The Wager
It had been a week since Isaac's night with AJ and Dash. The human found himself wandering the streets of Ponyville bored out of his skull. The man shrugged and made his way towards the library. As he opened the door he saw the six friends siting at a table with tea cups in hand and gossiping.
"Hello Isaac." Twilight said with a smile. The other girls gave him a nod while Dash gave him a wink.
"Morning. What's going on here?"
"Oh we're just having our monthly tea party." Rarity said as she sipped her cup. "Care to join?"
"No thanks. I plan on keeping my dignity at least until noon." He said with a chuckle. The man then spied the dragon wearing a pink apron and serving some cupcakes. "Oh lord. What have you done to Spike?" He said as he looked at the dragon.
"He's our butler." Pinkie said.
"That's the lamest I've ever heard." Isaac said as he face palmed.
"What? You try serving these crumpets without getting crumbs on your scales." The dragon argued.
"Lamest until I just heard that." He said with a groan. "I can feel my testosterone melting away." Isaac said with a chuckle. "Why do you force him to do this Twilight?"
"I didn't force him." She said with a grunt. "Is there something you wanted?"
"I was going to see if any of you wanted to hangout, but since you're all having a tea party and Spike is playing bellhop my search continues." He said as he got up and walked out the door. As the human made his way through town he felt something sprinkle on his head.
Isaac looked up to see a pink cloud that was spewing brown colored rain. He stuck his tongue out and looked at the cloud in confusion. "Is that...chocolate milk?"
"I find that it takes the edge off things." A familiar voice said coming from behind the man. Isaac spun around to see a grinning Discord looking at him.
"Discord? What are you doing here?"
"I believe that it's Tia's time of the month again and I really don't feel like getting turned into a bird bath." He said with a shiver. "So I came here." He said with a sigh.
"Good call." Isaac thought for a moment and grinned. "Since you and I are both stuck here we might as well make the best of it." Discord cocked an eyebrow at the statement. "Want to do something stupid?"
"You have my attention." The chaos lord said with a grin.
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As the girls sat in the library Twilight heard a knock on the door. The lavender mare got to her feet and opened it to see the familiar mint green Unicorn mare.
"Hey Lyra, what's up?"
"Don't you know? Discord is here." She said with a concerned look on her face.
"Is he causing trouble?"
"No, Isaac is with him." The ponies all gulped and cocked their heads. "Yeah, weirder thing is they're getting along."
"What?" Dash yelled. The other girls looked at one another in confusion.
"Getting along?" Twilight asked.
"Yeah, they were even joking around together."
"This ah gotta see." Applejack said as she stood up. The others nodded and walked out of the library and followed the mint green Unicorn out into the street. The group then made their way towards the park and saw the chaos lord along with the human talking to one another. The group hid in the bushes and listened in.
"Okay so all we need is some concrete, some pipes, and excavator and-" The human was cut off as the chaos lord held up an arm.
"Or I could just get the blue print from your head and transport it out here." The being said as he rolled his eyes.
"Wait, you can do that?"
"I'm a god. What do you expect?"
"True, I just don't know about you going inside my head." He said with a grunt.
"Oh please, you've let Luna go inside." He said with a smug.
"Fair enough. Just nothing personal." Discord nodded and put a hand on the man's head. Isaac felt a foreign presence enter his mind.
"Really spacious in here." The voice said.
"Fuck you." Isaac said. "Find it yet?"
"Yeah hang on." Discord exited his mind and shook his head. "Man you should organize."
"Oh just make the fucking court." Isaac said with a frown. Discord rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers. A large portion of the grassy surface was replaced by concrete and two large poles with some netting around the opening. Some paint line were also visible on the hard surface. "Perfect. Now all we need is some players." He said with a grin. "Want to volunteer Dash?" The group of mares then poked their heads out of the bush and walked up to the two.
"What in the hay are you doing with him?" AJ asked.
"Well, since you all were busy, Discord and I decided to have a little fun. So I asked him to make a basketball court."
"Basketball?" Dash asked. Isaac face palmed.
"Okay if you all weren't from another dimension then I'd slap you. Basketball is a sport people play in my dimension." He said with a sigh. "I was hoping to find some people to play a few rounds."
"I'm in." Dash said with a smile.
"Ah could go with a round." The farmer said as she cracked her knuckles.
"Cool! A new game!" Pinkie chimed.
"This is so going down on my notes." Lyra said as she summoned a note pad and pencil.
"This could make a very interesting letter to the Princess." Twilight said as she sat down.
"Okay, now we need an even number of players on each team. Two on two." He said as he looked at the three mares. "Okay, Pinkie and I will be on Team A and you two are on team B. That okay?" The mares nodded in approval. "Good, now to even the playing field. Discord, do it." The chaotic being smirked and shot the cyan Pegasus with a blast of magic that made her wings disappear.
"What the buck?" She yelled.
"You're forgetting that this is a human game Dash." Isaac explained.
"So?"
"Human was the key words in that sentence. No wings or magic allowed and knowing you, I figured that you might be tempted to use them."
"What gave you that idea?"
"You're competitive attitude, quick blooded temper and the fact that AJ told me about the last time you two did a so called 'Iron Pony' competition." Dash grunted at the memory. "Relax Discord will give them back."
"He'd better." The Pegasus grunted.
"Okay, now there are rules. Since I don't know all of them I'll just give you the basics." He said as he pulled out an orange ball. "Your objective-"
"Objective?" Dash asked.
"Your goal is to get this ball into our basket and defend your own while Pinkie and I try to get to it." After going through the basic rules the two teams nodded. Isaac dribbled the ball and made his way past the farmer. After dodging the wingless Pegasus he dunked the ball into the net. "Score is one zip." He said as he passed the ball to the farmer.
"Alright big shot. No more messing around." She said with a smirk. The next hour was spent with the group playing against one another. Twilight and Fluttershy kept score as Lyra took notes. As noon crept around the group of friends took a break. A loud growl came from the pink mare's stomach.
"Heh-heh. sorry it must be close to lunch time." The baker said with a smile. The group then got to their feet. "What do humans usually do after a basketball game?"
"Me and the guys usually would grab a slice of pizza."
"What's pizza?" Lyra asked. Isaac looked at the mares with an 'are you kidding me' look on his face.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" He said in a shocked tone. "Pizza is only one of the most delicious culinary creations created by humans." An idea suddenly formed in the man's head. "Hey Pinkie, is the bakery open today?"
"Yeah why?"
"Meet me there in a few minutes, I need to grab some stuff." He said before walking away from the group. Discord shrugged and accompanied the group.
"Hey!" Dash yelled. "Forgetting something?" She said as she pointed to her wingless back.
"My apologies I forget these things sometimes." He said as he snapped his fingers. A pair of small white wings appeared on the cyan girl's back. "I think this is more interesting." He said with a chuckle. Dash growled at the chaos lord. "Sheesh, take a joke Dash." He said as he gave her back her normal wings. The mares all narrowed their eyes on the odd being.
The group then found themselves in the bakery and waited for the human to return. Isaac made his way into the bakery with a paper bag stuffed with supplies.
"Right then, Pinkie with me." He said as he motioned towards the kitchen. The pink mare smiled and followed the man inside. After nearly an hour of waiting the human pushed a chart out with two large dough circles with what looked like melted cheese. "Dig in!" Isaac said with a smile.
"Um....how do we eat it?" Twilight asked. Isaac rolled his eyes and cut himself a slice of pizza.
"Like this genius." He said as he picked it up and took a bite from the slice. Twilight gulped and looked down at the odd food. The group all shrugged and took a slice. As they bit into the odd food their eyes shrank. "What? You guys don't like it?" He said in surprise.
"No!" Dash yelled. "This is awesome!" She yelled as she gobbled the rest of her slice down. "What's this stuff called again?"
"Pizza." Isaac said with a grin. The group eagerly dove into the pizza.
"Where is this recipe from?" Lyra asked.
"Italy." He said with a shrug. The room was then filled with a bright white light and the group shielded their eyes. As the light died they saw Princess Celestia and Luna glaring at the chaos lord.
"Oh great, the buzz killers." He said with a groan.
"There you are Discord." Celestia said in a flat voice. "Where did you go?"
"Calm down Celestia," Isaac interjected. "we were just shooting some B-ball and now were grabbing a slice." Celestia's right eye twitched in confusion at the words.
"What?"
"We were playing a game and now we're eating." He said as he rolled his eyes. "Help yourself." He said as he slid them each a plate with a slice on it. Luna shrugged and levitated the piece of food to her lips. Her taste buds tingled at the taste and smiled.
"This is amazing! Who is responsible for this?" She said with a smile. The group all pointed to Isaac and smiled. "Sister, thou must try this!" She said as she handed her sister the morsel of food. Celestia cocked an eyebrow and looked at the slice. She took a small bite and smiled at the taste.
"I must say that this is delectable."
"So did you two need something?" Isaac asked as he looked at the Princesses. Luna smirked and glared at the human.
"We request a rematch in the virtual realm!" She yelled. Isaac rolled his eyes and groaned.
"Again? You lost last time." The girls looked at him in confusion.
"This time will be different! We will emerge victorious!" Isaac grinned and got to his feet.
"Feeling confident eh? Anytime, anywhere."
"Here and now."
"What are you two talking about?" Twilight asked.
"Long story." Isaac said with a sigh. "You guys are about to see a Princess lose in the art of war." The man walked out of the building with the Princess and the others following. The group walked inside the human's home and watch as he booted up the game console. Isaac handed Luna the controller and popped in Halo: Reach. "This one is a bit different then the other one, but it's the same basic principle."
He gave a brief explanation of armor abilities and the control layout. The two played a quick round of firefight to let Luna get accustomed to the control layout. The girls all gulped as the two easily went through the endless hordes of enemies. Afterwards the man selected the Covenant cruiser for the match. Isaac chose a DMR and a magnum with Sprint for the first match.
Luna selected the hologram, assault rifle and a shotgun. The match started out evenly, but the human soon gained the upper hand as he switched tactics and switched to cloaking. Little by little Luna was getting frustrated. As Isaac started to sneak up on her Spartan, he felt a small tingle in his head. The avatar spun around and blasted him with the shotgun. Isaac chocked it up as screen peeking.
Slowly the Lunar Princes was gaining the advantage and the feeling in the man's head was slowly growing. He thought for a moment and Luna's face contorted in shock before Isaac sniped the Spartan through the visor.
Now I get it! He thought as he looked at Luna who gulped. Mind reading? That's cheating!
You need to allow me some advantage!
Fine, but two can play at this game! Isaac smirked and concentrated. Luna then heard a completely different dialect fill her head. ¿Qué tiene de malo? No hable español?
*What's wrong? Don't speak Spanish?
Luna was slowly losing ground as the odd language filled her head. The Lunar Princess saw his avatar in the sniping position and ran up to assassinate him. As she made contact her eye shrank and the hologram vanished. She then saw the small cutscene of his avatar assassinating her character.
"Game Over!" The electronic voice said. Luna's jaw dropped and glared at the human.
"Sorry Lulu, I told you that ya can't beat me." He said with a smug grin on his face.
"I shall never admit defeat!" The Princess yelled. Celestia and Discord giggle seeing Luna so flustered.
"Another match?"
"Yes, one week from today and I will beat you!"
"Care to put your money where your mouth is?" Luna cocked an eyebrow at the words.
"Why would I put coins in my mouth? That is most unsanitary." Isaac and the others face palmed.
"I mean let's make a bet."
"What kind of bet?" Luna asked.
"The loser has to do whatever the winner wants for a day." The group of visitors gulped. Isaac grinned as he outstretched his hand. Luna grinned and shook it. Her horn glowed and a copy of the game console appeared on the table. "This will be easier then shooting fish in a barrel."
"Don't be too sure human." Luna spat out as she duplicated his game collection. "Next time we will be ready and you will fall."
"Then I'll rise higher than ever." He said in a challenging tone. Isaac chuckled and looked at the group who was staring at him in shock. "What?"
"You just challenged Princess Luna to a match and you offered yourself as payment if you lose!" Twilight said.
"That's only if I lose." He said with a smirk.
"And what will happen if you do lose?"
"I'll hold up my end of the bargain." He said as he shut down the television.
"Might I ask what that match was?" Celestia asked.
"Think of it as a virtual simulation stationed in a time of conflict."
"And those things were robots?"
"No, genetically altered humans." He said with a shrug.
"Do they actually exist?" Lyra asked.
"Not in my timeline," Isaac said with a shrug. "but humans are persistent and it could happen." Celestia gulped at the response. "But that is a very long way away. I mean go back forty years and we only discovered space travel."
"Space travel?" Luna yelled.
"Yep, humans have gone to space." He said in a flat tone. Luna walked up to him and glared.
"Show me!"
"Okay, jeez. Let me find the recording." Isaac spent the next ten minutes rummaging through the endless videotapes in his collection. "Ah ha! Here we go 1969 Moon landing." He said as he plugged in his VHS player and inserted the tape. The group looked in astonishment as they saw a white suited man stand on the moon.
"This is one small step for man.....One giant leap for Mankind." The figure then planted the flag in it's position.
"Cool eh?" Isaac said with a smile.
"Is this fake?" Lyra asked in wonder.
"Nope, that is one hundred percent real footage. My father recorded it when he was younger." He said with a smile. "Humans have sent hundreds of satellites since then and have started to explore the cosmos."
"How many planets are in your solar system?" Celestia asked.
"Well, at first it wan nine, but then we found out that the last one was actually a large moon orbiting Neptune." The man said with a shrug.
"Well, this has been very interesting," Lyra said as she finished taking notes. "but I have to go see Bon-bon. I'm late as it is." She said as she ran off.
"This has been very....educational Isaac and I would love to hear more about your people," She said as she looked at the clock. "but Luna, Discord and I must return to Canterlot."
"Of course Princess." He then looked at Luna and grinned. "I'll see you in a week missy and give me some challenge next time."
"Oh trust us, we will not disappoint." Luna said with an evil grin. The three immortals then vanished in a flash of light. The man then looked towards the group of mares who were still mesmerized by what they saw.
"So awesome!" Dash yelled. "Have you ever been there?"
"The moon?" The mare nodded. "No, but it would be a sight to see." He said with a smile.
"Have any other movies about space?" Twilight asked.
"Fiction or non-fiction?"
"Fiction! I want to see some action!" Dash yelled. Isaac smirked and pulled out a stack of DVD's.
"I think it's time I introduced you all to Star Wars."
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Celestia paced back and forth with her sister watching. Sh bit her lip as she thought about the footage she had been shown.
"There's no questioning it now." She stated.
"Sister, if he was dangerous then he would have done something already." Luna said with a sigh.
"What happens if he does do something?" Celestia asked. "What if he goes on a rampage and-"
"Sister, he's one person and a kind one." Luna stated. "He's only attacked in self defense or if the others were threatened." Luna said trying to calm her sister.