School was out and all of the students were ready to head home. One little colt, in particular, was very excited. "Finally! I thought the class was never gonna end. Once I get home, I will defeat the final boss and save the villagers from the evil Typhon." Button Mash thought to himself.
Outside of school, he scanned the area for somepony he loved more than video games.
"Over here Button!" a mare shouted from within the crowd of parents reuniting with their children.
"Hey, mom!" Button waved with a big smile. As he approached her, he heard another mare call his name.
"Button wait!" He turned around to see his teacher, Ms. Cheerilee.
"Oh hello Ms. Cheerilee," said Button's mom as she made her way to him, "Is there something wrong?"
"Yes, I'm afraid there is. Mind if I speak with you for a moment? This won't take long." the pink teacher asked.
"Oh. Umm, of course," said Button's mom with slight concern. "Button, sweetie, just wait right here for me. Okay?"
"Aww. Okay," Button pouted but agreed.
Button Mash made himself comfortable on the steps of the schoolhouse as his mom and teacher shut the door behind him. He wasn't the smartest colt in Equestria, but he already knew what they were talking about. It was only a matter of time before he was going to get lectured and his mission to save the villagers will be delayed.
As Button waited for the inevitable, he drew lines in the dirt with his hoof. The lines began to form a familiar shape, the shape of his remote controller. He gave a deep sigh, both from boredom and the thought of what sort of punishment he might get.
As he waited, he began to hear a familiar sound. It was faint, but he was sure that it was the sound of somepony crying. He looked around but saw that everypony else had gone home. Anypony visible to him was walking home with a smile on their face. Curious, he got up from the stairs and tried tracking down the source of the cries.
He began by taking a few steps to the right and make his way around the school. As he made his way to the school playground, the cries didn't seem to get stronger or weaker. Determined to find this pony, he continued to walk toward the woods beyond school grounds. As he approached the tree lines, he believed that the cries were becoming more clear. "Is that a filly crying?" Button asked himself. He was stopped in his tracks as his path was blocked by some bushes. He was positive that whoever the filly was, she was right behind them.
He began by digging his way through the leaves, ignoring anything poking or scratching him on the way through. Just as it looked like he was going to be in the clearing, he tripped over one of the roots and lost his balance. He let out a small scream as he fell flat in the dirt. He coughed and spat from any dirt that landed in his mouth. "Ow. That hurt," said Button.
"B-Button Mash?"
Button heard a new and yet familiar voice. Still on the ground, he raised his head slightly to see a white unicorn filly. "Sweetie Belle?" asked Button. Upon a closer look, he could see that her eyes were slightly red with leftover tears. It became obvious to him of who the crying filly was.
"Are you okay?" Sweetie asked as she lends her hoof.
Button took her hoof and lifted himself off the ground. "Yeah I think so," he said. He patted himself to clean off as much dirt as possible. He then checked to see if his propeller hat was broken. Happy to know it was undamaged, he fixed the hat to be placed firmly on his head.
"What are you doing here?" Sweetie asked.
"Well, I was waiting for my mom in front of the school. She is talking to Ms. Cheerilee right now. I heard somepony crying and was curious to find out who it was. I didn't expect that pony would be you."
Sweetie Belle raised an eyebrow at this, "Do you go searching for every pony you hear crying?"
"What? No of course not," Button replied. "So? Why were you crying, Sweetie?"
"Huh? Oh it's nothing," she replied, but Button knew she was lying. Nopony cried for nothing.
"Did you trip too and hurt yourself?" Button asked concerned.
Sweetie Belle giggled from the question, "No that's not it."
"Did Ms. Cheerilee talk to your mom too?" Button asked in hopes of finding the answer.
"No Button. Look I'm fine okay. I just wanted to be alone right now," Sweetie Belle replied.
Button knew she was lying and was worried about her. Although the two never really talked, they were both classmates and she had a reputation for being a kind pony.
Something made her cry and he felt the need to know. It was similar to one of his video games where the hero would help those villagers in need. He never really considered himself the hero type, but he has always dreamt of being one. Sweetie was no different, but how was he going to help a pony that didn't want his help? Suddenly, an idea came to mind that has worked many times in the past. Without saying a word, he ran out of the forest.
***
Sweetie Belle was startled by the colt's action. "Oh? He left," she thought to herself, "I didn't think he would leave so easily. Well, I guess I did ask for that. " She curled up into a ball and gave off a sigh. As she laid there, she contemplated what to do, "Maybe I should get going, but I don't want Rarity to see me like this." Her thoughts were interrupted by rustles from the nearby bushes. To her surprise, it was Button Mash who came out of the undergrowth. "Button?" asked Sweetie confused, "You came back?"
"Mhm," Button replied.
Sweetie then noticed that Button was holding something in his mouth. It was a red flower with many tiny petals. She recognized the flower to be a gerbera. Although the flower was pretty common, she considered it to be a beautiful flower. But why was Button Mash holding a flower?
***
Button Mash walked up to Sweetie and sat in front of her, still holding the flower.
"Huh? For me?" asked Sweetie Belle.
"Mhm. I awways gif fower foo fy fah," Button struggled to speak.
"Umm... I can't understand what you are saying," said Sweetie with a confused expression.
Button's eyes opened wide to the fact he still had the flower in his mouth. He set the flower down in front of her and licked his lips. "Sorry," he apologized, "I was saying that I always get flowers for my mom."
"Oh?" Sweetie Belle asked, trying not to sound uninterested.
"Yeah. Whenever my mom is sad or mad, I bring her flowers to help her feel better. I thought maybe it would help you feel better too," Button said with a smile.
After hearing Button, Sweetie had a better understanding of the flower. She blushed slightly and thought that it was very sweet of him to do so. She pulled the flower toward her and smiled slightly, "Thank you Button."
He smiled, feeling proud that he was able to help in some way.
"After school," Sweetie Belle started, "I went to see Rumble."
"Rumble?" Button asked.
Sweetie Belle nodded a yes. Her smile faded away, her head down, and stared at the flower. "I told him that I liked him."
"You like him!?!" Button Mash asked in surprise. He covered his mouth and gave Sweetie an apologetic look.
"Yeah. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo encouraged me to share my feelings with him, but-," Sweetie found it more difficult to speak as a lump grew in her throat. She bit her bottom lip as she tried to fight back the tears. "But he said I was weird. He thought I was annoying and told me to leave him alone." Unable to hold back any longer, she whimpered as tears ran down her face again. "Why? Why couldn't he have just given me a simple no? He didn't have to say those things. So why? Why?" Sweetie kept repeating that question over and over. At this point, she was begging for an answer.
"I don't get it," Button answered.
The answer almost stopped Sweetie from crying, but it was replaced with slight anger toward the young colt. "What is there not to get Button? Did I not explain it enough for you? Do I need to repeat myself? What is there not to get huh?"
Button flinched from Sweetie's sudden outburst. "No. I mean I don't get why he said that. You are nothing like what he said."
Sweetie was surprised by the answer.
"I mean, I don't think you are weird at all. I actually think you are pretty cool. You were brave enough to stand up to Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. Also, you helped a lot of ponies get their cutie marks or discover their special talent! You are like a princess out of a video game," praised Button.
"A pr-princess?" Sweetie Belle blushed.
"Button!" Button's mom called out his name.
"Uh oh. Coming mom! Sorry Sweetie I have to go. I will see you tomorrow!" Button waved a goodbye as he ran through the bushes.
"Uh, we don't have school tomorrow Button!" Sweetie Belle shouted.
"Oh yeah! See you Monday!" Button shouted in the distance.
Sweetie Belle released a small chuckle. She then looked down at the flower and gave a soft smile. "He's right," she thought, "This flower does help me feel better."
As Button ran back to the school, he spotted his mom just standing outside, with a paper in her mouth, with not the happiest expression. Button Mash saw this and slowed down his pace. He sat his plot down, took a deep breath, and awaited the motherly lecture.
Button's mom set the piece of paper down in front of him. The paper was one of Button's test, showing a poor grade of a D. "Button, I was taking with Ms. Cheerilee and she told me that your grades have been dropping. We talked it over and decided, starting Monday, you will be taking after school tutoring."
"After school tutoring?" Button repeated.
"I will have to speak to your father about this. Also, you are grounded and can't play any video games for a month." said the mom.
"A month!?! Can't I at least finish the game I am playing right now? I am so close to finishing it," Button begged.
"You should instead be finishing your homework. Now come on, we need to get home. I still need to make dinner," she said as she picked up the paper and placed it in her bag.
As the mom walked away to the trail home, Button had an idea and ran off in another direction. The mom noticed this and sighed, "Button, where are you going? We need to go." For about a minute there was no answer. As she waited patiently for her colt, she spotted him running back to her with something in his mouth. Button stopped in front of her with a few different types of flowers. As "adorable" as it was, the mother recognized a bribe when she saw one. She gave him a smirk and said, "Nice try."
"Well, it was worth a shot," Button thought.
