Bonbon sighed as she and Princess Twilight strolled through Tartaros. She knew why she was chosen for this. She also knew that Lyra would have stopped her if she’d told the mare. She didn’t need Bonbon for this. Here in Tartaros, Bonbon was a hazard to the mission. Sucking in a bracing breath, she steeled herself as the two ponies walked forward. A single cage sat in the center, moved there by the magic of Tartaros itself. The path to Tirek’s cage lie behind it.

The potion was completely safe. Twilight had assured the mare personally. If anything went wrong, she’d wake up in her bed with no memory of what happened. That was a big if though. This was Princess Twilight. A whiz at potions, spells and all things magical. No way would something go wrong. She hadn’t drunk it yet. That would come before the actual documentation. Much like previous entries, the notes would be added in post.

They stopped between a cage holding an Orthros and another cage holding a Cockatrice. Their magic couldn’t escape their cages, but that wasn’t their reason for being here anyway. The cage in front of them was.

“You don’t have to do this agent. I can get somepony else.” Twilight’s voice almost made Bonbon jump. No. Sweetie Drops. She shook herself off and looked at her princess.

“I have to do this Princess. If I don’t, he will keep hunting me every time he escapes. He won’t be satisfied until he gets me. So let’s give me to him,” she said, and Twilight nodded once. She stepped back, set up her equipment, turned on the camera drone, and put up a shield between herself and the two beings in front of her. No. Not a shield. A bubble. Surrounding the two beings and the outcropping of stone. The Bugbear wasn’t going anywhere. And neither was Sweetie Drops.

A small prick of her hoof on a jagged outcropping and she stepped forward, placing her now bleeding hoof on the seal on the cage. “Remember me big guy? Well guess what. Todays your lucky day. You get what you wanted. A Sweet treat just for you. Can’t chew on it though. Just gotta suck and suck and suck until it’s slick enough to just be swallowed. I’ve got insurance this time. The Princess that helped me put you in here last time you got out. She can do it herself now, did you know that? Even if you get rid of me, you’ll just land yourself in that cage forever. So behave, and maybe your sentence will be shortened. Maybe.”

Sweetie watched as the cage started to open and stepped back. Down here in Tartaros, the creatures were much larger than back in Equestria. Maybe something to do with the magic down here. The Bugbear stepped out of the cage and absolutely towered over the mare. Certainly wasn’t this big in Equestria. Sweetie watched it stretch all six of its massive limbs before its eyes landed on her. It already knew she was there. Now it was just playing. At least that’s what she thought.

A roar caught her off guard and she was surprised yet again as the Bugbear’s massive jaws clamped down around her head. It didn’t bite down. The creature was smart. If it killed her, Princess Twilight would shove it right back into that cage. Forever. Instead, it shunted its head forward, stuffing more of the mare into its jaws, her head entering its throat.

Gravity shifted for Sweetie Drops as the Bugbear lifted her off of the ground. It shifted further as the creature itself left the ground. She was certain it was flying around in circles inside the bubble, showing off its prize to other creatures she’d captured. Chimerae, cockatrice, orthros, many others. The Bugbear is the one who got to eat her. The Bugbear, the one creature who escaped thanks to Tirek only to get thrown back in here. The Bugbear, the only creature that was dragged back, yet again, by Special Agent Sweetie Drops.

One swallow. That’s all it would take, and she’d be gone. He’d be free to terrorize Equestria all over again. A clearing of a throat and he looked over at the Princess that had created the bubble around them as well as allowed her to open his cage. He remembered that one. Tirek complained about her a lot. How she’d stopped him from taking over Equestria. She’d turn him into paste if he did away with the pest of a pony that kept throwing him in here.

The look she gave him was all the encouragement he needed to behave. Tipping his head back, he sent the mare in his maw down into his belly. A sharp pang on his neck made him wince and he noticed a purple glow. Had she killed him anyway? No, he could still breath. The glow moved down, and he could see it at his belly. It wasn’t on him. It was on the mare. A precaution. Did their magic even work here? His belly rumbled and the purple princesses just watched, writing down everything she saw.

It took minutes but he felt like it had taken hours. His belly had continued to gurgle. He wondered if the princess was going to rescue the mare or if he truly was going to have his revenge for all of this time imprisoned. Thinking she had also come to sacrifice herself, he lunged only to be slammed backwards. The bubble. It was meant to keep her safe as well. Looking at it, he realized it wasn’t the bubble. Her shadow shimmered. What sort of magic was that? He’d seen enough unicorn magic to know it’s shape. That wasn’t it.

Truly an hour had passed, and his belly had gone silent. Had she sacrificed the mare? Did he truly have his revenge? The purple princess wrote down the rest, popped the bubble around them… and suddenly he was held to the ground by an immense magical force. Hers. She walked over to him, and that same magical force pried his jaws open. A liquid was tossed into his throat and his maw was pressed closed. His nostrils were blocked as well. He had to swallow or drown. Swallow he did. When she was satisfied, the force released him.

He was angry. She’d made him drink something against his will. He roared. Her shadow roared back. Much louder. He cowered back and scrambled back for his cage. Was it poison? Was he going to die soon because he had digested that mare? The cage was slammed shut and everything in Tartaros went back to normal. He was returned to the holding area with the rest of the beasts.

“What happened?” Tirek asked when he was returned to his place in the center of Tartaros. “You free us and send me back here, powerless and alone. When you return, everything changes. Why?” he asked, and Twilight looked at him. Cerberus joined her near his cage and stood guard.

“Believe it or not, I have a question for you Tirek,” she said, and he stared at her. The large three headed dog standing nearby gave him pause, but he could sense something. Something had latched onto her and was going to go for a ride.

“Ask, and I shall answer you only with truth.” She scoffed but stood tall in front of him.

“Your people. Do they only feed on magic?”

Her question shocked him. He didn’t know how to answer at first. Centaurs weren’t welcome in Equestria because of what he’d done. As far as he knew, he was the last. Did other centaurs still live? Was it possible his mother and father still ruled in the lands far to the west?

“No. I learned to feed on magic using one of my Father’s books. He was a sorcerer much like myself. Far more skilled than I all those years ago, but I learned to take more magic. Make myself stronger. My people eat just the same as you Ponies,” he said, sneering the final word.

“Good. Enjoy your stay, Tirek.” She turned and walked away from him, and his cage was moved to the farthest edge of his platform. He watched as she rolled out a mat, placed crystals around it, and lit her horn. The crystals lit up and began dissolving, swirling into the center of their small circle on top of the mat. The crystal dust spiraled in a tornado of sparkling light before it all condensed on the mat.

Bonbon sat up with a gasp, feeling her body and then her head. She looked at Princess Twilight for a moment. “Never ask me to do that again.” Twilight merely smiled and teleported them, and her equipment, home.

Author's Note

Ooooooh. Cliffhanger. Anyway... yeah. Bugbears and Bonbons. That coulda been the chapter title but I think "buggery" works better. After all, Twilight does kinda scare the bejeesus out of the poor thing.

If ya'll will notice, I am doing some more fatal-ish stuff with these. I'm good with temporary fatal stuff. It's when stuff gets permanent with characters I enjoy that I draw the line.

As for Twilight's shadow... that will be explained in the next chapter. Promise.