//------------------------------// // Payload Race Mode // Story: Twilight's Experiments: The War of Mann Co. 2 // by MIKEANTHONY321 //------------------------------// Battle Arena #5: Hightower (Payload Race) Spike walked along the desert sand casually and purposefully. Blue Soldier and the rest of his team walked next to him. Unfortunately, the trip from Badwater Basin to Hightower was going to be a lengthy one. “I still don’t understand why only Red Engineer remembered to put a teleporter from here to the next place. Because of Blue Engineer’s forgetfulness, we have to walk.” Spike complained. … “Don’t think I can’t hear y’all murmuring back there.” Blue Engineer called. Blue Soldier cut him off. “Where did you get all of those weapons, private? And that Unusual hat?” Spike glanced up at his comrade. He shrugged. “I got ‘em from Red Soldier.” “How many kills does your Direct Hit have?” “Right now, only about 6. I didn’t get to do much last round.” Blue Soldier nodded. “Red Soldier must’ve been quite proud of your work.” … Spike turned around behind him, and saw Blue Spy walking at the back of the group. His head was buried in his right hand. “What’s wrong, Spy? Come up here and walk with the rest of us!” He ordered. Blue Spy glanced up, and began to jog when he realized he was behind. He shook his head. “My apologies. I was just thinking.” He stated. … “Thinking about what?” Rainbow Dash cut in. She shifted over to where Spy, Spike, and Soldier were walking. Blue Spy looked over at her. “Oh, nothing really. It’s rather repulsive, even by my standards.” “Listen dude, you’re only making me more interested in what you have to say. Spill it.” Rainbow Dash demanded. “Yeah, I mean, if it’ll weaken team RED in any way, we’d totally love to hear it.” Applejack added. “Oh, it’ll weaken them alright…” Blue Spy mumbled. … At this point, Blue Spy had the entire team’s full attention. Anyone who heard that statement turned around to look at him. “Alright, so here’s how it goes………” He began. …………………………………………… Meanwhile, team RED waited calmly and patiently for team BLU’s arrival over at Hightower. They stood at the edge of a large canyon that marked the beginning of the facility’s property. Fluttershy stood very close to Red Medic, leaning against his right leg. She currently had the stock Medi-Gun equipped. To her, it seemed that something bad or humiliating happened every time she used the Kritzkrieg. Red Medic lightly stroked the top of Fluttershy’s head. Anyone who knew his comrade well would know that rebuilding her lost trust or comfort was a slow and patient process. He seemed well-suited for that job. “It’s okay, Ms. Fluttershy. No von vill sink any less of you for vhat you did. Zhere vas nothing wrong vith it.” He assured. The rest of team RED undoubtedly agreed. “Certainly, darling. In fact, I think most of us are proud of you. Courage like that is unlike anything I’ve ever seen.” Rarity added. The entire team nodded. Murmurs of agreement and acknowledgment filled the air. “But…I was feeling all weird at that time! That was something I could never do again…” Fluttershy responded timidly. … “Here, let me make it up to you. Follow me.” Red Medic said. Red Medic walked off toward the RED resupply locker, and Fluttershy followed. The congregation of teammates stood silently afterward. …………………………………………. Only a few minutes later, team BLU arrived at the facility. They stood facing team RED on the other side of the large chasm. “Well, if we all jump into this ditch, we’ll most likely respawn inside the facility.” Blue Soldier calmly suggested. “MOST LIKELY?!?! Um…how about hell no? Someone find another way!” Blue Scout screamed. “Seems like a good idea to me. You go first, Scout.” Rainbow Dash ordered. “Are you crazy?! Am I the only one that thinks this is a stupid idea?” Blue Scout rambled. … “I said…ladies first!!!” Rainbow Dash grunted as she began to shove Blue Scout into the pit. Blue Scout protested loudly, kicking his arms and legs around and cursing. Rainbow Dash managed to overpower him, however. With one last thrust, she forced Blue Scout over the edge of the cliff. He flailed his arms in the air as he fell. “Screw you Skittles……!” He screamed. Three seconds later, a very faint splat could be heard at the bottom of the chasm. … Then, starting with Applejack, Rainbow Dash began to pick up her teammates, and fly them over to the other side of the cliff with her wings. As she transported Blue Engineer, he laughed heartily. “Y’all knew you’d be able to fly us over the whole time, didn’t ya?” He asked. When Rainbow Dash nodded, he laughed again. …………………………………………. About a minute later, Fluttershy and Red Medic returned from the RED resupply locker. Instead of the Medi-Gun, Fluttershy had equipped the Quick-Fix again. “Fluttershy, you just missed the funniest thing!” Pinkie Pie giggled. “What did the doctor guy want you for?” Fluttershy held up the Quick-Fix nozzle, and jiggled her backpack. Pinkie Pie stared at her, confused. “Medic gave me the Strange Quick-Fix. He told me that this one would keep track of my Ubercharges and my kill-assists.” Fluttershy responded. “Oh, how cool! Just before we got here, Red Pyro gave me a Strange Backburner! I dunno, apparently this one does more damage when you do it Spy-style!” She replied. Fluttershy looked at Pinkie’s weapon, and cringed a little. This is why she became a Medic and not a scary, burning psychopath. ………………………………………… Once all of team BLU had crossed the pit, everyone headed to their respective resupply lockers to prepare for battle. On both sides of the symmetrical facility, a bomb cart with the teams’ color sat at the beginning of a long, twisted track. … When team BLU arrived at their locker, Blue Scout was standing inside, waiting for them. His arms were crossed in a pout. “I hate you all…” He mumbled. “Hey, my plan worked, didn’t it? No one gave you permission to talk.” Blue Soldier snapped. The rest of the team agreed. Rainbow Dash smirked at Blue Scout. ……………………………………… Once again, tensions remained lighter on the RED side of the facility. Twilight downed a bottle of water, and wiped her lips. “Alright, so inform me. How does this work?” She casually asked Red Sniper. “It’s basically just like last round. However, we’re both trying to push our own cart. First bomb to reach the hightower wins the round.” Red Sniper explained in reply. “Any twists?” “Lots of ‘em. The cart does anything but stay steady the whole way through. Our tracks curve, meeting at a cross not far along the path. Once we pass it, the track continues far into the bowels of the enemy base. It’ll be the most difficult there, hence the location being right outside their spawn. One last turn after that, and you’re at the tower. The greatest twist about this track is that the last section of it is straight up. If anyone leaves the cart unattended, it’ll slide right back to the bottom.” Red Sniper explained. Twilight crinkled the bottle up in her hoof, and threw it on the ground. “Seen worse. Let’s do it.” … Red Sniper shook his head slowly. He sighed. “I gotta admit, mate, I truly adore your courage and professionalism. You and I; we’re gonna go far.” He complimented. Twilight smiled, breaking her hard-earned seriousness in a split second. She looked up at her companion. “Aw c’mon, Sniper, I was getting it right! It’s hard to be serious around you.” She blushed. She nuzzled close to Red Sniper’s waist. He put his arm around her. … Over by Red Medic, Fluttershy caught a glimpse of Twilight and Red Sniper. Her face heated up as she once again remembered her actions during the last battle. …………………………………………… Just as Red Medic noticed his companion’s uncomfortable state, the countdown began. He gave her a quick nudge of encouragement, which prompted her to raise her new Quick-Fix in preparation for battle. … “Mission begins in 5…4…3…2…1…” On ‘0’, the doors swung open, and team RED cruised out of their resupply locker with their weapons ablaze. Team BLU did the same. ……………………………………………… Music: Playing with Danger (Repeat if needed) ……………………………………………… Rainbow Dash leapt down off of the ledge, and began pushing her team’s bomb cart. Slowly and steadily, the cart began to move. “Ugh…this again…” She grunted. As her labor to mobilize the bomb began, Blue Scout flew by her with a frying pan in his right hand. Rainbow Dash did a double-take as she realized he wasn’t carrying a bat anymore. “Who the hell brings a cooking tool to a gun fight?” She asked annoyingly. “Frying pans are becoming pretty common around here. Just roll vith it.” Blue Medic grumbled. He gave her an overheal, and ran off to assist front-running classes. … As soon as he left, Spike joined Rainbow Dash. Their cart began to move considerably faster with Spike’s support. “Have you gotten stronger since we got here, Spike?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Nah, not really. I’m carrying a lot of heavy weapons, so I guess I have a lot of weight to throw around.” He casually responded. “But…if you’re carrying heavy weapons, wouldn’t that make you strong?” She asked. “Um…well…yeah, I guess you’re right.” He awkwardly answered. … For this battle, the ponies and the fighters had been equipped with a small watch on their right wrist that provided info on the bomb location. Their team’s bomb cart, as well as the enemies’, could be seen. “So…apparently we’re both almost at the quarter-way mark. We’re going to need more muscle power to beat team RED to the hightower.” Spike informed. ………………………………………… Meanwhile, at the RED cart, Scout, Soldier, Pyro, and Pinkie Pie were all pushing the bomb. They had nearly double the power that team BLU possessed. They rounded the first left turn, which brought them out past the middle tower. Simultaneously, Rainbow Dash and Spike appeared from their corner, pushing the BLU cart. The cart-pushers on both teams looked up in surprise when they saw their enemies pushing the cart. Immediately, the stopped pushing, picked up their weapons, and fought it out. … Rainbow Dash was the fastest to take out her scattergun. She shot once, and wounded Red Pyro. In response, he and Pinkie Pie burst forward to use their flamethrowers. In panic, Spike launched a rocket at the invaders. With flawless reflexes, Red Pyro turned toward the rocket, shrouded it with a compressed air blast, and sent it flying right back at Spike. Spike gasped, and launched a rocket at his feet. He took slight damage from the blast, but was propelled high into the air before his own rocket spelled his death. He then shot two more rockets down on Red Pyro, which blew him to pieces. As his ascent began to turn into a descent, Spike directed his body over to where Pinkie Pie was running. He took out the Market Gardener, and smashed her head in on the way down. Hitting the ground, he got health from the bomb cart, and continued to push it. “Whoa; nice job there, Spike!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. … From the ledge over by the RED base, Red Soldier witnessed Spike kill two of his teammates. He shook his head, and sighed. “I’ve never seen such a skillful fighter.” He muttered to himself. ………………………………………… As of now, team BLU was pushing considerably ahead of RED, with only Spike and Rainbow Dash pushing the cart. Past the first cross, the track began to take them closer and closer to team RED’s base. “Um…Spike? If I’m not mistaken, we’re going to be pushing this thing right through their spawn area.” Rainbow Dash worriedly mentioned. … Just as Spike was about to reply, Blue Medic approached them from behind. “Hey, doc! Would you mind helping us push this thing? Or could you at least give us an overheal?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Gladly.” He responded. He walked up behind them, and backstabbed them both. Red Spy then radioed to his team with his headset. “Got ‘em.” ………………………………………… Red Scout, Red Soldier, and Red Medic simultaneously leapt down from their ledge, and began pushing team RED’s cart along. With Scout as their advantage, they currently had the power of 4 pushing their cart. Blue Spy uncloaked behind the group. Just as he was about to plunge his knife into Red Medic’s back, he was headshot by Twilight. However, he was not dead. With his Dead Ringer activated, Blue Spy retreated to a safe place before he would become visible again. He set his headset up to send a crucial message to BLU’s defense faction. “Team RED’s cart is moving quickly. Engineer, I need you to set up a sentry on the platform above the track by our spawn area. It’ll surely hold off the attackers for a sufficient amount of time.” He ordered. After a few seconds, he received a fuzzy reply from Blue Engineer. “Message received, partner. Erecting a sentry right now.” He responded. … Just as Blue Spy’s cloak ran out, he disguised as Red Medic. Right before he ran out to continue his trickery, Pinkie Pie came trotting in the hallway. Blue Spy gasped, and held his breath. “Oh hey, Medic! Mind giving me an overheal?” She asked politely. Blue Spy began to sweat heavily. He gulped. “Uh…I’m afraid that won’t be possible.” He responded. Pinkie was confused. “Why not? And where’d your German accent go?” “Um…it went up into the resupply locker. Maybe you should go check there.” Blue Spy stuttered in response. Pinkie raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure you’re not a Spy?” “Yes, I’m pretty sure.” “Absolutely sure?” “…Yes.” “Absolutely positively sure?” “Yes!” “Absolutely positively EXTREMELY sure?!” … Blue Spy didn’t respond. A couple heated seconds of suspicious silence ensued before he turned and ran. Pinkie Pie gasped in surprise, and began to chase him. “Hey, Spy! Our Medic is a Spy! Catch him!” Pinkie Pie cried over her headset. Immediately, the squadrons of RED fighters that weren’t already busy began to hunt down the Spy that was among them. Blue Spy barreled out of the back hallway in panic, passing right by Rarity and Big Mac. “Medic!” They both called at the same time. When their “Medic” didn’t answer them, they exchanged glances, and ran after the suspected Spy. As they began to chase after him, Pinkie Pie burst out of the hallway, and toppled right into them. … “What are you guys doing just lying here? Chase the Spy!” Pinkie ordered. Quickly and awkwardly, the pile of teammates got up off of each other. Recovering their sense of direction, they took off after Blue Spy. …………………………………………… Blue Spy wasn’t very worried anymore. His Dead Ringer had recharged, and he was beginning to lead his attackers into a trap. As he ran frantically toward the BLU base, the three RED attackers ran relentlessly after him. Blue Spy disappeared around a corner. When the three teammates rounded the corner in pursuit, they were met with an unpleasant surprise. Two sentry guns turned toward them, and began to fire ruthlessly. Too slow to react or respond, the attackers got their heads blown off by bullets and rockets. … “Splendid job, you two.” Blue Spy wheezed. Blue Engineer high-fived Applejack. ………………………………………… At this point, Rainbow Dash, Blue Scout, and Blue Pyro began pushing their cart again. It rounded a corner, and entered the no-man’s land within team RED’s base. Blue Spy whispered to himself. “That’s the most dangerous part of the course… If they’re not careful, we’ll never get the cart further than that!” He put a gloved hand on his masked chin, and thought solemnly to himself. If he didn’t act soon, his team would be unable to advance any further. … He decided that it was time to act out his dastardly plan. He activated another disguise, which looked like Red Pyro. He walked a couple steps in front of him to where the RED fighters had died, and splashed some of their blood onto his body. This made him looked injured and desperate. “It’s now or never…” He mumbled. As he ran off on his team-saving mission, Blue Engineer and Applejack cheered encouragingly. …………………………………………… Music: Faster than a Speeding Bullet (Repeat if needed) …………………………………………… As he made his way over to the RED base, Rainbow Dash got headshot by Twilight. The cart slowed down. Blue Spy hesitated, but pressed on. He made his way up a nearby ramp, across the track, and to a pile of boxes. He stopped and hid there for a few moments. Blue Scout, who was still pushing the cart, looked over at him like he was crazy. Jerking his head, he motioned for Blue Spy to move his ass. Just as Blue Spy was obeying, Blue Scout was also headshot by Twilight. Now, with only Blue Pyro pushing the cart, progress was being made dangerously slowly. Blue Spy rolled his eyes, and began to climb up the boxes. … Red Sniper stood perched on the ledge right at the top. Blue Spy’s breathing increased from his anxiety. Now was not the time to fail. Just before Red Sniper managed to pull off a shot, Blue Spy climbed up into his view. Red Sniper scoffed. “Gaahhh…get out of my way, Pyro!” He ordered, rolling his eyes. “Mmm mmph…mmm mmm mmm MMPH!” Blue Spy mimicked, pretending to be injured. The blood covering Blue Spy’s disguise made his act far more convincing. Red Sniper, although annoyed, seemed slightly concerned for his “teammate’s” condition. He sighed. “Go see a Medic or something. Or, if you need to, use the resupply locker in the spawn room. I’m busy right now, mate.” He stated. … “I think not.” Blue Spy responded menacingly, breaking his disguise. Red Sniper gasped in surprise. Before he could react, Blue Spy thrust his blade into the spinal cord of his enemy. Red Sniper gagged and hacked, falling to the ground with a loud thud. … Blue Spy smiled evilly. Just as he made the kill, he quickly put on another disguise. His disguise…was Red Sniper. He bent over, picked up Red Sniper’s headset, and set it atop his head. Before anyone could notice, Blue Spy hurled the real Red Sniper’s body over the edge of the ledge. This left no immediate evidence of his presence. (Why is this rhyming so much?) … Almost immediately after stealing the RED assassin’s headset, messages flowed in from Twilight Sparkle. He breathed heavily, and prepared to intercept the secrets of the enemy team. “Ah ha! Another headshot! Wouldn’t you say I’m doing pretty good today, babe?” She asked over the headset. Blue Spy gagged. He cleared his throat a couple of times to prepare his Sniper impersonation, and began his reply. “Gah! You made me miss a shot! What is it that you want so badly, mate?!” He mimicked. “Um…I’m sorry? Did I do something wrong?” She asked, confused. ………………………………………… Blue Spy’s blooming conversation with team RED’s hoofed assassin was being broadcast across the map to the BLU team. Nearly the entire team went quiet, waiting in anticipation for their master of trickery to lay down his timebomb. Blue Spy continued. “Yes, you did something wrong! You always screw me up when I’m about to end some wanker’s life!” He yelled in artificial anger. … Blue Scout and Rainbow Dash stifled giggles. Large smiles covered their faces as they listened to their Spy verbally beat down the enemy. … Twilight was still confused. She stuttered incomprehensibly. “I, uh…gee, I didn’t know I was such a problem to you…” She mumbled, slightly hurt by her “teammate’s” rage. “In fact, while I’m on the subject, why are you such a burden to this team? Here’s a news flash, mate, the bullets come out of the slim end!” Blue Spy exclaimed. … While this was going on, Blue Pyro continued to push the cart, with no one trying to stop him. Sirens began to blare. After a few seconds, Rainbow Dash and Blue Scout joined back in. … Twilight was trembling now. She dropped her rifle. “But…I…I thought…t…that you and I…” “Oh please, mate. Are ya bloody joking? I’m an assassin, and I don’t love anybody, especially you. My job is to kill every mongrel I meet, and you just might be my next target. Go back to the BLU team where you belong!” Blue Spy acted over the headset. … He waited in silence and anticipation for the unicorn’s reply. After a few seconds of nothing, he heard a bang over the speakers, signaling that the set on the other end was dropped on the ground. He stood there silently, wearing his Red Sniper disguise, not sure what to do next. Suddenly, Twilight ran down the nearby stairs from the battlement ledge, crying her eyes out. She slammed into him, knocking him over on her way into the resupply room. “Well then…I guess that’s mission accomplished.” He mumbled, picking himself up and dusting himself off. …………………………………………… Loud sirens echoed throughout the Hightower facility as team BLU’s cart made its way to the final destination. Blue Spy deactivated his disguise, and ran down to join Rainbow Dash, Blue Scout, and Blue Pyro. The cart came to a screeching halt, and began to rise steadily on an elevator platform. The three original cart-pushers began to jump up and down eagerly. Blue Spy looked up at the hatch on the hightower wall, and sighed thoughtfully. “C’mon, baby! We got this!” Blue Scout said through clenched teeth. Rainbow Dash grinned proudly. “Yeah yeah yeah! We made it this far!” Blue Pyro clapped his hands together. “Mmmph mmm mmph!” Blue Spy swallowed the vomit that kept rising in his throat. ………………………………………. Immediately upon reaching the top, the bomb cart exploded, obliterating the four clueless attackers. Team BLU jumped around and cheered at their victory, and the success of Blue Spy’s evil plan. Looks of confusion covered the RED fighters’ faces as they leaked out of their base for discussion. Just before their defeat, their Sniper was in emotional hysterics. Not even Red Medic could calm her down. Red Sniper was especially confused. Every time he tried to comfort Twilight, she would shove him away or curse at him. … “Well, I’m not exactly sure what happened to our teammate during this battle, but nonetheless, it was engaging.” Red Soldier commented. Team BLU pretended to agree with Red Soldier. Secretly, they knew exactly what had happened. “Shall we do the team scramble?” Blue Soldier added. … The teams are now as follows: Fluttershy, Zecora, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity were on team RED. Big Mac, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Spike were on team BLU. To everyone’s shock, Twilight was also on team BLU. “Hey mate, why are you switching teams?” Red Sniper asked. “Because you wanted me to!!! I’m leaving you alone like you asked, so why don’t you leave me alone, too??!!” Twilight screamed in response. Tears streamed down her face. Red Sniper was taken aback. He looked back and forth in sadness and confusion, and remained silent. … “…Well then…I guess we’re going to Mountain Lab for Attack/Defend next.” Red Soldier stuttered. Without another word, both teams walked off in different directions. Blue Scout held up his fist to bump with Blue Spy. He did not oblige. To be Continued…