//------------------------------//
// Growing Up (Interlude: Part 1) 
// Story: ERPG 
// by MellowSoul 
//------------------------------//

December's icy air settled over the city. Between the girls' gaming sessions, there was a month gap during this particular interval. The reason was that Twilight informed them of a secret project she'd been working on for quite some time. By her revelation, it was finally complete.

"We picked up some hot dogs and onion rings on the way here," Rainbow revealed, "Sorry we took so long."

"No worries. I was getting hungry anyway. Makes dinner easy for the night."

"So, spill it. What's this super secret project you've been goin' on about?"

"I'll pull it up while we eat. Come on."

They returned to Twilight's room, shutting the door behind them once more. Instead of the TV and consoles, she approached the computer. She opened a file under the name 37,000.

"I've been developing a fan game based on the Powerpuff Girls cartoon. I used to watch it with Spike when he was little. It helped keep him distracted when I was studying sometimes."

Rarity giggled.

"It seems my little Spikey-Wikey has a feminine side after all."

Spike shrugged.

"Used to watch Sailor Moon, too," the dragon admitted freely, "It's part of how I got into anime."

"Of course, I assume you all know by now there's more to the story here than there was to the series. It really starts with the name itself."

"The name?" Rainbow inquired curiously.

"It's a reference to the projected number of days in a human being's lifespan. Based on their biological structure and assuming they would've evolved to modern standards, they would live to be around thirty-seven thousand days old, or one hundred years in layman's terms."

"We have the same age range," Rainbow noted, "That's spooky."

"The thing to note here is that the girls aren't normal humans. They were about eleven or twelve by the end of the series, but they still looked five, and they attended the same kindergarten for the entire series' run. Bet you can guess what that means."

"They age a lot slower."

"By my calculations, it would take about sixty-four years before their first growth spurts: sixty-four years before any noticeable changes would occur."

"But that means they could live to be hundreds of years old!"

"And that's what this game is all about: mortality."

"How's this gonna work?"

"You have to look at it from a perspective where they behave like us with complex thoughts and emotions. We know Blossom is intelligent and studious. She has a level of foresight most children don't have, and she would likely tutor her sisters in their spare time."

"I get where you're going. Let's boot this bad boy up."

Twilight pressed the start key. A brief list of choices emerged: New Game, Load, and Options.

"I included options for the music and sound effects volumes and the controls. The default controls are set to my preferences, but you can change them when I send you your copies."

"Sweet."

"The fortunate thing about the cartoon is that the art style translates well to 16-bit graphics, so I was able to focus more on visual effects, gameplay, and sound design without taking up too much storage."

"You already optimized everything?"

"I worked non-stop until it was finished. You can ask Spike how many cups of coffee I downed."

"I can imagine."

"Anyway, I'm digressing. I'm gonna hit new game. When I do, a list of difficulties will show up. They each have unique titles relating to the game's plot. Easy mode is called Life, Normal is Support, Hard is Flat Line, and Ultra Hard is Creation."

"This game's gonna make me sad, isn't it?"

"That's part of why I rushed to get it done. It's the middle of winter when Seasonal Affective Disorder affects the largest number of people. It's a common form of depression that flares up or dies down based on the time of year. Combine that with being more reclusive and introspective during cold weather, you have a game many will relate to."

"So your target demographic is depressed folks? Sounds kinda messed up."

"It does until you unlock Creation mode."

"How come?"

"You'll see when we get there. For now, let's start on Life mode."

"You're the boss."

Twilight started the game on Easy difficulty. The music continued through the loading process.

"I'm really digging the soundtrack so far. Nice and peaceful."

"I saved some heavier stuff for the endgame when the story's at the height of its intensity."

"Makes sense. Don't wanna start off makin' the player anxious."

"Right, but I didn't want to lie and trick them into thinking this was gonna be cute and fluffy. That's why I gave Blossom's avatar picture a new casual outfit for the menu instead of her usual uniform."

"I'm assuming you get new clothes at some point for all of them?"

"Right at the start of the game."

"Why did you wanna make something dark and gritty out of a kiddy cartoon, anyway?"

"You can thank Top Dollar from The Crow for that."

"'Childhood's over the moment you know you're gonna die.'"

"You remembered."

"That kinda delivery sticks with ya. He nailed that bit."

"You'll see all kinds of influences as the game progresses. There was an interview with the singer of Zao a while back where he talks about his conversion to religion because of things that were going on in his life. You could see how defeated he felt."

"The thousand-yard stare."

A name input screen appeared for each character. Unlike their previous sessions, Twilight kept the default names.