That weekend, I got some equipment together, and waited outside my lab. I knew Geo would like to get his mind off the coming trial, so I thought a little game was in order. I had been planning this game for months, and I even built a structure dedicated to it. I was so certain Geo and John would like this little surprise I set up for them, so with a smile, I waited for Geo and John, looking for them to come over the hill between my lab and Ponyville. When I finally saw them, I grinned wide, and gave an enthusiastic wave. “Hay guyz!” I called.
They both waved back, coming over to me. “Hey, Doctor.” John said. “I hope you don’t mind, but I invited Applejack over. She said she’d like to see the game you have planned.”
“Game?” Geo asked, looking over at John. “What kind of game are we talking about? You told me yesterday that I can get my shot at revenge.” He looked back at me.
“John, I don’t mind if Applejack comes over, and yes Geo, you will get your chance.” I told them, adjusting my goggles so that they were now over my face. “Trust me, you’re gonna love it.”
“ACEYYYYYYYYYYY!” Suddenly, the winds echoed out with the angry voice of Pinkie Pie. Before I had the chance to panic, I was tackled to the ground in a flash of pink. When my vision cleared, Pinkie Pie was standing on top of me, glaring at me with the flames of Tartarus burning in her eyes. She was breathing heavily, and fogging up my goggles. “HOW COULD YOU!?” She shouted, causing me to put my hands in front of my face.
“What?!WhatdidIdo?!” I exclaimed quickly.
“Don’t play like you’re innocent, Acey!” She shouted at me. “You know what you did!” She began tearing up. “I…I thought we were an item! I thought we’d be together forever!” She said, sniffling, and angry tears streaming down her face.
I was lost, confused, and above all, worried. Did I do something wrong? My mind went over everything that occurred between us, and every memory I had with or involving Pinkie was a happy one. It was all flashing before my eyes, and I didn’t think I’d be able to salvage this.
“Now, hold on a sec, Sugarcube.” Applejack’s voice rang out. “Now ah understand that yer upset with ‘im, but ahm sure he’s got a might good reason fer not tellin’ ya! It’s nothin’ ta get yer knickers in a bunch over, so give ‘em a chance to explain.” My goggles thoroughly fogged up, I couldn’t see anything, but as soon as Pinkie’s weight was off my body, I sat up, and raised my goggles so I could see. I saw Pinkie still glaring at me, on the verge of tears, Applejack comforting her, and trying to calm her down, Rainbow Dash, folding her arms, and treating me with an equally harsh glare, Fluttershy, with her as always unreadable expression, and Twilight and Rarity both looking on with concern. I thought again, and I still couldn’t come up with anything that I might’ve done wrong. I tell her everything, if I think she would like to know, but nothing came up that she would be offended over.
“Uh, may I ask what this is about?” I asked, confusion crossing my face.
“Oh, don’t act like you don’t know!” Pinkie shouted, as she began sobbing.
I went over the facts for a third time, and still came up with nothing. “Uh, yes Pat. I’d like to buy a vowel?” I said, waving a hand over my head. “I still don’t understand what you’re upset at me for.”
All the ponies turned to Applejack, who looked like she was reading my expression. She sighed, and stepped towards me. “Alright, Sugercube, let me fill ya in.” She said. “Pinkie don’t think you like her no more. Ah told her that you invited John over to play a new game, and she thought, since y’all didn’t invite her, that ya didn’t want her around.”
Poker face. For a long moment, I blinked awkwardly towards my audience, giving time for my brain to reboot. “What?!” I finally exclaimed, in an annoyed voice. “Ah-bah-dah-dah, What?!” This was the most ridiculous thing I had ever heard, and I said so. “That’s the most ridiculous thing I ever heard!” I looked over to Pinkie. “Pinks, just because I don’t invite you to a game, it doesn’t mean I don’t wanna be your coltfriend anymore!” I told her.
“Then why didn’t you invite me!?” She responded with hostility.
“Because I didn’t think you’d like a game where you’d have to shoot me with a gun!” I shouted.
Suddenly, silence. It was everyone else’s turn to have a poker face. It was Geo who broke the silence. “Damn, doc. I’m not that angry with you over the prank.” He said.
I shook my head. “No, Geo, you don’t…” I rubbed my eyes. “Let me get the equipment.” I got up, and went over to a cart that had the equipment for the game. They were vests and hats adorned with lights and sensors, and with toy weapons attached to them. I took the one with the attached pistol, and put it on. I strolled back over to the group, activating a switch on my vest, and holding an annoyed expression on my face. “It’s laser tag.” I said, holding up the pistol. “You take a completely nonlethal laser gun, and shoot at your opponent. If you’re hit…” I pointed the laser pistol at myself, and pulled the trigger. The lights on my vest blinked, and a corny explosion crackled from the speakers on it. “That’s all that’s going on. I remembered how much you, John, and I loved playing each other in First Person Shooters back in our world, but since you kinda broke the PS3, I figured we could have an In Real Life Free For All deathmatch.” I turned to Pinkie, and sighed. “I’m really sorry, Pinks. But I didn’t know if you’d like this game. At the same time, I know for a fact that ponies can’t use guns. I could probably whip something up so that you could play next time, but I promise. From now on, if I ever get a game going that you aren’t familiar with, I’ll ask you if you want to play too, alright?”
Instead of looking relieved, Pinkie suddenly looked more downtrodden than ever. She sniffled, her eyes focusing on the ground in front of her. “I’m sorry I ever doubted you, Acey.” She told me. “My behavior just now…it was just awful.”
“Aww, Pinks.” I said, taking a knee and hugging her. “Don’t worry about it. These things can happen to anyone. I still love you. If anything, we’re closer than ever now, right?”
I heard her sniff, as she wrapped her arms around me in a hug. “Right.” She pulled back, and I was relieved to see her smile again. We shared a kiss, and then she chuckled, happy that everything was reconciled.
“If you want, you guys can sit in on the match.” I said. “There is a viewing booth that you can view the playing field from, and root for your guy.” Everypony looked at each other, and nodded in agreement.
“That sounds like fun.” Twilight said. There was a chorus of agreement with the rest of the ponies.
“Great!” I said, going back over to the cart. “Everyone follow me!” I pushed the cart over to a large square building with two entrances. “Everyone playing goes into the door on the right. Everyone observing goes into the door on the left.” I informed. The group broke apart, and Geo, John and I went into our door.
*******
We found ourselves in the waiting area, and I explained the rules. “Alright, I only have three weapons right now, the pistol, the shotgun, and the assault rifle. These are lasers, so I’m gonna ask everyone to please put on the glasses inside the hat.” I simply lowered my goggles, which had become mostly unfogged. I watched Geo and John put their glasses on, and distribute which weapon they wanted. Geo chose the shotgun, John the assault rifle. “Now, these weapons function similar to the real thing.” I stated, as they looked back over to me. “You have infinite ammo, but you still need to reload, so pay attention to your ammo counter. When you wanna reload,” I demonstrated with my weapon. “You simply drop the magazine, and slap it in again. The magazine will stay in the receiver, so don’t try to pull it out. If you wanna go melee, just take this.”
I reached up to my left shoulder, and pulled out a handle. A translucent red light emitted from the handle. “This is a light knife.” I said. “Any kill you get with this adds to your kill count. You can’t actually hurt anyone with it, but the handle will pummel somebody good, so be careful.” I put my knife away. “Once I enter you in the system, you’ll show up on the scoreboard.” I took a small screen attached to my vest. “Here, you can keep track of your kills, deaths, and overall score. Every player is on the scoreboard, so you can see theirs, as well. Everyone can be hit five times before they’re killed, unless they’re shot in the head or knifed, which is an insta-kill.
“If you’re killed, you won’t be able to fire your weapon, and the lights on your vest and hat will go out. You need to find your way over to a red or blue square on the ground, and wait for your lights to come back on. In other words, you go back to a spawn point. I think that about covers it. Are there any questions?” I asked. John and Geo shook their heads; I took a moment to enter them into a system next to the door. “Alright, we have twenty seconds to get to a spawn point once the game begins. There’s only one rule; have fun!” We faced the door leading to the field, and the game was on!
*******
Back in the viewing booth, the six ponies were getting to watch their three human friends in action. There was a large central screen that showed the playing field that switched cameras every twenty seconds. As well, there were several smaller screens off to the sides that transmitted data from cameras hooked up to the hats, so they could see what the players were seeing. Each was marked with different names that appeared on a ticker below their respective screen. GeodesicDragon, EsteemedDoctorSorou, and DoubleOhJohn.
“Match start.” Called a computerized voice, acting as an announcer.
“Ooh! Isn’t this exciting?!” Pinkie chattered. “I betcha Acey’s gonna win! He’s super-duper-smart! He’ll be able to outsmart everyone else!”
“Nah.” Rainbow said, shaking his head. “He’s out of shape. Sure, he’s got a good head on his shoulders, but he’s not nearly as active as John or Geo.”
“I gotta admit, mah bits are on John.” Applejack chimed in. “He trained with the British Army. He’s sure to win.”
“First blood.” Called the announcer. The ponies looked back at the screen, and saw the killticker. EsteemedDoctorSorou /== GeodesicDragon.
“I should’ve seen that coming.” Geo’s voice crackled.
“Just goes to show, you should pay more attention.” Ace boasted.
“Headshot.” The announcer called.
DoubleOhJohn -*0 EsteemedDoctorSorou
“So should you, mate!” John called.
“I admit, I walked into that one.” Ace laughed.
*******
As the match went on, Geo seemed to have just given up. He was resting next to the spawn point. “Between the FPS pro, and the MI6 agent, I don’t have a chance. I’m out.”
“Really, Geo?” Ace responded.
Geo nodded. “You’re both ten points ahead, and we’re on the last point. I’m just gonna end up feeding somebody a win.”
Ace groaned. “Aww, well that sucks. Looks like it’s just you and me, John.”
“Better keep your head down, Doc.” John said. “I’ve been the one getting all the headshots.”
“I’m calling it, now.” Ace grinned. “I’m ending this on an assassination.”
John slowly stalked through the dim hallways, his assault rifle in hand. “That’s a pretty bold claim, Doc. You really think you can sneak up on me?”
For a moment, there wasn’t an answer. Then suddenly, Ace popped out from a netted corner, and sunk his light knife into John’s back.
“Assassination. Game over.” The announcer called.
EsteemedDoctorSorou =|==> DoubleOhJohn
John looked over at Ace, surprise on his face. “Where did you come from?”
“I don’t need to sneak up on you…” He pointed to the corner he was hiding in. “…when I can watch you walk right by my hiding spot.”
John shrugged. He couldn’t argue with that logic. The dim lights brightened up, and the three gamers proceeded off the field. Geo pointed a finger at Ace. “You’re a fucking camper.” He said, in a good natured manner.
Ace shrugged. “It’s a legitimate strategy.” He responded.
John slung his rifle over his shoulder. ”This was fun, I’m glad I stopped by.”
“I’m glad you guys could make it.” Ace replied, as they entered the waiting room. “Geo, I need to talk to ya, man.” He said, putting a hand on his shoulder. John went on ahead to put his equipment away. In a hushed tone, Ace whispered, “Look, I know you’re worried about the trial. I’ve done some studying into Equestrian law. If you want, I can represent you.”
Geo shook his head. “No, that’s fine.” He replied. “You’re a smart man, Ace. But you aren’t a lawyer. I’d feel more comfortable if someone with a law degree represented me. Sorry.”
Ace nodded. “I understand. When’s the trial?”
“A couple months from now.” Geo responded.
“Then I’ll be there, rooting for ya.” Ace promised.
“I’ll look forward to it.” Geo smiled.
*******
I exited the building with John and Geo, and we met the girls outside. Pinkie immediately jumped up and hugged me. “That was the coolest most stupendalicious game I had ever seen! A bit violent, but it was really awesome! I knew you’d win, Acey!”
Twilight was very inquisitive about what she had just seen. “Are games like that common on your world?” She asked.
Geo and I looked at each other, unsure of how to answer that. I looked back at Twilight. “Well, laser tag itself isn’t recognized as a sport.” I said. “But I’ve seen a bunch of laser tag buildings in my life in various cities.”
“I think the closest most people get to playing laser tag is sitting in their living rooms, playing First Person Shooter games like Call of Duty.” Geo added. “This is the first time I actually played anything like it in real life.”
“Well, I can’t say it’s a sport I can get behind.” Rarity said. “It encourages people to fight, and be violent.”
“What do you expect from humans?” I replied. “We’re a violent species by nature.” I looked at Pinkie, whom I was still carrying, and snuggled her into my arms. “But that doesn’t mean we don’t know how to love.”
Rainbow Dash looked over at Fluttershy. “What did you think of the game?” She asked.
Fluttershy looked down meekly. “Well, um, I think it’s nice…” She began. “But, I wouldn’t…play it myself…”
Rainbow smiled. “Well, I liked it! The excitement, the thrill, the utter surprise your opponents feel when you get one over on them!” She announced triumphantly, shooting up to eye level with me. “Doc, next time you host one of these games, count me in!” She demanded, flying along.
I shrugged. “I’ll see if I can whip something up. Pinks, I’m gonna need your help to do it.”
John laughed. “Looks like we’ve got a noob on the battlefield next match.”
Geo chuckled. “Well, I can’t be the only one who sucks at this game, can I?”
Rainbow Dash looked over at John and Geo, an undignified look crossing her face. “Hey!” She exclaimed. “I resent that!”
“Don’t worry, Rainbow.” I said. “It’s tradition to pick on the new guy. We’re just putting ya through your paces.” I looked over to Geo. “Also, Geo, I highly recommend you come back next week, for both our sakes. You can sharpen your skills, and I can use the exercise. With any luck, we’ll be able to have different game modes.”
“That sounds like fun.” He replied.
Afterwards, we all said our goodbyes, and got back to our day. Pinkie chose to spend more time with me, and that was fine by me. I had a surprise for her, anyway.
