School started up again a few days after the new year. The students filled up the halls again and the teachers returned to their lessons. For now, the students returned to the mechanical seclude as they moved from one classroom to fill out an assignment to the next.
For Gallus, ever since that day meeting with Sandbar's parents, he was mentally counting down the days to freedom. Only a few months away, only during Spring Break can he take that important escape of being tied down to Griffonstone. And yet, only several weeks away from getting hitched to his best friend.
The latter of that thought comes back to haunt him in every class that he and Sandbar share. That very reality was a constant reminder at every glance at the green pony sitting next to him. As much as he tried to comprehend what each teacher was trying to say, or his time focused on whatever task that demanded his attention, he always fell into that temptation of taking a sneak peek at his friend.
‘He might be thinking the same thing.' He mentally told himself. ‘Sandbar is probably wondering what happens after we get hitched. Sure, we wouldn't be together that long but… between that and that ritual… what do we do then? Do we just go on being friends…? Hold on, what am I thinking here? Of course, we'll still be friends, even when we do get married and separate afterward. We'll probably still hang out, while the girls are gonna tease us for it. Can't say I blame them, this isn't something anycreature lets slide without so much as talking about it…'
That last thought dampened his mood. Ever since that day when they planned the wedding, he hadn't been speaking to Sandbar for a while. However, he noticed that neither did Sandbar try to start up a conversation. Although the young griffon reasoned that he was probably just as focused on school work as he was, he felt that he had to do something to make up for it.
So that Saturday morning, when the students were given a few days to breathe, Gallus waited outside of Sandbar's room. When the young stallion did finally emerge out of it, the griffon immediately said, "I have a bit of an errand to run over by Sweet Apple Acres, you wanna come with me?"
"I… guess? Why? What's over there?"
"Oranges," he deadpanned, "I'm actually gonna see if Professor Applejack has any of that jam. I was gonna make toast this morning until I realized that the jar of that stuff was completely out. So, you wanna come?"
So, wrapping themselves up in whatever winter clothing they had, the two of them venture outside of school grounds. Once again, silence followed them, letting the frosty wind do all the talking for them. At first, both of them tolerated the awkwardness as they went past Twilight's crystal castle, the market place, Townhall, and down ice-covered streets and avenues. Simply because they pass by ponies that fill in that space with snippets of small talk and big conversations.
However, by the time they walked past the town's borders where houses became fewer and further apart, that the stalemate had to be broken.
"So…" Sandbar began with a pause in between, "you doin' okay?"
"Uh, yeah, yeah, I am. You?"
"Same."
Another pause.
"I take it that you've been busy?" Gallus inquired.
He nodded. "Yeah, I just got a reading and an art project from Rarity's class that need to be taken care of."
"Oh, I see…" After a brief pause, the griffon asked. "So… About the wedding, are you gonna be okay with this?"
Sandbar tilted his head. "What are ya talking about? I'm the one that thought of it."
"No, I mean, are you going to be okay with the idea that you're going to be marrying me." He stopped, leaning against a fence post. "I may be desperate enough to take up the offer, but what about you though? I know it'll be for about a month, but doesn't the idea of having me as your… you know… weird you out at all?"
Sandbar leaned up against the fence that separated the road from the wintery orchard. "Ya know, when I heard about what you've been going through, marriage was pretty much the last thing on my mind. I didn't think that I would be… you know… ready, for something like this. I thought that if or when I do it would be later like when I'm in my mid-twenties or thirties. Then suddenly, you came along and… well… all of that changed. The girls couldn't do it so it was pretty much up to me to step up and do something."
"So, I take it that you're not entirely looking forward to marrying me."
"That's… That's just it," this got Gallus's ears to perk up, "as weird as this is going to sound, I can't find anything wrong with it. I mean, when school started up, I kinda try to think what it could be like having you as my uh… spouse. And you know what dude? In a strange way, it kinda makes sense to me."
"How so?"
He shrugged. "I don't really know. This is something I have been trying to figure out why, but so far, the only answer I can come up with is that… it just does. I don't know how much of a difference marrying you would do, but it just makes sense for me to do so."
Gallus hummed in thought. "You know, I don't have many friends in my life, but I can easily say that what you're doing for a nobody like me still amazes me. I owe you for this. How I'll be able to repay, I still don't know."
"But you don't have to-"
"You're giving me my freedom." He interrupted. "No one has ever come close to what you're willing to do. For the first time for so long, I go to bed at night with the thought that you care enough to go through this effort. I finally feel like I'm important enough to someone besides myself. You understand that?"
Sandbar nodded. "Yeah, you're just grateful-"
"I don't think it's that…" Gallus shook his head. "I mean, yeah, it's part of that, but… for me, there's more to it that I don't know how to explain…" He paused to sniff the air. "Hey Sandbar, am I the only one that's smelling that?"
At first, the young stallion was confused before he too sniffed the air. "Yeah but…" another sniff, "what is that?"
"Something I thought I would never smell again," Gallus said, spreading his wings to take flight. "It's coming from over there." He pointed down the road. Taking off with the pony after him, the griffon followed his nose like a bloodhound that pointed him towards that heavenly scent. Every so often, he would have to pause whenever the road splits, before deciding where to go. After going this way and that, the sent he found was coming from a barn that wasn’t on Sweet Apple Acres.
Plopping down in front of the gate, Gallus heard Sandbar’s hoofsteps behind him. Craning his head back, he asked his friend, “Was this always here?”
Sandbar took a couple of moments to catch his breath to take a look at the place where the strange smell was coming from. It was a curious barn that stood out among the snow and skeleton-like trees. Not because of how small the property was compared to the surrounding Apple farm, but its walls were like a collage of murals adorn if a variety of colors, designs and faded sketches. Almost like half of the barn was an unfinished sketch from an eccentric artist that used bright colors that graffitied the entire length and height of the building. In front of the barn was a pair of double doors with a sign with the word “Closed” on it.
“No idea.” Sandbar said at last when he was able to talk. “Maybe they’re Professor Applejack’s neighbors or something?” Gallus pushed through the wooden gate, heading towards the barn’s double doors. “What are you doing?”
“What does it look like?” he asked, “I’m gonna meet the neighbors.” He then knocked on the doors.
At first, nothing happened when the griffon knocked on the door a few times. However, before Sandbar suggests that they should leave, they heard someone unlocking the door and saw it open. A head stuck out of the opening, a stallion’s face peeked through. One that had a long, brown, messy mane, who had sky blue eyes and a coat that, in Gallus’s eyes, was about a shade or two darker than Sandbar’s.
“Sorry, I’m not open until this afternoon.”
“We’re not here to buy anything… whatever you’re selling.” Sandbar said.
“Okay…?” The stallion looked between the two of them. “Then what are you here for? I was cooking breakfast.”
Gallus raised an eyebrow. “You’re cooking bacon?”
“What’s bacon?”
“Smell that?” the young griffon took another whiff at the air, “That right there, is the smell of bacon and maple syrup with… is that rosemary?” He turned to the stallion in the door. “Sorry for bursting in like this it’s just… I haven’t smelled bacon in a really long time and I’m just… shocked that someone here is cooking the stuff.”
A chilly wind blew through, and the green stallion glanced in between the two. “Would you like to come in for a minute? Just to get out of the cold for a while.”
They thanked him as they were let in. As soon as they passed through, they stopped suddenly at the open space they found themselves in. It was a space that seemed to fill half of the barn, but everywhere were canvases, paints of nearly every type and color, along with brushes, spray cans, that were collected together in a chaotic, organized madness among the finished products. It was like stepping inside the cross-section of an art museum where there were a variety of styles on the walls and on the floor. From crisp landscapes to Impressionist portraits, from imitations of street art to the abstract pollocks that were drying on the floor.
“Again,” Gallus spoke up as the stallion behind them closed and locked the doors, “was this always here?”
“This is my studio.” The stallion informed them. “It’s been here for a couple of years now. The name’s Canvas, by-the-way.”
“Sandbar.”
“Gallus.” The Griffon turned around in a full circle. “Are all of these yours?”
Canvas smiled. “Yep! Every single one of them. Of course, there’s still a couple of things that I should get around to finishing, but yeah! Everything here is mine."
Sandbar gave a low whistle. “This place is amazing! I don’t think I could do any of this.”
“Aw, don’t say that. I don’t have unicorn magic or pegasi wings, but I can still make great art. But let’s get you two to the warmer part of the house.” Canvas lead them over towards a door in the back where they entered into a place that more resembled an actual house. The pony showed them the kitchen where Gallus’s mouth watered at what was on the stove. Strips of bacon frying and caramelizing in sweet maple syrup with twigs of rosemary were being infused. On the side was a stack of pancakes with fried eggs being set aside. It was a sight to make the blue griffon tear up.
“So, what are you guys doing out here this early in the morning?” Canvas asked as he took out a pair of tongs to carefully lift the bacon out of the pan and onto a plate.
“Getting breakfast,” Gallus answered. “We ran out of apple jam from our dorms so we’re going out to get some.” The stallion gave a confused look. “We’re students, from the School of Friendship.”
“You’re Twilight’s students?”
“Well, yeah,” Sandbar nodded, “she’s one of our professor’s, if not the headmare.”
Canvas dished out the rest of the bacon. “Huh, small world. My spouse has been thinking about becoming a teacher there.” He paused for a moment, “Hey, would either of you want some? It wouldn’t bother me if you do.”
“Oh no, you don’t have-”
“Yes!” Gallus interrupted his friend, giving Sandbar a reason to roll his eyes. “What? I hadn’t had bacon in eons.”
Their host chuckled. “Fine by me, but I’d gotta let Troy know that breakfast is done.”
Before either of them could ask who Canvas was talking about, he shouted out his name. Then within a moment, the one name Troy came into the kitchen. Both students looked up… and up at the rather large gray griffon. This giant of a creature looked down at them with his golden eyes and a raised eyebrow.
“Who are they?” The enormous griffon questioned.
“Students from Twilight’s school,” Canvas answered. “One of them apparently wants my bacon.” He went over to the fridge to pull out a block of bacon wrapped in paper.
“Hold on, do we have any more?”
“Troy, we have enough pig’s butt to last for a couple of weeks, I think we can spare a few strips for the little guy.”
“Just make sure you don’t plan to overstuff ‘em.” He commented and Canvas snickered. “You know what I mean!”
“I know, I know.” The stallion chuckled as he pulled out and placed a couple of strips of bacon into the pan.
While Troy picked up his plate, Gallus and Sandbar exchanged a look. The other had the same question in their eyes, ‘Was this the same couple that the Headmare mentioned a while ago?’ The giant of a griffon invited them over to sit at the table.
“You know neither of you have to be intimidated by me,” Troy said. “I know that I’m a big guy and all, but I promise that I’m harmless.” He took a bite out of the bacon. “So, who exactly are you two?”
“I’m Sandbar, and this is Gallus.”
“Okay,” another bite and turned his attention towards the smaller griffon, “I’m guessing you might be from the ye old Griffon Kingdom?” Gallus nodded. “Okay, are there any other griffons that go to that school?”
“You’re looking at him.”
“Oh… I see…” He took a bite from the eggs. “So how’s Twilight’s school?”
“We’re doing pretty good over there.” Sandbar answered. “If anything, the school has gotten better.” There was a pause. “So… What do you do?”
“You mean you don’t know?” Troy tilted his head. “I sing on Bridleway.”
This took the young stallion by surprise. “As in, Manehattan Bridleway?”
“No, Dodge Junction,” he laughed, “Yeah! I sing over there and earn the leading role a couple of years back for Hinny of the Hills.”
“The musical?”
“Yep.” He said with a proud grin. “And I’ve been keeping myself busy with theater on the side. Well, both of us are really, between my work in theater and my husband with art, we’ve always been keeping ourselves busy.”
“So we’ve heard.” Gallus muttered.
“What was that?”
“Headmare Twilight has mentioned about you.” Sandbar explained while Canvas was setting down a plate in front of him.
“That makes sense,” Canvas commented, “Twilight has helped us quite a bit in the past, so to have her mentioning us in her school ought to have come up at least once.”
“Speaking of which,” Troy looked at the clock, “isn’t she coming over to pick up your stuff?”
“Yeah! For a charity auction next week.” Then there was a knock that was coming from the back of the barn. “Huh, she’s here early.”
Within a minute, Twilight came into the kitchen. “Hey guys!” she went over to her students. “I didn’t think you two would be here.”
“The sent of bacon compelled me,” Gallus said and the husbands snickered.
Their headmare smiled. “I’m glad to see the spouses-to-be meeting you guys.”
Both Troy and Canvas paused when they processed what was said. “Twi, what are you talking about?” the older griffon questioned.
“Don’t you know?” She wrapped her wings around her students. “These two are getting married soon.”
Another pause.
“Uh… how old are you two again?” Canvas asked.