Author's Note

I have finally got 400 views I would like to thank everyone who gave it a chance at the very least, for reading my work

Chapter 13 The Game Begins

Chapter 13: The Game Begins

February 8th, 11:00 PM ----
As they drove through the streets of the town, Fluttershy marveled at the shiny lights and laughed the night away without a care in the world about where they were going. He drove her to the edge of the city and up a rather dark hill.

She watched as the lights around her shined like the sky above her, humming 'Infamous Rara' as she nuzzled into him.

She never even noticed how the lights of the city began to lower and lower until she was right above them. "Wow, it's like an ocean of stars," she told him happily.

As for Mr. Ghost, his eyes flickered between the road and the pony in his rearview mirror, adjusting it slightly to get a better look at her for a moment before continuing on his path. Suddenly, the bike came to a halt as he switched off the engine.

"Why'd we stop?" she pouted. "I was having fun."

"Yes, but I thought you might enjoy this next spot, huh?" He wiggled an eyebrow and got off the bike, taking her arm.

They stopped on the side of the road on a tall mountain. A little fence there to keep the cars on the road stopped the bike from going any further, but he stepped over that and onto the grass, guiding her along.

She still had her pouty face and whined, "But I want to keep riding."

"And we will, we will. I just thought you might want to see this." He said and gestured to the cliff.

On it was a beautiful old willow-like tree that swayed in the wind. She smiled and gasped as she got to the edge. Below her was the city. It shined and looked so pretty, yet it looked so small. The cars looked like ants from this height. Normally she would be afraid of such a height, but being drunk, she had no fear at all. He chuckled as he watched her marvel at the sight below.

"The city looks great, but what about the skies above?" he whispered towards her. She looked up, and there they were, just far enough away from the city lights to see the stars.

Not too many, but enough to enjoy. There were a few clouds, even some below them, but otherwise it was quite clear. If anything, it looked like a painting, the city below under the stars as she stood on top of the cliffside of a mountain.

"Oh Ghosty, this is amazing."

"Ghosty?" He questioned in his head, but let it go, instantly knowing she was drunk.

"How did you ever find this place?" she asked.

"As a kid, mostly. I don't come here too often anymore, but..." He looked out at the scenery. "I used to come to this very edge and stare out into the skies above," he sighed a bit sadly. "It was so nice and I..." He let out a breath of air. "I just feel free when I'm here. And this tree," he said as if he was reminiscing, "this tree I like to think of as my thinking tree," he placed a hoof on its bark. "I come here only when I have an issue I'm trying to solve. Which back then was every day," he said with a faraway look.

She looked over to the side away from the city and noticed a dense forest.

"That's Everfree," he told her, noticing her gaze. "I've been there once or twice; it actually does have a little town in the middle of the forest. Otherwise, this road is the cut-off. You turn left, you head to Cloudsdale; you turn right, you come here. Just above us," he pointed at the cave up the mountain, "used to be a mining tunnel. My bar is at the foot of this hill, actually. We're just on the other side of it is all." She nodded at his words, mesmerized by the sight of it all.

Dash slowly came to her senses as she heard tapping in the background. When she finally opened her eyes, she found herself tied to a chair. She found herself in a dark interrogation room, the kind a spy would use in a TV show. Only this wasn't a TV show; this was her real life, and she slowly began to panic as she heard a familiar voice call to her, but now it sent shivers down her spine.

"Well, well, well, look who's finally awake," said a familiar voice.

Her eyes shot wide as she looked upon the figure in the dark. She turned on a light, and it slightly blinded Dash for a moment. "A.K. Yearling?" Dash questioned.

"You're one of his workers," A.K. Yearling growled before lunging at Dash, tilting her chair back. "So tell me, Colors, what do you know of the Chaos King?"

"The... the Chaos King?" she asked nervously.

"Your boss!" A.K. Yearling yelled.

"No, no, I don't know anything, I swear." She sputtered frantically.

A.K. Yearling was about to stomp on Dash's head, but Dash harnessed her chimera powers. Her boots and fake hooves fell off, revealing her claws. She shot wings through her shirt and used her agility to catch her attacker off guard. Her face quickly grew colorful feathers as her muzzle fell off, revealing her beak.

A.K. Yearling was taken by surprise but quickly gained the upper hand by swiping the chimera off her feet with a kick, tripping her over. She then pulled out her own gun and pointed it at the creature's head.

"Wait, wait! Let me explain! I am Zap, one of the heroes capturing mutants."

A.K. Yearling nodded, "I know of you. So, are the heroes working for the Chaos King then?"

"No, no! We're trying to stop him! I was undercover; I didn't know those were weapons. Had I known, I would have stopped them. My friends and I were mutated by the Chaos King, and we're trying to capture him. We just don't know who he is. Honest!" she said, a bit panicked.

A.K. Yearling narrowed her eyes; she was so close to pulling the trigger when a voice called out.

"Lower your weapon, Agent Tempest."

Dash's eyes widened once again. "I know that voice," she said as a familiar pony stepped into the light.

"I know this one personally; she is a friend of my daughter," said the white pony in a grey business suit.

"Mr. Shine?" Dash asked worriedly.

"Thunder King, I had this under control," Tempest announced.

"Oh sure you did, and that's why you were about to shoot her." Mr. Shine narrowed his eyes at her, but then put on a friendly smile, the same friendly smile he used when they met at the gala, though he didn't say much then.

"Dash Rainbow, my apologies for my subordinate's mistreatment of you. But you see, this is a national security issue." He walked over to Dash and held out his hoof.

Dash looked at it and then back to him as the feathers on her back stood on all ends.

After a moment of not taking his hand, Mr. Shine lowered it as he spoke again. "Yes, well, it seems we have found ourselves in quite a dilemma. The Chaos King is a serious threat to the..."

"I know! That's why my friends and I want to stop him. After all, it was him who mutated us."

"You and your friends," he said as sternly as possible. "Tell me the truth, Mrs. Rainbow." His voice deepened a notch to show how serious his tone was. "Is my daughter also a chimera?"

Dash's eyes widened a bit more, though at this point her eyes couldn't get much bigger. She was in quite the shock, but she knew she had to come clean here. She lowered her head solemnly, closing her eyes.

With her expression, Mr. Shine already knew the truth. "I see," he said with a trembling voice full of pain. "One thing I wanted more than anything was to keep my daughter..." He trailed off as he winced.

Dash wished she was lying as she watched the director, but he quickly gained his friendly composure with his next words.

"You're working undercover, is that right? Trying to infiltrate their ranks?"

Dash nodded to confirm it.

"Alright, you were there the night of the gala. Did he have you perhaps look at a computer or something?"

"I wasn't working for him at the time. We just went there to have some fun," Dash shrugged, trying to ease the tension in the room.

"The night of the gala, we had a security breach; data showing the locations of our bases were copied and downloaded by the Chaos King. How, I am not sure," Mr. Shine stepped past Dash with his arms behind his back. "The Chaos King is planning something, something that could put this whole city, if not the world, in jeopardy. The question is, what?"

January 18 ---- 9:05

"Sigh. It's begun," said Junior as he looked at his sister.
"Our mission isn't to stop the outbreak; it's to stop him," she reminded her brother. Snow then began to fall, and the two of them looked up at the dark grey skies. The two, as always, sat on the back of their motorcycle. "I hope Aunty was right about all this," he said with a tired voice, as if he aged a hundred years right then and there. "Did you find Sugar Cube Corner yet?" she asked.

Still looking up at the snow, he handed her a piece of paper. "Here's the address." She took it, scanning it with her eyes. "Hopefully, we can get there before it's too late," she said as she revved up the engine and took off.

Celestia walked up onto the stage in front of her town hall.

Cameras flashed, and the reporters lifted their mics and recorders, all excited to hear what she would have to say.

She gave a smile as she always did but wasted no time getting into the nitty-gritty of the situation.

"My fellow citizens of Ponyville, I am glad to say that with the help of these masked heroes, capture has been easier and easier. That isn't to say I trust them—no, far from it. But I cannot deny their results. My message to whoever these masked heroes are is simple: thank you for your contribution to keeping this city safe. But please turn yourselves in. If only asking were that simple; no one listens to that, do they? Especially in this town. I have talked with Sombra Kang, my husband and leader of the Equestrians; he has agreed to send the National Guard to help us in our time of need. The entire city must be quarantined for the safety of the city and of this world. Rest assured that we are making progress on finding a cure for the infection..."

She was cut off by the sound of a gunshot. Her sister, who was standing off to the side, leaped over to her, tackling her to the ground, only to be hit by a bullet in the neck.

"Yeash, Twilight needs to learn how to check out fewer books," Spike growled as he struggled to carry the heavy books down the road. AJ only smiled at that. She was walking Spike home, but as soon as she heard the screams of terror coming from up ahead, her expression fell.

"Uh, do you hear that?" asked Spike.

"Yeah, come on! We've got to get back to Twilight." She tossed the heavy books aside to deal with later. Spike copied her movements as the two ran in the opposite direction.

Fluttershy twirled around and headed to the tree, giggling as she went. Mr. Ghost watched her as she danced; her eyes were wide and her smile bright. Though his gaze drifted everywhere but her eyes, she is quite the pretty mare. He sighed blissfully in his mind. "Wait, wait, what am I doing?" He shook his head. But when he heard her trip while trying to step towards him, she nearly fell off the side of the mountain. As she began losing her balance, he caught her by the waist and pulled her close, only trying to help her onto her feet.

But to his surprise, she looked up into his eyes and began to get closer to him. But when her little voice giggled again, catching every bit of attention he had, his eyes caught hers, and he could even see how the stars sparkled within them. She lowered her head and snuggled into his chest; he could feel how close she was, how warm she was. He was at a loss for words. He didn't know how to respond to a mare being so close to him, and it showed in his stiff posture.

"You're so sweet for doing this. You've always been so sweet to me," she sighed into his jacket.

At first, nothing she said registered with him because he was in a full daze, lost beyond what he could say or do.

A.K. Yearling was skeptical of Dash, but she asked in a calm manner, "So what do you know of the Chaos King?"

"I wish Shadow Star was here instead; she's the brainy one. All I know is that this guy mutated us into chimera; he owned a bar and was in charge of a group called Chaos Vill. We do believe Chaos Vill and him are connected, so I infiltrated to get proof, but I have yet to meet the boss. And you, how are you involved in this anyway?"

"That is easy; we are the E.S.A., after all," Mr. Shine told her.

"So, so you're a spy? Oh, that's so cool!" Dash nearly squealed at the thought. "Daring Do, you're the real Daring Do."

She slumped, "Yes, I'm a spy—or was. I've been on a case for a very long time, and I'm this close to catching the big bad himself in all of this."

"We're just trying to cure all the chimera and bring him to justice." She then grew excited. "So those Daring Do books..."

"Hmm, oh those, they are just a way to make an extra buck. A girl’s gotta eat."

"You're Daring Do," Dash claimed happily.

A.K. Yearling sighed. "You can call me Shadow, Tempest Shadow."

"Those adventures, they were real, huh?"

"That's enough," Mr. Shine chimed in, a bit tired of the conversation. "The question is, what now?" he huffed.

"Boss, if I may, we could use this one."

"Use her? She's my daughter's friend."

"Boss," Tempest said dully.

"No," Mr. Shine growled. "I will not let these escapades continue. I'm going to make sure my daughter has nothing else to do with this at all."

"Mr. Shine," Dash spoke up. "Rarity is strong due to her being a chimera, and I am willing to help in any way I can, please."

"I will not put my daughter's life on the line; she's in enough danger as it is," growled Mr. Shine.

"Just be thankful she's alive," Tempest shouted at him.

He lowered his face to hers, but Tempest never backed down. "Don't let your personal feelings get in the way of this, because if you do, you’ll end up like me," she said bitterly.

"Really? Because it seems you're letting your personal feelings guide your way here, Mrs."

"My family's gone; you still have yours."

"Exactly, and I'm not gonna let my family be in danger."

"The King is far too strong; you and I both know he's a chimera," Tempest told him.

Dash watched the two older ponies exchange. "Umm," she said, wanting to interrupt but not knowing how.

Mr. Shine sighed. "I will let you take this one as an apprentice, but my daughter stays out of it," he told Tempest. He then turned his attention to Dash. "Not a word of this is to be said to anyone; none of your friends are to know anything about this, especially Rarity. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir." Dash stood at attention and saluted him.

"Congratulations then, welcome to the E.S.A. From here on out, you are to call me the Storm King, and this is Tempest Shadow. As for you..."

"Zap," Dash interrupted him and held out her hoof.

"Alright, Agent Zap," Mr. Shine shook her hoof.

Just then, another agent, this time a dog, came running in. "Storm, we got an issue; the mayor's been attacked."

"What?" Mr. Shine uttered in disbelief.

Guards began blocking off the citizens from the crime scene, trying to control the pure chaos of the streets. They all ran in fear as more shots went off. "Seven, no, eight shots," one of the guards said, rushing the mayor and her unconscious sister down the stairs.

"Luna," Celestia cried. "Luna, please speak to me," she said as she came close to her little sister.

"Strange. She was shot, but there is no blood; perhaps she just got knocked out," said a member of the medical team. "Well, we have to stay here and wait for an ambulance," shouted the guard pony.

Luna herself began to toss and turn, with a few moans showing she was coming to. "Oh, Luna, thank heavens. Luna, please wake up," cried her sister. Suddenly Luna shot open her eyes as she began to scream from the pain. A horn emerged from her head, as did two feathery wings.

"Luna!" shouted the mayor. But the guard pony grabbed her and pulled her away just in time as the now-chimera Luna took flight, her eyes glowing yellow with red slits like a snake. She then burst through the wall, taking flight.

The camera dog shook Mrs. Tails the cat, trying to make sure she was okay. She was breathing, and there was no blood to be seen, but she was definitely hit with something. Out of nowhere, catching him off guard, Mrs. Tails jumped up and grew four large goat horns out of her head. Her eyes glowed yellow as she began to go crazy. More shots were fired at the crowd as more emerged into chimeras.

Arriving on the scene, the masked vigilantes looked down from the building above. Shadow Star (Twilight) and the others looked at the chaos below. "Ahh man," Mistress Marvelous said. "It takes all of us to take out one chimera, how many do we have?"

"Six or seven, and counting," sighed Radiance.

"Come on, guys! It's gonna take all of us to deal with this," Spike chimed in, dressed in his Halloween costume. "Remind me to make you a suit later on," Rarity said with a bit of disgust for the lazy outfit Spike wore. "Right behind you, Spike," Target said, readying his tranquilizers. "All right then, let's do it!" Shadow Star smiled confidently.

The team all jumped down at the call to action from Shadow Star. Residence dove into the fountain and turned into a giant seahorse. She then began using her flippers to slap the strange chimera. There was a half-chicken, half-pony, a dog with a snake's body, and a half-lizard, half-zebra creature who all got slapped. While it did stop them for a moment, the chimera only turned their attention and hatred toward her as they leapt at her. Residence was pretty much defenseless if not for her extremely hard scales. Luckily for her, Mrs. Marvelous was able to swoop in with her scorpion-like tail and defend her friend. "Thanks for that," she huffed.

"No problem, but we haven't got the manpower to deal with all of this," she shook her head.

"I agree, you need some help!" said Dash, voicing over the communicator. "And luckily, the cavalry is here." She used her speed to knock out a half-turtle, half-dog with deer antlers.

"Okay, I admit that helps quite a bit," smiled the manticore pony.

Twilight used her back hoof to kick a griffin dog on the ground, while Spike was escorting civilians away from the scene. "It's okay, just follow me," he told a few scared ponies and a large dog.

"Even so, we have to put a stop to whoever is shooting those darts," she told AJ. "On it," Target told her as he shot at where the shooter was. The shooter saw him and took off. "You're not getting away!" shouted Target as he took off after him. "Shadow Star, up ahead of you, the shooter’s getting away."

She looked up in the direction of the building and found a shadow moving quickly through the windows. "On it!" she called back and took after him.

Fluttershy looked up with a smile on her face as she tried to close the gap between them, her lips puckered slightly.

At that moment, Mr. Ghost internally panicked. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! What are you doing?" he asked her.

"I was gonna kiss you," she pouted.

"Kiss me? Why?"

"Cause you've been so sweet, and I want to," she replied happily, swinging her head around.

He then chuckled slightly. "You're kidding; you're drunk. I'm drunk. I mean, I'm pretty sober compared to you, but I had a few drinks, and you—you look so pretty, and we're here under the stars. You've got to be kidding me!" He chuckled nervously.

"No, I'm not!" she said, annoyed at him.

He began laughing, swaying back and forth as he facepalmed.

"I like you, alright? What's the big deal?" she stomped.

"What? You want to kiss me?" he argued.

"Yes, I do!" she argued back.

"Really? You sure about that?" he growled.

"Yes, I am," she huffed.

"All right, fine!" he waved his arms out.

"Yes! I—wait, what?" she replied, expecting a fight.

"If you're so keen on it, then do it! But only a peck, you got that?" he snarled.

Her mood brightened as she jumped into his arms slightly, knocking him back against the tree.

Mr. Ghost caught her in his arms as she smashed her lips against his, pinning him to the tree. Due to the height difference, he had to hold her in place.

What was supposed to be a little peck on the lips quickly became a full-blown kiss. The feel of her against him, his lips against hers, only made him hungrier for more as he pulled her closer. He felt himself lose all sense of focus as something awakened in him—something primal, as he let her take control.

Anyone who saw them would think the two were madly in love the way they did, eyes closed tightly shut. Mr. Ghost mentally blamed his intoxication and hers for that but didn’t fight it, as a growl of pleasure escaped him. But not one that a pony would make. It sounded more like one of a wild beast. Enjoying the kiss, he let his claws drift down her backside. He could feel her warmth against his claw tips. *Wait, claws!* He opened his eyes a bit in horror, but they weren't his usual eyes; they were glowing amber snake-like eyes. She, however, kept hers tightly shut, never even realizing the change in grip from hoof to claw.

His neck was now longer than it was; he stood taller than he did a moment ago, and his limbs were that of a lion and eagle claw. He felt his hat nearly fall off due to the growing horns he had under it. He needed to stop this; he couldn't risk her finding out. She began to pull away, and with it, he feared she would open her eyes and see his true self. He forcefully put more pressure into the kiss, not letting her get away as he quickly began to morph his claw and paw back into hooves and lowered his head ever so slightly, so she didn’t notice the differences in height.

It morphed back to what he had before as they eventually separated.

Both stood gasping for air, a bit stunned. He was fearful, but she only figured it was because he was nervous and simply laid her head against his chest. He leaned against the tree, still in disbelief of the night's events.

Dash was able to get better control of the fight from the air. She zapped several flying chimeras with her lightning powers as Radiance punched them and then caught the unconscious ones, setting them down easily. "Where is Saddle Rager when you need her?" Dash called out.

"I don't know! She said something about going out with some old friends," Shadow Star called out.

"Never here when you need..." Dash was cut off as suddenly a strange pink creature tackled the griffin to the ground. Was it another griffin, or something else entirely?

The creature had a beak like hers but was not part lion. No, instead it was part eagle. The creature was definitely some type of horse. It was a hippogriff—a pink one with a curly pink tail. It was running wild as it giggled insanely. Its eyes were bright yellow with red slits, as all chimeras had. It drove Dash into the ground, laughing the entire time. Dash looked up at its attacker, mesmerized. "Uh, guys, we have a problem."

"Dash!" Rarity called out and whacked the creature with her tail. Only the creature didn't go flying; instead, it stayed out of her reach and attacked, knocking her to the ground. She screamed as she looked at the beast, terrified. But then her expression fell as she recognized the creature.

Mistress Marvelous came to her rescue, whacking the creature away with its tail. She then helped Fluttershy up onto her feet before looking at the chimera about to defend her and her friend. Her expression fell, tears began to swell up in her eyes.

"Is it just me, or does that chimera look familiar?" asked Zapp (Dash).

"Pinky!" cried AJ.

The shooter was dressed in all black, with a helmet on, but it was clearly a cat by the body shape. She took off after it as it dove into another building. Shadow Star wasted no time jumping in through the window and smashing the glass.

"Hold it right there!" she raised her tranquilizer gun at him. But the cat kicked the gun out of her hoof. He was agile and quick; she barely had time to block his next move. He was a tall, slender cat, and in these tight spaces, he had the upper hand. He jumped from one wall to the next, punching and kicking her with what only could be described as kung fu moves.

Shadow Star had never gone up against someone who had this much agility. Though the punches and kicks did little due to her being a chimera, she stood on the defensive; she couldn't even think of getting a good hit on him. He spun around, whacking her with his tail and doing a backflip kick into her jaw as he landed on all fours. The kick drove her back into a wall; she slid down with a moan, struggling to stay conscious. With his opponent down, the cat ran out of the building and jumped into a car. Twilight heard him drive away.

Moments later, her brother came in. "Twilight, where's the shooter? Are you okay?"

"Got away," she huffed. "And I'm fine, just a little beat up," she moaned.

"No, no, no, no," Jacky shook her head. "No, not her, not my cousin!" she whined.

Pinky snarled, giggled, then attacked. Luckily, Rarity used her fishtail to slap Pinky down to the ground.

"Well, all the other chimeras are dealt with," she said as she removed her tail from the unconscious beast.

"I got Twilight, but the shooter got away. Whoever did this was a master at fighting," Target's voice came over the communicators.

"Is Twi alright?" asked Spike.

"No, but I will be," her voice said, to the relief of the others. "Come on, we have to go before the task force takes us in."

"No! No, I'm not leaving her!" Jacky said as she sniffled and picked up her cousin.

"Jacky," Dash began.

"Help! She needs help; she's family, and family helps," Applejack said as the hippogriff lay on her back. "Okay, okay," Dash said, taking Pinky's back hooves. "We'll get her back and she can become one of us."

Jacky shook her head. "Why? Why my cousin? Why Pinky?"

In a car rushing down the road, the driver took off his helmet, revealing Capper the cat. He then pulled out a phone and immediately called someone.

Mr. Ghost lay with his head back against the tree, staring out into the sky. He watched as a simple leaf fell off the tree branch and was carried away by a soft breeze, his expression unreadable. He slowly stroked a piece of fine, soft pink hair with his hooves. Fluttershy passed out not long after their kiss and lay on top of him, snoring away.

He silently cursed himself for letting her get the upper hand on him; even more so that he almost lost control and showed his true self to her. Yet he didn't fight the urge to run his hoof through the beautiful mare's hair that lay on top of him, as he imagined instead of a hoof it was a claw. As he did, she gave a restful sigh in her sleep, and the sound of this made his grumpy demeanor fall to the wayside as he felt at peace. A smile tugged at his lips as his gaze dropped from the floating tree leaf down to the pony by his side, only to be interrupted by his ringtone.

"And..." he asked as he answered his phone.

"Sir, I'm sorry; the mission failed. I had to abort."

"Oh, and why is that?" he asked in a bored tone. His anger couldn't even fluster at the moment with her by his side.

"Sir, you are not near a television, are you?"

"No, I'm on my way home. Why?" he lied; the last thing he wanted to do was admit to Capper he was currently in a romantic setting with a sleeping mare on top of him.

"The town hall was attacked. Several civilians—I don't know how many—were turned into chimeras."

"Interesting. I'll have to think of my next move then," he said back.

"Sir, I'm sorry to tell you this, but..."

"But what?" he muttered grumpily.

The cat took in a deep breath and let it out through his nose before he continued. "Sir, your sister was turned into a chimera."

The phone for a moment stood quiet.

"Sir?" Capper asked.

"Very well," said Mr. Ghost, whose voice was emotionless. "The innocent I cannot always prevent from getting hurt. Get back to the hideout and let them all know to lay low while I think of a new plan. I can use this to my advantage," he said with an almost cheerful voice now that would have disturbed Capper had he not been used to it. "Yes, sir," he replied before he hung up the phone.

As Mr. Ghost set his phone down, he raised his sights back to the skies above him. "Well, at least I'm at my thinking tree." He raised his hand from her hair; she shifted a bit in her sleep but otherwise didn't wake up. "Now I just need to think." He stroked his beard as his eyes flickered from his normal ruby red to snake-like.