> Arcade Schtick
>  by Marezinger Z
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Arcade Schtick
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunset pulled into the vast parking lot of the Infinity Mall, the latest venue for their favorite pop duo. Pinkie stuck her head out of the window and gasped at the sheer size of the four story shopping Centre. 
“Holy cow, Sunset.” She excitedly ducked back into the vehicle. “You could fit three of the Canterlot Malls inside that thing.” 
“Probably.” Sunset concurred as she parked in the first available spot she could find. “It’s one of the main attractions in the entire state; three million square feet of commercial contentment.” She quoted. 
“I bet you could live in there for a week and not get bored.” Pinkie imagined as they began their hike through the lot. “Can…”
“No, Pinkie.” Sunset smiled. “We’re here for one night and then we have to get back on the road to make the next concert.” 
“Aww.” Pinkie twisted her lips. 
“Don’t worry, if we have some free time after the tour is over we can stop here again on the way home.” 
“Yes.” Pinkie pumped her fist. 
After a near fifteen minute walk they finally stepped into the commercial coliseum. The atmosphere was loud and busy as countless patrons walked between the hundreds of shops, attractions and eateries. Sunset glanced over to see her easily distracted friend rapidly become overwhelmed by the amount of things there were to do and see; she quickly grabbed her shoulders and wheeled her around to look into her eyes. 
“Pinkie.” She began. “I know you want to run around and see everything, but remember, the concert starts at eight and we don’t have a time loop this time around; we’ll see as much as we can and go to get our seats at seven, okay?” 
“Gothca.” Pinkie nodded rapidly. “Let’s get moving then!” She grabbed Sunset’s wrist and dove into the sea of humanity around them. Sunset held on for the whirlwind tour as Pinkie eagerly took them into the shops that caught her eye the most. The impressive candy store was first on her list as they taste tested chocolates and Pinkie loaded up on sweets for the coming evening. From there they hit up the music store, where they wound up entertaining the customers with a duet as Sunset played a display guitar while Pinkie danced a tune on an electronic piano mat. Next up was the toy store where they earned the ire of the owner as Pinkie chased Sunset around with a foam dart, gatling gun. Sunset got her to wind down enough to eat lunch in the sprawling, second floor food court; from which they then found themselves in the Everfree Workshop. 
“Pinkie?” Sunset walked the store, looking at all the adorable plush toys that lined the walls and racks. She noticed a purple haired mouse with glasses and snickered as she pulled it from the display. “Heh, you kinda look like Twi.” She rocked the toy back and forth while spouting out science facts. 
“Sunset!” Pinkie’s voice rang out.
“I was just looking!” Sunset quickly put the stuffed animal back. 
Pinkie ran up to her and held out a stuffed bear, it had red hair along with a leather jacket and white tee. “It’s you!” She beamed.
“Sure looks like it.” Sunset’s head cocked as she observed the bear. “Do I need to sue somebody?”
“No silly.” Pinkie giggled. “I made it.” She pointed towards the back of the store. “You can make your own from scratch.” 
“Oh.” Sunset blushed as Pinkie hugged the bear tightly against her chest with a warm smile. 
“You want to make one?” Pinkie asked. 
“Uh… no, I’m good on the stuffed animal front.” She laughed. “There is something I wanted to check out though.” 
“Sure!” Pinkie nodded. “Let’s go.” 
They left the store and headed up to the third floor where Sunset brought Pinkie before a massive arcade. Aptly named ‘Old School’, the bright neon sign reflected keenly in Sunset’s eyes as she practically drooled at the sight. “Whoa… this is even more amazing than I had heard.” Sunset noted as they went inside. Even louder than the mall, the arcade was filled with a cacophony of digital sound effects and excited yelling. “Oh, check it out!” Sunset grabbed Pinkie and led her over to a fighting game. “Power Ponies vs Shoot Fighter X Plus! This is the best crossover fighter ever!” Sunset squealed. “Want to give it a go?” 
“Okay.” Pinkie took to her side of the controls as Sunset put in 75 cents. 
“Alright, pick your fighter.” Sunset immediately chose Fili-Second.
“Ooh, he looks fun.” Pinkie placed her frame over a tuxedoed man sporting an apron and wielding a saucepan.
“That’s Justin Thyme.” Sunset explained. “He’s a chef from the future.”  
“Okay, that sounds silly even to me.” Pinkie chortled. 
“Now.” Sunset began, ignoring her critique. “The controls are light punch and hard punch, light kick and hard kick, hold back to block, tap up twice to double jump, tap forward twice to dash, the green button is your X special attack and the green and yellow buttons together are your X hyper combo. Got it?” 
“Ummmmm.” Pinkie’s brain scrambled at the information dump. 
“Fight!” Sunset shouted as she went in on Pinkie; using a knock up and follow up air combo into a special move knockdown, Sunset trapped Pinkie in the corner and beat her in under 20 seconds. “Yes!” Sunset cheered, glancing over to see a dumbfounded Pinkie. “Uh, sorry… I used to play in tournaments.” 
“That’s okay.” Pinkie smiled. 
“How about we play something else?” Sunset looked around. “There’s Disastronauts, VR cycle racing… ah!” Her eyes lit up. “Prance Prance Revolution!” 
“I know that one.” Pinkie followed her over to the machine. “This is super fun!” 
“Great, let’s do it.” Sunset took to the left platform while Pinkie the right. “Head to head?”
“Bring it on.” Pinkie grinned as she started stretching. 
Sunset took her jacket off and tossed it aside before putting the money in. The screens came to life and she stepped her way through the menu, choosing expert difficulty. The upbeat, techno mix started and the girls affixed their eyes to the screen as the arrows began rising from the bottom. The pair dove head first into the action, keeping up with each other step for step the entire time. A crowd began to gather around them as they moved into the second song and cheered for the heated competition. 
“No shame in giving up!” Sunset shouted through a sharp breath.
“You kidding!?” Pinkie retorted in a surprisingly composed voice. “I can keep this up all day!”
Sunset, sweat beading on her forehead, took a peek over at Pinkie to see that she wasn’t even breathing heavily. She quickly realized that she was in a stamina race against a sugar powered dynamo that could run circles around kids half her age. Sunset pressed on into the third song, her calves and hamstrings began to burn and she was starting to pant hard. Pinkie on the other hand, bounced around with a bright smile, still not showing the slightest sign of tiring. About halfway through the fourth song, Sunset’s legs finally gave and she fell back onto the railing of the platform. Her eyes glassy from exhaustion, she couldn’t help but smile as she watched Pinkie finish the song to the thunderous applause of dozens of onlookers. 
“You win.” Sunset acknowledged through a tired sigh. 
Pinkie hopped over to Sunset’s platform as the game reset and the crowd dispersed. “That was the best!” She wrapped her arm around Sunset and held her upright. “So, what next?” 
“Next?” Sunset eyed her in disbelief. “I need a drink, that’s what’s next.” She laughed. 
“To the smoothie stand!” Pinkie proclaimed as she dashed out of the arcade. 
“Hey… wait up!” Sunset grabbed her jacket and tried to jog after her. 
By the time Sunset caught up to Pinkie she had already purchased them a round of smoothies and happily handed Sunset’s known favorite to her as she sat. “Here you go.”
“Thanks, Pinkie.” Sunset immediately set her lips to the straw. 
Pinkie smiled as she watched Sunset suck down her drink. “After the show, before we head back to the motel, can we go back to the arcade and play some more?” 
“Sure.” Sunset nodded, setting her half empty cup down. “We don’t have to be on the road until about noon tomorrow, so we can stay up a little later.” She pointed her finger at Pinkie. “No more dancing though, I don’t think my legs can take it.” 
“Okay.” Pinkie laughed. “I’d rather you teach me how to play the fighting game anyway.” 
“Really?” Sunset eyed her curiously.
“Yeah.” Pinkie confirmed. “That way we can keep playing when we get back home.”
“Alright.” Sunset warmed to the idea of having someone to play with offline for a change. “That didn’t really pan out with the others.” She thought back. “Rarity was an automatic no, Twilight just kept telling me how inaccurate the physics were, Fluttershy kept asking me why everyone was fighting and Rainbow Dash and Applejack…” She shuddered. “That almost turned into a real fist fight.” As they laughed, Sunset checked her watch. “It’s almost seven, want to go ahead and get down to the stage?” 
“One second.” Pinkie’s eyes bulged as she began to inhale the rest of her smoothie. 
“Easy, Pinkie.” Sunset chuckled. “You’ll wind up with brain freeze.” 
“Nah.” Pinkie waved it off as she tossed the cup over the back of her shoulder and into the trash. “I never have to worry about that for some reason.” 
Sunset stood and started for the escalator, Pinkie quickly ran up beside her and took her arm as they made their way to the show.