//------------------------------// // My New Room-mares: Day 4 - Part 2 // Story: Back To Equestria // by DubleTruble96 //------------------------------// I awoke shortly afterwards, in the early afternoon. About 2:30 PM, to be specific. I came out, much better rested, dressed, and showered, so I was somewhat decent looking...I walked out into the main sitting area and saw Twilight and RD gently poking at my Xbox 360 curiously, giving it gentle taps and looking it over, obviously trying to figure out what it did and how to work it. I sighed and walked a little closer. "'Scuse me, girls. Can I help you?" "Um, what is this strange box, Austin? It makes a ping noise and we hear a whirring noise coming from inside whenever we touch that silver circle, but when we touch it again, it stops..." Twilight looked at me questioningly. It was kind of adorable. "It's an Xbox 360. It's a gaming console." "How is something this tiny a gaming console?! Where's the joystick, and the buttons and the coin slot?!" Dashie said. "It's not an arcade machine, Dashie. It's a gaming console. It's like an arcade machine, only more effecient, has better graphics and gameplay, and doesn't cost you 1 bit everytime you want another life. Not only that, it has it's own hard drive, so you can save your game and come back later instead of restarting everytime you lose all your lives." Twilight and Dashie looked at each other, then back at me. "What else does it do?" "You can hook up Internet and play with people from around the world." "Wow really?!" Dashie grinned. "Yeah. No more having to bring your friends over to play, now you can sit at your own homes and play together in one game! Not all games are Internet compatible though, and not all games have a 'life' system. Some games let you die over and over until you get it right or you quit." "Can I try it?" Dash was now pretty eager to give this strange device a shot, but I shook my head and she looked crestfallen. "Sorry Dashie, but the controllers aren't really compatible for....hooves. If you wanted to use them, you'd need to use magic, like Twilight or Rarity. Pegasi and Earth ponies can't play it. The controller is too complex." "Come on, how can a joystick and buttons be complex?!" I held up the standard Xbox 360 controller and pointed to all the buttons it had. 4 face buttons, 2 triggers, 2 bumpers, Start, Back, the Xbox Guide button, and of course, the thumbsticks. "I need 2 hands to use this, Dashie." RD would need a forklift to lift her jaw back from the floor. "What do they all do?! Why would any game need that many buttons?!" "Well, lemme show you!" I turned on the console and switched on the TV set. Rarity was about to ask me what that magical moving-picture box was, but I put up my hand to silence her. "Please, no more questions. Not yet anyway." Rarity nodded quietly and I continued. The Xbox Dashboard came up and I showed them everything it had, including avatars, pictures, games, music, videos, etc. I then got into the game. One of my favorites, Call of Duty: Modern Warefare 3. I set up the campaign and started off. The ponies crowded around and watched in total awe as I blasted my way through the campaign's first level. It wasn't even that challenging...it was only the training stage...Finally we got into a real level...Once they saw the enemy team firing back, they all jumped at the sounds of gunfire and explosions. Once again, I made quick work of the level, and paused the game after it was over to let the ponies calm down a minute. "Well, what do you think?" "How'd you....you...I...He..." Rainbow Dash did her best to form something that resembled a full sentence, but she couldn't and kept stuttering. "How'd you do all that?!" Twilight finally asked, eyes huge with wonder. "It was easy, once you learn how. This is only the second level. They get much harder past this. "I can't even get past the second world of Super Mare-io!!" Rainbow Dash said with her mouth hanging open. "Wanna know something? I'm considered average." The ponies all looked at me like I was crazy. "You mean there are people out there better than THAT?!" Rainbow Dash stared at me. "By far..." Rarity fainted and Fluttershy let out an adorable whimper. "But don't worry. None of this actually happens...it's fake! Computer generated. Humans don't do stuff like this...okay they do, but it's not this bad......okay it IS but it doesn't happen OFTEN.....It's rare...We've only had 3-4 major wars with each other. Currently, we're trying to keep peace on the other countries." I rubbed the back of my head awkwardly. The ponies looked horrified. "What?! I don't do this! I said it was rare anyway...Humans aren't always this violent...We're better than that....mostly." They all muttered to each other and I just bit my lip nervously. "Okay look, Earth isn't as peaceful as Equestria....But it's a lot better than some other places I've seen....There's more than one Equestria you know...." The ponies immediately shut up and Twilight looked at me suspiciously. "What do you mean? How do you know about the Multiverse theory?" "We have one too. And...Well...maybe I should just show you." ----------------- Crowded around the computer, I clicked on a link to FIMFiction. The ponies all looked at it questioningly. I told them about fanfiction, who writes it, and what it's often about. I even told them the darker side of the Internet, and warned them not to go there...Finally, I showed them something I prayed I never had to show to the Mane 6....Especially the Element of Laughter, lest she get...ideas.. I showed them 'Cupcakes'. The ponies all read it, and immediately shied away from the computer and looked at Pinkie with mortified stares. Pinkie looked at her friends nervously. "Wait! I'm not like that!" Pinkie protested. "She's right girls." I stepped in to defend her. "This is only a fiction. It's not real, though possibly is in a different Equestria. Your Equestria, codenamed Equestria Prime, is the real and original one. You were all born and raised there, and continue living there. This Equestria is....different..." Pinkie looked at Dashie with a longing face. "Dashie, you know I would never do that, right?....Right?!" Dashie looked nervous, but she slowly nodded and warmed back up to Pinkie. How could her best friend and pranking buddy do something so horrific to her? "Listen, I don't want you girls having nightmares, so I want to show you some of the lighter side of FIMFiction." I said, then I coaxed them back to read something else. This time, I showed them a fiction called 'Equestria: Crossing Over'. It was a fiction written by someone named 'DubleTruble96', and was about a human getting stuck in Equestria and needing to save the world. The ponies all laughed at the humans antics and all smiled at the end. The human was back on Earth and Equestria was saved. The human didn't really want to leave his new friends. Luckily, Pinkie told him she would try to convince the Earth FBI to let him visit. Twilight suddenly stopped and looked at me. "Austin...This story sounds.....familiar." "Yeah I just noticed that..." I rubbed my chin thoughtfully. "Who was the name of the protaginist again?" "Justin." Rarity told us. We all stopped and stared at the computer screen, then shivered a bit. "Whoa...." Rainbow said. "Talk about deja'vu." I said with a nervous smile. ---------------------- I laid there in my bed, Pinkie was once again, sharing the bed with me. I know I told her not to make it a habit, but I needed some company. I ended up reading too many scary fanfics before bed, and was scared out of my wits. Luckily, Pinkie stayed with me to comfort my mind. "Psst, Pinkie? You asleep?" "No..." "Who do you think wrote that fic?" "Which one?" "Equestria: Crossing Over. Don't you think it was...too similar?" "Yeah...Creepy, huh?" "Yeah....Um...Pinkie?" "Yes Austin?" "Thanks for keeping me company." "You're welcome." "Good night, Pinkie." "Night, Austin." I dozed off shortly afterward. Meanwhile, Pinkie waited until I was asleep and smiled, then quietly left the room. She wandered over to the computer and turned it on, then went to FIMFiction. She clicked the log in box and typed away. User: DubleTruble96 Pass: ************* Pinkie smiles at you and winks.