Canterlot Academy Trials

As promised, Nebula arrived in Grimrose’s dorm later that afternoon. The pegasus mare had set up a pentagram on the floor surrounded by a few candles as she read from a book she held in her hoof.

“Ah. You’re here,” she said as Nebula shut the door behind himself, “I’m…genuinely surprised that you want to help me out with something like this. Are you sure?”

“Yeah, of course,” he replied with a nod, “It’s possible that we could learn a whole lot from spirits and utilize their wisdom as we carve our own path. If I’m being honest, I’m still a bit rusty at the use of my familiar. So maybe we might end up speaking to the spirit of a skilled sage who’s made use of one in the past, ya know?”

Rose’s eyes went wide as she heard him say that. The idea of learning about hexes and curses from skilled wraiths of the past genuinely intrigued her.

“...That’s…a really good idea, Atomic,” she droned as her eyes returned to their half-lidded state, “I never knew you were so passionate about this stuff.”

“Eh, I try my best,” he replied with his usual smile, then tilted his head in the direction of the pentagram. “So how are we gonna do this?”

“In order to contact someone from the other side, I need a fresh body,” Rose explained as she tapped a page in her book. “But I can’t just use myself, as I need to be able to communicate with them.”

Nebula looked at the symbols on the page. “Ohhh. I get it. You kinda need someone to act as a ‘sacrifical lamb’ of sorts.”

“Yes. Though, you’re not gonna die,” she quickly addressed the rather morbid implications. “Rather, it’s gonna feel…kinda strange. Probably painful? Probably pleasurable? I’m not quite sure how it’ll feel to someone who’s never experienced it before.”

To her surprise, Nebula was already standing in the pentagram drawn on the floor. “Oh I’m already there! I love experiencing new things! Tungsten always taught me that you can only train your body to be so strong,” he tapped the side of his head with his hoof, “You have to train your mind as well. It’ll be a good challenge for me.”

“...Thank you,” Rose stepped forward, her lips quivering as if she was trying to smile. The mare was completely unable to process and explain just how happy she was that someone was willing to share her passion with her. “I’ll be sure to repay you for your time, Atomic.”

Nebula shook his head. “Nah, don’t worry about all that. Just start calling on the spirits. If they see me as worth coming to see us for, then that’ll help my magical fortitude.”

“Understood,” she replied with a hint of excitement as she dug her face into her left wing, and pulled out a feather with her teeth. “Hold still. Mind if I take a bit of your blood?”

“Hm? Oh, go ahead--”

Fwip.

Nebula tilted his head, realizing that Rose had swiftly flown over to him and back to her spot in the middle of the room. “Did you do something? I didn’t feel a thing.”

“I’m skilled at moving without being noticed,” she replied as she started scribbling onto the paper, drawing symbols with the bloodied feather that now acted as her writing quill. “Now…”

When she began to write, the pentagram beneath Nebula’s hooves started to glow a blinding bright cyan.

“Woah…” Nebula marveled at the sight, “Aren’t these usually red?”

“Hold still…” Rose warned him.

All the sudden, Nebula’s body started to violently shiver in place, until…

POOF!

A translucent ghost of a pony that had an ethereal, cyan body appeared before them. While her features weren’t exactly easy to determine, they could see she was a mare with a rather curly mane who spoke with an eloquent speech pattern akin to those from centuries past.

“Dear me. I say, who hath summoned me from the beyond?” she called out as if this was a regular occurrence for her.

“We did,” Grimrose replied, “Just wanted to see if my ritual would work. And it turns out I was correct.”

“Amazing!” Nebula squealed upon seeing the ghost pony. "What’s your name, miss?”

“I am Tandoori Dahi. What are thy names?”

“Grimrose Orcus,” the pegasus mare gave her full name.

“Atomic Nebula,” the unicorn stallion added. “We’d like to ask you a few questions if that’s okay.”

“I’d be more than happy too,” Tandoori said with a smile, then a sigh, “But alas, my sister is waiting for me. Can’t keep her waiting in the afterlife.”

“Shame, but I understand,” Grimrose replied with her stoic tone, “I just wanted to make sure it worked in the first place.”

“Mind if we speak to you in a few days or so?” Nebula requested, “We have to head out on an excursion for our schoolwork, so we’ll be able to speak with you again after that.”

Tandoor agreed to those terms. “Sounds like a gay ol’ time loves. I’ll see you then. For now, cheerio!”

And with that, she floated back into the pentagram, and disappeared…

“That was amazing!” Nebula chirped as he looked at Grimrose, “I can’t wait to speak with her some more and see how this new skill of yours can be used!”

The flattery overwhelmed Grimrose, causing her wings to unfurl involuntarily yet again. “Um…yeah. But we need to get some sleep if we wanna be prepared for tomorrow.”

“Fair point. Have a goodnight’s rest, Rose,” Nebula replied with a smile as he left her room and headed to his own.

“...yeah. Goodnight,” she muttered in response as he left before lying down with her book against her abdomen. ‘What is this feeling?’

The next day…

And so, the newly named Team ‘Gambit’ followed their teacher out to Somnumbula. They traveled via hot-air balloon which made the trip take less than a day. Convenient--as it was the best way to avoid all of the perilous cliffs and magma geysers that christened the path to the desert city.

Once they landed, Cayenne led them into the desert town where many a pony was trotting around the open air market to set up and sell their wares to visitors and other locals. There was a stand that sold various types of exotic fruit, another that sold various types of bladed and chained weapons, and another that sold wraps and furs for clothing…

“Damn,” Blue commented as he walked with the group, “They really do have everything here.”

Grimrose’s eyes were caught by a stand that sold various hex parchments. “I’m interested in seeing what sort of new things I can learn from here,” she muttered in her gloomy tone with an half-interested, neutral expression.

“The food smells really good,” Mei remarked as she sniffed the air. “Are those falafels?”

“Ooh!” Nebula had sprinted over to a nearby pony blowing into a flute in order to charm a snake into slithering out of a basket. Likely a street performer of sorts. “Snake charming! This place is awesome!”

The earth pony stallion who had been blowing into the flute regarding Nebula with a grateful nod and continued playing.

“Mr. Nebula,” Cayenne called out to him in a stern tone--akin to that of a mother looking to keep track of her foals, “Stay with the group, please.”

“Oh. Sorry,” he trotted back over with a bashful smile. “I just really like snake charming. It’s an art that I’ve been meaning to get into for a while now.”

“You’ll all have plenty of time to find out more about Somnombula at your leisure once your task is complete. For now, follow me.” With her students in tow, Cayenne started trotting down the main road once more. “The nice couple we’re going to be helping has their stall set up just around this corner.”