//------------------------------// // Machinations, Revelations, and Faded Armor // Story: Her Knight in Faded Armor // by Doccular42 //------------------------------// Button’s avatar shimmered into being inside of his personal quarters. The walls around him materialized fairly quickly, followed by his decorations and trophies. The simple draped curtains that lined the room accented the red carpets and flowing architecture of the prefabricated chamber. Behind him was a bed that he’d won in an Arena championship, and flanking it on either side were tables that he’d forged himself on Discord’s Anvil, just because he could. Frames holding shields from all over Equus filled the space in between the curtains, proof of his conquests from Zebrica to the Frozen North. He nodded to himself as he trotted quickly out of the room, paying very little mind to his meticulous decorations. He activated the social panel on his HUD and checked the status of his guildmates. There were three players online beside himself. Silver Feather was in the armory, Noble Rain was in the database room, and Indigo Quill appeared to be out in a slayer area. Button frowned as he recognized the name of the former member of the My L33tl Pwnies guild. That Rogue had been the one who’d killed him… before Memory had shot him in the head. He couldn’t help but smile fondly at the thought that followed. As he continued to walk forward, his eyes wandered further down the list of characters until he saw... >Memory Mirror: Officer. Status: Offline. Button sighed. “Oh well,” he muttered to himself. As he passed through the hallway outside his room, he came to an elevator. He stepped inside and pressed the command for the armory. The lift rose out of the subterranean residential area toward the higher levels, and Button hummed to himself through the ride. A chime cut through his thoughts, and Button glanced down to see a message flashing in his guild chat. >Silver: hey Fade, can you join the voice chat? Button smirked as he tabbed over to the internet phone and joined the active call. As he did, a voice began talking in his ear. “—and then the feathering coward wiped the security tapes! I can’t see anything here!” Noble spat. “Oh, hey Fade. Glad you’re here. We were attacked again earlier today.” “What?” Button asked. “How did that happen?” Silver’s growling voice answered him. “Same way as before. Some coward in here opened up an entranceway somewhere and let a Hacker in. At least we were able to identify the guild attacking us this time. In the last attack, they used a proxy guild. You know, creating a fake level one guild, joining that one, and then coordinating the attack.” Silver sniffed indignantly. “But this time, one of the idiots forgot to join the fake.” “Yeah,” an unfamiliar voice that Button assumed was Indigo added. “It’s the Red Legion.” “Red Legion?” Button’s voice was incredulous. “Like, the actual Red Legion?” “Damn mercenaries,” Silver spat. “They’re after our spaceship parts! I just know it. They made a run for our hangar as soon as they broke inside. Noble and I managed to fight them off until Indigo activated the termination program.” Button shuddered. “You actually used the T?” “Yeah,” Noble cackled. “Flooded the whole place with corruption goo! Incinerated everypony!” “Ahem…” “Oh, sorry, Silver. Incinerated everyone,” Noble corrected herself. “Including me, actually.” Indigo remarked. “But it was worth it!” “And best of all, they didn’t get our ship parts!” Silver said. “Unfortunately, this means that we still have a spy. Noble is checking the databases now, and I’m down in the armory trying to get these damn autoturrets running correctly again. The goo messed with their circuits and wreaked havoc with the Code magic. I’m not our main tech anyways. We’ll need Mem to log on soon so that she can get this shit working.” Button sighed. “Okay.” “Where is Mem, anyways? You two talk more than anyone else here. Did she say why she couldn’t make it tonight?” Silver said. Button trotted down another corridor until he came to the armory. He walked inside to see a griffon sitting on a chair, holding a plastorch in his claws. The husks of autoturrets surrounded him, and their control boxes were all stacked up on a table beside Silver. “Ah, I guess she just had stuff come up…” Button replied evasively. “Bleagh. Real life.” Noble laughed. “I like this bette— ah, horsefeathers! The entire log for the building access punch-ins and punch-outs is corrupted! Damn Hacker whacked it all!” She grunted in exasperation. “With the camera feeds gone too, I’ve got nothing up here.” “Bah,” Silver said dismissively. “Doesn’t matter. We know who they are, and we know what they want. Red Legion is a PvP guild. They don’t do any PvE at all. Instead, they get other guilds to give them the stuff they need from the environment and pay them back by raiding their enemies. Or by blackmailing the guilds that give them stuff. Either way, they’re the scum of the server, but they’re also huge. They’re totally rich at this point, and they’re probably getting ready for the space expansion. We’ve got the most ship parts on the whole server, so we’re their target.” “Parasites,” Noble added. “But not the smartest parasites.” “No, they aren’t.” The guild leader’s voice had an edge to it. Silver cleared his throat. “If they want our ship parts, they must have parts of their own. So…” “So we just have to hit them first…” Button said slowly. “Exactly!” Silver cackled. “Next time they attack, we’re going to be ready. We’ll have fully automated defenses, and we’ll make a blitz for their warehouses and take all of their shit. See how they like it!” “Yeah!” Indigo cheered. Button grinned. “Sounds like a plan. But how do you know that the spy won’t tell them exactly what you’re planning?” “Doesn’t matter,” Silver remarked. “If they know, then they’ll have their base on high alert. That’s fine with me. We can take them any day. Also, it might discourage them from attacking as bluntly this time. Either way, we win.” “And in the meantime, my team is farming the drop locations for more ship stuff.” Indigo’s voice was smug. “We’ve already gotten enough parts for two fighters and a harvester. Well, except for the engine parts. Those aren’t available until the update drops. But once it does, we’ll be the first out in space, and we’ll have a huge headstart on resource mining!” “Wow,” Button said. “You guys have been busy since I was gone.” “Yeah…” Noble replied. “Hey, speaking of that. You said that you’d be on tonight. Why’d you bail? What gives?” “Oh, yeah…” Button said absentmindedly. “I was… uh, I was unavoidably detained.” “Well, that’s not vague or menacing at all.” Silver snorted. “That makes it sound like someone held you captive or something.” He chuckled nervously. “Well, I—” >Memory Mirror has logged on. Button gasped. A moment later, a few words appeared in his private chat box. >Memory: Button, can we talk? In person? “Uh, I have to go, guys. I’ll be back later…” he said. >Faded: Yeah. Now? “Aww, already?” Noble whined. “I wanted to show you the spaceships!” Ignoring her, Button waited for the next message. >Memory: If possible, yes. Can I come to your hotel room? He inhaled deeply as he typed his next message. >Faded: Yes. I’ll send you the address. ~~~ Luna waited for the elevator to slowly ascend up to the ninth floor of the glamorous hotel. She tapped a hoof impatiently as the lights for the various floors slowly lit up. Five… six… seven… Adjusting her green dress and glasses, the disguised Princess of the Night took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “It’ll be fine…” she muttered. “Just tell him. He’ll understand.” The door dinged as it opened, revealing a hallway. Luna glanced over at her saddlebag and rechecked the sheet of paper that showed the room number Button had sent to her over the in-game chat. Nodding to herself, she walked toward that door marked by the same number. As soon as she arrived, she raised a hoof up to the gorgeous painted wood. Taking another breath, she narrowed her eyes. “Here goes…” She rapped twice on the door, and a moment later, a voice called out to her. “Just a second!” Luna took a step back and smoothed out the front of her dress. Immediately after she did so, the door swung open to reveal Button Mash. The stallion had bathed since she’d last seen him at the palace. He’d brushed all the dust and debris out of his mane, and his coat shined in the light from the lamps around the room. “Starry… hey…” Button smiled at her. “Come on in.” “Thanks, Button,” she replied sheepishly, giving him a small smile. He held the door open, and she walked inside. “Oh my. This is very nice!” The magnificent room was in pristine condition. The enormous windows across the living room allowed moonlight to filter across the floor, illuminating the room in opal splendor. All the surfaces were immaculate, clean and perfect. “Do you want to sit down?” Button asked, gesturing toward the couches. “They’re pretty comfortable.” “Oh, I bet,” she replied with a laugh. As she walked over to the long brown couch, she allowed herself to glance back at Button. The stallion fidgeted uncomfortably as he sat down on one of the other couches across from her. The air hung heavy with silence as the two ponies glanced at the ground, the ceiling, the walls… anywhere but at each other. “So, I was—” “Button, I’m—” Luna laughed quietly. “We do seem to do that a lot, don’t we?” “Yeah,” Button replied with a chuckle of his own. “Go ahead, Starry.” “Button, I’m sorry.” Luna hung her head. “I’m a coward. I’ve been hiding from you ever since we met in person, and you don’t deserve this. I wanted to tell you the truth back at the castle, but… but… I was afraid.” Button didn’t reply, so Luna continued. “I want you to know, Button, I feel the same way as what you were saying.” She glanced up and saw him staring back at her. He was leaning forward, his hooves clasped in front of him. “I just… I can’t lie to you any more.” She stood up and took a deep breath. “Button, I’m not Starry Skies. That’s not my name. My real name…” She inhaled deeply. “My real name is—” “I know,” he muttered. “I already know.” “What?” she asked. Her eyes widened and she almost fell back into her seat again. “After you ran off, I gave you a bit of time and then tried to find you,” he explained. “I saw you go into the closet.” Luna’s jaw dropped. “I saw you transform, Starry. You became… her.” He met her eyes. “Princess Luna.” She put a hoof across her mouth. “Oh, Button… I didn’t want you to find out that way. I wanted to tell you myself…” “I know. I figured that out from how you reacted.” He stood up. “Starry, I understand.” “Y-you do?” she asked quietly. “Of course. I’d have been afraid too, in your place. I’m not mad…” he cocked his head to the side. “Okay, that’s a lie. I am a little mad, but only because you thought that you couldn’t trust me.” He took a few steps forward. Luna smiled. “Button, I’m sorry. I was just so scared…” “Hey, hey! I get it. But, Starry. What you look like, your body… that doesn’t matter to me.” He came closer… “It’s you that I.. that I…” He inhaled sharply. “Starry, it’s you that I fell in love with, not whoever it is that you told me you are.” Luna’s heart leapt into her throat as he said those words. “Button,” she croaked. “I…” “I don’t care about Starry. I care about you.” He drew close to her, their noses mere centimeters apart. “And it doesn’t matter who you are… A pegasus, a unicorn, a princess…” He gazed deeply into her eyes… “Button…” “And I don’t care that you’re a changeling, Starry. I love you anyways.” Luna’s smile immediately faded and her eyebrows furrowed. “Wait… what?” Button smiled sweetly. “I know that you’re a changeling, Starry, but I don’t care. I don’t care!” He reached a hoof out to her, but she batted it away. “Oh!” she declared. “You… I… how…” Luna fumed, turning away and walking toward the window. “Uh, Starry?” Button asked. “Did I say something wrong?” “You, Button Mash, are the most insufferable buffoon to have ever graced the surface of Equestria!” Luna practically yelled. He recoiled quickly. “I… huh?” “I am not a changeling,” she growled. He raised an eyebrow. “Uhh, I kind of saw you transform, and—” “Uhhhgh!” She threw her head back. “Stallions! Please, just listen!” “I… okay,” Button finished lamely. He hunched down and looked up at her. “Thank you. Now, as I was saying, I am not a changeling. I would remind you that changeling transformation magic looks like green fire, correct?” she asked. When he didn’t respond, she tapped her front hoof. “Well?” “Yeah…” he said. “Indeed. If you saw me transform, then you must have noticed a distinct lack of green fire. My magic doesn’t use fire to transform, Button, because I am not a changeling,” she ended emphatically. He furrowed his brow and glanced around wildly. “Holy… you’re right…” He looked at her, eyes wide. “If you aren’t a changeling, then you must be…” She crossed her front legs, waiting for him to finish. “You have to be…” Luna tapped a hoof… “I…” She groaned and slumped forward. “Okay! Let me give you a hint.” She reached out with her magic and turned herself to look out the window. Her dark blue magic extended into the sky and she hummed to herself as she pulled at the stars and nebulae that were so far away. She heard Button gasp as the sky lit up as the stars glowed brighter and an enormous purple cloud filled the sky. The ethereal mist swirled, dancing among the lights from above. Another shade, this one dark blue, joined the first in the sky, and the colors swayed back and forth far beyond the city. Her magic surged, and the moon moved, coming closer toward Equus. The brilliant white light pierced through the heavens, making the stars fade due to its luminance. The mists continued their waltz, and Luna channeled the last bit of her power. But this time, instead of changing the sky, she called forth a fog within the room. The magical cloud enveloped her, and she allowed her control over her disguise to fade away. Quickly, while she was hidden from view, she took off her dress, revealing her royal regalia. She reached up to her glasses, and— Luna cursed silently to herself as she realized that she’d forgotten her contacts. She left her glasses on as she completed her transformation back into her normal form. Luna removed the fog from the chamber, and she slowly stood to her full height. The moon returned to its normal position, and the stars once more took their places in the skies. She glanced up to see Button staring at her, jaw slack and eyes wide. She gave him a small smile. “Button, I am not a changeling. I am not Starry Skies.” With a flick of her mane, she met his gaze. “My name is Luna.” ~~~ Button couldn’t move. He stood frozen in place, staring at the mare before him. He had stood significantly taller than Starry Skies, but Luna had him beat by several centimeters. She held her head high, her ethereal mane billowing in an intangible wind. Her dress was gone, and she instead wore the clothing of a princess, minus the crown. She still wore her old glasses though, and her smile was the same… “Oh, Lu— I m-mean, uh…” Button stammered and flushed. “Uh, hi…” “It’s still me, Button,” she whispered. “Yeah, but with a lot more clouds and smoke and transforming and controlling the stars!” he cried. “And… and… you saved my life earlier today…” It was her turn to blush now. “Yes, I did.” “That kind of explains the whole smiling at me thing,” he muttered. Slowly, he took a step toward her. “You really are a princess.” “Yes, I am.” Luna crossed her front legs. Button stopped moving forward. “Wait… I’ve been swearing using your name like, the entire time I’ve been here with you…” “Yes, you have,” she replied. After, she gave a nervous chuckle. “It was somewhat uncomfortable.” “And the stuff I said about you when I thought that you were just a servant…” he clasped a hoof over his mouth. “Oh, crap. I didn’t say anything wrong, did I?” “No. Actually, it was very endearing,” she said as she walked toward him. “Though, you did say something kind of wrong. You thought I was a changeling.” One of her eyebrows rose. “Hey! What was I supposed to think? ‘Oh, the mare I’m falling in love with is Princess Luna?’” He scoffed at himself. “The changeling thing made a lot more sense, in the moment at least!” “Is it really so far-fetched to believe that a princess might return your feelings?” she asked quietly. By this point, they stood barely a meter apart. Button cocked his head to the side. “Um, kind of.” “Well…” she said as she drew ever closer. “I do.” He stared at her. A small smile pulled at the corners of her eyes, and he could see her dimples accentuating her beautiful cheekbones. Her mane fell on either side of her face, and, just past her glasses, were her eye— “Your eyes are the same,” he whispered to her. “You didn’t change them when you were being Starry.” She finally stopped right in front of him. Their eyes were almost perfectly even with one another. He stared into the icy depths. She gazed back, searching his face just as intently. “No, I didn’t,” she breathed. “Button… you said that you would love me even if I were a changeling. What about as a princess? Is it still okay?” “I…” he started. As he continued to look at her, his mind raced. “I thought I understood why you were hiding as a changeling… but why didn’t you tell me you were one of the princesses?” She glanced away quickly. “I… I was scared, Button. Would you have believed me if I told you?” Turning back to him, looked down at the ground. “You were my only friend, Button. I didn’t want to lose you, especially after I met you.” “But you’re amazing! Why would it make a difference if you were a princess, or a changeling, or anything?” he asked incredulously. Her face lit up with a smile. “And that’s why you’re so special, Button. It does matter to most ponies.” “But not to me,” he replied. “You’re right… I would still love you if you were a changeling, and I still love you as a princess.” “You’re saying that word a lot,” Luna said, bringing her face closer to his. “Well, you started it…” he replied. “Oh, I don’t want to get into that now,” she whispered. “Actually, just stop talking.” And then she kissed him. His eyes went wide as her lips pressed tenderly against his own. A sweet vanilla aroma filled his nostrils and beckoned him forward with her scent. He reached his hoof up and grabbed her neck, pulling her in ever closer. She hummed to his tenderness and responded in kind by embracing him with her wing. She tasted like mint and tea. Button allowed his eyes to close as he pressed into her, letting the wonderful feeling of her touch envelop him. Seconds became an eternity that stretched out like the infinite heavens she created. He didn’t want to let go, but his body soon screamed for air, and he had to break the kiss. With a gasp, they pulled away, but their hooves remained buried in one another’s coats. “That was…” he said, staring at her. Her face was flushed, and her mouth split into a wide grin. “Wow.” “I haven’t done that in a while,” Button admitted, and she responded with a chuckle. “Oh, you haven’t, huh?” Button raised an eyebrow. “Oh. Yeah.” A smirk slowly spread across his face. “Well, I guess that means that we both should probably get some practice…” Her eyes flashed. Without a word, she led him toward the couch and flopped onto the cushion, pulling him with her. He yelped as they landed, but his cry was cut off by the force of their lips colliding once again. Leaning over, he wrapped both hooves around her neck. She did the same, keeping him close as she leaned back. Button shifted himself to a more comfortable position as she ran a tender hoof through his mane, mussing it up slightly. Sighing, he allowed himself to fall into her embrace again. In that moment, it wasn’t Luna or Starry, not Memory or anypony else. It was just her. He opened his eyes to see her beautiful face right against his own, and soon, he broke off the kiss with another gasp. “You’re gorgeous, and amazing, and… oooh…” She kissed his neck and drew a hoof lazily over his back. A moment later, she released him and smiled upward. “And you… I love you, Button.” “I love you too, Luna. I have for a long time, I think.” He lowered himself down gently and kissed her lightly on the nose. “You’re so smart…” A kiss between the eyes. “You’re funny…” The forehead. “So sweet…” She grabbed him and his breath hitched. Slowly, so slowly, she brought his lips to her own. He groaned as he felt something softly seek access, and, as if by instinct, he opened up to the questing tongue. Her taste flooded his mouth, and she moaned into him as he ran his tongue over her own. Luna’s eyes opened, and her magic enveloped the two of them. Button gasped in shock as they flew into the air and flipped over toward the other side of the couch. She set them down gently… with her on top of him. “And you, my knight in shining armor…” she said as she traced his lips with her hoof. “You are the most kind…” She leaned over and held her lips above his own. “Caring…” Her lips grazed him, and she fluttered her eyes. “Gentle…” she breathed, and Button twitched in expectation. “And completely oblivious stallion of all time.” She kissed him once more, gently taking his bottom lip between her teeth. Button pushed forward in response, and their tongues met again. He ran his hooves along her back and up the base of her wings. Gasping, the princess threw her head upward and she sighed in pleasure. He grinned as he reached up and kissed her neck, still running his hooves along her wings. “Oh, stars…” Luna glanced down, smiling broadly. She quickly grabbed his face in her hooves and pulled him into a tender kiss. He broke away and gazed into her eyes. “Well, I’m not totally oblivious…” He ran his hooves over her wings and leaned up to whisper into her ear. “I can tell that you like this, at least a little bit.” She giggled and nipped at his ear in return. Button pushed his face through her mane and kissed at her neck some more. “And Luna, I don’t know about ‘knight in shining armor.’ You’re the one who saved me, after all.” She nickered softly as he found a particularly sensitive area. “Well, maybe so, but you’re still my knight… even if you were all dusty and covered in grime when you were fighting.” “Well, we can’t all be sexy saviors, you know,” he teased, continuing his treatment of her neck. “Oh, I beg to differ…” Luna pulled away and looked right at him. “When you tackled me… you did save me. And you may not have been in shining armor, but…” She giggled. “Well, you could always be my knight in faded armor, couldn’t you?” “Oh, the name joke! The pun! It burns!” Button said as he threw his hoof over his head in mock horror. Luna giggled and pulled him into a close embrace. She held him tightly, running her hoof through his mane. “I’m glad you’re with me, Button.” She smiled down at him, but then it faded away. “I should probably get back to the castle… I need to check on the investigation.” He groaned. “Do you have to, Lu?” “Did… did you just call me Lu?” she asked. “Yeah, I did. Do ya like it?” He kissed her nose. She raised an eyebrow and pursed her lips. “No.” “Ah, come on!” he cried. “Why not?” “If you call me Lu, I get to call you ‘On.’ Or ‘Butt,’” she said with a straight face. “Oh.” Button scrunched his nose up. “Yeah, no. I see what you mean. I’ll have to think of some other nickname… Luna.” He savored the taste of her name. “Indeed.” She nuzzled against him. “But yes, I do need to go back soon…” “Can you stay with me for just a bit longer?” he asked quietly. Luna sighed. “I think I can stay away for a few more minutes…” “Perfect.” Button breathed as they just stayed there, together. For a moment, he forgot about the windigos, couldn’t remember the changelings, and didn’t give a single flying feather about the griffons. There, for just that short time, all was right in the world.