Hybrid

by Alyssa Hartwick

First published

Every thing about me is wrong. From my DNA to my Mind. Its not my fault. I never asked to be made. To my family and friends i am me. But to the world, I am an Abomination, a Monster... A Hybrid

"As My Soul Traveled Along The Road of Life It Was Met My Two Paths, One of War The Other of Peace.I Choose The Right One"-Heart Wick

"We Were Born Lab-Rat's. Tested on, Poked and Prodded, Beaten and Bruised."

"Now we Wander like Nomads , Never Staying in once Place to long."

"Well That was Until an Old Enemy Found us Again after Eight Years of Being on The Run"

"But now We Must Fight"

I Must Fight

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Special Thanks to DragonHistorion for being my Editer!
This is the story behind my OC Heart .B. Wick
Cover art by me!
Amazing editing by! DragonHistorian :heart:

Tell me if i should continue!:pinkiehappy:

Oc references here: check here when new Oc's are added!:yay:

Heart. B. Wick.

Short wire (aka Spark, Little Spark, Shorty etc) ( Another reference image)

Dioptase(aka Mother, Mom etc)

Knightingale

Chase and Trauma

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It was night. And as the darkness loomed over a foaming sky, clouds crashed against each other like waves with ill intent, the air hung heavily with a dreadful weight. Luna's pale moon did not shine visibly on this night, its light unable to breach the thick and unyielding swirls of clouds.

Rain poured heavily upon those who were unfortunate enough to be trapped in such a violent storm, the case for this young filly, as she ran for her life.

“She went that way!” A booming voice called out over the hill, as beams of light shone through the rain.

Her blue hair was knotted and disheveled as it clung to her face. Her brother laid limply on her back as she ran for their lives. Tears streamed down her face as she ran down the long muddy road. Her white coat clung to her as it turned dark grey from the sweat and rain.

“There she is!” Another voice called from the hill behind her.

She looked behind her so she could know how many where chasing her.

Ten ponies in black uniforms, with the letters “R.F” printed on the side. Six of which were unicorns, and they used their magic to carry flashlights …and guns. They were wearing what seemed to be police helmets. The other four where earth ponies.

And they were all close on her tail.

She felt as her brother started to slip off of her back, but used her serpentine tail to hold him in place. She would have flied but her brother was currently on her back, on top of her wings. It didn’t help that her brother was slightly larger than her, either.

His scaly body weighed her down as she ran. Her brother was a pale blue in color, his claws a dark shade of navy. His arms gently swayed as she ran for the both of them.

She couldn’t run any more.

Her small legs finally gave out after hours of running and hiding, trying to escape her pursuers
.

She landed face first into the mud, losing her grip on him, and was tossed into the mud. His body laid limp as he skidded onto the ground.

She looked up as tears continued to pour out of her eyes, as she slowly limped to her little brother’s aid and the shouts drew ever closer to them. Her body ached as she moved on top of her brother, trying to pick him up again. But she wasn’t strong enough. She laid on top of him, trying to shield him from the rain as best she could as she cried.

Her breathing was hard as she heard hoof steps drawing closer. She stood up in one last attempt of defiance. She stood crouched in front of her brother, her sharp teeth bared at her attackers.

As the ponies circled around them, she glared and she spun around, trying to prevent any sudden attacks from them.

One of the earth ponies, a mare, suddenly lunged at her, tackling her to the ground. She may have been seven but she was not weak.

They wrestled for a few minutes but it was no use, strong or not, the filly was exhausted and she couldn’t beat her attacker.

“Okay, bag him up” One of the unicorns said.

The filly turned her attention to her brother, watching as he was shoved into a bag.

She reached out a single hoof and she screamed out in protest. The mare pinning her down laughed at the filly, before slapping her across the muzzle.

Beaten and bruised she watched as her brother….

Her brother.

She let out and ear piercing shriek. All the ponies covered their ears in agony at the sound till it stopped. The mare on top of the filly glared at her as she raised her hoof. The mare brought it down as hard as she could, intending to knock the thing out or at least its jaw out of place. But she felt no impact.

The mare looked down as she looked as her hoof was caught in a field of magic
.

As the mare looked into the filly's eyes, she saw that the marking within her left eyes glowing blood red.

The mare screamed as the magic twisted her arm. She felt her bones snap inside of her foreleg. She collapsed beside the filly as she wailed in pain.

The filly slowly stood up, before looking at the other ponies. As the group backed away slowly, she put one hoof forward. The ground shook as if a dragon had stomped onto the ground at the very same moment. The sack left unattended on the ground a few feet away from a unicorn stallion. He raced for the sack.

That was a big mistake.

First his legs were broken. His bones shattered, piercing him from the inside out, causing blood to pour out of his open wounds into the mud. His bones stuck out of him as he screamed in unfathomable agony. The eight ponies watched in horror as he was crushed alive from the inside out. His horn cracked as it was broken from the inside, right before his head exploded. His blood, along with clumps of his flesh, coating the onlookers. A unicorn mare screamed before turning around and running. she suddenly stopped. She turned her head, and to the seven remaining ponies horror, her body collapsed into a bloody pile of cubed flesh, as blood gushed everywhere.

They looked back to see that she was right behind them. Her eyes had turned black and red. A sharp tooth grin covered her face as she glared at them.

They couldn’t escape.

_-(Many hours later)-_

Severed heads, body parts and blood were splattered all over the place. Rain slowly washed the red stains from the soggy earth.

A young filly lay in the mud, coated in blood. She slowly opened her eyes, and what she saw made her sick. She jumped up and looked all around her.

“Blood, so much blood” She thought as she started heaving.

She slowly backed up, before one of her hind legs touched something. She turned around, to be met by a face that had no skin, the eyes inside dead and glassy with a look of sheer agony embedded within them.

She looked around her, she counted about 6 distinguishable bodies, knowing with the amount of blood around it was easily more than that.

She threw up. The sight was too much for anyone, let alone a filly, to handle. Tears streamed from her eyes. As she looked at the ground she noticed something.

Her hooves.

They were caked with blood. She looked herself up and down. Blood was everywhere. She screamed as the memories flooded back to her... she did this, she killed them all. She knew that they were bad ponies but no pony deserved this…

She threw up again. Her mind screamed as her whole world started to fall apart. She fell to her side as she sputtered and coughed. As she laid there ,she didn't know how long, her eyes were half lidded and full of tears, she saw something. A sack. Her eyes shot open as she realized its contents. She willed herself up, and she ran, she didn’t care about the blood, she only had one thing one her mind.

“Buba”

She had always called him that. Ever since they could first talk.

She shook her head, she needed to focus now. She opened the sack with her teeth. She pulled it open, and to her relief, her brother was inside, still knocked out but breathing. That’s all that mattered.

She pulled her head from the bag and looked around. She saw a flashlight with only a little blood on it and picked it up with her teeth. She used her tongue to flip it on. Her eyes watered as she tasted blood.

She took a few deep breaths to steady herself. She looked back at the bag. She knew she couldn’t carry it, she was to exhausted. But she didn’t want her brother to see…

She had to. She felt as her magic ignited. Her eye instead of glowing red, shone a gentle turquoise glow. Memories of what she did flooded her mind, as she used her magic. She gently lifted the bag above her. She started her walk.

_-(One Hour Later)-_

She was exhausted. She just wanted to die. Today was the most traumatizing day of her life, and she just wanted it to end. Thank whatever that princesses name was that the rain had washed the blood off of her. But now since the rain stopped a chilly wind blew through the land. She shivered.

In the distance she saw something that made her want to cry. A small rundown shack sat by the side of the road she ran towards it not caring as her aching body screamed at her to stop. Her brother in tow within her magical grip followed.

She reached the door, to be met by darkness. She could see pretty well in the dark, as do most dragons. In the corner she could see a small pile of dried up stale hay. She sighed as she walked over to the pile. She pulled her still limp brother from the sack, placing him on the small pile of hay, before splitting the sack down its seams.

Her mind flooded with the dreadful memories once more, as she shook even more violently. She curled up next to her brother, before placing the torn sack over them, as a makeshift blanket. She shivered at the traumatic memories, the wailing of the wind reminding her of the wails from those she killed, her eyes wide open, her pupils pinpricks. She cuddled into the warmth of her brother, before falling asleep, dreaming of the days that lead up to this night.

The Thoughts of a Injured Soldier

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Knightingale woke up

.




She slowly lifted her head off of the soggy ground below, her mind feeling blank and fuzzy. Her eyelids felt impossibly heavy and she felt as if she had been asleep for years.

One of her hooves felt numb. Her mind was a slur in that moment but she felt a throbbing numbness echoed across the entirety of one of her fore hooves.

Slowly, she began to try and lift her eyelids.

As the world came into view, a flash of light made her eyes shut one more. Now as she began to become more aware, she felt cold rain pelt her body.

And the numbness began to change.

A surge of pain ran from her hoof and deep into her core. Grunting through her teeth, she slowly opened up her eyes once more.

She wished she hadn’t.

She looked around at her fallen comrades. No…not fallen. Dismembered, killed, murdered, slaughtered. She felt tears begin to sting her eyes.

She tried to move, but another surge of pain caused her to cry out. She looked down at her leg.

It wasn’t her leg, all it was, was a mangled mess of splintered bones and torn flesh that was once her leg.

She looked around once more, tears streaming down her face as she screamed whilst she reminisced bittersweetly how she had gotten there, as she began to drag herself through the mud

_-(Twelve Hours earlier)-_

“I’m so bored….” Knighting Gale said to no one as she sat in her squad’s barracks.

She had been working here for the past 12 years. It got boring at times, but it paid REALLY well, so she couldn't complain.

But she did anyway.

She sat up in her bunk, as a loud clank sounded through the room. “BUCKING! SHIT! BUCK! OW!” She cursed out loud as she brought a hoof to her muzzle.

Even after twelve years, she still hadn’t learned her lesson.

She rubbed her nose as she got up. She began walking towards the lab sector. At least there she could watch some experiments.

When she first started working there, she was sickened by the sight of said experimenting, but after years of watching it, she became used to it.

Numb to it.

She walked the large grey halls lined with large steel doors, her steel boots clanking against the grey cement floor.

She looked up at the extremely high ceiling as she watched many Pegasi in both lab coats and security gear flew above her and past one another seamlessly.

She noted that most of the workers here were Pegasi but there were plenty of unicorns and earth ponies, though most of them were either in the agriculture, engineering or security sectors.

She paced the halls before stopping in front of the entry to the experiment center at the heart of the complex. She took a deep breath, before stepping forward as the automated doors opened.

The hallways were similar to the ones she just walked through. Though these halls had large clear windows made from enchanted bullet proof glass, instead of grey walls lined with many doors, the large widows started two feet up the wall ended all the way up at the ceiling.

The doors that lined the labs were also made of enchanted five inch bullet proof glass panes.

Perfect for a board security guard.

She walked down the halls as she glanced at many of the experiments being done on “donations”.

She never liked using that word.

Donations implied that they were given. But these sentient creatures were taken from their homes by drug addicts looking for a quick bit or some fresh colour.

But she wasn’t paid to care.

She herself was a slight addict. She couldn't get up every morning without a hit of color.

She kept walking down the halls, passing by a different experiment every few minutes. She didn’t really feel like watching one today. So she began to walk down towards one of her favorite places to be during her work day.

The farm.

The “Farm”, as they called it was where they kept the special stuff. Such as griffins, diamond dogs, minotaurs and hydras.

Sure, those were interesting, but she loved the nursery sector of the farm. Sometimes, she would play with some of the young sentient creatures.

But there were two said creatures she despised.

The hybrids.

A male and a female. Twins born from a traitorous father who betrayed the silent law of R.F INC.

Eloping with a donation.

She hated them. They were the disgusting product of a sinful relationship. She wasn’t racist but interspecies relationships disgusted her. The thought of two entirely different races conceiving children to infect a clean gene pool made her sick.

She hated hybrids.

She smiled as she walked up towards the heart of the center. A large sign rested above the door in large red letters.

WARNING: NO UNAUTHEROIZED PERSONEL MAY ENTER, ANY UNAUTHORIZED PERSONEL CAUGHT ENTERING WILL BE SHOT UPON DISCOVERY. THOSE WHO CANNOT PROVE THEY ARE AUTHORIZED WILL ALSO BE SHOT. ANYONE CAUGHT TRYING OR PLANNING TO FREE ANY EXPERIMENTS WILL BE SHOT ALONG WITH THOSE INVOLVED

She glanced at the sign as she pulled out her identification card from her boot then placed it into the slot. She walked up towards the eye scanner, above which was a horn scanner that unicorns would use.

She placed her head against the device while she brought up her right hoof to the hoof print scanner. She felt a prick in her hoof as a small drop of blood was drawn.

A robotic voice spoke “Eye and hoof scan commences in three, two, one-

She watched as a green light danced over her eye scanning every crevice of her pupil and iris. She stared straight ahead, knowing what would happen if she blinked.

She remembered the last time she blinked.

_-(Flashback)-_

It was her second day of her job after weeks of training finally she was able to do her job. She had been ordered by her Superior back then to report to the farm for duty.

She approached the scanner with caution being told that failing to enter properly could mean several different ending that she didn't want to experience. She had gone through instruction on how to operate it upon entering and leaving the facility countless times.

She walked up to the system removing her card from her boot and placing her card within the slot and going through the motions that she had practiced hundreds of times. Her face within the devices scanning system.

She listened as the monotone robotic voice counted down.

"Scanning in: 3, 2,1..."

The initial beginning of the scan always irritated her eyes during practice training, but with it being the real thing she was startled and to her unfortunate luck and dismay ...

She blinked.

"BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEE-" The surrounding speakers screeched out the alarm, informing the security in her area that there was a problem. That problem being her messing up a simple routine. The machine in front of her buzzed a small hole at eye level opened up exposing a small prong that hissed with electricity.

Not being prepared for any of this she didn't move fast enough as the electrified prong launched forward hitting in between her eyes. All she remembered after was that she was in the infirmary for a day and she had a splitting headache for a week after that.

A beep resounded, signalling the end of the scan, her mind returning back to reality from memory lane as the robotic voice spoke once again.

Scan complete, entry granted.”

She removed her face from the device, as well as her hoof. She the proceeded to remove her identification card from the slot, placing it back into her boot. Hey what could she say it was a safe place to keep it

She stepped back as she watched as the door opened. A large Earth pony stallion stood inside. He smiled at her in familiarity. She walked in, showing him her identification. If it wasn’t for the rules in place, he would have let her in regardless.

She proceeded to remove her weaponry, walking up to the large stallion and giving him her gun, extra ammo, knife and baton, for safe keeping until she left.

She walked up to the second set of doors, waiting for the green light.

A gruff monotone voice rang out from a speaker on the ceiling, saying “CLEAR” before the light turned green.

The large steel door hissed as it slid open, by means of technological advancements.

A blinding light shone through the door as it opened.

She stepped forward into the large room that held the most important things to their corporation.

Children.

She smiled as she watched them play in the artificial landscape with a playground.

They may have had to kill sentient creatures for money, but they weren’t monsters. For the most part.

As soon as the kids saw her, they all ran up to her shouting joyfully. It was nice to see some innocence in a world run by drugs and money.

_-(Back to present)-_

As she dragged herself through the mud, she screamed, over and over, begging for help in the cold. She hated that fill-…No that…that THING didn’t deserve to be called that. It wasn’t a filly, it was a monster.

A Celestia dammed abomination.

A Secret Plan, A Secret Passed

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_-( 24 hours earlier)-_

The room was quite large.

Well it would appear that way, if it wasn’t for the fact a large pink dragon was sitting in the middle of it. Her name was Dioptase, and she was no ordinary dragoness. She was an elder dragon. They were known for their large size and wing span.

And she was the pride and joy of R.F INC.

Her pink scales shone gently under the harsh yellow lights that hung above her as they swayed gently. She had red and blue spines running down her back and onto her tail. Her wings were purple with green leathery skin that helped her soar.

Her long neck seemed almost elegant as she held her head high, her head decorated with deep purple horns that curled back.

Her long claws shone a glossy red as they tapped methodically and she looked down with large gentle, yet tired, green eyes at her two offspring.

One was white, her hair blue with a pink highlight along with several green highlights. Her left eye was a deep greenish blue colour. Her flank, bare of its mark, was sitting on the floor. Her other eye looked rather… odd. It was the same colour as the other, but within its pupil laid a turquoise star.

But the most peculiar thing about this filly was her tail. It was like that of a dragon, its scales a pinkish red in color. A small tuft of hair was attached at the end; it was blue with a green and pink strip along it.

Her name was Heart B. Wick.

The other one sitting next to her was her twin brother.

Short Wire.

His scales were sky blue and his hair and spines were a mix of reds and blues as they ran down his back. His claws were black in color, and his claws a navy blue.

He had two horns on his head and one on his nose. They were a blackish purple. His eyes were both red and blue. His tail was like that of a normal pony, but was two shades of red.

His wings were light purple, and the leathery skin in between was a light pink.

The two hybrids sat waiting for their mother to speak.

“My little ones.” She spoke gently.

“You both have been locked up your whole lives…treated like objects.” Her voice strained as she held back tears. The twins' heads hung low as they listened.

“But you are both strong in your own ways, stronger than I could ever be.” They both looked their mom, their expressions showing confusion.

“Short Wire.” She called for his attention.

“Yes mother?” he said quietly in response.

“My little Spark, you might talk less than your sister, but you have such an amazing heart.” He looked up at his mother, his face getting hot from the kind words.

“You are so kind and gentle even when the creature you are helping is mean. You might not confront ponies that say rude or cruel things to you, but you are so special, with such a brilliant mind and big heart.”

He smiled up at his Mother, before running up to her and hugging her.

Meanwhile, Wick just stood there. It had been weeks since her mom told her the secret. It had been killing her to keep it from her brother, and today was the day.

She didn’t know what to do, where to go even. She didn’t even know how she was going to protect her brother.

“Little Heart?” Her mother called out to her.

She hadn’t realized that she had just been standing there nervously for the past five minutes.

Her mother sighed at the sight. Her oldest child, on the brink of tears from the pressure that surrounded her and her alone.

Dioptase sighed. “My little Heart, I know it was hard, but you had to know.” she gazed at her children, knowing that this could be the last time she ever saw them…alive.

She looked down at her youngest, her honest smile never wavering. “Listen to me, my little Spark.” She cooed gently. “Today might be the last day you will ever see me… not because I’m going… but because…”

Tears pricked her eyes as she gazed into the innocent eyes of her son. “It’s time for you to soar.” she croaked out with pained love. “Listen to me, your sister is in charge of you until you are both eighteen years old, understand?”

His ears were folded back in confusion and pain at his mother’s words. “But… mom…we love you...” He spoke softly as he began to cry
.

“I know, and I love you too. That’s why you have to go.” She said with a heavy heart.

Wick just stood there as the scene unfolded before her. She was supposed to be the strong one for her brother, yet she felt powerless to do anything.

She stood there, waiting for her mother to inform him on the plan.


_-( 1 week prior)-_


Her mother had woken her up.

It was the middle of the night; the room was pitch black other than the two pairs of glowing eyes in the room.

Wick was confused as she woken up by the gentle poking of her mom’s tail. “Little Heart? You awake?” He mother called out, barely above a whisper.

“Yes?” She softly called back.

“Come here, please.” Her mother asked.

Wick reluctantly left her warm spot next to her brother and trotted quickly across the cold cement floor to her mother’s head.

She stood in front of her mother’s face.

“What’s... *yawn* ...up, mom?” She asked groggily.

“Listen to me closely.” Her mother spoke sternly as her eyes became sharp and full of instruction. Slightly taken aback by the sudden change in tone her tail snapped itself around her own waist in a small panic.

Her mother’s eyes instantly softened at her daughter’s reaction. “I’m sorry my little one, but please listen.” She said, with words that were stern yet loving.

Wick stared up at her mother, as unease began to crawl up her spine.

“A week from now you and your brother will be seven years old, am I right?” She asked.

“Yes mom, but what does this have to- “ Wick began before her mother interjected.

“Darling, this is going to be hard for you, but you are strong and I believe that you will do alright.”

Wicks face contorted into a confused expression as she heard these words. “Mom what are talking about?” She asked, puzzled.

“You and your brother will be leaving me a week from now on your birthday.” She said sadly.

“W-what?” Wick stammered in shock, her voice become loud with emotion.
.

“Shhhh...” Her mother shushed her as her brother stirred from the noise, before settling back down.

She turned her head toward her mother, her eyes wide in absolute shock as she processed the information.

“I know it is a hard thing to understand but-“ Dioptase began until Wick interrupted her.

“What do I have to do?” She said as she gazed down at the floor.

Then she told her everything.

Of Mothers and Sacrifice

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Heart Wick sat silent. Her heart beating at what felt like an impossibly fast pace. Her eyes drifted nervously from object to object as she tried to calm herself. Looking up at the painted sky above she felt even more nervous

.

“I’ve never been outside this place, what am I going to do once we are…out?” She asked herself as if to get an answer, but sadly she had none.

Wick looked away from him not wanting to succumb to her own anxiety. Her eyes followed a tall shadow that lead to a large plastic tree that they were sitting near. She always wondered what the real world looked like. Did it look as beautiful as her mother described it? Or was it all a lie?

“No!” She thought. Her mother wouldn’t lie to her…would she?

Heart Wicks thoughts were quickly cut off when a familiar guard pony began walking up to them. She felt as if a stone of dread dropped into her stomach causing her breath to hitch just slightly. She quickly nudged her brother in a panic and pointed a hoof at the approaching guard pony.

Quickly he dove behind her being the weaker and younger of the two. As the guard pony walked in front of them she took of her helmet in front of them as if to make them fear her more…and it worked.

Wick stood tall in front of her commanding officer as if in defiance. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case, she was trying to conceal her brother as much as possible.

“Well-well-well… what do we have here?” The mare questioned mockingly her eyes glinting darkly.

“Oh, looky here! We have our lizard like abomination and our little daemon!” She spoke. Her words consisting of nothing but venom and malice.

Heart Wick stared up at the mare’s icy blue eyes. The coldness that rained from them dug into her stomach, as if there were tiny icicles stabbing her soul.

Before the mare could do anything though a large crash rang throughout the facility.

A beastly roar blasted out, it was so loud that some of the guards fell to the ground their hooves clasped to their ears.

But not the twins. Only one thing ran through their minds.

RUN.

Heart Wick grabbed Short Wire by his arm, her reptilian tail raping around it securely before they booked it.

The emergency doors were beginning to shut at an alarming rate, as Heart Wick looked back she watched in horror as guards who hadn’t fallen from the sound moments ago, began to chase them.

She looked forward only to realize to her terror that the door almost completely shut.

With only three feet of clearance left she was left with a choice.

The question answered itself as quickly as it came into her mind.

She used her tail to fling her brother underneath the door before it completely shut. He spun as he slid under the door just in time.

With a small clank the door was completely shut.

Heart Wick skidded to a halt, the side of her body contacting the large steel door with a thud. Her mind clouded by adrenaline she couldn’t feel as bruises formed along her side.

She concentrated with all her might on teleporting, glancing up the large orange mare from earlier had recovered and was charging towards her, whether by fear or sheer luck her eye shot sparks of magic as she teleported herself to the other side of the door, to her brother.

Once on the other side she saw to her horror as her brother was cornered by three guard’s ponies.

Thinking on her feet she lifted up one of the guards from the ground and flung them into a nearby wall.

The other two turned their heads only to feel as their bodies got burned from the front.

Wick looked in shock towards her brother as he unleashed white fire from his mouth, causing them to scream in agony on the ground. His once blue eyes now completely red, his spine’s standing up on end, at that moment he looked like a true dragon.

She beaconed him over each looting the either dead or unconscious bodies for weapons, she grabbed a dart gun whilst he grasped a baton between his teeth.

A large ruckus became known to them from one of the halls behind them. They turned their heads and saw something they didn’t expect.

It was there mom.

Ponies ran in fear, running around them too preoccupied with surviving than locking up their donations.

A Large Pink dragon ran down the hall, there a thrashing guards pony in her teeth before she crushed his squishy body in her mouth, blood gushed as the stallion’s eyes rolled back into his head.

She spat him out, her teeth still barred as she turned her head towards the twins.

Her eyes widened at what she had done.

Before she could say anything, a loud shout echoed in the rumbling halls.

“FIRE!”

A Harpoon sunk deep into Dioptase’s shoulder.

Then another,

and another.

Harpoons dug into her back and tore through her wings.

She screamed out in agony as she was pulled to her knees.

She screamed out at them.

“RUN”

Heart Wick didn’t hesitate. Grabbing her brother by the waist again with her tail and they ran. She heard her brother screaming for them to go back, but even he knew it was too late.

Knowing they would have time to mourn later they continued along the winding corridors.

They stopped once they were in the clear, they stood in the silent hallway totally lost.

“WHAT DO WE DO NOW!” Spark began to sob confused and scared for his life.

“SHHHH!” Heart Wick hissed her ears perked.

“Do you hear that?” She questioned.

“Hear what?” He asked confused, his eyes now fully faded back to blue.

“That!” She whisper-shouted, pointing to an air duct nearby.

They silently trotted over to it keeping their eye peeled for any signs of movement.

“Ok Baba do the thing” She stated towards him.

“Ok…” He said quietly.

With a claw, he twisted off each of the screws before gently removing the grate from the vent.

Wick peered inside, there was plenty of room for them to squish together inside and navigate to safety.

_-()-_

They were almost there.

They had been navigating the ducts for over 20 minutes. The whole system felt like a maze as their bellies pressed against the cold steel.

They heard shouts above and below them and even sometimes right next to them.

They went on like this for what felt like hours until-

Heart Wick felt a breeze blow against her skin. It wasn’t like the stagnant cold air that flowed throughout the facility nor like the dry hot air they pumped during winter. No, it was different.

She Turned her head to her brother who was a few feet behind her.

They did something that they hadn’t done in what felt like forever.

As They shared a knowing glance,

They Smiled.

They Followed the cool humid breeze throughout the maze. Their resolve growing by the minute as freedom loomed near.

When Wick turned the last corner, she froze.

She could only see a little but what she did see made her almost cry out in joy.

She saw the outside world.

She quickly moved out of her brother’s way.

His eyes widened too as she covered his mouth before the gasp became audible. He shakily turned the screws on the vent door before he pulled it inside the duct gently and set it down.

They had no time to admire the view however.

As Spark began exiting something caught his eye but by the time he had turned his head it was too late. A small tranquilizing dart logged itself into his shoulder blade.

Wick watched in horror as he fell his eyes full of dread as his body lost balance.

He fell.

She cried out when she heard the thump of his limp body not two meters down.

She quickly flew down, landing by his side.

She looked up.

To her fear guard ponies came flooding out.

She heaved up her limp brother onto her small back, his weight weighing her down immensely as she ran off into the night.