GermBusters 2: Operation Quintyby Lukington17ChaptersChapter 1 - Follow Your NoseChapter 2 - A Brush with DangerChapter 3 - Nosey NeighboursChapter 4 - A Breath-taking ViewChapter 5 - Exit QuietlyChapter 1 - Follow Your Nose"AAAACHOOO!" "Gosh Quinty, are you alright?" Sunshine asked kindly, putting a hoof over his shoulder. Poor Quinty hadn't stopped sneezing for a couple minutes at the picnic, and all the gang were concerned. "I'm fine, really" Quinty rubbed his sore nose. "It's just a cold, I get it all the time cos of allergies and stuff." The gang looked at one another, and then at Cutea, who sniffed quietly. "You don't suppose," Atrimy whispered to Electric, "that when we made Cutea sneeze out all those pollen germs...they ended up going into Quint instead?" His friend stroked his light beard gently, "Hmm, I guess some types of bacteria always seek the nearest host. Could they have been like that?" He turned to Quinty. "Hey bro, do you want us to go and have a look? We've got a feeling we caused this and since we helped Cutea, we can help you!" Quinty shook his head calmly, "You don't have to do that, this is just a cold. My body will get rid of it naturally." The others shrugged, and after he seemed to subdue his sneezing they returned to finishing their picnic. As the sun finally set, and darkness fell upon Cutea's garden, she went around lighting the encircling lanterns, and the gang began to leave. The Germbusters crew hugged each other fondly as they prepared to head home. Seraphine headed off first, heading to a concert nearby with some visiting friends of hers, and then Quinty waved goodbye promising he'd get a good night's rest to recover. With him gone, Electric grabbed the others quickly. "Guys, we have to help him." He said. "But Electric, he said it's fine, we don't need to," replied Eminence. "Noooo way, I totally have an adrenalin rush now, let's go!" Blaze chirped up. "Yes, the momentum is with us! We can smash those bastards in there, we've kicked their asses already before!" At this point Cutea nudged her coltfriend. "I want to come this time. You guys had all the fun in here last time" she gestured to her belly, "but this time I'm gonna be kicking germ butt too." Electric smiled enthusiastically and gave an assuring wink before addressing the others: Flushie, Chris, Eminence, Blaze, Atrimy and Divinity. "Right guys, if we're gonna take these guys on, we have to gear up. Obviously we have our weapons from before, but I had an idea. Chris, brother, remember the cabinet in the barracks?" His brother gasped in realisation and then laughed. "Oh no haha, we can't raid that." "Sure we can, I'll be back in 5 minutes." Electric shot off upwards to the evening sky, and Chris turned to the others to explain that during the duo's time in the Equestrian Air Force cadets they'd managed to hold onto a key to one of the weapons arsenal cabinets. The others laughed and rolled their eyes, and sure enough Electric came crashing back down with a huge bag full of firearms: Atrimy now spoke up to propose a plan of action: "So we fly in through his nose, speak to any Micronauts we see, locate the pollen germs and destroy them in hellfire!" "Without destroying Quinty, of course" Divinity muttered among the laddish cheers. With everypony equipped, the gang looked at each other and put their hooves in the middle for a cheesy 'go team' and then set about shrinking themselves once more. Down to the size of tiny miniscule organisms, Cutea was amazed by the world around them. She huffed at Electric when she noticed a used soda can lurking in the immense blades of grass around them. The pegasi offered a lift to others and they set off out the garden towards Quinty's house. Chapter 2 - A Brush with DangerQuinty hummed along to his radio as he stepped out of the shower, drying himself off with the towel and then brushing his mane frantically. He whistled along to the song as he gazed out the window at the glowing moon momentarily, before turning back to his bedroom and drying his hooves on the mat. He'd had a long day after getting up earlier than usual although his evening had been fun at Cutea's garden party. After his sneezing fit he was grateful for a chance to sleep it off now - and with sleep beginning to weigh down on him, he lazily dropped his towel and prepared a glass of water in the sink. Suddenly his phone buzzed with a text, and he went to check. It was from Chris: "Hey lad did you get home safe?" Yes thanks, just getting ready for bed. See you tomorrow Having sent his reply, Quinty headed back into the bathroom. The Germbusters were on course for their unsuspecting friend's house, and Chris put his phone away again. Electric had been spending their journey explaining to Cutea all the events that had happened inside her body, and how to conduct herself infront of the timid Micronauts. Cutea had found the whole thing rather funny, but Flushie had reaffirmed not to get carried away with the surroundings and focus on helping her friend from inside. With her head in the right frame of mind, she smiled and held on tight to her coltfriend as he carried her onwards, he himself smirking as he thought about Cutea's own Micronauts watching this with excitement. The gang flew into Quinty's open window and after a quick search, heard him singing in his bathroom. This was interrupted by a loud sneeze, and Flushie sighed, "Poor guy, we gotta help him asap!" "Nose ahoy!" Atrimy yelled, as they flew towards their friend's muzzle. He was putting toothpaste onto his toothbrush, completely unaware of them as he hummed. The dark tunnel of his nostril got closer and closer to the gang until they whooshed up into it, immediately surrounded by tickly nose-hairs and gentle currents of snot below. "Wait a minute..." "AAA...CHOOO!" The sneeze erupted all around them, sending the eight tiny ponies flying out of the nostril at bullet speed. Shaking themselves off, they said "let's try that again" and flew on in. Five seconds and one sneeze later they were back outside, this time smacking into Quinty's mirror, which itself was covered in toothpaste. Electric steadied himself. "The unlucky chap's sneezed while brushing his teeth!" He helped some of the others up, then turned to look at the giant stallion, brushing his teeth gazing dozily into his own reflection. "Hmm, that gives me an idea guys." "Let's hear it, because we can't exactly get in if he's gonna keep sneezing like that," Divinity huffed, cleaning her mane of foamy toothpaste. "Well, we're gonna go in thataway!" Electric excitedly pointed at Quinty's mouth, hanging open as the brush moved in and out slowly. Chris rolled his eyes. "Anything to go in there, ey brother?" Electric dismissed his comment with a frown but ushered him and the others in, and so they headed towards the mouth. Each of them now lowered the goggles they'd brought along, shouting to rendez-vous behind Quinty's uvula so they could fly up to the nasal passage. Quinty's mouth came closer and closer, and the swooshing of his enormous toothbrush became louder and more echoed, menacingly so as it threatened to smash into them from the side. The gang flew inside the parted jaws of teeth and prepared for impact. Dentsmith watched alongside his assistant manager from their observation deck, watching the cleaning job taking place. The brush was currently working on the molars, and - had instructed for the back molars to be given twice as long this time (no more cavities were necessary this week). He also gave the controversial order to brace for sneezing by having the toothpaste swallowed. Dentsmith had been in charge of the Mouth Department for a long time here, and had seen his fair share of antics and invasions, but having to deal with a host who was insisting on brushing his teeth while sneezing was proving a challenge. Moreover, some of his employees came rushing up to him panicked. "Sir, sir, we've picked up traces of intruders!" Dentsmith sighed, "Well, deploy one of the border enforcement patrols, you know the drill. ...Remind them to wear their visors!" He called out to them as they turned away. A few moments later, a tiny light seemed to move across the surface of the tongue down below. Dentsmith smiled calmly as he watched that patrol vehicle navigate its way into the mayhem ahead. His assistant manager turned to him with a slightly worried face, but Dentsmith calmed him down. "Don't worry, those guys are professionals. They can pick out any invaders in a crowd, and hit moving targets easily - a brush ain't gonna stop them either!" Meanwhile, at the front of the mouth, the gang were excitedly dodging the massive brush and sloshing toothpaste everywhere. "Woah!" "Wahey!" They all cried out happily, laughing as the huge toothbrush turned out to be not particularly strong, but simply tickly and feathery as it would move through them. Blaze even grabbed the strand and swung like a monkey, until she smacked herself into the side of a tooth. Chris laughed at her until the brush's bristles booped his butt, causing him to blush as he fell onto the tongue's surface. Toothpaste splashed everywhere and fogged their vision. Electric had Cutea on his back but a sudden swoop from Quinty's brush knocked his marefriend off. He yelled out to her as she fell onto the tongue, but he was presently smothered in toothpaste and flicked around by the massive tongue below him. "No, dammit!" he gnarled as he tried to orientate himself, seeing Quinty's enormous jaws of front teeth open to allow light into the scene. He flew further in, turning away from the front, until he was snagged by something to the side. "Hold it right there!" Electric removed his goggles and was startled to see a uniformed Micronaut training his gun on him. Thinking instinctively, he took advantage of a momentary pile of saliva and paste foam squelching past, and dived into it. He was confused when he then poked out to look back and see that the gun-wielder was simply talking with two other Micronauts and walking away. Electric's mind raced as his ride was dragged toward the throat, and he savoured every moment of being here in his friend's mouth on a rescue mission. Distractions to one side, he broke free from the foam and soared toward the uvula. "Freeze!" Flushie threw her hooves up instantly, and she felt a barrel prick her in the back. As her captor came in-front of her, she recognised a police uniform and a badge saying 'QPD'. The officer had a partner who seemed to be holding a scanner also, and within a few seconds the two of them simply looked at each other, gave Flushie an odd smile, and then walked off. With a 'huh?!' Flushie turned her head and made her way down to the throat. Divinity was hovering behind the gigantic uvula, which swayed with each stroke of the brush at the jaws in the distance, trying to keep out of sight. She had flown past Eminence getting stopped by some Micronauts, and wanted to stay focused on not getting whisked into the bristles of Quinty's brush. She hummed to herself until she felt some hooves flick her ears. She dropped her gun in panic and screamed, but Chris raised his hooves from her and spun to face her. "Guess who! Haha" the prankster chuckled, removing his goggles. The two booped and were joined by Atrimy, who had incredibly managed to keep hold of his hat during the chaos. Eminence then followed, and then they heard a shout from below. "Look!" Chris pointed. Down below on the tongue, Cuteamena and Blaze were frantically waving for help. The two earthponies looked relieved as Atrimy and Eminence flew down to hoist them up. Electric arrived soon after, and inevitably concern for Flushie rose until they saw her hurriedly zooming towards them. "Waaaaait!" Came the familiar voice yelling from below. The pegasus came rushing toward them, and once she'd caught her breath she explained how she'd been stopped by Micronaut border controls. "Huh, the same thing happened to me. I wonder why they stopped us only to let us go?" Electric pondered. "Well, in any case, I think we better make a move before Quinty rinses and spits!" Blaze pointed out, and almost on cue there was an almighty gurgle from the residue below, as Quinty spat out into the sink. The gang held on tight to the large shaking uvula and, once it was safe, made their way upwards through a small passage. On the base of the uvula, not far from where the Germbusters had been, Dentsmith stood at the suspended building's observation platform. The team of border patrol officers steamed in, switching on a screen to present their findings and scans to the boss. The screen lit up brightly with eight images shown one by one, each one met with various text stats and data, and finally a big green tick before proceeding to the next one. Each image depicted a pony, and each one Dentsmith smiled knowingly at, getting his telephone and punching in a number. Chapter 3 - Nosey NeighboursShooting up through the narrow channel they'd found, the Germbusters found themselves at the entrance to the nasal passages. Here seemed to be a small community of Micronauts, busily going about trying to calm things down after what presumably had been caused by the sneezing: various market stalls and street furniture lay in wreckage, and the microscopic ponies were trying to salvage things and stabilize themselves after the impact had knocked them off their feet. Eminence went up to one of them and asked if the sneezing had stopped. "Yeah I hope so, haven't had one now for about 10 minutes. He must've finally passed out on his bed. Thank Celestia!" "Hmm, this doesn't just look like sneeze damage," Flushie muttered, noticing some windows were smashed and there were smoldering holes in the ground. The others nodded, beginning to suspect foul play and that some familiar faces might be about to rear their ugly heads. As they did so, some of the Micronauts came up to them. "Hey, I know you guys! You were just at the picnic." "Yeah, I know them too! These guys are the master's friends!" "Oh yes I saw them on QuintyVision! And look, there's the mare who they went inside last time..." Upon being pointed at by some of the tiny ponies, Cutea cowed behind the others and blushed, but the enthusiastic fans approached her more. "These guys helped your Micronauts, we should go visit them someday and exchange stories about it! They're very friendly in Cuteamena..." "STOP!" Cutea barked suddenly, hiding her face. It was all proving a bit too much to take in for the poor mare. As her coltfriend consoled her tightly, the others tried to speak with the group of Micronauts to find out what happened here. "Well, those damn pollen germs came in. The master already suffers from hay-fever and we took a risk staying outside at this time of year for that long. So sadly the germs tagged along with the existing bacteria in here." "No Carol, don't be so naive. Something sinister came in with that pollen, this is way worse than the flu in June." "I agree with him, yes." As a general hum of agreement rose up, the gang tried to quiet them down and asked where the germs were last seen. After being pointed down the direction of Nasal Passage 1 (for that was how it was labelled, a huge and monstrous tunnel winding its way beyond the horizon, soaring up maybe 30 storeys above and echoing eerie sounds of air passing in and out of it. A few wind turbines were perched higher up the walls of this cavern, spinning ferociously as the air was inhaled. A neat way of generating energy for the citizens, the gang thought. At this point, two Micronauts came rushing to them wearing hardhats. "Wait!" yelled one of them, a middle-aged stallion sporting a Nose Dpt. badge. "Sorry, lemme catch my breath...okay...okay so basically it's great to meet you guys, and we're grateful that you're here. Including you" he looked at a confused Cutea. "We've had loads of infestations before but this one is pretty bad. Somehow, every time the guy sneezes, our invaders seem to double in population! It's a nightmare... Anyway, they're lurking somewhere in the passageway" "Don't you worry, we'll deal with them. They're no match for us," Chris said defiantly, cocking his shotgun. Electric nodded in agreement, "Leave it to us. Let's go team!" Quinty was clearly a loud snorer, because the gang had been issued with heavy-duty ear muffs. They'd refused them though; clear communication in battle would be essential. Venturing further and further into the tunnel, they readied themselves with their weapons and trod carefully, checking every crevice and dark slit around them. At first they seemed vindicated by denying the ear muffs but suddenly an almighty snore tore through the echoing chambers of the nose. "Holy crap..." Blaze exclaimed once it had subsided. "My ears hurt..." Flushie moaned, and Divinity shook her head frantically. "Let's keep moving though guys, I've got a feeling further down ther- uuunf!" Electric was smacked off his feet and sent sliding to the side in a bundle after a globule of snot appeared to encase him. "Electric!" Cutea called, heading to him, but Atrimy yelled. "Take cover!" He grabbed Cutea and ducked her under a bump in the surface. Snot began firing from all angles as the gang hid in their corners, before Fushie emerged and fired into the distance. Once they heard a whimper from the other side, the gang began to open fire. Soon enough, the pollen germs were visible, perched high up on a large ledge that looked like it used to house some industrial machinery. Laughing evilly, they continued catapulting snot and some began to descend on them with their own guns, firing slime and some sort of powder. "Cover your face!" Atrimy shouted once more, hovering in the air and concealing his nose and mouth as the powder lingered around him. He took off his hat and threw it at the culprit, slicing the germ in half as his hat returned like a boomerang. Chris jumped up and karate-kicked into one of the germs that had been rushing toward him, then as the germ fell he fired his automatic shotgun at it, perhaps a little too close as the germ blasted its entrails everywhere. "Ew! Chris..." Eminence moaned, as she used her own powers to pluck a giant nose-hair and tie several of the germs up in a knot. Electric woke up and found himself stuck in the snot. He could move his wings, and whirring up his wings to high speed he blasted out of the trap, flying straight upwards but coincidentally smashing into three pollen germs in the process. Blaze and Flushie covered Cutea as she advanced on some of the pollen germs launching snot from a catapult, and jumping up she offloaded her two Desert Eagles onto the catapult and its users, blowing the thing to pieces. Divinity ran to the wreck and used her hug powers to swallow up the surviving germs there. A few seconds passed before the gang yelled to each other to hold their fire. The smoke floated along the passage and the only sound was the air gushing in and out from Quinty's snores, and upon hearing their friend's snoring they were amazed he hadn't felt anything enough to wake him up. "He must be a deep sleeper..." Cutea thought aloud. "Anyway, is it done?" The gang nodded slowly and put their weapons away slowly, shaking off any snot on their bodies. After a brief celebration, Electric hovered above and used his torch to light the way back towards the brain. "I think we should make our way to City Hall. I'd be interested to speak with Quinty's mayors, don't you think?" "To the brain!" Atrimy chirped, and with that they set off back the way they'd come. The wreckage they had left behind was a mess, albeit concealed by darkness, with stillness but for one leg that moved slowly underneath some burning plywood. Chapter 4 - A Breath-taking ViewThe Germbusters reached a plaza similar to the one they'd seen inside Cutea's head, with the brain dominating the space and inhabited by a dwelling labelled 'City Hall'. Micronauts were busy rushing around which surprised the gang given that Quinty was currently sleeping; this they could tell owing to the fact that QuintyVision (the live feed to Quinty's eyes and view) was seemingly switched off and showing black. The gang were heading to City Hall's guarded entrance when Eminence exclaimed giddily: "Oh wow, check it out...!" They turned and saw a cinema, lit up with neon lights proudly stating it was showcasing the dream Quinty was receiving tonight. Curious, they ventured in and noticed that the dream was apparently 'X-rated' - and so, even more curious, they went in and took a seat. "Let's not get too distracted" Blaze reminded them, but Chris shoved popcorn into her mouth and they laughed. The dream depicted Quinty waking up in his bed, turning, and then - much to everypony's surprise - Blaze Inferno herself turning to face him in bed. She sleepily ran her hoof through his mane before winking and blowing a kiss. It seemed Quinty's thoughts were programmed in as well, as they heard him thinking 'she's so gorgeous' and such. Then Quinty asked a rather lewd question to her and some of the audience let rip with an "oooooo!", but the gang were more focused on looking at Blaze herself, sitting in disbelief. "Let's not get too distracted," Electric smirked. "Wooo look who has the hots for you, hun" Flushie teased, as the others all nudged Blaze jokingly. Blaze blushed and tried to hide her surprise. "Well, I mean, clearly he has good taste..." "His heart is on fire for you, Infernoooo" joked Chris. As they kept laughing at the discovery, Blaze stood up and tried to compose herself. "I believe my admirer is in danger." With that, the others stood sombrely and they headed for City Hall. "The Germbusters themselves, what a pleasure it is indeed." The gang had been welcomed straight into the office of the Mayors, who just like Cutea were Micronaut representations of Quinty but each one was a different colour representing the emotions they were responsible for: blue for miserableness, red for anger, yellow for kindness and pink for cuteness. "Yeah, took you long enough." said Anger. Atrimy frowned at him and then turned to Kindness and Miserable, explaining why they'd come to visit. Cuteness was hiding behind his chair, glancing nervously between them and out the sweeping window. "Yes, I'm afraid your success in the nose was brilliant but there is a slightly bigger problem than that. You see, the germs have already entered the Respiratory System and have caused disruptions and damage. We have reports they've set up base in the left lung." "Yeah, and can you believe that guy? Saying his body would get rid of it naturally?! We are the body, there's no natural job here!" The gang laughed under their breath, but then feeling sorry for Quinty they prepared themselves. "Don't worry, Mr Mayor...Mayors... we'll do our best to assist your soldiers cells and militia down there," Divinity said confidently. Electric looked serious, "I was thinking, we might benefit from employing the service of Quinty himself, or at least controlling his functions, in order to assist overthrowing whatever evil lurks in his lungs." The Mayors looked at each other for a moment, then nodded slowly and handed them radios. "Let us know how we can help then." The gang charged down the windpipe from the brain, whooshing past supportive civilians and transit systems blaring through the veins in various directions. Gushes of air came in and out, making their travel slightly harder at times, but eventually they saw arrows and signs for the Lungs. As soon as they headed down into the left bronchus, the germs appeared clinging to the sides everywhere. "Fire!" came the yell and the Germbusters opened fire at them all, catching the germs off-guard and blowing them up, sending them up in smoke (- causing a sleeping Quinty to cough in his bed -) and disnitegrating. "That's it guys, no mercy!" shouted Electric as the opening into the vast cavity of the lung beckoned ahead. They all cheered for themselves as the vanquished germs groaned and fell in pieces, and Micronaut soldiers immediately entered the fray, cleared smoke and finished off the germs. "Oh crap..." Cutea said aloud, as their cheers were short-lived: they entered the Lung and there, suspended in mid-air in the cavernous lung was an enormous ball, constructed out of cellular membrane yet lit-up and heavily-armed, like a mini Death Star. At its centre was a large green opening and from this doorway germs were emerging, in grand numbers. "This must be why they keep multiplying...as soon as we kill one, this ball generates more of them!" Cutea shouted in realisation. She proved this by pulling out her pistol and hitting a germ in the centre, and sure-enough two more came out of the doorway. "Then we know our mission. Stop that doorway, we stop the germs." Flushie said. "If we block that doorway, then we can destroy the sphere from here" Electric agreed, and they all huddled up. "So it's agreed," he went on. "We'll just have to hope it works. Take cover." They all ducked behind some alveoli, and Eminence got her radio out. She whispered: "Germbusters to Mayors, come in." "Receiving." "We need Quinty to wake up. Is there a freezer in the kitchen?" "Oh...yes, why?" "We're gonna need the AC raised in here..." "Copy that, over and out!" The gang tried to locate a screen of QuintyVision, and luckily there was one near the ball. Fearing it might reveal their plan to the germs, Chris shot up and kicked the screen down so that it faced away from the ball, solely for them to see. "Nice thinking, mintyboi" said Blaze. "Hopefully it will be Quinty who's feeling minty fresh in here, any second now..." Chris said pensively, watching the screen. Indeed, Quinty had woken up slowly. Lifting his tired eyelids, he dragged himself out of bed and into the kitchen. He opened the freezer and pulled out his ice box. He then raised it to his nose and took a deep inhale. The gang watched as some klaxons started blaring and an immense gush of icy air came gushing in. It did settle on the sphere, freezing parts of it, but not enough. The germs there were quick to set about melting the ice. "Like, more!" Eminence whispered into her radio, and they watched as a half-asleep Quinty took an ice cube, held it until it started to melt, then tilted his head back and let the icy water flow into his nostril. With an almighty 'snort' echoing from the screen, the ice came thundering into the lung, splashing into the lung cavern and gushing straight into the sphere, covering the doorway. "Go, go GO!" Electric belted out, and the gang soared out from their cover, blasting the frozen ball with everything they'd got. The QPD and army were there too, firing their tanks and cannons at the sphere having waited for the command. The big sphere shook and vibrated, and the germs tried to break free, but it proved too much. The cracks strained and the whole thing groaned before it exploded in a glorious inferno, shrapnel flying in all directions. "Duck!" The gang flew for cover as the sounds of screaming germs and sizzling membrane reverberated around the Lung. After a moment of the noise subsiding, the Micronauts cheered and celebrated ecstatically, but after a few lone surviving germs continued to attack, the Germbusters dealt with them swiftly. Eight germs soon became eight globs on the floor, one with a metal-rimmed hat nearby, another infused with orange juice... Blaze then turned to any wounded infantrymen nearby, curing them with her medicinal powers swiftly. Some of the glob fell in Electric's eyes and he accidentally fired a shot into the air, hitting one of Quinty's bronchioles. But, with the mission accomplished, they allowed themselves a celebration and joyously headed to a party downtown. "Germbusters to Mayors, mission accomplished! Send sanitation department to left lung..." Chapter 5 - Exit QuietlyQuinty woke up at about 8am and shook his head. He'd had a good night's sleep despite waking up at one point for some reason - but his whole head felt like brainfreeze, and his breath was raspy and cool. He texted some of his friends and told them jokingly that he felt like he'd chewn Five Gum, but inside he knew something was odd. He felt no need to sneeze - thank Celestia - but his whole body felt cold. He found a warm blanket, wrapped it around himself and sipped a cup of hot soup. Deep inside his chest, the party had continued into the early hours. The Micronauts and the Germbusters had celebrated at a pub in the chest cavity near the Heart, and the Mayors had even joined in the fun. Now, with day breaking and news of a large intake of soup in the stomach needing to be dealt with, various Micronauts headed off to carry out their daily duties. Through the QuintyVision screens the gang could see that it was a sunny day, and as some of them tried to sober up and wake up, they turned to the Mayors now. "Mr Mayors, you've been very helpful. Do you think we could ask for one more favour?" "Yes, of course! What do you have in mind?" "Well, we need Quinty to head to the flower shop." Quinty had managed to warm himself up and felt strong enough to head out. He felt like buying some flowers for his garden, having been inspired by Cutea's garden yesterday. He headed to the florist and walked in, greeting the shopkeeper and looking around. "Hey, Quinty!" He spun round and saw Seraphine and also Soft Melody, another friend of theirs. "Hey guys! How are you?" asked Quinty happily. "We're good, how are you though? Heard you weren't well yesterday!" Soft said kindly. Quinty shrugged, "yes I was suffering from my allergies. A bit worse than usual, but feels good now. Thanks." Soft smiled, and Seraphine sniffed a rose. "Mmm, this one is great...ugh my head is killing me today, it's my turn Quinty haha." "Oh, what's wrong?" "Eh, the concert I was at last night. It was great fun but wooow my ears are ringing this morning!" Seraphine laughed, holding her ears. "Well, I'm just browsing for some flowers to...to put...in...aaaa..aaaaa" Quinty suddenly began sneezing, much to the others' concern, and with a huge "AACHOOOOO!" he startled the entire shop. "Sorry! I must be allergic to these daffodils..." They shifted away from them and it was only when Soft was telling him about her dinner party plan that evening that Quinty noticed something in the orange mare's mane. Could that be...? It looks like... Eventually he interrupted her. "I'm sorry Soft but there's something in your mane, it might be a petal or something that's blown. Lemme get it." He began to reach for it, but to his surprise the yellow 'petal' dived into the mane, and out poked a tiny pony's head! "What the...?" "Shhh" Blaze gestured to him, putting her hoof to her mouth, and presently seven other tiny heads popped out from Soft's mane. Quinty stared in amazement, and it didn't take long for Soft to turn around. "What? Is there something behind me now?" Soft spun her head, and inside her mane the gang held on tight (they had used Electric's potion to enlarge themselves to the point of visibility). "Dear Soft, perhaps you should look in the mirror" giggled Quinty, and as if by magic Seraphine produced a mini-mirror from her bag and Soft looked closely. "Gaaaah! Oh my..." She jumped but then laughed when she recognised those cheeky little faces. "Get out of there, how did you even...?!" The gang all flew out from the mane and found a space in the shop before they enlarged themselves back to normal. "What have you goofs been up to?" The gang subtly hid all their weaponry, so as not to alarm anyone, least of all the poor florist mare. Atrimy looked at Quinty. "How are you feeling, lad?" Quinty nodded suspiciously that he was fine... "You're welcome." Chris said with a smirk. "Oh for the love of... you guys did something, didn't you?" Quinty raised an eyebrow, then shrugged and laughed. "Well, it worked. Thank you, Germbusters..." "Yeah it was great!" Blaze chirped up, "we met your Mayors, we partied all night and we even saw a dirty movie where I was- " Electric smacked her mouth shut with his hoof and laughed nervously. He piped up, "Sorry for the surprise Soft. That was my brother's idea..." he glanced over to Chris, who simply laughed and snorted as Soft smirked. After more catching-up, they browsed the flowers some more, and Cutea even gave Quinty some recommendations for his garden. Finally they decided to go altogether for a nice brunch. "All's well that ends well, ey?" said Divinity gleefully as they walked. "Yeah, thanks for your help by the way, Sera!" Atrimy retorted sarcastically. "Huh? I can't hear very well this morning" Sera moaned, but the others all laughed and shook their heads.
Chapter 1 - Follow Your Nose"AAAACHOOO!" "Gosh Quinty, are you alright?" Sunshine asked kindly, putting a hoof over his shoulder. Poor Quinty hadn't stopped sneezing for a couple minutes at the picnic, and all the gang were concerned. "I'm fine, really" Quinty rubbed his sore nose. "It's just a cold, I get it all the time cos of allergies and stuff." The gang looked at one another, and then at Cutea, who sniffed quietly. "You don't suppose," Atrimy whispered to Electric, "that when we made Cutea sneeze out all those pollen germs...they ended up going into Quint instead?" His friend stroked his light beard gently, "Hmm, I guess some types of bacteria always seek the nearest host. Could they have been like that?" He turned to Quinty. "Hey bro, do you want us to go and have a look? We've got a feeling we caused this and since we helped Cutea, we can help you!" Quinty shook his head calmly, "You don't have to do that, this is just a cold. My body will get rid of it naturally." The others shrugged, and after he seemed to subdue his sneezing they returned to finishing their picnic. As the sun finally set, and darkness fell upon Cutea's garden, she went around lighting the encircling lanterns, and the gang began to leave. The Germbusters crew hugged each other fondly as they prepared to head home. Seraphine headed off first, heading to a concert nearby with some visiting friends of hers, and then Quinty waved goodbye promising he'd get a good night's rest to recover. With him gone, Electric grabbed the others quickly. "Guys, we have to help him." He said. "But Electric, he said it's fine, we don't need to," replied Eminence. "Noooo way, I totally have an adrenalin rush now, let's go!" Blaze chirped up. "Yes, the momentum is with us! We can smash those bastards in there, we've kicked their asses already before!" At this point Cutea nudged her coltfriend. "I want to come this time. You guys had all the fun in here last time" she gestured to her belly, "but this time I'm gonna be kicking germ butt too." Electric smiled enthusiastically and gave an assuring wink before addressing the others: Flushie, Chris, Eminence, Blaze, Atrimy and Divinity. "Right guys, if we're gonna take these guys on, we have to gear up. Obviously we have our weapons from before, but I had an idea. Chris, brother, remember the cabinet in the barracks?" His brother gasped in realisation and then laughed. "Oh no haha, we can't raid that." "Sure we can, I'll be back in 5 minutes." Electric shot off upwards to the evening sky, and Chris turned to the others to explain that during the duo's time in the Equestrian Air Force cadets they'd managed to hold onto a key to one of the weapons arsenal cabinets. The others laughed and rolled their eyes, and sure enough Electric came crashing back down with a huge bag full of firearms: Atrimy now spoke up to propose a plan of action: "So we fly in through his nose, speak to any Micronauts we see, locate the pollen germs and destroy them in hellfire!" "Without destroying Quinty, of course" Divinity muttered among the laddish cheers. With everypony equipped, the gang looked at each other and put their hooves in the middle for a cheesy 'go team' and then set about shrinking themselves once more. Down to the size of tiny miniscule organisms, Cutea was amazed by the world around them. She huffed at Electric when she noticed a used soda can lurking in the immense blades of grass around them. The pegasi offered a lift to others and they set off out the garden towards Quinty's house.
Chapter 2 - A Brush with DangerQuinty hummed along to his radio as he stepped out of the shower, drying himself off with the towel and then brushing his mane frantically. He whistled along to the song as he gazed out the window at the glowing moon momentarily, before turning back to his bedroom and drying his hooves on the mat. He'd had a long day after getting up earlier than usual although his evening had been fun at Cutea's garden party. After his sneezing fit he was grateful for a chance to sleep it off now - and with sleep beginning to weigh down on him, he lazily dropped his towel and prepared a glass of water in the sink. Suddenly his phone buzzed with a text, and he went to check. It was from Chris: "Hey lad did you get home safe?" Yes thanks, just getting ready for bed. See you tomorrow Having sent his reply, Quinty headed back into the bathroom. The Germbusters were on course for their unsuspecting friend's house, and Chris put his phone away again. Electric had been spending their journey explaining to Cutea all the events that had happened inside her body, and how to conduct herself infront of the timid Micronauts. Cutea had found the whole thing rather funny, but Flushie had reaffirmed not to get carried away with the surroundings and focus on helping her friend from inside. With her head in the right frame of mind, she smiled and held on tight to her coltfriend as he carried her onwards, he himself smirking as he thought about Cutea's own Micronauts watching this with excitement. The gang flew into Quinty's open window and after a quick search, heard him singing in his bathroom. This was interrupted by a loud sneeze, and Flushie sighed, "Poor guy, we gotta help him asap!" "Nose ahoy!" Atrimy yelled, as they flew towards their friend's muzzle. He was putting toothpaste onto his toothbrush, completely unaware of them as he hummed. The dark tunnel of his nostril got closer and closer to the gang until they whooshed up into it, immediately surrounded by tickly nose-hairs and gentle currents of snot below. "Wait a minute..." "AAA...CHOOO!" The sneeze erupted all around them, sending the eight tiny ponies flying out of the nostril at bullet speed. Shaking themselves off, they said "let's try that again" and flew on in. Five seconds and one sneeze later they were back outside, this time smacking into Quinty's mirror, which itself was covered in toothpaste. Electric steadied himself. "The unlucky chap's sneezed while brushing his teeth!" He helped some of the others up, then turned to look at the giant stallion, brushing his teeth gazing dozily into his own reflection. "Hmm, that gives me an idea guys." "Let's hear it, because we can't exactly get in if he's gonna keep sneezing like that," Divinity huffed, cleaning her mane of foamy toothpaste. "Well, we're gonna go in thataway!" Electric excitedly pointed at Quinty's mouth, hanging open as the brush moved in and out slowly. Chris rolled his eyes. "Anything to go in there, ey brother?" Electric dismissed his comment with a frown but ushered him and the others in, and so they headed towards the mouth. Each of them now lowered the goggles they'd brought along, shouting to rendez-vous behind Quinty's uvula so they could fly up to the nasal passage. Quinty's mouth came closer and closer, and the swooshing of his enormous toothbrush became louder and more echoed, menacingly so as it threatened to smash into them from the side. The gang flew inside the parted jaws of teeth and prepared for impact. Dentsmith watched alongside his assistant manager from their observation deck, watching the cleaning job taking place. The brush was currently working on the molars, and - had instructed for the back molars to be given twice as long this time (no more cavities were necessary this week). He also gave the controversial order to brace for sneezing by having the toothpaste swallowed. Dentsmith had been in charge of the Mouth Department for a long time here, and had seen his fair share of antics and invasions, but having to deal with a host who was insisting on brushing his teeth while sneezing was proving a challenge. Moreover, some of his employees came rushing up to him panicked. "Sir, sir, we've picked up traces of intruders!" Dentsmith sighed, "Well, deploy one of the border enforcement patrols, you know the drill. ...Remind them to wear their visors!" He called out to them as they turned away. A few moments later, a tiny light seemed to move across the surface of the tongue down below. Dentsmith smiled calmly as he watched that patrol vehicle navigate its way into the mayhem ahead. His assistant manager turned to him with a slightly worried face, but Dentsmith calmed him down. "Don't worry, those guys are professionals. They can pick out any invaders in a crowd, and hit moving targets easily - a brush ain't gonna stop them either!" Meanwhile, at the front of the mouth, the gang were excitedly dodging the massive brush and sloshing toothpaste everywhere. "Woah!" "Wahey!" They all cried out happily, laughing as the huge toothbrush turned out to be not particularly strong, but simply tickly and feathery as it would move through them. Blaze even grabbed the strand and swung like a monkey, until she smacked herself into the side of a tooth. Chris laughed at her until the brush's bristles booped his butt, causing him to blush as he fell onto the tongue's surface. Toothpaste splashed everywhere and fogged their vision. Electric had Cutea on his back but a sudden swoop from Quinty's brush knocked his marefriend off. He yelled out to her as she fell onto the tongue, but he was presently smothered in toothpaste and flicked around by the massive tongue below him. "No, dammit!" he gnarled as he tried to orientate himself, seeing Quinty's enormous jaws of front teeth open to allow light into the scene. He flew further in, turning away from the front, until he was snagged by something to the side. "Hold it right there!" Electric removed his goggles and was startled to see a uniformed Micronaut training his gun on him. Thinking instinctively, he took advantage of a momentary pile of saliva and paste foam squelching past, and dived into it. He was confused when he then poked out to look back and see that the gun-wielder was simply talking with two other Micronauts and walking away. Electric's mind raced as his ride was dragged toward the throat, and he savoured every moment of being here in his friend's mouth on a rescue mission. Distractions to one side, he broke free from the foam and soared toward the uvula. "Freeze!" Flushie threw her hooves up instantly, and she felt a barrel prick her in the back. As her captor came in-front of her, she recognised a police uniform and a badge saying 'QPD'. The officer had a partner who seemed to be holding a scanner also, and within a few seconds the two of them simply looked at each other, gave Flushie an odd smile, and then walked off. With a 'huh?!' Flushie turned her head and made her way down to the throat. Divinity was hovering behind the gigantic uvula, which swayed with each stroke of the brush at the jaws in the distance, trying to keep out of sight. She had flown past Eminence getting stopped by some Micronauts, and wanted to stay focused on not getting whisked into the bristles of Quinty's brush. She hummed to herself until she felt some hooves flick her ears. She dropped her gun in panic and screamed, but Chris raised his hooves from her and spun to face her. "Guess who! Haha" the prankster chuckled, removing his goggles. The two booped and were joined by Atrimy, who had incredibly managed to keep hold of his hat during the chaos. Eminence then followed, and then they heard a shout from below. "Look!" Chris pointed. Down below on the tongue, Cuteamena and Blaze were frantically waving for help. The two earthponies looked relieved as Atrimy and Eminence flew down to hoist them up. Electric arrived soon after, and inevitably concern for Flushie rose until they saw her hurriedly zooming towards them. "Waaaaait!" Came the familiar voice yelling from below. The pegasus came rushing toward them, and once she'd caught her breath she explained how she'd been stopped by Micronaut border controls. "Huh, the same thing happened to me. I wonder why they stopped us only to let us go?" Electric pondered. "Well, in any case, I think we better make a move before Quinty rinses and spits!" Blaze pointed out, and almost on cue there was an almighty gurgle from the residue below, as Quinty spat out into the sink. The gang held on tight to the large shaking uvula and, once it was safe, made their way upwards through a small passage. On the base of the uvula, not far from where the Germbusters had been, Dentsmith stood at the suspended building's observation platform. The team of border patrol officers steamed in, switching on a screen to present their findings and scans to the boss. The screen lit up brightly with eight images shown one by one, each one met with various text stats and data, and finally a big green tick before proceeding to the next one. Each image depicted a pony, and each one Dentsmith smiled knowingly at, getting his telephone and punching in a number.
Chapter 3 - Nosey NeighboursShooting up through the narrow channel they'd found, the Germbusters found themselves at the entrance to the nasal passages. Here seemed to be a small community of Micronauts, busily going about trying to calm things down after what presumably had been caused by the sneezing: various market stalls and street furniture lay in wreckage, and the microscopic ponies were trying to salvage things and stabilize themselves after the impact had knocked them off their feet. Eminence went up to one of them and asked if the sneezing had stopped. "Yeah I hope so, haven't had one now for about 10 minutes. He must've finally passed out on his bed. Thank Celestia!" "Hmm, this doesn't just look like sneeze damage," Flushie muttered, noticing some windows were smashed and there were smoldering holes in the ground. The others nodded, beginning to suspect foul play and that some familiar faces might be about to rear their ugly heads. As they did so, some of the Micronauts came up to them. "Hey, I know you guys! You were just at the picnic." "Yeah, I know them too! These guys are the master's friends!" "Oh yes I saw them on QuintyVision! And look, there's the mare who they went inside last time..." Upon being pointed at by some of the tiny ponies, Cutea cowed behind the others and blushed, but the enthusiastic fans approached her more. "These guys helped your Micronauts, we should go visit them someday and exchange stories about it! They're very friendly in Cuteamena..." "STOP!" Cutea barked suddenly, hiding her face. It was all proving a bit too much to take in for the poor mare. As her coltfriend consoled her tightly, the others tried to speak with the group of Micronauts to find out what happened here. "Well, those damn pollen germs came in. The master already suffers from hay-fever and we took a risk staying outside at this time of year for that long. So sadly the germs tagged along with the existing bacteria in here." "No Carol, don't be so naive. Something sinister came in with that pollen, this is way worse than the flu in June." "I agree with him, yes." As a general hum of agreement rose up, the gang tried to quiet them down and asked where the germs were last seen. After being pointed down the direction of Nasal Passage 1 (for that was how it was labelled, a huge and monstrous tunnel winding its way beyond the horizon, soaring up maybe 30 storeys above and echoing eerie sounds of air passing in and out of it. A few wind turbines were perched higher up the walls of this cavern, spinning ferociously as the air was inhaled. A neat way of generating energy for the citizens, the gang thought. At this point, two Micronauts came rushing to them wearing hardhats. "Wait!" yelled one of them, a middle-aged stallion sporting a Nose Dpt. badge. "Sorry, lemme catch my breath...okay...okay so basically it's great to meet you guys, and we're grateful that you're here. Including you" he looked at a confused Cutea. "We've had loads of infestations before but this one is pretty bad. Somehow, every time the guy sneezes, our invaders seem to double in population! It's a nightmare... Anyway, they're lurking somewhere in the passageway" "Don't you worry, we'll deal with them. They're no match for us," Chris said defiantly, cocking his shotgun. Electric nodded in agreement, "Leave it to us. Let's go team!" Quinty was clearly a loud snorer, because the gang had been issued with heavy-duty ear muffs. They'd refused them though; clear communication in battle would be essential. Venturing further and further into the tunnel, they readied themselves with their weapons and trod carefully, checking every crevice and dark slit around them. At first they seemed vindicated by denying the ear muffs but suddenly an almighty snore tore through the echoing chambers of the nose. "Holy crap..." Blaze exclaimed once it had subsided. "My ears hurt..." Flushie moaned, and Divinity shook her head frantically. "Let's keep moving though guys, I've got a feeling further down ther- uuunf!" Electric was smacked off his feet and sent sliding to the side in a bundle after a globule of snot appeared to encase him. "Electric!" Cutea called, heading to him, but Atrimy yelled. "Take cover!" He grabbed Cutea and ducked her under a bump in the surface. Snot began firing from all angles as the gang hid in their corners, before Fushie emerged and fired into the distance. Once they heard a whimper from the other side, the gang began to open fire. Soon enough, the pollen germs were visible, perched high up on a large ledge that looked like it used to house some industrial machinery. Laughing evilly, they continued catapulting snot and some began to descend on them with their own guns, firing slime and some sort of powder. "Cover your face!" Atrimy shouted once more, hovering in the air and concealing his nose and mouth as the powder lingered around him. He took off his hat and threw it at the culprit, slicing the germ in half as his hat returned like a boomerang. Chris jumped up and karate-kicked into one of the germs that had been rushing toward him, then as the germ fell he fired his automatic shotgun at it, perhaps a little too close as the germ blasted its entrails everywhere. "Ew! Chris..." Eminence moaned, as she used her own powers to pluck a giant nose-hair and tie several of the germs up in a knot. Electric woke up and found himself stuck in the snot. He could move his wings, and whirring up his wings to high speed he blasted out of the trap, flying straight upwards but coincidentally smashing into three pollen germs in the process. Blaze and Flushie covered Cutea as she advanced on some of the pollen germs launching snot from a catapult, and jumping up she offloaded her two Desert Eagles onto the catapult and its users, blowing the thing to pieces. Divinity ran to the wreck and used her hug powers to swallow up the surviving germs there. A few seconds passed before the gang yelled to each other to hold their fire. The smoke floated along the passage and the only sound was the air gushing in and out from Quinty's snores, and upon hearing their friend's snoring they were amazed he hadn't felt anything enough to wake him up. "He must be a deep sleeper..." Cutea thought aloud. "Anyway, is it done?" The gang nodded slowly and put their weapons away slowly, shaking off any snot on their bodies. After a brief celebration, Electric hovered above and used his torch to light the way back towards the brain. "I think we should make our way to City Hall. I'd be interested to speak with Quinty's mayors, don't you think?" "To the brain!" Atrimy chirped, and with that they set off back the way they'd come. The wreckage they had left behind was a mess, albeit concealed by darkness, with stillness but for one leg that moved slowly underneath some burning plywood.
Chapter 4 - A Breath-taking ViewThe Germbusters reached a plaza similar to the one they'd seen inside Cutea's head, with the brain dominating the space and inhabited by a dwelling labelled 'City Hall'. Micronauts were busy rushing around which surprised the gang given that Quinty was currently sleeping; this they could tell owing to the fact that QuintyVision (the live feed to Quinty's eyes and view) was seemingly switched off and showing black. The gang were heading to City Hall's guarded entrance when Eminence exclaimed giddily: "Oh wow, check it out...!" They turned and saw a cinema, lit up with neon lights proudly stating it was showcasing the dream Quinty was receiving tonight. Curious, they ventured in and noticed that the dream was apparently 'X-rated' - and so, even more curious, they went in and took a seat. "Let's not get too distracted" Blaze reminded them, but Chris shoved popcorn into her mouth and they laughed. The dream depicted Quinty waking up in his bed, turning, and then - much to everypony's surprise - Blaze Inferno herself turning to face him in bed. She sleepily ran her hoof through his mane before winking and blowing a kiss. It seemed Quinty's thoughts were programmed in as well, as they heard him thinking 'she's so gorgeous' and such. Then Quinty asked a rather lewd question to her and some of the audience let rip with an "oooooo!", but the gang were more focused on looking at Blaze herself, sitting in disbelief. "Let's not get too distracted," Electric smirked. "Wooo look who has the hots for you, hun" Flushie teased, as the others all nudged Blaze jokingly. Blaze blushed and tried to hide her surprise. "Well, I mean, clearly he has good taste..." "His heart is on fire for you, Infernoooo" joked Chris. As they kept laughing at the discovery, Blaze stood up and tried to compose herself. "I believe my admirer is in danger." With that, the others stood sombrely and they headed for City Hall. "The Germbusters themselves, what a pleasure it is indeed." The gang had been welcomed straight into the office of the Mayors, who just like Cutea were Micronaut representations of Quinty but each one was a different colour representing the emotions they were responsible for: blue for miserableness, red for anger, yellow for kindness and pink for cuteness. "Yeah, took you long enough." said Anger. Atrimy frowned at him and then turned to Kindness and Miserable, explaining why they'd come to visit. Cuteness was hiding behind his chair, glancing nervously between them and out the sweeping window. "Yes, I'm afraid your success in the nose was brilliant but there is a slightly bigger problem than that. You see, the germs have already entered the Respiratory System and have caused disruptions and damage. We have reports they've set up base in the left lung." "Yeah, and can you believe that guy? Saying his body would get rid of it naturally?! We are the body, there's no natural job here!" The gang laughed under their breath, but then feeling sorry for Quinty they prepared themselves. "Don't worry, Mr Mayor...Mayors... we'll do our best to assist your soldiers cells and militia down there," Divinity said confidently. Electric looked serious, "I was thinking, we might benefit from employing the service of Quinty himself, or at least controlling his functions, in order to assist overthrowing whatever evil lurks in his lungs." The Mayors looked at each other for a moment, then nodded slowly and handed them radios. "Let us know how we can help then." The gang charged down the windpipe from the brain, whooshing past supportive civilians and transit systems blaring through the veins in various directions. Gushes of air came in and out, making their travel slightly harder at times, but eventually they saw arrows and signs for the Lungs. As soon as they headed down into the left bronchus, the germs appeared clinging to the sides everywhere. "Fire!" came the yell and the Germbusters opened fire at them all, catching the germs off-guard and blowing them up, sending them up in smoke (- causing a sleeping Quinty to cough in his bed -) and disnitegrating. "That's it guys, no mercy!" shouted Electric as the opening into the vast cavity of the lung beckoned ahead. They all cheered for themselves as the vanquished germs groaned and fell in pieces, and Micronaut soldiers immediately entered the fray, cleared smoke and finished off the germs. "Oh crap..." Cutea said aloud, as their cheers were short-lived: they entered the Lung and there, suspended in mid-air in the cavernous lung was an enormous ball, constructed out of cellular membrane yet lit-up and heavily-armed, like a mini Death Star. At its centre was a large green opening and from this doorway germs were emerging, in grand numbers. "This must be why they keep multiplying...as soon as we kill one, this ball generates more of them!" Cutea shouted in realisation. She proved this by pulling out her pistol and hitting a germ in the centre, and sure-enough two more came out of the doorway. "Then we know our mission. Stop that doorway, we stop the germs." Flushie said. "If we block that doorway, then we can destroy the sphere from here" Electric agreed, and they all huddled up. "So it's agreed," he went on. "We'll just have to hope it works. Take cover." They all ducked behind some alveoli, and Eminence got her radio out. She whispered: "Germbusters to Mayors, come in." "Receiving." "We need Quinty to wake up. Is there a freezer in the kitchen?" "Oh...yes, why?" "We're gonna need the AC raised in here..." "Copy that, over and out!" The gang tried to locate a screen of QuintyVision, and luckily there was one near the ball. Fearing it might reveal their plan to the germs, Chris shot up and kicked the screen down so that it faced away from the ball, solely for them to see. "Nice thinking, mintyboi" said Blaze. "Hopefully it will be Quinty who's feeling minty fresh in here, any second now..." Chris said pensively, watching the screen. Indeed, Quinty had woken up slowly. Lifting his tired eyelids, he dragged himself out of bed and into the kitchen. He opened the freezer and pulled out his ice box. He then raised it to his nose and took a deep inhale. The gang watched as some klaxons started blaring and an immense gush of icy air came gushing in. It did settle on the sphere, freezing parts of it, but not enough. The germs there were quick to set about melting the ice. "Like, more!" Eminence whispered into her radio, and they watched as a half-asleep Quinty took an ice cube, held it until it started to melt, then tilted his head back and let the icy water flow into his nostril. With an almighty 'snort' echoing from the screen, the ice came thundering into the lung, splashing into the lung cavern and gushing straight into the sphere, covering the doorway. "Go, go GO!" Electric belted out, and the gang soared out from their cover, blasting the frozen ball with everything they'd got. The QPD and army were there too, firing their tanks and cannons at the sphere having waited for the command. The big sphere shook and vibrated, and the germs tried to break free, but it proved too much. The cracks strained and the whole thing groaned before it exploded in a glorious inferno, shrapnel flying in all directions. "Duck!" The gang flew for cover as the sounds of screaming germs and sizzling membrane reverberated around the Lung. After a moment of the noise subsiding, the Micronauts cheered and celebrated ecstatically, but after a few lone surviving germs continued to attack, the Germbusters dealt with them swiftly. Eight germs soon became eight globs on the floor, one with a metal-rimmed hat nearby, another infused with orange juice... Blaze then turned to any wounded infantrymen nearby, curing them with her medicinal powers swiftly. Some of the glob fell in Electric's eyes and he accidentally fired a shot into the air, hitting one of Quinty's bronchioles. But, with the mission accomplished, they allowed themselves a celebration and joyously headed to a party downtown. "Germbusters to Mayors, mission accomplished! Send sanitation department to left lung..."
Chapter 5 - Exit QuietlyQuinty woke up at about 8am and shook his head. He'd had a good night's sleep despite waking up at one point for some reason - but his whole head felt like brainfreeze, and his breath was raspy and cool. He texted some of his friends and told them jokingly that he felt like he'd chewn Five Gum, but inside he knew something was odd. He felt no need to sneeze - thank Celestia - but his whole body felt cold. He found a warm blanket, wrapped it around himself and sipped a cup of hot soup. Deep inside his chest, the party had continued into the early hours. The Micronauts and the Germbusters had celebrated at a pub in the chest cavity near the Heart, and the Mayors had even joined in the fun. Now, with day breaking and news of a large intake of soup in the stomach needing to be dealt with, various Micronauts headed off to carry out their daily duties. Through the QuintyVision screens the gang could see that it was a sunny day, and as some of them tried to sober up and wake up, they turned to the Mayors now. "Mr Mayors, you've been very helpful. Do you think we could ask for one more favour?" "Yes, of course! What do you have in mind?" "Well, we need Quinty to head to the flower shop." Quinty had managed to warm himself up and felt strong enough to head out. He felt like buying some flowers for his garden, having been inspired by Cutea's garden yesterday. He headed to the florist and walked in, greeting the shopkeeper and looking around. "Hey, Quinty!" He spun round and saw Seraphine and also Soft Melody, another friend of theirs. "Hey guys! How are you?" asked Quinty happily. "We're good, how are you though? Heard you weren't well yesterday!" Soft said kindly. Quinty shrugged, "yes I was suffering from my allergies. A bit worse than usual, but feels good now. Thanks." Soft smiled, and Seraphine sniffed a rose. "Mmm, this one is great...ugh my head is killing me today, it's my turn Quinty haha." "Oh, what's wrong?" "Eh, the concert I was at last night. It was great fun but wooow my ears are ringing this morning!" Seraphine laughed, holding her ears. "Well, I'm just browsing for some flowers to...to put...in...aaaa..aaaaa" Quinty suddenly began sneezing, much to the others' concern, and with a huge "AACHOOOOO!" he startled the entire shop. "Sorry! I must be allergic to these daffodils..." They shifted away from them and it was only when Soft was telling him about her dinner party plan that evening that Quinty noticed something in the orange mare's mane. Could that be...? It looks like... Eventually he interrupted her. "I'm sorry Soft but there's something in your mane, it might be a petal or something that's blown. Lemme get it." He began to reach for it, but to his surprise the yellow 'petal' dived into the mane, and out poked a tiny pony's head! "What the...?" "Shhh" Blaze gestured to him, putting her hoof to her mouth, and presently seven other tiny heads popped out from Soft's mane. Quinty stared in amazement, and it didn't take long for Soft to turn around. "What? Is there something behind me now?" Soft spun her head, and inside her mane the gang held on tight (they had used Electric's potion to enlarge themselves to the point of visibility). "Dear Soft, perhaps you should look in the mirror" giggled Quinty, and as if by magic Seraphine produced a mini-mirror from her bag and Soft looked closely. "Gaaaah! Oh my..." She jumped but then laughed when she recognised those cheeky little faces. "Get out of there, how did you even...?!" The gang all flew out from the mane and found a space in the shop before they enlarged themselves back to normal. "What have you goofs been up to?" The gang subtly hid all their weaponry, so as not to alarm anyone, least of all the poor florist mare. Atrimy looked at Quinty. "How are you feeling, lad?" Quinty nodded suspiciously that he was fine... "You're welcome." Chris said with a smirk. "Oh for the love of... you guys did something, didn't you?" Quinty raised an eyebrow, then shrugged and laughed. "Well, it worked. Thank you, Germbusters..." "Yeah it was great!" Blaze chirped up, "we met your Mayors, we partied all night and we even saw a dirty movie where I was- " Electric smacked her mouth shut with his hoof and laughed nervously. He piped up, "Sorry for the surprise Soft. That was my brother's idea..." he glanced over to Chris, who simply laughed and snorted as Soft smirked. After more catching-up, they browsed the flowers some more, and Cutea even gave Quinty some recommendations for his garden. Finally they decided to go altogether for a nice brunch. "All's well that ends well, ey?" said Divinity gleefully as they walked. "Yeah, thanks for your help by the way, Sera!" Atrimy retorted sarcastically. "Huh? I can't hear very well this morning" Sera moaned, but the others all laughed and shook their heads.
