Stressful Nights

by silvermoon15000

Chapter 3: More Time

Button's snores echoed throughout his home, his head on the keyboard again, the computer monitor in its own sleep mode. It was late in the morning, and Button had once again threw himself carelessly into his work until he had passed out from exhaustion.

A loud ding from an email, woke up not only the monitor but the sleeping stallion as well. Button rubbed his eyes, his eyelids half way down his eyes as he smacked his muzzle together. He groaned and moved a hoof to the mouse and moving it to the flashing envelope and clicked it, a window opened up to reveal even more emails, but only one was unmarked,

"Clearglass Games? What do they want now?" He asked himself, clicking the cursor on the email. His eyes widened as he scanned the email,

"More time! This...this is awesome!" He cried as he jumped out of his chair. He grinned and continued reading,

"From what we have been told, the game is delayed for another three months as a new game has come into development and will be released on your game's original release date" Button read out loud and clapped his hooves on the ground happily. His smile quickly faded though when he heard a crunch under his hoof. He looked around and sighed,

"Guess I have some cleaning to do," he told himself as he started the day's task.

_____________________________

"You really shouldn't sleep in so much, it could lead to wrinkles," Rarity told Sweetiebelle as they passed the local cafe. Sweetie glared at her sister,

"I'm not sixteen anymore Rarity, I've learned my own way of dealing with those," she replied.

"Oh I know, but that doesn't mean you stop learning, remember when I had Onyx I knew nothing about foals and look at me now...MOTHER OF THE YEAR!" Rarity said happily.

"Only because you are the element of generosity," Sweetiebelle mumbled under her breath jokingly. Rarity glared at her and then chuckled.

"You would be a horrible mother Sweetiebelle, with you always being on tour you would never even see your own foal!" She laughed at her joke not realizing it had hurt her sister slightly. Sweetiebelle faked a laugh,

"I would stop long enough to take care of them, I think I would anyways, I am just not ready for foals," she replied, doubting herself more. Rarity calmed down and looked at her sister.

"And you think I was, Onyx was unexpected and his father left because he was not ready, 'It's me or the foal.' I believe he told me, but he stuck around anyways and even named him Onyx after his father, Onyxshield before finding that mare, Popcorn Puff or whatever," she stopped and embarrassingly fanned herself with a hoof,

"I think I ranted for a moment there, sorry." She said as she put her hoof down. Sweetiebelle gave her sister a sympathetic smile.

"It's alright Rarity, I mean I know you have the others, but we are sisters, it's perfectly normal to rant to me and I to you every now and then," She told her sister calmly. Rarity smiled,

"Well that's good to hear because I do have another rant, more so about the foalsitter I lost for Onyx!" Confused, Sweetiebelle looked at her sister.

"And who was that?" She asked curiously.

"That stallion Buttonmash, he was always so good with Onyx and then that game of his took up all of his time, even his yard and home are a wreck, it almost looks abandoned!" Sweetiebelle stopped.

"Buttonmash and foalsitting? Never thought I'd hear those two words in the same sentence," Sweetiebelle snorted. Rarity glared at her sister,

"You have no idea? I thought Onyx or even Scootaloo or Applebloom would have said something to you," Rarity said with sorrow.

"The only thing Scootaloo told me was that after he had started that new game, he cut ties with everypony, even his friends," Sweetie growled. Rarity shook her head,

"But she didn't tell you about who he was before the game," Rarity explained vaguely.

"What do you mean? It seems pretty obvious he hasn't changed since I left," Sweetiebelle said.

"You're wrong for the most part dear sister, before that wretched game took over his life he was actually quite helpful like he was yesterday after the party, he would watch Onyx while I ran errands, would help Fluttershy with her sanctuary, he even helped Twilight with some science based projects, he was a great stallion, he had many mares swooning, even Diamond Tiara of all ponies was willing to date him, but then he signed that deal with that company and has a dead- Sweet Celestia!" Rarity froze and looked past Sweetiebelle in shock. Behind her sister was Buttonmash pushing a mower through his yard cutting the grass. He looked focused and was sweating more than the natural pony did. Sweetiebelle turned her attention to where Rarity was looking and felt a slight warmth in her cheeks. She stared in awe as Buttonmash mowed the yard, he seemed determined and had a tired grin on his face. He stopped and wiped his forehead with his hoof before turning and facing the two mares. His smile got bigger as he waved at them and stopped what he was doing as he made his way towards them. Sweetiebelle shook her head and tried to get rid of the heat in her cheeks.

"Hey what are you two doing out here?" He asked as he finished his trek to them. Rarity smiled,

"I should be asking you the same thing, you aren't working on your game," Button shrugged,

"They upped my deadline, so I have a day or two to relax before I get back to work!" He said excitedly. Rarity clapped her hooves in excitement.

"That's wonderful dear!" She replied and looked at Sweetiebelle who hadn't said a word the whole time Buttonmash had been in view. She bumped her sister with her hip snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Oh, yeah, that's great Button," Sweetiebelle did her best to smile, but found some difficulty doing so. Buttonmash took a deep breath and looked up at the sun,

"Shoot, I'm running out of daylight, I'll see y'all later" he ran off, quickly getting back to his previous task. Rarity looked at her sister,

"Not so bad now is he," she joked. Sweetiebelle snorted in response,

"Let's just go," she said as they continued their way towards their destination.

.................................................

Rarity sipped her tea slowly, enjoying its warmth in her throat as she set her cup down with her magic. She smiled at her sister who was slurping her tea obnoxiously,

"How about this, instead of me telling you how Buttonmash has changed why don't you find out for yourself tomorrow, he did say he had time to relax might as well do it with him hmm," she told her sister. They had been sitting there awhile, talking for minutes about how Sweetie's tour was and how Rarity and Onyx were doing before they had fallen into a long silence. Sweetiebelle looked at her sister,

"Maybe you're right, after all you are one of the Elements of Harmony and know more about friendship than I do all things considering," she agreed rather quickly. Rarity raised an eyebrow,

"You aren't gonna argue? Or even try to say no, maybe my darling sister has grown up," Rarity let an evil grin out. Sweetiebelle gave her a glare.

"You are so lucky this tea is hot,"

.............................................

Buttonmash laid on the bed in his home as the moon finally started to breach the horizon. He sighed contentedly and stared outside his window, running a hoof through his wet mane.

that shower felt amazing he thought to himself as he slowly turned over and looked at a picture on his nightstand. It was a picture of him, his mom, Sweetiebelle, and the other Cutiemark Crusaders. They were in their mid teens in this photo and it was also the day Buttonmash had helped the Crusaders with a project to cheer his mom up after his dad had failed to show up for Hearts and Hooves day. They'd made her so happy, and even now Buttonmash couldn't help but smile, there was one pony that he still talked to even when he was busy, his mom. She was always there for him, and tomorrow he would make it up to her, a cake in her honor, just for her.

He closed his eyes and slept with a smile, for the first time in what seemed like a lifetime he slept in his bed with good thoughts in mind.

..................................................

Button was already up when the sun had peeked over the horizon, his apron on his neck, and his covered hooves holding a hot pan with a vanilla caked in it. He hummed a small tune as he placed a stick in the middle and pulled it back out. It would be ready in three hours, or at least that's what the box said. His grandma had called it the Forgotten Cake as the ingredients inside it would morph into one flavor, the special ingredient being the vanilla that would hold it all together he gave the cake a sniff and sighed.

"Perfect!" He told himself as he turned away and took the oven mitts off. He then left the kitchen and grabbed his saddlebags off the rack next to his front door, he needed to do some shopping before the cake was completely ready. He took one glance back at his house which was completely clean now.

"This is what my home should look like," he told himself as he opened the door and left his home, making sure to lock it on his way out. As he turned away from his door he couldn't help but smile, the sun was out and he could feel is kiss his skin as a small breeze shifted his fur. He could only hope the day would stay this way as he also had other plans today, especially with a certain foal he had promised to entertain. He stepped away from his home and started to walk towards the market. As the market came into view he stopped and started searching through his saddle bags looking for the list of items he needed for his home. Finally he found it and held it in front of him with his hoof.

"Apples from Sweet Apple Acres, a new cord for my laptop, some paper, and I have to get fitted for my next showcase in two months, not really something I need to shop for but I still gotta do it," he continued to read off the list to himself quietly after he noticed a few ponies giving him weird looks before continuing his trek to the market. As he approached the sounds of ponies bartering, buying, and even just saying hello to each other got loud, almost too loud. Button wasn't used to all the noise since he had become so engrossed into his career and his ears were starting to ring in pain. He scrunched his nose in pain and lowered his ears trying to muffle the sounds of everypony but to no avail the sounds got louder. He had drowned them out when he was working, but even that wasn't working and his heart began to race as he started to panic. He backed away as far as he could and let the sounds die down before he took a deep breath and started to relax.

"Why Button, why do you have to have ear problems now?" He scolded himself as he sat down and started to think. He knew he could control the problem he just had to focus, that was all. He squinted his eyes and stared at one of his destinations, the apple stand with a random pony he didn't really know behind it. He stood up and dropped the squint as he made his way back into the chaos. Buttonmash braced himself for what loud noises would come his way, but his plan was successful. He smiled once more and quickly made his way to the stand and looked at the pony behind it.

"Ya here for a taste of Sweet Apple Acre's finest apples or just to buy a few and be on your way?" the pony said happily, his accent was very reminiscent of the apple family.

"Six apples, please," Button replied with a toothy grin, pulling out a bag of bits from his saddle bags. The pony nodded,

"Sure thing!" He told Button as he turned away and grabbed a sack of apples, the number six was on the bag,

"That'll be six bits," the salespony said with a toothy grin. Button nodded and dug his hoof into the bag and grabbed six bits, placing the quickly on the table and taking the bag of apples in his mouth.

"Th'nk you!" Buttonmash thanked the pony with a muffle from the bag,

"No, thank you for your service!" He replied back with a big grin. Button smiled gratefully and turned away, quickly putting the bag of apples in his saddlebags.

"What's next?" Buttonmash took the list out once more and read it over again.

"The cord!" He said excitedly, putting the list away and quickly trotting towards the only building that sold computer parts. He had been wanting a new cord for years, but was either low on money, had other priorities, or was just lazy, but now was his chance and ge wasn't gonna miss it. Stuck in his thoughts as he ran he forgot about the ponies in front of him and only stopped when there was a white body of fur in his way. He skidded and stopped awesomely, or that's what he thought he did as he actually tumbled to the ground and ended up on his back.

"Are you ok Button," he heard a voice call out in the darkness. He groaned and opened his eyes slightly, a pretty mare's head blocked the sun kind of giving off a glare around her.

"What happened?" he replied feeling a little dizzy. The pony stepped back, alittle take aback by the comment, this gave him a second to blink and he realized that it was an angel just not one that was meant to take him to the heavens.

"You rolled several feet is what happened, now get up before ponies start to stare," Sweetiebelle told him. She held out a hoof to dizzy stallion,

"But I like it down here, the ground isn't hard at all," he told the mare sarcastically as he took her hoof and got up. Sweetiebelle snorted,

"Ha ha," she mocked a laugh and looked him up and down. He did look different, a little more muscle and he let his mane grow out some. He was also taller, taller than her as a matter of fact.

"What? Is there dirt covering my fur?" He looked over his shoulder and at his hooves, checking himself before looking at Sweetiebelle confused. Sweetiebelle shook her head,

"Nope, just kind of zoned out," she laughed nervously.

"Oh..." there was a long silence between the two before Buttonmash looked at the sun slightly. He was running out of daylight,

"Well I better be off, I've got some errands to run, I'll see you-"

"Why don't I join you," she interrupted suddenly. He looked at her with a confused expression,

"Ok?" He said questionably. Sweetie smiled,

"Then what are we waiting for, we're losing daylight," she said, standing beside him now. Button nodded in agreement and started walking, still confused about her sudden eagerness to join him.

"Gotta warn ya, where I'm going isn't exactly a fun place to go," he warned, hoping to get some sort of reaction out of her. She just nodded,

"And? It's not like I can't find something to do in a boring place, I always do," he sighed,

"Whatever ya say, anyways, we are heading towards, Cords and Keyboards," he told her as they continued their walk past sugarcube corner.

"Is it a new store?" She asked.

"Seven months old, Celestia had one built in almost every town so ponies could experience computers," he explained as they turned left onto another path.

"Huh, that's convenient." He nodded,

"Yep, I was so happy when I found out it was being put here, I no longer had to order parts for several bits!" He said excitedly. She looked at him,

"I know your first game was a hit, so how much did you make off of it," she asked, now curious of his paycheck. He looked at her,

"Well since it was a freelanced game I made enough to last me and I'm still making it, but now I work for Clearglass Games, so they pay me a little bit as well and I will be making more once my new game is finished, so I could probably be making about as much as you once it's all done and over with," he told her with a smile.

"I doubt it, I make a lot of bits," Sweetiebelle gave her best impression of a Canterlot pony and she held her muzzle high. Button laughed at the attempt,

"You probably deal with those ponies way more than I ever will," he told her as the store came into view.

"Perhaps," she replied in a snarky tone before chuckling. Button kept his eyes forward though and became focused, leaving a small silence between the two as they entered the store. Sweetiebelle lowered her muzzle and looked around in awe. The store was filled with all sorts of technology, keyboards, screens, even wires and copies of Button's game, Of Night's Call, were on the racks all around. Buttonmash smiled,

"Surprised?" He questioned, looking at the awestruck mare. Sweetiebelle nodded her head. Technology was still so new, but there was already so much to be seen. She looked at Buttonmash who was looking around the store. He seemed like he was at home, like he knew about every little item in the building. He was confident and more so he was happy. Buttonmash went straight into the isles, mumbling to himself as he searched through every shelf looking for his new treasure. Sweetiebelle followed, looking at every item that caught her eye, even a new laptop that looked heavily inspired by her colors. She stared at it for a moment, admiring the handy work on the contraption, it was rather interesting to see such colors on this type of technology.

"You like what you see?" A voice said behind her. Sweetiebelle turned around, slightly startled by the voice,

"It's the special edition model of the MP Two Forty-Eight," the pony said. He was rather small in stature but a large mustache made up for it along with his ball cap giving him the extra inch. From the tag on his blue shirt, Sweetiebelle guessed his name was Short Stock.

"It is neat, how much are you selling it for," she asked the faded blue stallion. He puffed out his chest with pride,

"Fifteen hundred bits ma'am," his accent reminded Sweetiebelle of the apples, but that wasn't important,

"Sweet Celestia! That's a little expensive don't you think," she was stunned that such hardware cost so much, she could afford it of course but it was highly improbable that anypony else could. Short Stock laughed,

"Actually that's cheap compared to what the store in Manehattan is selling it for, twenty-four hundred, is what they really wanted me to sell it for," he remarked. He shook his head,

"Had to tell 'em that the ponies down here couldn't afford it, so they dropped the price, not by much in my opinion, not a single one has sold," he finished, removing his ball cap to reveal a bald head, he wiped his forehead. Sweetiebelle sighed, ponies were starting to get greedy, luckily Ponyville hadn't changed too much. She opened her mouth to figure out why, but was cut off by Buttonmash walking up with a cord on his back.

"Well isn't my best customer Buttonmash, how's the game coming along?" Button smiled,

"It's getting there Stock, but I needed a new cord for my computer," he gestured towards the item on his back. Short Stock took notice of the item and nodded.

"Are ya ready to check out or are ya gonna keep looking," he asked, pointing a hoof behind him. Button looked at Sweetiebelle,

"Did you find something you want?" He asked her, catching her by surprise. She looked back at the computer before shaking her head,

"Nope I'm good," she replied kindly before following the two stallions to the counter at the front of the store. As they spoke she took one more look around. For the most part the store looked like a compact warehouse with shelves going all the way to the ceiling, the isles were large enough to fit three ponies in them and everything looked like it was on display or in a box.

"Yes, well maybe you can tell me how you ended up with a celebrity," Sweetiebelle turned her attention back to the conversation at what seemed like the wrong time. Buttonmash hesitated for a second, but then shook his head with a smile.

"It isn't like that Stock, we are just friends who haven't seen each other in a while," he told him as Stock hoofed him a bag with his item in it. Button moved the bag to his saddle bags and shoved it inside the one on his right flank. He then looked at Sweetiebelle who had been silent for the past couple a minutes.

"You ready to go?" He asked her as he stepped away from the counter. She nodded and they left the store with Short Stock yelling for them to come back soon. The two walked along in conversation, talking about their work lives and throwing jabs at their coworkers, making each other laugh. Button explained the first time he met the head of Clearglass games, Mr. Clearglass himself who was actually very nervous to meet Buttonmash, and Sweetiebelle told Buttonmash about the time one of her friends from the wardrobe department wanted her to wear a dress made out of lettuce. They laughed at these things unknowingly of them being watched by several other ponies, who took pictures and just stared at them. They continued their talk before there was a yell from out in front of them.

"Look out!" A colt's voice cried as a buck ball came soaring towards Buttonmash. He turned his head just as the ball smashed into his face sending him onto his back. The ball bounced away with three foals chasing it, one specifically jumping on Buttonmash to get to it. Button grabbed the colt's tail with his teeth and stopped him, it was Sweetiebelle's nephew, Onyx. Buttonmash got back onto his hooves and glared at Onyx,

"You wanna explain yourself or shall I jump on you like you did to me?" He said sternly with an eyebrow raised. Onyx looked down sheepishly,

"Sorry Button, I was just trying to catch the ball," he said drawing a circle in the ground. Button rubbed his snout, the ball had hit him pretty hard, so it probably wasn't a colt that kicked it. Button looked around and saw one of the colt's older brother, Heavy Weight, he was a bit younger than Buttonmash, but he already was the size of his father, Bulk Biceps. He sighed and looked at Onyx,

"I'm gonna let you off with a warning this time only because you jumped on me and not anypony else alright otherwise I talk to your mother next, understood." Onyx nodded quickly and ran off after the other colts. Buttonmash shook his head with a smile,

"He probably knew it was me anyways," he looked at Sweetiebelle who had a smile of her own on her face, he had handled the situation with Onyx better than most stallions would have.

"Yeah probably, he is Rarity's son after all," she replied as they continued their walk. It was after a few minutes that Sweetiebelle noticed that they had completely passed Button's and was heading for the boutique.

"Um, I think we passed your place," she pointed out, stopping. Buttonmash looked at her,

"I know, I'm walking you home," Sweetiebelle mouthed an 'oh' and they continued in silence. Once they were at the boutique Button stopped and looked at Sweetiebelle,

"Well, it was fun, but I should be getting back home, I have to rewire my computer," he said as he stepped back a little. Sweetiebelle nodded in agreement,

"Yeah I still have a few other ponies I have to see so I'll see you tomorrow maybe," Buttonmash nodded,

"Maybe, I'll see you later," he called out as he left, leaving Sweetiebelle by herself at the boutique. She felt rather strange, like she was sad to see him go, in truth he felt same, but he knew better than to get attached like he did last time so he pushed the feeling away and went home. Sweetiebelle on the other hoof, couldn't push that feeling away, she didn't know how to. Even as she spoke to some of her other friends and even her sister, the feeling was still there, but as she fell asleep that night the feeling vanished as if it was never there in the first place.

Buttonmash lay in his own bed, the events of today placing an unknowing smile on his face. He knew he was falling again and he knew this wasn't going to end well, so he prepared himself for the hard days of work to come and let himself smile as he slept.

Author's Note:

And that's a wrap for chapter 3, things are starting to heating up arent they, hope you enjoyed, this is Silvermoon signing off...PEACE OUT!