//------------------------------// // King of the Hill Mode // Story: Twilight's Experiments: The War of Mann Co. 2 // by MIKEANTHONY321 //------------------------------// Battle Arena #3: Harvest (King of the Hill) Rainbow Dash shivered lightly as the cold wind brushed up against her cyan fur. Leaves the color of burning flame rained down peacefully upon the land, signaling the autumn climate of the map in which the mercenaries were headed. The sun hung low in the sky, and the horizon stretched beyond the fences of the facility like an endless prairie in front of them. They had reached Harvest for the King of the Hill battle. … “Aw man, it’s so chilly out here! I wish I had a jacket or something.” Rainbow Dash complained. Blue Scout looked at her in a funny way. He cocked an eyebrow. “Yeah Skittles, about that, I’ve been meaning to ask you. Do you ponies ever, like…wear any clothing?” He stuttered. “No, not really. We do if it’s for a special occasion, such as the Grand Galloping Gala or a wedding or something.” Rainbow Dash responded in a surprisingly casual way. Blue Scout expected them to be timid about that kind of subject, but he was apparently wrong. Blue Soldier gagged and put a hand to his mouth when Rainbow Dash mentioned the Grand Galloping Gala. All the feminism was getting to his head. Now that Rainbow Dash had mentioned that fact about not wearing clothes, Blue Scout started having a hard time staying focused on her face. His eyes started to trail down her body, checking out her features. He had been fighting alongside her for many weeks now, and he had never really noticed just how…hot she was. A bead of sweat appeared on his forehead. … Suddenly Rainbow Dash turned to him, and he looked away quickly like nothing had happened. She looked at him suspiciously for a minute. Her face displayed anger, and Blue Scout knew he had been busted for checking her out. He smiled awkwardly. “I’ve been meaning to ask you something, Scout. Why did you shoot my friend Fluttershy like that in the last battle after she was being friendly and innocent? She and Blue Medic did nothing to hurt each other!” Rainbow Dash asked. The area went completely silent. Everyone stopped talking, and turned toward Blue Scout upon hearing Rainbow Dash’s question. Blue Medic’s anger returned to him, and he crossed his arms. Blue Scout sighed, relieved that she hadn’t noticed his trailing eyes from the few seconds prior. However, this wasn’t much better. … The area remained silent for what seemed like an eternity as Blue Scout struggled to formulate a response. Bird chirps and insect noises could be heard faintly throughout the facility as Team BLU waited impatiently for their Scout to explain himself. Suddenly, he gave his answer. “Okay…look; I just think all of this friendliness is ridiculous. Fluttershy was on the RED team. Blue Medic was on the BLU team. I’d like our job to be simple, where RED shoots BLU and BLU shoots RED. The fact that Fluttershy could befriend a freaking vampire just irritates me. If she wants to be so friendly to Blue Medic, she can wait until after the battle, run off with him into the sunset, and feel down his pants for all I care.” Blue Medic cut him off. “I’m standing vight here, you know.” Blue Scout continued. “The truth is, we’re paid to kill, and that’s that. I don’t want all the friendly business around here confusing us, unless it’s amongst our own team.” … His team looked at him blankly. As much as they hated to admit it, he was right. They lowered their heads, and walked off slowly toward the resupply locker. Only Blue Scout, Rainbow Dash, and Blue Medic remained. “Don’t think it’s going to stay this way, Scout. Where we come from, this is not how life is lived. I think it’s time you lighten up and let a little friendship into your soul, or you’re going to go down painfully.” Rainbow Dash scolded. Blue Medic nodded solemnly. Then he walked off toward the locker with Rainbow Dash, leaving Blue Scout outside. All he could do was stare. ………………………………………. Meanwhile, Fluttershy stood trembling nervously with her team on the other side of the battlefield. Twilight noticed her, thinking back on what happened to her in the last battle. She approached Fluttershy, and put a hoof on her shoulder to console her. Fluttershy flinched hard enough to jerk the building, and shoved her hoof away. As Twilight stumbled, Fluttershy pulled her syringe gun out, and pointed it at Twilight’s face. “Hey hey hey! What’s going on?!” Red Soldier exclaimed. Audible noises of shock and surprise filled the room. Half of the team RED fighters grabbed Fluttershy and restrained her to prevent any violence. “Lower your weapon, private! Treason will not be tolerated!” Red Soldier ordered. … Twilight was on the ground in a self-defensive position. Her arm was in front of her face. She lowered it, and looked up at her delusional friend. “Fluttershy, what has gotten into you? I’m your friend, and I’m on your team!” She mentioned. Fluttershy struggled to break free from her teammates’ bonds. Red Demoman had to walk up and take her syringe gun away from her. “Please let me go! She’s a Spy, I just know it!” Fluttershy pleaded. The other half of the team scoffed. Red Scout rolled his eyes. “C’mon Flutters, that’s absurd. Spies aren’t even allowed to enter the enemies’ resupply locker.” Applejack informed. “Aye, da yellow one could be right, lads. Ya never know when dem French turds are gonna sneak right up on ya ass and stab it ta death.” Red Demoman warned. After saying this, he lost focus a bit, and babbled slightly. “Oh please. I’m standing RIGHT here, you simpleton.” Red Spy complained. … As Fluttershy continued to struggle, team RED waited for her to calm down enough to let her go. Red Medic slowly approached her, and knelt down in front of her. “Ms. Fluttershy…vhat is wrong? You have been acting so strange lately, and it’s making me very vorried.” He asked. Fluttershy did not answer immediately. Her struggling began to cease as she stared aimlessly at Red Medic. Red Medic waited patiently for Fluttershy to answer him. Suddenly, and rather unexpectedly, she burst out crying. Her head fell. Red Medic gasped in surprise. Team RED let go of Fluttershy, letting her fall to the ground. Red Medic stepped forward and picked her up, holding her in his arms. “Vhat is wrong? Tell me, please!” Red Medic pleaded. … Everyone on team RED watched sorrowfully as Fluttershy continued to cry in Red Medic’s embrace. “I…I…I just can’t take it anymore! All…all the lying, and the killing, and…and the backstabbing, and the double-crossing… I…I just want to go home!” She wailed. Tears were streaming down her face. Everyone in the room, including the ponies, gasped. The thought of leaving that world, after all they’ve been through, seemed irrational. Looking back at all the abuse that she has taken in the battles since the robot attack, though, it made sense to them. Twilight walked up to Red Medic and Fluttershy. She looked at the butter-yellow pegasus with a solemn face. “Fluttershy…looking back on these few battles, I can understand why you’d want to leave this world. It all just appears to be too much for you, considering the nature of these mercenaries in this environment. However, I don’t think returning to Equestria will be possible anymore. I just…don’t possess a return spell, and I don’t think I will ever be able to get one here. I’m sorry.” Twilight explained. … Fluttershy buried her face in Red Medic’s chest like a lost puppy out in the rain. He stroked her back lightly. “Do you vant to sit zis vun out? You can stay in zee spawn room if you vish.” He suggested. Fluttershy nodded her head silently. Red Medic put her down gently as if he were handling precious china. The rest of the team lined up for battle. ……………………………………………… “Mission begins in 10 seconds!” The announcer broadcasted. Twilight, Spike, and Applejack got their weapons ready and prepared for the battle. The atmosphere tensed up in the room as the rest of team RED did the same. The first team to capture and hold onto the central Control Point for three minutes would be deemed the winners. Twilight glanced over at Fluttershy, who was curled up in the back corner with her head down. Her Quick-Fix lied dormant on the ground. Twilight shook her head and sighed. … “5…4…3…2…1…FIGHT!” The doors swung open, and the fighters burst out ecstatically, ready for a good battle. Red Sniper ran up next to Twilight as they sprinted to their battle positions. “Hey mate, let me get something straight for a minute. …You can do magic? With that…spirally horn on your forehead?” He asked. Twilight looked at him like he was crazy. “Well…yeah. What did you think it was for?” “Nothing really. I just thought it was there to look nice or something. You know; to attract mates.” He replied. Twilight blushed a little. “Yeah, well…I guess it’s SORT of used for that purpose too.” Red Sniper smiled. ………………………………………………… Music: Playing with Danger (Repeat if needed) ………………………………………………… The couple split up at a junction. Twilight headed left toward the farm building to snipe in an upstairs windowsill, while Red Sniper headed right to snipe off the roof of a small shack. Other classes, like Spike, Applejack, Red Scout, and Red Spy scattered in all different directions to carry out their strategy. As the offensive classes moved upward toward the location of the Control Point, team BLU fighters became visible from around the corner. It wasn’t long before loud shots and spilling blood became evident around the map. ……………………………………………… At the very start of the battle, Rarity snuck around the buildings toward the RED base. Instead of stabbing and sapping, she fully intended to gather starting information that her team could use. She slid down the hallways of team RED’s farmhouse base, stopping off to the side to let team RED players through accordingly. With her cloak, she could stay perfectly hidden as long as she didn’t touch anybody or anypony. She stopped again as Twilight ran by her. Turning her head, she watched Twilight jog up the stairs and into the battlement zone of her base. Rarity couldn’t help but to gape admiringly at her lavender friend’s Unusual hat. The green flames burned brightly into her eyelids. “Oh wow…those flames really work well with the color of her uniform. It looks simply divine!” She whispered to herself. “Guess I could take the time to stab her real fast.” … She slinked up the stairs with flowing, snake-like movements, expertly avoiding a single noise from her hooves. She uncloaked, and snuck around the corner as Twilight prepared the setup on her rifle. She observed her friend lying down on her side below the window, covering herself from outside view. Just as Twilight was setting the rifle up in the window, Rarity tiptoed up behind her, grabbed her neck, and positioned the tip of her knife so that it was lightly touching Twilight’s back. Twilight gasped in surprise. “Hello, dear. I was just interested to find out where you got that divine piece of headwear.” She said kindly. “Rarity, let me go. Now. I’m warning you.” Twilight rasped. “Oh please, darling, I can’t do that now! You must tell me where you got that amazing hat!” Twilight tried to reach across the floor for her Kukri, but Rarity kicked it further away. Twilight grunted. “I don’t need to tell you. If you were really interested, you wouldn’t be holding me hostage like this with a knife to my back.” She mentioned calmly. Rarity ignored her comment. “Did your darling boyfriend Red Sniper give it to you? ‘Cause if he did, I love his taste!” “He’s not my boyfriend!!” Twilight yelled. “…Well……maybe he is, I guess.” “Well, tell him he has my support. I’ll be sure to kill him quickly next time I pass by him, okay? Best of luck!” She finished politely. She then thrust the knife into Twilight’s back, severing her spinal cord and killing her instantly. … After this had been completed, Rarity re-disguised, activated her cloak once more, and headed quickly down the stairs. Dodging enemies to make sure she didn’t run into anyone, she weaved her way over to team RED’s spawn point, and looked in the window. Her eyes widened at what she saw. Through the window, Rarity saw Fluttershy in the spawn room, curled up in the corner like she was preparing for a tornado. She apparently had the Quick-Fix equipped, but it was sitting on the ground like a piece of trash. As teammates respawned, they stopped occasionally to rub her head or hold her hoof. Rarity was rather impressed. Of all her time spent in this world, she had never seen a team act so dedicated and caring for a distraught teammate. Knowing Fluttershy, Rarity could tell that the nature of this environment was really getting to her. … She eagerly flipped on her headset, and relayed a message to Blue Soldier for her team to hear. “This just in from Rarity; I just got intel that Fluttershy, the Medic on the RED team, is out of the battle!” She explained. A couple seconds later, Rarity received a reply from Blue Soldier over the headset. “Excellent work, private! But I must warn you; she will respawn in a matter of ten seconds.” He warned. “Oh no, not that. She’s deliberately sitting the battle out. She’s not moving or talking.” “Well, that’s perfect! With their best Medic excluded from the battle, RED won’t stand a chance against us!” With this triumphant statement, Blue Soldier signed off. As Rarity clicked off the mic on her headset, she looked up to see a mob of RED fighters surrounding her position in front of the spawn room. Apparently she had carelessly disclosed her position by speaking to her team in the middle of RED territory. Everyone heard her voice, and surrounded her approximate location in their spawn area. Red Heavy cracked his knuckles. Rarity sighed, and waited patiently for her demise to come. …………………………………………………. Rainbow Dash, having just received the message from her teammate Rarity, bolted confidently around the corner of the Control Point location. It wasn’t supposed to become active for another half a minute, so she thought she would sprint forward and do some killing while her other teammates set up their defenses. … She stopped suddenly, going into full Spy-impersonation mode when she saw Red Sniper standing on top of a shack rooftop. Stifling a giggle, she tiptoed around the back of the shack as quietly as she could, hoping not to catch his attention. She dove into the shack as quickly as possible whenever an enemy teammate passed by. Whenever the coast became clear, she would continue her path toward the ladder. Climbing the ladder slowly and steadily, she tiptoed up behind Red Sniper. Stifling another giggle, she raised her scattergun, and shot him in the back right off the roof of the shack. This caused her to lose control of herself. She burst out laughing, slamming her hoof on the ground and snorting here and there. As she was laughing at her victim, a bullet flew through her abdomen and exited out her right calf. Rainbow Dash hit the surface of the rooftop as she went down, blood spraying out of the bullet entry-point on her left hip. She lied there on the spot, coughing and sputtering inaudibly. Blood poured out of her mouth. The real Red Sniper, the firer of the bullet, was standing halfway across the map in team RED’s main building. He blew on the nozzle of his rifle. Smiling heartily, he whispered, “Gotcha in the ovary. Figures you’d know how that feels, mate.” Rainbow Dash lived just long enough to see the Red Sniper imposter that she killed reappear with the Dead Ringer. He leaned down close to her, and smiled. “Yes, I can disguise as my own teammates as well. Hope you enjoyed that one pointless kill you almost made!” He taunted in his fake Australian accent. Rainbow Dash had just enough strength to raise her hoof a couple inches. Seconds later, she blacked out from the blood loss. ………………………………………………… As that was happening, Applejack was standing against the wall of the shack where the Control Point sat. A dispenser had already been built, and she was starting to level up a sentry gun. As she was working, a fighter or two from the BLU team would sprint around the corner and get shot down by the building. So far, it was working nicely. Once the Control Point became active, she would have good control of it for her team. Red Engineer ran past her in pursuit of a health pack. Applejack stopped him, and let him use her dispenser. As he healed, she spoke to him. “So mister, where’s a good place for a teleporter on this map?” She asked. “Ya know pardner, don’t hassle yourself over a teleporter. This map is rather small, and teleporters just distract you from your important stuff. Just carry on what you’re doing, and you’re golden.” He replied. “Alright, I thank ya kindly.” ……………………………………………………… As Red Engineer was walking off, the Control Point became active. As the announcement was made, fighters from both teams immediately began to pour into the shack where it lied. Once again, a bloodbath commenced. Red Medic appeared from team RED’s spawn area, wielding the Quick-Fix. For moments like these, no other medi-gun could compare. As soon as his presence was made noticed, calls began to flood his eardrums. Injured teammates practically lined up in front of him, in dire need for healing. For instance, Red Demoman was missing an arm, Red Heavy had a big gaping rocket hole in his gut, and Red Pyro had a third-degree singe in his side that tore right through his suit. Red Medic wasted no time. Pulling the lever on the Quick-Fix, he began to patch up his teammates to the best of his ability. As quick as he possibly could, he healed one teammate after another and sent them back into the Control Point room, where they would get brutally injured all over again. … “Aw shit; Medic, behind you!” Red Scout screamed. With no time to respond or react, Red Medic got a knife plunged into his back by Rarity. She pulled the knife back out of his back, cloaked, and slinked away. Red Medic grimaced, and fell to the ground. He grasped the wound on his back, trying desperately to cease any fatal blood flow. However, the damages to his spine were too much to stop. He fell limp, and died. … As a result, the Control Point began to rapidly turn over to BLU. Big Mac and Zecora effortlessly held off any RED attackers with their strong weapons. At the same time, Blue Scout and Rainbow Dash stood around to help the Point capture faster. Eventually, the inevitable capture of the Point had occurred. Instead of scattering around the map again, most of the team BLU fighters remained on the Point to defend. Blue Medic approached Big Mac with a full Ubercharge on his Quick-Fix. Once he was healing him, they turned the corner of the Point shack. Applejack gasped in surprise as Blue Medic popped his Uber on Big Mac, and he opened fire. Applejack tried to stay behind and repair her sentry, but it wasn’t firing fast enough to catch up with Big Mac’s rapid healing. Her sentry was destroyed, and she was mowed down by the bullet-rain. ……………………………………………… Once the majority of team RED’s fighters had respawned in their locker, it became evident that their chance of victory was dim. A couple fighters, including Twilight, turned toward Fluttershy in the corner. “Fluttershy, I know this world may seem like too much for you, but you have to help us out! We need your abilities! Without you over there fighting with us, we don’t stand a chance!” Twilight pleaded. “No no…it’s fine…I can do zis…” Red Medic rasped. Out of breath, he stopped to lean against the wall. “No Medic, you can’t. This task is too much for one fighter to handle. With Fluttershy out there, we’d have a much better chance!” … Red Medic suddenly turned to Twilight with rage. “You listen here! If Ms. Fluttershy can’t fight, vee don’t make her fight! If it were up to me, vee’d ALL be sitting in a corner veading stories to each ozer in zee moonlight!” He yelled. The room went completely silent. Red Medic continued to breathe heavily, staring at Twilight with the same rage in his eyes. As a result, Twilight looked down. The room remained silent for what seemed like forever. Everyone flinched suddenly when blood from Red Soldier and Spike splattered against the window of the room. … “Now if you’ll excuse me, I vill be heading back outside to fight now. And as long as I still stand here, Fluttershy vill not be forced to do ANYTHING she doesn’t vant to!” Red Medic finished. The room was still silent as Red Medic jogged out of the resupply locker with his medi-gun armed. Fluttershy looked straight down with a solemn, sorry look on her face. Some teammates looked back at her with sympathy, others with anger. ……………………………………………… Sentry guns were not allowed on the Control Point, so Blue Engineer had to improvise. Minutes prior, he had built a sentry gun right at the entrance to the Control Point shack, facing team RED’s side. He was surprised that he hadn’t faced any RED fighters to try and stop him yet. With Blue Engineer, Blue Heavy, and Big Mac guarding the entrances to the Control Point, the majority of team BLU camped out inside of the shack on the Point. Only Blue Spy, Rarity, and Blue Sniper remained out and about. Pinkie Pie and Blue Pyro sat leaning against the side of the building with the rest of their teammates. Sitting on the Control Point with nothing to do, they got creative. “Ready? Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. She held out her hoof, and Blue Pyro held out his two fingers. “Aw, sorry! Rock beats scissors!” Pinkie explained. … “Mmm mmph! Mmm mmph!” “You want to try again? Okey dokey!” Repeating the same process, Pinkie Pie held out her hoof again, and Blue Pyro held out his flat hand. “Oh boy, it looks like you win! But…it seems I can only do rock.” Pinkie noticed. She and Blue Pyro stared at each other for a minute, and broke into hearty laughter. ………………………………………… Suddenly, Red Medic and Red Heavy burst onto the scene with an active Ubercharge. With full immunity granted, Red Heavy stormed the Point with a rain of bullets, crying out fiercely while doing so. Team BLU fighters began to flee for their lives one by one as they noticed the attack. Blue Engineer’s sentry gun turned around, and began firing at him. Rainbow Dash and Blue Scout were asleep with their caps down over their heads, so by the time they woke up and realized the danger, Red Heavy was already upon them. Rainbow Dash spread her wings and flew away, but Blue Scout wasn’t so lucky. Red Heavy stopped firing, picked up Blue Scout with his muscular fist, and dragged him off the Point. Blue Scout kicked and thrashed like a toddler heading off to bed an hour early. Team BLU peeked around corners, watching Red Heavy. They were confused as to why Red Heavy didn’t try to capture the Control Point. ................................................................. Music: Right Behind You (Repeat if needed) ................................................................. Red Heavy dragged Blue Scout into the RED base, where he smashed him against the wall. “Why’d you hurt Fluttershy like that?!” He asked him loudly. Blue Scout rolled his eyes. “Is THAT what this is about? Let me go, fat-ass.” Red Heavy smashed him against the wall again. Blue Scout grimaced from the impact of the hard wooden surface. Red Medic stood behind them both with his arms crossed. “Pathetic little man like you make Heavy mad! Answer me now!” “Maybe your precious little Fluttershy just deserved to die.” Blue Scout replied casually. Red Medic gasped in surprise. He whipped out his syringe gun, and shot dozens of needles into Blue Scout’s arms and legs. Blue Scout cried out loudly, wriggling around to free himself of Red Heavy’s grasp. “You filssy little bastard! Ms. Fluttershy is sitting in our spawn room mute and motionless because of you!” Red Medic yelled. Blue Scout shrugged carelessly. … Rainbow Dash flew in from the hallway around the corner. She spread her wings out, and landed right next to Red Heavy. She looked up at her beaten and bloody teammate. “Skittles, thank God you’re here! Hurry, kill these guys and free me so we can finish up this battle!” Blue Scout ordered. “Hmm……nah, I don’t think I will.” Rainbow Dash responded defiantly. “Skittles, what the hell? I thought we were friends! You’re on my team!” “Yeah well, Fluttershy is also my friend. She may not be on my team, but I can still love and respect her like I would with any other pony. My Element is loyalty, and I sure as hell won’t abandon Fluttershy for the likes of you.” … “Skittles…what are you saying…?” “I’m saying I’m not your friend anymore. Originally, I was going to let you in on some of what Red Sniper and Twilight are getting, but I think I changed my mind. After all, a relationship with you would just suppress my style.” Blue Scout gasped. His heart skipped a beat. … Rainbow Dash held out her hoof, and shook hands with Red Heavy and Red Medic. Then, she flew off to join her team at the Control Point. Red Medic reloaded his syringe gun, and fired more syringes into Blue Scout’s hands and feet. Once he thought they were secure, Red Heavy let go of Blue Scout. The syringes kept Blue Scout pinned to the wall, where he began to bleed heavily. Red Medic and Red Heavy walked off, leaving Blue Scout crucified on the wall of the RED base. ………………………………………………. Shortly after, team BLU won the battle. The absence of Fluttershy in the battle caused team RED to lose critical strength, which ultimately spelled the end of hope for them. Once the dead fighters from both teams had respawned in their lockers, they all met at the center of the map for discussion. Since team BLU had won the second battle in a row, the ponies would remain on their respective teams for the next battle. As this was being decided, Blue Soldier looked around, confused. “Where is Blue Scout? If he died, he should’ve respawned by now.” He asked. Red Heavy stepped forward. “Little tiny man is hanging inside RED base. Is good day for me and Fluttershy.” Blue Pyro mumbled impatiently. Then, he walked off toward the RED base to get Blue Scout down from the wall. Just as he walked out of sight, Blue Scout approached the meeting from the BLU spawn room. … “Scout? Where did you come from?” Blue Soldier asked. Blue Scout turned to him slowly, and replied with two words. “…I died.” …………………………………………. Once everything was sorted out, and once Blue Pyro had returned angrily from the RED base, Red Soldier announced their next location. “Alright men, our next battle will take place at the Badwater Basin for a Payload battle!” The teams agreed on the terms, and walked off in their separate directions. … Hundreds of thoughts and emotions were coursing through Blue Scout’s brain at that exact moment. Did Rainbow Dash actually want to date him before he killed Fluttershy? To be Continued…