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...