A Process of Elimination

Thanks to some rather clever spellwork from some of the castle's more knowledgeable unicorn maids, getting my room fixed up wasn't too much of an issue. Barely a few hours had passed before everything was as it should be—for the most part. There was still the matter of my missing journal and, of course, the culprit who'd messed up my bedroom and taken the thing.

As I mentioned to Bulwark, I had some ideas about who might've taken my journal. The possible culprits were obvious for anypony who knew my situation and what happened with the dungeon incident. The issue wasn't figuring out who the mastermind was—there was no doubt in my mind that it was Blueblood. No, the biggest issue was getting the evidence to prove it was him and whoever he'd put up to the task.

I was ready to go looking for clues and start interrogating ponies myself, but ultimately decided to let the Princess know about it. I figured I wouldn't have been able to keep something like this under wraps anyway—not for very long. Needless to say, Princess Celestia was... not happy. She hid it fairly well, but I'd been around the Princess long enough at that point to know when she was irate, and it was never a comfortable thing to behold.

Still, the fact that she was upset on my behalf made her cool anger a bit more bearable. She'd told me in no uncertain terms that she'd get to the bottom of the matter and to leave it to her while I prepared for the upcoming exam for CSGU. I had my own thoughts about the situation. It was clear that whoever had ransacked my bedroom had likely planned to do so while I was at the library. If that was the case, then my missing ID wasn't a coincidence and the archivist, Floral Delight, was potentially involved.

And then there was Greedy Gut and Winter Chime. Having been there during the previously aforementioned dungeon incident, they were already likely suspects—especially Greedy Gut. Even if he hadn't wanted to be involved, it was obvious he knew something. Given his recent demeanor, I was hoping it would be easy to squeeze something out of the rotund colt. Winter Chime was a vindictive filly who I knew for a fact had it out for me, but she'd probably be more difficult to pin down.

Her mother, Winter Bell, was apparently the chief justice of Canterlot's Supreme Court. I didn't know all that much about law as a filly and didn't Winter Chime would be tried since she was just a foal. That said, if there were any kinds of punishment to be had, I was sure her mother would just sweep it all under the rug, just like she probably did with what happened in the dungeon. In fact, that was my entire worry about this whole thing.

I wanted to leave it to the Princess to take care of. I wanted to take solace in the fact that she would stop at nothing to get my journal back and punish whoever took it and ruined my bedroom. In the end, I did choose to let her handle things, but I couldn't help but doubt. Somewhere deep down, I was afraid that, even if she did manage to "solve the case" as it were, I had a sinking feeling it would all end up just like before.

There was no violence or potential murder at play either, so why wouldn't it end up just as before? A light punishment—if any—was pretty much a given. Even if got my journal back, I had a strong feeling that wouldn't matter in the end. Blueblood was planning something, and he'd taken my journal as part of that plan. It was all I could think about, even as I tried my best to focus on my studies. As if all of that wasn't bad enough, my mind started to wander back to the conversation I'd overheard back in the Public Library—the one between the two students.

I'd been too distracted by the sudden appearance of Moon Dancer to dwell on it, but she wasn't around anymore. With that distraction gone, my thoughts were free to drift toward an unsettling realization—one that had somehow slipped my mind when the Princess first mentioned I would be going to CSGU. I was not at all an unknown entity amongst the CSGU student body. I was that filly—the one who'd very nearly destroyed the school. Ponies were being transferred out of Celestia's School because of me. Because of what I did.

Moon Dancer had hunted me down specifically because of what happened during my exam. I knew that, but it hadn't really registered until now. The realization that I'd be tossed into that environment after what happened during the entrance exam had me literally trembling with anxiety. It felt like I was a slab of meat being thrown to the timberwolves. I, naturally, discussed my not-insignificant concern with the Princess one night, and she assured me it would be fine.

She told me there were measures in place to keep me safe from the fallout of my disastrous entrance exam. She wouldn't tell me what those measures were, but she tried to hammer home that there was nothing to worry about on that front. Her words, while comforting, did little to put my mind at ease. Still, what could I do but wait and hope for the best? I would do just that, but I knew I'd also have to prepare for the worst. I wouldn't get caught off-guard again, not like with Blueblood and his ilk.

Unfortunately, my conviction did little to help me concentrate on the task at hoof. When the time came to take what was essentially my make-up exam about a week and a half later, I didn't exactly feel prepared. That the Princess hadn't yet made any real progress in the investigation of who took my journal didn't help. On a less stressful note, I found out the exam was mostly meant for transfer students or exchange students arriving later in the school year and would take place in one of the study halls of Celestia's School.

All in all, it was supposed to be a rather quiet, low-key affair, unlike the previous exam I'd taken—or attempted to take at any rate. All I'd have to do is go in, take the exam, turn it in, and leave. Then I'd wait a couple of days for the results before starting school the next day. That was how it was explained to me the day I set out to take the exam in question. The Princess was busy preparing for the delegate she was supposed to entertain while I was at school, so this time around I was escorted by another of the castle staff.

To my surprise, the Princess had given the task of escorting me to her school to the castle stewardess. Normally, the stewardess was busy managing the lower ranked staff and their day-to-day duties, but apparently Princess Celestia had asked the mare to do it as a favor. The mare's name was Thorny Rose, and despite the abrasive sounding name, she was a sweet old unicorn mare that gave off an air of dignity and grace that few of the nobility could match.

As we rode together in a simple carriage also provided by the Princess, Thorny Rose took the liberty of explaining the aforementioned exam process. She'd even gone so far as to try and assuage my fears of what might come of my attendance. I'd only seen the mare a few times around the castle, but this had been the first time I'd actually interacted with her for any length of time. And while her assurances still left me dubious about whether things would be okay, I found that I liked the elderly mare quite a lot, and her gentle but confident tone did help calm my nerves a bit.

Once we reached the school, though, all of my worries returned with a vengeance. The school itself was massive, and as the stewardess and I left the carriage and made our way to the main building, I could see that not a single trace of my mistake during the previous exam remained. The design of Celestia's School had been inspired by Canterlot Castle, and that meant plenty of spires and arches built upon a foundation of pearl-white stone.

It was a very elegant and even slightly whimsical design that reminded me of Princess Celestia herself if I was being honest. Unfortunately, all I could focus on at that moment were the many students scurrying about the place. It was still fairly early in the morning, but the campus was bustling with ponies coming in and out of both the main and auxiliary buildings. I stood frozen for a moment, heart racing and legs trembling as I thought about every single thing that could go wrong the moment I stepped into that school.

Thorny Rose was having none of my minor panic attack and kindly, but insistently, ushered me forward. I protested, obviously. I wanted, more than anything right then, to be literally anywhere else, but there was still a part of me that wouldn't allow me to run away. Some stubborn bit of me that was convinced I could make it through this, and it was that part of me that kept my legs moving forward. Best to rip the bandage off now and get it over with, that stubborn part of me seemed to say.

And so, I followed Thorny Rose into the school, pointedly keeping my eyes focused on anything and everything that wasn't another pony. For a good while, things actually went pretty smoothly. Thorny Rose was able to register me at the front desk with no issues, and as we navigated the labyrinthine halls of the school's main building, nopony seemed to pay us any heed. In fact, we made it to the study hall with no incident whatsoever. Thorny Rose excused herself once we arrived, letting me know she'd be back once the exam was over to pick me up.

The thought of her absence sent me panicking all over again, but she once again assured me that I had nothing to worry about. I was shocked to find that she was right—for the most part. I wasn't the first to arrive, but I wasn't the last either, which was a huge relief. That said, while most of the transfer students ignored or didn't notice me, I did notice a few looks directed my way. The looks were fleeting and nothing came of them, so I just tried my best not to worry about it and focus on the imminent exam instead.

The entire exam process, to my utter disbelief, went off without a hitch. The proctor had passed out the multipage test, explained what the exam would entail, and I spent the next couple of hours filling out the answers to the best of my ability. The room was quiet save for the rustling of parchment and the scratching of quills. Once we were done, we simply had to wait for the proctor to come and collect our tests. It was everything I could have hoped for in a test taking environment.

I wasn't sure about how I actually did on the exam and wouldn't know for another two or three days, but I was confident I didn't do too badly at least. By the time the exam finished, and Thorny Rose returned to pick me up, I was practically giddy with relief that everything had gone so well. I was so happy that I didn't give the increasingly strange looks I was getting from the students I was passing on my way out any thought. I barely noticed them at all.

I noticed a few ponies whispering or talking to one another as they cast unreadable glances my way, but I was too busy talking Thorny Rose's ear off about my exam to worry about it. That's at least what I told myself, anyway. I told myself I hadn't noticed, and I think I truly tried to believe what little I did manage to pick up didn't bother me too much. I didn't realize it back then—that I was walking a little faster, talking a little too quickly or with a bit too much volume as Thorny Rose and I left the school.

I'm pretty sure Thorny Rose noticed, though, but she didn't say anything about it. She just kept up that kind, matronly smile as I rambled on and on about things she probably didn't care one whit about. Even when we finally made it back to the carriage and started heading back to the castle, I didn't acknowledge my shaking hooves, and neither did Thorny Rose. I just kept talking, and Thorny Rose just kept smiling that sad, indulgent smile.