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?"

Next Chapter: Yakyakistan Estimated time remaining: 48 Minutes