private Artificial Love. (with Dynamo Pad)

[Dynamo Pad 10,775]

@Catpone Cerberus

Dynamo Pad:
Dynamo chuckled slightly, but nodded at the comment. "Okay, then. So let's make tracks." He says, following Sunlight as they started to make their way back to the clothing store. He returned the smile as he tried to put on a brave face for her. He didn't know what would happen if he stepped into an arcade, but he would just have to fight through this somehow. As the clothing store was within their sights, Dynamo had noticed that Golden, Frail and Lunar were standing outside the store. Dynamo frowned as he looked like he had lost a bet. "Oh, sugarcubes. I knew I wasn't the best at betting, but I thought I could give it a try. Remind me never to go to any casinos." He chuckled, before turning to Sunlight. "I guess a bet is a bet. So, I shall give you the prize." He says, leaning over to kiss her. He smiled softly as he leaned back, before turning to wave at the others.

Dew Drop:
As Jade was making his order with another clerk, Dew could only giggle and nod at her remark. "I-I'm a bit surprised they have an i-ice rink outside in the middle of summer. I g-guess they want skaters to be safe r-rather than sorry. I've heard about some n-nasty summer colds. It's never fun to s-stay in bed during a hot summer day." She says, nodding about his thoughts on skating. "I-I think I've seen ponies on roller blades before. S-Something involving cafe's w-where ponies used skates b-back in the day. I guess it was a t-theme of sorts, b-but it's what my mom and dad told me." She says, seeing Jade had gotten his skates and a green scarf. She noticed it matched his fur and smiled playfully. "W-Were you planning for us to match, in a way? I-If so, then you succeeded w-with flying colors." She giggled once more at his statement, before smiling softly. "W-Well if you're showing me how to use my wings to grab objects, then I can help you g-glide on ice and other surfaces. I-It's honestly not that difficult once you get used to g-gliding. How does that sound?"

[Catpone Cerberus 23,420]

@Dynamo Pad
Sunlight:
Sunlight chuckled. After they had waved to Sunlight's friends, Sunlight didn't let Dynamo to go to them right away "I need to ask you something before we talk to them. Are you okay with telling the truth?" she asked Dynamo "Because if you feel like it would be good to have some backup at the arcade, it would be best to tell what's happening to them too." "That and it would be more certain that they want to come in the first place, since none of them are really gamers." "But it is fully your choice, as I'm not going to force you to do anything you don't feel comfortable doing."
Jade:
Jade again just nodded to most things.
"Not really actually, one thing you can always be sure about is that when it comes to clothes, I have never anything planned." He said with a chuckle "Sure, I don't see why not."

(Sorry, really hitting a blank with Jade on this post)

[Dynamo Pad 10,775]

@Catpone Cerberus

Dynamo Pad:
As Dynamo was about to go over to the others, he was stopped by Sunlight. He turned to see a seriousness, yet caring look upon her face. He listened carefully to everything she had to tell him. His gaze looked to the ground as if he was surprised, before slowly sighing. "Huh...I never really thought of it that way." He closed his eyes briefly to think as he knew this was important. He opened his eyes once more as he looked up to Sunlight, while meeting her gaze. "I think it'd be best to tell them. Friendship is never good to be started on a lie. Seeing how they aren't gamer's. I wouldn't blame them if they don't want to go. It'd be good to have backup, but I won't force them if they don't want to. They're more your friends than mine. I know I just met them, but I don't think anything was established. So, I think it's okay to ask them what's going on." He says, turning back and walking tentatively towards the group. "Hey Golden, Frail, and Lunar. How did the shopping go?" He asks, wanting to start a conversation, before asking them right off the bat.

Dew Drop:
As she saw that he was ready to go, the ebony Pegasus giggled at his statement with a smile. "W-Well, you can't be p-prepared for anything. I-If one was, then i-it would be pretty boring. Sometimes, I f-forget something and would have to i-improvise. I've learned t-to keep a mental note on what I'm missing b-before leaving the shop." She says, blinking as she had realized how she explained herself. "I-I guess it's counterproductive. Seeing h-how I forgot my scarf at the shop." She laughed as she soon set her hooves on the ice. 

Her legs began to shake as she was trying to keep her balance. She moved a few feet, before promptly falling and sliding on the ice. "At least the i-ice is cool enough on a hot s-summer day. This isn't as easy at it l-looks." She smiled sheepishly as she tried to stand up. "I-I think the trick is to skate as if y-you're walking. Place one hoof in front o-of the other and then push off s-slightly." She says, trying to remember the steps to skating.

[Catpone Cerberus 23,420]

@Dynamo Pad
Sunlight:
Sunlight nodded and followed Dynamo, greeting her friends too. 
The trio greeted the couple and Lunar was the one to answer Dynamo's question, "We didn't leave empty hoofed, so I'd say it was a success." "I assume yours didn't go that differently, since both of you have clearly found something." she added with a friendly tone.

Jade:
Jade just smiled at Dew's explanation and let out a short chuckle.
He got on the Ice, and though he wasn't that skilled with skating, he did manage to hold his balance, which he knew was thanks to what he was, as artificial balance system was better than biological one. He offered his wing to help Dew up "I hope you didn't hurt yourself." he knew how skating worked in theory, so he knew exactly what he would need do to get forward, but he decided to let Dew teach him regardless, as he figured it was the nice thing to do, so he did like Dew said and asked "Like this?".

[Dynamo Pad 10,775]

@Catpone Cerberus

Dynamo Pad:
As the trio greeted the couple, Dynamo smiled as he heard about their shopping trip. "That's good to hear. At least you all found something nice. I can imagine there'd be a time one wants to get something, but then you end up passing on the idea. It's always that feeling of do you want to get something, or to wait for another time." He says, nodding as the trio noticed the bags they were carrying. "You can say that again. Sunny and I had managed to find some good reading at the bookstore." He says, taking a deep breath as he felt nervous asking this next question. "So, Sunlight and I were planning on going to the arcade to play some games. We were wondering if you all wanted to tag along and play some games. Although, Sunlight had told me that you three weren't really gamer's." He says, looking down momentarily, before looking back to the trio.

"You see, I have a bit of a problem. I've dealt with some bullies before, but I have these sort of dreams and/or flashbacks. Ever time I go near an arcade, my mind flashes back to some weird realm. I don't know how or why, but I want to be able to face that fear. If I can't, then I guess I can't really play games or know what I want to do. You can say no, but I was wondering if you still wanted to join Sunlight and I." He says, waiting to see what the trio would say.

Dew Drop:
Dew smiled softly as she accepted the offered wing with her wing. "T-Thanks for the help. Also, n-no. It was a bad slip, b-but I'm completely fine." She says, blushing slightly at the fact that she fell. "I-I guess I'm more embarrassed that I fell, r-rather than being hurt." She says, standing up as she watched Jade used the tricks she taught him. She smiled brightly as he was starting to get the basics. "T-That's it! You're doing great, J-Jade!" She exclaims, deciding to give her lesson a try. She was a little shaky at first, but she soon was beginning to get the groove back in her skating. "There we go! I won't g-go and try any double axle's, but i-it's always fun to skate around. A-At least we won't feel rusty when it comes to s-skating now." She smiles, while beginning to glide around the ice rink. At the same time, making sure not to run into anyone skating around her or Jade.  

[Catpone Cerberus 23,420]

@Dynamo Pad
Sunlight:
The trio looked bit surprised about the suggestion at first, even more so when he said he knows they don't really care for games, but when he explained more, they seemed to understand it, though they still seemed bit confused, so Sunlight elaborated "In other word he goes to similar state as I was in after.....you know, when he sees games, and we are going to a arcade to see if we could stop it before it gets too serious, and we figured that it could be good to have some more backup in case anything bad happens." the trio seemed to understand now, and looked even a bit shocked. Frail spoke "Of course we'll help if we just can, can we know what happened?" before Dynamo would have time to reply, Sunlight said "I'll tell you after I'm sure that is what started it."

Jade:
Jade chuckled, though he wasn't sure why, maybe it was reaction to finding blushing Dew cute?
He smiled at Dew's praise, not because he got praised, but because of happy Dew sounded about it. He responded to the last comment with a nod, and stayed next to Dew as the skated around, ready to catch her with his wing if she would fall again.
 

[Dynamo Pad 10,775]

@Catpone Cerberus

Dynamo Pad:
Dynamo had noticed the surprised looks on the trio's faces, but he couldn't blame them. What he asked was out of the blue, but he felt it was smart to work in numbers. He looked to Sunlight and listened as she explained what he had been talking about. As Sunlight had finished her explanation, Dynamo could only nod to confirm what was going on. "These flashbacks have been happening recently, but hopefully there's a way to handle this situation. For a better clarification, these visions have been going on for a few days to a week at most. I don't know what, but Sunlight and I are thinking the answer is in the arcade." He was about to answer Frail's question, but stopped as Sunlight had cut in. The blue unicorn nodded, while running a hoof through his mane. "It's just like what Sunlight had said. She'll explain as we head over to the arcade. If there's any way I can add to the store, then I'll do what I can." He says, turning around in the direction that lead to the entrance of the mall. "So, I guess we should make our way over to the arcade. I heard there was a shop that was close, so it's not too far away."

Dew Drop:
As Dew continued to skate, she noticed that Jade was staying right next to her. She smiled as she thought he would catch her if she fell, but she didn't want either of them to trip over each other. "I-It looks like you're getting the h-hang of it. I guess y-your talent is what you said it w-was. You learn pretty quickly and c-can get things down pat." She giggled as she knew there was more to explain when it came to skating. "O-Okay. Now for the gliding. I-It's easier to skate for us pegasi b-because of our wings. If you c-curve your wings at an angle, then you can c-control which way you'd like to turn. I-If you hold them in the neutral position, t-then you'll be able to keep gliding all around. If you feel l-like you're going too fast, then curl your w-wings like your holding your arms out. The air current will help slow the speed of your s-skating." She says, using her wings as an example to slow down in her skating. 

[Catpone Cerberus 23,420]

@Dynamo Pad
Sunlight:
The trio just nodded to pretty much everything, because when talking about serious matters, unnecessary comments were, well, unnecessary. As they started making their way out Sunlight gave a brief summary of what had happened, it wasn't a lot, since as she had said, she didn't want to go to details until it was sure that it was the cause, but basically she told a bad pony was at the arcade who happened to be from Dynamo's past, and she challenged him to a memory game duel due his pride, and she obviously won. She then explained how said pony was not happy about losing, and had gotten his friend to the arcade, and they wanted to take revenge on Dynamo, and that that revenge is what is most likely the cause of this. She then reminded that she would tell it in more detail if it gets confirmed that it indeed was the cause.

Jade:
"Nah, I just remember things, it doesn't translate to skill." Jade denied "I just have a good balance.". He listened as Dew explained and watched as she gave an example, this was something he needed to really focus on, because his comment about accidentally flying wasn't a joke. He then tried to do as Dew said, and though he didn't fall or otherwise fail miserably, it was clear that his hooves got lighter now and then, showing that there ended up being accidental lift now and then.

[Dynamo Pad 10,775]

Dynamo Pad:
As the group had started to make their way out of the mall, Dynamo was quiet as Sunlight explained the sequences of events. He would occasionally nod and add anything in to the story of what had happened. He didn't like the memories of Cosmic wanting revenge, but he knew it was what Cosmic and Frozen wanted. They continued to walk and discuss as the arcade had soon come into view. The gaming unicorn sighed, before taking a deep breath and steeling his resolve. He could feel his body shake slightly, but more so out of anxiety and worry. "It's just weird. It's like I can't find fun out of playing video games. Just the sight of seeing an arcade gives me the chills." He shook his head to erase such doubts in his mind. He looked back to Sunlight and the others, before facing the direction of the arcade wit ha nod. "I just hope that whatever Cosmic did is linked to this cause."

Dew Drop:
Dew had a puzzled, yet quizzical look upon her face, before shrugging her shoulders. She began to slip on the ice as she used her hooves for skating. She managed to flap her wings as she was caught by Jade. "W-Woah. Okay. N-Note to self. Never shrug y-your shoulders if you are ice skating. T-Thank you for the save." She giggled sheepishly, before nodding. "I-I guess I could see r-remembering things could t-translate to muscle memory. Y-You said you haven't skated in a l-long time. So, relearning to s-skate could lead to m-muscle memory, or something close to that." She says, nodding once more as she agreed as his remark. "I-It's always helpful to have a g-good sense of balance. If not, t-then you're more prone to falling more often." She watched as he tried her tricks and smiles as he was starting to understand. She stifled some laughter as she watched him beginning to fly away. "I-It'll take some time, but I know you'll get it. It t-took me a couple of months after being t-taught by my mom and dad. It f-feels like you're flying with your wings open, b-but at the same time, you aren't. You m-might feel a bit of air resistance, but let the wing ride off of y-your wings. I-It's why I mentioned to change the direction of your w-wings. Once you do, then you'll f-find that equal balance." She smiles as she began to perform a figure eight. 

[Catpone Cerberus 23,420]

@Dynamo Pad
Sunlight:
"There's nothing weird about it." Golden said "That can be expected with things we have negative experiences with, and with how big thing it was in your situation, I'd be more surprised if it didn't have effect."
"I wouldn't necessarily hope so, because it would be lot easier to deal with if it was something else. I only hope it's something we can do something about" Sunlight commented.

Jade:
Jade chuckled at Dew's shrug comment.
"Yeah, I understand what I need to do on paper, but I tend to fly always when possible, so my muscle memory on that makes me want to take off when I open my wings." Jade commented "In other word the biggest challenge with this is to break a habit." When dew started doing eights, Jade got an idea on how to use his fault to his advantage, he started speeding up with the skates, going a straight line, and at some point he opened his wings and flapping them few times to throw himself around with a small air trick, and after landing back on the ice, he skated in straight line again.

[Dynamo Pad 10,775]

@Catpone Cerberus

Dynamo Pad:
As he listened to Golden's remark, he tilted his head in slight confusion. "Oh, I didn't mean weird in a bad way. I guess I meant weird as in a puzzling way. I had these bullies come back because we just taught them a lesson. I get pulled into this makeshift gaming world and now all of a sudden I'm afraid of games. It doesn't make sense and yet it somewhat does." He says, nodding in understanding, before continuing. "I remember having a nightmare of the opposite of what happened. I thought I lost Sunlight, but I woke up and found that it was a nightmare. I haven't had a nightmare like that since, but I don't believe it's a part of what's going on." He says, nodding once more as he listened to Sunlight's statement. He didn't really have much else to say, but hoped that she was right. He didn't have much time to think as the group had finally arrived at the arcade. As the arcade came into view, the blue unicorn had flashed back to when he was in the gaming world. He saw the blurry figure once more, but he shook his head to clear away any visions. He had to steel his resolve and knew he had to push through this. "Okay. Let's do this." He slowly walked up to the door and tentatively pushed the doors open for them to step inside.

Dew Drop:
As she listened to his explanation, Dew giggled softly at his statement. "I-I guess that's true. Some ideas or p-plans are always good on paper, b-but it's a different story when trying something out. I-I guess it'll take some time to adjust to u-using your wings to both fly and to g-glide on the ice." She frowned, but nodded with a reassuring smile. "D-Don't worry, Jade. I know y-you'll be able to do it." As she stopped performing a figure eight, she noticed Jade was skating faster in a straight line. She raised an eyebrow as to what was going on, but she soon saw the green Pegasus had leaped into the air. Her jaw dropped as she was afraid he would be hurt, but he soon flapped his wings as he performed a small air trick. As he landed back onto the ice, she soon grinned and cheered, while whistling. "That was amazing, Jade! I h-haven't even been able to do something l-like that. T-That didn't even look like skating. S-Something more along the l-lines of parkour, o-or what some ponies I s-see are doing, w-while running around Manehatten." She shook her head with a giggle, but she couldn't help to stare at Jade with adoration in her eyes. 

[Catpone Cerberus 23,420]

@Dynamo Pad
Sunlight.
"It actually makes perfect sense." Frail replied "What I mean is that, for example if I was pulled into a some kind of glass world where something nightmarish would happen, you can be sure I would be scared of glass for a some time. That's how fear works." Lunar the joined in "And considering how at least I understood your talent, it makes only more sense, since connecting to the games is only one step away from being in the game."

As they entered the arcade, Sunlight told her friends to leave a bit distance between them and Dynamo and her in case she needed to talk about something that was a secret between Dynamo and her, and promised to call them over if they were needed, and so they did.

Jade:
Jade smiled at the words of encouragement, for some reason it was lot nicer to hear them from somepony like Dew than it had been hearing them from ponies he had known for a while.
"I'd call it just flying, or jumping at best." Jade replied humbly "It was just a simple air trick, only thing I really saw as challenging was the landing, since it's not the easiest thing to land on ice without falling over, and that's without skates." He saw the adoration in Dew's eyes, and that made hims visibly flustered, because this was the first time somepony had ever looked at him like that. 

[Dynamo Pad 10,775]

@Catpone Cerberus

Dynamo Pad:
Dynamo looked to Frail as he listened to what she had to say. After thinking for a moment, he nods. "That does make sense. It'd be even scarier if you were in a town that had lots of glass. What I mean is windows for shops and houses and all that. I'd be even worried when it comes to looking into a mirror. I guess if you had to brush your mane, then it'd be somewhat difficult if one was fearful to glass." He says, his eyes widening slightly as he heard Lunar's remark. "So, you understand too? I know some gamer's may have understood, but I thought I was the only one. I feel as if I understand the other gamer's when I play against them. When I battle them, I feel like I'm in that game."

As they entered the hotel, Dynamo took a few deep breaths as he took in the sight before him. He could see the blinking lights, the pinging sounds from the games and other gamer's flooding the arcade. Everything seemed okay, so far. He waited for Sunlight, who was talking to her friends about leaving both her and him some distance. He nods and waited patiently for Sunlight to join him. As the two walked further into the arcade, he looked around hesitantly of how this plan would work. "So, what should we do first? I'm guessing we should play a game and see what happens? Is there any game you want to play first? I'm not too picky, so I'll let you choose."

Dew Drop:
Dew blushed slightly as she saw Jade smile. Seeing his smile made her feel peaceful and happy. As if she was floating on thin air. She shook her head as he spoke to her. "M-Maybe you can call it s-sky walking. The next sport w-when it comes to parkour." She giggles, but nods at his remark. "O-Oh, I know it may be a simple t-trick. I still t-think it's very impressive. I haven't s-seen many skaters perform those t-tricks like you did." She says, deciding to try a trick of her own. She raced off and began to pick up speed. She then leaped into the air and performed a double axle. Once she landed back on the ice, she lost some of her balance, while feeling dizzy from the air spin. As she tried to fix her balance, she didn't realize that she was about to run right into Jade. "L-Look out, Jade!" She called out as she would either crash into Jade, or he would catch her. Either way, she closed her eyes and braced for impact. 

[Catpone Cerberus 23,420]

@Dynamo Pad
Sunlight:
"Well, I don't understand what it's like to you, since it's not something I experience, but due my job and talent I have wide knowledge about magic and thus I understand the nature of your talent." Lunar corrected.

Sunlight thought for a moment "I'd say you should try a single player game first, because that way I can focus on you so I can see if something happens." "But if that doesn't have effect, next try should probably be a fighting game since it's the genre related to the event."

Jade:
Jade watched as Dew did her trick, and she could tell right when she landed that this wasn't going to a smooth stop, but he didn't move as he rather had her crashing into him than into a wall, so he braced for the impact by taking a pose where he would slide freely after taking the hit, and opened his wings so he could control his speed. When Dew hit him, only thing that really happened was that he started sliding with her, not really slowing her down at all, and then he just stared slowing down so that they both would come to a smooth stop. 

[Dynamo Pad 10,775]

@Catpone Cerberus

Dynamo Pad:
Dynamo nods in understanding to Lunar's statement with a kind smile. "I see and that's pretty interesting. I can see how that makes sense since you have knowledge to different types of magic. I've always wanted to find a new type of gaming magic. One that involves spells from the gaming world into the real world. That, and to try and go into the video game world. Although, I can say that my theories have been proven unsuccessful. I have an idea, but I'm not sure if it's even possible." He says, shrugging his shoulders as he would worry about the idea for another time.

At Sunlight's suggestion, Dynamo nodded as he looked around to find a good game to try. As he looked, he felt cramped from so many arcade machines around him. He grit his teeth, before walking over to the closest arcade machine that was near him. He saw that it was a Super Mario Brother's machine. He sighed in relief, before placing a bit in the coin slot to play. Everything had seemed okay at first, but every action he took had made him feel weird. He had a lost look on his face as he played, while bumping into enemies or falling into pits. Within minutes, he had gotten himself a game over. "Okay. Now that's just weird. I'm usually not too bad at the game. Maybe the controls are messed up?" He asks, but knew he was only lying to himself. Every second, his vision would fade to both that gaming world and back to reality. He would even randomly stop in his playing as he lost focus. "Uh...let's just try another game. Maybe a two player fighting game." He nods, trying to act nonchalant so he wouldn't get any odd looks. 

Dew Drop:
As Dew crashed into Jade, she had her eyes closed as she didn't know who she bumped into. She wrapped her arms around Jade in a tight hug, so she wouldn't slide away from the impact. She felt her and the pony she crashed into had landed on the ground and started to slide. The momentum of the slide started to slow down, while she and Jade had slid to a complete stop. She took a deep breath and sighed as she had felt frightened. She opened her eyes and looked up to see who she had crashed into. When she saw it was Jade, she yelped and jumped back slightly. "I-I'm so sorry, Jade! I-I didn't mean to crash into you. I g-gave you a warning, but I didn't think I'd make you go s-sliding, as well." She blushed, while averting his gaze as she looked to the icy ground. Pretending that the ground was interesting to look at for the moment. She was sad that she had let go of the hug. Despite it being a little chilly on the skating rink, the hug felt warm, in her opinion.

[Catpone Cerberus 23,420]

@Dynamo Pad
Sunlight:
Sunlight observed dynamo the whole time as he played, so his nonchalant act didn't fool her. It was bit odd what was happening, because it appeared that it was something else than normal case of flashbacks, it had to have something to do with the magic related to his talent, but Sunlight didn't mention anything about that, not yet. "Sure." she simply replied, and when they eventually would start the game, she wouldn't really focus on the game, only enough to do something so Dynamo wouldn't be fighting a statue, because she hold her focus on Dynamo to see if anything happened.

Jade:
Jade just smiled "Don't worry, all of that was intentional from my part, it would have been lot more painful if I tried to stay in place during the crash." He explained, it had been surprisingly nice when Dew had her hooves around him, both because it felt good as a hug, but also because it felt nice to Jade to be...helpful. He tilted his head curiously when Dew clearly avoided his gaze, he then said something that was the perfect showcase of how oblivious he really was to some emotion related things "I can't but notice you're avoiding my gaze and blushing, I'd usually assume that it's just plain embarrassment from sending crashing into me, but i have observed few other things and you fit the description of somepony having a crush to somepony. I know this because I saw similar things in my sister after she met her current special somepony.

[Dynamo Pad 10,775]

@Catpone Cerberus

Dynamo Pad:
Dynamo had moved over to a fighting game and was thankful it wasn't too far away. He felt as if he was making a complete fool of himself. However, he knew what he was getting himself into. He moved through the character selection and didn't really have a preference of who to play. What he didn't realize was that someone was watching him and Sunlight play video games together. This pony was interested as he kept hearing game over repeatedly. This pony tried to move closer, but made sure to stay out of sight. As the game began, Dynamo's vision instantly turned to to that of the gaming world. The time he stayed in said vision was longer than usual. He occasionally stayed still, while other times he attacked relentlessly. He was becoming easier to predict as he ended up losing the match. Even at a best two out of three, the results were still the same. The blue unicorn sighed as he was starting to understand what was happening. 'I-I can't play. It's as if I'm physically unable to play at all.' He thought, a sickening expression upon his face.

He went to turn to Sunlight, but stopped as he thought he had seen a familiar face. He squinted his eyes to get a better look. His face soon paled as he had seen a red earth pony a few feet away from them. "Hey, uh...how about we call it a day. I don't want to make your friends wait here. Maybe we can visit another time." He says, trying to walk out as quickly as he could. However, that was the perfect chance for the earth pony to strike. "Hey, Dynamo. It's been a long time since I last saw you. Did you miss me?" The earth pony asks, trying to keep an innocent look on his face. If one were to get a better look, he had a devious smile upon his face, as well as an all knowing look that said he had a plan.

Dew Drop:
Dew looked up to Jade and smiled sheepishly. "Y-Yeah, that's true. The way you used your wings to l-less the crash is h-how you would glide on the ice. I-In a way, you used a d-different method to the trick/idea." She says, trying to get up, so other ponies wouldn't crash into them. As she got back onto her hooves, her ears perked at Jade's statement. She turned to him and blushed slightly in fear of being caught. As she listened, she smiled slightly as she could tell he was slightly oblivious. "W-Was it really that noticeable?" She asks, trying to hide her face within her mane. "S-Say I did have a crush. W-What would you say?" She asks, trying to figure out how to best go about the situation. 

[Catpone Cerberus 23,420]

@Dynamo Pad
Sunlight:
At this point Sunlight was getting worried, she used no tactic or effort in the game, yet she ended up winning several times, and she could see from Dynamo's expression that he had realized this too, but she still didn't say anything, as she didn't know what to say, because she didn't have solution to this, it din't seem like something that'd be fixed just with some emotional support.

Dynamo's excuse didn't convince Sunlight as she had seen his expression prior to that, and she could guess what was going on without turning to the direction he was looking, but she just followed Dynamo like she didn't see anything wrong, but as she did, she met eyes with Lunar and Frail who had now scattered around the arcade so nopony would pay any extra attention to them, signaling them that they may soon be needed, and one of them went to inform Golden about it. Sunlight acted surprised when the earth pony spoke, and pretended to not know he clearly had ill intentions, she had seen enough fake innocence to see right through it.

Jade:
"Well, since we have just met, I would most likely ask who's the lucky stallion, and emphasize that you don't need to tell me if you don't want." Jade started "And if you didn't answer, I would think a moment if I could guess it in my head, but I would leave it to that." as he talked, he did exactly that, going through the short time they had known, and after a moment, a realization hit him, and he looked surprised and bit flustered, "Wait.....you have a crush on me?!

[Dynamo Pad 10,775]

@Catpone Cerberus

Dynamo Pad:
Dynamo could only sigh and shake his head as the tone of the earth pony's voice sounded forced. "I honestly wasn't expecting to see you here. I thought you'd be back in Fillydelphia. So, what do you want, Cheap Shot?" At the mention of his name, Cheap had clapped his hooves to the ground. As a way of him giving his rival a round of applause. "At least you remember me, Dynamo. I thought after leaving town, you would end up forgetting me and the others. Although, I can say the same about you. It's rather odd to see you in both this town and the arcade. So, what brings you here?" Dynamo narrowed his eyes slightly and began to back away. "I don't have to answer to you." He turned, but was stopped by some ponies, who acted as guards. "Oh, I don't think you'll be going anywhere. You see...I was going to go look for you. It's a coincidence that we'd happen to meet at an arcade. Seeing how we both like video games in our spare time. Although, I was here for Cosmic and Frozen. The ones you had got locked away!" 

The gaming unicorn tensed as he heard those names. "You don't know them, Cheap. They were mad with power and tried to hurt innocent ponies and gamer's. They had to be stopped." Cheap could only laugh and shake his head at the reasoning. "Oh, don't think you can play the hero. Cosmic and Frozen are my teammates, so this is my business." He says, turning to see that Sunlight was standing next to Dynamo. He raised an eyebrow and whistled at the orange unicorn. "Look at this cutie. You're telling me that she's your girlfriend?" Dynamo chose to be silent as he didn't want to bring up anything that could be trouble. "I take it by your silence that she is." He shook his head with disappointment. "Oh, please. She's quite the catch, but chose the wrong pony to love. Why don't you stay by my side, Miss Sunlight? You can have anything you want and I can make it worth your while." Dynamo stood in front of Sunlight, before a thought soon occurred to him. "Wait a minute. How do you know her name? Neither of us even gave out that tidbit of information."

Dew Drop:
As she listened to Jade's explanation, she smiled softly and nods that his train of thought was correct. "Y-You seem to know to find the r-right way to go about the question. I-It really shows how knowledgeable you are. Also, I-I don't really want to talk about it. N-Not until the time is right." She says, muttering the last part, so he couldn't hear her. As he continued to explain, she watched as he had become a little bit flustered. As he guessed about her crush, the ebony Pegasus looked toward the ice, while her mane covered her eyes. She stood there motionlessly for a bit, before nodding slowly that it almost didn't seem like a nod to others. "I-I...I think I do. I k-know we just met, b-but I think you're r-really sweet. Y-You're c-c-cute, kind and c-caring, while being t-truly smart."

[Catpone Cerberus 23,420]

@Dynamo Pad
Sunlight:
Sunlight didn't say anything during the conversation, and looked nonchalantly at the earth pony, though in truth she watched as her friends who could see the situation getting dangerous looking got ready to act if things went bad. "It doesn't surprise me you know my name, trash has the habit to speak to each other about such things." Sunlight coldly stated, she didn't show any fear but she was wary of the situation, but that didn't stop her from showing her dislike of this pony "And I already have everything I could ever dream of, Cheap." that wasn't even a lie, she had a dream job, access to knowledge, and a special somepony, and as she said it, she moved next to Dynamo, purposely going as close side to side with him as physically possible "What's with your names by the way, Cheap, Clown, Your mothers really didn't like you if they gave you such names, but I guess they ended up fitting pretty well"

Jade:
Jade seemed bit taken aback after hearing the compliments, and clearly didn't know what to say "Thank you?"  he said carefully, he wasn't used to getting compliments, so he didn't know how one would response to them. "If it helps with your embarrassment, I think you're rather cute too, especially when you blush. And I admire your passion towards your plants." he of course had no idea that what he said would most likely make the poor mare only more embarrassed. 

[Dynamo Pad 10,775]

@Catpone Cerberus

Dynamo Pad:
Cheap Shot could only shrug his shoulders. Smiling mirthlessly at the question. "Oh, I have my ways. What better way to find out, then to go to town and visit them, of course." Dynamo's eyes shrank in fear of what he had heard. "Wait...what!? You went to Ponyville!?" He question was answered by a swift nod. "That's right, Kyubiki. The news of my team being sent to prison had spread like wildfire. Seeing how my family is so rich. I decided to try and go bail them out. It wasn't easy, but they'll be back out in the land of the living soon enough." Dynamo gritted his teeth and shook his head at the foolishness of Cheap. "You're crazy, you know that? We put them behind bars because they hurt others. They were going to do crimes that Equestria wouldn't stand for. So, you're telling me that you're getting them out of jail? You have no sense of logic." Cheap could only narrow his eyes and flared his nostrils. "That just means you have no sense of reason or justice. We want to knock down all the gamer's in the world. Show them that money, strategy and power mean everything. You're hopes, dreams and hard work will be both meaningless and proven fruitless."

The red earth pony grinned as he eyed the orange unicorn. "Well, the description of you fit perfectly to what Cosmic had told me. A unicorn mare with a mouth and is feisty. Not only that, but she has a face that is pure, icy cold to stare at. Seems like you'll need to be taught some discipline." At the mention of having everything she needed, Dynamo blushed as she stood as close to him as possible. Cheap gagged and shook his head. "You know what? Forget it. You can keep her." Dynamo took a deep breath and sighed. He was honestly getting sick and tired of the red earth pony. "Don't you ever treat her like she's a trophy to be won. She's a unicorn and someone, who's very important to me. I'm not in the mood for this, Cheap Shot. What do you want?" Cheap smiled a toothy grin and nods. "Very well, then. I thought I could have some fun and get some nice, needed payback for Cosmic. I heard you defeated him and took his alicorn amulet. So, I'm here to make sure he gets back what belonged to him. That, and to try and humiliate you in front of your girlfriend. Also, for your information, missy. My father gave me that name as his name was Big Shot. He wanted to keep the family name going strong. So, ha!" He stated, sticking his tongue out and blowing a raspberry.

Dynamo rolled his eyes at Cheap and shook his head at the plan. "Thanks, but no thanks. I'm not interested in playing games against you. So, maybe another time, or quite possibly never." He tried to turn away, but found that someone had a strong grip on his arms. "Didn't you hear me? I'm not letting you leave. Now bring him over!" He shouted, while the guards pulled Dynamo over to Cheap Shot. "G-Get off me! Let go!" He tried to break free, but the guards were too strong. He tried to turn his face to Sunlight, while the guards moved in to restrain her. "Nobody moves, or tries to act like a hero, got it!? I made sure to pay the owner here enough so nobody can interfere. Anyone thinks they can stop this, then they are going to regret it." He says, guards lining the area as there was no form of escape. Dynamo tried to think of a way out, but knew that he was stuck.

Dew Drop:
Dew glanced up slightly to meet Jade's gaze. She tried to look away, but she seemed drawn to his eyes. "Y-You're welcome. I-It's just...I o-only say how I feel. I t-think you're a really kind, c-caring and hard working Pegasus." She says, her face blushing like a storm from his choice of words. "T-Thank you. N-Nobody has e-ever said that to m-me before. I get the o-occasional compliments on my flowers. H-However, nobody has e-ever said what you said with s-such conviction." She smiled sweetly and nods. "S-So, where do we go from here? I-I guess you know of my feelings and all. I-I just don't honestly know w-what happens next." She says, feeling lost and flustered. She looked around to see some ponies were still skating, while others had took notice of her and Jade. 

[Catpone Cerberus 23,420]

@Dynamo Pad
Sunlight:
"That doesn't make it any better of an name, I almost felt bad for you having such terrible name, but seeing how cheap you really are, it really fits you." "And you waste your time with the amulet, it's where it belongs, aka somewhere where you can't get it from." Sunlight simply stated. Sunlight didn't do anything when Dynamo got restrained, because she knew she couldn't do anything alone, and didn't fight back when they came for her, except if any of their hooves went to places they shouldn't be, in which case she shot said hooves with magic, which wasn't strong enough to do damage, but would hurt like hay. She wasn't worried about Cheap's threats though, sure they were outnumbered, and the owner may be paid off, but her friends who were silently and unnoticeably getting ready to do something were all not the worst when it came to physical conflict, because Frail and Golden had trained to defend themselves, and Lunar's artifacts were rather powerful. 

Jade:
"I haven't been given that many compliments either, now and then somepony may mention my memory and my sister of course gives compliments, but they don't really have the same effect as what you said."  he didn't pay attention to the ponies around them, he honestly didn't care about them, he kept his glance on Dew. He shrugged keeping his balance "I'm definitely the wrong pony to ask something like that, but if we are to follow my sister's example, we just keep doing things like nothing happened, until something happens." he smiled.

[Dynamo Pad 10,775]

@Catpone Cerberus

Dynamo Pad:
As Dynamo was brought over, he was plopped to an open chair, while Cheap had chosen to sit next to the blue unicorn. Dynamo looked back to Sunlight, who he saw the guards tried to restrain her too. The guards made sure to keep her from moving as they were ordered by Cheap. The red earth pony rolled his eyes, while ignoring Sunlight's comment. Dynamo tried to look around as he hoped that Golden, Frail and Lunar were okay. They were Sunlight's friends, after all. He could only imagine they either escaped to get help, or blended in with the crowd. "There we go. Now, there won't be any more distractions, while we play our game. I also don't know what you're looking around for. I have guards all around the crowd. Help is not coming to save you this time." Cheap states, tapping his chin with his hoof, while being deep in thought. "Let's see what we should put up for ante in this match. If you win, then I will leave. No strings attached, nothing difficult. I'll even make sure to pay for any damage or trouble that's been caused." Dynamo raised an eyebrow as that sounded pretty nice. However, he knew that was too good to be true. "What's the drawback?" Cheap grinned as he had the blue unicorn in the palm of his hoof. "I knew you'd ask something like that. If I win, then you lose your girlfriend. Like I said she can find someone better. I heard what she said, but she's just lying to herself." He says, trying to psyche Dynamo out with his mind games.

Dynamo's eyes widened at the mention of the deal. "No way. I'm not betting on something like that. Even if your end of the bargain is good. There's absolutely no way that I'm betting anything." Cheap looked to Dynamo, while getting as close to the blue unicorn's face as possible. "Didn't you hear me? You don't get a say in the matter. Nor are you the one to be making demands at me. You're playing whether you like it or not." The red earth pony backed off slightly and offered Dynamo a fake smile. "Better yet, I picked the game for you. One that I know that you're good at. It's Naruto Storm 4. I'll even let you pick a character you like to play as. That sounds fair, right?" Dynamo sat quietly as his mind went into overdrive. 'I-I can't play as I am. I can't even hold a controller. Even so, he expects me to play?' He looked around nervously. A bead of sweat trickling down the side of his face. The room started to spin as the fear had begun to set in his mind and heart. He took the controller and knew there was no way out of this. Dynamo could only hope that he could win and put a stop to Cheap.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzxWltEgqOc

Dynamo sat on the left side, while Cheap sat on the right side of the screen. After picking their characters and stage, the battle was about to begin. Unfortunately, it wasn't much of a fight at all. The battle soon turned into a one sided game of target practice. Each time Dynamo tried to play, his mind and vision kept flashing back into the game world. This caused the button commands to be pressed slower than normal. After a decisive and destructive fight, Cheap Shot had been declared the winner of the fight. 
 

Dew Drop:
Dew looked to Jade and tilted her head in surprise. "I-I feel that you deserve a lot more compliments, J-Jade. You're t-truly a kind pony. Anyone would be l-lucky to have you in their lives, in m-my opinion." She says, blushing and smiled kindly at his remark. She frowned about him not knowing much about where they could go from here. However, she didn't blame him as she remembered that he was not used to saying how he was feeling. "O-Oh, okay. So, we're f-friends for now? T-That's understandable to me. I-I guess we'll wait and see what h-happens, until something happens." She skated over to him and offered him her arm. "W-Would you like to keep skating, o-or would you like to go somewhere else and e-explore?"

[Catpone Cerberus 23,420]

@Dynamo Pad
Sunlight:
Sunlight spit towards Cheap's general direction after he had said his 'reward', she was starting to get fed up with being talked about just a price to be won, and if that piece of waste thought he would get anything from her he was greatly mistaken. She knew Dynamo was going to lose this one, and she knew she wouldn't be able to do anything about it, and she also knew her friends would wait for the right moment, especially now that there was the risk of the 'guards' being in the crowd too, they wouldn't want to get stuck to them.

Sunlight didn't show any emotion when the game ended, and kept her eyes forward, she didn't say anything, but if Cheap was to come closer to her, say something to her, or do anything relating to her, she would just spit at him, with no change in expression.

Jade:
"Up to you really, I wasn't kidding when I said I'm used to doing what others want." Jade replied with a smile, taking the hoof offered to him "For me at this point I just want that we can talk while doing whatever. After all, we are supposed to get to know each other."
 

[Dynamo Pad 10,775]

@Catpone Cerberus

Dynamo Pad: 
As the victor had been decided, Dynamo could only stare at the screen in shock. He knew that something like this might happen, but he had hoped that he could have put up a fight. It wasn't to be as he was utterly defeated. The controller he was holding his magical grasp had slipped away. Landing on the ground with a thud, Dynamo's gaze soon went towards the ground. 'I...I failed. I-It's all over.' He thought, his vision soon turning back to the gaming world. He looked around in fear as felt as if his magic was being drained on the spot. He could see the blurry figure approaching. Now said figure was starting to become more and more clear. Dynamo couldn't tell who it was, but it felt like he had lost everything. He thought of his friends leaving, of Sunlight deserting him and everything becoming quiet and still.

Cheap Shot grinned as he won, but he oddly didn't feel satisfied. It was his goal to get his revenge and he won like it was nothing. "What was that?" He asks, his anger boiling as he didn't get an answer. He turned to Dynamo, who looked like he had seen better days. "I asked you a question! I said what in Equestria was that!?" He asks, getting out of his seat and quickly making his way over to the gaming unicorn. As he reached his opponent, he picked up Dynamo by the scruff of his jacket. "What happened to the great Kyubiki Tenchu, huh? It was like he wasn't even here right now!" He shook Dynamo, but the blue unicorn was unresponsive. "This isn't fair! I wanted to fight you at your best! What do you even call that!? I wanted a challenge and all you give me is barely any attempt. So, don't ignore me! Answer me already!" The red earth pony tossed Dynamo aside as the blue unicorn fell to the ground. As he hit the ground, the bag he carried with him fell off of his back.

Cheap looked at the bag as he walked over. He pulled the books out of the bag and began flipping through the manga. "Seriously? You read this garbage you call books?" He spat on the cover and attempted to rip up the manga, but Dynamo looked up to him. "What are you doing? I paid for those books, so stop this already." He says, knowing that he couldn't go around making demands. Cheap relented and threw the manga to the ground. The books had become slightly damage upon impacting the ground. "You know what? You might be right. Besides, the books might be contaminated with your germs. I wouldn't want to get infected with failure, right?" He asks, noticing something shining in the bag. He pulled the item out of the bag to see that it was a heart shaped necklace. On the necklace were the words, 'Forever in my Heart.' He turned back to Sunlight and grinned as and idea had come to mind. "Oh, isn't that sweet? Hey, Sunshine! Look at what your coltfriend..." He was stopped as Dynamo called out to Cheap.

"Hey! That's enough, okay? You had to go and ruin my books, but I will not let you ruin a surprise for Sunlight. So just give it back. That's important to me! It's a family heirloom, so it doesn't belong to you!" Cheap looked somewhat surprised from the sudden outburst. He looked at the necklace, then to Dynamo and then the necklace once more. "Hmm...I was thinking about selling this, but I guess this is something that I can't sell. Seeing how it's meant for both you and your ex marefriend. Fine, then." He says, letting go of the necklace as it made a clanging noise as it hit the ground. "Seeing how you lost her, then it's worthless. It'd be a shame if I just smashed the piece of junk!" Dynamo watched in horror as Cheap raised a hoof to break the necklace. Without thinking, Dynamo leaped over and threw his front hooves on the necklace. As Cheap brought his hoof down, he was bitter he couldn't break the necklace. That didn't stop him from trying to hurt Dynamo. As he felt the impact, Dynamo screamed as he felt his front hooves were in tremendous pain.

Dew Drop:
Dew smiled and nods as the two held hooves. "O-Okay. I just f-felt that it's only r-right for you to make a c-choice. W-We could continue to s-skate, but it's getting a little cold." She wasn't lying as she shivered slightly from sliding on the ice. "M-Maybe we can go visit the S-Statue of Harmony? It'll be easier since w-we can fly. I-I'd also like to get to know more a-about you, Jade." She smiles as she waited patiently for what he wanted to do.