//------------------------------// // Grand Rounds // Story: Friendship VS Machine // by FrostyDawn //------------------------------// The mercenaries gladly strode down the hall, both eager and satisfied to give the girls the gift. Everyone, except for the Soldier. "Do. Not. Do it. That is a direct order!" He warned them, but they simply ignored him. "Sorry, Jane. We've made up our minds." The Engineer said, not even bothering to make eye contact. "Wait, that's his name?" Rainbow Dash snickered. "Out of all the names ever, yours is Jane?" She said, resisting to burst out into laughter. "Oh, great! Now they now my name! I might as well exploit my fear of hippies!" His eye's suddenly widened. "Goddammit, now they know about that too!" "Ah never really knew you guys had actual names." Applejack said, turning to the Sniper. "A'course we do! Everyone's gotta name. The Engie's 'Dell Conagher', the Demo's 'Tavish DeGroot', and the Soldier, he's 'Jane Doe'." The Sniper replied. "What about you? And that... thing?" she whispered, motioning toward the Pyro. "Lawrence. Lawrence Mundy. And no-one knows about the Pyro. We don't even know if he's human. He could even be a woman, for all we know." He said, as Applejack gave him a confused and intrigued look. The Medic then stepped into the briefing room. Resting on the table, was the glowing unusual hat. Rarity's jaw dropped. "You're... you're going to give us that?" she said, sparking more gasps among the others. "Yes. It's ze very least ve can do." He said, passing it to Twilight. "That's not true! The least we can do is nothing! Send them home to their mamas in a box!" The Soldier grumbled. "But you said you wanted this for years. Who knows how often something like this appears." Zecora said, eyeing the shining hat intently. "You deserve it. Take it as a token of our appreciation." The Spy said. "Oh, come on! We earned that hat! Do you know how long it took us to get that?!" The Soldier shouted, clearly upset. "You didn't earn it! You pulled it out of a box!" Twilight said, crossing her arms. "Well, excuse me for wanting what's mine!" Soldier grumbled. "Well, we were just happy to help. After all, what kind of friends would we be if we just showed up and watched you get yourselves blasted to pieces?" Spike added, trying to steer them away from the hat. "Hphphmgmh fmfvvmg wmgmg?" The Pyro mumbled, gesturing toward the group. Everyone turned to Derpy, hoping for a translation. "Smokey asked us how we're going to get home." Derpy said, blinking her askew eyes. "Well, we'll just leave the same way we came. We can cast the transport spell again." Twilight said, summoning a pouch of golden dust. She then walked over to an empty spot on the floor, scattering the dust in a circle while everyone said their goodbyes. "I'm gonna miss you, big guy!" Pinkie cried, flinging her arms around the Heavy's neck, and suspended herself since the Heavy was so much taller. The russian simply rolled his eyes, and peeled the girl off of his shoulders. "Little girl has done good in battle. Be proud. Be strong like Heavy. All is good." He said, and gave a hearty smirk as he set Pinkie down. Rainbow Dash pulled the Scout aside, and quickly hugged him. "Thanks. For everything, I guess." She said, blushing as she pulled away just as quickly. The Scout however, was completely dumbfounded. "Uh... yeah. You too, I guess." He stuttered, his cheeks as red as his crimson shirt. The farewells were interrupted as a small hole opened up in the ceiling, and dropped a small box with a screen, a speaker, and an antenna. The screen flickered on, which showed the Administrator. She sarcastically clapped as the Sniper picked it up. "Well, well. If it isn't my faithful mercenaries, and those children of yours." She said coldly, as everyone began to huddle around the small box. "Hey! You're the one that tried to kill us!" Applejack cried out. "She what?!?" The Engineer yelled, as the mercenaries glared at the Administrator. "Oh, yes. A little misunderstanding. I hope we can put me trying to kill you behind us. So now, you can focus on me, trying to kill you now. Ta-ta!" She chuckled, and pressed a button on her remote control. The box's screen shut off, and a green gas began spewing out from the speaker. The Sniper dropped the box, but the room quickly filled with the gas. The Demoman took a whiff of the gas, and his eyes widened. "It's methane! This place is gonna blow!" He yelled, and the Spy frantically spat out his cigarette, stomping out the ember. Fluttershy ran up to a door, and jiggled the doorknob. "It's locked!" She yelled, trying to pull it open. "Quickly! Escape vith ze spell vhile you can!" The Medic yelled, holding up his sleeve to his mouth. "What about you?! You'll be killed!" Spike said, his voice getting rough as he tried to inhale as little methane as he could. "Do not worry, little man. What matters is that you and friends are safe." The Heavy said, then turned to the door. He began ramming it over and over, forming small cracks in the wood with each blow. "Zecora, quick! (cough cough) Cast the spell!" Twilight cried, as the group held hands in the golden circle. "Another world we shall face, transcend the bonds of time and space. And with these realms we do connect, we shall cross the bridge we project!" And with that, the mercenaries were left in the room, filling with their imminent, flammable demise. But then, hope shined through. The last blow the Heavy delivered burst the door into several splinters, and the mercenaries quickly sprinted down the hall. Looking back, the Engineer figured out that a live wire sparked in the room, sending a searing blast of fire through the hall behind them. Bursting out the exit, the RED team hit the ground as the building was incinerated from the inside, causing the glass windows to shatter and make towers of smoke roll out. And there, they simply watched, reflecting. They had been at war for so long. And now, it was over. They could go back home, and live their normal lives once more. The Scout looked down to see something caught in his dogtag necklace. A single, cyan feather.