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Housemates

When both our bellies were good and full, my human companion and I said our farewells to the Legion of Honor, taking in one last look at the museum's majestic structure as we made our exit. I took a moment to admire the Thinker's colossal bronze form one last time before Daniel lead me out of the courtyard and towards the museum's enormous parking lot.

I suppose after my rather unfortunate experience with the human's automobiles from the night before, I was less than thrilled to be in an area the was full of them. Whether it was a car or truck or one of those monstrous buses that lumbered about like clumsy whales, moving fast or slow or just parked on their inflated wheels, I wanted absolutely nothing to do with the beastly machines.

So you can imagine my less than enthusiastic response when Daniel raised one hand so he could hail one of those taxis that I had seen many times since arriving in San Francisco. I watched with a mix of fascination and apprehension as the vehicle pulled up along the edge of the sidewalk, painted in the most appalling shade of yellow and reeking of petroleum.

Suffice to say, it took quite a bit of gentle coaxing from my human companion before I was finally able to work up the courage to enter the taxi's cramped interior. The moment I settled myself into the back seat my world became an all encompassing smear of dark, tobacco-smelling stickiness that I could feel crawling up my skin like spider legs.

It wasn’t long before I started to wonder if this whole thing had been terrible mistake.

When the smell of stale cigarette smoke and air freshener first touched my nostrils, it was so thick and putrid that I had to stick my head out the window just to avoid being sick. The bumpiness of the ride certainly didn't help matters, nor did the fact that San Francisco was a city that had been built on a bunch of hills that always seemed to be in competition with one another.

It was enough to make war on anyone's stomach, pony or otherwise.

When Daniel saw that both the smell and the bumps and the agitation were starting to bring me to the edge of nausea, he asked me if I was alright. When I didn’t answer him, too preoccupied with keeping my lunch down, he reached over and started to gently rub his hand up and down my back in an attempted to alleviate some of my discomfort.

My ears perked at the sound of his voice as he whispered for me to relax.

His hand was so warm and gentle that it almost set my skin ablaze the moment he touched me. Though I flinched at first, the feel of his hand moving slowly up and down my back was enough to reduce my every bone and muscle to jelly and I soon found myself leaning against him, closing my eyes and letting myself forget about everything else.

The taxi…the hills…the smells… All of it just seemed to wash away until all that remained was myself and my human companion and the quiet affection he all but lavished upon me.

I think that I must have fallen asleep at some point, because I was suddenly pulled from a strange dream involving custom agent Bullafarht being devoured by a swarm of ravenous parasprites. When the fuzz finally cleared from my head, I found that during my nap I had somehow managed to curl up beside Daniel with my head resting on his leg. He smiled when I looked up at him and gave my shoulder a small nudge.

"Honeydew," he whispered. "It’s time to put your shoes on, we're at Grandma's."

The combination of his warmth and the softness of his leg made it a rather difficult task to accomplish and I found myself stretching like a cat rousing from a very long nap. It was only then that I finally took notice of the taxi's lack of movement and the all too noticeable stability that now rested beneath my hooves.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"Home," was all Daniel said before unlatching the seat-belt and sliding out the door.

I crawled across the backseat, doing my best to ignore the smells that seemed to come belching up from the cushion each time I set my hoof down. Bit by nauseating bit, I finally managed to make my way towards the door and onto the sidewalk outside. From there, I watched while Daniel paid the driver's fair before the taxi pulled away so it could merge with the rest of the traffic.

"Honeydew Blossom," he said with a sweep of his arm. "Welcome to Chinatown."

I blinked at the name, recognizing it from all the travel guides and brochures I had read before going through the Gate. My eyes started roaming, once again drinking in the sight of the new environment in which I had found myself.

Like the promenades of Fisherman's Wharf, the district seemed to be entirely made up of storefronts and restaurants, many festooned in garish looking facades of reds and golds and greens. Everywhere I looked, I could see rows of strange looking calligraphy made from harsh, slashing lines that formed words that I could not read. Images of dragons, like mad-eyed serpents adorned the entrance to one of the more fancier establishments while a pair of ferocious looking statues of snarling beasts watched over the doorway.

After a moment of taking in the sights, it became clear that a vast majority of the district's residents were made up of families of humans from one of Earth's 'eastern' counties. Their faces were sharp and golden hued at first glance, with a touch of bronze and smooth black hair to emphasize their almond shaped eyes.

Mothers tended to round faced children who toddled about in puffed up jackets and little wool hats to protect them from the cold while groups of adolescents loitered about the street corners. Across the street, I could even see a pair of older looking men presiding over some sort of game. They both sat like a couple of hunched over gargoyles while groups of onlookers crowded around them, watching each move they made with with such intensity that that one would think it was they who were the ones playing the game.

I know it wasn't the first time I had seen humans of Asian descent, seeing as how the ongoing influx of tourism and immigrants coming through the Gate each day had made Equestria veritable melting pot of human activity, but it was a whole other experience to actually see them on their home turf.

"Dew," I heard Daniel call out to me. When I looked up I saw that he had already started making his way down the street. "It's this way."

"Coming!" I called back, trotting after him until we were once again moving side by side at a leisurely pace.

It could only last for so long however as I soon came to learn that in Chinatown, everyone was always in some sort of a rush. Everywhere I turned I could see dozens of humans and even one or two ponies, all moving along the sidewalks in a manner that could only be compared to a herd of stampeding buffalo. Actually, looking back on the whole experience, I'd say it was almost like being caught in an avalanche and on more than a few occasions I had to stay close to Daniel in order to keep myself from getting trampled.

I continued to follow my human companion as he led me past rows of food stalls and grocers, each selling everything from strange looking fruits and vegetables to bags of rice and tins filled with fragrant smelling leaves. There were stores that even seemed to specialize in nothing but dried goods and herbal remedies that hung on the walls of their shops like the sun-baked husks of shed basilisk skin.

We even passed one of the local fish markets where rows of dead fish were laid out on beds of ice while others floated about aimlessly in large tanks of water, blissfully ignorant of the grizzly fate that awaited each and every one of them.

After circumnavigating the rest of the crowds, we eventually arrived at a tight little cluster of buildings, squat and rather ugly looking with exposed brick exteriors and windows that were mostly covered up by hanging laundry. I was led down a narrow path that cut between the two largest buildings, dark and ripe with the smell of mildew and garbage. All along the walls, I could see countless pipes and cables, like a webwork of veins bulging from the brick itself.

My vision was suddenly obscured by an unexpected blast of steam that seemed to come out of nowhere. The suddenness of it startled me and I took several steps back, stamping my hoof against the ground.

"You okay?" Daniel asked.

"I think so," I said, breathing in and out, using a relaxing technique that Platinum had taught us during one of her orientations. "I can't believe this is where you live."

"Having second thoughts?" he asked.

"After coming all this way? Hardly!" And with a flick of my tail I continued onward with my nose in the air as I made my way past my human companion.

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me," Daniel said to no one in particular and I just looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

Thank Celestia the alley didn't go much further, opening up into a dreary little park that lay tucked away in the shadow of the surrounding apartment buildings. Everywhere I looked, the ground was littered with all manner of trash from old food wrappers to broken bottles; a splay of castoffs left behind to be some other human's problem. I did my best to not be too put off by my less than flattering surroundings and continued to shadow Daniel as he led me towards the smallest building which stood wedged between its larger siblings like the runt of the litter.

Like the rest of the area, the building didn’t really leave the best first impression, especially when we had to pass through the main entrance which looked as though it had been taken from an old jail cell or some long abandoned dungeon. Once unlocked, he pushed the door open with an iron-heavy swish and soon we were both making our way up the creaking steps of a narrow staircase.

Step by treacherous step, we made our way up to the third floor where Daniel's was waiting for us. Down the dimly lit hallway we continued, moving past one door after another before we finally reached the very last one on the left.

"I really hope you’ll forgive my lack of preparation for your arrival," Daniel said before he was finally able to get the door unlocked with a brassy ‘click’. He stepped through first, nearly disappearing behind a slick of darkness with me following only a few steps behind. My hooves clopped against a hard-wood floor and every time I took a step it was like walking with a blindfold.

"And man said, let there be light!" he exclaimed before flipping a switch on the wall. An overhead light suddenly sparked to life, filling the room with a dull, yellow glow, allowing me to have my first look at the apartment for the first time.

I think small was probably the first word that came to mind when I first began to take in my new surroundings. Walls that looked as though they hadn’t been repainted in decades rose from a hardwood floor, colored in an off-white hue that caught the yellow glow of the overhead light. One side of the room didn't even have that much, just a wall of exposed red brick, unpainted and bare, save for the few posters and photographs tacked to its naked surface.

The furniture looked as though it had been purchased at a yard sale, from the ragged looking couch with the chewed up arms to the ancient looking television sitting in the corner. A tiny kitchen extended from the main living area, so small and cramped that it almost seemed like it had been included as an afterthought.

"Welcome to my Sanctum Solarium," my human companion said with obvious pride in his voice. "Our breakfast hours begin at seven a.m. and end at ten, Monday through Friday. Any questions or complaints can be directed at myself or any of our on-call staff."

And here I thought the flamboyant bellhop at my hotel had a taste for the melodramatics. "I'll be sure to keep all that in mind, Daniel." I replied with a roll of my eyes as I stepped deeper into the apartment.

Now, I'm going to be perfectly honest with you; when it came to simple housekeeping, Daniel’s skills left much to be desired. In fact, I think I'd even go as far as to call him one of the worst house-keepers I had ever encountered. Empty glasses seemed to sprout from every flat surface like patches of translucent fungus, from the coffee table to the makeshift bookcase leaning against the wall. Old socks and shirts lay strewn about the floor and couch along with several piles of magazines and old newspapers.

To put it simply, the place was two steps away from being a complete and total dump and I think the only thing it had going for it was the fact that it didn't reek of old laundry and week old garbage. The bathroom probably could have used a scented candle or two but I suppose that could be forgiven.

It was strange really. Despite their obvious differences, men and stallions were remarkably similar, seeing as how they were both practically lost without someone or somepony to keep their lives from slipping into complete and total chaos.

"So?" Daniel asked while he helped me out of my jacket. "What's the verdict?"

"It's…" I began, laboring on the 's' as I frantically searched for something to say. "It's nice… yes, it's a very nice place you have here." And I suppose it wasn't a complete lie. The apartment did have a certain charm to it,, not all that different from my old room from my days at Talent School. "It could use a mare's touch here and there, but I think you've done… well for yourself."

I turned to face him while he tossed my very expensive jacket on the couch, along with his own coat and sweater and anything that just happened to be in his pockets at the time. My mouth opened before quickly snapping shut, trapping the horrified squeak that had suddenly blossomed from deep inside my throat.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing," I replied a little too quickly while I stared at my jacket heaped upon Daniel's couch. "I don't suppose you have… I don't know… someplace you can put those? A closet perhaps?"

"Yeah, but I'm currently using it to store my meth lab," he replied. "At least until I can afford to buy myself one of those big-ass camper vans, like the one those guys had in Breaking Bad."

"I really do hope you're not being serious, Daniel."

"Dew, after knowing my for nearly two days, do you really need to ask?"

"No I suppose not," I answered. "In any case, I really should thank you once more for doing all of this for me. I honestly don't know what I would have done had you not taken me in like this."

"Come one, Dew," Daniel said with a dismissive wave. "You know you don't need to thank me for that."

"You can say that as many times as you need to, Daniel," I countered, poking his stomach with my hoof. "But I'm going to say it anyway." I poked him a second time, causing him to giggle. "And I'm going to keep saying it no matter how much you tell me not to."

"I just can't win against you can I?"

I grinned at him. "No you can't."

"Fine, fair enough." He stepped into the kitchen and flipped on another light. "You want something to drink? I've got… let's see here." He went over to the refrigerator and opened it just wide enough fro him to stick his head through. "I've got soda… O.J… some purple stuff… and I seem to be all out of Sunny D."

"Just water if it's not too much trouble."

Daniel touched his finger to the tip of his nose before grabbing the nearest glass from off the counter, one that I'm sure he had used previously and simply forgot to put away. I watched with widening eyes while my host proceeded to fill the glass with water from the faucet.

Celestia above, what had I gotten myself into?

I did my best to keep a straight face when he handed me the glass. I clutched it between my hooves, knowing for certain that it was in fact a glass of water that I was holding despite the voice in the back of my head telling me it was something else entirely. The longer I stared at it, the more my equine brain tried to convince me that I was holding some noxious mixture that had been pilfered from a science lab. For a moment, I could have sworn that I saw something looking back at me before disappearing beneath the water's surface.

"Thank you," I said, pretending to take a sip before placing it on the coffee table.

I watched as Daniel made his way across the room, taking a seat on the couch before inviting me to join him. When I climbed onto the neighboring cushion, I was pleasantly surprised by how comfortable the ratty old piece of furniture actually was.

"So," Daniel said, trying his best to mask the uncertainty in his voice.

"So," I mirrored him.

"Things have certainly taken an interesting turn, haven't they?"

"I'd be lying if I said that I hadn't noticed."

"And you're okay with that? You're sure you're not having any second thoughts now that you've stepped into the belly of the beast."

"No, no, of course not!" I said said, paused for a moment before then adding, "Alright, maybe just a tiny bit."

"I know it's not a five-star suite at the Fairmont but–"

"It's fine, Daniel," I said. "I don't plan on staying long, so as far as temporary accommodations go, I think your apartment is everything that it needs to be." My human companion blinked several times and for a one heart-stopping moment, I was almost certain that I had said something to offend him.

"Honeydew Blossom," he said slowly. "I think that's just about the nicest thing anyone's ever said about this glorified flop-house since I first moved in."

"Oh… you're quite welcome." I couldn't help but laugh. "I'm glad my approval means so much to you."

Our moment of relaxation was brought to an abrupt end by the ringing of Daniel's phone. Cursing under his breath once more, he pulled the obnoxious little device from his pocket and flipped it open so he could bring it to his ear.

"Zack if this isn't you calling to tell me that we've been nominated for a Crowbar Award I am hanging up this phone… Yes I'm on my mobile… Yes I know you can't technically hang up a mobi– seriously, Zack are we really doing this?" He stopped talking long enough to hear what the voice on the other end of the line, something I always thought made humans look ridiculous whenever I saw them doing it.

"Uh-huh," he said. "How bad are we talking about?… Uh-huh… Right, so where exactly do I fit into all this?" Another silent pause, longer than the previous and with each passing second I could see the frown on Daniel's face deepening. "Okay, so why can't you just get Rusty to take care of it? I mean in all fairness he probably understands those codes better than I could… what do you mean he's already gone home for the day?"

He stopped to take a quick look at his watch "Zack, it's only a quarter past three… Uh huh… Shin dared him to what?… How much wasabi?… Your kidding!…The whole thing?" He shook his head slowly and I could see by the look on his face it wasn't good, whatever it was he had been told. "Alright I guess that's as good a reason as any."

Daniel suddenly rose to his feet, giving his back a stretch before grabbing his jacket from the pile. "I can be there in twenty minutes, maybe fifteen if I'm in time to catch the next bus." He closed the jacket with a quick pull of the zipper. "And you can tell the others that I'm well aware that it's nine days till Christmas, so they can stop emailing me pictures with my face photoshopped to look like the Grinch."

With that, the device clicked off with flip of Daniel's thumb.

"Well shit on me and call me a double-fudge sundae!" he said.

"You'll forgive me if I decline that particular offer," I replied and he actually looked surprised when he heard my voice, spinning around to face me as though I had just set off the world's loudest party-popper.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly. "I guess I sort of forgot you were sitting there."

I grinned at his look of embarrassment. "I never realized that I blended in so seamlessly with the rest of your apartment," I said. "Is everything alright?"

"Ugh!" Daniel groaned, holding up his phone. "Every time I have to answer this stupid thing, I feel like I'm putting a gun to my head!" He then brought the device to his temple. "Sometimes I think it would be less painful if I just used the real thing."

"It's nothing too serious, I hope."

"That all depends on your definition of 'serious'." he replied. "I am going to have to head out for a while to take care of this little set back, though."

"How long do you think you'll be gone?" I asked

"I honestly have no idea" Daniel said. "This sort of stuff can take anywhere between a few minutes to a few hours. It all pretty much depends on what sort of damage we're looking at.

"I see."

"I'm really sorry to leave you alone like this, Dew."

"Anything I can do to help?"

"Not unless you know how rewrite seventy-five lines of corrupted C++ code."

"Then I'm afraid that you're on your own as far as that goes."

"All part of the glamorous world of independent game development," Daniel said before wrapping his scarf around his neck. "We're nearly two weeks behind schedule and less than a month away from deadline. What does the lead artist do to celebrate the occasion? He dares one of our programmers to eat enough wasabi to send him to the fucking emergency room!"

"The poor thing," I said, remembering my own ill-fated experience with the pasty-green substance that I'm still convinced had been made from concentrated hydra venom. Suffice to say, it was the last time I let Ever Ring talk me into going out for vegetarian sushi for lunch. "I hope he's not in too much pain."

"You want to feel sorry for someone Dew?" Daniel asked. "Then feel sorry for the poor bastard that's gonna have to fill in for him so we don't wind up being three weeks behind schedule." He slipped his hat over his head and gave himself a quick once-over. "If that wasn't bad enough, I've also got about seventeen programmers and artists ready to throw an office riot because they're going to have to work during their Christmas break."

"I see," was all I could really say.

"Just one of those things you gotta take care of when you’re working on a project like ours," he said before snatching up his keys and heading straight for the apartment's front door. He stopped only when his hand touched the doorknob and turned to face me once more. "Are you sure you're going to be alright here all by yourself?"

"I'm pretty sure I'll be able to manage, Daniel"

"You sure?"

"Positive," I said. "Now go do what you need to do. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to find something to keep myself occupied until you get back."

"I might be able to help with that." Daniel then picked up a thin rectangular object with one side riddled with large, square buttons. Each was marked with either a number or an arrows or some other strange symbol that I was unable to recognize. "You know how to use a T.V?" he asked.

"When I came over from Neo Equineox, they had one in the ship's rec-room," I said. "It was easy enough to figure out, but after browsing everything the ship had to offer, I found that there just wasn't anything worth watching."

"Sixty-three channels," Daniel returned, tossing the remote onto the couch. "I won't make any promises but I'm fairly confident that you'll be able to find at least something in there that isn’t complete crap."

"I appreciate the thought, Daniel," I said. "And don't worry about your apartment, I'll gladly watch after it as though it were my own."

"Then I shall leave it in your capable hooves until I return," said Daniel before he nodded towards the kitchen. "My refrigerator is kind of pathetic at the moment, but feel free to scrounge around if you start to get hungry."

"Thank you," I said.

"And there's plenty of hot water if you decide to wash up." he went on. "Just remember to give it a minute or two to clear out the rust."

"Ummm… alright. I'll be sure to remember that."

"And if you gotta use the toilet, always remember to let it flush for thirty seconds, or you'll have to do it a second time. And don't freak out if a little bit comes back up, because that's perfectly normal."

"Shouldn't you have been out the door by now?"

"Okay, okay, we'll consider the line officially drawn on that one." With a brassy click, he pulled the door open and turned to face me one last time. "I'll try to pick up something for dinner on my way home."

"Please be careful, Daniel," I said.

My human companion just grinned. "You can send out the search parties if I don't return within a fortnight." He winked at me as he stepped out of the apartment and pulled the door shut behind him.

And so, left to my own devices once more, I slid off the couch and gave my legs a stretch before setting off to do a little exploring. After a second walk through, I realized that the apartment was actually rather cute, or at least it would have been were it not for the few obvious flaws that fouled up the rest of the package. Between his lack of organizational skills and inability to take anything seriously, it was a wonder that Daniel hadn't driven himself out of his own apartment.

I poked my head into the kitchen, still unable to believe just how small it was, from the tiny stove tops to the stunted looking refrigerator that rumbled to itself as it sat in the corner. After a quick look through the kitchen's few cupboards, I was almost horrified to discover that the only food that Daniel's apartment had to offer was a sad looking assortment of pre-packaged goods.

From boxes of brightly colored cereal to bags of corn chips that crinkled at the slightest touch, Daniel's taste in food seemed to be limited to whatever could be packed and preserved in plastic and a cardboard box.

The apartment's only bathroom proved to be not that much better than the kitchen, with everything crammed together so tightly that I could barely move around without bumping into something. The bathtub on the other hoof proved to be a rather amusing sight when I saw just how tiny it was.

Even by pony standards a tub that size would have been considered ridiculous and I had to stop and wonder how a human was even expected to use such a thing. I nearly laughed myself to tears when I imagined Daniel attempting to fit himself inside, squeezing his arms and legs into a tight ball until his knees were pressed against his chin.

Oh well, at least he knew how to keep a clean toilet, which I'm now fairly certain would have been the final deal-breaker.

Because the only place left for me to explore was Daniel's bedroom, I decided to bring my little self-directed tour to an early conclusion, leaving me with nothing else to do but look at the various pictures and images that Daniel had tacked to the walls. From posters and magazine covers framed in glass, to photographs and newspaper clippings, it was almost like looking at a page that had been taken from a very large photo album.

There was one photograph in particular that managed to capture my attention the moment I first laid eyes on it. I stepped closer, staring up at the framed picture of Daniel standing next to none other than Princess Luna herself. My mouth nearly dropped to the floor and for a few seconds I forgot how to breathe.

The Princess looked so regal as she stood beside the young human, smiling at the camera while using her alicorn magic to sign her name on a poster with the words 'E3 2015' written on it. The look of excitement on Daniel's face was just too adorable to ignore and I found myself smiling at the image. A sense of admiration for my Princess washed over me as I watched her bask in the adoration of Daniel and his fellow humans. There was clearly a story behind the picture and I made a mental note to ask him about it when he finally got home.

After a while I eventually got bored with nosing around Daniel's things. With nothing left to explore, save for Daniel’s bedroom, I made my way over to the pair of windows that stood at the other end of the living room. I stepped up to the closest one and with all the bounce of a spring, raised myself onto my hind legs so I could have a look at the view outside.

A shame the only 'view' Daniel's apartment had to offer was one that was all but dominated by the unwashed backsides of the neighboring buildings. I peered through the window with a look of disappointment when I saw just how badly these fat, ancient stumps of brick and mortar obscured the rest of the urban landscape like a set of badly placed curtains.

On the other hoof, the view did provide more than a few opportunities for me to peer into the windows of some of the other apartments. As I pressed my muzzle against the glass, I found myself looking from one window to another, taking in the sights each one had to offer from small glimpses into kitchens to full views of living rooms that were even more disheveled than Daniel's.

At one point, I even found myself engaged in an unexpected staring match with a cat sitting in the window directly across from me. I won of course, but only because the cat's attention was quickly drawn to a pigeon that suddenly flew by.

All the windows were pretty much identical in every way, save for the few that were decked in strings of colored lights that flickered and blinked like tiny stars. Peering closer, I could even see one of the human's decorated Christmas trees that were all but identical to the ones ponies put up around Hearth's Warming Eve.

With their prickly, green branches adorned with all manner of baubles and ornaments and lights that blinked like the ones lining the windows outside, it was almost as though I were looking at a tiny piece of Equestria that had somehow found its way through the Gate.

Hearth's Warming Eve and Christmas.

Nightmare Night and Halloween.

Hearts and Hooves and Valentines.

There were times when the similarities between our two cultures was almost staggering and it often left me wondering what else ponies and humans will find they have in common.

With most of my equine curiosity satisfied, I once again returned to my place on Daniel's lumpy, moth-eaten couch and felt the springs creaking beneath me as I lowered myself into the cushion. After I managed to get comfortable, I looked down at the television remote that Daniel had set aside for me before he left. I leaned in close and sniffed the device before poking it a few times with the tip of my hoof.

After the Gate had linked our two worlds together, word of the human's technology quickly spread. Stories and rumors and far-fetched tales moved from mouth to ear then back to mouth again. It wasn't until the day of the Equestrian World's Fair, where many different examples of Earth's technologies finally made their debut and ponies from all over could finally see for themselves what their human neighbors were capable of.

I held the remote between my hooves and traced my eyes along the rows of numbered buttons. I suppose it goes without saying that I had absolutely no idea what I was supposed to do, having little to no experience with either remote controls or televisions. I must have done something right, because the moment I pressed my hoof to one of the larger buttons the television suddenly sparked to life.

Suffice to say, the unexpectedness of it all was enough to leave me more than a little started. When I finally managed to coax myself out from behind the couch, I settled in once more and attempted to make sense of the piece of 'alien' technology that Daniel had left in my care. After a little more trial and error, I eventually figured out the remote's basic functions and proceeded to browse the television’s various channels and stations, amazed by how many different programs were available and the range of topics they covered.

From sports to news to shows that seemed to be all about cooking and food preparation, there seemed to be no limit. There were shows that took place in greasy looking workshops and others that followed the everyday lives of those that others considered famous. There were comedies revolving around the antics of a single family and even heart-stopping dramas that left the mind reeling.

On and on this went, with me making several full cycles through all the channels, including the ones that were nothing but static and noise. It wasn't until my third sweep that I finally settled on what appeared to be some sort of mystery story, one that followed the exploits of a very eccentric detective and his level-headed companion.

It was strange experience, perhaps almost as strange as watching all those foals playing in the arcade, with me just sitting there and staring into this flickering window of electrified color and light. After getting used to the idea of looking at something that I knew wasn’t really there, I sat back and watched as the two humans worked together in order to uncover whatever devious plot had been placed before them.

Though I was often left a little confused by what was happening, I found myself gradually becoming more and more captivated by both the story and the way all the answers seemed to just fall into place one tiny piece at a time. At least that was until my body could no longer resist the feeling of exhaustion that had finally caught up to me. My eyes grew heavy and it took everything I had to try and keep them open, at least until I could see who it was that was behind the devious mystery.

In the end, the tendrils of sleep eventually overpowered me, wrapping me in a gentle cocoon that blossomed inside of me like a bouquet of iridescent flowers. Behind my eyelids dreamscapes fluttered. The world peeled away like the skin of an orange until nothing remained but the sweet feeling of being bathed in the warm caress of Daniel’s hands.

I'm not really sure how long I was asleep, but my nap was eventually brought to a close when I felt myself drifting back into the world of the waking. I lifted my head from my hooves, yawning out the last bit of dream-fuzz from between my ears. My nose was soon touched by the welcoming smell of food wafting in the air and when I was finally able to blink my eyes back into focus, I was surprised to find a pair of unfamiliar plastic bags sitting on the coffee table.

I peered at them curiously, leaning in so I could have a closer look and maybe even have a sniff of the strange but appetizing aromas that had pulled me from my slumber.

"Her Majesty awakes," Daniel said, surprising me as he suddenly stepped out of the kitchen with a small pile plates and bowls and silverware in his hands. "I was starting to think that I was going to have to eat alone, tonight."

"You're home early," I said groggily, rubbing my eye with one hoof. "I honestly didn't think you would be back so quickly."

"Umm…Honeydew," Daniel replied, raising an eyebrow. "I've been gone for nearly six hours." He nodded towards the window and truth be told, I honestly wasn't expecting to find the afternoon sky had been covered over by night time's black curtain.

My ears pulled back and I looked away in embarrassment. "Right…" I said with a shy laugh, praying to Celestia that he couldn't see the blush creeping across the my cheeks. "I guess…I must have dozed off."

"Happens to everyone, Dew," he assured me before reaching into both bags and pulling out several white boxes. I watched as he set them down side by side, arranging them in a way that seemed almost uncharacteristic for him. Each box wafted with curls of steam that filled my nose with the smell of freshly cooked vegetables and spices and other tantalizing things that I couldn't quite put my hoof on. "Hope you don't mind that I picked something up on the way home."

"Why would I mind?" I asked, my nostrils flaring as I breathed in the foreign smelling aromas that practically radiated from each box. "What is it?"

"Chinese takeout from the place down the street. And don’t worry, I ordered from the vegan side of their menu, so no meat.… You know… just in case you were wondering about that."

"It all smells really good," I felt my stomach start to rumble as I licked my lips. "Thank you so much, Daniel."

Daniel grinned. "Think of it as the dinner to go with your show," he said before setting a couple of plates and forks in front of us. "You've already had your show, so now all that's left is the dinner."

"But there wasn't any show," I teased. "Are you trying to get cheap with me, Daniel?"

"You've seen my apartment haven't you?" he replied, opening a can of soda and pouring us both a glass. "Don't they have freak shows in Equestria?"

"That's terrible!" I said, laughing as I lowered myself onto my stomach with my hooves hanging over the edge of the couch.

"I do my best," Daniel returned. "Now what do you say we dig in while we both still have appetites."

"You'll get no arguments from me," I said and together we spent the rest of the evening enjoying perhaps one of the most incredible meals I had eaten since leaving Equestria.

The food was both exotic and delicious, with each box containing one mouth-watering dish after another. There was freshly cooked rice and something that Daniel called egg rolls that crunched like fresh carrots when I bit down into their paper thin crusts. There was an assortment of differently prepared vegetable as well, some plainly steamed while others were stir-fried in a spicy sauce that tasted like garlic and pepper. He'd even brought back a carton of soup that sizzled loudly when he poured in the deep-fried rice that came with it.

Daniel wasted no time digging into the small feast set before us and neither did I. While my human companion busied himself with the soup and noodles, I chose to go straight for the stir-fried vegetables, relishing the tempest of flavors that exploded in my mouth the moment I took my first bite. The sweet, tangy flavor and spices and the way the vegetables practically melted on my tongue were like nothing I would have expected from food that had just come out of a box.

I'm a little embarrassed to say it, but I think I ended up eating the stallion's share of the food and found myself quickly going back for seconds and thirds while Daniel was still on his first. He didn't seemed to mind though, in fact whenever there was even a hint of my plate getting empty he was always there to ladle me another helping.

Sometimes I would lift my muzzle from my food and just simply watch him as he ate, amused by the way he would shovel stringy tangles of noodles into his mouth, slurping them up like a bird gorging on worms. One particularly lengthy bit of noodle took longer than the rest and both Daniel and I ended up laughing when one of them suddenly whipped around and smacked him in the eye.

Meal conversation drifted about at its own pace, once again moving from one topic to the next without any real sense of itself. It wasn't until I asked him about his picture with the Princess that things finally started to pick up.

"It was at last year's E3 convention," he said. "And my partner had somehow managed to snag us a booth in the independent developer's section. I'm sure he must've bribed someone, or at least that's as far a scenario as my sick imagination is willing to venture. Either way, we had ourselves a place to showcase our project at one of the biggest video game conventions in the world."

He stopped to pour me a second helping of soda. I smiled, thanking him before tipping the glass back and savoring the sweet taste of the fizzy beverage as it washed over my tongue.

"So anyway," he went on. "There we are, Zack and I. We're both sitting at our booth like a couple of really dumb kids running the most pathetic looking lemonade stand on the street. So after two days of this, we're both ready just to call it quits and cut our losses. Actually, Zack was the one who was ready to call it quits and I was the one who was ready to commit ritual suicide as a last ditch attempt to get a little attention."

"It sounds like it was very frustrating," I said.

"Dew, it was a nightmare of epic proportions," Daniel replied "Half the people at the convention ignored us and the rest thought we were some kind a joke… or a publicity stunt. Whatever they thought we were, it was pretty clear that no one was going to take us seriously." He leaned back into the couch, his hands pressed over his eyes as he made a noise that I could describe as being somewhere between a groan and a sigh. His fingers plowed through the disheveled mop of his dark hair, pulling back the skin of his face as though he were trying to stretch it over his entire head.

"But none of that mattered after she suddenly showed up."

"Princess Luna?" I asked.

Daniel nodded, looking over at the photograph of the two of them mounted on the wall. "The Mistress of Midnight herself." He then began to laugh, shaking his head while he rested his cheek against his knuckles. "Seeing her there was such a shock that I think I just about shit a brick the moment she started talking to us."

"I can only hope you were able to hold it in until you could find the nearest restroom."

"Only just barely," he said. "Though surprisingly enough, the Princess turned out to be much more approachable than I honestly would have expected from a member of Equestrian Royalty… one that's supposedly immortal and able to control the movement of an entire moon? Not exactly the type you'd expect to see at a videogame convention of all places."

"What was she doing there?" I asked, still having a hard time believing what I was hearing. "I know the Princess had announced an interest to study Earth’s cultures more closely but I never once imagined her curiosities would take her… well… to such strange places."

"Hey, at least it wasn’t at a furry convention."

"A what?"

"It’s nothing, forget I even said anything." Daniel took a sip of his soda. "And to answer your first question, I can only imagine the Princess was there for the same reason as everyone else; to satisfy a near-religious love of the electronic arts."

"Unbelievable," I said quietly. "Princess Luna… Royal Sister to Princess Celestia…and lover of human videogames…" I couldn't help but laugh at what I'd just heard myself say out loud. "I honestly never would have figured her for having an interest in such things."

"From what I understand, she supposedly got hooked on the whole gaming scene while she was attending university." said Daniel. "I heard she even calls herself ‘GamerLuna’ whenever she’s playing on multiplayer.

"What was it that drew her attention to your booth?" I asked, genuinely intrigued by my human companions story. "We are talking about one of Equestria's rulers after all, and one with a reputation for having quite a taste for the theatrics. And from the way you described it, you and your friend weren't exactly a high-point at this convention."

"I think Zack may have dared me to take my pants off at some point."

"No, really," I said, trying to coax him further. "I really do want to know."

"Truth?" Daniel asked. "I'd say that it had a lot to do with our project."

"Why yours?" I asked. "I know you've mentioned this project of yours before, but I feel like I still don't really know what it's about." I reached over and gave him a friendly nudge. "I don't think I've ever met a human or pony who could spend so much time talking about something without actually saying what it is they're talking about."

"What can I say?" Daniel replied. "I've always been a natural born motormouth,"

"Oh I knew that from the first moment I met you." I moved across the couch, flashing Daniel an impish grin as I crawled my way towards him. "So what's the big secret?"

"No secret," he said, scooting back an inch as I closed the distance between us. "I just wasn't sure if you'd understand what I was talking about."

"I'm more than willing to try if you are."

"You promise you won't laugh?" he asked.

"I'll Promise that I'll try very hard not to." I gave my eyelashes a flutter and tilted my head just so, letting my mane tumble over one shoulder. "Come on Daniel…Pretty Please." I pulled my ears back and added a little extra pout to my lips.

Daniel laughed, clearly unable to resist the same face that I had been using on my father since I was a little filly. He was quiet for a moment, favoring me with a lopsided grin before removing his glasses, once again reminding me just how different he looked without them. He tapped them against his knee before leaning back so that his face was once again parallel with the ceiling.

"Remember how I said that ponies could save the arcade industry?" he finally asked.

"I remember you saying something about that," I answered, surprised by how serious his tone had become.

"Well, that wasn't just me trying to be cute," He said. "I really do think it's possible."

"If you don't mind my asking," I said. "What do you have to base that on?"

"Well, you saw how many colts and fillies were in that arcade."

"One crowded arcade doesn't necessarily mean a growing trend, Daniel."

"Do you realize that nearly all the old-school arcades in California have pretty much been closed down?" Daniel asked. "And the ones that haven't are just barely getting by. The one you saw at the Pier was probably just one year away from shutting its doors as well."

"And ponies are the reason that never happened?" I asked.

"Exactly!" Daniel replied with a snap of his finger. "When tourism between Earth and Equestria finally started to pick up, colts and fillies pretty much fell in love the moment they laid their eyes on their first Pac-Man machine." He smiled when he said that, almost as if he were reciting a piece of history. "It was like a the 80's all over again, with nearly every colt and filly flocking to the nearest arcade they could find."

"That's wonderful!" I said with a tiny laugh, enjoying the childlike wonder in my human companion’s eyes. "It sounds like my kind has made quite an impact."

Daniel nodded. "It's actually gotten to the point where some of these places are having to bring in extra machines just to keep up with their customers." He then brought out the notebook that I had seen him with the day we first met. "What I'm holding here is about two years worth of researching the gaming habits of the foals who've come through that one arcade."

"I see." My lips pursed while my equine mind digested this new little detail that Daniel had just shared with me. "So that's what you were doing there."

"You were expecting something more nefarious?"

I gave him a sultry little half-smile. "If I had, do you really think I'd still be sitting here?"

"Probably not," he replied.

"But what does it all lead to?" I asked. "Your project, I mean. The work and the research and all the hours you've must have put into it after all this time. I know this project means the world to you, Daniel. but I'm afraid that I still don't completely understand what it is that you and your teammates are working towards."

"Well…" Daniel began. "If all goes well, then quite possibly the very first videogame to be designed specifically for ponies."

I blinked a few times. "A videogame… for ponies?"

He nodded. "When I saw how much they loved playing those old machines, I knew deep down in my gut that it was just the beginning." He stood up and began to walk around, gesturing with his hands as he continued to pour his dreams and passion out to me. "It was almost like a whole world entire had opened itself to the gaming industry, a new frontier of possibilities to explore.

He stopped suddenly and looked at the picture of him and Princess Luna. "I guess I just wanted to be one of the first pioneers to cross that frontier." He gave me a shy smile, and I couldn't help but silently coo at the touch of red that had spread across both his cheeks "You know… to boldly go where no man has gone before."

"It sounds…" I slowly began, not really sure how to respond to any of what I had just been told. "It sounds like this is something you really feel passionate about."

"It's pretty much been the driving force behind my existence for the past two years." Daniel replied before sitting back down. "And yes, I realize that it comes with the risk of utter failure, but isn't that just something that comes with the territory of creating… well…anything? At least anything that isn’t just dry macaroni glued to a piece of paper?"

"Even if it doesn't turn out the way you planned?" I asked, wondering how and when the tone of our conversation had become so heavy handed.

"Dew, after you pour your sweat and blood into something this important to you, you reach a point where it doesn't really matter if it rises above your expectations or burns up in total failure. Either way, in a few weeks we release the final product and then finally get to see whether or not my team and I have been wasting our lives for the last two years."

"But why videogames?" I asked.

"Games are just something that I've loved since my parents got me my first Nintendo for Christmas. I was hooked the minute I turned that bad-boy on and started wailing away on goombas and metroids. And I was good at it too. In fact, it actually got to the point where my parents were ready to take away my privileges because all I did one summer was sit in my room and play games all day."

"A little moderation never hurt anyone," I said.

"That's what they said before my dad decided to just hide all my cartridges."

"And all of this is what lead you to pursuing this as a career?" I asked.

"Pretty much…that and the fact that I'm pathetically under qualified to do anything else."

"Fair enough," I said before slurping up a mouthful of noodles.

Dinner continued well into the evening, ending with a pair of the oddest looking cookies I had ever seen. Daniel took one for himself and handed me the other. With all the curiosity of a newborn foal, I watched as he showed me how to split the cookie open, revealing the the little slip of paper inside. I honestly couldn't help but laugh, unable to fully grasp the idea of a so-called ‘fortune’ hidden inside a dessert.

It was a cute concept and one that I probably would have gladly enjoyed were it not for my lack of working fingers. After fumbling about several times with nothing to show for my efforts, my impatient nature soon managed to get the best of me, resulting in the cookie being smashed between my hooves.

"Well… okay, I guess that's one way to get it open." Daniel said before reading his own fortune out loud.

"Enjoy being unique and credit all amusements."

When he asked what my fortune said, I peered at my own slip of paper which now lay in a sad little pile of crumbs and broken bits of cookie.

"Unexpected turns will lead to unexpected opportunities."

After that, my human companion quickly introduced me to the humor of adding the words 'in bed' to the end of our fortunes, which actually turned out to be funnier than I would have expected under any other circumstances. Before long, the two of us were laughing so hard that our stomachs began to hurt. And it was at that moment, just sitting there with him on that ratty old couch, that whatever worries I had about staying here went straight out the window.

Whatever it was that came of this temporary arrangement of ours, I promised myself that I would make the most of it and enjoy every wonderful moment I could spend with the human who had so unselfishly brought me into his life.

"Que Sera Sera" I said to myself, remembering the words to an old Earth song that I had once heard my Gentleman singing together. "Whatever will be will be."

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