As the days continued to pass, Zipper’s excitement only grew. The more time he spent with both Sine and Ink, the more he couldn’t help but feel a closer connection to the two. Whether it was the fact that he finally had a group of friends who enthusiastically shared his interests or the fact that the three of them were all ponies that didn’t quite fit in… he didn’t know. It didn’t matter much though, because, for the first time in a long time Zipper felt as if he truly belonged. Whether he was actively aware of it or not, there was a spark forming between the three of them, and the more time they spent together, the stronger their bond grew.
Zipper trotted through the busy street, a stack of flyers tucked under a wing. As annoying as he knew he was being, he still couldn’t help but hand one out to anyone that would make eye contact with him. This was all a part of his dream, and he’d work as hard as he could to make it a success, even if
He had been doing this for the better part of his morning and finally decided to sit down for a nice long nap, seeing no problem with just plopping down under one of the large trees that sat near the side of the lake.
The gray pegasus let out a happy sigh as he closed his eyes, making himself comfortable. Just as he was getting comfy, a voice called out to him, eliciting an annoyed sigh.
“There you are, there’s no escaping me!”
Zipper opened an eye and peeked over at the sound of the voice: a grinning brown night pony holding one of his flyers. The night pony trotted up to Zipper and greeted him with a warm smile. “Tell me you’re Zipper, otherwise I caught the wrong pony.”
Zipper slowly sat up and gave a short nod. “Uhhh, yeah, that’s me. What’s up?”
“My name’s Javarod, I was wondering if you needed any help with anything in the arcade.”
“Help?” He perked up. “What kind of help?”
“Well, what do you need? I’ve done a bit of everything, janitor, ride attendant, you name it, if you can teach it, I can learn it. Do you have a snack bar in there? I’m not a great cook, but snacks, hot dogs and that stuff I can do, and any good arcade needs a snack bar, no?”
“We do…”
“Perfect! Do you have anyone helping out with it full time or is it just something you jump into whenever someone’s there?”
“I uhh, well, no. Not really. We’ve kind of just agreed to take turns each day. Do you have experience in anything like this?”
The night pony laughed. "Running one? Nope, but I’ve worked in a few restaurants and delis.”
Zipper glanced down to the stallion’s cutie mark, giving a short nod. “You make coffee?”
“More like live on it, usually cold brew, it’s really smooth, and easy to make, just takes a pot, some water and some cheesecloth. Also started making donuts as a hobby before the change killed my job. Be happy to take over if you want, be easier than starting my own place after all.”
Zipper paused in consideration for a moment. "Let’s go talk with my fiend Sine, she’s running a lot of the actual arcade stuff.”
The two began walking down the path toward the arcade, trotting through the small crowd. The night pony glanced ahead and then back toward Zipper, raising his voice slightly. "Sine Wave? As in the night pony with the neon pink mane?”
Zipper nodded. "Yep, she’s the one that got us all of the cabinets. We’re kind of letting her run the arcade because she’s really passionate about it.”
“She’s not going to have any issues with me helping out with the snack bar then, right?”
Zipper shrugged. "I don’t think so. She gets really touchy about people messing with the arcade stuff, but she kind of left that part up to us… why? Are you worried or something?”
“Maybe a little,” he laughed. "Sine Wave kind of has a reputation amongst the rest of the night ponies here.”
“Let me guess, she gets grumpy and kind of gets snappy with you guys?”
“Ummm, kinda. Let’s just say that when she says don’t touch stuff, she means it..”
“Are you worried about that?”
He hesitated for a moment. "A little. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen her when she’s angry, but I can tell you that it’s not a fun experience.”
Zipper shrugged. "Believe me, I have. You just need to know how to get on her good side.”
The night pony raised an eyebrow. "And you know how to?”
“Well yeah. I’ve been spending a lot more time with her lately and it’s really helped me with getting to know her better.”
“Well what’s the secret then?”
“There is no secret. She’s into the same kind of nerdy stuff that I am, it gives us a lot to talk about.”
“Well lucky you then. You managed to do something that not a lot of other ponies have done.”
“Sine’s really that hard to make friends with?”
Javarod nodded. "She doesn’t make it easy, trust me.”
“Right,” Zipper gave a quick nod. "I’ll do the talking then. Sounds good to you?”
He nodded. "Sounds great.”
“Good,” Zipper paused for a moment, pointing toward the tall building. "She was working on one of her pet projects when I left her, moved her whole computer here and everything.”
“So what you’re saying is that I stand back and let you interrupt her, and then hope for the best.”
“Right… she shouldn’t be too grumpy at all, unless you did something to piss her off. You didn’t… right?”
The night pony shook his head. "Nope, I’ve steered clear after seeing how she performed in the fight club.”
Zipper raised an eyebrow. "You guys have a fight club?”
“Oops,” chuckling, “rule number one, never talk about the Fight Club.” Seeing Zipper’s unimpressed look, “Ok, I mean not officially, but a bunch of the night ponies hang out in one of the grottos every month and that’s kinda how we blow off some steam.”
“And you’re all okay with it?”
He shrugged. "It’s a night pony thing, don’t think too hard about it. Just be glad you don’t have to break up a fight, that’s happened more times than I think anyone’s ever wanted to deal with.”
“But you all seem so… calm around here.”
“Right, and that’s why. Anyways, should we get this over with?”
Zipper nodded. "Talking with Sine, right. Follow me and just let me explain everything.”
The pegasus pushed open the door and stepped into the dark interior, the night pony following close behind. As they stepped in, they both removed their sunglasses, slipping them into their saddlebags. On the far side of the room sat Sine Wave, who was clearly working on her programming project with Ink Rose.
“That you bird brain?” Sine asked.
Zipper trotted toward her, resting a hoof on her back. "Heya Bit Brain, how’s the programming going?”
“Better than yesterday, though one of my gauntlets failed and that absolutely ruined my workflow. Sprocket and Gadget said they’d fix it up for me so I should have a replacement tomorrow.”
“Shoot, really? Want to borrow mine in the meantime?”
The mare shook her head. "Nah, maybe it’s a good thing that it broke. I’m such a workaholic, having a catastrophic failure or two gets me to shut off the computer a lot more often. ‘Sides, it gave me more time to hang out with you and Ink.”
“And that’s a perk, right?” Ink Rose smiled.”
“I think so,” Sine agreed. “Ink’s been helping me out with the dialogue stuff, remind me to show you it later.”
Zipper laughed. “You’ve got a funny way of looking at things, but maybe you’re right.”
“‘Course I am. So how’s the advertising been going?”
“It’s been going well, I think Spring was right about waiting for the weekend, it seems like a lot more ponies are actually interested in it this time around.”
“That’s great to hear, told ya it’d pay to keep at it.”
“You’re absolutely right. Speaking of arcade stuff, I actually ran into a pony that wanted to help out with the snack bar. I know that’s not really your department but I wanted to run it by you.”
She raised an eyebrow and turned away from the monitors for a moment. "What kind of snack bar stuff?”
“Well, why don’t you ask him yourself?” he gestured toward the brown night pony. "This is Javarod, he’s already got some experience in running this kind of thing.”
The mare turned toward I’m and let out a small chuckle. "This is our new helper? Coffee Grounds?” getting an embarrassed look from Javarod who suddenly found his hooves very interesting.
Zipper shook his head. "No no no, his name is—“
“— Oh I know, that’s just my nickname for him, bird brain.”
The brown night pony gave a short nod. "It’s good to see you again Bodge”
“Good to see you too. How’s the eye?”
Javarod brushed a hoof against his eye for a moment. "If I think about that right real hard I can still feel the sting, but it’s never been better. How’s the rib?”
“Never better. It takes more than a few bruised ribs to knock me out of the ring, you know this.”
“Wait, you two fought each other?!” Zipper excitedly exclaimed.
Sine Wave shrugged. "Ehhh we burned off some aggressive energy more than anything else, it’s not really a fight fight. More like a convenient way for night ponies to keep their cool by beating the shit out of each other.”
Zipper nodded. "I see, well, Coffee Grounds explained the whole fight club thing already. I guess it just seems weird to me.”
“I’m not a fan of it to be honest, brings up some thoughts about the night ponies back home that I’d rather not dwell on too much,” Ink added.
“It’s not for everyone, but it’s way different than the stuff that happens over in Riverview. You should tag along with me next month bird brain, we can make it a little date if you want.”
Zipper’s face reddened slightly. "You… I… why don’t we talk about this later.”
The mare let out another laugh. "It’s adorable when you get all flustered, don’t worry, I’m just teasing you. But sure, we can chat later.”
Seeing his reaction, Ink couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.
Java, evidently confused by this, raised an eyebrow. "Are you two?.. you know, a thing?”
Sine shook her head. "Not really, at least not in the way you’re implying.”
“What can I say?” Zipper shrugged. “I just like hanging out with her, she doesn’t get bored when I talk about all of my dumb interests.”
“Yeah, who could have guessed that bird brain was as big of a nerd as I was? We’re just friends right now, but it’s nice hanging out with someone that can talk your ear off about obscure shows and movies from the eighties.”
“We kind of lucked out, didn’t we?” Ink asked. “The three outcasts of the Oasis teaming up and making a nice niche group.”
“I think so,” Sine agreed. “It’s kind of amazing how things just worked out. Who could have thought that you crashing into my home would have brought all three of us together like it did?”
“Definitely not me,” Zipper laughed as he hugged his two friends. “It’s pretty special.”
“So what does Coffee Grounds want to do now?” Sine asked, setting the conversation back on track.
“Oh yeah,” Zipper replied, turning towards the brown night pony. “So what kind of stuff did you want to do?”
Ink laughed. “What bird brain is probably meaning to say is, do you want this to be a small part of the arcade or something bigger that we might have to invest some more funds into.”
“What Ink said,” Zipper replied with a nod.
The night pony considered this for a moment before giving their reply. "I guess a little bit of both. I noticed you guys have that attached annex next door, do you think you’ll wind up using it for anything?”
Sine Wave smirked. "Let me guess, you want to open up an actual coffee shop there?”
“Mhm, maybe not right at this moment, but I could totally see that being converted into a nice cozy coffee shop at some point, maybe if the stand in here does well.”
The mare looked toward Zipper. "Well bird brain, you’re kind of the manager here, we’re just the hired help.”
“This is our project though, don’t you want a say in it?”
“Is any of his stuff going to mess with my area?” Sine pressed.
Zipper paused for a moment before shaking his head. "No, not really.”
“Then there’s your answer,” She smiled. "If it doesn’t mess with my stuff, then I’m fine with you guys doing whatever you want.”
Zipper nodded and turned towards Ink. “What about you?”
“What about me?” Ink Rose replied. “I’m just a tattoo artist working on a script for Sine’s game, so I’m not really invested all that much in this kind of decision making.”
“That’s fair enough,” Zipper smiled and turned back towards Java. "Well Mr. Coffee Grounds, there’s your answer then! Welcome aboard!”
“It’s that easy eh? So do you guys mind if I start playing around with the snack bar before opening? Need to see what I have to work with, and maybe even do a little redecorating. Definitely need to think about equipment to do what I want, prolly prosumer stuff or DIY to start.”
“Oh, right,” Zipper pointed toward the small counter. "Well she’s all yours!”
Zipper sat up on the loft and gazed down at the ponies below, a nervous feeling welling up inside him. He knew he should have been happy, but yet here he was, worrying about whether tonight would be fruitful or not.
Sine trotted up next to Zipper and laid a hoof on his shoulder. "You feeling okay bird brain? You look antsy again.”
“I am. But I mean what if they don’t like it?”
“Then we just remember that this whole project started as an offshoot of the thing we’re really working on.” Blue Spring added from the side.
“Right, the sanctuary,” Zipper nodded. "That’s still important too… I guess I just thought this place could also generate some good buzz for that.”
“Hey don’t feel down about it, bird brain,” Sine gestured down at the floor. "See that crowd down there? They might not be pushing us to capacity, but you’ve got at least fifteen happy ponies down there who decided to stop by because we’re giving them something fun to do.”
“I know I sure love it,” Ink Rose added. “I can see why Sine’s so passionate about it.”
Blue Spring nodded. "Me too. It’s just baby steps, Zipper. The night’s still young and we still have ponies coming in the doors. We already have support for the sanctuary, at the end of the day this whole place is you and Sine’s passion project, just have fun with it okay? It doesn’t need to be a giant success as long as you’re happy with it.”
“So how about it bird brain? I’d say I’m pretty happy with this place so far, and Ink likes it too. So how about you?”
Zipper let out a small sigh. "I think I am, but I feel like it could be so much cooler too.”
Sine slowly nodded. "I get you, and I want that too. It’s not going to be an instant success though. But we can help each other out, make this thing great for all of us.”
“Together?”
She nodded. "Together. What do you want from this whole thing, Zipper?” she asked, actually using his name for once.
Zipper furrowed his brow and pondered her question deeply. “We’ve got the killer sound system, the games, the food… Some neon might be nice I guess?”
“In addition to the neon sign we’re supposed to get outside?”
He nodded. "Yeah, like inside neon. You know, like they had in TRON!”
“Well, did you ever hear back from your little designer buddy? If he figured out the outside stuff then maybe he can figure out the inside too.”
“I did actually. He gave me a call right after we walked you back to your house and he said they should be by in a day or two to get the neon installed.”
“Good, we can finally ditch that flimsy banner and get some real stuff. Hit him up about the neon stuff and we can pool together some of the earnings to pay for it if it’s not too crazy expensive.”
“Well,” Blue Spring chimed in. “It seems like you guys have this all under control, and seeing as how my former station’s staffed for now…” she glanced over at the newly staffed snack bar. "I’m gonna go play some games with River.”
“Of course, Springy,” Zipper nodded. “I think he can cover that for tonight but we might need to hire on some more help whenever the other stuff starts taking off.”
“That’s perfectly fine, I’ll always be around to help if you need it.”
As the mare started to trot away, he called out to her again. "Blue Spring, wait!”
She turned back toward him. "What’s up Zip? Trying to keep me away from your high score?”
“Maybe,” he let out a laugh. "I have something important to say to you— to all of you actually.”
“What is it, bird brain?” Sine asked.
“Thanks— for everything,” He smiled. “For helping with this place, with the sanctuary… and just everything in general. I’ve never really had any long term friends and you guys have been really awesome.”
Blue Spring smiled. “That’s sweet Zip. The sanctuary’s going to be something special, and I know you’ve got a good creative eye for it.”
“You don’t have to thank us bird brain, who else would just let some grumpy old bat and her friend squat in their warehouse and set up a whole arcade?”
Zipper pulled the two into a tight hug. "You two are really the best, you know that?” The group nuzzled up for a moment before finally breaking the hug. A warm smile began to spread across the gray pegasi’s face. "I really don’t have a close family, and you guys are like family to me. I really appreciate everything you do, and I know I don’t tell you that enough.”
“Don’t tell me you’re getting all sappy on me now, bird brain,” Sine paused for a moment before letting out a laugh. "Don’t sweat it though, just keep being you, that’s what makes you great.”
“You don’t think I’m annoying?”
Blue Spring laughed. "Sometimes, but you can also be caring and sweet, and that’s your charm. You might have been overly showboaty and annoying before you got your mark, but you’re really rounding out.”
“They’re right you know,” Ink Rose smiled. “I remember when Sine ranted to me about how angry she was at you, and I think you’ve done a great job at making up for everything.”
He shrugged. "I guess I just decided it was time to start acting my age and stop pretending like I needed to be cool or something.”
Blue Spring gave him a pat on the shoulder. “You’re cool just the way you are Zip, and don’t let anyone ever tell you different.”
“Thanks Spring, I really do appreciate it.”
“Of course Zip.”
“So I hate to break up this sappy moment,” Sine interjected. “But we’ve got a whole arcade full of happy customers that we should go spend some time with. You know, so they spread all the word about how cool this place is and keep coming back.”
“Right, good idea Sine,” Zipper replied back. "Plus I can keep Springy from beating my high score too!” He replied with a smirk.
The blue pegasus let out a confident laugh. "Oh yeah? You’re really that afraid that I’m going to beat you, aren’t you?”
“Pshhh, nah. We both know that I’m the champion here.”
“So let’s go head to head then, see if you can’t defend that title.”
“Well I uhh…”
“No, I think Springy’s got a point, bird brain,” Sine chimed in. "A big high score contest could generate lots of good buzz here, unless you don’t want to do that—”
“ — Fine, I’m in,” Zipper replied back with a confident smirk. "You, me, TRON. Whoever gets the highest score wins.”
“What’s the grand prize going to be?” Ink asked. “Being able to win something might raise the stakes and really get people talking. Hell, maybe I’ll even give away a free tattoo session for anyone who wants it?” She offered.
“That’s a little… extreme,” Sine laughed. “How about a plaque on the wall though?” Sine offered.
“That could work,” Ink smirked. “So it’s settled then. Whoever wins gets a plaque on the wall until they’re beaten. That sound good for you two?” She asked both Blue Spring and Zipper.
“I think so,” Blue Spring replied.
“Absolutely!” Zipper cheered.
A large grin spread across Sine Wave’s face. "This gives me a great idea.”
“Oh? And what’s that?” Ink asked.
“What if we make this little arrangement a weekly thing? Anyone can join, whoever wins gets their face on the wall and a week of free play.”
The gray pegasus paused for a moment. "That’s… actually not a bad idea at all!”
“Plus it gives everyone something regular to do too, more of a reason to come back and practice,” Blue Spring added.
“Even better. So go on, get down there and I’ll make the big announcement, sound fair?”
The two pegasi nodded.
“Good.”
A small crowd had formed around the TRON cabinet to watch Zipper and Blue Spring’s small competition. Zipper had finished with a high score slightly higher than his previous, something he was more than happy to gloat about. After a short break, Blue Spring had taken the controls and had spent a good thirty minutes rising up to just under Zipper’s score. On either side of the pair sat Ink Rose and Sine Wave, who were hyping up the crowd and shouting their own commentary back.
“Better watch out Zip, Spring’s about to beat your high score,” Sine Wave laughed.
“You think so? I think he might have a fighting chance!” Ink Rose cheered.
“Let’s not speak too soon…” Zipper replied with a nervous gulp.
The lightcycles danced around the screen, their trails creating a tight maze that Blue Spring was carefully navigating with ease. The small crowd’s excitement only grew as Spring continued to chase down the computer, each breakneck turn eliciting small cheers and gasps from the onlookers behind her.
“What’s too soon about this? I’m just a few points away from the high score!” Blue Spring confidently called back as she briefly glanced over to her rival.
A few more turns and a couple close calls later, and Blue Spring had finally been cut off by the AI, ending the game with a triumphant cheer from the ponies behind her.
Game Over, your high score: 791,982 — please enter your initials
Zipper stared on in amazement as Blue Spring selected her initials, turning toward the gray pegasus. "Looks like I’m the arcade champion of the week.”
“That’s… I… How did you manage that?!”
The blue pegasus smirked back at him. "It’s all in the wrist Zip, better luck next time.”
“You still did great bird brain,” Sine smirked. “Just not as great as Springy here.”
Blue Spring looked back at Zipper, who was staring at the displayed score which almost seemed to be taunting him. "Don’t let it get to you Zip, I only beat you by a hundred points.”
“Oh it’s not getting to me, I’m just thinking of all the practice I’m gonna do to win back my title.”
“Oh? You’re that confident?” Blue Spring laughed.
“You know it!” The competitive pegasus replied back. "Enjoy your victory now, I’m gonna challenge you to space invaders next time.”
“He’s allowed to do that?” Spring asked as she looked over to Sine, who simply shrugged.
“I’d say it’s fair, anyone can challenge the champion to a game of their choosing. Makes it nice and fair.”
“Fine by me, better go get some practice in though Zip, you’re forgetting that I practically grew up in an arcade.”
“Well, I guess we’ll wait and see!” He cheered back.”
“Good game Zip,” Blue Spring held out a hoof.
He smiled and bumped the outstretched hoof. "Good game Spring. That was more fun than I thought it’d be.”
Blue Spring smiled and trotted off toward the snack bar, where River Breeze and a few other ponies were already cheerfully enjoying their cups of coffee.
“Great work bird brain, your score wasn’t half bad,” Sine replied with a pat on the shoulder.
“You think so?”
“I know so.”
“That was awesome Zip!” Ink Rose cheered, surprising Zipper.
Zipper smiled, “Thanks! Glad you had fun too. It really means a lot.”
“So,” Sine Wave started. “Do you think you’ll beat her next week?”
Zipper shrugged. "Maybe, I guess we’ll have to wait and see.”
“I guess we shall. Come on, I want to show you guys something you might like. Ink’s been helping work on… some of it, but I kept the real fun part a secret.”
“Oh? What is it?” Ink asked.
“Don’t worry,” Sine chuckled. “It’s something I’ve been fixing up for a few days and I need someone to help test it. I snuck away and set it up in the middle of the tournament so it’d be a fun surprise.”
“Is it a new game?” Zipper asked.
“Not new, but not original either.”
“I’m a little lost on this part,” Ink admitted.
Sine smiled. "Remember how I said I might be able to make use of the busted cabinets?”
Zipper laughed. “You didn’t… did you fix them up?”
Sine pushed the pair through a tall door and into the arcade’s back room. A disassembled cabinet sat in the corner next to her computer, the screen brightly flashing.
“I fixed something up,” she corrected. “Just trust me, it’s going to be fun for all of us.”
The game displayed was all too familiar to Ink Rose, though the manner it was being displayed in was completely new to her. To Zipper on the other hand, it was only vaguely familiar.
“Gauntlet?” He asked. "Oh man I remember playing this with my dad back when I was a kid.”
“Oh you might have played the original Gauntlet, but not this. New levels, pickups, and even some new monsters.”
“I had no idea you were going to set this up as an actual cabinet,” Ink said in astonishment.
“That was the hard part, I’ll admit. I kind of had to hack together some stuff but I guess that’s probably the easiest way to explain it.”
“Is it ready to play?”
“Considering all of the help that Ink’s given me? I’d say so. I’ve saved about a month of work and a whole lot of money that would have been spent on hiring a writer, and without that I wouldn’t have the alpha ready… So go ahead and give it a spin, let’s take it through its paces and see what it can do.”
Zipper gave a short nod and slowly approached the cabinet, stepping up onto the makeshift stool that Sine had shifted over. The muffled sounds of the arcade seemed to drown out a little as he rested his hoof on the joystick and pressed start, the game’s new title screen coming to life before his eyes.
”Cyberbat?” He asked. "What’s that mean?”
“It’s my own little take on the concept… just freshened up for today’s audience with a little help from Ink too.”
“Sine wanted to call it CyberGauntlet.”
“That’s not a bad name in all fairness,” Zipper replied.
As he held his hoof over the joystick, he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of excitement. This was a brand new game, and if Sine was as ambitious as she seemed to be, this could be the start of something really great for all three of them. Not wasting any time, he hit start and let out a happy squee as the menu dissolved away.
Neon colors raced across the screen as the game started, dropping Zipper into a dimly lit room full of metal walls and dingy sprites. "Okay, this is seriously cool. Is this a total conversion?”
“Of course, It’s not really finished but it’s getting close. Like I said, Ink added in the dialogue and made it sound good, instead of the crap I had there before.”
“Hey, it wasn’t crap!” Ink protested. “Your dialogue just needed some polishing.”
“Well, now we have a well written game and a pony to properly beta test it.” Sine smiled, “So what do you think so far, bird brain?”
As Zipper started to move through the dungeon he immediately began to notice just how much Sine had changed. Instead of the ghosts that he’d be fighting If this was the normal game, Sine’s had him facing off against what he could only guess were cybernetic ponies. "Cyborg ponies?”
“Ghosts and demons are so 1985.”
“And cyborgs aren’t?” Zipper replied.
Sine shrugged. "Not to me they aren’t. I think they’re cooler.”
“Can’t argue with that. Do you think other ponies will like it?”
“Let’s just worry about testing and finishing it first.” She looked at Ink Rose. “Why don’t you hop in on player two, Inky?”
“You’ve got that set up? I thought it was still buggy.”
Sine shrugged. “What do you think I am? Some kind of amateur? Of course I’d get the second player option set up so I could watch my two closest friends play together.”
“Is this supposed to be a date or something?” Zipper half-heartedly chuckled.
“Maybe?” Sine blurted out before quickly dropping into a hushed silence and looking away.
What the fuck am I doing?! She cursed to herself. Why did I have to blurt that out?!
The two other ponies froze momentarily, which only served to make Sine’s thoughts drift towards self doubt and more internal curses. Taking a breath, she continued. “I mean uhh… well, I know it’s really out of the blue but I like spending time with you two, and I wouldn’t really be all that upset if this was a date or something— I dunno, maybe I’m being dumb but I— I uhh….”
She began to stammer and before her conversation could revolve any further she squinted her eyes shut, and braced for the worst from this admittedly awkward situation she had created for herself. While it was true that she felt some sort of feeling towards both Zipper and Ink, this was not the right way to test the waters on such topics.
Her hooves started to tremble and for a fleeting moment she considered just jumping ship and scurrying off before either of the two could mock or tease her— or worse. Far from the usual cool indifference that Sine usually conveyed to the world, at this moment she was little more than a nervous wreck.
The teasing never came, however. Instead it was just that damned silence that seemed to drag on for an incomprehensible eternity. Finally Zipper made the first motion, and looked away from the screen and over toward her. At this moment, the game was clearly no longer his focus.
"I… I wouldn’t mind that either,” Zipper admitted. “Uhh, do you two have something going on though?— I mean if that isn’t crossing the line I just know you two hang around all the time and I uhh— I’ll stop talking, I’m being an idiot again.”
“Hey. You’re not being an idiot!” Ink Rose looked off to the side and shook her head. “But no, we’re just close friends.”
“I think we’re more than that right now,” Sine finally broke her silence, though the butterflies in her stomach were only growing more intense. “I don’t know what we are, but we’re not just friends.”
“What are we?” Zipper asked.
Sine would normally snarkily reply that she just said she didn’t know, but given the situation she had inadvertently started, she wisely chose to withhold such remarks. Instead she shrugged. “To tell you the truth, I’m not sure. Family? Close friends? I know you both had feelings towards me, and I would be lying if I said I didn’t feel the same towards both of you.”
“That’s… understandable,” Zipper nodded. “I still like you Sine, I just didn’t want to push anything. I was really bad with doubling down on that stuff before and I just didn’t want to be the same pony I was so— I… just bottled it up?”
“I guess I just made things extremely awkward, how about we just call it a night and forget I ever blurted anything out,” Sine cringed back at her own words. And then I skip town, change my name, and never show my face around here again…
“You don’t need to apologize for that,” Ink reassured her. “I know you didn’t mean to make things weird.”
“But I did,” Sine sighed. “It’s been a while since I’ve dated. A long while. You know what I’m talking about when I say it’s so hard for night ponies. I didn’t really feel anything towards other ponies here, until I started to hang out with you two. I just got carried away and overly excited and blurted out the first thing on my mind and now I’m probably going to drive away the only two close friends I feel I actually have.”
She clenched her eyes shut again and fought back the urge to just bolt off. That would only make things even more awkward. As if it could be any worse than it now was…
Silence. It was deafening at the worst of times, even more so when you just awkwardly confessed that you wouldn’t mind testing the waters on an emotionally intimate relationship with two of your closest friends. These were the thoughts that started to rush through Sine’s head even more, and it was only being compounded by her very loud heartbeat that only added to her anxiety. She was about to rush out an apology and say it was just her being foolish, but before she could blurt it out, Zipper started to speak again, giving her a momentary reprieve.
“What do you mean?” Zipper asked. “Is it really that different from other ponies?”
“Trust me, Zipper. You don’t even know the half of it.” Ink chimed in. “Dating for night ponies feels like a battle royale most of the time. The whole gender balance is so fucked beyond belief that you get mares fighting like crazy for the handful of stallions that are around. That’s kind of why I moved here in the first place. There’s way too much drama elsewhere but… not here.”
Sine took a deep breath. “Do we really need to bring this up any more?”
Ink started to speak in a calm voice. “We don’t but obviously something is bugging you and I don’t want things to get worse or for your mind to fill in blanks and draw conclusions that aren’t actually there,”
“Trust me, I was just being dumb.”
“Nope, I know you’re not a dumb pony. You don’t have to explain anything or talk about it anymore if you seriously don’t want to, but we’re your friends and we’ll be your friends no matter what.”
“Unless you’re telling us you’re a wanted jewel thief and we’re all gonna get jailed tonight,” Zipper nervously chuckled, earning a glare from Ink Rose. Blushing, he fumbled out a rushed addition. “I uhh— what I mean is that Ink’s right. We’re here for you no matter what.”
Sine sighed again and shook her head. “I guess where this is all going is that… I kind of like both of you. I know, it’s weird. But spending time with both of you has made things a lot better here, and I don’t know. I guess maybe I just need to talk things through now that the Bandaid’s ripped off,” she took a very deep breath and composed herself before continuing. “Zipper, it was cute when you told me your feelings, and I promised you I’d see how things went once we got to know each other more. I know Ink has feelings towards me too, and you both mean so much to me that I didn’t want to ruin any of the friendships we had. I didn’t know what to do so I just kept pushing it back until I could talk a little more… and well… I dunno, I kind of feel like I’d be okay having two ponies I’m close to.”
“That’s a big thing to just drop out of nowhere,” Ink replied. “I’m proud of you for saying it though, I just don’t know how to fully respond yet.”
“Is the fighting really a big issue? I mean don’t you guys already do that here for fun?” Zipper asked, clearly trying to salvage the conversation in his own clearly oblivious way.
Ink Rose shook her head. "That’s different. Our underground fight club is how we deal with aggression and stress, the fights you see in other groups of night ponies are deeper and more emotionally driven. No one wants to be alone and if you don’t kick someone’s ass and stake your claim you’re shit out of luck.”
He took his hoof off the controls and shook his head in surprise. "That sounds—“
“ — Awful, I know. It is, but it’s something we just have to deal with,” Sine Wave cut in.
“You don’t have to accept that you know,” Zipper replied.
The mare paused for a moment before turning to meet his gaze. "I mean we kind of do. It’s not a huge issue here, but there’s ponies back where Ink comes from that treat this thing like it’s some sacred tradition that makes up the core of how all night ponies should act and behave,which causes its own slew of drama that’s a pain in the ass to deal with.”
“Well it’s pretty damn stupid,” Zipper brazenly replied. “I mean why is being an asshole to perfectly nice ponies some big tradition?”
“It’s a lot more nuanced,” Sine shook her head. “Trust me. I don’t fully agree with all of it, but that’s just how things are.”
“It’s still stupid,” Zipper protested. “I know a thing or two about getting beaten up for not fitting in, and this sounds even worse.”
Ink shrugged. “There’s plenty of others that think so too, but they either can’t speak up or they have their voices drowned out by the ones who think it should be the universal norm for everyone. It’s just a part of being a night pony though.”
“It doesn’t have to be though,” Zipper held his ground. “It’s not how it is out here so why can’t we just make other ponies see that?”
“I like the optimism Zip, but that’s a hard thing to do because of what Inky said about ponies back home. “Sine flexed her wings and gestured to them. “Take this for example, I was a big dumb idiot and had Ink tattoo them because I was selfish and wanted to spite people who took this way too seriously. This is some big thing to ponies who took a magical blessing that changes a part of them, and because I didn’t take it, I could get really hurt if I let the more rabid ones know.”
“And that’s why you brought this up…” Ink replied. “I told you it was okay, and that it isn’t a big deal.”
“But it is!” Sine replied. “I still feel so guilty about it, and I know that a part of you is eaten up by it. I thought that maybe I could try to make everyone happy, but I don’t know, maybe I’m just being dumb.”
There was that silence again, that damn lack of anything that just beat down on her psyche and made her feel so small and afraid. She could handle a physical fight, take all the cruel mean insults in the world, but the awkward silence that was persevering right now shook her to her very core and made her feel like a little foal who was too afraid to do something.
“You’re not dumb,” Ink replied, resting a hoof on Sine’s back. “It’s just sudden— and caught me off guard.”
“I know, and I’m sorry,” Sine looked away from her.
“Don’t be,” Zipper reassured her. “It’s good you were honest with yourself and us. I know that’s a hard thing to say, but I felt the same way when I told you how I felt before.”
“Does this… ruin our friendship?” Sine somberly asked.
The silence crept back in, but this time it was only a momentary tormentor.
“No,” Ink shook her head. “Not at all. In fact, I think it’s exactly like how Zipper said. It isn’t easy to say what’s on your mind, but you have to. Otherwise you just bottle up your feelings and play pretend for others. I didn’t think that was a bad thing to do until I met you, and you have such a good outlook on things, even if you’re a little hot headed sometimes— but hey, who isn’t from time to time?”
A small smile crept across Sine’s face, and she looked back up at her two friends. “I guess that’s why I said it in the first place. I feel like both of you really made a difference in my life, and for the first time in a very long time I feel like I have ponies I can be close to.”
“I’m happy you can be so honest with us,” Ink smiled. “To be honest too, I don’t know what to really think. It’s not meant to be in a bad way or anything, it’s just going to be tough if we take this any further than a casual fling.”
“I know,” Sine said. “I didn’t say it with the intention of it needing to be anything more than us testing the waters right now. If that means we just hang out together and do what we’ve been doing then so be it, if it means we make our own little herd then that’s fine too. Just whatever’s comfortable for everyone.”
The other two sat wordlessly for a painfully long time to Sine, and her thoughts instinctively started to drift towards the worst. She knew it was an odd proposal, but the three truly had been growing closer together as of late, and ponies forming polyamorous herds wasn’t the most alien concept in existance, at least that was the vibe she got from her rather limited worldview of pony society— as little time as it had to really grow and form.
“It’s… not the most out there thing to ask,” Ink finally cut through the silence, much to Sine’s relief. “I mean there are a few other herds back home… It’s just not… the most common.”
“I’m not uncomfortable with it,” Zipper admitted. “If we get to do the things we’re doing and be closer, then I think it sounds nice. But how does it work though? I’m asleep half of the time that you’re awake.”
Sine shrugged. "I don’t know yet. Maybe it’s exactly what you said, maybe it becomes something more. I mean we‘re all probably the only three ponies in the entire Oasis that could spend so much time talking about retro stuff and still never get bored or tired of it. Maybe it’s just me being sappy, but you’re both so awesome to be around and I don’t want to break anyone’s heart by starting some love triangle.”
“That’s… really sweet,” Ink replied. “Like incredibly wholesome,” She then looked at Zipper and raised an eyebrow. “But what about Blue Spring? Aren’t you two close?”
“We are,” Zipper nodded. “But aside from liking animals and a few other things, I don’t think she sees me like that. She's my best friend, and I love her like family, but I don’t know if anything between us would ever work out because of that, and it’s okay. I’m happy being her best friend.”
“Maybe this won’t work out long term, maybe it will— I don’t know,” Sine started to speak again. “I know it won’t be easy but I’m willing to give it a try if you are, I mean worst case we just agree it doesn’t work and go our separate ways. I know that this might be a little taboo still so I don’t want to press anything if it’s not what either of you wants. I just figured that maybe it was worth giving it a try.”
"Okay,” Ink paused for a moment. "So let’s assume this works, we go to the next level and start some long-term relationship, we spend some time together… and I dunno. Maybe we fool around and somewhere along the way there’s a foal in the picture. How’s that going to work out? Is that something we want? Something we need?”
“I’ve never thought about being a parent,” Sine shrugged. “But if that’s what this heads towards, it’s something we’d need to talk about sooner rather than later. I wouldn’t be opposed to it if that’s what you’re looking for… so what are your thoughts?”
Another long silence followed, though based on the other two’s reactions, it wasn’t necessarily headed in a bad direction much to Sine’s relief.
“I’d be okay raising a foal together,” Zipper replied, breaking yet another silence. “But uhh… maybe not for a while.”
“Obviously,” Sine nodded. “And what about you, Ink? Is that something you’d want someday?”
“Maybe? But this whole thing… it’s kind of a stigma back home. I'm just giving you fair warning.”
“But we’re not in Riverview,” Sine replied. “This is the Oasis and here we have the chance to change the world and make something new. I know that’s a lot to say, but this place is bigger than a lot of other night pony centric cities on the west coast. Sure, it’s not Riverview, but it’s not tiny either. At the end of the day this isn’t anyone else’s choice but yours, so what do you want going forward? What would make you the happiest?”
Ink Rose sat and considered it for a while before smirking. “I wouldn’t be against starting a family someday. However, I’ve never had this kind of relationship before, so it’s kind of hard to say what kind of things I’d want just yet.”
“Of course,” Sine replied. “I know this is a big thing to just drop on you two. I just wanted to be fair and give my thoughts on it. I know it’s a lot to think about right now. I mean this is a lot to plan out for the future, you know?”
“We don’t need to plan it all out at once,” Ink replied. “And to be very honest, if it was anyone else other than you suggesting something like this then I’d probably shy away from it all together.”
“So you’re open to the idea?” Sine asked. “Of is making our own herd that is.”
“It’s a lot to take in, but if we go slow I think I’d be okay with it.”
“That’s all I’m really suggesting,” Sine nodded. “If we do this, we could give it a try and just see where it goes, and if it doesn’t work out then maybe it just wasn’t meant to be.”
“What about you, Zipper? What are your thoughts on all of this?” Ink asked as she laid a wing over Sine’s back.
“Yeah, what about you, bird brain?” Sine looked at him.
Zipper trotted up next to her and sat down. “It’s a lot for me too,” he replied. “I’m still learning who I am, what I’m comfortable with… but I know I trust you two a lot more than most other ponies,” he offered reassuringly, gently laying a wing over the mare as well. “So I wouldn’t mind giving it a try if you don’t. I mean we’re already the outcasts right? Who cares if we do this?”
Sine nodded, leaning into the mutual embrace and remaining silent for a few long moments. Finally a smile started to spread across her face. “You two really are some of the best ponies I’ve ever met. As crazy as our introductions were.”
“I like you too,” Ink replied. “It's hard to say where this is going to go, but it feels nice.”
“Me too,” Zipper nuzzled up next to the pair. “So what does this make us now?”
“Well,” Sine started. “I don’t really know yet, but I’d love to find out together. I know it’s not going to be easy, and maybe it doesn’t last long.”
“Or maybe it does,” Zipper smirked. “I guess we’ll just have to see what happens.”
“I guess so,” Sine smiled. “Thank you both for understanding and not being weirded out.”
“Thank you for being real with us,” Zipper replied. “It means a lot to me.”
“It means a lot to me too,” Ink Rose nodded. “It’s not easy finding ponies I trust, so maybe it’s a good thing we stick together.”
“Whatever happens, I’m just happy I can be with you two,” she breathed a loud sigh of relief as she finally started to relax. “I can’t tell you how many years this conversation shaved off my life, but it’s like I got a huge weight off my chest.”
“I bet,” Zipper laughed.
Ink rose chuckled and shook her head. “I love you guys, I really do.
With her true emotions laid out, Sine felt at peace. She truly didn’t know whether this kind of relationship would work out, but she knew she’d regret it if she hadn’t said how she honestly felt. For a pony who rarely made close connections, Sine couldn’t have been any happier to have made the two close friends that she had, and she was more than excited to see what the future would have in store for all three of them.