> The Sand Diamond > by DJ Scratch21x > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Chapter 1 Time To Go Outside > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Button can remember the best summer that he has ever had. So many memories from that time. Lessons were learned, friends were made, and I became a better pony from it all. It started back in 3015, and the last day of school has ended, and the summer began. ____________________________________________________________________________________________ "My name is Button Mash! I am eight years old, and I like video games! I live in Ponyville, with my mom, dad, and my brother! I don't have a cutiemarks yet, but I don't care much about that." Button grabs his green propeller hat from my shelf. "And today, is the first day of a summer vacation!" He turned to my door and shouts, "MOM, I'M READY FOR SCHO- oh wait it's summer." Button ran and jumped into my bed, pulling the covers over himself. He owed his eyes, and drifted off into sleep. He was sleeping in today. It was the summer time: and he could do whatever he wanted. Or so he thought. "Buuuton." A voice called softly. He groaned. Button pulled the covers closer to him and held them there. He felt a pair of hooves giving him a soft push. He turned to his side, still refusing to get up. This time, a muzzle nudged him, then the blankets were slowly pulled away from him. Button curled up into a ball, freezing and missing the warm blankets warmth, even though it was 70 degrees out; and the window was wide open. "Buuton." The voice called again. "It's time to get up." Button groaned and sat up. He wiped his eyes and locked his lips lazily. Buttons mom was the culprit who had woken him up. Her eyes were baggy, and dark. She had a very bad case of bed mane, where it looked like she was struck by lightning. Even though she was obviously tired, she still had the warming smile she always has. "It's time to get up." She whispered. "Mom?" Button said before yawning. "What..(yawn) what are you doing?" "Waking up my little gamer of course." She whispered back. "Why did you wake me up?" He asked groggily. "So you won't miss out on the first day of your vacation! You don't want to spend it all day in bed do you?" She asked with an eyebrow raised. Button shrugged. He didn't see a way out of this. He got up and grabbed his hat off of the shelf by his bed. He lazily put it on his head, the propeller slowly turning as he did so. She smiled and laughed quietly. "Come on, I've made some breakfast for you." She said with a smile, and walked out. Button groaned. He slid off of the bed like a snake and hit the floor. His face made a comical smack as he made impact with the wooden floor beneath. He lazily pushed himself up and walked out of the room. He walked out into the dining room. A single plate and a glass was on the table. An eggplant omelet, toast, apple slices; and a tall glass of orange juice to wash it all down. This shook Button out of his drowsiness pretty quick when he saw his favorite meal on the table before him. He say down onto the seat, and instantly began to wolf the whole thing down. "My my Button, you are a hungry little colt, aren't you?" His mom said. Button only nodded as he was literally shoving the food into his mouth. He took the glass of orange juice, and poured it down his gullet. "Button, slow down!" She exclaimed. Button slammed the glass down onto the table, like it was was a huge accomplishment. "Thanks, mom!" He said as he sped off to his room. Button skidded to a stop right I front of his Gamer Circle. This is his most prized possession in his life. It was the one and only gaming console for him. He push red button on the top of the console, turned on the tv; and sat down. The tv came to life with color and light. He grabbed his controller and entered his game. Before he could play, the tv went black. The sound instantly died, and his Gamer Circle turned off. His smile was replaced with a disappointed frown. "What? No. No! Noooo!" He exclaimed. He heard a knock at his door. He turned his head to see his mom standing there. The horrifying fact was that, she held both the tv and the Gamer Circle plugs in her mouth. His eyes widened in fear. His jaw dropped. "What have you done." He gasped in horror. "I said that I wanted you to go outside, and I still want you to go outside." "But I was going finally beat 0 degrees!" Button exclaimed. Button's mom shook her head. "You can another day. For now, go outside, and play." She told Button. Button groaned. He stood up, left his room; and went outside. The sun blinded his eyes. He instantly shrouded back into the darkness of the house, hissing like a cat. He felt a hoof on his back push him out into the blazing sun. "Go outside." His mom said before shutting the door. Button stepped out into the sun. It took his eyes a moment to adjust to the sun. He looked around. Ponies were walking up and down the dirt road, going about their day. "Welp, mind as we'll go to Sugar Cube Corner." He said to himself. Button trotted lazily and glumly all the way to Sugar Cube Corner, the best bakery in Equestria. Even though he didn't have any bits on him, might as well go hang around there and make it look like he did something today. He arrived at the bakery, and pushed open the door. Inside, ponies sat at there tables, eating their breakfasts and eating their pastries. The smell of a brownies, lingered in the air, and teased him; calling to him. The smell actually made him feel better. He took in a deep breath through his nose, letting the aroma cheer him up. Behind him, the door opened. In walked the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, and Scootaloo. Button turned around to see them, and his stomach twisted into a knot when he saw Sweetie Belle. A lump in his throat formed and his breathing intensified. "I'm telling you", Scootaloo said, "there is no way the Mysterious Mare Do Well, can lose to mighty rat! It's a RAT for Pete's sake!" "I'm gonna have to side with you, Scoots. With that electric staff she has, she can whip that rats bum into next week." Applebkloom agreed. They walked past Button without a glance. He stepped aside, letting them past, and not taking his eyes off of Sweetie Belle. He has had a crush on her ever sense he first saw her. Ever sense pony kindergarden. She talked to him a few times, but he never really had the guts or the time to tell her how he felt. "Wait...what time is it?" He heard Sweetie a Belle ask. "It's uhhh...", Scootaloo checker her watch. "It's 11:30. Wait...11:30?!" She suddenly exclaimed, "Gah, we're gonna be late!" Apple bloom exclaimed back. "We'll get cupcakes later, we gotta go!" Scootaloo said. They hurried out the door, and down the busy street. Button watched them run away. "Geeze, what are they in a hurry for?" Button asked himself. Curious, Button ran out after them. For fifteen minuets, he followed the crusaders, making himself loom casual and using stealth. Whenever they looked back, he would dive into the shadows like a ninja. Either that, or he would look around, whistle, and spin the propeller on his hat. It was then when they stopped abruptly. They all were just outside of town. They turned and looked at Button. Button still looked innocent, and spin his propeller. You know, totally not following them or anything. The crusaders looked each other, then at Button. "You know Button, if you wanna hang out, you can just ask," Scootaloo said. "You don't need to follow us." It was just then, out of nowhere, they heard kids yelling and cheering. Then the yells, turned into screams. "Look out!" "Move!" "Look out below!" Button looked up, and barley had a chance to move, before a base ball came torpedoing down, and turned his world into blackness. > Chapter 2 New Players > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Is he ok?" Button heard a voice ask. "Poke him with a stick or something." Said another. "We should get some help." He heard Sweetie Belle say. The blackness that once consumed him, was now beginning to fade. He could make out a bunch of heads, looking down at him. In an instant, light flooded in. He covered his eyes with a hoof. Button groaned, and rubbed his throbbing head. He tried to shake away the pain, but that made the pain worse. "Owww." He moaned. "My heeaaad." Button sat up. While he rubbed his head, he looked around to see who was with him. He immediately noticed that he was in fact, surrounded by school phillies. Some, he recognized from school. Others, we're completely new to him. He saw that Snips, Snails, Twist, Pip, and the crusaders were all around him. The rest, he either didn't recognize or know at all. "Woah, kid." An older colt asked. "You alright?" The colt was the tallest out of them all. Button assumed to be the leader of the group. His coat was a dark blue. He wore a brown baseball cap backwards. The hat, covered most of his mane, except for a patch of hair, that stuck out from the hole in the back of the cap. He looked down at Button. He reached out a hoof to help him up. Button took the hoof, and was helped up. "Yeah, I'm fine." Button said, still trying to block out the plain in his little head. Button just stood there as he was surrounded by phillies and colts. He took the silence and the embarrassment of that situation as a sign to beat it. "I guess I'll just be going." He said. Button turned to leave the pack of small ponies, when he bonked muzzles with another pony. He flinched at the sudden impact, closing his eyes. When he opened them, he was face to face with Sweetiebelle. A lump in his throat began to form. He looked nervously at her, as she looked back at him with concern. Before he could say anything, a hoof reached around him, and pulled him back abruptly. Button stumbled a few steps, before he caught his footing. He was then face to face with another colt. He was shorter than him by only a quarter of an inch. He was a whitish creamy color. His mane was slicked back not from sweat, but from gel. He moved button's head so he could look at where he was struck. "Let me see. My mom is a nurse." He said. Button stood there, confused, and fearful. He felt a hoof touch it, and he jumped back. Button yelped and glared at the pony. "Ow jeez, that hurt!" Button exclaimed. "Uh huh. You are gonna be fine. You are going to get a nasty bruise on your head, not to mention that bump that is already forming on your head." He said. "I just can't believe that you took a hit from Stripe Stride!" A pony to his side exclaimed. A commotion of ponies all agreed in unison. Button looked around nervously. "Should I see a doctor?" Button asked. "Does that even matter? You took a blow from Stripes, himself!" Another pony asked. "Why? What's the big deal?" Button asked. "Well he is the best batter on the team. Not to mention he tends to have a good swing." The same pony said. Button pushed the ponies out of his way to see a doctor. He began to trot. He trotted through town. He looked back, only to see the whole group of ponies following him. Each, wore a guilty face. All except for the crusaders, who gave him a worried look. He trotted into the hospital. Thirty minuets later, Button's mom was notified and made her way over to the hospital. She came into Button's room. She looked over at Button, who had a ice pack on the side of his head. He saw his mom, and sheepishly waved at her. Button's mom, walked over to him. "Sweetie, are you alright?" She asked, worriedly. Button waved it off. "Psssh. I'm fine, Mom." Button assured. "Can you tell me what happened?" Button's mom asked. Button explained the whole thing with the baseball and the extreme boredom he had to endure to get in the whole mess. Nurse Redheart, was the nurse who took care of Button. Nurse Redheart grumbled and face hoofed. "Dang it, Coco." She grumbled. "Is your kid on that team?" Button's mom asked, raising an eyebrow. "Yes, he spends most of his weekends playing baseball with those colts. He tends to get into trouble this way." "It was an accident." Button said. Nurse Redheart looked at Button. She shrugged, before taking out a clipboard. She read it off to Button, and his mom. "Ok, it seems that Button, has not suffered from any major or minor traumas. My recommendation, is for him to stay indoors and he rests. Be sure to keep an eye on him." Nurse Redheart explained. "I will." Button's mom assured. They both left the hospital ten minuets later. Outside, the whole group of colts waited for them, including the crusaders. "Hey." Stripes said. He stepped forward to Button. Stripes reached out a hoof. "Sorry about hitting you." Button kindly shook his hoof. "It's ok. It's all good." Stripes took off his cap to reveal his blue hair, with an orange stripe running down the middle. Inside, it was his hat! Button's propeller hat! Button reached up, to feel that his hat, was absent. "Found it lying on the ground. I must have hit you pretty hard with that baseball." Stripes said. Button held the hat in his goof. He couldn't put it on, due to the enormous ice pack strapped to his head. "Gee, thanks!" Button said happily. Stripes's eyes widened. "Speaking of baseball, why don't you play with us! When you get better!" The whole group of colts suddenly became excited, wanting Button to join. Button looked uneasily at them. "Eh I don't know." Button said. "Why not?" Stripes demanded playfully, shoving him gently in the shoulder. "Well, I'm not much of a sports pony. Plus, I don't know how to play." "That's alright! We can teach you!" "YEAH!" Yelled the rest of the team. "Ehhh." Button said. "I think that sounds nice!" Button's mom said happily. "Naahhh." Button said. "Come on, Button. The crusaders joined. Why not you?" Stripes asked. Buttone's eyes widened in disbelief. Sweetiebelle...playing baseball? Oh sweet Celestia! This was his chance to impress her! This was his chance, and he was gonna take it! "Uhhh...ok ok. Fine." Button decided. "Alright! See ya later, But!" Stripes said, as he ran away with the rest of the team, including the new recruits. "Button...what have you gotten yourself into?" he thought to himself.