Not so long ago…

In the mysterious land…

Of Ponyville, Equestria...

...Button Mash was late for band practice.

“You’re late for practice.”

Button shrugged off his backpack, letting it hit the floor with a thud. “I’m not that late.”

“We were s’posed to start at four. It’s four-thirteen.”

“Babs, relax.” Button rolled his eyes. “I’m eighteen, not eight; what are you, my mom?”

Babs scowled from her place on the armchair. It was an old, flea-ridden thing, with more stuffing on the floor than actually inside the cushions. Her hooves were slung over the back, her legs propped up on the coffee table. “No, but maybe she shoulda been the one to get your sorry ass over—”

“Guys, guys! Cut it out!”

Applebloom crossed her hooves from behind her drum set. It wasn't a large room, but somehow, they'd managed to cram a twelve-piece Hayman set into the tiny living room's space. The sticks clacked irritably between her hooves as she gave them both the stink-eye. “I ain’t gonna put up with none of this crap now. Button, y’all better get your stuff ready to go. We’ve all been waitin’ on you.”

“On me?” Button protested. “Featherweight’s the one who looks like he’s just woken up from a nap!”

“Guys, whoa. I just had this weird dream where—” Featherweight yawned, the couch creaking beneath him as he adjusted his hooves.  He looked up at them, blinking. “Like, are we getting started?”

“As soon as eight-bit over here gets his strings out.”

Button stuck out his tongue at Babs. She rolled her eyes right back at him.

“Fine, fine,” he muttered. “Just gimme a second.”

“So which tracks we gun’ work on today?” Applebloom asked as Button turned back toward his bags. He rifled through the larger of the two, his bass’s case sitting right below his backpack. The wooden floor of Featherweight's apartment creaked beneath his hooves. He wondered how long it had been since his friend had promised to fix the place up.

Three years, maybe?

“I was thinkin’ we could do that Legend of Epona medley,” Babs was saying. “Y’know, the one that—”

“We can’t do that one.” Button unzipped his bass, doing a quick onceover to make sure that the strings were still intact. “Featherweight still hasn’t finished the last verse.”

His hooves jostled against the wrong pocket, and something went tumbling out. “Aw, crud.”

“Hey, man,” Featherweight said. “I, like, am just waiting for the right inspiration.”

Babs snorted. Likely unconsciously, her hoof had drifted across one of the hoofrests of her seat until it just barely brushed against the neck of her own six-string guitar. “Fine, then. Whatcha got in mind, then, mistah band leader?”

“Huh?” Button looked up at her, his JoyBoy 2k XL in his mouth. He spit it out to the side; it landed with a clunk on the floor. “Oh, I dunno. I guess we could practice RP-Scream.”

“RP—oh, for the love of crud.” Babs groaned. “You just wanna play that for the bass solo. I’ll tell ya, you—”

The doorbell rang. Four heads sprang up.

“That for any of you?” Applebloom asked. Babs shook her head. Featherweight blinked.

Button Mash felt a smile spread across his face. “That’d be for me!”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Babs stood up as Button made his way for the door. “Whataya think you’re doin’, bringin’ in somepony durin’ one of our practices? This ain’t some kinda peanut gallery.”

Button stopped midstep. He straighted up, turned around, and looked Babs dead in the eye. “For your information, Babs Seed, the pony outside of this door just so happens to be my new girlfriend.”

“Girlfriend?” Babs’ jaw dropped.

“She hot?” Featherweight asked.

“She overheats easily enough in warm weather, but since it’s fall, I don’t really think—”

“Just open the damn door, will ya?” Babs groaned, flopping back onto hair chair. Her guitar thudded against her stomach. “We ain’t got all day, and if you’re gonna be bringin’ random hussies home while we’re practicin’, who’m I to stop ya?”

“Thanks!” Button said brightly. He bounded over to the door and flung it open.

“Mail’s here!”

Button’s mouth had barely gotten the opportunity to fall open before he had it shoved with a pile of letters.

“Mail, mail, mail,” the pegasus outside the door sang. Her nametag read, in sloppy mouthwriting, Derpy Hooves. A saddlebag slung over her shoulder was clearly stuffed full with letters and stamps. “Now, I’ll just need you to sign here, and I’ll be able to give you your package!”

Button took the pen she offered and signed the delivery slip with a blank look on his face. As he signed the finishing flourish on his name, he found the slip ripped away from his hooves and a sudden weight thrown right against his face.

“Come again!” Derpy said cheerily. Button groaned. The package sitting beside him had left his face throbbing and his ears ringing.

He spat the letters out to the side. “Oh, Celestia," he muttered, touching his face and wincing at the purplish spot already forming there. "That’s gonna leave a bruise.”

Babs snickered. “Girlfriend, huh?”

“Shut up.”

“Button!”

He shook his head. That voice sounded oddly familiar…

“Button! Hi!”

His eyes flew open, and a stupid grin spread over his face. “Twist!”

“Button!” She leapt forward, red curls bouncing on her shoulders, and hooves outstretched. He let out a surprised “oof” as she tackled him to the ground.

“Hey!” he yelped. He managed to get back to his hooves. “So you found us!”

“Yeth!” she said. She frowned. “ I mean, yes! You were right! The address was 462 Cloud Lane!”

“Do I ever lead you wrong?” He pushed her off of his chest, chuckling.

Twist seemed to consider that for a moment. “Nope!”

“Hey, there.”

Button glanced over to the other side of the doorway. “Oh, Twist—this is Applebloom. She’s the drummer.”

“Howdy.”

Twist’s eyes widened. “I remember you. You were one of thothe Cruthaders when we were foals, right?”

Applebloom grinned. “Yeah, actually. Pardon, but would you excuse me ‘n Button for a second?”

“Bloom, what are you doing?” Button muttered as she pushed him away, leaving a happily nodding Twist behind them.

“Just askin’ a question, is all,” she grunted. “She’s not gonna geek out on us, is she?”

“Well, no.”

“Cuz I want her to geek out. Like, completely flip on how ‘awesome’ we are.” Applebloom’s eyebrows were furrowed, and she was biting her lip. “You think she’ll do that?”

“Oh, yeah! Definitely!” Button nodded quickly. “She can flip. She definitely has the capacity to flip.”

“Great,” Applebloom said. “That’s just sweeter than a candy-corn salad.”

“Wha—”

“Secondly.” She held up a hoof and raised an eyebrow. “What’s with the lisp?”

Button chuckled nervously. “Oh, you noticed that? It’s nothing, really—it just comes out when she gets excited. She’s been working on it, though.”

“But she is excited.”

“Yup!”

Applebloom pounded him on the back. “Then good on ya, partner. Let’s get goin’.”

She pushed him back toward Twist. He let out a strangled yelp, hooves wobbling as he struggled to maintain his balance.

“Agh—hey!”

Button rubbed his head, muttering. He glanced up, and Twist's toothy grin beamed back down at him.

“Hi!”

“So,” Button coughed, pushing himself up and dusting himself off. “You’ve already met Applebloom.”

Applebloom waved.

Button’s hoof drifted over toward the couch. “That pony over there’s Babs. She does guitar and singing and stuff.”

Babs blew a strand of hair away from her face. “Yo.”

“And that’s Featherweight. You can go have a seat next to him.”

Before he’d even finished his sentence, Twist had vanished. She plopped down on the couch and offered Featherweight a hoof. “Hi! I’m Twist! What do you play?”

Featherweight’s wings fluttered. “Uh...mainly Ponymon. I like Legend of Epona, too, and Hoof-Man is always pretty cool.” His jaw hung open, eyes glazed over. “It’s such a big question, y’know?”

Twist blinked.

“Alright, then, ya freaks.” Babs hopped back up from the couch, slinging the guitar strap over her shoulder. She threw Button a look. “RP-Scream?”

He grinned. “Sounds good. You wanna start, or—”

Applebloom beat him to it.

“We're Blue-Shell Game, and we’re here to loot and steal and get XP and stuff!”

Click! Click! Click!

Dun-dun-un-un, da-dun, dun-dun-da-un, da-dun.

“Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah.”

Dun-dun-un-un, da-dun, dun-dun-da-un, da-dun.

“Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!”

CANTERLOT STUDIOS PRESENTS

I’m losin’ my grip, now

Got all of my dip, now

Raisin’ my sword,

Stealin’ that hoard.

Levelin’ up, it’s ten gallons a truck,

But if you’ll insist, ma’am, I’ll find your lost duck.

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah.

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH LOST TIMBERWOLF

Ice spells, fire spells, gatherin’ mana

Cuz there ain’t no-one there, nopony who can-a

FILLYHOUSE STUDIOS

Got my plus-one sword and I’ll defeat all your plots

Take out the dragons, the orcs and the glots

AND EQUESTRIA DAILY

Cuz this is RPG-Scream!

I’m runnin’ out with my team!

We got our mage, fighter, rogue and d’you hear that we’re mean!

I’ll open up that portal to the World of Skrallax

Cuz all these NPCs, they ain’t no nothin’ but hacks!

Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!

BUTTON MASH

VS.

THE WORLD

Ba-da-dum.

Next Chapter: Chapter Two Estimated time remaining: 8 Minutes