Hex-It Twilight

by My Little Scribbler

Underwater Rescue With No Air Bubbles

Hex-It Twilight
Chapter 3: Underwater Rescue With No Air Bubbles

Although Twilight’s TV show counterpart could do amazing feats of magic, as a video game avatar, she was still bound by the limitations of her programming. At first, she considered teleporting Trojan out of the game, but she’d never successfully teleported out of a video game cabinet, and even if she could, she wasn’t sure if Trojan could escape that way at all. Her second idea was to open a portal through the barrier. Through her research, she knew that the reason why glitches cannot escape their games was because there was a barrier that kept corrupted programs from leaving the cabinet and potentially infecting other games. However, she had no idea as to how to fix the problem since she knew nothing about how such programs work or how to change them. Her third idea was to try to change Trojan himself so he was no longer a glitch. However, doing so would more likely destroy him than fix him.

As she sat on the cold dungeon floor deep in thought, she glanced at the box of bits behind Trojan. She used her magic to gently levitate the box off the ground, pulling it toward her.

If I just had enough to teleport...

Trojan’s tail whipped out and struck Twilight’s horn, interrupting her magic and causing the box to sink to the floor with a soft thud.

“Don’t even think about it, Princess,” said Trojan.

Twilight let out an irritable huff while flipping through the pages in her books. She did not know what time it was outside the cabinet. All she knew was the arcade would be open soon. As she worked, her mind drifted to her friends, hoping they would come to her rescue.

As the tiny train carried the ponies and Spike into the game Fix-It Felix Jr., the first sight that caught their attention was the shine of the buildings amongst the empty black void of the game. While they came from a game that was colorful and had fully rendered and well designed 3D backgrounds, the large empty space that made up Fix-It Felix Jr. felt empty around the few buildings that existed. A large apartment building, known as Niceland, was placed in front of the screen, revealing the view of the arcade outside. The rest of the buildings were off to the side and ran along a single street. Various game sprites from many different games were in the buildings or out on the street, going about their lives.

The group stepped out of the train and wondered out into the street, observing the sights around them.

“Ugh, this must be one of those ancient games with 8-bit graphics,” said Rainbow with a groan.

“I think it looks quaint,” said Rarity, “although the buildings could use a few cosmetic changes.”

“Now’s not the time to be admiring how the game looks,” said Applejack. “We need to find where the mermaids are.”

From out of the front entrance of Niceland, they saw Felix exit with some of the Nicelanders giving Felix their nightly shower of praise and admiration and Felix humbly responding with gratitude.

“Who’s that?” asked Fluttershy.

“He’s Fix-It Felix,” said Rarity.

“How can you tell?” asked Spike.

“Those blue shirt and pants, that hat, that utility belt, I can identify a handyman by just his clothes.”

“Rarity, I don’t think...” Before Applejack could finish, Rarity cantered off to Felix.

“Yoohoo, Mr. Felix! Could you spare us a minute of your time?”

As he waved good-bye to the Nicelanders, Felix gawked out of surprise to see a white unicorn approach him as well as a group of ponies tailing behind her.

“Excuse me but might you be so kind as to give us your assistance,” said Rarity.

“Hello there...uh, talking horses. My name is Fix-It Felix. What brings you to our game?”

“We are in big trouble and we need your help,” said Spike.

“Not to worry,” Felix pulled out his hammer and held it out like a sword, “I can fix anything you need repaired.”

“No, that’s not what we need help with,” said Rarity.

“Oh, I’m sorry but I can’t do much else besides fixing things. What do you need me for, anyway?”

“Our friend has been kidnapped by mermaids from the game Sea Bottom and we were told that the mermaids live here now,” said Applejack.

“Mermaids?” Felix put a finger to his chin in thought. “Yeah, I think there were some mermaids that moved into our game recently. However, I’m not in charge of new tenants. That’s Ralph’s job.”

“So where can we meet Ralph?” asked Rarity.

“Just follow me and I’ll introduce you to him.” Felix led the ponies to a small cottage built right next to a pile of rubble where Ralph used to live. The house was small and crude with bricks poking outward as well as the walls slightly leaning to one side.

Rarity looked up and down the building, wondering how it was standing.

Felix knocked on the door as it swung with each tap of his hand, the door held in place by a piece of string.

“Just a minute,” said Ralph from behind the door.

The door swung open, and Ralph stared down at the crowd of ponies and a baby dragon standing behind Felix.

Ralph scratched his head, curiously. “Hey Felix, are you giving guided tours?”

“No, we need your help to save our friend,” said Fluttershy, hovering off the ground to meet him at eye level.

Ralph squeezed his way through the small entryway, knocking the door aside as it flapped on its flimsy hinges. “What can I do for you?”

“Twilight was kidnapped by mermaids,” said Spike.

“Ugh, mermaids,” groaned Ralph. “Don’t remind me of the mermaids. I try to be hospitable to new arrivals, but those mermaids are just the worst. They insisted on moving into the pool, and now all the tenants are complaining they can’t use it with the mermaids hogging it. Felix can’t decide if he should build a new pool or an aquarium, and in the meantime, I’m stuck listening to all the complaints—”

“Uh, not that we don’t sympathize,” said Applejack, “but we’re in a hurry.”

“Oh right, sorry. I didn’t mean to ramble there. So you think these mermaids kidnapped your friend...Twilight, was it? I haven’t noticed them taking any ponies here.”

“Regardless, we have to look into it,” said Rarity.

“Fine, I’ll take you to the pool.” Ralph led the ponies and Felix down the street. As he walked, he glanced over his shoulder and said, “So, where did you ponies come from?”

“My Little Pony,” said Rainbow as she hovered over Ralph’s head.

“Oh yeah, that girly looking pony game that was plugged in last week.”

“Girly?” Rainbow hovered in front of Ralph’s face, angrily glaring at him. “Would a girly game have so many grown men playing it every day?”

Ralph rolled his eyes. “I wouldn’t know. I’m always working on my game on the other side of the arcade.”

“Oh yeah...but still, would a girly game have an avatar as cool as me?”

“Uh...”

“Just ignore her, Ralph,” said Applejack. “She’s programmed to have an inflated ego.”

Rainbow folded her hooves across her chest with a confident smile on her face. “I’m true to who I am.”

Ralph nonchalantly circled around Rainbow as he led them to a pool constructed on the far side of the road. A chain-link fence with a sign that read Private Property on the front surrounded the pool. Inside the pool, they could see the mermaids as well as several other sea creatures splashing about in the water or lounging in the pool chairs as if they were having a party.

Rarity watched the mermaids, staring at their strange dwarfish bodies and their frog-like mouths. “Ugh, those are the ugliest mermaids I’ve ever seen.”

“Hey,” shouted Ralph, cupping his hands over his mouth, “could one of you guys come over here. I’ve got some talking ponies here to see you.”

One of the mermaids hovered out of the pool and flapped his tail as if he was swimming through water despite merely levitating in the air. He flew up to the ponies, an irritable scowl on his wide face.

“Yeah, what’s it you want?” he said, irritably. “I was just about to relax.”

Rainbow hovered over him with an angry glare. “All right, what did you do with Twilight?”

“Who?”

“Twilight, our friend you mermaids kidnapped from our game,” said Applejack.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” said the mermaid. “I moved in this game yesterday and haven’t left it since and neither have all the other mermaids with me.”

“You liar!” shouted Rainbow. “I’ll beat you into deletion if you don’t tell us where Twilight is.”

“Ha, I’ve wrestled whales 10 times bigger than you are. I can take you.”

“Oh yeah, bring it!”

“Whoa whoa, simmer down!” shouted Felix. “Look, it seems to me that these are not the mermaids you’re looking for.”

“I agree with Felix,” said Rarity. She approached the mermaid with a wide smile and a seductive flutter in her eyes. “Now, if you would be so kind as to help us. Our friend was kidnapped from our game by a group of mermaids from Sea Bottom. If you’re not the mermaids we’re looking for, then can you tell us who it might be and where they might have Twilight?”

“Well, before we moved out, there was a group of mermaids who stayed behind to help Trojan Seahorse.”

“Who in the hay is Trojan Seahorse?” demanded Applejack.

“He’s a glitch who lives in Sea Bottom,” said the mermaid. “Although he was often ridiculed for being a glitch, he managed to befriend some of the mermaids. Last I heard, they stayed in the game with him, hoping to help him escape before the game is unplugged in the morning.”

“But why can’t he just leave his game?” asked Fluttershy.

“Because glitches can’t leave their game,” said Ralph. “Is there any way that...ugh, what’s her name?”

“Twilight,” said Fluttershy.

“Is there any way for Twilight to possibly free a glitch from his game?”

“Are you kidding me?” said Spike. “Twilight is an alicorn princess. She can do anything.”

“What’s an alicorn?” asked Felix.

“We’ll explain later,” said Applejack. “We don’t have much time until the arcade opens, so we best skedaddle to save Twilight.”

“I’m coming with you,” said Ralph.

“Why?” asked Fluttershy.

“Because my best friend was a glitch,” said Ralph. “I know what Trojan Seahorse must be going through and perhaps I could help him or at least reason with him.”

“Well, if Ralph’s coming along, I want to come along too,” said Felix.

“Aw, you boys are so sweet.” Fluttershy hovered up to Ralph and gave him a kiss on the cheek followed by a kiss to Felix. “Thank you both so much.”

Felix and Ralph blushed.

When the group arrived at Sea Bottom, even before they left the train, they could smell the sea air as well as hear the crashing waves on a sandy shore. They came out of the tunnel to see a vast ocean before them. Although the water effects were crude thanks to the pixelated look of the water and the jerky movements of the water, the programmers had managed to include a fair amount of detail into the back and forth movements of the crashing waves. Each wave would crash into the shore, sending out pixelated foam to wipe the digital sand clean.

“Oh great, I don’t suppose any pony here knows how to swim, do they?” asked Rainbow, glaring at the water.

Felix fiddled with his magic hammer, nervously. “Well, there’s no water in our game, so...”

“Wait, ya’all here that?” asked Applejack, cupping her hoof over her ear.

Amongst all the sounds of crashing waves and the screech of NPC seagulls, they could hear a man singing in the distance.

“Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life for me. We pillage we plunder, we rifle and loot. Drink up, me hearties, yo ho,” rang the voice.

“It’s coming from over there.” Rainbow soared ahead.

She flew up over the sandy beaches and behind a rocky cliff to see a man sitting on a dock. Tied to the dock was a large submarine with its orange coating rusted and peeling. The man was wearing a yellow raincoat and hat with black boots. He was sitting on a rickety lounge chair on the docks that squeaked with every rock of his body. He was drinking moonshine from a clay jug, spilling some of it on his long brown beard. He tapped the balls of his black rain boots against the deck as he sang, his voiced slurred.

“We kidnap and ravage and don’t give a hoot. Drink up, me hearties, yo ho.”

As the group approached him, the man barely noticed he had visitors as he sang merrily. “Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life for me. We extort, we pilfer, we pillage, we sack. Drink up, me hearties, yo ho. Maraud and embezzle and even highjack. Drink up, me hearties, yo ho.”

“Excuse me,” said Rainbow as she hovered over him.

“Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s—“

“Hello, we need to talk to you.”

The man looked up at Rainbow and gawked at her. “Oh...I must have had too much moonshine. I’m seeing a flying horse.”

“We’re sorry to bother you,” said Fluttershy as she cantered up to him.

“Arh, and there’s another one. Maybe I need to stick to good ol’ fashion rum.”

“We’re not hallucinations,” said Rarity, trying her best to hide her disgust. “We need you to help us find our friend. Could you please be so kind as to accommodate us, Mr...uh...?”

“Captain,” snapped the man, spitting a little as he said the P. “Captain Gaff. I’m the playable avatar of Sea Bottom.”

“What’re you still doing here?” asked Rainbow. “Did you forget that your game is going to be unplugged in the morning?”

“Arh, I know that. It’s just that this game has been my home for so long. I wanted to spend my last few hours here before I move out.”

“Aw, you poor thing,” said Fluttershy.

“Sorry we have to rush you,” said Applejack, “but we don’t have much time left. We need you to help us find our friend. She’s been kidnapped by mermaids.”

“Now that you mention it, I did see something odd while I was out here. There were these five mermaids who entered the game carrying what looked like a purple horse.”

“That’s Twilight,” said Spike. “Where did they take her?”

“Down there,” said Captain Gaff, pointing at the ocean with one finger.

“Oh great, how are we suppose to rescue Twilight if she’s at the bottom of the ocean?” asked Rainbow.

“Not to worry, lass, I can take you all down below with my trusty submarine.” Captain Gaff chugged down the last of the moonshine and threw the jug into the water.

“Thank you,” said Fluttershy. “I hope we won’t be too much of a burden.”

“Nonsense! I could use one last adventure.”

Rainbow took one whiff of his breath, and fanned the smell away from her face with her hoof. “Are you sure you’re sober enough to drive a submarine?”

“Of course I am. However, I can only fit four passengers as well as myself on board. Well, that tiny salamander might fit.”

“I’m a dragon, not a salamander,” said Spike.

Captain Gaff continued talking as if he did not hear Spike. “Also, that fat guy can’t fit.”

“I’m not fat,” said Ralph, defensively.

“Isn’t there any way Ralph can come along?” asked Felix.

“Oh sure,” said Captain Gaff. “He just has to cling to the side of the submarine, is all.”

“But won’t I suffocate?” asked Ralph.

“Not at all! The water in this game is programmed to be breathable and you don’t have to worry about water pressure either.”

“Uh, do all of us have to go?” asked Fluttershy, skittishly.

“There’s not enough room for all of us,” said Applejack, “So you can go back out and find Pinkie Pie.”

“But how do I find her?”

“Just ask the Surge Protector. He might know. Now hurry!”

“Okay, I will.” Fluttershy flew off toward the exit.

“Now, everyone else, all aboard,” said Captain Gaff as he opened the door to the sub.

From the moment the door flung open, the odor of alcohol and body funk wafted into the air. The ponies let out whines of disgust before stepping into the submarine, one by one.

Comments

[Thomlight Sparkle 1]

This is quite the amazing story. But by any chance, is Sargeant Calhoun gonna be in this too?

[My Little Scribbler]

5134091
The story already has too many characters as it is, so no, Calhoun won't be making an appearance. But, I've toyed with the idea of making other MLP/Wreck-It Ralph crossovers, so if that ever happens, you might seen Calhoun then.

[Pinklestia]

Well, seems Game Pinkie is less powerful that cartoon PInkie, or she would be able to teleport too.