Chapter 30
64 POV
I awoke to a faint bubbling sound, and felt a heat on my cheek. My eyes fluttered open to find Zecora standing over the cauldron in the center of her hut, with her throwing in a few items of suspicion, more specifically, Crystal Dust…
I decided to feign sleep for a little bit longer, to see if I could learn just what the heck she was making. I heard her begin to mutter something, so I channeled magic into my ears to hear it.
“chuma kutafakari ngao…”
Iron… Reflect… Shield?
Some kind of shield potion? She continued to throw ingredients into the boiling mix as she continued to mutter unintelligible words I was unable to translate. She took a large ladle into her hoof and took a large scoop of it out, before pouring the contents into a triangular bottle. She corked the top and set it on a table. The first thing I noticed about the bottle was that it began to glow a bright yellow, and it gave off a buzzing sound.
She looked at the contents and then looked towards me, as I regulated my breathing and shut my eyes. I felt the soft hoofsteps walk to my bedside, and the sound of a cork unscrewing. I opened my eyes wide as I saw Zecora about to pour the contents of the bottle into my open mouth, before I reached out and grabbed her hoof.
“Woah woah! What the fuck do you think you are doing!?” I yelled out, wrenching the bottle from her hooves. She looked startled at my sudden outburst, before regain her calm demeanor.
“I wished for you to be asleep before I administered the potion, for it requires a complete lack of motion. I assure you its effects are benign, yet the aftermath will show the true power of my design.” She explained to me cryptically.
“Just explain what the hell you were trying to pour down my throat!” I shouted, getting a bit angry.
“In layman’s terms it was to create a shield, which would require little to no effort to wield. Reflecting and blocking would be its job, preventing anything from causing you to drop.”
I looked at the strange liquid in my hands and sighed, looking at Zecora. “You’re saying this thing will protect me?”
Zecora nodded. “Yes. With your goal to capture the criminal, I would think you would want the risk to be minimal. I suggest giving this potion to your accomplice as well, if you want to give them another day to tell.”
I looked at Zecora surprised that she knew I was going to have Applebloom help me. “To have a good trap that succeeds, you must have something the culprit needs. But my questions to you, is who?”
“Well I doubt you know her. It’s the Element of Honesty’s little sister, Applebloom.”
Zecora nodded thoughtfully at the mention of the filly’s name. “I have heard of her, yet I do not know her as a friend. Perhaps I must put that to an end?”
“Maybe… now let’s just get the whole shield business over with.”
I laid onto the small cot Zecora had laid out for me and handed over the potion. “Alright... I gotta stay still for this right?” I asked a bit nervous, not knowing how good of a potion make this Zebra was.
“Correct. Now please try and remain rigid, for once you drink the potion the temperature will become quite frigid.” Zecora clarified. I nodded and opened my mouth a bit, allowing Zecora to aim the bottle. I held my breath as the first gulps of the metallic liquid began to flow down my throat. It tasted as if it was liquid iron, which was incredibly unpleasant to the palate.
“The chill will come soon, so prepare yourself, for it will make you near immune.” Zecora warned,as it suddenly felt as if the temperature dropped to freezing. I swear I could see my breath condense in the air.
“It will begin to subside in a moment, then it will be time to see if the potion was potent.”
The rush of adrenaline in my body finally went away, as I finally was allowed movement once again. I looked at my hands and noticed a yellowish glow in them, as if they were covered in a sheet of cracked yellow glass. It went away after a few seconds, yet the shock of the whole experience was still fresh in my mind.
“What the fuck was that…?” I whispered, sitting up on the cot, still staring at my hands. I looked up at Zecora for an explanation and noticed that she was now holding a large staff above her head, before bringing it down towards my head.
I brought my arms over my head to cushion the blow, and felt the staff connect. Instead of the pain of a blunt object I felt a different sensation, as if I had a layer of myself that shattered. I brought my arms back into view and saw that they were once again covered in the same glass like pattern, with the cracks being more prominent in the areas where the staff had struck. The cracks eventually repaired themselves, with no evidence of their existence.
“What the hell was that?!” I said frightened, not really understanding what the hell was going on.
“You’ll find that handy in a pinch… the difference between life and death...” Zecora said puzzlingly, before picking up another blunt stick and striking me in the cheek. Although I recoiled at the blunt force of the stick, I felt no pain.
“Surprising…” She said.
“Surprising that it worked?” I asked.
“Surprising that it didn’t kill you.”
I’m getting the fuck out of here.
3rd Person POV
64 left Zecora’s hut with a small vial of the Shield potion, although he was apprehensive about giving it to Applebloom. It would probably be best to give it to her while she was still asleep. He pulled out a small notepad, one different than the one with his case notes, and flipped to the page where the magic negating jacket was.
“Serial Number F-081598. Size Foal Medium.” 64 muttered, grabbing his communicator charm. He channeled it to the Cloudsdale Channel, more specifically, the Wonderbolts Channel.
“Burnout this is Biped, do you copy?”
“Copy Biped this is Burnout, waiting for command.”
“Requesting drop Number F-081598 to city Ponyville, sending coordinates as we speak. Ready for pickup.”
“Roger that Biped, Burnout, out.”
64 looked up at the sky in the direction of Cloudsdale and waited, knowing it would only be a matter of seconds before he saw something. An orange streak began to soar in the sky from the west, heading straight for 64.
It zoomed overhead before pulling a U-Turn and heading back to Cloudsdale, as a small package with a parachute began to make its descent. When it finally landed onto the ground, 64 walked over to it and kicked off the lock.
He popped it open and looked inside, seeing a black hoody for a filly neatly folded up.
“Perfect. Looks about Applebloom’s size.” 64 examined, as he heard the flapping of wings coming from behind. He turned to see Rainbow Dash there looking at the sky, as if she was trying to find something. “Yo Dash, what’s up?”
“Not now! I think I just saw Spitfire fly overhead!” She said excitedly, a wide grin on her face. 64 chuckled and neatly packed the hoody into his Satchel Pocket.
“That’s because she did, I requested a package drop here and she delivered it. I told you she does stuff like this for me.”
Rainbow Dash’s eyes suddenly widened at the small wooden crates sitting in the grass, and quickly flew up to 64’s eye level.
“What was in it!? Some cool secret weapon?! A gem with the power to stop time?!” She asked eagerly, as 64 gave her a grin.
“A hoody.”
Her smile faltered and turned into a frown, sitting on the grass deadpanned. “A hoody?”
“Yup, nothing but a hoody.” 64 answered. Rainbow Dash looked at his clothing and tilted her head.
“But, you’re already wear the hoody that Rarity made you, why would you need another one?”
64 looked around to see if there was anypony else in the area, before kneeling down. “I’m sure you’ve heard what’s been going on with foals being stolen across Equestria right?”
“Yeah, the school here is starting to make parent pickups mandatory now, and isn’t letting any of the kids walk home alone anymore. Why?”
“I’ll tell you later, but for now I want you to go gather the rest of your friends and meet up at Twilight’s Library. If I know Applejack she’s probably already told Twilight about what I’m planning to do. Just tell them to get there as quick as they can and I’ll head there in about half an hour, alright? I gotta stop by the school house and give the hoody to Applebloom.” 64 explained before walking off, leaving a very confused Rainbow Dash.
“What in the hay was that all about?” She asked herself, before flying off to Sweet Apple Acres. Upon arriving she saw that Applejack was busying bucking tree free of their apples, but it looked as if she was angry at something. “Hey Applejack!”
Applejack looked up to see that Rainbow Dash was approaching her, and wiped the sweat off of her brow. “What is it Dash? Ah already got problems ta deal with right now, so ah don’t need anymore.” Applejack grumbled.
“Well 64 asked me to gather up our friends and head to Twilight’s but I have no idea why. I think he said something about you knowing, care to explain?”
Applejack looked down before sighing. “Ah really don’t feel like explainin’ the same thing 4 more times, so it’s gonan have to wait until we’re all there, alright?”
Rainbow Dash understood and nodded, before once again flying off to Fluttershy’s cabin.
64 POV
I walked to the schoolhouse and saw that it was recess, but there were a few stallions wearing bright orange vests standing nearby. One of them saw me and put his hoof out.
“I’m sorry sir, but nopony is permitted to be near the school during recess hour. If you wish to speak to Ms. Cheerilee, then it will have to wait until after school hours.” The stallion said, putting his blue hoof to my chest. I was about to tell this guy off, but I noticed Big Macintosh was walking over, also dressed in the bright vest.
“Let ‘im through Noteworthy, ah told Cheerilee he was comin’.” Big Mac said, as Noteworthy looked away sheepishly. He walked away leaving me Big Mac to our own devices.
“So what’s with the get up?” I asked, already having an idea for what they could possibly be for.
“Because of you.”
I tilted my head at the answer, obviously not expecting that. “What do you mean by that? Are ponies around here scared of me?”
Big Mac shook his head, slightly scowling at me, “Ponies aren’t scared of what ya are, they’re scared of what ya bring. Especially now. Ya are leading the pony who has been snatching up foals left an’ right across Equestria, right to us, on purpose. Words gotten out all over Ponyville. Some parents ‘round here aren’t lettin’ their foals come to school until they see you slap the hoof cuffs on, so ya better do what ya came here ta do.”
He began to turn to walk away, but I grabbed his shoulder before he could.
“Woah what the fuck do you mean ‘words gotten out’? Are you saying ponies around here know what’s going to happen?”
“Eyup. Mayor made an announcement early this mornin’. Sayin’ what was goin’ to happen, and warn the town jus’ in case somethin’ got outta hoof. Ah’m here to help protect the foals that were able to come school today.”
This time when he began to walk away I didn’t stop him. I just shook my head for a second, realizing that although my intentions are good, I often brought a trail of chaos wherever I went.
“and don’t you forget it…”
My heart began to race at the playful tone of the voice, as my instincts began to kick in. My breath began to become ragged and I could feel my pupils dilate. I looked down at my hands and saw that I was beginning to conjure a weapon, more specifically a Dagger.
“Calm… down…” I muttered, to myself, feeling the fire in the pit of my stomach begin to subside. I shook of the rest of the tingling sensation I got and huffed, stepping into the schoolhouse. Right now Cheerilee had her elbows on the table and her hooves covering her face, the remnants of tears staining her face.
“Ms. Cheerilee?” I asked, making her aware of my presence. She looked up at me and scowled, throwing the first thing she could grab, also known as a stapler. I ducked as she went for a pencil sharpener, but I grabbed her hoof before she could lift it up.
“I don’t want to see you right now! How dare you put Applebloom in harm’s way like this!?” She yelled at me, as I released her hoof. She reeled back and caught me with a smack, but luckily the shield Zecora had made me caught the blow.
“Look, right now I don’t want to hear anything. Getting Applebloom in on this was the only option I had left, and I’m making every single precaution that she will be safe. Right now I’m delivering some armor she’s going to be wearing, so can you please call her in?” I asked, trying my best to not provoke her any more.
“Fine. But you better make sure nothing happens to her, or I’m going to make you wish that you were never born.”
I wanted to tell her that I technically wasn’t born, but I kept my mouth shut. After she stepped outside for a bit, Applebloom came in walking behind her, her bow shooting up at the sight of my.
“Howdy 64! You said there was gonna be somethin’ for me to wear?” Applebloom said happily, as I reached into my Satchel Pocket and pulled out the black hoody.
“Yep, got it right here. Look this thing won’t protect you from physical harm, but it will prevent magic from affecting you for a short time. You need to wear this for tomorrow, so make sure you don’t get it dirty or anything.” I said, as she slipped the hoody on. The black contrasted with her tan fur, but her red hair was more than enough to create a beacon in the dark I needed in the Everfree.
“Feels warm, but it feels like there is something buzzing inside.” She said, playing with the two drawstrings for the hood. I grinned and charged an incredibly small amount of magic in my hand, shooting it at her.
“AH!” She yelled, hitting the deck and covering her head with her two forelegs. She looked up and realized that the ball of magic was floating harmlessly above her, suspended in midair. She poked at it and recoiled when she saw it poofed into nothingness, smiling at the results.
“Wow! How did I do that?” she said excitedly, as I pointed to the hoody.
“The hoody you are wearing has special spells implemented into it to negate nearly all destructive magical spells, so nothing should be able to land a hit on you. You are gonna do great tomorrow, so don’t worry about anything. All you have to do is walk, then run.”
Applebloom smiled at me then nodded, suddenly looking down in doubt.
“But… what if ah mess it up? What if tha reason ya can’t catch the bad guys is because ah mess up somehow?” Applebloom said dejectedly, as I put my hands onto her shoulders for encouragement .
“Look, then that will be my fault. It’s my job to direct you through the forest, then for me to stop the bad stallion from getting you. All you have to do is run back using a safe route I’m going to map out, and that’s that. You won’t mess something that simple up.” I explained.
Applebloom looked 10 times better after that, a ball of energy replacing the glum filly that was standing there a few moments ago. “That’s right ah won’t! Ah’m gonna run as fast as I can!” She yelled enthusiastically.
“Alright AB, you can head back out to recess now.”
The filly ran out the door with her new hoody, one I would probably let her keep afterwards. After that was done, I sat back onto the desktop of one of the many table is the room, crossing my arms a bit. “So Cheerilee, how exactly did you end up hearing about this?” I asked.
“Well the mayor addressed that matter with nervousness, and for good reason. News like this would only come from Canterlot, so I would guess it was Twilight Sparkle that told the Mayor. You’re leading one of the most wanted criminals in Equestria straight to our home, and we’re supposed to be okay with it? I understand it’s all to catch this terrible stallion, but was there seriously no other options?” She asked pleadingly, probably not being able to bear think of putting one of her students into that situation.
I shook my head slowly. “If there was, I would take it in a heartbeat. Sadly it doesn’t seem that way. I’m taking every precaution necessary to keep Applebloom safe, and I have another safety precaution to give her later tonight.” I answered, pulling out the small vial of the Shield Potion.
“I still don’t like any of this 64. After this is all over, I think you owe a serious apology to Ponyville.”
I nodded in understanding and stood up, knowing that I had overstayed my welcome. I walked out the door without another word, beginning my walk to Twilight’s Library. I had to confront them about this.
3rd Person POV
Rainbow Dash had gather all of her friends at Twilight’s Library like 64 asked, and they were now waiting patiently for the human in question.
“Where in the hay is he? He told me he was only going to be half an hour!” Rainbow Dash complained, throwing herself onto the couch in a bored manner, right onto Rarity’s lap.
“Please Rainbow Dash, must you act so uncouth? Simply wait like the rest of us!” Rarity asked, making Rainbow Dash roll her eyes.
“Ah think that now that we’re all here anyway, ah should tell ya what this is probably all about.” Applejack confessed, as everypony in the room except for Twilight looked towards her.
“Oh! Oh! Is it a surprise party?! I’ll help with everything!” Pinkie Pie said in her same excited manner as always, making Applejack slap herself in the forehead with her hoof.
“It’s not that Pinkie… it’s a bit more serious than that.” Everypony in the room hushed up at Applejack’s serious tone all looking towards her in waiting. “Ugh… Ya know about all them foalnappin’s that have been all over tha new lately?”
They all gave signs of acknowledgement, knowing what she was talking about. “Well… 64’s been apparently tryin’ to find and git the varmint that’s been doin’ it, and he says he come to a dead end in his case. So… he… he…”
Applejack was cut off by the human falling from the ceiling and landing in the center of the mares, who all recoiled in shock.
“I need to set a trap here in the Everfree Forest so I can catch this guy. So with Applebloom’s help, I’m setting up an ambush for tomorrow morning.” 64 explained quickly, allowing the news to sink in.
“Woah, woah, woah. Are you saying that Applebloom is going to help you catch a criminal, who is foalnapping children!?” Rainbow Dash yelled, as 64 nodded.
“Yup. She’s the bait in waiting, and I’m setting up the trap. With a few barrier spells the criminal isn’t going to be able to teleport, fly away, or use illusions to confuse me. I’m am going to tail Applebloom to the target area, then when the perp appears, boom. I got him.”
The mares in the room all had their mouths widened in shock, expect for Fluttershy, who was giving him a face of inexpressiveness. She got up from the position she was laying in, and slowly walked towards 64. Each step was more and more scary to 64, not being used to this side of Fluttershy. She kept eye contact with him the entire time, and as much as he tried to fight it, he couldn’t look away. He felt himself falling to his knees as Fluttershy was finally in front of him, gazing into his soul.
“64.” She said flatly.
“Y-yes?” 64 stuttered, feeling his courage slowly leave his body.
“You will take Applebloom tomorrow, catch this pony, then take her safely home. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Do you understand me?”
64 at this point couldn’t speak, and simply nodded quickly.
“Good.” Fluttershy said with a sickly sweet smile, trotting out of Twilight’s Library like nothing had happened.
No one in the room moved for a good long while, simply trying to let what just happened sink in.
“The fuck just happened!?”