Chapter 1, part 1 Hello Everypony! First of all, I think it would be proper to introduce myself. I am Chemical Cornilihoof Spark of Mounterbury. For short, I go by Chem Spark. I spend most of my time researching the plant life of Equestria, exploring the effects of atmospheric pressure on earth plants when they are transported to Cloudsdale and other pegasi lands. By exploring these events, I have been able to make transport from the earth to the clouds much easier and have patented multiple cloud storage containers to make holding food easier for longer periods of time. However, I digress. Recently I was approached about working on a new project that is being funded by one of the top scientists in Equestria, Sir Lavenhoof. I was excited to hear I had been selected to work on this project because I have been hoping to be recognized by the scientific community in Canterlot for some time and now I was finally getting to work with Sir Lavenhoof! After receiving the letter to come work in Canterlot, I packed up quickly what few belongings I had and arrived the next day by train. After being greeted by an escort, I was shown the way down the cobbled streets to a laboratory near the outskirts of town. The science of Equestria is necessary, even if overlooked and replaced by the presence of magic, so it was difficult to get a lab closer to the castle and the thrumming parts of town. However the lab I was provided was quiet, and I preferred it that way. Less need to worry about nosy ponies looking in on what we may be working on. As this thought crossed through my head, it was immediately followed by another, more daunting thought. "What exactly would I be working on? Why would they need a botanist in Canterlot on such a private project?" My escort showed me to an office inside the laboratory that had the shades pulled down and closed. The only light was from a small candle that sat on the desk that illuminated the back of a red chair. The room itself was spotlessly clean and quiet. Books covered the shelves and papers were strewn across the desk. Applications, bills, funds and reports were all mixed together in a shamble of chaos. If I didn't know better, I would have said Discord himself was sitting at the desk, simply based on the state of the papers but the rest of the room was immaculate. As I gazed about the room, the chair swiveled around to reveal a mare. Not just any mare, but even in the soft light I could tell she was a pony of great beauty and grace. She wore a pair of horn rimmed glasses on her slightly angled nose, a beaded necklace of dark blue that offset her silver coat and dark purple mane. Her tail was longer then most mares I had seen before and curled slightly at the end, bound by a radiant red ruby. But what caught me most was her eyes. One of them was ice blue while the other was a forest green. I had never come across a pony with two differently colored eyes before, but these held me in their gaze with an almost magical pull as she eyed me from hoof to nose. She didn't blink or even breathe as she looked me over, and I found myself held in place, petrified, afraid to move. After a long moment, she spoke, her voice flowed from her jaws like water flows from a basin onto the soft sand on a beach. "So. You must be the botanist." Chapter 1, part 2 "Yea, I'm a botanist. And besides being the loveliest mare I have ever seen, you are...?" The mare flipped her mane out of her face and said "I'm your boss and the head of this facility. My name is Carmen and I don't fall for the whole tough stallion routine. So you can put it away in your saddle bag and listen." The response almost knocked me on my own haunches as I felt a wave of disdain flow from her towards me. It was almost palpable how much she purely and passionately disliked me at this point. I decided that the best course of action was to sit down, shut up and listen. I still had no idea what was going on here, what this facility was for and why I was called to help out. Carmen spoke, suddenly and without warning as I pondered this, "You are probably wondering what goes on here, what this facility is, and why you were called to help out" (How did she do that??) "and I'm afraid the answers to all of those questions are quite complicated. You have been recruited to a top secret group. The Supernatural Center of Magical Intelligence, or SCMI. We are a group that tracks down, contains and relocates any threats of magical or supernatural power that disturbs the day to day goings on of our fair world. We work in direct connection with Princess Luna herself and it is our job to keep the supernatural apart from our own little world so all ponies can live in peace without having to worry about another Discord-esque fiasco going on every time they walk out their front door. Do you have any questions?" I was confused at this new information. I had never heard of such a group before, so my mind was flooding with questions. Before I could think, my mouth opened and all I could manage to say was "Flilly colt who in the where?" I didn't even know what I was trying to ask. And the look on Carmen's face told me she didn't know what I was trying to say either. That, or she just didn't care what I was trying to say. At that point, a young filly burst into the room in a panic, panting like he had just crossed the widest desert and needed a drink of water. "Ma'am! We got a situation! A code 7-0-4C has just been called in from lower downtown in Canterlot!" Carmen stood up quickly, running towards the door and grabbing me on her way past. Being completely boggled and caught offguard, I had no idea what was going on, nor what a "seven zero four see" was. As Carmen ran for the exit of the laboratory, she stopped short at a table, grabbing two saddlebags. She threw one over her own back and the other straight at me, shouting "You are going to need these" before making a bolt for the door again. I shrugged on the saddle bag then followed her. We were hardly out the door before I noticed that pieces of buildings were flying through the air and in all directions from the downtown area. I didn't know what to expect. Carmen ran down the street, urging me to follow with a series of whistles and muttered curses. As we reached the scene, I stopped short. Wide eyed in wonder and terror, I stood before a teenaged blue dragon that was ransacking various shops, throwing anything it deemed "Useless" almost halfway across the city. Carmen stood not far away from me with her nose in her saddle bag. She pulled out what looked like a tall ice cream cone and placed it on the ground, pressing several buttons that caused the cylinder to spin in place. I searched through my own saddle bag until I found an extra large dog catchers leash. Figuring this would be my best choice of weapon, I pulled it from the saddle bag and readied myself for what was to happen next. As I dropped my head in a defensive stance, the dragon, quite suddenly, disappeared. My jaw hit the ground (literally) when I noticed that the dragon, or rather a picture of the dragon, was forming on the spinning cone. As the cone spun, it looked as if the dragon was running until it faded out completely, replaced by the smooth silver surface of the cone. Carmen gathered up the small silver object, placed it back in her saddle bag, and started down the street back towards the lab. I finally found my voice just enough to ask her "What...was...that?? What is going on? Was that an actual dragon? Where did it go? What is going to happen to all these shops? How did the dragon get here? Who are you people?" Carmen looked back at me with one eye hidden under her mane. It was at that moment that I noticed the cutie mark on her flank. It was a triangle encompassed by a circle, the mark of a creature hunter. "We are the protectors. And now you are one of us. Welcome aboard...Botanist." Chapter 2, part 1. It didn't take long for me to figure out what my particular job title was. I was in charge of plant sciences and my job "official" job was to test the plants in a particular area to check for the magical and environmental effects of supernatural happenings to the plant life in an affected area. However, I also learned that my unofficial job title was to be a verbal punching bag for Carmen. She called me into her office almost every single day to shout at me about one thing or another. One day she called me into her office just to berate me over the damage caused by a rioting Minotaur in Hoofsdale. This is funny and bothersome because I wasn't even on that mission. It was at that point that I resigned myself to the position of punching bag, and every day at 3 o'clock I showed up at her office to have her go at me. I hardly noticed after the second week, I just liked being entranced by her dual colored eyes, watching the rubies on her tail and the sapphires on her neck sway back and forth as she shouted at me in that sweet, silky, melodious voice. Sometimes I tuned out the words completely and just fell into a trance until she finished. Today wasn't like other days though. I was heading towards Carmen's office, more then ready to take my verbal abuse today, but when I opened the door, something was wrong. I noticed right away that it was significantly easier to see the desk at the other end of the room and the books on the wall then it had been during previous days. Also there was a little colt standing beside her desk. I had never seen this guy before, but for his size (which was very small, he couldn't have been much past his elementary school days), he seemed very well built. I was about to speak to Carmen but she got to her tongue faster then I could get to mine. "This is Sugars Cube. He will be joining you as your personal assistant. Since it is obvious from your previous missions that you don't have any experience or TALENT in catching and containing creatures..." (It was one time!!) "we have found someone who shows more promise in the actual field work to help you out. He will be yours to train, teach, and so on. Take him under your wing." I raised one eyebrow and tilted my head slightly, but before I could say anything, Carmen read my mind again and snapped "I know you aren't a pegasus! Just take him with you and show him the ropes. Now get out before I release the basilisk." I took that as my cue to leave, so I turned quickly. Sugars followed me out and I felt the door slam on my plot as I exited, allowing for Sugars to leave before me. I was still nursing my aching plot when we returned to my office. I sat in my plushy and fuzzy green chair before finally taking an interest in this new addition to my office equipment. I wasn't very good with kids, so I didn't know what to say to him. So I said the first thing that came to mind. "Well, since you are going to be working for me, I guess I should introduce myself. My name is-" "Chemical Cornilihoof Spark, Born in Ponyville, graduated from U of C in the year 1995 of Celestias Reign, Major in Botany. Obtained your Masters Degree a year later and Doctorate 6 months after. Recruited to the SCMI two months ago for showing promise in the tracking and registry of monsters and the supernatural. Poor performance in the first 3 field missions but has been indispensable in the lab." He spat out as quick as a whistle. This kid had obviously read my file. Though how he had gotten into it, I would never know. "My name is Sugars Cube. My friends call me Spider." I was confused. "Why do they call you Spider? And what can I call you, since we are hardly friends at this point." Sugars responded curtly, "You can call me Sly. My friends call me Spider because they say I move so quickly that it looks like I have eight legs and I have a tendency to find my way into places I'm not supposed to be. That's how I got into the file room. I read up on all the agents of this organization. I'm surprised they made me the flunky to someone like you." I was taken aback at this comment. "Hey now, there is no need to be so mean. Just because I haven't been here for long doesn't mean you need to be unkind to me. Carmen put me in charge of you, but since you have read the files, I assume you know the major point of this organization?" Sly nodded. "Good. Then there is no need for me to explain it to you. Right now though, I really need to get some of my paperwork done." Before I could even lift a pen, the red light on my wall started flashing. Sly hopped up, obviously excited, while I just sighed and stood up and walked over the wall. Pressing the button, my gear was presented to me from the turning wall hatch where it resides. I picked up my samples satchel and goggles, then looked over to Sly, smiled and said "Ready to go on your first mission?" "Am I ever!"
If anybody has any comments, please feel free to post them. Let me know what i am doing well or poorly. this is my first ever Fan Fic and I want to do the best I can.
