//------------------------------// // Chapter 6 // Story: 64 vs. Equestria // by Jman9877 //------------------------------// Chapter 6 Princess Celestia POV I watched from a balcony as the quick Construction Unicorns started the repairs on my beloved Academy. As Dr. Knight predicted, 64 had indeed infiltrated The Academy, and searched for information about My Prized pupil, and in his escape, he had set a fire which engulfed the entire Academy. Or so I was told… An interrogation with Corporal Shining Armor had revealed that the fire was in fact started by First Lieutenant Fire Whip, who when trying to apprehend 64 , missed with a Stun Spell, hitting a gas pipe, which started the massive fire, which engulfed the entire Auditorium building. Not only did he start the fire, he also attempted to kill Project 64, which would have been fine. If Corporal Shining Armor wasn’t still within the enclosure. Apparently Fire Whip, now stripped of rank, had planned on getting revenge on 64 by smothering him in the smoky room that Shining Armor was still in. Eventually 64 escaped by smashing through a weakened wall, and Shining followed him down a mountain, only to fall down a short cliff and break his right foreleg. He was found earlier this morning, thanks to a flare he launched a few hours prior. Eventually I stared at the construction until it was time for me to lower the Sun and raise the Moon. I closed my eyes, and with mild concentration, I made the strong connection of me and the Moon. I slowly pulled it up, and let go when I felt the massive Satellite come over the horizon. As I stared at the moon, I saw my Sister’s imprint mock me, stare at me. That was when everything happened. The planning, the Underground labs... and my extractions… As I learned of that one special foal in every generation, I sought to… use that power, to make sure nothing bad ever happened to my Kingdom again. I picked that special filly or colt, and tricked it into becoming my “Most Faithful Student” so I could get it into the Underground Labs. One by one their magic supplies were run dry, and all of that Energy went into making the first one, the first Project. It was quickly considered to be a failure, but we kept it anyway, to keep testing it. It proved to be the basis of all of our Genetic testing. We used the drained bodies of the foals as perfect testing subjects. It could create things on a whim, so why couldn’t a pony? One by one more projects were made, and one by one more “students” fell. It took 18 Projects before we finally found a successful test. Project #18: Quicker blood clotting within a patient to prevent death by exsanguination. The Project was subject to chemical agents that increased the amount of Platelets that would be generated by a pony’s body, but regulated to prevent thrombosis. Eventually Project 18 died of “natural” causes, but nonetheless, she was a success. Eventually Chemical 18 was put into the food of all of the Guard’s meals during Lunch, and death by Exsanguination went down by 33%. Other Projects were also successful, such as Project 26, which was designed to decrease the amount of time a fractured bone healed. Project 26 had his legs broken regularly, and different minerals and nutrients were pumped through him to speed up the process as fast as possible. As the process got quicker and quicker, we found a sure fire way to increase the Bone healing rate, which was a slight overdose of Zinc and Calcium, and a low intensity pulsed Ultrasound on the fracture for 60 minute a day, which healed the bone in about 5 days. Corporal Shining Armor’s broken hoof should be healed in time for Supper next week. At last I could take it no longer, and I averted my gaze from the Moon. I had something to do that night. The walk to Twilight Sparkle’s room was slow and quiet, and it was good, for I needed time to think. I could finally see what all of the testing and planning was going to do to my Kingdom. Was I really going to use the Projects to keep Equestria scared so I could prevent uprising or destruction from ever happening again? What in the world would ever give me that idea? “I-I-I was scared… and confused when I had to do that…” I whispered, looking down at the ground. Luna’s transformation scared me, and I never wanted anything to ever happen to my Kingdom again, so I started to use innocent foals to genetically test things that would augment my Guards bodies. How could I have been so foolish? And all it took was the Project I was now aiming to kill. Project 64’s words cut into me like a knife that day, and for some reason, shook me to my very core. “You bitch! You heartless bitch!” His words echoed through my head, and my eyes were once again dampened. “Get yourself together Celestia” I thought, “Now he’s coming after Twilight, who’s really the heartless one here?” I shook my head, getting it clear. I steeled myself as I approached Twilight Sparkle’s new bedroom. I opened the door quietly, checking to see if she really went to bed when I sent her here an hour ago. She was, and I saw the gentle rise and fall of the bed sheets as she slept. “So peaceful…” I whispered, walking up to the side of her bed and lightly kissing her on the cheek. Then I became nervous, and a frown grew on my face. I came here to prove myself right. I looked towards a drawer which was in the corner of the room. I quickly summoned the device I had hidden inside of the bottom drawer. The device was a small metal ring, which could be attached to any unicorn horn. I donned the ring, and looked at the small tablet display it was attached to. Like a heartbeat monitor, the small rise and fall of the beat was steady and constant, showing a perfect control of magic. I then looked towards Twilight. It was time. I took the ring off of my horn, and gently attached it to Twilight’s. Instantly, the Monitor went haywire, showing signs of immense volatility. In a matter of seconds, the device short circuited, shutting it down. I stared at the now blank screen in shock. Not a single foal had ever had signs of that amount of raw, untapped power. She would be perfect for the… No… Celestia get your head together. We need to stop with that. There hasn’t been a single bad incident ever since Nightmare Moon. Except Project 64. Project 64 was never planned. He wasn’t even supposed to be here. After leaving 24 Haploid Chromosomes in an XY pattern over a week in an unobserved test tube, we saw the first signs of life. We put the embryo into a larger container, and over the years, we’ve seen the creature grow. An omnivoric, bipedal, intelligent being. I closed my eyes as I recalled the day he came into the world. Flashback 4 Years We did not take into account that last description. When we fished it out of his observation tank ten years after his creation, we expected it to be brain dead, a perfect test subject for our newest project. But instead he opened his eyes, coughed the liquid out of his lungs, and looked at us. His eyes went wide, and then he spoke. “ah...wahs so?” We couldn’t believe it. This…thing, had been unconscious for 10 years, never experiencing interaction with any other life being before, and it just spoke. Celestia put on a gentle smile, it would have to do. “Hello there, young one. My name is Princess Celestia. You are here, in my kingdom of Equestria.” I responded, allowing him to get his bearings. Over the next month, we gave him basic Equestrian Knowledge, hoping to get our first ever “willing” test project. It obviously failed, as soon as we gave it its first test. Project #64: Increased Pain resistance. By putting 64 into situation where he must experience extreme pain, we hope to learn what chemical reactions in the brain we can alter to stop physical pain from being experienced from outside trauma. Flashback End We would have considered 64 a failure, even if he had not escaped. He had made amazing progress, even withstanding multiple swords within several vital points, but the chemical within the brain was never exacted. It was somewhere within the Cerebral Cortex, but was never specified. Now he was after Twilight, and he had proven that in his appearance at my Academy. Even if he was able to get the word out about what had happened to him, that would give us a lead to his location, and he would be quickly apprehended. I once again looked at Twilight Sparkle, her mane messily over her face. “I’m going to teach you right, you truly will be, “My Most Faithful Student”. 64 POV “Again.” Vi said sternly. I was in the middle of a simulation, within Peacemaker, seeing how quickly I could hit small clay disks which were shooting into the air. I was now brandishing a very quick, and now personal favorite, Katana. The first popped up, and I sliced at it horizontally. It clipped the edge, and cracked. But with no time to spare, another popped up behind me, forcing me to spin and slice it downward, right down the middle. Then two popped up at my sides, forcing me to pull a quick 360 degree slice, smashing them both into fine white dust. “Once more.” Vi ordered. Now normally I would have a problem with this, but within this domain, I felt no fatigue. And all knowledge that I gain in here, is transported into my physical body, including muscle memory. So training where I couldn’t get seriously hurt was obviously the best logical choice. Two white clay discs popped out of the ground, and two consecutive swings with the Katana crushed them both. Three consecutive discs came up on my sides and rear, and I swung downward at the disc to my right, and then continued my momentum coming upwards then downward at the two other discs. "Heh heh, thats 30 times in a row..." “That’s enough.” Vi said, losing her authoritarian voice. “Hopefully this training will help you have quicker reaction time. Now we can either talk Combat Tactics, or Sneaking Simulation.” “How about we simply talk for a bit?” I suggested, taking a seat on the floor. “We are basically about to go to war with Equestria and you want to sit and talk?” “Yep.” “You are unbelievable. I can’t even deal with this right now.” Vi finished as she dematerialized into thin air, with an angry look on her face. “Vi. All I’m suggesting is that we should take it easy for the rest of the night. We have been training up in this tree ever since we ran into the forest after helping Shining Armor. I think we can spare a few hours of rest.” Silence. “Vi? C’mon I know you’re there.” I saw the girl in question materialize next to where I was sitting, and made a wall for the both of us to lay back on. She looked down as if she was thinking something, then looked up at me. “Why are you still fighting?” She asked, “You know Twilight is now in Celestia’s hands, and she now has one of the most powerful magical weapons at her disposal. I know I’m pushing you to stop her, but I want to know. Why do you fight?” I thought about it for a bit, and I finally had my answer. “I fight to be free.” Vi had a look of confusion on her face. “Freedom? That’s all?” “I fight so I don’t have to be stuck in a cell 24 hours a day, or be stabbed with knives on a daily basis. I also fight to protect to get freedom to Equestria. Who knows what Celestia will do when she starts to throw Equestria into Dictatorship? I can’t just let that happen.” Vi simply looked at me, as if trying to judge my character. Then she simply leaned over and put her neck on my shoulder, using it as a pillow. “Uhh… Vi?” I asked? “Shut up… I’m trying to sleep…” “Vi, I have a question. What number are you?” “Hmm?” “What number are you? You know… I’m 64. What were you?” “Isn’t it obvious?” She said, eyes still closed as she leaned on me, “I’m Project 1.” “I sorta thought that.” I said, staring into space. “I’ve been around since the beginning, since the Nightmare Moon incident.” “So One Thousand Years?” “Yep…” I simply continued staring enjoying Vi’s company as she continued to lean on me. I guess taking things slow for a bit was a better thought than I thought. Now we wait for the Longest Night of the Thousandth Year… We wait to set things right…