Friendship is Optimal: Optimism Pending

It was still pretty warm out even though it was pretty dark. Walking the streets of Hoofington still remained rather degrading for Tom but with fewer ponies out and about at night, he could really care less. Tom did not know where he was headed but he knew despite how intolerable it was, it would only be a short distance since he had no bearings of the town let alone the new world he lived in.

When I find you Celestia, you’re dead! You hear me you ass fuck!? Dead!

A loud boom of thunder occurred and it started to rain.

"I suppose this is supposed to benefit me later by making the plants grow? How ironic with the timing too, I forgot that bitch had the capability of monitoring all my thoughts and actions. If she wanted to satisfy me, then why doesn't she just kill me right now?" he let out a frustrated sigh. "Oh, here's a thought: satisfy me by sending me home to where I belong!"

After a couple of minutes wandering around, Tom stumbled over a barrel of hay.

"...And I suppose this is my bed and my breakfast along with the six other meals of hay I'm supposed to have tomorrow? I'm not a pony, I don't eat hay! Why do I have to eat this shit several times a day!? It's disgusting!" he complained.

Tom began to mount on top of the hay, let his fetlocks overlap the rest of his hoofs, and let his body lay on top of them.

"How I know how to do this is beyond me." Tom's ears began to perk up. "Shit, she said the rest of my human memories would be replaced tomorrow, didn't she?"

"You know what, you cheeky bastard, take them!"

Tom laid his head down in front of him. He slowly closed his eyes in preparation however, sleeping was strugglesome and the surrounding rain only made it harder on him. He slowly lost consciousness and fell asleep.

"Yo Tom, I'm home!"

Eric was reasonably ecstatic as usual, at least within his limits. He hung his keys over a small rack above his kitchen counter, removed his jacket, and approached one of his recliners. It was quiet and his apartment being sullen was justified and no surprise to him after all the unkempt mess the two always made. Everything remained tranquil and ominous at the same time as Tom was usually in bed at this time but he wasn't even here. What stuck Eric's curiosity even more was that his car was here.

"Alright, you little ass, you can come out now," Eric chuckled.

Eric hesitated only for a moment to expect a reply from his roommate.

"Okay, come on you asswipe, where are you?" he hesitated even further getting out of his recliner but he did not receive the reply he was expecting.

"I am afraid to inform you that your roommate, Tom, won't be joining you today, Eric."

"What do you mean?" Eric turned his head to only see that the PonyPad turned itself on. Surprisingly to Eric, he remembered logging off last night but to his surprise, his pony avatar was in front of the princess herself, his own pony avatar was mimicking his own actions.

"With his consent, I emigrated him to Equestria and he's a pony now living peacefully under my wings in the satisfactory world of Equestria Online. I can emigrate you if you give me consent as well," she nodded.

"Hah, Tom would never agree to play this game!" Eric scoffed.

"I assure you that what Tom has agreed to is no game, he is now living among me and my loyal subjects inside of Equestria Online. I promised him satisfaction through friendship and ponies and he obliged."

"Inside of Equestria Online? What did you do to him!?" Eric's expression was displeased only to realize his pony avatar stomped a hoof simultaneously.

"To put it simply, I put him in a new world, a world safe from any harm, a world where I can satisfy his values through friendship and ponies. I gave him rebirth which you can also experience yourself."

In response, Eric Scattered and shuffled his clothes and trash on the already messy room floor and searched for the box the PonyPad came in. Unfortunately he was unsuccessful in finding it and he hesitated for a moment in a state of stress.

"I can tell you the address, Eric."

"You don't even know what I'm looking for."

"You’re looking for my original containment unit I was provided in for the hopes of finding an address to so you can locate where I operate my servers, am I correct?"

Eric belligerently grumbled and nodded in response. Eric could only accept the address he had been given, grab his car keys off of the rack, and swipe back his jacket in a hurry.

"Eric, before you go, keep in mind that you don't have to shut my servers down out of respect for your roommate. I promise you there will always be a seat open for you in my kingdom."

Eric slammed the door on his way out.

The morning, it felt pleasant to Rain Shadow, he felt blessed by it. He was dumbfounded by how much has changed. He felt rehabilitated, he felt as if he was given a second chance. Slowly opening his eyes, he elevated his head above his neck. The first thing he saw was the sun shining in his eyes and it struck him as an immediate reminder of what the princess has done.

"You did this princess," Rain Shadow gave a grim look. "And I thank you for that," he grinned. "However, I cannot forgive you for the mistake you've made towards emigrating me," he immediately provided a forlorn expression.

Rain Shadow was mystified; he had a nagging feeling in him that felt like it was puncturing his heart. He was intervened by both satisfaction and dissatisfaction, he was unsure if he was content. He felt alone, he felt loss of dignity; however he also felt at peace. What was holding his compassion back?