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."

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