Strictly Confidential

Nearing the Analysis bay after a short trek through the facility, Lyra tried to focus on the report she was about to check up on. She could remember that she definitely filed in a report involving Donut Joe, but struggled to remember what she surveyed to fill out the contents of the report. She focused as hard as she could on the days she had been assigned to follow and spy on him.

Unable to think straight or put her hoof on precise details, Lyra turned around another corner and saw the analysis bay up ahead of her. She figured that if the report hadn’t been processed she could simply double over the details and confirm it... or at least she hoped it’d be that easy. She also looked at her saddle bag containing the mysterious folder she had pulled from her desk, and double checked that it was securely closed. She didn’t want to risk anyone seeing it, considering even she felt nervous whenever she looked at it.

Lyra walked through the large opening to the analysis bay, and looked around it, once again finding her interest being captivated by the size of the facility. The room was composed of two floors, and was directly connected to Manticore Control by a door at the other side of the room. The majority of the room was filled with many rows of desks; they were all covered in folders, being read over carefully by several ponies to make sure the details were all precise and made sense together. It was undoubtedly the largest and most populated area of the facility, next being Manticore Control.  Lyra, trying to ignore the scenery and keep her mind on track, trotted over to the side of the room where the staircase to the second floor was located.

Looking through the bars of the staircase at all the ponies working, she thought she saw the doors to Manticore Control open. She diverted her gaze towards the doors, just to get a glance to be sure, as she had never been inside the control centre for the base, nor even seen inside it. Only the best of the best field agents had that privilege. Nearing the top of the staircase, Lyra could barely see more than light inside and a silhouette of another pony walking in, but didn’t have time to focus on any real details before tripping over the next step up and smacking her chin on it.

As she collapsed onto the staircase one of the two bearings holding up a step under her broke away, causing the whole step to fall and clash against the ground. The room was generally quiet with only the sound of papers moving around, being stamped, or stapled, and the occasional sound of some chatter, so the sound of a large metal step hitting the ground caused ever single pony in the area to turn their heads to look in the direction of the noise, but Lyra was too dazed to care about stares, and saw only a blur as the door to Manticore Control shut closed. Lyra grunted in disappointment and bought her hooves to the stair under her torso, pushing herself up. She did her best to not stagger as her vision returned, and took a large step to get over the newly created gap, being careful to not trip and fall into it.

Trying to ignore the stares from the many ponies in the room, Lyra waited until they lost interest, before walking some more. Almost as soon as she reached the top of the stairs another pony who had rushed over to investigate the noise stopped in front of her, blocking her off.

“What the hell was that noise?” he asked clearly having missed the fiasco.

“I tripped over... nothing to worry about, but I’d get somepony to check on those stairs,” said Lyra, before trying to make her way past him before he intervened again.

“Wait! You’re agent 41, right?” the stallion asked Lyra.

“Who wants to know?” Lyra asked the stallion eyeing him carefully. She didn’t trust agents she hadn’t talked to, let alone seen before.

“I’m Lucas. I was assigned to check over your last report.” He informed her.

“Lucas? Really? No fancy number or codename?” asked Lyra.

“I’m not a field agent... only field agents are numbered.” Lucas replied.

“Right...” Lyra said with a nod, realising she still hadn’t entirely learned the system for labelling agents, “and how did you know I’m agent 41?” Lyra asked giving him another strict look.

“It’s right there on your bag.” Lucas said, pointing his hoof at the small patch on the bag labelling ‘Property of agent 41’.

Lyra turned her bag away from him at the very mention of it, trying to hide it behind herself to drown out interest in it as fast as possible. Still trying not to get distracted, and having easily found the pony she needed to through a chance accident, she got right to the subject at hand.

“Anyway, about the report... Manticore control contacted me saying it hadn’t been sent through yet... any reason why?” Lyra asked expecting a decent answer.

“Well, I was ready to go over your report, but there was a problem...” Lucas started, before Lyra interrupted.

“Which was?” Lyra asked quickly, as if wanting to deny as fast as possible that there could be anything wrong with her report.

Feeling a little nervous now, Lucas gulped and answered Lyra.

“There was nothing in the folder... the whole thing was empty.” He said, almost wanting to flinch at Lyra’s facial reaction.

“What do you mean there was nothing in the folder?!” Lyra asked, almost yelling at the nervous stallion. “I spent a week putting that report together! Do you have any idea how long I sat on the rooftops of Canterlot and Ponyville following Joe, travelling between them constantly, all because Canterlot’s spies were deemed too inexperienced to perform the job?” Lyra asked, again not putting any effort into keeping quiet, arousing the attention of many other workers in the room. Lyra again a little embarrassed that she’d attracted the attention of every pony in the room, turned her head away from them looking Lucas directly in the eyes.

“Where did my report go Lucas?” she asked him calmly, but strictly.

“I...”-Lucas took in a deep breath before continuing-“...I think it was stolen” he said, flinching in fear that Lyra might get angry at him again; but Lyra was far to shocked to scold him or even speak once she heard that.

‘Who would steal a report?’ she asked herself in her mind. Her eyes went wide for a moment as she tried to consider a few ponies that could have taken her report, but she just didn’t know enough other spies; let alone any who would want to steal from her. For the few second she was in a daze, Lucas began to try and call her back to reality.

“Agent 41?” he asked waving his hoof around her face.

Lyra was distracted heavily by confusion and thought, but she awoke very quickly to the sound of her number being called.

“Are you alright?” Lucas asked her.

“I’m fine... but... but I don’t understand who would steal a report? Is there a mole in the agency or something?” Lyra asked considering another possibility.

“If there was a mole in the agency why would they steal something as simple as a report on a donut shop owner stealing a recipe?” Lucas asked her in a way that seemed rhetorical. Lyra did have to admit it didn’t sound very plausible.

“But that assignment came straight from a member of manticore control, it had to be important for some reason!” Lyra exclaimed, intent on figuring out why someone would steal a report.

“I only said I think it was stolen though! It might not have been; it could have simply been misplaced.” Lucas said trying to ease her mind, but Lyra still wasn’t convinced.

“I filed the report two days ago... it would have turned up by now,” she said frowning, and sighing. “Either way if that reply didn’t turn up, then that means I’ll have to file another one...” Lyra concluded, very disappointed that a lot of her hard earned free time was going to be taken from her.

Lucas wanted to try and help, but being in his position, there was nothing he could do to assist her. He’d already attempted to search for the report, but even he had no luck finding it.

“I’ll send a message to Manticore Control about the loss of your report... I’m sure the next time they can get someone else to do it.” Lucas said, trying to ease some of the weight she’d just put on her shoulders; he knew by the level of stress in her reaction that it must have been a large report.

“Thanks kid...” Lyra started, “But I think I want to talk to them myself... I have something I need to take up with them.” Lyra said, shifting slightly as she did.

“You want to talk to the leaders in Manticore Control?” Lucas asked shocked, “They’d never let you! Only top rated field agents can do that and even they have to be lucky to do that. I’ve barely ever seen an agent go through that door or come out of it.” Lucas said looking over at the door at the side of the room that led to the control centre.

“An agent just went in a few moments ago!” Lyra exclaimed, wondering if he’d been paying attention to it in the last five to ten minutes.

“That’d be the first time since two months ago that another agent has been in there.” Lucas told her.

Realising her chances of actually seeing the Manticore Leaders was slim, Lyra instead thought of a new idea.

“If I can’t speak to them directly I’ll send them a message too; do you know the names and message bank addresses of the Manticore Leaders?” Lyra said, rather embarrassed that she didn’t know.

“Only Chiefs Pike, Hoofman, and Harvey; there’s a few more leaders, but I don’t know who they are. Pike and Hoofman have been around the longest since the last leaders passed away, but I think cheif Harvey has only been in for around a year.” Lucas informed her.

“How do you know this stuff?” Lyra asked curious as to how he could know so much about his leaders that he’d never met.

Lucas shifted nervously, and whispered to her quietly.

“I may have found some password hidden, confidential folders located in the bases data centre...” he said before Lyra interrupted quietly, yet sternly.

“You hacked the bases network?! Do you have any idea how stupid that is?! That line of network is still being built and is very sensitive! If you had been caught...” Lyra went to finish but was interrupted by Lucas.

“But I wasn’t! I printed their profiles by hacking the classified data section. It’s still a very primitive system and easy to understand.” He explained.

“But why?” Lyra asked, wondering why anyone would risk their lives.

“Because I don’t trust the leaders... they’re so secretive! They keep everything hidden and refuse to share any information on the assignments they send to agents, and why they need those tasks done... This place used to be about control and order in Ponyville, my job was incredibly easy, but over the past 2 weeks, since the royal coronation was announced, they’ve been handing out assignments nonstop!” Lucas pointed out.

“Crowning a new Equestrian ruler is a HUGE event! I’m not surprised they’re dishing out assignments left and right...” Lyra said expressing her doubt in what Lucas was saying.

“But the assignments are completely unrelated to the coronation!  There’s not a single one that has anything to do with the princesses, or the competitors! And don’t tell me you don’t think they’re up to something... what about that folder in your bag that you’ve been hiding? Does that have anything to do with them?” Lucas asked, but barely able to finish his sentence before Lyra picked him off his feet and pressed him hard against the wall with her front leg to his neck.

“How do you know about that file?” Lyra asked, not realising she’d raised her voice again, but by this point the others in the room were ignoring her as best they could. Lucas was in a fair amount of pain from being slammed against the wall, but managed to get out another sentence through the pressure on his throat.

“We should... take this conversation... Elsewhere...” he squeezed through his lips almost sputtering.

Lyra frowned, not liking that he knew something about something she’d been trying to hide from everyone, but knew that someone would get suspicious if they kept the conversation going much longer.

“Follow me...” Lyra said reluctantly, releasing the pressure on his throat, and letting him fall over and cough a few times, before he got up and trotted after her as she moved on ahead of him, walking towards a door on the side of the room ahead of them both.