Waking Nightmares

by Jonathan "KnightMysterio" Spires

Chapter 31: The Difference Between Dreams and Reality – Part 3

All characters who aren't original are copyrighted to their original owners, used without permission for non-profit reasons. All original characters are copyrighted to me, so do not use without permission, please. Trick Shot is the property of his original owner and used with permission.

Author's Note: I've actually had this chapter in mind long before I knew the fanfiction Asylum ever existed. So this chapter is NOT a reference to that fanfic. Just letting everyone know.

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Patient hallway...

Night...

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Twilight shivered softly as she thought about her encounter with that new doctor. Dr. Hans Konigburg... For some reason she kept wanting to call him Medic.

She shook her head. Everything was so confusing... the memories of her real(?) life were still there, her human life, but ever since meeting Dr. Konigburg, everything had seemed wrong, as if they were... overlaid on something. She couldn't think of the proper terminology to describe her feelings, and it was frustrating.

Something was wrong. Something was wrong with this place. Everything had felt off ever since she talked to Dr. Konigburg. Pinkie now had her pony self's hairdo, Zecora was rhyming again... She winced, pain shooting through her head as she tried to work out the multitude of discrepancies that were showing up.

She looked over to Pinkie's cell, seeing her fast asleep on the padded floor. She chuckled softly, smiling. "Well, if nothing else, you can say that the cells here are comfortable," she said, patting her own floor, staring up at the ceiling.

Deciding to save her worries for tomorrow, and talk to Dr. Adrian then, she lay down on the floor of her cell, sighing. Curling up to go to sleep, she slowly started to drift off.

Before she went to sleep, however, she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. She looked up, and saw Misha the head cook standing in the hallway, wielding a massive minigun. Behind him, wielding an odd, firehose-like device that was pumping blue energy into Misha, was Dr. Konigburg.

The guards turned, aiming their rifles at Misha. But before they could fire, Dr. Konigburg flipped a switch on his device, a shell of blue armor forming around both himself and Misha. The tranquilizer darts bounced off of them, Misha revving his minigun and firing away. Bullets tore into the guards, but instead of falling dead in a spray of blood, they vanished, their bodies turning into a swirl of tree branches and roots before disappearing.

Twilight just stared in shock as Misha and Dr. Konigburg moved down the hall, slaying all of the guards. As the did, rockets and grenades and bullets from other weapons flew down the hall, others she recognized from earlier showing up. The orderlies Tavish and Donny, the librarian Henri, now sporting a ski mask, the technician Dell and his daughter, the latter now sporting massive chainguns sprouting from her back...

And then Applejack's parents ran by, accompanied by a strange thing in a covering bodysuit with a horribly scarred-up face, wielding a flamethrower.

Twilight just stared, not sure what to think.

George and Mary-Jane skidded to a halt in front of Princess Celestia's cell. They looked to the others, all of them moving down the hall and taking care of the guards. Dell nodded, manifesting a toolbox and setting up an auto-turret to fend off any guards coming from the other direction as the others moved down the hall, destroying guards as they went.

Princess Celestia stared fearfully, skittering back to the corner of her cell as George and Mary-Jane opened the door.

"Who... Who are you... Go away, go away, Luna, please make them go away, please why won't you leave me alone, where is Luna..." Celestia babbled, curling up into a fetal position as tears streamed down her face.

George shook her head. "Princess..." he said. "Believe me, we're here to help you."

"No no no you're bad, I can tell, you're like the doctor, the guards, you're bad you're bad please go away I can't I can't I can't..." Celestia babbled, dissolving into sobs.

"She's so far gone..." Mary Jane said softly, looking horrified.

George shook her head. "Once we restore her, she'll be fine," he said. "She's the fulcrum. Remove her and the others will follow." With that, he reached out and touched his hand to Celestia's forehead, closing his eyes and concentrating. "I RELEASE YOU," he intoned.

His hand glowed for a moment as magic flowed from his fingertips into Celestia's forehead, her eyes flashing. She stiffened, the energy George generated flittering about her mind, rapidly undoing the spells binding it...

...and she remembered.

It all came back to her. Her life, her real memories, her real identity. She was Princess Celestia, Triarch of Equestria alongside her sister and her former student.

She remembered how she was taken, robotic copies of the Element of Harmony bearers invading her chambers. She and Luna had been overwhelmed by a combination of the Zecora robot's debilitating mists, the Fluttershy robot's paralyzing Stare, the Trixie robot's illusions, and the Twilight robot's tremendous magical power. The last thing she had seen before falling unconscious...

...was Slendermane.

The thought galvanized her, clearing her head of everything. Slendermane... she thought with growing fury.

And even as the thought passed through her head, something else came back as well.

FORGIVE US! said the voices of the shadows that empowered her.

Forgive us! We could not reach you!

The magic of the tree was blocking us from speaking with you!

Tree? Celestia thought as she pulled herself upright, slowly regaining her magical strength. She barely noticed as George and Mary Jane freed her of the straight jacket keeping her bound.

A darkness greater than ours, my lady. A Doomtree, explained the shadows. Celestia gasped softly, understanding immediately.

Everypony here is trapped by it, save for the mercenaries.

They are in the process of saving you. Forgive us, but you cannot fully access your strength while inside the tree.

Rely on them. And once you are free, we will help you CRUSH those responsible.

"I see..." Celestia said aloud. She turned to George and Mary Jane. "You two. You are constructs of the tree, same as the guards."

George nodded. "Yes. We were made to love Applejack and her family, to be kin to them," he said.

Mary Jane chuckled. "And Apples don't abandon their family when in need. Even fake Apples," she said, smiling sadly.

Celestia nodded. She stood up, feeling a pulsing in her forehead as her horn grew out. She felt her wings flapping, tearing through the back of her uniform. Her eyes glowed with renewed magical power as she grit her teeth in fury.

"I am sick... and tired... of MONSTERS coming to exploit my little ponies..." she proclaimed. "I am TIRED OF IT!" She let out a powerful magical scream, George and Mary Jane wincing and covering their ears as they were battered by the force of the scream.

The doors of each cell shattered from the force of Celestia's roar, the magical energies seeping into the minds of each trapped patient... the illusions holding them shattering as well. Real memories flooded each pony-turned-human as they remembered everything, their lives coming back to them in a rush, all the way up to the moment of their kidnapping. Wings and horns appeared again as the transformed ponies began to laugh in relief.

Celestia stepped out of the cell, her hair having turned from blonde back into its colorful waving corona. One by one, the ponies-turned-humans stepped out of their cells, hugging each other.

"Welcome back t'real sanity, everypony," Engineer said, grinning as his Sentry turret continued to fire at guards that tried to get into the hallway. George and Mary-Jane just stayed back away from the others, trying not to look at Apple Bloom, Applejack, Big Macintosh, and Granny Smith, who were giving them confused looks.

Gem grinned, her miniguns retracting temporarily as she hugged the Cutie Mark Crusaders, gathering them into her arms.

"It's so good to see you all safe and sound!" she said, her voice holding a mechanical chirp to it.

"G-Gem?" Scootaloo said, confused.

"You can talk!?" Apple Bloom asked, baffled.

Gem giggled, nodding. "In this world I can," she said.

Sweetie Belle hesitated, picking at her lavender curls. "If..." she said hesitantly, "...if this world isn't real... does that mean the things they told us weren't real either?"

"All fake, lassie," Demoman said with a grin as he reloaded his grenade launcher. "Yuir folks are alive."

Rarity and Sweetie Belle laughed in relief, hugging each other. Mrs. Cake came up to him, a hopeful smile on her face. "And... and my children?"

"Rarity and Twilight's folks are taking care of them," Demoman said, smiling when Mr. and Mrs. Cake hugged each other in relief. "The changelings we had with us in Everfree have disguised themselves as all of ye royals so as not te disturb the public too much. They've agreed te step down when we get ye back.

"Threatening them with Pyro helped," Soldier muttered under his breath, smirking.

Scout snickered, and added, "We got Mare-Do-Well taking care of the sun and moon, too."

Luna looked alarmed. "She is not a true alicorn, though. E'en with Twilight's tremendous power as a unicorn and Pinkie Pie's probability altering talents..."

"Which is kinda why we need te rush this," Demoman said, grinning weakly. "She managed the cycle once, but it nearly killed her te do it."

"We must hurry, then," Celestia said calmly as the guards gathered around her and her sister. She turned to Luna, running a hand through her starry mane. "You are well, my sister?"

Luna smiled warmly. "As well as can be expected," she said, chuckling weakly.

Celestia hugged her. "This will not happen again, I swear it..." she said, turning to Twilight, who ran up to her and hugged her.

"Princess..." she said softly. "What's going on? What happened?"

"A Doomtree," Celestia said simply. Twilight grimaced, recognizing the term from her studies.

Luna paled. "Gugh... Those foul things still exist?!" she said.

Celestia scowled. "Apparently we missed some..." she muttered.

Harbinger and Barricade traded worried looks. "Forgive us, but..." Barricade said. "What is a Doomtree?"

Celestia shook her head. "Time enough for that later," she said. "First, we must prepare to do battle."

"Why?" Rainbow Dash said, she and the other pegasi having taken to the air, grateful to have wings and fly again. "Can't we just, y'know, get out of here? Maybe the same way the BLUs do?"

Engineer shook his head. "Won't work," he said. "We're mechanically hooked up to the tree and can leave anytime. The rest of you are attached to it organically."

Luna nodded, clenching her fist as dark energy swirled around it and her horn. "Indeed. We must defeat the central intelligence of the tree, most likely Dr. Adrian, make it NOT want to keep us in here," she said. "If we cannot..."

"We'll beat it," said Trixie, startling everypony. The crowd turned to her as Trixie's horn glowed, manifesting her trademark cape and hat. "We've come this far, and we're not about to be bested by some overblown piece of demonic shrubbery! We'll escape this place, and make it REGRET the day it every decided to hold us prisoner!"

The crowd cheered at Trixie's proclamation. Spy and Engineer quickly discussed something with each other, and then nodded. "Trixie, since you've gotten everyone in high spirits," Engineer said, "You and Pyro will take point."

A royal guard stepped forward, the human having long brown hair. "All well and good," he said. "But HOW do we defeat it?"

Sniper came up to him. "What's your name, mate?"

"Trick Shot," he said, saluting. "Archery division."

Sniper gestured, manifesting a fortified compound bow and a quiver of arrows. "This is how," he said, handing Trick Shot the bow and arrows.

"We're gonna lead you the mess hall and force the confrontation to take place there," Engineer explained. "This place is controlled by thoughts so we can manifest dang near anythin' we like. We'll give each of you weapons, and..."

Trick Shot suddenly raised his bow, notched an arrow, and fired it. The shot skidded off the ground, curving upwards and into the crotch of an approaching guard. The others turned, the males who saw it wincing as the guard fell, clutching the arrow in his crotch and dissolving into a pile of roots and branches before vanishing.

Sniper stared at Trick Shot a moment, Barricade coming over and patting the archer on the shoulder. "Trick Shot indeed," Sniper said, amused. "All right, we'll save the explanations for when we're set up. Let's move, everypony!"

"Foals in the center!" Barricade ordered, taking to the air and snapping the neck of a guard that tried to dive on them from above. "Wonderbolts and any pegasi willing to fight, stay in formation above them!"

"Unicorns take the flanks!" Shining Armor shouted, his horn glowing as he generated a forcefield that swept aside several orderies. "Anything you see that looks like a guard or an orderly, BLAST IT TO SPLINTERS!"

"Princesses, Queen Chrysalis, I want you in the center with the foals," Harbinger said to Cadence, Celestia, Luna, Chrysalis, and Twilight as the others took their positions.

"I cannot simply..." Luna started to say.

Harbinger shook his head. "Priority one now is getting everypony to a more defensible location," he said. "You five are too important to take risks on." There was a faint note of pleading in his voice.

"But..." Cadence started.

"Cady, honey, please," Shining Armor said. "We're too vulnerable here."

"I hate to admit it, but he's right," Chrysalis said, scowling in frustration. "This is simply good strategy."

"I don't like the idea of others risking themselves to protect me..." Twilight said softly.

Trixie scoffed. "It is no risk with the Great and Powerful TRIXIE in the lead!" she said.

"Yes, and we all feel so much more confident because of that," Rainbow Dash said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"Well, you should!" Trixie cackled, ignoring the sarcasm.

"Enough talk, please halt the fun," Zecora said, glancing around nervously. "Now I think we need to run!"

"She's right," Soldier barked, blasting a charging pair of guards to splinters. "Let's MOVE OUT, MAGGOTS!"

The gathered ponies began to move out of the hall, heading towards the mess hall. As they ran, Big Macintosh carrying Granny Smith as they did, he, Apple Bloom, and Applejack turned to George and Mary Jane.

"What... what exactly are you?" Applejack asked, frowning.

"Illusions..." George said, smiling weakly. "Phantasms created from memories of your real parents created for one purpose – to act as an incentive for you to stay here in the illusion."

A sad but defiant grin was on Mary Jane's face. "The thing is, we never had loyalty to the tree put into us. Every one of us was created for a specific job and JUST THAT. We were just made t'be your folks. We may not be real, but in our own way we're still Apples. And Apples always help their kin."

Granny Smith chuckled softly. "Well heck," she said. "Y'all sound just like their real maw and paw."

Apple Bloom blinked, surprised. She had been too young to know her parents, both of them having died shortly after she was born. Big Macintosh just grunted, his expression unreadable. And Applejack... she just shook her head, unable to think of a proper way to react to the two phantasms.

"I don't like this..." Spy commented as he shot an orderly in the head. "This is too easy..."

Sniper nodded. "The guards have been coming sporadically, in bits and pieces. He could overwhelm us easily, but he's just sending little units after us," he said. He and Trick Shot both took aim at a pair of guards in a higher rafter, nailing them both in the head. Sniper growled. "He's testing us..."

As they reached the mess hall, Soldier rocket-jumped ahead, shooting a barrage of rockets down on some charging guards and clearing a space in the center of the room, where everypony began to gather. Engineer set down his sentry turret, and gestured, a large, heavy bag appearing in his hands.

"Everypony reach inside here," he said. "Quickly! It'll produce a weapon we've used in the past, or a weapon our counterparts have gained recently. We'll explain how it works as you go."

As the gathered ponies picked out weapons, Twilight came up to Trixie, the latter wielding a flamethrower, Twilight herself having pulled out a Kritzkrieg, the weapon resembling a modified version of Medic's medigun. Around them, the transformed ponies armed themselves, the mercenaries explaining the mechanics of each weapon. Some pulled out PDAs, Engineer guiding them in setting up Sentries and Dispensers.

"Trixie..." Twilight said softly. "Did you know all this was an illusion already? Is that why Dr. Adrian kept you from us?"

Trixie nodded, smirking. "Illusions and sleight-of-hoof are my talents, oh Pretty Pretty Princess," she said, testing the flamethrowers airblast function. She turned briefly, seeing one of many dispensers and sentries being set up behind her. "It takes a lot to fool me. And on top of that, for the past few days I've been living with nightmares of being lost in space on an isolated hell for hundreds of years, of having machine parts grow out of me. In VERY painful fashion, mind you." She shook her head, smirking. "I think I can tell by this point when a memory I have is fake."

Pyro hugged her. "Never thought you'd be glad to have absorbed all those horrible memories, huh?" she asked softly.

"Indeed. Although all things considered, I could do withouAAAIGGH!" Trixie shrieked, suddenly collapsing and clutching her head.

"Trixie!?" Twilight shouted.

Trixie, screaming in agony, fell to her knees, dropping her weapon. The ground around her turned to reddish sand as mechanical wings sprouted from her back. She whimpered, curling up into a fetal position, tears flowing down her face as Pyro hugged the magician to her tightly.

"You should not have done that, Miss Lulamoon," said a thundering voice.

Everypony looked up. Large television monitors that hadn't been there before now adored the rafters, Dr. Adrian's frowning face on each of them.

"You should not have opposed me," Dr. Adrian said. "I would have made your deaths easy. Painless. I get more food in a single sitting than I ever have before, and you all die peacefully. Win win all around." His eyes narrowed. "But since you decided to oppose me, I'm afraid I'll have to make you pay for it. And since you were so kind to bring up those memories you had inserted into you, I think making you relive them will be an excellent lesson."

Princess Celestia glared at the monitors. "You won't hold us, Doomtree!" she proclaimed, hefting the heavy brass minigun she had pulled out of the weapons pouch. "We WILL make you let us go!"

Dr. Adrian laughed. "Dear me, Princess," he said. "How foolish do you think I am? I've never been this well fed in my life! In addition, I've never had the pleasure of eating alicorn before! Such delicacies you are, how delectable your blood is..." He grinned savagely, his teeth turning to razor sharp points. "I'd be an idiot to let such a treat go!"

"What are you up to, ye bastard?! Why let us get here?" Demoman shouted, voicing the concerns of the other BLUs. This had been too easy so far...

Dr. Adrian grinned wickedly. "I wanted you here. It'll be easier to overwhelm you all at once like this. I don't know what those toys you're using are, but even they cannot stand against an onslaught of monsters!"

"What are you doing to Trixie?!" Pyro demanded, cybernetics slowly spreading over the illusionist's body

Dr. Adrian smirked. "She possesses some of the most traumatic memories I've ever felt in my life," he said. "I'm simply making her relive them. Somehow she could tell that my little pacification fantasy was just that – a fantasy. And she tried to RUIN IT."

"Hurts... so cold..." Trixie shivered, her eyes melting and rehardening into LED lights. Pyro clutched her tightly, growling up at the image of Dr. Adrian, who just laughed. "Help me..." Trixie pleaded, shivering in Pyro's arms.

"MAGGOT!" Soldier snarled. "Leave her alone and let everyone go, or so help me I'll reduce you to a CAMPFIRE!"

"With what? Your little toy thingies? Whatever the blazes they are." Dr. Adrian said, missing the smiles that crossed the faces of the BLUs.

Second time he's said it... He really DOESN'T know what our weapons are... they thought as one.

"You're all fools," Dr. Adrian said. "Back to your cells, little treats. I'm not done FEEDING off of you yet!"

Inhuman screams came from the halls surrounding the mess hall, glowing eyes appearing in the darkness. Rapid footsteps started coming towards them, the glowing eyes getting closer.

"Stand together!" Soldier called out to the rocket launcher using soldiers. "Rocketeers, fire in waves! Once you empty your clip, step back to reload and let another wave forward!"

"Keep yuir minefields active!" Demoman called out to the ponies that had stickybomb launchers. "Keep the field around us coated in explosives!"

"Stand near Dispensers! Keep firing, no matter what!" Heavy roared to the minigun users.

"Rifle users and archers remember! Head shots for maximum damage!" Sniper shouted.

"No gun twirling heroics, pistol and revolver users!" Spy shouted. "Just shoot anything zat isn't one of us!"

"Foals keep to the center! Anyone with a wrench maintain t'Sentries and Dispensers! They're too important to the defense!" Engineer shouted.

"Healers, use your syringe guns only if ze monsters get close!" Medic shouted. "Use Ubercharges IMMEDIATELY! Focus on keeping everypony alive!"

"Let's take 'em out!" Scout shouted, grinning wildly. "Show 'em what it means to take us on!"

"Now and forever!" Pyro shouted, the rest of the BLU team joining in the battlecry. "BLU STANDS UNITED!"

The first of the monsters charged out of the shadows. It was the orderlies and guards, but they had become animalistic, their hands thickening into long, ragged claws, their limbs longer. Their mouths were filled with razor sharp, slavering teeth as they lunged...

...only for the first wave to be obliterated when the stickybombs they passed over detonated, reducing them to splinters of wood. Rockets, bullets, shotgun pellets, lasers, syringes, and arrows flew as the gathered transformed ponies cut loose with their weapons. Explosions rocked the halls as monsters howled and roared, charging into the fusillade. And as monsters died, the ponies, especially the beleaguered citizens of Ponyville, began to feel truly good about themselves for the first time since this whole mess started.

Trick Shot smirked, putting an arrow into the head of an orderly monster as it charged the ring. "Okay..." he said. "Definitely liking this bow."

Sniper snickered, taking out a pair of guard monsters by shooting them in the throat. "After this is over, mate, I'll teach you how to make it in real life."

Heavy, his minigun spraying bullets everywhere, hummed an old Russian working song. Beside him, a quartet of Sentries and Mini-Sentries whirled back and forth, shooting at anything that got close to them.

"HAH!" Heavy cackled as his bullets tore apart a group of guards that managed to dodge their way through the minefields. "Tiny baby monsters are no matched for well-armed ponies!"

"It's lookin' like it," Barricade said from above him. She wielded the heaviest of the miniguns, the Brass Beast, as if it weighed no more than a pistol, the massive pegasus grinning savagely as she forced a group of orderly monsters into the path of a quintet of rockets.

"You are enjoying this far more than what is healthy," Dr. Care said, keeping his Quick Fix medigun trained on Barricade's back.

Barricade grinned. "Ah, c'mon TL!" she chided. "They aren't even real! Can't a mare have some violent fun when she wants to?!"

Dr. Care, chuckling, just shook his head, glancing over to Fluttershy, who was also using a Quick Fix. She was running from pony to pony, healing them whenever she saw someone get hurt by a stray claw swipe or by shrapnel from an explosion. He couldn't help but be proud of his little girl as she worked to help her fellow ponies.

"Bang bang party!" Pinkie Pie cheered, wielding duel pistols and firing away at the monsters.

"And then there's her friends..." Dr. Care muttered.

Barricade snickered. "Oh relax," she said. "They've done a lot of good for her."

"I know, I know..." Dr. Care said, focusing back on the monsters in front of them.

Scout grinned, turning to Pinkie. "You holdin' up there, Pinks?" he asked, pulling out his scattergun to blast a guard monster that had somehow gotten in close.

"It's awesome because they aren't real people so I don't have to feel bad about shooting them!" Pinkie Pie said, giggling madly. "This'll show you meanie-pants that you can't make ponies believe lies!""

Scout nodded, smirking. Good, this isn't bringing back memories of her nightmare, he thought. He started to say something when Gem spoke up.

"FLIERS INBOUND," the crystalline automaton intoned in an amplified voice. Everyone looked up, seeing flying versions of the monsters

"Barricade, coordinate anti-air! Shining Armor, one way shield, make it so we can shoot out but they can't get in!" Harbinger barked, firing his rocket launcher up at the flying monstrosities.

"You heard him! All pegasi in the air, focus on the fliers!" Barricade shouted even as Shining Armor crouched to concentrate, his horn glowing as a massive pink barrier formed over the gathering of captive ponies. The monsters began bouncing off of the dome as a little wall of gunfire shot out from behind it, lasers, syringes, rockets, bullets, arrows, shotgun pellets, and grenades shooting out, flames incinerating the few who got close.

Dr. Adrian watched this defense, his confident smirk dissolving as his armada of monsters was dispatched with distressing ease. Wave after wave of monsters came, increasing in hideousness and strength, only to get cut down by the BLU-led ponies.

He scowled. This was getting nowhere. "ENOUGH!" he bellowed.

The monsters vanished. For a long moment, the gathered ponies stared at the suddenly empty mess hall, and began to cheer, thinking that they'd won.

"It's not over yet, laddies," Demoman warned, looking at the monitors.

"Dr. Adrian's still active!" Mary Jane warned. "We..."

"OH, SHUT UP!" Dr. Adrian snarled. A magical blast erupted in the center of the gathered ponies, scattering their formation completely. Weapons fell apart under the force of the shockwave, Shining Armor's shield shattering like glass as his concentration was disrupted. Every pony landed roughly, slamming into the walls of the mess hall and landing in a heap, groaning in pain as they struggled to recover. Only the hardiest ponies, such as Big Macintosh, Bulk Biceps, Heavy, Barricade, and the Princesses and Chrysalis were able to stand up, the rest too weakened by the blast to stand.

Dr. Adrian appeared in the center of the explosion, his hands wrapped tightly around George and Mary Jane's throats. "This is what I get for allowing my constructs autonomy," he said.

"You never made us loyal," George said, grinning despite his situation.

"You made us Apples!" Mary Jane said. "And Apples don't let their own stay in a bad situation!"

"You tell 'em, ma!" Apple Bloom said, picking herself up with Diamond Tiara's help. The other Apple family members, scattered around the room by the blast, just watched as a slow smile spread over Dr. Adrian's face. A swirl of dark fire appeared behind him, a massive, tiger, dragon, goat, and snake-headed chimera appearing.

One that was all too familiar to Applejack, Big Macintosh, and Granny Smith.

"Oh no..." Granny Smith said softly. "Not again..."

Dr. Adrian grinned savagely, another swirl of dark fire turning George and Mary Jane into ponies. Almost casually he threw them to the chimera, who viciously tore the two false Apples apart, perfectly mirroring the way the real versions of them died.

Big Macintosh screamed, trying to run in to help, Bulk Biceps barely able to hold the grieving stallion back. Granny Smith just looked away, tears streaming down her face, as Applejack helplessly watched the worst moment of her life replay itself.

And Apple Bloom...

"Mama...?" she said softly, tears flowing down her face. "Daddy?" She just stared at the scene, in shock, unable to move. Diamond Tiara, grimacing, hugged her. She hadn't known what happened to her former rival's parents, and was silently glad that she found out after she'd made a resolution to be a better pony...

"YE DAMNED BASTARD!" Demoman roared, staggering to his feet. "HOW DARE YE?! HOW DARE YE MAKE THEM LIVE THAT AGAIN!?" Because he had shared Applejack's mind, he shared her memories as well. He knew this scene, and could understand the pain the Apples were going through now.

Dr. Adrian shrugged. "Do you think that matters to me?" he said, scowling. "Do you think ANY of the paltry, petty memories you ponies have matter to me at ALL?!" He snarled. "ALL I care about is that you ponies are my FOOD! And I won't have my food FIGHTING BACK!"

He stepped forward, everypony flinching away from him. "I'm done toying with you," he said, his body starting to bulge, as if something serpentine was slithering around inside of him. "I'm not about to give up the biggest meal I've ever had in my life. I was perfectly willing to keep your minds in a peaceful dream, but you've all proven far too troublesome."

A sickening ripping sound came from Dr. Adrian, bloody tears appearing in his flesh. "So now..." he said, his skin falling off of his face as it tore open, "I'm afraid you're all going to die screaming."

Sickening sounds came from Dr. Adrian's body as his body split open. Flesh tore off of him in bloody strips, revealing wooden flesh underneath. His jaws warped and distended, becoming full of sharp, razor-pointed splinters as his eyes dissolved into white sludge that oozed down his face like tears. Hands and feet became massive claws, spiked wooden tentacles growing out of his body and lashing around. Acidic purple saliva dripped from his jaws as he grew to massive size, towering over everypony there.

The crowd screamed, trying to flee the creature, but all the doors to the mess hall suddenly closed up and sealed, not breaking despite the efforts of even the strongest of them. The chimera monster was cut apart in one swipe, dissolving into wood shards as Dr. Adrian stomped around the room, the tree monster seemingly invincible. A few unicorns tried to fire magic at it, but their powers were still weakened by the asylum's very nature. The pegasi and Earth ponies had no luck either, lacking weather to control or the earth to tap into.

"You cannot defeat me!" Dr. Adrian shouted, laughing hideously. "This is MY world! MY mind! You're all destined to be nothing more than my food! YOU HAVE NO HOPE!"

"Well, that's where... ngh... we're going to have to disagree," said an electronically modulated voice.

Everypony turned, seeing Trixie struggling to her feet. The field of red sand around her had grown, and her body was almost completely mechanical, blood oozing from the places the machinery was growing out of. Tears flowed from her glowing LED lights as she forced a smirk onto her face.

Engineer could only stare at her. Is... is that what happened to me?

Pyro tried to pull her back, having kept her out of the fight all this time. "Trixie..."

"It's all right, Pyro," Trixie said, grimacing as the skin on her hands started to harden, segmenting into taloned claws. "I'm GGNGG..." Her jaw started to turn sideways, becoming a Vagineer jaw, a sickening crack coming from her as her face tried to rearrange itself. She quickly reached up and grabbed her jaw, forcefully wrenching it back into place with an equally sickening squelch. She stood there for a moment, shivering in pain, holding her hands to her jaw

"How...?" Dr. Adrian said, the massive tree monster staring at her in shock. "Those memories... even I think they're horrific! And the double transformation... HOW ARE YOU STILL STANDING!?"

Trixie slowly brought her hands away from her jaw, grinning savagely. "Trixie... is stronger than you know... Trixie... is GREAT and POWERFUL!" she intoned, barely noticing everypony staring at her in awe. "And besides... Trixie can deal with these memories... Because they are NOT MINE!"

Dr. Adrian's jaw dropped. "What... What are you babbling about!?"

Trixie laughed, trailing off into a pained moan as more wires burst from her skin a cloud of blood. "Trixie took the bitter memories of another into herself, so that he wouldn't have to suffer... THAT is why I can stand. Because these memories, while agonizing beyond belief... are not mine! And what's more..." she said, spreading her mechanical wings, "...even with these memories, there is hope at the end of them. Because at the end of this horror, there is redemption. Reunion, with friends and family! There is HOPE!"

Dr. Adrian roared at her in frustration. "Hope?! How can you have hope living through all of that!? Through BOTH of those horrors, the mine and deep space?!" he snarled. "You're insane!"

Pyro, a look of revelation coming over her, suddenly began to giggle. She stood up, smiling ferally. "Hope? 'Hoping' makes my partner insane? Well, that just works out fine, now don't it? 'Cause I'm batshit crazy too."

Trixie and Pyro traded amused looks. "So long as the fire of life burns in our hearts, then hope will never die," they chorused, light emanating from the two of them. Dr. Adrian, realizing he had waited too long, tried to charge, but the light became even more intense, burning his eyes and forcing him back.

"LET THAT FIRE OF LIFE BECOME AN INFERNO!" Pyro and Trixie chorused, power literally exploding from them, sending the giant form of Dr. Adrian crashing through the wall of the asylum and into the grounds, his body digging a channel in the dirt. The gathered ponies, however, did not feel the shockwave. Instead, they felt magical healing wash over them, bruises and cuts healing in the radiant glow.

The last thing they saw before the light became blinding was the metal on Trixie's body dissolving as if it was never there, the Element of Hope necklaces appearing around Trixie and Pyro's necks...

Dr. Adrian, meanwhile, was cursing himself. He hesitated too long, he should have attacked... Bah. Recriminations later. He'd let himself become too wrapped up in the 'human asylum' scenario the strange alicorn and his machines gave him, but now back to basics. He'd use the horrors of his mindscape to torment and torture and what the fuck was that!?

In the hole his body had made stood a gorgeous woman with an hourglass figure. She wore a form-fitting version of Pyro's firesuit, designed to look like a black corset around her waist, the suit accentuating her ample curves. On a bandolier, a trio of bongo drums wrested, a bubble gun holstered at her hip. Behind her back was a baby blue gun that looked like it shot fireworks, and a massive lollipop, both of them holstered behind a gold and blue orchestrina backpack, a jaunty melody coming from the orchestrina's horn. Her face, framed by elegant silver locks of hair, was covered by a gas mask that covered her nose and mouth, leaving her sparkling eyes bare. A blue wizard's hat was on her head, and in her hands was a bizarre... rifle-thing that looked like a triple-barreled trumpet attached to a perfume bottle, for lack of a better description.

This new creature giggled. "Behold! The advent of your end is here, you EVIL EVIL MAN! For I am the Great and Powerful TRIXYRO! Let the fun begin!"

Before Dr. Adrian could even process what he was seeing, Trixyro leaped out of the hole and pointed her weapon towards the ground. Sparkles, bubbles, and rainbows literally gushed out of the barrels of the weapon as the pressure of it slowed her descent. And as she descended, the rainbows rapidly washed over the landscape, turning the dismal grasses and gray structures colorful. The clouds turned into balloon animals, and the sun became a cheerful cartoon. Candy began growing out of the ground, butterflies with buttered toast for wings appearing, glasses with beaks and legs wandering around, cheerful music filling the air, other assorted creatures of varying degrees of adorable appearing as the colorful landscape completely overwhelmed the asylum.

"Do you believe in magic?

In a young girl's heart

How the music can free her

Whenever it starts

And it's magic!

If it makes you feel groovy

It makes you feel happy like an old time movie!"

Inside the asylum, everything changed, colorful paint adorning the walls, tables filled with cupcakes (which the foals eagerly went after) taking the place of the rubble. The very air felt like sugar, a sense of good cheer and happiness pervading everything. On the floor beneath them, visible through holds in the floor created by Dr. Adrian's stomps, a large crowd of BLU clones, all wearing party hats, were conga-dancing around in random directions, all with merry expressions on their faces, while RED cherubs, all making baby noises and wearing diapers, those with grenade bandoliers having baby bottles instead, flitted around the room.

The adults all stared at the BLUs, visibly confused. The BLUs were no better off, and Gem could swear that her sensors were starting to fray from trying to process this place.

Engineer was the first one who came up with an explanation. "Ah think... Ah think we're actually IN Pyroland!"

As if in confirmation, a blue unicorn balloon floated up to the group. "Yeah, y'are," the balloon said, startling everypony. "Heh, sorry about that! The name's Balloonicorn. Pleasure t'meet you!"

"...Is this what Pyro sees and feels all the time?" Scout asked, disturbed by this cutesy mess and the RED Scout cherub gurgling happily as it plucked cookies off of a bush that had grown nearby.

Balloonicorn nodded. "Yup!" he said. "A bit different than what the Pyrovision Goggles showed ya, huh?" He giggled. "Now shaddup, and let's watch the girls own this fool!"

Dr. Adrian looked around frantically, confused beyond all belief. "But... wait..." he stammered. "This is MY mind! MY illusion!"

"Not no more it's not!" Trixyro giggled, pulling out the bubble gun and shooting a large bubble at Dr. Adrian. "C'mon, play with me!"

Before Dr. Adrian could react, the bubble absorbed him, trapping him inside. He floated into the air, the bubble popping and dropping the tree monster roughly onto the ground. He picked himself up with a growl. "Damn you..."

Trixyro giggled, pulling out her fireworks shotgun, spraying colorful blasts of fire at Dr. Adrian, the monster's massive size making him an easy target for the flaming colorful pellets. He roared fiercely, backing away as the colorful pellets exploded against him, the madwoman attacking him laughing all the while.

"STOP IT!" he roared, suddenly slamming his massive fist down. Trixyro dodged the clumsy attack easily, pulling out her rainbow thrower and blasting colorful sparkles, bubbles, and rainbows all over Dr. Adrian's fist. The tree monster quickly drew his hand back as colorful mushrooms, small chipmunks, bushes filled with wrapped candies, and flowers grew all over his hand, slowly spreading up his arm.

Frantically, he brushed off the offending cuteness. "Stop it stop it STOP IT! Food shouldn't fight back this hard!"

Trixyro giggled, posing with her fingers over her eye in a V-shape. "Super Magical Girl Pretty Pony Kawaii Desu Heroine Trixyro isn't about to be eaten by the likes of you!" she declared. "In the name of the voices in my head that tell me to burn things and my desire for hot farmboy and/or drawly-voiced supergenius technician sex, I will punish you!"

Big Macintosh and Engineer both blushed, smiling despite themselves. Applejack shook her head. "Ah still don't know what you see in her..."

"An asylum is a perfect place for you!" Dr. Adrian bellowed in frustration. Nopony he'd ever fed on had been this difficult to control before! "You're insane!"

"Yeah," Trixyro conceded, laughing. "Ain't it cool?" She fired up her rainbow thrower, waving it about in front of her. From the rainbow magic emerged two massive creatures, covered in spikes, tentacles, and green, tumorous growths, each sporting massive jaws filled with teeth.

Both creatures were also giant loaves of bread.

Demoman just stared. After a long moment, he pulled a flask out of one of his pockets and poured it out, tossing the flask away.

"Da HELL IS THIS CRAP!?" Scout shouted. "Giant bread monsters now?!"

Balloonicorn giggled, bouncing up and down on Heavy's head, ignoring the bruiser's attempt to swat him away. "Long story involving bread, teleporters, and the RED version of you going on a date with Ms. Pauling. Sort of."

"Wait, he got a date with Ms. Pauling and I DIDN'T!?" Scout said, incredulous.

Pinkie Pie nudged him playfully. Spy smirked. "You already have a girlfriend," he teased. "You shouldn't be complaining."

Scout blushed, Pinkie Pie giggling and hugging him.

Celestia stared at the bread monsters for a long moment. She blinked, and then 'ah'd, snapping her fingers. "The self-aware beauty mark phenomenon, yes?"

Balloonicorn paused in his bouncing, visibly surprised. Luna nodded, understanding. "Okay, that makes sense," she said.

"How?" Twilight asked, visibly baffled.

"Stale bread that's near its expiration date sometimes develops the aforementioned self-aware beauty mark. It's harmless normally, has no intelligence beyond its awareness, and completely edible, but if repeatedly exposed to the energies of teleportation... well, that..." Luna said, smirking and gesturing to the bread monsters who were now chewing on a raging Dr. Adrian.

"There's a reason Luna and I made teleporting bread illegal over a millennium ago, Twilight," Celestia said, smiling warmly.

Twilight just grumbled. "I hate it when nonsense laws make sense..." she muttered.

Celestia just grinned, hugging her.

Engineer shook his head, rubbing his temples to try and clear away the logic headache that was building...

Dr. Adrian, meanwhile, was more frustrated than he had ever been in his life. The Doomtree had NEVER encountered prey that fought back this hard before. He'd NEVER had prey subvert his mental traps before! Trixyro was literally dancing around him, making cute things grow out of his body with her rainbow thrower. Meanwhile, he was forced to defend himself from two giant loaves of bread, their teeth and tentacles sending wood shards flying off of him with every blow.

He held his arms over his face, the two bread monsters digging their teeth into his wooden body. They slammed their tentacles into his body over and over, crushing pain coming with each blow. And on top of that, he could feel things growing out of his legs, his lower body starting to feel like it was made of sugar, an unpleasant tingling going through him.

It was too much.

"ENOOOOOOUUUUGGGH!" he bellowed, his tree monster form exploding in a cloud of shards that pushed the two bread monsters back. They charged forward, still intent to fight, but Trixyro held up a hand, stopping them.

Dr. Adrian had reverted back to human form again. He lay on the ground, a defeated look on his face.

Trixyro sat down next to him, cross-legged. She giggled, putting her head in her hands. "Do you give up?" she asked.

Dr. Adrian sighed. "Yes," he muttered. "I don't need the indigestion. Create a door and let yourselves out. Once you're back in your own bodies, the tentacles I'm using to feed off of you lot can just be yanked out." He shook his head, slowly sinking into the dirt beneath him. "I'm done. I quit..."

Trixyro giggled and leaped to her feet. Balloonicorn, growing to a rideable size, flew over to her, Trixyro hopping on his back and riding back into the asylum.

"Okay!" Scout said. "That was... freakin' bizarre..."

Trixyro giggled, standing up on Balloonicorn's back and taking her V-over-one-eye pose again. "Another victory for the Great and Powerful TRIXYRO!" she cheered, hopping off of Balloonicorn's back, the balloon unicorn shrinking back to normal and hovering around her head.

"Sweet work, Trixyro!" Balloonicorn said. "Guess adding Trixie to Pyro made you into something of a showboater, huh?"

"Oh hohohohoho!" Trixyro laughed, several of the ponies around her cringing. "He stood no chance against the lively inferno of TRIXYRO!"

"Can we go home now?" Granny Smith said. "Ah got a bad feelin' mah hip's gonna be hurtin' awful bad once we get outta here..."

"Ah know mah head's hurtin,'" Applejack muttered, sighing, still thinking about the constructs of her parents.

Spy nodded. "Very well," he said. He held out his hand, a door appearing in midair. "Fillies and gentlecolts, step right through this door and..."

"Boring!" Trixyro said, kicking the door out of the hole, where it landed several feet away. She then leaped up into the air, punching the ceiling and shouting "SHORYUKEN!"

Everypony staggered as the building suddenly grew several stories taller. Trixyro landed easily, and fired up her rainbow thrower, a massive slide emerging from the rainbow cloud and forming from the opening in the wall down to the door, which turned into a colorful, cheerful-looking gateway. Trixyro, giggling, immediately leaped onto the slide, sliding down face first into the gateway, disappearing in a flash.

Pinkie Pie and Scout were both shaking fit to burst. "SUPER FUN SLIIIIDE!" they cheered, leaping on the slide right afterward.

"WHEEEE-HEE-HEE!" Pinkie Pie cheered as she slid down, Scout laughing as he came right behind her. The foals, both excited that they had a way out and excited because SUPER FUN SLIDE, all jumped on afterward. Engineer, his eye twitching beneath his goggles, as he watched Gem slide down with the other Cutie Mark Crusaders, threw up his hands in defeat.

"Aw, SCREW IT!" he said, dismissing logic entirely and jumping on the slide. "YEE-HAW!"

Engineer slid down, vanishing in a flash as he hit the gateway. The remaining BLUs all looked at each other, shrugged, and leaped onto the slide as well. Deciding to just roll with it, the rest of the ponies-turned-human began to follow as well.

Twilight, Luna, and Celestia were among the last to leave, each one making sure the others left safely. Balloonicorn floated nearby, chuckling. "Guess I'll see you all on the flipside, then," he said, flying off.

Twilight hugged her mentor. "We're really getting out of here..." she said softly.

Celestia smiled, hugging her and Luna. "This particular nightmare is over," she said.

And we shall find the one responsible for it, said the shadows.

We shall make them SUFFER.

"Indeed," Celestia said, her eyes narrowing briefly. "Well, shall we be off? This place is cheerful, but all things considered, I'd rather be back in reality."

"Most definitely, sister," Luna said, gesturing to the slide, the three of them the last do go down. "Shall we?"

As one, the three alicorns-turned-human slid down the slide, disappearing into the light, Twilight the very last to go through. As she went into the gate, light overwhelmed her...

...and as the light faded, so came new sensations. She could feel her old pony body again, but there was now a stabbing pain in her back, thick tentacles wrapped around her limbs to keep them immobilized. Including a tentacle around her neck.

Twilight reflexively struggled, the tentacles having gone slack and allowing her to free herself. Her horn flared, and she gripped the tentacle in her back, slowly, painfully pulling it out, the sensation like a knife being removed.

She felt the familiar tingle of Medic's medibeam washing over her. "Easy, Fraulein..." said Medic, smiling pleasantly as he helped Twilight out of the tendrils. "You vill be slightly dizzy for a while, as well as anemic. Ze creature vas feeding off of your blood..."

Twilight nodded, wincing as she pulled the feeding spike out of her back, letting it drop away. She looked around, seeing the BLUs, Prince Blueblood, the Doctor, Minuette, and Orion all helping the various injured ponies, bandaging the wounds on their back where the feeding spikes had been attached.

She took uncomfortable note on how similar the injuries looked to Slendermane's Cutie Mark.

"Good to see you up and about, rival," rasped a voice from nearby. Twilight turned, and eeped. Trixyro, the REAL Trixyro, stood next to her, casually leaning up against the defeated tree.

She was shorter in real life, her suit no longer form-fitting and lacking the corset-like center around her midriff. Instead of a colorful orchestrina and bongo drums, she had an oxygen tank and a trio of napalm bombs on her chest. Sheathed behind the oxygen tank were a bloodied fire axe and a shotgun, a flaregun holstered at her hips. She was chubby, and her face was badly burned, leaving only wisps of silver hair.

Trixyro chuckled, the sound demented. "Not exactly spectacular to look at, I admit," she rasped in her mannish voice, "but still the same Great and Powerful Trixyro you saw in the tree's mindscape."

Celestia, staggering a little from her blood loss, came up to her. "Your flamethrower is fully fueled?" she asked.

Trixyro nodded. "Yes, your majesty," she said, bowing.

Celestia glared up at the tree. It was a hideous, ugly thing, looking almost like coal black flesh instead of bark. Claw-like branches reached towards the sky, inert tentacles emerging from gash-like openings in the fleshy-bark.

She scowled. "BURN IT," she said. "I want this tree reduced to ASHES."

It was uncharacteristically cruel for Princess Celestia to say such things about another living being. But at that point, no one really held her anger against her. After all, it HAD just tried to eat them...

Trixyro giggled viciously, hefting her flamethrower. "With pleasure, Princess," she said, igniting the tree. "Dr. Adrian, you are dismissed!"

The gathering of ponies, backing away from the tree as it went up, watched with grim satisfaction as the tree went up in flames, a monstrous shriek of agony coming from the tree as the flames spread rapidly. Trixyro completely emptied her flamethrower's fuel, igniting higher parts of the tree with her flares. For added emphasis, she fired several shotgun rounds into the tree, which spurted a familiar purple ooze with each injury. And finally, just to be thorough, Trixyro pulled out her fire axe and hacked several of the tree's tentacles into paste.

A long moment of silence filled the cavern as everypony watched the tree that had held them prisoner for over a day died in ashen flames, the smoke being pulled up through an opening in the top of the cave. Several of them were disturbed to realize that they felt nothing for this tree save hatred. Even more disturbed at how RIGHT said hatred felt...

Somewhere, a faceless monster was laughing...

To attempt to distract themselves from this, they turned to their rulers and heroes, who gathered around the Doctor.

Said Earth Pony was fiddling with a rather complicated device with several runes carved into the side of it. "Is this the device you used to project the BLU team into the Doomtree's mind?" Cadence asked.

The Doctor nodded. "It's based on an old bit of Time Lord technology that I've repurposed for simpler ends," he said. "Worked rather well, don't you think?" He grinned widely.

"That it did, my little pony," Luna said, beaming. "You've all done wonderously, and I've very proud of you all!" The BLUs all blushed, accepting her praise.

"Oh Auntie..." Blueblood said, hugging Celestia tightly. "I've missed you so much, been so worried!"

"It will be all right, my little pony," she said. "We are safe now."

Blueblood nodded. "We'll get you back home, Auntie. We'll get you back to Canterlot, get those NASTY icky changelings off of your throne, and..."

"I'M RIGHT HERE," Chrysalis snarled, making Blueblood yelp.

"So am I, Cadet," Soldier said, grinning viciously. "And just for that, your punishment is to help Chrysalis keep her Hive clean for a day."

Chrysalis smirked wickedly. "I like the way you think, beef jerky," she said.

Blueblood's jaw dropped. "Is this REALLY the time to be thinking about disciplining me?!" he almost shrieked, ignoring the snickers of the Canterlot celebrities who were aware of his reputation. "We have to get the Princesses back to Canterlot, and..."

"Actually..." Celestia said, looking thoughtful, "I think it best if we all rest in Ponyville for the next few days, to recover completely."

Luna nodded. "Agreed. Cadence? Shining Armor? Chrysalis?"

"As much as I'd love to get back to the Empire..." Cadence said, "We won't be of much good to anyone if we are too weak from bloodloss to do anything."

Shining Armor nodded. "Plus, I'm kind of worried about Mom and Dad..." he said.

Chrysalis snorted. "I can call the changelings you have impersonating you come to Ponyville. An excuse should be easy to make," she said.

"Well done, my little ponies! Well done!" came a cruelly mocking voice.

Everypony whirled, spying a gray alicorn with a short-cropped mane standing at the entrance to the cave the tree was in. A cold, cruel smirk was on his face, a familiar wrench-and-circuit board Cutie Mark on his flank. On his back, lining his spine, was a mechanical device that led to a glowing golden core.

Engineer frowned. "Gearbox?" he said softly, remembering a pony who helped them a few days ago.

The alicorn shook his head. "Guess again," he said, as a robotic version of Twilight Sparkle stomped into view behind him. The robot's face was emotionless, her body jerking slightly from her internal engine's movements, a smokestack on her back.

Everypony gasped, backing away in fear. Memories of how they had been kidnapped, of the robots resembling the Elements of Harmony bearers, flashed in their heads. They remembered how swiftly they had been attacked, how swiftly they had been taken down.

And the BLUs, seeing the robots, suddenly knew who they were up against.

"GRAY MANN," Spy snarled.

Gray nodded, chuckling. "Bravo. You got it on the first try," he said, fluffing his wings. "And I must say, you've all done quite well for yourselves!"

"Better than you, stupid!" Scout said, pulling out a bat. "You were an idiot to come here alone!" As if to emphasize Scout's point, everypony that could still stand took a ready position, horns glowing and wings flaring.

Gray Mann chuckled, standing up on his hind legs. He gestured to the Twilight-bot, who nodded and teleported away in a flash of gray light. Gray just closed his eyes, shaking his head. "Such fools you are," he said, a familiar mist surrounding him.

"No... NO!" Heavy snarled, realizing what was happening.

The Spybot that had been impersonating Gray Mann finished dropping its disguise. Gray Mann's voice came through the robot's mouth. "Did you really think I'd be stupid enough to come here in person?" Gray began to laugh, the laughter cut off by Trixyro charging the Spybot and viciously chopping it into scrap metal with her fire axe.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Elsewhere...
Later...

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

YoU dIdN't KiLl ThEm, Masky Unicorn accused.

"Killing them wasn't the point," Gray Mann said, experimenting with his magikinesis, levitaing objects of varying size around himself. "My goal was accomplished."

WhAt GoAl?! ThEy LiVe! YoU dId NoT DeFeAt ThEm! Masky Unicorn snarled.

"I didn't want them defeated, I wanted them demoralized," Gray said, smirking. "And I got just that." He set down the objects he had been levitating. "I could really get used to this body..."

...I dOn'T uNdErStAnD, Masky Unicorn said.

"Of course you don't," Gray mocked, ignoring the Masky's growl. "Think about it – I kidnapped almost an entire town, the rulers of two nations and an entire race, a chunk of the military, and several prominent celebrities! They couldn't stop me from doing it and they fucking KNOW IT NOW." He grinned savagely. "I could have done anything I wanted, and they couldn't stop me. I. HAVE. WON."

TO BE CONTINUED...