//------------------------------//
// Let's Go Practice Medicine 
// Story: Wargames 
// by Speven Dillberg 
//------------------------------//

	Medic sat in a chair in his small ‘doctor’s office’, staring carefully over the rim of his cup at the little pegasus mare that had followed him. Many thoughts raced through his mind as he sipped his tea. He wondered how any creature that was most likely a prey species could have such vibrant colours. He wondered how those wings managed to provide enough lift to achieve flight. He wondered how she was able to hold a mug in her hooves. His deep thought processes were stopped when she spoke up.
“Um... If you don’t mind me asking, when will we be starting?” Fluttershy asked. The strange... being in front of her seemed friendly enough, but there was something about him (and she had been assured that Medic was male) that unsettled her. After a few seconds it clicked; something in his eyes, a gleam maybe, reminded her of a predator, waiting for her to show weakness and strike.
Medic wore a warm smile that Fluttershy couldn’t help but interpret as ‘predatory’. “Do not worry, Fraulein Fluttershy, ve vill get to zat shortly.” He stood up and put his cup on the small table. “I vill lead you to my surgery. Ve can talk more zere.”
Fluttershy followed him, unable to remove the mental image of rusty surgical equipment, a floor slick with blood and a table that she would be tied down to as she was sliced open for his amusement. She could almost feel the tip of a scalpel slice into the muscles of her wings and - the room was quite clean. In fact, every surface was nearly spotless with the exception of the occasional speck of blood that had been missed during what was clearly a vigorous scrub-down. The centre of the room was dominated by a large metal bed, bolted to the ground. Above that was a harness, but what it was meant to support was unknown to her. Pushed against the walls were numerous machines that, again, she didn’t know the function of. 
She looked up when she heard a gentle cooing from somewhere above. What she saw made her heart soar as she took wing.
“Oh, hello there!” she said to the trio of white doves nesting on a rafter. They didn’t seemed shocked by the sudden appearance of a pegasus; living in Medic’s operating theatre had that effect on them. “Oh, aren’t you just precious?” she asked them, her voice full of sugary sweetness. “What are your names?”
“Zey are Archimedes, Newton and Curie,” Medic answered. “I named zem after famous scientists from my vorld.” He watched as the pegasus’ wings barely flapped and still kept her airborne. Zis shouldn’t be possible, he thought. Then he remembered that he had been told that the rulers of this country controlled the sun and moon and that the pegasi could walk on clouds. Magic, he thought angrily. Ever since the first incident with Merasmus large parts of what he had known to be fact had been trodden on. And now he was stuck in a universe where everything seemed to run on it! The only mercy was that it was a temporary situation.
“Fraulein,” he called out, worried that the pink-maned pegasus would break into song, “I zought zat ve vere going to commence your teaching of vat I do on ze battlefield.”
“Oh.” The mare’s happiness seemed to disappear when he reminded her of their real reason for being here. “Um... I’m not sure I can do that. Fight, I mean.”
“Vell, you are lucky, because my job on ze battlefield is to keep mein kameraden alive. I rarely get involved in any of ze actual battle.” Medic sighed. “A shame too. Ze healing is not as satisfying as ze hurting.”
Fluttershy was mortified, but did her best to keep it hidden. “How... how do you keep your friends alive? I don’t see many bandages or plaster for casts.”
Medic let out a hearty laugh that was, somewhat ironically, contagious. “Ah, Fraulein, zat is amateur stuff.” He wiped away a tear; he hadn’t laughed so hard since he had seen RED Pyro remove BLU’s Soldier’s arm and then watch as the stupid American ran around screaming in panic. “No, I use somezing I invented many years ago.” He stood up and went over to a cabinet. He opened it and pulled out a strange backpack with a red cross emblazoned on it and a small red canister attached to one side. He then pulled out a strange, sleek black two-handed tube with a part that could be pushed down. “Zis is ze Medigun.”
Fluttershy couldn’t help but be a little frightened by it. It looked so... strange. “What... what does it do?”
“Vell it - ” Medic was interrupted when Demoman came in, followed by Nyota. At least, Fluttershy assumed it Nyota. There was only one unicorn stallion among them, and he fit that part of the description. The thing was, she had only seen him in his night guard armour. Without it, he had... stripes. They were a deep red that bordered on brown, with the rest of his body a soft grey. His mane and tail were the same colours.
“Hey, Doc, couldya gimme a hand?”
“Vat is it, Demoman?” Medic turned and saw what the problem was.
“I tried showin’ the lad here how ta sticky-jump and flew into a wall.” The black Scotsman was cradling his left arm with his right. It was immediately obvious to both Fluttershy and Medic that his arm was broken in multiple places. In Fluttershy’s experience, animals that suffered an injury that bad almost always lost the injured limb.
Medic sighed as he flicked a switch on the Medigun. “I zought I told you not to drink while playing vith your fireworks, Demoman.”
“I said the same thing,” Nyota replied, looking a little frustrated that his teacher had injured himself so easily.
“Shut yer mouth, lad,” Demo said.
“Hold still,” Medic said, pointing the Medigun at the Scotsman. A red beam filled the space between them as a strange humming filled the room. Demo was soon enveloped in the glow.
He laughed as he let go of his arm. Fluttershy gasped in shock. “Thanks, Doc.” The mare’s jaw hit the ground when she saw that the arm was as good as new. Demo left the room, swinging his newly-healed arm around. Nyota stared for a second before following.
Medic turned to a still-stunned Fluttershy. “Zat is vat ze Medigun does, Fraulein. It can also heal burns, cuts, blunt force trauma and reattach removed limbs.”
“That’s...” Fluttershy was at a loss for words. “That’s amazing.”
“Vould you like to...” Medic stopped himself when he realised something crucial. “Ah. Zere is a problem.”
“There is?”
“It vould appear that you can’t operate it.” Fluttershy was confused. “Your hooves,” Medic clarified.
“Oh.” There was a short silence. “Maybe... Maybe your Engineer friend could help? I mean, if you don’t mind me saying...”
“Zat is a brilliant idea!” Medic left the room at a brisk pace, leaving Fluttershy behind. “Come along, Fraulein!”





One hour later, Fluttershy had a Medigun and backpack for it of her own. It would have taken Engineer five minutes, but they had to wait for the rest of the Team to get their weapons modified as well. Apparently, modifying one of Heavy’s miniguns (whatever they were) for Big Macintosh had taken the longest, necessitating a complete redesign.
Where the original had a small part sticking out that Medic gripped, Fluttershy’s had a small loop for her hoof to go through. The handle had also been slightly modified, to better accomadate her other hoof. The whole thing was completed by a small cord that looped around her neck so she didn’t have to fly everywhere while she had it out. She had also received a bonesaw and something called a syringe gun. She hadn’t tested it, but could tell that it was meant as a weapon.
“Now, Fraulein, zere is one ozzer zing...”
Fluttershy turned to Medic, who seemed nervous. “There is?” she asked timidly.
“To fully unleash the power of ze Medigun, it requires... vell, an implant.”
“A what? A plant? Like a tree?” Fluttershy was confused. Why would a piece of incredible technology like this require a plant?
“No, an implant. Somezing that is put inside your body,” Medic explained. “Ze entire Team has one.”
“Oh.” The mare suddenly realised what the German was proposing. “You want to cut me open?” she asked, horrified by the idea.
“Vell, it is ze only way so... yes,” Medic replied matter-of-factly. “I am a skilled professional, Fraulein Fluttershy. I haff performed zis procedure on ze Team and myself.” He was quite proud of that fact. After all, it took a particular kind of individual to cut oneself open and play around with their own internal organs.
“R-really?” Fluttershy asked with wide-eyed fear.
Medic considered his situation for a moment. “If it makes you feel better I will haff medical professionals sent to assist me. I admit I do not know much about your anatomy.” He hoped that it would sway her decision.
After a tense silence, her answer came. “W-well... I suppose. But only if you can get some unicorn surgeons. I’d feel much safer.”
“Very vell, zen. I will send a request tonight.”





Princess Luna read through the list of requests sent from what was referred to as ‘RED Base’. Most of them were simple and mundane: food, bedding, books. One of the odder requests had been for reams of red, white, grey and black cloth of several different varieties. Another had been for balloons. The oddest, though, was for the best team of unicorn cardiac surgeons in all Equestria. She couldn’t fathom why they needed such a thing, but couldn’t help but feel that she didn’t want to know. She let out a sigh as she wrote a request in triplicate, detailing a large sum of bits and other benefits that they would receive should they take the job. She was sure that she was offering too much, but decided that it was safer to guarantee their cooperation than not.




The three unicorns, all wearing scrubs and surgical masks that hid everything except their eyes, stood around the operating table where the pegasus mare lay unconscious. The Triage Trio, as they were known, were the best at what they did anywhere in Equestria. Heartbeat, Lifeline and the oddly-named Broken Heart looked at each other. “What do you think we’ll be doing?” Heartbeat asked.
“No idea,” Lifeline answered before looking around the room. “What do you think some of these machines do?”
“Who cares?” Broken Heart asked, her voice full of excitement. “I can’t wait to get started!”
All three unicorns looked around when they heard a laugh. “Now zat is somezing I can agree to!” Medic had entered the room. He was without his long lab coat and had the Physician’s Procedure Mask on. “Let’s get started!”
Fluttershy was cut open in matter of minutes, the Triage Trio making short work of the task. Soon, they had clear access to her heart. “What now?” Broken Heart asked.
“Now...” Medic brought the Medigun, which was sitting in the harness above the operating table, lower to keep Fluttershy stable for what he was about to do. He carefully cut the arteries and veins connecting the heart to the rest of the body before removing it. “We remove ze heart!” he exclaimed, holding the pegasus’ still-beating heart in his hand. The Triage Trio stared in shock before Broken Heart broke the silence. “Wooooooow...”
“But-but-but...” Lifeline stuttered.
“Why would you remove her heart!?” Heartbeat yelled, now convinced that the thing in front of her was completely insane.
“It makes ze next part so much easier,” Medic explained calmly. From a small metal tray he took a small pressure valve with three small metal spikes coming out of the bottom. The pressure valve itself had a number of strange attachments; three small cylinders and a number of bright yellow wires. Before they could ask, he stuck it into the heart in his hands. “Come on...” he muttered as he put it under the healing rays of the Medigun. “Come on, come on...” 
Heartbeat and Lifeline turned away when they saw it glowing an ominous red. Broken Heart, on the other hoof, was enthralled and leaned in for a better look. 
“Yes... Yes!” Medic exclaimed before letting out a manic laugh. The glowing intensified for a brief moment as the heart began to beat so fast it threatened to burst. Without warning the glowing died down and the beating became much more regular. The heart was still the same intense red. “Wunderbar,” Medic said before carefully putting the heart back where it belonged in Fluttershy’s open chest. 
“How... how do you plan on reattaching it to the nerves?” Heartbeat asked, scared at what the answer would be.
In place of an answer, Medic reached up and pulled the Medigun harness close to Fluttershy’s chest. As they watched, flesh formed and skin grew over the gaping hole. In less than three seconds her stomach was covered in a smooth butter-yellow coat, making it seem as though she had never been cut open. “Now zen,” he said, rubbing his hands together, “let us wash up and wait for her to wake up.”





When Fluttershy woke up several hours later in what seemed to be a hospital ward, she saw that she wasn’t alone. The other ponies who were receiving instruction were there as well, each one of them unconscious in their own beds. “What... what happened?”
“Zey all received an Uberheart of zeir own,” Medic said, standing up from the chair at the end of the ward. “I zought it best to let zem wake up on zeir own.”
“Oh.” Fluttershy let out a sigh of relief, just happy that her friends were okay. “I’m sorry but... what’s an ‘Uberheart’?” she asked timidly, feeling that she should know the answer.
Medic blinked before realising why she had asked. “I never did tell you what ze implant did. Ze Uberheart allows you to take advantage of somezing I call ze Ubercharge.” Medic pulled out his Medigun and pointed it at Fluttershy. She was shocked to see that the barrel appeared to be sparking. “Do not worry, Fraulein. It is simply its way of letting you know zat it is charged.”
“Um...” She was trying, but the red sparks were more than a little worrying. “What, exactly, is the ‘Ubercharge’?”
Medic trained the Medigun on her and activated the healing beam. “Zis is ze Ubercharge,” he said as he flicked a small switch next to the grip. Fluttershy gasped at the surge of energy that rushed through her. She could feel her heart beat as though it would burst through her chest. She could hear her blood pound in her head. She felt... good. She felt powerful. She felt alive.
She looked at her hooves and saw how they were glowing red, as was the rest of her body. She turned to the Medic and noticed that the same thing had happened to him as well. She began to laugh. At first it was a quiet and calm chuckle. It wasn’t long before it went out of control, though, and she was giving a laugh that would put Medic to shame.




Name: Fluttershy

Class: Medic
Weapon loadout
Primary: Syringe Gun
Secondary: Medigun
Melee: Bonesaw
Job: Doctor Assisted Grifficide





And the ending flourish, because it seems necessary.





Author's Notes:
Oh god this was fun to write.
A mild spoiler to Nyota's appearance, maybe? I dunno, I needed to demonstrate the Medigun to Fluttershy somehow.
The next eight chapters will follow a similar format: The Team member and the pony. What will happen will differ in each chapter, though they will reference each other occasionally. Like in this one.