//------------------------------// // A Night to Remember // Story: It's only a game // by Sakits //------------------------------//         Button Mash pranced around in his room. He went up to his mirror to check his mane to be sure it was straight, and sprayed some cologne on his tuxedo. He proceeded to the flower vase down in the kitchen and picked out a rose, and stuck it in his left pocket. He went to sit down on the living room couch, relaxing as he tried not to stress about his date. He’ll just take Sweetie Belle out to a classy dinner, then to the PonyVille Choir concert that he has promised her to.         It's been almost a week since Button Mash asked Sweetie Belle out to the PonyVille choir. The things that he should have been paying attention to, like school, or even family, didn't matter as much as his date with Sweetie Belle today. He even forgot about couple of his assignments that were soon due; as he couldn’t take his mind off of going on a date with Sweetie Belle. Though his grades suffered, it was all worth what he’d plan to do tonight. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------         The plans were all made perfectly for their date tonight, and it went much better than he thought it’d turn out. Couple days prior, Button was outside of the Boutique, expecting for Rarity to immediately turn down his proposal of a date with her younger sister, but that thought was pushed aside as soon as she heard her scream out in joy that her little sister would soon be going on her first date. At first he was slightly taken aback from the outburst, but relief soon washed over him knowing he got her approval. After that he walked home and told his mom the good news.         When Button informed his mother that Sweetie Belle had said yes, and that Rarity also approved, they immediately went shopping for a tuxedo. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Button sat on the couch, all emotions rushing through him. He felt scared, nervous, anxious, cheerful, and confident all at the same time. He began to feel an odd, wet substance dripping coming from his armpits. When he leaned in closer to investigate, and found out that he was sweating.                 Button watched the clock, slowly watching the big hand make its way towards the number twelve. The clock struck twelve, indicating that it was six o'clock. In about thirty minutes he would have to pick up Sweetie Belle. Button slowly got up from the couch, and made way towards the kitchen. He passed all of his family photos hung up in the living room. He passed a particular picture of his whole family together at Hearths Warming, all smiling. He thought about how he doesn't get to see his dad often, mostly because of his work. His brother was attending some college so he couldn't stay at their house, leaving just him and his mother as the only residents.         As Button walked through the kitchen door frame he looked up at the clock again. The time hasn't changed much in the mere seconds that had passed, but he felt the need to keep checking until it was time for him to leave. He walked up to the fridge and opened it to view the awaiting contents. He saw a apple juice box in the back, and quickly reached for it. He then proceeded to tear the straw off of the side, poke it through the small aluminum circle on the top, and indulge in his beverage. Halfway through his drink, Button noticed one of those "pull 'em sticky winners." Feeling confident, he grabbed the corner of the paper, and slowly peeled it off. When the paper was completely peeled off, he stared at the message written in bold letters, right in front of his eyes.         YOUR’E A LOOSER!         Button couldn’t help but stare at the message, thinking of the three words he heard in a dream about a week back. He remembered Sweetie Belle rejecting him, and calling him a loser. Those three words were what he feared would come forth from her mouth, but not once had she called him a loser, no negative names of any kind. Instead, she did the exact opposite, whilst still talking to him over the past week about how fun their evening will be.         With that, he shrugged off the negative thoughts, threw the fruit box into the trashcan, and headed back to the living room where he continued his previous waiting. His ears perked up slightly at the sound of hoofsteps coming down the stairs that made their way into the living room. "Button, why are you still here? Shouldn't you have already left for Sweetie Belle's house?" said Button’s mom, as she glanced over at the clock. "Ok Button, here are some bits that you can use to take her out to dinner with, and here are your tickets." said his mother as she handed him some bits and two PonyVille Choir tickets. “Thanks mom, I should get going, love you!" Button called out as he left to pick up Sweetie Belle "Bye Buttons! Have fun out there tonight, but not to much fun!" Button's mom replied, watching her youngest go out on his first date.         Button closed the door behind him with confidence, as he walked down the steps and up to his front lawn, he felt invincible, like nothing could defeat him! But once he got to Sugar Cube corner, he felt his knees start to buckle from being nervous about his first date. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------         At the Boutique, it was as peaceful as ever. Sweetie Belle sat upon her neatly made bed, looking at her idol in the poster on her wall, the very same idol that she would get to meet in the next hour or so. Everything seemed unreal, new school year, getting asked out by a colt and now getting to go to her very own idol’s concert with a date.         When she told her sister Rarity about a week ago, with Button by her side, she got so excited about her little sisters first date, she screamed out in ecstasy. When Button left their house, she went over dress designs that she would make for her little sister by putting her clients on temporary hiatus. After two days of working on her dress, it was complete. It stood in the corner of her room on a manikin model of a filly her size. The head on the model consisted of a purple and white flower pattern crown, while in the middle of the chest stood out a white rose. On the flank was where the real beauty of the dress was, the elegant pattern of a purple stripes with white bulbs on it, with the basic base of the color pink. This dress would make Button's heart stop beating for sure once he saw her in it.         Glancing over to her left, she looked at her clock giving out the time as six o'clock. In about thirty minutes her date would pick her up. Sweetie Belle got up from her bed and started towards the manikin wearing her dress. She carefully striped the plastic pony of her beautiful dress. With no time to lose, Sweetie Belle threw the dress over her body and straightened it out.           Sweetie Belle started towards her bathroom to look at herself in the mirror when her sister’s voice called for her. "SWEETIE BELLE!" "What Rarity?" Sweetie Belle yelled back coming down the stairs.         "Shouldn't it be time for you to go?" Rarity said with pride in her eyes. "No, Button is picking me up and he’ll be arriving in like twenty to thirty minutes." Sweetie Belle replied blankly. "Oh, well in that case, I guess I should give you some advice before you go out on your first date." "Ugh..." Sweetie Belle complained, rolling her eyes. "Now, you might not think about this, but if your date isn't going to according to plan, just tell him to take you back home, I'm sure that Button will be a gentlecolt and take you back."  After a couple seconds of processing this in her head, Sweetie Belle replied. "Thanks Rarity, that’s actually really good advice, I'll remember that for most dates. Also, thank you for the dress, I really appreciate it." Pulling in for a hug, they embraced and held there for a couple seconds when they pulled away. "Ok, if you need me I'll be in the other room working on a dress for my client, Filthy Rich."  Rarity said as she stood up on her four legs and trotted to her room to begin her new dress line. "Ok, thank you for everything, Rarity, I love you!" Sweetie Belle called out just before Rarity slammed the door behind her. "I Love you too, Sweetie Belle." Echoed Rarity. After Rarity closed the door to work on her new clothing line, Sweetie Belle glanced up the clock and found that about 10 minutes had passed since she last checked. She walked up the stairs and proceeded into her neatly made room. Her eyes gazed upon her walls filled posters of her idol: Octavia Philharmonica. Tonight, she'll actually be going to see her in person instead of on TV. A smile crept upon her face as she thought about how she’ll spend her night with Button Mash.           She became excited about her date, knowing that it will be the best night ever for her, as well as for Button Mash. Her thoughts were rudely interrupted when a loud knocking came from outside door. She trotted towards the door with a frown on her face wondering who could be knocking so loud, when she opened the door revealing a handsome colt in a dazzling tuxedo. When she got out of her stare, she realized it was Button Mash at the door, which quickly cused her frown to turn into a smile. "Er... Hi Sweetie Belle. You ready for our date?" Said Button Mash. "Yeah, I can't wait!" She squeaked. "Bye Rarity, I'm leaving now!" "Ok Sweetie Belle, have a good night out." Rarity called back out from her work room, the door still closed.         Sweetie Belle walked out her house in her astonishing new dress and made her way down the steps. "Wow, Sweetie Belle, you look amazing..." Button Mash said whilst turning bright red. "Aw thanks Button, and you look really handsome tonight. The suit goes really well with your mane, and you aren’t even wearing your little hat for once." She replied, giving off a hint that she was checking him out longer than she should have, and in response her face turning from white to the pink from her mane. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------         They both made their way down the streets of PonyVille; the moon’s reflecting light that made the sky even more beautiful, especially with the countless stars overhead. With Button in the lead, he walked Sweetie Belle in the direction of the classy restaurant that planned to eat at before tonight's choir. Neither of them feeling very voluble, they rarely spoke during the walk, leaving each other in their thoughts.         The pair reached their destination after the short walk; they walked up to the front door of the restaurant. Above the door read a sign "PonyVille Cuisine." As they walked through the front door, there was a bowl of mints as a boon for customers to this establishment, they walked to the door and ordered a table for two. The waiter came around, swiftly grabbed two menus, and directed them towards their seats. Once the waiter placed the menus upon the table with the fine silverware, he pulled out a pen and paper and asked - in a very solicit manner - what they would like to order. "I would like the hay sandwich with the apple fritter as a desert," replied Button. "And I would like the hay and chips. That'll be all," said Sweetie Belle. "Ok, I'll put those orders in," said the waiter, who then proceeded to wander off to the kitchen.         While their orders were being prepared, the couple small talked about upcoming events and homework that was soon due. When all else failed they gazed around the dining room looking at the expensive paintings and other customers who wore and talked like Canterlot ponies. In the meanwhile of all this talking, there was a lot of glance-sneaking and blushing from the two ponies, mostly from Button Mash. A few minutes later came the same waiter with their orders fresh out of the kitchen. Without a word he reached over and placed their orders in front of them. "Thank you." Button and Sweetie Belle both said in unison. "You're very welcome. And sir, your apple fritter will be out soon," replied the waiter, which Button gave a simple nod.         The two couple began to dine in on their meal, exploring the texture and taste of what this fine establishment had to offer. The crunching sound of Sweetie Belle's hay and chips could be heard over the sound of Button stuffing his face with his sandwich. The two didn't say anything for a while until they were finished with their meals, then the waiter silently came around on their right and took both of their plates in his arm and placed it on his back, he switched it with the apple fritter and gently placed the apple fritter in front of Button Mash. Button grabbed the fancy fork right next to him and was about to dig right in when his conscience kicked told him otherwise. He felt guilty that he would be eating his dessert right in front of his date and not share. Feeling that it was the right thing to do, he took the apple fritter. sliced it in half and gave a share to Sweetie Belle. "It's no problem, It didn't feel right that I was going to eat right in front of you and not share, it wouldn't have been very gentlecolt-like."   "Oh, Button, this apple fritter is amazing! The cinnamon and the apple practically explode with flavor in your mouth!"                 "You're right Sweetie Belle; this apple fritter is really good! I'm glad I shared it with you, too, I would’ve felt even worse if I knew it was this good."         The waiter came around and placed down the check for the meal of both of them, he gave each of them both of a mint and told them to have a good night, then left them together. Button Mash opened the check book and gasped at what he saw. "Thirty four bits?! Ok, good thing I was given so many from my mom for this. I'm going to have to thank her when I get home." "Thank you Button, I wished I had some bits that I could chip in, you shouldn't be just paying for it by yourself…" "No, it’s ok Sweetie Belle, and it’s my pleasure to be able to take you out on this date." Button Mash said, reassuring her. "Ok, thank you..." Sweetie Belle said as she leant in forward and kissed Button on the cheek, leaving him blushing and speechless.             Button paid for the order with what his mom gave him. The two then got up from their seats, left a 15% tip for the waiter, and proceeded outside the establishment. The couple now walked down the streets of PonyVille with the street lamps glowing and leading the way towards their next destination; the PonyVille Choir. When Button’s date started, he felt bad that Sweetie Belle couldn't hear a peep out of him. But now with dinner over, he felt like she was one of his gamer buddies online. "Are you excited for the choir?” Button Mash quipped up. "Yeah I am, I can't wait to see my favorite cellist; she's my favorite because she's the only pony who plays the cello to be exact." Sweetie Belle said. "Well that's good to hear."  Button replied with a blushing smile. "It’s my great pleasure to be taking you out with me." "Yeah, this night is a night that I will never forget," said Sweetie Belle, smiling. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------             After some more talking together in the dark, cool night, they made their way towards the PonyVille Theater. At first sight, it was classy; they entered into the building and walked up to the entrance of the two big doors that lead down to their seats. On the side lines of the doors were shops with souvenirs and chocolates that were very highly priced. Ignoring that, Button Mash produced two golden tickets from his pockets and gave it to the bouncer in front of him whom was waiting impatiently. After some aggressive clicking, Sweetie Belle and Button Mash were granted in to watch the performance of the PonyVille Choir.         They made their way down to the seats, the luxurious red fabric covering the seats dimmed in the faint lighting. After a little searching for their seats, Button managed to find them at the back off the theater, rather than up front. As the two sat, they started to notice how many ponies were beginning to pour into the theater. Just as all of the seats filled up with different types of ponies, the lights began to dim, signaling for the talking to settle down.          As the red curtains began to draw back, behind it revealed a gray mare with a cello in her hooves. Button Mash immediately knew that it was Sweetie Belle's favorite cellist just by looking at the smile that grew on her face. The melancholy pony stepped forward on the stage and took a breath and started to play her cello. From Buttons side, he heard Sweetie Belle let out a small gasp. "She's playing Evening Star!"                  The song that was being played reminded Button of the medieval times, it sounded so uplifting, yet it had the emptiness inside of it that couldn't be filled in with the joys of the music. As the song’s ending neared, it seemed like whatever conflict happened during that song, had just been solved. When the song ended the theater roared into applause, and the area Octavia was standing in lit up with a bright light coming from the top of the ceiling, and everything thing else behind her dimmed out besides her and a piano. The next song had just started up with the piano playing, then shortly after Octavia joined in with singing "I comb the crowd, but I can't see your face out there, no." "Oh my gosh, this must be a new song! I’ve never heard it before!" squeaked Sweetie Belle, gaining a few hushes from other ponies in the audience.         Button Mash listened throughout the song, hearing about how she loved her friend but it only brought her pain. Her voice throughout the whole song had sorrow and grief, which made her voice all the more remarkable. At one point Button thought she was going to cry at the sound of her voice cracking, but she stood her ground and carried on singing her majestic song. Nearing the part when Octavia sang "Born Strong and Raised with Class," Button felt a big shiver run down his spine by just hearing it, and then as soon as the song started, it ended, and Octavia received a tremendous applause for her performance.          The night carried on with various emotional driven songs from the talented Octavia. During one of Octavia’s many songs, Button slipped his hoof over Sweetie Belle’s shoulder and pulled her in closer so that she was snuggling into him, and they stayed in that position throughout the rest of the performance. Button slowly pulled from Sweetie Belle, blushing as hard as his face could allow him. "Th-that was amazing." Sweetie Belle said, finally breaking the silence of the night, with Button mash slowly nodding in agreement. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------         The walk back to Sweetie Belle's home, the Boutique Shop, seemed to go very fast for Button, either he was as hyped about his first kiss as much as Sweetie Belle was, or they were just walking faster so they wouldn't get into any trouble for staying out so late. As the couple neared the shop, Sweetie Belle said her goodbyes and leaned in to kiss him, letting him experience the warm lips again until she broke apart. And with that she headed back to her home, as she looked back at him one last time before she closed the door.                                                                         THE END