Chapter 1
The noises of clashing swords and the grunts and cries of the brave warriors rung in the air. Shields deflected deadly swords while some warriors jumped back to dodge their enemies' strikes. The dying land was already filled with the dead bodies of the fallen, yet the battle continu—
“Honey!”
The screen dimmed, and in the middle appeared the word ‘Pause.’ The screen slightly reflected a frowning colt's face as he turned his head back towards his now open door. “Moooom!” he wailed. “The ‘do not disturb’ sign on my door is there for a reason, you know!”
The mare only rolled her eyes with a smirk. “Oh, I'm sorry, honey. The door was unlocked so I thought it was an invitation for me to inform my little prince that there are three lovely little princesses outside, inviting you to play with them.”
The little colt blinked, and then groaned. “Not them again.” He returned to his screen and continued his game, his room immediately filled with loud noises.
His mother closed her eyes with a sigh, and opened them again as she took a deep breath to battle the loud noises. “Button Mash, dear! Don't you think it's about time that you—”
It was no use. Her son was no longer paying her any attention. She rolled her eyes and slipped her head out of the door before closing it.
“That little colt.” She huffed as she trotted towards the front door. “All alone in his own little world. He really needs to go out and play with the other colts and fillies his age...”
She reached the door and opened it, and smiled at the three fillies waiting outside, who were wearing scarves and little hoofshoes to keep their hooves warm from the snow.
“Let me guess,” Scootaloo suddenly said, “too busy to leave his room?”
The older mare frowned.
Applebloom hissed at her pegasus friend. “Scootaloo!”
“What?” the filly looked at her with an arched eyebrow. “I was just saying.”
Applebloom kept her glare on her friend for a few more seconds before turning back to the mare. “She didn't mean to be rude, Miss Mash.”
Scootaloo blinked. “I was rude?”
Applebloom ignored her. “Well, we'll be going then. Sorry to bother you.”
The mare smiled a sad smile at them. “I'm so sorry girls. As a mother, I really want to see him laughing and having fun with friends.” She frowned. “Not seclude himself in his world of video games. I swear, the only reason he aims to get good grades is for me to buy him new games that are coming out.”
And then the power went out.
An angry but slightly muffled shout erupted, slightly shaking the entire house. And it lasted for a good twenty-four seconds.
The four ponies blinked, and looked back inside the house.
“So...” Sweetie Belle said. “...does this mean he can go out and play with us now?”
“Nooooooo!” shouted the colt from inside his room, making the four ponies wince. He angrily threw his controller to the ground, almost hitting his game console in the process. It bounced harmlessly beside the stack of games by his bed. “And I was almost to the save point...” He buried his face to his hooves and sobbed. He wasn't sure if that game had an auto-save feature.
Well, at least he still have his handheld consoles to pass the time. He already knew how to survive that crazy-impossible army event anyway. He can do it again.
With that in mind, he set out to his drawers to get his handheld. His room was dark, thanks to the thick curtains blocking the light from his windows, but his eyes were well adjusted to the darkness already.
He pulled open one, and scanned his many handheld consoles. Smiling, he picked one and threw it on his bed. He then opened another drawer, this time looking through all of his games. Finally, he decided that it was probably the time for him to continue his Ponymon X game.
He went to his bed, jumped on, grabbed the console, pushed the cartridge in, and turned the console on.
...only to discover that the batteries were dead.
He groaned and jumped out of bed, and went back to his drawer. He tried another handheld, and then another, and another. They all won't turn on. He must have forgotten to charge them. Then again, he only charges one of them inside the classroom during classes. At least he's saving electricity in his home, right?
He put back his consoles inside his drawer with a defeated sigh. What was he supposed to do now? Looking around his room, he supposed that it was time for him to do a little organizing, but that was a chore, and who does like chores except for mothers?
“I guess I'll just go and take a nap,” he whispered to himself as he turned to his bed, his ears twitching at the sounds of muffled giggles from outside one of his windows. Curious, he went towards his window and took a peak.
Carousel Boutique stood on the other side of the snow-covered road, and two fillies that he knew but couldn't remember their names quite yet were chuckling while busying themselves building a snowpony on the front lawn. The head of the snowpony suddenly fell off, and the two giggled as they tried to put it back again.
Button Mash frowned. They invited him just to build a stupid and boring snowpony? “Pfft.”
He turned and trotted towards his bed.
A muffled ‘thwack!’ and a muffled ‘hey!’ made his ears twitch. Curious, and annoyed that his curiousity got the better of him, he took a peak again, only to see that Applebloom and Sweetie Belle, he remembered their names now, were hiding behind their deformed snowpony from Scootaloo's onslaught of snowballs.
“What are they doing?” he whispered to himself, observing the two fillies trying their best to do a counter attack, but they were having a hard time with Scootaloo raining them with snowballs while laughing like mad. How she was able to throw snowballs so fast, he couldn't tell.
Well, actually, he can. Scootaloo was only scooping up small snowballs and throwing them quickly, making the two fillies unable to throw one back. That was a good technique, but it gets boring over time.
“Camper style...” Button Mash sighed, shaking his head. He then turned around and trotted towards his scarf on a small pile of clothes.
“No fair, Scoots!” Applebloom shouted, crouching lower with a snowball on one hoof. She shot a look at Sweetie Belle. “Are you almost done?”
“A-almost,” Sweetie Belle said through gritted teeth. She was concentrating her magic behind her, surrounding the many snowballs they formed during the onslaught. “Okay. R-ready.”
Hearing that, Applebloom grinned.
“Hahahahahah!” Scootaloo laughed as she continuously threw snowballs at her friends' makeshift snow wall. It'll be a matter of time before that wall crumbles down.
“What are you doing?” asked Button Mash who was approaching her.
“What does it look like I'm doing?” Scootaloo replied without glancing at him.
Button Mash frowned. “You're doing it the boring way.”
“What?” Scootaloo stopped and turned to glare at him. “And just who are you to—”
“NOW!” Applebloom suddenly shouted.
With a sparking horn, Sweetie Belle swung her head towards their attacker, her magical field acting like a mini catapult, and snowballs rained down on Scootaloo, and Button Mash.
Applebloom and Sweetie Belle cheered as they jumped out from their makeshift snow wall. “Woo-hoo!” she turned and the two hoof-bumped. “Good job, Sweetie Belle!”
Sweetie Belle beamed with pride. “Thanks!”
Applebloom returned her attention at their handywork. She arched an eyebrow, and chuckled. “Well, lookie who decided to come out from his room.”
Button Mash was glaring at them both, and then blew the snow off of his nose. “Oh, so that's how you wanna play, huh?” he quickly shook himself and took some snow to his hoof.
“Take cover!” Applebloom shouted while Sweetie Belle screeched in glee as they both ran in different directions.
Button Mash stretched his hoof back and took aim, the world somehow slowing down as he analyzed the retreating fillies' different speeds and movement patterns. Somehow, Sweetie Belle was moving slower and her movement pattern was more readable. Sticking his tongue out, he mentally calculated the strength he needed to use as well as adding a little distance from his initial target to hit her. She was about to cross the street, but as predicted, she quickly made a turn. Now was his chance!
“Get back here, cowards!” Scootaloo shouted, only to get her face full of snow from Applebloom.
Button Mash stopped, turned, blinked, and laughed at her.
With twitching eyes, she scooped up some snow and threw it at him.
Button Mash let the snow slide off of his face, revealing his shocked face. “Friendly fire!” Another snowball struck him.
Sweetie Belle giggled.
“Free for all!” Applebloom shouted, and threw a snowball at the startled unicorn filly.
As the four young ponies were playing, a few stallions near the area were fixing the underground electric cables with the aid of Princess Twilight's magic. The said princess was smiling as she watched the four little ponies play, until his number one assistant called her attention. She turned, her smile still present. “Yes, Spike?”
“They said that repairs are done.” Spike said, looking impatient. “Can we hurry this up, please? I'm gonna miss the new episode of My Little Human!”
Rolling her eyes, Twilight trotted towards the stallions, her horn lighting up to check on the cables if they were okay now. With that done, she nodded, and the stallions began shoving the earth to cover the cables.
Soon, electricity went back to every household in the area. Miss Mash stopped cleaning the dishes and went to her son's room, just to check up on him. He was probably busy playing games with his handheld consoles that he wouldn't even notice that the power was back. Opening the door, she wasn't surprised to find the room in darkness, although she was surprised to find that the colt wasn't there. Feeling a bit alarmed, she went inside. Her ears twitched when she heard her son's muffled laughter coming from outside. Trotting towards the window, she pulled the curtains and saw a miracle. Well, it wasn't really a miracle. Her son was just playing with the three fillies.
As much as she loved to see him finally playing outside with his friends, she knew that he'll be angry if she didn't tell him that the power was back, just like last time. Sighing, she opened the window and took a breath. “Button, darling!”
Button paused from throwing a snowball, and turned to look at his mother. A snowball smacked the side of his face.
His mother brought a hoof to her mouth to hide her smile. “Um... The power's back, honey.”
The colt blinked. He turned and looked at the three fillies, who were simply staring back at them.
Applebloom smiled. “Well, it was nice playing with ya, Button.”
“Duty calls, I guess?” Sweetie Belle scratched her head. “Or whatever those video characters say...”
Button blinked at them, and then back at his mom. He smirked. “Nah.” He waved a dismissive hoof at his mother before he turned to the three fillies with a smile. “It can wait.” It was so much fun playing with friends that with his games, anyway. He frowned slightly. “But maybe we should play something else?”
Scootaloo nodded. “Yeah. As fun as snowball fights are, it's starting to get boring.”
Sweetie Belle chuckled in agreement.
Applebloom rubbed her chin in thought. “Hm... Well... Yesterday, during Fluttershy's visit to check on our farm animals, she mentioned something that when the lake completely freezes up, snow fireflies come out to fly around.”
Button blinked. “Snow fireflies?”
“You never heard of them?” Scootaloo asked.
The colt shook his head.
The pegasus filly shrugged. “Neither have I.”
The colt deadpanned.
Sweetie Belle smiled excitingly. “Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go and check it out!”
“Yeah!” Scootaloo grinned.
“Why not?” Button Mash said, but then turned to his mom with a pleading frown. “Can I go with them, mom?”
His mom just rolled her eyes. “Just don't be late for dinner, sweetie.”
“Me?” the unicorn filly blinked.
Button Mash beamed. “Thanks, mom!” He then turned back to them. “Well, lead the way!”
“Alrighty!” Applebloom turned and ran. “Follow me!”
“Think you can match our speed?” Scootaloo smirked, before galloping after her friend.
Button Mash grinned and galloped after them.
Sweetie Belle blinked, then galloped after them. “Hey! Wait for me!”
Miss Mash watched the fillies go with a smile. It's about time that colt started playing outside. Now if only she could find a mate to spend the upcoming alone time...