//-------------------------------------------------------// If Fluttershy was in... BLACKOUT -by RushingWind-01- //-------------------------------------------------------// //-------------------------------------------------------// Consider ALL contacts hostile? //-------------------------------------------------------// Consider ALL contacts hostile? It was a beautiful Summer day. A big, white yacht was out on the open sea. And on this yacht was no one else than Fluttershy. Other people were there too, but none of her friends, since they were busy with... stuff. Even Rushing Wind had things to do, so Fluttershy decided to go on her own. Right now, she was laying on a floaty lounger in the pool, in her cruise wear, without her shoes on. She looked up into the clear, sunny sky, and her thoughts went to her friends. "Too bad my friends didn't come along... They'd love a nice ride on a yacht like this...", she said to herself. She remembered the time when they were on another yacht for Spring Break, but Rainbow always kept saying that Equestrian Magic was in play. In the end, when everything was escalating and the ship was sinking, it turned out that Rainbow Dash was right all along, but nobody bothered listening to her. But this time, there was no storm in sight, and no magic in play, so Fluttershy took out her iPod, plugged earphones into her ears and turned on some music to relax. She could not imagine how her day would become any better... However, she didn't hear the warning call to abandon ship... Blackout. In a distance, several helicopters closed in to a big island, among them three transport helicopters with 33 soldiers each in there. One of them was a female hacker with the callsign "Zero". She was one of the soldiers to take part in the all-new Project Blackout, in which fallen soldiers would be revived in the base if they fell in battle. 100 soldiers, each with the intention to stay alive until only one remained... And Zero intended to be the last one. Consider all contacts hostile. The bay doors of the helicopters opened, and everyone got ready to jump out. Zero jumped out, along with a whole bunch of other soldiers and glided her way down with her wingsuit. On her way down, she spotted a yacht. Knowing that such hotspots might have a huge chance to find something, Zero locked onto the yacht and made her way over there. Unfortunately, four other soldiers had the same idea. Zero deployed her parachute and got ready to land. From knowing this hotspot in and out, she knew that she had good chances of survival. She landed on the upper level of the front end, on the bridge. Going inside, she already found a weapon - a trusty SWAT RFT Assault Rifle. And using the high ground of the balcony, she was able to spot two soldiers and finish them off. Zero perforated Smith with a rifle. Zero perforated Bhura with a rifle. Fluttershy woke up from the ruckus and plugged out her earphones. Then, she heard the gunfire very clearly and was very scared. "Oh no! What's going on here? I didn't pay for a ride like this!", she thought and jumped out of the pool. When she was about to slip her shoes back on, she heard someone behind her. "Don't move!", yelled a female voice. Fluttershy startled, turned around, and faced a soldier dressed in dark mint green, a rifle in her hand. Fluttershy tried to beg for forgiveness: "Oh, go ahead, just take my clothes, I don't wanna die yet..." "What?", responded the female soldier, "I do not want your clothes! I want to win!" "Win what? What is going on here?" With every second, Fluttershy became more and more anxious and terrified. Zero looked at Fluttershy. This girl really had no idea what was going on. "You really don't know what's going on hier? And you're still on this yacht anyway?", Zero said in her German accent. "Y-yes...", Fluttershy said, almost crying, "Please, d-don't hurt me... I just wanna go home..." "There is no way out unless you survive." "Survive what?" Fluttershy almost panicked out of pure fear. Zero had no choice but to explain it to her: "You know, little one, what you see here is a huge battleground where 100 soldiers are pitted against each other. And everyone has the one in the know..." Zero interrupted her explanation when she heard footsteps to her left. She turned to the noise and saw a soldier come out of the washing room. In just mere seconds, she gunned him down. Zero perforated Rosas with a rifle. Zero turned back to Fluttershy. "And the one in the know is to be the last one standing, by any means necessary. If you want to return home, the only way out is to be the last one standing." Fluttershy was very scared. "But what if I die? My friends would never see me again!" "You won't. I'll protect you with the best I can.", Zero said, "Now, let's see what items our attacker had." The two walked to the dead soldier. A sad frown formed on Fluttershy's face. Zero tried to comfort her: "Don't worry. They're not gone for good. Once the battle is over, they're being revived in the base. Most important is this Death Stash. Ooh, lookie here." She pulled out a handgun with a silencer, a laser sight, and an extended magazine. "This is the Strife, the perfect weapon for beginners. And look, it has 24 rounds in the mag, and the shots are silenced." Zero handed the handgun to Fluttershy, who shyed back from it. "Oh, um, I don't know..., um..." "Call me Zero. What's your name?" "I'm Fluttershy." "Don't worry about the weapon. Just make sure the barrel is pointing at the enemies. And if you need ammo, you can have mine. The Strife uses .45 Cal ammo." Fluttershy hesitated, but took the handgun anyway. "Are you sure I can do this? I'm a kind person, and this does not... feel right...", she said in doubts. "Trust me, if you want to survive, you'll need it more than ever.", Zero said. SITREP - Potential collapse detected. Relocation to indicated safe zone is advised. "Look, Fluttershy. We shouldn't stay here. Let's get going.", Zero said. "Would be better... I don't wanna know what would be if someone else was here...", Fluttershy said, a bit scared still. But despite her doubts, she slipped on her shoes and followed Zero. The two ran to the front end of the yacht and jumped into the water. After a bit of swimming, they ended up on the beach near the Construction Site. "Ooh, look at that! The perfect spot to relax if we survive this.", Fluttershy noticed. The beach looked beautiful in this light, almost as beautiful as back home in Canterlot City. "Maybe. But let's get moving first.", Zero said and signalled Fluttershy to follow her. They ran into the southwest direction, up the grassy hills. At the gas station to their right, they tried to loot anything possible. Zero found a Mozu revolver, and there was also a backpack for Fluttershy, since Zero already found one on the yacht. Then, they decided to leave the truck behind, since Zero said that would raise too much racket, and moved over the road, up more grassy hills, and got to green meadows with trees around them. Fluttershy really enjoyed the green environment, since she loves nature so much, more than anything else in the world. Back at home, she would take a stride through the forests near Canterlot City every now and then, and this environment looked beautiful as well, but this was something different. She slowed her pace and looked around. These meadows really had their big share of nature, that's for sure. But even though she wanted to stay and enjoy the beauty of the environment, she still had to keep up with Zero, seeing as this lady is probably the only one who can get her out of here. SITREP - Further collapse detected. Relocate to safe zone. Fluttershy kept running after Zero, scaling a grassy hill, when the latter suddenly stopped in front of her. "Warte...", she said, "There's something here..." Slowly closing in, Fluttershy knew what made her say that. There was a dead body, and judging by the Death Stash, someone already looted it. "Keep your eyes peeled. I don't think we're alone...", Zero said in a serious tone. Fear was building up in Fluttershy's mind. If she would get into the sight of just one skilled marksman, it was all over and she would never see her friends again... She would never be able to talk to her animal friends anymore... Or take a stride through the forests back at home...! Her thoughts were cut off when Zero screamed as she was hit by a shot. "Mist!", she yelled. Zero ran forward, into cover. Near Array, there was a block with two houses, and there was one soldier aiming from a window of one of the houses with such precision. Judging from the sounds, Zero knew, that was an SDM Sniper Rifle. Zero looked back to her right and saw Fluttershy, curling up behind a rock, almost in clear firing line. "Fluttershy!" Zero ran over to her, avoiding the shots as good as she could. "What the heck are you doing? You have to move!" "I'm not supposed to be here!", she cried in fear. "You have to! This guy won't let up until we're dead!" When a shot flew over the two and barely missed them, she said: "Come on, los!" Zero got up and sprinted back to the tree while Fluttershy used the tree on her right for cover. The nifty sniper wouldn't let up, that's what Zero knew. She peeked from the tree and saw the sniper. She fired at them, but they had armor. After they peeked out again and took another burst of bullets, they suddenly dropped dead. Fluttershy shot Ryan with a handgun. Zero looked to Fluttershy. She was outside of cover, aiming with her handgun, with shaking hands. "Whoa, Fluttershy! Was that you?", Zero asked, seemingly impressed. Fluttershy had tears in her eyes, but she brought out a quiet, quivering "Y-yes... That guy just wouldn't stop..." She then broke down and started to cry. Zero quickly ran to her. "Fluttershy... What's wrong?", she asked in worries. "W-well...", Fluttershy said while crying, "I... I never killed someone before... And it's just so wrong doing that... How do you even manage to stay so calm when this is your everyday agenda?" The look in Fluttershy's eyes made Zero unsure. "You know, little one, it's all years of experience. Trained as a hacker, deployed on the battlefield, fighting for payment... It's hard to understand, but that's a soldier's life, and you either survive or die trying. It's a risk that every soldier faces." Fluttershy was hardly calmed down, so Zero tried again: "And remember what I said - all downed soldiers are sent back to base and being revived, so even if you kill someone, they're not gone for good." "Are you sure about this?", Fluttershy asked. "Yes. And like I said, the only way out is to survive. So, come on. Let's check that house over there and see what the nifty sniper had.", Zero said. Filled with new courage, Fluttershy followed Zero to the house of the attacker. Zero found an extended barrel for her assault rifle as well as a Level 2 Armor suit. The Death Stash of the attacker held their SDM as well as ammo and Level 1 Armor, which Fluttershy put on. Zero told her that armor reduces the amount of damage that she takes to the chest, and gave her some Armor Plates to repair it. Then, they continued on over to Array. Circle collapse imminent. Get to safety. Zero could hear gunfire from Array, so she and Fluttershy moved on with care. Searching all possible buildings, they found ammo and lots and lots of equipment, with Fluttershy asking what it was for. In the satellite building, which was well-known to Zero, she found a foregrip for her assault rifle. Moving up, she ran into a hassle with another pair of soldiers, fighting each other. Zero took care of the first, then peeked out the door, looking for the second one, who she gunned down too. Zero perforated Cromwell with a rifle. Zero perforated Paskar with a rifle. The two Death Stashes held ammo, healing and equipment, which Zero and Fluttershy split up between the two. One of them had Level 2 Armor, which Fluttershy took. Moving outside through the broken window, they moved on, but Zero was worried. "This doesn't make sense... I heard three types of guns, so there's one more close by for sure..." Fluttershy was scared. Those things Zero said didn't help the fact that she was still in danger. She did have an experienced soldier on her side, so her chances of survival were bigger, and she was thankful that she had someone to watch her... But suddenly, Zero was unarmed and struck down by a melee attack. "Zero!" Fluttershy was worried about her teammate, but the enemy struck her down as well. "Haha! I got you now!", the soldier said. He was male. "Verdammt! When Ruin fights, he always goes up with brute force.", Zero said, knowing who it is. "You got that right, lady! Haha!", Ruin laughed. Fluttershy was very scared. She knew what was going to happen next - Ruin would end their lives for good. The brute male soldier took out a shotgun and pumped it. "Ha, whatcha gonna do now, huh!?" Just when Ruin said that, a forcefield vaporized him into nothing. Ruin was lost in the collapse. Fluttershy's mouth stood open in shock, seeing what this forcefield was capable of. But Zero was worried. "Oh no...! The collapse! We'd better move, Fluttershy!", Zero said in a serious tone. Then, she ran away from the collapse, Fluttershy right behind her. As the two ran, they passed several conflicts that were going on in the background. Two soldiers only noticed way too late that the collapse was coming their way fast and were lost inside it. The next soldier was down on the ground. Fluttershy went over to him, and helped them on their legs. It was a blonde man who looked dressed like a medic. "Whew, thanks. Didn't think tha-" Fluttershy instantly interrupted him: "Sorry, but I gotta move." She gave the medic a shot in the stomach with her handgun and he dropped dead. Fluttershy shot Crash with a handgun. From his Death Stash, Fluttershy snatched a customized SMG, some ammo and a Trauma Kit before she continued to run after Zero. When Fluttershy caught up with Zero, the collapse stopped moving. Further collapse expected. Travel to indicated safe zone. Zero was hiding behind a rock. Thanks to Ruin, she had to leave her assault rifle behind, leaving her with only her Mozu. She didn't know what to do next as she looked to the farm. Suddenly, Fluttershy came in from behind. "There you are, Fluttershy! Jeez, I was worried about you. What kept you for so long back there?", Zero asked. "I've run into a snag with another soldier. He didn't resist, but look what I snatched from him!", Fluttershy said and showed Zero the SMG she got. "Ooh, that's something nice. It's the GKS. And it's even the Mastercraft variant. Just look at it.", Zero said. Fluttershy flourished the weapon. It looked like a unicorn with a rainbow mane. The barrel was like a looping and the white mag with stickers on it was curved and a bit longer. "It looks like a unicorn...", Fluttershy said to Zero. "The Tactical Unicorn Mastercraft. And this one has an extended magazine with 52 rounds, as well as a longer barrel for higher bullet velocity and a pulled out stock for lower recoil. Truly a rare sight on the field.", Zero explained. Fluttershy observed the weapon a bit longer before Zero finally said, "Alright, let's get going." The two heroes reached a big farm, with a lot of tactical possibilities thanks to the houses and wide open area. As the two walked further, Fluttershy also remembered: "Um, by the way, I also found a Trauma kit on the guy that I just killed. What does it do?" "If you get heavily hurt, you can use this to give you full health plus a health boost of 50, for a whopping 200 HP.", Zero explained. And just as she said that, the two were pre-fired from the right. Fluttershy startled and ran for a house in front of her. "Cover!", she yelled. Zero followed, and they both got to cover. But from the other side of the house, shots also came. "Waah!", Fluttershy cried out. The two enemies had the heroes pinned with no way out. "You take the left, I take the right, okay?", Zero said and peeked from the right side of the house. Fluttershy peeked to the left side and saw the guy firing at her. She readied her GKS and muttered to it: "Go on, make my day..." Then, she took aim and fired at the soldier firing at her, giving them several hits, but they had strong armor and probably a lot of health. When they peeked out again, Fluttershy went for the head this time, and she actually got the headshot down. Fluttershy sifted DiCenzo with an SMG. Fluttershy went to cover again, reloading the weapon. Suddenly, she heard Zero scream: "Scheisse! I can't get a shot on him!" "I'll take care of it!", Fluttershy offered, ran to the other side of the house, jumped out of cover and fired full-auto on the soldier, killing them while taking damage herself in the process. Fluttershy sifted Christian with an SMG. Fluttershy went back to cover. Her armor was damaged, and she took several hits. "Hey, you doing alright?", Zero asked in worries. "Yeah... I just feel a bit bruised...", Fluttershy said, holding one hand to her chest. "You said that you found a Trauma Kit, right? Use it now." Fluttershy took out the Trauma Kit and used the contents inside to get herself up and going again. After injecting herself with the Stim from the injection device, she felt like she could root out an entire tree. "Whooo... What's in this stuff?", she wondered. "Nothing less than the world's most advanced military vitamins to get you back in the fight as soon as possible.", Zero explained. Fluttershy gave Zero a smile. She was thankful that Zero knew a lot about the things that were going on in a fight for the last one alive. As Zero got up and checked her revolver, Fluttershy felt that she had nothing on her feet. When she jumped out of cover, she also jumped out of her shoes. Zero noticed it, and said: "Nice jump, by the way. Not only did you jump out of cover, but also out of your shoes, it seems." Fluttershy blushed. She knew all too well that her cruise outfit was no standard military issue. She got up and wanted to put her shoes back on, but something inside stopped her. It was such nice weather, so a little walk with bare feet wouldn't hurt, she thought. She sheathed her GKS and picked up her shoes, holding them in her left hand hand while wielding the Strife with her right hand. Zero signalled Fluttershy to follow her. The two scavenged the house next to them, with Zero finding Level 3 Armor as well as a Speed Loader for her Mozu, as well as more ammo for each of them. Circle collapse imminent. Get to safety. They then continued on along the dirt path. Their next target was Rivertown. As they walked, Fluttershy just couldn't emphasize enough how much she loves walking around barefoot. At home, in the forest, or on a nice alone stride through the city, Fluttershy always enjoyed taking her shoes off and walk where the path takes her... When they reached the road, though, Fluttershy put her shoes back on. As nice as this was, she didn't want to risk to get burns on her feet from the hot asphalt. Then, she took out her GKS and ran after Zero. Together, they then ran towards the bridge leading to Rivertown. Further collapse expected. Travel to indicated safe zone. Zero ran into Rivertown, always ready for a fight. But when she looked back to check on Fluttershy, she suddenly took several hits from what felt like a 9mm weapon. "Verdammt!", Zero said loud and ran to cover. She peeked left and right, even looked from the other side of the light grey house she used as cover, but Fluttershy wasn't coming. Zero tried to fight the soldier again, but she had no luck, so she went back to cover. Suddenly, she heard footsteps, indicating that the enemy is pushing her. "Fluttershy! I need your help! Where are you?", Zero called out, but Fluttershy was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, an Ashai Achen 4x4 came racing over the road, rolling the soldier over. Fluttershy ran Lira over with a vehicle. Fluttershy quickly turned around and raced back to Zero. Then, she got out of the car and walked over to Zero. "I heard you need help?", she said. "Whoo, danke. That could've ended way worse for the both of us.", Zero said in relief. Then, they scavenged the nearby buildings and found more ammo and healing. When they passed by the church, they heard another car approach. Judging from the engine, Zero knew what it was. "ARAV! Run!", Zero yelled, and she and Fluttershy ran to the house in front of them. The driver sat up on the turret and fired at the house, bullets piercing through the walls, hitting Fluttershy in the chest so that she dropped down. She was hurt, but not dead yet. She laid down on her stomach and crawled through the house. Knowing that she stayed low, the ARAV gunner couldn't hit her like this. Meanwhile, up in the house, Zero also tried to dodge the shots and also laid down. Then, she saw something on the floor. It's a SWAT RFT. And save for the scope, it's almost the same one that she lost while fighting Ruin. Zero tried to peek out, but took hits from the ARAV almost instantly. Fluttershy heard Zero's shriek scream. She had to do something, but what could she do? Her only choice would be to loot the area and look for explosives. The only thing she had was a Concussion grenade, which was nothing to blow up the ARAV. She silently opened the door leading outside and tried to learn the behavior of the gunner before she took the risk and ran for the house on the other side of the road. The gunner spotted Fluttershy and fired at her, but missed. Fluttershy made it to the house and looked through it when the ARAV gunner was busy with Zero again. Fluttershy looked through the house, found ammo, but no explosives. The next few houses, she found more ammo, equipment, even Armor Plates, but no explosive. Still hearing the ARAV's gunfire, Fluttershy knew that she needed to hurry, or Zero would be history soon. And finally, in the house on the left of the parked car, she found just what she was looking for - a Frag grenade. Fluttershy figured that the one grenade might be enough to disable the ARAV. Fluttershy ran back, always making sure to avoid the ARAV's gunfire. She then got back to the house where Zero was pinned and snuck alongside the wall. The gunfire could be heard very clearly. Then, she ran to the other side of the road before the gunner could get a shot on her. Then, Fluttershy took off her shoes and felt the warm asphalt on her feet. She didn't want to let the gunner know that she came closer, because if they heard her footsteps, it was game over. She crouched, walking slowly along the workshop, through the small water puddle to cool her feet down a bit, and along the wall of the workshop. Now, she had the ARAV in sight and the gunner didn't hear her. Fluttershy took out the Frag grenade, pulled the pin, and threw it to the ARAV. The ARAV frantically shook from the explosion, and black smoke came from it, indicating that it was disabled. The gunner got off the turret and wanted to check his surroundings, but Fluttershy jumped out of cover, catching them off-guard, and shooting them down. Fluttershy sifted Ajax with an SMG. Thankful that the gunner was finally down, Fluttershy let out a sigh of relief. This soldier really was a pain in the neck, so the kill seemed necessary for her. She then took out her shoes from her backback and slipped them back on. Then, she ran back to Zero, who was still hoping for a miracle. When she came running up, Zero startled and almost shot her, but still held back. "Whoa, it's you...", Zero said in relief, "I thought for a sec that gunner got you..." "No, he didn't. I had to disable his vehicle to lure him out and snatch him off-guard. Thank God that's over with...", Fluttershy said. "Wait... You were the one who killed that gunner?", Zero asked in big awe. "Yes... Why are you asking?", Fluttershy asked back. "All I can say is, danke, you really saved me there. I'm so glad that I met someone like you." Fluttershy didn't know what 'danke' meant, but she took it for a thank you, and said: "Hehe, you're welcome, Zero. Come on, let's get going." Fluttershy and Zero exited the building and wanted to explore Rivertown more to look for loot. But suddenly, they noticed the collapse quickly closing in on them. "No! How did the collapse catch up with us this fast?", Fluttershy said, panicking a bit. "I dunno, but RUN!", Zero said, and the two ran from the collapse. As they approached the Pizzeria shortly off Rivertown, Zero spotted someone and shot them out with her rifle. Zero perforated McGee with a rifle. "Move! Now!", Zero called out and Fluttershy did what she told her. Inside the Pizzeria, Zero spotted some enemies fighting each other, but she was low on ammo, and so was Fluttershy. But, the hacker took aim and finished off one of the enemies. Fluttershy also spotted an enemy, and Zero ran to the other window and took out the enemy. Zero perforated Jakatdar with a rifle. Zero perforated Recon with a rifle. However, Zero was out of 5.56 ammo and only had a few bullets in her Mozu. But, there were just five combatants remaining. The two were close to being the final ones standing. Zero spotted a soldier running away, but missed her shots. "I got this!", Fluttershy said bravely and jumped out of the window to chase the soldier down. She found them and saw that the soldier finished off another soldier who finished off another combatant. Fluttershy caught the soldier off-guard and gunned them down with the remaining bullets in her magazine. Fluttershy sifted Silcox with an SMG. Just to be safe, Fluttershy shot the soldier a few more times with her handgun, confirming that they're really dead. Zero followed close behind her. They were the last two remaining, and the collapse came closer. Now, they were east off Rivertown, on a grassy and arid field... Major instability detected. Evac to safe zone. The collapse had the two cornered with no way out. That's when they realized - no one but them was left, and the fight would end if any of them fell. "We're the only ones left... One of us has to fall.", Zero said. Fear built up in Fluttershy's mind, knowing what would happen. She eeped loudly, closed her eyes and pulled out her Strife. Zero drew her Mozu, and both of them pulled the trigger, trying to shoot the other. However, all they heard was several clicks. No doubt - they were both out of ammo. Fluttershy opened her eyes, surprised that she wasn't dead yet. Then, she realized that both of them were dry. She and Zero threw their handguns away. "Well, looks like it's gonna come down to this...", Zero said to Fluttershy. "Seems so... Let's get this over with.", Fluttershy responded. Zero took off the helmet and her Level 3 Armor. Fluttershy put down her backpack, took off her armor as well and kicked off her shoes. She now stood barefoot in front of Zero, who also put down her backpack. "Halt..." Zero threw an injection device to Fluttershy. "I wouldn't want to have an unfair HP advantage." Both of them injected themself with Stim. Their health refreshed back to 150. And then, the moment of truth arrived. "Alright... Let's clear it up with our fists!", Fluttershy said bravely. And then, the two charged each other. Using swift moves as well as her feet not being restricted by her shoes, Fluttershy was able to dodge Zero's fist swings and got some damage in with two or three hits. At some unlucky moments, Fluttershy also took a hit or two from Zero, but nothing too drastical still. However, time was running out... SITREP - Circle collapse imminent. Get to safety. The collapse started to shrink one last time, but this time, it would engulf all remaining fighters until one remained. Fluttershy had to make sure to stay away from the collapse, or else she was done for. Zero was also moving swift, but Fluttershy always made sure to keep a distance. Thanks to her bare feet, she was actually able to move a bit faster, therefore allowing her to avoid Zero more easily this way. And in the decisive moment, with a wailing scream, Fluttershy gave Zero a powerful slam into her stomach, so powerful that it sent her flying back slightly - but it was enough to have her fall into the collapse so that she vaporized into nothing. Fluttershy eliminated Zero in the collapse. Now alone, Fluttershy closed her eyes, expecting the collapse to engulf her as well. However, nothing happened. She opened her eyes and saw the collapse disappear. Then, a Mercs transport helicopter came into the area. Operation complete, nice work. The helicopter landed. Aboard it was the Mercs leader, waving Fluttershy over to him. She walked to the helicopter and boarded it, which then took off with the two. "Wow. I have to admit, we had several winners of Project Blackout, but seeing that this was your first, and you got seven eliminations, I must say I'm impressed.", he said. "Haha, thank you. That just goes to show how much life is filled with surprises. A relaxing day on a yacht turning into a fight for the last one standing which I win in the least likely scenario... I'm surely happy that I survived it...", Fluttershy said. "Ha, I know. You sure did well, Fluttershy.", said the Mercs leader, "Now do me a favor and wake up." Fluttershy slightly winced back. "What?", she asked. She was clearly awake. "Wake up. Wake up..." "Hey, wake up, Fluttershy!", Rainbow Dash said, who was shaking Fluttershy a bit. Fluttershy opened her eyes. She was on her bed in her usual attire, except her boots. A bit dizzy, she looked at Rainbow Dash. "R... Rainbow? What... happened?", she asked. Rainbow Dash looked awfully excited. "Rushing Wind just started playing that new game that recently released, named 'Blackout'. And he just scored his first win!", Rainbow Dash said and showed Fluttershy the clip on her phone. Rushing Wind made his character use a grapple gun, the character almost flew over a rock and landed right behind the last remaining player, allowing him to gun them down with the Rampart 17. "Wow, that was pretty impressive.", Fluttershy said. Rainbow Dash knew that something was up with her friend, judging by the look on her face. "Something on your mind, Fluttershy?", she asked. "Yeah...", Fluttershy said, "I dreamed of a yacht and an island... And I had to team up with someone in order to survive... In the end, I was the last one on the field..." "Huh, looks like you were so excited for the release that you had a heroic dream.", Rainbow Dash said. She knew that Fluttershy was sometimes much braver than normally. Fluttershy couldn't help but giggle at Rainbow's statement. She knew that she could be a brave girl sometimes, but in most times, she liked to be the shy person she always was. "How about we pay Rushing Wind a visit? He said that you might enjoy the game too even though you said you wouldn't enjoy it. Wanna try anyway?", Rainbow Dash asked. "Sounds good. Let's go.", Fluttershy said, got off her bed and followed Rainbow Dash. Together, they went for Rushing Wind's house, to play a nice round of Blackout with him... THE END Author's Note Thank you for staying to the end. One question: Wouldn't it be nice if Fluttershy actually was a playable Blackout character? I'd say yes, since I love EG Fluttershy, and it would've fit for a contraband like "Operation Canterlot City", suitable for Blackout Chapter 2, after the appearance of a huge dimensional rift having the two worlds collide. Maybe one of you can even take a shot at making a Blender model of EG Fluttershy in her cruise outfit (both with and without shoes). I would love to see it! If you enjoyed the story, why don't you turn on your console and play some Blackout? :pinkiehappy: https://static.fimfiction.net/images/emoticons/pinkiehappy.png //-------------------------------------------------------// Extra Chapter: Prelude //-------------------------------------------------------// Extra Chapter: Prelude One day earlier... Rushing Wind, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were in the Canterlot Mall, in line for the release of a new game coming out at midnight. The game was called 'Blackout', and it was a Battle Royale shooter. The three friends were the first ones in line, with Rushing Wind, a fan of both racing and shooter games, being the most excited. "Oh boy, oh boy, I'm so excited! I heard that this game is supposed to be far better than so many other shooters! And I just can't wait to play it.", he said excited. "Ha, I can only figure. You've seen so many trailers of it, and you've been so excited for the last months. And now, you're gonna be one of the lucky ones who play it first. I can't wait to see your clips once you send them to me.", Rainbow Dash said. She loved to see Rushing Wind play, especially shooter games, which were also her bet, but she wasn't as good as Rushing Wind or Applejack. "When I bought the game, we're gonna go to my place so you can watch me play. How does that sound, Rainbow?", Rushing Wind asked. "Ah, no. You know athletes like me. They need their sleep. I only came along because Fluttershy came along too. I'm going home once you bought the game.", Rainbow said. "Okay.", Rushing Wind said and turned to Fluttershy, "What about you, Fluttershy? I'm sure you'd enjoy watching me play. Heck, maybe you want to play a few rounds too, don't you?" Fluttershy was no fan of shooters, so she said: "Oh no, Rush. I can't do it. Just the thought about killing people, even virtually, it makes me... eep!" "It's okay. I understand if you're not comfortable with that. I just heard from your friends that you were an amazing shot at the carnival's shooting range, but that's different.", Rushing Wind said. After Rushing Wind bought the game, the ways of the three separated. When Fluttershy got home, she walked up to her room, took off her boots and socks before she laid down in her bed. When she turned off the light, she thought about the game Rushing Wind bought. "Hmm, looking at those pictures, it looks pretty beautiful. Who knows what would happen if I was in the game as well? I doubt I would survive that long...", Fluttershy said to herself before she closed her eyes and drifted off into sleep. And then, the wild dream about the fight for the last one standing built up in her mind... Author's Note And now you know how everything began. IMPORTANT NOTE: If you read this chapter before the main chapter, make sure to read that chapter too, or else you'd miss the sense of this extra chapter.