Canterlot Academy Trials

In the Wukong Province…

Not unlike Equestria, the Wukong Territory or Province was home to, and governed by several small zones of nobility that managed its wide expanses of land. In simple terms, these were broken down and united by the residing Emperor--that being Chang in this case. From there,.the various regions within the territory were governed by members of the nobility that acted as Dukes and Duchesses.

Within one of the smaller noble palaces, in the Shu region is where Lianhua’s--or Lee’s--parents lived. The two monkeykin who so desperately wanted to lure out the commoner that courted their daughter so that they could be rid of him once and for all.

The princess of the Shu region, Lady Bai Se, awakened from her bedside and looked out of the window over her territory. The monkey woman was an albino snowflake monkey with white fur and a voluptuous body, befitting that of a motherly primate.

“Hm…” she muttered under her breath as she stepped out to her balcony. The primate woman stared at the village down below while tapping her finger irritably upon the railing.

“Is everything alright, love?” her husband, Lord Hei Se, would walk out to her. A monkey man with jet black fur. “Don’t tell me you’re stressing out again.”

“Sorry, I just can’t help it,” Bai groaned as she placed her other hand on her forehead, “Knowing that commoner filth is still out there and possibly trying to court our daughter while she shirks her responsibilities. It makes me sick.”

Hei folded his arms and nodded. “I understand, dear. All we can do is trust in our soldiers that they’ll eventually bring her back to us. You already know what they’re capable of.”

That she did. At the moment, there was no point in getting restless after putting their agents on the case. All they could do for the moment was proceed with their daily duties as planned.

“Very well,” the monkey woman huffed and stood upright before turning and walking back into their bedroom, “Our schedule is quite busy so we need to get a move on.”

“That’s right,” her husband added as he walked over to a nightstand where a set of notes rested. “Another tea ceremony and one of our shrines is still being worked on. Then our shipment from a certain port city needs to be looked into.”

“I’ll go check up on that,” Bai replied as she stepped into the bathroom to take a shower. “I’ve had plenty of tea these last few days and I don’t need anymore.”

Hei chuckled and shook his head. “Fair enough. I’ll let you take care of that other business then. One way or another, we’re going to weed out the blood of that common filth for daring to defile our daughter…”

“Why don’t you take your mind off of that,” Bai called out from her place in the bathroom--a gilded open hall with two separate showers and a tub in the middle of the room that sat upon pearlescent tile floors. “Come. Shower with me. It’ll save us time.”

Hei chuckled as he stepped into the bathroom. “Bai, love--you know this will only make things take longer.”

The albino monkey lady flicked her tail and glanced over her shoulder at him. “And yet you’re joining in anyway~”

Meanwhile, on the train headed into the province…

“Wait, so you actually don’t like bananas?”

Lee shook her head with a nervous flick of her tail. “I know it sounds strange but I mean it. I don’t hate them, but I’ve eaten so many of them that I have become bored of them.”

“Aye, that’s fair,” Mistwalker added, “Lots of folks think I must love seaweed ‘cuz I’m a feckin’ water horse. But I hate the stuff. Stereotypes suck, don’t they?”

“They do,” Lee agreed, “That’s why I’m trying to be better than my parents so I don’t get stuck with the same labels as them.”

Blue would jump in, “Yeah nah, I feel ya. The last thing I want is to be lumped in with the other dragons. We aren’t all greedy bastards, but it’s a hard thing to shake off.”

“Well you’re in luck,” Lee smiled, “Most of my kin love dragons such as you, so they’ll be interested in meeting you.”

“So long as I don’t have to sign any autographs,” he replied with a roll of his neck, “These claws were made for punching, not writing.”

The train would slowly come to a stop, and Emperor Chang would get up from his seat. “We’re here,” he said as he walked ahead and led the group off of the train and into a bustling little village in the countryside where various monkeyfolk were going about their day either tending to the land or training in combat.

“Well this place is nice,” Thiasus commented as he took in the fresh air of the village, “It’s a bit warmer than where I’m from, but still has a rather pleasant aura. Like nothing bad could ever happen.”

Blue scoffed with his arms folded. “Pfft. Famous last words. Feels more like the calm before the storm.”

“So what exactly are we doin’ first, yer monkeyness?” Mistwalker would speak up as she took a look around, “Don’t look like much danger around here, love.”

“We’re heading to a place that I know I can trust,” Chang replied, “A place that I know where we will not be spied upon by prying onlookers.”

Chang would lead them up to a chow mein and teashop that rested upon one of the village’s main roads. Both he and Lee would step inside first.

“Wait a moment,” said the emperor as he glanced at Lee, “Follow me. Let’s get everything ready, Lady Lee.”

“Of course,” she replied as she followed Chang deeper into the building.

“...aw, damn,” Blue huffed upon seeing the establishment, “I’m not good with tightly-packed quiet places like these.”

“Well you better get used to it,” Thiasus replied from next to Blue, “Who knows how long we’ll be here on this mission. Besides, don’t tell me a noble dragon such as yourself is scared of tea.”

Blue’s expression turned flat, “Oh I’ll show you, who’s scared, snowboy--”

Mistwalker chuckled as she watched them banter. “Oi, this cannae get any better?”