The Bestest Best Gift Ever
The sun began to rise in Equestria, over Ponyville on a cold winter morning, shining onto the large blanket of snow covering the town. Most ponies still slept soundly, but there were a few early risers working on their farms, and a few others who had jobs that required an early rise, such as two avian residents.
One was Gallus, a bright blue griffon who worked as a second lieutenant for the Royal Guard at the Princess Twilight Sparkle’s Palace, in the nearby capital city of Canterlot. Having been trained for over a year at the Royal Guard Academy, he was accustomed to the early morning routines even with the hard work, calmly eating cereal whilst reading a newspaper to catch up on current affairs amongst the ponies.
The other was Silverstream, a bright pink hippogriff who worked as a teacher at Princess Twilight Sparkle’s School of Friendship north of Ponyville. Despite having prior experience as a teaching assistant for over a year, she remained unacquainted with the early morning routine needed to prepare for the full day of teaching, her eyes remained creased and darkened as they stared at a hot mug of dark coffee that kept her talons nice and warm.
Although Silverstream was able to (and could benefit) from an extra hour in bed, she felt more comfortable being awake just long enough for some relaxing time with her blue feathered companion. The two had been through a lot together, meeting as new students at School of Friendship, and remaining friends until Gallus went to the academy, where they became a long-distance couple.
They had only truly been together under one roof for a few months and given their lines of work, things developed slowly for the young lovebirds as a result. For the two of them, those early mornings were a sombre time to feel together, a calm before the chaos of their morning routine. It wasn’t until Gallus looked over to a clock on the far side of the living room to realise that chaos might begin sooner than later.
He dropped his newspaper, “Time for work!” he announced. He scoffed down the remains of his cereal before grabbing the bag containing his lunch and opening the front door, ready to fly off towards the mountain where Canterlot rested beside. The only thing preventing him was a set of pink talons grasping onto his shoulder.
Silverstream had sprung into action herself, “Oh Gally, before you go!” Gallus turned back around to face her. “Don’t forget to ask for time off, we’re going to Mount Aris to celebrate the holidays with my family.” Ah yes, the holidays. Ponies celebrated a holiday called Hearth’s Warming Eve, but other creatures had other occasions, the few that lived in Equestria travelled back to their home countries to spend time celebrating their own holidays.
Griffons would celebrate the Blue Moon Festival, but with Gallus, he wanted to spend as much time with his love. Hence, he’s off for the Three Days of Freedom Celebration with Silverstream. “Don’t worry Silver, I’ll talk to my captain.” As he mentally logged the task in his internal itinerary of the day, a particular detail about Silverstream’s home of Mount Aris caused a question to emerge. “Does your family know that we’re… you know?”
He pointed his index talon towards his chest and back at her, although not outright saying it, Silverstream got the hint. “Relax, I’ve told my family we’re dating, it’ll be fine” she reassured him. There was a brief relief on the griffon’s face, but as he was about to turn and leave, “Also! Don’t forget, it’s a three-day holiday!” another reminder was blurted out.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“And!” Silverstream stopped Gallus again, this time clutching his arm with both claws to keep him still. “On the third day, the whole family give each other gifts, so if you can get something for a special hippogriff…”
Gallus glanced to the side to see Silverstream happily shifting her shoulders, although not outright saying it, he got the hint so to reassure her, light-heartedly so. “Yeah yeah, I’ll get you something.”
“Oh, one more important thing!”
“What?” Gallus rolled his eyes and groaned impatiently, but when he turned around to face her once again, suddenly he was met face to face with a wide grinning Silverstream. The pair were so close that their breaks pressed hard against each other.
“I love you!”
Even for a trained military officer, Gallus was caught off guard. His cheeks turned a shade of rose and corners of his mouth were uncontrollably turning into a shaky smile. He could never get used to hearing her telling him those words, as sincere and heart-warming as they were, it melted him from the inside.
“I love you too.”
He leant forward just enough so their foreheads touched, they nuzzled for a whole minute, before finally letting go and off to Canterlot.
For the remainder of the morning, there was plenty to be done as an officer of the Royal Guard. There was weapons practice, ensuring the soldiers were ready for action, there were discussions amongst the other officers studying warfare strategy and revising the routines on patrol and inspecting the grounds.
Fortunately, Gallus managed to get the word of approval from his captain to have the time off needed to travel and enjoy the holidays. There was just one more task on his mind, finding a present for Silverstream.
At the first free moment he had, he left the palace to peruse the various stalls and tables in the shopping district and main square of Canterlot city, inadvertently making him a curious sight amongst the local ponies as he wore his armour. Buying a gift for the holidays would be easy, a lot of things in the city are pricey, but are much fancier given the higher standard of living amongst its denizens.
Lots of designer and practical wares were on sale, he could buy her a dress or some jewellery, although either was way above his pay grade. There were cakes, Silverstream had a sweet tooth, although confectionery wouldn’t last long, especially on the first day of celebration that’s entirely underwater. There was a comic book shop that he recalled was cool, but he had to remind himself that comics was his and Sandbar’s thing, not even a collectable comic would be the right gift.
“What to buy? What to buy?”
It was whilst walking down one of the streets when he was met with an orange female dragon with purple webbed hair who swooped down to stand in front of him. His face lit up upon recognition of one of his other friends from the School of Friendship.
“Sup Gallus” she greeted him.
“Smolder! Hey! What are you doing in Canterlot?”
“Meeting up with Spike” Smolder answered, referring to the Princess’ Royal Advisor and Friendship Ambassador to the Dragon Lands, “making plans since we’re gonna hang out at the Feast of Fire.” She noticed Gallus’ Royal Guard uniform. “What about you? Aren’t you supposed to be guarding the Palace?”
“I’m on break, using the time to buy something.”
A direct answer, but one that rose Smolder’s suspicion. “You’re buying something out here, when buying literally anything would be cheaper back in Ponyville?” She smirked, figuring out in an instant what Gallus was doing. “Okay then, what are you getting her?”
The griffon sighed and proceeded to explain.
“Silverstream and I are going to Mount Aris for the Three Days of Freedom celebration, on the last day her family give out gifts, and I’m buying something for her. It’s not only easier to buy something here while she’s working at the School of Friendship to avoid her finding out, but I know I can get something special here too.”
“How sweet of you…” Smolder remarked sardonically, holding her hands with claws intertwined and pressing them up against her cheek.
“However,” Gallus cut in, a sharp glare pointed from his eyes towards the teasing display, “I don’t know what to get her…”
The orange dragon tilted her head, “Really? Shouldn’t be too hard to get her something she likes” she assumed. “We’ve all been friends for years and you two are finally dating…”
“Yeah, you think that, but Silverstream likes almost everything.”
Smolder was more confused, “...that’s a bad thing because?”, she rolled the claws on her hand to expect a solid answer.
“It’s not bad, it’s something I wish I have, that optimism and excitement over anything.” It was the opposite of Gallus, his rough and neglected upbringing, combined with the tough military ordeal to get the job he dreamt of left him cynical and downtrodden. Even with friends at the School of Friendship, it would have been a dark existence had it not been for the ray of sunshine Silverstream was.
“That’s why I love being around her, she makes me want to be happy. I don’t want to get her something that she just likes, but something that’s special, something that’s special about us… but when whatever Silverstream constantly thinks something new is the best thing ever, how am I supposed to buy a gift that I can predict she’d think will be the best gift ever days in the future.”
“And I thought Ocellus overthought things…” Smolder quipped, referring to a certain book bug friend of theirs.
“You gonna help me, or continue to act snarky during my break time?”
Smolder snickered but raised her arms to stop herself. “Alright Romeo, I’ll help. Might not be the best gift-giver, but I know a trick.” Smolder got up close and rested both her hands on the griffon’s shoulder. “First, close your eyes…”
“This isn’t a prank, is it?” the sceptical Gallus asked.
“Just shut up and do what I say, officer!” she snapped back. Gallus groaned back, but if he needed a gift, and was curious of what Smolder's plan was. He calmly closed his eyelids, leaving him dark and vulnerable to whatever Smolder had in store. “Now imagine that you’re Silverstream, right here, right now, looking at something she wants during the holidays. If you’re Silverstream, what do you really, really, want to get this year?”
As Gallus continued to remain relaxed and alone with his thoughts, a smile and an uncontrollable hum emerged as he pictured flying around the city in full speed, browsing window after window of the businesses, every item seemed to glow as the whole world was vibrant and full of life. Everything within sight was fun and begging to be held or worn, he felt the urge to sing and dance on the spot, or just soar through the sky and go through the clouds.
Eventually, Gallus opened his eyes, his pupils shrunk to readjust to the light, but as Smolder came into focus, it was as if he had a sense of clarity and a new perspective that he had previously never experienced before.
“Well?” Smolder queried, anticipating an idea to come to Gallus.
“I got nothing.”
Smolder fumed. “OH, COME ON!” Even smoke shot out of her nostrils. “YOU’RE NOT EVEN TRYING!”
“I am!” he rebutted, “I imagined I was Silverstream in this shopping district and sure enough, everything looked amazing, so amazing I couldn’t decide on any one thing! We’re talking about the hippogriff who days after we first met was fascinated by stairs, and then later fascinated by plumbing, posters, painting, popcorn, not to mention that one time she really got into the saxophone.”
Smolder remained frustrated, it felt so obvious to her if only she could ram the advice into the griffon's round skull, just buy anything. As long as it was from him, Silverstream would be over the moon and being all huggsy and schmaltzy until he’d suffocate because she would believe it was special. But alas, Gallus was stubborn in his struggle.
“If she was here with us, right now, this is what would happen.” As Gallus prepared his scenario, he twisted his head from side to side, panning down the current street to find an ideal shop to use as an example.
When he caught sight of a colourful shop window, he loudly gasped with his beak wide over with joy, only his claws could hold together his unexpected delight. “LOOK AT THIS!” he exclaimed in a high-pitched effeminate voice, before leaping towards the window to press his beak right against the glass.
“THIS PLACE SELLS COLOURED GLASS ART; WE DON’T HAVE THAT UNDERWATER! THEY’RE SO BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL AND ARE SHAPED INTO BOWLS, VASES, PICTURE FRAMES, FIGURINES, AND JEWELRY!”
Smolder wasn’t sure whether to laugh at Gallus’ on-point impression of Silverstream’s jubilant wonder or show a level of concern that Gallus had lost his mind.
"YOU CAN EVEN ASK FOR SOMETHING CUSTOM MADE! I COULD EVEN GET SOMETHING THAT I COULD WEAR ON MY-"
Suddenly, Gallus paused, his face froze in a wide-eyed shock. There was an uncomfortable silence as Smolder wondered whether Gallus had finally landed on an idea of a gift, or he went so insane that his mind had finally cracked.
“...wear on your what?” she asked cautiously. Without skipping a beat, Gallus opened the door and dashed into the shop, he finally had a gift idea, even if it meant leaving Smolder confused and annoyed out in the middle of the street.
“Uh, you’re welcome?!”
After days of waiting, and a long voyage of the train, the feathered pair were in Mount Aris. The two got to meet up with Silverstream’s parents Sky Beak and Ocean Flow, as well as her younger brother Terramar, and enjoy a fun-filled holiday together.
On the first day of freedom, hippogriffs and sea-ponies celebrate underwater, to thank the ocean for protecting them from the wrath of the Storm King. Although Gallus spent half the day getting the hang of his feline paws being replaced with the fins of a fish, he fit in as a sea-gryphon amongst sea-ponies for sea dancing, whale singing, shell stringing... there were a lot of “ing”s to do.
The second day was on Mount Aris itself to celebrate the defeat of the Storm King. The birds got to fly over and around the peak while enjoying the sky dancing. There was also a wind song in the Harmonizing Heights, and while he got to listen to Silverstream’s serenade, he held back on singing himself on account of relaxing his voice after an incredible show at the screeching competition.
Then there was the third day, where Gallus got to meet the extended family at the Mount Aris Royal Palace. Silverstream tended to overhype, but she was not kidding about how extended her family was. As he arrived with Silverstream, her parents and brother, there were grandparents, uncles, aunts, acquaintances, neighbours, and cousins, lots of cousins.
There must have been fifty or so hippogriffs of all sizes and colours, it was theoretically impossible for a creature to have this many family members. Granted, Gallus had no family prior to meeting Silverstream and their friends, he just had to cope with being overwhelmed.
The main hall was illuminated by the sky shimmering against the stained windows depicting the battle to reclaim the island from the Storm King, with cats, pirates, Princess Twilight Sparkle, Twilight’s friends, as well as Silverstream’s eldest cousin Skystar who felt particularly proud of the moment, even though she was “sooo grounded” from it (according to Silverstream at least).
Although nothing garnered more attention than the host, a tall regal bright pink hippogriff, she greeted adults with grace and kindness, and children with fun and joy, and the family reciprocated with respect. The attention that orbited around her felt familiar to one of Princess Twilight’s guards, not only for being the host of the celebration, and as Silverstream’s aunt, but also the ruler of the hippogriffs and the sea-ponies, Queen Novo.
As the sunny sky began to fade, and family members talked amongst themselves, Queen Novo took to the centre of the hall. “Okay everyone” she proclaimed, the volume of the room faded to silence, “I think it’s time for what all the young ones have been waiting for.” Presumably what came next was what some of the adults had been waiting for, as Silverstream was grinning wide and running on the spot.
“Now who here wants the first present?”
Hippogriff guards carried out stacks of wrapped boxes to the middle of the hall, and Queen Novo picked a box to give out to the younger relatives one by one. The young griffs gathered around the tall gift giver, their outstretched talons making grabbing motions to take the next present to enjoy the toy or tools inside.
Yet Gallus just let those kids have their fun, he reached under his wing to get out something more important, his gift to Silverstream. It was encased in a small thin envelope, wrapped colourfully by the shopkeep in Canterlot. He knew it would be the best gift Silverstream would ever receive, he knew it would be perfect for her. After a deep breath, he was ready to give it to her, yet strangely she was out of sight.
After panning around the room, his ears perked up at the sound of a loud yet familiar gasp of surprise, as Silverstream was in the air within arm’s reach of Queen Novo. “A new necklace!” she shouted in shocked jubilation, before lunging into Queen Novo for a hug.
“Aw, thankyouthankyouthankyou!”
“Aw you’re welcome” replied Queen Novo, accustomed to her overexcited niece’s love and affection. “Auntie always likes her girls to look their best, especially if they're representing her hippogriffs and sea-ponies.”
Silverstream quickly flew back towards Gallus to show off her new gift from her regal aunt, it was a pearl necklace. She was already wearing a simple yet nice one with a thick purple thread holding two round light blue pearl beads and a magic pale orchid pearl in the middle. However, this new necklace was exquisite, carrying an array of dark purple pearl beads along a thick blue thread, a gap remained in the middle that was perfect for her magic pearl to sit in.
The shine and immaculate detail alone gave the impression that it was worth a fortune, way beyond what Gallus could ever pay for at least.
“Gally! Check out what Aunt Novo got me, isn’t it the best gift ever?!”
Gallus returned a morose smile, “Yeah, it looks great…” he hastily returned his tiny present to the inside of his wing to remain hidden.
Observing with a raised eyebrow, Queen Novo followed up with her next gift. “Now speakin’ of, I have a present for Gallus, too.” This caused Gallus to raise his eyebrows, he didn’t expect to receive a gift himself. With an elbow nudge of encouragement from Silverstream, Gallus slowly approached the Queen, who had a small box in her talons waiting for him.
“I’ll admit, getting something that you’d like was a unique challenge, to say the least." professed Queen Novo "But as an honourable guest I hope you welcome the effort.”
When Gallus opened the box, he welcomed it wholeheartedly. It was a wristwatch, its strap made of segments of gold and silver while it was black with white and gold numbering and markers. Behind its crystal window were sharp hands, and near the centre were smaller subdials for additional measurements beyond time. “Woah, this looks incredible” he uttered under his breath, his eyes glistened at the pristine quality that enticed his appeal for shiny valuables.
“Luckily, you’re in the military too” the royal hippogriff added, “General Seaspray told me officers need something to track the time, even underwater.”
Lowering his head to bow, Gallus offered his gratitude. For Queen Novo, it was onto the last event of the three days of freedom celebration.
“Now, who wants to party?”
It was the evening, the night sky glistened peacefully above the mountain, but in the palace, it was party time. A full quartet played music while beams of light shone down onto the palace floor, hippogriffs were dancing on the ground and in the sky, some swinging and some dancing slow.
Plenty of brothers, sisters, and couples were having a wonderful time together. Gallus on the other claw was standing by the side, he liked the sights and sounds, but his mind was busy with what remained on his claws.
It was the wrapped envelope that carried Silverstream’s present, the small and tacky package that all hopes to gift was dashed. He felt disappointed that he didn’t get anything nicer or more expensive, not that he could compete with a literal Queen in terms of giving gifts. It was probably a good idea he kept it hidden, thinking of the humiliation of showing it to her in front of her entire family.
“Oh Gally~” a familiar eager hippogriff cooed, Gallus puffed up in surprise and swiped the envelope behind his back as he turned to face Silverstream. She looked as gleeful as ever wearing her brand new expensive necklace and had a small white box in a neat red bow held firmly in her outstretched claws. “I have something for youuuuu!”
Unsure at first, Gallus looked at the gift drawing ever closer to him, urging it to be opened. With his unoccupied claw, he reached out and pulled the ribbon, unfurling the bow. As it came loose, the box opened, revealing Silverstream’s gift to him.
It was a snow globe, with a tiny mountain inside. Upon picking it up, the motions caused thick white glitter to shake around inside, giving the appearance of snow falling back down to the surface. The scene felt serene as the vision of snow falling on top of the mountain felt familiar to him, however, that was not all that felt familiar to him.
As he inspected it closer, at the peak of the mountain was a small white tree, its branches stretched outwards to catch some of the flakes of snow. The sight of that little tree warmed his heart and caused him to smile for the first time since the third day began, reminding him of what he missed the most of his old life, before joining the Royal Guard, before the Academy, and before the School of Friendship.
“This is amazing…” he said with calm content.
“Aw, I’m glad you think so!” Silverstream chirped with satisfaction, “I spent ages looking around Ponyville while you were at work to find something special for you” she explained, in almost a parallel to Gallus’ struggle to find the right gift. “I even asked for the little tree to be added so it felt a little more like your old home.”
“Yeah, I love it,” responded Gallus, his eyes glistened in awe from the beauty of nostalgia encased in the glass orb. “Thanks, Silver.”
As Gallus was happily distracted by the snowy scene inside the snow globe, shaking it periodically to bring back the snow like a child, Silverstream tilted to one side to notice Gallus still had his other claw firmly behind his back. “Soooo is there something behind your back that’s for me?” she playfully asked, swaying side to side with her arms imitating his Griffon partner as she curiously suspected he was hiding something.
In a flash, Gallus quickly returned to reality, and in a panic quickly moved the snow globe behind his back. “Nope! Just the snow globe!” He hurriedly responded, nervously grinning in the hope that she didn’t ask further.
It failed spectacularly, causing Silverstream to raise an eyebrow and smirk. “Are you sure?” she sceptically questioned, moving closer to the griffon, and leaning further around his shoulder. “I swear I saw a little something with my name on it…”
“No, you didn’t!” Gallus snapped as he turned away.
Silverstream persisted “Yes, I did.” She giggled and proceeded to turn around, which lead to Gallus performing another quick turn to evade her grasp. This display repeated again, and again, and again. From the perspective of her relatives looking on, Silverstream appeared to be dancing with Gallus as they twirled and flew around each other in time to a funky and upbeat tune, even the hippogriff wrapping an arm over and around her shoulder.
After a while of this improvised comedic routine, Silverstream finally snatched the envelope gift from Gallus’ claws. “There it is!” she proclaimed in victory.
Still in a nervous panic, Gallus winced. “Wait! Don't open it!” Silverstream tilted her head in confusion at the question, so Gallus shakily tried to rationalise his worries into words. “I mean, I got it for you, but you might not like it, it sucks. It’s nothing like that necklace Queen Novo got you…”
Silverstream saw this downtrodden griffon and remembered the necklace she was given, realising his agitation. “Gally, that’s silly” she rebuked, lifting his chin so he could see her comforting smile with his eyes. “Nothing is gonna be better than a gift from you.”
“You sure about that?”
“Well, I’m just as sure as to when I saw your reaction to my snow globe compared to the watch Aunt Novo gave you.”
Although ready to answer back, Gallus paused to think for a moment, before looking down at the snow globe within his other claw. The thought reminded him that he had been wearing his new wristwatch the whole time, he knew he liked it and appreciated what Queen Novo gave him, but he also felt something more special with the snow globe.
It might not have been as expensive or fancy, but it reminded him of what he loved, and he knew it was more special because of the special hippogriff from where it came from.
“Huh… didn’t think of that.”
Happy to see Gallus comfortable and no longer downcast or in a panic, Silverstream proceeded to open the envelope. After cutting an opening in the top, she slowly pulled out to reveal what it was inside. It was a pendant made of coloured glass, depicting a blue and a pink bird with wings overlapping in a warm embrace that resembled a love heart. The pendant shimmered as the light of the palace and the stars bounced against its smooth surface, like the glimmer in Silverstream’s eyes.
“Yeah, I found a shop in Canterlot that does glass art and asked to make something for your old necklace,” explained Gallus, rubbing the back of his neck. “It probably looks corny and si- “
Before he could finish his sentence, Gallus was pounced on by the joyful pink hippogriff. “Ohmigosh this is so beautiful! This is perfect for my necklace!” she exclaimed with tears in her eyes, repeatedly kissing and nuzzling the griffon who was now smothered by her as they lay on the ground. “This must be the bestest best gift ever!”
Despite being smothered with love, Gallus didn’t mind, he made Silverstream happy. “Glad you love it, Silver.” In the end, it made them happy, as they continued their loving embrace. It took a while for Gallus to be aware that they were still in a palace around other hippogriffs.
When he did, his eyes went anxiously wide, and he leant in close to Silverstream who remained in blissful, happily ignorance to the current situation. “Uh, Silver?” he whispered. “I think your family is looking at us.”
“That’s okay” Silverstream whispered back, undeterred from her continued nuzzling and cuddling, “my parents and my brother won’t mind.”
Yet based on the scene he was witnessing, Gallus remained unconvinced. “Okay… but what about the rest of your family?” The hippogriff answered with what could be a silent freak out, Silverstream’s eyes stretched wide, and she shot upwards to sit upright on top of Gallus’ body.
As she panned the room, there were hippogriffs either still in the air or stood firmly on the ground watching them, their eyes completely wide with shock, even all her younger cousins had their eyes covered by their parents.
“You did make sure your ENTIRE family knew about us, right?” Gallus asked Silverstream, hoping for a nod of approval, but Silverstream just remained motionless and red in the face.
The only hippogriff who instead of disbelief, saw the sight as an amusing revelation, was Queen Novo. For her niece, her smirk didn’t feel positive in the slightest, there was a strong sense that Silverstream was in trouble.
“Well, well, well, Silverstream. Did you bring your secret lover, or did you learn things at that friendship school that I'm not aware of, hmm?”
Author's Note
Considering I was given an assignment for Jack of a Few Trades, who wanted a Gallus and Silverstream story, "Romance would be strongly appreciated, but not required!", I hope I didn't disappoint.
And yeah, I left it on a bit of a cliffhanger, couldn't help myself. If anyone wants a follow-up, I'll consider it.
Happy holidays everyone!
