Super Sunset RPG

Was it… possible for her to level up?

The thought had gotten stuck in her brain, and now wouldn’t let go. It was like a piece of food caught between her teeth. The more attention she gave it the more it annoyed her.

Pampered Princess and the Cozy Curse was originally a turn-based RPG. Sunset had gained experience points when she’d played through the tutorial. But now she got nothing whenever a battle ended, at least, nothing that she could see.

There was a chance the game was still keeping track of her XP for her. But without pop-up windows or anything like that it couldn’t exactly alert her whenever she leveled up. And if it couldn’t… well, that could be a problem.

When she leveled up after the tutorial, Sunset had been able to bump up one of her stats. If that only happened after leveling up—and she no longer had a way to level up—that meant she was stuck with the stats she had. Her useless level two stats. And she had to beat the whole game with them on hard mode.

Crap crap crap crap crap! She wasn’t handling it well.

What am I supposed to do? Flutters and Beatrix won’t know anything about the game’s mechanics. And even if they did, this isn’t really a game anymore. Did the Equestrian magic change the way my stats work when it dragged me in here? It already reworked the combat…

She hoped that would be the case, but also wasn’t sure. After all, real-time combat in this wasn’t paced that differently from flat out real-world combat. Same with the game world becoming open. She had to travel distances similar to an actual country of Diaperia’s size. And the time it took to get there was comparable to how long it would take in real life too. Who’s to say the magic wasn’t just making the game outright realistic by default, taking away experience points and leveling up with it?

Sunset probably couldn’t get stronger. That much she had to accept. There was no way to increase the measly thirteen hit points she’d seen at the start of the game. Her defense would be paper thin forever and her attacks would carry the explosive force of lemonade.

But that didn’t mean she couldn’t buff herself.

Flutters had a defense boosting spell, after all. And her onesie supposedly upped her attack too. There were artificial ways to increase her strength. Sunset would just have to find the best ones and use them to her advantage. After all, this game was a slapdash effort to appease fans of its particular fetish. There were probably glaring holes in its design she could exploit.

Breathing deeply, she forced herself to calm down and accept that rationalization. She wasn’t doomed, she was just… playing hard mode the hardest way possible. Yeah…

She waddled through Pamperville, still lugging Sunrise around in her diaper. The massive amount of goop reddening her padding attracted plenty of eyes as she toddled around. She didn’t like being the center of attention dressed as she was. She also couldn’t blame the various denizens, however. Sunset was quite the spectacle.

“Well,” Beatrix said. She’d become a bit less grumbly after leaving Evening behind. They’d returned to the usual amount. “Do you want a completely different weapon, or are you just going to try and get your rattle upgraded?”

“This thing can be upgraded?” Sunset withdrew the hunk of plastic from its holster. The beads within rattled in response, proving that this genuinely was nothing more than a toy.

“I’m sure there’s a toysmith somewhere in this town,” Flutters explained. Sunset barely held back a groan at the name. “Of course, you could get something with more range if you prefer…”

“Or you can try out sorcery for yourself,” Beatrix puffed out her chest. “Though, you’ll never attain the level of magnificence that I have achieved. But it would be funny to watch you play catch up.”

“Hmph.” Sunset had to admit that Beatrix’s magic was useful, but she also had a feeling it would be a steep learning curve. Without buttons to press, Sunset didn’t even know how to go about casting spells in this world. Would it just sort of happen instinctually? Would it be similar to her magic when she was a unicorn? Or was there hundreds of hours of practice needed to master it?

She opted to play it safe. “No magic for me, thanks.” Ranged weapons on the other hand… that might be something worth looking into. “I think I’d like to shop around for a new weapon, honestly.”

Giving the money in her breast pocket a pat, Sunset pinched her lips together. The good stuff would be pricey, and she’d been bleeding cash ever since selling off her princess dress to Precious. Not to mention she still had to save some of it to pay Beatrix. She didn’t know if her party member would want to collect her fee before or after defeating the final boss. Ideally after, because then hopefully she’d be able to leave the game without worrying about it. But if it was before, and Sunset couldn’t pay up… well, she already knew she couldn’t beat Beatrix in a fight.

This was going to be a balancing act. Though surely they’d find more money as they explored the world. For now, Sunset was willing to spend it all if it meant better equipment. That was her most pressing concern.

“There’s an armory then,” Flutters pointed.

Following her finger, Sunset looked to a nearby shop. The words carved on its outdoor sign brought back memories she’d wished stayed buried: Carousel Armory.

Of course…

She already had a feeling this game would be reusing assets left and right. Without a doubt ‘Precious’ the shopkeeper was waiting for her on the other side of its door. Sunset wondered if the Equestrian magic would deign to make an excuse for the recurring shopkeep. There were doubts in her mind, however.

“I guess that’ll work,” she mumbled. As much as she didn’t want a clone of Rarity groping and kissing her again, upgrades took priority. “What are you guys going to do?”

“I’m going to make friends with some of the local animals.” Flutters flicked one of the ears of her cat headband. Sunset remembered those supposedly helped her communicate with Diaperia’s fauna.

There’s gotta be some hidden secrets based on animal dialogue, Sunset figured. That, or the game devs really wanted an excuse for those cat ears. “Hey, let me know if they tell you anything good,” she said. Flutters nodded as she waved them off.

Beatrix twirled her staff, eyes easy to follow. Sunset saw her looking at the local tavern, groaning to herself. “Just don’t rack up a huge tab again. I’m not saving you from the stockade again.”

“Hmm, you’d like me to believe that, wouldn’t you?” Beatrix’s finger curled under Sunset’s chin. “But I’ll be good. Promise.”

Sunset rolled her eyes at the flirtation, cursing this game’s affection meter. She made Beatrix promise to meet them at the wagon in an hour and headed into the armory.

When she entered, it was a familiar sight. Precious the Rarity clone was waiting at the front desk. As far as Sunset could remember, nothing about her had changed since their last run in back at The Town of Beginnings. Maybe her outfit had been pallette swapped. Maybe.

The wares could be different for all Sunset knew. She hadn’t dedicated brainspace to memorizing the last Carousel Armory’s contents. The sooner she forgot crap like that the better.

Regretfully the shopkeeper lit up when she saw the door open. But it seemed not with recognition. She put on her salesman glasses and sauntered across the room.

“Hello, darling!” Precious said, mirroring Rarity’s affectations to a T. “How can I help you today?”

Sunset pressed her lips together. “Uh… do you, remember me by any chance?”

“Remember?” Precious chortled. “Darling I never forget a customer’s face. And that tells me you must be new in town.”

“Uh, yep. Sure am.” They were supposed to be separate characters after all. Sunset decided to take it. Maybe this Precious would be less touchy-feely than the last.

She could feel Precious size her up, eyes glinting down to her outfit. “My, what remarkable craftsmanship,” she said. A hand slinked over, running up Sunset’s side and stopping just below her breast. Flinching, she hobbled back.

So much for that, she thought. It was like she invited the universe to do these kinds of things to her.

“Not quite as good as my own, however,” Precious said, dissing her doppleganger unknowingly. Spinning she held out her arms to the assortment of racks and clothes stuffed into the small space. “Look around and find something new for yourself, dear. An adventurer deserves the best.”

“Thanks,” Sunset said, still shivering from the touch. Crossing her arms, she wobbled forward. As she eyed the clothes, Precious eyed her diaper.

“Goodness,” she said of the giant, ruby red mass. “Darling, I’m afraid to say it looks like you’ve been Slimed. Do you need some Antidote Powder?”

Sunrise jiggled in discomfort. Sunset slapped two hands against her swelled, padded crotch to stop her. “N-No!” She insisted. “I’ll get by.”

“If you insist. Do let me know if you have any questions about my inventory. Many have additional effects not obvious to the untrained eye.”

“Mmhmm.” Sunset was biting her lip. Sunrise’s involuntary spasm may have passed, but it left her tingling a bit between her legs. After a moment she calmed down enough to waddle between the racks.

Like last time, the barrage of girly, prissy dresses and baby clothes made her want to barf. The colors were overwhelming; they started to hurt her eyes after a while with all the bright pinks and blues and yellows and purples. All the glitter and sparkles didn’t help either. Never before had Sunset found herself wishing she was colorblind.

As she walked past one row she felt a tug at her hips. Sunrise suddenly pulled on the diaper, forcing Sunset to waddle backwards awkwardly.

“What?” She whisper-hissed so Precious couldn’t hear. Sunrise gave two tugs on the padding, forcing Sunset to look at one dress in particular.

When she did, Sunset just furrowed her brows. It was a dress with a boob window on it. Suddenly Sunrise’s interest made sense.

“No!” She hissed. She swore she saw her slimy padding deflate with disappointment.

Sunset added “not pervy” to her list of requirements for her new outfit. At this point, her standards were starting to get a little too high. Especially with “not too infantile” and “actually useful” being at the top of her list.

Nothing she looked at filled her with confidence. Every now and again she thought she found an acceptable piece of equipment, but she was always let down when she asked Precious for its effect.

“That one increases your defense, sweetie,” she said of a seafoam green shirt and skirt combo. Flutters had a spell for that, so it didn’t strike her as useful. After pointing to a buttercup yellow onesie she was told: “that one makes the effects from your potions last longer.” She wasn’t really interested in learning a whole other mechanic of the game just to try and make that useful.

Eventually she ran through most of her acceptable-ish options. That left the things she disliked. She scrutinized all of them like a picky vulture eating through carrion. She ended up on a not-so-terrible option.

“This little number increases your HP by two,” Precious said. She was talking about a tiny baby dress, one that had Sunset groaning internally.

It had a hot pink, puffy skirt. It was made of two layers, one extending a little further than the other, but neither dipping far enough to cover even an unSlimed diaper. The pink continued up to a little belt at the waist, which had two loops like her onesie for carrying things. Up from that, the dress shifted white. It had a ruffled front leading up to a collar that clinched up at the throat, where frills lined it. From the belly button up to the neck it had pale pink buttons shaped like hearts. The puffed sleeves returned to the hot pink color of the skirt. They were lined at the end with more white frills.

It was… a lot. But white was an acceptable color in all the mess she’d seen, and this one was mostly that. At least the skirt would cover some of her padding bulge. That wouldn’t matter to Diaperia’s NPCs, but it would make her feel a little better. Checking the price, Sunset could see it was comfortably in her range too.

Stars above, I’m really considering this, aren’t I? More HP would be nice. She didn’t want to have to resort to—shudder—using Flutters’ healing method. The day Sunset caved and breastfed was not one she wanted to be alive for.

“I’ll take it,” she sighed.

“Excellent!” Precious clapped her hands together. “Come, come, let me help you out of your onesie and you can try it right on.”

Sunset’s hands clamped over her chest. “Uh…” She’d rather not get naked right now. Especially not with a girl who looked exactly like one of her friends helping her. “I’ll just keep it on.”

“That’s…” Precious blinked. It seemed like there wasn’t already a programmed line for her to say. Sunset imagined this wasn’t something the game usually allowed. She recalled only having one slot for equipment over her body. “Well… it’s rather unorthodox.”

“I don’t mind.” Sunset pushed the money into Precious’ hand and grabbed the dress from its rack. The Equestrian magic didn’t seem like it was going to stop her. That meant, as long as she was clever about it, she could stack buffs. An exploitable glitch like this was one she hoped to really take advantage of in the future.

She fiddled with the dress for a bit, needing help to pull it over her head. Precious grabbed the side of the skit and helped yank it down for her. Sunset’s head popped out the end and she gasped for air. Precious buttoned it up for her, Sunset squirming a bit when the last ones were done. It was tight at her throat, but only a bit uncomfortable all things considered. The frills tickled her chin.

Precious then pulled a line of ribbon that had been hanging on the same rack as the dress and looped it around Sunset’s neck. She tied it into the shape of a hot pink bow, fluffing the ears a bit before smiling and stepping back. Sunset felt cheated; if she’d known this had been a part of the ensemble she may have been swayed to find something else.

Well… she thought. It’s on me…

“Give us a twirl, darling!” Precious clapped giddily.

Embarrassed, Sunset swished her skirt back and forth. It seemed to be enough.

“Oh, you’d make all the other girls at the playground jealous, you know that?”

Please stop talking. Sunset could feel Sunrise bobbing a bit in the padding, as if to nod in approval. And don’t you start!

Her sippy cup and rattled ended up in the belt loops of the dress. Their sudden appearance reminded her of how they’d done the same with her onesie. It was at least a minor convenience. As much as she wanted to call it quits here, she knew extra HP wasn’t the only thing she’d need out on the road. Her encounter with those Griffon sisters had taught her that much.

Scanning the possibilities, Sunset ended up debasing herself with a few more accessories. She found white, satin gloves that had so many frills at the wrists they were ridiculous. But they supposedly gave her plus two melee damage, and so she gladly equipped them. She also settled on a rose-pink headband that had a plastic bow on the top. It increased the effects of the rest of her clothes by fifty percent, which was a steal for its price. If Sunset got some rare, powerful drops later on this thing would only make them better. The humiliation of having it on her head was worth it.

Lastly, came the need to upgrade her weapon. And that wound up being a big disappointment.

“I’m sorry dearie,” Precious said. “I’m afraid I don’t have a toysmith on hand for weaponry.”

“Really?” Sunset groaned. This was one of the first towns in the game. Were the developers going to drag this out or what? “Well, do you know where I could find something better than this?” She held up Auntie Lulu’s rattle. It was a paltry tutorial weapon that wouldn’t do well in the game’s first dungeon.

“Hmm…” Precious tapped her chin with both index fingers. “Actually, yes! Show me your map, darling.”

They moved to the counter so Sunset could properly unfurl it. To her surprise, Precious marked a spot that was about halfway between Pamperville and the water dungeon. She realized this was likely due to the grace of the game devs. Putting a useful, yet optional, side quest on route to the game’s first major landmark was actually good design sense on their parts.

“I have an old flame out there who was an… adequate toysmith during her time with me.” The way Precious said that it sounded like there was a lot of bitterness between them. If she was anything like Rarity—and she was, unfortunately—then still offering someone she disliked faint praise was a mark that they were actually really good at their job. “She’s a real brute, but you might be able to convince her to help you.”

“That’s perfect!” Sunset said. “Thanks!”

She finished paying Precious, unfortunately taking two kisses to the cheek from the woman yet again. She really needed to have a talk with this game’s designers about—well, a lot of things really—but chief among them being personal space.

Waving goodbye, Sunset waddled out of the Carousel Armory and started making her way back to the group’s wagon. Her new dress’ skirt bounced all the way, which was annoying. But Sunset found herself able to ignore it. She clutched her map, a little excited. If she got a particularly good weapon from this toysmith, the first dungeon might actually be a piece of cake!

…Or maybe she was just underestimating the game’s Brutal difficulty.