Canterlot Academy Trials

At Dorm Block Sigma…

A certain dalmatian diamond dog man was on his way to his dorm room but was stopped by a voice that called out to him.

“Surprise! Fang, it’s me!”

“...mother?” Fang muttered as he turned to look at her. “...why are you here? I thought you were sick!”

The diamond dog woman approached her son and wrapped her paws around him in a tight hug. “Well, I heard the exams were coming up, so I decided I’d drop by to spectate. You all are going to be testing your training skills against each other, aren’t you?”

“...Yes, mother. The Paladin Exams are done with a written test in which we can utilize assistance from our familiars, then a practical test to show off what we’ve learned over the course of our lessons here,” Fang explained how the system worked to his mother. However, his concern lied with her presence. “...But are you certain that you’ll be okay? Do you have your medication with you?”

She showed him her handbag which contained various epipens. “Don’t worry, dear. If anything happens, I have these to keep me from having any issues.”

The sight of her medication seemed to put Fang at ease for now. “Well…alright. As long as you’re certain. But if you feel light-headed or delirious, tell me immediately, alright?”

“Of course I will, hun,” the dog woman replied with a smile as her tail wagged, “You always went out of your way to look out for me. So now, I want to do the same for you.”

Fang sighed into his paw. He knew he couldn’t refuse his mother’s kind words, so he eventually had no choice but to cave. “...alright. Thank you, mother. Do you have someplace to stay? The combat exams don’t start until tomorrow, you know.”

“I’ve booked myself a stay the the Canterlot Hotel,” she added with an excited wag of her tail, “I hear there’s going to be a buffet bar filled with all the mushroom pizza I could ever want!”

“...As long as you eat within moderation, then,” Fang replied as he opened the door to his dorm. “...I’m glad to have you here, mother.”

“And I’m glad to be here for you, Fang. I’ll be seeing you, then,” she waved and walked off, leaving him alone.

Nearby, Spearklip and Rufus had been listening in on the conversation from around a hallway corner.

“...Think that could be why he’s so…?”

“Cryptic?” Rufus suggested, cutting off Spear in the process.

The zebra mare scoffed and replied, “Huh--you read my mind, Rufus. But yeah. Fang has always seemed a bit…to himself.”

“Think we should ask him about it?” the yak bull suggested, “After all, he can’t go into the exams with that much on his mind. Ain’t healthy I tell ya.”

But Spear was more pragmatic in her approach and discouraged such a thing with a shake of her head. “Nope. Can’t get involved in his personal business. It’ll bring bad mojo onto all of us if we make his issues worse before something important like the exams. Let’s wait and discuss it with him after, alright?”

The yak gave a reluctant sigh, but didn’t want to fight with his ally. “...alright. If you say so, pal.”

Later that afternoon…

Professor Jascha Hassium stood in front of everyone in the examination hall. A classroom that was of larger size than the others and complete with at least 20 rows of seating to accommodate the first set of students who entered the massive hall of brown stone with gray pillars.

“Ahem. Alright. Your written exams are to begin shortly,” the older stallion commented aloud to the entire room of students of various creatures. “You’ve all been assigned seats based on who you know, and have purposefully been positioned away from them accordingly. Your subjects will consist of Canterlot’s History, Weapon Management, and Magic Usage.” He used his magic to levitate a pointer at the subjects on a chalkboard that were represented by a book, a sword and shield, and a magical sigil respectively.

Next, he would explain the second half of the exams, “Then tomorrow, and over the course of the next few days, you all will be pitted against each other in a small…tournament, if you will. The Paladin Exams will determine your strength and what sort of missions you’ll be able to take on next. Don’t stress yourselves out over coming in first,” he gave his best effort with a comforting smile when he noticed various students who had rather anxious facial expressions.

But he also noticed a few students who had cocksure grins on their faces, almost arrogantly so. He knew exactly what they were thinking and wanted to clear the air immediately.

“There will be no prizes for coming in first,” he lectured, while glaring at a green hippogriff who rolled their eyes, “This is simply a student-wide training session to see what sort of privileges you may earn as a Paladin. Nothing more. And of course, cheating will not be tolerated, nor will it be possible, as everyone has randomized questions with different answers that correspond to each letter--that being A through D.”

Among those present, Nebula, with a focused expression, was seated at an exam table next to a blindfolded minotaur bull, Blue, with a cocky smile, was seated next to a unicorn stallion, Rose with a neutral gaze, was seated next to an abyssinian she-cat, and Mei with a calm exhale, was seated next to a female buffalo. Everyone was positioned rather far away from each other at random tables throughout the room to ensure nobody from the same dorm was next to each other.

Professor Hassium and Professor Cayenne began to pass out each exam paper, via their magic. And once everyone had their packets…

“Begin,” Hassium called out.