Payments, Meltdowns, and Journals
“Wow, that was delicious…”
Button smirked as his amazing, impossible marefriend pushed her now-empty plate away from herself. They sat in one of the booths at Donut Joe’s Donuts and More. The early morning sun filtered through the blinds and shined onto the table that held the remains of their breakfast.
“I guess you liked those, huh?” Button asked. “I can’t believe you’ve never been here before! I’ve been in town for what, a week, and I’ve already fallen in love with it! How’d you miss it for so long?”
The disguised princess took a deep drink from her cup of juice and shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I just never got past Waffle Hut. Usually, I’ll pick one restaurant and stick with that one. I go to the Hut for breakfast, and I never got around to trying Joe’s. Cel— um, my sister comes here rather often, however.”
He chuckled at her accidental slip-up. “I can’t blame her, like, at all. I’d probably come here every day, but then I’d be broke and dead from sugar overload.”
Luna leaned toward him. “Actually, Tia eats here every day that she has off. I think her, you know, alicorn metabolism is the only thing that lets her tolerate it.”
“You’re kidding!” Button whispered. “Oh, stars. This is nuts. We’re talking about her like this…” He held his face with his hoof. “You do realize how crazy this is to me, right? I’m here, with you, and you’re… you, and she’s her, and…”
“Haven’t we addressed this already, Button?” she asked softly as she reached across the table and grabbed his free hoof. “Yes, I’m me, but I love you, and that’s the important part.”
“‘Alicorn metabolism,’” he muttered. Shaking his head, he looked up at her. “I say again, nuts.”
She brought his hoof up to her mouth and gave it a chaste kiss. “In a good way?”
“In the very best kind of way,” Button replied. He reached out and gently caressed the side of her face. “I love you.”
She blushed and looked down. But after a moment, she glanced back up mischievously. “I know.”
“Hey! That’s not the right reply!” he cried out in mock indignation. “I’m no expert at this, but I think you’re supposed to say something different.”
Instead of responding, Luna stood up from the booth and walked over to him. She leaned over and gave him a soft kiss on his lips. “I love you, and you know it.”
“Mmm,” Button responded as he leaned in to kiss her back. “Well, if you’re going to say it like this, I’d be okay with you telling me it every day. Actually, lots of times every day.”
“Oh, Button,” she replied with a chuckle. “Okay, I’m going to go pay. Meet you out front?”
He furrowed his brow as she reached for the bill on the table. “Wait, I thought that…”
“Thought what?” she asked as she raised her eyebrow. “Are you going to ask to pay again?”
Lowering his eyes, he nodded. “Yeah, I was.”
“Button, I know you want to be the gentlestallion,” she began, “but you don’t have to pay for me. In fact, I want to pay for you. I know how money is for you, and I know what it is to me.”
“But it’s not about the money. It’s the thought behind it,” Button said as he reached for the bill. “I care about you, and I want to take care of it.”
“And I care about you and want to ‘take care of it’ too.” She gazed into his eyes. “Button. This one is mine. Please.”
He looked at Luna intently. Behind her glasses, her eyes were wide, and her lips were stretched out. She still held the bill, as did he. With a sigh, he let go. “Okay.”
“Button…”
“Lu— Starry, I just need to say something. I haven’t had anypony to buy things for since a very long time ago. I know that you have money, but I’d still like to pay sometimes.” Nodding slowly to himself, he continued. “I want you to know that… well, I don’t know what I want you to know, exactly, but it’s something. You know, like ‘where your money is, that’s where your heart is too.’ I want to show you, not with words, but actions, that I care.”
She gave him a small smile. “I understand, Button. But our relationship is… different. We have a lot of kinks to work out, I think.”
“Yeah,” he replied. “Maybe we should sit down and talk about stuff like this. We have anything but a normal time ahead of us, you know.”
“Oh, I realize that,” Luna said with another laugh. She leaned in and kissed his cheek. “And Button, you don’t have to spend money to tell me that you love me. I know. Money doesn’t mean anything. It’s you and me that matter.”
“I guess,” Button said. “Oh well. I guess we can go pay then.”
The stallion and the princess trotted to the front and paid their bill. Luna nodded to Button, and they headed for the door.
Suddenly, Luna chuckled. “Does that count as a fight?”
Button snorted and nuzzled her neck as the two walked. “So long as all of our fights go like that, then I’d say it can be one. At least you didn’t call me an idiot this time.” He nipped lightly at her ear.
“Ah, stop! You know I’m ticklish!” Luna cried.
“No I didn’t!” he exclaimed before chuckling in his pretend evil voice. “Oh, my… the things I can do now…”
“Don’t you dare!” she shrieked as she nudged him with her wing.
“Mwahaha.”
The two laughed together as they exited the store and turned onto the street. “So,” Button asked. “Back to the hotel to run a few quests? Maybe start a PUG?”
Luna wrinkled her face. “The questing sounds nice, but I think I’d rather just duo today. Is that all right?”
“Fine by me!”
She smiled. “I’m glad we have time to do this. We’ll have to find a way to keep it up when you go back home. Maybe weekend visits or something?”
“Maybe…” Button said slowly. “Or… wait. Don’t you do, you know, dream stuff? We could dream together every night! Although that might get weird… What do you think?”
As he turned to Luna, he saw her slow down, her brow furrowed. “Uhh…”
Button blinked twice. “What? Did I say something wrong?”
“Button,” Luna said. “Since you brought the topic up… do you remember your dream from last night?”
“Umm…” Button bit his lower lip and squinted his eyes. “I actually dreamed about our game. Why do you ask?”
“What about before the game dream?” Luna inquired. “Was there anything else?”
He wrinkled his nose as he thought back to the night before. “Uhh…”
Chains. Sweetie. Spike. Loss. Pain… Her.
His eyes widened. “Oh, stars. Did you…”
Luna stopped walking and turned to him, her lips pursed and brow furrowed. “Button, part of my role as the Princess of the Night is to patrol the dreamsky. It’s a place where ponies and other beings go when the dream. I watch for nightmares there, and last night, one of the ponies I needed to help was you.”
“I…” Button took a step back. “Y—that was you, actually you, in that dream?”
“Yes. I saw what you were going through, and I had to help.” Luna gave him space. “Button, I had no idea—”
“Just give me a second,” he interrupted. “I need, I need to process this.”
Sweetie Belle, the flowers, Rarity, the Boutique, helpless, alone, worthless, shadows, trapped, pain, grief, unloved, hated, second-class, extra…
“Button, I…”
He shook his head. “Do you know how long I’ve had that dream? That nightmare? Years.” Button gazed into her eyes. They glistened in the sunlight as she stared back. The ponies around them hurried past, paying the two no mind. “I’ve never told anypony about those feelings, ever. I held it inside, kept it a secret, and dreamed about it every night for a week. I still go back to it sometimes, and… and you came into it and saw it all.”
She lowered her head. “Button, I’m sorry. I didn’t think that it would hurt you that I went inside. I just wanted to help you, because I love y—”
Once more, he interrupted her. However, this time he did so by stepping forward and grabbing her into a tight hug. He shook and gasped for air, breathing in the smell of her mane. Button held his love close as he pressed into her. “Thank you,” he whispered into her ear.
Button felt his marefriend stiffen in surprise but then melt into his embrace. She snuggled into his neck and kissed him softly. “I love you. When I saw you were feeling like that, I couldn’t help myself. I had to help you. And then I saw what the dream was, and… my heart broke for you. I know what it feels like, the regret. A long time ago, some friends helped me face my own demon, and when I understood what was happening…”
He sniffed and hugged her tighter. “I hope you understand. I love you, and not her. That was a long time ago. I don’t care about it now, but it still hurts.”
“I know. I know.” Slowly, the two pulled apart. Luna smiled at him, and they lowered their faces until their foreheads met. “Don’t worry. Dreams are like that. It’s the subconscious’ playground. Your feelings and thoughts aren’t completely your own there. I’ve seen it before, and I’ll see it again.”
“Well,” Button muttered. “You’re a bit more understanding than I am. I’d probably feel pretty jealous.”
“Button, she might have memories locked away in your mind, but I have you. That’s what I care about.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, there it is again. You’re amazing, you know that, right?”
“Yes. I do,” she replied smugly.
Button nickered and stepped back before shaking his head. “And so humble!”
“But of course!” Luna exclaimed.
The two laughed together as they turned back toward Button’s hotel. Luna extended a wing to embrace him, and she leaned her head against his neck. Button smiled. This was perfect.
~~~
Button and Luna appeared in the guild’s base and immediately were greeted by the blaring guild alarm.
He quickly brought up his guild chat and the voice channel of their internet chat group. The officer channel was empty, so he entered the general member area. As soon as he entered, he heard Fawkes barking orders to the group.
“—and get the breakers, Jexxc! We don’t know what kind of defenses they might be bringing!” he said to the lower ranked members who were assembled.
“What’s going on here?” Luna asked over the chat.
“Memory!” Fawkes cried. “You’re here! I thought I was going to have to lead this on my own. Procrastinatoes is under attack. They just messaged us over the alliance chat. It’s the Legion, and they said that Noble is leading them.”
Button growled softly. Procrastinatoes was one of their allies who focused on gear-grinding some of the highest end raids. They’d made a killing on the artifact market and had built up a massive base where they sold much of their goods. The base was considered a safe haven for trade, and if the Legion was attacking them, then they were breaking more than a few inter-guild treaties.
“‘Natoes has defenses, but they don’t have many player-busting toons,” Luna commented. “When did we get the message?”
“About thirty seconds before you guys got online,” Fawkes replied. “I’ve got the guild mobilized and prepping the speeders. We can leave as soon as they’re ready. Oh! And I just told them to get our shield busters. If they’re trying to rob the stores, I figured that they might put shields inside the entrances and then have their unicorns ‘port out or something.”
Luna nodded, even though he couldn’t see her. “Good thinking. Fade and I will meet you down in the hangar. Has anypony seen Silver today?”
“He logged off about half an hour ago,” Fawkes said. “Said something about going to the store.”
Button and Luna ran toward the hangar. The stallion sighed into the chat. “So he might not be back in time. How many do we have?”
“We’re the only three officers,” Fawkes replied. “Jexxc and Indigo are leading their own squads of five, and we have a reserve of three. The three of us make eighteen. If the chat is accurate, there are three other guilds coming to help, but the Legion is moving in force. The last count from ‘Natoes says that they have over fifty. They lost most of their defenses and their entire security force in a second. The other guilds claim to be bringing about ten toons each.”
“Almost even,” Luna said quickly. “We can take them. Is the entire Pwnies squad on with Indigo?”
“Yeah!” Indigo chimed over the chat. “We’re all here. Time to get revenge on these flankholes for what they did to us earlier!”
Fawkes chuckled. “Yeah. Our PvP specialists will be pretty helpful here. Jexxc is leading a squad of heavy melee and magic support. The three extras are healing spec’d.”
“Perfect.” Luna slammed a hoof on the control for the hangar’s door. They ran inside as she gave her orders. “Jexxc’s squad. You’ll be going to engage the bulk of the Legion’s forces. Their usual tactics dictate a large single unit that clears all areas before a smaller group of raiding specialists and packponies go through to steal loot. You’ll be looking for that single group. We’ll try to get the other guilds to support you. The three in the reserve, go with them. They’ll need all the healing they can get. Indigo, you’ll take the Pwnies and look for their packponies. Their best fighters will be protecting them, so be ready. Fawkes, Fade, and I will look for Noble.” She growled as the two of them rushed past the other bustling guild members who were preparing the attack speeders. “We’ll get her.”
“Heard!” Fawkes said. “Jexxc, Indigo. You two clear?”
“Gotcha!” Indigo replied.
>Jexxc: eeyup
“Perfect,” Luna said before clearing her throat. “Chosen! Who are we?”
“We’re the Few!” The chat exploded as a multitude of voices responded to her call.
“What are we?”
“Chosen!”
“And we will be?” she asked.
“Victorious!” they roared.
“Go!” Luna cried.
Button smirked. “Ya know, it’s pretty sexy when you yell orders…” he whispered so that only she could hear.
His marefriend blushed. “Well, maybe I should do it more often then,” she replied huskily.
“Oh, yeah.”
The two of them jumped into one of the speeders as the last of the Chosen piled into their own vehicles. A new alarm filled the room as the roof of the hangar slowly creaked open. In a flash, the engines ignited, and the guild was on their way. Luna grabbed the controls and directed them toward the north, where the Procrastinatoes had built their base.
“So, going after Noble,” Button murmured. The different squads went into their own private chats so that they could plan, and the officers had done the same. “How do we feel about this?”
“I don’t know,” Luna replied. “She betrayed us, but she was our friend for so long. A really loyal one too. It just doesn’t make any sense that she did this. I still can’t believe it.”
“Eh,” Button said and shrugged. “I agree. It doesn’t fit, but it happened. I guess we never really knew her, right?”
“Maybe…” she said pensively.
The scenery below them moved past in a blur as they raced toward their destination. The three officers rode in the speeder in a contemplative silence as the formation of Chosen vehicles blazed through the air at maximum speed.
After several minutes, the sight of a very large purple plasteel building filled Button’s view. The Procrastinatoes changed the color of their base at least twice a month, and the color this time was a dark, royal purple. However, the flamboyance of the building was marred by the smoke rising up into the sky from where several of the walls had been blown down with powerful explosives.
“Daaaaaamn,” Fawkes muttered. “They must have blasted the tartarus out of the sides…”
A voice crackled through the proximity chat as somepony radioed the officers’ speeder. “Chosen! Thank Luna you’re here!”
Button snickered, and Luna shook her head.
“The Legion’s inside. They’ve taken out all our security. There are way more than we thought.”
“‘Natoes, this is Memory. I’m leading the Chosen,” Luna replied. “What’s the status of our complete forces?”
“So far, you’re the only ones to respond. We’re trying to get our toons to respawn and we’re summoning turrets as quickly as possible, but they’re running rampant,” the rushed mare said. “It looks like most of their troops are sweeping through, and then they have other groups looting all our stores. Their leaders are headed for the command center. If they get there, they could have complete control.”
“Or initiate a reactor meltdown,” Luna muttered. “The Legion doesn’t usually claim bases. They wipe them out.”
“Oh, shit!” the voice said. “We need to stop them!”
“We’re on it. Don’t worry, ‘Natoes. We’ll save your base.” Luna took the speeder in for a landing.
“Thanks, Memory. We owe you.”
The vehicle set down on the open field, and the air hissed as the canopy opened. “Don’t thank us yet,” the princess replied as she jumped out of the speeder. “We have our work cut out for us.”
“Roger that. I’m getting back to the defense,” the other mare said. “Good luck.”
The rest of the Chosen Few emerged from their own speeders and drew their weapons. Sniper rifles, flamethrowers, shotguns, glowing swords, a lance of lunar energy, and one triple-barreled rocket launcher glimmered in the air.
“Okay, Chosen,” Luna said into the main chat. “Main assault force, you’re going for the bulk of their forces. Draw them out, slow them down. You can’t handle them all, so try to distract them until the other guilds arrive. Pwnies, go after your targets, and hit them hard. I’m going to handle Noble.”
The troops nodded and stamped their hooves, claws, or feet.
“Attack!”
Button, Luna, and Fawkes sped off toward the main entrance of the base while the rest of the group headed into the blown down walls that led to the enemy forces. The three ponies came to the door and banged on it. Button glanced upward to see a security camera swivel down to look at them. The light on the device flashed from red to green, and the door rose to allow them entrance.
“Do either of you know the way?” Luna asked as they rushed into the magnificent entrance. Gaudy decorations were draped over the walls, and what little was not covered by the colorful fabric was instead concealed by expensive portraits that must have cost the guild a fortune. The ceiling soared up into the sky, and soft music played over the speakers. Button could almost forget that this was a war zone, until the roar of battle and the screams of agonizing death reached his ears.
“I’ve been here a lot,” Fawkes said as he pointed to a far hallway. “The main control room is that way. We should be able to get there really quickly!”
Button dashed forward and directed more of his energy to his shields. He slammed a hoof onto a control panel and opened up the door that led in the direction Fawkes had pointed. “Stay behind me,” he said. “Noble always goes for the controllers first. I’ll keep them off you, Fawkes.”
“Okay,” the unicorn said as his magic charged, giving his white robes a red glow. Fire coalesced around him, and his eyes glowed bright orange. “I respec’d yesterday. Fire master now. Noble shouldn’t expect this…”
“Good,” Luna said. They pushed forward, glancing warily from side to side. “We’ll see what happens…”
As they continued through the corridors, the distant din of battle still echoed around them, but there were no enemies to be seen. Button gazed down the sights of his machine guns and grimaced. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”
“Here!” Fawkes exclaimed. “This is it!”
Button turned to see an unassuming black metal door off to the left. A security camera was placed above the door, and, as the three ponies trotted over, it clicked to green and opened the door.
The room that was revealed was lined with massive computer consoles. Screens depicting security information glowed up on the walls, and the middle of the room was occupied by a single circular table. Everything was silent and empty, and—
In a flash, one of the far walls exploded, and three shadowy figures entered the room. Button rolled into cover and aimed his guns at the grinning draconequus who conjured a shield as she approached.
>Noble: hey guys! come on into the proximity voice chat!
Their old friend raised her bow and aimed it at Button. As she did so, the mechanic that Button recognized as her friend Traxx walked forward to stand beside her. The pegasus still wore her beat-up overalls, but an added layer of metal armor was underneath it, and cybernetic implants flared with stored energy. She raised a hoof, and portals opened all around her. Seven metallic creatures appeared all around her. Two mantiborgs, a trio of ironbark timberwolves, and two chaos-tech spiders dropped into their combat stances and growled at the ponies.
As the summoned creatures took position, the final member of Noble’s team strode out of the shadows. A lean llama with black robes glared at them through a clear plasteel helmet. Three spinning swords floated around him as he bared his sharpened teeth. A red stripe ran down the front of his robes, and Button could make out a long barreled rifle mounted on his back.
Luna growled and activated her proximity voice. “Noble.”
“Ah, Mem! Good to see you again!” the mare crooned. “How are things with boy-toy?”
“Shut the buck up,” Button said. “What the tartarus are you doing?”
“Leading my last major raid before I get promoted, of course!” she said. “See, I’m a Centurion right now, but I’m about to be on the Council itself. All the tributes, money, power, and… well, anything that I could want!”
“And you’d betray your friends for it?” Luna scoffed as she peeked up over the table in the center of the room. “You don’t deserve any of this. Traitor.”
“But she has friends here!” Traxx rebutted cheerfully. “Plus, it’s just a game, Memsy-poo! What does it really matter if we blow up this base after taking their stuff?”
“It matters because—” Fawkes’ words were cut off as the llama faded into shadow and immediately reappeared behind him. His blades arced down, but Fawkes’ spellarmor deflected the blows and tossed the rogue across the room.
“Whoops!” Noble laughed. “Mr. Snarky here doesn’t like it when things get philosophical. Oh well. I guess we can continue this after I kill you all and blow up this ugly-flank base.” The shield fell, and Noble’s arrows arced through the air at Button. “Seriously, making it all purple? Jeeze, that’s gay, and not in the good way!”
Button leapt into the air and turned away from Noble. He looked over at Fawkes who was trying to fend off the llama and all of the mechanic’s pets at the same time. “Fawkes! I’ll take the rogue! Take out the little guys!”
“Gotcha,” he roared as his magic filled the room. Fire ripped through the ground and engulfed one of the mantiborgs. It roared in pain, but the wolves leapt at Fawkes, who had to stop his spell so that he could teleport away.
As Button charged his new foe, he released a swift volley of bursts from his twin guns. The llama raised a glowing black shield and then activated his cloak. Button growled and turned on his visor just in time to—
One of Noble’s arrows impacted the side of his head just as the llama came crashing down on him with all three of the magically levitated swords. The timing was perfect, as if that move had been practiced countless times before, and Button’s shields dropped to half power.
“Not today!” Luna yelled, and Button could see her portal over to Noble. The two mares attacked one another. Luna’s chaosblades flashed, and Noble pulled out her own swordstaff. Techsteel met chaos incarnate, and light flashed from the contact.
Button spun around and bucked out, knocking the llama back into a wall. His bullets followed swiftly and ripped through the magical barriers, but were stopped by the power robes. The rogue’s rifle rose up and aimed at Button.
He barely managed to dodge out of the way as the high-powered gauss round impacted the computer console behind him. Sparks flew through the air, and an alarm blared from above him.
Fawkes cried out in panic as the spiders swarmed him. Try as he might, he couldn’t hold them off. As soon as he targeted one, the others were on him. Even his area of effect spells were useless as the creatures would teleport away each time. The mechanic controlling all the monsters hid behind the other side of the round table.
“Fawkes!” Button shouted. “Don’t worry about the mobs if you can’t get them! Handle their controller!”
As soon as the words left his mouth, the llama leapt toward him, his blades glowing black and silver. They impacted Button’s shields, but Button ignored that. He charged his implants and focused his energy forward. Both hooves slammed into the llama, and both of their shields collapsed at the same moment.
Luna shouted out in shock. “Fade!”
Button glanced over in time to see—
The llama attacked again, and Button couldn’t take the time to glance to the side. The stallion rolled to the side and leapt to his hooves with a snarl on his lips. His machine guns flashed, but the rogue skidded sideways and activated his cloak. Button’s visor clicked on, and he fired at the red outline of his swift foe. Some of his shots impacted, but most missed. He aimed again, and… his visor died as an EMP bolt struck him from behind, and he could no longer see the outline.
Traxx chuckled over the voice chat. “Lights out! Snarky, do your thing!”
Button spun around and charged the pegasus who had shot him. Her monsters leapt toward him, but he dodged, his eyes set on the mechanic. Fawke’s spells arced through the air, pinning her down. She yelped as both stallions closed.
“Stars, no!” Luna shouted. “Noooooo!”
Button glanced to the side quickly to see…
Noble stood above Luna’s body with her sword embedded in Luna’s neck. The pegasus stared blindly forward, her gaze blank and frozen. The draconequus laughed madly. “Mem! I thought you were better than this! The bad-flank warrior princess of the Chosen Few, eh? Ha! Lies!”
As a look of horror spread across his face, Button turned back to his target. Rage clouded his vision as he slammed his hooves into Traxx. The mechanic shrieked as he instantly killed her, shattering her armor and breaking her spine.
“Yes!” Fawkes cheered, but his celebration was cut short as one of Noble’s arrows flew toward him.
Blood splashed onto Button’s visor as the glowing shaft burst through Fawkes’ skull and came out his eye socket. The unicorn’s face lost control and spasmed uncontrollably as blood splurted from his mouth. With a gurgle, the mage collapsed to the floor and twitched as his life faded away.
“Seriously? I leave, and you all become wimps,” Noble said. “I thought you were supposed to be so skilled… I guess I made the right choice leaving you all.” She kicked Luna’s body. “Oh, and sorry about the marefriend. I guess you’ll have to try to kiss her better… if you make it out alive, that is.” With an enormous smile, the draconequus raised her bloodstained blade. “C’mon, Fadey. Time to get schooled.”
“Kick her flank,” Luna muttered in Button’s ear. “Bitch.”
His heads up display flashed twice as his shields returned to full power. Button’s own grin mirrored his foe’s. “Oh, Noble… you forgot something.”
“What’s that?” she asked with a scoff.
“I’ve kicked the living shit out of you three times before. I beat Alchemists in every PvP. And…” He looked upward. “I also invested in a micro-rocket launcher yesterday.”
Immediately, his weapons raised, and Noble yelped. She transferred all her power into a kinetic barrier, waiting for a rocket attack—
—a rocket attack that never came, since Button didn’t have a rocket launcher. Instead, he triggered his Blink and appeared behind the draconequus and her shield. His machine guns fired, set to fully automatic this time. His rifle popped out of his pack and joined in, and he charged up his cybernetic implants.
Noble cried out in shock as her shields failed from the massive onslaught. She barely had time to turn around before Button tackled her to the ground, abandoning all pretenses of civility. His hooves slammed down, breaking her arms. She tried to resist, but a blast from his implants paralyzed her temporarily. As she lay unmoving, Button stood up. He had ten seconds…
“Actually, Noble, what you forgot was something different. I’m a good liar, and you’re an idiot. You always believed me.” His smile became predatory as he leaned over and grasped her own swordstaff with his teeth. “This is for Silver, and Mem, and the Chosen.”
Her eyes widened as he brought the blade downward and cleanly decapitated her. The draconequus’ head rolled back, and blood seeped into the metallic floor.
Button stood up slowly and dropped her sword. The bodies of his friends and a single enemy littered the floor around him as the roar of battle continued outside the room.
>Noble: you bastard
He snickered and brought up his own keyboard.
>Fade: bitch
A second later, a reply appeared on the screen.
>Noble: doesn’t matter. the rest of your team is dead. we got all the loot, and my llama just triggered the self destruct. have fun blowing up, boy-toy
Button spun around and saw the llama standing at one of the furthest consoles. He typed furiously before meeting Button’s gaze.
“No!” Button yelled as he activated his jetpack. Soaring through the air at his target, his guns fired once more, sending waves of bullets at the rogue.
His foe dropped to the floor after hitting a final key on the computer. As Button flew toward him, glowing green energy filled the air. Button felt his controls become sluggish as the telekinesis grabbed him and pulled him toward the ground.
An artificial voice boomed through the base’s speaker system. “Reactor overload detected. Activate emergency protocols or evacuate the facility. This is not a drill. I say again, this is not a drill.”
“Shit!” Button cried as he lay down immobilized. He struggled against the magic and was able to break free, and—
The llama struck him from behind. The sneak attack cut through his shields instantly and damaged his armor heavily. His front left leg was broken by the force of the silver energy that impacted him.
He fell down once more, and his foe stood above him. Button glanced upward as the llama pointed his gun downward at his face. Button closed his eyes, and…
The shot never came. When Button looked up, the llama was standing at the console once more. He typed at the computer for a moment, and the alarm deactivated.
Button stared at him, barely able to move. The rogue nodded to himself and trotted over to the defeated stallion.
A private message appeared on his screen.
>Ellis: if anyone asks, you killed me and deactivated the meltdown. dont tell them i did this
After the message sent, the rogue raised his rifle and pointed it… at himself. A single shot rang out, and the llama collapsed to the ground, killed instantly by the gauss round.
“Uhh…” Button said as he stared down at the body in front of him. “What?”
“How… why did he do that?” Luna asked quietly in the officer’s chat.
Fawkes’ voice cut through the chat as well. “What happened?”
“He… cut the overload and killed himself,” Button said.
Silence filled the chat. “What the actual buck?” Fawkes asked after a moment.
Before he could reply, his com bleeped as the ‘Natoes called him. Button pressed the accept key. “This is Fade,” he said.
“You saved the base!” the mare from earlier cheered. “They may have gotten away with all of our stock, but they didn’t blow us up!”
“Well…” Button replied, staring at the dead llama in front of him. He glanced down at the message from Ellis and took a deep breath. “I got them. Are we clear?”
“The Legion’s gone. Our toons are respawning now. We’re sending aid to your wounded troops now.”
Button nodded to himself. “Good… good…”
As the com deactivated, Luna whispered in his ear. “This makes no sense.”
“I know,” he replied. He glanced away from his computer screen and stared into his marefriend’s eyes. “I know.”
~~~
Princess Celestia sat down on one of the marble benches in the castle’s labyrinth. She sighed as she gazed out over a small pond surrounded on all sides by flowerbeds. Birds flittered above the ground, their songs filling the air with beautiful harmonies. The crisp morning air filled Celestia’s lungs, and the princess was at peace.
She glanced around the small clearing. The perfectly maintained bushes that made up the walls of the labyrinth blocked all signs of any other pony. Her guards had wanted to accompany her on her walk, but Celestia had insisted upon going alone. A single moment, all hers.
Closing her eyes, she reached out with her magic. From the same place that she stored her armor and weapons, she retrieved a single item. In a muted flash, an old acoustic guitar appeared. The princess hummed to herself as her magic pulled at the tuners and changed the pitch of the instrument. As that happened, she summoned another object. She placed the capo onto the guitar and gave it a single strum.
She coughed twice, glanced around once more to see if anypony was watching, and then began to play. As the song filled the air, she sang along softly.
“All winter, we got carried…”
The birds ceased their song, as if to listen. The princess’ hooves danced gracefully over the fretboard while she swayed back and forth in tempo with the song.
“Away over all the rooftops, let’s get married…”
She remembered the first time he sang a song to her. A smile split her lips as she began the second verse.
“All summer, we just hurried…”
He’d been in his cell when he broke into a spontaneous song about how perfect his mane was. It was sarcastic, and Celestia had shaken her head at his silliness, but, on the inside, she had been laughing.
“So come over, just be patient, and don’t worry…”
It hadn’t been until she’d let him out that he’d played his lute for her. Celestia had always loved instruments, and she had mastered several stringed instruments over her life. At the time, however, she hadn’t ever made the time to learn. He’d taught her to play after they got engaged…
“So come over, just be patient, and don’t worry…”
Their daughter had started to play before she could speak. A genius, that’s what Paix had called her. She played the harp in the Canterlot symphony until she was too feeble to pluck the strings.
“Don’t worry…”
The song intensified. The birds settled down on the ground before her and tapped their little talons. Celestia smiled sadly at them as they joined their voices to her music.
The wind carried the sounds over the labyrinth, and Celestia lost herself in her memories. Their first kiss. The day he’d tried to propose, but she asked the question first. When he’d nearly been killed after tackling her out of harm’s way. Wedding day. Wedding night. The birth of their only daughter. The day he got sick. Her quest. His refusal. The first day without him.
“No, I don’t want a battle from beginning to end!” She sang powerfully. The birds grabbed onto the melody and harmonized.
“I don’t want a cycle of recycled revenge!”
Tears fell on her face.
“I don’t want to follow death and all of his friends!”
The guitar cried out, as did the birds. Celestia’s voice soared over the noise, and the sky was silent as it listened to the singing goddess.
They repeated the bridge, and Celestia’s strumming slowed. She opened her eyes as her final tear trickled down her face.
“Don’t want to follow death and all of his friends…”
The music faded, but the birds continued to sing the melody. As Celestia wiped her face, the sound of quiet applause reached her ears. She turned sharply to see General Chaput leaning against the hedge wall of the labyrinth. He wore his white suit and red cape as well as a broad smile.
“Bravo, Princess. That was magnificent.”
Celestia’s face instantly became a mask, and her guitar disappeared. Her magic whisked it away, and the princess stood to her hooves. “Thank you, General. I was unaware of your presence.”
“Oh, I did not mean to intrude.” He stepped toward her slowly as he gazed around the clearing. “I actually hadn’t intended to come out here at all.”
“Really?” she asked. “I was under the impression that you came out here each day for a morning walk.”
Chaput smiled. “Yes, I have been. however, due to some of the events of the last few days, I did not feel completely comfortable coming out here all alone. I had intended to stay in the castle today, but then I saw you come out here to the gardens. It seemed to be a good time to try to talk to you”
Celestia raised an eyebrow as she strode toward the general. “Oh, really? I thought you said your intention was not to intrude?”
“Princess,” Chaput began, “I didn’t wish to disturb your morning routine; however, I do need to speak to you.”
The princess stood quietly before the general. He took a few steps forward until the two stood in front of each other. “What do you wish to speak to me about?” Celestia smiled to herself.
After clearing his throat, the general narrowed his eyes. “You’re mocking me, aren’t you, Princess?”
“Quite possibly,” she replied sweetly.
Chaput shook his head and grinned wryly. “How nice of you. But all humor aside, I do wish for us to speak with each other.”
Celestia nodded. “Very well, General, I do have some time. About what do you wish to speak?”
“I do have a few concerns about our current political situation. However, I have a more pressing… personal question to ask.”
Celestia did not speak or move for a moment. After considering his words, she said, “What do you wish to ask?”
“How do you do it?” His voice was very quiet, as if all pretensions were set aside.
“Do what?” she replied.
“How do you live forever, Princess? How do you live for years, seeing those you have known and loved passing before your very eyes?”
Once more, Celestia stood silently as the question reverberated within her mind. “What brought about this particular question?” she asked calmly.
Chaput sighed heavily and began to pace. “In all honesty, Princess, I have wanted to ask you this for many years. As you may know, I possess a doctorate in philosophy, I have studied the teachings of the greatest minds of Equus for my entire adult life. I have memorized the works of Heroclitis, delved in to the misteries of Starswirl’s ruminations, and written my own interpretations of Neightzsche’s treatises on morality. And yet, despite all of this learning, there is one question I have never been able to answer: How does one deal with loss? How do we see the ponies and griffons dying all around us, and continue to go about our lives? When somepony means the entire world to us, how can the world continue when we lose them?” The general shook his head. “I have tried to answer this myself. Things have happened in my own life that I have not truly been able to conquer. I have felt loss, and it is a pain that no words can truly convey. In the end, I came to the conclusion that this is something I am not qualified to address.” He looked at her, his eyes narrowed. “But then I thought, ‘Perhaps there is one.’ So I ask you, Princess, how do you do it?”
Celestia raised a hoof and scratched under her chin. She pursed her lips, shook her head, and said, “My dear general, I have been trying to answer that question for over a thousand years.”
The griffon smiled sadly. “I was afraid you would say that. Princess, would you like to walk with me?”
She nodded. “Very well.”
The princess and the general strolled out of the clearing. They took a left turn and entered the labyrinth. The vibrant hedges all around them buzzed with insects moving to pollinate the budding spring flowers. The morning sun cast its rays upon the cobbled ground, and silence engulfed them.
The general said nothing as they rounded several turns, and Celestia waited. Sure enough, his words came a moment later. “I lost my fiancée many years ago. She was the most amazing mare I had ever known. I lived for her laughter. When she smiled, everything was right in the world.” He paused. After clearing his throat, he continued by saying, “It was my fault. We had an argument that was, in retrospect, over something so miniscule that I should have ignored it. It was the last thing I said to her.”
Celestia remained quiet. They took another turn, and she saw one of her guards out of the corner of her eye. He glanced at her and quickly looked away.
“It was because of her passing that I became fascinated with the concept of death. Not the nature of death, but the reason for its very existence. I have to ask myself, in those days, ‘Why?’ More specifically, ‘Why her?’”
“I have asked myself that before as well,” Celestia replied.
“Ah, yes. Your husband.”
The princess looked at him sharply. “What did you say?”
Chaput raised an eyebrow. “Your husband, Paix. I’ve read his journal.”
Celestia calmed herself and hid any expression. “How did you come to possess the journal?”
“My adopted father was a teacher at a university in Prance. He was a collector of ancient manuscripts. He would often peruse local antique stores looking for books he found interesting. At one point in time, he came across a tattered journal that one of the store owners believed to contain a fairy tale from Equestria’s early history. However, my father recognized a very powerful preservation spell upon the book. After a quick analysis, he determined it was an alicorn spell. Interestingly enough, the book contained the story of a Prench unicorn who married a princess named Celestia.” Chaput glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. “But we all know that Princess Celestia never married. He had to ask himself, ‘Why would a journal about a pony who married a princess have a spell cast upon it by a princess?’ Because he had so many questions about the book, he decided to purchase it. Thus, I grew up being read the story of a Prench unicorn who married a princess. And for some reason, deep inside, I believed it to be true.”
“Do you still have the journal?” Celestia asked.
In response, Chaput opened his saddlebag and pulled out a book. He gave it to the princess. “I thought you would want this.”
Celestia carefully levitated the journal away from the general. She opened it and flipped through the pages. Surely enough, it was Paix’ hoofwriting inside.
“I take it that the story is true then?” he asked quietly.
As she looked at the words she had lost so long ago, she nodded. “Yes.”
“As I thought. We are not so different, Princess. When I lost Melodia, I went back to the old story from my youth. The story of one pony’s quest for immortality. Not for herself, but for another. And as I gave it more thought, I—”
A group of eight royal guards came around one of the labyrinth’s corners. Their eyes were narrowed, as if they were searching for somepony… or somegriffon.
“That’s him,” the earth pony that Celestia assumed was the leader said. But as his eyes moved away from Chaput, they widened. “P-princess Celestia!”
The alicorn took a step forward. She glanced at his rank quickly before saying, “Sergeant… Copperfield. What is the meaning of this?”
“Uh… Your Highness,” he began, “your sister, uh, sent us to get you. She said she had something important to discuss.”
“Oh, really? That is odd, considering that she went to sleep less than an hour ago,” she replied. “Who are you, and what have you done with my guards?”
The unicorn guard standing next to the sergeant shifted unsteadily and said, “What do you want us to do?”
Chaput raised an eyebrow. “And this, Princess, is why I was uncomfortable coming to the gardens today.”
Copperfield sneered. “Princess, this is not about you. We have intelligence that states that the griffons—”
The unicorn guard beside him raised his crossbow with a shout. “For Equestria!”
The crossbow fired.
Chaput shouted.
Magic filled the air.
And then Celestia heard gunfire.
This chapter is dedicated to Skelepone, a live reader who passed away last week. His profile was adopted by a friend, so his work lives on. Please, give his profile a look, even if it's just to pay respects. His stories are fun, and he would have loved it if you guys give them a read or a like. Skele was a great guy, and I miss him a lot. The llama character in this chapter is because of him. 
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nicely done!
New Chapter!
cdn.meme.am/instances/500x/54432752.jpg
damn.
stuffs going down
Chaput is literally my favorite character in this entire story.
Please don't kill him so soon ;-;
I wonder if Celestia's kid... Lyra. Time travel, immortality/extended lifespan of sorts or she comes from Paixlestia bloodline. Just wondering...
Noble will come back. To kill the Legion from inside. Just a theory. But the gal will be a damnit hero when she will give back them resources...
Bucking extremists. They're some of the worst kind of people.
Awwww sheeeeeeet, I should have known there was going to be something like that.
Fracking... ugh! DX that ending.
Nice job man, nice job!
Damn you Noble!
Keep it up!
LLAMA
I could not imagine a better way to show respect to one such as Skelepone. May he rest in peace.
6568879
No most likely she will turn out to be a semi-big bad in the game sequences of the story. I`ve seen the type often before. The: All for the greater glory of myself- type
6569111 ,,You eather die a hero or see yourself turing into a villian". Or something along those lines. I'd say both options are equally likely to happen. The thing that unnerves me is my subspition that gryphon hackers will crush evrything any moment.
wow a perfect chapter if there was ever one.
Harts Fire
Are you some kind of expert in history or politics or something cause this story is giving me that kind of vibe.
Wow. So my question is are these imposters or are they the real guard but being black mailed. Great job with this chapter.
Quite fine for Starry Skies, but for Luna? Nah...
I know Luna, it's hard to compete with someone like this:
http://cdn.streamable.com/video/mp4/a3uf.mp4
Hellsing Ultimate Abridged at the finest!
Hey, you got featured again today. Congrats!
Wait wait, so WHAT is the backstory with Button and Sweetie!?
6569152
I'm a history tutor who works at a group home as a residential counselor. I deal with lots of... interesting, I should say, behaviour on a daily basis. I'd like to think that I understand people well, and I believe that this story reflects some of that.
~Doc
6569311 Thanks for the calcification was just wondering cause it really does show in the writing.
Crossbows, magic, gunfire?! That hanger! You just leave everyone wanting more and more!
The video game right was great, but I'm curious about the llama's motivations and Noble reason for being such a bitch. Celestia's song was beautiful and melancholic, especially with the revelation that she had a daughter who passed away along with Pax. The ending was a nice cliffhanger. Hope to see the next chapter soon.
Is it ok to ship Celestia and Chaput? Because I ship 'em with Fedex Express.
That's honestly not the saddest bunch of loyalist revolutionaries I've ever seen. But they're pretty damn bad anyway.
Also, the MMO Luna and Button play sounds like the best kind of mixture of Warframe, EVE, and WoW. I want to play it.
6569456 you ship them with Federal Express Express? That doesn't make any sense
Freakin' Cults.
...It's amazing how many times I comment on a story or comic using those exact words.
6569456 don't go with FedEx, the employees just don't care. Source: I work at a FedEx Ground hub.
And, cue the panicked fight music.
6569514
6569668
I wanted it to go even faster, but I do suppose I could ship 'em with Derpy Mail. Go Chapulestia!
I never did get to be in one of the live writings, so I never knew Skelepone.
R.I.P. though.
Yes!!!
6569137
What I can also see happening is that both Noble and Traxx are members of the nightguard.
6569906 Wonderful theory. I imagine what if one character was Discord himself but I think he would be better as one of the game's devs. Or the boss and main creator of it - DISCO&RD Corporation. Huh? I also personally want Luna meet the devs as quick as possible neverless and participate in stuff. Maybe even record stuff and suggest a Nightmare Moon boss, eh?
There are options. Many of them.
That HAS to be a Borderlands reference.
Great chapter. You have my condolences on your loss of your online friend [as for the rest of you who mourn his loss].
I'm glad that this is still up and running. It's a great story.
I have the feeling Celestia was shot no chaput
am I wrong to think this?
Supposition: Chaput knew/suspected that he was a target of extremists and had a team of sharpshooters cover him while he went to see Celestia, knowing the attackers would hesitate before her and then give a reason to be gunned down.
6569277 It was shown as a dream sequence in one of the earlier chapters: Button had finally worked up the courage to admit his feelings to Sweetie- only to walk in on her making out with Spike.
6570854 I think so too as she would of protected him
Grrrr cliff hanger
6570913
As soon as you said your reply I remembered that in detail. Mornings before my coffee are not the best time to try and remember past plot points.
6570527 It doesn't HAVE to, but it probably is
It's good to see you writing again. Excellent work as usual.
I'm...sorry about Skele. I don't know what happened, though now I feel pangs of regret for not having tried coming back to the live-reading group. Maybe he would have been a great person for me to meet and befriend. I wish I could have at least wished him well...every life is something beautiful. Especially the stories they provide. Something as simple as a walk in the park may give you the best representation of someone based on how they perceived the event, and I truly believe that's one of the things that makes life great.
Покойся с миром, товарищ. I hope you can still see ponies up there, Skele.
Yeah, I'm expecting some double crossing from Noble. She's probably a really good actor and nobody will see it coming.
Heh, just like The Boss from Metal Gear Solid 3... except when Noble dies, she can just respawn.
The cliffhanger. That... that was pretty quick. Hopefully Celestia's spells are fast and powerful enough to stop a bullet. If their weapons are anything like our archaic ones, then the firepower is immense and hard to stop.
6569551 Docc pls i even told you how to spell it
Welp, that ending happened. Horseapples is going to go down...
I wonder if that llama guy is anypony they know in real life or if he's just one of those online trolls that occasionally does stuff that amuses them
Loved this chapter! Just the right amount of feels, gaming and story building. Well worth the wait.
(P.S. condolences on the passing of your friend. He must have meant a lot to you.)
6571471 Most likely.
6573945 She turned into her alter ego, essentially herself, not a completely different pony.
Shouldn´t that be written big, since that´s a place?
Either you make that dot a comma or you write the "howerver" big.
Leading into the online raid scene I couldn't help remembering one of my favorite PvP recordings. The small, skilled group. The massed forces of their enemies. The absolute pwnage. I was hoping to see a more coordinated fight because it seems like our favorite crew of ponies is known for their online pwnage. It was almost there!
But, I've still yet to see such coordinated PvP curbstomping as I did watching the videos I was reminded of: Free Rps from Dark age of Camelot. All of their recorded fights seem almost choreographed, but their third video has this sequence starting at 23:30 and running until about 28:30:
It's probably hard to tell for those who didn't play but that's 8 versus X, where X = the enemy spawn point (the castle in the background). If you didn't want to watch the entire thing, the jist of it is that they wreck face for five minutes and then just decide to go elsewhere. That's just insane.
Though I can easily imagine Luna and Button playing a similar sequence to the one in the middle of the credits. "Well, we almost had them."