Button stared numbly at the stairway leading to the lower levels of the castle and Section Eleven. The color of her coat shifting. He took a deep breath and an unsure step forward. Her mane growing longer and becoming ethereal. Pushing the doors open, he trotted downward, one stair at a time. Taller than before. The stallion groaned and gritted his teeth as he neared the doors at the bottom of the stairway.
Memory. Starry. Luna. Changeling. Who was she, really?
“Ponyfeathers…” he muttered.
Button forced himself to open the door and continue into the next corridor. Two guards in the hallway nodded at him, recognizing the newest informant of Section Eleven. He didn’t acknowledge them. Instead, he chose to keep moving, one hoof in front to the other.
“What are they going to do to her?” The words stung at him, even as he whispered them to himself. “Oh, Celestia… what if they kill her?” He froze in the hallway as the thought crossed his mind and his eyes opened wide. As he leaned up against the wall beside him, he gasped. “Shit… they will kill her!” The stallion’s lip trembled, and—
“Button!”
He snapped away from the wall as a familiar voice called his name. Clenching his jaw, he turned in time to see… “Rumble?” he asked incredulously.
The pegasus stallion in a perfectly neat Wonderbolt uniform ran over to him. His face was split into a grin as he pulled Button into a side hug. “What the tartarus are you doing here, Button?”
“I’m… I was here during the attack,” Button replied, returning the hug. “What are you doing here?”
“We were called in as soon as Captain Dash could break away from the fighting and radio us. Didn’t get here in time to see Princess Twilight’s big spell, but we’re able to help clean up a bit, at least.” Rumble released Button and squinted at him. “How’d you get tangled up in this?”
“It’s a very long story,” Button said. “To make it short, I’m helping Section Eleven with something.”
“Dude… you’re a spy?” Rumble asked as his jaw dropped. “That… makes a surprising amount of sense, actually.”
“What? No!” Button scoffed. “I was at the wrong place at the wrong time and saw some stuff. I’m not a spy.”
“Oh. Darn,” Rumble replied and smiled wryly. “Anyways, I’m supposed to report to Sec Eleven to meet Scoots for some assignment. Are you headed that way?”
“I… yeah, I am.”
The Wonderbolt’s grin widened. “Sweet! We can catch up!”
Both stallions resumed their walk toward the intelligence agency’s headquarters. Button looked shyly toward Rumble as he cleared his throat. “Uh, Rumble?”
“What’s up?”
“About what happened in Ponyville… at the bar with Scoots…”
Rumble nodded. “Yeah, I needed to talk to you about that.”
“The thing is…” Button began. “I’m so—”
“Thank you,” Rumble interrupted. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” He was practically dancing as he shouted the words. “That was the best night of my life.”
Button stopped moving forward. “Uh, what? Are you thanking me for making Scootaloo run out into the night, totally pissed off at us?”
“Uh, yeah!” he replied. “Dude! She was pissed off because she’s been into me for years, and I’ve liked her for, ya know, forever, and neither of us told each other! But then I told you, and she got all confused. I followed her and finally caught up with her in an alley. She was crying and stuff, and we talked and confronted it and then…” He giggled conspiratorially. “And then we totally flew up to a cloud and made out for a while.”
“I…” Button said. “I, uh, I don’t know how to reply to that.”
Rumble laughed even louder. “We’ve been together ever since! Well, except when we’re on duty. That’s kinda not allowed, and we could get in trouble.”
They resumed their walk. “Wait, so you and Scootaloo aren’t allowed to be together?”
“The higher-ups don’t really like it when wingponies are knocking horseshoes, so yeah. If Captain Dash found out, I’d probably be in a lot of trouble.”
Button cocked his head to the side. “But what about Scoots?”
The Wonderbolt guffawed. “Aw, c’mon, Button! You know Captain Dash. Would she really say something to Scoots?”
“Yes,” Button deadpanned.
Rumble nodded and pursed his lips. “Yeah, she would. But hey, that’s why she doesn’t know!”
Button didn’t reply immediately. His mind raced as he stepped over a pile of rubble where some kind of explosive had blown a hole in the wall and floor. “So… you’d break the rules for her?”
“Dude, I love her. I have for a long time. I don’t give a flying buck about the rules if it’s her against them. If I love somepony, I’ll chose them every time.” Rumble’s eyes flashed. “Every bucking time.”
“But… what if she were doing something wrong? Like, if she were, say… a changeling?” Button asked cautiously.
Rumble snorted. “Wow. That’s, like, super specific.” He hummed to himself. “Well, if she were breaking the rules, I’d talk to her first. See why she’s doing stuff. I mean, it doesn’t have to be either her or the rules. There are more options besides breaking the rules and loving somepony. Most of the time, anyways.”
“But what if—”
“The changeling thing?” Rumble asked. “Look, love is love, Button. I don’t really see the issue if she’s a changeling. Actually, now that I think about it…” He snorted. “Kinky.”
“Eww,” Button said as he wrinkled his nose. “But you’d really be okay with it?”
“I love Scoots for who she is, not because she’s a pegasus,” Rumble said. “Now, if she were infiltrating Equestria for the sole purpose of taking over or something, there might be an issue, but that’s why I’d talk to her first. Anyways, it’s a moot point. She’s a Wonderbolt. Everypony in the military has to take a changeling test before they even have a chance to be admitted. I’m pretty sure she is who she says she is.” The other stallion raised an eyebrow. “Is there any reason for these questions, Button?”
“Uhh…” Button looked away. “Nope! Just… hypothetical, ya know?”
“Button…” Rumble stopped. “Are you… no way. You’re not in love with a changeling or some crap like…” His eyebrows shot upward. “Holy shit. Dude, when I said you needed to get a marefriend or get laid, I was not saying to go find a changeling to—”
“Rumble. No,” he interrupted. “This has to do with something else. It’s about… it’s about why I’m working for Sec Eleven, okay?”
Rumble narrowed his eyes at Button. He tilted his head to the side for a second before nodding. “Okay. Dude, you had me scared for a second.” Laughing nervously, he rounded a corner. “Okay, here we go! Scoots should be around here somewhere.”
Button stopped behind Rumble. He barely paid any attention to the other stallion. All he could see was Starry… or Luna, or whoever she was. “Buck…” he muttered.
“You coming?” Rumble asked.
The earth pony froze. “I… oh, horsefeathers! I just realized that I forgot something upstairs!” he lied quickly. “I’ll be right back, okay?”
Rumble nodded. “Got it, bro! I’ll see you around!” He flashed his identification to the guard at the door to Section Eleven and stepped inside. As he went, he waved at Button.
Button returned the gesture halfheartedly and then turned around with a sigh. He dejectedly walked away, back toward the staircase to the rest of the castle.
“What do I do?” he muttered. As soon as he cleared the corner once more and was out of the guard’s eyesight, he slumped against the wall and sat down on the floor. He put his hooves onto his face and took a deep breath. “I… oh, Celestia.”
Her smiling face flashed in his mind. He could hear her laugh, smell her mane. The way she loved the same art he did, how uncomfortable she seemed around crowds, her obliviousness to when the waiter had been flirting with her… the way she would joke with him. How she made him feel… and then what could happen if she was posing as Luna. The castle overrun by changelings, Celestia unconscious on the ground, Canterlot completely in their control.
“Damnit, damnit, damnit!” he cried, pounding a hoof into the ground. He shook as tears slowly dripped from his eyes. “Buck. I have to tell somepony, but…” All he could see was Starry.
“I love her…”
~~~
Luna threw open the doors to her quarters and ran to her bed. She barely managed to levitate her glasses off her face and set them on her bedside table before she crashed into the mattress. The thick blanket muffled her sobs and absorbed her tears. Her whole body shook as the events of the entire day crashed over her.
“I’m a coward,” she moaned. She pounded a hoof into the bed. “No, no no!”
She’d tried to go back for him. After she’d sat down in the hallway for a minute, she’d returned to their place in the hallway… but he was gone. He wasn’t anywhere that she could see, and the knowledge that she’d driven him off… that she’d pushed him away…
Another sob wracked her body. She trembled uncontrollably as she remembered what she’d said. “‘It’s not you. It’s me.’ You idiot!”
She hadn’t been able to find him, and she knew that she couldn’t hold back the tears any longer, so she’d gone back to her closet and turned back into herself. She hadn’t even had the presence of mind to put her contacts back in, and she’d run back to her quarters, still wearing her old glasses.
Luna lost herself in her despair. Clutching the thick blanket in a hoof, she shook the bed as she cried. “Oh, B—”
“Princess?” a quiet voice called as a knocking came from the door.
Luna quickly sat up and wiped her face. She fumbled for her glasses as she stood to her hooves. “Y-yes?”
The door cracked open and Gem Petal stuck her head inside. “Princess? We heard crying… are you okay?”
“I…” Luna began, but then she looked at the floor and slowly shook her head. “No. I’m not.” She sniffed loudly.
“May we come in?” the voice of a second called, and Shady Cove pushed the door open slightly. The tall peach colored unicorn stood beside Gem, the shorter earth pony. Both of their red manes were pulled back into ponytails, and they looked in at the princess together, their eyebrows raised in concern.
“Y-you may enter,” Luna said quietly. She sat back down wearily and held her head in her hooves.
“Are you hurt, Princess?” Gem asked as she trotted over to Luna.
Luna shook her head.
“Is there anything we can do to help?” Shady sat down beside her princess and pulled her into a side hug. “Even if it’s just listening?”
“I…” Luna sniffed loudly. For a moment, she restrained herself, but then her composure broke. She threw her forelegs around Shady and sobbed into her shoulder.
The elegant unicorn held her close and whispered into her ears. “Hey. It’s okay. You can talk to us.”
Gem quietly walked back over to the door and closed it.
“I’m a failure, Shady,” Luna said. “Failure.”
“No, you are not!” the unicorn replied. “You are Princess Luna, one of the greatest ponies to have ever lived.”
Luna laughed bitterly. “It certainly doesn’t feel that way.”
“But you are!” Gem chimed. “Your Highness, you saved Equestria from Discord! You kept the nation together for centuries, you paint the moon and the stars, and you’re so kind that you even care about servants!”
“But…” Luna inhaled deeply. “I can’t do it any more. I can’t keep going like this.”
“Like what?” Shady asked quietly as she ran a hoof through Luna’s mane.
The princess sniffed. “I’ve been lying, Shady.”
“What?” the mare-in-waiting asked. “To whom?”
“To… him.”
The servants were quiet after these words. Slowly, Shady pulled away and looked directly into Luna’s eyes. “Who is ‘he,’ Princess?”
She wiped her eyes. “He… I think that he’s… I don’t know...”
Gem gasped. “Princess! Do you have a suitor?”
Luna shook her head. “I don’t think that I do any more.”
“I… why do you say that, Princess?” Shady asked.
“I lied to him. I was afraid, and… I never told him who I am.” Luna looked down and shook her head. “And then I tried to tell him, but I just… I couldn’t.”
Shady leaned over, and Luna met her eyes. “Princess…”
“And then I went back, and he was gone, and… and…” Luna tried to stop herself, but her tears flowed freely. “I don’t know what to do.”
“Talk to him.” Gem walked forward. “If you care about him this much, you owe it to yourself to see if he feels the same.”
“I don’t know any more, Gem,” Luna replied. “And even if I told him, I’ve been lying for as long as I’ve known him. I disguised myself just to talk to him! Even if he feels the same way about me, what will he think knowing that the mare that he loves isn’t even who she said she was?”
Shady froze. “Did… did you just say that you love him?”
“I—” Luna paused. “I… I think I did.” Her eyes unfocused. “I think… I think I realized that I’m in love today. I heard him yelling while he was being attacked by the windigos, and… and I realized that I have absolutely no idea what I would do without him.” She covered her mouth with her hoof as her eyes went wide. “He’s always there. I’m just a mare to him, not a princess. And I think that… I think that I do love him.”
Shady’s eyes glimmered from the light of the room’s lamp, and Luna could barely make out a smile on her face. “Princess, you need to tell him that. If he does feel the same, then he’ll understand. And if he doesn’t… then he’s an idiot, and he doesn’t deserve you.”
“Your Highness, I may be just a servant…” Gem began, “but I have to say something. I’ve never seen you this passionate about something before. I’m somewhat familiar with love,” she said with a smile, “and I can honestly say that you really do love him. Don’t doubt it. Don’t doubt yourself.”
“He needs to know,” Shady added.
“Y-you think so?” she stammered.
Shady nodded. “I do.”
Luna considered the words and slowly leaned back, placing her hooves onto the floor. “Yes. I need to tell him. And I need to tell him as soon as I can.” She nodded fiercely. “Shady! I need you to make some tea, probably Tia’s special energy blend. Then, I want you to prepare some of my clothes. There’s a green dress in my closet that looks too small for me. Please set that out on my bed.” Luna glanced into the mirror and huffed. “I’ll need to take a shower and prepare myself. I’m not going to wait. This has to happen immediately.”
Shady and Gem grinned at each other and nodded vigorously. “Immediately, Princess!” The mares scampered off to do as she had said.
Luna gazed into the mirror and wiped her face. She gave a small smile at herself. “I love Button Mash.” The Princess of the Night giggled like a filly as she repeated her words. “I. Love. Button. Mash.”
She threw her head back and smiled. “I can do this. I can, because I love him.”
~~~
Button threw his fedora onto the couch of his hotel room as he slowly made his way over to his table. He sighed and sat down into the chair, running a hoof through his mane as he did so. Glancing up at the far wall, he looked at the clock. “One in the morning,” he muttered. “Friday night. She’ll still be awake.”
He opened his laptop and tapped the spacebar twice, as he always did to wake it up. After quickly entering his password, Button pulled up the application for his internet phone. He grimaced as his cursor passed over the chats marked The Chosen Few-Main, TCF-Raid, and Duo. Button inhaled deeply as he moved past the next chat, the one that said Memory. He clicked the last chat that bore the name of the mare he intended to call.
Mom.
Button pressed the blue videophone call icon. The screen went blue, and her picture replaced the other chats. The speakers played a ringing sound as Button plugged his headphones into the jack and placed them on his head.
A moment later, everything went dark, and the image on the monitor was replaced by the smiling face of a very familiar mare. “Hey baby!” she said.
“Hey mom,” Button replied. He tried to be cheerful and forced a smile. “How are you?”
“I’m okay! It was a late night, but I’m off tomorrow, so I’ve got some time to cool down.” She grinned at him. “Just finishing up a match.”
“Online Sudoku-something again?”
She laughed. “Sudoku Duel. I just beat Roseluck by about half a minute. Feeling pretty good about myself!”
Button’s smile became more genuine. “Well, good for you. And I’m glad you’re feeling better too.”
“Yeah, I’m doing pretty well now. The meds kicked in, finally. Just got off of them two days ago, and everything’s back to normal. Oh! I just beat Lady Rarity’s top score! Woot!” She did a tiny jig in her seat. “Ah, good times!” After she finished her dance she looked into the camera. “So, you’re calling late tonight. Is something up?”
“Uh… yeah. There is something going on,” Button replied carefully before clearing his throat.
“Mmm. I can tell. Call it mother’s intuition.” Her eyes sparkled. “Actually, you don’t really call this late unless there’s something going on. You’re usually playing with your friends. What is it, Button?”
“It’s… It’s kind of a long story.” Button ran his hoof through his mane. “So, you know that I’m out in Canterlot, right?”
His mom rolled her eyes. “No. I thought you were just at an extended sleepover at Pip’s house again.”
“Ha ha. But really.” He cleared his throat again. “I know that I told you I was coming out here to take some time off and put in some applications, but there was something else too. I didn’t want to get your hopes up in case it didn’t work out, but…”
Her eyes widened.
“There’s, uh, there’s this mare, and—”
“Oh my Luna! You have a marefriend? And you didn’t tell me!” she practically shouted back at him.
Button winced. “Yeah. That’s kind of why I didn’t tell you. Yes, there’s a mare, but I wouldn’t call her my marefriend.”
Her shoulders slumped. “Drat.”
“She’s actually that mare that I’ve been playing with for the last two years, Mom. Do you remember me telling you about her?”
“Uh, Mirror something?” she asked.
“Memory Mirror. Yeah, that’s the one.” Button nodded.
She grinned. “I knew there was something there! The way you kept going on and on about the things you two did together! How I would hear you laughing in your room and I’d peek inside and hear you talking to her!”
“Wait, were you spying on me?” Button smirked.
His mom snorted. “Well, my son has phone calls with a mare every day for a few years straight. A mom has a right to hope, doesn’t she? And I was right, wasn’t I?”
“Uh, kind of…” Button said, his smile fading. “I guess I should tell you the whole story.”
“Please do.” With that, she leaned back in her chair, her front hooves draped across her chest.
“It all started on a call during one of our games. I told her I was coming to Canterlot and she mentioned that she lived there. Then she asked if I wanted to meet up with her. I told her sure, and we traded names and information. So when I arrived at the city, we got together for dinner, and…” His eyes unfocused and he felt a stupid grin spread across his face. “Mom. She’s amazing.”
She squeed and clapped her hooves together. “Yes!”
“We hit it off, and I took her out to a museum the next day. And we just kept seeing each other and spending time together, and… argh, she’s perfect, Mom. She’s hilarious, loves history and art like I do, likes spending time with me, and…” He blushed. “She’s… really, really cute…” he muttered.
His mom smiled wider than he’d seen her smile in a long time. “Oh, Button! I’m so happy for you!”
“Thanks… but…” He sighed. “There’s just one problem.”
“Uh oh.”
“I was at the castle today, Mom. And something happened. I don’t want to worry you, but… the castle was attacked last night.” He clenched his jaw. “I’m okay, but it wasn’t easy.”
She gasped. “What? How? Were you hurt?”
“No, Mom. I wasn’t hurt. Please don’t freak out.”
Her jaw dropped. “‘Don’t freak out?’ My son was just attacked at the palace, of all places! I think I’m entitled to be slightly upset!”
“Mom, I’m fine..” Button gestured at himself. “See? All in one piece.”
His mom inhaled deeply and closed her eyes. “Okay. Go ahead. But we’ll be talking about this later…”
“Okay. But about the attack… I don’t know how familiar you are with them, but it was windigos. Or something like them.” Button shook his head. “I’m not really sure what they are exactly. But I’m okay, and so was she. She works at the palace, see. Anyway, I found her after the attack, and I tried to talk to her,” he said before looking down. “Mom, I had to fight the windigos off alongside some other ponies.” He saw her eyes go wide, but he kept talking. “And while we were fighting, I just kept thinking about trying to survive, and I realized… I realized that one of the main things that I’d regret if I didn’t make it was that I hadn’t told her what I was feeling.” He looked directly into the camera. “I think I sort of fell in love with her a long time ago. She’s not like other mares, Mom. She’s smart, she understands me, and when I spend time with her it just feels… right. It’s like I feel complete with her around. I have no idea why, but I do.”
She smiled back at him. “Button... but what’s wrong?”
He grimaced. “I found her after the fighting was over and tried to talk to her. I started to tell her how I felt, but she cut me off. I panicked.” Chuckling, he continued. “She said the whole, ‘it’s not you, it’s me,’ bit.”
His mom’s face fell. “Oh.”
“Yeah. And she said that she needed to say something. I thought she was gonna tell me that she was a fillyfooler. I said that, and she almost slapped me.” He shrugged, and his mom gasped.
“You said that to her face?”
“I kinda did.” Button grinned sheepishly. “Okay. There was no kinda about it. I did.”
She shook her head. “She should have slapped you. I thought I taught you better!”
He waved her off. “I know! I wasn’t really thinking right. But she said it was something else, but she couldn’t say it. Then she just ran off crying. I didn’t follow her.”
“Why was she crying?” she asked.
“Mom, I barely understand what I’m feeling. I’ve got no idea what she was thinking, and she’s a mare! She might as well be another species.” Button looked up. “I met two griffons today, in passing. They might actually be easier to understand.”
His mom shook her head. “But what did you do?”
“I went to the bathroom and gave myself a pep talk. Then I went back out to try to find her. I couldn’t for a while, so I kept walking until I heard crying from inside a closet. I walked over and looked inside. She was there, and…” He choked on his words. “Mom. I saw her… change.”
She stared at him for a moment. “Wait. I’m confused. Can you run that past me again?”
“Mom, she’s a changeling. I saw her transform from herself into Princess Luna. She… she just changed. There’s no other way to say it.” He took a deep breath. “And… I don’t know what to do.”
She considered his words for a moment. “Well… I think I might know why she ran off crying.”
“What?” Button sat up straight. “Why?”
His mom rolled her eyes. “Button. Why are you so oblivious sometimes? She was obviously trying to gather the courage to tell you who she really is. And then you called her a fillyfooler, and she couldn’t do it. So she ran off.”
“Oh.” Button looked forward, unblinking. “Yeah. That actually makes a lot of sense.”
“I thought that I had raised a smarter stallion than this. You know, if she was trying this hard to tell you something that drove her to tears because she was so emotional just because of the idea of you finding out, she must feel at least something for you.”
“But…” Button began. “But she lied to me! About who she is!”
“You know, I don’t really blame her,” his mom remarked. “How would you have reacted if she told you right off the bat that she was a changeling? Would you have met up with her at all, or would you have thought that she was trying to manipulate you so that she could harvest you or something?” She raised an eyebrow. “If she went this far, it’s because she cared.”
“How do you know?” he asked.
His mom sighed. “Button, I was a young mare once. When I first went out with your father, I was so scared of showing any flaw because I thought that he wouldn’t want me if I was anything less than perfect. Mares who are looking for love, and I really think this is what is happening with her, want to look perfect for their stallions. She was probably terrified of driving you away.”
Button blinked. “Oh.”
“And Button. If you really do like her, or even love her, does it matter if she’s a changeling?” Her eyes met his through the screen. “She’s still who she is. The outside isn’t what you end up loving. Trust me, it goes away pretty quickly.” She giggled and pointed at her graying mane and the moderate wrinkles on her face. “I’m proof. If you love her, it’s for who she is. And if your problem is that she’s lying, well… what would you have done? Put yourself in her horseshoes.”
“Yeah…” he replied. “I think you’re right. But there is one thing.”
“What?” she asked.
“If she’s impersonating Princess Luna… I need to tell somepony.” Button clenched his jaw.
His mom sat still for a moment before slowly nodding. “Yeah. You do. But I think you should talk to her first.”
“Why?”
“Because she needs a chance to explain herself! If she was planning on coming clean with you anyways, she would have to let you know that she was a changeling, and she’d probably also tell you about why she was there.” She nodded. “Just communicate with her before you tell somepony. Who knows what will happen?”
“But she’s posing as a princess! What if this is some big changeling plot? If she knows I know, things could get ugly.” Button held his head with his hoof.
“Button, listen to yourself. She was already trying to tell you and had a hard time. Do you really think something bad would happen now that you know?” his mom asked patiently. “She wants you to know. Just… just talk to her. You can clear all of this up and hear her side of the story.”
Button considered that and then smiled. “You’re right.”
“Of course I’m right,” she replied smugly. “I’m your mom.”
“Oh, you.” He shook his head ruefully.
She grinned cheekily at him. “You know, I’m just glad that you finally found somepon— Err, somechangeling. Although it’s weird to think that I won’t have grandfoals… But grandbuggies could be fun too!”
“Mom!” Button said as he blushed. “Wh.. I… umm…”
“And the wedding! I wonder how big her family is. The reception would be packed!”
“Oh, Celestia,” Button sighed. “Ya know, we haven’t even kissed yet. You can’t plan a wedding before that.”
“Well then, get to the kissing, stat! I’m not getting any younger!” she declared.
His blush deepened. “Mom!”
She laughed. “Oh, it’s fun to tease you. You’re just like your father… He would love to see this, you know.”
“Yeah, Mom. I know.”
“But, hey. I’m here. You’re here. She’s here. Let’s make the most of it, okay?” she said quietly.
He nodded. “I will. Mom, thank you. You’re the best, you know that, right?”
“Well, yeah!” she declared. “Duh!”
“Gaaaaah,” Button groaned. “Anyways, I won’t keep you. I love you, Mom.”
“I love you too, Button. Go get her, and kiss her. Kiss her a lot! Mares like that, okay?” she pursed her lips.
“Mooom,” he said with a chuckle. “I’m hanging up now!”
“Okay! Love you!”
“You too.” And with that, Button pressed the red end call icon. He sighed and leaned back in his chair. He ran a hoof through his mane once more. “Well. I’m probably not falling asleep tonight…” Glancing down at his laptop, he pressed the icon for Return.
“I wonder if she’ll log on…”