//------------------------------// // Second Opinion // Story: Friendship VS Machine // by FrostyDawn //------------------------------// The Heavy, Engineer and Medic were the only mercenaries alive after the wave. All the others respawned perfectly, and they still had a wager. "Heavy is hero! Special hat is Heavy's!" He cheered proudly, but the Medic cut him off. "I don't zhink zo, Kamerade. If I vasn't zhere, you'd be dead! I should get ze hat!" He said, storming in front of the Russian. "Nice try, pardner. You've been hidin' behind Heavy the whooole time, using him as yur own bullet monkey while you sit back pumpin' him full a medicine." The Engie chuckled, patting his hand with his wrench. "But I am ztill alive, ja? Zhat was ze bet, vas it not?" The Medic retaliated. The Heavy put his giant hand between them. "Little men amuse Heavy. Engineer hides behind machines. Medic hides behind Heavy. Heavy hides behind no-one." Twilight rolled her eyes again, grumbling to the others. "I can't believe this. They're still arguing about that hat." Spike shrugged. "Well, can you blame them? It's not every day you find a glowing hat." He said. "Again with the glowing..." Twilight muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose. "It's not that hair-brained. It kind of reminds me of Celestia." Applejack mused, stripping the modified Gunslinger of her wrist. The others nodded, as they thought the same thing. Twilight scratched her chin. "Maybe it is better than we think." "We? Twi, you're the only one this skeptical." Rainbow Dash chuckled. Twilight grunted, and stormed into the base. "All this fuss over a hat..." she grumbled. Over the next few hours, she would try to avoid the arguing of that hat in the bedroom. Only when everyone went to sleep, she found peace. <><><><><><><><><> Twilight found herself awake in the Sniper's bedroom, on the mattress. The room always smelled rank, and it was obvious why. There was a crate in the corner stacked with jars. Each one filled with a smelly, yellow liquid Twilight didn't want to inspect further. She opened the door for a little fresh air, and heard something she didn't expect. Silence. She wandered through the corridor, looking for anyone awake. As she entered the briefing room, the glowing hat sat on the table, and that was a little odd. No mercenaries were staring at it, arguing over it, or placing more bets for its possession. It just sat there, beaming rays of sunshine on its own. "Applejack was right." Twilight thought. "It is kind of like Celestia. Reminds me of Starswirl the Bearded, too." She mused over that thought as she found herself picking it up. She couldn't figure out what about this hat made it so appealing. Did it grant any mystic powers? Was it a sign of wealth and respect? Or perhaps it just felt better to wear it. Twilight was slowly lifting the hat over her head, but she dropped it as a horrified scream rang through the building. Then, a second, less terrifying shriek came from a bedroom before Rainbow Dash burst through the door, panting heavily with her colorful hair messed up. "Twilight! Something happened! I heard Fluttershy scream, and then I...!" Rainbow cried, and pointed inside the bedroom. She shared a room with the Scout, and on the bed, the sheets were stained with a streak of blood. The other girls and Spike opened their doors, all of them clamoring at once. Twilight struggled to hear everyone speaking on once. "Enough! What is going on here?!" "Ah heard someone scream!" Applejack said worriedly, wringing her hands. "-and then I heard Rainbow Dash!" Rarity panted, furiously brushing her hair like an emergency. "Smokey was gone! I looked at the bed-" Derpy said, more urgent than she normally was. "-to find the sheets colored red!" Zecora finished with her rhyming pattern. Twilight shook her head, and their stories sounded the same to her. "So, what does this mean?" "What if they were killed?! Those robots might have snuck in and took 'em out in their sleep!" Rainbow cried. "If those robots wanted to kill them, why are we still here? We helped them through two robot waves and they should be just angry at us." Spike reasoned. "Hold on..." Pinkie muttered, and counted the group. "We're one short." Her eyes suddenly widened. "Ohmigosh! Where's Fluttershy?!" Rarity dropped her brush. "Do you think something happened to her, too?" "But she screamed a minute ago, she's probably still here!" Applejack said, looking around. A timid voice then appeared behind them. "Guys..." They turned, seeing Fluttershy standing in the doorway. Her eyes were wide, and her face pale. "Fluttershy! You're alright! But what happened? You look like you've seen a ghost!" Twilight said, examining her friend's current state of shock. "I saw something horrible... I-I just couldn't bare to stick around.." The shy girl whimpered. "Well, you should show us! Ya had us worried sick!" Rainbow said, tugging Fluttershy. "Show us the way!" Fluttershy reluctantly wandered down the hall, building tension in the air. She stopped in front of a metal door, which was barely shut. She pushed the door open some more, letting the outside light beam into a dark room. It was a wide room, since the back wall couldn't be seen. All that could be seen was a puddle of blood sitting on the floor. That alone chilled everyone's nerves. They stepped inside, and Applejack fumbled on the wall for a light switch. She found one, and flicked it on. As the lights buzzed with electricity, the whole, scary picture was revealed to them. Against the back wall were nine glass capsules, each about three feet wide, and seven feet tall. Each one was filled with a green liquid, and nine specific mercenaries. Each mercenary floated in a tube with several cables sticking to their body, which lead to a small black box placed on each cylinder. The mercenaries' eyes were rolled back into their head and a bloody gash over their chest. At the base of each glass tube, a pipe connected from the capsule to a generator in the corner, pumping in the green liquid as another device pushed air into their lungs and recorded their hearts beating in near perfect unison. This horrid sight made Rarity quiver and her knees shake. "Oh my... I'm going to be ill." She whimpered, swooning back, only to have Applejack catch her. "What is this?! What have they done to them?!" Rainbow Dash cried, running up to the Scout's capsule and tapping the glass. His body jolted with each tap, his face still unresponsive and inert. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. It disturbs them." A voice spoke above them. "Who are you? What's going on?" Twilight asked, glancing up at the overhead speakers.. "I am the Administrator. I've been watching over you aid my mercenaries unofficially against the robots." She sneered. "Watching us? Why?" Applejack asked, helping Rarity to her feet. "Because I never wanted you here." The old woman said coldly. "You just appear in my facility, and become friends with my mercenaries. And friendship will not be tolerated here." The speakers rang, giving the word 'friendship' a spiteful tone. "And, so far, it seems that killing you is more difficult than it seems." "Wait. You tried to kill us?!" Rainbow Dash said, panicked by the voice haunting them. "Yes... first you joined the mercenaries against fighting the robots. You managed to survive. I decided to distracted them with a little greed... and you're still alive..." The Administrator growled. "So now, I simply killed them, and locked them in the RESPAWN system." "So, what? You're not just going to kill us now, are you?" Spike asked, worried. "No, I myself am far too busy. I'll let the robots take care of that. With no mercenaries, there is nothing stopping the robots from blasting you to pieces. Why, I believe they're on their way here now." The Administrator chuckled, and with one last click, the speakers silenced. The girls stared at each other in dead silence, processing what just happened. "What are we going to do? We'll be torn to shreds out there." Rainbow Dash sighed, slouching against a wall. "We can't just give up! We'll be blasted to shreds if we don't do anything!" Pinkie Pie yelled. "But how are we going to fight back? We don't have any mercenaries." Spike added. Zecora thought for a little while. "Her warning we must heed. Perhaps some teamwork is all we truly need." Twilight perked up upon hearing those words. "That's it! We'll fight them with teamwork and friendship. As long as we work together, we can do our absolute best!" The purple girl cheered. "How? It's not like we can... oh. I see what your getting at." Rarity muttered. Twilight faced her friends, and smirked. "We won't lose. We'll get our friends back. I promise." She said, walking out of the room with a determined look on her face. Fluttershy was the last one in the room. She paused, and turned toward the inactive bodies of the mercenaries. Despite their glazed-over eyes and motionless expressions, they still seemed alive and conscious. "Don't worry. We'll be back for you." She whispered, as she shut off the light and shut the door.