> Final Boss: Sweetie Belle
>  by Blueninetails
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> Chapter 1
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Button Mash, a young adolescent, brown earth pony stallion who lives in Ponyville, may be a simple little colt, but he is a colt of many titles. He's a warrior, a truly skilled swords-pony, an upholder of truth, justice, and honor,  a defender of the weak, and savior of countless princesses and royal families. He's stopped hordes of countless goblins, slayed dragons, and thwarted the plans of many powerful, dark-magic wielding, evil masterminds. Some might even say, a warrior so strong, his skill would even match the Princess of the Night herself. At least as far as video games go.

He has many times been challenged by others to prove their experience, only to fall short of claiming the victory title from Button Mash. His only real rival would be Princess Luna, where it was still undetermined who was the better. Except in Ponemon, since he never took the game concept too seriously, and hardly ever tried to out-do Princess Luna in crafting a truly competition-worthy team.

Yet, despite his experience, there was still one annoyance that he could never rid from his existence: a white-coated filly around his age with pink and purple mane and tail and light green eyes. Her name was Sweetie Belle, who was a fellow classmate of his for several years now, and only recently, he had started suspecting liked him. Scratch that, he knew she liked him.

Now Button Mash may be a gamer at heart, and is typically seen either playing on an arcade machine, his JoyBoy, or other console like Ponystation, but he might as well have been blind for him to miss the number of times he had seen Sweetie Belle looking at him. Normally being eyed by ponies of the opposite gender would be down right flattering to an adolescent colt like him, but there was something about Sweetie Belle that just irked him so much. Whether it was due to her almost-always positive attitude (which did annoy him on the occasion), the fact she seemed pretty adept at disrupting his attention from a game when it mattered the most, or that one time when they were younger and they had been forced to partner up for a project and Sweetie accidentally made a huge mess of it, he didn't know. Either way, he really didn't like her, and he probably never will like her; yet, there she was, sitting in the seat right next to him.

She had the option of sitting at any other desk in the classroom. Heck there were even open seats where her friends Applebloom and Scootaloo sat. So why the hay did she have to choose to sit in the seat next to him?! He cursed under his breath as he knew Sweetie Belle was once again looking in his direction. Well, at least it was only a couple more minutes until the bell would ring, he could retreat to the sanctuary of his room, and away from Sweetie Belle until Monday came around.

Sweetie Belle fidgeted as she looked at him from the corner of her eye, mumbling a few words under her breath as she did so.

"Why does this have to be so hard?" Sweetie Belle thought to herself.

"Does she really have to keep staring at me?" Button thought to himself.

"I have to though, I have to ask him, I can't back out now."

"Why can't she just disappear? And never come back!"

"What if he doesn't want to though...?"

"I wish she would just disappear from Equestria."

"No! I can't think that. I have to think positive."

"Tartarus! Why won't you just quit staring at me?!"

The school bell finally rang out, indicating the end of the school day, and the start of the weekend.

Sweetie took a deep breath before muttering a quick prayer that her courage will hold before getting out of her chair and looked at Button.

"Um...H-hey there Button." she said, trying as hard as she can to sound as polite as she could, as well as hide her nervousness.

Button took a deep breath, then letting it out slowly as he clenched his teeth, "Hey, Sweetie Belle," he replied, trying to sound at least a bit respectful while they were still in earshot of the rest of the class, "do you need to ask me something?", then thought to himself, "Please say 'no'."

"Y-yeah." Button cursed silently at her response, "I-I w-w-was wondering, I mean if you want to, you don't have to if you don't. I just wanted to ask since it was Friday, and it's suppose to be a nice full moon tonight." she started saying as she fiddled with her front hoof-tips, and her tail whipped from one side of her body to the other.

"Uh, Sweetie Belle, can you just say what you want to say. I kinda don't want to waste the rest of my Friday in a classroom." He remarked irritatingly.

By this time, only a hoof-ful of their classmates were still there, still putting away their things into their saddlebags.

"Would you like to go out with me tonight?" she asked, maybe a little louder than she probably should've.

"Out...? Like, as in, a date?" He asked in a surprised tone, before looking at the others in the class.

The loud question did attract some attention, particularly with a couple of colts that Button Mash were friends with, each one smirking or grinning. Applebloom and Scootaloo were still around also, waiting for Sweetie Belle, the look on their faces saying they knew what Sweetie Belle was gonna ask.

"NO!" That's what he wanted to respond, but didn't, at least not yet. He didn't like her at all, not even as an acquaintance, so why in Equestria would he want to date her?! He should just say 'No' and be done with it, but he had an audience and knew that. If he said 'no' like he wanted to, he would look like an absolute jerk.

He could already see it happening, she'd start tearing up before meekly saying 'okay...', then start walking away, the whole time Scootaloo looks to be about ready to punch him so hard it would be a perfect one-hit KO. The whole time, the remainder of the class would be glaring at him and shaking their heads disapprovingly because Sweetie Belle just asked a simple question and he shot her down harder than Rainbow Dash crashing into the broad-side of a barn, then the rest will find out, and he'll become the villain of the class.

Forget jerk. If he did that, calling him a jerk might be a compliment to all those real jerks out there, he'd be worse than just a simple jerk.

What should he do then? If he says 'yes', he'd have to go on a date with Sweetie Belle -ugh, he felt the coldest chill go down his spine-, but he if he says 'no', he'd be no better than half the bad guys he defeats in all those video games he plays. His worse nightmare come to life, or be branded 'worse than a jerk' for the remainder of his school career, and perhaps even longer?

Well, at least one option will only last at the most six hours. Taking a deep breath, he stallioned up and nodded. "Sure, I'll go out with you."

"Really?! Oh, thank you!" she then jumped and pulled him into a hug.

He groaned, "Hey, no big deal." he then looked at the others, "Um...you can let go of me now."

"Sorry." she apologized, "How about tonight at seven? Pick me up then?"

"Sure, but you might wanna come to my place if I'm not at yours by 6:45. My mom might...you know, get all excited, and take forever micro-managing how I present myself."

"Okay." then Sweetie Belle merrily skipped toward Applebloom and Scootaloo, before the trio disappeared out the door.

Button Mash gave a loud sigh before slamming his face onto his desk.

"Good luck, Casanova. Make sure you don't do anything I wouldn't do." he heard one of his classmates say, the voice sounding like Rumble, before he heard the colt chuckle and leave.

Button merely felt that chill go down his spine again. What has he gotten himself into?
> Chapter 2
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Why did he have to do this? His game heroes never had to do this. They never had put on a collar and bow-tie. Then again, game heroes tended to be older than Button Mash, and usually didn't live with their parents.

It was now 7:05 pm, he was now late by five minutes, twenty minutes if you count the fact he was gonna try picking up Sweetie Belle at 6:45. He would've left earlier if he hadn't told his mom. True to what he said, his mom was now making sure he looked his best.

"Mom, I'll be fine. I'm just gonna be hanging out with a friend from school." Button complained as his mother doted over how his mane looked, "It's not like we're serious or anything stupid like that."

"Doesn't matter if she's just your friend or if she's a rich Manehattenite or Canterlotian, you still need to look presentable." His mother remarked.  "Also, I thought I told you to take a shower." She added once she caught a whiff of the scent he seems to be giving off, irritated that he still hadn't showered even after having told him to do so since he got home almost three hours ago.

"I did take a shower, Mom." He replied in an equally irritated tone.

"Then why do you still smell like sweat and hayfries?" She asked under her breath as she finally felt he looked presentable enough. "There, all done. Now, don't you think you look better?" and allowed him to look at himself in the mirror.

Button didn't respond right away as he looked at what his mom did to improve his overall appearance, turning his head occasionally to be thorough, before giving a heavy sigh, "I don't see why I have to bother so much about how I look. I'm not getting married to her. I don't even like Sweetie Belle like that!"

"For your age, you better not be. Also, if you didn't like her, then why would you agree to go out on a date with her?" She asked with a smirk.

"There were other ponies there, I couldn't tell her 'no', I'll look like jerk if I do."

"So hurting her feelings later makes you less of a jerk?" She asked, her smirk not once leaving her face, before promptly leaving her son's room.

Button groaned in response, his mother had him there. If he told Sweetie he didn't like her like that at all later, he'd look even more of a jerk than if he had told her earlier. Of course it wouldn't matter much to him if Sweetie thought he was a jerk, and never wanted to talk to him again: that'd be a dream come true in his opinion. However, all those bad things he thought of earlier if he had said 'no' would be far worse now that he had accepted.

"I'm such an idiot." He said as he knocked his head against the wall. Why did he have to say 'yes'? Now he was stuck, it was a lose-lose for him no matter what he did.

How did he get himself into this mess? He was a professional warrior, he's been in so many situations where he had to foresee his enemies' movements and intentions in order to achieve victory over them. So why didn't he foresee this when Sweetie asked him out on a date? It must've been some plan she developed. Waited till his guard was down, then struck him when he wasn't looking. Sneaking little shrew!

"Button, your marefriend is here." he heard his mother shout

"She's not my-!" he shouted in frustration before gritting his teeth then sighing and headed towards the front door.

Button kept his eyes towards the ground as he made his way to where his mother and Sweetie Belle were at, all the while, he was mentally bashing himself for not seeing this outcome sooner. He should've just ran as soon as the bell rang, and as far as possible.

Once he had arrived at the front, and can easily see Sweetie Belle's hooves in front of him, did he stop and look up at his date for the night. Sweetie Belle had also dressed up for the occasion, while it wasn't exactly all too fancy, it did look rather nice. It was a simple light purple dress, which complimented the her mane and tail, and consisted of a skirt that covered her hind-legs and tail, and also covered her back and shoulders. Based on the appearance, it seemed to be something that Sweetie Belle's sister, Rarity, made for her.

Button did have to admit, Sweetie Belle did look rather cute in that dress.

What the hell?! Did he just think Sweetie Belle was cute?! Where did that thought come from? No, no way. There is no way he would ever think that a cockatrice in a pony's form would ever be cute to him, he'd rather profess attraction to Diamond Tiara. Not that he would, after their interaction last week regarding him still bringing, and playing, a portable gaming device, he doubted they would see eye-to-eye on many things.

At that point he felt a hoof on his chin, snapping him out of his thoughts if at least for a moment. He looked and noticed it was his mom who had her hoof on his chin, and had an amused smirk on her face. Why was she doing that? Was his mouth hanging open or something...?

Wait, his mouth was hanging open?! While he was looking at Sweetie Belle?! Goddess, now he looks like he was gawking at Sweetie. He's not suppose to be show interest in her, he's suppose to show dis-interest in her. Why did he have to let his mind get the better of him? Now he knew how the characters in simulation games must feel.

"Well, I hope you two have a pleasant time on your date tonight." Button's mom stated, taking a quick second to double check the bow and collar Button was wearing was straight, before looking at Sweetie and whispering to her, "Take good care of him, this is the first time he's ever gone on a date with anypony."

Sweetie nodded in understanding.

Button groaned in response, as if he had heard exactly what his mom just said, even though she made sure it was quiet enough for only Sweetie to hear.

"Come on Sweetie Belle, let's get going already." He remarked, wanting to go before his mom does anything else to embarrass him. He quickly grabbed his saddlebags, which contained items he might have needed, including money and his JoyBoy, and was out the door with Sweetie Belle right beside him.

The two remained quiet for a brief moment, merely walking underneath a clear, starry, night sky, before Sweetie decided to say, "Thanks for saying 'yes', Button. I know how much you'd prefer to be playing your video games right now." Blushing as she did.

"You have no idea." he thought to himself, then sighed, "Hey, no problem. So...um, assuming you're the one who asked me, any idea where we're going?"

"Mm-hm, just follow me." She said as she picked up the pace since they were already behind schedule anyway.

He didn't say anything, but picked up the pace as well to keep up with Sweetie. 

The town had mostly quieted down by this time, at best there were only a few ponies out and about, probably others also out on dates with their special someponies. That's fine with him, he just wished he didn't have to be one of them.

For the longest time, the two remained quiet as they continued onward to whatever destination they were meant to go to. If anything Button Mash was far too concerned about how he was gonna survive the night to really care about talking to Sweetie. He tried planning how he was gonna avoid particular dating situations, such as holding hooves, their tails entwining, or worst...kissing Sweetie Belle. That last one left a horrible taste in the back of his mouth.

"T-thanks for dressing up nicely Button, I was actually worried what my sister, Rarity, made for me might've been too flashy." Sweetie stated, trying to get a small conversation started.

He scuffed, "Nah, I wouldn't say it was too flashy. I mean I've seen some of her other designs, and that's pretty simple in comparison. It was no problem by the way, like I said, my mom wanted me to look my best."

"Thanks... Also, yeah, you do look good Button." Sweetie replied with a cute smile, "I kinda like that little pin on your collar too in case you were wondering."

"Pin?" he asked curiously, and looked at his reflection as they passed a shop, using the window as a mirror. Sure enough, there was small pickaxe-shaped pin on his collar. The pin in question was a small pin from one of the games he frequently plays and had gotten for himself years previous, it glowed in the dark, and was what he deemed as a good luck charm on some cases.

Button blushed in embarrassment, before wondering how on Equestria it had gotten there. He was sure as the grass was green that he didn't put it on, and he didn't remember seeing it when he looked at himself in the mirror before he left his room. Then it struck him, his mom must've put it on him when she made that last minute check on his collar, his family were the only individuals that knew of it's existence and how he deemed it as a good luck charm.

He heard Sweetie Belle giggle at his expression. He glared at her in response, but it seemed to have gone unnoticed by her. She must've seen his mother place it on him earlier, and only now does she mention it to him.

Too embarrassed, or too annoyed -he wasn't sure which one-, to speak to Sweetie Belle, the two continued on to their destination. Only once Button Mash picked up the scent of fresh apples did he notice the familiarity of the area.

"Wait, are we going to....to Sweet Apple Acres?" he asked incredulously

"Uh, yeah," Sweetie replied in an embarrassed tone, "that's where we're headed. Applebloom and Scootaloo said they would help me out, and said that they would set something up for us at Sweet Apple Acres."

"Of course you would drag your friends into this." He thought to himself.

"Not exactly what I expected." Button Mash remarked.

"Oh...d-did you want to eat somewhere else...?"

"No, it's fine. I just thought...nevermind, whatever, let's just go." he wanted to end this as soon as possible

As they finally arrived at Sweet Apple Acres, the smell of apples became so much stronger, but he also noticed another smell he didn't quite recognize. It smelled like honey and lilacs. Where was that coming from? Was it coming from Sweetie Belle? Did she actually put on perfume...? Seriously...? and why didn't he notice it earlier?

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The next morning, he woke up staring at the ceiling of his room. At least he thinks it's his room, the ceiling was white like the one in his room, and the sunlight coming in from the window was the same angle as well. Made sense, like he would crash anywhere else anyway.

He really didn't like it when he first woke up in the morning, one of his legs and his back would be stiff, needing him to groggily get out of bed and stretch until he's shaken off most of it, the incoming light from the window would be too bright for him to properly see for at least a few seconds, and he could taste the bitterness of his own saliva in his mouth from being there all night. But, it wasn't like he could avoid it, he did have to sleep afterall.

He gave a sigh, his eyes still shut for the time being to protect them from the bright light, thanking merciful goddesses that his nightmare was finally over and he had survived going out on a date with Sweetie Belle. Just as he tried to roll out of bed, so he could get started on his day and spend some much needed gaming time he could've had last night had he not agreed to go on a date with Sweetie, he felt some resistance in the form of a pair of hooves wrapped around his barrel.

This got his attention as his eyes shot wide open, finally realizing that he wasn't in his room, but somewhere far more fancifully decorated. He looked down towards the owner, almost jabbing himself on his chin with her horn, he noticed Sweetie Belle laying next to him with her head resting on his chest.

WHAT IN TARTARUS...?!
> Chapter 3
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The smell in the air around the familiar farm was quite irritating to Button Mash as the duo stepped onto the property. Well, it wasn't exactly completely unpleasant to him, just a bit off putting. As an earth pony himself, the smell of the soil and scents from the plants all around him brought up feelings of comfort, much like how the smell of blood is to a blood-thirsty, old, battle-worn orc, or the smell of a fresh shipment of new books are to the local librarian, Twilight Sparkle. It made sense of course, being an Earth Pony, he had a strong natural connection to the ground and plants; but, as a gamer, the night-time scents were almost foreign and strange to him. Of course, that was ignoring the smell of the perfume Sweetie Belle was wearing.

He chose to ignore it for now as the two pressed on further onto the property, passing the Apple Family homestead, and approaching the family's primary barn. The light coming from the interior of the barn seemed to further prove that the barn was their destination for the evening.

"The barn...? Seriously, we're gonna spend our date in a barn?" He thought to himself, then sighed, "Sheesh, I have no dating experience whatsoever, and even I know that's a no-go. Then again, Sweetie never did seem to have all the lights on up there."

As soon as they arrived at their destination, Button was taken back by what he saw. The barn, while it still held the appearance of a barn's interior on the inside, it had been redecorated to have the appearance of a nice restaurant. The flooring of the barn had been cleaned up, a good portion of the hale bales inside had been rearranged to block the stalls and create some makeshift walls, farming equipment had been cleared out, some potted plants placed at key locations, and some Hearths Warming lights were hung at the tops of the makeshift walls to light up the barn just enough; but, it was the placement of an upside-down wooden tub, the same one the Apples used for bobbing for apples during major events, covered with a nice table cloth, and two chairs that caught his attention.

The makeshift table, had been decorated nicely with a lantern and two vased roses, and was also placed in just the right way that some moonlight would be able to shine upon the setting. Sweet Celestia, it actually looked...romantic!

The sound of a mare clearing her throat brought him back to reality. Looking he saw Applebloom had been standing next to the door, she was dressed in a very nice long-sleeve shirt, black vest, and a black bow tie, a familiar attire for Manehatten or Canterlot waiters, and also a...a mustache...?

"A table fer two?" Applebloom asked with a polite smile on her face, and gestured with a hoof for them to take a seat.

Sweetie nodded before proceeding toward the table, while Button Mash stared at Applebloom.

Applebloom quickly noticed and shot him a confused, and somewhat bothered look, "What...?"

"You have a mustache."

She looked down at her nose, at the bushy, red hair between the tip of her muzzle and her upper lip, "So...?" she asked back, brushing off the statement.

"Why do you have a mustache...?" he asked in a surprised tone.

"Cause ah'm the waiter of this here building, and fancy waiters have a mustache."

"But you're a mare, you're not suppose to have a mustache! In fact it looks weird. Almost as if you're were a filly playing with Nightmare Night costumes."

Applebloom scoffed at the statement, "Yer the one ta talk, why ya wearin' that there pin? I was able ta see ya before ya even stepped on ta the property cause that pin was glowin' brighter than well-lit lantern. That don't seem very mature ta me at t'all."

Button Mash glared at her, but didn't say anything other than a groan before going further into the barn and taking a seat.

As soon as he plopped his butt down onto the seat, Applebloom took her leave, and was quickly replaced by Scootaloo. The young pegasus mare was pretty much dressed in the same fashion as Applebloom, and was also donning a mustache on her upper lip, though the facial hair was obviously differently colored, and was styled differently from Applebloom's. She was also wearing her saddlebag for some odd reason.

Button Mash jaw dropped in disbelief before promptly face-desking onto the table.

Scootaloo smirked at the action, "Yeah, I know. You're totally jealous of my awesome 'stache." she stated before flaring her wings and striking a proud pose.

"Jealous...? Jealous of what?" Button asked in a dull tone as raised his head back up to look at Scootaloo. What could he be possibly be jealous of from an obnoxiously loud and annoying pegasus mare with bushy facial hair.

"Jealous because you know you'll never get one as cool as this one."

Button slammed his head against the table, again. Seriously, what was it about being a mare having a mustache being a little more than just weird did those two not understand? Seriously, they are almost as annoying as Sweetie Belle. Still though, he did have to admit, part of his frustration did stem from the fact Scootaloo was pretty much right.

He had wished he could grow a nice mustache that he could style up to match one of his favorite game characters, but alas, it seems fate had other plans for him. No pony in his entire family has facial hair of any kind: his father, his grandfathers, his uncles, even his older cousins.

Sweetie lightly giggled in response, seemingly finding some amusement in his actions.

Button Mash looked up at Sweetie Belle upon hearing her giggling, shooting a venomous glare at her.

"These are what the chef's offering tonight." Scootaloo stated as she used a wing to pull out two sheets of paper and placed them on the table, "Would you two like a drink? The house is offering a special reserve cider tonight. Would you like that?"

"Mm-hm." Sweetie replied as she nodded

"Cider...? Um, sure, I guess I could go for some cider." Button replied. A little cider never hurt, but where did they get some? Cider season isn't for another 5 months.

Scootaloo gave a nod before turning and loudly shouting, "Hey, Applebloom, we need two glasses of cider over here."

"Ya don't need ta shout!" They heard her reply before coming in carrying a tray with two mugs and a bottle of apple cider. Applebloom placed the tray on the table and placed a mug in front of her two 'customers', before working to remove the cork off the bottle.

In the meantime, Scootaloo told them, "I'll be back out here in a little bit to take your orders." then took her leave.

"I thought cider season wasn't for another 5 months." Button stated

"It...it is." Applebloom replied, as she struggled to get the cork out, before finally succeeding.

"Then where'd the bottle of cider come from?"

"The family keeps 2 or 3 barrels aside for the family. Everypony else is welcome ta do the same if they ask come cider season."

"Of course...." Button rolled his eyes. Of course they would keep some on the side, they did make the stuff afterall. Besides, it's not like he doesn't do similar anyway. In games Button would always keep the better stuff if given the chance to do so.

Applebloom quickly poured the two their drinks before taking her leave once again. It didn't seem she had gone any further than she did last time as Sweetie Belle and Button Mash could clearly hear Applebloom outside, on the far end of the barn, talking to Scootaloo about not yelling out the orders.

Now left alone in the barn, the two silently sat there, occasionally taking sips of their drink as they observed their surroundings and occasionally looking at one another, though it did appear that Button was taking glances at Sweetie Belle more than she was of him.

Button was actually trying to carefully plan out how to counter any of Sweetie's advances, this may be a date, but that didn't necessarily mean he had give in to whatever this temptress had in mind. Still though, he had to admit, he does commend her efforts, though it's all in vain as far as he was concerned. Everything so far was fairly well planned out, from the feel of the 'restaurant's' atmosphere to the food being offered. Honestly, the menu actually surprised Button Mash, not only was it written with the fanciest of writing he had ever seen, but all the food listed sounded genuinely delicious: spinach alfrado pasta, daisy and cucumber pizza with feta cheese, grilled zucchini rolls, and ricotta stuffed eggplant rolls were among the few items that caught his interest.

Sweetie on the otherhoof was absolutely ecstatic! Not only had Button Mash agreed to go on the date with her, a matter she doubted would actually happen from the start, but so far it was going without a hitch. To also top it off, it did appear he was interested in her, with all that glancing at her he was doing. Why else would he be doing it, at least that's what Sweetie figured.

After being left alone in the barn for about ten minutes, Scootaloo returned to take their orders. Both ponies quickly gave her their orders, Button ordering a spaghetti with creamy feta-sauce with a side of garlic bread, and Sweetie asking for almost the same thing, except it being marinara sauce instead.

As the two waited for their meals, both sat it silence, with only the sounds of the natural night environment, and occasionally some chit-chat from Scootaloo and Applebloom who were just outside the barn to interrupt the tranquility. The two occasionally took a few tentative sips of their cider to help pass the time.

A few minutes later, Applebloom did come back carrying a large plate of freshly-baked buttermilk biscuits -which Button was glad about, he was getting hungry- on her back and a new bottle of cider on her head to refill their glasses if they needed it. Neither Sweetie or Button needed their glasses filled though, but at Button's request, Applebloom did leave the bottle with them so they could just refill it themselves later.

As they sat once again in silence, Button Mash listened intently to the noises around them, ever vigilant for anything Sweetie, or Applebloom and Scootaloo, may try to persuade him against his beliefs. One problem though, there wasn't anything to show they were going to try doing that, at all.

"This is getting boring." Button stated silently to himself as he looked out toward the orchard, "If this is how dates are suppose to go, than I fail to see why going on them is such a big deal."

Button shifted his attention towards Sweetie Belle, who was looking at him before proceeding to give a happy smile.

"Sheesh. Why don't you say something already?" he mentally asked as he looked at her, not quite believing that he just thought that, "Come on, before I die of boredom over here."

Much to his annoyance, Sweetie Belle remained silent as she continued smiling at him.

He sighed before taking a mouthful of cider and turning his attention back towards the orchard. Well, at least the cider is pretty tasty, even if it did taste a little different from the usual....Not in a bad way, but there was a noticeable difference from the cider he's had over the last couple of years.

The silence went on for nearly another half-an-hour, before Sweetie finally asked,"So, um...Button, that pin you have on right now...it's something from Minecraft, right?", trying to start a conversation.

Finally she says something!

"This thing...? Yeah, it is. I'm sure you probably don't care much though."

"Actually, I kinda do. I play Minecraft a tiny bit when I'm not adventuring with Crusaders and-"

"Wait, did you just say you play Minecraft...?" he interrupted as he raised a brow.

"Uh, yeah..." she answered cautiously.

He gave a short laugh, "You...? You play Minecraft...? You gotta be trying to pull my tail."

"I'm not joking! I really do play Minecraft." Sweetie remarked before blushing and puffing her cheeks out.

"Come on, everypony knows that no filly, or mare, would ever play video games." he remarked, how stupid did she think he was.

"Well, I do, and I very much like it." she rebutted, "Though..., I haven't gotten very far..."

"Okay, if you really do play, I wanna see you prove it."

"Fine."

The two then heard someone clear their throat. Looking up, they both saw Spike standing there wearing a chef's hat, coat, and -again- a mustache.

Button Mash briefly groaned before a questioning look formed on his face at the sight. Was Spike working with them in all this?!

"I apologize for the interruption, but I unfortunately bring bad news. It appears we had an accident in the kitchen."

"No one's hurt, right?" Sweetie Belle asked almost immediately after hearing that.

"No, no, it's nothing like that. It's just...your meals were accidentally dropped onto the floor."

"What?! What happened?" Button Mash asked.

"I'm not gonna say, but I do hope somepony now understands why you don't run in the kitchen." he paused for a moment to scratch the back of his head, "I do understand you two have been waiting for some time now, and I do apologize for the long wait, but if you'd like, a new batch can be prepared in a few minutes for you two. If not, I do understand."

"What do you think, Button? Think we should wait a little longer?" Sweetie asked.

"Why push this decision on me?!" he mentally thought to himself as he groaned in annoyance, then gave a pause in thought before saying, "Sure, I suppose we wait a little longer."

"Again, sorry about the wait." then turned to leave.

"Spike, wait a moment, mind if I have a word with you?" Button asked, then looked at Sweetie Belle as he got up, "In private...?"

Sweetie didn't seem to mind as she looked at Spike, who raised a curious brow, "Uh..., sure, I guess."

Button Mash led Spike out towards the orchard, far enough that he knew the others wouldn't hear them, but close enough that they could be seen.

"Okay, what in Equestria are you doing here, Spike?" he asked

"What do you mean what am I doing here? I'm helping the Crusaders out to make this a good date."

"I can see that, but why...? Why are you helping Sweetie Belle out?" he asked, "Don't tell me that this is you getting even with me for accidentally insulting Twilight in front of you."

"Okay, two things, one: I already forgave you for that -seriously, it wasn't even that big of an insult; and, secondly: what are you talking about? The Crusaders are my friends too, why wouldn't I give them a helping hoof? And, why did you specifically mention Sweetie Belle?"

"Its because...because..." he paused then snorted, "It's because I really don't want to be anywhere near Sweetie Belle, I hate her, and here I am on a date with that stupid mare."

"Wait, what?!"

"I could be doing so much more important things than wasting my time here. If only she hadn't asked me out in front of the others in class." Button added as he silently growled under his breath.

"Wait, back up for a moment, you don't like Sweetie Belle?"

"Of course I don't. How could you not know that?"

"Uh, how about the fact your muzzle is usually in your Joyboy." Spike replied as he rolled his eyes, "And, if you don't like her, then why did you agree to go on a date with her?"

"I told you, she asked me in front of the others in class, I had to agree otherwise I'd look like a jerk."

"So let me see if I'm getting you correctly, you only agreed to this date because you didn't want to look like a jerk in front of your class...?" Spike asked with incredulous look on his face.

"Yeah."

Spike didn't say anything for a moment to let the information process in his brain, then shouted, "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"

Button jumped at that.

Spike looked towards the others, since he knew that shout could've been easily heard. He gestured at them not to worry before turning his attention back towards Button.

"Do you have any idea how stupid that sounds?!" Spike asked, his voice back down to a volume that only he and Button would hear, as he put a hand over his eyes, "It's so stupid, that if I looked up what 'stupid' meant in a book, your picture and that idea would be there as an example."

"Hey, it's not stupid!"

"Oh, it is stupid. In fact I've never heard such an ill-thought out plan in my life. How does, 'I only agreed to go on a date with her because I didn't want to hurt her feelings and look like a jerk' not sound bad to you?"

"I get that already! My mom told me the same thing."

"Then why did you go through with it?"

"Because it was already too late. It was five past seven when she told me, I was suppose to pick up Sweetie at seven."

Spike sighed and rubbed the side of his head, "Alright, fine, I get it. Still though, what made you think accepting the offer was a good idea when you don't even like her? If it had been me, I would've been truthful and said I wasn't interested, because I wouldn't give her false hope, and I wouldn't be hurting her feelings later." 

"I'm your friend. I'm a closer friend to you than the girls," Spike continued, "which is why I was surprised to hear that you actually agreed to go on this date; but, I can't support you on such a ridiculous idea, especially since I know how much work those three put into making this date perfect."

"So they did plan this whole thing out." Button remarked with just the slightest hint of disgust in his voice.

Spike glared at him before saying, "They've been planning this whole thing since last week. They even paid me to help them make everything look fancy, but I'm acting as the chef of my own choice. They did all this work, convincing Rainbow Dash to work overtime to keep the sky clear tonight, getting the Apple Family's okay to use the barn and the kitchen as a make-shift restaurant all without a single bit in payment, getting Rarity to make her sister a nice dress for the occasion, and you're telling me it was all for nothing."

"Well..., they should've known how much I hate her."

"How...? By interpreting somehow when you're beating up that virtual orc..., when you're fighting zombie ponies and enderponies, or when you're setting that new high score at the arcade, that you don't like her?"

"..."

"Look, I have to get back to the kitchen, otherwise it'll take even longer to get your dinners done; but, let me give you this advice, Button, for now swallow your pride and make sure Sweetie Belle has a fun date tonight."

"What?!"

"By agreeing, you already put her hopes up that there's a chance you two can be together. So forget that you only agreed to go out with her just to save face, because as far as I'm concerned you already messed that up because this plan easily makes you an even bigger jerk. I'm telling you now, as your friend, since your classmates saw you agree to this, there's a good chance I won't be the only one who knows you hurt her feelings come Monday."

"How am I suppose to do that?" he asked as they started on the way back, "I don't even know how to date a pony I actually like, how do I do it with a mare I don't?"

"Eh, I'm sure you'll figure out something. You may be an idiot for even considering this ridiculous plan, but I know you're not the dullest blade in the armory."

With that, Button went back to the table as Spike rushed back to the kitchen. Sweetie Belle shot him a worried glance as he returned, quite possibly from hearing Spike's shout earlier. Button merely made a gesture with a hoof as if to say it's nothing to worry about, before grabbing his cup and drinking the rest of his drink in one big mouthful.

Button Mash was frustrated. No, he was beyond frustrated. First he's dragged into this date, then finds out one of his closest friends is working against him, and now finding out he's been worsening his fate since he left school?! How could everything possibly, seemingly, be against him? Just how...? He's been a good young stallion, hasn't he? He's a good student, he brushes his teeth twice a day, listens to his parents, never really was rude or mean to anypony, and has never actively grieved or trolled anyone while he plays.

It seems his frustration was made evident this time around, as he noticed Sweetie's demeanor has changed from earlier. Instead of the happy young mare he was seated across from earlier, which honestly was making him sick to his stomach, she was now looking straight at her mug in front of her, her smile was gone, her shoulders were slouched, and her ears were flat against her head.

"You're not enjoying this date are you...?" Sweetie asked in a sad tone.

Of course he wasn't. While seeing Sweetie being no longer annoyingly happy did alleviate some of his irritation, part of him did feel somewhat concerned over the sadness in her tone.

After waiting for Button to reply, getting only silence, Sweetie took it as a confirmation as she sunk her muzzle a little lower towards the table, "I-I'm sorry...I didn't mean it to be...I mean-"

"It's fine Sweetie Belle." He interrupted her, then sighed, thinking about what Spike said to him, "I'm sure you and the others really did try to make this a good evening."

She merely nodded.

"Don't worry about it, this was your first date ever, right?" she nodded again, "Well..., there you go. No one ever gets stuff right the first time, and I bet there wasn't some tutorial somewhere about stuff like this."

"What...?"

"Look, lets just forget about that, okay?" He then reached over to the bottle of cider and refreshed both his and Sweetie's cups up, "Let's just enjoy good cider until our food's ready. That sound good to you?"

Sweetie smiled and nodded her head, "Yeah, okay."

Both fell it another silence as they waited for their food once again. Both mostly drinking their cider to ward off their hunger; but, after another ten minutes of waiting, Button Mash was getting rather impatient and it was clear to him that the cider wasn't making a good replacement for actual food. Despite that though, he was getting use to his surroundings now, and his annoyance was significantly less compared to earlier, even with Sweetie back to her happy self.

"I wonder if this is what my character feels like when I don't let him eat for several days." Button thought to himself as he looked up at the moon, "Hm, maybe...I mean 2 gold for a yummy roll isn't that big of a deal anyway."

He then turned his attention Sweetie Belle, who was playing with a bit of her mane that fell over the front of her face with her magic before shooting a cute smile when he looked at her. He groaned under his breath, partially because of Sweetie Belle, but mostly due to the fact the word 'cute' crossed his mind, again.

"There goes that thought again!" He thought to himself, "She's not cute! She's my nemesis, I DO NOT like her. She's just an annoying, dimwitted mare, who knows how to get on my nerves."

His stomach gave a loud grumbling sound, sounding much like the growling of a manticore rather than his own body. At this point, they had eaten all the biscuits and the two had already emptied two one-liter bottles of cider, and were already working on a third. The third bottle was really the second one refilled by Button when Sweetie decided to divulge where the cider barrel they were using was located. This was especially true since their two waitresses, Scootaloo and Applebloom, seemed to have disappeared somewhere, not even a holler from Sweetie Belle was getting either one to appear.

"Hey, Sweetie, you getting really hungry over there?" Button asked as he rested, deciding to rest his chin on the table.

"Mm-hm..." she replied with a nod, and as if to accentuate her reply, her stomach growled.

"Did you have any thing else planned after this?"

Sweetie hesitated, eventually replying with, "A-A stroll...around the orchard...?" She gave a nervous grin.

"Really...? A stroll around the orchard?"

"I thought it would be fun..."

"I guess..." he replied as he looked at his cup, "You're not worried about that dress?"

"Huh?"

"Your dress...You're not, I dunno, worried about it getting dirty?"

"Oh, um..."

Button rolled his eyes at her reply, though he did smirk at the slight lapse in Sweetie's thinking, finding it slightly more amusing than it probably should. She really didn't have all the lights on up there. His stomach growled again, reminding him just how hungry he was, as he watched Sweetie's facial expressions, trying to read what she was thinking. He ended up staring at her for a good half-minute before turning his attention back towards the night.

"You know what, Sweetie Belle, I think that's a good idea right now." He remarked after giving it some thought.

"Huh...? What is?"

"A stroll, I don't think it's too bad of an idea to do right now." It would certainly be a nice change from sitting around hungry, waiting for their meals, "Plus, it's getting kinda late anyway." he added as he started digging through his saddlebag.

Sweetie smiled at first, glad in Button's agreement, but then it was replaced by a confused one as what his words registered in her mind, "Wait, 'right now'?"

Button didn't reply but instead pulled out his bit bag before placing ten bits onto the table.

"But, we didn't even get to eat yet." Sweetie complained, half-sounding that she was panicking.

"They're taking too long, and it's getting kinda late, we could just find something else to eat." he explained before remembering they were on a farm, "You think Applebloom would mind if we grab a few apples?"

"I-I guess, I mean..., I dunno. Maybe...?"

"Eh, I'm sure she won't mind. I left some money anyway." he stated as he looked around the barn, soon finding a basket full of apples and started grabbing a few and placing it in his bag.

Before the Sweetie could say another word, Button had already packed about 8 apples into his saddlebag and was already leaving the barn. Though hesitant, Sweetie quickly followed behind, but not before leaving a couple extra bits she actually had on her, and took a full bottle of apple cider with her. Cider season wasn't gonna happen for another couple of months, and it was good cider afterall.

As they left, they were spotted by Scootaloo, who was coming back from the Apple Homestead and asked where they were going. Button merely gave a short reply about how it was taking too long, and while it was a cool idea, the execution needed some work, and pressed on. Sweetie gave a nervous look and mouthed 'sorry' before continuing to follow her date off the property, leaving a stunned Scootaloo behind them.

The duo quietly trotted back into town, Princess Luna's moon being the only source of light aside from the occasional street-lantern, the only sound being their own hooves clopping against path. As buildings and houses started be around them again, the duo continued to walk in silence as they inadvertently started walking side-by-side with one another.

Button did look over in Sweetie Belle's direction, cautious to see if she had another thing planned for the evening, but seeing a somewhat neutral expression on her face, or at least that's what he thinks is Sweetie's expression, he concluded that was a 'no'.

Sweetie was actually rather confused, when Button agreed to a walk she assumed he meant around the orchard of Sweet Apple Acres, not out back into town. Still though, they were going at a rather leisurely pace now, and it was still a nice night out. She let a gentle smile appear on her face as she closed the gap between them enough to feel the warmth emanating from him, but not close enough to actually having physical contact with one another.

Button quickly noticed the temperature difference between, and looked to see Sweetie had moved closer to him and was now invading his personal space. He was about move away, but quickly remembered what Spike told him, before merely growling under his breath and accepted the closeness. Besides, at least she wasn't physically touching him, and...the fact a strand of Sweetie's mane was falling over her face was rather amusing to him anyway, in a good way.

The pair eventually arrived at Carousel Boutique, earning a surprised look from Sweetie Belle, and a relieved one from Button Mash.

"Carousel Boutique...?" she asked

"Yeah, I figured it was getting late anyway, so..."

"Can't you at least come in for a moment? I know the night hasn't been great, but I want to stay together a little longer."

Button audibly groaned, very much hopeful that they could just call it a night, go home, and end this torturous date.

"Please. At least let me show you I wasn't lying, that I do play games a little bit." she pleaded as her ears laid flat on her head.

Button looked at her with tired eyes, noticing her posture and how her eyes seemed to be begging him. The light of Luna's moon shining off her eyes not helping one bit, of which caused an almost unnoticeable warmth to go to his cheeks.

After a moment of contemplation, Button growled under his breath and shook his head before saying, "Alright, Sweetie, prove it that you do."

Sweetie smiled widely at the response before totting into the boutique and waited for Button to come in before closing the door.

By this time, Rarity had already fallen asleep in her workshop area, apparently having been busy with another order before succumbing to her need to rest. Button and Sweetie quietly went up to her room, though Sweetie did take a quick moment to grab a couple of things from the kitchen first, specifically some snack-type foods and some drinks that were in similar bottles to the ones Sweetie brought with her from Sweet Apple Acres.

The rest of the night went somewhat in a blur for Button as the duo played Minecraft, though it was mostly Button watching Sweetie play, and lots of eye rolling and groans from him at how  little Sweetie actually knew about the game. Other than the taste of apples in his mouth, the very last thing Button would remember that night was the smell of Sweetie's perfume.
> Chapter 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Button's heart-rate was through the roof, he was fairly close to hyperventilating, and his eyes were moving about at a fast rate as he tried remembering what had happened last night.

This was wrong. It was so very, very wrong. It was like accidentally digging down into a cavern full of lava in Minecraft type of wrong.

How did this happen?! What happened last night? and why?! Was it something in the drink? or maybe the food? Maybe it was Discord playing some cruel and unusual prank on him? No, couldn't be, over the years of that draconequus being around Ponyville, Button could say that this doesn't feel like one of his pranks. If so, then what...?!

Due to his panicked state of mind, he failed to notice that his hyperventilating had roused his bedmate to awaken as well, only noticing once Sweetie Belle gave an audible yawn.

Button stared down at her with fearful eyes, as she looked up towards him with a dreamy look in her eyes before it was replaced by a look of pure shock.

Button could easily feel Sweetie Belle's heart pounding in her chest as the two silently exchanged fearful looks then slowly pulled away from one another to the point both were just hanging off the side of Sweetie's bed.

"This can't be happening! Please tell me I didn't just..." Button thought to himself.

"What happened?! How did-? Rarity's going to be so angry." Sweetie quietly muttered to herself. Sweetie waited a moment before saying, "B-Button...did we...?"

He hesitated, but eventually found enough nerve to speak, "I...I d-don't know." Hoping to high-heaven that they didn't just do what he thinks they might've did.

Sweetie Belle bit her lower lip, "If we did or didn't, we can't tell anypony, right...?"

Like that wasn't the most obvious answer. Button quickly nodded in agreement.

At that point, the pair were surprised at the sound of knocking at the bedroom door, and shot up into a sitting position. Having been sitting far too close to the edge, Button quickly lost his balance and fell right off. Sweetie tried catching him before he did, but it was already too late as he fell to the ground with a 'thud'.

"Ow..."

"Is everything alright in there...?" They heard Rarity ask from the other side of the door.

"Y-yeah, everything's fine, Rarity." Sweetie replied in a shaky voice. "No need to come in."

Button facehoofed at the last part of Sweetie's response, "Don't say that! That makes you sound suspicious you dim-witted mare." he silently fumed through clenched teeth, already seeing the shocked look on Rarity's face as she walks in to find him there.

"Then...what was that sound? It sounded like something hit the floor."

"Um..."

There was a moment of silence, "Sweetie, was it Button Mash falling out of the bed?"

"How did you know?!" Sweetie asked out immediately.

"A lucky guess, Sweetie. I thought I heard yours and his voice late last night after I woke up from a nap." another pause, "Well, as long as he's not hurt...Come down as soon as you two are ready, I'll have breakfast ready for you two in a couple of minutes."

Button was absolutely stunned, not only was Sweetie Belle's sister, Rarity, aware that he was there, but she seemed to be absolutely fine with it. Now he was confused, whether to be thankful to whatever high power there was in this world that he dodged that, or to be cursing his unfortunate luck that he was in this predicament to begin with.

"This is making my head hurt." He thought to himself, as he rubbed his head, "How did going on one date with Sweetie Belle result to this? Mom is gonna roast me for not coming home last night, forget if she ends up hearing that I woke up in Sweetie's bed. And if the others find out... Goddess, they'll never let me live this down."

Sweetie Belle seemed to take notice to his actions, and crawled over and placed a hoof on his head. "You didn't hit your head from that fall, did you?"

"Don't worry about me, I didn't..." He replied, though now he was mildly fuming on the inside about Sweetie not trying to at least catch him with her magic. She was unicorn afterall, wasn't she?

"Listen, I'll talk to Rarity about it, I know she can be a little... gossip-y about stuff like this."

Button rolled his eyes. "Like that helps me feel any better?!" He mentally asked.

"I know that Rarity knows how to be quiet about stuff though, so maybe...she'd be willing to stay quiet about this too." Sweetie explained, her tone clearly portraying a level uncertainty and worry, "And...we still don't need to tell anypony about this if you want. We can keep it to ourselves. We can just tell them about dinner if anyone asks."

Button sighed, "Sure, I'm okay with that. Listen,  I think I better get going. Mom's probably worried I didn't come home last night." He stated as he got up to pick up the collar and tie combo he had wearing and had apparently discarded aside before going to sleep, and putting it in his saddle bag. The collar and tie was almost next to Sweetie's discarded dress from last night, which sent a bothered chill down his spine.

"Button, wait."

"What now, Sweetie?" he asked in an irritated tone as he threw his saddlebag onto his back, wanting to leave before anything else happened.

Then a shocked look appeared on his face as he felt Sweetie kiss him on the cheek.

"Thanks for staying last night, Button, I really appreciated that you helped me out in Minecraft."

He raised a hoof to the cheek, wondering if the warmth he felt at the contact was the precursor of it burning into his cheek, "No, problem, Sweetie Belle. It was the least I could do, I suppose." He said as he quickly walked out of the room.

Sweetie didn't follow, choosing to stay in her room and happily relish that she had successfully gone out on a date with Button Mash. It didn't totally go as planned and she was not really sure what happened between the time of her playing Minecraft and waking up with Button in her forehooves, but at least it was a nice evening. Instead, she opted to quickly gather and discard the cider bottles littered on the floor before readying herself for another day. Also maybe get a glass of water, her mouth felt a little dry.

Button crept down to the main room of the boutique as quietly as he could, finding some of Rarity's sewing materials down there, and that the curtains were still closed, indicating to him that it was still early enough that Rarity hadn't opened the shop, yet. At the moment the ever fashionable unicorn mare was still in the kitchen cooking. Button was hoping that it would stay that way and he could just leave without having to face the fashionista. 

It didn't turn out that way.

Rarity trotted right into the main room just as he was at the front door, "Oh, you're leaving already, darling? Don't you want some breakfast before you go?"

"Y-yeah, I'm sorry Miss Rarity, but I have to get back home. I'm sure my mom's probably worried that I didn't go home last night." He replied with a nervous grin and his ears pinned back.

"Oh, I'd certainly agree. She must be worried sick about you." She stated firmly, as she put on her glasses and a few sketches of dress designs she needed to do floated up for her to look at, getting ready for another long day of work. "I know I'd be beside myself with worry if you were my son. I would have worried myself sick guessing if you had gotten hurt or if some unsightly beast had ponynapped in the middle of the night. Why, I'd dare say I'd be as crass as to rush out in my bathrobe looking for you if you took any longer."

Button allowed himself a nervous chuckle at the statement.

"But I'd certainly also be concerned if you were hungry. Breakfast is a very important meal of the day. It helps dictate whether you'll have enough energy for the day as well as being key to maintaining a healthy body, especially for a young stallion such as yourself. So I'm sure your mother would understand if you stayed if even for a minute to eat something." She concluded as she gathered up some of sewing materials, like some spools of thread, pins, a pair of scissors, and a couple of gems she plans on using later.

"Sorry, I really can't."

Rarity sighed, "Okay, if you're really in that much of a hurry. I hope you enjoy the rest of your day, Button Mash, and you're more than welcome to stop by whenever Sweetie Belle is around, or if you ever need an outfit fixed or made." She said with a kind smile, "Though it would be most preferred if you do during the day, and not in the middle of the night. We're a small town, and ponies will talk if anypony sees you spending nights here so frequently."

"Understood."

"Ta ta, darling!" She said in a cheery tone, then turned to leave for her work area.

Button hesitated for a moment, maybe he should've stayed for a few minutes, Rarity has been really hospitable and he was hungry afterall. This bit of exchange of words with Rarity was a lot less frightening than what he had heard it would be like, especially considering Rarity was Sweetie Belle's older sister, and would be looking out for her best interest. Well, at least he can smile about that.

Just as he was about to finally leave, he heard her one last time.

"Oh, of course. Button Mash, if I could have one more word with you..."

He turned to look at her, he saw the blu-ish glow of her magic sailing towards him and immediately jumped into a standing position, using the door behind him to keep his balance as he stood on his hind legs, before it stopped in front of him. In Rarity's aura, he saw the exact pair of scissors Rarity had been levitating, with the pointed end pointing right at him.

"It almost slipped my mind. I wanted to talk to you in regards to me finding you in my little sister's bedroom this morning." Her tone still calm, but the look in her eyes betrayed her otherwise serene expression with a glare that teemed with self-restrained fury.

"Now, I am aware that Sweetie has a deep infatuation with you right now, and I know how fickle kids your age can be these days. So understand this, Button, I am Sweetie's older sister and it is my duty to make sure she remains safe." She added as she waved the scissors around in the air.

Button was beyond scared, his eyes following the pair of scissors rather than the mare holding them. He was listening though, Rarity had his undivided attention at this moment, as he nodded in understanding.

"The ruckus both of you made last night leaves a lot to imagine, and I can't tell whether you both have done something unbecoming of me to speculate on or I'm hastily jumping to conclusions. Either way, you're lucky it was me who found you. It would a be much different story if it was my parents. I can guarantee you, our father would not be amused. Not. One. Bit."

Button nodded again, dreading what Rarity and Sweetie's father would've done if Rarity was doing this.

"Since I do not know for certain what happened, I will let you go with a warning." She stated as she withdrew the pair of scissors enough to let him get back on all fours. "If I ever discern that you intentionally meant to hurt Sweetie Belle physically or emotionally, I shall repay you a hundredfold in kind and ensure you live to regret it."

Button gulped at the thought.

Rarity levitated the scissors so they were now pointed straight down at the ground, "Or to put it in terms that I know for certain you will understand: If you ever dare to hurt my sister..." She quickly slammed the scissors down into the floor with all the force she could muster and shot a glare that if looks could kill it would've put Button in the grave. "Game Over. Do we have an understanding?"

"Y-yes, w-we have an understanding. Crystal clear." He quickly replied, as he felt his heart jump up into his throat upon hearing the scissors slam into the floor.

"Good." Rarity then pulled the scissors from the floor, the deadly look in her eyes slowly vanishing, "Oh, and I know it was rather unladylike for me to threaten you in such a manner, but as I just told you, Sweetie is my sister and I'll protect her with every fabric of my being. I'm sure you can understand."

He merely nodded, far too scared to even try saying anything now.

"So I offer you this, for your discretion about my threat to you, I will promise you that I will not breath a single word of you being in Sweetie's room all night, much less her bed, to anypony including Sweetie and I's parents. Do we have a deal?"

"Deal."

"Good. Now if you'll excuse me, I must get back to work." With a claim that rung finality, Rarity took her leave.

Button didn't hesitate as he quickly opened the door and left. He went over to a nearby tree and took a seat under it to catch his breath, and allow the adrenaline rush he got from that scare subside. That whole older sibling protecting the younger one was way scarier than he ever expected it to be.

He took one more look at Carousel Boutique before leaning his head back against the tree.

"What have I gotten myself into?"
> Chapter 5
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Button stared at the chocolate milkshake sitting in front of him. Motionlessly just staring at it in deep contemplation, even to the point he was willing to let his mind wander a little bit and pretend he was warrior at an inn looking at a glass of the inn's finest beverage. Unlike that warrior though, he wasn't at an inn, but at Sugarcube Corner staring at a dessert item as he thought about the day before.

It was now Sunday, and more than 24 hours since he last saw that evil temptress, Sweetie Belle, and he was more than happy about that. Still, he couldn't quite shake the feeling that was now plaguing him since yesterday morning.

After he got home yesterday, he had quickly gotten into the shower fully intent on washing out the smell of Sweetie Belle, as well as her perfume, off of himself, earning more than just a confused look from his parents. The whole time he was in the shower, he was worried because he had found he was actually starting to like the smell of her perfume, and really appreciate how it complimented its wearer.

When he got out, he was surprised to find that Rarity had dropped by to return his JoyBoy, which he had forgotten at her place. Though her expression was quite relaxed, and had no trace of her deadly look from earlier, he was also quite terrified to be seeing her again so quickly. He only relaxed, once his mother had apparently mentioned that Rarity had explained why he didn't return home last night. Apparently, Rarity decided to help him out by giving him a proper alibi to work off of.

What she told them was that after he and Sweetie's date, they arrived at Carousel Boutique where the two of them played some video games well into the night, and since it had been so late by the time they were ready to sleep, Rarity decided to let Button sleep on the couch overnight. It wasn't the absolute truth, especially since Button hardly recalled what happened after helping Sweetie with her game, but it had enough of the truth to be believable and give him a free pass about not coming home last night.

After that, everything just seemed to go back to normal for him, or as far as it could: he played video games for a majority of Saturday, only stopping for food, bathroom breaks, and his homework later that afternoon, then went to bed. Despite all that though, he couldn't find a way to fully purge what had transpired, as well as the image of Sweetie's annoyingly cheerful smile, from his mind.

Which is what brought him to Sugarcube Corner today. If his favorite pastime wasn't going to help him escape his concerns, then maybe the worry of getting a brain-freeze, and Pinkie Pie's spontaneity and tendency to be loud could help solve it; and, if that failed, then nothing short of a mind-wipe will help.

"This is ridiculous...Why am I still thinking about this...?" Button groaned and slammed his head onto the table he was seated at with a loud thud, "This is so annoying..."

"Hey there, Button." He heard a familiar voice greet him.

Looking up he saw Spike standing there with a sapphire cupcake in one of his claws. "Hey there, Spike."

"Mind if I join you?" Spike asked, indicating one of the available seats.

"I thought you were too busy helping the crusaders." He stated with the slightest bit of anger in his voice.

Spike glared at him as he took his seat. "You know well enough why I helped them out. Don't blame me because you were idiotic enough to not see that what you wanted to do that night was a terrible idea."

Button audibly sighed before the two fell into silence. Button kept his face a couple of inches from his milkshake, the cold air radiating off from it cooling the very tip of his muzzle, while Spike took a few bites of his cupcake and watched the ponies buy and leave with their orders.

"Please tell me you're not here because those three are planning something, again."

Spike shook his head, "Nope, the reason I'm here is simple enough, I was hungry and Sugarcube Corner is the only bakery in town who's willing to take my unique dragon requests." then promptly tossed what was left of his cupcake into is mouth. "Besides, I'm kinda avoiding Applejack right now." He added with a full mouth.

"'Applejack...? Why are you avoiding her? What happened?"

"Well, uh, that is-" Spike stopped to take a deep breath before let it out slowly. "I was hoping to talk to you about that."

"What exactly does that have to do with me?"

"A lot actually... Did you and Sweetie Belle do anything after you two left Sweet Apple Acres Friday night?"

Button felt his blood run ice cold and his eyes widened at the question. How did Spike find out? Did anypony tell him?

"W-what...what do you mean?"

"What I mean is: Did you do anything with Sweetie Belle after you two left?" He asked with a raised brow, "Like, I dunno, go to Carousel Boutique perhaps...?"

Button hesitated as a feeling of dread filled his body, as he looked on at his friend. He can tell that the look on Spike's face was more inquisitive than anything, but on the back of his mind, it felt more like he was staring down the glare of a full grown dragon with cave filled with his hoard he just accidentally trotted into.

After a brief moment of silence, Button gathered enough of his nerve, as well as calm his fears enough to answer, "Y-yeah, we kinda just walked around town for a bit before going to Carousel Boutique, where I kinda helped in a game of Minecraft."

"So you did go to Carousel Boutique, and did you stay the night there?"

"Y-yeah, I did..." Button replied with his ears pinned backwards. "But, I slept on Miss Rarity's couch, I swear."

Spike didn't say anything right away, as Button could see the dragon looking him over, looking for the chink in his armor that will force him to come clean to his friend. Eventually, Spike sighed. "Alright, glad to hear that actually happened."

Button gave a relieved sigh as Spike accepted the explanation. Still though. "So why the interest in what I did after Sweetie and I left, and how does that connect to you avoiding Applejack?"

"As I said, a lot. It seems those three and myself made a, ehem, slight mistake when we set up the restaurant." He admitted in embarrassment and the quills on is head drooped.

"A mistake...? What kind of mistake?"

Spike quickly checked to see where the Cakes and Pinkie Pie were, finding they seemed to be pre-occupied with other matters he turned his attention back to Button and said in a hushed tone, "Not too loud, but we found out the reserve cider we used for the date, it was fermented."

"Fermented?! As in-"

"Yeah, as in alcoholic." Spike interrupted, "Apparently the barrel of cider we used was a leftover from the reserve last year that fermented. The Apples keep several barrels in reserve each year for personal use and according to the number of requests for it they get from the others around town."

Button merely listened as he took a couple of sips of his milkshake. So far, it's pretty obvious, the Apples still acted as a business group when not farmers, so it's not too far fetched for them to hold a couple of barrels on the side as long as ponies asked them.

"Anyway, we don't get how it happened, but it did. Twilight is looking into figuring out how it happened, but until then our best guess is that the barrel suffered from cold fermentation."

"Cold fermentation?"

"It's what happens when both the fruit and juice are left in the cold weather for a while before pressing, then the juice is left to ferment in the cold. I won't go into the details of how I know this, just know I do a lot of reading in my spare time."

"How could you serve that? How did you four not know it became alcoholic?" Button asked, some anger leaking into his voice.

Spike caught it though, and shot him a glare. "We didn't because it's not that simple. Leaving a barrel of cider laying around for almost a year doesn't usually cause it to become alcoholic. Anyway, Twilight thinks it wasn't by much though, whatever concentration of alcohol in it was would've been very small at best, and wouldn't have affected you by much."

"Then why tell me about it? I mean if it wasn't worth worrying about, you didn't have to tell me about it."

"I kinda do actually. Sweetie told us you two drank about three bottles of that stuff, and that's excluding the bottle Sweetie admitted to taking with her when you two left. You two did eat the biscuits, which is good since that would keep some of it out of your blood, but..."

"But, what...?"

"But then I went over to Rarity's to ask if she still needed my help with organizing some of her paperwork, and apparently, you two had a little more to drink."

Button's jaw dropped upon hearing that.

"Rarity found a couple bottles missing from her fridge." Spike explained, to which Button face-tabled upon hearing, knowing exactly what bottles Spike was referring to, "Most of 'em were just regular apple cider; but, one of the missing bottles wasn't even cider, it was a special apple-based wine shipped from Baltimare."

At that point the duo fell into silence again. Spike looked back over towards the kitchen and found Pinkie seemed to have heard them as she was looking right at their table, but thankfully she seemed to understand to remain quiet about the matter. Button was rubbing the side of his head in irritation. He was silently fuming about how Sweetie could possibly not even notice one of the bottles she picked out of her sister's fridge wasn't cider. Didn't that mare read the label...?!

Still though, he felt a bit of his anger reserved at himself for not even bothering to check the label himself. Or that he failed to notice that the taste would've changed. Well, he assumes that it would be different anyway. He wasn't sure. The core ingredient would be similar, but one would certainly be worth more than the other, so...Whatever, he can sort that out later.

"I'm not entirely sure just how drunk you two probably got, but considering Sweetie seemed to be in high-spirits yesterday, I'm assuming you didn't end up coming clean with that idea of yours or saying anything else you might've regretted saying now."

Button silently groaned to himself.

While that might've been true, at this point he'd love the chance to figure out what exactly happened that night.

"So, whatever." Button let out a sigh. "Thanks for letting me know, but, how does that mix in with you avoiding Applejack?"

"Well, um..., you see-" Spike was saying before both heard Applebloom's voice.

"Spike, there ya are." she stated as she walked up to them, "Ah was beginnin' ta wonder if ya gone and got cold hooves on me."

"No, just hungry, and trying to stay out of Applejack's sight. Is she still looking for me?"

"Eeyep..., but sis is watchin' the cart right now, so yer probably safe. As long as ya avoid the marketplace."

"That's good." He seemed to relax visibly. "So, do you wanna talk about it here? I mean the dining area is pretty deserted right now, I don't even know if Pinkie is around to eavesdrop. and I'm pretty sure the Cakes are busy in the kitchen with an order."

"He's here." Applebloom bluntly stated as she pointed at Button.

"To be honest, he seems kinda out of it today." Spike remarked, "Give him about ten  minutes, and he'll probably lose a staring contest with his milkshake, again."

"Hey!" Button shouted indignantly.

"Nah, this is personal, Spike, ah want jus' us ta talk about it. There's a spot just outside of town we can talk without anyone hearin'. Meet me at Horseshoe Lake in few minutes and ah'll lead ya there, a'right?"

"Sure..., I'll see ya in few minutes then." He remarked just before Applebloom affectionately nuzzled Spike's cheek and took her leave.

Button's jaw dropped at the sight, which didn't go unnoticed by Spike.

"I know what you're thinking. After you and Sweetie left two nights ago, we had to do something with your food -which by the way if you had waited another six minutes, it would've been ready, and well...Applebloom and I had only snacked on some fritters previous to the date thing."

"Wait, so you two had a date?! I thought you had a thing for Miss Rarity."

"Well, I wouldn't call it a 'date' per say. Also, wow. You're really disconnected about what's been going on with the guys and I, aren't you?" Spike asked with a confused look.

"What the hay do you mean by that?"

"What I mean is that I got over my crush on Rarity three years ago, and apparently you're the last guy in the group to find out."

"But you still visit like five times a week."

"Yeah, I do, but that's because I still want to help Rarity out every now and again. While it didn't amount to anything, all these years of helping her in hopes of getting her attention at least made a strong friendship between us."

"..."

"Look, you don't need to know the details between me and Applebloom, just know that we drank some of that cider from Friday night, we talked, and we ended up agreeing to see if we can be more than friends." Spike got up to leave, "I have to get going. Listen, the thing with the cider was an accident, so don't hold it against the girls. If there's anyone who understands the concept of a slight oversight, I'm sure it's you."

Button wasn't sure if Spike was referencing the occasional moment where in a game he'd make mistakes that turned costly, like forgetting to look up in certain games, or if it was about his 'plan' to go along with Sweetie to save face. Either way he shot a glare at the drake, who paid him no heed before leaving the building.

Now left to his own thoughts, Button let out a frustrated sigh and growled before taking a big, long gulp of his milkshake. He didn't even have time to regret his action before he felt a massive spike of pain hit him from the resulting brain freeze. He gave a loud shout, which attracted the Cakes's and Pinkie's attention.
> Chapter 6
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's now Wednesday, and so far it's been a rather positive week since Sunday for Button Mash as Sweetie Belle seemed to be leaving him be for the time being. Still though, it hadn't been completely perfect: Sweetie Belle still took whatever chance she could to sit next to him and flash him an adorable smile; Spike, while still a friend, had been shooting him a suspicious look due to current events whenever the two crossed paths; and, he had noticed that Diamond Tiara had been occasionally stealing inquisitive glances at him with a stare that seemed to try cutting deep into him before going back to whatever she was doing.

It unnerved him occasionally knowing that Diamond Tiara seemed to be watching him in a way that he felt was like a wild manticore stalking its prey before going in for the kill.

Still though, a pretty good week so far.

Button yawned audibly and stretched his forelimbs out to wake himself up, trying to stay awake and listen to their 'star guest', Princess Twilight Sparkle, lecture about the processes of making laws on both the local and empire-wide levels. Normally, Button wouldn't care much about such processes, but given that a majority of the class looked to either be spacing out, barely awake, or completely asleep, and their teacher's annoyed expression, there's a extremely good chance that much of the lecture was going to be on a test in the near future.

"Spike wasn't kidding about Ms. Twilight being able to ramble on once you get her started." He thought to himself before lazily looking around the class to see who among the his fellow classmates were still paying attention. By the looks of it, it was only Silver Spoon, Diamond Tiara, Twist, and himself who looked to be fully paying attention.

Looking from the corner of his eye, he looked at Sweetie, who was once again seated in the desk next to him. The young unicorn mare had completely fallen asleep in a rather amusing, yet unlady-like pose.

Sweetie had fallen asleep some time ago, and was currently holding a pose that both looked unusual, surprising, and at least borderline funny. Sweetie had fallen asleep sitting up in her chair, her back against the back-rest, with one of her fore-limbs straight out and resting on her desk, the other curled up against her chest, and her head slightly leaned back and to her left with her mouth open. Also, while it wasn't completely clear, Button could swear he could hear her lightly snoring every now and again.

Button couldn't help but chuckle, and shook his head. "Stupid mare." He thought to himself as he looked at her. His attention stayed on her for a moment, particularly how a bit of mane hung over her eyes from how she was posed, before averting his gaze once he realized he let his eyes rest on Sweetie for longer than necessary.

Upon turning his attention back to the front of the class, he caught some slight movement from another desk and looked in that direction. If he wasn't fully awake before, he certainly was now, as he saw Rumble peering towards him with a smirk that seemed read as: 'Caught ya staring.', and caused Button a massive amount of embarrassment.

Button let out a silent groan, and slammed his head against his desk, "Hayseed...!" He muttered.

At that moment, the school bell rang, ending another day at school for the young ponies, which also woke up anypony who had fallen asleep during Twilight's lecture. This included Scootaloo, who woke with a start at the sound and instinctively flared her wings open, tossing up a couple of loose feathers from her wings.

A few in the class let out a light laugh at the sight.

"Okay, that's enough class." Their teacher stated, "We'll continue our lesson tomorrow, unless of course you had other plans, Ms. Twilight." She said as she turned her attention to Twilight.

"Not at all, I'll be glad to come back in tomorrow."

She gave a nod of thanks before looking back at her class, "Remember, class, next week your three-page reports will be due, so if you haven't started on it yet, now would be good time to get on that. Have a good day, and I'll see you all tomorrow."

Everypony quickly packed away their things, and as orderly as they could left the the schoolhouse. 

Just as Button was leaving the premise, he heard Sweetie's voice call out to him.

"Button, wait!"

Button took in a sharp breath as he clenched his teeth, "What now...?!" He muttered before turning to look at her.

"Thanks for waiting Button."

"Yeah, yeah, no problem. So what do you want?"

"I w-was wondering, if, you know, we can walk together for a little bit...?"

That stunned Button for a brief moment, "What for?! Why don't you walk with Applebloom and Scootaloo, like you always do?" he asked a little louder than necessary.

Sweetie took a step back at Button's loud reply, "I-I-I thought it could be something, you know, nice for us to do together." She stated with her ears pinned back against her head.

Button was going to say something, but stopped when he remembered that they were still in front of the schoolhouse, and a good portion of their class was still present. Letting out a sigh, he hesitated before saying, "Alright, I guess I'll walk you home. Or are you going to Carousel Boutique?" Immediately cheering Sweetie Belle right up.

"I need to pick up some stuff from my sis's place, soooo to Carousel Boutique."

"Great..." He thought to himself, not really looking forward to potentially seeing Rarity again, as the duo started on their way to Carousel Boutique.

A peaceful silence fell between the two as they traveled to the ever fashionable clothing store, the sounds of everyday life in Ponyville being the only sound between the two. At least, until Button decided to speak up.

"You never answered my other question by the way."

"Hm?" Sweetie responded as she turned to look at him, a smile still on her face from Button agreeing to walk with her.

"Why aren't you with Applebloom and Scootaloo today?"

"Oh, they're busy doing their own things today. Applebloom said she was going to talk to Zecora about a potion for a sick cow at Sweet Apple Acres, and I think Scootaloo said something about hanging out with Rainbow Dash today."

"Of course..." He mouthed as he rolled his eyes.

It didn't take long for them to arrive at Carousel Boutique, and as they did, Sweetie seemed to visibly become more nervous and uncomfortable.

Button seemingly didn't notice as his expression remained stoic, at least until he turned to look at her. Sweetie's ears were pointed backwards, she held her head a bit lower than she had earlier, and her tail seemed to twitch nervously every now and again.

"What's with her?" He thought to himself.

"Come on, Sweetie, you've gone on one date with him, and you've woken up hugging him." She muttered to herself, feeling a little warmth at her cheeks at remembering last Saturday, "You j-j-just have to ask him."

Silence remained between the two for a while longer until Button said, "So, yeah..., we're here at Carousel Boutique. Soooo, I guess I'll see you later, Sweetie Belle." and immediately turned to leave.

"Button, wait!"

Button knew he should keep moving, just ignore her, or at least come up with some impromptu excuse; but, the feeling at the back of his head seemed to say: 'stop', and his body was willing to obey.

"What is it, Sweetie Belle?" he asked as he turned his head to look at the young mare.

Sweetie hesitated before saying, "I wanted to ask if..., you know, if you'd like to play together, again?"

"You mean like last Friday night? On Minecraft?"

Sweetie smiled and nodded.

"I dunno, I kinda have to work on that report for next week." He remarked, somewhat glad school had given him a proper excuse to not spend any time with Sweetie, "And what about you? I'm sure you have to work on the report too."

"Oh, I already finished the report."

"Wait...You already finished your report?!"

Sweetie nodded, "My sister, Rarity, heard about it from Miss Twilight, who heard it from our teacher, and she refused to let me play unless I finished the report. She said that diligence is a quality every lady should have, and that it will make my reward for being diligent with my work all the more sweeter, and my reward was that I get to play video games."

"But the report...," he silently muttered, "it was assigned just two days ago."

"How about you, Button? Did you finish your report?"

"No..., not yet." he admitted honestly as he scratched the back of his head.

"Oh, well..., that's okay. You still have till next week to finish it anyway. Did you at least pick a topic yet?" she innocently asked while smiling that ever cheerful smile.

"Oh, yeah...of course I did." He replied nervously with a wide grin. No, he didn't. He hadn't even given it much thought since it was assigned.

"I thought that maybe...I could spend my video game play time with you." She explained before finishing with a wide, hopeful smile and a slight wag to her tail.

Button gave a light groan, before saying, "I dunno, Sweetie, I got some work to do. I mean sure, I'll play a little bit before I do, but it'll be easier if I just go home."

Sweetie's smile fell from her face, "Oh...,okay," she replied with a forced smile, "That's alright, maybe next time...?"

"Yeah...sure." he replied, before adding, "Whatever." Under his breath when Sweetie turned away to leave.

He watched her as she slowly walked up to the front door of Carousel Boutique. Sweetie seemed to take it rather hard as she seemingly forgot that she could use her magic to open the door, which would have been normal for unicorns her age, and the fact she didn't have to dig through her saddlebag for a door key.

Button watched her with some modicum of amusement, especially after Sweetie's expression changed from disappointed to confused, then to annoyed as she couldn't find the key she was looking for. After a moment though, it just became depressing in a way.

"Sweetie, if you're looking for a house key, isn't Carousel Boutique also your sister's store, so...wouldn't the door already be unlocked?"

"Oh...,right." she replied with a nervous grin.

"Dumb mare." he muttered under his breath.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay and play even for a little while?"

Yes! Button just stared at her with a serious look, and trying hard to not audibly groan or growl.

She looked at him with pleading, soulful eyes that both annoyed and disturbed him in a way he couldn't quite explain.

He sighed, "You were really looking forward to playing with me today, didn't you?"

She nodded. 

"Fine!" He begrudgingly stated and started digging around his saddlebag for a sheet of scratch paper and pencil. He quickly found what he needed and quickly jotted down something before giving it to Sweetie, "Here, that's my alias. I have no time to just hang out today, but if you give me fifteen minutes, I should be on, and you can shoot me a friend request and we can play together. You do know how to search for another player, right?"

"Mm-hm!" she responded with a nod and excited smile.

"Good. Like I said, wait for fifteen minutes, search up my alias, and send me a friend request." he repeated, making sure she understood completely what she had to do.

"Don't worry, I understand." As quickly as she could, she bolted into Carousel Boutique and shut the door before Button could get another word in.

Button let out an audible sigh as he rubbed the bridge of his snout, before turning to leave for home. Well, at least she couldn't say that he never tried to be a little friendly. Besides, he had to admit it, he did find it sort of...commendable that Sweetie finished a long assignment in two days.

Button took his time getting home, hoping that if he wasn't available to respond to Sweetie, he'd be able to avoid her without detection, at least for now. Still, he could only draw out how long he could stay away from home till his mom got worried about him, and arrived back at home. As soon as he got home, he went to his room and proceeded to check for any friend requests.

He raised a brow upon finding that there wasn't any indicator that anypony, especially Sweetie Belle, had sent him any friend request. It'd had been at least thirty minutes since he last saw Sweetie, that was double the time he asked for, more than enough time for her to send him a request. Still...he couldn't help but let a grin appear on his face.

What luck! Seems he didn't even have to worry at all; and, with that, he decided to go get a snack before going back to his old plan, which was to get in some game time before he starts on his homework for the day.

He about 20 minutes into a game of Minecraft, working on a rail system which will expedite the travel to and forth between his 'homebase' in the game and a ravine he found that was loaded with iron, gold, and potentially some diamond ore, when he heard a 'ding' through the headset he was wearing.

Looking at the corner of the screen, he went wide-eyed at seeing a somewhat familiar alias requesting to be friends.

"It's been 55 minutes. Is she sending it to me now?" he muttered, "Might as well." he added with a groan and accepted the request and went to join the game.

"I can't believe this. Well, at least it'll probably be short. Just a little this and that before- WHAT THE-?!" he was thinking as the world loaded before he saw his character start falling just as he spawned in then heard the 'grunt' sound associated with falling and just barely surviving the fall damage.

"Hi, Button!" he heard Sweetie's voice in his headset. Oh great, she has a mic too...

"Sweetie Belle!" he shouted, "Why did I just spawn over a hole?! And..., why is there even a hole here to begin with?" he asked as he started thinking of a way out of hole in the ground he just spawned over.

He heard Sweetie Belle give a forced nervous giggle at his question, "That's probably one of Scootaloo's holes she made with dynamite." and true to word, that's exactly what the hole looked like: a straight vertical cavern into the ground.

"Scootaloo...?"

"This isn't the same world from Friday night. This is a separate world I made whenever the others come over and want to play for a little while."

Button didn't say anything as he, not finding any other option at the moment, started the long tedious work of digging a staircase for himself. Also as an added bonus, he could probably imagine punching out his annoyance on the blocks of smooth stone.

"The world is kinda part adventure, and part creative. I kinda...spawned in some stuff for the Applebloom, Scootaloo, and I to use."

"So you're pretty much cheating?" He dully stated just a second before he was teleported to where she was, which was near a quaint wooden home at the base of what looked to be a mountain or a tall hill.

"Not entirely! Just for some things, like extra saplings, smooth stone, and...dynamite."

"Dynamite...? I'm gonna guess that's why Scootaloo was able to put a deep ditch where I spawned, right?"

"Hehe...yeah..., Scootaloo occasionally wants to just blow up parts of the world; and, she says she doesn't like having to hunt creepers to do it."

"But that's half the-!" Button started, but stopped short as he groaned, "Whatever. So is there anything in particular you were hoping on doing?"

"I was thinking, maybe you could make a house around here too!" she stated excitedly.

"A house...? You just want me to make a house?"

"Mm-hm!" she replied, as her avatar looked up then down as if nodding, "Well, that and some other stuff too, but I want to help you feel welcome here. Applebloom and Scootaloo already have their houses on this map. Well..., maybe not Scootaloo. I let Rumble play once, and he started a fire to clear out some trees, and I think it was in the same area as Scootaloo's house. Not entirely sure though, I never bothered to check."

"Probably your fault. You didn't stop him before it got out of control." He quietly muttered to himself, then said, "Do you have some spare tools for me to use? Or do I have to make 'em myself?"

"Oh, right. Stay right here for a moment." and went into her house.

Button sighed, loud enough for it to be heard over the mic, but Sweetie didn't seem to notice as she said nothing, and tried having a closer look at the environment around his character. It appears little about the surrounding environment had been greatly altered. Aside from Sweetie's quaint home there, there was also a path that lead off somewhere and a fence, otherwise everything else seemed untouched.

When Sweetie came back out, she came out holding a lever in the mouth of her character.

"Uh, Sweetie, that's not a tool, that's a lever."

"I know, just follow me." and started trotting towards a cave opening on the side of the land formation her home was located at.

Button was curious as to what Sweetie was doing with a lever, though he did have some idea. Probably some hidden area or an iron door that wouldn't open without it. He was betting on the latter, considering he was the experienced gamer, and even he had a few issues coming up with functional redstone circuitry. Sure enough, not far from the entrance of the cave was a iron door.

Sweetie placed the lever on a block next to the door, flipped it, and the duo proceeded to walk into the small dug out room.

"This was Applebloom's idea. The cave had a lot of iron and coal, but it was hard to tell what time of day it was in the cave so she proposed building a makeshift home inside the cave in case it got dark out and don't want to fight any of the monsters outside."

The room itself was rather small, it was about 6 by 6 in size, two blocks tall, and had only one bed and two, two-block wide chests. Button figured that this is where the extra supplies were and went ahead and started looking through the two chests that were there. Finding nothing other than a couple of tools that were very near to breaking, he was just about to complain when he heard the sound of pistons activating.

Looking back towards Sweetie Belle's character, a surprised look appeared on his face as he noticed a two by two opening had opened and Sweetie Belle was walking into another room.

"Sweetie Belle...?" he asked out as he approached the opening, taking a moment to notice the second lever that Sweetie stuck to the wall.

"Here you go!" Sweetie shouted excitedly and dropped a diamond pickaxe and shovel in front of Button Mash.

"Sweetie, is this a...?"

"Yep, it's a hidden room I built." she stated with a proud grin, though Button couldn't see it, he could imagine it given the tone in her voice, "You have no idea how long it took me gather up all the redstone dust and time to build the door. I just did it since I noticed Scootaloo would occasionally take stuff from my chests back at home, so I started hiding some of my rare stuff in here."

Button could only stare in disbelief as Sweetie hit the lever again closing the hidden door way, before knocking the lever off the wall.

"This will be our little secret, okay?"

"Uh..., sure." he gave a pause, "Wait, you actually know how to work with redstone?!"

"It took a little while, and a lot of messing around; but, after I heard how useful it can be, I just couldn't stop thinking of ways to use it. So I played around with it for a bit, before finding a good way to make it work."

Button could only stammer as Sweetie dropped a stack of 64 solid wood blocks, some iron, and a stack of 20 glass blocks in front of him.

"Hopefully that will be enough to get you started. Let me know if you need some help building some stuff or need some other stuff." and with that she trotted out of the small room.

Button stayed put for a moment, in disbelief. Sweetie Belle knew how to work with redstone, something he wasn't terribly good at, and HE was suppose to be the gamer. If she could do that, then was there something else she could do better than him, at least as far as gaming?

Shaking off the slight warmth in his cheeks, he came to the resolution that wouldn't do at all. He's the most experienced gamer in all of Ponyville hooves down, and there was no way he going to give up that title without a fight, especially not to Sweetie Belle of all ponies.

Sweetie Belle was no longer just a nuisance to him, she was also now the enemy; and, not just a simple enemy, but an enemy he has to figure out what were her strengths and make sure he could do better at those things than she could.
> Chapter 7
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the hours ticked by, and the afternoon sun had already set over the horizon, allowing the moon to rise into the sky, granted it wasn't that late just yet, both Button and Sweetie could still be found playing Minecraft; or, at the very least, Button was still playing.

Button hadn't seen Sweetie's character, nor has he heard her voice, in the last hour or so. Sweetie had gone off somewhere after telling Button if he did decide to build a house on the map, to build it close to her's so they could be neighbors in that sickeningly sweet voice of hers, which of course annoyed the young stallion but obliged since that'll make it all the more easier for him to show Sweetie that he was better at this game.

Button was just finishing up installing his own secret room below his house, it lacked the overall complexity of Sweetie's 2-by-2 doorway as it was only 2-by-1 where the top and bottom blocks pulled into the ceiling and floor respectively, but it was functional.

"Now to just test it and make sure I didn't damage the lines." he remarked to himself as he placed a lever on the wall and clicked it on, causing the passage to open, then off again, causing it to close, "Perfect. Now to just put in the windows and I'll have finished building this dumb house."

Overall he was rather proud with what he had built. It was a two-story home with all the basic rooms: kitchen, living room, closet, and bedroom; and, of course, the basement where he put his own secret room.

Just as he returned to the first-floor of his character's home on the map, he noticed Sweetie Belle's nametag moving around through the wall of his house. It looked like she was just outside his house and it appeared she was doing something, maybe some gardening, planting those red and yellow flowers around the perimeter so it would match the exterior of her house.

"What's she doing? She better not be planning to mess up this house." Button asked himself, before making his way out of his home. Upon getting outside and looking where Sweetie was, his eyes went wide as he noticed that Sweetie had set up a line of 5 blocks of TNT against one side of Button's home, and her character was already holding a redstone torch in her hoof.

Sweetie's character briefly stopped to look at him.

"Sweetie, what are doing?!" Button shouted into his microphone, just before Sweetie placed the torch down igniting a block of TNT.

Too late, better to run and avoid getting killed in the blast.

"What in Tartarus is Sweetie up to?!" Button angrily thought to himself as he and Sweetie's character's bolted, just before the five successive explosions that blew a hole in Button's home, including the basement, and soil around the area. He growled to himself as he pulled out a stone sword and quickly started pursuing Sweetie's character.

She didn't have much time to acknowledge that Button now had a sword, before getting hit once with the blade. Lacking any armor at the moment, and a weapon, she couldn't do anything to defend herself other than to run.

Just before the blow that killed Sweetie's character, and dropped all her held items onto the ground, Button heard a familiar voice call out while laughing, "Stop, stop, stop."

That voice didn't belong to Sweetie, it sounded more like Rumble.

"Wait..., Rumble? Is that you?" He asked outloud.

"Yeah...Hey there, Button." Rumble greeted him.

"Figures," Button thought to himself, "Sweetie's too much of a casual to care about being hostile." He then gave a sigh and asked, "What are you doing at Miss Rarity's place, Rumble? And, where is Sweetie Belle?"

"Thunderlane had to ask Rarity for some advice. Said it couldn't wait till tomorrow." He responded as Sweetie's character respawned in her home, "Sweetie left to grab something to eat, so she asked me to fill in for her and keep you company."

"And somehow, blasting a hole in what I've been working on for at least an hour now counts as 'keeping me company' to you?" Button asked in an annoyed tone.

"Nah, that was just a perk." Rumble responded in a cocky tone and with a chuckle, earning what sounded like an growl from Button, "Besides, I kinda wanted to see how you'd respond to Sweetie busting a hole in your house. Clearly, violently."

Button rolled his eyes, "Rumble, I've been at this for at least an hour. You really thought I wouldn't be pissed off?" He asked as he watched Rumble, as Sweetie's character, this time wearing diamond armor of all things, come out of her house and rush over to pick up all the dropped items.

"I knew you'd be mad, but I didn't think you'd immediately go for the kill, especially since I didn't say anything so you'd believe Sweetie was to fault at the start. I mean seriously, aren't you her coltfriend or something?"

"I'm not her coltfriend. I'd rather get eaten by a hydra before ever calling myself her coltfriend." Button mumbled silently to himself.

Button groaned loudly before sighing, then got started on repairing the damage, starting with the damaged soil, "What exactly did you expect me to do? Just look at her blankly in annoyance? Maybe some shouting?"

Despite the damage from 5 blocks of TNT, it seemed like none of the blasts damaged or exposed his secret room, fortunately.

"Hm, shouting might've been funny. Sweetie has a pretty decent pair of headphones though, so maybe not. I'd like to be able to keep my hearing, thank you very much." Rumble chuckled, "Honestly though, I figured you'd just get back at me yourself later after I revealed that I was the one who blew up your house. Maybe push me into some lava, or said something nasty, again, that you know would tick me off. Perhaps even gotten into a war with some TNT. I do have a house on this map too you know."

"Maybe, you're a little thick skinned though. So it's kinda hard to piss you off without calling you a 'turkey'."

"For the last time, only domesticated turkeys can't fly." Rumble remarked in annoyance, "And for the record, I'm a great flier."

"I know, that's how I know it works." Button replied in amusement, "Also, how do you have a house around here anyway?"

Rumble then joined Button in repairing the home, "Scootaloo invited to me play after the last team project we had to do. Sort of to pass the time. Sweetie didn't mind, said it made the map feel less lonely."

"So, where is your house then? I haven't seen any houses around here other than Sweetie Belle's and mine."

"Just a little ways off from here. It's in the same area as Scootaloo's on this map."

"You mean near the initial respawn area? Where Scootaloo apparently blasts holes everywhere with dynamite?"

"Okay, so I maybe don't know if my house is still in one piece, but I'm sure there's still part of it there."

"Well, why don't you go check on that, and I'll just keep myself busy for now. Thanks for fixing some of the damage by the way."

"Hey, I'm not a total jerk you know. I didn't plan on leaving you high-and-dry after blasting your house." He remarked, Button can practically imagine the young pegasus smirking as he said that, "Anyway, what were you doing? Sweetie said you were down below your house. Have you been down there the entire time?"

Button hesitated at first, not really wanting to spoil the fact he installed a secret room adjacent to his basement, but the prospect of having something to brag about seemed like a nice change.

"If you really want to know, I'll tell you, but you can't say anything to anyone, including Sweetie Belle."

"Sure, I guess." He sounded a little unsure.

"I was putting in a secret room below my house so I can hide away a few things."

"Oh, cool! Scootaloo tells me that Sweetie does that once in a while too. I guess you two do make a good pair. Great minds and all that."

"Please do NOT compare me to her."

"Right, right. I almost forgot how competitive you can get. You still at war with Princess Luna over that match on 'Call of Cutie: Griffon Front' a couple months back?"

"I guess... I mean, I haven't had much time to jump on and see how Princess Luna is fairing on the game these days."

"That's alright I guess." Rumble then gave a pause, "So, is there anything else you planning on doing? Getting into a TNT fight with you might be fun, but I'm probably not going to be on long before Sweetie comes back, so I probably won't have much time to rebuild if my house is wrecked on this map before we start fighting."

"I don't know. I guess we could go to the Nether, since Sweetie apparently has diamond armor."

"She doesn't have a weapon though. Plus, you're probably gonna need protection too, and that's gonna take some time."

"Right, right..." He stated then paused as he thought of what they could do, "Say, Rumble, how is Sweetie on this game?" He asked, deciding a little knowledge of Sweetie's play style might be useful for him in his approach to out-do her.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, Sweetie doesn't seem like the type to run off fighting all the mobs. You mentioned she let you jump on once. That is true, right?"

"Well, yeah, of course it's true. It was when Scootaloo and I were paired off to work on that history project together. You know, I told you about it, it was the one about Cloudsdale's founding." Rumble replied.

"Yeah, I think I still remember that."

"Scootaloo thought it'd be a great idea to come here to talk about it, so we could play to pass the time between our conversations, and for after we finished it up. It was only that once though, but Scootaloo's had me come over a couple times just to show off something they did or just have someone to give them a second opinion about stuff as they play."

"So how does she play on this game? Does she adventure at all in this game? Does she turtle up at night in her house?"

"Sort of. Why are you asking anyway?"

"Oh, just...personal interest."

"Wait. You're not planning on treating this as a competition, like you usually do, are you?" Rumble asked in a disbelieving tone, feeling he already knows the answer, "You're seriously going to compete against Sweetie Belle? Against your own marefriend?"

Button didn't respond verbally, but smirked in response, which was unseen by Rumble, who assumed the silence was a confirmation.

"Jeez! You really like taking your gaming skills that seriously, huh?" Rumble responded as he scratched the back of his head, which Button could just barely hear though his headphones, "I'll tell you, but just a fair warning between us pony buds, don't go pushing her too hard. If you do, there's no telling if she'll break things off with you."

That only fueled the flames of Button's determination even more to prove he was better at games than Sweetie.

Giving a wide grin, he responded. "I'll accept that risk."

Button heard Rumble sigh as the other young stallion hesitated for a moment, "Alright, just don't say I didn't warn you if she does."

Another pause before Rumble continued on.

"You're right. The good news for you, Mr. Competitive, is that Sweetie is practically dead-weight as far as her combat skills in this game goes. She hardly survives accidentally mining into areas with spawners, and is heavily reliant on having someone watching her back lest she get's killed by some mob or another." Rumble explained, "If anything, she typically asks Applebloom or Scootaloo, when they join through their systems, to hunt down mobs for her whenever she needs their drops for something, or...you know, the number of farms and traps she has set up in random areas to quickly and easily kill them."

"Figures. This game is wasted on somepony like her." Button thought to himself in annoyance before addressing Rumble again, "And? I'm assuming there's some bad news too."

He heard Rumble force a chuckle from his end, "Yeah. The bad news is, bud, is if you want to compete on her terms though, you may be out of luck there, pony."

"Explain?" Button replied, genuinely curious what Rumble could possibly mean.

"Sweetie may not be a fighter, but she's a great builder. From what little I know, she has a thing for looking for diamonds in her free time, so she does a lot of poking around and normally has a lot of material to work with. A lot of the area, including this spot, was built -actually, is 'terraformed' a better word?" A pause, "Eh, probably not, but yeah, she built this area."

Button raised a brow as he looked around. Granted he hasn't really gone off anywhere far in the world, he hasn't seen a single thing that looked like it was built, except maybe the home of Sweetie's character.

"What exactly has she built? All I've seen is her house and that tunnel over there." Button then looked towards the tunnel that contained Sweetie's hidden area from earlier.

"It's not just her home. Didn't you notice this area is completely flat for more than a few blocks worth of distance?"

Button was about to say something, when the noticed that Rumble was actually right. The area at first doesn't actually suggest any alterations, but now that Rumble pointed it out, it was obvious that a bit more of the area was actually level compared to what would be normal for a randomly generated field.

"Sweetie used some dirt she got from digging around and leveled the area to plant some of these trees and install a path to help us get around." Rumble continued, "It's way more than her house though, she actually does have some larger projects here and there if you know where to look."

"So a tower then? Or a small village?" Button asked, trying to gauge where Sweetie's skills could possibly be.

"Um, here, follow me." Rumble remarked before he took off down a path.

Button followed suit, "Where are we going?" he asked as the pair briskly ran down the path, occasionally jumping a hill where there wasn't any stairs or slabs to run over.

He got no response as Rumble just kept going.

After about a minute of running down the path, Button noticed a mountain start rendering into view, and the path was leading towards a dug out tunnel about 4 blocks tall and 3 blocks wide.

"Not very far now, it's just past this tunnel." Rumble voiced in as he didn't stop and entered the tunnel.

Button wasn't far behind. The tunnel was well lit as they passed the occasional glowstone inbedded into the wall, ensuring no mobs spawned inside.

"Well, she was able to remember that part at least." Button thought to himself, "Still, why the hay did she decide to build whatever it is this far out? What could it possibly be that she couldn't build next, or closer in general, to her house?'

Upon reaching the end of the tunnel, Rumble stopped to look back at Button, "Here we are."

Button stopped next to Rumble as his jaw dropped at what he saw. In front of him was what looked like a life-sized build of the Crystal Empire, or at least part of it.

Rumble chuckled, "I can practically imagine the look on your face right now, Button. Don't worry, I kinda had the same reaction when I noticed that Applebloom was helping Sweetie level this entire place down. Of course, most of it wasn't here last time I saw this place."

The entire area had clearly been leveled to accommodate the build, as Button took note of smooth stone and colored wool to replicate the recognizable, snowflake-like path of the Crystal Empire. A number of buildings had already been built, using blue and red wool on the exterior walls, and half the Crystal Castle was already completed.

Button never would've expected this is what Sweetie was building! Not in a million years.

"S-She built this...?!"

"With a little help of course, but, yeah." Rumble replied, "She's pretty much built almost everything you see here. The only main exception was part of the roadways, and the two crystal spires that act as the welcome gate. Scootaloo and Applebloom put those in. I think Scootaloo mentioned that they built those on the other side from this tunnel. The buildings and what's already there of the castle though, that was all Sweetie."

He couldn't believe it. He can't believe it! Sweetie's skill level was this?!

"Admittingly, she did cheat in the materials for the castle, and went into creative mode, but from what I've heard from Scootaloo it was because she got tired of accidentally falling off once it got high enough to kill her.  Still, not a bad job, don't you think? So...yeah, if you're really that serious about competing with her, this is what you have to top. You better start practicing."

Rumble was right, he really did have to start practicing. To top this...he...he didn't even know what he would have to do. He'd really hate having to admit this, and he'd especially really hate to have to admit it to Sweetie Belle, but he was beyond impressed.

"Rumble! What are you doing?!" Both young stallions heard Sweetie's voice shout, snapping Button out of his trance.

"Huh...? Oh, Sweetie Belle!" Button heard Rumble state over the microphone, followed by a nervous chuckle, "Yeah...I-I was just showing Button around a little."

"You weren't suppose to show him that! It's not even done yet."

"He thought it was cool...Hey! Quit pushing!" Rumble stated before hearing some sounds as if Rumble had dropped the microphone on the ground, "Gotta go, later, Button!"

There was a brief moment of silence as Sweetie corrected something on her end before Button heard her voice again.

"Hello again, Button." Sweetie greeted after a brief moment, "Sorry about disappearing like that. I was getting hungry."

"That's alright. Is Rumble still there?"

"Yes, Rumble is still here. He's sitting behind me watching us now. I still can't believe you brought him here."

"Hey, it's still pretty impressive despite not being finished." He heard Rumble faintly remark.

"You really built this? Like, really, really?" Button asked, still not wanting to believe Sweetie was this skilled.

"I had some help, but, yeah, I did. I thought it'd be fun to do something large, and I always remembered how the Crystal Empire was such a fun place to visit over the years." Sweetie admitted in an embarrassed tone, "It's still not done though, I still need to finish the upper half of the castle."

Button remained quiet, his mind still trying to process that Sweetie Belle of all ponies had managed to build this.

"I started it several months ago. It's kinda embarrassing, I bet you probably would've finished something like this a long time ago." Sweetie remarked

Button thought he heard Rumble attempting to stifle a laugh, but failing to do so, though he couldn't quite tell for sure. If he had though, Sweetie didn't act like she had noticed and had her character look towards the semi-built Crystal Empire in front of their characters.

"Y-yeah, I would've totally finished a build like this ages ago." He nervously lied, "And, it's not completely embarrassing. You're off to a good start at least."

"You think so?" Sweetie asked.

"Yeah... You're just taking your time, no big deal."

"Then, would you like to help?" She asked, her voice making it obvious she was really hopeful that he'd agree to help.

"Uh, well- M-maybe not today, Sweetie." Button responded, "I still have some things to do before I can help."

"Oh, alright." Sweetie sounded like more sullen.

"Some other time, Sweetie." He added quickly, silently hoping she eventually forgets, "I still have to eat dinner and get started on my homework."

"Oh, right." She responded in a tone suggesting she was once again embarrassed, this time for forgetting that Button probably hasn't eaten yet, "So, are you going now?"

"I probably should. I did finish what you wanted me to do anyway."

"You built your house!" She cheered, "Okay, I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay, Button."

Button groaned a bit, "See you tomorrow." He then looked towards the build one last time before leaving.

Finally off the game, he let out a loud groan as he fell back and onto the floor of his room.

"Seriously?! Sweetie can build stuff like that?" He shouted putting his hooves over his eyes, "This shouldn't be happening."

"Oh, good, are you done playing, Button?" His mother asked him as she walked into his room.

"Yeah, I'm done playing. For now." He replied.

"Good, your Mommy wants some game time before the night is over." She didn't wait, as she pulled the headset off of her son's head and putting them on.

"Mom." He complained.

"Oh, please, you just said you were done for now." She rebutted, "Besides, your dinner is getting cold. Go to the dining table and eat up."

"Yes, Mom." He then took his leave as his mom started up another game.

As he ate he couldn't quite shake his thoughts about learning that Sweetie was apparently an expert builder in Minecraft. It just didn't make sense. How could Sweetie Belle of all ponies have actually been able to surpass him in something in his domain: video games? Where had she learned to build like that? He had built the occasional thing, sure, but something as grand as replicating the entire city-state of the Crystal Empire, he'd never thought of doing. Just the idea of burning that many hours just to level an area sounded like a bore to him.

"Go figure the one mare in class with the least amount of brain power could stand do something something so incredibly tedious." He muttered to himself with a sigh.

"What kind of aim is that?! You missed me 12 times!" He heard his mother shout in a semi-taunting tone from his room.

"I wonder what Mom is playing?" He pondered to himself before putting it aside for now, he can figure that out later.

Still, he gave a nod, as he came to accept the fact that Sweetie had surpassed him in one way, and that was a way he was sure he was going to try learning so he could top her. It was going to be a challenge for sure, but what good gamer would back down from a good challenge? Besides, the bigger they are, the more satisfying the fall.

For now though, he was gonna eat and figure out what he was going to build to top Sweetie Belle; and, maybe wonder what other very impressive builds Sweetie could have possibly built on that map he has yet to see.

"Wait- No! I should NOT be feeling impressed!" He mentally berated himself before shaking his head to rid of those thoughts.
> Chapter 8
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Watch our backs, Spike." Button instructed as he, Rumble, Princess Luna, and Chrome Shield, a member of Luna's night-guard, advanced towards the objective.

"Got it." Spike replied.

"I'm surprised Spike has a microphone right now." Rumble stated, "Finally got around to buying one?"

"No, this is borrowed from the Crusaders." Spike replied back.

"Sweetie Belle's?" Button couldn't stop himself from asking in a tired voice.

"These were a pair the girls had at their clubhouse. So, no, I don't think these belong to your 'marefriend'." Spike stated, putting a slight emphasis on the word 'marefriend'.

Button caught the emphasis, and groaned at the statement. He wanted to say something back, but decided against it. It had been several days since he learned Sweetie apparently had some skills in Minecraft at least, and had wanted to avoid thinking about it for the time.

"Focus guys, we're running out of time." Button barked.

"Indeed." Luna agreed, "Come, we must advance."

"Yes, your highness." Chrome agreed, as they pressed on.

"Alright, just like we planned, Princess Luna and Rumble will flank from the side since they have that annoying, new crossbow." Button stated.

"You're just jealous you ended up with the dart blaster for your range." Rumble remarked.

Ignoring his friend, Button rolled his eyes and pressed on, "While you two are doing that, Chrome and myself will rush in, kill the defenders, and-" He stopped upon hearing a clinking sound of something glass-like hitting the ground, it was a sound he was very familiar with and dreaded.

"Crystal Bomb!"

Unfortunately, it was too late as an oblong, magically-charged object bounced closer to them before exploding in a bright blue flash, resulting in the deaths of the four ponies.

The last thing Button heard was a "What the-?!" from Spike before the word 'Defeated' flashed on his screen in red as timer ran out.

Button let out an annoyed shout and fell backwards onto his back on the floor.

"That was a very lucky throw." he heard Chrome remark.

"No kidding, killed four of us with a single blast. I've never seen one of those things take out four players before." Rumble voiced as well.

Button groaned as he brought himself back up to a sitting position, pissed they had lost.

"Well, I suppose I should take my leave. As fun as this was, I believe I should go back to my regular duties." Chrome stated, "If I may, Princess."

"Very well, resume your regular duties. I'll call on you again if your assistance is once again needed." Luna replied, followed by Chrome giving an affirmative grunt before leaving the lobby, as well as the voice chat group.

"I better get going too." Spike replied.

"Meeting up with Applebloom, Spike?" Rumble asked.

"Not really. I just have a few chores to finish up for Twilight before I go to sleep."

"Still, it was a pleasure having you, Spike." Luna replied.

"Yeah. See ya around, Spike." Button stated just before Spike left.

"Art thou ready for another round?" Luna asked the remaining pair of teammates.

"We still need to wait for two random teammates." Rumble reminded.

"Let's hope they're good. Losing due to bad teammates is annoying." Button remarked.

"Oh, yes, before I forget, Button, I have something to inquire of you." Luna stated.

"What is it, Princess?"

"I'll ask them of you later. It may be in your interests if we were to talk later."

"Oh...okay." Button remarked, wondering what in Equestria would Luna want to ask him.

At that moment a new voice filled Button's ears as two new players were added to their team.

"Well, look at what we have here, if it isn't the little pony from the last game." The voice stated, it sounded distinctly female, but was clearly rougher than what would be normal for a pony, "Enjoyed that bomb last round, Dweebs?" She asked followed by a laugh.

Button groaned.

Later that night, Button was seated at his desk, working on one of his assignments, and trying to muster the strength to resist falling asleep until it was completed. Unfortunately, it was a losing battle and before long he was resting his head on his desk and drifting off to sleep.

Now in his dreams, Button found himself at a picnic with Sweetie Belle. The pair were at some random hilltop just outside of the town, just far enough to be out of sight of anypony else, yet close enough that it wouldn't be too long of a trek back to town afterwards.

Button and Sweetie were seated on opposite sides of the picnic blanket from one another, but their conversation seemed to be in good spirits as the pair ate and chatted rather jovially. Button was seated on his rump, while Sweetie sat prone with her body turned perpendicularly, allowing him a chance to look at her torso if he wanted to.

"I did want to try my hoof at it, and see if I could probably survive a round or two, but it just seems so hard when you have no idea what works and what doesn't. Doesn't help either that random teammates just don't seem to care most of the time." Sweetie remarked.

"Tell you what, why not team up with me next time you play. With my skills and experience, I promise we'll be able to win hooves down." Button proudly stated, even pounding his chest with a hoof for emphasis.

"I bet we could, cause you're the best gamer in Equestria, Button." Sweetie stated before shooting him a kind smile.

Button let a proud expression form on his face, before letting it fade as Sweetie turned her attention towards the sun in the horizon. It would still be at least half-an-hour before it made contact with the horizon and begin slowly disappearing. He couldn't help but smile as he briefly gave her a quick look over, taking note of everything about her from how Sweetie's body had noticably become much more slender since they were younger, to how her curled mane seemed to help accentuate a sort of natural beauty about her.

He probably was staring a little longer than he would like to admit to himself, but he couldn't help it, it was hard not to stare and admire his companion. Still, something felt off about it though, but what?

Just then Sweetie seemed to notice his plight as she turned to look at him again, but this time there was a severe difference. Rather than the soft, green eyes he was familiar, she eyes had shifted to a much darker emerald color and the whites had become a solid black color.

"Button, what's wrong?" She asked, her voice sounding distorted.

He wasn't sure why, but a sense of fear filled him as he stared at her eyes and listened to her distorted voice.

"Stay back!" He shouted as he rose up and started backing away.

"What's wrong?" She stood up also and approached him.

"I said stay back."

Sweetie then gave a wicked smile and the green in her eyes seemingly started to glow, "What's wrong, Button? Don't you recognize you dearest marefriend?" She asked in taunting tone before jumping to pounce him.

Before he could even scream or act defensively, Sweetie suddenly froze in mid-air, her disturbing smile still clear on her face.

"Quite the interesting perspective you have of your fellow classmate, Button." He heard Luna's voice state behind him.

"Princess Luna?" He then turned to watch the princess approach him.

"Good evening, Button Mash." She greeted him before trotting past the young stallion to have a closer look at the frozen Sweetie Belle.

"So, I'm dreaming...?" He asked.

"Indeed you are." She replied, not breaking eye contact with Sweetie, "This is what I wanted to talk to you about, Button." She then paused to fully take note of Sweetie's expression, "Sweetie Belle if I recall correctly, the younger sister of Rarity."

"What exactly is up with her in this dream?" Button asked as he stared at Sweetie's wicked expression, feeling a chill go down his spine at how her expression seemed locked onto him despite that she was frozen in midair.

"Unfortunately, that is something I can not tell you, as it is yourself who can explain what is happening."

"Me?" He asked outloud, "What could I possibly know about that?" He then pointed towards Sweetie.

"Quite a bit in all honesty." Luna replied as a matter of factly, turning to look at Button, "There are a number of interpretations for what dreams could mean, from manifestations of one's own desires to possible predictions of the future. Many do seem to agree that dreams are connected to your emotions and to your subconscious in some way." She then turned her attention back to Sweetie, "In that way, her appearance as such would generally mean she is what is bothering you at this time. Would you care to explain it to me?"

Button gulped as he looked away from her, "A-Actually, no, it's no big deal."

"I merely ask since this is not the first time this has happened."

"Wait, this happened to me before?!"

Princess Luna turned to look at him again, "Not every night, but enough to warrant further investigation on my part. This actually has been the least disturbing appearance you've dreamt of her. I wouldn't worry if you can't recall any of those previous dreams, Button. Very few ponies ever really recall past dreams in detail after awakening."

"Did I really have other dreams with Sweetie in them?" Button mentally asked himself, "Princess Luna doesn't seem like the type to lie about this though."

"But still..." He wandered off in his thoughts before he snapped to attention when he noticed Princess Luna still looking at him.

Princess Luna waited for a moment longer before saying with a raised brow, "If you truly have no idea how to explain this, perhaps you would like to hear my thoughts?"

Button remained silent as he nodded.

"I think you have conflicted feelings." She stated bluntly.

"'Conflicted feelings'?" He repeated, a slight level of disbelief in his voice.

Princess Luna nodded, "As I mentioned, I have been monitoring your dreams. Previous to her appearance as you see her now, you both were having a rather lovely picnic. Rather appropriate considering you and her are dating, or am I incorrect?"

Button immediately looked away and scratched the back of his head, "Well, it isn't wrong for you to say that."

She raised her brow again before saying, "Verily." She then paused, "Yet, she now appears this way and clearly has every intent of attacking you. Tell me, is she this aggressive with you in reality?"

"No...Sweetie isn't aggressive. In fact she's kind of the opposite." Button replied, "Sickeningly so." He mentally added.

"Then perhaps she frightens you?"

"What?! No! Of course not."

"Is this out of jealousy? Hatred? Perhaps she has done something during the time you have been dating."

"I-I really can't say." Button responded almost too quietly, still not making eye contact with Princess Luna, but had physically reacted by lowering his head.

Princess Luna remained silent, looking him over, before sighing, "Your reaction seems to tell me otherwise, Button Mash. I'm not one for making it a habit of invading the personal thoughts of ponies, so I won't push it any further, but you do make me suspect that my assumption of your conflicted thoughts are indeed true."

Button continued to avoid eye contact with the Princess, though he was glad she wasn't going to pry any further.

"Know that as a fellow gamer, a princess of Equestria, and your friend, I am open to listening to what is distressing you. Whatever it is though I do advise that you find solace to what it is soon, or I may have to intervene."

"Do you really need to? I mean what's wrong if I don't figure this out?"

Princess Luna looked over at Sweetie Belle, silently indicating the way Sweetie appears right now is a fairly valid concern, "Yes, because if these nightmares continue, I'm going begin worrying if there is a potential concern to you from Sweetie Belle, or if you pose a concern to her."

"Whoa! I would never harm Sweetie Belle." He immediately responded, "And, I doubt Sweetie is that aggressive."

"I am aware of such, on both accounts." She responded with a small smirk, "But, it's something that can not be helped. My sister and myself naturally care deeply for our subjects, and as such we take care to address such problems before they become a greater concern. In my case, I address the darker threats that come out at night, and the nightmares that afflict others before it begins to affect them during their waking hours."

"So...what? Does that mean I'm under house arrest, or something?"

"Oh no, not at all. It just means that I have extra work to do at nights until you figure out the cause of your discomfort. I must remind you, if that-" She pointed a hoof towards Sweetie Belle. "keeps happening. Unless you address it, there is a good chance you will continue having this nightmare for many nights to come."

Button groaned.

"Don't fret, I'm certain you probably know more than you think." Princess Luna remarked, before muttering something under her breath, then turned her attention back to Sweetie once again and bit her lip. "Also, I may have to apologize."

"Apologize for what?"

"You see, under normal circumstances, being aware of the fact they're sleeping causes ponies to wake up. To counter that when I intervene in a pony's dream and subsequently inform them they are dreaming, I cast a simple focus-based spell that latently keeps them asleep and allows me to cast other simple spells. When I cut the spell,  the dreaming pony takes seconds to awaken. There are a few exceptions though, such as the spell not being enough to keep the pony slumbering or ponies such as yourself, who can sleep deep enough that it is unnecessary for me to cast it. So..." She trailed off before looking off to the side.

"'So?" He repeated, worried that Princess Luna appeared to be nervous now.

"As I've said, I do apologize." She stated before she began to fade away.

"Wha-" The rest of his thoughts died in his throat, as for a split-second he realized his dream slowly resumed.

The last thing Button would see before waking up was Sweetie's glowing, green eyes just before she tackled into him hard.

Button immediately woke with a jolt, his head shooting up fast enough from the shock that he lost balance and caused the chair he was seated in to fall backwards and onto the floor. He groaned as he just laid there, trying to get his bearings from falling over.

Once he did though, Button looked at the clock on his wall, and silently sighed as it read '3:35' in the morning. He then silently looked towards the moon, which was the only other source of light in his room save for his desk lamp, through his window.

"You could've just told me, you know." He remarked, then thought back to the Sweetie Belle in his dreams, "Why me?" He silently asked as he put his forehooves over his eyes.