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.