Secrets

by bahatumay

Remember Your Training

Bon Bon couldn't remember the last time she'd run so hard. This was her best friend, and she'd been hurt, and there was a tiny part of her that feared the worst.

They said this would happen, a little voice in her head said. Ponies close to you get hurt. This is why they said to not get attached.

She's going to be fine, Bon Bon thought.

But will you?

Honestly?

No. She suddenly realized that she hadn't been watching her back, wasn't clearing her corners, wasn't doubling back to hide her steps, nothing. She was charging blindly ahead, like a rookie. She was being sloppy.

And then a part of her realized that she didn't care. Lyra just meant that much to her. And nothing else really mattered at all.

The nearest hospital came into view. She didn't have any connections here, but right now that didn't matter. She burst through the door into triage. “We need help!” she called.

The triage pony came rushing over. “Looks like a bad head trauma,” she said, quickly applying pressure.

“Yeah, we were running, she was looking over her shoulder and wasn't watching, and bam, right into a metal post. Clocked her good. She’s been out of it and in pain since.”

The nurse whistled sharply, and more nurses came, pushing a gurney. She turned back to Lyra and began pulling gauze pads out of her pockets. “Is all this blood hers?” she asked, concerned.

“It's not mine,” Bon Bon said truthfully, “but I've heard head wounds bleed a lot.”

“Mm-hm,” she agreed as she helped get Lyra on. “We'll take care of her. What’s her name, and what’s your relationship with her?”

“She's Lyra and she’s… she's my girlfriend.”

Lyra looked up. She smiled blearily at her and made like she was going to say something before one of the nurses gently pushed her head back down.

Bon Bon nodded. It had felt right to say, but that's all she could do. She had to stay, watching helplessly as they took her back.

Bon Bon took a steadying breath. She wanted to be there the instant she woke up, yes. But she had something else important to do.

She paused long enough to get a quick drink of water, then walked towards the door of the hospital and stepped outside. She slowed to a stop. Her ears pricked as she sensed somepony watching her, and she knew exactly who it was. “Sparky,” she said quietly.

“Sweetie Drops,” Golden Thunder returned just as quietly.

Bon Bon turned around to see Golden Thunder, leaning nonchalantly against the wall of the hospital, still wearing the bandanna over one eye. “You've been watching us,” Bon Bon said. It wasn’t an accusation, more a statement of fact.

“Yes, I have. You always were observant.”

“How did you find-?” Bon Bon stopped and let out a low, growling sigh. “You never left the warehouse.”

“No, I didn't.” She wiggled the tips of her wings. “I was watching from the rafters. I suppose I should thank you for clearing up that little payment dispute.” She tittered as she pushed herself off the wall and stood straight, but she still remained a fair distance away. “I have to say, I was impressed with how well you handled yourself. I guess I shouldn’t have expected any less from somepony who got agent of the month four months running. SEMHA stooge,” she added angrily.

“Flatter me all you want, Sparky, you’re still dead,” Bon Bon said angrily through gritted teeth. “Your little stunt got my girlfriend hurt.”

“Girlfriend?” Golden Thunder asked, surprised. She nodded appreciatively. “Well, well. You do have a heart. Not that I got to see any of it, you know, what with you abandoning me and all.”

Bon Bon gave her a stony glare, her lips curling dangerously, but she remained in control.

“I never took you for the romantic type,” she continued blithely. “I always figured you'd be married to your job.” Her voice hardened. “Face down, tail up, taking the SEMHA propaganda to the hilt…”

“Agent or not, my ‘job’ is taking care of monsters, and right now, that means putting you four paces under.”

Golden Thunder grinned. “You're fired,” she hissed. “And there's no severance package. But if it's any consolation, I promise I'll kill your girlfriend quickly. Once I'm done with you, anyway.” She removed her bandanna and tossed it aside, revealing a slitted pupil; and a forked tongue flickered out of her mouth. “Come and get it, Sweetie Drops.”

Bon Bon’s eyes widened in horror and her ears pinned. She took a tiny step back. “Sweet Celestia,” she swore under her breath. So that was why. Oh dear Celestia, that was why! Golden Thunder had bred another basilisk, but not for use as a threat, weapon, or source of venom.

As a template!

Memories of ancient zebra potions used to take on elements of animals swirled in her mind. Potions only spoken of in whispers and only in dark places, with untested side-effects and transformations that couldn’t be reversed, dangerous last-ditch options for the truly desperate or indelible evil, turning ponies into something else entirely. “Sparky, that’s…”

“Crazy? Oh, I know. Forbidden?” She smiled, exposing sharp, curved fangs. “I know. Dangerous?” She spat venom, and Bon Bon just barely managed to dodge it as it splattered against the ground. It sizzled angrily, eating into the ground mere inches from Bon Bon’s hoof. “Just for you, and everypony else that abandoned me, and then, the rest of Equestria, all the way up to Princess Celestia herself.” She thought about it for a moment, and then she grinned. “So yeah. Very dangerous.”

“You’re insane,” Bon Bon whispered, her tail flicking.

“I’m the future,” Golden corrected serenely.

“That doesn’t make any sense!” Bon Bon protested.

“Doesn't it? I'm the future… because you're history!” She spat again, her aim even closer this time. It hit a pillar and started eating away at the concrete.

Bon Bon turned and fled. She jumped over the hedge wall, slid down the hill, and took off down the street. She heard wingbeats behind her and grit her teeth. Even as a basilisk halfkin, she was still pony enough to be able to fly.

One of the hardest things to do for an agent is running away from an enemy in public. Bon Bon needed to keep her close, not letting her catch up, but she also couldn’t disappear. That might scare her enough to take a deadly risk with all the civilians around, or worse, make her double back to the hospital where Lyra was.

To put it lightly, this was not ideal. And there was only solution she could think of.

She’d have to kill her here, in public, and somehow make it look like an accident.

Alright, it wasn't like she hadn't had impossible missions before. She scanned her surroundings for anything she could use, but nothing stood out. Ponies walked around, most moving aside to let her pass. Nothing was coming to mind, and there were a lot of civilians.

And it sounded like Sparky was getting closer.

Desperate for anything, Bon Bon jumped up and hit a hanging wooden sign. It swung up, then swung back.

And a cheerful jackalope holding a mug of cider in an outstretched paw slammed right into Golden Thunder’s nose, bringing her to a sudden and painful stop. Blood splattered across it and she let out an enraged cry as she fell to the ground.

Bon Bon spun around, prepared to fire off a one-liner about needing to look both ways, but a soft hissing made her look up. The splattered blood was quickly eating away at the wooden sign, bubbling maliciously. Her blood had turned acidic.

Just like a basilisk’s.

Bon Bon quickly doubled back and ran the other way. Golden Thunder growled and quickly followed.

Thankfully, her intended destination wasn't that far. At the last moment, she darted over across the street to the storm drain and slid under the grate.

Sparky followed, tucking her wings in and spiraling through the space between the bars. She landed on the wet cement. She looked around, her eye adjusting to the darkness, but there was no sign of Sweetie Drops. She glanced up, but the ceiling was too low for flight. Her ears swiveled, ready to pick up any sound of movement over the rushing water. “Trying to hide, Sweetie Drops?” she taunted.

Silence reigned through the cold air.

Behind one of the various passageways, Bon Bon waited, breathing as slowly and quietly as she could (holding your breath just made the breath that was finally taken that much louder). She looked down, scanning for anything she could use. Her eyes landed on a few pieces of rubble, broken off the walls from age. Perfect.

She scooped up the largest piece and lobbed it out. It flew in a perfect arc, bouncing off the wall and coming to a stop quickly, sounding just like a step.

“Not good enough,” Sparky said quietly. “Come on, Sweetie Drops. You can do better than that.” She took a few steps forward, ears still pricked.

Bon Bon scowled, but knew it had been a long shot. No matter. She could still work with this. She moved backwards as silently as she could, trying to put a little more distance between them.

Sparky walked slowly, clearing her corners, ears constantly swiveling to hear anything over the moving water. She guessed correctly which corridor Bon Bon had chosen and started walking.

Thankfully, Bon Bon had already changed tactics.

Sparky wandered down the corridor, slowly, deliberately. “Come out, come out, wherever you are,” she sang.

From her position up on an access ladder, Bon Bon gently tossed another rock. It clattered against the ground and dropped with a small splash into the rushing water.

Sparky grinned deviously and turned, not towards the rock, but towards Bon Bon, her pony eye closed tight.

It hadn’t been a guess! Sparky was toying with her!

“Nice try, Sweetie Drops,” she said, her voice heavy with gleeful anticipation.

“You were tracking me?” Bon Bon asked.

“I can see heat signatures now, and down here, you show up like a Hearth’s Warming Eve tree.”

“Oh, yeah? Did you see... this?” Bon Bon flung the last piece of concrete she'd been holding.

The cold concrete that wouldn’t have shown up on infrared.

The two mares were close enough together and it was dark enough that Sparky couldn't react in time, and she let out a cry of pain as Bon Bon scored a direct hit to her already-injured muzzle. Taking advantage of this moment of confusion, Bon Bon leaped off the ladder, landed lightly, and called “Happy Hearth’s Warming!” over her shoulder as she sprinted away.

Growling with rage, Sparky brushed the rock pieces off her face and charged after her. “You’re as good as crossed off, Sweetie Drops!” she shouted. “You can run, but you c- can’t hide.”

“I wh- what, now?” Bon Bon taunted.

Golden Thunder scowled and spat venom. It sailed over Bon Bon’s head and hit the wall, sizzling angrily.

Bon Bon turned and ran deeper into the underground. Golden Thunder zipped up her vest against the cold and followed.

The waterworks of Canterlot being abnormally spacious was an open secret. As they ran, they passed by abandoned fire pits, with trash and half-filled bottles of fire-starting materials left over from clandestine teenage parties. Bon Bon couldn't help but snort as she smelled a whiff of something familiar. Amateurs, needing kerosene to start a fire.

She made a sharp right turn, and though Golden Thunder tried to follow, she couldn’t make the turn fast enough, and ran into the wall.

Just as Bon Bon had planned.

“Reaction time slowing down a bit, eh?” Bon Bon taunted. “Always knew you were a cold-blooded-”

But being cold did not limit Golden’s ability to spit venom, and Bon Bon was forced to dodge to the side again. She accidentally rammed her shoulder into another of the metal ladders lining the wall and cried out in pain. As she bounced off, a deep note thrummed through the air.

Golden Thunder grit her teeth and flinched, shaking her head.

Bon Bon's eyes widened. That's right! Snakes can't hear; they feel vibrations! She continued running, but adjusted her running style, letting her hooves hit the ground hard instead of tapping lightly. It was more tiring, but the irritated grunts she heard behind her let her know it was working.

She scanned the ground, looking for anything she could use to make more noise. She spotted an old abandoned wrench on the ground, with one tooth broken and the body rusted, and she scooped it up. She whacked it against another metal ladder as she ran by, and a resounding clang rang through the air, sharper and clearer.

Golden Thunder let out a hiss of pain. Bon Bon grinned deviously. Sounded like success to her. She kept running, trying to look into the corridors as she ran past. One of these had to… there!

She rushed down a more open part of the sewers, and landed in the middle of the canal, splashing through the water.
This muffled the sound of her hooves, negating her previous advantage. Golden Thunder sped up, clearly determined to end this quickly.

And Bon Bon skidded to a stop in front of a large, metal grate that blocked off a steep dropoff. Water flowed through unhindered, but it blocked the whole corridor, and the holes were far too small for a pony to fit.

Golden Thunder smirked triumphantly, but her glee at Sweetie Drops having trapped herself turned to dawning horror as she realized exactly what she was planning.

Bon Bon faced the grate and began banging the wrench against it like she was singlehoofedly responsible for doing all the cheering for a local buckball team. The noise echoed off the stone walls as Golden Thunder writhed in pain, crying out, hooves clamped over her ears but the vibrations kept piercing through, trying to flee but too disoriented by the cacophony to know which way to go-

And then the rusted wrench snapped in half.

The high-pitched ping from the broken piece ricocheting down the corridor made Golden Thunder look up.

Bon Bon hissed angrily under her breath, then launched herself at Golden Thunder, holding the broken wrench out as a weapon, intending to shank her.

But Golden Thunder deflected it with her hoof. She spat venom, and though Bon Bon barely managed to duck out of the way, it landed in her mane, and the awful smell of burning hair filled the air. She spun, trying to disorient her by whipping her mane in her face, and kept that momentum to perform a spinning kick that would have rocked Golden’s world.

Had it landed, anyway. Even though she was slowed and shivering with the cold, Golden Thunder had received the same training. She sidestepped the kick by the narrowest of margins and drove her front hoof into Bon Bon’s cutie mark.

Bon Bon cried out as she fell, and the broken wrench splashed down somewhere else. She pushed herself to her hooves and skittered around, favoring that leg for a brief moment as she circled, looking for an opening.

Golden Thunder circled, too. Her eyes flicked up, but thankfully, the ceiling here was still too low for proper flight. They'd have to fight in the water. She spat venom again and charged, clearly intent on finishing this fight fast.

Bon Bon ducked her head to dodge, and hissed in pain as a few splatters of venom she wasn't able to dodge hit her cheek. Golden Thunder rammed her with her shoulder, driving them back towards the grate. Bon Bon jabbed her elbow into the side of her head, briefly stunning her, then scrambled free. She quickly lashed out with her hind legs, slamming Golden’s head against the grate. She got up, leaving smears of blood behind on the metal.

“Yeah,” Bon Bon observed, as if fondly reminiscing instead of fighting for her life. “Remember how Feather Flip would always get bloody noses when it was cold? And that one time she got that reaction from that vampony in the street and Nilla had to step in and basically foalnap her until we left?”

Growling, Golden Thunder swung her hoof at Bon Bon’s face, but Bon Bon was faster. She ducked underneath and threw her over her shoulder, dropping her into the water.

Golden Thunder spat venom straight up, and Bon Bon’s raised hoof went from about to stomp on her head to quickly protecting her face. Bon Bon cried out as the venom burned her skin, and she quickly submerged her hoof in the water.
That helped wash off the venom and quell the pain a bit, but it also gave Golden Thunder a valuable window to recover. She kicked out at Bon Bon’s legs to trip her, and Bon Bon got hit by the edge of her hoof and stumbled into the water again. It was her turn to stomp, but Bon Bon quickly rolled out of the way, barely dodging the edge of her hoof. She stood up and shook herself quickly, getting the water off her coat.

Golden Thunder tried to use this to her advantage by attacking, but Bon Bon was expecting this. She slipped the punch and delivered a punishing headbutt.

Golden Thunder cried out and stumbled backwards. More blood dripped from her nose, and it hissed as it hit the water.

But Bon Bon wasn’t about to stop there. She charged Golden Thunder and rammed her against the grate. Holding her against the grate, she punched her in the face again and again, splattering blood on the metal.

But that came at a price. Bon Bon became aware of a growing, burning pain on her hooves. She spared a second to glance down and was shocked to see her hooves reddening.

Golden Thunder’s blood was burning her hooves!

She noticed, too. “L- looks like I’m -m unt- -touchable,” Golden Thunder grinned. Like most monsters, she was immune to her own poison. She dipped the tip of her hoof into her blood and swung, and Bon Bon wasn’t able to dodge in time. She cried out as it clipped her cheek. Her blood burned!

Bon Bon scowled as she took a few steps back and rubbed her face with her shoulder, and ignored the burn starting to pain her shoulder. She mentally adjusted her fighting style. If she couldn’t hit any sensitive areas to make her bleed, she'd have to adjust her punches, perform more body shots. Best case scenario, she could make her bleed out internally.

She saw her shiver, harder this time, and her ears pricked. On second thought, Plan A might still have some teeth in it.

She feinted, dodged left, and when Golden Thunder threw another punch and over-committed, leaped right. Bon Bon extended the garrote as she jumped, mounting her and wrapping it tightly around her neck.

Golden Thunder thrashed and bucked, stumbling backwards, shaking her head and spraying blood and spitting venom everywhere as she did. It hissed angrily as it hit the water, the walls, the grate, even the ceiling. Bon Bon grinned as it seemed she'd finally gotten the upper hoof.

But Golden’s movements had a reason. Occupied with the effort to stay upright and balanced, Bon Bon noticed too late just how close they were getting to the wall.

Golden Thunder reared up and slammed Bon Bon against the wall. Bon Bon saw spots and she hit the water with a splash.
Her eyes flickered as she pushed herself up. She forced her eyes open.

And saw Golden Thunder’s smiling face.

Before she could move, she darted forward and drove her fangs into Bon Bon's neck.

Bon Bon cried out in pain.

Golden Thunder took a step back, watching bemusedly as Bon Bon quickly pressed her hoof against the injury site to stop the bleeding. “Sh- shouldn't be long now, Sweetie D- Drops,” she said, an unholy glee shining in her slitted eyes even as she shivered in the cold. “My venom is n- nasty stuff. Wouldn't wish it on my w- worst enemy.” Her smile turned devious. “Oh wait. I would.”

Bon Bon scowled. She looked up, baring her teeth defiantly. She had a chance to survive this. And she wasn’t about to die like this. Not while Lyra was still in a hospital bed.

And if she was going to die, she was going to die fighting like an agent of SEMHA.

But then she blinked as something occurred to her. It hadn't tickled, but she'd always heard basilisk venom burned as it coursed through your body. This bite had just hurt.

And even if it hadn't burned, it should have affected her. Basilisk venom was nasty stuff. She should have been losing her vision, or felt her body stiffening, maybe even feeling her diaphragm paralyze; but nothing was happening. Not even a spot in her vision. This was strange. She should be dead.

Golden Thunder seemed to feel similarly. “Y- you should be dead,” she said, pointing a hoof accusingly.

“I should be dead,” Bon Bon agreed.

“The others…”

They both came to the realization at the same time.

“You're out of venom,” Bon Bon said, with a hint of triumph even as Sparky’s lip curled angrily.

“Guess there's s- still the old f- fashioned way,” she growled. She spun around and bucked.

Bon Bon slid down, burying herself in the water, ducking the hit. Golden cried out in pain as her hooves hit the wall, the cold increasing the pain she felt.

Bon Bon splashed her with water, then leaped up, shaking the cold water off in an attempt to disorient her. She delivered two punches to her chest and scampered back.

Enraged, Golden Thunder swung back, aiming for Bon Bon’s head.

But it was already over. The cold atmosphere and the long fight had finally taken their toll on the cold-blooded halfkin. Her punch was too slow, too telegraphed.

Bon Bon caught her hoof, held on tight, then fell backwards, rolling onto her back and pulling her along for the ride. At the last second, she thrust up with her hind legs, sending her forward into the grate.

The grate that had been exposed to copious amounts of basilisk-esque blood.

Golden Thunder crashed right through. She tumbled through the air, wings flailing ineffectively, stunned by the forces of impact and unable to right herself in time.

Now, had she hit the water below, she might have recovered and escaped to fight another day. But there happened to be a small outcropping, a metal platform, built for maintenance purposes.

She landed on it with a sickening crunch and didn’t move.

---

Golden Thunder slowly came to. She lay as still as she could. She’d somehow survived the fall. Perhaps her body's metabolism slowing down had something to do with it. This was good. Maybe she could still get out of this. She slowly opened her eyes.

And saw Sweetie Drops sitting there. “Good morning, Starshine!” she said brightly.

Golden Thunder barely had time to register that that was one of Sweetie Drops’ many catchphrases, which meant Sweetie Drops had been sitting there waiting for her, when she suddenly brought down a broken piece of the grate and jammed it into her eye. Golden Thunder screamed, and Sweetie Drops brought down a second piece.

“Take out the eyes first,” Bon Bon said calmly, as if dutifully repeating steps, her calm voice a dissonant serenity to Golden Thunder’s pained screeching. “You know, it’s a good thing you didn’t get the deadly glare along with the venom. That could have been messy.” She paused, tapping her chin. “I can never remember, is it cut off the head, then burn the body; or do you burn the body first?” she mused.

Liquid came splashing down, and Golden’s shrieks grew higher.

This wasn't water!

“Yeah, I think it's the second one,” she murmured, tossing away the empty kerosene can. She unscrewed the top face of her watch and pulled it off, revealing the emergency flint and steel set below. “Let's give the second one a try.”

Comments

[MidnightBlossom]

Fuck Yeah!

[Kryssi]

Part of me is thinking that something horrible happened to Lyra in the meantime...

[Thought Prism]

Uh, Bon Bon is hardcore.

[SuperPinkBrony12]

Fried pony-balisk anyone?

[Warrior of Virtue]

Just as she was getting ready to strike the match that would end Golden Thunder's life, Bon Bon bent down and whispered, "I normally believe in killing my enemies as quickly and efficiently as possible. I am a professional after all. But in your case, I'll make an exception. This is for Lyra, you bitch."

[FanOfMostEverything]

A brutal brawl well portrayed. It's all over but the wedding.

... Or is it?

9848959
That or a discretion shot followed by cutting back to the hospital. Though if we never see a body...

[I-Am-Unimportant]

Yes. Burn the crazy pony! BURN!

[Yoshifan30]

Bon bon vs Golden thunder

[Yoshifan30]

Holy macro that was pure action that was amazing but poor Lyra she really did got hurt and bon bon really is worried about her safety and now she has to wait for the results but unfortunately Sparky wants to finish this once and for as they in epic battle try to see who's going to be the Victorious but bon bon finally defeated her but now she has to wait for the results for Lyra recovery