‘Knock, knock’

A light tan mare with blue eyes, and a brown mane that was tied in a ponytail with a red headband knocked on a blue door for about the dozneth time that day.

“Button, sweetie?” Love Tap called as she stood in front of the blue door of her son’s bedroom. “I know you’re still upset… Please let mommy in and we can talk about this…”

Love Tap placed her ear against the door and listened, hoping for a different response then the one she got the last several times she had attempted to talk to her son.

She heard the gentle sobbing of the young colt, which was something of an improvement over the tortured wailing she had been hearing for the last several hours.

“Whuaaa… hic… GO AWAY!” Button cried from inside his room.

Love Tap’s ears flopped down around her head and she sighed. She raised a tear stained scroll in her hoof and glanced over it.

‘Dear Button Mash’

We are the council for Ponyville, the organizers and approvers of all events that take place within the city limits.

We write concerning “Summerween: Nightmare Night 2: Nightmare harder.”’

Love Tap paused. She probably should have talked to her son about showing some restraint with the name, but she suspected some of his friends may have ‘helped’ in that department.

‘The event you’re organizing concerns large groups of ponies congregating, musical events, the city being decorated, and other such elements associated with a holiday.

Your copying of Nightmare Night special events infringes on Ponyville council’s rights as stated in bylaw…’

Love Tap sighed and skimmed the numbers and references to laws buried somewhere in the Ponyville charter or wherever the heck such things were kept.

‘Blah, blah, blah… by creating a likelihood of dilution and of confusion to Ponyville’s authorization or sponsorship of or association with your holiday.

We appreciate your enthusiasm, but we must protect our rights as city council…’

Love Tap shook her head and dropped the note. The rest basically a professional sounding, but curt ultimatum. No offer to work things out or come to a common understanding, just a ‘request’ to stop.

The scroll had elected emotions in her similar to those in her son. Sadness, disappointment, anger… Now, she was simply concerned about her son who decided self-imposed exile in his room was the most appropriate response.

Love Tap decided she wouldn’t be turned away so easily at this point. “Button! You’ve been in there for hours! Everyone is worried about you! Apple Bloom, Scootaloo… even Sweetie Belle has been over several times to try to see you…” The fact that Sweetie Belle wasn’t even enough to get Button to open up was of particular worry to Love Tap. Aside from herself, no other pony seemed to so easily comfort the young colt when he was feeling down, but even the young, white unicorn wasn’t allowed into her son’s fortress of solitude.

“I don’t want to talk to anyone right now…” Button uttered out.

“Button, you need to talk to somepony.” Love Tap decided to assert her rights as mother and opened the door to her son’s room. Button glowered at her with puffy, veiny eyes. The colt was belly down on his bed and held a pillow over his head.

“Button!” Love Tap said, adding a little more force into her voice. “You can’t just stay in your room forever!”

“Watch me!” Button replied as he pulled his pillow down over his head.

Love Tap scanned the room. It was clear that Button had done almost nothing but lay in his bed and cry since he gotten the note. The only change she noticed was that his favorite red, yellow, and orange hat with a green propeller was thrown in the garbage. Love Tap trotted over to the small, metal garbage can, took the hat out, and brushed it lightly. “You threw your hat away…” she said simply.

Button sighed. “Who cares?” he huffed out from under his pillow. “It’s not like anypony is going to see me in it again. It’s over...”

Love Tap placed the hat on her own head and trotted over to Button Mash and began gently nuzzling her son.

Button clenched his pillow down around his head with even more force.

“Come on Button, tell mommy what’s wrong…”

“You know what’s wrong!” Button cried from under the pillow.

“I want to hear you explain it to me,” Love Tap said gently.

Button Mash lifted his pillow and looked out at his mom with his red, puffy, amber colored eyes. His cheeks were still soaked and he his face was scrunched up in anger and frustration.

“It’s just… it’s just not fair!” he cried.

Love Tap nodded. “I know, sweetie…”

“I just…” Button took a deep breath as his eyes began to water again. “I just wanted to make everypony happy… that’s all… I didn’t… hic… I didn’t think I was doing anything wrong.”

Love Tap shook her head. “You weren’t doing anything wrong, sweetie.”

“But…” Button’s lower lip began to quiver. “But why then…”

Love Tap slowly raised herself onto her son’s bed and gently took the pillow from the young colt and set it aside. She placed her forehooves down under his arms and helped raise him so he was sitting on his haunches next to her.

“Button, you’re going to do lots of things that you think will make people happy… sometimes you’ll succeed, sometimes you won’t… and often times, you’ll make people happy but things still won’t work out quite the way you would have hoped…”

“…I don’t get it.” Button said simply.

Love Tap paused and knitted her brow slightly as she thought about how to phrase her statement in terms her son would get. “Okay… so sometimes you beat a game but you didn’t get every little thing, so you don’t get the best ending.”

“OooOOOoooh…” Button uttered and nodded in understanding. The colt frowned. “But I was trying to get the good ending!”

Love Tap nodded. “I know sweetie.” She smiled. “But you made lots of ponies happy along the way, that’s what’s important.”

“I guess so…” Button Mash said. He looped up with his mom with sad, hopeful eyes. “Do you think… do you think if enough ponies talk to the city council they’ll let me do Summerween still…?”

Love Tap pursed her lips. “I don’t know, Button. Maybe. Lots of ponies really liked your idea, and I’m sure they’ll make their voices heard.” Love Tap took a deep breath. “But you can’t let this get to you… Maybe they’ll take back their decision, maybe they won’t, but there’s always other opportunities out there…” Love Tap smiled. “You should be hopeful, but remember; you’ll have lots of other chances to make ponies happy and figure out other ways to do it. You’re a very special, talented, interesting, and extraordinary young colt, Button, and you’re capable of amazing things. You just have to believe.”

Button paused. “…That sounds like a cat poster, mom…like… specifically that cat poster that’s down in the basement.”

Love Tap frowned. “Well, maybe it does.” Love Tap smiled at her soon. “But that doesn’t make it less true.” Love Tap smiled warmly at her son and wrapped her forearm around his shoulders. “Look, this will pass and you’ll grow stronger from it. You’re not going to just go and hide in your room forever because of this.” Love Tap’s sapphire eyes began to water up. “You’ll find other things to do, other ways to express yourself, other ways to show everyone you’re a special pony. You’re a very special pony to a lot of other ponies, Button…” Love Tap wrapped her other arm around her soon as tears began to fall from her eyes. She unwrapped her arms from around her son to take the propeller beanie from her head and placed it on her son’s fiery brown mane. “… And you still have lots of time and opportunity to prove it.”

Button’s eyes began to water up again, but instead of crying he smiled and wrapped his own arms around his mother. “Thanks mom, I love you.”

“I love you, too, sweetie.” Love Tap said as she returned the hug.

Button glanced out through the open door. He noticed a red, rectangular, metal item that had been set out in the hall.

“Mom… is that a … gas can?”

Love Tap’s eyes shot open wide. “Shhhhh…” she hushed softly as she slowly relaxed. “Mommy’s comforting you…”

Twilight Sparkle sighed as she trotted slowly through the streets of Ponyville as other ponies screamed and galloped about in a panic. Twilight had become a tad desensitized to panic of the townspeople at this point and decided a calm, collection, and somewhat annoyed response was in order as she approached the city hall which was now engulfed in flames.

“WHAAAA! PANIC EVERYPONY! PANIC!”

Twilight turned as she heard a familiar shrill voice in the crowd.

“Pinkie! Calm down! City Hall is just destroyed… again.”

“Oh!” Pinkie said as she immediately ceased her directionless galloping about to and fro and trotted up to her friend. She giggled. “Heheh… I didn’t know we were having a bonfire at City Hall.”

“Uhhh… I don’t think this was exactly a planned event, Pinkie.”

“Twilight! TWILIGHT!” A light brown mare with a grey mane called out. “This is terrible!”

Twilight nodded. “I know Mayor Mare. Don’t worry, we’ll do-PINKIE! STOP WARMING YOUR HOOVES BY THE TOWERING INFERNO!”

“But it’s so warm and toasty!” Pinkie protested as she held her forehooves out towards the flame.

Twilight sighed and turned back towards the mayor. “I’m sure we can get the weather ponies to get some rain going and...”

“Whoa! What the hay!”

The group looked up as Rainbow Dash approached the burning building

“Don’t tell me someone let Derpy cook in city hall, again!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

Pinkie giggled. “Silly Dashie! Derpy couldn’t have done this! She was making breakfast for her doctor friend!” Pinkie motioned her hoof out to an upright, rectangular blue box like structure that stood several feet above a ponies head and had flames pouring out from an open door.

A light tan stallion with a brown mane and an hourglass for a cutie mark smacked a forehoof against his forehead.

“I’m sorry, Doctor…” A grey pegasus with a blonde colored mane said. “I just don’t know what went wrong…”

“It’s okay…” The Doctor sighed out. “The fire will stop at some point… it always does…”

Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie, and the Mayor turned back to the flaming city hall building.

“Well… how! I mean… who would do such a thing!” The mayor cried.

“I guess, maybe somepony wasn’t happy the city council canceled Summerween,” Twilight suggested. “I mean… this is a bit extreme but I don’t know very many ponies who were happy about it…”

“WHAT?!” Pinkie cried.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “Summerween was canceled?! But I… I had so many pranks planned and was almost finished with my Daring Do costume!”

“AND I WAS GOING TO GET BAGS AND BAGS OF FREE CANDY!” Pinkie shrieked.

“Uh… I’m sorry girls,” the mayor offered, “but the city council thought the whole day would be confused as an official endorsement of a second Nightmare Night, and…”

“Oh who CARES?!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “It’s not like it was going to hurt anyone!”

Mayor Mare pursed her lips, “The city has a right to…”

“Ruin the fun of everypony who loves it?!” Pinkie interrupted. Pinkie zipped up to the mayor and pressed her face against that of the light brown mares. “Control the flow of free candy?! Tell ponies specifically when and how they can have fun living in Ponyville?!” Pinkie continued to press her face forward. “What?! WHAT?!”

“Uh…” The mayor backed up a few steps nervously. “Maybe we should talk about this once the fire is put out…” The mayor suggested. “Rainbow Dash, if you could…”

Rainbow Dash sighed. “Yeah, yeah… I’ll go get some sticks and marshmallows.”

“Huh?!” The mayor uttered in confusion. “How does that…”

Rainbow Dash flew off into the sky without another word.

“Ooooo! Ooooo!” Pinkie said as she clapped her hooves together. “I’ll go get some chocolate!” she began to happily bound away from the fire, singing to herself. “Tra-la-la la-la la-la la-la la-la…”

The mayor looked at Twilight with a desperate, pleading look.

Twilight looked back at the mayor blankly. “Hey, girls!” Twilight called out “Wait up! I think we have graham crackers in the library!” she added as she trotted away from the fire.

“What! Twilight!” The mayor protested. “You can’t just… I mean… the city council has a right to protect its interests and…”

“CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS FIRE FIGHTER’S YAY!”

Without warning, a high-powered jet of water fired out, striking the mayor directly in the face. ‘Wharrgarbl’!

“Uh, girls?” Apple Bloom said as she hugged a fire hose tightly with her arms. “I think we’re missing the building by a good several dozen yards…”

“Sweetie Belle,” Scootaloo spoke up as she, too, gripped the fire hose. “You’re supposed to at least aim for the fire!”

“Don’t worry!” Sweetie Belle said small, somewhat sadistic looking grin. “I know exactly what I’m doing!” she asserted as she continued to point the fire hose at the mayor.

The End.

Author's Notes:

Just a short little story to make me, and hopefully others feel better about recent events.

Please no one set any fires. Concentrate on Love Tap's words, not her actions...

Thanks for reading and stay strong everypony. C&D or no, Button Mash will continue to live and thrive in all our works.