//------------------------------// // 196. Button Mash and Burn - Part 1 // Story: Blaze the Pony Tale // by Wolven5 //------------------------------// “Mmm…” The rays of morninglight peering through the curtains fell (as they tend to do) on the sleeping eyes of the bed’s occupant. This caused the little colt to stir as the insides of his eyelids seemed to light up, bringing him out of the foggy bliss of sleep. He tried turning over but the damage was done, much to his irritation, as his mind started to wake up. He creaked his eyes open and looked to his bedside drawer where he saw it was hardly a half-hour before the alarm went off! “Ugh…” Button Mash groaned as he muttered a curse in Humgonian. He hated waking up before the alarm! It was bad enough his mom had given him one but since he’d gotten it, this was… the third time he’d woken up before the alarm and every time was more annoying than the last! The tempting call to return to sleep since technically it wasn’t time to get up yet. However the fact that it wouldn’t be long before the alarm went off after doing so didn’t escape him despite his drowsy state of mind. The only thing to do now, was to get up. Button sat up and stretched out his morning aches, a little grumpy when his eyes fell upon his game console and TV. An idea began to form in his mind. Mom wouldn’t like it, but… There’s still lotsa time before school starts, he thought, and I was looking to clear that level… The last time Love Tap had caught Button playing games so early in the morning had been when he’d pulled an all-nighter on the console. The fact that he had to go to school anyway had led to a rather miserable day and he’d been grounded. But I did do my homework last night, Button thought some more, the temptation winning him over, and today’s a Friday so… “Button, sweetie, it’s time to get ready for school!” Love Tap announced as she stepped into her son’s room with a good morning attitude. “Uh-huh, gimme a minute.” Those familiar words struck a chord and Love Tap all but had kittens when she saw her son was engrossed in another level-clearing. “BUTTON! I thought we’d been through this before!” Love Tap yelled, “No playing games all night, especially on school nights!” “I wasn’t up all night,” Button differed while his eyes remained glued to the screen, “I woke up before the alarm and since school isn’t until nine I thought I’d finish up a level I’ve been wanting to clear, and it’s a Friday.” Love Tap saw the logic in those words, but still, “Did you-” “I finished all my homework last night,” Button swore, “and y’know what?” “Level cleared!” the game announced, Button smiling at the auto-save icon before looking to his mom, “I’m ready for breakfast.” Love Tap was still miffed, but seeing Button looking much more jovial than he was most school days he got up, and the fact he seemed well-rested indicated he hadn’t lied about getting up early rather than being up all night. “...Well, get ready for the day, I’ll make your breakfast, but I want to see your homework,” Love Tap ordered. “Sure thing, Mom, oh and good morning!” Button said with an upbeat smile as he hurried out the bedroom, Love Tap looking a little unsure. For sure enough, Love Tap was satisfied to see Button had indeed done his book report homework while he happily munched on cheesed scrambled eggs and buttered toast, which he washed down with some nice cool orange juice. Aside a few spelling errors here and there, it’s completely done! Love Tap thought as she had her morning tea. *BURP* Button’s cute little burp snapped her out of it as her son said, “Excuse me, and thanks for the breakfast, Mom!” Love Tap had to admit Button was much more upbeat this morning, but was still on the fence about his early game-playing. She’d been furious the last time she’d caught him playing games early in the morning but that was when Button had been up all night. The up-and-ready-for-the-day smile Button wore indicated he’d been entirely honest. Putting Button’s book report into his saddlebags, Love Tap said, “You’re welcome, sweetie. Button, I’m still not exactly happy you were playing your games so early in the morning, but since you finished your homework and it is a Friday, I can let it go.” “Thanks, Mom, and I promise again,” Button swore, holding his hoof over his heart, “I’ll never stay up a whole school night playing games.” Love Tap smiled and gave Button a kiss on his forehead, “Well, it’s time for you to go.” Button nodded and put on his propeller cap, and his mom helped him put his saddle bags on. She walked Button to the door and as he stepped out onto the welcome mat, he turned around and smiled, “See ya later, Mom!” “Have a good day, dear,” Love Tap wished him as she watched him hurry off. Love Tap was still a little unsure of what to feel about this morning. Granted, she wasn’t sure she approved of Button Mash playing his games so early in the morning rather than use that time to get ready for the day quicker but at least he hadn’t spent the whole night gaming. That, and he’d finished his homework, and this had happened on a Friday, which somehow made it more okay. To an extent. “Well, we’ll see how the rest of the day plays out,” Love Tap decided before stepping back into the house. Button Mash honestly felt good today. What started off with an irritating situation turned out surprisingly well, and he felt much more ready for a school day than he’d ever felt! Not to mention it was such a nice morning! Usually, Button would be playing his Joy Boy on the way to school (which usually caused him to be late or arrive just in the nick of time) and not even think about smelling the roses along the way. Or saying good morning, waving hello, and such to passerby and some of the ponies he knew around town. “Hey Button Mash!” Button looked and smiled, “Hi Rumble!” The gray pegasus colt flew over and landed beside his friend, “You’re looking lively today! Usually the first time I see you on a school day you’re nose is in your Joy Boy or something.” “Well, this morning was a lot better than the usual,” Button laughed, “and I bet it’s gonna be a great day too! It’s a Friday, tonight is Sweetie Belle’s play, her big sister Rarity’s working on those costumes, and I feel ready for anything!” “Pop quiz!” Cheerilee announced, much to the groans of her students, as she started hoofing out the quiz papers. “Take one and pass them down, and please don’t talk so everypony can concentrate.” Seeing his classmates pass the quiz down their row of desks, Button felt his insides twist with anxiety! A pop quiz?! This is so unfair! What if I’m not ready for it?! Button sweated as he thought, Although, being ready for a pop quiz wouldn’t make sense unless you already knew about it beforehoof- “Hello-o! Here!” said the filly in front of Button as she held out the pop quiz. “Oh! Uh- Sorry, thanks,” Button accepted the paper with shaky hooves, took a copy, and passed the rest of the stack behind him. Setting it down, Button skimmed the content as Cheerilee said helpfully, “Now remember class, if you get stuck on a question, just skip it and come back to it later. Answer as many questions as you can until the first bell for recess, and don’t worry about finishing the whole thing. That’s not the point of this quiz. The quiz begins… now!” Almost at once, the class fell silent as everypony picked up their pencils and poured over the questions. They were a mix of subjects, a few math questions, grammar problems, a question regarding history here and there, and some of them were even multiple-choice. Taking a deep breath, Button thought, OK! ...Just relax, and let’s see… Question 1 - What is the Square Root of One-Hundred-and-Forty-Four? Button hmm’d on that one when it dawned on him, Wait, I know that one! He wrote down ‘12’ and continued to the next question, which asked, Who are the Six Founders of Equestria? Button realized he knew this one too, as he recalled the Hearth’s Warming Pageant he went to last year with the rest of the Crusaders, and wrote down his answer. Button wound up skipping a couple questions but found the quiz not to be as hard as he thought it was gonna be. He was so busy concentrating that he startled when he heard the bell, and Cheerilee announced, “All right, my little ponies! Pencils down! Please start sending your quiz papers forward and I’ll collect them. Once you’ve done so, you are dismissed for recess.” Button collected the papers from his two classmates behind him and added his to the stack before passing it forward. The day flashed by pretty quickly after that. Recess was a good time for Button, as he played a game of tag with the rest of the CMC (and Dinky who Twinken had shyly asked if she wanted to play. Button and Rumble had much teasing planned for later, but they let him have his fun). After that Miss Cheerilee brought everypony in and gave a history lecture where everypony was encouraged to take notes before finally handing out the graded quiz papers. Once the teacher left his paper in front of him, Button gasped and smiled wide, filled with pride at the A- on the page. He had skipped a few questions, but every other one he had done was correct. “Yes! Mum said the next time I get an A she’d let me play my new game! Well I know what I’m doing tonight.” “Uh, Button, did you forget something? Something important happening tonight?” Rumble asked from next to him. Button however was too excited to really pay much attention to his friend. If he had, he would have seen Sweetie Bell behind him giving him a frown. Sweetie Bell had, for the last few weeks, been preparing a show for the ponies of Ponyville (well primarily the parents of the foals in her class but she had high hopes she would get a much higher turnout). She had worked really hard getting it all together, writing the scripts and the songs and directing the actors, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom included. She knew that even if they wouldn’t outright admit it, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were also pretty excited. This was a special show and Sweetie really wanted Button to be there. She needed to make sure he didn’t get distracted with his video games. It seemed however that she would have to wait until after class, as Miss Cheerilee appeared in front of her, handing back her B test paper. Well, at least she did better than last time. As the bell rung signalling the end of class, most of the little colts and fillies, quickly jolted to their hooves to collect their school bags and make a hasty retreat home to relax and unwind. All except for Button, who was too distracted, thinking about how much fun he was going to have tonight. His mother Love Tap had bought him a new game the last time they had passed the video game store but she would only let him play it if he started to improve his grades. He'd tried to up his studying, but his gaming habits made it difficult. If he was really honest with himself, his high mark this time was probably a fluke. He’d tried once to find the game and play it anyway, and when he was caught red-hoofed his mother took his Joy Boy away for a whole week! Button still didn’t know how he’d survived that dark chapter of his life! Still it was no matter to Button. Fluke or not, he'd be gaming tonight and nothing would stop him. "Hey Button, wait up for a moment." Button, barely noticed Sweetie Belle sidelining up to him, but he learned how to feign paying attention to his friends when his mind was otherwise distracted. "Button, please don't forget my show tonight. I can see you’re excited for your new game, you went on about all week hoping to get a chance to play it. But please don't let it distract you tonight. I worked hard on my show and I really want you to be there, it would mean a lot to me." Button gave her a slight nod and mumbled back, "Show tonight... got it, yup... I'll be there, no problem..." Sweetie Belle gave him a confused look, raising an eyebrow. "Okay, Button. Just remember tonight at 6. I had a seat in the front row reserved for you so please don't be late." "Yup, you got it, yep I'm totally hearing you right now..." Sweetie Belle gave him another look, but she was in a hurry to get ready for her show, so she dashed off to prepare. Button walked on alone for a few minutes excited before he really processed anything from the conversation. "Hey Sweetie, sorry I wasn't really listening, what's up tonight..." he blinked when he realized he was alone. He stood still for a moment before shrugging. Well if she dashed off that quickly, it probably wasn't important. Button trotted in through the front door with a swagger in his step, his test held proudly in his mouth for his mother to see. “Hello sweetheart, how was school today?” Love Tap gave her son a nod as he entered the kitchen, keeping her focus on preparing dinner for the evening. “It was good, mom, really good. Check out what I scored on Miss Cheerilee’s pop quiz!” The older mare turned to face her son, her expression turning to surprise and then joy at the mark on his paper. “Good job, Button! I knew if you applied yourself you could do well.” “Thanks, Mom. I worked really hard just like you said. Does this mean I can play my new game?” Love Tap had forgotten about this, but she supposed that Buttons had earned himself a reward. She gave her son a nod, a kiss on the forehead, and told him where she’d hidden the game before she returned to preparing dinner. As the young colt gave a YAY of joy and bolted out of the room, she suddenly felt a chill go down her spine. Her disappointed mother sense was tingling, but she didn't know why.