> how love is expressed
>  by Warmachine
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> how it all began
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was another uneventful day at the CMC clubhouse and the cutie mark crusaders were yet again planning on how they were going to earn their cutie marks for about the thousandths time.
“Come on apple bloom,” Scootaloo whined. “You have got to have some idea as to how we can get our marks”!
”Ah told you, ah won’t be able to come up with nothin’ if you keep naggin’ me” apple bloom retorted. 
“Although we don’t need to try to earn our marks just to get some excitement, HEY SWEETIE BELL”! Apple bloom shouted out of the club house to the filly that was filling in the last of the holes from their digging cutie mark attempt.
“What is it?” sweetie bell asked as she came back into the club house covered in head to hoof in streaks of dirt. “Have you had anything interesting happen to you in the past few days?” apple bloom asked.
The white filly looked away from apple bloom at the table with a map of ponyville on it trying to hide her extremely obvious blush that she had acquired from being asked this question and responded with “no, nothing at all”.
“Something tells me you’re not telling the full truth” apple bloom said with a smirk.
Scootaloo wouldn’t have noticed but with apple bloom’s remark she found herself turned around and looking at the blushing sweetie bell. “Right…” she said sarcastically. 
“Come on sweetie belle!” Applebloom whined. “We’re the crusaders! You can tell us anything.”
“I said that life has been life, nothing eventful has happened to me” sweetie belle replied, her face going into a shade of red that neither Scootaloo nor Applebloom thought was possible.
“Spit it out sweetie!” the orange Pegasus said “and you say I’M the chicken!”
Knowing that her friends were going to keep nagging her on the matter, she had no choice but to tell them. “Fine, something big has happened to me” sweetie said as if there was some chance that the others still couldn’t tell.
“Yes?” said Applebloom and Scootaloo in unison.
“It’s just that my choice is a little bit embarrassing” sweetie added keeping the others on the edge of their seats.
“Yes?” the others said in unison yet again.
“But you aren’t the kind of filly’s that would go and spread gossip like wildfire, and you seem to be pretty eager to find out” sweetie belle continued.
“Yes?” the two fillies said again, the tension building inside of them like a boiling pot on a stove.
“Me and Button Mash” sweetie started then paused, pondering whether she should finish the sentence or not. After deciding to continue, she opened her mouth and started to speak when Scootaloo cut her off.
“Hang on” the filly said, obviously confused. “Since when in this universe are you and Button Mash of all ponies even in the same sentence? You couldn’t be more different!”
“That is where you are wrong Scoot.” The white unicorn said simply. “We have many things in common, that is why we have decided to start going out!” sweetie said expecting gasps of approval from her friends that only came from Applebloom.
“Sweetie, that’s great!” Applebloom exclaimed “my, Ah wouldn’t have guessed the lucky colt would be Button, I thought it would be somepony like Pipsqueak.”
“Ugg, sweetie.” Scootaloo said with a hint of disgust in her voice. “you can do SO much better than… button.”
Scootaloo continued to look like she was about to be sick until Applebloom elbowed her in the side causing her to jump “Oh right, hurray for you sweetie” scoot said managing what was supposed to be a smile but looked more like a grimace.
“When did this come about?” Applebloom asked the now beaming sweetie belle.
“Well” Sweetie began “yesterday at about 5 O’clock…
FLASHBACK
Sweetie belle was walking down the street on the south east side of ponyville with some spare money her sister had given here from here last fabric shopping spree for her new line of dresses. Sweetie knew exactly where she wanted to spend her money, at sugar cube corner. She walked into the parlor making the bell above the door ring. 
“Oh hello sweetie belle” said Miss Cake as she walked around the corner after hearing the bell ring. “The usual I presume?”
“Yes, thank you” replied the grinning filly “You are like pinkie pie in that aspect, you seem to remember everyone’s favorites!”
“Oh why thank you dear.” Miss Cake said as she added the cherry to the top of sweetie’s now complete milkshake.
“Boy, every time you make this it looks even more delicious than the last” the unicorn remarked looking lustfully at the milkshake until she noticed Miss Cake looking into the corner of the parlor.
Sweetie followed her gaze to the only occupied table in the shop. There sat a brown colt with an orange mane that had his eyes glued to a small device in his hoofs, his milkshake sitting idle next to him as his lips moved in the direction of the straw, although he kept missing due to him not wanting to take his eyes off of his video game.
“You should go and talk to him.” Miss Cake whispered in Sweeties ear even though she could have probably yelled it and button wouldn’t even have noticed. “a little pony to pony interaction wouldn’t hurt him in the least bit”
Sweetie belle looked back at Miss Cake who had already gone back to what she was doing. 
“OK.” she whispered to herself. “I got this.”
Being that she had never actually gone up to a colt before, she didn’t exactly know how to approach him. She slowly walked up and sat down without saying a word at first. The colt looked like he hadn’t even noticed that she had taken a seat right next to him. It was slightly uncomfortable for sweetie belle but after she mustered up the courage she asked Button “how are you this evening?”
Button Mash Freaked. Having not noticed that she had come up to him, he was shocked to hear something other than his video game coming from right next to him. Less than two seconds later he was on the floor scrambling to pick up the joy boy that had been launched from his hoof when sweetie had startled him.
“NO” shouted button as he looked at the red words that were scrawled across the screen spelling GAME OVER. “I lost the battle with draconos the great, and it’s all your fauhhhhhhh…” button mash started to exclaim until he turned around and saw sweetie belle staring at him with surprised eyes.
“your beautiful” he said, the words slipping off his tongue before he could stop himself. Realizing what he had just done, he put his hooves over his muzzle and turned almost as pale as sweetie belle is naturally while sweetie turned a deep shade of red, only rivaled by Appleblooms hair.
“thanks.” sweetie said unable to say anything more.
“Uuuummm… Your welcome?” button replied as he got back onto his seat and turned off his joyboy much to Sweeties surprise. “hey, I got to go home and finish up my homework, and, w-w-well, I was just w-wondering…” button stuttered turning from pale to red in the matter of seconds “would it be weird if I asked what you are doing later this evening?”
“um, no?” sweetie belle replied not sure if she could bring herself to turn him down.
“well, we could meet back here tonight and chat…”button said regaining a little bit of his composure.
“that would be lovely, about 7:30 how about” sweetie replied taking control of the situation.
“uh, ya that works.” said button. “See you later then.”
“ya, bye” sweetie said as button turned and left her with both his and her milkshake on the table to think about the evening that they would be having together later on.
“That could have gone much worse.” Sweetie said aloud to herself. “tonight will be interesting.”