Heart Of The CHIMERA

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.