The Ponyville Arcade was considered a center of entertainment for the residents of the small town and one of the more popular places to hang out after Sugarcube Corner. The young colts and fillies wasted many hours and bits on the various games that dotted the outdoor plaza. It is here that several mares found themselves today celebrating the birthday party of a certain cross-eyed Pegasus, or at least why they were supposed to...

“Why did Derpy send us all invitations and not even bother to show up?!” Rainbow Dash complained, taking a swig of cider.

“She probably just got held up on the way here.” Fluttershy replied, sipping on a juice box.

Applejack drained her own cider and looked up at Rainbow.

“Well either that or she wrote down the wrong time again. Remember last year when she made us come six hours late?”

“I’m sure she will arrive soon.” Pinkie Pie called out from a nearby arcade game. “TAKE THAT! Derpy would never miss out on all the fun...aha! Beat you again Lyra!”

From the other side, Lyra groaned as her partner Bon-Bon rolled her eyes. Vinyl Scratch, however, was quick to take her place in challenging Pinkie. Oblivious to the games and the missing birthday mare, Twilight Sparkle conversed with a rather rapt Octavia.

“They still occasionally bother me at night, but I have since gotten used to them.” Twilight answered, gesturing to her wings.

“Your life must be hectic though, with your new princess duties.”

“One would think so, but not as much as I thought. For example, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna and Cadence all have this important conference to attend but didn’t invite me. Even Discord is tagging along.”

“They must have their reasons. Speaking of reasons, are you okay Miss Rarity?”

Said mare was distractedly looking off, her eyes glued to an unfamiliar stallion that was busy dragging a cart to the end of the arcade.

“What was that dear?” Rarity asked, her stare not leaving the brown Earth pony. “I’m sorry. Normally I wouldn’t be so…inattentive…but I don’t believe I have ever seen that stallion before.”

Twilight and Octavia peered over in the direction she indicated.

“I do believe you are right. Do you girls believe we she should introduce ourselves?” Octavia suggested.

Suddenly Pinkie Pie was standing atop Twilight’s back and gazing at the new pony, much to the Twilight’s discomfort.
“He looks familiar, but I can’t say I actually know him!” Pinkie began, jumping off Twilight and hopping toward the end of the plaza. “Let’s welcome him to Ponyville!”

“PINKIE NO!” Rarity screamed, latching onto Pinkie’s tail.

“Yes Rarity?” Pinkie asked, barely fazed by Rarity’s odd behavior.

“It would be best if I go first. After all, I…oof!”

Rarity, as she turned around, bumped directly into the brown pony. Blushing furiously, she tried to apologize.
“So terribly, terribly sorry! I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

Red-yellow eyes widened as they focused on Rarity but the stallion shook his head and smiled.

“There is no problem. I sometimes get distracted as well, especially when I am playing one of my games!” He explained, sitting down to run his hoof through his orange mane.

“Is that why your cutie mark is a D-pad?” Pinkie asked, trotting around from behind the stallion.

The stallion flinched slightly in shock but nodded when he took notice of Pinkie.

“Yes. In fact, I am in town for a short while to find contestants for a game!”

Rainbow Dash, flying over to see what was going on, pointed toward the draped object in the cart.

“Is that your game there? Doesn’t look that much to me.”

“I assure you that this is no ordinary game! In fact, this will be an extraordinary, once in a lifetime experience!”

“Uh-huh.” Rainbow Dash skeptically said. “How about you show us how it works?”

The other mares at that point came over, curious to see what was happening. The earth pony stallion, suddenly surrounded, backed up a bit.

“Err, sorry to ask, but why are all you ladies here today? All the foals should still be in school right now so it is a bit strange to see fully grown mares here.”

Twilight spoke up.

“We are here for a friend’s birthday party. Normally we would celebrate at Sugarcube corner, but it is being renovated right now.”

“We are making the dining area much bigger!” Pinkie happily supplied, bouncing in place.

Twilight shook her head.

“My name is...”

“Princess Twilight Sparkle. It’s hard not to recognize a bearer of an Element of Harmony…or an Alicorn for that matter.”

Twilight felt embarrassed for a moment before introducing the other mares.

“In that case, you may also recognize Octavia and Vinyl, though you may know her as DJ-Pon3, and here is Lyra Heartstrings and Bon-Bon.”

The four introduced themselves as their respective names were called. The stallion nodded to each of them in turn.

“And which one of you would be the lucky birthday pony?”

“That would be me!” Came a voice from above.

A blue-grey Pegasus landed in the middle of the plaza, her amber eyes slightly misaligned.

“Sorry I am late! I had something that needed to be taken care of.”

“No problem…” Fluttershy replied, smiling as Derpy joined the group.

The stallion bowed in a rather exaggerated manner to her.

“Happy birthday, Madam!”

“Thank you!”

Rarity trotted up and tapped the stallion on the shoulder.

“Weren’t you going to show us your game?” She asked in a sultry voice, batting her eyelashes.

The Earth pony backed up, uncomfortable.

“Oh…uh...I technically can’t show you the actual game.”

“Huh?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Then what the hay is under the sheet?”

Impatient, Rainbow grabbed the sheet and tossed it aside. What was underneath was not impressive. It was just a metal stand supporting a small shield-like plaque.

“Booooooring!” Rainbow commented as she saw the object.

The stallion waved her off, trotting up and removing it from the cart.

“It is definitely not boring! This is just the contract!”

“Contract?” Octavia asked, curious as to what game required a contract.

“Yes. This is no ordinary game. Once entered, your team must pilot a giant robot and fight enemy monsters for the fate of Equestria!”

“Doesn’t sound any much different than what we usually do, besides the robot part.” Applejack replied somewhat sarcastically.

“Did I mention it fires lasers from anywhere on its body and can lift almost anything with its hands?”

“HANDS?!” “LASERS?!” Lyra and Vinyl immediately perked up, “HOW DO WE SIGN UP?!”

“Simply tap your hoof on the plate.”

“Vinyl/Lyra…I don’t think that you should just…” Octavia and Bon-Bon both began, but it was a bit too late.

Both Lyra and Vinyl had already signed into the game, the contract beeping once as each did so.

“Oh come on girls! Where is your sense of adventure? I’ll do it!” Derpy cheered, tapping her hoof against the plate.

“Well, if Derpy wants to do it, and it is her birthday…I guess I will too. I mean, I don’t want to upset her.” Fluttershy softly commented, before signing in and recoiling in fright at the beep.

With Fluttershy now signed, Rainbow Dash signed quickly too not wanting to be upstaged. In the end, all the mares signed up; each time a soft beep signaling their entry into the game. Rarity in particular blatantly flirted with the Earth pony stallion as she signed up, much to his discomfort.

“Why darling, did anyone ever tell you that your coat is incredibly soft?”

“I…I…I…Hey your highness! Why didn’t you sign up?” The stallion asked, pushing Rarity away.

Twilight hesitated, observing the contact plate uneasily.

“I don’t know. How does this game even…”

“Oh come on you scaredy-pony!” Rainbow Dash insisted, grabbing Twilight’s hoof and signing her in.

“Rainbow!” Twilight whined as the beep recorded her entry.

“So is that everypony?” The stallion asked. “Good! I’ll see you all when the first round is ready! Don’t worry; you’ll know exactly where to meet then.”

Pinkie Pie stopped him before he could leave.

“Wait a minute! You never told us your name!”

The stallion stopped for a moment.

“The name is Button Mash.” He answered before pulling the cart away.

Author's Note

Bokurano X-over. Will get *very* grimdark as per that universe's rules. You have been warned.