//------------------------------// // The Brighter Side // Story: Power Through Deceit // by FrostyDawn //------------------------------// "Great. I can't see nothin'." The Scout muttered. "It won't matter. We only got one way to go." The Engie answered. "Wait." Rainbow said. "What's that noise?" The three of them stopped, and listened. A loud whistling noise sounded from outside the cavern, followed by a crazed war cry. "CRAWKET!" A tremendous crash followed, shaking the tunnel. "What the hay was that?!" Rainbow inquired. "That sounded like..." Scout paused. "But... it couldn't be..." "Keep movin'. There's some light up ahead." The Engineer answered. <><><><><><><><> Fluttershy looked over the Medic. She feared that they would be gone. For good this time. "Flu... Fluttershy?" The Medic wheezed. "Iz zhat you? I can't see...." Fluttershy felt her voice jam up in her throat, each word burning to get out. "Yes..." She finally managed to say. The Medic coughed some more. "If I don't make it.... I wan-" "No! Don't say that!" Fluttershy cried. "Don't go..." "Shy?" Another voice said from across the room. As Fluttershy looked up, she saw Applejack enter the throne, toting the silver bucket in her hands. "What in Sam Hill happened?" "Applejack!" Fluttershy cried, standing up quickly. "Hurry! Give them the antidote!" Nodding, Applejack walked up, starting with the Medic. "Okay... what do we do?" Acting quickly, Fluttershy cupped her hands and scooped up the red liquid, holding it over the Medic's mouth. "Drink it... please...." The Medic slowly opened his mouth to allow the antidote to seep in. He swallowed hard, and his face twitched. A long pause followed, before his whole body shuddered. The Medic quickly sat up, taking deep breathes as he clutched his chest. Slowly, the reality dawned on him, and he held two fingers to his neck to check his pulse. "Mein gott! Ze antidote vorked!" He cheered. "You're alive!" Fluttershy cried, flinging her arms around him. The Medic was a little surprised at Fluttershy's reaction, but slowly eased into the hug. He turned to Applejack, still with plenty of antidote. "Go. Cure ze rest of them." Applejack nodded, and started feeding the rest of the mercs the antidote (with only some difficulty with the Pyro's mask), breaking the poison's hold on them. After a few minutes, the trance was broken over them. "Oh... me head." The Demoman grumbled. "I feel like every-- AAAGGHHH!" He shouted, falling over as he attempted to stand up. Upon looking at his leg, it was clear why. A bullet jammed down into his shin, producing a small pool of blood. "Ach! Me leg! What the bloody hell happened?!" He asked. He winced until a shadow fell over him. The shadow of a tall, bulky man, who set a plate in front of the Demo, with a sliced sandwich. "Sandvich helps all." The Heavy chuckled. Without wasting another second, the Demoman grabbed the sandwich and scarfed it, the wound healing almost instantly. The Demo managed to stand back up, taking a deep breath. "Aye. Thanks mate." The Demo sighed, patting the Heavy on his shoulder. Applejack and Fluttershy got around to helping Celestia back on her feet. "Are you alright, Princess?" Fluttershy asked. "You weren't hurt too bad, were you?" "I... I'll be fine." Celestia answered between labored breathes. "I'll recover soon enough. Where is Chrysalis now?" She inquired. "Right here." A voice from the tunnel said triumphantly. From the back of the throne room, five people emerging from the dark. Along with the Scout, Engie, and Rainbow Dash, was the limp body of the Spy, and the Solider. But... no Queen, like the Soldier said. "What? You captured her?" Celestia implored, getting her bearings. "Better." The Soldier answered, pulling a small pouch. "Nobody sneeze." He said, dumping its content's on the floor. A pile of dark gray ash, with Chrysalis's crown clanging on the floor. The Equestrian's eyes were filled with shock. "She's... dead?" Celestia stuttered with pure shock. "Oh, you bet it sister." The Soldier scoffed. "Two crockets in a row! I should get a medal for that." The Medic looked up as he finished giving the Spy the antidote. "Are you zure she's dead?" He questioned. "Sure of it." The Engie said. "I guess ghosts exist here too." "Yeah, something about cursin' the hell out of us." The Scout said. "Not like we seen that kinda stuff before." The Sniper grumbled. "Speakin' of which... 'owed you get here anyway, Soldier?" "Oh, Merasmus caught me digging through his dresser. I thought he was holding out unusual on me." The Soldier answered. "As valiant as your actions were..." Celestia said. "There's a lot of rebuilding to do. And we could use your help, if your willing." "Just what are you getting at?" The Medic asked. Celestia smiled. "I wish to make you honorary citizens of Equestria. Should you choose, I will give you the gifts of flight, magic, or strength as if you lived your whole lives here. Or... I will send you back home, just like before." A long pause filled the room. "Team needs moment to think." The Heavy answered. "Of course. Take as long as you need." Celestia nodded. "Come, my students." She said, motioning Applejack and Fluttershy along. Once the throne room belonged to the nine men, they started to discuss. "Well, mates, what's it gonna be?" The Sniper asked. <><><><><><><><> Two months later.... Twilight Sparkle looked up from her book to glance out the window. The Canterlot castle in the distance was starting a lot better since Chrysalis's attack. The hole blown in the side was fully repaired, and the paint was coming along nicely. A knock attracted her attention to the door. "Just a second!" Twilight called, setting her hefty book down and rushing toward the door. As she opened it, a friendly face greeted her. "Hallo, Frau Sparkle." The Medic said. "I vas vondering if you had any books on any medical magic practices." "Oh, of course. I've got tons of material on the subject." Twilight said, turning to retrieve the books requested. Using her magic, she pulled a set of hardbacks from her shelves, and setting them in the Medic's arms. "Will this be enough?" "Yes, zhis will suffice. Danke." The Medic replied. "How is your magic skill coming along?" Twilight asked. "It's alright. Could use a little more practice." He chuckled. "It'll be a while before I can use zhis magic in ze field, but its good to get some more research in." "Well, good luck!" Twilight smiled, waving as the Medic carried the books away. It wasn't long before the Medic was out of sight, and another took his place. Scout. He landed softly on the ground, thanks to his new red wings. A huge grin on his face was apparent from the excitement of flight, but his expression calmed down a bit as faced Twilight. "Hey." He said simply. "Hello, Scout. Need something?" "Uh, yeah." He muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "Dash tells me you can send letters to anyone?" "Well, yes. But it's Spike that does most of the work." Twilight answered. She leaned back through the doorway, her ears tuning in to the sound of her assistant snoring upstairs. "Why do you ask?" Scout went quiet for a while. "I wanna send something to my Ma. To let her know I'm alright." Twilight blinked at the request. "Your... mother?" "Yeah. It's been two months, she's probably worried sick." Scout replied. "I just wanna put her mind at ease." "That's a very selfless gesture, Scout." Twilight smiled. "I'm sure she's proud of you." "Yeah..." The Scout said, looking up toward the clear blue sky.