//------------------------------// // Prologue // Story: Twilight's Experiments: The War of Mann Co. 2 // by MIKEANTHONY321 //------------------------------// “Are we there yet?” “’Fraid not, Skittles. Just keep walking.” Rainbow Dash groaned. Two or three hours of walking, and there was still no sign of their destination. The sun baked down on her cyan back, which caused her to sweat. She looked around at her surroundings. The only color in her view was that of the mob that she and her human companion walked with. There was Spike, Pinkie Pie, Zecora, Big Mac, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Twilight. There were also eight other humans that walked by their side. Other than that, there was nothing but barren desert as far as the eye could see. She looked with envy over at Twilight, who was being carried in the arms of her companion. “Yo Twi, enjoying the praise from your new hubby?” She taunted. “Oh, be quiet, Rainbow.” Twilight responded. She looked back up into the eyes of her companion, and smiled warmly. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, furious that Twilight got to be carried in the hot sun while she wore her hooves away on the unforgiving sandy ground. If those Engineers didn’t build teleporters from the Shipping Facility soon, she was going to steal one of their wrenches and beat them with it. … Rainbow Dash’s companion looked over at her sympathetically. He reached in his pocket, and pulled out a can of his patented ‘Bonk!’ Atomic Punch. “Here Skittles, drink this. It’s kind of warm, but I hope it’ll do for now.” Rainbow Dash grabbed the can from her companion’s hand, and drank it down. She almost spit it back out, since it had lost its fizziness. Fluttershy’s companion, a tall German man with a lab coat and glasses, looked over at Rainbow Dash. He saw what she was drinking, and gasped. “Vait Rainbow Dash, nein! Don’t drink zat!” … It was too late. Rainbow Dash downed the can, and threw it to the ground. The man’s outburst caused everyone to look in Rainbow’s direction. Her pupils grew large, and a crooked grin appeared on her face. Her wings, which were tucked at her sides, flared out impulsively. She began to jitter and shake, causing everyone to give her a confused look. Suddenly, she took off flying, leaving a rainbow streak behind her. Everyone watched as she disappeared on the horizon in front of them. … Her companion was laughing uncontrollably. Fluttershy’s companion looked at him angrily. “Scout! Vhat vas zat for?” He scolded. Scout, still laughing, replied, “Aw c’mon, doc, it’s all in good fun! Who would’ve guessed that a can of week-old Bonk still had an effect?” “You’re not supposed to give a caffeinated drink to someone in zee intense heat!” The doctor explained. “Yeah, doc. You’re the doc, doc.” Engineer added. He and Applejack snickered to each other. “I told you dummkopfs, my name is Medic! I prefer to be addressed formally!” … “Just ignore him, men. We’ll consult him later when he’s off his period.” Soldier ordered in a professional tone. Everyone in the mob broke into intense laughter. Medic’s face turned red. His hands balled up into fists, and he looked away, embarrassed. Fluttershy reached up, and held Medic’s hand. “Don’t you worry about them. I think, as Medics, we’re the only ones left on this team with our sanity intact.” She mentioned. Medic looked down at her, and smiled. … “Never…NEVER…insult my doctor!” Heavy raged. He put up his fists, and clocked Soldier right in the face. Everyone laughed again. ………………………………… After another few grueling hours of walking through the desert, Twilight spotted something in the distance. “Hey, over there! Sniper, hold me up!” She ordered. Sniper lifted Twilight up above his head so she could get a better view. She put her hoof above her forehead to shield the sun, and squinted her eyes. Among the intense heat waves that emanated off the ground, a small facility came into view. The RED and BLU logos could be seen clearly on the sides. “There, I see it! Is that Granary?” She asked. Sniper squinted his eyes, and followed Twilight’s gaze. “Yeah mate, I think that is! Team BLU should be waiting for us there.” He informed. “Everyone, I think we’re here!” He then called. … Everyone in the group turned their heads, and looked forward on the horizon. Sure enough, the Granary facility was coming into view. “Ugh, finally. I’m surprised Demoman hasn’t passed out already.” Spy responded. Demoman was literally being supported entirely by Zecora. He had a bottle of rum in his hand, which was on the verge of empty. His feet were dragging underneath him as Zecora half-carried him, and he was making soft mumbling noises the entire trip. Rarity agreed fully on Spy’s statement. ………………………………… Upon arrival, the team approached the fence that guarded the facility, and found Rainbow Dash lying curled up in a ball on the ground, trembling like she was scared of something. She looked up at them with her incredibly dilated eyes, and babbled inaudibly. “Should I get a barf bag?” Scout asked. Medic buried his face in his hands, and sighed. … Shortly after the awkward discovery of their rainbow-haired friend, team BLU approached them from behind the gate. Everyone looked up, and met them eye-to-eye. The Soldier from the BLU team stepped forward, and so did the Soldier from their team. “Greetings. Are we prepared to do a team scramble?” The Blue Soldier asked. “Yes we are. But let us lay down a ground rule first.” Red Soldier added. Team BLU waited patiently for Red Soldier’s ‘ground rule’. “Twilight Sparkle, the purple unicorn, will remain on our team.” He leaned in very close to Blue Soldier’s ear. “She and Red Sniper are QUITE fond of each other.” Blue Soldier nodded his head in understanding. Then, he held up his right hand. On cue, Red and Blue Scout stepped up to the fence. Since they were all currently without weapons, the Scouts decided to handle the team scramble more ‘formally’. The both held out a fist. … “Rock, paper, scissors, shoot.” Red Scout got paper, and Blue Scout got rock. Team RED would get to pick their teammates first. In the end, the teams ended up like so. Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Zecora, and Big Mac were on team RED. Rainbow Dash, Spike, Applejack, and Fluttershy were on team BLU. Once the teams were decided, the ponies on team BLU were hoisted up over the fence by their respective companions. Rainbow Dash, however, was difficult to budge. Red Scout put his arms around her, and tried with all of his might to lift her up. “Damn Skittles, c’mon! Flap those wings of yours!” Red Scout ordered. Rainbow Dash put a hoof on her stomach, and groaned loudly. “Oh…I don’t feel good.” … Red Scout suddenly let go of her, and ran for cover behind Red Heavy. Everyone on both teams stepped back about ten feet. To be Continued…