//------------------------------// // Jailbreak // Story: Secrets // by bahatumay //------------------------------// At the Canterlot Holding Station #4, two Royal Guards were reviewing paperwork, by far their least favorite part of the job.  The mare looked back over the stack by her hoof. “Did you ever get the intake paperwork for that one mare? The cream one? Sweetie Bits or whatever her name is?” The stallion shook his head. “Nah, I thought he did it when he brought her in.” “Yeah, I thought so, too.” She shuffled her papers around, confirming what she already knew. “But now I can’t find it.” “Ugh,” he groused. “The batty squad is going to hate that.” She shrugged. “Yeah, well, in twenty minutes, it’s going to be their problem anyway, and not mine.” Their conversation was interrupted as the door burst open, and two mares dressed in sparkling clothing darted in, as if standing guard or as an advance party for a pony who was to enter.  And enter she did. With a rolled-out red carpet, flashing lights, and a burst of colored smoke.  “I, Photo Finish, have arrived!” Photo Finish announced, one hoof raised triumphantly in the air. The guards stared. “Who in the hoof are you?” the mare asked. Photo Finish scowled and raised her nose even higher. “I, Photo Finish, am going to ignore zat insulting question; for art has called and I, Photo Finish, must answer!” The mare stepped forward. “You’re about to face charges of-” “Wait!” Photo Finish shrieked. “Hold zat pose!” The mare paused, shocked into compliance by the sheer audacity of the request. “Makeup!” Photo Finish shouted. The two ponies rushed over and a cloud of powder enveloped all three. And when it cleared- “Whoa,” the stallion murmured. Even Lyra was taken aback. Photo Finish’s assistants had worked nothing short of magic. They’d done her mane, pulled it back, and curled it. They’d put on makeup, lipstick, and even pulled back her uniform shirt and had pinned it back so it was tighter against her body, and showed more of it at the same time. She looked much like a vintage pin-up model. She glanced at herself in the mirror and froze, her eyes wide at her own sight. “Yes! Zat is it!” Photo Finish sang. She lifted her camera and began snapping pictures. “Show me something!” Hesitantly, the mare turned away and looked back over her shoulder. “Like this?” “Yes, more smolder!” Photo Finish called, snapping picture after picture. “More tummy! Show me more! Yes! Yes! No!” “No?” “Yes, but no,” Photo Finish amended, a frown flicking across her face. “It is…” She tapped her chin. “It is no good.” She brightened, as if a new idea had just occurred to her. “No, it is too much good,” she proclaimed. “There must be contrast!” She thrust her hoof in the air. “I, Photo Finish, require an actual inmate!” That thought forced its way through the cloud over the stallion’s head. He shook it, trying to clear it. “An actual inmate-!?” “We go!” And with that, the three charged down the hallway like some kind of powdery train. Lyra gave them a shaky smile and quickly followed behind. They went to the holding cell, and as they neared, the sounds of effort could be heard. Bon Bon was in the middle of the room, with a few groaning ponies on the ground and others still circling, trying to attack her. One charged, and she dropped, yanking his head down to the ground. She landed on top, digging her elbow into his neck. Photo Finish gasped dramatically. “Such ferocity! Such animality! Such brutality! I must have her!” Bon Bon’s ears flicked. She looked back over, and her eyes widened as she recognized her visitors. She dropped the pony she was grappling with a single punch and stood, looking back at the gathered ponies. Her eyes flicked to each new pony and her jaw dropped in growing horror as she clearly recognized each one until she finally looked over at Lyra. ‘What did you do?’ she mouthed angrily. “Yes, yes! She even turns her aggression towards us! Give me ze aggression!” Photo Finish shouted, holding a hoof up. “Give me… da magicks!” Bon Bon returned the gesture with a little bit more animosity. “I’m about to give you a hoof right up your-” “Wait! Yes! Zat is eet! Hold zat pose!” She turned to her attendants. “Get her out of there and give her ze makeups so we can create… da magicks!” The two ponies zipped in, and Bon Bon found herself forcibly dragged out of the cell. A cloud of makeup and powder and blush and lipstick and eyeshadow covered Bon Bon, and she coughed as she made an attempt to push the attendants away. “Violet, you- Ow! Pixie, that was my eye, you- hey!” When the dust cleared, Lyra’s jaw dropped. Bon Bon looked good. Her mane had been done, she was wearing just enough eyeshadow to make her natural color of her eyes pop without drawing too much attention to itself, just enough mascara to make her eyelashes look long and full but without looking clumpy, and the tiniest bit of blush on her cheeks made her look a little bit innocent. Aside from the deep scowl set on her face, that is. Photo Finish tapped her hoof against her chin and then shook her head. She held up the camera once, and this only seemed to confirm what she’d suspected. “No, no, no. Here ze lighting, eet is no good. Outside! We go!” And in another cloud of dust, all the other ponies disappeared. The two police ponies stared at the dissipating cloud.  “What just happened?” the stallion finally said. “I have no idea,” the mare admitted. She glanced down at herself again. She liked what she saw.  “Was it a jailbreak?” “I… maybe?” A lunar guard stepped out of the bathroom, holding a cup of coffee on his wing. He squinted. “Was that… Sweetie Drops?” he asked. “Maybe?” the mare said again, still somewhat stunned by the events of the night. Craziest closing shift ever. “I… never found her paperwork. And if she's supposed to be here…” He grinned. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of it. It’s going to be a slow night for us, anyway.” The mare was too busy examining the curls in her mane to realize just how out of place that line was.   Outside the jail and in a much safer alcove far away from public eye, Bon Bon finally got a chance to speak. “What in the name of Celestia’s golden teats is going on?” she hissed as she dragged a hoof roughly through her mane to curl it back again. “Oh, no, no, no, darling,” Photo Finish said, almost condescendingly, her exaggerated accent no longer present. “The princess’s teats are a smooth and healthy pink.” She nudged her with an elbow. “Trust me on this one.” She glanced back to the ponies behind her, and they nodded to confirm. Bon Bon slammed a hoof into her face. “I’m not even going to ask,” she breathed through gritted teeth. “But I am going to ask what in Equestria happened back there.” “We got you out of jail, of course,” Fleur smiled.  Bon Bon shook her head. “Oh, no. Uh-uh. No way. You turn around and put me right back in there. I’m not owing any vampony any other favors,” she pointed at Fleur, “because I already owe you one,” she turned towards Photo Finish, “and I’m not about to owe you any,” she faced the attendants, “and I’m certainly not about to owe your little vampy girls any, either.” Violet Blurr and Pixel Pizzazz lifted their noses in the air and huffed in unison. “Oh, Sweetie Drops, my price has already been paid,” Fleur grinned. “Furthermore, I have a solid alibi if any inquiry were to happen. I was at a lovely party all night with my loving stallion.” She cracked a smile. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, there’s a lovely party and a loving stallion that actually require my presence. Adieu.” She lit her horn and disappeared in a splash of light. “Price paid?” Bon Bon asked, confused.  “I, Photo Finish, bore of zis conversation,” Photo Finish announced loudly, her loud accent back in place once more. “We go!”  And go they did in a burst of light and powder. Lyra coughed and waved a hoof in front of her nose. Bon Bon looked over at Lyra. Her silent, desperate plea for explanation made Lyra shudder uncomfortably. Now that Bon Bon was here, Lyra realized just how stupid her actions had been.  And Bon Bon was about to find out exactly what they were. She leaned in. “What. Did you. Do?” she demanded.  She leaned back and lifted a hoof. “I kinda let Fleur feed on me?” “You what?” “I let her feed on me?” “As in, you willingly gave her your blood?” “…yes?” Lyra looked up, afraid that she had done something wrong.  But Bon Bon didn't look worried. Instead, she looked floored. Her mouth worked wordlessly before she finally could speak. “You did that? For me?” Lyra nodded hesitantly. Bon Bon rocked back and forth in place. She looked as though she didn’t know if she wanted to slap Lyra or herself, or maybe even both. “That’s dangerous!” she finally blurted.  “I know.” “Seriously! If you’d tried that on any other vampony, you’d probably be dead right now! Hospitalized, at the very least!” She shook her head. “I can count on my hooves the number of vamponies that have that much control.” “It was worth it!” “Did you eat moldy hay? How could that be worth it?” “Bon Bon…” “What makes me worth you trying such a boneheaded, idiotic stunt like that? I mean, I know we’re best friends, but-” “Maybe I want to be more than best friends!” Lyra blurted out. There! Finally! It had taken her two days and she'd been dragged halfway across Equestria to do it, but she'd done it! Her secret was finally out there! This revelation surprised Bon Bon into silence. She licked her lips, looking for words. “Super best friends?” Bon Bon finally asked. “No!” “Super mega best friends?” Bon Bon tried. “Maybe I want to date you!” Lyra almost howled. Bon Bon nearly missed a step. “You what?” “Remember when this all started? There in your sweets shop? I was so excited to see you because I'd decided that I wanted to ask you out on a real date! I got tickets to Countess Coloratura’s concert in Vanhoover next Friday and I wanted you to come with me! And then all this happened and I'm afraid I'll never get to ask you! That’s why I was willing to take the risk of trusting Fleur! Because I couldn’t face the risk of losing you!” There was silence for a while; and then… “Me?” Bon Bon asked quietly. For the first time on this whole adventure, Bon Bon seemed legitimately stunned. “You mean… you wanted to date me?” “Yes!” There was a lengthy pause.  Bon Bon bit her lower lip. “I'm cranky and have a weird sense of humor,” she protested weakly.  “But you're my best friend, and your heart is in the right place.” She chuckled nervously. “And you'll laugh at anything, even my worst jokes, like the piano down a mine shaft one.” “That one’s funny, though,” Bon Bon protested weakly. “A flat miner. Black comedy at its finest.” “Bon Bon, you can’t read music.” “So?” “So you don’t know a-flat minor is also a key signature.” Bon Bon’s eyes flicked left. “Key to what?” she asked. “Yeah, that’s what I mean.” There was another pause.  “Still funny,” Bon Bon muttered. She sighed. “Alright, tell you what,” she said, her cheeks tinging red. “If we ever get out of this, and if our lives ever get back to normal, I'll take you up on that.” “Really?” “Really.” She smiled. “You know, I've always wanted to go to Vanhoover.” Lyra squeed. Maybe this wasn’t so bad, after all.