//------------------------------// // The Interview Files // Story: Pony Fortress 2: A Worthy Cause // by The Usurper //------------------------------// Dear Diary: Still can't believe the interviews are finally over. Partly because they were pretty much my whole life back then, and partly because the Administrator's been bugging me about rewriting everything. I explained to him that everything's all in my Meet the Team folder which, I emphasized, was sitting in his desk drawer and could be read at any time. He then said it was way too long - over a hundred thousand words - and that he needed a very quick summary. So I told him, perhaps in a slightly clipped tone, that he'd already read everything and so there was really no need to go over it again. His response was that it wasn't for him, it was for anypony else who might want to read it in the future, if only to catch up on current events. I subsequently commented that, since nopony could possibly be so uninformed as to be unaware of the interviews, the only thing that would ever touch the summary he wanted was the dust on the shelf on which it would be left to rot for all eternity. This may have been a mistake. He spent the next twenty minutes explaining to me why it should be done, why it had to be done, and why there definitely would be people reading it. I asked him what people were. He then corrected himself and said 'ponies'. Something's up. Anyway, now I'm stuck with the job of completing this summary which, by the Administrator's words, "must be extensive enough to educate even the most uninformed of hairless apes from another dimension" yet "short enough to ensure their attention doesn't drift elsewhere before they finish." Tough. But I think I can do it. And now that I think about it, maybe there are some things I may have missed out in the original. I'd best get to work now. - Diana The Interview Files Table of Contents: 1. Personalities you need to know 2. Nations you need to know 3. The events so far 4. The Mercenaries Chapter 1: Personalities you need to know There aren't that many of them. But they are really important. 1. The Administrator The Administrator is a draconequus who goes by the name of Discord. For the past thousand years, he has been overseeing a war between both RED and BLU Team, under the command of Celestia and Luna respectively. This war has stretched on due to the respawn points he has provided for both teams. There is much speculation as to what his motives are, but of course nopony's ever found out. Yet, at least. 2. Princess Celestia Princess of the Equestrian Solar Empire and RED Team, Celestia has been fighting Luna for the past millennium in a bloody war that has left Equestria divided and generally worse off. She believes in the principle of benevolent dictatorship, where one well-intentioned and wise ruler makes all of the decisions for the nation. She therefore opposes Luna's system of a democratic republic and battles to ensure that Equestria gets the government that will be the most beneficial to the ponies. 3. Princess Luna Similar to the above-mentioned Princess, only with opposite motivations. As the Princess of the New Lunar Republic and BLU Team, Luna believes that the ponies ought to decide how they are ruled. She sees her sister's actions as a threat to the free will of the citizens of Equestria and opposes it. Chapter 2: Nations you need to know (Note: Before you read this, my advice is that you first refer to the italicized portions of this, a narrated version of the standard history textbook in both Equestrian countries, without the propaganda.) There are quite a few nations, if only because the Equestrian Civil War gave a wonderful opportunity for other groups to break away and form their own kingdoms. 1. The Equestrian Solar Empire As stated above, it is ruled by Celestia. Occupying territories in the southern half of Equestria, it was formed in the aftermath of Luna's declaration of war. Although it has a standing military, it is rarely used now with the advent of the mercenaries. Also important, to the Administrator at least, is that three of the six Elemental Gemstones of Harmony reside deep within an Imperial base somewhere. He's generally made it known - to his trusted few - that he wants to get his hands on them. 2. The New Lunar Republic After war was declared, Luna's Republic occupied the northern half of Equestria. Similar to the Empire, it has a formidable army which is also hardly ever used since the mercenaries are the only ones fighting now. The Republic is in possession of the remaining three Elements. 3. The Crystal Empire Officially, it's now a part of the Republic, (refer to this file for necessary details) though this wasn't always so. For now, Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor are in charge of this realm, under the command of Luna. 4. The Zebra Empire Gone. Destroyed. The land is still there, of course, but there aren't any traces of life in the general area and very few escaped the genocide that Master Mind wrought a thousand years ago. The water there, I'm given to believe, is still not safe for drinking. 5. The Griffon Republic Inspired by Luna's drive for democracy, the griffons took advantage of the Civil War to break away from Equestria and found their own republic. It still exists today, though we haven't had many dealings with them. 6. The Dragons By right, they aren't even a kingdom, but I have to file them somewhere. They're just mostly a loosely connected group of incredibly huge, powerful, fire-breathing beings. They usually live separate lives and only come together when they as a species - or their vast hoards of treasure - are threatened. 7. The Changelings Very, very little is known about them. All we do know is that there are thousands upon thousands of them, they're literally starving for love, and are very close neighbours (by proximity) to Equestria. A bad combination. Chapter 3: The Events so Far Everything started a month ago, with the unstoppable sentry incident. (See here for further but admittedly unneeded details.) This has little bearing on the interviews themselves, but one significant event must be taken note of here. As punishment for the BLU Pyro's refusal to obey orders (she decided not to go out and fight RED team as she had been instructed) the Administrator slapped both a hallucination and personality shift spell on her. This will be further elaborated upon in Chapter 4. Thereafter, he sent me, Diana, as his interviewer to, well, interview every class of mercenary and record the results. This served a double purpose. One, he wanted to know their personalities thoroughly to allow for possible future manipulation. Two, he wanted to know which of them were capable of wielding the Elements of Harmony so he would know who posed the greatest threat to him. The events during the interviews are under Chapter 4. Chapter 4: The Mercenaries The results of the interviews of the nine separate classes of mercenaries are recorded here in a relatively brief summary. Though both teams have identical mercenaries* - right down to their DNA - the Administrator insisted that I interview each side alternatingly, meaning that the first interview was with RED, then the second BLU, and so on and so forth. *Administrator's note: Mirror Pool and memory-altering spells. That is all. 1. The Scout Role: Reconnaissance, Light Assault Name: Rainbow Dash Age: 19 Gender: Female Species: Pegasus Team Interviewed: RED Interview: Refer to this file for the full document Summary: During this interview, and the battle during which it was conducted, Rainbow quickly demonstrated her inability to stay still for any length of time and her lack of sensitivity to others' feelings. On the plus side, her little antics allowed me to take note of the speed and agility her powerful wings afforded her, and the bullet-blocking ability of a radioactive cupcake. She was willing to risk arousing the ire of her Princess/employer - very dangerous, since that's where her paycheck comes from every month - to provide what she considers indispensable support to her team who, in her words, would 'be lost' without her. In light of this, she is eligible for the Element of Loyalty. I then proceeded to drug her with her own cupcake and haul her back to the Administrator's central base, as per his orders. 2. The Soldier Role: Heavy Assault (Explosives), Support (Damage boost, damage resistance, healing, depending on weapon) Name: Spike Age: 13 Gender: Male Species: Dragon Team Interviewed: BLU Interview: Refer to this file for the full document Summary: I found him in the middle of a battle. As it turns out, he's pretty determined to win this war, whether or not he actually thinks this intractable stalemate can be broken. A brief trip through a darkened BLU base (it was an electrical fault) taught me that no matter what dragons say, they can not, in fact, see in the dark. This was a fact most clearly proven when he dented his nose on the wall. A few minutes later, he led me to the base backyard where he started lecturing a row of severed heads. From this discourse, I gathered that he has a less-than-adequate understanding of Sun Tzu, and that - as one might well expect from a dragon speaking to disembodied skulls - he may be slightly mentally unstable. My recommendation to the Administrator was either psychiatry or the asylum. He explained that for a mercenary, Spike was fairly average. 3. The Demomare Role: Defense/Medium Offense (Explosives) Name: Zecora Age: 23 Gender: Female Species: Zebra Team Interviewed: RED Interview: Refer to this file for the full document Summary: Having learnt a few things from the previous two interviews, I asked the Administrator if I could conduct the this interview in a less violent spot, so I wouldn't have to deal with dodging bullets and rockets to get the interview done. He agreed and sent me to the Everfree Forest. It was not one of my best days. I will remember that manticore poison is not to be taken lightly in future. Fortunately, I was rescued by the Demomare in question and nursed back to health in a matter of minutes. As I ought to have expected, anypony living in this forest for extended periods of time - or any length of time, I suppose - would ensure that antidotes for whatever dangers lurk in the shadows would be readily available. We chatted amiably for a while. She seemed like a nice, friendly mare. Then she blew two intruders at her doorstep to high heaven. I suppose it's to be expected, coming from a mercenary. 4. The Heavy Role: Heavy Assault (Minigun), Tank Name: Big Macintosh Age: 21 Gender: Male Species: Earth Pony Team Interviewed: BLU Interview: Refer to this file for the full document Summary: He is a pony of a few words. These tend to be either 'eeyup' or 'eenope'. For strangers at least, the one topic of conversation he is willing to broach is his gun, which he's affectionately named Sasha. He also regards this weapon with an unhealthy obsession. Nonetheless, he demonstrated that when push comes to shove, it's all too lethal a weapon for his foes to deal with - especially at point blank. 5. The Engineer Role: Defense (Defensive Structures) Name: Applejack Age: 20 Gender: Female Species: Earth Pony Team Interviewed: RED Interview: Refer to this file for the full document Summary: Very much forethought and planning went into this interview. I'd had enough of having to deal with hazardous projectiles while I conversed with my interviewee, so I made sure to sabotage the entirety of BLU team the night before. It was a very relaxing afternoon. I deduced from our conversation that she enjoys predictability, to the point of removing emotions almost completely from her psyche. I'm given to believe that the loss of her sister's life during the 'unstoppable sentry' incident was the spark that ignited the powder keg. Of course, such a void of emotion meant only good news to the Administrator. Without emotions, friendship could not flourish. At the time, this revelation came as a huge relief because she, despite having known me for at most a few days, began telling me about all sorts of events she'd rather not have talked about - only because I asked her and she didn't want to lie. At that moment, I noted her near-eligibility for the Element of Honesty. The only thing standing between her and that Element was her lack of emotions. Not a few minutes later, she proved herself worthy of Honesty when she refused to kill her greatest nemesis, the BLU Spy who killed her sister, because she was afraid that I, a stranger to her, would get hurt. Touching. But at that moment, she was no longer in the clear. After that, I... took care of the situation, then reported back to the Administrator. He was most pleased. 6. The Medic Role: Healer, Support (Invincibility, damage boost, rapid healing, damage resistance via Ubercharge, depending on weapon) Name: Fluttershy Age: 20 Gender: Female Species: Pegasus Team Interviewed: BLU Interview: The file has been separated into three parts, this file, this file and this file Summary: A little bit of inconvenience accompanied me during my journey to the interview site - BLU's Canterlot Valley base from which they were preparing to mount an offensive - but on the whole I turned out alright. And the trouble proved to be most worth it; the Medic is a very interesting character. I interrupted her during her surgery on the Heavy. Even now, I'm still not entirely sure what medical purposes the operation served, but apparently it was the test run of a new medigun prototype. According to the Medic, it was meant to eliminate the effects of knockback completely. I was instantly suspicious, because that was already the effect of the old medigun prototype, the Quick-Fix. It was not, however, a suspicion I could begin to pursue immediately. My job, first and foremost, was to conduct interviews. As it happens, the Medic is rather shy and insecure, but I got the feeling that there was something else lurking under her shell of bashfulness. Something darker. I got to meet that side of her first-hoof when RED team sprang a surprise attack on the BLU base. I was captured by their Sniper and hauled after her as she manoeuvred around the battlefield. At this time, BLU had already employed the standard Medic-Heavy combination, and the Sniper sought to end it. Despite my interference, she managed to get off a perfect shot at the Heavy. Both of us underestimated the Medic. A split-second Ubercharge saved her heal target. They soon retreated far into their base when the Heavy ran out of ammo, relying on the buildings to provide sufficient cover. The REDs chased them, and somehow the BLU Medic managed to take out the Demomare, Engineer, Heavy and Soldier with nothing but her saw and the element of surprise. Unfortunately, she eventually succumbed to the Sniper's superior skill, and were it not for the Heavy's timely return from the resupply room, she might have died. It's painful business, even with a respawn point. We brought her back to her operating theatre and nursed her back to health. Or, more accurately, I followed instructions, mindlessly pulling buttons and flicking switches as I contemplated how to bring an end to this interview. I later got my chance. I invited her out of the room for a private conversation. She agreed. When asked why she didn't just fight on the front lines herself instead of being a healer, she explained that her tragic past had made her into the pony she was today. She wasn't afraid to kill, not by any means - one of the Administrator's tests for admission into the mercenary teams was to kill an innocent in cold blood - but she wanted to kill only when absolutely necessary or if it contributed towards her larger goal of healing and saving. The greater ends justify the means, basically. I almost said as much. Before I did, however, she insisted on swearing me to secrecy on a topic she wanted to broach. I agreed. Then she dropped the bombshell. The medigun prototype I saw earlier wasn't just meant to get rid of knockback. It was supposed to bring the dead back to life. I couldn't believe it. She explained that it worked via rapid regeneration of tissue, meaning that if somepony had died recently they could - theoretically - be restored to life. Before she sent me off, she reminded me of my promise and asked me to ensure the Administrator never found out. I told her I would. When I got back to the base, I told the Administrator everything. To my understanding, he had the medigun destroyed, along with the blueprints, a few days later. He also told me to mark her as the potential Element of Kindness. There is much I don't know, but I do know where my loyalties lie. 7. The Sniper Role: Assassination (Far-Ranged), Support (Damage boost) Name: Twilight Sparkle Age: 19 Gender: Female Species: Pegacorn(RED)/Unicorn(BLU) - refer to the file under Chapter 2: The Crystal Empire for details Team Interviewed: RED Interview: Refer to this file for the full document Summary: Having recently recovered from her ascension to alicornism, the Sniper met me on Canterlot Mountain. She was ferried there by a pegasus-drawn carriage. I suppose apotheosis comes with a few perks. As usual, I spoke with her for a while, and I found out that she really doesn't like being pampered and tended to by the guard pegasi. In perhaps an act of defiance of the royal status quo, she insisted on living with a unicorn named Trixie Lulamoon in her trailer. A compromise was apparently struck; the guards now tow around that trailer as a carriage. Also, Trixie still charges her rent. It seems disrespectful to me, but then again it could be part of the defiance. It is most certainly part of her act to appear aloof towards the Sniper, though. I was treated to a little scene later where Trixie came close to confessing her infatuation. It was very entertaining. Whether the feelings are reciprocal is a matter on which I am still unclear. Regardless of her personal grievances with the perks of royalty and her love life, the Sniper is a deadly foe. Despite the fact that we were perched on a mountain ledge, far above the battle raging at the foot of the mountain, she fired every arrow - yes, she was using a Huntsman, of all weapons - with eerie precision, scoring headshot after headshot on the hapless BLU team. At one point she fired three arrows at once and nearly landed all three in the skulls of some poor mercenaries. She is very skilled. But perhaps more importantly, she displays an uncanny ability to bend arcane magic to her will - not to mention that she, despite the fact that most of her life is spent fighting, still spends the rest of her spare time studying wizardry. She was eligible for the Element of Magic. I took note of it. I ended the interview a little while later, after she foiled an attack by the BLU Spy. Perhaps I was a little rattled; after all, this was the same Spy I would be interviewing a few days from now. Hopefully she wouldn't hold a grudge... 8. The Spy Role: Assassination (Close-Ranged), Espionage Name: Rarity Age: 19 Gender: Female Species: Unicorn Team Interviewed: BLU/RED (We are talking about the Spy, after all) Interview: Refer to this file for the full document This interview was originally meant for the BLU Spy. However, the night before, she came to me requesting that I interview her RED counterpart. I hesitated, but she produced a signed document from the Administrator himself condoning the appeal. I had no choice but to agree. During the interview itself, the RED Spy treated me to an informal tour of their base. It ended prematurely when we stumbled across the Engineer's dead body, surrounded by her destroyed machinery. We sounded the intruder alert alarm immediately. After that, the Spy and I rendezvoused with the Scout, Soldier and Heavy in the intel room. We discussed a few tactics at that point; anything that would be able to keep BLU Team away from the intelligence. We eventually decided, under the assumption that there was an entire team out there ready to gun us down, to fight our way out with the intel and escape to safety. The Spy left first in order to scout out the area under her shroud of invisibility. We all agreed, but when she didn't return after a while we began to get worried. I suggested that we go out and search for her - and smash any BLU defenses we might encounter. Everypony agreed. We headed out, and to our great surprise everything was quiet. We explored for a few minutes and it soon became clear that there was no BLU Team around. Certainty was established when the RED Spy herself showed up and explained to us that she'd checked every inch of the place and there was no opposition. She then went on to say that the BLU Spy was one of us. It struck me as suspicious that, after disappearing for a while and returning, that she should suddenly show up and claim that she'd found the intruder. I suspected that she was merely diverting attention from herself to somepony else, and that in reality the RED Spy was really just the BLU Spy in disguise. I acted accordingly, killing the Spy. Unfortunately for me, I turned out to be wrong and the real BLU Spy, disguised as the Scout, killed both the Heavy and Soldier and escaped with the intelligence. Very unfortunate. Oh well. At least the intelligence was later recovered. Also, while this interview may not have addressed it, she is eligible for the Element of Generosity. Several other conversations with fewer cases of sabotage and death revealed it. I think this was the most useless interview so far. 9. The Pyro Role: Medium Assault (Fire), Anti-Espionage Name: Pinkamena Diane Pie Age: 19 Gender: Female Species: Earth Pony Team Interviewed: BLU Interview: This file has been separated into two sub-parts, this file and this file, and three main parts, this file, this file and this file Summary: She goes by many names. Pinkie Pie, the Pyro, and exclusively for BLU Team's Pyro, Pinkamena Diane Pie. The adopted daughter of Discord, the Administrator himself, both RED and BLU Pyros have been blessed with chaos magic that allows them to defy the very laws of physics and logic, though not to the extent of their father. In the aftermath of the 'unstoppable sentry' incident, however, the BLU Pyro's defiance led the Administrator to afflict her with multiple personalities, each 'taking over' control of her body when the right conditions are met. However, personalities are, perhaps, not the best word to describe it, as each one has a mind of its own. Think of it as the offspring of a love affair between schizophrenia and split-personality disorder. Essentially, three of them share one body. They are Pinkamena, Diana, and Pinkie Pie. Yes, I, the pony writing this, am Diana, whom my father sent to carry out the interviews. To avoid being recognized immediately - since I had to forgo my usual flame-retardant suit for some semblance of normality - he cast an illusion spell on me. The three personalities are as follows: Pinkamena: This mind is characterized by her lust for blood and the suffering of others. When Pinkie feels angry or fearful - standard emotions in the midst of battle - the active personality is replaced with this one, allowing her to viciously tear apart anypony standing in her way. She doesn't think so much as act, and is driven by her instincts. Diana: This mind is unique in that it is the only one to feature a straight mane and tail when active, compared to the other two who display the usual poofy hairstyle. After the battle ends, Pinkamena's personality will, in a moment of calm, transition to this one. Diana is analytic and calculative, displaying a high level of intelligence and thoughtfulness in her actions. Often the best choice of personalities in the immediate aftermath of a fight, since she has the mental capacity to make smart decisions quickly - where Pinkamena might, after narrowly winning a battle, simply jump into the next one without a care, Diana would realize that tactical retreat would be the better option in her current condition. Pinkie Pie: The original personality. She is a bubbly and fun mare, obsessed with keeping a smile on everypony's faces. Whether it be parties, pranking or just simple jokes, she's on top of everything. It was this personality that refused to kill because of her friendship with the RED Scout, Rainbow. To remove her inhibitions, the Administrator made it such that Pinkamena would be active when killing was necessary - that is, during battle - and Pinkie would be active when off-duty. In addition to the personality spell, a hallucination spell was cast on Pinkie Pie, but only Pinkie Pie and not the other personalities. The purpose was to spare her from having to watch Pinkamena slaughter mercilessly, instead allowing her to hallucinate whatever she wanted. This was necessary because while the other personalities might not be in control, they could still see, feel, and hear everything around them. As for the interview, I didn't need to bother about taking notes; the Administrator was watching me personally with the cameras he'd put up all over Canterlot. With my interview came a mission: I was to kill the five potential Element Bearers I had identified on RED Team: The Sniper, Scout, Engineer, Medic, and Spy, so that the Administrator could withhold their respawn until such a point in time when he gained possession of the Elements. First, I was supposed to infiltrate the Empire's capital and the royal palace. It wasn't hard, since under my identity of Diana, the interviewer, I got free passage into the castle. Unfortunately, a little... incident... led to a perceived threat on my end. As a result, Pinkamena emerged as the dominant personality and laid waste to half of Canterlot. An unnecessary delay. Thankfully, it didn't get in the way of completing the task I'd been given. The later meeting in the highest observatory tower of Canterlot Castle brought me face-to-face with my targets. An illusion the Administrator had preemptively cast on the only window in that room kept them from noticing the destruction Pinkamena had wrought upon the rest of the city. We talked for a little while, but evidently the Administrator started to get impatient, because he removed the illusion he'd cast on me and revealed me as the Pyro, forcing me to fight - and fight I did. I managed to kill everyone but the Scout, who, thanks to her history of close friendship with Pinkie Pie, almost got off the hook. Almost. The Scout brought Pinkie into control of the shared body by reminding her of the good times they'd shared - the Administrator might want to make adjustments to his personality spell to avoid such situations - but Pinkie's sense of... responsibility to her father drove her to finish the job. Thereafter, we brought all the bodies back to the main base. The RED Pyro did so as well, as the Administrator had sent her to do the same job as me (not the interview, killing the five BLU potential Element Bearers). That means in total, we're ten mercenaries down. We're all set to revive them at a moment's notice, though, since the threat of the changelings is still hovering over our heads.