip to Canterlot. Ponyville, the place he had known all this life, somehow seemed so much warmer and more inviting now that he had been away from it, if only for a little while. He wondered to himself if this is what his other friends felt right now, having been separated from their own homes for far longer. He smiled as he considered that, very much looking forward to seeing them all again before the next semester began. But for now, he was content in being here, with his girlfriend. And speaking of whom, Sandbar now glanced back down to Ocellus, and the two shared an affectionate smile for one another, nuzzling each other in a clear display of young love, much to the delight of several passers-by. Lyra especially was holding back a massive "squee" at the sight, leading to a somewhat exasperated Bon-Bon having to lead her away before she did anything. So, most left the young couple alone, and they themselves continued to walk in silence. That is, until Sandbar finally looked upon one building in particular.

"Well...home sweet home."

Ocellus too looked on, seeing the small and unassuming house before her. Naturally, she made the same assumption anyone else would, and looked up to continue smiling sweetly at her close friend.

"Your home?"

Sandbar chuckled.

"Yeah...it's no Friendship Palace, but I wouldn't trade it for anything."

Ocellus leaned closer, giving him an affectionate nuzzle, eliciting the expected blush on Sandbar's part. When they parted, they continued smiling like the loveable doofs they were, before finally making their way over to the unassuming house. After taking a deep breath, Sandbar balled his hoof into a fist, then raised it and gave a gentle knock upon the door three times. At first, there was no answer, but then the sound of somebody could be heard on the other side. Eventually, the door opened, and there, standing before them, was an earth pony mare, with yellow fur and a short pink mane, who sported what looked like a seashell necklace. As soon as this older pony saw Sandbar, she gasped, and Sandbar chortled to this.

"Hey, Mom."

And so, in typical Motherly fashion, the mare rushed forward, embracing her son in a tight hug and fawning over him like she'd been apart from him for months.

"Oh! My little colt! Oh, I've missed you so much!"

Sandbar, somewhat embarrassed by this, especially given that he could see Ocellus holding back a snicker from it, chuckled through the embrace, giving his Mother a warm pat on the back as she continued to hug him.

"Yeah, I'm happy to see you too, Mom."

The mare finally released him, smiling affectionately at her briefly-absent son.

"Oh, you simply have to tell me everything about Canterlot!"

Then, it was here that she realised that Sandbar was not alone, and within moments, she and Ocellus were staring at one another.

"Um...I take it this is one of your friends, sweetie?"

Sandbar nodded, turning to his girlfriend.

"Mom...this is Ocellus."

The young Changeling, taking a step forward, gave a respectful bow of her head towards her boyfriend's Mother.

"A pleasure to meet you, Ma'am."

At the name "Ocellus", familiarity came to the mare's face, and her eyes widened a little. She turned to her son, and he, in turn, gave a happy nod.

"Yeah, this is her."

With her own wide smile now returning, Sandbar's Mother again rushed forward, taking Ocellus in a hug not dissimilar to what she'd just given her son.

"Oh! Aren't you just the sweetest little thing!"

Now Ocellus had been somewhat worried about this encounter. This was, after all, the first time she had ever actually met Sandbar's parents. As such, she had conjured up all manner of images on how this introduction would have gone. Indeed, some dark fears in her mind even made her worry that it might be a repeat of the day Sandbar introduced her to Comet. But no, Sandbar's Mother was greeting her with all the warmth and friendliness of family. Naturally, the young Changeling couldn't help but smile to this, and as she and Sandbar's Mother parted, she struggled to find the words.

"Th...thank you. I'm happy to be here."

Delighted at having finally met her son's girlfriend, the older mare stepped aside, allowing the two entry into the home. Sandbar, for his part, took in a deep breath from the air of his home, sighing soon afterwards in a clear sign of contentment. As they moved further into the house, however, they were soon greeted by an even more enthusiastic welcome.

"BROTHER!!!"

Instantly, Sandbar found himself receiving a cuddly assault by a small earth pony filly, whom Sandbar now looked down to with a soft smile.

"Hey, sis. Good to see you again."

The excited child grinned gleefully at her older brother, practically bouncing in place, clearly eager to have him back. Ocellus too smiled to this loving display, and then looked upwards, finally seeing the cosy and comfortable-looking main room of the house. It was definitely inviting, and warm, thanks in no small part to the roaring fire that was nearby. And a good thing too, given how chilly it had been in town when they returned. But, aside from Sandbar's sister, there was another pony here, and that was Sandbar's Father. The older stallion, who bore similar green and blue colouring to his son, albeit with varying shades and tones, saw the young couple enter, and promptly got up from his armchair.

"Sandbar! Good to have you home, son."

Sandbar himself chuckled, moving over to embrace his parent.

"Good to be home, Dad."

It was a tender moment, and before long, much like with Sandbar's Mother, his Father soon turned his gaze to Ocellus. Unlike the Mother, however, he didn't require any explanations as to who she was, as simply one look at her told him everything he needed. He smiled genuinely, walking forward and stretching out his hoof.

"And you must be Ocellus? Sandbar's told us a great deal about you. Welcome to our home."

Again, Ocellus was taken aback by the friendly reception she was getting, but she was still grateful for it, stretching out her own hoof and shaking the one the stallion had given her.

"Thank you, Sir."

The stallion chuckled.

"Please, don't call me Sir. I feel old enough as it is."

They all shared a laugh to that, and before long, Sandbar's sister, ever curious, walked up to Ocellus, staring at her with wide eyes. Ocellus, of course, was uncertain of how to take this, but while Sandbar himself was amused at her confusion, his Father, taking on a more serious look, leaned in closer to him, bringing his voice to a whisper.

"Sandbar. How did things go with...you know?"

Sandbar's smile faded, and he took a deep breath, allowing his memories of the event his Father spoke of to rise to his mind, and then pass away. Smiling again, he turned, giving his Father a pat on the shoulder before finally giving his answer.

"Things were...resolved."

No further details were given, but the older stallion could tell that, whatever difficulties his son had been through back in Canterlot, they were behind him now, leading to another warm smile between the two. Meanwhile, Ocellus was still preoccupied with the inquisitive filly who had taken such an interest in her, the latter of which now taking on a more excited tone as she spoke to her brother's girlfriend.

"Are you really a Changeling?"

Giggling nervously, Ocellus fumbled a bit.

"Well...um...yes?"

The filly smiled further.

"Is it true you can change into anything? Like a beaver? Or a butterfly?"

As before, Ocellus smiled to her, even reaching down and giving her a quick pat on the head.

"I can indeed. Would you like me to show you?"

The filly practically looked like she was going to burst with joy over that prospect, and even Sandbar's parents, who were both here now, seemed to be rather interested with that notion themselves. So, after getting a nod from Sandbar, Ocellus concentrated and, after a quick burst of Changeling magic, appeared before them as an identical copy of Sandbar himself.

"Ta-da!" she declared, before swiftly turning back into her original self.

The other earth ponies were quite impressed by that, and Sandbar's Mother was sure to voice that sentiment.

"Oh, that was simply marvellous! And such a polite girl, too!"

She winked at her son.

"My son certainly knows how to pick em!"

As expected, Sandbar blushed to this.

"MOM!!!"

But everyone simply laughed, even Sandbar after a time. When the laughter died down, Sandbar' Mother walked on over, placing her hoof onto Ocellus' shoulder.

"Now then, you must both be exhausted after your long journey. How about I get you some hot cocoa?"

Ocellus waved a hoof.

"Oh! I wouldn't want to impose!"

But Sandbar's Father let out a hearty laugh to that.

"Nonsense! You're a guest here! Please, enjoy!"

Ocellus, after glancing over at Sandbar, and seeing his shrug, sighed, then nodded back to the latter's Mother.

"In that case, I'd be delighted to have some!"

Sandbar's Mother smiled merrily to that, then made her way to the kitchen to prepare the promised drinks. As for the rest, they all went over to their respective chairs and sofas, with Sandbar's Father letting out a tired grunt as he sat down.

"Whoo-boy! What a time for you kids, eh?"

Sandbar chuckled.

"Yeah, it's been pretty...busy."

His Father chortled in response.

"Busy? Now there's an understatement if ever I heard one!"

After a short while, he exhaled, relaxing himself a little before looking to both his son and Ocellus.

"I am so proud of you, son. Your Mother and I always knew that you'd do well at that school...but to become a hero? Now that's something!"

Sandbar slowly developed into a warm smile, touched by his Father's words.

"...Thanks, Dad."

The older stallion nodded, then looked to Ocellus specifically.

"And you, Ocellus? You've been a good friend to my boy. I want you to know that you're always welcome here."

Ocellus too was similarly touched by those utterings, smiling sweetly to the other earth pony.

"Thank you. And believe me..."

She looked over to Sandbar, the two blushing as they stared into each others eyes.

"...I'm happy to have had a friend like Sandbar in my life."

Hearing that, Sandbar's Father smirked somewhat.

"A friend? Ha! I swear, you kids are like me and Sandbar's Mother back when we were your age. You just can't come right out and say it, can you?"

Again, the young couple blushed, much to The Father's amusement. In the meantime, Sandbar's sister soon waddled up to her brother, nudging him in the side of his leg and getting his attention.

"Yeah, sis?"

The little filly smiled innocently.

"Will you and Ocellus be getting married now?"

Immediately, the two gained blushes so bright and so red that they looked like overgrown tomatoes, which of course led to another roaring laugh on the part of Sandbar's Father.

"Well, my little girl, let's see how things go first! You can't rush romance, after all."

Now, Sandbar and Ocellus were still utterly overwhelmed with the admittedly innocent question the little sister had asked, but, thankfully for the two of them, they didn't have to dwell on it for very long. For it was right around that moment when, to the surprise of all there, there was a knocking on the door. Sandbar's Father, understandably, raised an eyebrow to it.

"Huh, who could that be?"

Sandbar, not wanting to have his Father get up over this, decided to move back into the entrance room himself, and as he reached the door and turned the knob, he stopped. There were noises he could hear on the other side, voices. And as the moments passed, he slowly smiled, as a look of recognition came to him. Without further delay, he opened the door, and greeted those on the other side with a happy smile.

"Hey, guys. Long time, no see."

Sure enough, Gallus, Silverstream, Smolder and Yona smiled right back, and as they began to enter their friend's home, Gallus in particular balled his claw into a fist and gave a quick "claw-hoof bump" to Sandbar.

"Hey, no way were we gonna start the semester without getting together again to hang out."

Sandbar chuckled, closing the door behind them, and before long he was leading all his friends back into the living room. Naturally, Sandbar's Father and sister were a little surprised at the unexpected guests, as indeed was Sandbar's Mother when she finally re-emerged from the kitchen door. But Ocellus, by contrast, was very happy to see them all, and rushed up from the sofa to give Yona a big hug, which the latter was more than eager to return. Sandbar, clearing his throat, gained his family's attention, and moments afterwards, he started to make introductions.

"Mom...Dad...sis...these are my friends."

He started pointing to each of them, speaking their names as he did so.

"Gallus...Silverstream...Yona...and Smolder."

The other students all gave a friendly wave to Sandbar's family, and shortly afterwards, the family smiled back, clearly welcoming of these youths into their home. Sandbar's sister, as was expected of her at this point, was exceptionally quick to run up to these strangers, looking to the likes of Yona and Smolder with great interest. They, in turn, were about as unsure as Ocellus when they first encountered her, but before long, they smiled to her, chatting with her over whatever questions she had for them. Sandbar's Mother, now realising she had more guests, retreated back to the kitchen to prepare more drinks, though Silverstream was kind enough to offer her some help in making them. Smiling, Sandbar looked out over his friends and family getting along so well, and a moment or two later, his Father was beside him, speaking to him gently.

"You're pretty lucky, son. You've got yourself some good friends here."

Looking back to the motley collection, Sandbar focused on each of them for a time, receiving a smile back in return, before finally settling on Ocellus, who both blushed and looked back to him lovingly. And as the moment set in for him, he nodded back to his Father, smiling to himself and speaking with pure contentment.

"Yeah...I really do."