Heart Of The CHIMERA

Chapters

Prologue
Chapter 1 What Now?
Chapter 2 Future Questions
Chapter 4 Despair
Chapter 5 Father and Son
Chapter 6 The Queens Rise.
Chapter 7 Familly Ties
Chapter 8 The Changling...
Chapter 9 Home sweet home?
Chapter 10 The Mission
CHAPTER 11 Family Reunion
Chapter 12 Welcome Home
Chapter 13 changing minds.
Chapter 14 A new strategy
Chapter 15 Curiosity And The Cat
Chapter 3 Carful What You Ask For.

Prologue

Author's Note

Ok, this is exciting, the sequel to my story, blood of the Chimera. first, if you haven't seen that story you might be a bit lost, and you should go read that first. second I want to thank all of you who have read the first book and decided to continue the story. I hope you all like it, and where I'm going with it.

Prologue

prologue

May 14 xxxx 6:14 pm

A sound of a motorcycle raged past the gravely silence of a ruined city. A single song played on the bike's radio.

Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down, never turn around and desert you.

It looked something out of a video game. The skyscrapers and buildings were torn apart, with broken glass everywhere. Some parts of the city were covered in ash from fires long put out. The roads cracked and chipped, filth covered the sidewalks, and everywhere it seemed like an abandoned ghost town. Abandoned cars and other vehicles were piled on top of one another. Twisted metal that was once street lamps and traffic lights lay scattered about. An odor of decay hung in the air, yet everything felt lifeless. No bodies, dead or alive, were to be seen. There were no signs of life as the shadows of the city darkened most of the streets.

The time of day was obviously dusk, as a warm orange glow filled the sky.

A setting for a video game, maybe. But this was no video game. This was Ponyville. Once a bustling city full of life, it was now a wasteland full of abandoned buildings.

The only sign of any life was the sound of the motorcycle that was going through the quiet town, playing "Never Gonna Give You Up," an old song by Rara.

On the back of the bike were two figures. One was a mare who was driving. She was a grey mare with a black mane that had pink highlights in it. She wore faux leather boots, a jacket, blue ripped-up jeans, and a dirty, ripped white T-shirt.

The other figure riding with her was a tall, lanky yellow pony wearing a white lab coat and all black. He had a backpack on as he rode alongside her.

Eventually, they came to a stop by what looked to be the remains of a grocery store.

She cut the engine of the bike, and the sound of it dying out was the last noise of any kind that echoed in the area.

Not a bird, not even the scurry of a rat, moved past their ears. The only sound was their own hooves hitting the ground as they walked.

Finally, it was the mare who broke the silence. "See what you can find that's edible; I'm gonna try and find some water."

"Good luck! I'll find food before you find water up here, I bet," he chuckled.

"Carefully dismiss any sign of... THEM. And you come get me, understand?"

“Stop treating me like a baby! You're only, what, five minutes older than me? I know what to do, Mel," he argued as he took off his backpack. It was empty by the looks of it.

"I'm only being cautious. Remember the last time we went scavenging?" she argued.

"We've scavenged a hundred times since then," he countered. “They never caught us, and they never will." He called back as he began digging around what remained.

"Just be careful, please," she said suddenly, her tone shifting.

He said nothing and continued his work as she headed in the opposite direction.

Judging by the way the sun moved, an hour had passed before he found anything remotely edible. "Hey, jackpot!" he exclaimed as he picked up a few granola bars. "We actually might have dinner tonight." He stuffed them in his bag and looked around. There on the ground was also a can of sprinkles. "Oh, look—dessert too!" He picked it up and looked at the flavors. "Cherry, strawberry, lemon... Ugh, no chocolate. Man, I miss chocolate." He shook his head. "Oh well," he said cheerfully as he smiled brightly.

He didn't notice that in the shadows, something was watching him. It turned out there was life there, but what was it?

There was just enough daylight left for him to return to the bike. He never noticed something creeping up on him.

He called over a communicator he had. "Hey sis, I got dinner! I even found sprinkles for dessert."

"That's good! I got some water. It's filthy, but we can run it through a filtration unit when we get back home. I'm on my way back now."

"Okay, I'm at the bike," he said and hung up. He then looked out at the horizon, or what little he could find of it. "Home, huh?" he whispered to himself, thinking back.

A bright, happy smile came to his mind, but it faded into a look of sadness. He finished his thoughts, "We're never going home, are we... Mom?"

Just then, he heard something behind him move, making his eyes widen. He twitched his ears and scanned all directions for any sign.

He then slowly blinked, and when he reopened them, his blue eyes were now glowing yellow, with red slits. With his eyes this way, he could see much better in the dark shadows of the city. Though he could make out more detail, he could not see anything but could smell it. He took a whiff and noticed the scent—it smelled like that of a carcass already. But with his sense of smell heightened to its max, he could make out another scent: the scent of another creature.

He then quickly called his sister. "Hey sis, we got a—ahhhh!"

The creature jumped out at him, seemingly out of nowhere.

The pony literally flipped as the creature flew off his back with his bag. He pulled out a rusty cleaver knife. It was not sharp, but it was better than having no weapon at all.

"Brother, you alright!?"

The creature snarled at him, and he snarled back.

At the sound of both, she gritted her teeth, showing her fangs. Her eyes began to glow, and she took off on all fours, running like a beast herself.

The creature was a strange, slick black entity with green bug-like eyes. It had an exoskeleton and was very beetle-like, yet it seemed to resemble a pony. Its hands were sharp, and it had snarling fangs, hissing at its prey.

The two creatures began circling one another, looking for a good position to strike. Soon it was the pony who struck first, but the creature dodged and pushed him back.

Just then, it was the other who jumped ahead about to join them. "Melody, look out!" yelled her brother.

Her eyes widened in shock and surprise. When...

BAM!!!

Chapter 1 What Now?

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Chapter 2 Future Questions

Twilight gingerly walked through the streets of town, but her destination wasn't home. As she walked, she thought back on the last year of her life. Everything had changed since that very night. Some for the better, some downright for the worst. It was nice being able to de-mutate the victims of the beast program, and many considered her a hero for it. She instantly rose to fame as the creator of the cure for the chimera disease, despite being a college student. Her professors at Canterlot gave her leeway so she could progress on the cure. Only now the question was, what to do with her life now? She originally dedicated her life to making the cure, and now she had achieved that. So what was the point of continuing at Canterlot College if she already met her goals? She was given plenty of options by top scientists and labs to have her finish her studies while working as a top scientist or professor herself.

But she turned them down, knowing full well she wouldn't have time for those things due to her increase in work as an agent of Chaos Vill. But was Chaos Vill really a future for her? For that matter, another question she had on her mind was if there would be a future at all. Did she stop Discord, or was the fact that Discord died the issue entirely? What caused the apocalyptic state she saw in the old future video? Who were those time travelers, and what was the mission they received from her future self? Having no idea, all she knew was she could do one thing. And that was work on the time machine. The only question was, would she ever actually be able to make the time machine work? Just because one future self might have doesn't mean this version of her would be able to pull off such an incredible feat.

Either way, as she wondered about this, she finally met her final destination. In front of her were the remnants of a building, once said to be home to her oldest brother. Beside it, she bought the next building and began her own work and studies on the time machine. She sighed at the very thought of him. She could never get away from it. Strange, at one time she was determined to end him for what he did to her family. But her mother's words from that night a long time ago rang in her ears.

“In the end, I just can't find myself to hate him despite all of that. I'm not saying forgive; I'm saying to look past it and move on."

“And what if I can't?” Twilight told her mother at the time.

“Then you'll end up just like Luna,” her mother told her.

As much as she didn't want to admit it, she had ended up like Luna… and possibly because of that, she couldn't stop Discord from saving them, if that was what she was supposed to do. The questions remained endlessly, and it haunted her. Even more, knowing that he entrusted her to be the leader of Chaos Vill; she just could not accept that role.

She walked into her lab and turned on the lights, showing her work. All over the walls were whiteboards full of equations and time travel theories. On the shelf were stacks of blueprints, both real and some drawn by her as a child. Then, sitting in the center of the room was her time machine. However, she bypassed it and turned to the odd, bowling ball-sized sphere sitting right by it. On it were a few clock switches and gauges built into its surface. This was the new model of the time machine.

Unlike the first one, which had almost a steampunk-esque exterior and was large and clunky, this one was smooth and sphere-like. While it was still quite heavy, it was much easier to pick up than the original version. She now considered her first project the prototype. This was the second; however, she couldn't take full credit for it.

On top of the sphere was a handle. With a twist of it, she was able to remove a tube chamber that stretched all the way to the other side of the sphere. She was then able to twist off the top of the tube. She examined the inside of it to make sure the chamber was liquid-tight. Hmmm, the fuel chamber seems to be in order, she told herself happily. She placed it down and then examined her blueprints for a moment. Then, she pulled out a file from a drawer labeled “experimental fuel sources.”

There were several for nuclear power. Her assistant was very pro-nuclear for this project. However, nuclear was dangerous, and Twilight didn't like the idea of using it. She moved to the next page. This one was to recycle nuclear waste instead, an option that was less dangerous, but still far too risky. She then looked at the third page—her research.

The title of the page was “Chimera Blood.” Twilight remembered that through her research to find a cure for the chimera disease, she discovered that the substance was forever mutating until it came in contact with another's DNA, solidifying into gold. As long as the substance never came in contact with another form of DNA, it could forever mutate, giving off a strange source of electromagnetic energy—one far more powerful in a drop of chimera blood. “Well, pure chimera blood anyway,” she whispered to herself, slightly exhausted. “I and others like me were mutated, but Discord was born a chimera. His blood gave off such energy that a pint was as powerful as what a nuclear source could give. It could have been the key to fueling the time machine. But…” she sighed, knowing full well that without him, this source was likely completely gone. It seemed her future self used the same type of fuel source; however, the question was how. Did, in that timeline, a source of pure chimera blood still exist? And if it didn't, what source did she use? At this time, does that source even exist? Will she never find it until then? Until it was too late to do anything to stop whatever caused that apocalyptic state in the world? These questions raged in Twilight's mind, only to be interrupted by the sound of the door opening. She looked up to see her assistant walking in.

“Hey, Mrs. Sparkle. What are you doing here so late?” smiled Starlight. She was a few years younger than her mentor. Starlight Glimmer was still actually in high school, being only sixteen. Twilight once gave a speech at her school, having been invited due to her work on the cure for the chimera disease. While there, she got to talk to Starlight Glimmer and found that they had a lot in common. Starlight wanted to make a time machine much like Twilight herself. Meeting her and discovering their common interest, the two quickly became friends. Yet despite this, she had no idea Twilight was a mutant, only that she and her friend had discovered a cure—not knowing her friend was her brother Discord.

“Oh, nothing. I just had a lot on my mind, and, well, working on this helps me clear my head,” Twilight said with a hint of sadness in her voice. Starlight knew that this friend of Twilight had died, but she often wondered who he was. She never outright spoke about him, and Starlight's determination was piqued. “Umm, is this about your friend again?”

Twilight sighed. “That obvious, huh?”

“Yeah, you must have really cared for him,” Starlight spoke sincerely. Then, a thought occurred to her that hadn't before. In a bit of a nervous voice, she asked, “Did you have a thing for this guy?”

Twilight's face turned bright red, and a little of her even wanted to vomit. “No, no, it wasn't like that. He was, uh…” she sighed. “He was sort of a brother to me. He was my half-brother.”

Embarrassed she could even come to that conclusion, Starlight quickly replied, “Oh, oh, oh, I see! You two must have been very close then, huh?”

Twilight didn't say anything at first; she only turned her head away from her assistant. “No, actually. In fact, I wish I knew him better,” she said solemnly.

A moment of silence spread between them before Starlight said, “I'm sorry.”

“Doesn't matter anyway; he’s dead. I was going over the possible fuel sources for the time machine. By the way, I must admit, I'm really impressed with your hard work.”

“Thank you! Your model was amazing, but the materials you used to construct it were far too heavy. By using a thin piece of lightweight steel for the body and robust plastic materials I 3D printed, it cut down two-thirds of the weight. By making it spherical, it also eliminates unnecessary material and is easier to hold in the hoof. Oh, uh, sorry! You know how I get when I'm excited; I just blabber on like an idiot sometimes,” she nervously laughed.

“No, it’d be fine; actually, I haven't gotten to go through all your advancements on the new model yet,” Twilight told her.

“Well, in that case, you should be aware that when activated, it will even be lighter, once it's pressurized with helium.”

“Why helium?” Twilight asked.

“Because it's non-flammable and will lighten some of the other heavy components of the device. That way, if anything gets in contact with the fuel source, it most likely won't explode. Speaking of which, I found someone willing to give us access to the nuclear waste we need.”

Twilight grew nervous at this. “Ummm…”

Starlight sighed, annoyed. “Really, why are you so against this? It's not like there's another source of energy that can break the physics of space.”

“I'm working on that,” Twilight replied.

“I read your paper on chimera blood. Do you really think it can be sourced?”

Twilight sighed in frustration. “If I gather enough of it, I can mostly extract its impurities and form pure chimera blood from it. It’s just gonna take time, that’s all.”

“Well, I have a power source I can start experimenting with right now. Once I get the time machine airtight, I want to proceed. May I?”

Twilight looked nervously away.

Starlight groaned. “Really? You're not even gonna give me a chance?”

Twilight giggled a bit at her young assistant's enthusiasm. She was still young and had much to learn, despite being incredibly smart. “I'll think about it. Until then, continue making it airtight for now, and I'll let you know soon enough.”

Starlight, disappointed in Twilight's decision, grumbled, "Fine," as if she were a grumpy teenager dealing with her mother.

Chapter 4 Despair

Here are the necessary corrections to your text, focusing on spelling, grammar, and punctuation without altering your original wording:

“So how's the process of the time machine going?” asked Celestia, who was across from Twilight and her assistant.

“Oh, it's nearly complete, or at least it would be if someone would give me the chance to experiment with it,” smiled Starlight.

Twilight chuckled apprehensively. “I'm just not sure about nuclear power; it seems dangerous,” Twilight shrugged.

“Oh, come on! Nuclear is the cleanest source of energy we have today, other than the sun, which is nuclear itself, by the way,” argued Starlight.

Celestia giggled. “Well, it seems you two have come a long way.”

“Pardon my young assistant; she just gets excited,” replied Twilight. Starlight rolled her eyes, causing Celestia to giggle once more.

“Twilight, it's always good to see you and your friends.”

“Thank you, Auntie! I always love having lunch with you,” she smiled back. “It reminds me of when we used to do this growing up.”

“Yes, how is your mother?” Celestia asked.

“It’s like a dream to have her and my brother back in my life. Yet it feels incomplete without my whole family.”

“Yes, I understand that,” sighed Celestia. “I miss your father too,” replied Celestia before she sipped her own drink.

Twilight nodded, but it wasn't her father she was talking about. However, Celestia knew nothing of her relationship with Mr. Ghost.

“Now if only I can discover what happened to the last mayor. I half expect him to have just run away like the coward he is. Mr. Ghost was always something terrifying.”

“Umm, let's change the subject,” Twilight told Celestia, not wanting to hear one more bad thing about her oldest brother. Most of the city never knew how heroic he actually was in the end. Only those in Chaos Vill ever had any idea who he truly was.

“Well, why not let Starlight try her experiments?” asked Celestia to the surprise of Starlight. “Wha—uh, thank you, Mrs. Kang.”

Celestia giggled once more.

“It's dangerous; I don't know if...”

“Oh, come on, Twilight! Where would we be if someone doesn't take a risk every once in a while?” Celestia encouraged.

Twilight took a moment to think about it, but finally gave in.

“Oh, all right, but the experiment must be out of town. You can take the new machine and head out past the mountain; I'll have the old machine moved to my apartment to make room for the power stove until then.”

“Really? Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!” Starlight screeched with excitement. “I won't let you down!”

“Okay, okay, just finish your lunch before you go, all right?” Twilight smirked.

“So, Twilight, if I may ask, do you know where Miss Breeze is?” asked Celestia.

“Hmm... Fluttershy? Oh, she left over a year ago, actually. Why do you ask?”

“Oh, it's nothing. I just got another missing person report on her from her family, and I know you were friends with her, so I thought...?”

“I don't know what happened to her. According to my friend Rarity Shine, she ran off with her boyfriend and never returned. But none of us ever met him and don’t know what really happened.”

“Boyfriend, eh?” Celestia narrowed her eyes. “Well, I’m sure everything will be all right.” Celestia finished her drink. “This was a nice lunch; let's do this again next week. Oh, and do be sure to bring your other friends along. I'm glad you're doing so well, Twilight."

“Thank you, Auntie.” She smiled and gave her a hug goodbye.

As the two mares watched the mayor leave, Starlight whispered in Twilight’s ear, “Your aunt sure is amazing.”

“Yeah, she kinda raised me after my parents disappeared. I'm thankful for her,” sighed Twilight happily. “Well, come on; that time machine isn't gonna finish itself,” she smirked as her assistant skipped along with joy and excitement. “I'll call Dash.”

Dash’s phone rang, waking her up with a jolt. She yawned as she saw who it was. She was in the back seat of her truck. “Hello?” she moaned.

“Hey, Dash, I need your help. After talking with Celestia, I have decided to let my assistant go with her plans, but I need to move my old time machine out of the way to make room, and it won't fit in my car. Mind picking it up and dropping it off at my old place?” Twilight asked.

“Uh, sure, Twi, but I can't today. Hey, I actually won't be in school either. I, uh,” she sighed. “I took a little road trip, and I'll be back by the day after tomorrow, probably.”

“A road trip?” Twilight repeated inquisitively.

“Ahh, don't worry! I'm fine; I just needed some fresh air,” she told her as she looked at the address again. “I'll be back soon.”

“Hmm, okay. I'll have my brother move it instead. Thanks, Dash.”

“No prob.”

She hung up the phone, scratched her head, and then jumped into the front seat of her truck, taking off again.

Dash Rainbow drove out to what seemed like nowhere up a mountain road. Finally, after over a year, she found a lead on her missing friend. She then took off in a van, not bothering to tell anyone where she was going or how long she’d be gone. She did, however, keep the trailer on her car.

She just had to be the first. She had to know. Why? she muttered to herself while watching the road. Why did you just leave us, leave me? she thought. A memory surged to her mind as she kept heading that way.

A young, tall, skinny filly was being picked on for her looks in the schoolyard of an elementary school.

“Haha, look at you, skinny; you'll never be pretty,” said a jerk of an orange, bulky pony.

The little filly—or tall filly—was shaking her head, trying to hide under her mane.

“And look, she's a year older and she's still here! I bet she's dumb too,” said another. “Isn't that right, dummyfly?”

Fluttershy, in a rather high-pitched, cracky voice said, “I wasn't held back; I started school late.”

“Haha, did you hear her voice? She sounds like a dude the way it cracks!” a female dog interjected.

At that point, the little filly was about to cry.

“Hey, Dash, what do you think?” asked the dog.

Dash was lying back, soaking up the sun, wearing shades. Even as a young filly, she was cool.

Dash raised her glasses and looked at the pitiful thing. Dash had to admit she was kinda dorky looking, and being a bit older than everyone else was weird. Her voice also had that strange guy-like tone to it at the time, but then again, a lot of guys there sounded like girls.

Fluttershy stood waiting for the next insult to be thrown her way. She expected it to come from Dash. But Dash, though, decided to take pity on the new girl. She finally stood up and walked over to her with a look of boredom.

The little filly didn’t look up, just stared at the ground, looking like one more insult was gonna make her cry. But to her surprise, the blue pony—whom she thought was gonna be another bully—asked her for her name instead.

“Um, I'm Fluttershy.”

“Say that again.”

“Fluttershy.”

Dash cleaned out her left ear. “Sorry, what was that?”

“Fluttershy,” she finally said loud enough to hear. She was trying to keep her voice down because she didn't want the bullies to laugh at her voice again.

“Fluttershy? Huh, that's a cool name. Mine's twenty percent cooler, but yours fits,” she said. She then turned to the others. “And guys, bullying the new girl is NOT cool.” She then lowered her sunglasses. “She’s now my friend, you got that?”

This action surprised Fluttershy. She never expected someone to be so nice to her. She then followed the blue filly as she walked back to her spot, leaving the bullies surprised that the coolest kid on the block actually let the new girl follow her.

Dash still drove the car into a little woodland town as she thought to herself. The town was called Everfree, located smack dab in the Everfree Forest. It was a little country town, with log cabins and a cottage feel to it. Every building was made of wood logs and had a timberjack aesthetic. Many of those who lived there wore either timberjack clothing or Amish-like clothing—something AJ would have liked more than her. But her mind wasn't focused on the town or the people. It was on her missing friend.

“You were always following me around, Flutters. Even though you were older, you were always like a little sister to me. So why?… Why would you just leave without saying goodbye?”

She then pulled up to a sheriff's office and got out of the car. A little bell rang as the door opened.

She went to the front desk. “Hi, I'm looking for a friend of mine. She went missing a while ago; here’s a photo of her bike's number. Someone said they saw her here.” She showed the lizard at the desk the photo of both the bike and her.

“Yeah, I’ve seen her around. She lives in town, not too far from here. Let me get you the address. Why’d she leave anyway?”

“That I don't know, but I’m here to find her.”

The lizard looked at her. “And you’re sure your friend wants to be found?”

“I don't know, but I’ll find out…”

The lady narrowed her eyes. “Listen, hun. If she came to this town, she didn't want to be found.”

Dash looked away from her.

The lizard handed her the address. “This is a little town. Any fighting, and the sheriff will be on you, ya hear?”

Dash took the address and headed to her car. She drove up to a little apartment building not too far from the center of the town.

To her amazement, sitting in the driveway was Discord's bike.

She looked around and saw someone on the side of the porch, but she couldn't make out who it was. She decided to get out and ask around for Fluttershy. She slowly walked up onto the porch.

“Hey, excuse me! Have you seen a mare with...?” Her eyes widened as she stood stunned.

The mare in front of her turned around slowly and faced whoever was talking.

There she was. Her mane a mess. One strand flowed down in front of her face, a look of someone who'd been through a lot in her teal eyes. She wore a white tank top, blue jeans, and had her signature fake leather jacket around her waist. She seemed a bit skinnier, like she hadn't been eating well. A cigarette was in one hoof, and she blew out smoke from her mouth. Her eyes looked tired, but she still somehow had a young, pretty girl look to her.

“Fluttershy,” Dash said slowly, in total shock.

The mare took another puff of her cigarette before answering. “Hi, Dash.”

“Fluttershy, what happened to you?” Dash walked closer to her.

“You look like you haven't slept in days,” she said, shaking her head. “And what's with the cigarette? I...” Dash was bewildered by her appearance.

She gave a sad laugh along with a dreary smile. “How've you been, Dash?”

“I...” Dash began, but the look on Fluttershy’s face still had her confused.

“Are you okay, Fluttershy?”

“Why wouldn't I be?” she said, her face reflecting a distant look.

“You don't seem okay.”

Fluttershy took a moment before she spoke again. “How's Twilight and the others?”

“They, um... they're doing good.”

“That's good to hear,” she softly spoke before lowering her head and taking another inhale of smoke.

“Fluttershy, I, uh... I came to, well, to tell you we need your help.”

She took a moment before she answered, just smoking her cigarette. “Is that so?”

“Yeah, yeah, it is. So gather your things and...”

“Stop,” she softly said, her movements sluggish.

“Stop what, Flut...”

“I'm not coming back!”

“Fluttershy, you have to. We need your help with—”

“DISCORD’S DEAD!” she said with a louder voice. “I have nothing to go back to.”

“Fluttershy—”

Just then, something ran into the open screen door of the house.

Dash turned and saw a little gray filly who could barely stand, sitting in a diaper in the doorway. Another one then tackled the other, this time a yellow foal.

Her eyes widened at the sight.

“Ma-ma,” the yellow filly made a noise that sounded like she was trying to say “mama.”

“Discord, get off your sister,” she told the baby. She then took another inhale of her cigarette while Dash stood in more shock as she put two and two together.

“I, uh... I knew you two were friends, but I didn't know you were so close.”

“No one did,” she sighed.

“Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy turned around and looked out at the forest by her place, her back to her friend.

“He would have loved it, you know. He dreamed of just getting away from the city, living near the forest, building a cabin...” She chuckled. “I'm living his dream, ya know. This is what we wanted to do, just the two of us. A baby was not expected, let alone twins.”

She set her elbow on the railing and leaned against it. “He would have been happy here.”

A moment of silence filled the air before Dash tried again.

“Fluttershy, listen—”

“No, you listen,” she turned to Dash, moving quicker than she had that entire conversation.

“I’m a single mother with two kids to feed. All I want is to focus on them and move on with my life.”

“Fluttershy, I'm sorry, okay? I can't imagine what it must feel like...”

“And I hope you never do, Dash.” She shook her head slowly. “I hope you never know what it feels like to have someone you love with all your heart die, leaving you with nothing but an empty pit in your stomach. I miss you all, but I am rather busy at the moment, so if you don't mind...”

“But Flutter...”

“Goodbye, Dash.”

She said this with such a straight face. There was no anger, no sadness, no emotion of any kind on her expression. It broke Dash’s heart to hear such a thing. Dash's mouth opened to say something else, but nothing came. She could do nothing to help her friend. She just turned around slowly and headed back to the car.

Fluttershy watched as she left, standing with the same expressionless look until Dash was halfway down the road.

Dash could see in her rearview mirror Fluttershy watching her. At least she now had her answer as to why she left that night.

Author's Note

Yeah hope I didn’t make any my one cry with this one.

Chapter 5 Father and Son

Chapter 5 Father And Son

Twilight jumped up from her nightmare as she often did. She gasped heavily, trying to gain control of her breathing as she looked around the room. She was not in her bed, nor her own room. She was in an underground office formed from the cave walls. "I must have fallen asleep," she muttered as she rubbed her head softly. This cave was the very cave where her brother once perfected the chimera cure, along with stacks and stacks of papers from his research filling a file cabinet and a few computers. She got up from her desk and grabbed her jacket as she decided to go for a walk. Roaming the halls of the underground building, she didn't even know what for; she just needed a walk.

As she did, her mind began to dwell on the events of the last year. She still attended school; it was much easier since she didn't have to worry about fighting Chimera's anymore, and she often left the normal crime fighting to either the police or the agents of Chaos Vill.

"Oh, Miss Sparkle, Miss Sparkle," said a voice behind her. She turned around to see Mrs. Heartwether, a chubby pony who worked at the desk of the office. "I'm so glad I caught you! I was off to your office to give you this—your mail." She handed Twilight several envelopes.

"Thank you, Mrs. Heartwether," she replied, looking through them. "Oh, no problem at all! Just let me know if you need anything. You know, if you're not living there anymore, you should sell the place."

"Yes, I know, I know. I've just been—"

"Say no more, say no more. I found a real estate agent who could sell your place for you." She pulled out a card and handed it to her.

She looked at the card. It had a photo of a lizard next to the title of his business: Larry's Real Estate. "Selling and buying homes is what I do best. Call xxx-xxxxx."

Twilight deadpanned at the card and sighed a thank you before she walked away.

"Oh, no problem at all, Miss Sparkle," she replied before heading in the opposite direction.

Twilight went through her mail. They were just bills for her apartment. It was true; she hadn't been living there for quite some time. She was just too busy in her mind. But she longed for the days she had a year ago. She wondered if her brother brought the time machine to the old place yet—the apartment, her headquarters.

The memory of her friends and her second oldest brother all in one room chatting, goofing off, having fun. She might have still been in college, but that wasn't true for her friends. Rarity was now one of the most well-known fashion designers and often missed most of their meetings. It seemed like all they ever had time for these days were reports on the city's well-being. With AJ and Pinkie now moved away, she felt more alone than ever despite still being in contact with all of them—well, most of them. Then there was Fluttershy; where could she be? She couldn't help but feel concerned for her the most.

Twilight shook her head as she made a left turn and found herself staring at a door. Her eyes widened at the sight of it because she knew exactly where this door led to, and she shook her head, thinking that she meant to go in the opposite direction and must have just subconsciously walked here instead. She sighed as the memory came back to her.

Twilight was escorted down this hallway by agents of Chaos Vill. They entered through the door and found herself on a balcony overlooking all of Chaos Vill members. It wasn't long after that that her brother walked in carrying a bottle of vodka and a cup; he sat down on the chair in front of a chessboard and told her to sit down.

Twilight decided to walk through the door and found herself on the same balcony as that day. She walked over to the edge as she remembered his great speech to the troops below, his words ringing in her ears.

That was the first time she really met the Lord of Chaos—her oldest brother, her family. She closed her eyes and could have sworn she could hear it. Hear his speech. Hear his voice.

But wait a minute—she could hear it, and she opened her eyes and turned to the corner of the balcony. Sitting on top of the edge with her laptop was none other than a familiar grey pony with pink and black hair; her computer was playing a recording of the chaos lord himself.

"Um, Mells, isn't it?" she asked the young mare standing next to her.

Mells looked up in a bit of surprise. "Oh, Twi—I mean, Miss Sparkle! Hi," she paused her video.

"Hi."

The two stood in awkward silence for a moment.

"So, uh, how are things?" asked Mells.

"Uh, good," she looked at the mare. Something about her seemed oddly familiar. Even so, she pushed that aside and asked, "Were you just watching my brother?"

"Oh, yeah! I wanted to see what the old boss was like," Mells said a bit jumpy. She was a new recruit who joined Chaos Vill not too long ago, along with her brother. They were also chimera themselves, as was their dad. The last three Chimera left, besides Twilight's friends and Luna. "I see."

"What was he like?" Mells asked. "He was your brother, right? You had to have known something?"

Twilight smiled. "Well, you see, I never really knew him. I wish I did, tho. I can tell you I honestly felt like he was a big jerk, but now I know it was just because he did whatever he thought was necessary, even if it meant doing the wrong thing." Twilight's grin grew weary. "In the end, I thought he was a villain, but he was a hero, even though he'd never admit to it. He honestly was just a guy who got all the wrong cards and still was winning the game."

"Oh, I see," Mells said as she awkwardly looked away.

"So, how's your father? Did you ever get him registered?" Twilight asked, trying to continue the conversation.

"Umm, no, but we will. Frankly, he's a bit..." she stopped, trying to think of a good word to use. "I'll."

"Still?"

"Yeah, well, my brother's at home taking care of him. I don't think he's completely right in the head yet," she sighed.

"Your dad or your brother?"

"Both," Mells said, exhausted.

Twilight couldn't hold a giggle at that. "You know, I or one of our doctors could take a look at him for you. He is a chimera, after all, and we're all working together."

"Oh, that's so nice of you, but honestly," she deadpanned, "we're good."

"Alright then," Twilight sighed. "If anything changes, though, let me know, okay? I'd love to meet him."

"Yeah, I'm sure you would. Speaking of which, I gotta go; me and my brother are switching shifts," Mells said hastily.

"Of course, of course. It was nice seeing you again," Twilight shouted as she watched her company run off. Once she was gone, Twilight lowered an eyebrow. "Hmm, something strange about that one, that's for sure." Something about her seemed familiar in a way, yet she couldn't quite figure out what. Perhaps it was the color of her coat; she was a grey pony very similar to her brother, or her eye color. She had a similar demeanor to something; Twilight just couldn't figure out what. For some reason, she somehow seemed a lot like her older brother Discord.

Mells walked down the hall quickly, trying not to rouse suspicion. She quickly headed down the elevator to the mining shaft and out to the bar, giving the bartender a friendly nod before heading off, running to her bike. She revved up the motorcycle and took off, her eyes on the road, her head deep in thought about the last year's events.

"We have to do this quickly," shouted her brother on the back of the bike.

"Don't you think I know that? This is the day he dies, after all!" She revved up the bike.

"If we don't make it..." Her brother gasped.

"Don't think like that! This is our mission, our chance! We have to, we just have to!" She growled as she twisted the gas bar as hard as she could. The bike rattled and shook, going as fast as it could. Just up ahead was the government holding facility of the chimera. "That's it, sis; it's right there! We can make it!" Her brother smiled as he straightened his glasses. In the distance, there was something moving inside the building. To the side was a rather large group of creatures, both chimera and normal. Suddenly, a single figure jumped and began running towards those in the building.

"Sis!" Her brother panicked.

"I see it! That's him! That's got to be him!" She had a tear growing in her eye as she growled.

"Sis, we're not gonna make it!" He shook his head.

"Oh yes, we will! We gotta! For mom!!! For mom, we have to make it!" She yelled as she tried to make the bike go faster. "Mell, if this hunk of junk goes any faster, it's gonna fall apart!" shouted her brother. The creature on all fours ran into the building that was filled with strange black creatures. "No, we have to! We have to do it!" She shouted and looked around. Her eyes widened as she got an idea. She turned the bike slightly and ran up a large truck's back, using it like a ramp, taking off into the air.

The bike got closer and closer and finally hit the rooftops of the building. They jumped off the rooftop and down into the battle, still on the bike. She had a look of determination, and he was scared out of his mind, but still, they stood fearless in the face of danger as the details of the sea of black came into view. They were weird, but like creatures, all snarling to get out of the pit.

Something was fighting them left and right. The creature slashed off a few of their arms and stabbed them with its horns. It stood much bigger, longer, and stronger than them. It got to a pipe, and even with the creatures all gnawing at its flesh, it tore the wheel, opening the pipe and letting a bad smell into the room. "Gas!" Her brother yelled out. "We're gonna get blown up!" He panicked. The creature pulled out something and looked at it with a look of sadness before he popped it open, revealing it to be a lighter.

"NO STO-!!!" They shouted, but it was too late. Once the creature lit the lighter, a fire erupted, consuming everything. A gunshot went off, and the door shut tight, locking everything in the flames of the fire.

Mells got to an old, scruffy-looking building on the outskirts of town—the very same old junky house where Twilight first met her friends. She pulled up and got off the bike, her thoughts still dwelling on that very day.

As the flames grew closer, Mells's eyes glowed bright alongside her brother's. The siblings launched at the strange beast who lit fire to the gas around them. In milliseconds, Mells yelled out a ferocious sound that sent shockwaves through a shield, controlling the flames away from them and the horrifying beast that started the fire in the first place. As Mells held the shield in place, her brother grabbed what remained of the creature: burned, bruised, and knocked out, but with the faintest sound of a heartbeat, they knew they had accomplished their mission. The problem now was finding a way out as the explosion grew higher. Her brother Junior snapped his claws, and the three of them, along with their bike, fell flat against the wooden floor of the old building, safe and sound. Mells let out a final breath she was holding in before she collapsed.

Mells entered the kitchen only to find her brother on a new computer. "Hey, Mells, thank God you're back! Did you get the cure yet?" he asked in a grumpy tone.

"No, they won't let me near it. That place is guarded tight. I don't know what to do yet, okay?" she snapped back.

"Well, we got to do something!" he argued.

"Yeah, well, we did something, didn't we? We saved him! We saved Dad!" she yelled in whispers.

"DON'T YOU DARE CALL THAT THING MY FATHER!" he huffed. "That guy—he's, he's, ugh." He crossed his arms, throwing his head back. "I'm starting to think Mom was either delusional or he forced her."

"HEY!"

"It's THE ONLY WAY TO EXPLAIN HOW WE'RE RELATED TO THAT, THAT!" he groaned furiously. "Mom always called him a hero. Hell, even our aunt! Congrats to him; he did ONE…" He held up a hoof. "One good thing."

"Okay, enough! I get it," she sighed, tired of the conversation already.

"He never even thanked us for saving his life. Look, I can understand him not knowing about us, but seriously, not even a thank you? He's an arrogant, full-of-himself jackass!"

"Yeah, well, like father, like son," Mells deadpanned. Her brother simmered but remained silent.

A moment of silence spread between them, broken only by the sound of her tossing the bike keys on the counter. "The bike is still making that noise when you rev it up."

"I told you not to push it so hard," he rolled his eyes.

"I was only going twenty. Look up how to fix it, alright? Tomorrow I'm going to go down to the store and pick up groceries. You take care of my bike, and leave Dad to me."

"Fine," he groaned, like a little child.

The next day, Junior sat in the kitchen eating a sandwich when he heard a noise behind the house. "What's he up to now?" he grumbled before taking the last bite of his sandwich and heading in the sound's direction. He looked around, searching for the source of the noise, and found it over by the bike.

"What are you doing now?" he asked in a grumpy tone.

"Cleaning," said the creature in a rough voice. The creature wore a full black robe and hood, yet it couldn't hide its massive, twisted, overgrown horns and bright white shaggy beard. A rag sat in an eagle claw, brushing off the film of dirt that sat on the old motorcycle.

"It's my dad's bike. I'll clean it!" grumbled the teen.

"And did your father ever teach you how to clean a bike properly?" the creature snarled.

"My father died before I was born," snapped the boy as he tried to take the rag from the creature's claw, but before he could, the creature moved it out of his reach. With an amused grin and a slight chuckle, it said, "Join the party."

"What?"

"Seems we have a bit in common after all," Discord shrugged.

"You—your dad died before you were born?" asked Junior. It moved aside from the young pony and began its work on the bike again. "You don't know how to clean this properly. Yes, you clean the outside of it, but this thing hasn't been properly taken care of for years. She keeps breaking down because of that. I heard your sister say she wants the bike fixed. Let me show you how!" he growled. Still with his back turned to the boy, he continued, "You keep fixing the issue, but you're not dealing with the issues... That will only lead you down a worse path..." He stopped his cleaning as he said his next words a bit quieter. "Till something breaks that can't be fixed," he told Junior in a saddened tone.

He looked over his shoulder at the boy, revealing a bright amber, evil-looking eye. It unnerved Junior, but he stood his ground. "Replacing it should only ever be a last resort, one that shouldn't even need to happen if it's properly taken care of," grinned the creature, showing its sharp teeth, one of which was a large fang protruding out of its mouth. For some reason, Junior felt like he wasn't talking about the bike anymore. He took the creature's words and thought them over in his head once more as the creature stood staring at him with one eye.

"Ca—can you teach me how to fix it? The bike, I mean."

It turned its head back to the bike. "Best thing to do is to take it apart, give it a proper cleaning, and put it back together."

"Take it apart?" he gasped. "But what if I can't put it back together?"

"I'll teach you, but you'll have to listen." He smiled. "Can you do that?" grunted the creature.

"My sister would kill me if she found out."

"Well, we'll have it done before she gets home," said the creature in a cheerful tone.

The boy frowned at first, taking it into consideration for a moment, then nodded with determination in his eyes.

The bike was completely taken apart, piece by piece, and laid all out in the overgrown grass.

A slight chill in the air blew past the two, a sign of winter on its way. As the two steadily did their work, the creature would give slight directions but would often let him figure things out under supervision, so he wouldn't break anything. By the time they had the bike taken apart and cleaned, it was nearly sundown. Junior, with a rag, was buffing the gas tank, finishing up his work as Discord finished the handlebars.

The creature then pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter, but as he did, he could sense the scowl from his young partner. "What?!" it snarled, narrowing its eyes as it inhaled.

"Nothing," grumbled Junior, crossing his arms.

"Every time you see me with one of these, you give me that same look. What is it?"

"I..." He said but pondered his own words. "I don't want you to smoke," he said, barely audible.

"Say that again?" it asked.

"I don't want you to smoke," he grumbled a bit louder.

"Speak up, boy!" snarled the creature with fury.

"I don't want you to smoke, ALRIGHT?!" The boy threw the rag in frustration.

"Got a problem against smoking?" smirked the creature sarcastically.

"Maybe I do."

"Then what is it?"

"Forget it!"

"No, tell me," chuckled the creature.

"Forget it!"

"You tell me right now, or SHUT UP ABOUT IT!"

"My mother died!" snapped Junior.

The creatures eyes grew as his eyebrows shot up, it did not expect that and had a very confused look across its face.

junior shifted in his stance before saying, "My mom she," he shook his head, and let out a sigh of frustration. He looked at the creature next to him with a straight face. "It was those blasted things that killed her..."

As the creature sat a bit stunned by what the boy admitted to him, He looked at the cigarettes in his lion paw, he then looked back at the boy, and gave a sly laugh.

Junior expression didn't change as he deadpanned "Really, you're laughing, my mother's died, and you're laughing at her death, thats great," he nodded sarcastically.

After a few more chuckles the creature shook his head, "No, it's just that, he spat. "it seems almost as if you care. I found it funny."

"Of course I care, she was my mother!"

"No, I meant about me."

Now it was his turn to be caught off guard. "Oh well, I..."

"ha, don't worry about it, you just, the creature sank into the shadows. "you just reminded me of someone is all."

"Who?"

the creature didn't respond, and an odd silence spread between the two...

Chapter 6 The Queens Rise.

Author's Note

ALRIGHT, time to move the story along. 😈

Chapter 6 The Queens Rise.

Chapter 6 The Queens Rise

With a loud pop sound of a bottle, Smolder smiled. "There it is, boys. Drink up," she laughed as the other members of Chaos Vill took their drinks.

"Hey, why not a toast?" shouted Sunburst. "Here's to another chimera cured, thanks to Miss Sparkle!" They all cheered.

Twilight smiled. "I'm not old enough to drink, but I thank you for the toast," she chuckled.

"And here's to the boss—long live King Capper!" shouted another.

Capper smirked. "Nah, nah, I'll tell you who this toast should be for." He got up and shouted, "Here's to the chaos king; may his soul forever rest." He took a large sip of his beverage.

"Hear, hear!" the crowd shouted. Twilight smiled at the notion.

"And to think Twilight's time gadgets are finally going to be powered up today," cheered Rarity from the crowd.

"Ooooh," the crowd reacted as they turned to the pony in question.

"Testing starts soon, yes, in a few hours. I just need someone to move my old machine out of the way and bring the new one to the test facilities."

"Where are you testing it?" asked Rarity.

"Out of town. I'd say the old fort is the safest place to do it."

At the mere mention of the old fort, the crowd agreed solemnly, knowing all too well what happened the last time they were there.

"Well, I'll help you move as soon as I'm done with my mission; it might take a while, though," her brother told her.

"Nah, I'll take care of it. You make sure that mission gets completed," Capper told him.

Rarity smiled. "I only wish Dash was here to party with us. Why did she go on that road trip anyway? Do you know?"

"No, she just skipped town. I didn't even know until I called her," Twilight replied. "So what's the mission anyway?"

"Ahh, now you know the rules: no discussing mission details with anyone except those partnered with you. Me and Rarity got this covered; just focus on your work," Shining told her. Twilight rolled her eyes playfully, but she did accept that he was following the rules.

"Welp, as much fun as this is, I better go feed the lab rat," she smirked as she walked off. The group chuckled, knowing all too well what she was talking about.

Twilight entered the lab and headed to a strange box. She was going to feed a living creature, but it was no lab rat. It was a strange amalgamation of jellyfish and goo that acted much like a dog, created by Discord, and it was the source of the cure for the chimera disease. "Smooes," she called out playfully. "Time for dinner! You hungry, bud?" she said, but had no response. She shrugged and continued by pulling out a blood pack from the fridge. She walked over to its glass cage and smiled. "Smooes, lunchtime! Come on!" Suddenly, a strange pile of slime attacked her. She threw the blood sample at it with a look of horror and fear, only to sigh in relief the next second. "Come on, do you have to do that every time I feed you? Where did you learn your manners?" she asked crossly, as if the pile of goo were a child. But instead, it only gobbled up its food. "Oh, that's right, you're his experiment," Twilight deadpanned, only for her phone to ring.

"Hmmm, Celestia," she answered it with a "Hey."

"Yes, Twilight. How has your day been?" Celestia asked cheerfully on the other line.

"I'm good, umm, a bit nervous to be honest," Twilight replied, scratching her arm.

"Oh, you have nothing to fear, dear. Umm, but I was wondering if I could have a word with you—in person."

Twilight's head tilted at her aunt's request. "You mean right now? I'm supposed to meet up with my assistant in an hour."

"Oh, no, no. Look, I'll meet you there at the lab, alright?" Celestia told her cheerfully, only giving Twilight an odd feeling. "Mmhmm, sounds good. Um, may I ask what you want to talk about?"

"Oh, it's..." Her tone shifted down. "It's about my sister and..." Celestia paused and adopted a sad tone. "I have a lot of my past I would like to explain to you. Perhaps over dinner or something."

Twilight shifted in her stance, glad that she wasn't in the same room with Celestia at the moment. Something seemed off, but she only replied, "Alright, see you then," trying to sound as relaxed as she could.

"Right, see you then," Celestia replied in the same fake tone.

Celestia hung up the phone and immediately grew a blank face as her new assistant walked over to her. "Is there anything I can do, my queen?" he asked, much to her annoyance.

"Prepare a party," she commanded, turning her back on him. "It won't be long now before our next move." She blinked, only for her eyes to turn into red slits.

"All right, bring it in slowly. Slowly, that's right, let it down nice and easy," said Starlight as she directed the forklift driver carrying nuclear waste.

Capper had already moved and loaded the old time machine onto the truck so it would be out of the way. He watched, trying to play it cool, yet the small sweat on his brow gave him away. Twilight chuckled at the sight of him. "I know, I'm the same way, but Starlight has proven to me multiple times that it's perfectly safe. The nuclear waste is even sealed so none of it will leak and cause issues," she tried to comfort him.

"Mhmm," was his only reply, which made her smile. Everything was strangely going her way. She had Shining and her little brother Spike. She had her mother and her aunt Celestia, and despite some of her friends moving on with their own lives, she also had them too. Despite this, she couldn't hide her own worry for the future, and it showed in her constant stance.

The only two things that really still nagged at her mind, however, were Fluttershy and, two, her aunt Luna. She really wanted to, at the very least, talk to her—perhaps make amends and convince her to see Spike again. Perhaps another time, something she felt like she had all the time in the world now, despite being in her odd state of mind. For now, she needed to focus on what was happening in front of her: the time machine and its advancements.

"There you go, you got it," smiled Starlight as Twilight walked up behind her.

"Way to go, Starlight! I'll have to file some paperwork, but we will soon be allowed to go test the device."

Starlight smiled at that. "We now have everything we need to activate it!" she squealed. "Sorry, I'm just really excited."

Twilight chuckled at her enthusiasm and turned to the time machine as another question came to her mind: That dark future I saw will never come to pass now, will it? As she did, she then saw a nervous teen looking around the corner from behind the truck. With a smile, Twilight excused herself from Starlight and headed over to talk to the young mare.

"Hey, what's up? How's, uh, well?"

"My brother's looking after him. After last night, I felt like it would be good to, uh..."

Twilight held up a hoof, stopping her from speaking another word. "Don't worry about it. You hungry? 'Cause I think I'm gonna grab a bite to eat." Mells nervously nodded her head.

"Hey, Starlight, let's grab some lunch," called out Twilight. "Yeah, I can go for a slice of pizza. Who's this?" she asked, seeing Mells.

"Oh, this is just another friend of mine. She has a few things in common with you—being only seventeen."

"Seventeen? Really? I haven't seen you around town. What school do you go to?" asked Starlight.

"Uh," was her only response.

"She's home-schooled, right? To take care of your father. You know you don't have to be so shy around us; we're here to help," she told the teenager as she got into Capper's pickup truck.

"I'm not shy; I'm just cautious. I'm Mells," she retorted as Starlight greeted her with her name and a hoof shake as the two got into the back seat.

"So tell me a bit about yourself," smiled Starlight as she bit into a slice of pizza, slightly burning her tongue. She had just finished telling Mells about herself, and Mells mostly stayed quiet the whole time.

"Oh, well, I, uh..." Mells looked away as she nibbled on her own slice.

"It's okay to be shy, but we're not gonna hurt you," laughed Starlight.

"Shy? That again? You and Twilight both—I'm not shy!" Mells snapped back. Of all the things she was used to being called, "shy" was not one of them.

Twilight giggled. "You actually remind me of my friend Fluttershy. She's so shy at times that one can't even hear her."

At the near mention of her mother, Mells's eyes widened. "I told you I'm not shy! Now, my brother, he's shy." She then looked away and asked, "So what is she like, your friend Fluttershy?"

"Hmm, oh, let's see," Twilight smiled as she wiped away some grease from her hooves. "She's kind, sweet, funny—she's my very best friend, actually. She moved away about a year ago, and I haven't talked to her since. Come to think of it, you kinda look like her. Yet—" Twilight bit into her hamburger, spreading ketchup all over her face. "Strangely, I see a lot of my brother in you two; then again, I think I'm just seeing those two in everyone now because I miss both of them so much."

"I DO," Mells squealed. "Uh, I mean, yeah, I bet you miss him a lot."

"A brother? I wish I had a brother! What's he like?" asked Starlight.

"Hmm, oh, he's got to be the most annoying, stubborn, self-centered, stuck-up guy I ever met. He's a lot like our dad, even if he doesn't want to admit it," she grumbled.

"Ha! Some brothers are just like that, I guess. Mine was too, but I bet he actually cares for you a lot more than you know. I know my dad did," she frowned.

"Well, your brother sounds nice." Starlight smiled. "But what about you, Mells?"

She rolled her eyes before responding. "I have a twin, but I'm five minutes older. And really, between the two of us, he's always a bit more—how can I say it? He's just someone I always had to look after ever since we were kids. I can't tell you how many times I've gotten him out of trouble," Mells chuckled. "I'm sorry, but me? I never really thought about myself." She leaned over by the window. "I don't have any hobbies; I don't really have any personal goals. All I want is my family back together."

"Yeah, and what about your mother?"

"She died a few years back. We're orphans since we were seven. I never knew my dad until recently."

At that, Twilight stopped mid-bite as she looked up at the teenage mare with a confused expression at first, only for it to grow wide.

Capper, who had sat bored the entire time, turned to the young teenager with a look of confusion as he saw Twilight's face. "Am I missing something?"

"Whatever it is, I'm missing it too, apparently," chuckled Starlight. "Anyway, I know how you feel. Really, it's just been me and my dad forever. It would be so nice to meet my mother at least once, but she left a long time ago. At least you get a chance to know your dad now, right?"

"Uh, yeah, yeah I guess you're right," Mells smiled as she took another bite of her pizza.

As she stood, watching the teenager eat, Twilight couldn't help but feel a knot in her stomach as a thought crossed her mind. She is so much like both of them—so much like her brother and her friend. Could it be? No, that's impossible—but then there was the time machine.

"Ummm, I think I'm gonna go get some fresh air," Twilight said, taking off and leaving Capper and the two teenagers even more confused.

As soon as she got outside, she nearly collapsed as she grabbed a short wall for support. Shivering in disbelief at the implications of the very idea nearly made her pass out. "It can't be," she uttered under her breath as she began laughing insanely. "No, no, it's just the hair. It's just—" She froze. "The time machine." She then remembered how she got the computer from two figures who ran on a bike. A bike. Mells had a bike. "Could it be?" she questioned, only to shake her head again when she heard Capper call out her name.

"Hey, Twilight, are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost," he asked with concern in his voice, despite his amused smirk.

"Umm, I, uh, I'm feeling fine, I just—" She took a deep breath in and out, only for Mells to pop up behind them. "Thank you for lunch; really, it was nice, but I gotta stop by the grocery store on my way home." She turned to Twilight, who was looking pale. "I'll see you around, alright?" she smiled nervously, looking exactly like Fluttershy once more, which only made Twilight paler as she watched the teenager head off, leaving Capper with an even more confused look.

As the night fell, Starlight and Twilight got back to work on making sure all preparations for the test were ready. Twilight just needed to fill in a few forms, and within a week or so, they would be ready to move. But considering that could be any day, she wanted everything ready at a moment's notice.

Starlight was doing another leak test on the tank, making sure nothing would go wrong while her mentor went over the calculations of energy necessary to make the jump through time. The nuclear waste would definitely produce what was necessary at the very least, Twilight said to herself. She then smiled as she thought of the alternative fuel source she had now found if she was correct. "Could it be that, somehow, some way, she had a niece and nephew with pure chimera blood?" The very thought sent a shiver down her spine.

"Well, Mells was quite nice," said Starlight, noticing Twilight's apprehension and pulling her out of her thoughts. "Yeah, she's quite interesting, isn't she?" noted Twilight tiredly.

"Weird is the word I think you're looking for, but I like her," smirked Starlight. "She kinda reminds me of my friend Trixie in that way. Oh, but not in personality," she giggled. "Alright, water test finished. How are those calculations?"

"All good to go," Twilight answered.

"That's good to hear," said a new voice, drawing the girls' attention.

"Hey, Mrs. Kang," Starlight waved.

"Aunt Celestia! Good to see you," Twilight hugged her, surprising her aunt, but in reality, she just really needed one right now. Afterward, Celestia handed her a clipboard of papers. "I have all the forms right here for you to sign, so do you really think you can get this thing to work?" she pressed.

"Uh-huh! It's gonna be amazing!" Starlight screamed. "Um, sorry."

Twilight smiled, but her gaze gave a far look as if she was somewhere else entirely in her head as she asked, "Starlight, what would you do with the time machine?"

"Hmm, oh, that's simple really," she straightened her lab coat. "I'd prove to everyone how smart I am and Star Swirl for that matter; people all the time laughed at his time travel theory as well as mine. This is my chance to prove them wrong."

"No, I meant if you could go anywhere, what would you do with it?" Twilight asked as she turned her back to the mare, trying to hide her own expression.

"Oh, oh, hmm. Don't know; don't have a reason to do anything. You?"

Twilight shook her head. Once, her answer would have been to save her parents and stop the evil chaos lord. Now, the chaos lord was her brother, and he was a hero. She could stop him from dying, but she thought of the consequences of that action as well. If he didn't save them, they would have all died from those beasts. But then again, the future holds so many mysteries. All she knew of it was that there would be an apocalyptic event driving her and her friends to live underground. She didn't know what caused such an event to occur and worried about it constantly.

"Twilight," the sound of Starlight's voice brightened her out of her deep thoughts.

"Oh, uh, the same," Twilight replied.

Glimmer raised an eyebrow at her but shrugged and moved on. Twilight always seemed to act a bit odd on the subject of time travel, so she didn't question it. But Glimmer felt there was something Twilight was possibly not telling her. What it was, though, didn't matter to her so long as she could get the time machine working.

"What about you, Miss Kang?"

Celestia smiled at that. "Oh, I don't know; probably make a more peaceful world."

Her answer was very much her, and Starlight smiled at it as Twilight began signing the forms.

"Well, I think I'm gonna call it a night. I better get home before my dad throws a fit again."

"Alright, Star, see you Monday then," Twilight said, never taking her eyes off the paperwork. Celestia waved goodbye.

Starlight thought nothing of the bodyguards that were standing at the door when she left, but they seemed to enter the building as she did. Celestia then took a step closer to the time machine to get a better look. "So it's finished then?"

"Mhmm, all that's left to do is see if it works," replied Twilight as she finished signing the forms.

"And the test will commence when?" asked Celestia curiously.

"As soon as we hear back from the city and the mayor," Twilight giggled as she handed back the forms.

"Yes, I'm afraid these have to go through the system, but as soon as they do, I'll sign them." She smiled. "I just wish I could sign them now; I really want to see all your hard work finally pay off, Twilight."

"Thank you, Aunty. You really have always been there for me." Twilight gave a heartfelt smile.

"Yes, yes, I have," Celestia replied with a suspicious tone. Twilight raised an eyebrow, curious as to what she meant by that. Seeing her goddaughter's expression, Celestia smiled wider. "Twilight, I have something very important to tell you." She gestured to her guards. They nodded and began securing the doors, locking them up.

"I'm listening. This is about Luna, right?" Twilight smiled but was curious as to where her aunt was going with this.

"Forgive me, but this is a top security detail," she said, gesturing to her guards.

"Of course," Twilight nodded but felt like she was being cornered.

"Twilight, since the moment I met you, I knew how brilliant you were. I knew you would achieve greatness one day. I knew you would finish the time machine just like you had in the other timeline."

Twilight's eyes widened at the mention of another timeline.

Celestia laughed at her reaction. "Forgive me for being straightforward, but time is of the essence. I raised you as much as I could for this very day."

"What are you saying?" asked Twilight in disbelief.

Celestia took a few steps, circling Twilight as if she were her prey. "When I was a little girl, I wanted for many, many years to create a world of peace." She stopped after walking half a circle around her niece. "That was mostly because of how torn my world was because of war. My mother left me and my father because she thought she could help in the war effort—how foolish. While my father never actually died, a part of him did the day he heard of her fate due to her choice. He wanted to fight in the war as well, but his medical reasons wouldn't allow it." Celestia wrapped her arms around herself uncomfortably. "Strangely, I'm thankful for his illness. It kept him close to me at least, unlike her."

Celestia took a deep breath and let out an annoyed sigh. "I hated my mother ever since that day. Her country was more important to her than her own family. But unlike my parents, I had a brilliant mind, even for a child. When I learned of Star Swirl's theories and how he was ridiculed for them, it connected us. I wanted nothing more than to prove him right, and then I could use his genius mind—and mine, for that matter." She smirked. "To make a world of peace." She began circling Twilight again.

"Who are you?" Twilight blurted in disbelief.

Celestia gave a sly chuckle, one almost evil-like. "Once a pawn a time, long before I came to this world, I mentored under a scientist professor, the most genius mind of our time... She had everything; her father was a politician who never died, her mother was a wonderful housewife and author... and she went on her dream to also prove Star Swirl's theories right. She was stuck up and looked down on those who weren't in her class, including me. She barely ever let me do anything other than fetch her coffee, thinking I was beneath her. But as much as I hated her, I had to admit she was a genius. She was my arch-rival, and truly she saw potential in my own work and decided it would be best to, instead of fighting, to work together. We’d be better off putting our brilliant minds together to finally break free of the laws of physics and make a time machine."

Celestia turned away from Twilight, and she could hear her choke on a cry. "She became my best friend... and while I was on the verge of figuring out my own power source, she had discovered another. A crazy beast whose power was unmatched. Its blood could be the key to time travel... it was frightening but powerful. We worked alongside the government and General Luna Kang to secure what we needed from it. For months, we tested on the beast, but then it began to feel ill and was on the verge of death. If we lost it, there would go our chance for time travel, so my mentor thought it would be wise to bring in an animal expert to make sure we weren't killing it. It was a fatal decision. Dr. Breeze saw what we were doing and accused us of animal cruelty. She then freed the monster, and it took off, disappearing into the night."

Celestia shivered at the thought of what came next. "We searched for months after that in hopes of recapturing it, killing it if we had to, in hopes of using its blood to power the machine. Only what we didn't know was that creature," she spat in disgust, "actually mated with its savior," she said appalled, as if the mere thought of it nearly made her vomit.

"Those devils, despite being babies, tore through our labs, destroying everything." Celestia gritted her teeth. "They even killed her, my best friend!" Celestia shook her head as a look of pain stuck to her face.

Twilight stood amazed at the story in utter shock. What was this? What was she supposed to say to a story like that? "I, I'm sorry, but I don't understand."

"You wouldn't!" Celestia yelled, making Twilight jump in fear as she quickly turned to face her. Twilight could see the tears running down her face rapidly. She sniffled and wiped them away. "Sorry, I just get emotional at the thought of my poor dear friend Twilight Sparkle."

Twilight's jaw dropped at the sound of this. Her expression made Celestia giggle. "I came here long ago... General Luna Kang was an orphan who was adopted and eventually adopted another orphan. In my timeline, there is no Celestia Kang, but I changed that. I never would have done it if I knew that somehow it would lead to you losing everything like I did!" She pleaded to her in a sorrowful tone. "But sacrifices had to be made. Now, Twilight, we have it; we have a chance to change the world and make one far better. I've gone through multiple timelines and always, always, those two devil creatures destroy everything! Before we test the time machine, we must find them. We must destroy them and their parents before they destroy the world. You must help me, Twilight, please, for the future of this world, help me stop the apocalypse." She pleaded and held out her hoof.

Twilight stepped back in shock. "You... it's you."

"Twilight?"

"You're the cause of all of this. You're the cause of the apocalypse, Starlight! How could you?" she whined.

Celestia chuckled. "How nice it is to hear you say my original name again. Twilight, I am not the villain here, you know that. The beast might be dead, but I don't know if it has spawned. We must search for its mate before it is too late. We must find Fluttershy Breeze and put a stop to all of this."

"Do you hear yourself!" Twilight snapped back. "Starlight, that is my friend. And that monster is my oldest brother, and those are my niece and nephew. I will never let you hurt them! Never!" Twilight growled as her eyes glowed amber and a horn emerged from her head.

Frightened by this, Celestia, or Starlight, jumped back, not expecting this. But she only grew a sly smile and chuckled, greatly amused.

"You know where they are, don't you?"

"No, I don't."

"He's alive, isn't he?"

"I HOPE HE IS!" Twilight shot a blast of fire at Celestia. She expected her to either be burned or dodge, but what she hadn't expected was for her to blast a fire blast back, stopping it dead in its tracks. Only, unlike Twilight, who was red hot, her flames were a bright green.

Starlight cackled as her form began to melt away. "I may have left out one more detail, my old friend. The only reason I survived that night was because I took a test serum a biologist named Cosmos Galaxy was working on."

Twilight's eyes widened as she shook in fear. "You're a... a changeling! That's what changelings are. It's all you!"

"Not just any changeling. I'm the queen of changelings, hahahaha! Oh, don't you see? What we have here is a spider web, my dear. You and I both know that time travel is straightforward. It's a web." She suddenly shot out a web from her mouth, and it landed on the wall, spread out.

"A web with all tiny little strings of infinite possibilities, yet when it's all put together, and you can see the bigger picture, you can see the outline of a story—a main story with twists and turns that all fold together in the end. Yet without one part to it, one string undone," she broke a bit of her web to demonstrate, "then the story changes to the point of collapse, to the point where it doesn't even make sense anymore. That's the story we have heard about Twilight. I am a time traveler myself—one with quite a story to tell." She chuckled. "I don't go by that name anymore. You can call me Queen Chrysalis!" She clapped her hooves, and the guards transformed into beasts like her.

They were strange pony-like creatures with pitch-black exoskeletons that were very bug-like. Unlike their queen, however, they had glowing yellow, bug-like eyes.

"GET HER!" their queen demanded.

Twilight shot a few blasts of fire and a freeze blast at them. It did little to stop their approach as they tried to grab her. She dodged their attacks, only for Chrysalis to surprise her and knock her to the ground.

"Pity, and here I raised you like a daughter of my own," hissed Chrysalis.

"If you had never messed with time, you wouldn't have had to," she snapped back and tried to push her off, but Celestia had a good hold on her. "You know Luna was right; you really are not the most athletic pony around," she chuckled.

Just then, something smashed through the sky window, landing in the shadows and catching all of their attention.

"Yeah, she may not be," said a familiar voice, out of breath. "But she doesn't have to be because she is never alone," said Luna, stepping out of the shadows. She looked worse for wear, wearing her prison outfit, her arms bloody from her chains. She was skinnier and looked beyond tired. But despite that, she spread her large wings and bared her fangs. In an instant, she attacked her former, once-beloved sister.

The two others joined in the fight but were no match for Luna, who glided past them like a ballerina. Using her dance moves with almost a fighting style, she quickly overcame the changelings, showing how superior she was.

The sight of this showed Twilight that she could probably never win if she didn't have Spike that night. She chuckled as she thought, "I'm gonna have to thank Spike again for saving me from her."

Chrysalis growled and sent a ray of fire at Luna, who used her powers to block it with an ice beam. It made a small explosion, creating a thick, smoky fog.

Luna used the opportunity to grab Twilight by her lab coat and took off, saving both of them.

As the smoke cleared, the changelings bowed to their queen. "I'm sorry, my lady; they got away."

"No matter. They'll be back," she smiled viciously as she picked up the forms for the time machine test.

Chapter 7 Familly Ties

Chapter 7: Family Ties

Luna quickly dashed with Twilight in her hooves over to an alleyway. When she let go of her, the two stood catching their breath for a moment, staring at each other.

"You okay?" asked Twilight.

She nodded, surprised by the kind notion, "Yeah, yeah I should be."

"Good," Twilight smiled. Seeing her smile, Luna gave a happy giggle, showing her guard was down. Suddenly, Luna was pushed up against the wall by Twilight, her own fangs bared along with her glowing horn and eyes.

"BECAUSE I WANT TO MAKE SURE YOU ARE WHEN I TOSS YOU BACK IN CHAINS!!! I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU GOT OUT OF PRISON BUT I PROMISE I'LL PUT YOU BACK IN!!!"

"Listen to me, Twilight, please," Luna said and tussled with her for a moment. Mid-fight, she tried to talk to her. "Twilight... I... I'm sorry, okay... Look, I escaped to come... And help you. You... And Spike!" she yelled.

Twilight was able to get the upper hand, showing how much stronger she had gotten. It wasn't enough to beat Luna, but enough to hold her down. "Help me and Spike, really? How dare you!"

Luna launched Twilight off of her. Twilight caught herself on her hooves, standing on all fours like a wild beast.

"How dare you claim you want to help Spike? Do you even know what you've done to him? You never even tried to contact us! To contact him! He's been so hurt by you that he refuses to talk to anyone about it! I can tell!" she shouted.

"Twilight, please," Luna pleaded. "I wanted to see Spike, I wanted to see you. I wanted to tell you how sorry I am and make amends. It, she..." She shook her head. "But Chrysalis wouldn't let me."

Twilight growled, sounding like a wild beast.

Wow, you are his sister, Luna thought before trying again.

"I know you can't ever forgive me, I know none of your family can... nor Spike, but please know if I could take it all back, I would. I swear it! You once told me it wasn't too late, that it was never too late to make amends. Am I truly lost then!" she cried.

Twilight stared down at her, wanting nothing more than to attack. Attack for herself, for her family, for Spike. But then her mother's wise words rang in her head again.

"It's time to let go."

"And if I can't?"

"Then you'll end up just like Luna."

Twilight shook her head, letting her chimera powers vanish. She sighed, turning her back on Luna. "I can't forgive you, not yet!" she yelled back. "But there is a bigger issue to deal with. Come on, I know somewhere safe we can go."

Dash was sitting on the porch, a paper book in her hoof as she twirled the pen her hero gave her, in deep thought as she stared at the empty page. "Ummm maybe," she said as she approached the page with her pen but stopped and shook her head. "Naa, not like that. Hmmm," she moaned as she stared at the blank pages.

She then jumped as something out of nowhere ran past her in the shadows. She growled as she realized what it was. "God damn it, Twilight! You scared the hell out of me."

"Dash, what are you doing at my mom's house!?" she yelled. "I thought you were out of town?"

"I, uh, I was just thinking. I just got back into town and—" she said as she closed her empty paper book. Twilight raised an eyebrow at it but shrugged it off.

"Well, I don't have time for this. I'm glad you're here. We have a big issue," she spat. "Hmm, what?" asked Dash, and her eyes widened at Twilight's company.

"Twilight," she called out and pulled her to the side. She then flung out her wings, spread out, and exposed her claws. "What are you doing here, Equalizer!?" Dash growled.

"She just saved me," Twilight told her friend.

"Wha, what?" replied a confused Dash.

"It's a long story; I'll tell you inside. Come on, Luna."

"Wait, you're trusting her to come in with us?" shouted Dash.

"Keep it down! Now come on, I told you I'll explain inside." As they entered, they saw Spike watching TV and Twilight's mother doing the dishes. They turned around and immediately were ready for a fight the moment they saw Luna.

Luna nervously smiled as she looked at Spike, who had grown so much in the last year. It nearly brought her to tears at the sight, and a tinge of pain spread in her chest as she saw the fury in his eyes. But there were other, more important issues to deal with, and she knew she couldn't address the elephant in the room at this time.

Twilight waved her hooves, and in a panic she sputtered, "I can explain!"

"Twilight, your face," Spike shouted.

"It wasn't Luna; she saved me! Just let me explain."

Tempest, a bit shocked, nodded, but before Twilight could say a word, her mother grabbed a wet cloth and bandages.

As she was bandaged by her mother, she told them the whole story. "Wow, that is definitely not what I was expecting," Dash said as Spike nodded, seconding the motion.
"Yeah well, the good news is Fluttershy is missing, so we know they don't have her. We have to find her before they do."

"Ummm, about that, I actually found her."

"WHAT, AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME!!!"

"I DIDN'T KNOW!!! Look, that trip I went on, I got a lead on Discord's bike; it could have led us to nothing, so I figured I didn't want to bother you with it."

"AND YOU FOUND HER!!!"

"Yes, but Twilight—"

"PERFECT," Twilight smiled brightly.

"But she—"

"This means we're literally one step ahead of our opponent!" Twilight jumped up after her bandages were put on.

"But Twilight," Dash tried to no avail.

"Either way, we have to find her. But first, the twins. Those two kids are not only the key to the time machine, they are the two that always stop Chrysalis in the other timelines. If she gets her way, she will kill them both, but now we can—"

"TWILIGHT!" Dash shouted, catching her attention. "Fluttershy doesn't want us around! She just wants to raise her kids, and that's it!... She ditched us!" yelled Dash as she breathed in heavily, full of anger.

Twilight stared at her as she took her furious breaths. "She's in danger, Dash, and we're her friends."

Dash opened her mouth to retort but closed it, knowing full well Twilight was right.

"And besides, I, uh, think Discord's alive."

"WHAT!" shouted Tempest.

"I knew it," muttered a relieved Luna.

"He has to be. The two time travelers from before—I met them. You remember that strange mare, Mells, and her brother?"

"Yeah, but what does—" Dash stopped as she quickly caught up and gasped.

"I'm not kidding, Dash. They came from the future; I just know it, and they said their dad is in their care. WE HAVE TO FIND THOSE TWO!!!"

"WHERE?!"

"I don't know, but right now we need a safe place to go, and I can only think of one."

"Yeah, and?"

"The old haunted house, the one where we first met, where we got here, set a base, and looked for the twins. Our best bet now is to gather them and go find Fluttershy before it's too late. We can then find a place to hide and wait for Discord to recover before we take any other steps against Chrysalis."

Ring, ring, ring, Dash's phone went off. "It's Capper," she shrugged and answered it. "Yeah, uh huh, wait, what!"

"What is it, Dash?"

"Yeah, I'm with Twilight. Alright, I'll tell her. Guys, Capper wants us to report in immediately; he says Rarity has some big surprise for us."

Twilight groaned, "Probably just some new clothes or something. We have bigger things to deal with than this. Luna, you'll have to stay down in the car; I don't want anyone to recognize you. We have to move quickly. Dash, bring Capper up to speed about the situation; if anyone can really help us, it's him."

"Hmm, really? That's incredible. Are... alright... no, no, I got you. I'll meet you there." Capper hung up the phone and smiled as he looked back. "Well, well, well, isn't that nice? So Discord is alive. Won't the queen be happy when I uncover his little hiding place?" Chuckled Capper as he closed the door on the real Capper, who was hog-tied in the back of his car just as another fake got in. This time it was Rarity. "So you have the location of the brats then," the fake Capper smirked.

Rarity nodded. "The queen will be happy then. Good work, Thorax. I'll keep the other members of Chaos Vill busy. There will be nothing to stop us this time," said Rarity as she opened the closet door, revealing the real Rarity, knocked out along with her father. "And to think we can use Twilight to lead us right to him, and then to their little hideaway. I'll report back to the queen immediately."

"Yes, of course. Long live the queen," the Capper changeling said as he watched the gain leave the driveway in his rearview mirror. They never noticed he was just outside their apartment.

"I can't believe you!!!" Mells yelled.

"It wasn't my idea."

"You took apart my bike, Dad's bike."

"Our bike, our dad's bike, yes, and it was his idea. He can put it back together or at least show me how to."

"I'll teach him to put your bike back together in the morning," yawned the dark figure in the corner of the room. The three sat in what looked to be the remains of a kitchen, arguing.

"Your dad never taught you how to clean it properly; that's why I did. Now," he yawned, BUT, "if I hear one more noise about that hunk of junk tonight," I'll kill you both.

Mells turned to the figure, catching a glimpse of it as it went upstairs, returning to the shadows. "You didn't tell him, did you?" she groaned, keeping her tone low. Junior shook his head. She let out an angry sigh and muttered as she sat down, "At least that's safe."

"He didn't have a father either," her brother told her.

"Hmm, what?"

"Discord, he... he told me that."

Mells' eyes grew a bit wide as she smirked.

"Shut up," he told her.

"You bonded with him."

"He's still an ass."

"Yeah, so are you," Mells chuckled. He stomped off into the other room, calling back, "What's for dinner?"

"I got pizza—" Suddenly, they heard a car pull up outside.

"Uh, sis, were you expecting anybody?"

"No, no, I wasn't." Mells said as her eyes began to glow crimson. Her brother took a hiding position, his eyes glowing as well.

Twilight opened the door, only to get a sniff of the inside. As soon as she could smell, she ducked, her instincts kicking in. She jumped forward, spinning around to her opponents, her horn emerging along with her own eyes. Suddenly, another attacked her from behind, but she spun around, kicking it right in the face. She came to a halt as she quickly looked to see who her opponents were.

"Huh, you guys—" she blocked an oncoming blow from Junior; only after did he realize who he was hitting. "Aunt—uh, I mean, Miss Sparkle, what are you doing here?" Junior asked, stepping back.

Twilight smiled as she stared at him. "It's you."

"Huh, wha—"

Twilight tackled him into a hug.

"What's going on here?" asked Spike as he walked in alongside the others.

"Nothing, just a little family reunion," chuckled Twilight with a wink.

"Fa... family?" sputtered Junior as his sister rubbed her sore cheek.

"We know the truth. We know who you are," Twilight smiled, but it diminished. "You used my time machine, didn't you? Your blood is the key to activating it, isn't it?!"

"Woah, woah, slow down! What are you—" Mells began but was interrupted.

"DON'T LIE TO ME! THE CHANGELINGS, they're here. Chrysalis is here!"

The twins' eyes grew wide in response. "NO, no, no, no! That can't be!" replied Mells, astonished.

"Hold on, Twilight, mind explaining this a little better?" asked Dash, not understanding a clue.

Twilight crossed her arms. "I think it's better if they do."

The twins stepped aside, uncomfortable thanks to all the eyes staring at them. Twilight shook her head at the sight. She was now looking down on her own niece and nephew. A warm feeling spread through her body. She felt happy, a feeling she couldn't remember the last time she had felt. Out of nowhere, a genuine laugh erupted from her mouth. "You got a lot of him in you, but there's a lot of your mother as well." This caught the shy twins by surprise. Twilight took a step forward, advancing on them. "It's okay, just tell us what's going on."

Hearing such a voice come from Twilight, Dash and Spike glanced at each other. Luna, however, felt a sense of pride at how much she had grown. Yet she also felt a sudden feeling of regret. Tempest could say nothing as she stared at the two, not being able to process anything at the moment. Somehow these two strangers, these two nearly fully grown ponies, were her grandkids.

The twins looked at each other and then back at their aunt. "Ha, funny! Other than your age, you seem just like the aunt we left back in the future," Junior was the first to speak up as usual. At the thought of that, Mells shifted her gaze away from them as she crossed her arms. She looked like a little kid in trouble and tried not to make eye contact with the adults.

Twilight noticed this and directed her gaze at her, keeping the same neutral expression.

"Eh, don't mind her," her brother shrugged. "It's just a long story and—"

"—and it was my fault," Mells interrupted her brother.

"Melody," her brother tried to comfort her, but Mells whipped away, a tear forming in her eye before she grew her usual stern face—an expression only the daughter of Discord could make. She gave her brother a slight nod but never looked at them. Junior closed his mouth and swallowed before returning to the room with a monotone expression.

"Like I said, it's a long story, but..." he shifted his gaze to his sister, expecting her to interrupt, but she only stayed silent. Realizing he wasn't going to get anything out of her, Junior began his tale.

"When we were seven, our mom," he shook his head. "She was... we were so young... we didn't really understand. Mom told us that she was just a little sick and that we would be going to visit our aunts until she got better. We were surprised, to be sure; our mom never told us she even had family, let alone that our dad had family... We hopped on the back of a bike and rode off to Ponyville to meet our aunt. On the way, she told us about how she was a genius scientist and how they met when they were in college..."

A long silence spread across the room as Junior spoke, everyone leaning on every word the young colt said.

"We were attacked by one of those creatures... Mom stayed behind, trying to keep us safe. The fact is, even if we hadn't been attacked, Mom couldn't run; she had..." Junior winced, unable to say the words. "As the monster came close to attacking us, it was actually Miss Rainbow that came to save us. She took us to our aunt at Chaos Vill Headquarters. Since then, we lived the rest of our lives underground. From time to time, we would have to go get supplies, and since my sister and I were the oldest and strongest, we would often do so. Meanwhile, our aunt prepared the time machine and us, to hopefully one day put a stop to all this."

"All of what?" asked Twilight.

"THE CHIMERA APOCALYPSE..."

Chapter 8 The Changling...

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 9 Home sweet home?

As they drove up to the old dragon pony bar with their new friend, much to the dismay of the commander, Mells and her brother smiled, proud of themselves.

With the sound of the engines dying down, Twilight was the first to speak. “Make sure you pull in that old bike for repairs.”

“Mhmm, I’ll fix it… again,” grumbled Mells.

“Well, you can do that after you tie up your pet outside!” ordered Dash.

The twins looked at their company and then at their aunt.

“I’m sorry, but on this one, I agree with you. You can make him a home in the trash out back, but it is far too risky to have a changeling inside our walls,” their aunt told them as she got off her own vehicle. “Thorax, we will feed you twice a day, but you may not be allowed off the rope when you’re around here, understand?”

Thorax nodded quickly, wanting to obey the new laws he was now under.

“Isn’t that a bit much?” asked Junior.

“While he’s not a pet, as the commander suggests, he is not free. Not if he wants to stay alive. I’m trusting you two, understand?” Twilight told them before walking into the base.

“Yes, ma'am,” Junior replied sadly, as Mells took the ropes from Thorax and tied him up to a post like a dog outside. “Here’s a safe place for you, and look, we can make you some shelter using that old dumpster.”

Junior walked over to it and pushed it closer to Thorax so he could get inside. “Well, what do you think?” asked Junior as Thorax inspected it. “It stinks in here, but,” he shrugged, “better than being out in the rain. Thanks, friends.”

With that, the two smiled and walked back inside with their aunt and the commander.

“What food did you find?” asked their aunt as they boarded the elevator to take them underground.

“Not much, two granola bars, but I did hit the jackpot and found some sprinkles,” Junior replied. “We also found some water,” Mells showed them a dirty container of liquid.

“Well, Pinkie will be happy with the sprinkles, and the water can be filtered. Good job, you two.”

“Yeah, great, two granola bars and a can with sprinkles. What a great dinner,” Dash said, rolling her eyes.

“At least it’s something. I can find more tomorrow, hopefully, and besides, we still have some grains left,” Twilight replied, causing another eye roll from Dash.

As the elevator hit the ground floor, they entered the cavern that now held the great Chaos Vill base of operations. It was a sorry state of old broken junk cluttering the grounds. A pink pony poked her head out of the door, and with a huge grin, the very same pony ran out along with a dozen smaller creatures: a few lizards, one dog, a cat, and six small ponies.

“Welcome back, guys,” she smiled from ear to ear as the fillies, foals, and other children all gathered around them.

“Hey, did you find us anything?” asked a small voice.

With a smile, Junior pulled out the two bars and sprinkles. The kids' faces lit up at the sight of the colorful sugar treats. “Oooo, sprinkles,” Pinkie grabbed them. “I can make some bread to put those on. I have a few ingredients, so it won’t taste that good, but oh well, at least we have something to spice up the flavor tonight. Ooooo, and look, guys,” Pinkie said, grabbing the granola bars, “I can even crush them to make the bread a bit crunchier.”

The children cheered for their next meal. But while they did, Twilight took count of everyone there. “Eighteen, nineteen, umm, Pinkie, where’s…”

The room grew quiet as Pinkie stood still; a look of depression struck her face as she turned away from Dash.

Dash took a deep breath and let it out slowly, already knowing what happened. “Have you buried him yet?”

Pinkie shook her head.

“The little guy wasn’t feeling that well for days,” Dash mumbled.

“He was only twelve,” Pinkie choked on a cry.

Dash hugged Pinkie as she whispered, “Sorry about your son,” finally making Pinkie break into tears. Seeing this, the other small children gathered round her, what was left of not just all living non-changelings, but of their family.

Mells walked away with a pit in her stomach. Seeing this, her brother followed her.

As the crescent moon sat in the air that night, Junior watched on the monitor. The sound of a wrench clanged behind him. He ate the last of what little he had for dinner and turned to see not a crumb of his sister's was taken. Taking a glance at the monitor to make sure nothing was on the rise, he stood up, grabbed the food, and brought it to the source of the wrenching.

“Not hungry,” Mells muttered while tightening a screw on her bike.

“Mells.”

“No.”

“Melody.”

“Stop! You sound just like Mom when you do that,” she grumbled, with her eyes slightly glowing.

“Oh come on, we saved him, didn’t we? Hell, I didn’t even want to originally.”

Melody sighed as she finished the work on her bike. “Whatever Mom did to her isn't our fault, yet she takes it out on us. How is that fair?” She groaned. “Oh well, at least we’re at home.”

Home, there was that word again.

Mells, realizing how quiet her brother became, turned to him, finding an empty expression. No hatred or anger, or sadness, just an empty, tired look on his face.

“What is it?” she asked.

“Hmm, oh nothing,” he shrugged and began walking away, only for her to tackle him to the ground and sit on top of him.

“What? Hey, get off!”

“No,” she smirked, “not unless you tell me what’s wrong.”

He groaned, tired of the fight already. That was one thing about her brother she came to rely on. When push came to shove, he wasn’t a fighter and would rather talk than put up arms. Despite how grumpy he could be at times.

“Home,” he told her. “We’re—” he turned away, “never going home, are we?”

At the sound of this, Mells fell silent, unsure of what to say. A pit in her stomach grew with each passing moment as she sat on top of him. She then stood up, let him up, and to his surprise, she hugged him, but when he looked down, he only saw the same empty expression he had and couldn’t hug back.

“Why don’t I take the first shift and you get some sleep?” she told him.

He couldn’t say a word or nod, feeling so drained. Instead, after their hug, he only walked over to a pile of trash in the corner and lay down, falling asleep almost instantly.

Mells didn’t make another move until she was certain he was asleep. She sat down watching the monitor, never realizing she was being watched by the commander.

…

From up in the tower, Dash watched the twins. Her left arm shivered, only for her right arm to grab it in hopes of stopping it.

Though she’d never admit it, Dash couldn’t stop the fear from running through her veins. She could go toe-to-toe with mutants, fight, and even kill changelings without a second glance, but the thought of them made her skin crawl. Them…

And their father.

The creature behind all this. The creature who was responsible for the mutations in the first place. Though it turned out he was creating the cure for the mutations, Dash could never stop how she truly felt about him.

Twilight might have forgiven him—why wouldn’t she? He turned out to be her brother and turned her by accident. Not only that, but he gave his life to save them all.

Yet all she could remember was his horrid laughter, glowing demon-like eyes, and horrible disfigured body. It brought fear to her every night, and the thought of that creature being loved by her best friend made her sick. The thought of not only his children existing but that they were hers too only wanted to make her vomit. As she gulped, she swallowed what bile she had in her mouth and walked away from the window.

Dash was no longer a mutant anymore, but she remembered seeing those terrifying eyes in her own for months. She couldn’t shake the feeling of utter hatred that swelled in her mind.

Dash walked over to a door and stuck her eye to it, seeing Twilight hard at work on the time machine. This was one of the two saving graces about those twins: their usefulness in surviving and having the power to hopefully one day bring an end to all this. That was one thing, but the other—as much as she hated it—was that they were her children. Fluttershy’s children. And with that in mind, Dash walked away from the door and headed outside the base.

…

Dash walked over to the changelings tied up in the corner of the yard. The sound alerted him of her presence, and as soon as he saw her shadow, he retreated in fear.

Seeing this—seeing the fear on his face—her own fear was reflected back at her. Dash could only pity the creature as much as she pitied herself.

“W-what do you want?” Thorax spluttered.

Dash pulled out a knife, making him cower even more, but to his surprise, she nipped her finger and spread the blood on a plate. “Dinner, Thorax.”

The smell of blood made his mouth salivate, yet he still sat in fear as she pushed the plate next to him.

“Hey, it’s my way of saying sorry, okay? You know, for…” she awkwardly fumbled.

Despite how dry his throat became because of his hunger, Thorax still refused to move.

With an eye roll, Dash pulled out a band-aid from her pocket and walked away. After a few steps, she looked back to see him eating, only to freeze and then jump back in the trashcan, trying to hide from her again.

Seeing this, Dash shook her head as a strange sound caught her attention: a giggle. Her giggle. When was the last time she laughed, she wondered, only to remember it as a flash of a memory that ran through her mind.

Twilight trying to dance, only to be horrible. Fluttershy in the corner dancing around the window while Pinkie and Rarity tried to teach Twilight. AJ in the kitchen along with the boys playing their game. The party in college. Had it really been that long since she let out a bit of laughter? Did she truly spend the last of her life in both fear and frustration since those days long ago?

A feeling she didn’t think she’d ever know struck her right then. Age. She felt old as she thought about her long-forgotten home, where she left her caring heart long ago.

Chapter 10 The Mission

Mells sat staring at a monitor, growing *bored* quickly as her life flashed through her mind.

Her mother was always smiling, but her smile was only visible; her eyes gave her true nature away. Despite how much she loved her children, she was beyond saddened by the loss of their father. Even so, she wore his ring, never taking it off—not even for a day.

She also remembers the day she died, how terrified she was, seeing these strange creatures attacking her weak mother, despite the fight she put up. But as she turned away, about to burst into tears, the sight of her twin brothers made *her* stop in their tracks. She knew she couldn’t cry that day or ever again for that matter—not when she had him, her brother, to look after.

She then remembered her training by her aunt and the commander. From straight in the morning for days after days, weeks after weeks, and soon months that turned into years, they were trained to be fast, agile, and cunning. Anything to give them the edge over the enemy. Yet despite their training, one thing was for sure: they were always starving. Despite their abilities, they showed no muscle definition, eating barely any food to survive. Its heavy toll made them sickly skinny. And living underground, their fur and skin were sickly pale, as well as everyone else’s.

She remembers when she was eleven years old, finishing up her training and heading to see her aunt, finding her in a strange room with an even stranger device.

She watched as her aunt tightened a nut, then ran over to the other side of the device and pressed a few strange buttons on a keypad. She took in a deep breath, already looking drained from her work, when she noticed her *niece* in the corner of the door. She gave a smile and gestured for her to come in, which she did cautiously.

"What are you doing, Aunty?" the young filly asked.

"Simple, Melody," she gestured to the device, "this is Project Alpha. This is what you and your brother are training for."

"Hmm, I thought we were training so we don’t get eaten by changelings."

Her aunt giggled at that. "Yes, but that is only the beginning, silly," she said, brushing some hair out of Mells's eyes. "This, my dear, might be our chance."

"Chance for what?" the filly asked.

"To stop all this from happening."

The little one tilted her head, confused, making the older of the two mares giggle again. "You know how you and your brother can transform yourselves, right?" The little one nodded. "Well, you have your father’s powers—the powers he once, by accident, gifted the world—and soon that was the rise of the Chimera incident back when *your mom and I first met. Back then,* I didn’t even know he was my brother, let alone the cause of all of this. But he created the cure to it all. Unfortunately, I and my friends took it not knowing that our troubles were only beginning. Powerless we were, giving the enemy the perfect chance to strike and mutate the entire world. All of those monsters, they were once like you and me, but now," she shook her head. "But if we can go back in time, stop them from taking over our world, you two and I can do this."

"And Daddy," said a small voice behind the two mares. Twilight looked up to see Junior. "You can save him. You can see him if this machine works, that is," she snorted.

Junior's eyes lit up. "I can see Daddy! And what about Mommy?"

The adult chuckled at the ten-year-olds. "Yes, yes, but first you need to get stronger, and I need to finish this machine. Your powers are the key to it."

"Our powers?" asked Junior.

"Mhm, just like your father."

"Daddy was a hero; that’s what Mommy told us."

Twilight smiled at that but didn’t know what to say about her oldest brother. "Come on, you two. Time for bed," she instructed, much to their annoyance, only causing Twilight to snort again.

At the memory of it all, Mells sat wondering what life would be like if things hadn’t gone the way they had. If it *were* all so easy as to just flip a switch and change history. She yawned as the clock ticked that night and looked over to see her brother fast asleep. She took another yawn and turned back to the computer.

"Tired, sweetheart?" a voice called out to her. She turned her head, not realizing how she had de-aged. Standing before her with her hair up in a bun was none other than her mother.

"I don’t want to go to bed yet," she moaned like the child she was now.

Her mother chuckled at that as she sat down next to her daughter. "Waiting for Daddy to get home, huh?"

"Dissy fell asleep before we could see him," the filly laughed at her brother, who was snoring away by her side. Despite that, another yawn escaped her mouth, causing a giggle from her mother.

Just then, a knock on the door alerted them of his presence. "Oh, Daddy's—"

*Snore*, "home," *snore* Mells mumbled in her sleep, only for another knock in her dream to wake her up. Once she did, she realized it wasn’t a knock at all but a loud banging from her monitor. On the screen, she could see hundreds of changelings trying to burst down the door.

"They're here," she muttered in a panic before turning to her brother and yelling in his ear, "They're here!!! Get up! They're here!"

He bolted from his homemade bed. Despite his groggy nature, he asked what happened—weren’t you watching for them?

"I fell asleep, goddammit, I fell asleep," she panicked, the wrench still in her hoof. She then ran down the hall and into the building, yelling at the top of her lungs,

"THEY'RE HERE! THEY'RE HERE!!!"

“You must stop Discord from—“

"THEY'RE HERE! THEY'RE HERE! THEY FOLLOWED US!!!"

Twilight heard from the hallway. She immediately grabbed her large gun and switched the camera off, preparing for the battle at hand. She ran out of the door shouting, "Where?"

*Bang!* The sound of the wall cracking, and bursting through from above ground they came, as the ceiling collapsed in on itself.

Trying to protect the children, Pinkie Pie grabbed a cannon. “Sorry, boys, this one’s not filled with confetti,” she said as cannonballs flew through the sky, taking out limbs of the oncoming army. Despite her efforts, there were too many of them and they began filtering in.

A child no older than seven, along with a lizard no older than four, began blasting guns at the beasts to no avail due to their bulkier, profane nature. One of the bullets from the cat's gun ricocheted off a changeling and hit Pinkie Pie dead in the arm.

"Ahhh, it’s no good! They *are* bulletproof!" she cried out, biting her lip to ignore the pain as she ripped off some of her shirt and began tying up her wound.

Dash, out of nowhere, drove in on a four-wheeler, knife in hoof, ready to take out the enemy. She lunged one blade directly into the eye of a changeling and twisted, freeing her blade only for a moment so she could attack another.

Pinkie stood up, wanting to help when out of nowhere, a changeling pounced on her, sinking its teeth into her flesh.

"Ahhhhh!!!"

"Pinky!!!" shouted Dash as she turned around, wanting to save her friend. But as she got to her, it was too late. Pinky’s skin and fur fell off, revealing the body of a changeling.

Changing, Pinky lunged an attack on the kids, biting them too.

Knowing there wasn’t time to mourn, Dash ignored her own tears and did what she had to do, plunging her blade into the neck of the changeling Pinky, followed by killing the changeling kids as well.

…

Junior and his sister took their chimera forms quickly, fighting off the changelings much easier than everyone else.

A changeling went for Junior's leg, but Mells kicked it in the face, only for another changeling to tackle her to the ground. Junior wasted no time biting off the head of the changeling on top of his sister.

"RUN!" he shouted, and the two of them ran for their lives.

*We’re not gonna get far in these tunnels!* Mells reminded him, just as a changeling up ahead blocked their path, making them come to a halt.

*The other way!* shouted Junior as they took off, only to see more changelings.

"Uhhhh, brother?" asked Mells in a panicky voice. In response, he bared his snarling fangs at the creature, only for a pebble to hit the top of his head. He looked up in terror as the ceiling began to collapse in on itself.

As it did, not only was dark black rock visible, but also the silver, shiny sparkles of webs around. A tall, black, gruesome figure crawled in from above, its eyes glowing like all changelings.

“Well, well, well, what do we have *here?*" asked the creature as it licked its lips.

Shocked and frozen in fear, Junior and Mells muttered simultaneously, “Que—queen?”

*Boom!* A door blew open with the sound of a loud cannon, catching everyone’s attention. As a cloud of dust settled, Twilight emerged from the other room, along with her shotgun.

"Chrysalis!" she spat, giving her no authority with her name, as if it were an insult.

"Twilight," the queen smiled.

"Aunty!" the twins cried out.

"Kill them!" shouted Chrysalis to her army, but Twilight raised her shotgun, shooting a blast of fire at them. It wasn’t just a shotgun; it was a flamethrower.

“Follow me,” Twilight shouted, making sure the creatures were held back.

The twins didn’t hesitate and followed her orders, quickly running toward Twilight's lab.

“Aunty, where's everyone else?” asked Junior.

"It's too late for them. I lost contact, which can only mean they're gone."

"Everyone?" asked Mells in shock.

"I don’t know, but I’m afraid this is it. This is the end. She finally caught up to us."

"How?"

Twilight gave no response, not wanting to put the blame on her niece and nephew.

"The Time Machine! It’s now or never!" shouted Twilight.

"But, but we’re not ready for—" Junior began but stopped when he saw his aunt's face.

*You’ve been training for this your entire lives.*

"But—" Mells tried, only for Twilight to drag the machine and push it into the claws of Junior. Along with it, she handed her laptop. "My computer has everything you will ever need to know about Mission Alpha. It’s time, guys, you must—"

*Boom!* Another collapse from the ceiling gave way to a swarm of changelings.

"I’LL HOLD THEM OFF! YOU GO! All it needs is a pint of your blood. Together, you two can get to the past!"

"But?"

"GO!!!!"

With that, the twins wasted no time as they bolted for the door. Junior cried out for Mells as she bit her thumb with her sharp fang. Junior did the same, and the two began filling the fuel tank as they ran.

*Don’t turn back, don’t turn back—ahhhhhh!* they heard their aunt call out in pain. They knew it was too late to save her. For now, anyway.

The two of them burst through the halls and returned to their sleeping quarters.

"The tank's not full yet, halfway there!" cried out Mells.

*They’re coming through!* shouted her brother. In a panic, Mells looked around and saw their bike. "I got an idea! Come on!" she shouted as she ran over. The changelings were now beginning to stomp from above. Junior could hear them as he ran to her. He leaped onto the bike just as a changeling burst another hole in the ceiling.

"You sure this thing's gonna work?" panicked Junior.

Mells didn’t respond as she hit the gas, hoping the two would take off. Instead, it only sputtered out smoke.

"MELLS!!!"

"I can fix it!" she called out and jumped off. "Keep filling that tank or we’ll never get out of here." She told him as she began tightening a bolt on the bike.

A changeling tried to pounce on them, only for a blue leg to come out of nowhere.

"Commander!" the two shouted in surprise.

"THIS TIME IT'S YOUR FAULT!" she shouted. "If you never brought that changeling here, we’d never be in this mess!" She said as she sliced off another changeling's head.

"I know! I know, I—"

"SHUT UP AND GET OUT OF HERE!!! Fix your mess; we’re counting on you!" She winced, "I’m counting on you," she then gave the bike a kick, and the engine started up. Junior grabbed Mells by the jacket and drove off as Mells called out for their comrades, who were surrounded by the creatures.

Junior wasted no time and pressed the activation button on the Time Machine. He used the pile of trash as a ramp and drove up it as the two were surrounded by a blazing light. A changeling came up, trying to bite Mells's foot, only for another changeling to attack it.

"THORAX!!!!" she shouted in surprise.

"Good luck, my friends," he yelled as he tussled the beast away from the blazing light.

The light became so bright it was blinding, and before they knew it, everything went black.

Author's Note

I had time to put this out so hope you all like it.

CHAPTER 11 Family Reunion

Author's Note

Were Back... been three months and i think i just needed a break. I still have many stories to tell, and many stories i wish to finish, figured this one is next. but dont expect any thing to be on a shcedural, i doubt the next chapter will be out any time before the end of the month.

CHAPTER 11 Family Reunion

Chapter 11 Family Reunion

“Ever since then, our mission has been to stop the apocalypse from coming,” Junior told the room. “We traveled back in time to find the only person who has the ability to do just that. You sent us to the first night you met your friends because one of them actually got close enough to know who he is. The chaos king is the only one who has the power to stop the apocalypse. We're also here to stop you from taking the chimera cure, because if you do, you won't be able to fight off what's coming.”

Twilight stood in shock at this information; she couldn't believe her ears, despite going toe to toe with Chrysalis just hours ago.

“Okay, let's just say for a second here that you're not crazy. And by the way, you sound pretty crazy,” Dash snorted. “When does the apocalypse actually start?” She asked with a smug face, not believing a word of the twins.

Melody groaned at her question but answered with, “When we're seven. Right now, I assume we aren't born yet, but we're just infants. We have seven years before Chrysalis makes her first move.”

“You're wrong about that,” Twilight smiled, with heavy eyes. “Chrysalis attacked me, and if it wasn't for Luna,” she turned to the purple chimera, “I'm afraid that—ahhhhhhhhh!!!” She screamed in pain as she clutched her stomach and fell to the floor.

“Twilight!” shouted Spike, who tried to come to her aid, but with a single hoof, she pushed him away. “I don't get it,” she groaned in pain as she flung her head in the air. “Why, how are you!!!” she growled at Luna, with her mouth salivating.

At that moment, a cold laughter filled the air, making everyone's spine go cold. It came suddenly, only to dissipate. The twins dashed their eyes to the dark hallway behind their aunt. Twilight's eyes flew wide as she shivered, only to let out a cry, as she collapsed to her knees. She struggled to stay up even on them, but even with that she turned her face to see a dark and ominous figure in the background. Its eyes glowed with a sinister appearance, as it seemed to sway from side to side. “My, my dear sister, and here I thought your friends told you I was alive,” the creature's voice soothed, brimming with amusement.

“How much did you hear?” asked Junior, barely audible.

“Oh, something about Chrysalis, and how you're time travelers,” he snickered, just before his eyes locked onto Luna's, who instantly took a step back. But it was too late. He saw her, and now was determined to end her life. She could tell in his eyes that he meant it, too. In seconds, the creature lunged at Luna, who could only flee from the scene. Finally drawn to the light, his features could finally be made out. Tempest gazed upon the creature as she sat inches from him. A sharp stabbing pain filled her heart as she looked upon what was left of her firstborn child.

Dressed in dark rags of a cloak, stood a figure with red eyes filled with an amber glow. His beard, which once sat black, was now cold white; his mane was long and disheveled, a mix of his original pitch black and gray strands. His antlers twisted in every which way, and his goat horn grew in knots. His claws stayed ever so sharp, and his scaly tail slashed around like a wild animal’s.

“Oh my baby,” Tempest cried. But before another step could be taken, Twilight blasted a beam of ice, stopping his pursuit of Luna, making him fling back his head.

“Enough!” she stomped, shaking as she got to her feet. Her eyes glaring wide, locked in awe of her brother. “Discord,” she whispered.

An amused smirk spread on the creature's face as he returned his gaze to her. “Give in to Twilight.”

She winced as she fought whatever was going on with her body.

Discord chuckled once more as he stepped closer to her on all fours, like a wild beast.

“What's happening to her?” shouted Dash.

“It's simple, really. She didn't take the cure, as I would have hoped she did,” he said as he stood up on two legs once again. He rubbed the temple of his head as he staggered past her, clutching the walls as he went. “Forgive me, my mind is a bit weak. But essentially, her own power is too much for her body to handle. She needs to stop fighting the crazy part of her head in order to fully master her chimera form. But,” he said as he held up one eagle finger, “once she does, it will change her. You know all about that, don't you, Luna?” he growled, almost like a lion.

Dash wasted no time, rushing to Twilight's aid. “We can’t let her go crazy; there's no telling when she's going to—” but before she could finish the sentence, a blast of fire shot out of Twilight's horn, bursting through the floors of the building above and shooting directly into the sky. She kicked Dash back in the face with her back hoof before running out onto the streets.

“There she goes. Have fun,” Discord rolled his eyes before retreating back into the darkness he came from.

“Wa, wait,” groaned Dash as she pulled herself up. “You—you have to save her.” Discord stifled a laugh at that. “Flutter…” Dash winced. As soon as her name was out, Discord tackled Dash and held her off the ground by the neck.

“Where?!” he growled, only for Dash to pull a note out of her pocket. He snatched the paper, tossing Dash aside and running out the doorway.

“Discord, wait!” Mells yelled, hoping he would stop, but he ran in the opposite direction from Twilight. Mells looked left and right, wondering which one she should go after.

“You two go after Discord; we'll get Twilight,” said a voice from behind them. They turned to see Luna standing with Spike, ready to help. Tempest sat curled up in a ball after what she had just witnessed.

“I'll take care of her,” coughed Dash as she rolled her left shoulder, groaning from the pain of being tossed into the wall.

With a nod, the twins didn't hesitate as they ran after their father.

“We just met up, and we're already splitting the team,” grumbled Spike as he crossed his arms.

Luna turned to her son with a look of desperation in her eyes. She wanted to apologize again and wanted to take him in her arms to tell him she'll never do anything like that again. But now was not the time for such pleasantries. Now she had to stop Twilight from destroying half the town. “Come on,” she yelled at him as she hopped into the car. The ironic nature of the situation didn't pass her, as she prepared to go toe to toe with her niece once again.

At her words, Spike wanted to snap back and tell her off, saying, “Why doesn't she just do it by herself since she can do everything alone?” But instead, he shook the thought away and crawled into the front seat, shouting “shotgun!” He knew Twilight came first and foremost.

Discord stayed in the shadows, but he ran like a cheetah, using every limb he had to his advantage. Despite his current state, he was very nimble. Not only that, but he often used his camouflage ability whenever necessary. In his true form, he was much faster than most. He could stay slick and out of prying eyes, appearing only as a ghostly long shadow against the backdrop.

He never even noticed his follower, even with her chimera form. All her days of barely surviving were training; she could still barely keep up with him as he ran, but she at least knew how to stay hidden, using her own abilities he did not know she had inherited.

“Where is he going?” she huffed, nearly out of breath.

“I have no idea, but I got the bike almost fixed,” he told her. “We should have grabbed it if we wanted to catch up with him. If he wasn't such a—”

At his words, Mells turned her head to him with a striking glare, almost as threatening as her father's.

“Seriously, how do you think those two ever met? It makes no sense that Mom would ever go for a guy like him!”

“Mom said... that he... was a... hero,” she huffed back to him with every step.

“Oh yeah, a hero. He did one nice thing in his life before he died!” her brother snapped back furiously as he began to lose his own steam. Though he didn't want to admit it, his father was fast on foot. “Doesn't mean he wasn't a jerk. After all, look at the way he just talked to his sister and treated Mom's friends!” he shouted before pulling his sister to a stop, due to his lack of breath. After a moment of resting, he continued. “I just thought our dad was more of a good guy, ya know?” he whined, like a child.

Tired of her brother's whining, Mells slapped him upside the head. “Fine, do what you want! Go and help Twilight. I’ve had enough of you!” He snapped back, surprising her brother. He sat back in awe as he watched her tread down the road once again. After she was nearly out of his sight, he shook his head and ran in the opposite direction, only for his mind to be lost in thought.

He was perhaps five or six, outside in the fresh, clean air of the mountain town known as Everfree Town, located right next to the Everfree Forest.

Sure, the forest could be dangerous—definitely at night—but during the day, it was a great place to live. To the right of him, leaning up against a tree and eating some cotton candy, was his sister. He had a glass of chocolate milk beside him. Someone far taller than him walked over.

“Oh, and what is that you draw? Such a strange creature with a claw,” said his babysitter. He turned to her; she was unlike any other he had ever seen. She was a zebra not much older than his mother, who lived closer to the forest than them.

“Oh, this is supposed to be Daddy,” he told her.

“Ah, I see. Your daddy must have been quite the one to behold, in glee.”

“In glee?” he asked curiously.

“Glee means happy. And look at the smile you gave him, quite uncanny.”

She always did that; she was always rhyming in strange ways. He tried to think about what she meant, but just then, the sound of a motorcycle came up.

The two small ponies dropped what they were doing and ran over to the bike that had just pulled up.

“Mommy!” they shouted in unison. She took off her helmet, letting her pink hair flow down her head. She smiled at the two of her children but then brought a cigarette to her face. “Hey, you two, Mommy brought dinner home,” she said and handed them a bag of burgers from a fast-food restaurant.

“Yea, yea!” the two shouted and grabbed their food. “Thanks for watching them, Zecora,” their mother said and tossed her a few bills from her pocket.

“No problem! It is my pleasure. Please, if you need anything else, let me know!” the zebra smiled.

Their mother gave a weary smile in reply before she began cleaning up the crayons and paper, when she stopped dead in her tracks.

She gasped a bit as she saw the photo. In the drawing was a yellow pony with bat wings, a little gray pony by her side, and a yellow one on the other. But it was the taller figure on the right, drawn in gray with what looked to be a gray shadowy claw, that had her shocked.

“Oh, I drew that for you, Mommy! Do you like it?” the little yellow filly asked.

She turned to her child with a sweet smile. “Your daddy was a hero. Don't ever forget that, my son. Thank you for this.” She pointed at the drawing. “This is going on the fridge,” his mother nodded, and walked right past him, making sure to pat his head as she headed to the kitchen. He watched as she headed inside the apartment building. Their home.

“Home,” he whispered, as he ran behind the old creepy building. He then grabbed a screwdriver and the handlebars of his father's bike, fixing them into place as he remembered how he originally took it apart. “I’m going home,” he narrowed his eyes as he tightened the screw back on it.

Chapter 12 Welcome Home

Chapter 12 Welcome Home
Discord stood the entire night staring at the building. His stalkers, unknown to him, couldn't make out his expression. He was wide-eyed and somewhat worried. All she could see was his body shivering as a chill ran down it.

He pulled out a cigarette and a lighter, still shivering. As he was about to light it, however, a memory came to him.

Discord woke up one morning with his body shivering in fear. He gritted his teeth, feeling his heart beat faster than he could control. Immediately, he went for the lighter and cigarette on his nightstand. But as he was about to light it, something jumped on his arm.

He didn't know what it was or who it was. In this state, he wasn't Discord, the ghostly pony with everything; he was the pony who had just come through a war zone. Whoever this was could have been an enemy ready to take his life. He immediately turned to them with the intent to kill, but stopped as he saw her gripping onto his arm. His entire body was still trembling.

She opened his teal eyes. "I don't want you to smoke anymore. It's bad for you," she said as she laid her head against his bare chest. She wore a thin nightgown that barely hid anything from view. He was in awe of her beauty; she was perfect—curvy but not too much, flat but skinny.

Who was she? He could not remember; the recollection of her was not in his mind. Still, he could tell by the way she held him that she actually cared for his well-being. Slowly, he dropped the cigarette from his claw as he asked, "Who are you?"

She only snuggled into his side as she mumbled, "Someone who loves you."

Someone who loves you—the words echoed in his mind. That was the last cigarette he had for months until the day he almost died.

His body still shook, but he dropped the cigarette, taking a deep breath and gaining control of himself before putting away his lighter. He then quickly broke into the small apartment by using his tail to undo a latch on the window and crawled right in, unaware of his follower.

Discord slipped into the room, his night vision giving him a clear look at the scenery. Confusion struck his face as he looked around.

There were small toys scattered across the floor. A rocking chair sat in the corner, and a small bookshelf stood next to it. The room he slipped into looked like that of a child's room. Fear struck him. A child's room. If this was Fluttershy's home, what was he walking into? Was his beloved girlfriend married and happy without him? Why, then, would Dash demand he come see her, so he could see how she moved on with her life? He couldn't blame her; he had been considered dead for over a year. But the thought made him sick to his stomach. His plans for them, his dreams—all gone up in flames. So why would he survive if he couldn't live his dream with her?

A small noise from behind him stopped his thoughts.

Sweat began to build up as he shivered again. He peeked over his shoulder, fearing the worst. One look would tell him all he needed to know, and he could feel his heart racing as he turned his head. His breathing began to become erratic. Still, he pushed on.

Just then, as he looked down, he could have sworn he felt his heart stop as his eyes widened.

Laying in a small crib were not one but two very strange-looking creatures.

A grey baby girl, judging by her little haircut, had angel-like wings and tiny little dragon claws instead of front hooves. The other was a small yellow boy with wings like a bat and a dragon-like tail. The two yawned, and the girl rolled over slightly in her sleep.

Discord had no words as he turned completely around; he just realized he wasn't breathing and let out a shuddering breath as his heart began to beat again. He was starstruck at the two creatures that lay in the crib.

Another sound from the door caught his attention this time. A glass of alcohol, by the smell of it, fell to the floor and rolled over on the ground. There, standing in the doorway, was her. Though it was dark, it was easy to see what she looked like. Despite looking exhausted and sad, she hadn't changed a bit from what Discord could tell. Her eyes were wide, jaw dropped. She placed a hoof over her mouth as she tried to stifle a cry. She didn't want to wake the babies.

Discord didn't know what to say or do. He tried whispering something, but as he opened his mouth, nothing came out. Only a look of amazement, confusion, relief, and worry could be seen. The only thing he could get out was their ridiculous love song.

Never gonna give up on you, never gonna let you down, never gonna turn around and desert you. Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down, never gonna tell a lie and hur—

But before he could make another sound, she rushed toward him, smashing into his body. For a moment, the two sat there quietly; the only sound in the room was the soft lull of Anya sleeping. But as she sat there, a sound came to her ears that melted Fluttershy’s fears away in an instant. Bum, bum; “a heartbeat.” She wrapped her arms around him and let out a tearful cry, as silently as she could, not wanting to wake the babies.

Discord, still in a daze, looked at her. She still barely stood at his chest. He bent over and wrapped her in a hug as she listened to him pant and cry. A single tear welled up in his eye and slowly fell over his cheek. Despite his now gruesome appearance, he was still strong enough to hold her tight, the way he always did. As if she were made of glass—too loose, and she would slip and fall; too hard, and she would shatter in his grip. It was so comforting to be in his arms, if only for a fleeting moment.

Little did Fluttershy know that someone was watching them; the sight of her parents finally together and their tearful reunion nearly broke her heart.

Discord could sense her, yet he didn’t care; he had what he wanted, and he held on to her until she calmed down. Neither knew just how long that was, but to them, it didn't seem long enough when Discord finally let her go. He wanted to do nothing but hold her closer yet decided that when she loosened her grip on him, he should do the same.

Setting his claws over her face, he used his thumb to brush away a strand that covered her gorgeous crystal teal eyes, as he softly spoke, “You amazing little pony.” He still kept his words low so they didn't wake the little ones.

“Dissy,” she uttered as she wiped away a few tears, taking his claws in with her hooves and giving them an affectionate squeeze. “Oh, if only you were truly here.”

“What do you mean?” he asked, concerned.

“You died.” She shook her head slightly. “I know you died and you’re not coming back. I try to move on for the children's sake, but I miss you so much.” Another tear ran down her cheek. “I'm going crazy. I hear your voice from time to time. I see your shadow, and now...” She took in a deep breath. “Now I’m imagining I’m seeing your living corpse in our children's room.” She chuckled slightly. “But you are dead. I mean, just look at you.” She cried.

Discord narrowed his eyes as he thought of her words, taking in every bit of information he could. “Oh, Fluttershy, it hasn't been easy without me, has it?”

“No, no, it hasn’t,” she replied, hugging him again.

“Fluttershy, I am here. I am standing right in front of you.” He hugged her back. “And I am alive. I've grown weak, but I am alive, and soon I’ll have my strength back, I promise.”

“That’s what you say, yet I know the truth. When I wake up tomorrow, you’ll be gone. You’re always gone. All I want is to wake up with you by my side; all I want is for you to be standing here and holding our children.”

Discord opened one glowing eye and stretched his neck around so he could look at her. A thought then occurred to him. “That night, you were trying to tell me something, weren’t you? And here I thought it was the old ‘I love you’ nonsense you say before someone goes and dies.” He chuckled.

“Why didn’t you let me tell you? I should have told you.” She shook, trying to hold back tears.

“Simple, my dear. If you said it, I wouldn’t have been able to leave.” He undid the hug and lowered his face until they were at eye level. “Not if you told me you loved me. And definitely not if I knew about this. I had to; I had to save everyone for my own sanity.”

She smiled a sad smile at that.

“What happened in the last year? Tell me.” He pleaded.

She looked away from him and took a step toward her kids.

“That same night when you passed and you were gone, I did what you wanted to do. I grabbed what little I could, hopped on your bike, and took off.”

I drove far past the mountains and far past the valley until I ran out of gas and landed in this little town. I figured it was just the sort of place you'd like—somewhere away from the city. I decided this was the perfect place to live out my new life, to be a mother, and to save until I was able to build that cottage you wanted to live in. She then leaned over the edge of the crib.

“I expected one child,” she laughed a little. “And I got twins, of all things.”

Discord stepped to her side and looked down. “Kids were never part of the plan,” he smiled, “but somehow, I don't mind it.”

“Which one was born first?” he asked her.

“Melody; Discord Jr. was born a whole five minutes afterwards.”

Discord nodded as he took a closer look at his daughter. “Can I...,” he stretched over the bed a little.

“Careful you don't wake her up,” the mother told him.

Discord carefully picked the filly, trying his best not to wake her. He then sat down in the rocking chair in the corner, slowly rocking back and forth.

Fluttershy just watched with a smile; she still believed this was all in her head and couldn't be real.

Discord smiled as he looked at her little face. She began to drool on his arm, but he didn't mind at all. In fact, he was thankful she still slept. In his true form, surely he would have frightened the little one had she been awake.

The time traveler approached the area carefully as she stared at the figure holding the baby. Its eyes glowed crimson and yellow, yet she could see the warm smile on his face.

The bolder version wrapped her own arms around herself, a pang of pain in her heart as she felt a burning jealousy toward the little one in his arms.

She may have been older now, she may have been a time traveler from the future, but what she wouldn't give to be hugged by her father at least once. At least in this timeline, she knew he did love her, her brother, and her mother. She thought to herself but still couldn't help but feel jealous of her baby self.

“How old are they?” he whispered as he sat down in the chair.

“Two months, almost three,” Fluttershy replied.

“Almost three months I have already missed,” he said in a dull tone.

“I wish you were here. I wish you could watch them grow up and that they got to know you,” Fluttershy told him, trying not to cry again.

“Fluttershy, I am here,” he said as he stood up and placed the baby back in the crib before turning to her.

“What's it gonna take to get you to—” Before he could say anything, he felt his son grab his tail.

He turned back to see the little one curled up to his tail in its sleep. He was holding on a bit tightly, and Discord had to wiggle it out of his grip; a few feathers and a scale were left in the baby’s hands.

“Anyway, I am here, my dear. I am alive. You see, when the explosion happened, I got knocked out for a few months. I came to, my mind scattered with little memory at first. These two strangers saved…” His eyes widened when he realized what had truly transpired. His jaw dropped open, and his eyes dashed outside the window where he knew the little spy would be waiting for him.

“Something wrong, Diss?,” Fluttershy’s question caught his attention.

“Na, nothing,” he shook his head. “A changeling got loose because of Twilight, and I know I had to stop it.” He sighed and looked back down at the child in his arms, only for dread to fill his soul.

“Fluttershy,” he leaped up. “My dear, we’re in danger,” his voice shook. “The baby’s in danger, and I’m afraid I have no strength to protect you or them.” With a wince, Discord could only place the baby back in its crib as Fluttershy stood motionless, as if it were all a dream. When she didn’t say anything, he finally turned to her, leaping to her side and taking her by the hoof. “Fluttershy, listen to me, it’s not safe here. We have to go. You must come with me. We have to run; we have to hide now!” Oh, but where to? he moaned and slumped to the floor.

“G-Go with you? Oh, that would be lovely!” she grinned. “Oh, I would introduce you to my parents,” she shook her head dreamily. “My dad would flip,” she snickered. “Oh, but my mom would see you have a good heart, and, and we’d be—”

“Your parents live in Cloudsdale, isn’t that right?” he raised his head slightly.

“Yes, we have a little guest house on the lake right by the town. Oh, it’s so beautiful! I always wanted to get married at the church where I grew up.” She sniffled happily as she clutched her wedding ring.

“Yeah—yeah, let’s go,” Discord got to his feet. “Pack your things; we’re leaving, dear, tonight!” he emphasized.

She stared blankly at him in response.

“Now!” demanded Discord as he shook her. “Grab whatever you need, and let’s go…”

“Is this a dream?” she asked once more.

His eyes fluttered as he thought of what to say next, but with a roll of his eyes, he gave in. “Yes, yes, this is a dream. I’m here to sweep you off your feet; come, my love,” he seductively groaned and raised his claw, offering it to her. “We’re strangers to love,” he began to sing. “You know the rules and so do I, yi.”

With the sound of their song on the tip of his lips, she nodded and turned around to pack her things. He soon crawled out of the window he entered, a warm feeling of joy finally filling his heart as he tightened his black cloak around himself. He blissfully sighed and closed his eyes, raising them to the heavens above. “I know you’re there…”

Discord spoke with a hint of amusement running across his voice—an almost creepy sound that caught his spy's ears.

“Melody, come here, my dear,” her father beckoned her out of the shadows. A shiver ran through her body, along with a strange warmth she hadn’t felt in years. Soon, she rose from the bushes, only to become as stiff as stone when she saw his figure against the cold moonlight, like a shadow cast against the light of the night.

“Daddy!” she chirped, crying out.

Discord's eyes snapped to her, a grin forming on his face as he watched her step into the moonlight. However, his smile faded to an emotionless expression with every step he took toward her.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” His voice turned cross, though there was a warmth in it that hadn’t been there before.

“I wasn’t supposed to; it’s time travel rules,” Melody lowered her head.

Discord narrowed his eyes and observed his daughter's form for a moment. “How could I not put it together? You’re as beautiful as your mother,” he whispered in awe before gripping, “I should have known.”

“What now... Daddy, we have to—”

Discord snickered at his daughter's words. “Oh, that’s gonna take some getting used to.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Ghost,” Melody stammered as she retreated.

“No, no, please, by all means,” he lowered his head into his claws.

An awkward silence welled up for a moment until the sound of rumbling from the house behind them told them Fluttershy was coming.

“Melody, let me tell you a secret,” his lips curved into a soft smile.

She could only nod, amazed at how soft her father's voice could be when he wasn’t acting like an evil prick.

“I love your mother… and I… I made mistakes, mistakes I wish I could take back, dear.”

“Dad, you—”

“I was so mean to your brother,” Discord shook his head. “I’m going to do everything I can to keep you safe, and right now… that’s to run,” he mumbled, turning his back to her.

“Dad, there will be nowhere to run in—”

“In the future, I know, but right now it's all I can do.”

“Ta—take me with—”

“No, your brother needs you… you must stop the apocalypse together, you two—”

“We’re not as strong as you!” Melody cried out.

“No,” Discord snapped back. “You’re stronger, and in time you’ll see how strong you are. Now go!”

“But—”

Just then the door opened, and Fluttershy trailed out with two bags full of stuff and her babies asleep, tied to her chest.

Discord slipped back into the shadows of the house and greeted her as Melody watched.

“I still have your bike,” Fluttershy giggled as she got on the back of it.

Discord happily chuckled and rubbed the handlebars, amazed that it was still in one piece. With one last exhale of fresh air, he threw one leg over the side of it and revved the engine.

This left young Melody speechless as she watched her family finally leave together. She stood for a minute, unsure of what to do next, but her father's words came back to her mind. Her brother—she needed to get back to her brother.

Chapter 13 changing minds.

As the sun began to rise on what must have been the third or fifth day—Chrislis lost count—she let out a rough yawn due to absolutely no sleep. When her henchman came in with their report, shaking under the weight of her tired glare, she didn’t even bother asking him for it. She could tell just by his presence and lack thereof what she wanted: they failed once again.

“M-my queen,” Rarity mumbled. Of course, it was not Rarity at all but a changeling in disguise.

“Can it,” she snapped, baring her fangs, before taking the appearance of Celestia again. “I don’t want excuses; I want my goddaughter and her little friends found. You,” she snapped back to the changeling who took on the appearance of Sombra, “has there been any success finding the chimera blood?”

“No, Your Highness, and without Luna—”

“Find it!” she barked, not letting one excuse arise. A knock at the door alerted them, and with it, the few changelings who weren’t disguised took on a different appearance before Celestia opened the door.

“Oh, uh, I’m sorry, am I interrupting?” Starlight nervously waved hello to the crowded office of the mayor.

“No, we were just wrapping up here,” Celestia smiled as best she could, but her eyes showed not only how tired she was, but her fury as well.

Starlight lowered her gaze, for a moment unsure of what to say, before perking back up again with what little she could muster. “I have now received said energy source and have already begun the extraction process. The first test is set on schedule, Miss Kang.”

“Finally, some good news,” she mumbled as she headed into the hallway. “I’ll be looking forward to your work, Mrs. Glimmer; don’t activate it until I get there. Now, why don’t you get back to—”

“That’s the thing, Mrs. Kang. While I am taking the necessary precautions, I don’t feel safe without an assistant. And considering I’m actually Twilight’s assistant, shouldn’t she be the one working on this?”

“I told you, my goddaughter is dealing with a family issue, and she gave you full power over the project. She trusts you; isn’t that what you wanted?” Celestia raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, but just a few days ago she didn’t even trust me to look at the Time Machine without her consent. I don’t know, I just feel safer if she—”

Celestia inhaled as she set a hoof on her head. “Look, Starlight, I know I’m not supposed to tell you this, but—” she rolled her eyes. “There is a reason why Twilight isn’t present. If I tell you, you have to promise me not to trust anyone with this information. It’s a matter of the utmost importance.”

“Uhh,” was all Starlight could muster.

“My sister escapes, and Twilight went after her without telling me. I have no connection with her.”

Starlight’s eyes grew three times the size as her mouth dropped open, only for Celestia to put a hoof over it.

“Yes, yes, I know. Let’s not make a scene. I trust my goddaughter to deal with it. And if she didn’t cancel the Time Machine, then I’m certain by the time she gets back, she’d be very proud of you for accomplishing it on your own.” Celestia assured her before removing her hoof and heading out the door.

“On my— but I need a—”

“Then I shall provide an assistant myself. I will not let Twilight’s future be ruined because of the past again.”

“Wow, Mrs. Kang, you really do care about the future.”

“You have no idea,” Celestia chuckled to herself, growing a conniving grin before easing it and turning back to the purple pony. “Alright, Starlight, now tell me, have you had any contact with Twilight at all? I want to find her and help catch my crazy sister in the process.”

“Oh, no, but there might be a clue or two at her old apartment. I know she doesn’t visit much, but that is where we stored her old design for the Time Machine. Maybe she left something there that could help you find her.”

“Hmm, great idea. Now, as for your assistant, Miss Shine can help you.”

Rarity stepped forward and gave Starlight a smile. “I may not be the most scientific girl out there, but I do know a thing or two about being careful. You wouldn’t believe how delicate your hands have to be when sewing.” She giggled.

“Haha, I guess that could work. I’ll just need you to sign some waivers; it’s not too much, just, uh, if you die from radioactive poisoning, you won’t sue me.” Starlight giggled.

“I see, I can do that, and with the right protective equipment, I’m certain it’s perfectly safe,” Rarity turned to Celestia for reassurance.

“Fifty-fifty,” the mayor replies, “Glad it is all settled,” the mayor replied before getting into her car and driving off, leaving the two girls. She never even bothered to take so much as a glance at both the real Rarity and Shining Armor and his wife, who were tied up in the back seat of her car, mouths taped shut.

…

With a creaking sound of the door, Celestia walked in alongside her captives.

She all but ignored their furious looks and gave the small apartment a once-over, finishing a layer of dust as she ran her hoof alongside the table.

Those that were chained waddled their way to the couch and sat down.

Finally, the queen acknowledged their presence with a question. “Do any of you need to use the bathroom?”

At first puzzled by this, the three raised an eyebrow before glaring down at her once more.

“What? I'm not senseless. It’s better you go in there instead of on the couch.” She rolled her eyes and headed over to them. Her face was neutral, but her eyes seemed almost melancholy as she swept through the place, searching for something. A soft tingle of one of their chains caught her attention, and she turned back to them, putting on the best smile she could muster.

“Sorry, Rarity, you must forgive me, but if I hadn’t set you and Shining up, I would have no pieces against Twilight.

She’ll soon discover you two are in my possession.”

Rarity tried to speak, but it was muffled by the duct tape over her mouth.

Despite it, Celestia acted as if she heard every word and continued searching through the house. “Yes, she’ll come to me to get you back, and sure, I’m not saying she will agree to work with me for your freedom; I’m no idiot. But it will keep her at bay.” She then began to go through the cabinets of the place, continuing the conversation.

“Don’t worry. I have no reason to harm you any further. Especially because if I did, then I wouldn’t be able to use you against her, now would I?” She cheerfully claimed as she searched the last of the cabinets.

With another grumble, this time from Shining, Celestia turned back to them.

“Oh, but I will, Shining. You see, what you don’t realize is that I know Twilight more than anyone. I even know her better than you, after all,” her lips began to twist into a smile, looking far more innocent than she actually was.

“I am the one who raised her.”

With a groan from Rarity again, Celestia answered her question.

“Anything really, something that could help track my little goddaughter down. I’m going to look upstairs; feel free to try to escape if you want. Make my day that much more interesting.” She giggled before heading upstairs.

She soon entered the old bedroom of Twilight, finding it set just as it always was. The only thing new was the laid dust that showed how long it had been since anyone had entered it.

There, in the back, was the only thing that hadn’t been dusty: the new place’s old Time Machine. Celestia could see her reflection in its crude shiny copper siding.

As she sat staring at it, a flashback emerged in her mind. One so vivid she could have sworn she smelled the shift in the air. The room set ablaze around her; the only thing in her hoof was the last bit of serum that would change her into a chimera forever. And the hopes and dreams she had of one day ending the war before it all began, now in her grasp.

With a blink of her eye, she returned back to the reality at hand, feeling the same rage in her stomach as before. With a sigh, she let it go before she returned to her task at hand. With more speed and frustration than before, she began ripping through the room. She rent through everything—the drawers, the desk—but found nothing useful. Finally, she turned to the old chest, giving it a kick open, not caring for the personal belongings any longer. She soon threw out Twilight’s old chemistry book right over her shoulder and ripped out the old radio without a second thought. Growing angrier by the second, she suddenly gasped, slowing down her fury in an instant.

Gently, she set down the radio as she blinked slowly at the object at the bottom of the box. With a steady hoof, she, even more gently than with the radio, picked up the object that caught her attention, pulling it out before her.

There, sitting in her hoof, was a pony doll that had seen better days. It had button eyes and a pony face, but it was definitely hanging on by its last string.

“Smarty Pants,” Celestia whispered as her eyes began to water. “Oh, Twilight,” she whispered, as she could see the small young filly in her mind.

…

Once again, with a blink of her eye, Celestia was now no longer in Twilight's space but in her memories.

…
With the sound of a pencil, young Starlight was working on a schematic of her plans when a pony dressed in glasses and a lab coat walked up to her.

The greatest arch-rival she had ever known, and soon her best friend, smiled and pointed out a flaw in the wiring schematic.

With another flash, she then saw Twilight bloody on the ground. With a scream, Starlight yelled out in horror as she crushed the bottle of the last of the serum in her hooves.

With another flash, though, she then stood as the mayor of Ponyville when Luna walked in with a letter.

“Celestia,” Luna uttered through a wavering lip as she held out the letter to her.

Taking a quick glance at the letter, Celestia’s eyes widened. Setting the paper down, she now stood in front of a door, shivering. As she reached for the handle, she stopped and took a deep breath, quickly shaking whatever fears were in her head away before entering.

There on the bed lay Twilight, a very young filly asking for her parents once again.

“Thank you, Doctor,” said Celestia with newfound confidence and strength, surprising even herself. "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,” Celestia walked over and sat on the bed in front of her. “How old are you now?”

“Me? Oh, uh… eleven. Why?”

The mayor 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.

Celestia gave a weak but warm grin as she looked upon her greatest rival once more. "Alright, Twilight, once the doctor checks you over, I’ll take you home, okay?"

The young girl gave another nod as the memory once more faded to her in the car.

Celestia did what she could to watch the road, but every few seconds, she couldn’t help but glance at the rear seat to check on the young filly.

How odd it felt for Celestia to not only be in this position normally, but to know the person in the back seat from another timeline was her best friend, left her with an otherworldly eerie feeling. With a quick flash of her eyes, she soon spotted a grocery store. “Huh, I should probably buy her some dinner now. I’ve never really taken care of anyone before. What do you do with kids?” She thought in her mind, glancing over her shoulder once more. Twilight, however, never moved, instead watching the outside world pass her by.

With a soft blink, Celestia turned back to the road with a sigh as she turned the wheel, heading towards the store.

Celistia walked through the halls with a cart muttering to herself the entire time. “What do kids like. Cotton candy and sugar canes,” she said, sticking the objects in her cart. Oh oh, Dino nuggets, maybe, she thought. “Uhh,” she utters as she quickly tore open a nearby fridge and gathered said object. “I have no idea what I’m doing,” she internally groaned before her phone went off. Giving it a glance, it was Luna who gave her a list of coffee and frozen TV dinners.

“Uh, that might work. Kids like coffee, right? I mean, I always did,” she smiled wildly, unsure of herself. Giving the cart a push, only to stop when she noticed the child in question was not present. “Oh now, where did she go? I told her to stay by my side,” Celistia began to panic and search around high, about to call out her name when she froze mid-way thanks to finding Twilight standing by an old box of toys.

“Oh, oh yes, I suppose kids like toys,” Celistia muttered to herself as she approached the pile, finding her niece staring at the ugliest doll she ever laid eyes upon. With a quick cough clearing her throat, she took on a voice of calm and sternness, not wanting to show how nervous she actually was.

“Twilight, I specifically stated to stay close to me.”

The young filly turned around, lowering her head, but said nothing.

“Do you want a doll?” Celistia sighed, snatching the object up and handing it to her.

Twilight looked between her and the doll, as if contemplating it, before turning to the cart full of junk food and TV dinners.

“I don’t really eat any of that,” she mumbled barely audible.

“Speak up, Twilight. Now tell me what would you like to—”

“Sandwiches with dressing on the side. And a cookie for dessert. Donuts for breakfast, please.”

Celistia's eyes widened at the little girl's request, but soon gave a nod before smiling and handing her the doll. “If that’s what you want, kid. Hay, I know why don't we stop by your house and pick up a few of your old things.”

“I want my Time Machine, blueprints and my chemistry book,” the young lady replied as she wrapped her arms tighter around the doll.

The very mention of the device stuck Celistia like a cold chill. Your... your... she mumbled as she remembered who she was dealing with. Twilight might have been a child in this timeline, but she was still extremely intelligent and the fact that she was already putting together such a device at her young age astonished the mayor. But a giggle soon erupted from her mouth, and both of them.

“Oh sorry, it’s just that you always were way smarter than me,” Celistia chuckled.

“Come on, let’s get your salad and head over to your old house, okay.”

With a nod, and a tighter grip on the stuffed horse, the little girl made it clear she wasn’t going to leave without it, and seemed to silently thank Celistia for it. To which Celistia held no issue with.

…

The doll now sat in Celistia's joint once more. Every ounce of its small weight felt as heavy as a giant stone as she sat there staring down at it. Her mouth agaped.

It was quite the ugly doll. A grey doll with iron eyes and brown rope for twigs of hair; a stitch-patched on its butt from when Celistia had to re-sew it, the one time it fell apart in the snow. Despite having only button eyes, the doll seemed to stare into Celistia’s soul as if it could read her heart and all her sins. Celistia no... Chrislis... no Starlight burst into green flames taking on the appearance of the mare she once was so long ago.

She looked just like Starlight did now, only with a few wrinkles on her face and a grey strand in her hair. A look she guessed she would have if she truly aged correctly. Due to the Chimera blood running through her veins, she knew not of what she truly looked like. Still, and she closed her eyes, she begged that she could just turn the clock back and change things once more. Perhaps she couldn’t have become a Chimera; perhaps she shouldn’t have run through the Time Machine. Perhaps she should have just let the past be and look forward to what the future would hold.

“I’m sorry, Twilight, but I’ve come close to stopping here,” she said to the doll as if the young filly was in front of her once more. It said nothing; its silence reminding her of Twilight that first day.

Quiet as always I see, she snickers before something else caught her eye behind the doll. She lowers it in hopes to better see what it was.

Her eyes once again widened before growing clearer and narrowing in on the object as her lips once again curved. With a flash of fire, she took on the appearance of her true form. Chrislis... then slowly laid the doll before snatching the other object. There in the reflection of the photo, she could see herself standing right next to him.

“That’s it, Twilight. Once I save him, surely you’ll join me then,” she smiled nearly hissing her fangs at Twilight’s father.

Chapter 14 A new strategy

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Chapter 15 Curiosity And The Cat

Chapter 14 Curiosity And The Cat
Capper was a young small cat staring at a birthday cake with the number 13 on it. He licked his lips as he imagined the taste, a smile tugging at his face. He grew closer to it in preparation to take a huge bite out of it, only to meet the barrier that held him back from his prize.

“Hey, kid!” the shop owner yelled at him. “Stop making a mess of my window and get out of here! You’re disturbing my customers!” shouted a fancy-looking pony.

The kid took a step back as he looked at the cake in the window. Next to it was an even larger wedding cake, and beside it a handful of cupcakes with a sign displaying the price tag.

“Freshly baked homemade fancy cakes starting at twenty-five dollars.” Not the worst price ever, but the boy put his paws in his pocket, finding only a penny he had found earlier that morning. He then walked off, tossing the penny up with a sad smile as he recited the silly words his mother used to tell him.

“Find a penny, pick it up, and soon all day you'll have good luck.” He caught the penny just as he finished saying the word "luck."

“Hmm, but this isn't a very lucky birthday for me, now is it?” He frowned. He wore a little pair of jeans and an old, used green T-shirt that was longer than he was. He was new to the city, having arrived only a few months ago. As he walked down the streets, little did anyone even try to talk to him. He often heard some calling him street cat or vermin, or making snarky cat jokes to themselves.

He wore a look of frustration but signed it away, thinking it was better to just get used to it. The war with the cats was coming to a close according to the newspaper articles he had snagged a look at as he passed by a newspaper stand.

“Extra! Extra! Read all about it!” shouted someone on the street, catching young Capper's attention. “Lord Ghost becomes head adviser of the banks. Read all about it!” The lizard handed out papers.

One person tossed theirs over their shoulder; Capper was able to catch it and take a look. Unfortunately for the boy, Capper couldn't read Ponyish and had to look around for help. “Uh, sir, sir?” He tapped one pony's leg. The pony looked down grumpily at the cat. “C-can you tell me what this says?” Capper asked.

The pony grumbled, “Street cats are so uncivilized.” He snatched the paper out of Capper's hand and cleared his throat.

“Mr. Ghost, aka Lord Ghost, one of the bravest soldiers of our generation, has officially shown his next move. He has taken on the job as head adviser of the city banks, with the possibility of becoming head banker in a few years. Little is known about the colt, and whether or not he can be trusted with our money; many believe he only got the role due to his connections with royalty, using his title as a lord as leeway into our pockets. If he is a royal spy, then it’s possible the felines are trying to take over our city’s money, and soon our country could be at risk.”
“Now, cat, why don't you scurry along and find a litter box to play in?” sneered the pony.

Capper rolled his eyes at the pony's harsh tone and looked at the paper as he remembered who Mr. Ghost was. He was the pony who saved a group of several feline orphans in the war, including himself.

Capper remembered the event clear as day.

…

Lying in bed, made of cloth blankets and soft sand, Capper lay in what was his only protection. The only thing in his paw was the penny he held on to for dear life as he thought of his mother and what could have happened to her. Raising his eyes, he turned to the room filled with older kids twice his size, but just as scared as he was. And no adults in sight. Growing restless once more, he turned to the boarded window of the place. A crack in the wood showed a ghost town. The streets were endless sands, and the walls he stood inside were made of wood and clay. The place stood in chilling quiet, not a sound to be heard—not even from the other children, who hid alongside him, worried that if they made one sound, they would be found. But with no sight of the enemy in the air, Capper finally settled, wiggling a small amount, trying to find a comfortable position to finally sleep. Only his ears perked up when he heard the sound of footsteps. His eyes flew open, terrified at the possibility of who they could belong to.

He quickly peeked out the window, expecting the worst possible thing. But to his surprise, it was not a dog he saw standing outside, nor was it any creature he could ever recognize. It was something different, something strange. It had an antler and a goat horn, two mighty wings, a claw, and a lion paw. Capper sat watching it from the shadows as it paced up and down the streets, as if it were looking for something. He could see as its strange elongated nose sniffed around the streets. Whatever the creature was soon picked up the track of what it was hunting and vanished back into the shadows from which it came, never to be seen again—or so Capper hoped. After that, he fell asleep, never expecting what was going to happen when he woke up next.

He didn’t know how long he slept, but when a sudden paw snatched him by the shirt, he woke up to what looked like hell. Every cat was now placed in a cage by dogs who snarled their canine teeth at them.

“This is the last one,” he heard the dog call out before tossing him into a cage. “Then let’s move out!” shouted another grumpily.

With Capper now in the cage, the dog carried him to the doorway, sliding open the curtain, only to meet head to head with a figure that was far taller than him.

“It’s the ghost!” shouted the dog, as he dropped Capper, who could only get one good look at the figure of the so-called ghost. Once again, he saw the strange creature from before, antlers and horns bare at him. But as the creature rushed in, it snatched Capper's cage before he could fall, using its lion paw to tear it open with a swipe of its claw from the other. It then proceeded to dump Capper on the ground before using the leftover cage to bash the dog over the head. It soon swiped at the other dog, wrestling it to the ground when a gunshot went off.

Capper jumped at the loud bang, but soon turned to see the creature standing over the dog as victor as it whistled for more troops. In a flash, a hundred or more ponies ran into the area just as the ghost once again fled to the shadows.

…

Capper would never forget the night he was saved by the ghost. It wasn’t long after that he and the other children were brought to Ponyville for safety under General Luna’s orders—whoever that was. He had heard that as a reward, the ghost was made a lord. But now, to know he works in this city and is becoming a banker—whatever that means—made the cat smile as he felt a warm feeling in his heart. He knew not all ponies were bad. Certainly not Mr. Ghost. Why, he was a hero in the cats' eyes. “I—I have to find him. I have to thank him for what he's done. Why, I wouldn't be alive if not for him…” Capper thought as he looked around the large city. “Hmm, but how on earth am I going to find him, I wonder?”

As the sun began to set, Capper found his way back to the south side of town. His stomach growled, much to his annoyance. He hadn't eaten anything all day and knew he would have to scrape up something. Down an alleyway, he saw a trash can—a gold mine for him—and he dumpster-dived into it in search of something to eat. He found a half-eaten buffet topped with some mystery sauce of which he did not know the origin. He ate it, disgusted by the taste, and nearly barfed but kept it in his mouth, forcing himself to swallow, knowing this was the only food he was going to get for a while. Then he heard some type of commotion further down the alleyway.

Intrigued, if not a bit frightened, he decided to take a look, knowing all too well that his curiosity would get the better of him someday.

To his surprise, a tall figure had another one, twice his size, up against the wall.

“Listen, you,” the tall skinny one spoke. “I don't care how long it takes; I want it done tonight, understand?” he growled at the shadow.

The other chuckled and pushed the shadow off. “Don't worry; I told you, a deal's a deal,” he chuckled more. “I can get you—” He stopped and then, out of nowhere, grabbed Capper. “Looks like we got ourselves an eavesdropper,” the creature grinned viciously. “A curious cat. By the looks of it, tell me, boy, do you know what curiosity does to cats?” He pulled out a knife, causing the small cat to cower in fear. “N-no, please, I…”

The knife was then smacked out of the creature’s hands. “It's just a kid—let him go,” spat the shadow.

“Hey! How dare you? You clearly are new to this, aren't you? There are rules on these streets,” growled the thing holding Capper.

“And what of it to you? He's just a boy; his only crime is curiosity.”

“There is no innocent in these alleys.” He pulled Capper closer to his face. Capper could barely see that it was some type of buff monkey—an ape, perhaps. “He could be a spy or something.”

“Ma—Oh no, please, I…” He stopped his pleading and cowered more as he saw the monkey’s other hand forming a fist, ready to punch him.

The shadow acted quickly, swishing around him, overpowering the buff monkey and sending him on his butt. The monkey dropped Capper, but the boy was caught by a hoof and pulled to safety.

“I’ve had about enough of this. Now we had a deal, so go get it done!” snarled the shadow. The monkey growled as he stood up.

“Why you!” it growled, but was stopped by the shadow, who said, “Unless you’re too weak for the job.” He spoke with a hint of amusement in his tone. The monkey huffed as it stood up and walked away without another word.

The shadow, who was still holding onto Capper, pulled him around the corner and spat, “You need to learn to mind your own business. Don’t you know the old phrase? Learn it, boy!” He spat and threw Capper's arm back at him before he began to walk away. As he did so, Capper noticed the way he walked: he not only had a cane but was clearly injured.

“W-wait, I…” he said as the pony shadow turned to him. It was too dark to make out any features.

“I—I just wanted to thank you, sir.”

The shadow seemed to not care and turned around to walk away.

“W-wait! You’re injured; I can help. I—”

The shadow snapped back at him and glided past, making him trip over the cane.

“Ha! As if I would ever need your help. Get lost, kid; you’re in way over your head!” he said as he vanished once again into the shadows.
…

The next morning, Capper woke up on the side of the road in a dumpster, the only place he could call home now. He picked up his penny and sighed. “Some birthday that was. If I just had one wish…” He growled a bit, but let his anger go with another sigh. “Oh well, see a penny, pick it up; all day you'll have good luck.” He tossed it up with a chuckle. “Ah, if only that were true,” he said as he fished the nearly worthless coin from his pocket.

He then started his day by grabbing the newspaper from yesterday. That one guy told him what it said, and he used its knowledge to try and figure out how to read Ponyish, by reading other Ponyish words on cans and trash that were in his dumpster. Once he had enough of that, he tried to scramble something up to eat. Finding the burger from last night, he shook in disgust at the sight of it, but his stomach growled. So he went to take a bite when suddenly the dumpster lid opened up.

“What are you doing here?” said the figure above him. He recognized the voice—it was the shadow that saved him last night. “Oh, uh, I sort of live here.”

“No, no, you don't. This is my dumpster. And is that my old burger I threw out?”

The kids looked at it, then back at the dark figure.

“It moaned in annoyance. Come on, get out of my dumpster. You're just going to have to find a new place to live.”

“Huh? But…” The cat jumped out. “But this place is a dump.”

“Too bad. I bought this land and that building. This is now my property, you’ll have to find somewhere else, kid,” growled the figure as he snapped back. This was the first time Capper could finally make out his features. He was a skinny pony with sunken-in eyes and a skull-like appearance, dressed head to toe in a trench coat topped off with a top hat. His eyes were ruby in color, and he had a strange, almost fang-like tooth hanging out.

Capper recognized the guy right away. “M-Mr. Ghost?”

The pony raised an eyebrow, hearing his name.

“Uh, s-sorry, it's just... you saved me. I, um, I was one of the orphans you saved back in Catgypt.”

“Oh, well isn't it a small world after all?” he spat sarcastically. “Get lost!” he yelled before limping away.

“Oh, but I wanted to thank you, sir, for—”

“I said get lost.” He slid past him, and in a spin, he knocked the boy off his feet. “Take a hint, kid,” he told him as he slowly limped his way back inside the old, falling-apart building.

Capper, however, couldn’t help his curiosity and began following the grumpy colt. He watched as the colt began to clean out the old place, preparing to repaint the walls.

Realizing he was being watched, the annoyed grumpy colt turned around and grumbled, “What do you want?”

“Oh, uh, well, it's just, what are you doing?” he asked curiously.

“What's it look like I'm doing? Now get lost before I call the authorities and have you removed from my property!”

Then the boy's stomach growled again.

Mr. Ghost rolled his eyes, knowing the boy was in his dumpster a moment ago. He sighed and looked around the room. It would take forever to clean and paint, and with his own injuries, it would take him even longer. “Listen, kid, since you won't leave me alone, how about I make you a deal?”

Capper looked at him curiously.

“Help me fix up the place, and I'll treat you to lunch. But you won't get a crumb before this place is completely dusted,” he growled.

Capper smiled and picked up a duster as he began to help clean up the old building.

Mr. Ghost kept to his word, taking the boy out to lunch on the back of his motorcycle. He then handed him a twenty and told him to get anything he wanted while he went to get himself some tea.

Capper did as he was told, fetching himself a sandwich and a soda. He also grabbed a shake and another sandwich before he ran back to Mr. Ghost, who he saw enter the coffee shop on the corner.

The pony was munching on a muffin and having a cup of tea as the boy came in. he groaned at the sight of the boy once again asking. “What now, kid? I treated you to lunch, didn't I? Now get lost.”

“Oh, uh, but I brought you a sandwich and the change, sir.” He held up the two dollars and fifteen cents.

“You can eat the other sandwich; I don't want it,” he snatched the change from the boy's paw, making him jump at first, even so the boy smiled, before sitting down and began eating his lunch. Bunt ot before Mr. Ghost huffed in annoyance once more, “And what do you think you're doing? I did not tell you you could sit with me,” he growled.

“Oh, oh, sorry, I just thought…”

“Look, kid, I get it; you're young and little, and I saved you, all right. But I am no hero. I have a busy life with no need for the likes of you. I get that you're grateful and all, but that is where this ends. Good day,” he growled, before focusing his attention back to his muffin.

Capper, taken aback, only nodded and took off with his lunch. Eventually, he found a bench on the side of the road and ate one sandwich, saving the other to use for dinner.

Afterwards, the boy heard the sound of a bike and looked up just in time to see Mr. Ghost driving away.

Eventually, Capper wandered the streets back to what he called home, only to stop when he remembered Mr. Ghost told him the dumpster was his and kicked him out. He looked at his last sandwich, deciding to nibble on it as he wondered where he was going to go now.

But as he approached the rusty old building from behind, he heard laughter from the front. Curiosity struck again, and he decided to take a look around the corner.

His eyes widened as he saw a mob of gangsters.

“We had a deal, Tireak!” shouted Mr. Ghost.

The monkey from the night before chuckled as he finished counting his bills. “Yeah, we did have a deal. I said I'd get you what you wanted, and I did.” He chuckled. “Now, I never said how I’d get it.” He chuckled a bit more as he stuffed the cash back into his duffle bag. “A pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Ghost,” he said, as the gangsters began surrounding him.

“And of course, a pleasure doing business with you,” the monkey bowed to the goat.

“Can it, Tireak!” the goat announced. “You…” The old goat chuckled. “You think you can just come to my city, buy up my property, and get away with it, do ya?”

Mr. Ghost’s eyes narrowed. “You must be Grogar!” he smirked.

Grogar chuckled. “Here's the deal I'll make you. You're mighty smart to get this far, boy. Give me twenty-five percent of all sales, and become a part of my operations. Do that, and I won't let anyone lay a hoof or a claw on you.”

Mr. Ghost snickered at that. “Really offering me a job? Ahahaha!” He cackled. “Here's my deal for you: Get out of my city. I claim this to be my town now. Begone with your drugs and your weapons, or else you'll see a new war at your doorstep!” he growled.

Grogar couldn't hide the amused smirk on his face. “You and what army? You're just a soldier boy who got lucky and now parades around with the title of lord. Titles don't mean anything down here on the streets, especially not in this city,” he chuckled. “And whatever this is…” Grogar waved a briefcase around, “must be pretty important for you to want it so badly that you risk having a street thug like Tireak come to take it.”

“You're just a drug lord who's way over your head. Now drop the case and run, otherwise you'll see who's making the mistake around here,” growled Mr. Ghost.

Grogar’s smile faded to a bored look as he clapped his hooves. “Boys, teach this moron a lesson. Don’t kill him, though; he may be useful.” Grogar chuckled menacingly.

Several gangsters approached Mr. Ghost, carrying bats, knives, and chains. Those who didn't just raised their bare hooves or claws to fight.

Seeing this, Capper began to cower in fear. It wouldn't take long before they would pummel Mr. Ghost to a pulp. What could he do? He was just a small boy. He could run to the cops… oh, but would they listen to a street cat like him? He couldn't fight, that's for sure. And he knew Mr. Ghost was injured. Oh, what to do, what to do? he asked himself when suddenly he was picked up by the red monkey, Tireak.

“Uh oh, look what we have here! It's the little curious cat,” Tireak chuckled devilishly.

Mr. Ghost looked over along with everyone else. He gritted his teeth as he snarled at the boy, “I told you to get lost!”

“Ha! Help!” the cat stuttered.

“Do what you want, Tireak,” Grogar said as he took the briefcase and walked away. “I want Ghost alive, but you can kill the useless kid for all I care.” He shrugged as he began to take off.

Tireak chuckled at that as he raised his fist to punch the young Capper. The boy shivered in fear; however, it was short-lived as he saw what happened next.

The buff monkey was choking in a powerful stronghold given to him by Mr. Ghost, causing Tireak to drop Capper to the ground.

Neither the boy, the monkey, nor the other gangsters saw Mr. Ghost even make a move. They all were stunned, including Capper, but Capper was pulled out of it when he heard the colt call out, “Run, kid!”

Capper took off, dodging the arms of the others who tried to grab him as the others approached Mr. Ghost.

“Heh, typical!” chuckled the goat as he clapped his hooves, letting his other minions enter the fray.

Surrounded by the enemies, Mr. Ghost let go of his chokehold on Tireak just in time as the others attacked. He dodged them as he quickly swished around them, as if he were dancing. He was able to kick one into two others, but it was clear how outnumbered he truly was.

Capper could only do what he could to dodge the oncoming hooves and claws trying to catch him.

He looked back to see the others lunging with their weapons drawn at Mr. Ghost. But to his surprise, he spun around, and something the boy found hard to see slapped them across the face. A tail, perhaps? But it wasn't a ponytail, that's for sure! Just as it appeared, it vanished into thin air. Mr. Ghost punched one and kicked another oncoming attacker just as someone else grabbed the young cat.

The boy, however, decided to try and copy his hero's moves, spinning around and slapping him with his tail. “I-I did it!” he cheered momentarily, but it was too soon to celebrate as another gang member lunged at him. This time, it was an omega dragon older than he was. He swiped past her and scratched her with his claws, causing her to roar out in pain. The boy did what he could to dodge the others and try to make a run for it. However, one of them managed to stab a knife into the young cat's arm, causing him to cry out in pain.

Meanwhile, Mr. Ghost had his hands full with the others, yet somehow was able to slip by them, almost as if he were dancing. With one hand chop, he broke one of the attacker's wooden bats before he kicked him into the ground. He didn't stop there and proceeded to pummel each and every one of them one by one, taking out pent-up frustration the likes of which had never been seen.

He then turned his sights on Grogar, who held a gun to his face. “Hmm, perhaps you're more trouble than you're worth,” he said as he cocked the gun, not even batting an eye. But before he could shoot, he screamed out in pain as he felt something claw onto his leg.

Mr. Ghost took the opportunity to kick the gun up in the air, catching it with his hoof and pointing it straight at Grogar's head. He breathed out heavily, showing how tired he was as he took a step toward Grogar. He still had his limp, but somehow being injured only made him more terrifying as Grogar began to cower in fear.

“What were you saying?” Mr. Ghost chuckled darkly, causing even the leader to shiver in fear at the look on the colt's face.

Just then, the sound of cop cars blared from the back, making Mr. Ghost chuckle in delight. “Looks like you're caught! The old crime lord is now cowering under me. Haha, just like I told you, you would.”

“Now, here's the deal I'll make you,” Mr. Ghost smirked. “I'll let you live. I'll let you run free. You see, I need you alive anyway. I need a messenger, after all.” He chuckled. “Go and tell all the other crime lords that a new one is in town.”

“I want them out of my city, and I’m keeping the gun. So do we have a deal?”

The old goat, terrified and alone, nodded. “You won’t hear the last of me. I have plenty more where this came from.”

Mr. Ghost chuckled. “A war for the streets it is. Be my guest. Bring them.” He lowered the gun. “That’s your cue to run, by the way.”

At that, Grogar took off, terrified. Mr. Ghost took one step and nearly collapsed, but it was Capper who grabbed him, making sure he didn't fall.

He looked at the boy, surprised he was still there. Capper looked up at him with amazement. Mr. Ghost noticed the knife that was still lodged in the boy’s arm. He didn't say a word as the authorities came in.

The boy was looked over and patched up by someone in an ambulance. As the cops took in the last of the gangsters, Capper turned to see where Mr. Ghost was.

Mr. Ghost had his back turned to them as he stared at the old building in front of him.

Capper approached him, holding a briefcase. “Su-sir,” he mumbled, catching Mr. Ghost’s attention.

He looked at him with a look of boredom. “You should have run, boy. Curiosity kills cats, ya know.”

“Uh, yeah, so sorry for all the trouble…”

“You did pretty good, kid. You’ve got some moves.” He said, catching Capper off guard as he took the briefcase from the boy.

He opened it up, not hesitating for another moment.

Inside the briefcase was only one small thing: a strange purple glass bottle. He popped open the cork and poured its contents out, revealing that the bottle was actually clear. A purple slimy substance poured out and then seemed to have a mind of its own as it leapt at Mr. Ghost.

“Sir!” Capper yelled out in horror, but stopped when he heard Mr. Ghost laughing—a happy laugh he didn’t think the pony could.

“Haha, stop! I—I missed you too, buddy!” he chuckled as the slimy substance seemed to act almost like a dog wanting to see its master.

“Uh, sir?” Capper asked, confused.

“Oh, this is Smoose. He was once a jellyfish, but after my experiments, he became so much more,” Mr. Ghost said as he took the goo and held it in his good hand. He then took out a napkin and began to clean off the slimy goo left on his face. “He’s all that I have left from my previous research. I knew you weren’t dead.” He cooed at the creature and then put it back in the bottle. “He’s perfectly harmless for the most part. However, my previous research was quite dangerous, and I wanted to make sure none of it existed. When I found out he had survived, I did all I could to get him back. I even trusted that backstabber Tireak, but I suppose I’m going to have to be a lot more careful with whom I place my trust in this city.”

Mr. Ghost then limped a step forward. “Like you, my boy.”

“Huh?” asked Capper.

“What’s your name, kid?”

“Ca-Capper, Capper Cat,” he answered, cautiously.

“Well, Capper Cat,” he spread his arms open wide. “What you see here tonight is only the beginning of my plans.” He smiled darkly. “I will soon have control of this entire city. I will rule it all. First the city, and then the world. I will create a world where those who deserve it are punished, and those who do not live a good life,” he chuckled, spinning around to face the boy.

“I offer you a seat at my table. Join me, Capper, and rule the new world.”

“Um, I, uh…”

“Oh, what? Scared? I have use for you, boy. You’re quick on your feet, and you’re pretty brave, if not foolish. It’s people like you I need in this city.”

Capper shook in fear for a moment but then stood his ground, trying everything he could to stop shaking. “Yes, sir.”

“Yes, I—” he jumped back when Mr. Ghost leaned his face in close.

“Are you sure? I do not have any need for brats, you see. To create my world, it won’t be easy. If I tell you to run, you run. If I tell you to blow something up, you blow something up. If I tell you to murder, you murder and don’t ask questions ever. I don’t care how curious you are, just know whatever I tell you to do is to further my goals. I don't need friends; I need servants. I’m hiring you, boy, and once you’re no use to me, I’ll toss you back in that dumpster I found you in—do you understand?” He growled the last part.

“Y-yes, sir!” he yelled out.

“Good,” Mr. Ghost grinned, then winced in pain from his own injuries. “You’ll need training. I will teach you how to fight so that this doesn’t happen again.” He pointed at the boy's bandaged arm. He then began to walk away, leaving the boy staring at him. To his surprise, though, Mr. Ghost came to a stop, never looking back. He uttered the question, “Coming?”

Capper smiled—a small smile, but a smile nonetheless—as he took a step, only for a penny to drop out of his pocket. He looked down when he heard it and smiled as he remembered what his mother used to say.

“See a penny, pick it up, and all day you’ll have good luck.”

“Coming, sir.” He followed him, no questions asked. To the boy’s surprise, though, Mr. Ghost led them to Sugarcube Corner, where he not only got his tea and muffin but also let him sit by him as he enjoyed his meal. To the boy’s surprise, however, a chocolate cake arrived.

The boy couldn’t hold back as he licked his lips at the sight of it.

Mr. Ghost chuckled and cut a slice of it, handing it to the boy along with a cup of milk to go with it.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to get into the little details, but the cake was the best thing I ever had at the time.” Capper rolled his eyes. “Anyway, the point of the story is I don’t think we should trust them, Twilight. Not in my experience. They will double-cross you,” he said, raising his gaze back to her. But to his surprise, she only found a sweet smile on her lips staring back at him.

“My brother, despite his initial rudeness, has always cared quite a lot, hasn’t he?”

Capper lowered his head, grinning for a moment and reveling in the memories of his hero before looking back up and replying, “Yes, and I am as loyal to you as I am to him.” He hesitated. “Assuming…” Capper griped himself.

“Assuming what, Capper?” Twilight asked, her expression never changing.

“Assuming he still even needs me. After all, I made a deal with him, and it seems my usefulness has come to an end,” he told her sadly.

“Capper,” Twilight called his name sternly, catching his attention. “I’m the Queen of Chaos; your loyalty is still needed. I promise you. He has not abandoned you yet. Your usefulness has just changed hands.” She shook her head.

Capper sat silently as the notion settled over him.

In the stillness of the moment, Luna finally spoke. “I didn’t know about the gangs Discord was dealing with. I just thought they were a bunch of thugs, not actual threats.”

“Either way, it doesn’t matter,” Twilight replied. “We have no one else we can trust. Remember, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.” Twilight turned her gaze to Luna. “As the leader of Chaosville, I think this might be our only option. Capper, I need you to set up a meeting with the leaders as soon as possible.”

Capper clenched his eyes shut, unsure of this new direction.

“Capper, are you questioning me?” Twilight raised a teasing eyebrow, along with an even more teasing grin.

The sight of it brought a half-chuckle out of him. Yet his smile quickly faded as he stood back up. “Curiosity killed the cat; I'll keep that at bay, Ms. Sparkle.” With his final statement, he turned to leave, but after a few steps, he came to a halt and turned around. “Tell me, what are we going to do with my duplicate?”

“Keep that changeling here, tied up. I think Spike can handle watching it.”

“Spike? Are you sure that’s a good idea, Twilight? My son isn’t a mutant; he’s just a—”

“He’s much more than that, Luna. He’s grown far stronger than either you or I could ever imagine.”

Luna dashed her gaze away, unsure of Twilight's words. But her expression only made Twilight giggle, pulling Luna’s attention again. “Don’t worry about it either; his heart is larger than you think. He’ll soon forgive you, I promise.”

“How?” Luna mumbled. “How can you say—”

“Because I have,” Twilight turned to the window, viewing the skies above. “It’s clear skies today,” she smiled wide. “Let’s keep it that way. Get to work.” With her final orders, both Luna and Capper saluted their leader before heading out the door.

Chapter 3 Carful What You Ask For.

Tempest Shadow sat at a table, eating breakfast and listening to the radio that morning, as she often did every morning.

“Well, the summer fun has just begun, everybody! Our first day of a hundred-degree weather is about to drop, so grab your swimming trunks and hit that pool,” said the reporter over the radio.

But Tempest's thoughts were far from blowing off the heat as she sipped her morning coffee. No, what was on her mind was the thing that never left her mind. As she mumbled the words, “What could I have done differently? Could he ever forgive me? Was it simply too late?”

But before she could dwell on these thoughts any longer, a young teenage lizard came rushing in, rolling around the room on his skates.

He zoomed past the bread, popping it in the toaster as he made himself a bowl of cereal. “Hi, Miss Twilight’s mom! Morning,” he casually chimed in despite his rushing around.

“Good morning, Spike! What are you going to get up to today?” she asked with a simple smile.

“Oh, once I'm done with school, I'm heading to the cleanup crew down Mud Street. I may not be a member of Chaosville, but I can help out. Then I'm heading to Twilight’s lab to help Starlight finish preparations on her and Twi’s machine.” He then picked up the bowl and placed the toast in his mouth as he rolled over and grabbed his backpack. “Don't wait up for me,” he said with the toast in his mouth as he passed by the front door.

“Wait, Spike! Slow down,” she called out. Spike did as he was told and stopped for a moment as he took a bite of his toast.

“Don’t you want milk with that cereal?” she asked.

“Hmm, oh, you’re right,” he said as she got up and grabbed the milk. She poured it into his bowl as she continued the conversation.

“Now, Spike, I’m heading to the grocery store. Do you want anything?”

“No,” he sighed.

Tempest looked at him a bit curiously. “Spike?”

“Don't, just don't.”

“Spike, she might just not want you to see her in jail.”

“Well, whose fault is that!” he spat bitterly.

“Spike, believe me, she has your best interest at heart.”

“Really? How can you say that when she turned out to be a supervillain?” Spike argued grumpily.

“Spike, being a mother ain't easy; believe me.”

“Yeah, well guess what? She's not my mother!” He then grumbled, “She only adopted me. Clearly she didn't care, or she wouldn't have done it.”

“Spike!” Tempest shouted at him.

Spike sighed, “I'm sorry.”

“I know your situation is different from mine, but, Spike,” she shook her head.

Spike turned around and gave her a hug, to the mare's surprise. “Your son was a hero, and I know despite my… what Luna has done, I can be one too.”

She smiled and told him, “Your cereal is gonna get soggy; eat it quick, okay?”

He nodded and decided to sit down and finish his bowl alongside her. To both of their surprises, however, someone walked in through the front door.

“Sup, little man?” Dash called out.

“Dash, what are you doing here? I thought you were helping Pinkie and AJ pack up.”

“Eh, I'm on my way now. Twilight, though, told me to give this to you,” she said, handing papers to Tempest. She glanced over the papers quickly and sighed.

“What is it?” asked Spike.

“Oh, nothing, just another fan letter from people wanting me to continue writing Derring-Do.”

“You know, why don’t you continue the story?”

“Hmm,” she asked Dash.

“Tell them the truth! Tell them what really happened, and how he was, in the end, a good guy,” she snorted. “I bet you people would love to hear that story told.”

Tempest smiled. “Perhaps it's time to let a new writer take over this story.” She handed Dash a pen from the table.

“What? Me? I'm not an author. Hell, I'm about to go into the Air Force.”

“You’ll need something to do with your spare time, and I'm quite curious to see how you would write this story,” she smiled.

Dash took the pen and stared at it. Just then, her phone rang, and she picked it up. “Uh huh, this is her,” Dash muttered. “Uh huh,...yeah,” her eyes then widened. “Tha—thank you.”

“What is it, Dash?” asked Spike.

“Oh, nothing. Don't worry about it. Well, I gotta get to AJ and help her pack, and you’re gonna be late for school if you don't hurry up, kiddo.”

“Mind giving me a lift?” he asked.

“Sure, hop in,” smirked Dash as she waved goodbye to Miss Sparkle.

“I can't believe you’re actually doing this,” smiled Twilight as she and Dash loaded the last box into the moving van.

“Yep, sorry Dash, looks like you'll have to find a new roommate,” smiled AJ. Pinkie jumped out of nowhere, “Oh, oh, don't forget about us, okay?” She sniffled and cried.

“Pinkie, we're best friends, and besides, you’re heading to my old hometown,” chuckled Dash.

“So you're gonna finish college in Cloudsdale, huh?” asked Twilight.

“That's right. Along with it, we're already in business. Granny Smith even got us a store,” she chuckled. “With the help of Mr. Cheese, of course.”

Pinkie wiped away her tears. “Yeah, Mr. Cheese has actually helped us a lot. He's even opening a joke shop there, and we'll be working right next door.”

Twilight smiled. “It's also a good way for Chaosville to expand and make new connections outside of Ponyville. If we don't, chances of a new gang war could pop up if we don't make new allies quickly.”

“Twilight, do you really think he's up to the task?” asked Rarity.

“I'm sure he is; he's just got to get used to it is all.”

“Well, I think you should be the one to be the leader,” Pinkie chimed in cheerfully.

Twilight nervously laughed at that. “Thanks for the boost in confidence, Pinkie, but no.”

“So how goes your timey thing?” asked the pink pony.

“Well, my assistant says she has access to a possible power source, but I don't like nuclear waste; it can be dangerous.”

“And chimera blood isn't?” chuckled AJ.

“Point taken,” Twi shared in the laugh.

“Okay, well that's everything. I'm really gonna miss you guys,” Dash said and hugged the two leaving.

“Yeah, it's just too bad we didn't get to say goodbye to Fluttershy,” one sighed.

At the sound of that name, Dash crossed her arms.

“Oh come now, Dash,” Rarity chimed in.

“Shut it; your stupid theories aren’t helping.”

“What? I'm telling you the truth; she has a boyfriend and probably took off with him.”

“Why would she just leave us without saying goodbye? We're her friends! And to not contact her family either,” Dash sighed, defeated.

“I know you’re actually worried about her, Dash,” said Applejack. “I'm going to search for her back in town; maybe she's close by.”

“No, I know where it is,” Dash mumbled.

“What was that?” AJ asked.

“Nothing. I'm sorry; this is supposed to be a good moment to send you two off. I do wish you the best.” Dash smiled, but AJ could tell it was hard for her.

“Well, with me and Pinkie no longer being chimera, I think this is the safest thing to do.” She smiled.

“Yeah!” Pinkie cheered.

The girls all gave one last group hug before saying their farewells.

Dash, Rarity, and Twilight stood as AJ and her cousin drove off. “Well, what now?” asked Twilight, unsure of what was next.

“I don't know about you, but I'm gonna head home,” Dash shrugged.

“I'm going to get back to work,” smiled Rarity. “I have an important client coming next week, and I must finish their suits. With any luck, they might agree to stay away from Ponyville,” Rarity said as Dash got in the car. “Yeah, yeah, good luck with that,” she replied, and drove away.

As she came to a stop, she took out the pen her hero gave her. She stared at it in thought of the future. She knew she was going to be a pilot; that was no doubt. But the weight of the pen in her hoof made her question how she would write this. She sighed as she set it down and pulled out her phone, reading a text.

"Everfree Town 9912." She then punched in the address in her car's map.

“That's a ways out. What are you doing, Fluttershy?” she muttered as she began her long journey.

Celestia stepped out of her car; her driver drove it away as she approached a top-security prison. She walked at a calm pace as she followed some guards into the building. They let her in and escorted her to a prison cell, which she entered with a smile on her face.

“You have ten minutes,” the guard told her. She gave no response as the doors closed tightly shut behind her. The room she stood in was very dark; the only light came from a small window far too small to escape. Behind bars, sitting in the corner was a dark figure in ragged, dirty clothes. The figure raised its head and opened its glowing, fire-like eyes at Celestia. “Hello, sister,” she smiled warmly.

“You,” growled the chained-up Alicorn. “What have you done with Celestia?”

“Whatever could you mean? I'm right here, Luna,” smiled Celestia.

“Let me see them! Let me see Twilight and Spike!” pleaded Luna, horrified.

“Oh, I don't think they want to see you; every time I ask, they refuse to come.”

“That's a lie!” Luna called out. “Just like it's a lie that you're my sister.”

Celestia sighed. “Here we go again, honestly, Luna.”

“Who are you?” Luna growled. “What do you want with Twilight?”

Celestia giggled, then chuckled, and soon it turned into a cackle of sorts. “Oh, Lulu, honestly, it's amusing that you haven't figured it out already. After all… I already told you all my plans: to create a world of peace with no war to ever fight again. That was always our goal, remember, sister?”

“That's what you told me, yet here I am, sitting in bars while that, that maniac is out there.”

“From all reports, he died, Luna. There is nothing of him to speak of.” Celestia turned her back on her. “Now I just have to find his little girlfriend and extinguish his bloodline once and for all.”

“What? What are you saying?” Luna questioned.

“Oops, said too much,” she replied.

“Tell me,” growled Luna. “Tell me right this instant! What do you have planned!?”

“Oh, Lulu,” chuckled Celestia. “Soon, very soon, it won't matter, you see,” she chuckled darkly. “Soon, very soon,” she smiled wickedly, “I will have what I want, and so will you.”

At that, Luna lunged at her, only to be stopped by the bars. “You lay one finger on Spike or Twilight, and I promise you, you will be sorry,” Luna growled.

“Oh, come now, Luna,” she chuckled, “do you really think I'm going to hurt my niece and nephew? I have no such intentions. If anything, they're the exact opposite, actually,” she smiled.

“Discord is Twilight's brother,” spat Luna. “She didn't join me; why would she join you?!”

Celestia chuckled at that. “Twilight's brother? That actually explains a lot. However, he is long gone, and I am Twilight’s future.”

“That monster—he's impossibly strong. There's no way you could ever touch him!” At this, Celestia chuckled darkly once more.

“Oh, Lulu, it's nice catching up, but I'm afraid my time here is short. Now you know what I want. Tell me, where is the last of your chimera serum?”

“I told you before, and I tell you again: you’re never gonna get it,” Luna viciously spat.

Celestia turned to her with a sly smile on her face. “Fine, I suppose. Ha! I don't actually need it.”

Just then, the prison guard came in once more. “Your ten minutes are up,” he told Celestia.

She nodded and followed him out. “Ta-ta, sister dear,” she taunted Luna as she exited. Luna narrowed her eyes as she watched her escape. Once the doors were tightly shut, she used her powers to create a small light, giving the room more illumination.

She then looked at her shackled hooves. All four of them. On her front right hoof, however, were scorch marks and scars from her trying to free herself.

She sighed at the locked shackle and then once again began to pry it off of her. As she did, she gritted her teeth at the pain. “Oh, come on, come on,” she groaned as she pulled the shackle off her front hoof. “Ahhhh!” she moaned as the shackle began to cut into her flesh again, making another bloody scratch. She did this for hours without end, determined to break loose. Finally, it began to move and slipped off her hoof, if only slightly. It wasn't completely off her hoof yet, but it will be soon enough. Exhausted from trying, she finally gave in and used her fire powers: one wound to seal the cut, then ice to stop the pain.

“Almost have it,” Luna expressed. “Almost have it off.” She gritted her teeth as she breathed in and out, trying to ignore the pain. “Don't worry, Spikey, Mommy's coming. I won't let that thing hurt you ever again. No monster will hurt you again when I am done.” She gritted her teeth as she fell back.

Suddenly, she heard the doors opening, and she quickly hid her self-inflicted wound with her ragged blanket. It was the only thing besides a pillow, a toilet, and a futon that was in her cell.

The door opened, revealing the guard bringing her a biscuit to eat for dinner. That was all she ever had—a biscuit—and she was tired of it. Oh, what she wouldn’t give to have some real food. Perhaps a nice, full Caesar salad or a hay burger. Hell, she’d even go for a plain bowl of cereal, but a biscuit? She took it and stuffed it down her throat, starving. It didn't even have any butter or jam to flavor it. As it went down her throat, it took all she had not to vomit it back up as she quickly grabbed the paper cup of water the guard had also given her.

She sighed at her pathetic state before she lay back down and fell asleep almost instantly.