"It's... Gallus."

Sandbar had barely managed to say it above a whisper, and he was now desperately waiting for some kind of reaction from Headmare Twilight or Princess Cadance.

The Princess of Love shot her sister-in-law an inquisitive glance, and she picked up on it immediately.

"He's our griffon student enrolled from Griffonstone." Twilight told her.

"I see." Cadance replied, walking up to Sandbar, who was nearly shivering again. "I can only assume that this is the first time you've come out?" She gently asked Sandbar, who swallowed the lump in his throat, and slowly nodded.

Sandbar wasn't really sure what to expect next, but he figured it wasn't going to be a gentle hug from the guest speaker.

"Then allow me to be the first to say congratulations. Do you feel any better?" Cadance asked, releasing the earth pony from her brief embrace and sat in front of him.

"Yeah... Yeah, a little bit. Thanks, Princess." Sandbar replied, managing to smile up at her.

"I can certainly see why you say it's complicated." Twilight commented. "I know Equestrian culture has become much more tolerant of same sex relationships in recent years, but I'm not sure whether or not the same can be said of Griffon culture."

Sandbar nodded in agreement.

"Honestly, Headmare Twilight, I'm not really worried about how Griffonstone feels about it, I'm... I'm worried about how he feels about it."

"I'd say that's a step in the right direction." Cadance began. "Love is love, remember that. It's understandable that you're worried about what he'll think, but it's either take the leap, or do nothing."

"You and Gallus have become very good friends over the school year." Twilight added. "If Gallus is as good a friend as you think he is, do you really think he'd turn his back if you tell him how you've grown to feel?"

"Honestly, yes, Princess. That's exactly what I'm afraid of." Sandbar replied. "If I tell him how I feel, even if he doesn't disown me... If he doesn't feel the same way, that confession would always be there, hanging like a cloud over our friendship forever." Sandbar lamented.

"Mm," Princess Cadance acknowledged his fears. "It's an understandable fear, Sandbar, but one that I think is worth overcoming. Most couples out there have had to take that risk at one point or another. I'm not saying you have to outright pour your heart out and leave absolutely no chance to save face. But you are going to need some kind of an icebreaker. Based on the time of year it is, might I suggest a box of chocolates?"

Sandbar put a hoof to his chin in thought. A box of chocolates wouldn't be hard at all to find, especially this time of year, it wasn't absolutely positively the be-all end-all "I love you" message; candy was quite a common gift between friends, but it could certainly be enough to get the conversation going.

"Yeah, yeah I'm pretty sure I have enough spare bits for that." Sandbar replied, referring to the monthly allowance each student was given outside of the room and meals the school provided. "Thanks for listening, Your Highnesses." He said, giving them a short bow.

"Best of luck, Sandbar." Cadance answered, with Twilight also giving him an encouraging smile.

His mind made up, Sandbar turned and headed for the front exit. It was early afternoon, and he had candy to go buy in Ponyville.

"Well, well," Cadance commented as Twilight finished the last of her paperwork once Sandbar was out of sight. "I think your School of Friendship has started to produce students that could be more than friends."

"Yeah, and I don't think I wrote up any guidelines for that..." Twilight mused, flipping through lesson plans for Monday.

"Well, now might be the time for that." Cadance suggested.

"Still, I wonder how Gallus will react. Rainbow may be more forward than most, but she's right; griffons aren't exactly the most social of creatures."

"Well, no doubt your school has done some good."

"No doubt. Just a couple months ago, Gallus pulled a prank right before the holiday break. He doesn't have any immediate family back home, so he didn't want to go home. After that came to light, the other five decided to stay with him over the break." Twilight recalled, gathering her shuffled papers on her desk and stacked them in the far corner before she started packing up her saddlebags to depart for the day. "Alright, I think that just about wraps things up—"

Twilight was interrupted by another knock on her door, and looked up to see a cerulean griffon in the doorway.

"Good afternoon, Gallus. What can I do for you?" She asked, indirectly letting Cadance know that this was the griffon in question.

Gallus walked into the office, tail flicking nervously, as he approached the desk.

"Well, I had a question for Princess Cadance that didn't really seem too related to her lecture, so I didn't wait around in the lecture hall."

"Seems you're a popular Princess down here, maybe we should switch places." Twilight teased.

"How can I help, Gallus?" Cadance said, after giving Twilight a smirk.

"Well, you see... I... I think, maybe, that one of my friends might be... Attracted to me."

Most stores and markets in Ponyville were holding Hearts and Hooves Day sales, or selling specialty items for the holiday that they normally didn't carry, so Sandbar certainly had his share of options to pick from. Now he just needed to select the right one.

He was about to step into the out-the-door line to Sugarcube Corner, one of Ponyville's most popular confectioneries by far, when he noticed something in his peripheral vision; a similar shop across the square.

The sign read: Gustav le Grand's Delightful Desserts.

Sandbar remembered Gustav from one of Professor Pinkie's friendship lessons. The griffon baker had entered Canterlot's National Dessert Competition, and due to events that had happened on the way there, he had decided to combine his expertise with that of the other Ponyville entrants, and went on to collectively win the competition.

Sugarcube Corner's offerings might be a tad cheaper, but maybe it would mean a little more if his gift came from patronizing a griffon-owned shop.

He stepped inside, and took in the surroundings. It was noticeably smaller than Sugarcube's interior, and the decor was decidedly more posh.

"Hello, and welcome to Delightful Desserts. Can I help you make a selection today?" The earth mare cashier greeted him. No doubt Gustav was away from the shop, most likely in his much busier bakery in Canterlot for the holiday weekend.

Sandbar gave the mare cashier a smile, and approached the display case next to the register, and looked at the red, heart-shaped boxes of chocolates. Most were a variety of cream-filled, bite sized assorted candies. He remembered that over Hearth's Warming break, Gallus had mentioned that since coming to school in Ponyville, he had taken a liking to caramel-filled candies. All of the heart-shaped boxes were a variety of flavors. He looked at the price sticker on the front of the glass case and saw that a custom-filled box was an additional cost. Doing so would take nearly his entire month's worth of bits.

"Yes, can I get a box of just caramel filled chocolates?" Sandbar asked. The cashier rung him up, and he set his bag of bits on the counter, and dug out three silver pieces, and five gold pieces; 35 bits, out of the 50 he had for the month. The transaction complete, the cashier grabbed an empty heart box and walked back to the chilling racks, carefully placing 40 pieces of caramel chocolates into glassine paper cups, and expertly arranged them into the box, putting the lid securely on, and quickly tied a red silk ribbon into a bow on top.

"And here you are. Enjoy, and have a happy Hearts and Hooves Day!"

Thanking the mare, Sandbar exited the shop with his purchase, and headed back towards the school, now wondering about the next, and probably hardest part; when to give these to Gallus?

Author's Note

Well well, quite an enthusiastic start here from all of you. This was added to over 280 bookshelves in the first couple days.

Here's hoping I can meet your expectations.

Thanks for reading!

-Miles