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.