Luna gave a relaxed sigh in quiet contentment as she booted her computer. Once that was completed, she signed onto her Steam account and waited.
It had been a splendid day so far. Hearts and Hooves day, and it's equivalent on Earth, Valentine's Day, had been going very well, at least in Equestria. She had flown over the streets of a city where mares and stallions met each other and offered chocolates, roses, and, most importantly, love and comfort. Kissing and hugging had been everywhere; it was hard not to see it happening, not that Luna had tried. And while changelings had been sighted, or at least detected, so far they weren't causing trouble, and were drinking in the excess; indeed, some of them had fainted from it, losing their disguises as a result and having to be dragged away by conscious colleagues.
Luna had loved this day ever since she'd gotten back from her banishment; although new to her, she liked it, and it was a day with generally positive spins in Equestria. Colts and fillies offered each other candy and hearts in schools and adult couples set up marriages. Cadence was up north, with her husband and Flurry Heart, so the Lunar Princess hadn't seen any of them today, but from past experience, she assumed Cadence was in her element.
Perhaps most exciting, for Luna at least, was the fact that Leon and Edward were both available relatively early in the day to play the original Rome; Total War with her. While the graphics were, well, over a decade old - as was the game itself - it was immensely fun, even if historically inaccurate regarding the campaign.
She levitated her headset onto her had, turned it on, and booted the game in question. She had read Commentarii de Bello Gallico, or Commentaries on the Gallic Wars, by Julius Caesar, and while she had reason to believe that at least some of the old document was propaganda, after comparing it with other sources, she had to admit that she was intrigued. While Equestria had not fought a war for a long time, it wasn't quite the paradise that Friendship is Magic made it out to be. The ancient pegasi had been warriors, with strong military and militaristic traditions, traditions that continued to live on in their descendants today, Rainbow Dash, Spitfire, and the Wonderbolts being strong examples. Naturally, pre-unification, they'd made war. And while the other two tribes had been less interested in conquest, it didn't mean that they had lacked famous generals and leaders, not by a long shot. Equestria had fused all three tribes into their armies, and, prior to Luna's banishment and even after it, there had been military conflicts that the pony nation had taken part in.
Luna liked the idea of preparing for war while wanting peace. Gathering arms helped deter attack, as Switzerland and Sweden had managed to do during the Second World War, and numerous countries had in her own world.
In any case, she didn't have long to wait for Edward; he joined up within minutes of the time they'd established for the game. "Afternoon, Luna old girl."
Luna snorted at the "old girl" part. There was hardly anyone living today who was technically older, even though she and the other alicorns appeared relatively young. However, she was in a good mood and more than inclined to let the comment slide. "Good afternoon, Edward. How has your day been?"
"It's been fun. Nothing really hard in class today, and managed to slip a Valentine to a young lady; she said she'd think about a date later on."
"Good to hear." Luna felt slightly puzzled, and worried, about something. "Where is Leon? No offense, but he's usually here before you are."
"No idea. The Yank didn't confide in either of us for what he was gonna do for Valentine's, apparently."
"Indeed." Luna was still a little worried, but began setting up the game. "Any factions we want to ban?"
"Greeks. Anything Greeks, and post-Marian Roman units. And horse archers. And artillery."
"So, mainly an infantry brawl?"
"Yeah, with some cavalry."
"Alright, but that 'horse archers' bit covers British Light Chariots."
"Drat. Oh well, still have the heavy versions."
"No more that two, besides your general."
"Okay. In fact, why don't we ban ranged weapons all together?"
"I'll pass it by Leon when he gets here. Hmm... any theme we want to go with?"
"Like what?"
"Like an all-Barbarian brawl, or Barbarians vs. Romans."
"If we do the first we either ban Germania, or ban their version of the Spear Warband. Who gave the developers the idea that ancient Germans used phalanxes of their own?"
"I don't see any reason to not ban your second idea, since you wanted Greek factions and units out of the game."
"Righto. Anybody coming?"
"Oh, yes." Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, and Cadence will be with us shortly."
"Cadence? The only alicorn mother in your world is a gamer in her short spare time?"
"Well, she does have her husband to oversee Flurry, and she does like to socialize, part from the every day parts of being a princess, that is."
"But as the Princess of love, isn't she opposed to stuff like, oh, I don't know, warfare?"
"Real world warfare, yes. But she isn't opposed to something like this, a nice good game between friends. You might not believe me, but she's great at tabletop war games."
"Probably has Shiny to thank for that."
"Perhaps, or perhaps not. You'll have to judge for yourself."
"Oh, Rarity is here. And Twilight."
"Hello," Rarity said to everyone. "Glad to be here."
"Me too," Twilight added. "Phew, today has been a little busy, given it's Hearts and Hooves Day, but we're here now."
"Hey Twilight," Cadence said as she entered the game. "Hello all."
'Greeting's Cadence," Luna said. "I assume today was eventful?"
"Oh, it was wonderful! I was able to help so many ponies with their relationship problems, and most of my subjects were about as happy as they could be. All the hearts passed around, all the love in the air, it's just great!"
"Very nice. And Flurry?"
"Happy as Pinkie eating cake."
"Excellent."
"Um, Auntie, aren't we missing someone?" I thought there were supposed to be six of us...?"
"Yes, I was just wondering, where is Leon?" Rarity asked. "It's not like him to be the last to show up."
"I'm not sure," Luna admitted. "Edward and I were just discussing that."
"Hold on, he just logged onto Steam," Eddy noticed. "I expect he'll be joining us in a minute."
"I guess he was held up. In that case," Twilight said, "what are the rules?"
"So far, no Greeks, no horse archers, to include ranged chariots, no post-Marian Roman units or artillery, and maybe a ban on ranged units all together," Luna recited.
"Hmm. A lot to be kept out of the game."
"In any case, we can debate the rules in a minute, if we decide to do so. What factions do we want to play as?"
"Britannia," Eddy said immediately.
"Figured you'd say that," Twilight replied. "I might play as the Scipii Romans. Is that basically what we're doing? Romans vs. Barbarians?"
"I think so, otherwise it would just be Barbarians fighting each other. Two teams of three."
"I'll be the Senate," Cadence said quickly."
"And I will be the Julii," Rarity said quickly.
"That leaves me, Edward, and Leon on team two," Luna said. After a long pause she said, "I will play as Dacia. Now, to wait for Leon."
"He still isn't here," Eddy said, sounding impatient.
"He might be kept back by something," Luna said. "Hold on, I'll send him an invite."
She did so. Half a minute later, Leon started the game, as the Steam announcements on the side of the screen announced. A minute later, he was in the game.
"Greetings, Leon," Luna said.
"Hey guys."
Something was wrong. Leon had said it almost deadpan, as if he didn't really care, or was badly distracted.
"Is something...?"
Leon didn't reply. Instead, he asked, "What's the set up?"
"It's Barbarians vs. Romans, and since Cadence, Twilight, and Rarity are already playing as Roman factions, it's up to you to select a Barbarian one."
"Gaul," Leon said, selecting that faction.
"Gaul isn't all that special in this game," Eddy pointed out.
"Oh well."
Again, not really sounding much like Leon. Luna could tell he hadn't been replaced by a changeling; she worried about that possibility occasionally, but it definitely wasn't the case here. It was just Leon, sounding... off.
Luna felt that it wasn't a good idea to intervene... at least, not yet. "Any way, setting funds... to... forty thousand. I think that should be sufficient for full strength armies and their upgrades."
"Hey guys," Starlight Glimmer said, joining the channel.
"Ah, greetings, Starlight," Luna said. "I apologize, but we're playing a three on three at the moment..."
"Oh, I know. I'm not here to actually play; I'm here to watch, or spectate."
"That's fine," Luna said, "just don't give away hidden positions and ambushes."
"Wasn't planning on it. I want to see how good this game is before buying it, and wanted to learn some good tactics and strategy."
"Welcome, Starlight," Twilight greeted. "Nice to have you with us."
"Thanks."
Luna began to choose units. She gathered together a decent army; a Barbarian Chosen Warlord, two units of Chosen Swordsmen, five Falxmen, three Naked Fanatics (who thankfully weren't totally naked; they wore loincloths around their waists), and four units of Barbarian Cavalry. She also bought upgrades for most.
"What units do you both have?" she asked Leon and Edward through texted team chat.
"Barbarian Warlord, three Chosen Swords, six normal Swords, and a couple Heavy Chariots," Ed answered in the same manner.
Leon was again slower. After fifteen seconds he replied, "Chosen Warlord, five Fanatics, three Chosen Swords, three normal Swords. and three Barb Cavalry."
"Excellent," she replied, again via text. "Is everyone ready?" she asked.
There were a number of replies. Leon, once more, came last, with a dull, "Yep."
"Leon, is there something wrong?" Cadence asked. "Aunt Luna described your personality to me, and this doesn't sound anything like it."
Luna felt a surge of anxiety, wishing that her niece had waited to bring this up until she herself was ready, but to her relief, Leon answered, as the loading screen came up. "...Yeah. I guess so. It's just..."
"Dear, you know that keeping in the negative thing in question won't heal the problem," Rarity said.
"Well, why would you want to know my problems? That's just dumping my troubles onto you."
"Because we're your friends," Luna pressed.
"Yeah, you can count on us," Eddy added.
Leon sighed. "Well, here goes..."
Leon held the Valentine's card tight in his fist. He felt sure this was going to work. He had been planning for this for a while, and believed it would succeed.
Angie was sitting next to him. It would be so easy. The teacher was sitting at his desk, waiting for the class to be done with their current assignment. Leon had already completed his paper, so he figured, with the teacher distracted, now was a good time.
He slipped the Valentines card to her desk. Angie looked startled, but Leon had expected that. She opened and read it, yes, yes...
Angie frowned, and whispered, "Meet me after class."
Leon had felt puzzled. He had expected at least a smile, but maybe she was shy or wanted to discuss the date he'd suggested in the card privately.
After class was over, Angie, to remind him, has curled her finger while he was watching. He followed her to a deserted classroom, closed the door, and turned around...
...only to face the beautiful, brown-haired, frowning... Wait, frowning...?
"What-"
"You are what, Leon Berthier."
"...What are you talking about?"
"This-" Angie ripped the card in tow, ripped up the fragments a second time, crumpled them up and tossed them into a nearby trash bin. -is what I'm talking about."
Leon felt as though he'd been punched. "I-"
"What made you think that I was even remotely interested in you? That I would even consider this worthless proposal you've offered?"
"You keep looking at me in the middle of class-"
"You idiot. That isn't you I look at, it's Dan, who sits on the other side of you."
"Whoa whoa, Dan's bad news, you know that-"
"And makes you think you aren't, hmm?" Angie took a step closer to him. "Why would I take the time to hang out with a nerd whose primary interest is video games and history?" Angie shook her head. "You take every chance to raise your hand whenever Mr. Philips asks a question, as if your life depended upon it. You get straight A+s and make everyone else look like an idiot, while smiling smugly. Your social graces can be counted on a couple of fingers at best and you have no life to speak of outside school and your stupid little games."
"Hey, I'm not trying to upstage anyone-"
"Oh really? You're a loser from top to bottom where it counts, and everyone in school knows about it." She took a deep breath. "I. Do. Not. Like. You. At all. Period. And neither does any girl in existence."
It was as if his insides had fallen into a deep, deep hole. For a long moment, he was unable to muster a response.
"See? You're too much of a wimp to even fight back. I have more important things to do than argue with a literal human pile of garbage. Get out of my way," she said, shoving him aside as she made for the door.
Leon stood there, still staring to space where she had been a moment ago. He could barely comprehend the hate that Angie had just hit him with. He'd been hit everywhere he was insecure about and was unable to really come up with a counter, given that everything he was now feeling.
"..."
Tears formed in his eyes. He deliberately wiped them away, picked up his bag, which he'd discarded momentarily during the discussion, if it could be called that, and forced down the tears that threatened to overcome him. I won't let them see me cry. I won't let them see me hurt.
He opened the door and walked out...
"Hey babe, how you doing?"
Leon stopped as though he had hit a brick wall. Just feet in front of him in the hallway were Angie and Dan, a very tall guy for seventeen, wearing almost all black with spikey hair and strong muscles.
And Angie was staring at Leon, as if in triumph.
"So, this the guy you were just telling me about?" Dan asked her, glaring at Leon.
"Yeah. He thought he was... important. Enough to try to date me."
"Oh, that was a big mistake, guy," Dan said, taking a step forward. "Making a move on my girlfriend."
Dan punched Leon in the face, knocking him to the floor.
"Not so important, eh, shrimp?"
Leon had lost all control. With considering the consequences, he whirled his right leg around, knocking Dan's legs out from under him. Dan, not expecting this, and caught totally off guard, went sprawling to the ground. Dan let out a shout as he fell on his face.
Angie yelled. Dan was quick to get up, while Leon was slower.
"Why you little-"
"That's enough."
Mr. Philips, the history teacher, had arrived. He pointed at Dan. "Get lost."
"Like-"
"No. I saw everything. Get lost. I'm taking this to the principal, AND your parents."
Dan growled, but he wasn't stupid; he wasn't going to attack a teacher. After a moment, he muttered, "Let's go," to Angie, who followed.
Mr. Philips watched them go, then turned to Leon. "You alright?"
"Yeah."
"Sorry I didn't get to you in time, Leon. I should have told you she wasn't the one for you."
"You knew...?"
"I'm not your stereotypical teacher who pays no attention to their students unless they're misbehaving or answering a question. I'm not a fool."
"Looks like I was," Leon muttered, too quietly for anyone other than the teacher to hear.
"Everyone makes mistakes. It's the end of the day. Go catch the bus. I'll sort this whole thing out with the principal, and I'll notify all three sets of parents."
"Thanks."
"No problem Leon. Now let's go."
Leon went, but his innards were still in that deep hole they'd fallen into only moments ago. And it felt like they weren't about to come out.
The end of the story caused silence. Although the game had, for a few minutes, been on the battlefield, everyone was listening to the whole tale and no one had tried to press the issue.
"Oh, you poor dear," Cadence said sympathetically.
"If humans had cutie marks, I'd seriously think about going over to Leon's school and removing Dan and Angie's," Starlight said angrily.
"I'm trying to turn the other cheek," Leon replied. "I'd rather trust Jesus on this one. But I feel so... worthless. She was right in some respects, and that really haunts me; the whole video gaming is my life and all that."
"Darling, you are not worthless," Rarity said. "You're in the process of growing up, and I've learned that we all grow up differently."
"That's right," Twilight added. "And it's not like your current way of life is unprecedented, or as if it can't change. In a way, you remind me of myself just after gaining friends; I was - am - smart and well read, but I'd always felt like that part of me was under-valued. But even so, my friends love me and I love them, and I've found wonderful relationships even so."
"And we've all had set backs," Luna stated. "I was banished to the moon for a thousand years. I was rejected and hated by many ponies for a long time. Even now, echoes of that hate still reach toward me. However, like Twilight, I found great friends who helped me out of that hurt. And it's partly thanks to you and Edward."
"...Really?"
"Yes. I have many pony friends, but while you had watched the show and knew what had happened, you didn't judge me or allow what you knew to affect your judgments. People whom I was able to enjoy a common interest with, to whom I wasn't just a Princess, but even more importantly, a friend."
There was short silence, followed by a sigh from Leon. "Guess I've been a bit of an idiot."
"No. You tried to get a date, and she refused you, hurtfully, along with that Dan character," Rarity replied. "You weren't doing anything wrong by offering her date on Heart - er, I mean Valentine's, Day."
"Well, maybe you shouldn't have knocked Dan down," Twilight said, "but that may be excusable as self defense, and Angie was the one in the wrong."
Leon sighed. "I guess. and I suppose there's another girl out there who won't do what she did. But for now, it really, really hurts."
"It does, and it will probably go on hurting for a while," Cadence said. "But it's not forever. You'll move on from this, and another relationship will open up. In the meantime, we'll try and help you as much as we can."
"Thanks guys. You could just throw the game for me."
"Well, if that's what it..." Luna stopped talking. That has sounded slightly mischievous. "Yeah, not happening."
"Oh well. My Swordsmen are going to have a field day regardless."
"That's the Leon we know and love," Luna said, smiling. "Welcome back."
"Good to be back... somewhat. It still hurts, but it's great to have friends who care."
"Got your back, Leo," Eddy said. "Now, let's go smash, bash, and all-round break things, shall we?"
Luna chuckled, as did Leon.
The game that followed was fun for everyone.
Author's Note
No, not something that has happened to me, regarding Leon's failed Valentine. Just something I felt like producing, and unfortunately a lot of people get turned down on this day, as well as accepted.
Maybe this is a little late. Ah well. I worked on this for much of Valentine's Day, when I had the idea itself, and unfortunately, this is ran into today. This story may feel rushed, and , let's be honest, it kinda is, since the idea did not occur to me prior to Valentine's Day. I apologize if this feels off to anyone. I may go about and edit it in the future.
And I'll get to the game itself in a sort of epilogue even though the story is counted as completed at this time.
And I know that Leon kind of recovered rather fast. But I'm not really strong on every point of writing.
May God go with you folks, and Happy belated Valentine's Day! 
