• Member Since 5th Aug, 2013
  • offline last seen Jul 5th, 2023

Doccular42


the pleb formerly known as doccular

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Princess Luna still feels alone, nineteen years after her return to Equestria . But when she finds a friend in an online game, everything seems better. She can be herself without worrying about what others think, and she can finally talk to another pony, even if he never knows who she really is.

Celestia is worried about her sister, especially right now. Upcoming peace talks with a powerful new nation mean that all the Princesses need to be completely ready. With her Luna so absorbed in a fantasy world, she wonders how she'll make it through the harrowing weeks to come.

Button Mash feels like a failure. He's still living at home, he still can't find work that can use his degree from the university, and he still feels alone. His friends are getting married, starting families, and thriving in their careers. On the plus side, he plays games regularly, and his best friend is a mare, even if she doesn't know his name. He hopes that his upcoming vacation to Canterlot might help his mindset.

But, unbeknownst to all of them, a sinister web within a dark plot threatens to ensnare Equestria... And Luna may be the only one able to stop it.

She may face it alone, or maybe she'll have some help from her knight in faded armor...

~~~

Cover art credit to yamashta. Link here.

Preread by -TGM- and Goldenwing

Edited by m1ntf4n, PheonixStarr, Wing, and the_Doc, and Swan Song, and Orion Caelum.

Follows canon up to about season 4 or so. I'm not sure when everything went off the rails, but it was originally as true as possible when initially written.

Link to the Discord chat HERE!

Chapters (42)
Comments ( 2846 )

This just in: Luna spends all her life on an MMO and isn't even a major guild leader.
What a filthy pleb.

....An odd concept. Good intro to explore a lot of what comes with game addictions. And a "pairing" i've certainly never seen before. This has the potential to be very good, and the potential to be an absolute disaster. Lets see what you can do with it =D

6260133

Probably a disaster :raritywink: :derpytongue2:

Thanks for the comment!

6260389

Thanks! I hope to earn that thumb and favorite!

The prologue really got my attention, definitely interested in reading more.

I'm loving it and I can't wait for more. :twilightsmile:

6262955

Those were actually two out of the three biggest inspirations for the game! Twelve points to Griffindor for you!

This looks like it's going to be good.
Can't wait 'till the next update!

K... I won't lie... you have successfully hooked me. Like... that description was a hook and as soon as I read it you jammed it into my mouth and said "Come with me" I will be watching this. Get ready for a review by the end. :pinkiecrazy:

6263650

Woo! I'm ready! I'm glad that you liked it!

I really enjoyed that prologue. Nicely done!

Who said I'm refreshing the page every 1.3 seconds? Because I'm not, that is not a thing I'm do-*click*-ing

>2015
>Not playing Dark Souls or Bloodborne
>Implying I can respect this pathetic plebian.

In all seriousness, though, I love the description and will read it later in the day once I'm off work.

this book is 8/10 so far. I can't wait for more.

6264108

Soon...

Very soon, actually. :P

Ooooo.. dramatic. :3

Comrade General Chaput allowed a slight smirk to grace his beak as he looked down at the checklist which adorned his table. With a quill plucked from his own wing he went down the list.
>Drinking red wine? Check!
>Listening to classical music? Check!
>Playing a metaphorical chess game? Check!
>Looking out a window in a dark tower surrounded by weary villagers? Check!
>Making cryptic statements to himself? Check!
>Reading cryptic letters? Check!

"Yes," the Comrade General thought to himself. "Soon I will be the most evil character of them all."

Luna's going to meet someone she met online... Don't they teach you at school NOT to meet people you meet online? This can't end well...:unsuresweetie:
Great story! I give a moustache.:moustache:

P.S, MOAR!!!!!!!!!:flutterrage:

6264526

In her defense, she probably didn't learn much about the internet in school. :derpytongue2:

But she's more than 1000 years old... Then again, they didn't have computers 1000 years ago...

Chaput shall DIE!!!!! :flutterrage: I hope Luna survives in this story...

Don't answer that. No spoilers, after all, right?

Comment posted by The_Equestrian_Emperor deleted Jul 30th, 2015

This is a gaming story. This is the first gaming story I've read. Did you see the bannana confetti?!?!??!?!?!?!?

Interesting. I'll be seeing where this is going.

6264358
Chaput? Funny name. How do you pronounce it?

ˈklēˌSHā

It's all so clear to me now.

Luna thinks with portals, do you?

6265077

Woo! I'm glad I earned that vote from you!

There may be some historical parallels with the characters just due to the nature of the subject matter, but I wouldn't look too deeply into it.

Well, crazy griffon women are crazy, after all!

As for the tech levels, I think it's somewhere in between WWII and Modern for different types of technology. They have some very advanced computers, great skill with medicine and such, but their guards still use spears. Why? Because bullets don't really do much against a magic user who can cast a spell that slows all objects entering the field. Guns may be powerful, but magic means that other tactics can be needed sometimes. Tanks may be powerful, but when your enemy can teleport inside at a moment's notice, that power becomes drastically reduced. This leads to very unorthodox strategies, and it has also led to a very different military development, technology-wise.

From a writing standpoint, I don't really want to nail down an exact tech level for anything. I'd rather allow the story to define the technology than the other way around. Would griffon airships be cool and further the plot? Then sure, they have airships. What about a space program? If they have computers like this, can't they go to the moon? Maybe. Does it further the plot? Who knows! I'll probably just make up the technology as I go until I get a better vibe for what meshes with the different nations. Until then, we'll get to see lots of cool things!

~Doc

6265118

One of my favorite games of all time, if you hadn't noticed :raritywink:

6265252

Well, I was actually planning on having airships, and this just confirms the plan! I love the concept of any Naval type of warfare, be it sea, air, or land. Plus, airships are just friggin' cool.

I would totally play that game that Luna has. Heck, I would pay for it to be on Steam!

A Button-Luna Gameventure...

Please be a long story that updates frequently! *flippers crossed*

A knight in shining armour has never had his mettle tested.

6265822

Wow, that's very nice! I may be able to use that in the fic later, if you don't mind. Or, at least, I could use those characters!

~Doc

New chapter is about 80% done! I want to publish tonight, but I need another set of eyes! Anyone interested in prereading?

6265926

6266138

I'll take that as a yes, haha.

PM'ing you.

I was pleasantly surprised to see a lack of human or anthro in this story.

6266264

Yeah, I never do either of those. Ponies are ponies are ponies when I'm writing the fic. :raritywink:

Hooray! I do most pleasantly enjoy this fic, and surprisingly this ship - platonic it may be, and whether or not it's ever meant to be more, I do most verily enjoy this mix of the familiar and the Equestrian.

TGM

Congrats on the success of your fic!

Now only if all of your fics could be this successful.

They all deserve it, after all.

Are you gonna post any more you amazing you :rainbowkiss:?

6266347

Not tonight, sadly. I wrote 12k today, and I have work tomorrow, haha. I'm gonna try to write a short interlude tomorrow before my shift though!

6266283
Personally I was confused about that, you've made mention to things like hands (which ponies don't normally have) and objects like keyboards and rifles (which by standard design would require such appendages), so my visualization of events got thrown off in the first chapter when you first made mention of keyboards. Rifles I could understand since they can be modified to allow for different grips or whatever, but that would have to be one pretty big keyboard to fit an earth pony's hooves.

6266343

D'aww, thank you! Here, has a moustache. :moustache:

6266350 Wait... You wrote this all today!

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