Canterlot Academy Trials

Soon enough, the train would arrive near the Abyssinian station. The city itself wasn’t where our group was headed though. At least, not yet. For the time being, they stopped at a station near the perimeter between Abyssinia and a newly fixed-up Klugetown that was now a bustling farming city.

“Well I’ll be damned,” Rufus commented as he stepped onto the train station’s platform. “Klugetown’s in a much better state than it used to be. Guess they finally got ride of all those slave laborers and body-part sellers.”

“Thank goodness for that,” Spear added as she followed, “Now I actually feel safe coming here. There’s loads of stuff I’m looking to learn about their medicinal customs.”

“I want to act as ambassador!” Lee squealed as she skipped off the train, and performed a quick bounce upon her tail to join the group, “The Wukong Province could benefit greatly from getting to know the Abyssinians!”

Lastly, Fang would join them and the train would speed off, leaving them on the station as other catfolk would wander off towards Klugetown. “Maybe. But we’re not here for a retreat, everyone. Keep that in mind as we move forward. We’re here to answer the distress call from the supposed goblin encampment near here.”

“‘Supposed’?” Rufus repeated Fang’s suspicion as the latter took out the scroll and began to read it. “You think this could be an elaborate trap, bud?”

“Anything is possible,” the dalmatian muttered as he sniffed the parchment that the distress call was written upon. “Then again…the scent is unlike anything I’ve ever smelled before. And of course, the handwriting is notably unique…” Fang paused as his nose began to twitch along with his tail wagging…

Spearklip immediately knew what this meant. Being a Diamond Dog, his sense of smell was acute like no one else’s. The zebra mare trotted up to him and asked, “Whatcha got, Fang? Which way?”

Without saying a word, Fang handed the scroll off to Spear, and started to sniff the floor of the train station’s platform while on all fours while crawling around. Eventually, he pointed his head sharply in one direction.

“Rrrrrff,” Fang let out a small bark as he hopped off the loading platform and into the desert between Klugetown and Abyssinia.

“Let’s go,” Spear ordered the rest of the team to follow, “Fang’s got something, guys.”

“Huh--sweet,” Rufus replied as he trudged after them, and beckoned the monkey girl to follow. “Hey, you comin’ or what, Lee?”

Leelee hesitated for a moment as Fang’s behavior was completely new to her. “Hmm? Is that normal behavior for Jun?”

“Oh yeah,” Rufus replied as Lee started to follow him alongside the rest of the group. The yak bull strutted along with a confident pep in his step. “Fang’s nose has never let us down before. Give him anything and he can sniff out the source of it.”

They both watched as Spear kept a close tail on Fang. The dalmatian man had, in fact, been led to right where they needed to be.

“I smell a system of underground caverns,” he commented as he looked around the empty desert at the various sand dunes. “There has to be an entrance somewhere nearby.”

“I got this, boss,” Spearklip offered, “Stand back.”

Once again, Lee was out of the loop, so she turned to Rufus and asked, “...erm, what is black pony doing?”

“Zebra,” the yak bull explained as they both watched Spear sniff, and even taste some of the desert sand on her tongue. “...her methods are a bit out there, but this is how they track their targets where she’s from. Zebrican Congo I believe.”

After feeling the shards of sand on her tongue, and spitting them out, Spear came to a conclusion. “Ptoo! Based on the texture of the sand, the wind has been blowing in this direction for quite some time now--that being East.” She turned to the rest of the team to explain why that was relevant, “This is because you don’t build a home in a cave facing the wind where sand could blow inside of it.”

Fang would bounce off of this as he stroked his chin, “So it stands to reason that we’ll need to venture Westward in order to find the goblin tribe. Based on what I’ve smelled thus far, I think we’re just about there.”

“Hey, over here!” Rufus called out from nearby, which caused everyone to turn their heads in his direction.

The yak bull had come across what appeared to be a sign made out of wood that read, ‘Turn Back Now Or Die’ written in a similar calligraphy to that of the message on the scroll. Something that Fang was quick to realize once he pulled out the scroll and sniffed the air once more.

“...we’re close,” he commented, “I’m catching a whiff of sweat, and metallic weapons. Stay alert, everyone.”

The mention of weaponry had gained Rufus’ attention. “Wait a sec, metal? We talkin’ steel or silver?”

“...does it matter?” Spearklip asked out of curiosity.

“Well if it’s steel, it’s gonna need to be hot,” Rufus went on, “Steel forges need to be hotter because steel melts at a higher temperature than silver does. And I think…” The yak paused for a second as he stopped to feel the sand beneath his hooves. “...wait a sec. There’s a bit of a thump going on.”

Fang would muse a potential outcome, “Could that be the vibration of a forge hammer hitting metal?”

Rufus had already started to walk off in a direction. His body was essentially a biological metal detector that could sense the sound of the forge through the thick sand. Given that yaks forged weapons and armor all the time, Rufus was used to the sound of clanking metal even in his sleep.

Eventually, he led the group to a sand dune that led to a lower elevation…where a small tunnel existed.

“Well now…” Fang muttered with an impressed tone.

“Big yak found it!” Lee cheered.

“Alright,” Spear added, “Now we just need to approach this careful--”

But Rufus had already approached the tunnel’s entrance.

“Hey, anyone here?” he called out, “We got your message!”

“You blockhead!” Spear huffed as she trotted up to him, “Get back--”

SHING!

All of a sudden, a spiked, steel club was pointed directly in Rufus’ face. Followed by a raspy female voice.

“Heyyo, how are ya? Everything good? Wanna come in?”