Button blinked. Something was off with the image presented to him. For a moment, he began to consider it, despite the gears in his head trying to pop out of place. There were soft, pink curtains that illuminated the room in a similarly colored light, created by the sun setting outside, a nice, large bed that could fit at least three ponies, if not more, and various pictures of Diamond Tiara on the walls.

No, that wasn’t it. It couldn’t be Diamond Tiara herself though, especially since she was definitely not in a small, black slip that was completely see through, letting him see every inch of her. She was also not smiling at him as her face grew a dark shade of pink, and she pushed up her chest nervously. Most of all, she was definitely not already wet, and saying hello to him in a small squeak that made his heart flutter.

Button then blinked, and his mind jumpstarted back into gear. “What the fu-”

Diamond Tiara was on her hooves in an instant. One of her hands slammed into Button’s mouth, feeling almost like it chipped a tooth she hit him so hard, her mouth shushing him loudly. For a moment, both were silent, before the mare let out a light sigh. “Are you insane? Do you know what my dad would do if he saw us like this in his house?”

Button blinked a few more times, before frowning and taking her hand away from his mouth. “What do you mean exactly?”

It was now Diamond’s turn to blink for a few times, before she rolled her eyes and began to walk away from him. Her hips swayed widely, showing off her tight, bare rump as she looked over her shoulder. “Come on, Button, shouldn’t it be obvious?”

For another moment, Button stayed silent, and didn’t notice as a certain, green haired succubus appeared behind his ear. She hadn’t expected him to stay so daft, not when he’d fucked one of them already, but the colt wasn’t exactly thick between the ears either. A little encouragement wouldn’t-

“I don’t know if I want to sleep with you, Dia.”

Both mares in the room froze at the words. Kiara fumed in anger, not understanding how he could turn down the mare that started all this stuff. As for Diamond Tiara, for a moment, her face fell, her heart freezing as she heard the words. The words she thought were impossible for him to say.

But here they were.

She swallowed hard, her smile returning as she sat on the bed and let her legs come open, hoping Button would look where she wanted. And, for a moment, he did, but then his eyebrows came closer, and he looked her in the eyes. She didn’t dare show her fear again though. “Come now, Button, I know I won’t disappoint you, and if it’s about my purity-”

Button stepped closer, stopping her while she spoke, before he sat down on the bed beside her. One of his arms slipped around her, before pulling her in close and squeezing the smaller mare. His breathing was heavy as his mind worked overtime now. “No, it’s nothing like that. It’s just the night I’ve had, and promises I’ve-”

Diamond Tiara placed a hand on his thigh, just next to Button’s crotch. For a moment, all was silent as Button could feel her flexing her fingers, pushing the digits into his leg. A little more to the right, and she would be being inappropriate, but right now…

Button leaned in and pecked her cheek as his arms wrapped around her. For a second, he let the two just sit there in the embrace, listening to her begin to try to form some sort of response before he sighed. “Look, it’s nothing like that, I promise. It’s just, I’m really tired, and while you look amazing…” He was quiet for a moment as he thought back to his talk with Filthy, and found his mind wandering to places, or, more correctly, mares that the old stallion probably hadn’t meant to make him. “It doesn’t feel right right now.”

Diamond frowned at the words, her mind only on one thing. The one thing that made her have to do this, and so she snuggled against him, her breasts rubbing against his arm. “Now, I bet I could change your mind about that.”

Button frowned, his head starting to hurt. Diamond Tiara was right in thinking that she could change his mind, especially in a naughty little slip like the one she wore now. His eyes glanced to the beautiful body that he had fallen in love with, though admittedly a little changed from his… meddling.

His eyes then glanced to her eyes, and he stopped.

It wasn’t her body he fell in love with.

It wasn’t how pretty she could be, or how sexy. It was from moments of the two together, such as playing in her limo, or pulling off their grand plan against Scam. The times when her eyes shone with nothing but joy and happiness, and she was just herself.

Looking into her eyes, he saw fear, and all thoughts of her slip did just that in his mind. One of his hands cupped her chin, and he looked deeper into those eyes. “Are you okay?”

Diamond blushed for a moment, before pushing his hand away and trying to roll her eyes. “Of course I am! I’m with the stallion I love and, if he stops being an idiot, him and I will…” She never finished, being forced to look back into his eyes and finding her words failing.

Button bit into his cheek, before pecking her on the forehead and trying to give her a smile. “Come on, Dia, why don’t you stop being silly? It’s not like we’re in a rush, or… so I thought.”

Diamond looked away for a moment, recomposing as she thought, before she leaned back against Button and laced her fingers into his, ready to try one more time. “I-I don’t consider this rushing. You’ve been growing closer to all of us, and, well, isn’t this the next step? You and I…”

For a moment, Button tried to think about what in Equestria might be causing this. He hadn’t done anything too recently to make it seem like he needed them to move any faster. In fact, even after he slept with Apple Bloom, he thought that they had moved…

His mind flashed to all of them at the pool. Some were blushing, others were apparently planning, and Silver Spoon had even seen it fit to make sure to make precautions for when he slept with them more. At the time, he hadn’t given it much thought, sure, even found it sexy, but was that what was causing it? Did Diamond Tiara worry about being forgotten like her dad was?

He looked back to her and something just told him that her nervous smile wasn’t for the right reasons. “Dia, I love you, sex or no sex.”

Diamond Tiara stared at him for a few moments, before letting out a high pitched, tittering laugh. To say the least, Button could see easily through it at this point. “Well, of course you do, dummy, but it’s a nice perk, isn’t it?”

Button opened his mouth, before stopping. The words caused the storm in his mind to surge with renewed fuel. Sex was a perk...

His mind drifted back to the book. His wishes had made sure ponies wouldn’t hate him, make them like each other more, make them more open to him, but what he truly had, what he cherished didn’t come from the book. He had their love because he was a good guy, not because he’d ever wished for it. And sure, they were chestier and more open with him, but those were just…

Perks.

Button looked down at Diamond Tiara, leaned in, and kissed her. It wasn’t especially deep, didn’t include his tongue, but just their lips pushed together. Hers were warm, but dry, while he knew his were wet, because he wasn’t nervous. He was confused, but he was not nervous.

Pulling away, he watched his beloved mare blink a few times in confusion, her tongue hanging out slightly, ready to deepen the kiss, before he spoke. “Do you think I look at you as a perk? Think that I got the achievement: ‘fell in love’ and now will get the in game minigame where I get to sleep with you? Because… because if that’s how you look at it, I cannot sleep with you.”

Diamond’s face paled before she grabbed onto his shoulders and began yelling, “No! I-I swear I- You and Apple Bloom, I mean, I just- Please don’t-” She stopped her pleading as Button squeezed her close.

“Yes, me and Apple Bloom slept together, and I don’t regret that for a moment. Does it mean I love her more than you? No. Does it mean when you and I will finally be together, showing each other just how much we love each other… Well,” he pushed her away slightly, stroking the side of her face as he did, “do you really think that it’ll mean less to me just because it isn’t my first time ever?”

Diamond Tiara opened her mouth, ready to say yes, before she looked into his eyes. She didn’t have the same amount of a crash course that Button had been going through in these past weeks, but she could look into his eyes and see what she should have known. Seen the concern and pain in them simply from her seeming to doubt his feelings. Doubt what the two of them knew stood firm in their hearts.

Tears slowly began to slide down her cheeks as her body shook. “I-I’m the idiot, aren’t I?”

Button glanced down, before laying his mare down, and pecking the top of her head. “No. You’re just as inexperienced as I am, and, just like me, you’re trying to figure this all out. I just have to constantly deal with five different mares and figuring out all of this.”

Diamond Tiara smiled at his small chuckle, before snuggling into his chest. “I’m… I’m happy you’re here then. Here to set me right, and… and to make sure I don’t have to learn his stuff the hard way.”

Button whispered back, right in her ear, “I would want almost nopony else to be going through this with.”

Button didn’t fall asleep like Diamond Tiara though. She cried until she slept, able to quiet her mind in his arms, but he wasn’t so lucky. He had to think on the others, to the ones who might also be worried about not having slept with him, or trying to overcomplicate it, instead of letting it be natural, like with Apple Bloom.

I wish they wouldn’t worry about not having…

So simple. So clean. One sentence, and he could help them all. Make their relationship easier, instead of possibly having to go through what he did with Diamond Tiara tonight.

But, on the other hand, was that how a relationship was supposed to be?

Button stared at the ceiling, the book on his mind. When he finally shut them, he made his decision, and would see it through when he got home.

Author's Note

This chapter did not end up coming out as I had originally intended, but after all that has happened, I felt this was the way it had to be. Anyways, with that said, there is one more chapter, and then we'll be all, nicely wrapped up.