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// Reality Between Worlds 
// Story: Now Ponies Play Doom III 
// by obake 
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	The Mane 6 assumed Hell was too afraid to lose their own demons, so they were sending fake ones made of magic and confetti. They were partly right. 
Betruger sat back in his office chair, the same which he had had since his first day working for the UAC. Its once bright amber fabric was now a hideously distorted brown, the mechanism that elevated and lowered it long broken.
He realized he had overreacted to the Caco situation. So what if the ponies assembled an entire town? They were not real Cacodemons, anyways. Betruger knew interdimensional travel had adverse effects upon genetic makeup. It was something he and associates studied for a long time back in the UAC. He had even lead his own unit, comprised of renown geneticists and microbiologists, to study the patterns of these changes between worlds. 
What they learned was that each dimension has its own unique makeup, or set of rules, beyond DNA and atoms. It was part of the reason Hell's previous invasion to Equestria failed. The differences in dimensional makeup between Hell and Equestria were so stark, the demons who invaded lost much of their power. Meanwhile, ponies who entered Hell received new found abilities. It was a frustrating reality that Betruger and all denizens of Hell had to face. 
It was not the main reason Hell lost, he assumed. The Icon and Romero knew of his studies, yet brought demons into Equstria anyways. It was poor planning and overconfidence, and Betruger was determined not to make the same mistakes.
There was only one broken link in his theories, and that is how Hell successfully conquered other cutesy places without interdimensional changes. It must be something to do with the teleportation methods deployed, he thought. Teleportation was a field with too many variables to count. Sometimes its randomness helped Hell's cause, like sending their enemies places without weapons. But often it was a pain in the neck. His plan was to teleport his army and the Equestrians into a neutral dimension, where neither side would be downgraded or upgraded in power. The battle would be, first and foremost, one of intelligence and wits.

“Did I do well?” asked Spike. He fastened his bow tie and slicked back his scales, hoping Rarity would take notice. She was busy designing a dress. 
“You did fine.” said Twilight, playing Doom 3 with Dash, AJ, and Pinkie, the Crusaders watching from the couch. 
Spike walked up to Rarity, elbowing her side. “I just hope our acting wasn't too hammy. Do you think Betruger really saw us?”
“Of course, dear. Twilight said her tracing spell picked up other dimensional signals, after all.”
“Uh, yeah...” said Spike.
“That means she knew Betruger was spying in on us.” 
“Oh.” 
Dash turned to Spike with an air of confidence. “And me and Big Mac were the ones to tell Twilight all about it.” 
Spike looked down. “Rarity, may I ask why you're not playing?”
Rarity was becoming annoyed, but hid it behind a soft smile. “Celestia asked that I design armors. Other seamstresses will copy them and they'll be mass produced.” 
“Cooool...” Spike realized he sounded like a little child opening what he wanted for his birthday. He sheepishly left Rarity to her work, joining the Crusaders on the couch. 
The rest of the Mane 6 (sans Fluttershy) just entered Hell in game. The doctor's voice cackled “Welcome to my domain!” Dash and AJ scoffed. Twilight, controlling the marine, fumbled around with the buttons. 
“Huh?” she said, as the doctor continued his spiel. Her marine no longer had any weapons or items. She spied a few small pickups, and a pistol and shotgun, laying on the ground. “That's how you're going to play?” she asked, not realizing she spoke aloud. Everyone besides Rarity watched in silence. The only other noises besides the Hellish ambiance were the scrambling of sewing materials and Rarity flipping through pages of armor manuals. 
Twilight weaved through the dark corridors, finding the chainsaw and gunning down imps. She swore on accident after getting hit by a fireball. The Crusader's mouths would have gone agape had they not been so invested in the game. 
Wave after wave of enemy emerged from corners, teleported in front of and behind the player. Twilight was having difficulty keeping composure. More noises emitted from the screen, volleys of fire swooshing from below each platform, wails of the damned filling through the room. 
Meanwhile, Scootaloo remembered the list of codes. Her hope was to test them out after the Mane 6 beat the game. She was so swept up in thoughts of what they would do, she failed to notice Twilight dying in game to a Mancubus. Twilight begrudgingly handed control over to Dash. 
Rainbow did not hesitate. She wove much the same paths, making sure to pick up each weapon. When she reached more dangerous encounters, she became uncharacteristically stealthy, dodging left and right, and hiding behind corners. Dash even killed all of the Lost Souls along the way, something she rarely did in previous Doom games. 
Eventually, she reached the teal blue teleporter, leading to the Guardian. The Soul Cube was so close! Yet her efforts in battling were fruitless. Her marine fell after minutes of failed aiming. Dash huffily handed the controls over to Applejack, the only of the three who remained calm (Pinkie simply watched the game up close.)
Applejack made a first, hilariously failed attempt after falling into lava. She started again, this time she making it to the boss. As intimidating the Guardian was in size and appearance, she managed to defeat it relatively unscathed. Finally, the Soul Cube was theirs! 
Applebloom and Sweetie Belle yawned simultaneously, followed by Spike. They had been watching the ponies play Doom 3 for nearly two-and-a-half hours. The next real battle with Hell spawn was not even scheduled for another day! The Crusaders were both enthralled and tired of the game, despite not having played more than five minutes total. 
It would all be over soon, they thought. Applebloom and Spike even fell asleep.