Demons Are Forever

by Metool Bard

Mission Briefing

"Thank you for stopping by Sweetie Drops's Sweets Shop! Please come again!"

The two young fillies thanked Sweetie Drops before galloping out of the store with their tasty treasures in tow. Sweetie Drops smiled at them and waved as they left. With a whimsical sigh, she trotted back into the kitchen, where a bowl of melted chocolate was left on the counter. Delicately, she took a whisk and dipped it into the chocolate, allowing it to dribble onto a nearby baking sheet. She let out another sigh of contentment. Today was just going to be a peaceful, ordinary day, and she welcomed it with open hooves.

As that thought crossed her mind, there was the sound of a bell just outside. A new costumer had arrived.

"One minute!" Sweetie Drops called out, measuring the chocolate the best she could. When she felt the delectable morsel was large enough, she quickly deposited the whisk back into the bowl and walked back out to the counter.

Once she got a look at this new customer, the wheels in her mind began to turn. Standing before her was a silver-coated stallion with a black mane and a tornado for a Cutie Mark. At first glance, it was nopony she recognized off-hoof. But his most peculiar feature was an eyepatch he wore over his left eye. She decided not to acknowledge it and gave him her biggest smile.

"Welcome to Sweetie Drops's Sweets Shop, where we boast the best candy in Canterlot!" she said happily. "Is this your first time in town?"

"Well now, I wouldn't say that," said the stranger cryptically.

Sweetie Drops nodded slowly. "Okay then. What can I getcha?"

The stranger tapped his muzzle thoughtfully. "Hmm. I can't quite decide."

"Hey, Mom! Check it out! That guy looks like a pirate!"

Sweetie Drops and the stranger turned to a young colt and his mother trying to rein him in.

"Button Mash! Don't be so rude!" the mother scolded.

"But Mom~! He looks sooooo cool!" the colt whined.

"Button, ponies don't like it when you draw attention to them like that," said the mother. She then sighed and bowed to the stranger. "I do apologize, sir."

"Quite alright, madam. Not your fault," said the stranger with a shake of his head. "Just a little accident at the, um, tornado factory. Yes, that's what happened to my eye. In case you were wondering."

Sweetie Drops raised an eyebrow. Something told her that this was no ordinary stallion.

"Um, sir? Can I help you?"

"Mmm? Oh, yes. Sorry. I have trouble thinking on an empty stomach," said the stranger, looking back down at the display case. He licked his lips as his eyes scanned the rows upon rows of delectable delicacies on offer. "Oh, confound it. They all look so good. What would you recommend, miss?"

Sweetie Drops grinned. "I thought you'd never ask." She ducked behind the display and pulled out a tray of bonbons. "I highly recommend these bonbons here. They're my specialty."

"Oh, I'm well aware of that," said the stallion, leaning in close. "In fact, I know what makes them so special."

Sweetie Drops smiled back. If the stallion answered her next question correctly, it would confirm her suspicions. "Oh? And what's that?"

"They're made with love."

That was the right answer. The stranger had successfully recited the call sign for the Hunter's Undercover Bureau. Sweetie Drops gave the stranger a firm nod and a wink.

"Just a moment, sir," she said before turning to the other costumers. "Listen up, everypony! I'm going to have to close shop early! I'm sorry, something very important just came up! Don't worry, there will still be plenty of candy tomorrow!"

There was a wave of groans and complaints from the young colts and fillies as their parents dragged them out of the shop. In a matter of moments, it was just Sweetie Drops and the stranger. Without saying a word, Sweetie Drops trotted over to the door, locked it, and shifted the sign out front from Open to Closed. She then turned to the stranger and gave him a bemused smirk

"An accident at the tornado factory? Really?" she snickered, shaking her head. "That's probably the worst cover you've come up with yet, White Lie."

There was a sudden flash of green flame, and the eyepatch dropped to the floor. The stranger had all but vanished. In his place was an indignant changeling with a nasty scar over its left eye.

"W-well, I had to come up with something," the changeling huffed. "The Cutie Mark of my persona was a tornado; what was I supposed to say?"

"You could've just not said anything," said Sweetie Drops with a shrug.

"See, I would've thought of that if I wasn't so hungry," White Lie retorted. A low growl emanated from its stomach, and it cleared its throat. "Um, speaking of which..."

"Say no more, White Lie. I've got you covered," said Sweetie Drops. She then took out a scooper and a paper bag. In a few swift motions, she shuffled the bonbons into the bag and gave it to White Lie.

"Oh, thank you ever so much, Ms. Drops. You truly are a lifesaver," said White Lie, scarfing down a bonbon. "Mmm~! Just as delicious as ever. I don't know how you manage to keep outdoing yourself like this."

"Save the flattery, White Lie," said Sweetie Drops, rolling her eyes. "I take it you didn't just come over to restock your candy supply."

"Mmmph? Oh, righph." White Lie took a moment to swallow its latest morsel before pulling out a scroll. "We have new orders from Princess Celestia. It's quite urgent."

"Do the other agents know about this?"

"I would assume so."

Sweetie Drops nodded. "Alright, let's get moving then."

She then walked behind the counter and pressed a button underneath the display case. The floor beneath her began to shift and move, revealing a staircase leading far below the building. Once the staircase was fully formed, she trotted to the far end of the display case and lifted the wooden bar separating the staff from the customers.

"After you," she said with a bow.

White Lie bowed in return and trotted down the steps, munching on its bonbons the entire time. Sweetie Drops took a deep breath and let it out in a tired sigh before follow suit.

So much for this being a peaceful day, she thought.

***

Deep within the crystal-laden bowels of the HUB's secret base of operations, Dr. Colgate was already hard at work. She looked carefully through the magnifying lens over her eye at the black ankle brace sitting on the table. Using her magic, she scooped up her screwdriver and began tightening one of the brace's bolts ever so slightly. She didn't even look up when the secret door slid open, revealing White Lie and Sweetie Drops.

"Good day, Dr. Colgate," said White Lie, scarfing down another bonbon. "I, hope we're not interrupting anything."

"Mmm? Oh, not at all," said Dr. Colgate, looking up from her work. She shifted back the magnifying lens and turned to face the new arrivals. "I was just giving some of our equipment a few tweaks. Always pays to be prepared."

"Funny you should say that," said Sweetie Drops. "White Lie says we just got new orders from Princess Celestia."

"See? I was right," said Dr. Colgate with a goofy grin. "Give it here, it's probably encrypted with an audio spell."

White Lie didn't comply right away. Instead, it kept munching away at its bonbons. Dr. Colgate's smile faded.

"Ugh, at least tell me you're brushing after consuming all that sugar," she said.

White Lie looked up and swallowed. "I-I am, I am! Honest!"

Dr. Colgate raised an eyebrow. "You keep saying that, but I can still smell your candy-laden breath from over here."

"Well, would you prefer it if I fed off of the love of ponies?" White Lie retorted. "As far as I'm concerned, Ms. Drops's candy makes for a divine substitute."

Dr. Colgate shot Sweetie Drops a look. Sweetie Drops simply shrugged.

"What? Princess Celestia asked me to find something for White Lie to eat instead of love," she said. "My special talent is making candy; of course I'm going to recommend that. We've had this discussion before, remember?"

"Yeah, I know. I know," Dr. Colgate grumbled. "I'm just concerned about our fellow agent's dental hygiene. That's not a crime."

"Well, I can see that I haven't missed much."

All eyes turned to another secret door as Special Agent Fleur de Lis strode in with her usual high-class swagger.

"We were just about to get started," said Dr. Colgate, taking the scroll from White Lie. "Can we expect anypony else?"

"Not to my knowledge," said Fleur with a shake of her head.

"Then I guess it's just us four. Alright, fair enough. Let's see what the Princess has in store for us."

Dr. Colgate unfurled the scroll and fired a beam of yellow energy at it. One by one, the words materialized on the scroll, and a voice echoed all around the room.

Good afternoon, agents. I hope you are all doing well. Once again, Equestria is in dire need of your services.

Last night, somepony took a tome out of the Royal Canterlot Library. Normally, this would not be a problem, as the information of the library is open to the public. However, the tome that was taken was none other than the Lesser Key. The librarians did not discover this until early this morning, leaving me to believe that the thief used some sort of illusion to bypass security.

The Royal Guard managed to track the book down to a private library in the mountains of Coltlat; just outside Stalliongrad. According to the townsfolk, the library belongs to an eccentric millionaire named Chanticleer Hegemony, though it is unknown how he came into possession of his fortune. In fact, there's nopony of that name in any sort of records. At this time, we're not sure what all this means. The only thing I know for certain is that the Lesser Key cannot fall into the wrong hooves.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to infiltrate this secret library, find the Lesser Key, and bring it back to Canterlot. This may not appear to be an anti-monster mission on the surface, but if Mr. Hegemony isn't careful, he could end up unleashing our most formidable foe yet. Dr. Colgate will brief you on your target.

This message will now self-destruct. Best of luck, my little ponies. And you as well, White Lie.

With that, the scroll burst into amber flame, disintegrating right before everypony's eyes. Dr. Colgate furrowed her brow and trotted over to a large bookshelf at the far end of the room.

"Well, I already know one thing," said White Lie, popping another bonbon into its mouth. "This is definitely the work of changelings."

Fleur arched an eyebrow. "How can you be so sure? This doesn't match your kind's MO."

"Not our typical MO, maybe," White Lie mused. "But changelings forging a new persona from whole cloth is not unheard of. I've done it several times during my tenure with you fine ponies."

"So, you think this Chanticleer Hegemony guy is a changeling?" asked Sweetie Drops.

"But of course," said White Lie. "If you meet somepony with a ridiculous name that nopony would ever have in a million years, chances are it's a changeling who has no idea what it's doing."

"Or it might be deliberately using a silly name to lure us into a trap," said Fleur.

White Lie scoffed. "Oh please, Lady de Lis. You give the hive too much credit. If they were smart enough to do something like that, they'd also have the brains to reject the mad designs of Queen Chrysalis."

"I'm just erring on the side of caution, White Lie," said Fleur, narrowing her eyes. "I've seen firsthoof what your kind is capable of. This sort of thing is not outside the realm of possibility."

White Lie sighed. "Why must there continue to be animosity between us, Lady de Lis? I understand that you had to contend with the hive in the past, but I believe I've made it perfectly clear that I'm defined by who I am, not what I am. I have no love for the Mad Queen or the hive. In fact, I still have to pay them back for the 'makeover' they gave me when I left." It then pointed to the scar on its face.

Fleur closed her eyes and shook her head. "I can't take any chances, White Lie. Not after what your kind tried to do to Fancy Pants. Not after what they continue to try again and again."

White Lie pursed its lips and nodded. "I see. So you're still contending with those fools. Though this only proves my point that they're not as smart as you claim. If they were, they'd stop trying to hurt you and your lover."

Fleur blushed and sputtered for a few seconds before calming down. "You are quite frustrating, White Lie."

"How so?"

"You keep making it more and more difficult for me to hate you."

White Lie laughed. "I'll take that as a compliment," it said, tossing another bonbon into its mouth.

"Alright, that's enough out of you two," said Sweetie Drops with a sigh. "Although I have to say that White Lie has a point, Lady de Lis. I know you have your reasons for distrusting him—"

"It, actually," White Lie corrected. "As a changeling who can become any gender I wish, it's unnecessary for me to identify as either male or female."

Sweetie Drops cleared her throat. "—distrusting it, rather. But you still sound like a bigoted species-ist every time you argue with it like this, and I don't think that's what you want to be."

Fleur said nothing, but instead turned her head and huffed. Just then, Dr. Colgate trotted back with a book and set it on the table.

"Let's get back to the matter at hoof, fillies," she said.

White Lie cleared its throat noisily, causing Dr. Colgate to sigh.

"Fillies and creature with no gender identity," she clarified.

"Thank you," said White Lie with a bow.

Dr. Colgate rolled her eyes and continued. "Even if we accept that this is the work of changelings, we still don't know why they'd be after the Lesser Key."

"Well, I'm afraid I won't be able to answer that," said White Lie with a shrug. "There's no telling what the Mad Queen is thinking these days."

"It must be a rather important book if Princess Celestia is calling us in to bring it back," Fleur mused. "What's it a book of, anyway? I imagine it's some sort of magic tome."

"In a sense," said Dr. Colgate, opening the book before her. "It contains the Ars Goetia."

Sweetie Drops blinked. "And that is, what exactly?"

Dr. Colgate flipped through the book before her before stopping at the correct passage. "Ah, here we go," she said, clearing her throat. "'In a distant land, far from Equestria, there were seventy-two demons known collectively as the Ars Goetia. They came in many shapes and sizes, and each one had their own mystical powers as well as their own field of academic study. Though they referred to themselves as kings, dukes, presidents, princes, counts, and marquises, they didn't rule any nation of their own. But they did have an agenda, as well as a sinister method of moving that agenda forward.

"'It is said that all who seek knowledge could call upon a member of the Ars Goetia for assistance. And while some of the demons were vicious, most of them actually provided their services willingly when summoned. In fact, they thrived on the pursuit of knowledge and encouraged it wherever they went. However, their help came at a price. For those who called upon the Ars Goetia ended up becoming their servants. Not through coercion or mind control, but through mere persuasion and argument. Each of the demons were gifted with a silver tongue and a mind like a steel trap. Using nothing but pure logic, they would convince others that doing their bidding was a correct course of action.

"'If the Ars Goetia had their way, all knowledge would be controlled by them and them alone. But there is an old proverb directed at beings with such ambitions and hubris. It matters not how powerful you are; there's always someone else who wields even greater power.'"

"Don't tell me; I know this one," interrupted Sweetie Drops. "Starswirl the Bearded defeated them, right?"

Dr. Colgate smirked. "Wrong. Remember, they had never set foot in Equestria."

"Then why are they in a book that was contained in our library?" inquired Fleur.

"I was just getting to that, Lady de Lis. Now please, don't interrupt," said Dr. Colgate, turning the page. "'The Ars Goetia eventually crossed paths with the infamous Lord Tirek and his brother, Scorpan. Using underhanded tactics, the two brothers overpowered the demons and sealed them within the pages of an empty book. When they came to Equestria, Scorpan gave the tome to Starswirl the Bearded; most likely to keep it out of the hands of his brother. Along with the tome came a warning. Under no circumstances should anyone read this book. If you do, you will become susceptible to the demons' arguments, and you may end up trying to find a way to free them.'"

"And that book is the Lesser Key, I take it?" said White Lie.

"Correct-a-mundo," said Dr. Colgate, closing her book. "Which is why we have to get it back."

White Lie knitted its brow. "I knew Queen Chrysalis was mad, but this seems quite extreme, even for her. What's more, this kind of operation would be carried out by an experienced archdrone, not some schmuck who can't think of a suitable pony name. What kind of special talent would a pony named Chanticleer Hegemony even have?"

"Maybe you'll have a chance to find out," said Dr. Colgate, taking out a map. "Because I've got a plan."

"Already? You sure are fast," observed Sweetie Drops.

"I had some time to think while White Lie and Lady de Lis were bickering," said Dr. Colgate with a shrug. "Anyway, here's the way I see it. Sweetie Drops, you'll be airdropped onto the mountainside around here. While that's going on, Lady de Lis and White Lie will come in through the front door."

"That doesn't sound too smart," said Fleur.

Dr. Colgate grinned. "This Chanticleer Hegemony guy is supposed to be some sort of rich tycoon, right? Well, that means he won't suspect an influential pony like Fancy Pants dropping by for a visit."

Fleur scoffed. "As if Fancy Pants would ever agree to—"

She stopped herself mid-sentence and connected the dots, turning to face White Lie. White Lie shrugged its shoulders.

"I'm sure we can come up with a suitable reason for 'Fancy Pants' injuring his eye," it said plainly, eating another bonbon.

Fleur opened her mouth to protest, but thought better of it. "Fine. I, guess I'll have to get over this prejudice of mine sometime," she sighed, shooting Dr. Colgate a dark look. "You fight dirty."

"Hey, I'm a dental-conscious pony working in a secret base that uses a candy shop as a front. If I can work with Sweetie Drops, you can work with White Lie," said Dr. Colgate. "Speaking of which, I should probably give you the gear you need for this mission."

Using her magic, she scooped up the ankle brace along with a locked suitcase and brought it over the Sweetie Drops. Sweetie Drops unlocked the suitcase, revealing her gadgets.

"This shouldn't be a heavy-duty mission, even if we are dealing with changelings," Dr. Colgate stated. "So there's nothing in there that you shouldn't be familiar with. You've got your watch/compass, an earpiece radio, an ankle-mounted crossbow complete with sleep bolts, and of course, your grappling hook."

Sweetie Drops took the ankle brace and fitted it over her right foreleg. She took aim and flexed her hoof, hearing a satisfying twang as the empty crossbow fired.

"Impressive," she said, slinging her grappling hook over her other shoulder. "You said you made a few adjustments?"

"Oh, it's nothing too extreme," said Dr. Colgate modestly. "I just corrected the aim a bit. Oh, and I installed a hypodermic bayonet for CQC purposes. You can activate by pressing the button underneath the crossbow, but I doubt you'll need it."

Sweetie Drops raised an eyebrow. "Then, why did you install it?"

"Just in case," said Dr. Colgate. "Also, the bow can be folded up and concealed by tapping the button on the side. You probably don't want it getting in the way if you are forced into a close combat situation."

Sweetie Drops pressed the side button, and sure enough, the crossbow folded up and sank into the ankle brace.

"Very nice," said Sweetie Drops with a nod. "Anything else?"

"That's about it for you," said Dr. Colgate. "Lady de Lis, you and White Lie should take a trip to the Royal Canterlot Library before heading out."

"Why's that?" asked Fleur.

Dr. Colgate's face darkened. "If any of the Ars Goetia get out of the Lesser Key, you two need a spell that'll send them back. There should be a scroll in the Starswirl the Bearded Wing." She then shot White Lie a glare. "Just, try not to get any chocolate on it."

"That should probably go without saying," said White Lie, munching down the last of its bonbons.

"Again, it pays to be prepared," said Dr. Colgate. "Alright, I'll arrange for two train tickets to Stalliongrad. Sweetie Drops, you'd better get ahold of Special Agent Night Glider and brief her on the situation so that she can perform the airdrop. Once you're in Stalliongrad, be sure to check in via radio. I'll try and monitor everything from here the best I can, so keep me updated. Now, let's rock and roll!"

With that, the agents saluted each other and went their separate ways. Just as Sweetie Drops was about to make her way up the stares, Dr. Colgate stopped her.

"Oh, one more thing."

Sweetie Drops turned around. "Yes?"

Dr. Colgate smiled. "Good luck."

Sweetie Drops smiled back. "The bugbear is the only time in my life when I ever needed luck, Dr. Colgate. This is gonna be a piece of cake, changelings or no changelings."

"Let's hope so," said Dr. Colgate solemnly. "Oh, and try to keep Fleur and White Lie from killing each other, yeah?"

Sweetie Drops giggled. "Duly noted."

With one final salute, she marched back up the stairs, ready to meet Night Glider and start her mission...

Author's Note:

Cookie to anyone who can guess what the banter between Fleur and White Lie is a reference to.

Comments

[Ri2]

I like White Lie. Can't he shape shift the scar away?
I know of this book and those demons. Why is it the 'Lesser' Key, though? Isn't there a Greater one?

[Metool Bard]

6368571 Well, in real life, the original book the demons appeared in was called "The Lesser Key of Solomon." I didn't feel like using a Solomon pony pun, so I just went with the Lesser Key.

Also, I don't think there was ever a "Greater Key." At least, I've never heard of it.