A non dream walker’s dreams were always strange… or at least that was the conclusion that Sine Wave had long come to. Despite there being no fundamental differences between them and the dreams of ponies who were granted that ability, something about the chaotic structure of a sleeping mind’s dream felt uncanny and borderline unnatural. Zipper’s dream was no different in that regard, and even though its narrative was very much rooted in its dreamer’s interests, it was clear that this was the dream of a dreamer who had rarely, if ever, dreamwalked. As she trotted through the twisted landscape resembling a bizarre carnival sideshow, she couldn’t help but stare at the missing gaps in the dream; gaps that simply existed because there was simply no reason for the detail to otherwise be filled in.
This would hopefully change sooner than later, and this is why Sine had ventured into her new companion’s dream after all. If their unconventional relationship were to stand the test of time then they’d need an avenue to better spend time together in, and the dream realm would serve as just that. The idea had been Ink’s, though it was Sine who had reached out to the dreamwardens, which was probably for the best. It wasn’t as if there would be any red tape to fight through or anything that really required Sine’s unrelenting tenacity, but with Ink Rose being less than thrilled at the prospect of conversing with the wardens, Sine was the most equipped for the task.
As she neared the open-sided tent she immediately zeroed in on Zipper, who was dressed up in a goofy ring leader outfit and was standing up on a stage looking over the whole sideshow. Nonsensical music filled the air, and Zipper danced along to it in a goofy fashion that was not at all out of character for him. The sight alone brought a smile to her face, and despite his lack of consciousness awareness, she already knew that she’d be teasing him about this for days.
As much as she wanted to sit and watch the dream unfold, there were other more important tasks to be done and only so much time to do them before they’d miss their window of opportunity. Letting out a laugh, she gently flew up toward his perch and shook her head. With another laugh, Sine gently touched Zipper’s shoulder with a hoof, making the gray pegasus aware of the dream around him.
“Rise and shine Bird Brain, we’ve got stuff to do.”
Zipper paused for a moment and began to look across the strange carnival that made up his dream. He looked around with a confused look on his face before his gaze finally landed on the night pony. "Sine? Is this…”
She nodded. “Yep, you’re dreaming.”
He let out a small breath. “I’m never going to get used to this, it’s just so…”
“Real?” Sine offered.
“Kinda?” he shrugged. “it just feels so weird. It’s like we’re really here but we’re not.”
“You’ll get used to it, trust me. And if you can’t then me and Ink will be there to help you get the hang of it.”
“Thanks Sine… So where’s Ink?”
“She’s waiting back in her dream, and you’re gonna help us get there when we get you set up.”
“I’m going to get us there?” Zipper raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah, trust me. It’s gonna come naturally to you. You’ve already got such a creative imagination so I think you’re more than set.”
“How do I even do this then? Is it like… do I say some magic words or something?”
“Well, first we’ll have to call a warden over. I don’t know who’s going to show up, but I’m going to try for Phobia. She’s a little scary but trust me, you don’t want to meet some of the alternatives. This’ll hopefully be the only time you’ll ever see them.”
Zipper nervously gulped. “Why is that not reassuring?”
“Because it probably isn’t,” Sine laughed. “You’ll just have to wait and see it, I guess there’s really no way to truly be prepared for it, but trust me, they won’t hurt you or anything.”
“I trust you.”
“So are you ready then? You can still back out of this if you really don’t want it, if you’re nervous or anxious then Ink and I can just dreamwalk to you.”
“No, I’m good,” he said with a confident nod. “I know how important this is to you, even if I don’t really understand it.”
“Okay,” Sine paused for a moment, looking back toward her stallionfriend and then toward the sky above them. “I call upon Phobia Remedy, Warden of Fear. I have a friend that is requesting the ability to dream walk.”
At first nothing happened, and then all of the light suddenly faded out of the dream as if something had simply sucked it all away, leaving an inky black void surounding them. From the darkness formed an ethereal cloud lit by an unnatural light and swirled with the souls of the damned. Lightning began to flash and thunder boomed all around, shaking both Sine and Zipper to their very core, though Sine was understandably unphased by this kind of thing. Finally from the center of the mass appeared two night pony-like eyes that no doubt seemed to gaze directly into Zipper’s soul, giving him more than ample reason to shiver in fear.
“Is that so?” the loud voice from the nightmarish entity boomed in response.
If Zipper was afraid then he was doing a surprisingly good job of hiding it. Nonetheless he still nervously nodded in reply. “I… yeah, if it means I can spend more time with Sine and Ink, then I’ll do it.”
The entity didn’t break it’s soul-piercing gaze, though replied back in a less frightening manner than before. “If I grant you this ability you’ll be subject to our rules, are you willing to accept that?”
“Of course,” Zipper replied, as he anxiously glanced over to Sine, who flashed him a confident smile. Seemingly bolstered by the fact that Sine wasn’t frightened at all, he nodded his head again. “Just uhh… lay 'em on me.”
The form didn’t shift or move in any way that would have implied an acknowledgement, instead the eyes simply blinked back at him before the Warden of Fear spoke up again.
“Very well, the rules are simple; You will never use dreamwalking to deliberately hurt another pony. Only the Dreamwardens dispense justice in the dreamscape, and it is not your place to seek out vengeance here.
you will never use information that you learn in a pony's dreams against them. Dreams can often show you a pony’s deepest vulnerabilities and it is your obligation to respect such secrets. Any information given or gained within a dream should be treated as a solemn secret unless you are otherwise given the allowance to share it.”
As Sine watched on, she couldn’t have been any more proud of Zipper for keeping his mouth shut. While it’s true he had taken great care to not be as brash and obnoxious as he had once been before, he still had the habit of interrupting in conversations. While she knew that Phobia likely wouldn’t punish him for disrespect as other wardens might, it was still for the best that Zipper was intently listening to everything being said.
“Three,” Phobia continued. “Your natural talent for understanding animals grants you a low degree of passive mind magic. Should it develop into a more active ability, you shall never use it in a malicious way to mind control or cause harm to anyone. Such an act should be reviled and will be met with punishment.
Last but not least, you will respect the Dreamwardens, our authority, and understand that violating these rules will result in consequences that you may not wish to experience.
Those are the rules, do you agree with them yes or no?”
Zipper nervously gulped, looking toward Sine before giving a quick nod. “I… yes, I agree.”
“Very well. Zipper, I hereby grant you the ability to dreamwalk. Keep mind of the rules and be sure to follow them at all times without question. Failure to do so will result in your banishment from the dream realm or worse.”
The last line was clearly meant to be more of an idle threat than anything, though understandably it was still something that Phobia still had to emphasize.
Given no further prompting, Zipper looked around for a moment, clearly expecting something more. “It’s just that easy?” He replied with a confused look.
“It is,” Phobia replied. “Your companions can probably answer any further questions, unless there’s a reason for me to stay here.”
Sine Wave shook her head. “I can take it from here. Thank you so much for doing this for us, it means a lot more than you probably realize.”
The entity naturally couldn’t nod given her nightmarish form, but with the more intense part of the interaction out of the way her voice dropped into a more normal and less booming tone. “I have a good enough idea, mixed schedule couples are fairly rare after all.”
“Well, thanks anyways,” Zipper stammered out, evidently caught off guard by the sudden tonal shift. “It was nice to meet you miss uhh… Phobia. You’re not nearly as scary as Sine made you out to be.”
“You wanted scary?” The Warden of Fear replied back with an almost playful tone.
Sine Wave quickly cut her off. "No, no I think we’re good,” she looked toward Zipper. "Trust me on this Zippy.”
Without further comment the warden vanished, leaving the pair alone once more. Sine let out a small happy sounding sigh as she pulled Zipper into a tight hug. "You know, this is going to be so much fun, I mean now we can all dreamwalk together.”
“Can we? I mean I still have no idea how this all works.”
“Don’t worry about it. What’s important is that Ink and I can dreamwalk to you when you’re asleep now, Silver’s been tutoring me and showing me how to do that while I’m awake, which means that we’ll never have to be so far apart.”
“Doesn’t that you know… get tiring?” Zipper asked
“Only if I do it for a long time, but the more time we can all spend together, the better. Even if it’s only a few extra minutes each night.”
“It really means that much to you guys?”
“Of course,” she replied with a happy nod. “Gives us all more time to geek out about nerdy stuff together.”
“I… I guess you have a point there.”
She let out a laugh. “Of course I do, you and Ink are the biggest retro nerds in the Oasis. If we spend more time together we’ll just build up our strength, you know?”
Zipper broke the embrace and snuggled up next to the mare. “It feels like there’s so much to learn…”
“Oh there is, but let’s just take it one step at a time.”
He perked up. “Kinda like a tutorial. eh?”
She nodded. “Exactly like one. Now you’ll probably have some trouble getting the hang of this at first, it’s kinda hard for regular ponies to get used to taking control over a dream. So I guess for now I’ll just pull you from it or have Ink do that too. But next time you go to bed, think about what you’re going to dream and what you’re going to do before you actually fall asleep, hopefully that’ll help you remember when you’re actually here.”
“That’s going right over my head Sine…”
“Don’t worry,” she laughed. “It always does. You’ll get it eventually, even if we need to help you out until then.”
Zipper smiled. “You guys are the best, you know that right?”
“Of course I do. That’s why we’re here together,” she gave him a quick kiss. “Now how about I show you how to find your way to Ink. It’ll be like one big game of dream tag.”
“Sounds fun, so what do I have to do?”
“Well I’m going to run around different dreams and you have to try to follow me. Just picture me in your mind and if it works then you’ll be able to follow me. Once you do that a few times then I’m going to have you reach out to Ink and do the same.”
“What do I think of?”
“You tell me,” Sine laughed. “What do you like about me? What do you see in your head when you see me and we spend time together? Think about stuff like what I sound like, what my personality is like, all the times we spend together in that back room— that sorta stuff.”
“That sounds complicated.”
“Mhmm, it is,” she jumped up and booped him on the muzzle. “Which is why we’re making it fun. So tag, you’re it!”
Before Zipper could reply she was off, leaving him behind in his dream, a confident smirk coming across his face as he closed his eyes and took off toward the nearest star that had appeared in front of him.
Zipper continued to chase the mare through another bright star, skipping from dream to dream in rapid succession, carefully focusing on her so he wouldn’t fall behind… again. This was definitely a work out, but he finally felt as if he was getting the hang of it, even if she was making it easy for him to follow behind. That was one of the things he liked about the night pony. As temperamental as she could get when she hadn’t had enough sleep, she was caring and kind the rest of the time. She cared a lot about the ponies and hobbies she was interested in, and had definitely made that clear tonight.
As frustrating as it was to get lost in someone else’s dream, Sine had made sure that Zipper didn’t feel overwhelmed, and had helped guide him along and offer advice on how to make things easier. It was something that made the whole situation a lot easier to understand to the uninitiated pegasus, and as strange as it all felt, he was already starting to feel at ease in the dream realm. He knew he’d never really feel at home there, at least not like Sine, Ink, and the other night ponies did, but he at least felt a little more comfortable there.
After what felt like hours, but had probably been a lot less, Zipper finally landed in a final dream, something Sine a Wave had no doubt put together. The dream definitely had her name written all over it. Without really knowing or wanting to ask the question, Zipper could only assume that the dreams they had both ran through were good reflections of the ponies dreaming them.
“Something you made Sine?”
She shook her head. "You my friend, have finally mastered the ability to hop into another familiar pony’s dream.”
“How’s our new dreamwalker been doing, Sine?” Came the voice of Ink Rose.
“It only took him a few dozen tries, but I think he’s starting to get the hang of it now.
Zipper shrugged. "I… I did? It just felt like I was jumping over to your dream.”
“What you did was follow her to mine,” Ink clarified. “It’s kind of like Sine was your waypoint and you were able to pinpoint where she was.”
Zipper still seemed confused. “That’s… I guess an interesting way to put it. I guess it’s just weird to me still?”
“Oh that’s not weird at all,” Sine smiled. "You felt it was my dream before you got here, right?”
“Kinda… it’s like I got this feeling that I only feel when I’m with you, or think of you.”
“Which is a good sign. That’s how you work your way around here, and once you get to spent more time with Ink and I you’ll start to pick it up even faster. We can go meet up with Silver, Scarlet and Phoenix some other time, just so you can get an even better feeling of how familiar dreams feel.”
“I’m guessing that they feel different?”
“Every dream will. Lovers, friends, family— those are the dreams that are most familiar though, and the sooner you get a feel for them, the easier it’ll be to find that dreamer when you’re here.”
“So if I’m ever lost I can find my way back,” Zipper finished.
“Exactly! Maybe you’re not as much of a bird brain after all. There’s some weird stuff that gets complicated too, like Silver’s dream hangout place. I’ll definitely have to show you around there sometime, but for now you’re doing really good.”
The three ponies wandered through the futuristic cityscape that made up Ink Rose’s dream, the bright neon on the buildings reflecting off of the murky rain puddles around them. Everything about this place seemed so real to Zipper, but at the same time it all felt off, as if he was just a ghost in the world and not actually there. Sine Wave had said this was normal for him, because he wasn’t used to dream walking, but no matter how hard he tried he still couldn’t get used to the feeling.
“I gotta say, you did good so far Bird Brain. Better than I thought you would. I only had to go find you, what, seven or eight times?” Sine Wave teased him from the couch she had summoned.
“Six,” he replied back.
“Hey six isn’t bad, especially for a first time dream walker,” Ink smiled. “So what do you think so far? Think you’ll spend more time here with us? Or do you want to go back to your regular dreams?”
The pegasus scratched his head for a moment. “It’s weird. But a good kind of weird I think.”
“Is that a yes or a no, Bird Brain?” Sine cut in.
“I think it’s a yes,” he said with a smirk. “but I hope you know that I’m going to be the kind of stallion you’ll have to show around more than once.”
“Doesn’t sound like a problem to me,” Ink Rose smiled. “It just means we get to spend more time together.”
“That’s more than fine by me,” Zipper nodded. “So what’s next? More hide and seek?”
Sine shook her head. "I was thinking of something more along the lines of cuddling up withyou two and relaxing for a bit. As much as I’d love to go on some big adventure, you’re still new to this and I don’t want you burning yourself out yet.”
“But we’re asleep, can’t we like do anything we want here?”
“Not quite,” Ink Rose answered. “At least not for normal ponies. Night ponies can do some crazy stuff because that’s how our magic works, you’re only able to dreamwalk in here.”
“Plus you’re still new to it,” Sine added. “I’m willing to bet that you’re going to wake up feeling exhausted even though you’ve been sleeping this whole time, just because your mind isn’t used to it.”
“So I’m going to be tired when I wake up?” He asked with a grimace.
Sine shook her head. “Not physically, but you’ll probably feel like you’ve been awake all night, because you kind of have been in a way.”
“And you promise I’ll get used to this?”
“Of course, would I lie to you Bird Brain?”
“Maybe?”
“Maybe? You wanna run that by me again?” Sine retorted back with a playful accusatory tone.
“Oh alright. No, you wouldn’t. I trust you. It’s just all so new to me.”
“And you’ll get used to it, trust us on this.” Sine Wave nuzzled up next to him. “Now how about we take it easy for a bit and just relax,” she patted the spot next to her. "Sit down, I don’t bite.”
Zipper nodded and took a seat next to Sine, nuzzling up next to her. "Can I tell you guys something?”
“Go for it Zip,” Ink nodded as she cuddled up next to Zipper and Sine.
“I’m actually really glad we did this. I knew it’d be hard to make this work, but this makes it so much easier.”
“I’m glad we did too bird brain. Like I told you when we started, it’s not going to be a cake walk, but I’m willing to try to make it work if you are, and I’m glad we can spend time together like this.”
“Everything you’ve done means a lot to me. The arcade, just spending time with me, being awesome all around… everything. You guys are the first ponies I’ve met that I feel like I can really understand. I know we’re still figuring things out and seeing where they go, but I really do love you two.”
Sine and Ink both cuddled up next to him, and after a short while, Sine spoke up. “I love you too, bird brain and all.”
“Me too Zip, it’s nice feeling like I can just be myself. I didn’t realize it before, but I was hiding a lot of myself in the past and it really means a lot that I can just do my own thing and be me.”
The trio could have continued dream hopping, but for now they were more than content to just relax together.
Back in the waking world, the trio sat in front of the now assembled cabinet that Sine had been working on for the last couple of weeks. It hadn’t been an easy task getting it put together and moved out of their back room, but with some trial and error, and help from their newly hired barista, they had managed to get it moved into place. Java had left them to return to his own endeavors at the cafe, leaving the trio to playtest the new game one final time before they officially opened for the evening.
And playtest it they did. It had only taken Sine a few minutes to get it all plugged in and booted up, and before long the vintage screen had flickered to life, displaying the custom title screen that Sine had worked so hard on. The rest of their time had flown by in an instant as they started to play, with Zipper excitedly following along as Sine navigated through the levels she had spent so much time crafting, levels that hopefully the arcade’s clientele would enjoy. This would be the ultimate test to see whether her dream would work or not, and she couldn’t be more excited for the evening opening.
“Wow you really worked the kinks out of this level, it doesn’t crash when you get to the core with the cyberpony boss anymore,” Zipper cheerfully exclaimed.
“Yeah that was a nightmare to get worked out. Programming is still kind of a pain in the ass, even with the gauntlets but I think I did a pretty good job if I say so myself. Ink’s writing also helped a ton.”
“That’s the power of collaboration,” Ink smiled.
“You both did a great job,” Zipper nodded. “So do you think it’s all finished then?”
“As finished as it’s going to get,” Sine Shrugged. “I know it’s a glorified ROM hack, but I think it was a good proof of concept and I definitely learned a lot from it.”
“And now it’s just a matter of getting ponies to play it.” Ink concluded.
“More or less,” Sine agreed. “and then the real fun can begin.”
“Ooh, what kind of fun?” Zipper asked.
“The see what works and what doesn’t so we can make something really awesome kind of fun,” Sine confidently replied.
“I like the sound of that. I know ponies are going to just love your games.”
“Hopefully, if this takes off then I think we’ll be in a good place for a while.”
“Good thing you’ve got a nice solid testing field for it now,” Ink smiled.
“And I can thank Zipper and Spring for that. Maybe not Spring as much, but she still had a hoof in this.”
It was now Zipper’s turn to add to the quips. “And I can thank you for making this whole thing a reality, we wouldn’t have been able to open it without your machines.”
“Our machines,” Sine corrected.
“Our machines?”
“Mhmm,” she smiled. "You might be the defacto owner, but we’re in this together. You, me, and Ink.”
“And Spring… but I guess she’s really only here for the sanctuary stuff.”
“Which is perfectly fine by me. This can be our little pet project while you work on your passion project.”
“I think this might turn into a passion too,” Zipper admitted. “It’s already been such a big project, and I’m excited to see where it goes.”
“Me too,” Ink Rose replied. “This could really become a big thing for us.”
Zipper glanced down at his gauntlet. “We should probably start getting stuff set up outside. I know we have a few hours left, but it’s gonna catch up quickly.”
“That’s probably a good idea,” Sine agreed.
“Wanna join us, or keep debugging?” Ink asked.
“Why don’t you two get started and I’ll pop out in a bit.”
“That sounds good,” Zipper smiled.
The prepwork itself was a lot simpler than Zipper had anticipated. Most of the hard work had been done weeks ago inside, and in terms of outside work, there was just a microphone to set up with some speakers, and the permanent sign that was due to be installed that day.
They’re cutting it a little close, Zipper thought as he glanced down at his gauntlet again. Ink Rose had gone back to watch Sine work on her game more, and even though it wasn’t necessary, Zipper had decided to sit by the door and wait.
“Greetings programs!” Came a voice from behind him, as if on cue.
Feeling a rush of excitement course through him, Zipper turned toward a dark blue night pony with a purple mane who was standing in the doorway. A small smile spread across his face as he slowly stood up from his place. “Stardust?”
“In the flesh,” the night pony replied back. “Sorry I didn’t give you more of an advanced notice, I kinda fell asleep on the ride over here and my assistant didn’t wake me up sooner.”
“Couldn’t you just do that dream walking thing? Sine’s been teaching me more about it.”
The night pony shook his head. "It doesn’t exactly work that way. Unless you’re like Silver or one of the other night ponies we ran into, you can’t usually visit someone’s dream while they’re awake.”
“But you just said you could do that with Silver.”
Stardust nodded. “Right. Silver figured out how to set up a dream space in his subconscious mind. He’s been teaching all of us how to do that but we haven’t lucked out yet.”
“I can give you the rundown tonight, Bird Brain,” Sine added.
“Right… I guess I still have a lot to learn,” Zipper looked out the open door and then back to the night pony. “So I’m guessing the stuff’s all done?”
“Yep, the guys are working on it now. It wasn’t easy to get it loaded in but thankfully I had a couple of friends that I could Shanghai into helping me.”
“Can we take a look at it?” Zipper cheerfully asked.
“Mhmm, they’re still unloading it and it’ll take a little bit of time to install, but you’re free to watch if you want. I can’t promise it’ll be all that entertaining though.”
Zipper nodded and called over to Sine and Ink. “Hey guys, the sign’s here. You wanna go take a look at it?”
Sine smiled and called back. “Not really, but if you really need me to come along I can.”
“Ditto,” Ink replied.
“Nah, that’s fine,” Zipper shrugged. “I know how the sun bothers you guys anyways. Besides, it’ll be better when it’s all lit up at night.”
Sine nodded. “Sounds like a plan then. I’m going to debug this a little more, just give me a holler when it’s all done, okay?”
“Of course,” Zipper replied back with a smile.
Zipper began to follow the dark blue night pony, giving Sine and Ink one last goodbye embrace.
The sun’s golden light shining over the entire Oasis made him smile as he trotted out. Already the night pony’s crew was hard at work attaching the sign to the building and Zipper couldn’t be any more excited.
“So what do you think, Zipper? Is it everything you had hoped for?”
The pegasus sat in silence for a few moments before embracing the night pony in a tight hug, catching him off guard. “It’s perfect! I mean it’s everything I wanted and more! When can we turn it on?!”
The night pony let out a nervous laugh. "Glad you like it… now uh, mind letting me breathe?”
The pegasus flashed him an embarrassed look and nodded. “I uhh… yeah, sorry about that, guess I just got a little overexcited.”
“It’s fine It’s honestly flattering that you like it so much. As for when it’ll be on, wait maybe ten or so minutes? My guys are just finishing up the install, then we can test it all out. That work for you?”
Zipper nodded. "Absolutely!”
“Great!” He cheered back. “Now I noticed that you had a coffee stand in there, mind if I go grab some?”
“Oh yeah, not at all. Java brews the best coffee in the arcade… I mean he’s the only one brewing it there, but he’s still the best!”
“Right, well lead on, friend.”
The Cyberbat Starcade
It was finally time… Grand Opening!
Zipper looked up at the sign and excitedly buzzed his wings as Sine continued to hype up the small, but energized crowd that had gathered outside the arcade. It had felt like months had gone by, but it had only been a couple of weeks. In that time, however, the trio of outcasts had grown even closer together, and despite the worries and fears that Sine had brought up, things were going as smoothly as they possibly could.
“Zipper you’re on,” Ink Rose tapped him with a wing, shaking his daydream apart and making the loud cheers of the crowd even louder.
“Huh? Oh my gosh, It’s time!” He cheered.
“You’re up bird brain,” Sine smirked as she hopped over to the side where he was standing. “You’ve got this.”
Together, the trio trotted closer to the entrance, though Ink and Sine stayed back. Zipper was the public face for this project after all, at least when it came to the regular operations. Whether it was just pure coincidence or good luck, Sine had managed to generate a fair amount of buzz online through her prototype game, and her carefully planned timing now meant that the opening day crowds contained ponies from outside the Oasis.
Zipper nervously cleared his throat and walked up to the microphone that Blue Spring had helped him set up earlier and smiled. “Good morning everyone! Are you guys as excited as I am?”
A loud cheer and many hoops and hollers were enough of an answer as any, and at that moment his nerves steadied.
“That’s great to hear! You guys are in for such a treat!” he cheered back to the crowd. As he looked around he saw both familiar and unfamiliar faces, bringing forward strong emotions that threatened to make him cry in joy. “I know it’s sappy, but I can’t tell you how much this means to me. He glanced back towards his two companions and smirked. “For all my life I’ve felt like an outcast, but that changed when this project started. I learned a lot about myself, strengthened bonds with the few friends I had, and made some of the closest bonds I’ve ever had with some new friends… even if there were a few ups and downs.”
The crowd was mostly silent, but it wasn’t for lack of interest. A frighteningly large amount of eyes remained transfixed on the young pegasus, and their silence almost seemed to urge him on.
“I have a lot of big dreams— I guess that’s a blessing and a curse sometimes,” Zipper laughed, being joined by a few others in the crowd. As things settled down more he looked over towards Blue Spring and River Breeze. “This arcade started as a small fundraising project for something even bigger— something I hope we’ll get to share soon someday too. But even though this wasn’t meant to be a big project, it quickly picked up steam and grew a whole life of it’s own, and I couldn’t have done it without the hard work of my friends.”
He waved down to the two friends in the audience. “I know they’re not a big part of the arcade, but I can’t thank Blue Spring and River Breeze enough. They helped me figure out stuff for this and I don’t think I would have gotten as far as I did without their help,” He looked back towards his two companions and waved them over. “I owe a lot to Sine Wave and Ink Rose too. This arcade is just as much of Sine’s baby as it is mine, and we wouldn’t even be opening today without her help.”
Sine gave both Zipper and Ink a hug and then took hold of the mic again. “You know, I don’t care about a lot of things, and for me this was just another way to put my collection to good use. I didn’t think an arcade could be something big here, and I didn’t need it to be either. This place became an interesting crossroads for day and night ponies, and probably even humans too. For anyone who doesn’t know, that’s kind of unusual. It doesn’t seem like such a big deal, but when you look at the kind of rep that night ponies get in places like Riverview and Lazy Pines, it stands out a lot. This might just be a fun place to relax and decompress in now, but who knows, maybe someday it’ll be the kind of thing that inspires others, and maybe it’s good that night ponies can have a place of their own to feel normal in?”
The significance of what Sine was saying was no doubt lost on everyone who hadn’t experienced even a shred of the societal drama that night ponies like Ink Rose had faced, but in her heart she hoped that it could be a way to breed a better sense of community and belonging. That naturally wouldn’t solve every single problem. Though perhaps if she and her companions could show what was possible with some creativity then maybe night ponies wouldn’t just be known for being the aggressive tribe with a gender imbalance bad enough to cause regular fighting. That was another issue in itself, an issue that wouldn’t be solved for a very long time. But she didn’t need this to solve every problem, just paving the way for a more accepting and kind society would be more than enough to make her happy.
Sine’s half-tattooed wings would always be a bitter reminder that there were things that some night ponies would treat as a sacred tradition that shouldn’t dare be disrespected, but for now, they’d have to serve as her motivation to be the change she wanted to see in the world… as much of a target as they painted on her back.
She gestured for Zipper to take his place at the mic once more, and with a gleeful smile the stallion trotted up to it. “I know this got really sappy and kinda emotional, but it does mean a lot to all of us. So I guess I’ll just wrap this all up with another thank you… to everyone who helped us, to everyone who showed up today, and to everyone who feels like sharing this place with others. I guess if no one else has anything to say, then I think it’s time to officially open up! Welcome everyone, to the Cyberbat Starcade!”
The crowd erupted into a burst of cheers, and as cheesy as it was, Zipper, Sine Wave, and Ink Rose came together to cut the ribbon that ran across the doors. With a bow, Zipper waved towards the door and the first official guests began to make their way in.
Silver lazily trotted into the arcade, smiling as the upbeat rock music flowed through his ears. The sights, sounds— all of it filled him with this deep nostalgic feeling that brought fond memories of him spending time in an old arcade with his dad.
He looked around, catching sight of the pegasus playing a game with Sine Wave and the other new night pony who had moved to the Oasis recently. A smirk stretched across his face as he slowly trotted up to the trio, pausing and clearing his throat.
“So this is the arcade that everyone’s been talking about, eh?”
Zipper snapped around and greeted Silver with a nervous expression. "Silver I uhh… how’s it going?”
“I’m good… everything okay Zipper? You seem a little nervous.”
“I just uhh…” he nervously glanced over to Sine who simply shrugged, and then back toward Silver. “I… to tell you the truth, I was afraid of what you’d think. I know you were working on budget stuff until we got the whole management team figured out, and I thought you’d shut this down.”
Silver laughed. "Shut it down? I think you’ve done something really awesome here.”
“I have?!” Zipper’s eyes flashed open. "I mean yeah! I just wanted to make something that everyone could enjoy here, there’s not really a lot of places you can just hang out at.”
Silver absentmindedly laid a hoof across the joystick on the nearby Pac-Man cabinet, smiling as the game cycled through its display mode. "And I have to hand it to you, it seems like you’ve done a good job of giving them something to do.”
“Wait, I have?”
“Mhmm. You’ve got a cafe, an arcade, and you’re even working on that sanctuary idea if the banner outside is anything to go by. Kinda seems like you have the makings of a whole little entertainment district here. And one that might even be a good educational opportunity…”
“I… well, I guess that was the idea in the end.”
“Well, consider me, Scarlet, and Orion your three newest regular customers.”
Zipper’s face lit up in glee. "You really mean it?!”
Silver nodded. "Of course! We need somewhere to unwind and as much as I’m sure Orion would love it, we can’t afford to make weekly Disneyland trips.”
Zipper jumped up and pulled Silver into a tight hug. "Thank you so much! I’m gonna have Sine set you up with all the free play you could ever want, and Orion can even try out the new games early!”
Silver awkwardly fidgeted around. "I… thanks Zip. I know it might not mean much, but I’m proud of you. You’ve come a long way, and I know you’re going to do great things… Now uh, can you let go of me? Kinda getting awkward here.”
The pegasus quickly released Silver from his tight bear hug, giving back an embarrassed. "I’m sorry!” And earning an amused laugh from Sine Wave.
Time would tell whether the arcade would be a success, and how far the sanctuary would get in it’s construction, but the more that Zipper worked, the more he felt as if he was getting to know the real him, and even if it took many years to pull off, he knew he’d be happy. He might have been an outcast, and probably always would be, but being himself with the ponies he loved was more precious than any short-term wish-fulfillment could ever be. As hard as it was at times, in an odd way he felt as if he had found who he truly was in the company of other outcasts.