Denounced

Sleep, it seemed, was a rare and precious luxury when one had a burdened mind. For the second night in a row, both Button and his mother’s nightly hours of relaxation had turned to troubled shifting and trashing about. Nightmares had been frequent, but they were not the primary source of concern. Sleep simply wasn’t the comfortable experience it had been before.

They sat opposite each other in utter silence while eating breakfast. Button nibbled at his cereal while his mother lazily chomped on a piece of plain bread with butter. Not a word had left their mouths since their awakening, leaving only an odd silence in the room. The house was typically only this quiet when nobody was home.

In the center of the table laid an envelope containing the note written by Button’s mother the previous morning. In the end, she had used three full pieces of paper in order to get every word she wanted written down. Button either didn’t care or didn’t want to ask about the note, for he hadn’t even glanced at the brown paper more than once.

Celestia’s sun had only just risen from its slumber, and it cast a most beautiful, red carpet over the entire sky. It was time for Ponyville to wake up and begin bustling with life like any other day. For the two ponies sitting at the table, however, it was time to leave the town behind in search of peace. Every second that passed reminded Button’s mother of this, and every second made it harder not to reconsider.

Even now, sitting at the dinner table in her own home, her heart ached for the life in Ponyville; the good and quiet life among kind ponies. Yet the longing of her heart did not falter the reasoning of her mind. Ponyville was a lost cause, and staying here would bring them no closer to the life they wanted. There was only one way to go from here: far, far away.

Whenever her beloved son frowned at his sloppy cereal, she would send a smile his way. How a simple smile managed to cheer him up, even if very slightly, she had no idea. If it helped him accept and understand, however, she would gladly smile all day long. A smile was such a small price to pay for the happiness of Button Mash.

From outside the home came sounds of quite a few ponies who spoke, laughed, and walked about. It was uncommon for the street outside their house to be this busy, but it did occur from time to time. Every now and then groups of ponies would meet up there, before leaving for their activities. Some went to play sports on the open fields outside town, while others simply went for walks together, particularly the elders.

That morning, however, something different happened. Both Button and his mother gasped when three heavy knocks on the door echoed throughout the house. Their muscles tensed up as they waited in silence. Button’s lower lip quivered uncontrollably on his face, and not even a shaky smile from his mother could remove that.

Thirty seconds of silenced passed the family members by, which caused Button’s mother to exhale sharply. She closed her eyes and placed a hoof on her face, mumbling to herself as she sat like that. No more than a few seconds of relief was given to the mother, however, for the knocking returned, this time accompanied by a deep voice.

“This is Sergeant Stone of the Royal Canterlot Guard! Open the door, or we’ll be forced to break it open!”

The beating heart of Button’s mother stopped immediately, and the blood in her veins froze. Her body and mind stopped as if locked in time by the sound of the stallion’s voice. Every strand of hair on her body stood upright as a slivering coldness crept down her spine.

“No, no, no, no, no, no…” Button’s mother lifted her head and looked towards the ceiling. “Please, please don’t. Please, all I want is my son.”

Button himself was on the verge of hyperventilating in front of his mother. “W-What’s going on?! Mom?!”

“I’ll, I’ll do anything, I swear.” Her rambling continued, turning more tearful with every word. “Y-You can’t d-do this to m-me.”

“I’m scared, mom!” Despite his size, Button yelled loud enough to catch his rambling mother’s attention. Her head snapped into position, her wet eyes locked with the big, frightened eyes of her son. Tipping her chair over, she ran around the table and stopped in front of Button.

“Sweetie, listen, it’s all gonna be fine.” Her words were shaky and came in quick succession. “We’re going to go to your room and leave through the window, okay?”

“What do t-they want?”

“They’re bad ponies who want to do bad things.” She placed a hoof on her son’s cheek and caressed it gently. “We’re not going to let them. Now, come on.”

“M-Mom, I’m, I’m scared,” the colt cried. Tears were already streaming down his muzzle like waterfalls.

“I know you are, sweetie, but you have to move.” Button’s mother grabbed a hold of her son and pulled. Despite her superior strength, Button only moved mere inches closer to the edge of his seat.

“I, I c-can’t!” He shut his eyes tight and shook his head violently. “I d-don’t wanna g-go!”

“We have to!” she yelled, far louder than intended. “Those ponies want to-“

A roaring, ear-deafening explosion cut off her words and sent Button’s chair tumbling. He fell off with a shriek, but luckily landed in the grasp of his mother. Both of them stumbled to the floor, connected by their hooves in their impromptu hug. All of Button’s resistance to the crying was lost the minute the devastating roar of the explosion hit his ears, and he was now fully bawling his eyes out.

Immediately after the explosion died down, many sets of heavy hoofsteps echoed through the house. The steps were accompanied by the rustling of armor and muffled grunts. Button’s mother immediately turned her face toward her son, speaking panicked words into his ears.

“Run! Quickly! Out the window in your room!”

“I d-don’t want t-to, I don’t! N-No!”

“Button, I order you to run right now!”

“I d-don’t wanna l-leave you!”

Although she could not see the doorway, she knew exactly when they stepped into it. After shaking her head and fighting back the tears to the best of her ability, Button’s mother turned her head to face them. She held her son close to her chest, and seeing the three royal guards standing there only caused her to tighten the grip.

One of the guards, a female pegasus, stepped forward with a stern look on her face. “You’re under arrest for the following crimes: Engaging in incest, pedophilia, and by extension thereof: endangering the newborn foals at Ponyville Hospital. You’re going to have to come with us.”

Button’s mother was shaking harder than a volcano ready to explode. The very taste of anger spread inside her mouth as she stared at the armored stranger.

“You are NOT taking my son away from me!” she spat at the mare.

“I’m giving you one chance to come quietly. Please, I don’t want to use force.” Despite the situation, the guard spoke very quietly and calmly. There was not a shred of emotion, good or bad, in her voice or eyes.

“And I’m giving you one chance to get out of my house!” Button’s mother tightened her grip on her son, pinning him firmly to her chest.

“All right,” the guard sighed. “Restrain her.”

Her two male companions immediately moved forward, their eyes locked on the shaking mother. They were not armed, but both of them were equipped with horns, however. There wasn’t any need for them to move into physical range of the two ponies on the floor; they simply had to look and cast their spells.

“LET GO OF ME!” Button’s mother roared as a magical field enveloped her entire body. Despite all of her struggling, she could not keep her hooves around her son. They were forced open by the magic of the unicorns, and Button was promptly lifted away from her in a field of magic of his own.

“DON’T YOU DARE! HE’S MY SON!” The mind of the mother tore in half as her son was levitated away from her. A primal rage erupted within her as she saw his crying face slowly move in the opposite direction of herself.

“MOM! HELP ME!” Button stopped moving once he was on the opposite side of the table, but the magical field did not disappear. While he was kept in place, the guard restraining Button’s mother stepped towards her.

“ONE STEP CLOSER AND I WILL KILL YOU!” she screamed at the top of her lungs. The stallion, however, didn’t even bat an eye. He simply moved forward and forced the mother’s hooves together. Within a second, he cuffed them together and did the same for her hind legs.

“L-Let her go! P-Please!” Button cried from the other end of the room. “S-She’s the b-best mom ever! I l-love her!”

Every pony in the room, except for his mother, ignored his words. The female guard simply walked over to the mother and looked down at her. Still her face remained neutral and completely devoid of emotion.

“We’ll find a good home for him, I promise.”

Although the spell constrained the movement of Button’s mother, it did not apply to her mouth. As a result, she spat the mare above right in her face.

“He’s my SON, and he belongs with ME!” Her words were coated in the thickest of venom known to any being in Equestria. Not even Ursa Majors were as dangerous as a mother protecting her child.

“Take her away,” the female guard sighed before wiping away the spit with her hoof. “And I wouldn’t let her free of that magic if I were you.”

Both of the male guards nodded and grabbed a hold of Button’s mother in addition to their continued restraining spells. With no way for her to fight back, they began dragging her through the kitchen.

“Mom! NO! PLEASE!” Free of the binding spell, Button immediately rushed towards the male guards. Before he could reach either of them, the armored mare stepped in front of him, blocking his path.

“I want my son! You can’t do this! BUTTON!”

The guards cared not for her pleading or protesting. They continued dragging her away, out into the hall and away from the eyes of the young Button Mash. In front of him, the armored mare lowered herself to match the eye height of the colt.

“Listen-“

“I want my mom!” Button bashed his hooves against the metal on the mare’s chest.

“I know you’re upset-“

“Give her back!” He continued wailing his hooves at the breastplate, while his mother screamed on somewhere in the house.

“But just let it out-“

“GIVE HER BACK!” Button’s hooves didn’t even dent the armor as they struck it. All he managed to do was create thundering roars of metal drums.

“It’s not your fault-“

“Give, give her back!” Each blow became weaker than the previous, just as his mother’s screams died off in the distance.

“You’re gonna be okay.“ The mare placed a hoof behind the young colt’s head.

“Give… give her back…” Both of his hooves struck the armor simultaneously for the last time. All of the strength given to him by his anger and the adrenaline had been spent, and Button collapsed on the floor. His eyes gave out and let the flood of sorrow flow freely.

Thunderous applause and cheering from outside filled the air around Button and the female guard. It sounded like half of Ponyville was outside the house, waiting to see the apprehension. The very sound of ponies cheering for what just happened snapped Button. Inside of his chest, one splinter of his heart turned to thousands, and before long, nothing but a devouring emptiness remained.

“It’s going to be okay,” the mare said softly. For the first time since her arrival, her words were full of emotion. She spoke freely from her heart, and not from words dictated by law. “We’re going to find you a good, safe home. You’re safe now.”

“Mom…”

Twilight quickly approached the enormous horde of ponies gathered in the street. Whatever was going on, it was apparently important enough to block every inch of the entire road. She moved back and forth behind the ponies in front of her, looking for a way to get further ahead. Unfortunately, all of the ponies were standing cramped together, leaving no room for her to move forward.

All she could see when stretching her neck was the sea of ponies ahead. To her, it looked more like they were all stuck and simply couldn’t move. There was absolutely nothing interesting to see ahead. Confused by the whole ordeal, she approached an older stallion, who was seemingly there on his own.

“Excuse me? What’s going on here?” she asked calmly.

The stallion turned his head and raised an eyebrow. “Ya don’t know?” When Twilight shook her head, he continued. “Well, it just so happens that there mare is gettin’ arrested.”

“Somepony’s getting arrested?!” Twilight exclaimed. “But that never happens! Who is it?!”

A quiet chuckle left the stallion’s mouth as he shook his head. “Don’t tell me ya haven’t heard of the mare who did those horrible things to her son. Whole town’s been talkin’ ‘bout it!”

“SHE’S being arrested?!” Twilight tripped around on her tip of her hooves, ready to make a dash for it.

“’Course she is. By the royal guard no less”, he chuckled. “Seems even the princesses heard ‘bout it.”

Twilight Sparkle’s mind went into complete overdrive. Never before had it worked this fast or effectively, despite her vast intellect. In no more than two seconds, she had her entire plan ready to go, and there was no time to waste. Keeping up with the royal guard was no easy task.

“Thank you!” she burst out before turning on the spot and setting into full gallop. As she ran faster than her untrained legs had ever carried her before, she heard a roar of applause and cheering from the crowd behind her. Those very sounds only made her speed up even more, for they could only mean one thing.

She reached the front door of the library in record time, and slammed it open harder than she ever had before. From the sound of it, the poor thing might need new hinges after such a rough experience. Twilight skidded to a halt in the middle of the library and called out.

“Spike! Take a letter!”