//------------------------------// // Path 2: Test of Distress // Story: Studying (with) You // by PonyPlays2014 //------------------------------// Sandbar only spends an hour on his project before he notices the heaviness of his head and how weak his eyelids are, not being able to keep themselves open for more than five minutes (not counting blinking obviously) before shutting themselves for a few seconds, enjoying the sensation of rest and relaxation. He was able to forget about the incidence by distracting himself but from time to time the imagine of Gallus' expression and the cold stare he gave him popped into his head, causing him to mess up a stitch or two and forcing him to fix it once his mind became clear again. From time to time he could've sworn that he heard something that sounded like a loud bang, as if something hit something with incredible force but he tells himself that it was nothing but his imagination and his remorse working hand in hand to teach him a lesson he was sure he already learned or maybe just a mixture of the sounds he hears coming from the hallway. I can't work like that..., the stallion decides as he turns off the machine and drops his entire body onto his bed, face first into the pillow which muffles his groaning and every other sound he makes. He feels the images coming back as the scene begins to start all over again, like a never-ending loop of emotional catastrophes, uncomfortable realizations and a pain in his chest and his head. A pain that feels like it had the power to kill him but instead just tortures him over and over again, not letting him rest. I can't handle that! I CAN'T! I need something to distract me! What was it what I wanted to do again? Study! Perfect! The teal-maned stallion immediately gets up from his bed and searches for his notes from the classes, which he always stores inside one of the drawers of his desk. He opens the middle one and takes out a huge pile of scrolls, which are color-coded with a piece of ribbon to seal it. Dark red for Honesty class, yellow for Kindness, green for farming and so on. While looking through the pile in search of a purple, a white (which stand for Generosity class and Sewing/Fashion) and a few other colors from classes he really needs to recapitulate, he notices the sudden silence that flooded the room. No more bangs and no other strange sounds from anywhere. Sandbar stops his search for a second and tries his best to concentrate on any sound he could hear but nothing, as if everyone else but him just became mute. That's... even more uncomfortable..., the male thinks to himself as he continues his search for the last pages and, after finding all of them eventually, he heads back for the bed and lays on top of it. He turns himself on the side and begins to read the pieces of information the little rolls of parchment contain. Hours go by and one scroll after the other reveals its secret to the little pony as the sun fades away behind the mountains and the moon comes out to play. From time to time Sandbar takes a quick break and looks out of the window or tries to find something to tidy up or just distract him so he won't get the urge to annoy Gallus, who is still flying through his brain from time to time accompanied by the drama they had to witness together. This cycle continues until his body succumbs to the lack of energy as the midnight-hour signals the start of an new day, the last day to prepare. Sandbar consciousness slowly returns as he opens his eyes and, much to his surprise, he sees nothing but darkness. Is that another dream? That's the last thing I need right now..., the stallion's voice echoes in his head but one slight movement of his head allows a glimmer of light to meet his retina. He moves his head a bit more which results in even more light appearing, almost blinding him with their overwhelming contrast to the formerly dark environment he found himself in. With one quick jerk of his head he finally escapes the object that causes his temporary blindness: One of the scrolls he read during the night before. It must have fallen on his head when he fell asleep while analyzing it. The pony notices a red piece of ribbon attached to it's back, which categorizes it as one of his notes from Miss Applejack's Honesty Class, and takes the piece of parchment into his hooves to bring it closer to his face so he can read it. "Honesty Class, Session 7: The Pros and Cons on Honesty", he reads and quickly scans the document while catching all the important details of it. " 'Pros are honesty is the only way to resolve problems, an honest opinion can benefit everyone involved, being honest prevents lies and their consequences. The Cons are that honesty can cause strange and uncomfortable situations and hurt other pony's feelings'... or a griffon's feelings..." He gulps as he feels how his chest gets heavier and heavier as the memories of the day before return with full impact. Sandbar lowers the parchment and drops it onto the floor before getting up from his bed and, after feeling a strong pain in his head, opens his window to get some fresh air. A great idea if one has a headache but for Sandbar's situation... not a good moment. My head feels like a drum played by Miss Pinkie Pie..., the pony with the three turtles as a Cutie mark thinks as he puts his left hoof to his head and strokes it softly while closing one of his eyes. The school seems to be empty right now since he can't see any students entering or leaving it and, judging from the sun's current position, it should be lunch time or a bit past it so the emptiness is even more telling. I should get something too. I haven't eaten anything for a day... but I'm not really that hungry. I'm sure I can find something in my room. He averts his eyes from the big building and scans the inside of his room before focusing his messy closet. Somewhere in there should be a package from my mom with cookies or something like that so that should do. He turns around again and lets his eyes wander for a bit. I wonder if Ga-AHHH! While in thought he suddenly spots the blue griffon-male, who just exited the dorm with his bag around his shoulders. He takes a few steps and it seems like he's aiming for the school. Sandbar watches him for a bit even though his head tells him to hide or just get back to the bed but something inside of him prevents that. It could be the fact that he has not seen him for a whole day and his worries are taking control of his body. "Gallus... I'm sorry...", Sandbar mumbles and, as if the feather-covered creature heard him, the recipient of his apology turns his head slightly, causing their eyes to meet for at least a second before the pony's brain takes over the control again, causing him to quickly withdraw from the open window while almost tripping two times over his own hooves. He saw me!, the pale-green stallion's inner voice shouts out in panic before shutting up for about 10 seconds. Sandbar slowly sneaks back to the window and risks a quick look while trying his best to not be visible from the griffon's lower position. He is... gone? Indeed, the place Gallus was standing before is now no longer occupied and no trace even hints at him being there in the first place. A part of him is relieved about the griffon's disappearance but a different part of him enjoyed seeing him again after a longer time and wanted to see him more, risking another conflict and an extremely uncomfortable atmosphere. After this shocking experience he decides to go back to studying but the image of the griffon in his mind got reinforced by their recent, indirect meeting, causing him to lose focus, reread the same line multiple times without noticing and, all in all, messing with his head in different ways and on different levels until sleep knocks him out and finally puts his head to ease for now. The day of the first exams is finally here and half of the students started the wave of tests with Miss Applejack's Farming exam, followed by Miss Pinkie Pie's Laughter and Party exam, which was a lot of fun for most of the students, and now this group is waiting in front of the room where Twilight's History exam will be held. Ocellus, Smolder and Silverstream are part of this group while Yona, Sandbar and Gallus were put in the second group, which starts with Fluttershy's exam on the Wildlife of Equestria, followed by Rarity's exam, which combines her Generosity class and her Fashion and Tailoring class due to lack of time. The group already finished Fluttershy's exam and is now heading for the big lecture hall on the second floor to attend the next exam on their list. Sandbar noticed Gallus in the group when they all waited for Miss Fluttershy to arrive but, thanks to their awkward and uncomfortable moment the day before, he tried his best to not look at him, unknowingly missing the griffon's swift peep. During the exam, Gallus was seated behind Sandbar, making it easier to not catch a glimpse of the feathered male and instead concentrate on the test. When everyone handed their parchment in, they were allowed to leave and move to the next location, in front of which the group is now standing. That was pretty easy but not a big surprise, Sandbar recalls the latest exam in his head, Miss Fluttershy said that the test wouldn't be too difficult and that she would choose questions everyone could answer. I hope the the others passed the test... I hope Ga- "Sorry Darlings!", a female voice suddenly echoes through the hallway, causing some ponies to turn their head to see where it is coming from, others to wince and Yona to let out a pretty audible gasp. Sandbar is one of the ponies who winced, mainly because he was lost in thoughts before Miss Rarity made her entrance. "I had to prepare something for my trip to Canterlot in two days. But let's not get distracted and get going." The white-coated unicorn's horn begins to glow bluish as she casts her magic on the doorknobs, unlocking and opening the double-door before stepping inside, followed by the group of students in a row of pairs. "Please go to you assigned seats and sit down for now. I will explain a bit before we start." "The exam got canceled?", a pale-yellow pegasus-mare asks loudly. A few other ponies mumble and giggle as Rarity shakes her head with a little smile. "Nice try Sunny Day but no. I just want to explain to you how this... a little bit different test will work. I will hand each of you a parchment scroll with twenty-four questions. The first twelve will be all about my Generosity class and the second twelve will be related to fashion and tailoring. I color-coded it two: Dark purple ink refers to Generosity, dark green refers to the other subject. I will also draw that on the board after I handed out the scrolls. Just write your answer underneath the questions or use the backside of the scroll but I would prefer it if you used the space underneath the questions. If your answer is too long or, in other words, the given space is not enough, mark the question and continue it on the back of the scroll. And don't forget to write your name on the line meant for it or else we can not officially grade it. That's all." With those words the scrolls levitate through the room and land on the each occupied table in the room. Sandbar watches as the document lands in front of him but the other flying scrolls capture his attention once again. While following one with his eyes he notices Gallus, whose face is turned towards Hotshot, a pale-red coated earth-stallion. He watches them for a few seconds before Gallus turns his head away, causing him to look directly as Sandbar. Hotshot also focuses on the pale-green stallion, whose face turns a bit reddish before averting his face to escape the weird feeling. The way he looked, they looked at me! That was so unpleasant... But I never saw them interact before... kinda strange... Sandbar debates if he should turn around once more to risk another look but he decides against that. Instead, he concentrates on the exam and on Miss Rarity, who finished writing the color-code on the board. "You get two hours so don't worry too much about the time. I believe in all of you and I know each and everyone of you can do it. Good luck!" The test starts and every single student opens their roll to look at the questions. Sandbar starts by reading the fashion-related questions first and, he must admits, some are a bit tougher than expected but all in all easily manageable. What is the most common used fabric for... What kind of stitch is... Name a fabric that is water-repellent... So far so good, I'll pass for sure!... I hope Gallus remembers some things I showed him like that stitch... The pony fights the urge to look at his former friend and to check how he is doing but he can't risk costing him his exam by distracting him. The time flies by and a few students already handed their answers in. Sandbar, who answered every single question as precisely as possible, is rereading every single one of them for the fifth time but stops as he notices someone walking past him with a completely covered scroll grasped in his talon. He must have written every word down he remembered! Not a bad idea considering some answers ask for explanations, the stallion tries to explain the amount of words on the griffon's scroll and watches him as he hands it over to Miss Rarity, who thanks him and wishes him a good day, before heading for the door. Suddenly, the blue male stops and Sandbar swears he saw his eyes targeting him for a few seconds before Gallus completely disappeared into the hallway. It could have been just his imagination but something inside him takes charge of his actions. Now is my chance! Sandbar quickly rolls his scroll back the way it was when he got it and stands up so he can give it to his teacher, who watches him as he walks towards her. He hands her the piece of parchment and immediately aims for the door but Miss Rarity stops him after she opened the scroll again and noticed something very important. "Darling! You forgot to write your name on it. Would you please be so kind and do it? Here, take my quill." She uses her magic to levitate the quill and the piece of parchment in front of Sandbar and he quickly puts his name in the top left corner. "Sorry! Totally missed that", he admits with a embarrassed smile but his teacher just smiles at him as she takes it back to her desk and puts it on the stack next to her. "It's alright. I wish you a nice day and good luck with the rest of the exams." Sandbar nods at her before rushing out of the room, hoping to get a chance to talk to his feathered classmate but, much to his annoyance and disappointment, he stands alone in the hallway. Damn... He must have left already... His ears drop a bit but they quickly stand tall again as he hears a voice behind him. It's Hotshot, the pony who was talking to Gallus. "Looking for your bird-friend?", the pale-red pony, who just left the room, asks after closing the door. Sandbar turns his head towards him and nods. "Yeah. I wanted to talk to him about so-" "Do yourself and him a favor and just leave him alone", Hotshot interrupts as he passes him while aiming for the stairs leading to the floor beneath, "He told me everything. I guess I misjudged him and you. Who would have thought you were the rotten apple among you two? If you really want to make it up to him..." The stallion stops for a moment before looking bad the stallion, who stares at him with wide eyes. "Stay out of his way." With those words Hotshot leaves the pony alone with a devilish grin on his face, which is hidden from Sandbar's field of view. I... But... those are the only thoughts the pony's mind can come up because of the shock, which paralyzed him. This... can't be it... I finally realize the feelings I have for him is love and... I immediately mess it up... Tears begin to form in his eyes as he slowly makes his way back to his room, where he slumps into the bed and stays there for the rest of the day, filling his pillow with tears and muffled sobs.