//------------------------------// // Payload Mode // Story: Twilight's Experiments: The War of Mann Co. // by MIKEANTHONY321 //------------------------------// Battle Arena #4: Upward (Payload) Early the next morning, all nine of the recruits were woken by their respective classes. None of them were happy about this. … “Yo Skittles, it’s time to get up!” Blue Scout exclaimed, tapping on Rainbow Dash with his baseball bat. Rainbow Dash swiped at him with her hoof, and reluctantly sat up. She yawned, and rubbed her head. “Come on man, I thought battles didn’t usually start until mid-afternoon.” She muttered. “Yeah, but this one’s different. A big storm is heading for Upward Mountain, so we got strict orders to start battle in the morning.” Blue Scout responded. “Strict orders? From who? I don’t take orders from anypony.” Rainbow Dash asked. “You know that crazy lady who always yells crap over the intercom? She’s our boss. No one knows her name, or has seen her face. She’s more mysterious than those backstabbing Spies.” Blue Scout answered. “And by the way, the word is pronounced ‘anybody’, not ‘anypony’.” “Anybody? That sounds weird.” ……………………………………… “So what do we do in Payload?” Fluttershy asked Red Medic shortly after being woken from a peaceful slumber. “Team BLU tries to getz a bomb to our base, and vee try to stop zem. Just follow my lead, and you should be okay.” Red Medic explained. During Red Medic’s explanation, Fluttershy couldn’t help but notice Red Demoman gulping down a large bottle of Scottish rum. She just hoped they weren’t having Zecora do the same thing. ……………………………… “Rise and shine, mate. We got big job to do today.” Red Sniper whispered. He nudged Twilight a couple times. “Ugh……five more minutes…” She mumbled. “No time for that, mate. Once we get everyone up and moving, we’re off to the resupply lockers. Are you ready to kill that rainbow-headed mate of yours?” “Why do you keep saying ‘mate’? Rainbow Dash and I are just friends.” “You don’t seem like friends to me. You two were at each other’s necks at the end of that battle yesterday.” “I hope she’ll learn to understand. After all, none of this killing is personal.” Twilight mentioned. “That’s a good point. Between you and me, I think Blue Medic and Red Heavy are gay for each other.” Red Sniper whispered. Twilight stared at Red Sniper with a confused look on her face. “What makes you think that?” “Think about it, mate. All of this battling that you’ve been doing is our entire lives. We’re not allowed to leave, change teams, nor have truces or anything. Every day, we kill, kill, and kill some more. It gets lonely sometimes.” Red Sniper explained. “Sounds tough.” Twilight responded. “And on top of that, you ponies are the only females we’ve ever came in contact with all our lives. Can you really blame Blue Medic and Red Heavy?” “No…I guess not. You see, the world we come from is just the opposite of yours. It’s all centered on friendship and harmony. In fact, yesterday was the first time Rainbow Dash ever snapped at me like that.” “A world like this can change you, mate. You just have to know how to use the hardships to your advantage. In about a week, the nine of you will be forced to fight off an almost-unstoppable menace by yourselves as a team.” Red Sniper explained. “An unstoppable menace? What do you mean?” Twilight anxiously asked. … “Mission begins in sixty seconds! Team BLU, report to your resupply locker!” The announcer exclaimed. … “I can’t tell you now. All I can say is that you eventually have to put your differences aside and learn to fight together. If you manage to do this, you will truly have the power to defend Mann Co. with a hoof tied behind your back. We will all be counting on you.” Red Sniper informed. After saying this, he headed for the BLU resupply locker to prepare for battle. Twilight nervously followed. …………………………………… Once she had arrived with Red Sniper, she met up with Spike, Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy. All the other standard classes were there too, standing outside team BLU’s resupply locker in wait. Red Demoman armed the entrances with sticky bombs, while Applejack and Red Engineer built sentry guns around the base. Fighters from team BLU peered outside the doors and saw all the preparations being done. “Why are we allowed to walk around before battle while they have to stay in their resupply locker?” Spike asked Red Soldier. Red Soldier pointed to the cart sitting on the track that contained the bomb. “You see that cart there? It has a bomb in it, and our job is to prevent team BLU from pushing it to our base. We’re allowed just over a minute to prepare our defenses before team BLU is allowed to leave.” Red Soldier explained. Spike gazed up the mountain at the massive RED base that sat at the top. “This should be easy! How are they going to get this cart all the way up the mountain?” Spike smirked. “They have two Heavies, and two Scouts. They happen to be really good at pushing carts.” Red Soldier countered. Spike peered into team BLU’s locker, and saw Big Mac and Rainbow Dash talking to Blue Heavy and Blue Scout. “Oh…” … Suddenly, the announcer started the countdown. “5…4…3…2…1…FIGHT!” … Team BLU’s locker doors opened, and they ran out in pursuit of team RED’s defenses. Several of them were blown up immediately by Red Demoman’s sticky bombs. …………………………………… Playing with Danger …………………………………… Right as the battle started, Applejack’s sentry gun began to get peppered by Blue Heavy. She squatted behind it, and rapidly smacked it with her wrench to keep it intact as it shot back at him. Eventually, Applejack’s sentry gun won the battle. However, she was out of metal. Looking around, she saw that Red Engineer had built a dispenser on the other side of the base. She began to run over to it with all her might. Barely missing being shot by several rockets and rapid-fire bullets, she made her way to the other side, where her supplies were regenerated. However, when she turned around, she spotted Blue Spy disabling her sentry gun with an Electro Sapper. “Hey, you stupid Spy! Get away from my sentry gun!” She exclaimed. She pulled out her pistol, and fired it rapidly at the Spy. The Spy looked up, and gasped. Suddenly, he used his cloak, and was out of her sight. Ignoring the Spy for now, Applejack ran back toward her sentry gun as fast as she could. Just before she could get her wrench back out to make repairs, it was too late. The sentry gun exploded. Shielding her face from flying pieces of twisted metal, Applejack groaned. “What a great way to start a battle……” … Right then, she suddenly collapsed to the ground without making a noise. Blue Spy, who had reappeared just moments ago, removed his special knife from her back. He was disguised as her within seconds. “Why can’t every Spy have the privilege of using Your Eternal Reward?” He smirked. …………………………………… Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash and Blue Scout had begun to push the bomb cart with all their might. “Come on Skittles, push! We need to get this bomb to the hatch!” Blue Scout grunted. “Hey, I’m trying my hardest!” Rainbow Dash replied. … “Alert! Five minutes left in the mission! Five minutes left in the mission!” The announcer exclaimed. … “This is impossible! How are we going to get this thing up the mountain in five minutes?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Just keep pushing, and you’ll find out how!” Blue Scout answered. Right then, he was killed by Red Engineer’s sentry gun. … “Hey, I need a little help pushing the cart here!” Rainbow Dash yelled. Heeding her call, Blue Soldier, Big Mac, and Pinkie Pie ran over to help her out. With four fighters pushing, the cart began to move much faster. …………………………………. Twilight, who had been standing on a ledge a little further back, was approached by Red Sniper. “We need to keep them from getting the cart any further!” He exclaimed. “No dip, Sherlock. Isn’t that what we’ve been trying to do this whole time?” Twilight annoyingly replied. “No mate, you don’t understand. If that cart passes our first checkpoint, the enemies receive an extra five minutes!” He explained. “Oh…well okay then.” … “Oh, and by the way…” Red Sniper added. He walked up to Twilight, and plunged a knife in her back. Without screaming, Twilight fell to the ground. The appearance of Red Sniper was replaced by the appearance of Twilight. “As you could see by looking at me, I murdered your filthy friend quite a while ago.” Blue Spy said. … Spike ran up to him. “Twilight, we have a problem. If they get the bomb to the checkpoint, they receive extra time!” “Hmm……that seems like a problem.” Blue Spy replied, playing along. “Hey, could you do me a favor?” “Um…yeah, sure.” Spike responded. “Could you please turn around?” “Uh…why?” “Just do it.” Spike reluctantly turned around, confused. Blue Spy gripped his knife, and sent it through the back of Spike’s war uniform. As Spike fell, Blue Spy took the appearance of him. … “What an idiot.” Blue Spy muttered, rolling his eyes. …………………………………… “The bomb is approaching a checkpoint! Stop them!” The announcer cried out. Fluttershy latched her Vaccinator beam onto Red Heavy as he advanced forward, assaulting the bomb-pushers with a barrage of bullets. For a while, team BLU’s fighters seemed to drop like flies. But right then, out of the wild blue, a sniper bullet whizzed by, piercing Fluttershy’s skull. She squealed, and fell to the ground. Blood leaked from her wound. Blue Sniper waved his hand in the air with a big smile on his face. “There ya go!” He exclaimed. … Red Heavy noticed the loss of his Medic, and turned toward Blue Sniper, sending bullets in his direction. However, before he could finish off Blue Sniper, he met the same fate as Fluttershy did moments ago. ………………………………. “The enemy has received additional time……” The announcer angrily confronted over the loudspeaker. The clock was now set for a little over nine minutes as the cart approached a small cave in the side of the mountain. This announcement was made just as Twilight had respawned in team RED’s resupply locker. This was hopeless! Everything her team tried just ended up foiled as the bomb advanced along the track toward their base. Destruction seemed inevitable. No. She had to move on. Keep fighting until the end. That’s what Red Sniper had taught her, and that is what was going to be necessary for whatever they would have to face later on. … With her determination re-fired, Twilight exited the resupply locker, and advanced toward the location of the bomb. ………………………………… Once she was in view of the bomb, she ducked down, and aimed the rifle toward the mob of BLU fighters who were pushing the cart in her direction. She wasn’t aiming at any specific target, so she fired in their general direction. Coincidentally, her bullet flew right into Rainbow Dash’s head, making her topple to the ground. The cart began to move significantly slower. “Oops, it appears I accidentally killed you again. Next time, try shooting first!” She exclaimed. Fluttershy ran by just then, giving Twilight an overheal on her way by. … As the cart loomed closer, Twilight switched to her SMG, and used it to rapid-fire at the remaining cart-assailants. As they began to notice her, she quickly threw a jar of jarate at them, covering all of them. Then she continued to shoot. Using this method, she efficiently killed off everyone who was currently pushing the cart. The cart stopped moving, and was lying stationary. … Red Sniper began to approach her. She glanced at him, and quickly began peppering him with bullets from her SMG. “Hey, what are you doing, mate?” He asked, confused. “Sorry. I thought you were a Spy.” She chuckled, slightly embarrassed. “Nah, it’s okay. I understand Blue Spy killed me earlier and probably looked like me.” … As Red Sniper continued on his normal business, Twilight spotted Rainbow Dash approaching the bomb. She took steady aim, put her eye to the scope, and fired. She missed her. As Rainbow Dash continued to get closer, Twilight pulled out her SMG, and began to fire. Rainbow Dash got out her baseball bat, ready to take out her unicorn nemesis. However, Twilight must’ve gotten lucky with her aim, because she ended up killing Rainbow Dash with her bullet spray. Twilight was now dominating Rainbow Dash. A symbol of two clashing fists would now appear above her head every time Rainbow Dash looked at her. Dominating! “Whoa…that was weird.” Before she could really think it over again, she was headshot by Blue Sniper. ………………………………. By the time most of team RED was on their feet again, team BLU had gotten the bomb out of the cave and past another checkpoint. The time was reset to nine minutes again. Blue Engineer barely had enough time to construct a sentry gun right next to the bomb. Now his team could push it along while being able to hold off team RED. Big Mac, Blue Heavy, and Blue Spy ran over to begin doing some nasty spawn-camping as Blue Engineer worked to upgrade his sentry gun. In the meantime, Rainbow Dash, Blue Scout, and Pinkie Pie pushed the cart along further. … Team BLU was mastering the concept of working together as a team. Without giving team RED a chance to defend, they had the cart along the next checkpoint, and were getting down to the last stretch of track before team RED’s base would be bombed. Since the bomb was further along now, fighters from team RED began to respawn in the final base instead of the resupply locker. Now that they appeared in a different area, they wouldn’t have to worry about being spawn-killed. Rarity ran out for some vain attempts at backstabbing, while Fluttershy ran around trying to patch up her team that was having trouble staying together. Twilight and Red Sniper hung back to kill from a distance. … Despite their team’s desperate attempts to keep the bomb away from the hatch, the kills kept wracking in, and the bomb grew ever closer. At one point, Red Sniper ran into the field to assist his team more directly. Twilight reluctantly hung back. Just as she put her eye up to the scope to make another kill, she was grabbed from behind. Her attacker spun her around, and gripped her tight by her collar. “So, you think this is funny?” Rainbow Dash growled through gritted teeth. “Grrgg……acckk……” Twilight choked. She grabbed at her collar with her hooves, trying desperately to loosen Rainbow Dash’s grip, as it was suffocating her. Rainbow Dash only tightened her grip, and lifted Twilight off the ground. She was now hanging by her collar. Twilight’s face started to turn blue. Her eyes rolled back in her head. “I am so sick of taking your crap. If we ever get out of this mess, don’t expect me to be your friend anymore. Screw the Elements of Harmony!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. Still holding Twilight by her collar, Rainbow Dash walked over to the hatch, and shoved Twilight inside. Twilight fell down into the pit, and splatted on the bottom. Rainbow Dash had established a revenge kill. Revenge! … Right as this happened, Big Mac had pushed the cart over the edge of the hatch. It fell into the pit, and exploded in a dazzling array of smoke and fire as it hit bottom. Sparks, billows of smoke, and huge clouds of flame shot into the sky as team BLU had won the battle. ………………………………………. After the explosion, once all the fighters on both teams had respawned, they all lined up one side to another just as they always did. Since team BLU had won the battle, they would get the bigger half of the recruits. The new recruits were scrambled as follows. Zecora, Rarity, Big Mac, Spike, and Pinkie Pie are now on team BLU. Rainbow Dash, Twilight, Fluttershy, and Applejack are now on team RED. “The next battle will be Attack/Defend at the Gorge!” Red Soldier announced. The teams agreed on the terms, and walked off in separate directions. … Red Sniper sighed in exasperation. Twilight and Rainbow Dash were now on the same team. To be Continued…