//------------------------------// // Stay Alive // Story: The Secret Life of Button Mash // by ThePianoMan //------------------------------// Button stared at the screen. The cursor hovered over the friend request button waiting for him to make a decision. Should he, or should he not? He needed to make a decision sooner or later. What if she thought he was wierd? She already knows that he day dreams. Then again, nopony day dreamed as excessivly as him. She kissed him on the cheek! Then again, she may have just been trying to tell Glitch to back off. But, maybe, just maybe... CLICK Button smiled with glee as the computer informed him that his friend request had been sent. He did it, he did it! He actually stallioned up and sent a friend request to a mare! Button kept smiling as he silently spun in his chair. ERROR "What?" Button faced the screen again to see what was wrong. Another window had opened up. THIS ACCOUNT NO LONGER EXISTS "Oh for goodness sakes." He shut down his computer. Just as he grabbed his saddlebag, he could see his boss walking towards him. He wasn't very cheery. "Mr. Mash?" Hard Wire trembled as he spoke. "Do you have a minute?" Button shook his head ready to hear what was to be said. "Our last investor, has just stopped funding us..." What? "He was having some personal issues, and it seems that he has stopped funding other establishments as well... You may know him." Hard Wire glared down at Button. "His name is Spike. He's that fellow that saved the Crystal Empire. It's a shame really." "Why?" A hero, in shame? Button couldn't understand. "He has accomplished so much in the business world, but I guess being a dragon caused some problems for him." Hard Wire sighed. "The poor fellow just wanted a special somepony. Too bad he was born a dragon. I'm sure if he were a stallion all the mares would be flocking to him. But, he's a dragon, and a pony-raised dragon at that. He never knew his own kind." Hard Wire shrugged. "You're one of our best workers here. Just thought I'd give you the heads up. Maybe you can get a new job by the time this place gets shut down." Well that was nice, but what about this Spike? "Has anyone ever talked to him about?" Button asked. "Well, he sort of dropped off of the face of Equestria. No one really knows about his whereabouts." He smiled. "Good luck Button." With that he walked away and Button was alone in his cubicle. Button walked over to the elevator; his saddle bag in tow. He stared out the window. The sun was low, but wouldn't set for a couple of hours. Pushing the down button, he thought of Sweetie Belle. Looking out the window again, he stared at the scene of the city. Manehatten, what a town! He relished in the moment. He thought, and thought, but was absent of a day dream that was long overdue. Button heard the elevator ring as the doors opened. That was a first. He listened on his way down. Button stared at the lights in the elevator as he listened to the Saphire Shores song that was playing. He had never noticed the music before. Strange. Everything seemed a bit, off. When the elevator reached the bottom floor, Button stepped out. "STAY ALIVE," he thought. A line from a first person shooter game, he heard it before. Was this what it was like to be alive? The world seemed so slow, it was nice. He continued through the lobby and towards the revolving doors. As he stepped onto the sidewalk he could hear sounds that he never heard before. He was suddenly aware if things he had never noticed. "Hey Button!" That was Sweetie Belle. "Over here!" Button spotted her and walked over to her. "Hi." He said smiling. "Hi." She said, also smiling. "I thought you were done here." Button was curious as to why Sweetie was still at his retiring place of work. "Oh, they asked me to stay and record a few more takes of the song, and," she paused, "my sister is coming up here. She wanted to spend some time with me." Sweetie looked a little glum about her sister. "Yeah she's been going through a tough time. She's still single, and at her age, it isn't easy to find someone to settle down with." She smiled at Button. "I hope she finds someone." Button smiled at Sweetie hoping to cheer her up. "What's her name?" "Rarity." Sweetie said with a sigh. "She runs a boutique down in Ponyville. Do you know where that is?" "I used to live there." Sweetie was surprised by this. "But, we moved around a lot, and after my father died, we finally settled down in Manehatten." Button laughed a bit. "My mother is okay now. She lives in Las Pegasis. I stayed behind and got a job here at JoyBoy. I played a lot of games as a colt, so I guess you can say this job was just right for me." "Your mom, what is she like?" Sweetie seemed to have a new question for every answer he gave. "Oh well, you know how mothers ar-" A shrieking voice cut Button off. "BUTTON!!!" The familiar sing song voice of Button's mother came echoing through the crowd. "I'm here!" She jumped through the crowd to engulf Button in her python arms. "I've missed you so much!" Oh crap. "Hi, mom. Heh heh." Button watched as Sweetie Belle giggled at the sight of his mother strangling him. "Oh my baby...oh," she noticed Sweetie Belle who was still standing there. "Oh. Button, who is this?" Oh no! I guess this was inevitable. "Mom, this is Sweetie Belle. Sweetie Belle, this is," he swallowed his current breath as hard as he could, "my mom." To his surprise, she just smiled. "We worked together recently for JoyBoy." His mother fave him a sly look. "Is that 'all' she is to you?" Her grin showed off her hidden cruelty worthy of the she-devil she truly was inside. "Mom!" His cheeks turned to cherries underneath his brown fur. He noticed Sweetie Belle holding a hoof up to cover her smile as her cheeks became tinted with a light pink. "I say," his mother began, "why don't we go get some dinner..." ***** Button sat across from his mother at the table. She was sitting next to Sweetie. "What do you mean JoyBoy is going out of business?" His mother, for once actually seemed concerned. "Funds were cut. Our last investor is having...problems." Button took a bite out if the fresh cinnamon roll that sat in front of him. "What sort of troubles?" Wow, his mother was on a roll today. Concerned levels are off the charts. "Well," he forced himself to to glance at Sweetie when he said it, "love problems." "Oh how sad." Sweetie sighed. "My sister has a similar problem. Still single. I always heard heard crying about how she wasted her time trying to find the 'perfect' stallion. Now she's all alone." Sweetie looked up a Button and then back at her cinnimon roll. "Yeah, Rarity is quite a mess right now." "Wait, did you just say Rarity?" Button's mom asked. "Yes. Why?" Sweetie was intrigued by her inquiry. "Well, that's the name of the mare I heard that poor dragon crying about last weak. I was out with the girls when we saw this poor fellow in Berry Punch's Club. He was crying about how he would be alone all his life." Button's mom shook her head. "What does this have to do with my sister Rarity?" Sweetie asked. "Oh yes, he told us about a mare named Rarity, and how much he loved her. But, he said she said she could never love him, since a was a dragon. He was so sure that no mare could ever love him." Button's mom let out a sweet sigh of sympathy. "The two of them almost sound like they were made of each other..." Sweetie commented. Just then, a lightbulb turned on in Button's head. "Mom? What was the dragon's name?" His whole plan that formulated in his head relied on just one name. "Spike." His mother said in a matter of fact kind if way. "Why?" Button's head raced a million miles an hour. If he could get Spike and Rarity together, they would be happy. And if Spike was happy, he'd have the mindset to start funding JoyBoy again! And if Rarity was happy, that would make Sweetie Bell happy too! She might even consider dating him. Button grew excited, but then remembered: no one knew where Spike was. But then again, he had a clue! Spike was in Las Pegasus a week ago, but that's on the opposite side of Equestria. "Never mind. Just a thought." Button let out a sight as he went for the last bite of his cinnimon roll. ***** Button's mom had left; going to some art museum featuring Ponet. Button decided to walk Sweetie Belle back to her apartment. "Thank you Button, and it was nice meeting you mom. She was nice." She smiled that same stunning smile. "No problem." He was about to leave when- "Button?" She stopped him before he could go. "Yeah?" He said. "Why were you so interested earlier, about my sister and Spike?" She looked at Button. Her green eyes were demanding an answer. "Well, I thought," he looked at the ground, "what if we got Spike and Rarity together? I was just thinking..." He trailed off. "Really!" Her enthusiasm was a surprise to Button. "That would be amazing! I just wish I had the time to do it myself." What did she mean by that? "I've got a busy schedule and I don't get too much pay either." Her head drooped down. "Well, what if I did it?" Did he rally just say that. Button smiled, but inside he was yelling at himself for trying to make a promise he couldn't keep. "You? You would do that?" Her smile returned. "That would be great!" She grabbed Button into a hug. "That would be wonderful." Yeah 'would', Button thought. "Well, goodnight." With a sincere smile forming on her muzzle, she leaned in and gave Button a kiss on the cheek. Meekly, Sweetie turned and walked into her apartment. Button was frozen like a statue as her door closed. He could feel his hooves floating, and moving for some reason, to the train station. ***** MANEHATTEN TO LAS PEGASUS LEAVING SOON The voice echoed over the intercom as Button stared at the ticked in his hoof. Was he really going to do this? He was going off of the fact that Spike "was" in Las Pegasis. And that was a while ago. Okay only a week but still. He thought. It could save his job. It could make Sweetie Belle like him. He would get to travel. Button always wanted to travel the world with his dad, but, he was gone. "I can't do this..." Button mumbled as he began to head for the road back to his apartment. But then he heard something. He looked up to see that his mother was on top of the ticket booth playing her old guitar that Button swore she threw away after dad died. "This one is for you, son." As she continued, Button turned to see that Sweetie Belle was standing behind him. "Button, I believe in you." She kissed him on the cheek and stood back as she started to sing. "Canterlot to Major Mash Canterlot to Major Mash Dawn your flying suit and snap those goggles on" His mother joined in as they both sang to him. "Canterlot to Major Mash Commencing flight time, Wings spread out Launch position and may Faust's love be with you" Button saw the train slowly start to leave. This was his one chance. "Go." He galloped as fast as he could and caught onto the bar that was bolted in to the back of the caboose. He pulled himself onto the train which was now speeding down the tracks. As he looked back at the shrinking station, he could still hear their voices. "This is Canterlot to Major Mash The princess thinks you're great And the royals want to know whose shoes you wear Mash you better catch the wind stream if you dare" Button smiled as the train got faster and faster. Adrenalin made his heart beat in excitement. In his mind he sang with joy back to those echoing voices... "This is Major Mash to Canterlot I'm flying 'cross the sky And I'm soaring in a most peculiar way And the clouds look very different today For here Am I resting on a thin cloud Far above my home Equestria is blue And there's nothing I can do" Button stepped inside and gave his ticket to the conductor so it could be hole punched. The old stallion straightened his cap. "Welcome aboard Major Mash." Button realized just then. "This isn't a dream..."