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."

Next Chapter: Jealousy Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 27 Minutes