//------------------------------// // Chaper Two // Story: The Chronicles of Espionage: What It Takes to be a Spy // by BlackSkulls //------------------------------// Twilight Sparkle couldn’t help herself, and she started running around the foyer of the school. There were other ponies there, mares and stallions, fillies and colts that walked at a slow pace as they chatted between classes. Some went up the massive spiral staircase, others rounded corners, fewer went down to lower levels. Twilight did her best to avoid the others as best as she could, but it didn’t help that there were so many of them. She trotted between the bulletin board that hung just on the side wall, to the stairs, and finally to a glass case that sat just to the right of the stairs. It held various plaques and trophies, but one in particular caught her eye. In the middle of it all was a golden crest, an eight-pointed star with six jewels. Red, violet, blue, green, and orange gems surrounded it on five points, while the sixth in the middle was a brilliant pink in color. Princess Celestia noticed her staring and walked up behind the filly. “That is the Crest of this school. It is the crest of the Elements, each gem representing an important aspect of Friendship. Loyalty, Kindness, Honesty, Generosity, and Laughter are all needed in order to maintain a balance of Harmony.” She listed each aspect as she pointed to the individual gems. Twilight watched her with wrapped interest. Twilight nodded, turning back to the alicorn. “But Princess Celestia, that’s only five things. What does the sixth one represent?” She pointed a hoof at the pink gem in the center. She smiled and nodded in approval. “That, Twilight, is the aspect of Magic.” “Magic?” “Correct. Magic is formed when perfect harmony is created. That Harmony, Twilight, is what we call Friendship.” A soft smile crossed her lips. “Friendship is the most important thing in the lives in ponies. It’s what keeps us going.” The Princess glanced down at Twilight from the corner of her eyes. “And that is our job. The students and teachers of this school, even myself, we are all the Children of Harmony. And it’s our mission to keep Equestria in a state of balance.” Twilight stared up at Princess Celestia, eyes wide and starry-eyed. The expression on the filly’s face caused Celestia to chuckle and turn away from the glass case. Twilight got up from her haunches and moved next to her. “Come now, Twilight. No more talk of history; we should get on with the tour. Would you like that?” The filly nodded excitedly and trotted beside Celestia as they walked through the school. ---------- They had a tour of the whole school, with the obvious exclusions of the more Top Secret areas and areas where the little filly did not have clearance. Just as Celestia predicted, Twilight was absolutely in love with the school’s library, which had much more books than even the biggest public library in Equestria held. These volumes having more of the ‘actual truth’ than common ponies would know. It even held Commander Hurricane’s personal journal, something even the Canterlot Archives didn’t have. She even had a chance to meet some of the teachers while most of the students were in the cafeteria eating lunch. She had a feeling that Countries of the World and Research and Development were going to be her favorite classes. She was impressed as she and Princess Celestia watched the ponies fight each other for the gym class, or as it was called here, ‘Protection & Enforcement’. Twilight had a particular eye on an orange filly with a blonde mane and three apples for a cutie mark, who seemed to have very powerful legs as she sent a stallion flying with one buck. At the end of the tour, they stopped at an office, and the two of them sat in the chairs that occupied one side while an unicorn mare sat across a wooden desk. From what Twilight could see, the mare had a pale green coat and an equally pale blue-and-white mane, done up with a classic bun. The mare’s green eyes glanced from the Princess to the filly before a smile crept on her face. “Why! You must be Twilight Sparkle!” Twilight nodded enthusiastically, “My name is Siren Song, and I’m the headmistress of the academy. I’m sure Princess Celestia has given you a wonderful tour of the academy? You know, not many ponies catch her eye. I hear you’re very special.” Twilight blushed under the instructor’s compliments, shrinking further into the chair. Celestia nuzzled the filly’s mane as Siren Song continued to speak. “I do hope you’ll enjoy your stay here, Twilight. You’ll be groomed to a fine agent, indeed. Now first…” The mare stood and walked around the desk, only to stop in front of Twilight. “We just need a sample of your DNA. There’s a…complex system involved, and only those registered in the database will not trip the alarms when trying to get access to the campus.” In one swift movement, Siren Song plucked a single purple hair from Twilight’s mane, causing a cry from the filly. “Ow!” The administrator chuckled as she carried the strand between her teeth and over to her desk. With the push of a button, a panel appeared from one of the drawers, and she dropped the hair on top of it. A quick flash of her horn and the stand of hair disappeared, the drawer panel flashing green, and a smile playing on the mare’s lips. She pulled out a crystal and applied magic to that as well, and a screen appeared from it. It had a picture of a smiling Twilight Sparkle, as well as all her information. “There you go! You are now officially in the system! You are now an agent in training.” Siren Song smiled at the filly, who had now stared at the crystal with curiosity. “I could tell you just how this crystal works, but then I’d have to kill you.” Twilight averted her gaze in fear, earning Siren Song a stern look from the Princess. She frowned and shook her head, mumbling something about never being able to get away with anything. “Anyway…” Princess Celestia patted Twilight’s head gently. “I must be off. Important things to do…one of which includes setting the sun.” Her eyes widened for a split second before adding, “And raising the moon, of course.” She suddenly stood up and turned to leave, but not before giving Twilight one last reassuring smile. “You will do great here, Twilight Sparkle. Don’t ever doubt yourself.” With the Princess gone from the room, Siren Song nodded to the filly sitting across from her. “I’m sure you’ve had a long day, a lot of information to take in. How about we get you settled in to your room?” Glancing at the display the crystal still powered, she pressed a button on her desk and spoke into the microphone. “Will Rainbow Dash and Rarity, please step into my office?” ---------- “What do you think Ms. Song is calling us in for?” A blue, rainbow-maned Pegasus filly asked, gliding just above the floor. The filly she was talking to, a white unicorn with a carefully-styled purple mane, simply shrugged. “I’m not sure, but if it was worth pulling us away from that delightful meal, I just hope it was important. And you know she doesn’t like pegasi flying in the hallways. Remember what she told us at orientation?” The Pegasus filly recalled the horribly graphic storytelling and grounded herself immediately. “It’s not my fault, Rarity. It’s in my blood; I have to spread my wings!” She flared her wings out for emphasis as if prove a point. This only got an eye roll from the unicorn. “Either way, I don’t want either of us to get in trouble. I’m sure it’s nothing serious…” Rarity hesitated as they arrived at the headmistress’ office. It was Rainbow Dash’s time to roll her eyes as she suddenly swung the door open, causing Rarity to jump. “Miss Dash! We do not slam open doors here!” Siren Song scolded from behind her desk. Where the crystal had been was now replaced with a rather thick book, The EoH Academy Student Guidebook, which caused the Pegasus to wince at the mere thought of reading it all over again. “Now, come on in, you two. There’s a filly here I’d like the both of you to meet.” Obediently, the two fillies walked inside the office, Rarity closing the door behind her. Their eyes were immediately drawn to the purple filly that occupied a chair, and they mentally went over the possible scenarios for why they were called in, as well as inspecting the stranger. With the possibility of a test and a properly trained spy in disguise eliminated, they both were brought to the same solution. A new student. “Rainbow Dash, Rarity, I’d like you to meet our newest student, and your new roommate, Twilight Sparkle.” The rainbow-maned filly was the first to speak. “WHAT!? But Ms. Song, there’s no room in our dorm! And and—” “A good operative comes up with their excuses beforehand, not on the spot, Miss Dash. And there is no negotiating this. You two will be Twilight’s guides for this week.” Rainbow Dash was about to counter with another excuse, but the pale unicorn interjected. “We’d be happy to guide Twilight around campus. Wouldn’t we, Rainbow?” Rarity shot the Pegasus a glare, who only sighed in defeat and nodded. Siren Song nodded in approval, and gestured Twilight to go ahead and stand. “These girls are going to show you around. Freshman and sophomore dorms are on the second floor, juniors and seniors on the third floor. Do not go up to the fourth floor. It is off-limits to freshmen. Do you understand?” Twilight nodded and hopped off the chair to join her fellow freshman. The headmistress smiled to the three fillies and went to join them at the door. “You should show her the dorm room first. Lunch will be over soon, but I will tell your teachers that you will be a little late for class. Twilight dear, why don’t you follow Rarity’s schedule for the rest of the day? You will get your own in your dorm room after dinner.” The mare smiled down at the girls and waved them out, closing the door behind them. ---------- Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity walked down the corridor towards their dorm room. Unfortunately, it was towards the end of the long hall. There were doors on both sides of the hall, stretching from one end to the other, with the exception of just at the top of the stairs. Twilight noted various paintings that adorned the walls; she had no doubt that several of them were originals or held secret passages behind them. She concluded that going to a spy school would be a huge life-adjustment. “Sophomores are on the left of the stairs, freshmen are on the right. It’s the same upstairs, with juniors on the left and seniors on the right.” Rarity explained as they neared their rooms. “Even though colts also attend here, we do not share rooms! That would just be improper! And we are discouraged from seeking to try and go out with one of them. It’s not against the rules, per se…” Rainbow Dash made fake gagging noises and jumped in front of the two unicorns. “Dating is stupid, anyway! There’s so much to do, so many secrets too keep. A coltfriend would only distract from that.” Twilight glanced between the two fillies, who seemed to hold an unspoken conversation while she was only able to look on helplessly. Finally, the violet-maned unicorn made a move, and pulled a key seemingly out of nowhere, carrying it with a light blue aura and unlocked the door to her left. Along one side of the wall were three beds, and on the opposite wall a desk and chair, and a little armoire that stood next to it. It was a simple arrangement, but it met all of their needs. “This is our dorm room, Twilight. My bed is at the back wall, and Rainbow’s is the first bed there. I suppose that means your bed would be…” All three fillies looked at the central bed on the side of the room. It was covered in an assortment of objects, ranging from textbooks to hairbrushes to the random gadget here or there. Both Rarity and Rainbow Dash laughed nervously before quickly grabbing their respective belongings. Rainbow Dash dumped her things haphazardly on her bed, while Rarity made space for her things on the desk. Suddenly, the sound of a bell alarmed, signaling the end of lunch. The Pegasus filly looked at the two unicorns and gave the two a mock salute. “I better go!” Without even a goodbye, Rainbow Dash zipped out of the room, leaving the two girls alone. Twilight shook her head and turned to Rarity. The pale filly sneered and trotted over to the door, levitating the key to lock the door behind them. “Come, Twilight. There are only two classes left. Ms. Song told us that we were permitted to be a little late, but we should arrive on time anyway.” “I completely agree!” Twilight smiled, and the two of them set off. “Which class are we going to right now?” She was unable to contain her giddiness, and Twilight noticed she almost wanted to squeal with joy. “Fashion!” Rarity suppressed a squeal as much as she could, and danced excitedly on her hooves. “The best class I have!” Twilight, however, was not amused or as excited. “Fashion? Really? Rarity, no offense, but isn’t this a spy school? I mean, from what Princess Celestia told me we would be taking normal classes we well, but fashion? What does that have to espionage or even general knowledge.” Rarity scoffed, walking a few steps ahead of Twilight as they descended the stairs, nodding to those who greeted her as they passed. “My dear Twilight, it has everything to do with the art of espionage!” The purple filly gave her a skeptical look, which prompted a grin from the other filly. They continued on their walk, slowing to a stroll as they approached a class room, students pouring in and out of the open doorway. From what Twilight could see, it looked just like a normal fashion classroom: mannequins, boxes overflowing with fabric, sewing machines. She just had to ask: “What makes this class so…special?” Rarity giggled and led the purple unicorn inside. “Because, Twilight…what we learned on the first day is; “Fashion can be the only thing that keeps you safe.”