Night had fallen onto the island, and after barely escaping the explosive trek through the minefield, the group was exhausted. Having found no shelter (or any food for that matter), they had no choice but to settle around a makeshift fire. Sterling and Fury kept as far away from the others as possible, while Caboose and Fletcher sat next to each other near the fire, Caboose watching it intently, while Fletcher was more focused on Sterling, giving quite a stink eye.
Black was leaned up against a tree, watching the fire. His face was fraught with worry. He was well aware of how bad the tensions were within in the group… and that he hadn’t done much to hold back the tide himself.
'Some leader I turned out to be.' He thought sadly. 'Let my temper get the better of me... Again. I've got to make things right. It's my duty as this team's leader. Whether I like it or not...'
At the same time, Fletcher stared into fire, also lost in thought.
'What has happened to me?' He thought, consumed by self-doubt. 'I was top of my class at the academy, Captain of the Royal Guard... and now I can't do a thing to help. When did I become so useless?'
Sterling looked around, acknowledging the space between himself and the others.
'Here I am again: alone.' He thought sadly. 'Why does this keep happening to me? Is it my destiny to always be apart from others? I hope not...'
Fury was staring at the ground.
'Lousy, useless so-called teammates...' He thought, as grouchy as ever.
Meanwhile, Caboose was looking at the stars, thinking about the adventure so far, when he suddenly found himself asking a question.
’...Wait a minute… why didn’t Black used his Homer when we were stuck in that chasm?’ He pondered randomly, ’That would've gotten us outta there for sure... unless he thought it wouldn't hold all our weight. But hold on, that ‘armor thread’ thingie could hold anything. That's what Armory said...’
Suddenly, a bit of ember flew out and stung Caboose on his hoof.
“Ow! The fire bit me!” Caboose whined, rubbing his burnt hoof.
"It was just an ember, Caboose." Fletcher told him, snapped out of his musings. "Nothing to worry about."
"Bad fire!" Caboose growled.
"Moron." Fury scowled.
"Like you can talk, ya brainless thug." Sterling declared, having heard Fury's insult.
"Okay, I think it's time to turn in." Black said hastily, intent on preventing another fight.
"Whatever." Fury sneered. "As long as it means I don't have to look at you 'till morning."
"My thoughts exactly." Sterling shot back.
"See you guys tomorrow!" Caboose smiled.
"Yes, tomorrow..." Fletcher sighed, not relishing the thought of another day where his services weren't needed.
The group all moved to find the most comfortable places to sleep.
At the same time, Elite and Consul were observing them. The rest of the Taskforce had already turned in (Armory being the most recent).
“Hmm… things aren’t looking good for the team, Elite.” Consul tutted.
“Maybe…” Elite acknowledged. "But it’s not over yet. They can still turn it around."
"They'd better." Consul frowned. "Time's running out. If there are no results at the end of this little exercise, Wall will dismantle this whole operation of yours."
“Thank you for reminding me of that.” Elite said flatly.
“I’m sorry, but Wall is going to be expecting some news soon. If she finds out that this whole venture has been for nothing, forget cleaning duties, she might demote me.” Consul grimaced.
"Don't lose hope just yet." Elite urged. "It ain't over 'till it's over. And this is far from over."
“Well… I’m gonna turn in for the night.” Consul let out a small yawn, “You should get some sleep, too, Elite.”
"I shall." Elite nodded. "Soon."
"Sure you will." Consul rolled his eyes as he departed.
'Come on, team.' Elite thought. 'I know you can do it...'
The next morning, the team woke up to find themselves huddled together (after failing to find good spot the night before). as they snoozed, Caboose hugged Fury in his sleep.
"What's with the feathery boa, Daring?" He mumbled, imagining his wife was sleeping beside him. "You know these are all the feathers I need..."
As Caboose reached for his wings, Fury woke up.
"Ahh!" Fury yelped, leaping backwards. "Get away from me!"
"Yuck!" Sterling cringed, having been the second closest to Fury.
"Vile..." Fletcher shuddered.
"What's the big deal?" Caboose frowned. "I thought it was kinda cozy."
"If any of you ever speak of this again..." Fury snarled.
"Like we'd want to!" Sterling spat.
'That's enough of this.' Black thought. 'Time for this team to get back on track...'
"Okay, team, let's get back to work." He urged.
"You got it!" The ever-positive Caboose smiled.
"So we're a team?" Sterling scoffed. "First I'm hearing of it..."
"I'll admit, things got a little heated yesterday..." Black said awkwardly.
"Oh, is that what you call it?" Sterling scowled.
"I may have been a little too harsh yesterday." Black confessed. "And for that, I apologize."
"How very good of you." Sterling said flatly.
"We all make mistakes." Black declared. "The size of those mistakes aren't important. What's important is that we keep moving forward... Both figuratively and literally. We've already been here for almost a week. That means the ordeal is almost over. We just gotta keep it together."
"Now that's a positive mental attitude!" Caboose added.
"No offense, Caboose, but I'm not really in the mood for positivity." Sterling shook his head.
"Enough of the touchy-feely stuff." Fury gagged. "If we're gonna move, then let's move."
"I agree with the sentiment, if not the way it was stated." Fletcher admitted.
“Actually, I have a better plan: staying right here.” Black announced.
"Huh?" Sterling frowned.
"Excuse me?" Fletcher asked.
"Seriously?" Fury rowled.
"Say whaaaat?!" Caboose trilled.
“Hear me out. Every time we went on the move, something bad happened, correct?” Black pointed out, “That night we can’t remember, the bridge, the roc, and the minefield. All of that happened because we tried to find another place.”
“That… is actually a fair point.” Sterling admitted.
“Really? I just thought it was because of the village idiot.” Fury scoffed.
“Silly Fury. There’s no village on this island.” Caboose smiled.
Fury let out a small snarl.
“Look, Caboose is Caboose. Nothing can be done about that.” Black shook his head, “And besides, we’re only on this island for two more days. All we need to do is just stay put, and mitigate any more of Caboose’s shenanigans, and we’ll make it out alive. Okay?”
"I guess that works." Sterling shrugged.
"I can find no fault in your logic." Fletcher admitted.
"As long as it means no more stupidity from that clown, I'm onboard." Fury snarled.
"I dunno." Caboose declared. "I really wanted to shenan-again today! But I guess you're the boss, Black."
“Alrigh then.” Black nodded, as he turned to Sterling and Caboose, “Sterling, Caboose, you two will be in charge of finding us some food.”
“Alright!” Caboose cheered.
“About time…” Sterling muttered.
"What?!" Fletcher yelled. "I must protest this decision! They can’t-”
“This is not up for debate, Fletcher.” Black cut him off, giving a firm glare, “Keeping Caboose around did nothing to prevent the dead roc. Logic dictates that sending Caboose as far away as possible for the time being will keep this site in one piece.”
“But Sterling-” Fletcher began.
“-is good at foraging, and will make sure Caboose doesn’t walk off a cliff or something.” Black finished, “I don’t know the full extent of your beef with Sterling aside the obvious, but I putting a stop to it. Caboose and Sterling are teaming up, end of discussion.”
"Yay!" Caboose gave Sterling a one-limbed hug. "Let's go, partner!"
"With pleasure... partner." Sterling nodded, throwing Fletcher a smug grin as they departed.
"With all due respect, 'sir', I think sending Sterling off with Caboose is a mistake. A very big one." Fletcher declared, barely managing to conceal his rage.
"Your opinion is noted." Black sighed. "But at this point, I do not care. Our focus right now is to make our last couple of days a bit more pleasant. Since I see no body of water nearby, your job is going to be to find us a source of freshwater."
"Think you can handle that, Ulysses?" Fury taunted.
"I don't think, I know." Fletcher said bluntly. "And you don't seem to think, period."
"Ah, go soak your head." Fury spat.
"You wish." Fletcher snarled as he walked away. 'I have something else in mind to track down...'
"Fury, you and me are on firewood duty." Black continued.
"Yipee." Fury said flatly.
"It may not be glamorous, but it's necessary." Black stated. "So let's get to it."
"Yeah, yeah." Fury scowled. "Like things could get any worse around here..."
Black and Fury began their own walk, over to some trees. Fletcher looked back, made sure they were far enough away, then turned around and started hurrying in the direction Sterling and Caboose had gone in.
Meanwhile, back at the enemy camp, Broker was having trouble with his mirror. He was expecting another frantic call from Turbine, but he had been strangely silent.
Broker had, against his better judgement, attempted to call Turbine.
“Come on…” Broker hissed, seated at the raised platform overlooking the big hole, a mirror to his ear, “Come on…”
All Broker could hear was static, as the image was nothing but snow.
“Lousy, useless-” Broker muttered, slapping the mirror’s frame, getting pissed, “You better not be ignoring me, Turbine. I am already on edge after yesterday. I don’t like being kept in suspense! So, for the love of Faust, pick up your fu-”
"Boss?" A voice called out.
"Huh!" Broker quickly hid his mirror, turning to see one of the repair ponies from earlier (the panel worker Unicorn), a confused look on his face. "What?"
"Is something wro-" The panel worker asked.
"No, everything's fine." Broker said quickly, trying to save face.
"Are you sure?" The worker asked. "Because it seemed like-"
“Did you need something?” Broker glared.
“Actually…” The panel worker rubbed his head nervously, “We kinda have a issue.”
“...What?” Broker seethed.
“Me and the others were doing some last minute diagnostics, you know, for the big day. Making sure all systems were go…” The worker explained sheepishly, “...And well… one of the towers isn’t getting any signals.”
“Oh you gotta be kidding me.” Broker moaned in frustration, “How is that possible?”
“I’m afraid we don't know, sir.” The panel worker admitted, “But the good news is, it seems to only be the tower not far from the camp. Chances are the wind knocked the antenna ajar. Give me and the crew a hour and we could-”
“No!” Broker blurted out. The panel worker step back, a bit shocked. Broker suddenly then cleared his throat, “I mean, we need all the workers here to get things ready for the big day.”
“But sir, if the tower isn’t fixed-” The unicorn tried to protest.
“I’ll have someone else take a look at it.” Broker cut him off, giving a snarl, “Now get back to work. Now!”
“Y-yes, sir.” The panel worker nodded feebly, as he scampered away.
As soon as he was out of earshot, Broker let out a guttural growl.
“Faust damn it all. Why must everything start to go to crap now?! First the outsiders, now this?!” Broker ranted. Quickly, he marched over to a side of the raised platform.
“Pomelo!” He roared.
“You bellowed, sir?” Pomelo answered, stone-faced, approaching the platform.
“Matter of fact, yes.” Broker growled, “I was just informed that the tower nearest the camp is having problems. I need you, Grunt, and the twins to get over there and fix it!
“And why exactly aren’t you sending the technicians?” Pomelo asked, a bit displeased, “Isn’t fixing things their jobs?”
“Hey, I say whose job it is to do things around here!” Broker scowled, “The techies and others are needed here! I can’t risk-er-waste our resources by sending key ponies out to fix one tower!”
“Really?” Pomelo raised a brow, “You can’t send a group of repair ponies a stone throw away to fix a tower, which is very vital to the mission mind you, which would take them a hour at most?”
“Yes!” Broker insisted.
“Well, forgive me if I find your logic a bit questionable.” Pomelo admitted, “Especially considering how nervous you’re looking.”
“Have you been hanging around Turbine lately?” Broker accused fiercely, “That is completely ridiculous! I just think it would be best to send four trained men over a group of tech geeks right now.”
“Trained men, huh?” Pomelo gave a small sneer, “This wouldn’t happen to have anything to do with those outsiders Turbine was talking about, would it?”
“Hell no!” Broker seethed, “Nothing is wrong, you hear me? So enough of that question. Now pull your stockings, tighten your speedo, and get after it! NOW!”
“Alright, alright. I’ll get the others.” Pomelo rolled his eyes, as he muttered to himself. “Faust, and here I thought Turbine was bad...”
With Pomelo gone, Broker went back to his table, letting out an exasperated sigh. As he picked up his glass of milk from the nearby table, it began spilling a little, thanks in part to Broker’s shaking hoof.
“Get it together, Broker.” Broker told himself. “You’re only hours away from hitting the big league. Hopefully, the tower’s antenna just needs adjusting, and those five are just tourists… tourists that are getting real… real… close.” Fighting his shaking hoof, he took a sip of his milk. “Buck…”
A long distance away, Sterling and Caboose were in a field, looking for food.
"Boy, this place is beautiful!" Caboose said cheerfully. "And it's such a lovely day, isn't it?"
"It sure is." Sterling followed behind. 'Look at him.' He thought. 'Always so happy, no matter what. How I envy him...'
Sterling caught up to Caboose.
"I tell ya, Caboose, I don't know how much longer I can take this." He grunted.
"What?" Caboose asked, peering through a bush.
"All of... this!" Sterling gestured all around him. "Being stuck on this island, having Fury in my face all the time, Black acting like he's the perfect little soldier... and Fletcher…” His eyes narrowed, “Fletcher… him and his condescending bullcrap, looking down his nose at me, just because I used to be part of the Forefathers!"
"Come on, buddy. Fletcher's not that bad." Caboose insisted. "Ya just gotta get to know him, and give 'im a chance to get to know you.”
"Somehow, I doubt that will help." Sterling said skeptically. "Fletcher already decided that I'm no good, and nothing's gonna change that.”
"Don't be so sure." Caboose encouraged him. "Fletcher used to think I was no good. Me, can you imagine?" He chuckled loudly. "But look at us now! We're best pals! And I bet once we’re done here, you two will be too!”
“Yeah, right...” Sterling muttered.
“And don’t you worry about Black and Fury either.” Caboose smirked, as he ducked back down to inspect another bush, “Black may be all serious like and Fury is…” Caboose paused, unable to come up with the right word, “...well, just give it time and we’ll be like a team in no time!”
“Your optimism is great and all, Caboose, but I’ve been in this team for over a month…” Sterling sighed, turning away. Sadness were clear in his eyes, “And I feel no more part of the team than I did when I started. Ever since I was a kid, I felt isolated, and alone. And it's only gotten worse over time. I thought being part of this team would break the trend. But no, it's worse than ever. And then, I found what Elite was doing.” He turned to Caboose, “Out of everypony, Caboose, you’re the only one I can-uh…”
As Sterling faced Caboose again, he immediately took note of a creature that appeared on Caboose’s back. It was a Pukwudgie, with green fur, who seem to have leapt onto Caboose while neither of them was looking, eyeing Sterling intently. And Caboose seemed completely unaware of its presence.
“The only one you can-uh-what, Sterling?” Caboose questioned, shifting his body a little. The Pukwudgie gave a small chitter of annoyance.
“Um...the only one I can trust.” Sterling finished, a bit cautious, “The only guy I know for sure I can count on...”
“Aw, I love you too, Sterling.” Caboose cooed.
While Sterling had never seen a Pukwudgie before, he knew what it was, and had heard the horror stories from his former colleagues back at Infinity. He knew that if he didn’t act fast, it could mean trouble for the both of them.
’Too bad you came alone, shorty’ Sterling smirked confidently. He slowly raised his sword, and angled it for a swift side-swing, making sure to not make any sudden movements…
However, unbeknownst to both of them, they were being spied on by none other than Fletcher, who had finally caught up with them and was tailing them till that very moment.
"Some decent soil around here." Caboose remarked as he prepared to get up. "No food though..."
"Keep looking." Sterling said quickly, intent on keeping Caboose from moving.
Sterling slowly raised his sword, which to the observing Fletcher looked very suspicious...
“Son of a draft horse, I knew it…” Fletcher snarled, jumping to the obvious albeit wrong conclusion, “Not on my watch…”
Quickly drawing his bow and nocking an arrow, Fletcher took aim at Sterling. Without hesitation, he fired the arrow, right at Sterling.
Almost at the same time, Sterling’s ear perked as he was about to swing.
“Huh? What was-” Sterling looked behind him.
Immediately, Fletcher’s arrow flew past him, grazing Sterling’s shoulder and slamming right into the Pukwudgie.
“BUCK!” Sterling roared in pain, gripping his cut shoulder.
"Gurrrgh..." The pukwudgie letting out a gurgling snarl before dying.
“Huh, what?” Caboose got up, taking note of the dead Pukwudgie and Sterling clutching his grazed shoulder, “What just happened?”
“Caboose! Get away from him!”
Sterling and Caboose turned to see Fletcher rushing in, pulling up his bow and arrow, aiming it at Sterling.
“Fletcher?” Caboose frowned.
“Fletcher?! The hell?!” Sterling seethed, wincing from his throbbing shoulder, “Have you lost your mind?!”
“Don’t you play dumb with me!” Fletcher roared, “I saw you try to kill Caboose!”
“He did what now?” Caboose repeated in confusion.
"What?!" Sterling gaped. "No! I was trying to get a Pukwudgie off him!"
"A likely story!" Fletcher snarled.
"It's not a story!" Sterling yelled, pointing to the dead vermin. "The Pukwudgie's right there! You killed it when you tried to kill me!”
“Aw, why did you do that?” Caboose pouted, “I could've adopted it, trained it, and call it ‘Bakshi’...”
“Well, I…” Fletcher faltered, before his face hardened, “This proves nothing! For all I know, you probably put it there deliberately, so you pass the whole thing off as an 'accident'! Why else would you and Caboose go to a secluded spot?!”
“What, have you been following us?!” Sterling accused.
"And what if I have?" Fletcher sneered.
"How paranoid are you?!" Sterling growled.
"The right amount, it would seem!" Fletcher roared.
"Fletcher, take it easy." Caboose urged, “It was just a misunder-”
"No, Caboose!" Fletcher yelled. "Don't you see that this is what he's been planning from the beginning?! He's been intending to pick us all off one at a time! He pretended to be your friend so you'd let your guard down, and be easy prey!"
"How dare you!" Sterling roared. "I would never hurt Caboose, or any of you! Even though you just, like I said before, tried to KILL ME!"
"Oh, please!" Fletcher spat. "You really expect me, let alone everycreature else, to believe that? You betrayed the Forefathers easily enough, so why wouldn't you betray us too?!"
“Is that really what this is all about?!” Sterling sneered, “Because if you ask me, you're just jealous that me and Caboose are friends."
"That is not-!" Fletcher snarled.
"Yeah, it is." Sterling spat. "You just can't stand the idea that Caboose could be friends with anypony else, can you?"
"Don't flatter yourself!" Fletcher growled. "Caboose was just being nice to you! He's like that with everycreature! Even ponies who hate his very being!"
"Well, actually-" Caboose started.
“Then why the hell would I kill him?!” Sterling snarled, “He’s the only one on this team that actually treated me with a shred of decency! Faust, is your incompetence starting to affect your brains as well?!”
“SHUT UP!” Fletcher snapped. His arrow was pulled back so much, the bow looked like it could snap, “When it comes to madponies like you, logic has no place!”
“Says the one screaming at me with a bow pointed at me, all because Caboose wants to be friends with me.” Sterling growled, “Like I said, you’re jealous!”
"I. Am. Not. Jealous!!" Fletcher screeched.
"What's going on here?!"
The three turned to see Black and Fury approach.
“Oh, great…” Sterling grumbled.
“Black. Fury.” Fletcher huffed, his bow still aiming at Sterling, “What are you two doing here?”
“We were out getting firewood when we heard screaming across the green.” Black declared.
“Yeah… real funny place to get water, Ulysses.” Fury snorted, “For all your uselessness, I’d thought you would at least know how to find a body of water.”
“Fury…” Black grunted.
"I had something more important to tend to!" Fletcher growled. "I had to follow Caboose and Cross in order to confirm my suspicions!”
"What suspicions?" Black frowned.
"That Sterling is a pony not to be trusted!" Fletcher declared. "And I was right! I saw him try to kill Caboose!"
"Again, I was trying to get a Pukwudgie off his back!" Sterling yelled, pointing to the Pukwudgie’s corpse, “See?!”
“Whoa. I heard of those things. Nasty little beasts.” Black mused. “And this one was on Caboose’s back?”
“Yeah. His name was Bakshi.” Caboose shrugged.
“That’s right!” Sterling snapped, glaring hatefully at Fletcher, “And pretty boy here just about damn near killed me! If he had, Caboose might've been a goner himself!”
“Oh, come on!” Fletcher scoffed, “It was a obvious set-up! He probably nabbed that Pukwudgie and planted it on Caboose’s back so he could pass it off as an accident, and then kill us all off one by one!”
“Fletcher…” Black began, a deep frown forming, “Surely you realize how idiotic that sounds, right? You of all ponies should know how bad these creatures are!”
"Well, I..." Fletcher’s anger faltered. He lowered his bow. "I suppose you have a point there... But still, I'm sure that Sterling-"
“No, Fletcher.” Black glared, “I get that you don’t care for Sterling, but trying to shoot him?!”
“I was trying to protect Caboose!” Fletcher defended.
“From Sterling? If anything, Sterling would had needed protecting from Caboose!” Black seethed, “That stallion managed to down a buckin’ roc the other day with a single bolt! You really think Caboose couldn’t had handled Sterling?!”
“Well, he did beat me in training-” Caboose pointed out
“That is not the point, Black!” Fletcher snarled, “This stallion was a Forefather agent! You know, the same ponies who orchestrated Reinadh, attacked Canterlot, infected the Changelings, and nearly killed your friend and his family! How can you be so nonchalant around him?!”
"It wasn't easy, I'll admit." Black confessed. "I had my doubts. A lot of them. It seemed a little too perfect that a Forefather agent would fall right into our hooves..."
"Say what?!" Sterling growled.
“But the difference between you and me, Fletcher, is that I put my own ill-feelings aside for the sake of the mission!” Black snapped. “Something I thought a well-esteemed captain as yourself would understand, but clearly, I was mistaken!”
"But... you see..." Fletcher gulped, visibly stricken by those words.
“Oh, come on, Black. Don’t be so hard on the stallion.” Fury suddenly spoke up.
“Huh?” Black and Sterling said at once. Fletcher perked up a bit.
“I’m sure soldier boy here is just acting out, just for attention.” Fury smirked snidely, “I mean, Cross has been out-doing him every step of the way. Could you really blame the guy for wanting to take out the competition?”
“For the love of Faust, Fury!” Black groaned.
“You son of a-” Fletcher’s anger flared once more, pointing his bow at Fury now.
“Whoa!” Black gaped in shock.
Even Sterling was surprised, seeing the brewing fury within Fletcher’s eyes.
“Ooh, consider that nerve struck!” Fury chuckled darkly, not the least bit daunted.
“You know, I am damn sick and tired of your spite-filled spew!” Fletcher seethed. His eyes started to become a bit misty, “I’ve already had to put up with enough crap this week, but I won’t be belittled by some buckin’ kuk!”
“Go ahead and try it, Fletcher. See what happens!” Fury taunted.
"Easy there, Fletcher." Caboose urged. "Remember what I taught you? Think of fuzzy bunnies. Fuzzy bunnies, fuzzy bunnies..."
Fletcher closed his eyes and breathed in and out. Then he lowered his bow.
"I apologize for losing my temper." He declared regretfully, though still visibly upset.
“What the hell is your problem, Fury?!” Black snapped.
“What?! It wasn’t like we weren’t all thinking it!” Fury huffed, before eyeing Caboose, “Well, all that have brains at least.”
“And there’s the thug again!” Sterling said, disgusted, “Honestly, do you enjoy making others hate you?!”
“Do you think I care about what other creatures think of me?!” Fury snapped back, “I didn’t get this far worrying about crap like that!”
"Then why are you even here?" Sterling asked. "Because your boss Wheatley has something on you?"
"Don't even dare-" Fury started.
"Is this all some big game to you?" Fletcher snarled. "Are you just here to amuse yourself? What kind of maniac are you?"
"Shut it, ya-!"
"Enough!" Black roared. "I am done listening to you idiots verbally tear into each other! You're acting like children! But I am not your babysitter! So why don't you grow up and knock it out, before I really lose my cool!"
Black's sudden eruption was enough to freeze the others in their place. A very tense silence ensued, observed by the Taskforce watching from afar through the kite.
"Rooo..." Titan, whined, distressed.
"You said it, buddy." Ballista said quietly.
"It's getting worse and worse." Incognito shook his head.
"Statistically, it's only a matter of time before the whole group implodes." Master Mind predicted.
"Come on, guys, don't talk like that!" Armory urged. "It's not over yet!"
"It sure looks like it." Consul frowned. "Denial doesn't suit you, kid."
"But hope does." Elite declared. "And there is still a spark left."
"But will that be enough?" Consul asked.
"Tellingly, none of the Taskforce could answer the question.
“...You know something?” Caboose spoke up, desperate to break the silence, “At times like these, there’s only one thing to do.”
“And what would that be?” Fury sneered.
“Signing up to appear on a show of Jerry Spring Onion! That guy can work miracles!” Caboose suggested.
“Caboose, I seriously cannot deal with any more bull-” Black hissed.
“You don’t have to!” Caboose smiled, as suddenly, he pulled out a magic mirror, “I just so happen to have him on speed-dial!”
The rest of the group lit up in surprise, mouth agape in shock.
“...What? A family as big as ours gets into a whole lot of drama!” Caboose frowned.
“...You had a magic mirror… this whole time?” Black muttered.
“Uh, yeah. A mobster like me always come prepared.” Caboose shrugged.
“And you didn’t tell us because?” Sterling asked.
"Nocreature asked." Caboose pointed out, “And I felt it would had been cheating if we could just order delivery for food.”
The four stared at Caboose… as Fury then erupted.
“FFFFUUUUU-”
Fury’s curse was so loud that it caused the Taskforce to cover their ears from how loud it was (and lead the kite to spiral into a nearby tree.
“Whoa. That is one loud expletive.” Caboose was taken aback.
“You idiot!” Black roared.
“What?” Caboose asked, not liking the tone of Black’s voice.
"You had a mirror all this time?" Black growled. "And never told us."
"You prolonged our suffering by keeping the mirror hidden." Fletcher gaped.
"Aw, come on, don't think like that." Caboose defended himself. "Elite sent us here to become a team. Contacting him would be cheating."
"This isn't a game, Caboose." Sterling admonished him.
"No, but it still has rules." Caboose retorted.
"Flap the rules!" Fury snarled.
"Now that's not very nice." Caboose pouted. "You may not have any integrity, but I do."
"Give me that!" Black, losing his patience, snatched the mirror out of Caboose's hooves.
"Could've said 'please'..." Caboose sulked.
“Now then. Let’s get the hell off this rock.” Black grumbled.
Back at HQ, the Taskforce were still recovering from Fury’s outburst, watching from the now crooked image projected by the kite, seeing Black take the mirror.
“I don’t understand…” Consul grimaced, rubbing his ear, “Didn’t any of you check them for mirrors or other devices when you load them on the ship?”
"We did." Incognito glared.
“Then how did Caboose manage to keep that mirror hidden from us?” Ballista demanded.
“I keep telling you that we needed to discuss about him.” Master Mind pouted, “But no one listened to me!”
“Well, nothing we can do about it now.” Armory grimaced, “But I’d hate to be Caboose right now. Right, Titan?”
"Roof?!" Titan was unable to properly respond, Fury’s outburst having deafened him.
Elite's mirror started buzzing.
"Think you're getting a call." Consul snarked, “I wonder who…”
Elite reluctantly answered.
"Oh, hello, Black." He said awkwardly. "I wasn't expecting to hear from you."
“Tell me about it.” Black sighed, trying to calm himself… while casting a stink eye at Caboose, “I know this is probably going against what you had in mind for the exercise, but I thought we might as well talk to you…”
"Whatever about?" Elite asked.
“Ugh, where do I even begin?!” Black groaned, “You wouldn’t believe the crap we had to deal with for the past few days!”
"I'm sure it wasn't anything you couldn't handle as a team." Elite declared.
“Yeah, barely.” Black scoffed, “But we are at our limits right now! If it’s all the same, sir, I would like a immediate extraction for all five of us!”
“Come now, Black.” Elite frowned, “You only have two days left. I never imagined you to call it quits when you’re almost done.”
“Believe me, if things were different, I wouldn’t.” Black admitted, shame in his voice, “But I don’t know if we’d be able to survive what the island has for us next.”
“Well, it can’t be any worse than a Cragadile, hallucinogenic berries, or a crumbling canyon.” Elite shrugged.
“You can say that- wait.” Black paused when something dawned on him, “What berries?” Suddenly, another thing dawned on him, “Wait, how do you know about any of that? I didn’t say boo about that!”
Elite froze, as the Taskforce gaped. Consul and Ballista face-hoofed in disbelief. Titan, still deaf, took note of the two, and face-palmed himself as well.
"Um... well..." Elite said, flustered.
“Hey, Black!” Fury spoke up, pointing towards the direction of some trees,“Look over there!”
The Project: Freedom members glanced at a direction... right at the screen within the HQ, their faces alight with surprise (except for Fury, who showed deep anger).
"Uh-oh, we've been made!" Incognito gulped. "Armory, pull us out of here!"
"I'm trying." Armory struggled, using a magic crystal to try and guide the kite. "The kite is stuck!"
"Kite? I thought it was a drone!" Consul frowned.
"Hey, you only gave us a night's notice to make it. I had to make do!" Armory retorted, annoyed.
"I know, right?!" Master Mind agreed.
The Project: Freedom members slowly approached a tree, one that had the kite stuck in it, caught on a branch.
“I knew something was following us!” Fury hissed.
"Elite?" Black asked, then stated more angrily, "What the hell?"
"Black, it’s not as bad as it seems. We were only trying to keep tabs on you while you were on your excursion.." Elite said quickly.
"What? Because you felt we couldn't handle this?!" Black growled.
"No. Because Armory was worried that you might get yourselves killed out there!" Elite retorted. "And considering all that we have seen, that worry wasn't exactly unfounded."
"Well, whose bright idea was it to drop us on a unknown island that had a cragadile, bad berries, a bunch of big holes, traps and landmines?" Black growled.
Ballista glanced at Consul, who was gesturing to Elite to not mention him.
"That doesn't matter." Elite shook his head. "I admit, this island might have not been the best choice…” But his face hardened, “However, it doesn’t change the fact that the point of the survival training was for you all to learn how to work together. And here I stand, seeing you all bickering again!”
Before Black could retort, Fletcher swooped in and took the mirror from Black.
“Hey!” Black snapped.
"You don't understand, sir!" Fletcher declared. "Sterling was about to kill Caboose!"
"HAH! I knew it!" Incognito said triumphantly.
Elite gave him a silent glare, wiping the smirk off his face.
“Oh, that is total bullcrap!” Sterling snarled, shoving Fletcher aside as he took the mirror, “Your pretty boy from the academy was tailing us, and when I was trying to take out a Pukwudgie that could've killed both me and Caboose, Fletcher tried to shoot me!"
Ballista gave a knowing nod to Incognito, who scowled a little at being proven wrong.
"That's your story." Fletcher glared. "Elite, I humored you when you told me you were letting this backstabber on our team-”
“Humored?” Fury scoffed.
“Shut it!” Fletcher snapped, “I kept my mouth shut when you decided to recruit Sterling. But I really must know… why would you let a terrorist like Sterling into the RDL with little to no repercussions for his past actions?!”
"Again with this?!" Sterling growled. "You only think I’m no good because you’re jealous of me!"
"I am not jealous!" Fletcher spat. He shoved Sterling back as he took the mirror back, “Why would I be jealous of a smug, self-satisfied, over-skilled piece of garbage?!”
“Fletcher, please...” Elite voiced in, finding the normally stoic stallion upset disconcerting, “I understand you do not trust him. But you’re failing to see the big picture-”
“What big picture?!” Fletcher seethed, “He didn’t have anything worthwhile to give us about the Forefathers, and you already have FOUR capable soldiers who could do the job! What?! Am I not good enough for you?!”
“Fletch…” Caboose frowned.
The Taskforce reacted awkwardly to Fletcher's unexpected outburst.
"I... Am not sure what you mean by that." Elite declared. "But I think we should focus on current matters."
"Is that right?" Sterling took back the mirror, giving a glare at Fletcher, "Is that also why you've been studying Loveless's inventions behind my back?"
"Huh?" The other Project Freedom members said in unison.
The Taskforce frowns, as Armory and Elite shared looks of concern.
"...Whatever do you mean, Sterling?" Elite asked innocently.
"Oh, don't you dare try hiding it, Elite." Black snarled. "I heard you and Armory talking all about it the other night. Once I did, I did a little looking around after that stupid 'blind-man guiding' exercise. And guess what I found?"
"Let me guess: the 'iron stallion' suit, crystal tasers, retractable shields, and remnants of that iron spider from Canterlot... I'm disappointed, Sterling." Elite said, with a clearly displeased voice. "I thought you would know better than to sneak around and pry into stuff you shouldn't."
"Oh, don't you turn this back on me." Sterling scowled. "I'm not the one planning on taking a old stallion's life work and using it against him to destroy him and the organization!"
"What the..." Black gaped.
"Say what?" Caboose frowned.
"Is he serious?" Fletcher frowned.
"I don't know what he's talkin' about..." Fury frowned.
"Wait, what?" Elite frowned, genuinely confused. "That isn't why-"
"I can't believe I expected better from you, Elite." Sterling shook his head. "You never intended to live up to your promise of helping Loveless, did you?"
"Wait, why would Elite promise to help another Forefather agent?" Black frowned.
“More to the point, why do you even care about one of your ex-terrorist buddies?" Fletcher scoffed.
“Yeah. He’s the flapper that made that Faust-damn monstrosity and killed ponies back in Canterlot!” Fury pointed out.
“He is?” Caboose frowned, “Hold on, which one was he again?”
“I believe he was that wheelchair bound stallion who flew off after the spider disappeared during Titanfall.” Fletcher frowned.
“Wait, that guy is your friend?!” Caboose gaped at Sterling, “He was an asshole! What with his wheelchair, the spider legs, and the fact he looks just like that other dude from ’Wild Wild West!”
“You don’t know a thing about Loveless!” Sterling snarled, “None of you! He was the only pony that ever truly cared about me! A pony I had to leave behind! The only reason I joined this damn team was so I could save him from that life!"
"I know that, but-" Elite started.
“The only reason? What about Equestria?!” Black frowned.
“What about it?!” Sterling seethed, “You may be more than willing to give up everything for it, but I’m not!”
“But he’s the enemy, Sterling. You know what he’s capable of!” Black shook his head, “Why the hell would we want to help him?”
“Yeah, it’s bad enough having you around!” Fury said coldly.
“I always knew deep down that you hadn’t changed.” Fletcher said disdainfully, “The fact you want to help the pony who helped terrorize Canterlot proves it!”
“...Caboose?” Sterling glanced at Caboose.
“...Sorry, Sterling. But he made me hate ‘paralegals’.” Cabooses frowned sadly, “Not the kind of guy I'd want to be around.”
“So… that’s how it is, isn’t it?” Sterling began. His scowl darkened greatly, “Well, buck you all! Black, you've been where I’ve been, yet you don’t give a damn about anything I’ve been through.” He turned to Fury, “And Fury, you just don’t care. Period.”
Black and Fury glared at him angrily.
“And you, Fletcher. Forget jealousy, you’re just determined to hate me, no matter what! So buck you!” He then glared at Caboose, “And you!”
“Me?” Caboose was taken aback, “What did I do?”
“You were supposed to be my friend, Caboose!” Sterling growled. His anger softened, but was still present, “But you let Fletcher tell you what to do, what not to do, as if he’s still your captain! You even made that stupid promise to stay away from me! You were the only one kind to me this whole time, but even then, you'd take Fletcher’s side over mine. Is our friendship just a big fat joke to you?!”
"Sterling..." Caboose gaped, visibly hurt by the statement. "I... I don't... It's not..." He was unable to articulate an answer.
“Sterling, enough!” Elite called out, having tried to catch the attention of everypony for the time Sterling was chewing the others out, “I understand you’re angry, Sterling. But don’t take it out on them! The thing with Loveless’s works is not what you th-”
“I don’t want to hear it, Elite. I already been fed enough bullcrap from Father. I won’t have any more of yours.” Sterling seethed, as he stormed off, slapping the mirror into Fury’s chest, “Here!”
“Gah, asshole…” Fury hissed.
"Sterling, wait!" Caboose yelled.
"Let him go, Caboose." Fletcher ordered. "We're better off without him, anyway."
“Sterling! Sterling!” Elite called from the mirror, “Oh, Faust damn it…”
“I told you we shouldn’t had kept this from him.” Armory frowned.
“Yeah, I know…” Elite shook his head, as he turned to the mirror, seeing Fury. His frown deepened, seeing Fury’s scowl, “...I assume you have something to say, Fury?”
“As a matter of fact, I do.” Fury huffed, “When I agreed to join up with you guys on Barbossa’s suggestion, I didn’t think I was going to get roped in with all these idiots. Black was one thing, but putting me on this island with a traitor, a soldier boy, and that numbskull? I’m not gonna stand for that!”
“And why is that, Fury? Because you work better alone?” Elite challenged knowingly.
“Yes!” Fury snapped, “Because I don’t need anyone else! I've tried that already, and it never works! Never!” He took a breath, and lowered his voice. "I'm better off on my own." He said aloofly.
“Really? Then I guess it’s a blessing that you pushed your own nephew away.” Elite retorted, “Because I doubt your sister would want him to be a cold-hearted cynic like you.”
“Ooh…” The other Taskforce members cringed.
Fury’s scowl turned into a outright snarl.
“...You fogey piece of-” Fury was about to begin.
“Give the mirror to Black.” Elite ordered, “Now.”
“Fine. Sick a’ looking at ya anyway.” Fury snapped, chucking the mirror at Black, who quickly caught it. The red stallion gave a huff as he turned to Elite.
“Black. You need to do something about this.” Elite frowned, “This team is coming apart again.”
“I know that, Elite… and I’m sorry.” Black sighed, “Look, I gave it my best shot, Elite, but I… I can’t be the leader you want me to be. Because I’m not. And nothing can change that. Not even being on this island…”
Elite and the others were saddened to hear Black's, including Consul, but especially Armory.
"Black..." He whispered.
Elite sighed.
"Give the mirror to Caboose." He instructed.
Black did as instructed.
“...Before I continue, do you have anything to add, Caboose?” Elite asked.
“No… just some hurt feelings, is all.” Caboose gave a small sniff.
“Glad to hear.” Elite deadpanned, “...Could you hold up the mirror, I want everypony to hear this.”
“Um, sure.” Caboose did as he told.
“Black. Fury. Fletcher. Sterling. Caboose.” Elite listed off, “I know you are all at your limits. I know you have issues with one another. Maybe some that I didn’t account for.” His face hardened, “But this isn’t about you. Any of you. It’s about something bigger. Something greater. There was an idea, an idea to bring together a group of remarkable creatures. To see if they could become something more. To see if they could work together when the world needed them to, to fight the battles nocreature else could.”
Black bowed his head, regretful that he couldn't help accomplish that goal. Fletcher looked utterly downtrodden, once again despising his own inability to help. Caboose looked away, rubbing one hoof against another guiltily. Fury kept the same sour expression, but his eyes darted away, unable to look at Elite.
“But it seems that idea is just that. An idea. A good old-fashioned notion.” Elite admitted. His face hardened, “Which is why I have no choice then but to-”
Suddenly, the mirror to cut off into static.
The others lit up in surprise.
"But to what?" Caboose asked. "You didn't finish!"
Back in the operations room, the Taskforce were just as surprised, as Elite was taken aback by being cut off suddenly.
"Huh?" Elite frowned.
"What happened?" Ballista asked.
"I don't know." Elite shrugged. "The mirror just cut off."
"Did they hang up on you?" Incognito asked.
"No! It just went static." Elite insisted.
"You must have lost the signal.” Master Mind surmised.
"That's not possible." Ballista shook his head. "They've been talking to us for the past fifteen minutes unabated. I think something jammed the signal..."
"Now that's not possible." Armory snorted. "What could possibly jam a signal on a deserted island?"
Consul rubbed his foreleg awkwardly.
Back on the island, the others approached Caboose.
"Seriously, Caboose?" Black asked. "You hung up on the director?"
"I didn't do anything." Caboose insisted. "The mirror just went snowy!"
"Give me that!" Fury grabbed the mirror and slapped it on the back repeatedly, only for it to still not work. "The damn thing must be busted. So much for getting us off the island."
“Oh good Faust. Is this my fate?” Fletcher sighed. "Trapped on this island, with nocreature but Caboose for decent company?"
“A fate worse than death…” Fury muttered.
"But I have family back home..." Caboose pouted.
“We all do, Caboose.” Fletcher shook his head, as he faced Black, “...What do we do now, Black?”
“...I don’t know anymore.” Black admitted, “It sounds like even Elite himself has given up on us.”
“Well, could we at least go after Sterling?” Caboose suggested, “I know he’s mad at us, but he shouldn’t be out there alone.”
“Forget about him, Caboose.” Fletcher huffed, “Besides, I doubt there’s anything out there that could be worse than-”
At that moment, they heard some loud banging sounds from far away. It was the unmistakable sound of metal hitting metal.
"You guys hear that?" Caboose smiled. "Sounds like there are carpenters on this island!"
"Not my first thought." Fletcher admitted. "But it does sound like civilized life."
“On a deserted island?” Black murmured, “...We should check it out.”
"Maybe they can get us off this lousy island." Fury nodded.
Back in the operations room, the others watched as the four followed the sounds.
"Hey, where are they going?" Ballista asked.
"Maybe they hear something." Armory suggested.
"Lke what?" Incognito asked. "What could possibly be on that stupid island?"
Elite suddenly got a bad feeling.
"Armory, we need to get the kite up and airborne." He instructed. "I don't care how you do it, just get it-"
The kite began to move.
"Oh. That was fast." Elite noted.
"...I'm not doing that." Armory frowned.
The feed rose a little... then suddenly turned around to reveal Turbine. The harpy showed a surprised and inquistive look as the feed became uncrooked. But as he studied the mirror, a dark grin appear on his beak.
“Well, well, well… what do we have here?” Turbine spoke.
The Taskforce looked on in horror, Consul moreso, as Elite slowly approached the screen.
"What the hell..." Elite gaped.
Back on the island, the others followed the sounds. They approached a ridge, finding Sterling already there.
“Sterling! So glad we could find you!” Caboose smiled.
"Oh, great." Sterling grimaced. "So much for getting away from you guys..."
"We're not exactly thrilled ourselves." Fletcher scoffed.
"Lemme guess: that racket lead you here?" Fury smirked.
"Something like that." Sterling nodded. "It's coming from over that ridge."
As the five approached the edge, they heard voices along with the noise, and found a metal broadcast tower ahead of them. The tower was dented, and bent at the top, and Pomelo and Grunt were working to repair it. Grunt was trying to unbend the top, using a metal bar as leverage as he pulled on the bent antenna, while Pomelo was running the diagnostics on a scanner device.
"Keep pulling, Grunt!" Pomelo urged. "Still got nothing here!:
"Yeah, sure." Grunt grumbled. "It's not like I'm doing all the work here..."
The Project: Freedom team ducked downwards to avoid being spotted.
"Who the hell are these clowns?" Fury frowned.
"Well, they're not natives." Fletcher noted. "Look at those outfits."
"Yeah... like they're soldiers or something." Sterling mused. "But they're speaking clear Equestrian. So they can't be Alpacians."
"Um, are you sure about that?" Caboose asked. "Back in 'Pony of No Consequences' from ‘Tainted Silver’, didn't Stature and all his men speak Equestrian? I mean, I didn't know Alpacia was supposed to be a pony Korea till writers put that warning in the last chapter in Korean."
The other four looked at him, stupefied. But Fury soon became furious.
"WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?!" He roared.
Grunt and Pomelo stopped, Grunt mid-pull, taking note of the yell. The five panicked.
"What was that?" Pomelo asked.
Silence ensued... then suddenly…
"QUACK!"
"Huh?" Pomelo frowned.
"Oh, it's just a duck, Pommy." Grunt said, flapping downwards.
"But I could've sworn I've heard somepony yelling..." Pomelo shook his head. "Ugh, never mind." He checked the signal on his scanner. "Ah, we're back in business."
"Hmph, about time." Grunt grumbled.
"Nice going, Fury." Sterling scowled. "You nearly blew our cover."
"It's not my fault Napoleon's so flappin' annoying!" Fury snarled.
"Yes, because your temper had nothing to do with it." Black scoffed.
"Nice move with the 'quack', Caboose." Fletcher smiled. "However did you think of that?"
"I was scared." Caboose shrugged.
Down below, Pomelo and Grunt continued talking.
"How did this thing even get so messed up, anyway?" Grunt asked.
"Hard to say." Pomelo mused. He glanced around. "Huh. There's some rocks all over the place. Maybe a meteor dropped down."
"Hey, that rubble look like it came from our little trip over the mine field." Caboose noted. "Guess we must've caused that mess."
"Seriously?" Fury frowned.
"That sounds about right, given our luck." Fletcher declared.
"But why did Broker send us out here to fix it, and not a real repair crew?" Grunt pouted.
"If you ask me, I think he's gotten all paranoid about those outsiders." Pomelo surmised.
“Well, it’s all that Turbine’s fault. He of all of us knows how bad Broker gets when he’s stressed. And how we have to put up with it!” Grunt huffed.
"Outsiders?" Black frowned.
"...You don't suppose they're referring to us, do you?" Fletcher asked.
"It can't be." Black shook his head. "We haven't run into any pony or creature the whole time we've been here. There's no way they could know."
"We could always ask them." Caboose suggested. "Maybe they have a place we can stay for the rest of the week."
"Don't be stupid, Caboose." Sterling grunted. Caboose flinched in response. "By the way they said 'outsiders', I don't think they're friendly."
"Don't talk to Caboose like that!" Fletcher growled.
"Or what?! You're gonna shoot and miss me again?!" Sterling shot back. "You can't even do your own shtick right!"
"Shut-" Fletcher started.
"QUACK!!" Caboose interrupted.
Pomelo and Grunt glanced up, before going back to talking.
“Well, the good news is, the tower is fixed and there’s no signs of them.” Pomelo declared, “I should probably call Ferdy and Dan back. I had them go and check the powerlines to make sure no creatures had gone and chewed them up."
"...Wait, the powerlines were underground." Grunt frowned. "Why would-"
"Did you want to listen to bad puns and self-depreciation?" Pomelo asked.
"Fair point." Grunt shrugged.
Pomelo held up a mirror... with the Forefathers' emblem on the back.
"...No..." Sterling gasped.
"They're Forefathers." Black gulped.
"Son of a battery hen..." Fury snarled.
"Stuck on an island with Forefather agents... what are the odds?" Fletcher asked.
"You'd need to ask my brother about that." Caboose declared. "I'm thinking they're pretty low, though."
"Something tells me this was no coincidence." Sterling growled.
"...What are you saying?" Black glared at him.
"I'm saying this 'survival training' is a sham!" Sterling snarled. "This was never about us learning to become a better team! Or about survival! Elite clearly dropped us on this island to find these guys and do our thing!"
"...Re-enact a episode of Survivor?" Caboose offered.
"No, Caboose." Sterling shook his head. "To stop them... or kill them. At this point, I'm not sure."
"All this bullcrap for two agents?" Fury scoffed. "Even I think that's pushing it."
"Use your head, Fury!" Sterling snarled. "They mentioned two names just now. And if they have a mirror for communication, I bet ya there's more of them somewhere on this island. There must be an outpost."
"Even if you're right about that, Sterling, you're wrong about Elite." Black declared fiercely. "Elite didn't say anything about any Forefather agents. He wouldn’t have sent us on a mission and not tell us about it."
"Of course he wouldn't." Sterling snorted, “Like he didn’t mention his ‘research’.”
“Look, I don’t know what’s the deal with that, but something tells me Elite didn’t know about these guys.” Black frowned, “Besides, how do you explain the sudden signal loss? It’s not like Elite or these guys were responsible somehow.”
“Ugh, dammit!” Pomelo yelled, drawing the others’ attention, “Of course the tower starts fudging up the signal the moment we fix it!” He turned to Grunt, “You wait here by the tower. I’ll try and get a better signal.”
"Will do." Grunt nodded. "I'll just sit here and listen to the ducks."
"QUACK!" Caboose called out.
"Ah, majestic creatures..." Grunt smiled.
"Okay, so maybe these guys are behind the signal loss." Black sighed.
“What is the deal with that tower though? If it’s messing with communications, why set it up to begin with?” Fletcher asked.
“I don’t know. But I intend to find out.” Black declared with determination.
“Oh? Do you have a plan, fearless leader?" Sterling taunted.
“I’m going to have a little chat with the Unicorn.” Black explained, “He seems to be in charge here. Maybe I can ‘persuade’ him to get us off this island. The rest of you just sit tight."
"So we just wait around here?" Sterling frowned.
"While you have all the fun?" Fury snarled.
"I can help." Fletcher offered. "That one may be tougher than he looks."
"Yeah, you could use some back-up!" Caboose added.
“Shut it!” Black hissed, “...I am not a leader. I get that. But as my last order, I am telling you all to stay here and stay safe. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Before the others could protest, Black quietly slipped away, leaving the four behind.
“...Am I the only one getting a feeling that an anime did this before?” Caboose asked.
Black followed Pomelo from above, as he sought out a better signal. Focused on the mirror, he did not notice Black preparing for a lunge.
“Come on… come on…” Pomelo grunted.
Once Black was confident he was far enough away from the griffon, he leapt down, tackling Pomelo.
“Arrgh!" Pomelo grunted, as he tumbled into the undergrowth, “Ooh…”
“Sorry to drop in on you.” Black smirked, “I hope I didn’t interrupt something.”
“Well, well.” Pomelo hissed as he got up. He glanced at the mirror, which was now cracked, probably busted, then at Black, “You must be one of the outsiders I’ve heard so much about…” He then adjusted his tousled hair, “Who just ruined my mane, no less!”
“Okay, long locks, I have a few questions for you!” Black demanded, “Who are you guys?! What are you doing here?! How do you know about us?!”
“Sorry, big boy, but that’s for me to know… and for you to not find out!" Pomelo instantly fired a blast from his horn.
"Nice try." Black dodged. "You'll have to do better than that."
"Oh, I haven't even gotten started." Pomelo smirked.
Meanwhile, back at the ridge, the four waited there in silence, watching as Grunt sat there, doing nothing.
“Ugh, this is bullcrap!” Fury slammed his talons, “Black is out there, having a good fight with that weird looking stallion, while we’re sitting here on our asses! I can do the same thing quicker with this guy!”
“Don’t even think about it, Fury.” Fletcher glared, “Black told us to stay put.”
“Well, he told you to get water. And you didn’t do that.” Fury sneered.
“This is different.” Fletcher whispered harshly, “We don’t know who these guys are, or what they’re capable of. There might be more of them lying in wait!”
“If there is, bring them on!” Fury got up, “I’m not staying here and doing nothing. I’ll take that griffon down and get us off this island faster!”
"Fury, wait!" Fletcher yelled, as Fury leapt off the ridge. "Ugh, unbelievable..."
"Thanks for reminding me why I left." Sterling growled, as he walked away. "I'm leaving before reinforcements undoubtedly show up.”
"Sterling, don't!" Caboose called, “We gotta stick together!”
“I know when I'm not wanted, Caboose.” Sterling frowned, “Joining you guys has been nothing but a big mistake…”
“But Sterling-”
"Let him leave." Fletcher ordered. "I've had quite enough of him for one lifetime..."
"But..." Caboose muttered, only to be stopped by Fletcher's cold gaze. "Okay..."
Sterling glanced back… and let out a small sigh as he walked off.
Down below, Grunt was back on the ground, inspecting the tower…
“Hmm, everything looks to be alright…” The Griffon frowned, glancing it up and down, “But something’s off…”
"That'd be you, ugly."
Grunt perked up as he noticed Fury approaching him.
“Well, look who it is.” The griffon gave an evil smirk, “One of the outsiders, coming by to say ‘hello’.”
"That's right." Fury nodded, "I don’t know what’s going on round here. And I really don’t care. I’ve been having a bad week, and what better way to unwind then to beat the snot out of some Forefather flunkies!”
“Ooh, a tough guy.” Grunt chuckled darkly, “We’ll see how long that lasts when I reduce you to ashes!”
Before Fury could make a move, Grunt’s bracers lit up as the enemy griffon stood on hind legs and fired a volley of magical energy blasts that soon engulfed Fury.
“AAAH!” Fletcher and Caboose covered their eyes as dust and rubble flew everywhere.
"Ya like that? Huh?" Grunt cackled madly, firing blasts in all direction. "You're not a Griffon, you're a turkey! And I'm gonna blast into next week!"
Meanwhile, Black and Pomelo were locked in combat. Black threw a punch at Pomelo, knocking him back.
"That's going to leave a bruise." Pomelo gasped. "You'll pay for that!"
Pomelo fired another magic blast. This one struck Black dead center, knocking him back.
"Gotcha!" Pomelo cheered.
"Not bad." Black got back to his hooves. "But not good enough."
"Then try this!" Pomelo fired more blasts.
Black dodged every shot, then slammed into him.
“Oof!” Pomelo cried.
Black throw a punch combo at Pomelo.
"Hope you like black and blue." He smirked. "You're gonna be wearing it a lot this season.
"You filthy-!" Pomelo snarled.
Pomelo threw a punch, but Black dodged it. He then grabbed Pomelo by the midsection and flipped him onto his back.
"Urgh!" Pomelo grunted.
Quickly getting to his feet, he charged at Black again.
"You want more?" Black sneered. "You got it..."
Black dodged more of Pomelo's attacks, then pummeled him with several of his own. The last blow knocked Pomelo into a tree.
“Ooh…” Pomelo groaned, slumping a bit.
“If I were you, I would stay down.” Black smirked, “You might wanna save what looks you've got left.”
Pomelo started to chuckle darkly, as he wiped blood from his chin.
“What’s so funny?” Black’s smirk faded, replaced with suspicion.
“Oh, nothing. I just always find it amusing when all the opponents I faced think I'm that narcissistic… they never seem to realize…” Pomelo’s eyes started to produce purple wisps. "That's I'm more willing to sacrifice looks than they think."
“What the… you’re a Nightcrawler?” Black’s eyes widened.
“That’s right. I hope you enjoyed your fun, because I’m about to put you into the dirt, where you belong.” Pomelo stood straight, and approached Black, confidence in his stride, “For you see, deep within me, there’s a powerful beast just aching to get out, and cut loose on the nearest target. And you would do just nicely…”
“...I really hope you’re talking about something else.” Black muttered, trying to hide the uncertainty in his voice.
“Oh, I’m not.” Pomelo chuckled, as his wisps grew stronger, “Now prepare yourself for the BEAST WITHIN!”
Pomelo's body started to expand and contort.
"Rarrrgh!" Pomelo roared in agony, his voice lowering to a guttural growl as his warped itself further.
As Black watched on in horror, he couldn’t help but recognized the transformation. It was not like that of a Berserker that once consumed Echo Alchemy (as he was told), but of what happened to Twitch, the pony he transformed while under Sombra’s (or rather his dark side) possession.
“Oh… buck.”
Soon the transformation was complete, as Pomelo stood before Black, a muscular, towering brute.
"NOW, YOU DIE!!" Pomelo roared, his voice deeper and unequine.
“...I'm actually kinda busy right no-” Black meekly said.
Suddenly, Pomelo charged at him, the sound of a train whistling echoing in the air.
“And there’s that train again-OH FAUST!” Black screeched.
With speed totally unexpected of his new size, Pomelo rushed Black, wrapping a hoof around his neck and slamming into a tree, making a sizable dent.
"Urrk!" Black gaped.
"As repulsive as this form is, the trade-off in power is well worth it!" Pomelo sneered.
“Get… off!” Black slammed his back hooves, shoving Pomelo off as he dropped to the ground. Instantly, Black charged forth with a neigh, slamming his hoof into Pomelo’s face.
However, the attack did nothing; Pomelo didn’t even flinch.
“Oh crap…” Black meeped, as Pomelo gave a monstrous grin.
"Let me show you how a TRUE warrior beats another stallion into submission!" Pomelo snorted.
Nothing he was outmatched, Black tried to put some distance between him and his opponent.
"Where are you going?" Pomelo gave chase. "I was gonna see how you'd look with a few splashes of red!"
As Pomelo swung his hoof, Black leaped aside, avoiding the attack. He kept running, barely keeping ahead of Pomelo. Then he spotted his ‘Homer’ lying on the ground.
'Gotcha.' He thought.
Diving away from another Pomelo's strikes, Black grabbed his weapon and fired it at Pomelo. The blade embedded itself in Pomelo's hoof. But at his current size, it was the equivalent to being stuck with a pin.
"Is that the best you've got?" Pomelo sneered.
"Wait for it..." Black smirked.
Black looped the line around Pomelo's hoof, and attempted to slam him into the ground. However, due to Pomelo’s weight, all Black’s tugging did was straighten the line.
“...Oh no.” Black gaped.
"Nice try." Pomelo laughed, as he grabbed the Homer’s thread, "But now it’s my turn!"
With a single tug, Black was sent flying towards Pomelo, who then caught him by the head. With a creepy grin, Pomelo began slamming his head against Black, headbutting him repeatedly.
"Urgh!" Black grunted.
"Now we're really goin' head to head!" Pomelo smirked, as he readied another strike.
"Argh!" Black yelped.
"You've got a good head on your shoulders, pal!" Pomelo taunted.
After a couple more headbutts, Pomelo stopped, leaving Black really dazed as blood trickled down his forehead as he weakly groaned.
"Now, for the big finish!" Pomelo yelled, as he chucked Black into the air. As the helpless Black dropped back down, Pomelo punched him hard, sending Black flying through several trees, while pulling the Homer’s dart out of Pomelo.
“Uh... ah…” Black groaned, every part of his body hurting.
"Time for a nap... a dirt nap!" Pomelo roared.
As Black struggled to raise his head, he saw Pomelo's massive form descending on him.
“Oh fu-”
Then it all went dark…
At the same time, Grunt's barrage finally ended. Where Fury had stood, there was only a thick cloud of smoke and dust.
“Whoa, that’s a lot of ‘boom’. You don’t think Fury is…” Caboose whispered.
“No… it couldn’t be...” Fletcher shook his head, his hate for Fury replaced with a bit of concern.
Grunt panted for a moment, before showing a grin of victory.
"Gotcha." The brawny Griffon smirked, “Not so tough now, are ya-”
Suddenly, a spear shot out of the smoke, slicing Grunt’s cheek.
“Gah!” Grunt cried, clutching the bloody cheek, “What the-?!”
"You know, it's a good thing I am who I am." Fury's voice emitted from the smoke.
The smoke cleared, and to Grunt’s horror, revealed that Fury, eyes a-wisping, had blocked all of Grunt's blasts with a shield made of six spears. Their job complete, the spears disassembled to surround him.
"Or else you might had actually done some damage." Fury smirked.
“You’re… you’re a Nightcrawler?!” Grunt gaped, “A griffon Nightcrawler?!”
“Yes… consider yourself lucky, because this is the last one you’re gonna see!” Fury laughed.
"No!" Grunt made to attack again.
However, the bracers did nothing but ‘click’, their magic depleted from the non-stop usage moments ago. Grunt let out a meep of terror.
"No more toys for you, pal." Fury sneered. "Time for the grown-ups to play!"
Panicked, Grunt attempted to fly out of danger. but two more spears tore into the Griffon's wings as they spread.
"Arrgh!" Grunt yelled, dropping back down to the ground.
"You're goin' nowhere!" Fury charged.
Fury began pummeling Grunt mercilessly. Grunt attempted to crawl away, but Fury wouldn’t let up. Before long, the brawny Griffon was lying in a bruised mess on the ground.
“Please… please…” Grunt whimpered.
"Time to put an end to this..." Fury declared.
Fury put Grunt in a hold, pulling his opponent's arms as far back as possible.
"Ahh!" Grunt screeched.
"Any last words before I break these off and feed 'em to ya?" Fury taunted.
"Please, don't kill me." Grunt pleaded. "I beg ya, don't kill me-e-e-e!"
"Look at you." Fury said coldly. "You were so damn proud, so sure of yourself, and now here you are, crying like a woman."
"I am a woman!" Grunt yelled.
"Wuh-What?" Fury froze up.
"What?!" Fletcher and Caboose gasped.
"I said, I am a woman!" Grunt repeated.
Fury's eyes widened.
"WHAT?!" He yelped.
Meanwhile, Sterlng was walking through the trees on his own, his mind in turmoil.
'Maybe I shouldn't have left them behind like that... twice.' He thought. Then he shook his head. 'No. They don't care about me. I'm better off without them. But still, what do I do now…?'
"Penny for your thoughts?" A voice suddenly called out.
Sterling stopped, looking for the source of the voice. Then Turbine dropped down in front of him. The pony immediately stepped back in shock.
"What's the matter, Mr. tourist?" Turbine smirked. "Got separated from your group?"
"What's the matter, birdy?" Sterling shot back. "Got separated from your wings?"
“Ooh, someone’s grouchy.” Turbine sneered, “Then again, with the week you had, who can blame you?”
“What are you…” Sterling suddenly realized what he meant, and gave a scowl, “Son of a… you’ve been following us, haven’t you?”
“Guilty.” Turbine grinned.
“Hmph, I’m guessing you’re with those two we saw back there?” Sterling gestured behind them.
“Sadly, yes.” Turbine huffed, “It wasn’t by choice, but what can you do? The higher-ups decides what goes around here… of course, you would know a lot about that, wouldn’t you… Sterling Cross?”
“...You know who I am?” Sterling frowned.
“Not at first. But as I followed you guys, you started to look familiar.” Turbine nodded, “I read in a newsletter recently that an Ouroboros has turned traitor, and defected over to the RDL. I didn’t believe it at first, but here you are, in the flesh… abandoning yet another team… you’re really on a roll, you know that?”
"Well, know this: I'm gonna roll right over your face." Sterling snarled, “Especially if you don’t get out of my way.”
“‘Fraid I can’t do that. You see, we’re on a very tight schedule here.” Turbine explained, “And we can’t have you or anypony buck it up for us… so…”
“Very well.” Sterling growled, as he drew his sword, “Whatever it is you have planned, I’m putting an end to it!”
"Bring it." Turbine taunted with a waving hand.
Drawing his sword, Sterling charged at Turbine, eager to take out some aggression on this new opponent. Turbine leapt clean over him, evading the swing entirely.
"Missed me." Turbine smirked.
"What are you, afraid to face me head-to-head?" Sterling growled.
"Nope." Turbine shrugged. "Just making a point."
Turbine leapt forward, kicking Sterling in the face.
"Guh!" Sterling stumbled back.
"Still think I'm afraid, traitor?" Turbine sneered.
"You will be." Sterling growled.
Sterling swung his sword again. Turbine once again dodged, and the blade cut a tree clean in half.
"Not bad." Turbine declared. He grabbed a branch from the fallen tree and, using it as a club, struck Sterling in the side, before chucking it aside. "Then again, Loveless always did do good work. Such a shame for that work to be in the hooves of a traitor."
"Don't you even say his name!" Recovering from the club, Sterling swung again. This time, Turbine leaned back to evade the strike, and kicked the blade out of Sterling's hooves.
"That’s enough of that." He smirked. He then kicked Sterling in the face, knocking him back once more.
“Grr…” Sterling snarled, getting back to his hooves. As he did, Turbine picked up the mechanical blade, giving it a test swing.
“You know, my very first order of business once I get back is to commission Loveless for a invention I’ve been brainstorming for a while.” Turbine revealed, “Something to help me realize my dreams… maybe when I see him, I’ll let him know you said ‘hi’.”
"Rahhh!" Sterling, his mind clouded by anger and resentment, lashed out with both front hooves.
"This is the great Sterling Cross?" Turbine scoffed, evading each blow, and returning it with two blows from the blunt side of Sterling’s sword, knocking him back once more. "I'm disappointed. Expected so much better."
"Expect this!" Sterling leapt up on his hind-leg, swinging his strong hoof directly at Turbine's head.
Turbine dodged the blow by inclining his head, then grabbed Sterling's leg at the knee.
"I did." He said flatly.
Before Sterling could recover from the shock, Turbine thrust his knee into his stomach.
"Hurrgh!" Sterling wheezed. He then dropped to the ground, unconscious.
"So much for 'dangerous'." Turbine scoffed.
Back at the tower, Fury was watching on in moritification, his face ashen, as Grunt proceeded to tell ‘her’ story.
“...And that’s why I was considered the most beautiful, and fertile, hen in my village… before the yaks came and smashed it to the ground.” Grunt finished.
"They tend to do that." He said flatly. "Also..." He gagged. "Huuuugh!"
"Now you know the truth, Fury." Grunt sighed.
"...As a fellow griffon who's had his fair share of tragedies, you have my sympathies." Fury admitted. "But as a griffon who also could've gone his whole life without hearing about any of... 'that', I'm gonna try my damndest to repress the truth. And the first step..." He summons more spears. "Is killing you."
Grunt stepped back in horror.
"Gah, now, Fury, let's talk about this!" She cringed. "You don't want to kill me."
"Oh, and why is that?" Fury frowned.
"Because I have money?" Grunt offered.
"Nope." Fury sneered.
"Drugs?" Grunt tried again.
"Strike two." Fury shook his head.
"I'll let you flap me?" Grunt pleaded.
"Hurrrgh!" Caboose heaved in the background.
Fury's face was set in utter horror and revulsion.
"Repressing in five!" He roared, raising a spear.
"Please don't!" Grunt begged.
"Four!" Fury leveled the spear.
"I'll do anything!" Grunt whimpered.
"Three!" Fury pointed the spear at Grunt.
"There must be a better way!" Grunt urged.
"Two!" Fury pulled back his arm, ready to throw.
"I don't wanna die!" Grunt broke down.
"One-ugh!" Fury suddenly tensed up. He started staggering around. "One quarter... One third... One sixteenth... One fifth..."
"Huh?" Grunt frowned.
"One millionth..." Fury dropped down, unconscious.
Turbine was right behind Fury, Sterling over his shoulder, Sterling’s sword in his free hand.
"Turbine!" Grunt smiled.
"Gotta say, Grunt. For once, your Faust-like repulsiveness actually helped you." Turbine smirked.
"Hey!" Grunt growled.
"Tell me I'm wrong." Turbine challenged her. "Just tell me.”
"This is not good." Fletcher gaped, he and Caboose aware of the dire situation.
"What are we gonna do?!" Caboose asked nervously. "What are we gonna do?!"
"Just try and remain calm." Fletcher said, shaking. "They don't know we're here, at least."
“Oh, by the way, are you aware that there’s two more up on that ridge?” Turbine asked Grunt, pointing directly at Fletcher and Caboose (who froze in terror). "How could you not have spotted them sooner?"
"I thought they were ducks." Grunt shrugged.
"Quack!" Caboose called out, trying to save their cover.
"Too late for that." Fletcher cringed. "Run!"
But the moment they turned around… none other than Ferdy and Dan were in front of them.
“Oh no!” Fletcher gasped.
“...Midget minotaurs?” Caboose glanced up at the sky, “Really, writers?”
“Hey there, buddy, how it’s going?!” Ferdy said cheerfully.
“Obviously not very good because you’re trying to do some evil crap, you nut sandwich!” Caboose glared.
“What’s that, you want to put your nuts in a sandwich?!” Ferdy held a hand to his ear.
“Well… yeah, probably.” Caboose admitted.
“What?!” Fletcher blanched.
“Why would you do that, why would you put your nuts in a sandwich?!” Ferdy laughed.
“Because this is bucking Equestria! I can put my nuts in a sandwich!” Caboose yelled.
“Well, we better take you out before somepony put nuts in my sandwich!” Ferdy roared.
“Not today!” Caboose glared, “YAAAAH!”
But before Caboose could even get a hit in, Ferdy slammed him hard with a small uppercut.
“Caboose!” Fletcher gasped.
“Sorry to ‘punch’ out so early. Ha-ah!” Ferdy grinned.
“Hey, no one hurts my fr-!” Fletcher declared, only for Dan to slam his knee on his head, taking him out.
“Nice one, Dan!” Ferdy smirked.
“Ooh, I think I scraped my knee on the landing.” Dan said dourly, “Stupid hoofbrain…”
“...Just take a compliment, brother.” Ferdy rolled his eyes.
As the twins brought their captives below, Pomelo arrived, carrying Black. He had since reverted to his original form.
“My, look like I wasn’t the only one who had my hooves full.” Pomelo smirked, as he took note of Turbine, “Turbine. So nice of you to finally join us.”
“It’s a good thing I did.” Turbine scoffed, “Otherwise, Grunt would had gotten her feathers flapped good by the griffon.”
“Shame. It would had been the closest she got with the opposite sex.” Pomelo sneered.
“Oh, screw you!” Grunt snarled, as she clutched her wounded wings, “The asshole damn near killed me.”
“But he didn’t. You’re welcome.” Turbine grinned, as he glanced at the unconscious Sterling on his shoulder, “Wait till Broker sees this. He’ll have to admit he was wrong now."
"Forget that." Grunt declared, as she picked Fury up, ignoring the pain in her wings. "We'll probably all get big fat promotions for this!"
"Aw, yeah!" Ferdy smirked. "More Bits for the bull!"
"I'm tryin' to be excited about it..." Dan sighed.
"Let's get back to the camp." Pomelo declared, “The tower’s good and fixed, and all the outsiders have been captured.”
“And come tomorrow… we will all finally get what we want!” Turbine declared proudly.
“Hear, hear to that.” Pomelo chortled.
The five of them departed, carrying the unconscious Project: Freedom members on their backs. Things seemed bleak, as the team, as dysfunctional as they were, was going to end before it could begin...