>Damn it Jacky.
>Damn it Prism.
>That fight was serious. You watched one of those bastards kick Jacky in the head, and the other bite into Prism's wing, nearly ripping it off.
>Jacky got one. She's a good kicker. She's always been a strong pony.
>You don't feel bad about stabbing the other. You wish you could have just killed him. You're going to regret only threatening him with it.
>You feel disgusted with yourself. You feel disgusted at having to fight. This isn't you. You never wanted this to be you.
>It feels hard to breath
>You keep below the bridge and stone streets, so at least on one will see you like this
>You try to breath deep and violently sputter
>You can taste blood
>You can smell it too
>Blood and urine and dirt
>The whirlwind of sensations and thought that you could have died or killed someone catches up to you
>You collapse after a few more steps and vomit on the ground
>Damn it
>You're going to get them for this
>Jacky didn't start this, she didn't deserve this
>Prism...
>She could have stopped Jacky from getting kicked
>You need to use magic
>You need to stay awake
>You can mend yourself again
>You can feel where it hurts
>You'll
>Get
>Through
>Your vision fades
>The last thing you're able to see is a growing puddle of red
>Bastards

>Your wake up with a bad taste in your mouth
>You fell asleep with your mouth open again
>You yawn and cough, lifting your head off of Anon's chest
>No sign of Jacky or Prism
>Both of them are probably in the living room
>For a while now they've been sticking together like glue and laughing and having fun
>You don't mind, you've been busy with your own stuff
>And it means that you've gotten Anon to yourself
>Your turn your head to watch Anon's face
"Heeeey..."
>You flop your head onto him
"Heeey. Get up."
>His head bolts up, but the rest of him stays flat
>"Mm?"
"Get up. You were having a bad dream."
>"...I was?"
>His eyes are still closed but he sounds and looks confused
"Yeah. You should really..."
>What did you do last night?
>A co-op game?
"...uh... watch it with the zombie stuff."
>"Braaaaaaaaaaaaaain."
>Anon rasps and drops his head back onto his pillow
>He yawns out the start of a song and stretches out
>His head pats your shoulder
>"Ask the Jackerroni what she wants for breakfast."
>You roll your eyes
"She can do breakfast on her own now. Prism's been showing her how to do the basic stuff, even with hooves."
>He inhales and nods
>He hasn't been saying anything but you know that he's been stressed
>Or just burnt out
>You don't think it has anything to do with what goes on in the apartment
>Except for when you and Prism grabbed all of those coins
>Even though it was mostly you
"Hey Anon..."
>"Mmmm."
>This makes you feel so stupid
"...I really am sorry about the coins and all that."
>"Is alright. I understand why you did it."
>He said that every time after your first apology
>It bothers you so much that he hasn't tried to do anything about it
>Or maybe you just feel guilty
"I mean it, you know..."
>"I know you do, Spa-King. But it's done and done, right?"
"I guess."
>"Then is done and done."
>He pets your shoulder more
>You want a reason to feel angry but he just isn't giving you one
>Even if he's completely in the right
"...can I ask you something?"
>"Mmm."
>You don't want to keep bothering him but you want to talk to him
"You... got today off, right?"
>"Mmm... Saturday?"
"I think..."
>You look at the big, ever-illuminated desktop monitor
"Yea-yes, yeah-hmm. Saturday's the twelfth."
>"Eeeeeeegg-zack-lee."
>He doesn't say more than that
>You can hear Jacky talking about stuff
>She sounds happy
>Everyone was in such a slump but now everything is leveling out
>Whatever Anon had going on, he hasn't spoken on it to anyone
>You could have read his mind
>But you didn't want to do that to him for something important
>You can't even really remember the last time you used your magic on him for that sort of thing
>Maybe you've been feeling more confident about speaking out genuinely
>Or you're starting to respect his privacy
>You don't like the possibility that it's the second option
>You always respected his privacy
>Kinda always
"Anon."
>"Sparkbug."
"...Do you wanna tell me what happened?"
>You can see anon's chest rise
>And hear him sigh
>"No... nah."
"Why not?"
>"Because you guys got your own stuff going on."
"Jacky does... I don't."
>Anon's hand slides up your shoulder
>Up your neck
>Into your mane
>And slides over your face from the top of your head down to the front of your snout
>You spit and sputter and lean back
>"Heh heh heh..."
>You grown and thrust one of your front hooves at his side
"You ass..."
>"Love you too, angry gamer pone."
>You finally decide to get up, leaving Anon to his relaxation time
>You stretch as you walk, reminded of the bad taste in your mouth
>You really could use a drink
>You stop when you see Jacky and Prism practicing some sort of maneuver
>"I know the feel when we used to run! And then you..."
>Jacky squats down and Prism awkwardly tries to sidestep over her
>"And then I go... let's pack a meal and play in the sun!""
>"Yeah yeah, like that, but... faster?"
>"Jacky, I don't want to end up hitting you..."
>"You won't, because you're gonna go fast and it'll look awesome!"
>"It was easier with Sparking because she and I... oh, good morning."
>Prism notices you first and smiles
>Jacky looks up at the pegasus and then at you
>"Oh, hey Sparky!"
>You blink a few times
>Jacky is still squatted down below Prism, between her legs
"Pictures are worth a thousand words, aren't they."
>Prism got the picture and quickly stepped to the side fully
>"Is Anon still tired?"
>Jacky is so oblivious sometimes
>That ignites the tinder inside
"Obviously, otherwise he'd be up and about."
>Don't be so mean
>You don't want to sound so bitter about it
>Jacky doesn't seem to mind, but her smile doesn't seem as vibrant
>"I think something's up with him... has anyone noticed that he's been kinda... different?"
>You look at her
>You catch Prism giving you a certain look
>You shrug
>"Well Jacky, you've changed too you know."
"Yeah... you have. But you're still a chunk head."
>"And Anon likes chunky grits so... you know. Chunky heads are in season too."
>Jacky smugly smiles and nods at you
>That doesn't get you angry
>She's never made you all that angry
>She's not stupid
>Sometimes she just gets on your nerves
>In some ways, she knows a lot that you don't
"Yeah..."
>You disengage and walk past them into the kitchen
>"...oh wow. I didn't think I would win that one."
>"Surprises happen all the time, Jacky."
>Rather than getting a cup, you pour some water from the filtered pitcher into a ball contained by magic
>It looks kinda neat
>And it keeps you from having to use any sort of cup
>Ever since you've been here, you've been wanting to improve
>You aren't afraid of magic anymore
>You aren't really afraid of what you're capable of either
>You compress the ball of water until it's the size of a marble
>If you were better then like you are now, you wouldn't have let all of that happen
>The marble of compressed water shrinks further into a bead
>You aren't angry at any of them
>You really do value them
>Without your friends, where would you be?
>Would you have even made it this far without them?
>You feel a strong spike of jaw-clenching anger
>You compress the ball of water as much as you can
>You've made things difficult for them
>Every single fucking mistake you've made has left a mark on yourself, and on them, and on whatever your track record could look like if anyone cared enough to criticize your every failure
>If only this ball was...
>It's not really even a ball now
>You release your magic
>It swirls back to it's original volume, violently swirling about
>It still just looks like water
>You can see the glimpse of a reflection of yourself
>You wish you could have changed more
>But you're still only just you

>After squirting the water into your mouth, you return to Anon's room
>He's still laying there but at least he's awake
>"Hey there, good morning."
"It's not even morning anymore."
>"Potato, grenado."
>You climb onto the bed and sit on his lap
"I'm gonna play some RE5... you want to play with?"
>He hasn't played that in a while
>He hasn't played that many games at all
>He'll watch you and help out but you haven't done anything cooperative in a while
>You lift a controller up to Anon's face
"You know you wanna... and what're you gonna do otherwise, right?"
>"Hmmm..."
>He squints at you
>You squint back
>He squints harder
>You squint so hard you can't even see
>He goes limp and starts to loudly snore
"Wha-hey!?"
>You poke the controller into the side of his face
"Wake up! You aren't escaping me this easily!"
>On the third poke he grabs the controller and does his best to sound like an old man
>"Bahh, when I was your age, I'd have let an old man sleep! Now you wake me from my crypt to shoot gators!"
"Last time we played we didn't even get that far! Now come on."
>After a little more bickering, the two of you finally get into it
>Anon always preferred the close-range loud and heavy weaponry, which means explosives, hand cannons, and shotguns
>So you backed him up with automatic weaponry and sniper rifles
>Of course, aiming was a cinch for you
>With your magic, you're pretty confident that you're one of the best players in the world
>But Anon is also really good despite being slowed down by having to use his hands
>Even though you like his hands
>You like sitting on his lap too
>"Alright, before I hurl you, take some handgun ammo."
"Mind if I have that herb too?"
>"Sure, grenade too. Clear a path and head down, I'll be down there."
>You smirk
"Kiss for luck?"
>Rather than getting one, Anon's Chris hurls your Sheva across a frankly impressive distance across to another building
>Anon isn't built anywhere resembling Chris but you still find it hard to believe that humans can just fling each other so far
>Compared to the adrenaline pumping violent action going on screen, both of you are still just sitting there
>Anon's still laying on his back but he has started to twist over to see the screen better
>He told you once before how much he used to play it so you're not that surprised
>Everything goes off without a hitch
>Despite having both of your own weapon loadouts, you both have at least a handgun
>It's the only shared resource to worry about, since healing items and grenades tend to come and go as required
>With little communicative grunts and the occasional "gah damn it!", you clear the area and strip it clean of all treasure
>Since it's technically a save file from a cleared game, nothing's stopping you from blazing through with fully upgraded guns
>To keep the challenge, both you and Anon started by buying base stat guns and sticking with them
>The harder difficulty mode helps balance it out
>After a few other maps, you end up in a series of mines
>A very dark series of mines
>Dark enough where either you or him have to hold a light
>Which means no attacking
"Alright, want me to take the light?"
>"Yeah, pause real quick."
>You so do and 'wah!'
>He turned to lay on his side and put his hand on your chest, letting you slide off of his lap without falling over
>He pats your chest a few times
>"Alright, now I'm more focused."
>You're tempted to ask if you were distracting him
"Alright... I'm relying on you now."
>As many times as you've played through the segment, you always feel uneasy
>You aren't afraid of the night
>But you are afraid of just how sheer pitch dark it is
>If the light doesn't touch it, it just doesn't exist
>Except it does
>And whatever it is, it watches you from the dark and somehow knows how to traverse the abyss
>But Anon is with you
>Only when you pass it and leave the light behind do you shiver
"I'll never get used to that..."
>"Seriously... alright Al, focus on those guys we can't reach with your rifle. After that, pretty much a free-for-all."
>Who?
"Who?"
>It takes Anon a second to realize what he said
>"Ah... yeah. Sorry."
>You don't press it and pick off whatever poor sobs cross your hairs
>You can't help but notice that Anon's play style is so different
>Especially now
>He always wears melee armor while you would prefer the extra inventory spot
>Every other attack is a shotgun blast to someone's head
>He enjoys the melee attacks too
>You snort at the sight of him chucking a grenade at a crowd of enemies
>He really isn't subtle, is he
>He's never been subtle
"Anon?"
>"Mm?"
"Y'having fun?"
>"Mm."
>A handful of enemies do come your way, of course
>But Anon's aggro puts him in the center of a slaughter
"...y'need some backup?"
>"Mmm... nah. I think I'm good."
>You pop the heads off of any enemy threatening his flank but for the most part he manages to take care of whatever remains
>Until there are none left and just a half dozen glowing circles signalling treasure and ammo
>Anon exhales, sighing
>"That wasn't so bad."
"...yeah. You didn't even touch the grenade launcher."

>It's another night
>Anon's tired but happy to hang out with you
>While Jacky and Prism spent all day doing their thing, you focused more on an RPG
>You've been hopping from game to game for weeks now, trying to find something that feels right
>Giant wars where you're the chosen one from some long, forgotten group feel... boring
>Small-time, rag-tag groups that end up fighting massive militaries and worse feel like a useless power trip
>You found an interesting answer
>Shin Megami Tensei
>Something about it appeals to you
>A normal person who ends up fighting monsters with nothing but normal person equipment
>And gaining the power of demons in the process
>More so, making pacts with them
>Gaining dominance over them
>Sacrificing them when it's appropriate
>For all of the urges and thoughts you've had, this feels like a nice outlet
>The music is nice too
>Anon's sitting behind you with his back to the wall
>Jacky said that she would come in later to sleep with him but from the sounds of the living room, she probably went to sleep on a pillow instead
>"What do you think of your team so far?"
>Anon's been watching you play without too much comment
>Some fights have been frustrating
>A lot of them have been
>But whenever you growl or sigh, he gives you a bit of insight as to what might work
>Of course he would know
>But he isn't saying anything unless you more or less ask for it
"It's... strong against force."
>"One of your demons is strong against force."
"Right... but if it gets hit, it can end the enemy's turn."
>"Exactly. What else?"
>You squint at your roster
>You don't have any real 'favorites'
"...almost all of them can heal?"
>"Not all."
"Well the three in my party do."
>"And they're only as good for that when they're alive."
>You grumble
>It's such a pain to keep track of so many demons
>Some of them evolve and change too, so you aren't even sure of which ones to keep
>It's fun though
"Hey Anon..."
>You're stuck grinding for the next while anyway, no reason not to focus on talking for a while
>"What's up?"
>Keeping your eyes on the screen, you stand up and start to back up toward him
>You keep going until you end up in his lap, at the center of his crossed legs
>You nod to yourself and rest your head on his knee
"If you had demons... and if you could take advantage of creatures that hold immense magic. Would you use them?"
>"Yes."
>That was quick
>How quickly he said that makes you smile
"What for?"
>"Well. Presuming that all hell was breaking loose and that reality as I knew it was crumbling away... I suppose I'd use demons to strengthen myself. Learn their ways through their demonic whispers, fuse them as I saw fit, and make sure that I keep getting stronger, to command even better demons."
"What about their wants and needs?"
>"Who cares? They're demons."
>You smile more
>He's almost sadistic about it, isn't he?
>"I suppose that's the wrong wording... specifically, if they become my demons, then that means that my goals are their goals now."
"What if they get bored or change their minds?"
>"Then I destroy them."
"I suppose it is that easy to do, huh..."
>You watch a few battles go by
>Progress is so slow
"So... say you had a demon, but only one. What would you do with h... it?"
>"That's a good question... depends on the demon I suppose. In a few games of the series, you're a pretty normal person and you can become astoundingly rich by fighting demons. In some other games, they subsist off of something called magnetite. You can turn that into money. So I suppose I'd find a way to get rich."
>He says that but he had a long talk with you about how stealing wouldn't help anything and was an actual bad idea
"So you'd just worry about money?"
>"For a time. But then I would want to find out about more demons. See what their abilities could really consist of. Learn what I could through them, if it's even possible. A lot of protagonists can't use magic at all so they're stuck with swords, guns, and whatever items they come across."
>You shift and readjust in his lap to get more comfy
>He pats the side of your stomach
>It feels nice
>You always feel a lot more calm around him
>Far more at peace
"So... what after? Would you worry about humans getting alienated from the demonically super-powered Anonymous?"
>He chuckles
>"Honestly? Not really. Throughout a lot of the games, since most tend to focus on the alignment scale of Law and Chaos... I find myself abiding by the chaotic characters more."
>That doesn't make a lot of sense to you
"So... between good and evil, you prefer evil?"
>"No, good and evil have nothing to do with it."
>You turn your head to look up at him
>Your expression of confusion and 'are you kidding me' says enough to make him laugh
>"Listen. Is everything lawful good?"
"Psst... obviously not."
>"Exactly. And is everything chaotic bad?"
"Well... no... but?"
>You get what he's trying to make but it still sounds awkward to listen to
>"Well, but nothing. A lot of things in the SMT games go beyond morality of 'here, this is evil, you are evil if you do this'. After enough games and playing through so many scenarios... I don't know. I suppose I could trust demons more. Or, I guess 'trust' is a strong word. Who, and what, they are is on the outside. Not the inside."
>That sounds deep
>Far deeper than you thought you'd ever care to think about on a game like this
>"What about you?"
"Huh?"
>"What would you do if you had a demon?"
>What would you even want a demon for?
"Well... I have magic. You know that."
>"I do."
"So... what do I need a demon for?"
>"Well they're strong. And big. A lot are bigger and stronger than you. Some know magic you don't."
>That uncomfortable truth bothered you
"Yeah well not all magic is equal... so who cares if I'm lacking a certain type?"
>"Well, not all magic is equal. But can you Media?"
"That all-heal spell?"
>"Yeah. If we're all hurt, can you do anything about it?"
>You grumble
>Of course you can't
>You never even really... tried to do magic
>It's always been sort of reflexive to you
>It would be nice if you could just cast Fire or Agi and let it just happen
"Well... in any case, if I had a demon. I guess I'd do the same. Except I don't really care about money. I have everything I want already."
>That's a lie
>But you're ok with telling just a little lie
"Maybe I would want to get stronger too, to defend what I wanted."
>You focus on the three demons on your team
>Your best one is some weird winged thing wearing unusual clothing
>It also wears a mask that has a long nose
"I... don't think I would be friends with them. They look too weird."
>"You'd just them by looks?"
"Given they're murderous demons from who knows where? Yeah. Wouldn't you?"
>"...point. I guess I'm used to seeing them."
>He shrugs and pets your stomach again
"What if... you were a demon?"
>"That's a good question. I suppose I would just have to be myself."
>That makes you laugh
"You're already yourself."
>"Sure, but I wouldn't ever hide anything."
>That makes sense
>It's been hard to fight the urge, but you haven't poked into his head for a long time now
>You kinda miss it
>You want to know what he's thinking right now
>You want to know what his issues are
>You just want to know more
"If I were a demon... I think I would do that more. I would just get stronger and get what I wanted. After all, what can stop a demon, right?"

>It's another night playing SMT with Anon watching
>Like last night, you got into his lap again
>Jacky and Prism have been on their own movie marathon
>Disney movies, last time you checked
>You made some progress, though it was slow
>After a few more areas, you come across...
>A message
>It reads "The flames of the [Candelabrum of Sovereignty] are flickering wildly...]
"W... Anon?"
>"Yes?"
"...what does this mean?"
>"Don't you remember why you got it?"
"I... uh... maybe?"
>After walking around more, another message appears
>It reads "You can feel the presence of a terrifying demon..."
>Given everything you've come across so far, you're maybe a little worried
>You've come close to death far too many times to be comfortable
>And unlike other games, once you're dead, your demons abandon you and that's the end of it
"Uh, Anon? Little translation here?"
>Your voice raises
>Did you heal up everyone?
>How is your MP reserve?
>"Uh oh."
"Uh oh?!"
>"Uh oh, big time."
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN UH OH."
>You continue the game's dialogue
>Except now someone's talking
>Not really talking, it's all text
>"The flames of the candelabrum beckon me to the battlefield!"
>"I do not know who you are, but... if you have a candelabrum, it is our destiny to fight."
>"Let us duel to the death within my realm, where no one can interrupt us!"
>Just like that a red circle forms around your character and they drop into it!
"UH OH."
>"Uh oh."
"OH NO, ANON I HAVEN'T SAVED."
>Your character gracelessly drops into a blood red plateau where lightning, or what looks like lightning, strikes the ground all around
>"The victor shall claim the loser's candelabrum, and return in triumph."
>The Mysterious Voice speaks more until it reveals...
>A skeleton?
>A human skeleton!?
>One named Matador
>"I challenge you to a duel, to see which of us is truly worthy of the candelabra... I swear, by my sword and capote, that I will once again prove victorious!"
>You whip your head back to Anon
>He has to give you some advice, right?!
>He looks at you and shrugs
>"This didn't happen the last time I played it..."
"WAIT, WHAT?! HOW?!"
>You focus back on the screen
>The high-tension music is really starting to get to you
>"Now, let the battle begin!"
>Just like that, you're forced into a battle
>The high-tension music morphs into something far more...
>Menacing
>Faster paced
>You watch as he maximizes his agility on the first turn, as his first action
"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!"
>"Better make your moves and make them count... you really aren't going to escape from this."
"WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?!"
>You set your Tengu, Jack Frost and Uzume to action, focusing the most on keeping your health high
>Your magic state is high but you don't know the skeleton's weaknesses
>Your blood turns ice cold as the song erupts with ghostly vocalizations that steal your breath
>This can't be a fight you're supposed to win
>But if you lose... you die
>You struggle to hit him for various turns
>And then it happens
>Andalucia
>Though it's one attack, the skeleton unleashes a literal barrage on your entire team!
>Jack Frost is killed!
>Uzume is killed!
>He then uses an attack that increases your attack
>But it also drops your defense
"Wh... WHAT THE FUCK?! ANON, HELP ME!"
>"You see that he's using force attacks. Don't you have a demon that's immune?"
>Like a ray of sunlight through the storm, he reminds you of that demon with the long nose you kept around but stopped caring to level up
"I got it!"
>You summon that to the fray and keep a righteously desperate struggle to stay alive
>Though you think you're doing enough damage to kill a normal demon twenty times over, it just isn't ending!
>You revive or summon backup where you can
>Maybe one demon out of your active party of four can afford to attack
>With the tengu demon out, Matador's Mazan attack is nullfied!
>Everyone else still takes damage but it affects his turns!
"Just die! JUST DIE!"
>You haven't saved in hours and this sort of in-your-face horror is so far and beyond any other game you've played
>Unable to use anymore MP, you command your Tengu to attack the Matador
>And it dies!
>You hold your breath, unsure of what that means
>Your answer comes in the form of the spoils screen!
>Everything still alive, your character included, level up at least once
"YES, EAT IT! YOU FREAKING... FREAK! YOU FREAK!"
>All of the pent up energy you had explodes all at once
>You jam your hoof out forward, as if to show the humanoid skeleton what for
"YOU THOUGHT YOU COULD BEAT ME?! I AM THE DEMON!"
>You can hear Anon
>"Demi-fiend, Sparkoo."
"I AM THE DEMI-FIEND. FUCK YOU! AND YOUR SONG!"
>Shivering with leftover adrenaline, you carry on with the game
>You obtain another Candelabrum
>Your character starts to hear a Lady's Voice, talking about how the candelabrums attract one another and that there's some labyrinth to go to next
>Once it ends, you're left off exactly where you were before
>Weakened
>Still a little scared
>But stronger for it, objectively
>You shiver and go completely limp in Anon's lap
>You drop the controller, your mind fried
>Now that you've been having to keep track of MP, you start to wonder if you have MP as well
>You must be getting low
"Anon... can you pet my mane?"
>"Sure. Want me to cruise you over to the closest save point too?"
"No... no, I'll do that. I just need to... man. Those zombie guys were fun to shoot but that's because it was with you. And even then, we had such awesome stuff to kill them with. But this... I don't feel safe. I feel like a single slip up could do me in."
>"That's the SMT charm alright. I gotta admit, it's really great to watch someone play through this."
>You sigh
"Well I'm glad at least you like it..."
>You can feel Anon sliding his hands through your mane
>You never bother to brush it or anything so it usually looks really messy
>It helps differentiate you from that Twilight character so you like it
>It's grown too, so it's not entirely like hers anymore anyway
>She would probably never get half as far as you
>You chuckle to yourself
>It's not a petty thought, you're just being honest
"My MP is tapped... where are the chakra drops?"
>"You have MP now?"
"Yesss... and it's empty."
>You didn't really know how magic worked before
>For the longest time you just didn't want to use magic
>You didn't want to hurt yourself
>Or anyone else
>You never even really read up on unicorns or how they did magic
>After so many demons having so many spells, and after learning so many moves, you realize that there's a whole lot more to magic than what you ever thought
>What would you even classify the magic that you do have now?
>Your self-conscious internal audit ends when you feel Anon's hands leave your head
>You look up at him and smile
>"Feel better?"
>You nod and rest your head on his knee, curling up into yourself hard
>"I'm gonna get you to a save point..."
"Alright. I trust you."
>You sigh and inhale
>You feel so accomplished
>You didn't really do a lot throughout the day when Anon was at work
>But when he was there to watch?
>You felt like you won a real fight
>You feel better than when you won a real fight
>This must be what he feels when he plays games like that
>"...oops, I got you killed."
>Your eyes burst open
"YOU WHAT?!"
>You whip your head to the screen
>...you're fine
>You whip your head to Anon
>He's smiling at you
>Smirking
>"You know I had to do that at least once."
"Ugh... you suck..."
>You jab your head at his arm, winning a glancing blow
>Your horn isn't actually all that sharp
>Maybe it'll get sharper once you level up or something

>It's another evening playing games with Anon...
>Except Jacky is around this time
>Already a little bitter that you can't sit in his lap, you resign yourself to his left side
>Jacky's sitting on Anon's lap, her lower legs resting over his and her front legs in the air
>Anon's been controlling her like a puppet ever since she sat down
>It's annoying how in sync they are
>"So... you went through that branch already, right?"
>He moves his arm, making Jacky point with her hoof at the right side of the screen
>"The real right side here or the last one?"
>"Either."
>It's obvious that she has no clue what she's looking at
>But to be fair even you're having difficulties trying to remember where you've been to before
>The map system doesn't really seem to help
>"Maybe..."
>"That way."
>She speaks and he finishes her sentence, using her to point
"It's not that way... that way is the dead end that took like twenty battles to realize and come back from..."
>"Damn..."
>"It..."
>If they're trying to be funny, it really isn't
>Time slips by as you wander throughout the confusing dungeon
>"I love what I can see... what's expected of you, what's expected of me?"
>He holds up Jacky's front legs, bringing them down
>One points to the side to you
>One points to herself
>She doesn't actually look like she cares what he's doing
>She just looks... happy
>Another half hour passes
>"Duhh duh duh duh!"
>"Ah am yer lord an' savior!"
>"Duhh duh duh duh!"
>"Ah have yer back, to tha wall!"
>"Duhh duh duh duh!"
>"Strike without grace!"
>As stupid as they've been, you've been pursing your lips to stop from smiling
>Anon's been giving deep "duh"s for at least seven fights now
>While shaking her hooves and shoulders, she bleats out the lyrics with her best Applejack impression
>"Duhh duh duh duh!"
>"Drink of the wine of the wrath of Ma!"
>"ONE MORE MA REJECTED!"
>"AH AM THE LORD AN' SAVIOR!"
>"ONE MORE MA REJECTED!"
>"AH HAVE YER BACK, TO THA WALL!"
>"ONE MORE MA REJECTED!"
>After more than a few headaches, you end up at the dungeon boss
>Compared to before, they're both silent
>Except for the little grunting they're doing
>Anon moves Jacky's legs in tune with the lyrics of the boss theme
>She wriggles back and forth in tune with it, squinting whenever the enemy gets another turn
>You're able to focus
>Obviously
>But you can't help but think of how stupid they look
>Anon's smarter than this
>But he's just so... content with something so basic
>Jacky, shocking no one, is just happy to be there
>She occasionally asks him questions but it's always in a whisper that breaks their little playing
>You would never want to be played with like some sort of doll
>Even if he hugs her
>Or occasionally kisses the side of her head, behind her ear
>Or mentions how he has an itch on his face, then moves her hoof to scratch it, and thanks her
>They look stupid
>Absolutely stupid
>Your main demon finally scores a fatal blow and the enemy dies
>You wish he could do that with you too
"Finally! Screw you and your two sisters!"
>"Yaaaaay!"
>Jacky lets out a quiet cheer while Anon waves her hooves back and forth
>"Very nice, Sparkler. It seems like you have a pretty reliable dynamic going on."
"Yeah... I guess those fiends really do come in handy."
>You can't help but feel like it's a hollow victory
>If Jacky were back out in the living room with Prism you'd be able to have... tried something
>You aren't sure what
>But you feel
>Alone
>Like you, the titled Demi-Fiend protagonist is alone in an alien world
>The people you know seem to be doing fine and are safe and sound
>But you're the one who has to wander without aid
>"Sparky?"
>"What's up Sparks?"
>You don't reply
>It's not fair
>You can do more things
>You can use magic
>You've been able to help out more too
>You want to cry
>But instead you just feel angry
>Demi-fiend never once cried
"I'll win..."
>You growl to yourself
>"Spooky."
>"Well you sure got a team plan down to debilitate and buff."
>More time passes
>Anon and Jacky went to sleep while you stuck to your game
>He basically just flopped onto his back and she slithered halfway up his chest before passing out
>While you're tired too, that smoldering anger keeps you from being able to wind down for the night
>You glare at the pair every now and again, expecting one of them to notice your schemes
>Without wondering if you should, you begin to reach for Anon with your magic
>Like you did when you were first fighting over the right to play games whenever you wanted
>Ever since that peek into his head
>Into his life
>Into who he is
>You've wanted to see more
>You've wanted to feel more
>You wanted him to think of you more
>You watch him as you peer into his mind
>He hasn't been wanting to open up to you for a while
>That's fine
>You'll let yourself in
>All at once, you see and feel everything that he's been up to
>Fatigue
>A sense of loneliness that feels similar to your own, somehow
>Concern
>Worry?
>Why would he worry about any of you dying?
>You disconnect and stare blankly at the screen
>It's not any of you that are dying
>It's one of his kind
>Family
>You sorta forgot that he even had human relatives
>You don't think he ever really mentioned them
>A cold wave of panic goes down your neck
>What do you do with this?
>How can you help him?
>What could you say?
>What could any of you say?
>You barely resist the urge to shake him awake
>You couldn't do that and just ask him something like that out of the blue
>But you can't do nothing either
>You watch him sleep with Jacky
>He acts so dumb sometimes
>Like nothing could ever get him down
"You... idiot..."
>You can't be mad.
>You can't be anything
>Like the Demi-fiend, all you can do is move forward
>You can think, at least
>Plan
>You'll find a way to make a difference
>The only question is if you should tell Jacky and Prism about what's going on too

>It's another night with Anon
>Now that you know that he's been worried about family dying, you've been noticing every single cue
>Every delayed smile, like it's a conscious effort
>Every zoned out look at nothing, like he's contemplating something
>Jacky's back in the living room with Prism again
>The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly is playing
>You can hear them both laugh at certain parts
>They're probably trying to do that MST3K thing
>Anon would probably love doing that too
"Hey Anon."
>You turn back to look at him with a smile
>It's a real smile, not a smirk
>You're doing your best to make sure of that
"Don't you wanna go out there with those two goobers and make fun of Blondie or Tuco?"
>It takes a second for him to reply, sitting with his back against the wall again
>Given how much you and him sit on his mattress, it may as well be a flat couch
>"Me? Nah.. no, that's alright."
>As goofy as he is normally, this feels like a big shift
>It's not just fatigue, otherwise he'd have taken a nap
>He looks right past you, at the monitor you've been playing on
>You've hit a wall in progress and have spent the day grinding on and off
>Whether or not it's the game itself or for other reasons, you haven't been able to just back out of it and do other things
>Jacky and Prism have been doing everything together again
>Which is good
>You're happy for them
>But you can't help but feel like it's back to the old days
>"Trying to grind up for a fiend?"
>You give a heavy sigh
"I keep dying... and every new boss is getting harder to just skate by. So I want stronger demons. I like some of them... but I need to become stronger."
>"Tell me about it."
>You raise an eyebrow at him
>He notices your accusatory look and shakes his head
>"Digital Devil Saga 1... I spent at least a solid... I don't even know, at least 20 hours grinding at the end of the game. Because I wanted to have 100% cleared skills for the transfer save bonus to the second game."
>You grimace
"Holy crap... was it worth it?"
>Anon's eyes go wide
>He slowly shakes his head while mouthing a large 'NO'
>You scoff at his answer
"I couldn't do that... "
>"You sure as hell shouldn't. Shit sucked. Out of all of the games I played of this series, that was my first title. And it really whipped the shit out of me."
"Why?"
>"Because it was really difficult. It required a ton of thinking and pattern recognition. It wasn't at all like the slugfests that you've been dealing with of heal-attack-heal-attack."
>Personally you always preferred just going at it and giving it your all
"It sounds difficult..."
>Even though you're stuck on trying to figure out how a puzzle boss would go since it's in combat, you say something without really meaning to
"Anon, I love you. No matter what's going on, you have me. You have Jacky. And you even have Prism. So... I guess just remember that if nothing else. Ok?"
>You're taken off guard by your own words but you watch Anon for any sort of reaction
>You can't believe you just did that
>What's he going to think?
>He just watches you
>He finally gives you a smile
>It looks like it hurts
>You remember that smile
>You remember being out on the outside balcony with him like it was yesterday
>That smile still makes your stomach wrap itself into a knot
>"Yeah... I love you too, Shine. Just like I love Jacky."
>He pauses on purpose
>"And yeah, even Prism too."
>Was this a confession?
>Of course it wasn't
>But what if it was?
>Obviously it wasn't
>But what if he proved it?
>Obviously he wouldn't
>Before you can ask yourself anymore questions, you feel a pair of strong, human arms scoop you up
>Your focus is completely erased and your controller falls onto the bed
>You close your eyes and pucker your lips expecting something but
>He just hugs you close to his chest
>With your tail near one shoulder and your head near his other
>Your heart beats a mile a minute at this move, even if it wasn't what you thought it'd be
>He buries his head into your side
>"If this really is happening, I may be the last one, Shine. And I don't know what I'll do once that happens. I'm a man without a country already. Take away what little family I have left and... that'll just be it. It'll end with me."
>Though he's partially speaking into your side, you can hear him perfectly
>Every part of you focuses on him
>His breathing
>His grip
>The tremors in his hands
>How quiet he is
>How you can feel his closed eyes pressing into your ribs
>You don't need magic for this
>You lean your head to the side against the front of his shoulder
>What can you say?
>You know you don't have any family
>If you ever had family to begin with
>You know that you... don't even know where you came from
>But he did
>Probably
>He must have, at some point
>"This is some rough shit, Shine..."
>You absolutely love him calling you that
>You really don't know what caused it
>But you want it to stay that way
>You can shine for him
>Easily
"...wanna play some Soul Caliber? Remember the first time we did that?"
>You don't really get a reply out of him
>Just a tightened grip on the hug
"I'm here now... doing the best I can."
>You aren't great at singing but you remember the lyrics like the back of your hoof
"Where are you now? Did your dreams come true...?"
>You hear a heavy sigh into your side
>Anon's breath feels like fire
>"Here we go..."
>It feels like forever passes
>He doesn't say anything
>You don't say anything
>You're just enjoying his hold on you
>Except
>The way he's squeezing down on you
>It's different
>Anon's breathing is changing too
>The hair on the back of your mane starts to stand on end
>This is no longer something loving
>This is tension
>This sort of tension makes you shiver despite the warmth of the room
>Your legs tense up
>Your ears twitch, as if to pick up any of the most minor of movements
>...
>...
>NOW!
>Anon launches you up into the air the same second you kick off of his forearms
>Though you're in the air for only a second, you spin around and move to hit him with a dive kick!
>He punches up, his knuckles meeting your hoof
>For that split second, you see it
>The fierce, burning soul of a fighter
>That exact moment in time will never leave you
>Your mouth opens as he does
>You both know what time it is
>You both know that neither of you are going to back down, no matter what you are to each other
>There is only one way to settle this
>Your voice bellows out with him
>There's only one thing that needs to be said
"SPARKING!"

>Despite it being a Saturday, you haven't been doing nearly as much with Anon as you wanted
>He's been napping all day long, waking up only long enough to go to the bathroom, drink something, or ask you what's up
>You like it, since you've been grinding away in your game while either sitting on him or laying across his torso
>Jacky really hasn't been around him a lot
>Which means that Prism has been doing her part
>With the sun going down, everything in the apartment feels so much nicer
>Deciding that you may as well be social, you slowly slide off of Anon's body
>Whether or not Jacky would approve...
>Well, she isn't here, now is she?
>You smile to yourself
>You're his Shine
>You've never been called that by anyone
>You've never really had enough people around you for any of them to even attempt to call you something like that
>The only living thing that's been close to you, back then, was... just Jacky
>But even then it's not like you were really that close
>Maybe it would have been nice if you were closer
>You're still solid friends now, so does it matter?
>While making your way to the living room, Jacky zips by
>"heytheresparkybyetheresparky!"
>You scrunch your face at how close she was to knocking into you
>Well, whatever
>You come across Prism, who is so eloquently draping herself across a few pillow
>"Good evening, Sparking. It's nice to see you come out of your Anon cave."
>It sounds like it's a bit of a prod but you don't really feel that aggressive today
"Good to see you too, believe it or not."
>You both smile at the light sparring
>Things really do feel like they're beginning to fit into place
"So hows your side of the plan?"
>Prism smiles, her wings shifting on her back
>"Wonderful! I feel like we're little fillies again. I really do miss it..."
>She sighs
>"I doubt you remember, you didn't know either of us well. But remember that time I tried to act like some noblemare's daughter?"
>You vaguely remember something like that
>It was one of Prism's first attempts at her main skill
>Lying
>You were sort of weary of her for the longest time because she always made these tall tales or came up with these extravagant dreams of how things would be
>You never liked them
>Jacky did
>Maybe she came up with all of that stuff to keep morale up
>Looking back on how things were, maybe you can't blame her
"Yeah... not really."
>You shake your head, still smiling
"You know, I just... didn't get you two. I really didn't. I could imagine having a friend that was that close and thought I was that valuable. I really could. But I never thought I'd get one. Not while I was some... creature living off of crusts."
>"And now look at us..."
>The look on Prism's face is one of supreme victory
>You nod
"Yeah... look at us now..."
>"Speaking of us... how's Anon? I admit, I feel a little bad for how I've been before toward him. It seems like he just does his thing while we do our own. Is he really always like that?"
>Of course he isn't
>When it was just you and Jacky, they were all over each other
>They still technically are, but they've been separated successfully to the point that it's more common that only you get to sleep near him
>Neither of them know about what's going on with his family either
>As important as that is...
>You can't be the one to tell them
>You can't be the one to tell Jacky that
>But Anon hasn't had the chance
>Maybe... he should
"He... he's ok. Yeah."
>You can't help but feel something resembling guilt
"Hey, listen... he's not a bad guy. He's really not. If you think you can go a night or something without Jacky, let's let them have a little alone time, huh?"
>"We'll see. I'm in no rush to give her up again. Did you know that there are books in spoken format too? We've been listening to dozens of them! And some on this world's history, too... do you remember much about where we came from?"
"I... no. Not really. Last thing I remember of there..."
>You get an uncomfortable feel in your chest
"Do you remember that fight we were in? It feels like... well, it felt like I died there. What happened to Jacky?"
>Prism's smile shrinks
>"She was bucked in the head a good time or two... honestly, I was worried."
>She makes herself smile
>"To be honest maybe the kick made her smarter."
>But the smile vanishes
>There's no happiness in her eyes
>"I was scared to death... I don't remember what happened to me. I didn't care, honestly. But I needed to find a way to help her."
>You remember that she looked roughed up bad
>And her wing...
>"You know, Sparking... Jacky was worried about you. Up until..."
>She blinks hard a few times
>"Up until... would you call it 'the end'?"
>The morbid tone she takes upsets your stomach and your chest severely
>Specifically, you can feel your ribs
>Or rather, you can feel how they were
>You blink hard and remind yourself that you can breath like normal now
"T... that wasn't the end of anything. We recovered from that, right?"
>You really can't remember anything from between that point to... waking up in Anon's apartment
>His voice was familiar though
>When you woke up, you knew who you were talking to
>You recognized his voice faster than you recognized Jacky's
"Prism, what do you remember after th-"
>"I'M BACK BABY AND BETTER 'AN EVER!"
>You instinctively duck down
>Jacky soars overhead, bellyflopping onto a well-squished pillow
>You were wondering why that one looked particularly beat up
>It must've been her training dummy
>"Sparky, come watch with us!"
"Watch what?"
>"War documentary!"
>With the faint feeling of broken ribs still in your mind, you back away with a hesitant shake of the head
"No... no, I'm alright."
>"Aw come on... you like games with guns and stuff too, right?"
>"It's alright if she doesn't want to join us, Jacky. It'll just be her loss, right?"
>Prism gives you a wink
>Jacky smirks
>"Ahhh... yeah. It'll just be your loss if you don't do it."
"Yeah... I'm losing out on a lot, alright. Not like I care about history anyway. We're here now, that's all that matters, right?"
>You trot away with a smile
>You want to believe that, anyway
>You return to Anon's bed and climb on top of him
"Hey... hey wake up."
>You push down on his chest with your front hooves and rock back and forth
"Anon... come on, wake up."
>Anon, with what can only be practiced reflexes, snatches you and holds you down against him
>"Mmm in a minute Jack."
>His voice rumbles in his chest, right into your ear
>Wait a minute
>Did he call you Jacky?
>Did you do a Jacky thing of all things?!
>You squint with your mouth open
>After letting the knowledge ferment in your head, you thrash about
"I'm not that chunkhead you idiot! Get up so I can ask you something!"
>"Mehh meh meh meh mehh..."
>Anon mocks you while rolling his head back and forth
"DON'T MAKE FUN OF ME, I WANTED TO BE SERIOUS!"
>"Meh meh meh meh meeeeehh! Meh mehh meh meh!"
>The way he contorts his face doesn't help at all
"THAT DOES IT, I'M-"
>"Calm down, Shine... I'm sorry for sleeping in so much."
>Just like that, you're defused
>You swear you had more than enough energy to spare to flail around but you just can't do anything more but lay limp like a ragdoll
"...you're calling me that thing again."
>"So Shiny... shiny like my heinie."
>Wait what
"...did you just call me your butt."
>"Yes."
>Maybe you've been getting a little too emotionally invested in his words because right now you aren't sure what to feel
"Anon?"
>"Yup?"
"Are you finally up?"
>"I didn't have a choice."
"Good. I hate you."
>Freaking Anon
>You wanted to ask him something you thought might be important but you can't just do that now
>"Whip it out."
>What
"...what."
>"Whip it out, babe."
>He speaks in some sort of nasally... accent?
>"Jacko ain't got her sword-o."
"I swear if this is another joke of yours, I'm going to-"
>"AKU-KU-KACHOO BABE!"
>The funny voice and weird words make you regain all of the energy you had and then some
>You scream and flail all of your legs around, whipping your head back and forth until he lets go of you
>"Woah... razzmatazz with a spazz... what's up, spark in the dark?"
>You move back to a sitting position, glaring down at him
"You..."
>You sigh and shake off your excess energy
>At least he's looking at you now
"Listen... do... do you wanna help me learn more about my past?"
>"Your past?"
"Yeah..."
>"Where in your past?"
>That was... a good question
"I.. don't know. The last thing I remember."
>"What about the rest of your past?"
"Well... that's sort of a longer story."
>"I'm awake."
>Would you be fine with telling him what you remember?
>Wait a minute
"Hey don't try to distract me! I'm talking about what I last remember and how I got here?"
>"And... what even is that?"
"I-"
>You forgot that what you and Prism and Jacky know isn't exactly what he knows
>Whatever he does know about your past, or Jacky's
"...nevermind."
>"Oh come on, don't tempt me like that. Why not just start from the beginning?
"Eh... haven't you heard something like that from Jacky?"
>"Maybe. I haven't heard that sort of thing from you."
>He has a point
>And it is a way to get closer to him
"Alright... I guess I can, since you pushed me so hard on it."
>"Oh yeah, totally. I woke you up and went 'please sing to me the song of your people'!"
>He stares at you
>You stare at him
"...I hate you."
>"Then smite me with your history already."

"I'll smite you, you..."
>You grumble and sigh
"I just... I feel like I'm nothing, you know? Without a past, roots, I'm kinda just here. And I want to know more of who I was. What I did."
>"Yeah... I get that."
"Do you really?"
>"Sure. My family is so worthless that a lot of the time it feels like I'm the only one of my... what, clan? Like I'm really all I will ever amount to. No generation-passed knowledge, wealth or land. What I have here is pretty much all I've ever had, and most likely will be all I ever do have. Just as my physical family..."
>He pokes your nose with his finger
>"Is you three. If I have cousins or extended family, I don't know them, they don't know me, and there's absolutely no value there for either parties."
>You hate how easily he can say something like that
>How could anyone be so... proud of that?
>But the tone and smile he has doesn't say that he's proud either
"...well I guess you do know."
>"Yeah. But I also kinda know my family's history, so there's that... but what good does it honestly do me, right?"
"I guess. But... I would like to know mine. I want to know why I ended up where I did. I want to know why I couldn't have just been born... better?"
>"To grow up and not feel like you're trash?"
"Yeah..."
>"I wouldn't blame you. If I could have, honestly? I don't know if I wouldn't mind having a cosmic re-roll on life."
>That sounds nice
>Except
"But then we wouldn't be here."
>"Exactly."
"And if I had a re-roll too..."
>"You'd be living in peace, have a few thousand suitors and have never learned how to style on foes in God Hand."
"That would suck."
>It really would, too
>You really aren't too sure of what you want
"I want to learn about my past... but. Do you honestly think it will make me happy?"
>Anon looks at you
>Like he's studying your face
>He doesn't look like he's trying to joke or make a silly expression
>"What would your past give you that you don't already have now?"
>That question
>How are you supposed to answer that?
"Well... closure."
>"On what?"
"Why I..."
>Oh come on
>He's really just not shying away from this
>Maybe you need to be stronger too
"Why I was abandoned. Left to crawl around the muck and pick rat shit out of my mane. Left to learn magic on my own, and to nearly kill innocent ponies with it. Which freaked me out so much I just couldn't so much as move a cup. Which made me feel even more weak and worthless. Which made me rely on Jacky and Prism for nearly everything that I couldn't solve by sneaking around and stealing pathetic little things so I could suffer to the next day and why I couldn't have just have grown up normal like other ponies and not be such... trash."
>It all comes out in one solid head rush
>It's a weird sensation
>Like you're not even in your own head
>Kinda like you're floating a little and your mouth is just moving on it's own
>The really weird thing is that you aren't even crying
>Crying wouldn't help you
>It didn't help you then
"I want to know why I had to be born and live this life, Anon."
>"Do your think your parents would have an answer that's good enough to satisfy you? That deep gut flame that's burning you from the inside out?"
>You can feel your ears flatten
>The out of touch feeling comes back and hits you from the back of your head
>You bare your teeth
>You aren't able to help yourself
"They'll have MY answer. I'll make them regret it."
>The anger you've felt before really doesn't compare to this feeling
>This is fury
>You want, so badly, to cause whoever left you in the sewage inconceivable harm
>You want to be the worst you can be, and show them a fraction of what you've had to endure
>You want it so bad you're shaking
>For a split second, you can almost see Anon as the one who brought you into this world
>If he knew what he did by bringing you into the chance to remember, he'd
>No
>No, you can't think that
>The quaking in your hooves and the tense stress you've been putting into your legs die down
>Your hooves keep trembling though
"I want to know why it had to be me that turned out so bad. I want to know why they didn't care enough to do more for me. To do at least the baseline of care. If I had foals, I'd never even think about abandoning them..."
>"That's a tall ask... what else do you want help to remember?"
>You can tell that he's trying to be helpful
>You appreciate it
>You really do
>But you want to scream at him because you feel like you need to badmouth the ponies you don't even know
>What else matters, really?
>What you can remember, is blurry
>A lot of it is
>But a lot of it also feels like it's the exact same things
>It's the same cycles
>Getting hurt
>Devouring fresh hauls almost instantly
>Lazing around
>Watching ponies go home to their families
>Seeing kids get things passed down to them from their parents
>Getting older and seeing others your age excel to the point that you can't comprehend how you could have gotten to even half of their level alone
>Realizing that it's because they weren't alone, that they were able to excel
>Picking fights
>Picking bad fights
>Trying to steal from your two only sorta-friends
>Who had more than you ever could
>They had each other
"...nevermind... maybe it's not worth it, to remember."
>Normally you'd see if you could get some sort of edge on Anon and make him do something that you would want that Jacky wouldn't allow
>But you just feel drained
>You slide off of Anon and just lay, limp, on the mattress beside him
"I keep hoping that, in part of my past... I have some amulet. Or a sigil. Or a ring. Or something that hints to me being more important to the world than I really am. I keep hoping that if I really remember some... stupid words of wisdom from infancy, it'll put everything into perspective. Like all of those years were just a test. And that everyone is waiting to celebrate me and tell me how great I am for suffering through things no pony would ever imagine."
>"Instead, it's just how life was for you."
"And that not every pony had to steal to feel like that they had something. Not every pony cried themselves to sleep. Some never did, you know? Some never once had a single rumbling stomach. Some never once were left out in the rain. Some never once got sick. Some never once felt lonely."
>"But you did... and you knew it wasn't normal."
"It was normal... to me it was. Just forget it... Jacky probably has good memories because she had Prism... Prism knew some ponies. She was good with her mouth, anyway."
>You feel Anon shifting around
>His arm drapes over your side
>"Think about it this way... birds of a feather flock together. So trash like us? Gotta stick together like glue."
>You don't know if he's joking or not but you kinda find it... funny
"So you think I'm trash too..."
>"I don't think you're trash at all, Shine. Just as I'm... ehhh, maybe sixty percent sure you don't think I'm trash. But I have a few good reasons to believe I am. Some of them aren't as extreme as your experiences. Some of them are worse. So, without arguing and having a pity party, you think you're trash. And I think I'm trash. So it works out."
>That makes you feel better
>In a roundabout way
>You're not sure if you should feel better
>He did call you trash
"...do you love me, Anon?"
>"Of course I do."
>Like he loves Jacky?
>You should ask that
>You need to ask that
>Say it
>Say it
>Say it before you lose your chance
"I love you..."
>Don't say that!
"...and I love Jacky too. And even... Dashie..."
>Don't lose focus
"I wish I was better, Anon... that's really all. I wish I was a better friend to them."
>Stop pretending to be strong
"I want to be better for them."
>You aren't Anon
"I want to not feel so guilty because they're around me by choice."
>You don't have to act like this
>Ask Anon if he loves you like he does Jacky
>If you don't, you'll never have another chance
>You'll end up that much worse because you don't have what she has
"I'm... sorry if I ever really bothered you, Anon. I really didn't mean to."
>Stop
>If you get stronger, he'll have less reason to care about you
>You'll be strong and alone
>Do you want to be alone forever?
>"It's alright, Shine. I know what you mean... I really do. It's... just sort of a process, you know?"
>The guilt is overwhelming
>Your face feels warm
>It isn't a lot
>But you can feel a few tears going down the side of your face
"I just want to be better. I want to be worth it."
>You can lie
>You can scheme
>You can really try to get Anon to fawn over you instead of Jacky
>But if you did
>You wouldn't be happier
>Merely thinking about that makes you feel like you aren't even in control of yourself
>Your eyes close
>"You are, Shine. Never forget that you're worth it to us, no matter what happens."
>His voice is so soothing
>It's a voice of reason
>A voice that still hurts to hear
>Probably a voice that still hurts to speak in too
>"Later, let's go hang out with them. I think we could both use some real time with friends."
>Sure, Anon
>Sure
>But right now, you really just want to sleep
>Maybe
>When you wake up
>You'll be someone different

>Today feels different
>You woke up normal
>You evidently slept between Anon's legs, in the little canyon his legs formed
>You didn't even have your head on his lap
>You know that you would've done that by default normally
>But today feels a little different
>You woke up before him, and before Jacky and Prism too
>Jacky was laying on her side, clutching a pillow
>Prism was flat on her stomach, legs all kicked out, wings spread
>And her entire head under a pillow
>They were criminals, once
>Just like you
>And yet, here you all were
>As peaceful as could be
>Healthy
>Well, healthy-ish
>Anon has gotten better about food variety but you haven't minded
>None of you have, probably
>It was always there
>Always ready, hot or cold
>It wasn't some new revelation but it was something that surprises you every now and again
>You sit in front of the pony-convenient kitchen area
>It's a few nice camping utensils and other things, but it's all genuine
>You've used it a good few times too
>You wonder what would happen if you made breakfast for him
>Just him
>How would you wake him up?
>Would you make him sit up to eat or would you feed him directly?
>What would you talk about?
>What would you do after eating?
>Would he really be happy?
>Would you be happy?
>You stare at the utensils
>The wide-brimmed bowls
>The pants that have over-sized handles
>So easy a pony can do it
>And that's what you are
>An animal
>Not even a natural one
>Maybe breakfast would be nice to make
>A distraction
>Instead, you get up and walk away from it
>You sit in the hallway
>Anon's sleeping
>He sleeps a lot
>You don't blame him
>He's almost here as much as you are, and it's as isolated as it can be
>Almost enough to make you forget that the world is full of humans and more
>He isn't the only human, but he may as well be as alone as you
>As alone as Prism and Jacky are
>You have a new life, a lot of it is really nice
>But sometimes you think it's too nice
>Like you don't deserve it
>But you bet Anon would say that you do
>Jacky would say that too
>Your eyes wander to the front door
>You could leave
>You could just leave and see what the world had to offer
>Meet other humans
>Maybe become a nomad
>Like in an RPG, wandering around, taking odd jobs and winning awesome stuff
>But this world doesn't work that way
>You know that much from Anon
>That's why he's where he is
>It's probably why he got Jacky
>He wanted a friend
>You're still unsure of how you would feel if he got you first
>You saw what happened through his eyes, when you were in his mind
>He never did get around to replanting some of those plants
>They're still alive at least
>You don't know enough about them to guess at how happy they are
>Your eyes leave the door and go to his boots
>He does have a job and go to work, doesn't he
>For money
>Should you get a job?
>The thought lasts maybe a full second before you sigh
>Of course you shouldn't
>You don't want to work
>The only time you've had to work for anything was to steal
>Stealing is bad, though
>Of course, you know that it's bad
>You aren't some career criminal
>You don't really feel bad about having done it before
>But you want to be better too
>You go from the hallway to the bathroom
>Specifically, the tub
>The faucets start to glow red from your magic and twist to full blast
>Rather than filling the tub, it flows directly to you
>After a few minutes, you're covered up to your neck in a bubble of softly swirling water
>The faucets turn off, eliminating any noise they made
>You close your eyes and exhale
>You can feel the water marble start to mold and shift until it curls over your head and submerges your mane without getting your face wet
>Without anything more than a passing thought, the water swirls, pushes, scrapes and hugs you
>You like the hugging the most
>Before you end up drifting off to sleep, you let the water loose
>Mostly loose, anyway
>It silently sinks down to the bottom of the tub and slinks down the drain
>You're as dry as you were before you started, but far cleaner for it
>You hop out of the tub and step onto the bathroom rug
>It's a really nice rug that Anon bought a long time ago
>It looks like it's made out of the scraps and strips of countless other sources of fabric
>You sit down on it and levitate the rug up until you reach the mirror
>Your mane is...
>Messy as always
>You brush yourself with a faint imagination of what a brush would feel like
>Jacky's mane and tail have gotten longer but you've done a few things to not-quite trim yourself
>You comb your mane until you look like Twilight Sparkle
>The flat, neutral expression on your face really isn't like the perpetual smile or grimace she wears
>She's some magical prodigy that can do anything
>Make friends anywhere
>Be successful
>Have whatever she wants
>And then there's you
>You look like you have a question you want to ask
"...you can't leave. It would mean leaving them behind."
>That seems to be your answer
>You violently shake your head back and forth until it's the loosely presentable mess that you've always had
>Your magic rug ride ends and you sneak back into Anon's room
>Whether or not you think you should, you won't bother him about anything
>Maybe later
>But for now you just want to feel like you've improved
>That you've done something worthwhile
>Something to be proud of
>You quietly boot up the desktop and get a game going
>That RPG you've been playing that involves you fusing, killing, and avoiding demons
>You carefully raise the volume until it's comfortably loud
>With a playful smirk, you load a save state and bump Anon's arm with your rear
"Hey, Anon! Is it better to drain or repel?"
>Your delayed answer is an undulating yawn
>A hand reaches out and lands on your side with a dull slap
>"Braaaaaaaaains..."
"No, not brain. Drain. As in you hit me with a fire attack and I heal from it?"
>Another elongated yodeling act of a yawn
>"Draining steals enemy turns, heals you, and stops you from getting hurt. Repel can lead to your foe healing itself."
"Well... wake up and check my A-team. And my B-team. And that pixie."
>A third yawn
>A full on three-act play of a yawn, complete with some theatrical flourish at the end
>You scoff and shake your head
"Yeah, good going. Great stuff."
>"You still haven't fused that pixie yet?"
"Isn't she important?"
>"Well sh'yeah. But you can fuse her too. What's the worst that could happen?"
"I lose someone important?"
>"Nah, it's fine though."
>Anon does something, including a final warcry of a yawn, and shifts to lay on his side
>"So what am I goofing with?"
"Check my demons. Half are good but they're close to useless now. The skills are good but they keep dying too quickly."
>"Are they getting their shit rocked due to weaknesses?"
"Not even that! They're just really... wimpy."
>"Alright, well, let's see what we can do with some fusing."
>It doesn't take long before you're smiling and goofing around with him like everything's normal
>And it is
>This is normal
>It's not a lot but it's a lot for you
"Hey, Anon?"
>"Wat?"
"Thanks."
>"For what?"
"Being a doofus."
>"Just doing my duty, citizen."

>You might not be the best you can be yet
>But you're trying
>You've been on the laptop behind the makeshift curtains that have since cut off the living room in half for a while now
>Thankfully Anon helped you transfer over your game and save data so you can keep playing at your current rate
>Prism has been laying nearby, watching you
>You don't think she's too happy with you
>She hasn't said anything since Anon helped you set up shop and went back to his room
>With Jacky
>And closed the door
>Though you've had the urge to be mean, you've decided that it would just be best to ignore her
>"Sparking..."
>Here we go
"Yes, Prism?"
>"Wasn't out deal that you keep Anon occupied so Jacky and I could do things together?"
>You did make a little bit of a deal with her
>Though you felt bad about it, both of you set up little... clues
>The browser pages set up for Jacky to find were your idea, among other things
>At first, of course you were on board with the idea
>You wanted to become what Jacky was
>What she still is
>But that wouldn't be right
>He wouldn't deserve something like that
>Not from you
>Not from a real friend
>You shrug, smiling to yourself
"I guess I just messed up then. Besides, haven't they gone long enough without getting a chance to be themselves?"
>"No."
"Well... too bad."
>You go back to playing
>You feel yourself smiling more
"Prism. Did you know that in this game you fight against and with demons?"
>"Demons?"
"Yeah. They're... well, they're like mythical creatures. Or devils. Or angels. Or just things from nightmares that people in this world have."
>"Interesting."
"What's really interesting is that they're capable of changing. Or evolving, I guess I should say. In a lot of other games, where they don't, demons are what they'll always be. Forever and ever, up until their death."
>"What are you getting at, Sparking?"
"I'm getting at... that maybe we aren't demons after all."
>The irritation growing in Prism's voice sounds delicious to you
>You're able to bother her with this in such a new way
>You kinda like it
>It feels a little like revenge, for what happened back then
>"Are you calling me a demon, Sparking?"
"I'm calling all of us demons."
>As much as you're smiling, your tone is serious
"We were terrible ponies, Prism. Jacky... I'm jealous of her. I really am."
>"Then bring her back out here and do whatever it is you feel the need to do."
>You would still want to have that
>Of course you would
>You haven't changed completely
>But you know better
>You know what Anon needs, too
>And he needs Jacky
"No. I'm not her. And... I never will be. But she'll never be me either. And I'm ok with that."
>You pause when you say that
>It's true
>You really are ok with it
>It doesn't even make you think twice
"The deal's done, Prism. If Jacky wants to hang out with Anon more again, we shouldn't stop them. I won't stop them anymore."
>The unicorn doesn't do much but a short glance behind you shows that she's angry
>Angry like you would be
>"If I lose Jacky because of this..."
>You roll your eyes
"Oh come off of it! You aren't going to lose her, you're never going to lose her. Not unless... I don't know, you chase her off and do something bad. Do you genuinely believe that you'll just up and lose access to her and that you'll be left alone? Really?"
>She doesn't reply
"...I get it. I do. But this... whole thing. Trying to fight each other or trying to screw over who brought us here and gave us a new life. It just isn't right."
>"What makes you qualified to lecture me on what's right and wrong?"
"Nothing. I just want to be better. And I think telling you about what I believe might help."
>"And what would that help, you?"
"Not really. But it would help my friends. Our friends, Prism."
>Her wings rustle against her body
>"...what's gotten into you, Sparking? Really. Is this another scheme?"
"No... I kinda wish it was."
>Jacky will tell her
>But you feel like you should tell her first
"Prism... Anon's going through some really hard things. Some really bad things."
>She doesn't look like she cares
>But she doesn't disregard it either
>"In what way, exactly?"
"He's losing what we never had to begin with... family."
>The words make her visibly recoil
>"W-what...?"
"He hasn't really... told anyone. But I found out."
>You really weren't sure if you should tell either of them about this
>But you have to
>Otherwise she just won't get it
"He doesn't want to bother us with that stuff... he thinks it's too... I don't know, unimportant or something."
>Prism seems upset
>But it's for a different reason
>"How does he think he can just keep us in the dark about something like that? When is he going to tell Jacky? She isn't going to be used to that."
"Come on, do you really think he doesn't know that?"
>Her face looks indignant
>"We were playing our dumb games and had utterly no clue..."
"Quite a change there... now you care?"
>You don't sound impressed at all
"Listen... keep this between us, ok? If Jacky knows, then we all know. If she doesn't... well, it's not for us to tell her."
>"But it's for you to tell me?"
>She gets up, concerned determination on her face
>"We must apologize to him at least."
>You get up as well, shaking your head
"Whoa whoa whoa... no you aren't. Anon closed the door. They can be having a heart to heart talk right now, us barging in won't help anything."
>"And if he's alone while she's sleeping like a rock, without a care in the world?"
"Then we just let them freaking be! We let them calm down and enjoy whatever it is they enjoy. If they're not worrying about it or not talking about it... let him have that. If they are talking it out... then they'll handle that together."
>Prism doesn't look like she believes you
>But she does sit back down
>"...what's it even like, losing family?"
"It must be hard."
>"Given... circumstances. I suppose it is indeed best if we don't push for anything. We should make things a little easier for them."
"Yeah, thanks for repeating what I've been saying."
>You aren't mad but you do give her the full force of your sarcasm
>She looks around the room, as if to look for a new focal point
>"So... this game. Demons are in it, you said?"
>You make a face at her
>She seems to be doing her best to at least look vaguely interested
>You sigh
"Yeah... a lot of them."
>"Tell me about them. Maybe one will give us some insight on how to help Anon."
>Since when did she become such a friendly force?
>But this is a step in the right direction
>You hesitantly go back to sitting where you were, keeping your eyes on her
"Well... let me show you. But no funny business, alright?"
>"What could I possibly do to you, Sparking?"
>You thought about an answer to that
>But do you need one?
>She's still a demon
>Until she gains enough experience and evolves, she isn't going to change
>Like the protagonist, you're aware of that
>It means you can at least help steer her away from bad things
"You could ask me really dumb questions... so here is the first one, Black Frost..."

>It's another day you've been spending out in the living room
>The cat's more or less out of the bag at this point, about Anon
>About what he's going through
>The feel of everything has turned sour
>Or maybe it's not that it's turning sour but it's just drained the normally casual atmosphere
>Prism has been quiet about it
>You've been trying to focus on being better
>But Jacky
>Jacky has not been happy about it
>You tried to cheer her up or casually mention how you've stopped hogging Anon all to yourself but she hasn't reacted
>You've seen her that sad maybe once before, maybe
>Now that it's been said out in the open, Anon hasn't been in the same mood as usual either
>Not that you enjoy being humiliated, but you've even opened yourself up to some of his dumb jokes
>None of the opportunities worked
>Prism has been sticking to you a lot lately
>You aren't that sure why
>Probably to give the two space
>"So... which is your best demon?"
"Best? Hard to say. All of them have weaknesses and their uses."
>"You make it sound so impersonal..."
"Yeah. Maybe. They're useful until they're not, then I fuse them."
>"I see..."
>You can hear music from Anon's room
"Hey, Prism."
>"Yes, Sparking?"
"What do we do?"
>"About what?"
"You know what."
>You focus on the screen to the point that you don't even care what she does
>For some reason it feels like her concern isn't genuine to you
>"I wouldn't begin to know where to start on this type of situation."
"Yeah... me neither..."
>Time passes while you play
>You can tell it's been a few hours due to the play time
>But you haven't once looked away from the monitor
>"Hey Sparky... y'got a minute?"
>Jacky
>Without thinking about it, you blind hard and turn your head to face her
>She looks like she's been crushed by a boulder
>Not physically, of course
"Huh? Oh. Sure."
>You just now notice that Prism has been laying near you, sleeping
>Looking at the clock on the computer, you're not surprised by how late it is
"What's up?"
>Jacky looks defeated
>"Can we... go for a walk outside the apartment? I asked Anon and he said it's ok, as long as we don't go that far."
>This is a first
>But it's not unwelcome
"Well... sure. Ok."
>You move your cursor over to save the game's state and close out of it
>You get up, yawning with a hard stretch
>You aren't the most physical pony so a walk will do you some good
"So, what's going on?"
>She waits until you're outside in the hallway outside of the apartment to answer
>You don't have a key but you can manipulate the door lock without anything more than a passing thought
>She's been watching the floor since you saw her
>"...there ain't a medicine that'll help this, huh. And there are no competitions or journey for us to go out on to find a miracle."
>It's only natural that this would be what was on her mind
"No... I'm afraid not, Jacky. The real world doesn't really work that way."
>"Yeah but... well, if we were from Equestria. They got magic far more than what you can do. There's all kinda of awesome things there!"
"Maybe. But can we even say we're from Equestria?"
>"Well where else could we be from?"
>The elevator dings and the metal door slides open
>You both step in
>Despite not having the height required to push any buttons, magic makes it as easy as can be expected
"Who knows... but we're here now."
>"Yeah..."
"How's Anon doing?"
>"Not the best... I miss when he was happier."
"Yeah. I do too. But that part of him isn't gone. It's just hard to keep it going."
>The elevator dings
>Jacky follows you out the passcode-protected front doors, into the cool night air
>You enjoy the little patio up in the apartment but you do feel a little more free out here
>Jacky takes the lead and starts to walk across the parking lot into a circular grassy area
>It has a few thin branches sticking outside of the ground
>You think they're supposed to be trees
>"Why can't we do anything to help? What the heck am I supposed to do while this is happening?"
>Now that you're both out in the open, she kicks her leg out into the dirt
>She makes a nice hole out of it
>You always forget just how powerful she is when she wants to be
>"Anon brings me here, gets you, gets Dashie, gets us all kinda of cool stuff and... we ain't able to do a single dang thing!"
>You might have had the passing thought that while she's useless, you aren't
>But you're better than that
>Now
>Instead of answering, you remain silent
>"He's gonna be the last of his kind, he said. Now I know he ain't really the last one, this world is full of people like him. But... what the hell? Why? Why can't we change that?"
>She doesn't really look at you for an answer
>Instead she just starts walking along the outline, where concrete meets grass
>You follow
>"I bet that Nona could help... I bet Celestia could help too."
>A cold shiver goes down your spine at the mention of...
>That woman
>"Celestia would help him... Luna would, too."
>You're not too sure either of them have the ability to save lives the way she would want them to
>Jacky stamps down on the ground and shouts
>The sudden aggression takes you for surprise
>"WHAT THE HELL GOOD ARE YOU TWO IF YOU AREN'T HERE?! WHY CAN'T YOU EVER LISTEN TO ME?!"
>Where did that come from?
"Have you... prayed to them before?"
>Jacky sighs
>Whatever aggression she had melted away
>You can't say you can honestly remember how many times Jacky has genuinely gotten angry
>She's always been a happy simpleton
>As long as you've known her, anyway
>"Maybe... I don't know. I don't know if it was them or not. But I used to pray."
>That's something that surprises you
"That's... huh. Did Prism ever know about that?"
>"Nah... no. Dashie never liked the idea of begging for help. So I just did it when I was alone."
>Guess she does seem the type who would do that
>She's always been the most...
>Normal
>You're not afraid to admit it, you were really the average unicorn
>Even if you weren't such gutter trash
"And they never answered, huh..."
>"Not a single time, Sparky..."
>You follow Jacky for a few laps
>Once or twice, she breaks out into a full gallop
>You're almost able to keep up with her, but you lag behind pretty hard without much chance of catching up
>You do get back up to pace when she slows down
>"You know something, Sparky?"
"Ha... what, Jacky?"
>You're still out of breath
>"I'm mad."
"Really... I couldn't have guessed."
>You're trying to be better
>But it's a work in progress
>"I'm so mad... I just can't do anything to stop this. Or to help it."
>As much as you're inclined to agree
>You don't
"Jacky... Anon likes you. Even if you aren't anything resembling Applejack... at all. Dear lord, are you not her... you make a big difference."
>"I don't care what you or your deer lords think! How do I make a difference?"
"Jacky, I..."
>It's not worth it to try to explain yourself
"It's not about what I think. It's what Anon thinks. And he thinks you make a world of difference."
>"...how could you know that."
>She drags herself for a few more steps but nearly drops to the ground after one last push
>She isn't breathing heavily
>She doesn't look exhausted either
>She just looks done
"Because I do. I know a lot more than I should."
>"That explains your big head..."
>Jacky grumbles, her face rubbing against grass
"I..."
>She really isn't afraid of going all out, is she
>This isn't the time to turn this into a bickering match
"...well, for one, I think you're just jealous. Freaking chunkhead."
>You clear your throat, maintaining your composure.
"Secondly... let's be honest here. As honest as it takes for it to hurt. What would Anon be doing if we weren't here for him?"
>The question finds a mark
>"...I worry about that."
"I know you do. I do too. That's why I want to focus on how he isn't alone."
>"Yeah..."
"Answer the question Jacky."
>Jacky stifles a noise
>"He'd... he'd probably not be in a good place..."
"And?"
>"...I get it."
>She lets out a heavy, fatigued sigh
>You're surprised she could make such a noise
>You've never known her to be so agitated or obviously bothered
>"But... I'm not doing enough to help."
"Jacky... when is it ever honestly enough? If we could do anything and everything in our power, how much would it take before we felt it would be enough?"
>"Well... I don't know."
"Look at Anon and what he's done. Do you think he's done enough?"
>Her head perks up
>"Well of course he has!"
"But does he think so?"
>The question makes her head drop down again
>She kicks out her legs
>"...probably not. He's always talking about how he can do more stuff, or figure out ways for us to feel more natural or at home."
"I hope he doesn't mean sticking us in a tunnel..."
>That makes her laugh
>Just a little
>"No... nothing like that. He wants us to live like Twilight does."
>As much as you still hate the comparison, you've been playing video games like Twilight reads books
>He's sorta succeeded in that respect
"What about Prism?"
>She shakes her head
>"He doesn't know what to do with her. I don't either... I've never known how to impress or really make her feel content or all that happy. She's always been the one focusing on me."
"Then why don't we all talk and figure something out?"
>It's not the most useful solution, maybe
>But it it would give her something to focus on
>It would give him something to distract himself with, too
>Helping out Prism would be purely incidental
"Come on. You know how helping his his weakness. And this gives you a chance to show him how much you appreciate things
>You wait
>And lower your head near her
"Come on... Anon's waiting for you. You gotta be there for him, right?"
>"Yeah..."
>Jacky stumbles to her hooves, yawning
>"Man... I'm tired."
"Yeah, I bet. You ran like you were chasing down a pie with legs."
>"I could sure go for some, too..."
>What a freaking simpleton
"Maybe strike up a conversation, see about making one with him? I don't think he'd say 'no' to you, of all ponies."
>You shrug
>You really don't feel jealous
>It's weird
>You don't fully understand it yet
>She nods, sighing one last time
>"...I just wish they could have helped me. Helped him. Answered at least one prayer. I don't ask for a lot, Sparky. I promise I don't."
>You hug her
>She's as surprised as you are
>You don't know where this came from either
"I know, Jacky. You're in good hooves. Anon is too."
>You don't know if that is true or not
>But you're capable of making a difference
>You know you are
>This is your time to Shine

"Hey Anon."
>"Ah?"
"Ah?"
>"Eh?"
"What?"
>"Oh?!"
"...whatever."
>You're playing games again in Anon's room
>You gave him and Jacky some time to be alone
>Evidently he told her
>And then told Prism too
>She pretended like she heard it for the first time, of course
>Now that it's out in the open, things feel a little less... bad?
"...is there anything you wanna talk about?"
>You've been sprawled out on your side on his bed
>He's been sitting with his back to the wall, either playing on his phone or watching you
>"Anything specific?"
"I don't know, you tell me."
>You aren't really sure how to bring up asking how he is
>What would he do?
"Tell me what's bothering you already."
>Yeah
>That's what he'd do
>He chuckles, ending with a 'huh'
>Then he sighs
>"I don't know. It's kinda how things are already, you know?"
"I guess? But don't you want to talk about it anyway?"
>He doesn't answer
>Not immediately
>"Would it really behoove you to focus on something like that?"
"Behoove?"
>"Yeah."
"What's that mean?"
>"It means you have hooves."
>You let out a disgusted sigh
>Your sigh leads to him laughing
>"With you guys being from Equestria or wherever... how did you guys deal with sickness and crap?"
"Well..."
>You look down at yourself
"Well... uh... rest and food usually did it for me I guess."
>"You've never been sicker than the occasional cold?"
"Not that I remember, no. Medicine and stuff was really rare for any of us to find. I never bothered to steal stuff like that because it was kinda difficult to get without getting into trouble."
>"Makes sense. So... did you ever know any ponies that got sick?"
>You shrug, drawing a blank
"I honestly don't know. Other than Jacky and Prism, I don't remember any faces. If I knew anypony and they got sick and..."
>And died?
>Better not say that word
"And... well, if they got better or not, I wouldn't know. None of us really had any social circle. It was kinda for the best to not group around, you know? And the whole 'honor among thieves' thing only really lasts until someone gets touchy. Then all bets are off."
>"Sounds like something you might've partaken in."
"Anon... I partook in a lot of things that may have hurt others."
>"Yeah... I know. I vaguely recall Jacky telling me that once or twice you left her behind."
>He doesn't sound mad at you
>Or even really irritated?
>Your ears flatten against your head, expecting something negative
>Anon reaches over and pats your chest
>You wish he'd pet a little lower
>"Don't worry about it. I know how things were back then. How it was is just... how it was. I know a thing or two about that."
>You scoff
"Do not."
>"No. No, I do. I was a really shit kid."
>From his tone, he doesn't sound like he's kidding
"Oh."
>"So, you ever used magic to heal yourself or something?"
"Healing?"
>"Sure. Casting dia or cure or something like that."
>He gestures with his wormy fingers, like some old-school wizard
>You shake your head and hold up your controller, which has been drowned in your reddish aura
"Honestly? I don't know if magic works like that."
>"Ok red Twilight, school me."
>You shoot him a dirty look
>Your tone drops to a serious level
"Don't call me that. I'm better than her."
>He gives a half smile and nods, holding up his hands in a defensive posture
>"Sure, yeah. Won't do it again."
"So... the way I do magic... it's weird. you know?"
>The controller spins in place
>It's wireless so nothing is stopping it from turning whichever way
"I... I don't think I have MP. I don't feel tired anymore when I do stuff."
>"How have you gotten so good at magic, anyway? That used to be a thing you just really didn't like to do. Or something you wouldn't do."
>You turn your head away from him and grimace
>You knew that sooner or later this would come up
"I... was scared, alright?"
>"Of your unlimited power?"
"Of hurting people."
>"Have you ever hurt someone through your magic?"
"Sure. I'm sure Jacky may have told you something about it."
>"Something like that. Any examples that you want to mention?"
>Your head sways back and forth
"I... may have threatened to blow up a thug from the inside out."
>"...you can do that?"
"I don't know. But I stabbed him with my horn."
>"Brutal."
>His nonchalant comment leaves you wondering if he actually cares or if he just doesn't mind that you've been violent like that before
>"So could you have actually done that?"
"Maybe."
>You shake your head
"So... anyway. So..."
>You really don't know how to word it right
"I don't have MP. So it's more like... a muscle? Maybe?"
>"You don't sound convinced."
"Because I'm not."
>The controller spins faster in the air
"Like this? What I'm doing right now? I'm thinking about it, but I'm not... doing anything. This isn't a spell. I'm not casting anything. It's..."
>"It's like telekinesis then?"
"Yeah!"
>"What about the other things you do?"
"Like what?"
>Anon doesn't reply
>He scratches the side of his face
>"...I don't know. I guess a lot of stuff you do is kind of a form of that, isn't it."
>You nod
"I guess so, sure."
>"Bufu."
>You quint at him
"What?"
>"You heard me. Bufu."
"You want me to cast an ice spell."
>"Bufu me, baby."
>That third word brings a mighty fire to your face
>He smirks at your reaction
>"Bufu my drink on the desk. That'll be a cool thing to do."
>Bufu is an ice spell
>You roll your eyes hard
"Ok..."
>You roll onto your hooves and stand up
"Ok... ok ok ok..."
>"Think cold thoughts."
"Shut up."
>You set the controller down and stare at the soda can
>Think cold thoughts
>Chilly
>Not just chilly but frigid
>Frigid enough to make bone snap like a fragile toothpick
>A frozen hell that surpasses even the hottest fire
>The soda can doesn't move
>Damn it
>DAMN IT!
>You're embarrassing yourself, in front of Anon at that!
>Freeze
>Lose all hope and warmth
>Leave the world of light
>...
"..."
>You pick up the can and bring it to yourself
>Anon reaches out and touches it
>More than that, he takes the can and shakes it a little
>You watch with slight irritation
>He drinks like it's fine
>"...yeah, seems like it's pretty normal."
>You let out a frustrated sigh
"Damn it..."
>"Alright... so another option."
>You raise an eyebrow at Anon, who's twisting a napkin over itself a number of times until it looks like a thick wick
>"Agi."
>You look at the napkin
>Like lighting a match, the tip ignites
>"Hey hey! Alright, near instant reaction time."
>Anon licks the finger and thumb of his free hand and kills the flame
>You puff out your chest, as easy a feat as it may have been
>"So what about zio?"
"Like... electricity?"
>"Sure."
>You shrug
"I wouldn't even know how I'm supposed to do that."
>"Fair enough. Zan?"
"Wouldn't that just be me pushing you?"
>"...damn, I guess so."
>Anon sighs
>"Ah! I know. What about..."
>He taps the air, squinting
>"Ah... what's that thing..."
>You wait for him to finish his thoughts
>He shrugs
>"Yeah, I got nothing."
>You shrug in return
"See? I mean, I didn't even really think about lighting that thing up. But for cold..."
>You sigh
"I thought really cold thoughts. I even tried to think of it like a spell or something. I tried to kinda psych myself up for it."
>"But nothing came of it, huh?"
"Not a single freaking thing...
>"Well that's fine. Guess if your magic is a muscle, we gotta get it to flex or something, right?"
>For some reason you think of impressing him with your horn growing longer or something
"...s-sure..."
>You watch each other for a moment
>"..."
"..."
>"Maybe you're a fire type."
"I guess."
>"I'm glad you didn't set us on fire when you first came around."
>You hate that memory more than you hate your past
>You didn't mean to
>Or maybe you did
>But you didn't have the will to follow through with something like that
>It was sort of a bluff
>But it was also just something that you really felt the urge to do
"...I'm sorry."
>"Don't be. It would've sucked for you far more than it would've for me."
"You would have died."
>"And then Jacky would have punted you out the window and worse."
>You wince
"...I've... not been the best friend to her, have I..."
>"That's not for me to say, honestly."
"But in your opinion..."
>"In my opinion? It's not for me to say. Talk to her yourself on that. I have my views on being a friend but I'm biased. And look where it's gotten me as far as my friends too, right?"
>That sounds mean-spirited
"You're a good friend."
>"Yeah, that's why I'm known far and wide and everyone likes me."
>He shrugs and taps the tip of your horn with the singed napkin
>"Talk to Jackoober the goober whenever you feel up to it. She likes talking about you."
>You can't help but feel self-conscious
"Alright... I guess I'll do that later."
>You look around
>You weren't paying attention but Anon put the soda can on the floor near the mattress
"Hey, about that soda can... think I should practice with it?"
>"Sure. Practice what?"
"I don't know yet... but I want to see what I can do. If I can't do elemental stuff, I gotta be able to do something else. Like... changing it into gold?"
>"Now that would be neat. Sure, go nuts with it whenever. Just be careful, alright?"
>You nod
>Maybe you can "learn" new magic
>Or maybe you just need to figure out how you can do what you can naturally do
>Maybe you'll find a way to impress Anon more

"Anon?"
>"Eh?"
"Why is does she have tentacles on her head?"
>"That's... a good question."
>Jacky speaks up
>"Anon?"
>"Eh?"
>"Why are there tentacles coming out of her back too?"
>"That is also a good question."
>Prism speaks up
>"Anon?"
>"Eh?"
>"Why does Leeloo have orange hair?"
>"Because she's Mila Jovovich and she looks good with any color hair."
>You chuckle at Anon's comment
>Jacky, who's been sitting in his lap, gives him a squint and wriggles around until he clears his throat
>"And, you know... I dig orange hair in general. Sometimes things are just fated to be."
>Jacky nods to herself and smiles
>You shake your head and scoff
>You can't believe how... open they are
>But you're not really jealous
>You glance over to Prism
>She does her best to ignore it but you can tell that she's not the most amused pegasus
>You're happy to see Anon smiling like this
>He hasn't said much but everyone has noticed that he's been quiet
>So you insisted on a little group movie night
>You've had the urge to speak to him privately, through the ability you've just decided to just call telepathy
>But you're a little hesitant to
>It's not that you've stopped wanting to be closer to him
>But you haven't connected that way in so long
>A lot has changed in his head, you're sure, if only due to this whole family thing
>You're really not sure how that would affect you
>This, right here
>Two other ponies and a human
>This really is your family
>And when you think about it, it's kind of the ideal size
>It's not too big
>It's not too small
>Maybe you haven't been the best, but no one's been their best
>The two main characters in the movie kiss and the female lead vomits out some sort of white beam of... magic?
>Energy?
>The beam evaporates a giant fireball in space, which you will admit is impressive
>You could still probably do better
>Probably
>Once the movie ends, Prism gets up
>"Don't count me out, I'm just getting a drink."
>Jacky hops out, her tail flickering to and fro
>"And we need snacks!"
>"Can't argue with that... grab that bag of pretzels while you're out."
>"Yup!"
>"And the gummy worms!"
>Maybe he went overhead when it came to buying snacks and candy for the weekend, since there are a few plastic bags full of stuff
>He said 't'is the season' when you asked so you just let it stay at that
"Add those jelly beans too, the variety pack!"
>"Roger!"
>Jacky shouts from the kitchen
"Ahh... it's nice having someone to do the legwork."
>"Tell me about it..."
>With it just being you and him in the room, you feel...
>Anxious?
>Excited?
>No
>More like worried
"Anon... how are you feeling?"
>"Me? well, I'm watching movies with my gal pals. Never thought I'd say that phrase but here I am now."
"Heh, it sounds kinda silly. But... really. Don't you miss being around your own kind?"
>He gives an awkward sigh and shrug
>"Eh... kinda? I mean, I miss my old friends. I really do. I'm not the sentimental sort of guy but I've seen their faces in a lot of things that just remind me of them for some reason. I can't really explain it."
"Not sentimental, huh... then why do you have that picture of you, me and Jacky as your phone wallpaper?"
>He gives you a hard squint
>"Because the smug smile you had then gives me enough energy and spite to want to come back here after work so I can slap you in your everlasting gob stopper."
>You give him the smuggest smile with half-lidded eyes
"Well gee, when you put it like that..."
>"Yeah..."
>He clears his throat again and sighs
>It's a heavy sigh
>"But nah. Yeah. I kinda miss being around other humans. But not really. I always grew up around animals. Not that I see you guys as animals or whatever... but you know what I mean."
"I'm glad... I don't think any of us have ever seen any humans before you. Or... I guess anything that wasn't human that even vaguely resembled you."
>"So how are you guys so... comfy around me?"
>You shrug
"Iunno. It's just kinda... comfy. You're comforting. I mean, there are griffons and... well, it kinda really makes me feel weird. But..."
>You don't like bringing up the show
>You haven't wanted to think about it
>Because of Twilight
>You're not her
>Obviously
>And she isn't you
>But you look so similar at a glance that it bothers you
"Well... in Equestria. From... the cartoon. There were a few other things like that. A lot of things that weren't ponies that could still talk. Never saw a baby dragon before though. Or knew any pony like Pinkie Pie... thank God for that."
>"Yeah, I'd question reality too if I had to be around some goofball like that."
>You turn your head to the left, just in time to see a big bag of gummy worms slap against your face
>You heard Jacky trotting and expected something more... dexterous.
"Speaking... of..."
>Prism comes back in, a number of water bottles in a plastic bag that's hanging by her mouth
>Jacky grabbed far too many bags in her mouth and evidently decided to just fling them into the room
>You duck down, narrowly avoiding a pretzel bag smackdown
>In a rush of activity, everyone's back in their place
>Plus a few pounds of food
>And water
>"...you know, I got a question for you guys."
>Anon speaks up, holding up one of the bottles
>"This here bottle... has a screw top."
>He unscrews the bottle cap
>"And... I have here with me, fingers."
>He scans over you and the other two
>And finally down to Jacky
>"How are we gonna make this more ergonomic?"
>Jacky's only response is to tilt her head up, open her mouth, and to go 'aaaaaah?'
>Prism looks at you, visibly displeased
>You look between the two and then up to Anon
"Well... I can operate them. If Prism needs access, I can just-"
>"I can figure it out, thank you. I'm not some animal."
>Her tone has an unnecessary edge to it
>Jacky doesn't seem to mind, though Anon gives her a side glance
>He shrugs and tilts the bottle over, into Jacky's mouth
>"I don't mean to be a dick about it, Dashie. I just... want to figure out how things can go more smoothly, that's all. This isn't a thing where this is my home and you guys are just in it. I want it to be home for everyone. I might not have really made that point in the past. And I'm sorry if that seemed like the case. You guys are family."
>Family
>It's one thing to say that you're all his friends
>But family?
>That's a big shift
>Jacky nods and leans back
>You swear, if she didn't have happy thoughts, she wouldn't have thoughts at all
>You like making fun of her
>You know she isn't that dumb
>That outburst she had the other day was enough for you to ease off of the snark for once
>Prism doesn't say anything
>You can't really think of anything to say about that either
>He's always fond of these big, important-sounding speeches
>Makes you think that he's the crutch character that ends up dying with one last word of wisdom
>You've played at least three games now where that sort of thing has happened
"...so what's our next movie?"
>"Welp... t'is the season. Time to introduce you girls to Halloween. And I know just the movie."

>Anon reaches over to his mouse and clicks away through a few folders
>He leans back, satisfied with himself
>His hand on Jacky's chest pulls her back
>She resists as much as jelly and slips to half lay and sit on her side
"So what is this supposed to..."
>As soon as you start to answer, what looks like a TV commercial plays
>Along with the mention of a company that makes countless items
>The company's name is Umbrella
>Not what you're expecting, it plays like some sort of business sitcom
>Until something goes wrong
>And everyone seems stuck
>Or worse
>The sudden ram of a woman's head into the top of an elevator makes everyone jump
>Except Anon
>"Oh, this is gonna be good... heheh..."
>He mumbles, patting Jacky's chest
>When the camera focuses on a completely new character... you're not sure what to expect
>She started in a shower, on the floor, and ends up in a dress
>The thumping music of the scene puts you on edge
>Jacky too
>Bit by bit she's been pushing her face into the side of his arm for reassurance
>Even Prism has been ruffling her feathers, slowly readjusting herself
>Then some guy pops up out of nowhere!
>And humans wearing all black!
>The tonal shift makes you lean forward, trying to understand what's going on
>Evidently the cop isn't the good guy in it, because he's been put in handcuffs
"What is this..."
>"A dining room..."
>The way Anon says it, it's like he's trying to imitate someone
"That's no dining room..."
>Jacky whispers at the sight of some high-tech, all metal train
>Most trains you've seen were... well, from video games or the cartoon
>This one just looks like it's not even for people
>After a jump scare, you catch a few seconds of electronic touch screens and other things that kinda look like Anon's phone
>Nothing really comes out at you to make this a Halloween movie
"Hey Anon... what's Halloween supposed to be about, again? Because this isn't really scary."
>"Well, Halloween is about spooky things, and candy."
"Well we sure got enough candy..."
>"And this doesn't seem so spooky..."
>The way Prism sounds, she expect something to happen
>"Ohh my little ponies. Just you wait..."
>A menacing tone doesn't reassure you
>It's actually enough to bother you
"Shut up..."
>The talking subsides just around the time one of the humans gives a rundown on something called The Hive
>It's put down so deeply under the earth that it sounds like an entire city
>It's pretty hard to imagine
>At the mention of nerve gas, you snort
"Stuff like that doesn't exist..."
>"Maybe..."
>Jacky doesn't sound so sure
>Your breath catches in your throat as soon as the humans enter a pitch dark room that they opened
>Until it lights up and reveals some sort of room with...
"A view to the outside?! I thought they were underground!"
>'Makes it easier to work underground, when you think there's a view' says one of the characters
>Well you kinda feel... dumb
>You shuffle to the side until your flank is pressed against Anon's hip
>Nothing scary has happened yet, but there is a lot of tension
>Including a queen that killed everyone?
>Your attention snaps back to the movie on a scare chord
>A body is suspended in some gross orange water!?
>No one says anything but there's an obvious heightened sense of danger
>You don't get it
>You've seen people get shot before in all of those westerns
>Why is seeing just the one body hanging there bothering you?
>Talk of floods and schedules reminds you of Twilight
>Whatever they're doing, they can't sit around
>'poor bastards' a female says
>THEN THE BODY REACHES FOR THE WINDOW?!
"G-GAGH?!"
>You jump
>Jacky flinches and presses her face into Anon's arm more
>Prism's neck goes low, like she's trying to lay in wait of an ambush
>Anon chuckles
>The bastard
>He knows what's happening, doesn't he
>When the group split up and enter some big area full of metal pillars, the character in the red dress finds... something... meaty?
>"What in the world..."
>Prism sounds both disgusted and intrigued
>A giant hallway lights up as one of the humans enter
>The music keeps you tense
>If you were there you'd have so much of an easier time
>You could just blast everything to bits and it would be fine
>These humans only have guns
>What chances could they have?
>What chance would someone like Anon have?
>A few more humans, carrying a bag, enter the hallway
>The hallway closes
>"Uh oh..."
>Anon whispers
>Uh oh?!
>An alarm starts to blare
>'what's that?' a human asks
>And then a freaking laser happens?!
>What you see is something so terrifying you're not sure when you'll be ok
>The laser slices off a few fingers of one human, the head of another, and it cuts another in half!
>Just when you think it couldn't get any worse, the fourth human gets...
>Eviscerated, into squares
>You have no clue what you just saw
>Jacky's eyes are wide and glued to the screen
>Prism looks like she's been driven mad
>You do a doubletake on her and her stone faced expression is there
>But it's the eyes
>Something's in her eyes that tell you she is not fine with what just happened
>"Holy shit..."
>Jacky finally whispers
>"Those guys got..."
>Their mission, whatever it is, continues
>To be honest, you kinda forgot
>'get out get out, you can't be in here'
>A red holographic girl pops up
>She sounds kinda funny
>'you're all going to die down here'
>The flat, expressionless delivery of that line makes you feel sick
>The tip of your horn starts to glow, until all of the lights in the facility come back on
>Anon nudges you with his arm, reminding you to breath
>"Remember... just a movie. Right?"
>Your ears twitch and try to stop themselves from going flat
>You give a little nod
>Jacky seems to be handling it better than you, but only because her front hooves are gripping onto Anon's hand
>You don't envy him given how strong she can be
>The other group of humans start to split up or something, looking for a noise
>One finds a person all in white
>What's with that breathing?
>The person in white BITES one of the humans?!
>After trying to talk the thing down, the two humans fire their guns at it
>The amount of firepower they fling toward one person feels like overkill
>You've seen people die in other movies from a single bullet
>Having dozens of bullets fired into one person?
>'because blood doesn't coagulate until after you're dead'
>What does coagulate mean?
>Was that person dead?
>A second weird human in white shows up, wielding an ax and walking with a broken foot or something
>Then more pop up
>Including one where part of his face is gone
>Then another that looks severely damaged
>One of the good humans gets grabbed by one but basically snaps it's neck
>Loud, hard-sounding music starts to blast as all of the humans open fire and shoot everything coming near them
>So many of them firing and not even really thinning the group is insane
>How could that happen?
>One of the towers explode
"How did that explode!?"
>Your only answer is seeing that some of the bad humans are now stumbling around while on fire
>"Aren't there guns any good?"
>Jacky mumbles
>"The guns are good... but those aren't people they're shooting."
>That's impossible
>They look just like humans
>The roaring and groaning that they do is inhuman
>One opens up a locked door, only to get pulled into a massive group of them!
>They start biting into him, and the female human that still wants to save him
>The camera shows just a mass of hands and heads going to eat and claw
>You avert your eyes from the scene, only for Jacky to scream
>"W-what was that thing?!"
"What was what?"
>You hear something bashing against metal but didn't see it in time
>The remaining humans argue and bicker about everything
>They mention that all of the humans that attacked them are dead
>Moving and biting and eating
>But dead
>One of the humans throws her gun to the floor
"Doesn't she need that?"
>"Ammo..."
>Anon and Jacky speak almost in tune
>The one in the red dress wanders off, only to get ambushed by some sort of... red, meaty dog
>And a dead human!
>Before you can feel panic, she...
>Jumps in the air and spin kicks him?
>"Woah..."
>Prism just says what you're all thinking
>The red human grabs a gun off of the dead human and ends up surrounded by those red dogs
>She shoots them like it's nothing
>And then drops the gun
"...no ammo..."
>You know how that works now
>The human-woman-in red kicks another dog and the scene ends there
>You shake your head, blinking as hard as you can
"Who can do that sort of thing?"
>Anon shrugs
>Jacky leans over and nudges you with her face
>"Hey... I bet I could do the spin kick."
"Can not..."
>"I bet you a chocolate egg..."
"...you don't have any."
>"But Anon does..."
>She grins at you
>You squint and grin back
"Deal."
>If she can sweet talk her way into giving you an egg, it's his loss
>Some exposition with a dead human happens about the Umbrella company but you're not really sure what it's supposed to amount to
>You don't even know the names of the characters
"Shouldn't they be... running?"
>"From?"
>You look up at Anon
>He's smiling
>He's enjoying this so much
"Humans that look as ugly as you."
>"At least I don't try to eat you."
>Jacky nods
>She doesn't say anything but you know exactly what she's thinking
>Jacky, that's just gross
"All of this talk about a virus... how do you sell a virus?"
>Why was money the entire reason for this?
>All of the humans meet up again, somehow
>'they seal shut in just under an hour'
"O..oh... oh no..."
>If they're stuck under there, with all of the dead humans...
>You don't want to think about it
>Some talk about computers goes on and the red girl's weird voice comes on again
"What is this accent?"
>"British. I have no clue why."
>Anon doesn't sound like he's joking on that
>'it brings the dead back to life?' the multiple bitten human asks
>'the need to feed'
>That line is said with the same emotionless cadence as 'you're all going to die down here'
"...does this mean... dead people are coming back just to eat others?"
>"That can't just happen... not once you're dead."
>Jacky doesn't believe it
>You don't either
>Somehow, they end up in a sewer, and immediately end up under attack
>You're a little dubious about everything because when they had rifles and guns, nothing was being done
>But the one in the red dress just uses her hands and it's as easy as can be
>You feel a growing sense of panic at the last human
>She's been bitten so many times now and she's the only one that's in range of the dead
>You feel a growing sense of disgust at the sight of the one that was bitten over and over dripping her blood into the horde of the dead down below
"What is this... what can you do in this? How do you ever get this to happen?"
>If you had magic, you could take care of them
>Probably
>You could just burn them all
>Even if the ones on fire didn't actually show any signs of damage
>No one likes getting set on fire, so it should work
>Another human falls into the horde and gets surrounded
>Somehow, he's able to make an escape
>All of them look so hurt and scared out of their wits
>Could you four get out of this situation?
>The stranded human puts his gun in his mouth
>Thankfully, before you even think of what that means, he shoots the dead that was about to attack him
>If you were stuck in a situation like that, would you be able to kill yourself?
>You've had it rough before but that was completely different
>"This is nightmarish..."
>Prism gasps in disbelief
>As soon as she said 'nightmarish', you saw something climbing on the walls
"What the hell WAS that?!"
>"You saw it too, that was the thing!"
>Jacky stabs her hoof into the air, pointing at the monitor
>It lasted not even a full second but you're sure of what you saw
>It looked like an animal
>Barely
>After a flashback one of the humans has, it's revealed that there's an antivirus
>A cure, basically
"Wait, can a virus be fixed that easily?"
>"She's been bitten a lot..."
>Prism sounds weary
>She's been unusually silent, even during all of this
>But you've seen her head duck and sway, like she's trying to avoid all of the dead
>Her wings have been hugged tightly to her, almost to the point of a feathery cocoon
>One of the humans grabs the only gun they have
>Evidently he was evil?
"Why are they threatening each other? The dead doesn't care!"
>"Humans are greedy, Shine... it's pretty bad."
>Without a noise, a dead human rises from the knee-deep water they've been in
"Oh no..."
>Jacky flinches at the surprise bite from behind, even though it was well telegraphed
>To us it was, at least
>You wouldn't let something like that sneak up on you so easily, would you?
>You let out a shriek at the sight of the bad human getting ambushed and eaten by the fleshless animal
>You see it in all of it's glory
>As if seeing it wasn't enough, it 'mutates'
>Changes
>"It must be the boss of the dungeon..."
>You don't know why, but that's the only thing that comes to mind
>Demons and monsters under your control and wanting to devour you is one thing
>But you've had magic and demons on your side
>These people are stuck without demons or magic
>Or even guns, evidently
>'you're gonna have to kill me'
>The infected woman offers to let herself be killed, just as the mutated animal starts bashing on a window
>The voice screams to 'kill her', everyone's screaming and violent
>And then the lights go out again
>The animal is gone
>What the hell just happened?
>The once-abandoned human shows up to save the day, thankfully
>They leave the locked room just as the mutant smashes it's way in
>The escalation of this has been immense
>It was a really short time, they're back at the train
>But they all look so worn down and chewed up
>Literally
>The bad one was dead but came back, rasping and screaming
>It was killed though
>Or was it still a he?
>"Eight minutes left..."
>Anon warns
>Eight minutes until the gates shut
>If they end up stuck down there after everything...
>The mutant, out of nowhere starts to claw at everything
>The surprise causes another cry from
>You, actually
>You didn't take yourself to be so jumpy
>The boss fight against the mutant really doesn't seem to last though
>It gets stabbed in the tongue and dropped out of the train from the bottom
>Where it's... set on fire...?
"How does that happen? What set it on fire?"
>"The electricity, I think."
>As soon as it began, the boss fight was won
>At the cost of half of the party dying
"Balm of Life..."
>That would have to work, even in that setting
>They seem to make it just in time too, and end up back in the mansion
>At least everything's done
"Man... what a ride that was..."
>There are only two of the humans left
>The two share a weird moment until the man's arm starts to twitch and make gross, meaty noises
>Then... humans in white are coming in? From some white room?
>You don't really get what they're doing there but the two are defeated
>This counts as a game over, right?
>And yet the movie continues
>To the point that the woman in red is now naked, on some sort of slab, covered in needles
>Including one in her head
>Jacky's slowly shifted from leaning back, to curled up around his arm, to requiring both of his arms for protection
>Yet she never once looked away
>You haven't been able to maintain yourself to that degree
>Maybe it's just you but you haven't been able to follow half of the movie as far as plot
>The camera pans out to a security room where it's completely empty
>Except for a passing figure
>The half naked woman leaves the white room, and explores whatever building she's in
>It's completely white
>Sterile, even
>That should be a good thing but the music says otherwise
>You lean forward at the reveal, once she leaves the building
>Vehicles are wrecked
>Things are on fire
>It's completely abandoned and destroyed
>She grabs a gun from a wrecked vehicle and the camera pans out, showing that the entire street is abandoned and in ruins
>But not just the street
>Buildings are covered in blood with broken windows
>It cuts out with one last musical sting
>As soon as the credits start, some weird hard-sounding rock song comes on
>Like that, the spell of cinema is lifted
"WHAT THE FUCK?!"
>"ANON THAT MOVIE WAS AWESOME!"
>"I can't believe this was fake..."
>You've been scared half-witless at some moments
>Jacky looks like she had the time of her life
>Prism looks like she's been disturbed and then some
>"Alright! That is movie... number... one..."
>Oh no
"What do you mean number one..."
>"It means that there are more movies to watch in this series. Sequels."
>Jacky lurches out and latches onto you
>"Awesome, we get to watch more!"
"What?! No, no way! I'm not watching anymore of this crap!"
>Undeniably skittish, Prism gets up and darts past everyone
>A flap of her big wings give her a bit of a boost
>"Dashie, don't leave us!"
>Jacky trips while leaving Anon's lap, her head landing against the mattress with a bounce
>She gives chase, tearing around the corner after the pegasus
>Leaving you with Anon again
"Don't tell me you watch these movies on purpose..."
>"Didn't you fight the embodiment of death itself and win a few days ago?"
>Anon sounds surprised that you'd feel anything less than sheer excitement at the movie
"Yes. But it didn't look like freaking this! This was horrifying!"
>"Yeah."
"Sickening!"
>"Sometimes."
"I felt like I might die just by being there!"
>He smiles at you
>You have the urge to stab him
>Or to kiss him
>Or to jump out the window, just in case the building was infested
>If it was, there was no way you four could handle it
>Anon's guns may as well be toothpick launchers
>"Calm down, Shine... it's alright. If any were here, we'd hear them first. And we're as secure as can be. With your magic, my ammo, Jacky's legs of granite and Dashie's..."
"Wings?"
>"Y-yeah..."
>He clears his throat
"Between all of us? We could get through it. Don't even worry."
>That helps
>Not in that you think it might not ever happen
>But that if it did, you would be able to come out of it alive
"...but what if any of us get bitten?"
>"Oh... oh no... Shine... Iiiiiiiiiaaaaaaauuuuuuuughhhh..."
>You watch
>Paralyzed
>As Anon's jaw goes slack
>His eyes roll up into his head, leaving only the whites
>He grabs onto your shoulders and lets out a long, dry rasp
>You scream with every ounce of your essence
>You don't even think to use magic, you struggle against his iron grip until you manage to slip through
>You sprint out of his room, joining the pair
>The scream of life-threatening terror reached them, obviously
>Jacky just looks confused
>Prism looks at you like you're a ghost
>She's already pale but she looks faint
"A-a... Anon's one of them!"
>As if that was the last straw, Prism drops and faints on the spot
>Jacky gives you a dubious look
>"Oh come off of it, Sparky. Anon can't become of those things. It was just a movie!"
>You spin about face at the sound of something falling over in the kitchen
>Anon pokes his head out and lets out another rasping roar
>His face looks as white as a sheet
>Both you and Jacky scream
>"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM!?"
"I DID SOMETHING?!"
>The towering human lurches forward with an uncanny finesse, then pulls back
>You can hear his spine crackle and pop from where you are, the fabric curtain to your backs
>"Jack....ee̢e̛e̛èeeee̷eeee̢e͝eee͜e̛e͡e̵e̡ęeeeée̷eeee͞e͡eé..."
>Or to jump out the window, just in case the building was infested
>If it was, there was no way you four could handle it
>Anon's guns may as well be toothpick launchers
>"Calm down, Shine... it's alright. If any were here, we'd hear them first. And we're as secure as can be. With your magic, my ammo, Jacky's legs of granite and Dashie's..."
"Wings?"
>"Y-yeah..."
>He clears his throat
"Between all of us? We could get through it. Don't even worry."
>That helps
>Not in that you think it might not ever happen
>But that if it did, you would be able to come out of it alive
"...but what if any of us get bitten?"
>"Oh... oh no... Shine... Iiiiiiiiiaaaaaaauuuuuuuughhhh..."
>You watch
>Paralyzed
>As Anon's jaw goes slack
>His eyes roll up into his head, leaving only the whites
>He grabs onto your shoulders and lets out a long, dry rasp
>You scream with every ounce of your essence
>You don't even think to use magic, you struggle against his iron grip until you manage to slip through
>You sprint out of his room, joining the pair
>The scream of life-threatening terror reached them, obviously
>Jacky just looks confused
>Prism looks at you like you're a ghost
>She's already pale but she looks faint
"A-a... Anon's one of them!"
>As if that was the last straw, Prism drops and faints on the spot
>Jacky gives you a dubious look
>"Oh come off of it, Sparky. Anon can't become of those things. It was just a movie!"
>You spin about face at the sound of something falling over in the kitchen
>Anon pokes his head out and lets out another rasping roar
>His face looks as white as a sheet
>Both you and Jacky scream
>"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM!?"
"I DID SOMETHING?!"
>The towering human lurches forward with an uncanny finesse, then pulls back
>You can hear his spine crackle and pop from where you are, the fabric curtain to your backs
>"Jack....ee̢e̛e̛èeeee̷eeee̢e͝eee͜e̛e͡e̵e̡ęeeeée̷eeee͞e͡eé..."
>His wheezing word freezes your blood
>Jacky looks at him like everything she ever knew crumpled away
>"N... no way... this isn't real... t-this only happens in movies!"
>Anon takes a lurching, awkward step toward you and her
>It looks exactly like in the movie
>EXACTLY LIKE IN THE MOVIE!
>"I... what do I do...?"
>What can she do?
>What can you do?
>The seconds feel like they last for entire minutes
>You can see Anon lurch forward again, taking another step
>Jacky looks like she might die then and there
>This is it
>This is how you're going to die
>You can't use magic on him
>You could never
>Not even on his dead, reanimated body
>You can't do a thing
>Anon takes one last step before getting into range
>But trips over one of the multiple pillows strewn about
>He gracelessly faceplants onto the floor, making a hard, heavy thud
>You're
>You're not sure what to think
"I... is he dead?"
>Before you can even contemplate what that means, he reaches out and grabs Jacky by her hooves!
>Both you and her let out an existentially horrified shriek
>"WHO SAID YOU COULD BET MY CHOCOLATE EGGS?!"
>He screeches out while raising his face, his raspy voice ending by the word 'chocolate'
>"I'M SORRY I DIDN'T MEAN TO REANIMATE YOU BY BE...tting... a..."
>Something doesn't look right
>Half of the whiteness of his face looks gone
>Like it was smeared off
>Nerves on high alert, you scan over his features
>Face reddening from falling face first onto the carpet
>That white film on his skin looks uneven and like something that isn't even a part of his face normally
>His arms look fine but one of his hands has that same white crud on it
>Despite your pulse, you look over at Jacky
>Jacky squints
>At him
>Then at you
>Then at him again
>"....yer sure gonna pay for this, pardner..."
>She growls at him using Applejack's signature drawl
>He smiles, nodding to himself
>He looks so satisfied
>"I'm ok with that. Happy Halloween, girls."
"I can't believe you... I hate you so much right now."