Canterlot Academy Trials

Nebula rubbed his hoof down one of his ears to ensure that he had heard his friend properly. “...you what?”

“Help me hit on girls!” the dragon hissed rather quickly with his eyes shut, “The pony chicks around here are pretty cute and I’m a bit nervous. Plus, the local blacksmith pony is pretty smoking but--”

“Seriously? A grown dragon afraid of talking to ponies? You?” Nebula mocked him playfully, “Next I’ll grow wings and become an alicorn prince.”

Blue chuckled at the idea, “...that’d be funny--no wait, hey!” Then he quickly redirected the topic. “I’m serious. I…actually really like the pony-folk but I don’t know how to talk to them well. I figured you, as a pony could help me out?”

Nebula raised an eyebrow, then shot him a sympathetic frown moments later. He could tell by the uncertain grimace on Blue’s face that his friend was serious about how anxious he was.

So he came up with a quick solution.

“Alright. We still need to conduct as much questioning as we can,” Nebula began, “Why don’t you try and talk to her for a bit while I interview the snake charmer. Then if you need my help, I’ll come back you up. Sound doable?”

“Alrighty,” Blue replied with a nod as he exhaled smoke from his nostrils. “Just gotta…play it cool. I’ll see you in a bit, huh?” And with that, he spread his wings and took off…

‘He’ll be fine,’ Nebula thought to himself as he approached the corner of the market where the snake charmer had been playing.

The earth pony stallion had recently finished his performance and could be seen feeding what appeared to be dried insects to his snake that was now in a cage.

Seeing that he was free, Nebula took this opportunity to approach him, waving his hoof. “Oh, hello, sir. Could I possibly have a moment of your time?”

“Hm?” he turned to Nebula and nodded. His voice had a slight Arabian accent, “Ah. Of course, my friend. What do you need?”

“Love your work with that snake first off,” Nebula praised the stallion for his work while glancing at the rattlesnake, “Music is my passion and I’d love to learn more about it if you’re ever free.”

“No problem,” the stallion replied, “I love teaching younger folk my talent.”

“Cool! Though,” Nebula then changed the subject, “Do you know anything regarding bandit attacks that have gone on around here recently, sir?”

“Hm…I believe I may have overheard a few of my friends talk about it,” the stallion replied, “Something about how they tend to attack during the night when ponies are less likely to pay attention.”

With a poof of magic, Nebula pulled out a pen and notepad from his saddlebag and began writing down the details that the stallion gave to him.

“I see…so there is thievery going on,” he muttered while scribbling, “Could it be pirates, maybe?”

The stallion shook his head. “No, my friend. We’re nowhere near the coastline for pirates to attack. It’s likely a band of outlaws who seek to cause trouble during peacetime between the various nations around Equestria.”

“Hm…” Nebula gave it some thought. He had heard rumors about organized crime lords that existed and lived around places like Manehattan. Was it possible that there was more than what he had been told?

In a foreign land like Somnombula no less.

‘If things get too hairy we may need to dip,’ he thought to himself, ‘Don’t wanna risk fighting someone we know we can’t beat.’

At the very least, he wanted to see what he and his friends could for the locals while they were here.

“Alright. I’ll stand guard and make sure nothing goes wrong,” Nebula insisted with a proud smile, “You may not know this, but I’m actually the squire of a legendary Royal Guardstallion named Tungsten Wolfe.”

The snake charmer stallion gave an impressed nod. “Oh? I’m afraid I don’t know him by name, but if Princess Twilight has sent us her own mercenaries, then my concerns are at ease.”

“She did,” Nebula reaffirmed with a smirk, “And if we can’t drive them off ourselves, then we’ll have a whole army down here just to keep you guys safe.”

“I’d appreciate it, young man. Thank you for doing what you can. But for now, I must get ready to get back to work.”

Nebula put his notes away and started walking down the dirt road. “No problem. Have a good day, sir!”
Meanwhile…at the stall that sold various artifacts related to hexes and curses…

Grimrose approached the stall that was run by an elderly unicorn mare.

“Hello,” the pegasus mare called out, “I’m looking for information regarding any incidents that may have occurred around here recently. Specifically regarding bandit raids?”

The mare behind the stall spoke in a bitter tone, “Hmmm…you’re with those other kids from Canterlot, huh? Do yourselves a favor and go home. There’s nothing for you here.”

“Maybe,” Rose replied, sounding unfazed as usual, “But we were tasked with guarding this place and that’s what we’re going to do. Any information you have could be helpful, ma’am.”

“Hmph,” the shopkeeper decided to bargain with her, “If you want me to talk so bad, then buy something.”

Grimrose took a step closer to the stand and looked over what she had to offer. There were various scrolls, bottles, and charms on offer. However, Rose knew that she wouldn’t have enough time to experiment as much as she’d like given that they were on a mission.

‘I’ll just grab a scroll and use it later,’ she thought as she prodded a closed piece of parchment. “How much for this?” she asked.

“For you? 10 bits,” the mare replied.

Grimrose then made the exchange, taking the bits from her saddlebag, placing them on the counter, and put the scroll in its place. “Thank you. Now what can you tell me?”

The mare’s white levitation aura lifted the bits into a nearby chest that she opened and closed to put them away. “I’ve been hearing a lot of noises during the night,” she explained, “Might just be animals, might just be nothing. But that’s all I know, young lady.”

“I see,” Grimrose nodded as she mentally stored the information. “Thank you. I’ll be sure to do what I can to solve this problem.” She then sighed as she walked away. “...hopefully the others are doing much better than I am thus far.”