Canterlot Academy Trials

The Eastern Side of Canterlot wasn’t too different from the Western Side. The buildings and homes all had an old-world, castle-like feel to them which reflected the luxurious nature of the city and the royalty that resided there. Naturally, this was also the new home for many new, non-pony residents that had recently migrated to the country. Twilight Sparkle’s expansion plans turned out to be a big hit that resonated with the new citizens very well.

Our group of young heroes from dorm block Epsilon ventured forth and noted the distinct influx of non-ponies that settled there, it gave them a sense of comfort unlike the stuffy Western side. More specifically for Blue and Mei.

“Well this should be easy,” Blue spoke with a relaxed tone as he noted a few dragons that he recognized in the crowd, “Seems like it’s mostly non-ponies living here. Finding a pony in this group should be easier than it seems.”

“How will we figure out which one was married to Zesty?” Grimrose asked, “Is there some sort of public lookup system that we can make use of?”

Mei was already a few steps ahead of them--both literally and figuratively. The bespectacled kirin led them to the recently-erected library for this side of the city. On the outside was a book that showed the information of notable people in the area and where to find them. “There’s a directory here we can use. Zesty’s husband should be in here.”

“Well that’s just dandy,” Nebula said in an encouraging manner, “We can find his information in there, yes?” The unicorn stallion leaned over Mei’s shoulder as she peered through the book.

“Yikes,” Blue shuddered upon seeing the rows and rows of rather small text that littered the directory book. “I couldn’t sift through this for more than five minutes before getting a headache,” he lamented as he leaned back with his palm on his forehead.

“I know what you mean,” Nebula agreed as he rubbed the side of his head, “I think that’s why my vision was getting bad before the incident. Too much time spent reading sheet music and music theory books.”

Hearing that his friend usually focused on one type of subject caused concern for Blue. “My man, you need to pick up some comics,” he suggested with a sigh. “We all need breaks sometimes, ya feel?”

Nebula flicked his tail and scoffed. “Spare me. Unrealistic fantasy stories like that aren’t gonna help me become a knight.”

“My dude, what’s unrealistic about superheroes? That’s basically what we are,” Blue debated while gesturing his claws towards himself and the rest of the group.

“The idea that some alien pony could crash down onto our planet and wear glasses to fool everyone into thinking he’s someone else is just ridiculous,” Nebula went on with a roll of his eyes. “Superstallion’s identity isn’t even interesting, he just acts smarmy.”

Blue folded his arms as he thought of alternatives and replied, “Hrm…how about something more relatable? Like Spider-Stallion? He’s basically a nerd and gets a hot girlfriend. Reminds me a lot of someone else I know, eh? Eh?” he tried to sell Nebula on the concept with his best attempt at a convincing grin.

The purple unicorn stallion’s expression turned neutral along with his voice, “Seriously? That’s your pitch?”

“Wait, no that came out wrong--hey, Rose--help me out here--” The dragon looked over at their pegasus teammate…

Grimrose was staring off into space, seemingly unaware of the world around her until Blue snapped his claw-fingers.

“Hey!”

“...Hm?” Rose flapped her wings and folded them in upon having her attention stolen by the dragon. “Sorry…I just couldn’t shake the feeling that we were probably being followed.”

“Followed…?” Nebula repeated under his breath out of concern.

“Meh, I think a few folks may recognize Mei and me,” Blue replied with a shrug, noting the local dragon and kirin population, “Don’t worry about it.”

“I got it!” Mei proclaimed with a smug grin as she pushed up her foggy glasses. “As usual, it wasn’t that hard for me to find. Mr. Gourmand--or rather, Mr. Ex-Gourmand lives just up this road,” she pointed to a Northern side street.

Nebula thought about his name for a moment. “Hrm…so he took her name when they married? I guess not anymore since they got divorced, huh?”

The entire party--even Grimrose--gave an uncomfortable grimace at the word. ‘Divorce’ was such an ugly thing that they couldn’t bare the thought of it.

“...Ouch,” was all Blue could say.

“Let’s try not bringing that up when we meet him, yeah?” Mei suggested as she led the group down the path. “We want as much info from him as possible without making him uncomfortable.”

“Of course,” Nebula agreed, “Still…I feel for the guy. I wonder what it was like being married to Zesty Gourmand.”

Rose looked at it logically, “We won’t have to wonder for very long…”

Soon enough, the group arrived at a small home built into the side of one of Canterlot’s many tower-like structures. Mei approached it, and knocked upon the steel door…

…and a few minutes later, an older stallion--easily around his late-60s--walked out to them. He was an orange unicorn with a gray mane, yellow eyes, and his cutie mark was a movie camera.

“H-hello? Who’s knockin’ at this time’a day?” his rather deep voice with an Austalian accent called out to them.

“...sir,” Mei started off, “We’re conducting an investigation into Zesty Gourmand’s acts of sabotaging a restaurant in the middle of Canterlot. Do you know her by chance?”

Upon hearing her name, the stallion looked down at the ground for a moment, then nodded. “Yeah…yeah I do. Never thought she’d stoop’ta somethin’ so low and yet here we are…”

“...can you tell us more?” Mei asked.

The stallion looked up at them all and pushed the door open. “C’mon inside and I’ll tell ya whatcha wanna know. I just made a pavlova you lot can enjoy while I speak to ya.”

“Pavolva?” Nebula asked, “You mean the dessert from Austailia? We’d be honored, sir!”

“Never heard of it,” Rose commented, “But it sounds good.”

“Can’t hurt to try something new,” Blue added.

Once everyone went inside and the elder stallion shut the door, he sat them down at his rustic wooden dinner table where he’d serve them all a slice of cream cake with various chopped fruits on top. Nearby, there was a shelf filled with various items including a few rare plates, some old pictures, and a medal or two…

'It's. Nice, small home,' Nebula thought to himself as he looked around, 'You'd never guess that he was once married to a celebrity food critic.'

Likewise, Mei took some time to observe as well. 'Rustic dining room, hardwood floors…not what you'd expect from Canterlot.'

Blue and Grimrose meanwhile, were too mentally preoccupied thinking about the investigation to put much thought into their surroundings. The latter in particular didn't wish to come off as nosy.

The older stallion sat down at the table with them and started his story. “...Zesty, right? We met a little over 30 years ago here in Canterlot--oh. Where are me manners? Before I get started, I should tell ya my name. I’m Moreton Anzac. But call me ‘Zac, kiddos.”

“Okay…Mr. Zac, how did you and Zesty meet?”

Anzac used his magic to levitate a photograph off the shelf that depicted both his younger self and a mare who had just entered adulthood. Anzac himself was much more muscular and wore a leather jacket in the photo while the gray mare with a silver mane and…a rather wide body shape with a large rear end.

“...Wait…don’t tell me…” Blue muttered in disbelief.

“...I’m not pullin’ yer leg, lads…this was Zesty Gourmand in her youth. Now lemme tell ya how we met…”