Step OutView OnlineThe Secret Life of Button MashStep OutManehatten was bustling with life. Ponies everywhere stampeded down opposite directions on the sidewalks. No one ever seemed to care who they ran into or what they ran into. As long as they made it from point A to point B, they could care less if they trampled over others. The stop lights continued their mindless transitions: red, green, yellow, repeat... The regular fight broke out over a taxi carriage every now and then. Some mare tossed a box full of her excoltfriend's stuff out the window. Pidgins bombarded all the crumbs that were hidden between crevices around the local food joints. The buildings stretched so high up that the sun was only visible during mid day. One particular building stood out. It was a twelve story beige building with a grand old neon sign that read "JoyBoy Inc". The windows were black, tinted as it were, to reduce exposure to harsh light. If the building could have spoke, it's mouth cracking stucco would open up just to moan, "Why am I still here?" Inside, the many levels were filled with cubicles. In each cubicle sat a pony. Most of them were teenage colts and stallions, but a few mares were not uncommon. Button Mash sat at his desk in the cube farm. He had just submitted the latest texture pack for his collaboration project. He had been working with Glitch Lagger who wasn't the most popular character in the crowd, but he got his job done, usually. Button was editing the final details on a graphic design for a video game box when Glitch came rolling in on his chair to the entrance of Button's cubicle. "Hey there BM." Button was too engrossed in what he was doing to notice Glitch. "Hey! Canterlot to Major Mash!" Button turned his head just then, "Hmm?" Glitch chuckled to himself. "What? Were you dreamin' again?" "Sorry I was just...ya know..." Glitch interrupted him before he could finish. "Yeah that's great. So, did you finish that texture pack?" "Yes." "Good." Glitch flashed his backstabbing smile. "It's 'bout time you came through on schedule." About time? If it weren't for Button, Glitch would have been unemployed long ago. Glitch was always late in his work and relied on Button to help him out. Button never complained though, even when Glitch took all the credit. Button didn't mind too much. He was probably the only one that could tolerate Glitch and his obnoxious ways. As long as he didn't start talking about... "So Button... Meet any cute mares lately?" Of course he would start this up again. "No." "Come on! You got STEP OUT there and get a life. Why don't you use FaceScroll anymore?" Button rolled his eyes. "I gave it up because I have more important things to do." "Like ?" Glitch waited in an awkward silence until Button answered. "Doing my job." There was silence after that... "Wow. For pity's sake, just, just..." "What?" "I don't know! Find a marefriend or something!" "He's got a mare friend!" A heavenly voice came raining down on both Button a Glitch's ears. "He's got me." An alabaster alicorn with radiant lavender hair and emerald eyes stepped out of a pillar of light and ran towards Button. "My dear! It's you." Button exclaimed as the alicorn jumped into his lap. "I have missed you so..." "I'm sorry Mother Faust kept me so long from you, but now we are free to make everlasting love, together." She began lick Button's neck. Glitch stood there with his jaw on the floor and his eyes like saucers. "DAMN." "Something the matter, Lagger?" Button asked with a whimsical smile. "Who...who..." Glitch was locked on his stutter as his eyes were glued to the angelic beauty that had just stopped nipping on Button's ear to answer him. "The name is Belle, Sweetie Belle." She turned in Button's lap playfully laughing and kissing every inch of him her lips passed. "Are you listening dear?" "Yes." Button replied as Sweetie inched closer to his mouth. "Hey Button, are you listening?!" Wait, that wasn't her voice. "Yo, Mash." As Button snapped out of his blank stare he saw Glitch clopping his hooves in front of his face. "You alright?" The heavenly mare was gone... "Sorry I just kind of..." Button didn't have an excuse. He was day dreaming again. "Whatever. Listen, I gotta go. See ya later 'Major' Mash." Glitch wheeled himself out of the cubicle. Button could practically hear Glitch laughing to himself in the distance. "What a whack job." Button sighed the sickly air that remained after Glitch left. He looked towards his computer. FaceScroll? He hadn't used FaceScroll since he was a teenager. Ponies nowadays still used it. It was definitely more successful than HoofSpace. Button grew curious as to whether or not his old FaceScroll account was even still up. "Why not..." He pulled up the site and typed in the probably outdated information. Username: ButtonTheMash@trotmail.com Password: daringdoofan97 To Button's surprise, his account popped up. A much younger Button Mash with braces smiled from the photo marked "profile picture". He had three confirmed friends: his mom, Featherweight and Pipsqueak. Button remembered them. They were close friends when he lived in Ponyville. That was before his father died and his family moved to Manehatten. He changed the profile picture and upgraded his information. Not sure what to do next, he clicked on Pipsqueak's Profile. Maybe he could catch up and find some mutual friends on the side. Button smiled when he saw the wedding photo of Pipsqueak and Dinky. Things certainly had changed... He moved on and clicked on the mutual friends tab. As Button scrolled down the list he could recognize a few old friends. Some weren't all that different, and others just didn't match up to their faces. One picture in particular caught his eye. "Sweetie Belle?" For a second he thought he was hallucinating. She had changed over the years. Her face was beaming with a smile; the kind that was incomplete. She seemed to be happy. Button clicked on her profile. Her background photo was of some sort of reunion. Yes, it was a reunion of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Sweetie stood with her friends. They all had their cutie marks. Surrounding them were junior CMCs wearing red capes. Button had always wanted to join the CMS, but he was too shy. He mainly wanted to join then because he thought Apple Bloom was cute. But she already had a coltfriend or drakefriend as it were, Spike. 'Sweetie Belle,' Button thought, 'it couldn't hurt to say hi, right?' His hoof hovered over the mouse to click the friend request button. 'What if she doesn't remember me?' Reluctantly he pulled his hoof away. 'What if she does remember,' he moved in, 'then again,' he stood up, not sure what to do. 'Just DO IT ALREADY.' Click... Button waited...a window opened. YOU CANNOT PERFORM THIS TASK WITHOUT PERMISSION FROM THE ADMINISTRATOR OF YOUR FACESCROLL ACCOUNT Administrator? Who was the administrator. Button clicked on the administrator link. "You have got to be kidding me." It was his mother. He quickly picked up the grey telephone off to the side of his desk and dialed the number he had memorized for some time since his mother moved to Las Pegasus. "Hello?" A sweet but feeble voice answered. "High. Mom?" "Button? How wonderful, I haven't heard from you in ages. How is Manehatten? How have you been? Met any cute mares?" His mother seemed to emphasize on that last question. Why does everyone ask that? "Oh, Manehatten is great, I'm fine, but no I'm still single." "That's a shame." Could she be anymore disappointed? "Yeah okay, mom? I need your help with something." Oh, the irony. After all the years of telling his mother he didn't need her help, he needed it now as a grown stallion. "What can I do for you?" Her sweet tone was deceiving as Button knew his mother was also aware of the irony as well. "Mom, do you remember my FaceScroll account?" "Yes." Yes! She's still lucid. "I was wondering if you could make me the administrator of my account." Please, please, please... "Why? I thought you said FaceScroll was too manestream." That senile witch!!! "Yeah, I sort of need it for work." She didn't need to know what he really needed it for. It was his life after all. "Fine. Anything else?" What more did she need? "No, but I'll call you if anything comes up..." Okay all do- "Oh button I almost forgot to tell you..." Uhhhh... "In going to be in Manehatten pretty soon." Mother of- "That's great mom. See ya soon." She 'was still' his mother. "Bye bye now. I'm going out with the girls tonight. Love ya." Yep, still mom. "Love you too mom." Whew. Glad that's over. Uh oh. That presence was in the air, that feeling of dread, cold, and slightly gassy. His boss, Hard Wire, was standing right behind him. "Mister Mash?" His deep dark voice wasn't as pissed off as usual. "Are you done 'socializing' with your mother?" "Yes." Please don't shoot me. "Wonderful woman. She makes the best apple cakes." That was a little creepy. "Anyway, I'm giving you a job." What?! "What is it sir?" "I need your help editing a photograph a singer." Oh... This again. That's not too bad. "It shouldn't be too much trouble." "Alright sir..." What's eating him? The boss is usually more...cruel. "Is something wrong?" "Yeah. Don't tell anyone this, but, the company is in a hole. We're almost bankrupt. If our next set video games don't sell well, we're gonna have to sell the company to PonyStation." His tone was grave. This was serious. "This singer is important to what we hope will be our best video game yet. She allowed us to use her image as the princess in the game. I am trusting you to make this game cover look good. You got three minutes to get down to the sound studio nib the basement." With that the boss walked off back to his office. Wait. Three minutes!? Button lunged out of his chair and raced through the cubicles. He headed for the stairs. The elevator wasn't fast enough. He only had two minutes left! Button bashed through the stairway door and galloped as fast as he could down the stairs; trying not to trip. The stairs widened and grew into a flat black shining surface. Button pulled a glowing rod off of his side and broke it in half. Almost instantly, the broken rod materialized into a circuit board pattern which grew into a large lighted motorbike. A retro decal appeared on the side: LIGHTBIKE. An orange wall of light trailed behind the back wheel . "You can't win this Mash." Glitch was coming in fast behind Button. Glitch's bike zoomed up alongside him trailing a wall of red light. "Haven't you learned yet? I always win!" Button yelled triumphantly. He zoomed just ahead of Glitch and turned. His wall of orange light brought Glitch to nasty halt. "Ahhh!" Glitch's bike shattered into thousands of cubes. "Son of a bit!" He landed on his back. "No fair!" Glitch grabbed a black and red discus from his side and threw it at Button. He saw it coming. On instinct, button stood up on his bike and pulled out his own discus. Glitch's disc rebounded off of Button's. A wave of terror overtook Glitch as his disc came flying back towards him. "Holy sh-" As the disc made contact he burst into a light which dissipated in the air. Button turned around and sat back down on his bike. "What did I tell you!! Ha! No one messes with the Ma-" SMACK Button hit the basement door and came rolling through the sound studio. "Gak!" He came to a painful stop when he felt his body ram into another. They both slid a good distance across the studio floor. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" Button ended up underneath the one he had hit. "I came down the stairs a bit too fast and I couldn't stop myself. I-I-" He stared neck of the white figure who lifted herself off of him. "What?" "It's all right. I'm fine. Actually this whole incident was kind of exciting!" The white unicorn mare flicked her lavender mane out of her face revealing a pair of glistening green eyes. "Why don't we start over. Hi, my name is Sweetie Belle." "Uhh..." Button was speechless. "Is something wrong?" Sweetie looked quizzically at Button. "You're still on top of me..." He grunted under the weight of Sweetie Belle. “Oh My! I am so sorry.” Sweetie scrambled to her hooves and moved off of Button. She helped him get up. “I didn’t really catch your name…” “Oh, I’m Button Mash.” He mustered up the best smile he could. “Button? Hmm, that’s a cute name.” Sweetie beamed, but Button dropped his smile at that word ‘cute’. He wasn’t usually fond of being called cute. It was something his mother would say, and he did NOT want to think of Sweetie as his mother. “I can understand Button, but ‘Mash’?” “Oh, when I was born my mom use to listen to the song about an wonderbolt, Major Mash. It was her favorite song so…” Button did his best to explain, but he still felt like an idiot when he talked. But, something seemed a bit different around Sweetie. She wasn’t so quick to be judgemental like other mares he had met. She was sweet, like her name. “Oh I love that song…” Sweetie’s eyes seemed to light up like stars. “I sang it for a talent show once.” “Really?” The thought just occurred to him. “Oh. You. You’re the singer...right?” “Yes.” She was so calm, and peaceful. It made Button feel strange. It was like she was too perfect to be real. “So what do you down here?” Button just remembered his job he was sent to do. “I work in the photography and graphics department. I was sent from upstairs to take pictures of, well, you.” The embarrassment seemed to fade even faster. “Oh.” Her tone went flat. “Something wrong?” Button grew increasingly worried. Was it something he said? Did his breath stink? “They told me about you.” Uh oh. “Who told you about me?” Button knew who it probably was, but he wasn’t thinking at the moment. “They,” Sweetie pointed to the two sound mixers in the recording studio, “told me you were the daydreamer. They also said something about you zoning out, or something like that…” Button sighed. “Oh great. You think I’m a freak now too huh?” He started to walk off to grab the camera. He just wanted to get this over with now. “No, I just...You don’t seem like the kind of pony that would do that do that.” Her words hooked onto Button and put his walking to a stop. “It’s actually a problem for me sometimes.” He just continued on his way to grab the camera. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of though.” Sweetie seemed determined to subtly apologize. Button looked at her. She was smiling. It was a different smile than what he had seen on her FaceScroll profile. The missing part of her smile seemed to be filled. She looked genuinely happy. “So are we gonna take those pictures?” Button smiled. “Yeah.”
Dirty PawsView OnlineThe Secret Life of Button MashDirty PawsAfter Button was done taking the pictures, he made his way back up to his cubicle, this time in the elevator. He was glad to see that Glitch was nowhere in sight. “Thank Celestia.” Button swiftly and quietly made his way back to his little work space. He sat down in his chair and hooked the camera up to his computer. Button scanned through the various pictures to find the one that would work the best for editing. So began the long process of photo-editing to the requests of the game designers. The designers wanted Sweetie to be featured in a rather slimming red dress. That was no problem, it just meant more intricate detail. “And...done.” Button saved the finished photo and pulled it up on the screen. He noticed Sweetie Belle had walked into his cubicle. “What do you think?” He turned the screen of his computer so Sweetie could see. She wasn’t sure at first. The face didn’t seem very recognizable to her, but it was her none the less. “My goodness! Is that me?” She smiled in awe at the glamourous photo that shown like a light before her eyes. “But, I wasn’t wearing a dress. How did you do this?” Button smiled. “The dress is hand drawn on the computer… It’s just visual effects.” “That’s amazing.” Her eyes beamed with nothing but pure delight. Her brilliant, stunning…beautiful smile. Button sighed. “It’s great to hear that.” He wasn’t as enthusiastic about it as Sweetie was. “Something wrong?” “Oh, well,” he sighed again, “I don’t get too much appreciation for this kind of stuff, it’s just work.” “Just work?!” Sweetie exclaimed. “But, it’s beautiful, well,” she corrected herself, “the dress is beautiful.” She stared at the floor in silence. “It’s your face that makes it so beautiful.” Button raised his hoof to stroke the curve of Sweetie’s face. “Button. That’s sweet of you but- op.” Button halted her speech with the tip of his masculine hoof. “Shhhhh. My dear, do not question your beauty. Such perfection, should never be doubted. Your fur like snow, and your eyes like emerald dust floating above the grassy plains of paradise.” Embracing her, Button drew her body closer to his. Sweetie was lost in the sensation of The Great Button Mash’s biceps wrapped around her torso. “Oh Button.” She felt his hooves reach her flank. “Ohh, Button.” “No one, can eve-” Button felt a paper wad hit the back of his head snap him out of his fantasy. Oh crap it’s, “Hey… Button my man,” Glitch. “Shame on you for not introducing me to this lovely mare.” “Hello Glitch, this is Sweetie Belle. Sweetie Belle, this is my work partner Glitch Lagger.” Button tried to hide his anger the best he could. “Why hello, milady.” Glitch showed off his cheesy smile. This can’t be happening. Button was just getting to know Sweetie, and here comes good old jackass Glitch to ruin everything. Who does he think he is? “ I see Button here is busy,” what’s he up to? “Why don’t we leave him to it.” Button could have done it, he could have clocked Glitch in the face, but he didn’t. He knew his limits. Even if he tried, his punch would only turn out to be a light tap. Button wasn’t jealous of Glitch or anything. He just wanted to keep him away from Sweetie Belle. Glitch’s intentions were always questionable, especially when it comes to mares. Button didn’t know if it was true, but he had heard rumors that Glitch had gotten multiple mares pregnant. The very thought of it made Button sick. “So Sweetie, why don’t you and I go get some coffee.” That no good, back stabbing, son of a- “I don’t drink coffee.” Sweetie’s remark showed that she was not amused. “See ya later Button.” She gently kissed Button’s cheek and trotted off towards the elevator. Wow, that’s never happened before. A mare, a real one that wasn’t Button’s mom, had actually made physical contact with his cheek using her lips. It was only a peck, but still! Button leaned back in his chair, smiling triumphantly. He felt like he was on top of the world as one name kept repeating itself in his mind over and over again… “Sweetie Belle.” He hummed to himself in delight. Glitch was still standing in the Cubicle. "So... Button finally found a mare mare to get laid by." There was that nasty smile again. Button felt his body stiffen at Glitch's remark. He was dishonoring Sweetie Belle. How dare he! Of all the lowest of the low things! Glitch began to walk away... "I'll be damned if I let him get away with talking to a mare like that!" Button leapt out of his chair and ran after Glitch. Glitch stood waiting next to the elevator humming a low maniacal laugh to himself. Looking out of the large glass window to his right, he could see Sweetie Belle exiting the building. "Soon you will be mine." "Not if I have anything to say about it!!" Button was charging towards Glitch. "Hmm- gahhh!" Glitch was met with an intense hoof to the face. Both he and Button crashed through the window. They fell... They fell for a while until... FOOP They both landed in the back of a cart that was full of clothes. Glitch was the first to emerge from the abyss of accessories wearing a red neck tie. Hopping out of the basket he looked around until he spotted Sweetie Belle. "There you are!" Glitches eyes turned back into his head as the fur on his body began to split. Fangs grew out of his jaw. Sweetie heard a loud growl behind her. When she turned she was faced with an enormous dark manticore that was wearing a bright red neck tie. "AHHH!!!" Manticore Glitch snatched her up in his great paw. "Let me go!" Glitch laughed his head off as he charged down the street with the helpless Sweetie in his grasp. "Button!!! Help!!!" Button popped his head out of the clothing cart. He had on red cap. "Sweetie?" "Help!!!" Her voice began to trail off in the distance. "Mama Mia! I'll a save you!!" Button jumped out of the cart wearing a red shirt and blue overalls. He went racing down the street in hot pursuit of Glitch and Sweetie. "Catch me if you can Mashio!!!" Glitch began to climb a massive construction site for a new building. Up up up he went, towards the top of the maze of steel beams. Button ran up to one of the construction ponies. "What's the fastest way to the top?" "Use the ramps, but be careful my men barely made it out dodging oil drums." The stallion pointed to the ramps; the large oil cans came tumbling down. Some were on fire! "I got this." Button bolted up the first ramp dodging and hurtling over the rolling oil drums. The second ramp... The third! Button armed himself with a sledge hammer to knock the flaming cans out of his way. The fifth ramp! Almost there! A barrel hit Button knocking him to the side. Thankfully he was just able to catch hold of a ladder. He climbed... And Glitch had run out of oil drums to throw. The top. Button sprinted towards Manticore Glitch. "Get your DIRTY PAWS off of-" "Mash?" Glitch stared at Button as the elevator doors just opened. "What is it?" Button blinked his eyes. "Oh uh," not again, "I was just uh, heading out." Glitch just stared in astonishment. "It took ya long enough to say something." He stepped into the elevator laughing. "See ya later Major Mash." The elevator doors closed, separating Button from the stallion that had now become the very bane of his existence. Button headed back to his desk to shut down his computer and headed home. ***** Button stepped through the rusty old door of his apartment. He tossed his saddle bag to its usual home on the kitchen counter, hung his keys on the hook next to the fridge, and at last, he plopped his body down on his futon bed. He stared up at the ceiling which seemed to be closing in on him...it wasn't really, but it felt like it was. His normal boring apartment, was exactly what it sounded like: a normal boring apartment. He was alone... But, just before Button dozed off to sleep, he noticed the old hat he used to wear. It was the kind that had a little propeller on top. He remembered the one time, long ago, he was near Sweetie. They were only foals then. She had invited him to have a milkshake with her. He made a bad first impression by trying to start a milkshake race. That didn't end well...brain freeze. Just as Button was drifting off, he could have sworn he heard singing, but he didn't know where it came from. It reminded him of Sweetie.
Stay AliveView OnlineThe Secret Life of Button MashStay AliveButton stared at the screen. The cursor hovered over the friend request button waiting for him to make a decision. Should he, or should he not? He needed to make a decision sooner or later. What if she thought he was wierd? She already knows that he day dreams. Then again, nopony day dreamed as excessivly as him. She kissed him on the cheek! Then again, she may have just been trying to tell Glitch to back off. But, maybe, just maybe... CLICK Button smiled with glee as the computer informed him that his friend request had been sent. He did it, he did it! He actually stallioned up and sent a friend request to a mare! Button kept smiling as he silently spun in his chair. ERROR "What?" Button faced the screen again to see what was wrong. Another window had opened up. THIS ACCOUNT NO LONGER EXISTS "Oh for goodness sakes." He shut down his computer. Just as he grabbed his saddlebag, he could see his boss walking towards him. He wasn't very cheery. "Mr. Mash?" Hard Wire trembled as he spoke. "Do you have a minute?" Button shook his head ready to hear what was to be said. "Our last investor, has just stopped funding us..." What? "He was having some personal issues, and it seems that he has stopped funding other establishments as well... You may know him." Hard Wire glared down at Button. "His name is Spike. He's that fellow that saved the Crystal Empire. It's a shame really." "Why?" A hero, in shame? Button couldn't understand. "He has accomplished so much in the business world, but I guess being a dragon caused some problems for him." Hard Wire sighed. "The poor fellow just wanted a special somepony. Too bad he was born a dragon. I'm sure if he were a stallion all the mares would be flocking to him. But, he's a dragon, and a pony-raised dragon at that. He never knew his own kind." Hard Wire shrugged. "You're one of our best workers here. Just thought I'd give you the heads up. Maybe you can get a new job by the time this place gets shut down." Well that was nice, but what about this Spike? "Has anyone ever talked to him about?" Button asked. "Well, he sort of dropped off of the face of Equestria. No one really knows about his whereabouts." He smiled. "Good luck Button." With that he walked away and Button was alone in his cubicle. Button walked over to the elevator; his saddle bag in tow. He stared out the window. The sun was low, but wouldn't set for a couple of hours. Pushing the down button, he thought of Sweetie Belle. Looking out the window again, he stared at the scene of the city. Manehatten, what a town! He relished in the moment. He thought, and thought, but was absent of a day dream that was long overdue. Button heard the elevator ring as the doors opened. That was a first. He listened on his way down. Button stared at the lights in the elevator as he listened to the Saphire Shores song that was playing. He had never noticed the music before. Strange. Everything seemed a bit, off. When the elevator reached the bottom floor, Button stepped out. "STAY ALIVE," he thought. A line from a first person shooter game, he heard it before. Was this what it was like to be alive? The world seemed so slow, it was nice. He continued through the lobby and towards the revolving doors. As he stepped onto the sidewalk he could hear sounds that he never heard before. He was suddenly aware if things he had never noticed. "Hey Button!" That was Sweetie Belle. "Over here!" Button spotted her and walked over to her. "Hi." He said smiling. "Hi." She said, also smiling. "I thought you were done here." Button was curious as to why Sweetie was still at his retiring place of work. "Oh, they asked me to stay and record a few more takes of the song, and," she paused, "my sister is coming up here. She wanted to spend some time with me." Sweetie looked a little glum about her sister. "Yeah she's been going through a tough time. She's still single, and at her age, it isn't easy to find someone to settle down with." She smiled at Button. "I hope she finds someone." Button smiled at Sweetie hoping to cheer her up. "What's her name?" "Rarity." Sweetie said with a sigh. "She runs a boutique down in Ponyville. Do you know where that is?" "I used to live there." Sweetie was surprised by this. "But, we moved around a lot, and after my father died, we finally settled down in Manehatten." Button laughed a bit. "My mother is okay now. She lives in Las Pegasis. I stayed behind and got a job here at JoyBoy. I played a lot of games as a colt, so I guess you can say this job was just right for me." "Your mom, what is she like?" Sweetie seemed to have a new question for every answer he gave. "Oh well, you know how mothers ar-" A shrieking voice cut Button off. "BUTTON!!!" The familiar sing song voice of Button's mother came echoing through the crowd. "I'm here!" She jumped through the crowd to engulf Button in her python arms. "I've missed you so much!" Oh crap. "Hi, mom. Heh heh." Button watched as Sweetie Belle giggled at the sight of his mother strangling him. "Oh my baby...oh," she noticed Sweetie Belle who was still standing there. "Oh. Button, who is this?" Oh no! I guess this was inevitable. "Mom, this is Sweetie Belle. Sweetie Belle, this is," he swallowed his current breath as hard as he could, "my mom." To his surprise, she just smiled. "We worked together recently for JoyBoy." His mother fave him a sly look. "Is that 'all' she is to you?" Her grin showed off her hidden cruelty worthy of the she-devil she truly was inside. "Mom!" His cheeks turned to cherries underneath his brown fur. He noticed Sweetie Belle holding a hoof up to cover her smile as her cheeks became tinted with a light pink. "I say," his mother began, "why don't we go get some dinner..." ***** Button sat across from his mother at the table. She was sitting next to Sweetie. "What do you mean JoyBoy is going out of business?" His mother, for once actually seemed concerned. "Funds were cut. Our last investor is having...problems." Button took a bite out if the fresh cinnamon roll that sat in front of him. "What sort of troubles?" Wow, his mother was on a roll today. Concerned levels are off the charts. "Well," he forced himself to to glance at Sweetie when he said it, "love problems." "Oh how sad." Sweetie sighed. "My sister has a similar problem. Still single. I always heard heard crying about how she wasted her time trying to find the 'perfect' stallion. Now she's all alone." Sweetie looked up a Button and then back at her cinnimon roll. "Yeah, Rarity is quite a mess right now." "Wait, did you just say Rarity?" Button's mom asked. "Yes. Why?" Sweetie was intrigued by her inquiry. "Well, that's the name of the mare I heard that poor dragon crying about last weak. I was out with the girls when we saw this poor fellow in Berry Punch's Club. He was crying about how he would be alone all his life." Button's mom shook her head. "What does this have to do with my sister Rarity?" Sweetie asked. "Oh yes, he told us about a mare named Rarity, and how much he loved her. But, he said she said she could never love him, since a was a dragon. He was so sure that no mare could ever love him." Button's mom let out a sweet sigh of sympathy. "The two of them almost sound like they were made of each other..." Sweetie commented. Just then, a lightbulb turned on in Button's head. "Mom? What was the dragon's name?" His whole plan that formulated in his head relied on just one name. "Spike." His mother said in a matter of fact kind if way. "Why?" Button's head raced a million miles an hour. If he could get Spike and Rarity together, they would be happy. And if Spike was happy, he'd have the mindset to start funding JoyBoy again! And if Rarity was happy, that would make Sweetie Bell happy too! She might even consider dating him. Button grew excited, but then remembered: no one knew where Spike was. But then again, he had a clue! Spike was in Las Pegasus a week ago, but that's on the opposite side of Equestria. "Never mind. Just a thought." Button let out a sight as he went for the last bite of his cinnimon roll. ***** Button's mom had left; going to some art museum featuring Ponet. Button decided to walk Sweetie Belle back to her apartment. "Thank you Button, and it was nice meeting you mom. She was nice." She smiled that same stunning smile. "No problem." He was about to leave when- "Button?" She stopped him before he could go. "Yeah?" He said. "Why were you so interested earlier, about my sister and Spike?" She looked at Button. Her green eyes were demanding an answer. "Well, I thought," he looked at the ground, "what if we got Spike and Rarity together? I was just thinking..." He trailed off. "Really!" Her enthusiasm was a surprise to Button. "That would be amazing! I just wish I had the time to do it myself." What did she mean by that? "I've got a busy schedule and I don't get too much pay either." Her head drooped down. "Well, what if I did it?" Did he rally just say that. Button smiled, but inside he was yelling at himself for trying to make a promise he couldn't keep. "You? You would do that?" Her smile returned. "That would be great!" She grabbed Button into a hug. "That would be wonderful." Yeah 'would', Button thought. "Well, goodnight." With a sincere smile forming on her muzzle, she leaned in and gave Button a kiss on the cheek. Meekly, Sweetie turned and walked into her apartment. Button was frozen like a statue as her door closed. He could feel his hooves floating, and moving for some reason, to the train station. ***** MANEHATTEN TO LAS PEGASUS LEAVING SOON The voice echoed over the intercom as Button stared at the ticked in his hoof. Was he really going to do this? He was going off of the fact that Spike "was" in Las Pegasis. And that was a while ago. Okay only a week but still. He thought. It could save his job. It could make Sweetie Belle like him. He would get to travel. Button always wanted to travel the world with his dad, but, he was gone. "I can't do this..." Button mumbled as he began to head for the road back to his apartment. But then he heard something. He looked up to see that his mother was on top of the ticket booth playing her old guitar that Button swore she threw away after dad died. "This one is for you, son." As she continued, Button turned to see that Sweetie Belle was standing behind him. "Button, I believe in you." She kissed him on the cheek and stood back as she started to sing. "Canterlot to Major Mash Canterlot to Major Mash Dawn your flying suit and snap those goggles on" His mother joined in as they both sang to him. "Canterlot to Major Mash Commencing flight time, Wings spread out Launch position and may Faust's love be with you" Button saw the train slowly start to leave. This was his one chance. "Go." He galloped as fast as he could and caught onto the bar that was bolted in to the back of the caboose. He pulled himself onto the train which was now speeding down the tracks. As he looked back at the shrinking station, he could still hear their voices. "This is Canterlot to Major Mash The princess thinks you're great And the royals want to know whose shoes you wear Mash you better catch the wind stream if you dare" Button smiled as the train got faster and faster. Adrenalin made his heart beat in excitement. In his mind he sang with joy back to those echoing voices... "This is Major Mash to Canterlot I'm flying 'cross the sky And I'm soaring in a most peculiar way And the clouds look very different today For here Am I resting on a thin cloud Far above my home Equestria is blue And there's nothing I can do" Button stepped inside and gave his ticket to the conductor so it could be hole punched. The old stallion straightened his cap. "Welcome aboard Major Mash." Button realized just then. "This isn't a dream..."
