//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: Final Boss: Sweetie Belle // by Blueninetails //------------------------------// Why did he have to do this? His game heroes never had to do this. They never had put on a collar and bow-tie. Then again, game heroes tended to be older than Button Mash, and usually didn't live with their parents. It was now 7:05 pm, he was now late by five minutes, twenty minutes if you count the fact he was gonna try picking up Sweetie Belle at 6:45. He would've left earlier if he hadn't told his mom. True to what he said, his mom was now making sure he looked his best. "Mom, I'll be fine. I'm just gonna be hanging out with a friend from school." Button complained as his mother doted over how his mane looked, "It's not like we're serious or anything stupid like that." "Doesn't matter if she's just your friend or if she's a rich Manehattenite or Canterlotian, you still need to look presentable." His mother remarked. "Also, I thought I told you to take a shower." She added once she caught a whiff of the scent he seems to be giving off, irritated that he still hadn't showered even after having told him to do so since he got home almost three hours ago. "I did take a shower, Mom." He replied in an equally irritated tone. "Then why do you still smell like sweat and hayfries?" She asked under her breath as she finally felt he looked presentable enough. "There, all done. Now, don't you think you look better?" and allowed him to look at himself in the mirror. Button didn't respond right away as he looked at what his mom did to improve his overall appearance, turning his head occasionally to be thorough, before giving a heavy sigh, "I don't see why I have to bother so much about how I look. I'm not getting married to her. I don't even like Sweetie Belle like that!" "For your age, you better not be. Also, if you didn't like her, then why would you agree to go out on a date with her?" She asked with a smirk. "There were other ponies there, I couldn't tell her 'no', I'll look like jerk if I do." "So hurting her feelings later makes you less of a jerk?" She asked, her smirk not once leaving her face, before promptly leaving her son's room. Button groaned in response, his mother had him there. If he told Sweetie he didn't like her like that at all later, he'd look even more of a jerk than if he had told her earlier. Of course it wouldn't matter much to him if Sweetie thought he was a jerk, and never wanted to talk to him again: that'd be a dream come true in his opinion. However, all those bad things he thought of earlier if he had said 'no' would be far worse now that he had accepted. "I'm such an idiot." He said as he knocked his head against the wall. Why did he have to say 'yes'? Now he was stuck, it was a lose-lose for him no matter what he did. How did he get himself into this mess? He was a professional warrior, he's been in so many situations where he had to foresee his enemies' movements and intentions in order to achieve victory over them. So why didn't he foresee this when Sweetie asked him out on a date? It must've been some plan she developed. Waited till his guard was down, then struck him when he wasn't looking. Sneaking little shrew! "Button, your marefriend is here." he heard his mother shout "She's not my-!" he shouted in frustration before gritting his teeth then sighing and headed towards the front door. Button kept his eyes towards the ground as he made his way to where his mother and Sweetie Belle were at, all the while, he was mentally bashing himself for not seeing this outcome sooner. He should've just ran as soon as the bell rang, and as far as possible. Once he had arrived at the front, and can easily see Sweetie Belle's hooves in front of him, did he stop and look up at his date for the night. Sweetie Belle had also dressed up for the occasion, while it wasn't exactly all too fancy, it did look rather nice. It was a simple light purple dress, which complimented the her mane and tail, and consisted of a skirt that covered her hind-legs and tail, and also covered her back and shoulders. Based on the appearance, it seemed to be something that Sweetie Belle's sister, Rarity, made for her. Button did have to admit, Sweetie Belle did look rather cute in that dress. What the hell?! Did he just think Sweetie Belle was cute?! Where did that thought come from? No, no way. There is no way he would ever think that a cockatrice in a pony's form would ever be cute to him, he'd rather profess attraction to Diamond Tiara. Not that he would, after their interaction last week regarding him still bringing, and playing, a portable gaming device, he doubted they would see eye-to-eye on many things. At that point he felt a hoof on his chin, snapping him out of his thoughts if at least for a moment. He looked and noticed it was his mom who had her hoof on his chin, and had an amused smirk on her face. Why was she doing that? Was his mouth hanging open or something...? Wait, his mouth was hanging open?! While he was looking at Sweetie Belle?! Goddess, now he looks like he was gawking at Sweetie. He's not suppose to be show interest in her, he's suppose to show dis-interest in her. Why did he have to let his mind get the better of him? Now he knew how the characters in simulation games must feel. "Well, I hope you two have a pleasant time on your date tonight." Button's mom stated, taking a quick second to double check the bow and collar Button was wearing was straight, before looking at Sweetie and whispering to her, "Take good care of him, this is the first time he's ever gone on a date with anypony." Sweetie nodded in understanding. Button groaned in response, as if he had heard exactly what his mom just said, even though she made sure it was quiet enough for only Sweetie to hear. "Come on Sweetie Belle, let's get going already." He remarked, wanting to go before his mom does anything else to embarrass him. He quickly grabbed his saddlebags, which contained items he might have needed, including money and his JoyBoy, and was out the door with Sweetie Belle right beside him. The two remained quiet for a brief moment, merely walking underneath a clear, starry, night sky, before Sweetie decided to say, "Thanks for saying 'yes', Button. I know how much you'd prefer to be playing your video games right now." Blushing as she did. "You have no idea." he thought to himself, then sighed, "Hey, no problem. So...um, assuming you're the one who asked me, any idea where we're going?" "Mm-hm, just follow me." She said as she picked up the pace since they were already behind schedule anyway. He didn't say anything, but picked up the pace as well to keep up with Sweetie. The town had mostly quieted down by this time, at best there were only a few ponies out and about, probably others also out on dates with their special someponies. That's fine with him, he just wished he didn't have to be one of them. For the longest time, the two remained quiet as they continued onward to whatever destination they were meant to go to. If anything Button Mash was far too concerned about how he was gonna survive the night to really care about talking to Sweetie. He tried planning how he was gonna avoid particular dating situations, such as holding hooves, their tails entwining, or worst...kissing Sweetie Belle. That last one left a horrible taste in the back of his mouth. "T-thanks for dressing up nicely Button, I was actually worried what my sister, Rarity, made for me might've been too flashy." Sweetie stated, trying to get a small conversation started. He scuffed, "Nah, I wouldn't say it was too flashy. I mean I've seen some of her other designs, and that's pretty simple in comparison. It was no problem by the way, like I said, my mom wanted me to look my best." "Thanks... Also, yeah, you do look good Button." Sweetie replied with a cute smile, "I kinda like that little pin on your collar too in case you were wondering." "Pin?" he asked curiously, and looked at his reflection as they passed a shop, using the window as a mirror. Sure enough, there was small pickaxe-shaped pin on his collar. The pin in question was a small pin from one of the games he frequently plays and had gotten for himself years previous, it glowed in the dark, and was what he deemed as a good luck charm on some cases. Button blushed in embarrassment, before wondering how on Equestria it had gotten there. He was sure as the grass was green that he didn't put it on, and he didn't remember seeing it when he looked at himself in the mirror before he left his room. Then it struck him, his mom must've put it on him when she made that last minute check on his collar, his family were the only individuals that knew of it's existence and how he deemed it as a good luck charm. He heard Sweetie Belle giggle at his expression. He glared at her in response, but it seemed to have gone unnoticed by her. She must've seen his mother place it on him earlier, and only now does she mention it to him. Too embarrassed, or too annoyed -he wasn't sure which one-, to speak to Sweetie Belle, the two continued on to their destination. Only once Button Mash picked up the scent of fresh apples did he notice the familiarity of the area. "Wait, are we going to....to Sweet Apple Acres?" he asked incredulously "Uh, yeah," Sweetie replied in an embarrassed tone, "that's where we're headed. Applebloom and Scootaloo said they would help me out, and said that they would set something up for us at Sweet Apple Acres." "Of course you would drag your friends into this." He thought to himself. "Not exactly what I expected." Button Mash remarked. "Oh...d-did you want to eat somewhere else...?" "No, it's fine. I just thought...nevermind, whatever, let's just go." he wanted to end this as soon as possible As they finally arrived at Sweet Apple Acres, the smell of apples became so much stronger, but he also noticed another smell he didn't quite recognize. It smelled like honey and lilacs. Where was that coming from? Was it coming from Sweetie Belle? Did she actually put on perfume...? Seriously...? and why didn't he notice it earlier? ----------------------------- The next morning, he woke up staring at the ceiling of his room. At least he thinks it's his room, the ceiling was white like the one in his room, and the sunlight coming in from the window was the same angle as well. Made sense, like he would crash anywhere else anyway. He really didn't like it when he first woke up in the morning, one of his legs and his back would be stiff, needing him to groggily get out of bed and stretch until he's shaken off most of it, the incoming light from the window would be too bright for him to properly see for at least a few seconds, and he could taste the bitterness of his own saliva in his mouth from being there all night. But, it wasn't like he could avoid it, he did have to sleep afterall. He gave a sigh, his eyes still shut for the time being to protect them from the bright light, thanking merciful goddesses that his nightmare was finally over and he had survived going out on a date with Sweetie Belle. Just as he tried to roll out of bed, so he could get started on his day and spend some much needed gaming time he could've had last night had he not agreed to go on a date with Sweetie, he felt some resistance in the form of a pair of hooves wrapped around his barrel. This got his attention as his eyes shot wide open, finally realizing that he wasn't in his room, but somewhere far more fancifully decorated. He looked down towards the owner, almost jabbing himself on his chin with her horn, he noticed Sweetie Belle laying next to him with her head resting on his chest. WHAT IN TARTARUS...?!