school of friendship Expert Teas (tacobob, Hippo, PM for invite or interested)

[Hippo]

 

Paying close attention to Bluebelle, Silverstream couldn't help but comment on her suggestions from experience in application of her own life. "No." She giggled. "I don't think so. But, if they aren't sending letters or anything like that, does that mean they aren't interested?" Silverstream wore a concerned look. She felt a lack of control of the situation, either because she was raised with the idea that being female meant you were more along for the ride than the one pulling the ropes, but maybe also because she was born into a royal family that had many other traditions involving courtship and organized family structures, up to and including arranged marriages. Traditions did die over time though, just like Mount Aris culture prior to the Storm King's invasion.

 

Smolder added in her own concern that Silverstream related to, although she hadn't thought about it until now. "Yeah what if he's not a hippogriff or seapony? I think my parents assume that I would eventually end up with someone from either Seaquestria or Mount Aris. They're cool enough to include lifestyles in and out of the water. But I don't think they would ever had expected me to go on a date or something like that with someone I met here at the school." Silverstream pointed at Smolder in example. "It wouldn't seem strange to me if Smolder hit it off with some changeling she met, but I can't imagine the dragon kingdom or changeling hive would like it that much."

 

Silverstream daydreamed on her royal issues. She hesitated, but then point towards Bluebelle. "You're a Princess, and Prince, and whatever. Are you obligated to end up with someone else who's a royal? And what would happen if you didn't?" Silverstream was not all that close to the throne in Seaquestria, but she sometimes wondered what her obligations were with her kind. Only recently has it really mattered or changed.

[Blueblood]

Oh, dear.  If Bluebelle was reading Silverstream's reply right, the one she was interested in wasn't showing any reciprocal interest at all.  Unrequited affection could be a painful and messy thing, though at this age it was more a necessary pain of growing up than an absolute social killer.  But, in order for things to go well, this would have to be handled delicately.  "Well... I would say in that case, they're either uninterested or oblivious.  The only way to know for sure is to ask directly."  A tall order for an awkward youth, though less so for an outgoing one, she hoped.  "You also have to remember that girls tend to get interested in such things before guys.  It may be a general disinterest in relationships more than a specific disinterest in you, personally."  She sipped her tea, reflecting on what final piece of advice she could give with that situation.  "Love is an awkward business sometimes, and if you're not comfortable with being uncomfortable, you're not going to get very far."  Hopefully that was sufficient encouragement for Silver to muster up the gumption to go and ask.

 

Smolder had another interesting question, and, to the Princess at least, a surprisingly mature one in its implications.  Her concern was with inter-species relationships, a less uncommon occurrence these days, but still an unusual one.  'Aggressive Cuddling' was a new euphemism, that did bring a smile to the unicorn's face, though her concern ultimately seemed to be being torn between a desire for personal happiness versus social duty.  Now that was a question Blue had gone over many, many times, to her own satisfaction at last.  Whether the answer that ultimately suited her would suit others... well, time to put that to the test.

"You're making sense to me, though I'm not sure how many others would be able to empathize."  She set down her teacup, this explanation might take a while.  "I don't know if dragons can really be said to have a 'ruling class', but if you see yourself as someone who would have an outsize influence in how they as a whole develop, then its safe to assume you'd be the closest equivalent.  This school rather caters to that sort of thing; I suppose you've noticed how many of your fellow students are related to or sponsored by the leaders of their respective countries?  This school is meant to teach leadership as well as friendship, and yours is a good question for a leader to consider."

 

She adjusted herself in her chair, picking up a spoon in her magic to aid with gesturing.  "This applies to your concerns too, Silver.  To answer your second question first, there really aren't that many royals to go around.  If royals can only marry royals, royals eventually have to start marrying relatives, which doesn't end well."  She shuddered a bit.  There were a few portraits in the dusty back of the manor hall that the public were never meant to see, but had to be kept as a reminder of the results of foolishness.  "My own family line tended to look at least a little farther afield for mates, but they did have to think about things other than their own happiness.  The happiness of their partner, for one thing.  If your life is that of a royal or an elite, that's the life you're going to share with your partner.  If that life won't suit them, or if their vision for your society isn't compatible with yours, it will ultimately end badly, whatever you happen to feel about each other otherwise.

 

"That doesn't mean you have to marry for political reasons, mind you.  Just know that if you marry out of your class, you're essentially asking your partner to live as an outsider, until they prove themselves by whatever means your family or class sets as the standard."  She pointed the spoon towards Smolder.  "So what I'd say to you is, it's fine to look outside of dragonkind, but if you're really going to be happy, whoever you end up cuddling should care about dragons as a whole as much as you do.  If those are your greater aims and ambitions, find someone who supports them.  Working together on a project like that is what is going to make you really close."

"As for you,"  Spoon was now pointing at Silverstream, "I wouldn't worry quite so much.  You're not trying to reform anything about your society generally, and not heir to any position but a social one.  Honestly, there's a long tradition of royalty and nobility marrying foreigners to cement friendly ties or smooth over relations.  At least, in Equestria.  Heck, my great-great grandmother secured the sea trade routes by marrying a Pirate King!  There are fun stories in the family lore I could tell you about that."

[tacobob]

 

 

 

“Ah.”, There was something that was bothering the young dragon. "If I recall from that one report you did awhile back.", her eyes fell upon Silverstream, "Your kind were originally straight up hippogriffs until the Storm King came to town, and then you used magic to turn yourselves into seaponies to escape his wraith.  So I'm sure there are regular hippogriffs and regular sea ponies that can't transform into the other races? And what's with meremares? Is that a thing? And Kelpie and Sirens. I heard they're just really big seaponies that can use magic singing. Usually to distract lonely sailors into crashing their boats, and then  they eat yah. ", She was slightly disturbed by Rockhoof's story about his encounter with the three Sirens. When he said 'eat', his eyebrows did that thing. Did he mean eat eat? Aka munch a bunch or baku baku? Or eat, eat? Like the one done best in private?

 

Sweet Ember, her mind keeps going into one direction. Think of something not-sexy. Celestia. No....That's the opposite. Rockhoof...Nooo...Ah! Snips and Snails! Perfect! Smolder took another sip from her cup. There was a few bits of cold tea along with a small bit of harden honey that floated to the bottom of the cup. Yuck.

She glanced back up and listened some more. "Nah, we're not anywhere near a ruling class. Maybe when our last dragon lord was young. But after that, we for the most part just kept to ourselves and avoided everyone..Sometimes a foolish dragon would try to pick on a pony and learn the hard way, size doesn't matter, especially when the poor soul you're picking on can use a spell to shrink you down to her size and hit you between the eyes with a hoof."

 

Smolder managed to find some crumbs on her plate as the shape-shifting princess talked on. She nodded her head. Her future was out there and it did not involve sitting in a cave. She had far more opportunities than her parents ever did, and hoped she could find her way in this new world. She did miss her chance to see where Bluebelle's eyebrows went when she said 'cuddle'. 

 

 

 

[Hippo]

Bluebelle's suggestion led Silverstream to the idea that she has to come forward with her feelings to the one she admired, in order to confirm whether or not they felt the same about her. She did not like this idea, but she agreed it was the most efficient way to do it. But she was not afraid of rejection. She was more afraid of changing things that were not necessary to change. To Smolder's question, Silverstream educated. "There were only so many pieces the magic pearl could be cut into, but basically everygriff that wanted out of the water was given a chance to do so. There were plenty of Seaquestrian citizens that planned on staying in the water permanently. And Sirens?" Silverstream looked up, perplexed. "Sirens dissappeared a long time ago, long before we even gained the ability to turn our entire nation into sea creatures. It wasn't until we read up on that chapter in Elemental History that I realized where some of the sirens had gone."

 

 

Silverstream was confused by Bluebelle's implication. It seemed that she was saying royals shouldn't intertwine too much, or bad things will happen. She didn't fully understand this thinking. "But everyone in Seaquestria is practically related. Not saying this would happen, but if I was forced into a royal marriage, chances are the guy would be one of my cousins." The term cousins had elasticity for more than Silverstream was explaining. It could be that familial ties in Hippogriff culture were well documented, meaning that everygriff could know who they were related with, or it could also imply that the community is so tightly knit, that the possibility of hooking up with somegriff outside of the assumed family was near impossible. Either way, Silverstream felt disenfranchised a little by Bluebelle's cultural norm.

 

The insinuation of what proper courtship looked like carried Silverstream's openess to one of doubt. But a glimmer of hope in Bluebelle's suggestion that marriage could be used as diplomacy raised Silverstream's curiosity again. It was so interesting to her, she didn't have enough time to mask herself with anonymity. "Oh! So maybe if I end up with somegriff, that means a permanent bond between both of our families and communities could come together." She liked the idea of this, especially since this kind of thing was unheard of in Seaquestria or Mount Aris. "So, would that mean that if me and Gallus fall in love, that Griffonstone could have a lasting relationship with Mount Aris?" Silverstream held her talons to her beak, realizing she let slip of the name of her attraction. "I mean, or anyone else for that matter?..."?

[Blueblood]

It seemed that Smolder hadn't quite gotten what Bluebelle meant, or perhaps she did, and it just wasn't relevant.  "I'd meant to say, are there some dragons that are leaders of all dragons, besides the Dragonlord herself, but I suppose not.  Most I've seen barely have family structure, let alone wider societies.  That said, if you end up helping to build one... you'll probably find yourself in a position of great power and influence.  I'm sure you will use it wisely."

 

The bit about everyone being related in Seaquestria was... concerning.  Silverstream might have noticed the Princess' brows furrow.  If that was indeed what it sounded like, getting new blood into that society was going to be very important in the near future.  And as a custodian of the future of her students, the Archancellor now felt it her duty to see that Silver's prospective match turned out well.  At the very least, she was receptive to the idea of a diplomatic bond tied with the personal.  "Yes, exactly!"  The Princess beamed, giggling slightly at the name slip.  "The both of you, and the both of your homelands, would make a rather good match, if you don't me saying so."

 

Not wanting to put too much pressure on Silver, sensing that the slip was probably a little embarrassing for her, the unicorn deftly slid over to the next topic.  "By the way, has Gallus gotten any word from home lately?  I've been getting some very weird reports coming out of Griffonstone.  Some old bird claiming to be descended from the old Imperial family gone up to claim his birthright, apparently."

[tacobob]

 

The young dragon nodded her head as Silverstream spoke. Sirens were rather scary. They were beautiful creatures, but also terrifying at the same time. The picture, well, it was a drawing showed three standing over a wrecked ship with a few pony skeletons laying nearby. They could take over your mind to make you helpless or even attack your friends, and then when you were done, it was all over for you! The part that creeped her out the most were their eyes, so dark and evil. Smolder did not sleep well that night.

 

"They vanished? That's good." Or was it? Evil creatures had an bad habit of going away for hundreds, if not thousands of years only to return even nastier. Imagine going through your life as air-breather only to spend years living under water. So many changes. You'd have to learn how to eat underwater. Drink underwater..How do they do that? Use the restroom....And not just the usual 'oops' in the public pool she might have done once or twice recently.

 

"Yeah, I wouldn't recommend you marry any cousins. That's how we ended up with Crackle." This was something that bothered Smolder about her own race. Unlike just about any other race out there, dragons were all very different. Some could look like ravishing beauties with orange scales, orchid scales and the body of a rock-star, or you could look like an terrible two-pony Nightmare Night costume. One dragon she knew was mostly a tail with feet. The dragon gods were cruel creatures.

 

"I gotta say this and when I say this, I'm saying it as quietly as possible.", she dropped her voice down rather low, "Dragon Lord Ember is a better leader than her father ever was.", to be sure, the dragon glanced up into the sky, "She is actually um, leading us and trying to make a difference. I fought her tooth and nail when she dragged me to Ponyville, but she was right." And Smolder was spoiled with comfy beds, indoor plumbing and really good friends.

 

This would be interesting! Some mountebank pretending to be royalty to swindle bits from the birds! Why would any creature do such a thing? That would be like robbing a rat and stealing his dumpster! Gallus rarely spoke of his homeland as it was all very unpleasant for him. He grew up without a family and very few friends. She had heard the griffons there were trying to make things better. She hoped they succeed!

 

[Hippo]

The anxiety slowly drifted away from the conversation as Silverstream listened after she revealed Gallus was the one she was most interested in. She found the implication of a possible romance between her and Gallus being one of diplomatic importance rather peculiar, however. She didn't much like the idea of falling in love with somecreature else for any other reason than the reason itself. The headmare seemed to have an eye for efficiency when it came to coordinating royal relationships, though. Perhaps she forget she was talking to students during recess.

 

"I don't know. Whenever I ask him about home, he is very dismissive about it. It's almost like he never wants to return." Since the name was now out, she decided to ask the others if it would be appropriate for her to ask Gallus something she had an idea for ever since last Hearth's Warming break. "Do you think it would be wrong if I invited Gallus to Seaquestria for the holiday? He seems to have no interest in going back to Griffonstone, but is that a good thing if he disconnects himself from his ancestry?" Silverstream was asking deep questions. One that maybe could only be properly answered with Gallus involved. But because she thought about him a lot, this was the kind of curiosity that always hung on her mind. That, and why sinks always seem to drain counterclockwise.

 

[Blueblood]

Bluebelle leaned over to listen to Smolder's whisperings, taking every effort to look the part of a cautious secret-keeper.  "Hm, I only ever met one dragonlord, so I will take your word for it."  Lack of comparatives aside, she had to say that Smolder's take coincided quite well with her own impressions.  Ember was the sort of leader that went down in history as a founder, or re-founder, of a society.  The successes of such types were immortalized in bronze and marble all over the world.  The failures... well, tent to be either mourned or reviled, depending on who ended up remembering them.  "I am glad she insisted, at any rate, it is good to have you here."  She smiled down at the little dragon, quite sincere in her appreciation.

 

The subject turned to Gallus, and what the best thing for Heartswarming was.  She wasn't sure if Silverstream was making the distinction, but the question of what to do with one holiday was a rather simpler one than what a griffon should do regarding his roots.  "Hm... From what I know, he has no real family there?  At least, none that acknowledge him.  It really wouldn't make sense to send him there to be alone for the holidays.  You may as well invite him, it would be probably good for him, but...."  She sighed.  "I don't think it so good to disconnect from ones roots.  Of course, I say that as one whose family goes back before the founding of Equestria, and had a good part to play in its story.  I'm not even sure if Gallus knows what his ancestry really is.  I will have to talk with him about it, I suspect.  If at all possible, I would like to see him return to Griffonstone with an eye and a plan to finally bring it into harmony with the rest of the world.  To see something once so noble now brought so low, and yet not having the last of its pride and heritage broken... Maybe its just because I'm royalty and we think that way, but I'd like to see a real Emperor return there."

 

[tacobob]

“I don’t see any issue with that.”, the dragon responded. “You can take him to experience the entire 'Three Days of Freedom Celebration', which I think would be fun. Three days of partying. And considering you missed it last year." She hated the idea of her favorite blue-buddy staying at the school alone this year...And what did SHE have planned? There was this year's 'Feast Of Fire' and she did have a really good story to tell this year. Still, three days of partying with Terramar or a pile of gems. Hmm. There was always a chance that yummy little bird was already seeing some creature. Ugh. And her brother had something he had been wanting to do this year. She could only assume he was going to tell his story via beat poetry.

 

"There's also the other griffon cities like Rockwington. He might prefer a visit there soon...I heard it's not the prettiest of cities, but it's filled with artists and other creative types. Guy might get inspired and feel a little better about his kind." She knew Gallus was an orphan. What happened to his folks? Did they run away, or did they..er...best not to think about it.

 

"Ah shucks.", she smiled back at the mare. "Still, would be nice to find out what happened to his folks....See why he became an orphan.", she turned to Silverstream, "Poor guy didn't even know what a cousin was when you were telling about your holidays...I don't even know who my cousins are, but I know what they are...what cousins are..." Dragons did not keep family trees! This was not good! Cousins would marry cousins! This is probably why there were some pretty odd looking dragons.

 

 

 

[Hippo]

 

Smolder was good at not making a big deal out of sensitive information. She was far more concerned about Gallus as a friend and seemed to not advance any teasing towards Silverstream about her affection for him. It's almost as if she had already known. Or maybe the dragon was numb to the idea of having any romantic feelings at all. Smolder seemed to have some heart for it inside of her, but most dragons from dragon realms did not seem to have a pulse for relationships.

 

Bluebelle made good points about what might be best for Gallus. But what was more important to Silverstream is that she got a green light for inviting him to Mount Aris for the holiday. This was exciting. But would he say yes? Probably. He would say it in a very uninterested tone to hide his true feelings about not having to be alone or back in griffonstone, but he would agree. And Silverstream would do her best to make the griffon feel loved during a holiday, maybe the first holiday he's ever truly felt. Silverstream jumped up. "Great! I'll ask him then." Silverstream bounced in place a little bit while thinking, and then shrieked with excitement. "Haha!! I'll have to get two round trip tickets to Mount Aris instead of one." But then she fell pensive. "Gee, I hope my folks don't mind."

 

((this serves as a prologue to this story.))

[Blueblood]

"Sounds like you have a plan for the holidays, then!  I'll make sure Gallus is sent your way so you can invite him."  Bluebelle sipped the last of her tea, setting her cup and saucer down on the plate.  "And don't worry,  I won't tell him anything about how you feel; you can say it when you're good and ready."  She winked at Silverstream, wishing the couple good luck.  Too much interference from adults could muddy the waters here; those crazy kids would have to figure this out by themselves.

"Hm, Gallus certainly has been reticent about his background, but I can understand why.  Perhaps I ought to take him and Sandbar out for coffee, sometime."  Her eyes finally shot up to the clock, noting how much time had passed.  "Hm, I'm afraid I'll have to take my leave soon, I'm expected elsewhere.  I don't want to cut this short if you two don't have anywhere you need to be, though!  Thank you for being willing to host, I feel like I've gotten to know you both rather better, and I hope I was able to help."

[tacobob]

 

“I’m sure your folks won’t mind.”, the young dragon started to clean up.  She was slightly curious what sort of creature he would turn into with that magic pearl. She heard horror stories from Spike that he turned into some sort of puffer-fish! Oh the horror of horrors! The poor guy mentioned he had to scratch his butt for the longest time, but couldn’t due to his useless flippers. And when he got a good look at himself via a underwater mirror, he was aghast when he found out he didn’t even have a butt! Phantom Flank! ARRRGH!

 

Oh-Oh! She had to be somewhere! Smolder increased the speed of her cleaning. Gotta go fast “Thanks for stopping by Princess Bluebelle. It was nice to talk to an adult without getting the usual amount of judgment back." she nodded as the royal pony moved on. "And you Missy.", she gave her friend a wink. "When you get back from this little adventure with blue-bird-boy, you'll have to tell me EVERYTHING. Every little smooch, all the times he does that smooshy thing with his beak when he is perturbed. That kind of reminds me of a confounded sock-puppet." Wow! She was actually getting use out of her 'New Word A Day Calendar" Twilight got her for her birthday!

 

[Hippo]

 

"Oh, I'm sure I'll run into him at some point." Silverstream had never gone a day without talking to Gallus provided school was in session. The amount of setup the headmare was willing to provide seemed overkill in this regard. She chattered and vibrated. "I'm so excited!"

 

When Smolder began hurrying up her cleanup, Silverstream looked up at the clock tower. "Oh, I gotta go, too! Yona and I are meeting for a quick sharing of notes before Fluttershy's animal pen maintenance quiz. Her quizzes are brutal!" The idea of Fluttershy having tough evaluations didn't seem to make sense, but when it came to animals, Fluttershy was very direct and specific about what she knew was right and wrong about animal care, and whoever her students were, were expected to learn it.

 

Silverstream wrapped up her leftover food and tucked it in her pack, and helped Smolder a little with her items. Silverstream giggled, "Oh I will. Gallus' confused look is the best. Thanks again, Archancellor. Maybe we'll do this again some other time. Smolder and I really love our tea parties. Ocellus is usually with us, too, but I guess she was too busy studying." Silverstream rolled her eyes and looked around for anything she missed and started hovering towards the campus building, waving her claw friendly while doing so.