Canterlot Academy Trials

Indeed. They would find a pair of older--nearly elderly--ponies that were setting up a stall to sell various pieces of jewelry christened with rare gemstones. Run entirely by the pegasus stallion and earth pony mare who seemed to have been running this stall for quite a long time…

“Thank you so much,” the elder stallion muttered in a low, hoarse voice. “Safi and I have been working here for as long as we can remember.”

The mare--whose name was Safi Seas--replied, “Yes indeed. Ahmar speaks the truth. This stall means everything to us. Giving visitors and tourists natural jewelry and memorabilia of Somnombula is our passion. Even if it’s gotten more difficult lately…” she trailed off with a frown.

Noting the tone in her voice, Nebula would be the first to ask, “Wait--what’s going on around here lately?”

“Gah. Just some local bandit whippersnappers,” the stallion--whose name was Ahmar Atoll--crabbily snapped, “They think they can boss us around just ‘cuz we’re too old to fight back.”

“...well, they’re right,” Safi had to correct her husband, “You’re not as young as you used to be, dear. You can fend them off forever.”

“Rrgh…” Ahmar grumbled under his breath as he proceeded to gather up more items to supply the stall with.

Leaving Safi to apologize on his behalf. “Don’t mind him. He’s just unable to admit that we need a bit of help.”

“Wait…you don’t need help with the shop itself?” Blue asked, tilting his head in confusion.

“Oh no, dear,” Safi replied with a giggle, waving her hoof dismissively, “We can run this stall ourselves just fine. What I’d like you to do is see if you can help us ward off these bandits.”

“And see to it they don’t come back,” Ahmar huffed from his end of the stall with a flap of his wings. “Getting sick and tired of their ilk hurtin’ local businesses like ours.”

Cayenne tapped her hoof on the pavement below. “Hm…so this goes beyond just your shop, then. It’s a rampant issue that’s affecting all of the nearby businesses.”

“Correct,” Safi replied with a regrettable sigh, “As a group, we Somnombulans came together and agreed to hire mercenaries to watch over us. Outsiders won’t have any ties to these bandits and will accept the coin we intend to offer. You’re the first ones on our list.”

As everyone was talking, Mei was busy taking notes on a notepad…

Then Grimrose spoke up. “We’re getting paid? Interesting. I didn’t realize an extracurricular excursion would result in earning actual money.”

“...neither did I,” Cayenne admitted with a hesitant tone. Despite being their teacher and leader, that was absolutely the last thing she saw coming. After all, the only information they were given was that an old couple needed help with their shop.

But to be called on as mercenaries? That was something else entirely.

However, seeing as they were adults, Cayenne saw fit to let the group come to their own decision.

“Excuse us for a moment…” she turned to her students and spoke to them, “...I’m sorry. I didn’t realize this was what we were being called on for. If you don’t feel comfortable taking this assignment, we can turn back and head home.”

“Hey, we came out all this way,” Blue folded his arms, “May as well see it through and help our the poor folks. After all, they look so adorable together.”

“I agree,” Mei added, “Besides, we can still use our time here to gather valuable info about the region!”

“Yeah!” Nebula spoke up as well, “Can’t wait to see if my training has paid off. And I still wanna catch that snake charmer…” He then glanced at Grimrose. “How about you, Rose?”

As usual, the dreary pegasus would speak in a neutral tone, “I don’t hate it here and I want to see if I can find information regarding embalming rituals. Let’s deal with the bandits.”

“Alright! That’s the spirit!”

“Okay. That settles it then,” Cayenne nodded once she had their input. “I’ll go ahead and let the pair know we intend to stay. For now, why don’t you all walk around and see if you can find any information about banditry from the locals, hm?” With that, she turned and started trotting back towards the old couple, leaving the young adult students to their own devices.

From there, the members of Dorm Block Epsilon would break off.

“Alright,” Nebula began, “I’m gonna head over to that snake charmer and ask if he’s seen anything suspicious.”

“I’m gonna check the local blacksmith,” Blue added, “She’ll probably know something.”

“I’ll…ask the ponies running the local street food stands,” Mei uttered with a nervous smile.

“I’ll go to the stall with hexes,” Grimrose spoke as neutrally as usual.

“Good. We’ll all meet back here at their stand in about an hour or so,” Nebula suggested, “Sound good?”

“Mm-hmm,” Mei replied with a nod as she started trotting off.

“Understood,” Grimrose droned before flying off.

Nebula began prancing off towards the market. “Alright. Guess I’m headed this way.”

But before he could move very far, he was stopped by Blue.

“Hey, bud. When you get a minute, I could use your help. This is probably the best place for it since nobody around here knows us.”

“Hm? Oh sure, with what?” Nebula asked with a curious tone.

Blue scratched the back of his head with a nervous smile on his face. “...help me hit on pony chicks.”

“...”