Author's Notes:

The first lines of Dialogue of this chapter are tongue and cheek humor.

Button is not actually getting molested and it is just a joke at the expense of that corner of the fandom.

It is not ment to insult anyone and not meant to be taken seriously but I get the feeling the reason the chapter has so few views is because people read those couple lines and check out before they realize nothing bad is a actually happening.

"Mommy, it feels weird,"

"Shhhhhhh just relax. You're doing a great job, mommy is very proud. Mommy loves her little colt very much,"

"Ah, that hurt!"

"Just a little more... THERE!" the block on the screen fell between the other blocks and the row blinked out of existence, "YOU DID IT!" Love Tap praised her son as she jumped off the couch, "You've beaten daddy's Tetris record! On your first try too! Oh Mommy is so proud! And just wait til your father gets home."

Button's eyes widened. usually those words meant he was in trouble. However he was quickly put at ease when mommy said, "I'll call him and have him pick you up a cake,"

Button licked his lips as he imagined the tasty treat. Then groaned as the throbbing in his head made itself known. It had been there since he started but he was able to distract himself by doing stuff.

"My head hurts," Button Mash mumbled as he stared at the screen. The arcade box was on the other side of the room. He was just staring at it from his place on the couch, making the blocks move with nothing but his mind.

Mom suddenly looked concerned and rushed over. She felt his forehead and probed him a bit with her hooves, checking his eyes with a tiny flashlight she kept in her pocket. She breathed a sigh of relief, "Pupils aren't dilated and your nose isn't even running, much less bleeding, don't scare me like that Button,"

Button groaned as he rubbed his head, "Sorry... But it really does hurt,"

"I'll get you some tylenol," Mom promised as she walked over to a drawer. Opening it up to reveal it was filled with medicine, "When your dad was a foal, it give him headaches to use his powers too, but as he got better at it they came less and less." She swore, "You just need to keep training and then, one day, you'll look at yourself and be amazed at what you can do,"

"Like What?" Button asked. So far all his powers were good for was playing video games at a distance.

"... I'll tell you when you're older," Love Tap promised, the family had some secrets in the closet. Looking at her son, she smiled, and brought him the tylenol.

Button Mash took a drink of the foul-tasting medicine laid back on the couch, completely drained. “I guess everyone can do this though, so I have to learn.”

“Actually, only people like you and daddy can do what you just did.”

“Really?”

“That’s right. It makes you very very special.”

“Did daddy teach me?”

Love Tap smiled. “It’s something you were born with Mashy. It’s your power. It makes you so special.”

“Am I a superhero?”

“Not exactly, the power itself kind of makes you super in a way.”

Button Mash laid on his stomach. “I’ve seen unicorns use magic like this before. Are they superheroes?”

“Unicorn magic is different from what you do. Nobody knows how your power works or what you can really do with it. Daddy uses his for his business.”

“Well it’s good that I can do stuff I guess.” Button Mash covered his eyes because the light was hurting them.

Love Tap sat down next to her son and pet her hoof through his hair. “It just takes practice, honey. Who’s my strong little colt?”

“I am.” Button Mash sighed and sat up. "I’m ready for more.”

“Alright, let’s try again.”

###

Daddy XP Grinder got home a little later that night. He smiled looking at all the things he had in his house. The best and newest of everything. Most pony houses didn't have near this level if tech in them. They prefered devices powered by magic.

That was exactly why he moved his family to Pathfinder. The place was a Technomancer's dream. Everything here used technology. Even their currency was made up of little plastic cards which recorded how many bits an individual had. It really was paradise for some creature like him... once you got past all the racism...

Love Tap greeted him soon after he walked through the door. “Welcome home honey.”

“Hey sorry I’m a little late. Work.”

“Yes I know how it is.”

“I can always count on you to understand.” XP Grinder moved towards the kitchen down the hall but was interrupted by Button Mash appearing in the doorway to the right.

“Daddy!!!”

“Hey kiddo.” XP Grinder gently patted a hoof on his little tyke’s head, mussing up his hair gently. “How are you?”

“I beat your tetris score!!!”

“Ohhhh I heard. Mommy texted me. Guess what I got for you!” XP Grinder moved down the hall to the kitchen and placed a small box down on the island in the center. Button Mash hopped up on one of the stools and looked down at the box in awe. “Well, go on. Open it!” XP grinned.

Button Mash opened the box and found a delightful cake inside. It was small, just a single pony cake, but that meant it was all for him! It was Button Mash’s favorite flavor to! Chocolate with green frosting. The cake was even in the shape of a Joy Boy. Such an awesome looking cake. Mommy helped Button Mash get a piece, well promising he could have the rest after dinner.

“Congratulations Mashy!” She said happily.

“Good job, son.” XP encouraged.

Button Mash was so happy. He began eating his cake without so much as a pause.

Love Tap hugged her husband. “He beat it without even touching the arcade box.”

“A chip off the ol’ block huh?”

“That’s right.” Love Tap smiled and looked back at Button Mash, who was enjoying his cake. She looked back at her husband and her smile drifted away for a moment as she saw he was transfixed by something out the sliding glass window. Immediately his phone was in his hooves checking the inferred camera feeds of their backyard. There was a tenseness in his face. He wasn’t even touching his phone, but it moved from feed to feed in his mind wirelessly. She whispered to him. “Is something wrong, honey?”

XP Grinder sighed and his smile returned. “No...I must have been seeing the moonlight glint off that silly mirror in the garden again.”

They both sighed with relief. Love Tap went over to the sliding glass door and closed the curtain. “I really ought to get rid of that bauble.”

“Yeah.”

Button Mash looked up from his cake momentarily, and seeing his parents at ease tucked in for more cake. Love Tap gently pet her son’s back. “Gee, you really can eat. You’re inhaling your food like Kirby.”

“I love it!!!” The family laughed quietly together. Just another day in little Button's life, as perfect as any little boy could want.

###

That night, Love Tap and XP Grinder sat awake in bed talking to each other. The master bedroom was large and lovely. The bed had plush sheets and a good mattress. Love Tap sighed. “He really did take after you very well.”

“If it’s as you say, the kid has got a knack for technomancy.”

“I just wonder what people will think of him.”

“It’s not an easy life, but it can definitely be useful.” XP Grinder looked down at his phone, checking the security around the house again for a moment. “I want to teach him the family business.”

Love Tap sighed again. “Taking care of servers is all well and good… But a lot of the stuff you do isn’t really something I’d like him to get into.”

“Hacking pays the bills. It’s not my fault if someone doesn’t secure their account.”

Love Tap smiled slyly. “It is when you take the money out of that account though.”

He laughed. “Best not to think of it that way, honey. I just take a few unnoticed bits from several hundred different accounts at a time. It's not actually putting any undo strain on any creature." Minus the millions of dollars he occasionally stole from companies, but those accounts were insured.

“I know.” She shook her head. “Just… Don’t let Mashy know about that part of your life, please?”

“I’ll probably teach him about it--Eventually--But right now I can’t imagine he’d be able to keep a secret like that.”

“Yeah.”

There was a knock at their door then. Love Tap went to see. “Oh hey Mashy. What’s wrong, honey?”

“I had a bad dream.”

“Aww.” Love Tap looked back at XP Grinder, who got out of bed. “Well maybe me and your daddy can help put you to sleep after that, okay?”

“Okay…” They went down the hall to Button Mash’s room. It was decorated with many posters of Button Mash’s favorite video game characters, such as Mario and Link. Button Mash even had a few drawings up of human versions of the characters.

The Yokai made games for all the Doctor's Refugee planets. While they used the same plot and layout for each game, they also limited themselves by the worlds tech. Their God had some kind of policy about minimal affects on a planet's technology advancement, but didn't really have an issue with then doing cultural exchanges. Somehow, Button's dad had gotten him copies of all the games of all the refugee planets.

Button Mash’s bed even had a headboard shaped like a Joy Boy, with a nightlight of Humdrum (the best sidekick ever) in the corner.

The parents put their boy to bed and gently sang him a lullaby to send him off to sleep. It went like this, put to a very light tone.

“Off now to sleep.
Happy and well.
Games way out there,
Bid you farewell.

Life will waver.
The world falls away.
Know, just in case,
Safe you will stay.

May you play well,
Here and beyond.
In fun little worlds,
Your dreams abscond.

And the chorus went something like this, to a bright tone.

“Mashy in space.
Send you my cheer.
My joy shall trace.
Love you my dear!

Another turn,
Til you’re so near.
Til you return.
Love you my dear!

With that they sent their darling boy off to dreamland with hope he’d play games there too. He fell right asleep and slept soundly for the rest of the night.

###

They whole family slept soundly and ended up having nice dreams the rest of the night. The next morning they came downstairs sleepy eyed and ready for the morning. Mama Love Tap was making pancakes for her family.

“Honey?” Love Tap waved at the air conditioning vents. “It’s kind of hot in here. Can you take care of that.” XP Grinder clapped his hooves together stylishly and the air conditioning turned on. “Thank you dear.”

“Daddy?” Button Mash poked his hooves together. “Do you think I’ll be able to do that someday?”

“I know you will, kiddo. You’re a chip off the old block!” XP Grinder gently mused the boy’s headfluff Button Mash smiled and giggled. He clopped his hooves together too. Suddenly the lights switched on. XP Grinder grinned coyly, “I wonder how that happened!” while knowing full well what caused it, or rather who.

Button Mash looked up at the lights with dreamy eyes. “Wow! Did I do that?!” He giggled. “I’m a chip off the old block!!!”

XP Grinder had finished breakfast. He got up and hugged his wife gently. “Off to grind for gold. Love you honey.”

“Love you dear.” The nuzzled their muzzles together and then parted ways.

Button Mash quietly clapped his hooves together trying to get the light to turn off and on again. Love Tap smiled quietly. “Did you want to go practice on video games some more, sweetie?”

“YES!”

###

Button Mash and Love Tap played games for about an hour or two. It was an average day for the two. They broke for lunch and then came right back to it. The day turned into dusk. Love Tap was constantly cheering for her son. She was a wonderful cheerleader. Her phone went off though. It was ringing with the high importance ringtone. Something made her heart sink momentarily on hearing it. “Hello, this is Love Tap.”

“It’s me.” It was XP Grinder. “I need you and Button Mash to get into the safe room. Now.”

“Honey?” She would have asked what was wrong but knew that there would be no other reason for her husband to ask that of her. “Mashy, we’re going to go play with your JoyBoy in the safe room. Come with me okay?”

Button Mash blinked and picked up the JoyBoy from off the nearby table. “Okay…”

Button Mash and Love Tap hurried upstairs. Up the stairs and into the master bedroom. They crawled behind a fake wall in the closet and closed it behind them. Love Tap flicked on the light for the reinforced room that would keep them safe. She got back on her phone. “Honey what’s wrong?”

On the other end of the line, XP Grinder was in a dark room in front of nine monitors. On a few of them was a camera feed of different parts of their house. They couldn’t hear it in the safe room but a window broke downstairs. In came a tiny round orb. The orb dropped on the ground and morphed into a changeling. The changeling started wrecking things, searching for something. “There is an intruder. Stay in the safe room.”

“Should we call the police?”

“You know we can’t do that with the work I do. I will handle this.”

“I’m scared.”

“I’m scared too mommy.”

“Stay in the safe room. They won’t find you.” XP Grinder was watching the feeds closely.

The changeling looked through the house into the kitchen, toppling chairs and clanging pots. It was searched in drawers and cupboards. XP Grinder wondered if it was a robber or an operative. He started thinking more robber when the changeling took money out of the family savings drawer.

His house, with it's pricey tech and lack of obvious security systems must be a dream target for robbers. Grinder should be sure to install a fake system to discourage this from happening again.

Grinder gripped his armrest as he heard his wife speak to his son. Love Tap nuzzled Button Mash and whispered. “Be very quiet Mashy. This room is very strong so nothing will happen to us, but just be very quiet.”

XP Grinder muted his family and looked at another feed.

Grinder sent a mental command through the wifi. Suddenly the sprinkler system started to go off as did the fire alarm in the kitchen.

The changeling ran over to the stove that started to smoke, for extra effect, and looked worried. He was about to leave when a spark shot out of the toaster and electrified the floor the changeling screamed as he was roasted alive.

Grinder couldn't help but give a smug grin at it's painful death. He may be a pony, but he wasn't one for forgiveness when others threatened his family. He sent another mental command and switched one of the screens to a Minotaur just as he answered his phone.

“I need a house cleaned. Can you do that Black Out?” Grinder informed, not even waiting for the creature to say "hello".

“I assume the money is already in my account?”

“A hefty advance payment has been made.”

“Excellent. Glad I have my cart already. Where am I going.”

XP Grinder gave the address to his house. Although he did not mention that it was his house.

“Did the owner have trouble with the missus?”

“No. Changeling on the grounds. Looks like a robber.”

“Will the house be ready for cleaning beforehand?”

“Yes."

"Good, on my way then."

“Thank you Black Out.”

XP Grinder unmuted his family. “You’re safe now. But please stay in the safe room a little longer. The robber is gone.”

“It was a robber?”

“Yes. Was.”

Love Tap sighed with relief. “That’s good to know. We’ll stay put until you say so.”

“Please do. Thank you.”

XP Grinder muted his family and checked on Black Out’s feed. He was slowly approaching the house. “ETA?”

“Don’t rush me. You know how this works.”

“Yes. The house is ready.”

“I’ll be around in about five minutes though. I just rounded the bend near the area.”

“Thank you.”

Black Out slowly approached the house. Slowly and carefully. XP Grinder knew that would arouse the least suspicion. Black Out got to the house and quickly got to work inside. Everything was cleaned to look like nothing happened. Every detail was put back in place from the money in the drawer to the chairs in the kitchen. Everything was cleaned. The window was taped over with clear packing tape, ready for someone to come later and replace it. Even an air freshener was hung. “Job’s done. Have you got the rest of my payment?”

“It has been transferred.”

The feed showed Black Out throwing a nondescript sack in his cart, right next to a bunch of other sacks filled with grain. “Pleasure doing business with you. Out.” The feed ended.

XP Grinder sighed with relief as he checked the feeds on his house. The grounds were clear and the house was almost exactly as it had been. He unmuted his family. “You’re safe now. I’ll be home soon.”

“Thank goodness. See you soon honey. We love you.”

XP Grinder sighed and held his head. He took a gulp of coffee and then left the room.

###

Button Mash never really noticed anything about the house was different. The family convened for dinner, but didn’t talk about what had happened. Just that they were safe and that XP Grinder was proud of them for being brave and staying in the safe room. When XP Grinder and Love Tap returned to their room there were definitely words though.

Love Tap sighed. “So we’re really safe now?”

“Yes. There is only a slim possibility it was a coordinated attack.”

“That’s… Good, I guess.” She shook her head. “What if it had been though?”

“Honey. Nobody can find where we live.”

“I hope so.” She sighed again and held her head. “What would we do if Button Mash was kidnapped or something.”

“I’d find him and rescue him.”

“I guess.” She looked like she could cry. “Just… It was so scary.”

“It would have been scarier if I hadn’t protected you. I was able to take care of the situation.”

She looked out a window. “I guess you did. I’m glad nothing bad happened. But can we really expose Button Mash to this kind of life?”

“Someday. He’ll be able to protect us.”

Love Tap looked back at her husband and then at the floor. “He could?”

“Yes. If I train him I can mold him into something truly amazing. I was never taught, I just learned on my own, but if someone teaches him, he could truly excel.”

“I guess. I hope we can provide that kind of life for him.” She nodded and climbed into bed. “I know we can do it, somehow.”

“Just leave it to me. We’ll work it out.”

“Alright.” They went to bed and XP Grinder turned off the light without getting up.

###

The next morning they all came down for breakfast again. A few days passed. The window got replaced and the fear of what happened faded into history. Later on they found themselves doing the same things they had been doing. Button Mash and Love Tap were playing games and XP Grinder was at work.

That is until Love Tap got a call on her high importance phone. With what had happened recently she was definitely afraid immediately. “Yes?”

“Honey, you’re going to get a visitor but I don’t think this one is a robber.”

“A visitor?”

“The Doctor is walking up our front steps.”

“The Doctor?!”

“Yes. The Doctor.”

There was a ring of the doorbell. “What should I do.”

“He usually doesn’t really hurt normal people. We should be fine. I guess see what he wants. Put me on speaker phone.”

Love Tap answered the door. “Good day, Doctor.”

“Gee you sure have a lot of cameras everywhere! I’m probably on TV. Hello world!”

XP Grinder spoke. “They’re for security.”

“Right. I’d expect nothing less of a technomancer family. May I come in?”

XP Grinder felt that most people weren’t supposed to know that, but this was The Doctor after all. He had even more information that XP Grinder did. Love Tap spoke up. “Yes.”

They went into the living room and sat down. Button Mash didn’t stop playing games. “So I’m really here to see your son actually. I’m sure you’ve heard about my school haven’t you?”

XP Grinder spoke affirmatively. “Yes, we had. We were planning to homeschool however.”

“Oh? Pity that. Look he’s playing tetris with his mind.” Button Mash smiled at The Doctor and cleared a line. The Doctor chuffed. “Really good at it too! You really plan to teach him the depth of his powers yourself?”

“As a technomancer I am technically qualified.”

Love Tap spoke up. “Wait honey. The school is supposed to train the next generation of spacefaring ponies. He’d get just as good an education with the doctor as he would with you.”

The Doctor snapped his tail like fingers. “That’s the ticket. I’d say, ‘or better’ myself.”

“Honey I don’t know if it’s a good idea.”

The Doctor sighed. “Look if you really want to teach your son ‘your craft’ you can, but he’d be far more useful to society if he joined my school and learned from more positive people.”

“What do you--”

Love Tap interrupted. “I think he’s right, honey. We could have him get a milder education.”

“Honey… I…”

Love Tap continued. “Do you really want your son to learn about everything you do? Think about it. You’d never have to keep secrets with your son.”

XP Grinder went silent. He could see them all there in the feed of his living room. He looked at Button Mash wondering what he could turn into in the future. Somewhere deep in his heart, XP Grinder knew he couldn’t mold his son into a model citizen. He didn’t have to live the same life his father did. At that exact moment, he felt that pang of realizing that he was living vicariously through his son and that it was wrong. He stopped for a moment and spoke up again. “Button Mash, which would you want to do?”

Love Tap explained further. “You’ll get the same education from either pony.”

Button Mash paused the game and looked up momentarily. This was The Doctor. They’d seen movies and TV shows about him. His dad was cool, but he’d heard about the school too. His parents even thought about trying to get in contact with The Doctor to enroll him. His dad was cool and all, but this was the coolest thing that could ever have happened to him. So much cool, “I’d like to go to The Doctor’s school.”

XP Grinder felt a pang of sadness, but at the same time a glimmer of hope. Maybe his son wanted to be an astronaut more than a hacker. He realized that his parents had never let him choose either. “Alright Doctor. We’ll enroll him.”

“Excellent. You won’t regret it. Obviously you already know most of the details?”

“Yes we do. We’ve heard about it.” Love Tap nodded. “A five star education with the teachers being high ranking members of their chosen class.”

“Right. Here is the paperwork. I’ll take a medical scan now.”

The family did the paperwork and The Doctor took his scan. The flurry of activity was over in minutes.

###

Later that night, XP Grinder and Love Tap were in the master bedroom again. XP Grinder sighed. “I guess I won’t be giving him an education after all.”

“I know you wanted to do the ‘like father, like son’ thing.” Love Tap put a hoof on her husbands shoulder. “But it really is for the best. It’s what Mashy wants.”

“I guess.” He looked at the floor. “I guess after a while it’s really not about what I want.”

“Mashy is already starting to live his own life. We have to be supportive.”

“I guess I just didn’t expect it to happen so fast.” XP Grinder pulled out his phone and looked at the feed of his son’s room. He was sleeping soundly in bed, no doubt dreaming about games out in space. “Just a while ago we were still changing diapers.”

Love Tap looked over her husband's shoulder at her son and they both gave a content sigh of pure love for their child. “They grow up so quick.”

“They sure do.”

Love Tap nuzzled her husband’s side. “It’s really for the best. You’ll see.”

“I hope so.” They climbed into bed. XP Grinder stared at the ceiling for a moment. “I’ll be watching him though. You know, for safety.”

“I’d expect nothing less of you.” She smirked. “Goodnight.”