Canterlot Academy Trials

“...so you’re just a groundskeeper, huh?” Nebula asked, then decided to push back and test this jackalope woman to see if she was on the up and up. If this was a mere shapeshifter, then he wouldn’t have accurate information to reply with. “...how long have you been working here and what are the names of your bosses?”

“Lady Dengeki is the one who keeps tabs on my work,” the horned rabbit replied, “And Abraxas is the one who I report to if there’s any problems. I’m a roof cleaner and chimney sweeper and have been working here for the last five years or so.”

“Hrm…”

“What do you think, Atomic?” Grimrose asked as she landed next to the stallion, “Can we trust her?”

Based on what he had heard thus far, her information didn’t sound as if it’d come from someone who had only recently taken the place of someone else who had worked there. “Well…it seems as if she knows what she’s talking about.”

“Look, I’m not sure what this is about,” the jackalope went on as she picked up a nearby push-broom and began to sweep, “But I have a job to do here. My kind isn’t exactly common, so I’m trying to lay low so I don’t suffer anymore than I currently have to.”

“O-oh…right…” Nebula muttered, unsure how to respond now that the situation was certifiably awkward. Maybe this wasn’t who they were looking for after all. Either way, the more time they spent here was more time they spent away from making observations on the inside. “I understand. My apologies. Let’s go, Grimrose.”

With that, the magic threads would disappear as Rose called them off. The two of them would leave the rooftop and head back into the party to where they once sat at their table. All was quiet for now with nothing suspicious, but they still made sure to keep their eyes open.

Meanwhile…

At long last, Abraxas and Dengeki would move into the situation on their own terms. The lizardman was dressed in a rather dapper black suit and pants along with a pair of sunglasses to hide who he really was. Meanwhile, the older kobold lady wore a sparkly red dress that covered up how svelte she was and had encrusted her cane with fake jewels to give a sense of opulence.

“...will this even work?” she muttered under her breath as she walked alongside Abra, “They’re probably going to figure out who we are.”

“Relax, Lady Geki,” Abra replied as he walked her into the building, “They don’t really know nor care who we are. So long as they’re getting the money they wanted, they could care less about who comes in here.”

Geki hissed as she looked around the ballroom at the various wealthy-looking kobolds. “...yeah, so long as you’re a rich cunt-snuffin’--ggh…sorry, son. These kinds always make my skin crawl.”

“Don’t get yourself worked up, ma’am,” Abra assured her, “We’ll have to fake it until we make it--as the saying so happens to go anyway.”

As the two blended in with the crowd, the festivities of the event would suddenly be short-stopped and the orchestra would begin to play their music at a lower level once the sound of a fork tapping against a glass could be heard.

Everyone in the room turned towards the stage where the orchestra had been playing. That’s where Escala had appeared and spoke out to everyone.

“Glad to see that you’re all here! I hope you’re all having fun!” she called out to the crowd who muttered in agreement.

Geki balled her fist, but Abra put an arm around her to keep her relaxed as the gator-like kobold continued speaking.

“Everyone has cast their votes in regards to the shakeup for the next distribution of labor,” Escala continued as she glanced over to the rest of the crowd, “And Ms. Keebo has won the vote!”

Keebo was a pink-scaled kobold woman dressed in an elegant silver dress that approached the stage. “Thank you very much! I can’t wait. Personally, I think we need to retool our expenses towards the development of weapons. Encourage our benefactors to trade blows with each other, then we’ll have more business as they continue to buy from us!”

The crowd gave ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ of agreement and intrigue. Her idea would seek to further the divide between the ones at the top and the commoners below as well as increase spending from the companies that demanded more power crystals from them. It was foolproof!

A fact that visibly irritated Geki even more than she already was. The elderly kobold hissed at the idea while Abra tried his best to keep her calm with a nervous smile on his face. All the while, nobody knew if Bonetail was present or not. After all, he could’ve easily been anyone in that very room…

And that’s when Blue and Mei returned to the ballroom, staying out of sight to listen in closely on the announcements…