Chapters Chapter 1- Just the beginning
It was a bright, sunny morning when I decided to come out for a walk in Ponyville. I got ready to open up my flower shop. I opened the door with the key in my mouth, and stepped inside.
"Hey, Roseluck!" My friend, Bonbon called out, approaching me. "You setting up your shop?"
"Yes, and aren't you suppose to set up your candy shop?" I asked.
"Not today. I ran out of stock, yesterday was pretty hectic. It'll take a while before I can fully restock everything," Bonbon replies.
"Okay. Could you help me out today? My employees canceled."
"All of them?"
"I only have two. I don't have much money to afford any others."
Bonbon helped me restock a few supplies. From the corner of my eye, I saw Bonbon dropping something. It looked foreign to, I've never saw it before. It was a tiny, black sphere-looking thing. It looked like it was made to appear so small that it could've fit in somepony's ear. Bonbon cursed under her breath, and quickly shoved it into her mane. She glanced back at me.
"What was that?" I asked her.
"Oh, it's just nothing," Bonbon replies. I was about to ask her more questions, but she acted as if she was too busy to talk. It never occurred that I would ever find anything suspicious about Bonbon.
"I... Have to go, now," Bonbon said. But before I could ask why, she already disappeared.
At the end of work, I saved the bits I earned in my savings. Though the incident with Bonbon was still nagging in my mind, I said to myself, "I'm sure Bonbon wouldn't hide anything from me, she's my friend. I should go to her house to see if she's okay."
I trotted to Bonbon's cozy cottage. Bonbon had been living with her roommate, Lyra. But Lyra got called on a family issue, and had to go to Manehattan for a while. I knocked on Bonbon's door. "Bonbon, are you in there?" I called out. No reply. I tapped the door with my hoof. The door was unlocked. I hesitated, deciding whether or not it would be a good idea to barge into Bonbon's home. "Bonbon's one of my closest friends, she wouldn't mind," I reasoned with myself. I took a deep breath, and entered into the house.
Before I could say a word, I heard voices.
"Did you leave out any hints?" A regal voice asked.
"No, at least I think. I snatched it out of her sight before she could have a clear view of it," another voice said. I recognized it was Bonbon's voice. She was holding that thing I saw her drop in my flower shop to her ear. I knew it was bad eavesdropping, but I felt like I needed to know.
The voice sighed. "Sweetie Drops, you're going to have us found."
"No, that won't happen. I promise this time I'll keep hidden for good. There won't be anypony who can even suspect that I'm a spy," Bonbon said. I gasp. It was a quiet gasp, but it was loud enough for Bonbon to hear. She turned my way. "We've been spotted!" Bonbon said. Before I could move, I felt something heavy hit me, and I passed out.
...
"What should we do with her?"
"Now that she knows our secret, the organization is at risk!"
"Wait, can't we perform a memory spell?"
"No, it could damage her brain. Studies recently showed that some ponies don't have the resistance to tolerate the memory spell."
"Then I guess we have no choice but to kill her."
I wake up, my eyes wide open. I try to say a word, but that comes out is, "Mmmmfghgmf!" I find that I am tied up in chains, and somepony covered my mouth by tying a cloth to it. I look around. I'm locked in a Canterlot dungeon, and three royal guards were talking about me. Soon, a white alicorn with a flowing, colorful mane arrived. Anypony who saw her would've recognized her as Princess Celestia.
"Did she wake up yet?" Princess Celestia asked. Though I never heard her speak, I recognized her voice as the one Bonbon was talking to in that thing.
The guards walked up to my cell and reported, "yes, Princess."
The princess nodded. "Good. I want you to escort her into the throne room."
When I finally reached the throne room, Princess Celestia was seated on her throne, and Bonbon near her, her expression was desperate, but Princess Celestia didn't seem to care. The princess sighed. "I hate doing these things. It makes me feel like a traitor to my own ponies. Let's make it quick and short, I don't want blood to stain my new carpet." I looked to see a large, sharp silver knife on a golden plate next to Celestia. My eyes were wide with panic. They were going to kill me.
"Mmmmghghmmfmfhfhgh!" I cried out, struggling against the chains.
"Please, princess, don't kill Roseluck because of me," Bonbon pleaded Princess Celestia.
"Then what should I do? Fire you?" Princess Celestia asked, irritated, and even a little bit angry. "All you did is screw up. You'd always risk our identity. The only time you did something right for once was with that bugbear. I keep giving you chances, and you keep failing them. I'm done, now. And you know what? Maybe I'll even fire you."
Bonbon's eyes were wide with fear. "But you can't kill Roseluck! She... Could be a really good agent! She has these natural skills!"
Princess Celestia raised an eyebrow. She sighed, and said. "Very well. She can only be an agent if she proves herself worthy. Otherwise, she'll be killed."
Bonbon's eyes lighted up with excitement. "Thank you so much, Princess!"
"Oh, and also another thing: you're fired."
Bonbon's ears were pinned down. Creases were formed underneath her eyes. "What?"
"Because of your foolishness, you're fired. I've given you too many chances. This chance is only for Roseluck, to see if she can earn my trust. You may coach her if you want," Princess Celestia said. Bonbon opened her mouth, ready to say something, but then closed it instead. She nodded sadly, and then came over to me, untying the cloth and chains. I couldn't help but pity her. It seems like being an agent meant a lot to her.
"So you were the one who knocked me out," I managed to say once the cloth and chains were removed. Bonbon nodded.
"I never would've suspected that you'd ever be a secret agent."
Bonbon let a small smile cross her lips. "Disguise is my talent," she said. "So about what happened... You heard all that, didn't you?" I nodded. She sighed. "I'm sorry I got you into this. I guess I really am a bad agent, and Celestia was right to fire me."
"You aren't that bad," I said.
Bonbon shook her head. "I actually never wanted to be an agent. I've always dreamed of opening up a candy shop, an actual candy shop, instead of pretending like in my missions. My parents were agents, and so were my grandparents. Even my sister is. And now I'm going to let everypony down, since I failed Celestia." I gave her a reassuring smile.
"Don't worry. Maybe you really should open up your own candy shop. Your parents would be fine if they realized that that was your true dream. You know, my parents were all doctors, and they wanted me to follow their hoofsteps. But when they realized that my true dream was to become a florist, they were okay with it," I said, trying to make Bonbon feel better.
"Thanks for trying to cheer me up," Bonbon said. "Moving on... Now I have to train you to prove to Celestia that you're worth it. I know I've failed her, but I can't fail you."
I nodded.
"Training starts tomorrow," Bonbon began. "Get plenty of rest tonight."
I opened my eyes at the light of the sun shining through my window. I remembered that today was the day Bonbon would train me. I got up, and got ready. As I was eating my breakfast, I heard a knock on my door. I got up to answer it, surprised to find Bonbon.
"What are you doing here?" I asked.
"It's training time," She replied.
"Isn't it too early?" I asked.
"A good spy is always prepared," Bonbon replied.
Since it was early in the morning, and since it was spring, it was freezing outside. My teeth chattered, as I hugged my body. It so cold that I thought I might die. "Are you sure we should train now? I don't even have any clothes to protect myself from the cold."
"You have to build resistance. Then yo can stay warm, and you won't get a cold," Bonbon told me. I was shocked and surprised to see Bonbon wasn't disturbed by the freezing temperature.
"Did you really do this when you were training?" I asked.
"Yup. I had to train years for this. But since you have to be trained quick, you have to stay out in the cold longer," Bonbon answered.
I groaned.
"Come on, it's not that bad," Bonbon said.
"Not that bad?" I questioned. "I am in the freezing cold for Celestia's sake!"
"Well, look on the bright side, it'll be over in five hours," Bonbon said. I thought Bonbon had gone insane to drag me out here in the cold. but it made me wonder, do real spies actually do this? This makes me reconsider of becoming one of Celestia's secret agents.
...
"Bonbon, I am literally DYING in this freezing cold!!!" I hugged my body tightly, my teeth were chattering like crazy.
Bonbon sighed. "It's only been five minutes, Roseluck. But if you wan a break, that's fine. Considering that it's your first day training, I can understand." Bonbon helped me up, and took me inside my house. She gave me a nice, thick blanket, and asked," do you want some hot chocolate?" I nodded in reply. The hot chocolate tasted good, making me feel better about what happened earlier.
"Since we can't do anything outside, let's do some training inside," Bonbon said. She stood there for a moment, thinking. Then she walked into my rooms, and pulled out some objects in her hooves. "I hope you don't mind if we use these."
"What are you going to do with them?" I asked.
"We're going to make a model of a situation a spy would be in. This doesn't require any strength or anything like that, you just have to use your mind to make the right decisions," Bonbon explained. She arranged all the objects in an order.
I scooted over closer to the model. I saw that Bonbon placed a rd, rectangular block in the middle of a road that she created. "What is that?" I asked, pointing to the red block.
"That's you, Bonbon replied. "I found a lot of these blocks, so they'll represent ponies." I could see that she placed several other blocks all around the city she created. "Okay, so you walk into a toy store, and you being browsing all of the products. But then there was a bomb blast, and a lot of ponies were in risk of being injured or killed. But you could also see a pony all dressed in black that looked suspicious to you, and you think that could be the criminal. But if you want to catch the criminal, you have to leave the ponies behind. What do you do?"
I thought for a moment before answering, "catch the criminal?"
"Wrong," Bonbon said.
"But how? Isn't that what a spy does?" I asked, confused. I remember all of the comics I've read since I was a filly, and all of them had the spy catching the criminal, and the comic never showed what happened to the ponies.
"The safety of the citizens is more important then the criminal. That's the whole point of being a spy, you always have to protect the ponies at all costs," Bonbon responded.
I nodded. Bonbon rearranged her model.
"Pretend that you are in the Canterlot Dungeons, guarding a group of prisoners. But for some reason they get out, So you have to think fast on this one. What do you do?" Bonbon said.
For this one, I said,"I have to block them from reaching any exits."
"Correct! You must always stop any prisoners from harming anything, so the best thing you should do first is to prevent it," Bonbon said.
"Is this some of the actual stuff you use to do at work?" I asked, curious. I always thought that these kinds of things were stories and fantasies that other ponies made up.
"Well, yes. The most talented agents that have the most advanced skills are the ones that Celestia picks. That's why I've got to make you one of the top talented agents," Bonbon replied.
"Wait, why do I have to be the most talented? Can't you train me enough just to get me to at least pass?" I asked. I really didn't want to be a secret agent. I just didn't see it as who I am, but if I want to keep my life, I know I have to do it.
"We have to make sure you don't mess up," Bonbon answered. "Okay, onto to next situation..."
Chapter 3- More Training Time
I poured myself a cup of milk, and made some pancakes for breakfast. Just as I was finishing them, I heard a knock on my door.
"Rise and shine, training time!" Bonbon chirped.
I groaned. "Ugh, again?"
"You know you have to be perfect, Roseluck. Your whole life depends on it. I also don't think Celestia likes slaughtering her own ponies," Bonbon said. "Today, we're going to be focusing on your strengths, the physical ones this time. Celestia said that you've got a month to train up. I know it's not enough, that's why we've got to work extra hard."
I sighed. "Alright, fine. Where are we training?"
"In the Everfree Forest," Bonbon replied.
"WHAT?! Bonbon, you do know that the Everfree Forest is completely dangerous! There are things lurking around there," I said. I've heard rumors of the things in the Everfree Forest before.The only ponies who have ever went in unharmed, are Twilight and her friends, and Zecora. Zecora even lives in that forest. I always wonder how she manages to survive. I always thought it was a zebra thing.
"The environment there is prefect for a spy in training like you. There are going to be a lot of extremely dangerous places you have to visit when you become a spy, trust me," Bonbon said. We began our trek to the the forest.
...
"Bonbon, are you sure this is safe?" I asked once we got there.
"It's perfectly fine," Bonbon said. "Well, it is when you are fully trained, or have me around."
"Well, that is comforting to know," I said with a sarcastic tone.
"Just relax, you'll be fine. After all, Twilight and her friends went into the Everfree Forest, and made it back out alive, didn't they? And the didn't even have any spy training," Bonbon said.
"You mean the only ponies who ever made it back alive?" I asked.
Bonbon ignored what I said as we trotted further down into the forest. The branches were gnarly, and looked like they were ready to grab you at any minute. It was quiet and spooky. "Okay, for the first lesson we have to test your strengths," Bonbon walked over to a large tree. It looked like the scariest of them all, and I could even make out a creepy face that had sharp teeth in an evil grin. I mentally shuddered at that.
"What exactly am I going to do?" I asked.
Bonbon snapped a large branch that could've looked like a tree itself before saying, "you have to lift this branch."
"That's easy, it's just a little twig," I said, walking over to it. But when I tried lifting it with my hooves, it wouldn't budge. I tried again, but it was still the same. "This is so hard! How can you even do this, Bonbon?"
"It took ten years for me to practice lifting heavy objects like that. We're going to be here all day, so you better get a start on it," Bonbon said, causing me to mentally groan.
Two hours later...
"I... I did it! I did it Bonbon, did you see that?!" I said.
Bonbon smiled at me. "Great job, Roseluck. I'm surprised you were actually able to do that, but we don't really have much much time to train as a proper agent would. It is said that earth ponies have a greater amount of strength than unicorns and pegasi."
"Bonbon," I began. "What did you do when you were an agent?"
"Well..." Bonbon began. "In training, Princess Celestia had us do an obstacle course. The only thing scary about it, was that it all was real. There were actual rings of fire,real bombs, and all sorts of other dangerous things. I was lucky to escape alive. But there was an amount who didn't. They didn't have the strength to pass through, and a lot of them were new recruits. It was an actual career option to join the agency. They did seem a little weak to me, but I personally believe they only joined just to look cool. All of them were severely injured, most on the verge of death."
"Wow... That really happened?" I asked in amazement. It seemed like a secret agent's life was pretty tough to me. Then a sudden thought made me scared. "Am I going to have to do all that?"
"Sorry to break it to you Roseluck, but yes, you have to. Since you're only an amateur, Celestia will put you in high training, which can take up to years as it did to me," Bonbon informed. "But don't worry, I'm sure you'll pass with flying colors. I had little faith in myself, but I made it out alive."
Bonbon started to walk even further into the forest. "Where are we going? I thought training was over," I asked.
"Oh, it isn't even close to being over. You're going to be coming here for most of your days, from the early morning, to mostly midnight until it's time," Bonbon answered.
"What? But what about my sleep?" I asked fearfully.
"A good spy needs to learn to stay alert, and to stay up without a good night's sleep," Bonbon responded.
Being a spy is tough. I'm beginning to wish I never went into Bonbon's house in the first place.
"Now we're going to be increasing all of your abilities of being a pony. First off, we're going to be lifting more trees, and other sorts of heavy objects to increase your strength. Next, we're going to increase your flexibility. You're going to be doing a lot of stunts in your job. After that, we're going to be increasing your intelligence. Your going to studying a lot. Most of the subjects we'll be focusing on, is math. This is the most unusual of the spy training, but Princess Celestia wants her agents to be smart, and she says that you could never know when they might be useful..." Bonbon droned on about the other things I need to do.
I groaned out loud again. I hate math.
Sweat dripped down on me face. This was the moment that I'd become one of Celestia's secret agents if I passed of course.
"Relax, Roseluck, you'll be fine," Bonbon tried to assure me, but nothing Bonbon said could abate the fear that was giving me butterflies in my stomach right now.
We were walking to the final course in Celestia's palace. Bonbon told that Princess Celestia is the one who starts the final test. The crowd was waiting for the princess, but she was nowhere to be seen. Moments passed by. The princess was still not to be seen.
Part of the crowd started to get impatient, and the other part of the crowd was confused. I was confused, but Bonbon was getting a little grumpy like the part of the impatient crowd.
"Is this some kind of joke? When Is the princess coming?" Bonbon yelled across to the worried, concerned guards who were supposed to stand by Celestia. The fidgeted, trying to find a reasonable excuse for the delay, but judging from the looks on their faces, they found none.
"I'm sorry, Roseluck. This had never happened before when it was my time for the final course. This delay might've ruined the experience for you. They may not even get to the final course at all," Bonbon apologized.
"It's fine, Bonbon," I assured her. A mare with a red mane wrapped in bun took charge of the event.
"I'm sorry to inform you all that the final course will not be taken. We have... A difficult conflict that is unsolvable at this moment, and may take some time. Please return to your abodes, you all can have another chance next time.
Groans and clamors rose up from the crowd, but after a while, all the ponies left.
"Well there's always next time, right?" I said, trying to look on the bright side. Bonbon, on the other hoof, looked upset. But then she looked up at me and gave me a small smile.
"Yeah, your right. There is always a next time," Bonbon said.
"Hey, why don't we do some site seeing here in Canterlot?" I offered.
"Sure, that sounds like a great idea," Bonbon said. She was averted from the sadness, and now looked more cheered up.
I and Bonbon were staying in a hotel that she went to before. Bonbon told me that she and Lyra came to Canterlot to come to a convention that Lyra was particularly interested in. I think it was something about humans, but I wasn't really paying attention to Bonbon.
After looking around the place, we went back to out hotel in the evening.
Bonbon yawned, being exhausted from walking that long. But I wasn't really tired yet, so I told Bonbon,"I'm going to go for a walk, I'll be back in a few minutes."
"Okay," Bonbon replied. In seconds, she was in deep sleep.
I went outside, trotting in the light of the moon. Surprisingly, there wasn't anypony on the streets but me. I've heard that most of the ponies who come here have business with Celestia. But since she's not here, I assumed they all were home.
The wind was calm and quiet. The air felt relaxing. Everything was nice and refreshing. Until I heard a scream. The sound jolted me from my peaceful state. Somepony was in trouble.
