//------------------------------// // 3...2...1...GO! // Story: Button Mash! Master of the Arcade Arts! // by Clockworklich //------------------------------// MAG+1 Congratulations! You have gotten a stat to the pinnacle of your tribe! MAG can no longer be trained and must use stat points or items to grow further. For reaching the pinnacle of a stat you are awarded a trait! Green Hoof. By pushing mana into a plant you can- increase its quality by up to 2 levels. remove any sickness or toxins from the plant. Reverse decomposition on plants. Increase the buff or effects of any food or potions the plant is used in. Button paused at the popups floating in front of him, placing the toy bazooka onto the ground. "I can only grind my magic to fifty?" He asked out loud after reading the screen. He furrows his brow before shaking his head. With his path, it didn't need to grow forever, as nice as that would have been. At least, so long as his plan to use gems as mana batteries works. With those thoughts, he finished upgrading the toy weapon to have some real power behind its shots and put it in his inventory. After he got his vitality up to 50 he decided that he would use some of those bits he got from that dungeon to do some shopping. He still needed at least one common quality weapon and he wanted a small armory just to be safe. Hopefully, he can make one that's good enough, seeing as he has no tools so his weapons are literally being held together with ducktape. "I really need to get some kind of appraisal skill or something." Button grumbled to himself. Not being able to see how much XP he had annoyed him, but he could deal with it. But not being able to tell the quality, damage, or how close one of his creations is to breaking is bad. Hopefully Pinkie could teach me something like that. Button thought as he got to work on the special ammo for his latest weapon. He had been working hard on this and was sure that he would be as prepared as he could be once he used up all the things he bought. He even still had 27 bits and 69 bittybits left over if needed. "Button, it's bedtime!" Mommy Mash called up to him. Groaning, Button put everything into his inventory and went to brush his teeth. Ready to get back to work as soon as his mom went to sleep. A few hours later. Button finished the last of his weapons and just sat there for a moment, not sure what to do. He considered getting some sleep for the first time since getting this power, but that 'just a little more' mindset was still in place. He still had a few days and had no idea what he would be facing or what its level was. It was a world event after all. Biting his lower lip Button considered his skills and stats. For his class, it was clear that INT and DEX were the most important. Obsessive drive in full force with that countdown continuing to tick Button got out his headset and laptop which he connected to his game console. He was going to keep grinding until the world event was over. So he might as well give to his fans while grinding his DEX. Adjusting the volume to be as loud as he felt was safe Button spoke quietly into his mic. "Hello every creature this is Monster Masher here and I've got a treat for all of you. Now, in the past, I've bought some of the most insanely difficult and unfair games around but wound up rage quitting and leaving them sitting in a box in my closet. Well, this week is glutton for punishment week where I do let's plays on the highest difficulty. Now let the games begin." Day of the Summer Sun Celebration. Name: Button Mash Level: 3 Class: Gadgeteer- Level 12 HP: 540 SP: 540 MP: 50 STR: 67 VIT: 54 DEX: 65 INT: 61 WIZ: 55 MAG: 50 Points 10 Button finished looking over his stats before leaving his house. Not bad considering how much stat grinding slows down after they reach 50. School was out today for the celebration so Button walked around to see if there was anything he could do. Whenever he saw a quest marker, and there were a lot of them today, he would walk right up and ask if he could help. Level UP! Class Level Up! "Yes! And all it took was six fetch quests!" Button said happily when he saw Pinkie Pie looking more excited than normal with a quest marker over her head. "Hey Pinkie! Need some help with something?" Button asked as he rushed over. Stopping, Pinkie paused as she gave a hum, looking up while scratching her chin. "Yeppers! There's a new pony in Ponyville! And a new dragon too! And on the day of the Summer Sun Celebration! Which means I need to throw a super-duper extra fun welcome to Ponyville party! Could you make some deliveries for me so I can work on that?" Pinkie asked. Quest! Sugar Rush! Deliver baked goods to hungry workers. 3 boxes of doughnuts. 2 boxes of muffins. one container of cinnamon. Rewards 500xp Gadgeteer tools. Yes/No? "Yes!" Button exclaimed as he jumped with joy. He wish he had them sooner but the tools alone make the quest irresistible. "Great! I have some doughnuts for some construction ponies at the edge of town, some muffins for the post office, and Sweet Apple Acres ran out of cinnamon." Pinkie said as she hopped into the bakery before coming out with the boxes on her back and placing them into... "Wait what? But that's.. how in the... Pinkie how did my go-kart get here!?" Button cried out in shock. Not just because it was sitting there, never mind the black and white checkered line it was in front of, but because he managed to, with some difficulty, get the thing into his inventory in case he needed it at some point during the event. "Well, how else are you going to make the deliveries on time silly?" Pinkie asked with a giggle as she gestured for Button to get in. Eye twitching Button climbed into the driver's seat. As soon as he started it up his attention was drawn to a squeaking sound. Looking up he saw Pinkie Pie sitting on a bunch of white balloons as she held a fishing pole with a traffic light on the end of the line. With a beep, the first light lit up. Gaming instincts taking over Button tensed up and got ready to floor it. When the green light lit up he was off like a rocket. Button continued to be surprised by his power as he saw large rings for him to drive through. Following the giant rings which nopony else could see based on the lack of reaction, Button came to the construction zone and, following the ring's path, drove up a ramp, jumping the fence and landing near some tables where some surprised looking construction workers were standing. Driving forwards with a quick turn he slid the box of doughnuts onto the table before driving off again. "Should we have yelled at him for that stunt or given him a tip for the fast delivery?" One of the workers asked. "He's gone now so no point in asking." Another replied as he took out a doughnut and started munching. Meanwhile, Button was driving down the road, zigzagging to get through each ring leading him on his path. Unfortunately, unable to drop off while staying in his go-kart, Button was forced to run the muffins into the post office himself. "Special delivery!" Button called out as he jumped up and dropped the muffins in front of a walleyed mare then rushing back out. Taking a stamp the mare pressed it into the boxes then placed them in the outgoing box to be delivered. She then sat back down and waited for her muffins to show up. Button was in the home stretch now, coming up on Sweet Apple Acres he made a sharp turn at the gate and shot down the path, passing a surprised looking lavender unicorn and baby dragon on the way. Finding that the apples had just finished eating he drove up to Big Mac. "Cinnamon delivery!" Button called out as he tossed the box onto the red stallion's back. "Yep." Was Big Mac's response as he gave Button a quick tip in the form of an apple fritter. With a thank you Button was off once again as he followed the rings as they led him back to behind the library, Where he saw Pinkie signaling for him to quickly get inside. Hours later. Button was looking around with that sick feeling in his gut that comes with waiting for something scary to happen. While the other ponies were waiting for Princess Celestia Button was focused on his countdown timer. It was almost time... ...3 ...2 ...1 "Mwahahahahahahahaha!"