Studying (with) You

Path 1: A different kind of Blooming

The exam goes by without any problems and Gallus is among the first ten to hand in their papers. A few minutes later Snowflake, a white-coated Pegasus mare with a light-blue, curly mane and tail and Sandbar follow their example and finish their exam. The earth-pony leaves the classroom and notices his griffon-friend, who is taking a quick sip from a water-fountain. He stops when he sees his friend heading his way with a faint smile decorating his face.
"So... How did it go?", Sandbar asks with a hint of nervousness in his voice but it quickly vanishes when he sees the smile on the griffon's face.
"One or two questions were a bit too difficult but I am pretty sure I was way better than Hotshot. I saw him freaking out and almost snapping his quill in half. It was a blast to see! Luckily for me, most of it was a breeze, thanks to you", Gallus answers with a chuckle as he ruffles his friend's mane, who also lets out a little giggle, " Now we just need to ace the rest. And you? Did the master of fabric nail it?"
This new title creates a faint blush on the pony's cheeks as he nods with the same smile as before.
"Nothing that big or complicated so I should be fine..."
The way Sandbar answers shows that he is still worried about the thing from before, which is not very surprising, and it pains Gallus to see him this way.
Damn... I hoped he cheered up a little by now but, thinking about it, I guess getting confronted with the exact thing makes it difficult to accept it... Just two more days and everything will be fine, I promise!
"I know we, I mean you will. You're the smartest pony I know so cheer up and lets kicks those exam-butts! And... do you want to come to my room after Rainbow Dash's Sport Festival? I think we could both use some time to relax and catch our breath. You in?"
He can see a bit of hesitation in his friend's eyes but it quickly vanishes before he nods with a more obvious smile on his lips.
"Sounds good. Wanna get a quick snack before taking on Twilight's super-exciting history exam?"
"Oh totally... I can't wait for that snore-fest of a test. I hope I can even stay awake long enough to read all the questions", the griffon jokes as they make their way to the pretty empty cafeteria.
"Oh yeah, I think Hotshot even managed to destroy his quill in the end. I heard something break and it came from his direction. Poor quill though, not its fault he's as dumb as a pile of pebbles", the pony remembers Gallus comment and adds to it, which causes his friend to break out in a loud, hearty laugh.

The rest of today's exams go by without any big problems, like Gallus imagined they would. He only had problems with Miss Rarity's part after all and Sandbar seemed prepared for anything. The next day is, again, occupied with scrolls full of questions, the sound of quills scratching over parchment and muffled cheers, groans and confused mumbling and so is the first half of the third and final day. The group already finished Applejack's farming test and just returned from Fluttershy's test on Equestrian Wildlife, which gives them a thirty minute break before their last and surely most physically exhausting test takes place: Rainbow Dash's Sport Festival!
Sandbar, Yona and Gallus got themselves a cup of juice and decided to sit down at the bottom of the empty stair, which leads to the second floor, in the main hall. They talk a bit about the exams they've been through and the easy question Miss Fluttershy asked in her exam.
"Some questions were so easy, I thought they were trick-questions! Name one yellow flower, really!? Or which of these animals live in trees. I mean, come on! And the options were birds, moles, cats and fishes. I know she is the representative for the Element of Kindness but... that was way too nice of her! Almost felt bad answering them", the griffon cackles as he takes a sip from his apple juice.
"Yeah!", Yona agrees and giggles and so does the stallion next to her.
"She said they would be a bit easier but that's was a cakewalk! Even more than Pinkie Pie's lesson when we literally walked over cakes to learn about their different textures. How is that even possible!?"
The pony's giggle turns into a loud laughter and Yona joins him.
Looks like he relaxed a bit. He was still very tense this morning but seeing him laugh like that... it feels really good... I hope it stays that way..."
Gallus begins to smile as well as he watches his pony-friend enjoy himself. Sandbar notices his friend's glances and, much to the griffon's joy, gives him one of those beloved smiles. Gallus can hear how his heart beats faster, he can feel his entire body burning up and how an indescribable tickle covers it. A feeling he enjoys every single time and a feeling he wants to enjoy for the rest of his life. And, for a moment, he can swear he sees a hint of blush in the pony's face.
But, sadly, the time flies by quickly and its time to get to the third floor. The three quickly finish their drinks and head for their destination, Yona leading the way and the two males following behind her next to each other.
The exam goes exactly the way she explained and, after about three hours, every student had their turn with each sport and the numbers needed for the marks are written down. The first team sport was a game of Buckball, followed by a 250m sprint, high-jump, shot-put, rhythmic gymnastics and a few rounds of Dodgeball. The students had a thirty minute break before taking on the second half of the activities, which were 100m freestyle, long jump, climbing, triple jump and, for the last push, a relay race. Miss Rainbow Dash also explained that Headmare Twilight created a spell, which disables the use of magic and wings for the duration of the tests. That way cheating was impossible and every creature had, in theory, the same chances.
"Not bad, not bad", the mare with the rainbow-colored mane mumbles as she goes over the results, "Most of you were even better than expected. A few slowpokes here and there but that's no biggie. Pretty sure all of you passed. But, for now, were done here... And I think this was the last test on your schedule so... You're free to go now."
The students begin to leave the gym in a wave of movement and mumbles but her teachers stops them one more time, blowing into the whistle that hangs around her neck. The loud noise completely catches the students of guard, causing some of them to let out a shriek while others immediately turn around witch shocked expressions.
"That... was louder than I wanted it to be...Hehe, sorry about that. Anyway, Twilight said she will make an announcement tomorrow around lunchtime so make sure you're either somewhere in or close to the school-building or in the dormitories so you don't miss it. Okay... Now I'm finished!"
The crowd stares at her to make sure she doesn't use the whistle once more but, once they are sure that this is not the case, the mass of creatures begins to leave and, it doesn't take long until the three friends return to the first floor and head for the big entrance, which will serve them as an exit now.
"No more exams! Freedom!", the female yak shouts as she jumps excitedly, "Yona wonders if the others are already done with theirs..."
"Probably", Sandbar replies, "This exam took the longest so it wouldn't surprise me. I guess they already returned to the dorms. At least, that's what I will do after a nice, refreshing shower... I'm drenched!"
The stallion wipes some sweat of his forehead and shakes his head a bit to dry his slightly wet mane.
"You can say that again! Miss Rainbow Dash really pulled every single punch she had. Running, climbing, jumping, swimming... I can still feel the cramp in my claws that I got from climbing", the griffon adds as he shakes one of his claw to finally get rid of that feeling, "Gotta admit though, compared to the other tests, this was by far my favorite! Those question-answer-tests were boring but that was actually really entertaining."
"You completely destroyed us at the high-jump, Yona! I had no idea you were that good at it!", the stallion goes into detail and Yona blushes a bit.
The group reached their exit and fresh air surrounds them as they make their way towards the dorm buildings.
"Well... Yaks are best at smashing. The higher yak jumps, the better it smashes. Gallus was best at climbing though! Really fast."
Now the attention is on Gallus, who tries his best to keep his cool.
"To be honest, it wasn't really that fair. Claws like these", the griffon raises the claw he shook and moves every single talon, "are way better at grasping and holding onto things than hooves. But, since Miss Rainbow Dash said only magic and flying were forbidden, I rolled with it. What I want to know is how can you swim so fast Sandy- Sandbar!? I never saw you move like that before."
That was close! Luckily I corrected myself in time so Yona shouldn't have noticed, the griffon thinks to himself after he finished talking.
The pony chuckles before he increases his walking speed a bit.
"I'm just better than you, that's all", he says jokingly as he slowly increase the distance between them.
"Sure, let's go with that", Gallus answers sarcastically as he slightly shakes his head.