Hearts and Hooves day. Shutter's least favourite day of the year, and it gets worse. He receives an anonymous love letter. Yuck.
Shutter has never liked Hearts and Hooves day. He wants the day to be over as soon as possible. When he is invited to Button's LAN- party with other ponies who don't participate in the yucky tradition, he is enthusiasted to join in. Plans go wrong when he suddenly receives a letter. A love letter.
I could almost cry when my clock made its alarming beeping sound. Ugh. What really woke me up was the cracking sound when I smashed it with my hoof. Oops.
For a few minutes, I stared at the remains of the old device. What would I tell mom?
I came close to panicking when she knocked on my bedroom door. "Shutter, it's time for school!"
I wasn't keen on going. It was Hearts and Hooves day, after all. I was certain Miss Cheerilee was going to ramble about how important love is again. Pff, love didn't defeat Nightmare Moon.
My mom knocked again. "Shutter, it's time to go!" "But I didn't have breakfast yet." "You should have thought of that before you moved your alarm by thirty minutes."
She was right. I had tried to postpone this day as far as I could, but it was pointless.
Hearts and Hooves day comes every year, whether I like it or not. Why don't I like it? Let me explain.
First of all, ponies drivelling on its importance. Second, mom and dad trying to keep me out of the house so they can do, well, whatever grown-ups do on Heart and Hooves day.
Also, ponies trying to find a date, only to dump them the day after. I've seen it many times. A pony is desperate for not having a date. They ask somepony out, lying about their feelings, one day goes well and then bam! Dumped.
Even worse is the fact ponies start laughing because I don't have a special somepony (eventhough I've made perfectly clear I don't want a special somepony). The list goes on and on.
"Shutter, you have to go!" "Sure mom"
I hopped out of bed. I took another look at my alarm clock. Yep, definitely broken. I hid it under my bed, hoping my mom wouldn't notice. I picked up my saddle bag and walked into the hallway. My mom was holding a lunch box up with her hoof.
"Have a nice day, Shutter, and remember: today is supposed to be a happy day." I chose not to answer that last part. "By mom!", I said. "By honey!"
I ran to the school. Not because I wanted to go, but because I didn't want to have to explain being late.
When I arrived, the horror had already started. Creepy couples holding hooves, kissing, rubbing noses. Yuck.
I tried to ignore them while I walked to my favourite spot on the playground. In the shadow underneath the large tree. I sat down in the nice, cool shade. I picked up a twig and started making sketches of dangerous creatures in the dirt. After I'd finished a large fire breathing dragon, I imagined what it'd be like to actually meet one. Sure, I had met Spike, the library dragon, but he was different from other dragons.
Suddenly, Threshold sat down next to me. Threshold was a filly. She had a purple as fresh grapes and a fur yellow as the yellowest lemon. She lived on the corner of my street. She usually brought the flower to Derpy's place when she made muffins with Dinky.
"Hi", she said. "Hi" "Have you seen the others yet?" "No, but it's still ten minutes before we have to go inside." "Ok."
With 'the others', she meant our best friends: Featherweight, Button Mash, Pipsqueak and the Cutiemark Crusaders. She didn't say anything anymore, but she didn't go away either. I didn't really know what to do. Keep sitting or stand up? Usually, Featherweight would be the first after me and we would move away from the tree, but now, Threshold was first. I decided to wait.
We didn't really talk much. I got bored and picked up my twig, which I then used to draw a manticore in the dirt. I didn't get the picture right, so I had to start over. I couldn't get what was wrong with the drawing, but I knew something was.
"What are you drawing?", Thresh suddenly asked. "A manticore", I answered. "His eyes are too far apart"
I took another look and drew him again, this time, the eyes were closer to each other. It was perfect.
"How did you know?" "I spend a lot of time drawing when I haven't got anything better to do."
I looked at the manticore again, and I found it hard to believe Applebloom's sister actually encountered one in the Everfree forest. The creature seemed so surreal, so wrong. I started fantasising what it'd be like to actually meet one, when suddenly, Thresh spoke again.
"I have a question", she said. "Sure, ask ahead." "Why do you always sit under this tree while waiting?"
I didn't really know what to say. I just liked the tree, for no particular reason. Before I could answer, Featherweight greeted us.
"Threshie, Shutter, how are you?" "Fine, how are you?", we answered at the same time. "Great! Happy Hearts and Hooves day, by the way."
I tried not to get angry over what he'd just said. Force of habit, for sure. He probably just forgot how much I hated this day.
It wasn't long before Button, Pipsqueak and the Crusaders arrived. I'm in the same class as the Crusaders and Featherweight, by the way. We talked for the last few minutes before we had to go inside.
I was already in the classroom when I remembered I hadn't answered Threshold's question. I decided I would answer it next break.
Of course, Miss Cheerilee lectured us on the history of the day. I frowned when Applebloom started giggling when Cheerilee came to the part of two royals being stuck in one another's eyes.
Suddenly, I saw Big Mac outside the window next to me. He lightly tapped the window, loud enough for me to hear it and silent enough for the rest not to. He pointed at his wrist, on which he had drawn a clock in mud, then, he pointed towards the teacher.
I sighed as I did my duty and waved my hoof three times, indicating it'd be three hours until the next break.
Those three hours passed by slowly, slowly, as if time was having fun torturing me. I was almost relieved when somepony had dropped a stink bomb in the bin, forcing us to open all windows, delaying Miss Cheerilee's tale.
When the break finally came, I went to the pick nick table and took my lunch box out of my saddle bag. I seemed to be the only pony in my group eating at the school. The other groups were doing some overtime.
I sat down at the table the closest to my tree. Suddenly, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon appeared out of nowhere. Silver Spoon looked at me, at the table, then at me again, then at the table again, as if she was unhappy with the fact I was sitting at the table.
Diamond Tiara sighed in a dreamy way and said: "Would you be so kind to move over to another table? Silver gets twitchy when there are three ponies at one table." "No, sorry, I want to sit here, there's a free table over there", I said, as I pointed at the other table.
Silver Spoon seemed agitated, but Diamond Tiara hadn't given up yet. "Come on, not even for me?", she said, seductively blinking her eyelashes.
I tried hard not to start laughing at their ridiculous attempt. "Nope, I'm staying put."
Tiara seemed a bit shocked I hadn't fallen for her 'charm', but really, what'd she expect? The duo unhappily walked to the other table, later to be accompanied by two young colts. Twitchy with three at one table, but four were no problem.
I tried not to observe them too much, but my curiosity got the best of me. The colts were Vendell and Ummy. They were well-known for being baddies and meanies.
Diamond Tiara seemed to point my way for a second. Vendell glanced at me and frowned.
I was glad when I was accompanied by Button and Pipsqueak. Button smiled as he took out his lunch. Next to his sandwich, he had creeper crackers, little green chocolates shaped like a creature from a video game.
"You two still coming to the party this evening?", he said. "hell yeah", Pip answered. "Of course!", I agreed.
Button was throwing a LAN- party at his place. His parents were going to their favourite restaurant in Manehattan, so Button had the house for himself. He had invited every pony who didn't have plans already. The crusaders were coming, Featherweight would be there, Dinky, Pipsqueak, Threshhold and some other ponies. We were going to play Minecraft, and it would be awesome.
Button spoke of his latest gaming experiences, Pip about his grandmother's banana pies and I was just happy I had friends. I knew there was something going on between Button and Sweetie Belle, but I didn't have a problem with that. I didn't have a problem with ponies being together, I had a problem with Heart and Hooves day.
I ate half my sandwich. My mom had smeared it with strawberry jelly. I didn't like jelly. I decided to put the rest back in the lunch box. If I'd be hungry later, I'd have food, else way I would throw it in the bin.
Suddenly, it came to me. "Where's Threshold?", I asked. "She and her group are on a trip to Rarity's shop. She's giving them all sorts of beauty tips on how to impress other ponies", Button answered.
I felt a bit disappointed. I always got nervous whenever I didn't get closure. Not being able to answer a question was a lack of closure for me.
While I was thinking this, Skootaloo scootered through the school gate, the other Crusaders dirt skiing behind her. They nearly crashed into Featherweight, who had just passed the gate as well. The school bell rang and Miss Cheerilee beckoned us to go inside.
She had a large flower imbedded in her mane, probably a gift from Big Mac. We went back to the (somewhat smelly) classroom and Cheerilee continued on the history of Hearts and Hooves day.
She told the day had once stopped two armies from engaging in an all deciding battle, so the soldiers could be with their loved ones.
Most ponies still believe this was a good thing, but let's be honest here: The day postponed an all deciding battle. After that, there were three more years of war. Doesn't that increase the amount of victims? Is that really a good thing?
I was considering pointing it out when suddenly I felt something bump into the back of my head. I bended over and picked up the guilty piece of paper.
Whilst Cheerilee was dreaming away with the thought of the hero who saved the princess during that war, I was begging she didn't notice I was unfolding the message.
I knew I was doing this against the rules, but I was curious what might be written on it and I'd heard the same story a million times, so I wouldn't really miss out on anything.
I gasped in disbelief while I scanned the letters. It was an anonymous message.
"Will you be my special somepony?", it said.
How could I not think of this? Letters were passed in class all the time, but this was Hearts and Hooves day, of course it'd be a love letter. I should have let it be, shouldn't have read it, I thought to myself.
Was it somepony who really cared, somepony who's heart I'd have to break? Or would it be a cruel joke, made by Diamond Tiara? I didn't know.
The greatest horror had yet to come: Cheerilee noticed the piece of paper in my hoof. I felt my blood rising to my cheeks.
"What do you have there, Shutter, passing notes?", she said as she snagged the note from my hoof, before I could hide it. "Will you be my special somepony", she read out loud.
The whole class, apart from my friends, started laughing. Applebloom and Scootaloo looked at me with compassion. Sweetie Belle was woken up by the laughter, after she'd fallen asleep during Cheerilee's lecture.
Cheerilee, who could hardly resist a smile herself, asked for silence. "You're free from punishment this time, Shutter, but only because it's Hearts and Hooves day"
First, only my cheeks went red from embarrassment. Then, I felt my face was going completely red, out of anger. I'd rather be punished than relieved just because it's Hearts and Hooves day.
Tiara and Silver started laughing again. "What kind of a stupid filly would like Shutter? All he does is fantasize about wooden robots and talking critters", Tiara said.
I choked on my incomplete words, and found myself incapable of saying anything. "Well well, I'm sure there's plenty of reason to like him", Cheerilee said, with her 'don't make me give you extra homework' face. With no other options, and no need to be here, I ran outside, ignoring Cheerilee's numerous protests.
I ran and ran and ran. I lost track of time. I could feel the wind grab my mane, trying to pull me back. I noticed buildings were flashing by. I almost ran into some ponies, but managed to avoid them. I stopped running when my legs started feeling numb.
I looked around, and found myself at Sweet Apple Acres. I sat on the floor and cried. I don't know for how long, or how loud. I just cried. I didn't want this. I didn't want a letter. I didn't want a special somepony.
It was after my head started hurting, I stopped crying. My whole body felt numb and I felt like I could hardly move.
I hadn't noticed Granny Smith was behind me. She walked around me and sat down in front of me.
"Well, dear, what's on your mind?", she asked.
I was still too deep in shock to say something that actually made sense, so what came out of me was something like: "Don't want me be liked. Cruel joke."
Granny patted me on the back. "There there", she said, "it'll be all right."
I was grateful she didn't bring me back to school, instead, she brought me to her house and gave me a hot coco and a few hoofkerchiefs. I could hear Applejack and big Mack bucking apple trees in the distance. It had a calming effect. I fell asleep in the couch right after I'd finished the coco.
When I woke up, I heard Granny talk to somepony outside. I stepped out of the couch. Granny came in. She was followed by Applebloom, Button and Sweetie Belle. My saddlebag was hovering in front of them, held up by Sweetie Belle's magic. She put it down in front of me, gently.
Button was the first to speak. "Granny showed up at the school and told us where you were. Miss Cheerilee is talking to your parents", he said. "We were worried sick", Applebloom added.
Sweetie Belle nodded at the saddlebag. "We thought you might want your stuff back, so we brought it here. Miss Cheerilee has excused you. You don't have to go back." I was relieved.
"Look, if you don't want to come this evening, you don't have to, I can always scratch you from the list, we won't be mad", Button said. "No, I want to come", I answered. "You sure? You seemed rather upset earlier", Applebloom replied.
Sweetie Belle agreed. I shook my head.
"No, I'll come." "Okay then, we should probably get back to school now", Applebloom said.
Before she could open the door, it was done from the other side. My parents came in. "Shutter, are you all right?", mom asked.
'Duuuh, of course not', I thought, instead I said: "I'm fine, mom." "Come on, let's go back home, we can talk underway", dad said.
He nodded thankfully at Granny. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience ma'am", he apologised. "Oh, it's nothing dear, he's such a sweet kid", she answered.
'We can talk underway' might have been a bit exaggerated. We didn't speak a word.
When we reached the door to our house, mom finally broke the silence. "You know love is a beautiful thing, Shutter", she said, "There's nothing to be afraid of. The only reason you haven't fallen in love yet is because you aren't letting yourself."
Did she even know what she was talking about? Did she not know the mind numbing effects of that natural poison? Of course she didn't, it had infected her already.
Mom continued: "The heart wants what the heart wants"
She smiled at my dad, and hardly even noticed I walked up to my room.
When she realised I was gone, she yelled. "Shutter? Locking yourself in your room isn't going to solve anything, come here, let's talk."
I didn't leave my room. Instead, I picked up my broken clock and an old manual. I started working on it.
I had been interested in mechanics since I got my first toolkit, five years ago. I had always dreamt of building an intelligent robopony, able to defend the town from hazards. Of course, this was just a loose dream.
I kept track of time via the sundial I could see in the garden, outside of my window. It was still two hours before the LAN- party.
I tried to tighten a gizmo, but I couldn't do it with my bare hooves. I searched my saddlebag for something thin, a pencil or something, when suddenly, a note fell out of the bag.
No, not A note, THE note.
I held the note for minutes. I read it over and over again. The message of my undoing. "Will you be my special somepony?"
I contemplated dumping it in the trash, when I noticed something on the back of the note. "Sugarcube Corner, four o'clock tomorrow"
An invitation. A way to meet the pony who sent me this message. I tried not to get lost in thoughts.
A part of me wondered: "What if I give in?" Another part said: "You can't."
I tried to focus on the clock. I placed the gizmo in the right spot, and closed the dented cover of my old clock. I smiled as I looked at my craftscoltship. I set the clock to the same hour as the sundial. I observed how the time ticked exactly as it should.
This, this is achievement. This is way better than any sort of relationship.
"How do you know if you've never been in one", something said. "Because I observe the ones around me", I answered. "Are you sure you observed it correctly?"
I had to lay down for a second. I was losing it. I was talking to myself. I tried to calm down.
"Everything is going to be fine. I'll stay in the house tomorrow and keep working on my robot."
I took a glance at my closet. I opened it up and took out my drawings. I had carefully locked away the plans. One day, I had brought up my ideas for the robot at the dinner table. Mom and dad hadn't taken me seriously, and tried to stop me from farther deepening in the 'hopeless' subject. I had kept the drawings from them. I didn't want my parents to throw them away.
Some of my drawings were Everfree beasts. I had marked their weak spots for the robot to take them out. Other drawings were about the robot himself. How he would be fitted together. I thought of what it'd be like to actually finish him. Maybe let him walk a few circles around Diamond Tiara's house.
I was interrupted by my mom: "Shutter, are you coming out of there? You'll be late for the party."
I looked at my clock. It said I still had forty minutes. Dang, I must have made a wrong calibration. I'd fix it when I got back. I grabbed my stuff and went outside. I felt like I had forgotten something, but there was no time to waste.
I speeded over the streets. My saddlebag was now holding my laptop, my gaming equipment, a bag of chips and the letter.
I didn't know why I took the letter with me. I just grabbed it when I hurried to get my stuff.
I huffed and puffed when I arrived at Button's place. I had had my share of running for today.
I knocked on the door and Button's mother opened it. "Shutter, well, you are early", she said, while she looked around whether I was alone. "The party doesn't start in half an hour!", she continued.
I recalculated. It normally took me fifteen minutes to go from my house to his house, my mom had said I was going to be late.
Dang
Mom had tricked me out of my room.
I was relieved my clock might be fine after all, if I had taken five less minutes to get here this time, but that didn't reduce my agitation.
Mrs. Mash looked around again. "I'm sure Button won't mind you're a bit early. Come in." "Thanks ma'am", I answered.
She let me in and I saw mister Mash was knotting his tie. They were readying to take the train to Manehattan.
"Button and Sweetie Belle are upstairs. They're playing a game, I'm sure they'll let you play with them. If you want anything, just ask Button, he knows where to find everything", Mrs. Mash told me.
I nodded, and said: "Okay ma'am, have a fun evening." "Oh, we will", she said as she winked at her husband.
I knocked on Button's door, but they didn't hear me. I slowly pushed it open. They were sitting on his bed.
Their laptops were lit and Button was using the oculus. He was playing a horror game with it. Slender Mane or something alike.
The virtual reality system didn't allow him to see what was actually happening around him, since it covered his eyes completely, so he didn't see me enter the room.
Button smiled and said: "I'm gonna beat this monster, Sweetie Belle." It was a fake smile. He was clearly nervous. An in-game monster would probably jump him out of nowhere.
Sweetie Belle giggled and put a hoof in front of her lips, ordering me to remain silent. I stood there for a few seconds, and tension was rising for Button in the game.
Suddenly, Sweetie growled and gave Button a small push on the shoulder.
The terrified foal was launched into the air, screaming and yelling. It took him half a minute to realise Sweetie Belle had pushed him. He started to calm down, when suddenly, he started yelling again, while in-game Button was being eaten by a monster on his screen. He removed the oculus.
"Dang it, Sweetie Belle", he complained, "why did you do that?" "Because you're cute when you're scared", she said, and she gave him another push.
Button seemed to relax a little bit, then, he noticed me.
"Shutter? Hi, eh, how long have you been standing there?", he asked. "Long enough to see Sweetie Belle prank you", I said.
Sweetie Belle patted him on the back. "You were brave", she said.
I tried hard not to laugh. 'Brave' is not exactly how I would've described his panic attack.
"Why are you so early?", Button asked. "Mom threw me out", I responded. "I see. Want to play a game?" "Sure, what game?"
Sweetie Belle clicked away a few windows on her screen. "We could practice a bit for Minecraft", she replied.
So we did. We placed our laptops on Button's desk and started up the game.
Button and I just kept dying. I died so much because I'm simply bad at the game. Button probably died so much because he was giving all his good gear to Sweetie Belle. She chuckled when Button accidently set himself on fire. I tried to save him with a bucket of water, but a zombie pushed me into a pool of lava before I could reach him..
We played for half an hour, and I forgot about the letter, the worries and all bad things that had happened that day. I was happy. Only to be pushed back into reality by the doorbell.
Button logged out of the game and went downstairs. His parents had already left. Sweetie Belle and I followed Button to the door.
After he had opened it, Applebloom and Skootaloo came in.
"Hey girls!", Sweetie said, "do you have your laptops?" "Of course", Skootaloo answered. They put their heads together and yelled: "Cutiemark Crusaders LAN- gamers, yaaay!"
Button and I passed a frown. "We should probably use the large table in the living room", Button said, and the girls put their laptops down on the table. While Button looked for an extension cord, I fetched our laptops from upstairs.
It didn't take long before the doorbell rang again. This time, Featherweight and Pipsqueak were at the door.
They added their laptops to the ensemble and Featherweight picked some spare LAN cables from his saddlebag. Again, the bell rang.
This time, Dinky Hooves and Threshold were at the door. I had only just closed the door when somepony knocked on it.
Now, a whole group of ponies had arrived: Nya, Puffles, Terrin, Caundles and Tais.
It felt kind of strange to let them in, because some of these ponies had laughed at me when I had received that letter. On the other hand, this was Button's party, so I didn't really have a saying on who could and who could not join.
We all gathered at the table and Button performed a head count. There were fourteen of us.
We started up the game on a server Button was hosting. It was a 'survival games' map, so we had to kill each other in order to win. We played for hours, and again I forgot about it all.
Next to me were Featherweight and Applebloom. Applebloom had just died and she wasn't happy about it. Whilst Puffles was still doing a victory dance for defeating her, Skootaloo blew him up with TNT.
I just defeated Nya when Applebloom bended towards me, and spoke with a tone so only I could hear her speak. "Are you going, tomorrow, to meet your mystery mare?", she asked.
I was furious.
"You read that letter?!", I yelled, completely forgetting about all the faces around me, "Don't you understand how personal this is?"
She cramped together with every word. I must've looked manic, crazy enough to attack ponies, because Applebloom was one of the last ponies to cramp in the face of danger, let alone an angry foal.
"Uh, Shutter?", Featherweight responded. "What?!", I yelled, way too loud.
Featherweight pointed at my laptop. I had smashed the keyboard with my hoof. I raised my hoof and a few of the keys fell next to my second broken device of the day.
I tried to calm down, but it was of no use. I was infuriated.
Skootaloo killed my character in the game. "Yes!", she shouted, only to realise everypony's attention was now aimed towards me.
The little Pipsqueak was the first to move. He walked towards me and grabbed my hoof. I let him, I didn't care about anything anymore. He brought me to Button's garden and said: "You need fresh air. That'll do you good."
After that, he went inside. I stood there. I was grateful the little foal had brought me outside. I wouldn't have been able to say anything if I'd stayed at the table.
I reflected on my day while I enjoyed the cool evening breeze. I had broken two pieces of state of the art technology, I had ran out of class in the middle of a lesson, locked myself up in my room, alienated a hundred ponies and put a damper on Button's party. Yes, I was a very likable pony.
I heard the door open and close again, as Applebloom, Threshold, Sweetie Belle and Button came outside.
"Are you okay?", Button asked. "No, I'm not", I said. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have read it", Applebloom apologised. "All forgiven", I said, "I just didn't want to be reminded of it."
Sweetie Belle scratched her neck.
"You do know you'll have to choose, right? You can't just ignore something like this."
I swallowed the last bits of my anger.
"You're probably right." "So, what will you do?", Threshold asked.
I wanted to say no, I wanted to run away again, run as far as I could. "I'll... I think I'll check it out, see what's really going on."
Button nodded. Sweetie Belle put up her thinking face. "It could be a trap set by Diamond Tiara and her following." "Don't worry, the Crusaders will keep an eye on her, you'll be safe and sound", Applebloom smiled.
They turned around and went back. Almost forgot! Threshold's question!
"Threshold?", I said, before she could follow the others inside. "Yes?", she answered. "I sit underneath that tree because it's calm and quiet, I don't like being in the crowd." "Okay, I figured it'd be something like that", she said, "I had already forgotten I had asked the question though." "I just don't like leaving questions unanswered."
We went back inside, and I could feel the crowd's eyes poking me. I sat down at my chair and took a sip of my juice box.
My computer was broken. I attempted to fix the device while I was watching the other players fight each other.
After half an hour or so, all players were taken out, and they started over. All went well, I felt all the worries leave my body. I felt better, looking at the ponies slaughtering each other in a virtual world.
I moved the last key in place and was content with the look of it. My laptop looked like it had never even been crushed at all. I plugged in the loader and pressed the on button. Then, every computer, every light went dark. Oops.
I didn't really know what to say. I had just plugged in my newly repaired laptop and the electricity went down. Coincidence? Unlikely.
My eyes were trying to adjust to the darkness. I saw the other ponies were confused, didn't know what just happened.
Skootaloo gave me reproachful glance. She had seen me plug in.
I was about to apologize, when the lights went back on. The laptops didn't.
Button repetitively pushed the on button of his computer, but it was useless. The laptops were fried. He started panicking, and if I would say it was my fault he would probably attack me with his juice box.
For a second, I considered lying, but I immediately rejected the idea. I'd rather have Button hate me than lie to him.
"I think it's my fault", I said, preparing for a rage burst. Instead, Button said: "No it's not." I was stunned. "What do you mean it's not?", Skootaloo asked, "I saw him plug in that thing there."
Tais looked at my laptop. "Wait, that is the same device as the one you crushed earlier?", he asked. "Well, uh, yes"
Skootaloo gave me another angry look. Button caressed his deceased laptop.
"It couldn't be his computer, he doesn't have the amount of power to fry all of our laptops." He gently closed his computer. Sweetie Belle gave him a tissue to blow his nose in. "Then what did cause this?", Nya asked.
Threshold looked outside the window. "Whatever it is, it didn't affect the other houses." "Perhaps we should take a look around the house", Featherweight suggested.
Sweetie Belle nodded. "Okay crusaders, we'll check the back." Nya closed her computer. "Tais, Caundles, shall we check the front?" "Sure", Caundles answered.
The six ponies left the place. I looked at the fried computers.
"My mom is going to be very mad", Puffles said. Button was still staring at his broken laptop, as if he couldn't believe the thing was actually broken.
"Not if I can help it", I said. I quickly started working on my laptop. I had it defried in ten minutes. Dinky took a closer look at the device. "Not a scratch!", she said. Button looked at my pc, then immediately pushed his own in my hooves.
"Can you fix it?" "I can't guarantee it'll..." "Please?" "I'll do my best."
I fixed the laptops as fast as I could. It took me about half an hour to fix the other thirteen. I was proud of the result.
"It might still be a bit glitchy from time to time, I'm sorry I can't get it perfect", I said. Threshold dismissed my apology. "No pony could've done it this good."
I was flattered. I wanted to say thanks when I suddenly realised something.
"Shouldn't they be back by now?", I asked. The others passed a frown. "Let's go check!", Featherweight said.
Pipsqueak had fallen asleep in the couch. It was a late hour for him. "I'll stay here", Dinky said, as she glanced in the young foal's direction.
Puffles took a look outside the window. "Me too", he said, with anxiety resounding in his voice. Terrin backed him up. "Yeah, we'll stay here to defend the house if necessary" Threshold rolled her eyes.
"Let's go then", Button said. I could tell he was worried. We all were.
Threshold, Featherweight, Button and I went outside. It was silent. Too silent. Button gazed over the streets and a shiver passed his spine. "What if one of the Everfree beasts came out of the forest?", he said.
Threshold scratched her chin. "Well, whatever it is, we might miss them if we only do one side at a time, I suggest we split up."
I should've known it was a bad idea by then, but for some reason, it didn't occur to me.
"Good thinking. I'll take the west, you take east", Featherweight said. "Oh, you aren't going alone, alone is too dangerous", I said, and I followed him to the western side of the house. "Meet you inside the house!", I told Button and Thresh. "Sure", Threshold answered, then she sighed. Was it just me or did she sound disappointed? Button beckoned her. "Come on, we need to find Swee... the others!"
We had only taken two steps at the west side and we already got jumped. Ummy and his twin brother Dummy jumped out of the bushes and pushed us to the wall. Featherweight gave Dummy a kick in the stomach. The colt collapsed on the floor.
Ummy protested, but I pressed my hoof into his eye. He screamed and tried to protect his face. Feather and I jumped away and ran around the corner. We hid inside a bush. I heard the two hurt ponies pass by, cursing our names.
We slowly crawled through the garden. We crawled for what felt like hours, but were probably just mere minutes. I snapped a twig and for a few minutes, we stopped moving. All I could hear was the sound of our breathing. When we had decided nopony had noticed us, we went on.
We soon found ourselves at the back of the building. I could see Ummy and five of his brothers standing there. They were sixlets (their mother must have had a very tough time), and all known for being meanies.
Yummy and Crummy were holding Applebloom and Sweetie Belle against the wall. Nya and Caundles were being held by the biggest brother, Chummy.
Tais was knocked out on the floor. There was no sign of Skootaloo.
I could see Vendell as well. He was poking the wires at the side of the building. That explained the electricity problem. Next to Vendell I could see a potato sack, but I didn't think it was filled with potatoes.
I saw Drummy pass the corner. He was somehow keeping both Button and Threshold in control. He brought them to Vendell.
"And these?", he asked. Vendell groaned. "With the rest."
Drummy wanted to bring the two to the wall, but Button kicked him in the knee. He didn't have them under control, they were faking. Threshold gave him an uppercut and the pony sagged in on the floor.
Chummy pushed Nya against the wall harder, and she squealed. In the mere seconds Button and Threshold were distracted, Ummy and Dummy jumped them and pressed them to the ground.
"I have defeated a thousand of creeprs and have vanquished the Overlord of More, I will not be defeated this easily!", Button yelled. "This is no game, foal", Vendell laughed.
"Why are you doing this?", Button asked. "As a present for Diamond Tiara, for Hearts and Hooves day", Vendell said.
Button frowned. "That doesn't really explain a lot."
Vendell shook his head. "I thought of blowing up all the ponies she didn't like." "What kind of a present is that", Threshold said in disbelief. "One I can afford, just trying to find the gas line."
Something was wrong about his plan. Wouldn't he just blow himself up in the process? On the other hoof, Vendell wasn't well known for his wit.
"I don't want that kind of a present, and I already rejected you! Now let me out, my dad can get you in prison for this!", Diamond screamed. Apparently, she was inside the potato sack.
"Oh you will like it", Vendell said with a manic glare.
"Found it!" He bucked the gas line. Nya squealed again. Tais was starting to wake up, but Dummy gave him another punch to the head.
"Where's my lighter?", Vendell asked Ummy. "You need a lighter?", Ummy asked.
I was getting nervous. With the sparks coming from the broken wires, the building could explode any time now.
"What do we do?", Feather asked. "You go back to the house and get everypony away from here", I said. "And what will you do?"
"The only reasonable thing to do", I smiled, content with my ridiculous plan. I attacked.
I went straight for Chummy. I knew I wasn't going to be able to beat these guys, but I hoped it might give the other ponies enough time to get away.
I guess luck was on my side, because when I jumped Chummy, he hit his head against the wall and passed out. Crummy was startled, and loosened his grasp on Sweetie Belle. She used this opportunity to do a spin kick in his face. He screamed as he fell backwards.
"Ummy, my lighter!", Vendell yelled. Ummy was taken down with the wack of a scooter landing on his head. Skootaloo landed next to the dazed colt. "Where did you learn that?", Button asked, whilst Applebloom knocked out Yummy.
"Cutiemark Crusaders kung fu champions", Sweetie Belle answered. "Yaay", Skootaloo added.
Chummy, Drummy, Crummy, Yummy and Ummy were all down. Dummy let go of Threshold and started pulling his brothers into safety.
Caundles and Nya were moving Tais away and the Cutiemark Crusaders were pulling the potato sack over the rocky bottom. Diamond disapproved.
I was surprised how easily these guys were taken down. They were almost double our size. On the other hoof, with three kung fu fillies on your side, things get a lot easier. Or so I thought.
Chummy woke up and immediately charged Button. Button was too startled to run. Sweetie Belle saw it happen and screamed. Button was launched two metres in the air and landed next to the gas line. Vendell found his lighter in the grass. Threshold kicked him in the knee. Vendell hardly even flinched. He gave her an angry look. I pulled her away before he could punch her. Chummy seemed rather pleased with his achievement, and didn't notice Sweetie Belle coming at him with an immense speed.
She kicked him so hard he landed on the other side of the garden. She started pulling Button away. Threshold helped her. I was about to follow them when Vendell grabbed my tail. How come we always forget about this guy?
I desperately tried to free myself from his grasp. It didn't work. I wanted to scream, but it was too late. A spark hit the gas line.
I can still remember how I was launched into the air. The shock wave pushing me up. I remember how Vendell's laughter turned into an astonished scream. I can still feel the heat scorching my back and my tail. My head still hurts when I think about the moment I was abruptly stopped by the ground.
My head felt like it was going to implode when I woke up. I tried to open my eyes, but the light was too bright. I put one of my hooves on my forehead to block it away and looked around. I was in a hospital room.
I could see my mom sitting in the corner. She was reading a magazine. I tried to say something. All I could bring out was: "eep"
Mom looked up immediately, and ran towards me, tears on her cheeks.
"Thank Celestia, you are awake!", she said whilst she hugged me.
I don't know how long she hugged me, but I didn't want it to end. Suddenly, my dad came in.
"You're awake! He's awake!", he shouted. The doctor seemed to have heard, because he walked in as well.
Dad ran towards us and joined the hug. I looked out the window. The sun was shining bright.
"How long have I been out?", I asked.
My parents left the hug. Mom and dad gave each other the should-we-tell-him-maybe-we-should look.
"When are we?", I asked again. "Eleven o' clock dear. It's the day after Hearts and Hooves day", mom said.
I thought back at what had happened yesterday.
"Are the others okay? Is anypony hurt?"
I tried to sit up, but pain cut my stomach, and I laid down again.
"They're fine. That Tais kid is a little bit shaken up by that awful fight. Button and his family are staying with us for a while." "Is his house gone?" "One wall. Vendell's parents have agreed to pay the repairs. Now don't you worry about that, you must rest", mom said. "You were a brave foal, Shutter", dad said. "How do you know about what happened?", I asked. "That poor Threshold girl told us. She was really taken aback by what had happened. I've never seen a filly cry as much as she did", dad said. "Don't tell him that, he'll be worried again", mom whispered in his ear.
I sighed. I hoped she'd be all right.
"You should probably get some rest now", dad said. "Rest? I've been sleeping for half a day!", I said. "You don't have to sleep right now, but I'd advice staying here for the weekend", the doctor said.
I wasn't happy with the thought of staying here any longer, but my stomach seemed to agree with the medic.
"Almost forgot!", dad said. He ran over to his saddlebag next to the coffee table. My own saddlebag and laptop were next to it. He grabbed his bag and brought it to the side of the bed. He fished out a couple of drawings. I recognised them the second I saw them.
"My drawings!" "You left them on your work table when you left for the party", dad said.
I braced myself for the upcoming lecture about wasting my time on useless things. Instead, he smiled at me and said: "How did you come up with this? This is amazing!"
I couldn't believe he approved.
"I based the drawings of the Everfree beasts on biology book from the library. I figured the plans for the robot out myself." "You simply must build this!", he said.
I hadn't seen him so enthusiastic since the last Daring Do novel came out.
"Do you really think it'll work?", I asked. "I don't think it, I'm certain of it."
My parents had left to prepare the house for the Mashes' stay. I was looking into my drawings. I was going to start building as soon as I got home.
I opened up my laptop and looked at the time. Three thirty. I remembered the note. I painfully reached into my saddle bag. I picked up the letter and stared at the text.
"Sugarcube Corner, four o' clock tomorrow"
I still hadn't figured out what to think of it. I looked at the time again. I made a brainless decision. I put down my laptop and stuck the not behind my bondages. Ignoring the pain, I got out of the bed and went off. The doctor didn't seem to notice I walked by, as he was sorting his paperwork.
I managed to get to Sugarcube Corner. I crawled the last bits, trying to ignore the pain. The Cakes had taken the weekend off, probably out on a trip for two. I sat down next to the building. I waited. Time passed by and I looked inside through the window.
Pinkie Pie was keeping the business going. I saw muffins, cupcakes, pop tarts... Aha, a wall clock! I gazed at the hour. It was still ten minutes before four o' clock.
I started thinking who the mystery mare could be. I didn't really suspect anypony, so I just checked every filly name I knew.
The crusaders had been in my sight when the note found its way to my head, so it couldn't possibly be one of them. Diamond and Silver seemed capable of sending it as a mean trick, so I had to be prepared for trouble.
For a moment, I thought it was Threshold, then again, she alibied out, being at Rarity's shop. I was disappointed, for some reason. Perhaps because Threshold was a pony I could actually talk to. I looked at the clock again. It was four. I looked around, but nopony showed up.
Perhaps she was a little late. My stomach cramped again, and I struggled not to faint. If she wouldn't be here soon, she'd probably find me unconscious.
I waited there, fighting the pain. No mystery mare showed up. The combination of pain and disappointment caused me to cry.
Pinkie Pie must have heard me, because she walked outside and tried to cheer me up.
"Cookie?", she asked. "Ooh, ooh, balloons will do you well."
I tried to dry my tears, but my stomach cramped again.
"Cupcakes? Milk? Bubbles?", Pinkie asked, desperate to console me. "Hospital", I managed to say. "Hospitals? Hospitals aren't fun!", Pinkie said. "Just take me to the hospital, please." "Okay then, if that'll make you happy", Pinkie smiled.
She tried to walk me there, but I couldn't move a hoof without cramping together.
"Oh dear, I can't carry you by myself", she said, "Wait here!"
'Duuh', I thought. I collapsed on the floor.
What were probably only a few minutes felt like hours. I finally saw Pinkie and Rarity approach.
"Rarity was the closest by", Pinkie said. "I don't think he wants an explanation right now, Pinkie, let's just get him up on his hooves", Rarity replied.
They lifted me up and brought me to the hospital. They brought me inside and put me down in the bed. I could see four other ponies there, but I couldn't get a good look until they'd placed me back in the bed.
Threshold instantly embraced me. I was shocked, didn't know what to say. She hugged a bit too hard and I felt my stomach protest.
"You're hurting him", the doctor stated.
She let go and jumped back. Her cheeks were red.
"Why did you leave, for Luna's sake!", dad said.
I tried to make a sentence, but I didn't know what to say. Instead, I grabbed the note and put it on top of my sheet. "I don't like to leave a question unanswered."
Threshold gasped for breath. "You went to see the girl?", mom asked, surprised. "You really didn't have to, I knew you were here, so I thought you wouldn't be able to go to the shop", Threshold said. I frowned. "How did you give me this letter? You were at Rarity's place."
Rarity smiled. "She asked if she could leave early, on Hearts and Hooves matters." "I gave it through the window", Threshold added.
I didn't know what to say. "She came here to tell you, when she noticed you were gone, she immediately informed us", mom said.
The doctor tried to hide his face in his vest.
"Just... well... I understand if you're mad", Threshold said. All ponies in the room were awaiting my reaction.
I gave it a quick thought. I raised my shoulders, pulled Threshold towards me and kissed her. I didn't care about my stomach anymore, the humiliations I had cast upon myself, the struggle through Hearts and Hooves day. I was happy.
"I..uh..I", she stuttered." I totally agreed.
Epilogue
Button readied his controller. I readied mine.
We gave each other a quick I'll-beat-you-so-hard look and started up our robots. My two first wooden creations sat up quickly. I let mine move to the left side of the par course, I hopped on its back. Button did the same with his on the right side.
I was sure I'd win this round. I knew Button would hit the dust for sure.
Too bad, Button was a pro with joysticks.
The second Sweetie Belle had waved her flag, we shot onto the course. Button easily tripped my robopony. I had lost again.
Still, I felt a bit victorious. Threshold and I had made these guys. Huge wooden robots, capable of walking.
Next project: a sentient robopony.
Threshold helped me up and gave me a hug.
We didn't talk. We didn't need to. We went back to the bench and watched Button finish his laps.
"I'm glad I'm here with you", Threshie said. I gave her a quick kiss. "You have no idea how glad I am to be with you", I said. We smiled.
Sweetie Belle sat down next to us. "You guys planning anything for Hearts and Hooves day, next week?", Sweetie Belle said.
Thresh and I passed a frown. I could tell from her eyes she was thinking the same thing. "Hell no."