//------------------------------//
// Chapter 11: The Future is Old School 
// Story: Undead Robot Bug Crusaders: Unusual Lives 
// by Banjo64 
//------------------------------//

It had taken far longer than expected, mostly because they’d completely forgotten about it for a while, but the CMC were finally ready to give another go at Sweetie Belle’s VR gadget. Well, once they’d properly prepared of course.

“Alright. We’ve got the time, the book, the fuel, the entire Carousel Boutique to ourselves, and the coltfriend. We just need Apple Bloom to get back with the popcorn and we’ll be ready,” declared Scootaloo.

Sweetie Belle glanced up from the massive pile of sandwiches she was staking to give her friend a deadpan glare.

“Ok, this is getting old, Scootaloo. How many times do we have to tell you we’re not in a relationship? He’s not my coltfriend,” said Sweetie Belle.

“I dunno. How many times do you two need to deny it before you just accept the truth and start having proper dates? I mean, inviting your significant other to spend time with us is one thing, but having him come over to help us figure out how your new gadget works? And him saying yes? I’d say you two are hopeless at romance if it wasn’t apparent that you’re just perfect for each other,” replied Scootaloo.

“Scootaloo, do you enjoy having teeth? Because I’m seriously starting to wonder if you have too many and I should fix that,” warned Sweetie Belle with a growl.

Scootaloo blinked at Sweetie Belle’s surprisingly violent threat, but then smirked. She was about to give a witty remark that likely would have earned her a trip to the dentist, but then Button Mash walked into the room.

“Hey, Apple Bloom’s almost done with the… Woah! That’s a lot of sandwiches! Are you really going to eat all of them?” asked Button Mash.

Sweetie Belle paused to give Scootaloo one last glare, then turned to face her other friend. Just her friend, because Button Mash was in no shape, way, or form her coltfriend.

“Well, if we use it too long, then yes. I burn through a lot of energy when I’m using my gadgets, so either I eat a ton while we use it, or I have to stuff my face when we’re done. And I’d rather avoid the hunger cramps,” explained Sweetie belle.

“Huh. That’s kind of weird. But then again, can robots even get fat?” pondered Button Mash.

“See what I mean? Perfect for each other. You even ask the same crazy questions,” teased Scootaloo.

Button Mash and Sweetie Belle gave Scootaloo matching glares. It would have been intimidating if they weren’t so dang cute when they did it at the exact same time in the exact same way.

“Anyway, to answer your question, Button, I don’t think so. I mean, after the cake incident at Twilight’s ascension party, I’m pretty sure my stomach can break down a lot more than this stack of sandwiches without any problems,” said Sweetie Belle.

“Cake incident?” asked Button Mash.

“Oh, right. You weren’t at the party and… Shoot, I shouldn’t have brought that up…” mumbled Sweetie Belle as she started to blush.

“Eh… I think I can guess what happened. You don’t have to explain it if you don’t want to,” said Button Mash with a blush of his own.

Scootaloo held back a giggle, but only barely. If those two didn’t end up a couple some day, She’d eat her… wait, she didn’t wear a hat. Or anything else for that matter. Crap.

“Oops. Guess you’ll have to use a different expression, Scoots,” teased Dove.

“Oh the horror of having your train of thought derailed. It’s such a world shattering tragedy,” snarked Uno.

“Or you could just eat your leg. That’s always an option,” added Twitch.

“Shut up, Twitch!” cried the rest of the hive. 

“Gah... Seriously, don’t you guys have anything better to do than be my peanut gallery? You don’t see me poking my muzzle in minds where it doesn’t belong,” demanded Scootaloo.

“That’s because the insanity you call a life is far more interesting than anything that happens back here at the hive. I mean, you do live in Ponyville, after all,” said Beetle.

“Yeah. And I’d say your mind is actually where I belong. Your misery gives me sustenance. Oh, yes…” added Twitch with what could be described as a suggestive moan.

“Ugh… Mom! Twitch is being extra creepy again!” said Goose.

“And going on about that stupid eating misery thing, too,” added Lynx.

“Oh no. Not that nonsense again,” groaned Blue Monarch.

Twitch just let out another cackle.





“Alright, I think that’s all of it. You can start it up whenever you’re ready, Sweetie Belle,” said Scootaloo.

Sweetie Belle took a deep breath in anticipation. This was probably going to get strange, even by the standards they had these days.

“Uh… are you going to go full robot? I heard you can do that,” asked Button Mash.

“Well, no. I don’t have to become Sweetie Bot to use my gadgets. But if you’re really curious, I can show you another time, Button,” said Sweetie Belle.

“Cool! I mean, yeah. That’d be neat,” said Button Mash with a blush.

“Alright, that’s enough distractions, you two. let’s get this started,” said Apple Bloom.

“Right, sorry. Activate VR System,” declared Sweetie Belle.

In a flash, Sweetie Belle once again found herself in a familiar empty void. It occurred to her how weird it was that an empty void could even become familiar, but then again, weird was a pretty good word to describe her life in general.

“Wow…” was Button Mash’s only response.

“Alright, where did we leave off last time?” asked Sweetie Belle.

“Ah think we were about to activate some kind of box or something,” came Apple Bloom’s voice from seemingly everywhere.

“Oh, right. The interface. I think Scootaloo wanted to see the underwater setting,” remembered Sweetie Belle.

With a thought, said interface appeared in front of her.

“Ok, let’s see here… pre-made environments… underwater. Here goes,” said Sweetie Belle.

There was a soft beep, and the endless white void was replaced with an endless blue sea. There was sunlight streaming down from above, but no surface in sight. There was no ground for that matter either, which left Sweetie Belle a little disoriented as she could still feel the floor underneath her.

“Woah… even if it’s just water, that’s some really realistic graphics,” said Button Mash.

“I don’t think anypony really cares about water physics, Button. I mean, water levels always suck anyway. So what if they’re pretty looking? They still suck,” countered Scootaloo.

“Scootaloo…” started Button.

“Uh, not to be a bother, but aren’t we here for Sweetie Belle? Y’all can argue about video games another time,” interrupted Apple Bloom.

“Right, sorry,” said Button.

“Same. So… what else can this thing do? Can we fill it with fish or something?” asked Scootaloo.

“I think so, but I’ll have to find it first. I’m not really sure how to use this menu thing. Also, could you pass me a sandwich?” replied Sweetie Belle.

“Wait, you’re feeling hungry already?” asked Button.

“Not really, but I don’t feel like waiting until I do,” replied Sweetie Belle.

A moment later, Sweetie felt something enter her mouth, and started chewing. As she ate, she poked around a few tabs and screens, eventually finding a ‘utilities’ page.

“Hm… I don’t think this is what we’re looking… Huh? ‘Activate audience screen?’ You said I’m sort of projecting everything I see in this place, so shouldn’t that mean it’s already active?” asked Sweetie Belle.

“I dunno. Try turning it on and see what happens,” suggested Button.

“Ah don’t think that’s a good idea. What if it sucks us into her or something?”asked Apple Bloom.

“I’m pretty sure Sweetie Belle doesn’t have a built in time cube, Apple Bloom. And if it can be turned on, that means it can be turned off, whatever it is,” said Scootaloo.

“Ah guess,” mumbed Apple Bloom.

“Alright, then. Here goes,” said Sweetie Belle.

There was another beep, and suddenly a window appeared near Sweetie Belle, revealing the faces of her friends. All of whom were stuffing their faces with popcorn.

“Oh! There you are, Sweetie Belle. Though, it’s kind of weird to see you just standing there underwater. Kind of like you’re breaking the laws of physics or something,” said Button Mash.

“I guess this means we get a third person view?” suggested Scootaloo.

“I think it’s more for my benefit than yours. I can see you three now,” said Sweetie Belle.

“Oh… that makes much more sense. Though why in Equestria wasn’t that the default setting?” asked Button Mash.

“No idea, but I’m leaving it on. I prefer not hearing your voices from the void. Let’s keep looking,” said Sweetie Belle.





Finally, they found it in a menu labeled “objects.” 

“There it is! Sheesh, this took forever!” cried Scootaloo.

“It took three minutes, Scootaloo. Ah counted,” said Apple Bloom.

“Wait, what? Why?” asked Scootaloo.

“Because Ah knew ya would complain about it,” replied Apple Bloom with a smirk.

“Anyway, let’s try adding some fish to this ocean,” said Sweetie Belle.

A few taps of the menu later, and a small school of fish appeared in the water, frozen in time. They proceeded to remain frozen and do absolutely nothing.

“Uh… is it broken?” asked Apple Bloom.

“I don’t think so. I bet we just need to tell them to do something,” said Button Mash.

“So… just tap the fish?” asked Sweetie Belle.

She gave said fish a tap, and sure enough, another menu popped up. She was immediately overwhelmed by the sheer number of options.

“Aw geez… look at all this! Pathfinding, behavior patterns, special responses… I guess some of these sound kind of obvious, but wow,” said Sweetie Belle.

“Huh. This kind of reminds me of when my dad took me to work once,” said Button Mash.

“Wait, you mean we’re basically making our own video game?” asked Scootaloo in surprise.

“Well, maybe. I really didn’t understand half of what they were doing, but I think if we can figure out how to use this thing, we probably could,” said Button Mash.

“Sounds mighty complicated to me. And kind of borin’, considerin’ Sweetie Belle’s doin’ all the work,” said Apple Bloom.

“Is there anything in the manual?” asked Sweetie Belle.

“Oh! Right, forgot to check that,” admitted Scootaloo before she pulled out said manual.

“Let’s see… gah. Past the setup and basic functions it just says ‘please consult Pipeline VR manual for more details.’ Yeah, as if we have one of those. I guess this sort of stuff is kind of standard in the future,” said Scootaloo with a shake of her head.

“Wait, it does mention this version comes with pre-built MC and… oooh?” said Apple Bloom.

“MC and what?” asked Sweetie Belle.

“OO. It’s two ‘o’s right next to each other. Or maybe zeros? Ah don’t know,” explained Apple Bloom.

“Maybe we should check those pre-built environments? These sound like actual finished games we could give a try,” suggested Button Mash.

“What makes you certain they’re games?” asked Scootaloo.

“Nothing, really. I’m just hoping they are. Can you imagine how cool a video game from the future would be?” said Button with an awe-struck look on his face.

“Wow, Button. Just wow,” said Scootaloo with a shake of her head.

“He has a point though. Maybe we can get a better idea of how this thing works if we see a finished version,” said Sweetie Belle.

“Right, and totally not because you want to impress your colt… ah!” cried Scootaloo as Button shoved her out of Sweetie Belle’s window.

“I’m getting real sick of that joke,” grumbled Button Mash.

“Well, Ah say we go for it. If nothin’ else, one of them might be a tutorial or somethin’,” said Apple Bloom.

“Alright, whatever. So MC or OO?”  asked Scootaloo as she walked back onto the screen.

“OO. I gotta know what that stands for,” said Button Mash.

A few taps of the menu later, the endless ocean gave away to a gray cavern. There were torches in the walls and a large door, but otherwise no indication that this was anything other than another empty space.

“Huh. Wasn’t expecting a dungeon of some kind. I guess Button was right about it being a video game,” said Scootaloo.

“Doesn’t look like there’s anything pre-built, though. Can you check the menus, Sweetie Belle?” asked Button Mash.

Sweetie looked back at the menu, and was surprised to see that the interface had changed entirely. It had gone from a plain, simple design to a fancy looking one complete with swords for a border.

“Huh. That’s new. There’s even a bunch of new tabs. Dungeon design, character creator, DM vision...” read Sweetie Belle.

Suddenly, Button Mash let out a gasp.

“Sweet Celestia, I just figured out what this is!” he cried.

The others looked at him in confusion.

“Don’t you girls see it?! This has to be one of the most awesome things ever!” cried Button Mash with a squeal of glee.





One calmed down pony, a single name spoken, three more calmed down ponies, a trip to Button’s house, a lengthy explanation, another calmed down pony, and an extensive character design session later...





… and then, the heroes come face to face with the mysterious warrior.

“Greetings to you. I am…”

“Wait. I was kind of picturing her being a little bulkier,” said Scootaloo.

On the projection, the cleric Holy Light turned and looked at the ponies sitting around the table and groaned.

“We spent twenty minutes trying to get her to look right, Scootaloo. Would you please stop reimagining her every five seconds? Also, sandwich please,” said Holy Light.

“Indeed. Must every inch of me be so tightly scrutinized?” asked the newly introduced Lancer Lot with Sweetie Belle’s voice. 

“Gah… Ok, I admit I’m nitpicking, but please stop speaking though other characters, Sweetie Belle. It’s kind of creepy,” said Scootaloo.

“Said the changeling?” asked Apple Bloom with a raised eyebrow.

“Having multiple minds in one head is far less creepy than one mind in multiple heads. There’s a big difference,” said Scootaloo.

“I don’t get it,” said Button Mash as he rubbed the back of his head in confusion.

“Ahem. Can we continue, please?” asked Mrs. Mash.





…the heroes step out into the sun, discovering a large, empty garden. The only apparent landmark is a large gazebo in…

“Really, mom?” deadpanned Button Mash.

“Oh come now, Button. It’s a classic, and two of our players have never experienced it yet. It’s only fair they get to see all the O&O traditions,” said Mrs. Mash.

“Tradition?” asked Apple Bloom.

“More like a big inside joke,” grumbled Button Mash.

“What I want to know is why does the gazebo look like a tiny Carousel Boutique? We have gazebos in Ponyville. You know what one looks like, Sweetie Belle,” said Scootaloo.

“Because this way we get to cause a great deal of property damage to Rarity’s house and not get in trouble for it. I’m hoping this’ll count as our destruction quota for the week. Also, sandwich please,” answered Holy Lights.

“That would be a pleasant change, though I’m a little disappointed to learn you already know where we’re going with this,” said Mrs. Mash as she passed over another sandwich.

“Well, Ah don’t. So what happens next? Why the hay would we be worried about a gazebo?” asked Apple Bloom.





Hog Wash looks at his companions.

“Both of these passages need to be explored. I think we should split up and…”

“No,” said everypony else as they glared at Apple Bloom.

“How can you even suggest that, Apple Bloom? That’d be breaking one of the golden rules of O&O,” chided Scootaloo.

“Golden rules?” asked Apple Bloom with a raised eyebrow.

There were sighs around the table.

“One should know: you never split the party,” recited Button Mash.

“Keep the Clerics in the back,” added Holy Lights.

“Keep your fighters nice and healthy,” said Scootaloo.

“Wizards in the middle, where spells have greatest might,” said Mrs. Mash.

“And never let that darn thief out of sight,” finished everypony together.

“Uh… Ok? Ah guess we won’t split up then. Wait a minute, how do you know these ‘golden rules,’ Sweetie Belle?” asked a very confused Apple Bloom.

“I got an O&O manual for some light reading. They’re listed on the second page,” answered Holy Lights.

“You consider a game manual light reading?” asked Mrs. Mash.

“It’s not like it’s a school book or anything complicated like that. Now pass me another sandwich, please,” said Holy Lights.





“And so, what should have been a day of discovering what the VR system was capable of ended up being a day long O&O session. One might argue that, technically, this isn’t much of a difference as they were utilizing the VR system to…”

“Mom, you’re doing that dumb ‘narrate my children’s lives’ thing again,” said Dove.

“I acknowledge that I am, but if you call my little habit dumb again I’m grounding you,” said Blue Monarch.

“I think she has an excuse this time. I mean, we were watching a game of O&O,” said Uno.

“Literally! That system is so cool! Imagine what sort of other awesome stuff you could do with that!” exclaimed Goose.

“High speed races…” mumbled Lynx. 

“Prototype constructions…” added Beetle.

“Blood soaked torture chambers…” added Twitch.

“Wow, Twitch. That’s really the worst image you can try to put in our heads? You’re losing your… AAAAHHHH!!” screamed Dove.

“And, so another day comes to pass. And Twitch is, once again, grounded. Seriously, that was uncalled for, Twitch,” said Blue Monarch.

“My pride says it was absolutely called for,” replied Twitch.