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."

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