//------------------------------//
// Episode 1: The Name’s Medley, Sparkling Medley 
// Story: Sparkling Harmony EQG: Agents of SMILE: Young Love 
// by Captain_Cosmos 
//------------------------------//

Canterlot High
Canterlot City
September 1st 2022
0740hrs

It was a bright sunny day in Canterlot City. Canterlot high was booming with activity as students and faculty arrived for the start of a brand new school year. A black Pegasus Model 10X Zoomer with pink and blue stripes pulled into one of the student parking spaces and cut its engine. Its doors opened to let Sparkler and Autumn step out. “Well, here it is. Welcome to Canterlot High Sparkler.” Autumn said.

Sparkler took a look at Canterlot High. It was a three story building with a dome on top. “Definitely bigger than my old school.” She commented.

“Nervous?” Autumn asked.

Sparkler laughed. “You’re talking to the girl that has a, quite frankly overexaggerated rep as the best in the business. This is nothing.” She said.

Right then, her glasses HUD lit up and directed her attention to the statue in front of the school, when it was in her view, her HUD showed crazy readings from the statue. “Hey Autumn? What’s up with the statue?” She asked as the two of them started for the school building.

Autumn chuckled. “You’re getting readings from it right? That’s probably the portal to the alternate world. The source of all magic here.” She explained.

Sparkler nodded as she blinked to get the HUD out of her sight. “Ya know I saw what my counterpart looks like. And wow she’s quite the beautiful pony.” She commented.

“Let me guess. She had pink wings with gradient blue tips?” She asked.

“And a horn.” Sparkler responded. “I think Sunset called her an Alicorn.”

“Has she talked about anything else regarding your counterpart?” She asked.

“She’s about to be married to her world’s Twilight and has 11 adopted kids with said Twilight.” Sparkler responded.

“Whew, 11 kids. Wow.” Autumn said.

“I know right? It’s nuts.” Sparkler responded.

“Hey Autumn! Sparkler!” The two roommates heard someone call out. They turned and saw Rainbow Dash skid to a halt beside them.

Autumn smiled. “Rainbow.” She said.

“Hey Dash, how’s it going?” Sparkler asked.

“Overslept, had to use my Geode to speed over here.” Rainbow responded. “Bummed that summer’s over.”

Sparkler chuckled. “Had to end sometime. You wouldn’t learn much if Summer lasted forever.” She said.

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Don’t tell me you’re a school loving egghead too.” She said.

Sparkler laughed. “Oh no. I like school about as much as any other average kid.” She said.

“Whew. Good. We already have an egghead. Don’t need another.” Rainbow said.

All three girls laughed as they entered the building, after which Sparkler nodded. “Right, I’ll catch you too later, gotta head to the main office to get my schedule and everything.” Sparkler said.

“Later Sparkler.” Rainbow said as she walked off in another direction.

“Straight down until you see the first hall on your right, then it’s the first door on your left.” Autumn told Sparkler.

“Got it. Thanks Autumn.” Sparkler said as she and Autumn walked off in different directions, Autumn headed to her locker before class, while Sparkler went to the main office.

A few moments of following Autumn’s directions, Sparkler saw a sign over a door that read MAIN OFFICE. She noticed freshmen nearby checking out and comparing schedules. “I wonder if I’ll have any classes with anyone I know…” She mused as she entered the main office. She saw a receptionist passing out the schedules and approached her. “Hi, I’m here to pick up my schedule, Sparkling Medley.” Sparkler said.

The receptionist smiled as she started checking her schedule pile for Sparkler’s name. “We’ll get you all taken care of in a moment Sparkling Medley. Let’s see…Medley, Medley…”

“Did I just hear the name Sparkling Medley?” Asked another receptionist in the room.

“Yeah.” The first receptionist said.

“Ah. Ok, You won’t find her schedule in there Judith, Principal Celestia has it. She and Vice Principal Luna want to meet with Sparkling Medley personally to discuss something before the year begins.” The second receptionist announced.

When she heard that, Sparkler raised an eyebrow. “They want to meet with me before class?” She asked. Confused as all heck, it couldn’t possibly be because she was in trouble, she’d only been a student at Canterlot High for 10 minutes.

“That’s what Celestia said.” The second receptionist said. “She didn’t go into specifics so you’ll have to ask her yourself. She told me to send you in when you showed up.” She added. “First door on the right.”

Sparkler glanced the way the second receptionist was pointing, and, while her brain continued to try to come up with a reason for the principal summoning her, she walked down the path until she came to the first door on the right, which had Principal Celestia on a name plate attached to the door. After taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door, she heard a muffled voice after a second.

“Come in!” The voice said.

Sparkler opened the door, and she saw two women that she assumed were Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna. “Hi. I was told I had a meeting with the principal and vice principal before class? Would that be you two?” She asked.

The woman behind the desk smiled. “Yes. Are you Sparkling Medley? Our new student from abroad?” She asked.

“Yeah. That’s me.” Sparkler responded, entering the office fully and closing the door.

“Excellent, come have a seat, Vice principal Luna and I just wanted to go over something with you before the year starts.” The woman who confirmed her identity as Principal Celestia said.

Sparkler nodded and sat down in the chair next to Luna. “I was told you had my schedule, is there something wrong with it?” She asked. Her brain came up with the theory that maybe there was an error with it.

“Nothing’s wrong with your schedule.” Vice Principal Luna responded. “We just received a rather interesting email regarding you.” She said.

Sparkler blinked in total confusion. Email? She wasn’t aware of any emails sent about her. “…What email?” She asked after a moment. Completely and utterly lost.

Celestia smiled as she clicked a few times on her computer before turning her monitor so Sparkler could see it. Sparkler studied the screen, and it only took five seconds before her expression turned to one of horror. “Uh…” she said as she read the email.

Dear Principal Celestia,

This is Director Derrick of SMILE, I am contacting you to inform you that I am assigning agent Sparkling Medley to Canterlot, as such she’ll be a student at your school. If you could ensure that she doesn’t fail her classes due to poor attendance, assuming the right circumstances, it is in the best interest of our planet.

As usual this is confidential information that is not to be discussed with anyone outside of those connected to this email.

Have a good year.

Sincerely,

Derrick.

In that moment, Sparkler was not sure what she wanted to do. One part of her was telling her to use Forget me Gas. Another was furious that Derrick didn’t think to tell her before sending that email, and the final part wanted to hide.

Luna smirked and crossed her arms. “SMILE must really be worried about the magic around here if it’s assigning another agent to keep watch.” She commented.

Something inside Sparkler snapped and she tapped her watch. A holographic dome expanded from it and encompassed the whole room. “Now we can talk without outsiders hearing. Ok what the heck do you two know?” Sparkler asked frantically.

“That you, Bonbon, Lyra, Autumn, and Mr. McCain are SMILE agents that started showing up here after magic started pouring into this world.” Celestia responded. “And Derrick sends this email to ensure that you can actually progress through high school without worrying about attendance.” She added.

Sparkler heard the words, but she still had a hard time believing it, not that Derrick cared about their education, Derrick clearly did, but to go this far? THAT was something she never expected from him.

Luna broke the silence after a moment. “Personally I’m glad we have another agent around here. Sunset Shimmer and her friends are capable of dealing with the magic but it never hurts to have backup.” She commented.

Sparkler looked between the two several times, before making a decision. You know what? Fine. If Derrick has done this before he knows what he’s doing. “Is that all you needed to meet with me about?” She asked.

“Yes.” Celestia responded. “So long as you do the work you’re assigned, attendance will not be taken into consideration when making up your grade.” She said as she handed Sparkler a folder. “Here’s your schedule, locker number and combination, and the protocols regarding magical incidents.” She said. “Welcome to Canterlot High Sparkler.”

Sparkler nodded as she took the folder. “Happy to be here.” She said as she deactivated the dome, and left the room. Ok, that wasn’t what I thought would happen. She thought. She glanced at her schedule to see that she had Shop class first. “Shop class. Right.” She said as she walked off to class using the map she found in the folder.

At the ring of the bell to signal the end of class, Sparkler used her map to find her locker. She was lucky enough to get some time in private to scan the map into her watch so she didn’t need to rely on the paper anymore. She quickly located her locker near the front of the school and fiddled with the lock using the combination she was given. “Ok. Left a little bit, right 90 degrees and another left and…” She heard the satisfying click and she opened her locker. “Good thing I took lockpicking.” She commented, before seeing a small disk affixed to the bottom of her locker, curious, she touched it, and was surprised when a holographic image of Derrick’s head appeared.

“Hello Sparkler.” Derrick said.

Sparkler jumped back a tad. “Derrick? What’s going on?” She asked.

“Your new way of contacting me directly.” Derrick responded.

Sparkler glanced around, before smiling, she was gonna wait but since she had Derrick here. “Well thanks, hey, while I got you here. Mind explaining why you neglected to tell me you were emailing the principals? Imagine my surprise when I found out they knew about our work.” She said.

“Huh?” Derrick asked. “I CCed you in the email I sent?”

“I never GOT that email.” Sparkler said.

“Oh. Huh. My apologies.” Derrick responded. “Anywho, have a good rest of the day. I shall call when you’re needed.” With that, Derrick’s head vanished.

Sparkler sighed as she shook her head. “Advanced in some areas, susceptible to reality in others.” She commented.

“Hey Sparkler! What’s up?” Asked a familiar voice from behind her.

Sparkler turned to see Bonbon and Lyra approach. She smiled at them. “Hey guys.” She said.

“How’s your first day as a Wondercolt going?” Lyra asked.

“Well, Apparently Celestia and Luna know about our line of work, and my shop teacher REALLY likes wood.” Sparkler responded. “How about you two?” She asked.

Bonbon lost her smile as she and Lyra held up their schedules. “Tell us what you see here.” She told Sparkler.

“Uh…your schedules?” Sparkler asked.

“Notice anything wrong with them?” Lyra asked.

“Not particularly.” Sparkler responded, she gave the schedules a look and didn’t see anything wrong with them.

“Neither of us have any classes together.” Bonbon responded.

“Not even lunch!” Lyra added, both her and Bonbon clearly displeased.

Sparkler’s eyes widened when she realized what they were insinuating. They were mad they weren’t going to be able to spend as much time together as they wanted. “Oh. I see. You’re mad you can’t spend all day together.” She said.

Bonbon nodded. “Lyra and I are partners in every sense of the word. Friendship, teammates, lovers.” She stated.

“It’s always Lyra and Bonbon. Not JUST Lyra and JUST Bonbon. We’re clearly a package deal.” Lyra said.

“It’s insulting that they didn’t see that we’re meant to stay together all day when they made the schedules.” Bonbon stated, crossing her arms and pouring.

Sparkler couldn’t help but chuckle. “Ok, you guys DO realize that it’s next to impossible for you to stay by each other’s side 24/7 right?” She asked. “I mean, I get you’re totally in love and all but what if you two were to…get jobs at different companies?” She asked.

“Sparkler, we already HAVE jobs at the same company, and I don’t think we’ll be quitting anytime soon.” Bonbon deadpanned.

“Could be fired.” Sparkler responded simply. “I’m just saying that sometimes life is going to separate you two. Plain and simple.” She said.

“Yeah well, just because life does it doesn’t mean we have to go down without a fight. Come on Lyra, let’s go see Celestia and get our schedules fixed.” Bonbon said as she grabbed Lyra’s arm and pulled her along.

“Welcome to Canterlot High Sparkler!” Lyra called out as they left.

Sparkler watched them go and chuckled. “The way those two are acting, you’d swear they’re secretly already married.” She commented as she turned back to her locker. She was putting her shop textbook away when she heard wobbling from next to her, followed by a crash, and finally an ugh from what sounded like a teenage female.

Sparkler glanced down at the floor and saw a book had fallen. Deciding to be a good locked neighbor, she quickly knelt down. “Here, let me get that.” She said as she picked up the book, stood back up, and held it out for the girl next to her.

What happened next Sparkler could never have prepared for. The locker door next to her closed a bit and the girl peaked her head out. The girl had lavender skin, her hair was tied in a ponytail, and she had magenta eyes that were framed by glasses. Holy…Sparkler thought. The girl next to her was gorgeous to Sparkler’s completely homosexual heart.

“Oh, thank you.” The girl said as she took the book from Sparkler, she hadn’t noticed Sparkler staring at her. “Hey, I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before. Are you new?” She asked.

Sparkler somehow was able to respond to her question with a nod. The girl smiled and held out her hand. “Nice. I’m Twilight. Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight introduced herself.

Sparkler saw the hand, and somehow managed to maneuver her own hand to grab Twilight’s and shake it. “I-I’m Medley, Sparkling Medley. B-but you can call me Sparkler for short.” She stuttered. Aww crap my stuttering is back! She thought. And for real. HOW is it possible to be that darn stunning!

Twilight’s eyes widened. “Wait, Sparkling Medley? As in Autumn Apple’s new roommate and the girl that can Crystalize?” She asked.

“Y-yeah.” Sparkler responded. Lightly blushing. Of course they’re gonna tell their friend about their discovery. “Uh, I promise I’m not an evil villain or anything! Just…just something that happens periodically!” She exclaimed quickly. Immediately regretting it.

Twilight giggled. “Sunset pinkie promised you weren’t evil. And I trust she knows what she’s doing.” She responded, to which Sparkler sighed in relief, but also kicking herself for saying that.

“So uh…guess we’re locker neighbors then.” Sparkler commented.

“Yes we are. Ooh, we should compare schedules. See if we have any classes together.” Twilight responded, pulling out her schedule.

Sparkler knew first period wasn’t going to be a class the two had together, but in that moment, she HOPED that they had every other class together as she pulled out her own schedule. The two glanced at each other’s and Twilight smiled. “Ooh. Looks like we’re gonna spend the afternoons together for class starting with lunch.” She said.

May not be all day but I’ll take it. Sparkler thought. “Yeah. Looks like it.” She said. “Looking forward to getting to know you better.” She said.

“Me too.” Twilight said cheerfully. “I’ve been wanting to get to know the magical new girl.” She said.

At that moment, the warning bell rang and Twilight frowned. “Aww. Gotta get to class.” She said. “Nice meeting you Sparkler, see you at lunch.” She said as she closed her locker and scooted off to her next class.

Sparkler watched her go, and smiled. “Hope to see her even before lunch. We’re locker neighbors after all.” She commented, to which Flappy responded in her earpiece.

“Your pheromone levels just rose dramatically. Hoping you and this world’s Twilight get together like your respective pony counterparts?” He asked slyly.

Sparkler blushed like mad as she closed her locker and walked to her next class. “Flappy! We only just met two minutes ago!” She responded. “Although…I won’t deny that she’s drop dead gorgeous.” She admitted.

“Think she’s single and wouldn’t mind dating another girl?” Flappy asked.

“Who knows…but I want to find out.” Sparkler said as she walked off, trying not to blush anymore at the thought of Twilight Sparkle.

To be continued…