"Hi, I’m Nanuk. Yeah, I know, its a weird name, right? Well, that’s because I live in Inahuit. Never heard of it? It’s up north. Way up north."

"Hi, I’m Tsao. From where I am, rain and bamboos are aplenty. I live all the way far east, in Neighpon."

"Hello, I’m Fyndar. I come from the griffon town of Grymbal."

"I’m from Equestria."

"I come from Saddle Arabia."

"I’m from Mareasia."

"I’m from Zebrica."

"I’m from..."

"The world: an open and diverse place. What ever will it take for us to be united? North, south, east, west: all it really takes to close the distance, is a simple idea."

"Coming out on New Year’s Day."

"Well, that was... deep. I can’t believe Hoof Inc. made that," Button said, turning his attention away from the television. He was sitting across the table from Sweetie Belle, sipping a cup of black coffee. Sweetie hated that type of the beverage, arguing that it was raw and bland. She preferred mocha over that coarse flavor.

"I heard that their marketing department had hired a talented hoof for that. The pony got paid tons of bits for a simple 30 second ad," Sweetie said.

"Sometimes I wonder if the company pays the right people for the right amount of work," Button added, crestfallen. Sweetie Belle nodded in agreement. Engineers had quite a relatively high pay, but compared to the people in marketing, theirs paled by 40%.

"Speaking about work, Box said we’re gonna have to do OT. I sure hope PI has lots and lots of bits in their account, ‘cause if they don’t, I’m gonna pack up this instant and move over to Acorn Computers."

"Yeah, like you would," Button said lamely. He took another sip from his cup. “Your problem is that you’re too loyal to whoever or whatever you work with! Heck, you didn’t even ditch me back at university for blowing up your processor!”

“That’s different! This... This is stupid bureaucracy! We’re gonna suffer just for some stupid bucking rivalry!" Sweetie shouted. She calmed herself before drinking some of her beverage, not wanting to feel even more stressed out.

"Come to think of it, this business we’re in has always been about that. Don’t you remember in history class? It was Haydison vs. Desla, Hooper vs. Ferngel, et cetera.”

"But at least they were fighting for the good of science!" she exclaimed. "This... this isn't even science. It's just a stupid, bucking brand war!"

They took a pause on their rants, and continued to drink. The quasi-midday mood was very efficient at dissipating all the negative energy that Sweetie Belle was carrying. Ponies were relatively scarce during this time of the day, and there weren’t too much vehicles outside the road. If there had been a jazz band playing a lazy tune in the place, Sweetie swore she would've fallen asleep.

“So you’re gonna tell them the news today?” Button asked.

“We have to. The sooner, the better. I just hope that they can take this horseapple. I can’t stand a whole team of rebels.”

“Yeah, I agree. Though I think my case is not as bad as yours. Tough luck sister.”

“Screw you.”

"You know, your sister isn’t gonna like your choice of vocabulary."

At the sound of that one word, Sweetie Belle snapped her head to face Button. He had already regretted mentioning it to her. Sweetie Belle didn’t spare any mercy. She gave him the best impersonation of The Stare (and it was super effective). "Don’t you ever mention my sister in front of me," she said in the calmest yet threatening voice.

Button gulped, and nodded slowly. Added to that his frightened expression, it assured Sweetie that her message got through to him. For what seems like a long time, they stayed silent.

Button was afraid of speaking up again, for fear of being destroyed by the white mare in front of her. He had totally forgotten about that.

The silence continued, and he decided that he couldn’t put up with it anymore: he decided to reopen the conversation. "Hey, can I ask you something?”

"Fire away," Sweetie replied, not minding his inquisitive regard.

"Do you ever... you know... think about forgiving her?"

The question caught Sweetie Belle off guard. She stood still, her mug still levitating in mid-air. She had never thought about it.

Rarity got married when she finished primary school. At first, it felt awkward to live with a stranger in the boutique, but in time they both got along: her husband turned out to be a great stallion. Life went along just fine, until the day she finished high school. Rarity had done the unthinkable: she wrongly accused her of cheating on her husband, and abandoned her for Manehattan.

She hadn't been able to understand why. She had admitted that she was... attractive. The stallion even mentioned it to her several times. But she had never betrayed her sister. Neither in thought nor action. She despised Rarity for that. She didn't need her anyways. She was all grown up, and she could take care of herself. She wasn’t a small, blank-flank and helpless Crusader anymore.

Sweetie Belle kept silent.

"You know, Mom got so fed up of me that she burned my collection of games once," he said. "I hated her for having done that, but in truth, I honestly couldn't have thanked her more for it, because it made me a lot more serious in my life. Oh, I still remember her face when I received my degree. It was priceless!"

She missed home. Not her apartment in Las Pegasus. But Mom, Dad, Rar- She was trying hard to fight it, but strong feelings made her heart pound heavily. She was choking, shaking erratically.

"Sweetie Belle, are you OK-" He managed to finish his sentence before being interrupted by her wail. He quickly covered his ears, shocked from the sudden outburst.

"Hey, hey, Sweetie, Sweetie, come on, calm down," Button said, as he scrambled besides her. "Come here, I got you. No need to cry now. I’m here, alright."

Button hesitantly draped a hoof around her. Sweetie was quite defensive about hugs from him, and he feared that the unicorn would lash out at him. But seeing that she didn’t react, he pulled her into a hug.

The commotion had caught the attention of several ponies. Coffee Bits and Tea Petals had the best-selling coffee and tea recipe: hence a large crowd of customers, all of whom are looking at the two them. Sweetie Belle continued to weep, her tears staining both their coat. It wasn’t until after Button’s drink became lukewarm that she quieted down to a gentle sob.

"I’m sorry Rarity, I’m so sorry! Please, don't leave me..."

"Hey, there’s nothing to be sorry for. It’s history."

"I swear, I didn't do anything! I swear!"

Button thought hard about what to say.

"Sweetie, look at me." The mare turned her attention to him. She sniffed, her eyes glassy from all the laminating tears.

"Listen to me alright. You’re innocent. She was wrong to do that to you. But it’s alright, because I believe you. You’re the most loyal pony I’ve ever known in my life. You helped me during midterms, saved my flank during finals and assessments too many times and did most of the work during lab session. There is no way you could do what your sister accused you of having done."

He was staring straight into her eyes. Button had said what he could improvise in a short notice. She sniffed again.

"That was shameless, you know."

"Yeah I know. Could never get it right."

She chuckled. Her mood seems lifted.

"Don’t stop trying, Button."

"Not planning on giving up anytime soon." Button gave her a smile that would generally be classified as sweet.

"You two lovebirds better head back to office. That boss of yours's probably going to get cranky if he sees you two here past coffee break, all lovey-dovey," a stallion said from behind the counter.

The two ponies broke up from their rather intimate scene. The red on Sweetie Belle's face was clearly manifested, whilst it wasn't on Button's due to his coat color.

"James!" Button snarled at the barpony.

"Woah, take it easy Button. I'm just trying to save your lives here. Besides, the last time that happened he practically dragged you back into office. By the tail, if I would emphasize."

James was a relative of Joe, the renowned owner of Donut Joe in Canterlot. Unlike Joe, he prefered cookies over the ring-shaped, fluffy treat. He liked it with coffee or tea. However, realizing that the two mix didn't really get along well with the Canterlot high society, he decided to move to a place where the ponies were a lot more open. And what better place was there than the city at the edge of modernity, where the spirits were young and trendy: Las Pegasus.

"Yeah, I remember. Thanks anyway. The bill's on me, by the way," Button said. "And could you please, you know, mind your vocabulary?" he whispered.

James laughed. He loved it when the young stallion was in clear denial. "What're you so ashamed of? You two look great together!" James said. "I'll give you a sincere advice. Come here." The stallion gestured him over.

Button was hesitant about his offer of 'advice', but James was ever so convincing that he decided to go on with it. He was a businesspony after all. The baker whispered something in his ear, and without notice Button backed away from the elder and ran out of the shop, mumbling inconsistently. "THANKS FOR STOPPING BY!" James shouted from behind the counter.

Sweetie Belle, who was waiting outside the shop, caught her teammate dashing out of it. "Hey! Wait for me!"

They both galloped towards the building with a PI logo on top of it.