Plum: *Enters room* What’s going on? I hear yelling.

Elly: Zed’s a little frustrated.

Game Announcer: K.O.!

Zed: These games weren’t even designed for ponies!

Plum: Wow, you got him to use contractions. I’ve never heard that before. So, why are you here Zed? I don’t normally see you playing video games.

Zed: *Takes a while to respond* Because I *panics* Wait, no-no-no-NO! No talking! Too distracting.

Game Announcer: K.O.!

*silence*

Plum: Zed, are you—

Zed: I’m a superior artificial intelligence designed by super-geniuses of a technologically advanced species, WHY CAN’T I BEAT YOU!?

Elly: Because I’m awesome.

Plum: …Wait, Zed’s losing?

Elly: Actually, he’s lost many times in a row. *Cheerful* Next round.

Plum: Why doesn’t he just stop?

Elly: I said I would spar with him if he beat me in one round of this fighting game.

Plum: This is great.

*Match continues. Otherwise silence.*

Elly: Hey Plum?

Plum: Yeah?

Elly: You ever wonder why so many of Stratos’s games are horror games?

Plum: Considering I don’t usually play video games, no, I do not. But go on.

Elly: Resident Evil, System Shock, Call of Cthulhu, Silent Hill. I’ve—

Plum: Do you play them?

Elly: Yeah, of course. *Snickers* I now understand why it is so hard to scare Stratos.

Plum: Yeah, when he's not doing experiments, all he does in his off time is read and play horror, tragedy, or other dark works. I’m not sure if there’s not anything negative he has not seen.

Elly: Has not, not… what?

Plum: Considering what he reads, I don’t know how he can act so cheery. By the way, how old are these games?

Elly: At least a couple of decades or so. I don’t know. Why?

Game Announcer: K.O.!

Zed: She’s holding down a conversation and I still can’t beat her!

Plum: But you were able to hit her a few times that time.

Zed: *Takes a quick breather* Before we start the next round, I feel obligated to mention that Stratos could not afford any of the modern games. He pirated and emulated the older ones from the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries.

Elly: Noted. Next round.

Plum: Stratos is just weird. I can’t believe he and Sir Colbert are the same species.

Elly: Why? They both are scientists and warriors.

Plum: Stratos is not a warrior. He’s not like that. And his attitude towards others… he’s selfish.

Elly: I’d have to disagree. You didn’t see Stratos fight that wolf by himself. That wasn’t a pony, err, human that was afraid or inexperienced. Besides, you have to admit, as callous as he can be, he is often kind to everypony he meets. He’s never afraid to risk his life. That’s not selfish.

Plum: …You’re a lot more assertive when playing video games.

Elly: I am? I haven’t—Whoops.

Game Announcer: K.O.!

Zed: *Jumps up* YES! VICTORY IS MINE! WAH HAHAHAHA! *Runs out of room* Guys, I beat Elly!

Plum: He seems happy… What’s his final score?

Elly: One win and one hundred seventy-seven losses.