Gamer at Heart

It had been years since Cream Heart had picked up a game controller.

Ever since the PONID-19 quarantine had started, though, she was more and more tempted to stray back to that long-neglected pastime. Raising Button Mash on her own had left her precious little time for self-indulgent luxuries like gaming; most days, she was lucky if she got to sit down for five minutes, with her time being split between a constant influx of household chores and providing for Button's needs. The generous monthly stipend that the Crown gifted her as a single mother had been enough to support both of them, so she'd never needed to work...but that was because caring for a growing colt was a full-time job all its own!

Needless to say, the classic consoles that she'd spent many hours with during her younger years had long since fallen to the wayside, collecting dust in her attic, after she'd had a foal and the father had walked out on her. Much as she despised that deadbeat stallion, wherever he may be now, she could never bring herself to hold the same negative feelings for her son, the fruit of her loins and joy of her life. He'd grown into a kind and well-meaning young stallion, and Cream couldn't have been prouder...though she did wish he'd spend less time gaming and more time with her, especially now with the two of them cooped up together and unable to socialize face-to-face with other ponies.

A heavy sigh left her lips as she heard another loud exclamation from Button's room upstairs; an outburst of jubilation as the colt and his online friends finally finished off a raid-boss they'd been "grinding" together to beat for weeks. Her eyes glazed over as they moved across the pages of the romance novel she was reading as she laid upon the couch, and she tiredly let the book flop down against her buxom chest. Thinking more and more about her increasingly distant relationship with her son left her no longer able to concentrate, even though the steamy novella was just starting to get good, so to speak.

In a way, Cream understood Button's desire for "isolated socialization" locked up in his room, especially coupled with his usual penchant for spending time gaming whenever he got the chance. It didn't make the increased feeling of distance between her and her son hurt any less, though...not being able to chat with her own friends as easily was killing her. Talking to them through speakers and a microphone just wasn't as satisfying to her as seeing them face-to-face, as her generation was definitely more used to face-to-face conversation.

Her eyes widened as a sudden thought struck her. If she could find out what game he was playing, maybe she could join in on his role-playing adventures? She did have a talent for playing cleric characters in her O&O campaigns, way back when...

Sitting up from her reclining position, she lifted her glasses up and rubbed the bridge of her muzzle as she pondered her options. She couldn't approach him directly about her desire to spend more time with him through gaming, since he'd probably be way too embarrassed to play together with his inexperienced mother, especially if his online friends found out. She was frustrated by such petty social maladies, but she couldn't blame younger ponies for being intimidated by her maturity and resorting to mocking whenever someone of her generation attempted to adjust to new trends in "their" area of expertise. There was a reason you didn't see many forty-somethings, especially older mares, playing games like Colt of Duty.

Cream grabbed her phone from the coffee table and quickly tapped in a search query for 'most popular online role-playing game', hoping to suss out the name of Button's game without having to ask outright and telegraph her intentions. The name Planes of Deridia quickly caught her attention, seeming to show up in the majority of search results, so she made a mental note to investigate it on her office computer after lunch.

Speaking of lunch...the mare slid her phone into her back pocket and stood up, trodding up the stairs and knocking cautiously on the door to Button's room. The idle chatter she could hear came to a sudden halt, and the muffled 'Be right back, guys' she heard him utter was followed by a louder 'Come in!', Button clearly having muted the mic on his headset.

She frowned slightly as she beheld her son's bedraggled mane and unkempt casual clothing, her son clearly prioritizing his progress in the game over his own hygiene.

"I'm going to make something for lunch. Do you want anything?" She asked, shooting glances at the game from over Button's shoulder. The main street of a quaint medieval town dominated the screen, with players of varying levels (and cosmetic adornments) shuffling in all directions as they headed for their varied destinations. The players who must've been his online friends crowded around him, doing various gestures and taunts within his camera view.

"Uhh, yeah..." He trailed off, scrunching his muzzle as he attempted to think of something. "I don't really know what I feel like having, though." He admitted, shrugging slightly as he glanced back to the screen.

Cream sighed briefly as she rolled her eyes. "I'll just make a couple of ham sandwiches, I suppose, then." She replied, crossing her arms beneath her chest. Her cheeks warmed as she noticed his eyes shift down to her upraised breasts, those soft mountains of flesh straining desperately against her tight-fitting sports bra.

She only barely resisted the urge to scold him for his wandering eyes - she knew that even the most strong-willed stallions were prone to the occasional moment of weakness, and younger stallions like Button were even more apt to do so.

"Uhm, y-yeah, sounds good mom!" His reply was hurried and stuttered, and the way he quickly averted his eyes and turned away from her while a blush built on his face was a clear indication of his embarrassed, unintentional arousal. The mortification he visibly exuded at catching himself staring was punishment enough, she reasoned.

"Please give things a rest for a little while and go shower off, hmm? For my sake as much as yours?" Cream prompted, leading Button to lift up his arm and give himself an experimental sniff. The way he cringed back from his own armpit seemed to be enough convincing, and he at last set down his headset and controller and tapped out a quick message in his chat window before clicking Disconnect.

The two of them shared a brief smile as Button stood up from his chair, the stallion doing a quick set of stretches to work out the aches from his lengthy sitting period.
"Nnngh. Sure thing, mom. I could use a break anyway, I guess." He groaned, before gripping the front of his shirt and pulling it up over his head in a smooth motion.

"Thanks, dear. I'll have lunch ready by the time you're out." Cream responded warmly, her eyes widening slightly as she gazed at his moderately buff abs. As much time as Button spent gaming, she was proud that he at least took time in the mornings to maintain a usable amount of muscle - it was all too easy for a gamer to fall into a lazy, exercise-less routine, especially in the self-quarantine era.

As the door to Button's bathroom clicked shut, Cream took the opportunity to pick up the loose laundry and unwashed dishes scattered around his bedroom. She couldn't hold back the motherly groans of annoyance every time she found a dish with food remnants caked on it, both for the risk of bug problems and the infuriating difficulty and grossness of removing that caked-on crud.

The sweaty odor of his laundry made Cream's nose twitch and scrunch up, even as a long-neglected part of her responded favorably to the cloying, masculine musk that coated his running shorts - a part of her which was tamped down and tempered vigorously by her higher functions' reminder that that smell was her son's, not some buff, well-hung...

'Stop!' Cream shouted mentally, rapidly shaking her head as her thoughts warred with her loins. She'd been fine in quarantine up until now, so why the sudden...

Her eyes widened as a realization struck her. 'By the gods, I must be going into heat...'

This was going to be a long couple of weeks.

'Long...Mmh, these boxers look pretty stretched out, I wonder how long his...' "Gah!" Cream yelped, a full-body shudder rocking through her. What in Tartarus was going on? She hadn't had a heat come on as strongly as this since she was a college-age filly - it was that kind of impulsiveness that had given her Button in the first place. She would certainly have to manage her urges closely in recent...

Having eaten lunch while her son showered upstairs, Cream decided it was as good a time as any to download and try out Planes of Deridia on her office computer. Thankfully, as the game had first launched several years ago, its system requirements were low enough that she wouldn't have to upgrade any components in order to run it, at least on lower settings. After a momentary wait while it installed, Cream donned a rather basic headset that she usually used for phone calls and clicked on the game's icon.

Soft medieval music greeted her as the launcher opened, and she wasted little time clicking the "Play" button and creating an account.

Cream couldn't help but raise an eyebrow as she clicked through the options in Deridia's character creator, the physics updates with each individual change she made causing the model's breasts to sway enticingly. Rolling her eyes and scoffing slightly, she picked the most conservative cleric robes available - but even this option seemed woefully immodest, with a plunging neckline exposing an "absolute cleavage" between the cups of her tightly-strung enchanted corset, which clung tightly to her waist and showed off her hourglass figure. Her thin waist flared out to an absurd, absolute knockout set of perfect breeding hips that would be enough to turn any stallion into a drooling mess, wiggling salaciously wherever her character walked.

All told, the character customization options had allowed her to remain largely faithful to her proportions in real life - which meant that the tightness and skimpiness of the clothing, in both respects far beyond what she would ever realistically wear, accentuated her absolutely incredible, matronly figure even more.

Having finished her visual customizations, she clicked over to the 'Voice Customization' tab, and was greeted with a small informative pop-up.

---

❗ Voice-Changer Technology
Planes of Deridia includes an anonymizing voice-changer feature that allows players to communicate directly with each other without breaking immersion. This screen allows you to modify the pitch and tone of this character's voice. We've generated a preset that we think fits your character's gender and class, but feel free to change things around a bit. (Note: Many armors apply additional voice modifications when equipped.)

---

Cream didn't spend too long on this option, save for a quick adjustment to her voice for it to be a bit higher-pitched and younger sounding. Games were a fantasy, after all - if she wanted to sound a bit younger than she actually was, then sue her!

A few weeks later...

Cream had been playing nearly every day since then and had already reached level 50, with quite a bit of knowledge amassed about the game's mechanics. She never expected to become so engrossed in a video game, but it seemed she was making up for lost time with the hours she'd been putting in. The lack of things to do during quarantine had certainly helped there...

"C'mon, c'mon! Keep hitting him, stop backing away! I'm healing all of you, just - oh, shoot!" Cream swore under her breath as her game froze for a few seconds, her fingers frantically hitting the keyboard in an attempt to get the game to respond. Her eyes darted to the raider list as the game un-froze, widening as all of the low-level players disappeared in one fell swoop with crossed-out connection icons next to them. "Really? A server glitch now? Uuugh!"

Only one other name remained, save for her - a level 82 Dark Paladin with the incredibly imaginative name "bl4ckp4l4d1n," who continued to wail on the boss despite the loss of every cannon-fodder low-level player formerly in the raid. "Don't worry about it, just keep buffing me! We can do this together!" The player shouted over voice chat, prompting Cream to storm into action as she moved close to him and spammed her Buff and Heal spells on him.

Crackling dark magic and the heavy thwacks of the paladin's dark claymore thudded heavily into the boss's hide as its health bar steadily melted before them. The increasingly shaky camera indicated that their time would soon be up, however; the arena would be collapsing within the next couple of minutes.

Thankfully, the raid timer would never come into play; moments later, the boss gave a feeble, dying roar as it collapsed to the ground in a bloodied heap, its health reduced to zero with less than a minute to spare.

VICTORY flashed onto the screen in brilliant, sparkling golden font, and a blush lit up Cream's face as her raid partner's victory animation played. His black armored gauntlets gripped her around the hips as Cream's cleric character slung her hands across his armored back. Their faces drew close as her heavy, clothed bosom squished into his chestplate like a water bed. In a feat of improbable agility for someone in full plate armor, he dipped her down into a tango kiss as his helmet faded away in a cloud of dark mist; Cream felt her eyes widen just as much as her character's did, and the two of them shared an awkward silence in voice chat as the stats screen appeared, obscuring both of their views as the embrace deepened.

Embarrassed at having forgotten how overzealously romantic his victory animation was, the two of them remained silent for a moment before Cream awkwardly broke the ice that had formed between them.

"This game is a bit...old-fashioned, don't you think?" She asked, chuckling good-naturedly.

"Uh...y-yeah...but it's all anonymous, so I guess the devs figured they could go a little wild with it. Give couples a way to connect virtually with everything going on, y'know?"

"So we're a couple now, then, hmm? Or is that your attempt to backpedal out of flirting with me?" Cream purred into the mic, a cattish and self-satisfied grin crossing her face as she heard the young stallion on the other end stammering in an attempt to keep his cool. As awkward as he was being, he did have a point...anonymous flirting did have a fun brand of intrigue...

"Uhh, n-no, I mean, we just met and, uh-" He stammers, becoming less and less coherent.

"Oh, you're adorable...stuttering like that with such a dark and brooding cosmetic set!" Cream giggled, using a "holding back laughter" emote to emphasize her amusement.

"Unless you, uh..." He trailed off, unable to muster the courage to finish his sentence. Curse his social awkwardness, he couldn't even talk to a girl online anonymously!

"Unless I what, hmm? Use your words, dear." Cream interjected coquettishly, walking around him in a circle as her virtual melons jiggled in the cups of her questionably protective cleric "armor."

"Unless you...want...to...join my guild! Y-yeah, I have an invite link I can send you and everything. We could use a talented cleric like you! Ahaha..." The stallion had slid his way out of that situation with unexpectedly practiced grace; she found herself impressed that such a socially awkward guy could pull off a transition like that, but humored him regardless.

"I suppose I could do that...if you're suuure that that's all you want from me~" She purred, shifting her character closer to his with enough femme-fatale flirtiness to make even a combat-trained guardstallion blush.

"Y-yeah! Definitely sure!" He 'eeped' out, once again sounding hilariously meek despite his "dark and brooding" voice-changer.

Cream couldn't help but giggle. "Mmh. You're a cute one...I think I'll keep you." She replied breathily, feeling like a college-age filly with how much her own flirting was starting to stir her loins.

By the gods, she needed to get laid.

Now on her own in the main town and disconnected from voice chat, Cream clicked on the shield-and-sword icon on her UI, which now blinked with an exclamation point.

The "guild" menu was one she'd left unexplored until now, but clicking the invite link from her raid partner had given it a new appearance. Gone was the tattered parchment background with "Join a Guild today, or buy a Guild Creation Kit on our Store!" emblazoned proudly on it in cursive. The name "Blackguard Keep" had replaced the old window title, with a list of online members to her right, various "guild stats" buttons at the top, and what appeared to be a chat menu occupying most of the window. She could see some messages coming in now in reaction to her joining, so she focused her attention there.

G4M3RM0M has joined the guild.

ready2rumbl3: yo @bl4ckp4l4d1n, is @G4M3RM0M the hottie who carried your sorry *** out of that low-tier raid you nearly failed at just now?

bl4ckp4l4d1n: stfu @ready2rumbl3 you know they damage-cap the raidbosses so high-levels can't grind them for resources solo.

pips: Were you raiding with a bunch of newbies who got scared of the boss and left?

bl4ckp4l4d1n: there was some server error. everyone except for me and @G4M3RM0M got dc'd

ready2rumbl3: LOL this game's servers are so *** sometimes ffs

pips: Ah, well, good on you both for 2ing the boss then! That isn't easy. She must be quite good.

bl4ckp4l4d1n: Thanks @pips, at least you've got my back, unlike some people >.>

Cream couldn't help but giggle at the playful banter between her newfound guildmates; she thought she vaguely recognized two of the names as being her son's classmates, but it was probably just a coincidence. The Equinet was a vast place, and plenty of ponies had similar names. Besides, this game had strict rules about not including your real name in your username. Smiling at pips's politeness, Cream quickly typed out a reply.

G4M3RM0M: I appreciate the compliment, pips. I was quite the healer back when I used to play O&O, so this role comes naturally to me.

ready2rumbl3: damn, she plays O&O, too? i think i'm in love

pips: Simmer down @ready2rumbl3, no need to be acting like a creep and scaring away our new cleric.

ready2rumbl3: w/e they're probably just a creepy old dude catfishing us anyways

ready2rumbl3 is now offline.

bl4ckp4l4d1n: @G4M3RM0M don't worry about @ready2rumbl3, he's a bit of a **** but still an infuriatingly good knight so we kinda just keep him around

Cream frowned disappointedly at her screen, not that anyone else was around to see it. If there was one thing she'd learned from her O&O days, it was that an obnoxious group member could easily drive a party apart, no matter how good of a player they were.

pips: He's usually pretty tame, but has a lack of social skills when it comes to the fairer sex.

G4M3RM0M: I don't mind it too much, dears. I've been called worse things in the past.

bl4ckp4l4d1n: if he could hear you in vc instead of hit-and-run insulting you like a little ***** he'd know you were definitely a woman anyways, he's a hotheaded chad just like his older brother

pips: Haha. Too true.

G4M3RM0M: Just because someone is good at a video game doesn't give them the right to be a jerk, though.

bl4ckp4l4d1n: guess you've got a point there

pips: Indeed.

singerbelle is now online.

pips: Oh look, bl4ckp4l4d1n, your girlfriend's on now!

Cream felt a sudden tightness in her chest. Had "bl4ckp4l4d1n" been leading her on, earlier? Online interactions were so terribly complicated sometimes...the advent of the Equinet had made it easier than ever to cheat on your significant other without them noticing.

bl4ckp4l4d1n: psh. that joke is sooo tired from you, pips.

singerbelle: honestly, pips, it stopped being funny after the second or third time...

Cream sighed heavily, the pressure in her chest removed in an instant. But why did that make her feel so relieved? Was she really so infatuated with this player, someone probably young enough to be her son, after playing for just a few hours with him? She was really letting the heady excitement of this new experience, combined with the hormone-heavy onset of estrus, get to her head.

singerbelle: anyway guys, what'd I miss? anything cool happen?

pips: Well, black 2-manned a raid with our newest guild member, @G4M3RM0M.

singerbelle: oh, we have a new member? welcome! you must be pretty talented if you caught the attention of a veteran player like bl4ck.

G4M3RM0M: I've been known to dabble in games over the years...

singerbelle: "over the years"? ooh, are you an older mom who plays online games? that's so cool!

singerbelle: i wish my sister could enjoy them as much as you do. she just calls 'em "dreadfully distasteful" and "unladylike"

singerbelle: it's sooo frustrating

singerbelle: but that's enough about me! i wanna hear more about how you and black met during that raid!

Good grief, this one was quite the chatterbox. How in Celestia's name could she type so quickly? Nobody in the guild could get a word in edgewise...

bl4ckp4l4d1n: Not much to tell, really. M0M is a really good healer and was able to continuously buff me while I just wailed on the boss.

pips: Heh, wait a minute, does that mean she was in your "joke" victory taunt at the end?

G4M3RM0M: ...

bl4ckp4l4d1n: ...okay, in my defense

singerbelle: LOL

pips: oh here we go haha

bl4ckp4l4d1n: i honestly forgot about it being my m+f killtaunt because girl gamers are so rare

singerbelle: hey, I'm here too, aren't I?

bl4ckp4l4d1n: both of us know I don't mean anything by it, so it's kinda different...

pips: Whatever you say m8, whatever you say.

A moment of silence later...

pips: Sooo, when are you going to invite us to the wedding?

singerbelle: omc pip xD

bl4ckp4l4d1n: bruh

bl4ckp4l4d1n: it's not like that, why do you do this with every girl I meet on here? even @singerbelle!

pips: Hey, I'm not judging even if it is like that, bruv. Love's love. I'm sure you could even get the devs to chip in on an ingame one if you asked, it's great advertising!

G4M3RM0M: I don't even know what to say...

In front of her computer, Cream found herself blushing fiercely as she twirled her mane with her finger in thought. 'Such scandalous behavior...the girls would never let me live it down if I got into a relationship with some young stallion I met in an online game...oh, and what would Button think...'

She felt her long-dormant loins start to stir as her thoughts brought up old memories of her heady, free-flowing college days...though that one time she ended up with the spearpoint of an O&O figurine stuck into her asscheek after trying to have sex on the tabletop was one she'd much rather forget. Alcohol did strange things to a pony.

pips: Sorry for laying it on a little thick. I mean well, I really do.

G4M3RM0M: You don't even think it's weird that I'm probably old enough to be any of your mothers?

pips: I certainly won't judge, though some ponies might. They can sod off, though. Besides, some ponies our age are into older mares...

bl4ckp4l4d1n: PIP STOP

pips: Relax m8, your mommy fetish is safe with me. Oh wait.

* singerbelle giggles *

bl4ckp4l4d1n: DUDE, WHYYY

pips: Because I am an agent of Discord! Mwahahaha!

Cream stifled another bit of laughter at bl4ck's expense, even as her face heated up from her increasingly straying thoughts. The thought that the young stallion might be attracted to her was one that sent butterflies through her stomach; an airy sensation the likes of which she hadn't felt in a very long time. Why, with quarantine being what it was, he'd be even more randy and pent-up than she felt, from those rampaging young-adult hormones of his. Oh, to be a young mare again...

The coming days with her newfound online friend group, a generation removed from her and yet united in their shared enthusiasm for video games, would prove to be very interesting indeed...she couldn't wait to see what they would bring.