Fortresshy 1.5: For(t) Pony

Chapters

Return of Harm-ony, part one
Return of Harm-ony, part two
Family
Days Passing, part 1
Days Passing, part 2
Days Passing, part 3
Anticlimax

Return of Harm-ony, part one

Fluttershy yawned and smiled happily as she woke up. Stretching, she nudged Devil Bastard off the bed to almost land on Angel Bunny. Were she more awake, she would have been more concerned that her pet didn't complain about nearly being crushed by a giant stuffed effigy of himself. In her barely wakeful state, however, she was happy he stayed quiet and ducked under her bed while she reached for her minigun, Angel. Taking her time, she cleaned the gun and oiled its gears before climbing out of bed. "Thanks for being so cooperative this morning, Angel," she whispered to the minigun. "Oh, and you too Angel Bunny," she added to the shivering ball of fluff under her bed. "I'll just go down and make breakfast for everyone, alright?"

Smiling, she opened her door to pandemonium. All of her animal friends who normally slept outside were crowded into every available inch of space in her small cottage. The only exception was Chompy, who was bigger than the cottage and sleeping easily outside the window as though nothing were wrong. Then again, there was very little in Equestria that was of concern to a Chain Chomp large enough to eat an elephant whole.

"Oh, what's gotten into you all?" Fluttershy scolded gently. "This is Ponyville! What could possibly have you all this scared?" Shaking her head, she sighed as she walked calmly to the front door. "Well, whatever it is, I'm sure I'll be able to take care of it easily. Just let me take a look, alright?" Smiling, still completely calm, she opened the front door of the cottage.

Outside, she saw black, thorn covered vines swarming out of the Everfree Forest and erupting from the ground, spreading all over Ponyville. She also noticed that half the sky was day time and the other half was night time, but the vines caught most of her attention.

She slowly, calmly closed the door. "Alright," she said sweetly. "I can understand why this would have you all quite concerned." Carefully, she strapped on her flamethrower and grabbed her machete. "But I want you all to trust me when I say everything is going to be perfectly fine. I'm just going to go into town, gather my friends and family, and we'll all fix this, alright?" As the animals nodded, she pushed the door open and stepped outside. "Just stay here in the meantime," she instructed, keeping her back to the wall. "Chompy will keep you all safe." Given that the chain chomp in question was currently snacking on any vines that got near enough to wrap his disturbing tongue around - which ranged anywhere from between his present location, the border of Everfree, and the Ponyville main road - this was quite believable.

Fluttershy closed the door calmly. As soon as it was shut, she screamed bloody murder as she fled to Ponyville, sweeping her flamethrower and machete around blindly as she went.

In Ponyville near the library, Rainbow Dash was doing her best to fight off the vines as Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie approached. The members of Team RED MOON had already mobilized from their still under-construction fortress, acting to secure the safety of civilians and cut down the attacking vines. Heavy was focusing on evacuating civilians to the safety zone Engineer had set up in Town Hall, surrounding it with acid spitting turrets that were programmed to target plant matter that exceeded a certain amount of movement. Demoman was blowing up vines that went after Heavy and the others as they worked. Soldier directed efforts from a nearby rooftop. Scout raced back and forth, tracking down any ponies still in need of rescue. Sniper stayed at his post at the top of the town water tower, calling out to everyone any new concentrations of vines. Pyro stayed near the water tower, as his new magic fire in small amounts scorched individual vines to the roots, making him an ideal defender for the lookout post. Spy stayed inside Town Hall alongside Medic, who treated any injuries sustained during evacuation.

Just as the last corner of Ponyville was proclaimed clear, Fluttershy came flying up, screaming as she swept the air around her with her flamethrower.

"Whoa, Shy!" Applejack called out. "What's eating you?"

"Yeah," Rainbow complained. "With all we've seen of your training with these guys-" she gestured to Heavy and Scout who were nearby "-I'd think this sort of thing would be right up your new alley."

"That's exactly where I don't want it to be!" Fluttershy wailed, ducking behind Rainbow.

"What ever do you mean, darling?" Rarity asked in confusion.

"Vines ripping out of the ground grabbing ponies up!" Fluttershy replied. "And I'm the shy, quiet mare who lives alone, and is a former fashion model?" She took in a deep breath before shouting her next line as loud as she ever got. "I've seen enough hentai to know where this is going!"

By this time, the entire RED MOON team had gathered. "Who let Fluttershy watch Hentai?" Heavy demanded in an angry voice.

Sheepishly, Scout raised his hand.

"You are grounded, Scout," Spy scolded.

"For the last time, Frenchie, you ain't my old man!" Scout complained.

"You're still confined to base until further notice!" Soldier bellowed. "Get moving maggot!"

Grumbling, Scout stormed off to the incomplete fortress.

At that moment, Twilight returned from Canterlot. "Girls! Thank goodness you're all here-"

"I mean, it wouldn't be so bad without the thorns," Fluttershy continued to say, "but those things are as big as my-" She paused as she saw Twilight staring at her. "Oh, hi Twilight. Back from Canterlot already?"

Twilight stared with a rather stupefied look on her face. "Do I want to know what she was talking about?"

"Definitely not," Sniper asserted.

"So what's the word, Princess?" Soldier asked. "Luna got any orders for us?"

Twilight glanced around as Spike got off her back, seeing that only her friends and the mercenaries were present. "Well, the thing is...Princess Celestia and Princess Luna...they're, well..." She looked like she would continue to hew and haw for a while.

"They're missing!" Spike shouted out.

As Rainbow, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity gasped in shock, Soldier reached into a pocket and pulled out a sheet of orders, scanning it. "Right!" he proclaimed. "I have orders from Princess Luna regarding what to do in the case she went missing."

"You do?" Twilight gasped in relief, rushing over to read the order sheet.

In the event of my mysterious disappearance, these are your orders, Team RED MOON...

Keep Ponyville safe.

Do what you do best.

Your boss,
Princess Luna Harmonia

Twilight's ears went back. "That's...very helpful," she said blandly.

"Fluttershy, Sniper, Demoman, Spy, you four stay here with Scout!" Soldier barked. "Keep the town safe, and keep an eye on Twilight. If Luna's gone for a long time, we'll need someone to give us orders!" Those he named immediately saluted. "The rest of you maggots are with me! We're going to find the source of these vines if we have to burn the entire Everfree Forest to cinders!"

"Oh please don't," Fluttershy whimpered. "Those poor homeless animals, not to mention Zecora..."

Soldier frowned. "Note, burning the forest to the ground is an option of last resort only!" He glowered firmly at Pyro, who held up one hand in an OK sign. "Let's go maggots!"

Twilight relaxed, relieved that someone seemed to know what to do in this situation. "So where's everyone else?"

"They're in the Town Hall," Fluttershy explained. "Poof Daddy, can you bring Scout there? It will make a much better base of operations."

"Of course," Spy replied, turning to stride towards the fortress as Soldier, Heavy, Medic, Pyro, and Engineer strode into the Forest.

"How come he's taking orders from you?" Twilight asked.

Smiling, Fluttershy accepted her uniform from Sniper, pulling it on and gesturing to the rank insignia at the lapel. "Princess Luna's orders. I'm second in command under General Daddy Sir of Team RED MOON."

Rainbow Dash chuckled. "Way to go, Shy!" she said happily, giving Fluttershy a hoof bump.

Return of Harm-ony, part two

In Town Hall, Twilight quickly took control of the situation, making sure emergency supplies were still viable and equally distributed amongst those hiding from the vines. Spotting one area Engineer had been unable to guard against, she cast her strongest barrier spell over the ground itself to keep the vines from coming up through the floor. However, keeping the barrier up was rapidly draining her magical stamina.

Spy was the first to notice this. "Twilight," he suggested, "would it not work better to anchor the spell, rather than trying to keep it up continuously?"

Twilight smiled ruefully. "If I had anything to anchor it with, I would. But I don't have any of the tools I would actually need to make anchors-"

"What about the sentry turrets and dispensers?" Spy offered. "They are powered by Australium, which is the same as Mana Stone in this world. Would that not be an ideal anchor?" He showed her the small chunk of Australium that powered his cloaking device to demonstrate.

Twilight looked it over as best she could, unable to focus on that while also maintaining the spell. "Looks about right...I can give it a try..." She refocused her magic, seeking the chunks of what to her was Mana Stone with which to anchor the spell. Surprisingly enough, the spell anchored easily, allowing her to sever her link to the working and conserve her strength. "Thanks for the suggestion," she admitted.

"Someone needs to manage the civilians," Spy replied with a shrug. "I am not much for siege warfare when my opponents are non-sapients like what we face here."

Twilight glanced around, looking for some way to utilize Spy's skills. "Think you could keep the fillies and colts entertained?" she requested, gesturing to the large group of underage ponies. "I'd rather they not get up to any trouble or fall prey to the vines, and you must be good with foals if you raised Fluttershy, right?"

Spy chuckled. "Well, I can try." He walked over to the younger ponies, drawing his knives. "Hey kids, want to see a magic trick?"

"Engy hasn't got the respawner working yet!" Scout called out to him.

Spy rolled his eyes. "I know that," he scolded. "I wouldn't show that trick to them, anyway!" He then proceeded to dance his knives around his fingers, much to the amazement of the young ponies.

Smiling, Twilight walked over to Fluttershy. "Think they can handle...whatever this all is?"

Fluttershy nodded happily, turning out a window to fire another blast of weedkiller from her modified flamethrower at another growth of vines. "There's nothing here they can't handle, I'm certain."

A large explosion broke Fluttershy's concentration momentarily. "Gotcha!" Demoman called out, having exploded yet another vine cluster that had evaded the acid turrets.

"...I think I can honestly believe that," Twilight muttered, glancing out towards the Everfree.

Deep in the Everfree, Pyro led the way through the attacking vines. Each one received a touch of his magic flames, burning them to a crisp to the roots. Soldier, Heavy, and Engineer walked behind him, spread out in defensive posture, with Medic behind them. They focused on presenting a capable enough front to convince most of the creatures of the Everfree to not mess with them. For the most part, this worked well, especially after Heavy wrestled a crocodile that seemed to be made of rocks into submission and uppercut a wolf made of wood into a hydra's mouth. The hydra had left, apparently to get the taste of wolf wood out of its mouth.

As they progressed, after each vine Pyro shook his hands a bit. While the magic fire came easily to him now that he knew what it was - and gotten some instruction from Twilight in how to control it - the more he used it, the more his hands hurt. They felt unusually hot, and the joints protested flexing. It got worse each time he channeled the fire. However, since it didn't hinder his ability at all, he ignored it. Besides, without Fluttershy there to interpret - it had been a surprise to him that she could understand him - he had no way to make Medic understand what his problem was.

Following the path of greatest resistance, they eventually found their way to a wide gorge before a massive castle. Deep within the gorge, a faint light could be seen from within a cave. Without hesitation, the group leapt downwards into the gorge, the drop being nothing any of them hadn't done before.

Entering the cave, they saw a massive crystal tree wrapped in the vines, along with two large bundles of the vines.

"Engy!" Soldier barked. "What do you make of this situation?"

Engineer stepped forward, pulling out one of his scanners to analyze the situation. "The tree is high density Mana Stone," he explained. "Super high density. More concentrated than anything I've ever encountered in Australium. It's...actually become concentrated to the point it's alive."

"Why vines hurt tree?" Heavy asked curiously, trying to pull one of the vines off the tree.

"The tree seems to be emitting some sort of wavelength that is inimical to the vines' growth," Engineer explained. "If I had to guess, I'd say the vines have been trying to grow for a long time, but the tree was holding them back...but it's run out of power." He scanned the two large bundles of vines. "Also, Princess Luna is confined in the right bundle."

Nodding, Pyro stepped forward and seized one of the vines in the bundle. Sending his magic fire into it, he burned away the vines. However, as the last of the vines fell away from Luna in cinders, he held his hands together, letting out a deep grunt of pain. His hands smoked, and the latex of his gloves were melting.

Princess Luna was quick to take charge in regard to Pyro. "Do not use anymore fire just yet," she instructed. "I know not why it is causing you pain, but it shouldn't. When this situation is dealt with, we will seek out Twilight Sparkle. She is most adept at analyzing magic, and should be able to deduce what is happening with your magic."

"What would you have us do in the meantime, Princess?" Soldier asked, saluting.

Luna smiled. "For now, General, I believe we should attempt to free my sister from that other pile." She gestured slightly. "At present, mine own magic is greatly diminished from being held so long, so I will be of little practical aid. Failing that, finding some way of reenergizing the Tree of Harmony should aid us."

"The what?" Heavy asked in confusion.

Luna gestured to the tree. "The Tree of Harmony. It is the source of the Elements of Harmony." She noticed their blank stares. "The...necklace Fluttershy wears, and the matching ones worn by her friends, and Twilight's crown?" More blank stares. At this point, she realized it wasn't so much not understanding what she was saying, but the significance of her words. She thought for a bit to find a way to explain the power of the Elements of Harmony to her Team. "...Orbital Friendship Cannon?" she finally offered.

"Oh!" Soldier said in understanding as the others nodded. "That rainbow light thing from the stained glass windows up at the big castle?" He pointed towards Canterlot.

"Yes, that," Luna confirmed, somewhat deadpanned. Her mouth felt dirty for simplifying Equestria's greatest relics in such a manner. "So it is important to find a way to reenergize the Tree."

"My hard hatted friend," Medic spoke up suddenly. "You said the Tree was made of high density Mana Stone? To the point of becoming alive?"

"Yes, at least as far as I can scan," Engineer admitted.

"Then energy of the same kind could presumably reenergize it, or at least provide what it needs to energize itself?" Medic continued.

"Seems logical," Engineer admitted.

"What are you planning?" Luna inquired.

"Well, my Medi-gun runs on Australium, so..." He stepped forward with a manic grin on his face. "It's time to practice medicine!" He switched the Medi-gun to Uber-charge, pointing it right at the tree.

Luna stared in bemusement. At first, she found the entire notion absurd. It couldn't possibly be that simple to restore the ancient source of Harmony, could it? And it didn't look like it was working, as the tree remained as it was as the Medi-gun slowly began to lose power. However, as Engineer began taking chunks of Australium from their other equipment and plugging it into the Medi-gun to give it more power, the tree began to regain its glow, and the vines began to unravel and dissolve.

"One...more...push!" Medic proclaimed. Connecting all the Australium they had with them to the Medi-gun, he cranked it to a new setting a blue-maned unicorn in Ponyville had suggested, one which Engineer had added to all their weapons and gear.

Up to eleven.

A massive discharge of all the energy the gun had in it - enough to make it explode - blasted into the Tree, restoring it to its full health as it released a wave of power that blasted the vines away. Celestia was released. She looked up, blinking in confusion. "Where is Twilight?" she asked.

"Back in Ponyville, managing the civilians," Engineer explained. "She shows signs of being a capable administrator."

Celestia looked very nonplussed. "And...why did she remain there?"

"Because under standing orders from Princess Luna regarding her unexpected disappearance, we were handling the situation!" Soldier barked out.

Celestia turned to give Luna the fish eye, only to receive a blown raspberry in response. She sighed. This may cause problems in the future, she thought to herself. Glancing back, she saw that the Tree seemed completely content with being reenergized, and showed no sign of giving anything back. "And the Elements?"

"With their Bearers," Engineer replied.

"...then we should rejoin them," Celestia murmured, rising to her hooves.

While Ponyville celebrated its liberation from yet another threat, Twilight examined Pyro's magic in minute detail. "Well, I've figured out what's happening with your magic," she said at last.

Pyro sat back to listen eagerly, his hands now feeling much better.

"Your magic isn't raw mystic energy like it is with most ponies," Twilight explained. "I don't know if it's because you're human, because of your high exposure to magical radiation from the Australium, the apparent frequent respawning, or because you're - well - you. But it's already focused inside you...as mystic flames."

Pyro nodded. He had always felt the flames inside.

"It's not healthy for a living being to contain magical fire," she explained. "Even worse to release it as you have been. If you keep it to small amounts, you should be fine. But push too hard, and you'll suffer similar instances to what you experienced today, where your hands start to burn and melt. Push beyond that, and it'll expand to beyond your hands. Your body generates the magical flames faster than you can use them this way, though they seem safely contained inside you when you aren't using them."

Pyro waited for more explanations.

"However..." Twilight shivered. "If releasing the flames does enough damage to your body without being repaired, if you push the flames too far...they'll all come out at once, and you'll go up like a miniature supernova, destroying everything in your vicinity. And I don't know when - or if - the flames would stop."

Pyro stared at his hands, letting this knowledge sink into his mind. Eventually, he nodded.

"That's it?" Twilight asked, surprised. "I tell you that you could end up destroying all life on the planet if you push your flames too far, and you just...nod?"

Pyro gave her a thumbs up. After all, for the longest time, he thought he was destined to be nothing but a monster that would bring fire and destruction to all that lived. As he saw it, Twilight had just told him he had a choice in the matter, control of when - and if - it happened. As far as he was concerned, that was an improvement.

Twilight threw up her hooves with a groan of frustration. "...men!" she finally spat out, causing Pyro to let out a belly laugh.

Author's Note

Each successive chapter of this story will either cover the changes to a single episode - if significant changes will take place - or non-canon events promised with this story (such as RED MOON meeting Fluttershy's Equestrian parents, OCs of mine).

Some chapters might be quite long. Some might be quite short.

This story will end, however, after the end of season four, and Fortresshy 2 will be written after I've written My Little Pwny.

Family

Fluttershy smiled happily as she helped her Daddies, Mommy, and Big Brother put the finishing touches on the new Fortress. While Equestrian masons had built the basic shape of the fort, the team had been customizing it to their specifications, along with setting up the respawner.

The main body of the Fortress was wood, surrounding stone, surrounding magically reinforced steel. The idea behind the design was to make the Fortress seem less sturdy than it actually was. Luna had said the only reason she'd stopped there was because none of the masons could figure out how to build an outermost layer made of straw. Fluttershy and Heavy had found that hilarious.

The walls themselves were 80 feet high, surrounding an inner courtyard of 64000 square feet, with a main building in the center of the compound that rose 80 feet over the top of the walls. The upper floors of the structure were taken up entirely by sniper points and ballistae, however, for shooting over the walls at any assaulting force. The lower floors included bedrooms, the dining hall, Medic's lab, Demoman's explosive lab, an armory, the respawner chamber, and the game room.

Sentry points and other sheltered positions surmounted the outer wall, providing plenty of room to run back and forth along it for proper defense. Dispensers had been built and stabilized all along the wall and throughout the courtyard. The garage held several vehicles Engineer had designed, built by unicorn smiths from Canterlot. A corral for Chompy was in one corner of the grounds, and a shooting range and obstacle course filled the other two corners. Enchanted steel gates were solidly barred, discouraging entry.

All in all, the Fortress - dubbed Fort Pony by Soldier - was prepared for anything Equestria could throw at it...except for a polite knock at the door.

Being nearest to the door, Spy decided to answer. Sliding the view panel to the side, he glanced out. "Yes?" he asked politely.

On the other side of the door were two middle aged pegasi. One was massive - at least as big as Big Mac, which was pretty massive for a pegasus - with a golden coat and blood red mane, battle scarred and missing an eye. The other was smaller, pure white, and with a pink mane and tail.

"Can I help you?" Spy asked politely.

"You can start by opening the bloody door!" the large male barked, showing a plain military bearing.

Spy frowned. "Do you have clearance?" he demanded bluntly.

The pegasus reached through the view port and yanked Spy out by his mask until he was hanging half on one side of the door, half on the other. "How much clearance do you think I'll get ripping you in half and punting the lighter half over the walls?" he demanded.

"Quick!" the mare scolded, her voice quiet but stern. As the stallion released Spy, the mare turned a familiarly sweet smile on Spy. "You'll have to forgive my life mate. I'm sure you know how military types can be."

Spy chuckled. "Indeed. I know such types quite well." He frowned, recognizing that smile as he made a few connections. "You are Fluttershy's mother, aren't you?"

The mare smiled. "Indeed. I'm Wind Blossom, and this is my life mate, Quickhoof."

"Then you do have clearance," Spy replied. "We've been looking forward to meeting you. I'll let you in." Spy squirmed. "Err...just as soon as I get unstuck."

"Is your respawner thing hooked up?" Quickhoof demanded.

"Yes," Spy replied. "Why-"

Quickhoof's hoof crushed Spy's skull.

Quickhoof Punch Spy

Spy's body was collected by the respawner, restoring him using the only available inanimate material from his dimension. He then returned to the gate and opened it with a smile. "You'll fit right in," he said happily, beckoning them in.

As Spy led them in, Fluttershy spotted them. "Mother! Father!" she yelled happily, rushing up to them.

Quickhoof's face rapidly dissolved from stern to almost goofy. "Who's my little shy one who sets my heart aflutter?" he sing-songed. Lunging forward, he started tickling her. "It's my Fluttershy!"

Fluttershy giggled happily as the three of them embraced. "Everyone else is inside! I can't wait to introduce you to everyone! You've already met Poof Daddy!" She gestured to Spy.

"Celestia's briefed us somewhat on...what happened to you," Quickhoof explained. "But...Poof Daddy?"

"Because I vanish," Spy explained. "Like...poof. You may call me Spy, if you prefer."

"I happen to like Poof Daddy myself," Wind Blossom replied with a smile.

Word that Fluttershy's Equestrian parents had come for a visit spread through the Fortress like wildfire, and everyone had gathered in the main dining hall just off the kitchen. They had their uniforms on, and Soldier had made certain that everyone was clean to a spit-shine polish. Fluttershy had mentioned that her Father was a military pegasus, and Soldier had concluded that military discipline was the proper approach.

While Soldier was the only one standing ramrod straight as Spy led the trio of pegasi in, all were on their feet hoping to make a good impression. However, as Quickhoof's single eye scanned them, Soldier swallowed convulsively. In that gaze he saw the disapproving look of every recruiting officer who had ever denied his application, telling him he was unfit to serve. While he had shrugged off their assertions that he was unfit to serve in the past, this was the stallion who had sired his little Fluttershy, who had given him his star. If he disapproved, Soldier wasn't sure what he would do.

"This is the Team Leader," Fluttershy gestured to Soldier.

Soldier instinctively saluted. "General Daddy Sir reporting for duty!" he barked out without thinking.

Quickhoof raised an eyebrow as Fluttershy giggled. Quickhoof then approached Soldier. "That's Admiral," he hissed softly.

"Yes sir, Admiral sir!" Soldier replied quickly.

"I can smell your fear, soldier boy," Quickhoof hissed, flapping up to eye level with the helmeted mercenary. He then snarled in his face. "Show me your war face!" he bellowed.

Soldier let off his loudest war cry, yanking his rocket launcher out without thinking and firing.

Quickhoof uppercut the rocket into the ceiling where it sputtered, the explosive circuitry broken from the force of his punch. He then stared at Soldier for a time. "...passable," he allowed after a time.

Soldier swelled with pride. A superior officer had evaluated him...and he passed!

Fluttershy then gestured to Medic. "This is Daddiem."

Wind Blossom smiled widely. "Ah, a doctor," she said softly. "I'm glad to see a man of medicine played a part in Fluttershy's second childhood. I was a MASH nurse myself."

"Mobile Army Surgical Hospital?" Soldier asked, surprised.

"Aerial, actually," Wind Blossom replied. "But I imagine the roles are similar."

"Fluttershy was an excellent student of medicine," Medic replied with a bow.

"And this is Big Daddy," Fluttershy continued, gesturing to Heavy, who bent down to pet her.

"Little malyutka Fluttershy made us all so happy!" Heavy beamed.

Quickhoof gave Heavy an appraising look. "I take it you're the tank of this team?"

"Heavy smash!" Heavy said proudly, eliciting a giggle from Fluttershy.

"This is Boom Daddy," she continued.

"Pleased ta meetcha!" Demoman replied. "Demoman, explosives expert and brewery specialist."

Quickhoof raised an eyebrow. "We'll talk about that." He then turned to the next member of the team.

"I'm Engineer," Engineer said easily. "I maintain all the tech around here. Though Fluttershy calls me Dadenji."

"Finally, someone with a brain," Quickhoof grunted.

"And this is Bang Daddy!" Fluttershy said quickly before anyone could take offense.

"A sniper?" Quickhoof asked, his eyes on Sniper's rifle.

The Australian tipped his hat. "Yup, that's me. Long range is where I work best...though my Jarate works well close up."

"Jarate?" Wind Blossom asked.

"You don't want to know," Fluttershy said quickly. "And this is Mama."

Pyro grunted happily, taking a hoof each from Quickhoof and Wind Blossom in his hands and shaking happily.

"He's very pleased to meet you," Fluttershy translated.

"He?" Quickhoof asked. "Mama?"

Wind Blossom, however, was focused on the apron and chef's hat Pyro was wearing. "We should trade recipes sometime," she said softly. Pyro nodded enthusiastically in confirmation.

"And this is big brother!" Fluttershy finished, gesturing to Scout.

Quickhoof smirked as Wind Blossom facehoofed. "Get me a drink, sonny!" he barked.

Scout bridled. "Now hang on-"

Quickhoof had long ago perfected the Drill Sergeant bellow to the point it rivaled the force of the Royal Canterlot Voice, and he unleashed it now. "Show me the respect I am due, boy! You go get me that drink or I'll kick you in the dick so hard you taste your own balls!"

"Sir yes sir!" Scout replied almost instinctively, dashing off to where the drinks were kept.

Around the dining hall, several smiles graced chiseled faces. It seemed they would get along just fine.

Once the drinks were brought, most of the group had relaxed to share in the companionable activity. Wind Blossom and Pyro were in the kitchen, preparing snacks and other things. The 'menfolk' were gathered around the table with their drinks, engaging in the most logical activity for the situation at hand.

Exchanging embarrassing stories about each of their experiences rearing Fluttershy...whose face was rapidly turning pinker than her mane.

"You shoulda been there for her first kill!" Scout laughed. "There she was, standing over the BLU spy, and she brought that frying pan down on his head so hard it splattered like a watermelon as she shouted, 'Not the Mama!'"

"Not the Mama?" Quickhoof asked, confused.

"He was disguised as Pyro at the time!" Scout explained before hiccuping.

"And then when she slaughtered the entire BLU Team single hoofed while shouting about nobody hurting her family?" Engineer replied. "And then she looked around at the mess and was all, 'Did I do that?'"

"You should have been there on her first day of flight school!" Quickhoof laughed. "She shaped her cloud pillow into her exact shape, even managing to get the coloring right, and stuck it under her covers while she hid under the bed, hoping I'd take the cloud instead of her!"

"Really?" Heavy asked, shocked.

"On the second day when she did it again," Wind Blossom added, "I felt so sorry for her I actually did take the cloud." More laughter greeted this.

"Doctor!" Heavy bellowed. "Remember anatomy lessons with teeny pony crawling in my open belly?"

"I'm not sure which is my favorite story," Spy added. "Playing peek-a-boo that turned into hide and seek, or when she was so proud after helping Scout get laid that she looked up at Heavy and I and said, 'I'm a pimp!'"

"I didn't teach her that!" Scout countered as the table erupted in laughter.

"Let me tell you about how she got Chompy!" Soldier bellowed.

"Or about this picture!" Sniper added, gesturing to a colored picture of Fluttershy surrounded by birds.

"Oh, I have stories of Fluttershy and her birds!" Quickhoof replied.

Fluttershy hid behind her mane in embarrassment, but also to hide her smile. As embarrassing as these stories were, she was so happy to see her two families meshing so well.

Author's Note

For those interested...

The original bio for Fluttershy's parents. Made a long time ago.

Days Passing, part 1

As RED MOON Team adjusted to Equestria and Equestria to RED MOON, many events both major and minor occurred. However, with rare exception, RED MOON's involvements in these events were peripheral at best. For the most part, their interactions with Equestria were boiled down to hearing about the days events from Fluttershy. Sometimes, however, certain members of the Team were included in these events.

These are some of those stories...

Sniper sat down beside Fluttershy after her return from what was, apparently, a rather intense jungle adventure. "What all happened to you today, Shy?"

Fluttershy smiled as she lounged in the hot tub, soaking away the strain. "Well, Rainbow was a bit too excited about the new Daring Do book, so when we learned it was delayed for two months, she talked us into going to visit A.K. Yearling, the author. But Daring Do turned out to be not as Fiction as we thought."

Sniper snorted. "You wound up joining up with an Indiana Jones style adventure to rescue the world from some villain misusing some ancient artifacts, huh?"

"Just about," Fluttershy replied.

"Were you awesome?" Sniper asked.

"No, I tried to stay in the background," Fluttershy replied.

"Why?"

"For the same reason I didn't call you all for help," Shy replied. "I wanted the next Daring Do book to sell well."

Spy thought about that for a minute. "Fair enough."

"I did get a new hat!" Fluttershy said happily, donning a blue cap with a paler blue hand attached by a gold ring.

"Is that a hand?" Sniper asked.

"It was Ahuizotl's tail tip."

Chuckling, Sniper ruffled her mane. "Good girl."

Late one night, Engineer heard strange sucking sounds coming from Fluttershy's room. Curious, he opened the unlocked door and stuck his head in. "Fluttershy, wha-" His voice cut off.

Fluttershy lifted her head to face him, a big smile on her face. "Hi, Dadenji. Did you need something?"

He blinked. "Fluttershy...why do you have bat wings? And adorably fluffy ears? And fangs? And your eyes are red?"

"Oh, this happens some nights ever since wrangling the vampire fruit bats on Sweet Apple Acres didn't go quite as planned," Fluttershy explained.

"And...the apple cores scattering your floor?"

"Oh, when this happens I have a really strong desire to suck a sweet, juicy apple," Fluttershy explained. "But I have control of it, so I make sure to buy them ahead of time and store them in here. Sweet Apple Acres apples are the best, after all."

"Eeyup!"

Engineer's eyes fell on the part of the room he was trying not to think about. "And...why is Big Macintosh tied to your bed?"

Fluttershy blushed prettily.

Engineer reacted appropriately.

He then closed the door behind him as he went to borrow some of Medic's brain bleach.

Spy watched as Suri Polomare left Rarity's preparation area before the line up for the fashion show. The whole team had gone to Manehatten with Fluttershy to support Rarity at her fashion show. Admittedly, Spy was the only one of the group who knew the first thing about true fashion, so he was genuinely interested in the fashions ponies had...especially since, as Applejack had put it, they didn't normally wear clothes.

Suri's wicked smirk as she walked off with the freely given bolt of special cloth - cloth Spy had helped Rarity make since he found her company enjoyable and the activity relaxing - confirmed Spy's suspicions. Despite appearances, she was an enemy Spy, and had stolen Rarity's Intelligence. He decided to do something about it. However, casual killing wasn't an option. The uproar would disrupt the fashion show.

Thankfully, Spy was trained in non-lethal silent takedowns, even if he never had opportunity to use them when working for Mann Co. In traditional espionage, it was sometimes beneficial to leave someone to be discovered at the scene of the crime. Sneaking up behind Suri - using his new cloaking watch, the Hidden Spell (1), he snuck up on Suri and applied a quick choke hold to knock her unconscious.

Quickly pulling her into a closet, he tried to determine the best way to handle it from here. He needed some way to keep her from being discovered too soon, and some way to discredit her so no one would listen to her. Out of desperation, he pulled out his disguise kit.

To his surprise, it was able to scan Suri's physical appearance, and by attaching it to his Hidden Spell, he was able to duplicate Suri's appearance on himself. As long as he didn't touch anyone - either with the image or his real body - he would be fine. He decided to make his way to Suri's prep area.

Seeing nothing unpacked or hung on racks, he knew immediately that Suri had intended to rip off Rarity's line as her own. That was easily corrected, as he proceeded to take everything out of boxes and suitcases and proceeded to make a total mess of the room. He was careful with one set of outfits that showed signs of genuine talent and consideration. Probably the work of her assistant, Spy thought to himself.

"S-s-suri?" a quiet voice gasped. "W-what are you doing?"

Spy turned. Well speak of the devil, he thought quietly, seeing said assistant, Coco Pommel, staring at him - well, at his waist where the image of Suri's eyes was - in shock and dismay. Spy decided to take advantage of this situation. "I am finished!" he proclaimed. "Through with this facade! I will never fashion again, for I am ze fraud!"

"B-but Suri-"

"Non! Do not interrupt! You know as well as I that all of my success is built upon what I have stolen from others, especially you! Your line, you should submit your line to the show! I will live a lie no longer!"

"But why are you talking like that?" Coco asked desperately. "You aren't Prench!"

Spy thought rapidly. "Because obviously my moment of self realization has caused me to have a psychotic break! You must rush, Coco, and make a name for yourself in the fashion industry after calling the stallions in white coats for me! They will likely find me unconscious in a closet somewhere covered in pills and booze! Fare thee well!"

With that, Spy rushed out of the room before Coco could think to hard about what was just said, and before the disguise could wear off. Returning to the closet he had left Suri in, he sprinkled her with hallucinogenics before soaking her coat in some of Demoman's scrumpy, leaving the half empty jug clutched in one of her legs.

Later, as Suri was taken away shouting that they couldn't do this to her, only Fluttershy looked curiously towards her Poof Daddy. However, she had never learned to read his poker face, as he had long ago mastered the art of being inscrutable. Besides, Coco and Rarity had tied for first place in the contest, and Rarity had graciously let Coco take the position as Prim Hemline's assistant. Also, her magnanimous manner had bonded Rarity and Coco as fast friends, so all ended well.

Rainbow Dash grinned widely as she got ready for the Equestria Games qualifications relay. It was going to be in a few days, and she was confident the team she was getting together would do great.

She knew she was the fastest pegasus in Equestria, so as long as she had two teammates who could at least fly straight, she'd be fine. She already had Fluttershy as one teammate. While she wouldn't normally have been Rainbow's first choice for a physical competition, her lifetime at Fort Bumfuk had made her a great deal more physically fit, as well as a good deal more dexterous. Between the two of them, they probably had it made in the competition.

"We just need a third member who won't slow us down," Rainbow said.

"Dadenji said he was working with Derpy to try and improve her flying," Fluttershy pointed out. "Maybe we should see how she's doing?"

Rainbow shrugged. "Might as well." While she was fond of Derpy - everyone in town had a soft spot for the accident prone single mother, one way or another - she didn't have much confidence in her flying abilities. Then again, Engineer seemed to be a literal miracle worker on some occasions, to the point Spike had nicknamed him Spotty, after a similar character from Pony Trek.

At that moment, Derpy flew by overhead. While her speed wasn't anything to write home about, it was respectable. It was also in a straight line. Looking up in shock, Rainbow flew after her to investigate, Fluttershy not far behind.

The duo followed Derpy as she flew around the city, managing to make sharp turns, take corners, and loop around obstacles, all without bumping into anything once. She wasn't exactly fast, but certainly fast enough to show. She then came in for landing in front of Engineer. "How's that working for you, Derpy?" he asked.

"It works great, Mister Gee-Knee!" Derpy said happily. "I didn't bump into anything!"

"How'd you pull that off, Derpy?" Rainbow asked, coming in for landing. At that point, she saw the headset she was wearing, covering both Derpy's eyes and ears. "What's that?"

Engineer smiled. "When going through everypony's physicals, Medic noticed the report of Derpy's clumsiness. A bit of examination revealed it was a fundamental problem with how her brain processes external stimuli. The way her eyes cock is her body's attempts to adapt." He gestured to the headset. "That's what the headset is for. It takes visual and audio input and translates it in a way so that, when it passes through her nerves, her brain will reinterpret it as what's actually around her, instead of the distortion she's dealt with most of her life."

"Mister Gee-Knee is amazing!" Derpy said happily.

"This is still a prototype, though," Engineer admitted. "It'll take a while to get a finished model, and some more experimentation."

Rainbow tapped her chin. "Say...think you could have a finished model ready for her in time for the Equestria Games?"

Engineer smiled and nodded as Derpy gasped. "Ya mean...I really did good, Rainbow Dash?"

"You sure did, Derpy!" Rainbow confirmed. "Good enough I want you on the relay team! Put her there!" She held out her hoof.

"Yay!" Derpy shouted happily, promptly punching Rainbow on the schnoz. "...oops."

"Hoof-eye coordination seems to still need work," Engineer mumbled as he took notes.

Rainbow rubbed her face. "So she'll be our starting flier. Derpy, when flying in the relay, just hold out the horseshoe in front of you and wait for Fluttershy to tell you she's got it, okay?"

"Okay, Rainbow Dash!" Derpy said happily. "I can't wait for Dinky to see me compete!"

Engineer was glad his goggles hid the tears beading in his eyes.

(1) Crafted with the runes for an invisibility spell from Twilight's library inlaid in the circuitry, and powered by a small mana stone, the Hidden Spell cloaking watch hides Spy from all known forms of visual perception. The mana stone has enough charge to maintain the cloak for a full five minutes on a single charge, and recharges itself when not in use from ambient magical energy. However, it does not work on inorganic perceptions, and spells to detect magic will alert the caster to Spy's presence.

Days Passing, part 2

In some cases, RED MOON's interactions proved to have great effect on events as time passed. In other cases, not so much. One thing was constant, however: the mercenaries did their best to follow the only order Luna had given them for outside immediate combat situations: have fun.

...that and they were all putty in Fluttershy's hooves, but there was nothing new about that.

"What's happened to Big Macintosh?" Fluttershy asked worriedly.

"He strained his voice at a...turkey call competition," Rarity admitted. "He can't perform like this. We're going to have to cancel the Ponytones' performance for the benefit."

"But the poor animals!" Fluttershy whimpered. "Surely there's something we can do?"

"Not unless you can find some way of magically replacing Big Mac's bass voice for the acapella," Rarity points out.

Fluttershy thinks for a moment, then smiles. She puts her hoof to her communicator. "Poof Daddy, Big Daddy...can you two do me a big favor?"

"I cannot believe we let her talk us into this," Spy grumbled a few hours later.

"You have nowhere to talk," Heavy complained. "At least you are front end!"

The Ponytones stood before the audience gathered for the benefit concert, looking up eagerly for the performance to start. Rarity was on stage, along with two of the three other members. Big Macintosh, however, was at Fluttershy's cottage nearby, being carefully nursed back to health. Rarity denied all knowledge of where Fluttershy got the nurse outfit, no matter how many of her extended family members pressed her for information.

In Big Mac's place on stage was a giant Big Mac costume, similar to the ones Pinkie Pie made to allow her friends to determine who were the real ponies and who were the Changelings in disguise by being disguised as themselves. The major difference was this one was all in proportion, although scaled Big Mac's massive frame to Celestial proportions. In the front half of the costume, Spy stood straight up, using his hands to manipulate the mouth. Heavy was bent over in the back half.

Somehow, nopony in the audience noticed any difference. Spy wasn't sure whether to praise his disguise skills or despair the average pony's perception skills.

Rarity blew her kazoo to signal the start of the song. "Bum! Bum! Bum bada bum bum!" Heavy sang enthusiastically as Spy manipulated the mouth to match his voice, playing the bass line of the song.

Spy shook his head in disbelief as he watched the enthusiasm of the crowd. He didn't know if he was more humiliated for himself or the audience.

Fluttershy's trip to observe the Breezies had culminated in being in charge of preparing their path through Ponyville, so they could make their way back to their home dimensional space without hazard. She had enlisted RED MOON's help in preparations, and they'd gone full out.

Engineer had plotted the dimensional weave and cordoned off the path the Breezies would have to take for the entire trip, so it could be made completely secure. Soldier, Scout, Demoman, and Heavy patrolled the path to ensure nothing dangerous encroached. Medic had worked with Engineer and Fluttershy to create a new wavelength for the Medigun to restore the strength of Breezies without energizing them to the point of exploding them(1), and then set devices within the path along the entire length to help support the Breezies natural magic, creating a magical 'path of least resistance' between one portal and the next. Sniper took an upper region post to act as spotter, directing the team to anything that might get in the way. Spy stayed in the crowd, holding the camera to record the event so Fluttershy and others could watch it later when they weren't super stressed about making sure everything went without a hitch. Pyro stayed near the edge of the crowd and watched.

As the Breezies made their appearance, everyone watched in awe. It seemed as though everything would go off without a hitch, until Spike climbed up a tree to get a better view. His bouncing on the branch jarred a leaf loose, which began to blow towards the Breezies in flight.

"Leaf!" Sniper called out. "Leaf approaching quadrant Alpha-2-C!"

"Seriously?" Soldier asked. "Even leaves are threats to these things?"

Pyro snapped his fingers. Before the leaf could get close enough to disrupt the Breezies flight, it burst into flame and dissolved into ashes that fell to the ground.

"Not with Mama on watch!" Fluttershy said happily.

When Pinkie's sister came to visit, most of Pinkie's friends had trouble connecting with her. However, no such trouble occurred at Fort Pony, as the entire team was such a diverse group of crazed excitement that a bit of controlled calm like Maud's was quite welcome. Scout seemed to be doing the best job making her welcome, as he focused on showing her around and talking about everything that could be done in the place, as well as telling various stories from the past that she seemed to enjoy.

Pinkie was happy Maud was making friends with her friends, although she was a bit confused as to why she requested Twilight, Engineer, Medic, and Spy to help her with something.

Scout was surprised towards the end of Maud's visit when she tracked him down near a large boulder. "Hey Maud. What can I do for you?"

Maud looked up at him, her face bland, but Scout could have sworn he saw nervousness. "I have been able to understand nearly all of my sisters friends. Most are metamorphic, changing to meet new situations and adapting. Some are igneous, adamant and unchanging, no matter the situation. Spike is sedimentary, still growing, and easily broken if too much pressure is put on him. But you confuse me."

"I do?" Scout asked, shocked. "I thought I was pretty straight forward."

"I thought you were, too," Maud explained. "I thought you were sedimentary, easily broken under pressure, constantly trying to shore up your defenses with your experience. But as I listened to you talk, I sensed traces of metamorphic, letting yourself change to adapting circumstances. But deep inside, I see and igneous core, values deep inside you that you will never change no matter what." Maud tilted her head. "I have never encountered someone who was all rocks before."

Scout chuckled. "Geeze, Maud, you're gonna make me blush talking like that. I don't fully get what you're saying, but I like it."

Maud lowered her head. "I have long been igneous, and was content. Pinkie has always been metamorphic, constantly changing. I...begin to see the joy she has, being metamorphic. I would...like to try being a little metamorphic sometimes."

Scout smiled easily. "Well, it's always interesting to try new things."

"I cannot be metamorphic in most of my life," Maud explained. "When at work, or at the rock farm, I must be igneous. But when here in Ponyville, I would...like your help learning to be metamorphic."

Scout smirked. "Well, I'd be happy to help however I can, but I'm not sure what you mean."

"Twilight, Engineer, and Medic made this for me," Maud explained, revealing a watch like device just over her left fore hoof. "To help me be metamorphic." She pressed a button on the watch.

Her body glowed with white light that slowly expanded. When it faded, Maud had taken on a human form.

Scout could only stare helplessly. "Damn, girl. If this is how good you look as a pony, I'm surprised you're still single!" He paused. "Uh...are you single?"

"Yes," Maud replied. "Most stallions find my cold demeanor and immense physical prowess intimidating."

"Seems pretty damn interesting to me," Scout replied. "That kinda physical prowess ain't nothing scary around here. Just look at Chompy!" He chuckled. "As for your cold demeanor...that's just the tsun, and makes me wonder where your dere is." Scout had tried to keep it hidden, but after it had become revealed Fluttershy had discovered Hentai through him, he had been forced to admit his fascination with Anime.

Maud smiled nervously. "I...was unsure how to explain my point to you, as you do not understand rocks as well as I do. Spy offered a suggestion."

"Oh?" Scout asked curiously.

Reaching into her bags, Maud pulled out a bucket from a Griffon restaurant chain. "I have fried chicken,(2)" she said dryly, her voice slightly nervous.

Scout blinked for a bit, completely poleaxed. But then he smiled. "Care to share?" he asked jovially.

Maud's subtle smile became slightly less nervous.

Medic sauntered through Ponyville, having closed down his recently opened medical practice for the day. While he still itched to dissect a pony to learn what made them tick, he was unwilling to upset Fluttershy by actually attempting it, even on a dead body, unless it was donated to science. The closest he could come was to open a medical practice where he would take X-rays, samples, various other scans, and surveys, before ending with zapping the patient with the Medigun after attuning it to their unique magical frequency.

As he walked through town, he spotted Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash sitting before a stage, with Angel Bunny and a cat he didn't recognize wearing Celestia and Luna wigs and performing a play. "What's all this?"

"I'm trying to help Rainbow study for an upcoming Wonderbolts history exam," Fluttershy replied. "I thought she might be a visual learner, so I made a play my animal friends are performing."

Medic glanced from the stage to Rainbow. "I do not zink it is working," he pointed out.

"It's not," Rainbow groaned.

"Perhaps I could help," Medic offered. "I could probably build a device that could download the required information directly into your brain."

"Really?" Rainbow asked excitedly. "No more boring studying, just plug myself in and zap! Instant download?"

"Pretty much," Medic replied.

"Aww yeah!" Rainbow shouted. "Let's-"

"Daddiem," Fluttershy interrupted, "what are the chances this would overwrite some of Rainbow's memories or core aspects of her personality?"

Medic frowned. "Maybe...27%?" he offered.

"And what are the chances her head will explode?" Shy added as Rainbow quickly lost enthusiasm.

"...72%,"

"Yeah...I think I'll pass," Rainbow replied. "I'm not liking those odds."

"There's always musical learning!" Pinkie shouted out, dressed as a rapper.

Rainbow glanced at Pinkie nervously, then leaned over to whisper in Medic's ear, "Work on improving those odds?"

"Of course!" Medic replied back.

Unfortunately for Medic, he was unable to test his device when he completed it, as Twilight discovered how to teach Rainbow what she needed to know via flight learning.

(1) Using the Medigun a few months ago on Discord when he became ill revealed that, with tweaking, it could be used on ponies and other magical creatures without installing receiver devices in them, as the quasi-magical energy of the Medigun naturally homed in on the magical aura of the creatures in question. All that was needed was to tweak the energy so it was absorbed naturally, rather than being rejected or causing them to explode.

(2) Spy: Seducing Scout is far easier than seducing me. Take notes, ladies.

Days Passing, part 3

Sometimes, the changes RED MOON caused drastically altered the path the future would take amongst the ponies. Other times, it seemed like there was little reason for them to even be there. Most times, they were just in the background.

They, like the rest of Equestria, were waiting for the other shoe to drop...

Fluttershy walked alongside Rainbow Dash at the Rainbow Falls Traders Exchange. She knew Rainbow was looking forward to trying to trade for a first edition of Daring Do and the Sapphire Stone in order to complete her collection. However, she also knew that the rusty old horseshoe she had brought to trade - while of great sentimental value to Rainbow - would be of no value to the one she was trading with. If this was someone who had a First Edition of a Daring Do book, they would obviously be a Daring Do enthusiast, much like Rainbow Dash.

Fluttershy had decided she would need to bring something along to help Rainbow get what she desired, in addition to what she sought to trade for herself. At first, she had thought about purchasing an early - if not First - edition of one of the books and getting it signed...but the difficulties in doing that would have taken more time than she could manage. Instead, she had enlisted two of her fathers for help with her project.

When the earth pony dressed in a Daring Do costume refused the trade for the horseshoe, Fluttershy smiled. "I think I have something you might want in trade for the book," she said softly.

"Oh?" the mare asked. "What's that?"

Smiling, Fluttershy reached into her saddlebag and plopped down what she'd acquired just for this. It was a statuette that, at first glance, looked carved from gold, but it seemed to shine with an inner light. It was carved in a shape that resembled a minotaur, except it seemed to have more hair on its upper body than on its lower body. It was carved in a flexing pose, with every definition of its rippling muscles carved in. On its chest, individual hairs had been marked, forming the shape of a continent few Equestrians had ever seen.

"W...what is it?" the Earth Pony asked.

"The Avatar of Awesome," Fluttershy replied. "An artifact from another world, said to bequeath to the bearer the power of that other world's mightiest warrior!"

The Earth Pony swallowed. "While that's...a very interesting story-"

"It's also the focus of A.K. Yearling's next book," Fluttershy added as an aside.

"Wait, really?" the Earth Pony - and Rainbow - asked in surprise.

Fluttershy nodded. "I know Miss Yearling personally," she said calmly. "Occasionally, I get these little details in advance-"

"Deal!" the Earth Pony mare said quickly, swapping the book for the statue, holding it close as she giggled wickedly.

Smiling, Fluttershy took the book and walked away from the booth. When Rainbow caught up to her, she gave her the book. "Here you go, Rainbow. A complete set. I'll trade it for your horseshoe."

Rainbow simply stared. "B-but...the Avatar of Awesome..."

"Oh, I'll make you one too, if you want," she replied easily. "After the book comes out, anyway."

Rainbow's eyes narrowed in confusion. "Wait, what?"

"I carved that statuette myself from a block of Australium Dadenji brought with him from Fort Bumfuk," Fluttershy replied. "It's made in the image of a friend and fan from that world, Saxton Hale. He is that world's mightiest warrior."

"But...what you said about the power..."

"I said it had been said," Fluttershy pointed out. "And it had. I said it."

Rainbow's eyes widened. "You lied?"

"I exaggerated," Fluttershy replied. "Besides, it's solid Australium, processed Mana Stone. In the hands of one who can tap magic, it may very well give them the physical power of Mr. Hale."

"But what about what you said about the next Daring book?" Rainbow demanded.

"Well, when I learned Daring was taking a break, I mentioned in a letter that I'd heard Ahuizotl was looking for clues regarding an artifact called the Avatar of Awesome," Fluttershy explained. "And tomorrow, Poof Daddy will see to it that Ahuizotl hears the rumors I just planted about the artifact, and that it was last seen here."

Rainbow stared at Fluttershy. "You..."

"Miss Yearling promised me a First Edition copy of the next book to gift you for your birthday as thanks for the tip," Fluttershy added mildly.

She then spent the next hour struggling to breathe around the vice grip a pair of cyan fore legs had around her throat.

Meanwhile, Soldier approached a blacksmith at the fair and dumped a whole bunch of weaponry on the counter. "Trade for that!" he said, pointing to part of the display in the back.

The smith's eyes widened, and he promptly handed over the bucket of swords.

Grinning ear to ear, Soldier dumped the swords on top of the pile, clutched the bucket to himself, and ran off, laughing maniacally.

Demoman lowered his bottle of Scrumpy, glancing around at Ponyville. It looked different than normal. More sparkly. He blamed it on the drink.

Spotting a swirl of green energy coming towards him, he ignored it. When it turned his clothes into a blood red tuxedo, he had no qualms, since it was red, and he hadn't brought any weapons with him anyway. When it made his eyepatch into a ruby circle, he had no problems.

When it approached his bottle, he gave it the evil eye, and it went elsewhere. "Fuckin' dark pony magic," he grumbled, taking another swig and otherwise ignoring the events going on around him.

The entire team attended the Equestria Games, for one reason or the other. For most of them, they were there to cheer on Fluttershy in the relay race. Engineer and Medic, however, were there to see how well their project worked out with a certain other pegasus on the relay team. As per their patient's request, they were sitting on either side of her daughter - an adorable unicorn filly - in the stands. As they watched the events progress, various discussions took place amongst the group.

"Scout, there is something different about you," Spy commented. "Did you get a hair cut?" he asked sarcastically.

"Uh, no, no haircut," Scout replied, shuffling nervously.

"Scout...are you a pegasus?"

"Uhh...maybe?" Scout offered.

"How are you a pegasus?" Spy demanded.

"Twilight, Medic, and Engineer made me a watch for it like they did Maud," he replied.

"Is that a book about rocks you are reading?"

Scout was silent for a time. "...no?"

Spy stared at him hard. "...why?" he asked finally, gesturing to his wings and the book.

Scout sighed. "It...it didn't feel right to have Maud always turning into a human for my sake...so I asked for a watch that would do the same for me but in reverse. And I was right about her being as hot as a pony to ponies as she is as a human to humans. And as long as anything we do together is human and human - or pony and pony - it doesn't feel weird to either of us."

Spy nodded. "And the book?"

Scout squirmed. "Well...she's taken a lot of interest in the things I do, even though she doesn't get half of what I talk about...I wanted to...return the favor, ya know?"

Spy stared at his younger colleague for a time. "Scout," Spy said at long last, "when Maud asked me for advice regarding how best to approach you, I told her that you were a simple man with simple tastes, and unplumbed depths." Scout looked away. Spy then reached out a hand and rested his hand on his shoulder. "Thank you for proving me right."

Scout smiled up at him nervously.

Lower down in the stands, Sniper approached where Medic and Engineer sat on either side of young Dinky. "She's Derpy's little lady?" he asked curiously.

"Yup," Engineer replied. "We're keeping an eye on her while Derpy competes."

"We look forward to seeing how well Derpy's new corrective sensory equipment functions, now that it is in the final stages," he said, looking up as the teams prepared for the aerial relay race.

"Just wonderin, but...what led ya to do the project?" Sniper asked curiously.

"It was the little filly's flag carrying show," Medic explained.

"Eh?" Sniper asked.

"Ze basis of zere act...zey said Ponyville was the one place in all of Equestria where different kinds of ponies live together and are friends," Medic elaborated. "And Derpy...you cannot get much different than her whilst still being ze pony. In an odd sort of way, her living in Ponyville and being accepted despite her disability...it was proof positive zat ze Ponyville philosophy was no mere lip service. None tried to change her, to make her somezing she wasn't...so it seemed only right to help her."

Engineer looked up at the race. While Fluttershy and Derpy had both fallen behind their Wonderbolt opponents, they were still close. "And now we'll see how well they do," he mumbled. "Derpy didn't have any trouble handing off the horseshoe-"

As Fluttershy made the pass to Rainbow, she blurred up, cutting the finish line millimeters ahead of Spitfire. The crowd roared at the unexpected upset.

As the awards were presented, Derpy clambered onto Rainbow and Fluttershy's backs as she waved at the crowd. "Look, Dinky!" she called out, tears pouring from behind the crystalline lenses that covered her eyes, matching the crystalline covers on her ears. "Do you see, little muffin? Mommy got gold! Mommy got gold!"

Dinky stomped her hooves eagerly in applause, joyful tears pouring from her own eyes as she smiled wide enough to impress Pinkie. All of Ponyville cheered for Derpy.

As Sniper added his own applause, he turned to Medic. "Speaking of the fillies, though...there was somthin' I was wondering if you could take a look at..."

Later in the competition, Pyro was prevented from helping Spike save the day, as the anti-magic field had wrapped around his hands.

Scootaloo looked around at the walls of the Med lab deep in Fort Pony. While the promise she had been given a promise that was truly tempting to come here, the various skeletons hanging from the ceiling, gruesome images on the walls, and various frightening tools scattered about left her seriously creeped out. Besides that, Medic had come in for a time, examined her with a few things, then told her to wait until he returned. She was beginning to get really scared.

Eventually, Medic returned, accompanied by Engineer. "Young lady, I have good news and bad news," he replied.

"W-what's the bad news?" Scootaloo asked nervously.

Walking up to a panel, he turned on a light and showed her several pictures. "On this side are various scans of healthy pegasus wings your age and size," he explained. "On the other side are yours."

At first, Scootaloo couldn't spot any difference in the scans, until she got to the last two. There, several colored pathways were visible from the main body flowing into the wing on the healthy scan. On her scan, however, the pathways stopped before entering the wing. "What are those?" she asked.

"Those are natural magic channels," Medic explained. "How pegasus flight works, magic flows from the core of the pegasus' being into the wing, amplifying the lift generated to allow flight in conjunction with the magic in the core reducing the body's specific density so that less lift is required overall to gain flight. Your pathways do not enter your wings, however. As not even I possess the capacity to redirect those pathways, I am afraid you shall never fly unaided."

Scootaloo hung her head, tears in her eyes. "I...I was afraid of that..." she whimpered, sniffling away the tears.

"Why are you crying, kleine?" Medic demanded. "I still have good news!"

"What good news?" Scootaloo asked. "You just said I would never fly-"

"Unaided," Medic insisted. "Zat is the key word."

Scootaloo tilted her head. "I...don't understand."

"Show her, my hard hatted friend!" Medic instructed eagerly.

Grinning ear to ear, Engineer lifted his gloved hand and removed the glove.

Scootaloo stared in awe as she watched each individual joint and digit show full articulation. "Redirecting existing magic pathways is beyond me," Medic explained. "But creating artificial ones for existing ones to connect to...between the two of us, zat is child's play! Now, while my hard hatted friend's example is a full replacement, I think the goal for you should be a triggered augmentation. Zat way it will not interfere with your Scooter riding. What say you?"

The naked longing in the filly's eyes was almost painful to see. She nodded desperately.

Medic grinned, hefting a tool. "In zat case, let's practice medicine!" As he and Engineer closed around the filly, he whispered, "This may sting."

Scootaloo winced a bit as she walked, the cybernetically enhanced harness around her body still itching. Making the attachments had been...unpleasant, to say the least. 'Sting' had been a massive understatement. However, if this really did what Medic and Engineer said it would, it would be totally worth it.

As she rested, Rainbow Dash winged down to her side. "Hey Squirt!" Rainbow said happily. "I hear you got yourself an upgrade?"

"Yup!" Scootaloo replied. "Medic said this'll let me fly!"

Rainbow grinned. She had heard the whole story from Fluttershy earlier, while Scootaloo was resting up after the procedure. "Care to test it out?" she asked, spreading her wings.

Grinning widely, Scootaloo lowered herself into a flight stance, spreading her wings and - as Medic had instructed - visualized them spreading wider.

The harness opened up. Seemingly liquid metal unfolded, metallic sounds filling the air as they wrapped around her small wings, anchoring themselves to the magical pathways as they took on the shape of large, metallic wings, each individual feather shaped and moving independently. She could feel them responding to her inner magic, ready for flight.

Rainbow grinned widely. "That looks so awesome!" she praised. "Let's see how they work."

The two pegasi leapt into the sky together.

Anticlimax

"I do not like this plan, sister," Luna said as she walked down the halls of Canterlot Castle alongside her elder sister.

"I'm not very fond of it either, Luna," Celestia replied. "However, I do not see how we have any other choice. You know how dangerous Tirek is, and by the time we could find him to confront him directly, he will have grown too powerful. Discord's the only one who can track his actions as-"

"Not the only one," Luna pointed out. "Engineer's Australium detector also picked up the fluctuation in the magical field as Tirek drained magic from a poor pony. He's already at work modifying it and setting up several detection stations so he can triangulate Tirek's exact location the next time he drains magic. As long as he remains unaided, a group of unicorn guardsmen teleported to his exact location will be able to take him down, presuming we don't choose to go in force with the four of us, backed by RED MOON."

Celestia sighed. "And how many ponies will Tirek drain while Engineer gets these stations built?" Celestia asked. "And what if it doesn't work? No, we can't wait and hope."

"And yet we should hope that Discord can resist whatever blandishments Tirek might lay before him with his silver tongue to turn him?" Luna asked. "I have no objections to the plan of using Discord. My objection is sending him alone."

Celestia turned to look at Luna. "And who would you send with him? And how would you do so without offending him?"

"I would send Fluttershy to act as his conscience," Luna replied, "and I would tell him it's because she felt she was neglecting him and wanted to go on an adventure just the two of them."

Celestia paused, staring at Luna. "Yes...Discord would have accepted that, wouldn't he? A pity I hadn't thought of it."

"Then it's a good thing I went behind your back and did it anyway, isn't it?" Luna asked shrewdly.

"Luna!" Celestia gasped in shock. "You didn't!"

"I didn't even exceed my authority or countermand your orders to do so," Luna explained. "Fluttershy was sent as my agent, as she's a member of RED MOON, and I merely asked Discord to escort her. He was overjoyed at the idea of taking down Tirek with Fluttershy at his side. He said it would be a great deal of fun."

Celestia stared at her sister flat eyed. "You're really enjoying having your own team of mercenaries to order around, aren't you?"

"It gets rid of a great deal of red tape as far as what we are and aren't allowed to order regarding the Equestrian Constitution," Luna replied. "After all, part of RED MOON's contract is that they are allowed to use their discretion to determine the best way to complete an objective assigned to them."

"And what's to stop them from obliterating large portions of the Equestrian countryside in the process?" Celestia demanded.

"Greed," Luna replied. "Another stipulation is that collateral damage above a predetermined level given the nature of the assignment is taken out of their paychecks."

Celestia walked in silence for a time. "When did you get so devious, Luna?"

"Reading through the political minutes of the past 1000 years," the moon princess replied. "You've been losing your edge, Tia."

"Don't push it, Lulu," the solar princess replied, smirking right back.

As the two entered the throne room, Celestia raised a point she was concerned about. "And what if Tirek drains Fluttershy?" she asked.

"She's wearing her Element of Harmony," Luna replied. "Each one of those possesses more magic than a full grown alicorn, and is linked to their Bearers magical auras. Tirek would have to be at the height of his power to get passed that."

"And if he was able to get it off her when Discord wasn't looking?" Celestia asked.

"Fluttershy has her arsenal with her," Luna replied. "And Discord watching over her like a mother hen. And a teleporter linked to one in Fort Pony, along with her communicator, so the entirety of RED MOON can back her up in an instant if she's overwhelmed."

Celestia turned to stare at her sister for a time. "Where did you learn so much military tactics? Especially regarding Team RED MOON?"

"Their world actually has a manifestation in ours, much as ours was represented in a TV show that hadn't been made yet in theirs," Luna explained. "Since their arrival, a gaming friend of mine - a colt from Ponyville named Button Mash - has introduced me to the game. I've been playing it avidly for...research purposes."

Celestia raised an eyebrow. "...what's the collectible?"

Luna looked abashed. "Hats," she replied. "I have nearly a complete collection as of the last update."

Celestia shook her head in resignation. "Oh, Luna..."

At that moment, a flash of light heralded Discord's return. "Ponies rejoice, for the savior has come!" he crowed happily.

Luna stared at him flat eyed. "Your fanboyishness for Dumplin and your bedroom habits are not to our interests, Discord," she snarked.

Discord grinned widely. "Rar! Catty!" He then cleared his throat. "You will be pleased to know that Tirek has been dealt with!"

"You have returned him to Tartarus?" Celestia asked intently.

"Well...that was my plan, but..."

"I overruled him," Fluttershy interrupted, stepping out from behind him, sniper rifle strapped to her back. "He'd already escaped from Tartarus once, meaning he'd figured out how to get past all the guards except Cerberus, assuming Cerberus leaving his post wasn't a result of Tirek's manipulations. So I made a judgement call."

Luna's eyes widened. "What...sort of judgement call?" she asked.

"Well...umm..." Fluttershy reached behind her and rolled Tirek forward. The crimson centaur looked ancient, wizened, magicless...and had a small hole right between his eyes and a rather large one on the back of his head. "I found Tirek and shot him," she concluded, smiling with a light squeak.

Achievement Unlocked:
Bhaalspawn's Complaint
Found Tirek and shot him

Celestia and Luna stared at the body before them. "Well..." Celestia began.

"Well done, Fluttershy," Luna said proudly.

"What?" Celestia asked in shock.

"This is the third chance Tirek was given," Luna pointed out. "He continued to choose to be a menace to Equestria and a fundamental danger to our citizens and way of life. We have been more than fair."

"But...but we don't do that!" Celestia complained. "We don't order summary executions!"

"Which is why Fluttershy's mission as a member of RED MOON was 'neutralize the threat of Tirek in whatever manner you feel is necessary'. She has done her job well," Luna replied.

"But what about the magic he'd already stolen?" Celestia demanded.

"That's why we brought his body back here," Fluttershy explained. "Daddenji made me a special bullet that would cause the one shot with it to violently expel all magic in their body. Once you confirm that it worked, I owe Chompy a special snack."

Celestia stared from the dead body, to Fluttershy's innocent smile, to Discord's wicked grin, and finally to Luna's smug look. She finally hung her head. "Luna, since she is your agent, I leave resolving this to you." She turned to go. "Discord, as my agent, you are buying me a drink!"

"Right away, Sunbutt!" Discord said happily.