The Girl Who Cried Wolf

by J3sterking

Hello Sweetie

"Nice gun," Rainbow commented.

Bon-Bon blushed slightly, stopping her feeble attempts at hiding the handgun behind her back. "Not many people visit at nine-o-clock," she said. "Like, no point in being dumb, right?"

"Yeah, but I just thought you--" Rainbow Dash hesitated. "--weren't a gun-type of person," she finished lamely.

Bon-Bon glared at her.

"My point is, I recognize a glock when I see one. I had a friend or two back in the day who were total gun nuts. It's a high quality gun, I'm pretty sure they're standard issue."

Bon-Bon chuckled nervously. "Well, I--I know a thing or two about guns," she admitted.

"We should get to a firing range sometime," Rainbow said. "Is that your only one?"

"Well..." Bon-Bon put it down on the living room table, then pulled a second handgun from tucked into her waistband. "Maaaaybe?"

Rainbow grinned. "I can't believe we've never hung out before," she said.

"Bon-Bon?" Lyra's voice called out. "Who is it?"

"Uh--Rainbow Dash. Here to talk to you about the--uh--"

Rainbow Dash howled. A full, lupine howl that had no business coming out of a human throat.

Bon-Bon jumped back, staring at her in surprise as Lyra rushed into the room, eyes wide. "What in the name of Beethoven?" she demanded. She stared directly at Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow grinned, making sure Lyra caught full sight of her eyes. "It took me a while to learn how to do that, but it can be a fun party trick," she told her. "We need to talk. Where do you want to do this, and, uh--do you want to put on pants first?"

Bon-Bon let out a squawk, blushing furiously as she turned away.

"Uh, living room's fine. Gimmee a sec to, uh, pants." Lyra blushed. "Um--I--you're--"

"I'm a werewolf," Rainbow said. "Uh, you--you are a werewolf, too, right? Otherwise, this is gonna be really awkward."

"I--I'm a werewolf. It's, uh, a recent development." She gulped. "I'm gonna go put on pants before we talk." She left the room in a hurry.

"She's gone?" Bon-Bon asked.

"Eeyup."

Bon-Bon let out a groan.

"Is this--"

"First time? Nope." Bon-Bon collapsed onto the love-seat in the living room, legs over the side and arms sprawling.

"Well, uh, werewolves don't change while wearing clothes, or it gets...really painful, and the clothes don't survive." She too a seat on the nearest chair, leaving the aptly named love seat for Bon-Bon and Lyra. "You might want to get used to it."

Bon-Bon groaned. "So, uh. Lyra's case of..."

"The furries?"

"Lycanthropy. God, please please PLEASE don't call it that," Bon-Bon said, glaring at the athlete. "Lyra's lycanthropy is recent. How long have you been a wolf?"

"Two years. In some ways, I'm still getting used to it, but I know some ins and outs that'll help Lyra along."

"Rainbow, it's...a little more complicated than that. You see--two years?"

"Yeah. Is it surprising?" Rainbow frowned at her sudden change in posture.

"Don't tell me: Las Pegasus?"

Rainbow growled, "That fucking betting pool--gah. Yes, Las Pegasus."

"Betting pool? What about a betting pool?" She gasped. "How many people know what you are?"

"Is--is that relevant?"

"A little bit, yeah," Bon-Bon said. 'Oh, Christ, if half the school knows and I don't, my boss'll kill me."

"Why would your boss care at all?" Rainbow frowned. "You--don't you work at a convenience store or something?"

Bon-Bon clapped both hands to her face. "Um, or something, yes."

"How did you already let it slip in the five seconds I was gone?" Lyra demanded, stepping into the room.

"It was on purpose," Bon-Bon griped. "If she's a werewolf, then we're due for a very long conversation."

"Uh, do you have the authority to decide that?" Lyra asked with a frown.

"Can we--back up a sec?" Rainbow held up a hand. "What are you even talking about at this point?"

Bon-Bon took in a deep breath. "There is a lot that I don't have the authority to tell you, Rainbow, but I am...well, my real name is Sweetie Drops. I work for a government agency specializing in keeping magic from interfering with the lives of civilians." She gestured at Rainbow Dash. "Since I got here, though, my job's changed from keeping tabs on a certain world-hopping unicorn to your entire group."

"Wait--you work for an organization that specializes in stopping magical supervillains?" Rainbow thought about that a moment. "Where the hell have you been?"

"I didn't catch what was happening at the Fall Formal 'til after the fact, and the Sirens--" She winced. "Admittedly, a sore point. I wasn't equipped enough to handle their mind control, and, uh, things got out of hand."

"Vinyl Scratch beat their mind control with her headphones," Rainbow pointed out.

"Wait, you said that had been tried" Lyra said, looking at Bon-Bon.

"I am not at liberty to answer that question right now, Lyra," Bon-Bon said quietly. "Rainbow, let's get back on topic. Um, the point is, that Lyra and I were handling a light recon mission during our vacation, but things--" She looked at Lyra. "--Went south."

"Please, I'm not made of glass," Lyra snapped. "I got mauled by a wolf, woke up covered in fur and less blood than I'd have expected."

"That's...a bit like how it went for me, though..." Rainbow hesitated.

"The wolf who attacked you--was his name, by any chance, Soarin?"

Rainbow shot a glare at Bon-Bon.

"That was the Wonder Wolf! People have been trying to figure out for two years who killed him!" Bon-Bon clapped her hands together. "That mains that G owes me ten bucks! You killed that bastard, right?"

"Kindly," Rainbow said through gritted teeth, "don't talk about my dead boyfriend like that. If. You. Please."

There was a stunned silence.

"I--I'm so sorry!" Bon-Bon clapped her hands to her mouth. "I--I didn't know! I--"

"It's fine," Rainbow said, forcibly calming herself. "Soarin--he--he attacked other people?"

"Yeah," Bon-Bon said. "A few."

"That..." Rainbow hesitated, wondering if it made killing him any better. Unable to figure it out, she promptly decided to change the subject. "So, uh, you guys have seen werewolves before, then?"

"Oh, yeah," Bon-Bon nodded.

"They have manuals full of tips and tricks, and I was having enough trouble getting my homework done as it was," Lyra groaned. "They're making me read all of them."

"Because this isn't something you can just take lightly, Lyra! This is a serious issue!" Bon-Bon took Lyra's hand. "Please. You're not as okay as you think."

Lyra jerked her hand away, glaring with two golden yellow eyes at Bon-Bon. "Would you fucking quit it? I don't need help! I'M FINE!"

Silence rang around the room for a minute. Rainbow Dash decided to break it by letting out a snort. "Please, Lyra. As someone who went through the same thing, I know for a fact that you are not fine."

"From the sounds of it, you were dealing with the stress of not knowing anything about this, while also trying to deal with your boyfriend trying to murder you, and, oh, yeah, you hunted down and murdered him back," Lyra spat. Before she could continue, Rainbow Dash stood up abruptly, striding around the table. Lyra glared at her, before Rainbow Dash caught her by the collar of her shirt and lifted her clear off the ground.

"If you lose your shit and kill and eat Bon-Bon, how are you gonna look back at this?" Rainbow demanded. "Let me tell you this, Lyra--yeah. I had it way worse than you do. But the wolf responds to your state of mind. And it takes a very long time to get over the feeling of what happened to you. Of being attacked, of being utterly and thoroughly defeated. You have an option I didn't have--getting help." Rainbow let go. Lyra dropped to her feet, wobbled, then sat back down. She didn't look back at Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow took a deep, calming breath, then moved to a crouch next to Lyra. "I'm...sorry if I lost my chill there," she said. "This hasn't been a good day for me, and I shouldn't take it out on you. But, please, Lyra. I...came here to help you avoid going through the things I went through. Does...does this agency-thing have therapists on call?"

"Yes. I've already brought this up, but Lyra--" Bon-Bon hesitated. "--hasn't wanted to go, as of yet."

"I'd suggest that you change your mind on that one," Rainbow said. "Your circumstances allow the easy way of getting better. Take it."

"I--I'll think about it," Lyra conceded. "I'm sorry I...said that about Soarin. Just...just a minute ago."

Rainbow nodded. "Apology accepted," she said. "I, uh, admit I didn't really have a plan for you knowing more about how to deal with lycanthropy than I do. That...wasn't really a possibility in my head."

"Would you like one of the manuals?" Bon-Bon said. "I can see about getting one to you."

"How do you think the boss would react to that?" Lyra asked quietly.

"My cover's been blown anyway."

"You blew it. On purpose."

Rainbow chuckled, sitting back in her seat. "So, like, uh--your job was just to watch us? Make sure we weren't, like, sacrificing orphans over band practice or anything like that?"

"Pretty much. We are kids, Rainbow Dash. This was considered 'rookie' work until we started hearing stuff about Equestria."

"It was actually shortly after Sunset Shimmer--well, uh, had a meltdown that I joined up," Lyra said. "I actually figured out what was going on with her."

"So, um, you know how you howled?" Bon-Bon interrupted.

Rainbow frowned. "Yeah? What about it?"

"The manuals...never mentioned that. Is it--do you--"

"I have not the foggiest clue," Rainbow said bluntly. "I can only do it if I--well, let the wolf out a little. Which I normally don't, because--"

"The manuals say that you should regularly let the wolf instincts out a bit," Bon-Bon said. "I didn't really understand most of it, there was some weird stuff about souls and all."

"I really ought to take a look at this things," Lyra commented.

"You haven't read them?" Rainbow snarled.

"Um...I kinda...skimmed...." She gulped. "Chapter one..."

Rainbow reached up, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"I--I haven't had any problems yet!" Lyra said defensively.

"Where did you spend last night?" Rainbow asked.

"Company safe room." She straightened, and added smugly, "I even got control of myself by the end of the night."

"Dude, I forced myself to learn how to change on command by the end of my first full moon," Rainbow stated out.

"Your personalities are way different," Bon-Bon said in defense of her friend. "Lyra's got a much softer personality. You're more capable of brow-beating an evil dark side, Rainbow, while she's--"

Bon-Bon didn't finish her sentence.

"Go on," Lyra said, eyes narrowing--and turning just a touch gold.

"Well, uh, I was gonna say, um." Bon-Bon tugged at her collar. "That you're too nice to brow beat anyone, obviously."

"I think she was gonna call you a wuss," Rainbow said.

"Really, Bon-Bon?" Lyra demanded.

"No! That was not what I was going to say!"

"Well, I don't think it was an ode to my kindness!" Lyra shouted.

Rainbow yawned. "God," she whispered. "I need to go to bed. Can we--can we finish this talk tomorrow?"

"Of course," Bon-Bon said. "Um--you look drop-dead tired. You need help getting home?"

"I walked here, I'll walk back," Rainbow protested.

"Oh, no," Bon-Bon interrupted. "Not after that entire conversation about Lyra going to go get help she needs. We've got a spare bed."

"Are you sure? I'm told I snore."

"Won't matter if you're in the other room," Bon-Bon pointed out. "Besides, this'll make it easier to wake up first thing and continue our very important conversation."

Rainbow nodded. "I guess that makes sense. Thanks."

"Don't mention it." She paused. "Seriously. I'm going to get in enough trouble when they hear you know now."

"I'm not lying to my friends, Bon-Bon. I won't mention your name, but don't think for a moment that I owe some shadowy, secret branch of government any silence on my part." She gave her a firm look. "Make sure you relate that to your boss, too."

There was a moment's silence. "Will do," Bon-Bon said in a resigned tone.

"Here, I'll take you to your room," Lyra said. She heaved Rainbow to her feet, leading her through the short group of rooms. "Off to bed with ye."

Bon-Bon waited until they were talking in one of the far ends of the house, before pulling out a phone that was vastly different from her normal one. She dialed an unmarked number, then put it up to her ear, listening to the dial tone for a minute.

"What is it, Drops?" a low and altogether unpleasant voice asked.

Bon-Bon winced. "So, um, we have something of a situation."

"How badly did you fuck up?" she growled.

"Er...not that badly. I followed protocol, it just...protocol didn't really work out that well."

A slight pause. "Rookies aren't supposed to judge when protocol works or doesn't, they're just supposed to follow it," she said slowly. "So. What happened?"

Bon-Bon took a deep breath, then began explaining.

Comments

[Pete100]

Rainbow growled, "That fucking betting pool--gah. Yes, Las Pegasus."

Wait, so who won the betting pull?

"Wait--you work for an organization that specializes in stopping magical supervillains?" Rainbow thought about that a moment. "Where the hell have you been?"

This is too funny to me.

"I didn't catch what was happening at the Fall Formal 'til after the fact, and the Sirens--" She winced. "Admittedly, a sore point. I wasn't equipped enough to handle their mind control, and, uh, things got out of hand."

Damn.

"I am not at liberty to answer that question right now, Lyra," Bon-Bon said quietly. "Rainbow, let's get back on topic. Um, the point is, that Lyra and I were handling a light recon mission during our vacation, but things--" She looked at Lyra. "--Went south."

This makes me wonder how many werewolves are there? And what side are they on?

"Because this isn't something you can just take lightly, Lyra! This is a serious issue!" Bon-Bon took Lyra's hand. "Please. You're not as okay as you think."

I’m a little confused. Wasn’t she upset at trixie for butting into her business? Isn’t she technically doing the same thing?

"It was actually shortly after Sunset Shimmer--well, uh, had a meltdown that I joined up," Lyra said. "I actually figured out what was going on with her."

Meltdown? That’s what she wants to call it? I feel like there’s probably a better name.

"The manuals say that you should regularly let the wolf instincts out a bit," Bon-Bon said. "I didn't really understand most of it, there was some weird stuff about souls and all."

Interesting

"I'm not lying to my friends, Bon-Bon. I won't mention your name, but don't think for a moment that I owe some shadowy, secret branch of government any silence on my part." She gave her a firm look. "Make sure you relate that to your boss, too."

She’s not wrong.

Bon-Bon waited until they were talking in one of the far ends of the house, before pulling out a phone that was vastly different from her normal one. She dialed an unmarked number, then put it up to her ear, listening to the dial tone for a minute.

You snitch

[Pete100]

11657192
So does that mean equestrian magic might be the origin of the werewolves?

[J3sterking]

11657193
A lot of the questions about werewolves will probably be answered in a sequel at some point, but for the most part they were irrelevant to the story, so i either didn't think about it or it just never came up.
As far as the betting pool is concerned, I originally had a bit planned for that, but I couldn't figure out how to fit it in. I'll probably find a spot for it during editting.

[Pete100]

11657210
Ok cool