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Breaking News1,895 words
Speak of the Draconequus2,778 words

Breaking News

Knock knock.

“Enter!”

The thick Eversteel door swung inwards. An earth pony mare with a beige coat stepped inside, her expression blank and her step sure. She slowly walked into the middle of the almost empty room and sat down, facing the desk with the wall-facing chair.

“Name?”

The voice that had invited the mare in, now asking for her identity, was flat and emotionless. The voice of a leader with much to lose.

“Special Agent Sweetie Drops.”

The chair swung around. The stallion in it had his eyes concealed behind dark glasses, but his gaze seemed to cut through the black lenses. A long crystal cone protruded from his forehead where a unicorn’s horn would be and his left front hoof was missing, replaced instead by the unmistakable claw of a dragon.

The stallion peered down at a sheet of paper on his desk without turning his head. “Agent Sweetie Drops, senior member of the Anti-Monster agency.”

“Yes, Director.”

The pony at the desk nodded sternly. “You’re one of the agency’s top monster-hunters. As such, you tend to learn of the latest developments before most of the other agents.”

“Yes, Director.”

“Then you must already know of the latest escapee from Tartarus.”

Agent Sweetie Drops held back a curse. She knew, but that didn't make hearing it again was any easier. She’d handled all manner of monsters in the past, but those that were locked up in and then managed to escape the dark pits of Tartarus were some of the hardest challenges she had ever faced. And the bugbear was one of the highest on the list of Tartarus threats. “Yes, sir. The costs were high. Several of my fellow agents were wounded in its flight.”

“I know, agent.” The Director turned his chair ninety degrees, giving Sweetie Drops a view of his profile. He reached up, grabbed the cone on his head and pulled it off, revealing the inch-high stump of a unicorn horn.

“I’ve faced this bugbear in the past, agent,” he said, his voice full of resentment and admiration. “It was one of the most amazing, awe-inspiring experiences of my life. The bugbear fought hard, unwilling to be caged ever again, but I was equally desperate to send it back to where it belongs. I succeeded in the end, but not before ripped my horn clean of my head.”

So that’s how it happened, Sweetie Drops thought, feeling sympathetic towards her director.

“For my bravery and unfortunate disability, I was promoted to Director. I was fine with that; my monster hunting days were over. But I don’t want a repeat of what happened all those years ago.”

“I understand, Director,” Sweetie Drops said, already turning towards the door. “I’ll gather up the best of our members and—“

“We’re shutting down the agency.”

“What?!” Sweetie Drops froze in horror. She’d been a member of the Equestrian Anti-Monster agency for years. She had helped other agents through their missions and watched normal everyday ponies go about their normal everyday lives, free of fear from the many fearsome beasts that roamed their magical land.

“Director, you can’t be serious. We need to track down the bugbear!”

“No, agent.” The Director got up from his chair and walked to the window. “The Princess herself has asked for this. And I agree.”

“But sir…“

“Agent. Come here.”

Sweetie Drops sighed and hung her head, but she did as she was bidden. “Yes, sir?”

“Look out. Look out onto the streets. Look at the ponies out there. They can’t be allowed to suffer from our inability to do our duty.” The Director turned to face the agent. “An escaped bugbear could uncover us completely. We must not let the populace learn of the agency’s existence. I’ve already asked most of our members to destroy any evidence of the baseand either dismiss themselves or go under cover. In less than a day, this—“ He gestured to the room and the building they were in, “—will be gone.”

Sweetie Drops allowed her mind to wander. The disbanding of the agency and denying of its existence would allow her to start a whole new life as a regular pony. Aside from monster hunting, she’d always dreamed of opening a sweet shop, living in a quaint environment, maybe sharing a room with a good friend. All that seemed possible now.

But in her heart, the mare knew she would never be able to let go of the exhilarating feeling of tracking down dangerous beasts and locking them away from ponies.

“But Director,” Sweetie Drops began, “what about the bugbear? It’s still out there somewhere.”

“It’s beyond us now, agent,” the Director said with a heavy heart. “Princess Celestia is demanding deniability of our whole existence.”

“But the bugbear will still exist! We’ll be gone and it’ll still be around, looking for someplace to terrorize.”

The Director stared out the window, down the mountain upon which Canterlot sat, and off into the distance. “I wish there was something I could do about it” he admitted, “but even as the ex-director of the agency, I no longer have the power.” He raised his eyes to the fake horn on his head.

“So…. what do I do?”

“Do what you think is right.” The Director reached under his desk and pulled out a metal case, which he slung over his back. “I will always miss you and your expert skills. Keep in touch, my dear.”

And with that, the Director of the Equestrian Anti-Monster agency left.

Ex-agent Sweetie Drops looked somberly at the empty chair, then back out the window. What more was there for her to do, now that her monster-tracking was no longer needed? Should she try to forget her secret past and live like all the other ponies? It was all so sudden.

Stupid bugbear, she grumbled. One of these days, I will return it to Tartarus where it belongs.

But first, I need to talk to a friend.

Among the most valued members of the now-disbanding agency was Swapper. Swapper was a changeling who had abandoned his hive and decided to find a new purpose in life other than looking for ponies to leech love off of. He was fortunate enough to come across agent Sweetie Drops while she was out on a mission, ultimately saving her from a hydra by using his natural skills of shape-shifting to confuse the beast. Sweetie Drops returned to base with Swapper and the changeling was taken in as a new recruit to begin his new life as a secret agent.

On that particular day, Swapper was in the agency’s lounge, reading a book on crossbreeds in Equestria. All the agents including himself knew of the agency's disbanding and most of them had already left. Swapper's attention was drawn when Sweetie Drops appeared on the stairs, looking gloomy and crestfallen.

“Hey there, partner,” Swapper called, closing his book. “Doing all right?”

Sweetie Drops ambled slowly over to the cushion beside the changeling and curled up on it. “Oh Swapper, what are we gonna do?” she sighed, letting her head drop onto the poofy seat. “I’ve been at this monster-hunting business for a long time now. I don’t believe I can just drop all of that and settle down!”

Swapper watched his friend’s expression closely. Out of all the agents, he trusted Sweetie Drops the most and though the other agents treated him like any other pony, Sweetie Drops showed him far more. Swapper thought back on his own life-changing decision. At first, when he’d left the hive, he too had a hard time turning away from the lifestyle he’d been born into. But with a little help, he’d found a much better place.

"It won’t be easy,” he finally said. “Just remember, it’ll be the second time for me.”

“So will it be easier or harder for you?” Sweetie asked with a weak smile.

“Who knows?”

The two ex-agents sat in silence, thinking about their choices. Swapper could, of course, return to the hive, but they might not be so keen to receive him and the hive-mind way of life may be too alien for him now. Sweetie Drops could return to her family, but she was already a big mare and should find her own place to settle.

“Why don’t we start with a new location?” Swapper suggested.

Sweetie Drops straightened up. “You mean leave Canterlot?”

“Sure. We’ve travelled Equestria, we’ve seen loads of settlements. Maybe we’ll enjoy living in one of them.”

“Hmm…. Well, I’ve always liked Ponyville,” Sweetie Drops mused. “It’s quite peaceful, but the Everfree Forest is right next to it and is probably teeming with all manner of creatures if things get too boring.”

Swapper smiled. His fangs caught the light. “Then it's settled? We’re going?”

“Let’s go get our things.”

Sweetie Drops and Swapper went to their lockers and packed up all their agency equipment. Sweetie Drops had to sigh as she rolled up her grappling hook and rope. That tool had gotten her through some rough spots. When they were all packed, they grabbed their cases and headed for the exit, where a fellow agent was waiting for them.

“You two are the last ones?” he told them, to which the mare and the changeling nodded. “The Director asked me and some of the others to… tidy up the place. Can’t have the next renters finding out who used to bunk in here.”

“No,” Swapper agreed with a grin. “That wouldn’t be too good.”

The stallion walked past them and stood at the bottom of the stairs. “Well, good luck with your new lives, guys.”

“You too!”

Sweetie Drops and Swapper left the old agency building and walked through the passageway that opened up outside of Canterlot. They climbed out of the hidden tunnel and looked around.

“The only ponies who can see us are the guards at the gate,” Swapper reported, looking back towards the capital.

“Then our secret lives end here and now,” Sweetie Drops said with a hint of longing.

“If that’s the case, maybe you should drop your code name and take back your old one. I always preferred ‘Bon Bon’ anyway.”

The mare looked unsurely at her changeling friend. “Do you really think so?”

Swapper nodded.

“Okay then. From now on, we’ll use Bon Bon. Hopefully, the other agents will remember that detail if we run into any of them.”

“Yeah, it would be awkward if they used your codename.”

“Hey, I wouldn’t talk, Cheeselegs,” Bon Bon joked.

Swapper pouted. “Okay, so I stink at coming up with names. You don’t have to rub it in.”

Bon Bon poked him. “Come on, I’m just pulling your leghole, Swapper.” She looked back one more time at Canterlot, wondering what the Director would do now. “Well, we won’t get there any faster by standing around. Off to Ponyville.”

“Let’s go!”

The two friends began to walk along the mountain trail that ran alongside the train track, Both of them wondering what new secrets awaited them out in the world of everyday pony life.

Author's Note:

I told myself I wouldn't write anything about the 100th episode
But I didn't listen!

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