//------------------------------// // The Agents // Story: In Odd We Trust // by marmalado //------------------------------// Over the course of the next two months, Ms. O began to train the Mane Six relentlessly. No one knew exactly how she managed to handle training seven apprentices and keep her job as Director of Odd Squad Precinct #13579, but she was aware that the ponies caught on surprisingly quickly, learning the rules of Odd Squad, how to use various gadgets, and what villains to watch out for, among many other things. Some recruits soon got wind of the news, and many went green-eyed with jealousy, envying the ponies while also admiring their skills. Meanwhile, Otto, Olive, and Oscar continued work as normal. The Mane Six came up in most conversations in the days following their initiations as Ms. O's apprentices, but other topics of discussion soon came up, and the ponies were forgotten. Nonetheless, Olive was hesitant -- not a day went by where she ranted about the ponies in some form or another, usually bringing up the point that none of the Mane Six had names beginning with the letter O, and how they would destroy the world one day. Whenever she went off, Otto, being her most trusted friend, tried to calm her down, but to no avail. She continued to hold a grudge and rant, much to her friends' dismay. Eventually the time came, when everypony became an Odd Squad agent of their own. Ms. O felt that they were ready to rid the world of oddness. The automatic doors opened, and the sound of hooves on the concrete made most employees look up and stare at the ponies, each of whom was wearing a spiffy new suit in the same style as Olive and Otto. "Agents! I'd like to call a short meeting!" Ms. O bellowed, making her way to the second floor where her personal footstool sat outside of her office. One by one, kids kept trickling in, forming a small crowd of employees of various different ranks. The ponies stood at the front, as though aware this meeting was about them. Once everyone quieted down, Ms. O cleared her throat and began to speak. "As you know, two months ago, these six ponies came to Odd Squad via a portal connecting our world in theirs. Not long after their arrival, they suggested joining Odd Squad and becoming agents, which I agreed to. I am proud to announce that after only a few months, we have six new agents joining our precinct today!" The announcement was met with scattered applause, but Ms. O didn't seem to mind as she continued on, naming each of the new agents one by one. "Agent Twilight Sparkle!" The alicorn stepped forward, a small smile on her face. "Agent Applejack!" Next to step forward was the hard-working farm pony, who nodded humbly. "Agent Rainbow Dash!" Out of the six, the rainbow-maned Pegasus pony was the most excited, performing a few small loop-de-loops before crossing her front legs together, a small but smug smile set on her maw. "Agent Fluttershy!" It took a small push from Rarity to get the shy yellow pony moving forward to stand next to the others, her body nearly going limp from nervousness. "Agent Rarity!" With elegance and grace, the fashionista unicorn made her way forward next, looking charmed by the applause she was receiving. "And Agent Pinkie Pie!" Bouncing her way forward was the final pony in the bunch, as she had the biggest grin on her face. All six introductions were met with scattered applause, but again Ms. O didn't seem to mind and continued on with the meeting. "In addition, I have also paired these six ponies up. They will be partners with each other, solving cases and battling oddness together." She cleared her throat once more. "Agent Twilight Sparkle, and Agent Rainbow Dash!" The two ponies were quite excited about being paired up together, and shared a quick hoofbump. "Agent Rarity and Agent Applejack!" Out of the two, Rarity was the most excited, as she moved to stand next to Applejack. The girls shared a hug before Ms. O called out the final pair. "Agent Fluttershy and Agent Pinkie Pie!" At the mention of her name, the pink party pony widened her eyes in surprise, as though her and Fluttershy were an unlikely couple -- and truth be told, they were. The two mares were polar opposites in terms of personality, which normally spelled trouble for partner pairings, with the rare few exceptions. Fluttershy, on the other hoof, glanced at Pinkie with a worried expression. However, it was quickly replaced by a smile, albeit an unsure one. Pinkie caught on, and shot her a similar unsure smile back, both ponies knowing better than to question Ms. O about her decisions (Pinkie learned that the hard way...more than once). The pairings were met with scattered applause before Ms. O concluded the meeting. "I want you all to treat our new agents with kindness and respect. They are, after all, friends of an Equestrian princess." Her gaze swept the crowd as though daring someone to speak up. To start a riot. To ignite a flame war. But agents knew better than to mess with Ms. O -- a fearless leader, who was far, far stronger than any human, unicorn, pegasus, Earth pony, maybe even any alicorn in existence. When no one spoke up, she nodded, a satisfactory expression on her face. "Meeting adjourned. Everyone go back to your regular duties." And with that, she slunk back into her office without any further words as the crowd dispersed. The ponies each hugged their partner, sharing a laugh and some casual conversation. All except Fluttershy, who pulled Pinkie Pie aside, a worried expression on her face. "What's up, Fluttershy?" "Um...well, Pinkie...see, I-I don't know if this is gonna work out. You and I...we're so different! And we might have a different way of solving cases!" This concern was met with mere belly laughter from Pinkie, who waved her hoof dismissively. "Nonsense! I'm gonna love being partners with you! We'll have the bestest time! Using gadgets, beating villains, ooh, ooh, and making sweets! There's a Breakroom over there that I gotta get familiar with! I hear there's lots of delicious food and..." Fluttershy tuned her new partner out as she sat down and sunk deep into her thoughts. Is becoming an agent what we were meant to do? Princess Celestia did tell us to see what was happening on the other side, but...does that mean I have to become an agent? Why couldn't I become a... She glanced around at the different employees in various uniforms. A Maintenance worker? Or a Scientist, or even a Security agent? Those look like jobs for me. A soft sigh escaped her lips as she glanced up at the ceiling absentmindedly. "Or we can bring Timberwolves, or..." Pinkie trailed off as she spotted Fluttershy, cocking her head in curiosity. "It's okay! If you need help, you can always talk to me! That's what partners are for, right?" The Pegasus pony glanced at her new partner, worry flickering in her eyes before standing up. "Yes. Thank you, Pinkie." She moved closer to Pinkie as the two shared a long hug. After breaking off, Fluttershy looked to the automatic double-doors leading into the Trophy Room. "But I'm gonna go take a walk. If you don't mind." "Naw, of course I don't mind! I'll be here, okay?" With that, she trotted towards the automatic double-doors as they opened and closed for her. Pinkie watched her go, a sad smile dancing on her face before she went to join her other friends in excited conversation. It had taken Fluttershy a long while to figure out the city of Toronto. It was so big, and she had a hard time finding her way. She felt grateful to be a Pegasus in that moment, instead of an Earth pony or a unicorn -- flying high in the sky to find where she was and where she wanted to go proved to be useful. Eventually she landed in a small park, folding in her wings to let them rest. Her hooves took her along the sidewalk that cut through the park as she watched the humans talk and eat and play. Many took a look at her. Some scowled in disgust, while others greeted her with a smile. Some kids even wanted to pet her or ride her, as though she were an actual pony. Fluttershy tolerated it up to a point, where she just decided to hurry along and hopefully find a place with some abundance of wildlife. And boy, did she find it. Birds, rabbits, squirrels. Many of them ran to her as she laid down in the grass. It seemed her connection with animals was strong across different worlds, which was something that surprised her. Fluttershy took in the warm spring air, the birds perched on her back, the rabbits playing in front of her. She giggled gleefully. "Goodness, you rabbits sure do roughhouse a lot! I wonder if you-" "Who are you talking to?" A sudden, high-pitched voice made Fluttershy swivel her head around. A human boy faced her, with a multicolored plaid suit and pants, white sneakers, and stuck-up black hair with a bright white stripe running through it. He had a meek smile, a convincing smile. "Oh! Hello. I'm talking to my animal friends here! They're very nice." The Pegasus pony tilted her head. "And who might you be?" "My name's Odd Todd. A pleasure to meet you, er..." "Fluttershy. Agent Fluttershy." she spoke, remembering to tack on the "Agent" to her name, as Ms. O taught her. "Hmm. I figured you were such. By the uniform." The words were spat with venom, as he waggled a finger towards the pony. "What's wrong with my uniform?" "Oh, you know. Odd Squad agents. They're always so...pretentious. Always thinking they're the best at everything just because they rid the world of oddness." He scoffed. "If you ask me, the world could do with a little oddness. When everything's normal, nothing exciting ever happens. And what is normal, anyway? There is no normal. Normalcy can never be achieved." As the Pegasus pony sat up, the boy approached her with slow footsteps, pacing around her in a circle. "Tell me, Agent Fluttershy...don't you think this town...no, the world could do with a little bit of oddness?" "W-well...Ms. O taught us to fight oddness, not...create it." "Oh, forget what-" Odd Todd bit back his raging tongue just in time, as he cleared his throat and put on a calm facade, continuing to pace around Fluttershy. "Forget what Ms. O said. It's all spoon-fed hogwash." He snorted. "She's combed by the Big Office to combat oddness. All of it. It's routinely obsessive. Unhealthy." He paused in front of Fluttershy, a small, seemingly-genuine smile on his face. "Which is why I've started my own organization dedicated to putting back oddness into the world. Where there's more freedom given to the employees rather than the often-incompetent leaders. Where...you can be yourself." Got her. She'll be mine soon enough. All she has to say is- "Well, I'd love to, Mister...Todd. But I'm already a part of Odd Squad. And I'm only staying here until I figure out what's happening on this side." Damn it. His smile slowly turned into a frown -- not one born out of anger, but out of disappointment. For months he had been trying to ensnare new and unsuspecting Odd Squad agents into his trap, to get them to leave Odd Squad and join forces with him instead. But it seemed Odd Squad agents nowadays were smarter than he perceived them to be -- and that included the equine agents, now, as well. I'm gonna have to devise a new plan. Possibly one using force. If I can't pull in agents verbally...then I'll have to do so physically. But he could do that late. Right now, he had a mare to send off. "Right! Right. I see. No worries." Odd Todd waved his hand dismissively. "Well, if you ever reconsider, I'm here in the park daily." His small frown turned into a small smile. "Now, perhaps you should head back to Odd Squad. I believe your break is up?" "Oh, I'm not on break! I was just taking a walk to clear my head. But I suppose I should head back. Thanks, Mister Todd, it was lovely to meet you! Goodbye!" And with that, Fluttershy began to trot off to find a nearby tube entrance. She did look quite silly checking behind various trees and in various areas, but Odd Todd wasn't paying attention to her anymore. No, his mind was filled with rage. Pure, unadulterated rage. He hadn't felt this upset since the last time Agent Olive rejected his 95th attempt to get her to join Todd Squad. Why can't I find anyone?! Every week I come across an Odd Squad agent looking sad and alone, and yet, every time I ask them if they want to join they reject me! It's sickening! With a cry of rage, he kicked the dirt in front of him, sending it flying upwards. For a brief moment, a thought crossed his mind: What if I caught the other five ponies Fluttershy came with? But even he knew it was fruitless -- if he couldn't get Fluttershy to join the Todd Squad, what made him think the other ponies wanted to join? They would reject him just as much as Fluttershy did: blunt, straightforward, with no sympathy. Just like his former partner. His fists clenched, he stormed off to plot his next move, only one thought echoing in his mind: Odd Squad needs to be destroyed. And I'm taking those ponies down with them.