//------------------------------// // Chapter 31 // Story: 64 vs. The Underground // by Jman9877 //------------------------------// Chapter 31 64 POV After I regained mobility in my body, I took a look at the stares I was receiving from the rest of the mares. Rainbow was simply staring at me with a look of disbelief, as was Rarity and Pinkie Pie. Surprising she was managing to stay still for a bit. “I simply cannot believe that you are acting so casual about this! Do you not feel any seriousness in this situation!?” Rarity demanded, as I felt myself starting to get tired of this shit. I stood up and sighed, looking in her direction. “Of course I feel serious about all of this! I’m tired of everypony in town trying to give me a lecture about how what I’m doing is ‘so terrible’.” I retorted in a mocking tone. “I get it! This is dangerous, but it’s what I do! I do this shit on a near daily basis!” Rarity recoiled at my sudden outburst, but I felt it needed to be said. I do stuff like this all of the time, I knew what I was doing. “We realize that 64, but it’s—“ Twilight began, before I cut her off. “And you, you went and told the mayor about the ambush!? What were you thinking!? What if the perp got wind of what was going to happen and decides to not take the bait!? I wanted to have this entire thing under wraps with only you guys and Fluttershy knowing, but now the entire town knows! Do you realize how bad this can end up?” She also sank back into her seat and said nothing, as I turned to Applejack. “Tomorrow morning… 7AM. That’s when Applebloom will head into the Everfree Forest. I need to give her something before she wakes up though, so I’ll get there at about 4. Make sure she gets a good night’s rest that night, she’s going to need it.” Applejack nodded and tipped her hat a little bit, as I suddenly felt something quick move in the room. Rainbow Dash was heading straight for me as I rolled onto my back, throwing my foot up to catch her on the stomach. She went sailing off course as she crashed into the ceiling, her lower half sticking out of the wood. “Yes Dash?” I asked unamused at her attack. She pulled herself out as she shook off the wood chips she had gotten in her mane. “I’m not letting you take Applebloom on this totally unsafe mission by yourself. I’m going with you into the Everfree Forest and that’s final!” Rainbow Dash said, flying in my face. “Nope.” I answered simply. She scowled at me and poked me in the shoulder. “I don’t think you heard me, I’m going with you.” “Nope. I heard you the first time.” “64, I’m not letting you leave and that’s—“ She was probably going to say ‘final’ when I pinched her neck once and she fell unconscious, falling into my arms as I laid her down onto the couch. The rest of the mares all gaped at my sudden use of force against Dash, but I knew enough was enough. “64 why did you do that? All she was doing was trying to help you!” Twilight yelled at me, as I rolled my eyes. “Her intentions might have been good, but I doubt she would be able to do any good. The foalnapper can’t have any idea of what’s about to happen, and I’ve already got one breach in security of this plan, the last thing I need is another.” I might have been overreacting about this just a bit, but I didn’t care at this point. The girls all became quiet as I sighed and began for the door. “I’m gonna go map out a route for Applebloom to take tomorrow. By then this whole ordeal will be over and I’ll get out of your mane’s, ok?” I waited a second but didn’t turn around, before I stepped out and headed for the Everfree Forest. I felt the need to not let myself be seen by anypony. 3rd Person POV 64 was holding a map in his hands and was slowly making markings on it, indicating landmarks that Applebloom would need to follow to avoid getting caught in the traps he had set all over the place. His head was reeling from all of the backlash he was receiving from the town, mostly regarding that a fill Applebloom’s age shouldn’t be getting wrapped up in the business of catching criminals, but compromises had to be made to get results. The sun was starting to set for 64, who had been out in the Everfree Forest for nearly the entire day. He had to reset some traps that were tripped by the local wildlife, but for him that was good. Manticore was pretty good eating. “What time is it…?” 64 muttered, losing track of time and looking at his watch. It read 8:30, as he took a small break and sat at the base of a tree, sighing as he looked through a small opening in the thick tree line, staring up at the stars. “Celestia help me…” “you never were one for prayer…” A voice next to 64 whispered, as he turned his head towards the voice calmly. It had only been yesterday when he had seen her last, and he felt it was going to become a recurring event. “What do you want…?” He said sadly, not really wanting her to just show up and then leave once more. “I wanted to see how you were doing. I can tell you’re a bit stressed about this ordeal.” Vi said, her burning glow illuminating the dark forest. “I really don’t want to talk about that. I just want a few seconds of rest before I have to do something else. Can I please have that?” Vi looked at 64 with a smug grin, before her hand glowed blue for a split second. 64 felt the effects and groaned, falling over onto his side in exhaustion. “Why… the fuck… do you… keep doing that?” He wheezed, feeling the massive amount of energy he lost. “Because I feel that you are letting those ponies push you around. Here you are mulling over what they are saying, when you should assert yourself and show them who’s boss? Project 64… human who evades Celestia’s grasp for 6 years, defeats Super Nova, and is equally matched against Discord, is being pushed around by the ponies of a single town who don’t realize what is needed to get something done. I’ll tell you this; the 64 I knew wouldn’t have done that. Being all chummy with these ponies has made you soft!” Vi scolded, as 64 fought to regain his breath. He was thinking about what Vi had been telling him, but didn’t want to believe it. He might have gotten a bit softer, but that was because not everypony was made of tougher will than he was. He could take and roll with the punches directed his way, but he wasn’t sure if others could as well. “I can’t just act all authoritative around my friends Vi…I need to realize that sometimes I do push the boundaries with his stuff, but I’m careful about it. If I order around my friends, soon enough I won’t have any…” “Friends… you never needed friends before. Don’t tell me that you’ve become immersed in that whole ‘magic of friendship’ nonsense—“ “IT’S NOT NONSENSE!” 64 cried out, standing onto his feet in a burst of rage, not allowing anyone, no matter who it was, to say that. “It has saved me on 3 occasions already… and I feel it’s saved me from myself. Without friends like Ghost, Shining Armor, Princess Luna… I would have probably got a gun and put it down my throat. So say what you want about the Magic of Friendship, it’s a real force.” Vi glowered at 64 and marched forward, grabbing him by the throat and forcing him against the tree he was just sitting against. “I tried to take the friendly route of getting inside that pretty little head of yours… but I guess I’ll just have to go back to MY idea… I already knew taking this form wouldn’t work…” A different voice said, before the image of Vi shimmered away and revealed Super Nova standing there, her horn glowing the same color that the aura around 64’s neck was glowing. 64 tried to reach out against Super Nova, but she was just out of his reach. “YOU…BITCH!” He growled against the lack of oxygen he was experiencing, trying to get out from the grasp around his neck. He looked around him to try and find anything he could use; only seeing branches above him too far out of reach. “I WILL HAVE THAT HEAD YOU PUNY LITTLE—“ A heavy buzzing sound suddenly surprised 64, feeling it on his chest. Suddenly the image of super Nova flashed away and he fell forward onto his hands and knees, gasping for breath at his sudden lack of oxygen. “Ugh… what the… what the hell…?” 64 gasped out, looking at his hands in front of him. He saw that they were glowing red, despite having no recollection of casting anything. He suddenly realized something, feeling a sort of constricted feeling still around his neck. Super Nova was never physically manifested in front of him. He had been choking himself. Another heavy buzz shook 64 out of his sudden realization, seeing the glow of his communication charm within his white longsleeve. “Ghost!” 64 said gladly, happy to receive word from his Changeling companion. He fished the green gem out of his shirt and activated it, hearing Ghost’s voice on the other end. “Hello? You there 64?” Ghost asked, sounding impatient. "Hey little guy! How are things going over there? Been awhile.” 64 said, concerned for the amount of time Ghost had been overseas. “Going great. Tomorrow is finally the day I’m gonna bag this guy, so I’m gonna come home soon!” “Woah, what? I thought the plan was that once you identified the dealer I would be sent in. why are you confronting him?” There was a few short seconds of nervous laughing on Ghost’s end, before a response came through. “Well… remember what I said about the Police helping me? They’re getting antsy about getting this guy, so they refuse to wait anymore. I tried to get them to wait until you could be sent over, but they won’t hear any of it.” Ghost said sadly, before the tone changed to chipperness. “But don’t worry! This guy doesn’t know a thing about fighting! He uses his muscle to deal with his problems, and with all of the cops that are going to be there, there isn’t a chance of this guy getting away. I’ll have him in cuffs and shipped back to Equestria before you know it!” 64 sighed at the news, knowing how high and mighty some of the Uniforms in smaller cities act sometimes. “Alright, alright… I get it. I know you will Ghost. Look, remember what I told you about tough situations right?” “Remember to turn tail when the heat burns too much. Better to get burned in the ass than to have it scar your face.” Ghost recited, with 64 making sure it was hammered into his head. “Good boy. Make sure to get home safe Ghost, that’s all I ask. And make sure to see if you have an opportunity to feed before starting anything, it’s best to be at full strength before getting into a rumble.” “Got it 64! If I wanna do that, I better get going. Then plan is set once the sun sets!” 64 grew a face of confusion and looked towards the dark sky before realizing the time zones were different, with it nearly being a 12 hour time difference. “Alright Ghost… stay… stay safe alright?” 64 asked, worrying for his companion. “Alright 64. I promise. See you soon.” “See ya.” The line disconnected after that. Ghost POV After the line cut, I got up off of the hotel bed I was laying on. I was feeling a little bit hungry… but this was all gonna be over soon enough! I could wait until 64 got here. The clock on the wall read 2PM, meaning it was about 2 where 64 was. I was glad to hear that he was okay, but it sounded as if he were pained to hear me go. I knew that he and I are really close, but did he care that much for me? I sighed and took the form of Fonix, getting ready to go over to the Police Station and see the plan Reggie was making. He had told me to let him worry about setting up the ambush, which I had no problem with. He had more experience in these kinds of things, and it would be best to let him take the reins. I packed my saddlebags with everything I brought, knowing that I wouldn’t need another night here. I made the bed and cleaned up everything else I had made dirty in the room, not wanting the housekeepers to have to do any excessive work. I placed a large bag of bits onto the bed for the housekeeper that was bound to stumble upon it, just to show that I appreciated them. I didn’t bother to check out of the hotel, knowing that I was paid off for the rest of the week. I closed my eyes and focused on teleporting to the Police Station, making sure that I appeared in an area away from prying eyes. Who knows how bizarre it would be to see a Gryphon teleport. Green Magic enveloped my body as I teleported to a back alley behind the police station, looking around to make sure that no one spotted me. “Whew… good.” I muttered, seeing that it was devoid of any one walking around. I walked around the building to see Reggie waiting impatiently for me, stamping his hoof on the ground so much I could see the indentations in the ground. “Hey Reggie, I’m here. Now let’s see this ‘fantastic’ plan of yours.” I said mockingly, knowing how easy it was to get underneath his skin. “Now don’t go bullshitting this close to something this important. There’s too much riding on this bust. Now c’mon, I got the whole thing laid out in the conference room.” Reggie said, turning around and walking into the building. I followed accordingly, realizing that this was serious business we were getting into. “You’re the boss Reggie… you’re the boss…” 64 POV After my confrontation with myself in the forest, and my conversation with Ghost, it was already late into the evening, nearing 4AM. I made my way to the Apple Family Farm, seeing a light on in a room on the 2nd floor. I climbed up to it and knocked onto the window, seeing Applejack pace back and forth in her room. She looked over to me with a scowl and opened the window, biting the collar of my long sleeve and pulling me inside. “There ya are! Do ya have any idea how worried sick ah am about this whole thing? Ah haven’t got a wink of sleep all night…” She scolded me, as I patted her head in solace. “It’s gonna be alright Applejack. Now where’s Applebloom’s room? I need to give her one last thing while she’s still asleep.” “Across the hall… but… please 64… Ah’m still not sure about this… ah know ya’ve done these things before, and ya know how ta fight.. but…” I put a finger to her lips before she could continue any further, giving her a soft smile. “That’s good that you are worried. It means you’re a responsible caretaker. Look… I can say this. Plans like these always have some sort of twist in side, one that could be good, or bad. All I can say is that I will do my best to bring Applebloom home unscathed.” She looked down with a small grin, before nodding. “alright… Alright. Go ahead and do what ya need to do.” I nodded and quietly made my way to the room across the hall, seeing the little bundle of filly wrapped up in the sheets. I snuck up to the side of the bed and pulled out the small vial of Zecora’s strange potion, afraid that it’s yellow glow would wake up the filly. Luckily all she did was turn a bit in the sheets, which was good because her mouth was now facing upwards. I softly pinched her nose and waited, knowing I would need to time it just right. As soon as I saw her mouth open to take a breath, I popped the cap off of the vial and gently poured it down her throat, seeing a glow of yellow slowly form around Applebloom. It eventually disappeared, indicating that it worked. “Perfect.” I whispered, slowly making my way out of the room and back to Applejack. I nodded, telling her I did what I need to do. “What didja need ta give her? Some sort of armor?” Applejack asked me, as I nodded a bit. “Sort of. Not one you can wear, but something that Zecora gave me. She tried it out on me and it gave me some sort of shield… go ahead, give me a buck in the gut.” I offered, as Applejack wasted no time turning and rearing her legs back. The buck connected with my stomach as the yellow shield around my body shattered completely, sending me back into the wall. I felt no pain beside the force of the blow, which I expressed by giving her a thumbs up and a smile. “Wow, and ta believe I was scared outta my mind about that zebra before.” Applejack whispered, rubbing her eyes to make sure that she wasn’t seeing things. “I gave Applebloom the same potion Zecora gave me for this, so if something does end up going a bit haywire, she’ll be ok.” Applejack smiled at my extra precaution, as my eyes strayed to the open window. The sun was rising as the time for action came close. “Alright… here we go…” Ghost POV I sat inside the Nightclub as the bass resonated throughout the entire building. Undercover cops were hidden all over the place to await the capture of Emerald Graves. He entered the building with two muscular Gryphons flanking him, as my eyes narrowed. “Alright… here we go…”