//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: Rekindling Old Friendships // Story: Stressful Nights // by silvermoon15000 //------------------------------// Sweetiebelle looked at her sister and then at the stallion in front of her, her eyes wide in shock, "What...what are you doing here," she asked, regaining her composure. "Helping your sister-" he turned and continued his previous task, "-is that a problem?" He said with a smile, She shook her head, "Not at all...um...Rarity, can I talk to you for a moment..." She looked at her smiling sister who nodded and followed her into the kitchen. Sweetie glared at her, "Did you come up with this," she asked, "Come up with what, Button being here, oh no darling, he missed the party and decided to help, so no I didn't plan anything," Rarity replied, "Hey Rarity...I have to get back to work...I will try to stop by tomorrow to see Onyx, alright?" Button called out from the other room, "Ok dear, have a good day and maybe get some rest," she called back, "I'll try," he finished before the sound of the bell signified he had left the building. "I better not find out you planned this sis," Sweetiebelle said, "I promise," Rarity lied. ()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()() Button let out a sigh of relief, "At least I was able to see Sweetiebelle," he told himself as he walked away from the boutique. He shook his head, "Snap out of it Button, you have better things to do than to fall for her again," he said sternly before sighing and looking up. He waved at a passing pony when his ears caught the sound of galloping behind him, "BUTTON!" He jumped for he wasn't expecting a voice to yell his name. He turned to see a panting Sweetiebelle, "I...haven't...run like...that in...forever," she told herself and looked up at the confused stallion. "You okay Belle," Button called her by her nickname because Sweetie had always sounded awkward to him, "I'm fine," she said, regaining her composure. Button raised an eyebrow, "Ya sure, you look like you ran a marathon," she glared at him, "And you look like you fell on the ground and turned dirt brown," he opened his mouth to respond, but without hesitation Sweetiebelle used her magic to trip him. "Hmph, maybe next time don't insult me," she smiled evilly and stepped past him. He grunted as he pushed himself off the ground and rubbed his chin, "Right..." Button followed after her, "So what's up, you kind of just left your sister to finish cleaning up," Sweetiebelle shrugged, "She told me to go on and catch up with you," he snickered, "You're a horrible liar you know that," he said with a smirk, "Somepony spent some time with Applejack," she replied. Button snorted, "She isn't the only one, ever since you left I have spent time with everypony we knew, helping when ever I could, and being there when needed, I mean I've even gotten to know Diamond Tiara more," he looked down for a second, "Things have changed since you left...I'm sorry though, for how we left things, you weren't the only one that hated me after our argument, Applebloom and Scootaloo stopped talking to me completely," his ears drooped. That kind of explains Scoot's weird behavior when I asked about him. Sweetiebelle thought, "Speaking of them, Scootaloo says you're different, and with the expressions she gave me, it sounded bad, but you seem fine, unless you're hiding something." Buttonmash looked at her, "There is nothing to hide, I have changed for the better, not the worst, now I need to get ho-" he was cut off by a yelling mare, "SWEETIEBELLE!" Vanillabliss called from far away waving two hooves hoping her friend would see her, "Home..." Buttonmash restated, "Oh um ok...well it was nice catching up with you, maybe I will see you tomorrow," Sweetiebelle said with a smile. "Maybe," he said, before walking away. Sweetiebelle stared at him as he left, concern filled her heart. She needed to talk to her two friends and find out what was up. In the mean time she would talk to Vanillabliss and find out what needed to be done. Vanillabliss was still bouncing happily as Sweetiebelle trotted up to her, "Are you...okay," Sweetiebelle asked, raising a hoof and poking her friend. Vanillabliss stopped bouncing but kept her smile, "Youweretalkingtoa...a COLT!" She screamed making Sweetiebelle cringe and anypony close by stare at them. She laughed nervously and covered Vanillabliss' mouth with a hoof, "He's just a past friend, calm down, seriously, I don't need a scene," Sweetiebelle said slowly taking her hoof off her friend's face. Vanillabliss still looked excited, "That doesn't matter, he is also one of the coolest ponies around, Buttonmash, expert video game designer," Sweetiebelle raised an eyebrow, "He's made one game, and I didn't know you even played-" "He didn't just make one game, it won several awards and was even game of the year, it was a beautiful game, and the love story was fantastic, whoever he is with must be a lucky mare, because only a stallion whose been in love and has a special somepony can make a game like that!" Sweetiebelle rolled her eyes at her fanfillying friend, "It's a game Bliss, a game, there is nothing special about it, now come on, I need to go see Scootaloo," she turned and started making her way to her friend's, Vanillabliss bouncing a long beside her. _________________________ When the two mares arrived at Scootaloo's, the sun was starting to set, casting a shadow over her bright yellow and blue home. Her brown door still looked new and the welcome mat was barely covered in muck. Sweetiebelle lifted a hoof and knocked three times; it took a few minutes but the sound of something shuffling inside could be heard and the door opened. Scootaloo still in her cast stood in the doorway, the bags under her eyes revealed that she had been sleeping," "Hey guys," her voice was raspy, "What brings you here," "Umm I was coming to talk to you, but you seem..." "Sick...yeah I've been having trouble but I'm not sick, just tired, Rumble being out of town has kind of kept me up," Sweetiebelle raised an eyebrow, "Rumble? Are you saying you two-" "Are together, yes we are, in fact before he left town to go to his race he did this," she pushed her mane away from neck and revealed a chain with a ring on it, "HE PROPOSED! How long have you two been together," Vanillabliss chimed, "Two years...took him long enough though," Scootaloo replied, "I didn't realize you were one for romance Scootaloo," Sweetiebelle said, "Yeah, well I've changed a lot, and with my career on hold right now, romance seems to be the right medicine, sorta." Her friend replied, pushing her magenta mane back, "Umm...you want to come in?" She finished opening the door wider and stepping aside. The two mares nodded and stepped inside, and soon it hit Sweetiebelle that with Rumble being a racer and Scootaloo being a stuntspony, they made a lot of bits. The house was much larger on the inside, the ceiling was a good twelve feet high, the living room was extremely large, a black horseshoe shaped couch and a large television sat across from each other, a black tinted glass coffee table sat in the middle of the horseshoe. The walls were painted a bright orange and a walkway led to the kitchen. There was a spiral staircase that led to a second floor. A blanket and a few pillows were draped over the couch like a make shift bed. Vanillabliss was the first to speak, "Have you been sleeping on the couch," she asked pointing a hoof at the display. "Kinda have to, I'm not supposed to be straining my leg, I should be able to get to my bed in two or three weeks, the couch is comfortable though," Scootaloo replied. Sweetiebelle looked around for a moment, "Umm...not to be rude, but where's your bathroom," she asked turning a little red, "Straight towards the kitchen first door on your right," Scootaloo nodded her head towards the walkway. Sweetiebelle quickly made her way to the bathroom and shut the door behind her. She sighed and looked in the mirror, "Okay, calm down, this is Scootaloo, but different, she is getting married soon and is a very wealthy pony...this is definitely not the Scootaloo I remember," she turned on the sink and splashed cold water on her face, and immediately felt better. She sighed and looked into the mirror where something caught her eye, a small white stick was sticking out of the trash can. She turned around and without hesitating used her magic to lift the device out of the metal can. Her eyes widened at the sight of the failed pregnancy test, Are they trying...already, before they get married...or is Scootaloo cheating on Rumble, oh please don't be cheating. Sweetiebelle thought to herself before placing the test back in the trash can and leaving the bathroom, "Celestia, Sweetiebelle, what took you so long," Scootaloo said with a tired smile. "Nothing, just took my time," she replied, "Uhuh...so what's up," Scootaloo plopped down on to her couch and situated herself. Sweetiebelle sat down on her left, while Vanillabliss was on the right. Sweetiebelle looked at her friend and answered her previous question, "Nothing much, but I was able to see Buttonmash," Scootaloo looked at her, "You did huh, did he have his cart with him," she asked annoyed. "No he-" "-wait, what cart?" Sweetiebelle asked, "Ya know, the one with the computer on it, he takes it out with him when he is going somewhere so he can keep working," she described it, that same tone in her voice. "No, actually he showed up late to the party and was helping my sister when I got back," "He finally left his work home huh, that doesn't surprise me considering you're back in town," Scootaloo smirked. Sweetiebelle turned a slight red, "I'm pretty sure its a coincidence Scoots and it is my first day back so he probably wanted to say hi," Sweetiebelle said convincingly. "Sure, Belle, sure, what ever you say," Scootaloo said sarcastically. "Anyways, I am here to ask about him, he said that he's changed, a lot, but I don't understand, he told me he has helped everypony and has learned a lot of things, I was hoping you could elaborate a bit more on what he meant," Scootaloo sighed, "That was right after you left, he was helpful and was even one of the reasons Rumble and I got together, he gave him some confidence, I guess, but after finishing his first game and signing a contract for his next game, he slowly drifted away and became more engrossed in his job, he stopped playing with the foals, stopped helping everyone, and finally after he stopped sleeping and caring he snapped at me and Applebloom...we didn't blame him at the time but he got worse, and just stopped talking to everypony...only caring about that game, that stupid game," she sighed and looked down, "Is that why you are so uncomfortable when we talk about him?" Sweetiebelle asked. "Well...its more of I just don't want to talk about him, I can't really consider him a friend anymore and when he snapped it showed a new side of him, one that I hoped I would never see, one that I don't even want you to see," "I understand that, now I'm seeing the big picture," Sweetiebelle said, making the other two ponies perk their ears. "I should've known, come on Bliss, we have somewhere to be," all three stood, "Leaving already?" Scootaloo questioned. "I'll be back tomorrow, but I need to speak to my sister, it was nice seeing you again," Sweetiebelle replied hurrying towards the door. "Yeah nice seeing you again," Vanillabliss called out as the door closed behind them. __________________________ "Where are we going?" Vanillabliss asked but to no avail the mare in front of her didn't answer. Sweetiebelle had been lied to...again, but this time she wasn't going to let it slide like the last time. Rarity when I get there you better be prepared or else tonight isn't going to be fun, she thought to herself as the boutique came into view. She threw the door open with her magic and went inside her sister was humming to herself and knitting a piece of clothing, "Hello darling, you seem to be in a hurry," she said, not looking away from her work. "You lied to me...AGAIN," Sweetiebelle replied angrily as Bliss entered the building. "What ever do you mean dear sister," Rarity questioned innocently, finally turning and facing her sister, an eyebrow raised. "You know what I mean, don't you dare act innocent," Sweetiebelle growled. "Okay...say, I do know what you mean, hypothetically, what did I lie about exactly," Rarity said, acting as if she didn't know what her sister was talking about. "About trying to get me and Buttonmash together," Sweetiebelle said. Rarity closed her eyes and sighed, "I didn't lie to you about anything, yes I invited you here to try to help Buttonmash with his...predicament, I never intended for you two to fall head over hooves for each other, but good to know that you think of him that way," Rarity implied making her sister turn red with embarrassment. "That's not what I meant," Sweetiebelle retorted her face not changing color. "Your face says otherwise dear, anyways he isn't the only reason I had you come, I really wanted you to come see Onyx and I as well as see your old friends, you know, your tours are rather long and probably stressful, so I decided you needed a break, good to see you agree with me," Rarity added to her confession, "Speaking of which, I'm going out to get some things tomorrow, would you like to accompany me, we can stop by your favorite ice cream shop," she said with a smile, changing the subject. Sweetiebelle sighed and looked at her sister, the red disappearing, "I have some-" "Nope, no working, you need to enjoy yourself, I will handle the tasks at hand tomorrow, you go and spend time with your friends and family," Vanillabliss interrupted. "Are you-" "Sure? Yep, you need the relaxation anyways," Vanillabliss said with a grin. "Um...okay I guess I am free tomorrow, so sure sis, I'll join you," Sweetiebelle answered. "Wonderful!" Rarity squealed in delight. Sweetiebelle laughed nervously, "Yay,"