//------------------------------//
// Third 
// Story: There's Nopony I'd Rather Be Than Me 
// by Tatsurou 
//------------------------------//

	"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.