Equestrian Encounter

Chapter 1: Equestrian Encounter

The moon was high in the sky at the small sector known as 2Fort. Every day, two teams of nine mercenaries would fight to the death with only a small bridge to separate their forts. The two teams were RED and BLU, and while the BLU base on their side of 2Fort was built with concrete walls and flat rooftops, the RED base was built with slanted roofs and wooden walls.

The chaos began when a wealthy person named Zephaniah Mann died. In his will, he gave his sons, Redmond and Blutarch, equal portions of the land he owned. However, due to the fact that he did not specify which son got one half of the land and which son got the other, the two began to fight over it. Eventually, it got to the point to where both of the sons hired nine mercenaries to take back the land, causing the conflict to come to an eternal stalemate.

As the two were close to the point of death, Radigan Conagher was convinced by Blutarch to build a machine to keep him alive. However, as he returned to his workshop, he met a stranger who persuaded him to build the same machine for Redmond for one hundred pounds of Australium Gold – a substance that was able to send Australia about many years into the future in terms of technology. After the machines were built, the two old brothers lived on and bickered for sixty more years.

During that time, they each hired nine more mercenaries. These mercenaries each had names they tended to use on the battlefield. Those names were Scout, Soldier, Pyro, Demoman, Heavy, Engineer, Medic, Sniper, and Spy. The brothers had a copy of each mercenary, and while Blutarch would win some battles and Redmond would win others, the stalemate between the two was still there.

Now, the nine mercenaries of RED were asleep in their fort, trying to regain their energy for the next day of battles that would ensure due to Redmond's and Blutarch's constant conflicts. However, they were suddenly awoken by organ music that sounded strikingly familiar.

"WAKE UP, MAGGOTS!" shouted the soldier with a tone similar to a drill sergeant. "WE HAVE ANOTHER CREEP COMING OUT!" While the soldier grabbed his helmet from under his bed, the other eight mercenaries suddenly jolted up and got into battle stances. As the music played, a lime-green gas appeared in the corner of the room, but as the gas faded, a man with a dark robe and a skull used as a hat was revealed.

"Oh, why does that music always have to play..." muttered the man before turning to the mercenaries. "Oh! Uh..."

"Came back to give me my eye, lassie?" said Demoman with a Scottish accent. Demoman wore an eye patch over one eye and had hair that seemed to connect to his mustache that was barely noticeable with his dark skin.

"I told you! Your eye is cursed!" shouted the man while facepalming. "You can't get it back!"

"Well, why did you pop outta nowhere, ya spell-castin' freak?" asked Scout. At nineteen years old, Scout was the youngest of the nine mercenaries. However, he was the fastest of the mercenaries and carried a distinctive Boston accent.

"You will refer to me as Merasmus, you annoying wit!" exclaimed the man, suddenly growing enraged. "Plus, I might choose you to be my first victim for my newest spell!"

"Vat spell?" asked Medic. Medic had short hair and possessed a German accent. Also, while Medic's primary role on the battlefield was to aid the other eight mercenaries by healing them, he tended to overuse sharp items during operations.

"Oh, this spell will get rid of you irritations for good!" shouted Merasmus confidently.

"Everr sunce sooldurr showd us dose pells, we culd neverr be kelled!" muttered Pyro with his speech being muffled by his gas mask. Even in this mercenary's sleep, Pyro wore a gas mask, causing the mercenary's actual speech to be highly distorted. Plus, the other mercenaries occasionally questioned Pyro's gender.

"All I got out of that was "pills"," replied Merasmus. "But trust me, those "Kill Me Come Back Stronger" pills won't do any good against this spell!"

"Why not against this spell, hippie?" asked Soldier with his eyes fixed on Merasmus.

"This spell will send you to a different dimension!" explained Merasmus. "I'm not sure which dimension it is, but it was the only one I could connect to. However, I can only cast it on one person per week!" After saying that, he turned to Scout.

"Wait, you're gonna- AW CRAP!" shouted Scout as Merasmus's took out his cane and pointed it at scout. "Nonononononono-"

"Ad aliam dimensionem!" said Merasmus. A mystical green glow appeared from the tip of Merasmus's cane and flew to Scout, engulfing the mercenary as he screamed. After about ten seconds, the glow vanished. Scout was nowhere to be seen. Soldier glared at Merasmus.

"WHERE DID YOU TAKE PRIVATE SCOUT!" shouted Soldier as he ran up to Merasmus.

"Truthfully, I don't know," restated Merasmus as he took out lime-green powder from his satchel. "But I'll be back in a week." Merasmus then began laughing devilishly as he threw the powder on the floor, causing the wizard to vanish as even more organ music played.

"Wherever Scout goes, I hope it has lots of rainbows," muttered Spy. Spy wore a balaclava to block many features of his face and spoke with a French accent. Soldier heard what spy had muttered and began to march to him.

"Not in the mood, Frenchie!" shouted Soldier while approaching Spy. "I really don't care if Scout is the most annoying person on the planet and cries at the sight of rainbows! He is a comrade, and I would be just as worried if any of the seven of you disappeared as well!"

"Look, I'm just as worried about Scout as y'all are," pointed out Engineer with his usual southern accent, "But we should probably get back to the hay. I'm certain we can't go searchin' for Scout without any sleep."

"Little Engineer has point. We cannot search with no sleep," replied Heavy. Heavy was Russian, was the biggest mercenary of RED, and carried a minigun nicknamed "Sasha" when he was on the battlefield.

"Well, alright. But I want everyone up at zero six-hundred tomorrow!" said Soldier while sliding his helmet under his bed and leaping back under the covers. "Goodnight, maggots. Tomorrow, we go show that wizard who's boss!"

* * *

In another dimension, a pony named Princess Celestia was standing on her castle's balcony. Rather than being human, she was an Alicorn (a pony with qualities of a pegasus and a unicorn). Her body was pure white and she had a long, flowing mane and tail. While she was watching the moon rise as her sister, Princess Luna, pulled it into the night sky, she felt a sudden tingling sensation at her horn. She realized that there was a strong presence of an inter-dimensional being outside of Canterlot, the city where she lived. Also, she noticed that the moon stopped for a brief moment and continued again, causing her to assume that her sister felt the sensation as well.

Although she read a book about the sensation, she never felt it before. Because of that, she felt impulsed to look at the presence for herself. Without telling anyone, she flew from her balcony to the place where she felt the presence appear.

In the meantime, Scout saw the lime-green glow disappear, revealing that he was standing in the middle of a large plain. However, when he turned around, he saw several mountains with a large castle attached to the side of one.

"Geez," muttered Scout to himself. "Where did that old wizard send me to?" As scout began to focus on the castle, he could see an animal flying towards him. "Is that a horse... with wings... and a horn?" As scout saw the animal come closer, he noticed that it was a pony, but there was something about it that separated it from other ponies. This pony's body was a lot slimmer, her face was more rounded, and her eyes were larger and more beautiful. However, while he didn't have time to think of those things, he did have time to realize that he could probably get help from her.

"Hey! SOS!" shouted Scout without thinking. He began to wonder if she could even hear him, but he kept on shouting anyways. "If ya hear me then... well... keep on flying!"

As Celestia approached Scout, she realized that he could talk like she could. Also, she realized that he was of a species completely foreign to Equestria! Since she could not wait any longer, she decided to teleport in front of him instead."

"Whoa! Howd'ya do that?" shouted Scout while flinching when Celestia suddenly popped in front of him.

"Are you from Bostrot?" asked Celestia curiously, recognizing his accent and wondering if he was from Equestria.

"How can you talk?!" asked Scout.

"All I can say is that all of us can talk," replied Celestia. "For now, just answer my question."

"Neva heard of Bostrot. I'm not from this... place eitha!" Celestia eventually realized that he was from another dimension.

"I don't really know how to teach an outsider about Equestria," said Celestia, thinking for a few moments. "However, I think I know somepony who does." She began to think of Twilight Sparkle and her friends in Ponyville.

"Who is it?" asked Scout without considering that he wouldn't know the name of the pony.

"Well, we have to turn you into a pony first. Seeing how you're still your native species, you would cause quite a bit of shock across Equestria. Luckily, I have a spell I've been saving for a moment like this," added Celestia.

"Okay, but... wait... spells?" stuttered Scout. "Nonononono. I've had enough spells for today." Celestia assumed that he was sent here through a malicious spell. Luckily, she knew a spell to calm him down.

"Wait, what are you-" tried Scout as Celestia's horn began to develop a yellow aura around it. However, before Scout could talk, he felt all of the muscles in his body relaxing. Also, he felt his mind relaxing, causing him to calm down. When Celestia realized that he was calm, the yellow aura disappeared.

"Wha- what the heck was that?" asked Scout. While he was still calm, Celestia's horn began to grow a yellow aura again. However, instead of casting a calming spell, she and Scout suddenly reappeared on her balcony. If Scout wasn't under the influence of the calming spell, he would have been frantically bouncing across Canterlot. However, the calming spell managed to keep him still.

"Now, the spell to transform you into a pony requires you to be asleep..." noted Celestia while looking at Scout.

"Yes... sleep..." said Scout, suddenly realizing that he lacked sleep. He began to consider the fact that this might just be a dream and that he would wake up in 2Fort and be ready for battle. As he was thinking of that, another pony came out of the castle. The pony appeared to be a much darker version of Celestia that was slightly smaller than her.

"I'm done raising the moon," noted the pony before looking at Scout. "I assume that's what I felt?"

"Yes, and I felt it too," replied Celestia before looking at Scout. "By the way, what's your name?"

"Scout," answered Scout. "How 'bout you? You gotta name?"

"I am Princess Celestia, and that is my sister, Princess Luna. I guess you can call us royalty." Celestia and Luna looked at each other, wondering what they should do with Scout. "Luna, go grab that book on transformations." Luna quickly realized what her sister was about to do and began to trot to the library. In the meantime, Scout followed Celestia into the main room.

"I need you to stand in the center of the room for this spell to work," pointed out Celestia. Scout walked to the center of the room and began to stand there. Once he was there, Celestia began to cast another spell. Scout began to feel a sensation similar to the one used in the calming spell. However, in this spell, the sensations were amplified, causing him to doze off and eventually fall asleep on the ground. As she completed the spell, Luna arrived in the room again.

"Here's the book," said Luna. Celestia used magic to levitate the book to herself and began to read it. Once she felt confident that she knew the spell, she put it down.

"If this works correctly, he should become a pony that matches his personality the most," explained Celestia. "I've never used this spell before, but I read that it's tough, so here goes nothing." Her horn began to glow, and as it glowed, a yellow gas began to engulf Scout. Celestia began to struggle to keep the spell up, but as she felt the sensations described in the book come to her, she began to stop the spell as she realized it was complete. When the yellow gases lifted, the human version of Scout was replaced with a pegasus with a light-yellow body and a red mane and tail. Celestia was sweating, but she smiled at the fact that she just transformed a being from another species into a pony.

"Can you take him to an empty bedroom, Luna?" asked Celestia. "I'm planning to take him to Ponyville tomorrow."

"Alright," replied Luna as she used magic to levitate Scout and take him to his room.

* * *

In Scout's dream, he was still a human, reliving his first battle against BLU. He was standing on the battlements with Spy, gazing at the battle taking place below. However, as they looked at each other, Spy nodded and vanished. After he vanished, Scout jumped once to soar across the chaos near the bridge and jumped twice to land in the water. As he landed in the water, he ran into the sewer pipe leading to BLU's base. However, as he ran into a turn in the sewers, he heard a bleeping sound. He looked, realized that it was a sentry, and turned around, just barely dodging the sentry's rocket. When Scout managed to get into safety, he saw spy again.

"They got a sentry up there!" shouted Scout while BLU Engineer laughed in the background.

"Excellent," replied Spy. Spy cloaked and walked up to the small space with the sentry and the Engineer. After Engineer gave a slight moan, he screamed in pain. Also, Scout could hear several beeps of failure from the Sentry, the sound of an electro-sapper running, and could see the machine explode. In the meantime, Spy walked back into view.

"Howdy, partner!" taunted Spy as he looked back at the ruins of Engineer's setup. Scout ran back up to Spy and the two began to run through the sewers and into BLU's base. "I made quite a mess."

Scout chuckled in response. "Yea..." The two ran up the stairs leading into BLU's base, only to be welcomed by BLU's Heavy. While Spy remained behind, Scout brought out his aluminum bat and began to continually whack Heavy with it while spinning around with Heavy failing to keep up with shooting him.

"I'm runnin' circles around ya!" shouted Scout. Eventually, rather than firing bullets, clicking noises came from the minigun. Once that happened, Scout branched off, causing heavy to stop when he noticed that Spy was in front of him.

"Oh...?" muttered Heavy in confusion. He didn't have enough time to think before Spy fired a shot from his revolver directly into his head. In the meantime, Scout dashed through a hall of BLU's base and ran into a small building containing the stairs leading to BLU's intelligence room.

As Scout arrived in the intelligence room, he threw the intelligence briefcase around his back and extended his arms in a victorious way. Now, the hard part was to escape.

Outside of BLU's base, the Administrator's voice began to roar over the battle from BLU's speakers. "Alert! The enemy has taken our intelligence!" shouted the female voice. Suddenly, multiple mercenaries from BLU began to rush into their base, ready to catch the RED mercenary escaping with the intelligence.

As Scout placed himself against the wall to avoid being detected by the BLU's, he could hear the BLU's approaching, only to be silenced for a brief second.

"To the left!" shouted a voice. Scout recognized it as Sniper's voice. After receiving the advice, the BLU mercenaries began to chant again as they ran to Sniper's left, just barely missing Scout's location. When Scout realized that the coast was clear, he turned around, only to be greeted by BLU Sniper. However, Sniper's weapon was on the ground, leaving Scout clueless.

"Um... I- I don't even know-" started Scout before being cut off by Sniper's laughter. Scout grew even more confused but began to chuckle himself. Eventually, smoke began to engulf Sniper's body, revealing the laughing RED spy.

"Did you forget about me?" asked Spy.

"Aww..." said Scout, realizing how gullible he was, "C'mon! The heck was that-"

"THAT SNIPER'S A SPY!" came a unanimous chant from BLU. They were discovered.

"Shall we?" asked Spy while smiling. Scout smiled back and gave a thumbs up. While BLU tried to run out to the bridge to confront the intel taker, Scout double-jumped onto the bridge! BLU tried to pursue him, but he managed to successfully return to RED's base to deliver the intelligence. After that, he successfully dashed into their teams' intel room to capture the intelligence. Once that was complete, he returned to the balcony to meet up with Spy again.

"We have captured the enemy intelligence," stated the Administrator from RED's base. Once again, Scout and Spy found themselves standing on the battlements again. This time, they bumped their fists together in success. Though they would forget it occasionally, they formed a great pair in battle.

* * *

After the dream, Scout woke up in a very comfortable bed. While the bed felt like a cloud compared to what he slept on in 2Fort, something about his body felt different. As he pulled the covers from his bed, the grip felt slightly different, but he forgot the feeling. After that, he sat up on the bed. It suddenly felt awkward to sit down, but he dismissed the feeling. After sitting down, he tried to stand up on his feet. He noticed that he was significantly taller. However, he felt top-heavy as he tried to stand, forcing him down. However, as he got into what felt like a crawling position, it began to feel more natural than standing up as a human would. Also, he felt that he could control what seemed like a third set of arms. As he tried to flail these "third arms" around, he heard a noise similar to wings flapping.

"Wait..." muttered Scout. He began to "walk" over to the mirror, but as he did, he realized that crawling felt more natural than walking! In fact, he almost felt as if he could crawl as fast as he could run! As he got to them mirror, what he saw shocked him. He turned into a pony. However, after getting over his initial shock, Scout looked at himself with pride.

"Heyheyhey, not that bad," complimented Scout as he extended his "third arms". However, as he looked at them, he realized that they were wings! After flinching slightly, Scout began to smile at them too.

"Hey, I can fly now!" said Scout confidently. He began to flap his wings again, but as he did, he lifted himself from the ground. For some reason, this felt completely natural to him as he floated in the room, admiring his new ability. Five years to learn double-jumping and three seconds to learn flying! Thought Scout excitedly. As he was hovering in the air, the door opened, revealing a stallion in armor.

"I'm here to escort you to the train. From there, you will ride the train to Ponyville," stated the stallion. "You will board the royal cabin where Princess Celestia will ask you a few questions."

"Just let me show off for a few secs," replied Scout while hovering to the stallion to show off. "Alright, let's go." The stallion rolled his eyes and began to walk to the train station with scout following behind him.

As they walked through Canterlot, Scout saw many ponies in suits and dresses walk down the streets. Man, Spy would love this place, thought Scout. However, as he thought of Spy, he also thought of the rest of RED. He hesitated in his trotting for a brief moment but then continued to follow the stallion. Eventually, the two arrived at a long building on the outskirts of town. They went through the building and arrived at a platform on the other side. Near the platform was a train with ponies boarding it.

The stallion gestured for Scout to follow him again. The two walked to a cabin near the back that appeared to be fancier than the other cabins on the train. The two boarded the cabin and Scout looked around. There were about two expensive couches placed against each wall of the cabin, a well-polished wooden floor, and three chandeliers hanging above three dining tables made for four ponies. However, rather than chairs being at the ends of the tables, there were velvet cushions to sit on. Princess Celestia was sitting at a table, looking at the two guests.

"Elliot, you may leave us," declared Celestia. The stallion in armor bowed to Celestia and left the cabin to return to his previous duties while Celestia began to talk to Scout. "Scout, why don't you have a seat. After breakfast, I would like to ask you a few questions about how you got here.

* * *

At the same time in 2Fort, the mercenaries of RED were arguing with the Administrator about their conflicting plans using the speakers.

"Madame Administrator," continued Spy, "You cannot do this! We are short one mercenary! Even if it is just Scout, ze mercenaries from BLU will still have a better chance at winning!"

"I don't care if you are the last mercenary RED has to rely on!" roared the Administrator. "All of you will fight against BLU today at 2Fort. This is the last I want to hear of this. If you don't fight against BLU, you will lose your pay for today. Is that clear?"

"Yes ma'am," responded the humbled Soldier who was used to giving commands rather than receiving them. After the rest of the team nodded, the Administrator stopped talking while Soldier began going over strategies. "We're gonna move a lot slower today since we're lacking our runner. However, we will still play our primary roles."

"Vhen shall ve search for Scout?" asked Medic.

"The Administrator didn't sound like she wanted to give in easily, so we'll just be ready for Merasmus next week," explained Soldier. "In the meantime, let's give it our best out there today. We still have about an hour, so-"

"Mission begins in sixty seconds!" boomed the Administrator over the speakers, interrupting Soldier. The eight mercenaries suddenly grew mad at the Administrator for worsening their suffering.

"You did that on purpose, you evil bit-" began Engineer before being cut off.

"Remember, I take that as a compliment," explained the Administrator. "Get out there before I place the shredder near the microphone so you can hear your own paychecks tear apart."

* * *

"So you were brought here by a wizard who despised you and your co-workers?" asked Princess Celestia about two hours after boarding the train to Ponyville.

"Ya, that's about right," confirmed Scout. The two finished breakfast about an hour ago and Celestia asked Scout several questions about himself.

"Now, what about your occupation?" asked Celestia, "With co-worker names like Soldier, Spy, and Heavy, you must have quite a bizarre job." Scout's heart skipped a beat. He didn't even realize that he told her the names of some of the other mercenaries on RED!

"Um... uh..." stuttered Scout.

"Go on, then," continued Celestia, "Only the two of us will know it." She began to glare at Scout, obviously expecting an answer. At this point, scout knew that he had to tell the Princess about the fiasco between RED and BLU.

"I'm... a mercenary," explained Scout. He cringed for a few moments, only to hear Princess Celestia giving a light chuckle.

"You seem a little young to be a mercenary, you know," explained Celestia.

"Well, I tried goin' for a major league baseball team, but there was also an openin' for someone who could run fast. That job paid a lot more money, so I decided to go for that! I was the fastest of all who tried, and after they sent me through basic trainin', the other mercs and I fought against the mercs from my boss's brother. Oh, and did you know that the mercs on the enemy's side are exact replicas a' my co-workers and I?"

"Wait... if you were a mercenary, then did you kill anyone?"

"Oh yea. In fact, I died a lot as well-"

"Hold on a moment. Seeing how you said that you "die a lot", how are you still alive?"

"Wow, you ask lots of questions... Well, Soldier showed us these "Kill Me Come Back Stronger" pills he got from the wizard (who was also his roommate). Ever since we took those pills, we just respawned after we were killed. Not sure if it still works if I'm a pony... can we not try?"

"You don't plan to kill any of us, right?"

"Oh, nononono. I really don't want to kill any of you." Celestia's senses told her that Scout was telling the truth so she decided to trust him.

"Okay. Are there any more of your kind coming?"

"Well, that wizard guy said he'll be back in a week, so I bet that's when you'll see another one of 'em here." Princess Celestia nodded and looked out the window to realize that they were approaching Ponyville. In contrast to Canterlot, the majority of the pathways through town were dirt or grass rather than concrete. Also, as Scout looked at some of the ponies, he noticed that most were more laid-back than the ones at Canterlot.

"I'll bring the next mercenary to Ponyville on the train in a week. In the meantime, you should acquaint yourself with some of the ponies in Ponyville. They are kind and can help you adjust to life in Equestria."

"Wait... how do ya expect me to learn my way around when you and your sista are the only two ponies I know?"

Celestia thought for a few moments before talking again. "For now, you should try asking Pinkie Pie for directions around Ponyville. She knows the town and its ponies better than anypony else. You can easily tell her apart from the others because rather than trotting normally, she likes to bounce everywhere. Also, she has very, well, puffed-up hair, and as you might have guessed, she is pink." As Celestia finished her sentence, the train slowed to a stop. "I need to ride back to Canterlot to catch up on royal business. You are on your own for now."

"Eh, this'll probably be crappy..." replied Scout as he got up from his cushion and trotted to the exit of the cabin. Once he got outside, he began to walk down the dirt path leading to Ponyville. He didn't know where to find Pinkie Pie, but spending a childhood in Boston gave him the natural ability to look like he was going someplace even though he didn't have a destination in mind.

While walking through Ponyville, Scout suddenly realized something. Y'know, by now with RED, I probably would have died about ten or twenty times, thought Scout. It's good to be back in the world, even if it ain't mine. Scout continued to walk through Ponyville, but he eventually trotted past a building that literally looked edible. The roof was a chocolate tart lined with frosting and was topped with a cupcake. Scout licked his lips in joy. Heavy typically hogged all of the Dalokohs Bars to himself, so Scout rarely got to eat anything sweet. Also, standing in a booth next to the building was a pony that matched Celestia's description – Pinkie Pie.

"Cupcakes! Cupcakes! Get your cupcakes here!" shouted Pinkie with a very cheerful smile. Scout began to smile himself as he trotted up to the booth.

"Hey, uh," started Scout as he approached the booth, only to be cut off by Pinkie.

"Ooh, you're new here, aren't you?" asked Pinkie extremely fast. "I've never seen you before! I guess you want a little help getting around Ponyville, eh? Well, once I'm done selling these, I'll be happy to show you around! Speaking of which, I'm the happiest pony in Ponyville! In fact, since you're new, I should probably throw you a PARTY! Hey, do you want a free cupcake? It normally costs one bit, but since you're new to Ponyville, it's free!" Although Scout had a tendency to talk fast himself, he had a hard time trying to process what Pinkie just said when she was talking incredibly fast. However, he did manage to realize that Pinkie was offering him a cupcake when she extended her hoof with one on it.

Quickly, Scout grabbed the treat and pulled the wrapper off. When he bit into the cupcake, his taste buds tingled for several moments. It has been so long since he tasted something that sweet! Normally, his meals as a mercenary consisted of sodas and anything that didn't require more than four minutes to cook. After the first bite, Scout joyously ate the cupcake. After finishing the treat, he saw a garbage bin in the distance.

"Ohey, I wanna show off for a sec," said Scout. After wadding up the cupcake wrapper with his hooves, he extended his wings and bolted towards the bin at amazing speeds. Once he got to the bin, he flawlessly tossed the wrapper in it, flew around the bin, and zapped back to the booth. "Whad'ya think?"

"Ooh, I know who you should meet first!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie while placing an empty tray of cupcakes below the booth. "Plus, that was the last cupcake, so I can help you-" Pinkie was cut off when several of Pinkie's body parts moved, causing her to mutter to herself. "Ear flop... knee twitch... eye flutter..." After doing a brief examination, Pinkie began chatting with Scout again. "My Pinkie senses are telling me that the sky is about to be filled with a rainbow!"

"R- rainbow?" asked Scout. He suddenly remembered how Spy would tease him about crying at rainbows. The memory flashed through his head...

* * *

The nine mercenaries from RED were sitting in their base after battling BLU at a facility titled "Sawmill". RED lost horribly to BLU, and the nine mercenaries were sitting in silence. Plus, the rain that occurred during the humiliation segment of the battle only seemed to dampen the spirits further.

While sitting in silence, Sniper took his hat from his face and put it on his head. However, when he glanced out the window, he saw that the clouds have passed, revealing a beautiful orange sky! Plus, a rainbow could be seen rising from the mountains, enhancing the scene's beauty.

"Holy dooley," muttered Sniper with a hint of an Australian accent. The other eight mercenaries looked in Sniper's direction to see the scene from nature as well! They got up from their seats and crowded around the window to observe. The scene lifted the spirits of each mercenary to where every one was grinning at the scene. After a few moments, Spy looked to the left at Scout. Spy could see Scout sniffling a small amount while a single tear ran down his face.

"Whoa... that's beautiful..." complimented Scout in a tone different from his usual tone. Spy decided that it was the perfect time to tease scout.

"May I borrow your earpiece?" asked Spy while grabbing Scout's headphone and placing it around his own head. After that, the pitch of Spy's voice grew higher as he imitated Scout. "This is Scout! Rainbows make me cry! Over!" As scout realized what Spy just did, he snatched his earpiece from Spy's head and placed it back around his. After seeing Scout's reaction, Spy chuckled and continued to look out the window.

From that time on, any time Spy needed to bring up a topic to tease Scout with, he would use the one about rainbows making him cry. While Scout tried to tell spy that it was getting old, the other seven mercenaries would always choose to laugh.

* * *

After having the flashback, Scout saw a light-cerulean pegasus bolt to the ground with rainbows flowing behind it. After zooming around the garbage bin in a similar fashion to Scout, the pegasus appeared next to Scout. The pony was female and had her mane and tail colored like a rainbow. Scout took a breath to ask if she was single but suddenly stopped himself when he realized that they would normally be two different species.

"Hey Rainbow Dash!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie, "This is my new friend, Scout! Boy, he's REALLLLLLY fast! I mean, did you see the trick he pulled off? You just pulled it off as well, but that's because you're Rainbow Dash!"

"Scout, eh?" said Rainbow Dash while looking at him. "If you're that fast, then how about a race later on up in Cloudsdale?"

"Heyheyhey, a race against me? You're on!" replied Scout confidently. "But... um... I have no idea where Cloudsdale is."

"Oh yea, I forgot to tell you, he's new to Ponyville!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie. "In fact, if he doesn't know where Cloudsdale is, he must not be from around here at all! In fact, he sounds like he's from Bostrot! How often do we see somepony from Bostrot?"

"So, are you from Bostrot?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"Nope," replied Scout. "In fact, I'm not even from... eh... Equestria, right?"

"Well, where are you from?"

"Eh, you'd think I am crazy."

"C'mon. I've already seen Pinkie Pie do crazy things nopony else could do." Pinkie gave a smile as Rainbow Dash complimented her.

"Alright, 'ere goes." As Scout accepted the request, he took a deep breath and got ready to tell the two the story.

* * *

In the meantime at 2Fort, the RED mercenaries respawned again after losing yet another round of warfare to the BLU mercenaries. If their salary wasn't on the line, they probably would have gave up by now.

"Ve're getting demolished out there!" pointed out Medic while adjusting his medigun beam to focus on Heavy before the round started. Soldier facepalmed before talking again.

"If we're going to come close to winning, we need to focus on a balance of offense and defense. Smoky, you're with Dell in the intelligence room." Pyro nodded as Soldier turned to Demoman. "Demo, rig the doors with bombs. I don't want any living soul dressed in blue in or out."

"Aye," confirmed Demoman as he grabbed his stickybomb launcher from the bench.

"Sniper... well... snipe. Medic, you stay with Heavy as he and I push through enemy lines."

"What about me?" asked Spy.

"That's where you come in! I want you to get their Engineer's buildings and dash away with the intelligence."

"W- why me?"

"You can sneak behind enemy lines before we get inside the base. From there, we can cover you while we return to the base." Spy contemplated the idea for a few moments.

"That may not be a bad idea," commented Spy while reaching for a cigarette in his disguise kit. "This may actually be one of the few chances we have at giving BLU what they deserve."

"Mission begins in ten seconds," boomed the Administrator's voice over the speakers. RED felt confident in their abilities and got ready to engage BLU. "Five... four... three... two... one!" The doors of their base opened as each mercenary charged out of the respawn room.

As the team ran outside (with the exception of Demoman, Engineer, and Pyro), they managed to follow the plan. Spy hurried into the sewers to sneak into the enemy base. Soldier, Heavy, and Medic landed on their side of the bridge to confront BLU. Also, Sniper already scored a headshot against BLU Sniper. However, as all this occurred, BLU Scout double-jumped onto the bridge and managed to leap onto RED's battlements.

All Sniper managed to get out was a slight groan before receiving a barrage of bullets from BLU Scout's scattergun to the chest. After killing Sniper, BLU Scout dashed into the base. While Demoman was setting up bombs on the lower entrance, Scout dashed past him and ran down the stairs to RED's intelligence room.

"You'll never hit me! You'll never hit me!" shouted Scout as he ran into the basement. However, while down there, he saw RED Pyro. Before Pyro saw him, he killed Pyro with a barrage of bullets in a similar fashion to how he killed Sniper. After dealing with Pyro, Scout bolted into RED's intelligence room.

Before Engineer had a chance to say "Sentry goin' up," Scout reached for the RED briefcase and threw it around his back. While doing so, he took out a wooden baseball bat and grinned evilly at Engineer.

"Just stole your stupid crap, moron!" shouted Scout as he reached for a baseball, tossed it in the air, and hit it towards Engineer's head. As the ball made contact with RED Engineer, he became stunned as Scout dashed outside with the intelligence.

Scout leaped onto the bridge and blazed through his team's base in an effort to secure the intelligence. When he got to the desk where BLU's intelligence was, he placed RED's intelligence on top of it. Outside of BLU's intelligence room and near the courtyard, the Administrator boomed "Success! We secured the enemy intelligence." As she said that, the weapons of the BLU mercenaries were blessed with critical hits – hits that did even more damage to foes.

As RED Heavy, Soldier, and Medic listened, BLU Heavy greeted them from above. He had his minigun spinning up with it pointed towards the three mercenaries from RED.

"Now is coward killing time!" shouted BLU Heavy as he began to pummel the mercenaries with bullets. Enhanced with the critical hits, the three RED mercenaries stood no chance as the bullets tore through their skin, eventually causing them to be killed. When Heavy saw that they were dead, his minigun stopped spinning as he looked at the results.

"More rubble, less trouble!" chanted BLU Heavy as he walked back to respawn to replenish his expensive minigun ammo. However, while walking, RED Spy uncloaked behind BLU Heavy! Despite the appearance, BLU Pyro ignited Spy with his flamethrower, causing Spy to wither in pain as his body was engulfed in flames. In the meantime, the dead RED mercenaries respawned in their own respawn room with dampened spirits.

"Guess this will be harder than I thought," muttered RED Soldier.

* * *

"So, some evil wizard brought you here?" asked Rainbow Dash while staring confusedly at RED Scout.

"Yea, that's 'bout right," confirmed Scout. Even Pinkie Pie was looking at Scout as if he had a watermelon for a head.

"Wow! even with my mind, I can't picture that!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie while bouncing to Scout's side. "And that's saying something!"

"You know, Twilight may know something about getting you back to where you came from," mentioned Rainbow Dash, "She's the best unicorn I know, after all. She has to know something!"

"Who's Twilight?" asked Scout.

"Twilight Sparkle. She's one of my friends. She's can be a bit of an egghead that keeps to herself at times, but she's really cool when she doesn't have her head in a book."

"Alright, how 'bout we go to her?"

"Sounds good! Wanna come along, Pinkie?"

"Yippie!" shouted Pinkie Pie as she bounced next to Scout and Rainbow Dash. After that, the three ponies began to trot to the library. However, while trotting, a violet unicorn appeared between them and their destination.

"Well, there she is now!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash. "Scout, Twilight Sparkle. Twilight Sparkle, Scout."

"Nice t'meet ya Queen Egghead," greeted Scout. However, Twilight stared at Scout intently as if he was from a completely different species.

"Rainbow Dash told you about me, hasn't she?" asked Twilight. Rainbow Dash grinned.

"Maybe if ya didn't have your head in that book a' yours, ya would've heard us!" exclaimed Scout. Rainbow Dash was trying very hard not to burst into laughter while Twilight noticed that she was still using magic to hover a book near herself. She put the book back in the bag to her side while rolling her eyes.

"Jokes aside, I'm detecting a very strange aura around you, Scout," explained Twilight. "You don't seem to be an Equestrian native... Where are you from?"

"Ooh!" exclaimed Pinkie. "This realllllly scary wizard sent him over here from a different place! I don't know where from, but wherever it is, they must speak Equenish as well!" Equenish was Equestria's equivalent of English and was the primary language spoken there.

"Wait a minute... Not even I can cast a spell powerful enough to send somepony to a new dimension!" mentioned Twilight. "Scout, can you come over to the library so I can ask you a few questions? They'll be quick."

"Yea, we were goin' there anyways," replied Scout. Twilight nodded and signaled for Scout, Pinkie, and Rainbow Dash to follow her.

* * *

The library at Ponyville was built into a tree and was also the place where Twilight Sparkle and her (number one) assistant, Spike, lived. Once the four ponies walked inside the library, they sat down as Twilight began to ask questions to Scout.

"So Scout," began Twilight, "You said that a wizard used a spell to send you here. What was the name of that wizard?"

"Not sure if you'll know this guy, but I think he was Merasmus," answered Scout. Twilight's eyes suddenly widened.

"Wait a minute... are you also from the dimension of Earth?"

"I'm from planet Earth if that's close enough."

"Ah, this may be bad..." Twilight's voice expressed concern as got up and began to pace around the library. "Spike, fetch me the book on evil wizards. Oh, I hope this really doesn't happen..."

A few moments later, a baby dragon appeared in front of Twilight with a book in his hands. He appeared to be young and was light purple.

"Thanks, Spike." Twilight said to the dragon as she levitated the book to her. She flipped through the pages to find the information she was looking for.

"Wait a minute, what's that purple thing?" asked Scout. Spike facepalmed while Twilight explained during her page-flipping.

"Oh, he's Spike, a dragon who is my assist-" began Twilight before being cut off by Spike giving a fake cough. "Sorry, my number one assistant." After saying that, Spike nodded and began to walk back up the steps in the library.

"Wait, you guys have pet dragons here? How often d'ya get burnt?"

"Well, he's a baby dragon, so he's an exception. I'm not sure I would want a full-size dragon in my house..." Scout understood most of what she meant. As she flipped through pages, she gave a small gasp when she finally came to the page she was looking for. After looking at it for a few moments, she levitated the book to Scout.

"Do you recognized this creature?" asked Twilight. As Scout looked at the picture on the page, he strongly recognized the man with the skull cap and the dark robe. Underneath the picture read "Merasmus – Evil Being of Earth".

"Yup, that's him," replied Scout as Twilight hovered the book back to herself as she continued to look through the page. "Oh yea, he's sendin' over another guy next week."

"NEXT WEEK?" exclaimed Twilight Sparkle. "He must be a High-Tier Evil Being if it only takes him that long to cool down from a spell that powerful..."

"All this wizard stuff is makin' my brain hurt, so can you bring it down to my level?" Both Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie knew what he meant.

"Sorry. Anyways, a Tier One Evil Being is extremely powerful. Most of the High-Tiers have direct contact with their dimension's underworld and can cast frightening spells! Not too long before you came here, King Sombra, the Evil Being of our dimension, made a return and threatened to take over an entire kingdom! Luckily, I think he's only a Low-Tier, but... hmm... say, where does Merasmus live?"

"I think he lives in some spooky mansion. He hasn't really taken over any kingdoms yet..."

"I thought so. High-Tiers tend to be more territorial than Medium-Tiers and Low-Tiers, so it would make sense as to why he hasn't made a move yet."

"Aagh, you're making my brain hurt again!" exclaimed Scout while placing a hoof over his head.

"Sorry, I'm just going on with my own thought processes. Anyways, in order for an Evil Being to connect dimensions, there must be an artifact from their dimension on the target dimension. Seeing how it only takes him a week to recharge, it must be an incredibly powerful artifact. Hmm... Scout, where did you appear when you were sent here?"

"I was put near a huge castle."

"That must be near Canterlot... However, the question is, how was it sent over here?" Twilight began to look at Scout.

"What? I have nothing to do with that wizardry crap. Plus, half a' what you're saying makes no sense to me..." Twilight rolled her eyes.

"I'll do some more research tonight. For now, unless we can convince an incredibly evil pony to do the near-impossible, I guess you're stuck here for a while, Scout." Scout's head dropped when he heard this. "You have quite a few loved ones back at home, don't you?"

"Ma is probably worried sick about me..." The other three ponies gave a look of sympathy.

"I'm sorry, Scout. However, we could introduce you to everypony else while you're here." Scout's head rose and looked at Twilight. He managed to give a slight grin and Twilight smiled. "Let's go see Applejack first." After Twilight gave the suggestion, the three ponies rose and walked out of the library to go to Sweet Apple Acres.

* * *

After arriving at Sweet Apple Acres, Scout was mildly surprised. This was the first farm he saw without a bomb cart at the end of the road or a control point in the center. Plus, since he lived deep within the city, he never saw an ordinary farm.

While walking closer to the farm, the four ponies saw a small, yellow filly with a magenta mane and tail walking by. The filly looked at Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie as if they were old friends, but she looked at Scout as if he was a stranger visiting from another country.

"Hey Applebloom," started Twilight Sparkle, "Do you know where Applejack is?"

"She's buckin' some of them trees out there," replied Applebloom with the same southern accent a young girl from the country might carry. "Who's the new pony?"

"I'm Scout," greeted Scout without letting any of the three other ponies introduce him, "Stayin' in school?"

"Probably stayed in school more than you, citycolt." Scout suddenly realized that this might have been true. When he was a human, he cut school multiple times to pick up girls. After the realization, an orange pony with freckles and a cowgirl hat came out from the orchard of apple trees. The pony also was carrying two baskets of apples at her sides.

"I think Granny Smith needs help with sumthin', Applebloom," pointed out the orange pony with a female southern draw.

"What does she need help with? I bet she's still in bed!"

"But I bet she needs help with sumthin'." Applebloom nodded, turned around, and began to run up to the house. "Sorry if she was up in your manes. Heck , she might have even began going on about cutie marks..."

"Cutie wha?" asked Scout confusedly.

"You must be new. I'm Applejack, and how'd ya not know what a cutie mark is when you have one on your bum right now?" Scout looked behind himself to see that there was a picture of a sneaker with a wing attached to it on his flank. Scout didn't realize that he had it until now!

"Wait, since when did I have a tattoo on my butt?" asked Scout. Applejack chuckled.

"Ya should know this, but you get it when you discover your special talent. Somethin' tells me that yours has to do with goin' fast. Why don't ya fly from that tree and back?" Applejack pointed her hoof at a tree about fifty yards away.

"Not a problem," replied Scout. He got into a running position and extended his wings. After a brief moment, he bolted off, flying at exciting speeds towards the tree. After reaching the tree, he flew around it and flew back to where the other ponies were standing. Once his run was done, he brought himself to a halt and organized himself into a confident pose.

"Whoo-whee! You could give Rainbow Dash a good run!" exclaimed Applejack as Scout smiled. "Say, what's your name and where d'ya come from?"

"Scout's the name," replied Scout, "and there's a funny story 'bout how I got here."

"Why don't ya'll tell me?" asked Applejack curiously.

"Actually, I need you to meet us at the library later today. There's more to the story about how he got here..."

"Alright, I'll see if I can with applebuck season goin' on. Anyways, I need to get back t' the orchard. Nice t'meet ya, Scout!" Applejack walked over to a spot on the ground with many other apple baskets, set the two baskets she had down near them, and began to trot back to the orchard.

She and Engie could talk 'bout rodeos all day, thought Scout. He noticed that the other three ponies were leaving the farm, causing Scout to catch up with them.

"Next, we'll visit Rarity," said Twilight Sparkle. "She's a bit more on the... say, classier side of ponies in Ponyville." The four ponies began to walk back into Ponyville.

* * *

After a decent amount of walking, the four found themselves in front of a well-kept building with a carousel-like circle near the top of the building. Twilight knocked on the door, and when she did, they saw a pure-white unicorn with a well-kept blue mane and tail.

"Welcome, Twilight and friends," said the pony with a voice as elegant as her appearance, "I see we have a new friend here!"

"Scout, Rarity. Rarity, Scout," introduced Pinkie Pie.

"Name's Scout," repeated Scout, "Ya single?" Scout suddenly put a hoof over his mouth when he said that. He realized that he adjusted to life as a talking pony while surrounded by other talking ponies. He also realized that he said it because Rarity was, in his opinion, more beautiful than any other pony he has met.

"I'm currently single, but I'm not in the mood for going out with a Bostrot colt like you," replied Rarity while Scout was blushing. "Anyways, do you four want to come inside for tea? I just made enough to share."

"Sure!" replied Twilight. After accepting the invitation, Rarity stepped aside to allow the ponies in. As Scout looked around, he could see multiple dresses made for ponies hung up and mannequins in the shape of ponies scattered around the room with dresses and suits on them as well. To the side was a table for four with a tea set on it. As the four ponies sat down on the cushions near the table, Rarity used magic to pour tea into the cups.

"Now, be careful, it's rather hot..." warned Rarity. However, Pinkie Pie already began to chug her tea. A moment later, Pinkie set down the cup while her cheeks turned red.

"HOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOTHOT!" shouted Pinkie as she leaped up from the table and dashed outside to find something she could use to cool her mouth with. In the meantime, Rarity facehoofed in disappointment.

"I really shouldn't be surprised at this point," muttered Rarity. In the meantime, Twilight began to sip her tea after cooling it down magic while Rainbow Dash and Scout ignored their cups.

"I know Rainbow Dash isn't the biggest fan of tea, but why aren't you drinking yours, Scout?" asked Rarity.

"Tea sucks. Don't really know why people – er, ponies like it," replied Scout. Rainbow Dash nodded in agreement while Rarity rolled her eyes. "But do ya have any sodas here?" Rarity shook her head.

"I refuse to have such uncivilized drinks in my establishment. However, I can give you a few bits so you can buy one somewhere else." She got up from her cushion and began to trot up the stairs. After a few moments of silence where only Twilight was drinking her tea, Rarity returned with three golden coins being levitated by her horn.

"Here you are," said Rarity while while she placed the coins near Scout.

"Sweet," replied Scout. He grabbed the coins with his hoof. After that, Twilight put her cup of tea down and began to speak.

"Rarity, I need you to come to the library later today," stated Twilight. "I haven't done enough research to confirm my suspicions yet, but there may be more to Scout's appearance than we know about."

"Alright, Twilight," replied Rarity before turning to Scout. "Anyways, while you're here, Scout, is there anything clothing-related I can do for you? I specialize in clothing for mares, but I can try to make you a suit, a bow-tie, or maybe even a hat..." Scout's eyes widened when Rarity mentioned hats.

"H- hats?" stuttered Scout. Hats were popular on the battlefield and easily set apart one mercenary from the other.

"Why, yes! Although I've never seen such a reaction on hats, I can make you one if you like..." Scout's eyes widened even further while he gained another idea in his head.

"Wait a sec... if you unicorns can cast magic, then can't ya cast sumthin' to create sumthin' that floats over the hat?"

"Well, that's sort of an awkward request, but if you want a magical effect to be applied to the hat, then I can do that for you!" Scout's mouth dropped when he heard Rarity. He never thought he could get an unusual hat this easily! If there was one thing that made you the most important mercenary on the battlefield, it was unusual hats – hats with particles floating above them!

"Whoa... alright, how 'bout a baseball helmet with a cloud above it? Nowait – how 'bout bubbles? No, how 'bout-"

"How about I just make a holographic baseball float above it? It'll be free; I have a helmet my dad gave me in the closet upstairs. It's collecting dust, but after I spiffy it up, I'm sure it will look fine. I'll have it ready by the meeting tonight."

"Sweet!" Scout couldn't resist grinning. As Twilight finished her tea, she stood up.

"Since our business is finished here, why don't we visit Fluttershy?" asked Twilight. Scout and Rainbow Dash stood up and nodded. After the visit, the three got up and left the Carousel Boutique.

* * *

While walking to Fluttershy's cottage, Rainbow Dash looked at the skies. While looking, she saw that there were many clouds still floating around! She forgot to clear the weather for the day! She could easily clear it in ten seconds, but she wanted to take a nap after clearing the clouds.

"I think I was supposed to clear the skies for today," stated Rainbow Dash while chuckling. "Anyways, if any of you need me after the skies are clear, I'll be hanging in Cloudsdale. Don't forget the race, Scout!" After talking, Rainbow Dash soared to the clouds, cleared them in about ten seconds, and bolted to Cloudsdale. In the meantime, Twilight and Scout continued to walk ahead while Pinkie Pie bounced near them.

"I'm back!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie quickly. "I know I like spicy stuff, but that tea was HOT! I mean, I hope you two cooled your tea off as well because if it was hot for me, it must have been super-duper scorching for me! Anyways, are we going to visit Fluttershy?"

"Yes, we are," replied Twilight while turning to Scout. "Now Scout, Fluttershy is a bit... well... shy, so try to be gentle when seeing her for the first time, alright?"

"Can't make any promises," replied Scout. Scout changed his mind when Twilight glared at him. "Alright! I'll try to be gentle!"

"In the meantime, I should tell you a bit about the Everfree Forest. That is a place where many out-of-the ordinary things happen – plants grow, animals run free, and the weather changes itself! Some say that the forest is a remnant of a past when ponies ruled with another species, but I think it's just plain creepy..."

"All those things happen in my place too."

"Wait, they do?"

"Yup. It ain't as creepy though. And with changin' the weather, is that what Rainbow was talkin' about when she was wantin' to clear the skies?"

"That's exactly it. In Equestria, plant growth is monitored by ponies like Applejack, animals are monitored by ponies like Fluttershy, and weather is monitored by ponies like Rainbow Dash."

"Alright, but where does Fluttershy live?"

"She lives on the edge of the Everfree Forest. She's far enough not to be affected by its weirdness but is close enough to keep an eye on the animals. In fact, we're getting close to her cottage right now!" As Scout looked around, he noticed that he was in a small field. However, when he looked ahead, he could see a small cottage with a large forest behind it. Near it was a yellow pegasus with a pink mane and tail floating near a tree, directing a small chorus of birds on a song.

"That's Fluttershy. She seems to be busy at the moment, so it is best that we approach her in a way that doesn't scare the birds... or her," whispered Twilight Sparkle. However, Scout had different ideas as he bolted to Fluttershy.

"I'm Scout! Wassup?" asked Scout as he arrived near Fluttershy. However, at the same time, the birds flew away from the tree while Fluttershy gasped, hovered downwards, and looked at Scout. In the background, Twilight facehoofed.

"I'm... I'm..." muttered Fluttershy softly in a high pitch while poking her hoof at the ground.

"Sorry, come again?"

"I'm Fluttershy..."

"Can't hear ya; here's an idea - try speaking louder." Instead, Fluttershy squealed a sound that seemed as if she was about to cry. Scout grew an irritated look on his face, but before he could speak again, Twilight levitated him back near Pinkie Pie while she dashed in.

"I'm so sorry about that, Fluttershy," stated Twilight, "Scout can be rather annoying at times."

"It's alright," replied Fluttershy, "Surprises from new people startle me..."

"Yea, I learned that the hard way. Anyways, aside from the fact that he's somewhat irritating, there's more to the story of how he came here, so I need you to come to the library this evening."

"Alright..." In the meantime, the birds returned to the branch while Fluttershy lifted herself back up to continue directing the birds. At the same time, Twilight Sparkle walked back to Scout and Pinkie while glaring at Scout with a dirty look.

"What did I tell you about scaring her?" groaned Twilight to Scout.

"I didn't know she was that easily scared," replied Scout. Twilight rolled her eyes. After that, the three ponies began to trot back to the library.

* * *

As the eight mercenaries of RED respawned in their respawn room after yet another humiliating round, they dropped their heads in despair. However, their hopes were lifted when the Administrator's voice boomed another message through the speakers.

"That was the last match for today. Your performance today was pathetic. Fortunately, your incomes are at a fixed rate, so your paychecks live to see another day. However, I'm not sure Redmond would be quite content with your efforts today... Do better tomorrow." After the Administrator said this, the eight mercenaries of RED began to walk down to their recreation room with sad spirits.

"Men, that was the worst day this entire team has seen," restated Soldier.

"Thunnks for suying the obseeous," muttered Pyro with speech being muffled by the mercenary's gas mask.

"If you stayed near Engie rather than charging out randomly, we would have won!" shouted Soldier.

"Now wait a darn minute," interrupted Engineer. "Smoky was near me every round y'all played! Now don't you go falsely accusing our partner!"

"But what about time little Pyro walked out in other round?" countered Heavy.

"Pyro was chasing a Spy, mates," answered Sniper in a low tone. "I have the professional experience. I can tell when a Spy is being chased or not."

"Mmph mmph," agreed Pyro.

"I don't care! Pyro should have remained in the base at all times!" shouted Soldier. At this point, every mercenary except for Spy was in an all-out argument. However, when the seven arguing mercenaries reached the recreation room, Spy uncloaked in front of them, surprising them all.

"Merde! Shut up for a moment!" shouted Spy. "Zis is why we're losing! Your refusal to cooperate with teammates is causing a centrifugal force to emerge between all of us! Also, we're losing because we're down one mercenary! By the way, have we started to search for him yet?" The other seven mercenaries looked at each other in realization.

"Spy has a point, lassies," pointed out Demoman. "This arguing is getting us nowhere! Much like how the DeGroot family has strong bonds, we should have strong bonds too! We need to man up out there and-" Demoman suddenly cut off himself as he screamed while putting a hand over the eyeball with an eye patch. "HELP!" The other seven mercenaries began to stand back in horror as Demoman ripped off the eye patch, ejecting lime-green smoke. However, the smoke began to take the appearance of Merasmus's book – the Bombinomicon!"

"Hey! I can't float here for long, but I can give you some details about getting Scout back!" exclaimed the Bombinomicon. While Demoman began to lay lifeless on the ground while the Bombinomicon spoke, the other mercenaries looked at each other in doubt.

"Why are you helping us?" questioned Soldier.

"If you want the truth, it's because I don't want you waking me up at five in the morning again. Look, for Merasmus's spell to work, an artifact from our dimension must be on the target dimension! Luckily, six artifacts from their dimension is in our dimension!"

"So how are y'all supposed to get Scout back through that?" asked Engineer.

"Ah. If you could convince him, Merasmus would warp to the target dimension, send Scout back, and send himself back later on! I know it sounds weird, but if you've been around a magician for a certain amount of time, you start to believe in stuff you have never even thought about!"

"I know that feel," added Soldier. "So that is what we have to do to get Scout back?"

"Aye, that is. However, the hard part is convincing Merasmus, so... agh, he's coming back. I'll try to talk to you guys later." After the Bombinomicon spoke, the lime-green smoke fell back into Demoman's eyeball. After that, Demoman regained his consciousness and put his eye patch back over his missing eye and got up from the ground.

"What was that, lassies?" asked Demoman frantically.

"I'm not sure," replied Spy while everyone looked at him. "But we would have to pull off a miracle to convince that wizard..."

* * *

Several hours later in Equestria, Scout, Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy were crowded in the library. After waiting for a few moments, Twilight decided to start the conversation.

"Now, I guess you all are wondering why you are here," explained Twilight. "If you haven't heard, Scout is from another dimension. While he poses no harm at the moment, another wizard may endanger Equestria!" A few of the ponies gasped before Twilight continued. "Now, the wizard may not come to Equestria for some time. However, he is an evil wizard, and if he is enraged and he is in Equestria, then... well..." Twilight gulped.

"We'll be apple soup!" finished Applejack.

"Exactly. Luckily, Equestria is not in immediate danger of catastrophe, but it is good to have a plan. To be safe, Spike is going to check on the Elements of Harmony, so if the wizard does return, we'll be able to use the Elements of Harmony to defeat him!" As she said that, a shuddering Spike walked down the stairs with a chest in his hands. Every pony in the room looked a him.

"What's up?" asked Scout. As Spike got to the bottom of the stairs, he hesitantly opened the chest. The chest was empty!

"This can't be good..." stated Twilight worriedly as she began to lay on the floor in despair. While the other five mares sadly stared at the chest, Scout looked at it in confusion. He had no idea about what the Elements of Harmony were, but he assumed that the chest contained them and that it was a big deal to the ponies. However, while thinking of that, Scout heard some knocking on the door.

"I'll get it sugarcube," said Applejack as she ran to the door. She opened it and began to speak. "I'm sorry, but y'all have come at a bad-" she stopped herself when she saw who she was speaking to. It was Princess Celestia! The princess was wearing a bag to her side had a concerned look on her face. Without speaking, she walked inside and came up to Scout.

"After investigating the site you arrived at, we have managed to find a large deposit of items you may be familiar with," explained Celestia. "Scout, do you recognize this substance?" She used magic to levitate what appeared to be a bar of gold in front of Scout. However, this bar of gold was shinier than normal gold. Also, a distinctive feature was that the bar of gold had a scene of a man wrestling a kangaroo engraved in it. Scout knew the substance immediately.

"Holy crap, that's Australium!"

Author's Note:

The scene referred to in Scout's dream is a video titled Meet the Family by Jonas Gammelholm. Also, in this Fanfic, Twilight Sparkle is not an alicorn.

Aside from that, criticism is always welcome! If you have any comments, please say so for it helps me improve!

Meet the Family: