//------------------------------// // Meet the Medic (Part 2/2) // Story: Meet the Team: Pony Fortress 2 // by The Usurper //------------------------------// "The REDs are here!" Rainbow gasped. Great, just great. Diana thought. And just when I thought the worst was over. Big Mac's eyes narrowed. "No." "The- The REDs?" Fluttershy ducked back behind her new medigun. "How bad?" Diana asked. "Really bad. Almost their whole team is here, and no matter how many times we kill them, they keep coming back." "They must have a respawn point nearby." Diana murmured. "As if my life could get any more difficult. How about our sentries?" "Their Spy sapped them just before the REDs invaded and backstabbed our Engineer." "Damn it!" Looks like they really want revenge for that recon mission. "Ah'll be right out." Big Mac said. "Just let me get my minigun." "W- Wait!" Much to Diana's surprise, Fluttershy actually emerged from behind her machine with lightning fast speed, blocking Big Mac's way. "I need to make sure that the side effects-" "Fluttershy, it's okay. Ah'll be fine. Even if it's just a little pain-" "No no no, you don't understand! It could be anything! I have no idea what might happen!" Fluttershy, hovering slightly off the ground with her wings, crossed her two forehooves. "You can't go out there." "Ah'm sorry, but ah have to. Ah'm not gonna let our base be destroyed by those REDs. Besides, even if ah do die, ah'll just respawn." "But the effect could even last across lives if I don't fix it now!" Fluttershy fretted. "I... I just... won't be able to forgive myself." Diana watched the scene silently, processing the information in her mind. If I know Big Mac, he'll relent. I've seen how much he likes Fluttershy. Something in Big Mac's eyes softened. "Fluttershy..." "Please don't go." Fluttershy pleaded. "For me." Big Mac stood stock still for a few moments, then sighed. "Fine, ah won't go until you fix this problem, okay? Just try to make it quick." "Oh thank you thank you thank you!" Fluttershy enveloped Big Mac in a tight hug, eliciting a very, very significant blush from the latter. "I'll be as fast as I can! Just sit down on that chair again and let me check your chest." Wait. Do I hear footsteps? Diana examined the room. Whoever the unidentified assailant was, she couldn't find any trace of her anymore, and besides, it sounded like it was coming from outside the door. "Give me a weapon, Rainbow." Diana whispered. "What? Why?" "Just give me one. You have a bat on you, right?" "Yeah, here you go." Rainbow offered her bat to Diana. "What do you need it for?" "You'll find out soon." Diana gestured to the door. "Stand between that door and the Medic. I know somepony is coming." "Got it." Rainbow dashed over to her assigned location, while DIana silently crept behind the door. Three... two... one... The door burst open, revealing a rocket launcher-hefting dragon grinning maniacally. "I thought I'd find the Medic here. And what's this? Even better - a defenseless Heavy." "Just stay still, Big Mac." Fluttershy soothed the struggling Heavy. "Trust me - everything will be alright." "Not to burst your bubble, Fluttershy, but there's an armed RED Soldier pointing his rocket launcher at us." "He won't get to you. Not if I can help it." Rainbow hefted her scattergun. "You're gonna have to go through me." "You? You're just a Scout." The Soldier aimed his launcher at Rainbow. "You can't stop me." "Even if I can't, I'll fight until I die to defend them." As Rainbow spoke, Diana slowly crept up behind the Soldier. "Why don't you just leave?" The Soldier asked. "It's not like you can change anything, and it'll make my life easier." "I'll never leave my friends hanging. Never. Why don't you leave, before I destroy you?" "Didn't you hear me?" The Soldier roared. "I said that you can't stop me!" Diana, who by this time had snuck all the way up to the Soldier's side, whispered into his ear, "Maybe not by herself." "Wha- huh?!" The Soldier spun around just as Diana delivered a punishing blow to his face with the bat. Just as Rainbow taught me. "Argh!" He stumbled back, blood pouring from his nose. Rainbow fired two shots into his face before ramming the butt of the scattergun into his already broken nose. The Soldier collapsed to the ground, muttering a few choice curses, before Diana shut him up with a final stomp to his head. Rainbow looked at Diana. "Thanks." "No problem. Here's your bat back." Diana returned the weapon to Rainbow. "I think I need something better if I'm going to fight out there." She turned to Fluttershy. "Are you done yet?" "Almost." Fluttershy replied as she examined the readings on her prototype medigun. "Okay, there aren't any anomalous readings for your vital signs, so you'll be fine." She breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness." "That's a relief. Thank you, Fluttershy." Big Mac kissed her on the cheek. Now it was Fluttershy's turn to blush furiously. "I'd hate to interrupt, but if you're fine, we need both you and Fluttershy on the battlefield posthaste." Diana told Big Mac. "Do you know where I can find any spare weapons?" "The supply lockers outside should have something." Big Mac responded. "You could go check whether there's anything left inside." "Thanks. I'll be right back." Without another word, Diana hurried out of the room. "Ready to go, Fluttershy?" Big Mac asked. "Yes. I'm going to show those REDs that nopony hurts my friends. Nopony." Fluttershy retrieved her original, portable medigun from a small locker in the side of the huge machine. "Rainbow, are you following us?" "Of course I am! Just as soon as I reload my scattergun, I'll be at the battlefield!" She rushed to the resupply closet. "Come on, Fluttershy. Let's go." Big Mac said. "Gladly." A stream of a translucent blue hue flowed from the mouth of the medigun to Big Mac. "You're both ready, right?" Diana poked her head into the room. "Because all I could find in that closet was a fire axe. I'm going to see if I can preoccupy their Sniper and destroy their respawn point." "Thanks, Diana." Big Mac nodded. "I have no idea where the Pyro is right now, or where she's been for a while now, so I guess she won't mind if you borrow her axe." "Yes, I'm quite sure she won't." Diana replied. "Now let's go. I think BLU team is getting massacred out there." I'm not going to let this interview end. Not just yet. Diana, followed by Big Mac and Fluttershy, moved cautiously out of the operation room, checking to make sure there weren't any more RED ambushers lurking in the shadows. Having crossed the length of the room without being burnt, decapitated, blown up or otherwise becoming somewhat less than alive, Diana reached for the door before hesitating. Hold on... "Brace yourselves for an explosion." Diana said. "What?" Big Mac asked. "Why?" "I have a hunch." Diana turned around, her rear facing the door, and delivered the hardest buck she could to its wooden surface. The explosion from what was undoubtedly the sticky bombs that had been planted at the base of the door propelled her backwards, but she had gotten enough experience with that to know how to break a fall. She landed neatly on her hooves at the other side of the room as Big Mac opened fire through the haze of smoke that obscured everything outside. Diana didn't waste a moment. Retrieving her axe, she charged out of the clinic, prepared to catch whatever projectiles came her way on the blade of her weapon. After she cleared the smoke, she surveyed the area, searching for the missing Demomare. This is strange. Where could she be? "Diana, we're gonna go along first, seeing as how there ain't anypony else around here." Big Mac, having realised that there was nopony on the other side of the smokescreen, strode up behind Diana. "Ah'll tell Twilight and Rarity to try and take care of the RED Sniper till you come along." "Sure. I just want to... examine the area." She's still around here. I'm sure of it. But where is she? There, She heard the sound of hoofsteps. That's odd. I know I just came from that clinic, so why does it sound like those are coming from behind me? She turned around. Nopony. Though, I guess it did sound a little bit like it came from above- She rolled backwards and caught the swing from the falling Demomare's Eyelander on her axe. Both mares disengaged and moved backwards, preparing for the most action-packed part of the confrontation. "Astute, Diana, as I could tell, from our last encounter. You did well." "Likewise. A clever trick, sneaking up from behind me. On the same roof I landed on, no less." "I merely followed in your hoofsteps, after Applejack told me her tale. I was certain, at that point, that your gamble did not fail." "Then you guessed right." Diana twirled her axe in her hooves. "But this gambit of yours will be different." "Believe me, when we're done, this sword you won't love; You'll beg me for mercy when push comes to shove." "We'll see. Just remember this: If you haven't yet lost the ability to ask," Diana leapt at the Demomare, "you may not yet ask for relief." The Demomare managed to catch Diana's slash on the edge of her blade, then ducked under the axe and delivered a harsh blow to her jaw with her hoof. The earth pony stumbled back, but kept her grip on the axe to deflect a powerful slash from the Eyelander. She's good. Really good. Diana took a step back. But she's still no match for me. Diana swung her axe in an uppercut that forced the Demomare to switch to a defensive stance to block, then used the momentum from the original impact of her weapon to force said weapon, aided by her forelegs, to arc in a circle that the zebra scrambled to deflect. In the split second of opportunity that Diana managed to gain from that manoeuvre, she kicked the Demomare as hard as she could in between her legs. The Demomare doubled over in pain, though to her credit, she almost - almost - managed to keep a grip on her Eyelander when Diana slashed at her hooves. The sword flew into the air and far, far out of reach. Diana leveled her axe at the Demomare's neck. "Now who's right?" Despite the intense pain that Diana was sure seared through her body, the Demomare still managed to reply, though it was more like a few choked out words. "Well... played, Diana. You are quite... efficient. You are truly... a master tactician." Of course, through all of that she still managed to rhyme. "I expected no less of myself." Diana pressed the blade into Zecora's throat, drawing a few rivulets of blood. "Any last words?" "Take this kill... for which you yearn. It is one..." The Demomare coughed. "... that you have earned." "Well said." With a single slice, Diana decapitated the zebra. The earth pony stood unfinchingly, gazing down at her victim as crimson blood spurted all over her legs and torso. She silently contemplated her next move. Should I go after the respawn point, or the Sniper? If Twilight and Rarity are at least halfway competent... A loud "ARGH!" echoed across the base. ...And there goes the Sniper. Respawn point it is, then. I just hope Big Mac and Fluttershy are fine. "I AM BULLETPROOF!" Okay, they're fine. Diana raced towards the source of the sound. Time to throw myself into the fray. A minute or so of frantic galloping brought Diana straight to the battlefield. RED grenades and rockets were already flying around, despite her two previous kills. Hmm. Really got to do something about that respawn poi- Her reflexes only just saved her as the arrow meant for her head drilled its way into the hoof she'd lifted to block the projectile a second prior. "Damn it. It's not like this hoof already has enough arrows in it." Diana glared at the distant RED Sniper, who had already pulled the bowstring taut and was preparing to fire. "Not if I can help it." Diana ducked the next one as it grazed her already hole-ridden mane. "Well, I guess one more wouldn't make a difference." Holding her axe up as a shield, Diana charged towards the Sniper. Good, she thinks I'm an idiot. Now time to make the most of my surprise. And... I'm gone. From her hiding spot, she could see the Sniper turning left and right, trying to find her target. Now that's got her confused. Give it a moment... She manoeuvred into position. Here we go. "Boo." "Ah!" The Sniper whirled around and drew back her bow, wondering how in the world her enemy had managed to sneak up behind her, but Diana promptly removed her head before she could do anything else. "This is a good axe." Diana examined it. "I really should bring it with me." She sighed. "Then again, if I do, everypony is going to think I'm the Pyro. That won't do wonders for my future interviews." She examined her surroundings. The Sniper had chosen a good spot, right at the edge of the valley, overlooking the entire BLU base. It was a fairly easy task to shoot anypony from here - including a thankfully still alive Heavy and his counterpart. The bodies of the other less fortunate littered the battlefield, but there weren't quite as many as she expected. Twilight and Rarity were doing a good job distracting the RED Sniper. From her current vantage point, she also caught sight of what she assumed to be the admittedly fragile-looking structure that housed RED's respawn point. Most of those points couldn't ordinarily be shut down easily - not with conventional weapons, anyway - but this was a temporary one, so she could at least give it a shot. Failing that, she could always seal the door shut. If at first you don't succeed... cheat. Diana galloped towards the building as fast as her hooves could take her, making sure that her axe was easily accessible to defend herself from enemy attacks. She met no resistance, thankfully, though the flashes and howls of pain closer to the BLU base told her that Big Mac and Fluttershy were taking the brunt of the RED assault. "Here we are." She whipsered to herself, gazing at the building that looked far less fragile now that she could see the durable keystones set in between the gaps in the likely magically enhanced wood that made up the majority of the structure. "Now the first thing I should do is-" *kaboom* Diana was no stranger to explosions at close range, but this one was so sudden and unexpected that by the time the shockwave deposited her a few metres away from both the source and her axe, about two seconds after detonation, her spinning head was still unsure of what happened. When she looked up, though, the fog in her head immediately cleared, giving way to shock. "But... how... I didn't..." Diana gazed breathlessly at the raging inferno that engulfed the respawn point, eating away at the walls of the structure. The enchanted wood, built to withstand bullets and explosives, had nothing on the pure, merciless heat of the flames. "I thought you might be up to this." Diana turned her head slowly, still shocked, and came face to blade with the Demomare's Eyelander. Strange how it looks so much more lethal up close. A quick glance up revealed the Demomare herself, brandishing the weapon at Diana's throat. "We'll give you what you deserve first, then that Heavy his." "Wait!" Diana protested. "I didn't do this!" As a matter of fact, a closer look at the scene revealed the true culprit: A very familiarly shaped figure fleeing from what was once the respawn point but now a growing hill of ash, her poofy mane bouncing up and down as she ran. Damn it. "Really. Then please explain, why of all ponies you, would come here so quickly after siding with BLU." "First off, I never sided with BLU. I was interviewing the BLU Medic. You know that I do not tolerate anypony who tries to interfere with my interviews." She swallowed. "You should know as much, when I was interviewing you. And as for why I am here now, I was going to remind the Sniper that her turn is next. I will need to call upon her soon." "It didn't seem that way to me when you tried to kill me." The RED Sniper appeared from behind Diana, Huntsman in her telekinetic grip. Diana gulped. "Carry her closer to the battlefield." The Sniper ordered. "I want her to see us slaughter that Heavy and Medic." "But Twilight, surely you already see, she is a powerful foe that has beaten both you and me." The Demomare said. "If she somehow manages to get free... well, let's just say we're living dangerously." "That's a bonus, yes." The Sniper acknowledged. "Just bring her there." "As you wish." The Demomare yielded. "But keep in mind, she's tough to beat, as you will find." "That's exactly the point." The Sniper replied. "So get her to the battlefront." The Demomare grumbled a bit, but did as she was told. "Get up, Diana. You heard what she said. Either way, I'll still make sure you're dead." "Why?" Diana asked. "Why are you letting her push you around?" The Demomare did not answer. I have a feeling that the next interview is going to be very, very interesting. Still, until she found a way to escape, she was still at the mercy of the Demomare, so followed her orders. For now. Besides, it gave her a way to witness Fluttershy's frontline battle skills. She owed her interview manuscript that much. It wasn't long before she came within hearing range of the battle, but that was mostly because the sounds of gunfire were really loud. Thankfully, she wasn't in the crossfire - yet, anyway - so she could focus on the big picture. RED Team had everypony except their Medic, Pyro and Scout. Of course, the Scout's head was in Fluttershy's fridge, but she had no idea where the other two were. Maybe they didn't respawn before the point was blown up. Either that, or they were waiting in ambush somewhere. Knowing her luck, Diana was willing to bet on the latter. BLU team, on the other hoof, had a grand total of two ponies: Big Mac and Fluttershy. Twilight, Rainbow and Rarity were nowhere to be seen. They could be waiting in ambush somewhere, though. Of course, RED team could also be spawn camping. Knowing her luck... "You'll never get past us!" Big Mac shouted above the roar of his minigun as it churned out bullet after bullet into the RED Soldier, who managed to stomach the projectiles and return a few shots of his own with his rocket launcher. "Willing to bet on it?" The Soldier retorted as he moved back, allowing RED's own Heavy to take over. "I will." Fluttershy shot back in a most uncharacteristic snarl. "If you think you can hurt my friends, then you're sadly mistaken." "We're sadly mistaken? Ah reckon not." Applejack stepped up, shotgun in hoof, as she prepared to fire. Well, this is a more assertive side of Fluttershy I haven't seen before. "This is too easy. No wind to factor in, no movement. Just a huge target." At some point in time, the Sniper had arrived by Diana's side, and now she was taking aim with her Huntsman. "A few adjustments... there." Alright, now I've got to stop her from killing them. Diana readied herself to pounce. If the Demomare doesn't react fast enough... She glanced at the zebra, who was watching the Heavies exchange fire with a distant look on her face. I think I can take a chance. She waited for the perfect moment. The Sniper pulled the bowstring ever tighter, closing one eye as she took aim. Now. Diana batted the Eyelander out of the way, leaping for the Sniper's legs at the same time. Her heart let out a small cheer when her forelegs connected with the Sniper's hooves and forced her to the ground. "Yes!" Somepony let out a cry of happiness, and it wasn't until a few moments later that Diana realised that it was the Sniper who had done so. "Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes!" "What?" If Diana had been confused before, when the respawn point had exploded, she was absolutely baffled now. "Why are you happy?" "Zecora, keep her down." The Sniper instructed, before turning her attention back to Diana. "I have to thank you, Diana. You've proven once again that anypony, no matter how powerful or smart, can be outwitted." She gestured to her bow. "Look." Diana looked - and realisation dawned on her. "I never was going to fire until you attacked me. I anticipated that you would, so I locked used my magic to lock the Huntsman in this position - the perfect position - until you were safely out of the way. Now you can't block the arrow or hurt me enough to prevent the Heavy from being killed." The Sniper released her arrow. It took Diana a total of half a second to estimate the trajectory of the projectile, and another quarter second to realise that the Sniper was totally right. Despite her best efforts, the arrow was dead accurate. It flew towards Big Mac's head at a frightening speed. In the three quarters of a second Diana spent analysing the situation, Fluttershy saw the arrow and reacted with a move that neither the Sniper nor Diana had expected. She flicked a switch on the side of the medigun, and the translucent blue clouds orbiting Big Mac's form coalesced into an impenetrable shield around his body. Diana half expected to see the Sniper fly into a rage, but she wasn't entirely surprised either when she saw the unicorn grinning excitedly. "Well, what's this?" The Sniper laughed. "I was right. Anypony can be outsmarted. Even me. She'll be an interesting enemy to face on the battlefield again." She turned to Diana. "Not as interesting as you, though. That Medic may have snap reflexes, but nothing I've seen can match up to your speed and skills. I can't wait for when it's my turn to be interviewed." "Yes, I have a feeling that that will be quite the day." Diana replied. No matter how good Fluttershy is, the both of them can't last forever. Any time now... The REDs had employed a strategy of constant withdrawal, switching out one teammate when they became too injured or had no ammo left with another, while the exhausted one would heal up at the Engineer's dispenser. BLU team had no such luxury, as Big Mac bore the full brunt of the damage, aided only by Fluttershy's healing. But eventually, Big Mac's minigun would fail him, and he would have to tur tail and run. The same thought occurred to Big Mac, as he whispered something into Fluttershy's ear that only she could hear, then suddenly turned tail and ran for the resupply room. At the same time, Fluttershy retreated into the cover of the base's perimeter buildings, narrowly avoiding a couple of rockets at the same time. "Out of ammunition." The Sniper mused. "Cover will also keep them safe from my Huntsman. They're also forcing us to fight in a position where we are at a tactical disadvantage." She waved to the Demomare. "We're going in. And bring Diana with us." "Look, I really didn't want to take her along earlier, but enough is enough." The Demomare snarled. "It's hard enougn to fight in there, but with her following us? It is going to be rough." Taking advantage of her opponent's temporary lapse in attention, Diana kicked the Eyelander out of the surprised Demomare's hooves, delivering a harsh blow to her face as she did so. A second later, her outstretched foreleg caught the falling sword, and she leveled it at the zebra's throat. "Now that," the Sniper explained calmly, "is why I told you to bring her along with us." "Wha... how... huh?" The Demomare was still struggling to understand what had just happened. "What the Sniper means," Diana said, "is that I'm only following you because I want to. It is in my best interests to get as close to the action as possible for my interview. The only thing stopping me from escaping is her." She gestured to the Sniper. "Without the element of surprise, it'll be hard to beat her, let alone the both of you." "Well said." The Sniper nodded. "Are you going to give Zecora her sword back now?" Diana glanced at the Sniper, gazing into her deep, analytical eyes that hid a mind which was undoubtedly assessing her enemy even as she waited for said enemy to make her next move. "Fine." Diana dropped the weapon at the Demomare's feet, offering her a hoof at the same time. The zebra glared at the appendage suspiciously before accepting the offer and allowing Diana to pull her up. "You'd better begin to fret, because I'm not beaten yet." "I never said you were." Diana replied. "Though I wouldn't advise that you try to attack me now. Because-" "Because it would accomplish nothing." The Sniper finished. "She most probably has a respawn point somewhere nearby. That is the least the Administrator could do for his interviewer whom he's sending to the front lines." "Smart." Diana nodded. "So let's get a move on, shall we?" Fluttershy panted as she rushed through the alleys of the base, following Big Mac closely as he navigated his way back to the resupply room. She moved as fast as she could, though she already knew that the BLUs would get to them first. With Big Mac out of ammo, we don't stand a chance... Fluttershy skidded to a halt at an intersection. Unless... Once he realised that Fluttershy was no longer following him, Big Mac turned around and gestured frantically. "What are you doing? Follow me!" "No. Go ahead by yourself." "What?! But you can't possibly-" "I said go, Big Mac." Fluttershy spoke in a stern voice. "I'll be fine here." Big Mac looked like he wanted to protest, and he almost did, but one look at Fluttershy's frown and he galloped away, albeit not without casting one last glance at her. As soon as he was out of earshot, Fluttershy sighed. "Now if only I thought I was telling the truth..." She looked around. "No time for self pity, Fluttershy. Not this time. This is your last chance to save Big Mac, and you're going to make sure he's safe. Got it?" She nodded to herself. "Got it." The hoofsteps drawing ever closer snapped her out of her conversation with herself, and she ducked into the cover of one of the building's shadows. As she waited, the sound grew louder, and was soon accompanied by a conversation. "Look, they're tired and worn out. You, on the other hand, Zecora, haven't been running at all. Diana's sabotaged our respawn point, killed you and presumably Spike, evaded your pursuit on Canterlot pass, and basically has been galloping around all day, and she's still moving faster than you." "I know not the source of her speed." Another voice, most probably the RED Demomare's, replied. "Perhaps we should let her take the lead." "And leave me unguarded?" Diana responded gleefully. "Yes! I'll just go now!" "Now do you realise why we could never keep her down?" The original voice asked. "Just go in front. I'm guessing they went left." Big Mac did go left. Fluttershy realised. Slowly but surely, she retrieved her ubersaw from her medic's garb and held it in a firm grasp. She closed her eyes and waited. Don't be scared. Don't be scared. I can't afford to be scared. I have to save Big Mac! Her eyes snapped open. With the speed of a lightning bolt, she stretched her saw around the corner. A sharp crunch indicated that the blade had connected with flesh, and Fluttershy whirled around the corner and stabbed the saw into the Demomare's face, right above the wound on her chin. With a startled cry, the zebra fell backwards, writhing in agony. Fluttershy lifted her saw, prepared to deflect an incoming arrow from who she, in the dark of the night, assumed to be the RED Sniper, but to her great surprise the projectile flew in the opposite direction, towards Diana. With the skill of a master acrobat, Diana leapt into the air, missing the arrow by half an inch. She landed gracefully, tearing the two arrows embedded in her hoof out and hurling them at the Sniper like javelins. The unicorn didn't flinch. She immediately fired another arrow, catching one of Diana's projectiles in midair, then swung her bow and knocked the other one out of the way with eerie precision. Fluttershy decided to take advantage of the Sniper's momentary distraction, and sprinted up to her, preparing to thrust her ubersaw forward into her throat. In a move that caught the pegasus completely by surprise, a Bushwacka surrounded by a purple telekinetic field rushed up to meet her ubersaw, catching it close to the hilt. Fluttershy jerked back, alarmed, just barely missing the levitated arrow that almost skewered her. Even through all of this, the Sniper still managed to hold her ground against Diana's ruthless but unarmed assault, trading every blow that came her way with one of her own. Despite her best efforts, though, her opponent was too close - and too skillful - to hit with an arrow. Fluttershy ducked around the sword and the arrow, slashing at them with her ubersaw, but they somehow managed to avoid the blade even though the Sniper wasn't looking in her direction. Her offensive stymied at every turn, the pegasus backed up, pondering her next move, when the roar of a minigun caught her attention. She turned her head and glanced at the noise. She gaped when the RED Heavy, Soldier and Engineer returned her curious gaze with the threatening looks, backed up by equally threatening weapons. Evidently, Diana had also identified the new arrivals, as she backed up and put her two front hooves in the air, although she swatted away a lazily floating arrow next to her. "Sorry ta butt in, but ah think it's about time to end this, right Spike?" The Engineer asked the Soldier. "Yeah. Is that our mysterious saboteur?" The Soldier gestured to Diana. "No doubt." The Sniper nodded. "We must bring her back to Princess Celestia. She'll want to see who destroyed her respawn point. And," her eyes burned with determination, "I don't intend to disappoint her." Oh no oh no oh no! Fluttershy looked around frantically. What can I do? Diana doesn't even have any weapons, and I only have this saw... Her eyes hardened. No. I will do whatever it takes to keep my friends safe. She cast a look at Diana, who, as if she could read her thoughts, nodded in understanding. Without warning, Fluttershy leapt at the nearby Engineer, removing her head with a deft slice of her ubersaw. Both the Heavy and the Soldier were slower to react, but the Sniper moved instantly, drawing her bowstring taut while loading an arrow. Diana also galvanised into motion instantaneously, batting the bow out of the way and delivering an attempted punch to the Sniper's face, which she deflected. The two of them once again engaged in a melee, hoof to hoof combat, each trying to get the better of the other to no avail. That left Fluttershy with the Heavy and the Soldier. She gulped. Come on, you can do this. Be strong. Do it for Big Mac. Taking a deep breath, she propelled herself towards the Heavy with her wings, saw extended in front of her. He finally realised the gravity of the situation, and he began to fire. She had one moment to retaliate. In a split second, Fluttershy jammed the ubersaw into the muzzle of the minigun, and with a strength that belied her size, flipped it out of his grasp and away from them both. She then proceeded to gut him and subsequently bisect him, before turning her attention to the Soldier. She stopped when she realised that his rocket launcher was levelled at her head, and his finger was on the trigger. "No matter what you do," The Soldier growled, "you'll never avoid this one." Maybe not. Fluttershy thought. But sometimes avoiding the problem doesn't make it go away. She whipped out her medigun. Sometimes you have to tackle it head on. The Soldier fired twice in quick succession. At the same time, Fluttershy lunged towards the rocket, activating her ubercharge as she did so. The resulting explosion was close enough to the source that it flung the launcher and the dragon backwards. He groaned as he hit the ground. Sensing an opportunity, Fluttershy rushed forward and stabbed at him with her saw. Half a dozen blows later and the Soldier was very dead. Diana, however, had far less luck. She and her adversary were still locked in mortal combat, neither possessing the skill or weaponry required to best the other. Fluttershy leaned forward, itching to help but unsure of how to overcome the Sniper's powerful defence. The sound of a Dead Ringer echoed through the intersection, and Fluttershy turned around just in time to see an Ambassador levelled at her head. The Spy fired twice, and both bullets found their mark. To be continued - in Meet the Medic (Part [3/2)!