It Came From the Television
Button Mash walked into his home, shutting the door behind him.
The first thing he noticed was how oddly quiet it was. He'd expected to hear the usual clacking of dishes as his mother washed them, or her hooves hitting the floor as she came to greet him.
But no, complete silence. While Button didn't expect this, he wasn't very worried. His mother would occasionally stay at the market much longer than she originally intended. Even though he knew what was going on, it still confused him.
Why did she stay that long at the market?
Button Mash, like always, shrugged it off, and walked into the kitchen, setting his saddlebags on the counter. He turned towards the fridge, which had a note on it.
Button Mash took it off the fridge, and began to read;
Button,
I met a nice stallion in the market today, and we're going on a date!
I will be back around 9.
I also have gotten you that ''TV'' you've been bothering me about, and I hooked up all of your systems and gadgets to it.
Try not to break anything, Button.
Love,
Mom
When Button Mash read "TV" he began to shake excitedly.
He dropped the note, and practically flew up the stairs in the family room. He crashed through the door to his room, and saw it.
The TR-XS, or the brand new form of human technology Princess Twilight Sparkle had brought from the human world. It was called a "Television", or "TV" for short. The main thing that got Button Mash obsessed with it was the fact that it played moving images on its screen. It was like his GameColt but the size of a small window. He also read that this was a very early model of what the humans currently had. Button Mash couldn't even begin to imagine what the humans actually had, seeing as the TR-XS was already perfect, in his eyes at least. The only other pony to really seem interested was his friend, Nougat, but even then, he sort of shrugged it off like everypony else. That did disappoint Button Mash, but he was more focused on the TV than anything else, and now it was in his bedroom, set up and ready to use!
He couldn't contain his excitement, he jumped forward and started to rapidly push the buttons that were on the side of the screen, looking for the one that activated the device's power. He pushed a big button that had a faded symbol on it, and the thing sprang to life.
He looked down at his game console, and turned it on as well.
He couldn't wait to play every game he owned on that thing.
***
Button's eyelids felt heavy, and he started wobbling a little. But he had to finish this mission, at least. He paused his game, yawned, and checked the clock next to his bed.
It was 10:30.
He rubbed his eyes, trying to check whether or not he saw correctly.
10:30.
"What?" He asked himself out loud.
He stood up, and walked out of his room.
Walking down the stairs, he looked into the family room.
There was nopony there.
Button felt confusion and worry course through his body.
His mother was rarely home past 10.
What was she and this stallion doing?
Suddenly an odd sound buzzed from upstairs, causing Button's ear to flick.
He looked upstairs, and he saw the walls encased in an odd white light, which was originating from his bedroom. He cautiously trotted upstairs, and looked into his bedroom.
An odd image played on his television; thousands of white and black dots danced across the screen in a rapid fashion.
He recognized this as static.
He ran up to the TV and started to push the buttons which switched the channels.
Nothing changed.
He was stumped, he didn't know what to do.
And then, the air around him started to feel heavy, and the sound of static muffled and slightly distorted. He stepped backwards, away from the TV, but he felt slower.
Much slower.
His mind felt foggy.
Suddenly on the screen, an odd black shape appeared, along with another.
And another.
The sound of cracking echoed through the room slowly as the shape became much clearer.
Then, a creature came through.
Button couldn't react, he was frozen with fear.
As it began to straighten up, Button could see how tall it was; the thing had to bend over to even fit!
It wore a black, crumpled suit, along with a dusty hat that covered its face in shadow.
Even with its face shrouded in darkness, Button could see its face.
Its eyes.
Oh, sweet Celestia, its eyes.
Button couldn't explain it, but the darkness that greeted him when he looked into its eyes was the most horrifying thing he had ever seen.
Suddenly, it reached forward, extending its elongated foreleg at him.
Button suddenly felt like he was being towards it.
He was moving towards it, but he couldn't stop.
He cried out of help, but for some reason, he couldn't hear himself.
He tried scrambling away from the thing, but still, he moved closer.
Then, he felt a strong force pull him back, and everything went black.
***
Cream Heart burst through the front door.
She was late.
She couldn't believe it. It was practically midnight, and she promised to back three hours earlier.
She looked around.
The lights were still on, which was odd, but it didn't worry her too much.
She closed the door, and locked it once more.
"What was I thinking! Leaving him alone..."
Despite her date going well, she didn't like leaving Button alone for that long.
Especially when there's that foal-napper on the loose.
"Button!"She called up the stairs. "You awake, hun?"
No response.
That was also odd, since she could see his door was open, judging by the light being cast down the hall.
"Button?" She began stepping up them. "Are you there?"
Even though he probably was, she couldn't help but feel worried.
She walked up to Button's door. It was slightly ajar, leaving her a limited view of the room.
She opened the door, and a strange sight me her eyes.
There were scorch-marks on the floor, all originating from the television, which was now playing static.
She looked to the bed.
It was undisturbed, almost like it hadn't been used at all today.
"B-Button..?" She croaked, fear flooding her system. " BUTTON?"
She looked around, and sprinted out of the room, deciding to check downstairs.
What she didn't notice, though, was the tv shutting off behind her.
Then, the electricity followed.
