Author's Note

To those who’ve been waiting, I’d like to say I’m sorry with the hiatus. I’ve been busy with real-life, Dragonfire, and Equestria Heroes.

Everfree Forest - Level 1

Button Mash and Spike were falling through a long wormhole of multicolors, before they came out the other end. They find themselves falling from the sky, through the clouds, with a huge dense forest beneath them growing closer, and closer, until finally....

BOOOM

They landed with a loud crash.

“Ow,” Both boys groaned, as they both got up and dusted themselves off.

Taking a moment to collect themselves, the boys looked at each other, and were surprised at their appearances, "Whoa! Button Mash!" Spike exclaimed. "Is that you?"

In appearance, Button Mash was wearing a large suit of traditional Norse armor. Button Mash wore sets of plated steels, over a huge fur coat, together with thick boots, and a large helmet with two curved bronze horns on the sides. On the back, Button carries a large round shield, with a large pickaxe.

Button looked at Spike, in equal bewilderment, "I was going to ask you the same question," He said.

"Huh?" Spike looked at himself. "What the heck? What am I wearing?" Spike is still a dog. But that's not what surprised him.

Spike was don up in attires, about his size, that gave him a near like appearance of a wolf. Spike had the head of a white wolf, together with the paws, and furs on his back, underneath a suit of armor on his torso, and limbs.

"Am I wearing, one of my own kind?" Spike asked, clearly in discomfort.

The boys looked around, seeing they are now in a huge dark forest that went as far as the eyes can see.

"Spike," Button began. "I don't think we're in Canterlot anymore."

“What gave that away?” Spike asked rhetorically, before he barked, “Hello? Anyone here?”

“Mom? Anybody? Gloriosa? Timber Spruce?” Button called. Like Spike, however, the boy didn’t get any response. “Guess it’s just you and me, Spike,” Button said, sadly. “What are we going to do now?”

Spike sat down on his haunches, pondering at the moment, “Let’s think. How did we get here from the start,” Spike spoke.

Button soon joined in, as he shared his thoughts, “Last thing I remember, lighting struck my TV and short-circuited the video game system. And when the powers got back on, the Tirek’s face was on the TV. And if I remember correctly, he kinda just grabbed us, and dragged us into the TV.”

Spike looked incredulous at Button, “Are you telling me that we’re now in the video game?” He asked.

“Looks like it,” Button replied. “But then again, it would explain why we're like this," The boy said, gesturing to his and his dog friend's state of attires.

It didn't take long for Spike to have an epiphany, "Oh, yeah, it kinda does," Spike said. "If we're in the video game, then the reason we're like this is because we've taken form of our gaming avatars. You're a Berserker of the warrior class, and I'm a Lycanthrope of the feral class!"

"Whoa, no way!" Button exclaimed, as he excitedly swings his pickaxe around. "Oh yeah! I'm gonna wreck some awesome points with this baby!" With a newfound burst of excitement, Button Mash swung his weapon around, destroy some nearby bounders, trees, before slamming his pickaxe to the ground, resulting in a combustible shockwave that knocked Spike, off his feet.

"Hey, watch it, Button!" Spike barked, as he got up.

"Sorry, Spike," Button quickly sheathes his weapon away, as he and Spike began to look around. "Now the question is, how do we get out of here?”

Looking around, feeling the hostility of the forest in the air, Spike felt his hairs standing on end.

“Well, if we’re gonna find out how, let’s get going!” Spike suggested.

Button, picking up Spike’s uneasiness, quickly agrees, “You’re right. Let’s go!” With that, both boys took off running through the dark forest, brushing through the tree branches, causing the leaves to shake, and crushing the fallen leaves, twigs, and grasses beneath their feet.

After sometimes of trekking through the forest, the boys at last came across a bridge, built over a raging river. Looking around, seeing no other options, the boys all crossed the bridge.

Luminous Sword - Sword Art Online

Suddenly, jumping out of the water, cueing a fight music, and onto the bridge, in front of the boys, is what appeared to be an anthropomorphic turtle, with the grotesque face of a beard, and hairs growing around a hollowed depression atop its head, where it carries some waters.

Spike and Button Mash were taken by surprise at the creature's sudden appearance. Taking the time to process the situation, the boys read a description tag that appeared next to the monster.

Kappa: Level 3
Type: Water Demon
HP: 20/20
Attack: 3
Defense: 0
Description: Beware the claws!

With a loud bloodcurdling shriek, the kappa lunged towards the boys at a surprising speed, lashing its webbed claws at the boys.

"LOOK OUT!!" Spike shouted, as he and Button Mash rolled to the sides, narrowly dodging the monster's attacks.

The monster quickly turned around, looking at the boys, ready for another lunge.

"I think this is the part where we the players, fight our first monster," Button said to Spike, while unsheathing his pickaxe and armed himself together with his shield.

With another lunge, the kappa jumped at Button Mash. Anticipating its strike, Button Mash held his shield up, saving himself from the water demon's strong webbed claws, before he slashed his pickaxe forward, landing a blow to the creature.

The boys looked to see that Button's attack only dealt -3 damages to the monster. Clearly, still having enough energy left, and enraged at Button's strike, the kappa threw a fist at Button Mash, knocking the boy off his feet, and dropping his shield.

Taking its chance, the kappa lunged at Button Mash, only for Spike to intervene, as the little dog jumped at the water monster, biting at its neck, repeatedly dealing -2 damages. Vigorously shaking its heads to the side, the kappa struggled in vain to get the dog off. Button watched, to see some waters spilling out of the kappa's head, which further caused its HP bar to decrease, slowly.

"The head!" Button exclaimed in realization, picking up his pickaxe. "Spike! Keep him busy!"

"Why?" Spike asked, continuing to hold on for dear life.

"Just trust me!" Button insisted, as he slowly sneaked up, behind the kappa, and plunged his pickaxe, into its skull, resulting in a KO.

With a wail of agony, the kappa disappears in a flash of light, leaving behind several balls of lights, and piles of gems and coins.

"Whoa," Button panted, together with him and Spike. "I actually did it! We actually did it! We've defeated a monster!"

"And scored ourselves some experience, too!" Spike noted, as he and Button Mash looked to see they both received +35 exp. points.

"Oh yeah!" The boys cheered, while sharing some high-fives together. However, their celebration was cut short, when they looked, and noticed more kappas coming out of the waters, and snarling viciously at them. "Oh, no," The boys moaned.

With another bloodcurdling shriek, the kappas all lunged after the boys. This time, the boys knew what to do, and were all bopping the water demons on the head, resulting in quick kills. However, as more and more kappas kept on spawning, it became apparent there was too many to hack down. Spike and Button were also getting tired, with some -7 damages received form the monsters.

"Where are they all coming from?" Spike panted, while dodging a slash from one of the kappas's slash.

"Let's just get out of here!" Button insisted, as he and Spike quickly ran to the other side of the bridge.

However, much to their dismay, a goblin was already there. With a dagger in head, the goblin cuts the ropes, causing the bridge to collapse, and both boys to plummet into the river below.

"AAAAAH!!!" The boys screamed as they fell into the raging waters, with the kappas all piling on the boys.

"Get off of me! Let me go!" Button spluttered, trying to break free from the kappas.

Spike, trying to break free, looked to see both he and Button Mash were heading towards a waterfall. With a frantic yelp, Spike struggled even harder. Finally having enough, Spike bites down on the kappa's webbed claw, forcing it to let him go, before he swam over to Button Mash, and bites on the kappas holding the boy down, forcing them to let go.

"C'mon! Let's go!" Spike panted, as he and Button Mash tried to swim for dear life, through the mass of kappas.

The kappas still wouldn't have any of that, as they once again, swarmed themselves on the boys. In retaliation, Button Mash slashed his pickaxe through the waters, staving the kappas at bay. Spike continues to paddle alongside the boys, before he jumped on one kappas's shell, and then the next. This gave the dog an idea.

"Hey, Button!" Spike barked, to which the boy looked to see what the dog was doing.

Catching on, Button quickly scrambled onto a kappa, climbing onto its shell, as he and the dog both leapt, from one kappa to another, before they made it back to the bridge. Or what's left of it.

The boys looked, seeing the kappas all disappearing, over the waterfalls.

"Glad to be out of that," Button panted.

"Yeah," Spike panted in agreement, before he groaned.

"Spike! Are you okay?" Button asked.

"I think so," Spike looked at himself, seeing some scratches on his body, glowing red. "Just a few scratches, I guess."

"Scratches or not, we can't go anywhere like this," Button commented, as he looked over himself, to see he was also carrying a satchel.

Checking the inventory, Button Mash pulled out a vial of red liquid, which he uses to apply to Spike's wounds. Both boys looked, seeing Spike was getting his health back up.

"Whoa," Spike gasped, as he stood up, giving himself a few stretches. "That actually felt good."

Button soon applied some of the potions to himself, replenishing his health.

"Wow," Button gasped. "I guess being in a video game isn't all that's cracked up to be."

"Yeah," Spike agreed. "What, with all this crazy magic, and monsters we're dealing with. There's no telling if we can just die, and respawn again."

"Then that's something we're gonna have to risk, if we want to get out of this place, alive, and in one piece." Button said.

Nodding in agreement, Spike was the first to move on, "C'mon. Let's go."

With that, the boys went down a road, before they came across a floating book, with sparkles emitting from its pages.

"What is this?" Spike asked.

"If I'm not mistaken," Button began. "I'd say it's an adventure log. I heard this is the game's feature where players can save their progress. Just in case, when the players have to quit the game, or died, they can just start right where they saved their progress."

Spike turned to Button Mash, "Think it'll work the same for us?" He asked.

"Wouldn't hurt to give it a try," Button suggested, as he and Spike both saved their progress.