//------------------------------//
// Town Scare 
// Story: Now Ponies Play Doom III 
// by obake 
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	The townsfolk assembled in town square the next day. Some bobbed their heads up to try and get better view of the stage, a pointless task when nearly everyone else was doing the same. 
Mayor Mare stepped up to the microphone. “Settle down, everypony.” 
Under few circumstances were residents of Ponyville as quick to become silent. Mayor Mare did her best to keep her eyes from drooping. “As you can tell by my voice, I'm very tired.” she said, “I believe we all are. I won't keep you waiting for too long, but I do want to say...you're welcome, snoopy bear.” 
The mayor's words slowly trailed off, and she fell onto her side, snoring. Rainbow and Applejack hastily moved her off of the stage, allowing Twilight to step to the microphone. “Heh,” she chuckled insincerely. The last two days had been a blur, hours invested in playing Doom 3 and learning everything about its universe, while ignoring the world around her. 
Twilight spoke slower than usual, the toll of stress showing its effects. “As Mayor was...trying to say, we're gathered again to assemble a plan for both the next swarm, and for the final battle.”
One of the ponies in the crowd stood on his two hind feet, and shouted “What's going on?!”
Twilight shook her head. “I just said, we have one more battle here in Ponyville, before Betruger sends us to another dimension.”
“What other dimension?!” someone yelled. 
“Is it Hell?!”
“I hope not. I don't like being hot.” 
Two front hoofs slammed on the podium, startling everyone. Steam blew from Twilight's nostrils. Everyone hushed. “This is serious!” she said. After a few calming breaths, she continued. “As I was going to say, Rarity's armor designs are currently being mass produced in Canterlot. As for our situation now, we need to stand ready, for the next swarm will hit at noon.”
A minute passed. “You may ask questions, just not all at once. You, right there.” Twilight pointed to a pudgy stallion with a hoof raised. 
“Uh, yes. I was wondering if we'd be allowed to take quarter in our rooms, you know, to protect our homes?”
Twilight facehoofed. “No hiding.” 
Another stallion raised his hoof. “Well, Princess, I was wondering if I could be a body guard to you? In these troubling times our leaders need protecting.” Other members of the crowd nodded.
“That's very kind, sir.” said Twilight, “But I have plenty of guards already. You just need to-” 
Twilight's trail of thought was interrupted by shouting and crying. She looked into the crowd, and saw a mother holding her baby. The baby's face was soaked with tears, the mother jumping up and down impatiently trying to get her attention. “Yes?” said Twilight.
The mother stopped jumping, at which point the baby stopped fussing. She spoke with a hoarse voice. “Everyone, we have something important to tell you.” 
Twilight waited. Something seemed off. 
Finally, the mother turned around. “Th-the next attack will be earlier than noon.”
Tears began welling in her already sullen eyes, until the grass below her was soaked. The baby looked up, its expression changing from a frown to a smile. It started to chuckle. Quickly, the mother began chuckling, too, until the two were laughing hysterically. Their features started shifting. 
The mother opened her mouth to an impossible length, her neck stretching upwards like a giraffe's. Finally the skin snapped, leaving her head and spine floating above her crumpled body. The baby emerged from its blanket, revealing itself to have six long, spidery legs. The townsfolk watched in horror before erupting into panic. Twilight and the rest of the Mane 6 shared the same thought: not these guys!
As if on cue, monsters from all over the crowd began shedding their disguises, heads ripping from their necks, bodies transforming into spiders.
More appeared from above, climbing down buildings, floating in the sky. The confused crowd scurried in circles, Lost Souls and Trites raining down. 
The Mane 6 started attacking. Twilight pondered using the spell she had used to send the Pinkie clones to the mirror pool, but decided against it. Sending monsters anywhere where others would have to deal with them was wrong. 
Instead, she shot a giant laser into the sky, bursting through clusters of Hell spawn, creating rainfalls of confetti in the process. Applejack, Dash, and Rarity used melee, a strategy that was both effective and dangerous. A single kick was enough to rip through either kind of foe, often bowling them backwards into other monsters. The problem was their number. It was like the Changeling invasion times a hundred! 
Fluttershy and Rarity entered the crowd. Rarity casts temporary shields over the heads of townsfolk, while Flutters shepherded ponies away from danger. 
Others joined in fighting. Tougher ponies like Big Mac and Bulk Biceps battled, doing their darnedest not to get overwhelmed. Pinkie did her own thing, making goofy faces and taunting a Trite. It charged forward, only for Pinkie to bound over it at the last minute. It landed straight into the barrel of her party cannon. 
“Ready for some fun?!” said Pinkie, igniting the fuse and aiming the cannon towards a cluster of Lost Souls. The Trite blasted out at incredible speed, destroying itself and the monsters in its path. Pinkie gave a satisfied grin, until a sharp pain erupted on her back. “Owie!” She jumped to and fro, doing everything she could to fend off the Lost Soul who was biting her shoulder. She eventually defeated it with a good slam onto her back, crushing it. Sweat poured over her whole frame.

At the boutique, Scootaloo quietly booted up Doom 3. She was supposed to be at the town meeting, but she secretly left to try out the other codes. She felt bad, but at the same time, eager to help out. The codes must hold some significance, she thought. She would have asked one of the Mane 6, but they had been so busy beating Doom 3 and battling real life monsters, she did not think they had time.
Scootaloo started with the second on the list, reading aloud as she typed. “Up, B, A, Up, A, B, Down.” 
The screen went black, the intro music stopping dead. There were faint sounds, like...chew toys? A high-pitched voice interrupted the cacophony. “We look up, and no one is there. We look down, and know the world is dead. The world ignores us, calls us make believe. Truth is, they all believe, eventually. See us face-to-face, and bow.” 
All of Scootaloo's fears were replaced with confusion. The voice continued. “From our perspective, what we did was right. We took on the role of conquerors, but were thwarted. Please, envy us.”
As soon as the narration ended, the intro music and title screen kicked back on, causing Scootaloo to startle back. What? Her thoughts ran a mile a minute. What in all of Equestria?  
Scootaloo entered the third code. Up. X. A. B. A. Up. Again, the title screen went blank, squeals replacing music. 
“We suppose the one listening is intent on finding answers. Our goal is getting back what we lost. Although you are our enemy, we want you to help us destroy one of our other enemies. This is the purpose of the codes. Remember, good cannot sustain itself without a little evil.”
The narrator began laughing maniacally, though it was far from unsettling due to their squeaky pitch. The title screen popped up again, the music once more making Scootaloo jump. Despite getting decent rest, she was still jittery. Must be nerves. 
Screams and hollering erupted from outside. Scoot's carefully crept to the window, making as sure as possible her silhouette would not be spotted. 
She could see ponies fleeing from every direction, chased by flying heads and spiders. She knew the heads were Lost Souls. She must have slept through Mane 6's encounters with the spiders. 
Not thinking straight, Scootaloo turned off the game, hid the letter, and attempted getting out of the boutique undetected. The adults would certainly have a fit if they knew she was alone. 
Unbeknownst to her, she was spotted by a number of pegasi, who were still busy fending off monsters to confront her yet.
Scootaloo jogged her way down the road opposite of town hall, towards her house. Only then did she realize she was out in the open. 
She turned around, and indeed, a Lost Soul was gliding towards her. 100 yards. 50 yards. 25 yards. Scootaloo was paralyzed. 
When the monster reached 10 yards, Scootaloo regained her composure and ran to the nearest building.  She banged on the door once, realizing there was little chance of anyone being inside. She made a quick dodge around the corner of the building, only to find herself in a fenced off alleyway. 
She composed herself, running towards the fence at full speed and then jumping. Scootaloo barely grabbed onto the top of the slats before falling back. 
Oof! More unpleasant than the fall was the sight of the floating head, and a dark figure behind it. The Soul's mouth bobbed in silent taunts. 
Scootaloo knew she was going to die.
There was a subtle pop, followed by a shower of confetti. Scootaloo slowly lifted her head. She was eye to eye with Dash, whose mane was matted with confetti and streamers, her frown open enough to give view of each of her teeth. 
Guess she had finished fending monsters.