Civilization: The World on your Hooves

by SterlingC


Chapter 7: The Gamer, the Diamond, and the Spoon

You can only do so much in a single day. Such is certainly the case with turn-based games. Your units can only move so far in a single turn, and your cities can only build one unit or building at a time. Even after considering what you want to build, the amount of time required to build a unit or building will impact your decision on construction. Why wait for 15 turns to prepare a settler when you can use those same turns to produce two scouts or two workers? Everyone has the same amount of time to do as much as they can in a day. What differs a pony from another is how that time is used…


It was another bright morning in the town of Ponyville. Back at Button Mash’s house, the rest of his stuff from Manehattan was successfully moved to his place. His start to the weekend was a busy one. Button Mash started the day organizing where he would place his Ponystation and Ponycube Consoles in the room and how he would set up all the wiring. Then he had to help his mom and the movers place down their 40 inch screen television in the room before he neatly bundled all the wires and setup all his consoles. The rest of the day was then spent advancing his Super Plumber through the desert and into the cold North before his mother called him out to do some weekend shopping.

Today was going to be different though. Button Mash was all pooped out the last night, but now with a good night sleep, Button Mash was going to rise and shine and get his new day started. Button Mash excitedly trudged out of his bed just as the sun rose up to greet Button Mash. Putting on his propeller beanie hat, Button Mash trotted to his mirror, checking to see that his mane and admiring his own looks. Button Mash then called out to his mother Love Tap with a shout,

“MOM!!! I’M READY FOR SCHOOL!!!” Button Mash then heard a loud, irritated shout from his mother.

“It’s Sunday! Go back to bed!” Button Mash scratched his head and quickly checked the day with his room’s calendar that he hung by his door the day before. Having realized that today was indeed Sunday, Button Mash shouted back,

“Sorry!” Button Mash then trudged back to his bed, lying down on top of the quilt his father gave him for his birthday. As he lied down, he realized that today was the day he’d hang out with two sets of fillies. First, he was visiting Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara to play on their virtual reality machine for the morning. Sure he didn’t ask to come over, but he decided to do so anyway. After all, Diamond Tiara did say he was welcome anytime. Diamond Tiara was certainly a weird pony, but Silver Spoon seemed nicer, and the fact they had a virtual reality console was enough for him to be happy for the time being.

Then Button Mash realized that he was also going to hang out with Sweetie Belle in the afternoon. Remembering her brought up the weird dream he had on his first night at Ponyville. Why was Sweetie Belle in his dream? How did she know about his father’s passing? How did she know how he felt when he moved away from Manehattan? Not having understood the basis of dreams, all Button Mash could think about was how pretty she looked in his dream…

“Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara may be alright, but Sweetie Belle… she looked so much like the Princess who I’m trying to save in my Gamecolt game. She’s a pretty filly.” Button Mash spoke to himself as he tumbled along his bed. “I can’t wait to see her. I hope she likes the games I play and stuff. Yeah she got interested in my Gamecolt, but I hope it lasts.” Button Mash mulled. He quickly shook his head, having realized that there was still two hours to go before most ponies woke up for Sunday morning. Seeing as he didn’t want to lie down doing nothing for too long, he took out his Gamecolt and played ‘Plumber Stallion 3’ until his visit to Diamond Tiara’s…


“MOM! I’M HEADED OFF TO DIAMOND TIARA’S PLACE NOW!” Button Mash shouted from the door to his house. He had already eaten breakfast after playing Plumber Stallion 3 on his bed for a few hours. His mother, just completing the final touches to her home after completing the move, shouted back with affirmation.

“Alright Button Mash! Have fun with Diamond Tiara! Be back here by lunch!” Button Mash then trotted out the door and to Diamond Tiara’s home, excited to play on her virtual reality console…

Button Mash arrived once again at the large, towering mansion that was Diamond Tiara’s home. Button Mash stood outside its black metallic gates, quickly found the red doorbell and pressed it. Button Mash then waited for somepony to come out of the mansion to let him in.

A few minutes after he waited outside the gates, a rather prim-looking white stallion trotted out of the house and towards the gate. Upon arrival, the stallion looked down towards Button Mash with his eyebrows raised.

“Hmmm… you must be Button Mash correct?” The stallion asked rather impatiently.

“Ummm… yeah! I’m Button Mash! It was me who asked for free batteries the other day and befriended Diamond Tiara!” Button Mash paused. “Wait, are you the butler?” Button Mash asked, pointing his hoof at the white stallion. The stallion groaned.

“Yes I am. I shall go and get Diamond Tiara right away. You may come in with me.” The butler opened the gates for Button Mash, allowing him to trot into the house…


It was still early in the morning for Diamond Tiara, having just woken up from her sleep. Diamond Tiara quickly squinted her eyes and awoke herself, excited to see Silver Spoon at her place again. Diamond Tiara jumped out of her pink bed and trotted towards the mirror. Brushing her mane, Diamond Tiara took the time to admire her complexion before Silver Spoon was scheduled to arrive again for today.

“Oh Diamond Tiara. You’re looking pretty as always today!” Diamond Tiara giggled to herself, continuing her routine brushing to start her day. Diamond Tiara then moved to the topic of Button Mash, admiring her devious plan to finally get on top in Ponyville, at least with respect to the fillies and colts in town.

“You’ll be able to fly past those Cutie Losers once Button Smash joins our side for life. I still have to figure out what to do with him after we humiliate those losers, but that shall come in due time. Right now, we just need Button Mash here with us first… and away from the blank flanks!” Diamond Tiara exclaimed. Just as she finished brushing her mane to start off her day, she heard a knock on her door.

“Excuse Diamond Tiara! There is a “Button Mash” who wants to see you today,” the butler notified. Diamond Tiara giggled to herself.

“Alright! I’ll come out to meet him!” Diamond Tiara giggled devilishly to herself. Another chance to “know” Button Mash some more and draw him closer. Diamond Tiara trotted out of the door to her room, seeing that Button Mash was waiting for her.

“Well hello there Button Smash!” Diamond Tiara greeted with her hooves outstretched. Button Mash shook his head.

“It’s Button Mash. And hello!” Button Mash clarified and greeted back. All Button Mash could think about was the virtual reality console she had.

“So where’s the console?! I wanna start playing on it!” Button Mash jumped up and down in excitement, leaving Diamond Tiara to groan. He was such a pain to work with, but intuition left her believing that Button Mash still had much worth in forever humiliating her rivals.

“The console’s in the living room. Come with me dear Button.” Diamond Tiara waved her hoof signalling Button Mash. Button Mash trotted closely behind Diamond Tiara. During the walk, Button Mash noticed that Diamond Tiara always wore a tiara crown on her head. Upon close inspection, the crown looked plastic to him.

“Ummm… why do you always wear that plastic crown on top of your head Diamond Tiara?” Upon hearing what Button Mash asked her, Diamond Tiara immediately stopped trotting. Diamond Tiara felt a rush of anger through her face, but didn’t want to make herself look bad to her new friend. She slowly turned around, taking some deep breaths before pointing her hoof at her crown.

“Excuse me Button Mash, but first off, this is a tiara. This tiara was handed down to me from generation to generation, dating all the way back to the ponies before Equestria was founded! This crown is made of jewels, not plastic!” Diamond Tiara huffed.

“Now. Let’s continue to the game room, unless you want to keep blowing my fuse,” Diamond Tiara huffed again before she trotted onward with Button Mash.

The two ponies arrived at the large-sized entertainment room. Button Mash immediately turned his eyes towards the virtual reality console and ran to the headset that was placed on one of the wooden shelves to the right of the 90-inch TV screen. The headset was black along its helmet and red across the eyeset. Button Mash picked up the headset, blowing off the dust that collected on it. Button Mash placed the helmet on top of his head and noticed that everything around him was red.

“Oooh… Diamond Tiara… you’re looking really red today!” Button Mash waddled around the room, mesmerized by how much his world already changed with the headset on top of his head. Diamond Tiara awkwardly chuckled trying hard to conceal her annoyance. Suddenly, the butler arrived once again, unfazed by what he was seeing from Button Mash.

“Excuse me Diamond Tiara, but Silver Spoon is now here to see you.” Diamond Tiara breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps Silver Spoon would be more successful in befriending Button Mash to her ranks than she was.

“Button Mash! You go set yourself up with the virtual reality thingy, while I go down and welcome Silver Spoon!” Diamond Tiara quickly trotted out of the room and towards the gates, while Button Mash trotted towards the console and noted the label.

“Hmmm… It’s called the Ponyculus. Wow… I’ve never seen these in stores anywhere! How did Flare Volt manage to get this system?!” Button Mash was left in complete awe, left to scratch his head in ponderous thought. After some time of searching through the console, he finally found the power button at the console’s sides. He proceeded to turn on the system and then the TV with a nearby remote control.

Once he turned on the system, Button Mash searched for a game to try and encountered a game called “Pony Slasher”. Button Mash nodded, having found the game he wanted to try. He placed the game’s disc into the console’s disc slot and then stood back towards the couch. The Ponyculus logo was shown along with a gradually growing woosh sound that welcomed Button Mash to the world of virtual reality.

“Oohh…” Button Mash watched with excitement and awe as he finally got to try out this new system. Just as he was about to get past the main menu and enter the personalization settings, Silver Spoon entered the room.

“Oh hello Button Mash! What are you doing right now?” Silver Spoon asked inquisitively. She had never seen the Ponyculus being played on at all by Diamond Tiara. Button Mash began waving his hooves around and trotted in place to let his main character move forward and slash his virtual sword around.

“Oh hey Silver Spoon! I’m playing on this virtual reality system called the Ponyoculus! It’s so cool! It hasn’t even been sold in stores yet!” Button Mash continued flailing his hooves around, now using them to defeat his first set of enemies with his short sword.

“That looks really cool!” Silver Spoon trotted closer to Button Mash and giggled at how silly Button Mash looked with the large black helmet on his head. Silver Spoon trotted too close however as Button Mash accidentally pushed Silver Spoon to the ground as he continued his slashing. Button Mash immediately felt the contact he made with Silver Spoon, quickly paused the game, and took his helmet off. Silver Spoon lightly groaned as she slowly got up. Button Mash quickly turned to her side and helped her up. Silver Spoon blushed lightly, but was having too much trouble seeing to notice.

“Thanks Button Mash… can you help me find my glasses? It’s hard to see…” Silver Spoon slowly moved her hooves on the floor to feel for her glasses, but to no avail. Button Mash turned around with his body too and quickly found her glasses to the left of the TV. Button Mash grabbed the glasses and quickly returned them to Silver Spoon, gently placing them on her hooves.

Silver Spoon placed her glasses back on. Even though her vision was restored, Silver Spoon began to feel flustered around Button Mash.

“Ummm… t-thanks… Button Mash,” Silver Spoon shuffled her hooves around. “I’ve… never really had a stallion helping me like that before…” Silver Spoon sheepishly chuckled. Button Mash scratched his head and chuckled along with her.

“Oh it was nothing Silver Spoon.” Button Mash paused briefly. “But… where’s Diamond Tiara?” Button Mash scratched his mane in confusion. He thought she wanted to see him play on the virtual console.

Just then, Diamond Tiara trotted back into the room.

“Oh hey Silver Spoon and Button Mash! Sorry it took me so long to get back! Anyway, I hope you two are having fun!” Diamond Tiara tried to give out as big a smile as she could. This situation was quickly becoming intolerable. “Hey Silver Spoon! Didn’t you want to talk more about the latest fashion trends?” Diamond Tiara asked Silver Spoon in hopes of not having her being too close to Button Mash.

“Well… actually… I wanted to hang out with Button Mash for a bit. We’ll talk fashion afterwards ok?” Button Mash nodded as well.

“Yeah! You can come play with us too Diamond Tiara! It’s so cool! I get to slash ponies with this thing!” Diamond Tiara sheepishly chuckled. She and video games were simply inconceivable in her eyes.

“Ummm… actually… I think I have some homework I have to do! I’ll talk to you later ok?” Diamond Tiara quickly trotted away to her room, leaving Button Mash and Silver Spoon to shrug.

“Is Diamond Tiara always like this Silver Spoon?” Button Mash questioned.

“Yeah… She’ll warm up over time. She and I like fashion stuff and the latest trends a lot. That being said though, you’re the first interesting pony I’ve met in a long time!” Silver Spoon smiled back with a giggle. Button Mash was certainly looking very attractive to her… and very mature as well for his age, despite his quirkiness.

“Oh neato! Anyway, I’m just starting to get a feel for this system, you can try it with me!” Button Mash offered to Silver Spoon. Silver Spoon giggled. She wasn’t used to high tech gizmos and games, but what Button Mash was doing seemed to be a lot of fun.

“Ummm… sure! I’ll give it a shot! Even if it does look... unique!” Silver Spoon didn’t want to just sit around doing nothing either, and Button Mash seemed like a very nice pony. She’d have to think about what she was doing exactly later as Button Mash introduced her to the world of virtual reality…


Before Silver Spoon and Button Mash knew it, the morning had gone by far too quickly. Button Mash quickly checked the time on a clock that was hung above the television. Button Mash gasped quickly as Silver Spoon was still in the middle of slashing mercenary ponies working for an enemy mafia leader.

“Oh my gosh! Silver Spoon, I’m really sorry for leaving you like this, but I’m almost late for lunch with my mom!” Silver Spoon immediately paused the game, took her helmet off, and addressed Button Mash.

“Awww… I was just in Las Pegasus doing a side mission!” Silver Spoon paused. “But if you have to go, I hope you come back soon. This game’s so much fun!” Button Mash nodded.

“I’ll be back before you know it!” Button Mash cheerily smiled as he waved goodbye to Silver Spoon. “See ya later Silver Spoon! Tell Diamond Tiara I said hi too!” Button Mash trotted away.

“Goodbye Button Mash! Come back soon!” Silver Spoon gave him a bright farewell as Button Mash trotted out the door.


“Oh this was such a great start to today! Button Mash is a really cool foal, even if he can be weird at times! And especially even if he’s a blank flank!” Silver Spoon smiled happily as she trotted up to Diamond Tiara’s room. Once she arrived at Diamond Tiara’s room, she gently knocked on her door. Immediately the door was opened.

“Oh hello Silver Spoon! How was your date with Button Mash?!” Diamond Tiara tried her best to cover her fury, but her angry face said it all.

“What’s up with you Diamond Tiara? I’m doing as you said! I’m befriending him!” Silver Spoon shrugged. She knew she had to follow along with Diamond’s plan, even if it didn’t seem right. Diamond Tiara quickly took a few breaths and began to calm herself.

“Well… you didn’t have to snub me like that to do it!” Diamond Tiara pouted. Silver Spoon sighed.

“Well I’m sorry about that! I didn’t mean it that way,” Silver Spoon replied. “Anyway, let’s just put this behind us and get to talking about fashion ok?” Diamond Tiara sighed again. Her ‘plan’ wasn’t going to go well if Silver Spoon became too attached with Button Mash, but she had a point.

“Ok then. All is forgiven.” Diamond Tiara shook her flank with Silver Spoon as a sign of their friendship. But Diamond Tiara couldn’t help but remind Silver Spoon,

“But don’t fall in love with Button Mash!” Flustered, Silver Spoon retorted back,

“I’m not in love with him!” Realizing how loud she shouted, Silver Spoon closed her mouth and let out a blush. Diamond Tiara giggled again.

“You’re just too cute. I can tell you like him already. Perfect for the both of us.” Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon chuckled before they re-entered Diamond Tiara’s room to discuss the latest trends of socialites and the elite.