Fare Thee Well, My Honey, Fare Thee Well...
Button Mash sighed, wiping the sweat from his eyes. His breath was still heavy, laden with exhaustion, and the only thing louder than his hot breaths, was the ceiling fan. The soft din of its old motor had already lulled Sweetie Belle to sleep, curled up into a loose hug around Button's neck. He'd done it. He'd done the thing he'd been fantasizing about since a few months ago. He'd shown her, he'd let her understand that he loved her. But... was this love? Button was told, time and time again, that love was like the storybooks; stallion sees mare, stallion falls helplessly in love with mare, mare is also helplessly in love, happily ever after. Was that all there was to it?
His mind recalled the events that unfolded before him...
Wizened Taleweaver's
Fare Thee Well
"Do you love me, Button?"
"Yes, of course. Why... why wouldn't I?'
"Button, I know you wouldn't not love me, but.. can you show me how much you do?"
The young stallion grimaced as he looked back on how this all began. Had Sweetie Belle simply said she loved him, just so he could use him? Was he blind to think that she really did love him? No, that wasn't possible in the slightest. He wanted it, he knew it to be like the storybooks; happily ever after. But was it?
Sweetie Belle's soft lips pressed against his own, pulling the two ponies into a soft kiss. Button's thoughts coalesced into a murky haze. The only thing on his mind right now was her. Sweetie Belle. Her body pressed up against his, trying to share in his warmth. She broke the kiss, giving him a soft smile. "It's... a bit cold in here..." she whispered.
"Hm... I guess it is." He replied, trying rather feebly, to pick the mare up, into his front legs. He stumbled a bit, as he wasn't really used to standing on his hind legs.
"Button, would you please take me somewhere warm?" she asked, her mouth inching right up to her lover's ear. A fire burned in his cheeks, as he felt the blood there boil.
"Like where, Sweetie?" he asked, still trying to get his footing. It was hard, but... anything for his love. Right?
Button sighed deeply, trying to wriggle out of Sweetie's grip. There was a particular song his mother sang to him before he went to bed as a young colt.
If I had wings like Noah's dove
I'd fly the river to the one I love
Fare three well, my honey fare three well.
I remember one night, a pouring rain
In my heart, I felt an aching pain
Fare thee well, oh honey, fare thee well...
He had no idea why the folk lullaby came to his mind suddenly, but as he stared at the lovely mare, fallen asleep beside him. He couldn't help but to sing it to himself, sing it to her as she slept. He loved her. He loved her. Did he? Button let out another low sigh, as he moved her hooves off of him. He needed a walk, but if she woke up, would she think he left her? A one-afternoon stand? This crippling realization forced Button to retreat downstairs, where he sat for a while, thinking.
Sweetie Belle laid back, staring up at Button. Their lips connected again, the intoxicating bliss coming up in Button's mind again. She was like a drug; he couldn't get enough. He felt his blush grow hotter, and then a hoof brush against his back, pushing him down. Finally their bodies touched in a way he never thought of until now. He hated to say this, think this even, but right now Sweetie Belle was sex to him, no matter how awkward that sounded.
And she knew it.
Button Mash sighed deeply. Why was he regretting this? He'd gotten closer to Sweetie Belle than ever before, and now he was acting like he killed her. Wasn't it a good thing to do this? To share the most intimate thing, in the name of love? More doubt welled up in his chest. Did he love her? No, the more important question was "did she love him?" Of... of course she did. The two verses of his mother's lullaby passed through his head again.
"I remember one night," he muttered to himself. "a pouring rain. In my heart, I felt an aching pain." he paused for a bit, choking back tears. Something inside him ticked, something from the bottom of his heart, the back of his mind. "Fare thee well... my honey. Fare thee well." Button Mash had realized that Sweetie Belle was using him... just like how his father used his mother, broke her heart, and then left. A bout of panic struck him like a sack of bricks. Sweetie Belle was doing the exact same thing, and he wasn't ready to have his heart broken. Not now. The tears fell down his cheeks as, quietly, he sobbed.
Button willed himself to stop crying. "N-no... y-you have to be strong." he told himself, wiping the tears from his eyes. His breath was still frayed, as he sniffled away his sorrows. He knew what he had to do.
Sweetie Belle finally awoke, taking a good look around the room. Where was Button? She got out of bed, her mind clouded with thoughts of lust, maybe thoughts of anger. She couldn't tell. Had he left her? After what she did for him? The strings she pulled to make him happy? That selfish bastard. The grey, murky cloud of thoughts soon turned blood red in anger. He was turning his back on her! Sweetie Belle's hooves were like a coming storm, as she tramped down the staircase. It seems that Button was waiting for her, ready to say whatever vile insults he came up with.
"Sweetie, you're using me." he said. Sweetie Belle gasped loudly, stopping in her tracks just two steps from the floor. Pinning the blame on her? How.... how could he?!
"You know that's a lie, Button Mash." Sweetie snapped back, her voice dripping with venom. She was absolutely livid now, with a righteous anger comparable to the solar princess in legends of yore. "How could you say that? I love you, and I was doing this for you! All for you, and then you decided to leave immediately after? You're a sick, twisted, sad excuse for a stallion."
Button Mash surprisingly kept his composure, knowing all too well she would flare up like this. "Sweetie Belle." he said, before being cut off by her.
"What do you have to say for yourself, hm?" Sweetie started to raise her voice, constantly interrupting Button every time he was about to speak. She was going to crush him underhoof. "Nothing, because I know what you're going to do when you leave. You're going to run off with some other mare every week! Oh, I can tell. I always see you eyeing other mares when they pass by!" she shook her head in total disappointment. "That's disgusting."
"Sweetie Belle, if you'd just let me talk!"
"No! You have nothing good to say, Button Mash. You're just going to lie some more. Pin the blame on me."
That was it. Button had enough. He sighed sadly, he was defeated. Turning hoof, he went for the door to leave. He was going to stop her, stop her from breaking his heart. "Sweetie Belle, enough." he said, opening the door. "It's over."
That moment, something ticked inside Sweetie Belle as she watched him open the door. "Button, it was over a long time ago." she said. "In fact, it was never started. You were right, Button Mash. I used you. You were such an easy pony to swindle. So gullible, so malleable."
"I'll tell everypony. Tell them that you're using everypony for your own gain."
"They won't believe you. In fact, they'll believe me when I tell them the exact same thing about you."
With that, Button left the conniving mare's home, leaving the door wide open for the eerily cold gales.
He had won.
Author's Note
Well. That was fun. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my first fic ever(on this site), and please, leave a comment if you liked it or not :P
Also, this is the song I was talking about
