Seven minutes in heaven

Chapters

Spin the bottle
Seven minutes in hell
A dish best served cold
Crushing on Mash
Ulterior motives
Clarity
Lullabies of love
Epilogue

Spin the bottle

Spin the bottle was a simple game: The colts would all sit around in a circle. A filly of the girls' choosing would step in the center, lay a cider bottle on the ground, then spin it to see who they would be spending seven minutes in the closet with. It was a game that the girls doubted their parents would approve of, but that was the beauty of it: The older kids often did things their parents didn't like, which was why they were so cool, or so Diamond Tiara thought. In order to be cool, you gotta do what the older kids were doing. Diamond Tiara, being the most popular girl in her class, knew this lesson very well. It was her birthday party, so it would be her way or the highway - which was really no different than any ordinary day in the life of the well-to-do little diva.

Silver Spoon looked up to her friend with a reverence that would shame the most fervent of cultists. She loved Diamond Tiara. She was her BFF; her amiga; her everything. Which was why Silver Spoon never questioned her when it was decided that she would be the one to spin the bottle.

"Don't worry about it." Diamond Tiara winked at Silver Spoon as she gave her the bottle. "I rigged it so it would land on rumble."

Silver Spoon's cheeks flushed, a devilish smile creeping on her little filly face. A nuzzle from Rumble's perfectly sculpted muzzle? She thought to herself, the lenses of her glasses fogging up. I think I can manage that.

Diamond Tiara knew well of Silver Spoon's crush on the young Pegasus, who just happened to be the heart throb of every other filly in their class. Every hearts and hooves day was sure to result in Rumble's desk overflowing with candy and cards containing the written admittance of fillies' affections for him. Silver Spoon always did what she could to make her cards stand out from the rest of rabble, but he never seemed to notice. The colt never even glanced at the cards. Though, he was always sure to consume the candy.

Silver Spoon looked inquisitively at the bottle in her hooves. How this bottle could be 'rigged' was beyond her. Maybe it was imbued with some kind of magic?

She cast a surreptitious eye upon the object of her affections, as she had done many times during the party. Rumble laid on his belly with his front legs tucked in - that usual air of cocky indifference about him. There was some residual specks of frosting around his mouth from the cupcakes the children had earlier, but he didn't seem to care. He was too cool to care. The handsome little devil was the only one in the circle of boys who didn't look as if he was about to piss himself in perturbation - save for the dork with the Joyboy, who didn't even seem to know where he was.

What a dweeb, he was. His nose was always, always, always buried in that little video game of his. He never socialized with anypony, and half the time when his name was called out in class by Miss Cheerilee, he'd act as if he didn't even hear her. It was like his mind was in a completely different world. Silver Spoon couldn't even be bothered to memorize the little commoner's name. Mutton Smash, or something to that effect. It didn't matter what his name was. Silver Spoon disregarded him as she had done so many times in the past. She wasn't even sure why the little jerk decided to attend the party in the first place. It wasn't like he had any friends here, and he didn't seem to be interested in making any. He wouldn't have even been invited if Diamond Tiara wasn't forced by her parents to make invitations for everypony in the class.

The little geek's decision to attend the party was not a concern to Silver Spoon for long, however. Her mind was focused on something else. She could do little to hide her excitement. Rumble would be her first nuzzle. She knew it was Diamond Tiara's birthday party, but if felt like she was the one receiving all the gifts. She began to wonder what his muzzle would feel like as it rubbed against hers. Would it be soft? Firm, perhaps? A quick thought suddenly entered her mind: What if he won't want to nuzzle me? She quickly disregarded the thought. Who in her class wouldn't jump at the chance to nuzzle her? She may not have been as pretty as Diamond Tiara, but darn it, she was still a dead knock out by her reckoning.

"Get on with it already!" A filly with a long purple braid laughed.

"Yeah!" giggled Scootaloo. "We were promised dinner and a show. I had dinner, now I'm ready for the show!"

Sweetie Belle chuckled. "Looks like somepony's eager for her turn."

"'Least I won't have to worry about a horn getting in the way," quipped Scootaloo with a wry smile. "Whoever you get paired with, try not to poke the poor guy's eyes out."

Sweetie Belle prepared to utter a verbal retaliation, but Diamond Tiara silenced them before their exchange could escalate into a quarrel. "Next one to say a word gets to jump right to the front of the line!"

The fillies fell silent, none of them wishing to incur the wrath of their host. Nopony wanted to be first, save for Silver Spoon, who's eyes narrowed upon hearing her friend's threat. She was not about to let any of them take her precious Rumble form her. She quickly cast aside her shyness and picked up her pace toward the circle. She refused to tarry any longer. "Alright, let's do this!"

The powwow of young colts were caught of guard by Silver's sudden burst of vigor.

All were quiet as they watched her. Even Diamond Tiara fell silent in anticipation.

Without another word, Silver Spoon laid the bottle down directly in the center of the circle the boys had formed. The filly placed a hoof at the bottom of the bottle and sent it in motion with a firm flick.

Any second now, she would have Rumble all to herself. She didn't know what she loved more: the prospect of her being Rumble's first nuzzle, or the jealous eyes of all the other fillies in her class boring into her. Silver Spoon just loved making other girls jealous of her. She already knew that everyone was jealous of her beauty and keen wit, but giving others further reason to want to be her was a bonus.

There was no doubt Rumble would fall in love with her after this. And why wouldn't he? All the other fillies in her class, with the exception of Diamond Tiara, were only second rate when compared to her. All the other fillies in her class, no, in all of Ponyville, were all just plain to exceedingly ugly. There was really nothing special about any of them.

Yep. It was all smooth sailing from here on out. Rumble would be hers. He'll never want to look at any other filly than her after she was done with him. She confidently watched the bottle spin, as did the others. Some of the boys had beads of sweat rolling down their faces as the bottle slowly lost its momentum. It was so obvious that they were all intimidated by her. But they had no reason to be, for the bottle was imbued with a special power that would ultimately lead Silver Spoon to her very special somepony. Which was, of course, Rumble.

Silver Spoon smiled as the bottle came to a stop, then she placed a hoof over her mouth to feign surprise, not even bothering to look to whom it was pointing to. "I didn't think it would point to Rumble!" she lied. "Oh well, rules are rules, I suppose. Come, Rumble dear. Off to the closet we go."

The filly smiled proudly as she spun around and sauntered toward the closet, assuming her prize was following close behind. The sound of snickering made her ear twitch when she got to the door. She looked back, and she was puzzled when she noticed that Rumble hadn't gotten up - and the girls were all smiling impishly at her.

"What?' she said.

Diamond Tiara smirked. "I think you better take a closer look at the bottle, Sil."

Silver Spoon adjusted her glasses and squinted in the direction the neck of the bottle pointed. She traced a slow path along the floor, and she blanched when she saw who the bottle had selected for her. The dork with the Joyboy... He wasn't even looking up at what was going on, despite the thunderous laughter from the girls - and congratulatory pats on his back from the boys.

"No!" She squealed, her face contorting with revulsion. "Not him! Why?"

"Them's the rules, Sil!" Diamond Tiara laughed.

"But you said it would land on... On..." Silver Spoon gestured toward Rumble with a sideways jerk of her head.

Diamond Tiara smiled with a malevolent twinkle in her eye. "Oh, did I?"

The gears began to grind in Silver Spoon's head, and then it all made sense: Diamond Tiara wanted Rumble to herself. She had been tricked. An indignant frown formed on her face. "Diamond Tiara, you butt!" She squealed, her lower lip protruding.

The little dork with the Joyboy finally looked up from his game with a triumphant smirk on his face.

Silver Spoon scowled at him. No doubt the little twerp was beside himself when he saw who it was he'd be going into the closet with.

"I beat Diego on the Hell difficulty!" Button Mash suddenly cheered.

Silver Spoon nearly fell face first. Did he even know what was going on outside of that game of his? What did that even mean? It's like he was fluent in dorkanese!

"Well?" Diamond Tiara said, grinning. "You two love birds ready, or what?"

"No!" Squeaked Silver Spoon.

"Too bad," Tiara replied. "Get in the closet."

Silver Spoon sat defiantly on her haunches and crossed her forefronts over her chest. "I demand a do-over!"

"Come now, Sil," reasoned Tiara, "allowing do-overs would hurt ponies feelings, and it would take all the excitement out of it." The girls behind her nodded and whispered to each other in agreement. "Besides," she added, "If you don't get in the closet, we'll just have to lock you in. You don't want seven minutes with Button Mash? How would an hour sound?"

Button Mash's head popped up at hearing his name. "Wait, what's going on?"

Silver Spoon face-hooved so hard, the throbbing horse shoe shaped indentation left behind could glow in the dark.

A colt leaned over and whispered briefly in Button Mash's ear. The colt pointed at Silver Spoon, then at the closet in front of her as he explained the situation.

"But I don't like her," Button Mash announced brusquely.

"Excuse me?" Demanded Silver Spoon, blindsided by the remark. He doesn't like me? A little twerp like him should be ecstatic to have the honor of taking out my garbage! The filly huffed, but quickly thought of another escape from her predicament. "You see that, Di?" she said. "He doesn't want to go in the closet either! I guess we're both disqualified, huh?"

"Sil," said Diamon Tiara, "Get in the closet. You too, Button Mash. Get in there, or we'll push you in."

"I actually don't mind," said Button Mash, rising to his hooves.

"I'll bet you don't!" spat a furious Silver Spoon.

"I'm interested in testing out the night vision function on my Joyboy. Never used it before. It consumes the battery life like nopony's business, but who knows when it could come in handy?"

Silver Spoon rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right... Let's just get this over with!"

Button Mash ignored the heat in her tone as he brushed beside her and opened the closet door.

If he thinks he's going to win me over by simply holding a door open for me, he's got another thing coming! Silver Spoon tried to look as dignified as she possibly could as she attempted to enter the closet, but she suddenly collided with Button Mash on the way and lost her balance.

The fillies roared with laughter. "What's wrong, Sil?" Hooted Apple Bloom. "He already making you feel all weak in the knees?"

Silver Spoon silenced them with a red hot glare thrown over her shoulder, before turning the scathing gaze to the twerp who knocked her down.

"Sorry," Button tossed back at her as he stepped through the doorway, leaving the indignant filly behind to pick herself up.

"Hey!" Siliver Spoon protested, rubbing the bruise on her head. "I know a little weeaboo like you doesn't get a lot of interaction with girls, but you're supposed to hold a door open for a lady, you little creep!"

Button Mash cast a quizzical grin upon her and said, "I'll treat you like a lady when you learn to act like one."

Silver Spoon's eyes widened in disbelief. Nopony had ever talked to her like that before.

"Oh snap!" Howled one of the colts, every pony in the room erupting with mirth at Mash's retort.

"You gonna take that, Sil?" Laughed one of the fillies.

"Yo, Mash!" yelled Scootaloo over the laughter. "I just took two points off your dorkometer for that one. Freakin' zing, man!"

Silver Spoon glared at them until the laughter died down. She then harrumphed with her nose in the air, picked herself up, and stepped into the closet. She scowled at Button Mash. She never liked him, but now, she was beginning to hate him. That stupid nasally voice of his! That dumb propeller hat! That ugly ginger mane! Nothing about the little turd was pleasant. He was offensive to all the senses!

"Have fun, you two love birds~" Diamond Tiara giggled as an unseen pony behind the door pushed it closed, concealing the two in utter darkness. "Clocks ticking, guys. I better see a puff of steam blow out when those doors open!"

The fillies could be heard shrieking with delight after Tiara's final comment.

The closet was completely black, but the colorful light from Button Mash's Joyboy illuminated the inner confines of the small room. "Ha," he laughed, "it works!"

Silver Spoon had her back firmly pressed against the wall like a cornered cat ready to start swiping. "Don't you get any ideas, you little dork!" she warned.

Button Mash didn't respond. The violent sounds of the cleaving of flesh, sinew tearing, bones cracking under mighty blows, and cries of agony emanated from his game as his eyes remained transfixed on the screen. "This night vision app is awesome!"

"I mean it!" Silver Spoon said. "You so much as take one step toward me and I'll scream!"

"Uh huh," Button Mash answered disinterestedly. "That's whatever you're talking about for ya."

"You're not even looking at me!"

"I think so..."

"That's.... That's not even a proper response to what I just said!"

"No, I didn't," The colt mumbled.

Silver Spoon's fury was growing by the second. Now she definitely knew she hated the little twerp. He wouldn't even pay her the proper respect of looking her in the eye when she spoke to him. If she didn't know any better, she'd assume he was acting like he was better than her! No. He couldn't possibly think that. He was just a little dork! He was an inane, unpopular, forgettable, pathetic little loner. Nopony liked him. Even those cutie mark crusader dorks avoided him like the plague.

Silver Spoon harrumphed with her legs over her chest. This suited her just fine. Seven minutes of him playing his little video games while she got to keep her distance - it would be over before she knew it.

Just seven minutes in this hell... How bad could this really be?

Seven minutes in hell

Silver Spoon didn't know how much time had passed since that closet door closed, but it was all the time Mash's pungent geekiness needed to foul the air inside of the small space. It felt as if hours had passed. Possibly a whole day. The time had to be up by now. She looked at Button Mash. She had no desire to communicate with him, but she had to know what time it was. "Hey. Dork. Does that stupid toy of your tell the time?"

"Yeah, I took the sweet tarts out of the zeppelin and replaced the sack of hedgehogs with my mom's birth control pills," Button Mash muttered in response, his eyes reflecting the light of his screen - entrancing him - drawing him in. It was like every fiber of his being was immersed in the digital confines of his game, leaving only a husk that was unable to piece together a coherent sentence.

Silver Spoon's eye twitched. She hated this little twerp, but there was one thing in the world that she hated even more than him: being ignored. "Hey! I'm talking to you, you slack-jawed, video game-addicted vegetable!"

An up beat chip tune played as the colt tapped a button at the center of his Joyboy. The game locked up, as if the world within was frozen in time. Button Mash liberated his statue-like gaze from the screen to give Silver an odd smile. "You know," he said in that obnoxious, nasally voice of his, "for a figment of my imagination, you sure do talk a lot."

"A figment of your..." Silver Spoon cocked her head sideways, utterly perplexed by the odd statement. "You are so freaking weird..."

A bright smile lit up on the young colt's face. "Why, thank you!"

"It wasn't a compliment!" Silver Spoon snapped. "What time is it? How long have we been in here?"

Button Mash meddled with some buttons on his Joyboy to bring up the clock app and said, "We've been in here for approximately... Thirty seconds."

"Thirty seconds!" The dejected filly whined as she allowed herself to fall belly-down to the ground in a fit of hysteria. Writhing in her misery, she folded her forelegs over her face and lamented, "I don't know if I can do this. I'd rather be trapped in here with a rabid Orthros than you!"

"That's a bit... Harsh." Button Mash mumbled without bothering to look up from his screen.

Silver Spoon ceased her pouting and peered up at the murmuring colt from over her arms. "Speak up!" she barked.

"What do you have against me? You seem to really, really dislike me for some reason. What have I done to make you not like me?" Button, once again, could not be bothered to break his gaze from his game, but the tone in which he spoke seemed to be laced with legitimate curiosity.

"Is that a serious question?" Silver Spoon scoffed, rising to her hooves. "Look at you: you're a complete spaz - the way you always have your eyes glued to that game of yours, the strange and bizarre things that randomly fly out of your mouth, and you're a blank flank to boot! You shouldn't be asking me why I don't like you. The real question from you should be why nopony likes you period!"

"I'm aware that nopony likes me," replied Button with a stoic casualness in his voice. "But you just seem to really, really not like me... Come to think of it..." His eyes glanced up at the ceiling thoughtfully, but only for a moment, then they returned to the screen. "Girls seem to be extra mean to me. They pick on me more than even the boys do."

Silver Spoon rolled her eyes, sat back on her haunches, and sighed. "That's no surprise."

"What do you mean?"

"You're not exactly a chick magnet," stated Silver Spoon matter-of-factly. "I've heard some of the things the girls say about you when you're not around and, oh boy, you think I'm the mean one? You don't even want to hear what the others say about you."

Button chuckled. "'Little do they know, I could have any girl I want. I know the secrets to seduction. My technique is flawless. I've been practicing for years."

The corners of Silver Spoon's mouth stretched out in a condescending smirk as she was now utterly amused by the geeky little colt's proclamation. "Okay," she said doubtingly, "you have my attention."

Button Mash peered up at her from his game. "Didn't I already have your attention?"

"This 'secret technique' you have been honing for years, that has the power to make any girl yours. I seriously have to see this."

Pausing his game, Button cocked an eyebrow in a swaggering smile. "Really? I'm not sure if you can handle it. It's almost too powerful in person."

"Oh, yes!" the skeptical filly snorted, her sarcastic eyes shimmering pleadingly. "Please, sweep me off my hooves with your... Manly... Uh... Rugged... Whatever it is you think you got going on for you..."

Button Mash smiled, his eyes narrowed provocatively. "Okay, but you asked for it!"

"Yes." The incredulous filly crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the wall behind her, fortifying herself, as if she were waiting in anticipation for the punchline of a hilarious joke. "Yes, I did."

The colt placed his game ever-so-gently on the ground in front of him, as if it were a baby, or some kind of precious treasure. He then produced a strange looking device from seemingly out of nowhere.

Still unamused, though genuinely curious, Silver Spoon's forehead wrinkled as she raised her eyebrows and queried, "What's that?"

"It's an Ocarina," Button smirked.

"An oca-whatsit?"

"An Ocarina." The colt repeated as he gave her a seductive sideways glance. "Chicks dig a dude with mad Ocarina skills." He then placed his mouth on the device, closed his eyes, then swayed gently from side-to-side as he played three notes repeatedly. "You like that?"

Silver Spoon remained impassive. "What in tap dancing Celestia's name was that?"

"That's called Epona's song." Button Mash informed, deepening his voice as much as his prepubescent vocal cords would allow in an attempt to make it sound smooth and velvety. "And I can play that one for you all day, girl. Ahhh yeahh." He continued to play the device, his narrowed eyes locked provocatively on Silver Spoon as he occasionally nuanced to other melodies, most of them composing of three basic notes.

The filly slowly shook her head, her eyes wide with a combination of disbelief and agitation. "It's like your very presence is giving me cancer..."

"Cancer?" Button looked urgently at his Ocarina, then turned a concern gaze back to her. "Do you want me to play the song of healing for you?"

Silver Spoon groaned as she slid down the wall into a sitting position, placing her head in her hooves. "Diamond Tiara, what did I ever do to deserve this!" she sobbed. "You could have locked me in here with Snips. You could have locked me in here with Snails. Heck, you could have locked me in here with a freaking leper... But no... I got Button Mash!"

Button Mash's Ocarina reached a high note as he abruptly ceased playing. "Diamond Tiara?" he asked.

"Yes!" Silver Spoon snapped impatiently. "Diamond Tiara!"

"You're making it sound as if this is all her fault. I mean, sure, this game was her idea, but you didn't have to play."

Silver Spoon sighed exasperatedly, keeping her face firmly planted in her hooves. "Diamond Tiara tricked me into playing this game... Said the bottle was rigged to land on Rumble."

"How do you rig a bottle?"

"I don't know, okay? I just believed her!"

Button Mash took a seat at the opposite end of the closet from where Silver Spoon sat. She could hear the colt resuming his game as the sounds of battle and blood letting once again filled the dark room. "She's your friend, isn't she? Why would she do that to you?" he asked.

"Because, she knows I like Rumble," Silver Spoon frowned. "And she likes him, too. So she tricked me in order to eliminate me as her competition... And now here I am, stuck in here with the most annoying little dweeb on the planet. And to make things worse, she'll most likely cheat in order to have her alone time with Rumble... She'll probably go as far as to brag about it tomorrow, too."

Button mash continued to play his game, but something was suddenly different in his eyes. He was grimacing. It was like he was formulating something, piecing something together in his head. He looked less like he was focusing on his game, and it looked more like he was deep in thought. "Are you on speaking terms with Sweetie Belle, by any chance?" he suddenly asked.

"That blank flank?" Silver Spoon frowned in revulsion as she spat the word like a curse. "I don't associate with blank flanks. Which reminds me, you're a blank flank. So maybe we should stop associating?"

"So that's a no." Button concluded.

"Yes."

"So it's a yes, then?"

"No! I meant, no, I'm not on talking terms with Sweetie Belle, okay?"

"Alright, then," Button Mash chuckled mischievously.

Silver Spoon cocked her head to the side. What was that weird little colt thinking about? She pondered over what the intent behind his question and his odd behavior could be until his next statement knocked her for a loop.

"You frown a lot. Especially when I'm in the room. I wish you could at least a fake a smile for me just one time. I think you're cute when you smile."

Silver Spoon rolled her eyes. She knew she was cute, she didn't need some spazoid to tell her that! But it still somehow caught her off guard. Was this his weird little way of trying to come on to her? She looked down, her hair covering her eyes so as to not risk their gazes meeting. She didn't want to talk to him anymore. The little twerp was beginning to give her the creeps.

There was a long, awkward silence of nothing but the sounds of Button Mash's game until he finally said, "Time's almost up."

"Thank Celestia!" The relieved filly sighed. "How much time left?"

"One more minute."

Silver Spoon picked her self up and dusted herself off. "Don't think this hasn't been a little slice of heaven."

"Hence the name of the game," chuckled Button Mash.

As Silver Spoon stood there, ready to bolt the very second the time was up, her mind went back to what Mash had said to her only a few minutes ago. Why did he tell her she was cute? That compliment came so far out of left field. She glanced down at him. The little creeper's eyes were as they always were: glued to that stupid Joyboy of his. She hoped the deranged little weirdo wasn't developing a crush for her. He was definitely strange enough to be one of those stalker types.

Button paused his game and stood up, ready to follow her out of the door.

"Listen to me," Silver Spoon jabbed Button Mash in his chest with the edge of her hoof. He just stood there and smiled at her like he was amused by the gesture. "Nothing happened in this closet between us. Nothing! So I better not hear that you've been going around the school telling everypony differently!"

"Don't worry, I wouldn't do that," Button Mash assured.

"You better not!"

"I won't!" Said the colt defensively. "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" He swung his arm and struck himself in the eye with his hoof to illustrate his oath. Button stood there, motionless, his hoof buried deep in his vulnerable cornea. It took a full three seconds for the fallacy of his actions to register in his mind. Then, after a calm, deep breath, he suddenly cried in pain and collapsed to the ground, writhing in his self-inflicted agony.

Silver Spoon's eyes widened in surprise.

"My eye!" he wailed as he tossed about in hysterics. "This is the worst pain ever!"

Silver Spoon, thoroughly amused by the clumsy colt's antics, broke into musical string of giggles. She held a hoof over her mouth in a vain attempt to restrain her mirth, but it was of no use.

"It's not funny!" Button insisted as he wiped a tear from his eye.

"No, no it isn't," chuckled Silver Spoon. "It's hysterical! You're such a clumsy little dweeb!""

Suddenly the closet door flung open. The two young equines squinted as the light from outside burned their retinas.

"Alright, you two, time to give somepony else a chance!" Diamond Tiara's voice rang out.

When Button and Silver's eyes adjusted to the light, they could see that the fillies and the colts were all crowded around the closet, their eyes gleaming with anticipation as to what may have occurred within the confines of the closet during the seven minute time span. Diamond Tiara shoved her way to the forefront of the throng. She looked down at Button mash, who still lay sprawled out on the ground, then she looked at Silver Spoon, who stood over him still half-smiling.

"Geez, Sil," Said Diamond Tiara, sounding impressed yet horrified, "I know you don't like him, but you didn't have to hurt him."

"I didn't!" Insisted Silver Spoon. "He did that to himself."

"Whatever." Diamond waved a dismissive hoof. "Truth be told, his face is in better condition than I thought it would be in after being locked in there with you."

Silver Spoon narrowed her eyes. Was that supposed to be a joke? That wasn't even clever. "Haha," she laughed humorlessly. It was then that Silver Spoon felt overwhelmed by a strange emotion. She didn't like being tricked, and the way Diamond carried on as if Silver's seven minutes in hell had never happened was infuriating. The fact that Diamond herself was the one who orchestrated the whole thing further compounded the wound. It was like adding oil to a fire that was already burning inside of her. Silver's face turned red, her glasses steamed up, and she gritted her teeth until a feeling clawed at her innards. The emotion she felt was a desire for retribution. She didn't like the idea of enacting revenge on a friend. She doubted she would even get away with it. Diamond Tiara had ways of making you pay if you aroused her ire. She was extremely vindictive, and even petty at times.

Button Mash suddenly wedged himself between the two fillies as if he had something to say.

"What do you want, dork?" Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara said in unison.

Button smiled sweetly at Silver Spoon, making her feel uneasy. He then turned toward Diamond Tiara - his visage hardening into that of a wild beast. He jabbed his hoof mere inches away from Diamond's face, which made her flinch back. It was then that he spat in a deep and guttural tone that almost didn't sound like his.

"BortaS blr jablu'DI' reH QaQqu' nay'"

A wide-eyed Diamond Tiara, after several seconds of stunned silence, finally said, "What?"

Button's face softened again into that carefree, whimsical smile of his. "Look it up," he advised before turning around and making his way through the stunned crowd, toward the table upon which sat the refreshments.

A dish best served cold

It was getting late in the evening, and the game of spin the bottle persisted. The reactions from all the mismatched pairs who were forced to enter the closet was entertaining in a morbid way. Sometimes the filly would look happy with the one whom the bottle of destiny had chosen for them, while the colt looked horrified. The other times the situation was in vice versa.

The most entertaining part was when Scootaloo spun the bottle, and it pointed to a chunky colt with a burger on his flank. The poor boy looked terrified. "I-I need time to mentally prepare!" he pleaded as Scoots dragged him by his tail to the closet, closing the door behind her. Seven minutes later, the door flung open, Scootaloo confidently striding out with a big grin on her face. The poor colt was left on the ground, curled up in a little ball, babbling requests for his mother as he shook uncontrollably in a fetal position.

"Dang, Scoots!" Said Apple Bloom. "What'd ya do to the poor guy?"

"I made a stallion out of him!" Scootaloo chuckled with an almost sadistic grin.

Most eight year old kids simply didn't seem mature enough for a game like this. Most of the time when the seven minutes were up, the pair would storm out of the closet - and it was obvious that they did just as Silver Spoon and Button Mash did: Just sit on opposite ends of the closet as far away from each other as possible, while awkwardly trying to avoid eye contact.

This game was a stupid idea, and all because Diamond Tiara wanted to have her little nuzzle session with Rumble! It was becoming more and more suspicious to Silver Spoon as to why the bottle would never point to Rumble. There were a few times when Silver could have sworn the bottle was about to land on him, but it would always some how pick up a bit of last second momentum, and the neck would pass him. Something about this didn't smell right.

Silver Spoon was unable to relieve herself of the indignent frown on her face. She would look at Diamond Tiara, scowling as she drank deeply from her punch cup. Diamond always seemed to have some clever remark, or insult prepared for the couples leaving the closet, then she'd look at Silver Spoon, as if to await her contributory insult, or maybe she was expecting her to laugh at her cruel muses. Whatever the case was, Silver Spoon said nothing. She had nothing but sour looks for her. Diamond Tiara didn't seem to care. In fact, she seemed to be quite the little expert at feigning innocents.

Out of curiosity, Silver searched around the room for Button Mash. She wondered what he was up to. It wasn't like she cared; it was just slight curiosity.

That was when she noticed him for the first time without his face buried in his Joyboy. He was no longer with the circle of colts. Since his turn had already came and gone, he was free to move about the party at his own whim and socialize with whomever he wished. Which, oddly enough, was Sweetie Belle.

Did Sweetie Belle even have her turn yet? Silver Spoon wondered to herself as she surreptitiously scrutinized the two from the corner of her vision. She leaned ever so slightly toward them in an attempt to eaves drop on their conversation, but she was not able to hear them over the chatter from the party guests all around her.

Button Mash had a smirk on his face. He made queer gestures with his hooves as he spoke, and he kept making odd facial expressions. Every time he said something, Sweetie Belle would giggle. If Silver didn't know any better, she'd swear he was flirting with her.

At least the little weirdo isn't flirting with me anymore, Silver Spoon told herself. She watched them for a while and, for reasons that she could not understand, she was beginning to feel agitated. Sweetie Belle's stupid little bubbly girly giggles were getting on her nerves. What was Button Mash saying to her that could possibly be so darn funny? The colt wasn't even that clever with anything he said, he was just random and bizarre, and most of all, annoying! Come to think of it, Button Mash mentioned Sweetie Belle when they were in the closet together. What was that about, anyway?

Silver Spoon frowned bitterly, shrugging the riddle off. She continued to be annoyed at how the little twerp was just hitting on her an hour ago, only to start flirting with Sweetie Belle. Sweetie Belle! A filly that was so below Silver Spoon's level, it was pathetic. Maybe the dork was finally grasping the concept of his place in the pecking order of society. He belonged with the Otakus, and the blank flanks, and the other social outcasts. Those two bottom feeders could just go elope right here and now for all she cared.

Button Mash and Sweetie Belle suddenly looked at Silver Spoon. Then Sweetie Belle giggled again, and the two shook hooves, as if they had come to some sort of agreement.

Silver Spoon furled her brow in bewilderment. What the hay was that about? Were they talking about her?

Sweetie Belle then hopped out of her seat and scampered back her friends. Button Mash, of course, drew his Joyboy and resumed his game.

"We only have time for one more round, everypony," announced Diamond Tiara. "And I think, as the birthday girl, it is only right that I should have a go at this fun little game. After all, it would be unfair to force you all to play this game while I sit back and have all the laughs, wouldn't you all agree?"

The colts. The fillies. They all looked at each other, murmuring, shrugging. Diamond Tiara? Being fair? Silver knew better. She wasn't going to buy into it.

"Oh, and for my round," Diamond declared, "everypony has to play, so whoever has already gone, get back in the circle."

The colts seemed to be amused by this. Their "host" had spent the entire time making them all miserable with this game. Everyone at the party thought that Diamond Tiara wasn't intending on playing. They all traded smirks and began to nod in agreement as they all met back in the circle. The fillies seemed just as thrilled by this new rule.

Silver Spoon didn't care, however. She just sat in her stool with her back against the counter top, nursing that same old cup of punch. She knew who the bottle would land on. It didn't matter that she bringing all the other colts back in the game. Heck, she could add the fillies to the circle as well. In fact, she could add everyone in all of Ponyville to this game, and she knew who the bottle would end up pointing to. Silver Spoon knew Diamond Tiara better than anyone. She could tell the filly had something up her sleeve. But what?

Diamond Tiara strutted to the center of the circle of boys and inspected the bottle before her face contorted with disgust. "Ew!" she suddenly squealed. "I am not touching this bottle! It's been sliding around on the ground the whole time! It's probably all dirty!"

The fillies and the colts murmured to each other.

"Fear not!" said Diamond Tiara, raising a placating hoof. "In the interest of fairness, I still intend to play. But, I will need a new bottle. Excuse me for a moment, won't you? Oh, and Sil? Would you mind pressing the little button on the counter top? I'll have our butler carry this filthy bottle away for us. I don't want to touch it!"

"I can just throw it away for you," Featherweight offered from within the circle.

Diamond whirled around, eyes burning. "Don't touch it!"

Featherweight withdrew to himself in shock.

Diamond Tiara composed herself and cleared her throat. "I-I mean, it's okay Featherweight!" said she, smiling. "I will not have one of my party guests reduced to servitude. That kind of work is for the help."

"Uhm... Sure?" Said Featherweight with a shrug.

"There's a good boy." Diamond spun around and continued toward the kitchen.

Silver Spoon watched her friend trot away, then she cast a suspicious glare at the bottle. *She did do something to the bottle!" she thought. Now she's doing away with the evidence. Filthy bottle, indeed! Without a word, Silver hit the red button on the counter that would alert the butler, then immediately hopped down from her stool and made a Bee line toward the center of the circle before the family servant could come take it away.

Everyone around her seemed to be curious as to what she was doing. But she ignored their prying gazes. She picked up the bottle and inspected it thoroughly. Nothing. Silver suspected that magnets had been placed in the neck, but that didn't seem to be the case. And to think that she was actually proud of herself for thinking she had figured her friend's trick out.

Silver rolled the bottle over in her hoof, closely examining every centimeter of it, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

"May I?"

Startled, Silver Spoon looked up. Sweetie Belle was standing right in front of her. Could she, too, have known the game was rigged in some way? Nah, couldn't be. Blank flanks weren't the brightest bunch.

"Knock yourself out." Silver Spoon held the bottle out for Sweetie Belle to take, but the ivory unicorn just stared at it, her eyes narrowed, as if she could see something that Silver Spoon could not.

"Hmm," she wondered, keeping an astute gaze fixed on the glass vessel. "I knew it," she soliloquized with a crooked grin.

"Knew what?" Silver Spoon demanded. "What's wrong with it?"

Sweetie Belle put on the most fake innocent smile that Silver Spoon had ever seen and said, "What's wrong with what?"

"Don't you play dumb with me!" Silver snapped. "Something's fishy here, and you know it."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Sweetie Belle squeaked before twisting around, approaching Button Mash in the circle, and whispering something in his ear.

He said something back to her, but it was too low to be audible. Sweetie Belle nodded before she about-faced and returned to her friends. "I'll take care of it," was her parting words to him.

Silver glared at Sweetie Belle, hating the fact that there was some kind of conspiracy in the room that she wasn't a part of - when all of the sudden, an aged, raspy voice emanating form behind her commandeered her attention.

"I'll be taking that, Miss Spoon."

She turned around to see the family butler standing before her, a hoof extended toward her, his old grey eyes gesturing at the bottle.

"Oh... sure." She placed the bottle in the butler's hoof and, upon obtaining the item from her, he withdrew posthaste to and out of the front door of the living room.

Where is he going with that bottle? Silver Spoon puzzled, placing an attentive hoof on her chin. Could Diamond Tiara have ordered him to run off with it like that? Or, perhaps, hide it? Perhaps even destroy it?

"I'm back~" Diamond's musical voice rang out as she entered the room, a freshly drained cider bottle in her hooves. "I'm sorry for making everypony wait on me," she chuckled nonchalantly, "but I'm a total germaphobe. You know how it is."

Germaphobe my plot! Silver Spoon scowled as she watched the manipulative little party host enter the circle.

"Who's ready?" She said. "I give my personal guarantee that whomever this bottle lands on, this shall truly be a night for them to remember!"

The fillies cheered in excitement. The anticipation of not knowing who it was that Diamond Tiara would be stepping into that horrible closet with seemed to thrill them.

Some of the colts looked nervous. Some of them looked thrilled. Diamond Tiara was the prettiest girl in the class. Even at such a young and tender age, Diamond's elegant, petite little muzzle was a generous prize. Whoever walked into that closet with her would most likely feel like an adult does when they win the lottery.

None of that mattered to Silver Spoon. She knew who the bottle was going to land on. Her heart began to sink. She was supposed to be Rumble's first nuzzle. Her! It wasn't fair! Diamond Tiara was a cheater, a backstabber, and liar! And she was stealing the very first nuzzle that Silver Spoon had always dreamed of having for herself. She drank her punch down and took one last longing look at Rumble, who seemed none the wiser as he busied himself with the preening of his feathers.

He was so cute... The way he nibbled on the edges of his wings like that... So adorable...

Silver Spoon sighed in defeat.

He was supposed to be her's...

No longer able to bear the image of the one for whom she pined, she twisted around on her seat, and reached for the ladle within the punch bowl. She was depressed. She wanted another drink... Of punch.

Suddenly, an uproarious cheer startled her. She turned around in shock, looked at the bottle, and her jaw dropped when she saw who the bottle was pointing to: Button Mash.

The fillies were laughing hysterically. The colts were in an uproar.

"How in the hay does a goober like Button Mash get both Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara in the same freaking night!" one of them exclaimed over the rioting voices.

Silver Spoon turned her head toward Sweetie Belle and noticed the tip of her horn glowing. The light, however, was quickly snuffed out before anyone other than her could notice.

]She used telekinesis to guide the bottle! She then looked at Button Mash, half-smiling in disbelief. But why?

Diamond Tiara, at this point, was looking utterly flummoxed. She bit nervously on her lower lip as she looked around at the ponies who were now chanting in unison.

"DIAMONDMASH!"
"DIAMONDMASH!"
"DIAMONDMASH!"

"No!" Diamond screamed over the ruckus. "Th-that was just a practice spin!" She seized the bottle and spun it again, much to the protestations of the party guests. None of the other fillies got a re-spin. Why should she?

The bottle came to a slow stop, pointing once again at Button Mash.

The crowd erupted into hysterical laughter.

"Woohoo, I gueth ith meant to be!" Shouted Twist.

"Jaja si, bueno!" Howled a very enthused Zipporwhill in her exotic South Equestrian accent. "Chika, you best in the closet, or we gonna lock you in, honey!" Her little Trottish Terrier, who accompanied her wherever she went, yipped in agreement.

Feeling the surge of energy from the crowd, and the relief that Diamond Tiara was actually getting her comeuppance for a change, Silver Spoon could not resist the urge to add her own little contribution. "Yeah. You think seven minutes is bad?" She said with a sassy little bob of her head. "How's an hour sound?"

She then looked at Button Mash, who was already in the closet. That was when Silver Spoon realized that the events that had just transpired were through his machinations. That candid little conversation he had with Sweetie Belle. The way they shook hooves. He must have convinced her to help him with this plan of his... But why? A cheap laugh on Diamond Tiara, perhaps? Payback for the years of taunts, insults, and snide remarks? That couldn't have been it. He was always too in his own little world to even notice all the times Diamond had made fun of him at school. Either that, or he was just really good at pretending not hear her.

Button Mash looked triumphantly at Silver Spoon, an impish little smirk plastered on his face. He turned his head and looked at her sideways with a wink. He then produced his Ocarina so that she could see it in all its annoying, nerdy glory, his devilish smirk insuring that he intended to make the next seven minutes with Diamond Tiara the most miserable moments of her life.

Silver Spoon bit her bottom lip, trying so hard not to smile. Not because she didn't want to smile - she just suddenly felt embarrassed for some reason.

Button Mash playfully raised his eyebrows at her and brought them back down.

Silver Spoon quickly looked away to hide the smile that forced itself across her face. She had to focus on her breathing to keep from giggling out loud.

The crowd of party guests surrounded the reluctant Diamond Tiara and approached her, herding her into the closet with Button Mash.

"I don't want to play this game anymore!" she shrieked. "This wasn't what was supposed to happen!" Before the distraught filly knew what was going on, she had been backed into the closet. Button Mash smiled at her as the door was slowly closing, trapping them together.

"So," said Button Mash, "I have one important question for you."

By this time, Diamond knew that no amount of pleading was going to get her out of the situation in which she now found herself. She sighed, looked at Button, and said, "W-what is it?"

"Empire, or Stormcloaks?"

Diamond sniffed. "I don't know what that means..."

"That a fact?" Button Mash smiled ammusedly. "I'll tell ya all about it... With a song!" He blew a single note on his Ocarina and began to sing in a voice that sounded so off key, and so horrible, it was deliciously comical.

♪Our hero, our hero, claims a warriors heart. I tell you, I tell you the Dragonborn comes — With a voice wielding power of the ancient Norde art. Belie-heve belie-heve the Dragonborn comes♪

The last thing that any of the ponies could see before closing the door on Diamond Tiara, was her pouty, pleading eyes beckoning to be rescued.

Crushing on Mash

The foals watched the closet as whatever was going on behind its doors raged on. It was obvious to all of them that nothing even remotely romantic was happening within the closet's boundaries, but all the ways in which Button Mash must be torturing that poor filly aroused their curiosities.

Silver Spoon, on any other occasion, would feel bad for her friend, but she didn't at the moment. As she reflected on her experience with the eccentric and unpredictable colt, she could admit to herself that it wasn't so bad. Well, it was kinda bad, but she wasn't driven insane. Not in the literal sense, anyway. There were a few moments when she thought she would lose it, but she turned out to be okay, and so would Diamond.

She wasn't even thinking of what ever torment was being thrust upon Diamond at the moment. All she could think of was Button Mash. It was so strange that he would set all of this up. It wasn't like he had gone through much trouble to devise this plan of his, but simply having the drive and initiative to formulate and carry it out made her wonder about him. Why did he do it? Did he have so much fun messing with her, he just had to go after Diamond next?

"I'm hungry," said Rumble. He turned away from the throng and approached the counter top across the living area.

Nopony said anything. They were so focused on trying to listen in on the action within the closet that they didn't hear him. Silver Spoon watched him as he walked away, and decided to take advantage of the opportunity. She could swoop in and steal Rumble away while Diamond was in the closet trapped with Button Mash. And to quote Sapphire Shores: it would serve her right! she thought.

Surreptitiously, stifling a mischievous giggle, Silver Spoon snuck away from the crowd and gave chase. Mine! Mine! Mine! she repeated in her mind, as if she were channeling the thoughts of a ravenous seagull.

Suddenly, a thought entered her mind, and a stunning revelation washed over her, causing her to stop dead in her tracks: Button... Did... Did he set this all up so this could happen?

Could Button really have been such a master engineer of such poetic justice? This was almost the same exact stunt that Diamond had just pulled on her: Locking her in the closet with Button Mash so she could be free to make a move on Rumble unhindered! Eyes wide, she turned around and looked stunned at the closet door.

Is he some kind of mad genius masquerading as a buffoon? Why? Why in Celestia's name would he do this for me? I've never been anything but nasty to him... And... He just delivers Rumble to me on a silver platter?

She smiled appreciatively. Button Mash, you're not such a bad guy, after all! Matter of fact, you're actually kinda... Silver Spoon shook her head. Focus! Focus on Rumble! Not much time! She continued eagerly toward the one she admired. It was time to strike while the iron was still hot.

Rumble had already taken his seat and poured himself a cup of punch. He was just reaching out for the platter of cupcakes when Silver Spoon had finally converged on him and dropped her rump on a stool next to him.

He jumped with a start and withdrew from her. Once he saw that it was Silver Spoon, he relaxed and reached again for the cupcakes, but Silver got to them first, and in a flash, Rumble's plate was stacked high with all of the blueberry pastries from the platter. The colt's favorite flavor, to Silver's recollection. He looked at her with wide eyes, astonished by her speed and dexterity.

Silver Spoon froze and returned the gaze, waiting for him to speak first.

"Uhm... Thanks?" he said, looking at the mountain of sweets before him. "How'd you know blueberry was my favorite?"

"Uh, lucky guess, I suppose," stammered Silver Spoon. "You know, because blueberry is my favorite, so I figured you'd like it, too."

Rumble stuffed one of the cupcakes into his mouth with a big smile. "You figured right," he mumbled.

Silver nodded. "It's funny," she chuckled nervously. "All the stuff we have in common?"

"Sure," he replied. "You want some?" he slid the plate over to her.

Silver looked at the plate, but she couldn't eat. There were so many butterflies flying around in her stomach, she didn't have room for anything else. "No, thank you."

"If you're sure." Rumble shrugged indifferently and selected another cupcake from his plate.

Silver Spoon looked in dismay at a clock that was mounted above the bar. two minutes have passed already? She grasped a cup, filled it, then drank. After setting it down, she cleared her throat and said, "So, Rumble?"

The colt's cheeks bulged as he eyed her in response. "Hmm?"

"There's something I have to tell you."

Rumble swallowed, causing his cheeks to flatten out. "Sure, I'm all ears."

"Okay," Silver Spoon said. She took a deep, cleansing breath as she focused herself. "Rumble." As difficult as it was, she forced herself to look into his eyes. The fact that her glasses were fogging up wasn't making it any easier. "Rumble." she said again. "I..."

He tilted his head as he waited for her to speak.

"Rumble, I like..." She wiped the fog from her glasses, and just stared at him, baffled. Something felt off.

"Is something wrong?" Rumble asked, concerned.

Silver Spoon shook her head. "No, I-I just... Huh." Something was indeed wrong. She wasn't feeling that surge of nervous energy - that thrill he always gave her whenever she was around him. That spark just wasn't there anymore. She couldn't explain it. She had him right here, in front of her. It was the golden opportunity that she had always wanted, and yet, she couldn't take advantage of it.

"You like...?" Rumble asked.

"Uh..." Silver Spoon thought for a moment. "Strawberries?"

"Strawberries?"

"Strawberries," Silver Spoon nodded. "I, uh... I lied to you about blueberry being my favorite flavor. I actually like strawberry. Uh, sorry about that, I guess."

Rumble shrugged. "To each their own."

"Yeah, to each their own."

Silver Spoon spent several minutes wondering quietly to herself about what could be wrong with her. She would glance at Rumble and watch him tear away at those cupcakes, not understanding why she suddenly didn't feel the same way about him. She scratched her chin pensively, utterly stumped.

The closet door suddenly flung open, and out flew a traumatized Diamond Tiara, who desperately shoved her way through the crowd. "I can't take it anymore!" she screamed.

Silver Spoon jumped, her thoughts over the unexpected twist in events brought to a grinding halt.

One of the fillies who had been shoved aside by Diamond's warpath frowned. "Hey, you still have one minute left! Is he really that bad?"

"He tried to sing a kiss from a rose to me in that demon language of his!" Snapped the irate filly.

The filly's mouth upturned in a smile. "That actually sounds pretty funn—"

Diamond cut her off with a glare.

The filly faltered under the red-hot gaze. "Bad is what I meant to say..."

"It's not the language of Demons!" retorted Button Mash as he strode out from the dark confines of the closet. "I'm not advanced in Daedric to improv a song from it." He paused thoughtfully. "However, I just might know enough Mandalorian to—"

"No!" Diamond Tiara cut him off, keeping her distance of a room's length between them. "No more of your weird fantasy languages! I can't take it anymore!"

Silver Spoon checked the clock above the counter. "Di, you've been in there for only six minutes. You still have one more—"

"No! I'm not going to spend one more second in there with him! Him and his stupid... Flute thing!"

Button Mash's eyes widened. His jaw dropped. It was as if he had been struck in the stomach. He looked down, and the shadow cast from his brow elongated across his eyes, obscuring them - concealing them ominously. "I can't believe you went there... You... You can make fun of me all you want, but you do not diss the Ocarina..."

Diamond Tiara bared her teeth toward him like a vicious animal. "Oh, I went there!" she snapped. "I went there, took pictures, and I'm back to get them developed!"

Button Mash grimaced. All eyes in the room were glued to him. It was the first time any had ever seen anything other than a whimsically stupid smile on his face. Button cleared the distance between him and Diamond Tiara. He didn't even need to push anyone out of his way as the path that Diamond had cut still remained.

The moment Button was within close quarters of an unintimidated-looking Diamond Tiara, he stood up straight, his head back, his chest out, and he barked in a commanding voice, "MY LIFE FOR AIUR!"

Something gleamed within Diamond Tiara's eyes, as if some kind of switch in her brain had been flipped. She twitched, then took the same erect and upright posture that Button had assumed and howled, "I LONG FOR COMBAT!"

.........

The room was so silent, the nocturnal symphony of frogs and cicadas emanating from the mansion's garden could be heard from within the den.

The light in Diamond's eyes dimmed, then they shrunk to the size of pinpricks. "W-what just happened?"

Button Mash vogued smoothly with his hooves to the unheard rhythm in his head and said, "I'm all in your mind, girl! You can't see me or these Time Lord mind tricks!"

Diamond Tiara scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Uhm, I think you mean, like, Jedi mind tricks?"

Button Mash smirked, raising a sarcastically proud eyebrow. "You've learned well, my young padawan."

It took a moment, but Diamond's own words suddenly registered with her. "Oh. My. Celestia... Your geekiness is contagious!"

"And there's no known cure!" Button Mash guffawed. "Now come, we have much LARPing to do!!"

"No!" Diamond backed away from him, shaking, her eyes wide and wild with terror. "I-I just need a shower! A very long, very hot shower! With herbs, and salt, and possibly bleach... That will... That's sure to cure it!"

Button smiled maliciously as he prepared to deliver the coup de grâce.

"W-why are you looking at me like that?"

Button stood up, clicking his hooves together and growling, "Wir müssen die verbündeten Hund aus der Castle Wolfenstein schieben!"

Diamond's eyes gleamed once again as the geek switch that Button had somehow inserted into her subconscious was flipped. "Mein Leben gehört dir , meine Führer -Befehl" Her eyes again dimmed. The terrified filly shrieked as she turned around and galloped madly toward the room's exit. "Achtung! Mein Leben! Mein Leben!"

The colts, the fillies, Rumble and Silver Spoon all were frozen in shock and bewilderment.

"What..." Scootaloo said, unable to finish her sentence.

"Was..." Apple Bloom put in.

"That?" finished Sweetie Belle.

"Jedi mind tricks," answered Button Mash.

"Jedis don't exist," put in Dinky.

"That so?" Button Mash smiled proudly as he gestured to himself. "A level fifty Jedi stands before you right now. Can you explain that?"

"Level fifty? Wait, I didn't know Jedis had levels."

"They do in Knights Of The Old Republic."

"I don't know what that is."

Button Mash approached Dinky, placed his hooves on her shoulders, and said, "No, you wouldn't, would you? I'd expect as much from a filthy, filthy casual."

"A filthy what?" Dinky tilted her head, as if wondering if she should be offended or flattered at the comment.

"A casual is somepony who..." Button trailed off as his stomach grumbled. "Hungry now." He then abruptly made a Bee line toward the counter where Silver Spoon and Rumble sat - leaving a confused little Dinky with a new word to ponder over.

As he took his seat, ignoring the curious stares and murmurs from all the other party guests, Button selected his preferences from the array of tiny sandwiches which had toothpicks impaled into them, and a particularly large piece of birthday cake.

Silver Spoon watched him for a while before she decided to speak. "So," she said. "is Diamond going to be okay?"

"That's entirely up to her," Button giggled before cramming a hoof full of those mini sandwiches into his mouth. He then continued to talk, despite his mouth being full. Silver Spoon looked away, unsure if the colt was simply trying to gross her out or if he honestly had no concept of proper dining etiquette. "You know, Diamond Tiara has potential, but right now, she's just unpleasant to be around." He swallowed and took a few droughts from his cup. "She makes fun of me at school every chance she gets - you know, for being a blank flank, and for being socially inept? The years of all the harassment I've put with have made me good at acting like it doesn't bug me, but sometimes, it really gets under my skin."

"Oh," Said Silver Spoon. "Is that why you..." She paused and looked to where Rumble had been sitting. He was gone. She looked back and noticed him talking to a couple of fillies. It was obvious that they were being flirty with him, but she didn't care. The riddle as to why she no longer felt anything for him still perplexed her. She pushed the thought out of her mind to return to her conversation with Button Mash. She would have plenty of time to ponder over the anomaly later. "So," she continued, looking back to Button, "is that why you did all of this? And how did you get Sweetie Belle in on it?"

"Sweetie Belle is a talented telekinetic. She was eager to help me once I explained my plan to her. She had her own reasons for desiring a little retribution against Diamond Tiara, as I'm sure you can understand. She could practically smell the magic emanating from that bottle."

"What kind of spell was it?" Asked Silver Spoon with genuine interest. "And what about the other unicorns? Why couldn't they detect the magic?"

"Detecting the remnants of magic is a daunting technique for a unicorn who's still trying to figure out how their horn works. Thankfully Sweetie Belle is pretty advanced for her age when it comes to magic. That girl's cutie mark is going to be popping up on her flank any day now. Princess Twilight may have some competition coming her way." Button paused to sip from his cup. "As for the type of spell that had been cast on the bottle - you'd have to ask Sweetie Belle. She's the one who understands how that stuff works, being a unicorn and all. She's pretty good at detecting magic, so it was easy enough for her to identify it. I suspect that the first bottle must have had a spell that forced the neck of the bottle to point away from Rumble - then the second bottle contained a spell that would carry out the opposite effect."

"I knew it!" said Silver Spoon with a frown. "But you still didn't tell me why you did it."

Button Mash smiled. "Did you make a move on Rumble yet? I figured that you'd take the opportunity."

Silver Spoon stared dumbly. "Y-you mean you really did plan that all out? The part with me going after Rumble, I mean?"

"Well, yeah. I pretty much told you to."

"You did?" Silver tilted her head, perplexed.

"Yeah, I told you with my eyebrows. I just happen to speak a little Delphon."

"Del-what?"

"Delphon," Button repeated. "Its an alien race that communicate with their eyebrows. You're acting like you've never seen an episode of Doctor Who!" Button Mash demonstrated by twitching his brow sporadically with a series of comical gestures.

Silver Spoon laughed. "Is that why you twitched your eyebrows at me before the closet closed?"

"Yeah, I mean, I thought it would look suspicious if I suddenly approached you and whispered in your ear to tell you what was going on. I really didn't think that far ahead. So, hoping that you were on the same wavelength as me, I uttered a quick phrase to you with my eyebrows."

"And what did you say?" Silver Spoon asked, amused.

"Cheese," Button replied.

"Cheese?"

"Cheese."

"Okay... even If I did, in fact, speak that odd eye brow language... How would that have informed me of anything?"

Button Sighed impatiently. "Cut me a break, it's the only word I know!"

Silver Spoon face-hoofed. "You still haven't told me why you did all of this."

"You mean you still don't know?" Asked Button.

Silver scratched the back of her head thoughtfully. "Well, I originally thought you did it out of revenge... But... To tell you the truth, I can't understand your motives now... It feels almost like you did this for me more than for you."

Button said nothing. His only reply was a big, goofy smile, which made Silver Spoon smile. "What?" she said, trying not to laugh. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I did it," Said Button Mash, looking away shyly, "to make you smile. Because you're cute when you smile. Haven't I already told you that?"

The whites of Silver Spoon's eyes slowly grew to the size of saucers, not believing, nor wanting to accept the colt's answer. "I'm..." Their was a quiver in her voice. "I'm nothing but mean to you. All I've done up until tonight is call you terrible names... Why in your right mind would you ever want to do anything nice for me? To make me smile? That doesn't make sense."

"Right mind?" Button laughed as he folded his arms on the table and rested his chin on them. "Who truly is in their right mind? That's such an abstract term. I simply do the things that I do for the reasons why I do them, and I did this to make you smile."

Silver Spoon was still baffled by this revelation. She couldn't understand why, but the colt's answer angered her. "But I'm nothing but mean to you!" she insisted. "You're insane to do anything nice for me."

"Sanity is irrelevant!" Button Mash laughed.

"Stop trying to sound all philosophical!" Silver barked. "You are literally insane. You're crazy. I'm mean to you. I go out of my way every day to make you feel bad. And you do something nice for me, just so you can see me smile? Do you listen to yourself when you talk? Do you know how messed up that sounds?"

The party guests who still lingered halted their games and conversations to turn their attention on the irate filly. Silver Spoon awkwardly looked around the room at all the eyes on her. "I, uh." She couldn't think of what to say. Out of embarrassment, and still caught off guard by Button Mash's intentions, she was speechless. She looked back at Button Mash, who was still smiling at her, and for some reason, she wanted to be anywhere but where she was at the moment. "I, uh," she said again, but much quieter. "Bathroom."

Button Shrugged. "Take your time."

Silver Spoon hopped down from the stool and made her way to the restroom, relieved that all the party guests had resumed their merrymaking.

She exited the den, walked through the mansion's main lobby, and entered the guest bathroom. She washed her face in the marble sink, and gazed deeply into her reflection in the murky, soapy pool of water that had accumulated in the basin - not believing the sudden surge in emotions that were overwhelming her.

She felt hot. It felt like her stomach was twisting and churning in her belly. Her cheeks and ears burned hotter, brighter than that of embers among a bed of smoldering coals. Her chest throbbed in a way that not even Rumble could make it throb. So horrified, so confused, and so surprised by her own feelings was she that she began to weep. It wasn't until she said it out loud that she finally came to grips with what she was feeling, and for whom she was feeling it.

This was no simple crush. No. This was different. This was more powerful. This emotional drive breached and extended well beyond the borders of such a label. She had never felt something this strong for anyone. It was the first time in her life that she felt it, but she knew what it was.

"I'm in love with Button Mash..."

Ulterior motives

It wasn't fair. Why Button Mash? Of all the colts in the school, no, the world! Why did her first love have to be him? Button Mash - the one colt who, if anypony were to tell her she'd fall in love with an hour ago, would send her into a hysterical fit of laughter until she painted the windows with an ever-continuous torrent of projectile vomit!

Oh, the irony! It was like Cupid was playing a cruel joke. Silver Spoon needed this obsession to stop. She wanted to just swallow it down and keep it repressed. Never had she felt so irrational in all her life. She never wanted to see him again, yet she felt like she needed to. It was like an appetite that demanded to be sated. It was driving her insane. She literally felt like she'd go mad if she didn't see him at least once more before leaving, which was what she wanted to do now. With Diamond out of commission, seemingly for the remainder of the night, she really had no reason to linger.

"That's it," she said as she shambled nervously across the lobby floor. "I'll just leave."

She eyed the large double doors at the head of the massive lobby. It was the exit. She could just leave without saying anything. But it wasn't like she could hide form Button forever. She would see him at school when the weekend was over. Keeping her feelings a secret took top priority. Nopony could know. It would ruin her. She would surely lose all her friends, and she'd be ostracized like a pariah! Like the very one she was hellbent on avoiding.

She quickly strode to the doors, ready to bolt, but then she hesitated as her desire began to override her judgement.

What would have been the harm in just talking to him? Just this once? It was only right to thank him for the way he tried to help her, and perhaps apologize for all the mean things she had said to him. The way he did everything just to make her happy, despite the bullying and harassment she had put him through in the past. Trying to set her up with Rumble. Enacting such poetic revenge on Diamond Tiara for her. It was just so sweet of him... Random, but very, very sweet.

He did what he did to make her smile...

Such an odd reason. So inexplicable. That colt was such an enigma. Was that why she suddenly felt attracted to him? Could it really have been out of some sort of macabre desire to know what made him tick? Why he says the things he says, and why he does the things he does? Or perhaps it was his bizarre act of kindness that evoked these sudden feelings. Maybe it was some kind of dormant sense of guilt manifesting as misguided affection for treating him so badly. The way he would just suddenly do something for her like this, despite all the negative treatment; it was quite the conundrum.

Silver Spoon shook her head. She was thinking too deeply into the matter. She looked down at her reflection in the finely polished tile floor.

All just to make her smile? Could he possibly have liked her, too?

She forced the thought out of her head, not about to entertain such fantasies. Even if he did like her back, it wouldn't work. If she could just avoid him long enough, maybe these irrational feelings would disappear. She just needed to talk to him one more time before going back to treating him like he was an outcast. Maybe she could just say at least one kind thing to him. He deserved that at least that.

She dawdled for a moment longer, then said to herself with a strong finality in her tone, "I'll just thank him for what he did, and then I'll go home. Nothing more!" Silver looked down and observed her reflection once more. "You got this!" she bolstered. "Just thank Button, go 'round mum's, kill Phillip, have a cup of tea, and wait for all of this to blow over!" She paused in her walk toward the den. "Wait, who the heck is Phillip?" she reflected before shrugging the question away. She had to focus on the task at hoof.

Swallowing, she placed her hoof on the door. Just before pushing it open, she could hear Button talking to someone.

"No, the first three were called Dragon Warrior. It wasn't until the fourth one that came out when the name was changed to Dragon Quest."

Silver's ears twitched like little grey satellites as she tuned in to Button Mash's mellifluously nasally voice. It was like musical notes made of honey dancing throughout the air, entering her ears, making their way down through her body, then wrapping around her heart, forcing it to beat even harder. Much to her chagrin, that nerd lingo of his was beginning to grow on her, like a minstrel singing epic tales in an exotic language that she did not understand. It threatened to impassion her - making her want to know more about the... Dragon Quest? Whatever that was.

Her face felt hot. She knew she was blushing.

"So much for impassiveness," she said to herself. She took a breath, bit her lip, and eased the door open. Very carefully she peaked from around the wooded barrier. He was playing his Joyboy as he conversed with Snips at the table. It looked like the stubby little colt was doing away with the last of the refreshments.

"But that still doesn't excuse them for making ten an MMO." Button said.

"It made the game better!" insisted Snips. "You can join parties in this one. You can even choose your Job Class."

"You could do that in nine!" Retorted Button, throwing his hooves out. "I'm not going to continue to give a company my money every month for a game I've already paid for. It's the principal of the thing, Snips."

Snips scowled. "But you can't join parties in any of the other ones!"

"You meet your party along the way through all of the Dragon Quest games!"

"Yeah, but they're all NPCs!"

Button Mash set his Joyboy down and rubbed his temples. "No, they're not! They're not freaking NPCs if you can play as them! That's exactly what makes them NOT NPCs!"

"But you still get that immersive feeling of completing separate quests instead of just embarking on one big, played out one - with fifty novels worth of text to read!"

"Immersive? Do gamers even know what that word means anymore?" Button waved his hoofs around in mock-amazement. "Oh, yes. Immersion! Please, tell me all about how hunting down ten Slimes and bringing their essence back to an NPC makes you feel like you're sssooooo drawn into the game's world!"

Silver Spoon gaped in amazement at the ridiculously heated conversation, the pure dorkostarone in the air so thick, it could be cut with a knife. Why... Why am I attracted to this! It felt like the sheer nerd rage permeating the air had made her brain stroke out momentarily, as the two were suddenly arguing over something completely different.

"Oh, one time! That ONE time I called him Zelda!" Snips growled.

"It's blaspheme!" Roared Button. "It's sheer ignorance, forged through stupidity, tempered with the ore of legendary herp, waxed and polished by the derp smith of rere land, who sees it fit only to create wares at his forge of fail for only the most worthy of retards!"

And then, the inevitable happened. Snips ground his teeth, his muzzle wrinkling in a sneer. He drew back with his hoof and swung at Button Mash with all his force.

Button, however, did not even so much as try to evade the blow. Snip's inaccurate strike was off by nearly an entire foot. The momentum from the botched assault sent Snips whirling around in his stool before he fell and smacked the ground behind the counter with a resounding thud.

"My arm won't move!" wailed Snips from behind the counter. "I think I dislocated something!"

Button raised an unamused eyebrow as he picked up his Joyboy and continued his game. "I'm not helping you up this time, because you won't learn anything if I do."

"Can you at least pass me the cupcakes?"

Button rolled his eyes, paused his game, and slid the platter until it fell over the edge, making a loud metal upon flesh sound as it landed.

"Ouch!"

Button unpaused and resumed his game.

"...Thanks," pouted Snips.

"Welcome," replied Button.

The giggle that Silver Spoon tried with all her might to restrain forced itself out of her nostrils in the form of a loud snort. She immediately clapped her hooves over her mouth, letting go of the door, allowing it to slowly open its self.

Button looked up at her in surprise.

The abashed little filly stood under the door frame, her hooves pressed so hard over her snout that it hurt. She felt mortified by the awful sound she had just made, which, to her, was comparable to that of a warthog clearing its sinuses into a microphone at a death metal concert. The blush on her cheeks returned with a vengeance, burning hotter than it ever had before.

"You alright?" asked Button.

Silver nodded.

"You sure? You look kinda... Red."

"Uh, y-yes, well..." Silver Spoon cleared her throat to stall for time. "I may be running a fever," she lied as she nervously approached the table.

"A fever?" Said Button Mash, looking startled by the news. "Are you experiencing stomach cramps as well?"

"Uh, sure, why not?" Silver took her seat next to Button and turned to survey the room. Less than half the guests now remained. "I just wanted to say thanks for your--"

"A fever," Button Mash said with a thoughtful hoof on his chin. "It's always the first sign," he said quietly, as if speaking to himself.

Silver observed the concerned and thoughtful expression on Button's face with curiosity. She was almost afraid to ask, but she couldn't stop herself. "First sign of what?"

"You ever play any of those zombie apocalypse themed survival horror games? Whenever you read a diary or researcher's journal, they always start writing about unexplainable fevers and stomach cramps... Before..."

"Before what?"

Suddenly, Button leaned in toward Silver, and placed a hoof on her head. He narrowed his eyes in a grimace. "You are kinda hot."

Silver poured all of her focus into keeping her breathing under control. He was so close to her. He was touching her. She began to quiver nervously.

"Have you come into contact with any vials of strangely colored fluid?" Button inquired.

"N-n-n-n"

"Oh no, problems with speech, too!" Button bent down and pressed the side of his face to Silver's chest.

"W-what are you—"

"Listening for your heart beat... It sounds like a drum!"

"O-oh, uhm..." Silver could not articulate. No matter how hard she tried.

Button then straightened and grabbed silver by her arms. "Answer the question! Vials of strange fluid: yes, or no?"

Silver Spoon swallowed. "No, I can't say that I have."

"Good, that rules out the T-virus mutagen," sighed the neurotic colt as he sat back in his seat. He seemed to be relieved for a moment, then his wide, panicked eyes snapped back up to her as a new question came to him. "Has anyone bitten you?"

The barely articulate filly's eyes widened at the array of increasingly bizarre questions. "I don't think so..."

"It's not an infectious disease," he sighed again. Then, "Any exposure to radiation?"

"What?"

"Have you come in contact with unusually high amounts of radiation? You know, like, do you ever heat your food in a microwave?"

"Yes?"

"I knew those things would be the death of us all!" Button suddenly cried out, shaking a wrathful hoof at some unseen entity. "That's why I never use them. Every time my mom buys one, I'm always sure to take it outside with a baseball bat. She always gets mad when I do it, but she'll thank me some day! She'll thank me!" Button then turned around and pointed his hoof out to the remaining party guests. "You'll all thank me when we're not shambling around with gravely voices and using bottle caps for currency!"

Unmoved by the boisterous colt's outburst, the guests shrugged to each other and carried on with their business. Nothing Button did really surprised them. To them, it was just Button being Button.

Silver Spoon gawked at him silently. Why... Why am i attracted to this deranged lunatic?

Several moments had passed when Button twirled around in his seat and looked back at her. Silver quickly looked away as she realized she had been staring at him.

"Do you want me to help you get to a doctor before—"

"I'm not turning into a ghoul!"

"How can you be sure?"

Silver Spoon face-hoofed. "I'm just sure, okay?"

"Well, if you're sure, but you should probably get home anyway, if you're running a fever."

"What fever?"

"The fever... The one you said you had?"

"What are you talking ab—" The filly froze as she remembered her own lie that she had forgotten during Button's manic bout of hysterics. "Oh, yeah!" she said. "That's right... My fever. Yeah, I should be heading home."

"Feel better," said Button. "But before you leave, what were you going to say to me?"

"Huh?"

"You sounded like you were going to thank me for something."

Silver Spoon chided herself for forgetting that too, but she reposed quickly and said, "Yeah, I wanted to thank you for trying to set me up with Rumble. That was super sweet of you. And..." She looked away and nervously played with her braid. "Maybe you're not so bad. I'm sorry I've been so mean to you all this time." She looked down and, for the first time, felt genuine guilt as she remembered every nasty name she had ever called, wishing she could somehow take it all back.

Button's eyes darted around, as if he was having difficulty making eye contact with her. He picked his Joyboy up, and the screen came to life as he continued his game.

This reaction struck Silver Spoon as odd. Why did he suddenly become so quiet? He was just spazzing out a second ago, now he was back to acting like he was in some sort of shell.

"Did it not work out with Rumble?" he asked, his voice low and methodical.

Silver Spoon had carried out what she set out to do. She apologized to him, and she thanked him. But she didn't want to leave. This was her chance to talk to him. Maybe get to know him a little better. What would be the harm in that?

"I didn't tell him," Silver Spoon replied.

"Why?"

"I don't know... Probably because I found out that I didn't like him as much as I thought I did. I didn't realize it at the time, but maybe it's because..." Silver thought long and hard over what she was about to say. "Because I like somepony else." She looked away from him, not liking where the conversation was going. But she couldn't stop herself. The only thing she could do was try as hard as she could not to be too obvious.

Button Mash didn't respond. He was still being unusually quiet. He was acting just as he was when he was locked in the closet with her: Withdrawn, as if he had put some sort of barrier around himself.

"Why did you do it?" Silver asked.

"Why did I do what?"

"You know what I mean!" Silver snipped.

Button sighed impatiently. "I told you why I did it."

"But it doesn't make sense. What kind of big pay off is a smile? You formulated and carried out that crazy plan of yours just for a smile? There has to be an ulterior motive."

"I told you why I wanted you to smile."

"Because I'm cute when I smile..."

"Yes."

"But I still don't understand."

Button grimaced at his game's screen. It took him a while to answer, but finally, "Remember when I told you that I rarely see you smile, especially when I'm around? I just wanted to see you smile. And I wanted the satisfaction of knowing that I was the one who put that smile on your face. That's really all there is to it."

Silver felt like a broken record, asking the same questions over and over again, but the surly colt was making it clear that what he revealed was all he was going to give her.

She knew there was more to his motives. There had to be.

"Sil," Button finally said.

Silver Spoon looked at him, waiting for him to speak.

The apprehensive colt faltered. "Never mind."

"No, what? What is it? Ask me anything you want."

"Since when do you care about anything that I have to say?"

Silver shrank back in surprise. That wasn't a reaction she was expecting.

"I didn't mean to say that!" Button set his game down and rubbed the back of his head in a series of twitchy, vigorous strokes. "I'm not good at expressing myself - especially when I'm nervous. I'm sorry. I have really bad social anxiety issues. The ADD doesn't make it any easier."

Silver cocked her head in puzzlement at the colt's sporadic body language. Was that some kind of nervous tick? ADD and an anxiety disorder would definitely explain a few things.

"Oh, Button dear~" Scootaloo sang.

Button's head perked up, and he turned to acknowledge her, as if he had completely forgotten about the conversation he and Silver were having.

"You know who my favorite video game character is?" Scoots said with a smirk.

Sweetie Belle tugged at her tail and said, "Hey, Scoots, I don't think this is a good idea. You don't know how crazy he gets when—"

"Shush, I got this," Scootaloo laughed. "Do you know how awesome a troll cutie mark would look?"

"Who's your favorite video game character?" Button asked with legitimate interest. He was smiling again. Silver noted his odd swing in behavior as mildly amusing. At least he didn't seem to be upset anymore.

"Zelda!" Scoots said with a wicked little smirk.

"Well, yeah, Zelda is pretty cool." Button agreed.

"'Cause, you know..." The cheeky filly turned her head ever so slightly. "He's, like, such a hunk! His green tunic really brings out the glimmer in his eyes."

Button's eye twitched. "Foul she-devil... Do not taunt me..."

"You're right, I'm sorry about that," smirked the mischievous filly. "But hey, do you know who my favorite bounty hunter is?"

Button tilted his head. "IG-88?"

"Nope," Scoots repressed a laugh. "Metroid!"

Button's eyes parted off in separate directions. He made a ghastly growling sound as his mouth began to froth. "Her name isn't Metroid!" He leaped off of his seat to give chase.

Scootaloo giggled as she retreated. "Come and get me!" she taunted.

"You better pray that I don't catch you, because if I do, I'm going to suplex you through a table!"

Silver Spoon watched Button chase her all over the room to the sound of the Benny Hill chase music playing in her head. She laughed as she watched the two. In the back of her mind, she was thinking of how cute Button was when he was angry. However, she quickly suppressed the thought for fear of bringing around another bout of blushes and inarticulate stuttering.

With a sigh, she turned around and noticed Button's Joyboy. She became curious as to how such a paltry little thing could captivate the colt so. She picked up the foreign device and sifted through the various selections of downloaded games, apps, and options until she saw something that caught her interest.

She read the name of the application out loud to herself: "My little pony maker." The cute little character model of a filly wearing a Luigi hat that popped up and rotated on the screen when she highlighted the option was what caught her attention. Intrigued, she opened the function and was taken to a selection menu: Create A Pony - Edit A Pony - View Pony Gallery - Street Pass Ponies - Delete Ponies.

Silver Spoon liked the idea of creating her own character. She was almost tempted to create her own cute little avatar, just to see how it would turn out. But she didn't know the first thing on how to go about doing it. Instead, she selected the View A Pony Gallery. A cute little 3D model of a chibi Button Mash popped up and waved at her. Thoroughly amused by the animation, Silver giggled. It wasn't long before she figured out how to take control of him, and was able to guide him around some sort of plaza filled with other little imitations of ponies that Button had customized.

One of them, a mare, was labeled 'Mom.' Silver had the mini rendition of Button approach her, and they engaged each other with an animation of them hugging each other.

"Aww."

She approached another one, a colt, who was labeled 'BigBro.' The larger colt snared Button in a headlock and gave him a noogy. Button kicked and squirmed with a grumbling expression as he tried to free himself. That was when Silver realized that the interactions with the other ponies in the plaza must have been customizable.

Silver spent some time playing around with the application. The reactions that the 3D model of Button would engage in with the representations of his family were rather heartwarming. The one where Button approached the 'Dad' avatar was particularly entertaining. They stood a distance from one another, bowed, and began to sword fight with Katanas. Button was the victor at the end, standing triumphantly with a hoof over his slain father, who now had exes over his eyes as cherry blossoms rained down upon them.

The plaza was bustling with other avatars, some of them fantasy characters from various cartoons and sci-fi themed movies. She scrolled through them until a particular avatar caught her attention: she wore glasses, pearls, and her hair was done in a platinum braid. The name under her was simply named 'Sil.' The name was bracketed with, oddly enough, little hearts...

Silver Spoon didn't notice any other models representing anyone else from the school. Why was she in here?

She looked back and saw a panting, sweating Button mash still chasing Scootaloo, who showed no signs of fatigue. She continued to smile and giggle as she evaded him, sometimes slowing down and letting him think he was about to catch her, only to escape him at the last second.

Silver Spoon returned to the Joyboy and looked again at her avatar. A powerful curiosity gnawed at her. Unable to resist, she proceeded toward the virtual representation of herself.

Button stopped in front of her, sat back on his haunches, and shyly swirled little circles on the ground with his hoof. He then produced a Chao plushie and held it out for her to take. Silver's avatar took it and squeezed it affectionately, causing a little sweat drop to appear on the hapless toy's head. Then she set it aside, and they both blushed as they leaned in to each other - wrinkling their muzzles as they shared a gentle nuzzle. Little pink hearts materialized about them, encompassing them, only to disappear with little pops to give way to new ones.

Silver watched the animation again, not even beginning to know what to think. Her face turned beat red as all her questions were now answered. He likes me. He likes me back.

She watched it over and over again, even when Button Mash finally returned, panting and gasping to catch his breath. Silver Spoon didn't even notice him. She was entranced by the looping animation.

"Contrary......... To...... Popular belief..... Playing video games...... Does not make you a..... World class athlete...." He wheezed as he laid his head down on the table.

"Is the little baby all tuckered out already?" jabbed Scootaloo.

"Go....Away....You stupid.....Chicken..."

Scootaloo just laughed in response before checking her flank, her excited smile dimming into a dismayed frown. "Nothing? Seriously!"

"HA.....HA!" Button wheezed triumphantly. "You suck!"

Scoots harrumphed with her nose in the air as she walked away.

Button's breath began to even out. He stood up in the seat and looked around for his Joyboy before noticing that Silver Spoon had it. "Oh, there it is."

Silver's eyes snapped to him. "Yeah, uhm, you don't mind?" She asked as she desperately tried figure out what button would close the function. Nothing she did in her furious button mashing was able to interrupt the animation once it was in play however.

"Nah, I don't mind. The game I was playing auto saves when you close it." He paused to study her frantic movements - the intense look she had in her eyes. "Looks like you're really getting into it," he said. "What game are you playing?"

Silver squeezed the Joyboy to her chest, concealing the screen. "Uhm.... Duck Hunt?"

Button raised on eyebrow. "Duck Hunt."

"Or... DDR?"

The suspicious colt's eyes began to widen as if he had stumbled upon some horrifying conclusion. "Sil, what are you playing?" he demanded.

Silver Spoon didn't speak. She didn't move. She just looked at him, her face ridden with guilt. She knew she stumbled upon something that wasn't meant for her eyes.

Button Mash suddenly lashed out and wrenched his Joyboy from her. He looked at the screen, mortified, the color flushing from his face. He looked up at her. His mouth twitched several times as if he were attempting to speak, but he was bereft of words.

"Button... I don't know what to say."

"Don't say anything." The Joyboy clicked as Button silently switched it off. "I'm going home now."

"What? You don't have to—"

"It's okay. We'll pretend you never saw it. Or, at least I will. I promise I'll delete you when I get home. I'm sorry." The look on Button's face was so humiliated, so pained, so mortified, it was heartbreaking.

"You have nothing to apologize for!"

No response. Button hopped down from his seat and immediately made his way to the door with long and fast strides.

"Button!"

The colt opened the door and left the room. Silver gave chase, making her way to he door before it could close. Button was already half way passed the lobby by the time she cleared Den.

"Button!"

The colt placed a hoof on the large double doors.

"Why didn't you tell me!" Silver Spoon demanded. Her brain was now working on auto pilot. She desperately didn't want him to leave. Not like this. She was probably confusing him by suddenly acting like she was concerned after all the years of treating him like sub-equine trash, but she couldn't let him leave.

Button spoke, but he didn't turn around. He just kept his head low, his shoulders rigid. "If you were me, and I were you, would you tell me?"

Much to Silver Spoon's guilt, the colt's words registered with her. They made sense, and they cut her deep. How could he tell her? She had always treated him like garbage. The colt was likely speculating and dreading all the ways in which Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara would humiliate him over this.

Button Mash slowly turned his head, and gazed tearfully at Silver from over his shoulder. The shattered look in his face was almost too much to take. "Sil, I know you hate me, and you probably hate me even more now, but please, don't tell Diamond Tiara about this."

Fighting back her own tears, Silver found herself unable to form a coherent sentence. All she was able to do was nod and say, "Diamond... Won't.... Tell."

Though his eyes were still watery, Button was able to smile. "Thanks." He opened the door and left Silver Spoon in the lobby.

She suddenly raced for the door to pursue him, but she stopped. What was she doing? This was all for the best. He will most likely never try to talk to her again. This was what needed to happen. They were just too different. It would never work out. Not in a million years. She had her feelings for him, but they would surely pass, and she would be able to go on with her life.

Silver Spoon turned around and slid with her back against the double doors. "It's all for the best," she chanted to herself as if her words were a prayer. The tears finally welled up in her eyes and overflowed as the guilt began to crush her. Button was walking home alone, probably crying as well. No doubt feeling embarrassed. Dreading the next day of school. She gave him her guarantee that she wouldn't tell Diamond, but he had no cause to trust her on anything she said.

It didn't matter though. Silver decided that she would never pick on him again. And she won't let anyone else pick on him either. She could protect him. As far as gestures of love, gratitude, and penance, she could at least do that for him.

She softly banged the back of her head against the door. She couldn't deny that she wanted to tell him. She wanted him to know that she felt the same way. The indecisive filly was ready to get back up and give chase, but she again decided against it, pushing her urges down and forcing herself to stay put.

Her desire for him was strong, but her will had to be stronger.

"It's all for the best," she began to chant again, her words becoming less and less convincing every time she recited them.

Clarity

"It's all for the best."

The polish of the tile floor began to run with Silver's tears as she sat against the double doors, forming tiny round blots that ran like little silver dollars shimmering in moonlight.

"It's all for the best."

She removed her glasses and wiped her puffy, bloodshot eyes. The tears had blurred the lenses, making colors and forms seem as if they were melting together like cheap watercolor. She noticed a smear of pink forming into her vision. When she set her glasses back on her face, she adjusted them and realized who it was.

"You okay, Sil?" Diamond Tiara asked. Her hair was wrapped in an improvised bath towel turban. The smell of lavender, honey suckles, and sandalwood wafted from her fur.

"I'll be fine," Silver replied in a soft tone. "Tonight's just been a little weird for me. I think—"

"I know, right?" Diamond interrupted. "I needed the most potent and expensive imported herbs I could find in the house to get that stench of geek off of me! How you survived the whole seven minutes without hanging yourself with your own pearl necklace is beyond me!"

"It wasn't as bad as—"

"First, he starts singing some stupid song about some guy named Ulfrin Raincoat something or other, then he asked me about which type of pokemans I liked. I mean, seriously? Did he really expect me to know what the hay he was talking about?"

Silver Spoon hid her face, concealing her involuntary smirk. "Yeah, that sounds like Butto—"

"How did you do it, is what I want to know."

"It was difficult at first, but—"

"Totally! What a freaking geek! And I swear, if it's the last thing I do, I'm going to get him back for this!"

Silver's head snapped up at the vindictive comment. "What?"

"Oh yeah!" Diamond Tiara sneered, her eyes burning with a sense of purpose. "This isn't over. Not by a long shot!"

"Di, don't you think you're being a bit of a drama queen?"

"He humiliated me in front of the whole student body - at my birthday party! This was supposed to be my special day! Mine! And that little freak ruined it!"

"Don't call him that!" Silver snapped impulsively.

Diamond Tiara gaped aghast at the sudden outburst, shrinking back in surprise.

Silver did not even realize what she had said until she noticed the stunned filly's reaction to it. It was like the words flew out of her mouth before she could even recite them in her mind.

"Did you really just yell at me? Like, seriously?" Diamond inquired, her eyes wide with incredulity.

"I'm sorry!" Silver Spoon blurted. She quickly thought of an excuse that would explain her sudden emotional upsurge - preferably one that would deflect suspicion from her newly discovered fixation on Button Mash. Her face dimmed with self-hatred when she finally discovered a way out of her predicament. "It's..." She hesitated, but then she swallowed hard and forced herself to say it. "It's Button's fault... He, uh, he messed me up pretty good, too. I'm not even in my right mind, I'm so traumatized."

Diamond sighed with a forgiving smile. "Trust me, I understand. I shouldn't have made you go in there with him." She approached Silver and wrapped her in a warm embrace. "I wish I could have given you a respin."

"You were sure quick enough to let yourself have one." Silver Spoon murmured.

"What?"

"Nothing..."

She hugged Diamond back and forced herself to smile. All she would have to do is forget about Button Mash, and she could have her life back. At least she still had Diamond Tiara, who, despite her faults, was still her friend.

"Hey, Sil? What do you say we head down to the spa tomorrow? My treat. You can even spend the night tonight if you want. Randolph can bring us some of those marble cheese cubes you love so much. I think we deserve a little pampering after what we've been through."

"That actually sounds nice." She breathed a sigh of relief. There would be no drama, there would be no ugliness, there would be no revenge. Her life, she thought, could now begin on a slow and steady path to returning to normal. As long as her friend was there for her to pull strength from, she knew she'd be okay. However, this delusion was soon shattered when Diamond's next comment made her blood run cold like ice water through her veins.

"We'll get him back," She hissed, her grip around Silver tightening ominously as the edges of her hooves dug into her back. "I already have a good idea: we can pay a couple boys to beat him up and take his Joyboy from him. Then, we'll make him do something humiliating in order to get it back. Maybe we can drag him into the boys bathroom at school and force him to lick one of the urinals clean. And after he does it, we can just throw that stupid toy of his down on the ground and smash it right in front of him. I'll bet he cries. It'll be hilarious! We can even record the whole thing. I'll host a slumber party the following weekended, and we can just watch it over and over again!"

"Di," Silver Spoon winced, trying her best to make her plea sound more like a suggestion, "That's unusually cruel, even for you. Maybe we could just live and let live?"

"Live and let live?" Diamond broke the hug and backed away from Silver to look her sternly in the eye. "Just who do you think I am?"

Silver was about to answer her, but Diamond cut her off.

"I am the queen bee. And if you mess with the queen bee. Sil. You. Get. Stung! He ruined my party, Sil! Humiliated me in front of everypony! This isn't just some stupid holiday like Nightmare Night or Hearths Warming Eve, this was my birthday! This was Diamond Tiara day!"

It was difficult to comprehend the way in which Diamond Tiara's mind had translated the situation as it had played out. She cheated. Why was she acting like she was such an innocent victim who was so terribly and unjustly wronged? Was she truly so entitled as to think that the world should just play out the way she wanted to, even by dishonest means? Silver Spoon was surprised at her own sense of clarity on the subject. She was always so quick to take her friend's side. No matter what. But for some reason, she just couldn't bring herself in good conscience to agree with her friend this time around. "But it never would have happened if you hadn't made us play that game in the first place," she pointed out.

"Uh, Sil, I didn't hear you complain when you agreed to go first," Diamond spat.

That's because you lied to me! Her comment was irritating, though Silver did her best to conceal her ire. "You told me the bottle would land on Rumble!"

Diamond glanced around nervously. "Yeah, well... I guess there was some sort of mix up," she said - so nonchalantly, it was infuriating. Little did the evasive little princess know that Silver was keen to her plan. It only served to exacerbate the outrage that was beginning to grow within her.

"Mix up, huh?" she challenged, not bothering to hide the skepticism in her voice.

"Yeah, I mean, stuff happens, Sil. You're being a bit of an ingrate. All I was doing was trying to help you... Celestia knows you need it!" Diamond retorted in an insufferably haughty tone.

The irritation that had grown from Diamond's unwillingness to come out and tell the truth was beginning to intensify with that snobbish little comment. It clawed in Silver's belly, struggling desperately to come out. But she had to control it. No matter what, this was her friend she was talking to. Her best friend; her amiga; her everything. The one who she was willingly throwing away her first love for... Her first love, who put her desire for Rumble before his own for her... Just so he could make her happy...

It took a while for her to form a coherent sentence through the anger and animosity that was just screaming to be released, but she managed. "Thank you so much for your help, Di!" she forced through clenched teeth. "But perhaps you have something you would like to admit to me? I swear, I will not be a angry with you. And I promise to take your secret to my grave. But I just have to know: you're not - by any chance whatsoever - lying to me, are you? You didn't try to cheat your way to Rumble, did you? You didn't - by any chance - take advantage of my trust, did you?" Silver Spoon, of course, knew the answers to these questions, but she had to hear Diamond confess. It was bothering her. What would prevent Diamond from pulling another stunt like this in the future if she thinks she can just get away with it?

Diamond Tiara slapped a shocked hoof over her chest as her jaw dropped, as if the very implication of such an egregious misdeed had mortally wounded her. "Silver!" she gasped as tears welled up in her eyes. "The very nerve! All I wanted to do was help you get some alone time with the boy you liked, and you're going to accuse me of this? How dare you! I-I'm hurt. This actually physically hurts! But you know what? I'll forgive you. Because that's what friends do." She nodded self-assuredly to punctuate her statement.

Silver Spoon's eye twitched. A vein in her forehead began to throb. Oddly enough, there was a strange taste in her mouth. It tasted like absolute, unbridled, unadulterated, pure rage. The anger that had clawed at her from within her belly had obviously began its ascent up through her esophagus, and made its way into her mouth. All she had to do was open it up, and it would fly out in full force. Her jaw muscles tightened in an attempt to keep the beast at bay. The creature wanted so badly to be freed. It was like a caged demon was kicking and beating at the back of teeth, demanding to be liberated.

Diamond studied Silver Spoon with a look of disapproval and said, "Sil, this is a bit off topic, but how many cupcakes did you eat? You look like you might have put on a few pounds."

Silver Spoon smiled calmly, breathed in deeply, and out that silly little beast named 'Rage' flew. And it went something kind of like this:

"You are the ugliest, most conceited, vindictive, selfish, manipulative, deceitful, backbiting, sociopathic, loathsome, egotistical, egocentric, self-centered, petulant, divisive, intolerant, insufferable sack of excrement I have ever had the displeasure of associating with!"

Diamond Tiara blenched in disbelief. "Like, I know you didn't just call me ugly!"

Was that really thing only thing she heard?

"Yes, I did! You are ugly! You are disgusting! You are a putrescent sack of vile filth, offensive to all the senses. You are the pure concentrated fecal waste of all the negativity in the world, amalgamated into a pink lump, then excreted from the anus of pure malevolence! You are the never ending turd that constantly snakes its way from a pelvic orifice, like a chocolate ice cream soft serve machine with limitless supplies, and its handle is stuck in the down position! You are poop, Diamond Tiara. Poop! A never ending, infinite, continuous frozen, cold-hearted turd!"

The pink filly blinked. "Y-you... No... Button Mash did this to you, didn't he? We'll—

"Yes, yes he did do this to me. I am finally seeing your true colors, thanks to him. He showed me that there are others out there that are actually willing to put someone else before themselves. That there are ponies out there who are willing to make others happy, simply for the sake of seeing them happy, and not for some sort of personal gain. I didn't understand it at first, but..." Silver spoon placed a hoof over her head as the over exertion of her rant began to bring on a headache. "Good Celestia in a hand basket, I can't believe it took me this long to figure this all out! It's like seeing a brand new color for the first time." She looked at Diamond Tiara, shaking her headache away. "And your color, Diamond Tiara, is brown. Poop brown. And if I ever see you messing with Button Mash, I'll be forced to bring out the pooper scooper on you. And trust me, nopony wants to see that happen!" Silver's braid swung around like a platinum whip as she turned and stamped toward the den, leaving a flummoxed Diamond Tiara in the lobby.

She skirted the bar and approached the unconscious, stubby-limbed colt, who was now snoring in a pile of discarded cupcake wrappers. Silver nudged him. "Hey, wake up!" she gave him a gentle kick, and the somnolent colt's eyes fluttered open.

"Huh, wha—"

"Where does Button live?"

"Who? Wha?"

"Button!" Silver Spoon shook him. "He's your friend, right? Where does he live!"

"Why do you want to know where he lives?" The wide-eyed colt managed over the battering, his head whipping back and forth like a drinking bird toy on speed.

Silver Spoon breathed. She looked around. Everyone was watching her manhandle Snips, their eyes curious. "Because!" she announced to them. "I intend on asking him out!"

One of the fillies giggled. "You're kidding, right? Button?"

"No, I'm not kidding! Nerds are the trend right now. Therefor, Button's freakin' hot, okay? So shut your mouth! And if you have an issue with it, you can submit your grievance to me in the form of writing!"

"Wait, so, nerds are sexy now?" Another asked.

"Yes, especially ones with glasses," said Silver, adjusting her specs haughtily. "But remember, I was wearing them before they were cool... And so was she." she pointed her hoof toward Twist, who looked about the room, meeting the gazes of all the starry-eyed children gawking at her admiringly.

"Uhm.... You know," she shrugged. "Jutht bein' mythelf..."

Silver nodded appreciatively at the distraction before returning to Snips. "Button. Where does he live?"

"Okay, okay. I'll tell you... For a price..."

Silver rolled her eyes and crammed one of the last few remaining cupcakes into the colt's mouth. He swallowed without even bothering to chew, and then he smiled. "He lives not too far from the school. Head down Stirrup Street, take a left down Saddle Court, then you'll see his house. It's the fifth one down the left side. There's a large bird bath out in front with a custom-made statue of Kefka raising his hands to the sky. If you walk by it, it laughs. Don't let it startle you. It's just a motion tracker connected to an audio player.

Silver blinked. "Who in the hay is Kef—" She shook her head. "Never mind! Saddle Court, fifth house down, weird-looking bird bath in the front yard that laughs at you. Got it." She dropped the colt where he previously laid, and exited the Den to meet a scowling Diamond Tiara. The look on her face communicated well enough that she was waiting for her.

"I heard you in there!"

"Good!" Silver flicked her braid, walking past Diamond with her nose in the air.

"Sil, if you walk out on me, you can forget about us! And I want my hair tie back!"

"Fine."

"Fine!"

Silver approached the large double doors and placed her hoof on the knob.

"Silver Spoon! If you walk out of here, I swear I'll—"

"You'll what?"

Silence.

"Oh, and by the way. I think nerds are going to be in for a while. You should probably look into getting some glasses, or perhaps you should invest some time in picking up some gamer lingo, lest you look like a total dweeb."

"I'm the dweeb? I'm the dweeb! Your're the one who suddenly decided to go all gaga over the biggest dork in the school!"

"Yes, and I don't think it would have happened if you hadn't forced me into that closet with him. So for that, I thank you. Thank you. So. Much!" Silver laughed mockingly as she removed the hair tie form the end of her braid, sending her silvery tresses unraveling and flowing over her back like a silky platinum waterfall. "I remember when you gave this to me... It was kindergarten, I believe. It has always been such a special thing to me. But now, it's just an elastic piece of junk." Silver held it out, and let it drop to the floor, as if to symbolize the end of old, and the beginning of new things.

Diamond's jaw began to tremble. "Fine," she sniffed. "Just get out. Get out of my life. I don't need you. I never did!"

Without another word, Silver Spoon turned around and exited the mansion, leaving her former friend behind to sulk in her misery and loneliness.

She had brought it upon herself, thought Silver Spoon with a finalizing nod. She had spent so long doing nothing but trying to please her, trying to be accepted by her, that she had come so dangerously close to becoming her. The clarity she felt, this new perspective on life that she had, it felt cleansing, yet, she now felt incomplete. Removing Diamond Tiara from her heart left a void that desired to be filled, and she knew exactly what she needed to do in order to fill that void.

All she needed to do was track him down.

Lullabies of love

Silver Spoon's affection fueled her eagerness to catch up with Button Mash as the rapid, rhythmic pattering of her hooves echoed through the lamplit streets of Ponyville. She forced herself well beyond the threshold she would have had if it had not been for her pure focus and power of will that had all but given her wings.

She looked to her right and noticed that she was now passing the school. Saddle Court would be coming up any minute now.

Lowering her head, she spiked her pace in a sudden burst of speed as her determination renewed her with a seemingly boundless amount of stamina. Her silver, voluminous hair, now unbound, whipped wildly behind her like a thrashing cat of nine tails that flashed like white gold in the moon light. The few onlookers that were out and about in the twilight hours stood in awe at the quadrupedal silver bullet that blurred past them.

The faster she moved, the faster she could be with him.

She was beginning to think that she might even be able to catch Button before he gets to his house, despite the considerable head start that he had on her. That would be the best case scenario. An awkward bout of questioning from the colt's parents concerning her business with their son at this hour was not something she was prepared for.

The path continued on until Stirrup Street took her through a community of houses, and several side roads that branched off into various neighborhoods. She was no longer in the opulent suburban atmosphere to which she was accustomed, but if she was going to be Button Mash's friend, or, hopefully more than just that, she would need to familiarize herself with the area. Her middle class surroundings were at least reasonable. At least she wasn't in the center of some downtown slum, where there could be a mugger, or some creeper prowling around every corner.

The street signs stood towering like iron sentinels as she passed them: Galloping Grove, Bronco Boulevard, Winnie Way, Trottingham Terrace, Steed Street. Finally, she could see it. She read out loud the name of her destination, as if the very sign beckoned to her with words emblazoned in shimmering gold. "Saddle Court." Her heart thumped rapidly in her chest as the reality that she was about to admit to Button that she liked him was setting in. Though where it would go from there, she couldn't be sure.

She hooked a sharp left down Saddle Court, keeping to the left side of the road.

There he was, just turning off the street to approach his house. It was the fifth one on the left with the odd-looking bird bath in the front yard, just as her stubby little informant had told her. She made it.

It felt like the exhaustion from her brisk run had caught up to her. Her nerves had seemingly cut off the supply of adrenaline that had been driving her. Breathing, panting, wheezing, she approached him at a steady trot. She began to wonder about things that had never crossed her until she finally saw him. What would he think of her hair? This was the first time he'll be seeing it when it wasn't bound back in a braid. She hoped the run hadn't ravaged it too fiercely.

It felt like her nerves were twisting her gut. The butterflies in her belly were now like a swarm of raging vampire bats gnawing at her innards. Still she forced herself to press on. She wanted to call out to him, but she didn't know what to say. Her mouth opened, but nothing came out. Her voice was caught in her throat. All she could do was approach until he noticed her.

Button had already cleared half of his yard. Silver desperately wanted to catch up to him before he could enter the house. Meeting his parents would require energy that she just didn't have at the moment. They'd probably see her messed up hair and think she was some kinda ragamuffin from off the street accosting their son for change. How could she admit her feelings to Button Mash in front of such a scrutinizing audience? It would be impossible!

Her legs burned, but she needed to move faster if she was going to catch him. She was just about to burst forth in a sprint when a dark figure atop the house could be seen. It moved like a shadow, its form dark and Indiscernible like a silhouette. It was as silent and black as the night it's self. It leaped from the roof, arching over Button, who seemed none the wiser of the figure's presence. It rolled soundlessly as it touched the ground with the grace of a master parkour runner.

The amber light from one of the street lamps illuminated it's figure very briefly, revealing a pony in some sort of - what looked like - a ninja outfit. It was a mare, it had to be. The black formfitting suit that covered her body from head to hoof contoured to a thin and rather lithe form that couldn't have belonged to a stallion.

Silver became so distracted by the enigmatic figure that she stopped dead in her tracks in puzzlement. "What in the hay is that?"

The cowled mare grabbed Button from behind, covering his mouth before he could have the chance to yelp in surprise. There was a brief struggle, then the shadow managed to throw him to the ground.

Silver Spoon's eyes widened as panic began to grip at her heart. Button Mash was being attacked! She looked around in the hopes that somebody else may be present. Somebody bigger, stronger, more capable of fighting off an assailant like the one that had converged upon the hapless colt.

Button scrambled to get to his hooves, but before he could rise, the mare leaped on top of him, pinning him.

"Sithis beckons for your soul, little one!" Hissed the mare in a shrill, terrifying cackle. She produced a long, crooked blade from within her sleeve and held it above her head.

Silver didn't know what was happening. Her body reacted before her brain could. This wasn't an action of her mind. It was her heart that drove her to the suicidal course of action she was now taking. Her life flashed before her eyes as she approached in a mad gallop, eyes wide in terror. Bounding across the yard, she leaped on top of Button Mash, wrapping her arms protectively around him and burying her face into his chest, waiting for the sensation of that cold steel to rip through her spine and end her life. "D-don't hurt him! Please!" she whimpered, her voice muffled by Button's body. She tremored and hugged him tightly. A second passed. Then another. Then several more.

"Uh, Button?"

"Yes mom?"

"Are you going to introduce me, or...?"

"Uh... Mom - Silver Spoon. Silver Spoon - Mom..."

The quivering mirror that was the surface of ginger ale in Silver's glass shook as the filly grappled with herself to regain her faculties. She knew that she was no longer in danger, but she just couldn't stop trembling. "A-a-a b-b-booth babe, h-huh?" she stammered. "W-what is that, e-exactly?"

Button sat at the other end of the couch, a concerned, yet slightly amused look on his face. "Basically, my mom is kinda like a model."

Button's mother sat in between them, speaking in a comforting tone as she reached over and rubbed the filly's back with a caring hoof that only a mother could possess. She still wore that terrifying costume, but her hood was now drawn back, revealing an exquisitely beautiful face that one would think could definitely belong to a model. "Video game companies pay me to cosplay at conventions and events for promotional purposes." She explained with a soft voice, every word flowing like honey. "With the release of Elder Scrolls VI: Black Marsh on the horizon, the company I work for sent me this Dark Brotherhood costume to wear at the Electronic Gaming Expo coming up in a few weeks... I just wanted to show off my new costume to my son, I didn't think I'd actually scare anyone... I feel terrible about this!"

"I'll be fine, Miss Mash," Silver Spoon assured. "I-it all just - it all just happened so quick."

Button's mom smiled. "You, dear, are one brave little filly. Trying to shield my son from danger like that. It's just so sweet, I think my head's going to explode!" She lashed herself toward the shaken filly with the sudden quickness of a snake snapping at a field mouse and threw her arms around her.

"My body just moved on it's own!" Silver winced under the mare's affectionate, albeit superfluous grip.

"Mom, she's fine!" Button protested. "You're making her feel uncomfortable."

"Oh, I see how it is!" Button's mother accused, releasing the filly from her constricting embrace. "You get a cute little visitor, and you just want her all to yourself, don't you?"

"Visitor? It's not like I knew she'd be coming by. I didn't even know how she found out where I lived... Unless she followed me without me noticing."

Silver Spoon didn't like the accusatory statement. It didn't maker her angry so much as she just didn't want to be seen as some sort of stalker in the eyes of his mother. "No, that's not—"

"Amazing!" Cheered Button's mom. "You, my dear, would make an exemplary assassin!" Her eyes gleefully widened as an idea came to her. The frantic mare squealed with delight, bringing her shaking hooves up to her mouth. "You would look so adorable in a little Dark Brother outfit of your very own! Have you considered a career in being a booth babe? It's nothing as boring as just standing around and looking pretty. It's really fun if you can get into character." Button's mom placed a proud hoof over her chest and declared, "I myself have become somewhat of a celebrity at the annual EGE."

"Uhm... I really don't know if I'm old enough to—"

"Some say that the name is politically incorrect, and the job is demeaning, but it's no different than modeling! Between you and me, I think the bureaucrats and feminazis are just running out of things to complain about. I mean, do you ever hear them complaining about the scantily clad mares being objectified in the sports magazines? No, you don't. So why pick on the cosplayers? I'll tell you why: because they just love to get high off their own flatulence!"

"Mom!" Button interrupted.

"What is it, sweetie?" asked the impulsive mare, her irate demeanor instantly transitioning to a rather coy curiousness.
This mare, Silver thought, is a female Button Mash!

"I know this is a pet peeve of yours, but you usually get angry when you talk about it. You might scare Silver again."

Button's mother raised an admonished hoof to her mouth. "Oh, I'm sorry." She placed a hoof on Silver Spoon and said, "Sweetie, I'm not scaring you, am I?"

Silver could only smile as she realized from whom Button must have inherited his spastic personality. Her nerves evened out as the trauma from the encounter that had occurred earlier began to fade. "I'm not scared." She said with a shy smile. "You're actually kind of funny. I think a fun mom is the best kind of mom to have."

"You hear that?" The cocky mare said with a roguish smirk. "She. Thinks. I'm. Funny." She then playfully stretched her bottom eyelid down with a hoof and stuck her tongue out at Button, causing him to smile and roll his eyes.

Now that the shock of the terrifying events were behind Silver, she remembered why she had come, but she couldn't just ask Button's mom to go away and leave her alone with her son, not in her own house. That would be an egregious breach of etiquette, especially to a lady who was so nice. She had to just keep the conversation going until the opportunity to be alone with him presented itself. "So," she said, "what does your husband do?"

Button's mom smiled. "My hubby's a journalist."

"Journalist? Like, for a newspaper?"

"More like a magazine," Button put in.

"A magazine?" Silver said with budding enthusiasm. The filly was addicted to celebrity gossip magazines. Her mind began to draw pictures of the interesting and well-traveled stallion that must have been Button Mash's father. He must get to travel all over the world, and meet so many interesting ponies like Photo Finish and Sapphire Shores. She envied such a life.

"Yeah, a gaming magazine. It's called MassiveBomb. They're based out of San Prance-sisco."

And just like that, Silver's expectations were dashed just as quickly as they were raised. "A gaming magazine," she said with a forced smile, not wanting to sound disinterested, even though she was. "What exactly does he do for this 'gaming' magazine?"

"Game publishers send him free games to review in the mail, and he writes about them. He also goes with my mom to conventions and events to interview designers and write columns about the latest and upcoming titles. I think where his career truly shines is in the weekly radio show he does with the MassiveBomb staff. You can tune in to listen to them every Tuesday on the Frisky Media station."

"A radio show? That sounds kinda cool. What kinda things do they talk about?"

"Video games," replied Button and his mother simultaneously.

"Wow..." Silver Spoon tried her hardest to keep from rolling her eyes. "You guys really live, eat, and breathe this..." She paused and looked into the reflective surface of her ginger ale as she thought of an appropriate word, but the only label she could think of was "stuff" in an involuntary condescending tone.

Button and his mother traded a look that was difficult to interpret.

"Stuff?" Button said.

"Well, yeah. I mean— I don't know. I've never really played a video game in my entire life. They just seem kinda dumb."

Both Button's and his mother's jaws dropped.

Silver continued. "I don't want to sound rude, but it's just not my thing. I don't understand the appeal in these toys. I didn't even realize you could actually make a living off of these pointless things unless you're some hotshot CEO or stock holder, who profit off of children and middle-aged unemployed basement dwellers..."

"The gaming industry is the fastest growing market right now," Illustrated Button's mother in a very matter-of-fact and deadly serious tone. "Wherever there are consumers, there will be profit to be made. And furthermore - like any connoisseur who's passion may be painting, fine wine, poetry, or pottery - ours are games. They're just as legitimate as any other art form!"

"I guess that makes sense?" Silver shrugged, taken aback by the sudden seriousness in the mare's tone.

There was an uncomfortable silence in the room. Silver Spoon feared that she may have offended Button and his mother over her statement. Thinking back on it, it was a bit of a snobbish thing to say. Video games weren't just silly kiddie toys to these ponies; It was their way of life. What right did she have to criticize their career choice?

"What's wrong?" Button asked.

"Oh, nothing. I just hope I didn't offend either of you. I shouldn't have said what I said. It was mean."

Button's mother smiled forgivingly. "Sweetie, don't worry. I don't feel offended. And you don't really come off as mean to me, I think you just lack understanding of that which you are not familiar with. All of us suffer from that."

Silver Spoon looked abashedly down into her cup. "Well... Still, I'm sorry. I was being presumptuous."

The filly suddenly yelped when Button's mother scooped her up in another attack hug. "It's so cute how you use big words like that!"

"Mom, you're gonna scare her."

"I can't help it, Button; this little girlfriend of yours is just too adorable! We so need to take her to EGE with us. Get the Mash culture ingrained in to her. She'll come around to the dark side if we pull hard enough."

"Mom!" Button roared, bringing a halt to his mother's playful behavior.

"What's wrong, Sweetie?"

"She's not my girlfriend. Leave her alone, okay? I don't even know why she's here!" He looked at Silver Spoon, then quickly looked away, embarrassed. "I'm sorry, Sil. But why are you here? I'm surprised that you'd ever want to be near me again after what happened earlier."

Silver glanced uncomfortably at Button's mother, then back to him. "I wanted to see you again," she answered vaguely.

"Why?"

"Because, I just did, okay? I... Wanted to talk to you about..." She looked again into the inquisitive eyes of his mom. "About... stuff..."

That was when Button's mother raised her eyebrow in a knowing grin, positioning her head in a way that only Silver could see it. "Oh," she purred mischievously.

That was all she had to say, and Silver knew that the mare was fully aware of what was going on.

Silver Spoon's eyes went so wide, they surpassed the boarders of the rims of her glasses as she shook her head pleadingly. "Please - don't say anything!" she mouthed in a barely audible whisper.

"What's going on?" Button asked. "What'd you just say to my mom?"

The smile on the young mother's face was so soft, so gentle, so understanding, that it could have soothed anyone. She was like an angel of serenity. That smile completely vindicated herself of any intent to betray the filly's secret. "Young love," She sighed with a dreamy, far away expression, as if she were going back in time and recalling tender memories of her own experiences. She then smiled at Button and said, "Hey, why don't you show your little friend your room?"

"Mom, I doubt that she cares to see my room, or anything that's in it."

"Actually!" Silver jumped in, pouncing upon the opportunity that Button's mother had provided for her. "I wouldn't mind!" She looked gratefully at the generous mare, who returned the look of gratitude with a wink.

"You wouldn't?" Button asked in surprise. "I really don't think there's anything in there that's going to interest you. It's just more of those 'dumb digital toys' that you don't care about."

"Yeah, well..." Silver Spoon bit down on her lip as she grasped for an excuse. "I came a long way. You might as well show me around."

"You still haven't told me why you came here."

"Precisely!" said Silver Spoon. "I'll tell you why I came here after you show me your room."

"Why can't you tell me now?"

"Button!" his mother interjected. "You're being rude! I raised you better than that. Now, I want you to take this little filly to your bedroom, and I want you to close and lock your door! I don't want to so much as—"

Silver winced at Button's mother. If she kept going on like that, she feared Button may become suspicious.

"Too much?" she asked.

"Too much!" Silver whispered.

"Oh! I meant!" she cleared her throat. "I want you to bring this filly to your room. We will not be calling it a bedroom, because that sounds too intimate! I mean, come on, you're both children, for Celestia's sake!"

Button's face was the very portrait of confusion. "Okay?"

"And you will not lock that door, however, you may close it... That is, if you'd like some privacy! In which case, if you don't want privacy, leave it open, or else!" She looked at Silver Spoon for signs of disapproval.

She could perhaps have acted a little less suspicious, but her terms were at least agreeable.

Silver Spoon gave a satisfied nod.

Button's mother smiled in return.

"Okay, well, if you want to see my room so bad, come on. I'll give you the grand tour," Button surrendered before hopping down from the couch.

Silver followed closely, wondering why the colt seemed so reluctant to be alone with her.

"Well, this is it," Button opened his door, ushering Silver Spoon inside of his room with a gesture of his hoof. "Casa de Button."

Silver Spoon shyly entered the room, her head down. Her heart was racing again. She'd never been in a boy's room before. In a way, it was exhilarating. This was the moment of truth. There was no turning back now.

The anxious filly looked up and examined Button's room once she was inside. The walls were littered with game posters from every generation. Some of them were old and tattered, some of them brand new, some of them, the vintage ones, were framed like precious, historical government documents. Not a single inch of white from the four walls were exposed. There was even a collection of maps torn out from strategy guides pinned to the wall, all of them intricately designed fantasy worlds with imaginative names like Hyrule, Azeroth, Nozgoth, Middle-Earth, Tamriel, and The Dragon Realms. The room was like a massive collage of all that is and ever was gaming.

One wall of the room was entirely dedicated to the storage of Button's massive game collection. Book cases, wooden media centers, and particle board shelves lined side by side accommodated discs and plastic cartridges of all shapes, colors, and sizes. There must have been literally thousands of them!

Button's bed was at the opposite end of the room from the door. She hopped up and sat on it, eyeing the large projector screen that could be seen over the headboard of the bed. On each side of the screen was a large monolithic speaker, as there were two smaller ones mounted to the wall above the bed. It looked like a state of the art surround sound system.

Silver Spoon knew Button Mash was a gamer, but she hadn't realized to what extent he took his hobby until she had stepped into his room. "This must be what culture shock feels like," she said to herself in amazement.

"You say something?" Button asked in a low tone.

Silver Spoon snapped out of her distracted haze and turned her head to the colt. He seemed nervous - almost frightened. The whole incident with the Joyboy must have really disturbed him. Silver beckoned to him by patting a spot next to her on the bed, trying to be playful about the situation. "Come up here and talk to me."

Button Mash sighed reluctantly before turning around and shutting his door. Then he turned an explicitly mortified gaze to Silver, not daring to come any closer. "Before you say, or do anything to me, I just want a chance to explain myself."

"Explain yourself?" Silver asked, cocking her head sideways in bemusement.

"I didn't want to say anything in front of my mom, because I was too embarrassed, but I think I know why you're here."

"You do?"

"Yeah, you came here to make sure that I deleted you from the plaza before anyone else could see it, right? It's understandable that you're upset, and I'm sorry. My Joyboy is almost dead, but I'll delete you as soon as it's charged, I promise. You can't even begin to imagine how embarrassed I am. I've never felt so bad about anything in my entire life!"

At this, Silver Spoon, not knowing what else to do, jumped down from the bed and approached the perturbed colt. "You don't have to delete it, if you don't want to. There's nothing to be embarrassed about, okay?"

"Look, there's no point in trying to hide it anymore, so I'm just going to say it!" Button suddenly blurted as he reeled away from her into the corner and averted his eyes like a vampire reacting to a cross. "I like you a lot. I've tried not liking you, but that just made me like you even more. I do my best to act calm and collected in front of you. That's why my nose is always in my Joyboy whenever you're around: it helps me focus my thoughts. Without it, I just deteriorate into a ball of nerves. The other times... I just act goofy and make a complete fool out of myself! The only reason why I came to Diamond Tiara's party was because it was another opportunity to see you, even if I thought it would only be from a distance." The unsettled colt turned his sullen expression to the corner behind him, as if he were too ashamed to so much as look Silver Spoon in her eyes any longer. He sat with his head lowered between his shoulders, and his tail curled around his flank, locking himself in his own little shell of insecurity. "I know I don't stand a chance, and I never will. I've accepted that, so go ahead. Laugh at me. Laugh at me like you always do!"

Silver stood motionless, bereft of speech. She was aware that Button liked her, but she could never have predicted how tortured he was by his own emotions. The revelations he had just revealed to her, one after the other, it was too much to digest all at one time. It was her fault that she was so unapproachable. Silver had no one else but herself to blame. She was so mean to him all this time, she just wanted to take it all back. But that was impossible. The only silver lining that she could find in her situation, was that now, she had her opportunity.

"Button..." Silver said with as much sweetness as she could muster.

The colt clenched his body in preparation for the verbal assault he must have thought was coming his way.

"I feel the same way about you. I like you, too. I like you a lot..." The ten ton weight in Silver's chest felt like it had evaporated with those words. her confession wasn't nearly as theatrical as she thought she would be, but it should do the job of conveying her feelings well enough. All she needed to do now was wait.

...

Nothing happened. Button acted as if he didn't even hear her.

"Button?" Silver approached him and placed a hoof on his back, which made him tense up as if he had just been jabbed by a red hot poker. "I like you. And you like me. So this works out for both of us, right?"

...

"Button?"

"Silver," Button said, "just stop it."

"Stop it?"

"Just knock it off. Please. I don't want to play this game with you."

"What?" The baffled filly blinked.

"You think this is funny, don't you?" The colt sniffed. "I'm not falling for this trick."

"Button, I'm not playing any tricks on you! You think I would joke about something like this?"

"I don't know what to think right now. I just want to be left alone."

"Button, please, I'm not trying to trick you! What kind of trick do you think i'm trying to play on you?"

"I'll bet you told Diamond Tiara about the Joyboy incident, and now you're setting me up for something."

"I didn't! I'm not even friends with Diamond Tiara anymore!"

"Am I really supposed to believe all of this? The same night you found out that I like you, you suddenly break your ties with your best friend, and you decide you like me back? Silver, I don't want to sound rude, but this all just sounds a little too perfect, don't you think?"

Silver could feel a tear welling under the corner of her eye, but she fought it back. "Button, look, I know I've been horrible to you over the years. And I don't deserve a second chance, but if you could just give me the benefit of the doubt... I don't know what else to say. I'm really sorry about the way I've treated you. I really like you, okay? This isn't some ploy to lull you into a false sense of security!"

"Like the time you invited me to eat with you at lunch, and you tricked me into drinking that spoiled milk? I was sick for a whole week after that..."

"Button, I said I'm sorry. That was just—"

"Like the time Diamond snuck up behind me and shoved me into the storm drain, when you asked me if I could reach your glasses for you? Like the time you told me you left a gift for me in the playground behind the school, only to have a group of boys ambush me and pelt me with dirt clods?"

He then whirled around to face her. It wasn't truly evident how distraught the colt was until Silver Spoon could see his face. She couldn't believe how expressive he was with his eyes. Those shimmering orbs of his, so fearful of betrayal, yet so longing for that which he thought was so far out of his reach, welling out a constant barrage of tears that left behind moist, salty streaks that branched out all the way to his chin until they dropped into the carpet.

"That one time, on hearts and hooves day," He began. "when my cubby was empty, save for one card. It was from you. You can't begin to imagine how happy that made me... Until I opened it."

Silver Spoon winced, the streaks from her tears leaving lines of dark grey down her face. She was afraid this one was coming. "Please don't say it," she whimpered.

"I opened it, and inside of it, it read 'nobody loves you!'"

That was when Silver realized that she would never gain his trust. She could apologize a million times, and it wouldn't matter. Groveling in vain was the only option she could think of. "Button, I know you don't believe me. But I'm sorry. I don't blame you for not trusting me, but if you could give me the benefit of the doubt... Just this one time. If you could just open up your heart to me and trust me just this once, I promise you, you won't regret it. Tell me what I have to do."

"Can you turn back time?"

"Button, that's ridiculous, you know I can't do that."

"Then there's nothing you can do, I guess."

"Just give me a reasonable demand, Button. Something that's within my power. I'll do anything that is within my ability!"

The disconsolate colt wiped his eyes and shook his head. "The only thing I ever wanted from you was a smile. Believe it or not, I wanted to see you with Rumble even more than I would have wanted you to be with me - because I knew how happy that would have made you. A smile can't hurt. A smile doesn't betray, or judge, or mock, or condescend. It's simply a smile. That was all I wanted from you, and it seems like even now that's coming with a price."

"I'm not trying to make you pay some price, Button!"

"I don't care, Silver. I know I already said it, but I like you. But I don't want to like you. I just want to be over you."

"Button..."

"Sil, just leave, okay? Please? I just want to be left alone." Button Mash walked over to his door and opened it, ushering Silver Spoon out. "Just let me be. That's all I want."

Eyes dripping, heart heavy, Silver Spoon nodded. There was nothing she could say, nothing she could do. His impenetrable barrier of distrust that she had so sadistically built around him was a reality she had to force herself to face. The only one with a sense of humor more sadistic than her's must have been cupid's.

She could just imagine that diaper-clad, trigger happy Pegasus just laughing his plot off at her right now. Silver Spoon stopped just as she was at the threshold of the doorway. She turned her head and looked at Button, who was holding the door open, avoiding eye contact.

An idea came to her. If she couldn't convince him verbally that she loved him, she would show him physically. She could just nuzzle him. Just grab him, pin him against the wall, and nuzzle his brains out! He would accept her feelings for him then! He'd have no choice but to believe her!

"Button~" she said, her tone dripping with the seduction of her renewed vigor.

"What?"

Silver Spoon smiled as a new thrill came to her. She crouched low with her forefronts, her posterior wiggling in the air, like a playful kitten ready to pounce.

"What?" Button asked again. "What do you want now?"

Silver Spoon breathed heavily. She couldn't move. It was like an insurmountable force was holding her back, anchoring her hooves firmly to the floor. She couldn't summon the nerve to follow through with her plan. Curse her feminine modesty!

"What are you doing?" Button asked.

"Nothing," Silver sighed in defeat. After walking out through the door way with her head hanging, she looked back and watch that door slowly close. He didn't even so much as glance at her.

Feeling numb, tired, and emotionally defeated, Silver Spoon made her lonely way down the hall and into the living room where Button's mother was sitting on the couch. She sat with a controller in her hooves. The television across from her illuminated with a portrait of Link and Zelda standing across form each other in a courtyard as the title 'The End' was splayed across the screen.

The mare on the couch stretched with a self satisfied smile. "This game just ages like a fine wine. No matter how many times I play through it, it just gets better and better," she sighed contently before shooting Silver Spoon a smile. "I love happy endings, don't you?"

"I suppose," Silver replied glumly as she made her way to the door.

"What's wrong, Sweetie? Did it not work out?"

"No," was silver's terse reply.

"That's ridiculous," Button's mother said incredulously. "You're such a sweet girl! And you're cute, too... How could my son possibly have turned down a catch like you?"

"I'm not as sweet as you would think, Miss Mash... It's a long story."

"Well, I don't have anywhere to be right now."

Silver Spoon turned to face her - that beautiful, warm smile of her's. She didn't like being smiled at like that. She didn't deserve anyone's kindness. It was far more preferable to be treated like the cretin she knew she was deep down, but she gave in. The smile of Button's mother was too powerful. It promised her everything she wanted, which was simply to feel comforted. And that face of her's was nothing if not comforting.

With a sigh she sat next to her on the couch, and for the next ten minutes, she spilled her little heart out. She confessed to every rotten thing she had ever done to her son, and the events that had just recently transpired. The party, Diamond Tiara, Button's crazy plan and why he did it, her feelings, and finally, the conversation that had just occurred in his room. It felt surprisingly therapeutic to talk to someone about it.

"So you're the reason why my son used to run strait to his room when he came home from school," the attentive mare concluded.

Silver nodded guiltily before blowing her nose into a tissue. "I don't want to be the mean girl anymore. I'm sorry for everything I did. I know that 'sorry' is not a magical word that will just absolve you of anything and everything you do, but still, I don't know what else to say. I'm sorry... Miss Mash, if there is anything I can ever do to make up for all the damage I've done, please let me know. I'll never rest easy until I've paid my penance."

Button's mom turned thoughtfully to the Ocarina Of Time end game screen frozen on the television. She focused on the screen until her morose expression slowly upturned into that wide, goofy smile of her's. "There is something you can do as penance!"

"Anything. What is it? I swear I'll do anything! I've given up hope on being with Button, but I still need to make things right."

"Sweetie, I know you're a good girl. The way you tried to protect my Button when you thought I was actually trying to hurt him? That truly moves me in ways you can't even begin to comprehend. Despite all the nastiness, I can forgive you, and you only need to do one thing for me."

"What's that?"

"You can march back into Button's room and give it one more try!"

Silver Spoon rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Miss Mash, have you been listening to anything I've been saying? He pretty much told me that the only way I can fix things is to turn back time."

Button's mother, without so much as a word of what she was doing or where she was going, shot up from the couch like a rocket and dashed down the hallway, leaving the perplexed filly alone, but only momentarily. She returned to the living area after only moments had passed with a cardboard box in her possession.

"What's that?" Silver inquired apprehensively. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

The mischievous mare stripped off the duct tape that sealed the flimsy container and folded open the lid. She gazed into the box with a look of affection and nostalgia. "I have a plan," She said with a crooked smirk. "It's a very strange, very unorthodox plan. You might not understand it at first, but you're going to have to trust me, and do exactly what I tell you to do." She reached into the box, ceremoniously took Silver's hoof, and bestowed upon her a magical device that the filly was all too familiar with.

The up beat tune of Jungle Hinjinks thumped from Button's surround sound as the colt sat at the edge of his bed and immersed himself in the two dimensional digital world that was Donkey Kong Country. The muscle bound gorilla burst forth from his tree house and began to lay waste to any and all enemies who would dare stand in the way of him reclaiming his beloved banana horde. The older, more challenging games, such as the one he was playing, was how he unwound when he was upset. A good old 2D side scroller from his mom and dad's era presented enough of a fun and challenge to distract him. But not this time, it would seem.

Slinging barrels at wasps and goring morbidly obese bipedal alligators with Rambi the rhino's horn was usually therapeutic to the young stallion when he was depressed, but not this time. He just couldn't get Silver Spoon off of his mind.

There was that tiny little voice in his head that kept saying 'what if.'

What if Silver Spoon was sincere this time? What if she truly liked him as much as she insisted that she did. He kept trying to disregard it. It wasn't worth the risk. She'd taken a sick pleasure in breaking his heart on at least a dozen occasions. There was no way she could just do a complete one eighty over the span of an hour. Things like that just don't happen in real life.

It was true that she threw herself on top of him to shield him from the 'assassin' who attacked him, but that had to be Silver Spoon taking advantage of the situation to fortify her little ruse. She couldn't have actually thought he was being attacked. An assassin from the Dark Brother Hood coming after him? Even with his diminished sense of reality, he knew that the prospect was asinine. If any organization were to premeditate and carry out an attack on him it would probably be the Mythic Dawn...

Still though, she looked and sounded like she was scared out of her mind as his mother brought her into the house. And she was crying when he refused to accept her feelings for him. That girl's acting ability was stellar.

Button was so distracted by his thoughts that he didn't even notice the enemy on the screen before it killed him.

"Oh, come on! I died on the first level?" He smacked himself in the head with his controller. "I can't even beat Jungle Hinjinks now?" If his father had been home to see that embarrassing display of modern casual-gamer fail, he'd never live it down. The game brought him back to the selection overhead map, and Button, being the stubborn one, entered the level again. It was around that time when he could here the slow and steady creek of his door opening. Probably his mom checking on him, or his dad letting him know that he was home. He didn't even bother to look away from the game screen.

"Button?" quivered Silver Spoon's voice.

The colt's face turned pale. His heart dropped in his stomach. She's back! Why won't she just leave me be?

"Uhm, Button?" Silver's voice quivered again. She sounded nervous.

"Why are you still here?" Button Mash asked, trying to seem nonchalant.

"I uh, just wanted to, uh, show you... Something..."

"What is it?" Button sighed impatiently.

"If you could just, maybe, look at me for a second?"

"I'm busy."

"I see that, but if you could just look at me."

The colt was beginning to lose his patience. He didn't want her to be anywhere near him. He didn't want to hear her tell him that she liked him again - for fear that temptation would best his common sense.

Silver Spoon sighed "You've given me no choice..."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

There was no answer. Just the sudden, soft, and slow melody of an Ocarina, as it's honeyed verse filled the room.

Button paused the game. Now his curiosity had gotten the better of him. He turned his head. "Silver, what are you..." His jaw dropped. The controller slipped through his grip, landing soundlessly on the carpet as the colt watched on, awe-stricken.

Her glossy lips softly kissed an Ocarina, playing its dulcet tone in rapturous symphony. Her eyelids were delicately brushed with indigo eye shadow, intensifying the allure of her violet eyes. Cherry blossom pink gloves extended from her hooves, meeting her upper arms. Decorative golden pauldrons gleamed as they rested at her shoulders. A modest golden crown adorned her head, flattering her hair that was parted down the center and brushed back. The trademark pink and white dress, emblazoned with the Hyrulian royal family crest complimented her physique with a rather comely appearance that left Button's mouth dry.

No portrait of divinity, nor any foul emulation could ever hope to compare to the vision of sheer beauty standing before him.

The captivated colt climbed down from his bed and approached her, his eyes impassioned, his mind lost in sheer reverie.

Silver Spoon continued on in the song's entirety, playing as softly and slowly as she could to emulate the tune she had been taught only moments ago. Fortunately for her, the Ocarina was a simple enough instrument to play by ear.

When she finally came to the ending of the song, she opened her eyes and swallowed hard as she attempted to remember the script she had written for herself.

Button stared at her dumbly, not realizing his mouth was still hanging open.

"Button," she finally began. "You told me that if there was anything I could do to make things right between us, I could turn back time and, that's what I just did. At the end of Ocarina of time, Zelda plays her lullaby to send Link back to live out the seven years he lost while in his long slumber. And that's what I did to you. I sent you back. I sent us both back so we could relive a time where we never met. And as I stand before you, I'm meeting you for the first time, and I'm telling you that I love you. Let's start over. Let's erase the past. Let's be together." She smiled and held her hoof out to him.

"This is real, isn't it?" Button asked in disbelief.

Silver Spoon nodded nervously.

"You're cosplaying... You're playing an Ocarina... You're actually making video game references... Is this really who you want to be?"

"I'm simply going to be me. And I want to get to know you all over again. Just as I would have you get to know me all over again. I think I'm starting to see why you like these games so much. I don't know if I'll ever be at your level of obsession with them, but I'm willing to learn as long as you're willing to teach me."

Button shyly rubbed the back of his head, still in a stupor at the site of Silver Spoon in that dress. "I want to learn about you too. The new you, I mean."

"I'll just be me, and you'll just be you. I'll have it no other way."

"It's a deal, then."

The cosplay clad filly turned red under her golden crown. "Nuzzle on it?"

Button Mash intertwined his arms around her's and pulled her closer. "Don't make fun of me if I'm bad at it."

"T-this is my first time, too." Silver stammered.

"Alright," The colt swallowed nervously and leaned forward, closing his eyes.

Silver Spoon did the same.

They both tensed up as they could feel their noses touching. There was a brief, unnerving pause. Then slowly, Button began to caress her muzzle with his. Silver followed suit. Their embrace, which felt awkward at first, eventually became firm and passionate.

When they finally parted their muzzles to look into each other's eyes, Button said, "So, do you want to go to EGE with us? To my parents, it will be work. But to us, maybe it could be like a first date?"

"EGE huh?" Silver replied thoughtfully. "Are you sure I'll be ready for an event like that in such a short time?"

"I can get you up to snuff." Button smiled as he looked back at the paused game on his screen. "I think we should start with the basics."

"Hold on, mister." Silver Spoon placed her hooves on the colt's face, and turned his head back to her. "We squandered the first seven minutes we had together at Diamond's party."

"We squandered?" Button said. "You backed into a corner and threatened me the entire time."

"Shush you!" Silver demanded. "Before we do anything else, you still owe me six more minutes."

The End

Epilogue

The preceding week had been a curious one for Diamond Tiara. The silver-haired Judas that had once been her best friend, and her stupid pet that she had replaced her with, hadn't been at school for an entire week. On Monday she had shrugged their simultaneous absences off as a mere coincidence. By Tuesday, she had surmised they were playing an extended game of hooky together. Wednesday had come around, and there was still no sign of either of them. Thursday and Friday, again, they were no-shows...

Whatever.

It wasn't like Diamond cared, or anything. It was just the idea of those two suddenly disappearing without a word to anypony, as if they had just ran away and eloped, was so infuriating that it was sickening. The teacher wasn't even calling their names during morning roll call. Diamond had asked Miss Cheerilee several times about their whereabouts, but the only information she would disclose was that they were both out of town.

It was Monday now, and Diamond Tiara did as she had been doing every morning since the great betrayal. She simply sat at the same picnic bench in the lunch area near the playground, and it was there she awaited the strident scream of the first bell to announce the beginning of the school day. From where she sat, she usually had a perfect view of them. Button Mash and Silver Spoon never ceased to enjoy wasting their morning and midday recess under the shade of the tree near the jungle gym, taking turns playing with that stupid JoyBoy. But that tree had been lonely for a whole week now.

Diamond just sat there and sulked at the picnic bench, wondering and "not caring" at the same time about Silver's whereabouts, when suddenly Dinky took a seat across from her.

"Hey Di!" she said in that annoyingly upbeat voice of hers. It should be illegal to be as cheery as she always was so early in the morning.

Diamond ignored her. Dinky was supposed to be her new Silver Spoon. The real Silver Spoon, however, didn't seem to notice her former best friend's new BFF, which embittered the tiara-clad filly all the more.

"I got a new magnetic checkers set," Announced Dinky. "Wanna play a game before school starts?"

Diamond Tiara lifted her head up, scanned the school yard vainly for any sign of Silver or Button Mash, then sighed irritably. "I guess."

Dinky smiled and removed her new checkers set from her backpack. "I doubt you'll stand a chance against me. I played five consecutive games with my mom just yesterday, and I beat her every single time."

It's Monday, and they're still gone? Diamond thought in dismay, not bothering to acknowledge her faux friend's incessant prattling as she set up the game pieces.

"Wanna flip a bit to decide who goes first?" asked Dinky, smiling, looking genuinely excited.

Diamond rolled her eyes. "No, I'll go first," she said, laconic and absolute.

Dinky's energetic smile became an awkward one. "Oh... Okay, sure."

Diamond reached over the table and swiped all of Dinky's pieces off the board. "I win."

"You can't do that," frowned the indignant filly.

"The queen does what she wants," smiled Diamond Tiara.

"There are no queens in checkers!"

"I was referring to me, Dunken."

"It's Dinky!"

"Your name is whatever I say it is." Diamond Tiara sighed and hung her head. Being mean to Dinky just wasn't fun anymore. What was the point in even pretending to be her friend when Silver wasn't around to see it?

Suddenly.

"Hey," Dinky said, "is that Silver Spoon?"

Diamond Tiara's head snapped up. "Where!"

"Wait, no, that's not her."

It was all Diamond Tiara could do to suppress a growl as she let her face slam down on the table.

"Wait a minute. Sweet Celestia, that is Silver Spoon!" Dinky suddenly leaped from the bench and ran off.

"Dinky, I'm not in the mood for your stupid...." That was when Diamond Tiara looked up and saw her. Silver Spoon. She was walking along with that pleb of hers, Button Mash. She had some strange, white, round-looking thing for a backpack. The frames of her glasses were black, and had some sort of ugly, ridged boxy design at the bottom edges. Her long silver hair wasn't even braided. It was bound at the tip and dangled over one shoulder. The two strode along the dirt trail that lead onto the campus, their tails intimately interlocked.

They're holding tails now! Diamond cringed. Seriously?

Silver Spoon was giggling at some sort of jape the buffoon in the stupid propeller hat had just made when a group of classmates began to encircle them.

Diamond Tiara sneered as she hopped down from the picnic bench and made her way toward them. When she arrived at the throng, she was just in time to see Silver Spoon giving a few curious students a look of that weird backpack of hers.

Silver Spoon proudly held it out for everyone to see. Dinky seemed especially curious. "What is it?" the little blonde unicorn inquired.

"It's my new backpack. It's cute, isn't it?" Silver said, flapping its little triangular arms over its beady black eyes. When she did this, the bag made a mischievous giggling sound as tiny red lights activated under the fabric across its face, as if it were blushing. "Button's mom got it for me at EGE."

"But what is it supposed to be, though?" Asked Dinky, eyeing the thing's wicked smile.

"It's called a Boo." Silver responded.

"What's a Boo?"

Button shrugged, chuckling. "And you wonder why I call you a casual."

Dinky tilted her head. "Yeah, and you still haven't told me what that means."

"Every time I try, we get conveniently interrupted. Like, for instance, Dinky, a casual is—"

"You two!" Diamond Tiara interjected.

"Ya see that?" Button said, pointing a hoof toward the interruption. "I don't even do that on purpose, it just happens!"

Diamond approached Silver Spoon and sat on her haunches when she was in front of her. The two stared daggers into each other until Diamond decided to break the silence. "And Just where the hay have you two been?"

Silver Spoon harrumphed with a haughty turn of her nose. "None of your business."

"We were at EGE!" Button replied, as if blissfully ignorant of the animosity between the two former friends.

Diamond cast a scornful glare toward Silver Spoon. "Just what the heck is an EGE?"

"It's the Electronic Gaming Expo!" answered Snips from the circle of students, who sourly crossed his arms over his chest. "Button usually takes me with him, but no, he's too good for me now that he has a girlfriend!"

Diamond's jaw dropped. She looked at Silver disbelievingly. "You... Y-you... You ditched school for a week to run off with this nerd," She pointed a hoof at Button, who smiled as if he had just been complimented. "To go to some kind of stupid Star-Trek convention?"

Button again answered. "It's actually a video game exp—"

"I wasn't talking to you, dweeb!" Diamond barked. She then pointed a hoof toward Silver. "What's happened to you? What's with your glasses?"

"My..." Silver Spoon touched the edges of her glasses' frames. "Oh, they're called pixel frames. I like to refer to them as my plus twos."

"Because they add plus two to awesome," Button put in. "I was the one that came up with that, by the way."

Silver smiled at Button affectionately, then turned an acid gaze to Diamond. "And for your information, we didn't ditch school. Miss Cheerilee gave us an assignment to do over the course of the week, to make up for the days we would be absent."

Diamond Tiara raised an eyebrow. "An assignment?"

"A book report," Button responded.

Silver Spoon nodded. "A song of ice and fire."

"A song of what?" Dinky asked. Some of the other school kids exchanged confused glances.

Silver Spoon and Button Mash looked at each other, sighed, frowned, and said in unison, "Game of Thrones!"

"Oh," came the group's cacophonous reply. A couple of them could be heard saying, "They made a book of that?"

The expression on Diamond Tiara's face was becoming more incredulous by the second. Whatever trace lingered of her former friend was now completely gone. She had gone to this place, this EGE, and she had come back a complete dork. "You read..." The pink filly's face twisted in disbelief. "Game of Thrones?"

"That we did," smiled Silver. "We read it together, didn't we, my sun and stars?" She reached over to Button and rubbed his chin.

The colt smiled, lifted his head, and purred, "That we did, my Khaleesi."

Diamond Tiara face-hoofed. "Next thing you know, you'll be telling me you've got one of those stupid JoyBoys like Button has."

The silver-haired filly, as if in response to her former friend's comment, began to dig through that odd backpack of hers. "Actually, no," she said.

Diamond watched her curiously and offered, "Well at least there's some hope for you."

Silver Spoon smiled when she discovered in her bag what she was looking for. She drew an object from it, an electric blue, rectangular device. "It's actually the new JoyBoy 3D XL DS SP light. So no, it's not like Button's."

Snips eyed the device in wonder, practically foaming at the mouth with envy. "The 3D XL DS SP light? That doesn't even come out until next month! How did you get your hooves on one?"

Silver Spoon looked dreamily at her son and stars and said, "My Button Mash won it for me in a Smash Brothers contest! I was the happiest girl in the world at that moment... And I still am. He stood on top of the stage as the winner, and then when the announcer asked him what he was going to do now that he was a champion, he said he was..." Silver removed her pixel-framed glasses and wiped a tear from her eye. "He said he was going to give his prize to his Khaleesi, because I was already the greatest prize of all."

The crowd of School children D'awwd in unison. A couple of them scoffed and acted like they were going to be sick.

"Thath tho preciouth!" Twist put in, dewy eyed.

"It could have been mine!" Roared Snips. "Silver Spoon, you suck!"

Button Mash snapped a hoof toward the colt in response and quipped, "Shut up, Snips! Your dad works at Wal-Mart!"

The crowd went silent. Snips' eyes went wide, he looked around, then he slowly backed down.

Silver Spoon smirked at Button. "Harsh," she critiqued.

Button stroked her cheek with a hoof. "Nopony talks to my Khaleesi that way." They leaned into each other and rubbed muzzles.

Diamond Tiara's pink face turned red. She trembled with anger and looked acidly at the ground. "You two," she hissed between clenched teeth, "even your pet names you have for each other are geeky."

Suddenly the bell rang. The group of school children said their greetings and welcomed back Button and Silver as they gathered their things and dispersed for class.

"Hu'tegh!" Silver cursed. "I was hoping to get some game time in before the bell rang. Layton and Wright call to me, beckoning me. Espella must be rescued!" she pouted as she placed her JoyBoy in her bag.

"Where Are you in that game, by the way?" Button asked as he watched her zip her 'Boopack.' "Have you found out yet that the Storyteller is actually—"

"Button, don't tell me! I'm not that far in the game yet!" Silver replied as she slung her bag over her back.

The colt rubbed the back of his head, chagrined. "Oh, right, sorry. I won't say anything."

"There is one puzzle I may need your help with, though."

"Is it that hidden bakery puzzle Patty gives you?"

"Yes! How'd you know?"

"I had problems with that one, too. It was the only puzzle in the game I had to use my hint tokens on."

Diamond Tiara watched as the couple walked to class together, their tails intertwined as they spoke of things she had absolutely no knowledge of. Seeing Silver this way evoked a revelation: Silver Spoon was happy. She looked happier than Diamond had ever seen her. Admitting this to herself made her angry. Angry, she realized, and jealous, and heartbroken. That was her best friend at one time... Gone...

Diamond Tiara looked down, lost in thought until a couple of hooves entered her vision. She looked up. It was Dinky. "What do you want?"

"Aren't you coming to class?" asked the unicorn.

Diamond Tiara hid her face and wiped her eyes as surreptitiously as she could. "Why do you care?" she snapped. "You're going to be late if you stay out here."

Dinky smiled cutely. "I don't mind. We can be late together. Maybe Cheerilee won't come down as hard on us if we're both tardy at the same time."

"Why would you be willing to take that risk?" Diamond looked at her suspiciously.

The carefree unicorn shrugged. "What are friends for?"

"Oh..." Diamond was touched, though she didn't want to show it. "I guess... I guess we'll just both be late, then?"

Dinky smiled that stupid, cheerful smile of hers, and the two made their way toward the classroom. The late bell had already rang. Diamond watched as Dinky was about to push the door open, when a thought suddenly popped into her head: maybe just moving on wasn't such a bad idea. She was sick of being jealous, and bitter, and, she even dared to entertain the notion that she may have been just the slightest bit selfish... "Hey, Dinky."

The unicorn stopped just before her hoof touched the door. She looked back at Diamond, curious.

"I uh... I have something for you."

Dinky's eyes lit up. "Something for me? A gift? For me? From you?"

"Y-yeah... You might not like it, but..." Diamond Tiara went into her bag and withdrew an old pink hair tie. She looked at it fondly. Several times she had tried to throw it away, but she never could bring herself to do so. "Here, you can have this, if you want it."

Dinky took it, and gazed at it for the longest time. "It's a hair tie."

"Yeah," Diamond said, feeling awkward. "You can give it back to me if you don't like it." She reached out her hoof to reclaim the object, but Dinky clasped it between her hooves and pulled it away protectively.

"But you said I can have it!"

"You actually want that old thing?"

"Well, yeah, I do. I mean, sure my hair isn't long enough to be able to tie it back, but I can grow it out. I wonder how my mane would look all long and bound."

Diamond finally allowed herself to smile. It was an awkward smile, but a smile none the less."If you want," she said, "I have some extensions back at my place. Maybe you can come over some time and we can see what it would look like on you?"

Dinky's eyes grew wide with disbelief. "You're actually inviting ME to come over to YOUR place?"

"I am," replied Diamond. "We have to see how that hair tie looks on you, don't we? Maybe we can hang out by my pool afterwards, or go to the spa."

"I would really like that!" Dinky nodded, beside herself with excitement. She then giggled and said, "you know, Diamond, for a little while there, I thought you were just using me to make Silver Spoon jealous."

"Oh, Dinky," Diamond flicked her hoof and rolled her eyes, "would I do that to my best friend?"

THE END
FOR REALSIES THIS TIME