//------------------------------// // Back at it // Story: The Secret Agent // by SecretAgentPlotTwist //------------------------------// “So do you go for these jogs every week as well?” Drops, who was staying slow enough to keep pace, glanced over to her new company, Sunset Shimmer. She was wearing what seemed to be a makeshift jogging outfit, a plain white t-shirt and loose shorts. The ‘low-tech’ of it made Drops feel a bit odd in her lightweight polyester shirt and running tights. “Normally, yes,” Drops replied. “Last week I didn’t really feel up to it, though. Still settling into the new area.” Sunset chuckled. “It’s weird to think you’ve only been here two weeks. You’ve already made such a big impact.” Drops did her best attempt at a mid-jog shrug of her shoulders. “I’m not too sure. I think it’s more accurate to say I’ve quickly gained some well-circulated rumours.” Drops caught Sunset giving her an inquisitive look. “That’s true, but I’m mainly talking about Derpy’s party.” There was a moment of silence. It sounded stupid, but Sweetie Drops hadn’t actually put two and two together and realised that Derpy’s party was a big deal to anyone. She knew it would make Derpy happy and leave her with friends once she left, that’s why she did it, but the fact it was a ‘big deal’ to those involved hadn’t crossed her mind. Drops Frowned. “I guess…” “I’ve certainly had a lot less on my mind since,” Sunset continued. “I kind of always blamed myself for Derpy being alone because, well, it was really my fault, but I couldn’t figure out any way of fixing it. So I’m glad you managed to.” Drops wasn’t really paying attention. Her mind was lost in thought. “Yeah… wait, did you say it was your fault she was alone?” Sunset panicked at the sudden confrontation. It was as though she didn’t expect to have to explain herself. “Erm, well, yeah.” She awkwardly looked away from Drops’ gaze. “How?” Drops asked. Sunset continued to look away. “It’s kinda complicated,” she said hesitantly. “I’m sure I’ll be able to follow,” Drops snapped back, harsher than she’d have liked. “It was kinda what I said yesterday. I was incredibly manipulative and part of that involved convincing people that talking to Derpy was social suicide. I made people think that if they weren’t mean to her they’d be made fun of as well and lose their friends.” Drops stared at her for a few more moments. “That really was terrible,” she said. A gear turned in her head and she immediately regretted saying something so unprofessional to the main target but tried to not let that panic show. Sunset sniffed. “Yeah, it really was. I should never have gone to that party. What was I even thinking? There’s no way Derpy could forgive me for that.” Drops looked at Sunset’s pained expressions and her disgust at the girl's actions faltered. “Hey, you don’t know that,” she said softly. “All her other friends were sure she’d never forgive them, but she did. You’ve just got to give it time.” Sunset turned back to Drops. Despite herself, she gave her a little smile. “Thanks.” After just about managing to avoid a colossal fall-out with someone she was meant to be getting closer to, Drops stayed safe and made polite small talk for the rest of the jog. Once finished, she waved Sunset goodbye and headed home to change back into her normal clothes. With the few hours she had to spare she ate some lunch and looked through her notes. When it was time for her to leave, she found herself to be much more nervous than she’d hoped but made her way to school nevertheless. She arrived through the front entrance, which had indeed been left unlocked over the weekend for the students' band practice. This seemed to be a good call on their part. Drops took note of the many students who were already here despite it still being early. Luckily her people of interest weren’t one of them, and judging by Pinkie’s text the day before she doubted they were coming in at all today. This made it very easy to put her camera inside the Rainbooms’ practice room—a name she didn’t quite understand. But her business at school wasn’t done yet, and so she made her way into one of the music practice rooms on the other side of the school. People tended not to use it unless they had to, as it was rather small. The only good thing about it, and the reason it was being used by Drops, was that one of the school pianos had residence there. Entering the room, she questioned the logic in putting such a big instrument inside such a small room as she brushed against the wall when she walked. Taking a seat at the piano, she stretched her arms out and loosened up a bit. She then placed her hands above the piano keys and began to play. It was a simple tune. She hadn’t played the piano in a long time and needed to get the feel for it again, but she quickly remembered why she had found learning the piano to be the most fun of all the early agency activities. There was the level of focus and control that you needed to hold while playing that had an almost natural calming effect that eased her nerves, but it was mainly the creativity of it that she loved. The feeling of simply moving your fingers and music being created was amazing to her. Unfortunately, nothing she ever created was any good. She was proficient in playing pretty much anything that was put in front of her, but when she tried to compose something herself, despite all the youthful enthusiasm and energy, it normally came out too simple or plainly bad. It was during this little bit of reminiscing that she heard the door handle turning. She looked to see a little mint head poke through the door. Lyra looked a tad awkward but she quickly saw Drops and gave her a big smile before skipping into the room. “Heya Bon-bon,” she said before sitting next to her. “Hey Lyra,” Drops said, returning a smile. She felt too much pride in managing to hold back a blush. “You ready to practice together?” Lyra gave Drops a little finger gun and wink. “You know it.” Drops chuckled at her cheesiness. “Great. You said you had an idea of what we were going to play. I’m curious to see what song would work with just piano and Lyre.” Lyra let out an awkward chuckle. “Actually, I’ve been learning the piano recently, so I thought we could do a duet instead.” Drops Frowned. “But wouldn't you be better playing the lyre?” “Well, not exactly.” Drops gave her a shocked look. “You haven’t stopped playing the lyre, have you?” Her voice was noticeably pained. “Oh no, don’t worry. That’s still my main thing, it’s just...” Lyra’s posture shrunk, her cheeks reddening. “Outside concerts and exams, the only people I’ve performed for are people who’re special to me, and I want to keep it that way.” “Oh.” Drops thought for a second and then blushed herself. “Oh.” Lyra waved her arms awkwardly, brushing off the implication. “Yeah, so, anyway. Piano duet it is. I’m thinking about this song.” Lyra quickly reached into her pockets and took out a folded piece of paper that she handed to Sweetie Drops. She unfolded it, revealing it was a music sheet. Looking over it, it didn’t take her long to find the glaring issue with the song. An issue that made her blush redden “Erm, this… this is—” “The song from the party, yes,” Lyra confirmed with an innocent smile. “It is a good song, don’t you think?”