He never expected to be here. None of them did. But here he is all the same, and Flash Magnus, like all of the ancient Pillars of Equestria, must learn to adjust to this new world he has found himself in. It is fortunate then that he does not have to go through this adjustment alone.

The Friendship Festival turned into a celebration of the defeat of the Storm King, and things are getting interesting. Capper and Celaeno are trying to drink each other under the table. Queen Novo and Princess Celestia are reopening trade negotiations, with Skystar and Twilight doing their best to help and one of the Storm King's Mooks can only wonder what do with his life.

It's going to be a long night.

The Storm King has been defeated, meaning Mount Aris and the Seaponies that lived in hiding underneath it are free from his evil rule. The returning Hippogriffs are busy working on the island to restore the place to its former glory, and one young and enthusiastic seapony, Silverstream, really wants to explore it for herself.

Unfortunately, her mother isn't so confident that the island is safe just yet, and worries she might get in trouble if she does.

What's a seapony/hippogriff to do?

Queen Novo, Prince Rutherford, King Thorax, Dragon Lord Ember, & Gilda. These are the five ambassadors of their respective kingdoms; Mount Aris, Yakyakistan, the Changeling Hive, the Dragon Lands, and Griffonstone. While these five creatures are all ambassadors, they really haven’t spent time with each other. Twilight has an idea to invite them all to Canterlot to see if they could break the ice. Needless to say, they do learn more about their species.

Idea from this picture and this picture.

Queen Novo does not forgive or forget easily. When her niece seemed to prefer a school in the middle of a continent run by a would-be thief to Mount Aris, that didn't sit well with her.

The good news is that Twilight's managed to resolve that situation already.

The bad news is that there's another coming down the pike.

An entry in Bicyclette's Crackship Contest. Rated Teen for strong language and the love that dare not speak its name on a TV-Y series.

...But Silverstream, of all creatures only just now putting on the uniform…? Okay then. More to the point, she looked adorable in it. Wait, did he just think adorable? About Silverstream? Okay, yeah she was generally cute -loathe as the proud griffon was to admit it- but now she looked cute cute. Oh boy. Oh brother. Oh dear.

-----

Or in short, Silverstream joins the cheer squad and Gallus notices.

(Written for The Discovery – A Young Six Writing Contest)
(Featured on 1/18/2020, 1/19/2020, and on 1/20/20. Thanks, guys!)

Twilight and her friends enjoy a relaxing day at the beach, when Rainbow Dash has a startling encounter that leads to an exciting undersea adventure.

Featured on Equestria Daily on 09/28/2012

In the aftermath of the Storm King's power play, Tempest Shadow finds herself at a crossroads once again. She hasn't been banished, but no party can change the festering feeling of being out of place. Exploring the caves underneath Canterlot, she stumbles upon an odd, crimson shard, and a spirit of a lost king who promises to mend her broken horn—and while he's at it, to help her get her old life back.

The hornless pony finds the ponyless horn's offer tempting.

Recommended by PresentPerfect here!

The Aether. A dark place where the most vile of creature is sent to once their mortal bodies parish. Limbo. A space in between where time itself holds no power over those who are trapped. Within these two realms lies a shadow, forever imprisoned with no hope of escape. However, forever is a long time. A lot can happen.

EDIT: I updated the title card with a redraw. I hope you like it.

It all happened so long ago... we were young, different, dumb then. Besides, I've moved on from that part of my life.

Loneliness is a scary thing. It can gnaw away at the back of your mind, with your instinct being to try to push it down, when you can't figure out how to deal with it. Just ask Gallus how he knows that. He has foresworn relationships, after being unable to sustain them, instead focusing on his duties as Equestria's Royal Guard Captain. He has accomplished so much and yet... there's still that emptiness, gnawing at the edge of his mind.

Meanwhile, Silverstream is more sure than ever that it was a horrible mistake - her and Gallus breaking up. Can she win back the one for her? Will succeed in opening Gallus's eyes to the truth?

As scary as it can be to look for a part of yourself that you feel is gone forever, broken beyond repair, is it ever truly gone if you gather the courage to cast your eyes upon it?

Inspired by the short animation Gallus's Gift by TheAnonymator. Cover art is stills taken from the animation.

Written for The Discovery - A Young Six Writing Contest.

Despite the "Sex" tag, there is nothing explicit contained within. The tag is merely there for strongly implied sexual conduct.