Feel The Game

Lost in my own sanctuary – multicolored wires and cables crossed the room, a thick entanglement crawling over the walls and furnishings as artificial snakes, fighting for space, fighting for a pray – an organized chaos; that's how I liked to define my secret shell - my enclosure. Here, hiding among the circuits, computers, and dusty vents – I was god.

Red lights, flashing LED's connected to a considerably old micro-controller board – those blinking dots were never a good sign - I sighed, spinning in my chair, the wheels annoyingly shrieking as I moved towards the board, not even bothering to stand up and touch the cold and potentially electrified floor with my feet.

The surface of a broken computer monitor reflected my face, and for a brief moment I stopped to check my look. When the only available source of light is a notebook screen, you rarely get a chance to see your own features. It can be quite scary to see yourself outside the digital world – I was oddly thin and my tapered chin was more noticeable than ever, my condition inside this electronic cave was complicated, to say at least.

The machines asked for a strong and continuous air flow, our main air conditioning system was supplied by dozens of nitrogen bottles, and the whole thing needed constant supervision and maintenance; bottles needed replacements, pipes were freezing all the time, pressure had to be checked hourly – In short, the workday in my little bitcoin mine was a frozen hell. Since the mining operation started – a few months or years ago, I can't say for sure anymore – I've got this terrible cold that simply refuses to go away.

The coffee maker was my only ally, and my wool jacket was the angel responsible for keeping this frail body of mine, alive.

My days were pretty much the same regardless of what the calendar said. My older brother Kaleb used to live with me – dammit, Kaleb was such a nice guy, you see? – He wasn't into mining though, the man got a job in a badass multinational company. He's responsible for keeping the web blimps in the air, rain or shine, he gotta maintain the system running. It's a high-responsibility job – one misstep, and half of the country goes offline.

Of course Life Inc. wouldn't hire a reckless jerk like me – That's why I'm still here; fixing a stupid red light in a stupid moldy basement, instead of saving the world in a glassy office building.

As you can see, my brother's life is different from mine in many ways – yet, as awkward as it may sound, we have the same point of view when it comes to ponies. We considered ourselves 'bronies', back then in the 10's – when being part of this weird subculture was a thing. I have to admit that we lived the happier, and crazier days of our lives – talking, drawing and writing about ponies.

And clopping, naturally.

God, we were such a pair of horny teenagers. It's ridiculous in a way, to keep fantasizing about that, after all those years... I'm not obsessed with that or anything – but I'm pretty sure that something – deep inside my foggy mind – still wants to cum inside Rainbow Dash. Last time I mentioned this wish to my brother, he just laughed his ass off. He wouldn't admit it – Kaleb never admitted anything – but I bet he thinks the same.

I still remember his face, when our father found his secret porn stash. It was priceless – that because dad was a sarcastic bastard, so he just printed one of the pictures; a silly artwork of Rainbow Dash showing her pussy or whatever – believe me, I've seen worse – and then dad asked Kaleb if he liked when a girl was on all fours.

I sincerely thought he would have a stroke right there on the couch or something – luckily, he just pretended to faint for a few minutes. When he finally 'came back' to his senses, dad gave him the paper, snorted, and walked away – not before pouring himself some scotch. He never talked about that again, but every time a horse appeared on TV, dad would look at Kaleb and laugh.

Anyway, I don't live in the past. Unfortunately.

I live in a place where red lights are constantly blinking here and there, where joy is measured by terabytes, and the city walls look eerily empty and colorless to the naked eye. Have you ever seen a real billboard? Lucky you – that's not possible without smart glasses or microchips nowadays.

It was a strange kind of satisfaction, to see that negligible light blinking one more time before disappearing in the darkness of the room. I leaned against my chair and breathed deeply, coughing a little as the cold air filled my lungs. I looked around, and gratefully stated that I was done for the day.

I shared the job down here at the bitcoin mine with my roommate, Neil. It was a Friday night, and Neil had just arrived from his part-time job at the local butchery. A disgusting job, if you want to know – but you probably don't want to know that – butcheries are gross as hell.

Anyway, this week was Neil's week at the mine, and my week on the couch.

I crawled out of our basement like a blind mole, flinching as the fluorescent light of the living room assaulted the back of my eyes. Neil was wearily resting some grocery bags over the counter, alongside with his blood stained apron.

"Woah, woah, woah – don't even think about leaving your filthy shit over there. You know this thing irks me out." I frowned at Neil in disgust, throwing the basement keys on the table. "Couldn't you find a stupid job at Taco Bell, or something? Crap... A butchery for Christ's sake!" I shook my head.

"Where am I supposed to leave my 'filthy shit' then?" He groaned, grabbing the stupid apron again. "It's not like you'd let me throw it into the dishwasher." He said, inspecting its white, rubbery surface.

"I don't care where you leave your bloody crap, as long as I don't see any of it when I sit down to have my coffee. Anywhere but the counter – or the living room as a whole."

Our apartment wasn't that big, and the living room surely hadn't enough space for his apron. Everything shrank, as most of the old houses and blocks got demolished and consequently replaced by buildings – in fact, I can say I was lucky to have my own basement – the building we lived was quite old, and the ground level apartments still had these small underground rooms.

Neil shoved his uniform into a plastic bag, and grumbled something about going to the laundry room. As he left, I resumed my walk to the kitchen, only for the sake of doing it, since there was nothing relevant to see inside the fridge. I checked it anyway, and to my disappointment, I couldn't find anything worth eating.

Sighing, I just opened an app on my watch, and in a few seconds the coffee maker started making that gurgling noise. It's funny how scientists are able to develop quantum processors, but can't get rid of a coffee maker buzz. Humans and their achievements...

As I sat down at the counter pushing the grocery bags aside to have some space, I couldn't help but notice a small package wrapped in plain white paper – it had my name on it, and was placed right next to my bills. Neil had probably brought it home from our mailbox, I presumed. For security measures, every package comes with a microchip, to help tracking your order, and also keep information about it. As usual, I just scanned it with my phone, but oddly, most of the information was corrupted.

It only said 'Sent from Belgrade, Serbia.'

I have to admit I was surprised – and somewhat scared – as I couldn't remember having ordered anything from Serbia – nor I knew anyone from Eastern Europe. Still, written in bold permanent marker letters, was nothing but my name. 'Spencer Rothenberger'.

I'd pay you a thousand bucks if you managed to find another Spencer Rothenberger in this world. Really.

I stood there, staring at the mysterious box, considering all the absurd probabilities. From poisonous chemicals, to severed body parts... Or something worse. The coffee machine beeped, forcing me back to reality. There was a creepy package from Serbia right in front of me, alongside with a hot smoking cup of cappuccino.

"Ah... Spencer?"

"Hmm?" I murmured, my body half turning on the stool to face my roommate. Neil was back, and by the look of his apron he had successfully cleaned it up properly – considering Neil's intelligence levels, washing an apron was something definitely worth noting.

"May I ask what the hell are you doing?" He said, closing the door with an elbow. I shrugged and finished sipping the rest of my drink, placing the empty cup aside. I was pressing the white box against my ear, slowly moving and inspecting it, trying to get a hint of what was inside. In a way, it reminded me of the night before Christmas – when I was a kid I liked to shake all my presents; louder noises probably meant toys, while lack of noises probably meant another pair of socks.

"To be frank with you, I'm not sure anymore. Do you by any chance know who sent this?" I showed him the package.

"Oh yeah... This thing. I forgot to tell you about it, my bad." Neil rubbed his neck. "I just found it in the mailbox, I thought it was another of those girly pony toys of yours, so I got it for ya." He leaned against the counter, looking for some other shit inside his paper bags. "Dunno who sent it tho." He finally found the bag of chips he was looking for.

"It came from Serbia." I stated.

"Dammit Spencer, why for Christ's sake would you want a Serbian pony doll?" He laughed, chips debris eventually flying from his mouth.

"It's not a pony doll you moron."

"Then what it is?" Neil insisted.

"I have no idea! Something messed up with the microchip, it just says it was sent from Belgrade. No tracking codes, no dispatcher – nothing" I sighed. "That's just-"

"Creepy." He added.

"Exactly..."

Silence devoured the room as we both stared at the package, as if expecting it to explode at any moment – only the crunchy sound of Neil's chips dared to defy the stillness.

"Why don't you open it?"

It was bound to happen.

"Ready?" I grabbed a broomstick, Neil just nodded, crouching behind the counter like a coward. "One... Two... Three !"

We both cringed, as I removed the cover of the mysterious package. Seconds turned into minutes, as we stared at the now open box over the table.

Slowly, I made my way towards the object, Neil was right behind me, holding his smartphone, ready to call the cops if shit happened. Luckily, it wasn't necessary.

The package was almost empty, except for a semi-circular metallic gadget, not bigger than the palm of my hand. I've seen many devices and instruments, but that was something completely different of anything I could relate. Hesitatingly, I removed it from the plastic case – it was surprisingly light to hold; the object had a thin plastic surface, which seemed to be covered with tiny suction electrodes.

As I brought it closer to my eyes, a green led started to blink on each side of the semi-circle.

"What the..."

"Hey Spencer." I looked back at Neil, who seemed to have found something else in the box. "I think the guy who sent this left you a note." He handed me a small piece of folded paper.

'My bad Spencer, things got really weird here and I was unable to deliver this package personally. Don't tell anyone about this, okay? People don't know they are already being tested.

I'm giving you one of the few development kits I have, please accept it as an apology for all the birthday parties I missed. This one is special for you, It's unique – I programmed it myself.

You'll understand as soon as you try it. Just sit down in a comfortable chair, and place the device on your neck. It will blow your mind, I assure you.

I hope you like it.

PS: Stay focused. Don't let the real world escape from you. '

"Okay, you go first." I tried to push the thing to Neil's hands, but he backed away.

"No way in hell dude. Your Serbian friends, your package, your responsibility."

I was already used to augmented reality stuff, but if the note guy was telling the truth, this shit was something else – something bigger. It could also cause some deep shit to my brain, and that's what scarred me the most. As far as I knew, I was dealing with some unknown, experimental device, who just happened to be addressed to me.

And the guy knew my birthday.

"Neil?" I rubbed my temples, pondering about the situation.

"Yeah?"

"I'm going to my room, If I don't come back in an hour, you can break down the door and pull this thing away from my neck" I somberly said, reading the note a few more times. My roommate just nodded.

"Here I go..."

'Stay Focused. Don't let the real world escape from you'

As Neil left to do his chores down there at the mine, I went to my room and closed the door. Following the recommendations, I found a cozy spot in my armchair, and leaned down against some pillows.

With a deep sigh, I closed my eyes, and placed the device around the back of my neck. Immediately, those tiny electrodes expanded, and adhered to my spine. I felt an odd tingling sensation in my extremities, followed by numbness. I was a little bit scared by the time a shiver ran down my spine, but in a split of a second, the world flashed and disappeared.

I tried to get up, but my body was nowhere to be seen. When I was about to have a panic attack, a second flash brought me back to reality. But not the real world – I found myself standing in an incredibly wide white room. A silvery glow emanated from the floor and the walls, filling the singular place with light.

"Welcome to your game, Spencer!"

I jumped, turning around abruptly. There, only a few feet away from me, stood a tall, gleaming pony. She had no horns, wings, or cutie marks, but was clearly taller than most of the show characters. The mare looked almost as artificial as the room around ourselves, and except for her contrasting red eyes, everything else was pure white.

"Who are you, and what is this place?" I asked.

"I am known by many names, but you can call me Ada. This reality is being configured specially for you; it features nothing but the deepest desires of your subconscious mind – I only present myself as a pony, because your mind asks me to do so. I'll be your guide through the game, and we'll slowly get used to each other's presence." She smiled.

"I promise."

"Ah..." I gaped.

"Okay then, if you say so." I rubbed my neck, observing Ada as she materialized a dark screen out of nowhere. "So, if that's a game... What's the final objective?" I raised an eyebrow at her.

Ada giggled, taking me by the arm as she led us to the dark monolithic screen.

"That's an intelligent question" She said. "We've been scanning your mind, and your final objective was already chosen – Aside from the secret achievements, cum inside Rainbow Dash is your last mission."

"I- I- W-what??" I choked. Why Ada, why? You looked so professional and innocent at first sight. "So this thing can like... Emulate... Everything? I mean, no mind blocks?" All the recent augmented reality gadgets come with dozens of blocks and prohibitions. It's not like you can buy an Oculus Rift from the store, and have virtual sex or something. The government says it's for security reasons – I say it's for mind control.

"Yeah Spencer, we can emulate absolutely everything!" She chuckled. "Still, there's no game without challenges, and to reach your final objective, you'll have to fight for it – or as I like to say – fuck for it." With a touch of her hoof, she lit the screen.

My jaw dropped.

Dozens, if not hundreds of pony silhouettes showed up on the screen, most of them were shadowed like locked characters in old fighting games.

"Where is Rainbow?" I asked.

"Very far from your reach, I assure you." She laughed. "And that's your fault, not mine. Everything here is based on your choices."

"You will make me fuck all of those ponies only to unlock my Rainbow Dash??" I gasped.

"Maybe... But there is a misunderstanding here, Spencer. Your game is not only about sex, it's about relationships. Something you never had a chance to experience in real life, being you. It's about – literally – earning an achievement." Ada stated. "There's much more to learn, and I'll help you. But keep in mind that this is nothing but a simulation. You're free to leave and return." Her tone suddenly changed from playful to serious. "There are rules, Spencer – and you can only play a level per day."

"Sounds good to me, where do I start?" I asked excitedly. Ada just sighed.

"Patience Spencer. This is just a brief introduction to the system, some things are still being configured. You'll start tomorrow, and your first mission includes taking Princess Twilight to dinner. If all goes well... You two may have some fun."

"Hey Spencer, are you alive bro?"

A deep voice echoed through the shining room. It was Neil, and he seemed to speak inside my head.

"What the hell do I do now?" I asked, staring at Ada.

"You better go. Just remove your Dream Device."

As I touched my neck, I noticed that even here in the virtual world, the device remained the same, meaning that I could simply shut it down if I wanted.

"I see you later Spencer."

"Don't let the real world escape from you..."

A flash, and a light dizziness later, I was back at home. Neil was sitting on the edge of my bed when I looked at him and started to laugh uncontrollably.

"The hell is wrong with you?" He scoffed.

"Dude, I have a date with Princess Twilight Sparkle. Tomorrow!"

***

Author's Note

Ada's concept art -