The sound of hooves pounding on the cobblestone echoed down the otherwise quiet street. Special Agent Sweetie Drops raced down the narrow alley as fast as she could, making sure to make as many sudden turns as possible. She didn't think anypony was currently tracking her, but getting sloppy because she thought she was safe was an easy way to get killed in her line of work. That had been one of Cloud Cover's first lessons.
Cloud Cover. Sweetie Drops had lost sight of him in the confusion of the initial attack. The gruff old stallion had been her mentor for years, and the thought that he might be gone nearly caused her to trip.
She had to focus. Staying alive was the first priority. She would be no good to the Agency dead. If there even was an agency after this.
Sweetie slowed down as she turned onto Meadowbrook Avenue. It was located in the nicer part of Canterlot, not quite near the Old City where the nobility resided, but close enough for those who wished to think themselves close enough to aristocracy. She looked up at the houses, reading off the house numbers. 36... 38... 40...
She stopped when she saw the number 42 hanging above the door of an ordinary looking house. On the outside, it looked no different than any other; a three story mansion built from stone mined from the Canterhorn itself. What, or who, was inside might just save her life, however, assuming her information was still correct.
With terror nearly choking her, Sweetie trotted up the marble steps leading to the front door and knocked three times. Sweat matted her fur as she stood waiting for a response. It was a warm night in Canterlot, much warmer than usual for this time of year. Summer had come early to the capital, a result of some new bill that was passed last Winter, and the temperatures were already past the point where most ponies stayed inside during the hottest hour of the day. Normally, that didn't happen until around the time of the Summer Sun Celebration.
Sweetie Drops felt a new surge of grief wash over her as she recalled how they would draw straws to see who would get guard detail for the annual event. Nopony wanted to be stuck standing still for hours in the sweltering heat while Princess Celestia raised the Sun. Nothing interesting ever happened during those snooze-fests, though with the celebration being held in Ponyville this year, there had been hopes that something might show up to liven things up; maybe something from the Everfree. Sweetie wondered if they would ever get around to drawing the straws this year, laughing and joking as they decided who would receive that "honor."
The sound of the door being unlocked brought Sweetie out of her reverie. She schooled her expression as she had been taught to many years ago. Training took over and she plastered a naive, guileless smile on her face.
The mare who opened the door was several years older than Sweetie Drops, with a light grey coat and a purple mane streaked with white. Her cutie mark was three purple stars. She looked at Sweetie guardedly, her blue eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Can I help you?" she asked.
"Hi," Sweetie said brightly, keeping up her charade, "I was wondering if you knew where the Bitz Hotel is? I'm visiting from Trottingham and I'm supposed to be staying there but I lost my map when I got off the eight thirty-two train earlier today." She carefully placed minor emphasis on the key words, hoping that the other mare would pick up on them.
The other mare's eyes widened slightly at her words before her she masked it with a warm smile. "I don't know where it is exactly, but I think we have a map somewhere in the house. Would you like to come in? I have some Chamomile tea brewing in the pot, steeped at just the right temperature of one seventy-two degrees."
Sweetie nearly laughed in relief as she heard the correct countersigns. "That sounds wonderful. Thank you!" She stepped inside the house, making note that the other mare had made a complete scan to make sure there was nopony else outside before closing the door.
"Honey!" The other mare called out. "Can you fetch the map of Canterlot? We have a visitor here who's looking for the Bitz Hotel. She just got off the eight-thirty two train."
"I'll go get it, dear," an answering male voice sounded from upstairs. While they talked, Sweetie took the opportunity to observe her surroundings. She was standing in the main foyer of the house, decorated in a classic post-Reneighsance style. She could see a small sitting room on her right, and a dining room up ahead with an old carved-oak table in the center. Paintings from various post-Reneighsance artists lined the walls, giving the house a very cultured look.
The mare turned back to face Sweetie. "Who gave you that code?" She asked, her voice suddenly turning serious.
"Ice Breaker," she replied.
"And where is she?"
"I don't know," Sweetie replied truthfully.
"How bad is it?" The other mare gestured for her to walk forward, and Sweetie complied, making sure to keep her in her peripheral vision. "I'm Twilight Velvet, by the way, but you can call me Velvet."
"I'm Sweetie Drops," Sweetie replied, "and it's bad. Really bad. We were betrayed by one of our own. She broke them out and let them into HQ and..." her composure finally broke and she began sobbing, tears streaming from her eyes.
She felt a comforting warmth as Velvet nuzzled her neck from behind. "There, there," Velvet spoke soothingly, "It will all be okay. Why don't you just sit down and rest." They had finally made it to the sitting room, and Sweetie gratefully sinking down into a nice, soft couch. She had been running and/or fighting for her life for the past few hours and now that the adrenaline had finally started to wear off, she felt exhausted, weariness seeping into her very soul.
The sound of hoofsteps sounded from the hallway, and Sweetie turned to see another pony walking in, levitating a kettle and three teacups in his magic. He was a greyish blue stallion with a dark blue mane and two crescent marks for his Cutie Mark. "Hello," he said politely, "I'm Night Light."
"Sweetie Drops," Sweetie replied.
Night Light poured out some of the tea into one of the cups. "You look like you could use a cup of tea," he said, offering it to her.
"I could use a stiff drink too," Sweetie replied, taking the cup with her hoof. "But thank you for the tea."
"I think we can hold off on the alcohol until we're finishing planning out our next steps," Velvet said. "Now, why don't you tell us what happened from the beginning. You said that Ice Breaker gave you the distress code. Does that mean you work for the BCI?"
"Yes." The Bureau of Cryptid Investigation was devoted to the investigation, containment, and if necessary, elimination of threats involving a certain class of creatures whose existence were deemed to be possible threats to the well-being of Equestria. "Special Agent Sweetie Drops, of the Unique Cryptids division."
"A monster hunter, then," Night Light remarked. "Haven't seen one of you in a long time."
Normally, Sweetie Drops would have protested the informal moniker given to those in her division. Monster Hunter made her sound like a madmare or a trumped-up adventurer out of a Daring Do novel. Right now, though, she was too tired to care.
"So what happened at the BCI?" Velvet asked, bringing the conversation back on track.
Sweetie took a long sip of her tea, mentally fortifying herself to tell her story. "We received intel that the security in Tartarus had been compromised and that a number of prisoners had escaped. Ice Breaker sent the Threat Response teams to control the situation and ordered the rest of us to prepare to provide reinforcements in case the threat proved too great for the Response team. We were all tense, waiting to see if we would be called in to assist. Tartarus was the last place we wanted to go to, but we were prepared to do our duty to protect Equestria. None of us were prepared for an attack on HQ, though.
"Someone betrayed us," Sweetie said, struggling to maintain her composure. "I don't know who did it, but that's the only explanation. It knew everything about our operations; points of weaknesses, defense protocols, locations of all entrances, exits, and weapon storage facilities. It bypassed all our defenses; one second, we were all waiting to see how the Tartarus situation would evolve, and the next, everypony was screaming. Somepony sounded the alarm, but by then it was already in the Command Center. Silver Song was the first to recover and tried to fight back. She rushed it with a stunning spell on her horn; I tried to warn her that it wouldn't help, but she couldn't hear me over the panic. She - it -" Sweetie Drops stifled a sob as her mind flashed back to HQ.
"Deep breaths, dear," Velvet said, reaching over to place a comforting hoof on her shoulder. Sweetie did as instructed, taking comfort in the warmth of the hoof against her coat. "Feeling better?"
"Yes, thank you," Sweetie replied. "I don't know why this is hitting me so hard. It's not like I'm some green field agent who's never seen action before. Or death. I've seen agents go down before, but this..."
"It's different when the attack hits close to home," Velvet said. "HQ is supposed to be a safe place you can retreat to, where the dangers of the outside world can't touch you. To lose that is to lose the part of you that says that everything will be alright, that there will always be someplace to run to. And you were betrayed by someone you should be able to trust, which only compounds the sense of violation. There's nothing wrong with what you're feeling; it's a perfectly healthy and natural response."
Somehow, the explanation of her own feelings made Sweetie feel better, as was the reassurance that it was okay to feel that way. Sweetie smiled weakly up at the other mare. "Thank you," she said softly. "I think I'm okay to keep talking."
"Okay," Velvet replied. "So, who attacked HQ?"
"The Bugbear," Sweetie forced her brain back into fact-delivery mode. "It hails from the northern parts of Griffonia and is largely responsible for why that area is still unsettled. We captured it two years ago when it decided to expand its territories to the Griffish Isles. Or rather, I captured it. It had incapacitated my teammates at the time.
"The Bugbear is impervious to magic. Silver Song didn't know, and when she struck the Bugbear with her spell, it just laughed and struck her head with his paw. There was so much blood." Sweetie Drops shivered, and focused on Twilight Velvet's hoof on her shoulder to keep her in the present.
"Ice Breaker immediately pulled me away before it could see me," Sweetie continued. "She reasoned that the Bugbear was most likely after me for revenge - why else would it have attacked HQ? She also realized that someone must have helped it. Since we didn't know who to trust, we had to assume the entire department was compromised. That's when she gave me your address and the code phrases. She said that I could trust you, no matter what. Ice Breaker led me to one of the emergency exits that she had installed without telling anypony and sent me out. I didn't want to leave them, but Ice Breaker said that I was their only hope of defeating the Bugbear."
"Why you?" Night Light asked from across the table. He was seated on another couch, a cup of tea floating in front of him in his magical grip.
"While we were fighting the Bugbear in Trottingham, it stung me with its tail. It should have been a killing blow, but I managed to survive. Barely." She winced at the memory of the agony she had endured. "Afterwards, I was able to bypass the Bugbear's magic nullification. I think it somehow registers me as a part of itself and so the magic doesn't trigger. Unfortunately, I'm not a unicorn or pegasus, so being able to ignore his antimagic field wasn't too useful.
"In the end, we found a weapon that could channel my willpower or virtue or something into a magical attack attuned to my magical field, which was enough to take it out. Of course, that was the first thing the Bugbear went for when he arrived in HQ, along with a host of other weapons that I don't even want think about it possessing.
"Anyways, after I left I saw the Bugbear exit the building from the main entrance. He must have gotten what he wanted or given up looking for me. I didn't want to go back and risk having the mole telling the Bugbear to return. I just kept running until I reached your doorstep." Sweetie Drops sighed. "And that's everything. I have no idea what's going to happen to the agency, and we still don't know who the mole is."
Velvet nodded. "I'll inform the Captain of the Guard. He can send word to Princess Celestia and disseminate the information to the appropriate parties in case Ice Breaker has yet to do so." She rose to her hooves, and Sweetie followed.
"I'll come with you. The Captain may want to speak with me as well. It's doubtful he'll be at the castle this late at night."
Night Light gave a small chuckle. "You'd be surprised. He has quite the incentive to spend the nights at the castle these days. Regardless, it won't be necessary to track him down. We have a dragonflame courier system upstairs that connects to his office."
Sweetie whistled as she followed behind Velvet. "A direct line to the captain, huh? How important are you ponies? I don't remember ever hearing about you before." Something was definitely odd about this couple. To be able to get a direct line to the Captain of the Guard, they should have been high ranking members of some organization. Sweetie couldn't imagine anyone less than the head of a major agency having that clout. Yet, she truly could not recall ever seeing them or hearing their names before. Ice Breaker seemed to trust them completely though, so that would have to be enough for now. Still, Sweetie wondered what kind of position these ponies held.
Velvet joined in her husband's laughter. "Oh, it was easy enough getting him to install that line for us. After all, it's difficult for a son to say no to his mother."
"Mother?" Sweetie echoed, nearly tripping over her own hooves as she ascended the staircase. "Captain Shining Armor is your son?"
Velvet nodded, still laughing softly.
"I guess that explains why Ice Breaker trusts you so much. Hard to betray the nation when your own son is basically responsible for keeping it safe. Still, it's kind of weird that she'd send me to hide out with civilians, even ones in your position."
"Well, we used to be active field agents too," Velvet said. "Internal Security. Nighty and I actually met on the job."
"Actually, I think we're still technically considered active field agents," Night Light chimed in. "At least, they still drag us in for mandatory training a few weeks every year since we're still considered to be actively guarding our daughter, even if all we do is coordinate security for her nowadays."
"Your daughter?" Sweetie asked.
"Twilight Sparkle," Velvet said as they reached the top of the stairs.
"Princess Celestia's protégé? The one that she forced into the number two spot for protection priority?" Every government agency knew about Twilight Sparkle. She was the only pony on both the "protect at all costs" list and the "threat level: Tartarus" list, due to being a magical prodigy integral to one of the Princess's plans (not that the immortal ruler would share those plans), and being a somewhat mentally unstable mare. Every intelligence agency in the nation had dossiers of various contingencies covering every situation from having to help her fight off an army of changelings to having to stop her from using the Alicorn Amulet to take over the world.
"Actually, she tried to force her into the number one position, but Command was having none of that. And yes, Twilight Sparkle is our daughter." At this, Velvet pointed to one of the pictures lining the upstairs hallway, which showed her and Night Light standing beside a colt and filly that Sweetie quickly recognized as the Captain of the Guard and Princess Celestia's protégé.
"Wow. So, do you have any other kids? Spitfire maybe? Or Daring Do?"
Velvet laughed. "No, just those two are enough of a hoof-full. Though I did help Yearling edit her books a few times."
Sweetie just nodded, trying to take it all in. She was standing in the presence of the parents of Twilight Sparkle and Shining Armor. They must have done one hay of a job raising their kids.
Finally, they reached the end of the hall and turned into one of the rooms, where a small fireplace burned in a corner. It was different from most fireplaces. For one, there was no chimney, since the fire burning inside of it gave off no smoke. For another, the fire seemed to be hovering in the middle of the fireplace rather than emanating from some logs or other fuel.
Oh, and the fire was green, so that was different too.
"Let me just write up everything you said and send it over to the Captain." Velvet said, walking toward a desk and lifting up a quill in her telekinetic grasp. For the next few minutes, the three of them were silent as Velvet wrote, with the only conversations occurring when the older mare asked Sweetie to clarify or confirm some detail or other.
When she finished writing her letter, she floated it over toward the green flames. Her horn flashed along with the flame, and then she threw the rolled-up scroll into the fire, where it vanished into a puff of arcane energy that floated out the door.
"Well, that's that then," Velvet said. "Now we wait for a response."
For a few minutes, the three of them stood in silence, staring at the flickering green flame. Having to reiterate her story to Velvet had brought the previous levity crashing down, and now a tense, somber atmosphere filled the room. Each of them was acutely aware that ponies had died this night, and that the creature responsible for their deaths was still at large, and would likely kill again if not stopped. And here they stood, unable to do anything about it.
Trying to take her mind off her inactivity, Sweetie spoke. "So, is it true that Twilight Sparkle aged a baby dragon up to Adolescent size during her entrance exam at Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns?"
"Elder size, actually," Night Light corrected. "She also managed to turn Velvet and I into potted plants and suspend the entire judging panel in an anti-gravity field. At the same time."
For a moment, Sweetie just stared at the stallion, blinking rapidly. "Raising her must have been an experience," she said evenly.
"That it was," Night Light said. "Fortunately, she turned out to be a good foal. And easily placated by books."
Before Sweetie could ask further questions about the Princess' prized pupil, a tendril of green magic shot out of the fireplace with a "whoosh," materializing itself in the form of a rolled-up scroll. Velvet caught the scroll with her magic and unrolled it, taking a few moments to scan through its contents.
"Well?" Sweetie asked as Velvet lowered the document.
"Shining Armor has already received a report from Ice Breaker. Celestia has been informed and all relevant agencies are being notified. There are four dead and twenty more injured, five of them seriously. They are receiving medical attention as we speak." Velvet summarized the report in a calm and even tone, her voice never wavering. Sweetie Drops, on the other hand, could feel herself shaking.
Four dead. Four of her fellow agents dead. Ponies she had worked with, talked with, laughed with. Gone forever. Something had broken into her sanctuary and taken them away. Five others were seriously injured. Would they survive the night? Even if they did, would they ever be the same? Would she?
"W-what should we do?" she asked, trying to focus her thoughts away from her loss. There was still work to be done, and a threat to remove.
"Celestia will be convening an emergency meeting between relevant parties to discuss their next step. They should be meeting within the hour."
"I should head out, then," Sweetie said. "I should be able to make it to the palace in time."
"No." Velvet shook her head. "Shining Armor and Ice Breaker want you to stay here. The Bugbear will be looking for you and it'll be safer for everypony if you don't expose yourself to the risk of it finding you."
"What if I want it to find me?" Sweetie asked, a dangerous tone in her voice. A slow anger had been building in her chest since the Bugbear's attack, and now that the shock and grief were wearing off, it had begun to surface. She wanted the monster to find her. She wanted to fight it, to kick and stomp and smash it until she finished what she had started years ago in Trottingham. No banishment to Tartarus this time; Sweetie was going to send it straight to the underworld.
Velvet shot her a stern glare. "Get a hold of yourself, Agent," she said, her tone brooking no argument. "This is no time for vigilante antics. You will remain calm and obey orders while we determine a proper response to this threat. Am I clear?"
"Yes ma'am," Sweetie said reflexively. Her anger still burned, but Velvet was right; charging in blindly would just get her killed. They needed to do this right.
"Good." The stern glare was replaced by a warm smile. "Now, why don't you get some sleep? I get the feeling that tomorrow is going to be a very long day for everypony."
Sweetie nodded in agreement and followed Velvet out the door. Weariness assailed her as she felt the weight of the day press down on her. Her head drooping, she walked behind Velvet as the older mare led her to the guest room.
"Good night, agent," Velvet said after she finished showing Sweetie around the room. "If you need anything, we'll be in the bedroom across the hall."
"Thank you ma'am," Sweetie replied. Night Light and Twilight Velvet closed the door on the way out, leaving Sweetie alone with her thoughts.
Two hours later, Sweetie was lying on the bed, unable to sleep despite her weariness. Outside she could hear the occasional clopping of hooves outside as Velvet and Night Light busied themselves with something or other. Most likely preparing for whatever they might have to do tomorrow. Being useful in the fight against the Bugbear while Sweetie lay in bed, contributing nothing.
She wanted to go to the palace, to provide insight and to assist Captain Shining Armor with formulating a plan of attack. She wanted to go back to the Agency, to see Ice Breaker and all her other colleagues again. Between the Tartarus breach and the Bugbear attack, they would need all hooves on deck. It was her duty as an active and able-bodied agent to return to the agency.
Instead, she was stuck here, useless, unable to contribute anything to the fight. Even worse, she was a liability, likely to draw the Bugbear to any place she went, putting everypony around her in danger. Sweetie wondered how long she would have to stay in hiding; they probably wouldn't let her out until they were ready to fight the Bugbear, which meant finding a weapon she could use. Since the only thing they knew that worked on the Bugbear was in its possession, they would either have to send some agents after it to retrieve the weapon, or find something else that could channel her inner magic into something a little more lethal.
Sweetie couldn't wait to get another crack at the Bugbear. She would make it pay for all the pain and death it had caused. Images of what had happened earlier in the day flashed through her mind. Silver Song, lying dead on the floor of the Command Center, blood pooling around her head. They would never hear her beautiful singing voice again. Lightning Strike, Twinkle Star, and Ruby Dart, unconscious and slowly bleeding out from wounds sustained while fighting the Bugbear. Lemon Fire, screaming in pain from a broken leg.
Sweetie rolled out of bed. This was pointless. She wasn't going to be able to sleep. She was going to find Twilight Velvet and Night Light and offer her assistance. Surely that wouldn't counteract orders?
She opened the door and stepped out of the guest bedroom, her ears swiveling around and straining to hear the sound of her hosts. The sound of hoofsteps around the house had stopped a few minutes ago, but now she could hear a small thud from behind the door in front of her, followed by whispering. It sounded like somepony had struck some sort of cloth. Perhaps they were packing clothing for the mission?
The door was ajar, and Sweetie gently pushed it open and looked inside, curious. A small gasp escaped from her as she beheld Night Light and Twilight Velvet locked in a tight embrace on the bed. Velvet lay on her back, with Night Light sprawled on top of her, muzzles locked in a passionate kiss. Night Light's right hoof slipped between Velvet's back legs, and a moment later Velvet moaned quietly into Night Light's muzzle.
Sweetie found herself rooted in place, staring at the sight before her. Her mind froze as she observed Night Light pulling away from Velvet's muzzle, trailing kisses down her cheek and neck toward her belly. The stallion stopped for a while around her teats, taking time to lavish attention on them, suckling and nipping while his hoof continued to slowly stroke Velvet's core.
Sweetie felt her own cheeks flushing at the erotic sight before her. Her breathing grew heavier to match Velvet’s laboured breaths, and a soft ache began to develop around her nethers. She watched, entranced, as Night Light slid his muzzle lower, moving his hoof away so that he could place a gentle kiss between her back legs.
Unbidden, one hoof began rubbing at her own marehood, which was already damp with her the juices of her own arousal. This was the single most erotic thing she had ever seen in her life, and she was helpless to do anything but remain captivated at the sight.
Night Light wasn’t done, though. As he ran his tongue across her folds, Velvet moaned louder than she had before, a sound echoed more softly by Sweetie as she felt herself press against her own pussy with more force.
"Shh," Night Light said, pulling away from his wife for a moment. "We don't want to wake up Sweetie Drops. She needs her rest."
The mention of her name abruptly jolted Sweetie out of her shock-induced voyeurism and she realized what she was seeing. Dropping her hoof back on the ground and ignoring the pulsing ache between her back legs, she hastily turned around and tried to leave before the couple noticed her, but her back hoof accidentally struck the door, swinging it open with a small thud.
The couple froze in the midst of their lovemaking, looking up at the source of the intruding noise. For a what seemed like an hour but was probably only a few seconds, the three of them stared at one another
Eventually, Twilight Velvet broke the silence. "Hello, Agent Drops," she said in a calm, businesslike tone, as if there wasn't a stallion's muzzle between her legs. "Sorry we didn't hear you coming in. Is there something we can help you with?"
Right, so that was how they were playing it, then. "No ma'am," Sweetie replied. "I only wished to inquire as to whether or not you could use my assistance." Realizing the implications of what she had said given their current context, she hastily added, "in regards to preparation for fight against the Bugbear and the hunt for the mole within the Agency."
"There's nothing to do until tomorrow," Velvet said, slipping out from beneath Night Light. Her face was slightly flushed and her mane was in disarray, but she still managed to look every bit like an agent giving a debriefing. "Shining Armor, Ice Breaker, and the others are all likely still discussing the best course of action to deal with the threat. We'll hear from them as soon as they make a decision."
"Are you sure there's nothing I can do?" Sweetie pressed. "If I could take part in the meeting, my input could be invaluable-"
"They've already decided that they don't wish to have you at the meeting," Velvet cut in. "I wouldn't recommend going against the wishes of your boss, the Captain of the Royal Guard, and the Princess herself."
"Fine," Sweetie said. "I just wish there was something I could do to help. I feel so useless here," she admitted. "Actually, no. It's worse than that. I feel like a liability."
Velvet's gaze softened at the confession. "Right now, you are our single most important asset in the fight against the Bugbear. All they're doing is protecting that asset until the right time to utilize it. Believe me, one day they will call upon you to do your duty, and you will have the chance to show them what happens when you mess with the BCI. For now, though, your mission is to remain safe until that time comes. I know that is difficult for you to do, given your sense of duty and your righteous anger against the monster who hurt your friends, but then again, you didn't join the Unique Cryptids Division for easy missions, did you?" Velvet gave Sweetie a small smile at that last question, and Sweetie found herself returning it.
"No ma'am," Sweetie replied. "Thank you for the kind words."
"It's no trouble," Velvet replied. "Anything to help an agent in need. Were you having trouble sleeping?"
"Yes," Sweetie admitted. "Every time I close my eyes, I see the Bugbear attacking HQ." She laughed bitterly. "I don't think sleep is going to be a viable option tonight."
Twilight Velvet and Night shared a look, the kind developed by those living together that allowed entire conversations to be had in a few wordless seconds. Night Light gave a slight nod, and Velvet spoke to Sweetie. "Perhaps what you need is something to take your mind off the attack."
"Like what?"
Velvet took a step toward Sweetie. "You were watching us earlier, weren't you?" She pointed toward Sweetie's moist hoof. "Did you enjoy yourself?"
"I-I-" Sweetie tried to stammer out a response, but there really wasn't a good way to explain why you were clopping to your hosts' bedroom activities. Her face felt like it was on fire and she was pretty sure she had turned red all over.
"Don't worry about it, Sweetie," Velvet said, placing her hoof over Sweetie's. "There's nothing to be ashamed of. So, did you like what you saw?"
"I- well, it was really hot." Buck it, Sweetie decided. If Velvet was going to be this forward with her, there was no reason why she couldn't reciprocate. It wasn't like the BCI was a bastion of purity and polite conversation; Sweetie was no stranger to openly discussing sex with ponies she didn't really know that well. "And I guess I'm a bit pent-up, too. I've been busy at work and haven't found time to find somepony since I graduated. There's only so much you can do with a hoof."
"I understand. Nighty and I used to be like that too, before we found each other." Velvet chuckled. "You should have seen our first time; I think the whole apartment building could hear us. And we lost the security deposit too." Her hoof slid upwards, until Velvet was cupping Sweetie's chin. "How about we help you release some of that pent-up frustration? It'll help take your mind off things."
"I-you-we-" Sweetie found herself wrong-hoofed again at Velvet's offer. "Both of you?" she managed.
"I don't see why not," Velvet said. "We could all use a little stress relief after what happened today."
She was right. Maybe a little "stress relief" was what she needed. And it didn't hurt that Twilight Velvet and Night Light were both incredibly attractive ponies. "Okay," Sweetie said. "So, how do we do this?"
"Nighty and I already have a head start on you," Velvet replied, "and you're the guest here. Why don't you just lie on the bed and let us take care of you?"
"Are you sure? I wouldn't want to impose," Sweetie said.
"Oh, trust me," Velvet said, giving her a look that sent shivers down her spine, "it's no imposition at all." The light gray mare turned around and sauntered toward the bed, her tail swishing back and forth and giving Sweetie tantalizing glimpses of her glistening marehood. The young agent was helpless to do anything but follow after that beautiful flower.
Twilight Velvet stood beside the bed, motioning for her to climb up. Sweetie obeyed, leaping up and landing with her belly pressed against the soft, silken sheets of the bed. A moment later, she felt a disturbance in the mattress as another pony climbed onto the bed. Turning to her side, she saw Velvet standing next to her, a sultry smile on her face. The unicorn lowered her muzzle toward Sweetie, capturing her mouth in a soft kiss. Sweetie opened herself to the other mare, allowing her tongue to slide inside and caress her own.
As they kissed, Velvet slowly repositioned herself until she was straddling the younger mare. One hoof slowly spread Sweetie's back legs apart, allowing Velvet to press her knee against her folds. Sweetie groaned as Velvet's knee began rubbing up and down slowly, sending waves of pleasure through her body.
Wanting to reciprocate, she swung her foreleg between their bodies, slowly rubbing at the fur around Velvet's pussy. Velvet's action grew more erratic under Sweetie's touch, with her kisses getting sloppier and her knee moving faster and harder against Sweetie's folds.
Abruptly, Velvet broke the kiss and began moving lower, trailing kisses down her neck toward her belly. She also slid her body lower, so that she was no longer pleasuring Sweetie's nethers and Sweetie was no longer pleasuring Velvet's. Sweetie wanted to complain at the sudden emptiness between her legs, but Velvet had reached her flanks and was now nipping lightly at her cutie mark, sending warm sparks of arousal through her body.
With Velvet no longer on top of Sweetie, the young earth pony could now see Night Light standing near the foot of the bed. The stallion was watching the action unfold on the bed intensely, his hoof gently stroking his member, which had slipped out from its sheath and now dangled below his barrel.
Velvet moved her attention to the junction between Sweetie's back legs. "Just lie back and enjoy this," Velvet encouraged as she kissed the inside of her thighs.
Sweetie had other ideas, though, after watching Velvet's husband pleasuring himself. "Night Light," Sweetie said softly, "why don't you come join us? You look so lonely s-standing there." She faltered a bit near the end when Velvet pressed her tongue against Sweetie's entrance.
"It's okay, Sweetie," Night Light said, his hooves picking up a bit of speed as he watched his wife eat out Sweetie. "I can wait my turn."
"N-no need," Sweetie said, "there's room for one more." She gave him what she hoped was a sexy look and licked her lips. "I've been dying to see what you t-taste like." She mentally congratulated herself on keeping it together despite the long lick that Velvet has just given her pussy.
Night Light nearly broke into a run toward the bed. "Are you sure?" he asked as he climbed onto the bed.
"Of course," Sweetie replied. He was close enough to her that she could reach out and stroke his member. It felt smooth and soft and hard all at the same time, like silk draped over an iron rod. "Come closer." Night Light obliged, shifting over toward Sweetie until her face was inches away from his cock. Sweetie leaned forward and licked the shaft from base to tip, savouring the salty, musky taste of him.
Night Light groaned and thrust himself forward involuntarily. Sweetie giggled softly, cupping his balls with her hooves and gently rubbing circles around the base of his throbbing penis, watching it twitch and jerk with the motion of her hooves.
It was then that she noticed a dimming in the pleasure around her nethers. Glancing downwards, she saw that Velvet had stopped lavishing attention on her to watch Sweetie's handling of Night Light's stallionhood. Her breathing seemed uneven and one hoof had slid down to rest between Velvet's own back legs, sliding back and forth gently.
Well, if Velvet wanted to watch, then Sweetie was going to give her a show. She ran her hoof up and down the long shaft before leaning over to kiss the tip, lapping up the small pearl of pre-cum resting on it. Then, without warning, she bobbed her head down, trying to take as much of his member in her muzzle as she could.
Night Light jerked in surprise at the sudden movement, bucking forward instinctively, which only helped push himself deeper into Sweetie's muzzle. She felt him hit the back of her throat and forced herself to relax the muscles around her throat. His cock slid a little further in before Sweetie's gag instinct kicked in and she pulled back, ejecting him from her and leaving a trail of saliva connecting her lips to the tip of his shaft.
"Okay, it's been a while since I've tried that," Sweetie managed to gasp between breaths. After taking a moment to recover, she dove back in, this time deciding to take things a little easier. She bobbed up and down on his shaft, stopping long before reaching the same point as before. She used her tongue to tease his shaft when it was inside of her muzzle, running soft circles around it and capturing the musky taste of his arousal.
Night Light moaned in pleasure as Sweetie continued sucking him off, and Sweetie heard Velvet moaning as well. She felt a little short-changed at not being able to join them, and pleasuring Night Light was heightening her arousal to the point where she was steadily leaking fluids from her pussy. She decided to change things up a little and indulge a little fantasy of hers.
"Hey, Night Light," she called after giving his shaft one more lick. "I've always wanted to have a stallion rut my mouth. Do you think you could oblige?"
"S-Sure," Night Light grunted, lifting his leg over Sweetie in order to straddle her. His member hovered above her face, suffusing the air with his scent. Meanwhile, she bucked her hips a few times to hopefully remind Velvet of her unfinished job.
It seemed the other mare got the hint, as a moment later she felt a hoof rubbing her coat right above her folds. At the same time, she opened her mouth and allowed Night Light to thrust himself inside her throat. He reached the base of her throat, then pulled out before Sweetie could gag again. Before she could fully recover, however, he thrust himself into her again. And again. And again.
For the next few minutes, Sweetie lost herself in a haze of pleasure. Night Light was rutting her mouth like she asked him to, his shaft thrusting into her over and over again while she was helpless to do anything but lie there and let her mouth be used to pleasure the stallion. The sensation of having her mouth filled over and over again as she serviced a stallion sent her arousal into a fever pitch, and her hips began bucking involuntarily at Velvet's face.
Velvet seemed to be trying to make up for lost time. While Night Light humped her face, Twilight had buried her muzzle between Sweetie's back legs, and was alternating between thrusting her tongue into her pussy and licking slow circles around the nub at the top of her folds.
The combination drove Sweetie insane, and when Velvet bit down gently on that nub, Sweetie felt the buildup of arousal release in a flood of pleasure. She moaned loudly into Night Light's cock as it continued to penetrate her muzzle over and over again. As she rode out the waves of her orgasm, she felt Night Light's shaft twitch and stiffen in her mouth.
"I'm c-coming!" he declared, pulling out of her mouth. Sweetie had other ideas though. Grasping his flanks with her hooves, she pulled him down toward her and leaned up to plunge his member into her muzzle. She bobbed up and down rapidly on it, causing Night Light to start thrusting into her again, and a few seconds later she felt the first splash of warm liquid hit the back of her throat. She swallowed as quickly as she could as load after load squirted into her mouth, the sensation amplifying the pleasure of her own orgasm. He was coming much faster than she could swallow, however, and soon his seed began to pool in her mouth.
Just as it seemed like her mouth couldn't hold anymore, the pulsing stopped and Night Light slowly slid himself out of her muzzle. Sweetie took one last swallow his seed, licking her lips to make sure she got all of it.
"Wow," Sweetie said, panting. "That was amazing. Thank you so much."
"Don't mention it," Velvet replied. "I hope you're not done yet, though. There's still a lot of fun we can have."
"Oh, I'm still good to go," Sweetie said. "I'm not sure about Night Light, though. That was one big load you just gave me."
"Don't worry," Velvet said, "he'll be up again in no time. Why don't you and I have a little fun while we wait for him?" Velvet pulled Sweetie into a deep kiss. "Mmm, I do so love the taste of my Nighty." She murmured against Sweetie's mouth.
As they kissed, Velvet began grinding her hips against Sweetie's, soaking her with her juices. Sweetie remembered that Velvet had not joined in the release that she and Night Light had shared. Smiling, she slowly rolled over and pinned Velvet to the bed before sliding down toward her belly. She peppered kisses on her teats, gently suckling at each of her nipples.
Velvet moaned and squirmed beneath Sweetie. "Would you mind getting down to business, please?" she asked, breathing heavily. "I've been waiting a while now."
"Oh, fine," Sweetie replied, continuing her path downwards toward Velvet's marehood. The fur surrounding it was absolutely soaked in her juices, and Sweetie took a moment to inhale deeply and savour the scent of her arousal.
Then she dove in with wild abandon, licking and suckling and even gently biting at the engorged flesh before her. The more she lavished attention on Velvet's nethers, the more of her arousal Sweetie was rewarded with, and she lapped up every drop with her tongue. Velvet moaned and writhed beneath her, and Sweetie had to cup her flanks with her hooves to hold her still so that she could continue pleasuring the other mare.
Sweetie lost herself in Velvet, not noticing Night Light moving toward her until he placed a hoof on her flank. "Room for one more?" he asked, rubbing circles around her cutie mark.
Sweetie nodded, noticing for the first time the ache in her own loins that had been building up while she pleasured Velvet. Sweetie spread her legs slightly, exposing as much of herself as she could while still remaining standing. Her tail had already moved out of the way to allow Night Light complete access to her pussy.
She felt his warm shaft slid back and forth against her entrance, teasing her folds while he soaked his member in her juices. Sweetie groaned and bucked her hips, aching to be filled. At the same time, she intensified her attention on Velvet, teasing the insides of her pussy with quick licks and suckling on her folds.
Finally, Night Light began pushing his cock inside of her. Sweetie felt herself being slowly stretched inch by inch as her well-lubricated walls clenched around the warm shaft that was invading her. Each time he pushed forward, she felt another surge of pleasure course through her body, and when he finally hilted himself inside of her, she wanted to beg him to rut her raw.
However, Night Light remained a gentlecolt and slowly pulled out, leaving Sweetie feeling empty and hungry to be filled again. Just as his tip was about to exit her folds, he pushed back in again, this time a little faster. With every stroke he built up speed, until he was pounding away at her and igniting her lust into a firestorm.
Remembering the needy mare in front of her, Sweetie stuck her tongue inside Velvet's pussy, sucking and swirling her tongue around. Velvet moaned in pleasure and grabbed her head with her hoof, pushing her deeper inside of her folds. Sweetie continued to rut her with her tongue while Night Light did the same for her with his cock. Together, they found a steady rhythm with Night Light thrusting forward and pushing Sweetie into Velvet's pussy, then pulling back and giving her a chance to breathe.
On and on this went, and the combined taste of Velvet's lust and the stimulation of having Night Light rutting her from behind brought her arousal to new heights. She felt herself teetering on the brink of release, her orgasm about to crash down on her. Not wanting to be the only one in this, she pressed a hoof against Velvet's nub and began rubbing against it while continuing to tongue her pussy.
Velvet screamed in pleasure and a second later she felt a flood of liquid arousal soak her face. Sweetie didn't let that deter her, continuing to lick and drink up as much of her juices as she could. Her own peak had almost arrived, and she began to buck her hips backward, syncing herself with Night Light's thrusts.
Finally, just as she licked the last of Velvet's arousal off of her folds, she found herself moaning in pleasure as her own release hit. This time, with a cock buried deep inside of her, her orgasm was even more intense than before, and she felt her pussy clamp down on Night Light's shaft, increasing the friction between them. She felt his member pounding into her tightening hole, each thrust sending another shock of ecstasy through her entire body. Sweetie threw her head back, crying out as her whole body twisted to and fro atop the invader inside her pussy, milking all the pleasure she could from the white-hot cock buried inside of her. In her mind, she saw a field of stars as the sensations Night Light was inflicting on her overloaded her brain.
As she rode out the waves of pleasure, she continued mindlessly licking at Velvet's pussy, the smell of her arousal heightening her own pleasure. When the last of her spasms had subsided and Night Light had pulled out of her, she simply lay on top of Velvet's private parts, exhausted.
Velvet smiled at the mare below her. "You're not done yet, Agent, are you?" she teased.
"Jus-just give me a moment," Sweetie gasped out. "That was one heck of an orgasm. You two have fun for a bit."
"We sure will," Velvet replied, gently pushing Sweetie's head out from between her legs and walking over toward Night Light to give him a kiss. "I think it's time you let me have some of that cock you've been giving Sweetie," she told him, turning around and presenting her pussy to him.
"Yes, dear," Night Light replied. He hadn't found his release while rutting Sweetie and was thus still hard. His lubricated shaft slid effortlessly into Velvet, causing her to moan and buck her hips against him.
"I need it fast and hard," Velvet said, "Agent Drops really got me worked up."
Night Light didn't say anything, simply speeding up until he was pounding into Velvet at a much faster pace than her had done for Sweetie. The younger mare watched as the couple thrust against each other in perfect synchrony, a harmony born of years of familiarity. Already, her own excitement was beginning again, and she found herself rubbing her own folds with her hoof like she had when she had first stumbled upon them in bed.
Before she could find her own release, however, Velvet gave a loud cry as her orgasm hit first, Night Light pounding mercilessly into her pussy. Her legs gave out from under her and she would have fallen if not for her husband holding her up with his hooves.
When Velvet had ridden out the last of her orgasm, she stepped out of Night Light's cock and turned around to gaze at his still-erect member, licking her lips.
Sweetie was also staring at the large rod that had already penetrated two of her holes. "Wow," she said, "he's still going."
"That's my Nighty," Velvet said, a little smug. She glanced between her husband's shaft and Sweetie Drops, who was still gently rubbing her own pussy. "Why don't you help me get him off again while we make each other feel good?"
"What did you have in mind?" Sweetie asked. Velvet walked over to her and whispered in her ear. Sweetie's smile grew wider and wider and another wave of wetness soaked her pussy. "Yeah, I could go for that."
"Somepony want to fill me in on what's going on?" Night Light asked, his right hoof slowly stroking his raging erection.
The two mares smiled. "You'll see," Velvet said. "Just climb onto the bed for now." Night Light did so, turning around so that he was lying on his back, his shaft pointing straight up. Velvet leaned over and placed a kiss on its tip, causing it to twitch. A moment later, Sweetie did the same. She then proceeded to pepper kisses down his shaft, all the way to the base. She could taste Velvet's arousal on his shaft in addition to Night Light's own musk, an intoxicating combination.
After reaching the base of his shaft, she gave it a long lick upwards. As she moved up, Velvet leaned forward again and began kissing his shaft from the other side, also starting from the base and sliding upwards. When they both reached the tip Velvet stuck her tongue out and brushed it against Sweetie's. Then they both began sucking on his cock; Velvet from the right, and Sweetie from the left. Occasionally, they would stop to kiss each other with his shaft between them, dancing their tongues around it as they explored each others' mouths.
Less than a minute of attention later, Sweetie could see the obvious strain in Night Light as he struggled to hold back his release. Feeling sorry for him, she pulled back, giving him one final lick before straightening. Beside her, Velvet did the same, then pulled Sweetie in for a deep kiss. "Are you ready to finish this?" she murmured against Sweetie's muzzle.
"Yes ma'am," Sweetie replied. Both mares climbed onto the bed on either side of Night Light. Velvet swung her back legs over Night Light, wrapping his shaft between them so that it was pressed against her folds. Sweetie did the same on the other side of the stallion, her legs wrapping around Velvet until their pussies pressed against each other as well as Night Light's cock.
Then, slowly, Velvet began grinding her pussy against Sweetie's, sending a wave of pleasure through her body. Sweetie responded in kind, trying to press her clit against Velvet's. When she finally succeeded, they both moaned in pleasure at the stimulation.
Meanwhile, Night Light began thrusting upwards involuntarily, the pleasure from having two mares grinding their pussies against his cock too much to bear. Sweetie felt Night Light's cock sliding back and forth against her entrance, which coupled with the sensation of Velvet's folds grinding on hers, sent twin spikes of pleasure through her brain. She increased her own efforts, trying to press her more sensitive regions against either Velvet's welcoming folds or Night Light's rock-hard shaft. Every time she succeeded, she moaned a little louder in pleasure.
Velvet was doing the same, rubbing up and down Night Light's thrusting shaft while trying to maximize her contact with Sweetie as well. The combined pleasure quickly sent Sweetie over the edge, and she found herself crying out in pleasure as her third release of the night washed over, her. A few moments later, Velvet joined her in climaxing.
As Sweetie rolled off the stallion and lay on the bed, she saw Velvet climb off the bed, get up onto her back hooves, and grasp Night Light's cock with her front hooves. She pumped up and down quickly, occasionally leaning over to suck on the tip of his shaft. Within seconds, Night Light's cock twitched, and a jet of white liquid splashed onto Velvet's muzzle, leaving a trail of seed across her face. Velvet opened her mouth and let the second shot fall onto her tongue, with some of it leaving another streak across her face.
By the time Velvet had finished jerking off Night Light, her mouth and face were both covered with his seed. She smiled up at him before pointedly swallowing his load, letting him see the bulge of her throat as she did so.
Velvet climbed back onto the bed and lay on her back. A few moments later, she spoke. "Well, I'm done for tonight."
"Me too," Sweetie chimed in, unable to summon up the energy to move. Now that the adrenaline of sex had worn off, her earlier exhaustion had come crashing down on her once again. "Thanks for that."
"Don't mention it, dear," Velvet replied. "Try to get some sleep. I have a feeling you'll need your energy for tomorrow." Those were the last words she remembered hearing before she fell asleep.
Morning found the three ponies lying sideways on the bed, still in approximately the same position that they had occupied the night before. The loud blare of a horn jolted all three of them awake.
"What was that?" Sweetie asked. She, Velvet, and Night Light were all completely alert, a product of their years of training.
"The dragonflame alert," Night Light replied. "Somepony is sending us a letter."
Sweetie leapt out the bed and broke out in a run toward the mailroom, eager to see what the higher-ups had decided. She grabbed the scroll floating next to the fire and unrolled it as quickly as she could, scanning through its contents. "Shadow Step, you bastard!" she muttered as she read.
"What was that, Sweetie?" Velvet asked.
"Shadow Step, my old partner," Sweetie replied. "He’s the mole. I knew he was a power-hungry sleaze, but I never expected him to go this far." She gave a small sigh. "Oh well, at least he’s dead; looks like the Bugbear double-crossed him after the attack." It wasn’t much, but at least she knew that the Agency was safe from any more internal threats.
She continued reading the letter. There were some more details about the attack, and the actions that were being taken as a result. Her heart lurched as she flipped over to the next page.
"Sweetie? Is something wrong?" Sweetie heard Velvet ask. She looked up to see her and Night Light standing by the door, staring at her worriedly.
"They're shuttering the whole agency," Sweetie said hollowly, "all records are to be destroyed and I'm being ordered to go deep cover in Ponyville until they sort this whole thing out."
"Don't worry," Velvet replied. "It's not the first time an agency has gone completely dark. They'll create a new agency once this all blows over and you defeat the Bugbear."
"So I'm just supposed to wait in Ponyville until some magical artifact pops up that lets me fight the Bugbear?" Sweetie stamped a hoof against the ground in frustration.
"Like I said, sometimes the hardest missions aren't the most dangerous ones," Velvet replied. "But we each have our duty to do, even if it's not as glamorous as we'd like it to be."
Sweetie sighed. "Yeah, you're right. Well, I guess I should get going. They've arranged to have the handler meet me at the Ponyville train station this evening, which means I'll have to catch an early train to get there. Thanks for..." Sweetie wasn't quite sure how to describe what they had shared last night, at least not without making the conversation very awkward, so she just finished it with a generic "...everything."
Velvet smiled. "It's no trouble. If you ever need anything, please don't hesitate to see us again." Her smile turned seductive. "We'd be happy to do whatever is needed to keep your mind off things."
"And who knows," Night Light chimed in, "maybe it won't be such a long wait. The Princess probably already has plans in motion to find something that will work against it." Velvet shot Night Light a brief glare that Sweetie couldn't understand.
"Anyway, it was a pleasure having you here," Velvet said as they reached the door. "I wish you the best of luck on your mission."
"Thank you." Sweetie said. "I'll never forget you two or everything you've done for me."
With a final farewell, she left the house, and began her journey to Ponyville.
Author's Note
And thus ends my first published work of fiction. I had a blast writing this, and I hope you enjoyed reading it as well. All comments, critiques, and pointing out of random grammar/spelling errors are welcome.
Also, thank you once again to Zaid ValRoa and CarcinoGeneticist for helping to edit this story. They are much better writers than I am and you should totally read their works.
