Author's Note
Well guys, this is a translation of my old story named 'Никто не вспомнит'. Hope you will like it.
If you find the errors, please let me know
Nopony Will Remember
“Skeleton Warriors! How many more monsters are here? O Celestia! We are cornered! Avoid and attack! Hold on, don’t die! Please don’t— AAAAAA! NOOOOO!!!”
“Button Mash!”
Suddenly I realized that I wasn’t in the dungeon dimly lit with the torches, but in the classroom. And the lesson was in the full swing. And miss Cheerilee was standing near my desk.
I shook my head frantically. Those skeletons with their waving rotten cloaks and angry red lights in the eye-sockets of their skulls were still thrashing about before my eyes.
“Please repeat to us what I’ve just explained.”
The room went silent. All my classmates were waiting for my answer eagerly.
Oh. I didn’t like the way miss Cheerilee was staring at me. Just the way the hungry zombie-pony is staring at the—
“Button! I’m waiting.”
“Er… something about division? Ouch, no, about multiplication? Yes, exactly, seven times seven makes forty-seven,” I guessed.
“Incorrect. By the way, we have the history of Equestria class, and not the math class now,” miss Cheerilee sighed.
The desks almost gave a jump with a loud laughter. I felt my cheeks blushing with shame. Only one thing could be worse: that’s when you’re dying on the very last level only to find that you’ve forgotten to save the game!
“Yes, you’re right,” I mumbled. “The history class.”
“What are you hiding under your desk?”
“No… nothing.” I said, setting back my ears, feeling like a criminal who was caught at the scene of the crime.
“I don’t think so.”
Why do the teachers never believe the shoolponies? And why are they asking something in that case?
Miss Cheerilee pulled my dear old JoyBoy from under my desk.
“Nothing,” she repeated. “Oh, Button, that has gone too far. How did you get the idea to bring this toy to the school?”
The toy? THE TOY?! That wasn’t just a toy; that was the entire new world that needed to be clean from various evil spirits!
The main thing was I could explain everything. My mom made me a cool present yesterday. I wished for that game a really long time. There were dungeons, and a lot of secret rooms to find, and tons of different weapons, and swarms of enemies, and a badass character who was fighting them… To be brief I played this game all evening long until my mom came to tell me to go to bed. But I couldn't stop playing this game. This is why I put it secretly in my saddlebag and brought it to school.
But miss Cheerilee would never listen to me. Do the grown-up ponies understand anything in video games at all?
“And if you began to speak of mathematics… Show me your homework.”
I was about to howl. I haven't done anything, and I lied to my parents we had no homework today.
I stared at the floor to avoid the piercing look of my teacher’s green eyes.
Well, I’ve got an F, and what’s more: miss Cheerilee wrote a note for my mom. But those things were trifles, because she hadn’t return my JoyBoy to me.
“Bring your parents to the school tomorrow,” she said. “Then you’ll get your toy back. It will be in the drawer of my desk. Don’t worry, it will be safe.”
The point wasn’t I could lost my ‘JoyBoy’ or something else, but I couldn’t get it to my hooves earlier than tomorrow. And that about monsters I had to fight?
Here the bell rang. The entire lesson ended while miss Cheerilee and I were arguing.
I dragged myself to the schoolyard with my head hung down. I didn’t approach my classmates, but instead sat down under the apple tree. I was in the hot news anyway.
However, my troubles were not over yet.
“It seems like you went totally mad with your stupid games.” Dimond Tiara and Silver Spoon, the two largest splinters in the crou… in our school were standing in front of me.
"Silver Spoon, give me a clue please, how can we call a colt who’s still blank flank, but does nothing to earn his cutie mark?" Diamond Tiara asked her friend. Silver Spoon giggled.
"That's right, Silver Spoon," Diamond Tiara approved, though her yes-pony said nothing. "We can call him a loser. A lo-ser," she repeated. "Looks like you have no result in your video games too. If you hope to find your destiny in them so bad, so why do you have no cutie mark yet?"
My parents used to repeat to me I couldn’t fight fillies. But this pony needed to be put in place!
"Shut up!" I shouted, jumping to my hooves. Damn the cutie mark, I didn't worry about it so much. But my games were sacred!
"What's the matter, nothing hurts like the truth, huh?" Diamond Tiara snorted." Those games are for kids, is it right, baby?"
I awfully wanted to cry, but…
“Why are you teasing him? He had a hard day,” Sweetie Belle and two her friends were approaching us.
“Exactly! It would be better for you, Diamond Tiara, to go and ruin the mood of somepony else!” said Scootaloo, her tone resolute.
Diamond Tiara narrowed her eyes.
“Oh, as I can see, you’ve got a new candidate member of your idiotic club for losers! And maybe… maybe you’re protecting him just because you have a crush on him, that do you say, Sweetie Belle?”
“I have… what?” Sweetie Belle froze like she was struck with the baseball. She missed only a ‘BONK!’ inscription overhead. For good measure.
“Sweetie Belle fell in love with Button Mash! Sweetie and Button sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!” nasty Diamond Tiara shouted at the top of her lungs. “Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?”
Sweetie Belle gave us a haunted look. Then she cried loud and run away as fast as she could. I bellowed and…
…I run in the other direction, the loud laughter of Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon rang in my ears.
We had only to play video games and to go to the Sweet Corner together to become a couple!
I didn’t remember how I spend the rest of the day. It seemed to me I was in some kind of the airless space. As soon as the school bell rang, I grabbed my saddlebag and run home.
I hurried so much what I nearly run into the unicorn, who lived alone in the small cottage next door. I didn’t even stop to apologize. What I am talking about, I didn’t even say ‘Good afternoon’ though I always used to wish her good afternoon. In fact, our communication ended here. I used to wish her ‘Good afternoon’, she used to give me a nod in response, and that was all. Her cutie mark was a needle and thread. That was all I knew about her.
~***~
My mom is the best mom in the world, and she used to play video games all day long in her fillyhood just like I do. Of course, she will understand me, and she will speak to miss Cheerilee, and then…
But it looked like even the patience of the best mom ever could come to an end.
"Button, I can understand everything, but that's the limit! Why do you think I got you this game for? For you to bring F’s and notes from the school? Oh Celestia, what have I done to deserve this?" She groaned.
At that very moment my brother came in. “Hi mom, hi shorty.”
Here I must say he was older than me and had earned his cutie mark – a note already. So he has his nose in the air as if he was a grown-up stallion. He used to bring his friends to our house so they could play rock and sing songs.
“I’m not a shorty!” I bristled up.
“And who are you in this case?” My brother smiled, shifting my hat to my eyes as he passed by.
I’ve told you already I didn’t care if I have my cutie mark or not. Sooner or later it will show up. But how about hearing this for the second time that day?
“So what?!” I shouted.
“Just think of what you would do with your gamer’s cutie mark,” my brother continued.
“Kids, stop this immediately,” my mother interrupted. “Button, go to your room. Your father will come home from work soon, and then we’ll decide what we should do with you.”
Well, I won’t tell you anything about my father’s words. The conversation took a whole hour. I was forbidden to play my video games for two weeks! And I was grounded, too.
“What will I do during these two weeks?” I exploded. My room looked so empty without my game consoles, joysticks and other devices. “I’ll die of boredom!”
"Well, there are many interesting things in this world," my brother drawled. "Reading, for example. Or sport. Or learning. You should improve your math. And you will always remember that seven times seven makes fifty, too."
Very funny. Hear him talk you would imagine he’s good with math...
"Nooooo!" I cried. "Moooom!"
“Button, your tears will not change anything, the conversation is over.” I couldn’t believe my ears. My family turned and left my room.
“Think of your behavior at your leisure,” my father suggested, closing the door behind him.
I kicked my ball in rage. Nopony understood me. Nopony needed me. It would be better if I didn’t exist at all! And tomorrow I had to go to school again! I tad to stay in the classroom full of fillies and colts making fun of me!
Tomorrow… I wished tomorrow never came!
If something would happen to me now, nopony would remember about me… Poor Button left all alone in in all of Equestria…
My JoyBoy was the only thing to regret about in this life. However, it was in miss Cheerilee’s drawer.
I laid me down on the floor and curled into a ball, keeping on pitying myself. I think I lay like this for a long time, because my room grew dark.
Suddenly it seemed to me that something moved in the darkest corner. But I was in my room all alone!
“Button Mash...” The unknown voice whispered.
Well, if it was my brother’s stupid joke again! That wasn’t even a Nightmare Night!
“Who’s here? Face me!” I shouted, jumping to my hooves and shrinking toward the doorway. I was about to jump in the air and hit my head on the ceiling because of running into somepony.
I turned back and crouched down, surprised. There was an unknown mare looking very strange behind me.
She was as high as ordinary pony is, and she was very, very old. It was impossible to understand which color had her coat before, but now it, and her mane, and her tail were grey. Her bony face looked like the skull covered with leather; her hollow eyes stared at me, burning like embers. They remembered me of skeleton warriors from my new game.
I’ve never seen the cutie mark stranger than hers. And more scary too. It looked like an hourglass with all the sand down and with the pony's skull on its top.
I began to tremble.
“Who are you? And how can you know my name?” I asked, trying not to show my fear with my voice.
“I know everypony in Equestria. My name is Cronos.” The unknown pony answered, her voice screechy. “I’m the Mistress of—”
“Cronos? Wow, it sounds just like in the game ‘Heroes of Ponyland’!” I marveled.
“Just like in the—” the pony coughed. “No, no, you misunderstand me. I am the Mistress of Time. And I’m guiding souls to the other world too.”
“To which world?” I was surprised. I tilted my head to one side. I disliked the way the last part sounded.
“To the other one! Which isn’t this world.” My visitor snorted. “In general—”
“Do you mean that I’m—” This words made my short mane stand on end.
“Yes, I fear.” Cronos answered. “You’re not a part of the living world anymore.”
“But it can’t be! Just look – this is my room… This is the picture of my family, I’ve drawn it with my hooves,” I stretched my hoof out and froze. It went through the paper. It went through the table where this paper was lying, too.
“Well, did you make sure?” Cronos asked with derision.
“But… But how can it be?” I began to run about the room in a desperate attempt to smash into something, but all things seemed to part before me. I became a ghost!
“Mommy!” I cried that only now, although I should've shouted for her a long time ago.
“You can cry, nopony will hear you. We are on the level of space with no time on it. And no one living being won't live here, even an instant.” I noticed she put the accent on the word ‘living’.
“I couldn’t up and die so simple!” I howled.
“Everypony says so.” I saw some kind of compassion in the old pony’s eyes. “I’m working with ponies lived a long life usually, not with colts like you. Get up and prepare yourself for the long way. Why are you still sitting?”
“I’m waiting for respawn.” I replied gloomily.
“You’re waiting for what?” The pony gasped.
“If I’m dead I should resurrect right now. Just like I do in the video games,” I answered with patience, though I didn’t know what I was hoping for.
“Your life isn’t a game, Button Mash.” Cronos shook her head. “Every moment we live is unrepeatable. Unfortunately, we are not able to save the game and return to this point if something went wrong.”
I gave her a side look of suspicion. How could she know about ‘Save game’ and ‘Load game’ functions?
“And we haven’t ten lives in store, but only a single one. Rather not we, but you haven’t. A mortal ponies.”
And then I began to cry desperately and hopelessly.
“Stop screaming right now, I hate this!” Cronos shouted at me.
“How it happened?” I asked having hiccups because of crying and sniffling.
“It was quick and all off a sudden like always.” Cronos said. And I understood she will say nothing to me anymore. Well, I hoped it wasn’t painful. I couldn’t remember nothing about this anyway.
I realized I didn’t care anymore. I could bet nopony will remember me. Wasn’t that I thought about two hours ago?
“Stubborn colt,” Cronos sighed, as though she could hear my thoughts. “I’m able to show you that you’re not right. Watch with all your eyes. Few days have gone since your death.”
“Hey, where is my room gone?” I even not finished yet, and we were in a very familiar place.
“That’s my school!” I twisted my head with enthusiasm.
I approached my desk. Nopony sat at it, and I sat down. Well, ‘I sat down’ that wasn’t the word for it. I only hovered above my seat. That was weird, really. I was kind of being on the lesson, and at the same time I wasn’t there. Nobody hear and see you, as if you’re wearing the Cloak of invisibility. That was even funny at first – just as if I was sitting and watching movies. My classmates checked their homework with miss Cheerilee as they usually did, and then the teacher began to explain the new topic.
That was when I noticed one weird thing: Miss Cheerilee who was always so happy to tell us something new was thinking about something very different. Nopony in the classroom was listening to her. My classmates were casting a sidelong glance at my desk. I began to rejoice, thinking I’ve become visible again. Alas! It wasn’t so, I checked it out specially. I made on my desk a foreleg stand, sticking my tongue out of my mouth, but miss Cheerilee didn’t even tell me to stop it. She just looked through me, and that was all. Colts and fillies removed their eyes as if seeing my empty place made them hurt. There was a closed circle around my desk. My classmates tried not to approach it, as I could notice.
Then I payed my attention to a dead silence hanging in the classroom. The schoolponies didn’t whisper among themselves, and this was so weird and unusual!
I felt as foolish as it could be. It seemed to me they all were sitting in the online game I couldn’t even join.
My classmate who was answering miss Cheerilee’s question stopped once again and began to cry.
“That’s enough, my little ponies,” miss Cheerilee sighed. “I can understand you cannot think about lessons after what happened to Button. Go home, there’s no homework for you today.”
As the last filly left the classroom I saw she whipped her eyes with a hoof.
“Well, what do you say?” Cronos creaked. I gave a start of surprise – I’ve almost forgotten about her.
“They will forget about me in a week.” I snarled.
“I don’t think so,” the old pony shook her head. “Go into the yard, maybe you’ll see something else there.”
~***~
“How about today?” Scootaloo asked hopelessly.
“I’m sorry guys, count me out,” replied Sweetie Belle with not her voice and dragged herself from the schoolyard.
“She needs to be alone, don’t bother her, Scoot,” Applebloom said.
The schoolponies were leaving the school in small groups, chatting softly. Сirculating among them, I caught fragments of conversations and heard my name constantly: “Button, is he really–”, “Did you hear?”, “And we made fun of Button…”, “If we could know…” and so on and on. I saw Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon in the distance. They were almost running, as if they wanted to leave the schoolyard as fast as possible. I felt a sort of angry satisfaction.
Sweetie was alone. She stumbled along repeatedly as if she was blind. I followed her. I could fly now, as if I’ve get a Wings of Wrath, but I preferred to walk for some reason. Or rather ‘walking’ was only a name. I would give everything just to feel the solid ground under my hooves again! Just to hear the clatter of my horseshoes!
The white unicorn filly sobbed softly. So we left Ponyville.
And here, in the field, Sweetie Belle fell down to the ground and began to cry. I’ve never seen somepony crying so hard. Except for me, of course.
A very weird thing, to be honest. Everything around us was like in the game with a cool graphics: the grass was green, the sun was shining, it was all like girls like. But Sweetie Belle was crying nonetheless.
I was sitting by her side like a tree stump. I couldn’t comforting the crying ponies. I was the one who was comforted. Now I couldn’t comfort anypony. Nopony could hear or see me.
Then I heard some words through her sobbing.
“Button (a sob) I know you can he— hear me now… The— they say you’re in the better place now, but— why are you gooone! You… I had to tell you so many things, but now I’m late!”
Heigh ho! That was something new! I fidgeted uneasily as if I was sitting on the anthill.
“You was my best partner in video games! Or rather, you was my only partner in video games, but that doesn't count. And… I acted wrong with Diamond Tiara. I couldn’t even protect you… and she was right about something! Who knows what would be if we were older… After all, I really liked you…”
I felt my face began to burn and wondered if ghosts could blush or not.
“It seems to me you heard all that you should hear,” Cronos emerged by my side from the thin air. “Let us leave this pony with her sorrow.”
“But I… I couldn’t even think…” I stopped beneath her gaze.
“Here is one more soul which isn’t indifferent to your death.” The old pony said.
“She will forget as time goes by,” I said. But I wasn’t so sure of that, to be honest.
“Now is the time for us to go back there it all began,” Cronos continued, ignoring me.
“Back to my home? Please, no!” That frightened me worst of all for the some reason. I’ve already imagined what I would see there. “Please, don’t do it!”
A hole looking like a portal appeared in the space. I could see my house through it. There was nothing to do, and I jumped through this window. Cronos followed me, and its edges closed immediately.
~***~
We were standing by my house and waiting. My father showed himself soon in the end of the street.
The door of the neighboring building opened, and the unicorn pony stepped outside gingerly.
Did I tell you about this pony already? She’s always so strict, barely says a word, just like a teacher.
Your neighbor called to my father softly. “Mr. Mash, excuse me, please…”
My father froze as if he was deciding to give an answer or not. Then he turned to her nevertheless. “Yes?”
“I’ve… I’ve heard about your son. Do you know, I’ve always disliked colts, they are always too loud and naughty, but your son is… was… quite another thing. I liked him so much, I don’t know why. I just… just wanted you to know I’m grieving his death with you, and…” The tears sparkled in her eyes.
My father’s stare became a little softer. He approached her and gave her a wipe.
“Thank you,” the pony sobbed. She took the wipe with her magic.
“Yes. You’re right, Button was a wonderful colt. And I’m proud he was my son.” My father said in a very soft tone. “I’ll tell Mrs. Mash about your words. And that’s more, you may come for tea one day. I suppose my wife wouldn’t mind.”
I gasped. For the first time I heard my father was proud of me. And from whom? From himself! And our neighbor pony… I nearly pushed her, as I ran from the school.
I felt very ashamed. I wanted to howl at the thought of nothing could be changed. Cronos nodded to the door of my house. And something told me the worst thing was just before me…
My brother was supposed to come from school already. At this time of the day, he used to rehearse with his friends, and my mom used to close her room’s door, so she couldn’t ‘hear this noise’.
But it seemed like nopony was home.
Here was my brother’s room.
There was a ‘Do not disturb’ plate on the door. Well, it didn’t stop me before, and especially now. I went ahead and came through the door.
My brother was lying on the sofa. Finally, nopony bothers him, so he can pay all his attention to his songs!
Then I examined his room I couldn’t recognize it, however. All posters with rock-stars he idolized disappeared from the walls. His guitar was standing lonely in the corner. His wastepaper basket was filled with sheets of paper tore apart or crumpled into a ball.
“Perhaps he’ll never be the same again too,” Cronos sighed. “He’s out of music since you’re gone.”
The contours of my brother’s room blurred, and we landed in my room again. It looked exactly the same as we left it.
“Your mother refused to change anything here,” my guide explained.
As I heard the sound of the familiar steps my heart jumped and began to beat joyfully. The door opened, and my mom stepped into the room.
She sat down and began to stare to one point in front of her. I flew closer and saw she was staring at my picture – it was standing on the table.
“Button…” She whispered. Her eyes were just like this time I ate all the ice cream in the house on my own and lost my voice for a week. Or even worse.
It would be better if she cried aloud like Sweetie Belle did. This would be easier to bear than this silent sorrow.
Crystal tears began to run down her face.
“Moom, please. Don’t cry,” I took a seat by her side. “I’m here, look at me! Mom, don’t you really see me? Mom! Mommy!”
“No, Button, she doesn’t hear you. You’re gone – have you forgotten about it?” The old pony's eyes were just like my mom’s. “I hate my job in the moments like this,” she muttered under her breath turning away.
“Mom! Mom!” I began to run about the room, barely realizing what I was doing. “I understood everything! Stop it! Bring me back! I want to liiiiive!”
“Button, I've told you already,” Cronos shook her head sadly. “There is no extra-lives in the real life.”
I wanted to cry, but I couldn’t. There were no tears. However, I felt pain in my chest. As if all the pain of my relatives was gathered in there. The pain of my classmates, miss Cheerilee, Sweetie Belle, my father, my brother, my mom…
Cronos continued as if she didn’t recognize anything. “Yes, there is no extra-lives. However, you can’t change anything only if you’re already dead. There is always the right to make a mistake while there is life. You have a right to correct your mistakes, too. That was all I wanted you to see,” the pony said. “Now it’s the time.”
There was nopony in the room except me and Cronos in the same flash of time.
I crouched down to the floor and covered my eyes with my hooves so I couldn’t see what would happen to me right now. One minute passed by, then two minutes passed by, then all eternity seemed to past by … What was going on? I felt nothing. Maybe I’ve become a dust already?
I removed one hoof gingerly.
Cronos was enveloped by a shining looking like the ‘Divine Shield’ spell. She became taller and younger, as if the time turned back. She spread two large wings. Instead of the creepy hourglass cutie mark a bright crescent showed up on her blue coat. The lights of distant stars shone in her mane like a diamonds.
“Princess Luna… that was you?” I whispered. “But you’re coming to the ponies in their dreams… Was that just a —”
“Yes, Button Mash,” the Goddess said. “That was a dream. But henceforth please don’t use the word ‘just’ when you’re speaking of dreams. I realized you needed a help and decided to show you all of this. You should learn to define your priorities properly–”
“To define what?”
Princess Luna shook her head, and her starry mane sparkled.
"You should know where are always ponies who love you, even if it seems to you sometimes that isn’t so. You should not waste time playing video games. Wake up now. I hope you've learned your lesson."
“It was cooler than the most realistic game! Absolute presence effect!” Escaped from my lips.
The Princess shook her head. “You are hopeless. You’re still such a colt. All right, with years you’ll understand”. She smiled at me gently and vanished.
~***~
I found myself lying in the bed with the blanket drawn up to my chin. I had something on the top of my head. I touched with my hoof and understood that it was an ice bag.
My mom was leaning over to me, her face concerned.
“How do you feel, my sweetie?” She asked. I gave a jump in my bed. The ice bag fell down.
“Mummy!” I was about to cry. I hugged her with my forelegs and froze, smelling her mane, kissing her. That was really just a dream!
“Button, my baby,” she said softly. “You’re ill, you’ve had a fever. This happens sometimes when you are too nervous. You’d better lie down again and get some rest.”
“Okay,” I said. That must be true. I could see such a terrible things only in a nightmare.
Staying in the bed isn’t funny at all, but that was nothing compared to what I came through.
“I’m sorry, mom, I’ll never cause you any trouble again,” I coughed.
“Shhh,” she touched my forehead with her lips. “Let’s talk about this tomorrow. However, you must know I’m not angry with you at all. Moreover, your father and brother aren’t angry either. Your fever’s down. Sleep and gain strength now.”
I obeyed her and curled up into a ball under my blanket. Tomorrow. Tomorrow I will apologize to my father. And to my brother too. And to miss Cheerilee when I’ll go to the school again. And as for Sweetie Belle… I’ll never let anypony hurt her, even if Diamond Tiara and her friend will laugh at me. And I’ll stop to talk to our neighbor pony. I never thought she was so lonely. And...
“I love you, mom,” I whispered.
“I love you too, sonny,” She replied, leaving the room.
The moon was shining through the window. It seemed to me for an instant a swift winged shadow fled before it.
I closed my eyes. Falling asleep, I thought that everything was okay now. And it will be much better.
Because tomorrow is a new day.
