Chapter 9: Video Games

                                    

                                          
"Hey, thanks again for this man, I really owe you for this." Alex said.

                          
"Yeah yeah, and yes you do. But if I wake up and find that those girls stole something, I'mma be really upset!"
                          
"Heheh, you don't gotta worry about it. If they were gonna pull something like that, they had ample opportunity to. They truly need help." Alex said sincerely.
                          
"Yeah, I see that. I'll have rooms ready for them when you bring them tomorrow."
                          
"Thanks again, man. I'll call you again tomorrow afternoon when I'm on my way. Bye." 
                          
"Bye."
                          
Alex hung up the phone, and slipped it into his pajama pocket. He sighed a bit, standing there silently for a few moments before pulling the door open and coming back out into the living room, where the girls were all sitting on the couch waiting for him.
                          
"Is everything alright?" Rarity asked.
                          
"You left really suddenly." Fluttershy voiced what she had observed; they had sat down, and just as Alex was about to show them something, he received a call on his phone, and quickly retreated to his bedroom privately.
                          
"Yeah, sorry. It was my job calling. They want me to come in and work tomorrow night." Alex explained.
                          
"Where do you work?" Fluttershy asked.
                          
"I work in the hospital as a nurse. The schedule can be really hectic, and I work a lot of night shifts." He answered, explaining further.
                          
"Ohh." She nodded.
                          
"So everything's alright now?" Rarity asked again. Alex tilted his head a little bit.
                          
"Yeah. I made a call, so you'll be staying with my friend Evan for a little bit while I go to work the next few days." He revealed to them.
                          
"I see. Is that alright with him?" Rarity asked to verify. Alex nodded.
                          
"Yeah. I explained the general situation to him, just let him know it would only be for like two days, and then afterwards he'll take you back here." Alex explained the plan to them. They nodded.
                          
"Is he nice?" Fluttershy asked. Alex nodded.
                          
"Uhuh. He's a lot like me, just weirder," He joked with a chuckle before shaking his head. "Nah, you'll be taken care of with him. Just...leave the Equestria part out." He advised.
                          
"Understood." Rainbow Dash nodded.
                          
"We don't want to scare anypony." Fluttershy said.
                          
"Pony... Anyways, I was gonna show you this game." Alex said, turning his TV on and getting up again.
                          
"What sort of game is it?" Rarity asked.
                          
"Video game. Virtual game, if you will. It's called 'Sonic Forces'." Alex said.
                          
"Sonic Forces?" Rainbow Dash repeated.
                          
"It sounds kind of like sonic rainboom." Fluttershy said with a small giggle.
                          
"Well, there's no rainbow, but it is a sonic boom for sure." Alex said.
                          
"What's it about?" Rarity asked.
                          
"Hmm..." Alex hummed thoughtfully, trying to find a way to effectively explain it without revealing too much about the story of the game,
                          
"It's about Sonic the hedgehog. He's a blue creature able to run as fast as the speed of sound itself. Together with his friends, he protects his world, Moebius, from the evil Dr. Eggman, a scientist and builder of ridiculously large and deadly robots." Alex summarized.