Sherwhinny Forest – Outskirts of Trottingham – North of Ponyville – Still Nighttime
"Betsy... stop lying," Sharp Quill grumbled. "Your horn grows."
"No! Straight on!" Betsy smiled drippingly in the moonlight as they navigated the clearing together. "When Tirek made his way into Fillydelphia, I charged that motherbucker and rammed him something awful in the fetlock!"
"Betsy, you did not stab Tirek in the fetlock," Haze droned. "By the time he made it to Fillydelphia, he had already absorbed the magic from a third of Equestria's populace."
"Yeah? So? I bet it stung!"
"Uh huh..." Haze nodded. "...and the manafeedback would have sent a powerful shock of magical overload rippling through your nervous system. Your entire spinal column would have literally exploded."
"Hrmmmf! Were you there?!" Betsy growled. "Were you being badass?! Huh?! Or were you all snuggled up in the Tickle Tent while Tirek had his way with our Equestrian brothers and sisters?!"
"For your information... when the Rise of Tirek happened, I was off stalking a herd of hydras that were nestled outside of Tall Tale." Haze cleared his throat. "Then... uh... I had the magic leeched from my body and I was stuck in a bog for two days. I nearly drowned."
"Yeesh... and I thought I had it bad," Sharp Quill said. "I had captured a pack of anarchist diamond dogs outside of Griffonstone. Just then... Tirek reached his final form. The outburst of his transformation reached as far as across the ocean, and I became flightless. The dogs broke free from their restraints and nearly kicked my metal beak off."
"Hah!" Betsy smirked. "What a sorry bunch of losers!"
"Like stabbing Tirek spared you any better."
"Sure. I was in a coma for weeks... but it was totally worth it!"
"Uhm..." Bon Bon fidgeted in mid-step. "I thought the whole point of going into hiding was to avoid unnecessary field action for the past year or so."
"Well... yes." Sharp Quill nodded. "But... When In Roam... eheh..."
"Huh?"
"We've been trained by the best, Sweetie Drops," Sharp Quill said. "We seriously can't stand idly by while monsters screw around with the local populace around us."
"It's in our blood, after all," Haze added. "Besides... we weren't the only ones who stuck our neck out of hiding when the moment asked for it."
Bon Bon squinted at the sarosian. "What do you mean?"
"We heard all about the return of the Bug Bear in Ponyville," Haze said. He bore a fanged smirk. "Nice job you did in bagging that freak. What is that...? Three for three for you?"
Bon Bon gulped. "I... uh... I-I didn't have a hoof in the Bug Bear's capture."
"No?"
"That was Princess Twilight and the Elements—er... former Elements of Harmony. Not me." Bon Bon stared at the forest floor beneath them. "I figured the whole point of going our separate ways was to hide out. So... I hid."
"Bah!" Betsy belched. "Don't be so modest, gal! Ponyville is anything but a relaxing town for relaxing ponies! I bet you got more experience as a League agent just by living there than the rest of us combined!"
"What was it like being at the epicenter of a chaos lord's return?" Sharp Quill asked. "I mean... I know that Discord has reformed and everything since then. But you were there at ground zero for when he manipulated the space around Ponyville. That must have been something else..."
"Honestly, all I did was... lay low and try to relax." Bon Bon gulped. "I... I've grown rusty."
"Says who?"
"Says me," Bon Bon droned. "And something tells me that Horizons knows it... which is probably why I wasn't summoned."
Haze and Sharp Quill exchanged glances.
Bon Bon squinted at them. "Know something that I don't?"
"Doin't pay attention to these dumbasses, Sweetie Drops," Betsy muttered. "They're just as clueless as you and I are."
"Horizons has always been a stickler for protocol," Sharp Quill said. "Which is why I've always figured that being in a position of authority would be her bag. But... to hoof the League over to another pony..."
"So it's true, then?" Bon Bon blinked. "The League is switching hooves?"
"She's been in Canterlot long enough," Haze remarked. "This is likely Celestia's decision. Not hers."
"Or maybe it's neither," Betsy said.
The other three looked at her.
"What have you heard, Betsy?"
"Hrmmmfff..." The rhinoceros frowned. "Equestria's changing, ya bastards. We've got assholes in the frozen north... corrupt mobsters in the big city... new-fangled technologies changing the way ponies act and think..." Her beady eyes blinked. "We're quickly running out of ways to protect a rapidly changing equine populace." Her jaw clenched. "Perhaps... realistically speaking... it would be way easier to find a way to control everypony."
Bon Bon's lips pursed. "'Control?'"
Betsy didn't respond. Instead, she pointed forward at a thick circular object resting in the moonlight. "Behold. The friggin' stump."
All four agents feasted their eyes on the dead tree in question.
"Jee..." Sharp Quill huffed. "That doesn't stand out or nothing."
"What exactly are we supposed to do here?" Bon Bon asked. "I... uh... I didn't get the same memo you guys did."
"Watch." Betsy shuffled up to the object. "And learn." She raised a thick hoof... and knocked against the wooden surface three times, spaced apart.
It wasn't long before the group heard a very unnatural rumbling noise in the ground beneath them. A deep bass hum permeated the Sherwhinny Forest. Soon, the tree trunk split apart like sliced croissant. A dim gray light emanated from below.
"Hmmmm..." Haze smirked. "Subtle."
"I know, right?" Betsy smirked, marching towards the inexplicable entrance. "You ask me, some fat cat in Trottingham probably funded whatever's being hidden down in—"
All of the sudden, a manarifle floated out of the hidden entrance. Metal blue antennae flickered with electricity and fired an azure blast into the clearing. Bzzzzt!
All four agents flinched. Sharp Quill hovered in the air while Haze reached for his weapons. Soon, the group shuddered... overwhelmed with a thousandfold odd sensations. Sparks of energy danced between their limbs and ears and orifices. Sharp Quill's metal beak glowed for a few seconds before finally dimming.
"What..." Betsy blinked. "...the fudge?"
"I think I feel sick," Sharp Quill wheezed.
"If you were changelings, you'd be in a coma right now," muttered a voice from down below. The first thing that caught the moonlight was a glinting metal prosthetic. "That's the Bioreader examining your organs from the inside out for metamorphic muscles." An orange horn glowed, followed by a familiar unicorn emerging from below. "You can thank Blue Nova Industries for the latest in defensive technologies... among other things that will bring S.M.I.L.E. back—stronger than before." Chief Agent Horizons holstered the manarifle and stared at the others. "Welcome back, Agents. Ready to start again?"
"Grffff..." Betsy frowned. "A little warning next time, threelegs?"
"Look, I can still stab each and every one of you in the span of ten seconds if you want," Horizons said. "But we're way past those days now. We're past many things." Her eyes darted to the side—catching sight of Bon Bon. "... ... ...Sweetie Drops?"
Sharp Quill and Haze glanced over.
Bon Bon took a deep breath. "Hello, Horizons." She nodded. "I like the new leg."
"You... you're..." Horizons blinked. "What are you doing here?"
"Something the matter, Horizons?" Betsy slurred. "Maybe we should turn that fancy schmancy rifle around. Seems like the changeling's got your tongue."
Horizon's muzzle hung open. "I... don't understand." She frowned. "Betsy, this was your plan, wasn't it?"
Bon Bon spoke up: "The League is my family, Horizons," she said. "You can try and send me away if you want, but whatever direction Equestria takes us... I have a right to know."
Horizons fidgeted in place.
Bon Bon raised an eyebrow. "Or perhaps... you no longer have the authority to send me away?"
"Mrmmmffff..." Horizons grumbled. "You have no idea how complicated things have gotten. And pulling a stunt like this isn't helping."
"And just what protocol were you following when you exempted Sweetie Drops from receiving a message via sound stone?" Haze asked.
"Shhhh!" Horizons insisted. She sighed, glanced over her shoulder, then back at the group. "There's no time for squabbling. You're all here. So if we're going to have our meeting... let's do it as painlessly as possible."
Bon Bon blinked. "So... you're okay with me on board?"
"Just shut up and follow me downstairs. We've got a lot to discuss." She pointed at Bon Bon. "Especially you and me... but only when I tell you it's time." Her eyes narrowed. "Until then... keep your mouth shut and stay in line."
"Stay in line?" Sharp Quill squinted her hawkeyes. "Horizons... who's in charge anymore?"
"Just... follow me," Horizons grumbled. She shouldered the rifle and hobbled downstairs. "Trust me. All in all... this is for the best."
Sharp Quill and Haze followed first. Betsy and Bon Bon lingered at the top of the open tree stump, glancing at one another.
"She seems..." Bon Bon began.
"Deflated?" Betsy finished.
Bon Bon sighed. "Maybe I wasn't ready for this yet." She gulped. "Back home, I've got enough on my hooves."
"Just put one hoof in front of the other, girl." The rhinoceros gestured down the stairs. "If there's anything you and your dad were good at... it's juggling a whole lotta shit."
"Hrmmmmff..." Bon Bon shuffled down the steps. "Shoulda worn a poncho..."