The bright sun beat down on Agent Aquaswirl's back. Her eyes scanned the area for enemies, at the time were the P.O.N.Y. Associates, a political group that left Equestria's borders and fled north, and had opposed Equestria all it's years. She heard a loud crack ring through the edge of the forest she was patrolling. Aquaswirl immediately sprinted toward the sound. A faint curse could be heard in the distance, and running hoofsteps sounded on the muddy ground. Haha, Aqua thought, at last I will have my revenge. She fly-hopped over several bushes, quickly gaining on the P.O.N.Y. Associate. "Harah!" Aquaswirl jumped over the last bush to tackle a pony wearing a full-bodied armour plating, to which Aquaswirl did not take well, hitting her head on it's metal surface. "Ah! The infamous Agent Aquaswirl, are you?" the armoured pony chuckled in a heavy Irish accent. Aquaswirl laid upon the ground, blood slowly trickling from the nasty gash on her skull in her yellow mane into her greyish coat. "Aye, I only knew it was you!" The Irish pony laughed. "No other pony has ever hunted us like you! Now," the metal pony growled, "it's time to put an end to this." Aquaswirl's world spiraled into black as the armoured pony slammed a hoof into her skull.

"Ugh," Aquaswirl groaned, "where am I?" The room she was in was dark, except for a single bulb hovering above a grisly metal table. Buck! the grey pegasus thought furiously. She had heard of her fellow agent ponies barely escaping with their lives from the P.O.N.Y. torture. Each one, broken. Every one, damaged. And every pony that came out, barely alive. And now, she was the next victim of the Portallic Offensive Northern Yankee Associates' machine, feared by everypony: The B.R.E.A.D. It may sound like a silly name, but it is the worst thing that can ever happen to a pony. It can deform ponies' minds into twisted murderers, or into the dumbest thing in Equestria. The few who survive are mentally loopy for a few months, but if the P.O.N.Y. Associates get through, you're broken for life.

And that terrified Aquaswirl. She couldn't stand the thought of failure. Never, not once, not ever, had she ever failed a mission. Even when it was a dangerous one, she always succeeded. And that's when the B.R.E.A.D. operator and guards walked in and began to untie her. "Put her on the table," the operator said thickly. The two guards complied, and snapped Aquaswirl onto the table with the metal shackles.

"Readying the calibration, and... There!" The operator grinned mischievously as the B.R.E.A.D. began to glow above Aqua. "I will put an end to you!" she screamed, as the machine fired a laser into her eyes. The bright green beam filled the warehouse with it's luminosity, as Aqua continued to shriek in pain. Then the machine began to heat up, and the operator shouted, "Guards! Get out! The B.R.E.A.D. is gonna blow!" The guards happily obliged as the machine continued to heat up, melting itself, and condensing the gasses into a ticking time bomb. Aqua couldn't free herself, and the green laser abruptly stopped, and there was a moment of silence. Then, the machine exploded, and the warehouse was no more.

Three days later...

Aqua slowly awoke and saw her belly... and her mane at the same time! No, no, no, no, no! I failed! Aqua began crying, her tears fell down her cheeks onto the bloody table she was still shackled to. Then, she heard a voice! "Agent! Agent Aquaswirl!" it cried. "I'm over here!" Aqua shouted. She then heard hoofsteps canter toward her direction, and she saw her partner, Agent Carota, an orange Earth Pony. "Are you okay, Muffin?" she asked, and Aqua replied, "No, I'm not." Carota saw Aqua's wall-eyed eyes and teared up. "They got you, didn't they?" Carota sniffled. Aqua nodded, as Carota unshackled her. Aqua fell into Carota's hooves and began to cry. "I don't want to leave you, Carrot!" she sobbed, shaking violently with each breath. Agent Carota petted Aqua's mane in an attempt to calm her. "Just let it all out, Muffin, let it all out."

3 hours later...

Celestia stood in her briefing room with Agents Aquaswirl and Carota, and said, "In accordance with The Equestrian Spy Association Pledge, it is required of me to assess Agent Aquaswirl's mental state after this failure." Agent Carota nodded and gestured Aquaswirl to sit on the prepared chair in front of Celestia. And so, the inquiry began.

Celestia spoke first. "Have there been any thoughts in the time you were found until now of hurting another pony?"

"No, Princess." Aqua said firmly.

"Have you had any thoughts about harming yourself?"

"No, Princess."

"Can you remember what happened to you that caused you to become like this?"

"Yes, Princess."

"Would you be willing to describe those events to me, or do you still need time?" Celestia asked softly. "I can wait for you to get a better hold of yourself if you want before you describe it to me." Aquaswirl nodded, and said, "I'm ready to tell you everything in detail, Princess."

Agent Carota's eyes widened and looked at Celestia. Celestia returned the same expression and looked back at Agent Aquaswirl. Aqua looked up at the Princess firmly, and began the long story. She described the Iron Pony, the warehouse, and the B.R.E.A.D.'s explosion. Celestia knew what had to happen. "I, Princess Celestia, regretfully decree with a heavy heart that Agent Aquaswirl, Identification Number 52, must be decommissioned due to an injury tat has hindered said Agent's abilities, and thus memories of previously stated Agent must be locked away, and be sent home to Ponyville, as per The Equestrian Spy Service's oath." Agent Carota spoke. "Permission speak freely, Princess?" Celestia turned and said, "Proceed."

Carota walked toward Aquaswirl, put a hoof around her shoulder and declared firmly, "If she leaves, I leave with her." Celestia nodded, and Aquaswirl gasped. "What about your promotion you've been working toward, Carrot?" Carota smiled down at Aqua and said, "Nothing will ever let me seperate from you, my little Muffin." Celestia brushed Carrot away and began the memory locking spell. She incanted an ancient tongue Agent Carota knew well from her imprisonment among the Time Rifters in the Farlands beyond Equestria: Vo imya Printsessy Solntsa i yeye materi ya podavlyayu vospominaniya ob etoy poni, chtoby ona mogla zhit' v mire sredi drugikh.

As Carota understood it, in rough translation, Celestia said, "In the name of the Princess of the Sun and her mother, I repress the memories of this pony so that she can live with others." And with that, Aquaswirl fell to the ground, and Celestia turned to Carota. "I only repressed the memories of her patrolling and of her missions. She will still remember how much of a friend you are." Carota smiled, and said gratefully, "Thank you." Celestia smiled and replied, "You can call her Derpy Hooves. Just a little acronym I came up with." She winked. Carrot was confused. "Derpy Hooves? Why?" Celestia sighed. "It stands for Destructive Equestrian Reserve Pony Year Hundred One Overt Vessel Emergency Soldier. She is the the best spy I've had I've had in a little over a hundred years. Besides, there's special information she holds locked in her memory, and it's now up to you to protect her." Carota saluted. "I won't let you down, Princess."