Mash and Crash

"Alrighty class! Don't forget to grab your permission slips on the way out." Cheerilee says.

Friday. The best word in a foal's vocabulary.

All of the students happily pack their things and trot off, chatting their weekend plans. As Button Mash collects his belongings, he finds a note under his desk with an address:

To Button.

1901 Hay Way

19-12-5-5-16-15-22-5-18
Tonight.

~CC

"C.C.?" he mutters to himself.

Under the initial is a little splatter of red on the paper.

"Huh, must be some kind of cryptic message. Maybe Crash can crack it."

The little foal skips out of the school to Whooves Labs to decipher the code.

At the lab

"Alright, give it a go!" the nutty professor says in anticipation.

Crash aims his hoof at a coffee mug across the room. With perfect precision, his arm stretches around the cup and retracts back to the shoulder.

"Fully operational." the toy says satisfied.

"Brilliant work! We should test out your metal's durability next."

Suddenly, a violent BOOM erupts from the basement and a soot-covered Derpy eventually staggers out.

"I-I'm okayyyy." she moans.

"Eh, maybe another time doctor. I think it's about time I-"

Button walks in.

"Hey Crash, I need your help with this-"

As he walks in, he turns to see the woozy pegasus fall on her face.

"Oof." he cringes. "How's the hoof by the way?"

Crash takes the note with an extended arm in a split second and reads it.

"Cool."

A moment of deciphering later, Crash concludes that somepony has invited Button to a sleepover tonight.

"A-A.....a what?" he stutters.

"A sleepover, whatever that may be."

The giddy colt jumps for joy knowing somepony out there actually wants

His mother's guaranteed to flip.

"Now, this isn't Sweetie Belle's address...n-not that I know where she lives or anything, so whose is it?" he thinks reading the note.

But the key question dawns on him:

"Could this be a prank?"

Something dings and he looks at his mechanical ~~bodyguard~~ companion.

"Muffins are ready, I'll get them!" the goofy pegasus exclaims, dashing downstairs.

"Crash, wanna go?"

"I don't see why not." he says leaping off the table.

"Til then lab partner." Whooves says.

"Oh, how much for the repair, doc?" Button asks.

"Don't fret little one, it's on the house- er, lab."

He gives an appreciative nod and leaves.

"Oh, this is SO thrilling! You'll need your Dr. Cheerio toothbrush and a sleeping bag and-"

The two friends sit and watch in amusement as Cream Heart gallops around the room for items for the sleep over.

Told you she'd flip.

"Mom, it's not that big a deal. Just my first sleepo- OMC I'M SO EXCITED!!!"

Button then joins his mother in the hunt, earning a giggle from the toy. The excited colt packs everything he needed, grabs Crash and leaves the house with Cream.

The sun sets as they reach their destination. It was a nice house with a second floor, not far from Sweet Apple Acres. After Button knocks, a stallion with a grayish opal coat answers the door.

"Cream Heart! Haven't seen you in ages, how've you been?" he says in surprise.

"I'm doing great, Trims. Just dropping off Button, he was invited to a little sleepover and it led us here." she states.

"Oh the boys are waiting for you downstairs."

Button carries his things in and heads toward the basement while the adults catch up. Down there was a pitch black room with a single candle burning in the center.

"H-Hello?" his voice echoed.

"Maybe their already slumbering?" Crash inserts.

Suddenly, a foal in a black cloak steps out of the shadows into the candle's light. It pulls away its hood to reveal-

"Snips?!" Button says in shock.

Then Snails, Tender Taps and Pipsqueak appear in the same cloaks.

"Are you worthy of joining the herd?" a deep voice boomed.

"Yeah, I-I guess?"

"So that's what C.C. means." Crash concludes.

"Is the toy worthy?"

"Affirmative."

"Uh....I don't know what that means.

"Yes, I am."

A podium appears with another colt standing on it.

"Well then-"

The basement's light turns on as he removes his cloak revealing the pegasus, Rumble, with a megaphone.

"Awesome. We could use the extra members." he says in a normal, nonchalant tone. "C.C.C!"

"C.C.C!" the other members yells, stomping their hooves.

"C.C.C?" Button says.

"C.C.C!" they yell again.

"Yeah whatever, what does that mean?"

"You, Mash and Crash, are now part of the secret Colt's Cove Club." Rumble states. "Congratulations."

The others stomp in applause again.

"So...what do you guys do in the 'Colt's Cove Club', exactly?"

"Here, we do the most extreme things in town." Snips adds.

"We cut loose. Hoofloose!" Taps says extravagantly.

Button fully examines the place, staring in awe at the maps, plans, pictures and misshapen doohickeys strewn all around.

"I should've known how extreme it was by the blood on the note you sent us." he says in bewilderment.

"Woah woah, Pipsqueak, dude you used blood for the note?!" Rumble asks nervously. "I just told you to write the code!"

"I, heh, may have gotten a itty bitty carried away with Mum's goobarb pie." Pip chuckles sheepishly.

Everypony sighs in relief.

"Pip here's good with codes and some of our gear." the pegasus states. "All of us play a certain part, Snips is the muscle."

"Darn right!" Snips exclaims, kicking over a cardboard box.

"Well, HE thinks he is. Just roll with it." Rumble whispers. "Snails is surprisingly good at stealth."

Suddenly, said unicorn pops out of nowhere slobbering, startling the two.

"Mmm, goobarb." Snails slurs in delight.

"Tender Taps is our field agent...though not a great one."

"Aw, come on! I'm an inconspicuous expert!" the dancer protests.

"When has moontrotting been considered 'inconspicuous'?!"

"You just don't get it."

"Whatever. And I'm the leader of this team." he sighs.

"What is your role?" Crash asks.

"I, my metal friend, conduct the awesome missions we go on."

"So let me get this straight. You guys do awesome stuff around town...and you want US to join?" Button asks.

"Pretty much." Snips says.

"Why?"

"We're...a little short on the smart variety." Rumble says embarrassed.

The three look at a still drooling Snails making spit bubbles that Snips playfully pops.

"Well..."

Button looks at Crash, who gives him an reassuring nod.

"We'll do it!"

"C.C.C!" the leader yells.

"C.C.C!" everypony hollers.

All members form a circle around the two and stomp as Rumble ties a blue bracelet to their hooves.

"But first!"

Stomps cease at the leader's words.

"You must first pass...the test." he says in a dramatic tone.

"Ooh, what form? Unit testing? Safety? Interface?" Crash asks eagerly.

"Uh, no dude."

Rumble trots towards a curtain and pulls it down, revealing a bulletin board with calendars and photos of Sweet Apple Acres.

"Every two to three weeks, the Cutie Mark Crusaders have their sleepovers. Recently, Scoota- I mean, the girls started a prank war with me- US boys and have stolen the 'Pen of Power', so we're going to catch them by surprise."

"Pen of Power? Well, what does that have to do with us?" Button says.

"Your job is to survey the battlefield. Recon, ya know?"

"So we're gonna PRANK them?!" he exclaims.

"Of course. Is that a problem?"

"Judging by the tone in his voice, I'm assuming-"

"No! Not a problem at all." he cuts the toy off. "Uh, C.C.C is it?"

"C.C.C!"

"W-Would you excuse us for a moment? Have to use the little colt's room."

"Sure. Upstairs, first door to the right." Snips says.

Button grabs Crash and dashes towards the stairs.

"Well, I'm about to head out. See you tomorrow, hon!" Cream Heart says.

"Yeah, see ya Mom! Bathroom!"

"When you gotta go, ya gotta go." Trims chuckles.

The hyperventilating colt starts pacing around while Crash calmly observes.

"I don't know what to do! I wanna be part of the team, but I can't betray Swee- the Crusaders, we're cool with each other! And I'm not good with pranking and-"

Crash stretches his hoof and wraps the rambling foal's muzzle shut.

"Have you considered-"

The toy leans in and whispers in his ear.

"Yeah, I di- no, no I didn't."

Eventually, the two return downstairs to the other waiting colts.

"So?" Rumble asks expectantly.

They exchange a sinister grin before facing the group.

"Let's give those fillies what for." Button says triumphantly. "C.C.C!"

"C.C.C!"