The Discovery of the Fabled Video Game
Celestia and Luna were having trouble finding things to do in their retirement. Now that they had explored the whole world a hundred times, it was getting a bit boring. Luna was even debating whether to put her extra-spicy chilli sauce on her older sister's food again, just to watch Celestia's reaction. Still, Luna had some sanity, and thought better of it. For some reason, bringing about the destruction of the world did not seem like a great idea. It was tempting, sure, but reckless. Plus, it would not be very fun for Celestia.
The ex-Royal Sisters tried everything: doing impressions of each other in the voice of Canterlot; pulling funny faces; and going clubbing to impress the stallions with their dance moves. However, all of these things became boring after a while. They moved on to eating purely out of boredom, which they had to stop when Luna's brand new outfit began to feel too tight. Board games were fun at first, but Celestia grew tired of losing. Luna blamed it on being stuck on the moon for a thousand years. She said that there were a few creatures on the moon that enjoyed playing board games and taught her to become the best chess player in Equestria. Celestia actually believed it at first. Luna found the image of Celestia's face when she was told it was all a lie branded in her brain.
They decided one day that they needed to go to Canterlot to ask Princess Twilight Sparkle for ideas on how to spend their retirement. So they both teleported to Canterlot Castle just as Twilight was coming back from a meeting with Sunset Shimmer in the human world.
"Oh, Celestia, Luna, what brings you here?" asked Twilight, genuinely surprised by what she saw.
"Boredom," said Celestia.
Twilight sighed, "You may be thousands of years old, but you have the attention spans of foals. You're bored because?"
"Teleporting to every place on the planet is no longer fun. We've tried doing impressions of each other in the voice of Canterlot, pulling funny faces, dancing, boredom eating and playing board games. All of those things have lost their sense of fun."
"You're both foals."
"Can't you turn us back into foals?"
"No. Ageing spells on an adult pony are not too bad, but ageing spells on alicorns who are thousands of years old are beyond my capabilities. They're even beyond your capabilities. And I wouldn't try, either, LUNA."
"Ooh, Twilight, you have really mastered the voice of Canterlot," Luna giggled.
"Oi, Moony, we want Twilight to help us," hissed Celestia.
"Shut up, Sunbum," Luna shot back. The sisters exchanged glares.
"Ahem, sisters," said Twilight. The sisters stopped arguing and let Twilight continue.
"Well, I do have an idea. Over in the human world, they have a thing called a video game. There are three main components: the monitor, the remote controls, and the game itself. The game is stored on some kind of hardware, usually a disc or a cartridge. This slots into the back of the monitor, which collects the data and displays it on a screen at the front of the monitor using small coloured lights. The monitor connects wirelessly to the remote controls, or controllers, and they have buttons on them. Different buttons have different functions, based on the game that you are playing. I wasn't actually in a meeting on Earth. I was playing video games with Sunset."
"Can we have some video games?" asked both sisters.
"Hmm," said Twilight as she thought about the advantages versus the risks. "I don't see why not."
Cue almighty screams of delight.
Two hours later, Twilight was no longer deaf and had gone to Earth to buy Celestia and Luna everything that they needed to play video games. Most objects changed in Equestria, and she had no idea what they would look like. She bought them two second-hand PlayStations, four controllers, two TVs and a selection of the latest games. It came to over two thousand pounds. That should keep the two old mares busy, she thought.
She returned to some very excited sisters. They smiled huge smiles and Twilight knew that this would be interesting.
"Now, you two," she said seriously. Celestia and Luna turned to her. "I must warn you, these things are very dangerous if they aren't used properly. You can play on servers, but don't play with anyone that you don't know, and don't post details about Equestria on there. Be nice to other players, and report it if anyone is mean to you. Put on a timer when you start playing, for maybe half an hour, and come off when the timer runs out. Don't play for more than an hour a day, and remember to eat, drink and go to the toilet between games. These things are very addictive."
"We've got it, Princess," Luna saluted.
"I should hope so. Now, go back to Ponyville, and say hi to my friends."
Back in Ponyville, Celestia and Luna unpacked all of their new equipment. There was enough there for two rooms. They put the first set together in the lounge, using magic to glue the television to the wall. They connected the plug to a panel that collected the magic from the Sun so that it would have enough power for long games. They connected the charging station for the two remotes to this as well. The remote controls were the size of dinner plates, with buttons big enough to be pressed by hooves, but far enough away from each other that a hoof would not press two buttons by accident. They set up the other bits of equipment in their Fun Room, a secret magical room that only they knew about. It contained all of their favourite things for passing the time. As the Fun Room was created with magic inside a wall, there were no windows and no access to sun panels. The equipment had to be charged with magic in some other way. After much thought and arguing, they decided that it would run on energy from the roundabout. That thing could spin fast.
The first game they played on the set in the lounge was a simple game that involved creating their own villages. They remembered the timer, the snacks and the water, and stopped when they were supposed to. They went back a few hours later to finish their village, and all was well in the village of Equestria. The ex-Royal Sisters were having so much fun. Nothing could ever go wrong. Or so they thought.
