Canterlot Academy Trials

In an underground bunker in the middle of the city…

“Finally. These dragon kids are gonna be worth a fortune once we get them to the right buyer,” a griffon snickered as she looked at her friend, “Right, Gilo?”

A griffon--Gilo--had just finished taking various pictures of those dragons that they had brought into the city for the purpose of smuggling. Once they had developed, he kept a close hold on them. “Damn right. Been kicked outta too many places at this point. The boss is gonna pay us good money for these three.”

“Mind if I have a bit of fun with them before we ship them off?” the other griffon asked, “Sample the merchandise a little?”

“No way. Can’t have you bringing down their value.”

The three dragon kids were all huddled up against the nearest wall with blank expressions on their faces. It was as if their very souls had been sucked out of them as they watched the door close in front of them yet again with no real way of escaping.

“...”

Nearby, other young dragons who had been there for much longer had already lost most of their scales, leaving their bodies bare with several cuts and bruises all over them. This was part of the very same group of griffons that Gaea used to make deals with prior to her imprisonment.

Meanwhile, in the palace…

Just as Lee had predicted. Her mother had given them all the information they needed so that they could infiltrate the Serpent City. Chang and his soldiers would start to draft up plans immediately, and once they had everything in order, they’d discuss the exact nature of it all with their Western friends who had offered to help them out. After a bit of chatter, the emperor would point down at a map of the city on his desk and explain exactly what each group had to do.

“Long story short,” Chang finished up his explanation, “Your group will be attacking from above towards the central portion of the city after the rest of the teams have already weakened everything from the edges. Any questions?”

“None,” Blue replied casually with his arms behind his head.

“Nay,” Mistwalker muttered with a calm exhale.

“None. I’m ready to put an end to corruption wherever it may be,” Thiasus added triumphantly, “When do we leave?”

“Tomorrow morning,” Tai would kick off the explanation while standing to the left of Chang’s strategy table, “You are to follow us and not deviate from the path we set. The formal warning will be issued beforehand, so any and all beings you find down there can and will be considered combatants that you need to shoot on sight. Kill or capture.”

Ban would continue and explain how the plan would finish--standing to the right of the table. “Once we take care of all of the hostiles in the city, we’re going to close it off and destroy it with the power of our Liànjīn Shù squadron. You’ll have two hours before this occurs. Be ready.”

“The LJS?” Thiasus used the Western language acronym for the group as he rubbed his hoof against his chin, “So they do exist. And here I thought they were a mere legend…”

“Oi?” Mistwalker asked, “Whatcha on about?”

“How should I put it--they’re basically powerful primates that are somewhat like mages but use transmutation in order to shape the world around them and--”

“So alchemy,” the water mare interrupted him.

Thiasus chuckled and replied, “Well you certainly catch on quick. But yes, that’s the gist of it. They can supposedly turn lead into gold though they’re forbidden from doing so for obvious reasons.”

“Yeah the fuckin’ market would crash, wouldn’t it?” Blue mused next to them.

Thiasus raised an eyebrow. “Hmph. Surprised you’re paying attention.”

“Wh--” Blue sat upright and glared at the buck. “Of course I am, you ass--”

“I’m a caribou.”

“Shutyourmouth.”

Mistwalker would interject. “Can ya pillocks get back on track. I cannae recall this all-kemmie malarkey.”

“Us dragons can technically do it passively by turning our fire into stuff like weapons ‘n junk,” Blue explained his own version of the technique.

“We deer have tried to experiment with in the past actually,” he looked to his left, then right, then leaned in and whispered to them both. “...between you and us, transmutation is how the reindeer create toys and presents for Hearths Warming.”

Mist would let out a shrill, impressed whistle. “How dandy. Didn’t think that it was possible.”

“Well to be fair, not every deer can pull it off,” Thiasus replied, “I wasn’t born with the ability to transmutate like the others. But that’s a discussion for another day.” He took a deep breath and looked up at the map on the strategy meeting’s table, “I hope you all are ready for this. It may just be the most important fight we’ve had…and possibly our last.”

“Relax, big guy,” Blue consoled him, “We literally can’t die yet. I made a promise to a buddy of mine.”

“Dunno about the rest of ye,” Mist added, “But I got me own reasons fer bein’ here. So ye pansies better get yer keisters in gear. Cuz I ain’t about to leave some kiddos behind.”