As life continues, one normally becomes accustomed to their daily rituals; whether it consists of going to work, exploring your hobbies, or simply waking up and experiencing the day. But of course there will always be unexpected variables that will add surprises, which can make the moment adventurous. At least that is how it has been for me ever since I arrived in Ponyville.
Originally I had no intention of coming to this halcyon town; my being here was all due to the arrangement set up by Princess Celestia. As much as I was against the whole idea, it turned out to beneficial to me. You see what happened was, I had discovered the recrudescence of Nightmare Moon and tried to warn the Princess about it. And instead of dealing with the impending crisis, I was sent to Ponyville to oversee the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration. It was there that I met the ponies Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity. I never did postulate that the six of us would have joined together to search for the Elements of Harmony when Nightmare Moon did return. Once we completed our journey and reverted Nightmare Moon back into Princess Luna, that was the moment when I realized something. These five mares I was with weren’t just any normal ponies, these were my friends; my best friends.
Ever since then, I’m made Ponyville my permanent home, so I can live close to those I care about. I’m the town’s librarian now, but that doesn’t mean I’ve stopped being Princess Celestia’s student. Which is the reason why I’m currently standing at the outskirts of the settlement during this epoch.
It’s past noon now and things seem uneventful as my number one assistant and good friend, Spike and I continue to wait for something.
“Geez Twilight, how much longer are we going to have to wait? It’s been an hour now.” Spike began in a disgruntled tone.
Technically it has only been twenty-three minutes pass the rendezvous time; I decided it would be best to arrive early to this meeting to avoid any chances of being tardy. But still, Spike does raise a good point; we’re not the ones late.
“The Princess’s letter said that the escort should have shown up already. Hopefully nothing bad happened.” Right as I said that, a caravan of armor donned knights hauling a barred cage came into view.
“Finally!” Spike declared with satisfaction.
The commanding chevalier broke from his group and approached Spike and I. His voice was broad sounding, but also easygoing at the same time. “Greetings Twilight Sparkle. We apologize for arriving late; we had a situation with the cargo.”
“Situation with the cargo? What happened?” I curiously peeked my head around the stallion and took a mental note of the unconscious object lying in this little prison. This mammal has a very muscular, cat like body with a dark ochraceous brown coat and a dense, burning orange mane. The animal’s size is roughly about six and a half feet in length and four feet in height. My first thought is that this thing is a lion, but with the two apparent features on it, I can clearly see it’s not. The first noticeable characteristic with this creature are the two Capricorn horns sticking out of its head, while the other physical characteristic is its serpentine like tail; in fact its tail is a snake. “Just what is this thing?”
“We don’t know. What we do know is that this thing is dangerous.”
“How is it dangerous?” Spike chimed in.
“If the news hasn’t been spread here yet, a group of these beasts attacked Dodge City; I’m not going to go into detail, but I will say it was chaotic. Princess Celestia order a battalion to track down and assess the treat, and what we found was an entire horde of these creatures. Once they discovered us, the area quickly transformed from a forest into a full blown warzone. We lost a lot of good soldiers in that mess; especially to this one. We’re lucky that your brother managed to suppress this thing.”
“Shining Armor was there!? Is he alright!?” The sudden consternation filled my mentality as the thought of Shining Armor being seriously injured ran through my mind. Fortunately for me, that feeling was relieved when the knight told me that my brother only received a few cuts and bruises.
“So then if this thing is so vicious, why bring it to Ponyville? Surely there are far more secure places in the castle.” I continued.
“There were. We originally restrained the monster in one of the dungeons, but the thing broke free and just about brought down the place until it was subdued again. So after imprisoning the creature with magic, her majesty decided that you should study it.” The earth stallion concluded.
“So how come you were late then?” Spike asked. I was curious as well since that hasn’t been mentioned yet.
“Well, as my companions and I transported the beast, it took us by surprise by violently flailing around in the cage; luckily for us, the Princess’s spell responded to its aggression and kept the beast incapacitated.” The knight answered.
“So it’s safe to say that this beast is harmless now?” Spike gingerly questioned.
“As long as it stays behind those bars, you’ve got nothing to worry about.” The confidence behind his voice did make it seem like we shouldn’t worry, but I’m not to certain. I’ve never seen or heard of such a cyrptid before, so there is no telling the possibilities the mammal is capable of.
“Sir! We’ve finished informing the citizens!” A unicorn guard declared after making his approach.
“Informing the citizens of what?” I soon questioned.
“Because of the seriousness of the matter, we are having the library closed off to the public. Only you and your assistant are allowed inside.”
“But what if somepony wishes to acquire some literature?” Since my house is the only bibliotheca in Ponyville, sealing it off would seal away the only source of fun educational knowledge, not to mention the other types of novels; Rainbow Dash won’t be too pleased to hear this and she can’t get her hooves on the new Daring-Do book.
“If somepony wishes for a book, than they should file out a request, and after that, you can send them the novel they want.”
A bit more organized than the usual process, but it feels somewhat less sensible. Anypony who is a passionate reader would want to be the one that picks out their book; not to ensure that it is the right one, but to be sure that it is truly the novel they want.
With our conversation concluded, we began moving the animal into my home.
*****
Transporting the creature to the library was met with inquisitive gazes of the townsfolk and the minor annoyance of fitting the caged animal passed the library’s doorway and into the laboratory. With the cyrptid situated in the basement, I decided to take a closer look at this thing.
I was given a planchette shaped key in case I would ever need to open the cell for this mammal; most likely for when I would need to feed it. Considering the fact that this creature managed to cause such an ordeal, it’s going to be a challenge just to get this thing food without it escaping; that thought is also deterring any temptation of opening the barred door and actually analyzing it a close hoof. I guess for now I’ll keep my distance.
I kept my space while leaning my face closer to survey the cyrptid. My first opinion on this mammal is that it could be a hybrid, but I can’t classify it as one yet; just because it has physical characteristics that are similar to other species doesn’t mean it is related to that race. As I continued examining it, I couldn’t help but noticed the many cuts that littered the thing’s body; if these are the wounds the animal received, I’d hate to see the soldiers’ injuries. When I came across the creature’s face, I couldn’t help notice how peaceful its expression was; if Fluttershy saw this, she would probably release the thing in a heartbeat. Speaking of Fluttershy, she may have an idea of what this thing is.
Suddenly the animal slowly begun opening its eye lids and revealed its fiery red iris. The second the mammal had me in its sights, it immediately jerked up and lunged at me; causing me to quickly wince back in fear. Fortunately, the moment when the creature reached the bars, a magenta barrier materialized and repelled the animal’s attempt. As the cyrptid was forced back, it made another attempt and furiously rammed its body in all directions, only to be stopped by the force field encasing the cage. It’s just like the knight said; the seal will react to the mammal’s aggression.
Spike rushed to my side. “Twilight! Are you alright?”
“Yeah…I just wasn’t prepared for that.” I panted. “Could you send for Fluttershy or Zecora? One of those two might have a clue about what this thing is.”
As Spike proceeded upstairs, I made my ways to the bookshelves and searched for anything about mammals and creatures of this sort; I might as well begin researching in the mean time. The first book I came across was an encyclopedia on all animals; living, extinct, or mythological. I started flipping through the pages for any feature that matched this cyrptid’s description.
“Uhh, Twilight. I don’t think I’ll have to retrieve Fluttershy.” Spike declared.
“Why? What do you mean?” I proceeded up to the ground floor to see what he meant.
“Well howdy Twi.” It was Applejack, but it just wasn’t AJ. Fluttershy, Pinkie, Rainbow, and Rarity were also here.
“What are you guys doing here?” I questioned.
“We just wanted to see you one last time before you shut yourself away for research, silly.” Pinkie said while bouncing her way in.
“That’s nice and all, but you shouldn’t be here. You’re not allowed.”
“If ah recall, the rule was that only Twilight and her assistant could enter the library. If you want, we could help you.” Applejack slyly stated.
A technicality; how very tenacious of you, Applejack.
“Well now that you mention it, I could use some help identifying the creature.” I’m glad that my friends are willing to help.
I led my group of friends down into the lab, where the cyrptid glared at us with such contempt; I could literally feel the anger and hatred beaming from the animal’s eyes. As the girls gazed upon the animal, they couldn’t help, but comment about it. That only seemed to infuriate the thing even more for it started growling. Can it understand us?
“So have you seen anything like this Fluttershy?”
“Umm…N-No I haven’t. It looks hurt; we should help it.” Fluttershy meekly responded.
“I wouldn’t recommend doing that yet; the creature was quite pugnacious earlier.”
“It’s probably scared; after all, it is wounded and locked in a cage away from its home.” Fluttershy quietly said.
But still Fluttershy darling; from what the royal guards announced, I bet that this animal would act on instinct and attack us the moment we released us. It’s probably nothing more than a feral beast.” Rarity added.
“I am not a feral beast!” A deep male voice filled with much authority and animosity declared.
This voice was unfamiliar to the girls and I, and the source sounded like it came from the mammal. It certainly took everypony by surprise as we all quickly turned to face the cyrptid.
“Did…Did it just talk?” Applejack hesitantly questioned.
“Yes I did just talk!” Those belligerent words came right out of the creature’s mouth. By Celestia, it can talk! I don’t believe, but this cyrptid is capable of speech! “You equines are all same! You wish to subjugate all other races, you despicable breed!”
“Us despicable!? What about your kind? You brutes assaulted a pony settlement!” Rarity objected.
“SLANDEROUS LIES! I bet your wretched leader spread that accusation to have false justification in attacking my people!”
“Hey! Don’t you dare say anything like that about the Princess again!” Rainbow demanded.
“Make me!”
“You may be bigger, but trust me bub; I could take you with one wing and hoof tied behind my back!” Rainbow then got right into the creature’s face, against the cage.
“If I wasn’t imprisoned and being stared at like a circus freak, your opinion would be much different!” The cyrptid lean back for a quick second, then immediately headbutted the iron bars; conjuring up the barrier and not only forcing himself back, but also the cyan pegasus. I guess the impediment can also expel external forces as well; this is going as a mental reminder not to get too close to the cage when the magic is active. Due to the power of Princess Celestia’s seal, Rainbow was thrown back seven and a quarter feet, and into the stack of books I gathered; causing them to come crashing down.
“Will everyone calm down for a moment? We’re getting nowhere with petty argument.” I intervened. “I’m sorry, but it is the truth. Your breed was the first to attack; it’s how we were able to track and discover your species. If your race never assaulted Dodge City, we would have never known that your kind existed.” I’m being as honest as I can, but I’m not sure if he’ll believe me.
“You don’t know what I am?”
“That’s correct.” I answered.
His eyes slowly widened in consternation as he looked like he just realized something terrible. “So than this is just stereotyping!?” The creature abruptly began thrashing about in the confines of the cage while also frantically shouting.
Stereotyping? Is he referring that his breed isn’t completely savage? From this cyrptid’s intelligence, it’s obvious that his race isn’t feral like manticores; his kind must be like the dragons. I can finish determining that later, I should halt his rampage before he further injuries himself.
“Look, I understand that you’re not in an ideal situation, but please try to relax.” As I fully turned to the mammal, I felt something tap against the tip of my right hoof; it was the encyclopedia I was skimming through previously. The pages flipped open revealed an image that closely resembled the cyrptid; in fact it was the cyrptid. I lowered my head to begin reading the description until the creature unleashed another outburst.
“ALL OF YOU LEAVE MY SIGHT! LET ME BE!”
“Come on girls. Let’s give him some time.” Not wanting to be around the fury of this thing, the others complied.
The seven of us did our best to ignore agonized roars of the mammal, or at least I know I did. As my friends and I surrounded the table where I placed the piece of literature, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the cyrptid. I know I wouldn’t want to end up being a prisoner. And there is also the mentioning of stereotyping; what is the nature of his breed like? I also wonder what he is like personality wise.
“Hey Twilight, you alright?” AJ asked; breaking me from my thoughts.
“Oh, yeah…I was just spacing out. Now let’s see what we have here.”
“So what is it?” Spike anxiously asked.
“It says here that the creature is a chimera…A hybrid entity made up of various features from different animals; the most common being that of a goat, lion, and snake. Aside from being known as a combination of different species, the chimera is well renowned for its great strength and the ability to breathe fire. It is said that a rampaging chimera can lay waste to lands in mere hours.”
“Surely something with that kind of description would be description would be well known, even if it was extinct.” Applejack stated in minor disbelief.
“Maybe they just decided to vanish from history.” Fluttershy quietly mentioned.
If Fluttershy is right, then why would these entities wish to disappear from history?
An animal capable of speech, possess great strength, and is a hybrid. These chimeras seem like an interesting creature.
*****
As the dawn of a new day illuminates my room, I couldn’t help, but curse the morning. If only there were a few more hours of darkness and that chimera didn’t spend all night headbutting his cage. As pleasant getting some rest would be right now, I can’t; I’ve got research to do; maybe some caffeinated tea will help keep me awake.
After brewing myself some dandelion tea, I proceeded into the lab where the chimera continued to ram his head into the bars. Hasn’t he learned that he can’t penetrate the barrier no matter how much effort is used? Maybe the chimera believes that there is some hope he can free himself. As best as it would be for the creature to have his prison opened, I can’t do that; I still have to assume he could be dangerous, even though he’s perspicacious.
I should stop him before he further hurts himself. “That barrier was created by Princess Celestia’s magic so-“
“Don’t care!” The chimera interrupted; he continued to headbutt his cell.
That was rude of him, but I can’t really blame him; he technically had his freedom taken away. Perhaps I can ease him by being friendly. I’ll start by introducing myself.
“My name is Twilight Sparkle; what’s yours?”
“That doesn’t matter anymore!” He aggressively replied.
I was a bit discouraged from that response, but I decided to press on. “Why do you say that?”
“I’ve been enslaved; I’m going to be addressed as one thing for the rest of my life now!”
“What!? Nononono; you haven’t been turned into a slave! I’m sorry if you got that idea.”
The chimera stopped attacking the cage and quickly glanced around the room for a moment. “Then I guess my name is specimen now!”
“What!? No! You’re not going to be experimented on either!” I understand where he’s getting these preconceived notions, but I wish he wouldn’t be so acrimonious; I’m just trying to be nice.
“I find that hard to believe!” He declared in an aggravated tone.
“I know what it looks like, but that’s not true. I have a laboratory because researching is a hobby of mine.”
“So is that why I’m here? So you can study on how much of a beast I am?”
“…Well sort of. I was just going to document your natural behavior, but now that I know that you’re not some wild animal, I’m interested in learning more about you.”
“Well don’t be!” After stating that, the chimera resumed smashing his head into the bars and force field.
Why can’t he at least be levelheaded? Yes; this is not an ideal situation to be in. Yes; no living thing enjoys being imprisoned. I’m just trying to be affable to lighten his mood.
I positioned myself right in front of his view and matched his gaze. Right as I was about to say something, I stopped myself when I looked deeply in his eyes. Passed the anger in his vision, I could see there was pain trapped in his soul. Maybe this goes beyond than just being captured for him. I don’t know what it is, but I can definitely see it’s hurting him mentally. Maybe it’s like Fluttershy said; the chimera is probably scared.
“What?” He snapped.
“I uhh I…Could you at least tell me your name?” I meekly asked.
With a disgruntled exhale, he finally gave in and told me. “If you must know, I am Emperor Halcor D’Lios!”
“Emp-Emperor!? Oh my!” I can honestly say I wasn’t expecting that. I see now as to why Halcor is so angry; as a king, he must feel extremely humiliated for being captured.
“You got what you wanted, now leave me alone!”
“Sure…” It’s obvious I won’t get much information from Halcor right now; I’ll give him his peace for the rest of the day; he could use it. I can’t imagine the amount of torture this incident is dealing to him.
As I made my way up the stairs, I noticed in my peripheral, Halcor briefly glance at me; probably confused about me actually complying.
“Find out anything, Twilight?” Spike asked while eating some cookies and cream ice cream.
“…Just his name.” My voice was slightly hushed since I was still trying to comprehend how the chimera felt right now.
A shocked expression masked Spike’s face. “Really? Only his name? Are you alright Twilight? I would have figured a pony like you would have learned a lot already.”
“I know Spike, I know. It’s just…It’s just that the chimera is internally troubled right now. I’ll talk to him again tomorrow; hopefully Halcor has a chance to calm down by then.”
Hopefully when Halcor, if Halcor does relax, he’ll be in a talkative mood. I think, maybe I can help him cope. I think, maybe what he really needs right now is a friend.
*****
It’s been three days now since Halcor’s arrival and I have yet to make any progress on learning anything about him. Out of thirty-five attempts on communicating with the big guy, he hasn’t said anything else since he informed me his name. But because Halcor hasn’t bothered responding to me, I haven’t yet been detoured away from at least talking to him. In these pass couple of days, I’ve told the chimera a little about myself; about how I’m Princess Celestia’s student, why I came to Ponyville, my relationship with my friends and what they’re like, and some things I’m fond of. I’m not certain how much pertains to his interests, but I do know that Halcor at least’s listens, since he would still give me the occasional glance. Part of me feels like I’ve turned the chimera into my personal diary; Halcor absorbs my words like pen ink pressed against paper.
BAM, BAM, BAM, BAM.
He’s still at it I see. After all this time of trying to free himself, Halcor still hasn’t given up; he has me worried. Halcor has become so intent on breaking the barrier to the point that a massive contusion has formed on his forehead, due to bashing the metal bars so much. He also refuses to eat anything I bring him; I’ve even asked Halcor if there is anything particular he would like, and the only sound from him is his clashing with the magic infused cage. I can also clearly determine that the poor guy is purposely starving himself, but for what reason? I’m not sure what I should do right now. And I’m pretty sure that chimera hasn’t had a moments rest since he woke up in my home. If it was just a wild animal, things would probably be so much easier; at least they eat and sleep when they need it.
BAM, BAM, BAM, BAM
I wish he would just stop that already. Aside from further injuring himself, the noise he’s creating is causing me to go insane. Because of that infernal racket Halcor is making, I’ve lost hours of sleep and the sheer annoyance of his activity is giving me a splitting headache. I wish he would stop.
BAM, BAM, BAM…..
Thank you. Wait a minute!
I sat perfectly still and listened for a few seconds; the only thing to reach my ears was absolute silence. Halcor is being too quiet; this isn’t good. He might have actually broken free!
I rushed to the basement door, and then proceeded to slowly open the entryway. Carefully peeking my eyes into the lab, I was greeted with the unnatural sight of Halcor’s limp body pressing against his cell, while a deep, crimson substance seeped from his bruise. Below his face, the red liquid had gained enough droplets already to form a tiny pool.
I hurried to his side. “Halcor, can you hear me!?”
No response.
I gradually paced the velocity of my horn beyond the bars, so not to trigger the force field, until I felt the tip of my extension make contact with Halcor’s face. Once there, I began to concentrate and channel all the restorative magic that I knew based from the knowledge in some of the scrolls and books I’ve read. Pass the brilliant raspberry color of my aura, I could clearly see the small streams of blood evaporate away; almost like they were never there. After that, I focused my full attention on the self inflicted wound until that had disappeared as well. Yet after all that, Halcor still hasn’t regained consciousness.
Come on Halcor….I know you can pull through…..Wake up!
As I continued with my spell, I started to here the deep groans of somepony waking up; in this case that sound belonged to the chimera. Seconds afterwards, I noticed Halcor’s eyes begin to slowly open. There was a shocked look on his face the moment he saw me, and then quickly shifted his expression back to the usual scowl he normally wears. Thank Celestia he’s alright now.
“Look, I know you want to be free, but that seal is impenetrable. All you are going to is continue hurting yourself. Can’t you see that’s not good for you?” I stated.
Halcor completely turned away in disappointment. I know he’s displeased, but he has to realize there is nothing he or I can do to release him. I don’t know if he’ll accept anymore words I convey now; I’ll return in an hour to see if he has cooled off by then. I more or less want to help the poor creature now, instead of research him.
“Please…try not to injury yourself more.” I headed back upstairs.
When I was three fourths up the steps, my ears perked up on the sound of fire crackling. I turned to the source and saw a small ember burst from Halcor’s mouth. A second later, he expelled another one that rippled his magenta shielding. After that, I then witness a look of determination and anticipation fill his eyes.
If he regained enough strength for his fire breath, does that mean….No…
“HALCOR DON’T!"
It was too late. With a mighty exhale and the flames making contact with the materializing barrier, the room was flooded with a bright pink flash as the two forces intertwined. Following that was agonized roar of Halcor as the flames engulfed his entire mass.
“HALCOR!”
I hurried back upstairs and soon into my room, where I used my telekinetic magic to grab the key to the cage and a thick blanket. When I made my way back down to the ground floor, I immediately order Spike to fetch me a bucket of water, then galloped back to the burning chimera.
I forced the key right side up into the proper hole; the object spun counter-clockwise 180 degrees, and with a quick click, the cell door fell to the ground. After that, I instantly threw the blanket over Halcor and began patting down on him; both physically and telekinetically. After two and quarter minutes, Spike arrived with the pail and instinctively splashed Halcor and I; extinguishing the rest of the inferno.
“You idiot! Didn’t you hear a single thing I said!? You could have killed!” I’m prepared to scold the living hay out of him, if he continues to be this stubborn.
“Good! Then next time don’t help me!” Halcor snapped back as he struggled to stand, only to immediately collapse.
“What!?”
“JUST LET ME DIE!”
By Celestia, I understand now…The starving, the constant headbutting, and now setting himself on fire. He’s not trying to free himself; he’s trying to commit suicide…Even if he is feeling humiliated, that’s just completely stupid…
“NO! THERE’S NO POSSIBLE WAY I’LL IDLY STAND BY AND LET YOU KILL YOURSELF!” I vented my anger at him, in hopes of how horrible an idea suicide is.
“THEN YOU DO IT!”
“NO! WHY IS THAT YOU WISH FOR DEATH!?” I’m appalled; what ignoramus would want to die!?
“BECAUSE I’VE LOST EVERYTHING TO YOU DAMN EQUINES!” Halcor roared.
“WHAT!?”
“YOUR KIND DESTROYED MY LAND, SLAUGHTERED MY PEOPLE, AND WORST OF ALL, KILLED MY FAMILY!”
When Halcor said that, silence stole my words.
Tears began to well in Halcor’s eyes. “YOUR KIND INVADED MY KINGDOM, BECAUSE ONE OF MINE ATTACKED YOURS! YOUR KIND KILLED MY PEOPLE, BECAUSE YOU ASSUMED WE WERE ALL DANGEROUS! AND….and…” Halcor spared no restraint on himself, as his tears fell like the waterfalls at Canterlot. “Those damn earth ponies…those damn pegasi…and those damn unicorns….murdered my wife and my daughter….before my very eyes!”
By Celestia….So then, this is why he was filled with pain and is aggressive towards us ponies…I…I had no idea….When the chevalier said the incident turned into a warzone; I didn’t expect a situation like this. Sure death can be a natural thing in a violent conflict, but this…this is just unspeakable.
“Please let me die…I’m all alone now…..I’ve lost everything…and I’ve got nothing-…nothing else-….nothing else to lose…” Halcor’s voice harshly cracked, while he stared at me with those sorrowful, glistening eyes of his.
“I-I can’t…”
I’m so sorry Halcor; I can’t. I just can’t…What you’re asking me is impossible…I won’t kill you and I can’t let you commit suicide…I’m not that kind of pony.
In response to me, Halcor leaned his head into his paws and continued to sulk. Every deep sniff, every forlorn hiccup, and every drop of his tears were hard to deal with, but to him, they must be unbearable. But no matter how rough I found it, I didn’t move an inch away; I’m going to stay here with Halcor this time.
“Spike…could you bring us a fresh blanket?”
“S-Sure Twilight.” Spike mumbled then left.
Once Spike returned, I exchanged the damp blanket with the dry one my assistant brought and carefully covered it on Halcor.
An hour had passed, and since then I decided to heal the rest of Halcor’s wounds. He offered up no resistance; instead he continued to lay there with his eyes empty and his soul destroyed, as I finished mending his body.
I took a moment and tried to imagine myself in Halcor’s place. Losing my family and friends; no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t bear the thought of having to lose the ones I love and care for. Just the mere idea was too much for me.
I situated myself next to the depressed creature. “I know this may be hard to do, but want to talk about it?” I asked in an attempt to help console him. I’m not sure how much it’ll work, but I’ve read in some therapy books that it helps those who are grieving to talk about the incident.
Halcor’s only reply was simply turning his head away. Maybe those books were wrong.
“You-You’re right…We shouldn’t talk about that yet. How about you tell me a bit about your family? You said you had a daughter; what was she like?”
The chimera lazily glanced towards me, and then took a deep breath. “…My daughter’s name was Isai. She was only five years old, yet she was already a magnificent singer; that’s how she got the nickname Songbird. Isai was a playful little girl; always interacting with the other chimeras; playing with the local fauna; always finding some way to have fun.” Halcor’s voice was void of emotions currently.
“She sounds like a sweet child.” I said in a hushed tone.
“She was…”
“...So what about your wife?”
“My wife? She was one of the most well respected chimeras to ever live; and she didn’t get that recognition by being the queen. Alshefa’a was selfless and well renown in the medical arts; injured or perfectly fine, there wasn’t any living thing she wouldn’t help. Alshefa’a alone managed to cure a virus that plagued the chimeras when she was just a young cub; that’s how skilled she was as a physician.”
“She had to have been very brilliant to be capable of that. I wish I could have met you family.”
“Well it’s too late for that.” Halcor gave a brief sigh. “I loved them both deeply…And now there’s no hope left for me.”
“What do you mean by that? Surely there is some hope.”
“No…Every remaining chimera existed together in that forest. When you equines attack, you made me an endangered species…I’m the last of my kind now….Do you see now why I wish to die?”
“But…But Halcor that’s preposterous! How do you think your family would react if they heard you say that? Do you really think they would want you to kill yourself?”
The sorrowed chimera opened his mouth to say something, but closed it shortly after and averted his gaze downwards.
“Halcor, I know I won’t be able to replace the ones you cared about, but I will keep you from being alone; not as one creature to another, but as a friend.”
He looked back at me, but still stayed silent. It remained that way for the rest of the day until I eventually nodded off once night came; due to only seven hours of sleep over the course that Halcor has stayed here.
*****
The morning came like it usually does, except this time I wasn’t in my bed to receive first light; that being because I fell asleep in the laboratory next to Halcor. When I awoke, I had discovered that the fresh blanket that was used to cover the chimera was now laid across me. I found this odd, because of the fact that Halcor is still laying next to me and fully awake; was he the one to cover me up? If so, does that mean he is finally mentally balanced now? I can’t really make that kind of judgment yet, since a look of longing and deep thought veneers his face.
“Good morning.” I greeted.
Halcor gave a simple nod while wearing that same expression.
I know there is no easy way to recover from such a traumatic event, but hopefully the poor guy can overcome this positively; I would hate to see this man die. Aside from this supposed misunderstanding that caused the skirmish, Halcor seems like a good hearted creature. A true beast wouldn’t have broken down yesterday the way he did.
“Twilight Sparkle, what you said yesterday rose up a point and made me contemplate long and hard last night. You are right…My wife and child wouldn’t wish for me to kill myself. Thank you for making me realize that.” Halcor stated quietly.
Hearing Halcor say that put me in a jovial mood; I know we still have a ways to go for the emotional scarring to fully heal, but in time and with my help, I’m sure that Halcor will make a decent recovery. This right here is a big step forward.
“You’re welcome.” I smiled.
“What will happen to me now?” The chimera asked.
“Good question. Hopefully for starters you can live the rest of your life normally.”
“But how can I live it normally now? I don’t even have a home to return to anymore.”
He raises a good point. What is he to do now? Where is he to go? “Well how about you live here with Spike and I; we could make some accommodations to help repose you here.”
Halcor opened his mouth again to say something, but was instantly cut off by the growl of his own stomach; I found it somewhat humorous and retrained myself from giggling. I should get some food in him; after all, it has been five days now since he probably last ate.
“Come on, let’s get you some breakfast.” I propped myself underneath Halcor’s right side and helped the chimera onto his feet. Once up, I assisted Halcor to the ground floor, so that way he could finally get a decent meal.
Finally on the upper level, Halcor took his place at the table where Spike had set up the morning’s meal. Today’s breakfast was sunny side up eggs with whole wheat toast and rosebud tea for myself and Halcor, while Spike had some orange juice.
“We’re not sure what a chimera’s diet consists of; hopefully this will adequate for you.” I announced.
“We chimera’s are omnivores, so this will suffice.” Halcor replied.
With that in mind, I began to eat. Right as I was about to cut myself some of the egg, a thought hit me; how exactly is Halcor going to eat? I can use my magic to levitate my dinning utensils, while Spike can use his fingers, but Halcor doesn’t have anything of the sort.
As I observed the chimera, I was quite surprised by what I saw. Instead of digging his face in the food like Pinkie occasionally does, Halcor’s serpent tail curved around in front of his body and picked up his fork in its mouth. After that, the snake picked up some of Halcor’s eggs, and then after a few bites, switched to the teacup and brought the ceramic container to his lips; by the way Halcor was doing this, it seemed very sophisticated.
“Curious about my tail?” Halcor said as he noticed my interest.
“Yes I am. How is it that you can manipulate it like that?” I asked while setting my utensil down.
“Just like the wings to a pegasus or a horn to unicorns, it is an extension of my own body. But it is not an easy thing to control.”
“What do you mean? How is it difficult to control?”
“Well as you can see, my appendage is more than any mere tail, it is my second head. The process of me controlling it is an arduous task.”
“But why is that? Surely it would be as natural as moving any other limb.”
“Not entirely. A second head means a second brain; it has its own opinions and ideals. This situation is common with every chimera.”
“So it’s like a conjoined twin?”
“I would say along the lines of dissociative identity disorder.”
“A split personality?” I gasped. I’ve heard of this before, but never met anypony with it.
“And with two minds in one body, there is a struggle for who is in control.”
“But wouldn’t it be easier for you and your other mind to share the body and coexist?”
“If only we could. The chimera’s internal conflict with his or hers other half is a representation of balance; one mind is benevolent while the other is malicious….I think I’ve discovered the reason why this whole debacle of a slaughter occurred.”
“Really?” I inquired.
“Yes. Even though my people are powerful, we typically avoid conflicts with other races; that is the reason we chimeras went into hiding millennia’s ago; to avoid wars. But if what you said about the chimeras attacking first is true, then there is a good chance what happened was that there was a chimera that lost control of its body to the darker half and wandered into that equine settlement. When it returned to my dominion, it was tracked by those knights, where they attacked my people out of fear; thus the massacre ensued.”
My mouth dropped into an O in surprise from his deduction. “But if that’s true, then maybe we can convince the Princess that the incident was a horrible misunderstanding.”
“After what I did in that battle and her castle, it may be too late for that.” Halcor declared; discouraging my intention.
“I see….But what about you? How difficult is it for you to prevent your other half’s control?”
“It’s like a sexual urge; you can control it most of the time, but not all of the time.”
Wow; why did he have to analogize it like that? I can feel my cheeks heat up from the uncomfortable embarrassment.
“What’s a sexual urge?” Spike chimed in.
“You’re too young for that!” I abruptly stated. I’m not about to explain sex to Spike yet.
I quickly reverted the conversation back a bit to avoid any more unwanted awkwardness. “So was there anything you did to help suppress your other head’s oppression?”
“There was…Back at my kingdom, there was this ridge that overlooked my domain. I use to go there and watch the sun set over the land; it was simply beautiful. It reminded me the reason why I had to stay in control of myself…For my people…For my family.”
That’s another thing Halcor has lost, but I remember experiencing a view like the one he must have seen a while back, during a previous exploration near the Everfree Forest. It may not be exact, but hopefully it’ll be close enough for Halcor. I can probably give him that experience back.
Once dusk came, I led Halcor with Spike to the outskirts of Ponyville without telling him my intentions. We were met with the frightened yet curious glares of just about everypony that was out and about for the evening; luckily for us, there wasn’t any panic. When the three of us reached a certain point in our travel, I had Spike blindfold the chimera, so the surprise wouldn’t be seen until we reached our destination.
The moment we finally arrived at the ridge, I had Spike remove the cloth covering Halcor’s eyes; the second the sight came into his view, his mouth slightly dropped. The twilight sky had the mixed hues of a burning orange, a deep red, and a fading yellow, as the night approached. There were approximately a total of twelve decently size, dark clouds left floating in the air by the Weather Patrol. And lastly, a shady orange color blanketed the town of Ponyville, as the last of day’s light gradually vanished.
“So what do you think?” I asked.
“It’s…beautiful. Thank you Twilight Sparkle.” Halcor responded in a hushed tone.
As we stood there watching there watching the sunset, I notice a sudden wince from Halcor.
“You alright?” I questioned.
“Ye-Yeah; just a headache…Hold on for a minute, I would like to give you something.” Halcor immediately stood up and proceeded into the forest for five minutes. When he returned, I saw Halcor carrying a floral headband.
“This…is something I saw Isai make one time; I wish to give it to you. It is customary for chimeras to exchange something to those they call friend. Since I have nothing else, this is all I can give.”
The very second I heard Halcor say friend; I couldn’t help myself, but look at him and feel happy.
“Despite the orders given to you by your princess and my actions earlier, you went out of your way to help me. For your generosity, I thank you and consider you my friend.”
“It’s nice; thank you.” I smiled.
Once the three of us returned to the library, I pulled out a spare futon mattress for Halcor and placed it on the first floor; this is as much of his home as it is mine and Spike’s now; he at least deserves this.
*****
Two days have passed now, and I’ve taken the liberty of helping Halcor adjust to his new life here. During this period, I have gone over the history of Hearts and Hooves Day, Hearth’s Warming Eve, and Winter Wrap Up, so Halcor can have some knowledge of pony traditions; as it turns out, it was the very turmoil prior to Hearth’s Warming Eve that first led the chimeras to avoid other ruling kingdoms. But as I taught him about those antiquities, I would notice Halcor react to these constant headaches. I believe that his aliment might be caused by from malnourishment from when he was starving himself or from his head injury; either way, I went into the market in hopes of finding something that could aid him.
As I searched the stalls, two overwhelming shadows blanketed my presence from behind. When I turned, I was greeted with the sight of two white stallions donned in golden armor; Princess Celestia’s royal guards.
“Twilight Sparkle, you are to come with us this instance.” One of the knights ordered.
“Why; what’s going on?” I instantly questioned.
“We have received reports that you have released the beast that you were to research.” The other knight stated. One of the ponies that saw us a few days ago must have informed them.
“He’s not a beast!” I quickly objected.
“Unfortunately it is. We are to immediately escort you to the Princess, while a unit retrieves the animal.” The first knight said.
“Good! Then take me to the Princess!” I know without a doubt that Princess Celestia will listen to what I have to say. Hopefully I can convince her that Halcor isn’t bad at all.
As I was led to the carriage to transport me, mine and the soldiers’ ears picked up on the sound of terrified screams in the distance. When we turned to the source, I could see a group ponies fleeing past us, while a good ways away, there were six armored pegasi dive bombing something. Suddenly a fiery explosion erupted, while a dark figured shot out of it and proceeded to unleash another fire ball.
Halcor no…
I quickly jetted off the carriage and hurried in the direction of the chaos. The moment I reached halfway to conflict, I was caught by the voice of Spike calling to me.
“Spike, exactly what happened!?”
“I-I-I don’t know! Halcor was acting weird one moment, then the guards came, and then Halcor attacked them and everything went violent!” I could tell how scared Spike was, because of how rushed his words were.
Why did Halcor attack first? I thought he wanted to avoid this kind of incident. This is only going to worsen things!
Wait a minute. This couldn’t possibly have anything to do with that other head, could it?
Halcor’s words echoed in my memories. “Can control it most of the time, but not all of the time.” “It’s just a headache.”
…He hasn’t been suffering from constant headaches; he was trying to suppress his other personality! I have to help him!
After telling Spike to find safety, I continued to gallop towards the blazing inferno in hopes of intervening the skirmish before it escalates into a bigger problem.
Making my way passed the scorched structures, I could finally see the focal point of the battle. Halcor’s fire breath kept the unicorns and pegasi on the defensive, while he rammed through the earth ponies with his brute strength. Seeing this, I instinctively called out to him, which was probably not the brightest idea, since the chimera soon changed his sights to me and charged. All I can do at this point is to try and escape.
During a certain point from running, a pegasus managed to slam Halcor in the back by dive bombing him like a plummeting meteor. The assault work in distracting him, for Halcor switched his attention back to the soldiers. As the chimera leaped away after them, I realized that if I don’t do anything now, the probability of Halcor being classified as a monster will be permanent and there’ll be no hope left for him. I have to get through to him.
I channeled my magic into my horn and focused all of my attention on Halcor as he lunged at an earth pony. Before he could complete his strike, I teleported Halcor back over to me. Due to the momentum that was also transferred, when Halcor reappeared, he was thrown into the brick wall of a nearby building; collapsing the structure.
As the dust cleared, Halcor quickly freed himself from the remains of the fallen home. He soon glared at me with the most demonic eyes I have ever seen. If I’m going to do anything, now is my chance.
“Halcor, I know deep down this isn’t you; it’s that other half of yours! If you can hear me, then reclaim control of your body! Reclaim who you are!”
The chimera started walking to me.
“You have just got to believe in yourself! I know you can do it; you’re strong enough! Take back what is rightfully yours!”
Halcor suddenly stopped, as his face winced and he let out a groan.
“Come on fight it! I know you can do it! Come back to me! Halcor!”
Halcor stopped groaning and wincing, as his facial expression was now a mix of confusion and realization. “Twi…Twilight?”
He’s back to normal…He did it!
“Twilight…I’m so sorry….” Halcor began.
“It’s alright-“
Out of the blue, two soldier unicorns rushed in and impaled their horns deep into Halcor’s sides.
“HALCOR!” I gasped.
As Halcor’s expression changed to a shocked look, the unicorns withdrew their horns, as a small trail of blood disconnected from the tips. After that, Halcor slightly stumbled forward until he collapsed on the ground and weakly struggled; causing the knights to ready themselves and me rushing to Halcor’s aid.
“ALL OF YOU STAY BACK!” I ordered. The guards complied.
I examined the chimera’s wounds and was able to determine that one of the punctures reached his lungs, while the other one pierced his heart.
I tried not to stammer my words. “It’s going to be alright Halcor! I’m going to heal you!” I announced.
“Twilight…don’t!” Halcor gasped while his breathes shortened.
“What!? Why!?”
“Because Twilight….if it happens once…then it’ll happen again.”
“But I could help you! Please let me heal you!”
“Thi…think about it Twilight….I’m sorry, but no matter how hard we try….history will just repeat itself…”
As much as I don’t want to admit it, he’s right; we would only be hurting ourselves in the long run.
“So then…what should we do?” I quietly asked, while holding my sorrow.
“Ther…There is just one thing I want to ask of you….”
“What is it?”
“Twi…Twilight, if I am to killed here….then I want it to be by you.”
“Wha-What!? I-I can’t!” This is crazy what he’s asking me! I can’t kill one of my friends!
“I know what I’m asking you to do is hard…but please Twilight….for me. I’m going to die here anyways….I at least want to die at peace by someone I consider my friend…”
“Hal…halcor….” I could feel my cheeks become wet from the few streams of tears that had formed. I…I don’t want to do this…I don’t want to kill him. If only we didn’t discover the chimera kind, Halcor wouldn’t have to die. If only Halcor didn’t have to die! I’m…I’m sorry Halcor. “…Okay…..I’ll do it…”
I lowered my head and directed my horn at one of Halcor’s vitals. More tears poured out of me for each second I mentally refused to perform this act.
“I’m so sorry…” I sniffed
“Don’t be….because of you…..I don’t have any regrets. You went out of your way to befriend me even though I was hostile towards you….and you’ve shown me that there can be light no matter how dark things get…for all of that, I thank you…and will always consider you my good friend…..now please…”
By his command, I pushed forward…and felt the warmth of his blood coat my horn and seep against me.
“Thank….you……” Halcor gave one final gasp and fell silent…his eyes slowly shut…his expression was now void of pain and seemed somewhat peaceful…
I pulled back and couldn’t prevent myself from collapsing next to Halcor’s lifeless body and hugging him, while the rest of my tears shed down.
…Goodbye Halcor…..
*****
“Dear Princess Celestia, I am sending you this letter in regards of the chimera incident. What I have learned from all of this is we should not judge our fellow creatures solely based on the actions of another. These chimeras were suffering from their internal conflict with the split personality that resided in the subconscious of their other head. It is because of that said above that led to the tragic misunderstanding that ended with the horrible massacre of the chimera kind. These creatures are like you or I, or even any other pony; they share happiness, they share sorrow, and they care for each other like we do. The one chimera that you instructed me to study, Halcor, I’ll never forget his presence. When we became friends, I thought that maybe it would be possible to give him back a normal life. But since we were never able to achieve that goal and the whole event ended in his demise, it has left me saddened. Because of his death, it taught me that everypony will eventually die; we just don’t know when. It taught me to cherish the ones I love and once they pass away, to hold them ever so dearly in my heart; I know Halcor will have a special place in mine for the rest of my life. Sincerely your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.”
It has been a week now since Halcor’s death. Even though I only knew him for a week, it felt like it had been longer. There could have been so much more we could have done, so much more that Halcor could have lived for.
I look back at these past few days and can’t help but wonder if what I did was the right option. My brain tells me no, while my heart says there could have been a chance. I wish I knew the answer to this already…
“Twilight, breakfast is ready.” Spike called.
“Coming.” I situated my quill back into the ink pot and rolled up the letter to be delivered.
When I proceeded downstairs, I noticed that Spike had only set out enough plates and cups for two. After seeing that, I went to the cabinet where we kept all the dishes and telekinetically grabbed one more set and placed it on the table.
“What are you doing, Twilight?” Spike curiously asked.
“Even though Halcor is no longer with us; this place is his home as much as it is ours.”
Halcor, wherever your soul is now, if you can hear me, I hope you found happiness again.
The End.
