//------------------------------//
// Distribution 
// Story: Twilight's Experiments: The War of Mann Co. 
// by MIKEANTHONY321 
//------------------------------//

       “Who are ya?   And what are ya doin’ here in our fine DoubleCross?”   The red-wearing black man asked.

“DoubleCross?   This place is called DoubleCross?”   Rarity asked.

“Aye.”   The blue-wearing black man added.   “Where are ya from?”

“Before we answer that, could you all please give us your names?   It’s kind of difficult to distinguish all of you.”   Twilight asked.

Acknowledging her request, all eighteen of the mysterious men gave them their names.   The teenager was named Scout, the armored rocket-launcher was Soldier, the mask-wearing flame-bearer was Pyro, the hard hat was Engineer, the minigun-wielder was Heavy, the black man was Demoman, the trench coat-wearer was Medic, the Australian rifle-bearer was Sniper, and the masked and suited guy was Spy.   Go figure.

“Well…now what are we supposed to do?   We’re in the middle of some place we’ve never seen, in front of a bunch of creatures we don’t know, on a bridge that leads over Celestia-knows-what.”   Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

“Maybe you can just get out of here.   We need to get to the next arena for the next battle mode.”   Red Scout answered rudely.

“Wait!”   The Blue Spy interjected, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it.   “They might be of some use.”

“How?   They don’t even have fingers to shoot a gun.”   Red Scout argued.

Fluttershy gasped at the word ‘gun’ being mentioned.   This didn’t look like a universe that she would enjoy.

“That can be worked around.   We might be able to add them among our ranks.”   The Blue Spy added.

“Alright little babies, who’s ready to get split up for good?”   Red Heavy laughed.

…

The group of ponies shuddered.   The thought of being split up and forced to fight each other seemed unbearable.

“Wait, you can’t just expect us to break apart from each other!   We’re friends!”   Spike exclaimed.

This just made the eighteen men laugh.

“We have no friends here, mate.   It’s all just cold-blooded killing.”   Blue Sniper replied with a chuckle.

The group gasped.   This was going to be a long and treacherous journey.

…

Since there were nine newcomers, which was an odd number, the teams had to settle who would get the bigger half.   The ponies expected there to be a coin toss or Rock Paper Scissors, but boy were they wrong.

The Spy from both teams walked up in front of each other, and raised their Ambassadors.   At a precise moment, Blue Soldier yelled, “Draw!”

Suddenly, a loud gunshot fire slammed into everyone’s eardrums as Red Spy’s bullet passed through Blue Spy’s skull.   Blue Spy crumpled to the ground, blood pouring out of the wound on the side of his head.

All of the ponies gasped.   Fluttershy began to cry.

“I…I can’t believe you killed him!   Now what are we going to do?”   Applejack asked in horror.

…

As if in answer to her question, another Blue Spy came running out of the factory as if nothing had happened.   He looked down at his own corpse, and shook his head.

“Nice shot.   I acknowledge your speed and accuracy.”   He said.

The ponies were dumbfounded.   He was shot right in the head, and walked out of it like it was nothing!

“Let me inform you on a little something.   In this world, you respawn if you die.   It’s as simple as that.”   Red Engineer explained.

Red Spy’s victory meant that team RED would get five ponies on their team, and team BLU would get four.   Team RED also got first pick on who they wanted on their team, and what class they’d play as.   The agreement was that this same routine would happen after each round, when the teams are scrambled.

“You, big red pony!   You come over here and fight with me as a Heavy!”   Red Heavy exclaimed.

“Eeyup.”   Big Mac replied.   He turned, waved goodbye to Applejack, and walked over next to Red Heavy as part of the RED team.

“Hey, Skittles!   You look like a strong fighter.   Come fight for team BLU as my fellow Scout!”   Blue Scout ordered.

“Aw, yeah!   This is going to be awesome!”   Rainbow Dash exclaimed.   She flew over to Blue Scout, and slapped him a high five.

…

This method of distribution went on for the next ten minutes.   Big Mac, Zecora, Pinkie Pie and Rarity ended up on team RED, and Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Spike joined team BLU.   Big Mac was a Heavy, Zecora was a Demoman, Pinkie Pie was a Pyro, Rarity was a Spy, Rainbow Dash was a Scout, Applejack was a Engineer, and Spike was a Soldier.   Twilight and Fluttershy were the only ones left.

“Ay, mate!   You look you got a keen eye; come snipe alongside me for team BLU!”   Blue Sniper exclaimed.

Twilight turned to Fluttershy with a tear in her eye.

“I’m so sorry this had to happen.   I’ll try not to shoot at you, okay?”

Fluttershy nodded sadly as she watched Twilight walk over to Blue Sniper’s side.   She was the last one picked, just as she predicted.

“You don’t look like the kind that likes to shoot.   How about you help me heal my team, and work for team RED?”   Red Medic suggested.

There was a weight to be lifted off her shoulders.   She wouldn’t have to shoot anybody.   She could go around doing what she did best: healing.

…

“Now we have two things left to do.   First, we have to arm our new recruits with weapons.   And second, we have to show up at Well tomorrow for an Arena battle!”   Red Spy declared.

“And the winner of that battle will get the bigger half of the recruits for the next battle, which will be Control Points at the Badlands!”   Blue Soldier added.

After these declarations, the two teams split up and walked away in different directions.   Twilight seemed very confused.

“Um…sorry to bother you, uh…Sniper, but what exactly is going on?”

“Don’t you worry mate, when we get you your weapons, we’ll inform you on everything.   And when we get to the battlefield tomorrow, stay by me so you know the best spots to camp out.”   Sniper replied.

Twilight sighed.   Even knowing that they were going to respawn, she couldn’t bear the thought of having to shoot at her own friends.

To be Continued…