Return to Equestria

by David Silver

4 - Lights Out

"You have a good one." Joypad was waving at her last customer, closing the door behind them with a sweep of her snout. With a twist of a hoof, she deployed the lock with a solid click. "Another day, survived." She turned back to David, who was seated in a chair, watching her. "Hey, are you hungry?"

Well, since it was brought up... "Actually, yes." It was meal time. His body clocks agreed with that assessment. "Not trying to be a--"

She had already risen a hoof. "I haven't paid you yet, or even let you sleep anyway, so right now? I'm the one behind. So stop worrying about it." She looped around to behind her counter and pressed something, the lights going off, at least most of them. "Sleepy time." She emerged with a smile from the counter. "I hear there are places like this up in Zephyr Heights that stay open 24/7. This is not one of those." She snorted in an equine way. "Imagine that?"

David frowned at the idea as he looked over at one of the slumbering computers that had a clock on it. It was 6 pm. "I am perfectly happy with this as a closing time."

"Great." Joypad nosed open the door leading to the stairs up to her room. "Come on then. We'll get some food in us." As she ascended, she turned an ear back. "Now that we aren't handling business, you mind if I ask, like, a hundred questions? Because, let's be real, you're still an alien."

"I am one of those," sighed out David, as if that was not an entirely new experience. "I'll answer one for each you answer. That's a fair trade, right?"

"Righteous." Joypad sprang into her room, David not far behind. "First of all, and important to right now, what do humans eat? There's Evermarsh, but we already established you aren't one of those, really." She turned on him. "Just similar enough."

"Second time today that came up." He moved past her to stand off to the side of the living room. "Personally, I'll eat anything without cheese or rice. I'd prefer a low-carb diet, if that's in the cards."

Joypad's eyes swept over him. "Low carb?" She suddenly brought her hooves together. "Are you a human or a pegasus? You keep talking about things only they'd really focus on. You know how to use their computers like you've been doing it forever." A sudden smirk spread. "Is that shirt just hiding your wings?"

"They do low-carb?" He had been expecting that to be entirely missed, truth told. "By which I assume earth ponies don't generally?"

"Not a worry we have." She shrugged lightly. "Carbs are, like, cakes and stuff, right?"

"And sugar," added David quickly. "Bread, sugar, potatoes. Starches and sweets." It hit him. "Fruit drinks and hard drinks. I'll eat an orange, no problem, but I'll skip on the orange juice."

"Why?" she asked as if the idea of it was an alien thing she was just learning, which was perhaps the case. "Will you get sick?"

"No, just fat." He shrugged softly. "And fat isn't healthy."

"Hey, I know plenty of perfectly healthy, rounded ponies." Joypad shrugged softly. "Gonna have to pen that down as a human thing." She waved a hoof at herself. "Not my concern. I came in average flavor." If one discounted the colors of her mane, she was a fairly standard earth mare. "

David clapped his hands together in one solid strike. "My turn. What am I being paid and if I can attach a related query, how much is a bit worth?"

She hiked a brow at him. "You just told me you're walking into this blind. Poor little foal." She began to snicker on her way into her kitchen, starting to prepare something. "Good thing I'm not that mean. Fifteen bits a day." She slapped a pan down on her stove, holding it with a hoof that had no business being able to hold the handle of a pan, not that she seemed to care what a human thought she should be able to do. "Throw in the fact that you're getting free room and board, and that isn't bad."

"How much is a computer?" That was surely one way to get a measure of things.

She squinted at him. "None of your business, also, it's my turn." She waggled her bottom as she got things going. "Oh, right. Fish. You alright with fish?"

"I am alright with fish." He nodded at that. "Didn't get to eat it too much, but nothing wrong with it."

"Great! Your turn." Fishy smells were starting to raise as she worked.

"That hardly seems fair to you." It was basically the same as the first question. "I'll pass."

"You are not good at competitive games," she taunted as she splashed some oil of some sort into the pan, shaking it lightly. "You are not a pony, but you are a male, I think? That isn't the question. I'm a female pony, as you noticed, I hope. Romantic interests, do you have any?" She wrinkled her nose. "Are you a xenophile?"

"We just met," cried David as if that should be answer enough. "You seem nice, but that's about all I could say." He shrugged softly. "I'm not interested in people I don't know, of any species." Well, it was his turn. "I'll turn that around, but broaden it a bit. Do ponies even look at not-ponies?"

"Not usually." She shrugged as she turned the pan, sliding out some food onto a plate and starting something new in short order. "I've never seen a not-pony besides you, which makes the chances to even think about that kinda small. But, pow, here I am living with one that's doing my tech support." She laughed at the absurdity of the situation, grabbing something from her fridge to toss into the pan. "So, things happen."

"Your turn," he reminded as he came closer to see what she was making. It smelled great, whatever it was. Was that lemon? "You're a good cook." He hadn't tasted it yet, but she seemed to know what she was doing, and if the smell was any hint, he'd enjoy it, he felt certain.

"Aw, flatterer." She upended the pan's new contents next to the first on the plate, flicked off the fire, and grabbed the serving plate. "Grab a fork, 'cause it's time to dig in! You don't want anything sweet, right?"

"Nope." But he could see her sink right there. He helped himself to a glass and soon had water ready to drink. "Do you usually cook for yourself?"

"Who else is going to do it?" She shrugged at that. "What about you? You know how to cook?"

"Sure." He sank down at the table she had parked at. He set the glass down and wielded a fork menacingly at the food. "Who else is going to do it?" he asked with a laugh.

She shrugged at that. "Mighta lived with a family wherever you're from. I don't know." She waved a hoof about. "This is my family." Or lack of one. "Don't look like that. My dad's doing fine, but he doesn't 'get' games. I visit him once in a while, on the west side of town." She pointed the way through a window that showed the dimming evening sky. "But, for now, food time. I'll ask the next one after."

As it turned out, the fish was as good as it smelled. He couldn't identify what fish it was, but a good one? All that mattered in the end, right? It was lightly breaded and had some lemon squeezed onto it. Fluffy greens, mildly fried, accompanied it with nuts and berries, which he was also entirely alright with, chomping down next to his new friend.

When he stopped eating, she began watching him with a new interest. "Done?"

"I don't..." He huffed lightly. "I'm a guest. I don't want to make a bad impression."

"Cute!" She pushed the plate towards him. "But I expect you to eat half. I can handle the other half."

With a clear boundary set, David went right ahead and took care of his half without objection, or hesitation. Once he decided he was going to eat something, it didn't have long for the world. "Want me to handle the dishes?"

Joypad flicked her head powerfully enough to send her mane flying, allowing both her eyes to be easily visible for a moment. "Are you trying to butter me up?" She suddenly buried her snout against the plate, finishing her half in an instant of gluttony. "Go ahead, show me your stuff."

David grabbed the plate, setting his fork on it. She hadn't used a fork. One plate, one fork, and the pan it was cooked in. That wouldn't be too hard, he figured, marching to the kitchen. The soap... There. He grabbed it and set it just beside the sink as he set the dirty things in it. But... There! A scrubby sponge. He took hold of it with a victorious smile.

With everything he needed for the task, he got to washing the few dishes down, setting them on the drying rack that was right there. "Only fair. You cooked."

"Spoken like someone who wanted that to be true." She was eyeing him with, perhaps, a knowing expression. "Look, I have friends over sometimes. They do not offer to handle the dishes unless I go out of my way to suggest it, sly like." She laughed on her way to a comfy couch that seemed quite large for the space. She hopped up and sank down to her belly in the plush surface. "Now, game time."

David walked over and stood behind the couch rather than take a seat. "What game did you want to play?"

"As if you'd know any of them," she taunted. "Except maybe Evermarsh?" She looked over her shoulder at his expression. "Maybe not even that." She clapped her hooves. "Evermarsh is a long kinda game. You know what an RPG is, right?"

"Yes." He nodded firmly. "Turn based?"

"Every time I think I got you..." David's understanding of games, still a source of amazement. "Either way, yeah! That." She thrust her hoof at him as she said it. "Not the best party game."

"I'm fine watching you play?"

Things became quiet for a long moment, the two watching each other. Joypad burst into new laughter, her cheeks darkening. "You're not trying, but, sheesh. Way to make a mare think!" She grabbed a controller that looked like it should just not work with a hoof, and soon her system was starting up. "Fine then, time to learn about what everyone's talking about. Now, I'm skipping 1 and 2, since the humans don't show up until 3, and the story's self-contained enough, you'll get it."

David came around the couch and finally took a seat next to Joypad, a little smile on his face. "It's... Wow."

"Wow?"

"I'm just remembering how long it's been since I just sat and watched someone else play games." He gestured lightly at the screen. "It's nostalgic."

"Oh no," she cried in mock terror. "I'm giving the grey mane flash backs!" She burst into snickers at that. "Speaking of that, xenophile, I'm not a greymane. And if you ask how old I am, I will punch you."

"Fourty-two," replied David without being asked.

"Huh." She started the game, conjuring up the introduction cinematic to the grand world of Evermarsh. "Evermarsh's ticket to fame is how many different crazy races they have, and you can play as any of 'em! Ponies love it. The NPCs come in all kinds of shapes too." She snickered softly. "Wow, imagine if our world was like that."

David did not laugh. He couldn't be sure, but imagined there were other species waiting to be discovered out there. The ponies had surprises ahead of them. "That would be interesting."

Author's Note:

The first day navigated without too many typos, but now we enter the relationship-building mini-game part of things, and who knows what can go wrong during that part!

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Comments

[harts fire]

i have not started this story yet but i find it interesting that the art work looks kind of like some one i know.

[David Silver]

11055093
Welcome aboard.

[Booster Spice]

First you build your character, then you build your race, then you build your world, then you build your race, then you build your character.

Such is the zen of game creation.

[Ponyess]

"Huh." She started the game, conjuring up the introduction cinematic to the grand world of Evermarsh. "Evermarsh's ticket to fame is how many different crazy races they have, and you can play as any of 'em! Ponies love it. The NPCs come in all kinds of shapes too." She snickered softly. "Wow, imagine if our world was like that."

Imagine, just imagine; if we had games like this, around here?
now I want to play "Evermarch" too ..

[David Silver]

11057636
Well, I mean, lots of MMOs out there give different racial options, no? Few specialize in lots of different ones though.

[harts fire]

ok yep i was right this is a grate story.
awesome righting.

[Ponyess]

11057726
I may not be the expert, but I have played a bit.
Just that they all have modifioed Humans(Dwarves, Orc, Elves)
Compare with the variety, Equestria has available, to see what I was hoping for?
Ponies, Centaurs, Minotaurs, Griffons, Hipogriffs, Dragons, Abysinians ..
How do you get close to that, from our games perspective?

[David Silver]

11059246
Can't argue that. Human with modification is popular.