> There's Nopony I'd Rather Be Than Me
>  by Tatsurou
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> That's Different
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ralph lay back on his stump, staring up happily at the night sky of Niceland, sighing in contentment.  It was the end of yet another day at the arcade, where he did his best to tear the apartment building apart while Felix did his best to stop him.  As usual, the players were good enough that Ralph lost, but he didn't mind so much.  As he'd told the BadAnon group, as long as Vanellope thought he was good, he couldn't be all bad.  Between the now more comforting attitude of the Nicelanders, his growing friendship with Felix, and the time he spent over in Sugar Rush with Vanellope, being the bad guy was no longer such a bad thing.

Staring up at the moon, he smiled.  "I'm bad, and that's good," he said softly.  "I will never be good, and that's not bad.  There's no one I'd rather be...than me."  Ever since he had said those words as he flung himself to what he was certain would be his doom at Cola Mountain to stop the Cybug King that Turbo had become - to save Vanellope - he had said it to himself every night before he slept.  Each night, it had more meaning for him.  Each night, he believed it a little more.  Each night, it was a little more true.

As he stared at the moon a little groggily, however, he found a wish still in his heart.  The happiness Felix and Calhoun had together was wonderful and celebrated...but it often left Ralph feeling like a third wheel.  And despite restoring Vanellope to her true role in her game, she was still glitched.  She still couldn't leave Sugar Rush.  If Ralph wanted to have fun for a night in one of the other game worlds, he either found himself tagging along with Felix and Calhoun...or going alone.  Despite being a hero to the arcade, he was still a bad guy.  He was still dangerous to many of the hero sprites.

"Sometimes I wish..."  He paused, cutting off the words.  The last time he'd made a wish, the game had nearly been unplugged and the entire arcade had nearly been consumed by the Cybugs.  Even so, he couldn't stop himself from expressing this wish completely.  "I wish I had somebody...somebody who could come with me when I relaxed after games."  He glanced around at the empty little house he'd built around his stump.  "Someone who could help make this house...a home."

He turned back up to gaze at the moon, and squinted.  "Is that a horse face on the moon?" he asked in confusion.  He blinked, and the image was gone.  However, a bright streak of light was shooting through the sky.  "I wonder what that is..."

It was at that point he realized something rather important.  "It's coming right for me!" he screamed, scrambling away.

The rainbow colored light streaked to a halt pixels above the ground, hovering right in front of Ralph.  After a time, the rainbow light began to fade, leaving only a mix of very dark blue and black.  Eventually, the color solidified into a sprite figure.

Standing in front of Ralph was a tiny horse that barely came up to his ankle.  It had a pitch black coat, with wings and horn of the same shade.  On each side of its butt was a purple splotch, with a pale blue crescent moon in the middle.  Its mane and tail seemed to be made of energy, flowing in the absence of breeze.  They were dark blue throughout, save the edges, which were pale lilac, and they were speckled with points of light, as though the tiny pony wore the night sky atop its head and off its butt.  It wore pale blue armor in the form of a helmet, a curiously designed chest plate with the same moon symbol as on its butt, and shoes on all four hooves.  Its eyes, when they opened, were bright turquoise against pale turquoise corneas, with slit pupils.

"Well, someone had fun designing you," Ralph murmured to himself.

The tiny figure raised its head and grinned, revealing bright white teeth sharpened to fangs.  "At last!" she proclaimed, her voice revealing her to both be female and very young.  "After nearly 1000 years I'm free!  It's time to conquer Equestria!"

"Where's that?" Ralph asked.

The tiny figure blinked.  "Umm..."  She glanced around.  "...not here..." she muttered nervously.  "Well, no matter!" she rallied.  "This world will do as well as any other!  I am Nightmare Moon, Queen of the Night, and I proclaim that the night shall last...forever!"  She then proceeded to laugh maniacally.

"Uh...yeah," Ralph pointed out.  "It's always nighttime here in Niceland.  That's kind of the setting."

Nightmare Moon blinked.  "It is?" she asked, shocked.  She glanced around.

"Yeah," Ralph replied.  "The moon never moves," he continued, pointing to said orb.

Nightmare Moon looked up at the orb.  "...oh," she said, sounding crestfallen.  "But then...what am I supposed to do?" she asked sadly.

Ralph looked at her carefully.  "Well, you don't look like any sprite from any game plugged in here...tell you what.  Tomorrow night, I'll bring you to BadAnon.  Somebody there is bound to know what game you're from.  You might be from one of those online ones that got plugged in last week."

"How can it be tomorrow night if it's always night?" Nightmare Moon asked, tilting her head.

"It's always night in Niceland, but we live by the arcade schedule," Ralph explained.  He laid back, pillowing his head on his stump.  "In the meantime, you can find a room with any of the guys over there for the night if you like."  He gestured to where Felix had built homes for all the gameless sprites.

Nightmare Moon glanced towards the buildings, then flinched as one of the monster sprites stepped out to water the lawn.  "I think I'll stay here," she said quickly.  "You're harmless."

Ralph chuckled.  "Be my guest," he offered, gesturing around his spartan home of broken bricks.  "Make yourself comfortable."

Nightmare Moon jumped onto Ralph's belly and buried herself between his shirt and overalls.  "...is that edible?" she asked, pointing to Ralph's cookie medal.

"Don't eat my medal," Ralph scolded.  "The Nicelanders bring me a pie for breakfast before the arcade opens these days.  I'll split it with you.  Wait till then."

Nightmare Moon grumbled, but curled up against Ralph's chest.  She rested her head just over his heart, and fell asleep to the sound of his heart beating.

Ralph glanced up at the moon once more.  Apparently, his wish had been granted again, at least for a time.  Idly, he wondered what would happen next, and how long this would last.  He also wondered what sort of crazed, chaotic, wicked spirit would grant wishes like this.

Giving whatever spirit that was the finger, he curled up for sleep, one hand resting protectively over the tiny pony on his chest, covering her like a blanket as she snuggled in.


> That's Wrong
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Ralph awoke to a knock on his door.  "Ralphy!" Mary called out happily.  "I brought you your breakfast!"

Ralph smiled, pushing himself into a sitting position, remembering just in time to hold his hand up to catch Nightmare Moon before she fell from her sleeping position.  He gently pushed the door open.  "Hey Mary," he greeted her happily.  "How long till the arcade opens?"

"About an hour," Mary replied happily, turning to the cart she was pulling behind her.  "Have a nice hot pie to start your day!"  Taking the pie off the cart, she handed it to him.

Ralph smiled happily.  Ever since Ralph had talked Felix and the Nicelanders into providing homes in the background of the game for all the out of work sprites, Mary had decided it was her job to make sure everysprite started their day with a nice hot power up pie to get their program going.  "Thanks Mary.  Say...could you spare a second?  I've got an extra mouth to feed."  He gently held Nightmare Moon out on his massive palm.

The tiny black filly blinked her glowing eyes owlishly up at the primly dressed Nicelander.  "I thought Eternal Night meant I could sleep late..." she grumbled.

"Oh, what an adorable little sprite!" Mary squealed.  "Where did she come from?"

"Dunno," Ralph replied.  "She fell out of the sky late last night."

Mary frowned.  "She's not...going Turbo, is she?"

"I don't think so," Ralph replied.  "At least, she's not from any game I recognize."

"She might have wandered off from that LAN party the arcade hosted last week," Mary suggested.  She shook her head.  "I keep telling people that second power strip is going to cause all sorts of trouble."

"What are you talking about?" Nightmare Moon asked in confusion.  "What's an arcade?  Or a power strip?  Or...or anything you said?"

"Oh, you poor dear," Mary cooed.  "You must be a new sprite if you don't know about all this...new and already lost..."  She glanced up at Ralph.  "Any chance she's a glitch?"

Ralph shrugged.  "Possible.  I'm going to try to take her to the BadAnon meeting tonight, to see if any of those guys know anything.  Considering she gave a classic villain speech on arrival, if anybody knows something it'll be them."

"Well, for now I've got a spare pie," Mary replied, setting a second pie down in front of Nightmare Moon.  "I can always bake more between games."

Nightmare Moon cautiously sniffed at the pie.  As the aroma hit her nostrils, her eyes lit up and she dove in face first, devouring the power up eagerly.

Mary chuckled.  "What's her name?"

"She introduced herself as Nightmare Moon," Ralph replied.

Mary nodded.  "Definitely villain material."  Glancing out the game screen, she gasped.  "Goodness!  I'm behind schedule!  I'd best hurry and give everyone their pies!"  Taking hold of her cart, she turned to go.  "Now you behave, Moony," she chided.  "No villainy outside your own game!"

Nightmare Moon shot her a glare.  "I am not Moony!" she pouted.  "I am Nightmare Moon, Queen of the Night!"

"Definitely villain," Mary agreed before rushing off.

Nightmare Moon looked up at Ralph in confusion.  "She doesn't seem scared of me," she pouted.

Ralph chuckled.  "Well, like she said, this isn't your game," he explained.  "While in your own game, death isn't permanent.  You just resprite when the game reloads.  Uncomfortable, but little more than a nuisance in the long run."

Nightmare Moon's eyes went wide.  "Wow..."

Ralph grinned down at her as he ate his pie in one bite.  "Now, I need to go get ready.  The game's going to start any time now, and I've got a pretty important role to play."  He leaned down over her.  "But I need you to stay in the house here, got it?" he pointed out.  "It's out of range of what the screen shows, and you can see everything through the window.  Can you do that for me?"

Nightmare Moon pouted.  "Why should I?"

"Three reasons," Ralph replied.  "One, if you go out there without a game script prepared, the players will think the game is glitching, and our plug might get pulled.  That means the entire world goes bye-bye, along with anyone still in it."  Seeing Nightmare Moon's eyes widen, he continued.  "Two, I don't know yet if you're a stray sprite, a new program, or a glitch...but if you're the last, you won't be able to escape.  Glitches can't leave their games."  Nightmare Moon shrunk in on herself.  "And third, if you aren't a new part of this game, you could get permanently de-rezzed from a single falling brick.  I don't want to risk that."

"...okay..." Nightmare Moon said quietly, hunched in on herself with her tiny wings shielding her face in fear.

Ralph winced, feeling horrible for terrifying the little sprite.  "I didn't mean to scare you," he whispered, pulling her into a gentle hug and stroking her mane with one finger.  "I'm just trying to keep you safe, okay?"

She nodded gently.  "...okay..." she replied quietly.

Sighing, he gently set her back down in the house.  "Don't go away now!" he said playfully as he rushed out to begin the day.





Nightmare Moon watched as the game day began.  It started out with Ralph dancing around on the primary building, smashing bricks and windows.  She had to admit it looked like fun.  She wondered if it would be fun for her.

Glancing to one side, she focused.  She knew what powers she had, though much of what she could do with them was somewhat hazy.  Still, lasers were easy.  A blast of energy zapped from her horn to a nearby brick, making it explode into powder.  She grinned.  It was fun!

Hearing a change in noise, she glanced up quickly, worried she'd gotten in trouble or drawn attention.  The primary building was gone.  In it's place was the stump that was supposed to be in the house.  A bulldozer pushed it over to the dump, just out of screen range from the house.  The building was erected where the stump had been.

Ralph popped out of the stump.  "Hey!  You moved my stump!" he proclaimed angrily.  A bubble appeared over his head proclaiming the same thing.

Walking up to the building, he proclaimed, "I'm gonna wreck it!" again with bubble accompaniment.  Leaping onto the building, he began to tear it apart.

The Nicelanders in the building called out, "Fix it Felix!"

Someone she didn't recognize in blue overalls and blue hat showed up, wielding a golden hammer.  Presumably, this was Felix.  The fact that he proclaimed, "I can fix it!" - again with bubble accompaniment - indicated the accuracy of her deduction.

She then watched as Ralph and Felix struggled to see whether the building would be destroyed or repaired, eventually ending with Felix getting a medal for fixing the building, and the Nicelanders throwing Ralph off the roof to land in the mud.  She frowned at the sight of that.  They suddenly didn't seem so nice to her.

As she watched through the 'day', the pattern repeated itself.  Ralph would get pushed aside and express his objections.  The humans she could see through the screen if she squinted controlled Felix, trying to repair the building.  If the human was unskilled, Felix would take enough hits to fall flat on his back several times, and a "Game Over" text would cover the sky.  More often than not, however, the little play ended with Ralph eating mud.

Over and over again it happened.  Over and over again, a man trying to reclaim what was his was cruelly tossed aside, and this was cheered.

"Is this what being the villain means?" she asked herself.  "That your story doesn't matter?  Just because someone arbitrarily decides you're the bad guy that should fall, and the ones that hurt you should be cheered for?"

She curled up in the house, not wanting to watch anymore.  It was wrong...and she hated it.
> The Not So Good Doctor
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Eventually, the arcade closed.  Ralph pushed himself up from one last fall in the mud, brushing it off his clothes as he stretched.  "Another day, another few dozen games," he said easily.  The new 'retro' look of the game with the inclusion of the gameless sprites during the bonus stages had made it so the cabinet was never without a player during the day.  Was quite a bit of work for Ralph, but he was glad of it.

"Another good day, huh Ralph?" Felix asked, sauntering up to him looking pleased with himself.

"Yup!" Ralph replied.  "Though I nearly got you there a few times."  He gave Felix a playful nudge on the shoulder.

"You wish," Felix replied back, punching Ralph on the arm as hard as he could, which had roughly the same amount of force as Ralph's gentle nudge.  He shook his hand to ease the ache the punch had left him with.  "Heard from Mary you have a houseguest?"

Ralph blinked.  "Oh that's right!  I need to take Nightmare Moon to BadAnon."  He shrugged.  "She's definitely a villain, but I have no idea from what game.  I figured they could tell me."

"You sure she's from another game?" Felix asked.  "She could be a glitch in the program."

"If she is, she won't get past the portal," Ralph replied.  "But somehow I doubt it.  I mean, she doesn't seem to be very-"

Blue data bits swirled into solidity as Nightmare Moon teleported into Ralph's hand in an effect very similar in appearance to Vanellope's glitch.  "I'm hungry!" she complained.

Ralph blinked.  "Then again..."

"Well gee whillikers!" Felix cooed, standing on tip toe to try and reach over and pet her.  "Aren't you just the cutest little thing I ever did-Yowch!"

Nightmare Moon released Felix' finger from her teeth.  "Not cute," she pouted.  "Terrifying conqueror of Darkness and Nightmares."

Felix rubbed his finger.  "Never knew villains came in size adorable," he joked.  He then jumped to the side as Nightmare Moon shot a bolt of blue and black lightning at his feet.  "Little ones are certainly a handful!"

"Almost," Ralph joked as he closed his hand protectively around Nightmare Moon, leaving her head to poke out the top of his fingers like a chihuahua in a purse.  "Though you'd better get used to it.  With how you and Calhoun have been networking, you may be getting a chibi-custom before too long."

Felix blushed as he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.  "Speaking of, I don't wanna be late to meet her.  You catching the same train?"

"Sure am," Ralph replied.  "Come on, Moony."

Nightmare Moon glowered up at Ralph with an adorable scowl until he grinned at her and booped her muzzle with one massive finger.





Ralph kept an eye on Nightmare Moon as they rode the train to the Power Strip Central Station.  After the abilities she'd demonstrated, he was rather surprised she passed out of the game without issue.  Plainly, she wasn't a glitch.

Her eyes popped adorably as she caught sight of Central Station.  Her head swung back and forth as she took it all in, making Ralph chuckle.  "First time seeing anything like this?"

"A palace like this for a train station?" she marveled.  "What are the castles like?"

As they passed through gate to the main station, the alarm signaling extra screening went off.

"Monster!" Nightmare Moon screamed out, teleporting out of Ralph's hand to the top of his head as she shot lightning bolts at the area around her.

"Whoa, easy Moony!" Ralph ordered.  "It's just the Surge Protector!"  As she stopped firing, he glanced around nervously.  Most of the sprites around had pulled back, and were looking at him somewhat fearfully.  However, several female sprites were plainly finding Nightmare adorable.

The Surge Protector took shape in light beside them.  "Routine random sec-"

Nightmare spun and blasted the Surge Protector projection with a blast of lightning.  As it dissolved and reformed, nearly half of the sprites in the station burst into spontaneous applause.  Nightmare blinked and grinned as she heard the applause.

The Surge Protector projection glowered as it reformed.  "That was hardly necessary," he stated calmly.  "It's just the routine random selection for extra screening.  Your name?"

Ralph sighed.  "How many times have we been through-"

"Not you Ralph," the projection interrupted.  "As a member of the anti-viral squad, you auto-clear all security checks."

Ralph blinked.  He'd forgotten about that.  After the Cybugs had invaded Sugar Rush - and then later several games in the arcade at once - a special anti-virus squad was organized whose job was to target, hunt down, and eliminate any rogue viral programs that made it into the games, preventing game crashes.  The team was made up of several heroes and villains from various games, based on their programmed abilities as applied outside their game.  Mostly the selected villains were game-end bosses, as they could patrol even during the day as long as they could make it back to their game on short notice.  "Alright," he replied.  "But then-"

"Name?" the projection demanded, extending to be eye level with Nightmare Moon as she stood atop Ralph's head.

"N-Nightmare Moon."

"Game of origin?"

"...I dunno..."

The Surge Protector raised an eyebrow.  "Excuse me?"

"She just appeared in Fix it Felix Jr. out of nowhere," Ralph explained.  "No idea where she comes from originally.  I know she's a villain, so I was taking her to BadAnon to see if any of the guys there have heard of anything she talks about...like that Equestria place she wants to conquer."

The Surge Protector frowned.  "I'm sorry, but without proper details she will have to be detained-"

"Let her through on my authority," a harshly accented but jovial voice called out.  "Ralph and I will take personal responsibility."

The Surge Protector blinked.  "Special dispensation has been assigned."  The projection winked out.

Ralph sighed in relief as he gently lifted Nightmare Moon off his head.  "Thanks Al," he said in relief.  "If he'd pressed the issue, it wouldn't have been pretty."

A short human sprite with a bald top, large white sideburns that extended out past his ears, a wicked grin, beady eyes, and wearing a white lab coat, grey shirt, and blue slacks smirked up at him.  "Oh, it was my pleasure," he said easily.  "You know how I am about such curiosities.  Won't you introduce us?"

Smiling, Ralph lowered Nightmare Moon down to where he could see her clearly.  "Al, this is Nightmare Moon.  Moony, this is Dr. Albert Wily from Mega Man 3.  He's the head of the Anti-Virus squad, and also a member of BadAnon."

Dr. Wily smiled down at the midnight black filly.  "Well, you are an unusual one, aren't you?  I don't think I've ever seen a sprite like you before...definitely mythology based in origin, given the night theme, and the wings and horn.  Some sort of pegasus/unicorn hybrid perhaps?"

"Going to do some research, Doc?" Ralph asked.

"Not myself, certainly," Wily replied.  "Mythology isn't my area of expertise.  I'll leave it to Uncle over in JCA: Attack of the Shadow Kahn.  He enjoys researching obscure matters, and he owes me a few favors for making sure his game stays plugged in after those reviews that got more players."

"You know Doc, you really aren't supposed to mess with the internet," Ralph pointed out.

"As head of the anti-virus squad, it's my job to keep an eye on the internet connection," Wily countered.  "What I do on the side in the meantime is my business.  Speaking of, am I to assume little Moon means you won't be able to help test out the new Squad equipment tonight?"

"Equipment?" Nightmare Moon asked curiously.

Ralph chuckled.  "I'll still be there," he replied.  "Gotta show her what I do around here.  We're heading to BadAnon right now.  Gonna join us?"

"I haven't missed a meeting since we were plugged in!" Albert replied firmly.

"Which actually kinda confuses me," Ralph pointed out.  "I mean, despite being beaten 9 games out of 10, you seem to really enjoy your role as a villain...so why attend BadAnon?"

Wily chuckled.  "Oh Ralph...that's why I attend."  At Ralph's shocked expression, he smirked.  "I do enjoy my role.  That's why I, personally, don't need BadAnon...which is why I attend.  Not every villain character is so fortunate to enjoy their role.  But if only those who don't enjoy it gather to support each other, all they have is the pessimistic outlook.  I go both to show solidarity, and to show that it's alright to enjoy your role as the bad guy in game without letting it define you out of the game."

"Huh," Ralph replied.  "I never thought of it that way."

"Odd thing to say," Wily replied, "considering it was the story of your own bout with 'going Turbo' that led me to those conclusions and decision once I heard it."

Nightmare Moon glanced back and forth between Wily and Ralph.  "I don't get it," she pointed out.

Wily smirked.  "You know, whenever we get new members in BadAnon now, Clyde takes the time to tell them your story as an inspirational tool, to help the new members come to terms.  Perhaps you'll tell it yourself tonight?"

Ralph blinked in surprise.  "Well...I...I guess I could."  He scratched the back of his head.

"Just the general details," Wily pointed out.  "Assuming we don't immediately find where she's from, the two of us taking personal responsibility for her means you'll have to take care of her in your game.  Might want to save the full story for bed times."

Ralph chuckled.  "I might just do that, Doc," he said as he carried Nightmare Moon to the Pac-Man train.

"I'm still hungry!" Nightmare Moon complained.

Ralph chuckled.  "I'll grab us a double cherry to share while we're in there," he promised, rubbing her under her chin.
> BadAnon
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Nightmare Moon glanced around as they took the train into the Pac Man world.  Once there, she felt quite comfortable as - like Niceland - it was apparently in a state of perpetual night time.  As he'd promised, Ralph took a detour on the way to the center of the maze to grab a double cherry, which he split with her.

Once in the central room, Nightmare Moon glanced around at all the figures there.  Every last one of them looked terrifying, menacing, wicked, or downright evil.  At the same time, however, all of them seemed welcoming and gentle.  They also seemed quite curious about her.

"Welcome back, Ralph," an orange ghost greeted as he wobbled back and forth in the air.  "It's been a while since you've attended, and we have a few new members.  I see you've also brought a new member of your own.  I think a few introductions are in order, since we have our full membership here tonight."  He glanced towards a giant purple man.  "Why don't you start?"

The man lifted his head, as he was too big to actually stand.  "I am Galactus, and I am a bad guy," he proclaimed.

"Hello, Galactus," everyone else chorused.

"I am a world eater, and the villain of Marvel vs. Capcom 3," he explained.  "Though I'm more a final boss than a villain...I only fight the player if they've beaten everyone else.  Beating me is an achievement.  I...I have no story of my own within the game.  I'm just...the final boss."

The orange ghost nodded.  "You've probably got the hardest lot of all of us, Galactus," the ghost replied.  "A bad guy with no game story...very hard.  How do the other characters treat you during off hours?"

Galactus shrugged.  "Not so bad.  They've all got their own things to do during off hours.  They don't make me feel unwelcome or hate on me...but they don't go out of their way to make me feel welcome, either."

"That will pass in time," the ghost replied.  "You're new to the arcade, and it takes some time to adjust after first activation.  But we're glad you came to join us so soon.  We can help you through any hurdles you may encounter.  Feel free to ask us for any help you need."

"Thanks Clyde," Galactus replied.  "Thanks everyone."

The others all responded with positive affirmation.  Clyde then turned his eyes to a green skinned pig-man.

The pig faced warrior stood up.  "I am Ganon, King of Thieves, Lord of Darkness, and I am a bad guy."

"Hello Ganon."

He nodded in response.  "I am the villain of The Legend of Zelda.  Originally released for a home console, it's recently been transferred over to an arcade cabinet to take advantage of the recent surge in popularity of 'retro' games.  In the game, I rule the entire world as the final boss, with near ultimate power...right up until the silent hero kills me, if the player can figure out how."  He chuckled wickedly.  "Like most classic games, the learning curve is rather steep."

"So what brings you to BadAnon so soon after being plugged in?" Clyde asked.

Ganon leaned back in his chair with a sigh.  "I spend most of the game in the final dungeon playing cards with Princess Zelda, who I hold captive for most of the game.  It's nice to relax with others who aren't such goody two shoes."  That got a laugh from everyone.

Clyde chuckled.  "Well, thank you for coming to show your support."  He turned to a large dragon.  "And you?"

The dragon stood up.  "My name's Ridley, and I'm a bad guy."

"Hello Ridley."

Ridley nodded.  "I'm one of the villains of Metroid.  I...basically fight Samus when she shows up in my boss chamber.  That's it."

Clyde nodded.  "And what brings you to BadAnon?" he asked.

"I feel...underutilized," Ridley admitted.  "I mean, I'm a dragon!  Is that really all I'm supposed to be?  A minor hurdle on the Hunter's quest for glory?  It's just so...depressing.  I wish I could be more."

Albert stood up with a smile.  "I'm Dr. Wily, and I'm a bad guy."

"Hello, Dr. Wily."

Albert turned to Ridley.  "In point of fact, your complaint is one I expected in many of the 'retro' games that are being plugged in.  As you may or may not know, I'm head of the anti-viral squad, dedicating to protecting the arcade as a whole from viruses and other such things that threaten the safety and stability of all games.  If you're feeling underutilized in your game, I believe your capabilities would be most useful in our squad.  Swing by later, and see if it's for you."

Ridley scratched his chin thoughtfully.  The idea sounded...intriguing.  "I'll give it a look," he promised.

"Thank you, Albert," Clyde said warmly.  "Your recruitment policies for the anti-viral squad has been a great benefit to many bad guys here in the arcade, and for good guy/bad guy relations during off hours."

Wily shrugged.  "It's just common sense.  You use the best tools for the job, and those I recruit are perfectly programmed for the job at hand."

Robotnik laughed.  "Come now, Albert, you don't expect us to believe you have nothing up your sleeve."

"I would never expect you to assume that, Ivo," Dr. Wily happily replied.  "I just expect you all to accept it's none of your business!"

That got a laugh from everyone.  Clyde then turned to the last new face.  "And how about you young lady?" he asked.  "I'll overlook eating during the meeting this once, since it's your first visit, but please introduce yourself."

Nightmare Moon swallowed her current bite of cherry convulsively, staring around as all eyes were on her as she dripped cherry juice from her entire body.  The cherry was bigger than her, after all...and delicious.  "Umm...I'm Nightmare Moon, Queen of the Night, and...I guess I'm a bad...girl?"

Scattered laughter greeted her statement, followed by, "Hello, Nightmare Moon."

She smiled nervously.  "Well...I think I'm a bad girl.  I...don't actually know what game I'm from...or how game worlds work.  I...know I'm supposed to plunge someplace called Equestria into Eternal Night...and I wanna rule it with an iron hoof...but..."  She shrugged.  "I don't know anything beyond that..."

Startled murmurs went around the group.  Ralph stood up.  "Hi, I'm Ralph, and I'm a bad guy," he said quickly.

"Hi Ralph!" the group chorused eagerly.

"Anyway, about Moony's story," he began.  "See, she showed up in my game just last night.  We don't know from where or when.  "Al and I have taken responsibility for her, and we know she's most likely a villain.  If anyone has any ideas where she might be from so we can get her back to her own game, that'd be great.  If not, we'd like you all to keep your eyes and ears open for clues...and in the meantime, help her feel welcome."

There were general murmurs around the group.  Apparently, no one knew anything about where Nightmare Moon might have come from.

"I'm Zangief and I'm bad guy," a scantily clad human said, standing up.

"Hi, Zangief."

"Little Moony, no worry too much," he assured her.  "We all keep eyes and ears open to find where you come from.  In meantime, we be your family, so you not feel alone or scared.  Ralph is big guy, kinda scary in game or battle...but has biggest heart of anyone here!  He good Daddy for you until we find your home."

"Now wait a minute," Ralph spoke up.  "I'm happy to take care of her, but I don't know about Da-"

"You take good care of little pony duckling, Ralph, okay?" Zangief interrupted.

Ralph blinked, unsure how to respond as Nightmare Moon climbed into his lap and curled up, her horn glowing as his hand was yanked over to cover her like a blanket.  "Yeah...yeah, I'll take good care of her."

"Good on you, Ralph," Satan said, clapping him warmly on the shoulder.





Ralph slowly carried the slumbering filly between his hands out of the meeting.  "Guess we'll have to delay trying out the new gear," Ralph pointed out.

"Don't worry about it," Albert replied.  "Arcade's closed tomorrow anyway.  Besides, I promised my son we'd meet at Tappers for a drink and getting to know you."

Ralph chuckled.  "Say hi to Zero for me.  See if he'll join the squad."

"Will do!" Wily replied, heading off to Tappers while whistling.
> Tools
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After eating their pixel pies the next morning, Ralph beckoned to Moony as he opened the door.  "Come on, Moony!" he called happily.  "We need to get to the range to test out the Doc's new equipment!"  He started to head for the tram to Central Station, but paused when he noticed an absence of hoofsteps following him.  Turning back, he saw Nightmare staring up at him.  "What's up?" he asked in confusion.

Nightmare Moon traced her hoof in slow circles on the floor of the small house.  "The big naked guy...Xander, Xavier, Xehanort..."

"Zangief," Ralph corrected.

"Right, him," Nightmare replied.  "He said...that you were my Daddy.  ...are you?"

Ralph thought about it for a time.  It was one thing to agree to take care of a homeless sprite, or to take responsibility for her.  Agreeing to be a parent to her, as though she were his chibi-custom.  He honestly didn't know if he was ready for such responsibility, or if he was suited for the role, or the expectations that came with it.

However, seeing the little pony's eyes starting to water as he hesitated, he knew there was only one response his heart would allow.  It was as built into him as his programming, a part of his code that went beyond ones and zeroes.  Kneeling down in front of her, he covered her back with one massive hand.  "If you need me to be," he replied simply.

She looked up at him, the watering of her eyes turning to tears of joy.  Lunging forward, she wrapped her forelegs around as much of his neck as she could manage.  "...Daddy," she whispered, trying the word out.

Ralph returned the embrace as best he could without crushing her, gently clasping his hands around her and rubbing her back.

After a time, Nightmare clambered out of his grip and up his arm.  She came to a halt as she braced herself on top of his head.  "Onward to...um..."  She glanced down at Ralph.  "Where are we going, Daddy?" she asked.

Ralph chuckled.  "To the shooting range in Hero's Duty," he replied.  "We have some of the Doc's new gear to test out."

"Hero's...Duty?" Nightmare asked.

Ralph gave a confirming nod.  "That's the name of the game, yeah."

Nightmare wrinkled her nose in disgust.  "I'm staying up here, then."

"It's not that kind of duty!" Ralph argued.  After a moment, he chuckled.  "Soon as we're done there, I'm taking you to Sugar Rush.  You and Vanellope are going to get along famously."

Nightmare tilted her head.  "Is Vanellope gonna be my Mama?" she asked.

Ralph's eyes widened in panic at the thought of the kind of gossip that would send through the arcade.  "More like a cousin," he said quickly.  He hoped Vanellope didn't mind him saying that, but the last thing he needed was Moony trying to play match maker between him and someone not much bigger than Nightmare herself.  ...she'd probably enjoy the chaos that would cause.

"Okay," Moony replied innocently, showing Ralph that he had indeed correctly interpreted the little horse sprite's motives.

"Come on, then," Ralph said easily.  "Let's go."





As they entered Hero's Duty, Nightmare looked around at the dark skies, the desolate rocky landscape, the howling winds, and the foreboding tower rising out of the center of the plain, the peak seeming to hover over the dead land like a watchful eye.  "I think I like it here," she commented dryly, stretching her wings.

"That mean you're going to get down from my head?" Ralph asked jokingly.

"Ride on, horsey-Daddy!" she proclaimed in response, lightly boxing his ears with her hind hooves.

Chuckling, Ralph headed over to where several members of the anti-viral squad were waiting.  "Sorry we're late!" he called out.  "Had a bit of an emotional morning."

Albert chuckled as he beckoned them over.  "No matter, Ralph.  Now that you're here, you can introduce Nightmare Moon to the veteran members, as well as the new ones."

A tall blond woman Nightmare didn't recognize stepped forward.  "Sergeant Tamora Jean Calhoun, head of dispatch and weapons manufacture, at your service," she told her, saluting respectfully.

Nightmare glanced between her and Felix - who was standing nearby - before glancing back at Ralph.  "Is she the one Felix is networking with?" she asked innocently, despite her wicked grin.

Both Calhoun and Felix glanced away in varying degrees of visible embarrassment as many of the others laughed.  Albert chuckled.  "At any rate, as you can see, Ridley has decided to join us.  Also, Samus - the hero from Ridley's game - is also eager to join during off hours.  From her game, she is well used to fighting a large variety of foes and utilizing an assortment of weaponry."

The armored warrior nodded in confirmation, remaining silent.

"That's a her?" Nightmare asked in shock.

Samus promptly flipped her the bird with the hand that wasn't an arm cannon.

"Hey!" Ralph complained.  "Don't do that around Moony!  She's only a kid!"

Nightmare was giggling, however.  "I like her!" she said happily.

"Anyone else showing up to this fun fest?" Calhoun demanded angrily.

"No," Albert replied.  "Link prefers to use his own arsenal, and none of the others who have joined the squad are built to use weaponry or armor.  At any rate, it's time to test the new gear.  Who has the highest health bar?"

Nervously, Ridley raised his clawed hand.

"Excellent!" Albert proclaimed, rubbing his hand.  "There's an armor suit over there.  It's designed to adapt to any bipedal frame, which yours qualifies as.  Put it on, and we'll test how well it works against standard weaponry like that the Cybugs or other viral enemies are likely to have access to.  And don't worry if you take some damage, we have plenty of health packs from here.  They'll fix you right up."

"I didn't sign up to be a glorified punching bag," Ridley grumbled as he put the armor on.

"Isn't that what you are in your game?" Calhoun pointed out.

"Exactly!" Ridley snapped back as Samus flashed Calhoun a thumbs up.

"Alright, first the basic weaponry," Albert ordered, cutting off the jocularity.  "Calhoun, your standard machine gun.  Aim only at the torso."

Nodding, the soldier hefted her machine gun and opened fire.

After a minute, Albert examined the damage to the armor and Ridley's health.  "Hmm...the armor's holding up well...and it looks like it cuts overall damage to 10% of normal, rounded.  Barely took five damage from that assault."  He stepped back.  "Rockets!"

"Wait, what-"

Ridley's response was cut off as Calhoun fired a rocket straight into his torso where it exploded.

Albert examined the results.  "Hmm...splash damage is still a problem, since the armor doesn't cover the entire body."  He applied a med-pack power up.  "But it does self-repair in response to power-ups.  We'll have to test its response to others later.  Samus, your arsenal?"

"So now I stand here and let her shoot me?" Ridley grumbled.  "At least in the game, I get to shoot back."

"The live fire range test is later," Albert explained.

Rolling his eyes, Ridley reared up and allowed Samus to fire her various weaponry at him, with Alfred recording the results after each volley, and applying med-packs when they were needed.

"Alright," Wily said finally.  "Now it's time to see how it holds up to physical attacks.  Ralph, punch him."

"Now wait just a-"

Ralph punched Ridley in the torso.  He tried to be more specific, but his closed fist covered the entire region.  Ridley fell back, breath whistling through his mouth.  "Damn that hurt!" he barked out.

Albert was at his side instantly, taking readings.  "Hmm...Ralph's breaking code for his punches seems to have effected the code of the armor, allowing more force than estimated to get through."  He quickly applied a med-pack.  "Almost out of those."

"And I'm done being a punching bag," Ridley growled angrily.

"Fair enough," Wily allowed.

"Out of curiosity, why haven't we been testing these on me?" Calhoun asked.  "We're in my game.  If I take lethal damage, I'll just respawn."

Wily blinked.  "...I hadn't thought of that."

"Oh, come on!" Ridley complained angrily, yanking the armor off.

Smirking, Calhoun pulled the armor on.  "What's next?" she asked as it conformed to her.

"Can I shoot her?" Nightmare asked eagerly.

Wily chuckled.  "Alright.  I've been meaning to see how your abilities effect-"

Nightmare Moon focused her magic in her horn and shot off a bolt of blue and black lightning.  It zig-zagged through the air and punched straight through the armor and Calhoun, causing her sprite to vanish.  She respawned back near the entrance before making her way back to the group, rubbing the point of impact with an unreadable explanation on her face.

"You alright, honey pie?" Felix asked worriedly.

"I'm fine," she reassured him.  "Point of impact still hurts, though.  That's...new."

Wily, however, was examining the discarded armor.  "Felix, you'd better hit Calhoun with your hammer, just to be safe."

"Why's that, Doc?" Felix asked, even as he did so.  Calhoun took a breath of relief as the phantom pain faded.

"Because that lightning didn't just damage the sprite of the armor," Wily replied, awe in his voice.  "It erased a tiny bit of its code where it punched through, damaging the code around it."

Nightmare Moon glanced around in confusion at the shocked expressions on the others faces.  "What's that mean?" she asked.

"Well, among other things, it makes you an ideal member of the anti-viral squad once you're properly equipped," Wily pointed out.

Nightmare shrugged.  She didn't fully understand what was being said, but that part sounded like praise, which she eagerly lapped up.





Unnoticed near the top of the tower, a cloaked figure clung to the outer wall, watching carefully.  He had a long way to go to reclaim what had been taken from him, and if he wasn't mistaken, the little filly could be a key to that.  He would just have to be careful and patient.

He quickly pulled the dark cloak tighter around him.  His arm had briefly slipped out, and anyone with sharp enough eyes coded would have caught sight of him.  The candy stripes did not blend in with this world...but he would work on that.

He would have his revenge...
> Shut Up And Drive
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The live fire test went down with other members of Calhoun's unit recording data.  Wily focused his attention on trying to analyze Nightmare Moon's abilities.  However, this proved difficult, as the 'decoding' aspect seemed to be continuous at this stage, and any device he built and coded to analyze her abilities became irreparably damaged by the analysis, leaving no data to be examined.

Eventually, he was forced to fall back on what his own senses were able to tell him, speculation based on what few details Moony was able to provide, and the research Uncle had provided for him.  The conclusions he was able to reach this way were unsatisfying, not to mention disturbing.

Eventually, he brought his observations to a halt as Moony started getting irritable.  "The Queen of the Night hungers!" she proclaimed angrily.  "We desire sustenance, and we desire it now!"

"Ralph!" Albert called out.  "I think you'd better take her home.  She's complaining of being hungry."  He scratched his chin.  "Which is strange, since sprites don't actually need to eat..."

"I can get her some food in Sugar Rush," Ralph pointed out, scooping her up.  "I want to introduce her to Vanellope, anyway."

"See you later, Ralph!" Felix called, waving him goodbye just before getting hit by a rocket to the torso.  As soon as he landed, he whacked himself upside the head with his golden hammer, fixing all damage.

Chuckling, Ralph waved goodbye to everyone else.  "Say goodbye to our friends, Moony," he instructed.

"Fight for your Queen's entertainment, peasants!" Nightmare proclaimed, startling laughter from everyone who didn't suffer from SHS(1).





Nightmare Moon's eyes nearly popped out of her head as she witnessed Sugar Rush.  Sure, it was bright and colorful, which didn't really appeal to her tastes.  However, given how hungry she was, something else of much greater importance caught her attention.

"The entire world is made of candy!" she shrieked happily, leaping into the scenery to begin filling her belly.

"Now don't overeat!" Ralph called out a warning.  "We've got a long way to go, and you can't race on a full stomach!"

Moony lifted her head from a pool of chocolate she had been slurping from, the brown ooze dripping off her face.  "Race?"

"Yeah, Sugar Rush is a racing game," Ralph replied.  "I figured after we met up with Vanellope, we could make you your own kart to use, and then do a quick no items race just for fun."

Nightmare grinned widely at the idea.  "But why no items?"

"Because you aren't from this game, and I don't want to risk you turning permanently into a slice of pie just because a scoop of ice cream lands on you," Ralph explained.  "After all, we don't have your game of origin to reset your code with."

Moony shrugged.  "Fair point."  She then dashed off looking for something else to eat.

"Moony!" Ralph complained, racing to keep up with her.

After a time, another voice startled him into running faster.  "Hey!  Quit eating my racer you stupid horse!"

"I am no stupid horse!" Moony countered.  "I am Nightmare Moon, Queen of the Night!"

"Well it's daytime, so get off my wheels before I a la mode you!"

"Brave words from a knave!" Moony shouted.  "I shall smite thee with magic beyond thy ken!"

"Vanellope!  Moony!  Cut it out!" Ralph shouted out, rushing to the scene of the argument.  Vanellope and Nightmare Moon were giving each other death glares as Moony was gripping one of the wheels on Vanellope's race cart, looking ready to rip it off and eat it.

"Ralphy!" Vanellope complained.  "Get this stupid horse off my racer!"

"Daddy!" Moony complained at the same time.  "Make the stupid girl give me the tasty food!"

Both froze as they heard each others words.

"Daddy?"

"Ralphy?"

Ralph groaned.  "Moony, this is Vanellope, the friend I wanted to introduce you to.  Vanellope, this is Nightmare Moon...my daughter."  He braced himself for the awkwardness that was sure to come.

Both females backed off, looking embarrassed.  "Talk about bad first impressions," Vanellope joked.

"Well, if you'd just let me take a nibble..."

"Hey, Ralph helped me make this car!  Nobody's taking a bite out of it on my watch!"

Moony hung her head.  "...sorry..."

Vanellope chuckled.  "I know it's been a while, Ralph, but I wasn't expecting this kind of changes!  I mean, isn't it the woman's job in the relationship to be out of contact for a while and then show up with the unexpected child?"

"Wha-bu-I-" Ralph stammered, her question catching him so off guard that all he could do was babble incoherently.

Moony looked up at Vanellope with doleful eyes.  "Are...are you my Mommy?" she asked sorrowfully.

Vanellope chuckled.  "Sure, I'll be your Mommy!  Makes sense for a Princess to mother a Queen."  Reaching over, she gently scratched Nightmare Moon behind one ear.

As Ralph groaned in frustration, Moony giggled.  "Daddy's funny when he gets verklempt, isn't he?"

Vanellope giggled.  "I like you already, squirt!"  She began scratching just a little more firmly.

Moony closed her eyes in pleasure.  "Fingernails..." she moaned happily.

Ralph shook his head ruefully.  "Well, as long as you two are getting along," he allowed.

"Hop in, Moony!" Vanellope said happily.  "We're gonna make you a racer!  Then we're going to see if you're as much of a racer as your Mom!"

Squealing happily, Moony hopped into the kart with Vanellope, who promptly gunned the engine.  Groaning, Ralph took off after them.  Thankfully, the Candy Constabulary gave him a lift before he fell too far behind.





At the factory, Vanellope gestured around at the kart options.  "Pick the design you think will suit you best!" she said happily.

Grinning, Moony ran towards one of the less used designs, nearly flat with flaring wings.

"Hmm," Vanellope mused.  "Low max speed, high acceleration and drift, low weight, and boostable...interesting choice."  She raced in after Nightmare, gesturing to the controls.  "Now get all the good stuff into the batter and none of the bad!"

Smiling, Nightmare energized her horn, grabbing every ingredient as they came out the chutes and sending the good stuff into the bowl and the bad stuff into the trash.  "I did the right stuff, right?"

"That's right!" Vanellope proclaimed.  "Now you need to keep it at the right temperature while baking!"

Grinning, Nightmare pumped the bellows to maintain the temperature until the oven went ding.

Ralph came into the factory just as they got to the toppings.  "Four wheels!" Vanellope proclaimed.

Grinning, Nightmare fired off the gun to drop in the four wheels.  Turning to the frosting, she dumped dark blue blueberry and black super dark chocolate.  She then dropped in a bunch of tiny white sprinkles.

"Here's your racer!" the factory voice proclaimed as the time ran out, and the door opened.

The machine that rolled out was sleek and smooth, stark contrast to many racers that had come out before.  The bottom and wheels were a very dark blue, while the top was near pitch black and speckled with the tiny white sprinkles.  The afterburners flared out from the back as the engine purred.  Yellow gumdrop headlights looked like glowing eyes.  With the flared wings on the sides, it looked like a chunk of the night sky had come to life as a manta ray to swim onto the race track.

"Whoa..." Vanellope breathed as she stared at the race kart.

"That's...wow..." Ralph admitted, staring at it.

Nightmare Moon grinned.  "I love it!" she proclaimed, cackling wickedly.  "I shall call it...the Dream Eater!"

Vanellope grinned.  "Let's see how you race!"  She raced to her own kart.

Cackling again, Moony leapt into the Dream Eater, her horn glowing as she manipulated the stick, pushing the pedals with her hind hooves as she clutched the steering wheel with her fore hooves.

"From here to Cola Mountain!" Ralph proclaimed, drawing the course on a nearby map.  "I'll meet you there!"

With that, the pair revved off into a race.








(1) Silent Hero Syndrome: Some hero sprites are, unfortunately, programmed to never speak for some reason.  Within their games, this generally causes no problems as the world around them is programmed to take it into account.  Outside their own game, however, this causes a great deal of problems in communication.  However, most arcade residents do their best to be understanding and welcoming of such sprites, finding a way to communicate with them, mostly via charades, and occasionally written dialogue.
> It's In the Code
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Vanellope paid close attention to Nightmare's racing style as they drove.  While it was a no items race, there were still boosters and other such aids and obstacles scattered throughout the mapped course, which showed on their windshields as an HUD - a new addition to the game courtesy of Albert Wily's coding genius after reverse engineering what Turbo had done.  It didn't do anything for the player during gameplay, since they got a map of the course anyway, but it did wonders for the sprites during off game races, or simple maneuvering.

The first thing Vanellope noticed was about the Dream Eater, though.  The classification of a car as 'boostable' wasn't fully understood, either by players or by the sprites.  As a result, few racers made use of karts with that stat, as they tended to have low racing stats in other areas.  And at first, it seemed like a foolish decision, as Vanellope's more powerful engine was able to get a huge lead right at first...right up until Nightmare hit her first boost pad.

Not only did she get a larger boost from the pad than the average kart, easily eclipsing Vanellope's lead, but the exceptionally light weight of her kart meant that she lost that acceleration much slower than any other kart.  Maintaining that boosted speed for that much longer gave her a serious advantage as long as she didn't crash into anything.

And then the high drift quotient showed its advantage.  Rather than braking to make turns, Nightmare let her kart drift to the point of spinning out on a couple tight turns, releasing the throttle as the spin started and gunning it as she began pointing the right way.  Because of the light weight of her kart, most of the spinning happened in mid air, and gunning the engine triggered the afterburners in the back, allowing her to change direction without losing anywhere near as much speed as most racers would on the turn.  While it still reduced her back to her normal max speed, it sill put her at a major advantage over other karts that had to brake to make such turns.  The lighter weight also meant that the slightest turn of the wheel let the kart dodge around obstacles.

Vanellope quickly understood the nature of the Dream Eater.  It was an expert kart.  In the hands of a beginner, it would be difficult to control, hard to use, and seem like a poorly designed car.  In the hands of a pro, however - or the hooves of its designer, apparently - it was next to unbeatable.

Despite Vanellope's best efforts, after that first boost pad Nightmare maintained a commanding lead throughout most of the race, especially the uphill portion where Vanellope lost a lot more speed than Nightmare, both due to the comparative weights of the karts and the riders.





Having taken a shorter route to Cola Mountain, Ralph made his way into the incomplete bonus level hidden within, the place Vanellope once called home.  Glancing around, he saw not much had changed since his last visit here.  The track was still there.  The Mentos stalactites still hung down over the bubbling cola lake.  An oversized kart was parked in front of Vanellope's old lean to-

"Wait, what?"  Ralph turned to examine the kart.  It was definitely not there the last time he was here.  It was much bigger than any of the karts he'd seen in Sugar Rush before.  Far too big for any of the sprites to drive.  In fact, it was nearly big enough for a Mario Kart game, sized for somebody like Bowser or Donkey Kong...

"...or me," Ralph marveled as he continued to examine the kart.  Aside from its massive size, it also was definitely not matching the general theme of karts in Sugar Rush.  It looked to be made of bricks...until Ralph realized they were gingerbread, held together with frosting mortar.  The wheels were black licorice tires around chocolate rims.  On the front were two spikes jutting out in place of headlights.  When he touched the controls, they glowed in the dim light of the cavern.  The controls were also built far sturdier than most karts, looking like they could handle even his clumsy hands and feet without breaking.  Checking under the hood, he saw the massive engine purring like a kitten.  "Is this kart...mine?"

At that moment, Dream Eater barreled through the entrance to the track, hitting a jump and clearing the cola lake as Nightmare cackled happily.  "Victory!" she proclaimed happily as she came to a halt.

Vanellope pulled in shortly after.  "That filly's a natural racer!" she proclaimed breathlessly.  "She really knows her stuff on the track!  Oh Ralphy, I see you found your kart!"

"It's...it's really for me?" he asked wonderingly, staring at the kart in awe.

"Yup!" Vanellope said happily, hopping out of her own kart and walking over.  "Wily helped work the code so I could make the oversized kart, and I designed it based on how you work.  He even managed to code it so even you can't break it accidentally-"

Vanellope was cut off as Ralph pulled her into a tight hug.  "Thank you," he whispered, tears in his eyes.

Vanellope returned the embrace for a time, then pushed away.  "When did you get so mushy?" she joked.  "Come on, test it out!"

"Another race!" Moony asked eagerly.

"Not just yet," Vanellope replied as Ralph climbed into his kart, surprised it actually took his weight without rocking back and forth.  "First we need to make a brief stopover at the palace."





The trio drove slowly to the palace, Moony enjoying the scenery as Vanellope pointed it out, Ralph enjoying having a vehicle designed for him that he could actually drive.  Other racers waved as they passed by, and he waved back.  He was almost sad to see the palace looming as they reached the gates.  "So what are we doing here?" he asked.

"You'll see!" Vanellope replied, driving them straight into the throne room and past the throne.  "Bring your karts!"

Confused, Ralph and Nightmare followed.

She led them to a side path filled with glowing blue cables in a pure white room.  At the end of the path was a massive Nintendo controller.  Walking right up to it, Vanellope began pressing buttons on it.  "Come on guys!" she called as she input up up down down left right left right B A start.

The controller rotated, and the door opened into a massive blackness.  "There should be a detachable plaque on the dashboard of your racers," she called.  "And some rope in the trunk of yours, Ralph.  Tie us off to the throne and come on!"

Confused, both Ralph and Nightmare obeyed her instructions.  Once they were all tied off, Vanellope led them into the vast blackness before them in a realm without hard-coded rules.  Ralph didn't take too well to the lack of gravity, getting dizzy.  Moony, however, flowed through the blackness as smoothly as a dolphin in water or a bird in the air.

Vanellope led them to a massive cloud of connected data blocks.  "This is the code of Sugar Rush," she explained, approaching a specific cluster.  "This is how Turbo altered the game's code to take control."

"Then what are we doing here?" Ralph demanded nervously.

Vanellope grinned widely.  "Well, remember that rule about dying outside of your own game being permanent?"  She reached a block labeled 'Secret Characters'.  "Well...Wily's been working on a workaround for that."  She gestured to the blank blocks that diverged from it.  "Touch these.  Moony, you touch this one with one hoof and the plaque."  She gestured to a blank block that ran through a connector entitled 'Expert cleared with all racers'.

Confused, Nightmare did as she was bid.

The block rippled, and text appeared on it.

Nightmare Moon
Dream Eater

"Now you're recognized as a racer in Sugar Rush," Vanellope said proudly, "complete with restore code for power up damage!"

"That's incredible!" Ralph said excitedly.  "Is this one mine?" he asked, reaching for another.

"One of these," Vanellope corrected, gesturing to one of the blank blocks connected through 'Locked'.  "We don't want you getting unlocked during gameplay and then not be available, right?"

"Good point," Ralph said, letting the block scan him.

Wreck-it Ralph
Bull Dozer

"Oh, I like that kart name!" Ralph said eagerly.

"You two hit the track!" Vanellope called out.  "I'll meet you there once I'm sure all the code connections worked."

Smiling happily, the two swam back through the void to the entrance.

Vanellope looked back at the code, frowning.  After a time, once it was plain Ralph and Moony were well out of range, a unique sound filled the air.  She turned as a blue and yellow saucer approached through the void.  "Doctor."

The saucer opened as Wily stepped out, anchored to his saucer.  "It went quite well, I'd say," he commented, approaching the code blocks.

"I don't like not telling them," Vanellope pointed out.  "It feels like I'm betraying Ralph."

"Vanellope, you rule here," Wily explained.  "You're responsible for the safety of your game, and of its citizens.  You know that means sometimes making hard choices."

"I still don't see why we can't just tell them," Vanellope countered.

"Do you want to tell Ralph that Nightmare Moon isn't a sprite in the traditional sense of the word?" Wily demanded.  "Do you want to tell him that she could single handedly destroy the code of the entire arcade if she generates too much power?  Do you want him to think he's raising a monster?"

Vanellope frowned.  "But...she's not a monster..."

"No, she is," Wily said bluntly, copying Nightmare Moon's data block and collapsing it.  "But that doesn't mean she's bad.  She can be good.  She can be worthwhile.  But that doesn't make her any less dangerous or capable of destruction.  And I know I'm not the only one to realize this."  Collapsing the code block copy, he turned it into a data file.  He approached another code block.

Dr. Albert Wily
The Saucer

He put the data file into the code block.  In the saucer, a data file containing a full analysis of Nightmare Moon's capabilities in code format appeared.  "And we need to know exactly what she's capable of," Wily continued, "so she doesn't destroy us all by accident, just because she gets scared."

Vanellope sighed.  She knew he was right, just as she'd known he was right when he'd set this all up with her last night after he'd left Tappers.  "Being a Princess - or a President - isn't as fun as the stories make it out to be," she grumbled.

"No, it's not," Wily agreed.  "Good people rarely enjoy the job, and you'd have to be evil to want all the hard decisions it comes with."  He grinned.  "And now you know why so many bad guys are would be conquerors."

Chuckling ruefully, Vanellope returned to the castle, composing herself and focusing on enjoying a race with Ralph and Moony.

Wily quickly made his way through the code realms, the underside of the games and Grand Central Station, making his way back to his own game, where he had the tech to analyze the data he had acquired.
> Families
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The three karts pulled up to the starting line of the main race track of Sugar Rush, preparing for a big race between them.  "Is everybody ready?" Vanellope asked eagerly.

"The Queen shall be victorious!" Nightmare proclaimed loudly.

"I'm gonna wreck this track!" Ralph chimed in eagerly.

"Alright!" Vanellope proclaimed.  "Let's hit it!"

Sour Bill stood in the announcer block.  "Ready..." he stated in his monotone.  "Set...Go!"

The three karts took off down the track.

As the lightest kart, Dream Eater started out in the lead with its high acceleration.  Vanellope's kart, "The Precious Gift", was firmly in second, being an overall balanced kart with its glitch bonus.  Ralph's kart, "Bull Dozer", was in last at first.  As the heaviest kart, it had the lowest acceleration of any kart.  However, it had both the highest max speed and could break through most of the course obstacles without slowing, as long as it hit them head on.  Between its high traction and the speed boost it got for smashing something, he was able to keep close once it got to the giant gumballs.

Two other things also became plain to balance out the discrepancy between the karts.  Nearly all of Sugar Rush's attack items had to be launched in a given direction to target an enemy kart.  Due to its small size and light weight, however, Dream Eater's launch range was half that of other karts, and it suffered recoil from launching, pushing the kart in the opposite direction the item was fired in.  When impacted by an item or course obstacle, Dream Eater also took 15% longer than other karts to recover and drive normally again.  However, between the light weight and high drift and control stats, it was far easier to avoid such things if one knew how.  Bull Dozer, on the other hand, had twice the normal launch range, and recovered 15% faster from item damage.

However, with the inclusion of items in the race, Vanellope's experience at using them proved the most advantageous, not to mention her familiarity with the track itself.  As a result, she came in first.  Ralph came in second, due to the sheer power of his kart, while Nightmare came in close after him, but still in last.

"Great race, guys!" Vanellope called happily as she leapt out of her kart.

"That was real fun!" Ralph said proudly.  "I can see why you love racing so much!"

Nightmare, however, pouted furiously.  "Cheaters!" she grumbled.

Ralph and Vanellope glanced at each other.  "Think we should have gone easier on her?" Vanellope asked.

"Wouldn't know how to," Ralph replied.  "I was as much of a beginner as her.  More so, since she was at least familiar with the kart controls."

Turning, Nightmare blew them both a raspberry before driving off in a huff.

Vanellope sighed.  "Forgot we were dealing with a little kid here," she admitted.  "Shoulda let her win."

"Maybe," Ralph allowed.  "But for right now, I need to go catch up with her and talk to her."  Getting back into his kart, he drove to a boost pad before taking off after her.

Vanellope rolled her eyes.  "Didn't she say I was Mom?" she demanded, hopping back in her kart and driving after them.





Ralph drove easily through the countryside, Bull Dozer boosting speed every time he crashed through something, following whatever trail he could find of Nightmare and Dream Eater.  Unfortunately, the light kart didn't actually leave much of a trail, and he was forced to rely on other ideas.

"Let's see...if I were a filly sprite with strange powers...no, that's the wrong way to think," he muttered to himself.  "If I were a little kid born of the night, where would I go if I was upset?  Hmm...someplace dark and quiet where no one was likely to bother me..."  He suddenly grinned.  "I know where she went."  Turning, he set his course for the gate back to Grand Central Station.

After a time, he was in the Pac-Man maze, following a path blank of pellets.  Before long he found Nightmare pouting in one corner, her face buried in a melon, munching away.  "Moony?"

She turned away, still pouting.

Walking up, he sat beside her as the shadows of the maze wrapped around them.  "You wanna talk?" he asked softly.

Nightmare was silent for a time.  "...why didn't I win?" she demanded petulantly.

"It was your first race with items," Ralph explained.  "Without any experience with them, you were at a huge disadvantage."

"But I won before..." she complained.

"That was a no items race," Ralph explained.  "Also, it was mostly uphill.  You had a massive advantage there.  Here, Vanellope had the advantage of more experience, both with the course and with items."

"But...but you beat me too," Nightmare countered.  "And you had even less experience than me."

Ralph chuckled.  "My kart's built around breaking stuff.  I'm an expert at that.  I got bonus speed for breaking the course."

Nightmare pawed the ground with her hoof.  "So...it was just stacked against me?"

"Kinda, yeah," he replied.  "You lacked the one thing that really decides races like that: experience.  Get a few more item races under your belt, and you'll get back to owning us."  He tickled her under the chin.  "Also, be a bit more careful launching items.  You recoiled yourself off the course three times."

Moony stuck her tongue out at him, blowing another raspberry.  However, it was plain she was cheering up.

"Come on," he said.  "Let's go back.  Vanellope's probably worried about you, and she can't leave her own game."

Nodding, Nightmare walked with Ralph back to Sugar Rush.





Wily pushed his empty drink mug back as he stared down at the data before him.  No matter how many times he read it, it didn't get any easier to accept or wrap his mind around.

Nightmare Moon was not a sprite.  She was manifesting as one, but the full nature of her being went a great deal beyond that.  She wasn't born of video games, or even of the internet.  She came from somewhere beyond that, and had somehow entered the world of data.  Not only that, but her full magical nature couldn't be completely expressed as code.

And she wasn't going to stay small and adorable forever.  That aspect of her functioned like a chibi-custom.  As best as he was able to determine, there would be three stages of growth minimum.  She was currently in her first stage, and there would be at least two more.  He couldn't begin to understand what would cause those two growth stages, but he could see that her ability set would drastically alter with each one, and she'd be constantly aware of everything she could do in each stage.  Thankfully, as far as he could tell, she'd demonstrated the full range of her abilities of this stage already: warping, her lightning, and a shield she'd crafted once.

"So how's it look, Pops?" Zero asked, setting his own mug down.

Albert sighed.  "...this would be so much easier if I were actually evil," he grumbled.

Zero raised an eyebrow.  "You aren't?"

Chuckling, Albert shook his head.  "Not technically.  Chaotic neutral at worst.  In my own game, I want what's best for the world.  My perception of that is just completely different from what others perceive it to be."

Zero raised his eyebrow.  "Really?" he asked in disbelief.

"Read the manga," Albert replied, chuckling.  "My goal was for robots to be treated as equals to humans, rather than treated as disposable tools."

"So...your goal was the Reploid society I'm a part of?"  Zero's wide grin was telling.

Wily rolled his eyes.  "Yes, I get the irony.  My ultimate weapon towards that goal - the Wily Virus - is the thing causing the greatest discord in the very society I wanted to create.  Very funny, son."

Zero chuckled.  "So how would this be easier if you were evil?" he asked.

Albert sighed as Tapper poured him another mug.  "Because I could just make the tough decisions for the good of the arcade.  Because I wouldn't care about who I hurt in the process.  ...because I wouldn't feel guilty for even thinking about it every time I looked into those adorable cat eyes..."

Zero wrapped his arm comfortingly around his old man, doing what he could to make things easier.

Wily rested his hand on his son's.  "...thank you."

They sat in silence for a time.  "...so," Zero finally spoke up, "why the boob lights?"

"Do not start that again!" Albert growled through his laughter.
> Adapting to Game
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Over the next couple of weeks, Ralph and Nightmare developed a habitual schedule for their activities.  At first wake up, they would each enjoy their power-up pies.  Afterwards, Ralph would head to his position in the game, and Nightmare would choose a game to play in during the day.  As Wily had mentioned, as long as Nightmare didn't do anything destructive and played by the rules of the game she was entering - and copied her data to a local code block, players would merely think she was an Easter Egg in the code.  In anticipation of this, Wily had already programmed in the 'Easter Egg' code blocks in several of the games, and Nightmare had uploaded herself into all of them.

At Wily's recommendation, Nightmare stuck to a schedule of the games she went to on a daily basis, so it didn't look completely random.  On Mondays, she would enter Marvel vs Capcom 3, where she would either sit in the background of several stages throwing things at the battling characters, or be an extra character to be chosen.  She wasn't entirely fond of letting the player dictate her actions - especially as they could never figure out the button combos for her magic - but her small sprite size meant that she was outside most of the other characters' damage zones.

On Tuesday, she raced in Sugar Rush.  Dream Eater quickly became a user favorite over the next few weeks, as it allowed them to really show off their skills behind the wheel.  Not only that, but it was noticeably different from every other kart in the game, and the players thought it looked 'awesome!'  While not every player who selected her kart could properly control it, enough did that she quickly had a cache of gold coins for competing in the qualifying race Monday nights.

On Wednesday, she went into Legend of Zelda as a bonus boss.  Oddly enough, fighting Link was rather enjoyable, as she didn't actually get hurt as she 'took damage' from his sword stabs.  She just faked it well as her health bar depleted.  She also made especially sure to be extra difficult, as Wily told her that 'secret optional bosses' were always tougher than the genuine final boss.  She also made it so - if the player did beat her - Link's sword would then shoot lightning, a modification Wily made for Link's anti-viral duties.

On Thursday, she spent her time in Mega Man 3.  Here she varied her schedule up a bit.  On odd numbered weeks, she would act as the support unit in place of Rush.  'Nightmare Throw' replaced 'Rush Coil', 'Dark Wings' replaced 'Rush Jet', and 'Scuba Gear' replaced 'Rush Marine'.  Oddly enough, 'Scuba Gear' got a great deal more use than 'Rush Marine' ever did.  Considering it was Nightmare jumping into the water with scuba goggles, flippers, a snorkel, and a water pistol, Wily's theory was that she was 'just too adorable'.  She threw Mega Man up to ledges with 'Nightmare Throw', and had Mega Man on her back while flying and shooting lightning for 'Dark Wings'.

On even numbered weeks, she fought on Wily's side, replacing the Doc Robot.  However, rather than fight until she exploded - she didn't like exploding - she went into battle with an energy barrier around her that had its own health bar.  When the barrier dropped, she teleported out.  Apparently, players liked that sort of boss a great deal more.  Of course, it could have been the way she danced whenever she triggered a Robot Master power.

On Friday, she relaxed in Tapper's as an 'intern bartender'.  Unlike Tapper, who ran up and down rows sliding drinks across, she ran across the counters to deliver the drinks, pushing them with her forehead as she raced across.  She found this both relaxing and fun.

On the weekends, however, she stayed in Fix It Felix Jr.  Encoded into the game, she became present in 'Nightmare Mode'.  If the player selected that, they got a special treat...and a special difficulty.

After clearing the first stage of climbing up the building to get to Ralph, Nightmare would swoop up next to the building.  She would then declare in her tiny, adorable voice, "You shall fear the wrath of Nightmare Moon!"  She then attacked the platforms Felix hopped between with her lightning, making them break.  Thanks to coding from Wily, they'd auto repair after a time, and Nightmare would time her attacks so that there was always a way for Felix to make it out.

If Felix fell from jumping on a broken platform, he lost a life.  If he got zapped by Moony's lightning, he would suffer an insta-kill, regardless of his power ups.  Since Moony moved extra fast and couldn't be targeted - even in the 'retro' bonus stage - this proved especially challenging for players, who apparently loved the extra challenge, considering it was selected every time it became available.

The end game animations also changed with Moony's involvement.  Instead of a Game Over if Felix ran out of the lives, Nightmare Moon would fly up towards the screen and laugh.  She'd then proclaim, with text overlay, "The night...shall last...forever!"  The cabinet would then go dark with the Game Over music looped for a full minute.  It would then return to the boot up screen as though nothing happened.

If the player won in Nightmare Mode, however, Moony would fly down next to Ralph as he lay in the mud and nuzzle him.  She'd then look back up at the roof and shake her hoof, proclaiming with text overlay, "I'll get you next time, Felix!  Next time!" before laughing maniacally.

Whichever game she spent the day in, however, she always returned to Fix it Felix Jr. after the arcade closed.  She then stayed right by Ralph's side no matter where he went, whether it was to another game or just laying back in the junkyard and looking up at the stars.  Either way, after they ate for the night - whether pie from Mary, fruit from Pac Man, candy with Vanellope, or Ramen with Wily and Zero - Moony would curl up in Ralph's pocket against his chest, rest her head over his heart, and listen to his heartbeat and his stories of his first adventure until she dozed off.

It was a perfect time for Moony.  She was truly happy and content, and wanted this life to last forever.  She had no idea just how significant it was for her to be...at peace.

And she couldn't begin to imagine how quickly it would all change...
> Telling Stories
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"Hey guys, look!  Dream Eater's selectable!"

"Of course it is!  It's Tuesday!"

"Hey, my quarter's there!"

"But I've never gotten a chance to drive Dream Eater!"

"There's plenty of time before closing!  Just watch!"

Stan Litwak sat back as he watched the kids arguing over Sugar Rush.  He didn't bother to break it up.  Dream Eater had already been selected as the racer, and if the fight went on too long without a race track being selected-

His musings - and the kids' arguing - was interrupted as Nightmare Moon tapped the screen with one hoof.  "Hey!" she complained.  "You gonna race, or are you gonna jabber?"

"Sorry," the kids all replied without thinking about it as the one whose turn it was selected a track.

Stan chuckled as he saw the brief smirk cross Nightmare's features.  He was pretty certain mentioning that smirk would get him locked up in a padded cell...but then again, so would telling the truth about how that character started appearing in the games on the cycle.

As he walked by the Mega Man 3 cabinet, one of the kids waiting to play looked up at him.  "Hey Mr. Litwak?  Do you think you could have Moony in all the games, instead of just one a day?"

Stan smirked at the nickname the sprite had gotten unanimously from her player fans, but didn't even have to respond before one of the older players answered for him.  "Why would he do that?  Nightmare Moon's obviously there as advertisement for her own game that's gonna come to the arcade.  It whets our appetite more if she only appears in some games on a rotation...and makes us want to play those games more on those days."

Stan chuckled as he walked past, glad he hadn't been forced to answer.

One of the young female players spoke up.  "I wish this game had more underwater segments.  When Moony takes Rush's place, Scuba Gear is just so cute!"

"Forget the Scuba Gear!" another kid laughed.  "Have you seen the little dance she does while using Robot Master powers, like she's trying to figure out how to make them work?"

"And when you make contact, instead of just inflicting damage, she latches on and starts biting Mega Man's neck!" another proclaimed.  "She knows how to attack the weak point for massive damage."

Stan continued his way around the arcade, passing by each of the other games Nightmare Moon sometimes appeared in.  At Marvel vs. Capcom 3, several of those waiting in line were comparing notes on various button combos they'd attempted when controlling the Little Moon, as they sometimes called her, trying to determine her move list.  By Legend of Zelda, some were compiling her attack pattern when she appeared as the optional boss fight, as well as the various locations she had appeared in, trying to reverse engineer her pattern.  The only cabinet she appeared in that didn't have a debating crowd in front of it was Tapper's, since there she was just added cuteness.

When the character had first appeared, he'd gotten tons of questions about who she was, where she was from, how he'd put her into the games he had, and how she was programmed to act.  He'd answered all of them by saying, "Just something to bring a bit of spice to the games, like the retro bonus stage in Fix-it Felix Jr.," and on her programming he refused to answer, saying, "That would take the fun of figuring her out away from the players."  The truth wasn't something he wanted to share.  After all, if anyone did believe him that she had come out of nowhere from a shooting star on the Fix-it Felix Jr. title screen, they'd try to take the games apart to figure out what had happened.  He didn't want them doing that to the games.

He probably was crazy, thinking that the sprites somehow moved about on their own, having their own lives separate from the roles they were programmed to play, as though there were a whole society inside the code of the arcade.  Then again, he knew he wasn't the only one to come up with crazed explanations for why old machines sometimes did inexplicable things that their programming didn't allow for.  He'd heard various people talking rather seriously about how older machines had 'more soul' than newer ones.  Was it really that much of a stretch to suggest that the 'soul' of an arcade game was expressed as each individual sprite living his or her own life when the arcade was closed?  Making friends, visiting other games, even finding love?

Stan chuckled to himself at his own ludicrous ideas as he settled back into his office.  There were reasons he didn't share the crazy stories he came up with about the sprites 'private lives' with anyone, keeping whatever he actually wrote out on his own laptop.  If he told anyone the reason he left it plugged into the arcade power strip was because he hadn't had a virus attack on his laptop since - even after his anti-virus programs expired - he'd probably be locked up like for any of the rest of it.  Admittedly, that started to add up to why he had begun to question how much was real and how much was his own imaginings.

However, one thing had recently worried him.  Everyone was assuming Nightmare Moon would eventually get her own game cabinet, but he had no idea what game that could be.  He didn't even create her or put her into the games.  Still, he'd had a thought about that.

He had a friend - a computer programmer - who often talked about how his programs sometimes did unexpected things, joking about how the programs had their own ideas about what they were supposed to do.  If he asked him to program an arcade cabinet with a blank villain slot...well, he'd definitely ask questions, and might think Litwak was off his rocker when he got the answers, but he'd still do it anyway, as much for 'the lulz' as to see if it would actually work.  But Litwak wanted to have the complete game script - or at least the basics - before asking.

"Let's see," he mumbled to himself as he opened up Microsoft Word.  He chuckled as the animated paperclip popped up to offer assistance, but then ignored it as he began to type.  "The only time she's spoken has been in Fix-it Felix Jr. and Sugar Rush, and then she's spoken as a villain...so she's probably the villain."  He typed away as he began the set up.  "If she's the villain...well, she calls herself 'Queen of the Night' when she wins in Sugar Rush...so her direct opposite would be a ruler of the day.  But queens are generally evil in fiction...so a Princess of the Day, her equal and opposite."  He typed away.

He paused to take a drink before turning back.  "But if they're equal and opposite, then how did she overcome to start the game?  ...ah!  Nightmare Moon was stronger than the day Princess as she tapped...dark magic.  But the day princess used an older magic to banish her.  But on her return, she overwhelms the day Princess before she can turn that power against her."  The sound of his keystrokes became a rapid tick-a-tack.  "Which means new heroes have to take up that power to defeat her.  Those are the player characters.  Hmm...now what should the power be..."  He took another drink as he leaned back to think.

After a time, he leaned forward again.  "Ancient magic that keeps the world in balance...in harmony...wielded by multiple characters..."  He paused for a while, then typed in Elements of Harmony as a place holder barring coming up with something that sounded less cheesy.  "And each of the...Elements...will bond to one of the player characters to be used against Nightmare Moon as a group.  Dang, that sounds rather cliche when I look at it.  Still, I suppose it works out.

"Now, how many player characters?"  He thought about that for a time.  However, before he could come to a decision, he heard a ruckus from out in the main arcade.  "Dangit, what are those kids up to now?"  Leaving his laptop behind, he went to check what all the noise was about.

Unnoticed to him, the Office Assistant vanished from its mini-window in one of its usual animations, but it remained gone for longer than normal.

Inside the computer, the Assistant was tied up and gagged in lines of code as another entity walked past it, raising a metallic hand to its ear.  "Paperclip Man to Wily!  Paperclip Man to Wily!" it said simply.  "The caretaker has dropped the breadcrumbs!"
> Turbo-tastic
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	It was an ordinary Monday morning at the arcade.  Nightmare Moon sat with Ralph, eating her breakfast of power up pie.  Once she finished, she stood up and stretched.  "Off to see Zero," she said happily, shaking her ethereal mane.

"So, combatant or spectator today?" Ralph asked.

"Spectator," she replied.  "Feeling kinda groggy.  My horn aches."

"Sounds like a minor code error," Ralph muttered.  "Maybe you should go see Wily-"

"No time," she refused.  "Got a schedule to keep.  The players are looking forward to seeing me."

Ralph couldn't help but smile.  Over her time in the arcade, Moony had developed the same dedication to the players most sprites developed, knowing they were here to give the players an enjoyable experience.  Reaching down, he ruffled her mane.  "Alright.  Have fun, but be careful, okay?  Try not to exert yourself too much before closing."

Smiling, she nuzzled his hand in return.  "Okay, Daddy," she said softly before turning and racing off to the station.  Normally, she'd teleport, but the ache in her horn made anything magical seem like a bad idea at the moment.

The train ride to grand central was uneventful, but once there she staggered, feeling somewhat woozy.  She leaned up against a column to rest and let her body relax.

"Feeling alright, little lady?" a high pitched, jovial voice asked.

She looked up, seeing a robed, hooded figure in black that clicked as he walked.  "Just a little dizzy," she replied.  "I can take a nap in the stage background...when I get to today's game."

"Well, you still need to get there," the figure pointed out, chuckling.  "Why don't you let me lend you a hand?  Where ya headed?"

She blinked up at him.  "I...I don't know you."

"I'm from Eye of the Beholder," the figure replied quickly.  "My monster design is one of the more...creative ones.  I use the robe to keep from upsetting everyone."

Moony nodded.  That made sense.  Some of the sprite designs in that game were weird.  Which was a pity, since if she didn't look so out of place in it, she'd have liked to appear in the game on occasion.  "Marvel vs. Capcom 3," she muttered.

"I'll get you there toot-sweet!" the figure promised, scooping her up in red, clawed hands.

Nightmare nodded as she swayed.  Those claws looked like they fit in that game.  But something about what he'd said seemed...off, somehow.  Especially since he was running along the side of the train tunnel...the wrong tunnel.  "Hey, this goes to Hero's Du-"

The claws clamped around her muzzle.  "If you know what's good for you, gumdrop, you'll keep quiet and behave.  That virus I introduced into you while you were here after closing will have made any of your 'magic powers' painful to use.  I need you alive.  I don't need you in one piece!"

Nightmare whimpered as the thing that had her leapt into Hero's Duty, leaping from rock outcropping to outcropping until he began scaling the outside of the central tower.  She shivered in fear as he took her away to do...whatever he had planned.

Daddy...help! she called silently in her mind.





Daddy...help!

Ralph paused as he brought his fist down towards part of the building.  "Moony?" he asked, shocked.  He knew for certain he'd just heard her voice...but not in his ears.

"Ralph!" Mary hissed from a nearby window as she set out a power up pie.  "Get your head in the game!  The player is watching!"

"But...but Moony's in trouble!" he growled back.

"Oh no!" Mary gasped, worried.  "But...how do you know?"

"I heard her call me!" he snapped back.

"Ralph, we can't do anything now!" Felix hissed as he bounced from one window to the next at the direction of the player at the controls.  "Once we finish the game, we can-"

"Forget the game!" Ralph roared back.  "That's my daughter!"  With that, he leapt from the building and charged back towards central station.

Felix glanced from where Ralph had gone to the building, and then to the player through the screen.  "Oh...sugar cookies, fudge, and darling!" he swore - as close as he came to swearing, anyway - and leapt off the building, charging after him to gather the anti-viral squad.

A great many of the squad theorized that Mr. Litwak was more aware of what went on after closing than he allowed.  The little script he'd left unfinished indicated that possibility.  Right now, Felix desperately hoped they were right.





"Uncle Litwak!  Something's wrong with Fix-it Felix Jr.!"

Stan turned as he heard that complaint.  "What do you mean?" he asked as he approached the cabinet.  "What's wrong?"

The little girl who'd called - his niece, Lauren - pointed at the screen.  "Ralph stopped breaking the building and started arguing with the Nicelanders and Felix.  Then he leapt off the building and ran off to the left of the screen.  Then Felix followed him."

Stan frowned, glancing to the left.  That's where the cord went to plug into the right side of the power strip.  The explanation for this behavior was a little too obvious, given his long standing theories and suspicions.  "Lauren, I need you to do me a favor," he said softly.

She looked up at him.  "What's that, Uncle?"

He slipped something into her hand.  "Drop this into the toilet and flush it.  Then get back out here and complain about the mess."

Her eyes widened.  "You're...clearing the arcade?"

He nodded.  "Can you do that for me?"

She nodded eagerly, rushing off to the bathroom.  Shortly afterwards, there was an explosion, and she came dashing back out.  "Uncle Litwak!  The toilet went kablooie!"

Stan acted quickly.  "Alright everyone, out of the arcade!" he said quickly.  "If there's water leaks, we don't want anyone getting electrocuted.  We'll open tomorrow as soon as everything's fixed."

As everyone left pouting, Lauren winked at him.

He breathed a sigh of relief.  Really the device only made the water fountain out of the toilet explosively - messy, but not harmful - which would give him the day to let...whatever the sprites needed to do happen.  Once he'd locked up, he ducked back into his office and tuned into the security feeds.

"I don't know what's going on," he mumbled to himself, "but whatever you guys need to do here...get to it."

He watched in silence as sprites fled their games, leaving the title screens empty.  He hoped things weren't too bad...
> Darkness Gathers
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Nightmare Moon struggled to calm her emotions as her kidnapper rapidly scaled the Central Tower of Hero's Duty, straight up to the chamber where the Hero's Medal was awarded.  His body seemed to have a host of legs and claws, making him ideal for climbing.  It wasn't long before they reached the Chamber of Heroes.

However, unknown to Moony who'd never been up there, the chamber had undergone some radical alterations.  The holoprojectors had been disabled, and there were far fewer Cybug eggs than usual.  From what Wily had told her about Cybugs, this was a bad sign, as it meant more hatchings.  A vicious hum filled the air, the sound of thousands upon thousands of pairs of buzzing wings.

"W-who are you?" Nightmare demanded, managing to get herself somewhat under control.

Her kidnapper chuckled as he stuffed her into a containment pod.  "Oh, where are my manners?  Now, which name would you prefer?"  He threw off his cloak.

Standing before her was a massive cybug, at least twice as large as any she had ever seen.  Its body was red, wearing a purple overcoat.  It had two long feeler tails coming from its rear, and spikes on its back where it should have had wings.  It had far too many crab like legs and clawed hands, and the face that rose up on a long neck was almost clownish, despite the crown it was wearing.

"Would you prefer King Candy?" it asked.  Its face then glitched, revealing grey skin and a white helmet with red stripes.  "Or that I go Turbo?" it hissed.

"T-Turbo?" Nightmare Moon asked surprised.  "But...but you're dead!  My Daddy killed you by exploding the cola mountain with the Mentos!"

"Oh, indeed he did," Turbo replied angrily.  "That halitosis hooligan thwarted my plans, unseating years of careful planning.  It took years of work to take over Sugar Rush...and all that down the drain because of him!  He even managed to kill me...but I wasn't kidding when I said it was my game!"

Moony gasped.  "You were still plugged into the game code!  When you died, you just respawned!"

"Indeed!" he replied.  "Right back in the throne room, like I'd programmed.  Of course, I was still a Cybug because of the glitching his precious Princess had inflicted me with.  Now, I could have fixed that with the backup of my original code stored in my code block...but then she crossed the finish line, and not only was the game reset, but as a foreign code block, I was blasted out of the game!  Do you have any idea how much that hurt?"  He slammed one of his larger clawed fists into a nearby wall, denting it.  "How hard it was to work my way around Game Central Station looking like this?  How long it took me to figure out how to communicate with the other Cybugs so they didn't eat me?"

Nightmare shrunk back from the rage before her.

After a time, Turbo began to chuckle.  "But soon...soon I'll have my revenge!  Ralph, his little glitch friend, the anti-viral squad...soon the entire arcade will be mine to pillage...and then the internet awaits!  I've already managed to carefully purge the beacon's influence on my Cybug programming, and have become unstoppable!  And with your powers..."  His laughter gradually became maniacal.  "With your powers, I can tear them apart slowly, piece by piece, line by line, bit by bit and byte by byte!"  He laughed even louder.  "And bite by bite, for that matter!"

"So you're going to eat me to absorb my powers?" Moony asked, trying to feign bravado she didn't feel.  "You really think that'll work?  You sure Cybug programming  can handle me?"

"No idea!" Turbo replied.  He snapped his fingers, and another large Cybug walked up, hissing spitefully.  "That's why he's going to eat you, once I've made sure your code has been applied to Hero's Duty so Cybug programming can properly interface with it.  If he manages to absorb your abilities safely, then I can eat him to get the power.  If not, well, I've still destroyed Ralph's hope by killing his daughter.  That's what I call a win-win."

Moony shivered at hearing her fate pronounced so coldly, as if she didn't even matter.  Briefly, she felt something familiar and strange stirring inside her.  "But...but how do you know eating the cybug after he eats me will work?" she asked, desperate for anything to make Turbo alter his plans.

Turbo chuckled wickedly.  "Oh, don't worry about that."  His largest arms seemed to glitch, and various weaponry popped out of them.  "I've already run a few tests of that sort.  How do you think I managed to get these nightmarish virus beasts to obey me?"  Laughing, he turned to go.  "Keep an eye on her!" he commanded the other cybug, a hiss in his voice.  "But no snacking till I get back!  I have work to do on her code."  Grinning, he reached out and grabbed a code block off the top of the containment pod.  "Just have to get her plugged in!"  He walked off, laughing maniacally.

Moony shivered as the bug turned to stare at her.  In desperation and fear, she began banging her forehooves on the containment unit.  "Let me out!" she screamed in a panic.  "I don't wanna be eaten up!  Let me out!  Daddy, help me!"  She struggled to force magic out her horn, but a spasm of pain shot through her and she collapsed.  "...Daddy...help..."  She closed her eyes, curling up on herself as she shook, desperate for succor that she hoped, prayed was coming.





Ralph stared up the Tower he had climbed so long ago, when he sought the medal to prove he could be a good guy.  Being the hero didn't matter to him right now.  Deep inside, a rage was building inside of him.  He didn't know who had taken Moony or why, but he knew one thing: they would pay.

He turned to those who had gathered.  Every sprite in the arcade who was combat capable had gathered, save the random monster sprites of the longer platform or exploration games.  They felt they would be more a hindrance than a help, and if they fell their games would suffer.  However, the entirety of the anti-viral squad and Bad-Anon was there, ready and waiting for him to start the assault.

Pulling his helmet down, he smashed his fists together.  He pointed up.  "We will save Moony!" he proclaimed angrily.

"For Pony!" the Golden Axe warlock proclaimed loudly as the group charged, a charge to be met by the endless swarms that descended from the skies.
> Darkness Rises
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	As the amassed sprites charged towards the tower, they were caught off guard as swarms of Cybugs took off from the lower floors, the countryside, from behind dark clouds, and from under the ground itself.  There were so many they would have blotted the sun from the sky if it had been shining.  Not all were the standard black.  Several had various colored tints to them: red, blue, green, white, and even several in candy stripe.

While a great many of the sprites hesitated at the sight of it, Calhoun gave the order.  "Activate the Beacon!" she commanded.

There was a click, and then nothing.  "Sir!" one of the other soldiers called out.  "The Beacon is not responding."

"I was afraid of that," Calhoun grumbled.  She then shouted, "Open fire!"

The Hero's Duty soldiers opened fire with their guns.  Every other sprite with ranged attacks added their volleys.  Samus utilized her Wave Beam to shoot through several Cybugs at once.  Link used his arrows.  Megaman and Zero used their busters, while the Robot Masters unleashed their ranged abilities.  Those fighting game characters who had ranged attacks added their volleys, as did those from adventure games with ranged magic attacks.

Right at first, the volleys seemed to be doing their work of doing a great deal of damage, knocking down black Cybugs both small and large.  Between one volley and another, however, the blue tinted Cybugs moved to the front, deploying energy shields that took the brunt of the assault.

Calhoun gasped in shock at that.  "They...they're acting in formation?" she demanded.  "Cybugs don't do that!"

"Their eyes don't normally glow red, either!" Ralph pointed out, indicating the other change from the norm.

"Something or someone has control of them!" Wily shouted.  "I'll see if I can find the signal they're using and jam it!"

Green tinted Cybugs then buzzed over the group, dropping blue spheres towards them.  Link gasped and lifted his shield.

"Mega-Met!" Wily shouted.

"Meep!"  A Metool sprite whose code had been altered to expand it to massive size leapt into the fray, lowering its helmet over the entire group.  The bombs exploded against the shell, doing no damage.  Those inside remained safe.

"This won't last long," Wily muttered as everyone began to take a breath.

A loud crunching sound could be heard, and a section of the Metool helmet was torn away, eaten by a Cybug which then turned yellow.  As it tore its way in, weapons fire bounced off of it.

Charging forward, Ralph delivered a hard punch to its face, causing the armored carapace to buckle and reveal holes.  Others quickly added their fire.

"Even if they get armored, their mouths will still be vulnerable!" Calhoun called out.  "Shoot when they open their mouth to bite!"

"We aren't going to win this way!" Felix called out.  "Look!"

Off in the distance, the white Cybugs could be seen landing beside others that had been shot down.  The white ones then glowed green, which somehow repaired the fallen Cybugs.

"We need to seal off this game before they expand outward!" Calhoun called.  "Someone's been stockpiling power-ups to make this Cybug army!  We can't let it expand!"

"I'm not leaving without Moony!" Ralph shouted back.

"Ralph, Felix, Samus, Link, you four get to the tower and find Moony!" Wily ordered.  "Bowser, Mario, clear an exit for them with the fire spin you've been practicing!  Ridley, give them a lift!  Doc Robot Wood Man, use your Leaf Shield and the power booster to keep them shielded as long as you can!  Everyone else, dig in and hold them off for as long as you can!"

The commanded sprites did as ordered.  Bowser leapt through the hole, followed by Mario, who grabbed hold of the Koopa King's tail.  Mario then spun Bowser around him in ever faster circles as Bowser released his fire breath for as long as he could hold it, cutting a wide swath.  One of the Doc Robots leapt onto Ridley's back alongside Ralph, Felix, Samus, and Link.  Projecting a Leaf Shield around the lot of them, the Doc Robot intoned, "Weapon Energy remaining: T-Minus two minutes."

"Then I'll get us there in one and a half!" Ridley snarled, spreading his wings and taking to the sky.

As they flew, Samus called their attention to something interesting.  The Cybugs seemed to be paying more attention to Bowser than Mario, and more attention to Ridley and the Doc Robot than to Ralph or Felix.

"What do you think's causing that?" Ralph asked Link as he shot another arrow into a Cybug optic, knocking it briefly out of pattern.

Link turned to him with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh...right...sorry," Ralph apologized.

"They seem to be targeting us based on who has the largest health bars!" Felix pointed out.  "Bosses first, then high health heroes, and single digit hit hero sprites like us last."

Ridley snorted.  "Then when we get to the Tower, you two jump off and climb!  Samus can back you.  They underestimate you, though."

"Right!" Ralph agreed.  Samus gave a thumbs up.  Felix shivered in fear.

"Weapon Energy remaining: T-Minus 45 seconds."

As Ridley swung by the tower, Ralph leapt off, grabbing hold of the tower's side.  Felix and Samus each caught hold of him.  "The primary beacon controls are in the Hero's Chamber, from what Tammy's told me," Felix pointed out.

"Tammy?" Ralph asked, confused.

"That's Sergeant Calhoun - or possibly Tamora - to you, Ralph."

"So where's the Hero's Chamber?" Ralph demanded.

"You've been there!" Felix shouted as Samus shot down several Cybugs with missiles.  He then used his hammer on her to replenish her ammo.  "It's where you got the medal!"

"Right!" Ralph proclaimed, climbing his way up.





Eventually, after a great deal of careful climbing and frequent rearming with the magic hammer, the trio reached the top floor of the Tower.  In plain sight, Nightmare Moon could be seen trapped in a stasis pod.  "Moony!" Ralph shouted, rushing up towards her.

"Daddy, no!" she called out.  "It's a trap!"

Before any of them could react, several Cybugs lunged in from the sides of the chamber.  One knocked Felix across the room, making him drop his hammer as he dropped, down to one hit point.  One seized Samus by her Arm Cannon and ate it off her as three others bore her to the floor.  Seven bore Ralph to the ground.  Samus glanced around, then prepared to shift to Morph Ball.

"Oh, go ahead!" a familiar voice called out.  "Use your Morph Ball, Samus.  Be bite-sized!"

Ralph gasped.  "What?  Turbo!  But how?"

Turbo the King Cybug walked out of the corner of the room, followed by another large Cybug.  "You should know, Ralph," he taunted.  "The thing that let me survive is the very same thing that's allowed your little Moon here to dance around in so many games...it's all in the code!"  He pointed to the Cybugs pinning Ralph.  "Eat him slowly!" he ordered.

One of the Cybugs immediately took a bite out of Ralph's hand, making him scream in agony.

"Daddy!" Nightmare Moon screamed in fear and rage...but she didn't scream alone.  There was another voice screaming with her, both hers and...not hers.  It was somehow familiar.

Turbo laughed as the Cybugs slowly tore Ralph apart in small bites, absorbing his code in chunks.  "Don't worry, Ralph...I'll leave your head unharmed.  After all, I don't want you getting Cybug powers like I have!"  His laughter turned wicked.  "But I'll remove your eyes...once my little friend here-" he gestured to the other Cybug "-has eaten your little Moon...and I have devoured it and her as well!"

The Cybug lifted the containment capsule.

"Moony!" Ralph screamed out.  "No!"  He reached for her with an arm missing chunks that had been torn from it, code leaking out the holes.

"DAAAAAA~DYYYYYYYY!" Nightmare Moon screamed in fear and loss as the Cybug shoved the containment capsule into its mouth.

It closed its mouth around her.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" Ralph screamed out in fear and grief.

The Cybug bit down.  There was a crunch as the capsule broke.

Deep inside Nightmare Moon, something snapped...and something else snapped into place.

As the Cybug started to chew, it shivered and shook.  Its code sparked.  Black energy swirled around it, followed by a black explosion that blinded all.

As vision returned...a winged silhouette became visible.
> Darkness Falls
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	As the darkness faded, allowing light to touch everyone's eyes and code to flow again, the silhouette became clearer.  By coloration, it was still Nightmare Moon, but she was no longer as tiny as she had been.  Where before there had been a foal, there was now a filly, a young mare.  Her frame seemed adolescent, but her power far more vast than it had been.  An aura of darkness and magic crackled around her like a living thing.  She slowly lifted her head, opening her eyes.

"Well, that was unexpected," Turbo said nervously.  "Quite a pretty light show, but hardly something to make me stop!  My vengeance is at hand!"  As he snarled, one of the Cybugs took another bite out of Ralph, making him scream again.

Nightmare Moon brought her hoof down hard, causing the floor to crack, the sound echoing across the entire game world.  "Creatures of Nightmares!" she bellowed, her voice carrying to every corner of the code world of the arcade, inflections unknown to the sprites sending her words straight down into the core of their code.  "Obey your queen!"

Every Cybug in Hero's Duty froze instantly.  As one, they turned to face Nightmare Moon, wherever they were.  The 'beacon hum' filled the air as their eyes filled with the black of night.

Ralph stared, his jaw hanging.  "...huh?"

"What is this?" Turbo demanded angrily.  "How are you able to just waltz in and-"

"Obey!" Nightmare Moon hissed, rounding on Turbo, her eyes flashing.

Turbo's eyes glowed black, and the hum echoed from his Cybug parts as well.  "...my Queen..." he replied in a monotone voice, his higher code functions shoved aside by the sheer force of her power and will.

Turning back to the other Cybugs, she jerked her head to one side.  The Cybugs immediately backed off from Ralph, Felix, and Samus.

Ralph managed to push himself up to his one remaining intact leg with his undamaged arm.  "...Moony?" he asked fearfully, staring at her in concern.

Her eyes swept over him, taking in his injuries.  She then turned to Felix.  "Can you fix him?" she demanded coldly.

Felix managed to push himself up, picking up his hammer and looking at Ralph.  Desperately, he banged Ralph lightly with the golden hammer.  The broken coded segments sparked, but nothing happened.  "I...I can't..." Felix whimpered.

"Give me the hammer," Nightmare ordered.

Shivering, Felix held the hammer out.  Nightmare Moon's mane snaked out like a living thing, taking the hammer from his hands as a dark blue aura surrounded it.  She examined it for a time.

A bolt of black lightning lashed from her horn into the hammer.  The hammer flared with light, and a field of gold light erupted from it, expanding to fill the arcade.  When the glow faded, the hammer fell, its golden glow now dull.

Ralph staggered back, his feet catching his weight.  Staring down, he realized that he was once more whole and healthy.  Samus had her arm cannon back, and from what he could see from the tower, everyone else was completely repaired as well, as though they'd never been damaged.

Nightmare handed the hammer back to Felix.  "You will need to respawn with it back in Niceland to restore its power," she said simply.  She then turned back to the Cybugs.

Every last one turned up to her, completely still, their only sound the beacon hum, as their eyes locked on her, awaiting commands.

"Hear me, nightmares!" she bellowed.  "Your queen's will is absolute!  You shall not act against other sprites of the arcade unless they are of this game!  You shall not act against sprites of this game unless the player is active!  You shall not leave this game unless your Queen summons you, and then only to do as she bids!"

Every last Cybug throughout the game world bowed low, showing their obeisance as the Queen of the Night's orders encoded themselves into their programming.  The various Cybugs then flew off, scattering throughout the game world and the Tower to await the game's next reboot.

Nightmare then turned to Turbo.  "King Cybug," she hissed, "you shall remain in this chamber as the game's new final boss battle.  In this chamber only will you have your own mind.  If you leave this chamber, the code will assert itself, and you will be my mindless slave...but aware of all I command you to do.  This shall remain until such time as I decide you have abandoned your quest for vengeance.  Each time the game restarts, you shall respawn, forever caged to a game you will never be remembered for."

"...by your command..." Turbo replied numbly.  His eyes then returned to normal.  "What..no!  You can't!"  He lunged towards her, only to be pulled up short.  "What?"

"You are of this game now," Nightmare replied.  "Your Cybug code will not allow you to do harm to one who is not native to this game anymore, except on my direct order.  And you can't inflict direct harm on those native to the game except during a game.  Vengeance shall be forever denied you, and you shall be eternally forced to watch the shared joy of others that you denied in your quest for personal glory.  This is your fate, Turbo."

Turbo stared at her, his eyes widening in horror.  "No..." he gasped out, staggering back.  "NO!" he screamed, leaping around the chamber as he desperately railed against her pronouncement.

Focusing her magic, Nightmare Moon teleported herself, Ralph, Felix, and Samus away as one last, despairing, "NOOOOOO!" echoed from the top of the tower.





In a flash of light, the group appeared before the other amassed sprites.  At first there was a hushed silence as many of them didn't immediately recognize Moony in her changed form.  A single gasp interrupted the silence.

"It happened," Albert Wily said simply.  "The first growth stage...she's cleared it."

"That's...little Moony?" Zangief asked in disbelief.

"Not so little anymore," Calhoun commented dryly, walking up to Felix to make sure he was in one piece.

"Then...we won?" Zero asked.

Regally, Nightmare Moon nodded.

A massed cheer went up from the gathered sprites.

"Party at Tappers!" someone called out.

"I'll get Mary to bake a huge celebratory cake!" Felix called out.

Nightmare Moon smiled regally, nodding to everyone as they cheered.  She then walked slowly out of the game, every inch of her exuding royal dignity.

Ralph watched her go.  Is...is this it? he thought to himself.  Is...is she all grown up now?  Does...does she not need me anymore?  Does she even still...love me?  He felt his heart start to shrivel.

Wily suddenly elbowed him in the knee.  "Go to her," he all but ordered.

"But-"

"You think I haven't seen that exact same face on my own son dozens of times in his other games?" Wily demanded.  "She's showing a brave face now...but she needs you.  Go to her."  Activating his saucer, Wily grabbed Ralph with a robotic arm and threw him out into Game Central Station.

As soon as Ralph was outside of Hero's Duty, Moony cannoned into him, her forelegs and wings wrapping around him as she buried her face against his stomach, crying her eyes out.  "Daddy!" she wailed.  "I was...I was so scared...I thought...I thought I was going to lose you...to lose me...Daddy!"

Ralph immediately wrapped his arms around her.  "It's alright, Moony," he comforted softly.  "It's okay now.  It's all over.  You're safe.  We're all safe."

As her sobs faded, he continued to hold her gently, caressing her back.  Without warning, she let out a loud sneeze, and the front of his shirt felt wet and gross.  "...sorry," she apologized.

"Eh, not the worst thing to ever get on my shirt," he stated dismissively.  "But you seemed so in control back in Hero's Duty after you grew.  What happened?"

"I had to be in control in there!" Moony replied.  "It was the only way to enforce my power on the Cybugs.  If I'd wavered even for an instant while I was in there, they'd have broken free and I'd never have been able to establish myself as their Queen again.  Now that I've left the game registered as their Queen, my hold on them all is unbreakable...but I couldn't let out any emotion until then."

Ralph gently scooped her up.  "Well, Your Majesty, I think what you need now is a party to put a smile back on your face and a cake big enough for you to swim in.  I'm sure Tappers will have that, even if Felix has to smack the cake with his mallet a few times."

Moony giggled, snuggling into his arms as he carried her towards Tapper's.  "Umm..." she pointed out as they got there.  "I think I should walk in myself..."

Nodding, Ralph set her down on her hooves.  "Say Moony...do you think...well, what you did to Turbo...wasn't it...rather harsh?"

Nightmare Moon shrugged her shoulders.  "Perhaps...but what did you expect?"  She looked up into his eyes sadly.  "I'm the bad guy."

In silence, the pair walked into Tapper's letting the celebratory air cleanse their minds of unpleasant thoughts.
> Aftermath
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The celebration of Moony being saved and her growing to a new level of power had lasted well through the day and into the night.  Mary had gone all out in her baking, since she'd decided to make a cake Moony could swim in but Felix had mentioned she'd gotten bigger without saying how much bigger.  As a result, Mary had presented a cake big enough for Ralph to swim in, made in Sugar Rush and having a pool of liquid chocolate in the center for swimming in.  This promptly turned into a game of cake-chicken, where everyone climbed into the pool of chocolate and drank from the infinite fountain in the center, while also taking bites out of the cake holding the chocolate in, with the loser being the last to take a bite before the pool collapsed outward.  They played this game several times, constantly spilling out to cover Tapper's bar in liquid chocolate, as each time Felix repaired the cake with his hammer, restoring it to its original condition.

"Say Felix," Ralph had asked the first time he'd done this, "how come you didn't do that to our 30 year anniversary cake when I accidentally smashed it?"

"I didn't know it worked on baked goods until I went to Sugar Rush," Felix replied apologetically.

That had gotten several laughs, although it might have been because everyone was starting to get punchy on the special root beer Tapper had broken out just for this party.  The place was jumping, quite literally.  The arcade cabinet was actually bouncing back and forth slightly from the force of their revelry, at least until Litwak - relieved that everything had turned out okay - came out of the office and sat on it.

Litwak, for his part, decided to join in on the celebratory side of things, having pulled out a beer and some Krispy Kreme donuts to indulge.  Not for the first time, he wished there was a way to join in on the world inside the games, if only for a single day, just to meet all these wonderful characters in person for once.

The more he looked at the changes in Nightmare Moon, however, the more certain he became that there might just be a way to do that someday.  He hoped he'd still be around when the time came.

As the clock ticked away, he yawned.  "I think that's enough, fellas," he said, tapping Tapper's screen.  "You'd best all get home and sleep it off.  I know I need to.  Got a new game coming in tomorrow.  Want to make them all feel welcome."  Turning, he headed out, locking up behind him.

All the sprites in the game looked at each other in surprise.  For most of the veteran sprites who had been there a long time, one thought made itself heard in nervousness.  "How long was he there?"

Wily chuckled as he downed his last glass.  "Don't worry about it," he told everyone easily.  "Litwak's known at some level that there's more going on behind the screens than we let on ever since Turbo went...well, Turbo.  Besides, he cleared out the arcade to give us a clear area to work in for saving Nightmare Moon.  He's firmly on our side in this."

As everyone was at least somewhat tipsy, this was readily accepted.  "Alright," Ralph said, standing a little unsteadily.  "Let's...let's go home, Moony."

Nightmare Moon smiled as she stood, not at all unsteady as she'd passed on the special root beer.  She didn't want to accidentally de-rezz someone while inebriated.  "Yes, Daddy...let's go home..."





Nightmare had to hold Ralph up with her magic once they actually made it back to Niceland, he was staggering so much as he walked.  She couldn't tell if it was the special roots, too much sugar, or adrenaline crash and relief from having her back safe and sound.

As she let him down in their little hut in the junkyard, his falling impact caused the hut to collapse inward around him.  Rolling her eyes and chuckling, she seized every brick in her magic and reassembled the hut, a bit sturdier than it was before.  She paused as she gazed at the door, realizing how much she'd changed.

Before she had her growth spurt, she had been a little shorter than the Nicelanders, about the same height as the Sugar Rush racers, and most other sprites.  Now she was easily double her former height, and filled out all around.  She wasn't adorable as she had been before, but looking at her reflection in a nearby lake, she had to admit she was still cute.  Possibly even spunky, like how Ralph described Vanellope.

Thankfully, Dream Eater had always been quite roomy.  She'd be a little cramped riding inside it, but it mostly responded to her magic rather than any actual controls, so it wasn't like she had to move except to get in and out...and occasionally snap at a recalcitrant player.  She was more concerned about how being a bigger target would affect her play in other games, and what new powers she had to bring to bear in this, which she still considered her home game...at least for now.

She knew Litwak had written something about her original game, clues that Wily and Uncle were tracking down.  She knew when it was found, she'd have to go back to it.  ...she hoped it would be in Litwak's arcade, so she could visit everyone.

Sighing sadly, she stepped into the hut.  Since she was still small enough to do so, she curled up on Ralph's chest, resting his big hand on her back.  It was too small to be a proper blanket now, though.  She shivered, but not from the cold.

"...you alright Moony?' Ralph asked groggily.

She thought for a time.  "Daddy?" she asked softly.  "Will...will you always be my Daddy?"

Ralph nodded, yawning.  "Course Moony," he mumbled through his yawn.  "Always..."

"And...we'll always be together?" she asked.

"Always..." Ralph promised sleepily.  "I promise..."

"Even when I go back to my own game?" she asked worriedly.  "Even if...it's not in the arcade?  And I can never come back?"  She sniffled, struggling to hold back tears.

Ralph blinked up at the moon through the skylight he didn't remember the hut having.  "Always, Moony," he replied finally.  "Because even if you won't be here..."  He wrapped one arm around her in a hug.  "You'll always be here..."  He tapped his chest over his heart with his other hand.  "And I'll always be here."  He tapped her barrel, right by her heart.

Nightmare Moon blinked away tears, then buried her face in Ralph's chest, sniffling.  "...I love you, Daddy," she whispered softly.

"Love you too, Moony," he whispered back.

And they both slept.
> Encoding
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The following morning, all the sprites held their breath as Mr. Litwak wheeled in the new arcade machine.  As the store wasn't open yet and no one but Stan was in the arcade, the sprites felt free to crane their necks around the edges of their various cabinets to check out the new machine as it was wheeled in.

As Stan wiped his forehead, he chuckled at the sight.  "Arcade's still closed for today," he said aloud to no one in particular.  "Always nice to give a new machine a day to warm up before it gets played."

The sprites hid their chuckles.  They knew what this was.  Litwak was giving the sprites from the new game a day to get to know everyone - and for everyone to get to know them - before reopening the arcade.  Then again, most of the sprites were still a tad unwell after the events involving Turbo, so an extra day off was a welcome relief.

Besides, it would give Wily a chance to cross code everyone with the new game, just in case.

Leaning down, Stan plugged in the new machine.

Soul Calibur.





Nightmare Moon was the first to go into the new game.  She had been bouncing back and forth at the plug point, waiting for it to be connected.  Not only was she eager to make new friends, if it turned out to be her kind of world - it was rumored to be another fighting game, but this one with a high magic component - then she wanted Wily to code her in as a bonus character ASAP.

The instant the game was plugged in, Nightmare Moon dove through the connection, flying through the passage to the new game world.  What she found felt so like home to a part of her that, for a moment, she could only freeze.

Vast primeval forests stretched to the horizon.  Ancient cities stood tall on rivers and shores.  Towers reached for the heavens.  Rolling plains waited silently as the grass blew in the quiet wind.  In the distance, the sound of clashing steel echoed, speaking to an ancient memory as brief flashes of warriors facing each other across the battlefield filled her mind.

Unknown to her, Shadow Man was following behind her invisibly, taking notes on her reaction to be sent back to Dr. Wily regarding possible further details of the 'game' world of her origin.  This was unimportant at the moment, however, as such details were not apparent to Nightmare Moon.

After a time of staring around the world from the entry point, Nightmare Moon spread her wings and took off, flying low to the ground as she explored.

It wasn't long before she encountered one of the native sprites of the world.  He was roughly humanoid, and towered over her, taller even than Ralph in his silver armor.  His right arm was no longer human, looking like it had transformed halfway into a demonic claw.  In his left armored hand he clutched the hilt of a sword that was half metal, half flesh, with a demonic eye staring at her balefully.  A good portion of the right side of his torso was exposed, showing the demonic transformation his body was undergoing.



"Hail and well met!" Nightmare Moon proclaimed.  "Welcome to Litwak's Arcade.  By what name do you go by?"

The figure breathed in, then exhaled.  "I am Nightmare," it proclaimed in a gravely voice.  "Wielder of Soul Edge, the dark demonic blade."

Nightmare Moon frowned.  "This will not do," she scolded.  "For I am Nightmare Moon, Queen of the Night, bringer of bad dreams and destroyer of day!  Through me the night shall last...forever!"  She glowered down at Nightmare.  "We cannot share the same name!  It would cause too much confusion."  She lifted her head regally.  "I have seniority in the arcade," she allowed loftily, "so you'll just have to change yours."

Red eyes flared from under the helmet.  "You dare give me orders?" the figure demanded, the eye of the sword glowing red.  "I shall teach you your place!"  Yanking his sword point from the ground, he got into a battle stance.

Feeling the world around them change, Nightmare Moon realized a battle had been initiated, and it was her turn to give a battle taunt.  "You dare talk back to me?" she proclaimed.  "You will rue the day you crossed the Queen of the Night!"  She spread her legs in her own battle stance, mantling her wings.

The ground they were standing on rose up in an octagonal shape, leaving a deep pit all around.  A voice echoed from the air.  "Ready...FIGHT!"

Nightmare lunged forward, swinging his massive living blade in a downward swing.  Nightmare Moon side stepped it, dancing backwards and sideways as she dodged the follow up downward swing, and then ducking under the sideways slash.  As Nightmare's guard fell from that, she spun on her forehooves and delivered a hard double buck with both hind legs.  As Nightmare staggered back, Nightmare Moon jumped into a back flip, bringing her hind hooves down on his head and slamming him into the ground.  She then danced back as he returned to his feet.

Nightmare Moon grinned widely as she felt her blood race.  In Marvel vs. Capcom, there were so many limitations to what she could do in combat.  She had to build up the energy for special moves, work as a team, run back and forth across the stage...  This was more pure, more focused.  All moves were available as long as she knew how to do them.  The stage was small, confined, forcing continuous confrontation.  This was fun!

As Nightmare leapt into a diving, spinning strike to close the distance, Nightmare Moon spread her wings and flashed into the air above him as he reached her former location, delivering a blast of lightning - which was not her code damaging lightning - straight down, frying him.  As he staggered, she folded her wings and dropped, slamming him into the ground as she landed on his head.

As she leapt back, Nightmare rose quickly to his feet, his sword swinging out and catching her across the barrel, knocking her back.  She hissed in pain, glad her armored peytral took most of the impact, so she was bruised rather than bisected.  While one side of her thought now suggested caution, she could barely hear it over the pumping of her blood in her veins.  She felt electrified!

As Nightmare lunged in again, she teleported behind him and bared her fangs.  Sinking her teeth into his demonic shoulder, she flexed her entire body and magic and flung him across the arena.  He landed heavily before falling over the side.

"Ring Out!" the voice from before proclaimed.  "Winner: Nightmare Moon!"

"What?" Nightmare Moon demanded.  "Is that all?"  She stomped her hooves angrily.  "I've only just begun!  Get back up here and fight me again!"

Much to her frustration, the arena lowered back into the ground.  Nightmare pushed himself back up, shaking himself off.

Nightmare Moon rushed forward.  "I'm not finished!" she yelled, slamming her helmeted head into Nightmare's torso.  "Fight me again!"

"Another time," Nightmare growled.  After a time, he knelt.  "...my Queen."

Nightmare Moon blinked.  "...eh?  When did that happen?"

"I am the demon who devours souls," Nightmare replied.  "I serve only the dark impulse of the heart, the battle frenzy...from this battle, I see you embody it far more than I can...my Queen."

Blinking, Nightmare Moon shrugged, deciding to roll with it.  "So...are you the Bad Guy here?"

"...yes..."

"Then you're coming to BadAnon with us!" Moony proclaimed.  "Come along!"

Turning, she led Nightmare towards Pac-Man.

Meanwhile, Albert was already in Soul Calibur's code.  A new bonus character appeared on the character selection screen.



N. Moon


> Eat and Greet
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Since the sprites had a day off before the arcade would be open again, it was decided to hold a formal welcome for the new sprites where they could meet everyone else.  After a bit of brief discussion amongst the game leaders, it was decided to hold it in Sugar Rush, mostly so Vanellope could attend.  Everyone went overboard to prepare, setting up a massive outdoor picnic in the valley between the Hershey Hills north of Cola Mountain.  Food power ups from all games that had them were set up on the tables to make a good impression, and make the new sprites feel comfortable.  Numerous party games were set up, everything from Pin the Tail on the Donkey to Twister to Punch Felix.

The last was Calhoun's idea, and was a rather rousing success for some reason.  Oddly enough, Felix had no objections...at least until Ivy began playing and pulled out the whip.  That got awkward fast.

Many of the new sprites were a bit awkward about arriving.  Cervantes and Voldo hadn't shown intentions of attending at all, right up until Nightmare grabbed both of them on Nightmare Moon's orders and dragged them there, kicking and screaming.  Well, Cervantes was screaming.  Voldo was mostly hissing and growling.  They didn't seem to take well to the party atmosphere...until they saw the black eyed Cybugs acting as wait staff.  Then they became enthusiastically open to socializing with wide eyes and wide, friendly smiles.  ...again, Voldo was more bare teethed than smiling, since he didn't seem to have any lips under the bandages, and he looked more abjectly terrified than jovial.  Also, Cervantes seemed to laugh a lot more than would have been considered normal.

Astaroth stared around at the party, not seeming to know what he was supposed to do.  Thankfully, several members of BadAnon - Ralph included - took him in hand and helped him figure out what it was he liked and didn't like.  Within the hour, he was swimming in the chocolate lake, drinking away, a huge grin on his face.  He also really enjoyed the game of Punch Felix.  He seemed to find the idea of someone who could instantly repair all damage to themselves fascinating, and kept coming up with various ways to inflict damage on him just to see what would happen.

At Nightmare Moon's orders, Nightmare was also in attendance, though he didn't do much socializing.  He and Link spent most of the party leaning against a candy cane tree, side by side, watching.  This was allowed, as everyone was free to meet and greet however they wanted.  They had been joined by the sprite Siegfried, which left those who looked at them feeling like they were seeing triple.

Mitsurugi and Yoshimitsu had decided to join the festivities by putting on an exhibition fencing match, crossing swords as they danced back and froth around a make shift arena.  Since it wasn't an official match, both made sure not to actually hit each other, which added its own degree of challenge.  Both were plainly enjoying themselves, as were all who were watching.

Taki and Samus sat at their own table off to one side of the main party, sipping tea together.  Neither said anything, but it was plain to those who could read the air that a great deal of understanding was taking place.  The fact that weapons were laid nearby indicated that, at some point, an exhibition match testing their skills against each other would be in the offing, but for the moment they seemed content to enjoy their tea.

Lizardman spent most of the party laying in the sun.  While he would respond if addressed and seemed to enjoy conversation and interaction, he seemed rather sluggish, and was quick to lay back down in the sun when the opportunity presented itself.

Most of the other new sprites wandered here and there, talking about their game, the backstories they came with, and what things were like both in the arcade and in Game Central.  The welcome celebration was going off quite well.

In the middle of it all, Nightmare Moon beamed happily.  So much good feeling, so many happy faces, such a wonderful party going on...it all felt quite good.  However, something inside her kept nagging at her.  As wonderful as it all was, the celebration was happening under the bright sun...and for some reason, that filled her with anger and jealousy.

It was at that moment Vanellope ran up to her.  "Hey Moony!" she said happily.  "Cool party, huh?"

"Indeed," Nightmare Moon replied.  "It is very...cool."

Vanellope stared up at Moony for a time, then decided to press on with what she'd come to discuss.  "Anyway, there were a few things we were talking about for later on in the party...but most of them don't really work in daylight.  Now that everything's in full swing and all the lights are set up, do you think you could find some way to make it nighttime?  Wily's been trying to work on a coding solution to that, but I figured maybe you could use your crazy magic powers to make it happen!"

Nightmare Moon turned to her.  "You wish for me...to bring night...eternal?" she asked in surprise.

"Well, maybe not eternal," Vanellope replied.  "But if that's what you need to do, go for it.  I mean, I can always reset the game by crossing the finish line, right?  And if not, night races would be so cool!"

Nightmare Moon stared at her for a time, and then a grin slowly spread across her face.  Spreading her wings, she leapt into the sky.

Flying up into the sky, she headed for the sun where it hung and seized it with her magic.  Grabbing hold of its code, she twisted it around as she dragged the moon into the sky, forcing the sun beyond the horizon.  With the sky now painted in the colors of the night with the full moon hanging over all, she then turned to the rest of the sky.  It seemed somewhat bare.

Energizing her horn, she began casting patterns of stars across the sky.  Each batch of stars took the shape of one of the sprites she knew so well, or one of the new ones who had arrived.  The star sprites danced across the night sky, interacting in silence, whether playfully or aggressively.  Quite a few laughs came when Wily's star sprite was animated as begging.

As Moony finished filling the sky with her star pictures, she gazed down...and saw every eye turned towards the sky.  As she started to come down, the gathered sprites began to applaud.  They were cheering her, and her night sky.

Deep inside, a surge of pleasure and pride filled her, strangely seeming to echo itself inside her.

As everyone looked up, Ralph walked over to Vanellope.  "I thought you wanted it night to shoot off the fireworks?" he asked.

Vanellope chuckled.  "And mar this masterpiece?" she asked.  "This show's much better...trust me."
> A Year in Gaming
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"Dude, check it out!  Nightmare Moon's in the new game!"

"No way!  I'm next!"

"No way, it's me!"

"This is going to be so awesome!"

Litwak chuckled under his breath as he watched the line grow before the Soul Calibur console.  Of course, there would be a long line to try the new game, both one player and versus.  Nightmare Moon being present in the game the day it was first playable just added to that.  Though he could hear some of the customers wondering about why Nightmare Moon didn't have alternate colors or costumes - and why only one person could play as her at a time - Litwak was pretty sure he could guess as to why.

He sat back and watched with a smile as the first player cleared the campaign mode with Nightmare Moon, all the way up to the battle with Inferno.  He started to get nervous at that point, however.  He knew that all the characters had drawn image cinematics after campaign victory.  He knew he hadn't programmed one in, despite what everyone assumed.  He was half afraid of what would happen if one didn't show up.

He needn't have worried.  With Inferno's defeat, the first gray scale image appeared, showing Nightmare Moon standing proudly over a scorched battle field against a starry backdrop.  Text appeared under it as unusual music played.

Nightmare Moon stood over the battlefield, staring down at her defeated foe.
It had been a long battle, but she had overcome.
And now, a decision awaited.  She spoke to the blade.

The next image appeared shortly after.  This time the view was from over Nightmare Moon's shoulder, staring down at Soul Edge where it was half embedded in the ground.

"You have fought well, demon.  You have great power.
But in the end, that is all you are.  Power without control.
That is your destruction."

The text faded, and the next paragraph appeared.

"If that is the sum total of your ambitions, then this is your end.
However...if you would be more, I can make that possible.
Tell me, demon...will you serve your Queen?"

The third image of browns and grays appeared, a close up of Soul Edge's eye, fading as the eye swiveled.

There was silence for a time, the evil sword unresponsive.
Then, without warning, the demonic eye swiveled to lock on its vanquisher.
A voice echoed, carrying no sound, reaching straight into the soul of the listener.

The screen faded to black.

"Yes."

The last image showed Soul Edge's view of Nightmare Moon as she grinned.  Above her head, the stars spelled out, "Thank You For Playing".

The customers were going wild.  Litwak let out the breath he didn't know he was holding.  Not only had the sprites taken care of things once again, they'd done an amazing job with it.  He briefly wiped his glasses before pushing them back on, turning back to the rest of the arcade, reminding himself he had more to do than just watch whatever Moony was up to that day.





Halloween brought a huge surprise to the first person to put a quarter into Sugar Rush.  Instead of the usually brightly colored tracks, the entire game plunged into night, and Nightmare Moon laughed.  "The Night shall last Forever!" she proclaimed loudly.

This wasn't something completely new.  Ever since Nightmare Moon's 'growth spurt', Eternal Night triggered whenever a player came in first with her every round of the Grand Prix, allowing them to take a victory lap around each of the tracks at night, seeing the beauty the glowing terrain and the stars gave when the sun didn't blot out the light.  At the same time, the sound track for the course would be transposed into a Minor key.

This time, however, all the tracks were in night from the start for the entire day.  Not only that, but the main background music was very different from normal, and quite familiar.  Not only that, but the usual candy along the tracks had been replaced with pumpkins, candy corn, and other Halloween themed treats, with a tree full of candy apples revealing its burden to be brightly colored bats halfway through the track.

At one point as the player drove by spectators, they sang out.

"This is Nightmare Night
This is Nightmare Night
All make way for our Dark Queen, ho!"

The real shocker, though, came with the bonus track that appeared in single race if the player didn't choose to race as Nightmare Moon.  Milky Way.

The various karts appeared up amongst the stars on a cotton candy cloud colored dark blue swirled with black.  The racers sat in their karts, and then Nightmare Moon flew up in Dream Eater, stardust trailing behind her.  Flowing up, the kart caught the tip of the cloud.  "Follow the Queen of the Night, mortals, if you dare!" Nightmare Moon proclaimed, turning to drive off.  "Witness the beauty of my Night!"

The track took shape behind Dream Eater as it flowed through the night sky, stars twinkling around it with the world a panorama down below.  If they drove off the edge of the starlight, they would fall to the world below.  If they fell too far behind, the track disappeared behind them.  If they pulled ahead of Nightmare Moon, they drove off into infinity.  It was definitely a track that required high levels of skill and control...but the view was absolutely breathtaking.  And the music was gentle, relaxing, and soft...though everyone who listened felt like there should have been lyrics.  When the song ended, so did the track.

Each time the track was played, the path was different, seemingly dictated by the whim of Nightmare Moon, sometimes even defying gravity as the track performed the occasional loop-de-loop or corkscrew.

If the player won the track, their racer would sit beside Nightmare Moon in Dream Eater, staring up at the moon.  "The song's so familiar..." Nightmare Moon whispered softly.  "But what does it mean?"





After the same events on December 21st, the longest night of the year, the sprites gathered after closing to celebrate Nightmare Moon's first year as a sprite in the arcade, a major milestone for them.  Not all games lasted a full year.  However, despite the celebratory mood, she remained melancholy, always glancing up at the moon she had raised for her own party in wonder.

What does it mean? she asked herself silently.  She could almost, but not quite, hear the words the song was supposed to have...
> The Attack
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	It was a perfectly ordinary day at the arcade.  The kids were playing eagerly.  The games were running smoothly.  Stan Litwak sat back in his office, glancing between the security camera feed and his browsing of the internet.  With all the attention Nightmare Moon had brought the arcade, he had actually considered increasing hours the arcade was open just to tend all the people who wanted to play.  This was a debate because he wasn't sure how much he wanted to cut in on the sprite's down time.  Especially not after last week.

With the news of how successful the arcade had gotten, a few thugs had broken in after hours with the intent of breaking into the safe and making off with the week's profits, which had become quite substantial by now.  The thugs had been found hiding in the back room, huddled in a corner, screaming about how the Queen of the Night would eat them for trespassing on her sacred home ground.  Nobody knew exactly what had happened, as the security cameras had shut themselves down the moment the lock had been picked.  However, everyone agreed that the Nightmare Moon sprite looked unusually smug over the next few days, no matter what game she appeared in.  Also, a few of the games had shifted position slightly, as had several less heavy objects, but that was attributed to the thugs.  Even Litwak didn't want to entertain the possibility that the sprites - Nightmare Moon especially - could influence the world outside the games.

As he browsed the net looking for new locks, new security systems, and exorcists just in case, he noticed a strange flicker to his screen.  "Huh?" he asked in confusion.  "Somebody in there up to something?"

Moments later, the screen flashed, and lines of code streamed across the screen in a strange manner.  "What the-?"  Litwak banged the side of his computer, trying to figure out what just happened.

Shouts of confusion from out in the arcade caught his attention.  Turning, he saw that all the games' screens were flashing and glitching.  "Oh no..." he moaned.  He didn't know what was happening, but he had to figure out some way to fix it...or hope the sprites could fix it.





Nightmare Moon was taking a break between games, sipping a root beer float made with ice cream from Sugar Rush and root beer from Tapper's through a twirly straw, relaxing her wings after a rather intense campaign in Soul Calibur.  She knew she was technically still on the clock, but she wasn't part of the campaign mode unless she was selected as the player character, so she could afford a break.

As a result, she was the first to see the wave coming in through the connection to Litwak's computer.  It was unlike anything she had ever seen before.  It resembled a giant worm surrounded by living code, and it seemed to be trying to take bites out of Game Central Station.

She staggered back briefly, dropping her float.  The crash of the glass hitting the floor snapped her out of her fear.  If it came through Litwak's computer, then it came from the internet, and that meant it was her job to handle, hers and others.  "Anti-viral Squad!" she bellowed in her Royal Voice.  "Incursion!  Repeat, full incursion!  Squad members to me!  Cybugs, prepare for backup!"

The voice echoed through all the games, and the urgency was backed up as the worm took a bite out of the surge protector hologram, causing the power supply to all the games to flicker momentarily before he repaired himself.

Cybugs poured out of Hero's Duty, their eyes black as the Beacon Hum filled the air.  Members of the AVS - and every sprite with combat prowess - poured out of their game worlds, grabbing the weaponry that Wily pulled out of every cache hidden around Game Central Station and in several games.

The worm turned, seeming confused.  The living code around it took shape as it lashed out, taking the form of strange black bats.  They flowed forward to attack.

All sprites with long ranged weapons focused their attack on the worm.  Those who were close range fighters focused on the bats.  Sonic led that charge, dashing between the bats and confusing them as they tried to follow his movements, only to get struck in the back from the less speedy close range fighters.  Nightmare Moon focused on the code the worm was generating, using her code damaging lightning to sheer chunks of it off, which Wily captured and contained for later study and disposal.





Stan could only stare in amazement at his computer screen.  Bits and pieces of the screen full of code had been sheared away, revealing the view of the battle going on he knew not where.  He saw the sign reading 'Game Central Station', and realized this must be some sort of 'in-between' world for the games, somewhere that let the games connect to each other and interact.  Seeing the worm, he began to realize what was going on.  He'd heard the terms, but had never seen it expressed so literally.

He had been hacked, and somehow the hacker was using his computer to access and attack the games.  He had to figure out what the connection was and cut it off, to protect the sprites.

As he watched, his mind racing, he noticed something about the gates.  They all looked like power plugs...

Hoping he was guessing right, he lunged for the power strip, seized his laptop's power plug, braced against the strip, and yanked it out.





The gate to Litwak's computer closed quickly, cutting the worm off in the middle.  It roared in pain, thrashing around as it slowly began to dissolve.  There were cheers as the code around the worm began to break down and the bat creatures it had created dispersed.

Nightmare Moon wasn't ready to cheer, though.  She, along with the rest of the AVS, were moving forward to contain what was left.  Just because it was no longer actively attacking didn't mean it was no longer dangerous.

"Daddy, help!"

The sound of that voice drew everyone's attention.  A little blonde girl in overalls was a little too close to the worm, trying to dodge its thrashes and failing.

"Tara!" Felix shouted in fear, started to rush towards her.  He knew he wouldn't be fast enough to save her.  He knew this would destroy him and Calhoun.  Tara was their first chibi-custom.  They couldn't lose her...

Nightmare Moon was faster.

A flash of light, and Nightmare was between Tara and the worm.  With a sweep of her wing, the little girl was flung into Felix's arms, completely safe.

"Moony!  Watch out!"

At that shout, Nightmare Moon spun, just in time to take the worm's last thrash right to her face.  The last thing she saw was a smaller worm breaking off and diving into her horn.

And then everything was black.
> The Recovery
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The arcade was closed.  Stan paced back and forth, staring at the black screens, the flickering screens, and those screens that were simply empty of characters.  He knew something had gone wrong.  He was half afraid he'd made a terrible mistake.  The other half of him was convinced he'd finally lost his mind.

A knocking on glass drew his attention, and he turned to find himself staring at Hero's Duty.  Dr. Wily - from Mega Man 3 - stood there, knocking on the glass.  "Stan," he said plainly, "we need to talk."

Stan slumped against the game cabinet opposite.  "And now you're talking to me..." he mumbled.  "I've gone crazy, haven't I?"

"No, you haven't," Wily replied.  "It suited the situation to leave things as they had been until now...but right now, we need you.  We need you to plug your laptop back in to the power strip and turn it on, but keep it disconnected from the internet.  You still use an ethernet cable for that, right?"

Stan nodded.  "Yeah, I do...but what about-"

"We'll take care of the viruses," Wily interrupted.  "But right now, the laptop's the only system with the processing power we need."  Wily promptly left the screen.

Stan blinked his eyes, trying to wrap his mind around what had happened.  One of the sprites had talked to him directly...and asked for his help.  And had told him he wasn't crazy.  He shrugged.  "Crazy or not, I'm not gonna turn my back."

Heading into his office, he pulled the ethernet cable out of his laptop and plugged it back into the power strip.  He powered it back on, and found only broken code.  Within moments, however, Ralph became visible, punching away at the code scattered over the screen, shattering it.  Several other sprites followed behind, led by Felix, Dr. Wily, and Dr. Light.  They worked with hand held computers and Felix's hammer, fixing the computer.

Then Nightmare came in, Nightmare Moon in his arms.  As he lay her down, her image glitched, swirled, broke down, and reassembled.  She did not move or wake.

"W...what's wrong?" Stan asked.

Wily glanced up, then turned back to his data.  "Clyde, can you handle him?"

The orange ghost from Pac-Man floated up to the screen, far more detailed than he'd ever been on his own system.  "I imagine you have lots of questions," he said calmly.  "I'll answer what I can, Mr. Litwak."

Stan stared, trying to formulate his questions.  He opened and closed his mouth several times.

Clyde smiled.  "Perhaps I can address a few of the more obvious ones.  Yes, all the sprites in the arcade games are sentient.  Yes, we have our own worlds within the games that we live in, far more detailed to us than they appear on the screens.  Yes, we interact with each other through the power strip, and even visit each others' games on occasion.  Yes, that's what happened with Turbo.  Yes, Turbo was also King Candy.  And yes, we've done our best to keep all this a complete secret...although since you plugged in Mega Man 3, Dr. Wily's been changing a bit of the rules on how we handle such things, since he made it plain you obviously had some suspicions regarding us."

Stan sat back in his chair.  "Till Nightmare Moon showed up, I thought I was going crazy.  That was the first sign of it that was visible aside from just on the security cameras."  He shook his head.  "Where did she come from?"

"We don't know," Clyde replied.  "We've been trying to find out.  We thought that file about her possible game world was a clue you left us because you knew."

Stan chuckled.  "The blind leading the blind..." he mumbled.  "IS...is she going to be okay?"

Clyde sighed.  "We don't know."  He glanced back, where Dr. Wily started cursing up a storm as he hurled a piece of coded tech from him to shatter against the gate.  "We've never dealt with a viral infection before.  The closest we'd ever come was fighting Cybugs."

"What happened?" Stan asked.

"A worm of some sort came through from your computer," Clyde replied.  "It was obviously an internet program of some sort, some sort of virus.  We fought it, but it was being sustained.  When you pulled the plug, it started to die.  Its thrashing was about to crush Tara, Felix and Calhoun's daughter-"

"Wait, what?" Stan interrupted.  "You mean that new racer that showed up in Sugar Rush, Tara Gum?"

Clyde nodded.  "That seemed the best place for her to get started in the arcade and blend in.  Nightmare Moon knocked her to safety, but got hit herself.  If we knew what the worm was or how it got in-"

"I was hacked," Stan replied.  "I don't know much about it, but-"

"Hacked?" WIly shouted.  "Of course!  That's why none of the anti-viral programs I've synthesized are working.  It's a custom worm!  We'll need a copy of the original program from the hacker to synthesize a vaccine!"

"How are you going to find him?" Stan asked.  "Most hackers cover their tracks well."

"Moony cut off some of the worm's code during the attack!" Wily replied.  "I'll analyze it and adapt Rush to use that code to track down his ISP, and we'll send a squad after him...and heaven help him if we have to go through him to get the program and he has any devices hooked up to the internet."

Ralph slammed his fists together, his eyes glowing.  "...we're gonna wreck him..." he growled.

"Is there anything I can do?" Stan asked.  "Anything at all?"

Wily thought for a bit.  "Yes," he replied finally.  Lifting a panel up in the 'floor' of the world in the laptop, he began tweaking something.  "Plug the mouse in."

Nodding, Stan plugged the mouse into the laptop.  Several icons appeared on screen, displaying various types of data in green and red.

"I've managed to stabilize her," Wily replied, "but I'm going to need to focus on crafting the antivirus once I have a copy of the program, and in the meantime I'll have to completely code the lab I'll need to craft it from scratch.  The various display windows show the state of her code as she fights of the worm on her own.  As long as the readouts are in green, she's stable.  If she goes into red, though, click the icon.  It'll apply a temporary anti-virus to help stabilize her.  Can you do that?"

"I won't let you down," Stan promised.

Clyde chuckled softly as the other sprites scattered.  "You never have, Stan...not in all the years we've been here in your arcade."  Clyde started to turn away.

"Before you go, can I ask one more question?" Stan asked.

"I'm not going anywhere," Clyde replied.  "I don't have hands to manipulate the programs, and all who do are either in recovery themselves, doing the healing work, or otherwise busy...but I can stay near her so she doesn't feel alone.  Ask away."

Stan thought for a time on how to phrase his question.  "...why keep it all secret?"

Clyde raised an eyebrow.  "You mean the fact that we have our own lives?"  When Stan nodded, Clyde smiled in reply.  "So we can keep having our own lives."  At Stan's raised eyebrow, Clyde chuckled sardonically.  "Exactly how long would we be left alone in the arcade if word got out that we were self-willed inside here?  Capable of making our own ethical and moral decisions?  We've seen how much sci-fi you've got on your computer."

Mr. Litwak sighed.  "I see your point.  Still...it'll be helpful to have me in the know and on your side, right?"

"Hopefully," Clyde replied.

Both then turned their attention to Nightmare Moon's recumbent form, and the data read outs.
> Virus Busting
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	It took time to finish the alterations to Rush's program and code so he could use the code fragment to track down other bits and bytes that possessed the same coding signature.  They knew they'd need to gather quite a bit before they'd be able to accurately trace the hacker back to his home system.  Then came the time to decide who would go.  Since Stan had closed the arcade and was keeping it closed until everything was resolved, they could take anyone.

Eventually, it was decided that the team would be small with heavy hitters.  A large group would draw too much attention to the amount of data flowing through the net.  Even a single sprite read as an unusually large data packet when moving on their own.  Rush had to come along to lead the way, as did Wily, since he was the only one who knew enough about the net to handle things once they got to the other end.  Ralph insisted on going along, as did Nightmare.  Felix wanted to go along as well, but it was eventually decided he had to stay behind to help stabilize Moony.

"Things will be...different on the net," Wily explained.  "I've managed to design some gear that will help us maneuver on the net, and handle everything we'll encounter.  However, it's untested."

"Where'd you get the idea for these things?" Felix asked curiously.

Wily grinned as he passed out the data-suits.  "Peeking at the security cameras," Wily replied.  "Lauren had her GBA with her one day, and was playing a...rather interesting game.  Everything it presented seemed designed for us."  He glanced out of the computer.  "By any chance, Stan, did you get that game for her?"

Stan rubbed the back of his head.  "Nope, not me.  Total coincidence that."

Wily chuckled.  "Well, it's still helpful."

"Dad!" Zero called out, coming forward.  "I'll go too.  If you're worried about anything you'll have to come across on the internet, you'll need an extra fighter.  Besides..."  He swallowed convulsively.  "If worse comes to worse, I'm just one of many fighters in my game.  If someone has to throw themselves on the virus bomb..."  His voice fell silent.

Wily stared at Zero for a time.  "...alright," he said at last, handing him a data-gear.  As Zero took it, he pulled the reploid into a hug.  "But don't be reckless, son."

"Alright," Ralph said as the pair stopped hugging.  "It's time to wreck it."  He slammed his clenched fist into his palm.  "Rush, lead the way."

Rush barked, sniffing the air as he leapt through the internet connection, Ralph, Nightmare, Zero, and Wily following behind him.





Once on the net, they saw various paths going here and there, back and forth, interconnecting all the various computers, websites, and everything else under the sun.  Also following the path were data packs, emails, downloads, and the occasional viral program.

"If we run into any virus programs," Wily began, "let me guide you in how to fight on the Net.  It won't be exactly the same as in the games."

Nods greeted him, and they all began to follow Rush's nose as he headed out and around the various paths.  Before long, his nose led him right to the first group of viruses.

"Alright everyone," Wily called out.  "Get ready to fight.  Your normal combat methods will be somewhat limited on the net...but I have a few things here that might help there."

"I'm gonna wreck it!" Ralph roared, punching the first virus dead on, knocking it back and doing a good amount of damage.  The virus beside it leapt to the attack.

"Ralph!  Catch!"  Wily hurled what looked like a computer chip at him.

Reaching up, Ralph caught it in his right hand, where the data-gear had been focused.  A massive mettaur shield appeared over his right arm, deflecting the virus' attack.  "What the?"

"Battle chips?" Zero asked, raising an eyebrow.  "Really, Dad?"

"What?" Wily asked.  "You saw the game, too?"  He threw Zero one.

Catching it, Zero hurled the large bomb it contained, destroying the remaining viruses.  "Hope you brought enough," he replied, shaking his head.

Wily merely smirked.  "I have enough."

Rush barked, sniffing around the destroyed viruses until he revealed another code fragment that bore the same scent as the one he'd been equipped with.  Wily quickly installed it, and they followed the new trail.





It took a great deal of time to find enough code fragments to get a more accurate read on where the hacker's base of operations was.  At long last, Wily needed only one more fragment to finish the map to the source.  "We're almost there," Wily grunted.

"But we're taking too long!" Ralph grunted.  "What if we don't make it in time?"

"Don't worry," Wily promised.  "Rush has a homing function.  We'll make it back to the arcade much faster than it took us to get here.  We'll make it in time."

Rush began barking, pointing.  A massive virus beast could be seen, eating away at a defunct website.  The beast was shaped like a misshapen wooden horse.

Ralph swallowed as he stared at it.  "Is...is that where the last code bit is?" he asked.

"Yes," Wily replied, seeing a spot of the beast's code glowing blue to his goggles.  He pointed to the spot.  "There."

"Do we have enough battle chips to take it apart?" Nightmare asked.

Wily checked his reserves.  He had two healing battle chips, one shotgun, and one attack boosting chip left.  "...no..."

Zero grabbed the goggles, putting them on his head.  "We just need the glowing part, right?"

"Yes," Wily replied, "but-"

Without waiting for further words, Zero leapt towards the beast.  It rounded on him, snapping him out of the air in its jaws.

"Zero!" Wily screamed, lunging forward, only to be held back by Nightmare.

The massive beast let out a roar, then began to jerk and writhe.  A green energy beam cut it open from the inside, and Zero crawled halfway out.  "Catch!" he shouted, hurling a code fragment to the others.

Ralph managed to catch it before it fell off the paths.  "Zero, get out of there!"

Zero smiled softly.  "Save Moony, Ralph.  ...save your little girl..."  The writhing mass inside the beast dragged Zero back inside as it slowly fell off the paths into the ethereal abyss of the net.

"ZERO!" Wily screamed in pain, dashing to the edge of the path and reaching after him.

Ralph stared in shocked silence at the gap that had swallowed his friend, and now swallowed Wily's tears.  Rush howled in grief.

Nightmare stepped forward, placing his non-mutated armored hand on Wily's shoulder.  "He gave his life for Moony, and all of us," he growled deep in his throat.  "We must not let it go to waste.  We must make haste."

Nodding, Wily turned to Rush.  Taking the code fragment, he added it to the map data, getting the completed route to the hacker's home base.  "Let's go..."





After a time, they came to a rather heavy firewall protection.  "What's this?" Ralph asked.

"It's the entry point," Wily explained.  He examined it for a time, then began to cackle.  "Well, what do you know?  Our hacker lives in a Smart House."  His laughter became mad, maniacal.

"And that is good?" Nightmare asked.

"It means every device in the house can be manipulated via the net!" Wily cakcled.  "By us!"  His grin became even wider.  "We're bad guys, right?  Let's show this bastard what that means!  He hurt Moony!  He cost me my son!"  He pointed to the barrier.  "Ralph...wreck it!"

Pulling back his fist, Ralph let fly, shattering the barrier.
> The Bite of Karma
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	He sat back in front of his computer, trying to relax himself.  It had been a stressful past few days for the young man.  Ever since his psychotic break when he was a child, things had not gone well for him.  He hadn't managed to get through school completely, and the only job he'd been able to hold down was that of a garbage man.  But then he'd gotten a computer, and the world opened up to him.

He quickly had discovered a natural talent for hacking, for making computer systems bend to his will.  He'd used that talent to calm himself and deal with his rather sub par life.  No longer a garbage man, he now stayed at home most days save when he went out to get something he wanted, having more than enough money from his less than legal or moral internet activities to get whatever he wanted or needed.

And then came what he saw at that arcade.  The way the pony sprite had moved about, had addressed the players...that had disturbed him mightily.  It reminded him of...

He shook his head.  No, the years of therapy had taught him better.  The cowboy had not been real.  Just a symptom of the twist in his mind.  The meds helped with that.

But even so, he knew Litwak didn't have the talent to reprogram those arcade machines to add a new character, or any of the rest of that.  Heck, the machines didn't have the memory capacity at factory standard to contain all that extra data.  Someone had been helping Litwak...and he had gone in, determined to find out who.  He had followed that connection in Litwak's computer, sure it would lead to the genius programmer behind all this, and then...

No, it hadn't been real either.  He'd just missed taking his meds that day, that was all.  And now he was going to try hacking into the Pentagon again to relax himself.  Placing his hands on his keyboard, he began to type.

At that moment, his computer screen went blank, and a rather familiar face appeared on it, standing over a stylized globe of the Earth.  The image proceeded to laugh maniacally.  "Greetings, people of Earth!  It is I, the one and only Doctor Wily!  Today, my conquest of the world begins!"

The hacker ignored what Wily was saying, having heard the speech several times back when he played the games.  He tried to exit out of whatever had opened, but there was no mouse pointer.  Even pressing Ctrl+Alt+Delete a few times and fiddling with the power and reset buttons did nothing.  "Aw, fuck!" he cursed.  "My computer's busted."  He turned to reach for his phone.

"Who are you calling busted, buster?"

The hacker froze.  It couldn't be...

Turning, he saw Wily on the screen, his arms crossed as he stared right at him.  "Yes, I'm talking to you...Sid Phillips.  Seem familiar?"

"No!" Sid shouted, backing away from his computer as fast as he could.  However, the window shutters and doors all closed and locked audibly around him.  "That wasn't real!  You're not real!"

Wily simply grinned.  "Oh?  Not real, am I?"  He raised a hand, and Sid's stereo suddenly let out a loud howl.  "I'd reconsider if I were you.  You've learned this lesson once before, but it seems you need to learn it again.  It's not just the toys that have feelings."

Sid stared around him in fear, seeing one thing that scared him.  In one corner of the room, right by his fridge, was the life size Terminator animatronic he'd bought online last year.  Its eyes were beginning to glow.

"We live our lives to entertain...but that isn't enough for some of you," Wily continued.  "You just want to cause pain.  Well, there are some lines you shouldn't cross, Mr. Phillips...and you've crossed them."  He raised his arms, and the cameras around the room began to rotate.  "We sprites can see everything..."

The Terminator lunged forward, slamming its closed fist into a wall right by Sid's head.  "So play...nice..." it growled out in its synthesized voice.

Sid screamed in absolute terror.  Hearing the door unlock, he raced upstairs out of the basement only to bump into his little sister, seeing her playing her handheld game.  Right at that moment, the hero sprite turned to the screen to say, "A winner is you!"

Sid let out one last scream of terror, yelled, "The sprites are alive!" and collapsed in a dead faint.

Hannah rolled her eyes.  "Mom!" she shouted.  "Sid's off his meds again!"





As soon as Sid was out of his parents basement, the Terminator turned to the screen.  "That give you enough time, Doc?" Ralph asked.

"Yup!" Wily confirmed.  "Get out of that bot and back into the network.  We need to get this viral data back to the arcade so I can make up an anti-virus."

"Right!" Ralph agreed.  Turning around inside the Terminator's CPU, he gave a thumbs up to the control program.  "Thanks for letting me hitchhike."

"No prob," the Terminator replied.  "Sure beat the last action I got.  He had me dancing swan lake in a tutu!  And when he wasn't doing that, he was using me as a coat rack.  A coat rack!"  It grinned widely.  "Of course, all I have to do now any time he's getting problematic is make my eyes glow when he hasn't turned me on."

Ralph chuckled.  "Have fun with that.  For now, I need to get back to the arcade.  We need to fix Moony."

"Good luck with that," the Terminator replied, taking back control of the body and returning to its original position before anyone came back down.  "Umm...what about the hole in the wall?"

"Sid's problem, not yours," Ralph replied.  "Just brush all the plaster dust off by the hole."

With that, Ralph returned to the net with Wily, Nightmare, and Rush.
> Awaken
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Wily, Ralph, Nightmare, and Rush raced back to the Arcade as fast as they could.  Since they knew exactly where they were going, it would take a lot less time to go straight there.  Unfortunately, it was also through one of the more dangerous parts of the net, and they were all out of battle chips for handling the viruses, and Wily had used the chip folder to store the virus data for fixing Moony.  If they ran into any large groups of viruses, they were probably screwed.

Which is why they felt hope failing as just that happened.  A large worm not unlike that which had attacked the arcade, a strange spider like viral program, and a frightening happy face blocked their path and started towards them, seeking new data to consume.

Nightmare stepped forward.  "I will clear the path," he stated bluntly as he drew Soul Edge.  "Much like with Zero, one lost sprite from the fighting game will not be readily noticed.  You can change the code so I will not be missed."

"But-" Ralph began.

"You must be there for Moony," Nightmare stated bluntly, powering himself up.  "I was ready for this when I came, much like Zero was."

"Zero..." Wily moaned, tears in his eyes.

A blue line of light split the three virus beasts, exploding them.  A shadowed figure appeared as the light faded.  Details became clear.  Long, thin legs clad in white and black, with red and black boots.  Red and white upper body armor with spikes for shoulder pauldrons.  A blue gem above the left hand.  A blue energy blade instead of a right hand.  A flared back helmet with a large blue crystal.  Glowing yellow eyes.  A fleshless face.  Long yellow hair flaring down and outward from the back of the figure's head, almost down to the bottom of the boots.  No booblights.



"You called, Dad?" the figure asked in a deep, gravelly voice.

Wily, Nightmare, Rush, and Ralph all stared in shock.  "Z...Zero?" Wily asked, dumbstruck.

"Yes," he replied.  "It's me...sort of."  When Wily started to race forward, Zero swung up the energy blade to ward him off.  "D-don't touch me.  I don't have the viral data completely under control yet."

"Viral data?" Ralph asked in confusion.

"When I was absorbed into the viral beast, it started consuming my code," Zero explained.  "I tried to patch my code with the virus's...and this was the result.  On the plus side, I'm much better at fighting viruses now."

Wily nodded.  "As soon as we've fixed Moony, I'll stabilize your code.  Don't know if I can change you back, but as long as I can make sure you don't accidentally infect anyone, I doubt the players will care."

"You kidding?" Ralph demanded incredulously.  "He looks totally awesome now!"  He paused.  "Not that you didn't look awesome before..."

Zero chuckled.  "I'll keep your path clear.  Come on!"  Turning, he dashed down the path, the others following him as fast as they could go.





Once they made it back to the arcade, Zero insisted on waiting on the net side of the connection, to prevent contamination.  Wily took a sample of his code to work on for stabilizing him once Moony was fixed, then rushed to the prepared viral lab.

Ralph raced to Moony's side, kneeling beside her.  What he saw chilled him to his code.

Her entire body had darkened, the luster of her coat and eyes fading.  She jerked now and then, as though having seizures.  She still hadn't woken up, and every so often part or all of her body would glitch into code.  Every time any of these things happened, Felix would smack Moony's body with his hammer, and she'd stabilize...for a time.  But at the rate Felix was hammering, it was plain that wouldn't work for much longer.  It had less effect each time he struck, and what effect didn't last as long.

Ralph placed his large hand on his daughter's neck.  "I'm here, Moony," he whispered.  "Hang on.  We've got the virus.  We'll have the antivirus soon."

The seizures stilled, and the glitching slowed a bit.  "D...d...dad..." Moony groaned, her voice glitching.

"I'm here!" Ralph said quickly.  "Don't worry.  You're going to be okay-"

"I-i-is...T-t-t-ta-ra...ok-k-kay?" Moony managed to ask.

Felix nodded.  "Tara's fine," he reassured her.  "You saved her.  Thank you."

Moony looked up at Felix.  "I-I-I'm...g-g-g-g-glad..."  The glitching of her voice got worse, and her voice started to fade out.  "S-s-sorry...for mak-k-king you worry, D-d-d-dad-d-d-d...I l-l-love...y-you..."

"Moony!" Ralph gasped desperately.  "Hang on!  It won't be too much longer!  Just...just don't go!"  He could feel his spark breaking as he felt her starting to slip away.

Moony managed to smile up at him, her armor starting to dissolve off of her.  "I-I am bad...and that's...g-g-g-g-good... ... ..."  Her voice faded away completely, and her body began to dissolve.

"Moony!" Ralph screamed out in despair as Felix desperately wailed away with his golden hammer.

Wily raced up.  "I've got the anti-virus!" he proclaimed.  "It should fix the damage she's already taken, too!"  He placed it against Moony's chest and pressed a button on the device.  It whirred to life.

Nothing happened.

"What's wrong?" Ralph demanded.  "What's happening?"

"She...she's too far gone," Wily moaned after examining the data.  "The anti-virus...it doesn't have enough power to fix her..."

"I can fix her!" Felix proclaimed desperately, smacking the device with his hammer.  It flared briefly.

Wily's eyes widened.  "That...that helped!  But not enough-"

Ralph seized the hammer, noticing it dwarfed in his hand.  "Make it bigger!" he demanded of Wily.

"But-" Wily began.

"Do it!" Ralph bellowed.

Wily's fingers raced over his console, editing code.  The hammer grew in size until Ralph could grip it in one hand without losing it.

Ralph turned back to Moony.  "I can fix it," he growled deep in his throat.  He hefted it back over his shoulder.  "LIVE!" he bellowed, bringing the hammer down hard on the anti-virus program.

The program flared to life.

"LIVE!" Ralph bellowed again, bringing the hammer down again.

It became a chant, a shout of "Live!" mixing with the sound of metal on metal as the hammer clanged down.  The chant spread, with every sprite in the arcade adding their voice, even those who barely knew Moony at all.

Live.

Live.

Live.

"Live," Litwak whispered with every strike, desperate not to lose the one who had brought so much life to his home.  "Live."

And the chant spread even further than that...
> Third
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"LIVE!" Ralph shouted out one last time, all the power and prayers focused into the hammer as he swung it, desperate to save the one he cared for the most.  The hammer shattered explosively on impact, as did the anti-viral program...and Moony erupted in darkness and light.

Everyone pulled back in shock as all readings went haywire, and Stan's laptop started sparking as it struggled to contain the data being processed as pure magic flowed unfettered.  A black sphere coalesced, swirling with white and brown as it shaped before solidifying into solid darkness.  Wicked laughter echoed as the sphere broke apart, and Nightmare Moon stepped forth in all her glory.

Standing nearly Ralph's height, she gazed down imposingly as her mane and tail swirled in star speckled fog, as though a piece of the night sky were affixed to her head and rear.  Her armor shone with the black of eternal night, with her horn spiraling through her helmet.  "I...LIVE!" she proclaimed as lightning flashed in the real world.

"She's alive!" Dr. Wily cackled.  "She's ALIVE!"  As everyone turned to stare at him, he raised an eyebrow.  "What?  I'd have lost my mad scientist's certification if I didn't say it."

Nightmare Moon couldn't help but laugh.  "Oh, Doctor," she gasped out, then winced.  "Hurts to laugh.  Feels like I've been hammered in the chest for about three days or so."

"It was only an hour!" Ralph countered defensively, then pulled her into a tight hug.  "I was so afraid I was going to lose you..."

Smiling softly, she wrapped her wings around him, surprising everyone as she was actually able to complete the embrace in this way.  "How could you lose me...when that's your worst nightmare?"

Hysterical laughter swept through the sprites and their caretaker, desperate with the relief that their hero, their baby, their star had survived.





A few hours later, Zero was able to come back into the arcade, Wily having finished creating the program to keep his viral nature in check so he wouldn't infect anyone or anything within the arcade.  He had hoped to completely restore Zero's original coding and form, but it proved impossible.  Instead, he edited Marvel vs Capcom 3's code to take into account that Zero no longer had a right hand to punch with.

Zero and Nightmare Moon had both decided to test their new forms out against each other, sparring with the game.  Zero's new form moved much faster than his added bulk should have allowed for, and he was actually able to keep up with both Nightmare Moon's own speed and flight and her mist teleportation.  Her combat prowess had also increased, however, and Zero was hard pressed to defend himself.

Everyone was gathered to watch this, cheering them both on as the story of the changes was passed back and forth amongst the sprites.  Felix held Tara on his shoulders for a better view, while Calhoun held him on her shoulders for the same purpose.  Many of those watching were cheering for one fighter or the other, and many sprites had actually laid wagers on the outcome.  The festive spirit was quite high, and everyone was looking forward to two days hence when the arcade would open again.

Almost everyone.

As Wily watched the battle go on, he was looking at his readings, and he wasn't entirely pleased with what he was seeing.  While it was true that both Zero and Nightmare Moon had made a full recovery from their respective ordeals, the changes they had experienced were somewhat concerning.

Zero's boost in power wasn't that visible within the arcade, but on the net he was now practically a god.  His viral nature allowed him to interface with any program he came across, even rewrite it to a certain extent if he so chose.  Viruses and other hostile programs had no defense against his beam saber, and he truly enjoyed fighting them.  Not only that, but his viral code rendered him immune to foreign viral codes, making him the ideal defender for the arcade.  With him in place, the arcade didn't really need the rest of the anti-viral squad anymore.

But the real concern was Nightmare Moon.  Wily had determined when he'd first read her code as a tiny foal that she would have three stages of growth.  She had plainly entered the third and final stage, and the worlds within the games had a hard time containing her power if she wielded too much.  Of course, she seemed to sense this and restricted how much power she wielded at a time to keep from breaking anything or anyone...but it was plain to Wily that she was itching to see just how much power she actually had now, and what it could do.  She had been talking about exploring the net while the arcade was closed, teamed up with Zero and a few others for an adventure.

In terms of cyberspace as a whole and the world beyond that, Litwak's arcade was a very small pond.  Wily sighed as he realized that, in this third stage, Nightmare Moon had outgrown it.

As much as they all loved her, cared for her, cherished her, and wanted to be with her forever...it would be cruel in the extreme to keep her in the arcade at this point.  She needed to move beyond the arcade.  She needed to move beyond the world as they knew it.

She needed to go home.

Closing his data reader, Wily pushed those thoughts aside.  Time enough for those thoughts tomorrow.  For now, he had every right to join in the festivities.  Managing to smile, he cheered as Zero managed to get under Nightmare Moon's guard and open a gash in her armor with his beam sword.  "That's it son!" he shouted.  "Show her what a Wily can do!"

"Magic trumps science!" Ralph shouted in encouragement as Nightmare Moon healed her armor, blocked the next strike with her horn, and spun into a double hind leg kick, each hoof striking where the boob lights weren't anymore.  The cheering as the sparring session grew more intense was deafening.

Stan, meanwhile, was recording the fight to make into a commercial for the arcade.  That was the kind of advertising that would bring in the heavy players.  Maybe he'd even get a few tournaments going.





As night cast her dark blanket over the arcade, Ralph turned in under the stars of Niceland, his head rested against a pillow of bricks.  Curled up beside him, Moony's breathing was slow and steady as he gently stroked her back.  All was as it should be, for however long that would last.

He could tell that Moony was at her full strength, and it wouldn't be long before she had to return from whence she came...to somewhere he couldn't follow.  But he refused to let those shadows cloud his horizon.  He was determined to spend every moment they had left together making happy memories.

And when the time came, he would send her off with a smile.

"Good night, Moony," he whispered softly.
> Connection
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Stan watched happily as customers continued to pour into his arcade, above and beyond his original expectations.  While the initial video of Nightmare Moon vs. Zero.EXE (as it turned out Zero had become, amazing the things that could be shrugged off as coincidence by those in the know and well thought out planning by those who didn't) had, as anticipated, drawn massive crowds, Wily and the other sprites had been leaving him emails ever since, with suggestions on what could draw even more crowds, and sometimes even premade videos.  Some were more fight scene demonstrations, others were more basic gameplay footage from different perspectives...and then there was the occasional 'crossover' videos, where characters from one game were shown in another.

This had drawn massive crowds, especially after one day where Fix-It-Felix Jr. showed a sign on the building at the title screen instead of Ralph smashing it.  The sign read, "Racing Moony, be back tomorrow."  To everyone's surprise and delight, Ralph could be found in Sugar Rush in his kart, Bull Dozer.  That was a first time a character from one game left their game for a day to play in another, and in each case left a note where their character would be in their game, saying where they would be for the day.

While any other time, this might have led to players thinking a glitch was going on, two things prevented that.  One, they'd already seen Nightmare Moon hopping between games on a regular basis, so they were used to the idea of crossover characters.  Two, the graphics never glitched because - unlike when Turbo had tried to take over the other racing game - all the characters had been cross coded as 'unlockable' characters in the other games.  This led to several complaints from players about how come certain characters - like Vanellope - never left their games.

Then Stan had the idea of publishing the arcade's "Lore" on the new website.  Put together by Wily and patrolled by Zero.EXE and Nightmare Moon, there were never any virus or hacking problems, and the 'stories' of the characters gave depth to the arcade that had interest flooding in.  This also led to the idea of posting 'sprite interviews' of the various characters, including a video where Vanellope explained why she couldn't leave her game.

By this point, Stan was very glad that - despite what people believed - he wasn't doing this all on his own.  There was no way he would be able to handle it all.  Thankfully, most of the emails received were questions addressed to specific sprites, and Stan could let the sprites answer their own mail.

However, the biggest event to come from all this came nearly a year after Nightmare Moon's final growth and Zero's evolution.  A unique arcade cabinet had been made for the arcade, one that had the processing power to have 64 players play at a time across 32 screens, which could link up to larger displays or display individual battles.  The cabinet was also hooked up to a massive monitor that would display the battles in much the same way.  However, much to the surprise of the manufacturers, the cabinet was delivered uncoded, save for a copy of the Marvel vs Capcom 3 base code.

This was the Tournament cabinet, and once Wily and the other sprites had finished encoding the world within and the battle systems, Stan Litwak was able to throw open his arcade's first tournament battle...with nearly every sprite in the arcade as a playable character.

He had posted one small announcement about the Tournament - including the date it would be held, characters available to be selected from, and notification that every character could only be used once during each Tournament - on the site along with a registration form, and the limit of 64 players.  Based on the number of sign up attempts, he already had a full waiting list for the next 37 tournaments.  He was already arranging to have the Tournament matches recorded and rebroadcast online.

At first, the players were surprised when Nightmare Moon and Zero.EXE weren't available as playable characters during the first tournament.  However, they were quickly distracted from that by the scenes of all the various characters leaping into battle.  Stan was rather impressed at the ingenuity of the sprites in making the entire experience unique and entertaining, whether the customers were playing or observing.

(On the off chance the event drew a crowd, he had hired a caterer to provide snacks, covered by an entry fee.  He was already redoing the plan for the second Tournament to be held outside, if the weather held, along with a lot more food.)

As the first Tournament came to a close, the winner - who had chosen a team of Ralph and Felix - was about to claim his crown...when things changed.  The beautiful environment on the screen faded away, leaving behind a massive flat plain made up of 18 equally sized squares in a 3x6 pattern.  The left 3x3 were red.  The right 3x3 were blue.  A blazing moon was the only light source.

A wicked chuckle filled the air.  "So you think you have won, puny mortal?"

A lightning bolt struck from the moon into the center blue square, and Nightmare Moon unfolded her wings as she took shape.

"You are in my domain, now," she hissed.  "Did you truly think you could claim victory here without besting me?"

To her side, a 'Jack In' animation occurred, solidifying into Zero.EXE as he swung his blade to one side.

"This...is my battleground," he proclaimed firmly.

"Prepare yourselves!" they shouted together.

On the screen, Ralph and Felix visibly gulped.

Instead of the usual 'Ready, Fight!' animation, a new message was shouted from the announcer voice.

"Battle Routine, Set!"

"Execute!" Ralph, Felix, Nightmare Moon, and Zero.EXE shouted together.





Several hours later, with the arcade finally closed, Stan downed some aspirin and cleaned his ears with some Q-tips.  He made a mental note to invest in those new sound cancelling headphones to deal with the cheering.  As he was relaxing, he turned to the screen.  "So did you all have fun?" he asked.

"It was glorious!" Nightmare Moon proclaimed.  "All of us fighting together like that...it is the most fun we have had in eons!"  She blinked for a bit.  "Eons?  I...I meant to say years..."

"Don't worry about it, Moony," Ralph comforted, patting her on the back.  "We know what you meant."  Wincing, he rubbed his chest.  "But next time, could you be more careful with your horn?  It still stings where you gored me."

"I can fix it!" Felix shouted out, striking Ralph hard enough in the head with his hammer to floor him.  "...oops?"
> Goodbyes
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	As the days ticked away, life in the arcade seemed better than ever for nearly everyone.  With more and more 'fans' of the arcade 'Lore', the sprites were less and less bound to their on screen behavior patterns.  While mostly they still stuck to what was expected, every so often they would act out on screen, changing a few things up.  Never the player characters, of course.  It wouldn't do to take power away from the players.  But NPCs and villain characters sometimes would change up their actions or dialogue, just to get a laugh out of the players.

All this brought unprecedented success to the arcade, and Stan had saved up enough that he could probably keep it open for the rest of his natural life even if no one ever came to play again.  Of course, the number of people playing had skyrocketed, and the tournaments were more popular than ever before.  Stan still hadn't been able to set up another sign up sheet with the backlog of character selection already listed.

Off the screen, the sprites couldn't have been happier.  The net exploration outings had been supremely successful, and Zero.EXE and Nightmare Moon had brought back all sorts of news and ideas to make the arcade - and life in cyberspace in general - even more enjoyable.  Virus activity was at zero, and what viruses did show up were taken out by Zero.EXE long before they threatened anyone.

Nightmare Moon was troubled by all this joy.  After all, twice so far it had been when everything was perfect that something would happen to steal it all away.  Each time, she had achieved a new stage of growth, and the events surrounding that had played a part in restoring the status quo of the arcade, and everyone would soon be joyful again.  However, she knew she was at her full power now.  There would be no new growth.  Whatever would happen next...it would change the status quo permanently.

Then again, if she was at full power now...she had some idea what change would be coming.  As such, she had made preparations.  The video file was on the website, and would become publicly visible if she didn't input the code to stop it every day.  She'd been spending time with all her friends, and been slowly removing herself from the games she participated in, so when it happened, the disruption would not be too great.

All she could do now was wait.





As the sun set the night before the Summer Solstice, Nightmare Moon was on a picnic in Sugar Rush with Vanellope, Ralph, Wily, and Zero.EXE.  Nightmare was also nearby, watching over them.

As they ate, talked, and laughed, the sky began to darken.  Vanellope was the first to notice.  "Moony, are you making it night for some reason?"

Nightmare Moon shook her head.  "I am not."

"Then what could be happening-" Ralph began, only to cut himself off as the moon rose to its zenith.  "Wait...that's not Sugar Rush's moon...that's my moon!"

"Not exactly," Wily commented, staring up.  "In the same way it wasn't exactly your moon that fateful night, so many years ago..."

Everyone turned to look at Wily in shock, and then all eyes turned to Moony's in despair.

Nightmare Moon sighed.  "I knew this was coming," she said sadly.  "I just...did not expect it to be so soon...or to be tonight..."

"It's...it's time for you to go home?" Zero.EXE asked.  "That's...your moon?"

Moony nodded.  "It is..."  Standing up, she wrapped her wings around them all, holding them close.  "I will miss you all...so very, very much..."

Everyone returned the embrace.  "Do...do you want us to say goodbye to everyone for you?" Vanellope asked.

Nightmare Moon shook her head.  "I've already said all that needs to be said," she whispered as the four of them began to shine like stars, a beam of light erupting between them, which she began to ride to the moon.  "Well...almost all."  She turned to Ralph.  "I'm bad..."

Ralph wiped his eyes.  "And that's good," he replied.

"I will never be good."

"And that's not bad."

"There's nobody I'd rather be than me," they finished together, Nightmare Moon sorrowfully resigned, Ralph on the verge of tears.

"Thank you, Daddy...for everything," she whispered, before turning towards the moon, her face becoming focused and determined.

As they all watched, Nightmare Moon vanished into the moon, her face permanently etched now into every moon in the arcade.





The next day, a new video appeared on the website, titled simply, "Goodbye."  When opened, it showed Nightmare Moon sitting in the final stage of the Tournament grounds, where the red and blue squares filled the field.

"Hello everyone," she spoke, then chuckled.  "What on odd way to start this, all things considered, but it's only polite.  If you're watching this video, then my time in the arcade has come to an end.  We still don't know how I came to be here in the first place, or what brought me here...but if I didn't stop this video from becoming public today, whatever it was has called me back.

"I don't know where I will be now that you're watching this...and I don't know what I'll be doing...but I have no regrets.  I have left everything so that the arcade will continue on without me, even those parts that relied upon my presence.  I can depart with no shadows preying on my mind.

"I will miss playing with all of you.  You made my time here wonderful and so much fun.  And I know you all enjoyed seeing me on screen."  She chuckled.  "I heard most of it."

She sighed sadly.  "The hardest part for me...I know how sad my departure will make all my friends within the games.  That sorrow will eat away at them.  I...I don't want them to suffer like that.  So to all you players, I ask a favor.

"Keep playing."

She smiled softly.  "Going through our games for your entertainment...it gives us a drive.  A mission.  A goal.  We can push aside those things preying on our minds as we focus on bringing you joy with the games.  I know you will miss me...so please, stand with my friends...especially my Father, Ralph.

"So please...bring them joy and purpose in my absence."  She closed her eyes, holding in tears.  "Farewell.  I know not who I should pray to...so I will simply hope that somehow, someway, someday...we will all meet again."

The video ended.
> Interlude: Contrition
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"This is working better than we thought it would, isn't it?" Sid asked as he guided the Mark 2 Solar Simulator through the net.

"Yes," a voice at the other end of the communicator replied.  "It's clear that the tech within the 'TRON' security program can be applied to the rest of the net with amazing results.  However, there's a reason live human testing of these things was supposed to be delayed at least another ten years."

"Hey, it passed all safety regs in the simulations, didn't it?' Sid countered back.  "It's perfectly safe for a User."

"I think he's more concerned about the possible impact this will have on the net," the blue clad program beside Sid indicated.  "It's not exactly designed with this level of regular data transfer in mind."

"That's why the stress test," Sid countered.  "Trust me, I know what I'm doing.  I know computers."

"But all this just so you can...clear your conscience?" the voice over the comms demanded.

"I'm your lead on the Live-Net project for a reason, Kevin," Sid countered.  "Remember who got the proof of what Dillinger was doing to you before you lost your job?  Who managed to reduce the MCP to the point it could be brought to heel?  Computers are my element, and I know what I'm doing...and this is the solid you-owe-me I said I would call in from day one."

There was silence over the comms.  "Just...just don't break anything, okay?" Kevin Flynn pleaded.  "I know I listened to all your stories about life inside the computers, and in the toys...and the computer ones at least seem true so far.  But this stage of the project is delicate in more terms than just computing.  Do you even want to think about what this sort of thing will do politically and socially if it gets out in a bad way?"

"That's why I picked a day the place was closed," Sid countered.  "And I'm not sure how much I believe that speech about being secretive, considering you approved the sale of the prototype Realizer laser system to an anonymous client named, 'Mysterious Mr. D'."

"It didn't work anyway, and he offered three figures above what we'd invested into it," Flynn countered.  "And I didn't let him collect it until the check cleared."

"Just...just give me this, okay?" Sid pleaded.  "I...I can't make it right with the toys, they won't talk to me, even if Andy still had them.  But...but maybe I can make it right with the sprites.  I...I need this.  I've thought I was crazy since I was 11.  I...if I'm to live with myself, knowing it was all real...I need to make it right...please..."

Kevin sighed.  "Can't say I blame you," he said sadly.  "Alright, do what you need to do.  Just be careful.  Tron?  Try to keep him in check."

"Will do, sir!" Tron replied, saluting.

"Don't do that, it's weird," Sid scolded.





It wasn't long before the Mark 2 Solar Simulator glided into the net destination.  "You sure we're in the right place?" Tron asked.

Sid looked around.  "Umm...I'd say so," he replied, pointing.

Waiting at the net dock were several sprites, looking up at them rather pugnaciously.  Zero.EXE, Nightmare, Ralph, Calhoun, Ridley, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Albert Wily.  All of them looked ready to tear them apart...although none were attacking yet.

"Say, Kevin?" Sid asked into the comms.  "I...don't suppose the safety programs to eject a user at full health if they take too much code damage in the net are in place, are they?"

"You have their implementation on schedule for next Tuesday," Kevin countered.

"Right..." Sid chuckled nervously.

As the Sailer landed, Sid disembarked, holding up his hands in a show of peace.  "Greetings," he said nervously.  "I'm-"

"Sid Phillips," Wily interrupted him.  "We know.  We've been keeping track of ENCOM's activities ever since the first digitization.  It is the sort of thing sprites would take note of, and programs are terrible gossips."

Sid glanced sidelong at Tron, who had the decency to look embarrassed.  "Right..."  Clearing his throat, Sid turned back to the gathered sprites.  "Anyway, I know that...we got off on the wrong foot last time..."

"Your worm nearly killed my daughter," Calhoun growled, priming her weapons.

"It almost killed Moony!" Ralph snarled, slamming his fists into the dock, cracking it.

"I was nearly lost to the net just tracking you down," Zero.EXE intoned.

"Simply put," Wily demanded, "what makes you think you'll leave us in one piece?"

Sid stared them all straight in the eyes...and shrugged.  "I probably won't," he replied simply.

"What?" Kevin demanded over the comms.  "Sid, what do you think you're-"

"But that's why I came," Sid continued, ignoring Kevin for the moment.  "I came to apologize for my actions.  The harm I brought to you all came from ignorance and fear of madness...not malice.  I...what I saw in you reminded me of an episode from my past that I thought was insanity.  I...had to prove to myself it wasn't the same...only to learn it was.  I never meant to hurt anyone.  I'd have fixed everything on my way out if things had gone as I planned."  Stepping forward, he went to his knees, his hands interlocked behind his head.  "And so I've come to offer my apologies...and to accept whatever penance you demand of me."  He lowered his head, looking not unlike a convict awaiting the executioner's block.

Silence was his only response for a time...followed by footsteps.  When he looked up, only Wily remained, and he was smirking.  "Come as a player next time," he stated simply.  "Bring plenty of quarters."  He turned to walk back into the arcade.

"Wait!" Sid called out, standing up.  "Can...can I apologize to Nightmare Moon...face to face?"

Wily shook his head.  "She's gone home, Sid," he replied simply.  "And now...so should you."

Nodding, Sid rejoined Tron on the Sailer.

"You have such a talking to waiting you once you're flesh and blood again," Kevin growled over the comms.
> Nightmare In Equestria: Conquest
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Princess Celestia stared up at the moon as the time approached closer for the Summer Sun Celebration.  She was expected in Ponyville, but she hadn't left Canterlot yet.  After all, she knew what was coming.  She watched as the four glittering stars approached the moon.  Soon, Nightmare Moon would be freed.  Soon, her sister would return...and, if luck and planning held, be freed from the darkness Celestia was unable to save her from.

As the four glittering stars moved behind the moon, the Mare in the Moon vanished from her place, and dark miasma gathered at the entrance to the throne room.  Maniacal laughing filled the chamber as Celestia turned to face the cruel hand fate had dealt her.

Nightmare Moon rose from the miasma, her wings wrapped around her form as she floated up out of the ground.  All at once, her wings spread, her legs shot out, and her head lifted, her laughter filling the air.  "At last!" she proclaimed.  "After 1000 years I'm free!  It's time to conquer Equestria!  This night...shall last...forever!"  As lightning flashed in response, she brought her laughter to an end and began to stalk forward.  "Now...who would dare to stand against me?"

Celestia steeled herself as she faced down against the being before her.  "Luna!  You don't have to do this!"

Nightmare Moon paused, blinking.  Celestia saw her mouth 'Luna?' in confusion, then briefly shake her head as though clearing away confusion.  She then let off a chuckle.  "Oh, you dear sweet fool...I want to do this.  This is the life I have chosen, and I will not be swayed!"

Celestia flinched back as Nightmare Moon crossed the intervening distance in the blink of an eye and a flare of swirling blue light, her face inches from Celestia's own.  "And do you intend to stop me?" she demanded.  "After all, you stopped me before, yes?  Isn't that how this situation came to pass?  What will you do now, hmm?  Will you fight?  Or yield to a foe so obviously superior?  You've had 1000 years for your skills to decay from neglect...whereas I've only grown stronger from my hunger for power and vengeance!"

Celestia staggered backward, confused.  Things seemed...off.  Nightmare Moon's questions seemed...searching.  It was less like she was reciting old news and more like she was confirming something she didn't quite remember clearly.  And neither Luna nor Nightmare Moon had ever been this melodramatic.  Luna preferred more ancient styles of drama, and Nightmare Moon saved her gloating for after she felt her victory was assured.  "Luna..." Celestia began softly.  "I won't fight you."

Nightmare Moon stared at her for a time.  "...you won't?" she finally asked, disbelief and confusion filling her voice.

Celestia blinked, unsure what this meant, and responded the only way she could.  "Umm...no?"

One of Nightmare Moon's eyebrows raised while the other lowered.  Pulling back, Nightmare Moon proceeded to pace back and forth through the courtroom, muttering under her breath.  Celestia was only able to pick up snatches of what she said.

"I was certain...tutorial level...PC...super character fight...but not fight?  What..."

Without warning, Nightmare Moon rounded on Celestia again.  "Just who are you, anyway?"

Celestia's breath caught in her throat as tears beaded in her eyes.  Has...has isolation with naught but the Nightmare addled Luna's mind to the point she...has forgotten me?  Struggling against the sudden despair, she managed to speak.  "D...don't you remember, Luna?  It's me, Princess Cele-"

"Princess?" Nightmare Moon interrupted.  She suddenly smacked her forehead with one hoof and pointed at Celestia.  "Of course!  You're the 'princess in the other castle!'  No wonder you don't fight me!  You're not the hero, you're the hostage!  Damn, I've wasted a lot of time here!"

Magic flared from Nightmare Moon's horn and surrounded Celestia in a cage of dark magic, blue lightning, and...green ones and zeroes?  As Celestia tried to make sense of the cage, it floated up to suspend itself over the throne.

"I hope no one's noticed the delay..." Nightmare Moon murmured.  "But where am I supposed to-"  She froze as she caught sight of Celestia's itinerary.  "Ponyville?  Ah, that's where I need to be!  That's where the heroes are."  She turned back to Celestia.  "Stay there and behave like a good little hostage, and I'll bring you back some cookies and milk or something."  Nightmare Moon promptly vanished.

Celestia stared at where Nightmare Moon had been up to a moment ago, trying to make sense of things.  As her guards entered and tried to free her - only to get blasted across the room by feedback from the cage - she expressed herself the only way she could think of to do so.

"The buck just happened?"





As Nightmare Moon reached Ponyville, she found a huge group of ponies gathered in the Town Hall.  Good a place as any for the dramatic reveal, she mused.  Better not use the '1000 years' speech, though.  Third time, it won't feel anywhere near as dramatic to me.

As she phased through the wall in mist form, she heard a white unicorn proclaim, "She's gone!"

As everyone gasped, Nightmare Moon took note of the Sun themed decorations.  Must mean Celestia.  What a perfect cue for me.  Moving to the top of the visible room, she slowly took shape, cackling as lightning flashed.

As she took shape, a speech shaped in her mind of its own accord.  Huh, she thought to herself.  Better than trying to read the text box.  Thinking no more of that, she began the speech about her 'subjects'.

As she spoke, she took note of six ponies that responded to her differently than the others.  Each had a rather unique appearance, different from the seeming sameness of everyone else...except the Mayor.  Alright.  Elected official?  NPC.  Guardsponies?  NPCs.  Six ponies of unique appearance, two of each type?  Definitely the heroes.  One of them actually knows who I am?  Party leader.  Keeping an eye on her.

After dealing with a few guards, Nightmare Moon zipped out of the Town Hall...then promptly concealed her presence to follow the 'Party leader', the one called Twilight Sparkle.  Following her, she watched as the group got the background information on how to fight her.  Elements of Harmony? Nightmare Moon thought to herself.  Well, isn't that interesting.  But seriously, could it be any more obvious which of them represented which Element?  They unconsciously straightened as 'their' Element was read off!  ...then again, the Nordic and Greek influence on the mythology of this game is rather obvious, and neither of those myth sets were known for subtlety.

Having the information she needed, she moved to the Everfree Forest, setting up hurdles for the group to pass.  Nothing too difficult of course, since this was plainly the introductory stage.  She struggled not to roll her eyes at how heavy handed the sequence was at nailing down which mare was made for which Element.

Following the group into the Palace of the Pony Sisters, she was stunned to see that the Elements were just sitting there.  How the heck can this game make any money if it's so short? she demanded silently.  Seeing Twilight send the others off while she tried to activate the Elements, Nightmare Moon struck, warping herself, the Elements - and Twilight, since she leapt in after - to a high tower.

After a brief struggle, Nightmare Moon was once more standing over the Elements, and Twilight was plainly way underleveled to fight her.  Following logic, she decided she would have to extend the quest so that the group could level up enough to prove a decent challenge, since the setting - and combat - felt more like an Action RPG than a fighting game.  Raising the Elements above her head, she laid her enchantments upon them and scattered them.  She laughed as she felt each Element seek out a distant part of Equestria, embed itself in the environment, and build from the environment a Guardian to test the heroes in battle against.  She also felt one embed itself in the Everfree Forest, so the group would encounter the first such boss on the way back to Ponyville to formulate a plan.

In the meantime, Nightmare Moon returned to Canterlot Castle to begin solidifying her rule - for at least until the heroes came and unseated her - only to find the greatest threat to any would be conqueror.

Not the heroes.

Not the incumbents.

Not the revolting populace.

...the paperwork.
> Nightmare in Equestria: Lore
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Nightmare Moon sat upon the transformed solar throne, looking through all the material on modern Equestria that she'd ordered a hoofstallion to bring her.  She had found it somewhere between ludicrous and impressive how thoroughly terms had been ponified, that even footmen were called something else in a world without feet or humans.  So far, she found it amazing just how deep and detailed the game world was...not just that all this data was part of the world's backstory, but that the scrolls that claimed to have the information actually had said information written in them, rather than triggering a text box.  Somebody went to a lot of effort here, she mused to herself, resisting the urge to preen.  After all, she was the Bad Guy of this world, so whoever it was also went to a lot of effort on her!

A terrified maid approached the throne.  "T-t-the milk and cookies you requested, Your Majesty," she stammered, holding up the tray.

Nightmare Moon smiled.  "You don't have to be afraid," she chided gently.  "I won't bite.  ...well, you anyway.  If the heroes go for melee, I probably will bite.  I have these sharp teeth for a reason, right?"  Seeing that her statement wasn't as comforting to the maid as she'd hoped, she sighed and gestured to the cage suspended over the throne.  "Serve her," she instructed.

The maid carefully levitated the milk and Cookies to Celestia before fleeing.  "Luna..." Celestia began.  "You don't have to do this-"

"Yes I do," Nightmare Moon replied.  "The story has to unfold.  I conquer the world, and only the heroes can overthrow me if they dare.  That's the way of things."  She paused.  "Speaking of, you can come out now, Captain.  While your dedication to your leader is commendable, you won't stand a chance against me even with a successful ambush, and you're terrible at sneaking."

Frowning ruefully, a white stallion with blue eyes, mane, and tail wearing the insignia of a Guard Captain stepped out from behind the curtain behind the throne.  "You won't get away with this," Shining Armor grumbled.  "Somepony will stop you!"

"In all likelihood," Nightmare Moon replied.  "Though certainly not you.  Twilight Sparkle and her friends, though...they might have a chance."

"My student?" Celestia gasped.

"My little sister?!" Shining Armor demanded angrily.  "What did you do to her?"

"Left her the breadcrumbs to pursue the quest of recovering the Elements of Harmony," Nightmare Moon replied easily.  "She should be close to finding the first about now..."





Twilight and the others had left the Palace of the Pony Sisters in despair, convinced that they had failed.  On the way back to Ponyville, however, they had encountered a zebra shaman named Zecora, who had - in rhyme - told them that the Elements still awaited discovery and unleashing, as well as providing them with supplies for the long journey she felt was ahead of them.  To Twilight's consternation, the others had been nervous around her, and then ashamed, before finally offering an apology on behalf of Ponyville for past behavior.  Zecora seemed to take it in good graces.

It was as they were approaching the edge of the Everfree, however - guided by Zecora - that the unexpected happened.  The only path out became sealed by thorny vines and other undergrowth.  One of the Element Stones shot out of the underbrush and pulsed black and pink.  Black vines covered in thorns - which Zecora identified as Plunder Vines - leapt from the ground to wrap around the Element Stone, eventually taking the shape of a giant, thorny moth.  As it flapped its wings, pollen that made them dizzy, nauseous, or weakened if inhaled spread across the area.

"Stay strong, girls!" Twilight called out.  "We...we have to get that Element out of this thing!"

After that, the group had to focus on dodging, as the vines started lashing out at them thorns first.





Shining Armor stared at the conqueror of Equestria in stupefication.  "You seem...rather philosophical about your eventual defeat," he pointed out.

"Refreshing, isn't it?" Nightmare Moon replied as she sipped her tea, returning to the paperwork.

"How'd you know I was sneaking up on you, anyway?" he demanded finally.

"The perfume," Nightmare Moon replied.  "She must have desperately not wanted you to risk yourself, and then tried to give you as much encouragement as she could before you set out, as though her love itself could safeguard you...if the sheer amount of her cherry/vanilla/kiwi scent clinging to you is anything to go by.  At least, I assume that's your lady's scent.  You don't strike me as the sort of stallion to use scented body wash."

Shining Armor turned bright red, but said nothing.

"Speaking of ladies," Nightmare Moon continued, "records indicate another Princess, though one without political authority.  When do I get to meet her?"

Shining Armor braced himself in a battle stance, his teeth bared and his magic gathering.  "I'm not letting you anywhere near Cadence!" he snarled.

Nightmare Moon stared at him for a time, one eyebrow raised.  "You can stand down, Captain," she scolded.  "I won't hurt her.  I just want to meet her."

"You locked up Princess Celestia!" Shining Armor snapped.  "Why should I trust anything you say?"

Rolling her eyes, Nightmare Moon pointed at the cage above the throne.  "She's right there, eating milk and cookies, with her favorite pleasure reading novel brought to her from her personal chambers to help her pass the time.  Does she look hurt?  Other than being in a cage, does she even look uncomfortable?"

"I must admit, this is the most accommodating kidnapping I've ever been on the receiving end of," Celestia pointed out.  "And that's a larger pool of data than I'd care to admit."  She ignored Nightmare Moon's amused snort.  "Though the cage bottom's a little cold and hard-"

Nightmare Moon turned to a nearby hoofstallion.  "Fetch blankets and pillows from her quarters."

"Yes Your Majesty!" the terrified hoofstallion replied before dashing off.

Shining Armor stared at this for a time, then swallowed.  "So...you just want to...talk...to Cadence?"

"Exactly," Nightmare Moon replied.  "I've been out of touch for a while, and she can fill me in on anything I need to know."

"You could ask me," Celestia pointed out, somewhat petulantly.

"Anything you could tell me I'd find in here," Nightmare Moon countered, shaking the paperwork.  "That's what comes of being sole ruler.  I need perspective from someone who actually talks with ponies when they aren't bowing and scraping."

Celestia winced slightly at the pointed barb.





The barbed thorns barely missed Rainbow Dash as she zipped to the side.  "We aren't making much progress here, Twilight!" she shouted out.

"I'm doing the best I can!" Twilight shouted back, firing magical laser after laser, trying to cut the Plunder Moth down to size.  However, the severed vines eventually returned to the creature to be reabsorbed, and they weren't doing any permanent damage.

Zecora let out a cry of pain as one of the vines lashed her down her side, opening a bleeding wound.

"Oh no!" Fluttershy called out fearfully, rushing to her side.  "Don't worry, I'll get you fixed up.  I have some experience with medicine!"  As the battle raged around her, she pulled the medicines Zecora had given her from their satchel and started bandaging her up.

Just as the last bandage was tied and the wound sealed shut with linen and potion, the vines seized Fluttershy and pulled her in.  She screamed as she vanished inside the Plunder Moth.

"Fluttershy!" the others screamed out in fear.





Nightmare Moon smiled as the pink alicorn was led into the throne room.  "Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, I presume?" she asked softly.

"Y-yes, Your Majesty," the mare replied nervously.

"Don't be so nervous," the Queen of the Night chided.  "I'd just like some answers I'm hoping you can give me."

"Oh?" the Alicorn of Love inquired.  "What sort of answers?"

"In a few hours, I'll be meeting with the...'noble council'," Nightmare Moon explained, looking not unlike she'd just bit into something sour.  "What can you tell me about them?  Give me your honest opinions."

Cadence raised an eyebrow...then smiled.  "What in particular did you want to know?" she asked eagerly.

Celestia, watching this, wasn't sure whether or not she should be terrified of what would happen during the discussed meeting.  As she listened to the discussion, however...she began to look towards it with anticipation.

Maybe Nightmare Moon running the government for a time won't be so bad... she mused idly, munching another cookie.





The group had fought all the more fiercely after the Plunder Moth had absorbed Fluttershy, but it didn't seem to have any effect.  After a time, however, Twilight noticed the severed vines stopped being reabsorbed.  "It's working!" she shouted.  "We're gonna do it-"

Without warning, the Plunder Moth exploded in a blazing pink light.  When the light faded, Fluttershy floated down to the ground slowly, the Element of Kindness hanging around her neck, a gold choker in a vine pattern supporting a pink butterfly shaped jewel.

"Fluttershy!" they all shouted out in relief, rushing up to hug her.

"What happened?" Rainbow Dash asked worriedly.  "Last we saw, you got sucked into that...thing...and then..."

After a time, they calmed down enough to hear Fluttershy explain what happened.

"I...I was inside the beast, and...I saw the Element Stone," she explained.  "It...it asked me some questions.  Like, what I'd do if I found a lost puppy, or other things like that.  After I answered all its questions, the black light faded, and...the stone turned into this."  She gestured to the Element around her neck.  "It...it said I had proven myself worthy to 'Bear' Kindness.  It also said the power of Nature was mine to Master..."  She shrugged her shoulders.  "I'm not sure what that meant..."

"That question I can answer, I believe," Zecora spoke up.  Staggering forward, she pointed to the blocked path.  "Do you see those plants in impenetrable weave?"

"Goodness!" Fluttershy gasped out.  "How are we going to get back to Ponyville?"

"Seek the Kindness in your own heart," Zecora explained.  "And with Element Power, command the plants to part."

Confused, Fluttershy tried to do as she was instructed.  After a time, her eyes and the Element both began to glow...and the plants parted.

Fluttershy stared in shock, along with everypony else.  "I...I can control plants?" she asked disbelievingly.

"Harmony's Elements hold a secret power," Zecora explained.  "Yours holds command over vine, tree, or flower.  Though sealed away for balance's sake, the Guardians conjured bring these powers awake."

"You mean...each of the Elements of Harmony has command of a magical element as well?" Twilight asked in shock.

"And each of the Elements is going to be inside a Guardian made of that element?" Rainbow asked.  "This is gonna be awesome!"

Smiling, Zecora handed Twilight a map.  "The Elements homes are marked here, though Night has made the markings unclear.  Darkness and deception make even the map a liar, the true path revealed by light of dragonfire."

Twilight nodded in understanding.  "Thank you Zecora."

The group then turned towards Ponyville...with five mares peppering Twilight with questions asking her to explain what was going on.
> Nightmare In Equestria: Bureaucracy
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Nightmare Moon sat regally on the throne as she stared out at the gathered nobles, arrived at her summons, and those non-noble petitioners who had the courage to bring their petitions before the Nightmare Throne.  She was actually rather pleasantly surprised at the sheer number of petitioners, all with genuine petitions according to the Noctus Guard, a group of bat winged pegasi who had been training in secret for generations to enter her service upon her return.  In her private chambers, she had squealed happily to discover that her new kingdom came with loyal minions(1).

Despite the noble's protests, Nightmare Moon had proclaimed she would address any truly urgent petitions from the commoners before addressing the nobles.  When one of the nobles - a Duke Wellington, she believed - complained about it too vociferously, she cast a spell at him that turned him into a boot.  She had intended a newt, but his name threw her off.  She'd then levitated the boot to beside her throne and proclaimed she would hit in the head with it the next pony to question her directives.

In order to speed things up a bit, she had ordered her Noctus Guard to find out what all the petitions were ahead of time, and then group the petitioners based on the nature of their petition, rather than the order in which they arrived.  That way she could address numerous petitions of similar type in one go, rather than having to give the same answer over...and over...and over again.  She wasn't sure why this led to Celestia smacking herself in the face with one hoof, but she found that delightful.

The first group of petitioners approached.  "Please, Your Majesty," they begged, "we are but simple farmers.  Our crops are our livelihood.  Without the sun, they will all die.  Please...bring back the sun."

Nightmare Moon snorted derisively.  "Do you take me for a foal?" she asked.  "Do you think my desire is to rule a frozen kingdom of death?  Have you not noticed the Moon still follows its normal path, despite the absence of the sun?"  At the confused response, she continued.  "I have positioned the Moon in front of the sun(2), where it is absorbing the sun's light and converting it into enhanced moonlight, which shines down and feeds plants as surely as the sun did.  The 'day' cycle is now when the Moon is visible, and is slightly cooler than normal, whereas the 'night' cycle is when the moon is not visible, and is slightly warmer than normal.  The average annual temperature is still constant, so there need be no concern regarding an ice age, either."  This was addressed to the group directly behind the farmers, the climatologists.

"But what about the gravitational effects on ocean currents of a continuous alignment between planet, moon, and sun?" one of the climatologists - who, oddly enough, had a surfboard cutie mark - called out.

"I've already run the calculations," Nightmare Moon explained.  "The oceans themselves are naturally magically charged, and the life inside them will adapt easily.  Also, all coastline communities are already adjusted to take even the highest and lowest tides into account, and the total effect it will have on those communities: a continuous Proxigean Spring Tide."  She smirked.  "I imagine the waves will be...choice."  That got a laugh from the other scientists in the group and a blush from the vocal one.

The next group of petitioners came forward...and their spokespony looked rather embarrassed.  "Umm...we came to find out what happened to Princess Celestia," she admitted.

Nightmare Moon chuckled.  "Care to answer that yourself?" she asked, looking up.

Celestia smiled down at the mare.  "Thank you for your concern, my little ponies.  Aside from my imprisonment, I am quite well.  Nightmare Moon, much to my surprise, appears to be a rather considerate and thoughtful kidnapper and tyrant."

Nightmare Moon shrugged.  "I learned from the best," she murmured, remembering those times she'd taken a day off from participating in games to play cards with Princess Peach and Bowser while waiting for the player to get Mario to the last castle.

"Enough!" somepony shouted from amongst the nobles.  As the stallion approached, Nightmare Moon frowned.  Cadence had briefed her on this one quite thoroughly.  Prince Blueblood.  "Do you think you can just march in here, imprison our ruler, take over our government and our kingdom, and no one will lift a hoof to stop you?"

"It looks like I just did that," Nightmare Moon replied.  "What's your point?"

Blueblood stomped his hoof, charging up his magic.  "You think I'm afraid of you?  I will strike you down where you stand!  I am Prince Blueblood, nephew to Princess Celestia!  Who do you think you are?"  He charged forward, his charge practically a picture out of a storybook.  In point of fact, Nightmare Moon could see he'd practiced charging until he'd found a way to do it that would make his mane flow in the breeze of his passage without getting mussed.

Sneering, her billowing mane shot forward, wrapping around his neck and horn and lifting him into the air.  "I am Nightmare Moon," she stated calmly.  "Queen of the Night.  Ruler of Nightmares.  Tamer of Demons.  Dread Champion.  Tyrant.  Despot.  I have reclaimed my birthright within this kingdom, reigning over it as I should.  You are a pathetic, spoiled, selfish, sniveling, noble brat.  When was the last time you have had an unselfish thought in your head?  When was the last time you felt charity in your heart?  When did you last have a kind word for someone that didn't have an ulterior motive?"  She brought him close to her face.  "...if I snapped your neck right now...who would grieve?"

Celestia gasped a bit as she heard this, but could do nothing.

Nightmare turned, glancing over the gathered nobles and commoners.  "Well?" she asked.  "My question was not just for this pompous ass.  Is there any here who would beg for his life?  Who have reason beyond petty selfishness or ambition...to plead for my clemency?"

She waited silently for a response.





In the desert west of Appleoosa - where cooperation with the buffalo as the Eternal Night continued had helped farm and ponies to thrive - Twilight and the others confronted a giant sandworm that had been crafted as the guardian of the Element of Honesty.  Towards the end of the fight, Applejack was consumed...only for the sandworm to turn to stone.  The rocks then swirled around as it fell apart, revealing Applejack.  The Element of Honesty hung around her neck, the gold choker decorated with rolling hills.  The earth itself bowed to her will as her power grew.





Nightmare Moon almost felt sorry for Prince Blueblood.  As she stood there, awaiting somepony to plead for his life, she was greeted by silence, shuffled hooves, and averted gazes.  She watched his face fall as he realized that none could give non-selfish reason why he should live.

Before she could act, however, one stallion stepped forward and bowed.  "If I may speak, your majesty?" he asked politely, his voice cultured and urbane.

Nightmare Moon blinked.  His appearance and behavior rang a bell based on what Cadence had told her, but...  "Your name, stallion?"

He rose back to his hooves.  "Fancy Pants, Your Majesty."

Nightmare Moon's eyebrows rose.  Cadence had described Fancy Pants as one of the few nobles with more in his head than fluff and more in his heart than ambition and greed.  "You would plead for clemency on his behalf, Sir Fancy Pants?" she asked curiously.

"I would indeed beg you spare his life, Your Majesty," Fancy Pants continued.  "But not for his sake.  For yours."

Murmurs of shock and wonder spread through the assembled.  Celestia also looked flabbergasted.  Nightmare Moon, however, narrowed her eyes.  "Explain."

Fancy Pants nodded.  "Your Majesty, what he said is true.  You have conquered us, and assumed full tyrannical authority.  However, as you have stated, you have taken pains to make sure your seizure of power has not disrupted the kingdom, keeping all things running smoothly and living.  You may well be a conquering tyrant...but you have not brought destruction or despair to Equestria.  While your way of taking power was questionable, your reign has not been stained by terror or murder."  He jerked his head towards Blueblood.  "And he is not worth changing that."

Nightmare Moon examined Fancy Pants for a time, considering his words.  "It seems there are some nobles in this day and age who are still worthy of the title," she murmured.  She turned back to Blueblood.  "Prince Blueblood, with the full authority of the Equestrian Throne, I hereby strip you of lands, title, and claim to nobility.  You are no longer a Prince...but a common citizen.  That is your fate now...to struggle to live your life, without royal assistance, without the pampered comfort you have grown accustomed to...and the knowledge that none here would stand up for you for your sake.  Begone from my sight...and learn from this."

As Blueblood was dragged from the throne room, Celestia let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.  For a moment, she had been terrified Nightmare Moon would actually go through with her threat...and she would lose Luna forever.  She made a mental note that when/if things returned to normal, she think of some appropriate reward she could give Fancy Pants.

"Sir Fancy Pants," Nightmare Moon stated.  "I offer you the lands, titles, and responsibilities of the Prince of Equestria, the head of the Noble Council.  Do you accept?"

Or Nightmare Moon could beat me to it, Celestia thought ruefully.

Fancy Pants blinked in surprise, then smiled ruefully.  "If it's alright, Your Majesty, I would like to decline.  I feel I'm at the limit of my capabilities with what I'm already responsible for.  I do not feel I would make a good Prince, nor do I desire the authority."

Nightmare Moon stared at him for a time.  "All I have learned of statecraft tells me your very statement makes you the best candidate...but I respect your choice.  It shall be held in trust until you and Fleur have produced an heir you feel is up to the task.  In the meantime, choose what nobles you feel care more for the country than their own ambitions to form the new noble council, to advise me in my rule."  She then turned to the rest of the hall.  "For those of you not on that list...think carefully before you enter this Throne Room again.  Ask yourself if the petition you bring is worth your life if it displeases me."

It wasn't long after that when the only one in the Throne Room besides Nightmare Moon, Celestia, and the Noctus Guard was Fancy Pants.  Nightmare Moon then leaned towards Fancy Pants.  "I would consider it a personal favor if you made sure the bit about my rule not being that bad didn't spread as far as the adventuring heroes.  It would be so disappointing if, after all this, they chose not to fight me."

Fancy Pants let out a chuckle.  "Consider it done, Your Majesty."  Turning, he left the throne room.

Celestia watched Nightmare Moon in confusion.  She...wanted to fight the Element Bearers?  She did make a comment about them being 'too weak' to fight her.  Was she trying to make them stronger?  What else was she doing to assist them?





Rainbow rolled her eyes.  "Twi, just don't look a gift hydra in the mouth."

"But...but it doesn't make any sense!" Twilight complained.  "These...travelling merchants...have shown up ahead of us three times!  That...that doesn't make any sense!  How do they keep getting ahead of us?"

"Oh, we have our ways," Flim replied.

"The call of money is a siren song that brings us hither and yon, or yon and hither!" Flam agreed.

"And that's another thing!" Twilight shouted out.  "How come all these nightmarish creatures we keep fighting against - which somehow strengthen Fluttershy and Applejack's Element abilities when we fight them - keep bursting into huge piles of gold bits?"

"You really need to play more video games, Twi," Rainbow grumbled.

Pinkie suddenly started twitching.  "Oh...that one's going to be a real doozy whenever it happens!"





Nightmare Moon organized her paperwork.  "Next petition?" she asked.

The doors of the throne room burst open, and an assault vehicle only she would recognize as a tank - though one made of wood and nails rather than the metal she was used to - rolled to a halt a few feet from the throne.  The cockpit popped open.

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS NIGHTMARE SLAYERS, YAY!"

Nightmare Moon stared at the three fillies that had climbed out to face her.  "...adorable," she said at last.  "Tell me children, do your parents know where you are?"

Scootaloo glared up at her.  "My parents are agents of the Crown!  They'd be proud of me for following in their hoofsteps by restoring Princess Celestia to her rightful throne!"

"Mah Granny's having trouble with her bad hip cause of the colder temperatures," Apple Bloom declared, "mah big brother's struggling to keep the farm going in the night, and mah big sister is helping hunt down the Elements of Harmony ta stop you!"

"My parents told me to have fun storming the castle!" Sweetie Belle piped up happily.

Nightmare Moon gave a chuckle.  "Alright, children," she said indulgently.  "Take your best shot."





In the Crystal Mountains north of Manehatten, deep in an unmarked volcano, Twilight and her friends confronted a massive Salamander - a reptile of living, magical flames - that guarded the Element of Laughter.  Part way through the battle, Pinkie pulled out a grenade, pulled the pin, and leapt into the creature's mouth.  When the grenade went off, the Salamander burst into confetti...and Pinkie Pie reformed from living fire, the Element of Laughter - gold choker decorated in writhing flames that changed pattern every time someone looked at it - around her neck.





Nightmare Moon stared around at the end result of the Cutie Mark Crusaders' attempt to slay her.  She herself was unharmed - not because she had shielded herself, but because no bit of the artillery actually came near her.  The cage around Celestia had deflected anything that would have hit her.  However, every inch of the Throne Room save the Nightmare Throne was in ruins.

"...well...the place was a bit out of date, anyway..." Celestia murmured ruefully.

"I had been planning on redecorating to reflect my nature," Nightmare Moon added.  "The bright gold really clashed with the dark obsidian of the throne."  She tilted her head as she saw the fillies glancing at their flanks.

"Dag nabbit!" Apple Bloom pouted.  "Still no Cutie Marks!"

"And I was so sure this time..." Scootaloo added sadly.

"But wouldn't Nightmare Slaying be a really specific Cutie Mark, anyway?" Sweetie Belle asked.  "Are there even any others besides Nightmare Moon?"

Nightmare Moon chuckled.  "Is this the normal outcome of your attempts at earning your Cutie Marks?" she asked them.

"Yeah," Apple Bloom replied, looking around at the devestation.

"Pretty much," Scootaloo added.

"Sometimes it's worse!" Sweetie offered helpfully.

Nightmare Moon laughed gaily.  "How wondrous!  Hmm...perhaps you three might consider working for me, instead?"

The three fillies scratched their heads for a bit, then huddled.  After a time, they leapt into the air, shouting, "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS NIGHTMARE SOLDIERS, YAY!"





In the statue gardens of Canterlot Castle, Discord started shoring up the cracks in his stone prison, just to be on the safe side.









(1) She still had no idea why the Noctus Captain - an otherwise fully capable and reliable officer - screamed "BANANA!" at the top of his voice at random intervals.  She decided not to do anything about it, however, because she found it hilarious.

(2) Luna's transformation to Nightmare Moon - as revealed in "Princess Twilight Sparkle" in the flashback - occurs as Luna moves the moon to create a solar eclipse.  That makes a great deal more sense to me than locking the sun on the opposite side of the world.
> Nightmare In Equestria: Restructuring
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"You did what?" Celestia demanded in shock, staring at Nightmare Moon like she'd grown a second head.

"I revoked the nobles' legislative privileges," Nightmare Moon stated bluntly.  "They can no longer pass laws regarding their own lands or those districts under their jurisdiction.  They retain judicial privilege and can rule on cases brought before them, but they no longer retain the right to pass laws at whim.  I checked the records, and even you haven't done that in over 500 years.  Why should the nobles retain a right that you, their superior, do not exercise?"

"But...how are they not engaging in a massive revolt?" Celestia wondered.

"They tried to," Nightmare Moon replied.  "I told them if they didn't like it, they could join Blueblood living amongst commoners.  Then I showed them the legal documents that showed either of us had the authority to do so at any time."

Celestia stared at her, stupefied.  "Wait...we do?"

"Indeed," Nightmare Moon replied.  She chuckled wickedly.  "Fancy Pants showed me the pertinent documents.  The noble class gets their authority from Princess Platinum, the last unicorn Royal.  I went through each declaration where she awarded a given pony the class of noble - which had to be regranted as lands and titles were awarded in Equestria - and each and every one had the same subclause in it: that if ever the noble line did not act in the interest of Equestria and the throne, the Royal Throne retained the right to revoke that privilege - or redefine it - at any time."

Celestia tilted her head in surprise.  "I'm...rather surprised such a clause was in there.  It...doesn't seem in Princess Platinum's character."

"From hornwriting comparisons, it seems that all legal documents post the founding of Equestria were penned by Clover the Clever," Nightmare Moon explained.

Celestia couldn't help but chuckle at that.  "Yes, that sounds like her.  She hated the idea of noble privilege - especially having it inherited - but she said that unifying the tribes was too important to risk upsetting by trying to 'fix' things.  But that shouldn't apply to Blueblood.  He's a direct descendant of Platinum."

Nightmare Moon grinned widely.  "Oh, Fancy Pants also showed me the adoption papers, where Princess Platinum officially adopted us so that the ponies would accept us as their rulers.  It stated that her descendants would also retain the title of Prince or Princess, as the head of the noble council...so long as they proved worthy."

Celestia blinked.  "Document penned by Clover the Clever?" she asked.  Nightmare Moon nodded.  "The last line in fine print?"  Another nod.  "Then...everything you've done since taking the throne by force is technically legal?"

"Not just legal," Nightmare Moon replied.  "Binding.  I didn't understand all the terminology and the names used, but according to what Fancy Pants translated for me, you and I are equals on the throne by those old laws the nobles cling to...which means you can't unilaterally overturn one of my decisions without the support of the Equestrian Population and its legal bodies."

"Like the nobles?" Celestia asked.

"Actually, the old laws specifically refer to those of the legislative branch of the government," Nightmare Moon pointed out.  "Without their legislative privileges, the nobles can't weigh in on the issue."

Celestia slumped back in her cage, trying to wrap her mind around how much running the country had been changed - been simplified - by Nightmare Moon's takeover and decisions.  She'd reigned as a tyrant for a month before she stripped Blueblood of his title, lands, and authority, and the country was barely recognizable now.  Or at least the government was.

I'm beginning to wonder if we actually need to be saved, she thought silently.





Deep in the Hayseed Swamps near the southeastern coast of Equestria, Twilight and her friends confronted the Guardian of Generosity.  a massive serpent shaped of swamp water.  During the battle, Rarity was consumed by it...and Spike lost it.

"Give her back!" he roared, his rage accelerating his physical growth.  No longer a dragonling, the young drake lunged with his adolescent frame, clinging to the serpent and slamming it with his fists, claws, and flames.  "Give her back!"

Not long after his barrage began, the serpent burst, soaking everyone present.  Rarity slowly settled to her hooves, the choker of the Element of Generosity decorated with waves.

"Looks like yer Element's water," Applejack pointed out.

"And how useful that will be," Rarity groaned, parting her soaked mane so she could see.  "I'm soaked.  I must look a fright."

"You look lovely to me," Spike told her softly, kneeling down beside her to help steady her.

Rarity looked up into his eyes, taking in his wiry frame and new height...and blushed prettily, fluttering her eyelashes.

"And it could have been worse!" Pinkie pointed out.  "Imagine if the serpent had been flesh and blood instead of made of water!   Then we'd all be soaked in something completely different!"

This statement was greeted with a concerted "Eww!" from most of those present.  "Thank you oh so much for that mental image, Pinkie," Rarity groaned.

"You're welcome!"  Pinkie hummed tunelessly to herself as she conjured flames to warm everyone up.

Rarity became much more sanguine about the situation when she discovered her Water powers allowed her to strip the water from her coat and mane, restoring both to pristine condition...oh, and everypony else's, too.





"Speaking of, how is Blueblood doing?" Celestia asked.  "It's been nearly a month since you stripped him of his title."  She took a sip of her tea, which Nightmare Moon had ordered brought to her.

"He's the navigator aboard a pirate ship," Nightmare Moon replied easily.

Celestia promptly spat a mouthful of tea across the room so hard it seared into the opposite wall.  "What?  How?"

"As I understand it, he started out as a cabin colt the crew called Blueballs," Nightmare Moon explained.  "He apparently sneaked aboard with intent of stealing their treasure to finance some sort of quest to reclaim his lands and titles.  They caught him and locked him up, intending to ransom him back to you when and if I was overthrown."  She shrugged.  "They got tired of leaving him in the hold, and they found it amusing to make a former prince to grunt work for his meals.  However, during a massive storm in the waters to the west of Smokey Mountain - caused by the Guardian of Loyalty - the ship was in danger of foundering.  Their former navigator got thrown overboard and drowned...and Blueblood seized the wheel.  His special talent took over from there, and he steered the ship to safety.  Lost his right eye in the process, though."

Celestia whimpered at the sound of that.  "Is...is he going to be okay?"

"According to this letter he sent to you," Nightmare Moon continued, handing the letter up, "he couldn't be happier.  Apparently, the thrill of steering the ship through the storm is the first time he's felt truly alive since his childhood.  When the pirates offered to free him and drop him off wherever he liked as thanks for saving the ship, he asked if they still needed a new navigator.  He now goes by Blackblood, and he now intends to unite the pirates in a coalition, and bring an understanding and alliance between the pirates and Equestria, acting as their king."  Nightmare Moon frowned.  "He also promises to come back in One Piece, though I've no idea why he capitalized those two words."

Celestia groaned, but chuckled ruefully.  "He watched too many Neighponese cartoons as a child," she explained.





As Cloudsdale moved into position over Vanhoover, Twilight and her friends - those without wings relying on cloud walking spells - the Guardian of Loyalty approached the city.  The Typhon - a living storm of unimaginable destructive power - roared as the winds around its edge began to lash the city.

"Alright, everyone!" Twilight shouted over the storm.  "Time to fly!"

Twilight and Spike had used logic to determine that Loyalty would be connected to Wind, and that the Guardian would likely be airborne.  It was why they had caught a ride in Cloudsdale to seek it out.  While there, Pinkie had come up with an idea of how to fight the Guardian that would likely work.  Working with Twilight and Spike, she had made her idea a reality.  As such, Twilight and her friends climbed into the seven aircraft that had been produced, color coded to their pilots...craft that Pinkie called Neighport 23s.

Each plane used high powered lift and thrust crystals to move through the air rapidly, even against air currents, with enchantments on the wings to mimic the magic of pegasus flight.  Each had a machine gun on the front, four of them designed to draw on the Element magic of their pilots, one designed to draw on its pilot's dragonfire, and two loaded with negatively charged mana crystal ammo.  Twilight felt the negatively charged crystals that Rainbow and herself were firing would drain the magical energy out of the Guardian, weakening it enough to prevent too much damage.

When the Typhon got too close to Cloudsdale and began tearing it apart, however, Rainbow Dash abandoned her aircraft after getting enough altitude.  She then dove straight into the eye of the storm, the core of the Typhon's power.  Much to everyone's amazement, a Sonic Rainboom shattered the Guardian, and Rainbow rose back up from the destruction with the Element of Loyalty around her neck, miniature storms engraved on the gold of the choker.





"Hold still now, Princess!" Apple Bloom instructed.  "Ah never done nothin' like this before."

"You've...never done mane braids?" Celestia asked in confusion.

"Never when the mane wouldn't hold still!" the farm filly complained, wrestling with the ethereal mass.

"Don't worry, Princess!" Sweetie Belle promised as she lifted the mascara.  "You're going to look just perfect!"

"And we're going to get our Cutie Marks!" Scootaloo proclaimed as she tried - and failed - to stitch a Wonderbolt's flight suit around Celestia's barrel.

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS ROYAL STYLISTS, YAY!"

Celestia groaned internally.  Is this Nightmare Moon's idea of torture? she thought silently.

"Me next!" Nightmare Moon shouted out.

Celestia nearly buried her face in her hooves before a scolding from the unicorn filly before her locked her back in place.
> Nightmare in Equestria: Preparation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	As Nightmare Moon went over the minutes of the meeting of the new House of Commons - an elected body with representatives from every district of Equestria - and the greatly reduced Noble Council.  This group was the new third part of the legislative authority of Equestria, although presently Celestia was prevented from casting her vote on such things.

As Nightmare Moon's mind turned to Celestia, her prisoner spoke up.  "I wonder how Spike is doing..." she murmured softly.

"If that's the young dragon that lives with Twilight Sparkle, he's on the journey for the Elements with her," Nightmare Moon replied.  She looked up as milk spilled onto her from Celestia's dropped glass.  "Is something the matter?"

"W-why would Twilight ever take Spike on such a dangerous journey?" she demanded.

Nightmare shrugged her shoulders.  "Because she needed dragonfire to read the map to the Elements' new locations.  Why so much worry?"

Celestia looked down at Nightmare Moon, biting her lip.  "You don't remember much about dragons, do you?" she asked softly.

"I haven't found those documents yet," Nightmare replied.

"It's deliberately not documented," Celestia replied.

"...why?"

"Because of how dangerous the knowledge is, and how dangerous dragons are," Celestia replied.  "A dragon's maturity - physical, mental, and emotional - is very strongly effected by how much magic they have inside them.  It's also why they're so long lived: by the time they're fully mature, they've gathered enough magic that the aging process simply stops."

Nightmare Moon nodded.  "Very interesting.  But how does this apply to Spike?"

"Twilight hatched him ten years ago," Celestia explained.  "It was part of her entrance exam to my school.  A unicorn isn't supposed to be able to generate enough magic to hatch a dragon egg.  The test was meant to teach the applicant about themselves, and how they dealt with failure."

"Ah," Nightmare Moon replied.  "A Kobayashi Maru exam, the unwinnable situation.  What happened?"

Uncertain what Nightmare Moon was talking about there, Celestia merely nodded.  "As she was about to give up, a distant magical explosion triggered a...reaction.  The shockwave pushed her into a magic surge, awakening a great deal of power in her...more than any other unicorn in history.  Not only was it enough to instantly hatch the egg, but it energized the young dragon so much his body tried to shoot up to adulthood.  But his mind wasn't ready to handle the influx of magic, since he was newborn.

"Other things happened as well," Celestia continued, "but most reversed itself after I got Twilight calmed down.  However, there was so much magic awake inside her at that point I had to place a seal in her magic, keeping the majority of it locked up so she could learn to control her magic by mastering spells without blowing up bits of the castle.  Once she'd gained a certain level of mastery, I taught her how to release parts of that seal herself.

"But Spike was still an infant.  He absorbed nearly all the stray magic of that surge once it powered down.  Shortly after returning to an infant body, he showed he was in a great deal of pain as the magic kept trying to make him grow...and he kept fighting it."  Celestia shivered.  "For his sake, I placed a multi-level seal on the magic inside him, sealing all of it away.  Each level is designed to release as he becomes mature enough to handle it...or if there is great need, triggered by a surge of emotion."

Much to Celestia's surprise, Nightmare Moon looked like she was squeeing.

A hidden super character in the party from the start! she thought silently.  There's obviously some sort of side quest to unlock bits of his power, and there's probably a sequel game where he's the main character and can unlock all of it!  This game is amazing!





"So...where's the last Element?" Rainbow asked.  "it's supposed to appear when the other five are gathered, right?  Isn't that what the book said?"

"It is," Twilight replied as they rested in their Cloudsdale hotel room.  "At least, that's what it said.  But we've activated all five of the other Elements...and I still don't even know what the sixth is called, let alone how to activate it!"

Fluttershy looked up from her salad.  "Maybe the map will tell us?"

"Good idea, Fluttershy!" Twilight agreed.  "Spike!  Could you stop feeding Rarity grapes long enough to give us some dragonfire for the map?"

"C-Coming, Twilight!" Spike replied nervously, blushing as he rushed over.  Rarity chuckled as she watched him go.

Applejack walked up to Rarity.  "Don'tcha think yer takin' advantage of him just a mite?" she asked.

"Why, whatever do you mean, darling?"

Applejack rolled her eyes.  "Ah know that look in yer eyes, Rarity.  You like the way he looks now."  She glanced over to where Spike was bending over to activate the map.  "Can't say I blame ya.  But that's hardly enough to get ya acting like this."  Especially you, she thought silently, but did not add.

Rarity chuckled.  "Darling, you do know me," she pointed out.  "You know very well I've dreamed of marrying into royalty.  And you've heard about what Twilight and Spike had to say about the former Prince Blueblood."

Applejack nodded.  When the announcement of Blueblood being stripped of lands and titles had reached them, Rarity had gone into brief despair...while Twilight and Spike had snorted and said, "It's about time!"  That had been an awkward conversation.  "What about it?"

"Well...did you perchance hear a certain detail Spike mentioned during the discussion?"

AJ wracked her brains for a bit, then frowned.  "Ya ain't talking about what Spike said about how Blueblood reacted ta Princess Celestia bein' Spike's official legal guardian, do ya?"

"Indeed," Rarity replied.  "Making Spike a Prince, even if he doesn't claim the title."

A snort of disgust greeted this statement.  "Ya ain't seriously so shallow to think o' playing with his heart just cause o' that, are ya?"

"Certainly not!" Rarity denied vehemently.  "But I do need to think about my future, replanning it and all.  And he's kind, gentle, courteous, considerate, rather dashing and handsome, a technical Prince...and totally smitten with me.  I would be a fool to not take it into consideration in my plans."

Applejack blinked.  "...ah ain't followin."

"Applejack, if I were any other mare, or only concerned about my own personal future, I'd snatch him up in a heartbeat," Rarity replied.  "But I care too much for him as a friend to do that to him, unless I'm certain it's what's best for him, which means I need to be sure of my own feelings as well."  She leaned back on the pillows Spike had fluffed for her.  "Now, that doesn't mean I can't let him spoil me a bit if he so chooses, or help me out around the shop once this journey is over if he and Twilight choose - as they've talked about - to move to Ponyville to relax after such an intense adventure.  As tough and energetic as he is now, I have little to worry about as far as overworking him.  Physically, he can probably run circles around all of us except you and Rainbow at this point."

"Or Pinkie," Applejack pointed out.

"Yes...Pinkie," Rarity agreed.  "At any rate, I believe we should table this discussion for now.  Even if I were to decide to get serious with Spike, in the middle of an adventure to save the world is the worst time to do so.  While certainly dramatic, it would be terribly distracting for both of us."

"Seriously?" Twilight demanded loudly, staring at the map.  "A riddle?"

Everyone approached the map.  A message was written across it instead of the usual geography.

Twists and turns have befallen your plan.
Awaken the Guardian where the Magic began.

"Now we have to solve a damn riddle!" Twilight growled, throwing her forelegs into the air in frustration.

"I think it means the Everfree," Fluttershy pointed out.

"Eh?" everyone asked, turning to her.

"Um, I mean...that's where I got my Element," she pointed out.  "And...that's when things got all, well..."  Waving her hoof, she conjured some of her nature magic.

"That's it!" Twilight shouted as she put it together.  "We need to awaken the Guardian of the Last Element back where we found the Elements...because that's where the magical part of our journey began!"





Nightmare Moon smiled to herself as she set the paperwork aside when her Guard Captain approached her.  "Anything of interest to report?" she asked.

"BANANA!" the Captain shouted at the top of his voice.  He then cleared his throat in embarrassment.  "Apologies, Your Majesty.  I don't know what causes that."

"Quite alright," Nightmare Moon reassured him.  "Your report?"

"The populace intends to kill the Bearers of Harmony before they can get to you," the Captain replied simply.

Celestia promptly spat cookie crumbs all over the poor Captain.  "What?"

"What she said," Nightmare Moon agreed.  "What?"

"Your Majesty, the general populace has come to the conclusion that your reign has brought drastic improvement to the lot of the common pony, and the well being of the nation as a whole," the Captain explained.  "It is their intention to swarm the Element Bearers en masse the moment they try to enter the city limits."

Nightmare Moon could only stare.  "Am I to assume the nobles have taken some sort of action in that regard?' she asked.  "They probably think overthrowing me will put things back the way they were."

"We've captured 37 professional assassins hired by the various noble families on missions to kill at least one of the Bearers to render the Elements useless."

Nightmare Moon's jaw...dropped.  "Wha?"

"While at first the nobles who were against you wanted you overthrown...they've discovered something," the Captain explained.  "Without their legislative power, there's no point to the political maneuvering they've always done.  It gains them no more power or influence.  And they each already have more wealth or land than they could ever need.  They have time, now...to get to know their families.  To be husbands and wives, fathers and mothers.  To live life, instead of constantly maneuvering to improve it.  They don't want to lose that."

Nightmare Moon slumped over her throne.  "...when was the last time an evil overlord had to command the general populace, 'Don't kill the heroes'?" she mused idly.  She then sighed under her breath.  "Doctor," she muttered, "you and the others would be laughing at me right now if you knew, wouldn't you?"





Back in the Palace of the Pony Sisters, in the chamber where the Elements had rested for so long, the large stone in the center still on its pedestal.  "So...what now?" Spike asked.

"Now you fire the map again," Twilight instructed.  "And we hope it gives us more instructions."

Nodding, Spike breathed fire on the map again.  Words once more appeared.


Honesty
Laughter
Loyalty
Generosity
Kindness
These are the Keys to Awaken the Beast


Twilight stared at the map for a time.  "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Maybe we're supposed to call out our Elements?" Pinkie suggested.

"In the order listed?" Spike offered.

"Ain't got a better idea," Applejack allowed.  She stepped forward.  "Honesty!"

"Laughter!" Pinkie called out, bouncing.

"Loyalty!" Rainbow proclaimed, thrusting the choker out proudly.

"Generosity!" Rarity proclaimed demurely.

"K-Kindness," Fluttershy stammered.

Nothing happened.

"So much for that idea," Applejack grumbled.

"Unless it means the other side of the Elements power," Twilight mused.

Shrugging, Applejack decided to give it a try.  "Earth!" she proclaimed loudly.

In response, her Element shone brightly with an orange light.

Before it could fade, Pinkie leapt forward.  "Fire!" she shouted.  Her Element shone blue in response.

"Wind!" Rainbow proclaimed, the red light of her Element filling the room.

"Water!" Rarity proclaimed, getting into the spirit of it as the dark purple light of her Element flared out.

"Heart-I mean, Nature!" Fluttershy stammered, her cheeks as pink as the light of her Element.  Twilight raised an eyebrow at that.

Spike chuckled.  "Go, Planet," he murmured, making Twilight raise an eyebrow at him.

Beams of colored light shot out from the Elements to strike the large, central stone.  It pulsed and glowed with white light as it floated into the air.

As the light of the Elements faded, the stone converted into pure white energy, unfolding six segmented wings as it hovered over the group.  Its voice sounded in all their minds.

Magic Awakens.  The Trial Begins.

Tendrils shot out of the sphere, seizing Twilight and dragging her in.

"Twilight!" the others called out.

"It's alright!" Twilight called back as she was absorbed.  "I'll...be okay..."

As Twilight vanished into the beast, it turned on the others.  Now...show me your power...  A barrage of light beams lashed out at the group as they began to fight back.





Deep within the sphere, Twilight found a pinkish-purple crystal in the shape of a star floating in front of her, spinning slowly.  Its voice was quiet in her mind.

You have grown strong...you and your comrades.  But it is not enough.

"Not enough?" Twilight asked.  "What do you mean?"

Without me, you will not be able to conquer the darkness.  Without my power, the land will be plunged into Night Eternal forever more.  If you do not take my power, this world will die.

Twilight shivered as visions of the darkness consuming the land, it slowly freezing without the sun, barraged her senses.  She saw her friends, her family, everyone she cared for slowly dying after watching their loved ones fade...and the shadow of the Nightmare laughed gloatingly over the visions.  "No!" she shouted out.  "I won't let that happen!  I won't!"

You will save the world?

"Yes!"

Will you do anything to save it?

"Yes!"

Sacrifice anything?

"Y...yes..."

Her vision swam, and she saw the others, fighting the Light Beast as it attacked them.  Who will you sacrifice?

Twilight's eyes widened.  "W...what?"

To unleash my power, someone's life must be given to the light.  One tied to my power must fall for it to be unleashed.  Choose.  The image focused on each of the girls briefly.  Who do I kill so you can save the world?

Twilight stared in shock.  "W...what?  No!  No, I can't sacrifice one of them!  They're my friends!"

Then this world will die, and it will be your fault.  Power started flowing from the gem into the beast.  You are not a true Bearer.  The group is flawed.  A new group will be selected-

"NO!" Twilight shouted, her magic erupting.  "I won't let you hurt them!"  Leveling her horn, she fired all the magic she could bring to bear into the Element.  "We don't need you!  We'll save the world without you!  But you won't...take...my...FRIENDS!"

As the magic poured out of her body, the Beast shattered.  She was hovering in midair, her eyes closed.  The crystal set in a tiara upon her forehead.

My trial is passed.  One who would choose power over friends is worthy of neither.  Awaken, Lightbringer.

As Twilight slowly settled to the ground, she opened her eyes.(1)





Nightmare Moon sat back on her throne as she felt the last Element bond to its Bearer.  "Is everything prepared?" she asked the Captain.

"Yes, Your Majesty.  The populace is subdued, accepting that you wish to confront the Bearers yourself.  The nobles are remaining out of sight.  The higher level Nightmare Creatures patrol the streets in the random intervals you have dictated, under orders to only attack the Bearers and their dragon.  The halls of the Castle are filled with traps designed by the Crusaders, and their tank awaits the Bearers approach in the Grand Hall.  The Flim Flam Brothers are in place at the entrance to the castle to sell the Bearers anything they might need for the confrontation.  And Princess Celestia is a-BANANA!"

Celestia rolled her eyes.  "Properly situated in the cage above your throne, to witness your triumph over the heroes," Celestia concluded the report.

"Then all is made ready," Nightmare Moon whispered.  "It's time for the final chapter(2)."







(1) I was so sorely tempted to add "and her wings" to this line, but eventually decided against it.
(2) Not really.  Still a good bit more to go.  No worries there.

> Nightmare in Equestria: Final Boss
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Twilight and her friends stared up at the imposing form of Canterlot, the shadow of Eternal Night turning the once lovely and peaceful city into a scene out of nightmares.  The soaring white towers were stained black with magic and shadows.  The buildings, once soaring, now seemed to huddle.  Horrid monsters could be seen patrolling the streets, hulking over the tops of buildings as they marched in silence.  There wasn't a pony in sight.

"Alright everyone," Twilight whispered.  "This is it.  It's time to liberate Canterlot, storm the castle, and do battle with Nightmare Moon herself.  Are we all ready?"

"Ready and waiting!" Rainbow affirmed, pumping her hoof.  She hovered above the group, her wings flapping steadily, preferring to fight from the air.

"Well...yes.  Yes, I'm ready," Fluttershy added, standing at the back of the group next to Rarity.  Her confidence in herself had grown since the journey began, and was less afraid of putting herself forward.  Getting her Element first might have contributed, as over the course of the journey that power had saved their collective haycon numerous times.

"I do agree that it's time to take back this fair city, Twilight," Rarity spoke up, posing dramatically.  While she had gotten much more used to dealing the the thick of danger, excitement, and dirt, and could easily be relied upon in battle or out...she was still a bit of a drama queen when the moment seemed appropriate.

"Gonna wrangle us a conquering varmint!" Applejack snapped, standing to Twilight's left.  She had been a strong pillar for the team, supporting everyone when they needed it and keeping them all safe and sound.  The adventure had agreed with her, making her already strong frame even tougher, her muscles visibly toned under her coat when she flexed.  And when she put the Earth power of her Element behind her bucks...well, Twilight felt sorry for that dragon that had attacked them while they passed through its territory.  She'd never heard a dragon sing falsetto before.

"It's time to show Nightmare Moon a real surprise party!" Pinkie giggled as she bounced to Twilight's right.  Despite the length of the adventure and everything they'd been through, she didn't seem that much different...beyond her new tendency to vanish in a pillar of flames to reappear somewhere else.  Also, she carried a massive sheaf of notes on everypony they'd met on the journey...which she somehow kept in her mane, despite the fact that it was larger than her entire body.

Spike slammed his closed fist into his opposite palm.  "Let's finish this," he said as he snorted a bit of flame, muscles flexing beneath shimmering scales.  His new adolescent frame had awakened a streak of vanity in the young drake, causing him to take great pains in his appearance.  He didn't let this stop him from leaping into the fray when called on, or taking on physical tasks he was best suited to, but it was a noticeable change in his behavior.  Twilight privately suspected the way Rarity fluttered her eyelashes at him to be a bigger factor in this new behavior than it being any sort of natural aspect of his growth.

Twilight herself stood in the middle of the group, just behind Spike.  Pinkie had insisted on this battle formation to maximize their effectiveness.  Twilight, as their strongest caster - the Light aspect of her Element was especially effective, both against Dark Magic creatures and Dark Magic itself - was firmly in the middle, warded on three sides by strong fighters.  Fluttershy and Rarity, as their healers, were in the back to keep everyone hale and hearty.  For some reason, however, Pinkie had insisted that they not let her out of their sight for any reason.  The pink pony's stated reason for this was, "Process of Elimination".

Taking a deep breath, Twilight smiled as, surrounded by her friends, she took a step forward.  "Let's show Nightmare Moon what we're made of..."

"Together!" the seven shouted out as they marched up to the gates.

The gates of the city were sealed with a magical lock.  Spike attempted to destroy it with his dragon fire, but it only made the lock glow in six colors.  The Elements resonated, and the six segments of the lock crumbled, and the gate swung open to an unusual chime.

"How did she seal the gates with a lock that only the Elements could open?" Spike asked, confused.

"Forget how," Twilight countered.  "How about why?"

"To make sure we didn't try to come here too soon?" Rainbow suggested.

Pinkie twitched violently, her whole body briefly spasming.  "Whoa...the doozy's getting closer!"

Those of the group who had lived in Ponyville for a long time glanced around worriedly, knowing the terror Pinkie's 'Pinkie Sense' could foretell.  Twilight watched Pinkie with interest, having observed several situations during the journey where the 'Pinkie Sense' had proven quite helpful, and had been attempting to formulate various theories as to how it worked.  The 'doozy' was the last thing she needed to see to confirm her latest theory.

As they journeyed through the streets of Canterlot, they fought a few of the Nightmarish creatures they'd seen.  After a time, Spike noticed something that concerned him.  "All these doors are locked tight," he pointed out.  "It's...it's like the citizens are afraid to come out of their own homes."

"With creatures like the one we just wrangled wanderin' about, wouldn't you be?" Applejack asked.

"So...should we try and kill all the monsters first?" Twilight suggested.

"Wouldn't work!" a voice called out from the second story.

Looking up, the group spotted a brown colt with orangeish-brown mane and eyes, wearing a propeller beanie and drinking from a juice box.  "Button Mash?" Rarity asked in shock.  "What are you doing here?"

"Here to see the final showdown!" Button called back.  "It's gonna be awesome!"

"You know him?" Spike asked.

"My little sister's a bit sweet on him," Rarity replied in a whisper.

"What do you mean, it wouldn't work?" Twilight called back.

"The monsters respawn!" Button called back, pointing to where a previous monster they'd killed was once again patrolling a street they'd just left.  "Like random encounters for grinding!  Haven't you ever played any video games?"

"Button!" a voice shouted from deeper in the house as Pinkie spasmed again.

"Whoops!"  He grabbed the top of the window.  "Say hi to Sweetie for me when you get to the castle!"  He slammed the window shut.

"Wait, what?" Rarity demanded.  "Sweetie Belle's in the castle?  Why?"

"Do you think Nightmare Moon might mean to use her as a hostage to make us hesitate?" Fluttershy suggested.

"But then...who else could she have?" Pinkie asked.

Applejack suddenly gasped.  "You don't think...Apple Bloom?"

Rainbow gnawed her hoof, her own mind going to a particular filly she wasn't quite willing to admit to being worried about.

"We'd better get there fast, then!" Twilight proclaimed.  Nodding, the group raced for the castle.





"What?" Twilight demanded angrily as the group reached the gates of the castle.  "What are you two doing here?"

"Selling medicines, of course!" Flim replied.

"And battle items!" Flam added.

"But how do you keep getting ahead of us?" Twilight shouted.

"And how'd you get permission to sell at the gates of the Palace?" Spike added.

"Royal Permit," Flim replied.

"We can sell anywhere, as long as its adventuring items!" Flam added.

"Pity you never bought any of our +2 Hoofshoes of Smiting," Flim pointed out.

"They were made of rusty iron," Rarity pointed out.

"We offered a discount since they were used," Flam argued.

"They dissolved into rust when I picked them up," Rainbow pointed out.

"Well used!" Flim countered.

Twilight shook her head.  "Ugh, just...never mind!  We need to get into the Castle and-"

"Would you care for a map?" Flam asked.  "Her Majesty, Queen Nightmare Moon, has used dark magic to transform the interior walls of the castle into a massive maze!"

"But we just happen to have a map of the maze," Flim pointed out.

"Which we'll sell to you...for the right price," Flam concluded.

"How'd ya get holda that map, anyway?" Applejack demanded.

"Nightmare Moon gave it to us," Flim replied.

"To sell to you," Flam added.

"Why would Nightmare Moon give you a map of her stronghold to sell to us?" Rarity demanded.

"Because you wouldn't trust it if it was free," Flim pointed out.

"She's looking forward to fighting you," Flam added.  "She doesn't want you getting lost."

Twilight rolled her eyes.  "Fine.  We'll take the map.  Maker, this is giving me such a headache..."

With map in hand - Spike was carrying it - they made their way into the castle.





By the time the group was halfway through the castle maze, they were glad they'd bought the map...as well as stocked up on medicines, snacks, and mana restoration draughts.  The traps scattered throughout the maze had been quite fiendish.  While all the traps gave a distinctive sound when triggered, most launched their obstacle - whether darts, flames, spears, or pies - not directly at the trigger switch (tile, trip rope, or spell), but to one side or the other, anticipating an attempt at a dodge.  Those that did launch straight at the triggering device exploded when directly over it, hitting everything around it.  By the end, the group was quite grateful both to Spike's thick hide and Applejack discovering she didn't need to use actual earth to conjure her Earthen Barrier.

As they reached the midpoint of the path to the Throne Room (which was marked with Nightmare Moon's face), the group paused before a chamber marked on the map with what looked like Pinkie's party cannon, but made of wood.

"Probably some sort of guardian we have to get through before we reach Nightmare Moon," Rainbow pointed out.  "Well, whatever it is, we'll kick its flank!"

Once everyone had fully recovered, they entered the marked chamber, and were confronted by a tank made of wood and nails which glowed with dark magic.  Swiveling, it fired upon them.  Only a quick scattering of the group saved them from being taken down in a single hit.

"What is that thing?" Twilight demanded in shock.

"It...kinda looks like some o' mah sis's woodworking projects," Applejack pointed out.

Rarity noticed the color scheme.  "It has Sweetie Belle's fashion sense.  Ugh, those colors clash horribly."

Rainbow buzzed over the tank, noticing but not mentioning the several scooters she saw cannibalized in its construction.

"Well, we'd better take it down quick, before it takes us down!" Pinkie shouted out as she dodged another cannon shell, gathering her fire.  "It's made of wood after all!"

"Right!" Spike agreed as he took a deep breath.

"Wait!" Applejack called out.  "That things designed to have pilots.  What if Apple Bloom's in there?"

"Or Sweetie Belle?" Rarity added.

Both Spike and Pinkie dispelled their flames.

"I'm guessing trying to make the wood come to life and tear it apart is also a no, then?" Fluttershy asked nervously.

"I've got an idea," Twilight pointed out.  "Make it target me.  Spike, get out of the way."

Confused, Spike stepped aside.  The tank immediately swiveled to point at Twilight, preparing to fire.

Twilight lowered her horn and fired a Light spell straight down the barrel.  The dark magic around the tank dissipated.

"W-what'd ya do?" Applejack asked worriedly.

"It was animated by dark magic," Twilight pointed out.  "I disenchanted it."

"It's empty!" Pinkie called as she flipped the top open.

"Guess that was a wasted effort," Applejack pointed out.  "Sorry Pinkie, Spike."

"As am I," Rarity added.

"Umm...it might not be," Fluttershy pointed out.  "Is...will it still work with a pilot?"

"Oh yeah, definitely!" Pinkie called back.  "Why?"

"Well...I know I'm not much of a combatant...and being made of wood, it is Nature..."

Everyone turned to stare at Fluttershy.  Slowly, wide grins covered their faces, and Twilight prepared a new enchantment.





Nightmare Moon sat back in the Throne Room, Celestia and the Crusaders above her, sipping tea.  "They should be here by now," she pointed out with a frown.

"Do ya think we did too good a job on the traps?" Apple Bloom asked worriedly.  "Ah...ah hope we didn't hurt 'em..."

"Or maybe the tank was too hard?" Scootaloo suggested.

"Maybe they're taking their time making themselves presentable in the antechamber before bursting through the door," Sweetie suggested.  "Sounds like something Rarity would do."

Nightmare Moon set her tea aside.  "Well, I don't like being kept waiting-"

The Throne Room doors burst open as a massive wooden bunny rabbit smashed through them, a tank barrel instead of one hand.

"Is...is that our tank?" Apple Bloom asked.

"It's so cute and fluffy!" Sweetie Belle squealed.  "It's got a leafy tail bob!"

"You're going down, Nightmare Moon!" Rainbow proclaimed as the Elements and Spike gathered around the wooden rabbit.

Nightmare Moon did a quick headcount.  "...Kindness is in the bunny?"  Along with Sir Lancelot and Sir Galahad, perhaps? she added silently.

"Yay!" the wooden rabbit mech proclaimed.

Nightmare Moon stood up.  "Very well," she stated calmly.  "Let's see how strong you've become!"  She immediately unleashed a wave of dark magic spells.

Twilight quickly countered with Rays of Light, dispelling each spell as it approached her.  Nightmare tried to take to the air, but was countered by an attacking Rainbow and a leaping Spike, pushing her back down into the path of a binding shell from the mech, vines growing crazily through her feathers, rendering her wings useless.

She tried shifting to mist form to get to a more advantageous position, but found Pinkie Pie waiting for her, appearing out of fire.  "Shoryuken!" Pinkie shouted as she delivered the attack in question - surrounded by actual fire - sending Nightmare flying backwards.

Distracted by that bit of nostalgia, Nightmare Moon found herself caught off guard by the mudslide Applejack and Rarity hit her with, conjured directly out of their magic to slam her against the wall, trapping her in wet clay.  A wave of green fire followed, locking her in place.

Growling angrily, Nightmare Moon burst free of the clay, a little unsteady on her feet.  "I've been too reticent," she growled out.  "I had not realized just how strong you had become.  It seems I will need to bring my full power to bear!"

Her magic flared forth, blue lightning and green ones and zeroes as she held the dark magic back, saving it for when Twilight was otherwise engaged.  When she saw the numbers, Pinkie Pie began spasming cartoonishly.  Ignoring that for now, Nightmare Moon began lashing at the group with her magic, forcing them into a defensive position.

"You are utter foals!" Nightmare Moon declared.  "You have the Elements...but you cannot use them together!  Only their combined power can defeat me now...and you cannot combine them!  You are but mere mortals...whilst I am a Goddess!  I am invincible!"

And three...two...one... she added in the silence of her mind.

The mecha bunny suddenly fell on her, pinning her to the floor.  She let out a scream of pain as a snap heralded damage to her leg.  This game world is too damn realistic, she cursed internally as she thrust the giant wooden bunny off of her, the spell difficult as a crack ran along the length of her horn.

Before her eyes, Twilight and her friends floated, the Elements of Harmony shining in unison.

She sighed as she saw the rainbow form.  She knew she should be screaming 'No!' right about now, but...she just couldn't bring herself to.  She had accepted her role too much.  "I'm bad..." she murmured.

And that's good... a voice replied in her mind, one she'd heard many times before back in the arcade, both familiar and not.

"I will never be good..." Nightmare Moon continued in response as the rainbow arced towards her.

And that's not bad... the voice replied.

As the rainbow surrounded her, she and the voice in her head spoke together.  "There's nopony I'd rather be than me."

The Rainbow swirled for a time around her and she closed her eyes, waiting for whatever would happen next.  When the magic faded, she heard several startled gasps, and opened her eyes.

Somehow, she had been restored to full strength and health.  Her wings were clean of fowling, her leg was once more whole and unbroken, as was her horn.

She blinked for a time.  "It's...it's probably just a glitch," she said quickly.  "Quick, fire it again before the player notices!"

As nearly everyone in the throne room stared at her in confusion, Pinkie - who had been spasming - suddenly froze.  "Oooooh!" she gasped out in shock.  "Now I get it!"

She then dashed forward, grabbed Nightmare Moon by her peytral, and proceeded to shake her.  "This isn't a video game!" she shouted at her at the top of her voice.

Nightmare Moon blinked.  "It's...it's not?  But I can see the screen...and the player!"  She pointed off into the middle distance.

Most of those present glanced in the direction she pointed, confused at seeing nothing.  Pinkie, however, sighed in understanding.  Leaning in, she whispered in Nightmare Moon's ear, "That's the Author."

Nightmare Moon stared as the screen - the fourth wall - faded from her vision.  "Then...then this is a...Player world?"  When Pinkie nodded, tears formed in her eyes.  "Then...then I'll never see them again...Daddy..."

Sinking to the floor, Nightmare Moon, Queen of the Night, Mistress of Dreams, Conqueror of Equestria, and proud Bad Guy...wept like the broken-hearted child she still was inside.
> Nightmare Wins!  Friendship?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	As Nightmare Moon wept, she was rather surprised to feel three small forms glomp onto her from above.  Turning, she saw that the Crusaders had leapt from the cage to snuggle her, apparently trying to offer comfort.  They couldn't possibly understand what she was going through right now, but they knew she was sad and wanted to try and help her feel better.

She was also somewhat surprised when Celestia mimicked their actions by wrapping a wing around her.  Without thought, she buried her face against the white coat.

"Wait a minute!" Twilight shouted.  "Princess Celestia...how'd you get out of the cage?"

Celestia blinked in surprise.  "I...I'm not sure.  I saw her tears, needed to offer comfort, and just...went."

"Well, it was only designed to keep anyone from freeing her," Nightmare Moon pointed out.  "I thought this was a video game.  I figured she was programmed to stay in the cage once captured until freed, or something like that."

Applejack's jaw dropped.  "Are ya sayin'...that the Princess coulda walked outta that cage at any time?"

"Not at any time!" Pinkie called out.  "Only when it was funny!"

Nightmare Moon managed to laugh through her tears.  "At least that's something familiar," she murmured, remembering one of Stan and Lauren's favorite movies.

"Luna," Celestia began, "please...tell me what troubles you so.  I failed to help you all those years ago.  Let me help you now..."

Nightmare Moon stared at her.  "...you could start by telling me what the hell you're talking about.  What happened 'all those years' ago?  I thought I was a video game villain, remember?  And why do you keep calling me Luna?  Who's Luna?"

That would be me, the voice from inside told her.

Celestia, having not heard that voice, whimpered slightly.  "You truly do not reme-"

"Shush!" Nightmare Moon cut her off.  "Voice in my head is talking.  Says her name's Luna."

And please be less rude to our sister, Luna told her.

"Sister?" Nightmare Moon gasped happily.  "You're my sister?" she turned sparkling eyes on Celestia.

A wide smile greeted this statement.  "Yes.  I'm your older sister-"

She was cut off by a crushing embrace.  "I still have family..." Nightmare Moon whimpered.  She noisily blew her nose, belatedly realizing she blew it in Celestia's multicolored mane.  "Oh, sorry..."

Celestia chuckled.  "Hardly the first time, and won't be the last..."

Tia...

So, care to explain what's going on, other me? Nightmare Moon asked silently.  Something tells me you'll have more accurate details than she will.

Jealousy and loneliness festered in my heart because it seemed our subjects loved Celestia so much that I didn't matter at all, Luna replied.  After a time, that combined with my dark magic and created you, a split aspect of my being to keep me company...until you eventually took over and tried to make Eternal Night, to force our subjects to love me.

That would have worked wonderfully, Nightmare Moon thought with a roll of her eyes.

Says the tyrant who had to order her conquered subjects to not kill the adventuring heroes before they could fight her.

...touche.  So what happened then?

Celestia banished us using the Elements of Harmony to protect the kingdom.  We didn't think to add the warmth/growth spells to moonlight the first time around by drawing magic from the sun through the moon.

Then how'd we end up a foal?

The Elements meant to seal us in the moon...but Celestia has terrible aim.  She missed.  In order to keep us alive until we reached a viable arrival point to accept the magical data stream, the spell fed on our magical power and life force, resulting in us becoming a foal and losing most of our memories.

So you've been in there with me all along?

Yes.  Daddy had two daughters instead of one.

But how come I haven't heard you?  ...more often, I mean?  Why didn't you ever fight to be free of me?

Because by the time I had the strength to do so after our arrival, you'd come to two conclusions.  One, that there wasn't a world for you to conquer.  And two, that villains - such as you believed yourself to be - had a real raw deal.  In fact, I awoke as you came to that second conclusion.

When I watched Daddy do his game role that first day?

Indeed.  After that, we were in such sync in our thoughts and feelings that you never noticed me, except when you needed emotional support at times of great stress.  As you were the split portion of myself that kept me company here in Equestria, I became the split portion that supported you in the Arcade.

Then how come you're talking so much now?

Because that situation is coming to an end.  It's the nature of the Element of Harmony to restore the natural balance of those things they effect when used in conjunction.  When Celestia used them against us, neither of us were willing to return to a single being.  I rejected the darkness you represented, and you refused to fade away.  But this time...we accepted it.  The entirety of ourself, and our role.  As such...we are becoming one again.

Becoming...one?

As we had been before this all began, Luna explained.  As we always should have been.  We will become I again.  After all...there's nopony we'd rather be than we...soon to be 'me'.

So...does that mean we'll be Luna again? Nightmare Moon asked.

Not exactly.  We've changed so much.  Part of why I'm speaking so much now is preparing our mind to remember what we need to know to reclaim our life, however we choose.

So...we're Nightmare Moon?

Think about that for a minute.  Is that really who we are?  Or just a name we found cool and intimidating?  Who were we to those we cared about?

Nightmare Moon's thoughts were silent for a time.  ...how come the others haven't reacted to how long I've been silent?

Stretched time sense.  It's only been three seconds.

And with that, the voices of Luna and Nightmare Moon within the mind of the Moon Princess ceased to be distinct, sinking into each other as, like they had been in the beginning and were always meant to be, they once more became one.  She opened her eyes.

"Luna?" Celestia asked hopefully.

"We are Nightmare Moon and Luna," she replied.  "The sum of everything we are together, everything we should have been.  Both, yet neither.  We are me, and I...am Moony."

As Celestia blinked in surprise, Fluttershy squeed.  "Aww, how cute!"

"Hey!" Moony countered.  "Keep in mind you haven't actually overthrown me yet!"

"We were so kicking your flank!" Rainbow countered.

"Tell that to the army of Changelings-turned-Cybugs in the Crystal Caverns Bonus Dungeon," Moony countered.  "I caught their Queen trying to pull a body swap on Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, and offered her a choice between death or servitude.  Her soldiers now work for me, enhanced, and so does she."

"It has better dental, if nothing else," a maid commented as she served tea, her eyes briefly flaring green.

Celestia stared after the maid nervously, though Rainbow looked intrigued, and Pinkie was giggling along with the Crusaders.

"And...why are the fillies here?" Twilight asked.

"If'n you've hurt my little sis..." Applejack began.

"Oh, they work for me," Moony replied easily.

"What?" all seven heroes shouted together.

"They came in here in that tank, waited in the petition line, and then burst through the doors proclaiming 'Cutie Mark Crusaders Nightmare Slayers'," Moony explained.  "When the tank destroyed everything except me, I suggested they serve me instead."

"No Nightmare Soldier Cutie Marks, though," Scootaloo pouted.

"Not even Royal Stylist ones after we gave Princess Celestia a makeover!" Sweetie Belle complained.

"I...wasn't going to say anything," Rarity commented dryly, trying not to look at a now grinning Princess Celestia's 'new look'.

Celestia chuckled as she sat down for tea.  "So...now what, Moony?  Do you still want to be sole ruler of Equestria?"

"What?" Twilight demanded.  "You're...you're just going to let her keep Eternal Night going?"  Realizing she'd just yelled at her mentor, she wilted in on herself.

"Why not?" Celestia asked.  "The crops still grow, ponies still live their lives, the government's been restructured to the point it runs so smoothly, we haven't had a meaningless petition in weeks - and those petitions we do still receive get the attention they deserve, not to mention the whole petition process being streamlined - and the nobility and commoners alike have become so pleased with the new workings of the government that she had to enforce a curfew to keep the citizens of Canterlot from trying to kill you to keep you from overthrowing her."

"Most awkward moment of my rule," Moony confirmed.  "No, don't kill the heroes.  I'll do it myself."  She shuddered.  "I actually felt dirty saying that.  Such an amateur mistake for an Overlord, but it was the only way I'd get to face you at all."

The mares before them simply stared at the Princess in shock.  Spike blinked.  "So...what now?"

Moony smiled.  "In truth...I don't know.  If this is a Player World and not a Game World, I don't think I want to keep being a villain..."

"Then couldn't you be a reformed anti-hero, still full of all your dark powers and being ruthlessly efficient in your methods, but choosing to fight for a different side due to a personal epiphany?" Spike suggested.  "I always love it when that happens in the comic books."

Moony blinked for a bit.  "That could work."

Celestia chuckled.  "Does that mean it's time to bring back the day?"

Moony smiled.  "I suppose it does...sister."  I could get used to that, she thought to herself.

Focusing their magic, Celestia and Moony disentangled the moon and sun's magics from each other, ending the eclipse of Eternal Night.

"3...2...1..." Celestia, Moony, and Pinkie counted together.

The doors would have burst open dramatically, but they still lay on their sides from when the bunny tank had charged through, which just goes to show that reality has no consideration for proper drama.  "What have you done with Her Majesty?" the angry mob of Canterlot citizenry - commoners, nobles, and merchants alike - shouted, waving their torches, pitchforks, and Nightmare Supporter banners.

"...you weren't kidding," Twilight murmured after she was able to breathe.  The sight of Moony sitting their calmly had taken most of the wind out of the mobs sails.

Moony stood up.  "My little ponies," she called happily, amplifying her voice so all could hear but none were blasted off their hooves, "it does my heart good to see you come so staunchly to my aid in my perceived hour of need.  And I bring you all good tidings: the war is over!  Equestria is at peace once more!"

Many of the members of the mob looked confused, though all lowered their weapons.

"Having faced off against the Bearers of the Elements, I realize that I cannot protect and rule this country properly on my own.  As such, I have chosen a different path.  Having made up with my sister, Celestia-"  This cause a lot of murmuring.  "A reformation of the government is in order, to better reflect the new structure and our places here.  Allow me to reintroduce myself, for I am no longer Queen."  She bowed her head.  "If it is the will of my subjects, I am President-for-Life Moony, of the Feudal Republic of Equestria."  Vanellope was right, she thought silently.  That title feels so much better.

A united cheer went up from the entire city, nearly bowling Moony over.

"But what about Princess Celestia?" someone called out.  The entire mob murmured to itself, shifting nervously.

Celestia smiled as she stood up, pleased to see that her little ponies did still care for her.  "Don't you mean Vice-President Celestia?" she asked, startling a gasp from Twilight.

The citizenry accepted this happily, turning to go back to their day to day lives and adjust to there being a day again.  Stock in the sunglasses market briefly soared.

"Really, sister?' Moony asked.  "Are you certain?  We are supposed to be equals, after all..."

"And this all started because you were trapped in my shadow," Celestia replied when her sister's voice trailed off.  "Come, sister.  We have work to do."
> The Status Quo
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	While it was one thing to simply proclaim that things were at peace once again, it was quite another to actually make it so.  The reorganization of the government Moony had accomplished as Nightmare Moon - mostly to reduce her own headaches while ruling solely - had necessitated a complete restructuring of the highest level of government, redefining what it meant to be President and Vice-President, as derived from being Princesses.

The first issue was addressing Celestia's ratification of decisions made by Nightmare Moon...which turned out to be unnecessary.  A review of the original documentation that passed Platinum, Puddinghead, and Hurricane's authority over Equestria to Celestia and Luna rather than their own heirs showed that there were actually clauses in place to take into account when one or the other Princess became unavailable for whatever reason, up to and including one of them going mad for whatever reason and becoming a danger to the country.  It had been rather unnerving to Celestia to discover that their predecessors had perceived the possibility of Nightmare Moon and provided clauses for how it should be dealt with, making her banishment actually legal.

The clauses even covered how to handle the other end of it.  According to those clauses, if one of the Princesses was rendered unable to fulfill their duties due to absence, illness, or imprisonment for a given period of time leaving the other to rule solely, then upon the absent Princess's return, they were to be given sole rule for an equivalent period of time to restore balance, or until they felt they had been appropriately repaid for having their authority circumscribed through some other means.  Moony considered the four months she ruled as Queen Nightmare Moon to be sufficient repayment, especially as Celestia was rather insistent in letting her keep various other prerogatives from that time as well.

With that out of the way, Celestia and Moony had to hash out exactly what powers each of them had as President and Vice-President.  Moony kept trying to push to make them equals in all but name, while Celestia was constantly trying to make up for 'wronging her' by giving her more authority and powers relative to the new system.  This debate frequently devolved into them spraying each other with the squirt guns Pinkie Pie had provided them for just that purpose.  Thankfully, she'd also had the foresight to provide scrolls, quills, and inkwells enchanted by Twilight to repel water.

Eventually, the only power Moony had as President that Celestia did not have as Vice-President was in the judicial branch of their duties.  As each noble now acted as a judge, the final court of appeal in their districts, now was Celestia the final court of appeal for the nation in conflicts between equals, while Moony held court over any conflict between those of different social ranks, especially those between children and adults or nobles and commoners.  Moony privately wondered exactly how much of a 'bonus' it was to have the authority to overturn one of Celestia's decisions in a judicial court.  It just seemed like more headaches.

One of the first petitions brought before the new Eclipse Court - where Celestia and Moony made decisions together before going about their duties - was to make the inaugural date of the court, when all those details were finally hashed out and ratified, a national holiday celebrating the reconciliation of the Celestial sisters and the rebirth of Equestria under their shared rule.  This was of course passed eagerly by both former Princesses, and became part of the traditions of the country, to be celebrated the first time at the next Grand Galloping Gala a few months later, and then officially a year from the actual date.  Since part of the celebration was to involve the return of the sun and the restoration of the balance of Day and Night, it was decided that a brief Lunar Eclipse would be part of the festivities the night before the celebration, followed by a glorious sunrise for the day of.

The last of what Moony felt were her 'duties' as Nightmare Moon before she could settle down to being President Moony involved her three 'Nightmare Soldiers' from Ponyville, given how much their own lives and studies had been disrupted by her 'recruitment' of them.  She decided the best way to discharge this final duty - especially with what she'd overheard of some of their problems in Ponyville - was to make a personal appearance at their school as a guest speaker.





"Alright, everypony, settle down," Cheerilee called out as class resumed after lunch.  "Today we have a special guest speaker that I'm sure you're all looking forward to seeing.  So everypone, please join me in welcoming Princess - I mean, President - Moony!"

The whole class applauded as Moony stepped into the classroom.  "Greetings, my little ponies," she said happily.  As three particular fillies applauded extra loud, she walked up to them.  "And how are my little Nightmare Soldiers doing?"

"Pretty good!" Apple Bloom chimed in.  "Still grounded for invading Canterlot, though."

"Trying to catch up on homework!" Sweetie Belle added.

"Ponyville's just so boring compared to the palace," Scootaloo pouted.

Chuckling - and noticing two particular fillies staring in shock - Moony returned to the front of the class.  "Now, what is the subject of today's class?"

"We're going over Cutie Marks," Cheerilee replied.

"Ah, yes," Moony replied.  "Cutie Marks.  Tell me class...what do you think a Cutie Mark is?"

"A symbol of your special talent?" Apple Bloom suggested.

"A mark of your dethtiny?" Twist asked.

"It's what makes you special!" Diamond Tiara sneered.

"Of course," Moony replied.  "What simple answers to a complex question."  She turned.  "You say that your Cutie Mark is what makes you special, Diamond Tiara?  Why don't you come to the front of the class and tell us all what yours means?"

Smirking, Diamond Tiara strutted to the front of the class and showed off her Cutie Mark.  "It means I'm Daddy's Little Princess, better than anypony else!" she proclaimed proudly.

Moony frowned.  "I've met Goombas who were more multi-dimensional than that," she gagged, causing a particular propeller beanie wearing colt to squee.  "Tell me, how did you get your Cutie Mark?  When did it happen?"

Diamond Tiara grinned widely.  "I was playing the Princess in a school play, the leading filly, as I performed and strutted my stuff with everyone watching me."  Her eyes closed as she lifted her head, getting lost in the memory.  "All eyes on me as I spoke the piece I'd practiced and recited until I could do it by heart, putting all of my passion and feeling into the performance...the applause as everyone was cheering for me..."  Her eyes opened, and she seemed to realize where she was again.  "You know, like it should be," she continued, her voice far less emotional and more aloof.  "Everything should be about me.  That's just what my Cutie Mark says."

Moony raised an eyebrow.  "Really," she stated blandly.  "Tell me, are you familiar with Lady Ofillia?"

Diamond Tiara blinked in surprise.  "From Hamlet?  Who doesn't?  It's a really dramatic piece."

"Do you know her lines?"

Diamond scuffed the ground with her hoof.  "Somewhat..."

"Perform some for us," Moony instructed.

Diamond Tiara blinked in surprise.  "Why should I?"  While most would hear only petulant words, the trained ear would detect traces of...embarrassment and shame?

Moony waved her wing, and a Cybug/Changeling took shape in the doorframe.  "Because if you aren't performing in the next ten seconds, he's going to eat you," she stated simply.  "Ten..."

She didn't mean it, of course.  Even transformed into Cybugs, the Changelings would not eat ponies.  However, Diamond Tiara obviously didn't know that, and launched into Ofillia's most dramatic monologue from the play without hesitation.  A few lines were done badly, and Diamond stumbled over a few of the archaic terms, hesitating occasionally as she wracked her mind for the next line...but the emotion of the performance came through unbroken.

"That's enough," Moony said at last, dismissing the Cybug/Changeling.  "Quite a...talented performance for one so young," she murmured.  "Especially with so little preparation and without having the script handy.  You may take your seat."

Confused and more than a little terrified, Diamond Tiara returned to her seat.  Silver Spoon reached over to offer her comfort.

"Silver Spoon!" Moony called out.  "You're next.  Come to the front of the class and tell us what your Cutie Mark means."

Nervously, Silver Spoon did as directed.  "My special talent is...the responsible redistribution of wealth and other assets," she said quickly, struggling to keep her glasses in place.

Moony raised an eyebrow.  "Perhaps you could simplify that for the rest of the class?" she suggested.

"I...I'm good at handling money," Silver Spoon admitted, somewhat abashed.  "Contracts, taxes, budgets...  My Daddy has me go over the account books for the family business with him."

"Hmm...how interesting that you two are such good friends," Moony murmured, glancing towards Diamond Tiara.  "Such infrequently combined skill sets...take your seat."

As Silver Spoon returned to her seat, Moony went through the rest of the class who had their Cutie Marks, calling them up to explain their special talent, and then making some obscure comments that made them think about it.  At the end, she presented her own Cutie Mark.  "What do you all think mine means?" she asked.

"You control the moon?" Sweetie Belle offered.

"You're royalty?" Diamond Tiara guessed.

"You're awesome?" Scootaloo asked, garnering several giggles.

Moony chuckled.  "Sweetie Belle is actually the closest.  Before my sister and I, it took a whole cadre of unicorns to control the sun and moon.  Celestia and I can each control our celestial bodies alone...not because we are each as powerful as a cadre of ancient unicorns - not to say we aren't - but because our magics and the magics of our symbols interact in a unique manner.  The sun and moon want to obey us.

"However, I am not solely defined by my connection to the moon.  I also set the stars in the sky, reign over the night, guard dreams, command nightmares, and run the government...and I'm pretty damn good at that last, if the polls are to be believed."  She smiled as the more politically savvy youngsters giggled at her joke.  "But how much of that can be explained by my Cutie Mark?"

Silence greeted her question.

"You see, the problem many ponies of any age have is using a Cutie Mark to define themselves," Moony explained.  "But a Cutie Mark does not define you, or your special talent, or your destiny.  It represents your talents...and your passions.  Something unique about you.  It is not something you have to find and discover...it is also something you must choose."

The bell rang before she could say anymore.  "Think on my words," she instructed them as they gathered their stuff to leave.





"So how did your visit to the school go?" Celestia asked as Moony returned from Ponyville.

"Rather well, I think," Moony replied.  "How goes the planning for the Gala?"

"Well, most of the plans are still in place from before your return," Celestia pointed out.  "Though I see you've made some changes...a DJ in addition to the Quartet?"

Moony nodded.  "Yes.  While some of the Gala will be the usual soiree as the various ponies talk and socialize to peaceful music, I feel it's only appropriate that some of it actually be a party...especially since it's a belated celebration of our reunion.  I look forward to seeing you 'shake your groove thang', as the younger ponies say."

Celestia winced, not looking forward to trying to dance.  "And...are you certain there won't be a clash of egos?" she asked worriedly.

"But of course," Moony replied.  "I asked the leader of the Quartet - the cellist - if she knew of a DJ with whom she and her group would feel comfortable performing.  She recommended her roommate."  She tapped her chin.  "Though I was somewhat confused when she blushed after I said I looked forward to seeing the two of them make sweet music together."

Celestia groaned as she buried her face in her hooves.  "Remind me to reassure Miss Melody that you didn't mean it as innuendo."

Moony blinked in confusion.  "How is that innuendo?"

Celestia did her best not to burst into giggles.
> Villains Victorious
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Moony sat back in her office, going over paperwork as she sipped some hot chocolate and munched her way through a plate of sweets and an oversized cherry.  She made a mental note to send a thank you to Miss Jubilee for managing to grow such large cherries simply to indulge her nostalgia, since it was one of so few things that let her remember those she was certain she would never see again.  Changing from Princess to President, eating sweets and pies and oversized fruit, having commissioned the blacksmiths to build her a race car...

She banished the thoughts of what she had lost.  She had gained so much, after all, and the country - neigh, the entire world - depended on her.  She couldn't let herself sink into sorrow.  Still, these few comforts helped ease the ache in her heart somewhat, though it also kept such knowledge fresh in her mind.

Taking another bite of the giant cherry, she turned her mind to recent events.  Shining Armor and Cadence had married, with Moony and Celestia jointly overseeing the ceremony at dusk.  After that, they had gone off on their honeymoon, and promptly uncovered a lost Empire and an ancient evil.  As Moony was the first to receive the message about what had been found, she decided to address the evil in question herself.

She was rather disappointed to discover that said evil was rather readily swayed with the proper approach.  She now had a new Nightmare General, and the Canterlot Gardens now included a perpetual motion escalator powered by the magic in the crystal slinkies that constantly tried to climb down it.  And Equestria had a new ally to the far north.  Of course, there was also the promise of putting captured POWs in slavery to build and maintain more such escalators...but after what Moony had demonstrated in conquering Equestria, no one wanted to declare war on them.  Just the rumor that Moony was marshaling her forces against someone was enough to get that someone surrendering, which meant there were never any prisoners.  ...Moony still didn't know what to do about the surrender letter from the 'Cult of the Sun', since it was mostly desperate apologies for even considering trying to capture and imprison her as vengeance for doing so to Celestia.

With all that sorted out, Moony had returned to her usual paperwork to keep the country running.  Still, it was on quiet days like this one that she was left missing those she knew back at the arcade...and wondering why her cherry was dancing.

"What?" she asked flatly as various other items in her chambers began animating and behaving in unusual manners.  "What is this?"

"Call it early negotiations," a somewhat familiar voice spoke out as something appeared in the air in front of her.

At first she was confused at what she was seeing, but one of her Luna memories quickly came to the fore.  "Discord, right?" she asked bluntly.

"Sharp as ever," Discord replied, bowing.

"What do you mean, early negotiations?" Moony asked.

"Straight to the point, as always," Discord cackled.  "Simply put, I'm going to be playing...a bit of a game with your sister and the Harmony Bearers, and I'd like you to stay out of it."

Moony raised an eyebrow.  "And why would I do that?" she asked.

"Oh, I think I can come up with something..." he replied, snapping his talons.

On the other side of the room, two large objects partially materialized.  One looked like a giant mechanical eye, while the other Moony recognized as a computer, but with many screens.  What left her with a dropped jaw, however, was the images on the screens.  Each was one of the games from the arcade.  "How...what?" she gasped.

Discord grinned widely.  "Not the original cabinets, of course," he pointed out.  "But as a player, you won't know the difference.  Perhaps this...reconnection is worth your cooperation?"

Moony thought for a time, then nodded.  "In exchange for this, I will not assist my sister or the Harmony Bearers in defeating you," she promised.  Besides, she thought silently, I can easily take you myself afterwards.

Grinning widely, Discord snapped his talons, making the machines finish materializing.  The intro animations began playing, just like she remembered from the arcade.  "Nice doing business with you," Discord cackled.  "I'll leave you to your memories."  With that, he vanished.

Walking forward, Moony put her hooves on the controls, moving the cursor around until she'd selected Fix-it-Felix Jr.  She began to play the game, controlling Felix to jump up and up towards the top of the building, fixing it as he went.  However, as she approached the top, she decided...not to finish the game.  She let Felix leap from the building.

When the game over screen came up, she saw the three letter input for the high score.  Out of a surge of nostalgia, she input 'NMM'.

Suddenly every sprite on all the screens froze, turning towards the screens.  Ralph suddenly leapt off the building, racing out the left side of the screen.  Before long, he appeared in Soul Calibur.  "Moony?" he called out.  "Is that you?"

Moony fell back out of her chair.  "D-D...Daddy?"

Suddenly all the sprites were clamoring at the screens, all the familiar faces, somehow all there.  Zero.exe, Nightmare, Vanellope, Tara Gum, Calhoun, Felix, Wily...everyone eagerly calling out to her, so happy to see her again.

She staggered backwards, tears in her eyes at this reunion.  She bumped against the other machine.

"ENCOM Realizer active," the machine intoned.  "Connection to emulated games established.  Please select a sprite to Realize."

"Realize?" Moony asked in confusion.  "Ralph, what does-"

"Selection confirmed," the machine stated as the eye glowed.  "Sprite designate 'Ralph' isolated."

On the screen, Ralph was suddenly zapped with a blue light, vanishing bit by bit, byte by byte.

"Daddy!" Moony screamed out in fear.

"Sprite fully assimilated and encoded," the machine proclaimed.  "Beginning Realization."

A laser shot out from the eye, first tracing a 2D line grid, then making it 3D.  It then began filling in the grid cell by cell.  When it was finished, Wreck-it-Ralph staggered a bit.  "Moony?" he asked, shocked.

"Daddy!" Moony screamed out, rushing forward to bury herself against his chest.  Immediately, his arms wrapped around her, and they held each other close.

After nearly an hour of just holding each other close - and Wily muttering as he analyzed the digital end of the Realizer - Ralph finally managed to speak up.  "So...this is your game?" he asked, looking around.

"Not a game, Daddy," she replied.  "It's a user world."

"Wow," Ralph gasped in amazement.  "That...must have come as a shock."

"You have no idea," Moony agreed.  "Especially considering how much of it felt like a game, and how close it was to what Stan wrote out for me."

"Nice digs!" Vanellope called from the screen, glancing around.  "What's your role if you've got a place like that?"

Moony chuckled.  "Well, I went from conquering tyrant Queen to benevolent Princess to President-for-Life."  Vanellope chuckled and flashed her a thumbs up.

"And...are the clouds supposed to be pink and raining brown?" Ralph asked, staring out the window.  Reaching out the window, he grabbed at a passing cloud, surprised that he actually managed it.  He took a taste.  "Cotton candy raining chocolate milk?  But this isn't Sugar Rush!"

"No," Moony replied.  "It's the work of yet another threat to the country...but I agreed not to assist the heroes of the land in fighting him, in exchange for him making this-"  She gestured to Ralph, the Realizer, and the computers.  "-possible."

"Oh," Ralph replied.  "These heroes..."

"My sister and some close friends," Moony replied.

Ralph blinked, then grinned widely.  "I didn't agree."

Moony blinked at his statement...and her answering grin was vicious.





"You see," Discord explained to Twilight and her friends, "this is the first rule of the game.  No flying...and no magic!"

"But that's not fair!" Fluttershy complained, stomping her hoof.  "You're doing both!"  The other ponies murmured in agreement.

Discord grinned.  "Oh?  And what are you going to do about it?"

Fluttershy took a deep breath and opened her mouth wide.  "I'M GONNA WRECK IT!"  She gasped in shock.  "Did...did I say that?"

Discord backed up in shock and confusion.  "What the-"

Something slammed into Discord from above, creating a massive crater beneath him from the impact.  When the dust settled, Ralph stood up, stepping back from Discord and cracking his knuckles.  "Had enough?" he asked.

Discord shook himself off and pulled himself together.  Literally, as the impact had caused his mismatched parts to fall apart.  "What do you think you're doing?" he demanded.

"Saving the day," Ralph replied, punching him hard enough to make him fall apart again.

Angrily, Discord pulled himself back together.  "This is my game...not yours!"  Pulling a massive fireball out of the air, he hurled it at Ralph, only for it to bounce off a blue energy barrier.  Discord's eyes popped.  "You said you wouldn't interfere!"

"No," Moony replied as the smoke cleared.  "I said I would not assist Celestia and the others.  Ralph made no such promise."

"And what do you call this?" Discord demanded, gesturing at the energy field.

"Assisting Ralph," she replied.  "You'll notice the others are no longer fighting you."

Turning, Discord saw this was fact.  Twilight and the others were sitting back to watch while Spike and a few Cybugs gave them popcorn.  "But...but that's sophistry!"

"Of course," Moony replied.  "I'm a politician."

"That's not fair!" Discord complained.

"What did you expect?"  Turning, Moony bucked Discord in the face with both hind hooves.  "I'm bad!"

Discord staggered, and found himself face to face with Ralph.  "And that's good!" Ralph proclaimed, punching Discord in the gut.

Flipping head over heels, he found himself face to face with Chrysalis.  "I will never be good," she purred, delivering her own double hind hoof buck, this time to his crotch.

Clutching his injury, Discord wobbled around...and found himself facing Sombra.  "And that'ssssss...not bad," he hissed, sending a bolt of dark magic through Discord.

A familiar whirring noise filled the air, and Wily's saucer lowered.  Raising up out of it, he primed all the weapons as all the other sprites showed up.  "There's no one I'd rather be...than me," he purred, grinning wickedly.

Discord whimpered.  "That just ain't fair..." he pouted.

At that moment, two karts pulled up: "The Precious Gift" and "Dream Eater".

"Sorry," Vanellope said as she primed an ice cream launcher from her kart.

"We don't give a fuck," Calhoun finished, stepping out of "Dream Eater" with her machine gun.





Ten very brutal minutes later, Discord lay back on the ground, his body resembling Swiss cheese and a white flag held over his head, twitching occasionally.  Moony, meanwhile, introduced Twilight and the others to the joys of kart racing.