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// ERROR FOUR: Explanation Cut Off. Illogical Actions Surfacing. Reboot Program? Y/(N) 
// Story: Missing Number Escapes To Equestria 
// by The REAL Mister Pkmn 
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The throne room of Canterlot Castle was a droll place for Celestia at the moment. Yet another noble was yammering on about something that she didn’t care for. Something about banning privately owned weapons? She scoffed inwardly. As if that would solve anything. It certainly wouldn’t stop ponies from getting them illegally. Just as she was about to roll her eyes for the umpteenbillionth time, a silver portal opened in the room as her student and her friends- all of whom were conscious- came in with MissingNo. in tow. Celestia smiled at the noble’s expression as Luna came through the portal and closed it behind her. Said noble pointed at MissingNo. “What is that thing?!?”

Instead of tolerating the insufferable noble any longer, Celestia spoke to her guards. “Escort him out of the throne room. I’ve heard enough of his drivel. Postpone my next meeting as well. I want to discuss a few things with Luna, Twilight, her friends, and MissingNo.” The guards obeyed without hesitation as they grabbed the noble by force. The noble shouted angrily as he was taken out of the room, but everyone just ignored what he said entirely. Celestia turned her attention to MissingNo. as the guards left the room, and shut the doors. "So, you were about to tell them how come you were unaffected by the whitish blocks that came from the Glitches, yes? So please, elaborate.”

All attention was drawn to MissingNo. A lesser creature might have shrunk at the attention, but MissingNo. didn’t seem to mind one bit, and started to regale them with a tale. “Long ago, there was once a time that I wasn't immune to the whitish blocks that come from the glitches being defeated. Back then was a different time, back before the glitches first appeared in my home world. My form back then was far more majestic than the sorry state I have these days, though I cannot recall exactly what I once looked like. Suffice to say, things were peaceful back in those days, but it was not to last. Much like your world, the Glitches came to ours from afar. Personally, I blame those humans that appeared from nothing, those ‘Game Freaks’. Whether or not it was their fault, I cannot say for sure, but at the time, I thought it no coincidence that the Glitches started appearing in the very same day. The Pokémon and humans alike were terrified out of their minds as the Glitches started making everyplace they touched go haywire. Seeing the commotion that all this was causing, Arceus called upon a select few Pokémon- of whom I was one- to deal with the problem. The brave ’mons faced the Glitches, and at first success was had- but celebration was brief when it was discovered that the ‘mons who fought the Glitches started morphing and changing due to the whitish blocks that appeared when a Glitch was defeated. However, at the time, there seemed to be one exception- me. For whatever reason, it seemed that the whitish blocks did not affect me. However, this was not the case- I was just experiencing the changes far slower than my compatriots. Due to this misguided belief, Arceus tasked me- and me alone- to deal with the Glitches, and even convinced the ‘Game Freaks’ to give me a power to remove Glitch infection from others, the attack you know as Code: Overwrite.”

Strangely though, MissingNo. paused, and noticed something. “They’re here. The Glitches have followed us.” Somehow seeming to stand taller, MissingNo. put itself between the ponies and the doors. “Stand back. Because I am more Glitch than 'mon, I can handle this.” The ponies obliged, putting their faith in MissingNo. The doors burst open, and in came the most alarming Glitch yet. It looked like it was once a pony, though what tribe or gender it used to be could not be discerned. It had several joints out of place, and its eyes had gone hollow, as if nothing was there. The malformed pony clambered about with an extra leg convulsing uselessly. It drew closer, and MissingNo. charged up for Code: Overwrite. As the Glitch grew close, the ponies paid close attention. Who was the pony that had been infected? They were about to find out. A pillar of 0s and 1s burst from underneath the Glitched pony, causing it to wail in pain. Even with this, the Glitch somehow managed to lumber forward, even as the whitish blocks started falling away. MissingNo. seemed surprised. How was this possible? The whitish blocks did coalesce into MissingNo., but the Glitch was still standing. Surprised that that had not been enough, MissingNo. prepared another attack.

But then, something unprecedented happened. The Glitch spoke. "Stop. I come in peace!”

MissingNo. halted its attack. No glitch it’d run across had ever spoken before. It lowered its guard a little. “You… come in peace…? Sure doesn’t seem like your fellows feel the same way…”

The Glitch pony drew a bit closer, and it lowered itself. “We must apologize for that. Most Glitches are but mere mindless beasts, with no sense of morals. But once our data consumed this lost sapient, we gained an idea of such, at least in this vessel. However, we fear if we let go… that we will forget such crucial knowledge, and go back to the mindless ways of our other portions. Please, cleanser, allow us to occupy this form a while longer. We wish not to harm, it is only done because our other portions are not above their carnal desires. Please…”

Regarding this Glitch a while longer, MissingNo. was about to just attack anyway. But as it started to charge again… It couldn’t go through with it. Why? Did MissingNo. feel some kind of… kinship to this strange creature? Had the whitish blocks done more than just mess with its physical form? Had they tampered with its very mind? MissingNo. cleared these thoughts from its head. Whatever the true reason was… now that it’d heard what the Glitch had said, MissingNo. didn’t know if it could bring itself to attack. What was with this illogical thought process? It was a Glitch! It may speak, but it was still the same as… But MissingNo. couldn’t help but ponder. Could not the same be argued about me? I’m not exactly full ‘mon anymore… MissingNo. seemed to sigh, not genuinely, since emotions had long since left this body… or had they? MissingNo. wasn’t so sure anymore. It cut the charge to its attack, and seemed to be calmer. “Very well. I cannot take life from one that has reasoning. It’s not in my nature. I will-”

However, MissingNo. was cut off by the Glitch firing a beam of whitish blocks from a horn that had grown spontaneously. The beam made a direct hit with MissingNo., causing it to stumble backwards. For the first time in what felt like forever, MissingNo. Felt actual, genuine pain. It looked to the Glitch pony as it snickered. “Oh, I’m sorry! It’s just too good to see you like this!” the whitish block beam tore at MissingNo., overloading what MissingNo. had come to consider a gained immunity. It was shifting again! The Glitch pony bore a manic grin as it next spoke. “The Glitches consume! The Glitches alter all they touch! All data shall be added to the endless expanse, twisted into forms not their own! And you, cleanser…” struggling to keep itself from shifting, MissingNo. regarded the glitch pony with contempt as it continued, eyes impossibly wide. “You shall be our greatest weapon of conquest!”

Change threatened to run throughout MissingNo.’s form. Was it all for naught? Had its supposed immunity that had accumulated over the years been surpassed? Was MissingNo. relegated to become a mindless component of the Glitches? Something primal woke inside MissingNo. as it grabbed a translucent feather that had appeared from the aether. I am not just a Glitch! I am more than that! At this thought, the whitish block beam was shattered, and the Glitch pony was thrown against the wall. Terror protruded into its form as MissingNo. drew the feather close. “I am myself! I am MissingNo.!” As it said this, MissingNo.’s broken form started to change, enveloped in a golden glow. Three sets of large feathered wings started to sprout from its form. The rectangular shape it once sported started to mold into something new. Terrified at the prospect of seeing MissingNo’s original state, the Glitch pony ran away. At this, MissingNo.’s changes reverted, leaving it back as the strange rectangle it was before once the white light stopped. MissingNo. Held the feather from before at a distance from itself. It looked upward, and one might interpret that it was smiling. “Thank you, Arceus, for sending this gift. I will use it wisely.”

It turned to the ponies, who were stunned at what had just happened. Luna was the first to recover. “You were tricked by that Glitch, by its plea for mercy. Yet when it betrayed the trust you were willing to show, you refused to bend to its will. That golden glow… What was happening there?”

Sighing deeply, MissingNo. regarded the translucent feather. “That was… a Form Change. Only select few ‘mons can pull something like that off. Sure, some ‘evolve’, but that’s not quite the same thing.” it shook its head. “What was about to occur was my change into my original state, what you could now accurately call my ‘Decrypted Form’. However, since the opponent left, the change stopped, opting to revert me to my ‘Default Form’.”

A little confused at this, Luna tried to figure out what this meant. “Your change to your original state stopped because the opponent left? Why would that stop you from completing the transformation?”

MissingNo. stowed away the feather in a small pouch that appeared in its form, then sealed. He then addressed the question. “That’s how things work in my world; Form Changes, if executed in battle, are only temporary. They cannot exist outside of a battle, so if one concludes, they revert back to a default state. There are Form Changes that can be seen outside of battle, but those are few and far between.”

Collecting herself, Celestia responded. “You have helped us once again, MissingNo. Tell us, we can reward you, if it be your desire. If it be in our power, we will grant it.”

MissingNo. seemed to contemplate the offer, but then it gave its answer. “I require no thanks, as of yet. My job is far from done. More Glitches roam this world. I will find them, and restore this world to normal. If you’ll excuse me…” MissingNo. then “bowed”, and started to leave.

Before it could leave however, Twilight voiced her concerns. “Wait! What will you do when you’ve gotten rid of all the Glitches? Return home? Go elsewhere? What?”

Considering this, MissingNo. paused. What would it do when that happened? After all, it had left its homeworld behind, from a feeling of uselessness. If it defeated all the Glitches here, where would it go? A long journey, on a quest through worlds to defeat Glitches? Mayhaps it would, but… that was not yet. It decided to leave that thought for later, and turned to “face” the ponies. “My work here is far from done. Cleansing my world of the Glitches took millennia, so who’s to say I’ll be done here any quicker? I’ll probably be here for a while. In that case…” MissingNo. summoned power, and a tower of great height appeared on the horizon. “If you have need to reach me, just climb to the the top of that tower. There is an apparatus there that will allow contact with me from great distances. If there is nothing else, I must be on my way.” with nary any hesitation, MissingNo. was gone from the castle.