Blood of the CHIMERA

*Chapter 14: Scars**

February 9th, ---- 4:00 AM

Twilight sat at her desk, her hair a complete mess, and her eyes had bags under them like never before. To say she looked tired was an understatement. She was accompanied by the sound of a snoring lizard over in her bed, and she glanced over her shoulder at the teenager catching some Z's.

She remembered that as soon as they got back to the apartment, Twilight received a call from Celestia telling her to keep Spike there, along with news about Luna. She spent the rest of the night calming down her adopted cousin, who was pretty much like a little brother at this point, while everyone else was calming down Jacky over her cousin. Twilight didn't even try to go to sleep that night. Once Spike was asleep, she decided to put her efforts into her work; it was the best way to take her mind off things. But even so, it didn't always work. In front of her sat two open books, her laptop, and several papers to write down extra notes. Her mind was completely elsewhere.

Her aunt Luna, really her second godmother, was now a mutant running wild somewhere, and yet there was no sign of her. The worry crept into her mind as the thought of what could have happened to Luna lingered.

Once mutated into a chimera, they all go berserk with an uncontrollable rage that can't be easily controlled without medication. Those who stay in that state the longest nearly lose all sense of self. The longest subject recorded in that state was the first chimera ever to be captured and studied. On her computer were her notes on the subject, along with a photo of his original self and what he turned into.

A cat named Bobby Whiskers was a brown tabby who lived not far from the city. He often drove in and out of the city to work. One day, he never made it to work and never came home either. Eventually, a missing person report was filed, but after six months of searching, he was presumed dead. Meanwhile, reports of some large beast, once thought to be a bear, had people scared to death. Finally, a task force was put together to stop the bear and capture it humanely.

But when they finally did, the bear was no bear at all. No, it was a rather large and out-of-control cat. Once DNA tested, it matched that of the missing Mr. Whiskers. Yet with his capture, the reports of large and out-of-control wild animals continued pouring in, as did missing persons reports. Once captured and DNA tested, they were found to be like Mr. Whiskers. Something was going on. After twelve reports, the mayor had to step in and address it, calling it a disease.

That was months ago; in fact, it was the very same night Spike was kidnapped by a mutant bat pony, Fluttershy. There was a question that still remained, though. Yes, Fluttershy was studying fruit bats, so the idea that they just turned into creatures that they were in contact with made sense. Only there was a problem with that theory—several, in fact.

For one thing, she, nor did AJ or Dash come into contact with lion DNA. And a lion wouldn't explain her scorpion tail. Twilight was half-goat according to her horn, yet she had never been near a goat ever, and when asked, Rarity said she didn't even like caviar. So why the heck did she turn into a big fish? She wasn't near anything that could give her fish powers, and if that wasn't strange enough, Twilight also remembered trying to figure out what type of fish she was but came up with nothing. What creatures were they, anyway? What was the link between all of their mutations and their abilities?

Chimera—what a foolish name. A two-headed cat with one of a goat and a snake-like tail. Strangely, Mr. Whiskers did have a snake-like tail, and half his face looked like that of a goat, with a goat-like horn popping right out of his skull, just like Twilight's. She sighed as she looked at the photo and then down to a book she had open on goat horns. Unlike the others, though, she wasn't recently mutated within the last year; she had been mutated seven, almost eight years ago now. She yawned as she slowly drifted off to sleep. The memory of when she first came back to her senses played in her mind.

Twilight woke up as a small filly to the sound of a heart monitor tracking her rhythm. She tossed her head slightly as a sharp pain hit her forehead. Still, she fought the urge to just stay asleep and gained consciousness, opening her eyes to a bright white light standing above her. Her mind scattered as she couldn't remember a thing. Slowly, she set a hoof over her aching forehead and sat up on the bed she found herself in.

"Oh, you're awake! That's good; you gave us quite the scare there," said a doctor.

"Where am I?"

"You're safe," he reassured her with a friendly smile. "You're in the hospital," said a doctor pony.

"My… my parents? Where's my daddy?"

At the sound of this, the doctor grew worried in his eyes. He took a gulp and shifted a bit uncomfortably. "Umm, well, you see…"

"Thank you, doctor," said a familiar voice. The two turned to see the mayor, with a hopeful yet exhausted smile. "I'll take it from here." The doctor left, relieved not to have to tell the filly anything else. Twilight raised an eyebrow at the sight of the mayor. She did know her well enough; she was a friend of her mother's. Perhaps she knew where her parents were.

"Twilight Sparkle, do you remember me?" she asked almost pleadingly.

"Yes, Mrs. Kang. Do you know where Mommy is?" asked Twilight.

"Twilight," Mrs. Kang walked over and sat on the bed in front of her. "How old are you now?"

"Me? Oh, uh… eleven. Why?"

Celestia smiled, but her lip quivered as she tried to hold back tears. "Wow, eleven! You really are a big girl. Even so, I have something to tell you—something that isn't going to be easy to take, even if you were an adult."

Twilight tilted her head, but Celestia softly grabbed her chin and made her look her in the eye. "Twilight, I am very sorry, but your family has been missing for months now. And the only one they found was you. You've been in a coma."

"Huh?" Twilight said, not understanding the true nature of the situation. How could she understand, only being an eleven-year-old filly?

"As your godmother, I promise you we will never stop looking. But Twilight, you're going to have to come live with me now until we do find them. Is that alright?" she asked with a reassuring smile.

Twilight could only give a small nod as she slowly came to grips with the reality that her world had been shattered. Strangely, she only had one injury. On her forehead was a nasty cut that would leave a scar. Luckily, it was easily hidden by her hair, so she didn't have to worry about it. Still, due to the intense pain she felt, the doctors kept her on different medications to help make it go away—mostly painkillers that helped the body relax.

As the months passed and time went on, there was no sign of her parents. Twilight grew frustrated and angry, as one would expect. Anyone would, and at first, she, as well as everyone else, would think it was only her grieving.

"You're not looking hard enough!" she yelled at Celestia.

"Twilight, I'm doing all I can."

"No, no, you're not! Where are they? Where are my mommy and daddy? Where's my brother?" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Twilight," Celestia tried to grab her to give her a hug and calm her down, but Twilight was having none of it as her rage began to overtake her. "No!" Twilight responded and ran to her room, slamming the door. Once inside, she sat next to her time machine and began to bawl her eyes out, not even noticing that from her scar, a horn emerged from her head. She opened her eyes in the dimly lit room and saw something glowing in the reflection of the window that spooked her. Something had amber-glowing eyes with red slits. She jumped back at first, terrified, and covered her face, finding out about her new horn. She gasped as she felt it. She tapped it a few times, and she realized she could not only feel it with her hooves but feel it as if it was a part of her as well. She then looked at the reflection in the window. The eyes were still there, and soon she could see the horn as well, against the backdrop of the city.

As she moved, so did the reflection, and soon it was all too easy to figure out what the reflection was. It was her. At this moment, she should have been terrified, and she was, but she didn't care. She felt rage build up inside of her—rage she just wanted to let out—and with her anger came a mighty roar as a burst of light shot from her horn. Suddenly, a ball of fire hit the window. Luckily, it didn't break, but it left marks of ash around it.

Twilight's eyes widened as she stumbled back, falling over. She sat up, even angrier now, with tears in her eyes. She gritted her teeth as she let the rage out of her once more. Another blast of fire blew up some papers she had on her desk. Soon she blasted apart a few books, her school uniform, and was about to blast apart her Smarty Pants doll when she came to an abrupt halt, her eyes slightly widening as the anger subsided with the memory of the doll and who gave it to her. She walked over to the doll on her bed and picked it up in her hooves as the thought of Celestia giving her the doll crossed her mind.

Celestia had taken her shopping once she was released from the hospital, and she saw the doll on a toy shelf. She was much too short to grab it herself, but Celestia noticed how she eyed the doll and, with a smile, picked it off the shelf and handed it to her.

She curled up with the doll, and within seconds, fell asleep with it.

Twilight woke up to the sound of the TV on in the other room. She quickly looked at the time on her computer—it was 8:27. She had fallen asleep for a few hours. It wasn't enough, but it would have to do. "Spike," she called out softly to see where he was, but she did not find him in the bed.

She walked out of her room with a tired yawn as she stretched out to get her day started. To her surprise, she found Spike playing some type of game with her brother on the kitchen table.

"Okay, Spike, all you have to do is roll a six, and the—" Shining stopped mid-sentence as he noticed their company. "Well, good morning, sis," he tried to smile, but it was all too clear what kind of day it was for everyone in their expressions.

"Morning, you two. What are you guys up to?"

"Oh, Shining's teaching me how to play Dungeons and Dragons," Spike smiled.

His smile almost punched Twilight in the heart, but in a good way. She remembered how devastated he looked last night after finding out about Luna. While there was much sadness in his eyes, at least there was something to take his mind off the recent events, and she silently thanked her big brother for this.

She turned to the rest of the room to find Applejack sitting on the chair across from the couch where her cousin was. Pinkie Pie, now a mutant like her, lay unconscious.

Fluttershy left to go tell her brother.

Dash sat in the kitchen, though it was clear from her eyes that she hadn't slept. No one slept last night except Rarity, who more or less fainted after realizing the griffon she knocked out with her tail was Pinkie.

On the TV, the news was reporting about the message that was sent last night after the attack, along with the ten still missing chimera—nine, actually, since they didn't know where Pinkie was. But Twilight and her friends knew. Twilight made herself a bowl of cereal as she heard the message from the TV.

"Hello all citizens of Ponyville and all those in the world."* said a deep dark voice over a squiggly line that moved whenever the voice spoke.

"I have seen this world turned upside down by war, by all of you. Who am I? Simple, I am the Equalizer. I can make the world an equal place. How, you may ask? Simple: the chimera. You call it a disease, but I call it salvation. Think of it. With everyone as a chimera, no one is weaker or stronger; we're all, well, equal. There would be no more need for war or destruction; everyone would know true strength and would feel the same pain and rage. The formula is not yet perfect, but I can promise you soon I will be able to create the perfect chimera. Join me, join and become one of us—a perfect chimera beast. Be a part of the new revolution and salvation of the NEW WORLD ORDER."* yelled the deep voice before the video went blank.

Fluttershy walked to the building where she knew Mr. Ghost worked. She not only wanted to tell him about his sister; it was also a good excuse for her to have a word with him about the night before. She wanted to apologize for anything she might have done in her drunken state. She didn't even remember how she made it home; most of the night was a blur after she sang a bit on stage with him. All except for one moment she recalled so clearly—it scared her. She remembered kissing him. The feel of his lips on hers, the pressure both of them put into it. Being surrounded by his strong arms, if only lightly so as not to hurt her. The very thought was enough to send a shiver down her spine. *Why?* was all she could think. *Why did I do that?* She needed to see him again; she needed to clear things up and explain she was stupid drunk and that she just considered him a friend. But then again, what if he didn't accept it? What if she broke his heart? What if she wanted this? What if they both wanted it? What then?

Her mind was in knots, but she shook them away just before she knocked on the door, and it was his assistant who let her in. She remembered him from before but never told him her name. He was a tall, slender cat, but nowhere near as tall or slender as Mr. Ghost.

"Oh, Miss. Breeze! Nice to see you again," he said, holding the door for her.

"Nice to see you," she said, noticing the grin on his face.

"Mr. Capper, I have important news for Mr. Ghost, so if you please..."

"Of course, of course." The cat looked at his phone for the time. "He has an appointment soon, so keep it brief. As his assistant, it's my job to keep him on schedule. Believe me, he hates it when he's off."

"I know," she deadpanned before walking past him.

"He's upstairs—the only door down the hallway."

She gave a thankful nod before heading upstairs. She found herself in front of a strangely painted purple wooden door and approached it a bit cautiously. She didn't even know why, but a feeling of something she couldn't quite depict settled in her stomach as she approached the door.

She knocked on it as gently as her knock usually was, but she found the door already opened. She opened it wider, peeking her head through. "Um, hello. Mr. Uh, Ghost?" she said hesitantly.

She found herself in what looked to be an apartment, oddly painted. One wall was purple stripes, the other blue with yellow swirls. Yet it also looked like something out of an old-time movie with its curtains all hung around—black large curtains that let in no light at all. As she walked in, she noticed a kitchen in the back corner and a small dining set in the other next to a piano and some guitars hanging on the wall above it. She was in a living room with a fireplace, and above it was a strange painting that nearly frightened her.

She could not take her eyes off of it, as it seemed to draw her deeper into the room.

It was a painting of some strange amalgamation of creatures—a lion paw, an eagle claw, and a serpent-like body. Two large wings were on its back; one of them looked as if it were bleeding. It was a predator, judging by its large fangs, and it surrounded animals of prey.

A rather disturbing image, yet it seemed to fit the decor of the room, she had to admit.

She was suddenly startled by the sound of something rustling behind her. Something between a snore and a cry came from the couch. She decided to step over and take a look, and as she did, whatever it was began to thrash around.

Her eyes widened as she took in the sight of him. Dressed in a lab coat and glasses, in his sleep was none other than Mr. Ghost, thrashing around and shivering.

"Mr. Ghost," she called out, trying to wake him. Instead, he rolled over to the ground, muttering something she couldn't make out. She tried again but then realized he was breathing oddly, almost as if he was having a stroke or something. If not, she could hear his heartbeat even though her ear was nowhere near his chest. If it didn't slow down, she feared he would have a heart attack.

Suddenly, his eyes popped open, a look of fear in them as he muttered, "Help." He said in a hushed tone, "Help me, someone help!" He said a bit louder, but still it was barely audible as he shivered. He gripped the right side of his shoulder. "It hurts. God damn it, it hurts," he said, clutching his belly as if in pain, his breath becoming more frantic by the minute, beginning to hyperventilate.

"What hurts? What can I do? Please tell me," she asked him.

"I’ve been shot. I’ve been..." He took off his lab coat, revealing what he was talking about. "I’ve been shot," he said, shaking.

Indeed, he had been shot. There were two bullet wounds just above his belly—two small ones that left scars.

Fluttershy froze at the sight of him. He was skinny, even skinnier than Fluttershy first realized. But he wasn't completely out of shape, either, being slightly toned, if malnourished. But it wasn't his figure that had her so in shock; it was the scars.

She knew he was once in the war, but his body told a much more gruesome story. He had not only five bullet wounds of different calibers—one large one on the left of his shoulder, two small ones just below the stomach, and two tiny ones on his right arm—but above his stomach was a large stab wound. That must have been where he got hurt saving Mr. Cake that day in the story from long ago. As he tossed and turned, she could see his back—two large wounds, along with what looked to be burns, bruises and cuts that traveled over his shoulder and down his arms. But the worst one was across his chest. From the neck down, in a straight line all the way to the stomach on the right side was a nasty scar that concaved the right side of his body. It looked almost as if he had been cut nearly in half at one point, and it was terrifying to see. The slash looked like it could have been made by a sword or something.

"Who? Who are you? Where am I?" he asked, breathing erratic.

"Calm down, you have to calm down," she said, terrified for him.

"Who are you?" he growled as he scrunched up, as if in pain.

He seemed to be going for something in his pocket, but whatever it was, it couldn't help.

She didn't know what else to do but lunge at him and hold him tight. "Calm down!" she yelled.

He turned to toss her off, but for some reason, he just stopped and stared at her. As she held onto him, he could hear her heartbeat. He could feel it against himself and tried to match his breath to hers. It began slowly matching her rhythm, calming him down.

He didn't know how long he sat there, but when he finally had control of his breathing, he looked at her. She looked at him worriedly as he laid back against the end of the couch. She didn't even realize her hooves never moved from his chest. He sat for a moment, catching his breath, staring into her eyes.

She tensed up a bit, not realizing she felt the tough scarred skin below her hoof. Realizing she was holding on to him for too long, she immediately removed her hoof, a slight blush on her face.

Mr. Ghost instantly wished she hadn’t. He enjoyed her touch, the warmth—if only for a moment longer, he silently wished.

"What was that? Are you okay? Should I call you a doctor? We'll get you to the hospital," she said almost as quickly as Pinkie.

Suddenly, Fluttershy heard something splash onto the ground. It was a tiny splash, but she looked to see what it was. It was just simple water. As she looked, another drop fell into her view. That was the first time Fluttershy noticed her own tears.

"Are you alright then?" asked Mr. Ghost, mere centimeters from her face.

"Uh, yeah, I, uh…" she wiped away her own tears. "Do you need a doctor?"

"No, I'm sorry you saw me like that. I must have fallen asleep," he said, slowly coming close to her. They were centimeters away from each other; it would be so easy just for one of them to close the gap and kiss again. Fluttershy was frozen; she didn't know what to do. What could she do? Right now, if he kissed her, she would give in to it. He could easily make her his right now, and she would be lost in a daze. Did she want that? Did he want that? The question perplexed, excited, and scared her as she thought about it while he approached her, getting closer. But to her surprise, he didn’t kiss her. No, instead, he moved her—frozen body—out of the way a bit and stood up. As soon as he was up, he headed over to the counter of his kitchen, pouring himself a drink of something.

"Are you sure? Because…" she whimpered, despite still being frozen in her spot.

"I'm fine. I..." he sighed before continuing. "Was shot twice in the gut and survived," he said as if he were just remembering. "Yes, that’s right," he said under his breath. "The war ended over a decade ago, but it’s left its scars, I’m afraid," he said, looking away.

She said nothing, and a long pause between them spread before he spoke again.

"It’s just a little post-traumatic stress. I’m fine." He cleared his throat. "Of course, I had to have an episode today of all days," he rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Well, maybe we should get you to a..."

"No, no, no one, NO ONE, is to know about this! This is no one's business! YOU!" He growled. "YOU cannot tell a soul. Not even my advisers or assistant know; this is personal. So forget it ever happened."

"But you need medicine," she claimed and finally stood up, heading to him. "You need..."

"I have my medicine right here," he said as he began to take a gulp of his drink.

"So, what brings you here?" he asked, pouring himself another drink.

"Oh, I came to tell you about your sister."

"I already know."

This caught her off guard.

"My assistant was down there last night when he saw Pinkie heading to the library and was turned into a chimera." He said it so nonchalantly that it scared her a bit.

Seeing this, Mr. Ghost once again stepped closer to get a look at her. Tears began to trail down her face. She was so worried about him.

"Hey, it’s okay," he soothed. "I’m fine. Why do you ca—"

Just then Mr. Capper's voice came over a walkie-talkie that was on the wall. "Sir, your 1:00 opponent."

"Oh hell," he ran over to the walkie-talkie. "I am not missing it; pull the car around."

"Already did, sir," Capper said, a bit of humor in his voice.

Mr. Ghost ran over to a closet, pulled out a dress shirt, and quickly buttoned it up, threw on a tie, and grabbed a coat. In seconds, he went from looking like a wounded scientist who was sick from the war to a first-class businessman. "Where are those cufflinks?!" he grumbled.

Fluttershy looked around and found them on top of the banister. "Over here," she called out, picking them up. She approached him and held them out.

He quickly fixed them to his jacket before he began tying his tie. But before he could, she did it for him, catching him off guard. He stared at her in disbelief, but she only gave him a warm smile before she looked over and found his business suit hat on the coat rack and handed it to him. "I promise I won't say a word," she reassured him.

He stood in shock as he looked at her, tear lines down her face. Here she was, worried about him, even crying over him, and they had only known each other for so long. He wasn’t even her friend; why? was the only question he had. But instead of asking it, he shook his disbelief away and came close to her again, so he could look into her eyes. What was running through her mind was the hug he felt a moment ago. She was so warm and comforting; he wanted to feel that again. But instead, he only took his hat. His hoof just brushed against hers; the slightest touch was almost too much for him. He began questioning why—why did he feel this way? What could he do? A thought crossed his mind of just grabbing her and kissing her right then and there, like he did the night before. His mind instantly reminded him of the warmth he felt last night with her asleep on top of him, but instead of indulging his thoughts any longer, he simply turned away from her and began to head down the hall, stopping at the stairs. "Thank you," he called back to her before he continued on his way, leaving her with a smile and a thumping heart.

Twilight ate her bowl of cereal as she watched Celestia take the stand on her TV to address the attack that happened last night. She breathed in and let out a shaky breath before she began her speech.

"Citizens of Ponyville. I was just attacked last night by someone who called themselves the Equalizer. Their goal was obvious: to turn me and everyone here into a chimera… a raging beast. Yes, I don’t like the name Chimera, for it’s simply a creature of fiction. This, though, this is real… we have a terrorist within our midst terrorizing this fair city. My sister was one of 14 victims last night. Innocent lives were turned into beasts, and we will find a cure, and we will put a stop to the Equalizer—this I swear on my sister's LIFE!"

She stomped her hoof. The reporters all jumped up excitedly to ask questions as usual.

"Miss. Kang! Miss. Kang! Are we doomed? Miss. Kang, what will you do to fight back? Miss. Kang, is the cure ready yet? Mrs. Kang, does that mean this disease is made in a lab?"

Suddenly the reporters all stopped as a long black familiar car drove up. Celestia looked at the car with skepticism. The driver of the car got out and walked over to let its owner out. The crowd fell quiet as Mr. Ghost came onto the scene. The crowd said nothing and made room for him as he walked up to the front of the stage.

"Mr. Ghost," Celestia frowned.

"Hello, Mrs. Kang. My deepest condolences for what has happened to your sister," he said, giving a slight bow, "and to all those who have also suffered."

"Oh, thank you, but that isn't why you came here today, is it?" she asked in a dry tone.

"Unfortunately, no."

"What is it? I'm in the middle of addressing the city as mayor."

"Oh, that's the thing, Mrs. Kang. While I do feel for your situation—and believe me, I do—I am simply here to take your job," he smirked cockily.

With that, everyone gasped and turned to him.

Twilight, still watching the TV from her home, angrily raised her eyebrows but said nothing, as Celestia shook her head in confusion.

Mr. Ghost grabbed a mic from one of the reporters. "Listen well, citizens of Ponyville. In these troubling times, I must ask you: can you rely on your city's leadership? Now while it is true Celestia has just lost a member of her staff and family, I have to ask: is she well enough to actually do what is necessary? Does she have a level head in all of this, or is the stress of running a city and seeing her own beloved sister turned into a chimera right before her eyes too much for her?"

Mr. Ghost then turned around and got up on a chair so he could stand higher.

"For too long this disease has plagued our city. For too long, we have put our faith in her leadership, and look at where it has gotten us. Too many innocent lives—too many families—have been torn apart due to all of this. And while I am a private man, let me tell you, it wasn't just Luna who was one of the 14 victims last night. Why, it was my own sister who also got mutated. I shall not reveal her name; simply put, we’re not close. But still, my own family is hurt. Why? Because of her." He pointed at Celestia. "She has failed in her duty to protect this city. She has failed all of you. Will you let her fail again? She orders the National Guard—those who are not even part of our city—to help. But this is our city. Our home! Are we really going to stand down and let the government take over while we sit and wait for a terrorist to strike again?"

He then pointed directly into a camera. "I say new leadership is needed, and yes, I'm throwing my hat in the ring," he said as he popped off his hat, letting it roll down his arm and catching it with his hoof. "But if not me, that’s fine. Just someone else. But before any other candidates decide to try to sit in that chair, let me ask you this one question: Do you have a plan, because I do?" He grinned as he jumped off the chair, handed the mic back, and began to walk back to his car.

All the reporters tried to get his attention, but he ignored them as he got in, the car taking off immediately.

The cameras stayed pointed at the spot he left.

In her home, Twilight narrowed her eyes at the television as she began questioning who Mr. Ghost thought he was to come in there and say such nonsense.