//------------------------------// // Gamer Luna // Story: Games We Play // by GJT_Productions //------------------------------// "No...no...no...maybe...no...no...ugh, no..." "Shining?" "Oh, Captain! Apologies, I didn't see you there sir." "At ease. I'm just here to give you the report." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Captain of the Guard Gibraltar had arrived in Lieutenant Captain Shining Armor's office to give the daily report before he went off-duty for the night, but was temporarily distracted by the boxes on the Lieutenant Captain's desk. One was an inauspicious box of gray plastic with a smaller box attached to it via a black cord, the other was a cardboard box filled with long, thin pieces of dark grey plastic standing on end with each piece colorfully labeled. "What's that you got there?" the Captain asks, pointing toward the boxes behind Shining Armor. "Oh, these? I had them pulled out of storage while I was sleeping. I wanted to see if Princess Luna was interested in this old thing, sir." Shining Armor answers, telekinetically picking up the gray box to show the Captain what he's talking about. The Captain walks over next to Shining and squints to read the writing on the front of the box: "Pony... Entertainment... System... Goodness, I remember my two colts spending hours and hours on one of these things!" "The same ones that are now serving in the field, sir?" Shining asks. "Yes indeed. And suddenly I feel a lot older than I thought I did." the Captain replies. "Sorry sir." Shining says, blushing a bit. "Oh never mind, Shining. Here's the report." --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shining Armor telekinetically puts the gray box back on the table and then takes the report held by the Captain. He frowns as he reads the parchment. "I see Princess Celestia made her decision about the five Agents, sir." the Lieutenant Captain comments. He was referencing the five "Agents of Chaos" that had participated in the failed "Operation Love Lost" and subsequently exposed and arrested. They had been held in custody while Princess Celestia decided their ultimate fate for their crimes against the kingdom. "Unfortunately. It wasn't an easy decision, but in the end Her Majesty felt it necessary to make a strong response because of how deeply embedded this threat is." the Captain somberly comments. "That's terrible! All those families..." Shining replies, dismay on his face. "Yes, that's the problem with these things, isn't it?" the Captain wearily asks. "Such extreme movements swallow lives whole and then tear them apart without regard for the consequences or collateral damage. Now there will be foals without fathers and mates without their partners because Celestia must make a strong response. And I'm telling you Shining, there's nothing glorious or romantic about it. I hope you never have to see one of these things, or even worse participate in them." "When was the last time she did such a thing? The only references I've seen are in history books..." "Not in the living memories of most ponies has Celestia done this. Only the very oldest of ponies, like 'Granny Smith' over in Ponyville, have lived through the last time she did this, and there may only be a few surviving witnesses left." "It's still a terrible thing, sir." "Yes, I won't argue that. And I'd rather not go on anymore about it. Besides, you have assignments to give out, don't you?" "Yes sir, I do." "Then I'll let you get to it. I'm not going to invite you to the event, because there's nothing to be gained from your witnessing it. You will get a report tomorrow evening, and that ought to be enough to satisfy whatever morbid curiosity you may have." "I understand, sir. Are you going off duty?" "You have command for the night, but I'll still be in my office dealing with paperwork. Tell me how your little experiment works out." Captain Gibraltar states. "I will, sir." Shining Armor replies with a modest smile. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From this meeting, Shining Armor goes to perform the shift-assignment duties. Before he has the lottery machine give out the assignments though, he has a special message to read to the assembled Lieutenants of his shift: "Message relayed from the Captain's preliminary report regarding the destruction of the Weather Ministry offices: 'In light of the brave and valorous conduct of Lieutenants Vesper and Stratocumulus in the context of this catastrophe, commendations are being entered into their respective personnel files. The previous recommendation of Medal of Valor for Lieutenant Stratocumulus has also been placed on the fast track for approval. Appropriate congratulations to both Lieutenants are in order. Glory to the kingdom of Equestria.'" This message produced scattered congratulatory messages and gestures to Vesper and Stratocumulus from the other Lieutenants, and the lottery assignment proceeded with unusual merriment. As Stratocumulus approached to take his assignment, Shining speaks to him directly: "First what happened at the Summer Sun Celebration, and now this. Are you sure you're not trying to outdo me, Lieutenant?" "I can assure you sir, I'm not." Stratocumulus replies, a slight blush to his cheeks bracketing a meek grin as he picks up his lottery ball. What Shining was referring to was that mere weeks before, Stratocumulus was only a Guard Upper Class serving on the morning shift. The pegasus had been chosen as one of the four to go to Ponyville as part of the ill-fated Summer Sun Celebration and, despite being blasted back into a wall in trying to fight "Nightmare Moon", recited an oath of loyalty to the restored Princess Luna on his own initiative. This apparently very much impressed Princess Celestia, because during the reorganization effort Stratocumulus was given a Lieutenant's commission in addition to a transfer to the night shift, as well as recommendation for the Medal of Valor mentioned previously. All in all, a dramatic but well justified rise for a "rookie" Guard member. "Well, whatever you're doing, don't stop doing it. That's an order." Shining Armor replies in a half-serious manner, confirmed by the amused smirk on his face. "I won't sir, I promise." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Only after all the assignments had been given out and paperwork done up could Lieutenant Captain Shining Armor begin his effort to introduce Princess Luna to the world of video games. The guards in front of Luna's suite eye the game system and box full of cartridges suspiciously as Shining approaches the door carrying them telekinetically, but say nothing as Shining knocks on the double doors. "Who knocks upon our door?" is the reply in Princess Luna's voice. "The Lieutenant Captain, brightest star in the night, knocks upon the door." Shining Armor answers. The description wasn't a mere flight of fancy, but a kind of "royal nickname", a holdover from older days where even high-ranking officers were not supposed to be known by name. And, as Celestia pointed out, there was "no small measure of affection and flattery" in that title given to him by Luna. "You may enter." Luna's voice is heard speaking. Shining Armor opens the doors, the guards giving no impediment to doing so, and Luna, currently laying on her bed, looks on curiously as Shining brings along the game system and box full of cartridges into the room. Shining pushes the doors shut again with one of his hind legs as soon as he and what he is carrying are inside. Not surprisingly, Luna is quite curious about what Shining has brought with him. Now that she's been in Canterlot a little while, all the "new" stuff has stopped coming at a rapid-fire pace and she can actually begin to enjoy the new experiences. Luna had also started adapting her speech habits on Celestia's prodding, going closer to a more modern but still quite formal version of the language. "What is that you are carrying?" Luna asks as Shining stops in front of the TV in Luna's suite. "Something I had pulled out of storage this morning. I thought Your Majesty might be interested in it." Shining replies with a gracious smile as he gently sets down both the console and the box full of games in front of the TV. "A present? For us? But it is not our birthday or a holiday." Luna comments, a confused expression on her face. "That's true, Your Majesty. But when I was younger, I spent many hours playing games on this gray box, and thought you could gain the same enjoyment I did playing those games." Shining modestly explains, beginning to hook up the appropriate cables to the boxy TV - flatscreen TVs did not exist in Equestria - in order to play the Pony Entertainment System. Luna blushes slightly and looses herself in thought. Maniacal laughter and "The night shall last forever!" sometimes still echoed in her head, provoking shame whenever it happened. Nopony had a need, an obligation, to be this nice to her, not even her own sister who had forgiven her anyway and invited her to be again what she had been before. She sensed the fear and the loathing some of the guards and staff had for her - not in the open of course, but hidden under the surface where it festered, promising to build up into anger and disharmony. And the worst part of it was, all the fault was Luna's own for listening to the lies and empty promises that eventually turned her against her sister and kingdom. After a thousand years on the moon, she expected to be utterly alone for the rest of her immortal days, even if Celestia did promise a restoration. And most of those around her did indeed stay away - be it because of fear, because of intimidation from the laundry list of problems she had, or, worst of all, because of an unforgiving and hate-filled heart. But the exceptions to that rule gradually showed themselves brightly as the stars of her night sky against that bleak blackness. There were a number already - the pegasus Lieutenant Stratocumulus, the bat ponies lead by Lieutenant Vesper, the Captain of the Guard Gibraltar, the unicorn Lieutenant Captain Fidelitas of the afternoon shift, even the alicorn Princess Cadance who readily overlooked Luna's previous lack of acceptance of her presence in Canterlot. But Lieutenant Captain Shining Armor was the brightest of those stars by far. Emerging to comfort Luna in the deepest depths of her despair and loneliness following her release from the nightmare prison, Shining with his bright blue eyes and modest demeanor had quickly captured her heart. Shortly afterward, the revelation from Celestia of that "Good Samaritan" being of the same blood - "the notes of the same song arranged a little differently", as Celestia poetically put it - as the filly who's "spark" had ended her thousand year nightmare seemed beyond amazing, perhaps the highest order of "friendship is magic" put into practice. Even though Luna now knew that she could never have Shining Armor as consort - his heart already belonged to Cadance, and in any case Luna knew the pain loving a mortal being would bring eventually - she still felt unworthy of having such a friend, and probable future nephew-in-law, as him. Twilight Sparkle called him "B.B.B.F.F." as meaning "Big Brother Best Friend Forever", but Luna had privately developed her own version of that arrangement - "Beloved Brother Brave Faithful Friend" - and used it to symbolize his example in the fight to restore her to the position she had been in before. There were many enemies, both internal and external, but Luna was confident with his support and faithfulness they could never triumph over her and once again bring back the nightmare... --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Your Highness?" Luna heard Shining Armor's voice speaking through her reminiscing. "Oh! Apologies, we were lost in thought. You were going to ask something?" Luna replied, focusing attention on the stallion in front of her. "I have everything all set up." Shining states, telekinetically pushing the button that turned the TV on. "So you connected the grey box to the box with the glowing screen that displays news and entertainment for our consumption?" Luna asks. "Er, yes, if you mean connecting the Pony Entertainment System to the television." Shining replies, recognizing that Luna didn't quite grasp modern technology yet. "And what does the grey box do, exactly?" Luna continues asking. "It allows the playing of games on the television. The games themselves are on these things called cartridges." Shining explains, telekinetically lifting a cartridge from the cardboard box to show what he means. "But if the game is on the things you call 'cartridges', then how do we play them on the screen?" "I'll show you, Your Majesty. You open the flap on the front of the grey box... insert the cartridge like so... close the flap and press the button labeled 'Power'..." The TV screen, which had been black up to this point, suddenly lit up with a picture that included the word "Tetris" and an 8-bit depiction of Canterlot Castle... and Luna's eyes immediately go wide in wonderment. "Almost as magic as the glowing box itself!" she exclaims, staring at the TV in amazement. Shining can't help but chuckle a bit at how magical an already outdated video game console must seem to somepony thrown a thousand years forward in time. He had already had multiple experiences with how something that seemed so ordinary to him and the ponies of the modern time was extraordinary to Princess Luna. Sometimes it was funny, sometimes... not so much. "If this is a game, how do we play it?" Luna asks Shining Armor when she finally pulls her attention away from the screen. "Using this. You press the buttons with magic." Shining Armor replies, telekinetically holding up the controller. "We see." Luna states, carefully reading the buttons on the controller. Shining Armor lets down the controller in front of Luna, and she looks down at it with some confusion on her face before a glow of blue magic indicates the pushing of the "Start" button. The TV screen changes to show a number of black boxes on a gray background. Most of the boxes have text in them, some have both text and pictures of four-block shapes in various arrangements. The large central box shows the same four-block arrangements slowly falling down the screen. "How do we play this game?" Luna asks in confusion as she watches the shapes fall and stack up in the large central box. "Move the shapes by pressing left and right on the cross-shape on the left of the controller. Use the controller buttons to rotate the shapes and get them to fit into each other. Each time you get a solid row, that row disappears and what's above it falls down into the gap. That earns you points. Don't let the shapes stack to the top of the screen or you'll lose the game." Shining explains. It takes some trial-and-error to figure out which buttons do what (the "pause" function was particularly confusing), but in the end Luna figures out how to control the blocks. Being a total novice though, she very quickly loses the game. She stares at the screen with irritation as it displays "Game Over" in her face. "We refuse to be bested by falling blocks!" Luna exclaims, again pressing the "Start" button with her magic. Her face assumed a determined expression, bits of the controller glowing blue as buttons are pressed to control the location and orientation of falling block arrangements on the screen. Unseen by Luna, Shining Armor smirks at the sight of Luna playing Tetris as if she were fighting in a battle. He could never get his sister that interested in video games - books and Celestia's teachings were always more important - and it was tough to find games that both he and Cadance liked playing together. On the other hoof, though, Shining could tell right away Luna had "it" - the heart and soul of a determined gamer. "Your Majesty, if I may give some advice..." he begins to speak. "Quiet! Do not interrupt our battle!" Luna loudly cuts him off. "As you wish, Your Majesty." --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shining Armor excuses himself from the suite as quietly as he can, shaking his head in bemusement. He wondered how long it would take for Luna to figure out there wasn't an end to that game, or whether his old hardware would survive the frustrations of an alicorn, even a weakened one. He also wondered if he would eventually get in trouble from this experiment. It mattered little to him what the final outcome would be, though. As the humans would say, "Totally worth it."