//------------------------------// // Green Balloons to top up your cash // Story: Bloons Tower Defense: Equestria // by TheMajorTechie //------------------------------// "..." "..." the other green balloon agreed, hovering passively underneath the dense forest canopy. "...!" the first balloon hollered, sending the signal for the balloons to rush. "Surrounded, ya say?" Edward grumbled, "I need another banana before we go on." "STOP IT WITH YOUR FREAKIN' BANANAS AND DO SOMETHING!" Craig's voice hollered from the shack. Edward rolled his eyes. "Fine," he groaned, turning to Twilight. "Do what you can to those b'loons with Moonbutt here, and I'll get some towers ready for our troops to be stationed at." "Why do you need towers?" Twilight raised a brow, "Wouldn't it limit mobility?" Edward shrugged in response. "Yeah, but it gives my monkeys a better view of where they're flinging things. They're really not actual towers as they are specific positions that I order 'em to stand on." Another explosion ripped through the background as yet another banana tree toppled, mowed down by the rapidly-approaching swath of greens. "HAHA!" the female monkey from earlier exclaimed, popping up between Edward and Twilight with a noticeably pointier dart in her hand, "Sharper darts, proven to pierce not one, but two b'loons in one shot!" "Um." The monkey ran off yet again, dart still in her hand as she set off to mass-produce the sharper darts in the who-knows-what building it was that contained the manufacturing equipment. "Anyways," Twilight continued, clearing her throat, "We should probably at the least figure out where the balloons seem to be focused, and put up a defensive measure there." Luna nodded, licking her lips. "Yes," she added, "which at the moment, appears to still be the banana farms." "Well, what are we waiting for then?!" Edward exclaimed, "You two go and blast those darn b'loons into oblivion while I gather some dart monkeys. I'll meet you there." Twilight watched as the monkey scurried off to who-knows-where before turning back to Luna. "I... guess we should probably go then?" Luna nodded, taking to the air. Twilight followed close behind, her eyes widening as she took in the full scope of the current balloon invasion. Next is a cash round - pop hundreds and hundreds of greens to top up your money. If you leak any I'll wince. "Whuh?" Twilight and Luna simultaneously looked around in a frenzied search for the disembodied voice. "Who is that?" Twilight yelled, "If you're the one sending these balloons, please, stop!" No response from whatever phantom voice made the comment. "Forget about it, Twilight," Luna mumbled, pointing a hoof at the wave of green approaching the small town below. "We have more important matters to tend to." The two swooped back down just as Edward returned with a small group of other monkeys. "What're you two doin' here still?!" he exclaimed, "Git!" "We have spotted a large gathering of green balloons intruding on your territory," Luna stated flatly, "I doubt that your monkeys will be able to defeat them with mere darts." "Ah, but that's where you're wrong, Miss Horse," Edward smirked, "These are the darts that my assistant just sharpened. Two hits in one throw, and with the number of monkeys I've got just behind me, we'll definitely crush them b'loons!" "How much are you gonna pay us for this again?" "Yeah, I've still got a family to support, y'know. You kinda just dragged us out of our houses and handed us piles of throwing darts." Edward grimaced. "I... uh, I'll pay you in the equivalent of bananas for your work. How 'bout that?" "Eh." "Fine, you can take the bananas from the farms as pay," Edward sighed, "But if you want bananas at all, I'd recommend that you defend those farms from the b'loons." The monkey turned back to Twilight and Luna. "Now then," he grumbled, "If the banana farms are gonna be completely taken up by paying the others, how do you think this town's gonna earn enough money to survive?" Next is a cash round - pop hundreds and hundreds of greens to top up your money. If you leak any I'll wince. The words repeated in Twilight's head. "How about selling the rubber from the popped balloons?" she commented, "It's a pretty durable material, and it'd be a shame to let it go to waste after popping it." "What a brilliant idea!" Edward laughed, "And with the money from the sales, I could switch over to paying my monkeys in cash!" He whirled around to the dart monkeys behind himself. "Alright, troops!" he ordered, "I want you to station yourselves along the sides of the path. That way you will avoid the chaos of fighting up-close with the b'loons. Got it?!" The small collection of monkeys grumbled amongst themselves. "I'll pay you in cold, hard cash if you do it, so long as you retrieve the rubber from those b'loons. We can sell 'em by the pop, 'kay?" Immediately, the morale amongst the monkeys lifted as they scrambled for the sidelines. In the distance, small, green figures began to appear along the path, drifting even faster than the blue balloons before them as they made a beeline for the town center. Edward turned to the two alicorns. "You two," he continued, pointing, "I'm gonna station you near the end of the track to scrape up any stragglers." "Track?" Twilight scrunched her muzzle, "What track?" "Er... path. Walkway, road. Whatever," the monkey fumbled, "Just find a good spot to stand still and zap b'loons." Twilight and Luna shot sly glances at each other as Edward wandered off, presumably to resume his banana-counting. "Shall we take this to the air?" Luna smirked. "Certainly."