COLD REFLECTION
“We are gathered here today to honor the brave little filly who died in a tragic accident,” the stallion said, his voice carrying a sad tone. “She was a unicorn who didn’t see the cruel nature of life. No, she saw something different.”
Cold rain poured down onto the poor souls as they mourned over the death of the filly . They sat in chairs, wearing funeral clothes. Rarity grasped onto Twilight’s foreleg and sobbed into her coat, the loss of her sister bringing great pain to her heart.
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were there as well. They stood near the grave of their friend, tears wetting their cheeks as they silently sobbed. The rest of their class from Ponyville elementary grieved over Sweetie Belle's death, even Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.
.
Button Mash wore a black hat instead of his usual hat. He sat in the last row, silently watching the stallion up front talking about how much Sweetie Belle will be missed.
“She saw life as a chance to make friends and live without hate or malice,” He forced a smile on his face, the tears still trailing from eyes down to his cheeks, “She was the reason I kept on believing everypony could one day see things in a better light.”
Button Mash glanced over to his right where the rest of the elements sitting beside their friend Rarity, hugging her tightly as they tried to comfort her. When he got a glanced at the portrait of Sweetie Belle, that bright and happy smile on her face. It reminded him when they first met at School.
Hi my name is Sweetie Belle! And I saw that you’re new here and, I thought you might want to make some friends!
Umm, okay I guess.
You wanna be friends?
I just met you.
Well duh! That’s the point of making friend! Meeting new ponies to hang out with, talk, play, etc.
I guess we can start, names Button.
Nice to meet you, Button! I’m a cutie mark crusader, doing crazy things with my other friends to earn my cutie mark, you should come by the clubhouse someday! Well it’s time for class, I’ll be seeing ya!
The memory was still fresh in his mind. She was his first and only friend, and now she was gone.
“She was my daughter and I loved her so much.” He stepped down from the microphone and trotted back his chair next to his wife. He sat down and wrapped his hooves around her, bringing her closer to him.
With her father off the podium, Rarity got up from her chair and walked over to the microphone. She raised a tissue to her eyes and wiped the wet eyeliner from her cheeks,
“Hello, everypony. Seeing my sister in the portrait, smiling,” She sniffled a little bit, “It makes me happy to know she’s still smiling in heaven as she watches us now,” She took the time that passed to catch a little breather before she continued speaking,
“Sweetie Belle was many things. A Crusader, a friend, an angel, and a loving sister. She would cheer someone up when they were feeling down. I was— no, I am lucky to have her as a sister.” She turned to the portrait of her sister, she was smiling and hugging her family in the painting, “I love you little sister, you were the best sister I’ll ever have.”
Rarity stepped down from the microphone. As she sat down in her seat, Twilight got up from her own. She cleared her throat, and spoke.
“Sweetie Belle will always be in our hearts, she will always be in our memories. The good times,” Twilight sighed, “And the bad. Does anyone have anything to say about her before she is put to rest?”
Nopony raised their hoof or got up from their chair to speak. The wind made the silence uncomfortable, Button Mash sighed and raised his hoof,
“I would like to say something that I have held in my chest for far too long.”
Twilight smiled a little bit, “Sure, that would be great Button.”
Button Mash got up from his chair and trotted up the stadium. When he got up there, he felt her hoof pulling him closer to her,“Thanks for attending her funeral. Are you a friend of hers?” She whispered into his ear.
“Yeah, we were best friends,” He whispered back. Twilight went back to her chair and sat down next to Rarity, who cried into her coat again.
“Hello, my name is Button Mash, and I was a friend of Sweetie Belle's. We were the best of pals, her and I.” Button Mash forced a chuckle. “We would share secrets. We would always have each other backs, and play games together.”
He stared down at the ponies for a while, seeing only sadness and anger in their eyes. He understood the pain to lose somepony close to them, “After my father died, I became distant from everypony. Including Sweetie Belle.”
“ She, like all good friends, tried to console my grief,”He said, holding back his tears, “I told her to leave me alone. I blamed my father’s death on her, I thought blaming somepony for his death would take the pain away.”
Button Mash wiped the single tear that trailed down from his eye, “Boy how wrong I was,” he let out a faint chuckle, “All she wanted to do was be there for me and I pushed her away,” He looked at the the poriat, “If you can hear me, I just wanted to let you know...I’m sorry….for everything.”
Button Mash stepped down and trotted to his chair with his head hung low.
The door slammed shut, which alerted Button’s mom. She poked her head out the kitchen and saw her son standing at the front door “Button, I’m so sorry about your friend.”
“It’s okay mom,” He forced a smile on his face, “I’ll just be in my room to get some rest. Call me when dinner is ready.”
“Button—”
He held out a hoof, silencing her, “I know what you’re going to say. I don’t wanna talk about it, mom. Call me when dinner is ready,” He sluggishly trotted upstairs. Once he was in his room and the door was closed, he sagged down to the floor and began to sob.
“Sweetie Belle, I can’t just act like anything is going to be fine without you here,” He said, between sobs, “You promised we would be together!”
Feeling sudden anger boiled up inside him, he trotted to his desk, which was piled with papers, games, and books. He shoved them off, the items smashing onto the floor. He took the few papers that were still on the desk and began tearing them into pieces. He placed his hooves under the desk and with all his strength flipped it over which it smashed onto a wall.
He looked around his half-destroyed room, panting. Tore pieces of paper laid the floor, and books lay all over. Fiction, nonfiction, the history of video games, and a book he’d never seen before laid on the floor.
Wait….Book he’d never seen before?
Button Mash squinted to get a better view of the book and saw it had his dad’s name written on the cover. It said: Designs to a Better Life. Curiosity getting the best of him, he took the book from the floor and opened it to the first page.
A folded note fell from the book when he opened it. He arched an eyebrow and picked up and began reading the note to himself.
By the time you read this note, something bad has happened to me. I want you to see the world I see, son. The flawless, non corrupt beings I have written in this book. Celestia and Luna has closed down the future, the perfect life for Equestria. They closed it down because I was going to create a flawless Equestria, something they failed to do.
Button, His heart cringed at seeing his dad used his first name for the first time,Please make this beautiful creature have a chance at life. Protect them, teach them feelings, loved them. Do the things I failed to do with you.
Love, your father.
Button Mash sniffed a little a bit and placed the note down on his bed. He sat down on the edge of the bed and ran a hoof on the first page inside as he read.Robotic lifeforms? He flipped to the next page,Magic inside the chest of the robot can make it still activated for a life expand, need to do some further research. *flip*I found a way to improved the limbs of the robot to make them stronger.
Knock, knock, knock
Button Mash turned his attention to the door, “Who is it?”
“It’s me Button, your mom. Is everything alright? I heard something smashed onto the floor and I wanted to make sure you were alright.”
“Everything is fine, mom.” Button reassured her, “Just call me when dinner is ready and I’ll meet you downstairs, okay?”
“Well….alright….I love you, Button.”
“I love you two, mom.” He heard the sound of his mother hooves trotting downstairs. Once she was out of sight, he opened back up the book. Theory: robotic lifeforms can feel emotion is still unknown to me. Need to do further research. He placed the book down and trotted to the desk he flipped over. He picked it back up then got the book from the bed and sat down on the chair near the desk.
Knock, knock, knock
Button’s mon rushed to door, she opened to a soaked orange pegasus wearing a yellow raincoat,“Thank Celestia, you’re here Scootaloo!” she pulled the filly here and closed the door, “Something is wrong with Button!”
“Hi to you too,” Scootaloo said with a frown, taking off her coat, “What’s wrong with him?”
“He isn’t been coming downstairs for breakfast or dinner. In fact he doesn’t come downstairs at all!” She panicked, “I’m afraid to go in there because he might hate me for disturbing him.”
“Don’t worry, Mrs. M.” Scootaloo smirked, “I’m going to get him out before you can say rainbows.” she trotted upstairs until she met Button’s door. She reached out a hoof and knocked a couple times.
Knock, knock, knock,
No response.
Scootaloo groaned, “Come on, Button your mom is worried about you!” she knocked a again, “Come out and talk to her about what is bothering you!” she waited from him to replied, but never got it. “Alright I tried it the the nice way!” she turned to her back, reared her hind legs back then bucked the door opened.
When she came into the room, she smelt a odd smell feeling the room. She glanced around the room, papers with sketches that looked like limps belonging to a unicorn hung on the walls. What caught her eye was Button sitting on his desk, and it appeared to look like he was drawing something.
“Button?” Scootaloo asked, trotting closer to him, “So this what you been doing, huh?” she snickered, “I didn’t take you for a artist, Button.”
She only got a groaned for a response.
“Listen, Button. I know losing Sweetie Belle was hard, but you gotta move on.” She said, a hint of sadness in her tone. “This is pathetic, Button. I know this drawings on those papers you have on the walls are Sweetie Belle.”
“You don’t understand,” He finally spoke, his voice sounded dry, “I can bring her back. I can make her into something better, and everything can be back to normal. Like as if her death was a bad dream.”
“Button? What are you talking about?”
He turned around and faced Scootaloo, his eyes had bags under them and lips were cracked. “My father kept a book hidden from me. Robotic lifeforms, he didn’t want me to know about until I was older. But I found it under my desk and now I can bring Sweetie Belle back to her family.”
“Button, do you hear yourself! What you are doing is insane!” She swiped the paper from his desk, “This is insane!” she shouted, tapping onto the paper.
“I lost too many ponies I cared about in my life, I can’t deal with more loss. I’m not losing another one.”
“Button, I lost somepony too! She was my friend and I loved her like she was my sister! But I moved on and everypony else did. You need to too!”
“I can’t!” Button shouted, getting up from his chair. Scootaloo muzzle close to his ,” I tried! Believe me I tried to forget about her, I tried to move on! But you gotta understand every time I tried, the pain just keep repeating over and over again.”
“Dear Celestia, what’s happened to you.” Scootaloo grasped his shoulder and pulled him into a hug, “Button, please stop this. Sweetie Belle wouldn’t want to see you like this, I don’t want to see you like this.”
Button Mash shoved her off him, “I loved her dammit! She was there for me when nopony else was! I need her back and I can’t stay living with her always on my mind!”
Scootaloo punched him in the nose, sending him tumbling him the floor. “You’re pathetic, Button. Here I am thinking you were better than this, but no! You proved to me you’re just like my father when he found out my mom died. He went and killed himself, he didn’t stop to think about me, and I’m afraid you might do the same thing.”
Button Mash got up from the floor, he wiped his bloody muzzle with his foreleg, “Scootaloo, you and the others maybe give up on the ponies you love,” he stepped closer to her face, “But I don’t.” he shoved past her, trotting out the door.
She heard something shattered as it hit the floor,“Button!” Scootaloo galloped out the door then to downstairs. She looked to see the front door and his mom sobbing in the corner and a broken vase on the floor. “What happened!”
“I tried to stop him…. but he pushed me and— and ran away out in the cold!” Button’s mom shielded her eyes with her hooves she sobbed into them.
“Don’t worry, I’ll get him.” Scootaloo ran downstairs, put on her raincoat. She took a second to glance at his mom, she was curled up to the corner near the broken vase, “I promise you, I’ll bring him back.” Scootaloo said, then closed the door behind her.