//------------------------------// // Smilecon // Story: Shellstrings // by shortskirtsandexplosions //------------------------------// Sherwhinny Forest – Outskirts of Trottingham – North of Ponyville – Night Crickets... The occasional hooting owl... The thick, gnarled branches of Sherwhinny Forest stretched through sporadic starlight. All was still, calm, serene. Then—out from the darkness, between the charcoal-black trunks of old trees—a pair of slitted eyes reflected a sheen of moonlight. Leaves crunched lightly, followed by the shifting of branches. One step at a time, Secret Agent Haze trotted into a small round clearing illuminated by stars. The sarosian paused, glancing left and right. After a deep breath, he relaxed his leather wings. Then something from the bushes shuddered. "...!" In a flash, Haze spun around, lifted a manarifle from his saddlebag, and aimed into the thicket. "Freeze!" His fangs showed in a flicker of moonlight. "Who goes there?!" "Celestia on a bike, Haze..." A metal beak glinted, followed by raised talons. "You had over a year to chillax. Would you mind lowering the gun?" Haze's slitted eyes narrowed. "How stupid do you think I am?" A sigh emanated from the bushes. Schiiiing! A talon swung. After a brief grunting sound, Secret Agent Sharp Quill emerged with a shallow self-inflicted cut to her own shoulder. "There..." She held a palm out with fresh red blood. "You happy?" The griffon frowned. "How many times have I had to tell you: the metal beak should be a giveaway." "Hrmmm..." Haze's nostrils flared. With a flick of his hooves, he extended a bayonet from his rifle and nicked his own shoulder. He allowed his own blood to glisten freely in the moonlight for her to see. "We really do need to invent a better way to prove that we're not changelings." "Wasn't Horizons going to work on mimicking a spell much like the one Shining Armor used at the wedding?" "Yes, but she couldn't access enough leylines through her horn," Haze said. He holstered his weapon and sighed. "Perhaps if there was some way to automate the spell." "No doubt the League could convince Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns to fund it." "Yeah." Silence. Haze managed a fanged smile. "Yeesh... listen to us. It's been—how long? Fourteen months?" He snorted. "Here we are picking things up as though it's business as usual." "When Horizons sends out an invite, you can bet it's all business again." "Have you managed well these past several months, Sharp Quill?" "I moved in with the morons at Griffonstone," Sharp Quill said. "It's the last place any monster would search for an intelligent field agent." "Wow. You must have flown a long distance to get here." "Eh... I don't mind." Sharp Quill waved a talon. "My wings needed a good stretch anyways. How about you? Where'd you spend your... er... eheh... 'vacation?'" "I... uh... I got employed at the Tickle Tent in uptown Los Pegasus," Haze said. Sharp Quill's metal beak hung open. "The... the Tickle Tent is a brothel, Haze." "Indeed." Silence. "You're pulling my tail," Sharp Quill droned. "... ... ...aren't you?" "Mmmmm..." Haze stifled a yawn. "Let's just say I got to test whether or not I was a changeling every night." "Ugh. Keep it down. You'll make the squirrels above us vomit in our sleep." "Big whoop." Haze shrugged. "Betsy can handle it." He gazed skyward. "That right, Betsy?" "Huh?!" Sharp Quill heard a sharp whistling sound. With a gasp, she flew backwards as— THUDDDD! A fat rhinoceros landed on the forest floor, creating a tiny crater. "Gnnngh!" Betsy's muscles settled, and she stood up tall. "The Tickle Tent?!" She smirked in Haze's direction. "You magnificent bastard! Were you staying in the Blue Room? If so, I might have accidentally flattened you back during a drunk night back in March!" "How'd... you know she was there?" Sharp Quill asked. "I know it's been a long time since we last worked in the field together," Haze murmured. "But that's no excuse for forgetting about my heightened nocturnal senses." "Hrmmmf..." Sharp Quill folded her talons. "Braggart." "Plus—only Betsy would come up with a plan as crazy as a rhinoceros hiding in the treetops." Betsy nodded. "I used it once to ambush a stalking timberwolf along the outskirts of Chicacolt. All it took was one body-drop and WHAM! Let's say... uh... I won myself a lifetime supply of toothpicks." "So... uhm..." Sharp Quill cleared her throat. "Are you going to bleed yourself for the changeling test or...?" Betsy's beaded eyes glinted. "How would you like to have your entire spine replaced with horn?" "It's her," Haze said. "Yup." Sharp Quill nodded. "So... uh..." She peered about with hawkeyes. "Horizons said we were looking for a stump?" "She said she'd greet us at one," Haze remarked. "And now that we're all assembled—" "Nope!" Betsy chirped. "Huh?" "I mean we're not all assembled yet, dumbass!" "But... who's left to—?" Haze suddenly flinched. He reached back for his holster— Th-Th-Thwpp! A figure forward-flipped out of the bushes and landed in a squat beside him. "Too slow, agent." Bon Bon stood tall, sporting saddlebags and a grappling hook. "If I was a zebra ninja, you'd be dead by now." Haze blinked. "Huh... so much for nocturnal senses," Sharp Quill said with a smirk. "Trained by the best," Betsy said with a grin. "Pleased to smell you again, Secret Agent Sweetie Drops." "What in Tartarus' name are you doing here?!" Haze wheezed. "I was summoned," Bon Bon droned. "Not by Chief Agent Horizons...!" Bon Bon sighed. "I know... but still..." She gazed across the way at Betsy. "...this League is still my family. If Horizons doesn't want me to be a part of this organization." Her eyes narrowed. "Then she's going to have to tell me in person." Betsy nodded. "Well..." Sharp Quill smoothed back her feathery headcrest. "...things have suddenly got very interesting." "That remains to be seen," Betsy remarked, pivoting about. "Let's go find this damned stump already." "Mrmmfff..." Haze shuffled after the other three as they wandered through the forest. "That depends. Do we have to wait for a secret seapony agent to join us now?" "Don't tempt me. Let's move."