The knocks came, startled was the principal of Arlington Academy, these knocks were unexpected, she had not made an appointment to visit with any student this morning; however something about the knock did not seem so alien, it was as though someone she was very familiar with was waiting behind the door. After three more knocks snapped her out of a self induced trance, the authoritative figure finally let out a response.
“Come in,” the principal replied as she finished with a stack of paper work on her desk. In walked a familiar student, one who’s actions have landed him in the principal’s office more times than she could count. He wore his usual black leather jacket and black jeans and had his dark brown hair spiked with gel along with a pair of shades even though they were against school policy, Arlington Academy was strict on dress code, any student who violated this rule and chose not to wear the school uniform was subject to suspension; this is why principal Victoria was so familiar with the student known as Tobie Zipper. “Zipper,” she sighed, “Why am I not surprised? What is it now Tobie,” principal Victoria glanced up at the boy, “I mean besides dress code violation, what did you do now?”
“Actually, I’m not the one who did something wrong right now Victoria, I’m here to talk to you and several of your students.”
“Excuse me!” Victoria snapped as she arose from her seat, “Young man, I don’t know what your talking about, and I don’t appreciate the tone your using—”
“Three students of yours, two third years and a second year, I’d like access to each of their personal records and files.” Tobie removed his shades and placed them on the principal’s desk and placed his jacket on a nearby coat holder. “I mean, if it’s not too much trouble.”
“You walk into my office dressed out of code, again, and demand access to several of my student’s personal information when you yourself are a student?” the principal sat down in her chair but let a growl escape the back of her throat, “Like you have any authority, just who do you think you are?”
“Well certainly not Tobie Zipper, that’s for sure,” Tobie, or at least the boy who is known by Tobie pulled out what looked to be a wallet; he flipped it open and exposed the badge with an ID inside for the principal’s eyes to see. “Special agent Christian Cloud with the Bureau of Magical Investigations.”
“Your with the BMI? That’s absurd, why would your fantasy organization be here? Furthermore, you’re far too young to be an agent.”
“I’m not here to discuss your opinion on the bureau’s agent age policy but I’m sure it should be fairly simple to get a subpoena to issue you to give up all the information you have on those students,” Christian leaned in forward with one hand on top of the other and looked the principal in the eye. “How about this, just call ‘em in, I’ll ask a couple questions and then we can all go about the rest of our day? Deal?”
“You may be an agent of the bureau,” principal Victoria picked up the phone on her desk and typed in a number, “But you act like an immature teenager.”
“All the more reason I’m perfect for undercover work,” Chris reached for the bowl that rested on the principal’s desk and took a round red and white mint, he placed it in his mouth and removed the plastic tossing it in a nearby trash can. “Oh, and I’m 19, so I guess you can say I haven’t grown up just yet.”
Principal Victoria rolled her eyes and awaited for someone to answer, to her pleasure the line was quickly answered by a familiar voice. “Good morning Elizabeth, it’s Victoria. Listen, I was just wondering if you could send three students to my office?” There was a short pause of confirmation, “Alright, the names are: Thunder Lane; Golden Harvest; and Twinkleshine. Yes that is correct, I wish to see all three of them in my office,” another pause, “Alright, thank you.” The principal put down the phone and then returned her gaze to the young agent in front of her, “Satisfied?”
“To no ends,” he replied with a chortle as he sucked on the mint which rolled around in his mouth. The two sat in silence as they waited for the three students to walk through the door. Finding the silence rather uncomfortable, principal Victoria began asking questions of her own to the boy she thought was just another student.
“So is this what you do? You go undercover at a school and do….what exactly?”
“That’s a little bit classified.”
“Oh really?” Victoria picked up a blunt pencil and began sharpening it, just to give her hands something to do in mid conversation. “From what I know your bureau’s a joke, I mean seriously, magic? A government agency that hunts down magical and all things mythical, am I getting this right?”
“The bureau’s main concern is to detect and locate any magical disturbances and or otherworldly anomalies which may jeopardize the safety of our country and or way of life.”
“Magical terrorists?”
“No, nothing of the sort. But we make sure to properly question and investigate those who may have been associated with magic or any extraordinary properties or events which may have transpired in their lifetime both past and present.”
“And you believe my students, the three you called in are what? Magical creatures that may destroy this country?”
“That is not a guarantee, only a single hypothesis swimming amongst an ocean of probability and potential answers.”
“And what role do you play in all of this? What are you, some sort of secret agent? A spy, if you will?”
“I’m just an agent who’s working on a case, I go undercover from school to school and locate those who may be associated with these disturbances or anomalies. I monitor, gather information, and then report back.” Christian rubbed the back of his head and furrowed his brows, “Honestly, it gets pretty boring. I’ve only been in six shootouts my entire career of working at the bureau.”
“Wait, if your 19,how long have—” the principal was interrupted by the phone on her desk coming to life and letting out a cry of existence; Victoria glanced at Christian who stood and watched her gaze, he retrieved his jacket from the coat rack and placed it over his white shirt once more. The principal brought the phone to her ear a second time, “Principal Victoria, go ahead.” A pause interrupted the conversation, “Oh? Oh really?” Victoria pulled the phone away for a moment, “According to attendance they checked out early.”
“What time?” Christian snapped as he shuffled closer toward the desk, a concrete expression which stood in silence, awaiting a response.
“And what time was this?” Victoria asked as she brought the phone back to her ear, a final silence before the principal responded. “Oh, only a few moments ago well that’s—” before she could get out the rest of her comment the teen in her room bolted for the door at record breaking speed, leaving behind his glasses in the process.
Christian was glad that time was with him, though it also worked against him; on one hand, all the students were in class at the time so the hallways were completely empty. On the other hand, he knew that the student parking lot was still a good couple of minutes away from the principal’s office and he was short on time.
Jumping down a set of stairs and landing hard on his feet caused a surge of pain and slight numbness to reverberate from the base of his form and shook the rest of his body to the core. The pain didn’t stop him though, as with everything else that harmed him, the pain couldn’t stop him; not when he had a job to do. Making a sharp right turn that brought him past the attendance office, Christian neared the exit now, with the parking lot rapidly approaching in sight.
Exploding through the double glass doors with the speed of a bullet, Christian came a across a very average looking parking lot. Scanning the area carefully, he took notice of a black SUV which was speeding out of the gated fence which surrounded the lot. Instinctively, he withdrew his firearm which he concealed behind his waist. He didn’t fire, but he did manage to catch a glimpse of the vehicle’s license plate through his pistol’s sights; Christian took what little time he had and tried his best to memorize the plate and it’s message of numbers and letters.
Letting a sigh of disappointment leave his mouth, Chris holstered his weapon and pulled out his phone; flipping it open, he quickly speed dialed a number. Placing the phone to his ear and awaiting a response as it rung, the teenage agent made his way to a red Prius and entered the driver’s seat, igniting the engine after doing so. When a voice finally answered the phone, Chris put the car in drive and began to speak.
“Julie? Yeah it’s Cloud. Listen, I’m going to need you to run a plate for me.” There was a moment of silence as the female Christian spoke with confirmed her ability to do so. “Bravo, Foxtrot, Four, Two, Sierra, One, Delta. You got all that?” another slight pause, “Alright let me know what you can find.” As he pulled out of the student parking lot, Christian awaited another response as his phone began to emit it’s dialing tone. The tone soon stopped, “Chief, it’s agent Cloud. We’ve got a problem.”
Christian knocked on the office door before entering, he held a thick manila folder under his arm as he walked into the room. Sitting behind his desk was Ezekiel Osborn, the assistant director of the Bureau of Magical Investigation and Christian’s boss. Ezekiel was a very large man, not of weight, but of muscle. A former of the United States Marine Corps, he was given his job thanks to his ability to take charge in most situations. He was, of course, skeptical like all who were asked to be a member of the bureau, a secret government faction that focused around the belief of magic isn’t necessarily easy to take in at first. However, he eventually learned how serious the job was when he got reports of mysterious events which transpired at a certain high school.
“Director Osborn,” Christian said as he greeted his superior and took a seat in a chair in front of the assistant director’s desk.
“You just blew your cover Cloud, you better have a damn good reason for doing so and don’t tell me it was another Serenity case.”
“First let me apologize for that, again, but it’s not important.” Christian tossed the folder which was under his arm in front of the large man’s eyes. “I read the files of the three students from Arlington Academy, turns out our suspicions have been confirmed. Each of those students belonged to Canterlot High at some point, now, I’m guessing that someone doesn’t want us talking to these kids because this is the second time we’ve been intercepted by unknown persons; and you know I don’t believe in coincidences. Plus, I had a friend of mine at the DMV run the license plate of the SUV that I saw, turns out it was a ghost plate, if that isn’t suspicious then I don’t know what is.”
“So what are you saying?” Osborn began as he sat up in his chair and took off his reading glasses, “Your saying that there’s a connection that someone doesn’t want us to see and the only way you’ll find out is if I send you to Canterlot High?”
“Sir, you’ve sent me to just about every school except for Canterlot High, just let me enroll.” Agent Cloud rose from his seat and pointed at several notes on the now open student files. “Look, it says here that these students each transferred from Canterlot High after an event known as the Friendship Games took place.”
“And they were?”
“A competitive set of events performed by various students between two rivaling schools. One of them was Canterlot High and the other—”
“Crystal Prep,” the director said as he looked up and locked eyes with the agent. “But that’s the school that—”
“Precisely, sir, this can’t be a coincidence. Now, we can get to the bottom of this case once and for all if you assign me to Canterlot High.” The director eyed Christian for a moment, pondering about his next set of words. Christian Cloud had proven to be a remarkable agent, there was never a case that he had failed yet except for one; more importantly, he was hot on the trail of something, and the director knew it. He gave out a sigh as he opened up a filing cabinet next to his desk and pulled out a thick yellow folder and handed it to the agent. “What’s this?” the young man asked as he picked up the file and opened it.
“Personal information on Sunset Shimmer, she’s a student at CHS and one of the few that were involved in the Friendship Games incident. She and her inner circle of friends are your best lead at finding out what happened.”
“She’s pretty cute,” Christian laughed, but as soon as he noticed his boss’ glare he dropped his faint smile. “So does this mean?....”
“Yes, I’m assigning you to Canterlot High, we’ve gathered enough information now and can proceed.” Director Osborn began typing on his computer, after a few moments of silence aside from the stroking of keys, Osborn returned his gaze back to Christian before continuing. “I’ve emailed Veronica and let her know you’re coming, I’m sure your tired of that Prius so go ahead and pick something else.”
“Thank you, I won’t fail you chief,” Chris turned and opened the door, with Sunset’s file under his arm he prepared to make haste to the vehicle lockup when a raised hand from Osborn made him stop.
“I don’t need to stress how important your mission will be, but I want you to do some extra investigating.” A paper began to emerge from the printer by the door, Christian took it and noticed the paper had an Image of a teenage girl with some basic information on it. “That’s agent Sweetie Drops, we originally didn’t move on Canterlot High because she was the agent stationed there, however, she’s gone dark; ironically enough before the events of the Friendship Games. I want you to find out what happened to her and make sure she’s alright.”
“Will do sir,” Christian gave a small salute before exiting the office. He glanced over the image of the other agent before tucking it under his arm with the other file he carried with him. He quickly caught a closing elevator, upon entering, Christian pushed a button which would take him to the basement level of the bureau’s building.
It didn’t take long for the elevator to reach its destination at the lowest level of the bureau HQ. The doors slide apart and Christian exited with a certain spring in his step, he eyed the several vehicles that lined the old parking garage and smiled upon one that stood out from the rest. Turning around a stretch of concrete he found another fellow agent by the name of Veronica, one of two twin sisters.
Veronica, much like her sister Valerie, was a slim, beautiful light toned, dark haired girl of Hispanic descent. Other than Veronica being the older sibling and more serious, her and Valerie’s outward appearance varied with Veronica having straight long hair where her sister’s hair was usually curled; Veronica approached Christian with a clipboard in hand.
“Keys,” Veronica stated as she extended a demanding palm. Christian did as instructed and returned his Prius keys to the agent. “Is it going to need repairs or did you keep it in good condition?” Veronica asked as her and Christian made their way to a foldable table which was set up with several monitors and laptops.
“Well besides it being a Prius I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it.” Christian examined the parking garage and realized Veronica was not accompanied by her sister, “ So where’s Val?” Christian questioned as he let his eyes linger over the other vehicles in the garage.
“She’s been stationed at Crystal Prep, chief said he wanted a little more information from some of the students there.” Veronica began typing on one of the laptops present, “No need to worry about her, as hyperactive as she is I’m sure she’ll be able to hold her own against any sour students that come her way.” The girl glanced up back at her fellow agent, “What about you? Canterlot High? This is a pretty big case, you sure your up to it?”
“Really V? You know I’ve been ready for this case since we started profiling students,” Chris sat down in a chair and started spinning himself around. “So, lemme hear what personas you have lined up for me, I’m going to need the perfect one.”
“Well we have your basic choices,” Veronica continued typing away as she rolled her eyes at how Christian was still spinning in the chair he sat in; she had never met a more immature agent then Christian Cloud, other than her sister. “We got your jock, your southern camo wearing type, your geek, your nerd, your TCG player,” she paused and looked at Christian who had stopped spinning, “Geek and nerd, what exactly is the difference between the two?”
“Nerds tend to be more intellectual, or so I’ve heard. But I’ve also heard that the difference between the two is little to nothing.”
“Well, other than that,” Veronica continued, “We got your class clown, the average joe, the ghost, the musician, the bully, the cool kid, and the rich kid.” The female agent let out a long sigh, “Man, Canterlot High is flooded with typical high school stereotypes, your persona could been any one of these; your choices are looking endless.”
“How many templates do you have?”
Veronica gave her shoulders a slight shrug as she continued to eye her monitor, “It’s looking like a total of 56 possible—”
“Download them and put ‘em on a drive for me,” Christian demanded as he rose from his seat and turned his back to Veronica as he began eyeing an orange flame colored Honda Civic.
“Which ones?”
“All of them,” Christian walked over to the Civic and opened the door, taking a seat in the driver side, he smiled smug to himself. “You know I don’t like living up to boring clichéd stereotypes, I prefer to create an original dramatis persona of—”
“I don’t care,” Veronica said flatly as she approached the vehicle and tossed the keys through the window to the driver. “I take it you want this one so there’s the keys, here’s your dramatis personas,” Veronica handed Christian a black flash drive before she continued. “Don’t forget to establish social links or those are pretty much worthless.”
“Wow, even through the sarcasm I still got that reference,” Christian laughed as he put the keys in the ignition and started up the vehicle. “I think you’d be playing for the geek side rather than a nerd, V.”
“Uh-huh,” the sarcastic agent replied with little to no enthusiasm for her coworker’s attempt at a joke. “Well your address and schedule for tomorrow are on there along with the rest of your background information. Your name is Asher Settingsun and you recently transferred from Manehatten High, your father is a manager of a local oil company which means he’s away for weeks, sometimes even months at a time. Your mother, a traveling fashionista, is also currently away visiting your sickly grandmother in New York; her clothing line is La Chić.”
“La Chić? As in, THE La Chić that is world renowned and worn by the wives of politicians or other famous and or high rolling persons?”
“Yes, it’s the perfect background for your mysterious wealth, aka; the money that the bureau will be providing for you on this case.” Veronica backed up from the car just enough to let Christian shut the door and settle in better, after doing so, he revved up the vehicle several times before Veronica snapped on him. “Hey! I’m not stupid Chris, I know why you chose this specific car; if I even find out your racing again I’ll make sure that Osborne hears about it, personally.”
“What was that?” Christian asked with a chuckle as he revved the engine once more after Veronica’s warning. “Sorry, I couldn’t hear you, can you repeat that again?” Christian began grinning as he watched the female agent’s face contort into one of anger and hostility.
“I’m serious Cloud! You better not even think about—” Veronica couldn’t even finish her threat before Christian revved the engine yet again. Her scowl only deepened as Christian speed off unceremoniously out of the parking garage.
“I’ll keep that in mind mom!” agent Cloud yelled back out his window as he now exited the garage. Upon reuniting with the road outside of the bureau HQ, Christian slowed his speed and joined several other vehicles on a crowded road. Making a right at a red light, Chris typed in his new address on his phone’s GPS. He grabbed his large set of files and placed them in the empty glove compartment, giving Sunset’s file a quick skim before putting it out of sight. “Target? Set; car? Check; façade? Being worked out. Now I just need some hair dye and—” Christian’s out loud thinking was interrupted by his stomach making his hunger known. “Okay, first something to eat, then hair dye.”
It was a peaceful Sunday afternoon, sun high overhead casting its beautiful radiance down upon the town of Canterlot; however, not everyone was outside enjoying nature’s beauty. Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Rarity sat on the green sofa located in Sugarcube Corner while Sunset, Twilight, Applejack and Pinkie Pie all took the remaining seats surrounding a small table. The group of girls were giggling and chatting amongst each other, the subject; their senior year.
“So, does anyone want to share their career interests as to what they will be doing after graduation?” Rarity sang once she gathered the groups attention. “I for one know what I’m going to do.”
“And that is?” Rainbow asked, wishing to inquire further about her friend’s ambitions.
“Why, work on my own clothing line of course,” Rarity had a certain gleam in her eye when she spoke about this. “I can see it now, Rarity’s Boutiques located all over the world.” The purple haired girl’s statement strayed off path when she heard a giggled escape from her Rainbow haired friend sitting next to her. “And what exactly are your goals Rainbow? Tell me, what do you plan on doing after graduation?”
“Well I’m heading off to college, I got a full ride athletic scholarship and I think I’m going to take full advantage of the opportunity.” It was now Rainbow who’s eyes began to gleam slightly, similar to Rarity’s.
“Isn’t it a bit early to be talking about graduation?” Sunset questioned with a nervous smile, “I mean, it just seems so far away at the moment.”
“You got any plans Sunset?” Rarity’s interrogation now switched to Sunset Shimmer who could only let out a nervous chuckle as she rose from her seat.
“Let me get back you on that, I have to order something to eat, I’m starving.” Sunset entered the line behind another customer who had just got served, already knowing what she wanted, she wasted no time by glancing at the menu like most would. “Can I get a Banana Nut Muffin?”
“Sure thing sweetie,” Mrs. Cake kindly replies as she takes a muffin from behind the counter and places it in a small blue bag for her customer. “That’ll be $2.47.”
Sunset reaches into her jacket pocket only to find its contents empty, she let out a quick gasp and began to frantically search about her person looking for her wallet. “I—I just had it! I—I swear!” An annoyed grunt from two customers behind Sunset made it apparent that she was holding up the line. “I…never mind.”
“I got it,” a boy around Sunset’s age appeared from behind her, wallet in hand. He wore a white t-shirt with no decal design and a black leather jacket, his faded black jeans cut off at his ankles where a pair of white Converse completed his outfit. “Make that twoBanana Nut Muffins and,” the teenager paused, “I’ll take a small French Vanilla iced coffee.” He then glanced toward Sunset, “How about you? You want anything to drink?”
“Oh, I couldn’t ask you to—”
“Nonsense, I insist, order whatever you’d like, I know I always prefer a little coffee with my muffin.” The teen wore a smile of pure generosity on his face, his deep hazel eyes making contact with Sunsets teal. After a moment of silence, Sunset’s cheeks grew a slight pink before she spoke up.
“Small French Vanilla iced coffee?” she practically questioned with a nervous chuckle, generosity or not, not many strangers opted to buy her anything let alone pay for it. As the two looked back to the counter, they found two separate small bags housing their muffins and two iced coffees. The boy grabbed one of each and handed both over to Sunset before retrieving his own. “Thanks again.”
“You’re welcome, I’ve lost my wallet a few times myself so I know what your going through. Anyway, I got to jet, see ya around.” The boy took a sip of his coffee and gave a pleasurable sigh before saying goodbye to Sunset and exiting the shop.
“Who was that?” Applejack asked once Sunset returned to her seat, removing her muffin from its paper bag prison.
“I didn’t really catch his name,” Sunset followed her comment up with a nervous laugh, “He looked our age but I don’t think I’ve seen him around the school.”
“Maybe he’s new to town,” Pinkie chimes in with a gasp shortly afterwards. “Ooh! Ooh! What if he’s new to our school!?”
“Guess we won’t know until tomorrow,” added Rainbow Dash, her eyes quickly lingered over to Sunset, “I’m sure Sunset wouldn’t mind seeing him again, right?”
Sunset practically choked on her drink as she hit a fist against her chest several times, “I—I don’t know what your talking about,” she stuttered. “I mean, yeah, he was really nice and all but…”
“Jeez Sunset you should see the look on your face,” the rainbow haired girl laughed at the pink forming on her friend’s features.
The group all shared in warm laughter at what Rainbow Dash said, Sunset wasn’t helping her case any better. This was it, their senior year of high school, and they were all going to enjoy it together.
A black hooded teen watched agent Cloud enter his vehicle from a distance. When he drove off and was out of sight the teen pulled out a smartphone and typed in a number. After a few moments of silence, a stern voice emitted from the phones speaker. “Yes?”
“Cloud is finally coming to Canterlot High, should we move now?” The teen’s voice was feminine, it resonated a sense of discipline on its words.
“Yes,” the deep voice on the phone replied sternly. “Proceed with Order 19 as instructed, and Rosalia, you are under no circumstances whatsoever to kill him or any of the students during your mission; understood?”
“I hear you, but I can’t make any promises.” Rosalia adjusted her glasses under her hood after she hung up her phone and placed it in her pocket once more. “Commencing forward with Order 19 as instructed, it’s about time. I hated all this waiting about anyway.”
Author's Note
Feedback is always welcomed.
Chapter 2: The New Student
Christian Cloud, or as he will be known by for the remainder of his mission Asher Settingsun, climbed out of bed with a stretch and a long yawn that erupted from the deepest reaches of his diaphragm. He sat up in his bed, suddenly his alarm on his phone goes off, without even paying it any mind he reaches out in the darkness and mutes his phone. Looking at the time he saw that it was 6:30 AM, he had to be to school at 7:15 so he had plenty of time to get ready. Looking still at the time he noticed a small box with three lines horizontally going across it in the corner of his phone’s screen; it was a text message. He unlocked his phone and swiped down revealing the message to be from Valerie.
“’Sup Chris, heard you got the case at Canterlot High You R so freakin lucky :P I wish I had got stationed there I heard everyone there is so so SOOOO nice! Crystal Prep is pretty cool I mean the students here aren’t as nice as Canterlot but it’s whatever Anyway I’m on my way 2 school I’ll call you later or something see ya around :P Love Valerie”
Asher gave out a sigh followed by a laugh, “Typical Val”. Christian’s job always entitled him to make friends, but it was all for the sake of his job; he never had any real friends nor did he ever consider anyone he met his friend, Valerie was the closest thing to a true friend he had. Well, her and her sister, no matter how much her sister disliked him. The teen hopped out of bed and rushed to his bathroom, a quick shower later he was fully clothed and combing his new fiery red hair with deep orange highlights on the tips; it complimented his tan skinned perfectly.
A little bit of gel to hold his spiked hair together, adding some deodorant and cologne and Asher’s outfit was complete. He had a white long sleeve t-shirt with a plaid red unbuttoned shirt resting over it, a pair of tan cargo pants finished of with a pair of red, white, and orange skating shoes. “Just a temporary outfit,” Asher said to himself as he put on his wristwatch. “I’ll go shopping after school today.” Grabbing the keys to his Honda, he eyed them carefully, “Gotta get this fixed up too, from what I read Rainbow Dash strikes me as the racing type. Maybe taking her to a few races will grant me more information.”
Asher grabbed his black one strap backpack and locked his front door, hopping in his vehicle he brought the engine to life and prepared for the day ahead of him.
Asher parked his Honda in the student parking lot, he had killed the engine and was going through everything he needed to be aware of before his first day officially began. “Lets see, I have the entire layout of the school memorized along with my schedule, though I should still play stupid. Nothing is weirder than a new transfer who knows his new school better than most here.” Asher grabbed his schedule from the glove compartment along with the files he had on the seven girls, also the one containing information on his fellow agent.
“Seven targets, seven classes, so I have a class with each girl respectively huh? Well that’s convenient enough, but what about you?” Asher looked at the picture of the other BMI agent, analyzing her facial features and memorizing it in the process. “Special agent Sweetie Drops…what happened to you?” Asher placed the files back into the glove compartment before exiting his vehicle. He thought about bringing his gun with him, but decided against it; he was already physical trained to handle any threats, the gun just made it a guarantee.
He grabbed his one strap backpack and shut his door before he proceeded to lock it. He purposely chose a spot in the student parking lot away from several other cars, apart from sometimes working out of his car, he liked to have a smoke break sometimes and didn’t want anyone to complain ; however now wasn’t the time. He was hungry and still had 15 minutes before the school day started, so he decided on heading to the cafeteria to catch some breakfast, maybe even gather a little information in the process too.
The breakfast line wasn’t relatively long, Asher had expected there to be more students there much like at several of the other high schools he’s visited. He was glad they still had his usual favorite though, apple juice, strawberry milk, and a chicken biscuit. Placing all of them on his tray respectively, he proceeded through the line behind several other students, when it came time to pay he handed the cashier lady a $50 bill. She did a double take before asking if he wanted the change back or if he wanted it in his account. Asher responded with keeping the change in his account, plenty of money where that came from anyway.
Exiting the line now, he scanned over several occupied tables each with their own crowd of students sitting at them. There where a few empty tables that he was tempted to sit at, that is, until a specific pair of students sitting alone at a table caught his eye. A mint green girl with white and green hair to match sitting beside a light skinned girl with dark blue hair and a pink streak. Asher’s mind began processing her features like a super computer until finally he found a match, Special Agent Sweetie Drops aka Bon Bon.
“Well, easier than I thought it’d be,” he whispered silently to himself before letting out a sigh. “Well then, it’s show time.” Asher casually strolled over to where the two girls were sitting, glancing around to give off the effect that he didn’t know anyone. It wasn’t entirely true, he did know his targets as well as his coworker, but he still had to play the clueless new transfer student. He finally reached the table and spoke out to the two, “Hi, I was just wondering if you two didn’t mind me sitting with you, I’m kinda new here and would prefer not to sit alone.”
The two girls stopped their conversation and looked at Asher, their eyes widening as they did. Cloud, or Asher, always received this kind of attention, he wasn’t sure what it was about him that seemed to draw the attention of the opposite sex; he considered himself of average looks and it’s not like he ever let anyone see the true him to like him for who he was. All the female students he ever ran into seemed to have a thing for him, there was usually a bit of casual flirting, though he never returned the favor.
“Yes! Of course you can!” the mint green girl was the first to answer with a smile on her face.
“Thanks a bunch miss…?”
“I’m Lyra, Lyra Heartstrings,” she motioned over to the other girl, “And this is Bon Bon.”
“Hello,” Bon Bon replied casually with a small wave.
Asher took a seat opposite of Bon Bon before introducing himself, “I’m Asher Settingsun, pleased to meet you Lyra,” he turned his head and gave the other girl a subtle knowing nod, “Bon Bon.” Bon Bon gave Asher a puzzling look, he had said her name as though they had met before, if only she knew.
“So, Asher, you transfer from a different school or what?” Lyra questioned as the male student opened his juice carton and began to drink.
“Yeah, Manehatten High, since I’m new here I figured I’d try to start off making friends and you two were the first ones I spotted.” Asher paused as he unwrapped his chicken biscuit and took a bite, soon washing it down with his milk. “So, you two sisters or just—”
“We’re besties!” Lyra replied cheerfully as she wrapped an arm around Bon Bon and brought her in for a small hug.
Bon Bon let out a warm giggle, “Lyra and I meet during our freshman year, been best friends ever since. She’s almost like the sister I never had.”
“Aww, thanks,” Lyra replied back, both their smiles and hug never faltering even slightly.
‘So that’s why…’ Asher thought to himself as he swallowed another bite of his breakfast and watched the girls’ display of affection for one another. There was no mistaking what he was seeing, this display wasn’t an act, not like the acting that Asher does when he works; this was genuine. “Well hopefully we can be friends too, you two seem cool.” Asher looked toward Bon Bon as he took another bite of his food, swallowing before continuing. “Bon Bon, can I ask you a question?”
The girl took a sip of her own milk before dabbing at the wet spots on her mouth with a napkin. “Sure thing, what is it?”
Asher swallowed his bite before casually asking the question: “What’s the weather like around here?”
Bon Bon froze in mid bite of her own sandwich, her gaze stared blankly into space before her eyes slowly made contact with Asher’s own. Lyra answered with a snorted chortle, “The weather is always beautiful, a cold day here and there but usually cool, breezy, and sunny.”
Bon Bon was still frozen, though she quickly snapped back to reality and cleared her throat before speaking. “Lyra, could you please go get me another milk? I’m kind of extra thirsty today.”
“Sure, no problem,” Lyra answered happily before she rose from the table and went back into the breakfast line; leaving the two agents sitting alone at the table.
Asher continued eating on casually, “Good to see you still remember that phrase, bringing up your real identity about being a special agent for the Bureau of Magical Investigation would have been a bit more awkward with Lyra around. Don’t you think so, Special Agent Sweetie Drops?”
Bon Bon appeared shocked, she hadn’t expected the bureau to do something of this magnitude, to send in another agent after her; but she should have known better. “You’re from the agency? Wh-why are you here?”
“Come on, isn’t it obvious?” Asher began as he rolled up his breakfast wrapper and tossed it overheard behind him making it into a trash can without looking, the act made Bon Bon look on in awe, but Asher’s mood quickly changed to a stern expression. “You’ve been stationed at this school for the a while now, you just decided to up and go dark before the Friendship Games? You swore to do your job and instead went AWOL for…what? Friendship?”
“Hey, you watch yourself mister!” Bon Bon snapped as one of her fists on the table slammed down slightly. “Lyra is different, okay?”
Asher discarded his seriousness and instead went for a look of awe and curiosity. “You….you actually care for this girl? Like a true friend?” Asher got up from his seat and downed his milk, throwing it away before returning to the table. “You of all people know in our line of work we are not to get attached no matter what, and yet here you are, risking your job for the sake of a so called friend.” Taking his seat again, Asher noticed Lyra returning with her friend’s milk before he locked eyes with Bon Bon. Asher continued to speak in a low whisper as Lyra drew closer. “You’re an interesting one. Don’t worry, for now your secret is safe with me, as far as Chief Osborn is concerned I have yet to locate missing Special Agent Sweetie Drops.”
“Hey Bon, they were out of chocolate so I brought you strawberry instead,” Lyra said as she put the carton on her friend’s black styrofoam tray and took her seat. “I hope that’s okay?”
“Huh…oh yeah, yeah. It’s alright Lyra, I just spaced out,” Bon Bon replied with a nervous giggle as she rubbed the back of her neck.
Lyra looked to Asher, then back to her friend; she did this several times before coming to a conclusion. “Wait…I can feel a distinct vibe in the air. Hey did something happen while I was gone? Is there something going on between you two!?”
“W-what!? N-no, Lyra you got it all wrong! We were just—”
“I was just asking Bon Bon if she wanted to do something sometime after school,” Asher interrupted calmly with a smile. “As a matter of fact, here.” Asher grabbed a nearby unused napkin and a pen from inside his pocket and scribbled seven digits on to the parchment before handing it to Bon Bon. “That’s my number, call or text, it’s whatever.” Asher rose from his seat and flashed the two teens a warm smile, “It was nice meeting you both, but I have to go get my schedule from the principal. I’ll see you both at lunch or something, see ya around.”
Both Lyra and Bon Bon watched as the red haired boy threw away his tray before looking back at the two girls and delivering a wink to them both before disappearing out of the cafeteria. Lyra snapped on her friend, startling her in the process, “Oh my gosh Bon, I’m so jealous! You were able to get his number, he’s such a cutie!”
Bon Bon sat in silence and let her thoughts wander, so many questions were popping up in her head and not a single answer was provided. Who exactly is Asher Settingsun? What exactly was he doing here? More importantly, why was he not reporting her to the chief?
“Hey!” Lyra said as she waves a hand in front of her friend’s face, “Earth to Bon Bon, lets go before we’re late for class.”
“R-right,” Bon Bon answered once she snapped out of her self induced trance. “You’re right, lets go then.”
Asher made his way through the somewhat empty halls of Canterlot High, reason being, the bell had already rung and the only students in the halls were either strolling late to class or at their lockers. He gave a wave to a pale skinned girl with crazy blue hair who was wearing a pair of headphones and a pair of shades over her eyes; she returned the gesture and continued on her way to class, her music was so loud Asher could still hear it even from a good distance away. Asher soon came upon the door of the principal’s office, a gold plaque reading “Principal Celestia” in big bold letters.
Asher knocked a few times before a voice answered, “Come in”.
The boy did as instructed and poked his head in before proceeding to enter the office. “My name is Asher Settingsun, I’m here to pick up my schedule.”
“Ahh, yes, the transfer student from Manehatten High,” the principal said with a warm smile as she printed out Asher’s schedule through the printer in her desk. “Allow me to officially welcome you to Canterlot High, as long as you’re not a magical being from another world than I trust we’ll have no problem out if you.”
“Excuse me?” Asher asked as he blinked a few times following the question.
“inside joke,” the principal laughed as she handed the new student his schedule. “Would you like a map of the school to help you get around?”
“Yes please,” Asher replied nicely. Celestia opened a drawer in her desk and pulled out a blue copy of the school’s layout and handed it to Asher who gave her a grateful nod. “Thanks, I’ll be sure not to make it a habit of seeing you Principal Celestia, but that’s not a guarantee,” Asher said as he exited her office and held the door open to tell her goodbye.
“Just try to do your best to stay out of serious trouble and everything should be fine,” the principal replied kindly with a warm smile.
‘A lot more lenient than the other principals, I’ll give you that,’ Asher thought to himself as he gave the principal a wave and shut the door. Alone to analyze his thoughts, Asher let out a sigh before walking to his class and speaking quietly to himself in the process. “Alright, let’s see if its exactly the same,” Asher said quietly to himself as he looked over his schedule.
1. Economics
2. English 4
3. Theater Arts
4. Culinary Arts
5. Weight Lifting
6. Environmental Science
7. Pre Calculus
“You look like you’re a bit lost.”
A calming yet lifting voice brought Asher’s attention to someone standing before him. She was of slim build, light toned skin with blonde hair that was straight and curled at the tips. Her sapphire blue eyes hiding behind a pair of thick framed glasses. “Need help finding someplace?”
‘She’s quiet, when did she get there?’ Asher asked internally as he stared at the girl. ‘Should probably answer her though, wouldn’t want her first impression of me to be a creepy one.’ “Yeah, I could use a little help.”
“I’m Rosalia Heartfeather,” Rosalia smiled as she extended her hand in a greeting gesture.
“Asher Settingsun,” he replied matching her smile and shaking her hand. Rosalia’s grip was form for a female, a soft skinned yet sturdy hold that surprised Asher by the touch. “Nice to meet you Rosalia. So, can you point me in the right direction to the Economics room?”
“Sure thing, just continue down the hall, make a left and it’ll be the second door on your right.” Asher watched her hand gestures carefully, pretending to soak in the information, though he already knew where he was going. “If you ever need help, come find me. I won’t ever be very far.” The girl gave Asher a playful wink before skipping down the hall and rounding a corner.
“She was a strange one,” Asher chuckled to himself before proceeding down the hallway to class. He did as instructed and soon found the door exactly where the girl said it would be, though he already knew that. Asher gave out a sigh, “Alright, town to put on the award winning performance.” He then turned the knob and entered the classroom.
From the looks of it the class was interrupted by Asher, all eyes locked on him as he stood by the room entranceway and let the door shut behind him. Asher always liked attention, hence why he liked being late to class, and this was his one of his favorite parts of the job; being the mysterious new kid first being introduced. Of course the girls of the class paid more attention to him than the guys as he walked to the teacher’s desk, but as usual Asher didn’t pay them any mind.
“New student? Welcome to economics,” the female teacher responded with a smile. “If I could just see your schedule for a moment…” After looking Asher’s classes, the teacher made a note and returned it to him. “Feel free to take any of the remaining seats in the class Mr. Settingsun.”
Asher gave a nod before heading by several pairs of students that sat at tables to both sides of him. He scanned the seats and spotted his first target of the day: Applejack. No doubt she would be the most difficult of the seven girls to extract information from, her extreme loyalty to her friends makes Asher’s job the more challenging, and how he enjoyed a challenge. He wanted to sit by her to begin his extraction as soon as possible, but his eyes soon fell upon yet another girl, one who locked eyes with him immediately: Bon Bon.
Already knowing his course of action, Asher continued past Applejack who, like many other girls, gave him a playful wave, he waved back but thought nothing of it; he had read her file, she was never the romantic type, it just wasn’t her style. He knew she was just trying to be friendly, unlike the other potential flirts in the room. Asher removed his backpack and took his seat next to Bon Bon.
He turned to her and spoke softly, in almost a whisper, “Say, haven’t we met before?”
“Why are you here?” Bon Bon questioned with a mixture of annoyance and curiosity.
“To get an education of course,” Asher laughed sarcastically.
“Not what I meant,” Bon Bon growled lowly, “What are you doing here, in the school, and who are you anyway?”
Asher reached into his backpack and pulled out his I.D. badge, he glanced around and made sure no curious eyes wandered his way before flipping it open for Bon Bon to see. He spoke in a lower whisper than before, “Special Agent Christian Cloud of the Bureau of Magical Investigations at your service, well, not necessarily your service but I’m sure you get the picture I’m painting. I’m here to do my job, just like you.”
Asher took this moment in time to brag about his skills to a fellow agent, “I have been trained to specialize in the fields of reconnaissance, espionage, neurology, psychology, psychoanalysis, forensic psychology, physiological psychology; well, just many psychological fields. Let’s see what else, I know mixed martial arts, krav maga; I also enjoy long walks on the beach, I’m fond of attention, oh! And I’m a hell of a marksman.”
Bon Bon just rolled her eyes thinking at how the agent was treating the situation. “I’m one of the agency’s best, hence why I was sent here. Don’t worry, once I solve this case I’m sure chief Osborn will forget about you going AWOL.”
“You can’t just…just do that,” Bon Bon argued quietly, still keeping her voice to a whisper. “This is my case.”
“Was your case, past tense,” Asher added as he sat straight up seeing the teacher about to make an announcement.
“Okay, it’s the first day of a new school year so I’m obviously not gonna work you all to death,” the teacher began in a sweet, singsong voice. “Instead I want you all to get into groups of three and get to know your fellow classmates if you don’t already. You can talk about your hobbies, interests, or what you did over the summer.”
Asher thought back to his summer, chasing down a lead he had at Arrington, a couple shootouts occurred and he got to pilot a helicopter; but he didn’t consider it anything to write home about. He remembered the purpose of the assignment and immediately spotted Applejack, she had to be in his group, it was the only way he could get information out of her; the assignment that the teacher gave them worked in his favor.
“Bon Bon,” Asher whispered to get her attention.
“No, don’t do that, don’t say my name like you know me now, we’re not friends,” she shot back under her breath.
“I got a plan and I need you to work with it, for the sake of my job and yours.” Asher arose from his seat before Bon Bon even had a chance to reply or deny his request, he approached Applejack who sat alone at the moment, as it stood she currently hadn’t joined a group. “You’re Applejack, right?”
Her brilliant green eyes locked onto his and her smile was warm and inviting, “Why yes I am, and you’re the new kid right? Asher?”
“Why yes I am,” Asher replied in a fake English accent, “Pleasure to meet you,” he said as he shook her hand, his fake accent drew a chuckle from her.
“You reminded me of someone for a moment there,” Applejack laughed. Asher knew she was talking about Rarity, but he wasn’t about to say what he was thinking. “So, what can I do for ya, Asher?”
“Well, I was just wondering if you can join mine and my friend’s group so we can get to know each other better.” Asher gestured over to Bon Bon who waved back meekly when she saw Applejack look in her direction.
“Sure thing,” Applejack replied as she got up and walked back to where Bon Bon sat. She pulled a chair from a nearby table and sat at the desk with Asher sitting beside Bon Bon again. “Hey there Bon Bon.”
“Hi Applejack,” Bon Bon returned the greeting, “So, how was your summer?”
“Pretty good, I worked on my family’s farm and the girls and I had a sleepover at Pinkie’s house and then Rarity’s. We kinda kept switching from house to house until everyone got a turn,” Applejack finished her statement with a laugh, a warm one at that, it showed Asher she enjoyed spending time with her friends. “We also went to the carnival when it was in town.”
“Same here, me and Lyra went on the rollercoaster they had there.” Bon Bon now wore a similar look on her face like Applejack, and when she giggled about how Lyra turned greener than usual because of the rollercoaster, her giggle wasn’t forced or faked; it was genuine. Unlike Asher’s laughs or smiles, she actually enjoyed what she did, she didn’t focus on her job, she focused on her friends. “What about you, Asher?”
“Me? Oh…” Asher watched as a devilish smile formed on Bon Bon’s face, she had asked him hoping he wouldn’t have an answer; but he was trained for this, lying was what he was good at. “Well, me and my family took a cruise to the Bahamas, it was cool and all, but I just wish I had friends to go with me. When we got back, my father had to leave on business and my mother is currently away visiting my grandmother in New York. She said she’d also be awhile because she’s checking on her clothing line and taking care of some work business.”
“Your mom owns her own clothing line?” Bon Bon questioned with a puzzled look on her face.
“Yeah, I think it’s called La Chić or something, all I know is its pretty expensive.” Asher smiled smugly at Bon Bon’s look of frustration, he had her beat and she knew.
“That’s that fancy brand of clothes Rarity’s always going on about,” Applejack added, “You should meet her sometime, she’ll no doubt ask you a lot of questions about it.”
The rest of the class period went by quickly, Applejack told Asher about her and her inner circle of friends, but it wasn’t anything new to Asher; in fact, everything she told him he knew already. What he found odd is when she left out the part about Sunset Shimmer becoming a she-demon and trying to enslave the school, she also failed to neglect the incidents at the Friendship Games. Asher knew it would be some time before he learned anything of the sort, he would have to infiltrate the close group of friends which would take a good amount of time.
Right now, Asher stood outside of his Economics class, he had said his goodbye to Applejack and now stared at his schedule to play his role as lost new student. But he was taken away from his thoughts as he heard someone approach him. He slowly looked up and spotted an excited looking puffy pink haired girl in front of him; he recognized Pinkie immediately, but acted as if he didn’t.
“Can…can I help you?” he asked as he watched the pink haired girl bounce in place as she stared back in glee.
“You’re new here, right? I’m Pinkie Pie, nice to meet ya.” Pinkie grabbed one of Asher’s hands and shook it up and down haphazardly.
“I’m Asher Settingsun, nice to meet you too, but…” Asher paused and stared into the girl’s light blue eyes that seemed to sparkle. “How did you know I was new?”
“Duh, because I know everyone in the school!” Pinkie laughed and now pointed at Asher’s schedule, “And because you look like Losty McLosterson. Need any help finding where you need to go next?”
Asher gave her a warm smile, if anyone was more likely to provide information for his case, it’d be Pinkie Pie; and after reading her file hundreds of times, he knew she’d be the easiest of the seven girls. “Sure thing, can you show me where English 4 is?” Pinkie quickly grabbed his hand and without a word began to quickly drag him down the hall to his next destination.
