//------------------------------// // Chapter 7 // Story: 64 vs. Equestria // by Jman9877 //------------------------------// Chapter 7 Vi POV 6 years… For 6 years 64 has trained, but that’s not all he has done. He has also evaded Celestia’s grasp for 6 years. As time went on as we explored the Wilderness of Equestria, Covert Royal Guards have been searching and sweeping for 64, and some had come close. In some instances, it was thanks to my Motion Detection, but in other cases, it was simply 64’s new skills that he had developed. No longer was 64 the scrawny, malnourished boy he was. Now at the age of 20, he was a strong, honorable young man. Standing at 6 feet, 64 now donned a black long sleeve shirt, and matching shorts. 64 maintained an artisan skill set, now knowing how to use advanced survival tactics. One of those skills of course was making and repairing clothing. Some other skills he had learned were First-Aid, Plant Identification, Tracking, Fencing, Hand to Hoof Combat, and surprisingly, Archery. Obviously the first two he learned very quickly after beginning training. With the two of them combined, 64 was able to heal an infected cut he had gotten after a scrape with a Timberwolf. Speaking of Timberwolves, many creatures which lurked within the woods often tried to find a tasty meal out of 64, but finding him to be quite a hard prey to catch, and usually ended up being the prey themselves. Over the years though… 64 and I have had more than a few fights, and they were often less than beneficial to our relationship. I needed him to survive, and he needed me to survive. It was a delicate balance, and due to the different views he and I had based on the tactics we would use on Royal Guards which would find us, the balance was usually bad. On one hand, I simply thought it was simpler to just execute the incapacitated guards, as they would return to Canterlot and give our last known location if we followed with 64’s ideas, which simply involved knocking the Guards out, and leaving. He still had major qualms about taking another Ponies life, and hadn’t done so since escaping all those years ago. The only type of killing he had ever done is when killing for food, and he never killed tame animals. The many creatures within the Wilderness were perfect conditions for hunting though, and 64 nearly never went hungry. “Vi.” 64 said, “Set our locator towards Outlook #13.” “Right away.” I responded. 64’s attitude had turned from relaxed and careful, to very serious and slightly reckless. All of the training and running around over the years had made 64 secluded, cynical, and slightly aggressive. He and I believe that Twilight Sparkle is probably dead at this point, and her magic had been extracted like all other of Celestia’s “students”. Flashback I witnessed Celestia’s first student walk into the Underground Labs, mesmerized at all of the new equipment which was being made, running to everything, her eyes wide with amazement. Her eyes finally landed upon me, and she slowly came walking towards me. She asked Celestia something, and she responded with an answer. But as the little filly turned back to me, a Royal Guard seized her, grabbing her and lifting her off of the ground. I could only watch as they strapped her body down to an operating table, and attached electrodes onto her horn and body. Then she screamed as they slowly electrocuted her, forcing Magic out of her horn, and into a machine attached to me, powering me up. I saw her memories, her feelings, and her thoughts. I had never felt so terrible in my entire life, as I yelled and screamed within my domain for her release, as she was as well. I saw memories of her mother and father, brother and sister, and many friends at school. I could still remember her final thoughts as she was slowly killed for her magic. “Please… Please don’t let me die in here… Let me say goodbye…” It was experience’s like this which made me hate Celestia’s regime. She forced over 300 innocent Unicorn foals to be sent to The Undergrounds, and all of their energy was sent into me… “Please let me go…” “I don’t wanna die…” “Please Princess… Please…” I slowly cried as I started to recall the final thoughts of all of the dead foals. There was only one that escaped. She ran from the Guards, going deeper within the Labs. Using the power I had regrettably gained, I followed her as she navigated through the labs using the same tracking power I use with 64. She made her way to the Trans-Dimensional Portal Room, and the last thing I saw of her was her orangish coat and yellow/red tail run through the Portal. No guard dared to follow her, and Celestia closed off the wing containing the Portal permanently. Flashback End “Vi, we’re here.” 64 said. I had not even realized that we made it to Outlook #13. These Outlooks were simply small hideouts to be used for small periods of time. Each of them had a view of a specific Vantage Point of Equestria, such as Outpost #4, which had a perfect view of all activity in Fillydelphia. Or Outpost #12, which has a perfect view of Las Pegasus. This Outpost however, had a perfect view of Canterlot. 64 had made it to the Outpost, and he made the quick climb up the unsuspecting tree, into the foliage of the leaves. Inside of the leaves though, was a small treehouse, equipped with a sleeping cot, and telescope. 64 reached into his shorts pocket, and pulled out a piece of Manticore Jerky. I had no idea why he felt ok with killing for hunt, but it was unacceptable to take somepony’s life. I thought he was a major hypocrite, but he always retorted with something like, “I do what I need to do to survive.” “Vi, we have about 3 hours to kill, wanna play chess?” Now that was something I could get excited about. 64 came into the Peacemaker, small grin on his face, while I materialized the perfect Chess board. He was Black Side, and I was White side, the way it’s been since out first game. Our record for Chess Games was Me: 54 wins, 64: 53 wins. He was a genius when it came to leading his pieces onto a board. While I was quick and calculating, 64 simply went on his gut feeling. I moved my first Pawn. I could never predict his next move, and I couldn’t prepare for any of his attacks. I simply always got lucky when he either fell into one of my traps, or made a stupid move. But… he always made his stupid moves look like the work of a genius. He moved his Knight. I remember once when I had him under Check, I thought I had had him cornered, nowhere to move. He took out my King with a Pawn his next move. I move my Knight. He moves his Pawn. The game went on, as Rooks fell, Bishops were captured, and Pawns were used. It wasn’t until the end of the game all I had on my side were 2 Pawns, 1 Rook, King and Queen, and 1 Bishop. 64 had 1 Pawn, King, and a Knight. I had his King in Check with my Bishop, but he kept moving it back and forth, keeping it behind his Pawn so I couldn’t get him without risking my Rook. I decided to risk it, and I took out his Pawn cover. And he simply sat there. He took out my King with the Knight I paid no attention to. “Game Over, Record 54 to 54.” He said smugly. I grumbled, and got rid of the board. “I wanna try the Speed Simulation again.” “Are you sure?” I asked, “Last time record you had was 2:34.” “Then I plan to beat it.” He said as he got up, and stood there. “Starting Up Speed Sim.” 64 POV As Vi started up the Speed Sim, I thought a bit for what was going to happen within the next few days. The Longest Night of The Thousandth Year was tomorrow, and I was nearly ready to stop Celestia, and kill her if need be… I didn’t want to take any unnecessary lives, but Celestia would have to be an exception. My Primary Plan was to expose her agendas before she even was able to make her speech, allowing Equestria to prepare for her Takeover. My backup would consist of simply assassinating her. Simple as that. One arrow to the head would be sufficient, but maybe a few more in her torso to double-tap. I would be concluded to be a murderer for the rest of my days, on the run while Equestria scrambled to form new leadership, but at least the people wouldn’t be held under Martial Law at all times. The Speed Sim was simply a straight path, with small obstacles such as hurdles, rope climbs, and rabbit holes, which was simply a hole in a wall near the floor which was big enough to quickly slide under. A copy of me appeared next to me, my Ghost. “Better keep up this time.” He taunted. “You’re me; of course I can keep up.” I heard Vi’s voice ring through the air, “On your marks, get set, GO!” Me and Ghost took off, running as fast as we could, I was neck and neck with Ghost, and we came to our first obstacle, the hurdles. I leapt over the first hurdle, and prepared for the next. One by one I hopped all of the hurdles with ease, slightly in front of Ghost. As I came to the rope wall, I leapt up, trying to grab the highest point in the wall as I could. I grabbed, and quickly climbed, but Ghost was coming up quick. I tried to climb faster, but my foot got caught, and the time it took to get in loose was enough for Ghost to pull ahead. Ghost finally climbed to the top, and then continued to go over and climb back down. I needed to do something to win, so as soon as I came over the wall, instead of climbing down, I jumped down, and saw Ghost stare in shock. I hit the ground, a pain shooting up my right leg. Simulations did simulate pain, but never hurt once I exited the Sim. I got up and continued to run, way ahead of Ghost. Next came the rabbit holes, a series of the things. The first was easy, fairly big, and more than enough needed to slide under. The next few got smaller and smaller, needing more and more concentration to get through. The final hole was coming, and needed me to squeeze my body into the smallest slide I could pull off. I slid, and grazed my shoulder on the right side. I got up quickly, and crossed the finish line. I gasped for breath until Ghost came across, also gasping as he crossed. “You got lucky 64, I’m gonna be just as fast as you next time.” Ghost remarked. “Good luck with that.” I said as the Simulation broke down, getting rid of all fatigue as quickly as it came. Vi appeared, a smile on her face. “Final time, 1:54, a new record.” I smiled, and exited Peacemaker. I looked out of the window, and saw the dark night come over the sky. The telescope was pointed directly towards the same Palace I escaped from, waiting to see if Celestia would leave unexpectedly, to try to get the jump on me. She knew I was watching, and I knew she was probably getting ready for me. I couldn’t save Twilight, but I would save Equestria, even if the entire Country against me. I lay in the cot, looking up at the ceiling. “64, I want to know, Where do we go after everything is said and done? What will we have?” Vi said, sounding a bit worried. “I dunno, but that’s my choice. You will simply help me get there.” Knight POV Tomorrow was supposed to be the Day of Glory. The day Celestia was supposed to initiate Operation Sun Down and rule Equestria the way it was meant to be ruled. The incompetent Guards that were supposed to locate 64 and bring him back had failed to find him in the past 6 years. Many Guards thought that 64 was dead, but many sightings and reporting say otherwise. Celestia luckily had not stopped searching for him, but she was slowly starting to pull back security. Under her nose, I had selected almost half of her Royal Guards to follow her to Ponyville, the city selected to be the location of the Summer Sun Celebration, the day that would house both the longest day and night of the year. Of course this took some convincing with Captain Shining Armor, who threatened to tell Celestia of my plan. Of course, I convinced him who the security was for, and he begrudgingly understood. The hard part of my plan would be to stage both Twilight Sparkle’s and Project 64’s deaths. I needed Celestia to believe that the both were dead, so I could continue the Underground Testing, which had been mothballed ever since Celestia gained a “conscience”. The only reason I still had a job within Canterlot Palace was because shortly after 64’s escape, I was appointed Princess Celestia’s Advisor. Due to her drastic change in choices, she felt she needed somepony to help her make newer decisions, and I was the most knowledgeable pony she knew. However, if I ever mentioned 64 or Twilight Sparkle, she would become… something. She would immediately become angry, threatening me with execution. I needed to plan my moves carefully, making sure I cover my steps, while also moving my pawns on a giant Chess Board. This would be a Summer Sun Celebration to remember.