//------------------------------// // Special House Guest // Story: YouTuber: Button Mash // by TheAnimerican //------------------------------// Button Mash and Sweetie Belle carefully crept through the streets of Ponyville. To quicken the pace, Button guided Sweetie through alleyways that he considered shortcuts. For Button, it was like playing one of his stealth video games; trying to avoid detection by enemy computers. For Sweetie Belle, however, she considered it as a weekly task to avoid the media. Slowly, the sun was lowered and the moon was raised. Minutes went by and the paparazzi became more aggressive in their search for the pop singer. "Button," Sweetie Belle whispered, "you don't have to do this for me. There is no reason for you to get involved." "Don't worry about it Sweetie," Button replied, "I am more than happy to help a friend get away from the media for a little while. Besides, we are almost there. You can stay over for the night too if you want." "Thanks. I might have to take you up on that offer." Sweetie Belle gave a soft giggle, "You know what? This reminds me of that time we played Minecraft together. You kept warning me to not mine at night, but I didn't listen. I really wanted to try and find some diamonds." For Sweetie Belle it was fun, but for Button Mash it was a very stressful game. The brave colt always protected her as best he could from the monsters in the game. Repeatedly he died in the game for her and lost much of his hard earned equipment. Sweetie Belle noticed the death notifications that kept coming up, but he never told her the reason for all those deaths. He just wanted her to have fun and enjoy the game. While he reminisced that night, Button felt a tug on his tail. "Huh? What?" Button questioned in confusion. Sweetie used her magic to hold him back, "I heard voices from around the corner. You almost walked out of the alley so I assumed you didn't notice." With a clearer mind, Button listened and heard chatter from the end of the alley. He motioned for Sweetie Belle to follow behind him, but to stay quiet. When they reached the end of the alley, Button poked his head out to check the surroundings. To his left side, it was a clear street and his house was in view. To his right, there was a group of ponies chattering. The group consisted of five ponies. He noticed two of them were unicorns and held cameras. The ponies were so close that he dared not risk Sweetie exposing herself. He turned around and focused on Sweetie Belle, "Okay, so my house is just over there, but there is a group of paparazzi that would surely see us." Button then reached into his saddle bag with his muzzle. Out of the bag, he had a key in his mouth. He motioned for Sweetie Belle to take it. When Sweetie levitated the key away from his mouth, he explained his plan, "I will draw them away while you make a run for my house. My house is a two story building with a YouTube logo on the top floor window. Just run straight there and I will catch up." Before Sweetie Belle could confirm that she understood the plan, Button already walked out of the alley. Trying not to get attention just yet, he casually walked by the crowd of ponies. As he walked passed them, one of the ponies called out, "Hey wait a minute." Button froze in place, "Umm...yes?" "Don't I know you?" A male pegasus asked. Button turned around to give the pegasus his full attention. "Uh, I am sorry, but I don't recognize you. I probably have one of those muzzles." "No no I definitely have seen you before," the pegasus separated from the group. He moved closer to Button Mash and closely inspected his face. Immediately, a thought popped in Button's mind, "Oh no, he must have been at Sugarcube Corner and saw me with Sweetie Belle. He and his buddies are going to interrogate me for information!" "I thought I recognized you," the pegasus' eyes narrowed even more. "You're Button Mash! I watch your videos all the time!" The pegasus shouted with his eyes wide open. Relief came to Button at the sudden outburst, but his worries came back after that pegasus gained the attention of his party. "Wait, who?" A female unicorn questioned. The pegasus darted towards her, "This is Button Mash! I watch his channel on YouTube all the time. He does 'Let's Plays' and does a lot of charity live streams." "I don't watch too much YouTube. Besides, we need to focus on looking for Bella." "Hey! This stallion is just as good as that pop star. He has over two million subscribers on his channel. We could ask him for an interview and make just as good an article!" "Are you kidding? You cannot compare him with Bella. She is the biggest pop star of this decade. He is just a internet gaming geek who does nothing but lock himself in his room all day." As true as that comment might have been, it still hurt Button Mash. Despite his success and fame, there are still many out there that would consider him a loser. "You take that back! This pony collected a lot of money for charity! Whenever I have a bad day, I can always watch his videos for a smile!" Button Mash certainly got their attention, but not the way he intended. The ponies separated into two groups. One supporting the pegasus and one supporting the female unicorn. Each side had their own opinions and their own counterarguments. This was something that Button always wanted to try and avoid. Everypony had their own opinions, but it always caused conflict. From the corner of his eye, he was able to see a figure in the doorway of his house. He spotted Sweetie Belle, motioning him to get inside. Slowly, Button stepped away from the crowd of ponies. As he walked away, he grew relieved as the voices grew smaller and smaller. He tried not to look back at the clashing ponies as he quickened his pace. When he finally made it to his door, to Button it was like it was a gateway to paradise. He felt safe in his house; away from conflicts, disagreements, and away from feeling hurt. Suddenly, he felt somepony take hold of him and pulled him into the house. "What is wrong with you?" Sweetie Belle questioned. "Waited any longer and they would have seen you." Button snapped out of it and regained his composure, "Sorry." "Button? Are you okay?" "Yeah, those ponies just made me nervous. Let me get the lights." Button flipped on the closest switch to him. Lights were turned on and it brightened his living room. Button's room was rather plain; it consisted of a sofa, some furniture, a television, in a white painted room. "It's um...nice," Sweeite Belle stated. "Hehe, you don't have to sugarcoat it Sweetie. I don't care too much on luxury or anything. I save most of my bits on new equipment." "Ah I see." "Well I don't want to be a rude host. Are you hungry? Thirsty?" "Well, I'm actually a little of both. Do you have any fruit?" "Funny you should ask that." Still wearing his saddle bag, he reached inside and pulled out an apple. "Is that by chance from Sweet Apple Acres?" Sweetie Belle asked with a smile. "I wouldn't buy any other apple. I'm sure they are just as succulent as you remember them to be." Button said as he handed the apple to Sweetie Belle. When Sweetie Belle took the apple, she didn't eat it right away. Instead, she stared into her own reflection on the apple's outer layer. "I really miss Apple Bloom and Scootaloo," she said, "I can't wait to see them; they said they will be cheering for me at the concert next week." They walked to the kitchen table and took their seats. "That's right. I saw those posters all over Ponyville. Is this to promote a new album coming out?" Button asked. Before Sweetie Belle could reply, she took a bite out of her apple. She savored the taste of the sweet apple juice. "Sorry, it has been a while and I forgot what these apples tasted like. To answer your question, yes. My agent tried to convince not to come to Ponyville, but I stood my ground." "Why wouldn't your agent want you to come to Ponyville?" "She sees Ponyville as a old country town and believes that performing here would do little to promote me. She immediately changed her mind though when I told her that this is my hometown." Button and Sweetie laughed in unison. Out of the corner of Sweetie Belle's eye, she noticed a room down the hall. On the wall, there was a sign labeled Workroom. "Button, what room is that down the hall?" Sweetie Belle pointed out. Button looked to where she was pointing, "That is where the magic happens. Hahaha. I create all my videos in there," he said. "You made your own workroom? I thought you would just play in your bedroom or something." "I used to, but my neighbors would complain that I made too much noise. The foam panels looked weird and I didn't want to cover my entire room with it. So I made the former guest bedroom my workroom." "Can you give me a tour?" "Oh. Uh...sure. Come on." Sweetie Belle finished her apple and threw it in the nearest trash bin. Button escorted Sweetie to his workroom. "Prepare to be amazed," Button said jokingly as he opened the door. Inside, the room's walls were covered in soundproof foam. The room consisted of a desk, a desktop computer, and three separate computer monitors. The room was lit by a lamp placed in a corner of the room. "Why do you have three monitors?" "When I edit, it is easier for me to have multiple computer screens. It helps me with multitasking and I am able to edit my videos more quickly." Sweetie Belle is fascinated by the computer set up. She can see that Button invested a lot of time and money into his work. She then noticed his wallpapers on the computer monitors. The wallpapers had the image of a pegasus stallion playing video games. The stallion was wearing a black shirt with the letter "C" pixelated in red. "Button, who is this on your monitor?" "Hmm? Oh, that's Coltiplier. He is my favorite YouTuber. I always loved his comments on video games that he played. He even played horror games that I was too afraid to play myself. It was always funny to watch him get scared. Whenever I watched his videos, it always put a smile on my face. Even when I was having a bad day. In a way, he inspired me not to give up on a life of video games. I probably wouldn't be where I am if it wasn't for him. I wanted to follow his example and collect donations for charity." "He sounds amazing. Have you met him?" "No, but I have always wanted to. When I do, I will thank him properly for how my life turned out. That is one of my main goals in life." "It is amazing how one pony could make such a huge difference. I am really happy for you Button." "Yeah...thanks..." Although Button knew he should have felt happy, his mind returned to the crowd of ponies he met outside. He began to hurt again from the thoughts. Sweetie Belle noticed this and placed her hoof on his foreleg. She tried to provide comforting words, "Outside, I heard what that one mare said about you. It does hurt to hear somepony not approve of who you are or what you do. But you can't let that bother you either. I am sure that even Coltiplier has his share of haters. But you two have helped so many out there with what you are doing. She might not have thought you were anything special, but there was also a group of ponies out there that did. In the end, that is all that really matters. The ponies that appreciate what you do for this community." "Thanks Sweetie Belle. You always did know what to say." Button looked to Sweetie and was caught off guard by her smile. He immediately blushed and looked away; hoping that she didn't notice his reaction. Sweetie noticed something on Button's desk, "Hey, wait a minute. Isn't that your old propeller hat?" "Hmm? Oh yeah. I couldn't part with it. So I kept it on my desk with me." "That's kind of cute that you kept it." Sweetie Belle levitated the hat and placed in on her head, "Well? How do I look?" "Like a little filly. Hahaha." Suddenly, Button had an idea that he believed would be fun for both him and Sweetie Belle. "Hey Sweetie, if you are not tired, I have an idea of what we could do before we go to bed." Sweetie looked at Button with a curious look, "What is it?"