Canterlot Academy Trials

Nebula took Dawn to the Bitalian bistro that he had been to for lunch before. As they grabbed a table, the unicorn mare had some of her books out for studying. In particular, she had a book on the history of Thrace. The region ruled by King Diomedes…

“Ah! Orpheus!” she gasped as soon as she happened upon the page she was looking for, “A famous poet and composer of Thrace. Often associated with the lyre…”

“Huh--what’s the difference between that and a harp? Aren’t they the same thing?” Nebula mused aloud before taking a bite of his calzone.

“Well a lyre is generally smaller and portable compared to a harp which tends to be bigger and kept in one spot,” Dawn explained before taking a sip of her tea. “I’m surprised you didn’t know seeing as you’re from there, Nebula.”

Nebula shrugged it off and replied, “Meh, I prefer woodwind instruments to string ones. Things like the flute, saxophone, clarinet--but the recorder is my personal favorite.”

“Interesting…” Dawn sighed as she levitated a slice of Chicoltgo-style pizza to her face and bit into it. “Argh…if I’m being honest, Nebula, I’m super jealous of you.”

“...why?” he asked out of confusion. “You’re the princess’ star student and have a great future ahead of you. Me? I’m just some rando by comparison.”

“But that’s the problem,” Dawn went on, “The fact that you’re some rando means you can more or less do whatever you want without somepony judging your every move--aside from committing a crime of course. But you get what I mean.”

Nebula paused to think about it for a second. Maybe there were advantages to being an average guy after all. “...I guess you have a point there, Dawn. I’m starting to see why you feel pressured. I guess a lot is weighing on you after all, huh?”

“You don’t even know the half of it,” she bemoaned as she took another bite of her pizza. “It’s a shame because I…don’t really like talking to others. It makes me overthink things and it creeps me out over wondering whether or not I’ll say something wrong…” her eyes glanced at her book in a stressed manner before her expression relaxed. “...I just want to do my own thing.”

With all that in mind, Nebula came up with a rather simple solution. “Why not just tell Twilight you don’t want her guidance? Just let her know how you feel and ask her for some space.”

Unfortunately, that was something she would’ve done already if it were really that simple. The problem that Luster Dawn was facing wasn’t exactly solvable overnight.

“...I’ve tried that,” she replied, “But she pretty much brushes it off every time by saying, ‘I was just like you when I was your age,’ and ‘You’ll come around eventually,’” she pitched her voice up to mock Twilight Sparkle’s tone, then rolled her eyes. “Blech…”

“Ouch…guess she needs to learn to take a hint,” Nebula offered his sympathies, “But so long as you’re not hurting anyone, you should be free to do as you please, Dawn. In the end, we’re not really all that different from each other.”

At the very least, his words put her at ease for the moment. Talking her problems out with someone turned out to be a much more worthwhile venture than Dawn initially thought. She offered a weak smile and replied, “...thanks, Nebula. I’ll figure it out someday. But after getting it all out there, I kinda feel a bit…better, actually.”

Nebula chuckled in agreement, “Feels good when you can speak with others without feeling forced into it, huh?”

As they continued their conversation over some laughs and some food, they’d eventually get called out by a certain someone that was familiar to Luster Dawn.

“Oh, Luster! Is that you?”

“...” Dawn froze and immediately curled up upon her seat which left Nebula confused for a moment. “Dammit. Why is she here??”

The stallion raised a brow and turned his head to find…

An aged Starlight Glimmer who was approaching their table with an excited smile. “I can see you, Dawnie. Don’t hide from your mother like that,” she teased with her tongue poking out of her mouth.

Luster Dawn sat upright in her seat with a sigh. “Hi mom,” she muttered while leaning a hoof on the table. “Atomic Nebula, this is my mom. Starlight--”

“Ooh!” Starlight immediately cut her off as soon as she laid eyes on Nebula. “And you’re already making friends, I see. Or is he something a bit more…?” she asked in a teasing manner which caused her daughter to fake-gag.

“No no,” Nebula spoke to immediately clear the situation up. “We’re just working on a group project where we’re studying the significance of Thrace’s history. Since I’m from there, Dawn wanted my help. Plus, I’m already taken.”

Starlight caught the hint, and switched the subject. “I see…oh, so you’re a Thracian? I guess that explains the freckles. How are you liking living here in Equestria?”

“Much cooler for one,” he replied with a snicker in reference to how hot his hometown would often get. “But also much more relaxing. The ponies of Thrace pride themselves on being…well, prideful. It gets tiring after a while when you deal with everyone acting like they’re some sort of celebrity big-shot.”

“Orpheus wasn’t like that though,” Dawn pointed out as she levitated one of her notes, “He was just a humble musician apparently. I can see why your parents named you after him. But that aside…” She then turned to Starlight and asked, “What are you doing here, mom?”

“Oh, well--I had heard some rumors about a special kind of magic being used here and I wanted to see it for myself,” she replied.

“...what kind exactly?” Luster asked.

“Apparently someone has the power to help change minds here…” Starlight explained, which caused Nebula’s eyes to shoot open. “There’s nothing concrete, but apparently someone at your school ended up admitting to an attack they comitted against another student seemingly out of nowhere. Know anything about that?”

Nebula simply took a sip from his mug of cider with an absent-minded expression on his face…