The Rise of Passion

When Trixie arrived at the train station, Gallus was already waiting. "Are you also going to the Crystal Empire?" he smirked.

"Starlight is there," answered Trixie. "Trixie needs to talk to Starlight about this separation. We shall save the details for later."

Gallus snorted and helped her with her bags as the train arrived at the station. He only had a small travel pack, after all.

Unbeknownst to both of them, among the crowd, two completely separate and independent entities were following them. Trixie showed no reaction to their presence, but Gallus could feel their eyes on him. He didn't know from where, but the discomfort he felt was going to make this a long train ride.

"We're being watched," he whispered to Trixie after ten minutes into the ride, pointing out the window.

Trixie followed his claw. "I don't see anything," she whispered back. "Are they behind the mountains?"

"Somewhere on the train. They hopped on at the same time as us. I don't know who or where, but they've been watching us this whole time."

Trixie furrowed her brow. "Why aren't you looking for them?"

"Because they're watching. They'll see me coming. So, here's the plan: you go right to Starlight. I'll stop off at Stellar's place and find out whether they're following me, you, or both. I'll join you tonight."

Trixie nodded and turned around to sit normally in her seat. "Now, you were telling Trixie about your studies in proper lock design?" she asked in her normal speaking voice.

Gallus stayed in Stellar Flare's living room for a few hours, listening to the mare gushing about how great her son was. On request, she said nothing of Cozy Glow, but after ten minutes, Gallus was pretty tired of hearing how great Sunburst was.

"Even now, he's staying here in town and teaching several students."

Gallus yawned. "Yeah, I heard they come in beige now..." He really didn't care, he just needed to vaguely pretend that he was taking part in the conversation as he looked out the window.

"Why, there he is now!"

As indicated, Sunburst was walking up the street. Gallus perked up, glad to see that Starlight had sent somepony to collect him.

To their surprise, though, he stopped at a corner and poked his head in. He looked like he was talking to somepony.

"I wonder who that could be that stopped him," commented Stellar. "A student of his, perhaps?"

With a laugh, Sunburst grabbed the hidden pony and pulled him into a hug.

"Sandbar?!"

"Oh, you know him, too?"

Gallus growled. "He's supposed to be in Ponyville, studying..."

Wrapping his hoof around Sandbar's shoulder, Sunburst pulled him up to the house and walked in. "Hey, Gallus, look who I just ran into!"

Sandbar blushed and tried to hide his face.

Gallus folded his claws. "Sandbar. Did you follow me all the way out here?"

Sandbar nodded slowly. "It was decided between everyone in our study group that, since we don't want a, um... "team of three" without teacher supervision, that I would be excluded from the group, seeing as you and I had some prior experience."

"So, you followed me."

"I kept meaning to tell you, but you weren't ever alone."

"You could have asked me to step aside."

"I'm not very good at this "being in a relationship" stuff. I didn't want to distract you, so I was waiting for a time when you didn't look busy."

"Well, you're in luck!" beamed Stellar Flare. "My son is the best teacher you could hope for. In fact, he trained royalty. He spent the whole summer tutoring Princess Flurry!"

"Mom!" scolded Sunburst. "I'm sure their teacher is just fine. I'm not about to interrupt their studies, that could be confusing."

Gallus sighed. "I suppose there's nothing for it. You can join me tonight for dinner, and I'll help you study. But no more sneaking up on me, okay? If you need to say something to me, just walk right up and say it. Or, if you want to keep it private, ask me to step away for a moment. Okay?"

Sandbar nodded.

"See?" smirked Sunburst. "They didn't even need my help."

Wrapping his claw around Sandbar's shoulders, Gallus escorted his friend to the palace. Having special permission from Starlight, they joined her for dinner, after which they adjourned to Gallus's suite. "You have your own room here at the palace?" asked Sandbar, looking around.

"I did a lot of close work with Starlight over the break," he explained. "Originally, I was working in Canterlot, but then I was transferred up here. Not long after, Starlight took control, and since she was already familiar with me, and there was a lot of trust between us, she brought me right up to the top. Having a reputation for being very protective really paid off."

"So you're going to be coming up here more often?"

"Probably. We should follow up on our studies, though."

A panting mess, Sandbar collapsed on the bed. He and Gallus had tried a few new things, with Gallus trying very hard not to exhaust himself. "Why don't you have a nap?" he insisted, tucking Sandbar into the bed. "I have to go to my meeting, now."

Sandbar nodded, soon passing out. As soon as Gallus was sure he was asleep, he took the secret passage down into the dungeon.

Cadance greeted him with a big, dumb smile. "Welcome, Gallus. Right this way!"

He didn't need a guide, but having Cadance guide him was enjoyable. She'd had her tail cut short, and there were red lines across her flank, indicating where she had been whipped. A jeweled plug sat firmly squeezed between her arse cheeks, and she kept winking at him. If he hadn't just drained his balls twice into Sandbar, he'd have been really bothered by it.

"There he is," groaned Cozy when he came in. She was sitting on top of Shining's head, jumping off as soon as Gallus walked in. "What took you so long?"

"I was distracted," answered Gallus. "I can't very well come down here if Sandbar's following me. I had to wait for him to pass out, first. I'm here, now. Sandbar and our other friends are coming along nicely. Trixie and I are preparing them for the plan. Now, what's the next step?"