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Finders Keepers!

by CoffeeBean

Chapter 4

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Chapter 4

Finders Keepers!
by Coffeebean

Part Four


“So... not only have ve captured Fedora Bones, but ve also seem to have found Daring Do.” Einen Hoden says, as Jackboot binds your hooves and the other soldiers pointing their weapons at you, “Herr Jackboot informed me that he found you in quite zhe compromising position , I was unavare that the pair of you vorked together?”

You stay silent, scowling at Einen as he laughs, noticeably not joined by his cronies. As he continues talking, you can’t help but notice the horrific forced accent he was using, and wish you could reach over to slap him stupid.

“Tell me, Doctor Bones, vhat exactly are you searching for before you vere... caught vis your pants down?” Einen croons, gloating about your capture, “Ve came looking for veapons, und a device, a device vith zhe power to re-avaken zhe Nightmare Moon und bring our glorious revolution.”

“Nightmare Moon? I thought you wanted Luna?” You ask, worried by his new infatuation with the alter ego of the Moon Princess, trying to coax the re-awakening of a deity that you had read about as a student, one filled with malice and anger, spreading the thick velvet of starless nights over the whole of Equestria, if not the known world. You remember reading that not even the might of the gathered nations of the planet had been unable to defeat Nightmare Moon in combat, and that it took Celestia close to the brink of her own destruction to banish her sister even with the Elements of Harmony in play.

“Oh, mein simple simple treasure hunter. You know yourself zhat Luna has spurned mein advances. Zhe Nightmare vould value mein efforts at giving unto her zhe throne of Equestria, und zhen zhe vorld. She destroy Celestia und vould become a queen, und I vould be her king.”

“You’re insane, the Elements of Harmony-” Daring says, cut off by Einen.

“ZHE ELEMENTS OF HARMONY VOULD FAIL.” Einin screams, his face turning red with fury, “Zhe veapons here vould vaporize zhe silly little mares in an instant! Ve seek to bring zhe full potential of zhis city unto her Majesty’s arsenal, und viz it, we shall destroy any pathetic opposition from Celestia.”

“So that’s your plan? To start a war? To kill thousands, if not millions, just so you can couple up with a mare who would plunge the world into darkness? Daring was right, Einen - you’re insane.”

“I am beginning to grow impatient vis your... disrespect, Doctor Bones. Herr Schnitzel, kill zhe mare.” Einen says, grinning as another one of his soldiers readies his weapon, aiming at Daring. You begin to feel like the world is slowing around you as your mind tries in desperation to find some way of stopping him, and part of you wonders if your time with Daring had been more than just lust.

“Einen, stop! I need her!” you yell, watching Do’s eyes widen with fear as Schnitzel readies his weapon, a gryphon-made firearm adapted for use by ponies, similar to the paintball markers you had seen other ponies playing with, pretending and acting through their own little wars in specially crafted environments.

“Und vhy vould I vant to do zhat?” Hoden replies, raising a hoof and signalling for Schnitzel to stop.

“She’s the only one who understands the language. We were working together, you were right,” you lie, looking at the ground, trying your hardest to look ashamed.

“I still fail to understand,” Einen starts, lifting your head level with his, “vhy she is important.”

“You... you want access to the city, right? Have you noticed that none of your soldiers can operate the panels? It all works for her. I don’t understand why, it doesn’t work for me either! We found a map-”

“We?” Daring says, cutting in surprised.

“Fine. She found a map.”

“Zhat ist more like it. Herr Schnitzel, bind her wings. Jackboot, you vill guard the good doctor whilst we search for this map. If he tries to escape, zhen kill him.”

You watch as Daring tries to fight being pulled with them back to the control room, whilst subtly wriggling your hooves against your bindings. Several minutes pass by, and they reappear with Daring still putting up a fight, and you wince as one of the soldiers smacks her in the face to subdue her. They walk down the stairs dragging the unconscious mare and Einen grins upon seeing your reaction to their mistreatment of her.

“Don’t worry, Doctor Bones; vhen we are done vis her, you vill get your turn.”

Once the group are out of view, having carried Daring Do down a corridor on the ground level of the room, Jackboot sighs and retreats briefly into the mole machine. Struggling a little more desperately, you keep an ear out for the return of your captor and stop moving when you hear a loud clang and a stream of cursing from within.

When Jackboot returns, he is carrying a heavy-looking toolbox in his mouth and has an acetylene tank levitating behind him. Not fully paying attention, the stallion sets about fixing some minor damage to the outside of the mole, occasionally throwing you a cautious glance through the welding mask strapped to his face. As he welds, you feel the ropes around you begin to slacken and are soon able to slip loose from them. Once his work is complete the mask is removed and Jackboot levitates a cigarette from a carton in his toolbox and lights it with the pilot flame of his welding torch.

“You smoke, herr Bones?” he asks, offering you the packet, held using the magic of his horn.

You accept, and let Jackboot place a cigarette between your lips using telekinesis. He then turns around to try and find something to light the little white stick with, and you rise as silently as you can. As he turns back to you, you pull up onto your rear hooves and punch him in the face.

The engineer reels, falling backwards, and after getting back to his hooves he then launches himself at you. You feel your ribs take the brunt of the impact from the flying enraged stallion, and tumble back towards the massive steel cone of the mole. Despite the aching in your side, you get up again in time to punch Jackboot in the face with an impressive left-cross. You feel the tingle of magic enveloping you, and are hurled across the room by Jackboot, who was obviously used to lifting heavy equipment using his magic. Narrowly missing the sharpened tip of the transport, you grit your teeth and get up again as Jackboot walks up behind you, with his heavy toolbox raised over his head.

With your last bit of strength, you throw your rear hooves into his chest, powerful leg muscles forcing him backwards like a rag doll into the tip of the mole machine with a crunch mixed with the clanging of tools as he drops his toolbox. Curious as to what the crunching noise was, you turn around and your eyes widen with shock at discovering Jackboot’s fate as his body slumps off of the machine and falls to the ground, his cigarette falling from his open mouth.

Catching your breath, you realise that Daring is still in the hooves of the NLR, and immediately rush to the control room, pounding at random buttons until the map is once again displayed. You raise a hoof to the floating monitor, and run the tip around the maze of the city until you reach the dots that you assume to represent Einen, Daring and the soldiers. When your hoof touches the room that they are in, you see some of the now familiar scratches of Catlantean text appear, indicating that you had touched the “Drone Control Room”.

After placing your fedora on your head, and re-attaching your whip to your saddlebag, you scribble the directions to the Drone Control Room on the inside cover of your journal, and run after Daring and the NLR.

***

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