//------------------------------// // All It Takes For Evil To Thrive Is For Good Ponies To Do Nothing. // Story: Button Mash! Master of the Arcade Arts! // by Clockworklich //------------------------------// "Will you accept my friendship?" Princess Celestia asked her little sister with hopeful eyes. Princess Luna hesitated for only a moment before brushing her face against her sister's neck. "I missed you so much big sister," Luna said with tears falling from her eyes. "I missed you too" Celestia replied as she started to cry as well. Though not as much as Pinkie pie who was crying out a greater volume of salty water that should be in her entire body. However, the pink pony quickly got over it, and instead became excited. "Hey, you know what this calls for? A party!" Pinkie exclaimed. "We can have it in Ponyville as soon as you wake all of the ponies you put to sleep!" "We would need to clear out the nightmares first. There might have also been some damage to the town as well." Luna said getting confused looks from most of the ponies in the room, so she explained. "The spell we used didn't just put them to sleep but turned their deepest nightmares into reality. I... was going to use those abominations as troops in our conquest." The room became deathly quiet at that statement. "Are you telling us... that after we left the town hall started filling with bloodthirsty monsters?" Rarity asked as she somehow managed to grow even paler than she already was. "Indeed, but worry not. They will not attack their dreamers, so all of the ponies we hit with the spell are safe." Luna tried to reassure them but instead, she and her sister were bolled over and trampled by a white unicorn and an orange earth pony who were rushing out of the castle. There was an explosion of rainbows in the sky as Rainbow Dash took off out of a hole in the wall, followed shortly by Fluttershy who took off like a yellow and pink bullet. Even Twilight ignored the princesses getting trampled as she teleported out of there. "Was it something we said?" Luna asked with a groan. "Wellllll, Twilight protected Spike with a force field and four foals didn't get hit because they were hiding under tables. And they told the kids to wait in the town hall where you just said all those monsters showed up in." Pinkie Pie explained causing the two princesses' faces to twist into a look of horror. Jumping to their hooves, the princesses took off after the two runners while Celestia carried Pinkie Pie with her magic. With a flash of light, a frazzled and slightly singed Twilight appeared in the middle of town and after taking a moment to shake off the disorientation she rushed back to town hall as fast as her squishy nerd legs could run. She managed to make it there just in time to see Rainbow dash fly in through the door and ran in at the same time as Fluttershy. "Spike! Spike where are you!?" Twilight cried out in a panic. "Scoots say something!" Rainbow shouted. "Children please come out!" Fluttershy begged. But there was no reply. The only sound other than from the three mares was the grunts from a moving tree that had gotten a brutal trimming and was wiggling on the floor, unable to get up. The place looked like a war zone with all the decorations and tables trashed, the food everywhere, and the ponies laying on the floor like dead bodies. With a flash of golden light the princesses, Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie appeared in the room. "Wow, Button has been busy," Pinkie said as she saw the makeshift weapons all over the place. "Pinkie this is serious! We have to find the children!" Twilight shouted. "Then why are you looking in here? They left already." Pinkie said as she pointed to the door that had been smashed apart from the inside. It had just dawned on them that the children probably would have run away when the monsters started showing up. Rushing out the door it didn't take long for them to notice the obvious tracks leading away. It was no secret that Button was a proud owner of a shiny new go-kart so it wasn't hard to imagine the kids using it to get away. More concerning was the hoof prints that let the same way. They looked the right size for a pony but they were too deep. Whatever made them was ether unnaturally heavy or monstrously strong. Not wasting a single second they all followed the tracks. The first strange thing they found were deeper hoof prince in front of two deeper parts of the tracks with thrown dirt like they were trying to drive but the nightmare had caught them and was holding them back. The tracks disappear from that point and reappeared further away where the ground had been torn up and the hood of Button's go-kart had been laying, bent, and stuck in the ground. Smaller hoof prints could be found in the area as well where the tire tracks started again. They had been thrown, kart and all. The most distressing part was the collapsed building not far away. "You don't think-?" Fluttershy asked as she looked at the building with fear but was quickly corrected. "More tracks heading away!" Luna said as she pointed down the new path. As the ponies followed there was something new that Princess Luna noticed. A trail of black sand. Whatever was chasing the children had been hurt. Luna became more confused as the trail grew thicker but was soon distracted by cries of happiness when they found the foals next to the wreckage of Button's go-kart. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom gave out surprised yelps as their big sisters tackle-hugged them and gave out cries of protests at being smothered. Things were not adding up for Luna. There was a pile of black sand, fear made solid in the form of tiny crystals. Based on the size of the pile it should have been too much for mear foals to handle. And yet they appear to be fine. Her eyes narrowed at the only colt of the group who was obviously keeping Luna in the corner of his eyes. She could feel it, another nightmare behind him. But when she tried to move around to get a clear shot he kept moving to block her sight. Narrowing her eyes she cast a fear sight spell. The nightmare wasn't affecting his mind. Putting the kill on sight plan on hold when she made a quick movement she caught sight and cast a spell to compel it to do what it wanted. This would reveal how bad it was and decide her next course of action. The colt's eyes widened as the small nightmare ran up to his head and as Luna charged up a spell to eradicate it... It jumped up onto the propeller on Button's hat and just sat there, enjoying the experience of just spinning around and around. That's what it wanted to do most of all? Luna thought as she watched, flabergasted as the twisted creation of dark magic simply rode on the spinning piece on Button's hat like an excitable child. Quick as lightning, the colt grabbed his hat with one hoof, the nightmare with the other, and stuffed the pink little monster under his hat and secured it back onto his head. Did it help fight whatever was chasing them? Luna wondered. She decided not to ruin the moment and let it go for now. But she was definitely going to keep a close eye on those two. "Useless." Nightmare Moon said as she finished off the tree nightmare and absorbed its black sand. No, not Nightmare moon, but her shadow. A fraction that had been broken off and as such escaped the rainbow cannon. She had failed. She had tried to stop the ponies from getting the Elements but she was too weak. After failing with the rainbow-haired one she would have returned to her body but instead came back to collect the nightmares as reinforcements. But when she got there they were already slain and nothing more than black sand on the floor. And to make matters worse the sun had risen high into the sky. This was bad for her as she didn't have the ability to survive for long in the sunlight. "I need more power, more fear." She growled. She looked down at the sleeping ponies but discarded the idea of using them again. She barely managed to hide in time when she heard the Elements of Harmony coming. She needed to leave now. But she also needed more fear. And she dared not enter the dream realm until she felt that she was strong enough to crush Luna. She would need help. There must be those out there who crave power. She could use them, with her knowledge of forbidden magics long forgotten to the world 'if Celestia had anything to say about it' she could have powerful minions to spread fear for her until she was strong enough to claim what is rightfully hers. With a scowl, she tore off a banner to use as a cloak and fled the town.