Team Fortress 2: Operation Friendship

Chapter 4

RED team walked into the dining hall. All around were various statues, and the table was adorned with a white tablecloth and several bouquets with all varieties of flower. Around the table were 19 ornately carved chairs. Twilight and her friends were already seated, as well as a dark purple pony seated at one end of the table. Celestia gestured towards her. “RED team, I would like you to meet my sister and co-ruler of Equestria, Princess Luna.” The RED team all gave Luna short nods, then took their seats at the table. “Alright everyone, dinner is served!” decreed Celestia. Upon saying this, several waiters came out and placed bowls of salad at every one's places. The salads were made up of various flower petals. The ponies dug into their salads hungrily, but RED team didn’t quite know what to make of it. The Scout pushed the petals around with his fork, while the Medic took an experimental bite and spit it out immediately.  The Heavy just scowled at the plate.

“This is not food.......” muttered the Heavy.

“Excuse me? Is something wrong?” Celestia asked politely.

“With all due respect, Madame, we cannot eat this.” said the Spy.

“Humans don’t eat flowers?” asked Twilight curiously.

“Um, no.” said the Scout. “You got any meat?”

“Yeah, a steak sounds real good” said the Sniper.

“Um, whats meat?” asked Fluttershy quietly.

“Meat is....” began the Engineer, but he was stopped short by a glare from the Princess. “Nevermind.......”

“We do not have meat here, but perhaps there is another way we can accommodate you?”

“D’yall eat apples?” asked Applejack

“Jawohl.” responded the Medic. The princess called over a servant, and whispered something in his ear. He bowed and returned to the kitchen. A few minutes later, he returned carrying platters of apple pies. He set them down before RED team.  They all began to eat voraciously. Rarity watched the mercenaries eat. They were all complete pigs, getting food everywhere and forsaking any form of manners whatsoever. Except for the Spy. He was the only one trying to be civilized. He caught her eye, and gave her a small nod.

“So, Mr.Spy, what is it you do?” asked Rarity. The Spy opened his mouth to speak, but was cut short by the Heavy.

“That was DELICIOUS!” he exclaimed.

“A mighty fine piece of work.” agreed the Engineer.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it. My, it is getting late. How about we call it a day?” said the Princess. Everyone agreed and began to go back to their respective sleeping areas. The Engineer looked back at the table and saw the mess he made.

“I feel kinda bad about makin’ such a mess. Lemmie clean it up.” he said.

“Oh, you don’t have to do that. I can just have my servants clean it up.” she replied.

“Naw, I insist. I made the mess, and its only fair that I clean it up.” he said.

“Well in that case, thank you!” she said. As the Engineer began to clean the mess up, everybody resumed walking back to their rooms. Applejack looked back. The Engineer seemed like an honest, hardworking individual. She decided to help him out and see if she could learn more about him.

“Mind if I help?” she asked.

“Alright, thats mighty kind of you.” he replied, happy to have somebody to talk to.

“So, uh, what exactly is meat?” she asked.

“Damn, the princess is gonna kill me for this, but alright. To be blunt, meat is the flesh of an animal.” he said. Applejack recoiled in shock.

“WHAT?! Y’all eat other animals” she cried in shock.

“Yep”

“Why?”

“I dunno, why do you eat flowers? We humans were just made that way.”

“But its wrong!”

“Well that there falls within the purview of your conundrums of morality. I ain’t here to discuss whether eatin’ meat is right or not.”

Eager to change the subject, Applejack asked “So, what’s yer job round here?”

“I build things.”

“Uh, like what?”

The Engineer went on to discuss the various machines he made, from the powerful Sentry gun, to the versatile Dispenser. Although she couldn't quite understand all of what he was saying, she found the conversation oddly intriguing.

“So what about you, Applejack, what do you do?” Applejack went on to discuss her life at Sweet Apple Acres, about her sister Applebloom and her Cutie Mark Crusaders, about her old Granny Smith, and about her older brother Big Macintosh.

“I grew up on a ranch. That was a long time ago, but I still miss the peace and quiet.” said the Engineer nostalgically.

“Then what happened?”

“Well, I worked in the oil fields for a while, there I earned enough money to go to college, where I got several degrees in science and engineering. Redmond came along, saying he needed someone with my skill and offered huge amounts of money. Before I knew it, I was on RED team.” he said. The Engineer yawned. “Damn, I was up much to late, I think its about time to turn in.”

“It was real nice meeting you Engineer.” said Applejack.

“Please, call me Dell.”