One of the more interesting things about taking Professor Applejack’s class is that the subjects she teaches go beyond the basics of farming, apples, and honesty. The things she taught have a practical edge to certain things from cooking basics to learning useful knots to tie. That early February, she taught the class about basic survival skills from how to start a fire and keep it running, where to find clean water, building shelter, and first aid.
In Professor Applejack’s class, the only test she gives you aren’t in the form of a paper asking questions, rather she has her students demonstrate those basic skills to her. As this lesson was about survival skills, the farmer taught them how to build a snow cave. It was important as the students were going to go on a class field trip for the sake of their exam. She made it clear that in order for them to take this test, is that they pack the essentials they would need for camping in the snow overnight and for the class to pair up with a buddy.
Sandbar immediately chose Gallus as that buddy. And so, after planning out what exactly to take with them, they were ready to set out to towards the Foal Mountains. On that Saturday morning, Applejack’s class were set off early in the morning by train to reach their destination. By noon the train stopped at an icy trail before they began their trek up the mountainside.
“One thing Y’all have ta keep in mind,” their teacher leading the group called out, “is that it’s important ta try ta read the weather. See those cloud over yonder?” She pointed a hoof towards dark clouds that stretched from horizon to horizon that was moving towards their direction. “Rainbow Dash would tell ya that when a cloud is that dark a color, it means that it’s ripe fer it to release some water. In other words, we’d best try ta get to our campin’ spot before that doozy of a storm hits us. Otherwise, it’ll be hard ta see, so let’s get goin’.”
They followed the class from the back. Above them, they can see jagged peaks of the mountains that almost resembled broken glass. Below was the tree line of pines that stretched out as far as the eye could see. Before them was the trail the curled tightly around the rocky wall like a thin snake, and behind them was the wind that slaps them mercilessly with loose snowflakes, making it a little hard to see except for the outline of the other students.
“How much longer?” Gallus asked, a claw still clinging to the potato sack that he was carrying.
“I don’t know dude.” Sandbar answered, breathing heavily from both the hike and the saddlebag. “But we must keep going. I’m sure we’ll reach the campsite soon.”
The griffon shuttered. “Gods I hope so! I don’t know how much of this wind I can take.”
“Just keep moving.” His friend said. “Professor Applejack said that it shouldn’t be too far from the rail stop- AH!” The pony slipped on an icy rock, collapsing on the ground.
“You okay?” Gallus stopped to pick his friend up.
“Yeah, yeah,” he nodded, “I just slipped is all. Now come on, let’s try to keep…” Sandbar’s words faded among the wind as he looked down the trail. Gallus notices this too and saw that the outline of the other students has disappeared. “W-Where did they go?”
“C’mon,” the blue griffon snatched his foreleg, “Let’s hurry up! I’m not interested in getting lost in the middle of nowhere.” As quickly as they could, the two of them went into a gallop up the winding path. However, the winds picked up a screen of blinding snow that further limited their field of vision.
“I can’t see!” Sandbar tried to shake his head but didn’t slow down his hurried pace. “I can’t-”
What happened next was so sudden, that neither pony or griffon realized before it was too late that they had stepped off the path, feeling nothing underneath their hoof and claw before tumbling off into frozen white air.
“SANDBAR!” Gallus screamed as upon instinct, he let go of his sack and propelled himself towards the pony in freefall. Although he could barely see except for an outline, he flew down to snatch his midsection, but the momentum of the fall made it impossible to stop it, and the weight of the saddlebag made it too heavy to slow down. Just as quickly, the griffon saw the black and white ground approaching and, thinking quickly, he wrapped around the young stallion, embracing for impact.
They hit the snow, but the mountainside was steep, so they rolled downwards screaming. Fortunately for them, the saddlebag that Sandbar had on took most of the blunt among the rocks as it stabbed and tore it while they barrel rolled down. Tumbling and turning, there was no way for them to stop until the mountainside started to level out. Just when Gallus’s arms and forelegs couldn’t hold them in place, they finally slowed enough to stop, nearly buried in the snow.
Two frightened, heaving faces stared at one another before Sandbar sat up. “You okay?”
“I…” Gallus breathed deeply, “Yeah… I’m fine.” Both of them got back up to look around at where they have landed. From what they could barely see, they have fallen onto a plateau that was between where they were and the tree line. Tumbling down to them was their supplies that had been scattered during the fall.
“Oh, Goddesses…” Sandbar started to panic, “What are we gonna do?! Gallus, where are we?! How are we gonna get back-” A claw covered his muzzle.
“Dude, I get that you’re freaking out, but I shouldn’t risk screaming my head off. You might cause an avalanche. Just take a deep breath. ” He did so. “Now, are you hurt?” Sandbar shook his head. “Okay… remember Professor’s Applejack’s number one rule?”
The pony pushed his claw away. “What? That anything except apples are evil?”
“No! The one about survival.”
“Oh… Don’t panic.”
Gallus nodded. “We need to think about this logically. Sooner or later, they’re gonna realize that we’re missing so they’re going to search for us as soon as it’s clear enough to see and when that storm passes over. But right now, we need to get out of this and fast.”
Nodding, Sandbar looked around at their surrounds. “I think we should get whatever stuff is ours together before making a snow cave to get out of this wind.”
And so, the two of them went up the steep mountainside and picked out whatever supplies they could find. A hoof shovel here, a scarf there, a torn sleeping bag on the rocks, a canteen in the snow, a small tin oil lamp near and a box of matches far. It became apparent for the two that neither of them has all of their supplies and few to spare. So once their things were gathered up, the set upon their task of digging out their shelter.
The two of them took turns with the hoofheld shovel to ding into the steeper side of the mountain. Remembering from what their Professor had said about crafting a snow cave, they dug downward at an angle until they were out of the wind before digging a “T” shaped hole. It took them several hours to carve out their shelter and use the snow to block off the entrance until there was a small hole, along with smoothing out the ceiling into a dome shape, but in the end, they have a place to reside in. They carved out the inside where there was a floor and above it by a few feet was a space for them to lay themselves and their supplies in.
“Lend me your scarf,” Gallus said once they were able to move what remains of their supplies in.
“Why?”
Picking up the shovel, he said, “Because if there’s any way for them to find us, I think we need something like a flag, or in this case, your scarf to let them know where we are.”
After giving him his scarf, Gallus tied it on the handle part of the shovel before going outside one last time to pin their impromptu flag right outside of their cave.
“That’s really resourceful,” Sandbar commented when his friend reentered into the cave, “I don’t think that I would have thought of that.”
The griffon blew into his claws. “I guess it’s something you learn to do when you’re practically homeless.” He chuckled but looked around at the space they created. “I just really hope this thing won’t cave in on us. Its unnerving being in here as it is.”
Sandbar raised an eyebrow. “Why?”
“Just.” His wings fluttered, “I don’t like being in tight spaces is all.”
“Should we try to carve out more space?”
Gallus shook his head. “I’m tired as it is, dude. I think this’ll be…” He took notice that Sandbar was shivering. “Hey, you okay?”
“J-Just a little cold.” He said.
The young griffon paused for a moment before getting up. “Here,” he said, “scooch over.”
“W-What are you?”
Gallus climbed up to him where they were side by side before spreading a wing to cover the shivering stallion. “I’d figured that it’ll be best that we should share some body heat.”
“Thanks.”
For a long moment, they fell silent while the winds seemed to get louder, no doubt that storm Professor Applejack was talking about had arrived. It was made clear to both of them that their chance of rescue would most likely are going to wait until it clears up.
“This is my fault.” Sandbar finally spoke up.
“What?”
“If I hadn’t slipped up back there, none of this wouldn’t be happening.”
“I don’t know, we’d probably still be tired out and freezing our flanks off regardless.” Gallus chuckled but his friend didn’t respond. “Look, don’t take this personally. What happened back there was an accident. It could have happened to anyone.”
“Yeah but… It did happen.” A claw reached over to pick his chin up to face his friend’s eyes.
“That doesn’t matter now.” He said. “I know things look grim, but we can’t spend all that energy on feeling sorry for ourselves. No creature is here right now so we have to focus on making sure we don’t die up here. I promise that I’m gonna do everything I can so that we can go back home, one way or another.”
Sandbar blushed. “I see… so what do we do now?”
Gallus shrugged. “I guess until the storm dies down or help arrives, do you wanna… talk?”
“About what?”
“I dunno, anything I guess.” When there was an awkward pause, the griffon tried to figure out how to start up a conversation. “So… What’s your home like?”
“Huh?”
“Ya know, where you and your folks are from. Before you came to the school, what is home like over there?”
“Have you ever been to the sea?”
He shook his head. “Not really. I mean, I flew over them when I left Griffonstone, but that’s pretty much it.”
“Really? You’ve never been to a beach or anything like that?”
“Again, flew over them, but never stopped at one.”
“Oh, dude… You would love the beach.” Sandbar smiled. “I come from a town that’s a little south of Applewood, right there by the sea. The beaches have this powdery white sand that stretches on for miles along with the palm trees. And the water… oh… even on the hottest day of the year, the sea is never too warm but just cool enough to relax in. In fact, as soon as I learn how to walk, my parents taught me how to swim.”
“Yeah?”
“Uh-huh. It’s just… paradise, ya know? I would say it’s the most beautiful place in Equestria as it’s always green with swaying palms and blooming tropical flowers. Where it’s always warm. And at night, just listening to the waves coming and going on the shore is like being rocked to sleep.”
Gallus lowered his eyes towards the icy bed. “Must be someplace. Beats being cooped up in this icebox.”
Sandbar laughed. “To tell you the truth, this is my first winter to actually see snow up close.”
“Really?”
“Yeah! Where I come from, the most we can expect out of our winters are some cloudy days with rain – that’s it. I’ve heard about snow and seen pictures of it, but a couple of months ago, it was my first time actually seeing it up close. In fact, I’m kinda surprised by how many uses for there are for this stuff.”
Gallus lay his head down on his arm but still looked up to Sandbar. “I think that’s the kind of place I want to move to.”
“Huh?”
“Your home, in how you describe it, that’s the kind of place that after telling Griffonstone to go screw itself for me to head towards. I mean, compare that to Griffonstone, it doesn’t have a prayer to a paradise like that. Just to get away from the gray mountains where nothing grows. Away from the griffs that spend their day moping and arguing in the ruins. Away from the cold nights and cloudy days. And away from the hopelessness of just staying there. When I move, I’m going to a place where there’s nothing to remind me of that prison.”
“You mean after we get through with school.”
The griffon waves a dismissive claw. “Naturally, the school is the only place that with you guys there, is where my real home is now. I’m just thinking ahead is all.”
Silence came once again as the winds continued to blow outside. A minute later, Gallus’s stomach started to compliantly growl. He uses his free claw over the area of the empty organ. “Sandbar, you didn’t happen to find anything to eat, didn’t ya?”
He shook his head. “All I can find was my canteen and that was it.”
“Crap… What was it that Professor Applejack said?”
“About what?”
“Where she said that anyone can survive within three’s.”
“Oh! I know what you’re talking about. She said that most creatures can live with only three seconds without hope as most would freeze in an emergency; three minutes without air as few can hold their breath for that long; three hours without shelter when the weather is really bad; three days without water; three weeks without food; and uh… oh right! Three months without companionship or love before being driven insane.”
Gallus laughed. “Yeah, I bet I’ve beaten everyone’s record on that bit. I went years without anyone else to care about helping me.”
Sandbar’s ears fell back against his head. For a long few minutes, he debated with himself if he should ask before giving in. “Can I ask you a personal question?”
“As if I have anything better to do. What is it?”
“About your parents,” he said, “what happened to them?”
The blue griffon looked away, towards the entrance where the light was slowly fading. “Like, how did they die?” Sandbar told him yes but followed up by saying that he doesn’t have to talk about it if he didn’t want to. “I get it, dude, I haven’t been the most vocal about my past unlike the rest of you guys. But I guess it’s time for someone that actually cares to know.”
He moved his claws together, breathing warmth into them. “When I was… oh… eleven, there was a plague that swept through Griffonstone one winter. Everywhere griffons were getting sick as they became weaker to the point they couldn’t move out of bed. There were some that managed to recover at that point after a couple of days, but my parents…” Gallus went quiet for a long moment. “I remember the last thing they said to me was to go to the well to fetch them some water. It took me a couple of minutes at most, but by the time I came back…” He clenched his eyes tightly. “Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry.” He scolded himself, “Not here… Not now… Don’t…” But the tears refused to be kept in.
A pair of forelegs wrapped around him and Sandbar’s head resting beside him. The young stallion didn’t say a word as his friend silently wept. Faced with such suffering from someone that he had gotten to know, the earth pony had no idea what to say to him or if he should say anything at all. But in that shelter of snow with a storm outside, the only thing that Sandbar knew that above all things, he should still be there at his side while the griffon cried what might be the first time in years.
Eventually, begrudgingly, Sandbar had to get up as the cave became much darker. So, he fetched what very few things from him he had – a tin oil lamp and a box of matches. After lighting the wick, he laid back down next to Gallus, placing the tiny flame in front of them.
“Sorry…” His friend said. “I didn’t mean to get emotional.”
“No,” Sandbar shook his head. “I should be the one to be sorry for bringing something so painful up.”
Gallus shook his head. “Don’t be… As weird as it’s gonna sound… It’s like I needed that. It’s been five years since they’ve passed away and looked back to what I’ve been through without them, I often times wonder what they would think of me now. What would they say if they knew that I’m gonna get married to a guy so that I can move out of a joke of a kingdom?”
“I wouldn’t know dude.” His friend replied. “You have problems that I don’t have the answer to. My parents aren’t dead, and they’re thrilled that I’m getting married soon. Because the truth is, I can’t speak for your past, but only for our present. And you know what dude? As soon as we do get married, I’m gonna make you a promise, right here, right now, that until the day we separate, I’m gonna try everything I can to make you happy. I don’t know how, but from what I’ve heard, that happiness is long overdue for you.”
“You don’t owe me anything.”
“So? Gallus, I don’t know what Griffonstone has done to you, but even an outcast like yourself is entitled to some happiness. If your parents were here right now, I would promise them that regardless of how long this will be, you will not suffer while I’m around.”
The blue griffon looked into his eyes. “W-Why are you doing this for?”
Sandbar paused, trying to scrap out an answer. “It’s in my nature, I think.” He said. “You and the girls have given me a friendship that I didn’t have back home. I never told any of them this, but since we became friends, I feel like that I can finally be on the same level as you guys. Sure, all of you come from different backgrounds, but even so, there is a connection there. With you especially, it’s like I can freely share things that I wouldn’t have to worry if you’ll understand. So, because of that, when I hear that you’ve suffered, it… I would be forever damned if I just sit on the side and do nothing to help. And I know you didn’t ask for this but… please… let me help.”
Despite being encased in a hole underneath ice and snow, Gallus felt warm hearing those words. That same sensation from the pond weeks ago returned as he found that he’s unable to say anything. His beak opened and closed but no words came except for a single question: “Wha… What do I say to that?”
“You don’t have to.” Sandbar replied, resting his neck over his friend’s shoulder.
The first thing they’ve noticed as they began to wake up were muffled voices. Gallus’s ears perked up, trying to register the confusing sounds of whispers and stomping. However, as he opened his eyes, he eyed the entrance of the cave of something moving in the light. Pushing himself up, he used his claw to shake his friend gently.
“Sand, what up. I think someone’s here.”
Eyes flickered open as Sandbar too woken up. “What’s happening?”
“I think we’re getting rescued, now wake up!” Gallus rolled off and into the coldest part of their makeshift cave to pull out the snow that the snow had piled over the previous night. He clawed away towards the light until his arm penetrated through.
“Hold it!” He heard someone say as he pulled himself out of the ground. With his head poking out, he shook the snow off of him to see the class and Professor Applejack above him. He noticed the crater he popped out from where all of them had a shovel on them. “Oh, thank Celestia!” he heard his professor in relief, “Are ya okay? Where’s Sandbar?”
“He’s here.” Gallus pulled himself out of the ground before turning around back into the hole to pull the pony out of it. Almost immediately they were asked a thousand questions regarding what happened to them. “Basically, we fell too far back behind, tried to catch up, fell off a clef, landed here, and build a snow cave to get out of the weather.”
Their professor was surprised by this. “Ya know, if it weren’t fer the scarf stickin’ out, we’d probably wouldn’t find any of Y’all. We’ve noticed that none of ya fellas were at the camp and assumed the worst. But with the storm goin’ on we couldn’t exactly do anythin’ about it until it cleared up.”
“Yeah.” Sandbar nodded. “Hey, does anypony got anything to eat? We’re starving.”
Gallus looked around and took notice of the hoofheld shovel that still had the scarf on. As far as he could see, there were traces of snow that covered most of it except for a portion of it that stuck out among the slope. “Good thing I had put that thing out before finishing the cave. Oh! Professor, would you like to see our-”
“Y’all already passed.” She interrupted him. “If ya build a snow cave, able to spend the night while puttin’ a marker ta let us know where ya are, Ah’d say that ya know how ta survive in the wilderness. But fer now, let’s get the both of ya back to the camp and get ya somethin’ warm in yer bellies.”