Twilight's Experiments: The War of Mann Co. 2

by MIKEANTHONY321

Rating: teen
Tags: Adventure, Big Macintosh, Gore, Crossover, Zecora, Alternate Universe, Human, Main 6, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Spike, Comedy, Other, Romance
Length: 72829

Our favorite cast of hoofed mercenaries have returned in the sequel to Team Fortress 2's biggest bloodbath!

Our favorite cast of hoofed mercenaries have returned in the sequel to Team Fortress 2's biggest bloodbath! Now, they are forced once again to fight against each other! But, with a newly-sparked relationship between human and pony, how will their relationship hold up when a new threat faces the company of Mann Co? Friends will be made, lives will be lost, lips will be shared, and piss will be thrown in the never-ending battle for dominance! Who will win the fight, and who will go home bloody?

Published 2013-11-30 19:50:02 UTC
Last updated 2016-07-15 04:04:42 UTC

Prologue

“Are we there yet?”

“’Fraid not, Skittles. Just keep walking.”

Rainbow Dash groaned. Two or three hours of walking, and there was still no sign of their destination. The sun baked down on her cyan back, which caused her to sweat. She looked around at her surroundings.

The only color in her view was that of the mob that she and her human companion walked with. There was Spike, Pinkie Pie, Zecora, Big Mac, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Twilight. There were also eight other humans that walked by their side. Other than that, there was nothing but barren desert as far as the eye could see.

She looked with envy over at Twilight, who was being carried in the arms of her companion.

“Yo Twi, enjoying the praise from your new hubby?” She taunted.

“Oh, be quiet, Rainbow.” Twilight responded. She looked back up into the eyes of her companion, and smiled warmly.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, furious that Twilight got to be carried in the hot sun while she wore her hooves away on the unforgiving sandy ground. If those Engineers didn’t build teleporters from the Shipping Facility soon, she was going to steal one of their wrenches and beat them with it.

…

Rainbow Dash’s companion looked over at her sympathetically. He reached in his pocket, and pulled out a can of his patented ‘Bonk!’ Atomic Punch.

“Here Skittles, drink this. It’s kind of warm, but I hope it’ll do for now.”

Rainbow Dash grabbed the can from her companion’s hand, and drank it down. She almost spit it back out, since it had lost its fizziness.

Fluttershy’s companion, a tall German man with a lab coat and glasses, looked over at Rainbow Dash. He saw what she was drinking, and gasped.

“Vait Rainbow Dash, nein! Don’t drink zat!”

…

It was too late. Rainbow Dash downed the can, and threw it to the ground. The man’s outburst caused everyone to look in Rainbow’s direction. Her pupils grew large, and a crooked grin appeared on her face.

Her wings, which were tucked at her sides, flared out impulsively. She began to jitter and shake, causing everyone to give her a confused look. Suddenly, she took off flying, leaving a rainbow streak behind her. Everyone watched as she disappeared on the horizon in front of them.

…

Her companion was laughing uncontrollably. Fluttershy’s companion looked at him angrily.

“Scout! Vhat vas zat for?” He scolded.

Scout, still laughing, replied, “Aw c’mon, doc, it’s all in good fun! Who would’ve guessed that a can of week-old Bonk still had an effect?”

“You’re not supposed to give a caffeinated drink to someone in zee intense heat!” The doctor explained.

“Yeah, doc. You’re the doc, doc.” Engineer added. He and Applejack snickered to each other.

“I told you dummkopfs, my name is Medic! I prefer to be addressed formally!”

…

“Just ignore him, men. We’ll consult him later when he’s off his period.” Soldier ordered in a professional tone. Everyone in the mob broke into intense laughter.

Medic’s face turned red. His hands balled up into fists, and he looked away, embarrassed.

Fluttershy reached up, and held Medic’s hand.

“Don’t you worry about them. I think, as Medics, we’re the only ones left on this team with our sanity intact.” She mentioned.

Medic looked down at her, and smiled.

…

“Never…NEVER…insult my doctor!” Heavy raged. He put up his fists, and clocked Soldier right in the face. Everyone laughed again.

…………………………………

After another few grueling hours of walking through the desert, Twilight spotted something in the distance.

“Hey, over there! Sniper, hold me up!” She ordered.

Sniper lifted Twilight up above his head so she could get a better view. She put her hoof above her forehead to shield the sun, and squinted her eyes. Among the intense heat waves that emanated off the ground, a small facility came into view. The RED and BLU logos could be seen clearly on the sides.

“There, I see it! Is that Granary?” She asked.

Sniper squinted his eyes, and followed Twilight’s gaze.

“Yeah mate, I think that is! Team BLU should be waiting for us there.” He informed. “Everyone, I think we’re here!” He then called.

…

Everyone in the group turned their heads, and looked forward on the horizon. Sure enough, the Granary facility was coming into view.

“Ugh, finally. I’m surprised Demoman hasn’t passed out already.” Spy responded.

Demoman was literally being supported entirely by Zecora. He had a bottle of rum in his hand, which was on the verge of empty. His feet were dragging underneath him as Zecora half-carried him, and he was making soft mumbling noises the entire trip.

Rarity agreed fully on Spy’s statement.

…………………………………

Upon arrival, the team approached the fence that guarded the facility, and found Rainbow Dash lying curled up in a ball on the ground, trembling like she was scared of something. She looked up at them with her incredibly dilated eyes, and babbled inaudibly.

“Should I get a barf bag?” Scout asked.

Medic buried his face in his hands, and sighed.

…

Shortly after the awkward discovery of their rainbow-haired friend, team BLU approached them from behind the gate. Everyone looked up, and met them eye-to-eye.

The Soldier from the BLU team stepped forward, and so did the Soldier from their team.

“Greetings. Are we prepared to do a team scramble?” The Blue Soldier asked.

“Yes we are. But let us lay down a ground rule first.” Red Soldier added.

Team BLU waited patiently for Red Soldier’s ‘ground rule’.

“Twilight Sparkle, the purple unicorn, will remain on our team.” He leaned in very close to Blue Soldier’s ear. “She and Red Sniper are QUITE fond of each other.”

Blue Soldier nodded his head in understanding. Then, he held up his right hand. On cue, Red and Blue Scout stepped up to the fence.

Since they were all currently without weapons, the Scouts decided to handle the team scramble more ‘formally’. The both held out a fist.

…

“Rock, paper, scissors, shoot.”

Red Scout got paper, and Blue Scout got rock. Team RED would get to pick their teammates first.

In the end, the teams ended up like so. Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Zecora, and Big Mac were on team RED. Rainbow Dash, Spike, Applejack, and Fluttershy were on team BLU. Once the teams were decided, the ponies on team BLU were hoisted up over the fence by their respective companions.

Rainbow Dash, however, was difficult to budge. Red Scout put his arms around her, and tried with all of his might to lift her up.

“Damn Skittles, c’mon! Flap those wings of yours!” Red Scout ordered.

Rainbow Dash put a hoof on her stomach, and groaned loudly.

“Oh…I don’t feel good.”

…

Red Scout suddenly let go of her, and ran for cover behind Red Heavy. Everyone on both teams stepped back about ten feet.

To be Continued…

Author's Note

I'll admit, that's not the best description I've ever written. But sometimes, I just get hung up on words to the point where I can't focus. Ah, whatever. If you are reading this, it means that this story has passed moderation, and I am very happy!
Anyway, don't expect frequent updates to this story. If I get a chapter out every two weeks or so, I will be very satisfied.
By the way, happy 4th season everypony!

Arena Mode

Battle Arena #1: Granary (Arena)

After giving Rainbow Dash a chance to recover from her hangover, team RED hopped the gate and entered Granary. They headed for their respective spawn-point, as team BLU did the same. The battle was to begin in 10 minutes.

…

Upon entering the BLU spawn-point, Blue Medic brushed his hair, and put on a professional-looking hat with an eagle symbol on the front.

Fluttershy looked at him with confusion.

“Um…Mr. Medic, where did you get that?” She asked.

She looked around, and noticed everyone else putting hats on too. Blue Scout, for instance, was wearing a baseball helmet with Atomic Punch cans attached to the sides, and Blue Engineer was wearing a metal carpenter’s helmet with glowing red eyes. The other ponies were also looking on with confusion.

Blue Medic looked down at her.

“Oh, zis? It’s zee Team Captain.” He answered.

Fluttershy looked away from him shyly. “Oh, um…it looks pretty.”

“Do you wantz one too?”

…

Fluttershy looked up at him hopefully. “A Team Captain?”

“Well…not exactly. But I can givez you a different hat.” He offered.

Fluttershy shrugged her shoulders. Blue Medic pulled a strange-looking menu panel up in front of him. He tapped around on it, as if he was searching for something.

“What are you doing?” She asked.

“I’m checking my inventory to see if I have a hat for you.” He searched a little more, and shrugged disappointedly.

“Did you find anything?”

“All I have for you is zis hat right here.” He replied. He grabbed the panel with his hands, and extracted a black top hat. The top was peeled a bit, and it had a little ghost ornament hanging from the side.

…

“Hmm…” Fluttershy hummed.

“It is zee Ghostly Gibus. It is zee only other hat I have.”

She slowly reached her hooves up, and took the hat out of Blue Medic’s hands. She carefully set it atop her head.

“Now see, it’s doesn’t look so bad!” Medic assured.

…

Fluttershy grinned slightly, and set up for battle. The rest of her team did the same.

………………………………………

Meanwhile, in the RED spawn point, a similar situation was happening. The ponies looked around confused as their teammates equipped hats on their heads. Rarity marveled at Red Spy’s hat, which appeared to be a type of fez…on fire.

“Pardon me for asking, darling, but…why is your hat burning?” She asked.

Red Spy looked down at her. “Oh, you see Madame, this is a very rare and special kind of hat. It is what you would call…” He stopped to twirl his fingers in search of a good word. “…Unusual.”

Rarity observed the hat a little more, and shrugged. Just before gearing up for battle, she glanced over in Twilight’s direction. She saw her engaged in a tongue-battle with Red Sniper, which almost looked like two seals fighting over a grape. She shut her eyes, and looked away in disgust.

……………………………………

Finally, the countdown began. Everyone got in their ready-positions, and prepared for the worst. The last one standing would win it for their team.

“5…4…3…2…1…FIGHT!” A voice over the intercom boomed.

………………………………………
Music: Playing with Danger (Repeat if needed)
.........................................................

The resupply locker room doors swung open, and both teams burst out with undeniable enthusiasm. The sun was shining, the air was still yet warm, and the birds chirped peacefully throughout the landscape. The perfect environment for some brutal murdering.

Twilight separated from her team in search of a nice high-up battlement of sorts in which to lay down her bullet rain. After traveling through a few buildings from the spawn, a nice spiral stairway came into view off to the right side. She ascended them, walked over onto the ledge, and knelt down.

Wiping the extra saliva off of her lips from the last few minutes’ events, Twilight prepared to begin her long-ranged combat. Finding a comfortable position, she set the nozzle of her rifle up through the rungs of the railing. No respawns occurred in this game mode, so Twilight had to keep it cool, and stay unnoticed.

…

She spanned the landscape with her eye up to the scope. With her intensely-magnified view, she was able to spot a fly on a dragon’s back from 500 yards away. However, the landscape was barren.

“Hmm…now where’d you all go?” She mumbled to herself.

After several minutes of indefinite patience on Twilight’s part, Fluttershy came into view, wearing a peculiar-looking dumpster hat, and wielding what looked like…

“The Kritzkrieg? Oh ho, bad choice, my friend.” She chuckled as she began to take aim.

Fluttershy was looking around desperately, calling out for a heal target. Twilight laughed as she became ready to add insult to injury.

………………………………………..

Fluttershy was rather frightened at the moment. Medics like her were practically marked for death without a strong heal target to keep them protected. She looked around in a flustered manner, looking hopelessly for someone to protect her in this brutal Arena battle. Over her headset, the announcer broadcasted the death of the first fighter. Blue Heavy had died at the hooves of Rarity, the savage assistant of Red Spy.

This only added to Fluttershy’s fright. Her team’s most ideal pocket-target had just been permanently eliminated from the battle. Before she had time to say or do anything though, she noticed a red laser dot begin to travel up her body and toward her head.

Without time to think before she could ‘think’ no more, Fluttershy shrieked, and leapt off to the side, nanoseconds before she got her head breezed off by a pellet of cold hard metal. Said pellet whizzed by her ear faster than her eyes could detect it, slamming into the wall behind her.

Fluttershy was in full-blown panic mode. She began to breathe heavily as she ran back and forth in unpredictable movements, jumping around and ducking at random times. The red laser tried fruitlessly to get targeted on her body, while bullet after bullet flew by her shadow.

…

“Dang it, Flutters, stand still!” Twilight raged.

Fluttershy glanced up at the ledge where her voice came from, and saw Twilight perched high up behind the railing in her treacherous Team RED uniform. The color of Fluttershy’s uniform would match that of Twilight’s if she didn’t get to safety quickly.

However, something else caught her eye up on the railing. A blue silhouette appeared behind Twilight, which formed into Blue Spy. Immediately after, he plunged his knife into Twilight’s back. Twilight cried out, and toppled off of the ledge. Blue Spy then jumped right down off of the ledge, taking a little bit of fall damage when he hit the ground.

Fluttershy ran forward, healed the damage with the Kritzkrieg, and threw her arms around Blue Spy, crying into his shoulder. Blue Spy patted her on the back.

“Now now Madame, it’s okay. Your threat has been eliminated.” He assured.

“It was so scary…she almost killed me…” Fluttershy replied in between sobs.

“Yes yes, I know. But it is okay now.” Blue Spy repeated. He looked down, and noticed a big, bloody bullet hole puncturing through Fluttershy’s back right leg.

Fluttershy followed his gaze, and noticed the wound. Once she saw that it was there, the pain began to set in.

She gasped. “Ah! Wh…what should I do?!”

“I’m sorry, but there is naught that I can do. Call for a Medic. I’m sure Blue Medic will be here to assist you right away.” Blue Spy suggested.

Fluttershy nodded in understanding. She and Blue Spy went their separate ways to continue the Arena battle.

…………………………………………

Over his headset, Red Sniper received word of Twilight’s death. He slammed his fist on the wall.

“Dang it, Twily. Always check for the presence of Spies! I told you that before!” He raved.

He didn’t stay angry for long, though. He still loved Twilight, and he was sure she loved him back. In fact, she was probably spectating him right now from the death cam.

He heard a very familiar uncloaking noise. He tipped his hat and winked, signaling for Twilight, if she was spectating, to watch and learn. Then, he threw jarate behind him from over his shoulder, and gave a quick swing-around with the Bushwacka. Blue Spy was quickly eradicated.

Red Sniper took his hat off, and held it at his chest respectfully. He still held his knife in the other hand.

“You’d best keep lying down.” He whispered softly.

………………………………………………

Although Spike was small, he quickly managed to get the hang of using his rocket launcher. He started getting good during the last Payload battle, which took place at Upward Mountain. Since then, he’s been a brutal explosive machine.

He launched a rocket at his feet, propelling him a few dozen feet into the air. This granted him quick access to the battlement railing, which was quite high off the ground. From here, he walked around the corner into the building while reloading his launcher.

He began to run inside, but was quickly stopped by a sentry gun built by Red Engineer. By the time he realized and stepped back for protection, he had taken much damage from the bullets. He jumped down off of the battlements, causing more damage.

His uniform was being stained the enemy color from the beating he took. He called for a Medic with his high-pitched baby-dragon voice.

…

Hiding in a corner to remain undetected, Spike waited patiently for Blue Medic to arrive. Just a few seconds later, he came bursting around the corner with his Quick-Fix ready.

Blue Medic opened healing on him, which did not take long due to the weapon’s increased healing rate.

“Move, schnell!” He ordered.

Obeying the Medic, Spike took off running, with his healer close behind. As he approached the battlements, he let off another rocket at his feet, which sent him back up onto the ledge. Due to Blue Medic’s use of the Quick-Fix, he went flying up with him.

“Woohoo! Oktoberfest!” He cheered.

…

As they approached the corner, Spike ordered Blue Medic to use his Ubercharge. Blue Medic obliged, and deployed it with the latch on his pack.

Spike’s face turned to one of frightened yet defiant determination. He hoisted up his rocket launcher, and dove into the building.

The sentry gun immediately opened fire on him and Blue Medic. Spike began to shoot rockets at it in an intense effort to destroy it. Red Engineer knelt behind it though, keeping it alive with the wrench.

As this was happening, the sentry was injecting clouds of bullets and rockets into the two BLU fighters. However, the Quick-Fix uber being used by Blue Medic was healing them both at monstrous speed. Their health remained stable, which gave Spike enough time to destroy Red Engineer and his sentry gun.

…

“Stupendous! Amazing vork, comrade!” Blue Medic beamed.

Spike smiled. He then reloaded his launcher, and advanced out of the building to kill more fighters. Blue Medic turned the other way, and separated from Spike to heal other nearby teammates.

On his way out of the building, Rarity leapt down off of the stairs, and managed to lunge her knife around the corner and into Blue Medic’s back just before he made it out of the building. She dropped everything, doubled over onto the ground, and laughed heartily in his face.

…

Just moments after leaving the building, Spike was notified of this kill. He stopped moving, and balled up his fist. How in Equestria did his Medic get killed seconds after an Ubercharge, and seconds after he left his sight?

He was about to go back in the building to avenge his healer, but decided against it.

“Oh Rarity, if I didn’t have a crush on you…” He mumbled through clenched teeth.

………………………………………

At this point, Team BLU was down three fighters, and Team RED was down two. On Team BLU, Medic, Heavy, and Spy were dead. On Team RED, Twilight and Engineer were dead. The kills came in slowly, but surely.

Red Heavy poked his head out from around the corner of a crate, and scanned his surroundings. All seemed crystal clear on this side of the battlefield. He chuckled a little to himself.

“Time for Heavy to enjoy some lunch!” He announced. He reached around in his storage pack, and pulled out a lunch box. Inside was one of those most savory and delicious gourmet treats a Russian assassin like himself would be privileged to consume.

The Sandvich. Red Heavy stared at it with glistening eyes and a smiling, watering mouth. Nothing could stop him from eating this…most beautiful thing in the known universe. He opened his mouth, and took the first juicy, taste-tacular bite. It was pure heaven on whole-grain bread and an olive-pick on top.

…

Red Medic came running around the corner when he heard moans of ecstasy coming from the spawn-point area. He looked behind the crate, and found his bald, hearty companion eagerly munching down his most prized “weapon” in the war of TF2. Red Medic sighed.

“Heavy, you know vee should be out zere in battle right now. Not over here eating zis…brilliant sandvich. Now come on.”

Red Heavy wiped his mouth, and looked up at Red Medic. After staring at him for an awkward five seconds, he held up his sandvich.

“Vould most favorite Medic in whole vide vorld share lunch vith Heavy?” He offered.

Red Medic jumped up and down, and clapped his hands together. “Oh boy, vould I!!”

…

Later, just as they took the last bite, Red Medic heard a noise. He got up on his knees, and turned around to look up over the crate. Instead of looking straight up and over, he touched noses with Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash was sprawled out across the crate, looking like she had been there all day. She held her baseball bat in her right hoof, and slapped it on her left hoof in a threatening way. A bead of sweat rolled down Red Medic’s face.

“Oh hey, eggheads. I kind of lost track of how long I was sitting here. Thought maybe you would share some of that sandwich with me, but I guess I was wrong. Well, at least I get to return the favor.”

Red Medic and Red Heavy shared nervous glances. Red Heavy gulped.

……………………………………………

Applejack sat in a chair that she had found in a pile of scrap over by the far wall with her hooves propped up against her dispenser. Her hat was tipped down over her face, and she had a bit of straw sticking out of her mouth.

She had miraculously managed to set up a nest for Team BLU right at the central Control Point. This nest included a level 3 sentry and dispenser for her teammates to return to in times of need. Once the Control Point became active, her team would be able to capture it easily.

Her only worries were Spies, and Red Medic. If that guy managed to send out an uber, her plans would completely fall apart.

…

She tipped her hat back up when she heard an announcement over her headset. A double kill had just been performed by Rainbow Dash. Apparently, Red Medic and Red Heavy were killed by a baseball-bat-beating.

Applejack sat up in her chair, and laughed gleefully, slapping her knee. The straw fell out of her mouth.

“Ha ha, ‘atta boy, Rainbow!” She beamed.

…

Still smiling, she fell back into her chair. A sudden voice from beside her startled her a bit.

“I know. It’s pretty fantastic kill.”

Applejack turned to the sound of the voice, and saw Blue Spy lighting a cigarette with his lighter. He was standing next to Applejack’s dispenser, getting some extra health.

She merely shrugged, and lied back down against the chair. She closed her eyes, and tipped her hat back over her head.

….....................................................................
Music: Right Behind You (Repeat if needed)
.........................................................................

Suddenly, her eyes shot open again. Blue Spy was supposed to be dead.

She sat up immediately, pulled out her Frontier Justice, and pointed at her dispenser. Surprisingly, there was no one there anymore.

She scanned the room with her weapon in-hoof. She snarled, angry that she had been fooled for even a second.

“Show yourself!” She ordered. She didn’t know if her intruder was Rarity or Red Spy. Either way, she was determined to eliminate them before things got ugly.

“I know you’re in here, and I’m only gonna say this once. If you lay one hand, or hoof, on my buildings, you’re gonna be sorry you was ever born! Do I make myself clear?!” She exclaimed. She realized that it was a stupid question to ask, since no Spy in their right mind was going to answer at that point.

…

After scanning the room for another few seconds, Applejack slowly put her weapon down. She sat back slowly in her chair, and prepared to lean back again. At this point, she was going to be wary of every last noise that entered her upright ears.

The moment she closed her eyes, the alarm device on her arm went off. Her sentry was being electro-sapped.

“Dag-nab it!” She yelled. She quickly got up out of her chair, and grabbed her wrench. Before she could start making repairs, a pair of hooves grabbed her from behind and shoved her back into her chair. She tried to struggle free, but was held down tight by her attacker. Applejack watched in horror as her sentry slowly lost power, and exploded.

“Damn it Rarity, let go of me!” Applejack demanded, immediately identifying her attacker.

“Oh, I don’t think that’ll be necessary, Applejack. You’re not going anywhere.” Rarity answered back.

Applejack used her mouth to activate her headset. Just as she was beginning to call for backup, Rarity used her free hoof to tug the device off of Applejack’s head. She then used her back hoof to stomp it to the ground.

“What the hell was that for?! Let me go so I can beat the livin’ crap outta ya!” Applejack screamed.

…

As Applejack kicked and thrashed in her seat, Red Spy uncloaked in front of her. The cigarette that he had lit was still in his mouth, which moved along with his lips as he laughed.

“Greetings, Applejack. My, what an unfortunate way to meet.” He marveled.

Applejack snarled up at him. She tugged for freedom, but remained captive by Rarity’s hooves.

“Coward! Why don’t you come right over here and let me take you out, too?”

“I’d love to, you see, but I cannot at the moment. I need you.”

“Pfft, please. Why would I wanna help you?”

Red Spy smiled, and walked slowly up to Applejack until he was right in front of her. He knelt down, and got very close to her face.

“Because you have no choice.” He whispered.

Rarity took out her knife, and held it at Applejack’s throat as Red Spy continued his monologue.

…

“You see, I need some information. I know that killing you will bring me great joy, but not the victory of the battle. For that, I need the life of your timid yellow friend.” Red Spy explained.

“Fluttershy? Forget it. I don’t know where she is, and I’m sure she’s strong enough to take care of herself.” Applejack responded.

Red Spy and Rarity burst into laughter. Red Spy looked at Applejack like she was crazy.

“Please, that creature can’t stay composed at the sight of her own shadow. Now, here’s where she’s dangerous. She wields the Kritzkrieg. I cannot, for the sake of my team, allow her to use an Ubercharge with a weapon like that.”

“Forget it. Flutters is gonna tear all you people apart with that uber, and there’s nothing you can do about it!” Applejack snapped.

…

Red Spy looked over at Rarity, and nodded. Rarity gripped her knife, and slashed Applejack right in the cheek. Applejack cried out in pain, and tried to grip her cheek, but was stopped by Rarity’s imprisoning hoof.

Red Spy knew this was going to take a while. He just worried someone might come wandering into the room to disrupt his torture session.

Rarity slashed Applejack again, causing her to scream some more. Applejack, out of impulse, called loudly for a Medic.

…

Red Spy and Rarity both grinned ear-to-ear.

“Oh my, look who’s on their way now?” Red Spy smirked. Rarity chuckled.

Applejack’s ears dropped as she realized what she had done. She tried once again to break free from Rarity, but failed.

…

Red Spy and Rarity waited patiently for the answering of Applejack’s call. Applejack stopped trying to struggle, and lowered her head in shame.

Suddenly, Fluttershy came bursting around the corner of the building with her Kritzkrieg ready. She gasped when she took in the scene before her.

“Applejack? What’s going on…”

Applejack’s head jolted back up. “Run Fluttershy, run! Leave me alone; just run away as fast as you can! Find Spike or Blue Pyro!” She begged.

Fluttershy was startled and frightened by her friend’s sudden desperate pleas. She stood there, discombobulated for a few seconds.

Rarity slit Applejack’s throat with her knife. Applejack coughed and sputtered as blood squirted out from the wound. Just seconds later, she died painfully.

…..........................................................................
Music: Intruder Alert
..............................................................................

Rarity and Red Spy then lunged at her. She screamed, and broke into a dead run. The two assassins chased after her.

“Come on Miss Rarity, run! Our target is escaping!” Red Spy ordered.

“I’m running…as fast…as I can!” Rarity replied between breaths.

…

Tears formed in Fluttershy’s eyes as she ran with all of her might. During the high-speed chase, her Ghostly Gibus flew off of her head. Several teammates called for a Medic, but she did not oblige. Right now, she was literally running for her team’s survival.

As she ran past the building on Team RED’s side, she passed Red Scout, who got a clear visual of her. He watched as his two Spy comrades blew past him at the same speed. He shrugged his shoulders, and got his bat out.

“Yo, batter up!” He shouted, throwing a baseball in the air and hitting it with all his strength.

As Red Spy and Rarity ran after Fluttershy, they noticed the baseball fly over their heads, and land right down on top of Fluttershy’s. A loud clonk was heard throughout the map, and the baseball bounced to the ground.

Fluttershy lost her senses. She threw her hooves up in the air, and began to totter around like a drunkard. Stars flew around her head, and her eyes went all loopy.

…

…

Red Spy and Rarity quickly caught up to Fluttershy in her half-asleep state. They jumped on top of her and tackled her to the ground, slashing their knives at her like psychopaths until she finally stopped breathing. She never uttered a noise.

Immediately after, the announcer declared the Control Point active. It all depended on who could capture it first.

………………………………………

Everyone on the battlefield was notified of the kill. Team RED fighters cheered, while Team BLU fighters gasped.

Rainbow Dash was especially angry. She switched on her headset, and made an announcement to her team.

“’K everyone, get to the Control Point! No time for killing anymore, since we lost our source of crits!”

…

By the time the remainder of her entire team had received this information and traveled to the Point, Team RED had done the same. Pinkie Pie, Red Pyro, Red Soldier, Red Scout, Red Demoman, Zecora, Big Mac, Red Spy, and Rarity were already standing on the Control Point, eagerly ready to greet them.

All was silent between the two teams. Team BLU stared in horror at how badly they were outnumbered.

…

Red Spy quietly whispered one word: “…Fire.”

All hell broke loose on Team BLU. Fire, rockets, bullets, bombs, knives and clubs rained down on the unsuspecting team until they were obliterated into nothing. With the loss of only a few fighters, Team RED had won the battle.

……………………………………………

No one cheered. No one clapped. They all just stood proudly on the Control Point, waiting for Team BLU to return and meet them for the team exchange.

…

All of Team BLU respawned in their resupply locker. Fluttershy had spawned on the ground, curled up in a ball and shaking. The equipment on her back rattled loudly with the vibration.

It literally took half of Team BLU to comfort her and get her to stand up. Blue Medic even had to carry her over to the Control Point to meet Team RED.

……………………………………

Once Team BLU had arrived, and everyone had gathered, the conditions and team scrambling began.

“Okay, would all four-legged mercenaries please step forward? All except Twilight, that is.” Red Soldier ordered.

Twilight and Red Sniper smiled lovingly at each other.

The ponies did as they were told. Team RED got first pick, and the scramble began. Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Zecora were on Team RED. Spike, Pinkie Pie, Big Mac, and Applejack were on Team BLU.

…

“Alright men, that was a pretty epic battle, wasn’t it?” Blue Soldier asked.

Everyone on both teams nodded their heads in agreement. Several small comments could be heard in the crowd. Fluttershy, however, was not amused. Now in Red Medic’s arms and still shaking, she shook her head several times. Her eyes were wide with trauma.

Red Spy and Rarity scratched the back of their heads awkwardly. Applejack glared over at them angrily.

…

“And now we will meet tomorrow at 5Gorge for a Control Points battle!” Red Soldier announced.

The teams agreed on the terms, and walked off in their separate directions. Red Medic tried his best to relax Fluttershy before she had a heart attack. After all, they needed her for the next battle and all the battles after that.

To be Continued…

Author's Note

Hey hey hey, stay off my Control Point! Anyway, enough with the bad puns. I know it's been a pretty long wait for you enthusiasts. And for that, I once again apologize. Unfortunately, they will all probably take this long.
But, on the bright side, the chapters in this story are going to be longer and more enthralling, just like this one was! I'm sure it's worth the wait then, isn't it? :D
See you all soon, and Merry Christmas (Hearths Warming Eve)!

Control Points Mode

Battle Arena #2: 5Gorge (Control Points)

“So…vhy vere you vearing zee Ghostly Gibus anyvay?” Red Medic asked.

Fluttershy shrugged. “I dunno. Blue Medic gave it to me when he saw that I wasn’t wearing a hat. It was…okay, I guess.”

Red Medic chuckled. “Oh, don’t vorry about him. If he really cared about you, he vouldn’t give you zat terrible piece of headvear.”

Fluttershy looked down at her hooves, and sighed. Red Medic could tell she was depressed. She was probably still recovering from the trauma of the last battle.

…

“Vell Ms. Fluttershy…I care about you. And to prove it, I vill give you zis.” Red Medic announced.

Fluttershy was still looking down when Red Medic pulled up his inventory. He pulled something out, and nudged Fluttershy in the shoulder. She looked up.

Her jaw dropped, and her eyes sparkled with admiration.

“Wow……”

Red Medic was holding the Unusual Vintage Tyrolean. It was a European-looking type of hat, with a small feather tucked in the left side. The part that was unusual about it was that it had small planets orbiting around it.

“It…it…it…” She stuttered.

Red Medic smiled. “It is very strange, yes? Almost illusive! The vay zose planets orbit…it is quite mysterious!”

Still smiling, Red Medic handed the hat to Fluttershy. Her eyes were still wide, and her mouth was still agape as she slowly took the hat from Red Medic. Without delay, she proudly set it atop her head.

…

Rainbow Dash was talking to Red Scout a few feet away when she glanced over at Fluttershy. Her eyes grew wide when she got a good look at the planets orbiting around Fluttershy’s head.

She walked over to her. “Well I’ll be, Flutters! Either you’re much, MUCH smarter than I thought you were, or your hat is making you look like a whole galaxy in motion!”

Fluttershy blushed, and giggled softly. Rainbow Dash’s remark grabbed the attention of everyone else in the spawn room, and they all looked in her direction.

‘Ooh’s and ‘ah’s could be heard from the team as they admired the mind-boggling effect of Fluttershy’s new hat. This only caused her to blush more from the attention.

…

As Twilight stared at Fluttershy’s hat, she noticed something odd about her companion, Red Sniper. She saw him staring at the hat very thoughtfully, yet in an unamused manner.

“Is something wrong, Sniper?” She asked him.

He didn’t answer. He simply continued to stare. Suddenly, a sinister grin crossed his face.

“Hmm…it’s okay, I guess.” He commented, pretending to check his fingernails in a careless demeanor.

Everyone turned away from Fluttershy, and directed their attention to Red Sniper. He looked up, and pretended to be surprised that they were looking at him.

His teammates looked kind of angry at him, since he had offended Fluttershy’s Unusual hat. He noticed this, and figured he’d lose their respect if he didn’t impress them right then at that moment.

…

He leaned down toward Twilight, and whispered in her ear.

“Hey Twily, if you don’t mind, mate, I’m probably not going to be able to kiss you anytime soon.”

Twilight turned to him in surprise. “What? Why not?”

Red Sniper stood back up. He cleared his throat, and began to speak to his newly-formed ‘audience’.

“It’s a fine hat, mates, but it doesn’t compare to what I have. Everyone feast your eyes on this!”

He opened up his inventory, and pulled out a different hat. The mere sight of it caused the fighters in the spawn room to gasp in amazement. Twilight looked up at it, and practically did the same.

…

It was the Unusual Anger. It was a hood and mask that went around one’s face to cover much of their identity. It was also for Sniper class only. However, the one that Red Sniper wielded was scorching with green flames.

Red Sniper knelt down in front of Twilight, and began to wrap the hood over her head as if he was putting on her ring at a wedding ceremony. As he was applying the garment, he wrapped and folded ends of the cloth over each other so that it fit over her head and covered her mouth. She smiled, but no one could tell because of the covering.

Twilight’s new head covering was complete. She looked much like some kind of ninja, and her entire head appeared to be completely on fire with fierce green flames.

…

The group stared in shock and amazement, and began to applaud. Red Sniper and Twilight stood proudly, gleefully taking in all of their positive attention.

Fluttershy looked down at the ground silently. She seemed stunned, but not quite disappointed. As she dipped her head down, the planets around her Tyrolean followed, continuing to orbit at a vertical angle. Red Medic snarled at Red Sniper, who stared back at him confidently.

Red Scout and Rainbow Dash stepped in between them to stop any potential fights.

“Ladies, ladies, both of your panties look pretty. Now, in case you haven’t noticed, the battle’s about to start, so perhaps we should be getting our game faces on right about now?” Red Scout cockily suggested.

“Yeah, I mean, so what? Your butt-buddy’s head is burning, so what’s the big deal? That’s happened to me dozens of times when I tried to break Mach 2.” Rainbow Dash added.

Red Scout broke down laughing uncontrollably, slapping his knee and doubling over. Twilight glared at Rainbow Dash angrily, shaking her head slowly as if warning her of her actions. With her new mask and the green burning effect around her face, she looked mighty vicious.

Rainbow Dash lost the grin on her face and turned back around, seeming intimidated.

…………………………………………

“Alright men, mission begins in 10 seconds!” The announcer called.

Twilight leaned toward Red Sniper to ask him something.

“Hey, um…sorry to ask, but weren’t we already at this map for Attack/Defend?” She asked.

“Kind of. The name of that map where you got into a fight with your rainbow-haired mate was Gorge. This time, we’re at 5Gorge. It’s practically the same map, except it was designed for Control Points instead of Attack/Defend. It’s much larger, and has a symmetrical base for both teams on either side. The Point in the central building is neutral.” He explained.

Twilight nodded in understanding. In reality, she was kind of excited to see how it would turn out. After all, she wanted to see how her BLU team friends would react to her awesome headwear.

………………………………………….

“5…4…3…2…1…FIGHT!” The announcer cried.

The resupply doors flew open, and both teams barreled out to begin the Control Points battle. They had all spawned way back near their base Point, and had quite a distance to travel before they could reach the central Point.

Fluttershy was turning back and forth during her run, giving teammates small overheals with the Quick-Fix. It would take a million bits to get her to change back to the Kritzkrieg after the last battle.

Red Spy spat his cigarette out on the ground, and picked up his pace so he could catch up to Fluttershy. She turned when she noticed him, and gave him an overheal just like everyone else.

Red Spy put his arm on Fluttershy’s shoulder as he ran alongside her. She looked at him, confused.

“Ms. Fluttershy…I wanted to apologize for my wrong doings the last battle. I simply had to do what was going to help my team, you see. Will you forgive me?” He pleaded.

Fluttershy was beginning to lose her breath from all the running. In between short gasps, she let out a short reply.

“If you want my Unusual hat, I’m sorry. You might want to go talk to Twilight.”

Red Spy chuckled a little. “No Madame, the hat doesn’t matter to me. It’s only for Medics like yourself. I was just concerned with regaining your trust.”

Fluttershy looked down, tilted her head a bit.

“I guess it’s okay. Just don’t do something like that again if I’m back on the BLU team.”

“Thank you. I’ll try to make it less brutal next time.” Red Spy responded with a warm smile.

Fluttershy’s eyes widened, and she twisted up in surprised fear. She turned to look at her teammate, but he was already gone.

……………………………………
Music: Playing With Danger (Repeat if needed)
……………………………………

Red Scout, Blue Scout, and Rainbow Dash reached the central Control Point long before anyone else did. A short shoot-off occurred, which left only Rainbow Dash standing. As a result, it began to turn over to team RED’s side.

However, as the rest of the fighters began to arrive in the building, she was quickly taken out by Blue Pyro and Blue Medic. The rest of team RED had also arrived, and a massacre began over the central Control Point. Red Heavy, Blue Heavy, and Big Mac lagged behind.

As bullets and various projectiles flew through the air, blood began to spill all over the floor inside the facility at 5Gorge. Slowly and steadily, bodies began to fall.

Some fighters were nowhere to be seen. As the battle for the Point raged on in the main room, fighters like Rarity and the Spies, Applejack and the Engineers, and Twilight and the Snipers lurked around the hidden hallways, searching down an opportunity to execute a sudden attack operation in case their team didn’t capture the Control Point.

Initially, team RED appeared to have the upper edge. The Control Point was already slightly tilted to their side, and they had two Medics instead of one. The bloody starting competition was looking bright for them.

…

Now, after about a minute of shooting, team BLU had one fighter left standing at the Control Point. The fighter was Blue Soldier, who quickly retreated. On his way out of the doorway of the main room, he was finished off by a bullet that nipped him in the foot.

Twilight chuckled, pulled the hood covering down from her mouth, and blew on the nozzle of her rifle.

……………………………………………

Team RED captured the central Control Point, and moved forward as a group to capture the next one. Red Engineer and Red Heavy stayed behind together to defend the newly-captured Point.

By now, Fluttershy’s Quick-Fix had an Ubercharge ready. Red Medic was using the stock Medi-Gun, so his Uber was still building.

Red Heavy, who was hanging in the back of the pack, called for a Medic. Red Medic and Fluttershy ran back for him simultaneously, but Red Medic reached him first.

“Fluttershy, go heal ozer teammates. Zhe Quick-Fix is not good for pocketing!” He informed.

Fluttershy nodded, and began to obey by patching up other team wounds. By the time team RED reached the exit of the building, they were ready to fight.

…

However, they were met with a big surprise. The first Control Point on team BLU’s side of the facility was completely deserted.

Red Soldier and Red Pyro eagerly stepped forward to begin capturing the Point, but Zecora stopped them. She squinted, and slowly spanned the empty horizon for hidden Snipers or sneak attacks.

“Hold your fire. Conditions here may be dire.” She urged.

She stepped forward as quietly as she could, continuing past the Control Point.

“Zecora, what are you DOING?” Red Soldier demanded.

Zecora got out her sticky-bomb launcher, and placed them on the wall around the arch where team BLU would normally enter the zone. Red Soldier giggled softly, suddenly realizing her plan.

“Okay, now you may.” She finished.

…

Red Soldier, Red Pyro, and the rest of team RED that was present hopped onto the Point. Team BLU members were notified urgently that their first Point was being seized, and they began to run out of their spawn in a death-defying herd.

Blue Sniper ran around the side to where a hidden ledge was located for sniping. The rest of the team was going straight forward through the arch for a die-hard defensive attack. They climbed the stairs, and burst outside through the arch, crying out like Indians.

Zecora smiled, and pressed a button on her remote. Suddenly, pieces of team BLU’s fighters were flying through the air like confetti at a festive Fourth of July parade. Blood rained down in droplets all over team RED as they laughed uncontrollably at their hilarious mistake.

…

Blue Sniper, having seen the entire thing, dropped his rifle in embarrassment. He stomped his foot.

“I told you idiots to take a more secret route! Now look at what you’ve done!” He raged.

Before he was done with his temper-tantrum, his head was shot off by a breezy bullet. Red Sniper lowered his eye from the scope, and held up his middle finger.

“Ah shut up, wanker.” He mumbled.

………………………………………

Team RED easily captured the next Control Point, and moved on to get the last one. Red Heavy and Red Engineer moved their camp upwards to defend the new Point instead.

Red Sniper ran alongside Twilight as they moved with their team.

“Isn’t this easy, mate?” He asked.

“Yeah…almost too easy.” Twilight responded thoughtfully.

“What makes you say that?”

“It’s just…well, it doesn’t seem like they’re really trying. We already captured the first two Points like it was nothing, and we even managed to obliterate half of their team with one classic move.”

Red Sniper didn’t respond. He thought about Twilight’s response for a moment.

“Anyways, let’s just get this over with. I have a feeling something bad is going to happen.” Twilight added.

…

She and Red Sniper climbed up a flight of stairs that was near team BLU’s main base. It led to a nice, hidden battlement zone that was perfect for good sniping. Twilight knelt down, and quickly set up her rifle in a window sill.

Red Sniper didn’t do anything for a moment besides stand and stare at Twilight. He sighed.

“You know, that green fire effect makes you look so beautiful, mate.” He marveled.

Twilight blushed heavily. She pulled her eye from the scope, and turned to look at Red Sniper. They both smiled at each other. Twilight pulled the hood covering off of her mouth again.

“Did you, um…want to kiss me? We have a little time.” She asked.

Red Sniper shrugged. He knelt down in front of Twilight, and leaned in to get it started. Twilight did the same.

…

Just before their lips made contact, a bright camera flash stunned them both. Blue Spy, the holder of the camera, laughed and snorted heartily as he burst down the stairs to make a quick escape.

Just as Red Sniper lunged forward to chase him down, he was hit hard in the head with a baseball. Stars flew around his head, and he collapsed to the ground.

…

…

Blue Scout, the hitter of the baseball, was hiding out on the ledge. He cracked up laughing, and jumped down to continue the battle. Before Twilight even had a chance to do anything, Blue Pyro danced up the stairs and burned them both alive.

………………………………………..

Team RED piled onto team BLU’s last Control Point, shooting in all directions to hold off defenses until they could win the battle. Team BLU’s last Control Point began to tip over to them.

“Yes! We got zis! Come one everyone!” Red Medic cheered.

The rest of team RED cheered with him as the last Point was almost done turning over.

…

Suddenly, Spike and Blue Medic blew out of their spawn room in a startling series of explosions. Blue Medic laughed maniacally, which echoed clearly throughout the map. He wielded the dreaded Kritzkrieg, which was fully charged.

“Hit it, doc! Today, we RULE this map!” Spike cried out.

Blue Medic hit the Ubercharge, and Spike’s rocket launcher became critically-charged. He shot a blue sparkling rocket at the Control Point, which dealt fatal damage to everyone standing on it. Five fighters were completely blown up, and the rest had almost no health left.

Team RED suddenly retreated, shrieking in panic as Spike spammed crit-rockets at them. As the team scattered, one fighter after another was blown apart by Spike’s crit-rain.

Team BLU gathered together from their spawn room, and barreled out after them in an all-out heist.

………………………………………
Music: Intruder Alert (Repeat if needed)
………………………………………

Fluttershy, Rarity, and Red Scout ran with fright past Red Engineer and Red Heavy at their Control Point. The defenders looked at them, confused.

They turned back around, however, when they heard a noise. Suddenly, a devastating wave of BLU fighters exploded from around the corner, completely catching them off guard. Red Engineer’s sentry gun began to fire at them, but got no more than a bullet or two out before it was blown to smithereens by Blue Demoman.

Red Engineer and Red Heavy shrieked, and took off running toward the main building. Team BLU stopped for a moment, captured the Control Point, and moved on.

………………………………………………

Fluttershy, Red Engineer, Red Heavy, and the remaining survivors of the attack on team RED barreled through the main building with all of their might. By the time they were about to exit on the other side of the building, the rest of their team had respawned and met up with them.

With the rest of their team with them, the survivors recovered the courage to turn around and face the attackers. As a full team, they plowed back through the building to defend their Control Point at the center of the map.

They weren’t there long until team BLU burst through their side of the building to retake the Control Point. All it took was two rockets from Spike and Blue Soldier, and half of the pack was eliminated from the splash damage. The remaining defenders scattered around the room, trying to close in and choke their enemies.

Team BLU did the same. Everyone in the room split up, and small separate battles occurred between various fighters. However, team BLU had an intense upper edge. The small battles usually ended up in the bloody death of the RED defender.

…

Battles quickly turned into escape attempts as team RED defenders suddenly began to retreat for their lives. Many of them did not get away, though.

Twilight and Red Sniper watched the murder-fest from up on the battlement ledge. The shook their heads, and sighed. Their team was falling apart in this battle, so defeat currently seemed inevitable.

……………………………………

Fluttershy was healing Red Pyro in an attempt to hold off Blue Medic and Pinkie Pie. However, Red Pyro was suddenly killed brutally by a sniper bullet from Blue Sniper just as Pinkie Pie had died. Fluttershy and Blue Medic were left.

Fluttershy shrieked, and began running away. Blue Medic pulled out his Ubersaw, and began to chase her.

Fluttershy was chased all around the room until she was cornered in a control room space. Blue Medic pulled out the Crusader’s Crossbow, and pointed it at Fluttershy’s head. Fluttershy dropped her weapon, and threw her hooves up in the air.

…
Music: Dreams of Cruelty (Repeat if needed)
...

“Freeze!” Blue Medic ordered.

“I…I am!” Fluttershy responded nervously. She was quivering, making her equipment rattle again.

Blue Medic looked up at the Tyrolean that Fluttershy was wearing. He stared at the orbiting planets as if they were a baby’s mobile.

“Zat Unusual…vhere did you get it?” Blue Medic asked firmly.

Fluttershy remained silent. She still had her hooves pinned in the air, and she tried to hold back tears. She remembered the Ghostly Gibus that Blue Medic had given her, which was still sitting back at the Granary Facility.

“VHERE?! Answer me!!” Blue Medic yelled.

Fluttershy was greatly startled by Blue Medic’s sudden assertiveness. She broke out crying as Blue Medic held his Crossbow closer to her head.

“It was a gift from Red Medic!” She answered in between sobs.

…

Blue Medic scoffed angrily.

“Ugh…what a dummkopf. Zat Red Medic…how dare he?!” Blue Medic raged.

Blue Medic stared angrily into the distance as if he was thinking or remembering something bitter. Suddenly, he turned back toward Fluttershy with furious, threatening eyes. He tightened the grip on the Crossbow’s trigger.

Fluttershy flinched behind her raised hooves. She shrieked again.

“P…please don’t kill me! Please!”

…

Blue Medic continued to stare angrily. However, his face slowly began to ease up. His eyebrows raised, as if he had realized something. The anger seemed to flush from his face.

He lowered the Crossbow a little bit so that it was pointed at the ground beneath Fluttershy. Fluttershy lowered her hooves a little, relaxing a bit.

Suddenly, the anger returned to Blue Medic’s expression. He tensed up, and raised the Crossbow back to Fluttershy’s head. Fluttershy quickly flinched behind her hooves again.

Blue Medic pulled the trigger. The crossbow released, sending a charged syringe through the air. It sailed toward Fluttershy, but hit the wall next to her. It fell to the ground.

…

Fluttershy peeked out from behind her hoof, and saw the syringe sitting on the ground. She looked back up at Blue Medic, confused.

“Um…you missed. Why’d you miss?” She asked shyly.

Blue Medic threw the Crossbow to the ground, and began to walk up toward Fluttershy.

“Because, Ms. Fluttershy, you just reminded me vhy I’m a Medic in zis vorld of pain and death. Now I understand.” He explained.

He took Fluttershy’s hoof, and pulled her into a hug. Fluttershy was startled at first, but wrapped her hooves around Blue Medic once she realized what he was doing.

…

By now, everyone in the room had stopped fighting to look at Fluttershy and Blue Medic. The room was completely silent as everyone observed with amazement. Fluttershy, who was wearing a red uniform, was embracing Blue Medic, who was wearing a blue uniform.

No one had ever seen anything like it. Blue Scout walked up to where Fluttershy was standing. Fluttershy let go of Blue Medic to see what it was about.

Blue Scout put his hand on Fluttershy’s shoulder. Fluttershy smiled at him for a moment as everyone watched. Then, Blue Scout raised his Scattergun, and shot Fluttershy’s face off.

Everyone gasped as blood sprayed out of Fluttershy’s head. Her dead body fell limp, and collapsed to the ground.

Blue Scout nodded once, stepped onto the Control Point to capture it, and ran off to go finish the battle at team RED’s base. Everyone in the room, after a few seconds of awkward silence, continued about their killing spree.

Rainbow Dash took off at high speed in pursuit of Blue Scout to stop him from capturing their last Point. Blue Medic stood there in front of Fluttershy’s dead body, covered in her blood and stunned. So many surprised emotions were traveling through him that he didn’t know what to think or how to react.

………………………………………….

Over the headsets of all the fighters, Rainbow Dash’s death as reported. Blue Scout had held her off with his Scattergun, and actually captured team RED’s final Control Point. Team BLU had won the battle.

Everyone who was currently dead, including Fluttershy, respawned in their respective lockers. All of the fighters met back at the center building.

…

“Well, that sure was an……interesting battle, wasn’t it men?” Red Soldier asked.

No one said a word. Everyone simply nodded slowly and silently in response.

“Well I guess…we should do the team scramble now, huh guys?” Red Scout added.

…

The atmosphere around them seemed like a ghost town. No one said anything, and no one moved. In order to do the scramble, fighters pointed at the pony that they wanted on their team. Blue Scout stood impatiently on his side with his arms crossed.

The teams are now as follows. Twilight, Fluttershy, Spike, and Applejack were on team RED. Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Zecora, Big Mac, and Rarity were on team BLU.

…

“And now, I suppose we will meet at Harvest for a King of the Hill battle tomorrow.” Blue Soldier announced.

Everyone nodded, and walked off in their separate directions. Fluttershy’s eyes were deep with permanent trauma as she walked off nervously with her team.

Her mind was racing. Trust no one…

To be Continued…

Author's Note

Ugh...ten minutes to midnight. Luckily, there's no school tomorrow due to the fact that the weather sucks in this state! No school on Tuesday either, so...yay. Anyway, got caught up in the holiday season, so that's likely why there wasn't a chapter for a while. However, I'm pretty satisfied with this one. Still no definite plot as to what will happen next, but hey. Let's see where it all goes.
Happy new year!

King of the Hill Mode

Battle Arena #3: Harvest (King of the Hill)

Rainbow Dash shivered lightly as the cold wind brushed up against her cyan fur. Leaves the color of burning flame rained down peacefully upon the land, signaling the autumn climate of the map in which the mercenaries were headed. The sun hung low in the sky, and the horizon stretched beyond the fences of the facility like an endless prairie in front of them. They had reached Harvest for the King of the Hill battle.

…

“Aw man, it’s so chilly out here! I wish I had a jacket or something.” Rainbow Dash complained.

Blue Scout looked at her in a funny way. He cocked an eyebrow.

“Yeah Skittles, about that, I’ve been meaning to ask you. Do you ponies ever, like…wear any clothing?” He stuttered.

“No, not really. We do if it’s for a special occasion, such as the Grand Galloping Gala or a wedding or something.” Rainbow Dash responded in a surprisingly casual way. Blue Scout expected them to be timid about that kind of subject, but he was apparently wrong.

Blue Soldier gagged and put a hand to his mouth when Rainbow Dash mentioned the Grand Galloping Gala. All the feminism was getting to his head.

Now that Rainbow Dash had mentioned that fact about not wearing clothes, Blue Scout started having a hard time staying focused on her face. His eyes started to trail down her body, checking out her features.

He had been fighting alongside her for many weeks now, and he had never really noticed just how…hot she was. A bead of sweat appeared on his forehead.

…

Suddenly Rainbow Dash turned to him, and he looked away quickly like nothing had happened. She looked at him suspiciously for a minute.

Her face displayed anger, and Blue Scout knew he had been busted for checking her out. He smiled awkwardly.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you something, Scout. Why did you shoot my friend Fluttershy like that in the last battle after she was being friendly and innocent? She and Blue Medic did nothing to hurt each other!” Rainbow Dash asked.

The area went completely silent. Everyone stopped talking, and turned toward Blue Scout upon hearing Rainbow Dash’s question. Blue Medic’s anger returned to him, and he crossed his arms.

Blue Scout sighed, relieved that she hadn’t noticed his trailing eyes from the few seconds prior. However, this wasn’t much better.

…

The area remained silent for what seemed like an eternity as Blue Scout struggled to formulate a response. Bird chirps and insect noises could be heard faintly throughout the facility as Team BLU waited impatiently for their Scout to explain himself.

Suddenly, he gave his answer.

“Okay…look; I just think all of this friendliness is ridiculous. Fluttershy was on the RED team. Blue Medic was on the BLU team. I’d like our job to be simple, where RED shoots BLU and BLU shoots RED. The fact that Fluttershy could befriend a freaking vampire just irritates me. If she wants to be so friendly to Blue Medic, she can wait until after the battle, run off with him into the sunset, and feel down his pants for all I care.”

Blue Medic cut him off. “I’m standing vight here, you know.”

Blue Scout continued. “The truth is, we’re paid to kill, and that’s that. I don’t want all the friendly business around here confusing us, unless it’s amongst our own team.”

…

His team looked at him blankly. As much as they hated to admit it, he was right. They lowered their heads, and walked off slowly toward the resupply locker. Only Blue Scout, Rainbow Dash, and Blue Medic remained.

“Don’t think it’s going to stay this way, Scout. Where we come from, this is not how life is lived. I think it’s time you lighten up and let a little friendship into your soul, or you’re going to go down painfully.” Rainbow Dash scolded.

Blue Medic nodded solemnly. Then he walked off toward the locker with Rainbow Dash, leaving Blue Scout outside. All he could do was stare.

……………………………………….

Meanwhile, Fluttershy stood trembling nervously with her team on the other side of the battlefield. Twilight noticed her, thinking back on what happened to her in the last battle.

She approached Fluttershy, and put a hoof on her shoulder to console her. Fluttershy flinched hard enough to jerk the building, and shoved her hoof away. As Twilight stumbled, Fluttershy pulled her syringe gun out, and pointed it at Twilight’s face.

“Hey hey hey! What’s going on?!” Red Soldier exclaimed.

Audible noises of shock and surprise filled the room. Half of the team RED fighters grabbed Fluttershy and restrained her to prevent any violence.

“Lower your weapon, private! Treason will not be tolerated!” Red Soldier ordered.

…

Twilight was on the ground in a self-defensive position. Her arm was in front of her face. She lowered it, and looked up at her delusional friend.

“Fluttershy, what has gotten into you? I’m your friend, and I’m on your team!” She mentioned.

Fluttershy struggled to break free from her teammates’ bonds. Red Demoman had to walk up and take her syringe gun away from her.

“Please let me go! She’s a Spy, I just know it!” Fluttershy pleaded.

The other half of the team scoffed. Red Scout rolled his eyes.

“C’mon Flutters, that’s absurd. Spies aren’t even allowed to enter the enemies’ resupply locker.” Applejack informed.

“Aye, da yellow one could be right, lads. Ya never know when dem French turds are gonna sneak right up on ya ass and stab it ta death.” Red Demoman warned. After saying this, he lost focus a bit, and babbled slightly.

“Oh please. I’m standing RIGHT here, you simpleton.” Red Spy complained.

…

As Fluttershy continued to struggle, team RED waited for her to calm down enough to let her go. Red Medic slowly approached her, and knelt down in front of her.

“Ms. Fluttershy…vhat is wrong? You have been acting so strange lately, and it’s making me very vorried.” He asked.

Fluttershy did not answer immediately. Her struggling began to cease as she stared aimlessly at Red Medic.

Red Medic waited patiently for Fluttershy to answer him. Suddenly, and rather unexpectedly, she burst out crying. Her head fell.

Red Medic gasped in surprise. Team RED let go of Fluttershy, letting her fall to the ground. Red Medic stepped forward and picked her up, holding her in his arms.

“Vhat is wrong? Tell me, please!” Red Medic pleaded.

…

Everyone on team RED watched sorrowfully as Fluttershy continued to cry in Red Medic’s embrace.

“I…I…I just can’t take it anymore! All…all the lying, and the killing, and…and the backstabbing, and the double-crossing… I…I just want to go home!” She wailed. Tears were streaming down her face.

Everyone in the room, including the ponies, gasped. The thought of leaving that world, after all they’ve been through, seemed irrational. Looking back at all the abuse that she has taken in the battles since the robot attack, though, it made sense to them.

Twilight walked up to Red Medic and Fluttershy. She looked at the butter-yellow pegasus with a solemn face.

“Fluttershy…looking back on these few battles, I can understand why you’d want to leave this world. It all just appears to be too much for you, considering the nature of these mercenaries in this environment. However, I don’t think returning to Equestria will be possible anymore. I just…don’t possess a return spell, and I don’t think I will ever be able to get one here. I’m sorry.” Twilight explained.

…

Fluttershy buried her face in Red Medic’s chest like a lost puppy out in the rain. He stroked her back lightly.

“Do you vant to sit zis vun out? You can stay in zee spawn room if you vish.” He suggested.

Fluttershy nodded her head silently. Red Medic put her down gently as if he were handling precious china. The rest of the team lined up for battle.

………………………………………………

“Mission begins in 10 seconds!” The announcer broadcasted.

Twilight, Spike, and Applejack got their weapons ready and prepared for the battle. The atmosphere tensed up in the room as the rest of team RED did the same. The first team to capture and hold onto the central Control Point for three minutes would be deemed the winners.

Twilight glanced over at Fluttershy, who was curled up in the back corner with her head down. Her Quick-Fix lied dormant on the ground. Twilight shook her head and sighed.

…

“5…4…3…2…1…FIGHT!”

The doors swung open, and the fighters burst out ecstatically, ready for a good battle.

Red Sniper ran up next to Twilight as they sprinted to their battle positions.

“Hey mate, let me get something straight for a minute. …You can do magic? With that…spirally horn on your forehead?” He asked.

Twilight looked at him like he was crazy. “Well…yeah. What did you think it was for?”

“Nothing really. I just thought it was there to look nice or something. You know; to attract mates.” He replied.

Twilight blushed a little. “Yeah, well…I guess it’s SORT of used for that purpose too.”

Red Sniper smiled.

…………………………………………………
Music: Playing with Danger (Repeat if needed)
…………………………………………………

The couple split up at a junction. Twilight headed left toward the farm building to snipe in an upstairs windowsill, while Red Sniper headed right to snipe off the roof of a small shack. Other classes, like Spike, Applejack, Red Scout, and Red Spy scattered in all different directions to carry out their strategy.

As the offensive classes moved upward toward the location of the Control Point, team BLU fighters became visible from around the corner. It wasn’t long before loud shots and spilling blood became evident around the map.

………………………………………………

At the very start of the battle, Rarity snuck around the buildings toward the RED base. Instead of stabbing and sapping, she fully intended to gather starting information that her team could use.

She slid down the hallways of team RED’s farmhouse base, stopping off to the side to let team RED players through accordingly. With her cloak, she could stay perfectly hidden as long as she didn’t touch anybody or anypony.

She stopped again as Twilight ran by her. Turning her head, she watched Twilight jog up the stairs and into the battlement zone of her base. Rarity couldn’t help but to gape admiringly at her lavender friend’s Unusual hat. The green flames burned brightly into her eyelids.

“Oh wow…those flames really work well with the color of her uniform. It looks simply divine!” She whispered to herself. “Guess I could take the time to stab her real fast.”

…

She slinked up the stairs with flowing, snake-like movements, expertly avoiding a single noise from her hooves. She uncloaked, and snuck around the corner as Twilight prepared the setup on her rifle. She observed her friend lying down on her side below the window, covering herself from outside view.

Just as Twilight was setting the rifle up in the window, Rarity tiptoed up behind her, grabbed her neck, and positioned the tip of her knife so that it was lightly touching Twilight’s back. Twilight gasped in surprise.

“Hello, dear. I was just interested to find out where you got that divine piece of headwear.” She said kindly.

“Rarity, let me go. Now. I’m warning you.” Twilight rasped.

“Oh please, darling, I can’t do that now! You must tell me where you got that amazing hat!”

Twilight tried to reach across the floor for her Kukri, but Rarity kicked it further away. Twilight grunted.

“I don’t need to tell you. If you were really interested, you wouldn’t be holding me hostage like this with a knife to my back.” She mentioned calmly.

Rarity ignored her comment. “Did your darling boyfriend Red Sniper give it to you? ‘Cause if he did, I love his taste!”

“He’s not my boyfriend!!” Twilight yelled. “…Well……maybe he is, I guess.”

“Well, tell him he has my support. I’ll be sure to kill him quickly next time I pass by him, okay? Best of luck!” She finished politely. She then thrust the knife into Twilight’s back, severing her spinal cord and killing her instantly.

…

After this had been completed, Rarity re-disguised, activated her cloak once more, and headed quickly down the stairs. Dodging enemies to make sure she didn’t run into anyone, she weaved her way over to team RED’s spawn point, and looked in the window.

Her eyes widened at what she saw.

Through the window, Rarity saw Fluttershy in the spawn room, curled up in the corner like she was preparing for a tornado. She apparently had the Quick-Fix equipped, but it was sitting on the ground like a piece of trash. As teammates respawned, they stopped occasionally to rub her head or hold her hoof.

Rarity was rather impressed. Of all her time spent in this world, she had never seen a team act so dedicated and caring for a distraught teammate. Knowing Fluttershy, Rarity could tell that the nature of this environment was really getting to her.

…

She eagerly flipped on her headset, and relayed a message to Blue Soldier for her team to hear.

“This just in from Rarity; I just got intel that Fluttershy, the Medic on the RED team, is out of the battle!” She explained.

A couple seconds later, Rarity received a reply from Blue Soldier over the headset.

“Excellent work, private! But I must warn you; she will respawn in a matter of ten seconds.” He warned.

“Oh no, not that. She’s deliberately sitting the battle out. She’s not moving or talking.”

“Well, that’s perfect! With their best Medic excluded from the battle, RED won’t stand a chance against us!”

With this triumphant statement, Blue Soldier signed off. As Rarity clicked off the mic on her headset, she looked up to see a mob of RED fighters surrounding her position in front of the spawn room.

Apparently she had carelessly disclosed her position by speaking to her team in the middle of RED territory. Everyone heard her voice, and surrounded her approximate location in their spawn area.

Red Heavy cracked his knuckles. Rarity sighed, and waited patiently for her demise to come.

………………………………………………….

Rainbow Dash, having just received the message from her teammate Rarity, bolted confidently around the corner of the Control Point location. It wasn’t supposed to become active for another half a minute, so she thought she would sprint forward and do some killing while her other teammates set up their defenses.

…

She stopped suddenly, going into full Spy-impersonation mode when she saw Red Sniper standing on top of a shack rooftop. Stifling a giggle, she tiptoed around the back of the shack as quietly as she could, hoping not to catch his attention.

She dove into the shack as quickly as possible whenever an enemy teammate passed by. Whenever the coast became clear, she would continue her path toward the ladder.

Climbing the ladder slowly and steadily, she tiptoed up behind Red Sniper. Stifling another giggle, she raised her scattergun, and shot him in the back right off the roof of the shack.

This caused her to lose control of herself. She burst out laughing, slamming her hoof on the ground and snorting here and there. As she was laughing at her victim, a bullet flew through her abdomen and exited out her right calf.

Rainbow Dash hit the surface of the rooftop as she went down, blood spraying out of the bullet entry-point on her left hip. She lied there on the spot, coughing and sputtering inaudibly. Blood poured out of her mouth.

The real Red Sniper, the firer of the bullet, was standing halfway across the map in team RED’s main building. He blew on the nozzle of his rifle. Smiling heartily, he whispered, “Gotcha in the ovary. Figures you’d know how that feels, mate.”

Rainbow Dash lived just long enough to see the Red Sniper imposter that she killed reappear with the Dead Ringer. He leaned down close to her, and smiled.

“Yes, I can disguise as my own teammates as well. Hope you enjoyed that one pointless kill you almost made!” He taunted in his fake Australian accent.

Rainbow Dash had just enough strength to raise her hoof a couple inches. Seconds later, she blacked out from the blood loss.

…………………………………………………

As that was happening, Applejack was standing against the wall of the shack where the Control Point sat. A dispenser had already been built, and she was starting to level up a sentry gun.

As she was working, a fighter or two from the BLU team would sprint around the corner and get shot down by the building. So far, it was working nicely. Once the Control Point became active, she would have good control of it for her team.

Red Engineer ran past her in pursuit of a health pack. Applejack stopped him, and let him use her dispenser. As he healed, she spoke to him.

“So mister, where’s a good place for a teleporter on this map?” She asked.

“Ya know pardner, don’t hassle yourself over a teleporter. This map is rather small, and teleporters just distract you from your important stuff. Just carry on what you’re doing, and you’re golden.” He replied.

“Alright, I thank ya kindly.”

………………………………………………………

As Red Engineer was walking off, the Control Point became active. As the announcement was made, fighters from both teams immediately began to pour into the shack where it lied. Once again, a bloodbath commenced.

Red Medic appeared from team RED’s spawn area, wielding the Quick-Fix. For moments like these, no other medi-gun could compare.

As soon as his presence was made noticed, calls began to flood his eardrums. Injured teammates practically lined up in front of him, in dire need for healing. For instance, Red Demoman was missing an arm, Red Heavy had a big gaping rocket hole in his gut, and Red Pyro had a third-degree singe in his side that tore right through his suit.

Red Medic wasted no time. Pulling the lever on the Quick-Fix, he began to patch up his teammates to the best of his ability. As quick as he possibly could, he healed one teammate after another and sent them back into the Control Point room, where they would get brutally injured all over again.

…

“Aw shit; Medic, behind you!” Red Scout screamed.

With no time to respond or react, Red Medic got a knife plunged into his back by Rarity. She pulled the knife back out of his back, cloaked, and slinked away.

Red Medic grimaced, and fell to the ground. He grasped the wound on his back, trying desperately to cease any fatal blood flow. However, the damages to his spine were too much to stop. He fell limp, and died.

…

As a result, the Control Point began to rapidly turn over to BLU. Big Mac and Zecora effortlessly held off any RED attackers with their strong weapons. At the same time, Blue Scout and Rainbow Dash stood around to help the Point capture faster.

Eventually, the inevitable capture of the Point had occurred. Instead of scattering around the map again, most of the team BLU fighters remained on the Point to defend.

Blue Medic approached Big Mac with a full Ubercharge on his Quick-Fix. Once he was healing him, they turned the corner of the Point shack.

Applejack gasped in surprise as Blue Medic popped his Uber on Big Mac, and he opened fire. Applejack tried to stay behind and repair her sentry, but it wasn’t firing fast enough to catch up with Big Mac’s rapid healing. Her sentry was destroyed, and she was mowed down by the bullet-rain.

………………………………………………

Once the majority of team RED’s fighters had respawned in their locker, it became evident that their chance of victory was dim. A couple fighters, including Twilight, turned toward Fluttershy in the corner.

“Fluttershy, I know this world may seem like too much for you, but you have to help us out! We need your abilities! Without you over there fighting with us, we don’t stand a chance!” Twilight pleaded.

“No no…it’s fine…I can do zis…” Red Medic rasped. Out of breath, he stopped to lean against the wall.

“No Medic, you can’t. This task is too much for one fighter to handle. With Fluttershy out there, we’d have a much better chance!”

…

Red Medic suddenly turned to Twilight with rage.

“You listen here! If Ms. Fluttershy can’t fight, vee don’t make her fight! If it were up to me, vee’d ALL be sitting in a corner veading stories to each ozer in zee moonlight!” He yelled.

The room went completely silent. Red Medic continued to breathe heavily, staring at Twilight with the same rage in his eyes. As a result, Twilight looked down.

The room remained silent for what seemed like forever. Everyone flinched suddenly when blood from Red Soldier and Spike splattered against the window of the room.

…

“Now if you’ll excuse me, I vill be heading back outside to fight now. And as long as I still stand here, Fluttershy vill not be forced to do ANYTHING she doesn’t vant to!” Red Medic finished.

The room was still silent as Red Medic jogged out of the resupply locker with his medi-gun armed.

Fluttershy looked straight down with a solemn, sorry look on her face. Some teammates looked back at her with sympathy, others with anger.

………………………………………………

Sentry guns were not allowed on the Control Point, so Blue Engineer had to improvise. Minutes prior, he had built a sentry gun right at the entrance to the Control Point shack, facing team RED’s side. He was surprised that he hadn’t faced any RED fighters to try and stop him yet.

With Blue Engineer, Blue Heavy, and Big Mac guarding the entrances to the Control Point, the majority of team BLU camped out inside of the shack on the Point. Only Blue Spy, Rarity, and Blue Sniper remained out and about.

Pinkie Pie and Blue Pyro sat leaning against the side of the building with the rest of their teammates. Sitting on the Control Point with nothing to do, they got creative.

“Ready? Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. She held out her hoof, and Blue Pyro held out his two fingers.

“Aw, sorry! Rock beats scissors!” Pinkie explained.

…

“Mmm mmph! Mmm mmph!”

“You want to try again? Okey dokey!”

Repeating the same process, Pinkie Pie held out her hoof again, and Blue Pyro held out his flat hand.

“Oh boy, it looks like you win! But…it seems I can only do rock.” Pinkie noticed. She and Blue Pyro stared at each other for a minute, and broke into hearty laughter.

…………………………………………

Suddenly, Red Medic and Red Heavy burst onto the scene with an active Ubercharge. With full immunity granted, Red Heavy stormed the Point with a rain of bullets, crying out fiercely while doing so.

Team BLU fighters began to flee for their lives one by one as they noticed the attack. Blue Engineer’s sentry gun turned around, and began firing at him.

Rainbow Dash and Blue Scout were asleep with their caps down over their heads, so by the time they woke up and realized the danger, Red Heavy was already upon them.

Rainbow Dash spread her wings and flew away, but Blue Scout wasn’t so lucky. Red Heavy stopped firing, picked up Blue Scout with his muscular fist, and dragged him off the Point. Blue Scout kicked and thrashed like a toddler heading off to bed an hour early.

Team BLU peeked around corners, watching Red Heavy. They were confused as to why Red Heavy didn’t try to capture the Control Point.

.................................................................
Music: Right Behind You (Repeat if needed)
.................................................................

Red Heavy dragged Blue Scout into the RED base, where he smashed him against the wall.

“Why’d you hurt Fluttershy like that?!” He asked him loudly.

Blue Scout rolled his eyes. “Is THAT what this is about? Let me go, fat-ass.”

Red Heavy smashed him against the wall again. Blue Scout grimaced from the impact of the hard wooden surface. Red Medic stood behind them both with his arms crossed.

“Pathetic little man like you make Heavy mad! Answer me now!”

“Maybe your precious little Fluttershy just deserved to die.” Blue Scout replied casually.

Red Medic gasped in surprise. He whipped out his syringe gun, and shot dozens of needles into Blue Scout’s arms and legs. Blue Scout cried out loudly, wriggling around to free himself of Red Heavy’s grasp.

“You filssy little bastard! Ms. Fluttershy is sitting in our spawn room mute and motionless because of you!” Red Medic yelled.

Blue Scout shrugged carelessly.

…

Rainbow Dash flew in from the hallway around the corner. She spread her wings out, and landed right next to Red Heavy. She looked up at her beaten and bloody teammate.

“Skittles, thank God you’re here! Hurry, kill these guys and free me so we can finish up this battle!” Blue Scout ordered.

“Hmm……nah, I don’t think I will.” Rainbow Dash responded defiantly.

“Skittles, what the hell? I thought we were friends! You’re on my team!”

“Yeah well, Fluttershy is also my friend. She may not be on my team, but I can still love and respect her like I would with any other pony. My Element is loyalty, and I sure as hell won’t abandon Fluttershy for the likes of you.”

…

“Skittles…what are you saying…?”

“I’m saying I’m not your friend anymore. Originally, I was going to let you in on some of what Red Sniper and Twilight are getting, but I think I changed my mind. After all, a relationship with you would just suppress my style.”

Blue Scout gasped. His heart skipped a beat.

…

Rainbow Dash held out her hoof, and shook hands with Red Heavy and Red Medic. Then, she flew off to join her team at the Control Point.

Red Medic reloaded his syringe gun, and fired more syringes into Blue Scout’s hands and feet. Once he thought they were secure, Red Heavy let go of Blue Scout. The syringes kept Blue Scout pinned to the wall, where he began to bleed heavily.

Red Medic and Red Heavy walked off, leaving Blue Scout crucified on the wall of the RED base.

……………………………………………….

Shortly after, team BLU won the battle. The absence of Fluttershy in the battle caused team RED to lose critical strength, which ultimately spelled the end of hope for them.

Once the dead fighters from both teams had respawned in their lockers, they all met at the center of the map for discussion.

Since team BLU had won the second battle in a row, the ponies would remain on their respective teams for the next battle. As this was being decided, Blue Soldier looked around, confused.

“Where is Blue Scout? If he died, he should’ve respawned by now.” He asked.

Red Heavy stepped forward. “Little tiny man is hanging inside RED base. Is good day for me and Fluttershy.”

Blue Pyro mumbled impatiently. Then, he walked off toward the RED base to get Blue Scout down from the wall. Just as he walked out of sight, Blue Scout approached the meeting from the BLU spawn room.

…

“Scout? Where did you come from?” Blue Soldier asked.

Blue Scout turned to him slowly, and replied with two words.

“…I died.”

………………………………………….

Once everything was sorted out, and once Blue Pyro had returned angrily from the RED base, Red Soldier announced their next location.

“Alright men, our next battle will take place at the Badwater Basin for a Payload battle!”

The teams agreed on the terms, and walked off in their separate directions.

…

Hundreds of thoughts and emotions were coursing through Blue Scout’s brain at that exact moment.

Did Rainbow Dash actually want to date him before he killed Fluttershy?

To be Continued…

Author's Note

I don't know where I'm going with this. We'll just see how it turns out. :P
Please don't lose faith in me. Even if these chapters are arriving few and far between, I am not dormant. If the wait seems long, just know that there WILL be another chapter in time.
In fact, today is the last day of a SIX day weekend that started last Friday! I will say this once again: the weather SUCKS in this state! XD

Payload Mode

Battle Arena #4: Badwater Basin (Payload)

Rainbow Dash stood leaning against the wall of the BLU resupply room, twirling her bat on her hoof. Her expression seemed grim, and somewhat unamused. This lack of amusement befuddled the majority of her team.

Rarity approached her angry-looking teammate. Rainbow Dash looked up at her, and crossed her arms.

“What seems to be bothering you, dear?” Rarity asked.

Rainbow Dash looked down grimly. Her face tensed. She didn’t answer immediately.

“…wl…frkn…sct mn…” She mumbled.

“You’re going to have to speak up, darling. I can’t hear you at all.” Rarity replied.

Rainbow Dash leaned in toward Rarity’s ear. “It’s freaking Blue Scout, man! He treated Fluttershy like crap a couple battles ago, and then he still goes and stares me down like I’m some hot piece of ass or something. I feel ashamed for being so targeted by…such a dick.”

Rarity gasped, and put a hoof to her mouth. “Rainbow, my dear, watch your language!”

“Oh Rarity, what’s the point? Look around you. We’re not in Equestria anymore, and we haven’t been for the last month or so. This is the life we now know.”

“Rainbow Dash, it doesn’t have to be that bad! We have a lot of great new friends here as well. In fact, I think Red Spy likes me somewhat.” Rarity mentioned, giggling softly to herself.

“Yeah, but…the only one I actually kind of liked was a total douchebag to my best friend. It just feels…so conflicting.”

“Oh Dash, don’t make everything seem so difficult. Maybe after this battle, you’ll feel a bit better.”

Blue Scout, overhearing the conversation, rolled his eyes and sighed.

……………………………………….

Meanwhile, in the RED resupply, tensions were a lot calmer. Many of the mercenaries spoke quietly to their companions, while others just lied around and napped before battle. Applejack and Red Engineer were some of them.

As Spike struggled to adjust the belt on his uniform, Red Soldier approached him. Spike looked up, and met his companion face-to-face.

“Spike, I need to ask you something real fast.” He started.

Spike shrugged; surprised that he was addressed by his actual name from Red Soldier. He nodded his head.

“What current load-out are you using?” Red Soldier asked.

“Well…not anything, really. I have a rocket launcher, a shotgun, and a shovel. Why do you ask?” Spike replied.

“I am really proud of your work, soldier. I have seen your fast reflexes, your pinpoint accuracy, and your spectacular rocket-jumping skills. Personally, I want to see what else you can do.”

Spike raised an eyebrow. His heartbeat sped up a little as he became anxious of what was to come.

Red Soldier had four things to give to Spike. He started by giving him a new rocket launcher called the Direct Hit. Spike took it slowly, marveling at its exquisite design.

“The new rocket launcher that you have received is known as the Strange Direct Hit. I found this in a supply crate a while back. Its Strange quality allows for you to keep record of all the kills you have made with it. As you do so, it’ll rank up, and gain new levels.”

Spike broke out in excited laughter. He couldn’t control his desire to try the new weapon out.

“The Direct Hit deals far more damage than your stock rocket launcher. However, it has a much smaller blast radius, so in order to maximize your fatality output, you need to hit your target directly. I’m confident you’ll be able to handle this because of your phenomenal accuracy.”

“Wow…I…I don’t know what to say.”

…

After this, Red Soldier gave Spike an odd-looking radio backpack and a trumpet.

“This is the Battalion’s Backup. With it, after dealing enough damage, you’ll be able to blow on the trumpet to create a powerful defensive buff to all of your nearby teammates. It’s great against sentries, and various other defensive lineups.”

Spike took the backpack, and put it on swiftly. He then took the trumpet from Red Soldier.

…

Next, Red Soldier gave Spike another shovel that looked different than the original.

“With your amazing rocket-jumping skills, I found it best to present you with the Strange Market Gardener. This shovel will keep track of kills, just like the Direct Hit. It’ll deal a guaranteed critical hit if you hit your target while rocket-jumping through the air.”

Spike received the last component of his new load-out. With all of his new weapons put together, he felt like a next-level Soldier class. He chuckled lightly to himself, content with his new items.

…

“Wait…what was that last thing you were going to give me?” He asked.

Red Soldier smiled. “I wanted to present this publicly. I figured you deserved it more than I.”

Red Soldier raised up his right hand. All of the team RED members turned from their trivial activities, and looked at Red Soldier and Spike.

“Now that I have your attention, I’d like to bestow this new Unusual to my incredible comrade. Take it with pride!” Red Soldier announced.

He bent over, and set the new hat upon Spike’s head. It was the Unusual Defiant Spartan with a vivid plasma effect. Spike gasped.

He now looked like a true knight as the helmet covered most of his face. Vivid plasma seared around the hat, creating a fierce effect to his enemies.

…

Everyone in the room applauded. Spike was now the third of his Equestrian friends to receive an Unusual from the mercenaries.

Nothing further could be said or done, however, as the announcer began the countdown for the battle to begin.

……………………………………………

“5…4…3…2…1…PREP!” The announcer called.

Rainbow Dash cocked an eyebrow in confusion. “Wait…prep? What the f…”

“Don’t you remember last time we fought a Payload battle? Team RED gets a minute to prepare their defenses.” Blue Scout mentioned, cutting her off.

Rainbow Dash turned slowly and angrily toward Blue Scout. Blue Scout smiled confidently, pretending to look cool. He lifted his hat, and ran his hand through his hair.

“What; why are you looking at ME like that? Did I just…stand out in front of my other teammates? Natural selection wins, I suppose.” He flaunted, waving his hair around.

“Don’t cut me off like that again, prick.” Rainbow Dash growled.

Blue Scout’s smile disappeared. He awkwardly put his hat back on, and stepped away from the angry pegasus.

…

Half of team BLU rolled their eyes. Blue Sniper put a hand over his face.

“Bloody hell…is this Team Fortress, or DRAMA Fortress?” He mumbled.

“Good question, mate.” Red Sniper replied.

Surprised, Blue Sniper looked up to see Red Sniper standing right outside the gate to his spawn room. He stood with the rest of his team, waiting for the gate to open and for the battle to begin. He had his arm down, rubbing Twilight’s head.

“Ah, piss…” Blue Sniper grumbled. He turned, and walked away from their sight.

…………………………………………

“Mission begins in 5…4…3…2…1…” The announcer began.

Right on ‘0’, the gates to the BLU spawn room swung open, and the battle began. Right off the bat, Applejack and Blue Spy were blown up by a random crit rocket.

……………………………………………
Music: Playing With Danger (Repeat if needed)
……………………………………………

“Watch out, men! Team RED seems to be starting off lucky this time!” Blue Soldier announced to his team.

Just after saying this, however, Blue Soldier discovered that it wasn’t just luck that killed two of his fighters. After the previous battle, Red Medic had convinced Fluttershy to join back into the fight, and somehow even got her to use the Kritzkrieg again. Now she and Spike were charged with critical hits, and he had just annihilated two fighters right from the start.

…

Blue Engineer noticed this as well, and gasped in surprise.

“Ey y’all, watch out! Kritzkrieg on the loose!” He called.

Team BLU retreated into their spawn again once they had received the message. They remained there for just a few seconds, waiting for Fluttershy’s lethal Ubercharge to cease. After that, they charged back out.

Defense and support classes spread out, seeking to eliminate their team’s opposition. The offensive classes sprinted forward to begin pushing the bomb.

Blue Scout and Rainbow Dash burst forward simultaneously, and threw their weight into the bomb cart. It immediately began to inch along its tracks.

…

Blue Scout grinned. “Gee Skittles, this cart is lighter than I thought! It doesn’t take much of my awesome muscle power to move it along!”

A sweat rolled down Rainbow Dash’s face. She grimaced as she continued to push the cart.

“Just shut up Scout, and push the cart.” She ordered.

…

Rainbow Dash looked off toward the hill. She gasped suddenly, and ducked her head down. Right at that moment, a bullet flew over her head, and went right through Blue Scout’s. He crashed to the ground.

……………………………………

The two Snipers were standing hidden behind the hill in front of the BLU base when the kill was made. The cart moved very slowly now, with only Rainbow Dash trying to push it. It sat right past the first left turn, and right before a big tunnel.

Rainbow Dash chuckled to herself about her near-death.

Pinkie Pie jogged up next to Rainbow Dash with her fire axe in-hoof. Blood covered her fire-retardant uniform.

“Hi, Dashie! Ooh, you’re pushing the bomb cart? I’ll join you! Let’s do this!” She exclaimed.

She stepped aside, and pushed Blue Scout’s dead body away from the cart. She then stood in place, and began assisting Rainbow Dash.

…

Rainbow Dash rubbed her nose. “Geez, Pinkie…you smell like burnt flesh and rotten meat. What happened to you?”

Pinkie giggled. “Oh, that was just Red Heavy. After I finished with him, Fluttershy ran away like she saw a timberwolf or something. I let her go.”

Rainbow Dash nodded slowly. “You have one messed up soul, Pink.”

…

Blue Sniper ran down next to the two cart-pushers, and held up his rifle.

“As you two push the cart, I’ll fight off any attackers before they even get here.” He explained.

………………………………………….

“Hurry partner, build a sentry! The cart’s approaching fast!” Red Engineer ordered Applejack.

Following his orders, Applejack ran quickly to the first checkpoint location. She then used the Jag to begin building a sentry at rapid speed.

“Good. Now ta get more metal, come over here to my dispenser.” Red Engineer instructed.

As Red Engineer jogged away from the battlefront, Applejack followed him. At the second checkpoint location, Red Engineer’s buildings sat, ready to defend at the right time. His dispenser sat near his sentry.

…

Applejack stood near the dispenser to replenish her metal supply, and then ran back to her sentry to begin making upgrades.

“Thanks, partner!” She called.

…

As she was working, Red Spy uncloaked in front of her. Applejack whacked him a couple times with her wrench to make sure he wasn’t an enemy.

“The bomb cart will be emerging from the tunnel any second now. None of our defenders have been able to engage the cart-pushers, because they have a Sniper there to protect them. We need you to be on top guard when your sentry begins firing.” He explained.

“Can do, partner! Just don’t get yerself killed out there with all yer slinking around and such.” Applejack replied.

Red Spy nodded once. He then disguised as Blue Medic, cloaked out of sight, and disappeared.

……………………………………………

As the cart progressed through the tunnel, more and more BLU fighters stepped in to help push it along. It was moving at a very steady pace now. As RED defenders surged in from the back of the tunnel to stop them, Blue Sniper picked them off one by one before they could get close enough to do some damage.

“Great job, Sniper. Now we’re able to take this place by force!” Blue Soldier raved.

Rainbow Dash smiled proudly to herself. Her face covered in sweat, her legs trembling, she continued to push the cart along.

…

At this point, Applejack began to get nervous. The sounds of footsteps and rusty wheels began to get louder and louder as the cart neared her sentry gun. Her sentry could either save the day, or be torn to shreds in a matter of seconds. If that happened, she would go along with it.

Suddenly, her sentry beeped, and began to fire. The intruders arrived from the tunnel, which the sentry had noticed. The first checkpoint lay just in front of it.

“Alert! The cart is nearing a checkpoint!” The announcer cried.

Blue Pyro, Blue Scout, and Blue Sniper were easy pickings as the sentry killed them in a matter of seconds. For a moment, Applejack felt like her sentry would successfully do its job.

However, right at that moment, Blue Medic emerged with Pinkie Pie. He deployed an Ubercharge, which plunged them both into total invulnerability. Applejack gasped in surprise as Pinkie mowed through her sentry gun with her flamethrower.

Applejack tried to repair the damage, but the force of the fire was too much. Her sentry gun literally melted, followed by her just seconds after.

…

Once his Ubercharge was gone, Blue Medic gave overheals to all of the remaining cart-pushers: Blue Soldier, Blue Engineer, and Rainbow Dash. He then pressed on to help any other stray teammates that were scattered throughout the map.

………………………………………………….

“The enemy has received additional time…” The announcer rasped to team RED. The cart had reached the first checkpoint.

Red Soldier hid around the corner to the second checkpoint, reloading his rocket launcher. Fluttershy stood behind him, overhealing him with the Kritzkrieg.

“Are you ready for this, Medic?” He asked her.

“Um…I guess. My Ubercharge is ready.” She replied timidly.

As the sentry gun massacre happened at the first checkpoint just prior, Fluttershy and Red Soldier had been hiding out by the second point to build an Ubercharge. As a result, many RED defenders had died, being left in the hands of Red Medic alone.

Red Engineer’s buildings sat guarding the second checkpoint, waiting indefinitely for the arrival of the BLU attackers. Red Soldier and Fluttershy began final preparations to launch a little attack of their own.

…

“Let’s show these maggots that destroying a sentry does not mean victory.” Red Soldier muttered.

“You got it.” Fluttershy responded.

“…Charge!!!” Red Soldier cried. He burst out from behind the corner, greeting the BLU attackers with a rather pleasant surprise.

Fluttershy deployed her Ubercharge, granting critical hits to Red Soldier’s rocket launcher. He fired one rocket, which obliterated the majority of the cart-pushers. Blood sprayed in all directions, covering Red Soldier and Fluttershy.

Rainbow Dash was thrown to the side, hitting a wall. She gasped for air, but her collapsed lungs would not allow it. Blood poured out of her mouth.

…

“The power of crits…” Red Soldier chuckled evilly to himself.

“Ack…ugh…M…Medic……I need…a Medic!” Rainbow Dash wheezed.

Red Soldier walked calmly up to Rainbow Dash, and pointed his crit-boosted rocket launcher down at her. He smiled wickedly.

“Prepare to meet your maker, unicorn.” He rasped.

…

Suddenly, Blue Medic leapt onto the scene, silhouetted by the sun behind him. In midair, he aimed his medi-gun down at his battered teammate, and released.

Red Soldier stood frozen, shocked as Rainbow Dash’s fatal wounds suddenly began to heal. She picked herself up off the ground with a defiant grunt, wiping any excess blood off of her lips.

Red Soldier’s mouth hung open. His crits ran out just then as Rainbow Dash became fully recovered.

…

“Oh, and by the way…I’m a pegasus.” She whispered.

Taking her bat out, she backed up about a hundred feet, and launched a baseball at him. The projectile hit him right in the head, which paralyzed him.

…

…

She then threw the Flying Guillotine at him, which registered as an automatic critical hit. Red Soldier was down for the count.

Fluttershy began to quiver nervously. Her heal buddy was terminated now, and she stood vulnerable in front of two BLU attackers.

Rainbow Dash walked back up to where Fluttershy was standing, and put a hoof on her shoulder.

“There’s no need to worry, Flutters. I have no intention to kill you at all. I’m going to let you retreat now, and find a new heal partner. If they manage to die as well, I’ll still ignore you. Sound good?”

Fluttershy cradled her Kritzkrieg tightly in her arms. She nodded nervously.

…

Just as she was beginning to retreat, a fully-charged bullet flew through her right hip. She yelped loudly like an injured dog.

Blue Sniper, the firer of the bullet, was standing far back toward the BLU base. He reloaded, and scoped up for the final kill-shot.

Rainbow Dash quickly flipped on her headset microphone, and told Blue Sniper to hold his fire. Blue Sniper was reluctant at first, but eventually agreed to stop.

…

Before Rainbow Dash could turn back around toward Fluttershy, she was already gone.

……………………………………………

Fluttershy ran, leaving Rainbow Dash and Blue Medic standing confused behind her. The wound in her hip was bleeding badly. Although Blue Sniper’s shot was not to the head, it left her with a small amount of health left.

She bolted around the corner, up a flight of stairs, and into a small observation deck that overlooked two upcoming checkpoints. There was no one to be seen currently in this part of the map. Off in the distance, she could faintly hear the sound of Red Engineer’s sentry gun as it began to fire at team BLU.

She sat down against the wall of the room, and put a hoof on her wounded hip. As soon as she did so, pain surged up through her body. She yelped a bit.

The bullet appeared to have torn through her lab coat, went into her skin, and lodged in her pelvis. Blood was leaking everywhere.

............................................................
Music: A Little Heart to Heart (Repeat if needed)
............................................................

Amongst all the thoughts of pain that floated through her mind, Fluttershy remembered something that Red Medic had told her before. It was something to do with the Kritzkrieg……something that you could only do with the Kritzkrieg…

Taking her hoof off of her wound for a moment, she picked up the Kritzkrieg that was sitting on the floor. Holding it delicately, she stared at it for a few moments. Then, she held the nozzle toward her face.

Instinctively, she pulled the lever on the device. A steady stream of the healing smoke began to fill the air around her face, which she involuntarily breathed in.

It smelled somewhat of car exhaust and air freshener at the same time. It was rather conflicting to her nostrils, and it made her slightly dizzy. However, as she inhaled the medical smoke, she found that her bullet wound began to heal a little bit.

She gasped at the result, excited that she was actually managing to heal herself. Eagerly, she put the nozzle of the Kritzkrieg up to her mouth, and continued to suck more of the smoke in. At this point, she had the Kritzkrieg nozzle up to her mouth like a nebulizer, taking in plumes of the smoke as she lied back against the wall. Her eyes rolled back in her head as her body became more relaxed.

…………………………………………………
Music: Playing With Danger (Repeat if needed)
..........................................................................

As soon as Red Engineer had the chance, he rushed to his sentry gun. BLU fighters began to arrive in groups now, itching to push the cart further along its tracks. His sentry was firing furiously, injuring enemies and taking considerable damage.

As he viciously whacked his creation with his wrench, he looked up to see the damage he was causing. Several BLU attackers were lying dead on the ground, while others remained mortally wounded. Blue Medic had his hands full as he tirelessly healed the teammates pushing the cart. Rainbow Dash was even missing an entire arm, yet she continued to push the cart with great effort.

…

“Five minutes left in the mission! Five minutes!” The announcer warned.

Red Demoman rushed in beside Red Engineer, and began placing stickies all over the ground in front of the checkpoint. If team BLU managed to get the bomb cart past the checkpoint, the timer would be reset back to ten minutes, and they’d lose hope.

Applejack, Red Heavy, and various other classes approached from the same direction as Red Demoman did. Applejack climbed the stairs that led to the roof to make a new sentry gun that would push team BLU back even further.

Defenders that resided near the front lines, such as Red Scout, Red Pyro, and Red Heavy, took intense damage from team BLU’s brute forces. Calls for a Medic rang through the air as teammates started getting close to death.

Red Medic, newly equipped with the Quick Fix, sprinted in from the RED base. Teammates began to line up in front of him, get quick health, and charge back into battle. He found quickly, however, that the line kept getting indefinitely longer.

…

“Hey guys, it’d be mighty efficient if y’all would start using my dispenser for health as well. Poor Medic can only do so much.” Red Engineer called.

Many teammates obliged to Red Engineer’s offer, moving out of the line to get their health from Red Engineer’s buildings. With a shorter line, the remaining teammates could quickly get their health and be back out to fighting.

Red Medic, between teammates, began to migrate over to Red Engineer. As Red Engineer repaired his constantly-firing sentry, he looked up to engage conversation.

“Vhere is Ms. Fluttershy? Vith her crits and her healing power, zis vould be a lot easier.” Red Medic complained.

Red Soldier spoke up. “Last time I saw Fluttershy, she was with me giving me crits. That was about four minutes ago!” He explained. He shot a rocket, and finished off Zecora. “Maggots!”

…

Red Medic rubbed his chin. “Hmm…if Ms. Fluttershy had died somehow, she vould’ve respawned a vhile ago. Vhy vouldn’t she be here?”

All the nearby RED defenders shrugged their shoulders. Red Engineer ignored the question, continuing to repair his sentry.

As the question rang through the minds of the RED defenders, they found that the bomb cart began to move backwards. Applejack’s sentry had been built and upgraded, which pushed the no-man’s land further back for the BLU team. Time was running short for them.

…

Suddenly, Red Heavy was headshot by Blue Sniper. At the same time, Red Scout got shot down by Blue Engineer. As team RED’s defenses thinned, the cart managed to inch forward bit by bit. However, it was kept a safe distance away by Applejack’s sentry.

Red Engineer turned, and saw that Red Medic had disappeared. He shrugged, assuming that the Medic had gone off to find his comrade.

Just after, he looked up toward the roof to see how Applejack was doing. To his shock, he saw Rarity appear behind her with her knife raised.

“Applejack, look out!!!” Red Engineer cried out.

Unfortunately, Applejack was too slow to respond. Rarity backstabbed his comrade, and placed a sapper on her sentry.

…

“Dammit!” Red Engineer cursed.

He left his sentry, and bolted into the building nearby. He climbed the stairs, turned the corner, sprinted across the roof, and reached Applejack’s dying sentry as fast as he was able to. He whacked it furiously with his wrench, saving it from the sapper just in time.

Just as Rarity was appearing behind him to finish him off, he turned around, and beat her with his wrench as well. So far, his defense system was safe.

………………………………………………

At this point, only a minute remained of the battle. Team BLU never got the bomb cart past the second checkpoint. Red Medic hoped that his team could hold off the last minute without him.

Frantically, he searched the areas around the RED base for his beloved comrade. After all, there was no way in the observable universe that she could be behind enemy lines on the BLU side. He started his search in the RED spawn room, and planned to work his way outward toward the battlefront.

…

Initially, she was nowhere to be found near the final hatch. None of the nooks, crannies, rooms, and hallways contained his butter-yellow friend.

He moved up a little bit, and began to check the area near the third checkpoint. She was nowhere on the ground; not in a corner, not in a building, and not on a ledge.

…

He jogged up the stairs that sat against the wall. They led him up to the observation deck, where he was immediately greeted by a musty garage smell. He fanned his nose with his hand.

No matter how much Red Medic tried to circulate the air around his nose, he couldn’t shake the industrialized smell that plagued the cramped atmosphere of the deck. The air near the roof of the room was clouded heavily with red smoke.

Red Medic looked down against the wall, and saw Fluttershy half-passed out with the Kritzkrieg pressed against her face. Her bullet wound was completely healed, and the Kritzkrieg had a full Ubercharge ready.

…

“Dear Lord, Ms. Fluttershy. Vhat have you done to yourself?” He marveled.

He picked Fluttershy up off the ground, and held her in his arms. Her Kritzkrieg fell out of her hooves, and hung aimlessly at her side by the cord connecting her backpack. She giggled a little bit as her eyes trailed off throughout the room.

“M…medicine……it…it healed my wound…” She murmured quietly. As she spoke, clouds of the red smoke billowed out of her mouth and her nose.

“Forgive me for asking, Ms. Fluttershy, but…are you…high?” He asked uncertainly.

Fluttershy giggled again. “What’s that?”

Red Medic scrunched his face up as more clouds of red smoke sailed out of the pegasus’s mouth. He was starting to find himself dizzy in the closed room with all of the medical smoke.

…

“Come on; let’s get you to some cleaner air.” Red Medic suggested.

Fluttershy threw her hooves around Red Medic’s neck, and cuddled him closely. Red Medic began to feel uncomfortable, as he had never felt a sensation like this before.

He carried Fluttershy out of the observation deck and into some fresh air. As her Kritzkrieg hung below her from the cord, steady streams of the smoke continued to leak out of it.

“Ugh…I sink you vore out zee valve on zee Kritzkrieg’s outtake port. Zee smoke von’t stop coming out.” Red Medic observed.

…

“Time has ceased. Victory to team RED!” The announcer blared.

The RED defenders standing at the front lines cheered wildly at their victory. After two consecutive failures, victory felt good.

“Vell, vhat do you know? Vee actually von zee battle.” Red Medic stated.

…

Not thinking from her “escalated” state, Fluttershy leaned up, and kissed Red Medic. Shocked, Red Medic tried to pull away, but Fluttershy wouldn’t let him go.

Now that the battle was completed, the RED defenders began to walk away from the battlefront. All of them were stunned and frozen in place when they caught a glance at Red Medic and Fluttershy.

A crowd of both teams began to form around the two. Even thirty seconds later, Fluttershy showed no signs of pulling away from Red Medic. She even began to get more into it; moving her hooves around and caressing the back of his neck.

…

“Um…Fluttershy?” Rainbow Dash spoke up from the crowd.

“…”

“Fluttershy?”

“…”

“Fluttershy!!!” She finally yelled.

Suddenly, the loud noise from Rainbow Dash’s call snapped Fluttershy out of her high. She gasped as soon as she awoke from her state.

She pulled away from Red Medic’s mouth, and turned around towards Rainbow Dash in surprise. When she saw the crowd standing there, she cried out.

“Oh…oh my gosh……” She stuttered anxiously.

…

Realizing that she had just made out with Red Medic in front of two-dozen observers, Fluttershy climbed out of Red Medic’s grasp, picked up her broken Kritzkrieg, and ran away crying.

Everyone stood around silent for another minute or so, dumbfounded at the evening’s recent events. Quietly and awkwardly, the team scramble commenced.

…

Twilight and Fluttershy remained on team RED. Also on team RED were Big Mac, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity. Spike, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Zecora were on team BLU.

“Alright men, our next battle will be Hightower for a Payload RACE battle!” Red Soldier announced.

The ponies gasped, oblivious to the new battle mode. This was going to be interesting.

…

“I’m going to go comfort Ms. Fluttershy.” Red Medic stated, walking off toward the RED base.

To be Continued…

Author's Note

I know, I know. Late update again. Bear with me here. It's 1:00 in the morning right now, and I'm feeling like absolute crap. -_-
About the "content" of the story...I can explain. Wait...no I can't. Don't judge me!

Attack/Defend Mode

Battle Arena #6: Mountain Lab (Attack/Defend)

Luckily, teleporters existed from Hightower to Mountain Lab. No one would have to walk. This was great news, since Mountain Lab was in a boreal forest, and Hightower was in an arid desert.

Rainbow Dash was just stepping off the teleporter when Red Scout suddenly appeared through it without warning. Rainbow Dash gasped sharply, and toppled to the ground.

“Hey, watch it! You almost tele-fragged me!” She scolded. “Wait a minute before you go flying through the porter after someone else!”

“Hey, my bad, Skittles. Is something wrong?” Red Scout asked.

Rainbow Dash looked at the ground, and sighed thoughtfully. Red Scout urged her to spill the beans.

“It’s your team BLU counterpart. He’s been real selfish towards me and my friend Fluttershy lately.” She responded. “…I…kind of liked him before that though.”

…

For the first time since her arrival, Red Scout actually saw his companion’s face turn a little pink. She looked toward the ground.

He smiled. “Ah, forget about ‘im! Ya still got me, right? We’re cool; we’re cool.”

Rainbow Dash smiled lightly. Red Scout patted her on the back, and handed her a Crit-a-Cola.

………………………………………

Red Sniper appeared through the teleporter behind them, shaking his head and sighing. An exasperated face of confusion dominated his face.

“What? What did I do wrong? Aye, this bloody troubling. Could use a shot right about now. Or two.” He grumbled.

“Vhat is your problem, schveinhund?” Red Medic hissed.

“It’s Twily, mate! I’ve never in my natural-born life seen her in such a state! I…I don’t know what I did to hurt her so bloody much!” Red Sniper replied.

…

Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened. She picked up her pace a little bit, trying to stay away so she wouldn’t cause suspicion of her knowledge.

Red Scout jogged to keep up with her. “Whoa man, Crit-a-Cola isn’t supposed to speed you up! Wait…maybe it does…” He muttered.

“That’s not why I’m walking faster! Just come on, and stay quiet!” Rainbow Dash rasped in a menacing whisper.

Red Scout held his hands up, smiling. “Relax, Skittles! It’s not like you’re a Spy trying to keep his cover or anything.”

…

The duo could hear Red Sniper and Red Medic arguing behind them. Rainbow Dash kept speed-walking to keep her distance. Her wings fluttered anxiously.

“What’s ailing ya, Skittles? You look you just got asked out on a date by the high school’s football star.” Red Scout commented.

“I…” She stopped; glancing to make sure Red Sniper wasn’t looking at her. “I’ll tell you later.”

Red Scout scoffed. “You are quite a puzzle, Skittles!” He laughed.

……………………………………………

Twilight’s team BLU uniform was being stained a darker shade by tears. Her rifle dragged on the ground behind her, rustling up small clouds of dirt. Blue Medic and Blue Sniper walked by her side, trying inefficiently to cheer her up.

“Aw shucks, sugarcube. Isn’t there anything we can do?” Applejack asked her. Twilight gave no response.

…

Blue Spy covered his face with his right hand. He walked at the back of the pack where no one would pay him any mind. His breathing was heavy and slow.

Pinkie Pie turned around. “Hey Spy, what’s got ya down? It pains me to see such an upside-down smile!” She asked.

“Oh, uh…nothing. Just feeling a little sick is all, madam.” He replied casually.

“Well, okey dokey! Hope you get better soon!” Pinkie shrugged.

She turned back around, and continued to talk to Blue Pyro. Lord knows how she could understand his inaudible, masked mumbling.

…

Blue Spy sighed heavily. Something nasty was eating him on the inside. Something more vile and cruel than even his recent behavior. He felt…guilt.

The strength of a team was certainly not worth a strong and genuine relationship. Blue Spy began to realize that he had made a horrible mistake.

…

Just as he was stepping forward to speak to Twilight, Blue Scout stopped him in his tracks.

“I know what you’re thinking. Make one more move, and I’ll hurl you over that fence to the wild bears. No one is going to screw this up. Team RED is WEAK! We’re going to take advantage of this, and you’re not going to screw it up for us!” He whispered threateningly.

…

“Hey! Vhat is going on back zhere?” Blue Medic called.

Blue Spy hesitated. Blue Scout gave him the evil eye.

“Uh…nothing. Just discussing some little side plans.” Blue Spy lied. It was his specialty.

Blue Medic rolled his eyes, and returned to Twilight. Blue Spy sighed.

“Good job. Now you’re getting it!” Blue Scout smiled evilly.

………………………………………

As the countdown began to loom closer, team RED fighters began to leak into their resupply room. Even though they had a minute of prep before the battle, they weren’t allowed to be outside their resupply when the countdown ended.

As the thirty second mark was announced, Rarity proceeded to brush dust off of her suit. She then checked her pockets to make sure everything was in order. Wait a minute…where was her disguise kit?

…

She hummed in confusion. Lifting her head up, she scanned the room for any sign of her mysterious PDA.

“Spy, darling?” She asked.

“Yes, madam?” Red Spy responded.

“Would you be a dear and tell me where I left my disguise kit? I can’t run around without looking like an enemy!”

“I haven’t any clue where your kit is. Did you try asking your other teammates?”

“Not to be rude, dear, but no other teammates have a reason to be running around with my disguise kit. They haven’t any use for it. I think I left it back at Hightower.”

…

“Hmm…” Red Spy thought. “Well, maybe I can make it up to you.”

Red Spy walked away from Rarity for a moment. Seconds later, he returned with a familiar-looking knife. He held it out for Rarity to take.

“The Eternal Reward? Being that it doesn’t utilize a disguise kit, I can see why you used it as a replacement.” She remarked.

“For your information, madam, that is actually the Strange Eternal Reward.” He replied.

“Strange?” She studied it closely. “I don’t see anything strange about it.”

“No, not that kind of strange. It’s considered Strange because it’ll keep track and rank up on the kills you make with it. That way, you can record all of the backstabs you made with it.” Red Spy explained.

Rarity chuckled evilly. Her wide grin was contagious to Red Spy.

………………………………………….

“5…4…3…2…1…PREP!” The announcer yelled.

Team RED burst out of their resupply locker. With only a minute until the confrontation, they had to move quickly to set up their defenses. Fluttershy and Red Medic were already a quarter full with their Ubercharge.

Rainbow Dash scoffed. “That chick will always trip me up with the whole ‘prep’ thing.” She commented.

Red Scout chuckled heartily.

…

Red Engineer and Red Heavy, upon reaching the location of BLU’s spawn point, headed off to the side near the fence. Red Engineer immediately constructed a dispenser to aid his Russian comrade with ammunition. Red Medic hung around nearby, continuing to build his Uber.

…

Red Sniper jogged away from the battlefront, and got down on the ground behind the first Control Point. He pointed his rifle in a comfortable position through a small rail opening.

Red Spy uncloaked next to him, grinning cheekily.

“What is it, Spy?” Red Sniper sighed.

“Bet you can’t shoot your first shot with your eyes closed.” Red Spy dared.

“Are you crazy? Of course I can do that. Anyone could do that.” Red Sniper jeered.

“You have to actually kill someone, though.” Red Spy mentioned.

Red Sniper thought deeply for a second. He rubbed his chin. He glanced over at Red Spy, whose grin had widened.

“Ugh, FINE. If it would please your ‘bloody majesty’.” Red Sniper groaned.

………………………………………
Music: Playing with Danger (Repeat if needed)
………………………………………

“5…4…3…2…1…FIGHT!” The announcer cried.

BLU’s doors swung open, and the battle began. Right upon leaving spawn, Blue Soldier and Blue Pyro were eliminated by Red Heavy.

“Ready?” Red Spy coached.

“Shut up.” Red Sniper responded.

…

Red Sniper put his right hand over his eyes, obscuring his view. He positioned his left hand over the trigger on his rifle. Red Spy began to count down from five.

……………………………………

Twilight, trying with all of her might to forget about her beloved partner, jogged lightly out of the resupply. Her aim was to reach one of the two-story buildings near the enemy lines so she could safely take control.

No sooner did she turn the corner when a bullet launched through her skull. She yelped, and toppled backwards onto her back. What was left of her vision slowly faded away from her.

……………………………………

Red Sniper, after firing his shot, took his hand off of his eyeballs. He gasped when he saw Twilight dead on the ground outside of resupply.

“Aw, bloody fucking hell!” He screamed.

Half of his team turned toward him in shock. Red Spy fell over backwards laughing. Red Sniper stood up, picked up his rifle, and threw it as far as he could.

“Ah…ah hah…please stop raging! It’s so funny…I…I can’t breathe!” Red Spy choked out. He rolled around on the ground with his hands over his stomach.

…

Red Heavy continued to protect his team with his infinitely-supplied rain of bullets. Team BLU was starting to push at their bonds, however. Red Medic walked solemnly over to where Red Sniper’s rifle had landed, and picked it up.

A little drawing of Twilight’s cutie mark was etched on the side of the wooden shoulder pad. Next to it was a “+” symbol, and then Red Sniper’s class emblem. Red Medic gasped sadly.

He turned around to where Red Sniper was standing, and found that he wasn’t there anymore. Only Red Spy was there, laughing hysterically on the ground.

…

Just then, Red Medic heard an uncloaking noise behind him. Blue Spy appeared behind him with a devilish grin on his face. He raised his knife, preparing to make the kill.

Red Medic stopped him, putting a hand on the assassin’s chest. Blue Spy looked up at him, confused that he wasn’t trying to saw him to death.

“Did you do zis?” Red Medic asked assertively.

“Do what, per say?” Blue Spy replied.

Red Medic turned around, and showed his adversary Red Sniper’s rifle. Blue Spy looked at it.

“You see zis right here? Zis is a sign of a broken heart. Vee know our Sniper vould never abandon zee unicorn, Tvilight, unless it vas zee vork of someone else.”

…

Blue Spy was torn between spilling the beans and facing Blue Scout’s wrath, or concealing his secret. Red Medic stared at him like an angry mother would stare at her child after stealing a cookie.

Blue Spy stood awkwardly and stuttered for a few seconds. Then, without warning, he stabbed Red Medic in the back, and made a run for it.

………………………………………….

As this had happened, Blue Scout’s quick reflexes and speed had outwitted Red Heavy. He finished the heavy gunman off with his Scattergun, destroyed the dispenser, and moved on for his team. BLU fighters began to spill out of control.

“Retreat, retreat! We are being overpowered!” Red Soldier commanded.

Panicked, team RED began to run away with their lives. Blue Medic deployed an Ubercharge on Spike with his well-hidden Kritzkrieg, granting critical hits to the dragon warrior.

“C’mon, move up! Leave no fighter behind!” Spike cried out.

Spike spammed deadly rockets at the retreating RED team, causing multiple bloody fatalities with the crit power. BLU fighters cheered inhumanely with each messy death.

…

Any fighter who was left alive decided wholeheartedly to forget about the first Control Point. Without any means of obstruction, team BLU effortlessly captured it. Spike’s crits had run out, but had not diminished his power. Letting out battle cries, he led his team fearlessly into the domain of the second Control Point.

Applejack and Blue Engineer stayed behind as the rest of their team marched forward. Getting metal from nearby ammo boxes, they began to mark their territory. No REDs were getting back there anymore.

………………………………………

Red Scout and Rainbow Dash burst onto the scene from around the far corner where the enemies resided. Team RED looked at them in anticipation for their report.

Red Scout breathed heavily. “BLUs…BLUs everywhere…sentries are being set up and everything…”

“Yeah…there’s no way any of us are going back there… Let’s just make sure we can secure the second Point with all of our might.” Rainbow Dash added.

…

“Good God, partner, look at your wing!” Red Engineer gasped from behind his sentry.

Confused, Rainbow Dash turned around to look at her backside. To her surprise, her right wing was completely gone. Blood poured down her side, dripping onto the ground and staining her uniform.

“Doesn’t that hurt?” Red Scout asked.

“Not really. Didn’t even notice it until Hard-Hat pointed it out. Guess I don’t feel pain much anymore.” Rainbow Dash casually replied.

…

Fluttershy, startled, rushed forward to patch up the wound. Upon contact with the Quick-Fix smoke, Rainbow’s wing literally grew back into place. Rarity gagged.

………………………………………

Big Mac and Blue Heavy were the first two to arrive around the corner. Blue Medic was close behind, healing them both in short turns. The two gunmen spun up their powerful weapons in preparation for another massacre.

Most of the RED defenders ignored them for a few seconds. They waited patiently for the next phase of this redundant procedure to take place. Usually, at this time, one of their heads would be blown off by either Twilight or Red Sniper. Instead, Red Engineer got HIS head blown off by Twilight, who was hiding expertly at the edge of the enemy lines.

…

“Damn it, where’s Red Sniper?” Red Soldier asked.

Red Medic was also nowhere to be seen. As the barrage of BLU attackers began to thicken, team RED realized that they were extraordinarily outnumbered.

Fluttershy’s heart-rate sped up once again as she suddenly became fully responsible for the survival of her team’s second defensive line. The rest of the match was hanging in the balance.

……………………………………………
Music: Nayru's Wisdom (Repeat if needed)
……………………………………………

“Come on, vhy von’t you go?” Red Medic asked impatiently.

“I’m done with snipin’. I just…can’t stand the pain it’s causing me anymore.” Red Sniper replied.

“Our team is in PERIL right now! You’re zee best von vee know for zee job!”

“I’ve had it with this team, I’ve had it with sniping, and I’ve had with this war! Why are we still fighting after all this time?”

“It’s just…us. Zere is no vorld outside of vhat vee know. I don’t see vhat outside influence could’ve change vhat you’ve vorked for.”

…

“It’s Twily, okay? I said it!” Red Sniper exclaimed.

Red Medic was not at all surprised by this response. He saw his comrade’s weapon. He saw into his comrade’s emotions. He knew what it really was that gave his comrade closure in a world at war. He remained silent.

Red Sniper continued. “You’re right and all about this world, but…I just never viewed it in the same way until Twily came along. I just had this attraction to her ever since I first headshot Blue Sniper back at the Arena Well battle. It never really occurred to me how empty I felt before I first saw her. Now, I…I just can’t return to the old world.”

…

Red Medic stood silently. He looked down at the ground for what seemed like the longest time. “……I know exactly how you feel.”

“What? You do?”

“Certainly. I’ve had zis growing attraction to my pegasus friend Ms. Fluttershy ever since she kissed me back at Badvater Basin. Now zat I’ve spent so much time vith her, I don’t know how to go on vithout her.”

Red Medic paused. Red Sniper continued to look at him with a solemn and understanding look on his face. After a few more seconds of silence, the master of medicine continued.

“I get so much pleasure from being zere to help her. I enjoy nurturing her and comforting her in times of need. Vithout me, I don’t know how she’d survive.” He paused again for a second or two. “You see…your relationship is mutual. You and zee unicorn Tvilight love each ozer one and zee same. Ms. Fluttershy, she……she’s so dependent on me. She looks up to me so much. My job gets difficult sometimes ven I’m carrying zee responsibilities of a beautiful pegasus and zee survival of my vonderful team. However, I keep pushing at it. After all, I’m still in von piece!”

…

Red Sniper smiled warmly. He wiped a tear from his eye. Then, he nodded slowly.

“Okay… Thank you so much for that. Are going to do this or what?” He exclaimed with a smile on his face.

…

Almost right on cue, an urgent call streamed in on the mercenaries’ headsets. It was from Fluttershy.

“Red Medic? Where are you? P…please…I really need your help! Please hurry!” She pleaded over the headset. The comrades could hear tears and rapid breathing through the context of the message.

……………………………………………

One close call after another poured down upon the collapsing RED team as team BLU pushed relentlessly onto their territory. Fluttershy was under complete and total stress as dozens of Medic calls rang through the air.

Injuries ranging from missing limbs to spilling guts were evident throughout her team. In a desperate strategy to keep her team functioning, Fluttershy deployed her safely-built Ubercharge.

Godly healing power shot down onto Fluttershy’s weapon, giving her insane efficiency. She aimed the divine Quick-Fix at one teammate after another, eliminating their wounds at the blink of an eye. By doing this, her team was back on their feet once again for a little bit longer.

…

Once her Ubercharge had run out, she was at a 188 overheal. Almost immediately after the Uber had ceased, she took a bullet right through the forehead. Blood sprayed out of the exit wound.

…

Blue Sniper laughed hysterically as he blew the smoke from his rifle. Upon reentering the scope, however, he gasped in exasperation.

Fluttershy was still alive. She was in full-fledged panic-mode now, but she was still alive. How could that be?

……………………………………………
Music: Dreams of Cruelty (Repeat if needed)
……………………………………………

Fluttershy dove behind a ledge for cover. She put a hoof over her forehead, wincing heavily at the pain it produced. More Medic calls rang through her eardrums, pushing her over the edge.

She suddenly began to choke and gag uncontrollably. She dropped her Quick-Fix as she put both hooves on her chest. Her vision fogged and her hearing blurred as she began feeling an immense pressure on her heart.

…

The first one to notice her was Rainbow Dash. She gasped, and rushed over to her friend’s aid.

“Someone help! I think Fluttershy’s having a heart attack!” She yelled.

Red Scout, along with a few other teammates, ran over to see what was going on. Rainbow Dash shook her friend a few times, yelling her name in desperation.

“Fluttershy! Fluttershy, say something! What’s happening? Tell us!” She yelled.

…

Fluttershy was unresponsive. The teammates noticed only the whites of her eyes, and a stream of saliva coming out of her mouth. Her breathing was short, ragged, and irregular.

Suddenly, Red Medic and Red Sniper ran through the doors of the base. Red Medic was stunned when he saw his companion’s condition.

“Hurry up, doc, do it! She probably only has seconds left!” Rainbow Dash ordered.

“But…wouldn’t she just respawn?” Red Spy asked.

“Shut up! This is not the way ANYONE should die! Besides, you don’t know her like I do! I don’t want to see her die like this at all, even if it’s only temporary!” Rainbow Dash scolded.

…

Red Medic immediately focused his healing down onto Fluttershy’s convulsing body. Slowly and steadily, her consciousness began to return to her. Her breathing regulated, her eyes returned to their normal position, and her heartbeat steadied.

She leaned upward a bit, and looked around to see three quarters of her team staring down at her. Her facial expression displayed fear and confusion.

“Oh gosh…did I…?”

“You had a stress-induced heart attack, my dear. But you are better now.” Red Medic explained.

…

Fluttershy turned around to look at Red Medic, who was smiling down on her. She gasped.

“Medic!” She exclaimed. “I’m so glad you’re here!”

She leapt up off the ground and enveloped Red Medic in a passionate hug. Red Sniper, remembering the Medic’s speech, smiled at the heart-warming sight.

…………………………………………
Music: Playing with Danger (Repeat if needed)
…………………………………………

A bullet and a rocket flew by his face, causing his smile to suddenly fade. After surviving for an impressively long time, Red Engineer’s sentry gun was destroyed by a sticky-bomb. Team RED was suddenly kicked back into gear as the BLUs’ onslaught resumed.

Blue Scout was already on the second Control Point, causing it to turn over at a rapid rate. Red Sniper turned around startled, and squeezed out a lucky shot into Blue Scout’s neck.

As Fluttershy retreated into the base to relax, the remaining team RED fighters began to fight back. More BLU attackers were pouring into the area, causing defense to be difficult.

Blue Medic latched onto Big Mac, using the overheal to carry him into enemy lines.

…

“I’m at 90 percent! Raus, raus!” Blue Medic ordered.

Big Mac spun up his weapon, and began to fire. Overwhelmed by the bullet force, Red Scout and Red Pyro were quickly eliminated.

…

“Come on, pick it up! We came too far to lose here!” Rainbow Dash ordered.

“Cover me, gents!” Red Engineer called.

Red Heavy stepped aside to provide support to the Engineer while Zecora rigged the Point with explosives. Red Sniper climbed onto the roof of the Point shack, and prepared to provide additional support.

…

“Ya ready, lad?” Red Demoman asked.

“Always ready! Just need to be steady.” Zecora responded.

The two of them waited carefully for Blue Medic and Big Mac to step onto the Control Point. Once they entered the bombers’ view, Zecora detonated the stickies.

…

Blue Medic suddenly deployed his Ubercharge. He and Big Mac were now in total invincibility. The stickies blew up around them, but caused absolutely no damage.

………………………………………

Expressions on the RED team’s faces turned grim and degraded as additional BLU fighters began to leak onto the Point. At this point, their defense was being brutally punctured.

Red Engineer picked up his level 1 sentry, and proceeded to retreat with the rest of his team. Team RED officially initiated in a second retreat, giving yet another precious Control Point to the opposing team.

…

Upon entering the room with the final Control Point deep within their base, Red Engineer placed his sentry down. Hitting it with his wrench, he tried furiously to at least get it to level 2 before the barrage entered the base.

“C’mon Hard-Hat, move that hammer! We ain’t got much time!” Red Scout coached.

“It’s called a wrench! And I’m goin’ as fast as I can!” Red Engineer snapped.

………………………………………

Upon entering the base, Spike and Blue Soldier were caught off guard when they spotted the sentry. Before they could retreat, they were shot down by its bullet rain.

Soon after, other offensive classes followed suit. Before they knew it, Blue Scout, Pinkie Pie, and Blue Pyro were flooding into the base from both doors.

Blue Scout quickly drank a can of Bonk, and became hyperactive. He jittered forward so that he was two inches away from Red Engineer’s sentry gun, and began to dance.

Red Engineer groaned in exasperation as his sentry targeted the most useless adversary for the current moment. Pinkie Pie and Blue Pyro flanked the sentry from the opposite side, burning it down with Red Engineer before the automated weapon was able to turn around.

…

Red Soldier leapt into the battle from the resupply doors along with Rarity. Red Soldier shot out a rocket, which was quickly airblasted back to him by Blue Pyro.

Rarity and Red Soldier screamed as the mini-crit rocket flew back at them. In a blinding flash of a second, they were reduced to nothing.

…

The three offensive teammates stepped onto the Control Point as the rest of their team began to enter the base from all sides. Team RED was rendered helpless.

In no time at all, the last Point was turned over to BLU. They had won the battle. Immediately, they were granted crits.

All stray RED defenders dropped their weapons, and threw their hands into the air. Team BLU attackers burst into the resupply locker to waste away any more survivors.

…

Rather than surrender, Red Medic shielded Fluttershy with his arms. He snarled at any BLU fighter that approached him.

“I’d sooner get sent to hell zan let you kill Ms. Fluttershy!” He exclaimed.

The BLU victors, having seen the events from earlier in the battle, left the couple alone. Blue Scout mumbled under his breath.

……………………………………………

Once all of the killed RED fighters had respawned, the two teams met for discussion. Everyone could agree that this was one of the most brutal, yet unanimous battles they ever had.

During the team scramble, the thought never crossed anyone’s mind to take Fluttershy away from Red Medic. By the time the scramble had completed, the teams were arranged like so. Fluttershy, Spike, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash were on team RED. Zecora, Big Mac, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Twilight were on team BLU.

…

Just as the teams were beginning to walk off, Blue Spy stopped everyone. Confused, they turned around to look at him.

“Wait! I don’t think Twilight Sparkle should remain on our team.” He started.

Everyone looked at him in a funny way, confused. Blue Scout’s nostrils flared.

“The incident that had occurred at Hightower was not the doing of Red Sniper. It was my fault. I killed him, disguised as him, and used his voice to reprimand Twilight. It was a plan to weaken your team so that we could win. It was wrong of me, and I deeply apologize.” He explained.

…

After a few seconds of awkward and astonished silence, Twilight began to get emotional. To everyone’s surprise, she began to cry deeply. Blue Soldier stepped forward.

“So…would anyone on the RED team like to come back to the BLU team?” He asked casually.

Applejack raised her hoof. “I’ll go. If it’ll reunite Twilight with the one she loves, I’d be happy to.”

…

As Applejack began to walk back to Blue Engineer’s side, Twilight ran forward to team RED’s side. Still crying, she threw her hooves around Red Sniper’s shoulders.

“I love you, mate.” He whispered in her ear.

Twilight sniffled. “I love you too.”

…………………………………………

Once this was done, the teams walked off in their separate directions. Their next objective was to head back to the arid lands of Doomsday for a Special Delivery battle.

Without question, Red Medic proceeded to carry Fluttershy in his arms out of the Mountain Lab facility. Fluttershy nuzzled up against his chest, and fell asleep. This time, she wasn’t high.

To be Continued…

Author's Note

It's finally done! I can't believe it took me this long! I haven't had one free weekend in the last month and a half. -_-
Anyways, chapters like this usually result from me having a long day. Writing stuff like this just makes me feel much better inside. :)
I've been straying from the battles and focusing more on the love stuff, haven't I? Hope I'm not disappointing any of you action-lovers out there!
Sure hope it was worth the wait!

Special Delivery Mode

Battle Arena #7: Doomsday (Special Delivery)

Twilight Sparkle stepped off of the team RED teleporter, entering the sandy terrain of the Doomsday site for the second time. The land was…familiar to her.

Almost immediately, memories from the last Special Delivery battle began to flood into her mind. She shivered heavily as she remembered the spine-breaking impact of her body on the ground from the rocket lift after her last time here. Ever since that moment, Twilight never viewed Rainbow Dash in the same way again.

…

Red Sniper left the teleporter close behind her. He jogged to catch up with her on their way to the resupply.

“You know, mate, regardless of what team you’re on, I’ve really come to envy your exquisite snipin’ skills. Most guys who lay their hands…or hooves on a sniper rifle have no idea what they’re doing. It takes years of training.” He explained.

“Yeah, well…” Twilight shrugged.

“How’d you get so good so fast?” Red Sniper asked.

“You know, I haven’t really figured that one out myself either. Prior to entering this world, I haven’t seen a gun in my life.”

“Do guns even exist in your world?”

“Well yeah, but they’re extraordinarily rare. They’re used by the Equestrian Pony Elite, which is a military division set up by Princess Celestia. They’d travel to other lands across oceans and keep order in rebellious nations.” She explained.

“Do they have snipers?” Red Sniper asked.

“I’ve been told that…”

…

“Ya know; I was in the EPE!” Rainbow Dash cut in.

Twilight scoffed. “C’mon Rainbow, you’ve told me that a million times, and I’ve never ONCE seen your badge. We all still love you, so there’s no need to lie about your past.”

“I’d believe it. Skittles here could probably hit a grape from twenty football fields away with that rifle of yours.” Red Scout added.

Small talk was quickly turning into a group conversation. Soon, multiple other classes were adding their comments into the mix. The topic of discussion quickly turned from the EPE to the quality of grape-farming in southeastern Equestria. While this was going on, Twilight and Red Sniper snuck away from the crowd.

………………………………………………

“I’m just saying, partner, you didn’t have to come back to the BLU team.” Blue Engineer mentioned.

“Nah, I’m fine with it. I like hanging around you more than Red Engineer anyways.” Applejack responded. “Besides, if I didn’t go, someone like poor old Fluttershy would’ve had to. She’s been having a lot of problems recently.”

“Ya gotta admit, though, that gal could heal her team better than God himself. She’s been giving US a lot of problems, too.” Blue Engineer added.

Applejack chuckled. “Yep, Flutters sure does know what she’s doing. It kind of surprises all of us.”

“She seems to have quite a liking for their Medic. Looks up to him almost like a father.” Blue Engineer stated.

…

The duo paused their conversation when they heard shouting coming from across the room. They turned toward the noise, and saw Blue Spy bickering with Blue Scout.

They appeared to be arguing over something Twilight-related. Applejack and Blue Engineer initially just decided to ignore it, as did the rest of the team.

Soon, however, punches started being thrown. Blue Scout sunk his fist directly into Blue Spy’s nose, causing blood to drip. Blue Spy returned the favor with an uppercut to Blue Scout’s chin, and a massive fight broke out.

Surprised, the team jumped in to try and break the pair up. The fighters kicked and thrashed wildly in their attempts to break free and wail at their enemy.

…

Blue Soldier gripped Blue Scout by the back of his shirt, and held him up off the ground. He snarled at him.

“What are you maggots arguing about now?” He scolded.

“That Spy’s a freaking traitor. He revealed his OWN plan to the enemy team, which brought Twilight back to their side! We had them pinned, and now they’re back on their feet!” Blue Scout explained.

“What’s the point? We’ve been fighting for almost ten years now. Why do you suddenly have to go and ruin someone’s soul just to win one more battle?” Blue Spy retaliated.

“You’re the one who did it! I was just making sure it stayed that way!”

“At least I had the heart to make things right! You’re just a soulless little simpleton.”

…

“SHUT UP!” Blue Soldier screamed. “Grow some balls, will ya? Your bickering is just dragging this team down! No one cares that Twilight is back with Red Sniper! So do us all a favor, and get your heads on straight!”

With this, Blue Soldier hurled Blue Scout over at Blue Spy. They slammed into each other, and toppled to the floor.

………………………………………..

“5…4…3…2…1…FIGHT!” The announcer yelled.

Caught off guard by how fast the countdown happened, the fighters on both teams rushed out of their resupply lockers. The battle began with a race for the Australium briefcase.

“Gentlemen…today, Poopy Joe will ride this rocket to the STARS!” The announcer cried.

…

“Who the hell is Poopy Joe?” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

Red Scout immediately broke out into dead laughter. He stopped running for a moment to catch his breath.

“What’s so funny?”

“I’m sorry; it’s just the way you asked that question. I dunno…I think I’m just REALLY tired today!” Red Scout explained, still laughing.

………………………………………
Music: Playing With Danger (Repeat if needed)
………………………………………

By the time the Scout duo reached the drop site, they were met by Blue Sniper on the other ledge. They dove to the ground, narrowly missing a bullet to the head. They then quickly got back up, and sprinted to the nearby mini tower.

The plan was to hold their ground and stay alert for when the briefcase appeared. Fluttershy entered onto the ledge shortly after they did, and began giving them small overheals with the Quick Fix.

“Hey, ya doin’ okay there, Flutters?” Red Scout asked.

“Um…yeah, I’m fine.” She responded.

“M’kay, that’s good. I’d hate to see my best buddy’s friend in pain after the last battle.” He added.

…

Rainbow Dash smiled at Red Scout. Oddly, he seemed like the polar opposite of Blue Scout. He was polite to her, no matter how bad of a mood she seemed to be in. He stuck by her side, stopping at nothing to keep her protected. And most importantly, he showed caring concern for all of her friends. Blue Scout showed none of these traits.

As she was thinking this, the rest of team RED appeared on their ledge to aid in the battle. Red Pyro took an alternate route around the outside to ambush the BLU team on their ledge.

…………………………………………

“The Australium will be available for pickup in 3…2…1…”

Red Scout and Rainbow Dash jumped off of the ledge in tandem, preparing to grab the briefcase for their team. Just before they could, however, Blue Scout leapt in, swiped the case, and shot them both backwards with the Force-A-Nature.

“Hey, stop him!” Rainbow Dash ordered.

…

The entire RED team burst off of their ledge in pursuit of Blue Scout. Team BLU did the same thing. Bullets began being fired once the two teams collided on the ground below.

Shortly after Blue Scout entered the sewer, a screaming noise could be heard, and the briefcase dropped to the ground. Red Pyro appeared from the sewer with a hidden grin on his face.

…

Gunshots continued to ring through the air as the two teams beat at each other mercilessly. At random times, one teammate after another would drop dead. It wasn’t until there was one fighter standing that the gunfire ceased.

Big Mac looked around. No one was left in the area. Dead bodies peppered the ground, making it a very unpleasant sight to see. He checked his surroundings one more time to make sure there weren’t any Spies lurking around.

He turned toward the sewer, picked up the briefcase, and moved on with it.

……………………………………………

Big Mac was given a substantial head start. Ten seconds later, the dead majority of team RED respawned. They looked around at each other awkwardly.

“Damn, that happened so fast, I didn’t even get to yell ‘ouch’.” Red Scout muttered.

“Go, go, go! Little pony will not capture briefcase!” Red Heavy ordered.

Without another word, the team barreled out of their resupply. Red Engineer ran back in the direction of the drop site, while the rest of the team burst forward toward the rocket to prevent Big Mac’s capture.

…

Just as the team appeared out from their side of the site, team BLU appeared from the other side. They reached the rocket at the same time, causing yet another massacre to occur.

Almost right off the bat, Blue Pyro leapt forward and swept Fluttershy away from the battle front with an airblast. She shrieked as she soared through the air, landing on the ground over by the central tower.

Just after this had happened, Red Pyro engaged his BLU counterpart in a direct head-to-head fire duel. The opposing adversaries shrouded each other in flames until one of them was sure to die.

Suddenly, Blue Pyro fell to the ground for no reason. Red Pyro received a message from Twilight saying that he was “taken care of”. Red Medic healed him up before moving on to the next enemy.

…

Red Spy lurked stealthily behind the lines of BLU’s territory. As he observed the massacre from behind in the shadows, he turned to see Big Mac approaching the site with the briefcase.

He uncloaked, snuck up behind the buff pony, and plunged a knife into his back. In response, Big Mac toppled onto the ground with a thunderous boom. He dropped his minigun, which landed right on Red Spy’s foot.

“The enemy has dropped the Australium!” The announcer broadcasted.

…

“Ow! Son of a…!” Red Spy screeched.

He pulled his foot out from under the ponderous weapon and shook it in his grip. His obnoxious outburst caused Pinkie Pie to turn around from the fighting.

“Oh no; not YOU again! Keep your pink flank away from me!” Red Spy growled.

Pinkie Pie giggled. “You’re funny! I like you!”

She prepped her flamethrower to waste away the red assassin that stood annoyed behind Big Mac’s dead body. He held his hand up in front of him.

“Please; allow me.” He insisted.

He held his revolver up to the side of his head, and pulled the trigger. Pinkie Pie shrugged carelessly, and turned her attention back to the battle.

……………………………………………….

Upon reaching the front lines again, Pinkie Pie met up with Rarity.

“Did you get the briefcase back?” She asked.

“What briefcase?” Pinkie Pie replied.

“Pinkie Pie!!! I’m talking about the one that Big Mac dropped!”

“Oh…! Yeah, that briefcase…”

…

“The Australium has returned to the drop-site!” The announcer stated.

Rarity glared angrily at Pinkie Pie. Pinkie smiled awkwardly whilst backing away slowly.

……………………………………….

“Move it, Skittles! Now’s your chance!” Red Scout ordered.

Rainbow Dash nodded with a grin on her face. She heeled backwards in position, and took off at full speed toward the drop-site.

…

On her way there, she heard footsteps following close behind her. She turned around, and saw Blue Scout running behind her.

“Hey, Skittles. What’s up?”

“Hey! Back off before I shoot you right back to that rocket!” Rainbow Dash threatened.

“Oh, lighten up. I could’ve destroyed you ages ago if I wanted to. I wanted to propose a truce.” Blue Scout responded.

“Yeah, sure. Just get your sorry little ass away from the merchandise before I force it upon you.”

“Don’t you like me? It’s almost as if someone shoved a stick up your flank or something. What’s going on with you?”

“I like Red Scout far more than I like you. You’re selfish, cold, non-caring, and just plain-old annoying. Plus, you like my physical awesomeness more than you like my character. How do you think that makes me feel?”

Blue Scout scoffed. “What does Red Scout have that I don’t?”

“He treats me and my friends like his own family! You treat us like ragdolls that you can push around like apples!”

…

Upon making this point, Rainbow Dash received an urgent call from Red Engineer.

“Where’s our Scout? The briefcase is just sittin’ here!”

“Rainbow Dash here. I’m on my way.” She responded through her mic.

…

“Get outta here.” She ordered after turning off the mic.

“Well, normally I would, but I’m after the Australium just as much as you are.” Blue Scout mentioned.

………………………………………………..

Red Engineer watched impatiently as Rainbow Dash and Blue Scout burst in through the sewers. His sentry immediately targeted Blue Scout and began to shoot him down to the ground.

“Hey, thanks, Hard-Hat.” Rainbow Dash said softly.

“Anytime, partner.” Red Engineer replied.

…

Team RED smiled confidently when they received the announcement. The briefcase was now in their possession. Red Soldier and Spike gave orders to Fluttershy and Red Medic to head away from the rocket and keep Rainbow Dash covered. In the meantime, Twilight moved her scope over so that it was aimed at the drop-site exits.

The team was beginning to work with coordination. With every move carefully planned out, team BLU was going to have a hard time stopping them.

…

Before the two Medics even had a chance to reach the sewer, Rainbow Dash sprinted out with the briefcase on her back. Fluttershy and Red Medic quickly focused their beams on her, giving her an overheal and picking up on her speed.

Within seconds, however, Red Medic was headshot by Blue Sniper, who was expertly hidden across the map. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash gasped simultaneously.

“Just keep moving, Rainbow! He’ll be back soon!” Fluttershy ordered.

“’Atta girl, Flutters! Love that confidence!” Rainbow Dash beamed.

…

The pair sprinted at equal speed toward the rocket. Team RED had that area occupied, and was prepared to defend them to the bitter end. Red Soldier and Spike urged them onto the lift.

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, the carrier of the briefcase, stepped onto the rocket lift. The rest of their team stayed down on the ground. If too many fighters joined them on the rise, it would only take one or two explosives to finish them all off at once. Therefore, the duo stepped on it alone.

………………………………………..

“Hurry! The enemy is on the lift!” The announcer cried desperately.

“Hurry up, lad! We don’t have enough bloody time!” Blue Demoman urged.

“I’m running as fast as I can! Don’t rush me along, you drug addict!” Blue Soldier complained.

“Sorry to interrupt, but didn’t you tell US not to fight back at the resupply?” Blue Spy added.

“Stop talking, Frenchman! No one asked you!” Blue Soldier snapped.

“I hate this team…” Blue Spy muttered.

…

The moment Blue Demoman made it out of the spawn region, he launched sticky bombs as far as they would go onto the rocket lift. A couple of them missed, but a few of them landed perfectly on top of the platform.

“Time to wave bye-bye, ya little pieces of dead scum!” Blue Demoman whispered with a smile.

………………………………………….

Rainbow Dash stood at the edge of the lift, aiming down at the ground with her pistol and shooting stray enemies. Fluttershy crouched down near the middle of the lift, healing Rainbow Dash steadily and cautiously. Loud alarms began to sound as the lift climbed dangerously close to its target.

Fluttershy’s eyes widened when she saw small blue objects fly up onto the lift. They flew up over the edge, and landed perfectly on the platform in random distribution.

She began to back away slowly. “Uh…Rainbow Dash? This doesn’t look very safe to me!”

Rainbow Dash turned around, confused. She gasped in surprise when she saw the explosives.

“Aw, shit! C’mon, Flutters, jump!” She ordered in panic.

…

The two pegasi leapt off of the lift just as the sticky bombs detonated. Their bodies were hurled through the sky as a massive explosion shook the rocket. Teams RED and BLU stared at the sky in awe as the two RED fighters soared away from the explosion.

Rainbow Dash smiled cheekily at the most insane moment of her life. She must look like such a hero right now, jumping off of an elevated area as a giant explosion happens in her wake!

…

She prepared to spread her wings, and glide safely to the ground where she would continue to carry the briefcase. Her smile instantly faded, however, when she realized that the briefcase on her back was blocking her wings from unfolding. She grimaced as she tried to unfurl her constrained appendages.

Fluttershy gasped as she tried to do the same thing. Her oversized Quick-Fix backpack was preventing her from using her wings to fly.

What was originally a super-awesome moment turned into moment of fear and blind reflexes. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy broke out into a scream as they started falling inevitably, kicking their hooves around wildly.

…

The fighters on team RED flinched as their teammates hit the ground. A repulsive cracking noise shot through their ears, causing them to flinch some more.

“We have dropped the Australium!” The announcer snarled.

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were down for the count. Team RED now had a short time to retrieve the briefcase before it got sent back to the drop-site.

………………………………………

Zecora wasted no time in rigging the briefcase with sticky bombs. Just as Red Heavy was about to run forward and capture it, he noticed that it was bombarded with explosives. He stepped away, along with the rest of the team.

Zecora laughed. It really didn’t take much to keep a simple briefcase at bay. The RED team snarled.

Blue Engineer jogged forward, and built a tiny mini-sentry in front of the case. Now, instead of five feet, team RED couldn’t get within twenty feet. Bullets streamed out of the tiny automated turret, slowly decimating any fighter that stood within its grasp.

…

Suddenly, every last team RED fighter that was standing in the area began to retreat. Team BLU only laughed some more. Some fighters even sported fingers on their adversaries’ way out.

“Sorry for asking, partner, but…what is the purpose there of holding your middle finger up?” Applejack asked.

Blue Engineer laughed. “It’s a form of disrespect. All we’re doin’ is just bein’ jerks to the RED team.”

…

“You imbeciles! They’re heading for the drop-site to pick up the briefcase!” Blue Spy screamed.

Team BLU’s laughing suddenly stopped. Everyone exchanged awkward glances with each other. Then, they took off as fast as they could toward the drop-site.

………………………………………………

Team RED arrived in hordes to the drop-site area. Red Engineer turned around, startled.

“What’re y’all doin’ here?” He asked.

“Ve’re here for zee briefcase. It should appear any second.” Red Medic responded.

…

Just after the response, Red Engineer was shot down by Blue Sniper. The RED steam gasped in surprise.

“Where’s Applejack?” Red Spy asked.

“On the BLU team, you bloody dolt.” Red Sniper replied.

“Oh yeah…my apologies.”

…

Bit by bit, Red Engineer’s sentry gun began to get wrecked by Blue Sniper’s steady bullet spam. Team RED searched frantically for the location of the BLU assassin.

“Gee, he sure can hide.” Twilight marveled.

“Yeah, no kidding.” Red Sniper replied.

Red Heavy began spinning up his minigun, prepared for a BLU barrage to enter the area. At first, none appeared.

Red Demoman was Blue Sniper’s next victim. The search intensified as the RED team began to get frazzled by the ambush. Red Pyro, Spike, and Red Soldier ventured away from the crowd to hunt down the hiding Sniper.

…

Suddenly, a devastating cloud of BLU uniforms flooded into the area. Shocked hollers could be heard from multiple RED fighters as the surprise attack caught them off guard.

Half of the RED team was immediately killed by the attack. The other half held up their weapons, and began shooting for their life.

“The Australium has returned to the drop-site!”

Red Scout and Rainbow Dash were both dead. No one on the RED team attempted to capture the briefcase, leaving it wide open for the BLU team to take.

…

Blue Scout mopped up the Australium, and sprinted away with it on his back. No one on team RED tried to stop him. In desperation, every ounce of their energy was being wasted on the current massacre.

With their health on critical, Fluttershy and Red Medic both retreated at the same time. They began to heal each other to revive their own health. The remainder of team RED was terminated by Big Mac and Blue Heavy.

Freshly respawned, Red Scout and Rainbow Dash bolted out of the resupply locker. Red Scout smirked at the Medic pair.

“Enjoying the 69 over here?” He asked jokingly.

He and Rainbow Dash laughed uncontrollably. Fluttershy’s face turned beet-red in embarrassment.

Red Medic scoffed. “You two need to grow up.”

………………………………………

At hyper speed, Blue Scout ran with all of his might toward the rocket. He turned his head, and observed Red Scout and Rainbow Dash running after him. They both had a Medic attached to them.

“Well, well, well! Think you can catch me?” He called.

He stepped onto the lift, causing it to rise steadily. Red Scout and Rainbow Dash leapt up as high as they could once they reached the lift, but missed the end of it by a hair. Blue Scout laughed at them.

“C’mon, Skittles, can’t you just fly up there? Use those sexy wings of yours!” Red Scout ordered.

Rainbow Dash shot him a suspicious glance. She then shrugged.

“Not sure. I don’t think that’s allowed.” She responded.

“Try it!” Red Scout demanded.

…

Rainbow Dash sighed. “You ready, Flutters?”

“No…I can’t fly with my backpack on…” She whispered timidly.

“Oh, right…guess I’m going by myself!”

Rainbow Dash spread her wings, and got into her stance. Then, she began to flap them, rising up into the air at a pace faster than the lift.

Wind caused by the wing-movement blew around the dust on the ground. The RED teammates standing nearby were forced to hold their hats down by the air currents. Fluttershy, Red Medic, and Red Scout stumbled in their attempts to keep their balance.

…

“Vow! She is so graceful!” Red Medic remarked.

“Graceful? Skittles is awesome!” Red Scout replied.

Fluttershy stood silently. She simply observed her cyan friend while healing Red Medic.

……………………………………………

Sirens began to blare once again as Blue Scout approached the top of the rocket. Team BLU fighters began to flow into the area, prepared to supply him with backup. He laughed.

Suddenly, he received a tap on the shoulder. Confused, he turned around.

Before he could even comprehend who it was, he was slammed in the face with the unforgiving, cold metal surface of a baseball bat. He flew off of the lift backwards and disoriented.

Team BLU gasped as their teammate launched through the air in their direction. He hit the ground head-first with a deafening crack.

“The enemy has dropped the Australium!”

…

Rainbow Dash stood at the top of the lift with a smile on her face. She twirled her bat in her hoof as the platform began to descend back to the ground.

“Home run, sucker.”

………………………………………………

Boggled, team BLU stared at the fallen briefcase for a moment. Then, Pinkie Pie hastily picked it up.

“Come on, guys! We need to get this thing to the rocket!” She commanded.

The team unanimously agreed. With Pinkie Pie as the leader, they began to run in a large group toward the lift.

…

Red Medic gasped in surprise. He called up to Rainbow Dash. “Rainbow! Vee need to retreat! Zey are coming in large numbers!”

Panicked, the RED teammates on the ground began to run away at full speed. Rainbow Dash followed close behind once she realized what was going on.

…

Seventy-five percent of the BLU team hopped onto the lift, with Pinkie Pie as the carrier. The lift began to rise once again.

Once the group of teammates were out of harm’s way, they turned around to peek at the rocket. A massive horde of BLU fighters occupied the area, making it nearly impossible for an attack.

Suddenly, Red Medic smiled as an idea popped into his head. He turned to Fluttershy.

“Ms. Fluttershy, remember what vee told you earlier vhen you vere going to zee rocket vith Rainbow Dash?” He asked.

“Um……” Fluttershy stuttered in response.

“You’re never supposed to step on zee lift all at once!” He recalled.

…

Rainbow Dash and Red Scout stared at him in confusion.

“What now?” They asked simultaneously.

…

“Ms. Fluttershy, let us both use zee Kritzkrieg! If vee Uber Red Soldier and Spike, vee can obliterate zee entire BLU team!” Red Medic explained.

“Oh gosh, I don’t think I can use the Kritzkrieg again after what happened at the Basin. Plus, there’s no way we can build one in time for them to reach the top.” Fluttershy replied doubtfully.

“Zhere’s no need for zat! Just svitch to zee Kritzkrieg, and follow my lead!”

……………………………………………
Music: Faster than a Speeding Bullet (Repeat if needed)
……………………………………………

While the Medic duo was switching weapons, Red Scout and Rainbow Dash called over their headsets for Red Soldier and Spike to report immediately. Upon arrival, the Scout duo explained their plan to them.

Red Medic and Fluttershy ran out of resupply about a minute later with Ubersaws in their grasp. Red Medic guided Fluttershy into the enemy territory, ignoring the group that was standing right there.

…

The duo traveled deep into BLU’s side of the facility. Fluttershy began to get nervous, so Red Medic had to calm her down again.

The rocket lift was only a quarter of the way up. With almost ten fighters standing on it at once, it was apt to move very slowly.

“Okay, now repeat after me.” Red Medic began.

…

He walked up next to Blue Sniper, who was standing idly near a corner while scoping up on the rocket lift. He took out the Ubersaw, and cleared his throat.

“I’m going to saw zhrough your bones!” He yelled, thrusting his saw into Blue Sniper’s chest.

Blue Sniper was stunned. Red Medic then yanked the weapon out of his adversary, causing him to be killed instantly.

Red Medic was now at a full Ubercharge. Fluttershy gasped slowly in fascination.

…

“Zat vas called a ‘taunt kill’. If you do it right, it’ll put you at a full Uber. Try it!” Red Medic explained.

“But…who do I do it on?” Fluttershy asked.

The duo began to look around for a distracted enemy to do the taunt on. Over by the resupply entrance, Blue Soldier could be seen arguing with Blue Demoman.

“Try it on von of zem. I’ll keep you covered.” Red Medic suggested.

…

Like a Spy, Fluttershy tiptoed ever so quietly toward the fighting fighters. She snuck up behind Blue Demoman, and pulled out her Ubersaw.

She turned around nervously toward Red Medic. She looked like she was about to retreat.

Red Medic smiled and gave her a thumbs-up. She gulped uneasily.

“Um…I…I’m going to saw through your bones!” She exclaimed, shoving her Ubersaw forward.

The blade pierced through Blue Demoman, and went right into Blue Soldier. Both of them were stunned.

Fluttershy then removed the weapon with as much force as she could muster. The saw ripped out of the BLU fighters, causing them both to collapse to the ground. Fluttershy was now at a full Ubercharge.

…

Red Medic applauded. “Excellent job, Ms. Fluttershy! I am envious!”

Fluttershy blushed slightly. She then descended the stairway, and met back up with her comrade. They ran as fast as they could back to their base.

………………………………………….

The lift was now two-thirds of the way up the rocket. Once again, the sirens began to blare loudly. Red Soldier began to bite his nails.

“Where are they? We’re going to run out of time!” He asked.

Right on cue, the Medic duo arrived from the BLU base. They both wore content smiles on their faces as they met up with the Soldier duo.

“Did you get the Ubercharge?” Spike asked.

“Vhat do you zink?” Red Medic replied. He latched his beam onto Red Soldier, while Fluttershy latched hers onto Spike.

………………………………………………
Music: Intruder Alert (Repeat if needed)
………………………………………………

“There’s no time to lose! Let’s go give them hell!” Red Soldier cried.

The group began to advance into the rocket area. As soon as the mob of BLU fighters noticed them, they began to fire rapidly.

“Now! Deploy them!” Spiked urged.

…

Red Medic and Fluttershy simultaneously set off the Kritzkrieg Ubers. Immediately, Spike and Red Soldier were shrouded with crits.

“Charge!” Red Soldier yelled.

He shot off one rocket toward the lift. The BLU attackers gasped as the projectile flew right at them. Upon impact, half of them were annihilated. Screams of panic began to fill the air around them.

Pinkie Pie was still alive, with Blue Medic as her healer. Big Mac waved a hoof at them.

“Go you two; jump off the lift! You need to stay alive!” Big Mac ordered.

Dismayed, the duo obeyed Big Mac’s commands. The remainder of the BLU team stayed on the descending lift to fend off Red Soldier’s crit-rocket-rain.

…

Spike saw Pinkie Pie and Blue Medic trying to retreat with the briefcase. He pointed his scaly finger in their direction.

“C’mon, Fluttershy! They’re getting away!” He announced.

Spike and Fluttershy bolted off after the BLU duo with their crits as Red Soldier and Red Medic stayed behind and attacked the defenders with THEIR crits. The defenders’ efforts were in vain as each incoming rocket took out another teammate.

Soon, with little to no effort given, the rocket lift had been completely wiped out. Red Soldier slapped hands with Red Medic.

……………………………………….

Meanwhile, Spike and Fluttershy chased after Blue Medic and Pinkie Pie. Once they turned a corner behind a large boulder, their adversaries came into view.

Without speaking, Spike shot off a rocket. It flew toward Pinkie Pie, and destroyed her in one hit. Blue Medic stopped in his tracks, and took out his syringe gun.

“Don’t move! I vill fire! Stay back!” He threatened.

Spike scoffed, and shot off another crit rocket. The projectile hit Blue Medic, ripping him apart. His syringe gun flew through the air, and hit Fluttershy in the head. She flinched.

“The enemy has dropped the Australium!”

…

After clearing away the rocket site, Red Soldier and Red Medic jogged over to their location to help them guard the briefcase. Red Medic smiled.

“I’m proud of you, Ms. Fluttershy.” He complimented.

Fluttershy smiled warmly. She looked down at the ground.

…

Since the entire BLU team had been killed in the rocket attack, no one respawned fast enough to claim the Australium briefcase. In little time, it returned to the drop-site for the third time.

“C’mon, guys, let’s go pick it up.” Spike suggested.

………………………………………………
Music: A Little Heart to Heart (Repeat if needed)
………………………………………………

By the time the group had reached the drop-site, they had met up with their entire team. Red Engineer sat behind a new level 3 sentry with his feet propped up against his dispenser. Once they walked into sight, the team began to cheer and clap.

“…What..? What’s all this?” Fluttershy asked in confusion.

“We’re applauding because of what you did back there, guys! That’s a really impressive feat for just four fighters!” Twilight stated.

“Why didn’t you follow up there to help us?” Red Soldier asked.

“Well, we heard you had a plan, and we didn’t want to get in your way.” Red Engineer answered.

“Da, so we decided to protect briefcase!” Red Heavy added.

…

The warm reception was put to a halt when the team realized they still had a battle to complete. The fighters exchanged glances.

“Well…Red Scout, would you like to do the honors?” Red Spy asked.

Red Scout rubbed his chin. “Ya know, I think I’m gonna let Skittles take this one. She really blew my mind today.”

Rainbow Dash turned to him, and they smiled at each other for a few seconds. She stepped up onto the ledge, and grabbed the briefcase.

“We have taken the Australium!”

…

“Gentlemen…today, we take this place for ourselves! Let’s launch this rocket!” Red Soldier announced.

The RED team cheered once more, and began to run after Rainbow Dash and Red Scout to the rocket. Fluttershy latched her beam onto Rainbow Dash, and began to lead the pack with her and Red Scout. Red Engineer picked up his sentry gun, and followed his team at the back of the pack with it. It was time for one of Mann Co’s biggest offensive movements.

……………………………………………

Team BLU respawned in bulk back in their resupply. Half of their jaws were wide open while trying to comprehend what had just happened. Blue Scout face-palmed.

“Alright men…this is our last chance. Let’s take this one back!” Blue Soldier yelled.

Without a word, the BLU team burst out of their resupply. Blue Medic equipped the Kritzkrieg, and began to heal Blue Soldier.

……………………………………………
Music: MEDIC! (Repeat if needed)
……………………………………………

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy leapt up onto the lift, causing it to rise once more. Red Engineer put his sentry down on a high ledge near BLU’s side of the facility.

The entire team set themselves up near BLU’s side for defense while their two teammates rose on the lift. Said teammates, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, searched around frantically in a constant check for clearance. Another set of sticky bombs would be…unappreciated.

Red Demoman laughed maniacally as he placed sticky bombs of his own right outside the spawn exits. Although the practice was highly frowned upon, it was an essential tactic to keeping the place clear of enemies.

…

His first victims were Blue Scout, Blue Pyro, and Pinkie Pie. More BLU fighters poured out of the resupply before Red Demoman could replace the stickies. Before he knew it, he was killed by Big Mac.

“Watch out! Incoming!” Spike hollered. His team acknowledged the warning, and got into ready positions.

Soon, fighters at the front found themselves in dire situations as the BLU barrage arrived once again. At first sight, Red Sniper and Twilight began firing bullets at a steady rate.

They were landing constant body-shots, which resulted in the weakening of the victims. The only headshot so far was made by Twilight, and had killed Blue Demoman.

…

Blue Medic separated from his team, and started beating Spike with an Ubersaw. Spike flinched.

“Ah..! Ow! Hey, what are you doing?!” He demanded.

“Getting payback! Take zis, dragon!” Blue Medic cried.

Spike started shooting rockets, but could not hit his target with the small blast radius. The saw impacts were disorienting him.

…

Soon, Blue Medic managed to kill the dragon Soldier with his melee attacks. He was now at full Ubercharge from the strikes.

He aimed the beam at Big Mac, and deployed his deadly Ubercharge.

“Attack! Leave no mercy!” He screamed.

Big Mac opened fire on his monstrous weapon. Crit bullets sailed out of his minigun, causing a devastating rain of pain to anyone who stood in its way. He aimed the weapon up at the rocket lift.

…

Suddenly, for an unknown reason, Rainbow Dash started taking lethal damage. Blood started spraying all over the platform as she cried out. Fluttershy shrieked, startled.

“Rainbow Dash! Step away from the edge!” She urged.

The health from her healing as well as the health from the rocket was not enough to keep Rainbow Dash alive. The crits quickly bogged down on her, causing a messy death. The lift immediately began to descend.

…

“Ms. Fluttershy! Grab the briefcase! Ve’re losing precious time!” Red Medic called up to her.

Without question, Fluttershy picked up the briefcase in her hooves. In response, the lift began to rise again. She was now the only one on the platform.

Big Mac aimed his weapon back down on the ground, and continued peppering crits upon the RED team. One by one, fighters began to drop without a sound.

Red Engineer, being the only survivor not on the lift, whipped out his wrangler. He aimed his sentry gun over to Blue Medic, and pressed the button. Bullets and rockets began manually firing from his sentry, aimed directly at the enemy.

…

Blue Medic tried to run, but was quickly beaten down from Red Engineer’s sentry control. The Texan laughed evilly.

Suddenly, a knife was sunk into his back. He hissed softly, and collapsed to the ground. Seconds later, sappers were placed on his sentry.

Rarity immediately recloaked. She brushed off her knife.

“Sorry about that, darling.”

……………………………………………….

Fluttershy was now the only one left. The time before her team respawned would be the difference between victory and defeat. She ducked down on the platform in an effort to avoid taking fire from the ground.

The lift had reached the top of the rocket. Slowly and ponderously, the warhead began to twist its cap off. Loud alarm sirens began to blast through everyone’s ears.

…

“C’mon, men! Run for it!” Blue Soldier ordered.

Desperately, team BLU began to make a mad dash for the ramp. The ramp led up past the rocket, and right onto the lift’s top level. Fluttershy whimpered.

As soon as they were at a high enough elevation to reach the pegasus, they started shooting everything they had. The warhead finished setting, and began to rise steadily, revealing a small compartment of which to place the briefcase.

Fluttershy felt her health beginning to fall as she lunged for the compartment. Team BLU fighters were attacking relentlessly in a last-ditch attempt to put the pegasus at bay.

…

With her last shrivel of health, Fluttershy placed the briefcase inside the compartment. The warhead closed, and the rocket took off.

“Success! We have delivered the Australium!” The announcer cheered.

Team BLU immediately threw their hands and hooves into the air as the rocket left the earth. Spectacular trails of fire covered its wake as it soared through the air.

Suddenly, the rocket veered off to the right and crashed into a radio tower on team BLU’s side of the facility. Everyone flinched at the magnitude of the explosion.

“Oh no…gentlemen, this never happened.” The announcer stated.

……………………………………………

Team RED had won the battle. All of the dead fighters respawned once the rocket had exploded. They cheered, and ran out of their resupply in great joy.

The lift began to descend with Fluttershy on it. She stepped off of it lightly, dusting her hooves as she did so.

As soon as the team reached the rocket site, they crowded around the timid pegasus to start congratulating her. Red Medic burst through the crowd, picked her up, and held her close.

“Ms. Fluttershy…zat vas amazing. I am so…SO…proud of you. You are zee most incredible fighter I’ve ever seen.” He stated.

Barely letting him finish, Fluttershy dove in to kiss Red Medic on the lips again. Team RED cheered as loud as ever as their Medics engaged in passionate activity.

…

After thirty seconds, Fluttershy suddenly pulled away from Red Medic. She gasped.

“Oh my…I’m sorry…I wasn’t thinking again…” She stuttered.

“Don’t vorry about it! Zhere is nozing wrong vith doing zat. No von is judging you!” He responded.

To prove his point, he leaned back in, and kissed Fluttershy back.

………………………………………..

Both teams waited patiently for this to be over. After what seemed like fifty years, the couple was ready to begin the team scramble.

To everyone’s surprise, the teams remained exactly the same. The only one to move was Rarity, who transitioned from BLU to RED.

“Seriously, what is the point to this anymore? The teams are barely changing at all.” Blue Scout complained.

“No one asked for your input, madam.” Blue Spy snapped. All the fighters on both teams began to laugh heartily. Blue Scout grumbled.

…

“Alright, so I was told that the next battle would be Capture the Flag.” Blue Soldier announced.

“What’s the map, mate?” Red Sniper asked.

“They didn’t tell me. I guess it’s classified.” Blue Soldier answered.

“Well, I guess we just step on the teleporter and wonder where it takes us!” Red Scout stated, shrugging his shoulders.

…

The teams agreed on the terms, and walked off in separate directions. Everyone on the RED team was as happy as they could ever be. This was especially true for Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy.

To be Continued…

Author's Note

Six-thousand seven-hundred thirty-eight words......just...wow. This took up 46 pages on Microsoft Word. What a way to boggle my mind!
I have another Twilight's Experiments plan in mind. What about Black Ops 2 Zombies? It could be Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, perhaps, pitted against endless waves of the undead! Suggestions? Comments?
How was this chapter?
(By the way, that's an improved picture of Doomsday that I took on Source Filmmaker.) :D

Strict Orders

With a swing in his step, Red Sniper was the first one to board the teleporter entrance plate. The remaining twenty-six fighters stood behind him in a straight line, waiting eagerly to see where the device would take them. Once Red Sniper disappeared, Twilight took her step behind him. Fluttershy entered after her, and the cycle continued.

Blue Scout was the last one to board the teleporter. He grumbled under his breath while pouting immaturely. Seconds after he stepped foot on the device, a brilliant flash of light enveloped him. In a split second, moments after it had appeared, the light was gone, and Blue Scout found himself in a dimly-lit room.

......................................................
Music: Dreams of Cruelty (Repeat if needed)
......................................................

He squinted to give his eyes a chance to adjust to the shocking lack of light. Once he could make out his surroundings, he noticed all of the fighters from RED and BLU standing around, mumbling confusedly.

He scoffed. “Gimme a break, guys, how’re we supposed to fight in this? It doesn’t look like much of a facility when there’s no freaking sunlight.”

“Shut up, Scout! Listen…” Blue Sniper snapped.

The room became deathly silent as both teams stopped their whispers. Faint echoes could be heard traveling from down a nearby hallway. They seemed to come from a female voice.

“Down here, y’all! I think I see a light down this hallway!” Applejack alerted.

The ponies and mercenaries followed Applejack, trudging through the depths of the unknown environment. The Snipers and the Spies in the group walked with slick movements, listening closely for threats by pure instinct. Twilight and Rarity had a hoof positioned on their back pockets, readily able to draw a weapon if necessary. Fluttershy clung to the back of Red Medic’s leg like a dog in its heat cycle.

…

The group traveled down the hallway that Applejack had pointed out, unsure of anything that they were going to run into. Sure enough, a dim light was visible down the corridor through a closed door.

The group stood awkwardly in front of the door in silence. No one volunteered to open it. Glances shifted throughout the group as the fighters began to mentally select people to go open the door.

“Ugh, must I do everything myself? Step aside, cowards.” Blue Scout ordered.

Red Scout stopped Blue Scout in his tracks by holding out his baseball bat in front of him. Blue Scout stopped suddenly, and growled in annoyance.

“Let me go. I’m sure anything that you do will just get us all blown up or burned.” Red Scout commanded.

A couple fighters in the group chuckled softly. Blue Scout rolled his eyes.

…

Red Scout approached the closed door with silent movements. He slowly pulled a pistol out from his back pocket, and positioned it in front of him. The group of fighters crowded close behind him, anxious to see what was about to happen.

Red Scout put his hand on the doorknob. Then, in a sudden, startling movement, he threw open the door and pointed his pistol out in front of him.

“Show yourself!” He screamed, pistol fixed in his trembling hands.

…

It was a small, enclosed office room. Inside was a small, square table with top secret papers strewn across its surface. Intelligence maps were tacked on the back wall. A small light bulb illuminated the room. Behind the table was a large leather chair, which was turned to face the wall away from them.

…

A mysterious person was sitting in the chair. A cigarette could be seen in the person’s left hand, which was swaying idly to the side of the armrest. Steady smoke clouds billowed from the strange person’s face, which was not yet visible to the group.

“I bet you’re all wondering why I’ve brought you here today.” The person uttered.

Red Scout kept his grip firm on the pistol. His face tensed up, ready for a sudden attack.

Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened. “Hey, I think I recognize that voice!” She stated.

Spike added, “Yeah, it sounds almost like…”

.........................................................
Music: Right Behind You (Repeat if needed)
.........................................................

The person turned around in their seat, revealing a strict, older-looking woman. All twenty-seven of the fighters gasped in shock.

“Oh my God, it’s the Announcer!” Red Soldier rasped.

The announcer ignored his unintelligent outburst. She took another breath of her cigarette, and stared at the fighters bemusedly. She glared at Red Scout, who awkwardly lowered his pistol.

“I brought you all here on account of your JOBS.” She emphasized. “You are currently standing in one of our many top secret intelligence bases scattered around the world. This one lies under a Mann Co. Nuclear Testing Facility in Australia.”

Red and Blue Sniper gasped lightly. The mercenaries and ponies listened closely to the Announcer’s words, to which she abruptly continued.

“As we speak, our top staff agents are frantically trying to decode messages sent to us by Gray Mann at Gray Gravel Co.” She explained.

“Hey, wasn’t that the company that pitted us against the robot horde?” Twilight asked.

“Did I give you permission to speak?” The Announcer hissed. Twilight lowered her head, and backed away slowly. Then, the Announcer continued, “He is, from what we uncovered, planning to launch another robot invasion. Our agents have determined that he will strike at two select Mann Co. facilities located across the globe.”

She paused, giving the fighters a chance to absorb the sudden information. A few of them were intimidated, while others just scoffed at the enemy’s persistence.

…

“We have intercepted blueprints of some of the most advanced robot models ever seen. We interpreted info on giants such as Major Crits, Colonel Barrage, and Sir Nukesalot.” The announcer added.

Rainbow Dash giggled. Half of both teams glared at her annoyingly, causing her to lose her smile. She grumbled.

“We have also gathered information on giant Medic bots, with immeasurable repair power. They appear to resemble the figure of the yellow one standing over there.” The Announcer stated, pointing at Fluttershy. The timid pegasus whimpered, and hid behind Red Medic’s leg.

…

“Whoa whoa whoa; can it, lady. What’s in it for us?” Red Scout demanded.

“The rewards will be substantial, but the risk will be as well. This invasion is at least three or four times the magnitude of the previous one. It will be life-threatening. However, we’ve received intelligence from the manufacturers at Mann Co. of new weapons that they’re close to completing. They may be awarded to you if you can hold off the invasion.” The Announcer explained.

She reached under the desk, pulled out a printed picture, and tossed it on the table. Red Scout picked it up, and stared at it in awe. Everyone standing behind him crowded together to get a view for themselves.

“Those weapons are made out of pure Australium metal. It’s the rarest and most powerful metal on the planet, and it’s owned entirely by Mann Co.” The Announcer stated.

“That’s the exact same stuff we were fighting over back at Doomsday!” Rainbow Dash observed.

“It’s so beautiful…” Blue Spy stuttered.

“Get a look at the shine on that rifle, mate. Ain’t it breathtaking?” Red Sniper whispered to Twilight. Twilight nodded hypnotically.

…

The Announcer swiped the picture from Red Scout’s hand, and stowed it under the desk again. Folding her bony hands on the table, she glared up at the mercenaries.

“We have estimated that the scale of the invasion will be too much for modern technology to combat. In order to stand a chance, new developments will have to be made.” She stated.

“What’re you implying, Miss?” Red Engineer jeered.

“I’m ‘implying’ that you will be given a new assignment. I need Red Engineer, Blue Engineer, Red Medic, Blue Medic, and the additions associated with them to step forward, please.” The Announcer ordered.

“Are you talkin’ about us? Are we the ‘additions’?” Applejack asked disgustedly.

“Yes! Now stop questioning, and do what I say!” The Announcer rasped.

The six fighters stepped forward reluctantly. The rest of the group stepped back, and watched in curiosity for what was going to happen next. The Announcer glared at the six, invoking intimidation. She did not even blink.

…

“I will be sending all of your companions to wait at the CTF map until you are done with your duty. The six of you will be sent to a quarantined facility to contemplate technology for the upcoming robot attacks. We don’t know when they’ll be, so we need to be on top alert.”

“So…you’re just going to…lock us up somewhere until we invent something useful?” Fluttershy stammered nervously.

“Yes, that’s pretty much the plan. Our top engineers are on strike this season.” The Announcer replied coldly.

“Wait, you can’t just lock us up like psychopaths! There’s much we need to talk about here!” Blue Engineer scolded.

“There’s nothing else we can do. Saxton Hale himself has ordered me to do this. You, Blue Medic, and the orange one will be locked in a separate facility from the RED bunch to avoid fighting. There’s no time to lose, so be on your way!”

“Vait, how do vee…” Red Medic began. He was cut off when the Announcer snapped her fingers, and the group disappeared out of sight. The remaining mass of fighters gasped in shock.

…

“W…What do you think you’re doing? You can’t just lock Fluttershy up in a room with no escape for a long period of time! She’ll…she’ll…” Twilight stuttered.

“Does it look like I care? Emotions speak nothing compared to strict orders. Now all of you will head to the next location without protest!” The Announcer exclaimed.

“C’mon, lady, what map are we going to?” Red Scout yelled.

The Announcer completely ignored Red Scout. She snapped her fingers again, and sent the remaining group of confused comrades on their way to the next map to wait indefinitely for the return of the scientist teammates. They could be waiting for hours, days, or even weeks.

The Announcer threw away her cigarette, lit up another one, and put it into her mouth.

To be Continued…

Author's Note

All that waiting was not due to the chapter length. It was due to the fact that I've been working on other stories, I've been flogged by school, and I needed to brew up a plot. This is the result. No worries; there will be a CTF battle. I just need to add a little bit of substance to the sequence of events, and this is what I thought suited best.
Hope this turns out well...

Isolation

With the sudden snap of a finger, everything around the group disappeared. The Announcer, the room, and all of their comrades were whisked away from their vision as fast as they could even comprehend it. They spent no time suspended, however, as they were immediately placed in a small, isolated room.

The room was lit with a few fluorescent lights, as well as a couple bulbs down a small hallway. A resupply locker sat against the wall on the right side next to what looked like a closed garage door. The far left side of the room housed a couple tables, as well as a pile of scrap metal and tools.

…

Red Engineer looked to his right, and saw Red Medic and Fluttershy standing next to him. No one else could be seen in the room with them.

He slapped his face with his hand, and sighed.

“Well that’s just perfect! Now we’re stuck in here like rats!” He grumbled.

“I vouldn’t be surprised if zey had us on surveillance.” Red Medic observed.

Fluttershy’s backpack was making rattling noises as she shivered violently. Her head darted around the room as if she were expecting a monster to appear. Unable to form words, she stuttered inaudibly.

“Didn’t the lady say she would send the BLU crew to a different facility to avoid fighting?” Red Engineer asked.

“I zink so, yes.” Red Medic answered.

“That means Applejack’s over there with Blue Engineer and Blue Medic. What’s going to happen to the rest of the fighters?”

“Zat’s a good question. Za vay I see it, if vee can invent somezing useful for zee robot horde, vee’d be set free.”

…

“Say, what’s down that hallway over there?” Red Engineer asked.

Before an answer could even be given, Fluttershy darted across the room toward the hallway at full speed. She ran to the end of the stretch, and turned to see what was down the side.

“Vat’s wrong, Ms. Fluttershy?” Red Medic asked.

“It…it’s a wall! Why…w…why is there no exit?! All rooms should have exits!” Fluttershy stammered.

“Okay, just relax. I know it may seem bad, but vee can vork in zis environment. If vee all just stay collected, vee can please zee staff vith our minds.” Red Medic explained.

“Help me, please! I need to find a way out of here!” Fluttershy yelled in panic. Red Engineer and Red Medic gasped in surprise as the pegasus tore off her backpack, and began to fly frantically around the room.

“I think the poor thing’s claustrophobic, Medic. Don’t you know how to handle that sort of thing?” Red Engineer whispered.

“N…no! I don’t know how to calm her down!” Red Medic exclaimed in response.

…

The duo flinched when they heard a banging noise. They turned toward the sound, and found Fluttershy throwing her body against the garage panel in an effort to break it down. Sweat was dripping from her face.

“Mein God, Ms. Fluttershy! Calm yourself!” Red Medic gasped.

He jogged over to Fluttershy, and grabbed her with his arms. He grunted as he attempted to pull her away from the wall.

“Let me go! I can’t be stuck in here! I…I can’t be!” She rambled.

Red Medic pulled her close to his body. He struggled to keep her down as she squirmed and fought against his grasp. Her breathing was rapid and short.

“Shh…shh…sshhh…” He whispered, close to her ear.

With slow and patient effort, Red Medic worked with Fluttershy to calm her down. Red Engineer watched from his side of the room. He tapped his foot and twiddled with his thumbs while waiting for it to be over.

…

“It’s just a little claustrophobia, Ms. Fluttershy. You’re going to be alright. Red Engineer and I are here for you.” Red Medic said quietly.

“Not sure about that one, doc. You’re the doctor. She’s your problem.” Red Engineer responded coldly.

“Fine, you vant to be useful? Vhy don’t you go pick up a wrench, and make somezing of yourself!” Red Medic snapped at him.

Red Engineer held up his hands like he was in a stickup. He chuckled. “Whatever, doc. That’s what I do best.”

…

Red Medic turned back to Fluttershy as she stuttered a response.

“I…I can’t be trapped here like a poor, defenseless animal……”

“Shh…it’s fine…it’s okay…”

“I need air…it’s getting so hot in here……oh…oh my…”

Fluttershy began to gag repeatedly. Red Medic’s eyes widened.

“Do you zink you’re going to be sick, Ms. Fluttershy?” He asked with concern.

Fluttershy put a hoof to her mouth, and nodded rapidly. Just as Red Medic was about to respond, he was hit in the head with a metal bucket.

“Use that.” Red Engineer exclaimed.

…

Red Medic scowled as he rubbed the back of his head. He picked up the bucket, and hastily handed it to Fluttershy. He then stood up, and walked over to Red Engineer as he heard Fluttershy throw up behind him.

“Gee, zanks. Dummkopf.”

“Anytime, partner.”

……………………………………………………

In the other facility, Blue Engineer, Blue Medic, and Applejack surveyed their surroundings. They appeared to have been placed in a small room with only a few tables and tools to keep them company. Applejack stretched her hooves, and yawned.

“I think we’re gonna be here a while.” She stated.

“Yeah, ain’t that the truth.” Blue Engineer replied casually.

“Vell, zey said vee vere supposed to invent somezing vhile vee vere here. Vhy don’t vee get to vork?” Blue Medic suggested.

“Might as well. For the sake of some fresh air and sunlight.” Blue Engineer added.

…

The trio walked toward the tables, and began to observe the tools that they were given. Blue Engineer studied the power devices that were sitting in a nearby toolbox, while Applejack and Blue Medic looked over the various pieces of scrap metal and leftovers to work with.

“Well, before we get started, we should brainstorm a little bit. What stuff do we think you lacked the most while fighting the last robot horde?” Blue Engineer asked.

“Pretty good idea, Engie. Mostly, I think Fluttershy lacked a number of decent abilities. She had the Kritzkrieg and all, but I think she had the potential to do a lot more.” Applejack answered.

“Alright, so zat means vee should focus on Medic tech. Zat makes zis job a lot easier on me.” Blue Medic stated.

…

Applejack sighed heavily, and looked down at the ground.

“What’s wrong, partner?”

“Well...it’s just Fluttershy and all. She was locked up just like we were, and I’m just worried about how she’s doing. As her friends, we know a lot about her.” Applejack explained.

“Vat is it zat you’re vorried about?” Blue Medic asked.

Applejack sighed. “She’s very claustrophobic.”

………………………………………………

Red Medic patted Fluttershy on the back, and counted quietly in her ear. When he reached five, he instructed her to take a deep breath. He then started over again at one. Fluttershy gripped the bucket in front of her face, and tried with much effort to keep it from overflowing. She kept her eyes closed, because if she opened them, her breathing would accelerate again.

Red Engineer pounded his face on the table until red marks appeared on his nose and cheeks. He groaned.

“C’mon, fellas, we ain’t getting anything done!” He complained.

“Don’t blame me for your impatience! I am only happy if Ms. Fluttershy is happy! I don’t care if vee spend zee rest of our lives in here.” Red Medic argued.

Upon hearing Red Medic’s last sentence, Fluttershy threw up in the bucket again. Red Medic patted her on the back, and whispered more numbers in her ear. Red Engineer cried out in annoyance.

…

“Well, to hell with that. We were sent here to invent, and invent is exactly what I’ll do.” Red Engineer announced.

The Texan marched over to the toolbox that sat near the table. He reached inside, pulled out some welding tools, and began to work on bits of scrap metal. Red Medic rolled his eyes, and returned to the aid of his butter yellow friend.

…

Trying to shut out the noises from his comrades, Red Engineer brainstormed quietly to himself.

“Let’s see…if there’s anything I observed from watching the ponies fight, it was that that yellow one didn’t do a lot of fighting…” He whispered aloud. “She needs some kind of mighty ability…”

Red Medic couldn’t help but to overhear Red Engineer’s projecting thoughts. He raised his head, and gasped a little.

“Hey, zat’s a great idea! If vee give Ms. Fluttershy some new piece of technology, she could be an asset to zee team!” He exclaimed.

Red Engineer smiled now that his teammate was working with him. He nodded in agreement. “Well then…as a doc, what’s the one thing you struggle with the most?”

Red Medic opened his mouth to speak, but Fluttershy cut him off. “…Death. I…I hate death. If a teammate dies, it hurts me on the inside. My friends are like my animals back home; none of them should die.”

Red Medic smiled and rubbed the pegasus’s back. “I vas just about to say zat.”

…

“Alright, so we’re talkin’ death. What about it? Should we try to make medi-guns stronger, or should we make fighters more resistant?” Red Engineer asked, trying to start up a brainstorm.

“Vell, if zhere’s anyzing I could say, it’s zat zee strength of zee Medic is vhat counts. Giving zee doctor powers of his own vould help him heal teammates more.” Red Medic suggested.

Red Engineer nodded. Promptly, Fluttershy added some input.

“What if there was some kind of…reverse button?” The mare tapped her hoof on her calf in thought. “Like…instead of making something stronger, we could…maybe…give that something another chance…?”

Red Engineer scoffed. “I don’t know if you remember, but this isn’t your world anymore. ‘Giving something another chance’ is probably not going to happen.”

Red Medic pointed a finger, cutting Red Engineer off. “Vait! I zink I know vhat she’s saying. Maybe, instead of trying to KEEP teammates alive, vee should make it so vee can REVIVE them if zey happen to die!”

Fluttershy grinned, and nodded in approval. Red Engineer’s eyes widened as he began to understand the message.

“Aw, now I see! I like the idea, you two!” The Texan acknowledged.

…

Fluttershy temporarily shook off her claustrophobia, and the three of them marched up to the tool table to carry out their idea.

……………………………………………….

Back at the BLU facility, this process was already happening. Applejack, Blue Engineer, and Blue Medic stood at their tool table, tossing some ideas around to get things started. Blue Engineer played around with a weld and a piece of iron.

“Nah, rocket boots would be too difficult to pull off. Plus, they’d be clumsy with timid little Fluttershy tryin’ to use ‘em.” Applejack rejected. Blue Medic sighed.

“Vell, vee need to power up zat mare von vay or anozah. I know she’s a bit veak, but zee entire team depends on her!” Blue Medic countered.

“I think Applejack’s tryin’ to say that although Fluttershy is supposed to be powered up, straight-forward sci-fi things like rocket boots are not the way to do it.” Blue Engineer added.

Blue Medic scoffed. Applejack shrugged her shoulders. Blue Engineer subconsciously welded his piece of iron into a cube. Clearly, it was going to take a bit more stimulation to get the group going.

…

“Well, um…I have an idea.” Applejack suggested.

“I’m all ears.” Blue Engineer responded, tossing his red-hot iron cube in his gloved hand.

“I’ll say one word, and then we’ll all take turns saying the first word that pops into our heads. That way, it’ll help us pass over the option we may want to take.” Applejack explained.

Blue Medic perked up. “Say, not a bad idea! It may be fun, too.”

“Well, I guess we got nothing to lose. Looks like you’re going first, Applejack.” Blue Engineer shrugged. He set the cube down on the table.

…

“Medic.” Applejack started.

“Healing.” Blue Engineer followed.

“Health.” Blue Medic responded. It was now back to Applejack.

“Life.”

“Death.”

“War.”

“Fighting.”

“Danger.”

“Prevention.”

“Protection.”

“Barrier.”

…

“Hey, stop there! I think I got it!” Applejack blurted.

“Vhat? Barrier?” Blue Medic asked.

“Yeah! What if there was some kind of…wall thing that Fluttershy could deploy to block projectiles or something? I mean…we Engineers already have a wrist device that does the same thing using volts. Maybe with all the electronics covering Fluttershy’s body, we could build an attachment to let her deploy defensive barriers?” Applejack proposed.

Blue Engineer and Blue Medic’s jaws were slack. The idea was so utterly amazing……words just couldn’t put it into perspective.

“That sounds so farfetched, but so……do-able. I feel like we could actually do something like that.” Blue Engineer stated.

“Vhat do you zink? Shall vee?” Blue Medic asked.

“Why not? Let’s do this!” Applejack exclaimed.

…

Without another word, the BLU minds got down to work. Their ultimate goal was to grant Fluttershy the ability to deploy projectile shields against the robot’s arsenal.

…………………………………………

The pace was mutual over at the RED facility. Red Medic and Fluttershy were tossing some more possible ideas around while Red Engineer carried them out with his tools. After all, no one wanted to put welders and power drills in the hands and hooves of the inexperienced Medics.

“So, if we’re all agreeing on this…revival thing, how is it going to work?” Fluttershy asked.

“Zat’s a good question. Vould it be on zee medi-gun itself, or vould it be attached to zee patient?” Red Medic added.

“Well, my vision was to have it be attached to the patient. I have absolutely no medical experience, so I wouldn’t want to tamper with them healing devices of yours. I figured the patient would wear the device or something, and then Fluttershy’s healing would somehow activate it. I’m still considering how it’s going to be done, though.” Red Engineer explained.

“But what if the patient…like…explodes? How would the device put them back together?” Fluttershy asked shakily.

“If my current idea works, that shouldn’t be a problem. I want it to be designed to be able to return a fighter to their original state before the death. Kind of like a mechanical rewind key.” Red Engineer added without hesitation.

Red Medic put a hand to his mouth, and giggled quietly. He was amazed with the Western’s idea, and the curiosity was eating him alive. The German truly felt like a student of science.

…

Fluttershy started laughing too. Red Engineer halted the power on his weld, raised his goggles, and stared at the couple like they were aliens. He jeered.

Fluttershy’s smile vanished. She pointed a hoof at Red Medic. “Um…I only laugh when he laughs.”

Red Engineer snorted, and continued with his work. The Medics grinned cheekily at each other.

…

Silence ensued while the mechanic continued with his progress. Wherever it was needed, small-talk would commence so more specs could be added to the concept. Before long, Red Engineer had created a humble iron box with a handle on the side.

He lifted his goggles up, and set down his weld. He breathed a sigh of satisfaction.

“Well boys, there it is.” He smirked.

“Vait…it’s done already?” Red Medic asked in confusion.

“Um…I’m a girl…” Fluttershy whispered.

“No, of course it’s not done. That’s the general frame you’re lookin’ at. I still have to add the electronics to make it run.” Red Engineer responded, ignoring the shy pegasus.

“I’ll never get southerners…” Red Medic scoffed.

………………………………………………

At the BLU facility, the builders were already much farther ahead of the RED gang. Blue Medic had his medi-gun sitting on the table with Blue Engineer working on it. A chip-sized device was implanted on the muzzle, which the mechanic was working tediously on. Applejack handed him parts, like screws and LED lights. Blue Medic stretched his back out, now that he was relieved of his backpack for the first time in years.

“Alright, bud. Hand me that last bolt, and we’ll be ready to light this candle!” Blue Engineer exclaimed.

Applejack eagerly handed Blue Engineer’s piece to him. He took a few moments to install the last bit. Then, he picked up the completed medi-gun, and handed it to Blue Medic.

“Vait…isn’t zis for Fluttershy?” The doctor asked.

Blue Engineer gave Blue Medic a comedic stare. “That there’s what’s known as a prototype. I suggest you give it a whirl, and just MAYBE your little Fur-Real Friend will get to have one of her own.”

Applejack chuckled. Blue Medic glared at Blue Engineer. “Fluttershy is vith RED Medic. I zink you are mistaken.”

Thus, Blue Medic strapped on his backpack once again. He gripped the medi-gun in his hands and awaited orders.

…

“Okay, so it’s activated by a little switch that’s placed near the handle. Once you use it, it should deploy a large uber-shield in front of you. It can be used to deflect rockets, bullets, and robots. It has to be charged, though, which comes from healing teammates.” Blue Engineer explained. “Alright, Applejack, are ya ready?”

“Ready for what?”

Blue Engineer sifted through the toolbox, pulled out a stray brick, and hurled it at the orange farmer. It hit her clear in the face, practically pulverizing her left eye.

“AAGGHH! Ah, damn! Why’d ya go and do that, Engie?” Applejack asked in frustration whilst grabbing her eye in pain.

Impulsively, Blue Medic aimed the medi-gun at Applejack, and pulled the lever. The device did its job, healing Applejack until she looked as clear and smooth as a foal’s bottom. Taking no time to thank the doctor, Applejack picked up the brick, and chucked it at Blue Engineer.

Blue Engineer’s helmet was knocked off his face as the object clocked him in the nose. The cartilage in his nose snapped, and twisted to the right side. Blue Engineer cried out loudly, and began to laugh.

“What the hell are YOU laughing about?” Applejack demanded.

“I LIVE for pain, farm-gal! Bring it on!” Blue Engineer sneered.

…

Blue Medic followed suit by healing Blue Engineer. Once he was patched up, the LED lit up on Blue Medic’s new attachment. He gasped, and flipped the switch.

Immediately, a bright blue wall of energy erupted from the medi-gun. It spread out about ten feet in front of him, forming a curved barrier of pure Ubercharge. Blue Engineer and Applejack gasped in utter amazement.

Blue Engineer quickly backed up behind the wall, pulled out his shotgun, and began to fire at it. The bullets flew into the energy barrier, and stopped abruptly once they made contact. In a split second, they were vaporized in a cloud of bluish smoke.

Applejack and Blue Engineer clapped. “Well, I see that was an amazin’ accomplishment! That’ll make things much easier!” Applejack mused.

…

A beeping noise sounded throughout the cramped little room. The fighters listened closely as an announcement began over the PA. It was the Announcer.

“Well done. We have watched your every move up to this point. Your device will be replicated and added to the medi-guns under the profile name: Fluttershy. Your suspension has been terminated.”

Without a chance to respond, the three BLU builders disappeared in a bright flash. The room became quiet and empty once again.

………………………………………………

As soon as this happened, another announcement played in the RED facility. Red Engineer stopped his progress so the three of them could hear the PA.

“BLU has just finished their device. It is being replicated for use against the robot army. Hurry up!” The Announcer ordered.

“I’m going as fast as I can! Quit bein’ so pushy!” Red Engineer ranted.

Red Medic frantically handed Red Engineer parts while he continued to toil with a strand of wiring. Fluttershy stood back quietly, and stared at the ground.

…

As soon as Red Engineer installed the last part, the small device gave off a red glow. His face perked up as he observed the reaction.

“Alright, I think this baby’s ready for action! Let me set it up to scan your bodily state.” Red Engineer directed.

Red Medic stood straight with his arms at his sides. Red Engineer positioned the device on the table, and pressed the button on the back. Fluttershy flinched as the device projected a red grid onto Red Medic, and began to scan.

After a few seconds, once the grid had disappeared, a small green LED lit up. Red Engineer picked up the device, and hung it over the side of Red Medic’s belt. Red Medic tipped a little from the weight imbalance.

…

“Ya ready for this?” Red Engineer asked.

Red Medic nodded. Red Engineer stepped forward in front of the doctor. He put his hands on Red Medic’s cheeks, and jerked his head sharply to the left. Red Medic’s neck snapped, and he was killed instantly. His body crinkled to the floor.

Fluttershy gasped sharply in response. Panicked tears immediately began forming in her eyes as she observed her dead companion on the ground. She stuttered incomprehensively.

The device dropped to the floor. Immediately, the green LED began to flash, and a red hologram of Red Medic protruded out from its center. It beeped rapidly, and a small pore opened up on its side.

“Fluttershy?” Red Engineer started.

“Wh…wh…wha…?”

“I need you to grab your Quick Fix. Hurry, before its time runs out!” Red Engineer ordered.

Still babbling, Fluttershy scrambled to get her healing tool. She found her backpack and Quick Fix lying idly on the floor down the hallway where she had chucked it before. She picked it all up with her hooves, and carried it over to Red Engineer and the hologram.

“Now aim it at that little opening in the side! There ain’t much time left!”

Fluttershy picked up the Quick Fix without putting on the backpack. Aiming it at the instructed spot, Fluttershy began healing the little rectangular device.

Slowly, Red Medic’s body began to lift off of the ground. It shifted to the side, hovering to fill the volume of the hologram. In doing so, his neck began to turn back into place.

Suddenly, in a blinding flash of light, Red Medic was standing in the spot where the device had been. In turn, the device now hung perfectly on his belt where it had been before. The doctor shivered, and adjusted his glasses so he could see better.

“Success. Vee have made a major breakzrough!” He cheered.

…

Fluttershy threw her Quick Fix back to the ground, and wrapped her arms tightly around Red Medic. Red Engineer’s eyes widened at such a sudden gesture.

“I don’t zink you should let me die like zat again. You traumatized her.” Red Medic chided.

“Well, gee, sorry. I didn’t think it would be a big deal.” Red Engineer countered.

…

“Excellent. Your progress has been noted. Your suspension has been lifted.” The Announcer spoke over the PA.

The three RED builders were instantly transported out of the facility. Fluttershy’s Strange Quick Fix lay on the ground, abandoned.

……………………………………………

As quickly as the light appeared, it was gone. Fluttershy, Red Medic, and Red Engineer found themselves standing in a crowd with all the rest of the fighters. The mercenaries and the ponies gasped in relief when the groups appeared.

“Hey, weren’t you guys going into exile to invent something useful?” Spike asked.

“Um…we did, Spike.” Applejack replied with confusion.

“How is that possible, though? As soon as we all arrived here, you showed up in a flash of light. You were gone for like…a minute or two.” Twilight stated.

The fighters stood around in silence, scratching their chins in confusion. In a short amount of time, the Announcer arrived in the same flash of light the builders did from earlier. Everyone turned in her direction, expecting an explanation.

…

“Greetings, everyone. I have arrived with the results of your coworkers’ labors. They have spent the entirety of an afternoon in isolated supply rooms with nothing to do but invent. We have charged the rooms with implants that slowed down the perception of time. This was to increase their efficiency without increasing the time-lapse.” She began.

The fighters nodded in understanding. That surely took care of one problem.

Red Engineer, would you please explain what your group has invented?” The Announcer asked.

“What is this, Show-and-Tell?” He asked annoyingly.

“Just do as I say.” The Announcer rasped.

Red Engineer sighed. “Well, we figured Fluttershy, the Medic, didn’t have enough abilities during the last robot attack. So, we created a device that allowed her to revive teammates straight from the dead.”

The fighters gasped in astonishment. Red Medic smiled proudly, while his two building companions stared around awkwardly.

…

“And BLU, please explain your invention.”

Blue Engineer stepped forward. “Well, uh…we ALSO invented a Medic attachment for Fluttershy…”

Everyone’s eyes widened in shock. Fluttershy frowned worriedly, and shrunk down to the ground.

“We invented a small implant for the medi-gun that can deploy a defensive projectile shield once charged. It can block bullets, block rockets, and vaporize small bots that step into it.” He explained.

Sighs of admiration sailed around the group. Fluttershy was earning a lot of glances as teammates wondered what her fate was going to look like.

…

Suddenly, as thoughts floated around in her head, Fluttershy made a startling realization. Her back was feeling unusually light. She reached around her spine in panic, and felt no backpack attached to it.

“Hey…hey!!! M…my Quick Fix! I…I think I left at the facility!” She squealed.

“Hey now, there’s no reason to freak out…” Red Scout began.

“No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no………! I need to get that Quick Fix back! It’s special!” She begged.

“I’m afraid that won’t be possible. The facilities have been cleared out already to erase any DNA traces. However, we do have a factory-new Quick Fix with all of your new technology attached to it. The new stuff may only be used during the robot battle, though.” The Announcer mentioned.

She snapped her fingers, and the new tool appeared in another flash of light. The Announcer grabbed the backpack and Quick Fix, and handed the machine to Fluttershy. Fluttershy pouted, and pushed the device away.

“I have to have my old Quick Fix! It’s Strange, and it’s a gift from Red Medic!” The pegasus demanded.

…

“We cannot replace your older weapons. This new one is Strange, though, so I suggest you take it. You don’t have anything else to work with.” The Announcer stated.

There were a few moments of utter silence as Fluttershy stood in front of the Announcer and the Quick Fix. Everyone waited in anticipation for her next response.

To everyone’s surprise, the pegasus began to cry. She sat down on her haunches, and put a hoof up to her face. Tears steadily began streaming down her face and onto the ground.

“Oh, c’mon now, Ms. Fluttershy…” Red Medic cooed. He walked up to her, knelt down, and picked her up in his arms.

The fighters stood and watched the scene in great sympathy. The Announcer, however, was tapping her foot with impatience. She set the Quick Fix materials down, and checked her watch.

…

“Well, your assignment is to fight here for Capture the Flag. Then, we are expecting to receive the first attack from Gray Mann’s army. So be ready!” She knelt down toward Fluttershy. “I expect you to use that tool there. I don’t care if your old one was a ‘gift’ or not! Time is money!”

Fluttershy stared with fright at the Announcer with a damp face. She then took a glance at the Quick Fix, and buried her face in Red Medic again.

…

The Announcer snapped her fingers, and vanished. The fighters stood around in silence as Fluttershy carried on her scene with Red Medic.

Now that they weren’t doing anything, Rainbow Dash and Red Scout took the time to look around the map they were standing in. Rainbow Dash’s brow raised in confusion.

“Hey, doesn’t this map look incredibly familiar?” She asked.

The fighters followed her gaze, and studied the map. After only a little time, it became clear to them. They were standing on the moonlit bridge of DoubleCross, where the ponies had first entered the TF2 world almost a year ago.

To be Continued…

Author's Note

A month.......
It's been a damn MONTH since the last chapter was uploaded here. ...Dang nabbit!
School's out for the summer in about two weeks or so. Then I might be able to finally get this thing to its completion. It really has been a while since its birth. 0_0
I leave for Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in late June, so hopefully this'll be done before then!

Capture the Flag Mode

Battle Arena #8: Doublecross (Capture the Flag)

The cool, dry wind of the night hummed its tune daintily in the ears of the mercenaries as they marched to their resupply lockers. Once again, Fluttershy had to be carried by Red Medic. Goosebumps and standing fur strands appeared throughout the group as the dropping temperatures began to get to them.

“Yikes; it’s so cold out here! I don’t remember it being like this when we first arrived here.” Spike observed.

“It’s only cold because we’re in a northern boreal forest. Look around ya, mate. I think it’s like…autumn or something.” Red Sniper explained, bending down to accommodate the young dragon.

Spike nodded slowly. Red Sniper smiled, and slapped him on the back, causing his helmet to fly off of his face. He laughed awkwardly.

…

Rainbow Dash grumbled. “I bet it’s SO comfy and warm in the grasp of the German guy over there. We needn’t worry about Fluttershy at all.”

Rainbow Dash really didn’t mind all the attention Fluttershy was getting. After all, she was glad her fragile friend was able to get some closure in this hostile world. However, the pegasus wished she could get some of the action that Fluttershy was being privileged with.

Red Scout tried to read the mare’s thoughts by staring at her expression. He glanced at Fluttershy and Red Medic, and then back at Rainbow Dash. After doing so a couple of times, he got an idea.

“Are your hooves gettin’ tired there, Dash? Think maybe I should carry you, too?” He asked in a casual tone.

Rainbow Dash scoffed. She turned to Red Scout with an amused smirk on her face.

“You? Carrying ME? I think I’d feel safer in a jet with one wing.” She responded.

“Aw, c’mon! I’m sure you can trust me!” Red Scout pleaded.

…

Rainbow Dash didn’t reply. Red Scout pulled a can of Crit A Cola out from his pack, and drank it down in a few swallows. After flexing his muscles and cracking his knuckles, the hyper Bostonian assassin hooked his arms under the pegasus.

“Hey, what the hell are ya doing?” Rainbow Dash demanded. She flailed her hooves around in a surprised effort.

The teammates in the group chuckled cheekily as they watched their Scout confidently lift his companion off the ground. Red Medic turned his head, and rolled his eyes. As he held Fluttershy effortlessly in his two arms, Red Scout was breathing heavily while straining to elevate his corresponding comrade.

Red Scout exhaled sharply as he hoisted Rainbow Dash up over his head. Once he had her perched, he continued his walk. A few stray claps could be heard from impressed teammates.

“T…there, Skittles. Now you can see the world from…my perspective.” Red Scout grunted.

“I could’ve walked, you know.” Rainbow Dash replied.

“Yeah. Rich people who get around in private planes and limousines could’ve walked, too. But they decided to take the more comforting alternative if it meant sparing their lazy, rubbery ligaments.” Red Spy added, flicking a cigarette. “Long story short; enjoy your ride.”

Applejack and Red Engineer laughed openly as other teammates giggled.

………………………………………………

The ponies from the opposing team walked silently with the rest of their teammates. Tensions secretly began to rise within them over the upcoming robot battle. As things currently seemed, everything they had was resting on Fluttershy’s shoulders. They would either succeed brilliantly, or die bleeding and screaming.

…

“What is wrong, Madame?” Blue Spy asked.

Rarity blinked a couple of times, and shook her head to clear the haze. She looked up at her companion, and shrugged.

“I’m not sure. I guess we’re all just a little shaken about having to pit poor little Fluttershy with so much responsibility. Remember the heart-attack she had at Mountain Lab?”

Blue Spy looked off into the distance, removed his cigarette, and let a long puff of smoke escape from his mouth. He nodded solemnly. “…Indeed I do.”

“Then you know what I mean.” The unicorn sighed. “I just wish we could do something to ease the tensions.”

…

Blue Spy was silent for a few seconds. “…Well, she is your friend, right?”

Rarity nodded.

“Then the answer is simple. It was merely coincidence that she adopted the responsibility of being a Medic. The best you can do is offer her your undying encouragement and support. She has enormous potential, but just has a hard time expressing it. Help her shine.” Blue Spy continued, taking more breaths from his cigarette.

Rarity smiled while staring at the ground. It definitely was possible. She and her friends just needed the confidence. With the right push, Fluttershy could surpass the level of everyone she knew.

“Well…okay then. Thank you for the advice.” She whispered.

Blue Spy nodded once, and returned to his thoughts.

……………………………………………

Soon, the PA systems were going off. It was time to prep for battle.

“Mission begins in 10 seconds!”

…

“A’ight, Skittles, when dem alarms go off, do not run out that door. Go down those stairs over there, and fall into the circular hatch. We’re gonna flank these suckers from the underside.” Red Scout whispered to Rainbow Dash.

…

“5…4…3…2…1…FIGHT!”

Immediately, both teams rushed out of their resupply. Red Scout and Rainbow Dash stuck to their plan, and headed backwards out the lower side. Upon exiting the sewer, they appeared out on the lower bridge.

……………………………………………
Music: Playing with Danger (Repeat if needed)
……………………………………………

Unfortunately, Blue Scout had the same idea. Before both teams could even meet on the main bridge, Red and Blue Scout were face-to-face in a heated situation.

“What are ya doing there with Skittles? This is MY road!” Blue Scout demanded.

“Oh, really? I don’t see your name on it, twat.” Red Scout blurted in response. “And plus, I think I have every right to hang out with Skittles.”

“Skittles is supposed to be mine, you worthless, gloating, excuse for a human-being!” Blue Scout raged.

…

Rainbow Dash growled. Red Scout raised an eyebrow.

“Rainbow Dash, I need you to step away. Go meet our team on the upper level, or something.” Red Scout ordered.

Rainbow Dash gasped on the inside, shocked that Red Scout had paged her by her full name. Suddenly, her nostrils flared.

“No way; I want to crush this guy with you! Let’s get ‘em!” She replied defiantly.

Red Scout turned to her with a serious expression. He put a finger on her lips.

“Step away. This is my fight. ‘Imma show this prick how real Scouts fight, and how they defend their loved ones.”

…

Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened. She stuttered a few times in an attempt to formulate a reply.

Red Scout gave her a warm smile. Feeling conflicted, Rainbow Dash backed away, and sprinted up the stairs to join her team in battle.

…………………………………………

Red Scout turned back around, and faced his furious adversary. They stared each other in the eyes, not breaking away for even a second. They stood on opposite ends of the lower bridge, with a health pack in between them.

They drew their Scatterguns. The familiar sound of gunfire entered their eardrums as the opposing teams above them met up in battle. The sudden noise did not stir the Scouts’ concentration.

Suddenly, after many seconds of silence, Blue Scout let out a battle cry. The two of them charged at each other, and began to duel.

………………………………………….

The sound of the duel immediately became evident to Rainbow Dash from her position on the top bridge. Her other teammates paid no mind to it, however. With a sigh, she drew her weapon, and began to fight.

Red Medic popped her a quick overheal, and moved on to a different target. Rainbow Dash took the health advantage, and charged onto the enemy lines. She was scratched a few times from bullet impacts, but they didn’t leave any lasting damage.

Blue Medic and Big Mac were in the pegasus’s line of sight. In the time it took Big Mac to spin up his minigun, Rainbow Dash had leapt over the two of them, and began to shoot Blue Medic in the back. Void of an Ubercharge, the healer was rapidly eliminated.

Big Mac turned his heavy weapon around, and began to fire at Rainbow Dash. Initially, the nimble flier had no trouble dodging the bullets that came out of its spinning barrel. Suddenly, however, she was being thrust upward by an unknown force.

Looking down, she spotted Pinkie Pie airblasting her upwards with her flamethrower. A look of panic entered Rainbow Dash’s eyes.

“Wee! Isn’t this fun Dashie? Look at you fly!” Pinkie giggled.

“Pinkie, stop! I…I can’t do anything!” Rainbow Dash ordered in desperate reply.

Pinkie Pie airblasted Rainbow Dash over and over, keeping the mare suspended in the air. Rainbow Dash tried to fly out of the trap, but the air current held control of her wings. Big Mac smiled as he spun up his minigun again, aimed it at Rainbow Dash, and opened fire.

……………………………………………

With the Direct Hit over his shoulder, Spike jogged out into the battle by Red Soldier’s side. Fluttershy was latched on behind him.

Red Soldier lifted his helmet with his hand in order to get a better view. Across the bridge, the veteran could make out his teammate Rainbow Dash being shot out of the sky by an unknown Heavy-weapons wielder. The pegasus was being juggled hopelessly as bullets sprayed through her insides.

“Alright dragon, keep your head on. This one is looking rough.” He warned.

“Got it.” Spike responded confidently. “Ready, Fluttershy?”

“Ready for what?” Fluttershy asked.

Spike launched a rocket at his feet, and the duo was sent flying into the air. Fluttershy screamed as the ground beneath them moved away at an ever startling rate. Spike strafed forward toward the enemy lines, and drew the Market Gardener.

“Hang on! We only get one shot at this!” Spike yelled.

Fluttershy closed her eyes as the duo began to fall. Spike tried to aim his descent to the best of his ability, with the deadly shovel gripped tight in his claw. At the moment of impact, he swung the shovel with all his might.

Hit with an instant crit, Big Mac crumpled to the ground. The bullet spray stopped when his weapon was dropped. Pinkie Pie, out of ammo in her flamethrower, began to retreat.

…

Rainbow Dash, beaten and bloody, fell to the ground with a crack. Fluttershy immediately transferred her healing over to the pegasus, and her wounds began to disappear. In no time at all, Rainbow Dash was back on her hooves.

“Thanks, guys. You really saved my flank there.” She chuckled.

“Hey, ya know. We work together.” Spike replied casually.

Fluttershy was shivering behind the two of them. Her mane was frazzled, and her Tyrolean was tipped sideways on her head. Her eyes were closed tightly.

Spike tapped her playfully on the shoulder. “Hey, Flutters, you were the one who decided to use the Quick-Fix.”

……………………………………………

Applejack gave one last swing of her wrench, and her sentry gun became a level 3 killing machine. She gave a nod to Red Engineer, who then finished the last upgrades on his dispenser. Their setup was ready.

They stood in the Intelligence Room of their humble barn base. Deep behind the back courtyard, the large garage-like room in which they resided housed the Intelligence briefcase. Applejack’s sentry now stood guard of it on top of the staircase to the left side.

“Hey partner, did y’all set up a teleporter entrance yet?” Red Engineer asked.

“I think I did. It should be right outside of the spawn room. It’s only level 1, though, and it ain’t workin’ yet. What about it?” Applejack responded.

“Hightail it on down here for me, missy. I have an idea for where you can aim that sucker.” Red Engineer ordered.

…

Applejack happily obeyed Red Engineer, hopping off the stairs and trotting over to his location. Red Engineer pulled a map of Doublecross out from his pocket, and unrolled it in front of his comrade.

“Alright then; we’re right here.” He explained, pointing to a spot on the map. “The best spot for your teleporter AND your dispenser will be right here.”

Red Engineer pointed to a different spot across the map. Applejack squinted slightly to get a better look. Once she had traced the location, she gasped a little.

“Whoa, there! Ain’t that the sewer room underneath the BLU base?” She asked worriedly.

“You bet your hind end it is. The point is to put it behind that large gas tanker near the center of the room so that it’s in a nice, hidden spot. That way, teammates can cross the entire map without being seen. Also, your dispenser will provide them with nourishment so they can return there in tough times while they’re fighting. It totally beats having to find a Medic or having to return to the base. Think of it as like……a miniature headquarters for team RED.” Red Engineer explained.

As his explanation continued, Applejack’s grin grew wider and wider. Once the Texan was done talking, she began to laugh.

“I love it! You really are a genius, ain’t ya? No wonder you’re the mechanic on this team!”

“Now go, there, farm gal! I’ll stay back and guard your defense equipment!”

Applejack cheered while throwing her helmet into the air. Once she caught it back on her head, she darted out of the room to carry out the plan.

…

Red Engineer clicked on his headset, and gave an announcement.

“Hey, team. My good buddy Applejack is building us a recharge zone underneath the enemy base. It’ll include a teleporter to promote fast transport, with all the benefits of a cloaked Spy!”

Several approving murmurs could be heard in reply over the speakers. Red Engineer smirked, and sat back behind Applejack’s sentry gun.

………………………………………………

As Applejack trotted through the sewers of the RED base, she began to hear gunshot sounds coming from the lower bridge up ahead. She drew her trusty Frontier Justice, and prepared to fight off the threat.

Once she had come into view of the source, however, she was surprised to observe a heated duel between the two teams’ Scouts. She lowered her weapon, and sighed.

“Would you two mind to clear up this bridge for me? I’m kinda busy.” She asked.

Red Scout turned around for a moment to see who the visitor was. His face, along with his entire front side, was full of bullet holes and splashes of blood.

“I think we’re a little bit MORE busy here, so maybe you can take the upper route.” He ordered.

“Uh, it’s kind of urgent! I need to get into the BLU sewer entrance.” Applejack defiantly replied.

Blue Scout sighed angrily. “Just take the stairs up to the main bridge, and then jump back down on the other side. It’s not that complicated.”

…

Applejack raised an eyebrow, surprised that Blue Scout was giving her directions into his own base. Shrugging her shoulders, she did as he had told her.

…

“Don’t let that serve as a distraction.” Red Scout stated.

“Oh, please. I’m still fully set on kicking your ass into next week.” Blue Scout responded viciously.

“Are you sure about that?” Red Scout asked suspiciously.

Before giving Blue Scout a chance to respond, Red Scout drew his Sandman. Grabbing a baseball, he launched it in Blue Scout’s direction. After a few suspenseful moments of airtime, the ball cracked Blue Scout in the skull.

…

…

Taking advantage of Blue Scout’s disorientation, Red Scout burst forward with his bat still drawn. He side-swung his enemy in the left hip, which sent him staggering toward the end of the bridge.

Blue Scout’s feet gave way underneath him as they stepped off the edge of the wooden platform. He cried out in surprise as he grabbed the ledge with his hands, and clamped down with all of his strength. His Scattergun fell down into the pit, hurtling hundreds of feet before slamming into the jagged rocks below.

The dangling assassin began to sweat. “Okay, man. Let’s slow this down a sec.”

…

Red Scout smiled as he slowly began to approach his endangered opponent. Blue Scout looked up at him with fear in his eyes as he hung over his painful doom.

“What is there to slow down? I’m up here, and you’re down there. I think it’s obvious beyond this point.” He stated boldly.

“What’re you gonna do? Kill me, then go prancing around like you’re some big shot? Big deal.” Blue Scout replied.

“Of course I’m going to do that. I just thought I’d state a purpose while we were in this situation. Your Scattergun seems to be getting cold down there with no one to keep it company.”

“Just get to the point, egg-face.”

…

Red Scout leaned down, and got very close to Blue Scout’s hanging body. His smile faded, and was replaced with a blank, serious expression.

“You stay away from Rainbow Dash. That mare deserves ME, and me alone. If I even HEAR you call her ‘Skittles’ again, I will feed your ass to the Pyros. You understand me?”

Blue Scout spat in Red Scout’s face. Red Scout took a moment to sit in silence. Blue Scout smirked cockily as he continued to hang down the side of the bridge.

…

“I think we’re done here.” Red Scout muttered. He stood up, aimed his Scattergun down, and shot Blue Scout’s grappling fingers. He immediately let go of the bridge, and hollered painfully as he plummeted down to his violent death.

………………………………………………

“There; that oughta do it!” Applejack stated. She made the last few adjustments to her teleporter, and it immediately started up with a red glow.

In almost no time at all, Red Demoman appeared through the teleporter. Upon seeing where he had landed, the Scottish alcoholic flashed Applejack an approving thumbs-up.

“Thanks, lad!” He said.

“No trouble. Just be careful up there.” Applejack replied, pointing upwards.

…

As Red Demoman staggered away, Applejack swiped an ammo box from the staircase, and used the metal to start on her dispenser. As she was working, Red Soldier appeared through the teleporter as well.

“Nice work, engie!” He acknowledged.

Applejack nodded. “Just don’t let the team go up there all at once. We don’t want them BLUs gettin’ suspicious on us.”

Red Soldier flashed a right-hand salute. “Affirmative!”

…

As Red Soldier walked off, Applejack kicked back against the wall next to her dispenser. She started to upgrade it passively as it slowly supplied her with metal.

Periodically, other teammates would appear through the teleporter. They would give Applejack their regards, and jog off up the stairs and into battle. Applejack would simply tip her helmet in response, and return to her relaxing.

At one point, the farmer heard something rustle near the far wall. She opened her eye warily, and scanned her surroundings. Nothing was to be seen in the basement of the BLU base.

Just as Applejack was closing her eyes again, Red Sniper uncloaked in front of her in a blue halo. Applejack yelped, whipped out her Frontier Justice, and pointed it at his neck. He was obviously an enemy Spy, since he had appeared from nowhere with the enemies’ color.

“Hey, what the hay do you think you’re doin’? I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but this place is RED property now! Get outta here before I blow your head off!”

…

The imposter reached up for their face, and removed the mask that powered the disguise. It was Rarity.

“Rarity? What in tarnation are you doing down here? And why aren’t you trying to sap my stuff?” Applejack asked.

“I need to say something important to you.” Rarity answered.

“Didn’t you lose your disguise kit a couple battles ago?”

Rarity reached in her suit pocket, and pulled out the Eternal Reward. She shot Applejack a bemused glance.

“I backstabbed Red Sniper earlier, and got his disguise. I thought that would be obvious.”

“And one more thing; how’d you know I was down here?” Applejack asked.

“C’mon, Applejack. Did you really think I wouldn’t see the barrage of your teammates coming up to the base through the sewer stairs? The fact that you had a teleporter down here was as clear as day.” Rarity replied annoyingly.

…

“Well, whatever. What is this ‘important thing’ you need to speak to me about?”

“It’s about Fluttershy and the robot battle. I spoke to Blue Spy earlier about it. His advice was to give her support and encouragement.” Rarity started.

“Well, duh! Ain’t that something we always do as friends?”

“No, not that kind of support. We need to let her know just how imperative she is to our operation, and how much we rely on her.”

“But…wouldn’t that just make her feel more pressured?”

“The way I see it, we have to really be there for her. Not like we normally are as good, loving friends. No, we have to be there as if we were nursing her at a hospital. Believe it or not, I think we’re just as important to her as she is to us.”

…

“I don’t think I understand you completely.” Applejack shrugged.

Rarity sighed. “We have to catch her when she falls. We have to support her when she’s down. We have to forgive her when she fails. We have to………” She hesitated. “Do you see what I mean here?”

Applejack nodded solemnly. Suddenly, a red light flashed behind them as Fluttershy herself appeared through the teleporter. She gasped when she saw Rarity, and drew her dreaded Ubersaw.

“S…stay back! I…I will swing! I swear!” She cried nervously.

Rarity began to step closer to Fluttershy. Fluttershy quivered, and stepped backwards into the wall. She pressed against its surface, trying to keep a distance from the misunderstood Spy.

“Fluttershy, I just want to talk to you!”

“No! I will not feel another knife get pushed into my back! Stay away!”

Rarity stepped onto the teleporter exit to reach Fluttershy. Fluttershy held her Ubersaw out in front of her defensively. Rarity held out a hoof, trying to get Fluttershy to reason with her.

“Fluttershy, I just wanted to—”

…

Suddenly, Red Heavy appeared through the teleporter. Rarity disappeared in a glowing cloud of red ions as she was disintegrated instantly. She was telefragged.

Fluttershy flinched, and made a small squealing sound. Red Heavy heard the sound, and turned around to face the wall.

“Hey! What is little pony doctor doing against wall like that? Come; follow Heavy!” The Russian ordered.

Red Heavy marched off with his minigun as Fluttershy began to stray from the wall. Applejack’s jaw hung open, shocked at what had just happened.

“Fluttershy, don’t follow him yet. I need you to stay down here with me.”

………………………………………………

“Alert! The enemy has taken our Intelligence!” The Announcer rasped angrily to the BLU team.

Blue Medic groaned. “Ugh, already? How did zey get in here so fast?”

“Follow me, doc! Maybe I can stop ‘em!” Pinkie Pie offered, running up to the German eagerly.

“Fine, zen. Just don’t let zem escape.”

…

Blue Medic latched onto Pinkie Pie with his healing. Currently equipped with the stock medi-gun, he was determined to make his Ubers count.

Pinkie Pie ran full speed toward the Intelligence room. Once she had gotten there, she and Blue Medic saw Red Demoman standing across the room with the Intel on his back. He did a twirl in front of them, and gave them the peace sign with his fingers.

Blue Medic gasped. “Pinkie, vatch out!”

Before any action could be taken, the duo was blown up violently by the stickybombs that were placed expertly around the rim of the entranceway. Gory remnants flew through the air around Red Demoman, splashing blood everywhere.

…

“They’re gonna bury what’s left of ya in a soup can!” He taunted.

Red Demoman placed a sticky on the ground in front of him. After running over it, he detonated it, causing him to fly past the railing and over to the battlements of the BLU base. He beat Blue Sniper to death with a bottle on his way by, and left the base through the lower bridge.

“Spectacular job, Demo.” A voice spoke over his headset.

“Eh……who is this?” Red Demoman stammered.

“It’s Red Spy. I saw the whole thing. Pretty smart job back there.”

Red Demoman burped. “I’m drunk…what did ya expect?!”

There was silence over the other end. Red Demoman just shrugged the conversation off, and continued to carry the briefcase back to the RED base.

………………………………………………

“Success! We have secured the enemy Intelligence!” The Announcer stated to the RED team.

Red Engineer clapped his hands together happily as Red Demoman passed through the room. His plan for Applejack was working beautifully. And so far, there were no serious enemy encounters for him to worry about.

Suddenly, to prove him wrong, a blue halo materialized next to Applejack’s sentry gun. Once it had appeared completely, it took the form of Fluttershy.

“Hey, damned Spy! Get your ass away from that sentry!” He yelled.

“Who, m…me? I…I’d never do something like that!” The fake Fluttershy sobbed in response.

Right on cue, the fake Fluttershy placed a sapper on Applejack’s sentry, and disappeared. Immediately, Applejack was notified of it on the other side of the map.

…

“Hey, you’d better take care of that!” Applejack rasped over Red Engineer’s headset.

Red Engineer sprinted up the stairs to assess the problem. “I’m trying, I’m trying! The Spy’s disguised as Fluttershy!”

“Fluttershy’s standing right next to me!” Applejack exclaimed in the speakers.

“Well, it doesn’t really matter where Fluttershy REALLY is, does it? There’s a Spy-Shy hanging around in here somewhere!” Red Engineer stated angrily.

…

Red Engineer fixed Applejack’s sentry gun from the sapper damage. As soon as he did so, however, the Fluttershy imposter appeared down by where he was first sitting; next to his dispenser. In the blink of an eye, the dispenser was being sapped as well.

“Dammit!”

Red Engineer ran down to the dispenser to fix the damage. As he did this, Red Pyro entered the room.

“Pyro, help me! There’s a damn Spy in here!” Red Engineer ordered.

Red Pyro nodded his head once, and began to shoot flames throughout the room. Walking around and spinning in circles, the arsonist tried to cover the whole room in all-consuming fire.

Right then, Fluttershy’s burning halo appeared in the far corner. Immediately upon impact with fire, the hidden Spy was visible to the world. The fake and burning pegasus began to sprint out the door.

Red Pyro did not let him up easy, however. Following him on the way out, the muffled assassin continued shrouding the Spy in flames until he collapsed to the ground. Sure enough, the corpse was that of Blue Spy.

…

Red Pyro walked back into the room, and shot a thumbs-up. Red Engineer smiled, and wiped his forehead.

“I thank you kindly, Pyro. Your Spy-checking skills are matched by no other.”

Red Pyro giggled.

……………………………………………….

“Alert! The enemy has taken our Intelligence!”

Blue Medic grumbled under his breath. “How are vee letting so many enemies steal our stupid briefcase?! I zought vee had better defense!”

Blue Engineer, who had spawned next to Blue Medic in the resupply, shrugged his shoulders.

“I don’t know what to tell ya, doc. Every time I go into the Intel room to build, an enemy is already there before me. I don’t know how they’re getting here without crossing the bridge.”

“Vell…did you see anyzing suspicious over zee course of zee battle?” Blue Medic asked.

…

Blue Scout, who had been sitting in the corner pouting for most of the battle, raised his hand. Blue Medic and Blue Engineer turned to him curiously.

“I saw that orange pony go running by into our sewer entrance after the battle had started earlier. I wanted her out of my way, since I had an important job to do.” He explained.

…

Blue Scout gasped in surprise when he was suddenly picked up by his shirt by Blue Soldier and shaken back and forth. His eyes shook around in their sockets.

“You idiot! You let an enemy ENGINEER into our base?! How could be so insensitive?! They’re probably down in our basement right now, tea-partying it up with their sentries and their teleporters!” He screamed angrily.

“I don’t care, Soldier! Now put me down before I show you what this feels like!” Blue Scout yelled in response.

“Hey hey, don’t worry about it, you two. We’ll just go down there with a little extermination force and wipe them out. We already have Pinkie Pie in the room with us.” Blue Engineer suggested.

“You bet I am! That sounds like a great plan, there!” Pinkie mused.

…

“You know vhat? I bet vee could do zis by ourselves. C’mon, let’s go.” Blue Medic instructed.

Blue Medic charged out of the resupply locker, with Blue Engineer, Blue Soldier, and Pinkie Pie close behind. Just as they were making their way down the stairs, the announcement rang that the enemy had capped the Intel for the second time.

………………………………………………
Music: The Art of War (Repeat if needed)
………………………………………………

“So do you see what I’m saying, Fluttershy? You are very important to us, and it’s essential that you understand the task that we’ll all be facing.” Applejack explained.

Fluttershy stuttered nervously. She didn’t know how to respond to Applejack’s sudden wall of information. Without warning, though, her thoughts were interrupted by a very low rumble.

“Um…what’s that sound?” She quivered.

Applejack craned her head to hear the sound better. As the sound began to get louder, she gasped in surprise.

“Someone’s coming down the stairs! Quick, Flutters, hide!” Applejack cried.

…

Applejack sprinted around the corner, and dove against the wall in the next space of the room. Fluttershy stood awkwardly next to Applejack’s dispenser.

“Wait…where do I go?!” She whispered loudly.

Applejack unwillingly ignored her friend. At this rate, any sound would give her away. Fluttershy would just have to take one for the team this time around.

…

Blue Medic, Blue Soldier, Blue Engineer, and Pinkie Pie appeared around the side of the gas tanker. They raised an eyebrow when they caught a glimpse of Fluttershy standing alone next to the two Engineer buildings. Fluttershy crumpled to the ground, and covered her face.

“Where is the Engineer?!” Blue Soldier screamed.

Fluttershy squealed quietly into the floor. As Blue Soldier struggled to get an answer out of her, Blue Engineer approached the teleporter and the dispenser, and hit them with his wrench until they were destroyed. Applejack grumbled.

“Don’t think y’all are gonna keep her hidden from us. We know she’s down here somewhere, and we want to waste her before she builds more stuff.” Blue Engineer scolded.

…

Fluttershy didn’t make a sound. Blue Soldier began to clench his fists.

“C’mon, Fluttershy, all we want is Applejack! It doesn’t have to be that hard.” Pinkie Pie consoled.

Fluttershy still didn’t say anything. Her face remained buried in the cement, with her Quick Fix lying idly on the floor. The BLU group glared at her impatiently.

…

Blue Soldier growled. Without warning, he grabbed Fluttershy’s backpack, and tugged on it until it broke off of her back. This was enough to make Fluttershy show her face.

“Hey! Please, give that back!” She begged. She jumped up after it, but he held the pack above his head where she couldn’t reach it.

Blue Soldier felt the large, metal power device in his beefy hands. He stared thoughtfully at the big red “+” that was plastered on the side, and then back at the frightened pegasus who wielded it.

…

“Did you say you needed this useless piece of junk?” Blue Soldier stalled.

“Yes! Please! Give it back to me!” Fluttershy pleaded.

Blue Soldier looked back down at the pack. Suddenly, his face tensed up. His grip tightened on the device.

“My God, what is WITH you passive fighters in this war?! I didn’t sign up and risk my life for petty little maggots like you to get all frou-frou and friendly in my face! Long live our beloved aggression!” He announced menacingly.

He brought the pack backwards in his grip, and swung it hard at Fluttershy like a baseball bat. A large metal clang rang through the ears of the mercenaries as the surface of it struck Fluttershy in the right cheek. She flew backwards, and slammed into the broken shards of the dispenser.

…

The BLU fighters gasped in shock. Blue Medic covered his mouth.

Fluttershy put a hoof under her crumpled body, and tried to get back up. Just as she was about to do so, Blue Soldier stomped over to her, and began to repeatedly beat her with the bottom end of the power backpack.

“Oh mein God, Soldier! Stop it! Vhat zee hell is wrong vith you?!” Blue Medic yelled.

The doctor stepped forward, and used all of his might to try and pull Blue Soldier off of Fluttershy. Pinkie Pie and Blue Engineer did the same.

Applejack immediately left her hiding spot as soon as she heard the bang over Fluttershy’s face. She was now standing behind Blue Soldier, trying with the rest of the group to pull him off of her.

…

Blue Soldier got about two dozen solid strikes in before the group finally managed to pry him off of her. Blue Medic grabbed the pack out of his hands, and slapped him across the face.

“You monster! Vhat zee HELL vere you zinking?!” He raged.

“I don’t think he was, partner.” Blue Engineer added.

The bunch of them stared worriedly down at Fluttershy, who was crippled on the ground and motionless. After twenty seconds of nothing, the broken pegasus slowly lifted a hoof. Everyone watched anxiously as the resilient young mare tried brutally to stand herself back up.

She managed to get her other hoof underneath her. Once she had lifted her front end up, her face became visible. Blood dripped from her mouth and her nose, and tears dripped from her eyes. Multiple deformities were evident in her complexion from the strikes by the cold, hard metal.

“Son of a bitch, Soldier! I can’t believe you!” Blue Engineer rasped.

“Fluttershy…oh my gosh…” Pinkie Pie whispered.

Fluttershy supported her head above the ground for a few seconds, but suddenly collapsed again after Pinkie had spoken. Her hooves moved to cover her face, and she began to sob loudly.

……………………………………………
Music: Nayru's Wisdom (Repeat if needed)
……………………………………………

“Stop! Stop! Everyone, stop fighting!” The Announcer screamed.

Startled and confused, the mercenaries stopped in their tracks. They all tuned into their headsets, curious to see what the deal was about. Everyone who was dead immediately respawned.

“It’s a stalemate! Everyone loses! Apparently, the events that have unfolded tonight have led to absolutely no progress by ANY of the teams!” She continued.

Murmurs began to sail around the map as fighters discussed what was going on. Everyone slowly and subconsciously began to collect around the main bridge.

“Some select mercenaries have clearly forgotten what it means to be a fighter here at Mann Co. In this company, we do indeed fight a lot. But we fight honorably! Fist fights and beatings are not what we are going to tolerate!”

Shocked gasps could be heard around the group. More petty discussion arose between the fighters.

…

“I hereby announce, under the supervision of Saxton Hale himself, that the Soldier of the BLU team be suspended from this company until further notice, for the disorderly assault of Fluttershy, on the RED team.”

Loud gasps filled the air as the mighty announcement was made. Red Medic’s was the loudest.

“Vhat?! No! Not Ms. Fluttershy! I vill KILL him!!!” He vowed furiously.

…

The five fighters down in the BLU sewers, excluding Fluttershy, stood in a loose huddle in confusion and worry. The activity going on in the facility was because of THEM. And now, due to their little dispute, everyone was paying the price with an unruly stalemate.

“What?! You can’t SUSPEND me! I’m probably the best fighter that Builder’s League United has ever had!” Blue Soldier defiantly yelled.

“I wouldn’t argue. I’m sure you wouldn’t want your suspension to become an expulsion. Now stand down!” The Announcer ordered.

…

Blue Soldier reluctantly dropped his weapon, and lowered his head. Immediately, he disappeared in a brilliant flash of light. Just seconds after, Red Medic came bursting down the stairs.

“Oh, Fluttershy! Look what he did to you!” He sighed sadly.

Red Medic took a good, long look at his abused companion. Fluttershy didn’t even get up to look at her partner. She continued to cry into her hooves.

…

The distraught Medic turned angrily to the remaining four bystanders.

“Go! Get zee hell out of here! Leave me vith my beautiful friend! I vill nurture her alone!”

Blue Medic, Blue Engineer, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack raised their arms into the air, and backed out of the sewer slowly. Once they were gone, Red Medic rubbed his hand through Fluttershy’s destroyed mane.

“Oh, dear Ms. Fluttershy…vhat tvist of cruel fate could’ve brought you into zis horrible vorld?”

To be Continued…

Author's Note

Well, I finally managed to live up to the big bad question in my description. This just may make a suitable climax before the big finale. :)
I was gone at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp the last week and a half, so that may explain the length of time between the last two chapters. This ending will be drawn out slowly, so be patient!

Making Things Worse

The air was still and quiet. Soft cricket sounds steadily became evident as the night sky loomed overhead. Even the PA system was quiet.

In a silent mutual agreement, the fighters began to migrate over to the BLU sewer where the incident had recently occurred. The Announcer, seeing this, still said nothing.

Led by Red Sniper and Twilight, the group entered the BLU base, and approached the stairs. Just as they were preparing to descend, they were met by Blue Medic, Blue Engineer, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack.

Blue Medic shook his head. “It’s really bad down zere. I’d be careful.”

…

Pushing past the small mob, the group walked down the stairs to get a glimpse of the scene in the sewer. Red Sniper and Twilight, walking next to each other, were the first ones to catch a view of the aftermath.

Immediately upon reaching the bottom, the group could hear soft sobbing coming from the far side of the room. From the stairs, they could see a fallen rocket launcher next to a smoking black mark on the ground. It must’ve been the spot where Blue Soldier got sent away, based on the announcement information.

Walking slowly and cautiously, the group approached the source of the sobbing. Once they were past the gas tanker, they saw the rest of the picture.

Broken metal shards covered the section of the room. Some of the RED fighters recognized them as pieces of Applejack’s buildings. Blood was also spattered across a couple areas on the floor, as well as against the back corner wall where the teleporter had been. In the middle of the room was Red Medic, hunched over a battered Fluttershy. It became clear that Fluttershy was the source of the crying sound.

Audible gasps filled the room as the fighters got a view of this atrocity. The noise alerted Red Medic of their presence.

“Go avay! I zought I told you to LEAVE!” He screamed. He didn’t turn around.

…

“It’s not the BLU guys, Medic. It’s the rest of us. We came to see what happened.” Red Sniper stated calmly.

“I don’t care. I vant to be alone vith her…” Red Medic responded. His voice fell, and became a dull whisper. It was nearly drowned out by the sound of Fluttershy crying into his lap.

…

Blue Spy tapped Rarity lightly in the hip. He leaned down, and whispered, “Couldn’t he just heal her like he does to everyone else?”

Rarity shook her head. “Just let this moment reign. I’m sure it’ll all be better soon.”

…

Red Medic shook his head multiple times. “I…I can’t do zis anymore. I’m sick of zee pain it’s causing me. Vee need to break out of zis life!”

All of the fighters gasped once again. Red Sniper stepped forward, and took his hat off.

“I think that’s out of the question, mate. Remember the speech you gave me at Mountain Lab? You told ME never to give up, even when my Twily was out of my grasp. And you KNOW that that pony in your lap DEPENDS on you.”

“And I FAILED! I couldn’t be zere for her, and now LOOK at her! It’s just not VORTH zee pain anymore!” Red Medic yelled.

“That’s not true, doc! I HAD my moment of weakness, you know! I let Blue Spy come between me and Twily, and you TAUGHT me not to give up! I owe all I have to you.” Red Sniper countered.

…

The group of fighters standing near the back watched these events play out in utter amazement. No one, not even Rainbow Dash, said a word.

“I told you I’d be zere for my companion. I can only do so much. I just vant vat’s best for her, and zis vorld CANNOT offer it. Vee need to escape.” Red Medic muttered.

“What do you think Fluttershy wants more, mongrel? To be safe and sound away from action like usual, or to be in the arms of the one she CARES about? I’d step out into sentry gun crossfire if it meant saving the life of Twily. You need to ENTITLE yourself to do the same!” Red Sniper demanded.

Red Medic was completely silent. Fluttershy stopped sobbing, and looked up sadly at her companion. He looked down into her eyes, and a single tear fell down his cheek.

…

“Oh Sniper…you’re right. Vat have I been doing…? Zis is not right!” He wailed. “But vat do I do?”

Red Sniper smiled. “Just do what you’ve been doing, mate. Be there to love and honor your closest comrade in the rage of war. There is no escaping this, so the best thing to do is to face it together.”

Fluttershy held her arms out for Red Medic, and he happily obliged by wrapping her in a deep hug. Time stood still for both of them as they relished in each other’s embrace.

……………………………………………

The fighters applauded ecstatically. Just as a perfect moment came into place, a breeze began to blow in the sewer room. It slowly began to intensify, causing the fighters’ clothing to rustle around. In a brief moment describable by the surge of a second, the Announcer appeared in the sewer in another light flash.

Everyone stopped in their tracks and turned when they saw the light appear behind them. The Announcer wasted no time once she was in the fighters’ presence. She immediately began to approach them, talking at a rapid pace.

“Alright everyone, we’re running out of time. I need the equines to step over here, and I need my hired RED team mercenaries to step over there.” She ordered.

“Wait, what’s going –”

“No questions! Just hurry up and do as I say! Our alarms are ringing off the hook with reports of an attack developing at Mannhattan and Rottenburg! We need the forces of our humans and our ponies combined!”

In a wave of confusion and shock, the targeted fighters began to follow their orders. The group began to scatter as everyone stepped aside to their respective locations.

“Vait…Rottenburg? Zat’s vhere I vas born!” Red Medic stated in surprise.

“Enough of this! We need our defense teams immediately!” The Announcer demanded.

In a fit of frustration and impatience, the Announcer marched over to Fluttershy and Red Medic. She leaned down, grabbed Fluttershy around the waist, and began to pry her out of Red Medic’s grasp.

Fluttershy began to scream and kick. “NO! NO! Let go of me! Meeddiicc!!!”

“Hey! Give her back, you monster!” Red Medic yelled.

“Shut up and get in line, peasant! You don’t want to end up like Blue Soldier, do you?” The Announcer hissed.

…

Stuck without options, Red Medic growled, and crawled over to his spot by the mercenaries.

Tears streamed down Fluttershy’s face in great numbers as she was forcefully carried to her spot by her fellow ponies. Without a chance to fight, she was sent off to her inevitable duty by the snap of the Announcer’s finger. Red Medic buried his face in his hands woefully as the same happened to him.

The Announcer clicked on her microphone. “Get the UPGRADE stations ready immediately! The shipments have been made! Tell Gray Mann to send his worst!”

To be Continued…

Author's Note

Man, I suck at sappy scenes. :P

The Gravity of Mortality

Darkness. First there was light, and then there was darkness. A quick strain of the eye, and everything fell into…darkness. Was this death? There was no way of telling.

Twilight’s mind was swirling with these thoughts as she made a conscious effort to feel her own body. A brief surge of energy, and the disoriented unicorn was able to put one hoof in front of the other. Groggily, she opened her sealed eyelids.

…

Blurriness. First there was light, then there was darkness, and now there was blurriness. Twilight shook her head a few times in an attempt to rid herself of her hangover.

She appeared to be in some kind of small garage. Bright, fluorescent lights beamed wisdom of their surroundings into Twilight’s squinting eyes. Due to her body position, she felt like she was lying on a floor.

As her senses became sharper and clearer, Twilight groaned in an effort to sit herself up. She apparently resided on some sort of white linoleum tiling, alongside her eight unconscious friends. None of their mercenary companions were within sight.

This was all too familiar to her. A long time ago, longer than she could remember, she was in a similar situation of fear and confusion. A situation where she awoke softly in a world unknown and uncharted. A world where her former companions were lost in a realm no longer reachable. A world greeted to them by the darkened horizon of Doublecross.

…

Twilight looked around in all directions to get a survey of her whereabouts. The floor was clustered with seven unconscious ponies, one unconscious dragon, and a pile of dropped weapons. Two large stands stood against the wall on both sides of the room, each one marked, “UPGRADES”. Out the front window, a sprawling city extended past the horizon.

Memories of Twilight’s first experience at Mannworks began to hit her like lightning. The small garage, the city expanse, the UPGRADE stations…it was all making sense to her now.

Her amnesia completely eradicated, Twilight jogged over to the weapons pile to grab the weapons that she had dropped earlier. Then, in a patient manner, she began to wake everyone else up from their slumber.

…

Applejack was the first one to be awoken. She groaned lazily for a few seconds before sitting up slowly, just as Twilight had done. Once Applejack was aware of her surroundings, Twilight moved on to the next unconscious companion.

Fluttershy was the last one to be awoken. She lay close to the weapons pile, next to Zecora and Big Mac. Before Twilight could even kneel down to wake up her friend, Pinkie Pie nudged Fluttershy in the hip. The startled pegasus jerked awake with a sudden blink.

“Oh! I didn’t think you would awake so quickly. How are you feeling?” Twilight asked.

“Wh…where’s Red Medic…?” Fluttershy asked.

Twilight raised her hoof to answer, but Big Mac cut her off. “Gone. Every one of our human friends is gone.”

“Do you know where we are?” Fluttershy asked.

“Nope.” Big Mac finished. He stood up, trudged over to the weapons pile, and yanked his minigun out from the bottom of the pile.

…

Zecora raised her hoof. Twilight and Big Mac both turned to her to see what she needed.

“Dear Twilight, I must know. What are these watches of which they bestowed?” She asked, holding up her left hoof for the unicorn to see.

Twilight looked down at her own left hoof, and found a similar device attached to her arm just above the tip of her hoof. She tapped it lightly.

“I don’t know what these things are. They weren’t there before we got here.” She marveled.

Pinkie Pie jumped up behind Twilight, making her flinch. “Twilight, mine’s got a neat-looking flame on the wristband!”

Twilight glanced at Pinkie Pie’s watch in confusion, then looked back down at her own again. On the back of the wristband, a sniper scope icon reflected back into her eyes. Zecora’s showed an icon of a bomb.

“They seem to match our class symbols. They must have some kind of purpose.” Twilight muttered.

…

While Twilight was trying to figure out the function of the ponies’ mysterious hoof-devices, the other groggy fighters got up to go claim their weapons. As Fluttershy was reaching toward the top of the pile to grab her syringe gun, Rainbow Dash caught a glimpse of her hoof-device.

“Horse-feathers; look at Fluttershy’s watch!” The cyan pegasus interjected.

Everyone who heard Rainbow Dash’s cry turned in Fluttershy’s direction. Fluttershy even looked down herself to see what everyone was freaking out about.

Fluttershy's watch wasn’t even much of a watch at all. A strange, robotic device was clasped to the bicep of her lab coat, and ran down like a prosthetic arm to the tip of her hoof. Various small buttons and monitors covered its exterior. Over the bicep, where her patch would normally be, was a large, glowing plus sign that indicated her class assignment. Her Quick-Fix was decked out with all sorts of lights and attachments.

“Holy hell…I bet Engineer would get a kick outta that……” Applejack muttered audibly.

“We’re so screwed…” Spike whispered, shaking his head.

…

“Damn, Flutters, you look like an android! I wish I could have all of that cool stuff!” Rainbow Dash gaped.

“Wha…what does this stuff do?” Fluttershy asked with worry.

Twilight and Applejack both walked up to Fluttershy’s bionic arm, and tried to study it for a few minutes. Meanwhile, the other fighters galloped over to the UPGRADE stations to start improving their defenses. This operation was already carried out once, so there was no doubt that they could do it again.

When Zecora was finished, she walked back to where Fluttershy and the observers were standing. “I don’t mean to interrupt with needs, but shouldn’t Fluttershy be using the Kritzkrieg?”

Big Mac trudged up behind her. “Eeyup. The Kritzkrieg is what got us through last time.”

Twilight turned to look at Fluttershy. “I’m afraid I have to agree. I think the Kritzkrieg would be a smarter choice for this kind of mission. The extra damage it causes would really aid us with whatever comes to harm us.”

Fluttershy looked at the three of them with a defiant glare. She grabbed her Quick Fix with both hooves, and held it close to her chest. “This is the thing Red Medic taught me to use. This is the thing Red Medic gave me as a gift. If I never see his beautiful face again, I’m at least going to use the one thing that reminds me of him.”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes from a few feet away. “Fluttershy, that’s not even the same Quick Fix that Red Medic gave you. That one’s back at the testing facility.”

“I don’t care! This one still holds meaning to me!” Fluttershy snapped.

…

The four of them backed up a foot, their eyes wide. Fluttershy was getting unusually hostile towards them. If something held relevance to Red Medic, then it seemed that it wouldn’t be pried away from the shaken pegasus.

Just then, an alarming announcement made it over the PA. The ponies stopped in their tracks, and listened closely.

“Ponies, you must be warned. Our respawn algorithms are not reaching your location. From our base in Australia, we can only keep the servers running as far as India. We will keep on trying to fix the issue, but until something is figured out, deaths will be permanent!”

Everyone gasped. Everyone. If one silly move was made, a grave would have to be dug. For the first time since their arrival, a death would hold an immediate, lasting effect on the remaining ponies’ souls. Losing loved ones seemed too unbearable.

“What? What are we supposed to do, then?” Spike yelled. No response came over the PA.

…

“Applejack, PLEASE tell me that there’s something we can do about this.” Rarity pleaded, swinging her knife around anxiously.

“’Course there is. All those doohickeys covering Fluttershy have a purpose, you know. She can revive dead teammates if she catches them within ten seconds.” Applejack replied with a twitch of the straw in her mouth.

“Well…what happens if Fluttershy dies?” Rarity asked.

That one held a bit more meaning. The essence of the room seemed to dissipate for a few moments as the question escaped Rarity’s mouth. Applejack was silent for those few moments. She glanced up at Rarity from the ground, and sighed. “Life will go on.”

Rarity shook her head, and looked at the ground. “Dear Celestia……we’re screwed……”

…………………………………………………………………
Music: The Calm (It's best if you don't repeat this one.)
…………………………………………………………………

Once the ponies were finished with their initial upgrades, they stepped out of the garage to explore their surroundings. Massive skyscrapers dotted the horizon as far as the eye could see. Nearby, about three hundred yards ahead, a large mill with a neon “Mhanko” sign on the top cast its shadow.

The sun was setting over the entire backdrop. Off in the distance, car horns and engines could be heard buzzing through the streets of the busy city. The moderately-sized plot of land that they were defending, however, was completely deserted.

Over a few unreachable ledges to the right side, the familiar blue ship that caused all of their problems was parked at the entrance of a big gate that led into the mill. The garage that the ponies woke up in was tucked under the roof of a giant Mann Co. base that sprawled out for another fifty feet before giving way to the open environment of their defense plane. The hatch, the unmistakable metal door on the ground that they were assigned to defend, sat just before the edge of the roof in front of the garage.

…

“This is pretty incredible…” Spike gawked.

“Yeah…hard to believe that Mann Co. has bases like this all over the world…” Twilight added.

“Eh, whatever. I’m not much of a city pony. Let’s just start settin’ up before those robots come out to melt our brains.” Applejack ordered.

Fluttershy shivered. The ponies all stopped their walk to begin sprinting into the mill where their first line of defense would be set up. The back side of the mill to the right of the entrance displayed a massive entranceway to the ship, where the robots were apt to exit through. Above it was a high-risen railing that led to a second robot exit. The rail traveled off behind a wall to a staircase that led down to a side ledge right next to the mill entrance. Down below sat a gas tanker with a health and ammo pack sitting behind it. Way off behind everything to the left side was another staircase leading up to a second gate with a large “A” printed on the front.

…

“Let’s get this over with. Those golden weapons are calling my name.” Rainbow Dash smirked.

“They’re made of Australium, Rainbow Dash, not gold.” Twilight corrected.

Rainbow Dash scoffed. “Australium, gold, plastic, whatever. If they’re valuable, I want ‘em.”

…

“You take off of me perfectly, Skittles.” A voice interrupted.

The ponies raised an eyebrow. What did that come from? It sounded like Red Scout, but he wasn’t with them at the mill. They all looked around, confused.

“Down here, bonehead.” Red Scout chuckled. Rainbow Dash looked down at her wrist, and found Red Scout on the monitor of her special watch. He flashed a thumbs-up, and grinned.

Rainbow Dash gasped. “Scout! How are you contacting me like this? Aren’t we like…really far away from each other?”

“You bet your ass we are. It doesn’t matter, though. Mann Co.’s got the technology other companies WISH they had. Our invasion hasn’t started yet. How about yours?”

Rainbow Dash scratched the back of her neck. “Yeah, we’re not quite there yet either. Still tryin’ to figure this place out. ‘Think we got Applejack settin’ up buildings already.”

Red Scout leaned in close to the watch, and began to whisper. “Hey, uh, Skittles…how’s the yellow one doin’? We got Red Medic over here, and he’s decked up with robotics like he’s some sort of android.”

Rainbow Dash chuckled at the little coincidence of the Scout’s statement. Then, her face turned serious. “I’m not sure. We’ve kind of grown accustomed to the sound of metal rattling due to her constant shivering. I’m worried about her, man.”

Red Scout nodded. “Did you receive the warning PA from the creepy lady?”

“Sure did. Our LIVES depend on that little filly. It’s drivin’ my heart-rate up.” Rainbow Dash said with a shake of her head.

“I feel bad for you, though. I feel lucky to have my life entrusted to Red Medic, who’s a professional. All you have keeping Death off your front porch is a little pony who can’t even look at her own shadow.” Red Scout mentioned.

“Don’t remind me.” Rainbow Dash muttered.

…

“Well, I think I gotta take off. Haven’t even upgraded yet, and you never know when the robots are going to start kickin’.” Red Scout said.

“Alright then. Take care.” Rainbow Dash replied, preparing to turn off her watch.

“Oh, wait! Before you go, I just wanted to say something.”

“Yeah?”

Red Scout looked like he was about to say something, but stopped for a moment to take a breath. He looked down at the ground, and sighed a few times while scratching his nose. Rainbow Dash watched the monitor intently, waiting for him to say something of importance.

“…I love ya, Skittles. I really do.” He paused for a moment, kissed his fingers, and pressed them to the screen. “Just in case either of us doesn’t make it, I want you to know that.”

Well...that certainly was a statement of importance. The pegasus blinked a few times in surprise, and began to stutter.

It was only a matter of time before Rainbow Dash started fighting the devil to keep herself from crying. She sniffled once, and did the same thing with her hoof.

…

Applejack poked her head out from behind a crate, and gestured her hoof. “C’mon, Rainbow! I got my stuff put together, and we’re waitin’ on you! Time’s ‘a wasting!”

Red Scout and Rainbow Dash smiled at each other from over the watch transmission. Then, Red Scout cut the signal. Rainbow Dash’s screen went black.

To be Continued…

Author's Note

I finally decided to get off of my lazy ass (and sit back down on it) to get this thing going! I'm sure you're all getting pretty sick of waiting! So, here's our exposition to the resolution! A.K.A, this is the beginning of the end. *smirk*

Anyways, the next couple of chapters will include a couple of pictures that I made myself in Source Filmmaker. I couldn't get the models of the ponies to include their uniforms and their unusual hats, so you'll just see them naked in the pics. Fluttershy's at least wearing her equipment in one of them. *Whew!*

Mann vs. Machine Mode (Wave 1)

Final Battle Arena: Mannhattan (Mann vs. Machine)

“So, uh…what’s on our agenda here?” Applejack asked uncertainly as she leaned against her sentry gun.

“I’m not really sure. These bots are apparently new to Mann Co, so they’re not giving us any information on what they are or what they do. I hear that they look like us again, so we have that to bet on.” Twilight responded with mundane hoof gestures.

“Man, I’ll tell you one thing. That Gray Mann guy has some creepy tastes if he’s designing robots to look like us ponies.” Rainbow Dash cut in.

“Do you think they’ll have the same abilities that Fluttershy has?” Spike asked worriedly.

The four of them glanced down at the butter yellow pegasus in question. She stood in place below the ledge that they were standing on, healing Zecora and chatting. She didn’t notice that her nervous friends were glaring at her.

“Celestia, I hope not.” Applejack sighed. Being one of the designers of Fluttershy’s incredible gadgetry, the humble farmer hoped relentlessly that it wouldn’t cause them their tragic demise.

…

Rainbow Dash, deterred by the conversation, decided to change the subject. “So, Twilight, what do you think about that ledge up there? Think there’ll be Snipers?”

Twilight shook her head. “I can’t say. But judging by what I see, I think it’s very likely. Luckily their sniper rifles give off visible blue laser lines for us to track.”

“I’ll have to run all the way up there to grab money for you guys. What a hassle.” Rainbow Dash scoffed.

Spike raised a claw. “At least you’re not Fluttershy.”

“Hey, stop bringing her up. I’m trying to keep my mind off of death.” Rainbow Dash jeered in response.

………………………………………………….

Unexpectedly, Applejack’s hoof device gave a loud beep. The conversers glanced down in surprise at the orange pony’s hoof device and watched as it buzzed to life. In a matter of moments, Red Engineer’s face showed up on the small monitor.

His face and upper body were covered in small splatters of blood. Sweat poured down his forehead as he whacked frantically at his sentry gun. Deafening gunfire and metallic clanks could be heard in the background.

As the loud noises started to erupt from Applejack’s hoof device, the other ponies standing down below the ledge looked up in confusion. Applejack turned her wrist, and angled the device so that the surrounding observers could see the screen.

“Applejack? Can you hear me?” The Engineer practically yelled.

“Uh, yeah, partner. I can hear y’all loud and clear.” Applejack replied casually.

“Okay, perfect. As you can probably see, our invasion has already started. That means yours will probably be starting in a few minutes.” He informed.

…

The ponies who were listening gulped loudly as their nervous hearts skipped a beat. A few of them took deep breaths to calm their nerves, and continued to listen.

“Before your attack starts, I need to stress some things to you. Our Medic here is working his ass off to keep us on our feet. Luckily, the respawn algorithms reach our location here in Germany, so we’re not totally in the deep end.” Red Engineer continued.

“Oh, come on! How come they have it so lucky? I’m over here thinking this is our last day alive!” Rainbow Dash complained.

“Shut up and listen, Rainbow!” Twilight ordered.

Once it was quiet again, Red Engineer continued. “In order to keep this rodeo from happening to you guys, I need you to follow these directions. Applejack, do you have the Rescue Ranger and the Short Circuit?”

“Um…I think I should. I got them back at…”

“That doesn’t matter now. Use them. The Short Circuit will vaporize any bombs and rockets that come toward you and your sentry. The Rescue Ranger will allow you to repair your sentry from afar and move it from said distance if a Buster comes your way.” Red Engineer explained.

“Well…alright then. That sounds like a good idea.”

…

Right on cue, as if by coincidence, and startling announcement sounded in the background over Applejack’s hoof device. It was the Announcer telling Red Engineer and the mercenaries that a Sentry Buster was entering the battlefield.

“Shit! Alright partner, I think I have to shut this off for now. Before I go, though, tell the yellow one to use the Kritzkrieg!” Red Engineer stressed. A rocket started to fly towards him, and the signal cut off.

The ponies stared expressionless at the monitor, trying to process what had just happened. Applejack lowered her hoof, and stood motionless for a time.

“Do you think we should, uh…tell her?” Rainbow Dash whispered.

Twilight shook her head. “No. Although it would probably be a better choice, we shouldn’t burden Fluttershy any more than we already have.”

…………………………………………………….

“Alert! Our attack has started! Get into positions and defend our base!” The Announcer cried over the PA.

The ponies jumped. Out of absolute nowhere, the attack was already beginning. Applejack didn’t even switch out her weapons yet.

“Zecora, get those sticky bombs down! I need you fellas to hold down fort while I swap up!” Applejack commanded.

Zecora saluted with her right hoof, and began to follow Applejack’s orders. Applejack dropped her wrench, and took off in a full sprint toward the resupply garage. Pinkie Pie hung close to Applejack’s sentry gun in case of a Spy invasion. Everyone else jumped down low and prepared themselves for the worst.

…

“5…4…3…2…1…”

Without a “go”, the robots immediately started to appear outside of the ship entrance. From what the ponies could see, they looked like normal-sized Rainbow Dash bots.

“Easy pickings, guys. Not that bad of a start.” Spike announced while leaping into the air with a rocket blast.

Big Mac spun up his minigun, and the clash began. The bots fell down into the pit where the ponies were standing, and began to get flooded with heavy artillery. With 800 credits to start the wave, the defenders had just enough money to send the Dash wave packing. Unmeasurable clouds of bullets streamed into the bots as they awkwardly galloped into battle. Healing was literally unnecessary as the defenders stood their ground with almost perfect accuracy.

Although the first mass of them were gone, more bots were entering in a steady stream. Without a closely-packed group of them, no explosive could easily handle the job. The bomb, which sat on the ground, was continuously repeating a cycle of drop and pick up.

Applejack’s sentry, which sat on the ledge a little further back, stood stationary. Not a single bot got far enough to enter its range yet. Pinkie Pie stood next to it, waiting impatiently for a few bots to give her some action.

As Rainbow Dash bots steadily entered the battlefield, they were quickly shoved aside by Big Mac and Spike. Fluttershy crouched behind a crate, blindly pocketing Big Mac. Although she was not healing anyone else, the first part of the wave was relatively mild.

…

“Is everyone okay? Do they need health?” Twilight called from her camp spot.

All of the ponies shook their heads. Apparently, with their experience boosted since the last invasion, Rainbow Dash bots were a piece of cake.

Right as the last one was blown apart by Spike, Applejack entered the building with her new weapons. She took a quick survey of the scene, and whistled.

“I take it you guys had this one under control.” She remarked.

Zecora’s stickies were not even used yet. Surprisingly, neither was Applejack’s sentry gun. Astonishingly, neither was Fluttershy’s uber.

…

With only a few seconds to rest, more bots began to flood out of the ship. Twilight raised her rifle, and peered through the scope.

“Zecora bots! And they appear to be holding……swords?” She announced with hesitation.

Pinkie Pie scoffed. “Who would give Zecora a sword? Are they loco in the coco?”

Ignoring her comment, Twilight leaned down toward the edge of the ledge. “Rainbow Dash, you did collect all of the money so far, right?”

Rainbow Dash turned to look at Twilight like she was made of plastic. “Duh, Twilight. I’m me. Of course I got it all.”

To fortify her statement, the athletic flier was riding on a large overheal from her bountiful harvest. Twilight backed up from the ledge, and resumed her focus.

…

The bots fell into the field, and immediately started to get attacked. They marched on with their swords in hoof, seemingly undeterred by the damage they were receiving.

The bot picked up the bomb, stepped up to Big Mac, and started slicing him. He shot relentlessly at the massive bot, with the assistance of Spike. Another Zecora bot with the same sword fell into the battlefield from behind. The real Zecora kept her focus on the new one, shooting grenades at it in a constant pace.

In just a few moments, Fluttershy’s healing proved to be too slow compared to the damage of the robot’s giant blade. With one final swing, the bot actually managed to finish off Big Mac. At the same time, the second bot put on a charge, and slammed into Spike with a crit. Both of them were down and out.

As Applejack’s sentry immediately opened fire on the first Zecora bot, Fluttershy’s arm attachments began to beep and give off red lights. Fluttershy shrieked in surprise.

“Wh…what’s it doing?” She stammered.

Applejack worked tirelessly at her sentry gun while it fired brutally at the Zecora bot. “Fluttershy, that means you have teammates down! You need to revive them before they’re gone for good!”

Fluttershy looked around the corner of the crate at Big Mac’s dead body. Erected over it was an actual-size red hologram of his body shape. Fluttershy reluctantly aimed her Quick Fix at it, and opened healing.

Steadily, and almost creepily, Big Mac’s body actually began to repair itself. In about four seconds, he was alive and breathing once again.

“Whoa, Fluttershy, that’s pretty impressive.” Big Mac remarked, feeling his hooves on the ground again.

…

Applejack cut in loudly again. “Now hurry! You have to catch Spike!”

Finally breaking away from Big Mac, Fluttershy sprinted over to Spike’s corpse, and began to heal. Miraculously, the small dragon’s body was also completely revitalized.

Just in time for the first Zecora bot to be destroyed by Applejack’s sentry, the second one was also destroyed by a headshot from Twilight. With a few more frantic bullets and rockets, the third one was also finished off in a matter of time.

Fluttershy swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat, and breathed deeply. Rarity approached her from behind the enemy lines, and put a hoof on her shoulder.

“Think you’re getting the hang of this?” She asked softly.

“Not really…” Fluttershy breathed.

“Well, just hang in there. Don’t do anything too bold. We can handle the bots. You just need to stay alive.” Rarity mentioned.

Fluttershy nodded quickly. She raised her Quick Fix, and overhealed Rarity.

…

As Rarity put on a disguise and rushed to the front lines, a loud rumble shook the defenders. Startled, they looked toward the ship, and squinted to see what was about to come out.

Before the next bot showed its face, Twilight shifted her scope upwards towards the high-rise. She lowered her rifle, and cupped her hooves around her mouth.

“Incoming, everyone! I see Snipers!” She warned.

“Well, snipe ‘em.” Applejack responded while repairing her sentry.

Before Twilight could raise her rifle again, about half a dozen Twilight bots were on the scene and hiding. It was going to take a good eye to spot them before lives could be taken. At the same time, the next main bots appeared through the ship entrance.

…

Rainbow Dash gasped. “Hey, guys, it’s a giant Spike bot! And it looks like he has a few companions!”

Sure enough, by the time the monster was fully visible, three Uber Fluttershy bots had appeared behind him with full charges. The real Spike landed a jump right next to Zecora, and leaned in toward her ear.

“Make sure those stickies are ready for the Fluttershy bots. You don’t want to use them on the giant ‘me’.” He instructed.

“Dear Spike, there is no need to warn. For those robots I will surely scorn.” Zecora replied with a roll of her eyes.

Just before the giant bot and its Medics reached the entrance ledge, two more sword-wielding Zecora bots fell in from behind. About two more Twilight bots entered through the high-rise, giving the real Twilight more work to do.

…

For the time being, Big Mac focused his bullet spread on the new incoming Zecora bots. He left the giant to Zecora, Spike, and Applejack’s sentry gun.

Pinkie Pie jumped down from the back ledge, and began to burn the Zecora bots. One of them lurched forward with a charge, and sent her flying back a few feet. Her flamethrower slid to the ground as her right arm was completely chopped off.

“Uh…Fluttershy? Old Pinkie could use a bit of help here!” She called.

The giant Spike bot fell into the battlefield, and immediately began spamming rockets across the building. Spike, Pinkie Pie, and Big Mac were hit by the first three projectiles, putting them in dire condition.

Applejack put down her wrench, and began to yell. “Fluttershy, put a shield up!”

“A what?”

“A shield! It can block all of these incoming rockets!” She yelled.

…

Fluttershy frantically searched the gear on her body, but couldn’t find the switch that activated the shield. More rockets flew through the battlefield, putting the defenders in great danger.

Applejack jumped off of the ledge, and pulled out her Short Circuit arm. She began to use its electric field, spending metal in exchange for projectile protection. All of the bot’s rockets were temporarily being vaporized.

“Just nevermind! Heal the others while I hold this thing off!” Applejack ordered.

Fluttershy ran away from Applejack’s electric field, and began to supply health to the teammates that were injured. One of them, of which, got their arm grown back.

…

Zecora muttered to herself in concentration as the giant bot pulled its Medics closer and closer to her sticky trap. As long as no one attacked the Fluttershy bots, she would be able to wreck them before they deployed their Ubercharge.

Suddenly, she dropped her sticky bomb launcher as a Sniper bullet pierced her skull. She crumpled to the ground, leaving behind a red halo of her form.

Fluttershy’s arm device began emitting alarms again, telling the overworked pegasus that a teammate was down. Zecora’s body was all the way atop the ledge, which meant that the Medic would have to run out around the back arc, up the ramp, and over to the death site. There was no time to lose.

Fluttershy abandoned Big Mac and the others at the front, and sprinted with all of her power to reach the site of Zecora’s headshot death. A stray bullet struck one of the Fluttershy bots during her absence, causing it to deploy its Ubercharge. The giant bot was now spamming rockets with full invincibility.

…

Applejack stepped far away from her sentry gun, and began to repair it using the Rescue Ranger instead of her wrench. This way, her sentry gun was receiving health without her having to stand behind it in harm’s way. Using this technique, her defense remained stable for more precious moments.

“Dang it, Twilight, I thought you had all of the Snipers taken care of!” Applejack sighed.

“I’m working hard over here! It’s pretty difficult when you have to aim carefully for every shot! Your sentry gun does that automatically!” Twilight exclaimed in response.

Not willing to start an argument, Applejack left the issue alone. She glanced deeper into the building and found Fluttershy reviving Zecora’s body moments before its departure. She grinned slightly.

…

The Ubercharged Spike bot was wreaking havoc on the ponies’ defense line. All of the teammates were completely scattered, trying with difficulty to keep the robots in check. The issue was putting strain on Rainbow Dash.

“Someone help me! Did anyone see five credits? I’m missing five credits! I can’t miss five credits!” She pleaded.

“Do you want to try hitting the giant Spike bot with your Fan O’ War instead? We could use the help!” Applejack called down over the ledge.

Rainbow Dash groaned loudly. Her missing credits were driving her up a wall. “Picky, aren’t we?”

She pulled out her Fan O’ War as instructed, sprinted up behind the giant Spike bot, and hit it once. It did a whopping three damage, but also managed to plunge it into the pit of mighty mini-crits. Damage cranked out by Applejack’s sentry gun, Big Mac, and Spike increased considerably.

…

As the giant Spike bot began to take loaded damage, Twilight turned quickly to the Fluttershy bots behind it. With only one or two misses, she managed to steadily pick off all three of the fatal healers. The Spike bot was on its own.

Right at that time, however, with its launcher reloaded, the bot responded to the loss of its Medics by spamming a second set of rockets at the defenders. Most of the defenders were very close to the bot for extra damage, and had absolutely nowhere to run. Fast-flying projectiles struck them repeatedly, causing heavy destruction. Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Zecora were all down.

Fluttershy’s arm device set off again with frantic beeps and lights. She cried out again, and began to scurry in the direction of the fatalities.

Exasperated by Fluttershy’s incompetent shielding ability, Applejack leapt down below the ledge to start deflecting rockets with the Short Circuit. This bought Big Mac and Spike enough time to spam the bot with more mini-crits, as well as more space for Fluttershy to revive her teammates.

She started with Rainbow Dash, whose small amount of health had her back in seconds. She moved on to Rarity and Pinkie Pie next, taking advantage of their small amounts of health as well. She was lucky this time around that her teammates were in close proximity to each other.

…

With Zecora alive last, the giant Spike bot was finally destroyed by the heavy damage spray. The bomb was dropped on the ground again, though it was behind the arc where Applejack’s sentry couldn’t see it. The ponies all immediately shifted back to the front lines.

“Rarity, I need y’all to stay back by the bomb here. It might return to the ship if you keep robots from touchin’ it. Got it?” Applejack commanded.

Rarity nodded, and applied another disguise. She kept her Dead Ringer secure and her sapper ready to deploy.

Being the designer of the technology, as well as the intel-bearer on the robots’ behavior, Applejack did a remarkable job leading the team through the wave. That sort of honor was usually assigned to Twilight or Big Mac, but they were just as oblivious as civilians to this kind of invasion.

…

With these tactics set aside, the more frontal fighters sprinted back to the bot entrance in preparation for the next sub-wave of metal attackers. They didn’t have to wait long before the clanks of ferric footsteps began to rattle through their eardrums again.

“Is everyone ready?” Twilight called down from the ledge.

The rifle-bearing unicorn did not receive a reply. None of her teammates bothered to respond to her roll call. Sighing, she raised her rifle to her face once again.

“Alert! Their Spies are coming!” The Announcer warned.

Applejack shifted her wrench to the other hoof, and used the former to point down the edge of the ledge. She waved her wrench back and forth.

“Somepony watch Fluttershy! One stab, and our goose is cooked!” She ordered to the fighters down below.

Rainbow Dash glided down from the upper platform, and began to push and shove at Fluttershy. The flustered healer stumbled backwards in surprise.

“Hey!”

“Get against the wall, Flutters! It’ll keep the Spies from backstabbing you!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

…

Just as the blue halos of the stealthy bots began to appear, two giant Spike bots stepped out from the hatch of the robot ship. Roughly a dozen Fluttershy bots were latched onto one of them. At the same time, a cluster of smaller, swifter Spike bots swarmed out from the entrance.

Rarity hesitated a little bit, but decided to stick with Applejack’s plan and guard the bomb. After all, even a simple Spike bot could bust through with its launcher and devastate the operation. While debating thoughts ran through her head, the sound of loud explosions and gunfire vibrated past her ears. Applejack’s sentry gun, planted on the platform directly above the unicorn’s head, started shooting as it detected robots.

“Alert; a Sentry Buster has entered the area!” The Announcer broadcasted.

Rarity fiddled with her sapper as she heard Applejack interject above her. Thus far, no robots were entering her area.

“Well, I don’t think it’ll do my team harm if I move up a notch…” Rarity muttered to herself, shrugging her shoulders.

Keeping her sapper out, the disguised assassin equipped the Dead Ringer, and charged out into the front lines. Immediately upon entering the field of battle, she planted the sapper on the giant Spike bot with the Medics.

…

The bot started shuttering as the device sucked electrical energy out of its circuits. It turned with great effort toward the ground, where it saw what appeared to be a friendly Fluttershy bot holding its syringe gun. The Fluttershy bot looked up into the scanning eye cameras of the giant bot, and began to scurry away.

After a few mundane security checks, the giant Spike bot concluded that that Fluttershy bot was definitely a fraud. With more substantial effort, it turned around, and started shooting its rockets at it.

Rarity, noticed by the giant bot, immediately held out her Dead Ringer. When struck by one of the rockets, her cloak activated. Fooled, the giant bot turned back around, and returned its focus to the other fighters.

By then, though, its sapped energy was beginning to take a toll on its health. Added to the damage dealt by Spike, Big Mac, Twilight, Zecora, and Applejack, it was getting incredibly close to premature destruction.

Just as the ponies were preparing to sigh in relief, the few remaining Fluttershy bots behind the giant deployed their Ubercharge. In a discouraging stream of blue light, the bots entered invulnerability.

…

“Retreat! Don’t shoot, or you’ll waste your bullets!” Spike yelled.

Listening to orders, the ponies stopped shooting their guns. Applejack’s sentry wasn’t even present, because it was being hauled away by Applejack to the safety of the outdoors to be attacked by the Sentry Buster. Without a shield or the Short Circuit, the defenders dodged hopelessly in an attempt to phase the giant’s rockets.

Once the bot was underneath the arc, it picked up the bomb, and continued to carry it away from the defenders. Zecora jogged up the ledge, aimed her sticky launcher, and set a trap about twenty paces in front of the advancing bot.

A spine-rippling explosion tore through the ponies’ heads as the Sentry Buster ruptured outside of the building. They turned their heads in shock to the site of the explosion. There, amidst the endless clouds of smoke and ash, was Applejack, holding her sentry gun in its toolbox. Her breathing was heavy, but her face was confident.

“Good thing ‘mah legs are still good.” She panted.

The sweating farm mare dropped her sentry gun back on the ground above the arc. Just in time for its replacement, the giant Spike bot marched out from the back side of the ledge next to the leading ramp. It, along with its Medics, was now in view of the turret.

After a few more seconds, the bot’s Ubercharge was gone. Applejack’s sentry gun opened fire, peppering the bot with bullets. With great, laborious effort, it shot rockets in retaliation while continuing to move forward. Its helpless Fluttershy bots scampered forward in pursuit, and toppled right onto Zecora’s sticky trap. Zecora bowed her head down, waved her hoof in the air, and detonated the explosives.

…

The Fluttershy bots were violently mangled into oblivion. Pieces of circuitry and red-hot metal blasted through the air with skin-tearing force. Their medi-guns were tossed in the air alongside the fire-pillar that launched them. The giant Spike bot flinched to the side, damaged immensely.

Twilight, viewing the carnage from many yards away, chuckled softly. Memories awoke within her from their last robot battle at Mannworks. She couldn’t really explain why, but she almost felt at home fighting with her friends. Being flank-deep in robot shards and bullets just seemed to make her feel…content. She enjoyed it more than her battles against team BLU.

Smiling warmly, she raised her rifle to her face, gazed down the scope at the giant bot, and pulled the trigger. An air-piercing bullet shot out of her rifle, traveling at a deadly 3,000 feet per second. No, this was not the bullet that was going to end the battle for the ponies. This was the bullet that was going to spell new beginnings for Twilight’s relationship with her friends, her human mercenary companions, and Red Sniper. It was the bullet that would kick-start her second robot-defense experience.

…

The bullet crashed into the giant Spike bot’s head, blowing it up instantly. The ponies down by the kill-zone flinched backwards while holding their hooves up to their heads. A wave of heat and metal shrapnel flew by their faces as the giant bot’s fate was sealed. The first wave was complete.

“Well done! Return to the UPGRADE stations, and prepare for the next wave!” The Announcer ordered.

Twilight lowered her rifle, and hopped off of the ledge that she was standing on. Her frazzled friends began to flock up the ramp to join her once they were able to catch their breath. Applejack was the first one to walk by the lavender unicorn.

“Nice shot there, partner. Great way to start this defense mission!” She acknowledged, patting Twilight’s back.

Rainbow Dash flew by her next. Twilight looked up at her with a grin.

“Doing good so far, Dashie?” She asked.

Rainbow Dash’s face was buried in her hooves. She shook her head in annoyed exasperation. “Five credits… I missed FIVE CREDITS!”

Twilight laughed. “Hang in there. No one blames you.”

…

As each pony walked casually by Twilight in pursuit of the UPGRADE stations, the humble sniper modestly took in multiple compliments on her kill-shot. The last one to walk by her was Fluttershy. She was separated considerably from the rest of the crowd.

“Are you okay, Fluttershy?” Twilight asked nervously.

Fluttershy lowered her head and closed her eyes before letting tears fall to the ground for the umpteenth time that week. She shook her head.

To be Continued…

Author's Note

I'm getting pretty lazy, ain't I? :derpytongue2:

Well, it turns out I wasn't able to wrap this baby up before End of the Line came out. I'm not too worried about it, though. I never really stood a chance. This story WILL be finished, though, regardless of how slow I am to do it!

(By the way, I will not include all of the waves into this story. I will have this chapter for the first wave, the next chapter for the third wave, and the last chapter for the final wave.)

Courage (Wave 3)

“Is everyone okay?” Twilight asked worriedly.

The frazzled unicorn waited patiently for her friends to reply. In a matter of a few seconds, pained groans echoed through the rubble to Twilight’s eardrums. Her friends answered her call by grumbling as they struggled to climb out from the piles of twisted metal scattering the landscape. Upon counting all of them with her hoof, Twilight sighed with relief when she found that everyone was alive and present.

The second wave had been a disaster. The ponies had lost communication during the fight for some reason, which led to incoordination and confusion. Rainbow Dash had missed a third of the credits, so the defenders were starved of funds for decent upgrades. Many ponies came within inches of permanent death, due to the scattered state of the team and Fluttershy’s physical limitations.

…

As the ponies approached the frontlines after purchasing what little upgrades they could afford, they tiredly assembled their lineup close to the way they had it before. Many giant Rainbow Dash bots were going to be present in the upcoming third wave, so Applejack was forced to position her sentry gun in the middle of the bridge in order to block their path in case they broke through.

“How is everypony doing?” Applejack asked.

The farmer’s question was not answered with words. Big Mac practically dragged his minigun on the ground as he approached his spot on the battlefield. Spike sat on Pinkie Pie’s back to reach the front rather than having to walk or blast jump. Rainbow Dash walked instead of running or flying. Overall, Twilight seemed to be the only one with the energy to keep fighting. Only two waves had passed, and the defenders looked like they were ready to throw in the towel.

Fluttershy walked past Applejack.

“How are you feeling, Flutters?” The engineer asked.

Fluttershy, without raising her head, glanced up at Applejack with red, exhausted eyes. She maintained this gaze for an eternity of seconds, and then walked on without an answer. Applejack bit her lip.

Twilight waved her hoof from her position to get Applejack’s attention. When Applejack looked at her, Twilight mouthed the words, “Is she okay?”

Applejack simply shook her head. It seemed to the two like the rest of the team was already winding down. There were still four waves to go, so it was not time to give up. If the robots managed to deploy the bomb, the ponies would be done for. Without a respawn, the explosion would surely spell their end. Not only that, but it would destroy an important Mann Co. manufacturing facility.

…

A thought came to Applejack’s head. She raised her left hoof, and looked at her wrist device. Perhaps if she could figure out how to contact their mercenary friends at Rottenburg, she could get a hold of Red Medic in order to console Fluttershy.

Fiddling with a few buttons, Applejack tried to find a way to send a signal to the team in Rottenburg, Germany. Initially, she was just glad that she was able to even turn the device on. With a few minutes of experimentation, the orange earth pony actually managed to put a signal out.

“Hey y’all, I think I got it!” She exclaimed.

Her teammates turned around and glanced up at her, confused. A few of them cocked an eyebrow.

“The hoof device! I think I figured out a way to call our friends!” She added.

Out of curiosity, some of the ponies looked down at their respective hoof devices, and tried to find a way to contact their comrades. Fluttershy, hopelessly unable to configure her monstrous amounts of gadgetry, simply glared over at Applejack.

…

Applejack kept looking down with hopeful eyes at her hoof device as it tried to establish a connection. After a few seconds, it became apparent to her that Fluttershy was staring over in her direction. She looked up at Fluttershy with a smile on her face, and used her hoof to gesture the pegasus over.

Curious, Fluttershy stood awkwardly for a moment before walking over to Applejack to see what she was looking at. She blinked absently as she turned her gaze to the screen on Applejack’s hoof.

“Ah think Ah might be close to contacting our mercenary friends at Rottenburg. Hopefully then you’ll be able to talk to your doctor pal!” Applejack beamed.

Keeping a straight face, Fluttershy opened her mouth solemnly, and said, “His name is Red Medic.”

Applejack raised her head slowly, and looked at Fluttershy face to face. Those were the first words that she had said for at least the last hour. Now, Fluttershy was usually quiet, but to be completely and utterly silent was unlike her. Taking the initiative to speak only to make a correction about her companion, additionally, displayed its own meaning.

“Listen, sugarcube…are you alright? You’re startin’ to worry me and Twilight a bit with your behavior.”

Fluttershy shrugged. “Would you feel better if I said that I was alright?”

“Well…yeah, but……not if you didn’t mean it or anything…”

“Then yes. I’m fine. There’s just a lot of work to do around here…that’s all.” The medical mare explained softly.

…

Applejack’s wrist device loaded for just another few moments, and then it suddenly stopped. A small error message showed up on the screen, saying, “Failed to establish a secure connection.”

“Well, that sure doesn’t look good. Look, Flutters, I’m sorry this didn’t work out. Maybe we can try again after the wave.”

Fluttershy shrugged again. “Don’t feel bad, Applejack. It really doesn’t matter. I’ll be better soon.”

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Wait…didn’t y’all just say that you were fine?”

“Well…yes, but that’s different. I’ll be much better very soon.” Fluttershy assured.

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Fluttershy, what are you…”

……………………………………………………………

“We’re under attack! Man your positions, and prepare for defense! The robots will arrive in ten seconds!” The Announcer cut in over their headsets.

Upon hearing the announcement, Fluttershy quickly turned away from Applejack to get in position. Frazzled, Applejack lowered her goggles over her eyes, and picked up her wrench to start the wave.

Rainbow Dash jogged by Applejack’s location. “Hey, what were you talking about up here?”

“Oh, ya know. Just stuff.” Applejack casually replied.

…

“5…4…3…2…1…”

Barely giving the Announcer a chance to finish the countdown, the first robot of the third wave showed its metallic face over the horizon of the mill gate. Upon close inspection, the ponies gasped when they caught a glimpse of a giant Rainbow Dash bot, sprinting full speed toward the ponies with the bomb on its back.

“Holy guacamole! That thing’s moving quick!” Spike interjected.

“Buckle down! That thing could tear right through us without harming any one of us! If it reaches the hatch, everything will be gone in one swift second!” Twilight commanded.

A stern expression on his face, Big Mac spun up his massive minigun. Not giving in a single second, he opened fire the moment the bot touched the ground in the battlefield. The ponies immediately gave everything they had at the giant sprinting machine.

As the bot, hooves ablaze, sprinted around the corner of the gas tanker near the front lines, another one of similar nature came scrambling out the door of the gate. Everyone except Rarity noticed its existence. While watching her defending teammates rip the hell out of the first bot, the stealthy unicorn backed up against the wall at the tip of the front lines with her sapper out. She could not give it the chance to sprint at the same speed as the first bot, or the ponies wouldn’t catch it in time.

…

The first giant Rainbow Dash bot sprinted under the bridge next to the ramp, and proceeded to scurry up with the bomb in its grasp. The defenders breathed heavily as they struggled to chase it down from behind. Spike’s rockets were virtually useless, as not a single one was able to keep up with the bot’s menacing speed. Zecora also found herself at a disadvantage.

It was Applejack’s turn now. The farm pony’s sentry gun was all that stood between the first bot in the wave and the free opening of the rest of the map. Immediately, her sentry unleashed its power.

The bot, mostly undeterred by the bullets, ran full-speed up to the sentry gun. Once it reached its spot on the bridge, surprisingly, it became stuck. Applejack’s sentry continued to fire as the bot attempted repeatedly to sprint around or jump over the device. The rest of the defenders jogged up behind it, and began shooting relentlessly at it until it finally reached its end. Nuts and bolts coated the ponies as the bomb was dropped in front of Applejack’s sentry.

“Not a bad placement, there, farm-gal.” Rainbow Dash chuckled. Applejack rolled her eyes, and smirked.

…

Not wasting a moment, the ponies turned their attention to the front lines. To their shock, all they saw was Rarity standing amidst a pile of nuts and bolts similar to the one that they themselves were covered in. Upon noticing her comrades, the fashionista giggled.

“What are you all looking at?” She asked with a false sense of genuineness.

“H…How did you…?”

“Oh, that old, tacky Rainbow Dash bot? Why, it was easy. Once I planted a sapper on its hoof, backstabbing it a few times was the cat’s meow. I think you needn’t worry about it anymore.”

Impressed with Rarity’s cunning work, the defenders leapt down from Applejack’s ledge. With a refill from her nearby dispenser, the ponies lined up in prep for the next group to emerge. Instead of a few more giant bots, a swarming mess of Big Mac and Spike bots flocked out of the gate. A collection of Twilight bots entered simultaneously from the high-rise.

…

Twilight, understanding the common order of strategy, raised her rifle to handle her metal counterparts. The rest of the ponies organized their lines at the bottom for defense.

“Hey guys, those Spike bots seem to be sporting some banners above their heads. Should we be worried?” Rainbow Dash asked from above.

Hearing the pegasus’s announcement, Twilight turned her scope to the bots entering the field. She shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. I think those banners mean they have mini-crits, though, so watch your cover. I think the Big Mac bots have them, too.”

The bots dropped into the battlefield on cue. The buffed Spike bots blazed their rockets abroad, while their assisted-buff Big Mac bot companions opened fire on their mini-crit miniguns. Caught out in the open with her flamethrower, Pinkie Pie was quickly torn to shreds.

Fluttershy quickly received note of the disturbance. She stopped healing Big Mac, and two-stepped in the other direction to revive Pinkie Pie. Crouching in the shadow of the gas tanker and an adjacent pile of crates, the medic found an opening in which to aim her healing at the hologram of her pink friend.

Directed rockets flew to her right and to her left, but were unable to hit her from the distance they were being shot from. In a matter of seconds, Fluttershy brought Pinkie back from the dead.

“Step back here! It’s safe!” She pleaded.

Shrugging, Pinkie Pie turned towards the pegasus that had saved her life for the umpteenth time that day, and leapt behind the gas tanker from the opening. Other injured calls started ringing through Fluttershy’s ears as the effects of the mini-crit bots started to grip the defenders. She trotted off in a rush, leaving Pinkie Pie behind to resume her own defense.

…

Upon entering the required range, the boosted bots started getting pummeled by Applejack’s sentry gun. Beaten defenders, such as Spike and Zecora, stepped back underneath the bridge to find cover from the attacking drones. Within the context of a few seconds, Fluttershy swung back past them to patch them up quickly. Using Applejack’s sentry as a barrier to keep the bots from entering this under-bridge “safe zone,” the defenders began to tear apart the mini-crit bots at an efficient pace. Rarity remained the only one behind robot lines with her disguise.

Unexpectedly, Applejack herself was put in immediate danger as a bullet whizzed by her ear, taking off some of the cartilage. She interjected.

“Ouch, dang it!” She yelped, clutching her ear with her wrench-hoof. “Twilight, aren’t you handling the snipers?”

Twilight shot off a round, sighed in frustration, and scoped up for another shot. “I…I can’t! They’re moving constantly; I can’t get a hold of them!”

“Fluttershy, get your hind end up here and give me a stitch! Tell Rainbow Dash to follow!” The injured mechanic ordered.

Sighing, Fluttershy reluctantly listened to Applejack. She tapped Rainbow Dash on the arm, and gestured for her to follow her up the ramp. Upon reaching Applejack and her sentry, the pegasus shot her healing at Applejack’s punctured ear.

“Rainbow Dash, go up there and get rid of those pesky Twilight bots! They’re putting a wreck on my buildings!” The earth pony commanded.

“I’m lagging on credits, you know. We can’t afford to lose much more…”

“Forget about that now! I’ll have us worry more about money when our defense is not in danger! Now go up to the dang high-rise, and give poor Twilight a hoof with those parasites!”

…

Rainbow Dash groaned in exasperation, and turned to take her sprint up the secondary stairs to the high-rise. Next, Applejack called down to Rarity.

“Rarity, we’re falling behind on credits over here, so do you mind going out of your way to grab some of what you find? With your fancy disguises and such, it should be safe for you.”

Without even a reply, Rarity followed orders. She jogged around the enemy lines in disguise, picking up spare credits that were sitting out from the recent bot slaughter. The rest of the defenders sat under the bridge in the safe zone, ready to pick up on whatever Applejack’s sentry missed. They remained comfortably enveloped under Fluttershy’s medical support.

“Great job so far, guys. Really picking up here so far.” Spike announced.

…

Suddenly, the battlefield fell quiet. No one moved for a few moments as the unexpected silence deafened them for some reason. Peeking out from the safe zone, all that could be seen again by the ponies was Rarity amongst a pile of scrapped metal.

“Okay everyone, I must assure you, I was not responsible for it this time. I’m not THAT amazing.” She chuckled.

Ignoring her clever remark, the defenders lowered their weapons as they tiptoed out from the spot under the bridge in the safe zone.

“I…Is that it? There’s no way that’s it.” Twilight stuttered, resting her rifle on her shoulder.

“Well…the Announcer said nothing about the wave being over. What do you think?” Applejack asked.

From her positioned spot on the high-rise, Rainbow Dash practically jumped out of her horseshoes shortly after Applejack’s question. “Oh man! It’s not over, guys! Incoming!”

…

Directly after Rainbow Dash’s warning, three more giant Rainbow Dash bots bolted out of the gate at high speed simultaneously. The defenders’ hearts skipped a beat. They raised their weapons quickly, and prepped for the worst.

Peering through the scope, Twilight announced, “They’re carrying Force a Natures!”

“…Aw feathers…” Big Mac grunted.

The giant bots sprinted ever closer to the drop-off, where they would enter the battle and start attacking. Rarity looked down at herself, and panicked when she realized that she hadn’t reapplied a disguise.

The bots fell into battle, punctuating their presence with a hard shot to Rarity’s chest. Rarity screamed with terror as she soared high above the ponies’ heads toward the very back of the mill. The ponies looked above them in horror as their Spy flew gracelessly through the air, arms and legs kicking wildly.

Flinching hard, the ponies recoiled when the sound of rupturing bones echoed through their eardrums upon Rarity’s impact with the back wall. Immediately following the crash, she fell fifty feet to the ground, resulting in an instant death.

Fluttershy tottered over to Rarity’s broken body, and awkwardly began to heal it back to life. Just as the three giant bots sprinted into the sentry range, Rarity popped back to life with an annoyed look on her face.

“That’s some, uh…strong knockback there, huh?” Fluttershy chuckled quietly. When Rarity’s face didn’t even twist into a smile, the stricken pegasus just shut her mouth.

…

“Hurry up! There are still three of them, and we’re running out of space to push them back!” Spike cried.

The ponies, if unable to stop the giants, expected them to sprint up the stairs, grab the bomb, and bolt past Applejack’s sentry toward the hatch. They were shocked, however, when the bots turned to the left and began heading away from the bomb toward the towering A gate behind the lines.

“What the hay? Why are they ignoring the bomb?” Applejack asked.

“Who cares?! Just hurry up and stop them!” Rainbow Dash yelled, chasing after them in high pursuit.

Invigorated by Rainbow Dash’s diehard boldness, the defenders began to scramble in the direction of the giant bots. The doorway in which they traveled led to a path to the left that led up another ramp to the A gate. Upon reaching the top, the ponies observed the three giant Rainbow Dash bots swarming around the gate as if they were waiting for something.

“Why aren’t they doing anything?” Rarity asked curiously.

…

Loud sirens began to blare throughout the mill. Slowly, but surely, the gate back at the front lines began to close. The A gate next to the giant bots began to rise upwards, opening a new entrance for the bots to take.

“Stop them!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed.

Spreading out in a quick effort, the defenders began to let loose on the giant bots. Taking cover behind objects, they tried occasionally to avoid taking fire from the bots’ scatterguns. One hit from those Force a Natures was enough to send a poor defender through the sky to their doom, as was the fate for Rarity.

With enough directed effort from all of the ponies at once, the first giant bot closest to the ramp was destroyed rapidly. The remaining two, however, successfully managed to open the A gate fully. A bell similar to a fire alarm began to sound, signaling the new entranceway that the bots were going to take. Applejack jogged back to her sentry gun, picked it up, and carried it to the new front lines to keep up with the battle.

“This is crazy…”

…

Regardless of the newly-opened gate, the defenders still stubbornly continued to attack the giant Rainbow Dash bots. Spike repeatedly kept blast jumping into the air, hoping to get some rockets to make impact on the bots’ heads from up above. His health came, again, from Fluttershy.

As the ponies stood bluntly in front of the bots, Rarity jogged up behind to place a sapper one of the bot’s legs. Upon doing so, energy from both of them started being sucked away at a steady pace. Their speed dropped dramatically.

With the bots now moving at a pitiful pace from Rarity’s assistance, the ponies found it much easier to terminate with accuracy. In only a few more rounds of bullets and explosives, one headshot from Twilight was enough to destroy both giants from the damage transfer. The battlefield, for a short amount of time, became quiet once again.

Twilight giggled a bit from relief. “Those future bots are going to have a hard time getting to the bomb from their new location, am I right?”

The bomb still sat on the bridge in the previous room next to where Applejack’s old sentry location. The new gate, as well as the battlefield in front of it, was outside of the mill between the entrance and a large stack of metal crates. Resting at the very back of the long hallway was the B gate, sitting dormant for the time being. Beyond that was only a short stretch of walkway and another bridge before reaching the hatch.

…

After tiredly chugging her dispenser up the ramp from the mill where it was before, Applejack spoke up to the team once everyone was together.

“Alright everypony, make sure your tidings are in place, because I don’t know what to expect from here on out. We need to be on top guard, and we need to stick together. If anyone’s too far away from the group when they die, none of us may ever see the poor soul ever again. Let’s make sure that doesn’t happen. Am I clear?”

Various volumes of murmurs could be heard from the group in response. No one was feeling very confident, but everyone was feeling motivated enough to keep on fighting. After all, virtually no case scenario would’ve been worse than an exploding bomb killing everyone permanently and destroying one of Mann Co.’s most important outposts. That they could all agree on.

…

Applejack swallowed her words completely when the next sub-wave of bots appeared behind the gate. The ponies who happened to be watching the gate gasped in horror.

Applejack leaned toward a certain somepony. “Uh…Fluttershy?”

“Y…Yes?”

“You DO know how to deploy your shield, right?”

“Um…no…”

A massive scuttling horde of full-crit Big Mac bots began to swarm in from behind the gate. Their miniguns glowing an electric teal blue, the drones stared evilly as they approached their target from beyond the gate. The one in front carried a second bomb, adding to the one already in play next to Applejack’s old sentry location.

A collective, horrified silence was shared between the ponies as they watched the tidal wave of crit-shooters appear from behind the gate. A few defenders took an uncertain step behind them, prepared to break for it if things got out of hoof.

As the bots buzzed slowly toward the battlefield, Applejack turned to Fluttershy again with a quiet, death-seeing voice. “Fluttershy…now…you need…to find…your shield!”

Fluttershy’s breathing picked up as she struggled to search for the mechanism on her body. “I…I can’t find it! Oh…oh dear…”

The first couple bots made it to the edge of the gate. Fluttershy gave up on her search, and dove through the air behind the cover of a barrel.

“Everypony…TAKE COVER NOW!” Applejack suddenly screamed.

…

The deafening sound of spinning-up miniguns filled the air around the hopeless defenders as the bots revved up for attack. Wasting no time, the punch-packing metal monstrosities opened fire on their devastating crit-weapons.

Left in the open from her recent announcement, Applejack was caught in the blast. Her end was spelled quickly.

Dazed from the shock of the events, Twilight was caught in the blast. Nothing could save her.

Hovering in the air from a desperate rocket jump, Spike was caught mid-air in the blast. His punctured corpse smacked into the ground with a loud thud.

Failing to take sufficient cover out of the bots’ viewing range, Zecora was caught in the blast. Her bloody end was nearly painless.

Confused amongst the panicked cries of her fellow defenders, Pinkie Pie was caught in the blast. She never had an official final breath.

Forgetting again to apply a disguise after her last recent attack on the giant Rainbow Dash bots, Rarity was caught in the blast. Her screams were drowned out from the rumbling gunfire.

Too high on health and defiant to take cover, Rainbow Dash was caught in the blast. Her extraordinary overheal only managed to prolong her searing pain before the bullets overtook her medical advantage.

Too large and too slow to make it to sufficient cover in the time he was given, Big Mac was caught in the blast. The only part of him that was intact upon hitting the ground was his minigun.

Fluttershy, already behind cover, was completely alone. The crit-boosted bringers of hell stopped firing their guns, unaware that the yellow pegasus was present. Loud rattling continued to be heard throughout the darkened battlefield as her equipment shook on her quivering body.

…

Time stopped. Each passing second registered to the medic as ten minutes. She was the last one alive. She only had between ten and twenty seconds to revive everyone, or they would never return to finish up the wave. Roughly two and a half dozen possessed, metal Big Mac reapers were hoarded around the corpses in tight guard.

She’s born. She looks around the hospital room and cries, frightened from the biting cold and the expansive reach of the unknown around her.

She grows up. She falls from the sky in a rush of speed, screaming all the way down, frightened for her presumed end. She is caught by a stream of butterflies.

She earns her cutie mark. As a colorful streak blinds the skies, she discovers her special talent of communicating with animals. Her joy is unmatched.

She meets her friends. Collecting the Elements of Harmony, she learns the true meaning of friendship with the greatest ponies ever known by her side.

She leaves her world. In a sprawling pit of consuming darkness, she awakens in a strange world inhabited by humans.

She fights. She fights courageously by the sides of the ones she loves, intermingled with a totally new group of companions.

She trusts. The only being to ever share her passion for the injured enters her life. She finds herself falling hopelessly in love for a being unlike her kind. A being that is in great danger, and unable to be accessed.

She learns. Her tools are blessed with the unspeakable power of life and protection, and only she can be trusted to use them for the sake of defense and righteousness.

She falls. All of her friends are finally taken from the universe, and only she has the knowledge, the ability, and the experience to correct the wrongs. They still have time, and that time rests solely within her abilities. She must act immediately.

In the time it takes to blink the eye, Fluttershy’s entire life flashed through her head. Her eyes suddenly opened, heavily bloodshot and focused on the task at hoof. She stood up from behind the barrel, and turned sharply to face the mob of death-bringing Big Mac bots.

…

“How dare you…”

The bots did not move.

“How…DARE you?!”

Almost simultaneously, the bots aimed at Fluttershy, and began spinning up their miniguns.

“You do not—I will repeat—You…DO NOT…hurt…my friends! You metal b…bastards!” She seethed.

The bots opened fire with their crits. Not letting a single bullet touch her body, Fluttershy quickly flipped the switch on the bottom right side of her medi-pack, activating the life-saving shield that she couldn’t use before. A massive, red, translucent wall deployed in front of her, blocking every bullet that came her way.

Using the few seconds she had to her advantage, Fluttershy charged forward at rapid speed. Seemingly unaware that their attacks were being debunked, the bots continued firing into her shield. Not taking any time to stop, Fluttershy sprinted up to the group of bots with her shield in front of her like a suicidal lunatic.

The frustrated medic was suddenly forced to stop moving as her protective shield slammed into the front of the mob. Closing her eyes tightly, she grunted and groaned while attempting to press forward anyway. Her shield pushed hard into the bellies of the bots near the front of the mob, but Fluttershy did not stop for anything. Straining with every fiber of her will, she tried harder and harder to push forward into the bots.

The front ends of the bots caught in her shield began to vaporize slowly. Fluttershy let out a smooth sigh, breathed in again, and kept pushing. Clear beads of sweat built up on her forehead.

“Let’s see how you like this…” She grunted.

Her shield gave way just a little bit, and the entire front sides of the first few robots disappeared. Once the shield bashed into their unprotected heads, Fluttershy was met with more steel resistance. She breathed in some more, and added more strain to her body to increase the pressure.

“Come on…just a little more…” She wheezed.

The bots stopped firing. The mechanisms in the bots’ delicate arms began to suffer corrosive damage from Fluttershy’s push. The mob began to dispel steadily as the bots in the front began to get shoved to the back, moving the bots in the back towards the sides.

Refusing to open her eyes, Fluttershy gathered every ounce of her strength into one last rush of strength. She pressed on harder, adding a little more pressure to the push. Blood started leaking from her nostrils.

With one last final strain, the bots suddenly gave away completely. Fluttershy found herself flying forward with unexpected speed as her resistance vanished into thin air. The bots were atomically pulverized by her shield.

…

She planted her hooves in front of her to halt her charge, and stood panting heavily amongst a fine powder of molecular waste material. Finally free of her concentration-induced strain, her nose began dripping blood rapidly.

“I…did it…! I…can’t believe…I actually did it…!” She moaned between heavy breaths.

Stark reality slapped her in the face when she took a look around. Left and right, the red holograms of her obliterated friends dotted the battlefield. She had wasted maybe eight or nine seconds on that push, and couldn’t waste any more time.

Hitting the switch on her medi-pack, Fluttershy activated the Quick Fix Ubercharge that she had been saving since the beginning of the wave. In a flurried frenzy, she began scrambling around the battlefield in a desperate attempt to catch all of her deceased friends before their souls were gone for good.

Scurrying back towards the barrel that she had been hiding behind, Fluttershy aimed her Uber at Applejack. She was now revived.

Turning around quickly behind her, Fluttershy aimed her Uber at Twilight. She was now revived.

Scurrying up towards the very front of the battlefield, Fluttershy aimed her Uber at Rarity. She was now revived.

Leaping down next to the wood grinder to the left side of the battlefield, Fluttershy aimed her Uber at Zecora. She was now revived.

Turning next to Zecora at close range, Fluttershy aimed her Uber at Spike. He was now revived.

Bounding up the stairs near the sniper’s ledge, Fluttershy aimed her Uber at Pinkie Pie. She was now revived.

Sprinting down to the near-cover of the crate tunnel, Fluttershy aimed her Uber at Big Mac. He was now revived.

Roughly a second and a half remained on the clock for her last friend. Pouncing out near the front lines in a last-ditch effort for life or death, Fluttershy pulled the lever on her last ounce of Ubercharge to aim at Rainbow Dash. With the last miniscule moments ticking on Rainbow Dash’s life, Fluttershy successfully outlasted her Uber to bring the pegasus back to life.

…

The newly revitalized group of defenders stood around Fluttershy like they were staring at a legend. And, in a way, they were. Against every odd there ever could be, the ponies’ most timid friend stared Death right in the face…and sent him running. Eight young souls were available for the wrath of Death that day, and one lone-standing warrior stood defiantly in the way. The doom-dodging power of the Uber shield existed as her weapon of defense to protect her closest friends against Death’s metal army.

“My Lord, Fluttershy.” Twilight whispered quietly.

Fluttershy turned to Twilight with a quick whip of her head. Sweat was pouring down her face. “What? Huh?”

“There really is nothing you can’t do, is there?”

“Do what? You didn’t…see any of that, did you?” The panting mare asked.

Rainbow Dash chimed in. “We saw all of it, Flutters. While our bodies are down, we can still spectate you, remember? We’re not dead until we’re dead, you know?”

“But…but…how…”

“I’m sorry any of us ever doubted you, Fluttershy. I’ve never seen such an incredible display of courage.” Applejack commended.

Not giving Fluttershy a chance to answer, the defenders standing around her all began to applaud. They stamped their hooves on the ground wildly, and cheered with echoing whistles.

Standing in the middle of all the praise, the true safety and security of the moment began to strike the overworked medic. As the realization began to flow into her, Fluttershy smiled genuinely for the first time in the last few days. It wasn’t just a gentle, amused smile. Fluttershy smiled with the safety and security of her entire being. Was there anything she could not do?

The battle wasn’t necessarily over yet, though.

To be Continued…

Author's Note

Do you like that image? I made it myself just now before publishing the chapter. Took me quite a while, I'll say. I have another variation of it to be used soon.

Yeah, I realize that that wave seemed to be cut pretty dang short. Didn't seem to be many bots. I need to know your opinion before carrying on. Do you want me to leave the wave to that, and post the next chapter as the final wave, or post an extension to the third wave? Please give me some feedback on this.

Exhaustion (The Final Wave (Part 1))

“I’m sorry, but that jus’ doesn’t add up to me. How the hay would putting my sentry two hooves away from the front lines give us an advantage? It’d be gone in a tick that way.” Applejack grumbled.

“Uh…not if you’re standing right behind it with your wrench thingy! Besides, having all that fire power at the front lines would keep all the cash in just the right spot. It’d make my life a bit less of a hassle.” Rainbow Dash argued.

Applejack rolled her eyes. “It’s the last wave, Rainbow. The cash we got now is the only cash we’re gonna have for the rest of this dang mission. It’s irrelevant.”

Rainbow Dash paused for a moment. Applejack had a good point, but the brash pegasus was not willing to admit it. “Well…it still has firepower. It’ll work.”

“We have my big brother for that. Plus, he don’ need someone like me whacking his flank with a wrench twenty-four-seven to keep him up and running all the time. Fluttershy’s got him handled. My sentry being back here can block off giant ‘you’-bots so they can’t fly through us with the bomb.”

Rainbow Dash sighed, defeated. Supposedly, spending so much time in battle had given her country companion a strategic edge. She was rapidly becoming more invaluable to the team. And for that, Rainbow had to give her props.

…

The fourth and fifth waves had gone considerably better than the third one. Although the bomb never passed the A-labeled entrance, the ponies had gotten within half a second of losing Rainbow Dash permanently. Fluttershy’s sudden surge of maniacal, frustrated energy brought the team back from the gates of hell within an inch of the final shove. The base, the mission, and even the ponies’ lives were all too close to destruction for the wave to be considered effective.

However, the near-death experience had at least supplied the group with a new plethora of confidence and motivation, which was an essential piece of moving through the following two waves. At the same time, it prevented the defenders (excluding Rainbow Dash) from diving into suicidal situations without a nearby safety-net. The team worked seamlessly.

…

This was the final wave, though, and that confidence was soon going to be put to the test. The penultimate wave was always rumored to be the most difficult, but that didn’t stop the ponies from believing that the upcoming wave was going to be even more challenging.

Fluttershy sat leaning against the gas tanker in the middle of the room, dabbing her hoof against her red-stained nose. Quite alarmingly, the blood flow had not slowed down since the third wave from earlier.

“Are you sure you’re okay, Flutters? A bleed like that can’t be normal.” Big Mac mumbled in his deep, booming voice.

Fluttershy shrugged. “I’ve grabbed health kits, and stood near dispensers. Since my nose is still bleeding, I don’t really think it’s very harmful to me. If it were, it probably would’ve stopped when I grabbed the health.”

Big Mac nodded, understanding Fluttershy’s fairly-sensible response. Fluttershy had herself only partially convinced, but that didn’t mean that her teammates should have to worry about her. Too much was at stake as it was, and the extra stress would do nothing but set her team back. She only wished she could see Red Medic’s consoling face again.

…

The majority of the team at the moment could’ve been seen lounging around the room with their weapons set aside on the ground. Extra tension was unnecessary. They’ve accomplished the feat of defense a time before at the Mannworks base. With only thirty seconds on the clock before the beginning of the final wave, the defenders’ time was naught to be spent on unneeded scrambling.

Spike, not saying anything to his surrounding teammates, walked slowly toward the wooden-crate ledge at one of the building’s exits, and rocket-jumped his way out. Once outside, he rocket-jumped again, which landed him on top of the huge pile of metal storage units that Twilight was perched on. Twilight looked at him, and grinned casually.

“This is really it, huh?” Spike murmured.

Twilight nodded solemnly. “It really is. Last time we did this, there wasn’t so much at stake.”

Spike took Twilight’s reply in gradually, reminiscing in the gravity of the meaning of her words. As a result, a silence sat between them for a solid chunk of time. The two of them glared at the ground in front of them, willingly sharing a fairly awkward moment. Spike’s rocket launcher and Twilight’s sniper rifle sat next to each other on the metal crate surface.

“Twilight, just to let you know…” Spike started. “…If we don’t make it…”

Twilight rolled her eyes and chuckled heartily. “C’mon, Spike, let’s not get like that. I’m surer than anything that we’re gonna ace this. Don’t you feel the same way?”

Spike took a second to give his answer. “Well…yeah, but I just figured…you know…just in case. I really loved being your number-one assistant back in Equestria. It was the best thing to ever happen to me.”

Twilight said nothing. A smile appeared on her face. She glanced over at Spike, and then back at the ground. Spike did the same a moment later before continuing.

“And I know we didn’t ask to be trapped in this universe from your experiment, but I don’t mind that either. It’s really fun and lively here, and for the most part, it’s not permanently deadly. We can be wild and crazy while enjoying each other and our human friends.” He added.

Twilight, deep in thought about Spike’s speech, bit her bottom lip. She nodded her head slowly and purposefully.

“And I’m really glad that you were able to find a special somepony. Er…special somebody, rather. I never really got that, since my pal is a psycho male with a tin can over his face.”

Twilight laughed, which lightened the dense mood that had fallen over the two of them. Spike smiled at the funny line that he had cracked. When the laughter faded, he continued again.

“I know I was always just a result of an exam that you took back in the day, but it doesn’t really matter to me. No matter how we add up, you were always like a mother to me. And, even now, none of that has changed. I just have ponies—er…people now that I can consider a father. Thank you for bringing us here. It’s an ongoing adventure that I still haven’t gotten sick of.”

Twilight was repeatedly wiping her face with both of her hooves. Regardless of how much effort she employed, however, her eyes just couldn’t keep their valves shut. She found tears of emotion falling from her face in front of her lifelong companion.

“Come here, Spike.” She whispered, holding her hooves out in front of her.

Without hesitation, Spike leapt into Twilight’s embrace. Only in Equestria had a bonding moment ever occurred between the two. Now, on the brink of an intense conflict, true colors shined in their relationship with each other. Spike wasn’t much of a baby dragon anymore.

……………………………………………….
The Final Wave!
……………………………………………….

“This is it! The final wave is upon us! DO NOT disappoint me!” The Announcer shrilly ordered.

Shocked out of their moment, Twilight and Spike picked up their weapons. Spike positioned his rocket launcher on his shoulder, and launched back into the main room with the rest of his teammates. Fluttershy laboriously picked herself up off the ground, lazily gave Spike his health back, and prepared herself and Big Mac for the final invasion.

All other preparations from the defenders had already been made. The group lifted their weapons, and stared in concentrated readiness at the entrance hatch. They were ready. The bots were being fired up. It was all coming down to this.

……………………………………………

“5…4…3…2…1…”

Almost before the Announcer could even finish the countdown, the first couple of bots already became visible from the inside of the ship. To the surprise of absolutely no one, the first bots to be dealt with were indeed giants.

From the high-rise ledge, Rainbow Dash called down. “Alright, we have two giant Spike bots and a giant Pinkie Pie bot!”

Her teammates gave no reply, but heard completely what they were up against. Using a purchased crit canteen, Zecora had already prepared for the wave by placing crit-boosted sticky bombs at the bots’ entrance. Rarity stood behind those sticky bombs against the back wall, past where the bots would be falling in.

A number of the defenders groaned when the bots came into full view. The giant Spike bots had crit-boosted rocket launchers. Its firing capacity was still unknown, but there was no point in taking a chance.

“Fluttershy…you still know how ‘ta get that shield working, right?” Big Mac asked uncertainly.

“Um…yeah. Do you need me to use it?” She replied.

He nodded rapidly. “Yes, that would be smart.”

…

Fluttershy, still healing Big Mac, immediately ran up in front of him. Not wasting a second, she flipped the corresponding switch on her medi-pack, and the partially-visible wall of protection flickered to life in front of her.

“Wait, Fluttershy, don’t use the shield now!” Applejack cried. Shortly after the shield was deployed, she shook her head.

“What?! But…Big Mac told me to!” She squealed in response.

“He didn’t mean right at that second! Your shield is going to be gone too early once the rockets start flying!” Applejack informed.

Fluttershy, embarrassed and confused, trudged back behind Big Mac with her shield still active. Applejack almost called out to her not to do that either, but she held her tongue. With how much the pegasus healed, the shield would surely be back as soon as it needed to.

…………………………………………………….
This may be an odd music selection, but I think it’ll fit well. Lava
…………………………………………………….

The giants fell off the ledge and into the pit, sending huge clouds of crit-rockets in the ponies’ direction as soon as it did so. No one hesitated for even a moment before returning the fire at full throttle. Big Mac and Spike spent every living second sending damage towards the bots, hoping to leave at least a few dents. Rarity did nothing at the moment, attempting to save her cover in order to avoid a deadly hit.

The bot managed to march forward as far as ten feet before reaching Zecora’s sticky bomb trap. In a sudden deafening blast, Zecora sent the bot’s parts flying with the press of her big red button. The active defenders covered their eyes, obscuring their view from the soaring pieces of shrapnel.

It was always easy to tip the first giant that way. Two more still remained in the battlefield, however. In addition, two more giant Pinkie Pie bots became visible whilst making their entrance behind the ship.

“Easy peasy, right?” Rainbow Dash giggled from the air.

Rarity rolled her eyes lightly from behind the front lines. Pinkie Pie bots were the bane of her existence as a Spy. Giant ones made the danger even worse. As long as she could manage to keep her cover effectively, they wouldn’t pose a threat. If a wisp of flame touched her, on the other hoof, things would get ugly.

…

Deciding ultimately to ignore the Pinkie bots for the time-being, Rarity jogged forward to assist with the two other giant Spike bots that still haunted the battlefield. Luckily for her, they were at least standing right next to each other. That way, her sapper effect could fall on both of them simultaneously.

She placed her sapper on the back of the first bot’s shin. Immediately, its electro-draining effects began to forcibly suck the life out of both bots through electromagnetic radiation. Their speed decreased to about half, and their sensory plugins started to fail slowly.

This bought the defenders a handsome amount of time to kill the bots before the newly-entered Pinkie bots could wreak too much havoc. Fluttershy’s accidental shield shut down within the few seconds of Rarity’s sap, so the ponies no longer had any rocket protection. Luckily, the sap saved them from that, too.

Rarity pulled out the Dead Ringer temporarily while she retreated just in case any other bots would’ve seen her trickery. Spike countered the bots in their lethargic state with rockets of his own, effectively lighting the bots up with plenty of explosive damage. Just as he ran out of ammo, Twilight finished the job with a fine-tuned headshot.

…

Spike smirked, and turned around as he began to reload. He suddenly jumped a foot in the air, startled. Both of the giant Pinkie bots were staring right down at him.

A crooked, blue-glowing smile appeared on one of the bot’s faces. It took aim with its flamethrower, and set the dragon ablaze. Spike hissed in excruciating pain as he hunkered to his knees and collapsed.

“You’d might wanna grab him!” Applejack called to Fluttershy, pointing at Spike’s crisp body.

Fluttershy was in a hard sweat. Panting heavily from her mouth, she responded sluggishly without a word or even a nod. Tottering over to Spike’s corpse, she took an awkward second to correct her balance, and then opened her healing to his hologram.

Spike was back in just a few minor moments. Before thanking her, he looked to her with concern.

“Hey, Flutters…are you okay?”

She didn’t respond. Her tired eyes glanced at him briefly before she turned back around and continued healing the active defenders. Spike shrugged, and rocket-blasted his way back into action.

…

A mass of steel-gauntlet Big Mac bots charged their way into the battlefield before the ponies could finish the job on the Pinkie bots. With no guns on those bots, Rarity had a substantial advantage against them. Wasting no time, she began to sprint from one to another, backstabbing them along the way.

Besides her, Twilight was the only other defender who could assist with the Gauntlet bots. Every other pony was fully occupied on the giant Pinkie bots, which were effectively cutting a huge hole in their defenses. The plumes of flame ejected from their weapons kept the ponies at an annoying distance, preventing any accurate shots and shield damage. Even Applejack’s sentry gun was distracted.

In a sudden, unexpected motion, one of the Pinkie bots swung its body around, and aimed its flame at Zecora and Rainbow Dash. Without a moment’s notice, the two of them were burned to the ground. In the split second it took for the other defenders to observe this, the other bot did the same thing in the other direction. In a matter of five deadly seconds, four defenders were dead.

“Fluttershy, let’s go! Chop chop!” Applejack ordered.

With an immediate task to complete, Fluttershy snapped out of her exhausted gaze. She flanked around to the right, and began her Ubercharge before healing the downed teammates. With the tripled healing rate, she had the two of them revived in a flash. Orbiting a long path around at a safe distance from the Pinkie bots, Fluttershy used the remainder of her Ubercharge to revive the other two teammates with the same gusto.

When Zecora, the last downed teammate, was revived, she looked at Fluttershy with worry.

“Fluttershy, dear, are you alright? Your senses seem off a mite.”

Once again, Fluttershy didn’t respond. Her tired, labored breathing gave her the appearance of being near another heart attack, or at least a pretty bad aneurysm. Her face was losing its complexion. Random strands of her hair were sticking out. Her energy had been burned up back when she had managed to revive all of her friends in the third wave, and now it was three waves later. No one was sure how much longer she would hold out.

…

After Fluttershy’s surge of quick revitalization, the defenders continued their work on the giant Pinkie bots. At this point, they were only a few paces from the ramp that led up to the A-gate, but they were also heavily damaged. Spike shot off a few more rockets from his remaining load, and completely took out one of them in a deafening boom. Just a second later, Applejack’s sentry involuntarily shot out a set of rockets, which managed to destroy the second one. Ultimately, they got lucky.

“Great job, y’all! Now I need ya to just stay there for a sec.” Applejack instructed. She sat up on the ledge with her sentry gun, so, unlike the ponies down in the pit, she could see way back to the front lines.

Rainbow Dash, busily picking up the credits dropped by the dead giants, scoffed. “What makes you think we should? We lost a bit of ground, in case you haven’t noticed! We need to push back up!”

Applejack shook her head disapprovingly. “Jus’ don’t. Things got a bit ugly while y’all were busy down there. Twilight ‘n Rarity got their hooves full right now, so y’all need to stay back here and be the backup crew.”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Screw that.” She took off sprinting towards the front lines. “I need to go grab some mon—”

She stopped right in her tracks. Upon turning the corner under the bridge, a thirsty horde of Force-A-Nature Rainbow Dash bots and mini-crit-boosted Spike bots came into view. They were on rapid approach. Beyond them at the front lines, two full-crit-boosted giant Spike bots were marching their way to the battlefield.

…

The over-confident pegasus scuttled back around the corner to the rest of the defenders with a flushed look on her face. “…Get ready, guys.”

Applejack spoke up again. “Now I’d just stay clear and make a wall or something. No one push up, ya hear? If someone gets killed, I ain’t sure Fluttershy would be able to handle it anymore.”

Upon hearing Applejack, the defenders stole a glance at Fluttershy. The dazed medic stood there off to the side absently, swinging from side to side with little balance. Her Quick-Fix dangled awkwardly in her grip.

“Uh…that looks pretty bad…” Pinkie Pie stuttered quietly.

…

Barely giving Pinkie Pie the opportunity to finish her statement, the tidal wave of bots slid around the corner with vicious speed. The ponies jumped a mile, startled by their sudden arrival. Both sides raised their weapons, and immediately opened fire.

Fluttershy snapped out of her daze again, and pushed herself back into working order. She began overhealing the ponies covering the front of the defense wall.

Zecora set a sticky trap right behind where the ponies were standing. Amongst said stickies was the bomb. The ponies had the bomb right by their hooves on the ground, which needed to stay where it was as long as possible.

Mini-crit rockets filled the air around the defenders. Explosions left and right were the only things that could be heard by living ears. Between shots, the ponies would have to duck for quick cover to avoid being blown up in the rocket cloud. At the same time, an assisting swarm of Rainbow Dash bots with Force-A-Natures peppered the area with forceful bullets capable of sending even Big Mac a few paces backwards.

In fact, this was keeping the ponies back entirely. After being shot by a bullet spread, a defender would be given no time to run back to the front lines before another spread sent them backwards again. Slowly, this effect pushed the ponies back past Zecora’s sticky trap.

As soon as a few bots stepped over the trap to retrieve the bomb, Zecora set off the explosives. Random piles of ruptured scrap metal were tossed into the air as the unfortunate bots got their armor and circuitry torn apart. However, these defensive efforts were only scratching the surface of the expansive iceberg of bots that were flowing in from the front lines.

…

“You should have built it back up by now, Fluttershy. Get that shield going for us!” Rainbow Dash cried.

Silence came from the medic as she continued healing Big Mac for no reason.

“Fluttershy!!!”

She blinked. “Huh? What?”

“Your shield!”

“Oh, uh…” She fiddled with her controls. “…Which one was it again?”

Rainbow Dash slapped her face with her hoof, along with all of the other defenders. Their goose was cooked. Fluttershy’s raw exhaustion was causing her to lose her mind, and the rest of the team was paying for it.

Her distracted state was interrupted, though, when a mini-crit rocket whizzed right past her ear. She was once again jolted back to reality. Instead of deploying her shield, however, she shrieked and ran behind the cover of Big Mac and Zecora. Her healing remained on Big Mac.

…

Applejack, distraught over Fluttershy’s deteriorating head, failed to notice a stream of crit-rockets heading straight for her from the front lines, where two new full-crit giant Spike bots had spawned into the battlefield. She glanced upwards, and dropped her jaw to the ground in surprise.

A rocket made contact with her sentry gun, destroying it instantly. In the same instant, the rocket right behind it collided with her face, violently obliterating her entire body. Applejack was immediately down for the count.

Fluttershy at least managed to take fast note of this death and respond to it promptly. She jumped out from behind the brute defenders and ran up the ramp to the ledge where the incident had occurred. In a few effortless moments, Applejack was back on her hooves.

“Don’t expect a thank you yet, Flutters. We ain’t done yet!” Applejack exclaimed.

Fluttershy took a minute to catch her breath before nodding in response.

…

With their medic temporarily away from their location, the line of defenders blocking the A-gate began to back up reluctantly. Their concentrated attempts at firepower were only managing to strip away the first few bots in an endless wave that just kept coming. The ponies at the front of the formation were starting to take considerable damage.

With no one but Twilight and Rarity trying to pick off damage, the two giant Spike bots in the back were making quick, dangerous progress. Before anyone was ready, the two behemoths became visible around the corner.

“Oh, crap! Where the heck did they come from?” Spike yelled in shock.

“I think we have a problem…” Big Mac muttered.

Both of the giant bots shot out a crit-rocket at the same time. The ponies watched in frenzied horror as the powerful projectiles sailed right towards them. Upon impact, Big Mac, Zecora, and Spike were all annihilated.

Without any sort of verbal agreement, the remaining survivors from the blast retreated frantically. Applejack even ran off of the site through the bridge exit to get to safety outside the building. Fluttershy was close behind. Rarity weaved her way through the back lines to be with everyone else through the safety of her disguise.

…

Upon getting outside, Applejack and Fluttershy were greeted with confusion by Twilight.

“What’s going on in there, guys? I could see those giant Spike bots through the doorway here, but I wasn’t able to make out anything else.”

Applejack and Fluttershy were both panting heavily. “We finally lost it in there! It’s a no-mare zone! Turn your attention to the left, because things are about to get ugly over at the A-gate!” Applejack interjected.

Upon following Applejack’s order, Twilight observed the remaining defenders spilling out from the A-gate in a panicked frenzy. Close behind them, the hoard of Spike and Rainbow Dash bots became visible. They all crowded around the A-gate entrance, causing the gate to open rapidly. The loud siren began to sound.

“Be prepared for a second bomb, guys! This is where things kick it up a notch!” Rainbow Dash announced.

The surviving defenders took appropriate positions, and prepared to defend the A-gate with everything that they had.

…

Applejack thought for a minute, and then turned to Fluttershy. “Wait a minute, Fluttershy. Where are all the dead folks you left from the crit blast earlier?” She asked.

“Which ones?” Fluttershy asked absently.

Applejack gasped in frustration. “Big Mac, Zecora, and Spike!”

Fluttershy placed a hoof on her chin. Her eyes then widened a second later. “…Oh!”

“Hurry! You’re wasting time!” Applejack screamed.

…

In a tired sprint, Fluttershy made a break back for the building where the dead defenders lay. Upon reaching the bridge on the inside, she turned to the left, and jumped off the side. Aiming her Quick-Fix up, she turned the corner to survey the deaths.

She stopped immediately, and went completely cold. In front of her…was nothing. The spot where the crit impact had killed the three defenders lay barren and empty. No red holograms could be seen. The small hip devices that produced the holograms were there laying on the ground, but no streams of light were pouring out of them. The defenders’ bodies still lay in bloody pieces all over the ground.

Fluttershy stared in confused shock for another second. Flipping on the microphone, she stuttered nervously. “Uh…girls?”

“What?!” Twilight and Applejack called back in unison.

“I, uh…well…there’s nothing here……”

“WHAT?!” Applejack yelled.

“I think I’m too late…” Fluttershy whimpered, crouching on the ground in fear.

…

Responding instantly, Applejack and Twilight both began to book it to the building to see the damage. Upon arrival, the two of them stared past Fluttershy in utter disbelief.

“F…Fluttershy…” Twilight stammered.

Fluttershy turned around and looked up at the two of them, startled. She looked like a small child staring up at her parents after having shattered an expensive wine glass.

“W…what do I do?” She whimpered.

Twilight glanced uncertainly at Applejack. Slowly, the farmer’s face began to change from one of shock and grief to one of anger and frustration.

“Nothing…” She seethed.

“…What?”

“NOTHING! There’s nothing you can do, Fluttershy! My big brother is gone forever now, and there’s no way you can fix it!” Her face turning red, she buried her head in her hooves and tried to hold back tears. “Celestia…why couldn’t you just get your act together?! You’ve been puttzin’ your way around during this wave like a damned zombie!”

“Applejack, I think that’s enough…” Twilight whispered.

Fluttershy started to sob.

“No, Twilight, I’m not done yet! Fluttershy, you’ve proven that you’re capable of fighting this fight, and now you’ve gone and let all of us down! You let ME down! You let Big Mac down, and…”

She stopped, breathing heavily with rage. Fluttershy was crying heavily into her hooves, frightened from her scolding and ashamed of her poor performance. Twilight stared disapprovingly at Applejack.

“Applejack, stop. This is unnecessary. I lost Spike because of this incident, so don’t think that this doesn’t hurt me, too. He already said what needed to be said before the wave started, though, so I’m going to try and stay strong through it all. I understand if this hurts, but there’s no way you can unload all of it onto Fluttershy like this. You know how she is.” The unicorn explained.

…

Applejack, still breathing heavily, walked away from Twilight. “That doesn’t change anything.” She muttered angrily under her breath.

Twilight ignored her disgruntled friend’s remark. She turned to Fluttershy. “C’mon, Fluttershy, come up here to me. We came into this battle expecting losses. We can push through it. You’ve done an exceptional job so far, and we still need you to complete this task. Don’t let me lose you, too.”

Fluttershy wiped her damp face with her hoof. With a final, reluctant nod, she did what Twilight asked of her. Trudging around the corner and up the ramp, the upset pegasus walked over to Twilight and out the doorway to the outside environment where the current battle was still taking place.

Having assumed spectacular positions, Pinkie Pie and Rarity were eliminating the remainder of the Rainbow Dash and Spike bots without losing much health. Rainbow Dash promptly ran her way through the shrapnel, grabbing credits in her wake to keep her own health supplied. With an extremely stricken look on her face, Applejack was setting up a dispenser and a sentry gun near the front lines for additional support.

The A-gate had been lost to the bots during Fluttershy’s failure dispute. Now, additional bots entering the battlefield would enter from the A-gate rather than from the main entrance. Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity fought swiftly and efficiently, not even aware that three of their fellow defenders were permanently eliminated.

Just as the last of the Rainbow Dash and Spike bots were destroyed, the two giant crit Spike bots from down in the pit made themselves visible from the apex of the ramp. Suddenly operating at a great disadvantage, the defenders at the front quickly retreated backwards.

…

Twilight stepped back a few paces, and raised her rifle to her face. “Fluttershy, now is your chance to make things right. Get that shield working, and give us some time to develop our defenses from the crit rockets.”

Fluttershy didn’t say anything. Reminiscing on the death of Spike, Big Mac, and Zecora, the flustered pegasus experienced a wave of frustration. Her face grew tense. She gripped her Quick-Fix with a newly-developed state of defiance. She began building up the last bit of tired energy that resided within her.

“What did I say about harming my friends?” She grumbled fiercely.

The giant Spike bots responded by opening fire with a rain of crit rockets. In a powerful, jerking motion, Fluttershy threw the switch on her backpack, and sent the shield up in a burst of uber-tronic energy. She steadily and stubbornly began to march her way forward.

The crit rockets began making impact with her shield, causing deadly explosions against its radiant surface. The defenders, however, were located safely behind the shield’s reaches. Out of the bots’ destructive range, they were then able to open fire in a secure, one-directional manner.

“‘Atta girl, Flutters!” Rainbow Dash cheered from the front. Having soared fearlessly in front of the shield’s protection, she began to collect stray credits from fallen small bots in order to retain her overheal.

After roughly four or five seconds, the giant Spike bots looked as if they were finally beginning to sustain damage. The remaining fighters continued their relentless onslaught, restrained only by the loss of their three most powerful comrades. Twilight and Applejack became the two most damage-dealing defenders.

“Excuse me asking, darling, but where are Spike and Big Mac? Their firepower could really give us an edge!” Rarity called from behind the bots.

Twilight bit her bottom lip. Awkwardly and reluctantly, no one who knew about the disaster opted to answer Rarity’s question. Seemingly shrugging off the concern, Rarity resumed her portion of the carnage.

…

Rocket after rocket came flying toward Fluttershy’s face before crashing into her shield with thunderous force. Still defiantly standing her ground, the desperate medic continued her trek forward. Each blast that her shield deflected traveled back to her Quick-Fix and into her hooves like a shockwave, weakening her already-wilting muscles. In another second or two, blood started to pour out of her nose again.

Her eyes started to twitch. Sickening numbness began to bloom out of her limbs and envelop her entire body, focusing on her head and on her chest. In her last few moments of stubborn willpower, Fluttershy began to realize that her physical body was giving up on her. She was getting overcome by exhaustion.

“…No……n…no…” She wheezed.

After placing one more hoof in front of her in a vain attempt to proceed forward, Fluttershy’s entire body collapsed. Her hooves gave way beneath her, causing her to crumple forward to the ground as if she were shot in the back by a sniper. Upon the release of her weak grip on the lever of the Quick-Fix, her shield promptly deactivated.

With her shield entirely gone, Fluttershy lay on the ground for a moment, trying hard not to completely pass out. Her equipment lay idle on the ground next to her.

In an extremely tiresome and laborious effort, Fluttershy put two hooves in front of her fallen head, and strained to lift herself up. Slowly, her shaking arms managed to elevate her head off of the ground just enough for her to look forward and see what was ahead of her.

…

The overworked and defeated pegasus saw only one thing upon setting her gaze forward. There, just ahead of her, was a critically-charged rocket in mid-air, hurdling straight for her. Her eyes widened, and her pupils shrunk to the size of a needle. She gasped widely.

As the rocket neared Fluttershy’s face, a startling and horrifying realization hit her. She had messed up again. And this time, it was bad.

………………………………………

The other ponies watched in shock as Fluttershy was struck with a crit-rocket. A deafening explosion rung through their ears, while a blinding flash caused them to squint their eyes. When the flash dissipated, chunks of Fluttershy’s body could be seen flying through the air like shrapnel. A violent spray of blood sprinkled down on the ground like fine snow particles. The Quick-Fix backpack and the attached medigun slammed into the ground with great force.

In the center of all the gore, a red halo of Fluttershy’s figure flickered into view, waiting to be healed by another medic. However, there wasn’t another medic. Fluttershy, the only one on the team with the ability to revive teammates, was dead. And the wave was only halfway done.

To be Continued…

Author's Note

Consider this as my early Christmas present to you. An update to the story that hasn't been touched since before Easter!!! I cannot even begin to describe to you how sorry I am for this unacceptable delay. My life has been sent flying through the air in the last year, and I'm still adjusting to the changes.

-I got my driver's license
-I got a car
-I got a job at the supermarket
-I had AP exams (which I aced)
-I now have three new AP classes
-My relationship with my girlfriend is developing exponentially

So...yeah. I guess updating my works hasn't been the top priority on my list as of late. Also, with my recent transition from TF2 to CS:GO, I found myself at a slight loss of interest with continuing this story. But I'm not about to let that stop me. Once I got this huge idea for the ending of this work, I became more determined to wrap it up. It's still going to happen, folks! Don't lose your faith! :rainbowdetermined2:

Desperation (The Final Wave (Part2))

Twilight slowly removed her eye from the scope of her rifle. Her face quivered from the gravity of what she had just observed. Within the view reticle, the unicorn had just witnessed a shocking and horrifying event. There, laying on the battlefield below her, were the pieces of Fluttershy's mutilated body. Her tools and equipment lay on the ground next to the chunks, serving no more purpose other than to collect dust and sink spirits. Her shaking got worse as the situation that they were in began to absorb into her mind.

She dialed up her microphone. "Guys, make sure you be extra careful about what you're doing!"

Rather quickly, she received a response over her headphones. Rarity's voice filled her eardrums. "Always, darling. We've been doing our best." Twilight could also overhear rocket blasts exploding in the background around her friend as the response made its way through.

"No, you need to be REALLY careful! Plan every movement you make!" She interjected.

Suddenly, Rainbow Dash joined the conversation on her microphone. More thundering rocket blasts entered the voice line as Rainbow Dash gave her input. "Twilight, we're doing fine! We've been fine up to this point, and if we screw something up, it's easy to just get revived!"

Twilight stomped her hoof down, finally beginning to lose her patience. "Rainbow Dash, we are four teammates down! We're losing our force here! We're missing Spike, Big Mac, Zecora..."

Rainbow Dash cut her off. "Then tell Fluttershy to get her ass in gear!"

"...and Fluttershy. Fluttershy's dead." Twilight finished with a frustrated sigh.

...

This announcement had been made over all of the ponies' headsets. Pinkie Pie, who had been flanking the giant Spike bot from behind with her flamethrower, stopped dead in her tracks once the bot was destroyed. The battlefield now stood in a dark and silent state, with the ponies standing around quietly in their positions. The bots stopped appearing for a few minutes, giving the remaining defenders a short break. The fighters collectively began to walk forwards, collecting around the ledge that Twilight was standing on.

"You mean...we have no more revival power?" Rainbow Dash stuttered.

"No, we don't. And without our respawn algorithms, our dead friends are actually...dead." Twilight announced between heavy breaths.

There was no immediate response. The defenders standing below Twilight looked down at the ground, saying nothing. A sudden catastrophe of this magnitude caused the remaining ponies to struggle furiously in their minds with the reality of their situation. The resulting silence was, therefore, among the most deafening of all.

"So...we'll never see our friends again...?" Pinkie Pie muttered sadly.

"Unless a miracle happens...no. I don't think we will." Twilight responded seriously.

A great deal of depression fell over the group of mares. Eyes began to trail over to Fluttershy's death site, where a pile of trashed equipment accompanied a large blood stain that was already dry. Only a few body parts were resting on the ground at the site of the blast, while the rest were probably scattered all over the battlefield. Their only source of life truly was gone.

"So...what do we do now? How do we handle this?" Rarity asked in a weak tone.

Twilight clenched her worn rifle tightly. "We have no choice but to continue fighting. None of our friends, alive or dead, would've wanted us to give up over this. Death is one thing, but if we fail, we let an entire universe fall to tyranny. We've given every last inch of our abilities to stop the same thing from happening to Equestria, haven't we? Multiple times, even! It would be unthinkable to allow this to happen to a universe that isn't even ours. We must give it everything we have, and more. If we retreat, it'll be only to obtain the tactical advantage! Does everyone understand?"

Weak, beaten, but defiant glares dominated the faces of the remaining survivors. They looked up from the ground, and met Twilight's gaze atop the ledge. A few of them nodded before they all responded simultaneously. "I'm in."

"Then there's no time to lose. Let's make our friends' deaths worth something!" Twilight yelled.

...

The defenders promptly left the spot by Twilight's ledge and sprinted off to their previous locations to resume the battle. Rarity ensured that she had a disguise prepared, and Applejack ensured that she had a sentry gun and dispenser properly deployed and upgraded. This time, every kill mattered. Only half of the final wave remained, and then their victory would shine true. They just needed to work together.

.....................................................

Her eyes shot open. Darkness. There was only darkness. No floor. No ceiling. Only darkness. Assessing the feeling in her limbs, she found that she was suspended in space. Suspended in darkness. She assessed her body. She was completely naked. Naked, suspended, and alone...in darkness. She felt no heat, no cold, and even no air pressure. She couldn't breathe. But wait...it seemed that she didn't even need to breathe. What was going on?

...................................................

"This is where it counts, girls. Let's make this happen." Twilight pushed.

More bots finally came into view. The surviving ponies were severely caught off guard, however, when every single remaining bot in the wave appeared at once. Fluttershy's tragic passing marked the halfway point of the final wave, but it seemed that the entire second half was erupting at one time. Two giant crit-boosted Spike bots came into view, followed each by a giant Fluttershy bot wielding the Quick-Fix. A miniature ocean of crit-boosted Twilight bots with bows turned the corner by their side. The defenders took an uneasy step backwards.

Applejack gasped in shock and awe as the thundering army of bots clattered towards the gate entrance. "Gray Mann must know we're at our weakest..."

"I'm not sure we can do this..." Rarity said in a surprisingly quiet and calm voice. Her expression did not change.

"Shut up, guys! This is for the meat and potatoes! Don't act like we can't rough up some pieces of metal!" Rainbow Dash coached from above.

"That's easy for you to say! All you do is fly around and stuff your pockets!" Rarity argued back.

"Guys, look alive! Here they come!" Twilight yelled.

...

Startled by the sudden callout, the defenders on the ground turned their heads. Applejack gasped and ducked her head when a crit-rocket began its descent right on top of her. The rocket exploded next to her, sending some pieces flying off of her dispenser. She stood up really fast to repair it, but then panicked when she discovered her mistake. She whipped her body around.

Another crit-rocket was fired, giving Applejack no time to duck or react. As the rocket sprinted towards her, she squinted her eyes shut, and awaited her painful demise.

Pinkie Pie, booking it in Applejack's direction, leapt into the air in a final-ditch effort to extend the life of her southern friend. Aiming her body and her weapon in the direction of the robot attackers, she released an air-blast just as the rocket was reaching Applejack's skull. The rocket ricocheted in the other direction, flying directly into the abdomen of the giant Fluttershy bot. The rocket explosion caused scraps of noticeable damage to appear on the bot's torso.

Pinkie Pie hit the ground, striking her hip on the unforgiving concrete beneath her. Applejack winced as a cracking noise rang through her eardrums. Her dispenser, however, which was nearby, patched up Pinkie's minor wound rather nicely.

"Ah...y'ouch! I should've continued doing gymnastics back in the day...!" She chuckled.

Applejack, although appreciating the life-saving gesture, did not show affection. "Get back up, Pinkie! More rockets are on the way!"

Pinkie Pie obeyed her friend by leaping back to her hooves to continue what she had started. Once the bot detected her movement, it started firing off a stream of rockets in a steady rhythm. With perfectly-timed responses, Pinkie sent air-blasts to launch the rockets in the other direction, effectively shielding Applejack's sentry gun and dispenser. With the sentry returning fire, the damage output was becoming considerable. With each ricocheted rocket hitting the giant Fluttershy bot, dents and broken shards were becoming evident. They were laying into the giant bot's health.

...

This was only one of the giant bot duos, however. Another giant Spike bot was also marching the battlefield with a giant Fluttershy by its side. Dozens of Twilight bots with crit-boosted bows also swarmed the ground, making life difficult for the defenders not involved with Pinkie's and Applejack's defense setup. Pinkie Pie had constant ammo in her flamethrower from Applejack's dispenser. Her air-blasts, after all, were also catching the incoming crit arrows and causing them to drop to the ground. Upon hitting the ground and losing their momentum, the arrows still maintained their ominous blue arrowhead glow. One of those in someone's eye would certainly spell a gruesome and instant death.

Twilight, from her safe distance on the ledge, fired consistent, unending shots at the other Fluttershy bot's head, allowing the damage to transfer to some of the bots surrounding it. With each shot whizzing into the Fluttershy bot's head, Twilight felt a weird, twisted feeling in her stomach from what she was currently doing. Rarity had sapped the bots a few times from her position behind the enemy lines while also refusing to stab any of them. After all, losing her disguise would result in another brutal death that wouldn't be reversed. Rainbow Dash was the only fighter that was getting up close and personal with the bots, jumping and flying in every direction while landing small scattergun shots on the giant Fluttershy bots. Any credits resulting from dead Twilight bots were being picked up to build her overheal.

Rarity planted another sapper on the giant Fluttershy bot again once it had recharged. She then stepped back a few paces and allowed the device to do its parasitic work on the bot. The giant Fluttershy bot, while still healing the giant Spike bot, turned around to look at the unicorn. To the bot, she technically still looked like another average Twilight bot, standing there in place with its bow while the other Twilight bots charged forward at their presumed enemies. Not only that, but this strange-looking Twilight bot didn't even have a crit-boost on its bow like all of the others did.

The giant Fluttershy bot raised a curious hoof. It tapped the giant Spike bot in the back, causing it to turn a perfect 180 degrees around to look at Rarity in her disguised form. Rarity observed this unusual spectacle behind her mask, and broke into a nervous sweat. Then, her heart sank when she heard the giant metal Fluttershy speak for the first time.

"Um...I...I think we have a spy." The giant bot said in a deep, thundering, raspy voice. Behind all of the encrypted, computerized background noise, the bot actually sounded like Fluttershy. While saying this, the bot pointed at Rarity.

Almost before the Fluttershy bot could finish speaking, the Spike bot shot off a crit-rocket at the suspected spy. Rarity's pupils shrank, and she swallowed hard. "Oh, dear Celestia..."

...

The other defenders practically screamed when they witnessed a critically-charged rocket impact Rarity, sending her pieces flinging through the air. Pinkie Pie and Applejack closed their eyes tightly as a film of fine, crimson blood sprayed into their front ends.

Pinkie spat a few times. "Blegh, it got in my mouth!" She shook her face a few times. "Oh, this sure ain't good."

Rarity was gone. The ponies' defense force was now only four-strong. Panic began to fill their heads.

As soon as Rarity was finished off, the giant Spike bot turned back around, and fired off an unexpected crit-rocket in Pinkie Pie and Applejack's direction. Pinkie Pie was caught off guard, still wiping blood from her surprised face.

"Pinkie! Watch out!" Applejack cried out.

Understanding her friend's desperate message, Pinkie Pie quickly raised her head, gripped her flamethrower, and launched an air-blast randomly. She took no time to aim her shot, but luckily caught the rocket as it was about to finish them both off. Due to the unprepared nature of the shot, the rocket flew off wildly through the air and away from the giant attacking bots. Rainbow Dash, who was flying around in the air to evade the bots' fire, glided backwards suddenly, failing to notice the reflected crit-rocket that was sent into the air near her.

The rocket hit her directly, causing a majestic, mid-air firework explosion that sent even more blood raining down in every direction. Rainbow Dash never even had the chance to realize that she had been killed. Twilight flinched when she was suddenly struck in the head by a falling kidney.

.............................................................

Wait...she heard a noise. Over the course of what she thought was about a minute, two dim flashes of light occurred within the dark abyss that she floated in. Silhouetted by the weak flashes were what seemed to be two other pony figures. Their features were impossible to see, however. All she saw after the flashes...was darkness.

............................................................

Pinkie Pie, now completely focused, positioned her aim at the giant bots, and resumed reflecting their incoming rockets at the giant Fluttershy bots. She never noticed the damage she had just caused. Applejack stared at the pink mare in horror.

"Pinkie Pie...you...you just hit Rainbow Dash..." She stuttered.

"I did?" Pinkie replied confusedly, still concentrating on the incoming rockets.

"Yeah, Pinkie. I, uh...I don't know what to even say."

Fortunately, Pinkie Pie's reflecting action managed to finally destroy one of the two giant Fluttershy bots. Now one of the Spike bots was going unhealed. It was still, however, at full health.

Rainbow Dash was gone. The ponies' defense force was now only three-strong. Hopelessness began to replace the fear in the last few defenders' minds. Twilight atop her ledge, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack were now the only ones standing between the bots and the Mann Co. facility hatch.

Twilight spoke up loudly. "Yeah, well I know what to say! We need to run, now!"

...

Not needing to be told twice, Pinkie Pie and Applejack turned away from the bots, and started sprinting for their lives. Applejack, having grown up doing chores on her family's farm, was naturally able to run faster than Pinkie Pie. Pinkie began gasping.

"Guys...wait up! I can't quite..."

The giant Spike bot whose medic was destroyed spotted the retreating figures, and shot off another fury rocket. It soared through the air at about quadruple the speed that the ponies were running. Just as Pinkie was reaching the corner to turn, the rocket impacted the ground next to her. Without another vocal sound, the blast crumpled her to the ground, where she died just seconds later from ruptured organs and internal bleeding.

Meanwhile, Twilight and Applejack stopped running once they made it to the bomb hatch at the very back of the facility. Their defense force now only consisted of the two of them. Twilight immediately raised the rifle to her face.

"Twilight...what in the hay are you doing?" Applejack demanded, taking heavy breaths.

"I'm continuing to fight. What are you doing?" She responded coldly.

"Are you completely nuts? It's just the two of us against a couple giants, followed by at least a ton of bowmen! We need to hide and preserve our lives!"

"I would never, Applejack! I can't possibly surrender after nearly all of my friends died before me trying to defend this facility! The least I can do is go down with them for the same cause!"

...

Applejack stopped, looked at the ground, and said nothing. She eyed Twilight sadly, and saw her still looking through her scope with a look of defiance on her face. This truly was an honorable example of a captain going down with their ship. Applejack had to respect that.

She sighed. "What do you want me to do?"

Twilight saw the bots turn the corner in the distance, and fired off a shot. "Trash your old sentry, and build a new one here. There should be plenty of supply boxes to get your metal reserves up. Hurry up, though!"

Applejack obeyed her last friend without hesitation. She remotely detonated her old sentry gun and dispenser, and began to erect new ones right in front of the hatch. Twilight, through her scope, observed the bots rapidly making their way around the corner. Both of the giant Spike bots now carried bombs, with one of them getting healed from behind. Every last one of the bots ignored the B gate and headed straight on the path to the hatch where Mann Co.'s last two Equestrian visitors stood steadfastly in defense.

...

"This is it, Twilight. Don't you ever think I'll forget our friendship." Applejack said with a tear in her eye.

"It's been wonderful, Applejack. You've been a true friend over the years. I'm glad I can spend this moment with you." Twilight responded, turning away from the scope to look at her pal.

For the first time in ages, Applejack actually began to cry. The fact that her friend was returning her goodbye gestures meant that...not even she expected to come out of this engagement alive. Here they both stood, on top of the bomb hatch at the Mannhattan facility, in front of an oncoming slew of robots, knowing that they were going to die. It was an emotional moment that couldn't be matched by anything.

Applejack's sentry gun beeped, turned quickly, and began its first, and last, onslaught of returning fire. Both of the giant Spike bots simultaneously shot off rockets, and destroyed the defending turret in the blink of an eye. Twilight retaliated to the blast by firing off a well-aimed shot, effectively destroying half of the small Twilight bots with an explosive headshot. The giant bots, however, remained barely affected.

The two giant bots fired off another simultaneous pair of crit-rockets, which together flew at Applejack and Twilight with impending force. The pony duo lowered their weapons, closed their eyes gently, and calmly awaited the rocket impact that would mark their defeat at the Mannhattan facility.

"So long......friend........."

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"Mm MMMPH! Mmph mm mmm!"

A sudden rush of wind blew Applejack's and Twilight's manes forward, covering their faces. Their hats both blew off as well. Seconds later, an explosion occurred, but the two of them didn't seem to be dead.

Applejack brushed her hair out of her face, and looked up at the source of the rush. Then, her jaw dropped in amazement.

"Holy hay! Red Pyro?! What are you doing here?"

Red Pyro raised his fist triumphantly in the air, and mumbled a few more times under his mask. Behind him, the entire human RED team charged forward with enthusiasm.

Twilight also cleared her face of her own mane, and gasped. "You guys are all here! How is this possible?"

Red Engineer tilted his hat as a 'hello' gesture. "Anything's possible, partner. Now step aside; we got some work to do."

...

Red Medic, who was healing Red Pyro, activated his shield with gusto, which blocked any more crit-rockets from assaulting the defense group. Red Pyro then sprinted forward, and began air-blasting the giant bots over and over again until, little by little, they were pushed back from the force. Red Engineer began immediate work on a sentry gun, which began firing in retaliation to the bots as soon as it was created. Red Sniper showered the bots with a prepared jar of piss, granting mini-crits to the newly-arrived defenders.

From behind Red Medic's shield, copious amounts of firepower thundered down on the few giant bots. Red Demoman spammed the bots with pipe grenades, Red Heavy filled the bots with bullets at a rapid pace, and Red Soldier returned the bots' rockets with rockets of his own. In a shocking matter of about twenty seconds or less, Twilight and Applejack saw the last of the giants that had been harassing them turn to shreds.

The mission had been won. The last of the bots were destroyed, and the bombs that they carried were promptly deactivated upon their destruction. The Mann Co. defenders cheered wildly, and the two last remaining ponies breathed a sigh of relief. However, no one heard the "Victory" announcement happen over the loudspeaker.

...

"Hey...where's the Announcer lady?" Applejack asked with concern.

Red Engineer stowed his wrench away in his toolbelt, stood up, and wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead. He turned to look at Applejack. "She should be right here with us, buddy."

"Wait...?"

As if on cue, the garage doors to the facility elevated acutely, and the Announcer walked out regally. She made brief eye contact with all of the fighters standing in a huddle around the bomb hatch. She carried a mysterious laptop under her right arm. "My name is Helen, you know."

Red Scout slowly and awkwardly raised his hand up with a zombie expression on his face. "Hi, Helen..."

She rolled her eyes. "Hello, Scout."

"What, you're not gonna say my name? Lame."

...

After settling her attention on Applejack and Twilight, Helen waved her arm over the entire group of defenders. "These mercenaries trashed their robot adversaries considerably faster than you Equestrians did. As a result, they were sent to my control room to oversee the remainder of your battle. Seeing as it was not going well, they convinced me to send them over here so they could help you."

Red Spy scoffed. "Convinced? Oh, please, woman. The only reason you're carrying your laptop in your right arm is because your left arm was nearly broken off by the fat man. You hardly had a choice."

Red Heavy grunted. Helen glared at Red Spy. "If you would like to keep your paycheck, I'd suggest you choose your words a little more wisely."

Twilight stepped forward. "Say...what exactly is that laptop for, anyway?"

Helen turned her gaze to Twilight. "Our respawn algorithms. New York is a notorious place to Mann Co. for possessing network traffic that is off the charts. So, therefore, I am here today to remotely request access from the local servers rather than trying to send signals from across the globe. It's a minor inconvenience for us at the upper levels of the company."

Red Engineer rolled his eyes and looked off in another direction. "Urban folk..."

...

A shimmer of hope appeared in Twilight's and Applejack's eyes. They walked forward curiously, and stood behind Helen as she held up the laptop, logged in to the company account, and began typing in gibberish that was unrecognizable to them. In a matter of what felt like eons, she pressed the 'Enter' button on the laptop, and they waited.

Author's Note

Hey, folks, it's me! I'm still alive! Hooray!

Now What?

Just as the two ponies were about to ask what was wrong, a light appeared through the windows of the facility's garage. All twelve of the witnesses standing around the hatch turned their gaze to the source. The ponies showed curious and hopeful expressions, while Helen's face showed no emotion at all.

The light appeared dim, but grew brighter and brighter in a matter of seconds. All of the witnesses except for Helen shielded their eyes from the rays. Then, almost as suddenly as it appeared, it was gone. Suspenseful silence remained amongst the group.

After about ten more seconds, the garage doors opened. There, standing at the entrance of the garage, was Pinkie Pie. She still wore her pyro uniform, but her flamethrower was nowhere to be seen.

The two ponies gasped in amazement. "Pinkie Pie! You're alive!"

The pink party pony skipped out of the garage with great joy. "Wee! I feel better than ever!" She then gasped, suddenly remembering something. "Oh my gosh, it was so weird, you guys! There was this darkness, and I wasn't wearing any clothes, and..."

"Okay, Pinkie. We can hear about this story on the way back from the facility." Twilight cut her off, giggling happily.

...

Shortly after Pinkie's appearance, Rainbow Dash stepped out from the garage. She rubbed her head and shrugged. "I...didn't even know that I died. I was in the air, and then...everything was dark. Weird."

Rarity appeared right behind Rainbow Dash. "At least you can't get dirty when there's nothing but blackness in every direction."

Big Mac, Zecora, and Spike all exited the garage closely behind Rarity. Without hesitation, Big Mac quickly reunited with Applejack, and Spike reunited with Twilight. Loving embraces were held between the family members that, prior to the victory, were sure they would never see each other again. Loud, joyful giggles and playful talks blessed the bloodstained battlefield of Mannhattan.

...

The happy noises were suddenly silenced, however, when the garage door opened again one last time. Everyone stopped what they were doing, and turned to look at the garage entrance. The silhouette that stood in the doorway stepped out into the open, and looked around with curiosity.

"FLUTTERSHY!" Everyone screamed at once. The pegasus jumped into the air from the sudden fright, and then quickly crouched on the ground. She covered her face with her hooves.

All of the ponies raced towards their yellow, fluffy friend and held her sky-high, cheering heartily for her hard work and her safe return. Fluttershy revealed her face again and began to relax in the comforting embrace of her many friends. Her troubled, anxious state finally began to wear off.

Her friends lowered her back to the ground and stepped away to give her some space. She casually brushed herself off, and smiled warmly. Every direction she turned, there were ponies and humans that cared for her...minus Helen, probably. That was such a cozy and remarkable feeling to have. She felt so important...so needed...so sought-after...so loved. The realization was almost too good to take in so quickly.

About halfway through her visual sweep, Fluttershy spotted who she was really looking for. Her heart swelled up, and an uncontrollable feeling of excitement and joy overcame her. She gasped as loudly as ever.

"Medic!" She cried.

"Ms. Fluttershy!" He exclaimed in return. Upon reflecting her gaze, the doctor leaned forward and opened his arms.

Without wasting a second, Fluttershy spread her wings, and launched herself forward in the German's direction. He laughed deeply as he was tackled and rolled to the ground by the pegasus that missed him ever so dearly. Fluttershy squeezed him in her arms as tightly as her strength would allow her, causing his laughter to sound a little more constrained.

...

"Alright now, Ms. Fluttershy. Zat's enough. I have somezing to show you." He whispered.

Fluttershy climbed off of him, and stood in front of him anxiously. She nearly hopped in place from the excitement that she was feeling. Red Medic used the mythical and unknown method of opening his inventory, and did a little bit of searching.

"I managed to vin zis from our battle earlier today. It's a hundred to von shot of obtaining it. I vould be honored if you take it for me." He announced.

He knelt down on the ground in front of Fluttershy, closed his inventory, and presented the item to her. Her jaw dropped in utter shock.

It was the Australium medi-gun. Every one of the ponies and humans watching moaned in admiration at the glittering, golden tool. Helen scoffed carelessly, and made a shooing motion with her arm.

"That's not much to look at. They're becoming Mann Co. standard issue soon." She jeered.

"Standard issue my ass, lady." Red Scout hissed in reply.

...

Fluttershy quivered in complete disbelief. With each passing second, Red Medic's smile grew wider and wider. A few of the bystanders allowed themselves to smile sheepishly as well.

"Vell, Ms. Fluttershy? Aren't you going to take it?"

Pinkie Pie raised her hoof with an objection. "Hey, doesn't she need e-mail confirmation first?" She giggled childishly, and slapped Red Pyro a high five.

Fluttershy slowly lifted a hoof and extended it to take the radiant tool from Red Medic's hand. Still in a state of complete awe, she awkwardly attached the golden miracle-device to her backpack. Then, after a few more silent seconds, she jumped back on top of Red Medic, and nuzzled her face up into his neck. Red Medic responded by putting his arms around her.

"Ms. Fluttershy, I..."

The doctor was completely cut off when Fluttershy raised her head up, grabbed him by the back of his neck, and yanked him in for a kiss. His surprised eyes slowly closed as he accepted her invitation. The two of them shared a minute together that would not be forgotten for the rest of their...infinite lives.

"Aaawww........." The bystanders cooed longingly.

Red Sniper nudged Twilight with his elbow. "You'd better watch out, mate. I'm coming at ya with that one of these days, but I ain't gonna tell ya when it is."

Twilight giggled.

Helen threw her hands in the air, dropping the expensive company laptop. "I need to get out of here before I puke." She stormed off.

...

"Medic?" Fluttershy spoke after cutting off the kiss.

"Ja?"

"I don't want you to call me 'Ms. Fluttershy' anymore. I would, um...prefer to be called 'Mrs. Fluttershy' from now on."

Red Medic's face twisted into one of shock and disbelief. "Vhat?! Y...You're already married?!! But, but...how...how did you not tell me zis before...? I...I..."

Fluttershy held a hoof up to his face to silence him. "Well, no, I'm not married. Not, um...not yet."

Growing smiles began popping onto the faces of the bystanders as they watched the event unfold. Some gasps were heard, but what could mostly be heard above it all was a gradually-loudening, "oooooooooOOOOHHHH!!!" Fluttershy bit her bottom lip, and blushed softly.

Red Medic continued to glare at Fluttershy with confusion for another second or so before he started to catch wind of his companion's advances. As he did, a massive, ecstatic grin appeared on his face. His grip on Fluttershy got tighter.

"Oh, danke...DANKE, Mrs. Fluttershy! Ja, ja, I vould be privileged to spend my life vith you! Oh, zah joy! Great joy!" He hollered into the air.

...

The crowd of victors laughed happily as the two medics pulled each other in for an embrace. This was definitely a day to remember at the company of Mann Co.. Lives were saved. Lives were also lost. Blood was certainly shed. Lips, and now hearts, were shared. Thousands of dollars were scrapped as a laptop struck the floor. And a little bit of piss got to be thrown. This was an average day in the lives of the pony mercenaries.

THE END

Author's Note

Howdy howdy howdy! :ajsmug: After two and a half years of moseying around with this story, I finally came back to wrap it up for you guys at one o' clock in the morning on a Sunday night! I had to cancel another less-popular work in order to consolidate my efforts into making this finale as epic as possible. Why did it take half a year just to write the last two chapters, though? Well, that was just laziness. I've been cherishing my small bits of free-time over my recent job and my AP classes. But now that it's summer, it just had to be done! I hope it was worth the wait, and I especially hope you enjoyed my sequel to The War of Mann Co.! :rainbowdetermined2:

ATTENTION:
Although I formally ended my small career of making Source Filmmaker videos, I'm planning to come back with my upgraded computer and make a video rendition of Fluttershy's revival spree during the robot fight! It's gonna include flashbacks, TOTALLY EPIC music, and hopefully a few goosebumps! So stick around to this story, and I'll post it here as an extra chapter once it's done! :raritystarry:

Payload Race Mode

Battle Arena #5: Hightower (Payload Race)

Spike walked along the desert sand casually and purposefully. Blue Soldier and the rest of his team walked next to him. Unfortunately, the trip from Badwater Basin to Hightower was going to be a lengthy one.

“I still don’t understand why only Red Engineer remembered to put a teleporter from here to the next place. Because of Blue Engineer’s forgetfulness, we have to walk.” Spike complained.

…

“Don’t think I can’t hear y’all murmuring back there.” Blue Engineer called.

Blue Soldier cut him off. “Where did you get all of those weapons, private? And that Unusual hat?”

Spike glanced up at his comrade. He shrugged. “I got ‘em from Red Soldier.”

“How many kills does your Direct Hit have?”

“Right now, only about 6. I didn’t get to do much last round.”

Blue Soldier nodded. “Red Soldier must’ve been quite proud of your work.”

…

Spike turned around behind him, and saw Blue Spy walking at the back of the group. His head was buried in his right hand.

“What’s wrong, Spy? Come up here and walk with the rest of us!” He ordered.

Blue Spy glanced up, and began to jog when he realized he was behind. He shook his head.

“My apologies. I was just thinking.” He stated.

…

“Thinking about what?” Rainbow Dash cut in. She shifted over to where Spy, Spike, and Soldier were walking.

Blue Spy looked over at her. “Oh, nothing really. It’s rather repulsive, even by my standards.”

“Listen dude, you’re only making me more interested in what you have to say. Spill it.” Rainbow Dash demanded.

“Yeah, I mean, if it’ll weaken team RED in any way, we’d totally love to hear it.” Applejack added.

“Oh, it’ll weaken them alright…” Blue Spy mumbled.

…

At this point, Blue Spy had the entire team’s full attention. Anyone who heard that statement turned around to look at him.

“Alright, so here’s how it goes………” He began.

……………………………………………

Meanwhile, team RED waited calmly and patiently for team BLU’s arrival over at Hightower. They stood at the edge of a large canyon that marked the beginning of the facility’s property.

Fluttershy stood very close to Red Medic, leaning against his right leg. She currently had the stock Medi-Gun equipped. To her, it seemed that something bad or humiliating happened every time she used the Kritzkrieg.

Red Medic lightly stroked the top of Fluttershy’s head. Anyone who knew his comrade well would know that rebuilding her lost trust or comfort was a slow and patient process. He seemed well-suited for that job.

“It’s okay, Ms. Fluttershy. No von vill sink any less of you for vhat you did. Zhere vas nothing wrong vith it.” He assured.

The rest of team RED undoubtedly agreed.

“Certainly, darling. In fact, I think most of us are proud of you. Courage like that is unlike anything I’ve ever seen.” Rarity added.

The entire team nodded. Murmurs of agreement and acknowledgment filled the air.

“But…I was feeling all weird at that time! That was something I could never do again…” Fluttershy responded timidly.

…

“Here, let me make it up to you. Follow me.” Red Medic said.

Red Medic walked off toward the RED resupply locker, and Fluttershy followed. The congregation of teammates stood silently afterward.

………………………………………….

Only a few minutes later, team BLU arrived at the facility. They stood facing team RED on the other side of the large chasm.

“Well, if we all jump into this ditch, we’ll most likely respawn inside the facility.” Blue Soldier calmly suggested.

“MOST LIKELY?!?! Um…how about hell no? Someone find another way!” Blue Scout screamed.

“Seems like a good idea to me. You go first, Scout.” Rainbow Dash ordered.

“Are you crazy?! Am I the only one that thinks this is a stupid idea?” Blue Scout rambled.

…

“I said…ladies first!!!” Rainbow Dash grunted as she began to shove Blue Scout into the pit.

Blue Scout protested loudly, kicking his arms and legs around and cursing. Rainbow Dash managed to overpower him, however. With one last thrust, she forced Blue Scout over the edge of the cliff. He flailed his arms in the air as he fell.

“Screw you Skittles……!” He screamed. Three seconds later, a very faint splat could be heard at the bottom of the chasm.

…

Then, starting with Applejack, Rainbow Dash began to pick up her teammates, and fly them over to the other side of the cliff with her wings. As she transported Blue Engineer, he laughed heartily.

“Y’all knew you’d be able to fly us over the whole time, didn’t ya?” He asked. When Rainbow Dash nodded, he laughed again.

………………………………………….

About a minute later, Fluttershy and Red Medic returned from the RED resupply locker. Instead of the Medi-Gun, Fluttershy had equipped the Quick-Fix again.

“Fluttershy, you just missed the funniest thing!” Pinkie Pie giggled. “What did the doctor guy want you for?”

Fluttershy held up the Quick-Fix nozzle, and jiggled her backpack. Pinkie Pie stared at her, confused.

“Medic gave me the Strange Quick-Fix. He told me that this one would keep track of my Ubercharges and my kill-assists.” Fluttershy responded.

“Oh, how cool! Just before we got here, Red Pyro gave me a Strange Backburner! I dunno, apparently this one does more damage when you do it Spy-style!” She replied.

Fluttershy looked at Pinkie’s weapon, and cringed a little. This is why she became a Medic and not a scary, burning psychopath.

…………………………………………

Once all of team BLU had crossed the pit, everyone headed to their respective resupply lockers to prepare for battle. On both sides of the symmetrical facility, a bomb cart with the teams’ color sat at the beginning of a long, twisted track.

…

When team BLU arrived at their locker, Blue Scout was standing inside, waiting for them. His arms were crossed in a pout.

“I hate you all…” He mumbled.

“Hey, my plan worked, didn’t it? No one gave you permission to talk.” Blue Soldier snapped.

The rest of the team agreed. Rainbow Dash smirked at Blue Scout.

………………………………………

Once again, tensions remained lighter on the RED side of the facility. Twilight downed a bottle of water, and wiped her lips.

“Alright, so inform me. How does this work?” She casually asked Red Sniper.

“It’s basically just like last round. However, we’re both trying to push our own cart. First bomb to reach the hightower wins the round.” Red Sniper explained in reply.

“Any twists?”

“Lots of ‘em. The cart does anything but stay steady the whole way through. Our tracks curve, meeting at a cross not far along the path. Once we pass it, the track continues far into the bowels of the enemy base. It’ll be the most difficult there, hence the location being right outside their spawn. One last turn after that, and you’re at the tower. The greatest twist about this track is that the last section of it is straight up. If anyone leaves the cart unattended, it’ll slide right back to the bottom.” Red Sniper explained.

Twilight crinkled the bottle up in her hoof, and threw it on the ground. “Seen worse. Let’s do it.”

…

Red Sniper shook his head slowly. He sighed.

“I gotta admit, mate, I truly adore your courage and professionalism. You and I; we’re gonna go far.” He complimented.

Twilight smiled, breaking her hard-earned seriousness in a split second. She looked up at her companion.

“Aw c’mon, Sniper, I was getting it right! It’s hard to be serious around you.” She blushed.

She nuzzled close to Red Sniper’s waist. He put his arm around her.

…

Over by Red Medic, Fluttershy caught a glimpse of Twilight and Red Sniper. Her face heated up as she once again remembered her actions during the last battle.

……………………………………………

Just as Red Medic noticed his companion’s uncomfortable state, the countdown began. He gave her a quick nudge of encouragement, which prompted her to raise her new Quick-Fix in preparation for battle.

…

“Mission begins in 5…4…3…2…1…”

On ‘0’, the doors swung open, and team RED cruised out of their resupply locker with their weapons ablaze. Team BLU did the same.

………………………………………………
Music: Playing with Danger (Repeat if needed)
………………………………………………

Rainbow Dash leapt down off of the ledge, and began pushing her team’s bomb cart. Slowly and steadily, the cart began to move.

“Ugh…this again…” She grunted.

As her labor to mobilize the bomb began, Blue Scout flew by her with a frying pan in his right hand. Rainbow Dash did a double-take as she realized he wasn’t carrying a bat anymore.

“Who the hell brings a cooking tool to a gun fight?” She asked annoyingly.

“Frying pans are becoming pretty common around here. Just roll vith it.” Blue Medic grumbled. He gave her an overheal, and ran off to assist front-running classes.

…

As soon as he left, Spike joined Rainbow Dash. Their cart began to move considerably faster with Spike’s support.

“Have you gotten stronger since we got here, Spike?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Nah, not really. I’m carrying a lot of heavy weapons, so I guess I have a lot of weight to throw around.” He casually responded.

“But…if you’re carrying heavy weapons, wouldn’t that make you strong?” She asked.

“Um…well…yeah, I guess you’re right.” He awkwardly answered.

…

For this battle, the ponies and the fighters had been equipped with a small watch on their right wrist that provided info on the bomb location. Their team’s bomb cart, as well as the enemies’, could be seen.

“So…apparently we’re both almost at the quarter-way mark. We’re going to need more muscle power to beat team RED to the hightower.” Spike informed.

…………………………………………

Meanwhile, at the RED cart, Scout, Soldier, Pyro, and Pinkie Pie were all pushing the bomb. They had nearly double the power that team BLU possessed.

They rounded the first left turn, which brought them out past the middle tower. Simultaneously, Rainbow Dash and Spike appeared from their corner, pushing the BLU cart.

The cart-pushers on both teams looked up in surprise when they saw their enemies pushing the cart. Immediately, the stopped pushing, picked up their weapons, and fought it out.

…

Rainbow Dash was the fastest to take out her scattergun. She shot once, and wounded Red Pyro. In response, he and Pinkie Pie burst forward to use their flamethrowers.

In panic, Spike launched a rocket at the invaders. With flawless reflexes, Red Pyro turned toward the rocket, shrouded it with a compressed air blast, and sent it flying right back at Spike. Spike gasped, and launched a rocket at his feet. He took slight damage from the blast, but was propelled high into the air before his own rocket spelled his death. He then shot two more rockets down on Red Pyro, which blew him to pieces.

As his ascent began to turn into a descent, Spike directed his body over to where Pinkie Pie was running. He took out the Market Gardener, and smashed her head in on the way down. Hitting the ground, he got health from the bomb cart, and continued to push it.

“Whoa; nice job there, Spike!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

…

From the ledge over by the RED base, Red Soldier witnessed Spike kill two of his teammates. He shook his head, and sighed.

“I’ve never seen such a skillful fighter.” He muttered to himself.

…………………………………………

As of now, team BLU was pushing considerably ahead of RED, with only Spike and Rainbow Dash pushing the cart. Past the first cross, the track began to take them closer and closer to team RED’s base.

“Um…Spike? If I’m not mistaken, we’re going to be pushing this thing right through their spawn area.” Rainbow Dash worriedly mentioned.

…

Just as Spike was about to reply, Blue Medic approached them from behind.

“Hey, doc! Would you mind helping us push this thing? Or could you at least give us an overheal?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Gladly.” He responded. He walked up behind them, and backstabbed them both.

Red Spy then radioed to his team with his headset. “Got ‘em.”

…………………………………………

Red Scout, Red Soldier, and Red Medic simultaneously leapt down from their ledge, and began pushing team RED’s cart along. With Scout as their advantage, they currently had the power of 4 pushing their cart.

Blue Spy uncloaked behind the group. Just as he was about to plunge his knife into Red Medic’s back, he was headshot by Twilight. However, he was not dead.

With his Dead Ringer activated, Blue Spy retreated to a safe place before he would become visible again. He set his headset up to send a crucial message to BLU’s defense faction.

“Team RED’s cart is moving quickly. Engineer, I need you to set up a sentry on the platform above the track by our spawn area. It’ll surely hold off the attackers for a sufficient amount of time.” He ordered.

After a few seconds, he received a fuzzy reply from Blue Engineer.

“Message received, partner. Erecting a sentry right now.” He responded.

…

Just as Blue Spy’s cloak ran out, he disguised as Red Medic. Right before he ran out to continue his trickery, Pinkie Pie came trotting in the hallway. Blue Spy gasped, and held his breath.

“Oh hey, Medic! Mind giving me an overheal?” She asked politely.

Blue Spy began to sweat heavily. He gulped.

“Uh…I’m afraid that won’t be possible.” He responded.

Pinkie was confused. “Why not? And where’d your German accent go?”

“Um…it went up into the resupply locker. Maybe you should go check there.” Blue Spy stuttered in response.

Pinkie raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure you’re not a Spy?”

“Yes, I’m pretty sure.”

“Absolutely sure?”

“…Yes.”

“Absolutely positively sure?”

“Yes!”

“Absolutely positively EXTREMELY sure?!”

…

Blue Spy didn’t respond. A couple heated seconds of suspicious silence ensued before he turned and ran. Pinkie Pie gasped in surprise, and began to chase him.

“Hey, Spy! Our Medic is a Spy! Catch him!” Pinkie Pie cried over her headset.

Immediately, the squadrons of RED fighters that weren’t already busy began to hunt down the Spy that was among them. Blue Spy barreled out of the back hallway in panic, passing right by Rarity and Big Mac.

“Medic!” They both called at the same time.

When their “Medic” didn’t answer them, they exchanged glances, and ran after the suspected Spy. As they began to chase after him, Pinkie Pie burst out of the hallway, and toppled right into them.

…

“What are you guys doing just lying here? Chase the Spy!” Pinkie ordered.

Quickly and awkwardly, the pile of teammates got up off of each other. Recovering their sense of direction, they took off after Blue Spy.

……………………………………………

Blue Spy wasn’t very worried anymore. His Dead Ringer had recharged, and he was beginning to lead his attackers into a trap. As he ran frantically toward the BLU base, the three RED attackers ran relentlessly after him.

Blue Spy disappeared around a corner. When the three teammates rounded the corner in pursuit, they were met with an unpleasant surprise.

Two sentry guns turned toward them, and began to fire ruthlessly. Too slow to react or respond, the attackers got their heads blown off by bullets and rockets.

…

“Splendid job, you two.” Blue Spy wheezed.

Blue Engineer high-fived Applejack.

…………………………………………

At this point, Rainbow Dash, Blue Scout, and Blue Pyro began pushing their cart again. It rounded a corner, and entered the no-man’s land within team RED’s base.

Blue Spy whispered to himself. “That’s the most dangerous part of the course… If they’re not careful, we’ll never get the cart further than that!”

He put a gloved hand on his masked chin, and thought solemnly to himself. If he didn’t act soon, his team would be unable to advance any further.

…

He decided that it was time to act out his dastardly plan. He activated another disguise, which looked like Red Pyro. He walked a couple steps in front of him to where the RED fighters had died, and splashed some of their blood onto his body. This made him looked injured and desperate.

“It’s now or never…” He mumbled.

As he ran off on his team-saving mission, Blue Engineer and Applejack cheered encouragingly.

……………………………………………
Music: Faster than a Speeding Bullet (Repeat if needed)
……………………………………………

As he made his way over to the RED base, Rainbow Dash got headshot by Twilight. The cart slowed down. Blue Spy hesitated, but pressed on.

He made his way up a nearby ramp, across the track, and to a pile of boxes. He stopped and hid there for a few moments.

Blue Scout, who was still pushing the cart, looked over at him like he was crazy. Jerking his head, he motioned for Blue Spy to move his ass. Just as Blue Spy was obeying, Blue Scout was also headshot by Twilight.

Now, with only Blue Pyro pushing the cart, progress was being made dangerously slowly. Blue Spy rolled his eyes, and began to climb up the boxes.

…

Red Sniper stood perched on the ledge right at the top. Blue Spy’s breathing increased from his anxiety. Now was not the time to fail.

Just before Red Sniper managed to pull off a shot, Blue Spy climbed up into his view. Red Sniper scoffed.

“Gaahhh…get out of my way, Pyro!” He ordered, rolling his eyes.

“Mmm mmph…mmm mmm mmm MMPH!” Blue Spy mimicked, pretending to be injured.

The blood covering Blue Spy’s disguise made his act far more convincing. Red Sniper, although annoyed, seemed slightly concerned for his “teammate’s” condition. He sighed.

“Go see a Medic or something. Or, if you need to, use the resupply locker in the spawn room. I’m busy right now, mate.” He stated.

…

“I think not.” Blue Spy responded menacingly, breaking his disguise.

Red Sniper gasped in surprise. Before he could react, Blue Spy thrust his blade into the spinal cord of his enemy. Red Sniper gagged and hacked, falling to the ground with a loud thud.

…

Blue Spy smiled evilly. Just as he made the kill, he quickly put on another disguise. His disguise…was Red Sniper. He bent over, picked up Red Sniper’s headset, and set it atop his head.

Before anyone could notice, Blue Spy hurled the real Red Sniper’s body over the edge of the ledge. This left no immediate evidence of his presence. (Why is this rhyming so much?)

…

Almost immediately after stealing the RED assassin’s headset, messages flowed in from Twilight Sparkle. He breathed heavily, and prepared to intercept the secrets of the enemy team.

“Ah ha! Another headshot! Wouldn’t you say I’m doing pretty good today, babe?” She asked over the headset.

Blue Spy gagged. He cleared his throat a couple of times to prepare his Sniper impersonation, and began his reply.

“Gah! You made me miss a shot! What is it that you want so badly, mate?!” He mimicked.

“Um…I’m sorry? Did I do something wrong?” She asked, confused.

…………………………………………

Blue Spy’s blooming conversation with team RED’s hoofed assassin was being broadcast across the map to the BLU team. Nearly the entire team went quiet, waiting in anticipation for their master of trickery to lay down his timebomb.

Blue Spy continued. “Yes, you did something wrong! You always screw me up when I’m about to end some wanker’s life!” He yelled in artificial anger.

…

Blue Scout and Rainbow Dash stifled giggles. Large smiles covered their faces as they listened to their Spy verbally beat down the enemy.

…

Twilight was still confused. She stuttered incomprehensibly.

“I, uh…gee, I didn’t know I was such a problem to you…” She mumbled, slightly hurt by her “teammate’s” rage.

“In fact, while I’m on the subject, why are you such a burden to this team? Here’s a news flash, mate, the bullets come out of the slim end!” Blue Spy exclaimed.

…

While this was going on, Blue Pyro continued to push the cart, with no one trying to stop him. Sirens began to blare. After a few seconds, Rainbow Dash and Blue Scout joined back in.

…

Twilight was trembling now. She dropped her rifle.

“But…I…I thought…t…that you and I…”

“Oh please, mate. Are ya bloody joking? I’m an assassin, and I don’t love anybody, especially you. My job is to kill every mongrel I meet, and you just might be my next target. Go back to the BLU team where you belong!” Blue Spy acted over the headset.

…

He waited in silence and anticipation for the unicorn’s reply. After a few seconds of nothing, he heard a bang over the speakers, signaling that the set on the other end was dropped on the ground.

He stood there silently, wearing his Red Sniper disguise, not sure what to do next. Suddenly, Twilight ran down the nearby stairs from the battlement ledge, crying her eyes out. She slammed into him, knocking him over on her way into the resupply room.

“Well then…I guess that’s mission accomplished.” He mumbled, picking himself up and dusting himself off.

……………………………………………

Loud sirens echoed throughout the Hightower facility as team BLU’s cart made its way to the final destination. Blue Spy deactivated his disguise, and ran down to join Rainbow Dash, Blue Scout, and Blue Pyro.

The cart came to a screeching halt, and began to rise steadily on an elevator platform.

The three original cart-pushers began to jump up and down eagerly. Blue Spy looked up at the hatch on the hightower wall, and sighed thoughtfully.

“C’mon, baby! We got this!” Blue Scout said through clenched teeth.

Rainbow Dash grinned proudly. “Yeah yeah yeah! We made it this far!”

Blue Pyro clapped his hands together. “Mmmph mmm mmph!”

Blue Spy swallowed the vomit that kept rising in his throat.

……………………………………….

Immediately upon reaching the top, the bomb cart exploded, obliterating the four clueless attackers. Team BLU jumped around and cheered at their victory, and the success of Blue Spy’s evil plan.

Looks of confusion covered the RED fighters’ faces as they leaked out of their base for discussion. Just before their defeat, their Sniper was in emotional hysterics. Not even Red Medic could calm her down.

Red Sniper was especially confused. Every time he tried to comfort Twilight, she would shove him away or curse at him.

…

“Well, I’m not exactly sure what happened to our teammate during this battle, but nonetheless, it was engaging.” Red Soldier commented.

Team BLU pretended to agree with Red Soldier. Secretly, they knew exactly what had happened.

“Shall we do the team scramble?” Blue Soldier added.

…

The teams are now as follows: Fluttershy, Zecora, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity were on team RED. Big Mac, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Spike were on team BLU. To everyone’s shock, Twilight was also on team BLU.

“Hey mate, why are you switching teams?” Red Sniper asked.

“Because you wanted me to!!! I’m leaving you alone like you asked, so why don’t you leave me alone, too??!!” Twilight screamed in response. Tears streamed down her face.

Red Sniper was taken aback. He looked back and forth in sadness and confusion, and remained silent.

…

“…Well then…I guess we’re going to Mountain Lab for Attack/Defend next.” Red Soldier stuttered.

Without another word, both teams walked off in different directions. Blue Scout held up his fist to bump with Blue Spy. He did not oblige.

To be Continued…

Author's Note

My friend and I have been discussing a new story idea. Once this one is done, you should all stick around and check it out. It'll be hilarious. XD
I must caution you, though. We plan to rate it as Mature.

BONUS: The War of Mann Co. Cinematic

Author's Note

Well, guys, here it is! I'm extremely proud of this video, and I think you'll enjoy it! I realize that there are some inconsistencies with the video and how the actual story plays out. For instance, the robots in the scene are human Heavy bots rather than Big Mac bots. Also, only the Mane 6 are involved with the robot fight in the video rather than including Spike, Big Mac, and Zecora. These issues were mainly caused by my difficulty in finding the appropriate SFM models for the bots and the characters. Hopefully it's still a thrill to you, though! And again, thank you for sticking around with "The War of Mann Co. 2".

BONUS: The War of Mann Co. Cinematic