"So...you have come to challenge me at last.”
You say nothing back to the intimidating stallion with the pitch-black coat and fiery red mane, instead opting to give him a fierce glare. He slowly rises from his blood-red throne, and makes a dramatic trot forward, grinning as if he was playing a masterful game of chess and was only a few moves away from winning everything.
While he makes his arrogant march towards you, you turn your attention to the other pony in the room. Trapped within a large ruby floating a few meters above the Black Stallion is the princess you have been fighting to rescue for so long. After all the monsters slain, dungeons explored, and sacred items gathered, the only thing that now stands between you and saving the land along with winning the hoof of its fair and lovely ruler is the dark lord who dreams to conquer the world.
"You are nothing more than a common foal," the Black Stallion declares as he finally stops his trot, "What chance could you ever hope to have with her? This realm needs a ruler with real power and drive, not some simple-minded earth colt!" Again, you refuse to dignify his words with a response, instead opting to pull out your weapon, the Blade of Proficiency, and take up a defensive stance. You had made a vow to never let this monster win as long as you drew breath, and now that the final battle is drawing near, your determination remains as strong as ever.
"Hmph" he scoffs at your gesture of resolve, "So be it, boy. If you really wish to die, then allow me to free you from your silly hopes and dreams!" As he finishes, a dark cloud flows out of his mouth, spreading in a cylinder out to the side. The darkness then dissipates, leaving in its place a long thick blade that glows with a pale unholy light.
Without warning, the black-coated and black-hearted colt charges forward, bellowing a bloodthirsty roar through grit teeth as he clenches down on the handle of his blade. You hesitate for a moment, but then begin to rush toward your opponent as well. You lock your gaze right into his piercing red eyes and bite down harder on your sword's handle as you quickly close the distance to him. With perfectly synchronized timing, the two of you leap into the air, and time slows to a crawl. As your bodies fly ever closer, you tense up and await the right moment to strike, for the slightest mistake could spell the end for not only you but the princess and the entire world.
SLASH!
The two of you hit the ground at the same time. Neither of you move a muscle for what feels like ages, not even to breathe. The suspense grows with each second passed, building closer and closer to the point where you feel you will lose your mind.
Clang!
The deadly silence finally breaks as you hear the Black Stallion's blade fall to the ground, the handle now adorned with a red stain. "Im...im-p-possible..." the evil colt coughs out, his airway filling with his own blood. You nervously turn yourself around and see him struggling to even stand up, your sword now deeply embedded into his chest. Gasping for breath, he stumbles forward a few steps and then stops, closing his eyes as the last remnants of life quickly fade from his body while he still stands.
You let out a deep sigh of relief. The Black Stallion is no more; you, a mere earth pony from the farm, have just saved the world and its majestic monarch from a terrible evil. All that is left for you to do now is claim your reward. You return your attention to the ruby hanging above the throne and find it slowly descending towards the ground, the magical barrier gradually fading away. You can now make out the silhouette of the princess, her tall figure adorned with two widespread wings and a long horn protruding from her head.
"My dear princess," you call out to her as she becomes more visible, "You need not worry anymore. The Black Stallion has fallen, and the kingdom is safe once again."
"Indeed," she responds in a wise and heavenly voice, "You have done a great service to my kingdom and me, and for that, my people and I can never thank you enough." You smile at her words of gratitude. What else could you do when the noblest of all ponies was offering a mere commoner like you her most sincere thanks?
"However, my hero, there is one last thing we must do before your journey can come to an end."
Her words leave you deeply confused and worried. You had saved the world, what else could there be? Surely there wasn't another great evil threatening the kingdom? "....Of course, princess," you slowly respond, doing your best to hide your confusion and worry, "What do we do now?"
"Simple. Now we need to PARTYYYYYYYYY!"
At her shout, the ruby shatters into hundreds of fragments, revealing the mare kept inside...but, something's not right. This mare is much shorter than the silhouette, has no horn or wings, and is completely pink with bright blue eyes that house a mind of infinite cheer. You know this mare all too well, but she can't be the princess...can she?
You are unable to ponder this for very long, for your attention is soon distracted by all the events unfolding around you. Streamers, confetti, and balloons seemingly fly out of nowhere. A large white banner reading "CONGRATULATIONS! ♥" now hangs above the throne. Loud music with a solid beat blares into your ears, and several ponies who just appeared out of thin air are dancing along to it. You even spot the Black Stallion himself merrily grabbing some punch out of a bowl, your sword still protruding from him.
"...Uh, I, er, but, um-" You stammer as your brain tries to make sense of what is happening. You return your gaze to the happy mare in front of you and notice that both you and her are now wearing polka-dotted party caps.
"Hee hee, you look sooo adorable right now!" the pink filly says while wearing a big grin on her face, "Come here, my big hero!" Without warning, she leaps forward and pulls you into a hug so tight you can barely breathe. You're flabbergasted at her move and all the things happening around you, but her next move is what truly floors you. Shutting her eyes, the pink party pony firmly plants her lips on yours, letting out a comical moan complete with that clichéd cartoon sound effect you had equated with pulling a plunger off the kitchen tile.
"GAH!"
You snap your eyes open, only to find another drastic change in venue. The party, its planner, and the Black Stallion's tower have all vanished. Instead, you find yourself staring at the ceiling of your bedroom, the light of Celestia's sun beginning to peak in through the windows.
You rub your eyes and sigh in both relief and displeasure as your common sense returns to you. It had all been a dream, just like the previous night you woke up out of panic. And the night before that. And the night before that. As your heart rate begins to slow down from its frantic pace, you glance at the alarm clock next to your bed. It's only a few minutes until the alarm goes off, letting you know it's time to get up and get ready for work. Grudgingly, you pull off your blankets, which were twisted and barely covered you anyway, and push yourself off the bed for another predictable afternoon.
For some inexplicable reason, that cheery pink mare has been showing up in your dreams for the past week, with each appearance more ridiculous and suggestive than the last. You knew her name to be Pinkie Pie; how could you not? She was the first resident you bumped into when you first moved into Ponyville, gasping and running off at your meek greeting as if you were afflicted with a deadly and contagious illness. You believed at first that she was just incredibly shy, but that was soon corrected when you first arrived at your new home, a small flat in the outskirts of town. You opened the door and turned on the light for the first time only to find most of the populace crammed inside yelling "SURPRISE!" It turned out a welcome party was a rite of passage of sorts in Ponyville, along with Pinkie Pie gabbing your ear off as she explained every. last. thing. about how things work in Ponyville.
She certainly left a strong impression on you at the party, but once she finally left you to your own devices, you quietly moved into a corner away from everyone else until the party came to its end. For as long as you knew, you had always been a reclusive colt. You barely spoke to anypony when you were at school, and kept to yourself as much as you could. It wasn't that you hated other ponies or were too shy to talk. Rather, you were just always preoccupied with your own hobbies, some of which were considered "dorky" by the rest of the schoolfoals. Not only that, but being socially adept was never your forte. You had lived a mundane life growing up and hardly participated in anything, so you didn't exactly have many interesting stories to share, and your hobbies were too obscure for you to discuss without getting weird looks from most ponies. In a way, you are the perfect opposite of Pinkie. Where she is full of boundless energy and exists almost solely to make other ponies smile, you are much more self-focused, preferring to while away your leisurely hours in complete privacy.
So why does this mare keep invading your thoughts and dreams? You haven't even seen her since your welcome party, and you certainly wouldn't have any common interests to discuss if the two of you actually sat down together. Furthermore, why do your thoughts with her keep involving...suggestive things? It's not as if you like her that much...
.....do you?
**********************
Half a day passes, and you find yourself back in the sanctity of your home. Work came and went without any noteworthy events. Not that you expected it to; you had the glamorous job of washing dishes at the local cafe, after all. It wasn't exactly a go-to job for meeting and dealing with new ponies, but then again, that was never one of your interests. Instead, your work schedule consisted of showing up, letting the boss and head chef know you're there, moving to your station and staying there until it's time to go home. Today was no exception, as you barely spoke a word to anyone aside from "hello" and "goodbye", and were all too quick to head back home.
In any case, you had gotten nowhere in your quest to find an answer to your Pinkie Pie problem. You initially blamed your lack of progress on the rather frantic pace of the day, with the cafe receiving new customers almost nonstop and the pile of dirty dishes never shrinking no matter how hard and quickly you washed them. Despite the change in pace and venue, however, you were still fruitless in your search for an answer. Right now, you were mulling over whether or not this mare had the power of mind control and was slowly turning you into her puppet as part of some hare-brained plan for world domination.
Forget this, you finally tell yourself as your frustration reaches its peak. It was one thing for this to interfere with your thoughts all day, but now it was distracting you from your readings as well. With a deep sigh, you force your attention back to your newly-purchased graphic novel, the latest volume of Scolt Ponygrim Vs. Equestria. Your mind fills with anticipation as you read the dialogue and gaze upon the stylish art. Will this finally be the issue where Scolt gives that smug scum Griffon Graves the plot-kicking he deserves? Will he get back together with Swords Mane, or will he finally win over Pinkamona Petals, with her gorgeous bubblegum-colored mane and strange outlook on life-
BANGBANGBANGBANG!!
You could swear a gigantic exclamation mark materialized over your head for a moment as you leapt out of your chair in surprise. You aren't used to visitors coming to your place, and yet someone, or something, was knocking on your door, and quite loudly at that. Setting your comic to the side, you quickly and nervously move toward the door as another round of frantic knocks starts up. You take a bit longer than you normally do undoing all the locks on your door, the implied urgency of the knocks making you hasty and clumsy. With the last lock finally unlatched, you open the door to see just who could be coming to visit you and what matter could possibly be so important-
"HICANIUSEYOURBATHROOMPLEASE!?"
You're almost certain that your eyes are playing tricks on you, for standing outside your door is Pinkie Pie, the bubbly mare that's been haunting your dreams. You try to process what is happening, but your brain seems to have temporarily crashed from the strange - some would say contrived - circumstances. All you can do is stammer incoherently for a few seconds while your mind attempts to restart itself.
"Pretty please? I wouldn't ask you any other time, but I really really really really gotta go!" Pinkie's pleading finally jerks you out of your temporary brain freeze. You take a glance at her and see that she's not kidding. Not only did she strain her words, but she has her hindlegs twisted together and is bouncing in place rather frantically on her hooves. Her face completes the look of desperation as she bites down on her lip and gives you the most soulful pleading eyes you've ever seen. You never considered yourself the chivalrous type, but there is no way you're about to turn down someone practically begging you to help them, least of all someone with that face and that problem.
"Uh, sure, it's just dow-WHOAWHOAWHOAWHOAWHOA-!"
In the blink of an eye, Pinkie zooms past you with almost enough speed to generate a sonic rainboom, causing you to spin around in place like a pony merry-go-round. After a few seconds of twirling around your living room like a top, you place your hoof on the side of your head in an attempt to stop the rest of the room from swirling about. It isn't until your sense of balance restores itself that you notice some certain noises coming from the other side of your flat that you'd prefer not to hear. You plug your ears with your hooves and stay planted on the floor for the next few minutes, trying to shut out the rest of the world and think of anything else.
....
....
Somehow, you have a feeling you are being watched.
Uncovering your ears, you turn your head to the side, only to immediately jump back and almost run out the door at the sight of Pinkie's smiling face mere centimeters from yours. You felt that exclamation mark appear above your head again as you jumped.
"Tee hee, you looked so silly!" Pinkie giggles with a big grin on her face, "Oh, I almost forgot!" Without warning, she throws her forelegs around your neck and pulls you in a hug tight enough to close up your windpipe. "Thank you so very very much for letting me use your bathroom! I'd been holding that in for waaay too long! I thought I was about to lose it right when I started knocking, which wouldn't have been very nice at all! Talk about leaving a nasty surprise on your doorstep!"
"No...problem...." You wheeze out as you feel your head growing lighter and your vision dimming. You can only hope that Pinkie realizes what she's doing to you before you end up in the obituaries of Equestria Daily, filed under "ponyslaughter".
"Whoops, silly me!" She calls out as she releases you from the hug of death. Oh, how you have missed the air. You take several deep breaths and feel the consciousness that was beginning to slip from you return. You glance upwards at Pinkie and see her nervously rubbing the back of her head with her hoof, a slight discoloration breaking through her pink-coated face.
"Well, Pinkie....I guess it was...nice seeing you again," You say to her between deep breaths. You couldn't wait for her to leave and put this weird series of events behind you.
"Hmm, why?" Pinkie asks, giving you a face that's somehow both upbeat and quizzical at the same time, "Did I come at a bad time? Were you planning on going somewhere? Were you turning in early? Were you planning on some housekeeping? Or were you going to do some housekeeping and then go somewhere to turn in early?"
"Um, well, no, it's just...." you respond as Pinkie finally lets up on her guessing game. Did she not realize you were saying your goodbyes to her for the night? Unless she wasn't leaving, but then that just raises a new question....
"....Wait, did you come here for something else?"
"Of course, silly!" She replies, "I came here to visit you!"
For the second time tonight, your mind goes blank from her statement. Pinkie Pie, the energetic fun-loving party mare of Ponyville, was intentionally visiting you, a quiet shut-in who hadn't even spoken to her since the welcome party? You had to be dreaming again. That, or she was playing a prank on you. You had heard through the grapevine that she loves a good prank.
"Visit...me?" You try to piece together her statement out loud, "But why?"
"To check up on you, of course!" says Pinkie. You're left dumbfounded at her reason and are about to enquire more, but she's ahead of you and starts explaining on her own:
"I haven't seen you around town since I gave you that welcome party, and that was a few weeks ago, so I wondered if you had moved out, so I asked my friend Twilight and she told me that chef she likes so much hired you to work for him, but then I also learned that you barely talk to any of your co-workers and stay home all day, and I know all the workers there are nice ponies, which means that either you're a meany pants, which I know you're not because hello, we talked all that time at the party and you were really nice to me, or you still don't have any friends, which means you still must be real lonely, and that's so super-sad, so I decided to come straight here after my shift at Sugarcube Corner ended and pay you a visit....and that's why I had to go to the bathroom so bad! Wait, what were we talking about again?"
You don't reply at first, instead choosing to just stare at Pinkie with your jaw partly open and your eyes unmoving, the perfect look of disbelief and confusion. Is Pinkie really visiting you because she thought you were lonely? Is this just a regular thing she does for anypony, or are you a special case? Could you have possibly had some bad salad for lunch and are just hallucinating the whole thing?
"Um...thank you?" You finally speak up once your brain could process enough of her lightning-fast explanation.
"No problem!" She replies, "So why do you stay home all day? That seems like a pretty boring way to spend free time."
You sigh at her question and point your head towards the ground. You didn't want to tell the truth about your reclusive nature to the literal life of the party that is Pinkie Pie, but she had come all this way for you, and you owed her at least that.
"Well," you begin while keeping your gaze affixed to the floorboards, "I stay home all the time because I don't have any reason to go outside. I've never had that many friends growing up, and nopony has really been interested in the same things as I am. I...just don't see the point of going out and opening up to others when I don't have anything to offer that anypony wants."
You finally find the courage to look at Pinkie again, fully expecting her to be disappointed at the real you. Instead, you're once again baffled at the sight of her carrying the same light grin from before you started.
"Is that all?" She says, her cheery voice completely unfazed by your excuse, "That's a pretty silly reason to not even try and make friends!"
"But...but I-" You try to respond to her admonition, but you had made the mistake of not even having a response ready for her before you started talking.
"Being a good friend isn't all about liking the same things as they do!" Pinkie thankfully cuts you off before you can put your hoof in your mouth. "I mean, that's good for when you're starting out, but even ponies with nothing in common can be the bestest friends! My friends Applejack and Rarity are living proof of that!" You don't know who either of these ponies are, but you let Pinkie continue with her impromptu lesson:
"You can be a good friend in a lot of ways. Sometimes friendship is about being a good listener and knowing that you have someone to talk to, or being there for them when they need someone the most, or sometimes it can even be just being nice and having fun with one another. You don't have to not talk or hang out with somepony just because you have different interests. I'd never have even half the friends I do if that was true!"
You can't argue with her wisdom - she's friends with practically everyone in town - but deep down, you knew it would take much more than a quick pep-talk to turn you from a quiet shut-in into a socialite.
"I guess you're right there," you begin, "Although I'd still feel a little better if I had more interesting things to say about myself. I'm...kind of a bore."
"Oh no you're not!" Pinkie cuts you off before you can elaborate, "Everypony, and I mean everypony, has an interesting side to them! You'd be surprised at how many cool things you can dig up about yourself if you just know where...to...look..."
As her words trail off, Pinkie's eyes grow wide and her smile gets even bigger than before. You grow nervous as her face gets brighter. Just what in the world is this pony thinking now?
"Oh! Oh! I just had the most super-terrific idea ever!" She exclaims, making you grow even more worried. "We should look around your house and dig up something interesting about you! You can look for stuff in here and I'll check the other side of your house! Ready set GO!"
Before you can let out so much as a sound, Pinkie races off to the back of your flat, leaving you to stand in the living room by yourself in deep confusion. Why is she so dead-set on proving that you are more interesting to others than you think you are? The foals at school certainly didn't think that. The ponies you had tried to talk to after that certainly didn't think that. You certainly didn't think that, just as much as you didn't think that Pinkie could find anything noteworthy about you in your bedroom. Nothing noteworthy except for-
*GAAAAAAAAAASP*
...oh no.
"PINKIE, WAIT!" You yell out in vain as you hurry down the hall into your bedroom, praying that by some miracle Pinkie has not spotted it yet. You rush inside, only to stop in the doorway and look in horror at the sight. Right in front of you is Pinkie Pie, with her flank turned towards you, her face pointed at the sight directly across from your bed, the one thing you didn't want her to see the most: your most personal stash.
"Pinkie, um, I, er, well, you see, it's not-" You try to stammer out, once again speaking before you had thought up a solid excuse. Then again, you're not sure if you could explain this away even if you had all the time in the world.
Your stammering comes to an immediate stop when you hear Pinkie address your name in a voice far colder and flatter than you thought possible for the normally happy mare to speak in. "Are those what I think they are?" She continues, her head still turned away from you. Even though she isn't looking at you, you can still feel her gaze pierce through your stash, analyzing every last detail. You can only imagine how quickly that stare would shatter you into pieces if it turned towards you.
"Um, well I, you see.....yes," You finally confess, lowering your head to the ground and folding your ears back in shame. "Those are....my...my...." It was hard for you to even get the words out of your throat.
"My....video games."
When you were a young colt, you loved nothing more than to come home after a long day of school, sit your rump down in front of that magical glass box, and play games to your heart's content. Ever since your mom got your first system as a birthday gift, the world of electronic gaming has seized your imagination. You have almost seen and done it all through this wonderful medium: You've battled countless mythical creatures (like those weird "hyoo-man" things), rescued dozens of princesses, explored vast and beautiful worlds, and even managed successful businesses and empires. Video games could do what most books couldn't; they made you the hero, letting you live out almost all your fantasies in the comfort of your own home.
It is your greatest passion, but you would never tell a soul about it if you could. As you grew up in school, books soon took over as the cool thing, and all the other foals quickly jumped on the bandwagon, occasionally ridiculing you about your "geeky" hobby. Even worse, a nasty stereotype eventually spread amongst the general populace that video games led to violent and antisocial behavior. You knew this to be hogwash (At least the "violent behavior" part), but you still considered it too risky to divulge this particular hobby to anyone else. At best, they would view you as a dork and a misfit. At worst, they would probably freak out and think you were going to pull a knife on them.
And now Pinkie knew about your secret hobby. You are absolutely certain that she would now think of you as some kind of freak or weirdo and never speak to you again at the very least. You feel your heart sink to a new low as the gravity of losing the favor of someone as full of life as Pinkie sinks in.
"I...I guess you'll want to be going now..." you force out as a knot in your throat presents itself. "I, er, understand if you don't want to see me anymore..."
"...........What are you talking about?" Pinkie speaks up, still in her uncharacteristically cold voice. By now, you have lost count of all the times this mare has surprised you tonight, but her next surprise is her biggest one yet.
"I LOVE games!"
She suddenly turns around to face you, giving you a face so ecstatic and enthusiastic that it's almost frightening. Her starry gaze is one that will haunt you for the rest of your days.
"...Wait..." you cautiously reply. You had almost forgotten her outburst thanks to that nightmarish look on her face. "You like video games too?"
"Yup!" she cheerfully replies, changing her expression into something less excited and bizarre. "Well, truthfully I haven't really played that many video games, but I love all kinds of games and the few video games I have played were super-duper fun, but they're pretty expensive and I haven't really gotten the chance to...play...with...my...friends...."
Just like the last time her words trailed off, Pinkie's grin grows even bigger. What on earth could this earth pony be thinking of now?
"Oh! Oh! Oh! I just had an even besterest idea!" Pinkie exclaims, "We should play some games together! I'm sure we can have all kinds of fun doing that!"
At first you feel confused at the strange turn of events. Pinkie Pie, of all mares, not only liked video games, but was offering to play some with you? You really had to be out of your head by now. Despite the ridiculous circumstances, you begin to feel a little of her trademark excitement seeping into you from her idea. This might be the first time you have ever seriously partaken in your favorite hobby with another enthusiast.
That is, until you remember a key detail that makes this request impossible.
"Pinkie, that's...a wonderful idea," you start, "but I, er, only have one controller." You had never shared your hobby with anyone else, so you never bothered with buying an extra controller to any of your systems. You can now only look in disappointment at yourself for not having the precognition to foresee this moment.
"No problem!" she responds, completely unfazed at your admission. "You can play and I can just watch! Sometimes I like to watch other ponies play games instead! That can be pretty fun too!" With that, she leaps onto your bed and, after bouncing around a few times ("Wheeee, this bed is soooo comfy!"), finally comes to rest at the edge of the mattress facing the magical box. With a soft grin, she pats the side of the mattress with her hoof to invite you next to her. "Don't worry, I won't bite! I'll even let you pick the first game!"
"...Alright then, if you insist," you say to her, not giving your brain the chance to misconstrue her words. You move towards your gaming system - the Super Neighntendo - and turn both it and the magic box on. You decide on playing Shadow of the Ursa Major, the game that was already inside the system. Turning back to Pinkie, you nervously sit down next to her while still keeping some breathing room between the two of you. Your act of respect and personal shyness proves to be all for naught, however, as Pinkie closes the distance almost instantly, placing the two of you side-to-side. Her coat gives off a comforting warmth, and you can even make out the distinct smell of cotton candy with just a hint of the hoof-soap you keep in your bathroom. You soon feel your face grow warmer than she is, and pray that she doesn't notice the redness that is surely forming on your cheeks. Thankfully, the roar of the magic box soon distracts the both of you as the game comes onscreen. You place the controller in both of your forehooves and start playing to your audience.
***********************
Before you knew it, several hours had flown by and Luna's moon now shone brightly in the night sky. You had played a little bit through several of your games of choice - Super Mareo Sisters, Marble Gear Plasma: Pie Eater, Colt of War, Filly Fantasy XVI, EquestriaBound, among others - and Pinkie watched enthusiastically through all of them. You often found yourself laughing right with her when the game decided to be comical, and she didn't hesitate to tell you as many possible strategies as she could on how to dispatch of a particularly nasty boss.
You felt a little disappointed when you realized how late it was. You couldn't quite put your hoof on it, but for some reason playing all these games with Pinkie at your side felt....right. Maybe it was her unbridled excitement despite the fact that she didn't have a controller of her own to join in on the fun. Maybe it was the fact that someone not only accepted your favorite hobby but was participating in it right next to you. Maybe it was because her coat felt really warm and possibly gave off a substance that causes mild euphoria. Whatever the case, you were quietly wishing that this night would never end so you could enjoy your hobby with this lovely mare for as long as you liked.
"Hey, try using the boomerang over there!"
"Huh?" You snap out of your daydream as Pinkie offers her suggestion. You were now playing through The Legend of Celestia: Twilight Apprentice, a game supposedly based on the Elements of Harmony event that Pinkie herself was a part of, not to mention one of your most favorite games ever. Working the controller, you maneuver the onscreen representation of Twilight Sparkle into tossing a boomerang at a particular wall. You expect nothing to happen, but to your surprise, the boomerang goes through the wall and strikes a hidden switch, making a treasure chest materialize in the corner of the room.
"Wow, I never knew that was there," you think out loud. You must have played this game at least five times over without finding that. "Good call, Pinkie."
"Hee hee, thanks," Pinkie giggles at your compliment, "Although I don't really remember Twilight having to use a boomerang in a dungeon. Come to think of it, I don't really remember crawling through a dungeon, or travelling across a desert, or having to fight a horde of diamond dogs, or having to collect the elements individually, or...or...."
You hear Pinkie let out a long yawn and feel the pressure on the bed shift a little as she stretches her hooves. Your head is still turned towards the magic box, but without warning, you feel a weight of some kind pushing down on your shoulder and a soft, prickly feeling on your neck and shoulder.
"Wow, I'm really tired. We must've been playing for hours!" She speaks up, her voice closer than it was before. Your suspicions are confirmed; the party pony is now resting her head on your shoulder.
You game in silence for a few minutes, letting your mind absorb the new sensations. Her mane feels light and fluffy on your neck, letting off the sweet smell of bubblegum, and her coat lightly tickles the rest of your side, much like the down feathers on a goose.
"...This is really fun, isn't it?" She finally breaks the silence, her voice lacking a little bit of its usual hyperactivity.
"Yeah, it is" you reply, "I'm really glad you decided to visit me. Nopony's ever done so much for me before, and you didn't even owe me any favors."
"Well, that's one important part of friendship," she says, "You do a lot of things for your friends not because you owe them something but because you like to do them."
You pause the game for a second as her words sink into you. "....so, does that mean you and I are..."
"Yep," she cuts you off, "We're friends now, and tomorrow I’m going to show you how to be a good friend to others so you never have to be lonely again."
You feel a warmth grow in your heart and cheeks at her words. For the first time since school, you finally have somepony you can call your friend, somepony that likes you for who you are, or at least doesn't mind your odd hobbies.
"....Thank you, Pinkie." Is all you can say to her through the soft smile forming on your face.
"Hee hee, no problem."
Silence falls between the two of you once again as you return to playing the game in happiness, her head still resting comfortably on your shoulder. The minutes pass like seconds, and soon you begin to feel your eyelids grow heavy. You didn't want to bring a good thing to an end, but you have work tomorrow, and you're sure Pinkie has similar engagements.
"Hey, Pinkie," you call out, "I think I'm ready to turn in for the night."
Pinkie doesn't respond to your words.
"...Pinkie?"
Again, nothing.
You can't turn your head to see her, but you can hear her breathing in a slow and steady rhythm. You surmise that the party pony has beaten you to the punch and fallen asleep on your shoulder. Pausing the game and putting the controller to the side, you tenderly work your hooves around her body. As gently as you can, you lift her off your shoulder and lay her down on your bed, your initial guess confirmed when you see her eyes closed in a peaceful slumber. Your grab your blankets that were still laying on the ground from when you threw them off this morning and ever-so-carefully pull them over the slumbering pony. Your bed is too small for you to climb in with her, so you turn and walk out of your room, making sure to turn off the magic box and game system as you leave.
As you climb onto your couch in the front room and lay your weary head to rest, you remember Pinkie telling you that you and her were now friends, along with the wonderful feeling you felt at that moment.
Maybe it wouldn't hurt you to have some friends after all.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Note: Hi there, Pinkie here! Don't worry, your secret's safe with me! I promise not to tell anyone you have a thing for me now....and video games too, but you probably had that long before you read this! So how did I do in this story? I've never acted before, and I was a little nervous whenever a scene was about to start, but the author kept telling me to be myself, so that's what I did! You know, reading through this, I think it's a little weird that Equestria would have these "Video game" thingies, but it has "game" in the name, so they're fine by me! As long as you remember to not play them so much and go outside every once in a while! Otherwise, you'd be a lot like my friend Twilight when she first came to Ponyville, and-
Um, Pinkie, what are you doing at my computer?
Whoops, gotta go! Have fun, and one last thing: You all just lost the game! Bye!
Pinkie, wait up!...great, already gone. What'd she do this ti......son of a-
DISCLAIMER: I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic or its characters, nor do I make any money off this story. All Rights Reserved by Hasbro.
With thanks to N3uroSFG and Eights for proofreading.
