To Nerd A Bird

“Uhhh… Thandbar? Where did you go?”

Despite how quickly he tried to run after his friend on the way to the library, Gallus ended up stumbling quite a bit and losing track of him. He ended up needing to stop by the time he exited the dormitory building, and winced when he stepped outside in his nerdy outfit. He covered the top of his glasses with a claw so he wouldn’t be blinded, but he needed to narrow his eyes and try to scan around. With the way he looked, several students nearby were already taking notice of his appearance and whispering to one another; meanwhile, the gryphon just huffed in frustration.

“Ugh, darnit…” With Sandbar nowhere in sight, Gallus could only assume he’d lose the race anyway. So instead of overexerting himself and getting his clothes all sweaty, he decided to just walk at a regular pace across the campus courtyard. As he walked, his face deepened with a blush when he saw how many ponies were stopping to look over at him. He tried his best to remain optimistic, hoping that they were just admiring his new style like his friends all had. But alas, that was hard to do when he constantly saw his headgear and glasses frames in his line of vision.

“Nnnghhh…” He eventually stopped and took off his glasses, taking a moment to clean the lenses with the bottom of his sweater-vest. He was just about to put them back on his head, but he paused and blinked a couple times before looking around. Off in the distance, he could see several different ponies fairly well without his glasses on. He looked back down at the frames in his claw, and tilted his head puzzledly. “What the…”

Unbeknownst to Gallus, a petite little fly had been hovering behind Gallus since he and Sandbar left their dorm. It wasn’t until he took off his glasses that the “Fly” disappeared from sight in the form of a tiny green flame. That flame expanded out quite dramatically behind the gryphon, and took the form of Ocellus in less than a second. The changeling landed back on their hooves behind him, and cleared their throat to catch his attention. “Hey, Gallus!”

“GAH!” He yelped out with a startled squawk, nearly dropping his glasses when he turned around. He faced Ocellus with his eyes wide-open, but they quickly narrowed on them with obvious strain. “Oof, what the… Othellus, is that you?”

“Hmph~ Well, of course, silly!” Ocellus smiled as wide and as innocently as could be, happy that they were the only student close enough to Gallus in that moment. They may have reverted back to their normal form, but they knew how to alter their appearance well enough to look absolutely blurry. Gallus blinked a few times in total confoundment, and tilted his head to get a better look at the hazy blob of blue in front of them. Ocellus took that opportunity to motion down to his glasses and ask, “Are those prescriptions working for you?”

“Uhhhhh…” Gallus blushed and looked down at his frames, suddenly feeling self-conscious about his vision. He quickly put the glasses back on, with Ocellus timing it well enough to change their form back to normal with a split-second flash of their flames. As soon as Gallus blinked behind his blocky frames, his perfectly fine eyes saw an equally normal Ocellus smiling back at him. His brows raised in shock, and he breathed out with a scoof. “Jeethe, Othelluth… I really did need thethe glatheth, huh?”

“Yeah, I think so…” Part of Ocellus wanted to feel guilty for shrugging in agreement, but seeing him looking so wonderfully dorky already was enough to make them continue the facade. They even gave a sympathetic look and added, “I didn’t want to say anything earlier, but… we all kinda noticed you were having vision troubles sometimes.”

“R… Really?” Gallus looked down at himself with a skewed beak. He never thought his vision was bad, but he couldn’t exactly claim that now after seeing how awful everything was without glasses. He readjusted the taped-up frames, but kept them on without much hesitancy. “W-Well, uhhh… Thankth for getting me that appointment, I gueth…”

“Oh, it’s no problem at all~” Ocellus wanted to cheerfully remind him of the braces too, but they knew better than to bring that up while he’s still adjusting to things. So instead, they tried to add more positive reinforcement and pointed to his chest. “Ooh, is that a pocket protector? Wow Gallus, that’s really cool!”

“Uhhh… it is?” He looked down at the accessory sticking out of his sweater-vest, and shrugged weakly. “Ehhh… Yeah, Thandbar let me have it.”

“Dude, you have to show it off to the others!” Ocellus was grinning excitedly from that idea, and even moved in closer to perk their brows enticingly. “I bet the girls would love it~”

“Hmph, oh pleathe…” Gallus rolled his eyes behind his thick lenses, not appearing too convinced. “No offenthe, but a pocket protector ithn’t really thomething I would call ‘awethome’ mythelf.”

“Hmmm…” Ocellus bit their tongue, and managed to give a respectul nod to Gallus’ point. “Well… I would agree with that notion, maybe. Or at least, you should stop saying ‘awesome’ altogether while wearing those braces. Maybe you could say ‘Neato’ instead?”

Gallus hummed in thought, and looked back down at his pocket protector for a second. “Huh… ‘Neato’...”

“Just think of it like this…” Ocellus got Gallus’ attention back towards them, and they motioned down to his outfit with a kind and friendly smile. “You’re already going to have to change your appearance enough to make up for the headgear and glasses, right? So… what’s wrong with trying to change your vernacular as well? If anything, a new vocabulary could help better adjust to everything else.”

Gallus didn’t say anything, but he was able to nod begrudgingly as he rolled his eyes. All of this was still putting the gryphon through a whirlwind of confusion, but he was trying his best to adjust to it all and accept his friends’ help. He took a few seconds to think about Ocellus’ logic, and eventually sighed in realization.

“Hmmm… Well…” As much as he hated to admit it, they were making a pretty darn good case in regards to his predicament. He pointed to his head and said, “I, uhhh… I gueth if I have to deal with thethe, I might ath well work around them.”

“That’s the spirit!~” Ocellus gave their nerdy gryphon a cheerful nudge to his shoulder. They then noticed someone behind Gallus, who made them smile even wider and give a friendly wave. “Hey, Sandbar!”

“Oh, so that’s where you went off to…” Sandbar had returned to find where Gallus had gone, and went up to him and Ocellus with a carefree smile of his own. “You alright, Gallus? I think the girls are all in the library already.”

“Oh, I’m fine,” assured Gallus as he tried to smile back at him. “Yeah, Othelluth and I were juth talking.”

Ocellus nudged Gallus from the side, and leaned in to whisper something into his ear. The gryphon froze and went wide-eyed for a moment with a blush. His eyes between Ocellus and Sandbar, and he grew a more embarrassed look upon seeing the changeling’s insistent nod. But with a pert sigh, the gryphon grew a smile and decided to follow their recommendation.

“H-Hey, uhhh… I wanted to thank you for the pocket protector, Thandbar. Ith uhhh… really neato.”

Sandbar looked surprised for a second, but quickly smiled all giddily and nodded. “O-Oh, it’s no problem, dude. I’m glad you like it~”

“Well, golly gee, look at you~” Ocellus got up close beside the gryphon, beaming with pride at his response. Of course, they also took that moment to use their magic to grip Gallus’ shorts by the waistband, and hike them up a bit higher than before. The gryphon squawked out all wide-eyed as his shorts and underwear were yanked up, obviously riding against his crotch and rump while his waistband was hugging his stomach. Ocellus then readjusted the straps of his suspenders, tightening them so his shorts would remain at that height. “Ahh, there we go! Much better~”

“Y-Yeah, totally!” Sandbar nodded with a huge grin, and tried not to blush from the gryphon’s strained grimace. “I gotta agree, those shorts look way better like that~”

Gallus winced when he tried to stand upright, and felt a tight band of fabric firmly nestling itself between his buttcheeks. He looked down at his tightened straps, and groaned from how stupid he looked with his shorts pulled up so high. But alas, when he saw the approving smiles from both his friends, it was enough to keep him from lowering the shorts himself. “Uhhhh… o-okay then…”

“Ooh! One more thing~” Ocellus lit up their horn, and used their magic to conjure up a small plastic bag that hovered in their aura. It lowered down to their hoof, and they opened it to reveal a recent purchase they made. “I just came from the commissary shop, and they had this hair and feather-gel on discount! One moment…”

Ocellus hovered up a couple feet in the air with their wings buzzing excitedly. They got right behind the gryphon with the bottle in one hoof, and a styling comb in the other. Without asking Gallus’ permission, they uncapped the bottle and poured a large glob of the dark-green gel right on top of his head. They then quickly went to work, using their magic to hold Gallus in place so he wouldn’t squirm. “G-Gah! What the…” He wasn’t able to stop Ocellus as they began combing the unkempt feathers atop his head. “Hey, come on, Othelluth! Ow! OW!”

“Sorry,” said Ocellus sympathetically, and they tried to comb less abrasively to smooth his feathers out. “Just a little more, and I’ll be done. I promise…” They went back to work, sticking out their tongue in concentration and combing through all the gunk soaking into his scalp. Gallus cringed at first, but eventually settled down when he felt the tangles of his feathers being undone. In a matter of minutes, the plume of spiky feathers were thoroughly muted under that thick sheen of gel, and were brushed down to the sides to give the gryphon a dorky comb-over. “Aaaaaaand, there we go!”

Sandbar had to bite his hoof, but he looked just as pleased as Ocellus with the end result. Gallus reopened his eyes, and looked fairly weird about the cold gel drying atop his head. He wasn’t able to see how drastically his feather-style had changed, nor did he notice one single feather near the back sticking back upright. But with his friends both smiling so wide, all he could do was ask in a sheepish tone, “Ummm… Ith… Ith it good?”

“It’s neato!” chirped Ocellus enthusiastically. “Nnnffff… Golly gee willikers is it neato~”

“Mmhmm!” Sandbar nodded with a smile that appeared slightly more innocent than Ocellus’. “Yeah, that’s perfect for you! You should keep that~”

Gallus looked back at Ocellus, but all he could do was sigh and shrug happily enough. “W-Well, ummm… Thankth, Othelluth.”

“No problem~” They then motioned towards a large building in the distance, and led the way with the two boys in tow. “Come on, guys! The library awaits~”

Gallus was the first to follow them, not noticing how much Sandbar was staring at him from behind with a bitten lip. As they walked, Gallus didn’t seem to notice many of the peculiar stares from other students; of course, that was mostly because both his friends were keeping his attention far more than any giggles or whispers in the distance. The gryphon still looked a bit uneasy, but even behind his headgear, a small smile could be seen meekly growing across his beak.

Since Ponyville’s official library was demolished years ago by Lord Tirek, Princess Twilight Sparkle made sure to equip the School of Friendship with one of the best libraries in the nation to compensate. She even made the building open to all citizens of the area -- not just the students -- with multiple floors to store all the knowledge and stories for them to enjoy. Because of the building’s gargantuan size, there were plenty of backrooms for private studying or napping with minimal chance of interruption. In one of those rooms, which had a large table and several chairs circled around it, the girls of the Student Six were all hanging out and talking.

“So, you got him the clothes already?” Silverstream seemed fairly surprised while sipping a mug of cocoa she made out in the lobby. “W-Wow… I’m surprised he didn’t say anything about it.”

“Yeah, Yona was worried about that too.” The yak couldn’t help shrugging her head. “Honestly, Ocellus is doing a great job!”

“They really are~” Smolder leaned back in her chair, and crossed her arms over her chest. She narrowed her eyes on both of them and asked, “So, uhhhh… you’re both still cool with all this, right?”

The two glanced back at her with their brows raised. Yona tilted her head puzzledly, and narrowed her eyes on the dragon. “Hmmm… Well, Yona still on board… Is Smolder?”

“Pbbt! Well, duh~” Smolder rolled her eyes and blushed a little behind her smirk. “Hmph… I’m not gonna lie, I have some big plans for that nerd~”

That was enough to make Yona smile more devilishly and snicker in response. “Heh~ Yeah, Yona and Sandbar have some ideas too…”

The two chuckled at one another, before turning their focus back on Silverstream. The hippogriff seemed to be thinking over her own answer, with their beak clenched and their eyes rolling back in contemplation. After a brief hum, she raised a single talon to catch their attention. “Well… I wanted to ask one thing while it was just us three…”

Yona and Smolder turned their focus towards Silverstream with slight worry. The hippogriff made sure to raise both claws and assure them, “Don’t get me wrong! I really want to keep doing this too! And I know we can’t really go back now with the braces and all. But ummm…”

Silverstream’s pause was brief enough to make the other two wince in concern. Nevertheless, she breathed out slowly before making her statement. “I just… I want to make sure that we don’t hurt him or anything.”

That was enough to make Smolder sigh and smile warmly. “Hey, come on now. We all agreed to have his back no matter what. We’re going to stay as his friends. Not as bullies.”

“I know, I know. I just mean…” Silverstream closed her eyes with another sigh, and looked back at them to make one final clarification. “How about this… If Gallus says anything himself, we have to agree to listen to him, okay? Like, I know what we’re doing is questionable enough, but we have to at least keep ourselves from ignoring any issues he might have about it.”

Her words seemed to leave an impact for Smolder and Yona, who both remained silent while nodding their heads. Yona’s muzzle scrunched in with a more thoughtful look, and she turned to the dragon sympathetically. “Hmmm… Yona might have to agree with Silverstream. Gallus deserves that much.”

Even Smolder shrugged her head, unable to argue with that point for their friend’s sake. “Well… Okay, yeah. I get it…” She glanced over at the open doorway, which was still empty with nopony coming nearby their room. With the group still alone, she was able to add back to the others, “You know what, I’ll make sure to talk with Ocellus about that. They’ve been planning all this out really well, but… Yeah, I should make sure they’re taking Gallus’ feelings under consideration too…”

The three were left sitting a bit awkwardly after that exchange. Even though it was an important detail to talk about, it also reminded them of how morally questionable this all really was. Gallus was a great friend to all of them, but that could’ve easily changed dramatically if he learned about their plans too soon (or period, honestly). After several seconds of uncomfortable silence, Yona was the first to speak up with a more jovial tone of voice.

“... so, ummm… What clothes did Smolder and Ocellus buy for him?”

Smolder was just about to speak up, but her ears twitched enough to make her face light up. She looked back at the doorway with a smirk, and leaned back in her seat with anticipation. “Ooh… I think you’re about to find out yourself~”

She grinned when she overheard the distinct steps of three different pairs of legs, which also got Silverstream and Yona’s attention. When all three of them turned to the doorway, Ocellus was the first to peer in with an eager grin. “Heeeeeyyyyyy girls!~”

They walked into the room first, making sure to keep an insistently chipper look as they perked their brows in emphasis. All three of them nodded their heads, silently showing their understanding. “Sorry for making you all wait. I just had to run some errands…”

They turned their head and watched Sandbar walk into the room next. “Yeah, uhhh… I think everything’s working out really well. Heh heh~” The stallion was trying not to blush while looking back outside the doorway, but quickly settled himself down when he sat down beside his girlfriend; the yak pulled him in tightly against her side with a confident smirk.

Ocellus leaned their head back out of the doorway. “Come on, Gallus! We’re all here~”

As the changeling walked back inside and took a seat, Gallus hesitated with a heavy blush outside the room. He wasn’t sure how to feel, but he closed his eyes and took a deep breath in preparation. Despite how uncomfortable he may have felt, both physically and appearance-wise, he tried his best to take Ocellus’ words to heart. He was already needing to wear these damn braces and glasses for at least a year, so there was no use dying on that hill; and if all these changes were good enough to help improve how he looked, he was willing to at least try and make it work overall.

“Whoo… Okay… O-Okay…” He breathed out one last time, and grew a contentful smile that allowed his braces to be seen. He may have been nervous, but he walked into the doorway before getting any second-thoughts. All five of his friends’ faces lit up, with Yona and Silverstream looking especially shocked by his new clothing. Gallus nearly froze up in a panic, but he was able to see that all his friends looked really happy to see him like this. A couple seconds passed before he widened his smile, not realizing how much it emphasized his nerdiness.

“Uhh, h-hey, guyth!” He tried not to wince when he gave that cheery greeting with a lisp. He tried to stand more upright while motioning down to his outfit. “Tho ummm… What do you all think? Are thethe uhhhh… Aren’t they neato?”

Ocellus nearly buzzed their wings with pure excitement, while the others all smiled and giggled with genuine nods. “Oh, totally, dude!” chirped Smolder enthusiastically. “Wow! Gallus, when did you look so awesome?~”

Gallus’ smile turned a little more forced while blushing deeply, and he ended up shrugging a little. “Uhh, heh heh… I wath… I wath thinking a different word, perhapth…”

A few of the friends were subtly glancing at one another with knowing smirks, but Silverstream decided to raise a claw and speak curiously. “So, Gallus… How do you feel about yourself right now? Like… are you happy with it?”

Her question was asked innocently enough, and didn’t seem to ring any alarms on Gallus’ end. While the gryphon paused and narrowed his eyes in thought, Silverstream was able to notice the sideways stare Ocellus was giving them. But at the same time, she could also see Yona and Smolder shrug their heads slightly, understanding why she felt the need to ask it. Sandbar didn’t say anything, but he definitely took a moment to hear his roommate’s thoughts on that matter.

“Well, ummm…” Gallus scratched the back of his collar for a moment, and eventually gave a shrug while smiling. “I mean, I don’t hate thith… Ith juth a lot to adjutht to, thath all…”

Ocellus smiled more assuredly to that answer, as did everyone else. Even Silverstream seemed more at ease, and sighed with a newly optimistic smile of her own. The changeling decided to speak up on behalf of their friends. “Well, I gotta say, I really like this new you~”

Gallus blushed even more when he saw the other four friends all nodding and giving cheerful “Yeahs” to their remark. He smiled a bit more meekly when he looked down at himself, not feeling as uneasy as he did before. When he looked back at his friends, Smolder looked intrigued enough to ask him a question. “Hmmm… so wait, what were you planning to say earlier?”

Everyone turned to her more quizzically, with Gallus tilting his head to the side. Meanwhile, the dragon smirked and narrowed her eyes on him. “You know, when you said you were thinking of a different word than ‘Awesome’... how would you say you looked?”

That question got everyone to look back at Gallus, once again putting him on the spot. His beak opened a bit to show more of his braces, while he cringed and blushed in realization. He wasn’t sure what specifically to say, but he also knew it was probably good to try and think of his words. So with Ocellus’ advice coming to mind, Gallus shrugged his shoulders and tried to speak around his headgear.

“Ummm… W-Well, I…” The gryphon huffed with a smile and blurted out, “I gueth I’d thay… Golly gee, I feel really darn dapper~”

All five of them laughed and applauded his words, but none of the reactions were out of mockery. They all seemed absolutely elated and proud of his choice of words, especially Ocellus as they beamed in their seat. Yona reached for a bag she was hiding underneath her seat, and pulled out a large bag of lemon drops. She got a large hooffull of the sweets, and placed them on the table in front of him with a smile. “There you go! Gallus earned that~”

“Hey, you didn’t even lisp there!” Sandbar made sure to point that out before adding, “You should keep that in mind, dude~”

“Uhhh, y-yeah. I am…” He chuckled weakly with his smile looking more flustered, and meekly took the candy to stuff into one of his pockets. He carefully sucked on one of the candies in his beak, making sure not to bite down on it and wreck his braces. As he let the candy slowly melt on his tongue, he thought more about what words he could actually say without lisping. “Hmmm…”

He was just about to eat another lemon drop when his head perked up to a familiar raspy voice outside the room. “Hey, Gallus? You in here…”

Gallus turned around to face the doorway, just as Rainbow Dash arrived with a clipboard in her hoof. She was looking through some notes before looking up at him to speak. “There you are! Listen, I was scouting out some talent for the Cross-Country club, and I was… uhhhhhh…”

Her voice trailed off when she veered up from her clipboard, and was face-to-face with the newly-nerdified gryphon. Gallus was blushing hard with a flustered look, but it was far more innocent than the wide-eyed stares of shock his friends all had behind him. They were all staring at Rainbow Dash like a group of kids caught throwing a rager in her house, and none of them were able to say a word.

“... Ummmm…” Rainbow tightened her lips and narrowed her eyes, blinking repeatedly without speaking outloud. Her eyes trailed up and down Gallus, her expression becoming increasingly baffled the more she saw how he looked. The gryphon averted his eyes with a blush, but tried not to lower his head in embarrassment. It took the pegasus a moment to think of something to say, but her muzzle eventually opened up with caution. “Uhhh… Okay, so… where do I start?”

“Uhhh…” Before Gallus could explain himself, Ocellus used their magic to float out two manilla folders they were holding onto. They were placed on the table in front of Rainbow and Gallus, with labels notifying them to be his dentist and optometrist appointments. The gryphon was surprised that his friend had them, but he nodded graciously and took them with a smile. “Oh, thank you! Yeah, uhhh… I went to get my eyeth and teeth looked at…”

Rainbow looked even more puzzled, and took the folders from Gallus’ claw with obvious suspicion. She opened up both of them and scrolled through the paperwork, making sure not to read any of the private information outloud. Her eyes darted across the pages for a couple minutes, and were enough to make her shrug her head and accept them as valid. Her muzzle was slightly pouted with sympathy when she looked back at him. “Ooof… Yeesh, you got glasses and braces on the same day?”

Gallus looked away from her silently, and only gave a meager nod as a response.

“Hey, it’s alright, dude. Trust me, those things are usually temporary anyway…” Rainbow gave him a supportive pat on the back, but her smile skewed when she felt the clothing he was wearing. She looked back down at his outfit, and her puzzled expression intensified even more when she tilted her head. While the glasses and headgear may have been unavoidable, his choice of attire was enough to make her pause her sympathies. In fact, his appearance was enough to make her glance back at his friends with a raised brow. “Hmmmm…”

All of Gallus’ friends looked worried, but Rainbow had no idea if their faces were frozen in surprise or guilt. She didn’t say anything either way, and instead turned back to Gallus and motioned down to his clothes. “So, uhhhh… New clothes, huh?”

Gallus nodded with a light shrug, not feeling as flustered about his outfit after his friends’ shared praise. “Yeah, uhhh… After I got my bratheth, Othelluth and Thmolder got me thom clothe to help dithtract from it…”

She opened her muzzle briefly, but eventually closed it with a begrudging shrug. “Ehh… I mean, it kinda does…” Rainbow looked like she wanted to ask him more details, like whether or not this was some elaborate costume; but after the few months she spent teaching part-time at the school, she knew better than to speak so bluntly around impressionable teens. So instead, she turned back towards Ocellus and Smolder more quizzically. “Huh… Okay then…”

Smolder and Ocellus were struggling not to blush while giving their teacher a pair of forced smiles. “Uhhh, y-yeah!” chirped Ocellus before pointing back at the nerd they created. “I mean, we couldn’t just have him in the glasses and braces. He’d stick out like a sore talon.”

That just made Rainbow Dash even more confused. She almost blurted out how he already was, but once again, she smartly bit her tongue instead. The pegasus almost looked sympathetic about Gallus’ new look, undoubtedly imagining how he’d be treated outside his friend-group while dressed like that. But when she looked back at him, he seemed fairly unbothered looking like a total dweeb.

“Ummm… A-Actually, thinth you’re here,” began Gallus, catching her focus while shuffling a little in hesitancy. “I, uhhh… I might need to withdraw mythelf from Phythical Ed becauth of thethe…” He held up his paperwork for the glasses and braces, which just made Rainbow groan silently with her eyes closed.

“Ughhh… Okay, yeah…” Despite how she may have felt about the clothing, she couldn’t exactly ignore the gryphon’s medical notes the same way. She took the papers with a sigh. “Okay, sure… I’ll make sure Starlight processes these for your files. And I’m sure Sunburst can help change your schedule before Monday…”

Rainbow Dash tried not to look upset about Gallus’ withdrawal from phys ed, especially when he was one of the best non-pony athletes on campus. But alas, she took his forms in one hoof while patting his shoulder with the other. “Hey, I’m really sorry about this, Gallus.”

“H-Hey, ith not your fault,” he said reassuredly, although he tried not to appear too saddened when he huffed and shook his head. “Ughhh… Yeah, I’m not too thrilled about it either, but at leatht my teeth are getting fithd…”

Gallus’ friends were all sharing looks with one another, with Ocellus nodding with a pout to indicate agreement. Even though the glasses were fake, they were honestly really glad to get Gallus’ teeth looked at by a professional. If his teeth were to be perfectly fine, Ocellus would’ve considered an alternative to braces; but since they were in bad enough shape to warrant headgear, it made the rest of their plans feel somewhat justified.

“Well, ummm… I guess I’ll scan these back in the office. I’ll send them back to your dorm tonight, alright?” After seeing Gallus’ nod, Rainbow Dash was about to turn around and make her leave. But before exiting the room, she gave a firmer look towards Gallus and motioned to his overall appearance. “And, uhhh… Is this going to be a new thing for you?”

She tried to ask that question with more curiosity in her voice than judgment or malice. Luckily, the gryphon just took a second to glance down at himself, and nodded with an indifferent shrug.

“Well, uhhh… Yeah, probably.” He then looked back up at her with narrowed eyes behind his thick frames. “Wait, ith thomething wrong?”

“Uhh, no! No, no, no…” She quickly shook her head in reassurance, although her muzzle grimaced a bit from how quickly she dismissed his question. Rainbow ended up rolling her eyes with a sigh. “It’s nothing. You’re fine. Just…”

Dash took one last moment to stare over at Gallus’ friends, who were clearly trying to appear casual with books in their hooves or claws. She silently stared them down for a second or two, but reluctantly turned her sights back to the door. “... Yeah, it’s nothing. I’ll let you get back to… whatever this is. Seeya!”

Rainbow finally left with Gallus’ paperwork, and waited until she was out of sight to shake her head all wide-eyed in a stupor. “Whoof… What the hay is that about?”

Ocellus used their magic to close the door before Gallus could overhear that remark from the teacher. They then smiled more cheerfully and pulled out a seat right beside them. “Hey Gallus, wanna help me study for that History exam coming up?~”

“Hithtory E-thhham?” He cringed from how badly that word contracted with his lisp, but soldiered through to ask them, “But, ithn’t that tetht in a couple weekth?”

“Well, it wouldn’t hurt to start early~” Ocellus perked their brows with a more convincing smile, right as Yona unpacked some more junk food from her bag. Gallus ended up shrugging his shoulders, and went over to sit beside the changeling.

“Ehhh, I gueth you have a poiiiiIIIAAAHHHH!!!” Just as Gallus was lowering himself down in the chair, he didn’t take note of his clothing when some of the fabric rubbed up against the back of the seat. As soon as he bent his knees to squat down, he belted out a sudden squawk when the back of his underwear caught on the back corner of the chair. Gravity had already taken over, so he basically set himself up for failure when he stumbled and fell rump-first in the seat. “MMMMPHHHH!!!”

The others all gasped with their mouths covered in shock. Meanwhile, Gallus was groaning hard and clenching his eyes in pain as he hung a couple inches above the chair. His tighty-whities were completely exposed and stretched out from the back of his shorts, with the elastic band tightly gripping the back of the wooden frame. He was frozen in pained shock for a moment, which meant that all of his friends could see his devastating wedgie from all around.

“Gaaaahhhh!! G-Guyth, come on!” With his underwear relentlessly tugging back on his balls and riding up his crack, the gryphon could barely get a word out while struggling to regain his footing. “Aaaahhh! H-HELP ME!”

“O-Okay, okay!~” Ocellus was shivering with a bitten lip, and tried to use their magic to get a grip on his waistband. Unfortunately, all they did was yank back even more by accident. He let out another squawk while blushing deeply, but the changeling was able to unhook his tighty-whities off the chair. Their eyes peered down to the gryphon’s crotch for a split-second, where they noticed a distinct bulge protruding through the fabric, and they chittered intensely enough to make their magic sputter and let go of his underwear. They reeled back from Gallus long enough to reposition their hooves, and sat with their front discreetly covered while Gallus fell back in the chair.

“Gaaaaahhhhh… H-Holy…” Gallus grunted badly and tried to settle in his seat. However, he had to lean forward and try to stuff the outstretched underwear back inside of his pants. As he grimaced with his eyes clenched shut, his friends were all looking at each other wide-eyed. Their shared silence was only for a few seconds at most, but all five of them were blushing deeply with newfound revelation. By the time Gallus sighed and got his clothing back in check, he didn’t notice how quickly they all tried to recompose themselves before he sat back upright. “Yeesh… Maybe I thouldn’t wear that underwear anymo--”

“NO!!” Smolder quickly clasped both claws over her mouth, but she heard her voice just as clearly as the others. Before Gallus looked at her in confoundment, she flusteredly tried to add, “I-I mean, uhhhh… You… You don’t wanna leave skidmarks in your new pants, do ya?”

Gallus thought that over for a moment before closing his beak. He didn’t say anything outright, but his shrug indicated he noted her point. Ocellus took that opportunity to hum in thought and catch his attention. “Hmmmm… maybe you should try different pairs of underwear to find yourself something more… Fitting~”

Gallus heard the split-second buzzing Ocellus’ wings after that last emphasized word. He turned towards them and asked, “Uhhh… like what?”

Ocellus and Smolder looked at each other with matching smirks that were subtle enough for Gallus not to notice. The dragon caught his attention by speaking in a confident tone. “I might not be too sure, buuuuut… I wouldn’t mind helping you test some out sometime~”

Gallus shot her a thankful smile, while she struggled not to grin too devilishly on the outside. Of course, inside of Smolder’s perverted mind, she already knew exactly what to try with the nerdy gryphon later on…