The Agents of SMILE and the Case of the White Rabbit

Chapters

Chapter One: One Last Mission
Chapter Two: The New Partner
Chapter Three: Lyra Wants in
Chapter Four: Goose Problems

Chapter One: One Last Mission

This was her last day in Ponyville, Bon Bon thought to herself as she was outside selling candy to passersby. She had seen all these ponies throughout her time here, just living their lives without a care in the world. They had no idea the danger they were constantly in and how the agents of SMILE were there to keep them safe. Worse, her mission parameters were clear: to get close to the ponies but not grow too attached. So, she maintained her cover for the past few months as a pony who set up her stall selling candy to those passing by. Her mission was simple today: make sure that Twilight Sparkle landed safely in Ponyville. The agent watched as a chariot led by two royal guards landed nearby, and she then watched as a violet unicorn got off with a small dragon. Bon Bon then put a watch to her mouth and whispered, “The Eagle has landed. I repeat, the Eagle has landed.”

“Good work, just keep an eye on that bi-I mean Eagle,” an angry voice grumbled back. Bon Bon blinked seeing that Stargazer her handler almost just called Twilight a not so friendly word then asked, “Agent Stargazer, you seem annoyed with Eagle. Should I be concerned?”

“It's nothing; just keep on her as ordered.”

Bon Bon did not understand why they were being tasked to keep track of this unicorn or why she was so important; this Twilight looked rather stuck up and didn’t seem all that interested in the other ponies passing by. But the orders to keep her safe came down from Princess Celestia herself. Usually, the princess would let her guards do this kind of busy work. Seeing how most were rather incompetent and were there for "security theatre" but seeing how much effort was put into security it's clear the princess really didn’t want anything happening to this unicorn.

Regardless, it wasn’t her concern, nor did she care about Twilight. This was a job and, luckily, a super easy one. She just milled about with her candy cart, keeping track of Twilight, who went about looking for ponies to help with the Summer Sun celebration. as Bon Bon tailed her target Twilight continually acted like a jerk or seemed less than interested in them. From her observations, giving her the task to help host the celebration in Ponyville was a big mistake. Pinkie Pie, the eccentric pink earth pony from a Rock Farm in the south, was more than capable of the job. But there was obviously another big reason why Twilight was here.

But as the day went by, Bon Bon noticed another pony, Lyra, nearby. The teal green unicorn caught her eye and was sitting on a bench playing her harp. She was absolutely gorgeous, her gold eyes shined in the daylight, and she was just so happy. Of all the ponies in Ponyville, Lyra Heartstrings was the one pony she broke the rules for. The unicorn eventually noticed her and waved a hoof, “Hey Bon Bon, how ya doing!?”

The agent could feel her heart beating faster and a cold sweat breaking over her forehead as she waved a hoof back adn replied, “I'm doing great, just ya know, trying to sell some candy for the Summer Sun Celebration!”

“Oh, that's great, I heard Princess Celestia is making an appearance here this year, so I wanted to try playing a melody for her, but I'm not sure if it's too mellow…maybe it should be more jovial."

“No, it's great; I…um…have to admit it's actually very nice.”

“Thank you! It means a lot coming from you!” Lyra cried as she got up and trotted over. “Say, did you see that unicorn being escorted by the royal guard?”

“Yeah, I did, I guess she’s a guest of honor or something?”

Lyra snickered, “Yeah, I actually kind of know her. Her name’s Twilight Sparkle. She was an old classmate of mine when I lived in Canterlot.”

“Oh, were you friends?”

“Oh no! She was always burying her head in books; I barely knew her. Anyways, are you just going to sell candy, or are you going to the surprise party Pinkie is throwing later!?”

Bon Bon sighed as she would love to attend the party with Lyra, but she had a mission. “Sorry, after I wrap up selling my wares, I’ll be too busy with ot-”

The agent looked back at Twilight Sparkle, she was talking to an old mare pegasus. They were discussing books…then she started to lead her to an old run-down looking bookstore and Bon Bon was now growing a bit concerned and stammered. “I um…”

“Too busy with what?” Lyra asked pleadingly. "Come on, it’s the Summer sun celebration. Ever since you moved here, you have always had an excuse when we throw a party. Heck, Pinkie Pie and I threw you a birthday party last week, and you showed up at the end of it.”

Bon Bon winced as the truth was, she was facing off with a Hydra and lured it away from Ponyville. But she swore to the agency to keep her life as an agent of SMILE a secret. “I know, I’m sorry, alright? I know I'm not the best at making it to parties and I havea bad habit of being late all the time, but I have important stuff going on?”

“Like what!?”

She then turned to see Twilight going inside the bookstore. Buck!? " I just remembered I needed to get a book!”

“Bon Bon!” Lyra shouted as Bon Bon ran down the street to that bookstore…she memorized the entire layout of Ponyville and, thanks to Pinkie Pie, knew just about everypony who lived there. That old mare and that bookstore should not be here! Bon Bon then opened the store and saw it was just an old rustic bookstore on the inside with the old pegasus mare showing off some old tomes to Twilight, who started going off about her first edition of this and that. The young dragon with her looked annoyed and kept mentioning they should get going, but Twilight continually blew him off.

Bon Bon did her best not to look conspicuous trotting towards the back of the store but keeping an eye on them. She then decided to check if there were any enchanted objects as she took out her watch and scanned the area and looking back on it a small magical screen appeared with Negative. She was still suspicious as she sat down and opened a book and read one, passage seeing it was an old fairy tale about a small filly chasing a rabbit down a rabbit hole. Then she adjusted her watch and whispered, “Stargazer, are you there?”

Static came off, then a voice, “Yeah, what!?”

“The Eagle is talking to an old mare in a bookstore that should not exist.”

“You're kidding, right? This is what you're concerned about; of course, the Eagle will go to a bookstore! All she cares about is books! Have you not read her profile?”

“That is not what is concerning; this bookstore should not exist.”

“Have you detected any magical properties?”

Bon Bon checked her watch still showing as negative for enchantments. “Negative.”

“Then there’s nothing to investigate; maybe it popped up recently?”

“I surveyed this area just days before Mother Hen planned the celebration here. I would have known if this bookstore was around.”

There was a pause, “what about the enchanted bookstore in Canterlot? Do you think they're connected?"

“Wasn’t that place shut down?” Bon Bon growled under her breath knowing full well about that Bookstore and how some of its books suck you into the books literally.

“I’ll check the records, keep an eye on Eagle, and do not lose sight of her.”

“Yes, mam.” Bon Bon maintained her vigilance. Then suddenly, Twilight and Spike collapsed, and she looked up from her book to see the old pegasus smirking over their unconscious bodies. Bon Bon threw her book aside and jumped forward. With a karate kick, she slammed her back hooves into the pegasus, who threw her wings up to protect herself and then flung Bon Bon back as she landed onto her hooves. Looking up, the pegasus growled, “Who are you!?”

Bon Bon didn’t respond; instead, running around her and then twirling over her, took out her watch, and shot a dart into the neck of the pegasus, who looked dazed for a moment. She then threw open a book, and then magic swirled around them. That was when Bon Bon realized it was going to suck them in! But if there was a magical book here, why didn’t her watch work!? She then took it out and adjusted it, and sent a beam of green energy hitting the book and disrupting the magic before Twilight, and Spike got sucked in and then stood there gasping for breath. She then turned to see the old pegasus who was now unconscious, along with Twilight and Spike. She picked her watch to her mouth and asked, “Stargazer, you there?”

“Stargazer, here, I found the archive on the Enchanted Bookstore. We have it monitored, and it cannot be the same one.”

“It doesn’t matter. Eagle is knocked out with her egg.”

“Are they hurt?”

“Negative.”

“Was the old pegasus you mentioned involved?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, we’ll inform the royal guards in the area to assist in arresting the suspect and getting Eagle and her egg to safety.”

“Understood,” Bon Bon grumbled as she used her watch to levitate both Spike and Twilight out the back of the store. She saw no pony around and adjusted them near a tree. Afterward, she turned back, and it was gone. The store vanished, and instead, ponies just walked about as if it was never there!?

Bon Bon cursed herself for not nabbing the pegasus to question her, but that didn’t matter. She then took off to see two bewildered guards as she waved them over and shouted, “Hey, you two over here!”

One turned and asked, “Where is this bookstore?”

“The Bookstore should be here…” Bon Bon looked around, seeing it was nowhere to be seen. “It was just here?’

The other scoffed, ” Seriously, you better not be playing tricks, and where’s Eagle?”

“I wasn’t playing tricks, for now, forget the bookstore Eagle and her Egg are napping under a tree,” she pointed in their direction. “Go make sure they’re ok. I can’t have them see me and blow my cover.”

They both nodded as one scoffed, “Secret agents.” they ran off to Twilight as Bon Bon trotted back to her candy cart and grumbled, “Bucking royal guards.”

As Bon Bon started selling her candy again, she then went to her watch and whispered, “Stargazer.”

“Yes, I'm here.”

“That bookstore is gone along with the suspect.”

“That is odd? How is that possible?”

“Unsure, and my watch didn't detect any magic, but the old pegasus tried to trap me and Eagle into a book.”

“That sounds concerning. Does the area need to be sanitized?”

Bon Bon paused as she thought it over. “Sanitized " was the code word for wiping any trace of a unidentified magical incident whether it be magic or from a creature from existence, including memories of witnesses. But Twilight and Spike lost consciousness so fast they probably didn't realize it was the pegasus. She gritted her teeth and said. “No Eagle and Egg went unconscious before the pegasus unleashed the book's power."

“But they will be aware of a bookstore that no longer exists. It could mess with their psyche."

“Eagle is unfamiliar with the area and may not remember when she passed out, nor did Egg. I'll talk to the guards when they wake up to fully understand what they think happened before making a judgment call.”

There was a pause, “understood, continue to monitor the situation as it unfolds.”

“Yes, mam,”

The evening went as planned as far as she was aware. Princess Celestia knew this night was coming. They all knew Nightmare Moon would return and that Twilight, this rather standoffish unicorn, and a group of ponies would save her and unveil the true identity of Nightmare Moon as Princess Celestia’s sister, Princess Luna. Throughout the night, she continued to keep an eye on Twilight and her friends through the party and when they ventured into the Everfree Forest. After the Mane six defeated Nightmare Moon everypony was celebrating early that morning. Meanwhile Bon Bon groggily finally went home dreary-eyed and dead tired. She opened her doors and sat down at a typewriter, as she started typing a full-length mission report. The exhausted agent was trying to get it done as soon as possible so she could go to sleep. Luckily, from what the guards relayed to her, Twilight seemed to think she was overwhelmed with her new duties and didn’t think anything of it. Spike seemed more concerned, but they both dismissed the event entirely, which was a bit odd. Regardless, as she finished it, she hit a send button, and it erupted in green flame, sending it to her supervisor. She stretched her limbs and yawned it was time to hit the sack. That was when she heard a knock and got up, opening it to see Lyra trotting inside. “Hey, we missed ya at the party last night.”

“Yeah, well, I uh saw what happened with Nightmare Night and uh ran home, ya know? I was super scared when Nightmare Moon appeared, so I ran home as soon as possible.”

Lyra eyed her, then asked, “ok, sure. Would it be ok if I come in?”

“Yeah, sure.” Bon Bon cried, choking on her words a bit. Despite being tired, she wouldn’t mind hanging out with Lyra as it could be the last time they saw each other. The unicorn trotted into the rather clean home with not much inside other than her typewriter, a small kitchen, a bed, and a wardrobe with a few clothes piled in it.

“Huh, kind of plain?”

“Just because I'm a candy vendor doesn't mean my place would look like Pinkie Pie’s,” Bon Bon mumbled.

Lyra sat down on the bed and asked, “Why are you lying to me?”

“What!? I'm not lying!”

The unicorn then looked up at her. “I saw you save Twilight’s life from that bookstore lady.”

Bon Bon stepped back, sweat forming on her brow. “What. No, you're mistaken.”

“No, I'm not. She put Twilight to sleep, and then you did some ninja flips and fought her. Then you hit her with a sleeping dart from that watch of yours and took Twilight and her dragon outside. I saw the whole thing.”

“But how!? Where were you-” Bon Bon put her hooves over her mouth as Lyra threw her hooves and scoffed, “See, you just revealed yourself!? Who are you!”

Bon Bon gritted her teeth and snapped, “That's none of your business!”

“Yes, it is!” Lyra shouted, “Ever since you moved here, you’ve been lying to me, and I can't be your friend unless you tell me the truth about what you do! Or who you are!”

Bon Bon groaned, seeing she was risking a lot, but there wasn’t any choice. Despite every protocol telling her this was a bad idea, she didn’t want to stop being friends with Lyra and said, “I…I’m a secret agent.”

Lyra was taken aback by the response and replied, “You’re a what?”

“A secret agent, alright? I…I only came down here because I was helping Princess Celestia ensure that her student Twilight got here safely. The worst part is that my mission ends today now that Twilight is here, and she stopped Nightmare Moon. My mission is done, and I'll probably be leaving soon.”

Lyra stopped her heart beating in her chest. “No, come on, you can’t be serious.”

Bon Bon looked up as she pulled at her mane. " Buck!” She then plopped down on the bed, looking angry, as she explained, “I'm sorry, Lyra. In our agency, we were constantly told not to get too attached to ponies because we move around a lot. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings.”

“I get it now, it's just…” Lyra then sat by her friend and added, “I finally got you to open up to me, but I guess it's a little too late, huh?”

“I'm sorry,” Bon Bon whispered.

Lyra stopped, then said, “Well, it's not like you’re definitely leaving just yet.”

“Well, not yet…”

“And Twilight and her friends stopped Nightmare Moon, but who was that bookstore mare!? Why was she trying to kidnap Twilight?”

Bon Bon paused as she talked it over with Stargazer quite often and yet they had no leads on the and explained, “I don’t know, but we have no evidence of a bookstore ever existing in this area or information about that bookstore owner. So, at this point, there’s nothing we can do about it.”

“Yeah, but what if she tries kidnapping Twilight again?"

Bon Bon blushed, seeing the solution to her predicament unfolding, and said, “What you're saying is make a case to my agency to keep me here?”

Lyra got up and hugged her, and they held each other. Then she asked, “Can you at least try?”

Bon Bon paused, looking back at her friend. " Sure, I’ll try, but I’m not making any promises. OK?”

“Ok, that’s good enough for me!” Lyra chirped as she jumped back up .

Bon Bon then yawned and added, “Also, I'm rather tired. I got no sleep last night…if you don't mind…”

“Oh sure, well, have a good night, and you better come see me again, leaving or not,” Lyra replied with a smile as Bon Bon saw her trot out and close the door behind her. As soon as Lyra left the agent plopped back onto her bed and buried herself under the covers. The truth was she wanted to say more to Lyra, and it was hard to admit it, but she had a crush on her and didn’t know how to say it, at the same time, if she did get transferred, it would just make things that much harder if she did. Bon Bon laid there looking up at the ceiling and deciding that if she can convince the agency to keep her, she’ll try to open up her feelings to Lyra more and maybe ask her out on a date.

Chapter Two: The New Partner

Bon Bon was thinking about what Lyra had said about how she should try to get her boss to try to get her to stay in Ponyville. It wouldn’t be that difficult as long as she can convince them that this is good for the agency, and she has dedicated so much of her time and effort to it. So, asking for a transfer shouldn’t be that big of a deal. Then she came upon a sewer grate and looked around making sure the coast was clear. The mare then flipped a rock nearby and pressed it revealing a teleportation circle, and then once Agent Bon Bon was in the middle of it, she was suddenly beamed into the agency of SMILE. There the earth pony found herself surrounded by ponies running back and forth in a stream of paperwork. Looking around Bon Bon can see rows and rows of office cubicles and the sounds of ponies tapping on typewriters, she continued to trot through the halls coming upon rooms with glass windows and saw ponies in hazmat suits messing with magical artifacts, and others trying to feed various magical creatures. There even was a bugbear she captured not too long ago flying around in one massive field, gorging on a bucket of honey.

Then, as she was trotting through the halls, it’s been so long since she came to the head office of SMILE. It was surprising to see it was like a mix with an office, with a strange amalgamation of artifacts and magical creatures. Then she heard some pony shouting her name, and the earth pony was rather confused as she was looking around the place. She then cried out in surprise as she looked up and heard. “Sweetie Drops! Your back!”

She then spotted a light blue colored changeling flying into the hall with her bright orange eyes, and a big smile on her face as the insect slammed right into her and threw her into a hug. Sweetie Drops couldn’t help but laugh and hugged her friend back. “Hey, Urtica!”

Urtica nuzzled her and then said, “Congrats on the big promotion!”

Sweetie Drops took a step back, looking surprised. " Hold on, what Promotion!?”

The changeling squeaked, throwing a hoof over her mouth, “Yeah, you didn’t hear! Oh my gosh! I won’t spoil the surprise!”

Urtica laughed as she flew alongside her friend as they trotted along together and asked, “So!? Tell me all about Twilight Sparkle!? I heard she defeated Nightmare Moon and brought back Princess Luna!? That must’ve been so cool to see!”

“Yeah, she did it with her friends; I mean, I studied about the Elements of Harmony, but I think that the idea that Friendship is Magic is a bit silly.”

Urtica snickered as she waved a hoof, “Yeah, it’s probably more complicated than that, but say we have to go hang out more and catch up!”

She then flew over, to an exhibit pointing a hoof at the Bugbear: "Look! I created an entire sanctuary for the Bugbear you helped wrangle up!”

Sweetie Drops trotted over with a smile, seeing it lounging about as it munched on honey. The entire area was beautiful, with creeks and meadows that stretched as far as the eye could see and asked. “How did you make this?”

“So, we did some research on an enchanted snow globe then we reversed it and then enchanted it with a magical clover that made the area into a land that makes it an eternal spring and vwla! We have a suitable environment for the Bugbear!”

Sweetie Drops was rather surprised and asked, “That's impressive, how did you learn about this?”

“Well, we were keeping him in that stuffy prison in Tartarus was awful; it's still a creature, you know. So, I talked to this lovely sweet pegasus in Ponyville a while ago, and she taught me so much about bears and bees. I couldn’t tell her exactly what we had but got enough info to improvise.”

The earth pony was surprised and knew exactly who Urtica talked to, knowing only one pegasus who would have the knowledge to care for bees and bears. " So, you know, Fluttershy?”

“Know her!? Well…we talk from time to time….but yeah I do."

“Wait, how!?” Sweetie Drops asked, then put a hoof to her chin seeing it was obvious and added. “Oh, I see you're undercover in Ponyville too!”

Urtica cheeks flushed red and said, “Well, I guess I blew my cover, but eh, well, that won’t matter anyway. I just got so excited we finally got to meet up again.”

“I wasn’t gone that long!? The last time we spoke was just a few months ago?”

“Well, for me it felt like an eternity."

Sweetie Drops couldn’t help but laugh, “Thanks, I appreciate it.”

The two then continued their trot. They came across a dragon-like creature, who cried out as he dropped a monkey’s paw onto the ground, making the two stop in their tracks. Sweetie Drops picked it up with a hoof and made a bleh sound and asked, “What the heck is this?”

“Do not touch that!?”

She looked to see a dragon-like pegasus swoop in and grab it. " Please tell me you didn’t say W-i-s-h, please.”

Urtica eyed him and asked, “Wait, you mean wi-”

The dragon-like creature slammed a hoof into her mouth, “do not finish that sentence! Because of this thing, we had to save an entire family from a fire-breathing dragon!” He then slammed it into a box and locked it, hoofing it to a pony in a hazmat suit. “Take this to level three lockup and do not say the word w-i-s-h around it, understand!?”

“Yes, sir.” the pony saluted before levitating it and trotting off.

The creature had emerald, green scales as it flew down, and they got a good look at him. His face was dragon-like, with yellow-slit reptilian eyes and two leathery reptile wings on either side. Then he took a gem, and took on massive bite out of it, and burped some fire. “Sorry, Sweetie Drops. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“No worries, um, what was that?” the mare asked, looking confused.

“It's a Monkey’s paw, the damn thing gives you wishes, but it plays a twist and makes them come out in horrible ways.” He then pointed and snorted some flame and added, “Make that a Lesson to anyone thinking wishes do come true.”

Urtica flew over, “Ah, come here, Emerald Breath wishes do come true!” The two hugged as Sweetie always felt a bit guilty seeing him as a former agent until an accident with a cursed object made him a half-dragon. But he’s seemed to handle it pretty well.

Emerald then trotted over with a look of worry on her face and asked, “So what ya two doing? Does Sweetie Dr-mmmph”

Urtica put a hoof over her friend’s mouth, “Don’t spoil it. She doesn’t know yet!”

“Ah, ok?” Emerald shrugged as Sweetie snickered. She came across a central chamber with several different hallways going all over the place. But there was one massive hall lined with sculptures of ponies that led to the Head of the Agency. With the earth pony feeling a bit nervous, she slowly started trotting through them with a worried look on her face. Her “boss” wasn’t exactly a pony she would want to mess with, but she didn’t have a choice if she wanted to try making her case to stay in Ponyville. She then slowly came over to the door and gave it a few solid knocks and an old mare’s voice growled, “Come in.”

Sweetie Drops took a deep breath, helping her ready her resolve as she opened it, revealing an old, white-coated earth pony mare. She looked rather annoyed and had a curly blonde mane and tail with teal eyes; she wore a suit of bright blue color and a massive pink top hat on her head. Most ponies her age were living out their days in nursing homes or at Las Pegasus. But she was not like most; the earthpony mare clearly was an old, determined mare with a library behind her filled to the brim with tomes. Her boss was just as book obsessed as Twilight. If that mare wasn’t careful, she was going to end up like her boss. As the earth pony trotted closer, there sat on her desk a single nameplate, “Alice” in swirly cursive font, as she looked up and smiled, “There you are Sweetie Drops, my best agent.”

“Good evening, to you Alice,” Sweetie Drops replied promptly while giving a sharp salute.

“Good evening to you as well.”

Alice then threw a hoof over some paperwork, “I see the mission with Twilight Sparkle was a major success.”

“Yes, it was, as far as I’m aware.”

“So, as we are coming to a close with this chapter, have you considered what you wanted to do next?”

Sweetie Drops was rather surprised and asked, “Wait, you're asking me?”

The mare then sat down with a smile and replied, “You do not understand Agent Sweetie Drops. What you did last night was remarkable. You stopped an unknown assailant from taking Princess Celestia’s prize pupil, ensured she defeated Nightmare Moon, and returned Princess Luna to us.”

“Thank you.”

“And that doesn’t include the countless times you saved Ponyville from disaster in the short time you were there. Everypony there owes their life to you.”

“I know,” Sweetie Drops replied, seeing how asking for her transfer there sounded more plausible.

“Sadly, your deeds will not be noted or known due the confidentiality of our jobs, but I assure you, you will be well compensated for everything you accomplished.”

“Thank you I appreciate it.”

“And then we come to the reason why you're here.”

Urtica explained the promotion to her before, and Sweetie Drops was starting to feel the anticipation get to her as she stood there waiting patiently. Alice then held up her head and with a smile replied, “You are being promoted to head field agent of Ponyville.”

The mare paused, not believing her ears. “Wait…wasn’t I already the head field agent there?”

She smirked, “Not exactly. Remember, most of the agents there can’t unveil their secret identities. Regardless, Princess Celestia heard of your exploits, and I vouched for you as well. But you will need a partner, so I will have Urtica be your new partner.”

“Oh, I see,” the mare replied, still a bit surprised by the news.

“She already has an alias there, so leaving you two in charge is perfect.”

“What about Star Seeker?”

There was a pause as Alice replied, “Star Seeker does not wish to continue being your handler for the duration of your time in Ponyville; she has conflicting notions about Twilight Sparkle and will focus her efforts on researching the odd Bookstore you encountered.”

“I understand.” Sweetie Drops replied with a confused look on her face. She had never met Star Seeker but was still confused about why she didn’t like Twilight.

“Well, that's settled; you and Urtica, I heard, are already good friends, so her being your new partner shouldn’t be an issue.”

“No, it won’t and thank you for your confidence in me!” She saluted and trotted back out of the room, her face brimming with anticipation. Then as soon as she was out of Alice's office the mare squealed in delight, “oh yes this is awesome!”

The mare was not only going to be a secret agent but the head of the branch in Ponyville!? It was going to be awesome, and she got more then everything she could ask for. She'll finally go tell Lyra how much she loves her and how much she wants her to be in her life!

It was a lot to consider, especially since she still had a job to do, but with Twilight and her friends using the Elements of Harmony, they’d handle any threats to Equestria from here on out. She obviously will be keeping an eye on things and looking for anomalies, but the rest of her time in Ponyville will be a cakewalk. She then turned to see Urtica and Emerald both standing by with the changeling flying over and asked, “So…. did you get the news?”

Sweetie Drops squealed as she cried, “Yeah, I did! So I'm the head agent of Ponyville; it felt like I already was!”

Urtica blushed and asked, “Yeah, and um…did you hear about me!?”

“Oh, and that you're my new partner!”

“I know, right! isn't that awesome!” Come on, let's get something to eat!”

Emerald smirked and replied, "yeah I'm starving, come on!" The three then headed off towards the Agency's cafeteria.

The three were now in a massive cafeteria filled with other agents, all chatting about their work or having light conversations over hay burgers or pizza. Emerald was wrapping up his story about the Monkey’s paw. “So the kid found it and wished for a pet, and next thing you know, they had a dragon come over, starting to burn their home and causing mayhem! Luckily we were already on the trail of the damn thing and found it before the thing caused more damage.”

“Oh, that was just so cool! All I did recently was assign building permits.”

The two looked at her as Urtica threw a hoof. " Eh, it’s just a part of my cover.”

She then turned towards Sweetie Drops and asked, “So!? What ya think! Ya gonna be heading your own agency here, keeping us rookies in check.”

Sweetie Drops was surprised by her friend’s response and replied, “You're not a rookie; you were a part of SMILE long before I ever joined.”

Urtica threw a hoof and gave a long-winded sigh, “To be fair, I'd rather be a typical field agent. I doubt anyone would want to take orders from a Changeling.”

“Give it time. I'm sure-”

Urtica threw a hoof up, “Don’t start; I already made my peace when I joined.”

“Yeah I understand, it still amazes me that you broke out of your hive. You never really told me how you did that.”

Urtica paused, looking rather serious for the first time since Sweetie Drops had been with her. She said, “That is a long story, but the short story is I was always different from the other changelings in my hive more so than anyone else. But I was born with one specific role: to be the librarian, like my mother and father and their parents and so on. You know about Changelings, right?”

“Yeah, of course, your insectoids that feed off of love, which is kind of weird. Is it true you can feed on an emotion?”

“Well, in truth, we eat other things as well, but love is like your version of alcohol. It's intoxicating and can drive us crazy for it, and the emotion actually empowers us and doesn't inebriate us like alcohol. But we were always taught we had to feed off of others, so we constantly hunted the outskirts of the Northern Wastes, where we feasted on the love of stray ponies and Yaks that live out there. However, I was in charge of keeping the records of our history, and I learned that the Changelings weren’t always as they are now.”

Sweetie Drops nodded as everything that Urtica said matched her studies. She learned how Changelings feast on love, and they were at the top of their list of magical creatures on their watchlist.

Urtica then looked rather depressed and replied in a hushed whisper, “But as I was cataloging Queen Chrysalis's reign, I learned that we used to feast on our own love, and we didn’t need to latch onto other species for it. But when Queen Chrysalis came into power, she changed everything and over time, we reverted to our parasitic nature. I learned this from some old scrolls that she thought she destroyed. Still, I uncovered them as her head historian.” the changeling began to rub a hoof over her and added, “I tried to tell others who I thought were my friends. Still, they only ended up betraying me…”

She put a hoof down her face, where a long, jagged scar was, and Emerald put a claw onto her hoof. Sweetie Drops could feel a tear come to her eye and whispered, “I'm so sorry you had to go through that.”

Urtica looked down with a smile, “Well, it was a long time ago, then I was put in a pod to be reformed to become more susceptible to Queen Chrsyalis’ power, but I resisted her hypnosis and every attempt to brainwash me. She probably would have killed me, but she saw my skills as too valuable. But I eventually broke free and ran as far as possible; I ran until I couldn’t and collapsed…”

Her voice trailed off as she put a hoof to her face and then said, “Then Alice found me being a part of a team investigating the Changelings, and she took care of me for quite some time. She eventually became in charge of SMILE, and I became an agent, but most ponies see me as an alien or some monster, so I resigned myself as field agent.”

“So, you were always a rebel?” Sweetie replied.

The changeling laughed and waved a hoof, “No way. The reason I left the hive was because I sought love, and for survival. But honestly, I always wanted to feel what true love was, and I found it.” She put a hoof on her chest, “It starts here, loving yourself.”

Emerald sighed, “Yeah, sometimes that's easier said than done.”

Sweetie Drops felt that something was going on as she eyed her, “And where is this conversation heading? I feel like this is becoming a lesson of some sort?”

“I'm sorry to say this, but this…this place is like my hive to you; it's holding you back.”

“Holding me back? from what?”

“From love.”

Sweetie Drops put a hoof to her chest and asked, “How do you know?”

Before Urtica could say anything, Emerald laughed, “The best agent in SMILE falling in love, that is something, isn’t it?”

The mare scoffed angrily, threw her hooves around her chest, and snapped, “Thanks a lot, Urtica.”

The changeling blushed, seeing she had just exposed her friend’s secret, and added, “Sorry. I’ve felt your feelings for her for a while, and I can only guess who it is.”

“Come on, tell us!” Emerald cried with his eyes widened with anticipation.

Sweetie Drops glared at Urtica as she looked over and said, “I'm sorry to expose you but I should warn you that your relationship might come in conflict with this job. I've seen so many relationships fall apart because of it. And for you, this is something you're not going to be able to keep while trying to keep someone not in the agency from getting hurt.”

The earth pony knew her friend was right but said. “I'll make it work. Don't worry about me, alright?”

“Ok, I just wanted to put that out there.”

“Besides that, I'm curious what’s your alias is in Ponyville?”

Urtica smirked and replied, “Oh, you don’t know? I thought it was obvious.”

“I’m not sure?”

She snickered and then exclaimed, “Well, I’ll show ya when we go back!”

Emerald finished his plate of gems and burped some flame: “Well, you two have fun in Ponyville. I’ll make sure that Monkey Paw is stored away properly.”

Sweetie Drops turned to her friend and put a hoof on his shoulder. “Emerald, I won’t forget about you. I'm sure we’ll find a cure soon, and you can vi-”

The stallion pushed her hoof aside. “Don’t give me hope, alright!? Urtica researched my curse for months and hadn’t found anything! I’m never turning back to normal."

Sweetie Drops stepped back, feeling a bit stupid for saying that out loud without really doing the legwork to prove it, and said, “No, you're right. I haven’t worked on helping you find a cure for your curse, but while I'm in Ponyville i'll contiue researching it myself."

The half-dragon snorted flame, then grumbled, “Don’t worry about me, alright? Just focus on your lover,” before flying off. Sweetie put out a hoof feeling awful, and Urtica whispered, “Don’t worry; I’ll talk to him later. He is part dragon now, so he gets moody now and again.”

“Yeah, but that was stupid of me to say. I know his curse is rare, and he might never turn back to normal,” Sweetie Drops grumbled, but she would still look into his curse. Maybe Twilight’s library has an answer.

She and Urtica then got up and headed to the teleporter. As they went inside, Urtica suddenly transformed into a tan colored earth pony with a frazzled black mane, light brown eyes, and thick glasses with a pencil as a cutie mark.

“Wow, wait, are you the secretary for Mayor Mare!?”

“Yeah, I got the job about a year ago! Can’t believe ya haven’t noticed,” she snickered.

“Oh yeah, I should’ve huh? I feel kind of silly for not noticing that before?”

As they waited to be teleported into Ponyville Sweetie Drops asked, “So, what's your code name?”

“The name’s Pencil Pusher.”

Sweetie Drops snickered and added, “Nice, we should catch up again under cover.”

“Of course, maybe I'll tag along on your first date," Urtica replied, giving her friend a hug. The teleporter flashed, sending them back to Ponyville.

Chapter Three: Lyra Wants in

Lyra was sitting down at her favorite place to eat at the Burger Barn. She got an invitation from Bon Bon to meet her here at noon. The mare was waiting in anticipation, wondering if Bon Bon was going to stay in Ponyville. The anticipation made her antsy as she squirmed in her seat, unable to sit still. But after what felt like an eternity she spotted Bon Bon coming over, looking rather cheery as she skipped over towards her and chirped, “Hey Lyra!”

“Hey, Bon Bon!” she chirped and waved a hoof as the earth pony skipped over to her and the earth pony plopped her flank across from her. The agent was brimming with anticipation of their meeting, and she cried, “So I got good news!”

“What is it!?”

Bon Bon looked around, making sure no one overheard, and then exclaimed, “I'm going to be permanently involved in operations here in Ponyville!"

The unicorn couldn’t believe her ears and squealed, “That means you're staying!”

Bon Bon gave a few nods and added, “Yeah, and the best part is that I got promoted to head agent of Ponyville!”

“Oh wow, you're really moving up, huh?”

“Yeah, my boss is so cool anyway. I just wanted to say that I, um…over the past few months since being assigned to Ponyville, I’ve grown to really enjoy your company.”

Lyra blushed, and her heart fluttered in her chest, and she said, “I as well. You’ve always been there for me, and I haven't met a pony who I liked more.”

The earth pony’s cheeks flushed red, and they said, “And um…I thought since we were becoming such good friends, I thought that maybe we are starting to become more than friends…”

There was a long pause as a waiter came over and coughed. The two quickly gave their orders, and as their waiter left. The unicorn mare was taken aback and replied, “Well, I was thinking the same thing!? I mean…we’ve spent so much time together, but? I didn’t know you saw me like that?”

“Well, the truth is I’ve had feelings for you for a while, but this job that I do is dangerous, and I didn’t want you to get hurt.”

Lyra started to feel tears filling her eyes as she placed a hoof on her chest and whispered, “Bon Bon.”

The earth pony held out a hoof and said, "The name is Sweetie Drops. Bon Bon is my alias.”

The unicorn was rather surprised to see another secret about the pony she loved stung a bit and then replied, “Okay, Sweetie Drops, listen. I am so happy you decided to tell me the truth about your secret life. If you hadn’t, I would’ve had to say no to us being more than friends.”

The earth pony sighed in relief, “Well, from here on out, no more secrets.”

“Okay, so what do your new duties entail?”

“Well, I’ll know every agent currently in Ponyville, and we are going to work together as a team. But Twilight Sparkle and her new friends seem more than capable of handling anything big. We’ll just handle cleaning up any mess they leave for us.”

“I'm sure. I guess that means you’ll have a lot more free time on your hooves.”

Sweetie Drops leaned in, put a hoof on her, and said, “I want to spend every minute with you.”

Lyra touched a hoof to her chest, “That’s so sweet, d…do…you wana?”

Despite the unicorn’s inability to finish her stance, Sweetie Drops blinked, and then she heard Lyra reply, “Kiss?”

She leaned in, and they held each other in their embraces, closing their heads as they finished and broke away. Lyra rubbed a hoof over her cheek, still taken aback by the kiss and whispered, “That was awesome.”

“Yeah, it most definitely was,” She gave her another peck on the cheek and got up. “So, I don’t think I have anything else on my schedule. Did you want to do anything?”

“Wana just hang out on a bench and talk?”

“Sure,” Sweetie Drops snickered as the two got up to go over to a nearby park bench just to hang out. The two mares finished their food, paid their tab, and trotted off together to spend the rest of the day together.

As the next day came, Sweetie Drops was still reeling from her date with Lyra. As she entered her quaint little home, she had a small table filled with snacks set up as she decided to meet with her new agents. She now was going over the Agents in Ponyville; one was a snazzy-looking gentlecolt from Trottingham, his Code name Time Turner, true name Doctor Whooves, an Agent and an expert scientist with a knack for inventions and gadgets; he has several Ph. D.s in Physics and Chemistry.

The next on her list of agents, a grey coated pegasus flying into the room, her code name is Derpy, a pegasus from Cloudesdale. Her true name is somthing she doesn’t wish to disclose, the bubbly-looking pegasus she doesn’t look like much, but she’s one of the best delivery ponies in Equestria and will prove useful if their magic watch doesn’t work.

Then there’s Urtica, the changeling. Her code name is Pencil Pusher. Despite her nerdy appearance, Urtica is quite knowledgeable of Changeling's history and has a vast understanding of Ponyville’s history and the ponies. It is only second to Pinkie Pie. These three were undoubtedly an odd group, but they all contributed to Ponyville’s security without any pony knowing, and she respected all of them.

They were all standing by in her room as she cleared her throat. They all turned to her, and she smiled, “Hello. My name is Agent Sweetie Drops, and as of today, I am now head of the Agency of SMILE in Ponyville.”

There was a short round of applause, and then Derpy looked up and asked, “So, um? I have to ask if you said there would be free muffins.”

Sweetie sighed, pointing to a table filled with snacks and a basket full of muffins just for the muffin-living pegasus. Derpy clapped her hooves in delight as she went to eat her fill. As the Doctor and Urtica also went over and smacked as well and they started making small talk, she decided to hold off. After her fellow agents ate their fill, Sweetie Drops turned and said, “Well, now that I have your attention, we need to discuss what our mission parameters are while keeping Ponyville safe.” She turned to Urtica and asked, “Can you take it from here?”

“Certainly!” the changeling chirped. She then pushed her glasses up her nose and said, “Well, first, it seems Twilight and her friends are more than capable of handling any major foes. The only thing we need to concern ourselves with is the incident regarding the mysterious bookstore you mentioned.”

“Yes, that,” Sweetie Drops grumbled, as she had no leads on that. She continued, “As of now, it’s a mystery with no leads, so it's not something I'm really that concerned about.”

Doctor Whooves paused and said, “On the contrary, I believe that it is something we need to consider! The fate of Equestria could hinge on this anomaly.”

Urtica nodded and said, “I agree with the doctor; we can’t just leave this alone.”

Sweetie Drops put a hoof to her face as she didn’t want this meeting derailed by one odd anomaly they still didn’t know anything about. Then she said, “Listen, Star Seeker, my old handler is on the case, and Urtica, I suspect you're doing research as well.”

The changeling nodded in agreement.

Agent Sweetie Drops replied, “Then there, you and Star Seeker should stay in contact to continue the investigation on the anomaly."

“Understood!”

“Now, if that’s settled, is there anything else we should address?”

There weren’t any voices of dissent as they were all dismissed. Then, a knock came, and a familiar green unicorn slowly poked her head inside as she entered the room with an embarrassed look on her face as she asked, “Um, sorry to intrude but this is where the Agents of SMILE for Ponyville taking place?”

Sweetie Drops was rather stunned to see her new marefriend standing there. A hundred questions went through the agent’s mind about why Lyra was here and blurted, “Lyra, what are you doing here?”

The unicorn looked up and said, “I’m sorry for interrupting your meeting. I gave what you said some thought, and if you're going to create your own spy agency in Ponyville, I want to join.”

Everypony gasped as Sweetie Drops scowled, she slammed a hoof down, and shouted, “Lyra! You can’t!”

The teal unicorn stared back just as angry and snapped, “Yes, I can!” She turned to face the other agents in the room and asked, “You all volunteered, right?”

Sweetie Drops stood there all slowly nodding their heads as she turned back to Sweetie Drops. “Well, I want to be an agent, too, then.”

The earth pony was more annoyed than before as she slammed a hoof down on the ground and scowled, “You have no idea what you're signing up for!?”

“Did you when you became an agent!?”

“Yes, of course I did! My brother and I both!”

Lyra was taken aback by the response and cried, “Wait, you have a brother!?”

Sweetie groaned, throwing a hoof down her face at the mention of her twin brother, “That’s besides the point! Lyra, you're going to be put in so much danger.”

Lyra got up and trotted across the room and got right into her marefriend’s face and snapped, “Well, if you're going to be an agent and be in danger all the time, then I should be too!”

The two glared at each other, and Sweetie Drops looked angrily at Lyra, who was only doing this for her, but there was nothing she could say to stop her. The agent threw a hoof up and snapped, “Fine, I guess there’s nothing stopping you!”

She then saw the rest of her fellow agents just looking confused, so she slammed a hoof into the ground and shouted, “Meeting adjourned! I have to sign up our newest recruit up. If you have any questions please address them later.”

The other agents all left rather quickly seeing how awkward things had gotten. Sweetie Drops grumbled to herself as she got out the paperwork needed to get Lyra started and snapped, “You better not be doing this just because of me.”

“No, I'm not. I saw what you and Twilight did, and I know I can get hurt. But I want to help the pony I love and help keep Ponyville safe. I'm not going to stand on the sidelines while you rush off to danger. If you want us to be more then friends, then you have to let me into your world.”

“Fine,” Sweetie grumbled, giving her a form on which Lyra wrote her name. Then, as the earth pony put the form into her magical typewriter and sent it off, she turned to Lyra and said, “I still don’t think you know what you’re doing.”

“Maybe not.”

Sweetie Drops gazed up at her marefriend, looked into her big gold eyes, and said, “Lyra, even if you’re an agent, the agency can’t know of us. Alice my boss most likely will terminate my stay here or yours. She might think our relationship would hinder us as agents.

“And you're saying if she learned that we’re together when I’m not an agent, she wouldn't do the same?”

“You're right, but the chances of getting caught might grow because of you being in the agency. If your doing this for me then we can stop this now."

Lyra sat by her marefriend and nuzzled her. “It doesn’t matter, this is my choice, I want to help keep Ponyville safe as much as you do. And like you said on our date, Twilight and her friends will handle the big stuff."

Sweetie Drops felt a shiver go down her spine and replied, “Yeah, maybe, but it doesn’t mean it’ll all be easy for us.”

“Regardless, my decision still stands.”

Sweetie Drops sat there, seeing that Lyra’s mind was made up. Despite her misgivings about Lyra’s decision, it seemed there was no way she was going to change it, and she relented, “Then I concede. You’ll be an agent, and you’re going to be put through some serious training first anyways.”

Lyra threw a hoof with a chuckle, “I'm sure it’s not that hard.”

“Trust me, it’ll be difficult, but I'm sure you’ll manage,” Sweetie Drops then got up and sat on her bed again and said, “After that, I assume we can try to keep you stationed here, and after that…”

Lyra leaned into her marefriend and the two started to kiss again, whispering, " We’ll see where things go from there.” They then kissed again and again, unable to stop, the two then clambered into Sweetie Drops’ bed. Lyra lit her horn and shut off the lights.

Chapter Four: Goose Problems

It was early one morning, and Sweetie Drops was slowly waking up as the sun rose, worried her heart throbbing. She turned to see her mare friend laying on her bed, looking as beautiful as she had ever been, with her light teal and white striped mane gently waving over her horn. Sweetie Drops couldn’t help but admire her and just feel so content being in the moment with her love. But there was also a somber silence as she looked upon her mare friend, knowing she was about to embark on a journey to become an agent of SMILE. Despite her being thrilled about the prospect of Lyra working alongside her, there was so much danger and commitment that she wasn’t sure Lyra was prepared for. Deep down Sweetie Drops knew that the main reason Lyra ever even considered joining the Agency was because of her, and she was still feeling skeptical of the entire idea. As Sweetie Drops lay there worrying, Lyra suddenly bounced off the bed, threw her hooves up, and squealed, “Today’s the day!”

“Yeah, I know,” Sweetie Drops mumbled as she got up as well wishing she could just lay in bed with Lyra for just a bit longer. Regardless Lyra's first day of training was today, and she had to escort her to S.M.I.L.E headquarters. They then both started to get ready for the day, as they both took a shower together while making out, brushed their teeth together, ate a light breakfast of cornflakes, and drank orange juice together. Then they both started to get dressed into their suits. They slipped on long sleeved dress shirts and ties, while slipping on black coats. Within the Agency of S.M.I.L.E agents were all given a typical suit and tie; however, they didn’t have to wear them most of the time except for formal occasions. As Sweetie Drops finished getting into her outfit, she looked over at Lyra and couldn't help but admire how spiffy Lyra looked in her suit. She then trotted over and adjust her marefriend's tie and said, “now remember, while we're in the Agency, we need to set some ground rules.”

Lyra rolled her eyes and said, “I know we talked about this before, not mentioning we know each other, remember my manners, and be a good little filly.”

Sweetie Drops nudged her with a hoof and said, “Don’t be such a smartass.”

Lyra snickered and nudged back. “I won’t, I know how important this is, and I promise no pony will know about us. I’ve kept our relationship a secret this far. As far as any pony knows were just friends."

Sweetie Drops nuzzled her back as she whispered, “I know you will, I just worry about you, that's all.”

“Whatever, worry wart now come on I don't want to be late on my first day,” Lyra teased back as she nudged her back, and then they both trotted off together to the sewer grate, pressing the runes; the two slipped on their sunglasses, and in a blink of an eye, they were now an agency of SMILE. As they went through the halls, Lyra’s eyes were aglow as she looked around the crazy magical creatures and waved a hoof at the various other agents, who gave them odd looks but waved back. Sweetie Drops blushed a little, feeling a bit embarrassed by her mare friend’s behavior, but she didn’t want to discourage Lyra from making friends within the Agency seeing how she was really quite the social butterfly. They continued to trot to Lyra's assigned room, and as they entered a massive classroom and as they did Lyra turned to Sweetie Drops and waved a hoof as her mare friend waved back, and the doors were closed behind her. The agent then began to trot back down the hall and try to calm her nerves as she took deep breaths to calm her nerves hoping to relax for a bit seeing that Twilight and her friends in town what can possibly go wrong?

One day later…

Mayor Mare was coming home from another long day at work, completely exhausted. She was tired, with bags under her eyes, and she looked like she hadn’t got a wink of sleep the previous night as she sat down to read a book. As she opened it and began to read her novel about two farmers finding a goose that can lay golden eggs. It got rather good with the farmers hoarding the eggs and spending them on lavish gifts and becoming greedy. Then, without warning, a plump golden-brown goose suddenly appeared in her living room, honking and flapping its wings. The mayor was a bit stunned by its presence, and there it blinked and let out a honk as it flapped its wings.

The earth pony was somewhat confused, looking around. Surely this goose didn’t appear out of thin air? The mayor was a bit dazed by the creature and then looked at it closely as it laid an egg with a thump as it landed in the middle of her couch. The earth pony then slowly picked it up and held it to get a better look, but there it was, plain as day. She would have to get it tested for purity, but then the goose got up, wiggling her butt, and hooked, “Morning.”

“Morning,” the mare replied back with a confused expression on her face.

She looked around and said, “This is a lovely place you have, and I’m sorry for coming to you rather suddenly.”

“Well, you're quite articulate for a goose; where did you come from!?”

The goose placed a wing over her chest, “Goodness me, where are my matters! I am The Golden Goose!”

“Yes, I assumed that being the case” As the tan-brown earth pony looked over at the golden egg now sitting on her couch.

“Well, yes, I was with a lovely family, giving them my golden eggs and being fed grapes, but now I’m here? How odd?” she looked around. But I assured her, “But I assure you I will not intrude on your hospitality. I, as you see, lay golden eggs. I will pay you, of course, and you can sell them. All I ask in return is that I have a nice place to nest.”

“Of course!?” the mayor replied, being rather stunned not only by the fact that the goose could talk but also by how well-mannered it seemed. The mayor then took it and began to clear out a guest room. He placed it down in the middle of the room, and she nestled herself into the middle of the blankets and pillows.

The golden goose then nestled herself between the pillows and blankets and let out a relaxed sigh, “That is just wonderful.”

“Yes, I can only assume so,” the mare replied as she saw the Goose already laying another egg. “This is quite a lovely home I think I might just stay here for a while."

“My pleasure, but I…uh... I have some things to do,” The mayor then began to slowly walk out of the room, and she heard the goose squawk. “If you're going to test my egg to see if it's real, I assure you my eggs are 24-karat gold!”

“Yes, but I just have to make sure…just keep yourself comfortable,” the mayor squeaked as she came over, picking up the egg, off her couch and grunting a bit seeing it was quite heavy and holding it close to her face, and eyeing it as it glinted in the sunlight.

The mayor then took the egg to a nearby bank and got it weighed and inspected, and like the goose said, it was confirmed to get a rating of 24 karats…this thing was worth thousands of bits. As The mayor mare went back home, her thoughts went through her mind as she could sell it to any bank…though there will be questions on how she required it, maybe she can say it’s some old heirloom she had left and didn’t know about. As she returned home, she found her goose nestled in the makeshift nest, and she decided to first make the room “goose-friendly.” Over the next few days, she covered the entire floor with grass and crafted a makeshift pond filled with water for her to swim in.

One morning as the mayor was feeding her some breakfast a bowl of peas and lentils for it. She couldn't help but admire the goose nestled in a massive nest filled with soft cushions and surrounded by reeds as she was just lying there without a care in the world looking absolutely gorgeous. She then trotted over and sat next to it, stroking its feathers as it continued to plop out the massive eggs. Despite wanting to be a good host to her new roommate, the thoughts of how she could use all these golden eggs started to go through her mind. She thought about the dozens of restoration projects for the town, refurbishing city hall and the school, and maybe even using these extra funds to develop a theme park!? Then what about herself? She can start getting a bigger home for herself, maybe getting into the classier side of things so she can start making waves in Canterlot. The possibilities were endless, and all she had to do was keep this golden goose. It was hers and no one else’s.

One week later…

Princess Celestia was in her chariot on her way to Ponyville, where she was supposed to have a “story hour” with some sick foals many ponies would say such a thing was beneath her, but it was the least she can do for her most vulnerable subjects knowing full well some have life threatening illnesses. It broke her heart knowing foals having to spend their first years of life cooped up in a hospital the least she could do is read to them and know that she cares for them. As the princess was making her way to the hospital, she thought about how lovely Ponyville was and couldn’t help but agree with Twilight’s decision for staying here, watching ponies trotting along of all kinds, she then saw some earth pony foals playing with both unicorns and pegasi. Ponyville was a melting pot of all kinds of ponies, and it seemed so much more welcoming compared to Canterlot which can be so stifling with snobbish nobles. As she approached the hospital ponies trotted by, some started to move out of the way and bowed. She gently waved a hoof, trying to make this as casual as possible. It was nice to get out of the castle from time to time and not be treated as royalty. Then she spotted Nurse Redheart thie white coated earth pony trotted over as she looked up and greeted the Princess outside, smiling and waving a hoof. “Good morning, princess!”

“Good Morning to you as well Nurse Redheart; how are you today?”

The white-coated earth pony bounded over and cried rather excitedly, “Oh, it's a lovely morning! I'm so happy you decided to come read to the young foals today.”

“Of course, I always feel horrible that these foals have to sit in a hospital bed all day. It’s the least I can do to make their days just a bit brighter."

"I am happy you decided to make the trip down here every month. You bring so much joy to these foals. And the extra funds you bring do help though it's quite unnecessary."

Princess Celestia blushed seeing her guards hosting a big bag of bits into the hospital. "I know they're well taken care of but I just can't help myself. Just use the bits to give them new toys or throw them parties."

"Oh, we do Princess, we all do appreciate your generosity."

As they talked the princess trotted into the hospital room, seeing the sick foals all with their eyes glowing. As she approached, it touched her heart to see them, and they all started to get excited, shouting her name. Nurse Redheart cleared her throat, “Now, I know you're all excited to see the princess, but please try to be on your best behavior.”

“Yes, Nurse Redheart.” The foals mumbled as Princess Celestia chuckled. "it's alright, please just relax if you have any questions for me, please hold them until after story time."

"Yes, Princess Celestia," the foals chimed together.

The princess then sat down and started to read to them, and they all got quiet. They tried to pay attention, and she began to read the story chosen for her. The book was about a Mother Goose reading stories to a group of baby ducklings. It was a cute little tail and rather charming. As she read, the princess started to feel her eyesight failing for some odd reason, then she blinked as she was now suddenly looking through a pair of glasses, then as she got up, she turned to see her backside resembled that of a goose and looked around to see she was in a small quaint little cottage with a group of ducklings all sleeping nestled into each other.

The princess was rather stunned being unsure how she ended up as a goose and in this cottage? She then slowly got up, turned to see a mirror, and saw her own reflection, benign that of an old mother goose with pure white feathers, a bright yellow bonnet tied around her head, and glasses sitting on her beak. She blinked as if her mind was starting to grow fuzzy. Was she a princess of ponies!? How silly! She must’ve been reading too many stories about ponies and princesses. She just chuckled to herself as she gently waddled out of the room, trying not to wake the sleeping ducklings napping around her. She poured herself a cup of tea and then waddled back to her nest and nestled into it, sipping her tea. It wasn’t long until the mother goose started to nod off and gently drifted off to sleep as well.

A few months later…

Sweetie Drops was standing outside the same classroom she escorted Lyra to months ago, looking somewhat agitated. Right now, her marefriend was taking her final exam and it was nerve-wracking waiting to see if she passed or not. But then the doors swung open and a dozen ponies came out some looking happy others downtrodden she peeked her head over the crowd then saw Lyra was stumbling out of the doors, looking just as nerve wracked as she was. But then the teal-colored unicorn threw her hooves around Sweetie Drops and squealed, “I just passed the written part!”

“That’s awesome!” Sweetie Drops cried, hugging her marefriend and trying to hold back tears of joy.

The two then trotted across the way towards a massive arena, where the area was padded with a circle drawn in the center. There were a few bleachers surrounding the small arena, with ponies sitting down and chatting as they all anticipated seeing who would show up. Sweetie Drops gazed at it briefly, reminiscing about all the bouts she had performed here while she was just a trainee. Lyra then started to undress taking off her suit and tie as Sweetie Drops wondered who the proctor for this challenge would be. She then heard leather wings flapping, and she looked up. Her eyes lit up as she saw Emerald Breath wearing a black belt around his waist. The agent could feel herself becoming a bit concerned, seeing Emerald Breath was one of the Agency's best combatants. She turned to see Lyra, standing on her hindlegs and rolling back her shoulders, and whispered, “Lyra, are you sure you can beat him?”

The unicorn turned to her opponent and snickered, “Oh yeah! Emerald Breath, he’s good, but I can take him.”

She then hopped into the circle with Emerald smirking and asked, “So Lyra, are you ready for your combat exam?”

“Oh, you know it!?” Lyra replied with a smirk as she stood up on her hindlegs and took a stance.

Emerald smirked as he snorted some fire from his nostrils, then said, “In this exam, we will test everything I've taught you. You must be able to pin me down for ten seconds, throw me out of the ring, or knock me unconscious before I do the same to you.”

“Just bring it on! I can take you!”

“Now, when we spared before, but that was training, this time I will not hold back,” Emerald snapped as she shifted onto his hindlegs and performing a martial arts pose.

Sweetie Drops then watched as the two started their fight. They both ran at each other and started to block, attack, and evade, being able to keep up with each other. Sweetie Drops was impressed with how well Lyra was able to block Emerald’s attacks with other agents on the sidelines, watching the two really get into the thick of battle. It seemed that Emerald was constantly keeping Lyra on the defensive. But the unicorn was able to sweep the half-dragon off his hooves and then grappled him to the ground and was able to pin him down. Emerald twisted and snorted flames from his mouth and nostrils but could do nothing but squirm, trying to break free. But Lyra got him into a good pin, and he could do nothing for ten seconds, so he was declared the winner.

After the two got up, Emerald looked rather ashamed, his ego clearly bruising, and grumbled, “I have to admit you are good.”

Sweetie Drops saw that her marefriend wasn’t looking too good herself; she looked rather worn out, sweating, and a bit bruised. She admitted, “Yeah, you too. You almost got me there.”

The two bowed, and Emerald flew off, still fuming a bit from his loss. The mare trotted back with a smile, and Sweetie Drops threw her into another hug. “Oh, my Faust! I can’t believe you actually beat him! No one beats Emerald!?”

“Yeah, I was honestly a bit scared he was going to get me out of the ring, but he was getting a bit reckless there, and I just took advantage of that,” Lyra admitted.

“Oh stop, you won fair and square.”

“Well, don’t go congratulating me yet. There’s still one more trial left. It's time for the practical part of the exam.”

Sweetie Drops nudged her, “You forget I’ll be mentoring you during it. All you have to do is deal with a Class F creature or artifact, easy peasy.”

“Right, Class F,” Lyra mumbled, seeming disappointed.

Sweetie Drops nodded and said, “Right, you won’t be going after anything too dangerous until you climb the ranks. Right now, you're just a trainee. Once you go on a few missions, you’ll hit Secret Agent class, and then we can go on really cool missions.”

“Talking about cool missions, did anything interesting happen while I was gone?”

Sweetie Drops shook her head, “No,” and said, “Nope. Twilight and her friends have been dealing with the odd monster here and there, a parasprite infestation, an Ursa Minor, a dragon, but other than that, this has to be the most relaxing few weeks as an agent since being assigned to Ponyville.”

“That’s good to hear, but we must meet with Alice, so I uh better take a shower I smell awful."

“Right, come on!” Sweetie Drops took her and escorted her to the locker room nearby.

After getting washed up and dressed back into her suit, Lyra and Sweetie Drops were now in front of Head Agent Alice’s office. The old mare was slowly going over some forms and she seemed rather impressed as she said, “Well, I have to admit, I haven’t had such amazing scores on our written exam since Sweetie Drops finished her training.” The mare replied as she turned to Lyra, who snapped a salute, “I appreciate your confidence in me, mam!”

“Also, I have to say we are more than confident in your physical prowess, pinning down Emerald Breath that hasn’t been done ever.”

“Again, thank you.”

“But now we’re here for your practical exam; you will be assigned under Agent Sweetie Drops’ and will go on your first mission with her as your mentor and proctor. Now, I assume you know Ponyville pretty well?”

“Yes, mam! I've lived there for the past few years since moving from Canterlot.”

The mare nodded and said, “Yes, I am well aware of your history. For your practical exam, it’s come to our attention that the mayor of Ponyville has acquired a mysterious magical creature or artifact, which has given her incredible wealth.”

Sweetie Drops nodded and said, “I’ve been the one keeping tabs. At first, it was just rather amazing seeing so many public buildings being repaired so fast, however I grew concerned seeing the public parks became filled with expensive flowers and ornate statues. Then the mayor moved into a mansion! At first, I thought she was embezzling funds, but no, her finances were all in order. In fact, I learned she’s gained all this wealth selling mysterious golden eggs.”

Lyra let out a snicker, “You're joking.”

“I’m serious; we have had reports of bankers in Manehattan and Canterlot being sold golden eggs for thousands of bits.”

Alice took out a small book and laid it on her desk. Then she said, “Yes, I believe she has acquired the Goose that lays golden eggs, just like in the fairy tale of two farmers finding one and almost ruining their lives because they were blinded by their greed. I know it sounds silly but let me tell you that most fairy tales have some truth to them.”

Lyra became stoic again, learning much in her classes about how all those silly legends you heard about as a filly had a kernel of truth, which unnerved her a bit. Some were rather unnerving, like the Headless Horse, Frakenstallion, or Count Appleblood, and she said, " Yes, I understand.”

“Your mission is simple: we need to confiscate the goose and the eggs and, if need be, erase the memories from the mayor of ever owning the Goose. The Mayor can keep the bits she has now, but we can alter her memories to think that she inherited her wealth from a great-aunt or something. I’ll leave you to think of a good cover story. I already had agents confiscate the golden eggs from the banks Sweetie Drops provided in her report.”

Lyra looked shaken by the last sentence but maintained her stoicism and said, “Yes, mam!”

“Well, despite this being a test, this is an official mission, and Agent Sweetie Drops will be the one observing you on your mission. Once completed, Sweetie Drops will give me an assessment of your conduct during the mission, and I will make a final determination if you pass and will officially become an agent. Understand?”

“Yes, mam!”

“Now before you leave, you need a codename."

Lyra blushed and said, "well as cool as a codename would be I would rather keep my name since I want to stay as an agent in Ponyville."

Sweetie Drops felt a cold sweat form on her brow as Alice eyed the new agent and said, "now, we usually don’t allow agents to stay in their hometowns; too many ponies know them, and it can lead to interpersonal conflicts. But, I can make for an exception in your case. Seeing that Ponyville has been a hotbed of incidents of late, and despite Twilight and her friends solving most of them it only makes protecting them from unknown threats our highest priority."

"Thank you, mam!" Alice exclaimed. As Alice signed her Name and Codename as Lyra Heartstrings. Alice then stood up and said, "You have your mission and your orders; please return once the mission has been completed."

"Yes mam!" The two agents chimed back and then the two set off down the hall. Sweetie Drops was still rather shaken but excited to see that Alice was allowing Lyra to stay In Ponyville. She then turned to see Lyra looking somewhat nervous as she scratched the back of her head and said, “I understand erasing memories can help prevent trauma, but is that really necessary? I mean, we don’t really have to erase the Mayor’s memories and implant fake ones?”

“Well, sometimes, this is better. We don’t know how much influence this goose has on the mayor, and it could be corrupting her. If so, erasing her memories will make it easier for her to move on while we study the goose and ensure it isn’t a danger to Equestria.”

Lyra looked up and asked, “But what if this goose isn’t that bad, too? Maybe we’re jumping the gun here.”

“We could be, but that’s why Alice is letting us make that decision on the matter. This is why it doesn’t matter how good you are at combat or how smart you are. Making these moral decisions in the field means being an agent of S.M.I.L.E.”

“Alright, well, I’m ready to do this! And you better not let me pass just because we’re marefriends!” Lyra replied.

“Trust me, I’m going to grade you as an Agent and will put my personal feelings for you aside, regardless I think you’re going to be fine,” Sweetie Drops replied as they gave each other a hoof bump. The two both hopped onto the teleporter and were sent back to Ponyville.