//------------------------------// // Training // Story: A New Agent // by Just A Random Pegasus //------------------------------// Lyra started to gallop, causing the afternoon breeze to make her mane flow. "I really wish I knew where Bon-Bon was..." she said to herself. She ran around the castle, looking for her friend. Suddenly, she was hit in the back of the head by something hard. "Ow!" She remarked out-loud. She looked on the ground and saw what had been thrown at her. It was a small piece of candy. Suddenly, Sweetie Drops ran up to Lyra. "You ran right past me, Lyra!" She informed as Lyra ate the candy that was thrown at her. "Oh... I guess I was too eager to find you that I didn't look all around the area..." Lyra explained. A huge smile crept onto her face. "And guess what?" "What? You got in? She wants you to train with her?" Sweetie Drops questioned as Lyra nodded her head in excitement. "And she wants you to help me!" Lyra added as Sweetie Drops grew a smile. "I'm so happy for you, Li!" She remarked. Her face then changed to a look of confusion. "And why does the princess want me helping?" "Well, she thinks that you know me better than her, which is true. So she asked me to come find you!" Lyra informed as she started to walk off. "Wait!" Sweetie Drops shouted as Lyra looked back. "What? The princess is waiting for us!" "Do I need to bring my briefcase? I left it at home!" "She didn't say you needed to bring anything. Now come on!" Lyra responded with small hints of excitement and annoyance in her voice. Sweetie Drops took off after her friend, trying her best to keep up. When the two got into the castle, they found Celestia standing on the steps once again, waiting. "Princess! I brought Sweetie Drops!" Lyra informed as Sweetie Drops waved. "Nice to see both of you again. Now, we are going to go to a room inside of the castle that nopony knows about; a secret area just for the agency. Follow me," Celestia greeted as she walked down the hallway. Nopony else was in the castle, either, so they could feel free to talk about the secret agency as loud as they wanted. "I contacted all of the other members of the agency, telling them that we will train today," Celestia informed. "At first, I figured that it could just be you two, but since a threat has been made, I think everypony should have a day to train." Lyra then looked at her with confusion. "Wait, there's a threat?" Lyra questioned as Celestia nodded. "Yes, Agent Heartstrings. I haven't had a chance to tell you yet, since you were just let into the agency. So, be on the lookout for any signs of suspicion," Celestia informed. Lyra then remembered that Sweetie Drops mentioned the threat, but she knew she couldn't tell the princess that she already knew about it. Soon, they came to a door that seemed hidden against the interior. Celestia then called for a royal guard. An armored stallion came running over at her command. "Yes, your highness?" "Guard this door. Make sure to only let ponies in that have their secret agent identities and my stamp of approval." "Yes, mam!" The guard responded as he stood in front of the door. Celestia opened it, letting the young agents enter first. When Lyra stepped through the door, she saw a floor made up of turf, punching bags, targets to fire magic at and poles to swing around and practice agility with. She also saw many high ledges here and there. "Welcome to the training room!" Celestia remarked. "Feel free to use any of the equipment here to train. Sweetie Drops, you can show her what you normally do here." "Alright. I did leave my briefcase at home, tough," Sweetie Drops informed. Celestia then took out two sets of equipment. "Here is some equipment for both of you. Lyra, you should keep this case. I need to create an identity card for you," Celestia said as she handed two cases to the mares. Lyra opened it and found a grabbing hook, a watch, a card, and a disguise inside. Celestia levitated the card out of the case and seared some magic into it. "Here is your card, Lyra. Be sure to show it to the guards whenever we have a meeting," Celestia informed as she gave Lyra the card. "Thanks, Princess," Lyra responded. She saw that the card had Agent Lyra Heartstrings engraved into it, and a gold circle that looked like the sun. She then turned to see that Sweetie Drops was holding the grabbing hook. She then flung it, latching it onto a poll. She swung and landed on a tall ledge. She then leaped off the platform, performing a front flip on the way down. When she landed, she darted on over to the punching bags, jumped up, and kicked one. She then ran back to the poll, pulled the grabbing hook off, and made her way back over to Lyra. "Wow! You're awesome!" Lyra commented as Sweetie Drops came to a halt. "I bet you will be, too," she responded as she caught sight of Celestia walking up to a target. "Do you want to see some really strong magic?" "Sure!" Lyra responded. "Turn around," Sweetie Drops instructed. When Lyra turned, she saw Celestia in a battle-like stance, magic starting to glow on her horn. Her eyes were fixed on the target, and her wings were spread out. She then unleashed the magic, causing it to fly over to the target like a lightning bolt. When it hit it made a loud sound and disintegrated. "That's some strong magic, Princess!" Lyra remarked, walking up to Celestia. "Thank you, Lyra! Now you should try. Don't be afraid to give it your all. The targets are made out of a material that absorbs magic; so it won't get destroyed." "Alright!" Lyra responded as she stood in front of a target. Her eyes and mind locked on the bulls-eye. She then felt magic sear to her horn and engulf it in a faint, orange glow. She then shot a beam of magic onto the target, creating a small sound. She looked to see the magic fading away. "Very good, Agent Heartstrings. Do you want to try the other things here?" The princess offered. Lyra nodded and grew a smile of determination. "Of course, Princess!" Lyra responded as she practiced her skills with the grabbing hook. About a half hour later, other agents started making their way into the room. When Lyra saw them, she jumped off a high ledge she was standing on and trotted over. She then stood by Princess Celestia's side. "Everypony, I would like you to meet Lyra Heartstrings. She is a new agent here in the MPA." "Hello, Lyra!" All of the ponies greeted. Lyra recognized a few faces in the crowd. She then turned to find Sweetie Drops galloping over as well. "Uh... hello, everypony!" Lyra responded as Celestia's smile turned to a look of seriousness. "I have called you all here so that we can train for the attack that might be made against us. So, what I advise is: choose the area that your performance is the weakest in, and spend the most time practicing that skill," Princess Celestia informed as all of the ponies nodded and took off to the many training objects in the room. Suddenly, Lyra heard magic clashing against targets, Pegasi stealthily flying by, punching bags being collided against, and grabbing hooks hooking onto the metal polls. There was a lot of commotion stirring, and Lyra knew she should go over and join everypony. Levitating the grabbing hook, she charged over to the polls with Sweetie Drops following. After a few hours of training, all of the agents exhaustively stepped outside of the training room, walking outside of the castle in a group. Celestia followed behind them. When they got to the front of the castle, Celestia was about to wave them goodbye when Minuette spoke up. "Um... I may not be a master on animals, but I'm pretty sure tigers don't live in Canterlot..." "Whatever are you talking about, Agent Minuette?" Celestia questioned, raising an eyebrow. "Maybe you should look out there..." Minuette responded. The whole agency walked outside to find a tiger walking around, growling. "What's a tiger doing here?" Lyra wondered out loud. The striped beast picked up on Lyra's statement and started walking towards her. Its claws were showing, its teeth were flaring, and a low growling sound was coming from its mouth. Before anypony had anytime to react, the beast was jumping in mid-air, about to attack Lyra.