Canterlot Academy Trials

Later that evening, at the home of Tungsten Wolfe…

Nebula had arrived at the elevated, log cabin style home of his superior knight. As soon as he knocked on the door, Tungsten opened it up and listened to what the young stallion had to say…

“Hold up now, is she serious?” the guardstallion commented to his squire as he invited him inside. “Zesty’s daughter is gonna try and frame ya’ll for sexual harassment?”

“I was just as surprised as you are,” Nebula huffed as he stepped inside and sat on the ouch with Tungsten closing the door behind him. “I just wanted to let you know so we’ll have an alibi in case something bad happens.”

Tungsten trotted over to his kitchen and started to reach for a few items from the cupboards. “I getcha. So you invitin’ your friends over to chat, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Nebula replied, “It’s much safer to be here than at the dorms since she apparently managed to sneak in and leave some falsified evidence behind. She’ll likely be back to try and listen in on what we’re doing.”

“Hrm…” The guardstallion tapped his hoof on the marbled countertop as an idea came to him. “Ya’ll can chill in my crib down below.”

Nebula turned his head around to the kitchen, “...your what?”

“A place where homedogs can chill without worryin’ about who’s listenin’,” Tungsten started walking off towards the hallway, “C’mon, follow me.”

An intrigued Nebula would follow Tungsten to a wooden cellar door that led to an underground basement area. Once Tungsten turned on the lights, Nebula’s face lit up in awe…

“Woah…”

In the middle of the room was a billiards table, there was a dartboard on the wall, and to their left, a set of weights including dumbbells and barbells. It was no surprise that a Captain of the Guard had to keep himself well trained and organized. Everyone was accentuated by a nice, beige carpet that clashed with the floor’s redwood surface.

Nebula took a look around and found himself filled with excitement. “So this is where you get most of your training done? I knew it!” he squealed in delight as he pranced over to the weights, “Think I should--?”

“Hey now, bud, watch yourself,” Tungsten warned him as he followed him over, “These are crafted for earth pony bodies. Unicorns and pegasi will have a harder time lifting them, alright? Anyhow…ya’ll can use this place as ya’ll base where ya make plans since it ain’t as safe at the school.” The thought of the Academy not being safe filled Tungsten with contempt. First the incident where Nebula was nearly blinded, and now this? Tungsten wasn’t going to tolerate that and leave it be. “...and I’mma make sure I get some extra security down there. Ya’ll kids deserve’ta feel safe while learnin’.”

“I appreciate it,” Nebula replied with a nod, “The fact that Harissa was able to slip in so easily is very concerning. In the meantime, my team should be here shortly.”

“I’ll get ya’ll some snacks,” Tungsten offered as he trotted back upstairs, “How’s bean burritos sound?”

“Awesome!” Nebula agreed, “Thanks, Tungsten. By the way, how're things going with Honey?”

"Ah...we doin' fine every night, bud. Let's keep it at that-" As he went back up, Tungsten thought to himself, ‘You’re my boy, Neb. I’mma do all I can to help ya’ll. Tomorrow, I’mma let the Princess Know what’s goin’ on so we can start makin’ sure we make changes to the culture of this place.’

As much as he knew Nebula had a good heart, Tungsten also knew that the young stallion couldn’t accomplish such widespread change on his own. Given that he knew he’d have some sway as a high-ranking member of the Royal Guard, he figured it’d only be fair to bring to light just what was wrong with Canterlot’s culture to the princess so they could start to enact changes that moved away from the anorexic state of idol culture.

About ten minutes later…

The rest of Nebula’s friend from his dorm block would arrive.

“Hey, man--sick place Mr. Wolfe has,” Blue complimented the decor as he flew down into the cellar.

“The wood is very rustic and calming,” Grimrose added as she trotted down the steps.

Mei nearly stumbled her way down with a book in her magical grip. “Ah! Sorry, I’m just a bit captivated at the moment. It was very nice of Mr. Wolfe to invite us over, Nebula.”

“Don’t trip,” Nebula said with a snide tone, “Literally. But for real, he’s okay with it and knows about what Harissa’s planning.”

“Think he’ll be able to convince Twilight of what’s going on?” Blue asked as he flew down to one of the weight benches to have a seat. “Harissa said she’d blab her mouth off if she caught wind.”

Nebula shook his head, “Nah, don’t worry. Letting him know was the best option since we’ll have an alibi.”

Rose took a seat on one of the stools next to the billiards table. “That’s a fair point. Now…I’m proposing we do what we did to Gaea. We go inside her mind, and make her see the mistakes she’s made.”

“A psychological scare tactic!” Mei chirped as she slammed her open book down on the green mat of the pool table, “Of course. That’s how you were able to convince Gaea to fess up to her crimes. You basically put her in a corner and made her think about what she did.”

Blue snorted with a laugh, “Well I mean when you put it like that, you kinda take the whole badass nature of diving into someone’s head out of it.”

“I still think it’s a bit iffy,” Nebula admitted with a sigh, “But I can’t deny that it’s rather annoying to see someone like Mr. Anzac suffer because of how greedy and selfish Zesty was being. On top of spreading her influence to run Saffron out of business.”

“I’m aware that it’s not very moral,” Rose agreed, knowing full well the implications of their actions. At this point however, she knew they couldn’t afford to rest on their laurels and had to toss aside any worries she may have had. “...but we have to do something. I won’t act unless we’re all in agreement though.”

“Hang on,” Mei cut in, “Didn’t you say you needed her blood in order to perform the ritual that allows us to go inside her head?”

“I do,” Grimrose nodded, “And I have a plan as to how we’re going to accomplish it. Listen up…”