The Battles of Blue and Red

In a blink of the eye, the nine arrived in a very dimly-lit room. Everypony, with the exception of Discord, looked around their new surroundings, attempting to figure out where they were.

"DISCORD!" Rarity shouted at the top of her lungs, "What have you done this time!?"

"Discord," Twilight said before he could respond, "I don't know where we are, but you obviously do. If you don't return us to Ponyville, I'm afraid I will have to report this behavior to the princess."

Discord, who had been a little taken aback at Rarity's reaction, was now just slightly amused by Twilight's vague threat.

"Oh, fine, princess," Discord said with as much sarcasm as he could muster, "one more snap, and I'll return everything to normal."

Discord once again raised his claw hand to snap his magical fingers.

*SNAP*

...

Nothing. Nothing happened at all.

"Well," Twilight said, crossing her arms.

*SNAP*

...

Still nothing.

"Quit fooling around!" Rainbow roared in as close to his face as she could manage.

"I'm not fooling around," Discord protested.

*SNAP* *SNAP* *SNAP*

...

Nothing was happening.

"Uh-oh," Discord said with a sigh, "looks like I've messed up big time."

"Don't tell me you can't magic us out of here," Rainbow pleaded.

"Fine, I won't tell you."

Twilight tried to flare up her own magic, but other than a few lavender sparks, she had nothing. Rarity took a shot at it as well, but she had even less luck.

"Good job, Discord!" Rainbow shouted, "Now not only don't we know where we are, but none of you can use magic here, either. We are so doomed!"

"That's not the right attitude to have, recruit!" A new masculine voice shouted from the shadows of the room, "You gotta have a little more confidence if you're going to do well on the field of battle."

"Whomever you are," Twilight said, "show yourself."

"Yes ma'am," the voice chuckled, before its bearer stepped into a patch of light. The man was Big Mac's height, with broad shoulders. He wore a blue army jacket, black pants, and black combat boots. On his head sat a trench helmet so big that it actually covered his eyes.

"S-S-Soldier," Rainbow breathed, terrified.

"That's what they call me, ma'am," the Soldier said, looking dead ahead and standing stock-still.

"Um... guys... I think Discord zapped us into the game."

"What?" Twilight asked.

"This guy, the Soldier, is a character in the game Team Fortress 2 that I've been playing. I think Discord snapped us into my computer, and the game."

"Guilty," the offending party admitted.

"So what are we going to do," Twilight asked to nopony in particular.

"Choose a class," the Soldier boomed.

"We'll do as he says," Rainbow said, "and since I know the game, I'll choose your classes."

"Now wait just a minute," Rarity protested, "I for one did not sign up to play a game. Now I demand to be returned home this instant!"

"Rarity, it's no use," Twilight sighed, "if we can't use our magic, I think it's best if we just play along for the time being until we can figure something out."

"Yeah, Rares," Rainbow popped up, "and I have a perfect class for you. Well-dressed, cunning, doesn't like to get their hands dirty. You'd make a perfect Spy."

When Rainbow said the name of the class, Rarity's outfit instantly changed. Now she wore a three-piece navy blue pinstripe pantsuit over a plain white shirt, accented by a black tie. Black high heels covered her hooves and black leather gloves were on her hands.

"Well," she admitted with a sigh, "I must say, whatever this 'class' does, they sure dress well."

"I knew you'd like it. AJ, you're a pony that likes to use her own two hands, likes to build things. You should be an Engineer."

Applejack's farm clothes were replaced by a short-sleeve blue shirt, covered by a pair of denim overalls. A toolbelt, work boots, kneepads, yellow gloves, and a hardhart, which somehow sat over her Stetson, completed the ensemble.

"Not too shabby," the farmpony quipped, momentarily doffing the hardhat.

"Big Mac," Rainbow continued, "it's pretty obvious that you should be the Heavy."

Mac's own farm attire was switched with a short-sleeve blue shirt, covered by a black vest. Black pants, boots, and fingerless gloves covered the rest of him.

"Eeyup."

"Pinkie, I might regret doing this, but I think you should be the Pryo."

Soon, Pinkie was clothed in a heavy blue top and matching pants, which were held up by dual suspenders. Black boots and heavy-duty gloves completed the outfit, along with some sort of mask that draped in front of her neck.

"This is going to be fun, I can tell."

"Twilight, with your precision and timing, you should be the Sniper."

Twilight was soon outfitted in a short-sleeve blue shirt and blue jeans. Her hooves were covered by cowboy boots that seemed more along AJ's fashion. She also now wore a tan cargo vest and a fingerless glove on just her left hand. It was all topped by a beige hat that, oddly to her, had one side of the brim folded up.

"Um... I'm not sure about this."

"Don't worry, Twi, everything's gonna be fine. Now, Discord, being the being of chaos that you are, you'll be the Demoman."

Discord's outfit was simple compared to the others. Just a blue shirt and matching pants. What made it stick out was the heavy duty black vest, even larger than the one Big Mac sported.

Discord was surprisingly silent about this whole thing.

"Spike, the ever-loyal dragon and overall badass, you should take after the Soldier here."

In no time, Spike was dressed just like the Soldier they had already met, including the over-sized helmet.

"Now, Fluttershy," Rainbow continued, getting to the meek pegasus, "I know this isn't exactly your thing either, but I've got the perfect class for you, one that focuses more on healing than fighting. Fluttershy, you are the Medic."

Fluttershy was soon fitted with a long, sky blue coat, almost like a lab coat, worn over a plain white shirt and black tie. Her hands and forearms were covered by long, blue rubber gloves. The pants and boots were pretty much the same as the others.

"Oh...my..."

"And that just leaves me to play my personal favorite class: Scout."

Rainbow was soon wearing a blue t-shirt, black pants with the bottoms rolled up, and, in contrast to all the others, black cleats. A black hat topped her head, along with a headset not unlike one she would use while playing the game.

"Looks like everybody's suited up," Soldier said in his booming voice, "Hey squad, the new recruits are ready!"

"Vell it's about time," a man with a German accent complained, "Honestly, sir, can we get on with this already?" The source of the voice stepped out of the shadows. He was obviously the Medic, the only difference between him and Fluttershy were the small glasses he wore.

"Calm down, doc," a voice even boomier than Soldier's rang out, "we'll all get to do our thing soon." The man behind this voice emerged, a man even taller and wider than Big Mac or Soldier.

"Heavy's right," a younger, higher-pitched voice said, running out of the shadows to reveal the Scout, "it's time to crack some chuckleheads." Scout said this while flipping a baseball bat with his right hand.

"However," a soft voice continued, coming from right behind Rarity, "I don't exactly think these little girls are ready yet.

Rarity, surprised by the voice right on her neck, promptly spun around and slapped whomever it was behind her. After a second, they could all see a man in a suit similar to Rarity's, but wearing a blue mask. Spy shook off the blow, and reached down to pick up the cigarette which had been knocked clean out of his mouth.

"I think that was a bit uncalled for," Spy said, making sure his jaw still worked.

"Ha," Scout laughed, "she got you good pal."

"But he's right about one thing," the gruff voice of the Demoman said, making his presence known, "we can't just have these green recruits messing up our plans."

"Ah don't think they'll be that much of a problem," the Engineer, who sounded just like one of the Apples, said.

"I'm with him," the Sniper's thick Australian accent drawled, "a little training, and these mates will be good to go."

"Right then," Soldier began, but then he paused, "wait, where's Pryo?"

As if on cue, a stream of hot fire spewed forth, cutting right in front of Soldier. A second later, Pyro, in the mask and wielding his flamethrower, stepped out.

"Vell, he does know how to make an entrance," Medic quipped.

"Yes," Spy concurred, "though we've never been able to get a word out of him."

Pyro turned off his flamethrower, shouldered it, and simply shrugged.

"As I was saying," Soldier continued, "Sniper's right. There needs to be some training done first before we let you all out in the field. So that's our first order of business. Troops, move out!"