Somewhere in Equestria…
"Please, Mom," Button Mash said, "Everyone else has the Game-Jammer system. Can't we get it?"
"If everyone jumped off a bridge, would you jump?" Button Mash's mom asked.
"Yeah," Button Mash said, "I mean-no." He realized there was no safe answer to that question, so he stopped trying to find one and went back to pleading, "Come on, I'm the only kid in school who doesn't have a new system. All I got is dad old Atari and that's from last century."
"If it was good enough for your father, then it good enough for me." His mom said with that tone that meant no more discussion.
Button Mash shook his head and stomp up to his room.
It wasn't fair. Every single one of his friends had the new Game-Jammer system. They got games streamed into their box right off the cable-real games, with 3-D worlds and awesome audio-while he stuck with that ancient machine.
The resolution was so low; you could see the pixels and the sound were a joke. Just beeps and buzzes. Half the time, the cartridges didn't even work unless you put them in just right or blow them real hard to get the dust off.
Button Mash plunked down on his bed and stared at the stupid old game. He felt like smashing it. Then his eyes wandered to the box and the game outlet.
Why not?
He opened the box to see if the power inside it would work and attached a couple of wires to the converter on the side. It was a tangled mess of wires and cables but he figured something interesting would happen.
"Here goes." He switched on the power.
Somewhere between Mares and Stupiter…
"It is a rich planet, and it will soon be ours," Mexplatle said as he examined the data flowing into the bank of instruments on the panel in front of him.
"Excellent," Rubnupshti said, rubbing his nose together in glee. "Any sign they will resist?"
"No." Mexplatle wagged his elbow. "Once we have landed and set up our shields, their primitive magic will not be a threat."
Before Mexplatle could say more, a warning flashed on his control panel. "Hang on to your fleexbriddle," he said. "We're heading for a field of asteroids."
Somewhere in Equestria…
"Unbelievable." Button Mash said as the game came up. "This is cool."
He grabbed a joystick and started playing. He'd never expected to actually get a game off the cable on the old system. But this looked great. There were asteroids all over the place, zooming toward him at high speed.
The resolution seems a little higher than any of his dad's old game, but it was still pretty primitive.
"Wow, that was close." Button Mash barely avoided the first huge rock.
He got the feel of the game pretty quickly and started making his way through the obstacles.
Somewhere between Mares and Stupiter…
"Franzleglip!" Mexplatle swore, yanking the controls with all his strengths.
"What is wrong?" Rubnupshti asked.
"I'm not in control. We are doomed. The ship is flying itself." He closed his eye and folded his ears as an asteroid shot right past them, just missing the view port.
"I knew I should have stayed home." Rubnupshti said.
Somewhere in Equestria…
"That was close." Button Mash said. He'd barely avoided a collision as three asteroids crossed his path with only a narrow space in between. But he was getting through the game.
An hour later, he finally saw an end to the asteroids field. Six more big rocks to get past, and he'd be finished.
Two asteroids, side by side, came at him from the top of the screen. He just managed to fit between them. He angled to the left to get past the next three.
There was only one more asteroid to go.
Somewhere between Mares and Stupiter…
"We've made it," Mexplatle said. "One more asteroid and we are past all danger. Then we can claim that planet for ourselves." He imagined all the wealth that awaited him.
He'd be famous. He'd be rich. It was wonderful.
Somewhere in Equestria…
This is it, Button Mash thought.
The last asteroid didn't even look that tough. In a couple of seconds, he'd win the game.
"Oh, Button Mash." His mom called from the hallway.
"What?" Button Mash asked, not looking up.
"Sometimes I forget what it's like to be a kid. I've got a surprise for you."
Button Mash glanced over. His mom was holding up a brand new video game system.
"Wow!" Button Mash dropped the ancient joystick and leaped up. "Can we get the Game-Jammer system, too?"
"Sure." His mom said.
Button Mash glanced back at the old Atari. On the screen, his ship hit the asteroid and exploded into a billion pieces.
Button Mash shrugged.
It didn't matter. The old machine didn't have very good graphics. He was sure the new games were a lot more realistic.