//------------------------------// // Chapter Fourteen (The Red Parade) // Story: Operation Exquisite Corpse // by The Red Parade //------------------------------// Focus. Don’t let it get to you. Keep your guard up and your gun forwards. Bon Bon repeated these words as she rolled to the right, a tendril narrowly missing her and flying into a tree, sending shards of bark flying in every direction. She ducked and rolled, taking cover behind a fallen log, adrenaline coursing through her system. Guard up, stay up.  Another tendril whipped into the ground in front of her as the nightmare laughed. “Give it up, Sweetie Drops. You know this only ends one way. I’ve been waiting for this for a long, long time…” Bon Bon growled, gripping her gun tigheter. It was useless, but at the current moment, it was all she had. Unless… She ran a hoof through her mane, quickly finding the tiny metal disk she had hidden in there years ago. Bon Bon put it in her ear, where it extended to fill the gap and fit snugly. “Maverick, are you still alive?” Bon Bon popped over the log and fired a few shots, which bounced off of Nightmare’s body harmlessly. “Maverick, where are you?!” “DIE!” Nightmare shrieked, pouncing towards the log. Bon Bon quickly dove backwards, just as Nightmare split the log in half. “Raider!” Bon Bon shouted, turning and running deeper into the woods. Finally, there was a burst of static. “Sweetie Drops? What--” “Thank Celestia. Maverick, I need you on my location, no time to explain! Nightmare’s back and Lyra’s down!” Bon Bon practically shouted. “Seriously? Alright, hang tight, I’m coming!” Bon Bon held back a sigh of relief. She wasn’t out of the woods yet, literally and figuratively. She kept running, sparing a glance backwards every now and then to try and gauge the distance between herself and Nightmare. Suddenly, there was a shrieking in front of her as Nightmare phased up through the ground, lashing out right at her. Bon Bon didn’t have much time to react. She bit back a scream as a tendril cut deep into her left flank. Nightmare left as it retracted its tendril, taking great joy in seeing her injured. Bon Bon ducked behind a tree, gripping her right side tightly. “How far away are you?” she hissed through the pain. “Like, two minutes or so!” She flinched as a tendril slammed into the tree far above her. “That’s too long!” “It’s not my fault you’re in the middle of nowhere!”  Bon Bon limped away as fast as she could as Nightmare morphed into the ground again. She grunted and kept moving forwards, eyes scanning her surroundings. There was a wisp of smoke in front of her, and Bon Bon instinctively raised her gun and shot. The figure gasped and fell forwards before ceasing to move. Cautiously, Bon Bon approached it and turned the body over. The face of Lyra stared back at her, eyes blank and mouth open. Bon Bon recoiled but shook it off. “Not her. You’re not fooling me with your tricks!” she shouted. Another form lunged out at her, and Bon Bon swung her gun, making contact with its skull. The momentum knocked her onto her back. Bon Bon grunted and shoved the form off of it, only to stare into the empty eyes of herself. “It’s playing with you. Stay focused. Don’t let it get to you.” Bon Bon staggered to her hooves, reaching for her gun. But before she could reach it, a dark hoof kicked it away. Nightmare smashed her hoof over Bon Bon’s foreleg, forcing her to cry out in pain. It sneered at her, still wearing her face. A forked tongue slid out from its jaws as it laughed. “You poor fool. Did you really think you could beat me?” Bon Bon coughed, tears filling her eyes. She glanced up, but didn’t look Nightmare in the eye. Instead, she looked past her, at the strange streak of red that was flying across the night sky.  She smiled as the streak suddenly angled downwards, flying right towards Nightmare. Nightmare sensed it coming at the last second and half-turned to face it. Bon Bon heard a screech before being blinded by a flash of light. The boom came seconds later, sending leaves and dirt flying in every direction. She groaned, turning to her side as she tried to drown out the ringing in her ears. She vaguely saw an orange form in front of her, extending a hoof towards her. She accepted it and was pulled to her hooves. Bon Bon coughed, shaking it off. “About time you got here, thought you were the fastest pegasus in Equestria?” she muttered. “You act like it’s my fault you’re in the middle of nowhere,” Spitfire repeated, a worried frown on her maw. “And you’re welcome, by the way. What’s the plan? We don’t have much time.” In front of them, Nightmare lay on its side in a small crater, twitching and smoldering. It wouldn’t be long before it would get up again. “Did you bring the Fair Day net?” Spitfire nodded, patting her saddlebag. “Haven’t used one of these in ages. Think it’ll work?” Bon Bon sighed. “I hope so. We passed a clearing a little while ago, that oughta do the trick. Set it up, I’ll lure him over there.” “Are you sure? You’re still hurt,” Spitfire said, worriedly. Bon Bon waved her off. “Yeah, but you’re the only one that can set that up.”  She lowered her stance as Nightmare began to rise. “Go, I got this.” Spitfire sighed, before drawing her own pistol and giving it to Bon Bon. “Alright, but don’t die on me.” The Wonderbolt shot off into the air again, leaving Bon Bon with her Nightmare. But she wasn’t afraid. Nightmare lashed her teeth at Bon Bon. “Do you seriously think you stand a chance?” Bon Bon responded by hitting Nightmare in the head with a crystal round. “DIE!” “Catch me if you can,” Bon Bon spat, before tearing off down the forest. She hopped over a log as a tendril smashed into it, not bothering to look back. She’d have to time this perfectly: if she got there too early, they wouldn’t get another chance. If she got there too late, then… well, she’d be dead. Bon Bon flinched as a harsh whisper shot out of the trees. “You let me die,” came Lyra’s voice. “Why’d you let me die?” “You’re nothing but a fraud,” came the voice of Agent Furlough, her old boss. “And there’s no room for frauds at SMILE.” She shook it off. “Don’t let it get to you,” she muttered, dodging another tendril. “I should just let you die for everything you put me through,” said Spitfire’s voice.  “You’re afraid because you know it’s true,” came her own voice, cold and indifferent. “Face it. You only care about yourself.” “It’s all your fault!” “It’s all your fault!” “It’s all your fault!” “IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT!” The voices rose in volume until they became a scream. It was so loud that it travelled down her ears and stabbed at her heart. Bon Bon stumbled over a rock and came crashing to the ground. Through the swirl of voices, she heard Nightmare laugh again. Turning around, she watched with horror as Nightmare came crashing through the branches to stand triumphantly over her. “This is where it ends,” it proclaimed with a snarl. “Hey, dirtbag!” Nightmare whipped its head around to face the new voice. Before it could react, the forest came alive with electricity and magic. Nightmare screamed as an electrified net dropped from the trees and over its body. It twitched in pains and let out a guttural scream as the net glowed brighter and brighter. Bon Bon shielded her eyes and held her breath. There was a silent explosion of colors that penetrated her eyelids, and a scream so loud that it shook the trees around them. And then there was nothing. Spitfire landed next to Bon Bon quickly. “You good?” “I’m splendid,” Bon Bon replied, exhaling slowly. She took Spitfire’s hoof and let herself get pulled up. “That was… wow. I forgot how powerful those things are.” “Yeah, they’re not cheap, though. Boss isn’t going to be happy with this,” Spitfire said as she looked around the burnt forest. “Sheesh.” Bon Bon’s ear twitched as she heard a branch snap from nearby. She whipped around, gun raised. “Woah there! I’ve already been shot once today, I’d rather not get shot again.” Bon Bon sighed and lowered her weapon. “Sorry about that, Lyra. Heat of the moment, you know?” Lyra waved her hoof dismissively as she trotted out of the woods. “Whatever. Not the worst thing you’ve done to me.” Spitfire stared at her, eyes wide and jaw slack. “Lyra, what… your chest!” The unicorn looked down at the hole in her chest cavity, then back up at Spitfire. “What about it?” Bon Bon sighed wearily, sitting down on a log. “She’s a… well, we don’t know what she is. But she can regenerate. She’ll be fine.” Lyra poked at the hole, giggling to herself. “Oh, you didn’t know?” Spitfire blinked, then rubbed her eyes and shook her head. “I’d rather not. But you mind telling me what the hay happened out here?” Bon Bon looked around at the ruined forest and the now defunct Fair Day net before laughing. “Oh, you better take a seat, because it’s a long, long story...” The End