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// Chapter Five (Eliza) 
// Story: Friendship Is Optimal: Third Wheel 
// by Boopy Doopy 
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“I wonder how long it’s been for her so far,” Cynthia said aloud as she and Eliza sat in the former’s apartment, discussing their friend. “I know it’s only been a few days, but it could’ve been months for her by now. I wonder what she’s doing.”
“I hope she’s getting her head together,” Eliza replied. “She looked like she was kind of sad when she talked to her…”
Eliza closed her eyes and let out a breath. She hoped she wasn’t taking too long, bad as it might make her feel to think that way. The idea of her changing and moving on to someone new and leaving her behind– it was a thought she didn't want to consider, but was one she was unfortunately prepared for. Eliza wouldn't say she was the kind of person who has attachment issues, but lately it was feeling she was developing them as a result of emigration.
"I don't know the last time I've gone more than a few days without talking to her," the girl continued. "It must have been since I first met her, I think. That's not weird, is it?"
"I mean, you've known me just as long, and probably went less time without talking to me," Cynthia continued. "She's probably fine though. I bet any second now she's gonna invite us to talk about how she… I don't know. Conquered the world and had all her dreams come true. Probably you and Jesse first, at that. I know she likes you both."
"Haha, you're probably right," Eliza agreed, rubbing a hand behind her head and releasing another long breath. "Speaking of which though, how's your dad? Is he still in Summer's Edge, or does he have his own shard now? I can't remember when I saw him last."
"He has his own shard now. Actually, he was just telling me about a mare he…"
Why am I acting like this? Eliza asked herself silently. It's only been a couple of days. It's not like she's just gonna up and leave me and never talk to me again. 
She hoped not anyway. That was something more than one person she knew did, and it hurt greatly every time she realized it was happening. New friends and new adventures that were more important than her were given by Celestia as part of her attempt to create satisfaction. She didn’t normally think of herself as someone who was worthless, but seeing the stark lack of contact from other ponies made her worried that Composition would cut her off, too.
She really, really hoped that wouldn’t happen, and closed her eyes again and sighed at just the thought of it.
“Are you okay, Eliza?” Cynthia asked, tilting her head slightly. “You look like you’re upset.”
“It’s fine,” she waved her off. “I’m fine. I just need to get ready for work. I’ll see you later, right? Say hi to Drake for me, and your dad.”
“Of course. I need to pick up Drake from work now anyway. I can drop you off at your place if you need.”
“That would be great if you could, thanks.”
The two of them headed off just a little while later, Eliza taking in the city around her as Cynthia drove. It was a familiar sight, one she saw every day, but somehow just as surreal. It was just a few years ago when this city was less desolate, right? It couldn’t have been that long ago. Somehow, in less than five years, Fayetteville had reduced its population by over half. It certainly made the place less congested, and somewhat cleaner, but far lonelier. There were practically no cars driving on what Eliza remembered being a busy interstate.
She sat with her head resting against the window and let out a long breath. It was just gonna keep going like this forever, wasn’t it? Until Celestia succeeded in what could be considered genocide, anyway. Was there even any point in avoiding it?
Sheila couldn’t, so what chance did she have?
“Whoa, look at that,” Cynthia suddenly pointed, grabbing Eliza’s attention. She turned, and tried to find what she was talking about for a moment, before spotting it. The small building that was the Experience Center made its way into their view, just as it always did, but this time, there were protesters crowded around it. They were carrying signs with generic slogans that didn’t really surprise her, phrases like, ‘don’t trust her’ and ‘uploading is suicide’ and the like. She could understand what they were thinking, but she’d never seen anyone gathered out here like this. It made her raise an eyebrow at the sight, but not much more than that.
“They’re making a mistake,” she told her friend. “Not because they’re protesting. They can do that if they want, but if they wandered inside, Celestia would absolutely convince them. I wouldn’t be surprised if she were gonna try to from the outside somehow, actually.”
Cynthia nodded, then said, “Makes you think though, seeing stuff like that.”
Eliza almost asked about what, but stopped herself when she realized. Of course it made Cynthia think. It made Eliza think, too, since there was nothing else to think about. In just a few short years, Equestria Online made seemingly every other facet of society obsolete. Who needed things like television or new movies or video games or social media or real life interactions when Equestria Online was built to replace all of those things?
Maybe in the beginning there was a chance for someone– not her, of course, but someone– to stop things. Now though, it was just an inevitable march.
“Yeah, I guess,” Eliza finally replied. She almost wanted to be stubborn and say that she was never gonna emigrate no matter what. She might have before, but now it would just have been empty words. Sheila was gone, and with it went any possible hope of stopping herself from what was inevitable.
“I’m not gonna do anything right now, I mean,” Cynthia continued quickly. “Neither is Drake. But my dad’s already in there, so it’s something to think about.”
“Yeah,” Eliza said again flatly, leaving the thought at that. Jesse might have told their group not to upload, but she was almost certain he was looking for the first chance he could to get to the Experience Center.
If Celestia just fucking waited…
But no, instead she wanted everything to happen as quickly as possible, which meant that everything would be coming to a head soon. It hadn’t yet, but it was coming. She and the rest of the world was on a train that was close to crashing, moving in slow motion with nothing to do except watch it happen.
Work was lousy as usual when she was dropped off at her apartment to drive there. There was nothing particularly fulfilling about stocking shelves for a store that was gonna go out of business soon, just like most of the businesses around it. It provided enough money for rent, utilities, and food, but not much else with how badly the world was becoming. It made the cake Eliza bought for Sheila sting a little bit more.
Eventually, another shift at a job she would lose was finished, and Eliza finally headed back home to flop into bed and boot up Equestria Online. 
There wasn’t really anything else to do anymore, outside of playing her piano, and so she put on her headset and went to the first available friend she saw. Brandon this time, his mare hanging out in a library in Sheila’s shard, playing chess with an NPC she couldn’t say she recognized. 
“Hey, Agile!” Soft Step called with a wave of her hoof, ending the game and trotting over to her. “I didn’t think you’d be coming online at all tonight. Did you finish working already?”
“Thankfully. I was thinking about calling you up to see if you wanted to hang out IRL, but it’s already ten o’clock at night, and I figured you wouldn’t wanna bother.”
“I can bother if you want me to,” she smiled. “I’m just playing chess. It’s no big deal.”
“It’s fine. We can do something here if you want, since you’re already hanging out with… who is that?”
“This is Candle Light,” she introduced. “I’m pretty sure you met her before, since she’s friends with Careful Calling. I think she just moved into the town actually. Her family did, anyway.”
Agile wasn’t gonna ponder the implications of that, and instead brushed past it. “Well, if you’re busy, I’ll see if I can find someone else to hang out with in the meantime. I don’t wanna interrupt whatever you’re doing.”
“I can hang out with you if you want, Agile,” Soft Step assured her, tilting her head slightly. “It’s not a big deal.”
“It’s fine,” the pegasus, waving a wing and leaving anything she felt out of her expression. She remembered to put on a smile, and finished, “I’ll catch you later.” A second later, she lifted her wings and took off out the door and into the sky.
The town below her looked the same as it always did, except instead of gray clouds, the sun was shining off the buildings and hitting the ponies out and about. It gave it an almost warm glow, one that Fayetteville no longer had because of the creator of Summer’s Edge. She tried to shake her head free of the thoughts that were forming, but was unable to. 
Was it bad to be jealous of an NPC? Maybe, but she couldn’t help it. This was how it started. Cynthia was thinking about it, and soon enough, Celestia would worm her way into Brandon’s head, too. Sheila was already gone, and Eliza could see Jesse emigrating soon, too. And then what? Then…
“What in the world?” Eliza wondered aloud, settling her pony back onto the ground as she got the message. Could Celestia read her mind? She must have been able to since just as she was thinking about it, Composition sent her a message to meet her.