The hours go by as the moon moves across the sky and disappears behind the outline of Canterlot. Finally it's morning and the resolution to Sandbar's riddle comes closer and closer. The griffon opens his eyes and stretches his claws as far as he can while raising his backside, which makes him almost look like a cat after it's daily nap in the sun. He slept surprisingly well without his blanket, on which he slept on, covering his body but then again, he was very tired yesterday.
I can't believe this one thing took my entire day as it's hostage. At least I'll see what will happen today, the male thinks to himself after he finished his morning routes.
He gets up and takes a look at the clock on the wall. The sun is slowly rising so it should be around 9:30 or 10 a.m. And this assumption proves itself correct! The smaller hand of the clock points at the 10 and the bigger one at the 12. It is 10 a.m.
"One more hour, okay. I could read a comic or take a quick walk before we head out. Or I could get something to eat be-"
The words get stuck in his throat as he catches sight of the pile of cookies, which are still on his desk. Again he takes one into his claw and even bites off a small portion of it. The taste is dry and not really his cup of tea, or more precisely his kind of cookie, but he must admit that the texture and how it falls apart in his mouth is addicting.
Not that bad actually..., Gallus thinks as he tries to taste everything the biscuit has to offer but there is still something about it that deters him, but it tastes disgusting.
He swallows the last remainings and puts the cookie next to the other, still complete one, spreading crumbs around both of them. He wants to turn away but something about them still being on his desk irritates him
I can't keep them on my desk all the time. They will get even worse!
After looking around his room for something he can but them in he finds an empty box in his closet. It's a small, pale-orange box with white wavy lines on it.
Where did I get this box from? Oh... right... I stored some griffon scones in it before the old man took me here. Well, now I can fill it with disgusting cookies.
Without thinking about it more than he really has to he takes the cookies and puts them into the box, closing it afterwards and hiding it in one of the desk's drawers.
He pays a quick visit to the males bathroom to wash his face and styles his feathers. Styling them may be a bit exaggerated. He basically presses them down so that they stay the way he wants them to. But it works and that's what matters!
After returning to his room Gallus takes a second look at the clock. It took him twenty minutes to store the cookies away and to take care of his look and hygiene so he still has forty minutes until their meeting.
What should I do until 11? Go back and wash my face again? Try the cookie again? Nope! Never!
Gallus sits down on the chair and takes the same comic he tried to read yesterday. One day he will finish it! But will this be the morning he finishes it? No because only a few minutes after picking it up he throws it back on the pile. He is not in the mood to read right now, he is in the mood to find out what Sandbar wants to do today!
Why did I wake up so early? Thirty more minutes wouldn't have hurt!
He is frustrated but he remembers that when he gets frustrated things can get ugly and he just made up with his friend so he doesn't want to show up grumpy for their first meeting. He gets up and goes to the window, which shows the backside of the school and a part of the big lake in front of it. He can even see a few familiar faces, one of them is Yona. She is on her way to the school by the look of things.
She forgot to tie her braids, Gallus notices and he begins to count down with his right claw starting at three and counting down until reaching zero.
Three... Two... One... Zero...
As he reaches zero the Yak trips and runs over a few ponies in front of her but she quickly catches herself again and apologizes to them.
Gallus laughs after watching it and thinks to himself, Classic Yona... It would be sad if it weren't so funny to watch.
He watches her for a bit before she disappears inside the school building. But that doesn't bother him because he already noticed someone more interesting. A certain pale pony with a cyan mane just left the building and is heading for the school with a little sack around his neck. He knows this bag, it's where he always stores his Bits.
Sandbar is already leaving but there are still at least thirty minutes until 11 a.m.! Why is he already on his way?
The griffon takes a look at the clock to make sure his sense for time is right and the hands reveal to him that is it, just as he thinks, 10:30. He grabs a dark brown bag and puts a little sack, very similar to Sandbar's sack, with bits in it.
Should I take something to drink with me?, he thinks after noticing an empty bottle next to his desk from last week.
A special juice that can only be bought in Griffonstone, made from the finest Honeysuckle Berries. And, just like everything in Griffonstone, it costs a lot of money. One bottle already costs five Bits! For comparison: A bottle of apple juice, made on Sweet Apple Acres in Ponyville, only costs two Bits and they are both bottles with juice! He asked Grampa Gruff to get him some and, after a long hour of negotiation, he promised to give him twelve bottles each semester. In exchange for them Gallus had to promise to represent the Griffons but it's not like everyone is paying attention to him anyway so this was a pretty good deal for him.
He stores the remaining two bottles in his closet, alongside some white earmuffs, a light gray winter coat he never wears because the temperatures are still tolerable, a pair of white gloves and a blue raincoat.
Ah heck, why not. Something to drink is always nice. And I get to show Sandbar how a real drink has to taste like. Apple juice is fine but this is the real deal!
He grabs one of the bottles and puts it into the bag as well. After placing the bag around his shoulder he rushes out of the room and down the stairs to the first floor so he can leave the building. After leaving the dorm he rises to the sky and flies towards the school, following the pathway which connects the two buildings. He can already see the pale lime-green stallion walking in front of him and he yells his name, which startles Sandbar.
"Where do you think you're going?", he asks in the deepest voice he can manage as he hovers behind him in the air.
The stallion swings around in form of a little jump with eyes as wide as possible and his mouth gaping open. He doesn't recognize that voice but, after noticing the griffon above him and putting one and one together, he places one of his hooves on his chest and takes deep breaths. Gallus, on the other hand, is doubling up with laughter as he slowly descends until he hits the floor.
"Gallus! You scared me half to death! I thought I told you we would meet at the market at 11. Why are you here?"
The pony doesn't understand why his friend is even awake. It would only take him two or three minutes to fly to the market so he thought he would be in his room and, most likely, asleep. But here he is right in front of him.
"That's what I'm asking you! I saw you leaving and I was curious what you were up to. It doesn't take you thirty minutes to reach the market so I will repeat. Where do you think you're going?"
"Oh, I was heading to the cafeteria to get us something to eat for later and then I wanted to ask Miss Rarity if I could borrow the picnic blanket she showed us when she was talking about cotton and fleece. You know, the one with the dark red and pale-pink check pattern. But first I have to find her. I hope she is in her office today."
He turns around and continues his way and Gallus follows behind him but increases his speed a little bit to walk next to him instead.
"So you planned a picnic? That was that big secret you refused to tell me?"
Gallus looks at his friend's face, who smiles at him and nods.
"Lame I know but I thought it would sound strange. Well... this doesn't sound better but-"
But before Sandbar finishes his sentence Gallus spreads his wings and rises to the air. The pony's face shows how surprised he is and he also seems to be a little bit insecure.
I knew it would sound strange..., Sandbar thinks to himself as his expression turns from a happy smile to a heartbreaking sulk but the griffon's words make it disappear as well.
"Let me handle the blanket! This way we can save some time. Meet me in ten minutes in front of the school. If you're late, I'll leave, got it?"
Sandbar nods and the plan is now set in stone.
The griffon dashes through the air and makes his way to the main entrance because he knows that the stairway in the main hall will lead to Rarity's office. He lands in front of the big golden, with glass decorated double door. The school is pretty much empty, except for a few students and the staff, and the only person on the school's forecourt is Gallus. The blue male enters the building and flies up the stairs to the 2nd floor, where the unicorn's office is located. He lowers himself until he stands on his claws and paws and slowly walks along a corridor on his left, looking at the signs next to the doors.
Art room... Room B05... Room B06... Male and Female restroom..., he thinks as he reads every sign he sees but there is no sign with Miss Rarity's name on it, I don't get it... It should be here!
He gets frustrated again but then he finally remembers.
Oh... I should've turned right after the stairs and not left. This is the wrong corridor...
"Wow...", he mumbles as he smacks a claw in his face and turns around to finally get to the right room.
And, of course, the first sign he reads in the new corridor says 'Miss Rarity's Office'. Without hesitation he knocks on the door and the well-known voice of his teacher answers him immediately.
"Come i-i-in!", the female voice calls out with a voice that could easily rival Coloratura's singing voice.
Her voice's pitch increases two times while pronouncing the word 'in'! Two times!
Gallus opens the door and enters the, unlike Rainbow Dash's office, beautifully decorated room. The only thing that still reminds him about this being an office is the Desk in the center of the room but the rest of the furniture gives of a 'Manehattan-at-its-finest" charm. At least it would if he ever visited the place but since he never did it just looks very fancy to him.
A dark purple carpet covers the floor and curtains in the same color cover the sides farthest on the left and right. The wall is decorated with pictures of famous Fashionistas, which surround a bigger picture of Rarity, Coco Pommel, Sassy Saddles, Sapphire Shores and Hoity Toity from the latest 'Canterlot Royal Fashion Show'. Obviously Gallus has no idea who the other ponies are but he doesn't really care either. He has more important stuff to focus on. Still is shocks him how different this office looks from Rainbow Dash's office, the only other office he ever entered. He knows that every teacher gets to individualize their own office but he would've never imagined something like that. Now he curious how the other teachers transformed their offices. Maybe Miss Applejack has a little farm in her office and he imagines Miss Fluttershy to have plants and animals in her office. But when he begins to create Miss Pinkie Pie's office in his mind, he immediately stops. Her office can easily be a battlefield covered in cupcakes, frosting, balloons and confetti and he never felt more intimidated by those objects.
He takes a few looks around but something snaps him out of his trance.
"Gallus, Darling! You never visited me before. Did something happen? Can I help you with anything?
He notices his unicorn teacher, who is sipping tea in her armchair, and doesn't waste any time to get to the reason for his visit.
"Sorry to bother you but can I borrow the blanket? The..."
He cuts off his own sentence after realizing that he doesn't remember how it looked like. The white-coated unicorn looks at him as if she is waiting for more details.
"Which one do you mean? I have plenty of different blankets. I could bring them here and then you can choose the one you want. Though it may take a while..."
Looking at all of them would cost too much time and he really must hurry.
Come on brain! Remember how it looked like! Come on!, the griffon tries to encourage his brain cells to do their job and, to his surprise, it actually works.
A scene takes place in his head where he hears and sees what Miss Rarity is saying about the reddish blanket and two of the most used fabrics for it's production.
"Always remember! Fleece, the fabric in my left hoof, is able to store and dispense heat and is very water-repellent so it is excellent for activities in the winter where it is cold and wet because of the snow. Cutton, in my other hoof, is the exact opposite! It is heat-insulating and is able to absorb water. So it could be very useful to use this fabric when it is very hot and you want to stay cool."
After that his vision fades away.
"The one with the dark red and pale-pink check pattern made of fleece!", he almost shouts and, after seeing how this startled his teacher, he apologizes for it.
Rarity, who is a little bit surprised, nods and asks her student to follow her to the storage room, where she keeps all the different kinds of fabrics, the blankets and pieces of clothing she uses for demonstration, the mannequins and the sewing machines. The teacher opens the door and switches on the light with her horn, before she and Gallus enters the room. While she is searching for the blanket the griffon male uses the time to investigate the room a little bit. Usually students aren't allowed here but since there are no more classes and his teacher is with him it doesn't seem to matter. He notices a row of fifteen sewing machines.
Who need so many sewing machines? There is no class with fifteen students but it's better to have too many than not enough i guess. But...why does it look like one is missing?
He notices a gap between the ninth and the tenth sewing machine he counted, big enough to easily fit another machine there and it is the only gap he can see.
"Those are the spare machines we keep in case one of ours malfunctions or breaks or if anyone wants to take one to their room to practice. We are prepared for everything", Rarity explains as she returns to the male with the object of his interest levitating in the air, surrounded by her light-blue magic aura, "Here is your blanket, Darling. What are you planing to do with it?"
He takes the blanket with a smile on his face but the idea of telling her what Sandbar has in store for them is not a possible outcome.
How would that sound! Sandbar and I are gonna have a really nice picnic, ladidadida! Well... It is like that but she doesn't have to know that! I need to say something so vague so it wouldn't be a lie but also won't spoil everything...
"Sandbar wanted to see it. Something about the fabric or whatever. I offered him to get it."
Good job Gallus, the griffon compliments his own brilliancy and gives himself a mental claw-five.
"Oh that was really nice of you! Wish him good luck from me."
"Of course. Thank you Miss Rarity!"
Of course not.
He leaves the room with the blanket around his neck like a scarf, which is way too large for him and would look ridiculous but a cool dude like he can pull it off... I guess... As fast as he can he runs down the stairs and tears open the door to get outside, not expecting somene he almost crashes into.