It took Gallus a bit longer than expected to get himself ready for classes that morning. Even though he was planning to go out and take a morning jog, it seemed that Sandbar and Yona’s efforts were more than enough to keep that plan at bay. Instead, the gryphon just ate his doughnuts in peace after his friends left the dorm room. Fortunately for Gallus, no powdered sugar or jelly spilled onto his nice button-up shirt.

By the time he finally exited his dorm, Gallus needed to take a breath while looking down at himself. His red bowtie and matching suspenders seemed to go well enough with his shirt, but it still felt weird while his slacks were hiked up so high. Heck, with the way the waistband was wrapped around his stomach, there was enough space past his pantlegs to expose a couple inches of his bare legs between the hem and his ankle-socks and loafers. It also rode up quite a bit between his cheeks, although he was less upset about that than expected…

“Hmmmm…” Gallus took a moment to look at his reflection in the display case of a fire extinguisher attached to the hallway wall. He sighed while using his claw to slick back the feathers on his head, leaving a greasy sheen that lingered on his talons. He groaned a little from that, and tried wiping his claw against the back of his head. Unfortunately, a single feather at the back of his head popped back out to stand upright; after several attempts to slick it back down, he eventually gave up and let it stand with a grunt. “Ughhhh… thath jutht mean…”

After readjusting his blocky glasses atop his beak, as well as making sure nothing was sticking out of his braces, he tried to give a meager smile to his reflection and instill some confidence. He still looked like a total dork, but he couldn’t exactly think that way while all his friends’ compliments played in his head. Did he think he looked cool? Absolutely not. But since all his friends love his new appearance, he sighed to himself and nodded apprehensively. “Okay… Leth do thith~”

Gallus exited the dorm building in his nerdy attire once more, and had a stack of textbooks resting on his back between his wings. Other students were walking around between the buildings outdoors, but many of them paused their movements to look over at Gallus. The gryphon casually walked towards the main school building, thankfully not overhearing some of the hushed whispers from other classmates. Even though a lot of ponies have already seen Gallus’ new getup, this will be the first time he spends a full school day like this.

“Oh, hey there, Gallus!”

His head whipped around quickly enough to nearly fling his glasses off his beak. A pudgy purple mare trotted up to him with a curious smile, her blonde pigtails dangling down the sides of her head. She went up beside Gallus while he was still walking, keeping the same pace so he wouldn’t have to stop. He didn’t know her name, but he recognized her well enough to give a friendly nod. She kept her smile while glancing at his new outfit. “Wow! You look totally different today? You trying out a new style or something?”

“Uhhh…” Gallus’ eyes darted back and forth for a second, but he was able to give a light shrug and answer honestly. “Yeah, I gueth tho. My friendth told me I looked thuper thnazzy~”

Gallus tried to keep a confident-looking smile after saying that last part, which was emphasized with him tugging on one of his red suspender bands with a claw. The mare giggled with a chipper smile and nodded her head. “Honestly, yeah! I’d say your friends are right on-point there, Gallus.”

The gryphon’s smile widened a little more, even exposing his braces behind his beak. “Really? You, uhh… really think tho?”

“Mmhmm! I think you look really nice like that…” Her smile looked nothing short of genuine, and she gave him a friendly nudge before leaving him be. “Alright, I gotta get to my first class. But yeah, keep it up, dude!”

With that, the student trotted off, leaving Gallus with a less flustered smile than he had before. He looked over at a nearby window to admire his reflection, just to make sure she was looking at the same outfit he was. While he looked at the glass a little closer to slick back his feathers, another pony came up to admire Gallus’ new look. “Oh, nice! Gallus, is that you?”

“Hmm?” Gallus readjusted the stack of books on his back before turning away from the window. He saw a member of the track team, a tall and handsome-looking green pegasus who was wearing a purple letterman jacket. His brows were raised in surprise while looking Gallus up and down, giving the gryphon a moment to speak. “Oh, hey there! Yeah, I gueth I look a lot different, huh?”

“Heh~ Yeah, that’s an understatement…” Despite that wording, the stallion kept a piqued smile while taking a moment to admire the gryphon’s appearance. “Hmmm… I gotta say, it’s quite the improvement.”

“It ith?” asked Gallus as he tilted his head slightly. He glanced down at his shirt with the pocket-protector sticking out. “I mean… my friendth kinda thuggethted it all.”

“Well, I really like it.” The pegasus gave a sincere smile, motioning down to the outfit without a shred of irony or sarcasm in his voice. “Heck, I’m kinda jealous of how good you look right now.”

“I know, right!?” Silverstream appeared from around the corner, catching Gallus and the pegasus by surprise. The hippogriff was smiling all bright and chipper, and seemed especially happy about the gryphon’s morning getup. “Smolder actually found those clothes for him at the thrift store! Can you believe it?”

“Wow, really? If that’s the case, I might go there sometime.” The pegasus turned back towards Gallus, who was blushing hard with a flustered smile and trying not to shiver from random praise. “Hey, can you stay here for a sec? My buddy is nearby, I need to find him…”

The stallion rushed off before Gallus could respond, leaving him standing awkwardly with Silverstream beside him. His beak was still open when the pegasus disappeared around the corner, but he couldn’t say anything while his claw was up. He sighed before putting his claw down, but Silverstream took that moment to keep his mood heightened. “Wow, you’re already getting compliments? Lucky you~”

“Yeah, ith been interethting…” Gallus scratched the back of his neck, mostly because of an uncomfortable tag on the back of his shirt collar. “Heh heh… He’th not even the only one…”

“WHOA! He was right…” A different stallion with the same letterman jacket came from around the corner. This one was a more heavyset purple unicorn, who Gallus knew was in one of the classes across campus. He only saw him a couple times, but the pony seemed happy to see him as he whistled in amusement. “Damn, Gallus! Way to make me look underdressed for classes today~”

“Heh! Uhhh…” Gallus blushed even more and struggled not to squirm, which just made him look even dorkier. “Thankth, I’m uhh… I’m thtill adphuff-ting to it all…” He paused long enough to grimace after that three-syllable word caused him to spittle through his headgear. “Hmphh…”

“Hey, if that’s a new look you’re trying, I say go for it!” The stallion smiled and lit up his horn, using his magic to give a “thumbs-up” gesture with his aura shaped like an anthropomorphized hand atop his raised hoof. He turned to Silverstream to ask, “Hey, can you please tell him he looks great? It can’t be just me, right?”

“Well, of course it’s not just you!” She smirked right back at Gallus, causing the feathers around his neckline to ruffle out when he saw both of their matching smiles. “And I have to agree, that outfit DOES look great. Nice color-matching~”

“Heh heh… Aww, thankth, Thilverthtream~” The nerdy gryphon looked downright bashful as he rolled his eyes and rubbed his foreleg with a claw. “Hehehehe… Golly gee, thath a lot of attention…”

“Ha ha ha! Good one, dude!” The stallion gave him a nudge to the shoulder. “Heh~ ‘Golly gee.’ I really like that!” He backed away and gave a polite wave of his hoof before turning away. “Oh, I should get to class! See you later, Gallus~”

Gallus waved the pony goodbye, still smiling with a heavy blush after receiving three random compliments in a row. He giggled to himself nervously, while Silverstream just huffed silently and kept a confident grin. The gryphon didn’t seem to notice her peculiar look while tugging on his shirt-collar with a talon. “Wow! I… I never got thith much attention in one morning. Heh heh heh…”

“Well, I can’t blame them,” noted the hippogriff with a shrug of her head. “It is a brand-new look for you.”

“Mmhmm…” Gallus sighed more contently as he looked over at his reflection in the window again. “It really ith…”

Just around that corner, the unicorn skidded their hooves from how abruptly they had to stop after disappearing from view. The pony was panting heavily, but was able to light up their horn before becoming engulfed in a gust of green flames. As soon as the magic dissipated, Ocellus was revealed back in their regular form with the tip of their horn smoking the tiniest bit. They frantically used their hoof to fan their horn and cool it down, while their other hoof held onto their chest while breathing in concentrated gasps.

“Hah! Hah! Hah…” Sweat was trickling down their face, but they were more grateful that their ruse was working so well. It took a lot of maneuvering and magic to shape-shift into three different students back-to-back, especially without Gallus noticing or growing suspicious. But at the same time, Ocellus wanted to make sure that the gryphon received positive reinforcement from more than just his close friends. If they wanted any chance to keep Gallus as a long-time nerd, they needed to keep him happy and eager for the time being.

“Okay… just a couple more before the first bell…” Ocellus wiped their forehead with the back of their foreleg, and took a deep breath to get back into focus. Their plan was to morph into a couple more students (preferably those they were sure Gallus didn’t know too well personally), and compliment his appearance before classes officially started. The changeling contemplated flirting with Gallus, or perhaps complementing his outfit in a more sexual way; however, despite how truthful it’d be for them to tell him that themself, they’d prefer to keep their praises more “casual” for now. While still alone in the hall, Ocellus lit up their horn with another deep breath, and used a flash of green flames to shift into the form of one of the cheerleaders; specifically, Ocellus took the form of a familiar tan mare with a pixie-cut auburn mane, and a brown turtleneck sweater with a frilly red skirt.

“Alright, ‘Shimmy Shake,’” they whispered to themself when they took a second to look in the mirror hanging over a water-fountain. “I already said he looked ‘really good’ and ‘great’. Next I shoul--”

“Wait, Gallus?! Is that actually you?”

Ocellus gasped while in Shimmy Shake’s body, and whipped their head back towards the hallway corner. While they were talking to their reflection, it seemed that an actual student came across Gallus and Silverstream in the hallway. They quickly trotted back towards them, mentally preparing themself for any defenses they might need to make on Gallus’ behalf. Despite all the progress they made so far, even a single disparaging remark could hurt Gallus enough to ruin everything. Fortunately, the “mare” was given quite the sight when she turned the corner and widened their eyes in surprise.

“Oh, hey there, guyth!” Gallus was smiling rather cheerfully behind his headgear, even when he turned away from Silverstream to greet the three ponies who came up to him. Ocellus immediately recognized two of them as Flower Pot and Free-Throw, a recent couple who got on the changeling’s radar due to their potent “first relationship” levels of adoration for one another; beside the lanky stallion was his friend, a shorter pegasus who was exerting just as many emotions for the same mare in secret. All three of them were staring at the gryphon wide-eyed in shock, and tilting their heads while Gallus tugged on his suspenders. “Did any of you finiphh the hithtory homework due thith Wednethday?”

“... uhhhh…” Flower Pot was the first to speak up, needing a moment before shrugging her shoulders. “... Honestly, I haven’t done mine yet…” Her eyes narrowed on Gallus while staring down at his nerdy attire. Free-Throw pointed at him with a hoof while trying to think of something to say.

“So, uhhhh… is this like, for a Theme-Day or something?” His tone sounded a bit more incredulous, but not enough to keep Gallus from smiling positively. In fact, the gryphon just shrugged before letting go of his suspenders, making them smack against his button-up shirt.

“Ehh, not really. I jutht felt like wearing thomething thnazzy for clatheth today…” Gallus looked down at his outfit with a smile, and even gave a little spin to show off his whole getup. The three students all widened their eyes a bit more, seeing how vividly detailed the look was as a whole. The shirt and bowtie with matching suspenders was one thing, but the accompanying slacks and loafers made it clear this wasn’t some half-assed costume. When he turned back to the three, his head was perked up like that single feather sticking up from the back. “Whad’ya guyth think? Ithn’t it neato? Heheheheh~”

Ocellus froze in place, unsure whether to shudder in pleasure or second-hoof embarrassment. They absolutely loved how naturally Gallus was adjusting to the vernacular, especially that dorky little chortle at the end that made them bite their lip with a silent shiver. But given how quickly things were going, they didn’t want that behavior to be shot down by an outsider too soon. They made sure they were still ‘Shimmy Shake’ as they walked up to the group, keeping a more enamored smile on Gallus as they were about to clear their throat. “Ahe--”

“Hmmmm…” Before the fake cheerleader could speak up, Flower Pot leaned in to inspect Gallus’ getup with a hoof tapping her chin. She hummed in thought, before growing an impressed smirk and looking up at Gallus’ face. “So, like… is this a new look for you? Or is it like, a one day only type of thing?”

Ocellus felt a strong twinge of hope when they heard Flower Pot’s optimistic tone of voice. Before Galus could respond, Silverstream piped up with a raised talon from behind. “Actually, he has several outfits! This is just one of them~”

The two stallions beside Flower Pot tilted their heads the other direction while continuing to stare at the gryphon in awe. Meanwhile, the mare gave a light nod and widened her smirk a little more. “Hmmm… Honestly? That looks really cute on you~”

Silverstream and “Shimmy Shake” both raised their brows in surprise, while Gallus just turned his head away with a bashful blush. “Daww, you’re jutht thaying that~” he said while shuffling reluctantly.

“No, I’m really not! I… I actually really like it.” After taking another moment to really admire Gallus’ outfit, she giggled and gave a more affirmative nod. “I mean, it’s definitely a lot, but you kinda pull it off.”

“I was just about to say the same thing!” That was when Ocellus entered the conversation, catching Gallus by surprise and making him squirm with another dorky cackle.

“Heheheheh~ J-Jeethe, way to fluthter me before clath, Thimmy Thake!”

“Well, she’s definitely not wrong. Hmmmm…” Ocellus took that moment to glance over at Free-Throw and his friend, making sure to emphasize a more judgemental stare for a split-second. After a quick shrug, the “cheerleader” motioned towards them while whispering to Flower, “You know… Your buddies there might both benefit from something like that~”

While the stallions just gawked at her puzzledly, Flower Pot couldn’t help humming to herself as she looked between Gallus and her coltfriend. Her curious stare lingered on the two ponies, leaving them blushing particularly hard by the time they realized what she was doing. The fake Shimmy Shake tried not to grin as she walked away from them, muttering in a sing-song tone, “Just think about it…”

By the time Ocellus left in their forth disguise, Flower Pot was rubbing her chin and smiling more suggestively at Free-Throw. “Hmmmm… You know, a bow-tie would be nice sometime~”

“Oh, I totally agree!” piped up Silversteam with a thumbs-up of her claw. She pointed over at the other stallion to add, “And Ally-Oop needs a sweatervest~”

“Oooh!~” Flower Pot’s face lit up when she looked over at him, causing the stallion to wince uncomfortably. “He WOULD look cute in one!”

“N-Now wait a minute, that’s not--Wait, really?” Ally-Oop looked back at her wide-eyed with a deep blush. “I… I would?~”

Free-Throw looked down at him with a very notable glare. Silverstream just giggled before pulling in Gallus with her wing. “Well, I think Gallus and I need to get to our first class. But thank you for the kind words, Flower Pot!”

“Oh, it’s no problem at all! And ummm…” Flower Pot looked back at Gallus with a warmer smile, just as Ocellus reappeared in their normal form. As the changeling walked towards the group, they heard the mare say to Gallus, “... I really hope you keep that look~”

Gallus smiled wide once more, not even caring about his bulky braces as he nodded cheerfully. “Thankth, Flower Pot! I wath already conthidering it, heh heh…”

Flower Pot was the first to walk away, while Ally-Oop and Free-Throw took another moment to stare at Gallus weirdly. But even in their stunned states, the ponies were courteous to nod with approving, albeit awkward-looking smiles before leaving with her. By the time Gallus turned to see Ocellus, he was all smiles with his self-esteem at an all-time high. Silverstream was trying her hardest not to giggle with glee, and had to stand behind Gallus so he wouldn’t see her unbreakable grin.

“Oh, hey there, Othelluth!” He pointed a thumb behind him to point to the students who just left. “Can you believe it? I got tho many complimenth thith morning!”

“Awww, that’s awesome, Gallus!” Ocellus smiled wide and reached up to give Gallus a big hug. The gryphon hugged them back, and was met with an antsy grin when he pulled back. “See? We all told you that confidence was key~”

“Yeah, I gueth you’re right. Hehehehmmmm…” He made another nervous giggle, but he tried to clamp his beak shut so it wouldn’t come out so nasally. Ocellus and Silverstream shared a look while he wasn’t looking, before both of them returned their sights to him. After catching himself, Gallus decided to ask his friends, “T-Tho, ummm… Any other pointerth you wanna give before clatheth thtart?”

Ocellus had to keep from shuddering at such a question, secretly loving that he was coming to them for more advice. They made sure to keep their grin more withheld than Silverstream’s, before shrugging their head casually and averting their eyes with a blush. “Wellllll… You could always try being more involved in classes~”

“Ooh, yeah!” Silverstream perked up and caught the gryphon’s attention. “Maybe try answering more questions in class! That way you get more attention on your outfits, AND you get to show your intellect!”

“And don’t be afraid to give really, really detailed answers too…” Ocellus’ eyes almost rolled back with a silent chitter, but Gallus didn’t notice when he looked back at them. The changeling quickly added, “OOH! And don’t worry about going into tangents or anything. As long as you start it off with ‘Well, actually,’ you’ll be fine~”

“Mmhmm!” Silverstream nodded her head as she came up to his side. “That’s true! ‘Actually’ is the recommended word you should use to interject note-worthy facts and details. Teachers love it~”

“Hmmm…” Gallus tapped the metal ring around his beak in thought. “I thuppothe that could help me get better grathe…”

Ocellus and Silverstream grinned at each other for a split-second, while the gryphon took a moment to wipe the lens of his glasses with his shirt. Ocellus used their magic to subtly push Silverstream back a couple feet, making sure she wasn’t in Gallus’ line of vision while his glasses her off. Ocellus made an instant flash of their magic to go all blurry again, catching Silverstream off-guard. While the hippogriff stood in awe, Ocellus asked, “Oh, speaking of which, did you copy those notes I lended you yesterday?”

“Oh, yeah! I have them inthide my--Nnnfff!” As soon as he looked up and saw Ocellus’ blurry figure, he groaned and clenched his eyes shut. He quickly wiped his lenses clean, making sure not to reopen his eyes until the glasses were back over his beak. He blinked a couple times to readjust his vision, not noticing the instant switch Ocellus made to revert back to their regular form. He sighed upon seeing them “regularily” once more behind his blocky frames. “Heh heh, thorry. I couldn’t thee you for a thec there. Heheheheh~”

Ocellus giggled right along with Gallus’ nasly-sounding cackle, ensuring that he wouldn’t hide it this time around. They then used their magic to readjust the glasses on his beak. “Well, that just emphasizes how important it is for you to keep these on~”

“Hehehe!” Silverstream gave Ocellus a knowing look, before clearing her throat to catch Gallus’ attention. “Did anyone ever tell you how cute your laugh sounds?~”

His ears slunk down against the sides of his head, and he looked back at her all wide-eyed behind his glasses. “Uhhh… i-it what?”

“Hehehe, I… I was actually thinking the same thing.” Ocellus waited until Gallus turned his head away to shoot Silverstream a very gracious nod. Gallus was left a bit baffled while looking between both of them, noting their piqued smiles. The changeling tilted their head and pointed out, “I don’t think I heard that from you before~ Is that because of the braces?”

“Uhhh… I think tho…” He shrugged with a slightly puzzled look while smiling. “I-I, uhhh… I wath worried I thounded really thtupid with all thith--”

“No!” “Totally not!~”

Both of their strong head shakes caught Gallus by surprise, but their insistent smiles were enough to keep him blushing with a flustered shrug. “Hmph… you… you guyth aren’t theriouth…”

“Come on, Gallus…” Ocellus turned him around with their magic so he was facing them directly. They motioned to the hippogriff behind him, who seemed to know what to do immediately. She came up with her claws extended out, and she wriggled her talons while grinning in mischievous glee. Before Gallus could realize what was going on, he let out a startled squawk the moment Silverstream got under his wings. “GNGH!!!”

“Tickle tickle!~” Silverstream got right up beneath the gryphon’s wings, and caused them to spring out when he jolted in Ocellus’ magical grasp. The changeling grinned while holding him tightly in their aura, ensuring that Silverstream could get a few seconds of tickling in before Gallus got any upper-claw. The nerdy gryphon squirmed hard within their aura, and yanked his head back while his beak skewed uncomfortably.

“Nnnghh!! GAH! Hehehehe…” He continued to writhe and struggle, but a forced smile eventually broke through and made him convulse more erratically. “Hehehehehe! Heh heh heh heh heh~”

That nasly chortle of a laugh emerged once again, which widened Ocellus and Silverstream’s grins at the same time. He kept going as his defenses weakened, intensifying that laugh tenfold through his bulky braces.

“Heh, a-heh! A-heh! A-HEH, A-HEH, A-HEH, A-HEH!!~”

Gallus let out quite the hoarse little guffaw, his nasly voice echoing hard against the walls. He even snorted a couple times when he tried to regain his breath. That was when Ocellus and Silverstream finally stopped, giggling in satisfaction after eliciting such a perfect laugh. “There! That was the one I was talking about! That laugh there.”

“Nnnnghhhh… Aww, j-jeethe…” Gallus had to quickly reel away from both of them, wincing painfully hard as his expression showed a new look of panic. As his blush deepened immensely through his cheeks, he tried his hardest to tense up his hind-legs to avoid the strong stirring sensations within his trousers. After Silverstream’s forceful tickling, Gallus felt a very strong redirection of bloodflow that was refusing to divert after being let go. Unfortunately, because of how many laced doughnuts he had consumed earlier, there was no way for him to stop that tent from growing in the crotch of his pants…

“Nnnnffff… T-T-Tho, uhhh…” Gallus tried to stand back uptight with his legs closer together when he looked back at Silverstream. “Wh… What about that laugh?”

“It sounded really… cute~” She emphasized that point with her head slightly lowered, giving a more doe-eyed stare to match her bashful admission. “I, uhhh… I really liked hearing it from you, that’s all…”

Gallus was still blushing profusely, and his beak tightened against his bracings when he averted his eyes. Ocellus came up to his side, and looked up at him with a smile as sincere as could be. “It really is a nice laugh, Gallus. You shouldn’t try to hide it~”

He looked between the two of them for a moment, noting how genuinely both of them were waiting for a positive response. The pressure was enough to make him try chuckling nervously as he lowered his head. “Heh, uhhhh… a-heh, a-heh, a-heh~”

Silverstream and Ocellus beamed wide, and rewarded the gryphon with some strong nuzzles from both sides. “Dawwwww!~” “That’s so cute!~”

-RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!!!-

“OH! Clatheth are gonna thtart!” Gallus quickly checked his back to make sure all his books were in place, while Ocellus and Silverstream gave his outfit a good wipe-down to remove any lint or stray hairs from the fabric.

“Alright, let’s get you in class, Gallus~” Ocellus sounded unbelievably excited, and was biting their lip to keep their wings from buzzing against their back. “Oooh, I can’t wait!”

Gallus looked at them for a second with a raised brow, but his eyes widened the moment he heard Silverstream behind him say, “Mmhmm! Hopefully there’s a seat available in the front row~”

Four Minutes Later

Gallus had to run after his friends to catch up, and was left rather winded by the time he arrived at his classroom before the starting bell. Fortunately, he didn’t pick up enough of a sweat to stain his new clothes, or for his face to appear too red beneath his ever-present blush. He ended up being the last student to enter the room, which meant that he was met with all their widened eyes the instant they saw how he looked. His outfit looked like something out of a comedy skit, and his blue and yellow feathers were shimmering brightly under the fluorescent lights due to how much oil was slicking them down. His eyes could be seen darting around behind his massive frames, while his headgear caused his breaths to come out in faint wheezes everyone could hear. And due to his ongoing bloodflow issues, which was already leaving him with a hefty chub in the crotch of his pants, he had to enter the room with a subtle slouch in an attempt to hide his erection.

“Uhhh… H-Hey, guyth…” He gave a meager wave while walking into the room, gartering baffled stares from most of his classmates. All five of his friends were already in their seats, and were smiling especially wide at his big entrance. Ocellus made sure to take a desk right beside the only vacant one, which happened to be right in the front row and closest to the teacher’s podium. Gallus sighed with a flat look at his only desk option, but shrugged begrudgingly before taking his seat.

Gallus could overhear a few whispers and murmurs from further back, which he was already expecting due to his medical gear. He hated the idea of being on the spot for something he had no control over, but he was grateful he had enough positive attributes added to distract from them. Not to mention, his friends have been a great support system so far, so hopefully they can keep him from being pestered about his glasses or headgear.

He could feel dozens of stares pointed at his back by the time he sat down at his desk; luckily for the gryphon, he was able to hide his lower-half from view as his member bulged out more prominently in his trousers. It didn’t seem like any of the classmates noticed his hard-on, but many of them were still whispering to one another by the time his back was turned away. He squirmed a little as he tried to cross his legs as subtly as he could, and he ended up sitting in a slouch with his head in his claw. Ocellus used their magic to firmly grab his chest, and they pulled him back so he was sitting upright and proper. He looked over at them, only to see Ocellus sitting upright with their forelegs neatly placed on the desk. They looked over at him with a wide and insistent smirk, until he reluctantly pulled his own arms inward.

By the time the classroom door opened once more, Gallus was looking like a true model student with his back straight and his elbows against his sides. Ocellus also made sure to lay out the gryphon’s pencils and pens across his desk in an organized row, matching the same arrangement they had for their own. Before their teacher stepped into the room, Ocellus whispered into his ear, “Now’s your chance. Don’t be nervous~”

Gallus’ throat tightened up while trying not to gulp worriedly. Still sitting upright and looking like a total stiff, the nerded-out gryphon was the first thing Rainbow Dash saw when she entered the classroom. She froze for a second, noting the eerie silence from the majority of the class before seeing the reason why. Her eyes bulged from her skull, needing a couple seconds to blink repeatedly and stare at the new Gallus. Her muzzle opened for a second or two, but her eyes drifted away to see the steam drifting from the cup of coffee in her hoof. She closed her eyes with a sigh, muttering under her breath, “Right… That was something that happened…”

Rainbow Dash just shook her head with another exhale, going to her podium while keeping her muzzle shut. She had no idea what the heck Gallus or his friends were doing, but she could tell that this likely wasn’t some one-off thing anymore. So after taking a sip of her coffee, she placed her folder of notes on her podium and addressed the class. “Okay then! Good morning class, ugh…” She paused long enough to pinch the bridge of her muzzle with the tip of her wing. “Yeesh, why did Twi make me take these morning classes…”

Rainbow kept her eyes closed when she used her hoof to open her folder, and she took another sip of her coffee. She picked up a piece of paper before reopening her eyes, letting out a huge yawn midway through her words. “Alright, we werrRRAAWWWWWW… Ugh, sorry… W-We were last talking about chapter… fourteen, I think? The one about Rockhoof’s fable?”

Behind Gallus and his friends, many of the other ponies relaxed with soft sighs and slouched in their seats. If Rainbow was looking past her folder of notes, she likely would’ve noticed how quickly the mood of the class had changed. But since she was still half-awake and continuing to caffeinate herself to no avail, she was already starting her lesson without double-checking things. “I think that’s on page fifty-nine, so you all can open your books there--”

“Uhhh… Mith Rainbow Dapth?”

Rainbow veered her eyes upward, seeing the raised claw of Gallus’ less than a foot from her face. She looked down from her podium to see Gallus nervously bushing, raising his claw while sitting upright. Usually when she started these morning classes, Gallus would be the one having a harder time staying awake than her. But on this morning, the gryphon was fully alert and attentive. His eyes darted back and forth through his glasses, before clearing his throat to point, “I, uhhh… Actually, I think the lethon wath for chapter fifteen. Not fourteen…”

Ocellus shot Rainbow a knowing smirk and nodded their head, while many students behind the two groaned and rolled their eyes. That caused Rainbow to glance back at her notes, quickly noticing the discrepancy after double-checking her dates. “Oh! You’re right… Uhh, thanks…”

Smolder, who was a desk away from Gallus in the row behind him, leaned in to whisper into his ear, “Nice one~”

The pegasus went to find the new page, leaving several of the students in the back to narrow their eyes at the back of Gallus’ head. Despite how miffed Gallus left most of the class, Ocellus sighed with a dreamy smile after hearing that first nerdy correction. Seeing the gryphon beside her, it was taking everything in them not to take a picture and memorialize how perfect Gallus looked as a prim and proper dork. They still had no idea how long this could last, but they couldn’t be happier of how well things were going so far.

“Okay then, now we’re set to learn about Mistmane’s Legacy, beginning on page sixty-nine…” Rainbow had to look away from the class to keep them from seeing her hide a snicker; of course, several students near the back were doing the same because of that specific number.

Since this lesson was actually on new material, everyone pulled out their textbooks to start the lesson. Gallus quickly got his own book out, but squirmed with another grunt as he tried readjusting his legs. By now, the protrusion in his pants was persistently present, perpetuating the perilous proliferation of his phallus pumping to pontiferous proportions. His beak skewed uncomfortably, but he kept his discomforted groans from becoming too audible. Of course, even as he tried to focus on the lesson being read out, he was only able to pay attention for a good five minutes at most.

“... now, when Mistmane returned home, she confronted Stable Spirit and defeated her in a magical duel.” Rainbow quickly flipped to the next page before continuing. “However, Mistmane then used her magic to not only restore the village, but also Stable as well…”

Gallus took a deep breath and tried to straighten himself in his seat. He was still listening to Dash’s words as best as he could, but he needed a quick nudge from Ocellus’ hoof to listen more attentively. He almost didn’t realize there was an error until he glanced over at Ocellus, who was motioning down to their book on the current page. Gallus looked back at his own textbook, and his brows rose when he caught a specific detail. “Oh! Uhh…”

Gallus waited until Rainbow was about to take a breath, and he raised his claw while sitting upright like a good little student. “Umm, Mith Rainbow Dapth? I think therth a thmall error…”

Rainbow raised a brow and looked up from her book, her muzzle skewing the tiniest bit at seeing Gallus acting like this. “Uhhh… I did?”

“Yeth, you thee…” Gallus held up his textbook, pointing to a paragraph of text that Rainbow had just read outloud. “Umm, you thaid that Mithtmane confronted Thtable Thpirit, but according to thethe nothe, it wath actually Thable Thpirit. Uhh, with an ‘Ethe’ and not an ‘Ethe-tee’...”

A large majority of the class was staring at Gallus with baffled looks, aside from his friends who were all trying to hide how mesmerizing it was to see his nerdiness in public. Ocellus was just staring at the gryphon with a dreamy smile on their face, looking like little hearts were about to appear over their head. Luckily, Rainbow Dash didn’t seem to notice Gallus’ friends while narrowing her eyes on the gryphon. “... uhhhh… wait a sec…”

It took her a second to discern what he was saying through that heavy lisp, but she looked back through her notes to catch what she did wrong. “... Oh!” Her eyes widened in surprise, and she ended up shrugging with a light whinny. “Ugh… Okay, yeah. I get it. It was Sable Spirit, not Stable Spirit. Gotcha.”

“Oh! Altho…” Gallus turned back to a previous page in his book, and leaned in closely to find the specific line of text that caught his attention. “Earlier you mentioned that Mithtmane wath a thudent of Magic Thcool to learn from Tharthwirl the Bearded, but actually…” Gallus perked his head back up to raise a talon and point out, “Tharthwirl the Bearded wathn’t an inthructor at that thcool until after Mithtmane graduated. And while he technically wrote of her thtorieth, that wath after he and the other Guardianth were formed by himthelf and Thtygian.”

Rainbow had to look back in her own textbook for clarification on that, shaking her head in confoundment. “Huh?! Wait, when did that come up…”

While she browsed the paragraphs to verify the gryphon’s claims, Ocellus had to bite their lip to keep from chittering to themself excitedly. If they were able to freeze time with a spell or potion, they would’ve used that moment to ride Gallus’ bones right there in the middle of the classroom. They looked over at their friends, who were all also blushing and trying to hide their amused smirks. None of them would’ve likely approved of some other student acting like such a dweeb during lessons, but it felt somewhat perfect for Gallus in comparison.

“... Huh, okay then…” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes with another exasperated sigh. “Alright, uhhh… maybe let me finish my lesson before bringing up stuff like that?”

“Oh! Ummm… alright then, Mithuth Dapth…” Gallus nodded while blushing in embarrassment, but he looked over to see Ocelus giving him an innocent shrug. A few students near the back could be heard giggling, which caused Gallus to turn his head the other way and see the rest of his friends. None of them were the ones laughing, and merely gave him encouraging smiles and a couple thumbs-up from Smolder & Silverstream. It wasn’t a huge gesture, but Gallus appreciated it enough to smile more naturally when he looked back forward.

“Yeeeesh…” Rainbow muttered that to herself while her eyes were closed, shaking her head faintly. She wasn’t going to ask what the heck was going on with Gallus, but she couldn’t help giving another stare to his friends for a second or two. She seemed especially wary about Ocellus, since the changeling was still sneaking glances at Gallus like he was a supermodel covered in pheromones. But alas, the teacher knew better than to make any assumptions without proof, so she returned to her lesson and tried her best to ignore the nerd in front of her. “ANYway… Since Gallus brought it up already, I might as well go into Stygian’s involvement in the Guardians alongside Starswirl the Bearded…”

Gallus was about to reach down and grab another sheet of paper for more notes, but Ocellus floated a page onto his desk with a friendly wink. He smiled back at her, and tried to remain silent while jotting down the teacher’s notes. All the while, Ocellus and the others were all continuing to watch the gryphon from the corners of their eyes, clearly loving the sight after all the hard work they accumulated so far.

Of course, unlike the other friends, only Ocellus was able to see how stiff the nerd was getting in those tight trousers, and how relentless that hard-on was getting throughout the entire class…

-RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!!-

While a lot of the students in Rainbow Dash’s first class sighed in relief, Gallus himself blinked a couple times in surprise. Since Ocellus was helping him stay so attentive in class, as well as encouraging him to speak up and “help” with the teacher’s lessons however he could, time practically zipped by when the bell finally rang. It was almost surreal how quickly the lesson went, which he could only assume was something Ocellus was trying to show him. He hated to admit it, but they certainly seemed to know how to make classes go by easier; and by the end, he had a plethora of new notes that could help him with the big test in two weeks.

Unfortunately for Gallus, as soon as he was about to stand up from his desk, that pesky erection caused him to blush heavily behind his glasses. He groaned a little with a skewed beak, and tried his best to hide his little problem with the aid of his books. Since he had a large stack already bundled together in a leather belt (a thoughtful gift from Ocellus), Gallus tried to use it to his advantage when he stood on his hind-legs. The gryphon ended up towering over most of the ponies by at least a foot, but his bipedal stance was the best he could do while walking upright with his books covering his crotch. Of course, from the outside perspective he just looked like he was struggling to hold up all those books while carrying them with both claws.

“Hnnnghhh… Aww, j-jeethe…” Gallus waddled out from the classroom with his glasses teetering at the edge of his beak, and his headgear creaking each time his expression tried to skew in embarrassment. Since he was standing upright with his pants above his stomach, there was a large gap between the bottom hem of his pantlegs and his loafers, which showed off his tube-socks and stringy-looking legs. His suspenders were also hiked up high enough to pull up his backside tightly, exposing the gryhon’s buttcrack through the brown fabric. Fortunately for Gallus’ friends, it seemed that the gryphon was more worried about his boner than how his outfit may have looked. “Goth… What the heck ith happening to me…”

“Hey there, Gallus!~” Ocellus and Gallus had the same class for their second period, so the changeling strolled up right beside him so they could walk together. “You need to copy my class notes again?”

“Uhhh, nah,” replied Gallus with a shake of his head. “I got a lot of nothe thith clath! I’m kinda thurprithed.”

“Well, it sounds like you’re handling classes a lot better when you’re more attentive~” They couldn’t help smiling up at him with a flustered blush, trying their best to avoid staring at the bulge right beneath Gallus’ book-stack. “You know, maybe you should try sitting in the front for all of your classes. The closer you are to the teachers, the better focused you’ll be for tests~”

Gallus rolled his eyes in thought, but was able to keep walking while balancing his books. Smolder, whose class for second period was right beside Gallus and Ocellus’, came up to the gryphon’s other side for added support. Much like Gallus, Smolder was walking upright with her books held against her chest. “Hey, guys! What’re you two talking about?”

“Oh, I was just suggesting to Gallus how he should sit in the front for his classes from now on.” Ocellus motioned up to the gryphon while he was left staring between the two. “What do you think?”

“Oh, that sounds like a great idea!” She grew an optimistic smile before turning to Gallus and asking, “Didn’t you say you wanted to take notes better? Maybe being up front will give you an advantage.”

“Well, uhhh… I gueth tho?” Gallus shrugged his shoulders while blushing uncomfortably. Even though he was between two of his best friends, he kept noticing the weirded-out glances from ponies trotting past them down the hallway. He could also hear a lot of whispering from behind him, although he was too paranoid to turn his head and confirm if those voices were discussing him specifically. He glanced down at his outfit, and sighed with an uneasy skew of his beak. “Ummm… are you guyth thure my clothe aren’t too much?”

“Dude, you look great!” Smolder gave Gallus an affirmative slap on the back with her claw. “Just give it some time, I’m willing to bet that others will start dressing snazzier after seeing you~”

“Or maybe they’re just jealous of how cool you look~” Ocellus leaned in and nuzzled Gallus’ side, making sure to nestle their muzzle close to that tenacious crotch-bulge. “Mmmm… Plus, you got so many compliments today~”

“Nnnnnghhhh…” The gryphon shuddered and jerked their hips away from Ocellus’ head, but still throbbed hard enough for his knees to buckle briefly. Since his pants were hiked up so high, his raging erection was bunched up against his inner thigh, and helplessly twitching against the tight fabric of his pants. If any students were to look past his stack of books, they’d be able to see every curve and outline of Gallus’ penis bulging alongside his pants’ inner hemline. Of course, due to how over-the-top the gryphon’s appearance was from head to paws, that bulge was only noticed by his smirking friends.

“Nnnnfff… y-y-yeah, but thtill…” Gallus had to suck in a deep breath to regain his bearings, but even a deep exhale only stopped his shivering a little by the time he reopened his eyes. “Ith juth… J-Juth a lot of attention, thath all. A-Heh, A-Heh, A-Heh…”

That nervous little chortle got Ocellus’ attention, and they shot a split-second glance Smolder’s way. The dragoness instantly giggled with a cutesy smile and raised her brow. “Hehehe~ Golly, that’s a nice laugh! Very Neat-O~”

“Thank you, Smolder!” Ocellus shot her a thankful nod before motioning back to Gallus. “I think he was self-conscious about it because of his braces.”

“Aww, don’t be!” Smolder nudged him so he could see her sincere smile. “Seriously, it sounds fine, dude. It kinda suits you~”

Gallus and his friends rounded the corner of the hallway leading to their classes, and was already flustered enough to lower his head in a more hunched-looking slouch. Still clutching his books, Gallus used a claw to pull his glasses up his beak while stammering nervously. “Jeethe, uhhh… a-heh, a-heh, a-heh… Golly you guyth are thomething elth~”

Ocellus and Smolder looked at each other with knowing grins, and only responded with a shared shrug. “Hmmm… yeah!” They said at the same time, causing them to giggle blushedly. “Hehehehe!~”

The two stopped walking long enough to have that little giggle, prompting Gallus to also stop while between them. Much like a strong yawn, a couple friends laughing was enough for it to be contagious to the gryphon between them. A strained smile grew across his beak, and he was still standing when he let out a more natural guffaw between them. His shoulders hiked up and down to a comical degree while giggling nasly between some forced, snorting chortles.

“A-Heh! A-Heh! A-Heh! Gnnnghh~ A-HEH! A-HEH! A-HEH! A-HEH!~ GNNNGHHH--”

Gallus’ face scrunched up with his eyes wide-open, unsure of how loudly those snorts came out of his beak by accident. His laughter certainly got a few students nearby to stop and look over at him and his friends. He also heard a few stifled giggles from nearby, which just made him blush heavier in shame. But unlike some of the ponies’ reactions, Smolder and Ocellus looked much more supportive as they smiled up at him so happily.

“See, that’s the first natural laugh I heard from you in a while, dude~” Smolder rubbed his back in support. “You should embrace that! A laugh is something you should never be embarrassed about.”

“Mmhmm~” Ocellus was really pleased with Smolder’s statement, and was tempted to just go along with that as a sound lesson for Gallus to absorb. With any luck, he could make that sort of guffaw a natural laugh that would undoubtedly get them wet whenever they heard it. However, even with how naturally they let their approval show, Gallus still looked really embarrassed while his feathers ruffled out. Ocellus leaned in to give him a comforting nuzzle, and used their magic to straighten his bow-tie. “Oh, and before I forget, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you…”

Ocellus tried not to make their smile appear too coy or eager when they looked up at the nerd with a flutter of their lashes. “I had an idea for something that could work for that big Science Fair Project coming up, and I was hoping to ask for your help between fourth period and lunch today.”

“T-Today?” Gallus tilted his head in confusion. “But, ithn’t that Thienth Phair prothect in a few monthpth?”

He groaned from how badly he spittled through his headgear with that last word, which was apparently not friendly towards his new lisp. Ocellus had to use their magic to hold their wings against their sides, otherwise they might’ve started buzzing from how pent up they were getting. Fortunately, the changeling was able to settle themself quickly enough with a single exhale. “Heh~ W-Well, uhhh… S-Silverstream and I had an idea we were wanting to try, and we wanted your input as a participant. That is, if you’re willing to use the first twenty minutes of lunch.”

“Hmmm…” Gallus’ beak skewed as much as it could against his headgear, which wasn’t much. Still, he seemed a little unsure about using up so much of his lunch time for something his friends were organizing. However, since the School of Friendship provided full hour-long breaks instead of the standard half-hour, it was easy enough for the gryphon to reluctantly sigh and roll his eyes. “Well, uhhh… thould I athk what it ith, thethpithically? Hrmph…” He grumbled internally from how much he lisped there, not noticing Ocellus shuddering with a tightly bitten lip.

“W-Well, nfff~ Specifically,” they responded with an overly excited grin, “the specifics of this particular experiment are supposed to be discrete for the sole purpose of succinct results. Since otherwise, certain details might be compromised due to biased perspectives.” As they spoke, the changeling made sure to use as many words with ‘S’ in them to incite the same from the gryphon. “But with that being said… Silverstream had a hypothesis that’s related to the elasticity of certain clothing brands, specifically products geared towards males like yourself~”

Gallus’ brows could be seen poking up from behind the frame of his glasses. “Uhh… e-elathtic?” He gulped with his cheeks visibly blushing, which was more than enough to make Smolder snicker behind him. She had her arms crossed over her chest, and remained silent while tilting her head to veer down at the gryphon’s backside. As soon as Ocellus mentioned the topic of their “Experiment Plans,” the dragon was able to see a particularly strong jolt from Gallus’ tented trousers. Smolder had to bite their tongue while stifling an antsy grin, especially when she saw a distinct bead of darkness from the very tip of his bulge. All the while, the nerd was darting his eyes all nervously behind his glasses. “W-What, uhhh… W-What thethpithicth were you uh… purthuing with thith ephperiment?”

Ocellus nodded their head while keeping a satisfied smirk, and rolled their eyes more playfully. “Well… let’s just say, Silverstream mentioned a few things like ‘Tensile Stength’ and ‘Waistband Durability,’ although that could mean a lo--”

“I’ll do it!” Gallus quickly clamped his beak shut, but quickly winced with his eyes closed following his blurb. Since Smolder was behind him, he didn’t see her pumping her fist in excited silence. Ocellus’ horn brightened up to keep a firm grasp on their wings, but Gallus didn’t catch that when he averted his eyes more bashfully. “I-I mean, ummm… I wouldn’t oppothe to helping out my friendth…”

While the gryphon scratched the back of his neck with a meager blush, which did nothing to hide his sheepish smile, Ocellus was beaming as proudly as could be. “Oh, that’s suspendous! Come by the Home-Ec room before lunch, we’ll have food provided for you after we get our findings.”

Smolder leaned her head in with a knowing smile, and perked her brows at Ocellus to ask, “Could I come by and help out?~”

The changeling didn’t even hesitate to nod their head, shooting an equally sly look towards the dragon. “Well, sure you can, Smolder. The more the merrier~”

They put out their hoof, with Gallus stepping back so Smolder had some room to lean in. She smugly reached out and grabbed Ocellus’ hoof, shaking it in confirmation of their plans. With the gryphon standing as witness, they still held onto Smolder’s claw when they added, “I’m sure that Silverstream will really appreciate another volunteer~”

Smolder’s grin dropped in an instant, and was replaced with a stunned and wide-eyed stare back at Ocellus’ cocky smirk. Before the dragon could say anything, a pony from her next class was conveniently walking past her with a stack of books on his back. He only paused for a split-second to whisper, “Hey, the bell’s almost gonna ring.”

“Oh! Uhhh… thanks…” The student was already leaving by the time Smolder muttered that remark, forcing her to let go of Ocellus’ hoof reluctantly. The changeling used that moment to usher Gallus aside with their magic pushing against him from behind, guiding him towards their next class. They confidently walked past the still-stunned looking Smolder and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll get lunch for you too~”

Ocellus then disappeared into their next classroom, with Smolder seeing from the doorway that a desk had already been placed right in front for a specific gryphon. Gallus was once again seated right by the teacher’s podium, with Ocellus taking the desk right behind him and grinning like a true horn-dog. Smolder wanted to say something, but she ended up just sighing with her eyes closed tightly. She promptly spun away from the doorway with a peeved-looking huff, and blushed hotly while scowling to herself. “Hmph…” She stormed towards her next class while muttering under her breath, “I swear, they better not try dressing me up like that…”

Author's Note

Chapter 8 is already written out (12K words total~), and is currently on my Patreon page for proofreading later. All I'll say is that I had a very fun time writing it out~ ;)