//------------------------------//
// X-Static 
// Story: Friendship Is Optimal: Changing Tides 
// by Boopy Doopy 
//------------------------------//

“I mean, I just don’t get why he’d choose to be a girl,” Liana shrugged at the dinner table as he took a bite of the takeout their mother ordered. “I thought he’d turn into a guy instantly, but I guess not.”
“I think he made it pretty clear he didn’t have a choice,” Steven replied as Olivia played on her PonyPad next to her. “He said Celestia chose for him. That means it’s not a choice, because who the heck would wanna be a girl? Ew.”
“He obviously had a choice, idiot. He said he wanted Mom to help him pick out what he should be. That means he’s choosing to be a girl until then.”
“Yeah, after Celestia forced him to be.”
Daphne let out a deep, long sigh, not even able to roll her eyes at the pointless conversation. She could safely say she wouldn’t have cared less either way if it was actually him. She didn’t bother interrupting to state the obvious.
“How good is she though?” she asked flatly. “On a scale of 1-10.”
“Huh? Oh, Dad? Uh, like, a ten,” Liana told her. “Well, I guess 9, since he’s a girl, but, like, it’s definitely him. There’s no doubt about that.”
“I’d say 8,” Steven replied, Daphne knowing he was probably just trying to pick different from their little sister. “You could go online and see for yourself though, since you only talked to him one time.”
The girl sighed again. “Maybe later,” she told them. “I’m not ready for all that.”
“Well he’s probably gonna keep asking until you show up instead of breathing over our necks while we play,” he continued. “I’m mostly curious about how time works there though. If it’s been weeks from his perspective, how long is a day for him versus us? An hour?”
"I guess," Liana shrugged. "But that sounds terrible to me. I wouldn't wanna sit around for weeks doing nothing. I'd get bored after a while."
Daphne shook her head in disdain as she silently listened to the two talk for a while about nothing but Equestria Online. Afterwards, she settled down next to Olivia on the bed in her room to look over her shoulder, watching her play in the hilly, forested, moonlit town of the shard they shared. It was nothing but bat ponies and unicorns there, and the moon hung high over the eerie looking town. It wasn't necessarily Daphne's style, but Olivia liked to go exploring there.
She wasn't doing such a thing right now, but instead talking to other foals that seemed to be about her age as they held a little celebration in the park for something or other. Her pony was eating cake next to another group of fillies when she said something that caught Daphne's attention.
"Princess Celestia said I might get to see you in real life soon," she said casually. "She said she might be able to turn me and my family into ponies."
"When did she say that?" Daphne suddenly asked, her tone displaying more emotion than she gave to anyone in the last few weeks. She had a serious look on her face, a look that demanded all of her kid sister's attention.
"I dunno," the little girl shrugged. "This morning, I think. She said we could live in Equestria with Dad soon if we go to Japan like he did. I tried to tell her I wasn't sick, but she said anyone can go."
Daphne was shocked to hear it, and more than a little uncomfortable. She couldn't say she had a good immediate response lined up, and almost just took the device out of her sister's hands right then. Just what on earth were these game developers trying to pull?
She tried to be calm, and took a breath to gently brush the girl off. 
"No you can't, Livvy," she said sternly. That's not actually Dad you're talking to when you see that mare. She's just a game character."
Olivia looked as stunned as all get-out, and stared unblinkingly up at her older sister for a long moment before she glanced down at her PonyPad. A second later, she turned off the device and silently left the room.
Daphne shouldn't have felt as surprised as she was when her mother called for her about a minute later, her face contorted into a scowl when she saw her as she held her now sobbing little sister. She had a few tear stains of her own on her cheeks as she brushed the girl's hair with a hand and told her what she wanted to hear.
"Of course your father's really a pony now," their mother said, although Daphne wasn't sure how much she actually believed it despite being the one who had to make the decision. "That's how come you can talk to him whenever you want by playing your PonyPad."
"You promise, Mom?"
"Of course I promise," she assured her quickly as she moved a strand of hair out of the girl's eyes. "Now you go back to playing so I can talk to your older sister, okay?"
Olivia nodded, and quickly ran off after that. The second the door closed behind her, their mother asked, "I want to see for myself. Help me set up an account on that game you all play."
"I'm not lying to her," Daphne said defensively. "That mare isn't actually him. It only acts a lot like him."
"What the heck is a mare? Wait, you mean being a girl in the game?"
"Nothing. It doesn't matter anyway." Daphne let out a huff of a breath, only just now realizing how intensely frustrated she felt. She didn’t cry very often, her father’s recent health being an exception, but she certainly felt her eyes starting to become wet now. She didn't allow any tears to fully slip down though, and instead took another breath before turning away. She crossed her arms, and her mother spoke again.
“Will you please help me set up an account, Daphne?” she asked. 
The urge to just flat out refuse was intensely strong. She could feel her jaw clenching as she shut her eyes tight and rolled her shoulders to relax. She knew it wasn’t her mother’s fault, or anyone’s fault really. Her father’s condition was one that made it obvious he wasn’t going to survive more than a day or two longer. If there was even a one percent chance that whatever science fiction they talked about was real, the only correct choice in the situation was accepting the offer, of course.
The fact was in her head, but it didn’t make Daphne’s jaw unclench or the frustration not flow through her. She tried to remain calm though.
“Olivia was telling me about how the AI told her she could go to Japan to be with Dad,” Daphne said. “She implied that whoever the heck runs this game wants that.”
“So what?”
Another minute was what Daphne took to get back to calm. She didn’t know why she expected any different of a response.
Because you’re getting worked up over nothing, the girl reminded herself. She reminded herself of the one percent chance again, and decided her mother’s question of ‘so what’ was right. What was Olivia gonna do? Hop on a plane to Japan tomorrow? She needed to let herself slow down and take things for what they were, hard as it was to do. She especially needed to appreciate this copy for what it was. Be more hopeful instead of pessimistic. Or something.
“Nothing. Never mind,” she said again, knowing her tone sounded more depressed now. Then she shook her head, telling her, “You need a PonyPad to play Equestria Online though.”
“Go get yours and let me use it then,” her mother suggested. “And don’t say things like that to your little sister again. I don’t want to see her coming in here crying because of you.”
Daphne didn’t roll her eyes or let out an angry breath like she wanted to. Instead, she did as her mother asked, booting the thing up and handing it to her a minute later. It must have somehow known what she wanted to do, because instead of Night Watcher, she was greeted by Celestia waving a wing kindly as the screen centered on the palace. She tried not to shudder from the fact that the AI’s eyes subtly followed her gaze as she handed the device to her mother.
"You just follow Celestia's instructions," she explained before the AI said anything. "She'll pick a name and pony type and cutie mark for you if you let her. You're only planning on playing to talk to Dad, so you might as well let her choose." Daphne did shudder just a bit at calling Candle Light her father. She felt goosebumps on her arms, just as she did before.
"Night Watcher is correct," the princess of this online world nodded as she smiled softly. "Let me be the first to welcome you to the magical land of Equestria. We've been expecting you for some time."
Celestia gave the standard introduction, and Daphne’s mother followed her advice. She let Celestia pick her appearance and name and cutie mark, which turned out to be an earth pony with a simple gray coat, a white mane, and blue eyes like her father had. Certainly it was a change from the dark brown skin her mother had in real life.
“I understand you are anxious to see Candle Light,” the AI told her, occasionally glancing creepily at Daphne as she spoke. “I will place you in her home in the town known as Summer’s Edge to start you off. I believe she’s in the middle of preparing a meal for some of her new friends at the moment. Of course, there are many ponies in Summer’s Edge for you to meet and become friends with if you’d like, just as she has done. I believe she can tell you about it.”
"It's weird to hear your father called a girl," her mother whispered, something Crystal Clear copied as Celestia lit up her horn and brought her to just outside Candle Light's home. Daphne watched over her mother's shoulder as she fumbled with the PonyPad before finding the button to click to knock on the door. She didn’t remember seeing much of it before she left Olivia alone, and had to admit, as awful as she felt about all of this, she was curious.
Celestia was already gone by the time the door was answered. Candle Light tilted her head in confusion, but couldn’t say anything before her mother spoke up.
“Jeff? Is that you?” she asked carefully.
“Stephanie!”
Daphne watched the unicorn suddenly tackle-hug the new earth pony and wrap her hooves around her. Her mother was caught off guard enough that she jumped back in surprise in real life, but then laughed loudly as she stared down at the screen. It was just like her father to do, and didn’t surprise her that this copy did that.
Her mother’s pony of course laughed with her, which made Candle Light start to laugh, too. Even Daphne had to put on a little bit of a smile. She hadn’t seen her mother laugh in weeks– maybe longer. She let out a breath she’d been holding in and relaxed a tiny bit.
“You took so long to show up!” the mare said enthusiastically, wearing a large grin. “I’m glad I finally get to see you though! There’s so much to tell you about! It’s great here!”
“I definitely wanna hear about it,” her mother said as the unicorn finally released the hug she held Crystal Clear in. Then she pointed her gaze into Candle Light’s eyes as she asked, “It is really you though, right? It’s not a copy like Daphne told Olivia, is it?”
“I mean, I don’t feel like a copy,” the unicorn started, rubbing a hoof against the ground and glancing at the ground. “I guess there’s no way to know though, right?”
It was one of the things that gave Daphne goosebumps and made her shift around as she stood over her mother’s shoulder. How this mare not only acted like her father, but acted sentient. Subtle things like the way her gaze hit the screen and the inflections in her voice were strange to hear. Not that she didn’t hear and see them whenever she played Equestria Online, but it bothered her to see them on the mare who was claiming to be her father.
“Maybe I could ask Celestia though about that, or read on it,” she offered. Candle Light smiled again, and said, “I’ve been learning magic and reading about science since I’ve been here. I bet I could learn about stuff like that if I have long enough to do it.” Then she let out a breath and continued, “But anyway! I wanna hear about how you and the kids are doing and show you my new house! Follow me!”
Her mother smiled at the mare’s enthusiasm, just like she did with her father in real life. A second later though, she turned to Daphne and said, “Give me some privacy, please? I’ll give you back your PonyPad when I’m done.”
Daphne left without a word, and headed downstairs to flop onto the couch. Once again, watching interactions between her family and that mare felt emotionally exhausting. She stretched and yawned, feeling tired enough that she almost didn’t hear her little sister speak as she played next to her on her own device.
“How come you hate Dad now?” Olivia asked bluntly. It was such an unexpected question, one that made the girl’s mouth hang open for a minute as she blinked in surprise.
“What?” She shook her head clear. “I don’t hate Dad.” Forcefully, she added, “Don’t ask a stupid question like that again.”
The six year old shrugged. “You said he’s not real. So that means you hate him to me.”
Maybe Olivia was right. She certainly didn’t like Candle Light pretending to be her father. Daphne could say that much.
Before she knew it, she was in her bedroom, crying alone into her hands as she sat on the floor with her back against the door. It felt terrible losing a father.