Twilight opened the updated version of 37,000 for her friends to see. The artwork was cleaner and more detailed than the original, and the music was mixed to draw the player deeper in using state-of-the-art surround sound quality.
"I sub-titled this as the reconstruction version of the game. I fixed the blunder where I forgot to include luck and agility orbs, and I added a bunch of new content. I even changed some of the boss music during the endgame for a darker, more depressive feel."
"What'd you put in?" Rainbow asked eagerly.
"You remember the masks from Shadow Hearts?"
"How could I forget? They were my favorite enemies in the game. Beating their faces in felt so satisfying."
"Agreed."
"Is Atman in here, too?"
"You can fight him right after you beat the masks."
"That's badass."
"I also made Sae and Yae from Fatal Frame 2 optional bosses."
"Glad they're getting some love. Not many people have played the series in general."
"One of the last things I added was a second form to the true final bosses in creation mode."
"Bosses with an s? Who are they?"
"I won't spoil it. I think you'll want to see for yourself."
"How long will it take to get there?"
"I've already played through Flat Line difficulty and unlocked Creation mode. I can breeze through it since I've had time to develop an optimal strategy."
"Cool."
"I also put in a Rowdyruff fight. We only saw them a few times in the series, and they never fought the girls at their full potential. They only had limited time to train in the cartoon. At the height of their power, it'll be a much different fight."
"I figured as much."
"Like with the other side-quests, you can do the new stuff at any point in the game once you get to a certain point. I always hated how FF7 and Shadow Hearts blocked off certain quests when you progressed with the story. Once you unlock the quests here, you can do them any time."
"Good to know. Least we won't have to freak out if we miss anything."
"Well, shall we begin?"
"That's a big 10-4, partner."
"That's my line." Applejack teased.
Twilight began the game again. After the cutscene, she went upstairs to change the girls' clothes. She opened the menu immediately after.
"Remember when you asked if there was a way to change costumes? I put that in as its own separate feature. You can change into Halloween costumes, their classic uniforms, their story clothes, and a bunch of others once you unlock them."
"Did you put in goth costumes?" Rainbow questioned, knowing full-well what Twilight's response would likely be.
"Of course."
"Nice."
The difficulty during the early game was surprisingly intense. The enemies moved faster, making it harder to time dodges. Despite this, Twilight quickly adapted and proceeded with the story as normal. This time, however, there was one major change. The Gangreen Gang and Princess were spared - offered one last chance to redeem themselves. After witnessing the girls' true potential in their depressed state, they couldn't help but oblige.
"Ace is the oldest of the minor protagonists," Twilight explained, "He was seventeen in the series, so I decided the girls should give them a chance to turn their lives around before the end of the game. It's kind of redundant, but I didn't want them to seem heartless."
"Good point. Having anti-villain protagonists show mercy makes them more sympathetic." Rainbow concurred.
"Now that you brought it up, I've never seen a game where you play as an anti-villain. It's usually conventional or anti-heroes."
"Probably 'cause they're hard to write. They behave like real people. All of us would fight to make the world a better place, even if we had to use questionable methods to do it. In this case, we're killing the worst criminals in Townsville before committing suicide to fight Satan and God. Now that I'm hearing it, this all plays into the true final battle of the game, doesn't it?"
"You got it."
"The main difference between The Crow and this game is that Eric's motive was purely revenge-driven. He wasn't really concerned with the overall well-being of the city. Here, the girls are trying to change the whole world. It's a much grander scenario and what separates anti-heroes from anti-villains. We're committing murder now specifically to prevent further tragedy in the future."
"We'll be able to atone soon enough. Just a little longer."
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get moving!"
Twilight nodded.
The true endgame bosses were revealed to be the girls' darker halves. In order to take God's place and rebuild the universe, they had to come to terms with their selfish desires and discard them, for only those truly just would gain the power to reshape existence in their image.
"Now I know what you meant by atonement," Rainbow remarked, "We killed the girls' old foes to save Townsville, but it came at the cost of their faith and their sanity. Now we've gotta bring the bad guys back and give 'em another shot at life."
"This battle is one of penance," Twilight replied, "We're often our own worst enemies."
"Why do I get the feeling this is gonna be exceptionally brutal?"
The girls' inner demons opened with a status technique, Breath and Bone. It removed all the girls' defenses and buffs, only leaving their base stats intact.
"Fuck."
"They have two main attacks they'll use: Soul Crush and Eternal Darkness. Soul Crush takes your entire party down to 1 HP, but won't kill you. Eternal Darkness deals exactly 4,999 damage. Neither attack can be dodged. Maxing out your stats is crucial to winning this fight."
"So what's the strategy?"
"Having maxed out HP is the first step. The dangerous part is if they get the chance to combine both attacks for a combo. That's a guaranteed game over. The only way to circumvent this is having max health and agility."
"Agility determines turn order."
"Exactly. That's why I made Megalixers cure status ailments in addition to healing the entire party for max health and energy. That's what all the farming was about earlier."
"I know you. You put some back door bullshit in to cheese this fight, didn't you?"
"Ya got me. Here's the trick. Take your turn first, then wait for them to attack. While you're healing and whittling down their health, your fatality gauges will build. Wait until all three girls' gauges are filled, then let them cast Soul Crush on you. When you press the command button, a new team fatality will replace the individual ones. It's called Emotional Breakdown, and it's by far the strongest fatality in the game."
"You mean we've had a secret fatality this whole game and you're just now showing us this?"
"It would've been almost impossible to do in any other battle. All three girls have to be at one HP to use it."
"So it's kinda like a desperation attack."
"That's exactly what it is. Just remember to have a megalixer lined up during Bubbles' or Buttercup's turn. It'll take a few uses to take 'em down."
"I'll keep a note on the fridge."
Twilight chuckled.
Following her own advice, Twilight fulfilled the conditions to unlock the Emotional Breakdown ability. Once she pressed the command button, a chaotic, grief-fueled firestorm erupted. Bubbles summoned a tornado that encompassed the entire screen. Millions of lightning strikes rained down upon the girls' malevolent counterparts. Blossom rushed forward, randomly teleporting between opponents and slashing through them with all her strength. Buttercup joined in with her double Gatling guns, unloading round after round into the evil that once festered within herself and her sisters.
"Holy shit! Your health's regenerating!"
"I completely forgot I put that effect in here. Still, the megalixers will help with the status ailments."
"How much damage are you doing!?"
"I believe the damage caps out at 159,984 - the same amount Cloud does to Sephiroth if you manage to deal max damage every attack. The only difference is, it damages all three of the girls' counterparts."
"How much is that in total?"
"479,952."
"Jesus Christ...!"
"'Jesus Christ walks into a hotel.'"
Rainbow smiled.
"'He hands the innkeeper three nails and he asks...'"
The two equines finished the line together.
"'Can you put me up for the night?'"
The second phase of the fight saw the girls' other selves merge using the potara earrings from Dragon Ball Z.
"Never seen a three-way fusion before," Rainbow admitted, "Now that I have, I love the idea."
"This boss can take away two thirds of your party's health with a single attack. Keep your megalixers ready and use your strongest attacks."
"Can you use Emotional Breakdown again?"
"Only when she gets down to 25% HP. She'll cast a spell called Void of Consumption. That's when you'll be able to finish her off, and it looks like we're just about there."
After a few minutes, the newly-formed entity, titled Gospel, unleashed her void attack: a massive black ball that expanded on the girls' side of the screen. With the girls down to their last bit of HP, the game was officially over.
"You remember how in the original ending, the screen faded to white and randomly cut to black without another scene playing?" Twilight inquired.
"Yeah. Probably the shittiest ending ever."
"The implication was that the universe ceased to exist. All the hell we went through on this mode was for the real ending. Little by little, the stars and planets will start to reform. The power to remake and improve humanity is at their disposal now, and I don't mean in a vague spiritual sense. They're literally manipulating sub-atomic structures to re-write genetic code."
"Holy balls! That's insane!"
The final screen of the game showed a futuristic, yet modern and lively version of Townsville. All the girls' friends and foes of the past had been reborn as kind, gentle souls. Far above the veil of space, they observed closely, marveling at the harmonious state of being they'd worked so hard to create.
"Will they get to see the professor again?"
"Sooner than you think."
After a few more lines of dialogue, the girls departed for Earth. The final frame showed them re-introducing themselves to the professor - this time under more ideal circumstances.
"I've thought about offing myself a number of times over the years," Twilight admitted, "But if there's even the smallest chance I can achieve what I've written into this game, then I have to live, and learn as much as I can about our existence. Maybe one day, I can be the benevolent goddess we're so desperately searching for. If not me, then perhaps another."
"Amen to that." Rainbow responded.
"Thanks for supporting me, guys. It really means a lot: more than you'll probably ever know."
"It's the least we can do, after all you've done for us."
"I love you guys."
"Back at ya, homegirl."
Everyone gathered together in a tight group hug.