Season 2 of Analysis Anarchy. It's been a while since DustyKatt and the robots attacked. Now the team can relax and enjoy their day... Sort of...
It has been a few weeks since DustyKatt attacked the base with an army of robots. Now everypony can relax and enjoy their missions like any other normal day...
Sort of...
My name is Raven Nimue Ars Goetia and this is my story on how I survived the madness that is Analysis Anarchy.
Cover Art by Lightning Bliss. Character Design belongs to Ramiras. Analysis Anarchy belongs to Dr. Wolf and Commander Firebrand. Enjoy. ^_^
It's been a quiet day, lately. Over a week since DustyKatt and the Robot attack. Everypony can calm down and chill out. Dr. Wolf thought it would be a good idea to take a day off training to cool off, since we've been training so hard lately.
Right now, I was walking around the Battlefield looking for Thespio. He said he needed more training on the Spy Class.
"Thespio? Thespio?" I called, as I passed Maddie and AnY, "Where is that darn Unicorn? He told me to meet him here."
Suddenly, my mobile phone buzzed. I looked it over and Thespio sent me a message. It read,
'Sorry, Raven. Had to rain check. Keyframe needs my help.'
I sighed and face-palmed, "Leave it to a huge ego to take a rain check."
"Let me at him! Let me at him!" A familiar voice shouted.
Curious, I followed the source and found it belonged to Lightning Bliss. Lightning Bliss was charging toward ToonKritic, but what surprised me was that Finn was holding her back.
"Okay." Finn answered, as he let her go.
Lightning almost tripped, but regained herself and looked at Finn, "Finn? Next time, don't let go."
Finn smiled, "Sure thing." Then he grabbed her tail.
I joined the trio and asked, "Hey, what the heck's going on up here?"
Then Toon spoke up, "Man, I always knew Alicorn rage was in short supply." He smirked at Lightning Bliss.
Bliss growled angrily, "When I'm finished with you, you'll be black, and red, and LEFT FOR DEAD!!!!" She started charging toward Toon again, "LET ME AT HIM! LET ME AT HIM!!"
"Alright-y." Finn answered, as he let go of Bliss.
Bliss tripped and fell into me. Luckily, I was able to catch her and not fall over.
"Easy, Bliss. You almost tripped on your tail." I told her.
Bliss looked at me, "Thanks, Raven." Then she turned to Finn, "Finn, I think your missing the basic point here?" She glanced at her tail for emphasis.
Finn shook his head, "No, I'm not."
"Yes, you are." She replied.
"You sure?" He asked her.
Bliss nodded, "Yes! I-" Then she drew a blank, "What was I doing again?"
Toon was about to say something, but my glare to him kept him silent.
"You were just about to order a drink, of course." Finn answered with a happy smile.
Bliss smiled back, "Oh, yeah. Apple juice please."
Finn nodded and grabbed a juice box from his pockets, "I always have one handy."
He gave Bliss the juice box and Bliss smiled and walked off, singing her own version of 'High-ho'. Toon was shocked, while I smiled, glad to see that the problem was fixed by juice.
"What- What just happened?" Toon asked, turning to Finn, "What did you do?"
"Isn't it obvious, Toon?" I replied, "Finn used his psychology skills to help Bliss."
"Nerd..." Toon called me under his breath.
"I heard that." I told him.
Finn nodded, "Indeed, I did." Then asked me, "Would you like anything, Rae-Rae?"
I shook my head, "No thanks, Finn. I gotta find AnY and Firebrand. We need to warm up for our next training session." I gave a farewell salute, "Thanks for offering anyway."
~ToonKriticY2K's POV~
"Thanks for offering anyway." Raven finished, giving a salute and walked off into the town.
I rubbed my arm in uncertainty. Seeing Finn give Bliss a juice box, and offering Raven a drink, now I want one.
Finn noticed and smiled at me, "Aw, don't be sad, buddy." Then he grabbed a milkshake from his pockets, "Look, I brought you your favorite milkshake."
I reached for it and grabbed it. However, my hoof slipped from the glass and the milkshake dropped on to the wooden floor. A milkshake and broken glass puddle seeped between me and Finn.
I stared in shock and horror.
"Oh... You know. I think I smell something burning." Finn spoke up, "Probably my cupcake. Bye."
With that, he was gone. I was alone, frozen in shock of the fallen shake.
"Hey, Voice. You know what this is?" I asked Voice of Reason proudly, as we walked around the Battlefield, showing him my achievement.
"No. You've only been talking about it for the past five hours." Voice answered sourly.
"It's called definitive prove that I'm better than you." I answered with a smile.
Voice stopped in front of me and turned to face me, "Oh, come on! That plot point was so contrived and you know it." Then he asked me, "Do you even read the comments?"
"What's that?" I asked teasingly, "Sorry. I can't hear the hate over the sound of your salt."
"Alright. That's it!" Voice sighed, then asked me, "Wanna beat me, scrub?!" (A/N: I couldn't make out what he said...)
I put my achievement away and tilted my head in confusion, "Huh?"
"You and me. We're settling this in a contest." He told me, "Winner takes all."
I raised a brow, "So, what are we gonna do?"
"The objective is simple." He answered, "I call a shot and try to do it. And then you have to do a harder shot. I can and you can't, I get a point. Then we switch. Every time someone can't do a shot and the other one can, they get a point. And the first pardon to get five points loses."
I nodded, "Alright. Sounds good." Then I noticed something, "Wait. Isn't this Horse?"
Voice stared at me, then answered, "Eee-yes..."
I sighed and face-palmed. Then wondered, "So, who would keep score?"
Voice looked around, then looked behind him to see Raven leaning against a building, relaxing. He called, "Hey, Rae!"
The masked Kenku opened her eyes to the call of her name, and walked toward us. Once she arrived, Raven greeted with a small smile, "Hey, Voice. Hey, Golden Fox. Is there a reason you called me over?"
I nodded, "Yeah. We're having a contest to see who's the best Sniper of us two. And we need somepony to keep score."
Voice nodded in agreement, "Somepony with sharp eyes and can calculate things is a matter of seconds. Somepony like you." Then he asked, "What do you say, Raven?"
Raven smiled and nodded, "Sure. Sounds like fun."
*A Little Bit Later...* ~Raven Ars Goetia's POV~
"Pull!" Voice called.
Golden Fox activated the catapult and the first robot head soared into the air.
Headshot! Now it was Fox's turn.
I reset the catapult and loaded with two more heads.
"Beat that, Golden Boy." Voice teased with a smirk.
Golden Fox took his spot and called, "Pull!"
I activated the contraption and two heads soared into the air. Fox was able to take out both of them.
"Piece of cake." Fox smiled.
I reset the catapult and put in three heads this time. Voice readied his rifle and I released the heads. Voice shot all three of them with ease.
I clapped my hands, "Well done, Voice."
Voice smirked, then turned to Fox, "Your move, Goldilocks."
Fox looked a little uncertain, but he took a breath and readied himself. I reset the catapult and Fox loaded it with nine robot heads this time. Now, I was getting a little uncertain.
Voice smiled with a chuckle, "Oh, this I gotta see."
Fox took his spot, covered his eyes with his wings, and called, "Pull!"
I released the catapult and Fox fired his rifle. The bullet flew into the air and bounced off Toon's helmet. Ricocheted off the buildings close-by and was able to hit the robot heads. All nine of them.
Fox smiled. Voice was gasped. And I looked over my chart, "I guess Golden Fox gets a point for this round."
"Hacks! I call hacks!" Voice called sourly.
Golden turned to him, "I can barely get this game up and running. You think I actually can hack something?"
I nodded, "I agree with Fox, Voice. This game isn't as easy as Valve makes it up to be. Portal is way easier than this."
"Well, if your earlier performance against the robots is any indication you're a hack at something." Voice argued.
"Well.... You're.... A poopy head!" Golden Fox tried to come up with a good comeback.
My eyes widened in shock, then suppressed a laugh. Voice's jaw dropped, then he charged at Fox, "THAT'S IT!!!"
Voice grabbed his machete and the two started fighting. The fighting started moving across the battlefield and I just stared with a deadpan expression.
"Welp… So much for that little adventure." I noted.
Then Eliyora arrived, "Hey there, Raven. I'm ready to my spy check training."
Another training day, another plan gone wrong. Voice, Maddie, Firebrand and I surrounded Lightning Bliss and she collapsed and started crying.
"Well... That's a buzzkill." Mad Munchkin frowned, as she lowered her rocket launcher and walked away.
With that, everypony left Bliss to cry. I felt sorry for the little Alicorn and offered my hand to her, "Hey, Blissie. Don't cry. Come on. Let's find your team."
Bliss looked at me and took my hand. We retraced Lightning Bliss' steps and found Keyrfame on top of a sleeping AnY and a small pile of empty bottles of cider.
"What happened?" Bliss sniffed, "You left me all alone again!"
Keyframe got herself back to her hooves, "It's not my fault." She gestures to AnY, "Ask Oktoberfest here."
AnY Entertainment moaned in his comatose state. I shook my head in disappointment. Sleeping during training. Why do I bother being in this team?
"He's out again? Are you kidding me?!" Bliss exclaimed, "This piece of schnitzel cost us points!"
I sighed, "I'll wake him up." I walked over to the brown Earth Pony - Changeling Hybrid and shook his shoulders, "AnY, wake up. You're gonna miss the new opening for the Red Medic."
AnY's eyes snapped opened and he jumped to his hooves with a smile, "YES!" Then he recollected himself and frowned, "Oh... You know, for the 15th time I should really stop falling for that." I rolled my eyes.
"You un-sobered mule!!" Bliss shouted, "Have you know shame?! Drunk off your flank, passed out in the battlefield and you call yourself a DemoPony?!!" She picked up her minigun, "I have to whack you over the head with Starlight! What do you have to say for yourself?!"
"I say 'Cheers'?" AnY answered, grabbing another bottle and drank it down. However, Keyframe used her crossbow to smash the bottle dry. AnY turned to her and glared, "Hey!"
"AnY, we all know the in-game Demoman's basic trait is to drink himself silly and have nothing but reckless abandon..." I started.
KeyFrame nodded, "But, it's not really a good time for that, now." KeyFrame frowned, "We still don't have the Re-generator. We're all still weak from the attacks. And who knows when Dusty, or somepony worse, will come around."
I nodded in agreement, "We need to be ready." I placed my hand over AnY's cheek, who frowned in concern, "And we can't be, if you drink yourself comatose and covered in cider bottles every minute."
"But, Rae. I need it." AnY told me.
But Lightning Bliss and Keyframe were using their magic to put the remaining bottles out of the Changeling Hybrid's reach.
"You need help is what you need." Bliss answered.
AnY shook his head, "No. I mean I-"
"Trust me, AnY. You'll thank us later." Keyframe cut him off.
Mission Begins in 20 Seconds...
AnY started looking around, trembling and taking short breaths. I've seen this reaction before. I'm like that with storms. And then...
5... 4... 3... 2... 1...
A rocket was fired across the field from AnY. AnY froze and quickly ducked behind the nearby haybales for cover, with his shield over his head. And he started whimpering and crying in fear.
"Make it stop... Make it stop... I surrender!" He whimpered in his frightened state.
Sweetie Bloom and Mad Munchkin noticed and lowered their weapons.
"Well... That's a buzzkill." Sweetie frowned.
Maddie smiled, "Heh. Two buzzkills in one day. A new record!"
Everything calmed and stopped, but AnY was still in his frightened state.
"Wow. I am the smallest Pony here. And you're more scared than me?" Bliss noticed.
"Why wouldn't I be?" AnY whimpered, "Killer robots! Mercenaries! Explosions! And gun fire everywhere!" Then he started crying in his native tongue.
Bliss backed away to me and Keyframe. I shook my head in disappointment.
"Now you know." I spoke up.
"So, when he said that he needed it..." Keyframe started.
"He really meant he needed it." Bliss finished.
I shrugged, "That's the same with me and storms. I need music, but my mother keeps thinking my fear is nonsense." I picked up a bottle of cider and walked over to the scared Hybrid.
I lowered myself to his level and gently shook his shoulder, "AnY?"
AnY jumped and shouted, "Don't hurt me! I promise I'll never call you a Wiccan again!"
I showed him the bottle, "No, silly. Look what I have for you."
AnY looked at me and saw the bottle. He smiled and took the bottle. He opened it and took a swig. Any smiled and threw his arms around me, "Thank you, Rae-Rae. You are a life saver. Thank you. Danke, danke, danke!"
I giggled and hugged him back, "You're very welcome, AnY."
~Keyframe's POV~
I narrowed my eyes in jealousy, as AnY was hugging Raven and the Red Spy Kenku was just giggling and hugging him back.
The Dr. Wolf showed up and spoke up, "You do know that I don't allow any alcohol on the battlefield, right?"
Bliss and I turned to him in surprise.
"Wait..." I spoke up, "What?"
Dr. Wolf folded his arms, "Seriously. I thought at least you two would know me better than that."
"But... What has AnY been drinking all this time?" Bliss asked.
"Non-alcoholic spiced apple cider." Dr. Wolf answered.
Wait! What?! Non-alcoholic cider?! AnY was never truly drunk?!!
"Are..." "You..." "Kidding me?!!" Bliss and I exclaimed.
"Haven't either of you ever heard of the Placebo Effect?" Dr. Wolf asked.
"I have." Raven spoke up, as she joined us, "Just couldn't remember what it was called, is all."
Dr. Wolf folded his arms, "Believe me, I've lost count of how many times I've told AnY that he isn't drinking anything alcoholic. But, I guess he's just been in such a complete state of denial for so long, it kind of works."
Then AnY started skipping around the battlefield singing 'We Didn't Start the Fire', naming alcoholic drinks in the same tune.
"Glad to see him happy." Bliss spoke up.
I nodded, "Indeed. Indeed."
~Raven Ars Goetia's POV~
Then Keyframe turned to me, "Wait... You knew AnY was drinking non-alcoholic cider, didn't you?!" I nodded. Her eyes widen, "When and for how long?"
"Since Dusty's attack." I answered with a casual shrug, "I recognized the taste in seconds. My mother used to mix ciders with her own blend of special juices, that I'm not allowed to share." I smiled, "It tastes alcoholic, but it isn't."
Dr. Wolf smiled at me, "Well done, Miss. Raven."
I rubbed my arm and bashfully blushed, "Please. Just Raven will do."
Then Dr. Wolf turned to Key and Bliss, "Well ladies, sometimes we need to remember that a key to a happy life is that ignorance is bliss."
Silence. Realizing what Dr. Wolf just did, Keyframe and Bliss aimed their guns at the anthropomorphic white wolf, while I fell on my back laughing at the puns.
"May I remind you that we still don't have a working Re-spawn Generator?" He reminded them.
I continued to laugh, but was able to hear Lightning Bliss ask Dr. Wolf, "Is this payback for the sentry gun buster?"
I stopped and looked at the mares, "Wait, what?"
Dr. Wolf smiled, "See? You're learning."
Lightning Bliss fell to the ground with a face-plant, while Keyframe chased after AnY, "Hey, AnY! Can I have some of that?"
"Do I want to know, or need to know?" I asked the white wolf, as I dusted myself off.
"OOOWWW!!! It hurts! It hurts! OH, CELESTIA!! IT HURTS!!!" I heard a familiar voice crying out in pain.
I turned to see Keyframe helping Lightning Bliss across the Battlefield and into the shack. Lightning Bliss was resting on Keyframe's back, holding her left hoof in pain. Must have been a sprained ankle.
"You're going to be fine, Bliss. It' just a sprung hoof." Keyframe assured to little Alicorn, "I have some ice and medi-cupcakes at the sick bay. You'll be right as rainbows in no time."
"Thank you, Key-Key." Bliss sniffled with a smile, "I'm sorry if I'm causing you trouble."
Keyframe shook her head, "It's no problem at all, Blissie."
The two reached the shack and ToonKritic and I were able to meet up with them.
"Oh, well, ain't that cute?" ToonKritic chuckled with a mean smirk.
Lightning Bliss sighed in annoyance, then greeted, "Hi, Toon."
I looked over Bliss' injury, "Oh Luna, Bliss. That looks quite bad." I gave her a concerned look, "What happened out there?"
KeyFrame glared at me and Toon, "Raven, Toon, we don't have any time for this. I need to get her into the sick bay."
Then AnY arrived and heard our conversation, "Yeah, Toon, Raven. Taking care of an Alicorn is a really tall order to fulfill." Then he looked at me, "Speaking of orders, shouldn't you be perching near a graveyard?"
KeyFrame growled in anger. I sighed and muttered under my breath, "Luna preserve me..."
"Leave them alone, AnY." Bliss told him, "My ankle hurts. At least they're kind enough to care."
Then Golden Fox arrived, "Guys, leave Key, Bliss and Raven be. Quit being so small-minded."
I face-hoofed, while AnY and Toon smiled at what Fox just said. Using her magic, Keyframe lifted the golden Pegasus stallion to her level.
"Honey, you're not helping." She told him with a scold.
Golden Fox raised a brow in confusion, "What? I'm just trying to be the bigger Pony."
Keyframe sighed an cancelled her magic, dropping Golden Fox to the ground of the shack. Toon and AnY started laughing, as I helped KeyFrame and Lightning Bliss to the sick bay.
"Really, Goldilocks?" Bliss asked, as we passed him.
*Later, at the Sick Bay...*
With Bliss' hoof bandaged and eating a medi-cupcake. Keyframe and I were pacing the sick bay. I growled in frustration and anger every one or two seconds.
"Are you two okay?" Bliss asked in concern.
"Who do they think they are?" Keyframe asked, then ranted, "Talking to us like that? We're more than just walking joke targets!"
I nodded in agreement. Bliss nodded, "I know what you mean. I feel like I become the pun-ching bag as of lately myself."
I sighed, "Ever since day one, we've been on the flank end of each joke. 'Short joke this'! 'Long legs that'! 'Demon this'! 'Messenger of Death that'! Argh!" I growled, "We can't control how we look!"
Bliss nodded in agreement, "Yeah! And sadly, we can't do a damn thing about it! We're gonna have to live with the 'cute, wee, little Alicorn', the 'attack of the 50-foot Keyframe', and the 'All hail the Horned One' unless something changes!"
As if by coincidence, Dr. Wolf's voice spoke from the intercoms, "Good news, everyone. I am pleased to announce that we finally got the Re-spawn Generator working again. So we won't have to worry about friendly fire, as long as it doesn't get too out of hand."
Bliss and Keyframe looked at each other. Grins grew into smiles. Smiles grew into giggles. Giggles grew into laughter. Laughter turned maniacal.
I exit the sick bay and ran to Dr. Wolf's office and waited out what was going on outside.
*One Hour Later...*
Once everything calmed down, Dr. Wolf and I exit the shack to meet Keyframe and Lightning Bliss, who skipping happily and laughing.
"Are you two finished?" I asked. Bliss and Keyframe nodded.
Dr. Wolf smiled back, "Well, I'm certainly glad that you two have found an effective method for releasing your frustrations." He looked over his clipboard, "And we're only too relieved that you decided to put off your murderous rampage until after we got the Re-spawn Generator working again."
Keyframe giggled, "I guess you could say it's just what the doctor ordered."
Bliss nodded in agreement, "It's definitely a howling good time."
I narrowed my eyes at the two Ponies, "That's... Not... Funny..."
"Unfortunately, you two caused so much of a ruckus so quickly the you overloaded the generator to the point of complete burnout." Dr. Wolf finished, folding his arms in disappointment.
The two Ponies smiles fell at the information.
"Wait..." Keyframe started, "You mean it's broken? Again?"
"But... But it was just a little shoot off." Bliss tried to explain.
"You sure about that?" I asked pointing to the battlefield.
Keyframe and Bliss looked around and the entire battlefield was in flames and nothing but carnage remained.
"Well, you two have given me no choice here." Dr. Wolf started, "I feel I have to enact some kind of punishment."
"Don't let it be robot cleaning duty again!" Keyframe pleaded, "I had oil in my fur for weeks."
"Please don't make me cook Toon's milkshakes." Bliss pleaded, "It always ruins the oven and it takes forever to clean!"
A light-bulb went of in my head, as I smiled, "Oh, Doc. I have an idea." I spoke up.
Dr. Wolf looked at me with a raised brow. I lowered myself to his level and whispered my idea in his ear. Dr. Wolf smiled and put his hand over my shoulder, "That's a wonderful idea, Raven."
"What did you tell him?" Bliss asked me.
"She says I should send you two on vacation." Dr. Wolf answered.
Bliss and Keyframe looked at me with wide eyes. Thespio came over and shouted at me and Dr. Wolf, "Have you two gone mental!!? They killed me 17 times in only four minutes!! And I wasn't even in this short!!"
"You didn't hear the rest." I spoke up.
Dr. Wolf nodded, "Miss. Raven's idea is to send Keyframe and Lightning on vacation… Without their drawing tablets, sketchbooks or canvases."
Lightning Bliss and Keyframe gasped and cried at the top of their lungs, "NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"
"Wow..." Thespio uttered, then turned to me, "You know, you and Doc can be really evil when you put your mind to it, Frost."
Dr. Wolf and I nodded, "You have no idea." Then we looked at each other, "That was weird." A second of silence, then we both said in unison, "Friendship is Magic." Then we smiled, "Guess great minds guess alike."
It was a quiet day in Coal Town. I was in the shack, with Eliyora and Thespio, talking about switching classes for a day, while I was salvaging robot parts for Dr. Wolf's Re-spawn Generator.
"So... Let me get this straight. You two want to switch classes for a day, to see which one is the best class?" I asked, as pulled a carburetor from a Robot Scout's head. Thespio and Eliyora nodded in agreement. "And I need to switch, why?" I asked.
"You're the Red Spy, Raven." Thespio pointed out, "In order to switch, you have to be the Red Pyro for a day."
"Or the Blu Spy." Eliyora pointed out, "Raven has had a lot of interactions with the Blu Team, as of late."
I rubbed my chin, "True." Then I wondered, "And how did this argument start, anyway?" I pointed out, "You two barely argue or fight."
The Blu Spy and Red Pyro looked at each other and Eliyora answered, "It sort of involved Silver Quill becoming Mongolian barbecue. He came up with the idea."
I suppressed a giggle, "That Hippogriff is a glutton for punishment, isn't he?" Then I smiled, "I guess it couldn't hurt to switch colors, or be the Pyro for a day. Besides, blue might suit me better."
With that, Eliyora, Thespio and I switched uniforms. I decided to be the Red Pyro for the day, see how it feels to burn things. Lucky there was always a spare uniform for each team and class. To my surprise, there was something special about the Pyro uniform I picked.
In the grenade belt was a note. I opened the note. It read,
'To Raven,
Don't take this the wrong way, but if you ever want to switch to the Blu team, the Pyro class is always open for you.
An Admirer.'
I was curious who this admirer is, but the clues were evident. The uniform was blue before I touched it to turn red. So it must be somepony from the Blu team.
We got dressed into our new, temporary uniforms and met up in the shack. Already, there was problems.
"Okay. This mask automatically stinks." Eliyora complained about the mask, "Why should I have to cover my beauty?"
"Speak for yourself, woman!" Thespio spat, "How do you breath in this airtight suit?"
I smiled, "I dunno. I think it's comfy."
Eliyora looked at me and gasped, "Where did you get those?"
"Somepony gave them to me. I have the note." I answered. I gave Eli the note and she looked it over.
"Raven has a boyfriend! Raven has a boyfriend!" Thespio teased in a sing-song tone.
I closed my eyes and sighed, "Strike one, Thespio." Then looked at him, "At least Eli is not making you put on the mask."
Eli nodded, "Okay, so we're agreed. One day in each other's classes." She smirked at Thespio, "You'll see how hard it is to be a Pyro."
Thespio smirked back, "And you'll see that being a Spy is more complicated than you think. Good luck, Flash Fire."
Thespio grabbed his flamethrower, "Hey! Don't be tempting me now!" But, Eliyora was gone, "Oh, right. Cloaking."
I suppressed a giggle, then went out on the Battlefield to practice with my temporary class. So far, it's been easy for me, because I've watched Eliyora and learned from her example as the Pyro. However Eliyora and Thespio were having trouble adjusting. Eliyora is anything but subtle and patient. And Thespio keeps forgetting that being Pyro also means being careful with fire.
Once the day was done, it was time to return to the shack. Thespio was out of breath and was badly burnt up. While Eliyora's uniform was torn up and she had cuts and scrapes all over her body.
Thespio and Eliyora glared at each other and shouted, "YOUR CLASS SUCKS!!!"
Their eyes widened, and there was a moment of silence. Then Thespio and Eliyora started laughing. I smiled.
"Aw man! What were we thinking?" Thespio asked, between laughs.
Eliyora nodded, "Seriously! We're both tailor-made for our classes."
Thespio calmed and smiled, "Yeah. I think we were both idiots today." Then offered his hand to Eliyora, "What do you say? Truce?"
Eliyora smiled and shook his hand, "Truce." Then she told me, "Now, I want out of this blinking mask. I can't do subtlety for anything. LET ME BURN!"
I nodded, "Alright, Eli."
Then Eliyora asked me, "Hey, I just noticed something. How come you're not as bad as Thespio? I expected you to be more burned than him."
"I followed your example." I answered. Thespio and Eliyora looked at me with wide eyes. I raised my brow, "What?" Then clarity hit, "Oh, Luna. You guys didn't bother to try asking how to work the other class?" I furrowed my brows in disappointment, "You two really have been a couple of 馬鹿 (Baka/Idiots/Fools) today."
Thespio rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah. I guess so." Then something came to him, "Speaking of which..." He looked at Eliyora, "Why don't you ever wear the Pyro mask anyway?"
Eliyora's face turned shameful and scared, "I've seen things, my friend... I have seen the other side of that mask... It is true horror..."
Thespio and my eyes widened. I've seen the video of 'Meet the Pyro'. The way the Pyro sees through that mask... How can a man stay sane and yet cause so much destruction? Thank goodness the mask is optional here.
Another day, another day off from training so hard. Right now, Firebrand, Dr. Wolf, Silver Quill and I were in Dr. Wolf's office, trying the fix the Re-spawn Generator, but we've been having trouble.
"I'm pretty sure it's the red wire." Firebrand noted, while Silver Quill was eating chips, and I was working on the back of the machine.
"With all due respect, Firebrand, shush." Dr. Wolf told him, "I built this, so I think I know what I'm doing."
"They burned it out." Firebrand pointed out, "I think I know what I'm talking about."
Silver Quill ate another chip, with annoyed Firebrand. The military Pony and snow wolf turned to the large Hippogriff.
"Can we help you?" Firebrand asked.
"Oh, don't mind me." Silver Quill answered, "It's been a slow day, so I thought I'd... Observe."
Firebrand growled, but returned to work. I looked at the large Hippogriff, "That's all and well, Silver, but please keep it down." Then I returned to work.
"How can you be sure that this thing doesn't turn us inside-out?" Firebrand asked Dr. Wolf.
Dr. Wolf glanced at him for a second, then returned to work, "If I can carefully calibrate the-"
Silver Quill popped bubblegum and the generator sparked. It lightly shocked Dr. Wolf and and Firebrand, but the spark touched me and shocked me pretty bad. I collapsed on the ground, twitching a little, "O-o-o-o-w-w-w-w...."
"Miss. Raven, are you alright?" Dr. Wolf asked me.
The twitching subsided, as I dusted myself off and stood up, "A little jumpy, but I've gone through worse."
Dr. Wolf turned to Silver Quill, "Silver, please, this is stressful enough, without you making it into a spectator sport."
Silver Quill pouted and folded his arms, "Oh, sure. When I get blown up, it's all fun and giggles. But when I need some stimulus, you're all super serious."
Firebrand and I answered in unison, "Actually yes!"
Firebrand was ready to punch Silver in the face, but Dr. Wolf held him back. "Silver, I understand that you're bored, and looking for something to entertain yourself." Dr. Wolf sympathized, "But right now is not really a good time. Could you, please, find yourself another activity to busy yourself with?"
Silver Quill nodded then pouted, "Fine. Fine."
He turned to leave the shack, then Sweetie Bloom came in, bumping into wheel of cables along the way, "Ow! Ow!" She entered the room, "Please, Doc. Help me."
My eyes widened in surprise. Her eyepatch has been glowing that Celtic green since Dusty's attack? Must have been torture.
"Wait, which 'Doc' are you referring to?" Firebrand asked, "Doc, or 'Doc' Doc? Wow. This is hurting?"
We got our answer, as Sweetie turned to Dr. Wolf. Dr. Wolf turned to Sweetie Bloom, "Can it wait, Sweetie? We're trying to get the Re-spawn Generator fixed."
"Oh. Okay. Sorry." Sweetie frowned. Then she turned around and bumped into me, "Sorry."
"Sweetie? You look awful. What's wrong?" I gasped, as I got a good look at her.
She pointed to her glowing eyepatch, "This! Ever since I got in touch with my inner Celtic hunter, my eye hasn't stopped glowing! I haven't slept in two days. I keep bumping into things. Can you, please, do something?"
I scratched the back of my head, "Well... I'm afraid I can't. From what I can understand by examining these unequivocal truing postulates of physics and other the ages of logical deduction of the overarching narrative that this metaphysical chinos interactive simulation is predicated on..." I took a breath, "Suicide is the best option."
"NNNNEEEEERRRRDDD!!!"
Firebrand looked at me, "Wait, I'm the Medic here. How come you get to say things like that?"
"IQ of 152." I answered casually.
"Unfortunately, Sweetie, Raven is right." Dr. Wolf spoke up, "Until this gets fixed, we can't change anything. So I have to ask you hold out just a little longer."
Sweetie Bloom shrugged, "Well, at least it's something." Then she made her way out of the shack.
"Try not to do anything dangerous!" Dr. Wolf called after her.
With Sweetie gone, Dr. Wolf and I returned to work. Firebrand sniffed the air and spoke up, "Hey, I know I'm no mechanic. But I'm pretty sure I'm not supposed to be smelling sulfur."
"Sulfur?" Dr. Wolf asked.
I sniffed the air. The smell of rotten eggs filled the air of the shack. "He's not lying, Doc. There's sulfur in the air."
Dr. Wolf rubbed his chin, "But that should only happen if-"
I quickly gasped in realization and shouted, "Get down!"
~BOOOOOM!~
But I was too late. A loud explosion blew us off our hooves, feet and paws, as there was a large hole in the wall. Who else responsible, but Silver Quill.
"See this? This is why I need stimulus." Silver explained, "I need to be entertained, and I'm not entertained then the vision of the dimension upon..." He babbled on, as Firebrand and I dusted ourselves off and glared at the large Hippogriff, "And therefore it is your fault that this happened, and it is you who needs to fix the hole in the wall."
I growled, as my anger reached its peak. I picked Silver Quill up and threw him out the window, "GO BOTHER SOMEBODY ELSE!!!"
I took a breath and calmed down, then returned to helping Dr. Wolf with the Re-spawn Generator.
"What the heck was that?" Dr. Wolf asked me.
"Oh... I forgot to mention." Firebrand spoke up, "Raven here, when she gets angry, she gets demonic."
"I'll be fine now." I spoke up, with a growl still evident in my voice.
"Raven, may I make a suggestion?" Dr. Wolf spoke up, "Since you're still frustrated, I say you take the day off and let you cool down a bit more. Meditate or work on your hobbies."
"I said I'm fine." I insisted, my anger and frustration building up inside me.
"Raven Morgana Andromeda Phoenix Ars Goetia. I insist. Take the day off." Dr. Wolf told me sternly.
Noticing he used my real name, I put my tools down and lowered my head, "Yes, Doc." I left the shack and took a walk around the battlefield to find some peace and quiet to calmed down.
I found a lonely rooftop and was able to close my eyes and calm myself. After a few hours of meditating and breathing with my favorite mantra, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos", I was able to calm down. However, I heard a familiar voice speak from behind me, "Well, well, well. Look who it is."
I opened my eyes and answered in a low tone, "ToonKriticY2K. If you're here to make pun jokes about me, I'd keep them to myself. I am in no mood right now."
"What's the matter? Can't find your center? Maybe ask your demon father to help?" He teased.
I glanced at him, a shadow flame engulfing my body, "Make another joke, Toon... I... Dare... You..."
Before he could open his mouth, Dr. Wolf spoke through the intercoms, "Good news, Everyone. We finally got the Re-spawn Generator working again... Again..." Then Firebrand added, "So, if y'all could not go on giant rampages that be greeeaaat. Yes, I am directly referring to Lightning Bliss and Keyframe. This is your fault and you should feel terrible. You should've followed Raven's example and find another way to calm down."
Toon's eyes widened and looked at me, "Wait... You found another way to calm down?"
"Wrath is not my sin. Envy is. That's way my eyes are green." I explained. Then I felt something warm in the air, and it was starting to get warmer, "Do you feel that?"
Toon raised a brow, "Feel what?"
Suddenly, the record shack burst into flames and something emerged from the fires. It was a human, teenage female, in Equestria Girls style. Her hair was maroon and her skin was a deep red. She had her pony ears and Pegasus wings. Her eyes were flaming and a fiery aura enveloped her. She wore purple armor and wielded two flaming swords.
She looked like Ink Rose. Only angry.
"Repent before my wrath, sinner!" She shouted, as she charged toward Silver Quill and Sweetie Bloom.
My eyes widened and I gasped, "Ink Rose?"
"And I'm outta here!" Toon summed up, as he flew away.
I joined Firebrand and Dr. Wolf, as Ink Rose calmed enough to return to her Pony form.
"If I wasn't so terrified, I'd actually say that was kind of... Hot." Firebrand smiled.
"Miss. Rose?" Dr. Wolf started, until Ink Rose charged up to him, "3 hours... 3 hours I've been fighting demons in Tartarus because of Silver! He'll be sent to the after-afterlife when I'm through with him!"
"Miss. Rose, I fear that reaction was a little extreme. Maybe you should come with me and-" Dr. Wolf started, then I noticed what Ink Rose just said, "Wait... Did you say you were fighting demons for the past 3 hours?"
Ink Rose nodded, "Yes. I probably flew four circles and a half trying to get out." Then she grabbed Dr. Wolf's collared shirt, "Why in the world would you fill a pit with underworld horrors underneath your office? Eldritch much?"
"Ink, calm down." I spoke up, "Doc probably didn't know about the pit."
Dr. Wolf nodded, "Miss. Raven is right. I didn't know about the trapdoor until we started receiving volunteers for new team members."
Ink calmed down and let go of Dr. Wolf. However, Firebrand was whistling nonchalant and innocently. Ink Rose, Dr. Wolf and I turned to the Military Medic.
"Josh..." I started with a glare.
"What do you know about this?" Dr. Wolf asked.
Firebrand scratched the back of his neck sheepishly, "Well... When I dug the trapdoor, I may, or may not, have, quite possibly, kind of, accidentally opened something sorta resembling a likely a simile of a portal to Tartarus."
The three of us glared at Firebrand.
"I put a lid on it." He quickly defended.
"Both of you. Office. Now." Dr. Wolf told Ink Rose and Firebrand.
Another day, another training session. Not that I mind it. Someone needs to keep their Class skills sharp. I was training with ToonKriticY2K and Lightning Bliss, but Toon was being a jerk with his puns and insults. Sometimes I feel like I want to punch this guy in the face... He went one pun insult too far and Lightning Bliss was ready to attack him, until I felt a shudder run down my spine.
Lightning Bliss must have noticed, cause she turned to me, "What's wrong, Raven?"
"I feel a disturbance on The Force, but I can't put my finger on it." I answered in thought.
"Aaaawww. Has someone disturbed your meditation?" Toon cooed with a smirk.
I glared at the red and black pegasus oc, "Strike two, Mr. Black-and-Red OC..."
Suddenly, Mad Munchkin's voice spoke from the intercoms, "I don't know who you are... I don't know what you want... If you're looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have money..." Everyone froze around the Battlefield and listened, "What I do have is a very particular set of skills... Skills that I have acquired from a very long career... Skills that make me a nightmare for Ponies like you..." Lightning Bliss lowered her ears, tucked her tail between her legs and backed into me. I held her close, "If you let my hat go now, that will be the end of of it... I will not look for you, I will not pursuit you... But if you don't, I will look for you... I will find you... And I will kill you..."
"Whoa! What got the Lady of Scots all riled up?" Toon wondered.
"I don't want to know." Bliss squeaked.
"Obviously, she believes one of us took her hat and she wants it back." I explained, "We better follow her demands, if we're gonna get to the bottom of this."
With that, Toon, Bliss and I gathered with the rest of the group. Mad Munchkin arrived and shouted, "Everyone, get your flanks back to base now!" Then she noticed that we were all here and she smiled, "Oh, wow. Looks like I didn't even need the Turnoy. Oh well." Then she instructed, "Move it, maggots!"
We followed Maddie into the shop section, that lead to the Sick Bay. We scattered, so it would be easier to move around. Mad Munchkin readied her rocket launcher and started asking around, "Okay, maggots! Now all of you are here, and one of you has my hat. Give yourself up now, and your death will be quick an painless."
"Uh... Maddie..." Eliyora gulped, "Don't you think you're being just a little extreme?"
Maddie turned to the unicorn mare and aimed her launcher at her, "You have it, don't ya?! I've seen you eyeing up my hat. I've seen you all look at her and say, 'Oh, aye! That's a wee tasty bit of hatwear, eh'?!"
Eliyora took a step back, raised a brow, then shook her head, "No, Maddie. I do not have your hat."
"Do..." Maddie turned to Blissie, "You have my hat?"
Tears started running down Blissie's face, as she started crying and hid herself in between my legs, "She scares me!"
I gently stroked Blissie's mane and glared at Mad Munchkin, "Okay, Maddie. I think this has gone too far."
Maddie aimed her rocket launcher at my face, "Sounds like hat talk to me, Robin Girl!"
I gave her a deadpan look. Blissie hugged closer to me. I shook my head, "Maddie, I don't have your hat. But you have to stop this. It's not healthy."
"No..." Maddie answered with a laugh and a crazy look in her eyes, "Let's make this interesting." Her smile faded to a serious frown, "Unless someone comes forward and puts my hat right here, in this new case that Finn built..."
She grabbed a glass case with a wooden frame and put on the ground.
"You're welcome." Finn answered with a smile.
Maddie grabbed her cell phone and smirked, "I'm gonna call..."
Everypony tensed up and backed up a step. "Oh heavens no..." Firebrand grimaced.
"I'll do it. I'll call her." Maddie dared, moving her hoof closer to the numbers.
Blissie started backing underneath me, "No, no, no... Please not... Anything but her... Anything but her... Oh gosh..."
"Ooh, who are you gonna call?" Finn asked innocently.
Everyone in the room looked at him complete shock and confusion. Somepony's been living in the haybales way too long.
Finn looked around and raised a brow, "What?"
"M-Mary Sue. I'm gonna call Mary Sue." Maddie answered.
KeyFrame, Eliyora and Silver Quill's jaws dropped and they cried, "NOOOOO!!!!"
Lightning Bliss smiled, "Yay! Then I won't be the only Alicorn!" Firebrand, Thespio, Toon and I looked at the Rainbow Alicorn with raised brows. Clarity hit Bliss and she frowned, "Oh, wait. I won't be the only Alicorn!" She fell to the ground crying. The boys rolled their eyes.
"Oh, that's not going away soon..." Firebrand muttered under his breath.
Maybe I should explain. Mary Sue is Mad Munchkin's roommate on her Channel, along with Lord InsertNameHere. She actually lives up to her name. Mary Sue is a pink Alicorn that's about the same height as Princess Cadence. White mane and tail with magenta tips. A raspberry pink cape and golden eyes.
Princess of nature. Princess Celestia and Luna's niece. Discord's 'girlfriend'. All that jazz.
All-in-all, Mary Sue is a Mary-Sue.
Maddie had already dialed the number, "Shh. It's ringing."
The cell phone rang two and a half times before a familiar voice spoke on the other side, "Yeah?"
"Mary Sue, why have you never helped me out in these TF2 events?" Mad Munchkin asked in a raised voice, "Someone has stolen my hat!"
"Oh, you mean the hat that you made me hoof-wash for you after you went all Glasgow Hooligan on some glorified pigeon?" Mary Sue asked.
"Beak-ist!" Silver Quill glared.
"Species-ist." Keyframe corrected.
Silver Quill 'shh'ed Keyframe and gave her a gentle smile, "I'm glad you're coming to terms, but you really shouldn't admit such things in public, Keyframe."
Keyframe's jaw dropped and she glared at the large Hippogriff, "What!?"
"You're a bloody Alicorn for Celestia's sake!" Mad Munchkin pointed out over the phone, "Get over here and help me!"
"I'm afraid I can't do that, Maddie." Mary Sue answered.
"Wh... Wha... Why not?" Maddie asked.
"I think we both know the reason why here, Maddie." She answered.
"Tell me." Maddie instructed.
Mary Sue scoffed in a laugh, "Duh! Maddie! You're playing a dumb game! If I helped you win, which of course you would, cause I'm a Mary-Sue, it would be cheating."
Maddie's eyes widen in dumbfound, then she growled, "I hate you."
"And I totally hate you too, Maddie." Mary Sue smiled, then added, "Oh, by the way, I'm sending over a box of tissues."
A pink box of tissues appeared in the air and floated over to Lightning Bliss.
"What? Why?" Maddie asked.
"To give to Blissie." Mary Sue answered, "She seemed really upset when you shouted at her. And I don't blame her."
Lightning Bliss smiled, "Yay!" But then raised a brow, "I mean, yay?"
Mad Munchkin hung up her cell phone and just stood there with a dumbfounded look on her face. After a few seconds, she leaned forward and collapsed with a face-plant. She was out. The case broke under the impact of her collapse. Ooops.
Firebrand walked up to the center of the room, "Alright. I know that this is the standard lunacy around here, but frankly, I am at my limit. So, can whoever has her hat please own up so we can get back to work here?"
Everyone looked at each other with raised brows and confused looks. Finally, with apologetic looks, Silver Quill and Keyframe stepped forward.
"We have a confession to make." Keyframe sighed.
Silver Quill nodded, "Yes."
"I talked Silver into taking the hat." Keyframe admitted.
Silver Quill nodded again, "Yes. She caused the whole ordeal."
Keyframe's eyes widened and was lost for words, then she glared at the large Hippogriff Heavy, "Oh, you little son of a chicken..."
Firebrand smiled and walked toward the two, "Great. Now that the stupidity's out of the way. Please put the hat back in the case that Finn built..."
Finn joined the trio and put an identical glass case on the ground. "You're welcome." He smiled sweetly.
"And we can get back to a semblance of a normal life." Firebrand finished.
Keyframe turned to Silver Quill, "Okay. Go ahead, Silver."
Silver Quill raised a brow, "Me? I don't have the hat. I thought you had it."
Keyframe glared at the Hippogriff, "You took it out of the case!"
Silver glared back at the tall Unicorn, "That you threw me into!"
"Well, where is it now, Bird-brain!?" Keyframe asked.
"Oh, now who's the Species-ist?" Silver pouted.
Keyframe smiled, "Hey, you got it right."
Silver smiled, "Well, yeah. I was just waiting for you to admit you're prejudiced." Keyframe's jaw dropped in dumbfound and was lost for words. Silver put his claw over her shoulder, "I'm glad we had this breakthrough together, you vile species-ist."
Keyframe, full of anger, regained herself, charged and started wrapping her hooves around Silver Quill's neck, choking him.
"This isn't a hate crime, because I hate you on a personal level!" Key pointed out, as she continued to strangle Silver.
"Noted." Silver answered in a choked voice.
I sighed and took a breath, "As much as I find this funny, here's the plan." I spoke up to everyone present, "Before Maddie comes too, we all have to look for her hat. With all of us looking for it, one of us is bound to find it before she wakes up. Got it? Dismissed!"
With that everyone scattered and started looking for Mad Munchkin's hat before she comes to and goes on a rampage again.
It's been a quiet day today. Calm and quiet. Everyone was enjoying the day, doing their own thing.
I was relaxing on the roofs of Coal Town, watching the clouds go by and guessing their shapes. I let out a relaxed sigh with a small smile, then Sweetie Bloom came by, singing Disney songs.
I hopped down from the roof and met up with Sweetie.
"Hey, Sweetie." I greeted with a smile, "You sound awfully chipper today. Anything special going on?"
Sweetie smiled, "Oh, hey, Raven. I'm just singing songs with my new friend."
"Really?" I looked around the area and saw nopony except Sweetie Bloom, "Where is he? I only see you."
Sweetie giggled, "No, he's not with me..." She pointed to her head, "He's in me. Jiminy is the voice inside my head." She smiled, "Say hi, Jiminy."
I raised a brow in confusion, but waved my hand, "Hello, Jiminy. Nice to meet you. I'm Raven."
Sweetie Bloom smiled for a second, then frowned, "Hey! That's not very nice!"
My eyes dart around in uncertainty, "Well... I think I'm gonna go and see if anypony needs help with their training. I'll see you around, Sweetie Bloom."
Sweetie Bloom frowned, "Aaawww... Now see what you've done? You've scared Raven away because you called her a 'Demon Rip-Off'..."
I froze on the spot for a moment. What did Sweetie Bloom just call me?! Anger burned in my heart, as I turned to Sweetie Bloom, drawing my pistol, "What did you just call me?!"
Sweetie Bloom froze on the spot and swallowed a lump in her throat. She quickly shook her head, "I didn't say it. Jiminy did! I still think you're very nice."
"I'm gonna give you five seconds to rephrase that statement, Sweetie. Before I show you why Equestria calls me 'The Black Death'..." I growled in anger.
Sweetie Bloom swallowed another lump. Her eyes dart around the area and she pointed up the roofs, "Hey, look! It's Beast Boy!" Then she dashed off in the other direction.
I lowered my pistol and frowned, "And I thought we could be friends... I never called you names..."
I turned to make my way back to the roofs, when something blue and orange bumped into me. The object and I fell back from the collision and landed on our butts.
I shook my head and looked at the object across from me. It was Golden Fox. "Oh, hey, Golden Fox." I stood up and extended my hand to him, "Sorry I bumped into you."
Golden Fox shook his head and looked at me, "Oh. Raven. Boy, am I glad to see you."
He placed his hoof onto my hand and I helped him up, "What's wrong? Did you tease Voice with your achievements again?"
"No. I was talking to Maddie about Ponies being able to operated our weapons." He explained, "Then she mentioned playing a ukulele. And being Scottish, I thought she played the bagpipes or something."
I lowered my head and shook it, "Fox, do you have any idea how racist that sounded?" I sighed, "It's like taking me playing the concertina, because I'm British."
"Do you?" Golden Fox asked.
I froze for a second, then gave him a deadpan look, "No. I play the ocarina."
Golden Fox smiled, "Oh. That's... Kinda cool. Can you play the Song of Storms?"
I regained myself and smiled, "Not yet. But I'm practicing."
Suddenly, there was a loud explosion and Sweetie Bloom flew across the town. I lightly smiled.
Golden Fox looked at me, "Did you have something to do with that?"
I shrugged casually and walked away, "What can I say? Karma's a ."
"So let me get this straight." I rubbed my chin in thought, "You two want to do a drinking contest to see who's the better Soldier?"
Mad Munchkin and ToonKriticY2K nodded in agreement, "That's right."
"And you want me to take part in this... Why?" I asked.
"Because we need someone who is sober enough to keep track of our drinks." Maddie answered, then glanced at Toon, "As well as someone who doesn't play favorites."
I glanced at Toon, who was giving me the eye and turned on his charm. I folded my arms and glared at him, "Nice try, but that doesn't work on me."
Toon frowned, "Oh, come on! Nothing seems to faze you. What the are you?!"
I face-palmed with a sigh, "First Golden Fox and Voice. Then Thespio and Eliyora. Now Toon and Maddie. Who's next? Silver and Bliss?"
"So... Are we having this competition or what?" Toon asked me.
I rubbed my eyes and nodded, "Yeah. I'll get the mugs and the cider."
With that, I walked over to the supply cabinet, to grab the mugs and alcoholic cider.
*An Hour Later...*
The competition went by quite quickly. Toon and Maddie have drunk over ten mugs of cider each, and neither of them have collapsed yet.
"What percentage is this stuff anyway?" Maddie asked, "0.000..." She started drinking another mug of cider.
Toon laughed in his drunken state, "You've got nothing on me, Sl...Lassie!" He downed another mug of cider and smiled, "Forty-three, baby! St... Still standing!" He chuckled.
I wrote the tally on a clipboard, "That's another point for Toon and Maddie. Both still-"
Then Toon started singing in his drunken state, "Look into my eeeyyyeees... What do you seeeee..." Then he took a step forward and collapsed on the floor, out-cold.
"Well... I guess Mad Munchkin wins." I stated, jotting down on the clipboard.
Maddie smiled, "Ha! Bloody lightweight...." Then she turned and left the office, "I'm off to get some real booze. Where's the rum?!"
I stayed behind to keep an eye on Toon and make sure he wakes up prepared for his hangover. Minutes blurred into hours, as the sun was starting to set, when Dr. Wolf came in and saw Toon still passed out on the floor.
"Mr. Toon?" Dr. Wolf called, "Are you alright?"
Toon woke up and picked himself up, "Di... Did I win?"
"Mr. Toon, it's late." Dr. Wolf told him, "You've been passed out for hours."
I lowered my head slightly with a concerned look, "I'm afraid you lost, Toon. You collapsed on your..." I checked my clipboard, "Eighth mug of cider?" I looked at Toon, my concern fading into humor, "Maddie wasn't kidding. You are a lightweight."
Toon looked at me with wide eyes, "Wait... What?" Then he frowned, "Oh, come on! I lost?!" He growled in frustration, "Every time, she keeps beating me at every turn! I was this close!" He lowered his head, "I can't even beat her at this! I'm not even a good Soldier compared to her." He sighed in disappointment, "Now, I'm gonna go home with my hoof in my mouth, and a migraine to boot."
"Well, Scotts are very hardy people, Toon." I stated with a concern tone.
"Perhaps you should-" "I quit." Toon announced, cutting Dr. Wolf off.
Dr. Wolf and I froze on the spot, I dropped my clipboard as I froze.
"What?!" Dr. Wolf and I exclaimed in unison. "That's not what I meant, Mr. Toon!" Dr. Wolf answered, "Perhaps the..." He looked at the mugs of cider, "Cider is messing with your head?"
"Look, I joined this team, because I wanted to, at least, prove to myself that I could hang with the Reds and have fun." Toon stated, "But, lately, all that's happened is that I've become a joke and I can't even back up what I'm saying anymore." He lowered his head, "Maybe it's me being cocky or hot-headed, but, maybe... Maybe I'm just losing my edge."
Dr. Wolf looked at me and rubbed his chin in thought, "Perhaps, Mr. Toon, what you need is a new perspective on things."
I nodded in agreement, "Yeah. Think outside of the box."
Toon shook his head, "I just wanted to shoot stuff. I didn't realize there was so much strategy into this." He sighed and lifted his rocket launcher, "Maybe I'm better off with a better weapon than this stupid box." Then something clicked in his head, "Wait. Box..." Then he rubbed his chin in thought, "Think outside the box... Think outside of the bo-" Then he smiled, "Oh!" Then he turned to Dr. Wolf, "Doc, I may have an idea."
I narrowed my eyes, "Why do I feel a sense of dread about this idea?"
Toon looked at me and asked, "Rae, do you still have that Pyro outfit?"
I rubbed my chin in thought and nodded, "As a matter of fact, I do." Then I looked at him, "Why? You wanna switch classes?"
Toon nodded, "Might as well give it a shot, right?"
Dr. Wolf and I looked at each other and smiled. Let's make this happen, shall we?
Finally, some proper action! My feathers were itching for a fight!
Training day is here and so far the Red Team is beating some Blu !! But I couldn't help but feel sorry for the Blu Team. Keyframe, Lightning Bliss and ToonKriticY2K, who is now the Blu Pyro, are trying to hold the front line, but were not doing so well.
They hid inside of a empty shack for a few moments, before re-emerging back into the battlefield. I took this opportunity to draw my pistol and shoot Toon right in the chest.
What made this feel troubling is because Thespio, the Blu Spy, was nowhere to be seen. I remember the Blu Team having a plan, but Thespio wondered off elsewhere. That's not good.
With a little teamwork from Mad Munchkin, Eliyora, Dr. Wolf and myself, the Blu Team was defeated and Keyframe, Bliss and Toon were blown on top of each other.
You Failed...
The trio of Ponies on top of each other struggled to move, as they showed bruises and scrapes from the training segment.
Firebrand, Dr. Wolf and I walked over to the trio.
"Um... You guys okay?" I asked in concern, trying not to start an argument.
"Seriously, guys?" Firebrand rolled his eyes, "This was your new plan? 'Cause it looks to me that Shadow the Hedgehog, Napoleon and the radio tower got their high-knees handed to them on a silver platter."
Silver Quill leaned over with a smirk and Firebrand rolled his eyes again, "No, not you, Silver!"
Silver frowned with tears in his eyes and deflated away. I sharply nudged Firebrand in the shoulder. Firebrand yelped and turned to me, "Ow! What did I do now?!"
"It's not what you did. It's what you said." I frowned, folding my arms disapprovingly.
ToonKritic picked himself back to his hooves and shook his head, "No. Pretty sure that Thespie-Boy was supposed to cover us with an ambush attack."
Firebrand smirked, "Was he now? Because I'm noticing a lack of flamboyance."
"No! Really?!" Keyframe replied with sarcasm dripping like venom, "I never would have guessed! I thought he was just in Cloaking Mode this whole time!"
I sharply nudged Firebrand again. He yelped, "Ow!" Then turned to me, "Will you stop doing that?!"
"All sarcasm aside, Firebrand does have a point." Dr. Wolf spoke up.
I nodded in agreement, "Mm-hm." Then I looked at the trio, "Thespio's never one to show up late, or miss a scheduled training session."
Firebrand nodded, "Yeah, I like a curb stomp as much as the next guy. But yeah, this is kind of weird for him to shirk off his Spy duties."
"Well, wherever he is, he'd better-" Lightning Bliss started, then Thespio showed up running down the steps.
"I'm here! I'm here!" He shouted, as he ran up to meet us, "I'm coming! Sorry!" He stopped just two feet in front of us and caught his breath.
"Well, look who finally decided to show up?!" Keyframe frowned, "What took you so long, you blue bimbo?!"
Thespio sighed, "Yes, yes. I know I'm late, and I'm sorry. But I was-"
Toon cut him off, "Dude! We started training, like, almost twenty minutes ago. Where the hay were you?!"
"Look! I said I was sorry! I don't need all of you yelling at me right now!" Thespio shouted, then he calmed and frowned, "I've already had a bad morning as it is."
I raised a brow at the Blu Spy. Judging by the sound of his voice and his emotions, he was telling the truth. He's not making this stuff up. But what kept him so long?
Lightning Bliss rolled her eyes, "Oh? Oh! You think you're having a bad day?! Thanks to you, and your tardiness, my tail is burnt! MY FRIGGING TAIL!!!" She showed her burned tail to Thespio, "I mean, look at this! Look at it!!!"
"Uh... Bliss?" I tried to speak up.
"Look, Bliss. I-" Thespio tried to explain, but Bliss quickly silenced him with her tail.
"You did this, Thespie-Boy!" She shouted angrily, "So, you'd better have a darn good explanation for-"
Thespio's temper reached its peak. Thespio shouted at the top of his lungs, "SHUT UP!!!!!" The entire field went silent, as Thespio continued screaming, "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!!! What is this?!!! 'Be A Complete To Thespio Day'?!! It's not enough that an important package of mine's delivery status has been jeopardized before one of the most important moments of my life, but I come here to see my best friends yelling at me off the wall!!! Well, you too, you... You JERKS!!!"
Then he ran off crying. Keyframe reached after him, but Thespio was already gone.
Firebrand broke the silence, "Yeesh. And I thought I had anger issues."
I shook my head, "That wasn't anger, Firebrand. That was frustration."
Firebrand looked at me, "What's the difference?"
I gave him a deadpan look, "Really?"
Dr. Wolf walked to the trio of Blu Ponies, "Well, now. Are you all quite proud of yourselves?"
The trio lowered their heads and Bliss spoke up, "Well... I... I didn't mean to sound that harsh, but..."
Keyframe spoke up, "I guess that was a bit much..."
Firebrand and I glared at the trio, "A bit?"
Toon gave a sheepish smile, "Okay, a lot much. But-"
Dr. Wolf cut the black and red Pegasus off, "No 'but's, Toon. That goes for all of you. I expected a lot better from you, instead of all this petty squabbling."
I nodded in agreement, "Thespio was obviously stressed out about his present for his marefriend, so I believe you owe him an apology."
Firebrand nodded in agreement, and Dr. Wolf nodded, "Well said, Raven."
Toon, Bliss and Keyframe sighed and lowered their heads, "Yes, Raven." Then Keyframe muttered under her breath, "She's not even our color. Why do we listen to her?"
"I heard that!" I glared at Keyframe. Keyframe flinched.
"Alright." Dr. Wolf spoke up, "Now then... Training is canceled for the rest of the day, while Firebrand, Raven and I go after Thespio to make sure he's okay."
Then Firebrand asked, "So... Anyone know where he would head off to in a situation like this?"
Toon shook his head and pointed to me, "Isn't she a powerful empath? Couldn't she just sense his aura or something?"
I glared angrily at the Blu Pyro and aimed my pistol at his head, "One shot, Toon... That's all it takes..."
Dr. Wolf lowered my pistol, "Calm yourself, Raven."
"Well..." Bliss spoke up, "Honestly, I dunno. But I guess you can go and check Uncle Jasper's place first."
Firebrand raised a brow, "Uncle Who-now?"
"Jasper Pie." Toon answered, "You know, he's a close friend of ours. He owns a pizza restaurant over in Ponyville."
"Ponyville?" Firebrand repeated, "You mean 'Ponydale'?" Then he wondered with a smile, "Wait a minute, does this mean that Legends of Equestria finally got off the ground?"
Lightning Bliss shook her head, "Nope. It's still in beta. It's only limited to a few number of players."
Firebrand frowned, "Aaawww..."
Dr. Wolf smiled, "Very well, then. We'll be back shortly."
With that, Firebrand, Dr. Wolf and I made our way outside of Coal Town and journeyed through the desert to Ponyville, to find Thespio at Jasper Pie's pizzeria.
."