Blood of the CHIMERA

“Fascinating,” Twilight said as she examined a scale marked in red with a power number.

“What is it, Twilight?” asked Applejack, in a lab coat.

“Well, these readings are off-the-charts in terms of electromagnetic power…”

“Hun, I’m a biologist of fruit; you’re gonna have to explain a bit.”

Twilight grinned ear to ear, excited about the possibilities. “Well, AJ, you know how this purple liquid keeps changing?”

AJ nodded.

“The power to do that is incredible. I have never seen anything like it. It's like the molecules, the very atoms of the DNA structure, are constantly changing—broken down, split, and reattached in all sorts of ways.”
She showed AJ the device in her hoof, still with a huge grin on her face. “This measures power output. And from these readings, what we have here is close enough to the power a nuclear plant puts out.”

At that, AJ jumped. “So uh, does that mean it’s radioactive?”

“That’s the biggest shock, AJ. It doesn’t put out anything harmful like radio waves; all it puts out is an electromagnetic field of energy.”

Twilight opened a drawer and pulled out a compass, and it pointed straight to the substance. “It just holds a very strong magnetic field. There are no ill effects from it at all, unless it comes in contact with any living strand of DNA. Then it solidifies into gold.”

“Gold?” asked AJ.

“Yeah. All our blood, our DNA samples, hold a golden compound right in the middle of our genome.”

“Well, that’s strange.”

“Yeah. It's a darn shame. This could be used to help many people. We could power an entire city with just a gallon of this stuff. But instead, it’s…” She frowned. “It’s being used to do evil.”

“Okay, well now we know how it works. Is there any way to reverse it?”

“No idea, AJ. Once it solidifies the gene, it would take just as much energy to remove it. But the chances of anyone surviving a treatment like that…”

Twilight didn’t finish her sentence. She didn’t have to. AJ already got the idea. “So, okay, if we can’t cure it, at least we can stop others from using it, right?”

“Right,” Twilight replied. “Any leads as to where this stuff came from?”

“Me and the gang have been trying to track down, well, you know,” she said, a bit apprehensively. “But we still got no leads.”

Twilight looked away from her in thought.

“Twi, we could really use your…”

Before AJ could finish her sentence, Rarity came bursting through the door. In a sing-song voice, she said, “We’re back, and look at what I brought!” Not far behind her was Fluttershy, shy as always with half her hair covering her face, but a smile nonetheless.

Twilight was thankful to be interrupted; she still didn't want to talk about her brother.

“Are those our new costumes?” asked AJ.

“Yes, darling! Finished them only this morning. Here’s yours and Twi, here’s yours.” She looked around, “Where’s Dash?”

“Out on patrol with Spike,” Twilight told her.

Just then, the TV, which was on in the background, playing the basic news channel, erupted to life. “Breaking news, everybody, breaking news,” said the female cat reporter. “This just in: a chimera attack on the east side of the city down Candy Lane. To my surprise, it’s two chimeras. A blue griffin is fighting what looks to be a cross between a wild boar and a dog. If you are in the vicinity, you should evacuate immediately for safety.”

“Well, a good time to try our new costumes,” AJ said. Twilight nodded. “Okay, team, get ready as quickly as you can. Looks like Dash is already on the…” Just then, Spike called, “Hello." Fluttershy said, answering the phone.

“HELP!!! Dash is fighting off a—”

“We know; we saw it on the news. We’ll be right there,” Fluttershy told him.

“Hey, that reminds me, Spike. Did you ever find those two you were searching for?”

“Not yet, Twi,” he replied. “They’ve totally escaped.”

Down an alleyway sat the two odd siblings in questioning.

“You know we didn’t have to run away like that. They could have helped us find him,” said Jr., trying to fix his watch.

“They are not supposed to know we exist, dumb-dumb,” his sister said, fixing the bike… again.

“Hey, that bed was comfortable! We haven’t slept in a nice bed like that since we were seven.”

“And if you want the world to sleep in nice beds, we have a mission to complete.”

“But…”

“But nothing!” she yelled, catching him off guard.

Seeing a look of hurt in her brother's eyes, she sighed. “Look, I’m sorry, okay? I know ever since Mom died we’ve been on the run, and it hasn’t been easy.”

Her brother crossed his arms with a sulking face.

“And I know that after all we've been through, a world like this, with great comfort, is tempting.”

He looked away from her, but she got up and pulled his chin to look at her.

“But don't forget why we came,” she said in a pleading tone.

“I’m not, sis. I just don’t see why we can’t enjoy this time too,” he said, removing her hoof from his chin.

“I mean, look, we have at least a year—plenty of time to live the good life and complete the mission. I'm just tired of living on the streets. That place back there had pancakes. Pancakes, like Mom used to make. I mean, don’t you want to at least eat pancakes?”

At that, her stomach gurgled her answer. She sighed. “Bro, I'll make you a deal. We’ll get pancakes at the next diner.”

He smiled excitedly at that.

“But…”

He rolled his eyes at her shift in tone.

“We've got to keep moving. We have to find Pops or we’ll never be able to stop what’s coming.”

With that, Jr.'s expression turned to a concerned one, and he then gave her a swift and determined nod.

“Good, because we're never going back there, not ever again. Now come on, help me fix this bike.”

“Okay. But perhaps we should find some new parts for it.”

“No,” she said, determined. “This bike is original. What about you? You want to get a new watch?”

“Just a part or two.”

“And how many parts do we get before it's a totally different object?” she said with a scowl.

He looked at his watch and then back to her. “Okay, okay, I get it,” he said, grabbing the wrench out of her hoof and getting to work.

A wild boar-like chimera, originally a dog, terrorized the town.

Dash, in her griffin form, flew right into him, using a little storm of wind behind her to give her a boost. It sent the chimera flying across the street and into a building. Unfortunately, it just wasn't enough to take it out. It kicked back and flung her across the street. She hit a car, just missing Spike on the side. “Uh, what's it gonna take to finish this guy?”

“Don't worry, backup's coming, Dash.”

“By the time they get here, I might be dead,” she joked.

“Yeah, you look pretty dead,” AJ’s voice replied.

Dash looked over and saw AJ dressed in a red jumpsuit, a black mask, a cowboy hat, with a rope hanging from her belt along with other small gadgets. Her lion's mane and claws were fresh from the fight as she brought up her scorpion tail.

“Applejack...” Dash said with relief.

“Nope, not anymore. Call me,” she winked, “Mistress Mare-velous.” She then grabbed her rope with her scorpion tail and spun it around until she threw it over the beast. The boar-headed dog didn't like being roped and tugged at it. Mistress Mare-velous struggled to keep her footing.

“Don't worry, I've got you covered,” Fluttershy said as she grabbed the rope too. She was dressed in a green jumpsuit, blue mask, and matching boots and belt. No gadgets. She flung out her bat-like wings, trying to flap them to hold herself in place.

“Just make sure you don't go crazy on us, Saddle Rager,” Mistress Mare-velous called out.

The bat pony nodded and continued to struggle against the rope holding down the chimera.

“Oh, those are awesome suits,” Dash chimed in. Someone jumped on top of the car over her head.

“Yes, well, there is one for you too, darling,” said Rarity, poking her head over. She was dressed in a sparkly dark blue diving uniform with purple crystals on her suit. She wore a matching mask over her eyes.

“If we're going to be heroes, might as well look the part.”

“Rarity, is that you?” asked Dash.

“Rarity? Ha! I think you mean RADIANCE! And the best part about these suits is I’ve made them stretchable, elastic, beautiful, and comfortable. Even when I’m in my sea pony form, it will change right with me,” she said as she grabbed a bottle from her belt. One sip of water, and she turned into a sea pony. She jumped and slapped the beast with her fin-like tail; it was enough of a blow that it knocked out the chimera.

“Good work, everyone,” said Shadow Star in her new outfit. She wore a maroon-purple suit, a matching mask, a blue color that matched her horn, and a matching belt with tons of gadgets on it, along with a black cape. She pulled out a syringe and then gave the knocked-out creature the medicine.

“There, and now I don’t even have to shoot a dart at him. You guys did great.”

“Yeah, good work team,” Dash said, clearly dizzy.

“We'll have your injuries looked at as soon as we get back,” Twilight told her.

“We also have your suit there,” said Radiance.

Just then, they heard the sound of sirens. “Time to go,” Mistress Mare-velous commented. She pulled out a ball and threw it on the floor. When the ball popped, a smoke screen was created, and the mutant heroes left, leaving no trace. The boar-headed dog lay there, knocked out perfectly, ready to be taken into police custody without issue.

“This just in: according to witnesses, a whole team of mutants in costumes were battling it out with the crazy out-of-control boar chimera. While he was knocked out and captured by the police, the others escaped. Who are these other chimeras, and can we really trust them?” said the reporter over the radio.

“Ha! Did you hear that, boss? A squad of superheroes or something. Strange time we're living in, huh?” Fito asked as he drove the car. “Um, boss?” He gave a slight look over his shoulder, but the boss gave no response. Instead, he sat staring down at a photograph. His expression was unreadable. Fito decided it was best not to ask.

As for Mr. Ghost, his mind was elsewhere as he moved his hoof slightly, revealing the final details of the photo.

The photo was a family one by the looks of it—a happy family at that. A white stallion with blue hair and a hero's smile stood over what looked like a mini clone of himself. A little lower in the frame was a little purple, wide-eyed filly with a grin only a filly could produce. His hoof covered the mother's face, but she seemed to match her daughter.

His eyes were focused on the young colt who matched his father in every way as the last conversation he had with the boy came to his mind.

“You failed me again, I see,” he said, with an amused tone to his voice.

Shining Armor had a stern face and didn't look one bit scared of the figure in the shadows. “It was dark; I must have gotten the darts mixed up. I’m sorry, sir,” he said, putting as much distaste into the word “sir” as he could. A detail that didn't go unnoticed by Mr. Ghost.

“Yes, well, your little attempts at sabotage are of no use to me.”

“I don't know what you're talking about.” he said with a straight face.

“Oh yes, I'm sure. Like I wouldn't know the difference between pig's blood and pony blood. Lucky for you, I had another vendor that was picked up by another agent of mine.”

Shiny continued to play dumb.

“Or the painkillers laced with poison. Again, creative, but not enough.”

“Maybe your clients are trying to kill you, sir,” he said unamused.

“Oh yes, that must be it. It's not like you mutated an innocent girl just so I wouldn't be able to work on her, is it?” He said with a wide grin.

Shining continued to play dumb and said nothing, looking as if he didn't know what Mr. Ghost was talking about.

The figure then grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, raising him off his back hooves. This made Shining finally break his expression. A look of fear struck his face now.

“I have had just about enough of you. If I wasn’t in charge of your well-being, I’d have gotten rid of you a long time ago.” The creature known as Mr. Ghost snarled.

“I'll never stop. Never,” Shining repeated. He was scared, he was nervous, but he was brave too, and Mr. Ghost had to give him at least that much.

Mr. Ghost was close to strangling the colt right there, but he let him go free. Shining dropped to the ground at his feet, coughing as he regained his oxygen.

“Well, you’ll be glad to know your little attempts have done nothing to stop my research.”

“You’ll never get those files,” the pony on the ground coughed.

“Oh, there are plenty of ways to get the files I need. Granted, holding Mr. Shine’s daughter as hostage would make the deal that much quicker, but I assure you, Mr. Sparky, I have other ways of getting what I want.”

He articulated his voice in such a way that disturbed Shining.

“I'll go to the police; I'll—”

“Oh yes, yes, and look like an insane pony? You don't even know who I am.” He chuckled darkly. “Good luck with that, Sparky,” he said before walking away, leaving the terrified colt on the floor.

Mr. Ghost stared at the happy young colt in the photo, remembering the face he made last night. He then moved the edge of his hoof away from the upper corner, revealing the mother's face. She was a dark purple pony, a shade darker than her daughter, and had reddish hot pink hair.

He looked at her, his expression never changing. “Oh, if only you knew my boy. If only you knew,” he said, eyeing the mother.

Just then, the car stopped, and the door opened as someone got in.

Mr. Ghost put the photo in the pocket of his jacket as he turned to his assistant.

“We’re all set, boss,” Capper said as he held up some dry-cleaning. In his paw was a nice business suit that fit him.

“Good, I can't have you dressed for the prom this time, now can I?”

Capper smiled nervously at that. “So we're going to be crashing the party then…”

“Technically no; I mean, I am invited, after all,” he said as the car began to roll away.