Soldier marched determinedly on his patrol through the fortress, examining the plain wood and stone walls carefully for even the smallest of changes, occasionally rolling between alcoves on the assumption that enemies might be targeting him. Just because it had been an eternity since the last engagement - three days, in truth - he wouldn't let his skills wear away or his readiness weaken. He would always be constantly vigilant, for his own sake, his team's sake, and the sake of the mission...even if his team was a group of ungrateful bastards who didn't appreciate what he did for them, and half of them weren't even American! There were days he wondered why he put forth so much effort for these slackers.

And speak of the devil, as he thought of them, he saw four members of his team at complete ease when they should be at alert! Engineer was playing his guitar, and Heavy, Medic, and Pyro were gathered around him happily. There was another sound, but Soldier ignored it for now as he stormed up to them. "And just what do you think you're doing, you worthless maggots?" he bellowed in his parade ground voice. "Here we are in a new base with unknown dangers, and you lot are playing like you were back in boot camp! Get back to you-"

At that moment, something happened that Soldier would never have believed if he wasn't experiencing it. Heavy had him by the throat and was squeezing. "No shouting," Heavy said firmly. "You scare Fluttershy."

Soldier blinked. "Fluttershy?" He yelled again. "What the-" He chocked as Heavy applied pressure to his voice box. "What the hell is a Fluttershy?" he finished more quietly.

Soldier heard a quiet whimper. The pony in question slowly extended her head from behind Heavy's boot, staring up at Soldier in fear, shivering.

Staring down at her, Soldier did his best to maintain his self control. Despite his hardened disposition, his intense training, and his years of patriotic slaughter, there were some things that Soldier was helpless against...and one of those things was cute, fluffy animals. It was why he was so playful with and protective of Lt. Bites, his raccoon. And the filly before him was one of the most adorable little animals he had ever seen. Now, he worked hard - very hard - to make sure no one knew about this soft spot. He would only play with Lt. Bites when he was absolutely certain that no one could observe him, and then only in short bursts, and he actively avoided any area he might meet up with any animal smaller than a cougar. Unfortunately, he now found himself confronted with his greatest weakness distilled into its most potent form.

As Heavy released his throat, he stared down at the filly, doing his best to maintain his equanimity. "Didn't know we were running a day care," he managed to get out. "Where did she come from?"

"I found her in a paper bag," Medic explained. "No idea how she got there."

Soldier struggled not to picture the tiny creature in a paper bag. He could not afford to appear mushy in front of his men. "So? Why is she still here, then?"

"The bag was inside the fortress," Medic explained. "We are here to protect the fortress. Perhaps she is part of our mission?"

Soldier seized on this. "Right! Until we receive further orders on this matter, we will protect this filly in the same way we protect this fortress!" He leaned down over her. "Now then, Fluttershy-" He shuddered internally as he resisted the cuteness of that name. "This means you behave yourself, understood? No running off, no mischief, and you do what we say. Understand?"

Once Soldier had quieted down, Fluttershy had become much more comfortable around him. She smiled up at him as he lectured her on how she was supposed to behave. As he finished, she hopped up onto her hind hooves and kissed him right on his nose before falling back to all fours.

Soldier shot back to straight up. "None of that, now!" he said quickly, rubbing at his nose. As Heavy started laughing, he spun. "What are you laughing at, you Russian nincompoop?"

Fluttershy smiled up as the Loud One shouted at the Big One. When he'd bent over her, she'd seen the kindness in his eyes, half hidden under his helmet. It was why she had kissed his nose; she knew he was yet another who would take care of her and be nice. Once she knew that, his shouting didn't bother her as much, especially as the others didn't seem to mind him so much. She felt safe and warm, surrounded by the six red men.

Six? She'd only met five. The Stinky One, the Big One, the Smokey One, the Music Man, and the Loud One. But there was another here, standing behind the Music Man and leaning against the stone wall. He was red, too, but there were other colors around him, and the others didn't seem to notice him.

However, Fluttershy was sure of one thing. She had met five red individuals, and they all were nice and taking care of her. To her still unformed mind, that meant that red was good. This man was red, ergo he was good. Trotting up, she promptly began nuzzling his leg. The extra colors faded as he looked down at her in surprise.

Spy chuckled as he suppressed his shock. "This little one has some impressive abilities," he said calmly, gently scooping her into his arms.

Soldier jumped in shock and spun, as did the others. "Spy! Dammit frenchie, I've told you not to go invisible outside a mission! I've told you hundreds of times you only sneak up on the enemy!"

"And you still think I will listen," Spy replied calmly, chuckling. "But you are overlooking something rather intriguing, you gun toting moron. She walked straight up to me and nuzzled my leg...while I was cloaked."

Soldier blinked. "I fail to see your point."

"Much as you fail to see me when I am cloaked. Unlike this little one." Spy tenderly stroked Fluttershy's mane. "How did you do that, Fluttershy?"

As Fluttershy nuzzled Spy's chest, Medic spoke up. "Your cloak is designed to fool human vision, focusing on the human visual spectrum. It is possible her eyes see a different or wider spectrum, allowing her to see your cloak as a separate set of colors."

"Somebody explain this to me in military talk!" Soldier demanded.

"Fluttershy can point out invisible spies," Heavy chuckled. "That is impressive."

Spy rolled his eyes. "It seems I must reassess the order in which I had ranked all of your intelligences." Feeling Fluttershy squirm in his arms, he gently set her down...only for her to buzz her wings and zip off into the air. "She can fly, too?"

"Quick!" Soldier shouted. "After her!" The entire group immediately tromped after the flying filly.

Fluttershy giggled as she flew through the air, the Red Men chasing after her. This was a fun game! She continued to buzz around, eventually finding her way to a large tower. Curious, she flew up towards the top, coming eye to hole with a metal tube. She stuck her eye in to see what it was.

To say that Sniper was confused was an understatement. He had just finished cleaning his rifle before holding it up to check the sight, only to see a floating yellow and pink form appear through the scope. Pulling back from the scope, he saw the small creature looking in the barrel. He set his gun down.

He watched carefully as the small creature buzzed in and settled on his lap, nuzzling him. Uncertain, he gently stroked her mane. "Maybe I ought to switch to decaf," he said nervously. "There's a tiny pony in my lap."

"Is not the coffee!" Heavy shouted up from the base of the observation tower. "Fluttershy really is tiny winged pony!"

Sniper raised an eyebrow. "That so?" He gave her a firmer caress, now more sure that his senses weren't playing tricks on him. "And you flew up here just to see me?"

Fluttershy smiled up at him...and then her stomach gurgled. She whimpered, closing her hind legs and hopping from one foreleg to the other in his lap.

Easily recognizing what her movements meant, he quickly unscrewed one of his jars, lifted her up, and braced her hind legs on the rim of the jar while he held her up. "Go ahead," he said. "Let it out."

Nodding, Fluttershy closed her eyes. The top of the tower then echoed to the sound of tinkling, followed by a few plops. Fluttershy then let out a relieved sigh. Sniper pulled out a piece of toilet paper, wiped her clean, then dropped it in the jar before sealing it back up. "All better?" he asked her, setting her down in his lap once more. She nodded happily.

"If that was a fresh jar, may I have it?" Medic asked. "I can learn more of her nature from her leavings, so we can better take care of her."

Sniper shrugged. "Sure thing, Doc. Mind if I keep the Sheila up here for a while?" He handed the jar to Medic, who had climbed the ladder.

Medic smiled. "She certainly seems happy up here." Giving Fluttershy another pet, he took the jar and climbed down the ladder. "I will be in my lab if anyone needs me!"

As Medic headed out, Sniper smiled as he continued to pet Fluttershy. She sat in silence, enjoying his caresses.