Ding! Dong! Ding Dong!
Bells were chiming all throughout the entire School of Friendship, every creature was finalizing plans for their big Hearth’s Warming Break.
“Aaaaaaaa!” Gallus said, scratching the back of his head. No matter how much he thought about it, or how much he planned, there were just too many variables.
“What’s wrong griffon, are you struggling or am I imagining things?” Smolder grinned as she jabbed his side with her elbow.
Gallus quivered, sighing and cocking his head to look her squarely in the eyes. He stared at her, a fire burning in his blue hues.
“No, whatever would give you that idea?” He retorted, pushing the pile of scrap papers on his desk into the already overflowing trash can. Smolder’s eyes flicked around the room, then back to him.
“Hmmphm, sure. I’ll let it slide,” Smolder mocked, pulling him in close against her, and ruffling his crest feathers with her fist.
“Hey! Do you know how hard it is to get them to stay in place?” Gallus grumbled, a slight smile rising up against his beak, his cheeks tinting rosy.
“Gallus! Smolder! There you both are!” Silverstream popped into existence, tackling them both to the ground, pinning them underneath her.
“Ack!” Gallus cried out, his hopes for fixing his plumage dashed instantly.
“Haha, good to see you too, Silverstream.” Smolder chuckled, admiring the view of her floofy chest feathers.
“I’ve been looking all over the school for both of you!” Silverstream stated, hovering over them for a long moment, snouts touched, before she gently backed up. “Oh, I’m sorry. I just get so excited around this time of year!”
“It’s alright, Silverstream,” Gallus began as he tried and failed to smooth out his chest feathers. He took a deep breath as they fought his every attempt.
Smolder dusted herself off, standing up from the floor and letting out a puff of smoke from her nostrils.
“Oh, I’m so glad I found you both,” Silverstream began, then was immediately tackled by Smolder to the ground.
Gallus smirked, watching the two girls tussle around with one another. The tension left his shoulders as a warm smile lit up his face.
“We really should be going, though. Every other creature has already started their holiday, and I do not want to miss out on our vacation!” Smolder declared, getting back up from the floor, again, and extending a claw towards Silverstream.
“I love how passionate you are, Smolder! It’s good to see you be playful!” Silverstream said, leaning in and giving her a big smooch on the lips.
Gallus stared at the two of them for a moment before shaking his head, hitting himself on the cheek to recenter himself. On the nearby wall was a heavily marked calendar, with today’s date circled and hearted many times. As Gallus looked between them, his heart fluttered faster and he felt light on his claws, like he could float away.
“Earth to Gallus! Hello? Any griff home?” Smolder asked, waving her claw back and forth in front of his face.
“Huh? Oh, sorry, I just got lost in my own thoughts,” Gallus said, apologizing.
Smolder then playfully batted the top of his head. “Would you stop that, already!”
“Ouch.” Gallus grumbled, pouting and nodding. It was something he was working on. He never imagined he’d ever be in the position he was in now.
“I bet I can beat you to the treehouse first, Gallus, you on?” Smolder declared, her wingspan fully extending as she hovered in the air.
“Oh, you’re on!” Gallus retorted.
“Oh, you two!” Silverstream shook her head. “Not everything has to be a competition. We could all race there just for fun?” Silverstream suggested playfully.
“Hey, Silverstream–” Smolder flapped hard, hovering while staring Silverstream down– “if you beat the both of us, I’ll let you give me a full makeover, dress included.”
“Oh, really?” Silverstream gasped aloud. “You better not be joking.”
Gallus hovered in the air, letting the ladies set the pace. He was a gentle griff after all.
Racing was always a lot of fun, but what was really important was getting this time, just the three of them. Not having to always deal with interruptions, or distractions. No schoolwork, no teachers, no other griffs nagging him constantly. It was easy to just get lost in the pure bliss of it all.
“Yes, I promise.” Smolder reluctantly nodded, accepting her fate.
“Alright, you’re both on, and I’m gonna win! Woohoo!” Silverstream immediately leaped up into the air, spreading her beautiful wings as the wind caressed her feathers.
“Um, perhaps we should go outside to start,” Gallus suggested.
“Yeah, I don’t want any excuses when I smoke the pair of you,” Smolder agreed.
The three of them gently flew towards the exit of the school. Gallus took just a moment to watch the two most beautiful creatures in all of Equestria fly ahead of him. Watching them both soar, he felt his heart flutter.
Smolder was always rough around the edges, but once she really let some creature in, she was such a delicate and delightful soul.
Silverstream was always the most outgoing of the three of them, and with her bubbly personality, it was hard for him not to get lost in conversations with her.
Gallus never considered himself to be any creature worth noting. Sure, he was intelligent, had a lot of heart and strength, but he never pictured himself here with them both.
The two of them were gone, just like that. Gallus hurried to catch the both of them, a grin on his face.
It was snowing, a blanket of powder already covered the grounds of the School of Friendship. Silverstream and Smolder both hovered there, looking back at him, eager to start.
“Gallus, don’t tell me you got lost, I thought you knew the school like the back of your claw.” Smolder teased.
She loved to jab at him whenever she could. He just rolled his eyes.
“I’m always lost when I look at you,” he said, jabbing back. Even trying not to look, Gallus still glimpsed the faint rosy blush that covered her amberish scales.
“Alright, I’ll count to three and then we all take off together!” Silverstream declared.
Gallus and Smolder both nodded in agreement.
“One…Two…Three…Go!” Silverstream counted down, and then burst off in a flash.
Smolder blazed through the air, trailing Silverstream like a burning shadow. Gallus quickly flapped frantically to align himself with Smolder.
“You better get ready for that makeover,” he called out to her as he pushed himself harder to pass her. Waving a talon back at her, he dared her to keep pace with the both of them.
He closed his eyes, gliding through the air, save for the winds around him that wrapped him in their embrace before propelling him forward.
The weather was perfect for flying, just the right temperature in Gallus’s opinion. The clouds above kept most of the stray sunbeams clear of blinding them as they zoomed by. Landing down in front of the entrance to their hangout area, he didn’t see either of them.
“I’m fast, but not that fast… Something is afloof here…” he whispered to himself. The plumage on the back of his neck stiffened abruptly.
“Three…Two…One…” Gallus counted on each talon, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw both their shadows lunge forward. He didn’t even try to move. Instead, he angled himself swiftly to face the both of them as they landed on top of him, pinning him to the ground.
“Smolder, we did it! Our super-secret tactics worked. Woohoo!” Silverstream declared, putting her talons out for Smolder to high-five her.
“It wasn’t exactly hard, I mean, seriously? have you noticed how distracted he’s been all day?” Smolder asked.
“Yeah, kinda, but that’s typical for him. He’s always got his head in the clouds. Are the clouds fluffy, poofy or just really, really comfy?” She questioned sagely, putting a talon to her beak.
“Which of you is the winner then?” Gallus asked, the two girls still had him pinned and hadn’t bothered to move.
“Oh, she won,” Smolder sighed. “I never realized how much she wanted to see me in a dress.”
“I’ve seen you in a dress before!” Silverstream said.
“When?” Smolder asked, the slight blush turning red as a tomato.
“It’d be no fun if I told you, then you’d know what to look for. It’s more fun to sneak around when you think no creature’s looking.”
“It’s not like you two have to hide from me, though. I trust you both to not go tell every creature about that kind of stuff…” Smolder said.
“Um, you are both really adorable, but, um, could you let me up?” Gallus asked them both, grumbling.
“Oh, right!” Smolder said, moving off of him, and extending a claw to help him back to his feet. Silverstream moved to the side, letting out a burst of bubbly and cute fit of laughter.
“Oh my gosh, we are so caught up in the moment, you were left there and almost squished!”
“Alright, the both of you, let’s get this vacation really started.” Gallus grabbed each of them by arm, wrapping them both up as closely to his frame as possible.
The three of them walked into the treehouse as one. Gallus had spent the past month humming and hawing over the best way to spend Hearth’s Warming with his two partners.
The treehouse was fully lit with many different variations of colors all around the place. There was a beautiful tree made of crystals from the Tree of harmony hanging from the ceiling, and of course in the center of the main room was a Hearth’s Warming Tree. It was decorated and fully strung with tinsel, lights, and interesting ornaments from all kinds of places all over Equestria.
Smolder was the first one to plomp down to the floor, leaning against a comfy handcrafted pillow. She wiggled her spine, then adjusted slightly by pushing her tail to the side before letting out a contented sigh. “Ahhh, this feeling nevers gets old.”
Silverstream leaped into a pile of cushions gathered around in a pile, circling around to find just the right spot, before settling onto her rump. A big bubbly grin was plastered all over her face. “Oh, I can’t wait to see your reactions to your gifts!”
“Right now, all I care about is spending the holiday with both of you,” Gallus stated as he seated himself between them, letting himself finally relax.
“You can’t tell me you don’t want your gifts though, right?” Smolder asked. “I swear, if I spent my bits and you don’t want it, we are gonna have words, griffon…
“Oh, Oh, Oh! I want my gift! I don’t know if that helps but I’m so excited, nervous but excited!” Silverstream wiggled around, causing a few cushions to scoot around underneath her.
Gallus shifted his tail so it was right behind Silverstream, just in case she was so excited that she knocked her cushiony seat out from under her and fell over.
“Silverstream, is there ever a time where you aren’t bursting with energy?” Smolder asked, tilting her head and looking at the loose cushions. Without saying a word, Gallus watched as Smolder scooted herself closer to Silverstream. It was like the both of them had the same fears and worries.
“That’s a good question, I don’t know!” Silverstream said.
Smolder got up from her spot and went to fetch a smallish box from under the tree. She went and placed it within Silverstream’s lap before sitting down directly to the side of her, just to be safe.
Silverstream put her box in front of herself before getting up to grab her own gift. As she got up, she felt her front foreleg catch on something. She attempted to catch herself but got caught in one of the many cushions and fell straight forward, right into Gallus’s lap. She let out a light shrill of surprise, causing her to gigglesnort. Blushing as Gallus wrapped both his arms around her, steadying her back up to her feet once more.
“Whoops, I don’t know how that happened. I had all my pillows arranged in perfect comfortability and softness.” Silverstream shrugged her shoulders, going to grab both her gifts. She dropped a gift right into Gallus’s lap before hoofing over Smolder’s gift to her–a bit too big to fit in her lap.
Gallus didn’t grab his own gifts, he had been so occupied with studying, and planning that he didn’t actually wrap anything for either of them. Still, he hadn’t come here without a plan.
Silverstream took her seat once more and looked directly at Smolder, waiting for her to open her gift.
Gallus picked his gift back up, and settled it within his lap once more. He kept one talon over it as he admired Smolder and Silverstream both.
Smolder began unwrapping her giant box rapidly, tearing the ribbons and papers to the side of herself. Once the first part was unwrapped fully, she lifted the lid off the top of the box, discovering a slightly smaller box inside.
Gallus noticed how Smolder’s face looked perplexed and a little confused but then he watched as she continued to dig into the wrapping paper and ribbons, this time going even faster to get to the bottom and find the hidden treasure.
“I can’t believe you’ve thought of such a thoughtful gift, Silverstream! I love a good treasure hunt!” Smolder declared, starting to throw the empty boxes to the side of her, ensuring not to hit either of them in the chaos.
Finally, he watched Smolder pull out a pearl necklace, beautiful and ornate in its design, and very clearly hoof crafted with love and care.
“Ugh, really a necklace?” Smolder groaned, holding the necklace inches away from her face, then, her eyes almost gleamed and a slight smile rose upon her lips. “I really admire how shiny it is, though.”
“You like it, you really really like it?” Silverstream asked, she hopped around in her seat, wiggling.
“Yes, it’s very pretty. Thank you, Silverstream,” Smolder said.
“I can’t wait to see you wear it with your new dress,” Silverstream quipped, lovingly going over to her, and assisting her with clasping the necklace from the back.
Gallus leaned closer to get a better look at her necklace. “It looks really great on you, Smolder.”
“You’re not just saying that to score extra points, right?”
Gallus raised a brow. “No! It really does look good on you, and it’ll look even better once you get your new dress. I’m sure whatever Silverstream picked out will go perfectly with it. She is deceptively good at putting things together, no idea where she gets it from.”
“You know, for some gruff griff that studies all the time, you sure haven’t paid attention to all the crafting lessons she’s been taking with Professor Pinkie Pie?” Smolder asked.
“Oh,” Gallus retorted, “yeah, I kind of remember being distracted the last few classes.”
“Don’t worry, Gallus, I can show you how to make one if you’d like!” Silverstream offered.
Gallus frantically waved his arms in front of himself, almost protectively. “No thanks, I don’t exactly see myself as the jewelry wearing type.”
“What’s the matter, are you afraid you'll look cute?” Smolder jabbed him in the side with her elbow.
Gallus blushed. “What? I’m already cute! What are you even saying!”
Smolder extended her arm, pointing a claw directly at him, “Ha! I got you to admit it finally. It’s about darn time!”
“Oh you two are so adorable!” Silverstream smiled, putting both talons against her cheeks, squeeing with delight.
Gallus pouted, crossing both arms across his chest. He hated being called cute.
Gallus watched as Silverstream’s gaze turned back at Smolder.
“I’m so glad you like your gift, I just had so many boxes laying around, I just had to find a way to use them all!”
“If you used all your boxes for her gift then how exactly did you wrap mine?” Gallus asked.
“Oh, I didn’t wrap yours. Here, take this.” Silverstream reached over and gently placed something quite fragile in his talons.
It was a small crest, emblazoned with the Griffonstone old ancient art in an ornate fashion.
He stared at the crest for what felt like a good solid minute. “How did you even find this? Or are you telling me you made this?”
“Oh, I have my ways.” Silverstream batted her eyelashes playfully at him, ever the constant, mysterious force of nature. Perhaps she had something planned, maybe a treasure hunt for them to explore in the libraries of Griffonstone.
Finally, it was his turn to open his gifts, but he stared at both, from Smolder’s small wrapped gift, to the still held the crest within his claws. Gently, sitting it down on the floor beside him, he opened up Smolder’s gift: inside was some classical sheet music for one of Octavia’s many melodies.
Gallus held the parchment paper within his talons, carefully reading over it with disbelief before looking directly into Smolder’s gaze. His mouth fell open as he stuttered, “I…I…I don’t know what to say, thanks!”
“I saw you at one of her concerts. I know you try to hide that you like classical music, but you can’t hide it from me.” Smolder nudged him with her elbow.
Gallus sighed. “Yeah, I like it.”
“Alright, we both gave you our presents. Where’s ours?” Silverstream asked, seeming to notice that he hadn’t bothered to grab any other presents from under the tree. There were a few other presents down there, but she seemed to spy that they were not addressed to either of them, but to the others.
“Well…you see, the thing about that is...” Gallus scratched the back of his head, looking at both of them, unsure how to begin. Eventually, he just decided he should be completely honest with them as Professor Applejack would want, and he felt ill-prepared for their reaction to his plans.
“I may have gotten us all tickets to Las Pegasus,” Gallus began to explain.
“What? Seriously, Las Pegasus? That place is so cool!” Silverstream shouted, bursting up into the air, and spinning around.
“Really? That place does have some really intense rides, I’ve heard the wait for the rollercoaster alone is a once in a lifetime opportunity,” Smolder gushed. “But, wait a second… Why Las Pegasus? Don’t you hate dealing with crowds?”
“I do find lots of creatures difficult to deal with, you aren’t wrong about that. This whole time, though, I’ve been trying to find a gift that would be good for both of you.” He paused, and took a breath.
Composing himself, he continued, “However, I wanted something we could all do together, and at the last minute, this is what I managed to come up with. I’m really sorry if it’s not exactly what you were expecting, but I am hoping you’ll at least go with me. It might be interesting to try out some of the arcade games, and I heard there’s a concert that I might like there too. I hear DJ Scratch is playing there.”
“DJ Scratch is playing!? Wow, I love her music!” Silverstream flew up into the air, before returning to the ground once more, clapping her talons together. Then, with gusto, she leaped over and tackled Gallus onto the floor.
Gallus squirmed underneath her, playfully wrapping an arm around her, and gently kissing her. “Ack!” I’m really happy to hear you like the idea. I was really worried, but anyway, what about you, Smolder?”
Smolder crossed both arms across her chest, making a pouty face. She mostly looked away from him before muttering under her breath. “I am looking forward to it as well, but mostly for the thrills, and not necessarily the other aspects.”
“Oh, but Smolder, it would be a great chance for you to show off your new dress. And, oh, your necklace would go so great with it,” Silverstream chirped.
“Oh no, I am not wearing a dress in Las Pegasus, no way, no how.” Smolder waved an arm in front of her, warding off the suggestion.
“Not even for us?” Gallus asked, getting on his knees in front of her, both talons together, and giving her those big puppy dog eyes that he knew drove her crazy.
“Aaaargh! Alright, I’ll wear the dress, but only, and I mean only if we can ride that coaster together!”
“Deal.” Gallus quickly shook his talon with her claw, before she had a chance to take it back.
“I can’t believe we are going to go to Las Pegasus, oh there’s so much to do!”
“When are the tickets for anyways?”
“Um…because I sorta got them last minute, they are for tomorrow…” Gallus confessed.
“Tomorrow? That’s like way too short of notice! I have to tell my mom, and then the guards, and then all my family. I wouldn’t want them to worry after all!”
“You know, Gallus, this is what you get for being such a bookworm. I think maybe next year, spend a little less time in a library and actually go shopping like the rest of us. We don’t really care what you get, what we really enjoy about this holiday is the time we get with you, you goof.”
“I know, I know.” Gallus bowed his head and prepared himself for the slight bop to the head, but instead he felt both a beak and snout kissing the top of his head.
“We love you, and we love how much thought you put into everything. Just sometimes, you are way too hard on yourself and you don’t always need to shoot for the moon,” Smolder admonished.
“Yeah, she’s right! We love you so much, and honestly, you help keep us all together. I know sometimes, I can be well, a lot to handle.” Silverstream chuckled. “And I can’t even imagine how you deal with all our shenanigans.”
“Oh, that’s the easiest answer ever.” Gallus cocked a smirk, grabbing each of them with both arms, pulling them in close. “I believe that would be with both arms, and a heart full of love.”
Author's Note
Hello! If you're reading this Wanderer D, I hope you enjoyed your story. I sort of went all full boar on the super floofyness of it all, let me know if there's anything else you wanted to see and I hope you have a wonderful time this year!
