"Button! Time for your first day of school!" I heard my mother call from the living room. Maybe I shouldn't have had that whole can of Wonderbolt Energy, I forgot to go to sleep last night. Yeah. Forgot is the word, I thought as I shut off the game I was currently playing, Blank Ops on my new game console, the X-Cube. My mom tends to buy me new games when we move, this time was the new console, which is nice. We always move around before I'm ready. It happened so often, I stopped whining about leaving my friends behind. I prefer my video games, anyway.

I suddenly noticed what I did. Or, to be correct, what I didn't do: sleep. My lack of rest kicked in upon that realization and I felt a surge of lethargy as I get on all four hooves. I felt that familiar weakness in my knees due to lack of sleep combined with caffeine. I've felt worse.

I began to lazily trot back and forth across the room in a meager attempt to wake myself up. Maybe another one of those Wonderbolt Energy Drinks could wake me up. Maybe. I flicked on the light, showering the room in a melancholy yellow. I took a brief look around the posters of my favorite game characters, my unkempt bed, and my gaming chair, which it's surroundings are tidier than the rest of the room, but not by a whole lot. I stood at the end of the room for a moment before grabbing my lucky  beanie and walking out of the room.

I yawned and stretched my neck as I made my way down the tan-walled hallway of my new home. We have only been here for a few days, so it still has a feel of unfamiliarity to it.

"Button," my mother began.  "Hurry up and get some breakfast, school starts in half an hour!" She made her way to her room.

Maybe some cereal will wake me up, I thought, as I tried to get a hold of myself. Half drifting away to sleep, I tried opening the cabinets where the Chocolate Chip Crunch was hiding, but my hoof missed the handle two or so times before I made any progress. As I rose my head from the cabinets, holding the box of cereal in my mouth, I caught a bright ray of blistering sunlight coming through the blinds of the window.

I squinted my eyes at the unpleasant encounter with Princess Celestia's ball of light and cursed her under my breath as I poured myself my breakfast.

After I was done eating, my mother entered the room and immediately spotted the dark spots under my sunken eyes. "Button!" She said in a huff. "Did you stay up all night?"

"It depends on what you mean by 'all night'. You could mean through the hours after midnight, which is technically not night becaus-OW!" I yelped as she whacked me with a rolled up newspaper she removed from her saddlebag.

"You should NOT have stayed up all night before school, Button! Let alone the first day!"

"But mom!" I moaned. "It isn't even the first day of school! I have had a million 'first days', it's ordinary now."

"It's your first day of school in Ponyville! Either way, you should never stay up on school nights!" She scolded me with a glare that kills. "Go to school."

I put my bowl in the sink, grabbed my saddlebags, and walked out the door.

I stood out on the front steps, taking in my first breath of fresh air as the crisp, cool air hits my brown coat. I should go get that drink now, I though as I blinked repetitively in another attempt to stay awake. My mom took me to a candy shop for milkshakes the day we came to Ponyville. What was it called again? Sugarcube? Maybe.

As I briskly walked down the road, I took in the sheer beauty of this place so unfamiliar to me. Birds, trees, fresh air, it's all so new to me. I've lived in Manehattan, Trottingham, even Canterlot for a month. Never have I been in such a quiet, peaceful place.

Suddenly,  I has nearly pounced on by a cotton candy-maned mare, whose smile was so contagious that I couldn't help but smile with her. So much for peacefulness.

"HI! Are you new here? I'm Pinkie Pie,  I work at Sugarcube Corner! Well, I wasn't there yesterday, I was babysitting the baby Cakes! The cakes are the ones who..." she went on and on as I stood there in bewilderment.

"So THEN, I went back to Sugarcube Corner, and now I'm out here! I see you, which I never ever ever seen you before! So I-"

"Excuse me, miss?" I said, exasperated from the constant train of speech coming from the mare.

"Yes?" She replied, stretching the word out as long as possible.

"Is there any Wonderbolt Energy at Sugarcube Corner?" I asked, getting prepared for a second round of machine gun fire from Pinkie's mouth.

"Of COURSE!" she squealed in an overly happy tone, hopping up in the air a few times. I usually wouldn't mind the overly happy nature, but being that I haven't slept, my lethargy has taken a toll on me.

Suddenly, she stuck her head under me and with her neck, without warning, shot me into the air. Surprised, I let out a yell, only to land safely on her pink back. She dashed down the road at a breakneck pace. I held onto my beanie as the top spun erratically. Ponyville rushed past us for a few seconds only to stop abruptly in front of a sweet-smelling shop.

I fell off the mare, trying to catch my breath, saddlebags on the ground, hat in hooves. I put my saddlebags back on and walked toward the store.

"Thanks, I guess, uh.. Pinkie Pie." I panted, still shaken up.

"No problem, kiddo! What's your name, by the way? I almost forgot to ask!" She said between giggles, as she noticed my jetlagged state.

"It's Button. Button Mash," I said as I pressed my mane down trying to put my beanie back on. I will admit, it was pretty fun, I thought as I pushed the door to the sweet shop open.

Immediately, the scent of cinnamon buns indulged my nostrils. I took a good look around, admiring the sweet-smelling shop. I walked up to the counter only to see Pinkie Pie at the counter.

"W-What? How did you..?" I began.

"So, Wonderbolt Energy, is it?" She interrupted,  as she pulled a medium sized can out from under the counter.

"Uh.. Y-Yeah" I said, still dumbfounded, as I stuck my muzzle in my right saddlebag.

"How much does this cost?" I said, partially muffled by coins entering my mouth.

"Oh, it's on me, Butts!" She exclaimed.

I spat out the bits back into the saddle bag and beamed.

"Really?"

"Of course! You're new here, so think of it as a welcome gift from your Aunt Pinkie!" She cheered as she handed me the can, grinning still, exactly like before.

"Wow! Thanks, Pinkie! You're the best!" I said, a big smile on my face. I began to walk out of the shop.

Wait.. I turned to look at the clock, 7:55. Class begins in 5 minutes! At that point,  I noticed that Pinkie woke me up quite a bit, her energy rubbing off on me. I cracked open the can with my teeth and took an oversized gulp. I was immediately energized, the caffeine rushing through me. I went into a full sprint towards the schoolhouse, the one my mother showed me yesterday.

Ring! The bell rang obnoxiously as I charged through the door frame. Just in time, I thought as I sat down in the empty seat next to the door. The low roar of my new classmates died as a grayish-orchid coated mare walked into the classroom. I'm guessing she is the teacher. She began to address the class.

"Okay, class. I was told there was a new student and he would show up today. Is anyone here named.. Button Mash?" She asked as she checked her attendance binder. I raised a hoof in the air.

"Come up here, Button! Let me introduce the class to you!"

I hate standing in front of crowds. I got up from my seat and slowly walked to the front of the class.

"Well, Button, it's good to have you here, I'm Miss Cheerilee," she said after the obligatory "let me introduce you to" speech said every time I go to a new school. I looked around, trying to smile to the class. I'm very shy in front of crowds. I sat back down in my seat, relieved that that was over.

To the left of me, a colt by the name of Snips sat, giggling with his friend, Snails. To the right of me was a window to the peaceful (excluding Pinkie) town. The classroom walls were covered in educational phrases and quotes. I would much rather be at home playing my games. Wait.. my JoyBoy!

I began to dig through my saddlebags, now laying on the ground, a lumpy pile of cloth and my school supplies. I took out my handheld game and turned it on. Nothing. I looked at what game is in the JoyBoy, only to see that I forgot all of them at home. I sighed and began my schoolwork.

The bell rang once more, and all the students rushed out, eager to begin the rest of their day. More realistically,  eager to leave the class. I took my time, I didn't want to get into the mosh pit that was the door frame. I slowly made my way to the door as the fillies and colts cleared out. As I walked out of the class, I took in another breath of the crisp Ponyville air. Now I can head home to go play my games.

Today wasn't so bad, I thought to myself. Well, it was boring. But Pinkie brightened it up. I wonder if she'd like Blank Ops..

I continued to let my mind wander as I walked slowly to my home. Suddenly a helmeted pegasus rolled up on a four-wheeled scooter, grin on her face as she skidded to a stop in front of me. I flinched a bit, she got extremely close to hitting me.

"Hey, kiddo," the pegasus said as she took off her helmet, revealing her messy, purple mane.

I remembered her from the classroom, she sat near the middle, asleep. Miss Cheerillee had to wake her up three times. I chuckled to myself.

"Hey!" I said a tad too enthusiastically.

"It's Button, right?"

"Yeah, what's yours?" I asked.

"Scootaloo. But I have to ask you a question. Would you wanna join our club? It's for finding our cutie marks!"

I looked at my bare flank, indifferent about earning my mark.

"Nah, I'm fine." I replied. "It isn't important to me."

"What?" A voice yelled from a distance. "How could you not want your cutie mark?"

I looked behind Scootaloo, as I saw two fillies galloping over.  One was yellowish, with a big bow on her head. The other.. Well.. Wait, what?

My mind was paralyzed. The filly was snow white. Her mane had curls that tangled perfectly into waterfalls of purple and pink. Her eyes were like jades, green and bright with ambition. My stomach turned. What's going on?

"First of all, Scootaloo, ya shouldn't have rode off without us, we wanted ter talk ta him, too!" The bow-wearing one said. "Second of all-" I stopped listening.  I stopped doing anything. I couldn't take my eyes off of that snowy, unicorn filly. In the back of my mind I hear the yelling of two fillies, but it is inaudible.

"Hey, are you okay?" A voice asked me.

I blinked for the first time in what seemed like forever and in front of me was that same white filly, waving her hoof back and forth in my face. I blinked a few times more and opened my mouth to reply. Nothing. I stood there in silence, as the filly stared at me with her big, concerned eyes. My heart began pounding. My rib cage began to crack as I took a deep breath.

"I-I'm f-fine,"I managed to make out.

"Are you sure? You don't look too good," she replied with the same concerned expression. Her voice became soft, like velvet.

"Yeah. I'm sure," I nodded my head a few more times than nessessary. I felt my face begin burning.

"Are you sure you don't want to go crusading for cutie marks? It's a lot of fun!" She squeaked.

"Uh... I'm not sure. I'll have t-to think about it."

"Okay, well let me know when you decide, 'mkay?" She beamed.

"S-sure."

I stood there, coming back slowly from my trance. The dull roar of the pegasus and earth pony arguing came back into my eardrums.

My stomach turned again. I need to get home, fast! I broke into a sprint. As I ran, I heard Scootaloo say something along the lines of "Sweetie Belle, what did you do to the kid? You scared him away!"

"I didn't do anything! I-"

I turned the corner and the argument became too far away to hear. I galloped all the way home, nearly falling over the steps of my front door. I entered the house, panting, with a burning sensation on my face and chest. I heard my mom from her room.

"Your snack is on the counter! How was school?"

"It was okay," I panted. "Just another first day." I ran to my room and shut the door.

What's wrong with me? I thought as I threw my saddlebags onto my bed. Why couldn't I talk? Was it the filly? Sweetie Belle? Why does my stomach hurt so bad? Is it the Wonderbolt Energy?

I should ask mom what the deal is. Maybe she'll take me to the doctor, I pondered, laying down on my bed. Maybe.. I yawned and began digging through my saddlebags for my JoyBoy. That'll.. get my mind.. off of..

"Button! Wake up! You're almost late for school!" I hear my mother call. Groggy, I look at my clock, 7:45.

..things, I finished. I adjusted my beanie, still on me. I got off my bed, walked to my counter, grabbed a JoyBoy game, and threw it in my bag.

Sweetie Belle, hmm? That's a good name, I thought as I walked out the door. Next Chapter: The Milkshake Incident Estimated time remaining: 26 Minutes