Bon Bon Before the Bug Bear

Chapters

The Beginning
The Adventure Begins
Bigger and Better Bugs

The Beginning

Canterlot, the seat of Government in Equestria, it is a magnificent and majestic city were Princess Celestia rules over all the Equestria while looking after and protecting all that live within its borders. This day is like all the others here, quiet and seines with no care in the world. Sweetie Drops, just another pony here in this land, with a yellow coat and a blue with pick mane and tail was making her way from the café where she had her morning breakfast like she did every day to her work within the castle here in Canterlot. Her job there was not really that important. She managed the cleaning and cataloging of all the magical relics. Although an earth pony she did have knowledge of magic even though she herself could not use it. She also, after all these years of being in her position, had a knowledge and understanding of magical creatures and the monsters that from time to time plagued the land.

But this day would be different and would change this little pony's life forever. It would send her on adventures far beyond what any pony could dream. As she got to her part of the castle where she preformed her duties, a royal guard came up to her.

"Sweetie Drops! The Princess would like to see you," the guard stated.

'The Princess,' Sweetie Drops thought, 'what would she want with me? I am nothing here; I just take care of the relics. I sure hope I did not do something wrong.'

These thoughts that ran threw her head as she was quietly escorted to the throne room where Princess Celestia awaited her. The royal throne room is one place in the castle that Sweetie Drops has not ever been. The hall way to the room was lined with stained glass windows that depicted scenes from history here in Equestria. The large doors opened and she entered the chambers of the Princess where those walls too were lined with stained glass windows. They also depicted periods in the history of Equestria. As she approached the throne a little Purple pony with a dark and light purple mane and a big pink star surrounded by five smaller white stars on her flank was just leaving the room.

'This must be Twilight Sparkle,' Sweetie Drops thought. 'I hear she is a prodigy with magic and Princess Celestia's prize pupil. So once again why me?' The thoughts flashed threw her head like lightning.

"Come closer Sweetie Drops," a soft and kind voice called out. "I have been expecting you."

It was the Princess and she had already noticed that Sweetie Drops had entered the room even though she was focused on a lesson with Twilight.

"How can I serve you, Princess?" Sweetie Drops asked.

"I am so glad you could come. I have something I would like to discuss with you. For some time now, you have been the keeper of the relics within the castle is the correct?"

"Yes, Princess I have," she replied.

"I have a need for a special team of ponies that can deal with magical relics and creatures. With your knowledge of the relics and the understanding of their uses, you would be a perfect fit for this new team I have assembled," Celestia explained. "This team will only report to me and me alone. There will be no official record of your existence and the work you will be doing for Equestria will never be known. You can tell no pony of what you do. Is this something that you think you can handle?"

With no brother or sister and her parents moved to Phillydelphia, there really was no pony that she could tell. Her time as the curator of the relics gave her little time to make friends. She did always have a feeling that she was meant for more. So, without hesitation she replied, "Yes, I can do it."

"Very good, I knew that I could count on you," Celestia was almost beaming with joy. "Come with me and I will introduce you to the others."

They walked out of the throne room and down the long hall. As they walked, it was almost ere that there were no guards around. They took a few twists and turns as she found herself at the top of a long staircase that went down. That was not here before she thought as she realized were they were. It was just on the other side of the hall from her office in the relic room.

"This is the entrance to your new office. I will enchant you with a spell so that only you and your fellow agents can access this stairway. Right now, I have cast a spell to make it visible, but as soon as you enter here it will disappear and only those within will be able to see," Celestia explained.

They both enter the doorway of the stairwell and Celestia's horn lit up and nothing happened as far as Sweetie Drops could tell. But from what Celestia just explained nothing would as far as the agents were concerned. But as far as the rest of the staff in the castle and the guards nothing was there. They both continued down the stairs for a while, what seem like an eternity to Sweetie Drops, they finally came to the bottom far beneath the Castle. There was a large round anteroom there with several doors arranged all along the wall in the round room. There were no distinguishing marks on any of the door nor were there any signs to indicate what door went were. It would be almost impossible to find your way around here she thought.

"So where do we go from here. I mean there is not a sign or symbol that tell what door is what. I mean no disrespect, Princess," Sweetie Drops asked with a little shakiness in her voice. This was the ruler of Equestria that she was addressing and a question like that implies she does not know what she is doing.

"Fear not my little pony, you see all these door lead to the same place if you have the enchantment. But one would manage to find the stairs and descend them they would find these doors lead no were. I did tell you that this is of the most importance and secrecy here," Celestia answered in her calm and motherly voice. "I cannot have my subjects know of the dangers that are out there. Some so horrible they could not even comprehend."

"As you wish, Princess, I will not tell any pony. And I will do what I need to so Equestria can be safe," Sweetie Drops replied still a little shakiness in her voice but building with confidence.

They entered the first door in front of them and they were in a large room with maps of Equestria all along the walls, there were desk in the center of the room but not many. There were marks all over the maps in different colors. She quested and correctly that the different colors represented the threat level of the magical creature or monster. Green was very low, Yellow Low, Orange was a medium and Red high. She was surprised to see more Orange and Red then there were Yellow and Green. She had no idea that there were so many potential threats to this peaceful land. But as it was Equestria only did count for about 30% of the entire planet and a lot of which was not explored by ponies as of yet. So that stood to reason that there could be more than the ponies ever know. But Celestia, who was centuries old at this point, did know and that is why she created this agency.

"It will be you job here to track and, if possible, trap these threats to our land. With your knowledge of the relics in the castle and the help of one of my hoof-picked unicorn mages, you can use the relics to help you trap these threats," Celestia explained as they walked around the room. "We have intelligence from agents all over Equestria that come into this room and this room alone. It has taken a great deal of effort to keep this secret and yet make it so large of an operation."

It was just mind blowing, years she worked in the castle and never once did she even get a hint of such things as she was being told now. This was a great honor and privilege for her. As she was getting the lay to the land, so to speak, she heard the Princess address all if the agents present in the room.

"This is our newest agent Miss Sweetie Drops. She has a vast knowledge of ancient and magical relics. I believe she will be a great addition your team and a wonderful agent to Equestria. Now I must leave you I have duties to attend," Celestia finished and with a pop she teleported out.

"So you know magic? Kind of impressive for an earth pony!" A voice behind Sweetie Drops inquired.

She turned around still in a little shock to see a stallion there he was a blue unicorn with light blond almost white mane and tale with a line of orange to accent his mane and tail. His cutie mark was an open book with looked like stars shooting out almost like fireworks. With an almost not unintelligible voice replied "Yyy-yes, yes I do. Well maybe not in the way a unicorn does, but I know how to control magical relics and there uses. I worked in the Canterlot Castle Relics room for years now."

"So you did, my name is Duke Spirit. I am the senior agent here. You will receive your assignments from me, as well as, report any and all finding while you are on assignment to me. You must always remember that we do not exist so when you are on assignment use the utmost caution. Now let's get you to work," he finished his little speak to Sweetie Drops it sounded rehearsed but she followed him to what she assumed was her new desk. "Here you go. This is your work area while you are here. If there is anything you need please feel free to ask any of us, we are all on the same team here. Now if you will excuse me I must go get the duty roster made up for next week's missions. So many dangerous things in this land," he turned and walked off to his office without another word.

With all the excitement and adrenalin in her at the moment, she almost squeaked but held it in, after all she was a mature pony and not a little filly any more. She looked at her new desk and work station organizing it to suit her needs for this was her job now. Her old office was like a picture everything in its place and organized, she did not intend on loosing that part of her personality even if no one would ever know what she did or where she worked. It was not like there was going to be visitors. Never the less she organized her desk and opened the top file folder in her in box.

The folder contained all the Intel on the magical creature that she was to capture. As she read down report and assignment she thought to herself how in Equestria am I going to capture a Perasprite? There had been a sighting of the little pests in the Ever Free forest right outside the little village of Ponyville. As she read she started to remember something from the archives and it hit her.

'I know just what to do,' she thought.

She got up from her seat and went over to the supply closet; on there was all manner of equipment that agents could use on their missions. She picked up a few small items and packed them in her new saddle bags. She was ready to go, but how in Equestria was she going to get there. It was a two day walk and she did not have money for the train. As she stood just beside the closet another fellow agent walked up and looked at her with the blank look on her face.

"Are you OK?" the mare inquired.

She was a unicorn that was Light green with a blue mane and tale. Her eyes were orange and vibrant. "Agent Drops, are you OK?" she asked again.

"Y—yes, I was just wondering how I get to Ponyville. I do not have any money for the train. My last position did not pay me a lot, so I do not have many bits," Sweetie Drop answered.

"Oh is that all, well that is not problem just go over to that nice Stallion there," She pointed with her hook at the Black stallion with gray mane. "And he will issue you your travel papers. We get free train fare in the service of the Princess."

"Oh well that solves the problem. Thank you so much Agent?" Sweetie Drops replied.

"Natures Glow," the kind mare replied. "I am so glad you are here with us. We may know magic but we do not have the knowledge of the artifacts you do. I know you will be a great help to us all. Good luck on your first mission, always remember we do not exist."

It was kind of getting annoying hearing that, but Sweetie Drops understood the importance of secrecy. No pony could know about the danger out there it would cause a mass panic. She trotted over to the Stallion indicated by Natures Glow and got her travel pass for unlimited and free train service anywhere in Equestria. With that done she walked over to the wall were she and Celestia first entered, the portal or door way whatever you want to call it appeared and she walked up the stairs and into the castle. She was off on a whole new adventure that would prove to be more then she knew.

The Adventure Begins

As Sweetie Drops got to the top of the stairs, she entered her old office. There she started to pick threw the list of magical artifacts. Once she found what she was looking for she entered the vault and picked out a beautiful harp. It was made of a white wood with gold trim and accents with strings like silk. The artifact when played lulled anyone or anything in its range to sleep.

She thought that this would do the trick so that she could gather up all the little pests and place them in containment. She placed the harp in her saddle bag along with the other things she gathered from the secret office down below. Now she was set and ready to go on her mission. Silently she walked through the halls of the castle and out the front gate and into the streets of Canterlot. As she made her way to the train station she could not help but think of how this new roll in Equestria was going to work out. She never had thought of herself as heroic or brave, and capturing monsters and threats to the empire were kind of scary but exciting all at the same time.

Sweetie Drops was lost in thought and did not even notice she was at the station until she bumped into the conductor of the train.

"OH, I am so sorry! I did not see you there. Is this the train to Ponyville?" She asked the stallion.

"Yes it is, and it is ok I get that a lot around here. All these Canterlot folk are too busy to watch where they are going," he replied very politely.

"Well I was kind of day dreaming so it was totally my fault. I hope I did not hurt you," she replied.

"Not at all. I do that myself from time to time," the conductor answered. "We are just getting ready to leave you have you ticket?"

"Yes sir, here it is," Sweetie Drops handed him the pass she was issued at the agency.

"Well well, a royal messenger. We do not get many of those these days. Please come on aboard," he conductor said with a little giddiness in his voice. It was not often that a Royal Messenger was on his train.

He opened the train car door for her and she trotted inside and took her seat in the general passenger car. She was not to draw attention so she tried to blend in with the rest of the passengers. There were not many and this train only had 5 cars. Ponyville was not exactly a hot vacation spot like Phillydelphia or Manehatten. It was not long after she took her seat that the train started to move and was off down the Mountain towards her mission and a wild adventure.

The train ride only took a few hours and was relatively uneventful. The small train pulled into the station at the edge of Ponyville and the few passengers on board got off, Sweetie Drops included. There were a few ponies at the station ready to board when the train emptied, but not many. She trotted off the platform and into town, she took in the sights and smells. Walking down the streets of the small village, she saw that most of the Ponies here were fillies and mares. Very few stallions, but that is the way it was in Equestria, some towns had a balanced mixture of colts, stallion, fillies, and mares, where others were like this one either mainly mares or stallions. As she trotted threw town, she was all of a sudden hit from the front by a pink blur. She rolled down the street with the blur for a few feet until they came to a rest with the pink pony standing over her.

"Hi! My name is Pinky Pie! Are you new here? You must be new here because I know every pony in Ponyville. Where you come from? Why are you here? What is your name?" It all came out in one big rush with joy and excitement in her voice.

"Oh… Hi my name is" she paused for a moment as she tried to think of a new name. She was undercover after all. "Bon Bon. I am from Canterlot. I just came into town. I was thinking of moving here."

"OH BOY!" Pinky Pie exclaimed "A new friend! I love making new friends."

"Well as I said thinking about it. Not sure if I am going to move here or not," Sweetie Drops continued the lie. She was not very good at lying but this pink pony was so excited and high strung that Sweetie Drop doubted that she would even pick up on her tells. See ponies, in general, were horrible liars. They gave off all sorts of tells that gave them away.

"You should totally move here! his place is the best! And I am the official party planner for the whole town. I throw the best parties!" Pinky Pie said proudly.

"We will have to see," Sweetie Drops replied. "It was nice meeting you Miss Pie."

"You can call me Pinky," she told the pony she just met.

"Oh ok, thank you Pinky," Sweetie Drops responded and was off leaving the pink pony behind. 'Well that was defiantly different,' she thought. All her years living in Canterlot she never meet a pony with such energy as that one.

Sweetie Drops made her way to the edge of town and the Ever free Forest. The first thing she noticed about the forest is that it had a weather pattern all its own. The pegasus ponies had no control over it. There were dark clouds in one area and sun shine in another. The plants grew all on their own with no help from the earth Ponies, it was strange. She slowly made her way into the foreboding looking forest.

As she made her way through the thick underbrush, the smells and sounds of the forest assaulted her senses. The thick smell of the trees and grass was nothing like in Canterlot or Ponyville. The sounds of the creatures were unfamiliar her as well. There were sounds she never heard before and they were kind of worrisome. It was not long before she was deep into the forest and she realized she did not mark her trail on the way in.

Worry started to creep into her mind and she had to take a deep breath to calm herself. Panic would not do her any good now. As she looked around some relief hit her. She looked back the way she came and saw her shoe prints in the dirt. Well the will help her retrace her steps. It was starting to get dark at this point so she decided that it would be a good idea to head back to Ponyville for the night and start fresh in the morning. She turned around and followed her trail back the ways she came. As she left the clearing, she was stopped by a yellow pair of eyes was watching her from the bushes. Taking note of it, she continued to leave and head to the nearest inn to spend the night.

The next morning came with the gentleness one would expect in a village such as this one. Sweetie Drops got up with a yawn and stretched herself out. She then took a shower and got her gear ready for the day. She placed her saddle bags on her back and left her room at the small inn she was staying at. She made her way down stairs her belly was rumbling and she realized she did not eat the night before. All the excitement of the day made her forget to eat. The inn had a small dining room that she made her way into and sat at a table. One of the staff trotted up to take her order.

"What can I get you this morning?" asked the female unicorn standing before her. She had a mint coat, brilliant cyan mane and tail with a white streak, sunglow eyes, and a cutie mark of a lyre.

Sweetie Drops instantly liked her. Although she did not have many friends in Canterlot, it was not because she did not try. She just did not really fit in with the brand of ponies there. But she did pride herself on being a good judge of character and this filly was somepony she would like to get to know. She took moment to look over the menu and settled on a daisy salad.

"Yes, I would love to have the daisy salad, please," Sweetie Drops replied.

"Great choice. It is the house specialty," the waitress said. "I will have it right out for you."

"Thank you so much, I am starving," Sweetie Drops returned with a smile. Yes indeed she would like to get to know this pony better.

Her meal come just a few minutes later and the nice waitress placed it on her table with a smile. "Is there anything else I can get for you? If so my name is Lyra, just ask I would be happy to assist," Lyra told her.

"Thank you Lyra, I am…." She trailed off as she tried to think of a name to maintain he cover. Since she already used one she might as well stick with it. "Bon Bon."

"Nice to meet you, Bon Bon. Enjoy your meal," Lyra said and then she trotted off to her other tables.

Sweetie Drops finish her meal and paid. Surprisingly it was only 2 bits. The same meal in Canterlot would have cost her at least 5. She left a bit for a tip and left the restaurant. It was time to get to work. She trotted off threw town heading off to the Everfree Forest. This time she brought with her some string to mark her way.

At the edge of the forest she tied her first sting and proceeded into the unknown. Being it was early morning, there was plenty of daylight left. Despite that the forest was still pretty dark. But no matter there was a job to do and she was determined not to fail. It was not long and she was quite a ways into the forest. She lost count on how many markers she left behind her. She searched for at least 5 hours or so before she came across the first signs of the little pests. There was a grove of fruit trees of which she could not identify the type of fruit, but the trees were bare. No sign of anything on them, they were picked clean. It was just then as she was examining the tree she heard the cutest little chirp from the nearby bushes. She walked over to examine it and a little blue ball with big eyes and bug like wings popped out. She knew from the description that this was what she came for.

The Perasprite flew over to her still cooing oh so gently. It landed on the tip of her upraised hoof and stared at her. As it sat there looking at her it appeared to choke and vomit and out popped a green ball that instantly opened its eyes and sprouted wings. She thought to herself now I know why they are such a pest. All they have to do is eat and they reproduce.

Off in the distance she heard an almost sawing sound, so she took her two little pests and put them into a jar the she had brought and proceeded toward the sound. It was not long before she discovered what the sound was. She was on the edge of another fruit tree grove and there they were hundreds of them. Consuming all they could fine that was eatable. Sweetie Drops took out her magic harp and began to strum the strings lightly. It put off the most enchanting sound she ever heard. But to her great surprise it did nothing to slow down or stop the little pests.

This made no since, the artifact was not working. It was supposed to put anything in its range to sleep. But these little things just keep right on going, Sweetie Drops did not know what to do. As she watched the little pest devour all in their path she heard another sound. It was coming from behind her; the rustling of the brush like something was coming her way. Sweetie Drops spun around hooves up and ready to defend against the creature coming at her. As the sound burst out of the underbrush she once again was assaulted by the pink blur. It was Pinkie Pie.

"Hello again!" Pinkie exclaimed.

"What are you doing here?" Sweetie Drops asked.

"I followed you. You looked like you needed a smile," Pinkie replied.

"Well not really but I do need some help. You see those little things over there?" Sweetie Drops asked.

"Oh yeah. Yuck Perasprites," Pinkie said opening her mouth and making a gagging motion.

"I was sent here to get rid of them and I do not know how. I have this harp but it does not seem to faze them," Sweetie Drops explained.

It was a risk but she had no choice now. She decided to tell the pink pony who she was and why she was there. Sweetie Drops hoped it would not come back to bite her later.

"Pinkie Pie, can I trust you with a secret?" Sweetie Drops asked. "It is really important you never tell anypony."

"Cross my heart and hope to fly stick a cup cake in my eye," Pinkie replied.

"What was that all about?" Sweetie Drops asked.

"It's my Pinkie Promise; I never break a Pinkie Promise. So what do you need to tell me that is soooooooooo secret?" Pinkie said.

Sweetie Drops then went on to explain the agency and her mission there in the Everfree Forest. It did not take too long to explain it all. She finished up with it all but telling her that the Princess herself needed to keep the secret and that it was for the good of all Equestria. When she was all done with her explanation Pinkie eyes were like pin dots and a look of confusion was left on her face. But she popped out of that quickly and exclaimed "Okie Doky Loki."

"So what can we do?" Sweetie Drops asked.

"Well first you are going to need a trombone, an accordion, a harmonica, symbols, some maracas, a banjo, tambourine, and last, but not least, a tuba," Pinkie replied all in a rush.

"What for?" Sweetie Drops asked.

"No time, we have to go, hurry up!" Pinkie said as she was already galloping off towards town.

Sweetie Drops fell in behind her doing her best to keep up with Pinkie. They were out of the forest in no time and back into Ponyville. Pinkie rushed from house to house and shop to shop picking up all the musical instruments on her list. Sweetie Drops fell on a park bench of exhaustion, how in the world does this pink pony do it? As she sat there a caught her breath a familiar Mint colored unicorn came walking by.

"Bon Bon right?" Lyra asked.

"Yes," Sweetie Drops replied.

"You mind if I sit here with you? You look exhausted, what happened?" Lyra said with a hint of worry in her voice.

"I was trying to help out Pinkie Pie," Sweetie Drops explained.

"Oh, hahahahahaha. Celestia herself could not keep up with Pinkie Pie," Lyra said. "She is like nothing I ever have seen that Pinkie. She could go all day and never get tired. I think it is all the sugar she eats."

That broke the ice, they both sat there on the bench for a while just talking. Sweetie Drops found that she really liked this mare, almost too much. It was not uncommon to have two mares or two stallions as a couple, but she never considered even having a mate so to speak. Her work was all she had for the longest time. Even in school the colts would try and serenade her but she was not interested. But with this new job, how would this even work? All these thoughts rushed threw her head and out of no were popped a pink face.

"Ready to go?" Pinkie asked.

"OH YES!" Sweetie Drops replied almost in relief. "Lyra I am sorry but I have to go now help Pinkie. She is doing a one pony polka."

With that they were off and headed to the forest once more. Pinkie was carrying all of the instruments that she collected on her back and in her saddle bags. Once again Sweetie Drops had a hard time keeping up, but she managed. They reached the clearing were they first meet up and Pinkie stopped. She began to take off the musical instruments and put them together so she could play them all at once. Sweetie Drops just stared in amazement. It only took a few moments and the polka machine was ready to go. Pinkie slid it on like it belonged on her and started to walk around sniffing the air and listening to the forest.

It was only a few minutes and her ears popped up and she took off. Sweetie Drops was right behind her. It it was not long before she heard what Pinkie was running towards. It was that same sawing sound she heard earlier. They entered another clearing not quite as big as the first one. There they were all those little pests all munching away at the fruit in the clearing.

As soon as they both saw the little pests Pinkie readied up the polka machine and started playing. The music had a kind of rhythmic beat to it that any pony could enjoy. Not the soft and harmonizing sound that the harp made but an upbeat kind of cheery sound. It did not take long and all the little pests were bouncing and doing a little dance. To Sweetie Drops amazement they all started to line up in a row and follow the music. Pinkie was leading them along a trail through the forest. Sweetie Drops took this opportunity to take out one of the other items she brought with her. It was a small box about 6 inches square and 6 high, the box was ornate and lined with gold trim made from some kind of white stone. Too look at it you might think it was just a paperweight but it was much more. Essentially it was a prison capturing creatures and placing them in suspended animation until it could be determined what to do with them.

Pinkie continued her polka and leading the little pests along as Sweetie Drops ran ahead to set up the box. It did not take Pinkie long and she was at the place where Sweetie Drops was ready. She pressed the little button on the side of the box and a small door popped opened on one side, she placed that side towards the trail and waited for the first Perasprite to come, as soon as Pinkie passed she flipped the little lever and opened the box. Like a vacuum the box began to suck in all that was in its reach. It took dirt and grass as well as every last Perasprite. Pinkie continued to play for a little longer before she realized there were not more Perasprites following her. She turned back around and walked back to where Sweetie Drops was packing up the box.

"Were did they all go?" Pinkie asked.

"I captured them all and placed them in here. They will not be bothering anypony ever again," Sweetie Drops replied. "Thank you so much for your help. I do not think I could have done it without you."

"Oh shucks, that what friends are for," Pinkie said. "Now I guess I will go bake a bunch of cupcakes for the party I am planning tomorrow. See you." And pinkie was bouncing off singing to herself. "LALALALALA…"

It was done, she did it. She completed her first mission with complete success. Sweetie Drops was beaming with pride as she walked back the trail out of the forest and to home. What she did not know was there was one little Perasprite that did not get scooped up and was left behind.

Bigger and Better Bugs

Sweetie Drops arrived back in Canterlot later that afternoon. She immediately set off for the castle and the new agency she was proud for be a part of. Even though her first assignment was really not that big of a deal, it was to her. She had never been special before. No pony ever even looked her way. On top of that, this mission allowed her to meet a very friendly and weird Pink Pony and Lyra. When she thought that name, Lyra, she got butterflies in her stomach. Wait what was this feeling she was having. She never felt this way before, not for a stallion or a mare. It was very weird and confusing all at the same time.

She made it back to the castle without incident and proceeded to her office. Once down the stairs and into the main part of the agency, she approached her boss.

“Sir, what do I do with this?” she asked.

Duke Spirit turned around with a somewhat look of shock on his face. “You are back already? You mean to tell me you caught the little buggers?”

“Yes sir. They are all in here. Locked away in suspension,” Sweetie Drops replied proudly.

“Good work Agent Sweetie Drops,” Duke Spirit said. “Go and give them to Lock and Key. He is in charge of the vault.”

“The vault sir?” Sweetie Drops asked.

“Yes, it is where all the little pests of Equestria spend Eternity. The Big ones get sent to Tartarus,” Duke Spirit explained.

Sweetie Drops knew of Tartarus; it was a place of legend and horror. Every evil thing ever known ended up there. That thought did not deter her from her duties, she trotted right over and handed the little box with all the Perasprites to Lock and Key. He proceeded to check them in and catalog there entry, then the little box was tagged “WARNING EXTERMLY DANGEROUS” and sent off to a shelf deep within the vault.

With that done Sweetie Drops went over to her desk to file her after action report. It did not take long and she was very detailed in her report. But she did leave out the part about the pony polka and Pinkie Pie. She did not want to get into any trouble on her first assignment. After she was finished with the report she took it over to a series of pipes in the far wall. Placed the scroll in the little glass container in the tube that was marked “Princess Celestia”, put it into the tube and away it went.

“Agent Drops,” a voice called from across the room. “I have a mission for you”

It was Duke Spirit calling to her. She turned around and trotted over to him.

“Yes sir, what is next?” She eagerly asked.

“We have had reports of a creature in western Equestria. The details are sketchy but it seems this thing can change its appearance. We are not sure of its origins or intent. Your mission is to find it and determine its origins and intent,” he explained. “This is an information gathering mission so do not take any action unless you deem it a threat and necessary.”

A shape shifting creature was defiantly different. In all her years in the archives, she had never once heard of such a thing. This was going to be great; she loved to discover new things about this world. With a nod she started to trot off and gather her gear she would need for this mission, but before she got too far Duke Spirit stopped her.

“One more thing, since this creature can take the shape of anything we will be placing a few protection spells on you as well as an emergency teleport spell. That way if you get into any trouble, you can get out of there quickly. On top of that, there is a code that we can identify that it is you upon your return to Canterlot. We will say “All is well” and you will return “in Equestria”.

It did not make much since to Sweetie Drops of why they would need such a silly little phrase such as this, but it must be for the best if they were giving it to her. She just nodded in the affirmative that she understood. Now that there exchange was done Duke Spirit walked off back to his business and Sweetie Drops continued to gather her gear for this mission. Being that it was recon and nothing more she picked up some scrolls and quills along with a pair of spy glasses, best to observe from afar until she had some idea of what she was dealing with. With all her gear in her saddle bag she placed it on her back and off she went. It did not take long to reach the top of the stairs. When she got there, she remembered another artifact that just might help. That and she forgot to return the one she borrowed for her last mission.

She walked into her old office and opened the rolls of inventory until she found what she was looking for. She placed the harp on the shelf were she got it from and walked down several rows and over a few more. There it was just where it should be, the “All Seeing EYE” as it was called. It was not really an eye but a clear crystal ball. This was just not ordinary crystal ball though it was used by Star Swirl himself to see the truth in pony’s and creatures alike. She knew this one would do what she intended this time. That was if she could figure out how to use it. Before she left the Castle she took a short trip to the Castle Library in hopes to find a guild book to the artifact.

Once in the Library, she found rows and rows of history books, magic books and even some fictional reads. She proceeded to walk up and down the rows of books looking for something that might give her a clue. Lost in her wondering in the library, she all of a sudden felt pain and came to an abrupt stop.

“Ouch!” a voice exclaimed.

Sweetie Drops a little dazed looked up and saw who she bumped into, it was Twilight Sparkle. If anypony knew where she could find the clue it was her.

“Oh I am sorry.” Twilight said. “I did not see you there. I guess I was caught up in what I was doing. There are not many ponies in here like ever.”

“It’s okay. It was my fault I was looking for a book and not watching where I was going,” Sweetie Drops replied.

“What are you looking for?” Twilight asked. “I bet I could help.”

“Oh, well thank you. See I work in the Relics archive and this just came in and I do not know what it is and was hoping there was some information on it,” Sweetie Drops lied. “I must be able to catalog it properly.”

Twilight took the crystal ball with her magic and examined it for a minute. “It looks like a plain, old crystal ball to me.” As she stared into it her eyes glassed over and she took on a kind of zombified look. Just a few seconds later she snapped out of it and exclaimed. “WOW, I never have seen anything like it. Wait here I have an idea on where to look.”

She then almost dropped the ball as she took off down the row of books and turned the corner and was out of site. That pony needs to get out more Sweetie Drops thought as she carefully placed the Orb back into her saddle bags. Come to think of it, I never got out much either. It did not take long and Twilight was back in front of her with a dusty, old book.

“This is the Book of Sacanas, it tells of many old relics and magical items.” Twilight exclaimed almost filly like tone to her. “Let us see here, Staff that will make the owner be able to absorb the magic of the Alicorns… Why would somepony do that? Magical Talisman, Magic Mirror, OH her we are, THE ALL SEEING EYE. This magical relic will allow the user to see into a pony’s sole and see them for who they really are. WOW this is great.”

“HHHmmmm, that is interesting. So how does it work?” Sweetie Drops inquired.

“Well from what I can tell all you have to do is look threw the Orb at the pony you want to see and it just shows you.” Twilight explained.

That was not a very scientific explanation but it would have to do. There was little time and she had to get going. She thanked Twilight and started on her next mission. She trotted out of the castle and down to the train station. Once again she found herself on a mission she was not quite ready for but this is her new role here in Equestria. Her ride took her west past Ponyville on across the Smokey Mountains and threw the Unicorn Range onto Van Hoover.

The train came to a stop with a loud screech in the Van Hoover station and it jolted Sweetie Drops awake from her sleep. She heard the conductor say “Last Stop VANHOOVER.” This was it, she was here. It was time to get to work. Being that she had never been here before she had no idea how to even get around. So her first stop was to a little souvenir shop at the station where she picked up a map of the city and surrounding area.

Where should I begin my search, she thought. I do not even know what I am looking for. As she stood there looking at the map she was bumped into and almost knocked off her hooves.

A real shy and quiet voice said “Hey, watch were the buck you are going!” The voice was feminine but raspy and kind masculine at the same time.

Sweetie Drops looked up from around her map that she was studying and saw a light blue Pegasus with a rainbow main and tail.

“Oh I am sorry. I was just thinking about something and did not see you coming.” Sweetie Drops replied. “I guess I should not have been standing in the main traffic lane.” She kind of chuckled. “My name is Bon Bon and I am just here on vacation. And you are?”

Since she had been using the name Bon Bon she figured she would stick with it. After all she could not reveal her real name or purpose here.

“Names Rainbow Dash,” She replied with a proud and confidence to her. “Best flier in Equestria.”

“Nice to meet you Rainbow Dash. What brings you to Vanhoover?” She asked.

“I am here to see the Wonderbolts Show,” Rainbow Dash Replied. “Best fliers in all of Equestria, next to me of course.”

Sweetie Drops had seen the Wonderbolts perform before. Of course they were regulars in Canterlot. She thought long and hard on how she could use this to her advantage in this mission for it was the most challenging to date. It was like finding a needle in a haystack. And this was one of the busiest times of year for Vanhoover especially with the Wonderbolts in town.

“Say you think you could show me around town. I have never been here before and I am embarrassed to say that I am kind of intimidated by it,” Sweetie Drops told Rainbow Dash. Not technically a lie but not all the truth either and she did it without flinching. ‘Hey I am getting good at this’ she thought.

“Sure, I got nothing to do before the show and it is not till 5 o’clock. Follow me.” Rainbow Dash said in a hurry of excitement and flew off down the street with a rainbow trail following her.

Sweetie Drops just stood there in disbelief on her speed and wondered how in Equestria she going to keep up with this one. Just then she saw her coming back rainbow trailing behind her. She skid to a stop just inches from Sweetie Drops and chuckled a little.

“Sorry, I forgot you were an earth pony. I guess we will walk,” Rainbow Dash said with a small blush crossing her face.

They started walking the way Rainbow Dash had taken off just moment before. They walked and talked for a good portion of the morning and into the early afternoon. Sometime around 1 o’clock they stopped at a restaurant and had lunch. Sweetie Drops had her usual salad but she was shocked to see the carb load that Rainbow Dash packed down. With lunch finished they continued about their day. Vanhoover was a fairly large city but nowhere near Canterlot or Manehatten. Around 4 Rainbow Dash checked the time on the town clock and said “We got to get the stadium if we want to get good seats.”

“You go, I do not have tickets. Besides I want to walk around some more,” Sweetie Drops lied.

“OK, but maybe we can meet up after the show? I really enjoyed talking with you today,” Rainbow Dash replied. There was something in her voice that Sweetie Drops did not want to misinterpret but sounded like she might be into mares. This was nothing new to her of course for she herself favored mares over stallions, but to have one just so obvious about it was new to her. But then again she may be misreading the whole thing.

“Sure, I think I would like that,” she replied.

“Great! See ya,” Rainbow Dash said and was off in a flash trailing a rainbow dust trail behind her.

What a strange day it has been so far Sweetie Drops thought as she continued threw the town searching for who knows what. She walked up and down the streets periodically looking threw the eye to see if there was anything amiss. Nothing, maybe the reports were wrong, maybe there was nothing here to find, or maybe it was not it town. The thought hit here like a bolt of lightning. She took off for her hotel to gather some supplies that she would need, it was still a few hours before dark so if she hurried she could make a sweep of surrounding forests.

Soon after she got clear of the city limits and into the forests she started her search. She had to set up a pattern so she did not cover the same ground twice. With the map she picked up earlier that day she set up a grid and away she went. Sometime just before sunset Sweetie Drops was starting to get hungry and tired. The sun was getting low in the western sky and shades of orange and red started to appear, soon it would be to dark to continue. So took out her map and plotted the best route back to the hotel. Just then a rustling sound came from the bushes just in front of her. This startled Sweetie Drops for there was no sign of life all afternoon, not even a bunny.

Cautiously she slowly inched forward, peering into the bush. NOTHING, she crouch down and pounced threw the bush and landed hard with a thump on the other side passing right threw the bush. Once again NOTHING…? This puzzled her, she defiantly heard something but all she saw was a broken tree stump. BUT there was something off about it; there was not fallen tree near. It defiantly looked like a tree fell but where was the rest of it? So she trotted over to it and thumped it. Strangely it was solid and not hollow like one would think.

She stood there staring at the stump for a few minutes and then started to pace around a little, looking at the bushes and the surrounding trees thinking. She could not quite piece it all together. She was on here 4th circle around the small clearing and she noticed the stump was GONE! Ok this is getting weird, she thought. She trotted back to the spot where the stump was and started to look around there. As she was looking and wondering she was not paying too much attention to her surrounding and she bumped straight in to HERSELF?

“WHAT IN EQUESTRIA!” she exclaimed.

Sweetie Drops stared at herself and she stared back. They paced around and around each other as the stare down continued. Finally the real Sweetie Drops said “OK this is crazy. What are you?”

In a flash of green fire a black pony, well kind of a pony appeared. It was all black with holes in its legs, a hard carapace on its back and chest with wings and a horn. The winds had holes in them as well. As Sweetie Drops stared at the creature that just appeared it spoke.

“Please, do not be afraid. I won’t hurt you,” It said in a rush.

Shock covered Sweetie Drops face, her mouth went dry and she started to feel a rush of fear. But she clamped down on her fear and replied to the creature. “Who and what are you?”

“My name is Thorax and I am a changeling,” it responded.

A changeling Sweetie Drops thought well that makes sense. That explains so much of the reports. And so much of the eye I brought a lot of good that did. But that is not the point her. These thoughts rolled threw her head like lightning, but this is not time for this. “What is a changeling exactly?”

“Well it is kind of hard to explain. I guess the easiest way is to say we can take the form of anything,” Thorax replied “We feed on emotions, Love mainly. Our society is class based with our Queen as a leader.”

“Why are you here?” Sweetie Drops asked.

“Well I am running away from the Hive. I just cannot stand it there anymore. See all the other changelings are either drones or worriers. I am neither; I mean I am a drone but hate taking Love from others,” Thorax explained “I would rather share love, but that is just a dream.” His tone was sad and depressing. It was pretty clear that he really did not like being a changeling.

They talked for a while, Thorax telling his tales from his time in the Hive and Sweetie Drops telling him about her life, well before the agency. As they talked an idea came to her, she started to wonder if she could convince him to be a spy for her. It would be a wonderful thing to have inside intelligence on a species such as this, maybe even an early warning on any trouble that might arise.

The conversation went on for a good while with Sweetie Drops thoughts racing the whole time; she paused for a sec and said. “Thorax, I have a thought. Now I am going to let you in on a little secret, but you have to keep it to yourself. Can you promise me that you can do that?”

“I guess so,” he replied.

“No Thorax I mean it, it is very important that you tell no pony,” Sweetie Drops tone was flat and serious.

“Can I ask you a question first?” Thorax replied.

“Most defiantly,” Sweetie Drops responded.

“Are you my friend?” He shot back.

“Yes Thorax, I am your friend.” She replied with a sincere tone.

“Ok, then YES I CAN.” He was bouncing as he replied.

“OK here goes. I am an Agent with a Secret Anti Monster organization out of Canterlot. My job is to find, identify, and capture if necessary any and all Monsters that are a threat to Equestria.” It came out it a rush, it almost sound made up as she said it. “But do not worry, you are not the threat we thought, but your kind is. I need you to do me a favor. But I can tell you, you are not going to like it.”

Thorax smile slowly turned into a frown as he listing, He knew what she was about to ask him to do and he she was right he did not like it. As he listened and thought his own thoughts, which was not allowed in the hive, it did occur to him that it might just be a good idea. As he suspected she ask him just as he thought.

“So what do you think? Can you keep an eye and ear out for anything that might be a threat coming from your hive toward Equestria?” Sweetie Drops finished up.

“I think I can, I mean yeah. But how am I going to warn you?” He inquired.

“HMMM, have not thought about that yet. I am sure I can come up with something,” her reply was slow but had a hint of thought going on. “For now we will just meet in a central location from your hive say once a month?”

“I can do that; I will make it look like I am going on a patrol,” Thorax answered.

“Where exactly are the hives? Sweetie Drops inquired, she had not thought to ask until now.

“They are north west of here. I would say about a day’s walk.” Thorax said. “Once you hit the edge it is not hard to see.”

“What do you mean?” She asked.

“I told you that Changelings eat Love, well they absorb all that is good around them so the land is dry and barren,” Thorax explained. “As you can imagine it is a horrible place.”

“So no life at all not green grass, no flowers?” Sweetie Drops was horrified. She did not even want to venture into such a place. “Ok then we will meet here once a month around noon.”

“That will be good. Can we go into town and walk around a bit. I really like being around ponies. You are all so kind and full of hope and love. Not that I would steal any, but I am starving,” his words came a little rushed and she could hear the desperation in his voice.

“Tell you want, you can have some of my love for a snack. That should hold you for awhile,” Sweetie Drops offer was sincere and Thorax could not believe it.

“No one ever offered to feed me freely before, are you sure?” He asked.

“Go ahead,” she replied.

He gently opened his mouth and Sweetie Drops felt a tugging at her mind and just like that she felt a little of her Love for that new Mare she meat a few weeks back slip away, not gone mind you, but just a little of it was gone. Thorax was very careful not to drain it all and leave her with some to remind her of it. It was a very weird and interesting experience all at the same time. Although it was not one she wished to repeat anytime soon, that being complete and Thorax not so hungry anymore they set off for town. As they approached town a thought flashed across her mind and as she was about to say something there was a green flash to her right were Thorax as walking, she looked over to see a non descript pony there in his place. I guess he has done this before. She thought. The disguise in place they continued on into town.

They spent most of their time walking around and pony watching but they did visit some of the local shops and what not. As they walked and talked Thorax became more and more comfortable in his pony body he started to be less nervous and his body language showed it, at least what she could tell. Most other ponies do not pick up on the small tells of other ponies when it comes the them being nervous or telling a lie, which most ponies are terrible at in the first place. With her new carrier in the agency, she had become quite good at deception and lies. She still is not used to it all and really hates lying, but she does understand why she has to do it.

The sun was starting to set and night was upon them as they reached the far end of town. Sweetie Drops completely forgot about the Wonder bolts show that day and her meeting back up with Rainbow Dash, just as that thought flashed across her mind, she came flying out of the stadium with that signature rainbow trail following her. She saw Sweetie Drops and made a beeline straight for her. She skid to a halt just inches from Thorax’s face and blinked at the pony before her.

“Ha-ha sorry. Hi I’m Rainbow Dash. Who are you? Are you one of Bon Bon’s friends?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Yes, although we just meet this morning. Are you a friend of hers too?” Thorax replied. But something bothered him. Rainbow Dash called her Bon Bon not Sweetie Drops. He wondered which her real name was. “OH sorry, so silly of me I am…..” Oh no in all his excitement to go into town he did not think of a name for himself. He looked around real quick trying to come up with something.

“Tree Stump” Sweetie Drops said quickly. “His name is Tree Stump. He is a lumber jack pony here in Vanhoover. I meet him as I was exploring the forests outside of town.”

“Nice not meet you Tree Stump, you missed a great show.” Rainbow Dash said with great pride and enthusiasm for her heroes.

“Yeah I never get to see the shows always working.” Thorax said. He was starting to get nervous again and it was showing. Sweetie Drops picked up on this right away and cut into the conversation that was becoming awkward rapidly.

“Hey Tree Stump, we are going to miss our dinner reservations if we do not hurry.” Sweetie Drops said in a rush like it was the truth. She was getting really good at this.

“Oh right, I forgot all about dinner,” he said “Nice to meet you Rainbow Dash. We better get going”

“Oh ok well, see you two later” Rainbow Dash replied.

Thorax and Sweetie Drops started off in the direction of restaurants in town and Rainbow Dash flew off to who knows were. In all her life she never met a pony that high strung. Or fast for that matter, she had to one of the fastest Pegasus ponies in Equestria. By this time it was getting pretty dark out and the street lights were being lit. The soft light of the candles in the street light cast a orange glow over the town that gave it a majestic and serene look to it. They both knew there time was running short, Thorax had to return to the hives and Sweetie Drops mission was complete, it was time to return to Canterlot.

“Thorax, it is time to part ways for now. But I will see you again next month. Do not forget.” Sweetie Drops reminded.

“I won’t. It was really nice to meet you. I will miss you,” Thorax replied a hint of sadness in his voice; she could tell he did not look forward to them parting ways and him returning to the hive.

“It was a pleasure, I will miss you too. I wish we had more time to spend together. I am just getting to know you. Tell you what, next month we will spend that day together just like today. I really had a great time walking and talking with you.” Sweetie Drops let it all out at once almost as if she was practicing that. It kind of surprised her that she even would suggest that. After all he was just an informant. Maybe there was more too it then that.

“Deal!” Thorax exclaimed with joy filled all the one word. He turned and started back to his hive.

They parted there ways and Sweetie Drops made her way to the train station, her adventure her was done and she completed her mission with a bonus to boot. She identified a new species not ever recorded before and made an ally within as well. This could mean better things ahead for her. She boarded the train with all the day’s events swimming in her thoughts and just could not help but wonder what was next.