“Yikes. What a mess.” Silver Screen uttered, as they looked upon the near apocalyptic landscape that is Ponyville.

The morning after Nightmare Night is always the messiest. This is something both Milano and Silver Screen came to learn when they arrived in Ponyville after the town’s festive celebration. Barrels of drunken cider poured out onto the grass, vendors and games thoroughly trashed, candy everywhere, and various ponies passed out in different spots around the danger zone.

The two were careful not to step on any faces or tales, making their way back to Milano’s house, where Button is no doubt sleeping from the night’s activities. He said that he would be hanging out with The Cutie Mark Crusaders as they went trick or treating, and then going straight home afterwards.

“We have to be quiet.” Milano says in a whisper. “Don’t want to wake up Button.” Silver Screen can only smirk, instantly reminded of those words from the night they made love for the first time.

The door opens ever so slightly, as the two ponies walk into the darkened living room. Inside, the television plays the main menu from the video disc of The Trotting Dead as the theme faintly plays in the background. Somepony forgot to turn off the television, and the speakers for that matter.

Milano looks over at the couch, and her look of annoyance and confusion turned into a smile, as if looking at the cutest thing known to ponykind. Her hoof goes over her mouth, suppressing an awed emotion. She gestures for Silver Screen to walk over to see what she is currently witnessing.

Silver Screen turns to the couch to see Button, sleeping cheek to cheek with Sweetie Belle, both comfortably breathing, with Button letting out a small snore. The Projectionist finds the sight to be as adorable as Milano does. Button is dressed up as a Zombie, complete with some detailed make up that creates the illusion that he has a bite taken from his side. Sweetie Belle is dressed like a vampire, almost like a countess, with a black dress, and some fangs to complete the ensemble. Silver Screen surmised that Rarity created the outfit for her, but considers the possibility that Sweetie Belle worked on it herself.

A hoof is places on Silver Screen’s shoulder, making him turn to see Milano glancing up to the stairs. He follows without a moment’s hesitation.

They go up the stairs to the bathroom, where Milano turns on the faucet to the shower. Hot steam rises up, beginning its process of fogging up the mirror. She puts a hoof under her Captain Equestria outfit to remove it, but Silver Screen beats her to the punch, using his magic to remove the costume for her.

She turns, giving him a sultry smile.

“I know what you’re thinking.” she whispers, “But I just want to take a shower.”

“That’s fine.” he smiles, “I’ll clean you.” a loofah floats up, ready for some sensual scrubbing. Milano stifles a laugh.

A half hour passes, and Milano and Silver Screen trot back down the stairs. Milano wears a fitting robe over her body, while Silver Screen has to bear the slight embarrassment of everypony seeing the extent of the dye job he put on his body. Only his hooves and head had been dyed red, making the center of him still a dark blue. Some of the color has faded from the wash, but it will be a while before it completely disappears.

The pair sees that Button and Sweetie Belle are still asleep. Silver Screen takes the opportunity to turn off the television, making the house quiet and peaceful.

Milano goes to the kitchen, taking out some eggs from the carton, and butter to place on the pan. Silver Screen walks in to watch her crack the eggs, preparing breakfast for Button and Sweetie Belle. He goes to the cabinet, taking some Honey Oats and pours some in a bowl. After applying some milk, he goes to the living room, sitting down on a couch by the sofa.

Slowly, almost teasingly, Silver Screen eats the cereal, making sure that each bite is louder than the last. He considered leaving them alone, but its heading for a ten o’clock hour, and they’re going to get up whether they like it or not.

Eventually, after the third or fourth bite of cereal, Button lets out the first yawn, with Sweetie Belle following soon after. They raise their heads in tandem, stopping at precisely the point where they realize what is going on.

Their eyes open, noticing that their noses have touched.

Button and Sweetie Belle instantly turn crimson, flying back from one another in embarrassment. They have become so flustered and shocked, that Silver Screen isn’t even landing in their peripheral vision.

“Sw-Sweetie Belle!” Button adjusts himself, “I-I’m so sorry….”

“No, I’m sorry!” she says in a similarly panicked tone, “I…umm….I didn’t know what happened. I…I guess we fell asleep together.”

“I think so.” he rubs the back of his head, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Are you?”

“I’m fine too. Are you?”

“You asked that already.” Silver Screen interrupts the awkward moment. Button and Sweetie Belle yelp as they turn around to see Silver Screen munching on some Honey Oats, smiling and giving a slight wave. “Sorry to interrupt. I figured I had to announce myself before you noticed.”

“Silver Screen?” Button is surprised, “Where’s Mom?”

“She’s in the kitchen, making breakfast for you two. I hope you don’t mind that I helped myself to some of your cereal.”

“It’s fine.” Button nods. He notices Sweetie Belle hopping off the couch, heading for the door. The blush on her face from the initial encounter still has left her. “Sweetie Belle? Are you going to stay for breakfast?”

“Um…” she hesitates, “N-No, it’s fine. I’ll um….see you at school, okay?”

“Y-Yeah. Okay. See ya.” Button waves with a friendly smirk. He watches as Sweetie Belle makes her quick exit. His smile goes away instantaneously.

“I think she likes you.” Silver Screen blurts out.

“No!” Button proclaims loudly, “I-I mean she likes me as a friend, but not in the way that you’re thinking!”

“Dude, she was totally embarrassed when your muzzles touched. That’s a classic Romantic Comedy moment right there. That means she totally digs you, and hasn’t found the right time to tell you, yet.”

“This isn’t a movie!” Button huffed, “It was a misunderstanding, and she was trying to get away because you showed up!” he sits forcefully on the couch, crossing his forelegs like a little foal not getting his way. “Probably one of the many other mares that are groveling at your hooves.”

“First of all…” he swallows some cereal before continuing, “Ew, she’s like eleven. Second, what other mares?”

“I saw Bon-Bon was five seconds away from making out with you, when you rescured her from the six foot hole.”

“Oh, yeah….she was.” he chuckles, “That was a weird moment. But I’m only interested in one mare, and that’s all I’ll ever need.”

“Who is this harlot?!” Button demands, “I’ll kill her! And you!”

“Erm…your mother?” Silver Screen raises an eyebrow, “I think that sugar has gotten to your brain.”

“Oh…” Button winces, holding his head like he has some sort of bad sugar induced hangover. “I think it has.”

“Do you like her?” Silver Screen asks bluntly.

“What? My Mom? Ew! Now YOU’RE being gross!” Button blechs in revulsion.

“No, I’m talking about Sweetie Belle. Crazy fool.”

“Do I…what? Sweetie Belle?” he scoffs, “I never…I….” he defeatedly sighs, “It’s that obvious, huh?”

“Yes. Yes it is. If I was banished to the moon by Princess Celestia. It would still be obvious. From the moon. Because I would be on it. Watching you.”

“I don’t know what to do!” Button hops off the couch. “I’ve been nice to her, hung out with her, I bought her stuff…”

“What did you buy?”

“Like…soda….”

“Any jewelry?”

“I can’t afford that! Celestia knows she deserves it.” he looks down at the carpeted floor, scratching it timidly. “If I had the bits, I would get anything for her.”

“Wow. That sounds serious.”

“But I don’t know what else to do! How can I show her that I’m interested?”

Silver Screen gives him a look that just screams out that Button should very well know the answer to his own question. Button obviously doesn’t however.

“Have you tried asking her out on a date?”

“A date?”

“You do know what a date is, right?” he queries, before continuing with “A date is when two ponies go out for…”

“I know what a date is!” he snaps.

“Sorry…” Silver Screen grimaces, “It’s just…you seem like, you know, kind of an INDOOR colt.” Button gives him a sharp look, “Okay, I’ll lay off.”

“Breakfast!” Milano calls out from the kitchen. Silver Screen and Button come trotting in. Milano notices a distinct lack of Sweetie Belle. “Hey, where’s Sweetie Belle?”

“She and Button’s muzzles touched, and she blushed and got scared off.”

“Aw, that’s so adorable.” She looks down at the extra plate of eggs. “More for us, then.” She shrugs, happily putting half of the eggs on her plate, and the other half on Button’s. “So, did you ask her out, yet?”

“That’s what we’re working on.” Silver Screen continues.

“I don’t know how to ask her out!” Button slams his head down on the tale, narrowly missing the plate of scrambled eggs. “I feel like if I try, I’ll get nervous and wet myself.”

“Have you done that before?” Silver Screen queries.

“There’s a first time for everything!” Button snaps back, before slamming his head down again on the table, this time even harder.

“Just walk up to her and say ‘Sup Sweetie Belle, let’s go out!’ Except, you know, put your own Button-y spin on it.” Silver Screen says with a smile.

“How did you ask Mom out?” Button wonders.

“Ummmmmmm……” Milano and Silver Screen say at the same time.

“Nevermind.” Button waves them off, no longer interested in the origins of their coupling, “Do you really think it’s going to be that easy? What if she says no?”

“I get the feeling that she’s not going to say that.” Silver Screen assures, “I know, because I read pretty far ahead in the script.” He turns to Milano, “You and I are going to make out on page fifty six.”

“Nice.” Milano smirks.

“Dork!” Button cries out, “You’re a dork!”

“Oh yeah! Well… you play video games!” Silver Screen tries not to crack up at his halfhearted insult.

“So do you! And… you swear online!”

“When you get older, you’ll understand!”

“I am older! I can swear too, you…dorky, mother loving, bag of dick eater!”

“Button!” Milano opens her mouth wide in abhorred shock.

Silver Screen however, isn’t so shocked. Instead, he doubles over on the floor laughing loudly while flailing his back legs around wildly, as his forelegs clutch onto his stomach, trying to lessen the pain of laughing so hard.

“Um, Mom? I think I just killed Silver Screen.”

“You’re grounded for a week. If he dies, you’re grounded for a month.”

“I’m okay…” Silver Screen wheezes, “I’ll be fine.”

“See? He’s fine.” Button smiles.

“Good. You’re only grounded for a week now.”

Silver Screen gradually gets back up from his laughing state. The barrage of guffaws has made his throat dry, giving him the need to drink a lot of water before he can talk like a normal pony. Milano puts down a glass of the ice cold sustenance, and he drinks it happily without question.

“Okay.” He finally speaks, “I’m good to go. Sorry.” With a few extra coughs and the clearing of the throat, he sits back down on the kitchen chair. “Anyways, about this pickle you’ve found yourself in. I suppose there’s only one thing you can do about this.”

“And what’s that?” Button wonders with a raised brow.

“Just ask her.” Silver Screen puts it bluntly.

Button gulps.

Button and Silver Screen walk the the town, now cleaner than it once was the previous day. Most of the residence helped out in removing trash from the ground and waking the bodies of the inebriated party goers, sending them on their way back to their homes.

Silver Screen’s dye job has faded even more since yesterday, but it’s still noticeable to any passerbys. Anypony who takes an extreme notice and get the inclination to ask him if he’s okay, Silver Screen would give them the abridged version of the story, which shuts them up almost immediately.

“Okay, Button. Where does Sweetie Belle like to hang out?”

“She can sometimes be found at the Hayburger Hut with Applebloom and Scootaloo.” he says in nervousness. “Silver Screen, are you sure about this? I don’t think she’s interested in going out with a colt like me.” He looks down at his normal appearance. “I should have worn something nice, or put on some cologne at least.”

“No, bad idea.” Silver Screen says as if from experience. “Wearing something nice, or emmiting cologne says that you’re extremely lacking in confidence, and desperate to the high heavens. If you’re going to ask somepony out, you must be yourself.”

“But, what if being yourself is stinky?”

“Then you at least take a bath. Luckily, you don’t stink. I’d cool it on the sweat, though.”

“I can’t help it. I never asked a mare out on a date before.”

“It’s fine. You’ll be fine.” Silver Screen nods to him with a smile and a face of assured confidence. Button looks up at him, eeking a smirk of his own. He’s impressed that this dorky Projectionist is helping him out at such a task, even if this task is still scaring the living daylights out of him. Silver Screen looks ahead, stopping abruptly. “Hey, there she is.”

“What?!” Button goes to a halt. Looking ahead, he sees Sweetie Belle chatting it up with Applebloom and Scootaloo, no doubt discussing their next big plan to achieve their cutie marks. Immediately, Button dives into a nearby bush, with everypony but the trio noticing his act of cowardly stealth.

With an annoyed sigh, Silver Screen trots over the the bush, and sticks his head inside. He sees Button, covered in leaves and branches, shaking out of fear.

“Look, every colt goes through this at some point or another.”

“Well, I don’t want to! She’s going to say no, I just know it.” He glares at Silver Screen, “And don’t give me that ‘I read the script’ brouhaha, because it’s not going to work! You saw her at the house. She was embarrassed because a colt like me was so close to her. She wants a real colt.”

“You are a real colt. Or are you a robot, and I never knew all this time?”

“You know what I mean!” he snaps. “Is she still there?”

“One second.” Silver Screen pulls his head out for exactly one second, before coming back in. “Yep, still there.”

“Hurm…” Button pouts, “Let me know when she’s gone. These bushes are starting to prick my flank.”

“Look, Button.” Silver Screen gives him a friendly face, “I know you’re scared. Who wouldn’t be? Every colt or stallion is scared when they ask a mare out on a date. Don’t let some of their machismo make you think otherwise. Deep inside, they are just as scared as you are. What you need to do, is bottle up that fear, and go out there with all the confidence in the world. I know you can do it. Pretend…” he thinks, them smiles, “Pretend like it’s a video game.”

“A video game about dating?” Button wonders.

“Yes. It’s a downloadable indie game, not a full retail release, so don’t expect too much in the way of content. But imagine that this game has only one achievement, and it’s worth a million Gamerscore.”

“A million?”

“A full million. That achievement…is to ask a beautiful mare such as Sweetie Belle out on a date. If she says no, that’s the beauty of video games. You can play them over and over, until you get it right and win. Or, you can get is right the first time around, and enjoy the fantastic cutscene that follows. If you don’t at the very least attempt this now, somepony else will give a shot, and if he succeeds, will post his playthrough on the internet to boast his achievement. Do you want that? Or, do you want to post that playthrough yourself?”

Button sits there in silence; he’s just been given the most unconventional dating talk in his entire life. On some level, he wants to giggle and laugh at the ridiculous analogy Silver Screen has just made. On another, he can see where he’s coming from with whatever came out of that muzzle.

“A million…” Button says to himself. Suddenly, he bursts out of the bushes. Small branches an leaves stick from his mane. “How do I look?”

Silver Screen removes the branches and leaves from him, and gives it a quick comb over with his magic.

“Like somepony about to rock.” Silver Screen smiles.

With a crack of his neck, and a straightening of his step, Button starts walking towards the still conversing trio, with Silver Screen watching from a distance.

As Button takes each step, the fear attempts to take over, but he refuses to let such an emotion to deprive him of what he wants to achieve. He sucks it up, putting on a brave and confident face, getting closer to his goal.

Scootaloo is the first to notice Button coming towards them. She gets the other two’s attention, and the three turn to look at the approaching gamer pony. A small but noticeable blush graces Sweetie Belle’s cheeks, not expecting his arrival. She does not flee, but she is very nervous from his presence.

Button would be lying if that didn’t make him feel proud.

“Oh, hi Button.” Applebloom welcomes, “What’s up? Did ya wanna help up get out cutie marks today?”

“Preferably this time not knocking us out with your gas bombs?” Scootaloo teases with a chorte.

“Umm…hi….Button.” Sweetie Belle says timidly, attempting to hide her blush, “How are you today?”

“Sweetie Belle…” Button attempts to sound smooth, but his scratchy voice doesn’t quite achieve the desired tone. However, the other two notice the intended effect immediately. “There’s something I want to ask you.”

“Oh, Sweetie Belle! Ah just remembered!” Applebloom interrupts, “Ah can’t help out today. Ah have to go help…uh…Big Mac…uh…move…apples! Yeah! I’ll see ya tomorrow!” she gallops off.

Scootaloo stands alone. She stutters an excuse.

“Oh…I…ummm….I-I can’t go anywhere either. I….um….have to help Rainbow Dash….erm….save the universe! Bye!” she gallops off too.

It’s just Sweetie Belle and Button, now. She looks back to him. He’s sort of bewildered at their quick and unconvincing exits, but he regains his cool in a matter of seconds.

“So, um…Button.” Sweetie Belle says quietly, “Was there something you wanted to ask?”

“Sweetie Belle…I have to ask you something. It’s a question I’ve always wanted to ask you, since the day I first laid eyes on you. I know I’m not the smartest, most handsome, or most subtle colt you’ve ever met, but…I…kind of…sort of…really like you.”

Silver Screen winces a bit from afar. It’s actually cute to watch, but he can see some of the confidence wither away just a tad.

“You…you do?” Sweetie Belle wonders.

“Yes!” Button says with definitiveness. That confidence is back. “And, what I want to ask you is this…”

“I don’t know if getting married is the right idea.”

“I…what?” Button creeks his head to the side, “Married?”

“We’re too young, and it would be weird to do so at our age. I don’t think we should do that.”

“Wait…I…I just wanted to ask you out on a date.” Button clarifies.

“Oh…” Sweetie Belle nods, before finally, “OH! A date! That’s what you wanted to ask about?”

“Yeah.” Button smirks, before going back to his confused state, “What were you going on about with marriage?”

“Um…nothing.” Sweetie Belle brushes it off. “A date? I…” she thinks hard about this. “I’ve never been on a date before…”

Button shakes in his hooves. She’s never been on a date? Her? That’s impossible!

Sweat drops from his brow, Silver Screen’s too. He is rooting for Button all the way, and hates thinking about having to come up with another speech. But, if it came to pass, he would do his damnedest to try.

“I would love to go out with you, Button.” Sweetie Belle says with a grin and a small squeak in her voice.

“You would?”

“Yes.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“That’s…” Button prepared himself for her to say no, so he didn’t think this far ahead in the story for this outcome. He looks over at Silver Screen, who gestures him to keep going. “That’s great! So…um…dinner and a movie on Friday?”

“We can meet at the Hayburger Hut, and go see a movie after we eat.” Sweetie Belle says, making the perfect date for two foals such as they. “Does that sound okay?”

“Okay? That sounds amazing!” Button exclaims excitedly. “So…Friday?”

“Friday.” Sweetie Belle smiles her perfect smile. “I have to go find Applebloom and Scootaloo. I think they aren’t really doing what they say they’re doing.”

“O-Okay. You have a good day, Sweetie Belle, alright?”

“You too…Button Mash.” she trots off with a happy bounce in her step.

Once she is completely gone, Button suddenly jumps in the air in excitement, clicking his hoves together before landing back on the ground below. He bellows in victory, running around the area with a wide smile on his face.

“YES!!!!” he screams, “YEEESSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!” He stops running in a circle, going straight for Silver Screen, “She said yes!” he jumps up, and Silver Screen catches him for a hug. “This is the greatest day of my life!”

“That’s fantastic! I knew you could do it, Button!” Silver Screen laughs in celebration. He puts the colt down, watching him attempt to regain his bearings.

“Okay. Now tell me how the date should go!” Button demands.

“Um…no.” Silver Screen replies.

“What? No? But…I don’t know how this works!”

“It’ll come naturally to you, provided you don’t act like a total creepozoid.”

“But…how would I know what’s creepy and what’s not?”

“You don’t seriously need me to tell you that, do you?”

“I want to know!”

“No.” Silver Screen turns, walking away back to the Mash residence. Button follows with mad determination.

“What are my table manners supposed to be? Is it okay to put a hoof around her during the movie? What about kissing? What if she wants to kiss on the first date? Is that okay? What does it mean to ‘get fresh?’ What is the meaning of bases? Is dating somehow akin to baseball?”

“Oy.” Silver Screen sighs, “When we get home, I’m going to have to tell you some things.”