The Rise of Passion

Over the course of the next week, Gallus had been talking with Twilight at every opportunity she gave him. He'd confessed his personal admiration for her, making her aware that coming to this school had vastly improved his life, and he wouldn't trade his experience for anything. In turn, she confided in him her fear that having so many ponies between Cozy and herself was causing her more fear than if she were facing Cozy directly. If Cozy just had her, she thought, nopony else would have to come to harm. Of course, she wasn't about to give herself over, and Gallus had promised that he would not let Cozy touch her.

They had generated a decent amount of rapport over time, much faster than he had done with Applejack. Twilight didn't fight him, even giving him permission to stand guard while she was in the bathroom. She'd even called him in once, shouting for him as somepony was rattling the door, but it had just been a student who'd been holding it for too long and was desperate to access a toilet. She'd even gone into the lavatories with him when it was late at night and she didn't want to be left alone.

One night, as they were having dinner, she looked over to his plate. They were having bean burgers, and Gallus had brought a sealed bottle of wine. "Is meat good?" she asked. "I know it's not for ponies, but you eat it all the time. I have to wonder what it's like."

Gallus looked up from his plate. She looked to be genuinely curious. "I suppose. I mean, I could live without it, given another source of protein, but... It's kind of a controversial subject back in Griffinstone. Some gryphons have stated that, since we are now allied with Equestria, we should cut down on our meat intake because it upsets our friends. Others claim that Equestria's acceptance of us neither forces nor encourages us not to eat meat, and we can just do as we please."

"And where do you fall on that argument?"

Gallus smirked. "If Applejack had asked me that question, I'd think for sure she was trying to start a fight." He took a deep breath. "If I'm being completely honest, I can go either way. I like meat, but if you asked me not to eat it, I can be okay with these black bean burgers, at least for a while."

Twilight's skin crawled a bit. Her opinion and intent were very different sometimes, and she had been seriously considering having some meat items added to the menu exclusively for the more predatory creatures. There had been a call for it with the dragons and gryphons, but alternatives had been provided with Fluttershy's concerns and Applejack's urging. With them out of the picture, while Twilight wasn't wanting to step on their hooves, she wondered if perhaps there was something missing for the remaining students.

"I know some of the students have left the school to hunt," she acknowledged. "I'm remiss to reprimand them for it unless they actually cause damages to somepony's livelihoods, which, to my knowledge, they haven't, but I'm wondering if that's because they're not being treated properly."

Gallus nodded along. "I used to be one of those students before this fiasco. Every second Saturday, pop out to the Everfree Forest. Some nice, heavy stoats out there, if you know where to look. Go to the local firepit by the lake where most ponies roast marshmallows and just cook it up. It's a little bit of a gamble, and not exactly the safest thing for students to be doing, but with a bit of salt, it's not half bad."

"Is it not safe?"

Gallus chuckled, turned around, and exposed the back of his thigh. He exposed a lot more, too, fluttering the tip of his wing to push his musk toward her. "This scar, here, is from being harpooned two years ago."

"I remember the bandage you wore. You were limping all over the place."

Gallus nodded and kept his furry balls on full display. "I tackled a rabbit with my claws at the exact same time that a different student launched a spear at it. I was angry at first, but they had me patched up and we had a good laugh about it later."

"You're not..." Twilight trailed off, the scent of him washing over her mind. "You're not too upset with them, are you?"

Gallus returned to his seat and shook his head. "It was an accident, and it was years ago. I still see them around from time to time. They're not a bad dragon, merely a bad shot."

"I smell," nodded Twilight. "See! I meant see! I see!"

Gallus smiled as she blushed. She was cute when she was flustered.

"At any rate, do you think we should offer it as a menu item?" she asked, taking a sip of her wine.

"Well, not yet, anyway. If you're going to serve it, you need to source it, and I'm not sure if there are any local meat farms.

Twilight nodded. "I suppose you're right."

"But if you can source some hunters from the dragons and gryphons, I'm sure they could help. For compensation, of course. We're both kind of greedy."

Twilight chuckled. "It's something, anyway..."

Gallus stepped out of the shower and shook himself most of the way dry. He had told Twilight that the purpose of doing so was to reduce the need for a towel, but the truth was that it made her personal bathroom smell like him. He'd been doing stuff like that all week long; making things smell like him. He was imbuing her with the thought that, if he was nearby, she was safe.

He knew he was close to convincing her to let him in, too. Not only had she taken the potion he'd given her during dinner, cleverly sealed in a bottle of wine that he promised would help her relax, but she'd peeked on him during his shower. He'd heard her heavy breathing.

Twilight's bathroom was already equipped with his-and-hers-style towels, one for her and one for Spike, and they were washed regularly, but Gallus had been wiping his balls on hers while drying the rest of himself with Spike's, to prove that he was using it.

When he returned to the bedroom, he saw Twilight lying in bed, writhing a bit and moaning softly. He knew what she was doing, but he wanted to spook her a bit. He breathed into his claw silently to warm it up, moved gently and quietly over to her, and grabbed her shoulder.

The shock caused her to bolt upright and grab the covers, putting her sopping hoof on display. He gently placed his claw underneath it and lifted it, as if he were about to kiss it. "Thinking of somepony important to you, Headmare?"

Twilight nodded, her face turning red.

Gallus pulled her hoof to his face and gave it a soft lick. "He's thinking of you, too."