Chapter 1: New Challenger Approaching
“The match is really heating up now as the Lane Runners are pushing through mid lane! They’re decimating the Royal Vanguard’s towers, and we have the Lane Runners’ Ahri to thank for that! Both teams are now regrouping, and it looks like the Runners and the Vanguards are about to engage in a team fight!
“The Runners’ Kennen activated his Ult, stunning them all and dealing quite a bit of damage before escaping the fray with low health! Oh damn, it looks like Anivia stopped him in his tracks with her Crystallize and Glacial Storm combo! With that Slow and Ice Wall combo, she quickly finished him off with her Flash Frost! But wait! He activated his Hourglass, giving him invulnerability and making her nuke useless!
“Ouch, it looks like Anivia took a whopping bear beat down from Annie’s Tibbers, forcing her to retreat into her revive state! But that egg shell won’t last for very long in the middle of this figh- and there she goes as Annie bakes the Frost Bird with her Incinerate! As Kennen escapes, the rest of the Runners quickly fires off their Ults, decimating them all. Annie earns her second kill quickly as she burns Nocturne to a black crisp! Never thought I would see that nightmarish creature get any darker! And then she gets a Triple kill off Zed! Quadra Kill! PENTA KILL! Fillies and gentlecolts, a Penta Kill by Annie! A wonderful maneuver played by Trixie Lulamoon!”
The rumble of the crowd exploded like war drums as they cheered for Trixie’s accomplishment of taking out the entire Vanguard team. Trixie, up on the shiny black stage in a glass room designed to muffle the crowd's noise, hoof pumped the air with a big grin on her face. The rest of the Lane Runners quickly gave her a pat on the back before returning to their keyboards.
Within Canterlot Castle, not too far away from the Canterlot Convention Center where the League of Legends tournament was being held, Luna was reclining on her comfortable bed, watching the match on her widescreen television. She bought the few e-sports channels for such events like these, and she couldn’t have felt more proud watching her student rise above the ranks of the other League of Legends players. It was obvious that the Princess of the Night trained Trixie well, as the unicorn was already racking up a few more kills before taking out the enemy’s mid inhibitor.
Luna continued to watch until the very end, when Trixie and her team destroyed the enemy’s Nexus, winning them the game and boosting them up to the finals. Turning off the television, Luna moved her sleek, blue body off the mattress and onto her cushy seat in front of her desk, turning on her computer. With her schedule cleared of any royal duties tonight, she had more than enough time to play a couple games of her own. Browsing over her immense list of games on Steam, a massive platform of gaming made by VALVe, she slowly licked her lips. There were so many games she owned, all of them fantastic and wonderful in their own right. It would seem unfair to pick just one over the others as it would leave them left out. Someday, Luna would finish that ultimate gaming room where she can dedicate her leisure time to playing multiple video games at the same time. But for now, she’ll pick the classic Team Fortress 2.
While the game was loading up, Luna swiftly left the room in white flash, shortly teleporting back into her seat with an assortment of snacks and drinks she picked up from the royal kitchen. Taking a sip from her honeydew soda, she quickly went to search for a multiplayer match of Capture the Intelligence; it wasn’t long before she was dropped into a waiting lobby. She could be in BLU team too! The perfect color for the Princess of the Night!
Observing her choices, she decided to go with the professional and long-distance Sniper class. The joy of taking down targets from behind the lines had always appealed to Luna. Of course, the thrill of being up close and personal like the Scout was tempting as well, but she had a strong gut feeling that today was a Sniper day.
“Let’s drop some noobs.” Luna smirked to herself as she spawned in, on her way to search for a nice vantage point to set up camp.
“Damn it! How come you guys didn’t cap that Intelligence yet?!” BipedalTank09 shouted as she shot at a fleeing Scout.
“It’s not my fault they have an aim-botter on their team! Somebody report her!” DroppinBass grumbled.
“Wait, don’t do that! That’s Princess Luna! Do you wanna get sent to the dungeons?!” BipedalTank09 warned.
“Oh that’s just a bunch of horsefeathers. It’s just an urban legend. There’s no way tha- ”
The thunder of a rifle interrupted her sentence, a bullet piercing through DroppinBass’ skull like a train. Blood splattered across the dirt ground like spilled paint, and the body fell with a dull thud.
“Mother humper!” DroppinBass bellowed angrily, followed by noises from her mic that sounded like she just kicked something across her room and stormed out with a door slam.
“You see?! That was literally all the way across the map! Only Princess Luna has that kind of skill!” BipedalTank09 said victoriously.
“And how would you know that?” SlayerOfClouds asked.
“Night 1ightning. That’s her Steam username. I’ve played with Luna in a match before.”
“Oh sure. I bet yo- AUGH! Spy!” She cried out before crumpling to the ground.
“Get her!” MintyBrush shouted as she chased after the Spy with her albino flamethrower.
The remaining group of mares chased the Spy like a pack of wolves, thirsty for vengeance. Meanwhile, Luna was relaxing and taking time to earn her kill shots. The art of long-range attacking required patience and key discipline. It was not like the Heavy, and all the bullet spraying that comes with it. Not at all, for the one rule of a Sniper is one shot, one kill, one hundred percent accuracy; Luna was an absolute master of this.
Best of all, nopony couldn’t even lay a hoof on her. Several of the enemy team did attempt to storm her spot, but Luna was always sure to check her blind spots, surgically inserting a bullet into their brains every time. It never got old every time a body fell to the ground next to her. There was this one Scout, MasherOfWorlds, who almost got her, but that was because she felt like throwing the player a bone. A bone that was tied to a string she held in her hoof. A bone that Luna pulled back into her grasp before making him chopped liver with her kukri.
Now that Luna recalled the time she killed him, she had sworn he was a little colt, judging by his squeaky, young voice before she ended him. She shook her head at the silly notion of parents allowing young foals playing such violent games. Of course, there’s not really much she could do about it. Not without banning under-aged foals from playing games they’re not allowed to touch in the first place. The rating system was there, yes, but it was mostly there to advise potential buyers if it’s appropriate to play it for their age. If a parent truly wanted their kids to play violent games, then they should have that freedom, right? It wasn’t like it was physically hurting anypony.
Of course, kids were always the ones who complained the most when they lost at something. If Luna remembered correctly, he shouted something about quitting before storming off.
“What is it, Luna?” 5park1yShin3, one of her teammates, asked. “You just mumbled something.”
“O- oh! It’s nothing really,” Luna said, realizing she still had the microphone plugged in. “Well… I was just thinking about that kid I owned earlier. Kinda bothers me kids are allowed to play such violent games these days.”
“Don’t worry about it. Kids these days are like that. Tartarus, I was like that when I was around that kid’s age probably,” 7ColorRac3r chuckled. “Although I doubt that ‘he’ was actually a gamer colt.”
“A gamer colt?” Luna inquired, puzzled by the term.
“You know. Gamer colts! Guys who play video games,” 7ColorRac3r laughed out loud. “They think they’re so high and mighty when it comes to video games, when they know it’s really mares who rule the online field.”
“Rainbow Dash, you know that stallions play video games just as well as we do,” App1eKicker huffed.
7ColorRac3r, who was Rainbow Dash, scoffed at her friend’s words. “Of course I know that. I’m talking about stallions who really know how to play video games. Besides, that colt sounded wa-a-ay too squeaky to be a colt. It was probably some filly trying to imitate a colt’s voice.”
“Now why in tarnation would any mare do that?”
“To mess with us! Gamer colts are always trying to be the center of attention. It’s hilarious how mares are always trying to please them every time one is around.”
“Now look here, Rainbow. Mah brother plays video games too, and I’ve never seen him stoop to that level.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa! I wasn’t pointing any hooves at Big Mac! I’m just saying that gamer colts are annoying.”
“Well mah brother is a stallion, and he plays video games every now and then. Does that make him annoying?”
“N- no! I mean technically, ye- NO! Maybe?”
“Rainbow, I got half a mind to whoop your flank right now.”
Before the argument grew any more tense, 5park1yShin3 interrupted the conversation by loudly clearing her throat. “Okay girls, I know you two have some really interesting things to talk about, but we have a game to play, alright? So keep it together! What does it matter if colts play games anyway?”
7ColorRac3r was about to respond, but then groaned with rage when a Spy stabbed her in the back. “Gah! Bucking horsefeathers, it’s that colt! Bucking lucky son of a bi- ”
“Hello? Is this on? Hello?” MasherOfWorlds called out, the voice sounding much more feminine than before.
“Hmm? Wait a minute… did that just come out from the colt’s mic?” App1eKicker asked.
“Heh. Oh, here comes mom! This will be a hoot!” 7ColorRac3r exclaimed, trying to contain her laughter.
“What do you think she wants, Twi?” App1eKicker asked, apprehension in her voice.
“She probably wants to defend her foal,” 5park1yShin3 said, sounding indifferent about the whole situation. “Somepony should go on the open chat.”
“I’ll go,” Luna suddenly declared out of the blue.
“What? Why you?” 7ColorRac3r asked.
“Yeah. If anypony should go, it should be Rainbow. She was the one who was egging on the poor kid the entire game,” App1eKicker pointed out.
“Hey, he was asking for it! Nopony calls Rainbow Dash a cowbucker and gets away with it!”
“That was just one time, and did you really have to be so mean to the kid?”
“I don’t see what’s wrong with defending myself!”
“I think focusing on killing him and calling him out multiple times qualifies as being more than ‘a little wrong’,” 5park1yShin3 said. “And did you really have to call him a snot-nosed brat?”
“I still believe it is a good idea for me to speak to the mother first,” Luna insisted. “It would be unwise to send the main cause of the colt’s frustration to go talk with his mother… yet.”
“If you insist, Luna,” 5park1yShin3 replied uncertainly.
Luna nodded silently, before switching her chat from ‘team’ to ‘open.’ Taking a long breath, and donning her voice a regal approach, she greeted, “Hello! Tis I, Night 1ightning, the last player to have defeated the owner of the account you are now on. Art thou his mother?”
“Why yes I am,” MasherOfWorld’s mom confirmed. “My little sweetheart is just taking a break right now. In fact, he just locked himself in the bathroom. As his mother, it makes me very upset to know that somepony had the nerve to say things that can hurt his feelings.”
Luna blinked a few times before responding, “Um… art thou suggesting to fight us in his stead?”
“Well if that’s how you want to put it, then yes. I shall be winning this match for not only RED team, but for my son as well,” she replied in a friendly fashion.
“You think you’re going to win this match?” 7ColorRac3r laughed suddenly, butting into the conversation. “RED team is down by two Intelligences, and we have a third one coming into our base now! There’s no way you’re going to be able to-”
[E1usiveG3m was backstabbed by MasherOfWorlds]
“Awaah! How did you ever find me?” E1usiveG3m cried out. “I almost had it!”
“You weren’t quick enough, sweetie. How about you try again?” the mother cooed sweetly, taunting her first kill.
“Oh it. Is. On. Girls, we shall not lose this match! We absolutely cannot!”
“Way ahead of you, Rare!” 7ColorRac3r shouted enthusiastically, racing ahead towards RED base as a Scout.
“Wait don’t go straight into their base so –” [7ColorRac3r was headshotted by MasherOfWorlds] “– quickly.” 5park1yShin3 sighed heavily into her mic before mumbling, “this is probably going to be a long night.”
“I wouldn’t sweat it too much, Twi. It’s just like Rainbow said: we have two points on 'em,” App1eKicker said encouragingly. “What could go wrong?”
“A lot of things, by the look of how many kills that mother is racking up,” Luna said in awe, her eyes widening at the Battle Feed’s increasing notifications, all of them pointing towards the kills being made by the new mare.
“… Whoa nelly.”
Inside his bathroom, a little brown colt was finishing up his cold shower before stepping out to dry himself. He needed to cool off his mind, after dying so much in Team Fortress 2. The colt knew that there were complete jerks online, but he didn’t expect to fall prey to such words. Maybe he should lay off the tough-guy words he learned from his friends at school for a while. They didn’t seem to work in his favor. After adjusting his propeller cap, he made his way back into his room, surprised to find his mother on his computer. The colt recognized the game on the monitor as the very same one he was playing before escaping into the comfort of cold water. Silently watching her play TF2, he began to nudge his mother with the end of his muzzle before climbing onto her lap so he could get a better look.
“Mom? You’re playing that match I just left?”
“Yes, Button Mash, honey,” his mother giggled softly, quickly scoring another kill off 7ColorRac3r.
“Oh wow… and you’re winning!” Button Mash said with sudden joy, a bit surprised at the points his mother earned.
“Yes sweetheart,” she said, kissing the back of his head before returning her attention to the game.
“I… guess you talked to those meanies, didn’t you?”
“Yes I did, and they were very sorry for saying mean things to you.”
“Really?” he asked, turning his head up towards his mother’s kind eyes.
“Oh they will… after I show them a thing or two about gaming, that is.”
[RED Team captured the Intelligence! RED Team wins!]
Luna watched her screen with a stunned, horrified expression and a hanging jaw as the words of failure in the game taunted her. As soon as she was dropped into another lobby, she closed the entire game itself and shut down the computer. She dragged her hooves to her bed, and fell face forward onto her pillows. Luna then let out a frustrated, bloody wail, her hooves flailing around, hitting everything around her. Pillows flew everywhere, and the bed sheet were rustled immensely. Once she got that out of her system, she rolled onto her back and laid there silently.
How the heck did she lose? Everything seemed to go downhill as soon as the mother caught her off guard. Luna thought she had her spot secured, but she what she didn’t expect was to be chased by an ÜberCharged Scout and Medic into an ambush right below her.
Of course, Luna quickly got revenge afterwards, but never had she met a player so evenly matched with the moon goddess’ skills. For every headshot she got on the mother, she was repaid in kind with a melee kill on Luna. For every melee kill Luna got, the mother repaid Luna with a headshot. It was a never-ending exchange of kills and deaths! And worst of all, Luna actually had fun in that game. She was able to experience the same level of thrill as when she played her first video game. Did she finally find a rival worthy enough to oppose her?
“Luna? Are you well?”
Luna turned her head towards the door, finding it open and her sister standing in the middle of the doorway, bathed in the golden candle light. Peaking from the sides of the doorway was four of her Lunar Guards, curious and concerned about what could have fell upon their princess to throw her into such an outburst.
“I am fine, my sister. Tis nothing to worry about,” Luna falsely reassured her sister, not wanting her to be too troubled with her small problems. She turned over onto her belly, and looked away from Celestia.
Not buying any of Luna’s feeble attempts to skirt around the state of affairs, Celestia walked up to the bed after shooing the guards back to their assigned positions, closing the door behind her. “Oh come on now. I know you better than anypony, and I know that something is bothering you.” Celestia climbed onto the bed next to Luna, and wrapped a giant, white wing around her. “Would you please tell me? I promise I won’t laugh,” Celestia smiled softly. Luna exhaled a great, heavy sigh before mumbling. “I couldn’t hear that, Luna. Speak louder please?”
Luna groaned again before saying, “I said it is just a small matter. I was just really frustrated over a game. It is nothing to concern yourself over.”
“Even so, I would still like to hear it. Your problems' size do not deter me from worrying about you. That is the promise I made all those years ago.”
Luna stayed her lips for a while before collecting her thoughts. “… Okay. Well… there is this mare… ” Celestia nodded slowly, compelling Luna to continue. “And… she bested me.”
“I see… and you’re mad at this mare?”
“I suppose I am. You should have seen how we fought. Every move she made nearly mirrored mine, and sometimes I couldn’t even keep up! I never thought I would lose until she arrived… ”
“Mmmh… but did you have fun?”
Luna blinked softly before turned towards Celestia, a little perplexed by what she just said. “What?”
“I asked if you had fun,” Celestia repeated, tilting her head to the side. “Was the match at least enjoyable for you?”
Luna bit her lower lip as the memories of the game swirled around her mind. The gunfire and team members bawking at each other to communicate were not absent, and those moments when Luna and that mare faced each other…
“Yeah… I had fun.”
“Then I suppose you don’t have a problem then,” Celestia beamed happily. “If you had fun, then you had fun.”
“I guess you’re right,” Luna sighed once more, “but I would have liked to win the match.”
“I’m sure you’ll meet her again. You’ll find a way,” Celestia said, lifting her wing away from Luna before walking towards the door. “After all, I assume you’ll want a rematch?”
“… A rematch does sound nice.”
Author's Note
So what's a pilot chapter?
Well basically, a pilot chapter to me is like a pilot episode of an anime. If the pilot episode is received well by the audience, than the makers of the show will continue to make it.
So as I'm pretty sure most of you are figuring it out, the ending of this chapter can serve as the ending on a One-Shot, or the start of a multi-chapter story.
I'll consider posting more chapters if this one turns out pretty well.
PS: Ugh. After reading this, I'm not so sure if this WILL turn out well. I suck at writing. The next chapter - if there will be one - will be more action-y pack as the Interactive Pony Visor (or the new name for the next model: 3-D Online Maneuver Gear or 3-D O.M.G. for short) will be making an appearance in this story as well. In Luna Plays and Equestrian Earth, the I.P.V. was used to making virtual reality gaming in Equestria a... reality. (Puns. Bleh.) So yeah. Expect more details for the action-y stuff.
October 12, 2013
Oh I forgot to change this from its status of Pilot Chapter to Chapter 1 weeks ago. Yeah there's going to be a Chapter Two. Kinda coming slowly though.
Chapter 2: Victoria Mareheart
“Hey mom, have you seen my Joyboy?” Button Mash asked as he shyly entered the kitchen, a sheepish grin etched on his muzzle.
Button’s mom sighed heavily, disappointed in her son’s bad habit of misplacing his belongings. This had to be the eighth time this week, and it was only Monday. With her hooves already busy washing the dishes, she couldn’t just conveniently leave to help Button. It was a good thing, however, that she already knew where it was. Looking over her shoulder, she noticed her son avoiding looking directly at her, his blush screaming out embarrassment. “You’ve lost it again? Mashy, how many times have I told you to keep an eye on your things?”
“I’m sorry,” Button giggled, although his eyes showed slight signs of shame.
His mother huffed softly again before paying attention to the sink’s bubbly water. “I believe you were playing your Joyboy in the living room, last time I checked. You may have left it there.”
“Okay! Thanks mom! Love you!” Button Mash scampered off quickly, a skip in his step on his quest toward the living room.
She smiled, a glimmer of motherly love shining in her eyes as she watched her son scamper off. “Love you too, sweetie. And don’t run in the house!”
“Okay mom!” he called back.
His mother continued to smile, before focusing her willpower and strength on a particularly stubborn grit stuck to a plate with the soapy sponge she wielded. As much as she loved the taste and texture of sticky rice, it was quite hard to remove the dried bits. They were quite stubborn if left too long and clung onto plates like desperate cliff hangers hanging from a cliff. And there was this one stubborn glob that just won’t let go! Furiously scrubbing, the mother fought the vile blemish with the sponge’s rough side with all of her arm's strength, but it seemed as if the rice was just at home on the plate. Slowly, her smile from earlier was transforming into a scowl.
“Come on... you stupid, little grain,” she grumbled as some of the water splashed onto her face. “Get the Tartarus off!”
The whole of her mind was focused upon the accursed sticky rice. Sweat started to drip down her sandy-colored forehead as she rubbed the plate even harder, feeling very irritated and frustrated. So frustrated, that she didn’t even hear the front door creak open.
“Damn you’re one feisty guy, aren’t you?” she grumbled loudly. “I swear upon Celestia’s rump that you make me sweat more than my husband.”
As soon as she spoke, she suddenly felt something wrapped around her neck. A small yelp escaped her lungs and was startled by the stranger, but slowly calmed her panicky breathing when she recognized the hooves wrapped around her. She smiled brightly and giggled as craned her head over her shoulder. She was greeted by a soft, quick kiss upon her lips, followed by a loving hug.
“Mmh. Good afternoon, Victoria Mareheart,” her husband, Meadow Song, hummed as he nuzzled his muzzle against her cheeks.
Victoria returned his affection by twofold, turning around to embrace him with her wet hooves. “Well, you’re home early.”
Meadow Song softly grunted with a smile. “Yeah. Berry Punch decided closed the bar early today since it’s almost Hearth’s Warming Eve. I believe she was feeling a little bit generous today.”
“Really? You sure she wasn’t on the bottle at the time?” Victoria joked slightly.
Meadow pondered about it before saying with a laugh, “Well she did seem a little tipsy. I didn’t see her holding a beer today though, so I’m not exactly sure.”
“Mmh. Well it’s good to have you home. We just had lunch, but we still have some food leftover.”
“Oh no that’s alright. I’m not very hungry right now,” Meadow replied, stroking the back of his wife’s mane. He gazed deeply into her eyes with a naughty shine in his. “Although I suppose I’m craving for something right now.”
Victoria smiled, but rolled her eyes at her husband’s mischievous indication. “Dearie, Button is still here, and I don’t think he has any plans to go out tod– ”
Before she could finish her sentence, the doorbell rudely interrupted her by crying out.
“Hm? Who could that be?” Meadow asked as he and Victoria made their way to the front door.
“I don’t know. I haven’t planned anything with the girls today so…”
Meadow set his hoof on the handle and opened the door wide. They glanced around, but there didn’t seem to be anypony in front of their house at all. Was this somepony’s idea of a prank?
“Hello? Anypony here?” Meadow called out.
“Um, I’m down here.”
The both casted their eyes downward to find a little, snow-white filly with her grayish mulberry mane curled in a graceful and adorable style. The rosy streaks in her mane were shining with glitter, and Victoria detected a slight scent of green daffodils coming from her, but it was the white, bright, warm smile of the filly that stood out the most. If the dictionary definition of cuteness was alive and walking, she was it.
“Oh hey there, Sweetie Belle!” Meadow Song greeted her. “What brings you here?”
A light blush graced Sweetie’s cheeks as she kicked the dust beneath her. “Oh I just wanted to see if Button Mash can come out to play. Is it okay if he can?”
Victoria raised one of her eyebrows at Sweetie’s comment, but said nothing of it. She, however, had an inkling of what Sweetie’s true motivations were. The glitter, the light and sweet smell, the blush were all pointing towards one thing: the filly was ready for a date.
“Well yes, I believe he is home. I’ll go ask him for you if you want,” Meadow Song offered.
“Okay!” Sweetie Belle smiled, adjusting her mane as soon as he left. “So you’re Button’s mom? He told me so much about you!”
“Really? Well, what did he say?” Victoria asked, giving Sweetie a friendly smile as she lowered herself on her stomach.
“Oh he said how you were really good at video games, you make the best blueberry and chocolate chip pancakes, and you're the best mom around.”
“Really?” Victoria softly smiled at the thought of her little Button speaking so highly of her. “Aww, that’s so sweet of him.”
“Yeah! Although beg to differ about you being the best mom. My mom is the best mom!” Sweetie boasted innocently.
Victoria giggled. “Well, we’ll see about that sooner or later.”
The two began to talk about other things, with Sweetie Belle’s talking mostly about of video games. Somehow, Victoria knew that Sweetie was the Minecraft kind of gal before she ever mentioned it, and she was glad to know her guess was spot on when Sweetie started talking about diamond pickaxes. The two exchanged their Steam usernames before Meadow Song returned with Button Mash in tow.
“Here he is, Sweetie Belle. Got him like you asked,” Meadow Song said.
“Oh! Hey Sweetie Belle!” Button Mash exclaimed. His propeller spun as he happily hopped once.
“Hey Button Mash,” Sweetie Belle giggled. “Do you want to come play with me today? The girls and I are going to go crusading again, and we need a fourth pony to help.” Sweetie started to trace tiny circles in the dirt with the tip of her hoof, casting her eyes downward shyly. “I figured that you might be interested so, wanna come with?”
“Crusading? Sure!” Button Mash said, running past Sweetie Belle. “Let’s go now!”
Sweetie Belle blinked as he ran past, unable to comprehend what just happened before she collected her thoughts. “Huh? O- okay! Wait up!” She then chased after Button Mash, catching up slowly.
“I’ll be home in a bit, mom!” Button Mash called out to her.
“Okay! Have fun, sweetie,” Victoria called back, waving him a quick goodbye before the two foals disappeared as they went around the corner of a building.
As she let out a soft sigh, she felt her husband wrapping one arm around her back. “So, where were we?” Meadow Song asked, lightly biting his lower lip and his eyes half-lidded.
Victoria smiled, returning his bedroom stare with a sexier one. “Oh I think we were going to have some time to ourselves I believe.”
Meadow Song moved into to breathe sweet nothings into her ear. It was Victoria’s turn to bite her lower lip when he whispered, “I’ll go prep the room.”
Crickets were abundant as their chirps rang in the still night air, adding to the cold atmosphere with their natural, beautiful music. The mice skittered about with their tiny feet in search of a few small bits to eat. Their piercing squeaks sliced through the air like tiny shards of glass. Only the boom of the owls’ hoots from in the thick veil of the trees could silence the little creatures, making the length of their furs stand stiff like saluting soldiers. The chilling wind rustled through the air, quietly tip toeing its way across the fields and snaked through the forests. All was seemingly well and calm.
Then everything changed when the guns blazed.
Bullets sprayed in the air from the gun barrels like water from a fire hose, brutally perforating anything unfortunate enough to get caught in their path with their lethal speed. Tanks, thundering loudly, boomed out as they fired their deadly cannons, tearing anything within their sights and range apart. Fighter jets screamed overhead, ducking and diving like feral dragons as they flew above, their engines furiously roaring as the aerial birds rained upon the battlefield with their oily napalm fires. Nearby, battle cries rung out from two opposing teams' hoof-soldiers, polluting the air as they shot, stabbed, or blasted each other.
In the midst of the sudden battle, unseen by the moonlight, Luna was sneaking her way in the grassy field, keeping herself low and silent like a prowling fox. But the night princess couldn’t help but let out a small giggle as she slowly crept up a hill to a camping sniper. Lucky for her though, the sniper was more focused on viewing the battlefield through her scope. The player was being quite the hindrance to her teams progress for the last ten minutes, thus it was justified that Luna should take her out. Oh the sniper will be so surprised once she finds out Luna was literally right on top of her, making sure not to make in contact with her yet.
Once she was ready, Luna lowered her lips to whisper into the sniper’s ear, “Gotcha!” The sniper swiveled her head around and let out a small squeak before Luna promptly stabbed her in the withers. Her prey quickly fell silent. “Another mare has bites the dust,” Luna chuckled, now hurrying her way back to the battlefield.
The sniper had a FIM-92 Stinger rocket launcher on her back, which Luna appropriated for her own use before leaving the scene. With more than a couple rockets for the Stinger, it might come in real handy, if the enemy team managed to get a Gunship off the ground. Of course, that seemed to be very unlikely at the moment as her own team currently had captured most of the flags and still currently have the Gunship under their possession. It seemed almost next to impossible that they’d be able to capture a flag without being fired upon.
“Speaking of being fired upon,” Luna whispered to herself as she arrived at the nearest flag spot, spotting some of the enemy soldiers attempting to secure the area. With a few loud bursts from her SCAR-H assault rifle, she littered their heads with bullet holes, dropping them to the ground. “Nice try, girls. Better luck next time.” Luna smirked, accompanied by her heavy breathing. Getting over to the cap point had taken quite a bit of air out of her.
Thinking she was in the clear, Luna decided to move on to a different location, but before she could take another step further, somepony buzzed into her headset. Her teammate, Derpy, sounded a bit more than exhausted if her heavy breathing was to be.
“Luna, Luna, Luna! There is a tank coming your way!” Derpy exclaimed, heart-beating urgency very clear in her voice.
Luna, surveying her surroundings, saw the monstrous metal machine rolling over the hills in her direction. In a slide, she kicked up some dirt as she hid behind some crates, out of plain sight. She kept a wary eye out for any more intruders.
“Thanks for warning me, Derpy,” Luna replied, “but I don’t have a weapon though to take it out though. All I have is this darn Stinger.”
“Don’t worry! Help is on the way, princess!”
“There might not be anyone left to help if they do not get here quickly...” Luna whispered to herself, seeing the tank closing in fast.
She could try to sneak away, but it was more than likely she would've been spotted, as there was just flat ground all around the flag point. She could run in the opposite direction, but that would mean she would leave their flag to the mercy of the opposing team. There also might be other soldiers coming from other directions as well. She didn’t have a sniper rifle in hoof right now, to safely take out any enemy hoof soldiers that might be coming, which Luna scolded herself as she had just left a dead sniper without taking her weapon. That seriously wouldn’t have helped her spot ahead. Unfortunately, she picked the Commando class, instead of Recon, so she had no binoculars.
There didn’t seem to be any more options than to keep out of sight and hope for the best, which wasn’t really Luna’s style. Luna breathed out a big sigh, taking deep breaths. Oh she could really use some reinforcements right now. Sooner or later, that tank would roll its way over and discover her. In fact, it should be near enough for her to hear it… but the mechanical clanking of the tank’s tracks was absent.
“What the… ” Luna whispered, peering around the corner of the crate. “Where the hell is that th–” She nearly bumped her helmet into the tank's gun barrel. “Buck.”
Luna immediately swept her hooves to the left and jumped up onto its smooth barrel, running across like it was a tightrope. The tank's machine-gunner swiftly took aim and fired, but the Night Alicorn's godlike perception let her avoid the gunner's fire. Luna danced her way through the cloud of bullets, the metal pellets barely grazing her curves, and leapt on top of the gunner. She quickly killed the gunners with a headshot, then opened the hatch and popped a package of C-4 in the hole. Luna could hear the frustrated, panicky yells from inside the tank as she flew away to a safe distance. Once safely away, she pressed the switch. Behind her, she heard the charge explode, followed by a second blast signaling the tank’s destruction. With its metal plates crashing around her, Luna walked away, refusing to look back. Cool mares don’t look at explosions.
“Excuse me, is my sister inside?”
“Yes, your majesty. I believe she is a little busy at the moment, however.”
“That is fine. I’m sure she won’t mind me intruding with what I have with me.”
The night guard silently nodded and straightened up into the usual position that all guards must usually abide to, when on guard duty. Celestia knocked on the door a couple times before coming in, careful to not let the delicate package on her back fall to the floor. She quickly adjusted her fluffy wings to hide it from view, as she entered the dim bedroom.
Compared to the elder sister’s room, Luna’s was the opposite as it paralleled to the night. The ceiling was decorated with illusions of bright stars of varying colors of red, blue, and yellow. Some of them floated freely, while a few others exploded like fireworks. The walls held the images of great planets, showcasing their terrain and atmospheres' many colors. They too were moving like the stars, alongside their tiny moons. Most of the carpet was a map of the world, and was enchanted so that half of it would always be lit, while the other was not, signifying the world's day and night cycles as the light was slowly moving to the side.
Other than the magical walls, floor, and ceiling, the rest of the room was actually pretty normal, although expensive-looking. Against the walls to her left were shelves stacked with numerous video games, packed into their boxes, all of them organized by what platform they were for and alphabetized. There was one specific shelf made for books, but the dust they had gathered was a sign that they were barely touched. The ones that appeared to be recently used were mainly magazines, written with the top news and stories about video gaming and space. To her right was a desk with a high-tech computer with a widescreen television tucked into the corner. Various consoles, old and new, were hugging each other in front of the TV. Towards the back-right wall was a pair of glass doors that lead to a balcony outside. The image of the clear, sparkling, blue satin curtains around them was similar to that of the night sky as well, although they had shooting stars flying like wild space birds in them.
While the thought of space birds was on Celestia’s mind, she also noticed her sister’s northern crystal phoenix was resting upon Luna’s widescreen television, its dark sapphire feathers sparkling as it cooed in its slumber. The screen showed a chaotic battlefield from the viewpoint of what Celestia assumed to be Luna. Despite the explosions happening in the background, the television played no sound from its speakers.
‘She probably muted it for Kalinixta’s sake,’ Celestia thought, walking to Luna’s queen-sized bed.
Upon the bed was the room's owner herself, stripped of her blue regalia and appeared to be asleep, with an elaborate visor covering her closed eyes with its large singular, shaded lens. There were also the visor's headphones, blocking any outside noise from entering Luna’s ears. It was decorated to Night Alicorn's natural style, blue with crescent moons decorating its headphones. Of course, Celestia knew she wouldn’t need those very soon.
Lowering her head, she gently nudged Luna with the end of her muzzle. “Lulu,” she softly crooned, although with a hint of excitement in her voice, “come on I have something to show you!”
Luna, an ear twitching cutely, groaned as she took the headset off, blinking her eyes before turning her attention towards Celestia. “What is it? I was kinda in the middle of taking back a flag.”
Celestia smiled as she turned to her left, showing Luna the box. In a melodic, happy tone, she replied, “Look what just came in today.”
Luna’s eyes almost widened to the size of small plates, and then her small frown grew into a wide smile. “Is that what I think it is?”
“Yes!” Celestia set the packaged next to Luna’s hind hooves, opening the package. “Our 3-D Online Maneuver Gears have arrived!”
Luna watched silently, desperately controlling her breathing with ninety-nine point ninety-nine percent of her attention focused upon the beloved container holding the expensive treasure within, even though they received it as a free gift. Currently, Luna owned the Interactive Pony Visor, the first ever device to introduce players to true virtual reality gaming. Created by a good friend she knew, Luna was able to get hers specially designed and free. While the Visor was very good for being the first of its kind, it had its small bugs and weaknesses. Flaws that made Luna cringe to think about and stow away in the darkest corner of her mind. But that wasn’t important right now as the beloved, technology treasures started to rise in the golden, glistening glow of Celestia’s magic.
The 3-D Online Maneuver Gears had a glossy shine to them, almost as if they came fresh from the factory line. Of course, both Celestia and Luna had specific orders to have the first finished products mailed to them as soon as they were complete. Like the Visor, the Gear had its own set of stylish shades called the Shade Gear, except the eye piece was differently colored. The harmless, low-powered lasers that inhabits the shades give the wearer vision within the game itself. One was a hue of yellow, and the other was a shade of navy blue. The Royal Sisters' Cutie marks adorned the visors' hinges, with the yellow one displaying Celestia’s sun, and the blue showing off Luna’s moon. Luna, her hooves swift, reached out for the blue shades.
“Ooh! I know which one mama is taking home,” Luna squealed with joy, taking the Shade Gear into her snuggly arms.
“Careful Luna, these are pretty delicate,” Celestia said as she wore hers.
Luna huffed, puffing her cheeks out as she helped with unpacking the box. “I think I can handle these beauties.”
She inspected the chest plates, tracing her hoof along the bright neon rivers flowing across the black-onyx surface. All of the lit conduits led towards a glowing icon on the front which resembled her cutie mark, quite similar to how the blue shades had its twin badges. Luna exhaled softly as she felt how smooth the chest plate was, almost like polished silver or gold. These were supposed to monitor the wearer's body conditions and stimulate senses along with whatever happens to the player in the game.
Taking a glance at the two pairs of onyx ring bands, Luna inspected the sapphire gems dotting the band. These were obviously meant to monitor more of a wearer’s nervous system in order to make the movements within the virtual world more fluid. She slipped a pair on each of her forehooves, wanting to see how they would fit. To her immediate surprise, the rings started to float on their own, as if they reacted to being worn. They then started to slowly orbit around her hooves and were seemingly magnetic as they were tied to their partner rings by an invisible force. She could stare at these glowing spectacles all day, but she snapped out of the trance and moved to slip on the chest plate. From last month’s Game Gazette magazine, she remembered they were called Heart and Hoof Gears, apparently named after the day they were started being developed on.
Celestia hummed as she read the manual that came with the Gears. “Sis? Could you try putting on the Shades, and press on the Heart Gear’s cutie mark? That’s apparently the On button.”
Setting her previous visor aside, Luna finally wore the Shade Gear and pressed on the icon decorating her Heart Gear. To her delight, tendrils of sparkling, azure energy shot out from the Gear pieces, creating cable-like links between them. Several blue, floating, shining rings appeared around her horn and wings as well, just barely touching them. The wing rings felt like cool water as Luna leaned them against the mattress beneath her, except they didn’t feel wet. Luna then stretched her limbs far apart like an eagle spreading her majestic wings, testing the capabilities and strength of the magic links. They seemed to fluidly adjust as she swung her hooves around, moving through the air like rope in a pool. They felt like they were an extension of her body, yet not a part of her. It was sort of difficult to describe it, but Luna knew very well that it looked very awesome.
Her sister whistled in appreciation. “I have to say that the Canterlot Colts know what they’re doing.”
“What do you expect? Their Visor was a complete success the first time around,” Luna boasted. “They know how to deal with VR tech.”
“But will it work?” Celestia smirked, wearing her Gear set.
“Don’t jinx it now, Celly,” Luna warned her, firing back a grin.
Celestia adjusted her Shades for a bit before turning it on. “Hey Luna? Have you talked with that mare yet?”
“Who?” Luna asked.
“You know. The mother of that poor colt you and friends made an ‘example’ of.”
“Oh… right,” Luna winced softly. “I’ve yet to send a proper message yet, but I don’t know what to say! She’s probably still mad at me.”
“Perhaps she has cooled herself. It has been a few days now.”
“I know,” Luna said, albeit shivering slightly, “but she’s so-o-o-o scary! You haven’t faced her in combat yet, Celly.”
“Why? What is it about this mare that gives you the creeping chills?” Celestia asked, making a poor attempt to suppress her chuckles.
“Don’t poke fun at me for this, Tia,” Luna demanded, staring Celestia in the eye. The Sun Alicorn raised her eyebrows as Luna looked as if she had seen the void. “Her fury is like fiery ice, both burning and freezing. She is a graceful and deadly swan in combat, and her eyes can pierce the thickest of mountains. She is the oncoming storm.”
“You’ve been watching too much Doctor Whooves.”
“It’s a good show! Anypony can tell you that!”
Celestia grunted in agreement. “True, but that still doesn’t excuse you not talking with her. You still have to make amends here. You made her son rage-quit after all.”
“But I didn’t kill him that much!”
“Still contributed to the team effort.”
Luna groaned from the pit of her lungs, rolling around the bed in a small tantrum. It was so annoying when Celestia can rebuttal every argument Luna had. Celly was an expert debater. To have to do it now after finally receiving the 3DOMG was just a downpour on the mood.
After a few exhausting minutes of fit-throwing, Luna made up her mind and slowly stepped off the bed, towards the phone. “Alright fine. I’ll do it right now.”
“You know her phone number?”
“Yeah.”
“That much of a stalker, are you?”
“It’s called research!”
Victoria giggled as her husband’s hoof stroke across her belly, feeling his intimate love touches under the bed sheets. She could feel the air from his lungs landing on her chest, warm and short with each puff. It was on nights like these that she truly enjoyed being around her lovely Meadow. Experiences like these were coming by fewer and fewer, and she made sure to selfishly indulge in every one of them. As the height of the night was drawing to a close, she lightly bit her lower lip. Their breaths shortened, and excitement rose in the bedroom! Sometimes though, his husband can get a little too excited.
“Victoria!” Meadow Song cried out, “Oh my Celestia it’s almo– ”
Victoria pressed a hoof to shush her husband, smiling. “I know dear. Just watch. I want to hear this part.”
Turning away from each other’s eyes, they turned their attention towards the television screen, where The Name of the Doctor, the season finale of Doctor Whooves’ series 7, was being aired. The final minutes of the episode were almost up, and the Doctor had just enveloped his companion, Clara, in his tight embrace, never wanting to part from her again as he cried out her name in joy. The music was uplifting and happy. The scene then took a swift turn down the dark alley as he spotted something off screen, his mouth forming a small circle as his smile turned into dread. The camera then cuts towards a figure overseeing a scene below the cliff, whose identity was shadowed. It was clear, however, that it was a stallion, standing among the tombstones scattered around the area. The glowing atmosphere was tinged orange and grim.
Victoria had been waiting eagerly for this episode, but feared that she may have to watch it in the absence of her husband. Lucky that Berry decided to called the day short. She would have to thank her later. Just as Clara fainted in the Doctor’s arms, the phone from the living room rang shrilly. Meadow groaned as his wife began to slide off the bed.
“Don’t worry, sweetie. I’ll make this quick,” Victoria assured.
“Okay,” Meadow whimpered, albeit smiling a bit afterwards. “Hurry back. I don’t think you want to miss this.”
Victoria gave him a swift cheek-kiss before rushing to the phone. She picked it up and held the receiver to her ear. “Hello? Who is this?” She then flinched and dropped the phone as the pony’s voice from the other side crashed into her eardrum. The godlike voice was enough to push Victoria against the wall. Hard.
“HELLO! THIS IS THY RIVAL FROM LAST NIGHT! HOW DO YOU DO?”
“I’m… fine,” Victoria weakly responded, picking herself up.
“HELLO? WE CAN NOT HEAR YOU. WILL THOU SPEAK UP PLEASE?”
Victoria slowly edged towards the phone on the floor, hesitant to reply again. She steeled her nerves, decided to face this strange pony, and picked up the phone once more. “Yes I’m fine. Um, could you please lower your voice? I think my neighbors actually heard that.”
Luna, on the other side of the phone, had a guilty smile on her face. “Oh sorry! Please forgive me.”
“It’s alright. Now –” Victoria switched the phone to her good ear. “– did you say that you were the one of the ponies that picked on my son last night?”
“U- um… yes. I am. I’m calling you now to tell you that I’m deeply sorry for my actions, as well as my friends. I made sure to tell them to not do it again,” Luna apologized, remembering the stern lecture she gave them about how mothers can be scary when provoked.
Victoria scrunched her muzzle as she considered the apology. Luna held her breath. “Well… I suppose I can forgive you, but you need to say sorry to my son as well.”
Luna breathed again. “Oh thank you, and of course I will! I’m more than happy to do that. Is he there with you?”
“Unfortunately, he isn’t here right now. He went out with a friend of his,” Victoria said, hesitant when she said ‘friend.’ She didn’t really want to share a part of her son’s personal life to this mare yet. “If it’s alright with you, can I have the pleasure of knowing your name?”
Luna’s nervous smile melted into a frown. She can’t let her identity online be known! She made the mistake of revealing herself on a game, and she was absolutely flooded with friend requests. Thank goodness it was just on a small MMO game. Muffling the transmitter, she turned towards her sister with an absolutely look of seriousness on her face. “Quick! I need an alias.”
Celestia lightly scratched the base of her chin, her eyes wandering around the room. Her eyes first laid upon the pillows and the phone Luna held. “Pillow Talk.” Celestia then slapped her mouth closed with a hoof.
Luna didn’t look impressed. “Really? That’s what you come up with?”
Her sister’s cheeks were inflamed red. “Sorry! That’s all I could think of!”
“You do know that I understand that pillow talk means– ”
“Yes, yes I know!” Celestia exclaimed, her mind now filled with weird thoughts that no pony would think their pure goddess thought. She suppressed a giggle at that idea.
Luna simply rolled her eyes, looking around the room for any inspiration. A poster came across her vision, featuring a band of neon color-schemed ponies. Luna smiled as a name crossed her mind, and uncovered the transmitter. “Future. Future Sound.”
“Future,” Victoria echoed, twirling the phone cord around her hoof, “that’s a pretty nice name.”
“Oh my Celestia! Victoria!” Meadow yelled from the room. “Holy haybales! Aaaaah!”
“Who was that?” Luna asked.
“Oh that was just my husband, fancolting over a show,” Victoria chuckled softly, silently desperate to return back to return watching the show in her husband’s embrace. “We’re watching The Name of the Doctor episode, and I’m sort of missing it right now.”
“Oh! I’m sorry!” Luna apologized. She mentally kicked herself in the flank. She forgot that episode was being premiered today!
“No, it’s alright. I’m sure he’ll tell me all about it.” Victoria leaned her elbows on the phone’s table. “Now I’m sure that’s not all you wanted to tell me, now is it?”
Luna’s frown deepened like a trench in an earthquake. “How did you… what?”
“Call it a hunch. Now, what is it?”
Luna sharply sucked in air through her teeth, slowly breathing it out as soon as her lungs couldn’t take any more. “Wel-l-l-l I just wanted to know if you and I could have a friendly rematch.”
“Really? That’s all you wanted?” Victoria laughed. She almost couldn’t believe it took this mysterious mare to get around the topic. “Well alright then. I’ll humor you and give you a rematch. One vs. one only. Mareo-a-mareo.”
“Got it. Best two out of three?”
“Alright then. Pick a game?”
“You first.”
Victoria grinned, her heart feeling a little fluttered. She could feel her young self digging out from her past again. “Oh I don’t know. Maybe… Forza Horizon?”
Luna smirked. “You’re on.”
“Oh my god! Victoria, you missed the wand guy!”
“Wand guy?” Victoria asked, her indoor voice as reasonably high as it could be.
“Wand guy?” Luna tilted her head.
“Wand guy!” Meadow answered back, his excitement as apparent as a foal on their birthday.
Victoria sighed, “Well it looks like I missed everything. I’ll see you online later.”
Luna could only nod, mumbling good bye before hanging up. Celestia felt like she was observing her sister from afar, despite being in the same room as her. “So? How did it go? What game did she pick?”
Luna glanced at her, a faint smile on her lips. “One that would take place on Equestria's roads.”
Author's Note
Oh my Luna, It's finally finished.
If you're wondering why it took so damn long, my editor's computer got whacked by life, so he had trouble getting everything back together. Eventually he managed to have this done in a timely matter, so please say thank you to him for that please.
Btw, this is Meadow Song. I believe that the fandom will most likely recognize him as Pegasus #7 from the Sonic Rainboom episode, but he has shown up a lot more in the show as a background Earth Pony.
Honestly though, when I discovered that he wore a ninja costume (that looked similar to Scorpion from Mortal Kombat in my opinion) during the Luna Eclipsed episode, I just had to choose him as Victoria's soulmate. They're so fucking perfect with each other, and his color scheme almost matches with Button Mash!
You all may now proceed to bombard me with hate for me shipping Button Mash's mom with a background pony, but you can never stop this
The next chapter is gonna take a while to get out as I have over obligations to get over. I'll try my best though.
If you wanna fight me in order to get these chapters out faster, than too bad cause I'm a god!
... A- augh.
(I'm having way too much fun with these Author's Notes.)
