Agent Six, Reporting For Duty!

       Having been awake since the early morning, Agent Six is analyzing the strange green liquid that she scooped up in the previous afternoon. To her surprise, it is not sewage, but something else entirely. Toxic waste perhaps? She sniffs it, taking in a sweet scent. “It has a scent. A bittersweet scent, like honey mixed with something else. How odd.” Agent Six continues analyzing the liquid.

     A female voice from a few rooms over begins to yell. “Where is it? I can’t FIND it! This is SO BAD!!” Whoever the voice belongs to, she is making a lot of noise. The noise proves to be an annoying distraction to Agent Six’s research.

     “What is all of that racket about?” Agent Six leaves her room and travels to the voice’s room. “Hey!” Agent Six knocks on the mare’s door.

   The mare throws herself against the door from the inside as Agent Six knocks. “WHAT?!”

       “Whoever you are, I politely ask you to tone that racket down. I am in the middle of classified research! And I cannot work with all of this intolerable noise.” Agent Six calls to the voice.

    The voice calls back. “Then I suggest that you stop conducting research at a public inn! I paid for this room and I can be a nuisance if I want to!”

     “And furthermore—“ Agent Six starts, but is interrupted by the voice. “Don’t make me have to get a guardpony in here. Keep. It. Down.” Agent Six turns away from the mare’s room to return to her own. The voice shouts a little as Agent Six trots into her room and slams the door.

         The nerve of some ponies.” Agent Six mutters to herself and trots back to her research. “Hmm…” She flips a page. “Mmhmm…” Then she comes to remember something. “Blast it. Don’t tell me that I’m out of strawberry juice.” Her left hoof collides with her forehead. “I’ll finish my analysis on this green liquid later. I can’t think straight without my usual strawberry juice.” Agent Six puts the cork back on the test tube and tucks it away in her saddlebag. “For safekeeping…” She then puts her equipment away and trots to the door to leave the room. But to her astonishment, the door does not budge. “What the-?” She tries again to open the door. No use.  Agent Six’s expression turns cold. “Well this is nice.” Unbeknownst to her, a certain voice is not who she seems. Agent Six turns to face the window. “There’s more than one way out of here.” She trots to the window and looks around to make sure nopony is watching. “Mm!” She shatters the window by leaping through it, landing safely on the ground outside. She trots past a few shocked ponies while brushing shards of glass out of her mane. “Nothing to see here. Move along.” She says to the small crowd and trots on her way to the market. She can only imagine the anger that she will face from the inn’s manager.

       Shortly after she shakes the thoughts out of her head, she arrives at the market. She stops to look at an advertisement posted on a tent. “Hmmm…a teacher named Cheerilee seems to be offering job positions. Teaching positions. Hmmm…teaching Vocabulary could be an excellent job to cover my finances.” Agent Six takes the ad off of the tent and packs it into her saddlebag. While she arrives at a fruit drink stand, Agent Six ponders about what might have jammed her room’s door. She suspects that it may have something to do with the mare that she was yelling at.

     Agent Six eyes only lock onto twelve packs of cherry juice. “This will do.” She floats bits to the pony that runs the stand and in turn is given a twelve pack of cherry juice and packets of salt. “Thank you. Have a good day.” She says and trots on her way to the address on the advertisement. As she trots, another flashback floods her mind.

    “Diamond Shield, thank you for coming sweetheart.” The stallion said to Diamond Shield, with a smile on his face.

    “My love…” Diamond approached the stallion, smiling back. “I came as soon as I got your letter. Have I ever mentioned how beautiful your writing is?” She wrapped her neck around the neck of her beloved fiancé.

     He chuckled. “Yes. I do believe that you have. More times than I can count. Have I mentioned how much I love you?” He asked while pulling out of the neck-hug and staring in Diamond’s sparkling green eyes.

      Diamond Shield blushed. “Your love for me extends further than the sky reaches for the sun and moon. Both are equal in incomprehensible beauty.”

       “That is true. But to be truthful Diamond Shield, your beauty surpasses both of them combined. You are the light of my life. The sparkles that shine in my eyes. The key that unlocks the delicate container that we equines call a heart.” He flirted with passion.

     Agent Six sighed softly. “I mean that much to you?” A tear runs down her cheek.

      “Diamond Shield, you mean the entire world to me. Whatever you want, I shall provide. If I could, I would give you the stars that appears from Princess Celestia’s grace in the night sky.” The stallion says, smiling and wiping the tear away.

      “Oh…” Speechless, Diamond Shield simply hugs the stallion.

      Once again back in reality, Agent Six arrives at Cheerliee’s residence and knocks on the door. A mare comes to the door and answers it.

   “Hello. I’m Ms. Cheerilee. Can I help you?” She asks with a smile.

     Agent Six acknowledges Cheerilee. “Good afternoon Ms. Cheerliee. My name is Agent Six. I am here in regards to your advertisement.” Agent Six says and levitates the “help wanted” advertisement from her saddlebag.

       Cheerilee sees the advertisement that Agent Six levitates. “Oh! Well please come in Agent. Have a seat.” She motions to a chair inside. To which Agent Six politely obliges. “Can I get you something? Lemonade? A cup of tea?”

        “A cup of tea would be nice ma’am. Thank you.” Agent Six replies.

           Cheerilee smiles and goes to brew some tea. She soon returns to take a seat. “While I’m waiting for the tea to brew, you are interested in the Vocabulary position?” She asks.

    “I am.” Agent Six nods to Cheerilee. “Teaching is not my topmost talent. But I am rather good with kids.”

      “Being good with foals is important.” Cheerilee maintains her smile at Agent Six. “The vocabulary position does come with an established curriculum.”

        “May I see the curriculum please?” Agent Six asks Cheerilee.

      “Um, it’s in my filing cabinet at the schoolhouse.” She informs Agent Six, hearing the kettle whistling. “Excuse me please, that’s your tea.” Cheerilee goes to fetch a cup of tea for Agent Six.

    Agent Six nods. “I understand. I would very much like to see the curriculum at the earliest opportunity Ms. Cheerilee. Assuming that I get this job.”

    Cheerilee trots back into the living room with a cup of tea. “Well, Ms. Moynihoof and I are accepting résumés’ from prospective candidates to review. Do you have a résumé?” She asks Agent Six.

    “I do.” Agent Six levitates her résumé to Cheerilee from her saddlebag. Cheerilee looks it over. “As you can see, Ms. Cheerilee, my previous career revolved around serving my queen and country for about twenty years. If not slightly less.”

   Cheerilee continues to look the resume over and trades it for the cup of hot tea beside a service of honey, sugar, and cream. “Thank you. May I have this?”

   “You may.” Agent Six takes a sip of the hot tea after mixing honey into it. “Ahh…”

    “Thank you. I will place it in the file with the other applicants.” Cheerilee sets the résumé aside.

        After drinking the tea down, Agent Six levitates the cup to Cheerilee and stands up while offering a hoofshake. “Thank you for your hospitality.”

    “And thank you for your interest. I’ll touch base with you either way with regards to the open Vocabulary position.” Cheerilee says, happily shaking Agent Six’s hoof.

    “Wonderful. Thank you for your time and consideration. Have a good day Ms. Cheerilee.” Without another word, Agent Six leaves Cheerilee’s house and makes her way home. Or rather the inn, which is currently her home.

     Upon return to the inn, the manager of the establishment approaches her, not looking very happy. “You!”

       Agent Six stops on her way to her room. “Me?”

     “Yeah, you. Who the buck do you think you are breaking one of my inn windows?!” The manager yells.

         “Hmm…I do believe that my name is Agent Six, good sir.”

    The manager glares at her. “Don’t play smart with me, lady. Do you have any idea how much those windows COST?!”

    Agent Six shows no sign of flinching from the manager’s yelling. “I would suppose the price ranges from between fifty to two-hundred bits.”

         “That’s—hey, that’s right.” The manager says. “You’re pretty good with estimated guesses, aren’t ya?”

     Agent Six smirks. “I suppose I am. Now, I will gladly pay to rebuild the window. But first, I would very much like to explain why I broke it In the first place.” She tells the manager.

     The manager raises an eye. “I’m listening.”

        “You see, I was going to leave my room in the civilized way by using the door. But something kept me from opening it.” Agent Six explains. “I think we should investigate the cause of that. What so you think?”

    “Hmmm…alright. Please lead the way, Ms. Six.” Says the manager.

     “Right.” Agent Six trots to her room; room number zero-zero-seven. “Here we are.”

      Some kind of green goo catches the manager’s eye. “What is that?” He points the goo to Agent Six.

       Agent Six examines the goo. “I don’t know. Whatever it is, it’s what was blocking the door. Looks like resin though.” She says as her horn glows.

    “R…resin?”The manager gives Agent Six a puzzled look. “Like from a bug?”

     “Yes…something like that.” Agent Six, using her magic, dissolves the resin from the crevices of the door. “I think I might know who did this. But I can’t be sure. Whatever the case is, I need to rest. Good night mister.” She says to the manager, who nods and goes back to his office.

     When the manager is out of sight, Agent Six trots to the room of the voice who she argued with earlier. Her horn glows again. “This should teach that rascal.” She uses her magic to slowly weld the door shut. Much like the resin did. Once her mission of payback is complete, she retreats back into her room and sits upon her bed. “Mission…” She yawns. “…complete.” She lies down and drifts off to sleep.

     Hours later, Agent Six wakes up to find another tear flowing from her left eye. She sits up and wipes it away. One might wonder why tears occasionally flow from her eyes. Why is she so sad? This question will soon be answered. “I need a drink.” She says to herself, levitating a wine glass, a can of cherry juice, a stirring spoon, and two packets of salt. She pours some cherry juice into the glass and proceeds to stir it into the concoction. She floats the spoon and half-empty can onto her end table. “. . .” Agent Six lifts the glass to her mouth to drink. As for the empty salt packets, she simply teleports them into that unknown voice’s garbage can. “. . .these tears are so annoying.” She gulps the rest of the drink. With no thought, she drops the glass on the floor.

       Upon hitting the floor, the wine glass shatters into small shards of glass.  “Aaahh…” Then there is a sudden rumble in her belly. That drink left an awfully big space in her belly. Deciding to satisfy her hunger, she gets out of bed and leaves the room. “Ugh…” She woozily makes her way to the inn’s diner.

      Upon her arrival, she approaches a waiter. “Hello ma’am. Are you a resident of the inn?” Agent Six nods to the stallion. “Very well then, follow me please.” He directs Agent Six to a vacant table near a stallion with a cinnamon-colored coat, darker brown mane, and brown eyes. He also sports some fuzz on his face.

      “Here you go madam.” The waiter says and hoofs over a menu.

        “Thank you.” She says to the waiter and looks the menu over.”

     “Excuse me. What’s the cheapest thing you have here?” The cinnamon coated stallion asks his own waiter.

    “The bread sir, it’s free.” His waiter replies.

     “I’ll have a couple baskets of those then.” The stallion says. The waiter nods and goes to fulfill the order.”

     After looking the menu over, Agent Six hoofs it over to her waiter. “I’ll have the filet haygnon. And a glass of ice tea.”

           “Coming right up, Ms.” The waiter takes the menu and goes to have the meal prepared.

             The cinnamon-coated stallion looks at Agent Six. “You should have the bread. It’s free.”

       Agent Six doesn’t return eye contact with the stallion. “.The term, “free’ isn’t a word in my dictionary.”

            The stallion smirks. “Well, some of us lavish in the free fruits of life.”

     “Speak for yourself.” She says to the stallion. “Others, like me, lavish in salted drinks and the choice to live alone.”

     “Oh, I know what that’s like. Being smarter than everyone I know and rubbing it in their faces seems to drive them away.” The stallion nods to Agent Six.

     “. . .” At this, Agent Six turns her head to look at the stallion. “No…you DON’T know what it’s like.” She turns her head back.

      “Then tell me, what’s it like?” The stallion asks. Agent Six simply shakes her head at his question as her meal arrives. “…I’m gonna assume that you’re just throwing a tantrum, and hoping salt will help you, when it’s actually killing your body.”

    “Don’t talk to me please.” Agent Six takes a bite out of her filet haygnon. “No stallion…” She swallows. “Not even you can understand.”

    “I don’t really care about understanding. I was just trying to get a free salt from you.” The stallion replies.

         Agent Six stops listening to the stallion as she eats. “This conversation is over.” The stallion shrugs.

     Agent Six drinks her tea down. “Nopony gets ANYTHING out of me for free. End of story.” She finishes her meal and summons her waiter. “Check please.”

    The waiter sets a bill down. “I hope you enjoyed your meal. Please have a good night.”

     “Of course.” Agent Six sets some bits down to pay for the hearty meal and rises to leave the diner. “Good night.” She makes her way back to her room. When she enters her room, she lies down and tucks herself into bed. “The sky without stars…what is that like, compared to me? Agent Six asks herself. “Or rather, what am I compared to them?” She closes her eyes. “Nothing…I am nothing compared to the endless sky and what drifts on it.”