>Flitter lied sobbing on her bed with her face buried in her pillow.
>Cloudchaser sat beside her on the edge of the bed, her lower legs dangling off and wearing a very annoyed expression on her face.
>Flitter had been lying here all morning.
>It was now 4 in the afternoon.
>Cloudchaser had checked on her occasionally just to be safe and even tried to console her.
>Now she's just irritated by her sister's childish behavior.
>"I still don't understand your fascination with him," said Cloudchaser.  "The guy's a total loser and a slob."
>"He just needs a loving push in the right direction," mumbled Flitter into her pillow.
>"Yeah, and it looks like the girl from last night might just be the push he needs," Cloudchaser said jokingly.
>Regardless of the obvious sarcasm, Flitter burst into another fit of tears.
>"Ugh," groaned Cloudchaser.  "You are such a baby!"
>"What does he see in her?" asked Flitter.  "What does she got that I don't?"
>"Well for starters, you are the biggest push-over I have ever seen," commented Cloudchaser.  "Second-"
>"That's it!" piped up Flitter, rising from her pillow with a smile on her face.  "I just need to be more assertive!"
>"It's more than that," said Cloudchaser.
>"No, you see!  He gave me all kinds of chances to speak up, but I never did!  And there was no way he didn't see the hints I was giving him!"
>"Uh...  What hints?" asked Cloudchaser.  "And he seems oblivious enough that-"
>"Let's go!" shouted a giddy Flitter as she hopped off the bed.
>"Where exactly?" asked Cloudchaser.
>Her answer was to be grabbed by the hoof and dragged out the door.

--

>Sunday is your last day of absolute freedom.
>And you're just wasting it away by sitting on your ass.
>You need a hobby.
>Or at least the motivation to leave your apartment every now and again.
>You should go for a run or to the gym or something.
>...
>Meh, maybe tomorrow.
>At the very least you should pick up your apartment after your asshole friends trashed it.
>Again.
>You pick up a single can from your place on the couch.
>God, this sucks already.
>A knock at the door.
>Saved by the bell!
>You groan loudly as you're forced to get off the couch.
>God, you're getting fat.
>You saunter over to the door and answer it 
>It's Flitter with Cliffdiver looking extremely pissed off behind her.
"What's up?"
>"Hi Anon," greeted Flitter. "We just thought we'd come over and help you clean if you haven't already since we also helped to trash your apartment."
>"We?" huffed Cleftrunner.
>Flitter beamed and large smile at you as she quickly kicked her hind leg at her sister's shin.
>You raise an eyebrow at Claypidgeon as she hopped up and down and cursed under her breath.
"I, uh...  That's not necessary."
>"Oh, but I insist," pushed Flitter.
"No, really.  It's fine."
>You start to inch the door closed.
>Flitter places her hoof in front of it.
>"Let us help," she demands.
>"I think I'm gonna go," said Classclown as she cautiously backed towards her own apartment.
>You felt as if you were against a wall, figuratively speaking.
>Quite possibly literally in just a few short moments.
>You take a step back, still holding the door.
"I mean, if you really want to..."
>"Thanks!" said Flitter as she shoved the door further open and trotted past with the most innocent smile.
>You glance across the hall as Clockturner closed and bolted the door behind her.

>You shut your own door when you see that Flitter's sister will not be joining her.
>"It looks like you've already started," said Flitter, referencing the empty can still in your hand.
"Started," you emphasize.  "Didn't get very far though."
>"Well if you can pick up the cans and stuff, I can wipe the tables down."
"Sure."
>You grab an armful of cans and drop them in the garbage can.
"So do you enjoy cleaning or something?  This is the second time you've asked to clean for no reason."
>"Just trying to be a good neighbor.  And it kind of helps to pass the time during the day as well."
>Flitter wets a rag and takes a spray bottle of cleaning solution.
"Ah.  That makes sense."
>You toss a stack of sticky plastic cups into the trash.
"Thanks."
>"No problem."
"And you said 'to pass the time'?  Do you not have a job?"
>Flitter wiped the table for a second in silence.
>"Well, no," she stated bluntly.  "But I want to get one soon."
"That"'s cool.  I'm not much better off, to be honest.  I've been without a job for a while."
>"How long is a while?" asked Flitter, cocking her head at you curiously.
"Several months," you state after a moment of hesitation.
>Just saying it makes you flush with embarrassment.
>"Several months!?" exclaimed the shocked pegasus.  "How can you afford food?  Or an apartment?"
"A cab driver ran over my foot and a judge ordered him to pay me several thousand dollars for pain and suffering," you explain.
>At first ecstatic at the fact you can live off of these checks for a while, people, your family especially, soon came to make you ashamed to flaunt it around like you had been.
>You had already quit your job, and finding another one was not on your to-do list anytime soon.
>But that was before you were almost out of money.

"So how about you?" you ask, trying to divert the conversation.
>"My sister has already found one, but I haven't been able to find one since we got here."
>You throw the last of the cups, cans, and bottles away and grab some sodas from the fridge.
>Flitter was waiting for you on the couch.
>The game you were playing and forgot about was still idling on the TV.
"Oh yeah.  I've been meaning to ask you.  Where did you come from?"
>"Equestria."
>You queue up for a game and wait.
"Well, yeah I knew that.  I mean before you came to the city."
>"Equestria," Flitter repeated.
>You give her a deadpan stare.
"But 'where' in Equestria?" you rephrase with emphasis.
>"Straight from beautiful Cloudsdale."
>Finally.
"There's the answer I was looking for.  Can I ask you another question?  How does that work exactly?  Moving from Equestria to Earth.  Like, do you just board a magic train or something?"
>"Magic portal," answered Flitter while gesturing her hooves in a spirally motion while making spooky magic noises.
>The game starts and you chuckle at her response.
"That was gonna be my next guess."
>"But in all seriousness, there's a tourist and an immigration option.  Cloudchaser got bored of Cloudsdale and, not wanting to be separated, we signed up for the standard immigration.  We took everything we had and moved here.  Both programs simply teleport you to a inter-dimensional travel station here in the city.  There's just different paperwork."
>You were focusing on your game but still managed to catch the important points.
"Oh wow," is the only reaction you can think to say.  "That must have been a really hard decision to just give everything up and come to a place like this.  Another universe at that.
>Flitter looked at the floor in front of her and solemnly nodded her head.
>"It's been tough."
>Then she smiled up at you.
>"But there are some things - and people - that have made it a lot more bearable."
>You take a sip of your coke and nod your head, not looking at her or catching any kind of hint.

"So what do you do for money?" you ask.  "Surely your sister can't support the both of you and that apartment with one job.  You on some kind of special pony welfare?"
>Flitter pouted a bit, mildly offended at the comment.
>"No, actually.  We had several dozen bits saved between the two of us before we came to Earth."
"Well that's pony money," you state matter-of-factly.
>Flitter shook her head.
>"I think you'd be pleasantly surprised at what the humans set the exchange rate at," she said with a large grin.
>You stop playing your game for a moment to look at her and raise a curious eyebrow.
"How much?" you ask, taking a sip of your coke.
>"About twelve-hundred human dollars per bit."
>You cough and lurch as the cola burned it's way up into your nose.
"Holy crap," you wheeze in a raspy voice, still having a burning coughing fit.
>Flitter has an adorable laugh at your expense.

>When you finally recovered from the ordeal, you notice you had been killed.
>You pick right back up where you left off.
>"So what do you do?" Flitter asked.
>You sit in silence for a bit before answering.
"Burger King..." you shamefully admit.
>"What's that?" asked Flitter.  "Food service?"
"Yeah."
>"Neat."
"If you say so," you reply.
>"Perhaps my sister and I will visit you sometime," she suggested.
"Please don't."
>Several more minutes go by and your game ends.
>"So," started Flitter, taking a look around. "You spend so much time cooped up here. What do you do for fun?"
>You're not sure why you were taken back by her question.
>Probably because you have absolutely nothing to do around here.
"Well...  TV and video games," you shrug.  "Not much else.  My friend Joe fried my damn computer, so that's not an option."

>Flitter picked your controller off the couch between both hooves and fumbled with it.
>"So how does this work?" she asks, inspecting it.
"Magic," you say for lack of a better explanation.
>You give her a quick demonstration by fiddling with the buttons.
>"So you just pretend to kill each other for fun?" she asks, referencing your game.
"Pretty much, yeah."
>"Why?"
>You give her a simple shrug of the shoulders.
"Posterity?  Bragging rights?  Quite possibly also venting anger when you start getting the crap kicked out of you."
>"How often does that happen?"
"Consistently."
>"Bragging rights are meaningless if no one knows who you are."
"I suppose that's true, but a few minutes of being able to say 'I'm better than you' is kind of fun."
>"And people aren't worried that someone might actually try to hurt others because of this?"
"Only if said person is a psychotic and/or a complete idiot.  That being said, I met Dom on here awhile back.  I lost, got pissed, found out he lived nearby, and showed up on his doorstep with a knife."
>Flitter had a look of horror at how casually yet serious-sounding you had just said this to her.
>You take note of her discomfort.
"I'm kidding."
>Flitter let out a sigh of relief.
>"Oh thank goodness."
"But I did actually meet Dom online.
>Flitter nodded and watched as you finished your game.

>You set the controller in her lap and she looks up at you in confusion.
"You wanna try?"
>She just shook her head.
>You take the controller back, but give handed her the mic instead.
"Here.  Pretend like you're the one playing."
>"Why?"
"Because some people don't like to lose to a girl.  A pony at that.  And this has potential to be funny."
>Sure enough, the very next game had that one guy talking to her, flirting, and generally being the annoying douchebag stereotype.
>Flitter was all-too-eager to chat with them, too.
>Their voices were coming through the TV too so you could hear the conversation and tell Flitter what to say at times.
>As expected, they started to belittle Flitter as you started to move into the better half of the leaderboards, to which Flitter promptly retorted back.
>She wasn't very good at trash talking, but somehow her innocence made it even more hysterical.
>You were dying from laughing so hard.
>Flitter also seemed to be enjoying putting a few anonymous kids in their place, even if she had no idea what she was talking about half the time.

>A notification pops across the bottom of the screen.
>'StolenTurtle is now online'.
>Dom's on.
"Oh! Oh! Gimme that."
>You hold out your hand and clutch the air repeatedly until you get the mic back from Flitter.
>'StolenTurtle has joined your party'.
>"Yo, yo, yo.  What's up, homey G," came the deep voice at the other end of the line.
"You're fuckin' gay," you comment.
>"I'm only gay for you, baby," he replied back.
"Yeah, I got nothing for that.  What's up?"
>"'Bout to start spanking your asscheeks."
"We'll see, asswipe."
>"I still don't think you should talk to your friends that way," said Flitter.  "Someone might take it the wrong way."
"It's just friendly banter," you tell her.
>"Who you talkin' too?" came Dom through the TV.
"Flitter.  The pony next door."
>"Oooh~," he teased.  "You mean your girlfriend?  She's a cutie."
>Your face goes beet red as you try to think of a comeback.
>Flitter heard him through the TV and her heart skipped a beat.
"S-shut up," you finally tell him.
>"Okay.  Don't want her to hear the surprise.  Got it."
>'You fucking asshole,' you think in your head.
>Urge to murder rising.

>You finally get into a game and start playing.
>Things very quickly go south, however.
>"Holy fucking horseshit!  I don't even know why I play this fucking game with you," bitched Dom.
"Well if you'd do your fucking job and shoot down the helicopters, I could capture the damn points!"
>Very heavy breathing is heard from his end of the mic your team continues to get mopped across the floor 
>The kill message of Dom being knife appears in the top corner.
>'StolenTurtle has left the game'.
>You quickly grab your phone and send him a text.
>'Where did you go, fag?'
>You immediately follow it up with a second message.
>'Get back online'.

>You set your controller down and shut off the console.
>He's not coming back.
"Welp, I think I'm done for the night."
>That was depressing 
>You check your watch.
"Holy crap, it's 8:30."
>"If you're hungry, you're welcome to come over for dinner," offered Flitter.
>You'd been so absorbed in your game, you didn't notice her sitting mere inches from you now.
"No thanks. I think I'll just order some Dominoes or-"
>"You're not eating pizza again,"  Flitter quickly objected.
"I was actually thinking of hot wings," you correct.
>"Same thing.  You're not ordering out again.  I won't allow it."
>Flitter got up and flew to the door, holding it open.
>"After you," she insisted.
>You look from her to your phone and sigh.
>Placing your phone in your pocket, you grab another coke from the fridge and walk past her into the hall.
>Flitter shuts your door and goes to open her own apartment, only to find it bolted from the other side.
>She kicks the door.
>"Cloudchaser, let me in!"
>"Swear to Celestia, if you're covered in Anon's blood, I'm calling the cops," called her sister from the other side.
>Unbolting the door and cracking it open, she peers one eye out into the hallway.
>"Yo Anon.  You're not a lobotomite by chance, are you?" asked Cloudchaser.
"Not that I'm aware of.  Why do you ask?"
>"Nevermind.  Don't worry about it."
>Cloudchaser opened the door and went back to her place in front of the TV.
>Flitter leads you inside.

>Their apartment wasn't that horribly decorated, to be honest.
>In fact, it was very nice compared to yours.
>But then again, anything was.
>It seems that the girls really appreciate the colors of baby blue and white.
>Most of their non-wooden furniture was white.
>Carpet included.
>The walls and ceiling were blue.
>"It gives a feeling of home, you know?" asked Flitter after taking notice of you inspecting the room.
>You were actually thinking of it matching their coat and mane colors.
>"Blue sky and white clouds."
"You two actually live in the clouds?"
>"Yup."
"That's pretty cool, not gonna lie."
>You made your way to the leather couch and plopped yourself down on the opposite side of Cloudchaser.
>Flitter went to the kitchen and opened the fridge.
>The sound of cabinets banging open and closed also catches your ears.
>"Uh...  Cloudchaser?" asked Flitter as she came into the living room.  "Where's the food?"
>"YOU were supposed to go grocery shopping today, remember?" replied her sister.  "But you were too busy cry over An-"
>"Oh, haha!  That's right!  How silly of me!" Flitter blurted out suddenly.  "So what are we going to do for dinner?"
>"I dunno," shrugged Cloudchaser.  "How about take out?  I don't feel like going anywhere tonight."
>"I- Sure," agreed Flitter as she went to the phone.
"Hey wait a minute.  How is this any different than my dinner plans?" you ask Flitter.
>"Because now you're not being a hermit," retorted Flitter.

>You were wondering how they would get by ordering from a Chinese joint.
>As it turns out, they made it work.
>They didn't even appear grossed out when you were munching on your sweet and sour chicken or pork fried rice.
>That in itself surprised you.
>They must have accepted the fact humans eat meat long ago.
>You got a laugh from Flitter trying to relay "pork fried rice" to the lady on the phone.
>"Poke fwy wice," she mocked when she finally hung up the phone, much to everyone's amusement.
>The three of you sat on the floor in front of the TV.
>Flitter had flipped it to some old "I Love Lucy" reruns.
>She seemed to enjoy it.
>You weren't bothered, but Cloudchaser made her disapproval well-known.
>When dinner was over, you took your leftovers with you and thanked Flitter for the meal, even offering to pay her back.
>She declined and invited you back anytime.
>You just might take her up on that.
>You had a better time than you thought.
>It was 10:30 when you got back.
>You put the food away and kicked your shoes off before going straight to bed.
>You had work tomorrow, something you weren't exactly too excited about.

--

>"Details," demanded Cloudchaser.  "Give me the scoop on how you conned him over here.  And don't think I didn't see how googly-eyed you got when you looked at him or how close you were sitting."
>Flitter flopped down on her back on the couch.
>"I'm his girlfriend!" she squealed.
>Cloudchaser raised a very suspicious eyebrow as she stood on the floor in front of Flitter.
>"What..." she uttered.
>"Yup!  It's official!  We're dating now!"
>And he said this to you?"
>Flitter calmed down a bit as she thought about it.
>"Well, no," she finally admitted.  "But his friend called me his girlfriend so there must be something there!"
>"So then how can you be sure they weren't joking?" Cloudchaser interrogated further.
>Flitter was all but excited by now as she continued to relay the events of the last couple hours in her mind.
>"S-shut up," she finally stuttered.
>Cloudchaser just shook her head.
>"It's too late to deal with this.   I got work tomorrow."
>She walked off to her room as Flitter stay laying there on the couch.
>"I just need to get him to say so," she said to herself.