//------------------------------// // A Most Splendid Evening // Story: The Belle Rings True // by JimmyHook19 //------------------------------// After a long sprint down the road, Button Mash and Sweetie Belle arrived at Sugarcube Corner. It was a popular place for students to meet after school, especially if they had had a long day of boring lessons (as indeed they had). Button pushed the door open and held it. "After you,” he said, indicating for Sweetie Belle to step through. The girl stepped forward, letting the air conditioning wash over her body, which was incredibly soothing given the outdoor temperatures. As she came through the threshold, Button closed the door behind her, and they walked over to the counter. Mrs. Cake was standing behind said counter, her mouth already in a warm smile. "Good afternoon!” she said. "I often see you here!” "We like it here!” Button admitted. "And we often use it for Crusader meetings!” Sweetie Belle added. "Oh, so that’s what you three do!” Mrs. Cake laughed. "I've often heard you three discussing what film you’ll be watching for your YouTube channel. What’s it called again?” "The Canterlot Movie Club,” Button said quickly. "I’ve subscribed, and I really like their style. The review of Son of Alladin was-” "NOO!” Sweetie Belle cried. "Do not mention that film. It was terrible!” "Well, how about Leo the Lion?” Button offered. "That one made me laugh.” "Lion King rip-off!” Sweetie Belle quickly countered. "OK,” Mrs. Cake replied. "But Pumpkin and Pound Cake watch some of them.” "How old are they know?” asked Button. "Eight, and boy are they a handful!” Mrs. Cake paused. "But what can I get you today?” "Chocolate milkshake please!” Button said. "A vanilla one for me,” Sweetie added. "The usual then,” Mrs. Cake smiled. "Coming right up!” About a minute later, the two drinks were ready, and the friends walked over to a table and sat down. "So, how’s it going between your sister and Blueblood?” Button asked. "They broke up last week,” Sweetie Belle explained. "It turns out he’s an absolute jerk who let her get splashed by a passing car.” "I can only imagine she reacted badly,” Button answered. "Reacted badly?” Sweetie Belle snorted. "This is Rarity we’re talking about! There’re floods of tears if she so much as gets a toenail the wrong length with the scissors. Not to mention the screaming fit that once resulted when she got dressed in the dark and was wearing, I quote, ‘purple socks with a burgundy top’. Really?” "I wouldn’t know the difference,” Button admitted. "I thought Burgundy was a place in France?” "I said to her, ‘Rarity, they’re both shades of purple, nobody’s gonna notice’. Her response was to mope for a bit, and then berate me for using contractions!” Button shrugged. "She does seem to think she’s an English aristocrat. I thought your family was French originally!” "No, Cajun. My great-grandad was from Louisiana, and we still have family in New Orleans.” Sweetie Belle stopped herself. How did she even know this, given she’d only been Sweetie Belle for 16 hours? "Is this transformation messing with my memories?” she thought. She must have zoned out for a moment, as she was suddenly aware of Button waving in her face. "Earth to Sweetie Belle! Come in, please!” "Huh, sorry?” "You went all silent for a moment or two.” "OK,” Button said. "How are things going for you Button?” Sweetie Belle asked. "Well,” Button began, "My brother’s still running his rock band (he can’t sing!), which makes the house really noisy for a while. I just lock myself in my room and put Trainz Simulator on really loud. If he’s gonna play guitar loud, I get to run SD40s even louder!” "I bet your mom doesn’t like the volume wars,” Sweetie Belle suggested. "No, she doesn’t. Which is why one time she said Gibson could only practice if he let me play with them, on piano! You should have seen the look on his face!” Both kids fell about laughing at that. Button took another sip of his milkshake. "Nice and slow,” he said. "I learned that one the hard way.” "So that happened here as well?” Sweetie Belle thought. "Yeah, brain freeze isn’t fun.” Button stopped for a moment. "I need to do something,” he said, and got up quickly from the table. "Where could he be going?” Button walked over to the jukebox, and scrolled through the numbers to see what tracks there were. "Blimey, there are a lot,” was his reaction. But at last he found the track he was looking for. He clicked on it, inserted a quarter, and walked back over to the table. The portion of the café next to the jukebox was set up as a dance area, just in case anybody wanted to dance along to the jukebox. And what came on next most certainly awakened that feeling in Sweetie Belle. "Allons dance?” she asked Button, in a voice of mock annoyance. "Really?” "C’mon!” her crush replied. "Allons dancez!” Turns out Button was a very good dancer, and they made a superb couple. He’d taken the dance elective at the start of the year, and in spite of the snorts of derision that had received, he was actually very good. "So, who else is in the class?” Sweetie Belle asked. "There’s Tender Taps, Featherweight, myself, Din-watch your foot!-Dinky, Twist, and Scootaloo.” Sweetie Belle did a double take. "Scootaloo?” "She’s actually really good, but she’ll never admit she does it. She’d die of embarrassment!” "So how are you paired?” Sweetie Belle asked. "I’m usually with Dinky, but sometimes with Twist. She’s better at the Jazz and Rock n’ Roll stuff.” "Can she do the Twist?” Sweetie Belle asked. "Very funny!” Button replied. Having had good fun, and received applause, they returned to their seats and finished their drinks. But soon it was time to head home. They walked to Button’s house first, as it was closer, and took their time. Button stepped up to the door and turned back. "See you tomorrow,” he said. But he didn’t anticipate what Sweetie would do. She stepped up to him, and kissed him. Button was surprised, but quickly went with it. "À demain, mon amour,” Button said to her. "You're so sweet,” Sweetie Belle said, as she turned away. "Not as sweet as you!” he replied. "Thanks, Casanova!” the girl answered, as she walked home. Sweetie Belle arrived at her home, a fairly boring two-story house, about half-an-hour later. She went up and knocked on the door. Hondo Flanks opened it. "Hi Sweetie!” he said with a smile. "You been out with Button again?” Sweetie Belle nodded. "It was great!” "Well, you can tell us all about it over dinner,” Hondo laughed. "Come in!” Truly was Cookie Crumble’s cooking some of the best in the town. Today was chicken, boiled potatoes and carrots. In most circumstances, the vegetables would be bland and boring, but she somehow had a way of making them interesting (not to mention edible). "How’s the day been Rarity?” Hondo asked. "A distinct improvement over last night,” the older girl admitted. "Although Pinkie Pie ended up making a frightful mess in kitchen class, and Applejack’s only contribution to our music video idea was a video about eating pastries.” "That’s not too bad,” Cookie Crumbles added. "What about you, Sweetie Belle?” "Had another of Mrs. Berry’s history lessons.” The younger girl sighed. "I know what you mean,” Rarity agreed. "That teacher cannot stay on topic for more than half a sentence. What was she regaling you with this time? The benefits of tax-and-spend?” "No, the wonders of the Pennsylvania highway system and its breakdown trucks.” "You may want to consider changing classes,” Hondo Flanks suggested. "It’s a bit late for that!” Rarity admitted. “Besides, Sweetie Belle has discussed infinitely more boring things around this table.” "What?” Sweetie Belle squeaked. "Didn’t you once give us a treatise over how Holcroft valve gear was superior to Vivaldi and Capaldi valve gear?” Hondo sighed. "It’s Walschaerts valve gear, not Vivaldi. And there’s no such thing as Capaldi valve gear; you’re thinking of Caprotti." "Well, they’re both Italian!” Cookie Crumbles observed, helpfully. "And at least half the family was bored rigid,” Rarity added. "It is most unladylike to be interested in technology of that sort. It’s so dirty and...smelly!” "That’s why it’s fun!” Sweetie Belle cut in. "I remember seeing 611 that time, when it made a truly wonderful sight and sound!” Sweetie Belle suddenly realized she’d slipped up, as the others looked at her. "We’ve never seen 611,” Hondo replied. "I meant that time when I... I saw it on YouTube!” "Ahh! That makes perfect sense!” The meal was soon concluded, and away went Sweetie Belle to her room. After completing her homework (but by God, making sense of those poems was tough), she went onto Steam and fired up Trainz Simulator 12. She then received an alert from Button. "Want a race?” "What route?” Sweetie Belle typed back. "Mojave Subdivision,” came the response. "Motive power?” "4-8-4s.” Sweetie Belle booted up the scenario, and loaded 611. Next to her spawned 844, which was Button’s engine. The chat turned on with a clunk. "You ready Sweetie?” "I sure am!” "Engine race! 1,2,3, GO!” Both their engines accelerated off into the distance, either friend determined to win.