“Button, wake up,” an angelic voice spoke.

“Not now mom. Give me five more minutes,” Button groaned in a half-dead voice.

“Alright, you leave me no choice.”

A freezing sensation overwhelmed Button. “Cold! COLD!” He cried, collapsing onto the ground. “What was that?”

“My milkshake.”

“Why would you do that, milkshakes are cold.”

“I’m sorry, you wouldn’t wake up.”

“You didn’t have to do… THAT.”

“And this is the pony you chose to be your coltfriend? Honestly, I thought you would have better taste,” a second, older voice spoke.

“He isn’t my coltfriend,” Sweetie Belle retorted.

“Then why on earth did you spend several hours sleeping on top of him?”

“I…well.” The small filly stomped out of the shop in a fit of rage. The older mare put her face close to Button’s, leaving no room to breathe. She looked carefully at each of Button’s features, from his hoofs to his propeller hat.

“Okay eye color. Average head shape. You’re not very muscular and you have horrible taste in hats. What does she see in you?” She whispered under her breath. She forced Button’s mouth open and gave him a puzzling look. “Your dental hygiene is not that bad” she continued.

“Excuse me, could I ask what you’re doing?” Button said, breaking the mare’s focus.

“Oh I’m sorry Button Mash. But as you know, my sister must have the best special somepony and I just don’t see what she sees in you.”

“Well may-”

“Look at the time,” she shrieked. “I simply must be going. There is too much work to take care of.”

She briskly exited the building, letting the doors swing behind her. Button stood looking irritated at the swinging door, dripping in milkshake. “Hey there Button,” the pony behind the counter spoke. “Looks like you could use a napkin or two… or twenty”

A grunt of displeasure escaped Button’s lips. “Can you believe that? Saying I’m not good enough,” he complained.

“Listen Button, I may not be the best stallion to give advice on mares because the last time I had to woo one was many years ago. But if you want some help, I’ll be happy to provide,” the pony behind the counter said with a smile, handing over a wad of napkins to Button.

Button quickly shrouded his face with them, wiping off as much of the milkshake still left in his fur as he could. The thick liquid created mats in his fur, mats it would take a long time to undo. “You know what I did when I was your age,” the pony’s voice continued, “I wrote my crush a letter.”

“A letter?” Button asked, finally interested in what the pony was saying.

“Yea, a love letter. You got to tell her how you really feel-” he pressed his hoof against Button “-You have to make it from the heart.”

“How does a heart write a letter?”

The pony’s face grew slightly more irritated. “You should probably go now, you’re mother will be wondering where you are,” he spoke through a forced smile.

“You’re right!” Button screamed, “See you around.”

Button was gone before the words even left his mouth.

“Mom!” Button announced. “I’m home.”

“Button!” she cried. “Where have you been?”

“I was just getting a milkshake.”

“You said you would be home several hours ago” -She wrapped her forehooves around Button- “You had me so worried. What happened to you? Why is your fur all matted up?”

“I might have spilled some milkshake on myself.”

“Oh sweetie, we have to get you cleaned up. We have guests coming over”

“But mo-”

“Not ‘buts’ Button, we’re not letting ponies see you covered in milkshake,” she spoke in a rushed tone as she snatched her son by his tail and dragged him up the stairs. She hurried as she let Button’s face run along the carpet.

Without warning he was thrown into the air and landed into the pool of water. “Now hold still Button” She spoke bringing her brush right up against Button’s mane.

Two ponies approached the bright green house, one hiding behind her sister’s perfectly groomed tail. “Now Sweetie Belle, don’t be ridiculous. There’s no need to be scared of your friends,” Rarity spoke.

“Maybe we should go see if AppleJack will look after me?” Sweetie Belle said, slightly pulling on her sister’s tail. “Or miss Cheerilee, or Twilight?”

“We’ve been over this before Sweetie Belle, AppleJack is too busy to look after a second filly, miss Cheerilee has to teach and Twilight is busy with her royal duties in Canterlot. Besides, Mrs. Mash seems like a very nice pony.”

“It isn’t his mom I have a problem with,” Sweetie belle quietly mumbled under her breath.

“It isn’t polite for a lady to mumble Sweetie Bel-”

“OW MOM, THAT HURTS.  YOU’RE BRUSHING TOO HARD,” Button wailed from inside the house.

Sweetie Belle’s face seemed to brighten at the screams of pain emerging from the house,“It sounds like they’re a bit busy, maybe we should come back another time.”

“Nonsense Sweetie Belle, I’m sure that she just wiping off that milkshake you spilled on him earlier. Your coltfriend must make himself presentable for you,” Rarity teased.

“He isn’t my-”

“THERE’S SOAP IN MY EYES. GET IT OUT! GET IT OUT!” Button’s screams continued.

The two now slightly terrified ponies slowly approached the door. “MY EYES, I’M BLIND! MOM, YOU’VE BLINDED YOUR SECOND SON!” his screams continued. The look of terror grew on Sweetie Belle’s face.

*Knock* *Knock*

She watched in horror at how her sister had simply shrugged off the sounds of horror that the house emitted. “MOM? MOM! MOM, YOU’VE LEFT YOUR BLIND SON. THE WHOLE WORLD IS DARK. I CAN’T SEE ANYTHING!”

“It seems your coltfriend is a bit of a whiner,” Rarity continued to tease her younger sister.

“He isn’t my coltfriend,” Sweetie Belle whispered at an inaudible level.

The door swung open, surprising Sweetie Belle out of the concentrated death stare she had been giving her sister. The door had been replaced by a tan mare with a brown mane giving Sweetie Belle a small smile. “You must be Rarity, it honor to meet you,” she said, shaking her sister’s hoof. “I absolutely love your dresses, especially your newest summer collection.”

“Yes well, I thought that I could replace the cinnamon extras with a different shade. Something along the lines of crimson or rosso corsa.”

“Don’t be hard on yourself, they were all incredibly beautiful,” Button’s mom spoke. Her voice was smooth, it seemed to go into the ears like milk down your throat.

“Anyway, we seem to be going off topic. I apologize, but I simply must get going if I wish to make it on time. Again, thank you for watching Sweetie Belle for me.” her sister’s voice knocked Sweetie Belle out of her milk fantasies.

“Oh it’s my pleasure to watch her, you just have fun in Manehattan.” Button’s mom said with a slight giggle escaping her lips. Sweetie Belle watched as her sister trotted away, leaving her with a complete stranger. “Come on inside Sweetie Belle, I’ll go grab Button.” Button’s mom said, disappearing around the corner.

Sweetie Belle walked inside of the Mash house and briskly wiped her hooves off on the mat, A proper lady must always be considerate and keep the host’s house clean Rarity’s voice rang in her head.

“Now Sweetie Belle,” she spoke in a mocking tone, “a proper lady must restrain from doing harm to other ponies.”

“Button will be out in just a minute. In the meantime, can I get you anything Sweetie Belle? A drink maybe?” Button’s mom asked.

“Could I please get a glass of water Mrs. Mash?”

“Yes you may, let me go grab it for you,” Button’s mom said and with a skip in her step she disappeared around the corner again.

Sweetie Belle shook her saddlebags off of her and walked into the next room. It was really empty with only a table in the center and four chairs neatly on all sides. Each wall held a painting of its own. One in particular stood out. It was a picture of a stallion, fully covered in armor. It seemed similar to that of the solar guard, the ones that always arrived with Celestia. Only, it had a green stripe down the center and it was scratched and splattered with blood. He was holding a sword that had a colorful aura surrounding the blade. It looked like he was swinging it through a red pony with horns, only the horns were on both sides of his head and not just one in the center.

“I see you've taken an interest in our paintings,” Button’s mom said. She stood in the doorway, balancing a glass of water on her head. “Do you like them?”

“Yea, they’re… interesting,” Sweetie Belle said, pressing a hoof against her chin. “Although I do have a question about this one in particular. Who is that pony?”

“That stallion is Commander ‘lucky’ Chance.”

“Who?”

“Oh that’s right, video games are new to Ponyville. Well Commander chance is Button’s favorite character. He’s the leader of the famous ‘Tango Squad’, this is actually after he was killed in battle. It shows him fighting off the army of Lucifer to earn the right to live a second life.”

A now petrified Sweetie Belle looked back at the mare who had just talked about a stallion murdering an army of evil with a smile on her face. Sweetie Belle cleared her throat, “These video games sound-”

“-Violent? I know, but they are very fun,” the mare interrupted, handing Sweetie Belle her glass of water.

Before Sweetie Belle got a chance to speak again, Button walked into the room. His eyes were focused onto the device in his hooves, his face being illuminated by its bright light. The other two ponies watched as he sat down at the table, oblivious to their presence. “Button,” his mother spoke up. “Why don’t you say hi to Sweetie Belle?”

An awkward silence filled the room as the mare awaited Button’s response. The sounds of Button’s clicking filled the void as his mother’s face constantly grew more irritated. “Why don’t we put down the JoyBoy and talk to your friend, hm?” She spoke

“Not now,” Button eventually said. “Almost at the save point.”

“Button.”-His mom put her hoof over the device, making the screen grow dark- “Let’s put down the JoyBoy for a little bit, ok?”

“But MoOoM, I was so close to finally killing the dreaded warlord and freeing the peaceful people of the golden clan,” he complained.

“I’m sure that you can save the golden and platinum clan tomorrow, but today we have a guest. Why don’t you two talk while I go prepare lunch.”

As his mother left, Button looked over to the filly sitting across from him. “Hi Sweetie Belle,” he spoke with a quiet voice.

Sweetie Belle sat still for a while before finally breaking the silence. “So, you like video games?” she asked.

“Do I like them? I love them, they’re my favorite thing in the entire world. I have almost every game out that has come out. But my favorite has to be ‘Long Patrol: The unknown heroes’. You play as Commander Chance and you lead ‘Tango squad’ on adventures outside of Equestria. Until he’s killed by a changeling and you have to fight off the demons of Lucifer and eventually Lucifer himself to live again and lead Tango squad.” Button droned on.

As Button continued to explained the basics of video games, Sweetie Belle grew more annoyed. “Anyway, enough about that. What do you like to do?” Button said. As Sweetie Belle recollected her thoughts, Button’s mom appeared in the doorway. She gave Sweetie Belle a smile, except this time her smile seemed to mean more than the smile she gave Rarity.

“Well,” Sweetie Belle started, “Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and I are all in a club we created. We’re called the Cutie mark Crusaders. We try anything and everything to try and get our cutie marks. But if I’m not doing that, I’m helping Rarity with her dresses. Although most times I just make more of a mess.”

“That club sounds like a lot of fun,” Button’s mom spoke from the kitchen. “Maybe you would like to join them Button, you could make some more friends. I mean, if the three of you are looking for new members.”

“But mom, I already have friends.”

“Fictional characters aren’t your friends.”

“We would be happy to accept you Button.” Sweetie Belle smiled.

“I don’t know, I don’t really care all that much about my cutie mark.” Button said, slightly tilting his head to the side to avoid direct eye contact with Sweetie Belle.

“What!” Sweetie Belle screamed, “How could you not care about your cutie mark? It’s like… the most important thing in your life!”

“I don’t know I guess I just-”

“Button, could you come in here for a second please?” his mother asked, her voice, her voice as cheerful as ever.

“Sure mom” Button called back. He swung himself off his chair and quickly ran into the kitchen. He turned the corner and was met by his mother’s hoof.

“Listen sweetie,” she whispered. “I know that you don’t really care about your cutie mark and I’m happy that you aren’t going crazy over it, but maybe you should give this a chance.”

“But mo-” Button said, before his mother covered his mouth.

“If you’re not going to do this for her, do it for me.”

“Alright.”

“Now let me see that smile-” Button put on his happiest face. It looked a bit forced, but it always worked “-That’s it. Now go tell her that lunch will be ready in 10 minutes.”

“So Sweetie Belle” Button said, coming around the corner, “about that… Sweetie Belle?”

The room in which the young filly was just a moment ago was now empty.“C-C-Combo” The T.V. splurted out.

“Sweetie Belle?” Button asked, sticking his head around the corner. The white unicorn sat in front of the T.V. hypnotised by the quick images flashing on the screen. So focused on the game, she failed to notice the brown colt now sitting beside her. “Wow, you’re doing really well.”

The sound the speakers made a moment later could only be described as the sound of failure. “Well that didn’t end well,” Sweetie Belle said to herself.

“You know, I didn’t get that far when on my first attempt,” Button said, pointing to the screen which now showed all seven levels of the game.

“Button-” Sweetie Belle tossed away the controller “-I didn’t know you were watching.”

The controller landed with a thunk on the ground behind her, “Sorry about that.”

“That’s alright, these older controllers can really take a beating,” He said, picking up the controller and knocking on it. “So about that position in your club…”

“I thought you didn’t care about your cutie mark,”

“Yeah, well-” Button turned to look at the kitchen “-I was… convinced otherwise.”

“That’s great! Apple Bloom and Scootaloo will be so happy to have another member. We should go right now,” Sweetie Belle squeaked.

“Hey mom,” Button called, “we’re going to go initiate me into club.”

“Alright, just be back in time for dinner and not covered in milkshake,” She called back. As the door slammed shut behind the two foal, Button’s mom let out a small sigh,

“Young love, it’s so beautiful.”

Next Chapter: The Initiation Estimated time remaining: 28 Minutes