//------------------------------// // Yaksidentally in Love [Comedy, Romance; Sandbar, Yona] // Story: Scenes From A Hat // by The Hat Man //------------------------------// Sandbar sat back in the plush easy chair in his family’s den on the outside of Ponyville. He looked out the window and gave a contented sigh as he saw the gentle spring rain come down over the village. The fat raindrops filled the air with their gentle percussive sound, and he grinned as they tapped against his window, making his view swim as the water ran down the panes of glass. It was the last weekend before Spring Break and studies at the School of Friendship had pretty much wound down until after the break, so he’d left the dorms early to be back with his family, and he was at the moment occupied with reading a comic book recommended by Spike - he’d been assured that it was NOT the kind that sucked you inside the book - but he gave a yawn and set the book down, shutting his eyes for what would probably end up being a nice afternoon nap. The young colt stirred as he was dozing off when he heard the tapping on the window panes slightly increased in volume. But he let it pass and tried to get back to the all-important business of napping when he heard the tapping again. Only this time, it had evolved into a distinct thudding. He groggily sat up and looked at the window. While the rain had intensified, the heavier drops were definitely not what made that sound. Then he heard the sound again, but now it had progressed all the way to pounding, and he at last turned his attention to the front door. His parents weren’t home, nor was he expecting them to be, as they were out of town visiting relatives, and he had no idea who else could be visiting, but as he got closer, he heard a distinct voice joining the chorus of frantic pounding. “Sandba~ar! Sandbar, please be home! Yona not want to smash Sandbar’s door down, but Yona almost ready to consider that option!” “Yona!” Sandbar exclaimed. Sandbar went to the door and unlatched it as the yak girl continued pounding at the door and yelling for him. He threw open the door and was about to greet his friend when he was himself greeted by a gigantic mass of sopping wet fur that barreled through the door. Yona, who’d been pounding on the door with her forehooves right up until the point that it suddenly ceased to be there, teetered over, smothering him as she lost her balance and pitched forward. “Ugh…” Yona groaned as she caught her breath, panting on the floor with her soaking wet bangs covering her vision. “Yona so glad Sandbar at home. Yona was at market when storm came! Sandbar’s house was closest place Yona could go!” She heard a strange muffle but not the expected voice of her best pony friend. “Sandbar?” Yona called, lifting her bangs so she could see. “Yona see Sandbar’s house, but no see Sandbar… then who let Yona in?” With a labored breath, Yona got to her hooves, her drenched fur weighing her down as she went to close the door behind her, figuring that it was only the decent thing to do. “Ynna! Ynnna!” She again heard the strange muffle, though it was less muffled and considerably more urgent this time. “That sound like Sandbar,” Yona said as she trotted inside, her fur dripping into a growing puddle on the floor, “but Yona still no see Sandbar.” She cupped her hoof to her mouth and called his name loudly enough to rattle the windows of the whole house: “Sandba~ar! If Sandbar here, give Yona sign! Yaks best at Hide and Seek but Yona not feel like playing right n-heh-now-hehehehHAHAHA!” Yona erupted into a fit of giggles as something began ticking her belly. Then she felt something pushing against her undersides and finally, with a loud, wet shlorp, Sandbar came tumbling out onto the floor beneath her, gasping for breath and glad to be free of the thick strands of soaking wet yak fur. Sandbar had once accidentally swept a small insect up while he was mopping, and only now did he truly know how that bug must have felt. As he crawled to freedom, Yona gasped and took a few steps back. “S-Sandbar?! What you doing down there! Sandbar not know Yona well enough yet!” “W-what?!” Sandbar sputtered, his cheeks reddening. “Yona, no, you… you just fell on me!” Yona froze. “Oh…” She lifted her bangs again and looked around, seeing the massive puddle of water she’d left in her wake. “Can Sandbar get Yona a towel?” she asked. “Actually, many towels… probably all the towels. Maybe some from neighbors.” Sandbar sighed, shaking his head but smiling to himself regardless. “Sure, Yona,” he said, leading her to the bathroom. “Let’s get you dried off…” After getting toweled off himself, Sandbar retreated to his room on the second floor. As he waited for Yona to finish drying off as well, he took a seat on his bed and stared out his window, taking in the sight of the rainstorm as it continued outside. As he watched the storm continue outside, he fidgeted nervously atop his bed. I’ve never had a girl over at my house before, he marveled to himself. Well, I mean, I have, but just when I was little. Now… He flashed back to when Yona had toppled onto him. Certainly being smashed into the floor by a yak that weighed two or three times his own weight was unpleasant… but being so close to her, tangled in her fur, the darkness, and - despite the cold, dripping rainwater - the warmth and closeness of her… He swallowed, putting thoughts out of his head. Man, I gotta put that out of my head… come on, Sandbar, this is Yona! What would she think if she knew what you were thinking?! He felt his cheeks grow hot, and decided to focus his attention elsewhere. He forced himself to calm down, taking deep breaths as he focused on the rain. Right… just think about the rain, he told himself. Just the rain. Just the rain. Just think about the rain. Just think— “Sandbar think fast!” He turned just in time to get smacked with a wadded-up wet towel that had been thrown with surprising force. “Ow, Yona!” he said tossing the towel aside. “That hurt!” he added, though he couldn’t keep from chuckling. “Bah! Sandbar tough stallion, he can handle towel,” she said, trotting through his door. Then she looked around, taking in the view. “So… this Sandbar’s room?” He swallowed, his blush returning. “Y-yeah,” he said. “Sorry, it’s a bit messy.” Yona shrugged, her whole massive frame rising and falling as she did so. “Sandbar still tidier than yak boys,” she said. Then she sniffed the air. “Smell nicer too,” she added with a nod. Then, without further fanfare, she went right up to his bed and heaved herself onto it, taking a seat next to him. The bed creaked with the sudden additional weight put upon it. The strain on the bedframe was equally matched by the strained expression on Sandbar’s face at the realization that a girl from school was now sitting on his bed. “What Sandbar looking at?” Yona asked, turning to him. He was about to apologize for staring when he realized that she was gesturing out the window. “Oh!” he exclaimed. “I was just watching the rain.” Yona raised her eyebrow. “Why?” Trying to fight raging hormones, he replied mentally. Out loud, he replied, honestly, “Why? Well, because I love the rain!” “Bah!” Yona said, waving a hoof. “Yona hate rain! It almost never rain in Yakyakistan. Only snow. Yak fur get too wet in rainstorm.” “Yyyeah, I have firsthoof experience with that now,” Sandbar grumbled. “Huh?” Yona asked, her ears twitching. “Never mind,” he said, casting his gaze back outside the window. “Anyway, rain is a pain if you’re stuck in a storm, but other than that, I really like the rain!” “Sandbar like everything,” Yona said, rolling her eyes. “That’s not true!” “On Friendship Profiles with Professor Twilight, Sandbar put Likes as ‘Helping my friends, hanging out with my friends, going to school with my friends—oh, and plants!’ and Dislikes as ‘Nothing, dude!’” she said, doing a remarkably good impersonation of his voice. Sandbar smirked. “You… remembered it that well?” Yona looked away quickly. “We talking about stupid rain, not that!” she snapped. “Well… I guess I like rain because it’s peaceful, and it’s quiet… and, in the spring, it helps new plants grow! Without it, we wouldn’t have all the great food and nice flowers and everything else around here in Ponyville!” Yona ran her tongue around her cheek as she considered it. “Yona do like food. And flowers. And flowers that can be food!” Then there was a flash in the distance and Yona tensed up. “Yona?” Sandbar asked. “What’s—” The loud crash of thunder caused the girl to give a start and wince, shutting her eyes. “Rain not peaceful!” she shouted. “This why Yona no like rain!” “Whoa, whoa, Yona, it’s okay,” he said, putting his hoof on her shoulder. “It’s just a little thunder. Just stay calm… you can stay here until the storm is over.” Yona slowly opened one eye. “It… could be long storm.” “I don’t mind,” he said, giving her a calming smile. Yona relaxed, though she tensed up as thunder rumbled. She reached around Sandbar’s shoulders and pulled the boy in closer, almost tangling him in her long strands of fur once again. “R-really okay to stay?” she asked. “Sandbar not mind waiting?” He nodded. “Even if… even if Yona clumsy sometimes? Even if she loud… like thunder?” He shook his head. “Sometimes rain comes along with thunder… but it helps me appreciate the rain even more, y’know?” Yona shut her eyes. “Mmm,” she murmured. “Yona think… she understand…” They stayed that way in the darkened room, watching through the window as the rain continued to fall. The only sound breaking the silence was the distant sound of thunder which receded and became a delicate rumble. “Rain not so bad,” Yona whispered, gently resting her head on Sandbar’s. “Y-Yona?!” he stammered suddenly. “Sh,” she whispered. “Yona listening to rain…”