Where Friendships Wither, New Things Bloom

*Beep! Beep! Beep!*

"Ugh... Just let me die!" Rolling around in bed I attempted to smack my alarm which I recently decided had become the bane of my existence. Missing with each hit, eventually, I struck my target. "Ugh...Fuck" I opened my crusty eyes, thankful for the darkness that prevented me from having my eyes gouged out by Celestia's sun.

I reached my hoof up to touch a button on the wall, an action that I immediately regretted... "Ahhh! Screw you Celestia and the sun too!" I cursed at the now open window; flailing my hooves in a futile attempt to make the sun go away. Rolling out of bed and falling flat on my face I took a moment to gather my senses before attempting to stand again. After a moment or two, I pulled myself off the carpet and continued to trudge my way from the bed towards the bathroom for a well-needed shower. Stepping in I turned the lever expecting a nice warm rinse but instead I was greeted by an icy cold blast "AH! Sweet bucking Luna that's COLD!".

Composing myself I gave the lever a threatening look "I really need to fix that thing" Eventually it warmed up a bit letting me relax as I looked up at the mountain dew bottle I'd taped to the nozzle as a makeshift showerhead the night before after the last one pretty much blown up in my face. Having recently been fired from my job I didn't really have much to do other than looking for work online, play on my NeighStation and masturbate so it's safe to say I did all three... Repeatedly. Honestly, I was getting bored of the status quo so I decided I'd get off my rump and do something.

After cleaning my entire apartment I felt pretty good about myself. Anyone who'd just met me wouldn't know it but living like a slob even for a couple of days is something I can't handle. Grabbing my saddle bags and strapping them to my back I trotted out of my apartment, I didn't really know where I was going but living in the middle of Manhattan I was sure I'd find something interesting to do.

Half an hour and one hotdog later I noticed something in the corner of my eye, a distinctly styled tail flashed into my vision on the other side of the street that I could swear I'd seen before but as I took a second look it vanished. Waving it off as daje-vu I carried on down the street. Eventually, I wound up in a game store gawking at the vast shelves of new and ancient games, impossibly trying to decide which one to get. Picking out the newest game I could see 'Doomsday Equestria : Security pony' I trotted up to the counter. 60 Bits later and I was on my way home.

As I was leaving, however, another little gem caught my eye, a game I hadn't played in a long time 'Marecraft' "Well I'll be damned" I mused as I picked out the game. I couldn't resist, it's a classic, maybe a bit childish but I had some bits to spare. I remembered the countless sleepless nights I spent playing after being repeatedly told by my mom to go to sleep. I remembered the times I and my friends had spent trying to build the best base all the while harassing each other and stealing each other's shit. I also remembered the time I spent playing with one friend in particular, unfortunately for me that started to bring back a wave of other memories and feelings.

Locking my apartment door I turned on the lights, walked over to my bed and proceeded to halfheartedly slide my new and not so new games into the shelving- rack which just so happened to reside above said bed. My place wasn't big but compared to most other medium rent apartments in this huge city it was quite big with three rooms altogether. The main room, the kitchen and the bathroom. The kitchen was spacious with all the normal amenities: microwave, oven, fridge, toaster ext...

The bathroom was also quite big with a shower, toilet, sink, and bath. The bath and shower were separate which was very odd for how much I WAS paying... before I lost my job that is. The main room had a TV mounted to the wall, sofa, double bed, a small table with four chairs and a set of drawers sitting against the wall between the edge of the bed and TV. The landlord had been nice enough, he always seemed to be in a bad mood but he gave me a month to find a new job before he'd ask me to leave so I guessed he couldn't be that bad.

Sitting down I decided to try out my new game. After spending an unnecessary amount of time playing I was finally finished and I left the character creation center to head out on my virtual adventure! Four hours later I was getting pretty bored so I made a sandwich and picked out another game from the collection, said the game just so happened to be the antique I'd picked up earlier that day. Putting the disc in I could hear the rain furiously smacking against my window and with me being on the top floor I got the full brunt of Luna's noisy fury.

The game loaded up and my initial thought was that it was like coming home from a long trip away and a welcome homecoming at that, not many games can bring back so many good memories and still be interesting to play years after you got them. Before I could even start there was a loud knock on my door "Who the hay could that be at this time of night?"

"Go away!" I really wasn't in the mood for a lecture from any Sombra-witnesses and I was NOT in the mood for another guilt trip from some charity group. *BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG* "Ugh! What is it with you ponies and constantly trying to leech off me?! Can't you just leave me alone fo-" I cut myself short as the door swung wide open revealing the cause of my troubles. "Wha-what are you doing here?!" She just looked at me and gave me a little soggy grin "Hey Button Mash, long time no see".