The Bond between Mother and Son
Dedicated to mothers and sons everywhere.
The sun gently rose and began to shower its morning warmth over Equestria. Dawn peacefully gave a wonderful Saturday morning. As the sun rose, its light began to shine through the windows of the home of the young colt Button Mash and his caring Mother. Button's mother slowly began to blink her eyes open.
"Morning already?" she yawned to herself. "Hooves crossed that Button didn't stay up all night again playing those games of his," she silently said to herself and giggled as she slowly got out of bed. After stretching her limbs slightly, she began to trot over to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. However, on the way there, she noticed that the door to Button's room was open. She decided to take just a quick peek inside to see how he was doing.
She immediately noticed that something was off about his room. There were no video games in sight. Button's mother smiled, that he finally decided to clean his room off all the video games and toys scattered everywhere. Just as she was about to turn to exit the room to go and make breakfast, a noise caught her ear.
"Button?" she said. That's when she could clearly identify the sound as whimper. She trotted over to his bedside "Button sweetie, are you awake?" she asked. She moved closer to look over him, she could see small tears going down her son's cheeks. Now she started to worry and carefully nudged her son in an attempt to wake him up. "Button sweetie, please wake up," she softly said. Button's eyes snapped awake. Her ears dropped as she looked at her son. "Button, what' the mat-"
"Go away," she was cut off.
"B-Button? Is everything oka-"
"Just go away," Button Mash said again.
"Please Button, is everything okay? Is there something wrong? Do you want to talk abou-"
"I SAID ,JUST GET OUT!" Button Mash yelled pulling the blankets over his entire body.
She was completely shocked and taken aback by her son's words and actions. Why was he mad? Did something happen that she didn't know about? Was he mad at her for some reason? All of these questions silently snaked through her mind as silently made breakfast.
About a half hour later, breakfast was ready and laid out on the table. But Button had still had not dared to leave his bed. He just stayed there on his back thinking to himself.
"What if I can't do it?" Button said to himself. He slowly crept out of his bed, and made his way to his joy boy that was on top of his shelves. He reached out for it, just to play a couple of games but...
He couldn't bring himself to touch it.
Button left his room and came across the smell of pancakes and eggs. He approached the smell and what he found was breakfast laying on the table.
And his mom sitting there waiting for him.
"Good morning Mom," Button Mash said as he pulled up a seat.
"Button sweetie, please, is everything okay? Are you upset about something?" Button's mother asked him with her ears pointing down. Button Mash looked at her confused.
"No Mom, I totally fine. Why? Are you okay?" Button said innocently.
"U-um, no, I'm fine. Now hurry up and eat your breakfast before it gets cold sweetie," she said. Maybe he doesn't remember? Maybe he thought it was bad dream and that I was some sort of monster from one of his games? Button's mother pondered at these thoughts as the rest breakfast continued silently.
As noon slowly began its approach. Button's mom put on her saddlebag and got ready to go out to Ponyville market get some more vegetables and fruits that she needed. "Button sweetie! I'm going to the market to get some fruits and vegetables!" she shouted to let her son know that she was heading out.
"Wait!" he called out, "I'm coming with you!" now that was a surprise. Usually when she went out to the market, Button would just stay home and play with his video games or toys, but it wasn't like she was going to object her son coming with her. Before she knew it, Button was right by her side and ready to go.
"Alright let's go!" Button said happily. This made his mother smile seeing her son's enthusiasm as normal. Perhaps what happened in the morning really was nothing.
As the two made their way through market, Button's mom couldn't help but silently notice that Button was starring at anypony who got within even a hooves distance of them.
"Maybe I'm just imagining it," Button's mom thought to herself trying to look away. "Or...maybe,"
"Well, hello there beautiful," a very vulgar speaking stallion said coming up to her.
"Excuse me?" Button's mother replied. Button Mash just gave a fierce glare at the stallion.
"It is pretty hard to find a beauty such as yourself just happening to trot on by, mind going out to dinner?" he intently said that last part in a vulgar tone. Button's mom internally rolled her eyes. She was used to this and just decided to play off the stallion's idiotic attempts at 'picking her up'.
"Look I'm-" before she could respond, she was cut off by Button.
"Excuse me sir, but my mom happens to married for your information. Furthermore, she is as smart as she is beautiful, and will not be swayed by a random stallion such as yourself. So I politely ask you, to buzz off." Button stated without a falter or stutter. Ponies in the market were staring directly at the stallion now. He smiled nervously.
"Oh, um, would you look at the time..." he said nervously trotting away.
At first, Button's mother didn't know what to think. Button Mash had never truly acted like this before. But what did that truly matter? Button just stood up for her and did so proudly.
Button Mash looked up at his mother curiously. "Uh, you okay Mom?" Button Mash asked. She snapped out of her trance at looked down at her son with a warm smile.
"I'm alright sweetie, thank you," she said nuzzling his cheek.
"Mom, that's embarrassing!" Button said wincing. She just giggled.
"How about we go get you a new video game once we're all done with the shopping?" she smiled at Button. Little did she know, the answer he was about to give would be something she would have never expected in her entire life.
"No!" Button said. The initial shock hit like a blunt brick for Button's mother. "Um, I mean, I don't really want a new game there's, um, nothing really good out right now anyway, yeah..." It took a few seconds to process what Button just said, whether it was his fast speaking or the initial shock of the very answer.
"Um, okay sweetie," Button's mother replied. The rest of the shopping went as normal, but her son's answer rang and thrashed in her mind like a powerful thunderstorm. As they were about to enter their home, she noticed how light her saddlebag felt. That's when she noticed that Button had taken most of the bags without asking and brought them in already. She had to admit, she was surprised by Button, not that she thought that Button was incapable of doing something polite but this was just a bit sudden.
"Thank you Button," she said.
"No problem Mom. Need some help with making lunch?" he said. At this point, she would have usually assumed that Button wanted something like a new toy or a new videogame, but she had already offered to get him a new game at the market for him being so brave standing up to that idiotic player of a stallion. She smiled and shook her head.
"I'll be fine with making lunch sweetie, but I could really use help with dinner tonight if you're up for it," she said with a smile.
"Awesome!" Button said happily. She giggled once again at her son's enthusiasm. The rest of the afternoon went on peacefully with Button Mash and his mother enjoying lunch. Later on, as Button's mother was getting all the ingredients ready to make dinner, she remembered that she had to take the trash out that night. Originally she was going to ask Button to do it, but he deserved a break from helping her so much today.
She took the trash and went around to the back of the house to put it in the barrel. When she got there, she lifted the lid with her teeth. However, before she put the trash bag inside, she saw that there was something else inside the trash can. Putting the trash bag down, she looked inside the trash can to see what was inside it.
The very sight made her mouth agape.
Inside the trash can was what she could swear was nearly all of Button's video games, and resting atop was his prized joy boy. This shocked Button's mother to her core so much that she let out an audible gasp. In took her a couple of minutes to finally shake off her trance like look on the contents currently sitting in the trash can. She put the trash bag aside and put the lid back on the trash can and brought it inside. She went in quietly so that Button wouldn't hear the clanking and brought it to her room so that he wouldn't see. After closing the door to her room, she decide that she needed to think of how to confront Button about it. After thinking about for a short while she came up with a plan.
"Button sweetie! Time to make dinner!"
"Coming Mom!" Button Mash said as he went trotted to the kitchen. The two began making dinner together as soon as Button came into the kitchen. As they were making dinner together, Button's mom was trying to see if she could get Button to tell her on his own about the video game, and more importantly, what was bothering him so much.
"Sweetie, has there been, anything going on at school?" she decided that should be her first question.
"Other than a lot of math and reading and stuff like that, nothing really," Button Mash replied. She could tell that he wasn't lying.
"Well that rules out that," Button's mom thought to herself. "Um, how has that filly, Sweetie Belle been. Aren't you friends with her?" she asked.
"Yeah, we hang out sometimes," Button Mash replied.
"Nope, not that either. Guess I have to be more direct," she thought to herself. "So, how goes your most recent video game playing endeavors?" this caused Button to give an audible nervous gulp. "Ah ha!" she thought to herself.
"Oh, it's um... okay." Button Mash replied with clear hesitance.
"Are you sure?"
"I-I'm sure." the rest of making dinner and dinner itself went on with nothing but silence. After dinner was finished, the two waited awhile in silence until, "Um, can I put the dishes in the sink?" Button Mash asked. Button's mom pondered at this for a moment.
"Well, I guess it's plan b then," she thought to herself. "Sure you can sweetie, but can you come to my room after you're done?"
"Uh, sure Mom," Button replied. With that, Button's mother left the kitchen and trotted to her room. It took Button Mash about five minutes to finish putting the dishes in the sink. Once he was finished, as promised, he trotted out of the kitchen and to his mother's room. "Mom?" Button said as he entered the room. He jumped as the door slammed behind him.
"Okay Button," Button's mother said taking the trash can in her hooves. "Please explain to me, this." she said as she dumped the contents of the trash can onto the floor and Button expression turned into one of pure horror as he saw all his video games.
"I, um, I..."
"Button," she said calmly, "you're not in any trouble, but I'm worried that something is bothering you and this," she said pointing to the pile of video games "Proves my point." Button's head lowered to the floor with ears pointing down. "Please sweetie, tell me what's wrong,"
Button Mash sighed in defeat as he slowly trotted over to the mirror. "Well...I thought I needed to grow up."
"Oh, Button sweetie I don't think that-" she was cut off.
"Because if I didn't, something bad would've happened to you."
"...What?" Button's mother stood there slightly dumbfounded.
"W-well, I had kinda had a nightmare that... if I just kept playing games all the time, something bad might happen to you and I wouldn't notice. I mean... who's gonna help you when dad isn't around?" Button said looking down at the floor.
"I'm really sorry Mo-" Button was silenced as he was wrapped in a warm hug.
"Sweetie," she said softly, "you're too young to worry about these type of things."
"But Mom I... I don't want you to..." tears were silently streaming down Button's little cheeks.
"Button, you don't have to try to grow up just because of me. I'm not going anywhere, I promise," she said hugging him tighter. "You stood up for me and helped me today, and that's the biggest help you could give me sweetie."
"Really?" Button sniffed. She nuzzled his cheek.
"Really," she said softly. The two just stayed there together for a while, neither wanting to let go.
She looked down at her son. "Are you feeling better Button?" no response. "Button?" she looked down to see that Button had fallen asleep in her forelegs. She smile warmly at her son and put him on her back as she went to his room.
She laid him down in his bed and kissed him on his forehead.
"Goodnight Sweetie, sweet dreams."
