A Sweet Date with Button

"You sure this is the one?"

"Absolutely," Joe said, holding the game case in his hands. "The newest version of Call of Duty. Now with better weapons, an awesomer story, and, best of all, more zombies to kill!"

Button Mash jumped up and down with glee. He has been looking forward to this game for months on end, and now, it was here. He felt like crying, he was so excited.

"I gotta have that game!" Button said, still hopping with glee.

"Ya sure? It costs a lot."

Button responded by pulling out his wallet, and dumping all the cash in it on the game counter in Joe's Donuts & Game Shack.

Joe smiled. "I'll take that as a yes."

Finally! Button thought. The newest Call of Duty! All mine!

He ran out of the store with the speed of a cheetah, woohooing in happiness. Ever since he discovered the Canterlot Sunshine Mall and Joe's donut and game store after busing it here accidentally, he has gone from a simple arcade-goer to a full-on console gamer! He still goes to the Fun-Time Arcade every now and then, for nostalgia's sake, but nowadays, games like Call of Duty, Zelda, and Minecraft 360 take up his gametime.

He walked out to the main pavilion, trying to figure out which way to go. He had to say, though the game store was the best, the rest of the mall wasn't all that bad.

Just across from Button was the rest of the food court. On one side was a Subway, Burger King, and McDonald's. On the other was a Long John Silver's, a Leann Chin, and a Sonic. On a wall connecting these two sides was a Papa John's, a Dairy Queen, and a Taco Bell. Right in the center, between all these restaurants, were several tables for mallgoers to eat, converse, and goof off.

Button, after a moment of thinking, decided to grab a bite to eat with the remaining money he had. He decided McDonald's was the best and cheapest to get. He got to the cash register, where a white-skinned cashier with blue hair, sunglasses, and headphones took his order. A red-skinned large man with orange hair cooked and gave his order right to him. A Big Mac. Button's favorite meal.

Button found a nearby empty table and sat in it. He unboxed his burger, put a straw in his soda, set his bagged game aside, and dug in. As he ate, he had a look around.

It was the usual scenery. Several groups of friends were conversing and goofing off, doing regular kid things. At the spa nearby, he saw several ladies getting crazy hairdos done by twin women with pink and blue-colored styles. Nearby, he saw Snips and Snails, two goons his age who also came regularly, were debating how to share a fish-and-chips from Long John Silver's.

"I say we each have one fish! Then, we split the fries 50-50!" Snips said.

"Eh sure!" Snails said, "But uh, there's a problem."

"Whassat, Snails?"

Snails simply looked down at the plate. The entire plate of fries, already gone!

"Snails!"

Button giggled with glee, chewing his burger. Yep. Same as usual.

Then, just to the left of Snips and Snails, Button saw something else. Something that definitely caught his attention.

At a table, he saw two kids. One was a boy, small, chubby, with curly black hair, grey skin, and a big smile on his face. He wore a blue collared shirt and khakis and large, untied converse shoes. Sitting next to him was a girl, with curly red hair, big nerdy glasses, and a messy, plaid blouse and skirt. They sat and read a large book together, laughing and talking, with the girl hugging the boy as they hung out.

It made Button sort of giggle and whine at the same time. Seeing those two made him happy they were having fun. Yet, it also gave him sadness, too, as the scene reminded him. That one day at the arcade. When nothing would be the same again.

It had been an ordinary day. Button was going to the arcade on a normal Saturday trip to play Pac-Man, his favorite. This was cut short, though, as he was confronted by a new gamer who also played the game!

Then, through a twist of an ankle, he had figured out this gamer was none other than a sweet, lavender-haired, white-skinned, green-eyed girl named Sweetie Belle, who had just gone there for the first time.

She helped him with his broken ankle in the accident that day. So it seemed right he would help her with her lack of gaming skills. That help soon turned into friendship, and, he admitted to himself, the best Saturday he had ever had, because for the first time, he had something that was better than video games: a friend.

Then, that day got more unusual when, after a day of fun, Sweetie ended it with a gift-in his hand and on his cheek. Then, Button, with lipstick on his cheek and a quarter given to him in his hand, went home, the thoughts of her, sweet, sweet Sweetie Belle, flowing through his head ever since.

Button looked away from the boy and girl with the book, and pulled something out of his pocket. It was the exact same quarter he had received from Sweetie, along with the kiss, that day. It may have been unimportant to other people, but to Button, this quarter was nothing but special. He just couldn't spend it or lose it, if losing it meant losing memories of her. His first friend.

Button put the quarter in his pocket, and got up, throwing away the garbage of his meal in a nearby trashcan. He put aside his sad thoughts as soon as he looked at his new game.

He couldn't wait to get home and play it! Judging from the cover, the standard man-with-a-gun, only this time a bigger one, it was going to be awesome.

Bump!

Button jumped a few feet back, whining in surprise. Then, he looked up. This was a sight he didn't want to see.

"Well, well, if it isn't the Pac-Boy!" Rumble said, sneering. His goons alongside him laughed and chuckled at his remark.

Oh no, Button thought. He had tangled with Rumble before. Well, more like ran into and beat up by him before. Rumble was the resident meanie and rich boy of Button's neighborhood. However, he never regularly came here, which was another reason why Button liked the mall.

"Got a new game, Pac-Boy?" Rumble asked. He snatched the game from Button's hands, and looked at it.

"Whaddya know? Pac-Boy's found something other than dots and ghosts to chase!" He chuckled, his goons doing the same.

Button blushed in anger. Not only did he insult Button by calling him that name, but he insulted his favorite game cabinet, too! Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about it. Button wasn't exactly Jackie Chan when it came to fighting. Usually, he hoped for Principal Celestia to help him out of this jam. Unfortunately, this wasn't Canterlot High in Ponyville. This was the Sunshine Mall in Canterlot.

Rumble tossed the game into his black jacket pocket. "Gotta thank you, Button. Didn't think I'd have anything to do today." He got right up to Button's face, towering over him with his fists. "Now I get to scruff you up, and play this at home with my bro Thunderlane straight afterwards!"

"B-but I just got that game!"

"Yeah, now I just got it," Rumble shouted, slapping Button onto the floor. "Whatcha gonna do about it?" He sneered, his goons surrounding Button.

Button sat there, not knowing what to do. All those days, doing chores and helping Mom around the house, all in vain, now, he thought. He felt like tearing up, knowing he couldn't match up to Rumble's strength and power.

Then, out of nowhere, a voice came up.

"Hey!"

Rumble looked to the sound, his goons doing the same. Then, a sudden look of fear on their faces, they ran out, dropping Button's game in the process.

Button could only stare at it, wondering who that was, until he heard:

"You OK, Button?"

This person knew his name? The only people who knew Button's name were Rumble, his mom, and-

Sweetie Belle. The new gamer that changed his life. Whose green eyes Button were now staring right into at that exact moment!