The four recruits returned to the Monster Containment Agency offices and received commendation from Steel Poise for a job well done. But as soon as they thought they’d have a chance to relax, they were called into the briefing room for their next assignment.
Once again, Eagle Eye was in the back next to the projector. Steel Poise closed the blinds and turned the projector on. The image on the screen depicted some kind of strange hybrid creature. And this time, there was no mistaking its size – a drawing of a pony had been placed next to the creature. The pony didn’t look very large by comparison.
“This is a bugbear,” Steel Poise began. “It’s exactly what it sounds like – half bug, half bear. And all very dangerous. It’s the most dangerous monster this agency has encountered in quite a few years, and is the reason a couple of you were assigned to this agency in the first place.
“Every end of this thing is to be avoided.” She used her pointer to indicate various parts of the bugbear’s anatomy. “The claws are razor-sharp. And the teeth are a carnivore’s teeth, capable of piercing and tearing apart flesh.”
Sweetie Drops came to the realization that Steel Poise didn’t mince words. She wished that her boss would sugarcoat things just a little bit.
“But that’s nothing compared to the stinger,” Steel Poise said. “Even as just a spear, it’s plenty dangerous. However, the stinger also releases venom which is fatal if it gets into your bloodstream. And unlike a bee, this stinger doesn’t come off. Whether it hits its victim or it misses and impales into a tree or a rock, it stays attached to the bugbear. And even if the stinger gets caught in something solid like rock, the bugbear is able to quickly get free. Do not underestimate this stinger.
“Part of the team for this mission has already been assembled and briefed. Eagle Eye, you did a fine job supervising the cerastes mission, but for this one, you’re back in the field. This is going to be one of the largest teams the agency has put together for one monster. The more of you we have, the higher the chance this mission succeeds with no complications. I’m glad the cerastes came up when it did, because it gave me a chance to see that all of you have what it takes. You accomplished that mission flawlessly, and I’m expecting the same here.”
Steel Poise looked at the unicorn in the room. “Panacea: I know you’ve been wondering why you were assigned to this agency.”
“Yes,” Panacea responded. “When I enlisted, I assumed I was going to be placed with the medical corps.”
“That would have been a good fit for you,” Steel Poise admitted. “But your innate ability to understand how to heal ponies could be extremely useful for this bugbear mission. While you’ll be training to physically fight the bugbear along with the other agents, you’re also going to study the bugbear’s venom. So far, we have no known antidote, and we’d like to change that. If anypony happens to get stung on this mission, we’re relying on you to do everything you can to keep them alive.”
Panacea nodded, although he looked a little overwhelmed.
Steel Poise turned her attention. “Sweetie Drops: According to your file, you know a lot about honey.”
Sweetie Drops hesitated. “Well, um, my special talent is candy making. I know about confectionery. All I know about honey is how to turn it into hard candy.”
“In your file, the staffing officer wrote that you had a special talent for honey.”
“He only asked if I knew about sweets. I never said anything about honey. He never said anything about honey.”
Steel Poise lowered her head and pressed her hoof against the upper bridge of her nose. “We really need some more intelligent ponies in the Staffing division,” she said to herself. “I’ve told them to never make assumptions.” She raised her head. “Well, you’re the closest thing we have to an expert on the subject. The bugbear gathers nectar, which it uses to create a honey that it then eats. When you’re not training to fight the bugbear, I want you to see if you can figure out how exactly it makes the honey, and whether it’s something we can synthesize. Maybe we can use it as a lure or a distraction.”
She addressed the entire room. “You’re going to spend a lot of time in the office and in training for this mission. Right now, the bugbear lives in a remote forest, and prefers to mind its own business. However, if it encounters a pony, it suddenly becomes very aggressive. And it’s constantly on the move, always looking for new territory, so sooner or later, it’s going to wander into a city and do a lot of damage unless we stop it first.”
She opened the blinds and turned off the projector. “Golden Glow is supervising this mission. She’ll introduce you to the rest of the team and get you up to speed on the details. We have the time to make sure we do this right, so let’s take advantage of it – I want you all to come back safe and sound.”
She started to leave the room. “I’ll go see where Golden Glow wants everypony to meet. Good luck.”
The next several days were a whirlwind of activity. Four earth ponies, four pegasi, and three unicorns would all be traveling to the forest, and they all needed to be taught the primary capture plan as well as secondary capture plans. Additionally, each received extensive training on how to fire a new weapon constructed specifically for the mission: A tranquilizer gun that was attached to a bazooka-sized gun that fired a large, weighted, metallic net. Ultimately, the job of firing the tranquilizer and the net was given to Soothe Sayer. Both because she had good aim and because her natural unaggressive demeanor meant that she wouldn’t pull the trigger too impulsively – while there were multiple tranquilizer darts, each gun contained only one net.
The additional research that had been assigned to Panacea and Sweetie Drops was not met with complete success. Panacea had done his best to create an antivenom for the bugbear’s sting, but the only venom sample the Royal Guard’s scientists had access to came from when the bugbear accidentally impaled a tree. Panacea had tried his hardest to separate the venom enzymes from the tree enzymes, but he wasn’t entirely positive the antivenom would work.
Sweetie Drops learned which nectar-producing flowers the bugbear seemed to especially like, but the exact process by which the bugbear turned that nectar into honey was a mystery to both her and the scientists. It likely involved a substance secreted specifically by the bugbear itself. With no access to that substance, Sweetie Drops had attempted to manufacture a honey from marjoram nectar, but even she was doubtful as to whether it would be helpful during the mission. It did taste pretty good on toast, though.
Finally, the day of the mission arrived. The bugbear had been tracked to an area of the forest that offered the MCA agents multiple means of capture. The primary plan was to wait until the bugbear gathered nectar from an open patch of lavender flowers, where the pegasi would be waiting overhead with a net. If that failed, or if the bugbear escaped before succumbing to the effects of the tranquilizer, then the unicorns would drive the bugbear back into the cave in which it was currently living. As a last resort, the team could try to force the bugbear down toward a small glen located a short distance from the cave. Sweetie Drops worried about what would happen if the team had to rely on one of the backup plans, or even worse, improvise a plan. She kept telling herself that these were just precautionary measures – after all, the mission to capture the cerastes included a number of contingency plans that hadn’t needed to be implemented.
Shortly before the sun rose, the team took their positions in the forest. The earth ponies and unicorns were scattered in a wide arc between the mouth of the cave and the lavender patch. The two earth ponies positioned nearest the cave each carried a multipurpose chain-link net as well as a spare tranquilizer/net gun. Sweetie Drops, near the middle, carried marjoram nectar grenades, honey grenades, and, if those failed, mild flashbangs to momentarily stun and disorient the bugbear. Both she and two of the unicorns were in charge of launching those projectiles. The two unicorns were also in charge of carrying lights for the cave, as well as spare tranquilizer darts, grenades, and flashbangs.
Closest to the lavender patch, Soothe Sayer was positioned with the tranquilizer/net gun mounted to her back. The sights hung down over her head so both weapons could be fired from that position. Near Soothe Sayer was Panacea, who carried the first aid kit. He was primarily there to serve as a medic should any agent be injured. Several of the other agents noted the significance of those two ponies being located near one another. During training, they seemed to be developing a special camaraderie that went beyond the informal relationship observed between ordinary coworkers.
The only agents not carrying anything on their backs were the pegasi, positioned in the tall trees high above the lavender. The four of them were going to need their full strength to hold the rope net, which had numerous heavy weights attached to the ends in order to pin the bugbear. Everyone at the agency agreed that the net ideally should also have been made of chain links, but the end result was too heavy for the pegasi to lift. As it was, they were sitting in the trees, letting the net rest on the branches and preserving their leg muscles.
The sun rose over the horizon. The waiting was interminable. The ponies who could see the cave watched its entrance intently. The only sounds to be heard were the chirping of the birds, the wind rustling the leaves, and the occasional flick of a pony’s tail to shoo away insects. All of the ponies on the ground were camouflaged in plants to avoid being seen by the bugbear. They were lying down so as not to bear the weight of their packs for an unnecessarily excessive amount of time. But as the morning wore on and the temperature increased, they were all becoming increasingly uncomfortable.
They had to be ready. As soon as the bugbear emerged, they had to be ready for anything.
Time passed slowly. The ponies desperately wanted to make conversation – anything to keep them from being alone with their thoughts. But they needed to remain silent.
Waiting.
Waiting.
Suddenly, the ponies closest to the cave heard a buzzing sound. The bugbear emerged soon after. It was awake, which meant it was hungry. Trying to capture the bugbear while it was hungry was especially dangerous, but it would also be the time that the bugbear was the most distracted.
One of the unicorns blew on a duck call to signal to the pegasi – who were positioned far enough away that they couldn’t see the cave – that the bugbear had emerged. That was the cue for the pegasi to pick up the net and hover over the lavender patch.
The bugbear, upon hearing the duck call, stopped flying forward and swiveled its head in the direction of the unicorn that had made the sound. Time seemed to stand still. But after a few moments, the bugbear continued on its way toward the flowers.
To the frustration of the pegasi, the bugbear took its time flying toward their section of the forest. They could only hold up the net for so long, and the harder they flapped their wings to stay aloft, the higher the chance the bugbear would notice their presence.
Finally, the bugbear reached the lavender and began to collect nectar. Eagle Eye looked down, noted the position of the bugbear, and motioned with her head to her teammates to make a slight adjustment. The four of them moved across the air.
As soon as they were in position, Eagle Eye said “Now!” – just loud enough for the other pegasi to hear. They all let go of the net at once. Because of the weights, the net hurtled toward the ground and landed almost perfectly centered around the bugbear. Startled, the bugbear roared.
On the ground, Soothe Sayer knew that she wouldn’t have much time to take her shot. But everyone had underestimated just how quickly the bugbear would make its escape. With one quick slash using just two of its six paws, the bugbear tore through the ropes and flew upward. Soothe Sayer had fired as quickly as she could, but the tranquilizer dart missed and lodged into a tree.
While escaping, the bugbear spotted the four pegasi that were the source of its momentary imprisonment. As it flew toward them, they scattered in four different directions. The bugbear picked one – Blue Skies – and flew after her.
The next phase of the plan was to lure the bugbear back into its cave. So Blue Skies, upon seeing that she was being pursued by the beast, banked through the trees and made her way in that direction. The bugbear was faster than her, so she flew around tree trunks and between branches, trying to slow it down.
Instead, the enraged bugbear simply smashed through the branches. At roughly the halfway point between the lavender patch and the cave, the bugbear swung forward at a large branch, snapping it off the tree and sending it flying toward Blue Skies. The branch connected with Blue Skies and she fell to the ground, the branch pinning her down.
The bugbear flew toward Blue Skies stinger-first. The other pegasi, as well as Soothe Sayer and Panacea, were all giving chase, but Sweetie Drops had been positioned the closest to where the bugbear now was. Uncertain of how effective the nectar and honey grenades would be, she immediately reached for one of the flashbangs and hurled it toward the bugbear. She missed the bugbear’s body, but she did hit a nearby tree. The sudden explosion of sound and light momentarily distracted the bugbear, which stopped and hovered in place, trying to locate the source of the noise.
That was enough time for Panacea to approach from behind. Yelling “Hey!” to get the bugbear’s attention, he cast the spell that the three unicorns had learned for this mission. Emerging from his horn was the translucent projection of a pair of wings, three stories tall and sticking straight up into the air.
The bugbear, seeing an animal that appeared to be larger than it, flew away from Panacea. It headed straight toward the position of one of the other unicorns, who also cast the spell, producing another pair of giant translucent wings. The bugbear angled its trajectory away from that unicorn and toward the cave.
Panacea ran to Blue Skies. The branch was too large for him to move by himself.
“I’m fine!” shouted Blue Skies, both to Panacea and to the other pegasi that were approaching. “Go after the bugbear!” The team couldn’t afford to dedicate multiple ponies to freeing Blue Skies, so they did as she said.
Between Panacea and the other two unicorns, the bugbear was forced back into its cave. All of the remaining agents converged on the cave’s entrance. Thundershock and one of the unicorns began to unpack the large chain-link net from one of the earth ponies’ packs. As they did, Eagle Eye grabbed a floodlight from one of the unicorns’ packs. Thundershock and the unicorn began to cover the mouth of the cave with the chain-link net. The gaps in the net were large enough for a pony to walk through, but small enough to hopefully discourage the bugbear from escaping. The unicorn was working as fast as she could to pound the edges of the net into the sides of the cave; however, the agents knew that it was doubtful that the nails would be able to contain the bugbear if the monster was determined to leave.
There was a second opening on the other side of the rocks. The team wasn’t sure whether the bugbear had a path inside the cave to escape through the other side, so another earth pony, pegasus, and unicorn left to attach a chain-link net over that opening. With those three ponies gone, and three ponies working to secure the net over the primary entrance, only Eagle Eye, Soothe Sayer, Sweetie Drops, and Panacea remained to pursue the bugbear into the cave.
Eagle Eye struck the flint inside her floodlight. A small fire began, which reflected off of the mirrors inside to project a beam of light into the cave. Luckily, the passage inside the cave didn’t branch off into multiple directions. The four ponies followed the passage deeper into the cave.
After a couple of turns, the mouth of the cave was no longer visible. The floodlight was the only source of illumination. The four were terrified at the prospect of trying to fight the bugbear in close quarters, so they were relieved when the passage opened up into a large chamber with stalagmites and stalactites scattered throughout. As they entered, Eagle Eye aimed the floodlight toward the other end of the chamber.
Which meant that none of the ponies saw the bugbear perched on one of the stalactites immediately above the chamber entrance, its wings still. Upon seeing the bright light, it flew directly for Eagle Eye. Before Eagle Eye could react, the bugbear swooped down, swung its claw, and connected with Eagle Eye’s left wing. Eagle Eye shouted, dropped the floodlight, and fell to the ground.
The floodlight tumbled away and shone toward the opposite end of the cave. Panacea tended to Eagle Eye in the dim light – several feathers had been torn from her wing and she was holding her rear left leg in reaction to twisting her fetlock upon hitting the uneven cave floor.
Sweetie Drops tried throwing a nectar grenade at the stalactites near the hungry bugbear to distract it. But the bugbear was too enraged to think about food. She threw a honey grenade directly at the bugbear, and while it made the bugbear’s fur sticky, it didn’t appear to slow the bugbear down at all.
The bugbear flew toward the floodlight – casting a terrifyingly large shadow over the cave walls – then flew up and around, surveying its surroundings in the process. Sweetie Drops fell back to the other side of the cave to get out of the way of Soothe Sayer’s weapon.
Soothe Sayer tried firing another shot from the tranquilizer gun, but the bugbear was flying too erratically and her shot didn’t even come close. She only had two darts left before she’d need to reload, and since all of the spare tranquilizer darts were outside of the cave, she needed to make her remaining shots count.
Sweetie Drops, knowing that her nectar and honey grenades were useless, threw her remaining flashbangs directly at the bugbear. Most of them missed, but one of them connected with the bugbear’s body. However, instead of causing the bugbear to momentarily stop moving, the sudden lights and sound caused it to roar – a roar made even louder as it echoed across the cave walls – and fly even more unpredictably.
Soothe Sayer was standing close enough to the floodlight that her light coloring made her practically glow inside the dark cave. The bugbear dove toward her, flailing its claws wildly, and slashed at her back. The tranquilizer/net gun was knocked from her back and slid across the cave floor in the direction toward Sweetie Drops. Soothe Sayer screamed in pain and collapsed onto her stomach.
“Soothe Sayer!” yelled Panacea. He jumped up from Eagle Eye’s side and ran toward the injured earth pony. Seeing the large red mark on her back, he quickly levitated the first aid kit toward him and started rummaging through its contents.
Sweetie Drops, out of flashbangs, dropped her nectar and honey grenades and ran to grab the tranquilizer/net gun. As she reached it, she saw that the bugbear had flown back to the ceiling of the cave, spun around, and was staring at the downed Soothe Sayer. It angled its stinger directly toward her.
Panacea, seeing the bugbear take its position, knew he couldn’t move Soothe Sayer out of the way in time. Without thinking, he jumped in front of her. The bugbear began to lunge.
While that was happening, Sweetie Drops had picked up the gun but didn’t have time to mount it to her back. During training, she had learned that it was next to impossible to accurately aim it at a moving target, even when the sights were properly in place. But she could also see that if she did nothing, at least one pony was going to be killed.
So she pulled the trigger to fire the one and only net the team had available inside the cave. The net launched as the bugbear started its downward trajectory.
The bugbear rapidly approached Panacea. Just before the stinger reached Panacea’s body, the net connected with the bugbear. The weights on the end of the net sent the bugbear off course, crashing against the side of some stalagmites. The net wasn’t completely covering the bugbear, but its wings and paws were ensnared. More importantly, the bugbear was far enough away from the others that it couldn’t hurt them without getting up.
As soon as Sweetie Drops saw that the bugbear was down, before she could gauge its ability to get back up, she fired one of the last tranquilizer darts. With the net bunched up around the bugbear’s torso, it was possible the dart could have ricocheted off of the narrower metallic netting or the spherical weights. However, the sudden roar from the bugbear told her that her dart had found its target.
The bugbear began thrashing, both in response to the dart and in an attempt to free itself from the net. However, the thrashing only served to entangle the bugbear’s limbs further. Sweetie Drops, seeing that the bugbear couldn’t get up and knowing that the tranquilizer would take a few minutes to knock the bugbear out, ran over to Soothe Sayer and Panacea.
“Are you all right?” she said to the two of them. Instead of responding, Panacea stood there, motionless. On his face, he had the look of a pony who had just watched his life flash before his eyes. Behind him, Soothe Sayer was staring in disbelief at everything that had just happened.
Getting no response, Sweetie Drops stepped around to look at Soothe Sayer. There was definitely blood. Sweetie Drops began to reach for the first aid kit, then realized she didn’t know how to dress a wound of that size. So she reached up, gently grabbed Panacea’s head, and turned it to look at Soothe Sayer’s back.
“Oh my— I’m sorry!” Panacea said to Soothe Sayer. He went back to getting the necessary supplies from the first aid kit. Sweetie Drops then ran over to Eagle Eye, who was lying on her right side to keep her injured wing and hoof off the ground.
“I’m okay,” Eagle Eye said before Sweetie Drops could even ask. “Nothing’s broken… I think. Go make sure the tranquilizer dart actually hit the bugbear. We can’t afford to let that thing get up.”
Even though she didn’t want to, Sweetie Drops trotted toward the bugbear, being careful not to get too close. It was still struggling to escape from the net. She looked at the bugbear’s lower abdomen, which is where she assumed the dart went. The bugbear’s fur got in the way, but after a few very long seconds, she spotted the tail end of the tranquilizer dart sticking out. A wave of relief washed over her.
Just then, the bugbear thrashed and rolled over toward Sweetie Drops. As she instinctively jumped back, she saw the bugbear stare directly at her with its cold, red eyes. The bugbear snorted. Sweetie Drops was momentarily frozen in fear. Then she noticed a strong, pungent odor, unfamiliar and distinctly different than the mustiness of the cave. It felt like it was enveloping her.
Sweetie Drops coughed. Which meant that reflexively, she needed to inhale, which just brought more of the scent into her system. She turned around and galloped toward the mouth of the cave, shouting “I need air!”
Sweetie Drops ran. Simply getting away from the apparent source of the odor helped, even before she reached the outdoors. When she saw the chain-link net over the mouth of the cave, she remembered that some of the other agents were out there.
“The bugbear’s been tranqed!” she shouted as she ran through one of the openings in the net. “Two ponies are injured. There’s some kind of awful smell. Go help them!”
The three ponies who had been setting up the net raced inside the cave. Sweetie Drops took a few deep breaths of fresh air. She didn’t feel entirely better, but she felt well enough to go back inside and help her teammates.
When she re-entered the chamber, she saw the unicorn standing near Panacea, ready to help him if he needed anything. Although it appeared that Panacea had the situation under control – Soothe Sayer’s wound was now bandaged and although she was clearly in pain, it looked like she would be all right. A few yards away, the earth pony was helping Eagle Eye stand up on her uninjured legs. Thundershock examined her wing. The light in that part of the cave wasn’t the best, but he indicated that there wasn’t any major damage.
The bugbear had quieted down. Although it was still moving, it was doing so much more slowly. The tranquilizer was taking effect. While Sweetie Drops could smell the unpleasant odor wafting through the air, it wasn’t overpowering.
“Let’s go,” Eagle Eye said to the two ponies surrounding her. “Our mission isn’t over yet. Thundershock, fly out and around to the other side of the cave. Tell the rest of the team to go free Blue Skies. While they’re doing that, go alert the Royal Guard that the mission was accomplished. There’s a cage in Tartarus with that monster’s name on it, and I myself am going to make sure it gets there.”
Limping on her three good legs, she walked over to Soothe Sayer. “How is she?” she asked Panacea.
“A significant slash across her back, but fortunately, it’s just a flesh wound. Thank goodness it didn’t reach her spine.”
Eagle Eye turned her head toward Soothe Sayer. “We’re lucky the bugbear thought that gun was part of your body. Are you good to walk?”
Soothe Sayer looked at Panacea. He nodded yes. “I think so…” she said. She slowly got up on her hooves, wincing as her back flexed from the motion. Once upright, she said, “Yes. I can walk.”
“Then let’s get out of here. I don’t know what that smell is, but I don’t want to breathe it any more than I have to.”
The other ponies followed Eagle Eye out of the cave. It wasn’t until she was outside that Sweetie Drops noticed how fast her heart was beating. She took another deep breath of the clean forest air. She had never appreciated being alive as much as she did at that moment.
As Steel Poise said during the debriefing, it wasn’t the smoothest mission the MCA had ever carried out, but at least there were no long-term injuries. Blue Skies may have been pinned under a large tree branch, but she only received minor scrapes. Eagle Eye’s wing was scratched, but it would heal and the feathers would grow back relatively soon. Her rear fetlock only suffered a sprain, and because Panacea had been there to administer the proper care, there would be no permanent damage. Soothe Sayer’s wound looked bad, but the appearance was worse than the injury actually was – it too would heal over time.
Steel Poise commended the team for a job well done, with special commendation for Sweetie Drops, whose quick action saved the lives of her teammates. And because there were no other monsters immediately threatening Equestria, Steel Poise did something she hadn’t done in years – she gave the eleven ponies who had been in the field an entire week off as a reward for their hard work and bravery.
During their time off, Panacea and Soothe Sayer took Sweetie Drops out to dinner off-base as a small gesture of their deepest gratitude. Sweetie Drops was humbled, and tried to point out that it was just a lucky shot. Maybe so, the two said, but it was a lucky shot that saved their lives.
When the team returned after the week had passed, they learned what the source of the smell was. When the bugbear saw Sweetie Drops, it had released a potent combination of pheromones meant to mark her and make her easier to follow if she ran away while the bugbear was struggling to get free. As the scientists explained, the bugbear’s keen sense of smell first picked up on her natural scent, then released the pheromones so it could later track her down. Sweetie Drops asked how easy it was to wash away pheromones – although she had already taken several hot showers during the week, she suddenly had a desire to take several more in rapid succession. The scientists couldn’t smell anything out of place on her, although they acknowledged that the bugbear’s sense of smell was exponentially more acute than a pony’s. Still, they pointed out, since the bugbear was now safely locked away in Tartarus, it didn’t matter.
A couple of weeks later, Steel Poise allowed Thundershock, Soothe Sayer, and Sweetie Drops to accompany her and Panacea on a trip to Tartarus. Like nearly all ponies in Equestria, the four newest recruits had never been there. But Steel Poise felt it was important for her agents to see the results of their hard work at least once. There was also a purpose to the visit – Panacea would be collecting a sample of pure bugbear venom for the scientists to both study and create an antivenom.
As she descended into the pit, Sweetie Drops quickly came to the conclusion that she really didn’t have any desire to ever see what Tartarus was like. Because it was deep underground, there was no sunlight – illumination came from torches and from an eerie glow created by minerals reacting to some unknown source of low-energy radioactivity. That light was not quite sufficient to reveal all of the contours of the sharp, jagged rock formations that rose up irregularly from the ground. As Sweetie Drops walked along the cold dirt of the zigzagging, winding path, she could faintly hear the sounds of animals roaring alongside otherworldly wailing.
Steel Poise led the agents to an area in Tartarus that she derisively called “the zoo.” In it were cages and enclosures containing monsters of all sizes, many of which resembled horrific versions of ordinary Equestrian wildlife. Sweetie Drops tried not to look too closely – she was still getting the occasional nightmare from her first two missions.
In the distance, she could see their destination – a relatively tall cage containing the bugbear. The rational part of Sweetie Drops’ brain tried to tell her that there was no way for the very big, very wide bugbear to escape, but the only thought on her mind was that those bars seemed like they were just a little too far apart.
As they approached, Panacea brought forward the large container that he had been carrying with his magic. It was narrower in one direction, designed to be just wide enough to slip through the bars of the cage. The plan was for him to levitate the container next to the bugbear and get the monster to sting the permeable membrane covering the top. This would give him a sample of pure bugbear venom that he could then use to create an antidote.
However, when the group was just a few yards from the cage, the bugbear suddenly began to roar angrily and repeatedly slammed its body against the bars. Most of the team flinched; Steel Poise simply stopped and looked at the bugbear.
After a few seconds of contemplation, Steel Poise said, “Sweetie Drops, stand there. Everypony else, follow me.” She led the other three ponies to the opposite side of the bugbear’s cage. The bugbear continued to try to reach Sweetie Drops, slashing at the bars with its claws, sticking its muzzle through the opening, and stabbing between the bars with its stinger. Sweetie Drops didn’t know what Steel Poise was doing, but she didn’t like it one bit. She tensed up, ready to sprint in the opposite direction if the bugbear happened to break free.
Steel Poise brought the other agents back to Sweetie Drops. “It smells you,” she explained. “And it remembers you. We’re not going to be able to collect anything with the bugbear acting like this. Come on – you’re going to wait outside while we get the venom.”
Steel Poise led everyone past all of the cages and back to the gates of Tartarus, where Sweetie Drops could wait in safety. The others then went back in. Sweetie Drops was perfectly content with not having to be inside that awful place. If anything, she wanted to be even farther away from the gates – Cerberus was standing guard just a couple dozen yards from her with no restraints. Even though Steel Poise had assured the team that Cerberus wouldn’t attack, Sweetie Drops was not comfortable standing so close to the enormous three-headed dog. She assumed that she shouldn’t make direct eye contact with it, but she also didn’t want to let it out of her sight.
But even carefully watching Cerberus wasn’t enough to distract Sweetie Drops and keep her mind from replaying the bugbear’s reaction to her presence. It remembers you.
Sweetie Drops desperately wished that she could forget.
The bugbear mission was the most harrowing of Sweetie Drops’ time at the Monster Containment Agency. Afterward, things settled into a more comfortable routine. She still had to go out into the field to capture monsters, but they were significantly less threatening. Most of them could be relocated to other parts of Equestria rather than confined to Tartarus. Her favorite mission was corralling the dragonfire salamander, which, despite its large size, moved docilely and had no desire to harm ponies. It had simply escaped from the wilderness sanctuary where others of its kind where being kept and studied. Sweetie Drops’ job was a lot more pleasant when she wasn’t in danger of being devoured.
Not surprisingly, Eagle Eye was promoted soon after the bugbear mission. And roughly a year after that bugbear mission occurred, Sweetie Drops received another commendation for her work in the field. She and some new teammates had been on a mission to relocate a giant spider, roughly twice the height of a pony, which they had nicknamed the daddy longest legs. While they were searching for the creature, the newest recruit somehow managed to stumble into the spider’s web and get thoroughly tangled up. When the daddy longest legs appeared and began wrapping the recruit in additional webbing, Sweetie Drops was able to quickly subdue the creature before it could inject the recruit with its venom.
As a result, Sweetie Drops received a promotion of her own – one of the fastest in MCA history, according to Steel Poise. She rarely had to go out on missions after that point, which suited her just fine. It was much less stressful to study monsters from afar in the safety of the MCA office.
And while she never would have chosen to do it if she hadn’t been forced into the situation by her parents, Sweetie Drops had to admit there were certain things about life at the Royal Guard Support Corps that she liked. She liked the sense of independence she received from doing her own shopping, not to mention the relatively low prices at the commissary and the exchange. She was even able to make an appointment with a unicorn eye doctor to fix her vision so she could go without glasses and thereby not stand out so much.
As an only child, Sweetie Drops wasn’t thrilled about having to share a dormitory with three other soldiers, but she did get her own bathroom and bedroom, which was where she spent most of her time. Occasionally, a roommate would leave and a new one would take her place – Sweetie Drops never really got to know any of them. Her roommates were all serving in other divisions – it wasn’t as if Sweetie Drops could talk with them about her work.
At the office, Soothe Sayer and Panacea began dating. Even though they were coworkers, it was permissible so long as they disclosed the relationship. Eventually, they moved out of their individual dormitories and moved in together in an apartment off-base. Sweetie Drops envied the freedom they had, but even though she primarily worked at a desk, she was still considered a Royal Guard soldier, and she never moved up the ranks high enough to qualify for any off-base housing compensation. It may have been sparse, but the bedroom in her dormitory did feel like it belonged to her, so she wasn’t too upset.
Sweetie Drops’ enlistment was for four years, and she decided to stay with the MCA the entire time. It was better than any other alternatives and she had gotten pretty good at the job. Other agents came and went, although Soothe Sayer and Panacea also spent their entire four-year enlistments with the agency. Sweetie Drops never really socialized much with them outside of work, but they were casual work acquaintances. And that was better than anything Sweetie Drops had had while she was growing up and bouncing around from school to school.
Eventually, Sweetie Drops neared the end of her four-year enlistment period and had to decide what the next phase of her life would be. Soothe Sayer had already completed her four years and opted not to re-up – Panacea had proposed to her, she said yes, and they planned to move to a new town where he could get a job learning and practicing medicine.
Sweetie Drops didn’t want to commit to another four years with the MCA, and she liked the idea of finally getting out on her own. She had no idea what she would do once she left – the job skills she had developed while with the Monster Containment Agency didn’t really translate to any real-world jobs she wanted to have – but she was looking forward to finally achieving complete independence.
It was Panacea’s last week at the agency. Sweetie Drops still had a couple of weeks to go. With no advance warning, Steel Poise gathered all of the agents out by the desks to speak to them. A sense of unease filled the space – this was the first time she had ever addressed them as a group outside of the briefing room.
“I have some bad news,” she said, getting right to the point as usual. “A little under four years ago, this agency captured a monster called a bugbear.”
Upon hearing that word, Sweetie Drops’ muscles tensed.
“We’re not sure how, but recently, it managed to break free from its cage. It then escaped from Tartarus. Now nopony knows where it is.”
Sweetie Drops flashed back to her experience in Tartarus. As she vividly recalled the way the bugbear reacted to her, she sat down on the floor, her eyes staring at nothing. Panacea, who was standing next to her, placed his hoof on her shoulder in response.
“When I was informed that the bugbear escaped, I assumed we would be assigned to recapture it. However…”
The newer recruits didn’t notice it, but those who had worked under Steel Poise for years heard the faintest crack in her voice.
“…they told me that they were shutting down the agency.”
There was a small, yet audible, gasp from the agents.
“Long story short, when the bugbear escaped from Tartarus, it was spotted flying over North Pastern. One of the newspapers did some digging and somehow learned about the existence of the MCA. They haven’t been able to piece too much together yet, and before they can, the princess has ordered that all proof of this agency be destroyed. There can’t be any evidence that anything here ever existed. And that includes the agents.”
“What are you saying…?” asked one of the newer recruits, his voice tinged with suspicion and fear.
“You’re all going to have to assume new identities,” Steel Poise said. That wasn’t the conclusion the agents thought she was headed toward, but it was still pretty upsetting. “The princess wants total deniability – there can’t be a Cinnamon Stick or an Evening Dew or a Panacea to trace back to her in any way, shape, or form.
“I’ll be meeting with each of you individually by order of seniority to discuss who you’ll be and where you’ll be transferred to. Panacea, you’re up first. Please join me in my office. Everypony else, you might as well start packing up your belongings. And think about what you’d like your new name to be for the rest of your life.”
Sweetie Drops hadn’t moved. After hearing “bugbear” and “escaped,” she only picked up about half of what Steel Poise had just said. She had gathered that her entire life was about to change, but her brain hadn’t yet pieced together the specifics as to why.
“Are you okay?” Panacea asked her. Sweetie Drops nodded dumbly. Panacea wasn’t sure he believed that response, but he knew he couldn’t keep Steel Poise waiting. He left for her office.
The other agents began to murmur among themselves. After a couple of minutes, Sweetie Drops finally recovered enough to pick up from their conversations what was happening. After requesting some clarification on the portions of Steel Poise’s news that she missed, Sweetie Drops was able to join the others in their feelings of trepidation and general anxiety.
A few minutes later, Panacea returned. “You’re up next,” he said to Sweetie Drops. Sweetie Drops walked to Steel Poise’s office while Panacea began to answer the many, many questions the other agents had for him.
The door to the office was open. Sweetie Drops entered and was instructed to close the door behind her. As she sat down, she noticed a unicorn standing next to Steel Poise’s desk. She had a nondescript middle-management air about her.
“This is Carbon Copy,” Steel Poise said. “She’ll be aiding everypony in assuming their new identity.”
Carbon Copy acknowledged Sweetie Drops with a tilt of her head. “Before I begin,” she said, “I want to remind you of the penalties for saying anything to anypony about this agency or your time here. I know that you already signed the paperwork confirming that you understand this, but to reiterate: If you reveal any of the secrets of this agency, you will be charged with espionage and punished to the fullest extent of the law. And that punishment will be enacted not only upon you, but also upon the ponies to whom you reveal the information. The Corps is very serious about keeping the existence of this agency a secret, and while my superiors don’t want to have to take such extreme measures, they will if it’s necessary.”
Sweetie Drops nodded.
Carbon Copy continued. “Now, let me move on to some good news. First of all, since you only have a couple of weeks left in your enlistment, it would be wasteful to transfer you to another sector and train you only for you to immediately leave afterward. So the Corps has agreed to allow you to end your service early while still compensating you for those final weeks.”
Sweetie Drops smiled. It felt weird to smile in a situation like this, but that was indeed good news.
“Additionally,” Carbon Copy said while looking at Sweetie Drops’ file, “since you don’t have a hometown per se, we don’t have to give you an order to never visit there again. If you want to go back to where your parents are currently living, we can arrange that. Because of your father’s stellar work for the Magical Imbalances department, we can trust that your parents will only call you by your new name and not ask any questions about what you’ve been doing for the past four years.”
The smile instantly fell from Sweetie Drops’ face. One of the good things about working for a top-secret agency was that she didn’t have to worry about her parents knowing where she was or interfering with what she did. As her last day of service approached, in the back of her head, she knew that she was going to have to figure out whether her parents were going to be a part of the next phase of her life, but she had been putting off thinking about it. Every time she began to think about it, she just got angry.
It was at that moment, in Steel Poise’s office, as she began to get angry again, that it dawned on her – that was her answer. If the mere thought of it made her angry…
She looked at Carbon Copy. “No.”
Carbon Copy was slightly taken aback. “I’m sure if we tell them that it’s a matter of national security, they would understand—”
“I mean no, I’m not going back to where they are. Wherever they are.” Her tone of voice made it clear that she was not going to be told otherwise. “Don’t even tell me where that is. I’m moving on.”
Carbon Copy looked at Steel Poise. “That’s her decision,” Steel Poise told her in a similar tone of voice. Inside, Sweetie Drops smiled. Steel Poise always treated her with respect.
Steel Poise turned to Sweetie Drops. “Have you thought about where you’ll be moving to?” she asked.
“Not really, no,” Sweetie Drops said. “I thought I still had some time before I had to worry about that.”
“Then perhaps I can help,” Steel Poise said. “Even though this agency never existed as far as anypony is concerned, there are certain higher-ups who would like there to be some agents in select towns keeping an eye out for any extremely abnormal activity in the coming years. You wouldn’t be required to take any action – just report back to Canterlot if you witness any monster attack that isn’t resolved within a week. In exchange for your cooperation, you would receive a small stipend each year. Very small. So small, this might as well be a volunteer position.”
“Where would I have to live?” asked Sweetie Drops.
“I have a list of places right here,” Steel Poise said. She slid a piece of paper across the desk toward Sweetie Drops. One of the names was crossed off. “Panacea already chose South Pastern. That wouldn’t have been good for you anyway – it’s right next to Tartarus, and since the bugbear has been past that area, it might come back looking for you. The other four towns should be safe, though.”
Sweetie Drops looked at the list. While growing up, she had lived in a couple of the choices. One name in particular caught her eye.
“Ponyville?” she asked.
“A small town not too far from here,” Steel Poise said. “It’s on the list because it’s next to the Everfree – a forest filled with all sorts of abnormal creatures. Whatever dark magic is covering that forest, it seems to keep all of the monsters contained, so unless one of them wanders out, you won’t have to report anything.”
Sweetie Drops thought about it. Ponyville sounded as good as any other place to live. If she was going to have to assume a new identity, she wanted to do it in a small, out-of-the-way town where she could focus on discovering who she really was without the distractions of a big city. And from her time there as a filly, she remembered it being a pleasant little community.
“Okay, I’ll go to Ponyville,” she said.
“Great,” Steel Poise said. She took the paper back, picked up a pen with her teeth, and scratched the name off the list. “Carbon Copy?”
Carbon Copy looked down at her paperwork, then up at Sweetie Drops. “In that case, there’s only one other thing we need to discuss right now. Your new name.”
“Just my name? I don’t have to change my appearance or anything?”
“No – we’re just making sure there’s no way to connect your identity with the agency. Besides, you’d be surprised how many ponies there are in Equestria who look like one another. We can pick out a new name for you if you’d like, but if there’s something you’ve always wanted to be called, you can use that.”
Sweetie Drops put her hoof to her chin.
“I assume you’d like a name that’s candy-related, given your cutie mark,” Carbon Copy said.
Sweetie Drops thought about various types of candies. She wanted something that was a reflection of her as a pony.
After a few seconds of silence, she spoke. “What about…” she said slowly, to indicate she was still thinking. “What about… Bon Bon?”
“Bon Bon?” asked Carbon Copy.
“Yeah… Bon Bon. I think that fits me.” She thought about the way other ponies perceived her: How her classmates always made their own assumptions about the new kid. How her father always made sure she looked and behaved like a “normal” pony. How the Corps kept her from expressing her individuality. What ponies saw of her on the outside was a sort of shell that concealed who she really was on the inside. And Bon Bon was a better name than something like Bubble Gum Lollipop.
Carbon Copy made a note in her file. “Bon Bon.” She closed the folder and levitated a card toward Sweetie Drops. “Your out-processing will take place tomorrow at 1100 hours. We’ll finalize all of this, as well as your discharge from the Corps. I’ll see you then.”
Steel Poise spoke. “Thank you for your service, Sweetie Drops. I’m going to miss your exemplary work and dedication to the job.”
Sweetie Drops held her hoof to her forehead in a salute. “Thank you,” she said. “I’ve always admired the way you ran this place.”
Steel Poise accepted the compliment with a nod. “You’re dismissed – both from this meeting and from the agency. Please send in Cinnamon Stick next.”
Sweetie Drops got up and reached for the doorknob. Before she opened the door, she turned back around. “What’s going to happen to you?” she asked Steel Poise.
Steel Poise smiled. “Don’t worry about me. There’s more than one top-secret agency on this base.”
Sweetie Drops knew that that was all the answer she was going to get. She smiled at Steel Poise, opened the door, and left.
She stood on the platform of the Canterlot train station. As far as anyone else knew, her name was Bon Bon and always had been Bon Bon. She was accompanied by one large suitcase that contained the few meager possessions she had acquired during the last four years of her life – and that included a small metallic briefcase she had been given for her secret assignment as monster watchpony. It also contained the paperwork necessary for her to transfer her life’s savings, modest as they were, over to the bank at Ponyville.
Ponyville. Her new home. The place where she would experience the beginning of a life that was whatever she wanted it to be. For the first time in her life, she answered to nobody except herself.
The train for Ponyville arrived. Bon Bon stepped aboard. She took a seat by a window and watched as she headed for the place where everything was going to be new.
She was both excited and utterly terrified.