• Published 1st Jan 2014
  • 5,156 Views, 506 Comments

64 vs. The Underground - Jman9877



Now in the employ of Princess Celestia, Project 64 must come to terms with his new life and what it will bring, but how will he do that with the visions and memories of the past coming to haunt him at every corner? What new enemies will he face?

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Chapter 27

Chapter 27

3rd Person POV




64 was holding out a small flame in his hand to illuminate the dark tunnel he and his company were walking through, looking out for absolutely anything they could find about the criminals.



“So Chief Thunderhooves, how did you end up helping Sheriff in trying to find the foalnappers?” 64 said, trying to start some light conversation.



“We received word two days after the children went missing, and immediately started to help in the search. Unfortunately our efforts have been fruitless, and when I saw a strange figure walking in the desert a fair distance away from me, I took action. My apologies for trying to trample you once again.” He apologized, with 64 just waving it off.



“No worries trust me. Rushing me isn’t the worst thing to happen to me whenever I reveal myself.”



“Hush up you two, keep your eyes peeled and look out for anything that might be important.” Sheriff scolded, making 64 scowl back. He knew better than to say anything, but Sheriff had a real long stick up his ass for some reason.



“At the end of these tunnels used to be a vast deposit of minerals and gemstones. Unfortunately, after years of being hidden from prying eyes, Diamond Dog raiders overtook the mines a few months ago and took absolutely everything. After the valuables were gone, so were the dogs, only leaving the remnants of their old home.” Thunderhooves explained to 64, who nodded at the story.



“So you think that the foalnappers might have used this place as a hideout? Or even an escape route?” 64 asked, making Thunderhooves nod.



“Hold it!” Sheriff yelled, as the group all came to a full stop. In front of them was a small trip wire, nearly invisible to the naked eye. The only reason Sheriff was able to spot it was because the light coming off of 64’s flames reflected off of it and caused a glint.



“Nice catch Sheriff, looks like you were right about this place Thunderhooves.”



“I had my doubts, let us proceed.”



The group all carefully stepped over the trip wire and investigated to see what it was attached to. It was a small Flame Rune attached to the wall, and once it was disturbed in anyway, it would explode in a massive fireball. The group continued more carefully, looking out for anything else that might have been ahead.



After they safely traversed the long narrow cavern, they finally came across an enormous cave, with remnants of old mining equipment.



“I thought Diamond Dogs dug out jewels with their claws. Why would they need things like Jackhammers and Pickaxes?” 64 asked, picking up one of the Picks and examining it.



“It doesn’t look like they were mining any old gems… take a look at this here mining log.” Sheriff grumbled, tossing it over to 64’s feet. 64 scowled before picking it up, thumbing through it a bit and reading the shoddy penmanship.



‘day:14. gems are very good today. the large magic gem was glowing blue today, but it stopped after a few minutes. we must get it out before something else happens that is bad.’



‘day:24. gem now all out, and we’ve got the buyer who will buy them for high price. the buyer needs us to send it across water, and then we get bits. we don’t know what to do after that, maybe go north. legends of crystal cities are very pleasing...’



‘day 35. we all done. we are going to send gems to boat now, then we get money. other dogs talking about setting down, getting bitch for family. i no like that idea, too cozy. i gonna go north like I heard. maybe get another score.’



64 set the book down onto a table and looked up at the wall, shining his flame a bit brighter to get a better look. There was an enormous hole in the wall, as if something was there, but then moved.



“Fuck that must have been a huge gem…” 64 muttered to himself, as Thunderhooves nodded.



“According to their entries, the gem had magical properties. Based on their description it wasn’t a volatile gem, but simply a gem with magical properties, such as Orthoclase. My guess is that the gem was going to be used to be made into Crystal Dust and sold for a higher value.” Thunderhooves said, making 64 look up curiously.



“Dust? Crystal Dust?”



64 looked back at the entries in the book and saw that they mentioned shipping overseas, where his best friend was.



“Fuck… these were the guys who started the Dust case…”



“HOLY SHIT WE’VE GOTTA GET OUT OF HERE!” Sheriff shrieked loudly, as 64 and Thunderhooves looked in his direction. There were a multitude of Flame Runes lining the wall in front of him, and they were all blinking brightly, indicating they were activated.



64 and Thunderhooves immediately turned on their heel and started running out of the cavern, as a loud explosion blasted out towards the running group. The cavern immediately started to quake and rumble, sending large pieces of rock and dust down towards the group.



“IT’S NOT THE FLAMES I’M WORRIED ABOUT! I CAN HANDLE THOSE! I DON’T THINK I CAN SURVIVE BEIGN CRUSHED BY 3 TON BOULDERS!” 64 yelled out, all of a sudden remembering that there was a Flame Rune ahead.



64 saw it and leapt up and over, continuing to run. Thunderhooves followed closely behind, but Sheriff was falling behind a bit. He was so focused on trying to outrun the collapsing cave and the flames behind him that he forgot about the tripwire in the cave, causing him to fall onto his stomach and activate the Flame Rune in the walls.



64 was looking back when he saw Sheriff fall, and immediately started running back.



“SHERIFF STAY DOWN!” 64 yelled at the stallion who was trying to get up, as 64 looked at the incoming wall of flames from the multitude of runes.



64 slid and threw himself over the Sheriff, as the flames consumed them both.




Chief Thunderhooves POV




I witnessed in horror as the one numbered 64 tried in vain to protect the Sheriff from the flames, only to be consumed by the sheer force of the heat. I knew now was no time to stop and honor 64’s valiant efforts, I had to escape with my own life before anything. What good would it be for Little Strongheart if I didn’t return home today?



I ran as fast as my hooves could carry me, weaving left and right to try and avoid falling pieces of rock and debris. I saw that the exit was starting to be blocked by the falling rocks, so I puffed air out of my nose and charged with all of my might.



I smashed through the blockage in a burst of rage, as dust and flame spewed out of the Cavern’s Exit. I looked at it with shock, knowing that two innocent souls were lost in there.



“I must get help…” I grunted, turning around to head towards my settlement.



“No need for that.” A voice said behind me, revealing the human along with the Sherriff



“Ya know I could have gotten outta there myself, I just tripped is all.” The sheriff said, trying to save his pride. Project 64 chuckled and shook his head, but that was when I noticed that the white clothing he was currently wearing was glowing a light blue.



“Your garments 64, they are glowing. Do you have an explanation?” I asked curiously, as he looked down towards his clothing. His face contorted in confusion before it turned into a smile, with 64 laughing.



“Damn Rarity, you do think of everything. You notice that I have a fire affinity right?” He said, holding a small ball of fire in his hand. I nodded and waited for him to continue. “Well apparently the mare who made me these clothes thought that I should wear something a bit more fire proof. This is a flame retardant spell, which is why they didn’t burn up when I covered up Sheriff. The only reason I’m not cooked a golden brown is because I’m flame resistant.”



“And just how did you escape? I saw the cave collapse.”



“Well when the flames were about to reach Sheriff I threw myself over him so he wouldn’t get burned, and when the flames passed I teleported the both of us out of there. Luckily I timed it right, or else we would have been barbecued.”



The Sheriff looked as if he was getting angrier and angrier the second, until he pulled out his gun and tackled 64.



“That’s it you son of a bitch!” Sheriff yelled as he and 64 hit the ground, as 64 reached out and grabbed the hoof that was currently holding the Revolver. Two shots fired into the air as I moved to push Sheriff off of 64, shoving him off to the side. He got up and aimed his gun at the both of us, as 64 slowly put his hands into the air.



“I’ve had it with you, you pest! For all I know, you’re the one nappin’ these foals in the first place, and you are the one leading us on a wild goose chase! I’m gonna end it right here!” He yelled, pulling back the hammer in his gun.



“Wait Sheriff! Think of the repercussions of this!” I intervened, stepping in front of 64. “How could he be the one leading us astray if he risked his life to save you in the cavern!? Why did he come all this with us to investigate? He could have easily killed us at any moment, yet he didn’t! Use your head Sheriff, and make the right choice!”



“Yeah, make it. Cause if you don’t let’s just say the result is going to be a little explosive.” 64 said, as I noticed the ground under the Sheriff began to glow red. The Sheriff noticed too as he started to sweat a little bit, before lowering his gun slowly.



“Fine… but when we get back to the city, I don’t want to see hide nor hair of you anywhere.”



“Maybe, I still have to ask the parents of the foals a few questions, then study my case notes overnight before I make my next move to the city.”



The Sheriff nodded his head a bit annoyed, before turning around and walking away towards the city. I saw 64 look to me and shake his head a bit.



“I have no idea what crawled up his ass and died, but he needs to get it taken care of. I’ve been meaning to ask, is there anything else you might know about the foalnappers? Absolutely anything would be better than nothing at this point.” 64 asked me, as I shook my head no.



“My apologies my friend, but it seems like the foalnappers are far from here now, and await their next target. I pray for the poor filly or colt that get taken.” I said morosely, nodding my head down. 64’s face suddenly grew a look as if he had an idea, before he scowled and grunted, discarding it.



“Well I guess I better head back with Sheriff to Appaloosa. I found a connection to another case while inside of that cavern and want to see if it can give me any more clues.” 64 said to me before raising his strange hoof for a shake, to which I obliged.



“I shall see you at a later time Project 64, may your journeys be safe and prosperous.” I addressed before walking back towards my settlement, as 64 began to catch up to the sheriff. I laughed a bit and shook my head, wondering how long those two were going to last before one of them kills the other.




64 POV




While walking back I made sure to stay behind Sheriff, not wanting him to get any funny ideas about attacking me. I was hoping that Thunderhooves would have something else about the case, but it was starting to look like Appaloosa was also a bust. I looked through the mining logs a bit further and found that another pack of Diamond Dogs were the ones who were going to buy the magic gems, and that it was going to be shipped piece by piece overseas.



After the dog that was keeping the logs started talking about getting more work, but was offered a job as a security guard, but for what it didn’t say. This thing was only useful in telling me that the Diamond Dogs here were incredibly shitty at grammar, so I stuffed it back into my Pocket. I pulled out my case files and looked at the names of the parents.



“Ok, parents of Lily Wing… Heavy Hoof and Trist Wing.” I read as we made it back to town, with a huge gathering of ponies waiting for us. They all flocked around Sheriff asking all sorts of questions, luckily disregarding me so I could try and look for the parents in the crowd. Surprisingly I didn’t find them in the chaos, so my guess was that they were still at home.



The houses weren’t addressed, instead marked with the owners of the house on the front porch. I searched for the home for a bit before I found it next to the local store, with the Heavy hoof pacing around his front porch.



“Excuse me, is this the home of Heavy Hoof an Trist Wing?” I asked politely.



“Not for long it ain’t! What’s it to ya!?” Heavy yelled at me, as I put my hands up to show that I wasn’t a threat.



“Woah there, take it easy. My name is Project 64, and I’m here to help investigate your daughters’ kidnapping. I just want to ask a few questions.”



Heavy Hoof was pretty much the size of Big Macintosh, but had a more a color than him. He was obviously harboring some rage in him that he planned to dish out on me, so I knew I needed to do this carefully.



“Feh, damn Sheriff can barely do anythin’ to find my daughter, what makes ya think that a two legged hairless freak is gonna do anythin’?” He argued.



“Where was your family the day before Lily was taken?” I asked, ignoring his comment. He huffed and scowled at me before answering.



“Mah family was getting’ ready fer tha’ Nightmare Night celebration, an’ we were out collectin’ feathers to make a pair of fake wings so we could be a family of Pegasi. We didn’t collect much, so we promised that we would go an’ look fer some later. Early tha next day Trist wanted me to help her cook somethin’ fer the Celebration, so we couldn’t go with Lily to collect the feathers.”



He paused bit before continuing, gathering himself.



“She was really down for not bein’ able to go and collect tha feathers, so she locked herself in her room in tha morning. The colt tha’ lived next door came knockin’ askin’ fer her, so ah tol’ him she wasn’t feelin’ well. Apparently she heard ‘im because the next thin’ ah know she’s boltin’ down tha stairs and standin’ at the door. They decided to go an’ collect feathers themselves that morning around 9, and that was the last we heard of her since then.”



I wrote down what I could find out from his explanation, seeing a pattern in the foalnappings. They always happened earlier in the morning before noon, but after 7. That meant there was a 5 hour gap when the foalnappings could take place.



“What about your wife? Can I talk to her?” I asked, as his face suddenly contorted into one of rage.



“Ah bet ya can! But she’s in there actin’ as if everything is alright! Swear she’s lost her damn mind in there!” Heavy yelled, as he held his front door open. “But by all means, go ahead, see if ya can get through her thick skull.”



I stepped through the door as I looked around the home, hearing the sounds of somepony in the kitchen. I made my way there and saw a Pegasus Mare with hat much like Applejack’s, with a Dark Orange coat and a neon pink mane. She was sweating a lot, but she wasn’t moving very fast, and it was only 80 degrees in here.



“Um… Excuse me? Trist Wing?” I asked, as she turned to me.



“Oh hey there! It’s so nice to have a visitor once in a while! Oh go ahead and make yerself comfortable as ah get ya some refreshments!” She said moving to her refrigerator, pulling out a pitcher of lemonade.



“Oh that’s quite alright ma’am, I just need you to answer some questions about your daughter’s foalnapping. Now what were—“



“Oh little Lily? Why she’s upstairs right now playing with her toys! Oh she gets so adorable when she digs into her little toy chest and starts to play house with them!”



I looked at the mare with a confused looked and saw her eyes twitching a bit, and I immediately knew what was going on.



“Miss Trist… listen to me carefully… I know your torn up inside about your daughter, but if you don’t answer my questions then I may never be able to find her… now please… answer my—“



I was cut off as I saw the glint of metal in the sun slice in my direction as I jumped back, seeing now that Trist had armed herself with a large kitchen knife and now had a crazed look in her eyes.



“My… little girl… is safe… and sound… now leave my house… before you get into a little…accident….” She growled, as I slowly backed away from her.



“Trist… you need to calm down and drop that knife right now! Don’t make me hurt you!” I pleaded, not really wanting to hurt the mare.



“GET OUT NOW!” Trist yelled as she threw the knife, making me put my hand out and grab the blade between my fingertips and snapping it, rendering it useless. Trist ran upstairs in a hurry as I pursued her, seeing that she locked herself into a room.



I heard a whispering sound from the other side of the door and put my ear onto it to eavesdrop. It was Trist, but it sounded as if she was sobbing quietly.



“It’s gonna be okay dear… I’m not gonna let the bad thing get you…” She whispered madly, as I backed away from the door.



“Trist! I’m giving you one chance to come out quietly to answer my questions! Please do not make this any harder than it needs to be” I begged, as I loud crashing noise responded, sounding like a lamp had just fallen.



“GET AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER!”



I sighed and reared my right foot back, before kicking the lock on the door with all my might, sending it off the hinges. I stepped inside and saw a .32 Revolver pointed at me, quickly putting up a magnetic barrier to repel the shots that she fired at me. After 6 shots rang out I dropped the shield and wrenched the Pistol out of her hooves, before she began to sob wildly into her hooves.



I saw the bed she was crying on had something under the covers, as I made my way over to it. I pulled them back and scowled at what I saw.



It was a poorly sewn together filly sized plush of Lily Wing.

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