Chapter 1: Lets Play Minecraft!
“I’m telling you Sweetie Belle, this game is great!” Button Mash stated for the hundredth time, looking back at Sweetie Belle as they trotted to his house.
“As long as we can play it inside, I’m all for it, cause it’s cold out here!” Sweetie said with a shiver, an icy cold breeze whipping through the air and stinging the ears and noses of both small ponies, turning them red and numb.
Button smiled sheepishly and looked back at Sweetie once more. “Yeah, sorry about that…we’re almost there though!” He said reassuringly, to which his companion only shivered and continued trudging forward.
It was winter, obviously. The snows had yet to be cleared and Winter Wrap Up wouldn’t be occurring for a few more weeks, and so Ponyville was covered in a thick layer of snow. It clung to the roofs, making them look like somepony had covered them in diamonds. Snow covered the fields and the roads, the lakes had frozen over, and even more snow now drifted down from the sky above.
Soon enough, Button’s house came into sight, Plopped on the edge of a large field, marking the end of that stretch of road and almost forming a sort of square cul-de-sac.
Button could practically feel the warmth of his home from here, it beckoned to him like the call of a thousand lovely sirens, its call floating over the wind and into his mind, as if he were a pirate on the high seas, drifting and doing pirate-y things. Like drinking apple juice, saying “Yar!” constantly, and getting all the “Scurvy Wenches.”…whatever those were.
His visions of all things pirate-y were suddenly and swiftly ended, however, as he received a shove to the side followed by a muzzlefull of icy-cold snow.
“AGH!” Button went flying and smashed headfirst into a snowdrift, limbs madly flailing about as he tried to escape this icy predicament he found himself in, through his now snow-filled ears, he could make out a single voice.
“Firsttoyourhousewins!” It shrieked, growing fainter as it did so.
Sweetie Belle.
With a huff, Button pried himself from the icy entombment, and shook the few chunks of snow that clung tightly to his mane. He then snapped his gaze over to the rapidly shrinking form of Sweetie Belle, who was hauling flank towards his house; her curly mane flailing behind her like mad as she did so.
“SWEETIE BELLE!” He cried, taking off after her like a bat out of Tartarus, kicking up flurries of snow as he ran.
Sweetie only let out a half shriek half giggle as she ran as fast as her little hooves would carry her, kicking up just as much snow as Button was. From afar it would have looked like two tiny go-carts were whizzing about, throwing up clouds of smoke as they did.
Button grinned smugly to himself as he gained ground on his opponent; he would catch up to her in no time. Maybe he’d stick out his tongue as he ran by and say something snarky or smart! He liked that idea.
This idea; much like his list one, was suddenly and abruptly halted to an utter stop, as Button was met with a second muzzlefull of snow, it impacted right on his forehead and forced him to slow down a bit. He shook his head and found that; as expected, the assailant was Sweetie Belle, hurling snowballs at him using her magic.
“Sweetie Belle, no fair!” He whined, trying to regain the speed he lost as the house grew ever nearer.
Sweetie replied with yet another giggle of delight, apparently enjoying humiliating Button in this icy manner.
Button simply groaned and rolled his eyes, little legs starting to burn as he desperately tried to catch up to Sweetie Belle; somehow she was faster and he didn’t like it.
Finally, Button made it to his front door, collapsing into the snow just inches from the patio and breathing heavily into the icy blanket beneath him; melting it a little with each exhale.
“I guess I win, huh, Button?” Came Sweetie Belle’s voice, laced with a triumphantly playful giggle as she sat in front of him, looking down from her perch on the patio.
Slowly, Button Mash raised his head and gazed upon Sweetie Belle.
There she sat in all her glory, looking like some dictator leading her armies into battle and conquering nations with neigh but a giggle and a flash of her pearly whites, White and pink mane hanging in loose curls over her fluffy ears, and smiling innocently down at him.
Why did he put up with this?
“Yeah…sure, Sweetie Belle…” He groaned and let his face fall back into the snow, waving a dismissive hoof at her weakly as he resigned himself to the snow.
“Button, I wanna play that game you were telling me about, come oooooon!” She whined after a moment, apparently tired of waiting for him.
With another groan, Button pried his body from the freezing ground and regained his composure, brushing himself off before looking over at Sweetie Belle, who was impatiently awaiting him by the front door.
“Alright, Alright…” He said, sighing softly and opening the door for Sweetie Belle.
Why she didn’t just go inside herself, he hadn’t the slightest idea.
“Mom?” He called out as they stepped inside, looking around silently and awaiting a response from his mother.
No response.
“Maybe she’s not home?” Sweetie suggested, trotting further into the house and looking around curiously.
“Guess not.” He replied, shutting the door behind him with a rear leg and trotting after Sweetie Belle; best he make sure she didn't get into anything she shouldn’t; Sweetie Belle was nothing if not inquisitive.
Trotting up ahead of Sweetie Belle and taking the lead, Button Mash lead her into the kitchen and over to the fridge, pulling it open with a hoof and scanning inside, searching for his prize like an eagle for its prey.
And there she was, the most beautiful thing in Equestria, shining like a thousand gems gathered from the depths of a dragons lair, or like a super-rare amulet you loot off of a wizard in just about any RPG, ever. She was the sweetest thing a colt could ask for, entrancing and hypnotizing as a level 43 Naga with a golden broadsword of fire.
A carton of apple juice.
With a happy smile, Button snatched the juice box out of the fridge and stuck the plastic straw through the soft spot in the top, proceeding to take a large sip equal to an entire teaspoon, sighing happily as he swallowed the godly nectar.
He looked over at Sweetie Belle, eyes glazed over from this exhilarating experience, staring at her blankly with a dumb smile on his lips.
“You’re weird sometimes…” She raised an eyebrow and lifted a hoof up, leaning back slightly.
“No, I have apple juice.” He stated, shaking himself from his trance and turning over to the kitchen table.
“Anyway…” Sweetie Belle let out slowly, following him over to the kitchen table. “What game is it you wanted to show me…?” She asked, watching as he hopped up on the chair.
Saying nothing, He motioned for Sweetie to come sit on the chair next to her. She did as asked and clambered up onto the chair, scooting it over a bit so she could see what Button Mash wanted to show her.
Slowly and with (An attempt at) dramatic flair, Button opened up a laptop and the screen flashed to life, a screen saver depicting the face of some strange green creature shone brightly.
Sweetie Belle’s eyes widened in a mixture of disgust and wonder. “What is that on your screen?” She asked.
“A Creeper.” He said flatly, mousing over to an icon of what appeared to be some sort of block.
“What’s a-“
“You’ll find out…” Button said almost evilly, cutting Sweetie Belle off mid-sentence.
“Oookay…” She said uncertainly, filing Button’s actions under “Button is just being weird as usual.” And not thinking much of it.
Sweetie watched as the screen flashed once again, and an image saying “Marejang” appeared across the screen for a moment, followed by what appeared to be some sort of menu.
“This…is Minecraft.” Button said, trying to sound like a narrator for some sort of documentary.
She stared blankly at the screen for a moment, the words “Peter Griffin.” Fluctuating up on the top left of the screen, while images of a strange looking block-world shuffled behind the menu.
“Looks boring.” She stated, eyes hooded.
Button almost fell out of his chair.
“WHAT! No, Minecraft is the best game EVER! S-sweetie Belle, you gotta try it!” He had almost instantly switched into pitiful mode, practically begging her to try the game like some sort of puppy dog.
Sweetie Belle didn’t understand why she enjoyed his reaction. Into the, “Button being weird.” File it went.
“Ok, ok, ok…but if this is anything like that Haylo game you showed me, I’ll hit you.” She glared over at him, memories of being utterly destroyed by Button Mash during a firefight in a game they had played last weekend.
Button hold up a defensive hoof and shook his head. “It isn’t my fault, you suck at-WOAH!”
Button was unable to finish speaking, as Sweetie shoved him off of his chair and onto the floor, sliding into the now empty seat in front of the computer, only then realizing she had no idea what to do…wonderful.
“Button, what do I-“
“Click single-player…” He groaned; face still one with the kitchen floor.
Sweetie moused over to the button labeled “Single Player” and clicked, and a screen popped up asking her what she wanted to name her world.
“Oh!” She exclaimed gleefully, eyes widening at the prospect of being able to name something.
The sound of keys clacking reaching his ears, Button slowly sat up; massaging his nose for a moment before moving to climb up on the chair next to Sweetie, praying all the while that she would manage to refrain from causing him any more humiliation for the remaining duration of her visit.
“Button, I named my world, now what do I do?” Sweetie inquired, tearing her eyes from the screen to look over at him.
“Ok, now you hit that button there.” He said, still rubbing his nose and pointing at the grey bar near the bottom of the screen.
Silently, Sweetie Belle did as directed, silently clicking the start button, and delving into the world of Minecraft…
The next half-hour or so Sweetie Belle spent learning the basics. The basics being “Yes, the tree doesn’t fall over if you take a block from the middle.” As well as “That’s a chicken, not a duck.” Over the course of this half hour, Sweetie spent her time gathering unnatural amounts of dirt and logs; the birch logs only, Sweetie Belle claimed that they looked the “Prettiest.”
Then came the building phase, Sweetie Belle ended up spending an annoying amount of time perfecting her small house, making sure she put a fence around it so “Those pesky ducks wouldn’t get inside.” A statement to which Button simply sighed and facehoofed.
Not long after that, night fell in Minecraftia, a pixilated moon shone over all of the land, illuminating Minecraftia in its soft glow. The only other source of light being the singular torch Sweetie Belle had made and placed in her home. The torch cast its warm orange glow over the inside of the house, and Sweetie Belle now stood alone inside her small home.
“Ok…now what?” She asked, looking away from the computer and over to Button.
“Well, it’s dark, so you wait till daytime since you didn’t want to kill a sheep and make a bed…” He grumbled with a roll of his eyes.
“HEY! That sheep didn’t do anything wrong, he probably has a family, and little lambs and everything!” She protested, stomping her hoof on the chair for emphasis.
“Sweetie Belle, the sheep don’t…ugh…ok, fine, whatever.” He hooded his eyes and looked over at her, not understanding why she didn’t just kill a sheep.
“So what do I do then?” She asked again, moving her cursor to look around the small house she had made.
“Well...Don’t go outside, there are monsters.”
Sweetie’s eyes widened. “Ooooh, monsters?”
Button nodded. “Yep, Zombies, and Skeletons, and Spiders, and Endermares, and especially-“
“OH! I wanna see a zombie!” She said excitedly, practically bouncing up and down with joy in her chair.
“Sweetie Belle, no you don’t, you only have a wooden sword, and on top of that-“
“Buttoooon, I wanna see a zombieeeeee!” Sweetie Belle whined, playing it up so that Button would give in. A plan that worked quite well, as Button soon hung his head and sighed in defeat, giving into the whims of the whimpering filly sitting beside him; as usual.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you..” He said with another shake of his head.
“Crusader Sweetie Belle is armed with her wooden sword of justice! Nothing can stop her!” She exclaimed, posing valiantly on her chair and swishing a non-existent sword around in one hoof.
“Just…go outside and look around, but be careful.” Button warned, slightly afraid of how Sweetie Belle would react should she die in the game.
Last time they played Terraria, and Sweetie Belle had died at the hooves…er…eye, of the Eye of Cthulu, tears had been shed. They had turned his heart to mush and he couldn’t help but give in and give her half his armor and weaponry…only for them both to die five minutes later.
“I’ve got this!” She insisted, turning around in-game and trekking outside into the darkness, the sound of pixilated grass crunching beneath her digital hooves.
“Oooh, spooky!” She said with a giggle, exiting the “anti-duck” gate and looking around the dark wilderness.
For a moment all was silent in Minecraft, only the sound of background music being heard amidst the otherwise utter silence.
At least until there was a spine-chilling groan.
“AH!” Sweetie Belle jumped in her seat and in the process nearly sent the computer mouse flying, scooting up against the back of the chair with wide eyes.
“BUTTON MASH WHAT WAS THAT?” She cried, staring at the screen with a look of horror.
Button flew into action, taking hold of the mouse and keyboard like a pro; he flipped around in-game and located his target, a lumbering, rotting, stinky zombie-pony.
The “KE-YAH!” That followed as he bludgeoned the digital monstrosity would have put karate experts to shame, the sound of damage being dealt mixing with the unsavory groans of an undead equine being repeatedly smacked with what was essentially a baseball bat, until it fell sideways and disappeared into a poof of smoke, leaving behind only a small, floating chunk of rotten meat.
“Ha-ha! Take that vile beast!” He cried triumphantly, an unnaturally happy grin on his face in light of his victory.
“W-wait…that was a zombie?” Sweetie asked, figuring out what the monster was after thinking about it instead of screaming bloody murder.
“Yes, it was, and you’re welcome!” Button said with a smug nod, crossing his front hooves as he did.
“Oh…that wasn’t too scary at all!” She chimed, practically shoving Button out of the way so she could grab a hold of the mouse yet again. “Where’s another one? I wanna fight another! Wait…ewwww, it dropped rotten flesh, Button that’s unsanitary, why do I have it in my inventory!”
Before Button could respond to any of her questions, Sweetie had tossed the rotten flesh out of her inventory, and was already turning around to find more monsters.
“Do they drop good treasures? Oooh, do they drop bits or something if you kill certain ones? Do they-ohmygoshlookanotherone!”
Again, before Button could say anything, Sweetie had charged at another zombie she found, this one was carrying what appeared to be an iron shovel.
“Button, do I get that shovel if I kill it? Ooooh, maybe it’s a super-shovel or something, and I can get ‘em in one hit and everything!” She spoke and swung in-game simultaneously, bludgeoning the zombie-pony repeatedly until it fell sideways and dissipated in a flash of smoke, leaving behind rotten flesh like before, but this time there was also an iron shovel, slowly floating up and down and spinning even slower at the same time.
“Oooh!” Enamored with her new treasure, Sweetie Belle snatched it up and equipped it, not even pausing before charging at yet another zombie.
Button gave up on trying to say anything, he could have told Sweetie Belle that treasure drops from mobs were rare, he could have told her that the shovel wouldn’t do much good as a weapon, he also could have told her she should stick close to her house, but he couldn’t due to her now constant stream of questions she would find the answer to not five seconds after she asked them.
It went on like this for about five minutes, before Sweetie Belle had finished her campaign of digital carnage and all was silent. Her inventory now filled with a decent amount of rotten flesh. If in-game physical exertion transferred to real-life, she would be sweating profusely. Despite this she still was panting for some reason.
“Are you finished?” Button deadpanned, staring blankly at the computer screen.
“Yes…I would like to return home now.” Sweetie Belle said matter-of-factly, beginning to turn around.
And that was when it happened, the event that would bring about the most eventful and memorable day both Button and Sweetie would have for a very, very long time. It was almost as if it happened in slow motion.
Sweetie Belle slowly turned around in-game, feeling rather proud of herself for successfully butchering half a dozen zombies and not taking a lick of damage. She felt invincible, like she could take on the world with only her iron shovel.
How wrong she was.
Just as she turned around, a familiar face filled the screen, the same face she had been disgusted at when she saw Button’s screensaver. There, in all its pixilated, horrifying, hissing and explosive glory.
Was a Creeper.
It hissed and began to flash white. Sweetie Belle let out a scream of terror and unleashed a bolt of magic from her horn; it flew true and impacted on the screen of the computer. There was a small “poof!” that followed and the screen flickered to a halt.
Sweetie Belle was pressed against the back of her chair, chest rising and falling heavily as she stared upon the computer with wide and horrified eyes.
Button Mash, however, had a much different reaction.
“AGH!” He cried in despair, diving over to his computer and shaking the screen gently, as if he were trying to awake an unconscious loved one.
“No, no, no, don’t do that!” He cried frantically and continued to shake the computer, tapping the side of the screen as he tried desperately to get it to respond. After a few seconds, he realized the futility of his actions and slowly turned his gaze to Sweetie Belle, a look of despair and utter heartbreak across his face.
“B-button…I-I just got scared, I didn’t-“
“Sweetie Belle, you fried my computer! My mom is going to murder me!” He cried frantically, flailing his hooves about for emphasis.
“B-button…I…”Sweetie Belle tried to apologize, but couldn’t seem to do so due to her need to fight back tears at what she had done, she felt truly awful.
Button, however, didn’t seem to notice this, and continued ranting.
“Do you know how much trouble I am in? A LOT!” He cried in despair, the fear of his angry mother seeping into his very bones.
“W-wait, Button, look, its fine, look!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed, jumping up from her seat and frantically pointing at the computer screen.
“My mom, is going to- Huh?” Button stopped mid-rant and turned around, what he saw on the screen was returned with an expression of confusion.
The words “Loading New Chunks” sat motionless in the middle of the screen, a background made up of stone blocks behind the three words.
“That’s new…I haven’t-“
Suddenly the computer screen flashed an unnaturally bright green; both ponies fell out of their chairs and onto the floor, shielding their eyes from the light with their hooves. The strange light illuminated the room for a moment, before disappearing completely from existence.
They wouldn’t see it again for a long time.
Slowly the two sat up, looking over at one another with shared expressions of shock and confusion, eyes wide and bewildered.
“What…was that?” Sweetie Belle asked through labored breaths, her chest heaving from the excitement.
“I-I don’t know…maybe-“
Again, Button was cut off. However instead of a green light cutting him off, he was cut off by the worried moan of Sweetie Belle as she laid her eyes upon what would rapidly become a very, very big problem. Pointing her hoof over to the table they had previously been seated at.
Button followed his friend’s hoof, and found himself just as shocked as she was when he saw what she was pointing at.
Where there had once been a table, there was now only a large, blocky, pixilated tree. It was identical to an oak tree from Minecraft, gently swaying in a non-existent breeze. It poked at the ceiling, brushing it just barely with its topmost leaves, the laptop now sitting on the floor, at the base of the tree.
“AHH!” Again came the high-pitched scream of a certain pink and white maned filly, before Button knew what was going on, she had scrambled up his body and was desperately trying to perch atop his head like some canary.
“AGH, S-Sweetie Belle, what are you doing?” He said, blushing slightly at this sudden barrage of physical contact with his friend.
“THE FLOOR IS CHANGING!” She shrieked.
Button turned his gaze to the floor around the tree, and sure enough she was right. The floor was rapidly changing from its previous carpeted state, into the familiar green grass blocks found in Minecraft, flowers and grass patches sprouting up sporadically here and there.
Now both of the young ponies were screaming, both because they were unsure what to make of this, and because…well…it was kind of horrifying when your house starts to turn into a video game.
The grass spread faster than Button could scoot backwards; especially with Sweetie belle firmly latched to his head like a headcrab out of Hoof-Life. The grass generated closer and closer, eventually sliding right underneath them, the feeling of carpet being replaced with that of soft grass.
Button scrambled back farther; still wearing his Sweetie-Hat, until he hit the wall. Now only able to watch as his house was transformed block by terrifying block.
The walls became a mixture of stone and dirt, kitchen counters becoming bushes and more trees while the kitchen sink turned into a small waterfall originating from a wall that was now made of stone and dirt blocks, the fridge then became a chunk of iron ore, sticking out of the stone wall slightly as the rest of the kitchen transformed, the blocks spreading out of sight and into the rest of the house, leaving Sweetie Belle and Button alone in their newly re-generated house.
“W-what…I don’t even…” Button managed to breathe once he and Sweetie had managed to calm down, cautiously eyeing their surroundings with uncertainty.
“Button, is this part of the game?” Sweetie Belle whined; though she already knew the answer.
Just as he was about to answer, Button realized he was still wearing Sweetie Belle as a helmet.
“Hum…Sweetie Belle…?” He said softly, looking up at her with cheeks as red as pixilated apples.
Sweetie Belle stared down into his eyes for a moment, before realizing exactly where she was, her cheeks matching his as she scrambled off of his head with an embarrassed yelp, the red in her cheeks sticking out even more than Button’s due to her white coat.
The two stared at each other with red cheeks, seeming to forget their surroundings for a moment, the only sound being heard, that of the small spout of water now spewing from their wall and into a small hole where the kitchen floor once was.
Their moment was short lived however. Just as Button tore his gaze away from Sweetie Belle’s to look behind her, his previous look of embarrassment turned to one of horror.
Horror directed at the large, green, rotting, zombie-pony, now creeping up behind Sweetie Belle.