//------------------------------// // Common Everyday Violence ch. 2 // Story: friendship and violence // by trebthegamer //------------------------------// F and V chapter 2 Chapter 2: Common Everyday Violence In the Badlands, there were several deadly mercenaries fighting over a plot of land. Though it was as violent and bloody as any real war had been, this place was much more laidback. While everyone fired their guns, some were laughing, others taunting, and others singing or even dancing in the midst of all the violence. On the bridge of Teufort, (also called 2fort) a blue heavy was shooting his way towards the enemy, red's, base, proclaiming that he was bulletproof. A loud bang proved him wrong. As he crumpled to the ground, a loud Australian voice could be heard saying, "I just bagged the worlds fattest man!" On the balcony of the red base was the cool headed sniper who had just managed to execute a headshot on the blue team's heavy. He looked through the scope of his rifle and searched the field for a new target. Below him, a heavy from his side came out of the base followed closely by his Medic. The duo mowed down any blue team member standing in their way to their objective - the blue base. More red members came out of the base to follow this mighty pair into their destination. The Sniper relaxed a bit since the fight was now out of his hands. It was up to his teammates at this point. Still, his eyes scanned the battlefield for targets that managed to slip by the rest of his men when he suddenly felt a presence next to him. Pulling his kukri out, the Australian turned around sharply only to notice Scout, his Scout, relaxing near the metal plates. Sniper carefully drew his kukri back, relaxing his hands on the sniper rifle before taking his seat. "Aren't you going to cap the Intel?" he asked him in a calm, gruff manner. The Scout immediately jumped up. "Not yet, pal! I'm waiting for the right moment." Sniper gave the young Boston runner a quick glance before asking, "And when might that be?" The younger man brought a finger to his lips. The Sniper shot him a confused expression. "Shh…listen," the Scout whispered out to him, smiling suspiciously. Soon, the sound of exploding machinery filled the eerie silence. "Sentry's down!" The Scout now flashed the older a smug smile, twirling his weapon, a baseball bat, around before gripping it firmly. "Now my way is free!" He double jumped onto the roof of the bridge, beaming with pride. "Man! I am just that good!" "That's no skill," the Sniper scoffed, going back to his sniper rifle, "ya little gremlin." Near the blue team's spawn room, the red soldier had just blown a blue engineer to bits. Body parts and blood splattered everywhere only to land in a disgusting, mangled heap of limbs. "You just got dominated, toymaker!" The soldier bellowed with the sound of accomplishment thick in his voice. "Thanks for getting rid of him!" A voice called out suddenly. Soldier turned around to see that the voice came from the young Scout who had just passed him, running into the spiral staircase before a reply could be returned. He looked on quietly when Demoman clumsily stumbled in from the courtyard. Turning around with a sneer, the Soldier should have known that the Scottish man would waltz in as drunk as he's always been. Not a day went by that red team didn't see Demo in a haze of alcohol. "Drunk on the battle field again I see," said the Soldier with a disapproving tone. The Demoman had not quite understood what was said to him, brain barely putting any words together at this point. "Eh? Forget about that," the man said, waving the subject off to the side not with much protest from the Soldier. "Ya see, I got a great idea." A hiccup. "Look." Readying his gun, the Demo proceeded to place several stickybombs on the exit of the blue spawn. Soldier felt insulted. With pride rippling through his system, the code of honor thick in his soul, the gruff American spun to face his Scottish teammate. "This is not how you fight a man!" This only received a dazed and empty look from the Demo. "No! You lunge at 'em and scream loudly! You look them in the eyes before you blow him to bits! Now that is how you fight!" The Demo scoffed at the idea before giving in his two-cents worth. "You want me to look 'em in the eyes?" Walking up to the blue team's spawn exist, he took a gulp from his bottle and waited in an aura of confidence. A second later, a blue Heavy came out of the spawn prepared to fight. But, it wasn't the familiar walls of blue that he saw. No. In front of him, staring back, were the eyes that belonged to an enemy Demo with a drunk, delighted grin. Before Heavy could respond in a hail of bullets, the enemy went to detonate the stickybombs, the stickybombs that he failed to realize. A small spark was heard, followed by a loud, ear shattering explosion that launched giblets of the blue Heavy everywhere. Demoman smiled to himself, feeling rather accomplished. "See? I looked him in the eye." He placed a new bunch of stickies as he talked to the Soldier. "Now again for the eye I'm missing." The Soldier grunted, clearly annoyed. In the blue base hub, the red Scout had finally met up with his fellow Heavy and Medic, barely winded and still filled to the brim with unused energy. All three of them where continued onward, only to be stopped by another blue Engineer who had set up his sentry in the Intel room. The Scout stared, most clearly distraught. A feeling of uneasiness managed to crawl its way up his back. "You've gotta be kiddin' me! The uber is only 50% ready, ain't it?" The young boy turned to look at the medic, a look of anger already tinting his features. "It cannot go any faster," the medic replied in a lackluster tone. "Unless you want to donate your own blood." A hint of unnerving evil colored his words which, immediately, caused the Scout jumped back. "Uh, no way! I have a hard time keeping all my blood inside my body thanks to those sentries. I don't need you helping their effort." As the two exchanged words, the Heavy had been busy wrestling with the enemy Soldier. It didn't take long until the blue team member was caught in a headlock, yelling, swearing and scrambling to get out of the Heavy's tight grip. It was all in vain. "Maybe this baby can help," he said calmly, not showing any signs of struggle as the Soldier fought against him. "You do not frighten me!" The Soldier spat. "Pain does not hurt!" Seemingly interested, the Medic sawed his übersaw between his ribs. An unbelievable surge of fire engulfed the man's body, making every nerve to light up. "I stand corrected!" As the Heavy tossed the blue Soldier's body aside, Medic went to check on his uber. "That still only gets it to seventy-five percent." No sound of disappointment was evident, but a lack of a smile or even a glint of apprehension said it all. "We can build up the remaining twenty-five on the way back." The three of them nodded and turned around, switching plans and objective when they suddenly ran into the red Spy. He looked calm, clean and dangerous - the usual. On his back was a blue briefcase, packed with papers, precious papers, that the enemy team cherished and protected viciously. It was their intel. Spotting the three in front, the Spy went to grab the briefcase, throwing it over to the young Scout swiftly. "Take this back to base. The others and I will stall the blues." He flicked his cigarette away and immediately lit a new one. "Medic's uber will prove to be quite useful." Smiling as he swept the enemy intel on his back, small words of disbelief and happiness managed to sneak out of the Scout's lips. "Gotcha!" And, in a flash, he ran out of the room, his three teammates following to provide cover. Meanwhile, in the red Intel room, the red Engineer was upgrading his dispenser. Running out of the main room to grab some extra metal after having wasted the last, an ominous beeping started to fill his ears. "A spy," he murmured to himself after the first few beeps. "A Spy is sapping my sentry!" In a rush, the Engineer sprinted back to the Intel room only to see the wispy haze of an enemy Spy that had already picked up their briefcase. The two locked eyes and, for that moment, it was clear what was at stake here. Almost instantly, they both drew their guns out but, before a single shot was fired, a beeping noise sounded followed by a loud and violent explosion coming from the sentry. The force blew the Spy to bits. Near the sentry was a Pyro holding the homewrecker, turning his head side to side to survey the area. Seems like the intel was safe again. "Thanks Pyro. I dropped my guard for one second," Engineer said, smiling at his teammate as he felt a load of stress lift off his shoulders. The Pyro mumbled something under his mask, something that sounded like 'watch out next time'. It was always quite difficult to decipher what the firebug was saying, or, rather, was trying to say. Not a few seconds had passed when the sound of soft taps started sprinting down the tiled floors. Another blue team member? Was it a heavy and a medic combo? It would spell doom seeing as how their defense, the sentry, was nearly obliterated. Both the Engineer and the Pyro looked back with agitation. To their relief, it was only their Scout who had a grin plastered on his face. With the intel on his back, the young Boston whipped it off and threw it on over to the desk next to their own intel. As the suitcase slid across the wooden surface, a voice from the speakers announced their victory. The Scout shouted and jumped in jubilation, both Engineer and Pyro reveling in their victory in overjoyed silence. Soon, the entirety of the red team gathered in the courtyard. "Is good day to be giant man," announced the Heavy in satisfaction. The Soldier saluted. "Every one of you deserves a medal!" This was another common day for the team. "Ok mates, the usual. I bet them blue wankers won't be spawning for a few hours. Get something to eat and meet back in spawn when another attack is announced," the Sniper said. If he was nearly as happy as any other member of the team, his voice didn't show it. After all, he was much more reserved than most. Turning around, the Australian went off to go to his van which was parked nearby. Once inside, he made himself a cup of refreshing and well deserved coffee. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In the rocket, the ponies had kept their calm and were trying to come up with a way to get back home. Everyone except for Pinkie Pie who had started to play 'I Spy' with some binoculars she found earlier. "I spy with my little eye something…white!" She sounded rather amused, busying herself with her own little game as the other ponies were hard at work, trying to find a way to turn the rocket around. "It's a star," a voice called out. "That's been the answer for hours now!" It was the voice belonging to Rainbow Dash who, at this point, was well beyond annoyed. "Try asking us when it's not a star," Twilight suggested, siding with Rainbow Dash. Maybe with Pinkie Pie surveying out before them, she could tell them if she found something useful. "Okay, so messing with the controls only resulted in the engines stopping." A small pause. "I guess that counts for something." As Twilight continued talking, the footsteps coming from both Fluttershy and Applejack came up before them. They had just returned from a lower part of the rocket. "We checked for food and found a few apples," Applejack began, "and Fluttershy found some hay but it'll only last a day. Maybe two if we don't eat much." "Alright! Rarity and Rainbow Dash have been looking if there was something we can use to contact, um, well anyone!" Pinkie pie suddenly shouted. It was a brief moment of conversation however, for she soon sunk back to her little game. "Ooh, ohh! I spy with my little eye something red!" Twilight sighed. "Please don't let that be a comet coming our way." Pinkie only giggled at the comment. "Wrong. It was a barn." "A barn? Pinky there's no barns in space," said Applejack rather matter-o-factly. Pinkie giggled once more. "Of course not, but there's one now! I can even see it without my binoculars now." Before the other ponies had well realized what this meant, the rocket crashed into the barn outside of Teufort. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The crash had not gone unnoticed by the red team. After all, it would be rather hard to for the impact caused the ground beneath the men of red team to quake violently. Even the Demoman had sobered up a bit, looking around in confusion and interest. Looking outside almost immediately to investigate what had just happened, Sniper spotted a shadowy figure jutting out of what looked to be their barn. Whipping his sniper rifle out to get a closer look, the hazy image began to make itself clearer. It looked as if a large rocket was sitting in the middle of the barn. Well, half the barn for the crash caused half of it to crumble and break apart. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Back in the farm, the ponies managed to get out of the rocket, falling out to the inside part of the barn that they had managed not to destroy. All of them were still dizzy from the crash, but Twilight was the first to speak up. "Every pony ok?" Her voice was that of concern as she tried to get an understanding of her surroundings. "I'll survive, but my mane probably didn't," said Rarity, disappointed. Rainbow Dash flew above them, shaking the dust and debris off of her. "I got up from worse." Fluttershy came out of the rocket, telling them all that she was just fine. Following her was an overly excited Pinkie Pie, her eyes wide and body filled with adrenaline. "Can we do that again?" Applejack ignored her, much more concerned about what had just happened. "Did we land in the applefarm?" "I doubt it. It has a lot of things in common with it though," Twilight responded as she looked around the barn. "At least they have hay here so we won't starve." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On the battlements, red team had joined with Sniper to see what caused the ruckus. "Some spaceship crashed into the barn again," announced the Sniper. "Great! More resources from the spacemarines! I must go and collect my weapons." Soldier tried to head for the barn but sniper extended his arm out, stopping the man in his tracks. "Last time you got lucky it didn't explode. I doubt if you go you'll have the same luck you had last time." Heavy, still looking towards the barn, noticed strange and unfamiliar movement. "Something came out," he told the team, steering all their attention to the crash once more. The Medic then took the lead. "Well Heavy, Engineer, Pyro and myself will go investigate. If it's something against us, we'll destroy it. If we find weapons, we'll see who can use them. " Before anyone could complain, medic's team had already left to check out the rocket. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Back in the barn, the ponies had recovered from the crash and were now deciding what to do next. "Well, since there is a barn here, that means someone must have build it! They'll be here any second after hearing the crash and maybe they'll help us!" "I don't know," said Pinkie Pie with concern and doubt. "I took a look outside. The place is basically a desert. Not much buildings around." Applejack took a second to look around the barn. "She's right. This place doesn't look like it's been used much." Much disappointment. "I have a suggestion," Rainbow Dash called out, flapping her wings before ascending into the air. "I can go look for someone and bring them back here to help!" Twilight nodded, quite pleased with the idea. "That might help, but be careful! We don't know what's out there or if it's even friendly." Rainbow Dash nodded, smiling as she had done so. "Oh, I'll be fine," she reassured before soaring through the air and out of view from the pony's. Busy with her mission, the young pony failed to realize a little group traveling towards the barn. Sniper, however, had noticed Rainbow Dash as she headed their way. It was quite a confusing sight. None of the members of red team had ever seen a horse of that nature. Some never even had seen a horse - period."Bloody hell," Sniper muttered under his breath as the pony continued to fly high in the sky. "It's a flying blue horse with rainbows for manes." "Oh, non! The new weapons were made to work against Scout," sneered Spy, quite pleased with the joke he made. The Scout instantly shoved Spy, a red color blooming in his cheeks. Embarrassment was not part of the game right now. "I don't care who it's for," he shouted, gritting his teeth together, "I just want to take a closer look at it!" "Let's take cover until it gets closer. Then, when the time comes, we'll get it down somehow," suggested Sniper. As the team took cover in the red base, Rainbow Dash flew over in blissful unawareness. She circled around the base looking for anything and anyone to help her and her fellow ponies out of their little predicament. Suddenly, without warning, Soldier jumped out of his cover with a loud, booming voice. "Surrender now and you will not be harmed!" He ordered before firing a critical rocket at the pony's direction. A loud explosions sounded, sending dust and debris flying effortlessly through the air. The rest of the red team stared in disbelief before turning their emotions to that of clear and evident anger. "You imbecile!" "What is your problem?" "We tried to get it in one piece, you mongrel. Now it's all over the place!" Soldier looked confused. "You wanted it down, so it's down! Mission accomplished!" "You lassies are all so quick to judge," Demo scoffed, waving a hand at them as if to shush them all. "I'm missing an eye and even I can see the thing is still in one piece! I think it's even alive! See?" The Scottish man pointed at the battlements in front of the base as the dust and smoke started to fade away. The entirety of red team clammered over Demo's shoulder to see the true extent of damage that had been done on the unnatural, blue pony. Coughing, Dash was stunned that she was hit with such a force. "Anyone see the dragon that hit me?!" "It talks too?" Scout, who had ran closer, had heard her. He was wide-eyed with amazement and, soon, the others were following in his footsteps. "Maybe it can tell us what it's doing here," said the Spy. "These lands have been off limits ever since the fight began," Sniper mumbled, deep in thought. "It looks like a small horse, but it flies, it's blue and a crocket only stuns it. And now, apparently it can talk. What in the blazes have we found here?" Dash got back to her senses, shaking the dust from off of her. Standing up, she braced herself for what she feared was to come, glaring at all the men in front of her. "What did you guys throw at me? That hurt you know!" Anger was evident in her voice and she had no intentions of backing down. "Which one of you did it?" Deciding it was a great time to see just what they were dealing with, Demoman decided to grab the soldier, instantly pushing him forward. "This is the man that shot you." Soldier saw this as a request to test their new discovery and pulled out his shovel in blind, gallant bravery. "If you know what's good for you, you will run!" He approached Rainbow Dash, lifting his shovel as he made an attempt to strike down at her. But before Soldier even opened his mouth to talk, before he even whipped his shovel out, Dash knew he was bad news. Quickly, she turned around and gave him a sharp kick to the gut. The force knocked the soldier off balance and, clumsily, he fell straight in to the water. Demoman looked down over the bridge and, upon spotting his fallen teammate, started laughing loudly. It didn't help that Soldier started screaming for their medic - It was quite a pathetic scene. "Can't say he didn't deserve that," said the Sniper. Spy, unlike the other men, decided to try and clear a few things up for the lost and confused Dash. "Our apologies for what happened earlier. But are you by any chance from the rocket that hit the barn? And if I may be so bold as to ask what you are?" The pony gave him a questionable look. "What? You guys never seen a Pegasus pony before?" Scout inspected the wings on the creature, looking incredibly interested. "Ponies, yeah. But Pegasus ones? No. Ponies here aren't blue and they don't talk...wow these are actual real wings!" Rainbow Dash snapped her wings shut. "Of course they're real! And they're mine! You're looking at the fastest pony in all of Equestria." The sniper looked at Spy who merely shrugged. "Hate to break it to you, but we never heard of a quest… mia?" "It's Equestria and it's filled with ponies like me. There's different kinds like…" Sniper interrupted Dash before she had a chance to finish. "That's okay. We don't need a history of where you're from yet. What's more important is why are you here at the Badlands?" Dash looked at the men in front of her, and, after some time, realized that they had no intentions of actually hurting her. Not anymore anyway. "You're right," she admitted. "It's a bit of a long story." "Don't worry, lassie. As long as the angry lady doesn't announce another fight, we got time," reassured the Demoman. And, after he had said those words, Dash began to explain what happened to her and the rest of the ponies. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fluttershy had noticed the other red team members approaching the barn, running back and frantically warning the others. Twilight jumped to the exposed part of the barn, eyes searching the lands to see the group of men coming their way. "They don't look too friendly. Maybe we should hide?" Applejack looked skeptic. "Maybe, but I think they know we're here since Rainbow Dash flew outside." Twilight considered her words, but the hanging feeling of fear failed to dissipate. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Shouldn't we go back to base?" Heavy asked. Medic only rolled his eyes at the question. "No, my friend. The other guys can handle it. I think I heard them blowing it up anyway." "Guess we'll have to piece it back together to see what it was. You know, unless it's as strong as heavy," said the Engineer. Medic laughed at the response. "Knowing soldier's luck with crits, it is probably all over Teufort." After a long walk, the group had finally reached the half destroyed barn. Pyro bravely decided to go inside first, and the rest of the small group nodded and approved his request to volunteer. Carrying the sharpened volcano fragments, Pyro made quite a scary sight. The ponies ran to hide the moment Pyro stepped in, his mumbling shouts not helping. "What was it?" asked the medic who just entered the barn behind him. Pyro mumbled under his mask something inaudible and muffled. Heavy looked confused, looking at the medic and asking for a translation. Medic shrugged, trying hard himself to understand the unclear message. "I believe he talked of something about strange colored ponies," responded the medic. "A yellow or green team?" Asked engineer, laughing. The Pyro brought a hand to his masked face upon the abomination of a light joke, sighing in disbelief before walking to a bale of hay Fluttershy had jumped into. Pyro reached in and tried to grab her, but Applejack immediately jumped out and broke out in a sprint. "You leave her alone!" She yelled before kicking the Pyro into one of the stables, wood breaking and snapping underneath him. Applejack got ready to attack once more, but Heavy managed to get a hold of the pony, holding her up. "What is this? It is so tiny." Medic inspected Applejack closely, most intrigued. "It looks like a pony. But it's orange and it talks and those apples are most certainly not painted on." Engineer walked to the hay as the two talked about the scrambling Applejack. "Well, it's clear something's in the hay, something she's trying to protect." Engineer then tossed the hay aside, revealing a shaking Fluttershy who shrunk at the sight of the hardhat wearing man. Now it was Twilight and Rarity's turn to jump to the rescue. Using their magic, they lifted the three red team members off the ground. The three men spat in protest, screaming, yelling and clawing frustratingly at the air surrounding them. It was a loud and unsuspected "Huddah!" from the Pyro that stopped everyone in their tracks. Pyro had managed to crawl out of the wreckage, mumbling a lot under everyone's sudden shift of attention. "Twilight, did you understand what it said?" asked Rarity in confusion. "I think what he is trying to say is that they want an explanation," Pinkie Pie interjected before Twilight had a chance to speak. Suddenly, the Engineer dropped to the ground. "Rarity!" "I-I'm sorry, Twilight!" Rarity stammered out apoligetically, looking sheepishly at the other pony. "I'm not used to making something that heavy float!" Engineer managed to pick himself up, looking over the group of unusual ponies. "We'll talk if you talk. We all need explanations, so let's get right to it," he suggested, wiping his dirt covered hands off on his overalls. Applejack managed to kick her way out of Heavy's grasp and soon, the Heavy and Medic were back on their feet to start explaining everything. Twilight told them about their accidental launch up to Rainbow Dash's mission to fly, searching for help. The four team members of red looked at each other, each giving questionable and confused glances. It was Engineer who looked in the direction of the base. "So, that thing we saw flying to the base was…" "Yes, that was our friend. She went to get help, but it's strange she missed you guys," responded Twilight. Engineer took Medic closer and whispered in his ear. "You know how to tell them about, well, you know...the 'accidental' explosion?" "Yes, but it always ends in tears, anyway." "Maybe we should see how bad their friend's state is before we actually tell them, then." "She looked fine when she left," said Pinkie Pie who snuck into the conversation. Both Medic and Engineer stepped back, shocked at the presence of the eavesdropping pony. Twilight had heard Pinkie, worry now painting her features. "What are you two talking about?" She asked, her tone showing that of her emotions. "I think we should move to the base," the Engineer said quickly. "I'll go build a teleporter to make the trip faster for us all." Setting out to work, the Texan quickly set up and placed a teleporter entrance before going to leave quickly. Twilight's anxiety was only building up at this point. "What's wrong? Did you do something to Rainbow Dash?" Medic stopped briefly, eyes going over to the little pony. "I'm sure we didn't hurt her, but if what they happened is true then..., well, we might have a problem. Nothing I can't fix with the right tools though and at least a few bodyparts." The last bit was muddled in a low whisper. Rarity looked at Pyro, confusion about 'it' settling in. "Why does...this thing wear such a scary outfit?" "That's his safety gear. Besides a few hats, I have not seen Pyro in anything else." Rarity revolted at the idea that this was the only thing the Pyro wore. She wasn't shy to show her disgust. "I should tell you that we're not the only ones here and there might be people who look like us. But if they wear a blue outfit, you should stay away," Medic continued with a warning plea. The ponies looked confused before Fluttershy asked them why. "We'll explain back at the base." As the Engineer approached the base, he tried to make some sense of the situation. He saw Soldier crossing the bridge to red base, soaking wet and face red with anger. "Hey, things are too quiet for a match! What were you doing in blue base?" Soldier looked annoyed. "I went through the wrong sewers to get back up when that damn thing kicked me down!" Engineer was bit relieved but, nonetheless, was worried all the same. "You mean that thing was just wounded slightly with your rocket or did it recover like us?" "Negatory," Soldier began, "it didn't have a scratch on it. It was only a little stunned and it packs a mean punch...or, er, kick." Spy came out of the base to see the Engineer, quite pleased to see someone from the four man team come back. "Ah, Engineer, did you found the rest of them at the barn?" "That other flying pony tell you about the ones we found at the barn?" "Indeed, and she's worried about them after our rude meeting. Ah, that reminds me, Soldier you cannot shoot at them. We get paid to shoot at the other team not everything that drops out of the sky." Soldier grabbed the Spy by his suit, visibly red and seething. "I'll shoot at anything I damn well please!" Spy rolled his eyes, smacking the man's hand away. "You already shot it and it was practically unharmed." "If this is something we must fight, it'll end in another stalemate. These things are very friendly and are not quick to harm any of us," said the Engineer, jumping in between the two to avoid any further sings of hostility. "Has there been any announcements?" "Not really. There was a call from Miss Pauling. The Administrator has gotten sick and we have the rest of the day off. If the Administrator does not get better, Miss Pauling will do the announcing tomorrow and she has been asking what these things are." Engineer looked worried. "She will not like these ponies...what exactly did she say?" "After I told her what happened here, Miss Pauling said she likes the look of these things but she wants them gone before the administrator finds out about them." "Ain't that gal a sweetie? But, she's right. We don't know what the administrator will do to them or what she'll do to us when she finds out we can't harm it at all." The Spy lit a new cigarette. "Neither can we send them away. Their ship crashed here and if they bring civilians…well, either the pile of dead bystanders will keep rising or we'll be out of a job. The Administrator can bribe or threaten officials and inspectors, but even she will be helpless when the wrong people hear about this." "We can always try shooting again until it works," said the Soldier in a huff, arms folded across his chest. Spy merely shook his head. "Locking them up may be a better idea." "Nope," said the Engineer. "In the barn I saw, one of them lifted both Heavy and Medic at the same time with some kind of magic." "I hate wizards," mumbled the Soldier. "We'll figure something out later, but right now I need to set up an exit to get the others here," said the Engineer as he walked into the base. After the teleporter exit was up, one by one the others came into the base. After the ponies who stayed at the barn had a happy reunion with Rainbow Dash, everyone came together in the courtyard as the ponies talked about their world. The Sniper called Miss Pauling again and tried to figure out if there was any place they could hide them from the Announcers ever present eyes. "Mr. Mundy, you're asking for a lot here. I cannot tell you the blind spots of our cameras. I'm at enough risk just letting you get rid of these ponies yourself!" "That's the problem, Miss Pauling. The only way I see is sending them back by fixing their ship or building a new one. Engineer can do it but it'll take at least a month, and I doubt she'll be sick for an entire month." "For now, you can let them sleep in the base, but tomorrow you'll have to find a way to get them away from the cameras. Also, the kill-counters have been activated." "Those things from the demo-soldier war?" "Yes, so tomorrow will have to be business as usual." "Not a problem. We'll find a solution tomorrow. Thanks, Miss Pauling." After Sniper hung up the phone, he got back to everyone and announced the situation. Twilight was a little confused about who this Administrator person was. "Why can't this Administrator accept us?" Demoman laughed hoarsely. "Ya have no idea why, lass. Even when she's nice there's a hint of evil in her." He took another gulp of his bottle and started making up a story no one believed of the Administrator. Rarity spoke up in the midst of the story telling. "Right. Can anyone give us a real explanation?" Medic took the stand on the overpass of the courtyard, eyes scanning the area in front. "It's pretty simple. Her family has been the official administrator of TF industries since the idiot brothers got these lands." The ponies looked at each other confused. The Engineer who sat on his dispenser started speaking up since he knew most of the situation. "It started decades ago when Zepheniah Mann died and left his sons each a half of the lands." "That sounds nice. Each an equal amount! Evenly split!" Fluttershy said but she quickly shrunk when the Heavy sent her a dismissing look. "If it was good story, it would end there." The engineer sighed. "Heavy's right. The brothers immediately started hiring mercenaries to grab the lands from each other. This story could've ended on a sad note. They could've both died and never become the men their father wanted them to be." "I hear a "but" coming up," Rainbow Dash interjected, Engineer solemnly nodding. "That's when my grandpa came in. He made them a machine so they would not die. So, right now, they are sitting in their mansions, only mere shadows of what they used to be still grudgingly hoping the other will die." Twilight looked rather sad. "That's so horrible. But what has this to do with you guys and the administrator?" Sniper stepped in. " She's the CEO of both RED and BLU companies. And for some reason, this endless stalemate between both companies is in her advantage. We're the professionals they hired." "Why do you keep this up then? It sounds so wrong." "It pays well," said the Demoman. "We get to sharpen our skills for our countries and honor," Soldier proudly pronounced. "Pfft, I just get to hurt people," smugly added the Scout. Spy came out of the shadow of the stairs, arms crossed over his chest. "It's pretty much a job to us. Also, since the invention of the spawn, death became just a minor inconvenience to us. We don't question much from the people who pay us. Nowadays, we just toy around as if it were a contest." "From what you told me about your kingdom, I would say you have all the peace and we have war. Brace yourself while you're stuck here, because you'll see things that never happened or existed on your planet," suggested the Sniper before heading to his van. Heavy picked up his minigun. "I should go, too. Sasha needs rest." As every mercenary went home, the ponies set up their places to sleep in front of the spawn. Applejack walked over to the Engineer who was disassembling his machines. "Er, who in tarnation is Sasha?" she asked him in confusion, ears pointed back as she asked the Texan, "Sasha?" Engineer looked at her before suddenly smiling. "It's his gun. Take my advice and stay away from it. He loves that thing as if it's his wife...or daughter, or, well, whatever it is. It's the only family he's got anyway." "Wow," she muttered weakly after the Engineer explained it all to her. "You guys are crazy." "We've been told…nice hat you've got by the way."