Canterlot Academy Trials

Everyone arrived back to the Academy in Canterlot to give their findings on the mission that they had just completed. Once that was done, they were permitted to rest in their dorm rooms for a while. They all stored their bits away to use for later which would certainly come in handy when they needed to buy food and better equipment for future endeavors.

On the subject of Lily (henceforth spelled on documentation as Leelee to avoid confusion with another student who had a similar name), since she was a foreigner, she had sent a letter to the Wukong Province to let the Emperor know where she had ended up. It wouldn’t be long before an emissary would arrive to check on the situation. All she had to do was wait in one of the empty dorms until they arrived.

And Mei, at the request of Blue, took express care not to get involved with or speak to her…

Meanwhile, in Atomic Nebula’s dorm specifically…

The indigo unicorn stallion had just put everything away and began to rest after a successful mission. However, as he lied on his bed, he started to smell something…off.

“What the?” he sniffed the air once, then twice followed by a few more times. It smelled like the scent of…pepper? Whatever it was, it had been coming from the other side of his dorm room door. “Hm? I wonder what that could be? Are they doing some cooking on campus?”

Nebula got up from his bed and pranced towards the door. Once he got close, he grabbed ahold of the handle with his hoof and pulled it open. “Hey what’s--?”

BANG!

“AAAAGHHHH!”

A loud explosion went off and Nebula collapsed to the floor as he covered his eyes. His screams echoed throughout the halls and caught the attention of a few of the students who were stunned in horrific confusion as they looked around for the source of the screams.

“MY EYES! MY EYES ARE BURNING!” Nebula cried out, “I CAN’T SEE! HELP ME!!”

First to arrive on the scene was Grimrose who, after opening the door to her room, flew over and immediately checked on him with a widened, and shaken look in her eyes.

“Atomic? Atomic?? What happened? What’s…?” she looked around and noticed a few other students looking her way. She called out to them and gave a command, “Get the doctor so we can get Nebula to the infirmary. Now.”

All the while, a certain griffon was at the end of the hall, scoffing to herself.

About an hour later in the infirmary…

Nebula’s eyes had been covered with bandages after what could only be described as a painstakingly delicate procedure to clean his eyes out and heal them with magic.

“His condition is stable,” an abyssinian nurse spoke to Grimrose. “To think someone would have the gall to set up an elaborate trap filled with Grim Reaper peppers…”

“...aren’t those the hottest peppers that grow naturally?” Rose asked with a hesitant tone. “I’ve heard they’re three times as strong as pepper spray.”

“Something like that,” the nurse replied with a sigh as she shook her head. “Here’s hoping the nerves to his eyes will heal. If not…then he may not be able to see ever again. For now, give him some space and come back to check on him later, okay?”

Rose looked down at the floor for a moment with her eyelid twitching as she maintained her neutral expression. “...understood.” She exited the infirmary where Mei was waiting in the hall.

“...How is he?” she asked nervously.

“Critical,” Rose answered blankly. “Whoever did this to him will pay dearly.”

“...I bet it was her,” Mei huffed. “As soon as we brought her along, something bad happened. It can’t be a coincidence.”

Rose looked at the kirin for a moment and glared at her with narrowed eyes. “Are you serious? We just saved Lily. She has no reason to do something like that. Don’t let your callous, preconceived notions overcome you, Mei. You’re better than that,” she scolded her with a cold tone.

“...” Mei recoiled from the harsh words and came to realize how foolish that sounded. “...you’re right. Sorry. I can’t let my emotions take over. We need to think carefully.”

“Exactly,” the pegasus mare looked around for any sign of Nebula’s closest friend to no avail. “Huh? Where’s Blue? I figured he’d be here for him.”

Mei rubbed her hoof behind her head. “...yeah, he went to go blow off some steam. Plus, he’s got gym right now so we can’t speak with him.”

“...fair enough,” Rose lamented, then shook her head before she began trotting down the hall with the kirin in tow. “Come on, Mei. Let’s see if we can find any evidence to figure out who did it.”

Well, someone already had an idea as to who might have committed the act…

Back in the dorm hall, near dorm block Sigma…

Two unicorns were on their way to Gaea’s room. Lily Love angrily stomped her way up to the griffon’s door with Sweet Curd close behind her.

“...Are we sure this is a good idea?” Curd asked.

“I know she did it, Curd,” Love muttered to her friend, “Nobody else hates him enough to pull a rubbish stunt like that.” Once in front of the door, she tapped her hoof upon it. “Oi! Open up, ya ninny!”

And not long after, Gaea opened her door and leaned against it with her arms folded. “Eh? The hell do you want?”

“Oh don’t play dumb you banged-up muppet!” Love ranted in her face, “You can’t fookin’ stand that Nebula so ya nuked his face!”

“I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about,” Gaea said with a shrug, “And even if I did, you’ve got no proof to link me to anything. Get lost before I report you for harassment.”

And with a slam!, she shut her door in the ponies’ faces.

“Gah! Hydra’s foot!” Love grumbled as she stomped her hoof. “Poor lad doesn’t deserve what happened to him…”

“I know,” Curd replied with a sigh. "I know..."