“Ughhhh, this sucks.” Gallus groaned upon his bed.
Well, more mumbled with his beak pressed into the mattress, further muffled by the pile of pillows that he’d formed around himself in some makeshift nest.
Smolder, however, had no problem understanding him. Though whether it was because she too was within his nest, or because his teenage dramatics were rote at this point was anyone’s guess.
No matter the answer, she still clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes.
“Sandbar has only been gone…” she sighed, already tired of this, “For two hours!”
While Smolder threw her arms out in utter consternation, Gallus quickly snatched a pillow to pull it against his chest with a deep frown.
“...and twenty-three minutes.” Gallus added, a harsh grumble following as he drew the pillow in closer. “Which is way longer than he said he’d take. Maybe it’s time for a search and rescue?”
“Or maybe he just caught up doing something?” Smolder shrugged. “Sugarcube Corner’s usually pretty busy around now, so maybe he’s still in line.”
Another groan from Gallus, this time with him flopping down beside Smolder. “Well if we’re just making stuff up, maybe he got kidnapped by Chrysalis again. Or Tirek. Or maybe Sombra finally-”
Smolder balled a fist and knocked Gallus on the head before his worrying could pick up more speed. It may have been soft and with no force behind it, but Gallus still reacted as if her intent was to kill.
“Aaarghhgh!” Gallus cried dramatically while gripping his head, flopping again against Smolder’s side as he thrashed in mock pain. “I think that made me forget calculus.”
Smolder blinked. “Did you ever know calculus?”
Mock pain now over, having fulfilled its purpose, Gallus instead stretched out as long as possible on his bed, laying down prone as he rested his head on Smolder’s thigh. “No, but now I never will. And it’s all your fault. You did this to meeeee.”
“Guess that means I have to be the smarter one now.” Smolder sighed, bringing a claw down to pet Gallus between his headfeathers. “But if Sandy got got by Chrysalis or Tirek we’d probably know by now. And Sombra’s too whipped by Sunburst to do much evil.”
“I dunno, I figure Sunburst would probably go evil for Sombra if he wanted.” Gallus thought, tapping a claw to his chin as he leaned lazily against Smolder. “Isn’t it, like, a law that unicorns all get one? A shot at megalomania while the earths and the pegs just chill.”
“So Sunburst just hasn’t burned his one yet?” She too thought for a moment, but ended up scritching Gallus where his cheeks were at their fluffiest. “If I were him, I’d have done it already. Burn society to the ground and build it back up in my image.”
Gallus grumbled loudly, though only to hide the purr building in his throat, as he leaned into Smolder’s claw. “Dude barely wants to show up for office hours. He’s not burning down anything.”
“True, true,” Smolder said. “I still can’t get him to approve the props I wanna use for my Laughter exam. Apparently only Pinkie’s cool with indoor fireworks.”
“She’s just sick with it.” Gallus sighed, again splaying across the bed as long as he could while letting out a loud yawn. “Now that’s a mare who could take over Equestria.”
Tired of letting Gallus get all of the attention, Smolder pulled her claw away from his fluffy face, much to the immediate dissatisfaction and whining of the now unloved griffon. She too flopped down and stretched, laying beside Gallus and wrapping an arm around him as she breathed a sigh of gentle relief.
“You think Sandbar would take over Equestria?” She asked, though it was muffled by the layer of Gallus Fluff she’d nestled herself into. “Could just be a pony thing.”
“Probably. If he wanted. I mean, heck, we’d all pitch in if he really decided to overthrow the crown.” Gallus sighed as he too pressed his beak into Smolder. It was far less comfortable, what with the scales instead of fluff, but he nuzzled nonetheless. “But I don’t think he would. Most he’d do with power is clean up the beaches and legalize a few things. Wipe Vanhoover off the map.”
A few moments of silence came from that, both considering the idea as they laid and relaxed.
“That whips, actually.” Smolder said as she sat back up. “We’re totally gonna do that, right?”
Gallus shrugged, remaining lazily lain but with his swaying tail belying clear interest. “Maybe if we get Bugaboo on it. She’ll have a campaign strategy by next week.”
“Naaaaah, why bother?” Smolder smirked, a grin spreading across her face. “All he has to do is flash those puppy-dog eyes and Twilight’s days are numbered.”
Just as Gallus was about to comment on how effective that would be, the dormroom door swung open, revealing the very Sandbar they’d been chattering about.
Sandbar hummed to himself as he entered, smiling widely as he placed his care package of donuts on a table by the door. He turned to face Gallus’ bed, ready to greet him warmly but gasped as he saw Smolder occupying the bed as well.
“My boyfriend? And my best friend?? Canoodling in bed while I run out for donuts???” Sandbar continued to gasp, shocked and awed by the happenings.
And then he pounced, diving in between Gallus and Smolder and nestling against them both. “And I wasn’t invited? What gives?”
“You left and Gallus got lonely.” Smolder said, ruffling Sandbar’s fluffy mane. "But, it ain't hard to fix. All you gotta do is listen to him whine a little. And scratch his chin"
“Pretty much!” Sandbar giggled, scritching Gallus’ chin a bit in response. “So, what’d you talk about?”
Despite himself and his purring, Gallus swatted away the scritching hoof. “Overthrowing the government and using you as a figurehead.”
Sandbar’s eyes lit brightly. “Ooh, sounds fun! Finally we can do something about Vanhoover.”
