Yours and Mine

by Silver Thread

Nightmare Night

"Moo~om, do I have to?" the irritated voice of the young brown colt rang out with the intent to show his extreme distaste in what was to come.

"Come now, dear, every colt and filly your age is doing it. Besides, it will be fun," a deep, buttery voice came from the adjoining room, getting louder as the speaker neared. As the hoofsteps drew nearer, an annoyed Button Mash looked towards the living room entrance, where his mother was making her grand entrance. The mare posed, head pointed up and eyes closed like a magazine model, before opening one eye and asking, "Well, how do I look?"

Button took it all in: a white shirt with a low cut, a checkered tie (obviously his father's), and a skirt to match. Simple black hoof-shoes and two bows as big as Apple Bloom's on both her tail and mane brought the look together. Any other colt or stallion would have lost their jaws to the floor if they saw the outfit Button's mother had decided to adorn herself with.

Button just made a gag face. His mother's face drooped as she retained her posture, bow almost deflating at his lack of enthusiasm. Silence filled the room indefinitely, until a knock interrupted it.

"Oh, that must be the others!" Button's mom trotted happily over to the door, her flank waggling innocently in her checkered skirt like the school girl she pretended to be. Again, Button tried not to vomit. Instead, he spoke up.

"W-what others?" He managed to stammer out as his mother reached for the door.

No sooner had she unlocked the door that three excited fillies barged their way in, loudly proclaiming, "Cutie Mark Crusaders Nightmare Night Crew, YEAH!!!"

The three Crusaders stood in the doorway, silent and posing for a moment, before Button coughed. The three looked back at a trampled mare they just-so-happened to not notice. Button Mash face-hoofed, as the three fillies surrounded his mom, trying to squirm their way out of trouble with offers of help or fervent "so sorry" attempts. Button Mash mumbled under his breath disdainfully, "Girls..."

Shaking off dirt from the trampling, his mother regained her composure, putting on her well-worn smile of tolerance. "It's alright, girls, just...be more patient next time. I was going to open the door for you anyways," she smiled accusingly, as the fillies laid their ears back against their heads, "ANYways...Button, you ready to go out?"

Unamusedly, Button looked down at his chest, a shining silver shirt with red trim, reminding him of his iron armor.

"OHMIGOSH BUTTON YOU LOOK SOOOOO COOOOL LOOKIT WE MATCH EEEE-HEE-HEE-HEE," squealed an overly-excited Sweetie Belle who had raced up to the colt, trotting in place. It was true, however; they couldn't have planned it better themselves. Whilst Button Mash wore his iron chestplate with his signature iron sword (made of construction paper), Sweetie wore her favorite diamond bib and tiara, with a pickaxe. Inside, this pick made Button cringe, with how many times it had caused trouble for the colt in the past.

"Y-yeah, cool..." he managed to mumble out, eyes questioning his mom, can we go now before this gets awkward?

While his mother was pushy in some ways, she was also very understanding in others, and did not want to force this encounter with an over-excited filly on her son. "Come on, kids, before all the candy is given out!"

Hearing this sent Scootaloo's wings ablaze and made Apple Bloom perk up, as they suddenly disappeared out the door and (fortunately) past Button's mom this time. Sweetie waited as Button rubbed his forehoof, recovering from sudden shyness, and regained his composure. "Come on, Sweetie, let's go score some loot!"

"Don't worry, I have Fortune III on this pick. Just watch my back!" The white mare skipped off, leaving Button rolling his eyes, remembering his luck with watching her back. Suddenly he realized he was being left behind.

"Wait for me!"

---

Nightmare Night had just begun, and all the colts and fillies were trotting out under the newly-raised moon with one thing in mind: Candy.

The five ponies went door-to-door, asking for sweets, trying to score big. Out of all of them, though, it was Button's mom that got the most. Sure, she didn't get much from the other mares, who seemed to look at her outfit questionably. Especially when their husbands were around. Instead, much of her haul came from all of the stallions who for some strange reason loved her simple outfit. Button was sure he was going to vomit before the night ended.

As yet another stallion tried to persuade their chaperone into his house, Button felt a tug at his shirt. "Hey, watch it," he started, but seeing Sweetie Belle as the culprit, his voice fell.

"Come on, Button, let's go play some games!" Button blushed and nodded, soon following after the little filly. He had no idea why he was blushing; he didn't understand what blushing even was. All he knew was that whenever Sweetie got near him, his cheeks went red. It annoyed him, like falling behind in a race. This made him hurry to catch up to Sweetie, who was eyeing a simple bob-for-apples game.

Without warning (and without waiting her turn), the filly bobbed into the water. Button blushed and turned away, eyeing the ground so to not look at the filly's flank. He would never be like one of those disgusting stallions his mom spoke to. A splash and a few mumbles assured him it was okay to turn his head. This couldn't be more wrong.

As he turned, he was face-to-face with Sweetie Belle holding an apple in her mouth. She mumbled incoherently, causing Button to turn his head, she let the apple fall on the ground in front of Button, "Here, have some!"

Button had no idea why she would offer an apple to him. She must have read his face, because she continued, "Rarity says if one is going to eat sweets all night, they could at least have SOMETHING healthy. So I figured we could split an apple!" The filly displayed a wide, toothy grin at Button, who blushed still and looked down at the apple.

It touched her mouth; her lips! Is it even okay to eat it? I mean, mom used to chew my food, but I'm not even related to Sweetie Belle... Button's mind went on, and Sweetie scrunched her nose, picking up the apple. As Button continued to space out, she shoved the apple in his mouth, much to the colt's surprise. After a few bewildered seconds and some awkward blinks, he chewed, biting off a piece. Sweetie caught the falling apple before in hit the ground.

"Kthanth.."

Sweetie stuck her hoof on Button's mouth and whined, "Don't talk with your mouth full!" She, in turn, picked up and bit another piece of the apple off. Right where Button had. He winced. The heat in his cheeks was rising, and he could have sworn there was some red to hers as well. The two finished their bites and looked up at each other quietly, Sweetie Belle seemingly having lost all of her former courage. Fortunately, Button's mom's voice interrupted yet another awkward moment.

"Come on dears, let's head to the statue, it's time for the ceremony!"

Everypony knew the ritual; head to the statue of Nightmare Moon and give up a bit of your candy. It was overplayed, yes, but at least now there was something else: Princess Luna herself often showed up!

If it had not been for this, Button Mash may have stayed home for yet another Nightmare Night. But this, this could be his chance. To befriend one of his idols: a gamer far above his caliber. He wasn't going to give this up for anything.

The determination in Button's eyes didn't go unnoticed by Sweetie, who waved a hoof in-front of Button eyes, "You okay, Button? You looked kinda weird for a minute there."

"YOU look weird," Button retorted unthinkingly as he shook from his thoughts, before realizing his mistake.

Sweetie suddenly stopped and squeaked, burying her head below her shoulders. "I..l-look..." Her voice faded out, and it was obvious tears were coming to her eyes. Despite being utterly dense, Button knew he'd just hurt her feelings, and that he had to fix it.

"I-I was just kidding, Sweetie! You don't look weird, you actually l-look kinda..." his voiced trailed off, but Sweetie went unhearing, sobs starting to come from her throat. Button didn't know what else to do, and thought really hard. When I'm upset, mom always hugs me...maybe that'll work? Worth a shot...

The moment Button wrapped his arms around Sweetie Belle, she stopped moving. There was no sound anymore, except for the wind, and the distant chatter of the group they would catch up to soon. Button Mash felt awkward, like he had made a big mistake. Maybe if I just go home, she'll... Suddenly Sweetie hugged back, squeezing as tight as she could. Button coughed as a reflex, and the filly loosened her grip, but still held him, sobbing a little.

"Thanks, Button...I-..I needed that.." she said as she pulled away, tears still staining her soft green eyes. Button felt a pang of guilt; he never wanted her hurt her. He just wanted to protect her. From everything. And now, he was the reason she was hurting...

"I..l-lets get back with the group, ok?" his voice wavered, unsure of how she'd take it. She nodded silently and stood up, trotting back to the group at a quick pace, not before her tail rubbed up against Button's face. He blinked, and shook his head to clear some sudden throughts, trotting back after her.

The red on his cheeks was almost glowing.

Comments

[Galaxy Knight]

I liked it.

[PhoenixBlaz3]

Really good!