Canterlot Academy Trials

As Atomic Nebula would soon find out, some seeds of discord--not the entity--would be sewn within Canterlot itself. By whom? How? That was the question that had yet to be answered.
Everyone took their seats in the classroom and Cayenne prepared to give her first lesson by levitating what appeared to be a mason jar on her desk.

“Alright, everyone,” Cayenne called out as she adjusted her glasses, “To start our lesson in understanding nature, we shall start with a simple spell or hex to transform this simple jar into a vase filled with flowers. All non-unicorns should have the hex required to perform the spell at their desks. Begin whenever you’re ready. Remember, the basic idea of this spell is to understand that energy needs to be substituted in an equal and opposite manner. Tis the law of Equivalent Exchange after all.”

Atomic Nebula and Blue Blazes were paired up at one desk together while Grimrose could be seen sitting next to a changeling student.

“Alright. Let’s…” the gold aura around Nebula’s horn shone as he started to cover the jar in a magical burst of light. Eventually, with enough hard concentration from the stallion…

POOF!

It became a brown, ceramic vase filled with sunflowers. “Alright. I did it. How’re you getting along, Blue?”

Blue Blazes was busy rolling the pencil between his right claw, while his left claw rested atop his head. The dragon man didn’t respond until Nebula nudged him with his hoof.

“Bud?”

“Huh? Oh…sorry,” he huffed, “Just thinking about that griffon bitch and what she did to Grim. If I see her doing that to anyone else I’ll…” His claw that held the pencil clutched it with enough force that it suddenly snapped, and poofed into lead dust.

Nebula put a hoof on the dragon’s shoulder. “Something wrong, Blue?”

Whether it was due to the current nature of the full classroom, or his own nerves, Blue rejected the idea of sharing such information. “...nah. It’s fine. Let’s get this assignment done.”

“Are you boys having some trouble?” Cayenne asked in a concerned tone as she trotted up to them. “You look a tad irritated, Mr. Blazes. Are you running a fever?” She paused. “...then again, I’m not sure if dragons can catch fevers. Maybe a cold?”

Blue quickly denied her claims and refocused on the assigned lesson. “Nah, don’t worry. I’m working on this hex right now. It’s really interesting…”

With her green magical aura, Cayenne levitated some pencils onto their desk. “Okay. Well if you’re certain. Just remember, your next lesson is going to be with Professor Hassium where you’ll get assigned your Familiars. And then, Professor Bonehardt will test your physical fitness. After which, your evaluations will be calculated in terms of what actions you can perform. But if any of you experience any discomfort, report to Doctor Globin immediately.”

“Got it,” Blue replied hastily and furiously wrote down the symbols with a determined, focused glint in his eyes.

“Yes ma’am,” Nebula replied with a respectful nod.

Cayenne smiled in response and started walking away. “Good. You boys let me know if you need help. Now…anyone else?”

Nebula couldn’t help but worry for Blue. The possibility that his friend could have more trouble hidden beneath the surface, almost like a mask…

“Done,” the dragon scoffed as he wrote the hex and transformed his jar into a glittering, sapphire vase filled with venus flytraps. “That was easy. Gimme somethin’ hard next time teach.”

“You don’t really mean that, do you?” Nebula commented with an ironic grin on his face, “It’s only getting harder from here.”

Blue put on a small smile. “Yeah yeah, I’m kidding mostly. Even so, I just wanna show that I’m more than just some violent dragon dude.”

“I think you’ll have that chance no problem,” Nebula said to comfort him, “Come on. Our next class with Professor Hassium is starting soon.”

Once they finished up their transmutation class, everyone started making their way to the outdoor magic field where they would begin the summoning of Familiars.

Though, on his way there, Nebula passed by someone who looked to be in need of some help.

“Beat it loser,” the female griffon from before hissed as she stepped over what appeared to be a Kirin mare that dropped her books.

“Grrrgh…” Blue snarled and his claws twitched as he balled them into fists…

Nebula sought to help the mare by using his magic to levitate and re-organize her items. Then, he extended a hoof to help her. “You okay, miss?”

The kirin mare had a bronze body color, a grassy green mane, and a rather wide body shape that resulted in a larger rear-end than most of her kind. “I-I am…” she replied nervously as she placed her glasses on her face. The lenses were so thick that they gave off an opaque appearance, rendering her eyes hidden from view. Despite this, she was able to see clearly. “...oh, uhm…hi. My name is Mei Bee…” she muttered shyly upon laying eyes on Nebula. “...Um…w-we’re in the same dorm block together, huh? Epsilon?”

“Look like it,” he replied with a smile.

“Same here,” Blue flashed his dorm key from the index and middle fingers of his left claw.

The kirin mare blushed and started to trot in place. “Oh…g-good…I’m glad I’ll be able to see more of you. I-I mean…I gotta go!” she hurriedly ran off without another word.

Nebula rubbed the back of his neck. “O…kay then. What was that all about?”

“Pfft,” Blue scoffed as he leaned against a nearby wall, “She’s into you, brother. You’ve got those adorable-looking freckles that make girls go crazy.”

“I do?” Nebula muttered as he conjured a mirror to look into and inspected his face. “Are they not that common around here?”

“I think it might have to do with your genes,” Blue commented as he started walking again. “You must have some good facial genetics to get that much attention already. I’m almost jealous.”

Nebula scoffed and made the mirror disappear as he started to follow Blue out to the field. “Please. You make it sound as if I’m some protagonist in some Eastern comic book. Life doesn’t always work out like that. Now where’s Grimrose…?”

“Here.”

“Ah!”

The gothic mare had rounded a corner, looking as stoic as ever. “I’m excited to get my hooves on a Familiar. I hope mine ends up being a demon or some sort of hell beast. How about you guys?”

Once Nebula calmed down from the scare, he continued walking. “...honestly, I have no idea. I just hope I get something that’ll work with me and not against me.”

“I just want something cool,” Blue commented, “Like maybe a chimera, or a tatzlwurm, or even something legendary like Bastet. Imagine…”

“Your luck needs to be extremely high to summon somebody with that strength,” Nebula commented with a chuckle, “Best to keep your expectations in check.”

“...I wonder if we can summon dead historical figures to be our familiars?” Grimrose wondered aloud. “Now that would be interesting.”

Both young men simply stared at her in confusion.