Chapters Hey, I'm Butterball. I'm ten years old and turning eleven next month. I moved here into Ponyville around six months ago because my dad got a better job opportunity at this donut restaurant that's around here. I haven't been there yet, but I've heard that it's SUPER good! I heard that their cream filling is the best around and their dough is cooked to perfection.
Agh, sorry. I got a little drool on my chest.
I should probably mention this, but I love food. A lot. Not just eating it, but creating it. Whenever I'm near the kitchen I feel like a god. The bowl is my domain, the spices are my arsenal, and the mixing spoon is my staff of power that smites whoever think they can worship any other entity than me! But the best part of making food is the reaction I see when other ponies taste it. Whenever I make desserts, I see everypony's eyes widen a bit in surprise. They smile and take another bite, wanting to get a second taste. It makes them happy, and I like to see other ponies happy. Heck, I might love making food so much that it surpasses the feeling of getting a taste myself!
Okay, maybe not.
Speaking of which, as with almost every joy of the world, there are some negative consequences. Sure, I do have an exceptional taste for food, but it comes with a price. As my skill with the oven increases, so does the number on my scale. To put it blunt, I was fat because I ate too much. However, I should point out the key word being got. I'm not as fat anymore because I'm been losing weight ever since I got to this new town. I've lost a considerable amount of weight, and I'm glad to say that I'm proud of it. I will admit that I am still bit on the pudgy side, but hey. Progress is progress.
Sorry, I went off a tangent. I get that from my dad.
Anyways, I go to Ponyville Elementary, and today is a special day. It's a day that every foal in Equestria has been waiting for since the first day of school, which would be the last day of school. I will admit, I am disappointed because my teacher, Miss. Cheerilee, was super nice. She helped me raise my grades from C's to B's and A's, and I've learned much more in her classroom than my last one. But hey, summer's here! The last classroom I went to was in Fillydelphia, where I was born and raised. Compared to that classroom, this classroom was much safer for me. There were only two bullies in Cheerilee's class compared to the many at Fillydelphia. I don't want to repeat any insults the Fillydelphian bullies yelled at me because my mom will find out and put soap in my mouth, but let's just say they mostly consisted of fat jokes. The two bullies in my class only made fun of me the first few days, but after a small talk alone with the main bully, I got them to stop. I'm not sure if we're true friends, because I'm still pretty frustrated with the main bully, so I just label the two as my "acquaintances."
My true friends are pretty much everypony in the classroom. I talk to a wide range of kids, both jocks and geeks, colts and fillies. As far as I'm concerned, I'm in the between of both extremes...except for the fillies and colts list, because last time I checked I'm a colt. Wait a sec...lemme just...oh yep! I'm a colt. Anyway, my likes and interests span between both groups of ponies. I enjoy playing video games in spare time, so sometimes I chat with Button Mash. He's very good at video games, and it's pretty enticing to watch him pick up his controller and try to speedrun a game. He's so quick with that thing that his character looks like it's controlled by a computer or something. It's insane! Also, every other day when I work out to lose some weight, I talk to my other friend, Rumble. He's the captain of the hoofball team and probably the most popular colt in the class. He says that I look "swole" enough to play hoofball with him, but I'm not sure. It doesn't seem like my thing. And once in a blue moon, I even hang out with the fillies because they think my cooking's cool.
My best friends, however, have definitely got to be Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. I would've never have gotten to where I am now without them. Ever since I met them on my first day of school, they've been super kind and friendly to me. They've become my first true friends, and I'm glad to have them. Every day after school we go out to "crusade." That means we do something to try to earn our cutie marks. I suggest that maybe we should try to do something that we're good at doing, but they pass off the idea every time. It's a democratic club, so my one vote gets beat by their three votes. Democratic my flank. Oh well, at least I have tons of fun with whatever we're doing.
I looked to my left and saw that Sweetie and Applebloom were staring not at our teacher, but at the clock. They both had wide grins on their faces and were shaking as if they were going to explode at any second. I looked towards the clock as my excitement grew as well. Only five more minutes of class and then I'm out of here! I exclaimed in my mind. I looked over to my right at Scootaloo to see if she was bathing in our excitement aura, but her eyes weren't on the clock. They were on me! A little surprised, I sat more upright in my chair. She did the same as she her face quickly became red, embarrassed over the whole ordeal. She quickly looked at the clock and pretended as if she was glancing towards it the whole time. I looked at her for a few more seconds as I noticed her eyes quickly shifted between the clock and me. With every glance, her blush grew more prominent. Probably due to her allergies.
Yeah, I forgot to mention. Out of all the fillies in our quartet of crusaders, Scootaloo is the weirdest. Not to be mean or anything, because weird isn't an insult to me! But she really is odd sometimes. Every time she looks at me or mentions my name, her face turns red and she gets all shifty and antsy. She says that it's just seasonal allergies, but it's been almost six months. I'm pretty sure seasons don't last that long. I think it's an excuse for something, perhaps a secret. But what?
Eh, I'll figure it out later. Right now, I have to get mentally prepared for summer.
"Butter?"
"Huhwah?" I quickly looked at Miss Cheerilee, who had just called my name. I heard a few students giggle at my reaction, causing embarrassment levels for me to skyrocket.
"It's your turn to tell the class what you're planning on doing for the summer."
"Oh...uhhhh..." I quickly started to panic a bit as I just realized. I didn't have anything planned yet! I usually just made my summer up as I went along, so I didn't really make any plans every year. "I guess...I'm going to spend it with my best friends!" I smiled, looking at the crusaders around me. They smiled back, Scootaloo giving me a weird, allergy-stricken smile.
"Thanks, Butter. Yer a good friend," Applebloom said.
I smiled and thanked her, when all of a sudden the bell had finally rung, putting a smile on everypony's faces.
"Okay, class. Your homework over the summer—" Wait, we have HOMEWORK?! I, as well as the rest of the class, groaned audibly as Cheerilee continued. "—is to have fun!"
The class's frowns were immediately replaced with giant smiles as everypony, including me, was rushing outside to enjoy the fresh air. As I got out of the classroom, I took in a deep breath of fresh oxygen and looked around for the crusaders. As I was looking I felt a poke in my side, causing me to flinch and squeal a bit in surprise. I turned around to the source of the poke and saw Applebloom and the others snickering at me.
"That never gets old!" she exclaimed.
I rolled my eyes at her. "Oh ha ha. Real funny," I said sarcastically.
"Glad ya think so!" she replied. "Oh, speakin' of fun, here's yer invitation, Butter!" She gave me a piece of paper with some writing on it. I looked at it carefully and read it in my head.
Cutie Mark Crusaders Official Summer Sleepover
When: Tomorrow, 5:00
Where: Sugarcube Corner
What to bring: Sleeping bag, toothbrush, toothpaste. Snacks and dinner will be provided.
"A sleepover? I've never been to a sleepover before," I admitted. "Then again, I've never had good friends like you before."
"Ya haven't?" asked Applebloom, a bit surprised at me. "Well, it's gonna be fun! We're going to watch movies, play games, eat cake, talk abou—"
"Cake?" I asked. I don't know why, but suddenly this sleepover sounds like a good gig.
"Now, Butter," Sweetie said, "don't forget you're still on a diet. You don't want to cheat on it now, do ya?"
I frowned a bit in disappointment. I was still a bit chubby, and I knew that cake wouldn't complement my figure.
"C'mon, Sweetie! A few desserts aren't gonna kill him!" Applebloom argued.
"Y-Yeah! C'mon Sweetie!" I added, hoping to persuade her through repetition.
Sweetie groaned and finally gave in. "Fine, you can have some cake. But you're going to have to work out twice as hard next time you go to the gym, got it?"
I groaned a bit at the thought of extra work. "Deal. So...who else is going to be at the sleepover?"
"It's a crusader-only sleepover, so it's just going to be us three," Scootaloo answered, smiling a bit. "So we can spend some more time together, Butter." Her face started to turn red again because of her allergies.
I smiled a bit. "Oh, that sounds cool!" Scootaloo's smile grew as she giggled a bit under her breath. I rose an eyebrow a bit in curiosity. "What was that giggle for?"
"Oh, I just...remembered a joke that somepony told me earlier. It's not that funny."
"Well, let's hear it!" I said.
"H-Hear what?"
"Your joke. What was the joke?" I asked. Scootaloo always tells the best jokes in class, so I was very interested in hearing it.
"Oh, um...heh, I forget it already. Allergies are clearing my memory," she said, smiling a bit in embarrassment.
"Oh...sorry to hear that. You did say you would go to a doctor about that, right?"
"I did. The doctor says it's just a minor virus and that it should go away...sometime soon, I think. It all depends on how I feel at the sleepover."
"Why would—"
"Medical stuff. You wouldn't understand."
I tried to argue more with her, but Applebloom suddenly spoke up. "Alright gals..." I let out a fake cough as she added, "and guy...tell whoever's watchin' ya about the sleepover and meet at Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie's got a whole schedule planned for us, so she's gonna handle most of the party."
"Alright!" Scootaloo exclaimed. She looked towards me as her allergies kicked up again. "You're going to be there, right Butter?"
"Well, I'll ask my parents, but I'm pretty sure I'll be there!" I answered with a smile.
"Thanks, Butter!" she cheered, giving me a hug. After a moment of slight shock, I slowly hugged back. For some reason, Scootaloo was only this affectionate towards me. It's weird considering how awesome she tries to act around the other colts, but like I said, Scoots is a weird chick. She quickly let go and said, "I'll go home and tell my mom about the sleepover!" Immediately, she ran over to grab her scooter, which was leaning on the side of the school, and rode away with it.
"Right, I gotta let Rarity know about the sleepover, too. I'll be there, though!" Sweetie squeaked as she trotted home.
As she left, Applebloom looked towards me and said, "I've gotta get some chores done so Ah don't have any work to do tomorrow. But you'll try ta be at the sleepover, right?"
I nodded and saluted her. "I won't let you down!"
As we both went our separate ways, I mumbled silently to myself, "I hope mom and dad are cool with this."
Dinner began at around six like every night. My parents and I were at the dining table eating hayburgers. Everything was quiet. I decided this would be a perfect opportunity to tell them about the sleepover.
"So...uh...I'm going to a sleepover with some fillies tomorrow."
Immediately, Dad started choking.
"Popcorn!" My mom jumped from her seat and started to give my dad chest compressions. After a few squeezes, Dad finally got the piece of food out of his mouth and onto my face. Gross.
My dad coughed and looked towards Mom. "Th-Thanks, honey." Mom giggled and smiled as she sat back down. I wiped the chunk of chewed hay from my face as Dad began to lecture me. "Butter...I don't think that you should be going to a sleepover with a bunch of fillies."
"It's not a bunch of fillies, Dad. It's with Sweetie, Scootaloo, and Applebloom! That's it!"
"Still, I really don't think you should be going to a sleepover with three fillies."
"But why?" I asked.
"W-Well...uh...you'll understand when you're older. You're too young right now to get it."
"But Daaaaad..." I whined. "I promised them that I would be there! It's my first sleepover and it's going to be fuuuun!"
"Is there going to be cake?" Mom asked.
"Tons!" I answered with a big smile.
"Ooh...Popcorn, they have cake! Every good sleepover has cake!"
"Margarine, your son is going to a sleepover with three fillies! You don't see anything wrong with that?"
"Popcorn, you've met these fillies before! They're nice foals and wouldn't do anything 'mature' to our little Butterboo."
Dad sighed, knowing that he'd been cornered. After a moment of silence, he finally spoke. "Alright, fine. You can go to the sleepover."
I smiled big and exclaimed, "YES!"
"But please, try to be safe. Some awkward things can happen at sleepovers. Things that you can never forget. Things that will scar you for li—"
"WHO CARES?! FREE CAKE!" I cheered. I quickly ran upstairs before coming back downstairs and scarfing my burger down. I ran back upstairs and got into bed. I closed my eyes and smiled, knowing that tomorrow was going to be amazing.
"Butter! Put your dish in the dishwasher!" I heard my mom yell. I groaned loudly and went back downstairs. Parents always ruin the moment...
Something Sicked This Way Comes
I slept better than I've ever slept before. When I woke up and looked towards my alarm clock, it was a few minutes past three in the evening. I know I should feel shame that I slept for more than half the day, but it's summer, dang it! I deserve to be a bit lazy after suffering at that school!
Okay, maybe that's going a bit too far. I mean school wasn't all that boring. Just math...and reading. Science was okay, I guess.
...Oh right, I have to get ready for the sleepover! I shook my head and got out of bed. I leaned against the wall and stood on my hind legs, stretching my limbs. I looked down and saw my hind hooves, smiling a bit. Just a few months ago I couldn't even see them, but look at me now! The spitting image of health! Woah...alright, I'm getting a bit woozy from standing on only twos.
I got back on my hooves and walked to my bathroom. I brushed my teeth and looked at my mane. It was completely messy and sticking out at the top. I simply shrugged. Sleepovers are usually pretty casual. I was about to leave the bathroom when I heard my mom yell from downstairs, "BUTTER, DO YOUR HAIR!"
My jaw dropped a bit. How the heck does she know—
"INSTINCT~!"
I sighed and returned to the sink. I cupped my hooves together under the faucet and dampened my hair. I grabbed the brush next to the sink and swept my hair to the side like I normally do. I grinned a bit and trotted downstairs and into the kitchen to get something for lunch. I opened the fridge and noticed various vegetables and some hay on the bottom shelf. I thought to myself that I'd just make myself a sandwich. I grabbed some hay, lettuce, and a tomato and closed the fridge. I turned to get myself some bread when I noticed Dad was smirking at me.
"Waking up a little late, aren't ya sport?"
I responded to his smirk with an annoyed look. "It's summer. I deserve a few extra hours of sleep."
"A few?"
"Fine, a lot. I have no regrets, if that's what you're trying to get out of me."
He rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Just try to wake up earlier. Remember that adults don't wake up after ten. Chances are, you're going to have to get up at seven."
"Seeeveeeeennn?!" I whine. "Ughhhh..."
"Sorry, Butter. That's the life of an adult."
"But being an adult is boriiiing!"
"C'mon, bud. Being an adult isn't all that bad." He knelt down to my level and ruffled my mane, causing it to become messy again. I flinched a bit in annoyance as he fixed my mane. "Whoops, sorry."
"Nghhh...why do I have to become an adult, anyways?"
"Because, you're not going to be ten forever. When you're eighteen you're going off to college. You'll get a good job and marry a beautiful wife."
"But, I don't want to have a wife..."
All of a sudden, my dad's face flushed pale as he looked at me awkwardly. "O-Or a husband! I'm fine with whatever choice you make, Butter!"
"Huh?" I tilted my head a bit. "I meant that I don't want a wife OR a husband! I mean...fillies can be cool but...the kissing? The cuddling? Blech..." I gagged in a fake manner at the thought. "It's just too mushy for me."
"Oh...uh...right. Um...well, feelings change when you get older. When you're thirteen or fourteen maybe you'll get more interested in thought of getting with a filly."
"I highly doubt it, Dad," I responded, rolling my eyes.
"Hey, I'm just saying. You're a handsome colt, and you don't want that attractiveness to go to waste."
"Yeah...suuuuuure." I tried to act like I knew I was handsome, but in reality, I didn't really think that was true. I mean, I hang out with the fillies sometimes and they really appreciate my company, but they usually fantasize about Rumble if anything. I knew I wasn't as good-looking as him. I was average if anything, maybe even below-average. It doesn't really bother me, I'm just stating the facts.
Dad smiled at me and ruffled my mane. "You're a very lucky colt, Butter."
"Yeah...yeah. I know." I said with a small smile, backing away from his hoof. I moved my hoof up and swept my mane to the side again.
He patted me on the back and said, "We're leaving in a few minutes to get to your sleepover. Finish your sandwich and eat it so we're not late, m'kay?"
"Alright," I answered. I walked across the table to get some bread and a knife. I came back to my other ingredients and began cutting the lettuce and tomato into thin slices. I took a loaf of bread and placed the lettuce and tomato on top of it. I put another loaf on top of my construction and took a bite. "Mmmmmm..." I savored the taste of the sandwich as my mind entered a state of bliss. Although it was just a simple sandwich, it was truly incredible. Great food in general for me, both simple and complex, has a tremendous effect on me. It makes me calm and puts me in a state of thinking, causing me to imagine all the different ways I could improve or manipulate it.
Which reminds me, this sandwich could use some mustard. I walked to the fridge and saw that there was no mustard, and instead a bottle of ketchup taunting me. Ketchup on any sandwich other than a hayburger? A crime against ponykind, I say. I groaned at the lack of mustard and continued to eat my sandwich. "Stupid ketchup...making my sandwich dry."
After a few minutes had passed, we headed off to Sugarcube Corner. During the walk, I kept looking over at Dad, and saw that instead of a once cheerful grin like earlier today, he was looking a bit more concerned and uncomfortable. I assumed that he still didn't like the idea of me being alone at a sleepover with a bunch of fillies. Why would he be so concerned? I mean, it's just like being a sleepover with a bunch of colts, right?
The walk was very slow and boring. Not a word was spoken between either Dad and me. I looked around and saw several different ponies. There was a gray, pegasus stallion with a dark blue mane. His mane also had a lighter blue streak along the top of it. I had a hard time telling whether or not it was just fake highlights or natural and then wondering if I'd look cool with some highlights in my hair or something. Mom would say I'd look cute pr something, but Dad'll probably yell "no" at the top of his lungs. I looked to my left and saw another pegasus colt with a brown coat and a long red mane. He was chasing his tail like a dog, but soon got dizzy and fell over on his side. Ponyville was a weird place, that's for sure. I turned my head as soon as he ran to a nearby tree and lifted up his leg.
I kept concentrating forward, trying not to make eye contact with any of these strange ponies. I knew this was a nice town, but I can't help but feel like I was going to get beat up for some reason. After a few more minutes of walking, we eventually got to a building that looked like a giant gingerbread house. Good ol' Sugarcube Corner. How I enjoy thy milkshakes. However, today the store looked a bit different. It was adorned with streamers and balloons. As we approached the candy shop the door had a sign hanging from the front. A closer look shows that it said "Closed." Below that was another tiny sign with text on it stating "(Unless you're a member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders and in that case please enter!") Typical Pinkie.
Oh, that reminds me. If you thought Scootaloo was strange, then Pinkie is flippin' CRAZY. I've known her for a long time and I still don't know what's up with her! She's like...hard to explain. You know that one babysitter that always hugs and cuddles you, being overly affectionate? Imagine that babysitter having weird physics-bending powers and just drank twenty-three cups of coffee. That's Pinkie.
As soon as Dad opened the door for me, a pink blur dashed over and grabbed me in a hug. To be fair, she's getting better with giving me some personal space. She's not crushing me to death like the last few times.
"OHMYGOSHBUTTERIT'SBEENSOLONG!" she exclaimed in an excited tone.
"Heh. Yeah," I responded. "Can't imagine why we don't hang out more often..."
After what felt like a decade of awkward hugging, Pinkie finally said "Whoops, sorry! Got a little carried away!" She let go of me and rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "You're just too gosh darn cute!"
"Once again, I disagree with that statement," I replied.
"Can't disagree with the truth, Butter~!" she giggled, ruffling my mane and making me even more annoyed.
I groaned as I fixed my hair and moved my sight towards Dad. "Dad, tell her she's wrong!"
He sighed and said, "I hate to say it, but I'm afraid it's true. You've come down with a serious case of adorable-itus. And it's incurable."
"Ngh...you don't have a medical degree!"
"Shoot. You found me out," he admitted. A smirk crept upon my face as I folded my arms with satisfaction. "...You're still cute as heck, though."
My smirk faded as I pouted once more in annoyance. "Rgh. Where are the other crusaders?"
"Oh, they're right over..." Her voice trailed off as she looked around. "Huh, they were right here a minute ago."
A little confused, I took a few steps inside of the store. I looked around, completely silent. The store was completely empty, a sight I have never seen before because it's usually always full with ponies. Before I could turn back around to Pinkie and Dad, I felt six hooves grab me and three loud screams.
"YYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!"
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE~!" I immediately crumpled to the ground, completely startled and paralyzed from the frightening fate that I knew would be the end of me. When I could finally comprehend what just happened, I could hear the sound of three fillies giggling loudly.
"Oh my gosh, we SO got you!" Sweetie laughed.
I sighed at my humility. I'll let them have this victory, but they have not yet won the war. I will not forget this, and they will learn to never mess with Butterball! AS CELESTIA AS MY WITNESS, I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE!
"...Ya sure did..." I simply said aloud.
After a few more minutes of giggling, they finally calmed down as Scootaloo suddenly hugged me tight. "I'm so glad you came, Butter! This party is going to be AWESOME! Pinkie's got a whole schedule planned out!"
I smiled a bit awkwardly at the hug as I looked towards Pinkie. "Y-You do? What are we going to do?"
"In due time, my little yellow friend~" said Pinkie, trying to sound whimsical. "It's all going to be a surprise, but let's say we're going to do a little something for each of you to enjoy!"
I'm not much one for surprises, as they usually turn out bad, like a globe or calculator as a birthday present. However, Pinkie was a very special pony. I'm sure she had a good plan up her nonexistent sleeves. I shifted my gaze towards Scootaloo, realizing that she still had me in a tight hug. After a few seconds, she let go and backed away. Her cheeks soon grew very red as she shied away from me. Poor filly. It must be horrible to have allergies all the time.
"Hm...Pinkie, are you sure you have this under control?" Dad asked skeptically.
"Of course, Mr. Ball! You have nothing to worry about!" Pinkie grinned and whispered in his ear, just barely audible for me to hear. "You know, you can spend this time with your wife, if you want~"
Now it was Dad's turn to have his cheeks turn red. He backed away a bit and smiled just as Scootaloo did with me. "Uhh...okay, you have fun with Pinkie, Butter! I'm going out with your mother for a wee bit!" He walked towards me quickly and gave a short hug before trotting out of the store in a very ecstatic manner.
I watched Dad's awkward behavior as my heart sank. Oh Celestia...he might have caught Scootaloo's allergies! Who knows what this virus is capable of? How do I even know what it can do?! I glanced towards Pinkie as I tried to give a big smile to her. "Uhh...PinkiecanIhaveaword~?" I asked hastily.
"Sure Butter!" she answered. We both walked out of earshot from the crusaders as they started to talk about getting their cutie marks during the sleepover. Passing their conversation off, I informed Pinkie, "I think there's a disease on our hooves."
Pinkie's smiling face shifted into a look of confusion. "A disease? What do you mean?"
"I mean that there's a virus causing ponies to have allergic reactions. Every time I'm with Scootaloo, her face gets all red as she backs away, I think to keep balance. Redness in the face? Wooziness? Does this not sound like an epidemic waiting to happen?! I mean, they've got my dad already, so we know that it's contagious!" I started to panic. This could be an epidemic that sweeps across the entire land of Equestria! It could end ponykind as we know it!
"Butter, I know what's going on."
"What?!"
"It's obvious that this isn't an epidemic going to kill all ponykind, silly!"
"Oh...thank Celestia." I breathed out a sigh of relief as I calmed down.
"Scootaloo's just deathly allergic to you."
"WAITWHAT?!"
I hoped it was a nightmare. I prayed that when I opened my eyes I would be back in my room and in my warm, cozy bed. In fact, I heard my alarm going off in obnoxiously high pitched beeps! I groaned loudly and moved my hoof up in the air and slammed it as hard as I could on the snooze button.
"OW! BUTTER, WHAT THE HAY?!"
...Maybe I hit it too hard.
I opened my eyes slowly and was met with Pinkie and my other fellow crusaders. Sweetie was rubbing her eyes in pain as she looked at me with an annoyed glare.
"...You're not my alarm clock."
The next few seconds that happened after my comment surprised me. It was so startling that I almost fainted once more from astonishment. It was an occurrence that I once thought was impossible. And yet it happened. I couldn't believed my ears. Scootaloo giggled. She...giggled. It wasn't a laugh or a guffaw, but an honest to Celestia filly-like giggle.
"Oh my gosh, Butter. You are the FUNNIEST!" She smiled wide as her cheeks turned red.
Oh no. It's true. This wasn't a poorly constructed nightmare. This was real. She was allergic to me!
I stammered a bit, trying to sit back up and regain my composure. "U-Um...I...really need to talk to Pinkie!"
"Oh...oka—" Before she could finish her sentence I grabbed her hoof and rushed behind the counter quickly. I stood up on my front hooves and gazed over the counter. I noticed all of them look at me and shrug before going back to talking. I sighed in relief and crouched back down.
"How is she allergic to ME?! This shouldn't be possible!" I whispered to her, trying to keep my volume low.
"Well, Butter, lemme tell ya!" she smiled, seemingly unable to understand the concept of whispering.
"SSSSHHH!" I covered her mouth with my hooves to make her shut up.
"Mff..." She moved my hooves away and giggled quietly. "Oh right," she whispered. "Well Butter, allergies are triggered by attacks in ponies' immune systems. These allergies can be triggered by many things...hair, pollen...but some allergies can be caused by many strange things and can vary on severity."
"...Is that true?"
"I dunno. Sounds true though, doesn't it?" She giggled again.
"Wait a second, does my dad have an allergic reaction to my mom then?"
She stopped smiling and hesitated a bit. "Well...uh...your father has...already told me about his minor allergy! It's nothing to worry about!" She smiled once more and continued, "Anyway, maybe you should talk to her about these 'allergies' and then you can sort it out!" she whispered in a cheery tone.
I thought for a bit before talking again. "I can't risk her getting more sick if I talk to her for too long. Who knows what another second touching her could do?! She could go into a coma...or become paralyzed from the neck down...or worse! Her head could explode from her face getting too hot and red!"
Pinkie tilted her head a bit and raised an eyebrow at me. "Aren't you overreacting just a teensy little bit, Butter?"
"Aren't YOU UNDERreacting just a lotta bit, Pinkie?" I responded.
With a sigh, she said, "Butter, I really think you should talk to Scootaloo. This could all be a big misunderstanding, you know."
"I can't risk that. I just need to try to avoid her as much as possible the whole night and maybe her allergies will lower enough that we can spend time with each other again!"
"Butter, I—"
"Hey, are you two alright back there?" asked a feminine voice from the other side of the counter. I got up slowly to investigate who it was. Unluckily, it was of course Scootaloo.
"GAH!" I quickly backed up into the wall, making Scootaloo flinch a bit.
"Um...Butter? What's up?" she asked, her cheeks fading of their reddish color. I sighed in relief. Good...her allergies are going away, I thought to myself.
"Oh...nothing. I just...uh...hey! How about we do something together?" I requested.
"Ooh, like a game?" Her wings buzzed in excitement as she jumped on the counter. Her cheeks grew redder, causing my nervousness to increase again.
"Y-Yes! A game that requires no physical contact whatsoever!"
Scootaloo's ears lowered a bit. She opened her mouth to speak before Applebloom jumped on top of the counter next to her. "You mean like truth or dare or somethin'?"
"Uhh...sure!" I tried to smile as I quickly ran back to the group, trying to avoid getting near Scootaloo. I sat down next to Sweetie Belle who was still rubbing her eye.
"Not even a 'sorry?'"
"Oh. Uh...sorry," I apologized awkwardly.
"Hmph. It's too late for sorries!" she squeaked, folding her arms.
I paused for a bit before speaking again. "Alright then..."
Scootaloo and Applebloom got off the counter with Pinkie and walked towards us. As Pinkie and Applebloom sat down, I noticed Scootaloo was heading over to try to sit next to me. I quickly stood up and said, "Uhh...actually we should do this in alphabetical order!" I rushed over between Applebloom and Pinkie, leaving Scootaloo to slowly make her way next to Sweetie. The distance between us was still pretty close, so I lied to everypony that I had claustrophobia and needed space. Scootaloo got suspicious and started to question it, but thankfully heavy breathing and annoying whining solves a lot of problems. They all backed up away from me, leaving me to regain my composure that I falsely lost.
"So uh...am Ah going first?" asked Applebloom. We all nodded as Applebloom continued, "Alright...uh, Pinkie! Truth or dare?"
"Ooh ooh! Dare!"
"Alright...I dare ya to eat a mustard filled donut!"
She stuck out her tongue at the challenge. "Pfft...that's easy!" She bolted to the kitchen and within seconds had a round donut doused in mustard. She opened her mouth and swallowed the whole thing with ease. Her smile slowly turned into a face of agony as she shivered. Her mane deflated as she turned to me with the voice of a raspy 90 year old stallion. "Y-Your turn, Butter."
I thought for a second when suddenly I had an idea. Wait...if I can convince Scootaloo to choose dare, then I can get her to keep her distance from me! I smirked a bit and looked towards her. "Alright Scootaloo, truth or dare?"
She returned the smirk with a confident smile and answered, "Truth!"
Horseapples... "Agh...okay uh...what was the most embarrassing thing you've ever experienced?"
Scootaloo put a hoof to her chin and started to think. "Well, I'd have to say...the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to me was just about a month ago. I was on the seesaw with Sweetie and then I saw you on the swing smiling and having a great time. Suddenly I...zoned out I guess. I don't know what happened but...time froze. I don't know if it was your smile or just something else about you but..." She paused for a bit before her cheeks turned red once more. Oh my Celestia, I thought, her allergies are getting worse! They're affecting her memories! She shook her head and tried to clear her reddish tint. "Anyways, I sorta lost my balance when I zoned out and fell off the seesaw."
"Oh my gosh, I remember that!" Sweetie giggled. "And the seesaw came back down and hit you in the head! That was...uh...I mean I'm sorry for your loss. Your loss of balance, I mean."
She shrugged and smiled simply. "It's okay, Sweetie. It was kinda funny actually...pfft..."
Normally I would've laughed with her, but I couldn't have. I was too worried about Scootaloo's health to share a chuckle. I hoped that maybe if I waited out until my next turn that she would choose dare. But she didn't. Every turn she made for the next five turns was a truth. It wasn't until the sixth turn I tried to take that ponies around me got suspicious. "Butter, Ah think we're going to do something else now," said Applebloom.
"No wait! One more! Truth or dare?"
"Hm...daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-truth~!"
"GAH!" I threw my hooves up in the air. "N-Never mind! You win!"
"...Jeez Butter, ya don't hafta be a sore loser about it," Applebloom said, shaking her head.
I was about to open my mouth to argue, but instead I simply sighed. "Fine. It's only a game. Whatever..."
Pinkie giggled and ruffled my mane, adding on to my annoyance. "Alrighty, so I'm going to take you fillies out to do some fun activities with some of my friends~!"
"Ooh, that sounds like fun~!" Sweetie squeaked, almost shattering a window.
"Wait, who are your friends?" I asked.
"Oohhh...you're going to see, Butter. You're going to see!" She looked towards the back wall and winked at it.
"...Uh...what are you doing?"
"Addressing the fourth wall!"
"...What?" I asked.
"I said...oh never mind! Let's just go!" She giggled and led us all out of Sugarcube Corner.
...This mare is too insane to take care of us...
Author's Note
Sorry this took so long
Anyway, if you're wondering what the heck Pinkie's doing telling Butter about these "allergies" and all that, all will hopefully make sense towards the climax.
Finally, sorry that this chapter is shorter than the other ones. I just wanted to show everyone that I'm not dead. Next one should be normal length!
I'm not going to lie to you, being a foal can be lame sometimes. I know a lot of ponies believe being a foal is great with the lack of responsibilities and all, but there are some days I wish I could wake up a stallion, you know? For example, if you're a foal, society states you are automatically cute no matter what your true physical appearance is. Not "handsome cute" mind you, but "puppy dog cute." One time, I was listening to one of my mom's friends talk about how well her flower business is going. She then went on to say that within the next decade Equestria would become a much greener society because of these flowers. I overheard her while getting myself a snack and argued to her that Equestria is actually slowly becoming more polluted and that flowers alone would not solve the issue. She looked at me for a second before finally bending over to cuddle me and to pinch my cheeks. No matter what you say, ponies will always think you're being cute to be taken seriously. It can be annoying.
I brought that specific example up because I was having a hard time keeping up with the others. It wasn't that I was tired, but rather because I have stubbier legs than them (which by the way is ANOTHER curse of being a foal). "Could you slow down please? I have stubby legs..."
I was met with a feminine giggle as Pinkie slowed her pace, prompting the other crusaders to do so as well. I caught up with them within a few seconds, leaving me embarrassed. Although I had gained more stamina as I lost weight, my legs were shorter than the normal foal, making it harder to run as fast as the others. These last couple weeks I have been wishing to undergo some sort of growth spurt, but so far I've been unlucky.
"Ya need a breather, Butter?" Applebloom asked, concerned if I was going to collapse on the ground in need of CPR or something.
I groaned and rolled my eyes. "I'm fine, Applebloom..."
"Whatever you say, Butterbutt," she snickered.
I gave her an annoyed look and groaned, "Stop calling me that. It's embarrassing."
She stick her tongue out and blew a raspberry. "Fiiiiiiiine..."
Obviously trying to stop our bickering, Sweetie suddenly spoke up. "Pinkie, where exactly ARE we going first?"
Pinkie quickly turned to her and replied, "It's going to be a surprise, silly filly!" She ruffled Sweetie's mane, causing her to pout and use her magic to fix her hair into its naturally curly state.
"Well, can you at least tell us WHO'S gonna be there—OOF!" Pinkie suddenly stood still, causing Scootaloo to run right into her poofy tail. The hyperactive pony then gazed up towards the sky, focusing on a single cloud. Scootaloo backed up from her tail and coughed, sticking her tongue out. "Blech, I think there'th a hair on ma tongue..." She wiped her tongue with a hoof and looked back at Pinkie. "Uhh...Pinkie?"
"HEY DASHIE!" Pinkie all of a suddenly called out.
After the ringing in my ears had ceased and I had made sure she didn't blow out my ear drum, I heard an irritated groan from the single, isolated cloud. I could see a tuft of rainbow colored hair rise up from the cloud. The creature got up from the cloud, revealing it to be a female cyan pegasus. She stretched her limbs as she spoke, "Pinkieeeee, I was taking a power nap!"
"Whoops! Sorry Dash! I just wanted to ask if you'd like to play a game with us~!"
"...I'm listening..."
I don't like the sound of this game...
"A game? With RAINBOW DASH?!" Scootaloo squealed with delight as her little wings buzzed. It was actually kinda cute...
...Gah! Butter get a hold of yourself! You're trying to avoid her to save her life!
The pegasus now known as Rainbow Dash quickly landed on the ground and with a flick of the neck, flipped her mane back, seemingly trying to look awesome to us spectators. "Heh...a game with Scoots sounds AWESOME!" she smirked, ruffling Scootaloo's mane and making her giggle...which was quite adorable...
...Just slapped myself in the face hard just now. I'm good. Everything's good.
Dash's attention slowly shifted towards me as she stopped ruffling Scootaloo's mane. She slowly made her way towards me, still smirking. "Haven't seen you around here. What's your name, squirt?"
I'm not going to admit, now that she was closer to me, she just got ten times more intimidating. This mare didn't look like it at first, but she looks kinda muscular. Like, she could REALLY pound me into the ground without even trying. My fear started to show as I began to sweat and tremble a bit. "U-Uhh...Butterball..."
Dash snickered and ruffled my mane, making me even more nervous. "Butterball, eh? Wanna be on my team with Scootaloo? Us pegasi gotta stick together!"
My eyes suddenly widened as I screamed, "NO!"
Dash flinched and took a step back, obviously not expecting my sudden outburst. "Woah! Chill, little dude!"
I quickly covered my mouth, feeling embarrassed at my behavior. "I...uh...I mean, I want to give the other team a fair shot, you know? It'd be too easy!"
Dash suddenly smiled competitively again. "Oh, dang! Somepony's got moxie!" I smiled a bit at my fake courage as I trotted to Pinkie's side. "Alright then, Scoots is on my team and Butter'll be on Pinkie's!"
Pinkie giggled and began to choose the rest of her team. "Okay, I pick Applebloom then!"
"Yay!" Applebloom cheered as she bolted next to me.
Sweetie pouted and kicked at the ground. "Picked last again..." She slowly made her way over to Dash as she spoke up again. "Wait a sec, which game are we playing?"
Dash's grin widened as she quickly flew up to the cloud she was snoozing on. She came back down holding a ball made up of white hexagons and black pentagons. "A little game called soccer~"
...Oh fudge...
I never was really good at sports. I know it would look otherwise because of my body structure, but I really do have poor hoof-eye coordina—
"Butter, what are ya doin' starin' into space? We're in the middle of a game!"
"Gah, I was just telling a story!"
"To who?"
"Well—"
"WOO! WE SCORED DASH!" As soon as I turned my head around I noted that the ball had landed inside our own goal, scoring Dash's team a point.
"Wait, where's Pinkie? She's supposed to be defending our goal!" I exclaimed.
"I'M the goalie?" I heard from the other side of the field, making me groan in annoyance.
"Ughhh...fine, I'LL be the goalie..." I sighed as I trotted to the goal. At least it'll require less running. I picked the ball up with my mouth and threw it up in the air. I moved my head back and butted it against my head. The ball rolled across the field, Applebloom running towards it and kicking it to Pinkie. As they kept passing the ball to each other, I moved my attention to the other goalie, Sweetie Belle. Sure enough, she looked like she didn't want to be here as much as I did. But hey, I shouldn't ruin the fun for everypony by whining about it.
Just as Applebloom passed the ball to Pinkie for the fourth time, Pinkie lined up her shot and tried to make a goal. Sweetie flinched, about to shy away from the incoming ball when Dash suddenly lunged in front of her, blocking the ball with her chest. The ball deflected itself off of Dash and up into the air. It came back down as Dash jumped up and hit the ball with her head, causing it to roll quickly toward the goal. My eyes widened as I lunged towards the ball, blocking it from entering the goal with my body.
"Nice save, Butter!" Pinkie and Applebloom cheered simultaneously. I smiled a bit and threw the ball towards Applebloom. She ran up next to it while it was rolling and kicked it to Pinkie. She kicked the ball again, this time making contact with the net behind Sweetie Belle.
"Gah, sorry guys!" Sweetie squeaked.
"Hey, it's cool, Sweetie!" Dash said to her, voice cracking a bit. She looked towards Scootaloo and smirked. "You wanna be the goalie for a bit, Scootaloo?"
"WOULD I~?" she squealed, her wings buzzing. By the way that wasn't cute! That was just...charming and endearing. Yeah.
"Go ahead, squirt," Dash smiled, causing Scootaloo to rush over to the goal. She locked my eyes onto mine, giving me a smug look. I gulped a bit, knowing Scootaloo had gotten into a competitive mood. And when she's in a competitive mood, she shows no mercy. Scootaloo picked the ball up and threw it to Sweetie. Confused of what to do, Sweetie quickly passed the ball to Dash, knowing she was much more athletic than her. Dash dribbled the ball the forward, dodging both Pinkie and Applebloom. When she kicked the ball, my instinct kicked in, causing me to throw myself in front of the ball. It recoiled off my body and ended up on the other side of the field, surprising Dash.
What I said next changed everything. I could've said something polite as a response to Dash's adequate kick. I could've said something cheering on our team. But instead, my cockiness got the better of me. "You kick like a girl! Woo!"
All but Dash just either giggled or rolled their eyes. Dash on the other hoof, I saw something fierce in her eye, like a fire stirring inside of her about to be let loose. She opened her mouth, about to say something, but closed her mouth, giving me an angry glare the whole time. I took a step back, a bit embarrassed that I said that. I didn't mean to say it, but I was just in the moment, you know?
Play resumed as the ball was thrown back to Dash. She quickly ran past Applebloom and Pinkie again with the ball, proving them to be horrible at defense. She shot the ball again at me, this time with all her might. My eyes widened as the ball was heading straight towards m—
"OOF!"
The ball hit me in the stomach, causing the wind to get knocked out of me. I crumpled to the ground in pain and groaned. "OH MY GOSH, BUTTER! I'M SO SORRY!" I heard from the raspy-voiced pegasus. The next thing I knew, I felt the presence of ponies surrounding me in concern as I closed my eyes and clenched my gut. I sniffled from my injury as I felt tears run down my cheeks. I hoped they wouldn't notice I was crying, but considering my luck, I knew that wasn't gonna happen.
"Oh my gosh, Butter's hurt!" I heard Sweetie exclaim.
I wanted to get up and trot it off but...I felt paralyzed and glued to the ground. I couldn't move. I didn't feel like moving. I just wanted to lay down there forever.
But I couldn't because I felt something nuzzle my cheek. Something warm. I opened up one eye and saw a purple mane in my face. Ohnoit'sScootaloo...
I tried to get up and protest from her nuzzling, but...something about it felt comforting and nice. Everything felt like it was going to be okay...
GAH! WHAT AM I SAYING?! I'M TRYING TO PREVENT HER FROM GETTING ALLERGIC TO ME!
I sat up slowly and gently pushed Scootaloo away from nuzzling my cheek. "I-I'm better now, Scoots!" She backed up from me and smiled a bit, her cheeks turning redder by the minute. Dang it. That game didn't help keep our distance...
"Oh gosh, Butter! I didn't mean to kick the ball that hard!" Dash exclaimed.
I wiped the tears from my eyes. "Nghh...it's alright. I didn't mean to say 'you kick like a girl.'"
"I know you didn't...but it still kinda made me mad. But that's no excuse! I'm the adult and I should act like one."
"Dash, it's fine. It was my fault."
"No, it was mine."
"..." I realized we've reached a deadlock. "How about both of us are to blame?"
Dash smiled a bit and ruffled my mane. "Good idea, squirt."
I smiled back at her as Applebloom suddenly spoke up. "Wait a sec, who won?"
I searched around for the ball and saw that it had rolled towards the middle of the field. Without hesitation I quickly ran to the ball and kicked it towards the opposite goal. The ball made its way into the net as I cheered. "WOO! WINNING GOAL!"
Everypony just rolled their eyes at me as the began to clap at me. I don't even care if their congratulating me was false. I WON A SPORT!
After a few more seconds of applauding, Pinkie looked at Dash and asked. "Hey Dash? You don't mind if you follow us to our next activity?"
"Oh sure, Pinkie! Where are we going?"
She whispered in her ear as her enthusiasm dropped noticeably. "Oh...ew..."
"Don't be like that Dashie! Come on guys!" cheered Pinkie as she hopped off into another direction.
Dash picked up her ball as I asked her in curiosity, "Where are we going now?"
"Well kid, hope you don't mind girly stuff."
Annnnd I already despise this activity.
Author's Note
Can't believe this took almost a month to publish.
Oh well, point out any mistakes in this chapter and/or criticisms in the comments so I can fix them!
But I Hate Girly Things Even More
The walk continued as slowly I grew more and more bored. The groans from Dash confirmed that she was bored as well, which made me feel a bit better. Until, that is, she tried to start a conversation with me.
"So, Butter...how fast can you fly?"
I flinched a bit and froze in place for a few seconds before quickly catching up to the rest of the group again. "Wh-What?" I stammered in surprise.
"How fast can you fly?" she asked again.
"...Um..." I looked away in shame.
"...Are you a slower flier? There's no shame in that, Butter!" she said with a ruffle of my mane.
Groaning, I fixed it with my hoof and finally said, "I actually can't fly."
"Wait...you can't?!" she asked, leaving everypony else to gasp in surprise. I thought that they would get the hint by now. I mean I live on the ground, I haven't hovered, much less flied, in my life, and...well, look at these puny things! Oh wait, actually you can't because this is just a story. So...okay, imagine a bumblebee had transformed into a pony, lost its black stripes, but kept its wing to body size ratio but couldn't fly. That's pretty much me in a nutshell. It was pretty much impossible for me to try to fly, so it was best to leave it at that and not try anything cra—
"Woah woah, everypony stop. The namby-pamby thing can wait. We need to get Butter off the ground and into the air!"
Rainbow, what are you doing?! I exclaimed in my head. "Uh...Dash, it's not that important, really..."
She gasped and stared into my eyes. "It IS a big deal! Flying is the most awesome thing ever! Everypony should be able to experience it!"
"I don't know if you've noticed, but my wings are too small to fly."
"That's not true, Butter!" Scootaloo exclaimed with a smile. "My wingspan is 3 inches smaller than yours and I can hover for a good few seconds!"
"W-Wait a second, how do you know how big my wingspan is?"
"I measured them while you aren't looking. I find out a lot about you when you aren't looking~"
...Okay, that's crazy even by Scoots's standards. Creepy even.
"All...trivia aside, I really don't think that this is going to work."
"Ya don't know until ya try, squirt! Now let me see a good flyer's position!"
I hesitated a bit before planting my four hooves on the ground and lowered my body, sticking my rump up in the air. "How's this?"
She trotted towards me and pushed my bottom lower to the ground. "You need to keep your body level to the ground. Also, don't try to hug it," she commented as she put a hoof on my belly to bring it up. The sensation of her hoof on my stomach made me flinch and squirm, making her raise an eyebrow.
"He's a wee bit ticklish," Pinkie giggled, making me even more embarrassed than I already was.
"I-I mean, not that much," I said.
"Ohhhh." After a long pause, Dash smirked and put her hoof on my belly again, causing me to giggle loudly in response. She quickly stopped and put a hoof to her mouth, trying not to laugh at my humiliation. "S-Sorry, I couldn't help it."
"Nghh...sh-shut it..." I stuttered out.
"In all seriousness, ya need to move your body up a bit more. Then jump in the air and let your wings do the rest!"
"O-Okay, I'll try." I closed my eyes and jumped up in the air as I tried to flutter my wings as fast as possible. I expected to hit the ground, but felt nothing on my hooves. I opened my eyes slowly and looked down at the grass that was now a few feet below from me. "A-Am I doing it?"
"WOOHOO! Nice, Butter!" cheered Dash, grabbing me and hugging me. She soon coughed and let go, looking away from me. "I mean, that was good for a first time." I covered my mouth and tried not to snicker at her. Apparently, not even she could resist acting overzealous like the others at times. "Heh, you know, I've been working with Scoots on her flying. Do you wanna do some flight training on Wednesday with us?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, it'll be so cool with you around!" exclaimed Scootaloo with a smile and a red glow emanating from her face.
My eyes widened as my pupils shrunk. "That's a tempting offer! But...uhh..." I started to stammer, thinking of an excuse. "I work with my dad on Wednesdays to make donuts for work!" I smiled dishonestly, hoping she would take my statement as the truth.
"Ohh," Scootaloo replied with a disappointed look. "M-Maybe we could try some flight training a different day then!"
"I mean, I could try but...my schedule is indefinite so I don't really know what to expect."
"Ah thought ya said that you didn't have anything planned for the summer," Applebloom brought up, eyeing me with a face of skepticism.
"Th-That was before I found out about...how much my dad wants me to take over the family business!" I smiled. Family business?! What are you, in some sort of mafia movie?
Hey, shut up, me!
Don't tell me to shut up! You make up a lie if you're so smart!
Maybe I will!
Applebloom continued to stare me down until she finally accepted my lie and turned her head back around.
After a minute or two of silence, Pinkie reached a hoof into her mane and pulled out a list. "Now that we have Applebloom's activity done first, let's move onto our Sweetie's!"
"Wait, that soccer game was Applebloom's idea and not Scootaloo's?" Sweetie asked. "Then what'd she pi–"
"SHHHH! SWEETIE!" Scootaloo put her hooves over Sweetie mouth. "IT'S A SURPRISE, REMEMBER!" she exclaimed. Sweetie slowly nodded, flinching a bit. After putting her hooves down, Sweetie spat and gagged, rubbing her mouth with her hoof.
"Ewww...I can taste grass!"
"Sweetie, don't be such a drama queen!"
"I'm not a drama queen!"
"Yes you are!"
At the same time, Sweetie and Scootaloo turned towards Applebloom, waiting her response. After a bit of thought, Applebloom came to a conclusion. "Ya are a bit on the dramatic side..."
She let out a squeaky gasp as she put a hoof to her forehead in grief. "I CANNOT BELIEVE MY FRIENDS WOULD CALL ME DRAMATIC!" she wailed, fainting and landing on the ground on her back. After a few seconds of playing dead, she quickly remembered that the ground was filthy and scrambled up to her hooves, brushing dirt out of her mane with her hooves. "Okay, maybe I am a bit dramatic..."
Everypony let out a giggle except for Dash and me. We let out a chuckle. Because we were too good for giggling. Stallions chuckle! Aha! Like that! Ignore that giggling like sound I made earlier because that was a fluke! Honest!
I've made my point. Hmph.
"Ooh, here we are!" Pinkie exclaimed as we came across a small cottage next to a river. The cottage was adorned with flowers of all kinds and there were several trees surrounding it as well. I could hear birds chirping in the distance in a melodious tune, making me feel all warm inside. The crazy thing is, that this cottage felt familiar to me. I couldn't put my hoof on it, but something about this cottage reminded me of somepony. But what?
We all crossed the river by a path that went over it as Pinkie quickly knocked on the door energetically. "FLUTTERSHY!"
That name, why does it sound so familiar?
The cottage's door opened slowly but surely as a yellow pegasus with a long, elegant pink mane stood in the doorway, gazing upon all of us with her teal eyes. She browsed all of us before her eyes locked onto me. She gasped and suddenly smiled, flying towards me and grabbing me in an unexpected hug. I flinched and looked at her in complete confusion before finally coming to a realization. "BUTTERBALL! OH MY GOSH!"
"Cousin Fluttershy?" I asked, trying to confirm that it was truly her. She nodded and started to nuzzle her cheek against mine.
"Wait, YOU TWO ARE COUSINS?!" everypony but Fluttershy and me exclaimed, obviously not expecting our family relations.
"BUTTERBALL AND FLUTTERSHY ARE COUSINS?!" I heard from inside the cottage. I tilted my head to see through the doorway and noticed Rarity standing in the living room in complete shock.
"...Y-Yeah. Do you mind if we kinda like...NOT make a big deal out of this weird little coincidence?"
Aaaand we had to make this little coincidence a big deal. We've only been here for five minutes and already Fluttershy's telling me stories of when I was a baby. On top of that, every story was horribly embarrassing.
"Ooh, I just remembered that when Butter was only three he used to put EVERYTHING in his mouth! His toys, his hoof, he even tried putting some of his tiny wittle shirts in his mouth!" she told the others, squealing a bit at the thought of a much younger me.
Everypony for some bizarre reason thought it was cutest thing and started to "aww" at me. I responded of course like a stallion by covering my face in embarrassment with my hooves. Stallions weren't cute. It's impossible for them to be cute!
"Butter, you sounded like such a cute baby!" Scootaloo smiled.
"SHUT UP, I'M A STALLION AND WE ARE HANDSOME!" I responded with a slight crack of my voice. I hope that the others didn't hear that...
"Aww, but it's true! You were such a big eater too! I remember one day when I was babysitting him, I left out a bag of animal crackers for his dessert. I went to make him some macaroni and cheese and when it was done, I found the whole package empty and Butter on the couch with crumbs everywhere! He tried his hardest to deny that it was him, but...the crumbs were kind of a giveaway..."
The crowd "aww'ed" one more time, making me even more flustered. I groaned in response to them, making me even more embarrassed. "C-Canwemoveontosomethingelse?"
"Hm?" Pinkie asked, turning towards me.
I coughed and repeated, "Can we move onto something else? Like that girly activity Sweetie wanted to do..."
"Oh right!" Pinkie grabbed Rarity and Fluttershy into a group huddle similarly to that of a hoofball team in the middle of a game plan and proceeded to murmur quietly so that none of us could hear them. They finally broke away after a minute or so as Pinkie cleared her throat. "WHO WANTS A MAKEOVER?!"
Sweetie suddenly smiled big and squealed with joy. "I DO!"
"Ehh, Ah guess Ah'll have one, too."
"Bleh, no thanks!" Dash and Scootaloo said in disgust.
"Now Rainbow Dash, you promised me that you would try to keep better care of yourself. You never know when you're going to meet a dapper stallion in your life~!" Rarity said with a bit of elegance at the end of her sentence.
"Ugh...Rarity...I don't want a well-dressed, uptight, jerk in a penguin suit. I want a stallion who's not afraid to be...you know...casual!"
"You mean like Applejack's cousin Moonshine?" asked Rarity sarcastically.
"The pony who smells like alcohol and Celestia knows what else 24/7? Uhh...no. That's TOO casual."
"Hey, Ah like cousin Moonshine. He has a funny smile." pouted Applebloom.
"Not to be rude towards him, but I find a smile with only five teeth more creepy than...well, hilarious..." admitted Rarity.
"Yeah. When a nine month old foal has more teeth than you do, you don't have many options..." Dash added.
"Either way," Rarity said, changing the subject, "it'd be best for you to try to make yourself look more presentable to other stallions, wouldn't it?"
Dash sighed before finally nodding a bit, "Fine, I'll bite. But please don't call it a 'makeover!' I'd DIE if anypony found out I was putting on hoof polish."
Rarity responded with a slight giggle. "Your secret never leaves this cottage!"
With that, Pinkie closed the shades and locked the doors with unnatural speed, causing all of us to look at her with confusion. She turned her head to all of us and said, "Just setting precautionary measures! We don't want this secret to leave this room, so I'm barricading the WHOOOLE place so it doesn't escape!"
Okay, I give up. I have NO idea if she's joking or not. Well, Pinks...it's going to take a lot more than your bizarre logic to make me go crazy!
Wasn't I just talking to myself earlier? I think that constitutes as being crazy...
SHUT UP!
"Right...you mares have your 'spa day' and I'll try to keep quiet upstairs," I said.
"U-Uh...I think I'll join him!" Scootaloo added with a smile, leading my heartbeats to increase with anxiety.
Scootaloo, WHY ARE YOU SO CLINGY TODAY?! CAN YOU BE MORE FRIENDLY, LIKE, WHEN YOU'RE NOT DYING OF AN UNKNOWN DISEASE?!
With a chuckle, Dash ruffled her hair. "You two play safe. Don't run with scissors, don't eat any suspicious-looking pills. All that stuff."
"We will!" Scootaloo replied, grabbing my hoof and rushing upstairs. She practically dragged me up each step, running too fast for me to keep up. Plus she was holding my hoof, which was no doubt causing her illness to become more and more fatal with every second.
After passing a few birds and a white rabbit who was glaring daggers at me for no reason whatsoever, we entered a small broom closet, which allowed very little room to move around in. She moved around me quickly before I could react and blocked the door with her body. There was little room to back up from her and it left a whole six inches of space between us. She fixated on me intensely, as if trying to read small print on my forehead. "Alright, Butter. I want to ask you something."
I gulped, anticipating the important question. "Y-Yes?"
"Why have you been avoiding me the whole day?"
"I-I haven't been avoiding you!" I lied.
"Oh, you haven't? Then I want you to hold my hoof." She held her hoof out, daring me to touch it with mine.
I cleared my throat with a cough and started to become even more nervous. I felt my temperature rise a bit as I tried to touch her hoof, but I couldn't do it. It was too risky. "I-I can't. I'm sorry, Scootaloo..."
She put her hoof down and tilted her head a bit. "Butter, what is going on here? Tell me the truth!"
She had me cornered. There was no weaseling my way out of this one. I took a deep breath in and out and replied to her, my voice trembling a bit in sadness.
"Scootaloo, if you keep getting close to me, I'm going to kill you."
She flinched and moved her head back a bit in surprise. "You're going to what?"
"I'm going to kill you if you so much as touch me!" I repeated, a bit louder this time. Her eyes widened as she stared at me, fiddling with the door to find its handle. She finally succeeded and opened the door quickly, rushing downstairs with tears in her eyes. Confused, I went over the conversation again in my head and realized what I just said. "Wait, Scootaloo! That's not what I meant!" I ran downstairs quickly to follow her and hopefully to comfort her. Way to go Butter, now she thinks you're a psychopath...
Well, I mean you are arguing with yourself.
"BOTH OF YOU SHUT UP! I'M TRYING TO CONVINCE MY BEST FRIEND THAT I'M NOT INSANE!"
...
...
...Well good luck with that one...
I quickly chased Scootaloo down the stairs, pleading her to slow down. For somepony who can't fly very well, she was pretty fast. "SCOOTALOO, WAIT! LISTEN TO ME!"
"HELP! BUTTER'S TRYING TO KILL ME!"
"I'M TRYING TO PREVENT YOU FROM GETTING KILLED!"
"LIIIIEEEEEEES!" Scootaloo kept running from me and hid behind Rainbow Dash, who was receiving a hooficure from Rarity.
"Jeez, squirt, what's the matter?" Dash asked in concern.
"BUTTERBALL'S SAID HE WAS GOING TO KILL ME!" Scootaloo screamed in fear.
Fluttershy gave a surprised gasp and scolded at me. "Butterball! I thought you were better than that! Killing a filly..." She shook her head in disappointment.
Killing a filly? You're seriously going to believe that? "I wasn't going to kill her! Honest!"
"YES YOU WERE! YOU SAID YOU'RE GOING TO KILL ME IF I GET NEAR YOU!"
"I meant that your allergies would kill you! Scootaloo, you're allergic to me! That's why your face gets all red and stuff!"
Scootaloo stopped screaming and panicking as she just stared at me with confusion. "...Huh?"
Pinkie smiled sheepishly and backed away from our group. "Hehe...whoops..."
Scootaloo rose an eyebrow in suspicion. "Pinkieeee, what did you doooo?"
Pinkie's eyes shifted from side to side until she sighed and confessed. "I TOLD BUTTER YOU WERE DEATHLY ALLERGIC TO HIM! I'M SORRY!"
"You WHAT?!"
I flinched at Scootaloo's sudden yelling and tried to calm her down. "Scootaloo, please don't be mad at Pinkie for sharing me your secr–!"
"You told him I'm allergic to him?! What kind of lie is that?!"
"...Wait, lie?" She lied about being deathly allergic to me? What in the name of cupcakes is going on?!
...I'm sorry, almighty cupcakes. I shan't use your name in vein again.
"H-He asked me why your face always turned red and...m-my mind went blank, so I thought of the first thing that popped in my mind!"
"The first thing that came to your mind was me dying from severe allergies? Why?!"
"...I...watched an old alien movie last night and the main pony contracted a deadly alien disease that made his head explode when he came in contact with mares. So, I thought of that..."
Scootaloo groaned and put a hoof to her forehead. "Pinkieeee..."
"Hey, it could be worse!" she started to smile again. "I could've told him that you had a crush on hi–MPH!" she shoved a hoof in her own mouth and let out a muffled whimper.
...Wait...a crush?
Scootaloo gasped and squeaked loudly, concealing her face with her wings. "PINKIE!"
"SCOOTALOO, I'M SO SORRY! IT JUST SLIPPED OUT!" Pinkie apologized loudly, almost to the point of screaming.
Scootaloo curled up into a fetal position and moved her wings away from her face, which was the reddest I've ever seen it! I slowly trotted up to her to make sure she was okay. With each step I took towards her, she looked more and more uncomfortable and began rocking back and forth. "Uh...Scootaloo, are you okay? Because I kinda need to ask you something..." She covered her face again with her hooves, signifying that she wasn't.
"I-I-I'm not fine, n-no. But what i-is it Butter?" she stammered.
I paused a bit to let her calm down before asking, "Do you hate me?"
She stopped trembling and looked up at me with a puzzled expression. "H-Hate you? Wh-Why would you think that? I-I have a crush on you!"
"You mean...you want to crush me, right? Like beat me up?"
Scootaloo's red glow faded a bit as she sat up. "Butter?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you know what a crush is?"
"...N-Not the definition YOU'RE using."
She leaned in closer towards me, making me feel...weird inside. A good type of weird, though! "Are you sure? You haven't heard anyone use that word at any of your old schools?"
"I already said before that I was bullied a lot when I was little, so I was cast aside by the other groups. I don't know a lot about 'school slang' as Dad calls it."
Scootaloo stared into my eyes deeply, as if mystified with something, though I couldn't tell what it was. She turned her head towards Pinkie and asked her, "Pinkie, I think I'd like to do my 'thing' with Butter now."
Wait...thing?
Pinkie's face lit up again suddenly with delight. "Okie dokie lokie! C'mon you two!" she smiled as she made her way out the door.
Applebloom and Sweetie looked at each other as Sweetie let out a squeal while Applebloom just smirked. "Wh-What are you two smiling for?" I asked.
"O-Oh nothin'. Let's jus' say you're gonna like this 'thing.'"
"Why?" I asked.
"You'll seeeeee!" Scootaloo grinned as she held my hoof.
"That doesn't answer my question at aAALL!" Without a warning, Scootaloo grabbed me by the hoof and practically dragged me along with her. Trying to pick up the pace, I looked back at Fluttershy's cottage. All the ponies looked back at us and waved with big smiles on their faces. It looked like they were all in on this "thing" Scoots had planned.
"Thaaaaat's not creepy at all," I muttered to myself. I turned back to Scootaloo and brought my hoof back so she doesn't drag me the whole way to our destination. "By the way...um...what do you mean by your 'thing?'"
"You know, Applebloom got to play soccer and Sweetie got a makeover. It's my turn to do something with you!" she grinned.
"Do...what exactly?"
"You'll seeeeee!"
Our journey ended up taking us to Sweet Apple Acres of all places. You'd think because it was a barn that it'd smell, well, bad. But it didn't. There was always a sweet aroma in the air at Sweet Apple Acres. They specialized in baking many different types of apple-related foods. Applesauce, apple pie, apple fritter...you can pretty much put any word behind "apple" and it would sound delicious! So bottom line, there was always a pleasant apple odor whenever I stepped hoof onto the farm.
Except for that one timed I passed their manure pile. Other than that, good smells all around.
Pinkie led us inside Sweet Apple Acre's signature barn, where I saw a single wooden bench with a picnic blanket over it. I stopped and tilted my head a bit in confusion. "We're going to have a picnic?"
"Weeeell...it's kinda LIKE a picnic," Scootaloo said as she smiled a bit more than before. "I first thought of getting dinner at a fancy restaurant, but then I figured you'd like Applejack's apples more so...here we are!" Her face turned redder as she wrapped a hoof around me.
"Oh, thanks Scootaloo!" I smiled back as I walked over to an empty seat, leaving her hoof to drop to her side. I looked back at her and noticed she had a sort of disappointed look on her face. "You alright?" I asked.
"Oh...y-yes..." she sighed, slowly walking to her seat as well. She shook her head and smiled once more before flinching. "Ow! This chair is so splintery!" she whined.
"Oh, I'm sorry?" I apologized with a little hesitation. Huh, it's not usually like Scootaloo to whine over something like a splinter. Actually, it's not like Scootaloo to whine over ANYTHING.
"Ooh, you don't mind if we sit together, do you?" she asked, giving me puppy eyes.
I slapped myself in the face gently and rubbed my eyes to make sure that I was seeing and hearing this correctly. When did Scootaloo act so...adorable? "...No. I-I guess not," I answered, unable to deny her cute face.
Her smile grew even wider as she got out of her seat and trotted towards mine. She sat down in my seat and scooted (no pun intended) towards the table. "Ah, this seat feels much more comfortable!"
"Oh, well, I'm glad!" I smiled awkwardly.
"Brr...but, it's kind of cold in here," Scootaloo said, shivering a bit and wrapping herself with her wings and arms.
"Really? It feels warm, if anything in he–"
"IT'S COLD AND I THINK I'M GETTING HYPOTHERMIA!" she exclaimed as she suddenly wrapped her arm around me and laid against me.
I squeaked a bit...no, no...that's not stallionly enough. I simply flinched silently and stared at her for a bit. "Woah, o-okay..."
"Is there something wrong, Butter?" she asked, her face as red as a strawberry.
"Uh...um..." I stuttered until I saw an orange mare with a blond mane enter the barn.
"Ah, y'all must be Butter!" she smiled as she trotted towards me. "Mah name's Applejack. It's nice to meet ya!" she greeted as she suddenly shook my hoof vigorously.
Gah! Oh jeez, that's a strong grip! I retracted my hoof quickly and held in close. "Oh yeah, you're Applebloom's sister, right?"
"Eeyup! That's me! Ah've been occupied with some work lately, so sorry that Ah haven't been able to properly introduce mahself."
"It's fine. Big Macintosh and Granny Smith mentioned you were going to busy for the next few months, so I understand completely!" I smiled, trying to make a good first impression.
"Thanks, Butter. Ah'm just glad ta be able to see this," she chuckled.
"Wait, see what?"
"Uuuuhhhh...Applejack, can we order our food now?" Scootaloo asked.
"Oh yes, of course! Y'all must be starving! What would ya prefer?"
"I think I'll have–" I began before Scootaloo interrupted me.
"We'll both have hayburgers and a side of applesauce." She turned to me and added, "I believe that's your favorite food, right?"
My eyes widened in astonishment. "Y-Yeah. How did you–?"
"We're best friends, Butter," she said cheerily as she hugged me all of a sudden.
"Heh, well Scootaloo...Ah've never seen you so...huggy!"
"Y-Y-Yeah..." I stuttered, my mind racing and my heart beating at a faster rate. Wait a second, why am I getting so flustered all of a sudden? It's just Scootaloo!
"Please don't tell the other girls about me acting like this. I'd die of embarrassment!" she said as she hugged me tighter, putting her head on my shoulder.
Woah, woah, woah! Red alert! What is happening here with the close contact and all? "U-Uhhh...Sc-Scoots? Why are you so close to me?" I asked with a more high-pitched voice due to embarrassment.
"...You still don't get it do you?" she asked as she leaned in even closer to me.
"G-Get wha-"
She kissed my cheek. Right then and there just gave me a peck.
"I think you're cute, Butter," Scootaloo said.
"...Oh...n-noooow I get it...heh..."
And with that I fainted.
Author's Note
Sorry that this chapter is shorter than normal. I have a lot of college stuff to do and I haven't had much time to write. This is just to show that I still haven't forgotten about this fic
Also incoming cuteness in the next chapter. Please prepare for diabetes.
I Seriously Don't Pout
I thought it was all a dream. I expected all of the events that led up to this point was all in my head. Everything just seemed too good to be true. Scootaloo actually in love with me? How? She's completely out of my league! This felt more like a poorly written fantasy rather than real life.
But it was real life, because instead of waking up in my bed, I woke up laying on a haystack with Applejack and Scootaloo looking down at me in concern.
"Butter, oh my gosh, are you okay?" Scootaloo asked.
"Y-Yeah," I responded quickly, sitting up. "What happened?"
Applejack chuckled. "Well, lil buddy. Ya kinda fainted."
While normally I'd feel a bit unnerved that the grown adult didn't call an ambulance on a little colt who just fainted out of nowhere, I instead felt embarrassed that I passed out all over a silly little kiss.
Actually, no. It wasn't silly. It was amazing.
"Oh...s-sorry. I d-don't usually do that, I swear," I said, stammering a bit.
"Um..." Scootaloo said. "Well?"
"Well what?"
"Do you...like me back?"
My embarrassed blush grew more noticeable to her as I rubbed the back of my head. Of course I do! But why do you like me?! I yelled in my head. "Scootaloo. I think we need to talk alone."
Her ears lowered as she frowned. "O-Oh o-o-okay!" she stuttered, obviously looking distraught.
"Ah'll...give you two some prahvacy..." Applejack said as she trotted out of the barn.
"Scootaloo," I began, "I–"
"I'm sorry, I understand if you don't like me back!" Scootaloo blurted out quickly.
"H-Huh?"
"I kn-know that i-it's weird that your best friend wants to date you and I'm really sorry if you don't have the same feelings for me! I've just had these feelings for you for so long and...I-I just wanted to show my love for you, Butter!" Her voice started to quiver, as if she's about to cry. Scootaloo, one of the most awesome fillies in the whole land of Equestria, is about to cry all because a stupid little colt didn't notice she had feelings for him.
"Sc-Scootaloo, hold on for a second," I said, trying to calm her down. I patted her back gently. "I never said I wasn't interested! I just need some time to process everything." I sighed a bit, rubbing her back in an attempt to prevent her from crying. It didn't work however, as a single tear rolled down her cheek. It hurt to watch her cry like this.
"I-I'm sorry...I came on t-too strong!"
"Scoots, listen. I-I really like you! I do! I just...I'm unsure about this because..."
"...Because what?"
"...I've never been in an relationship like this before. I could've never imagined something like this ever happen to me. I mean, you're like, the prettiest filly in the school!"
Scootaloo sniffed and wiped her eyes, a blush forming on her cheeks. "Y-You think I'm th-that pretty?"
"O-Of course!" I exclaimed. "You're also super athletic and cheery and determined and awesome... I could go on and on about how amazing you are!"
Her blush grew more and more as she started to smile. "R-Really?"
I nodded. "I'm just confused as to why you're interested in me. I mean, you could've picked someone just as awesome as you, like Rumble. But instead you chose the weird, unsocial, chubby colt who has a silly dream about becoming a chef."
"P-Pfff..." Scootaloo tried to hold back laughter. "A-Are you kidding? Butter, you do realize that almost every filly in class has a crush on you, right?"
"Wait, what?" My eyes widened a bit in surprise. Am I really that dumb or is she just saying that?
"Yeah! I mean, they think your awkwardness is adorable! Have you seen yourself pout?"
"I-I don't pout!" I protested, folding my arms and staring at her with the most serious face I could muster up.
"You're doing it right now!" Scootaloo giggled.
Hmph...I don't see what she means... I thought to myself.
When she finally stopped giggling she reached her hooves over and held mine gently. "But do you know why I'd prefer you to be my coltfriend rather than Rumble?"
"I...uhh...n-no..." I admitted.
"Because you have a passion. You love food. You love to eat it, the way it smells, the way it looks. But from what I've learned from you, you love making food the most. You help your parents make dinner every day, you make desserts for other ponies almost every week...heck, remember when you made those cupcakes out of ice pops?"
"O-Oh yeah..." I blushed even more and smiled a bit. "I guess that was pretty great."
"It was genius! That's why I love you so much! You're awesome and amazing in your own way!" With that, she hugged me tight, nuzzling her cheek against mine, leaving my whole face to redden in embarrassment.
"I-I...uhh..." I didn't know what to say, so I did the whole thing I could think of. I returned the hugged and kissed her cheek.
Now for some reason I expected a slap across the face, which would be reasonable in my opinion. But instead I was met with a tighter hug and more nuzzling. It was such a good feeling. Probably even the greatest feeling in my life.
"I-I love you, Sc-Scootaloo," I told her with a smile.
"I love you too, Butter," she said.
The walk back to Sugarcube Corner was long, but nice. There was a lovely sunset out in the distance and the fireflies were glowing, making the whole scene beautiful and luminescent. It was like a painting come to life.
"Man, it's so sappy out tonight!" I said.
"Heh, yeah. It's like, cut down on the romance, am I right?" We both laughed, though I somehow knew that inside we both thought it was a stunning evening. "So," I said, "what do couples usually do besides hug and kiss?"
"You think I know?" Scootaloo asked. "Dude, you're my first coltfriend ever. I'm not a love master."
"True, but you must know more about dating than I do."
"Ehh, I thought we could just do the same thing we always do. You know, hang out, try to find our cutie marks, all that stuff! Only now we can do it while hugging, kissing, and cuddling!" she smiled.
"That sounds...actually really nice!" I smiled back.
"Plus, it means I can do more of this..." she smirked.
"More of wh–" Before I could finished my sentence, Scootaloo quickly moved a hoof to my belly and started to tickle me, making me fall to the ground with laughter. "GAH! SC-SCOOTSWAITNOHOHOHO!" I pleaded, begging her to stop.
"But it's funny and cute!" she said, tickling me faster. I could hardly breathe at this point as I tried to reach my hooves out to make her stop. I pushed against her belly, which made her squeak and stop almost immediately. She giggled a bit and covered her mouth with her hooves.
"Wait a second," I grinned. "You're ticklish too, aren't you?"
"N-No! Wait, let me explain. Y-You see, when I was four I was born with a rare condition that..." She trailed off and quickly ran away, catching me off guard.
I shook my head quickly in surprise. "H-Hey!" I bolted after her, trying to tickle her back, a sinister grin on my face. Ohhh, she's gonna get it now!
After about a minute of running, I finally caught up to her and jabbed her side with a hoof. She flinched and slowed and running down, which allowed me to grab her with one hoof and tickle her with my wings. "Gotcha!" I exclaimed.
"W-WAITBUTTERN-NOHOHO!" she giggled, squirming and trying to escape my grasp.
"You gotta promise to never tickle me again!" I said. It was a very hard promise to keep, I know. But it was embarrassing, dang it.
"B-BUTTERSERIOUSLY! IHAVEDIARRHEA!" she screamed.
My eyes widened as my wings folded back to their original position. "Woah! Woah! Okay I'm done!"
She breathed heavily, still giggling. "O-Oh man, I love how g-gullible you are!" she snickered.
"Gah, you're such a cheater..." I grumbled.
"I'm sorry, Pouty..." she said, letting out a fake whimper and kissing my nose.
"N-Nnnnn...I'm not pouting..." I said.
"Then why do you have such a pouty look?"
I raised a wing up and covered my face. "I-I'm not pouty, dang it..."
She rolled her eyes and ruffled my mane. "Whatever, cutie."
"A-And I'm not cute, either..." I argued.
"Riiiight...the fuzzy little pegasus with sky blue eyes isn't cute," she said sarcastically.
"And the fuzzy little pegasus with beautiful violet hair isn't cute either," I returned, smirking a bit.
"...Touché," she responded. "You know before the night is over, we still have one last thing that all four of us were going to do."
"What's that?" I asked.
"We're watching a movie together. We can pop some popcorn and all sit on the couch together."
"Th-That sounds actually really fun!" I smiled.
"Yeah! I already know what movie we're going to watch!"
"Which one?"
"Terror on Saddle Street. It's a scary movie!"
"...Oh..." I said.
"What? Not scared are you, Butterbutt?"
"Huh? N-No! Pfff...nah..."
I was very scared.
"Don't worry, it's just a movie. You'll be fine!"
"H-Heh. Yeah...everything will be fine."
Everything was not fine.
Author's Note
So the adventures of Butterball finally continue. I'm sorry about the long delay. You can find out what happened right here.
Also, this story was first more than a year ago. A lot of things in this story are outdated, so I've decided that instead of rewriting the first few chapters that include the CMC's cutie marks that this is sort of an AU where Butter moved into town and became a crusader. Applebloom, Sweetie, and Scootaloo will all earn their cutie marks off screen in the future, while I've reserved a oneshot with Butter earning a cutie mark of his own later down the road.
But anywho, Scootaloo and Butter are finally together! But as old problems are resolved, new problems arise. How will Butter react to this terrifying movie?
