The classroom was full and loud. Fillies ran around the room and passed notes. The sound of laughter was great.
In the middle of all this chaos was a petite white unicorn with curly pink and purple hair. She sat quietly, practicing perfect etiquette. She repeated the words her older sister Rarity had said to her: It’s the new school year, Sweetie, and it is the time to make new first impressions! Remember your manners, and play nice with the other kids.
Sweetie Belle’s bright green eyes darted around the room, looking for possible friends. There was Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara, two girls whom she had already learned to stay away from.
Then there was Teacher’s Pet, who was nice, but… he was the teacher’s pet! That made him (even though she wouldn’t admit it out loud), very annoying.
And last on her list of students was Pipsqueak, the runt of the group. He was very polite and respectful, just like her. But one thing she feared was getting beat up or made fun of because they were friends.
Her eyes drifted over to two other girls, an orange pegasus with a pink mane, and a yellow earth pony with a large pink bow in her hair.
She knew the orange one was handicapped, which she certainly would not make fun of. However, the pegasus seemed a little hard-core for her.
The yellow one lived on Sweet Apple Acres, and she was Applejack’s sister, and she knew what Applejack was like: loud and, frankly, uncivilized. The yellow earth pony seemed nice though, but once again she was worried about what others would think, especially Rarity.
“Class!” Cheerilee’s voice rang out. “Settle down!”
Immediately all of the kids sat in there seat and made no noise.
Cheerilee cleared her throat. “We have a new student today!”
Sweetie Belle’s ears perked up. A new student? Maybe this year she would finally have friends!
Cheerilee opened the door and a young brown stallion with a propeller hat walked in. He had orange eyes, and when Sweetie looked into those orange eyes she felt her whole face heating up.
She didn’t even realize she had gone into her daydream land until Cheerilee spoke up. “Sweetie Belle? Are you feeling alright? You’re turning all rosy. You may need some water. Go get a drink and then come right back.”
Sweetie’s eyes shrank in fear at the unmistakable sound of Diamond Tara’s giggling. “Yes, Mrs. Cheerilee.” she mumbled and slid out of her seat. As she walked out of the room she flashed a smile at the new colt. He didn’t smile back. She quickly directed her eyes to the ground and trotted out of the classroom.
Outside of the school building was a barrel of water with a lever on the side and a spout on the top. She pushed the lever down and sipped the water that came out of the faucet at the top. She heard hoofsteps near her and pulled away to see who it was. She glared at the pink earth pony.
“Well, you seemed to have taken a liking to the new boy.” Diamond Tiara said with a smirk. “Or is your special talent blushing on cue?” Sweetie Belle narrowed her eyes. “You know what, Diamond Tiara? I don’t give a crap! Also, pardon my language!”
Diamond Tiara laughed hysterically. “Wow, you really are pathetic! This year will be even better than the last!”
Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes. “What are you even doing here?”
Diamond Tiara tried her best to look serious. “Um, getting a drink? That’s what a drinking fountain is for!”She reached out her pink hoof and pressed down as hard on the lever as possible, squirting Sweetie Belle with a large gush of cold water.
She laughed as she walked away, but before she went back inside the school she said, “And don’t even think you have a chance with him. I’ve already sent him a personal invitation to my mansion on Saturday.”
Sweetie Belle gritted her teeth in anger. “You just wait, Diamond Tiara.” she muttered. “You just wait.”
3 years later
“Sweetie Belle! If you don’t get up right now you’ll be late for school!” Rarity called from downstairs.
Sweetie buried her face deeper into her soft pillows and tried to resume her sleep. “I think I can live with that.” she mumbled.
“Sweetie Belle!”
She sighed and tossed off her covers. She caught sight of her reflection in the mirror. She glanced at her Cutie Mark. It was still so new to see something on her flank. She levitated a brush over and brushed out her tangled mane.
Just another day. She told herself. Just another very long day. My life seems to becoming a bit repetitive, doesn’t it? Wait, why is there a large red heart on my calendar?
A large grin spread over Sweetie Belle’s face. “It’s Hearts and Hooves Day!” she cried. She galloped down the stairs quickly.
“Well, it’s about time you came down. Eat your breakfast quickly, because you’ll be late for school if you don’t.” Rarity instructed.
“Rarity, how can you be so calm?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Today is Hearts and Hooves Day! Just think: any stallion could ask you to be his special somepony! And what I he’s super gross? How do you say no without hurting his feelings?”
“Sweetie, calm down. Of course I know what day it is. And don’t you worry about those colts. You’re much too young to have a special somepony.”
Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes. All of her friends had special someponies, or to-be someponies. Why couldn’t she? She grumbled and ate her breakfast quickly. Then she ran all the way to Mrs. Cheerilee’s school. When she sat in her seat the bell rang.
Cheerilee walked into the front classroom. “Now, students. As you all know, today is Hearts and Hooves Day! If you have not had the chance to yet, you can pass out your cards.”
Sweetie reached into her desk and pulled out a heart shaped piece of purple paper and a red pencil. She looked at the paper in introspection, wondering what to say.
“Sweetie Belle!” Applebloom called, running over to her. “Where were you this morning?”
Sweetie Belle sighed. “Sorry, girls. I overslept.”
Scootaloo smiled. “We were making cards for our colt friends.”
Sweetie’s ears drooped. “Oh, yeah, well, I guess there wasn’t much reason for me to come, anyway.”
Applebloom put a hoof on her shoulder. “Ah, come on. You’ll find him eventually. I hear Tater Tot is still available.”
Sweetie Belle looked at a skinny colt with brown fur and a golden puffy mane. He had large teeth and a red baseball cap with a star on it. Freckles were all over his nose. She cringed. “No thanks.” She looked over at Button Mash who was busy drawing an Enderman on a white sheet of paper.
“Ooh, I get it.” Scootaloo said, and then in a hushed voice added, “You like Button Mash.” Sweetie Belle blushed. “Maybe a little.”
“Are you writin’ a love note to him?” Applebloom asked, pointing to the paper.
“I want to, but I don’t know if I have the guts.”
Just then the recess bell rang, and the students filed out. “Alright, everypony! Recess!” Cheerilee called. Sweetie Belle stayed at her desk, wondering how to start. One thing she knew that Button Mash loved was an arcade game called Minecraft. She had played it once, but had never gotten too serious.
A poem about Minecraft. This wasn’t going to be the easiest thing. What rhymed with Creeper?
By the end of recess, Sweetie Belle had written a quick poem. It wasn’t her best work, but she hoped he liked it:
Roses are red,
Diamonds are blue.
Mining is only fun
When I’m next to you!
She groaned. This was stupid. Why was she even attempting this? She wanted to crumple the poem up or rip it to shreds, but she didn’t.
Diamond Tiara entered the classroom first. She walked over to Sweetie Belle’s desk and snatched the poem.
Sweetie Belle tried to grab it back, but it was too late. “Oh, look how cute. Sweetie Belle thinks she actually stands a chance against me! Just think about it- why wouldn’t Button Mash want me?”
“Uh, maybe because you’re a huge jerk.” said a voice from behind them. It wasn’t Applebloom’s or Scootaloo’s, like Sweetie Belle expected.
It was Button Mash’s.
He walked over to Diamond Tiara. “What is wrong with you? Why do you always gotta be so mean to Sweetie Belle and her friends?”
Diamond Tiara giggled. “I’ve got something for you” she said, waving the poem in front of this face. He grabbed it from her and read it. Sweetie Belle watched the expression on his face change.
“Diamond Tiara wrote it!” Sweetie Belle blurted out.
Button Mash held it up. “But… it has your name on it.”
The three stood there for a few seconds of unbroken silence. Oh, calm down. She told herself. It’s not like feelings are a big deal. They’re natural. I’m natural. Button Mash is natural. We’re just two natural pony beings.
Except that this note can ruin all of that.
Sweetie Belle just pushed Diamond Tiara out of her way and ran out of the school building. She didn’t look behind her as she ran to the old Cutie Mark Crusaders Clubhouse.
The Clubhouse hadn’t been used in a while. The original Crusaders-including Babs-decided to save it for the next generation of CMCs.
She sat down in the corner and thought. Why did I run away like that? I could’ve explained myself and maybe we could’ve still been friends, but I just had to act like a baby and run.
Maybe Diamond Tiara was right: I never had a chance with him. Maybe she’s the one that’s meant for him, and not me.
She let a few tears fall. How could I have been so stupid? I’m just a gullible fool. I guess I am too young for a coltfriend. Better go tell Rarity she was right. She’d love to hear that.
She heard a set of hooves coming up the stairs. It was probably Scootaloo or Applebloom, or maybe even Diamond Tiara, come to harass her more about her crush.
“Sweetie Belle?” Button Mash asked in a soft voice so he wouldn’t scare her away.
She looked up and saw him standing in the doorway. She could’ve said a million things right then, but the one she said was, “How did you know I was here?”
Button Mash gave a little smile. “I learn a lot from being around you. Not to mention that Scootaloo told me whenever you get upset you go to this place because it reminds you of the good times.”
“Why did you even come here for?” she asked, even though the answer was plain.
He took his propeller hat off and picked up the poem that was resting on his mane underneath it. “I just wanted to say, you know, thanks for the poem and everything. You wrote it yourself?” Sweetie Belle nodded.
“So I though, since you brought me something meaningful, I wanted to give you something. But you have to hold out your hooves. Also, close your eyes.”
Before doing anything Sweetie Belle asked, “Is this a trick?”
“No.” Button Mash replied. “It’s a surprise.”
Sweetie sighed and closed her eyes and held out her hooves. She was wondering if maybe he would run away when she wasn’t expecting it.
She felt his hooves over hers. She blushed a bit, not expecting him to do that. She waited for him to press an object into her hoof, but he never did.
She felt something warm and moist on her cheek. It was only for a second, but she knew what it was. Sweetie Belle opened her eyes to see him pulling away. “Sorry.” he said.
“For what?” she asked in a breathless squeak.
Button Mash shrugged. “I don’t know. For making you run away earlier, I guess.”
“I wasn’t running away from you, I was running away from Diamond Tiara. But I don’t think that’ll stop her from telling everypony that I wrote you a love poem.”
Button Mash watched her for a moment. What really surprised him was how much she had been paying attention when he had been rambling on about Minecraft. Usually he just did it not caring if she listened or not.
Silence reigned for a few minutes until Button Mash spoke up.
“So, um, have I ever shown you how I can defeat a Creeper without a weapon?” he asked awkwardly.
Sweetie Belle gave him a challenging smile. “Five bits says you can’t do it with your eyes closed.”
“I like those odds.” he said, determined, and they ran out of the Clubhouse to Button Mash’s home, where they were greeted by a dark yellow mare with brown hair.
“Hi, mom.” Button said. “Me and Sweetie Belle were gonna go play Minecraft.”
Love Tap smiled at them. “Okay, then. I’ll be up here if you need me.”
As they walked down the stairs together, she saw a heart shaped purple paper fall to the ground. Once they were out of sight she picked it up and read it.
“I knew they would end up together.” she announced with a smile.
