Studying (with) You

by PonyPlays2014

A Fresh Start

As fast as his hooves can carry him Sandbar starts his not-so-long journey to his dorm, where all the other male students live during their school years.

Please let him be in his room. Please let him be in his room, the pony's thoughts repeat themselves over and over before realizing that there is no way that Gallus already left, let alone woke up.

It's not even 10am and it's a day off. he barely makes it to class when he has to so he surely will not be up so early without a reason.

On his way to the right floor, the second one, he meets a few familiar faces but anything besides a quick hello and a smile costs him too much time. If there is a way to fix everything with Gallus he has to try it! He reaches the door and knocks on it but no one answers him.

"Gallus? Hey! Open up!", he shouts as he bangs his hooves harder and harder against the obstacle blocking his way.

"..o...ay"

A voice, not louder than a whisper and even harder to understand than Miss Pinkie Pie sometimes, addresses the pale lime-green stallion, who stops his assault for a second. But he just can't figure out what the voice said.

"Gallus? Was that you?", he asks to make sure it was really the blue griffon he desires to speak to right now, "Can I come in?"

But this time his question stays unanswered but he didn't come this far to just give up! He has to try again and again until he opens the door.

After a few seconds he bumps his left front hoof against the door but this time weaker than before followed by a word he uses pretty often but this time it sounds more... desperate, "Please..."

Again silence fills the hallway for a moment, which feels like an eternity passing by, until another muffled sound scares it away.

"..t's.. op..n"

It's still hard to understand but at least it's volume increased a bit. Sandbar takes a deep breath before he slowly pushes the door open and steps into the darkness hidden behind it. The door falls shut and the only remaining light source dies with it.
"Gallus? Gallus?", Sandbar asks while his hooves search for the light-switch on the wall. It should be next to the door, at least that's where the switch is located in his room.

Ah, there it is!, a delightful thought appears in his head as his right hoof feels something, that could be either a switch or something he never felt before in his entire life.
Luckily it is the light-switch as pressing it activates the lamp in the room, which fills the room with it's bright light. And even more luckily for him he found it at that specific moment because right in front of his right left hoof is a purple and black ball. One more step and he could've tripped over it and hurt himself! He turns his eyes away from the round object and searches for something blue and yellow.

Finally he can see the griffon, who is still in his bed with a big pile of colorful books next to it.

"Are you... sleeping?", the pony asks even though the answer is obvious.

How can he sleep if he just answered him? Correct, he can't!

"I was sleeping but someone woke me up...", Gallus answers after opening one of his eyes, spotting the stallion and turning his whole body the other way, therefore facing the wall.

Go away before I hurt you again...

"Oh yeah... Sorry."

The atmosphere is even more strange than yesterday, which is surprising considering that they fought and Gallus just stormed off. The pale lime-green male begins to scratch the floor with one of his front hooves as they just stood and lay there, staying silent for an uncomfortable amount of time.

"So...", the pony decides it is time to talk to diffuse the tension between them, "What are those? Books? Did you try to study on your own?"

Gallus finally rises from his bed and stretches himself to relax his limbs.

"No. They are comic books. I like to read them when I'm exhausted."

His voice sounds cold and empty but his mind is telling an entirely different story.

Get the hint! You can't help me with my problem... Don't let me drag you down with me.

He usually doesn't sound much different but something in his voice makes Sandbar nervous. Something is definitely wrong.

The griffon picks up the comic on top of the pile and begins to read it, much to his guest's annoyance.

"Can you listen to me? I came all this way to talk to you", Sandbar asks for his attention but the only thing he gets is a quick glance and a shrug.

"Don't remember asking you to come", he says, now showing signs of annoyance, as he flips the page.

Can't you see that I'm trying to get rid of you for your own good. Just leave and forget it!

Again the tension grows stronger and stronger and Gallus's ruthless behavior and Sandbar's steadily decreasing patience can cause a big scene if they don't begin to resolve their conflict. The pony sighs again and finally says the words he knows he needs to say or else everything will be for nothing.

"I'm... sorry"

W...W...What...

He pauses to see if there is any reaction but Gallus keeps the comic right in front of his face, making it impossible to see any reaction he might has.

"I shouldn't have snapped at you yesterday. I knew that you were trying and I understand that you only told me your opinion but I was... confused. It's not a common thing for ponies to hear someone talk like that about something as beautiful as Generosity. I forgot that you aren't a pony. You are a griffon and I shouldn't have treated you like a pony and expect that you are okay with it."

Finally he did it. Everything he felt is now free for Gallus to hear but a reaction is still lacking. He is still hidden behind his comic book. A sigh escapes from the stallion's mouth before he turns around and makes his way to the door to leave his friend alone. It's obvious that there is no way to fix anythingn anymore.

I... want you to leave but... I can't let you go like that... I just can't... Maybe we can start over and be friends... just... friends...

It is obvious that he doesn't want to talk to him but before he could reach the door a voice asks him to wait.

"Wait... I..."

Sandbar stops and turns his head towards the bed, on which Gallus sits and watches him. He lowered his comic, closed it and is now holding it in his claws tightly.

"I'm... sorry...too", he mumbles as silent as he can but that doesn't stop the stallion from hearing every words.

I think I never heard him apologise before! I guess he must be really sorry and really guilty... But I think he can say it a little bit louder, Sandbar thinks as he decides to not let his friend off that easily.

" What? What did you say? I couldn't understand you", he asks as he lifts a hoof to his ears to increase his hearing.

The griffon puts the comic back on the pile before repeating what he said, visually uncomfortable with it.

"I said", he begins but almost instantly the volume of his voice drops back to a whisper, "I'm sorry... I shouldn't have said those horrible things..."

"Whaaaat?", he asks again as he leans closer and a big grin forms on his face.

He knows that it's mean what he is doing but it's kind of funny to mess with him now.

Gallus lowers his eyebrows and frowns at his friend, his uncomfortableness slowly turning into anger.

"Do you really want to start a new fight? Do you?"

Okay, I think I teased him enough, Sandbar realizes and giggles as he denies the griffon's questions.

"So we are friends again?", he asks and the male on the bed nods but he also has one condition for their newly reformed friendship.

"But I don't think you should help me again. It won't work out."

"Why not?", the pony asks as he comes closer but as he tries to sit down on the floor Gallus offers him a place on the bed.

I offended your entire race and you ask why it won't work out? Really?

He rises to the sky and lands next to the place he wants Sandbar to settle down on.

With a smile he drops his bag next to the pile of books and takes the place he made available for him.

"I was obviously annoyed with it", the griffon begins to explain but the male next to him interrupts him with a snicker.

"Oh really? You were annoyed? I thought you were just sick of being wrong. What a relief!"

His voice makes pretty clear that he means that as a joke but that brings him to the other reason why it won't work.

"That. I can't really... deal with the way you talk. Do you mean what you said? Were you making fun of me? Were you trying to cheer me up? We don't talk like that in Griffonstone."

Hearing that surprises Sandbar and his wide eyes show that. Miss Rainbow Dash explained to him that griffons don't act like ponies but they don't talk like ponies either! It's like they're living in an entirely different world!

"Then...", he tries to think of a way to work out this issue but it seems very difficult, if not impossible, "How do griffons talk with each other?"

The sudden interest in his culture startles the blue male, who just stares his friend in the eyes before he even understand what just happened.

"Well", he begins but how can he explain how someone talks?

"We griffons usually only say what we need to say. No jokes, no unnecessary information and feelings aren't important either. If you have something mean to say, just say it and get on with it. Also we don't lie to each other. It's not worth the time."

"So basically just say what's on your mind if it's necessary?", Sandbar ask to make sure he understands what his partner was saying and he nods.

A thought rushes through the ponies mind and it's almost as if a light bulb suddenly lights up above his head but that would be Pinkie Pie's job.

"In that case", he says as he gets off the bed and stands in front of Gallus, "You did terrible. The closest you got was the definition and that was still miles away from the real deal. Where did you even get those answers?"

Hearing his usually calm and positive-minded friend criticizing everything he did surprises the blue male but he is even more intrigued.

Does he really think he can keep this up? It's difficult and sometimes even I crack and when I crack things can turn really ugly... but he's trying, I gotta admit that.

Still unsure about the proposal to try again he answers the question and admits that he made it up entirely.

"It sounded like something a pony would say", he adds to his explanation and they both laugh but as soon as Sandbar repeats his request the laughter dies and weirdness fills the place.

"I don't know... Are you sure you want this?"

This is your final chance to turn and leave. I won't stop you but... I think I know your answer already

This question sets something in action in the stallion's memory and he remembers a different way to prove how much he wants it. He turns around and fetches he pile of cookies he brought from the cafeteria and places them on the desk.

"Let's make a deal. I'll give you my cookies and you'll accept my proposal. Does that seem sure enough for you?"

He reaches out his hoof and waits for his possible business partner to agree. But the griffon's eyes seem to be attached to the baked sweets and his beak drops open. He knows how much his friend likes cookies, especially those oatmeal cookies, and trading them for the right to become his tutor proves a lot!

He begins to snickers before he reaches out and grips the hoof, shaking it slightly.

"You will regret this", he mumbles but Sandbar only giggles.

They let go and the pony replies, "We will see about that. But for now: let's meet up tomorrow at 11 a.m. at the market.

Believe me... One of us will regret this... Wait? What did he say? The market? Not the library or somewhere else to study? Why?"

This idea catches the griffon off-guard and his friend notices that.

"The market? Why?", he asks but his tutor only tells him to wait and see.

But he gives him one clue, "Don't bring any paper or pencils. We won't need them."

After that he wishes his buddy a beautiful remaining day and he leaves his room. Gallus couldn't react fast enough and before he could tell him to wait the door fell shut.

And back to square one... And now let's repeat everything and the end will be the sa-

He looks at the door, where his friend stood only a few seconds ago, and changes his field of view to the table, focusing the pile of oatmeal cookies.

Or maybe we can change something this time...

He gets up from his bed and takes one, smells it and places it back on his table.

How can he even eat them? Gross...
He turns around and lays back on his bed, staring at the, compared to the rest of the room, really dirty ceiling. But he can't stop thinking about tomorrow.

What does he have in mind? Why the market? How can I learn without any material? And more importantly...

He tries his best to shut up his inner monologue but it doesn't work. He picks up the comic he pretended to read before and reads it for real this time but his eyes can't concentrate on the little pictures and speech bubbles. They always try to look at the pile of cookies on his table and ,after realizing that his field of view doesn't includes them, his head supports this idea by turning towards them.

Why it it so important for him to help me... Why does he care so much?

He spends the rest of the day asking the same questions over and over again but an answer is always out of his reach. He takes a quick shower to clear his head but, like ticks, those thoughts won't leave. They suck more and more, costing him more and more time as he tries to finally solve the riddle Sandbar gave him. Even after Luna did her duty by rising the moon, Gallus still sits on his bed staring at the pile of cookies he never touched again since the trade.

I can't waste this chance... I have to do something a griffon never did before! I have to leave my pride at home and try my best to be a better griffon. Or should I be the best pony I can be? He gets along with other ponies so maybe that's the way we can work it out! But... is this the right way? Doesn't matter! It's the only way... But... can I really do that?

At last he falls asleep due to the lack of energy forcing him to recharge but maybe this is for the best. Else he would've wasted the entire night asking himself questions he couldn't solve during the day. He will find out where his limits are and what Sandbar has in mind for them.

Author's Note:

Yay! Chapter 4 is done and everything seems fine.... at least most of. Let's hope this really works out!
And sorry if their talk was... lame. I'm not really good with those things...^^'

Comments

[GoddessOfCarries]

Okay, I love the Gallus and Sandbar ship, I admit. Your sentences can be worded more smoothly but you have the right flow of story going, keep writing! I'd really like to read more.

[PonyPlays2014]

8906504
Thank you very much^^ Yeah, english isn't really my native language but I really like writing and talking in english. Hope I don't disappoint you

[Texus]

Are all of the thoughts from Sandbar here? half of the chapter I thought it was from Gallus.

I kind of liked this chapter, I stopped at some parts maybe, but it was not enough for me to be mentioned here.