//------------------------------// // Season 2 Part 1: You Gained A Heart Piece. // Story: Button Mash: High School Life // by rock4u7 //------------------------------// *CRACK* “BUTTON!” Screamed out Snips, running out from the corner-wall towards the Colt who now stood traumatized over the zebra's body, a bloodied brick in his hoof, his face plastered with a dead-pan expression that chilled the air around him. “Button what in Gai’s name have you done!” cried Snips stopping in place and running his hoofs through his mane. “I..I…just wanted…him to…stop screaming…” blankly stuttered button, still frozen in place. “Jeez…eh screw the prick, c’mon man we gotta go now before the guard gets here!” gestured the green colt, grabbing button by the arm. “I want to go home” squeaked button, somewhat disjointed from the real world. “We are man, were good now, your mom’s back at the house, I just need you to stay calm and get into my coach across the road, here g..give me that” carefully asked Button, slowly removing the bloody red brick from his hoof, “I’ll take care of this, just wait for me in the coach, I’ll take you home” Snips finished, gesturing Button out of the alley as he looked around for any form of evidence. With the brick he carefully put it down over Guy’s now indented skull, making it seem as if it collided with him on the fall down, The green colt nearly vomited as he got close to the corpse, the site was something out of a horror movie, all bloodied and impaled with metal stakes, bones broken, crushed and twisted. Grabbing a few more fallen bricks he covered them over the crushed boxes, sealing up any evidence that button was here, lastly he picked up Berry’s pistol from the far end of the alley, putting it in his mane. The scene was grotesque to see…but at least it could be tied to Button. He gave one last walk around of the scene, fixing any mirror details then finally leaving to his coach, he knew the guard would be here in a minute or so by now. As he opened the coach door he saw button crawled up in his arms, like a cold scared child, Snips couldn’t tell if he was crying or not, he turned on the engine and drove off as inconspicuously as possible, sirens could be heard in the distance. “Snips…why did you come?” whimpered Button, wiping his eyes. “to stop you from…..doesn’t matter now, were both in the same boat on this one” the green colt replied, keeping his eyes on the road. “there going to find us” Button sqeaked, falling into his arms. “I doubt that, Rocco and Rudey…aren’t going to hurt anyone anymore” muttered Snips in reply. “did you?” Snips gave a sigh at the question asked, “yeah…I did” he retorted. Both Colts went silent and focused on the road, not wanting to continue their conversation. Button stared out the window, the outside was black and miserable. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ “so how did you and Snips meet” asked Karen, taking a snip of her canned beer. “kind of a boring story” Berry sheepishly replied, rubbing her neck. “Well I’ve got nothing but time right now, go ahead”. The purple mare put her hoofs in her lap. “we meet around…oh..three years ago, back when snips had just finished school, by what he says he got employment at the local barber but was fired after a drunken mishap involving some Colt’s ear, after that he placed a note up on the community notice board, Need cheap Home to rent, please contact Snips McKowsky at yadadada. “I take it you gave him a call?” chimed in Karen, a comforting smile on her face. “not till he had already gone through two other tennets” she joked. “I called him and asked if he’d like to stay in this old place, I had just got it of my dead mother and I didn’t like the…loneliness. Karen gave a nod in reply but her smile was more sad than happy. “So we meet, he seemed nice enough, decent talker, The only thing I didn’t like was all his petty little crimes, stealing TVs, joyriding coaches, stuff like that…but eventually he became my best friend” Berry finished, circling the tip of her hoof around the rim of her can. “do you like him?” Karen asked, her tone very comforting. The purple mare bit her bottom lip, “He’s very…attractive to me, but…jeez…there’s more than a 15 year age frame there…he’s eighteen….it makes me feel so…old” confided Berry. “By the way he acted earlier I don’t think he really cares” Karen replied. “mmmm….what about you, what ever happened to Button’s dad?” Berry asked. “Probably living somewhere in Manehatten now, he cheated on me so I kicked him out” shot back Karen in a rehearsed tone. “oh I’m sorry I...” the purple mare stuttered. “It’s ok…It’s been years now, Im used to it, Walton was a good Colt but he slipped up…” she began to go croaky, “Great with the kids but…I couldn’t …believe he could…with someone else…It’s like stealing away something away from you, I loved him” Argued the old girl, losing track on her voice, she began to tear up abit at the thought. Berry put a hoof on Karen’s shoulder. “Now Im..the one who’s sorry” joked Karen, wiping away a stray tear. “Did you ever get in contact with him after”?. “only for financial things…but no, I just assumed if we stop speaking about him he’d just fade away, but…I still see him in my children’s faces”. Berry rubbed her friend’s back as she let out a few sobs. “Button’s all I’ve got left now of him…He’s all I’ve got period, the day he leaves I’ll just…I don’t know” whimpered Karen her tears clinking against the top of her beer. *Errr!* went Snip’s couch from the distance, parking into the driveway. Both girls immediately got up, and ran to the door, waiting to see who would walk through. They could hear steps trotting up the concrete path. Soon the door jarred open and slowly Button came through the door being held up By Snips, he looked sad and miserable, like a Broken glass, shattered and cold, but the moment he and his Mother locked eyes their faces soon exploded with teary joy, running to each other they clasped on the floor, embracing each other. “Oh my baby, I’ve been so worried” Karen Mash cried, kissing him constantly on the fore-head. Button merely remained silent, he was more happy than he had ever felt before, it was over, he lived, he made it back home. Both Snips and Berry gave a smile at the reunion; Snips had redeemed himself for what he had done to them both. “What happened?” whispered Berry, resting her head on his neck. “A lot…but we’ll talk latter” Snips replied, kissing her on the temple. “Oh baby, what happened to you, your face is so beat up” Karen asked, pulling his fringe away from his face. Button wiped away the tears from his blood-shot eyes. “I..I..dont want..t talk about it!” he sniffled. “that’s ok dear, not tonight, c’mon let’s get you on the couch”, with a quick heave she slumped him onto the apolistry, he could barely move a muscle. “Mom Im so sorry” he chirped lying back. “its fine baby, I’ll go get you something to eat” Karen commented getting up and heading towards the kitchen but button had already fallen asleep. “I’ve got to tell her what happened” Snips whispered to Berry, both of them falling forth to Karen who was cracking open a packet of noodles. “I need to tell you what happened” carefully said snips to the mother. “Look whatever extremely stupid thing he did I doubt I want to know” she shot back, trying to dismiss him. “It’s not a ‘want’ it’s a ‘need’” he replied. She gave a sigh and hung her head, knowing that what Snips was about to say might destroy something within her. “Fine…what’s been going on” Karen asked. The green colt squirmed abit with his words but he told it as true as he could. “a few days button gave me some change for an interview… …. 5 minutes later. ….. …And that’s when we got here yesterday” he continued. The look on Karen Mash’s face was that of controlled shock and hatred for the Colt in front of her. “you sold my son drugs, you call the mafia on him ..and me…you let him get beaten half to death…and then…you sign his fucking death note…What Sort of Sick motherfuckin’ son of a discord are you” she coldly said, using all her composure not to swing a hoof in his direction. Snips’s face was long and deep with sorrow, he knew this was always his fault, what he had done to these people. “I’m not sure what I am, Ive been asking myself that for years now…what I do, what I want to be...I haven’t got a single clue to my life from here, but your son a good kid, I know Ive hindered more than I’ve helped but Goddess help me I’ll try an way I can from now on” Snips replied, his tone un-wavering and truthful. The mother’s face was a sneering one but she gradually began to calm down at the words he said. “…look just tell me what he left this house today…please tell me didn’t have anything to do with the gangsters” Karen asked. “today he was talking about not wanting to be killed…he had that…look about him, he kept saying that sooner or later they would show up and finish him off…so, he asked me for something to protect him” The green colt said, Berry grabbing her mouth as she remembered how he ran upstairs to the wine cabinet. “Oh goddess please tell me you didn’t” interjected Button’s mother, her eye’s wide as it soon became obvious what the green colt was about to say next. Snips went silent. “OH GODDESS!” cried out Karen, slamming the noodle package against the side of the kitchen counter, popping the bag and shattering them into a million tiny fragments on the floor. “heh..heh..did he do it” she asked gripping the bench, trying not to collapse. He slowly took the pistol from out his mane and opened the clip, revealing to the two mares one missing bullet. The mother slumped down onto the floor , her face blank and expressionless. “It’s over for him” she quietly said. Snips played his Ace. “No, Not for him” he replied to her. “How” she asked, desperately wanting to hear. “They’re not going to come looking for him…they’ll be looking for me” Snips stated to the mares. “what” Berry jeered. “By the way the place is set up, I’m the only they can pin there” he explained to them. “but how?”. “Because I made one big stupid scene inside” Snips replied, rubbing his mane. “What did you do” both girls said at once. “The brick and the ginger” coded Snips to Barry making her immediately understand. “What did Button…who did button…” she nodded in gesture, not wanting to say ‘kill’ and trying extremely hard not to think into it, she only wanted the blunt answers, then she could get muddling in her emotions…but not now. “ By what I saw….Him and the zebra had an accident from his fourth story office, maybe Button threaten him with the gun, I don’t know ,but somehow they fell from the stair-cage.” Went on Snips, thinking about the horrific scene e saw in the alleyway. “How did Button survive the fall” Karen asked, still remaining cold and blunted. “Landed on a pile of boxes….as for the zebra…..he hit the ground….the cage fell on top of him”. Karen started to barter thoughts in her head on the issue. “By what you’re saying all button did was threaten him, the guy…the zebra died because of an accident.” She protested to snips. “I found a bullet hole in his chest, in any court that’s attempted murder…” the green colt interjected to her. “My poor baby…Oh Goddess Oh goddess why” broke down Karen mash, realizing exactly what had happened to her youngest son, “he’s going to live with this for the rest of his life”. Snips still stood sorrowfully, knowing what she would say next. “What have you done to our family!” she growled, getting up and slamming a hoof in the side of his jaw, hitting his head against the fridge and rolling him onto the floor. *Cough Cough* went Snips, spitting the blood from his lip. Karen quickly followed with a sharp kick in the gut, thumping him again, Berry went to stop it but Snips raised a hoof in interjection. “Stop, let her get it out of her syste…” stuttered the green colt, receiving another kick, this time somewhat lower. She layed hoof and heart him for about 2 minutes before she fell to the ground in exhaustion. “F…Fuck..you” heaved Karen, beads of sweat dripping down her head. “eggghhh” replied the beaten boy, dragging himself up. “Are you two finished” asked Berry to the two, talking to them like children. Karen gave a little nod to the purple mare, her mane brushing over her right eye and causing her to wipe her head, she felt satisfied with her stress release. “Karen Dear , there’s a spare bedroom you can use down the hall to the left, or if you want you can get some sheets and sleep down in the lounge room with button, Snips you can get your ass up and clean the floor” Berry Advised to them, causing Karen to get up and head back to her son. “Why is it *cough* everyone who come here kicks my ass” said Snips, drunkenly getting back up onto four hooves. Berry with a stern face stepped forward right into his face and grabbed him by the scuff of his neck. “why the fuck did you do something so stupid” she barked in a low whispered. “I…I had to save Button”. “that’s a flying load of Pegasus shit, you killed them because you hated them” . Snips didn’t know how to argue, so he just said what came to him…no matter how psychopathic it sounded. “Fine, truth is I don’t know why I did it, I stepped in the bar looking for the kid, I saw the two of them…then something just took over!” he blurted out to her. “Drugs you could lay low on…but three counts of murder …Snips you’re up shit creek here! “ “You think I don’t know that!, hell, I’m going to have to move my ass to Saddle Arabia to get away from the heat that’s gunna hit me!” he shouted out, neither of the two backing down. “How do you think this is going to affect me?” Berry barked. “Sorry I wasn’t thinking, I was too focussed on how I going to live the rest of my life in either a prison or on an island somewhere”. “No, I mean what do you think I’m gunna do without you”. “I don’t know, eat, drink, breathe…what-ever it is you normally do” replied Snips, unaware of the sincerity in her words. “*sigh*….look just go to bed” she told him, putting a hoof-tip between her eyes. “I can’t….you just gave my room away to her” he pouted. “No…go get in my bed” she said sternly. “why” again replied Snips, somewhat foreign to her intentions. “Because I’m hoping to fuck you for at least half the night you idiot” Berry growled, pulling him by the neck. Snips seemed confused till a stupid grin etched its way on his face once he realised what she wanted. He stumbled his way behind her, up the stairs and into her bedroom. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 1 hour ago… ….. But war, war never changes….. 8Bit lip-synced along with the narrator as he replayed Fallout: Equestria for the fifteenth thousand time, hoping that this time we would be able to see if he could get a better ending. “MOM!” he yelled out his bedroom door. “WHAT!” the mother mare replied. “HAVE WE GOT ANYMORE MOUNTAIN DEW!”. “NO!, I DRANK IT” belted his mother, sounding like she was half drunk already. “K!” 8Bit sadly bellowed, returning to his game. “you know it’s not like I buy it myself or anything, id just you know expect for atleast one can left” he mumbled to himself, settling with a rather chunky bottle of coke left under hi computer table. “eh, I hate the stable part, just let me kill something already”. *CRASH!* he heard from outside his window, like the sound of a food trolling falling off a bridge onto concrete. “What the!” 8Bit said to himself running to his window and looking out, he could barely see a thing through the rain and night sky… but what he could just barely make out was a large metal cage lying on the ground floor of the alleyway. “What was that!” yelled out the boy’s mother. “One of the ladder-cages from across the road broke off” replied the boy, noticing a faint blur beside the wreckage, like a brown smudge. “oh, well I hope no-one got hurt” she echoed through the hallway. 8Bit continued to eye out the scene, he didn’t know if he felt intrigued or just bored by it, Suddenly a green Colt walked out the door and towards the alley, 8Bit swore he knew him from somewhere…and he did, and he knew who the brown Colt leaving that alley was, the same two ponies from the night before. ‘What the hell are you doing there Button’ the orange Colt said to himself, rubbing his chin. *BRRRRRNG BRRRRRRRNG* went his cell phone bouncing around on his desk. “Hello?” answered 8Bit, not taking his eyes off the scene. “Hey man, how’ve you been?” asked his artist friend, Inkspot. “Good, how about you, you looked abit weird today at school today” he quietly replied. “Well that’s what I wanted to talk to you about today…but I don’t know how you’ll feel about it?” Inkspot addressed in a very strange tone. “w..what is it” 8Bit replied carefully, unsure of what he would say. “My dad…I accidentally left my phone on the table….he searched my messages”. “Oh no, no no no, no this is bad, did he find our ones?”. “he knows about you and me” Inkspot said, his tone had fear in it. “Fuck Man!” 8Bit shouted to himself, falling down onto his bed. “I don’t know what to do, he’s acting really weird to me” fretted Inspot, sounding like he was tearing up. “Look, can we talk about it tomorrow at school; I need some time to think of something”. The frustrated Colt grabbed his ears and tried to think about the situation, the secret he had been keeping for so long, now divulged, it made him feel scared, scared of what could happen. “Ok…Hey 8Bit” his friend squeaked, hearing the frustration the Colt was in. “Yeah Inky” 8Bit replied, hoping he would say something comforting. “I…I..I love you..bro”. “….I love you too Inky, I really do…. hey, did you see my latest devArt”. “Yeah, Your picking up colour blending really fast though you still need to work on your perspective, other than that I’m looking forward to what you do next”. “I’ll think of something Inkspot just give me some time” The colt said, talking less about the art and more about his feelings. “See ya man…sorry about all this….to be honest, I just hate hiding this from people, I know you don’t like to talk about it”. The orange Colt gave an exhausted sigh, “It’s not that I don’t like talking to you about what ‘we’ do together...I really do enjoy the things we ‘do’….it’s just that…What would people think if they found out”. “I’m so sorry, I should’ve deleted the messages…at least I should have got rid of the fucking pictures, errr!” growled the Colt. “hey!, it’s ok…but we’ll talk about it tomorrow when I get off the bus,ok?” asked 8bit, calming his loved one. “ok, ok…ok, tomorrow, it’s just…I don’t know how I feel, I don’t know…I’m gunna go watch some TV or something, get my mind of it, night”. “Goodnight babe”. They both gave a chuckle. “see ya babe” 8Bit happily replied, ending the call and hoping onto his computer, opening a folder under the name of ‘school work’ and clicking on one of the many given pictures of Inkspot, helping him to find comfort with his feelings. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ The empty bar thumped in and out with the still-playing sound of the bass coming from the dance floor. The room felt cold and dark, only lit by the bright pink-tinted lights that illuminated around the club. The stage was empty, the seats unoccupied, the entirety of the once packed Crimson hearts Club was no reduced to one lone pony choking in his own blood. *Cough Cough* spattered Rudey as he opened his eyes, the side of his face drenched in his own fluids, jerking his head around he looked side to side trying to see where he was, The colt could feel a sharp searing pain in his neck, he was about to rub around his throat when he soon remembered what had happened to him. ‘Oh shit’ he fearfully thought to himself, realizing that his neck had been slit, he couldn’t feel any more blood coming out so he assumed it must have clot. He hunched himself upright and looked around the empty club, it was baron. He tried to stand up, hobbling to his hooves he tried to keep himself stable as he stepped forward instantly tripping ad landing onto something lip and cold. ‘Shi!t’ he thought to himself praying that the fall had reopened his wound, drunkenly stretching out his arms he tried to lift himself off of whatever we was lying on. ‘SHIT!’ his brain screams as he saw what the limp thing was; Rocco. Rudey shook him, hoping he was just unconscious, he push him left and right trying to wake his dead friend up, he wanted to say so many words, to yell out for help, but the Colt knew knew he couldn’t-no one was around. Rudey had to stop or he would lose what extremely little strength he had. He could clearly see that his partner was dead, hell; the bloody hole in his jaw was reason enough. The red colt, feeling both saddened and cliché, closed his eyes and gave a few parting words with his companion of seven years. He could hear the sirens approaching, he knew there was no way he’d stick around for the guard, he needed to leave now, tearing off some curtain and scarfing it around his neck he hobbled out the back door, stepping out into the alley way, not even noticing the giant steel frame mashed into the ground. Rudey didn’t want to tear up at the thought of his murdered friend, it mad him sad to think about it.