Canterlot Academy Trials

The group would follow Geki up to her home which doubled as the local town hall building for the Canyon. It was a small building with wooden floors and an information desk where other kobolds were hard at work. Geki’s desk in particular was in the middle of the room where rows of documents sat next to a rather old-looking computer used for keeping track of information.

“Ma’am,” a gray-colored kobold man would salute her as soon as they entered. “I see you’ve found the group that intends to help us.”

“That’s correct,” she replied with a nod. “Thank you Abra, dear.” The elder kobold turned to the group and clarified who she was speaking with, “Everyone, this is Abraxas. My second-in-command.”

“Nice to meet you all,” Abraxas called out, “In that case, I’m sure you’re aware of what’s going on.”

“Bonetail,” Nebula spoke up, “We’re--”

Grimrose would cut him off with an impatient huff, “We need to figure out where he is and take him down as soon as possible. So if you could tell us--”

Geki would clear her throat as she sat down at her desk. “Now hang on, little missy. If we already knew where he was located, we wouldn’t even need your help now would we?”

“No no, I know that,” Grimrose replied as she walked up to Geki’s desk. The faint images of demonic, goat-like horns could be seen forming on top of her head as she became more anxious. “It’s just--we need any and all information you currently have on him if we’re expected to do our jobs. Respectfully, ma’am.”

“Keep your tail on, little lady,” Geki replied as she rummaged through some documentation. “We have reason to believe that we know where Bonetail will show up.”

“Where exactly?” Grimrose put her hooves on the counter, only to be urged to relax by Mei.

The kirin pulled her back via her magic. “...easy there, spooky. Let’s chill out and listen to what the lady has to say, alright? I know you’re antsy but…”

Grimrose sighed and fell silent. The horns disappeared and seemingly no one noticed them. For now.

Nebula would take over what with his position as leader. “...where do you think he’s going to show up, ma’am?”

“An investor’s party held by the elite Kobolds,” she answered as she pulled out an invitation, “The bigwigs of this place flaunt their wealth and talk about which miners they’d like to purchase for their operations,” she rolled her eyes as Nebula took ahold of the flyer in his magic. “Disgusting if you ask me.”

“...aren’t you the head chick, though?” Blue called out with a confused tone, “Don’t you have some authority over them and whatever event is going on?”

“Pfft. That’s what they want you to think,” Geki grabbed the bridge of her snout with a sigh, “In truth, we operate on a balance of power system. “I essentially manage the tourism sector of the Canyon while the actual mining operations are headed by…whoever has the most coin at the moment.”

“W-what?” Nebula called out with a disturbed frown. “But won’t that just lead to a system in which the wealthy get more and more powerful over the poor?”

Geki sighed again and shrugged with her claws raised. “That it does. Yet everyone here is so entrenched in the way it works, they don’t really see a problem with such a system.”

“Oh great,” Mei bemoaned, “A system that essentially looks to silence others. Except based on money. I kinda know what that’s like as a kirin.”

Abraxas would chime in, “Yeah it’s not very fun to be honest. We can really only do so much when it comes to what we want done for the Canyon’s Colony. Everything else has to go through a rigorous chain of command in which the final say goes to whoever has the most coin.”

That’s when Blue realized just how similar kobolds and dragons actually were.

“Huh…greed screws you guys up too, then?” the dragon muttered, “Can’t believe it…no. Actually, I can believe it and I think that’s the sad part.”

Grimrose would seek to return the conversation to the important topic at hand. “Okay, okay--back to this investor’s party, please. How are you so sure Bonetail will be there, ma’am?”

“Because the rumors state that he feeds off of the souls of others,” the elder kobold went on, “Where else would he want to feed off of a lot of souls at once than a party filled with them ripe for the taking?”

“Of course!” Nebula replied, “So what we need to do is get into that party, right?”

Mei would glance at the flyer once more. A simple poster with a pair of teacups upon it. But she’d point out a very important detail at the bottom as she held it aloft with her magic. “Erm…it says invite-only though.”

“I’ve already taken care of that,” Geki called out, and nodded at Abraxas.

The gray kobold would grab a total of four invites from out of a nearby recycling bin. “...right here.”