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/bootleg/ 2022 Week of Terror: Sparking Shine

By BlondieAnon
Created: 2022-10-29 14:21:56
Expiry: Never
jackyanonymous/bootleg/sparking shinefaint prismhalloween

  1. >Another boring day passes by
  2. >You roll out of bed just like you always do
  3. >You start each day by checking your equipment
  4. >Yup
  5. >Still the same hand-crafted tome and hood you used to save the world
  6. >You wish you had more than two equipment slots but that's ok
  7. >Due to the enchantments in your gear, you're not only immune to all status ailments but the four elements heal your wounds
  8. >Your tome allows all of your magic to pierce resistances and even imbues your physical attacks with ethereal flame
  9. >Even fighting random monsters has lost it's appeal
  10. >"Hey, Miss Hero! We're making breakfast if you want to stay for some food!"
  11. "No, that's ok. I appreciate you allowing me to rest here."
  12. >You've slept in nearly every bed in the world, you've traveled so much
  13. >No one ever asks you for any gil
  14. >You've never been ambushed in your sleep either
  15. >Or approached
  16. >Or asked
  17. >...
  18. >Using one of your countless utility spells, you Return to what started off as your home so many years ago
  19. >A pillar of light sends you into the ether and recombines you at your destination
  20. >It...
  21. >It's the exact same as it was the day you left, at level one
  22. >You didn't even have a spell to your name
  23. >You had to use items to inflict elemental damage
  24. >"Hey, git yer fannies back here! I ain't doin' these here chores alone!"
  25. >"Everyone, cheese it!"
  26. >Yup
  27. >That sounds like Lemon Pepper
  28. >She has proven herself enough that you finally submit to using her name
  29. >...
  30. >And Anon
  31. >The front door of the disheveled, settled-in home bursts open
  32. >The earnestly gleeful man is running out
  33. >Followed by three little foals
  34. >All of them some variation of orange or yellow
  35. >You have fought side-by-side with him for ages
  36. >You supported him as he killed the conceptual God of the underworld
  37. >For only a second your eyes see the joyous grin as a murderous, manic grimace
  38. >"Lemon Pie, the tree! Missy Pom, behind the shed! Tangerine, you're with me!"
  39. >That's right
  40. >Two fillies, and a colt
  41. >How long have they been hiding her first pregnancy?
  42. >You didn't even know they were a couple for the longest time
  43. >You spent all of your affection-raising items on him
  44. >The stats didn't lie
  45. >But she must have found another way to lure him
  46. "...whatever."
  47. >You watch them split up
  48. >Just in time to see Pepper burst through the door that somehow hasn't shattered
  49. >She doesn't look like she's aged a day, despite having created a family
  50. >That wild look in her eye
  51. >Like a feral animal
  52. >That's gone
  53. >You still remember how she survived a divine lightning strike
  54. >She couldn't move for a week and vomited blood for hours
  55. >The one time you used one of your elixirs
  56. >You only have fourteen left
  57. >If you let her die...
  58. >Would this have been you?
  59. >"Alright, y'darn animals! I'mma gonna find you and then yer gonna help me if it's the last thing ye do!"
  60. >The 2 Int mare starts charging around
  61. >From where she's looking, she's never going to find them
  62. "Hey there! Looking for me?"
  63.  
  64. >Pepper assumes her fighting stance for just a moment-surely a reflex at your voice-but leaps as soon as she sees you
  65. >You sidestep lunching mare
  66. >You don't want to get your hood dirty
  67. >She lands with an audible splat
  68. >"Hey, Sparky! Long time no see! What are you doing here?"
  69. >The way she asks the question is innocent enough but you frown because she asked at all
  70. "Nothing. Just thought I would check in on..."
  71. >Anon?
  72. >Her?
  73. >The house?
  74. >...
  75. >...
  76. >...
  77. >You hate when you're given these choices
  78. >You decide to go with the house
  79. >Affection points don't really mean much anymore
  80. "The house. You haven't destroyed my room yet, have you?"
  81. >Pepper drags herself up, shaking all four of her legs
  82. >You've seen her get impaled, shot, and eviscerated more times than you can count
  83. >And you, or Anon, have healed it all up
  84. >"Wha, of course not! I mean, Tanny likes to sleep in there... and he kinda likes that one blanket of yours a little too much..."
  85. >She squints from the recollection
  86. >"Buuut all of your books in there are too difficult for him. Or... well, for any of us for that matter. So we just leave them be. Why, you wanna move back in? You can help me-"
  87. >She turns her head back toward the house and her hidden family
  88. >"FIND THESE USELESS LAYABOUTS!"
  89. >...
  90. >...
  91. >...
  92. >Nothing's changing
  93. >"Dangit... I thought that would work..."
  94. >You shrug
  95. "No... nah. I'm not ready to... call it quits yet."
  96. >You don't want to say "retire"
  97. >If you retire, you forfeit all of your strength
  98. >Your skills
  99. >And what would you gain from that?
  100. >You get to be an aunt
  101. >The very notion that you would go from the world saving mare of flame to some aunt is disgusting
  102. >"Well I guess that's ok too. Dashie ain't called it quits yet either, has she?"
  103. "Prism? No, last I saw her... I think was up in the Macelanian mountains."
  104. >"Oh..."
  105. >Pepper's eyes trail down
  106. >"...she's still working in that graveyard, ain't she."
  107. "I think so."
  108. >A lot of lives were lost there
  109. >Of course it wasn't your final battle
  110. >You were ultimately fine
  111. >Same with all of them
  112. >But outside of you four?
  113. >Humans, ponies, moogles, chocobos
  114. >Hundreds died when the Pharoah's curse was summoned
  115. >Thousands followed over the years
  116. "She must have..."
  117. >You don't think it's guilt that has kept her there
  118. >Maybe it's just a calling
  119. >You shrug it off
  120. >You couldn't have stopped it
  121. >None of you could
  122. >But you did what you could
  123. "Hey, Pepper."
  124. >The yellow matron goes from squinting at the trio of giggling hiding spots to you
  125. >"What's up?"
  126. "I'm..."
  127. >Furious that you had a family without asking if it was ok
  128. >Happy that she's doing well
  129. >In desperate need to talk to Anon alone
  130. >...
  131. >...
  132. >...
  133. "Happy that you're keeping the house in good shape. Keep Tanny away from that blanket."
  134. >You can't help but smirk
  135. "I would hate to see him grow a crush on me."
  136. >Like father like son
  137.  
  138. >Pepper scoffs
  139. >"Oh don't you worry, you're too old for him."
  140. >What the, where does she get off on saying you're too o-
  141. >"Anyway, I gotta find my-"
  142. >She turns again to the home
  143. >"USELESS, COWARDLY KIDS AND THAT DUMBO HUSBAND O' MINE!"
  144. >Even Anon is joining in on the foals giggling from their hiding spots
  145. >You genuinely don't know if they are all playing along or if they are just that stupid
  146. >Were they really the ones you saved the world with?
  147. >Without waiting to see their cute antics play out, you cast Return again
  148. >Your destination is...
  149. >Secret
  150. >You found it inside of an old dungeon
  151. >In it, you have found countless secrets
  152. >Antiques
  153. >Relics
  154. >Items that have allowed you to craft the gear you never could have even dreamed of, while on your journey
  155. >The post game lab, you call it
  156. >There, you can let loose
  157. >No matter the encounters, you can kill whatever comes your way with a spell
  158. >Your agility is so high you hardly get hit
  159. >Whatever does hit you certainly isn't fatal
  160. >The only reason you didn't enchant your hood with auto-raise is simply because you want to offer them a chance at victory
  161. >"Them" being anything
  162. >Demons
  163. >Aliens
  164. >Undead
  165. >Constructs
  166. >So many things made eons ago, or have been dormant for thousands of years
  167. >All of them exist to be slaughtered by you
  168. >Everything goes up in flame
  169. >The screams
  170. >The faces
  171. >The melting eyes
  172. >The shreds of flesh remaining
  173. >The smell
  174. >You can't escape it
  175. >But you don't want to escape it, do you?
  176. >This is what power looks like
  177. >This is how you prove your value to the world
  178. >The others
  179. >They're worthless now
  180. >They're weak
  181. >Incapable
  182. >Unexceptional
  183. >They're like everyone else now
  184. >And they
  185. >They've left you behind
  186. >They betrayed you
  187. >They
  188. >You snort, your vision clearing
  189. >All you've seen was red
  190. >Your eyes feel so strained, it's difficult to see straight
  191. >You're still in the lab
  192. >Where in the lab are you, exactly?
  193. >You don't recall ever visiting this section
  194. >Apparently it hasn't been worth it as everything has either died by your hoof or fled
  195. >The stench of burnt flesh clings to your coat as you calm down
  196. >Your throat is dry
  197. >Were you screaming?
  198. >You must have been
  199. >In the nondescript scenery of lab tables, gurneys, coffins and torture devices you see a set of double doors
  200. >You approach them, mixing a concoction to restore your MP
  201. >A poor-mare's elixir, as it only restores a portion of your max stats
  202. >But at least it isn't the real deal
  203. >A voice rings out in your head
  204. >Something indescribable in tone or dialect
  205. >But you understand the intention
  206. >Beyond the doors is Hell
  207. >True Hell
  208. >To open them is to unleash infinite horror on the world
  209. >To cast everything into eternal sin
  210. >You pause
  211. >Who would have ever created that thing, just to shut it away?
  212. >...
  213. >Could you beat whatever is behind there?
  214. >If you couldn't
  215. >You probably could
  216. >If
  217.  
  218. >You get the party together again
  219. >Like the old days
  220. >The old days...
  221. >Countless days spent wandering
  222. >One long, ethereal night where you've spent not enough hours under the stars with Anon and your sisters and time ceased to exist
  223. >The bonds you all shared
  224. >The bond you grew with him
  225. "...those days weren't so bad. Were they?"
  226. >The world was in peril
  227. >There was always a new monster or evil figure to chase
  228. >Together, you have even changed the fate of entire continents
  229. >Why would they want to leave that?
  230. >You don't recall doing it but your hoof rests flat against the door
  231. >The world was always hellish
  232. >The things you've seen
  233. >Fought
  234. >Killed
  235. >Saved
  236. >All of it has been horrible, and has been a plague to every living soul
  237. >And if you stop
  238. >If you give up
  239. >If you
  240. >"retire"
  241. >Then someone else will open the door
  242. >And you will be too old, weak, and worthless to stop it
  243. >But if you do
  244. >...
  245. >You can stop it
  246. >And you can fight with him
  247. >You only need him
  248. >The others will fight along fine
  249. >Or
  250. >They'll just die
  251. >Anon's children
  252. >They're strong too
  253. >If they aren't...
  254. >Then you'll give him new ones
  255. >Ones that will be strong enough
  256. >Someone's giggling
  257. >That can't be you
  258. >Can it?
  259. >You feel yourself drop out of the back of your head
  260. >All the way back
  261. >All the way down
  262. >Until you see yourself
  263. >An ash-ridden mare
  264. >Ribs protruding from beneath her conflagrated coat
  265. >Smoldering tome and jagged hood covering the entirety of her head
  266. >The mare pushes harder on the door, giggling something to herself
  267. >You can't even hear her
  268. >But isn't she you?
  269. >You try to focus on the words
  270. >A second hoof goes to the door
  271. >Louder giggling
  272. "She hasn't won yet."
  273. >You make out those words just as the door creak opens
  274. >The second it does, incendiary light explodes out
  275. >The mare cackles in glee as she she burns away, leaving behind a glowing red skeleton
  276. >The hood, now infinitely lit, pulls back just enough to reveal a jagged, malformed horn
  277. >As the skeleton screams in sheer glee, the light rushes outward
  278. >It cleanses the entire lab in radioactive heat
  279. >The light reaches the world
  280. >Everything will burn
  281. >Everything will reset
  282. >NG+1

/bootleg/ Jacky Part One

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/bootleg/ Jacky Part Two

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/bootleg/ Jacky Part Three

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/bootleg/ Jacky Part Four

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/bootleg/ Jacky Part Five

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