Damage +10
A few hours of game play later and all three children were beginning to feel the strain of staring at a screen without looking away or getting a break. While it wasn’t as bad with Sweetie or Double given the fact they took turns, Button got the worst of it. His eyelids looked heavy, they were bloodshot, and he wore an expressionless face that would mistake him for being dead.
Double had gotten away with a few more minutes of game play since Sweetie Belle had passed out behind them on one of the laid out sleeping bags. It’s been a few hours since any of the children had checked a clock, the last time they did, it was around 2:30.
Grumbling, Double paused the game; confusing Button as to why his screen read Pause. She put her controller down and wiped her eyes, wanting to give them a break.
“Gaming’s fun and all, but geez, I don’t think I’ve sat down for… How long have we been sitting here Button?” Double asked.
“Uh… I’unno. When did you arrive?”
“I think… 2:27?” Double guessed.
“Let me check the- Gah!” Button began to get up, but as he did so, he felt three different painful spots in his body.
His head for one, boy did he have a massive headache.
His hooves, given the fact that he was sitting for, Celestia knows when, his legs weren’t ready for such sudden movement, and finally his eyes. They were dry, and everything was fuzzy.
“Wooph, I’m not feeling too good Double…” Button murmured.
“Been there, done that pal.” Double said as she continued to wipe away the fatigue from her eyes.
Meanwhile, Button made his way to the living room to check the grandfather clock they had received from a dying relative. Button couldn’t remember who or what their relevance was since they were some sort of cousin.
He stopped in front of the large wooden clock and checked the arms. He squinted his eyes to get clear view of the time. It was then when he learned that it was 7:47.
“Huh… a little over five hours of gameplay. I’d say this was a good day.” Button commented.
He then turned and made his way back to his room where he found Double chugging down another energy drink. Noticing Button’s arrival, Double put her can down.
“Hey Button. You know you have a digital clock on your desk right?” Double informed. Button looked over to his desk and widened his eyes in surprise.
“Wow… I guess I forgot.” He said. Button looked over to Sweetie Belle and remembered she had said something about a curfew.
‘I guess I should wake her up.’ Button suggested. Button made his way over to the sleeping filly and knelt down to meet her laying down height. He nudged her head with a hoof.
“Sweetie. Hey, Sweetie don’t you have be home soon?” Sweetie turned and squirmed.
“Mmm, not until nightfall…” Sweetie informed.
“It’s 7:50…” Button said.
A long pause fell over the room, then Sweetie Belle suddenly leaped up into the air and yelped with fear.
“Oh no!” She exclaimed. She looked out Button’s window to see the sun almost completely gone.
“I have to go! Thanks for having me Button!” Sweetie exclaimed as she began to charge out of the room.
“Sure thing. If you want, maybe you can-” Double put a hoof on Button’s shoulder, stopping him mid-sentence. She only shook her head with a serious look.
“Uh… I mean, have a good night!” Button cheerfully said.
Sweetie, who had poked her head back to see Button.
“Oh… Well, thanks Button. See you later!” She said as she left. After some seconds of silence from Sweetie’s part all that could be heard was the sound of a door opening and closing.
Outside, Sweetie stood in front of Button's home’s front door. She sighed sad gust of breath and began to trudge her way home with her head hung low.
‘Maybe next time...’ Sweetie thought. ‘Maybe next time.’
~***~
Whenever she had a commission to work on, Rarity would usually spend her nights working. If it wasn’t a large commission, she wouldn’t spend too much time on the order, but when it was a huge order from a very important customer; let’s say celebrity in this case, she would work 24/7 to get the outfit or outfits just right. No mistakes, no errors, and no cut corners are aloud when she works.
Now, during these working hours, she wouldn’t allow Sweetie to be over most of the time. In her defense, the order had arrived when Sweetie was over. Rarity couldn’t send her back to their parents, given the fact they were traveling at the time. So, in short, she was stuck with Sweetie.
Rarity worked a bit of fabric through a sewing machine. She was almost in trance with the constant sound of the sewing machine running through the sheet of fabric. Whenever she was in this trance, it was near impossible to get her out of her little bubble. Only the most loudest and obnoxious of noises could bring her back to reality.
Rarity's front door slammed open. Sweetie Belle was teary eyed and was crying. Very loudly.
The sudden noise snapped Rarity back to reality, while her business side was annoyed that her focus was interrupted, her older sibling side worried and wondered what her sister was crying about. She stopped what she was doing and made her way to where Sweetie Belle stood.
“Sweetie, darling, what’s the matter?” She asked pulling Sweetie into a hug. Even though Sweetie was fourteen and was more mature, that didn’t mean she wasn’t sensitive. It wasn’t rare to have Sweetie crying every so often.
“It’s nothing, really. Just, go back to work.” Sweetie said as she wiped away her tears with a hoof.
“Well you’re crying. So something has to be wrong. Can you please tell me?” Rarity asked in a caring tone.
“I really don’t want to talk about it Rarity. I’m going to bed…” Sweetie escaped Rarity’s hold and made her way upstairs to her room. Rarity sat alone in the living room of her boutique. Wondering what sent Sweetie home crying.
‘Poor dear. I’ll give her time to calm down. Then I’ll speak with her…’