Sandbox / Ask The Student Six

We're six creatures learning about Friendship from the Princess of Friendship's new School near Ponyville.
Come ask us questions! We're eager to learn.

The blog's description on Tumblr

Ask The Student Six is a My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic Tumblr comic blog focusing on the day to day antics of the six students introduced in the eighth season: Gallus, Ocellus, Sandbar, Silverstream, Smolder, and Yona. It's primarily focused on comedy, though it does have its cute and heartwarming moments as well.

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Tropes associated with Ask The Student Six

• Accessory-Wearing Cartoon Animal:
  • Silverstream is still wearing her necklace, now with a staircase keychain on it.
  • Ocellus gains one in the comic in the form of a post-it note on her flank, so they always know it's her.
  • Smolder also gains one in the comic; a bandana Ocellus made her as a birthday gift.
• All Animals Are Dogs:
  • Yona has many a doglike tendency such as:
    • at She's seen at one point chasing her tail.
    • She later grabs Gallus's tail while playing fetch.
  • If this embarrassing picture of Ocellus wagging her tail and sticking out her tongue is anything to go by, changelings have some dog in them as well.
  • Gallus, meanwhile, shows the cat side of gryphons when playing with a toy mouse.
• Art Evolution: Compare this (the first comic) with this (the 142nd) for how much the art has changed. The lines are smoother and cleaner, there's more shading, the eyes are more distinct, etc.
• Asleep in Class: It's a bit of a running gag that every time Gallus is seen in class, he's napping at his desk.
• Beat Panel: Three beat panels when Yona is offered a paradox, showing just how much the question annoys her.
• Beautiful Dreamer: An odd non-romantic example. The other five really seem to enjoy watching Ocellus sleep. Here, they take a picture of her sleeping amongst her books, and here, they just watch her and talk amongst themselves while she sleeps in a pile of pillows.
• Blatant Lies: Gallus's explanation of why changelings had holes, basically to save on shipping costs, is insane enough that Ocellus (who is an actual changeling, and was specifically asked) facehooves and asks for sources.
• Bookworm: Ocellus, though she and everyone else in the comic prefer bookbug. Her friends use books to calm her down after she threatened Gallus when he tried to tell the readers how he got her to blush as an example of how much she loves them.
• Breaking the Fourth Wall: Taken a bit literally with Yona, who smashes the fourth wall with her head and seems quite proud of it.
• Bullying a Dragon: Sandbar, you should've known better than to make fun of Smolder when she was trapped by Silverstream's necklace. You were just asking to be roasted by her at that point.
• Catching Some Z's: Generally used when Gallus is Asleep in Class to show that he is out like a light. Ocellus, as well when she's sleeping, though only when not animated.
• The Chew Toy: Sandbar and Gallus tend to be on the wrong end of the most humiliating and/or painful pranks by far, ranging from Sandbar getting knocked over the head with a log (to demonstrate its strength) to Gallus taking a dodgeball to the face from his own team among other things. They're pretty much resigned to their fate, of course.
  Gallus: I’m sure the stars will align and [Smolder's] fire will still find us. Or it’ll bounce off Ocellus’ chitin and hit us.
• Comically Missing the Point:
  • Ocellus, on being asked if she has her eye on anyone, says "Do I have my eye on anyone? Well, Gallus is right there, is that what you meant?"
  • Gallus is asked where griffons come from, and answers Griffonstone. It's pointed out by the other students that the questioner probably meant reproductively.
• Denied Food as Punishment: Ocellus tells Gallus that he can't have any more of her cupcakes because he was mean about them, after he asks if they were made with real or metaphorical love.
• Disapproving Look: Ocellus gives these from time to time, usually when something offends or annoys her. For example, when asked what she would look like with "normal" eyes, the look she gives the reader screams "seriously?"
• Ditzy Genius: Ocellus is acknowledged to be the smartest of the six, but, when asked if she has her eye on anyone, completely misinterprets the question and says "Well, Gallus is right there. Is that what you meant?" Lampshaded, of course.
  Smolder: How dense can a smart creature be?
• Dodgeball Is Hell: As Gallus finds out the hard way when Yona (Who's on his team) throws a dodgeball at his face.
• Embarrassing Nickname: Gallus is occasionally called GallyWally, to which he always responds "Never call me that again, ever."
• Epic Fail: Yona's attempt to braid her own hair ends disastrously for the yak. Somehow, when trying to do so, she created a knot so complex Ocellus wonders how she did it without a team of creatures to help.
• Facepalm: Ocellus facehoofs in response to Gallus's "explanation" as to why changelings had holes.
• Fantastic Racism: Called Speciesism in one blog, where Ocellus accuses an asker of an inadvertent case of this.
• French Maid Outfit: Gallus, Smolder, and Sandbar all end up in one (with cat ears). Only the latter is happy about it.
• Friendless Background: Gallus heavily implies this in one comic, where he says, when asked about friends in Griffonstone, that "griffons don't really do friends."
• Funny Background Event: Funny post-it note event? Ocellus's post-it note has Pinkie popping out of it in one comic.
• Furry Reminder: Of course. For example, Silverstream is seen preening her wings at one point, like a bird would do.
• The Gadfly: Discord makes a two comic cameo, in all his trollish glory, literally popping out of Sandbar's ear (and talking about their first meeting) in the second.
• The Glomp: Silverstream accidentally weaponizes it once, coming at a filly she wants to hug at high speed (per Gallus's exaggeration: mach 10).
• Hates Being Touched: Gallus seems to respond badly every time somecreature hugs him, trying to get out of it.
• Hidden Depths: Apparently, Gallus is a really good artist. The looks the other three (excepting Ocellus whose "art" we'd already seen, and Smolder who's art ends up as a fiery offscreen incident) give him really sells how unexpected it is.
• Hold Your Hippogriffs: Inevitable really. Gallus, for example, uses the word "gizzards" for emphasis.
• Hulk Speak: Yona still speaks like this, of course. She even insists that it's the best way to speak.
• Humiliating Wager: What Gallus and Sandbar thought was the reason Ocellus was sitting with a "giv bug luv" sign in her mouth. Turned out that she and Smolder made a deal where if she did this, Smolder would give her a painite gem to study.
• Insistent Terminology: Ocellus insists that she's not an insect, but a tetrapod, whenever she's called the former.
• Jerkass: Gallus openly admits to it, and says all griffons are jerks in the text portion of one comic
  Ocellus: It’s like saying Griffons are very sensitive because they don’t let others form emotional attachments easily, and they don’t want to be hurt. That’s why you’re very hostile initially.
  Gallus: Nah. We’re just jerks.
• Let Us Never Speak of This Again: Many incidents we only learn about because one or more characters forgets or "forgets" that they were never supposed to speak of it again. For example, the time they caught Smolder singing while studying.
• Monochromatic Eyes: Ocellus has these, of course, and she inevitably gets a question about how she would look with "normal" eyes. A question that serves to annoy her more than anything.
• Motor Mouth:
  • Ends up with two in one comic, when Silverstream and Autumn Blaze get together. Lampshaded, of course.
    Sandbar: I’m pretty sure Ocellus’ wings flap slower than their mouths
  • Also happens with Ocellus when given coffee, according to Smolder, Gallus, and Yona. She was bouncing around the room, jabbering and yammering until she fell asleep on a chandelier, apparently.
• Mundane Object Amazement:
  • Silverstream's fascination with stairs continues unabated in the comic. She even gets a staircase keychain from a reader in one comic, that is seen on her necklace in every comic she appears in thereafter because of her love of stairs.
  • Silvy later becomes fascinated with slinkies. Per Gallus, Smolder, and Ocellus (who are studying Hippogriff attention spans), she had been playing with it for eight hours, using it on the stairs for three.
  • Also, everyone but Gallus and Smolder become utterly infatuated with bubbles!
• Mundane Utility:
  • Ocellus's ability to transform seems purpose built for mundane utility. Limited to five examples lest it dwarf the rest of the page:
    • She starts early, pretending to be Twilight on a dare.
    • She also used it to win a bet against Gallus fair and square/on a technicality/by cheating, depending on who you ask.
    • Later, she's seen sitting on Sandbar's head as a mouse because it's comfy.
    • She also transforms into a seapony to get shells from the bottom of Ponyville lake with Silverstream.
    • When an alarm clock gets stuck on (Gallus's fault), she transforms into something with no ears to keep from hearing the incessant ringing.
  • Silverstream's ability to become a seapony also gets some mundane uses:
    • She uses it to teach the others how to swim (or, if you believe Gallus, drown him)
    • And to gather seashells from the bottom of Ponyville lake with Ocellus.
  • Attempted with Smolder's fire breath and drying out Gallus. It doesn't turn out quite as well as the griffon would've hoped.
• Must Have Caffeine: Surprisingly averted with Silverstream and (less surprisingly) Ocellus. Both are banned from having coffee after their first experience. Ocellus was bouncing off the walls and becoming a major motor mouth, apparently, while Silverstream just drew weird pictures of sinks.
• My Significance Sense Is Tingling: When Discord pops out of a set of stairs, Silverstream jerks and thinks "My stairs sense is tingling."
• No Hugging, No Kissing: The comic has made clear that shipping isn't happening. When Ocellus is asked if she has her eye on anyone, for example, she completely misinterprets the question. And when Spike and Smolder are asked if either has a crush on the other, the question draws more confusion than denial or admittance, suggesting a firm "no."
• Noodle Incident: What did Gallus say to make Ocellus blush? We'll probably never know because Ocellus is willing to kill Gallus to keep it a secret.
• No Sense of Personal Space: Sandbar's attempt to figure out if dragons have two hearts (where he put his ear to her chest without her permission) smacks of this. is it any surprise that she ended up whacking him?
• No Sympathy: When Sandbar is roasted by Smolder's dragonfire, Gallus just laughs it up at the earth pony's expense.
• Oh, Crap!:
  • Sandbar, on realizing he made a big mistake in creating his pizza gives a great one.
  • Gallus's face, when a dodgeball is thrown at it just screams "Oh, crap!" Even better? It's friendly fire!
  • Sandbar again, when Silverstream knocks him off his surfboard for a laugh. His face sells it again.
• Pun:
  • Sandbar eats more cheese than he can handle on a pizza, and while he's in the hospital, Gallus leaves a giant cheese wheel at the foot of his bed, and when questioned, he says:
    Gallus: Well… I WHEELY hope he makes a quick recovery.
    Sandbar: That was bad and you should feel bad!
  • A much more subtle one comes from Silverstream, when asked about her favorite superhero. The answer? Co. Payrite, IE Copyright.
  • Ocellus gets in on the pun game when said she would be acute angel (angle as corrected by her).
    I corrected your message. Does that make me obtuse or right?
• Right Behind Me: Double subverted when Silverstream makes fun of Starlight Glimmer's love of kites, then thinks Starlight is right behind her. It turns out she's not, on that side. Starlight then draws Silverstream's attention by clearing her throat. The Hippogriff's punishment for this is Writing Lines.
• Ring-Ring-CRUNCH!: Gallus, after coming back from the winter break, smashes a ringing alarm clock. All well and good, until it starts ringing again of its own accord. Better yet, he broke the off switch, meaning he can't stop it that way.
• Suspiciously Specific Denial: When asked what her favorite class is, Smolder says that it isn't Fluttershy's immediately, then gives various reasons why it's not, in an oddly specific manner, before blushing and holding her tail. The others catch on right away.
• Tap on the Head: Sandbar is on the recieving end of Yona's demonstration of Yakyakistani Ironwood's strength. Specifically she smacks his head with it. He's knocked unconscious with a Non Sequitur, *Thud*, and it's later revealed he got a concussion from the hit.
• That Reminds Me of a Song: Nothing is sung due to the medium, but apparently, they do enjoy breaking into spontaneous musical numbers, per Silverstream.
• Third-Person Person: Yona, of course, with her Hulk Speak. For added fun, she and Trixie get into a passive-aggressive argument over the fact that they do so.
• Visible Silence: Quite commonly done. Usually a sign that someone has become annoyed with the speaker, but sometimes used to show contemplation.
• Wholesome Crossdresser: Sandbar, when told to put on a maid outfit and cat ears, wholeheartedly embraces the clothes, unlike Gallus and Smolder. He also apparently owns a dress, though he claims that it's because he lives a block from Rarity, and everyone there has a dress.
• Writing Lines: Silverstream ends up having to do this after making fun of Starlight Glimmer's love of kites.