Chapter 6
“Final Countdown”
My grey eyes slowly opened and I found myself tied up with Twilight behind me. We were sitting on chairs back to back. She didn’t wake up yet but I saw that we both had inhibiter rings on our horns. Any attempt at magic was useless.
I looked back at Twilight “Twilight, are you alright?”
She only let out a small groan; she was alive, that was good. I looked around at our surroundings. We were in an old foundry with light coming in through windows on the high ceiling. There were conveyer belts with several old boxes on them. This place had been abandoned for a long time. It was the perfect hideout for our culprit.
“Come out Jumper! I know who you are!” I shouted to the air.
“How did you figure it out?” Jumper asked snidely as he came out of the shadows. He was flanked by two earth ponies clad in black suits. They were both armed with assault rifles.
“You used to be a cop,” I said simply. “You were the cop that didn’t show up six years ago to protect Octavia’s mother,” My grey eyes narrowed at him “Also your father’s name was Tamper Cable, he was the prosecutor on the case, wasn’t he?”
Jumper glared at me, “He was.”
“It must have been so humiliating,” I said darkly. “Your father was this great lawyer, and yet one case later, his entire career is in shambles. So you decided to get revenge on the ponies who you knew accepted bribes from the defense. In all honesty, he would’ve won anyway, but you knew that the trial would’ve been set back months if the corruption of the jury was discovered. Your father was too stubborn to wait and decided to go through with the trial, despite all of the opposition.”
“And he lost…” Twilight joined in, having awoken during our exchange. “Once he did you dedicated your life to hunting down the ponies that destroyed your father’s career.”
“You were a patient pony,” I added, knowingly “You waited long enough for ponies to forget about the trial. Once some time had passed you would get hired where you knew one of the ponies worked. Once you killed them off you would leave pretending to be in grief. You did this six times, in long enough time gaps that nopony would connect the murders.
Jumper grinned at me, “All to bring justice to ponies who thought they could escape judgment.”
“This isn’t justice!” Twilight shouted. “This is petty revenge!”
“Exactly, Twilight,” I said, smiling. “It is petty revenge, elaborate and well done, but petty none the less.”
“What are you talking about?” Jumper asked, incredulously?
“When you were ready to kill Zeven, you found out about Octavia. She was the only pony that could make the connection that you were the killer. So you decided to persuade a guilty conscious to help you in your venture. You told Smooth Shot to attack Matzo, knowing that Octavia would assume he was the killer.”
Jumper’s eyes narrowed, “What makes you think I give a damn about some cello player?”
“Because… you are the true killer of her mother. ” I said, knowingly.
Jumper’s eyes grew wide and I heard a voice speak up, “You bastard! I'll kill you with my bare hooves!" I looked over and saw Octavia tied up to a chair. I didn’t see Vinyl anywhere though, where was she?
Jumper walked over and slapped Octavia across the face. She struggled against her bonds,a look of pure rage on her face. Jumper ignored her and glanced at me, haughtily.“What makes you think I killed her mother?”
“The cop that wasn’t there?” I smirked at him. “I found it a little odd that he wasn’t called into suspicion. Look for the crime that didn’t happen, like my mentor said. You weren’t accused during the process, because your father kept your ass from getting busted. Also, your father knew about Val Jean’s identity during the war.”
Octavia glared at Jumper “You killed her! My father died fighting for Equestria honorably! Why did you kill her? She never hurt anypony.”
“Somepony had to pay for your father's crimes.” Jumper said evilly. “Justice must be served. Father and I figured it should be you and your mother who would pay. I didn’t count on Fenlock showing up so soon though, so I couldn’t kill you.”
“So you hatched up this scheme to get her,” I said, glaring at Jumper. “You knew Octavia would try and kill Smooth Shot. You used her lust for revenge against her. She would go to prison for her crimes, and you would go scot free! You’re a monster; playing a hero, when you're really just as evil as the ponies you are judging.”
“Silence!” He shouted at me “She is a criminal! She will get her just punishment!”
Octavia struggled in her bindings and yelled, “Come and face me like a real stallion, you bastard!”
“I wouldn’t struggle too hard, Octavia,” he said slowly.
“Let me go, you jerks!” I heard a voice cried, from behind a box. Walking out with a gun pointed at her back was Vinyl. Octavia stopped struggling upon seeing her friend being held at gunpoint. "Octy!” She called upon seeing Octavia.
“Vinyl…” Octavia's eyes narrowed to slits. “You let her go now!”
“She's just insurance to make sure you don’t try anything stupid.” Jumper grinned evilly. “You won't struggle,” he pulled out a revolver out of his pocket and aimed it at Octavia’s head “and I will exact proper justice for everything Val Jean did"
Vinyl looked at Octavia tears streaming down her face, “Octy, I’m sorry! I’m sorry for everything I did to embarrass you! I only did all those things to get you to have fun! I’m sorry.”
Octavia smiled at Vinyl through her tears. “I would do the Vinyl Scratch a million times for you.”
“Octy,” Vinyl said slowly, a faint blush coming to her cheeks.
“Enough games!” Jumper cried. His hoof tightened on the trigger of the gun he was pointing at Octavia's head. “Justice shall be…”
Bang!!
The thug holding Vinyl went down with a bullet in his shoulder. Jumper looked around and shouted, “Who’s there? I’ll kill her!”
“You ain’t got nowhere to hide ya bastard” I heard a voice saying from a little far behind me.
Bang!
Jumper’s revolver went flying, as Fenlock stepped out of the shadows. His silver magic was surrounding a pair of pistols, his signature style of firearms. He looked over at me “Nice work figuring things out, Private.”
“How did you know where to find us?” I asked, looking at him in awe.
“I figured you would head back to the radio station after your investigation ended in Manehattan. Luckily I found the tracks where these bastards went off with you.” He smiled at me proudly.“Ya did good, Private.”
“I had a good teacher,” I replied, returning his smile
Jumper looked over at my mentor with a glare, both of his henchmen raised their assault rifles “Fenlock? You dare to try and thwart me?”
“I dare to stop an idiot from killing innocent ponies,” Fenlock answered, dryly. “but you can say it however you like.”
“What can an old broken war horse do to stop me?” Jumper asked, an evil grin spreading across his muzzle. I saw five other henchmen come out of the shadows
“I ain’t broken, yet. I ain’t old either, don’t like bingo”
Fenlock’s magic wrapped around the bindings on me and I felt them loosen. I didn’t slip out of them yet, Fenlock obviously had a plan.
“Kill him men!” Jumper shouted “Kill them all!”
CLANG!!
I looked up and saw Potso sitting on top of a knocked out henchmen. He smiled at me “I thought you could use a hoof, Private.”
“Potso!” I exclaimed, grinning at him.
As the other henchmen began shooting, I slipped out of the bounds, and dragged Twilight with me behind cover. I yanked the inhibiter ring off Twilight’s horn and she pulled my ring off my horn. She kissed me on the cheek before firing a magical blast at a henchmen that tried to sneak up on us “Well Private Eye, you certainly know how to show a girl a good time.”
“I aim to impress,” I said smiling.
Just then Octavia was thrown by Fenlock’s magic over the crates. She struggled out her bounds and looked around “If only I had my cello case”
“Ta-Da!” Potso said from a scaffolding above, he dropped Octavia’s cello case into her waiting forelegs. “Those idiotas left that behind when you got captured.”
“Good work, Potso!” I said, as Octavia opened her cello case. She opened up the cello and pulled out… a sawed off shotgun.
I gave her a look and she simply said "You can never be too careful in today's society"
She leaped on top of the cover and fired her newly acquired shotgun at the first henchmen she saw. Fenlock took shots at two other henchmen, before taking cover again. I just watched as Octavia moved around, dodging bullets with the grace of a ballerina on a stage of death. She made her way over to Vinyl who was hiding behind a crate.
“Vinyl, are you all right?” She asked her friend, as she reloaded her shotgun.
Vinyl’s red eyes just looked at Octavia “All right? I think I’m in love.”
Octavia rolled her eyes, “Save the charm until after we’ve won.”
Twilight and I fired blasts of magic at another henchmen, and he went down like a ton of bricks. Potso, up at the scaffolding, leaped over another henchman and spun around in the air, slamming his rump onto the henchmen’s head. Potso smiled and dusted himself off, “Back in Bitallia, we call that the Terra Libra!”
One by one all of Jumper’s henchmen fell to gunfire or Terra Libras. Octavia’s shotgun clicked as she fired her last shot into the kneecap of the last henchmen. “I’m out!”
Just then Jumper appeared and put a foreleg around her neck using her as a pony shield. We all held our fire as Jumper held a revolver to her head. “Everypony back off, or she dies!”
“Using a lady as a shield!” Potso said, from his perch on the scaffolding “You really are a bastard!”
“What does it matter?” Jumper asked, glaring at all of us. “You will all let me go or she dies!”
“Hey Plothole!” I heard a voice shout.
Vinyl was standing there leaning on a small box. Twilight and I looked at each other and we ducked behind cover quickly. One look from me also sent Potso and Fenlock running for cover as well.
Jumper just laughed at Vinyl, “What, pray tell, is that?” He said pointing with his revolver at the box.
Vinyl smiled widely and Octavia smiled as well “Aww, it’s nothing special it’s…
JUST MY BASS CANNON!!!"
Octavia elbowed Jumper in the chest and leapt behind a crate and covered her ears as the box opened revealing the bass cannon. Jumper was soon blown away by a blast of pure bass sound hitting him like a wrecking ball.
When it was over Jumper was planted to the wall and I peeked out from behind cover “So…awesome…” Was all I could say.
Potso nodded “I agree my friend, così impressionante.”
I walked up to Jumper and aimed an assault rifle at him, “Those who do not weep do not see Jumper. Your inability to see the bigger picture puts you under arrest for the murders of all six of those ponies.”
“I spoke,” Jumper said looking down “Now I am condemned.”
______________________________________________________________
Jumper went with dignity into the police carriage when they came for him. In actuality, they came to investigate a massive explosion of pure bass but, details.
Twilight and I stood in front of Fenlock. I smiled at my mentor “Looks like you saved my tail yet again, Fenlock.”
My mentor laughed, “Just try not to make a habit of it, Private.”
Twilight smiled at my mentor as well, “Thank you for saving us, Fenlock. I can see why Private holds a lot of respect for you.”
“He still acts like an ass around me though,” Fenlock said, rolling his brown eyes. "No offense."
We all looked at a nearby donkey but he simply smiled and said, “None taken.”
Fenlock put a hoof on my shoulder and smiled, “You keep things safe while I’m retired okay, Private?”
“I will, Fenlock” I said beaming at my mentor.
He turned to Twilight, “You keep this crazy stallion out of trouble you hear?”
Twilight smiled slyly and brushed against me, “I’ll try and keep him safe."
I blushed bright red at Twilight being intimate when my mentor was watching. Fenlock laughed at my blush and said, “Ya sure know how to pick em dames, Private. You keep this one, she’s got a good head on her shoulders.”
“Yes, sir,” I said smiling shyly.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me,” he said, as he walked away to talk with the police.
Twilight smiled at me, “He’s a good stallion; I see why you hold him in such high respect.”
“Now you’ve increased his ego past Rainbow Dash level,” I said dryly.
I heard a hearty laugh behind me and I turned to see Potso smiling at me “Private, it’s good to see you, amico. It’s been a while since you dropped by my pizzeria in Manehattan.”
“Sorry we didn’t have much time to talk,” I apologized. “How’d you end up saving our lives back there?”
“I wanted to follow you guys,” Potso said, with a shrug. “Since, I missed you guys on the train, I ran to tell Fenlock what was going on. He said he was going to Ponyville, so I decided to tag along.”
“Typical Potso” I said, with a roll of my eyes. “Always thinking with your heart rather then your brains.”
“It’s a good thing I did come along because I rescued you, no?” He said running a hoof along his mustache.
“So are you heading back to Manehattan?” Twilight asked
“After coming to this bella terra?” My friend said looking around Ponyville with wide eyes “Reminds me of my home land of Tuspony. I think I’ll stay around and set up a pizzeria here.”
“You sure about this?” I asked my best friend “Ponyville can get hectic.”
Potso smiled, “Ponyville should get a taste of good ole fashioned Manehattan pizza. I’ll ask Linguini if she wants to come along.”
Twilight smiled, “We’ll be happy to have you two here in Ponyville”
I slapped my friend on the back, “Welcome to the craziest town in Equestria.”
“Say Private, I’ve been thinking," Potso said his blue eyes looking at me “If this whole detective thing doesn’t work out.”
“For the last time, Potso” I said glaring at my friend. “I’m not forming a Polka Band with your friend Al”
Twilight just laughed alongside Potso. I chuckled a little at the craziness of it all. That’s when I noticed that Vinyl and Octavia were gone. I wonder where they ran off to?
Octavia, maybe if circumstances were different, we could’ve been good friends…