//------------------------------//
// Second Chapter 
// Story: Random Thoughts of EQG 
// by TPC-2k16 
//------------------------------//

     It’s a beautiful, nice sunny day.
     The air is cool, and the overall feel is you just wanna go outside and do something productive.
     Or, you could just spend this most beautiful day at the mall.
     Which is what a lot of people did.
     This time, we’ll be following Micro Chips. A student of CHS that may seem to look and act cool on the outside but on the inside, he's awkward. (It’s his nerdiness.)
     From the start of middle school to now, Micro has seemed to notice that his whole “thing” isn’t gonna get him somewhere, popularity wise.
     Sure he knows that it’s okay to be himself but he also wants to be 'the guy' who everyone knows.
     To be seen by everyone. To be player one.
     So the reason Micro Chips is at the mall today is because he hears of a way that’ll make him ‘be more chill’.
     “Okay. I’m here by where all the cell phones’ accessories booths are. Now where is he-“
     Micro Chips is interrupted as he sees right in front of him is a large, hairy man. Wearing a gang green jacket with a black shirt and blue jeans, along with a net hat worn on the top of his head, along with black sunglasses.
     Overall, the guy looks like someone who lives in a trailer park with his mom. The guy has at least five double chins, and you can’t tell right off the bat because of his long, hairy beard.
     “Uh, are you, Ryan Hendrickson?” Micro asks the large man, a little scared.
     “Yep. You here for the goods?” He says in an obvious stoner voice.
     “Ah, yes.” Micro digs into his pocket to pull out a big ol’ wad of twenty-five dollars.
     Handing it over to the man, the first thing Ryan does is bring the money up to his nose, sniffing it uncontrollably.
     While he’s still sniffing it, he takes out from somewhere in his jacket an old Puma shoebox, handing it over to Micro.
     “So uh, thanks.” Micro waves him away as the man starts backing up, not knowing where he’s going, all the while still sniffing the money.
     Micro finally loses track of him the man as he just so happened to back into a comfort mattress store.
     “Weird.”


***


     “Okay. Here we go.” Micro Chips opens up the shoebox, looking inside to see, filled to the brim, nothing but shredded up newspaper, all littered throughout. 
     On top of all that though, there appears being a plain white note, along with a small, gray oblong pill.
     Micro picks up the note first, reading:
     “Please drink with regular green Mountain Dew.”
     Luckily for him, a soda drink vending machine was close by.
     Micro goes over to the vending machine, putting in the required $1.50 first before selecting Mountain Dew as his drink choice.
     “Well, here we go.” Micro picks up the pill with his fingers, swallowing it.
     Opening up the MD bottle, he takes one big swig of it. Soon enough, Micro drops the still opened bottle to the floor as he began to feel something. Something... tasting just like a TicTac.
     But that something only lasted a few seconds.
     “Huh. It’s okay. I’m okay,” Micro Chips sadly looks back at the shoebox of where the oblong pill come from, coming to the sudden realization, "I think I just wasted twenty-five dollars for one, single TicTac."
     STARTUP MODE ACTIVATED.
     Micro Chips gets that same feeling again, this time though starting to feel lightheaded and dizzy, falling unconscious onto the Mall's floor.
     No one paying any attention to the fallen teenage boy.


***


     Micro Chips finally awakens, still laying on the floor, a bit unconscious.
     As his vision gets less blurrier, all he can see are two pairs of black boots, his vision becoming much better as he looks further up to see... Elon Musk? Standing right over him?
     “Wha... What?”
     MY DEFAULT MODE. IF YOU WANT, I CAN CHANGE.
     “It’s just... you look, and sound, just like Elon Musk?”
     I SHOULD PROBABLY EXPLAIN. BUT FIRST, GET OFF THE FLOOR BEFORE YOU EMBARRASS YOURSELF ANYMORE.
     Micro Chips follows his advice. Getting up slowly then regaining his balance.
     As soon as he got up, Micro feels his phone buzzing. Checking that he has a notification from the Instagram app.
     Opening up the notification, the first thing he sees is a video of himself. On the Mall's floor. Freaking out. Lots of screams being heard, coming from him.
     OH YEAH. SORRY ABOUT THAT. THE SQUIP JUST DOES THAT WHEN FIRST BEING ACTIVATED.
     “Oh man. What am I gonna do?!”
     Micro looks and sees that the video was, well, it was viewed by a lot of people. Why, I bet everyone at school saw it.
     SO LET ME EXPLAIN. MICRO CHIPS, I AM YOUR SUPER QUANTUM UNIT INTEL PROCESSOR. OR ‘SQUIP’ FOR SHORT.
     “Huh? Oh, yeah yeah.” Micro doesn't pay him any attention as he still stares at the video of him, thinking of how this will affect him.
     “One question. Can others see you, or just me?”
     GOOD QUESTION. YOU SEE, I EXIST ONLY IN YOUR BRAIN. WHAT YOU ARE SEEING NOW IS A HOLOGRAPHIC VERSION OF YOUR SQUIP. SO RIGHT NOW TO EVERYONE ELSE, THEY JUST SEE YOU TALKING TO NO ONE. PROBABLY THINKING OF HOW WEIRD YOU ARE. SO DON’T DO THAT. OKAY. WE CAN JUST SIMPLY TALK TO EACH OTHER TELEPATHICALLY.
     “Like in Power Ponies comic number one seventy-five?”
     I CAN SEE THIS IS GONNA BE DIFFICULT.


***


     MICRO CHIPS. MY MAIN OBJECTIVE IS FOR YOU TO BE MORE CHILL. TO ACHIEVE MAXIMUM COOLNESS.
     AND STEP ONE OF MY PLAN IS FOR YOU TO SIMPLY ‘DITCH’ ALL OF YOUR NERDINESS.
     “Nerdiness? I’ve always thought of myself being more of a geek.”
     GEEK, NERD. TO EVERYONE ELSE, THEY’RE PRACTICALLY THE SAME THING.
     STEP TWO. WALK INTO THERE AND BUY YOURSELF SOME ‘COOL’ CLOTHES.
     Micro sees his Squip pointing over to the store ‘Forever Twenty-One’.
     Doing as he told, Micro walks over and heads inside the store.
     “So what do you have in-“
     THAT ONE. PICK THAT ONE.
     Micro sees the shirt, a hint of cringe and hesitation coming over him as he sees what’s on it.
     AND THE MATTER IS...
     “It says ‘If Diamonds are a Girls’ Best Friend, then Nuclear War is for Boys’.”
     SO.
     “It seems weird. And people might think that I’m weird once they see me wearing it.”
     AND YOU ARE WRONG. BECAUSE ACCORDING TO ALL SOCIAL MEDIA’S TOP SEARCHES/LIKES, NUCLEAR WAR IS SO IN RIGHT NOW.
     “It is?”
     INDEED. IF YOU WANNA TRY TO FIT IN, THE BEST WAY IS TO FOLLOW THE TREND. OR, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
     “Okay. But I’m trusting you.”
     Micro picks out the shirt, medium sized.
     “That wasn’t so hard.”
     EXACTLY. WHY DON’T YOU PICK OUT A SHIRT NOW.
     Micro Chips looks over a couple of racks before finally seeing ‘the perfect shirt’.
     THAT’S A GIRLS’ SHIRT.
     “Micro?” 
     Micro Chips knows that voice.
     Taking just a slight peek behind him to see Sunset Shimmer. Right there behind him. Holding two shopping bags.
     “Oh uh...”
     GREET THE BETA.
     “The... hi, Sunset.”
     SAY YOU LOOK SEXY.
     “I can’t say that!”
     DON’T SMILE. STARE INTENSELY. SPEAK LIKE YOU DON’T CARE ABOUT YOUR OWN DEATH.
     “LoOkInG pReTtY sExY Sunset!!”
     “Uh... is that a girls’ shirt?” Sunset asks, sounding a little uncomfortable.
     “No.”
     YES.
     “Yes!”
     REPEAT AFTER ME. I WAS DATING A GIRL.
     “I was dating a girl.”
     AND SHE WORE A SHIRT JUST LIKE THIS.
     “And she wore a shirt just like this.”
     AND THAT GIRL WAS...
     “And that girl was...”
RARITY.
     “Rarity.”
     “What?!” Sunset sounds off a bit mad (with a hint of jealousy).
     IT’S HER ACCENT.
     “It’s her accent.”
     “Her accent isn’t even her real voice. She just pretends it is for attention.” Sunset puts on a pouty face.
     Just now, Twilight Sparkle walks over to where Sunset and Micro are.
     “Hey guys. I was just overhearing and... one question, Rarity broke up with you?”
     “Yeah.” Micro just so reluctantly said.
     NO.
     “Uh, no.”
     'I BROKE UP WITH HER BECAUSE SHE WAS CHEATING ON ME'.
     “I broke up with her because she was cheating on me.”
     Both Sunset and Twilight look at him weird. Both awkwardly silent.
     “So Micro, everything alright for you? You seem... not like your usual self.” Sunset breaks the silence.
     “Alright? Why everything’s fine.” Micro puts on a fake smile.
     “Ya sure. ‘Cause I thought I saw you talking... to yourself earlier. You looked like you were, at least.”
     “Uh...”
     LIE. SAY, YOU JUST GOT A GRUELING TEXT AND IT UPSETTED YOU SO MUCH THAT YOU JUST HAD TO TALK TO YOURSELF ABOUT IT.
     “Uh... Because I got a text. A grueling one at that. And I guess I was so upset by it that I didn’t realize I was talking. To myself.” Micro puts on the same fake smile from before.
     “Okay. Listen, we better get headin’. See ya later, maybe.” And just like that, both Sunset and Twilight leave the store. Off to somewhere else.


***


     “Well, that went good. You think too?” Micro asks his Squip right as he leaves the store, carrying a shopping bag with all the shirts he bought.
     MEH. COULD’VE BEEN BETTER. THOUGH NEXT TIME WE’LL BE GOING SOMEWHERE... THAT’S MORE SUITED FOR EVERYONE. SPECIFICALLY MORE FOR AGE/GENDER DEMOGRAPHIC.
     “What do you mean?”
     IT’S JUST, AS THE FURTHER WE WENT IN THE STORE, THE MORE I REALIZED THAT THE STORE, FOREVER TWENTY-ONE, IS MORE SUITED FOR GIRLS OF YOUR AGE GROUP. 
     “Okay. Then why did you tell me in the first place to go in there? I obviously don’t know because if I did, then I wouldn’t need you.”
     I TOLD YOU BECAUSE I DIDN’T KNOW. I’M A LEARNING COMPUTER. FOR EVERY INTERACTION, I EVOLVE. FOR EXAMPLE, SIMPLY WALK DOWN THE HALL AND SEE.
     “Okay.”
     ALSO THAT. YOU CAN’T KEEP TALKING TO ME. THE MORE PEOPLE SEE YOU APPEARING TO BE TALKING TO YOURSELF, THE LONGER IT’LL TAKE FOR YOU TO ACHIEVE 'MAXIMUM COOLNESS'. EVERYTIME YOU'RE IN PUBLIC AND AROUND OTHERS OF HIGHER POPULARITY, JUST THINK WHAT YOU WANT TO ASK ME AND I’LL KNOW.
     “Alright. Oh and also, how’d you think I did talking to Sunset?”
     HONESTLY, IF IT WASN’T FOR ME, YOU’D STILL BE THERE, PROBABLY MAKING THINGS THE MORE AWKWARD.
     “Harsh.”
     IT’S THE TRUTH. IF YOU WANNA BE MORE POPULAR, ALL YOU GOTTA DO IS JUST LISTEN TO ME.
     “Just listen to you?”
     YES. AND YOU’LL SEE THAT IF YOU LISTEN TO ME, EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU IS GOING TO BE WONDERFUL.
     “Okay. In that case, I trust you. I put all of my fullest trust that you’ll make everything better.”
     WHAT I WANT TO HEAR.
     NOW, STEP THREE OF PLAN ‘MAKE MICRO CHIPS GREAT’. FIRST, I NEED YOU TO GO TO THE NEAREST PRETZEL BOOTH, GET YOURSELF ONE PRETZEL, LIGHTLY SALTED AND WITH CHEESE SAUCE, THEN HEAD TO THE FOOD COURT. YOU’LL SEE WHAT I HAVE IN MIND AS YOU GET THERE.


(The Next Day at School)


     Micro Chips arrived to school with a swagger he’d never experienced before.
     Wearing one of the shirts he’d bought yesterday (the nuclear war one.) and tight (but not too tight.) blue jeans,
     Leaving all his nerdiness at home.
     He may not yet have achieved 'maximum coolness', but he could see that he’s well on his way.
     And all it took was swallowing a pill sold to him by a most likely stoner.
     IT APPEARS THAT EVERYONE SEEMS TO BE LOOKING TOWARDS YOU. MEANING THAT YOU HAVE BEEN NOTICED.
     'Cool.'
     YOU DO KNOW THAT WE’RE NOT DONE YET. READY FOR STEP FOUR?
     'Step four? Okay. Go ahead, tell me.'
     OH, I DON’T HAVE TO TELL. IN FACT, STEP FOUR SHOULD BE HERE IN 3... 2... 1...
     “Hi Micro. Nice getup. Very trendy.” Sunset compliments Micro Chips as she walks over by him.
     “Oh yeah. And you look very...”
     LOVELY.
     “Lovely. You look lovely.”
     “Thanks.”
     The two just stare at each other, the moment starting to get awkward. But that can’t happen.
     SAY TO HER, ‘SO YOU KNOW THAT HALLOWEEN PARTY IS TONIGHT?’
     ‘Uh, okay.’
     “So Sunset. You know about that Halloween party tonight?”
     “Oh yeah. Wasn’t planning on going anyways. Just was gonna stay home.”
     HMM, INTERESTING. MICRO, ASK HER TO BE YOUR “PLUS ONE” FOR TONIGHT.
     ‘Wait. You mean as like, a date?’
     YES. AND HURRY BEFORE THIS GETS AWKWARD.
     ‘Okay.’
     “So uh Sunset. I was just wondering... will you be my "plus one" for tonight?”
     Sunset looks surprised at what he just asked her. “Okay. See you tonight then.”
     Micro stares off in shock. ‘I, uh... wha...?’
     YOU CAN THANK ME LATER.
     “Thank you...?!"