> Missing Number Escapes To Equestria
>  by The REAL Mister Pkmn
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> ERROR ONE: Data Corrupted. No Purpose Could Be Found. Move This File? <Y>/N
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The world of Pokémon. In our reality, it exists only as a series of games, a bunch of hexadecimal code strung together. However, in the vast expanse of the multiverse, there lies a world of Pokémon that is very real. This world is where our story begins. It is known that there are hundreds, if not thousands of different Pokémon in this world. From number 001 Bulbasaur, to number 802 Marshadow and beyond, all Pokémon have found their purpose- except for one forgotten Pokémon. Its number is special- 000. Its name is MissingNo., but not many have ever even heard of this particular Pokémon. Most that have heard of it consider the very idea of this  Pokémon a pure myth that has no basis in reality. But there is a small number of those that have heard of it that know what it once did. MissingNo. was once in charge of regulating irregularities in nature. “Glitches”, if you will. However, as it cleaned up the problems, it changed to be more of a “glitch” itself. Nowadays, very few “glitches” remain aside from MissingNo. itself. Because of this, we find ourselves watching MissingNo. ponder about what its purpose is after removing yet another “glitch”.

The strange figure made of whitish blocks arranged in an absurdly tall rectangle spoke in its garbled tongue.

"̶̧̢̢͖͇̖̣͓͎̀̈́͂̌̀Ḧ̴͔̤̗̣̺͇͙́ͅë̶͉͙̿͌̓͗̈́͗h̶̛̙̅̀͗͂̀̈́̃̊̽͝.̶̧̳͓͉͇̮̬̭͒ͅ ̵̛̤̟̘̟̇͛̎̅̓͛͑̓̂͑̈́̕A̵̧̧͙̗͚̪͍̰͉̥͆ͅǹ̸̼̯̜̹̰̭̮̰̠̦͐͒̆̿͛̒o̵̜̙͇̭͉͇̞͋t̴̳̤͖̟̥̜̰̊̋͑͑ḧ̸͖̘̖̘̙͇̘̙̝̰̅̔̇̑͝ę̵̛͉̺̣̗͊̾̉́͜r̷̝̙̻͗̈́̒̃̇̈́ ̴̛̳̹͚͍͕̖̝͉̯̇̑̒̑͆̃͐̏̒͒̂͝ͅo̸̢͔͈̖͍̗͕̯̾͋̉͊̍̔̈͠ͅn̴̖̯̤̬̼̜̙̬̆́̓͜͝é̶̛̹̖̺̥̟̂͂̔͊̍͑́͘ ̸͓͉̖͆̊͂͂̕í̶̧̯̺̖̺̹͓̠͕͎́̏̔š̴͓̦͉̰̦͉̮̰͓̓́͆̀̈́̾̕̚̕ ̶̢̛̛͉̳̉̾̈͋̃̽̅͌̈́͠͝ṛ̷͍̩̐̀̆̀̃̍͝e̴̡̻͇͓͉̺̠̹̣̔̓̒͋̒̔͘͘̕m̴̢̢̛͚͚̼̤̺̝͚̝̺̈̅͐̾̾̀̓̽͘̚ơ̷̰͎̰̯͉̟̈͛̌͐ṽ̸̪̯̤̞̽̚͜e̶̢̫̜͓̗͚͔͔̩̼͍̻̐͊̊̎̔̑̽̒͗d̵͖̜͎̦̠̝̬̭͔̎̑̆ͅ.̷͈͍̘̣̘̙̗̠̓͋̑͑͜ ̸̢̰̰̯̞̜͚̩̬̄̔̾̋̀͠T̴̳̰̱͎̘͓͂̒͒̊̉̆̈́̀̀h̵̡̢̝̯̟̙̣͉̦̗̺̿̐̄͆́̋͋͐͜ͅë̶̠͖̪͖́̃́́̕͝ ̷̡̳̮̙̝̱̐͑̀̋̏̿͜͝͝o̵͔̞̯̝͎̅̆̂̃̈́͜n̴̡̟͉͙͕͚̞̫̬̾̅̎͋͆̊ͅẽ̴̜̼̠̈́̊̓ͅͅs̵̤̒͊̈́͗̚ ̸̛͓̖̳͕͇̜͎͕̬̩̦͛̄̓̍̈́̚ͅt̴̡̥͉̙͎̪͛̌͗̂͛̑͗̌̌̋̈́̊͠ḧ̴̢̼̪̪̜̩͓͙́̏͌͆͌͑͘ā̵͇̱͚̈́̈́͛̽t̷̛̠̘͉̑́͒́̒͑̍̿͑͠͠ ̵͚̰͙̈̊́̀̆̽̓͑̍͘͝r̴̼͔̘̥̤͕̹͎͎͛̐͋͗͗̀͑̚̚̕͝͝ͅę̴͇̖̣̑̄͊̾̔͊͜m̸̧̛̜͎̩̩͕̍͒̓͝â̴̧͇̘̤͍̝̯͛͊̿̄͗̔͂̉̚i̵̧̤͚̝̜͉̮̣͎̞͂͌̈́́͌͜͜͝͠n̸̬̲̙̰̫̐̔̆͒̄̓͝ ̷̢͍̦̜̠̱͌̐͐͐̀̉͌̑̅̔̀͝a̷͉̦̥̻̳͎̎̅ṟ̶̖̅͋̉ḛ̶̛̒̽̉̀́̀́̔͝ ̷̢̢̠͖̠͉̦͓̫̦̹̺̑̈́̀̇́̾̀̌͜o̷̧̧̭̩͖̘̝̳̜̫̐͛̕ͅñ̴̪͂̑͆̊̍́͛̇̕e̴̠͚͔̹͍̭̳̯͊s̴̭͍̟̦̑̾̆̆̽͒̿̕͘͜ ̴̼̬̯̫͇̞̠̯͚̐̌t̸̯̜͈́̄̀̇̃̓̅̌͒̋͠͝ẖ̶̜̙̱́̃̓̎̈́̅͘̕å̷͔̖̗̪̖̝͍̩̞̘̌͜ẗ̷̛͕́͛̐́̈̃̇̈́͘̚͠ ̷̖̘̆̌̅͐́̕w̵̧̩͚͚̪̻̥̼̹͝i̴̧̡̛̯̮͓͚̤̞͌͑͋̅́̂̚͜ͅl̸̡̧̢̯͇̝̜̞͛̊̔͋̎̉̐̓̿͠͝ļ̷̥́̓͆̇̇̎̒̊͑̾͝͝ ̷̡͚̪̙̠̹̖͎͇̯̭͔̼̄́̑͗̀͆̂̉͛d̶̛̖̪͖̤̦͌̎̒́̌̈̍̓̒͜͜͝͠í̸̙͙͍͌̑̐̏̇͜s̵̡͕͎͚̗̮̖̲̩̤̗͕̃̉̀̀à̶̜̲̱̫̟̜̌͊̎̓p̵͓̻̳̀͌͒͘p̵̛̦̜͈̰̣͋̊̾́̆́̒ȩ̵̤͎̊̂̓͐̒̕͘a̵̬̬͆̄ŗ̶̰̱͈̼͈̥̰̀̊́ ̴̡̜̜͚͈̣̳͉͚̼͑̓̓̀̀͆̽s̷͕͚̆̉͊̇̐̎̓̒̀̚ͅo̸̗̬̦̱̥̺̰͍̖͔̝͒̍̂̽̄͐̈́̌̔̈ö̴̢͕̞͈̙͉̼̤̖͖͍̱́̍ņ̸̨̢̨͓̣͓͇̜̖̥̩̒͋͑̕,̶̰̳̤̪̌͌͆͆͐̾͋͘ ̶̧̡̡̙̈̅̊͊f̸̡̫̝̟͙̦̪͈͍͓̣̝̓̀͋̊̆̃̑̽̊̏̽̚͝ǫ̴̧̞̯̻̙͇͖͙͚̫̔͂͜r̵̯̬̠̼̠͚͓͇̮̰̱͂̿̃̚̚͝ ̸̨͍̲̲͈̮̯̗̿̂̈́t̴͖̜͌̃͜ḩ̷͈͎̥̟̩̪̤̆ė̷̺͔͚̺̠͈͙͘͜y̷̹̠̲͇̓̈̚͝ ̶̡̻̞̖̜͒̐̂̆̀̓̃͒ą̴̱͎͚̰̱̯̾͂̎́̆̇̄̃͆͜r̴̝͖̳͕̦̜̙̻͎̙̹̀̽͆̇̍͌̅͛̑͝͝ͅȩ̶̪͖̗̺͓͎͓͇͕̺̘͐̀̿̕ ̸̡̨̢͚̼̬̟̯̻̹̦̙́ͅw̸̜̱͓̙͓̅͊̂̀̃́͊͝ͅͅͅė̵̛̛̙͕̮͙͈a̷̛̩̱̖̳͎͙̫̮̙͛̃̂͋̾̓̂̈́̏̑͝͝ͅͅk̵̨̛̗̞̤͔̼͍͍̰̎̈͛͐͛̉̄͂̾͘͠.̴͔̜̦̝͔̲̮̫̰̞͖̿͆̄̀"̴̡̢̧̛̞͍̠̥̙̫̗͚̘̺̑

The strange figure simulated a sigh of exasperation.

"̴͖̜͎̞̹̼̱̥̪̻͂͒Ẉ̸͂̅͛̈́̏͂̊̿̕h̸̤̫̮̫̞̻̫͇̏͒ä̶͉͖̲̜̞̞̜̖̙̿̐ͅt̸̨̹͔͍̬̝̖͓̱̯̿̈́̈́̏̒͌͋͊͌̿ ̶̛͇̺͕͇̉̃̈́̒̑̉̈͑̕͘̕ͅń̸̛̠́̎̓̈́̒̒̂ͅǫ̶̢̛̛͖̯̦̗͙͓̱̘͎̬͔͋̂̏́̀͝͠͝w̶̥̙̜̙̖̙̍̽̌̀͘͜?̷̧̛̰̙̲̯̖͇̼̮̖̎͌́̔͐̈́͑̂̀ͅ ̶̥͙̳̰̬͕̉̌̍̾̇̊͗͛̅̌̊͝͝I̶̢̮͓̮͙̹͍̖̠̺͛͒͜͜ ̵̡̝͍̮̌͒̐͆̆̃́̌̋ợ̷̧̰̱͚̓̏̊͗́̾̆͘͝͝͝n̵̡͉̟̈́͒̊̀͝͝l̶̩̱͇̟͎̺͚̒̔̀̇̾̄͜ͅỵ̶̟̱̥̓͆ ̶̨̛͈̰̗͇̱̣͖̩̞̳̟̾͌͌̉̎͋̿͒̿͆ͅḧ̶͉̘̠̗̳̖́̋̉͌̇̇̈̀̄̈̍́ͅa̷̢͖͇̮̣̰̖͖͈͔̓ḑ̴̡̹͙̺̜̠͓͓͚̬̍́̇̈́̀̓̕ͅ ̴̨̠̮̻̬̔͗̈́͑̐̌̐́͑̚͝ͅa̸̡̺̖͚͉̱̦̗̖̲͑̇̿̃̑́̀̅̇ ̴̩̊̾̀̀̓͊̌͆̀͜͝ͅͅp̸̧̛̺̯̯͎̯͈͈̱̞̃̓̄̈́̒͆̃͑̑͝͠ͅṳ̶̲͈̯́̋̒̌́̾̅̏ͅr̸̡̛̛̬̖͖̳̠̪͚͔̲̻̤͆̾̄̓̿̐́͂͝ͅp̷͎̲̳̗̪̓̐͛͘o̴̥̘͖̹͎͚͓̭̖̭̜͍̿̍̅̿͗̅̾̓͜͠ś̷̢͕͓̦̱̤͙̙̬̏ͅè̵͖̹͚̙̟̽̈̎̚ ̴̪̻̠̜̰̬͈̘́͗w̶͇͈͉̗̳̝̜̔̑͂́̓̔̔̈́̒̕͘h̴̖͇͇̱̘͇̺̆̋͠i̷̫͂̀̄l̸̛̫̟̰̻͎͇̊̊͌̆̋̓̕͜͝͝ḙ̵͍͍̈́́̓̆͛͑̊̇͒̍̚͝ ̵̢̢̮̥̰̞̞̩́̈̊̂͐͑͘ŝ̵̝̯͓̟͓͖̝͙̫̺͓̦̽̀ͅţ̵̡̭̼̲͕̻͕͕̦̈́͗̍͆̿̔̇̀̀̓̚̚r̸͉̬͗͆ö̴̢̧͍̲̘͙̫́̂n̵͚̐̀̂͋̓͒̔̅͌̒̕g̸̡͕̘̰͖͒̈́̏̈́̔̀̉̌̕͠ ̵̡̧̠̞͔̟̳̜̐̊͒̿̒̿̿̎͌̿̋̚'̴̨̣̙̜̦͚͊̿g̶̢̧̺̯͔͉̳̩̤͑̂͊͘͠ļ̶̮̭̮̦̻̮̰̰̎ͅi̷̡̱̗̩͍̊̓͌̀̄̆̐͌͝t̸̡̯̝͕͖̗͇͓̺̦͇̭̀̓̐͌̉͂̓͌̉̒̐͝c̶̢̰̥̘͎͖̙͖̩̓͒͛̏͐̕͠͝h̵͓̠͕̞͍͇͖̐̊̉͂̀̈́̓̕e̵̘͇̱͓̾s̸̺̘͚̹̲̰̳̉̇̚'̴͎͛̏͂̔͛͂̅̊̄͝ ̶̧͍̠̣͇̮̮̤̞̞̅́̈́̋̋́́̐͆͊͋̑ͅͅw̶̲̮̄̓̿̂̂̀͠ȅ̵̠͚͈͚̯͇̟̖̘̘͔̄̒̋͌̎̑̉̽̚͠ͅŗ̶̬̼̮̫͈͍͚̞̼̟͔̭͠e̸͖͂̆͝ ̶̯͎͉̱̬͓̭̈́͛̂̋̀̑͑̏̑͜͜͝p̷͈̄r̴̜̟̣̼͚̙̹͎̱̋͒̍͜è̴͕̗͎̈́́̋͊̂̀̀͂͑̔s̴̮̫̭̓͠e̵͓̼͖͙͕͈̱̠͍̎̽̌͝ǹ̵̢̦̘̺̓̋̏t̷̛̪̫̤͓̟.̸̱͓̠̪̹̙͔̥̟̟̤̫̑̇̔̃̃͋̂̉͘͜ ̶̧̛̺͚̺̥̬̯̜̟̩̐̀̿̀̾̇́͂́̚ͅN̷̯̄ō̶͇̓́̎̀̇̔̆̕w̶̧̡̛̗̞͎̭̗̲͐̉͒̃́̂͒̑̉̕͜͠͝.̸̡͔͇̹̮̭͓̘͙̗͐̊͛͗̒̏͒͝͝.̵̟̬̮̘͇͎͖͍̳͐̈́̇̓̚.̸̨͔̜̞͙̩̯̣͎͖̼̯̲͊̂́̾ ̷̡̡̱̜̗̫͙̝̅͠o̷͓͈͌͊͒̾͋͌̏͌̄̓̏͛̄n̷͎̹͖̫̘͚̫̞̠̝̈́̽̑l̶̬͚̣͜͝y̵̧͓̞͓̳̩̖̝̞̼̼͋̿̊ͅ ̵̡̧̳͙̻͎͇͖͍̼̿̂̚ẅ̴̦̠̦̦́̓́͒e̴͉̠͇̟̭̝͓͉͓̋̾͋̒̉̆̔͗a̸̙̺͖̺̞͂̂͗́̀̔̒̎̂̋͒͘͝ͅͅk̶͉̗̟̤̜̺̰͔͋̈̏̈́̽̚͝ ̴̨̉̍̇̊́̊͝͝ő̶̼̪̝͙͎͕̳̮̖͔͘n̴̛̞̮̩̣̩̪͔͉͍͑̀̇͒̋͑͆̚͘e̴͓̍̿͝ş̸̨͈̤͇͇̜̭̊̃̏̅ ̵̛̻̜̦͖͆̀̾͐͐̈́́r̶̨̧͚̝͍̰͉̺̭͙̗̹͛́̍̉͂̅̀͆e̴̩̣̣͎̺̯͇̒̀m̸͔̤̣̜̳̮̈́̀́̊a̴̡̹͙͎͈͖͑̋̀̓̀̋͐̄̃̆̍͜͜i̸̙̱̭̰͖̝̫͖͈̐̊̂̈́͜͝͝n̴̙̗̋̔́̀̎͝ͅ.̸̡̧͎̼͎̣̺̞̽͌̈́̅̍̔̓̈̎̌̕̕͠ ̷̧̠̗̅̑̀̂̓̓̅̇͗͘̚O̴̧̪̗̺͇̺͓̦̹͖̣͐̎͂̾̾̾́̉̽̄͝ņ̸̨̖̯͚̦̰͇̰̣̳͍̑̍͐͋͗͐͗̔͐͘̕͜͝͝ȩ̷̡̨͚̤͚͇̼̖̘̥̓͆̌̊̌̀͌ŝ̸͙̼̲̻̱̭̥̠͎̼͘ ̶̜͗̚t̸͔̖̐̑͐̈́h̶̢̬͎̥̱̩̀͘̚͝ȁ̸̢̢̟͖̭̳̖̤̦̮̝͖̋̈͝ͅt̶̨̢̡̟̲̩͇̩͖̣̩̂̀̉͗̄̈́̈́͜͝ ̷͓̋́́͋̏̌͘ẅ̴͇̗̜͖̤̟̞̮̗͕̥̜́̈́͗̾́͆̕ͅḯ̶̺̼̘̠̖̌̉̐̽͊̉̾̏̓͝͠ĺ̵͚́͐͛̍̉̏̕ḻ̸̩̦̟͓̔̓̆̿̿̓̅̾́̇̚ ̵̛͈̻̣̳̯̐̈́̄́̇̑̓̿̅̄̚c̴̭̤̖̀́̐͐͑̀o̶̞̗̓͋̀͊ṙ̵͕̰͚̝̦̠̲͇̠̬̔͋̈́̍͗͊̂̚̚̕͜͝ͅr̵̨̞͆̈́̾̀̒͘͠͠͝e̵̟̼͙͔͇͓̪͎̹̣̒͐ͅͅc̷̹̞̞̙̺̲̭͇͙͖̥͕̗̈̈͒̊t̶̩̗͓͔͇̍̉̍ ̵̛̻͔̩̞̲̮̜̠͍̖̖̺̝̐̄͆͘t̷̛̛͚̰͍̺̆̏̒͌̂̀͜ḩ̴͓̙͔̟̖͎̺̦̼̪̽͒̔é̷͕͇̲̘̰͛̏͜͠ͅm̵̢̼͎͇̦̬̳̙͉̻͕̞̉̚s̶̟̥̩͚̜̭̩̼͖̫̬̉̏̏̋̍̽̄̚͜è̷̢̡̳͕̤̟̹͎̙̿̔͂̿̀͂͆̆͘̕̕͝l̴̞̺̈͋̐̿͌͗̓͛̄̌̆͘v̵̡̛͓̩̔̽̾͒͝ě̸̝̟̹̣͌͐̂͠s̷̪̩̰͎̿͆̉͒̓̏̇̑͘.̶͕̱̲͉̭͍̫̘͇̹̩͇̏ ̶̡͚̱͈̩̫̜̾̋̀͂͐̿̐̀W̷̨̧̢̡̺̜̥̬͎͇̬͉̄̀̈͐͑̎̓͌̀͐̕͜͝h̵̢̢̫̗͙̰͉͈͇̹̹̉̑̐̇͗͒̂̂́̈́͘͜͝a̴̡̱̙̓͒̃̆͌̊̏̒̿͝͠t̶͈͉̬͚͚͎̲́̈́̄̒̽̆͛́̾͆̚̚͝ ̷̡̤̘͍͈͓̞͑̒̌͌́͂̎̒̋̏͌͘̕͜p̸̢̨̘̟̥̜̠̣̤͊̃̅͌̽̑́͐̄͗̚͜u̵͕̬̼͍͕͐̃̌̾͐̃̍͒ŗ̷̲̱̳͓̟̱̝͉̲͋̐̃̀͋̀̍͊̚ͅͅp̴̟͔̩̬͍̮͖͖̓̔̒̂͘͜͠ö̶̰͈̺̤̈̅̆͝s̶̡̼͉̔̅̈̐e̶͓̰͈̗͊͆̈́̄͑̒͗̈́̇̆́̓͠ ̴̡̢̥͚̗͍̻̄̎̿̈̈́̓͜h̶̛̛͙̯̱̪̄̓͑̂̎̄͋̀ͅȧ̶̡̞̭̱̟̺͔̥͇̆̏̒͆̈́́̀̀͠͝͝v̴̧͉̮̰̗̘͓̀̊̀̀̃́̀̂ͅẹ̵̢̟͖̣̣̖̲͎̭͂̆̚͜͜͠ ̷̂͘ͅḬ̵̢̉ ̷̳̇h̴̡̛̘͍̥͈̻̬͖̯̉͗͊ę̴̥̠̠̙̗̩͕͂̽̑̾͊͘͜͝r̶̨͎̝̹̰̟̗͋̀́̃̿̈́͐̀̃̚͜ḙ̷̛̙̦͈͚̟̳̾?̴̛̎̂̾͗̔̆́̍̇̕̕͝ͅ"̶̡̼̜̱̜͓̥̖̳͉̀̽͐̈́͊̑̐̕͝

However, MissingNo. was not to remain alone long- a strong light descended into the area, carrying a strong presence. MissingNo. had no need to avert its gaze, for any “eyes” it once had were glitched beyond recognition. The light abated, and standing before Missing No. was the creator of the Pokémon universe, Arceus. Arceus took a small glance at MissingNo, and spoke with a melodious tone. “Ah, MissingNo. How fare you this day? Keeping up with your work, I trust?”

MissingNo. would be glaring at Arceus if it had eyes. Instead, it simulated an irritated huff.

"̵͖̿̋̎͆T̵̨͔͚̺̹̻̫̥̓͋͒̾̀̍̔̇͑͘͝͝h̵̨̬̎̂̍̓͗̐̐̅̾͒̚͝ĕ̴̙͍͌̽́͐̔͜͝ȓ̸̘̱ȩ̴̢͇̳̈́̽̍̒̾̐̍͊͝ ̴̥̬͗̐̃̊̀̾̈́̊a̵̗̫͌͑̇́̀̂͌͒͊̓͌͠ͅr̴̨̧̗͔͍̜̜͉̹̟̫̻͒͋́͘͠e̸̲̩͓̣̿̀̊́͐̏͜ ̸̣̼͉͙̫́͗̐͝n̴̨̨̢͇̙̮̫̞͕͈̎̄́̈̓̈́͝ǫ̸̜̰̖̗̘̰̦̼͔͈̭̥͒̎̎ ̸̢̭̲̠̘̤̭̹̋s̶̨͇̼͕͈̹̘̟͗͗͒̍͜͝t̸̳̬̪͚͆ṛ̷̹̖͓̹̳̳͙̣̓̊͒̎̈̅̉̄o̸͍̤͇̣̝͖̰̰̗̻̅n̴͍͌̈͂͑͂̑̀̿̕g̶̡̝͖͔͎̭̻̙͙͍̙̏̓̔̐̑͗͑͝͝ ̴̢̨̛̺̞͙̫̜̤̱̇̾͌̀̆͊̕͠'̶̨̞̗͚̪̜͔̓̋͆͋͒̈͐͂g̴̢̘̜̲̲̲̓̈͛̉͂̉̊̑͐̓́͝͝ļ̶̱̼͓́͆̂̊̉i̵̝̭͈̜̻͍̠̩̖̯̾t̵̨̞̼̭͙̥̻̾̓̆̓́̂̏̆c̷̥̟̜͊̇h̶̨̧̰̳̼̹̮̕e̵̦͎̿̓͌͝s̴̢̻̙̣̠͚̭̖̰̀͊̐̆͘'̴͕͈̲̈́̄͑̎́̀̒̉͌̏̆̚͠ ̵̨̡̡̠͇̞͕͎͚̮̘̓́̃͒̋̔̇̅͜͝͠͠͝ḽ̵͈̣̺̿̈́̋̂̅̒̄̿͘e̷̡̱͙̼̜̹͔̺͙̩͑ͅf̶̧̨̦̜̠̰̈̇̓̅͐̀̉̓̔̐͝ẗ̶̢̡͚̞̫̔̀̈́,̶̨̣̲͉̥̯̯̼͚̠̬̟̆ ̸̧̢͎͎͓̑͋͆͌̊̂̐̋̂̕a̵͕̫̦̼͓̦͂s̴͔̜̭͈̤̠̭̥͕̤͖̽͗́͋̏́̐͐̅͘͘ĩ̸̡̱̹̮͎̈́͋̈́͐͒͗͝͝d̷̛̪̭͗͜ë̸͉̤̱̳̥̣̜̻̰́̓ ̸̣̟̈́̄̊͋̃͒͝f̵͎̪̦̎ŕ̵̖̜̅͌ō̷̗̝̃̄m̵̛̞̯̰̺̀͊̋̿̅̐͜ ̴͙̥̪̭̘͖̭̹́̑́͒̍̋͛̽̆̀̕͠m̸͍̙͕̹̥̖̣͋̑̋̏͆͘͜y̷͍̥͛̽̾̃̄̈̎̒̋̈́̐͝s̸̨̨̛̛̥̺̤̳͇͓͈̱̯̈́̓̔̓̌͛̋̏͊͝e̸̳̗̗͔͎̻̗͇͊͛̓̌͋̈́ͅͅͅl̵̨̪̠̗̻͓̖̙͈͍̗͍͖̔̓̇̾̉̿̈́̉͝͠f̷̨̢̟̯͇͇̦͔̆͑̔̊̀̀͗̎̃͝.̷̞̖̂̄͌ ̸̢̭̞͒͜A̴͈̖͙̔̆̑̔͗̃͝l̷̨̛̯̯͎̝̀̂͆̒̀͗̽̊̀̏̏͘l̵͕̲̮͍̹̲͕̱̼̖̀̀̒̾̈ ̷̛̠͎͚̻̠̇̊͌̄̂̉́̕͝͝ò̸̬͕̮͕̒̄́̋͗͝ţ̷̡̡̦̗̼̦̬͓͇̘̇̎̈́̊̋̽̏̎͆̚͜h̶̘͇̱̥̻̊̀̐͋͝e̸̡͕̮͙̫̮͆̉̊̒ͅṙ̷͙̭̹̖̮̗̩͖͎̖̹̇̃̿̿ͅš̸̛̯̯̟̣̟̞͈̒͗̎̑̐͘͝͝ ̶̧͈͕͈̼͕̏̕͠͝ţ̵̢͈̝̟̯̇̍̃́̑̎̀́̽̚͜͜h̸͇͎͚͈͎̭̱̠͇͈̘̟̅̒̽a̴̤͕͖͇͙̿̀̔̈́͊̉͊̓̒̕ͅt̷̘̻̼͆ ̷̫͋͆̓̈̎͑̽̌̀̍͐̾͘ṟ̶͚̟͎͖̠̼̀̊̆̅͝è̸̠̐̀̕͝ͅm̵̨̡̭̝̗̼͔͎͚̟̙͕̹̋̂́̂͋̒̓̂̄͂͋̅a̵̠̞̼̽̋͊̈́̌́̈́̍͘͝i̴̧̱͖͚̰̺̼͈̞̜͙̖͇̓̈́̾n̷̨̰͚͈̻̜̫̣̭͗́̽̍̎̄̀̓̋͋̂͐͂ͅ ̵̛̦͖̗͓͒̑̀̓̎̈́̄̀̀͝͝a̷̦̲̗̒̎͂̊̔͘r̶̢͖̲̖̜͖͕̬̣͚̈́͊̐ȅ̸̦̞̬̻̼̤̮̞̘͉̟̔̉̾̍͂̉ ̴͉͔̓̇̇̅͒̍̈͝p̶̭͒̑̈̒̑͒̽̾͂i̴̛̛̩̳̖̞̖̥͂͑̉̀́̉̐̕ẗ̴̤̀͂̏̇̉i̷̞̪̣̥̖̮͗̂́̓̋̾́͗̇̚͝f̵̻͈͖͙͉͇̙̹̙̘͕͔̋͆̈́̐̾̎̆͊̚͜ų̸͈̯͉͈̳͇͈̹͖̯̟̦̒̓l̵̡͚̦̩͍̯̠̒͂,̸̠̺̼̜̤̑̊͗̋̑̽͒͒̋̈́̑̚ ̴̛̦̊̎̓̆͜͠ͅả̵̱̲̇̋̈́̃́͌͗̓̚͘͠ṉ̶̻͂̆̑̑̏̋̈́̽̎̕͠d̷̛̮͎̩̬͓͍̃͜ ̵̧͔̪̮̊̎́͐̇͊̎̏̂͆w̶̥͐̿̊̌͊̏ȉ̵̢̺͔̞͕̖̬̼̺̳̟̽̉̉̓̈́̔̒l̸̢̧̳͚͙̯̦̞̄̓́̇͌̉̂͑͝͝l̷͇̲̟̝̘̘̿́́̽͆̓͆̃ ̶̙̲͒̈͘l̴̛̦̊̉̀̃̉͐̓͆ơ̴̡̡̟̱̫̘̋̄̕s̸͓͓̓̆̽̉͛̍̈́̓̃̚͝͠e̴̡̧̹̗̪͚̣̞̪̝̞͎̓͆͒̄̚͝ ̵͓̩̣͙̤͉̙̲̘̖̐̏͊̓̌͘͝c̴̢̛̟̪͔̘̙̟̲̙̜̻̀̀̓̓̎͂̒́͝o̵̧̪͍͖͎͇̠̠̰͆̓̊́̓͆͐͊̐̈̄̀́h̵͙̩̫̮͈͔̘͆̓ë̸̟̾̊͊̾̉š̷̨̧̛̛̯͍̻̺̫̩͔͕̣̘̦̀͐̑͂̈́̕ḯ̶̟̕o̴̢̜̤̥̮͎̖̐͗ņ̶̧͎̦̲̟̈́̉̆̾̐̄͑̓̏̍̕̚̚͜ ̶̗͍̘́̋͆͝l̵̹͕̠̗̑͑̓̅̆̇̏̈́̆̿̇̚̚ǫ̵̨̯͇͕͔͚̦̖̮̠̑n̸̢̡̨͖͓͓̮̲̻̪͉͕̔̂̓̽̓̈̇̂̉͘͘͜͝͝g̵̨̯̝̫̜̹͆̾̏̅̎̿̄̇̀̊̈̾̕͜ ̴̢̡̲̥̗͈̱̹͉͓͖͉̜̏̎̂͌͑͊̾̈́͒̈́̓͠b̵̨͎̝͈͖̞͙̗͍̙͕̈́̔́̎̈͘̚̕ê̷̢͎̳̬̊̌̒͆̏̐̔f̵͙́̎́̂̎̏̾̚̕͝o̵̝̙͍̹̤͎̥̙̼̓̚͜͠r̴̼̠͌̅́̔͆̔̈̔̿̅̊͝͝è̵̢͇͇͔͎̱͔̰̹̈̑͂̿́̐ ̸̡̨̼̝̥̮̗͉̹͔̣͊̅͛͆̀̂̔̋͐͑͠ͅṫ̴̡͈̩̣͙͔̖̰͕̍̋h̴͕̜̪̳͗͌̎́̑̽e̴̠̖̿ý̷̦͜ ̸̨̡̢̻͚̖̪͊͗͗͑̍͝b̶̢͍̺̟̳̺̖̘̟͕͂̐ͅȩ̵̪͉̩̙̼̞̦̪̞̝͍̻̈́̎̈̓͐̑̈́̐̈́̕͝c̶̡̻͇͙͇͈̰̾́̒̎͂́̉ơ̵̹̐́̽̀̋̆m̷̛̯͙̘̓̑̽́͋̊͗͑̉̚ȩ̴̧̨̱͇͖̜͓̳̈́͋̊̄͊͑̏͝ͅ ̷̡̮̪̼͎̬̳̩͍͕͜͠ͅà̷̛̼͇͕̪̻͕̆̃̐̽̈́̔͜ ̸̱̟̖̪̩͙̮̑̆͐̋̔̾͐͑͌͌t̶̡̛̠̜̥͖̻̣̄̋̈́͂͛̕ḥ̷̲̔r̶̰̙͛͑̀̂͂͂̕͝͠ͅe̴̢̛̫̣͍͚̎͂̓́̿͐͂̎̓̒͘a̸̡̭̲͈̩̳̋͘t̵͉̥̳͓̫̖͍͍̫̣̠̦̱̾̄̈́́̉͋̈͐́̾́̍.̴̼̟̗̰͉͚̝̤̒̒̓͊̓̑̎́̑ ̸̪̻̬͉̦̜͕̋͊͊͊͗̽̆̎̇ͅİ̴̢̺̠̫̩̱̗͓̲͓͕̫̥͋̈́̏̌̄̔́̓̆̓͌͝ ̵͖̰̹̦̰̈͒̑̈́͆̈́̽͗̍͠͠ĥ̶̛̛̛̥͖̱͔̆̀́͛̚͜͜͝a̸͉̮̙̱͍̹͋̈́̑̂̈́̓̅̈́̒̎̐͠v̵̖͑̊͐̇͘͝e̷̖̞̤̗͈̳̫̪͇̩̖͌̀́̇̓̑̋̋̊͑ ̵̡̛̠̃͛͌́̉̍̃̋n̷̰̪͊̃̾̊̂̍̔̑́̇o̵͇̮̮̝͖̺͈͚͈̪̠̅̾͌̈̀̾̀̆͑̌͛͜ͅ ̶͙̱̲͔̲͖̌̄̈́̾͊̀̊͆̌̋̕̕͜ṕ̴̛̝͎̩̅̐̓̎͌̿̉͛̉͘ụ̸̢̦͈̯̟͔͕̹̟͉̟̬̽͐r̸̡̢͓̩͉̜̗̱̜͓̫͍̋p̵̧͇͖̭͖̬̮̘͕̖̫̯͆̇̐̆͑͋́̈̽͝͠õ̴̧̮̜̫͇͆̋̓͘͝s̷̯̪̩̗̤͉̲̮͇̩͚̈́̄͛͑̏͑̈́́ͅe̶͖̞̞̣͑̋̑̈̽̈́̉̍̃ ̴̱̻͚̤͓̭̜̝̗̳̲̫̩̀l̵̡̞̮̜͖̯̣̬̟̪̫̋͐̆͌́̃͌͠e̷̞̫̘̮̘͑̾̑̀̔̔̄̽͆̂̇̚f̸̧̢̛͙͈͎̜̯͓͙̲̬̲̍̉͑ţ̶̛̜̗̺͈͇̅̾͑͜ ̶̳͇̯̘̝̲͔̱͎̀́t̸̯̲̰͔̰͓͔̮͉̻̲̠̅̋͒̓́̈́̈́̎͝ͅo̸̙̜͚͈͙̔̽̍̓͛͂͋́̀̑̋͛̑ͅ ̶̧̣̜̹̉̋͑̆̌͑̃̽̏̑̚͘p̷̢̞̟͔͕̭̐̓̂̈́̆́̇͘͠ė̵̖̙͉̰͔̼̍̀̅̄́̀̃̂r̷̥͇̉́͋̋͌̒̄f̵̬̣̭̦̬̹̈́̆̉̈́̈́͂͑̍͐͐͆͒ȏ̵̟͙̳̳̼̾̿̋͐̓͘͝r̶̦̰̟̳̱̰̺̎̚m̵̘͇̊̇̋͂̄̇͝͝.̴̛͉͍͈̲̭̀̀́̔͑̚ͅ"̸̳͍̹̗͖̪̬̱̤̪͍̦͋̂̾̍͊͠

If Arceus was surprised by that assessment, it showed no sign of it. Instead, it picked up where it left off. “I see. So you think you have outlived your purpose here? No ‘mon ever has done that- I’m sure that you are mistaken. Another strong ‘glitch’ will assert itself soon, I’m certain. Just be patient. Have I ever been wrong before?”

MissingNo. didn’t hesitate in answering.
"̴̡̧̝̜̥̩̔͊́͂͘T̷̛̳̺̫̥̹̘͖̞̤͈͗̽̊̉̈́̽́͠h̴̨̙̯̓̒̈́̿͌͂̎͘ȇ̸̞͚̬̙͔͕r̴̳̮̭͖̐̂̒̉͆̓̎̋̄͐͝ë̵͍̻̭͇̖̥́̕'̴͎͎̖̱͚̞͊́̓͐ͅs̷̛͚̭͙̱̻̓̄̀̀̀̓͋́͊͝ ̷̖͎̪̓̽̏̾̓͘͝à̴̫̭͈̜̳͖̲l̵̫̙̭̭̟͚̙̪̲̪̯̊̏̓̀̒͛̓̎͘̚͘͝w̷͚̻͍͈̬̝͖͉͂́̽͠a̸̦͓̯̮̰̓͑̀̈́͆̏͒́ŷ̸̖̦̪̻͕̘̙̟̇̋͠s̵̞̘̟͍̥̘͉̮̯͔͗̊̏̇̀͆͒̄̅̓͌̀͘͜ͅ ̷̨̛̛̞̣̞̘̠̥͈̣̘̽̓͋͌̽̆̽̈́̑̂̈́a̸̧͔̘̠̒̀́̓̈́͘͝͝ ̵̮͚̹̳̫̊̑̈̄͂̈́͘͝f̴̥͍̟̬̹̠̟̼͈̼̗͖̪̒̽̇͐͛̕i̵̧̦̳̲̱͘r̵͎͙̗̺̺͖̱̥̓͆̐̐͗̕̕s̶̨̝͔̝̲̑̀̓t̷̮͔̓̅̋͑̅̒͐̀̏̊͐ ̷̧̛͍̫̙͉̝̙̺͊̐̔̄͠t̸̮̫̟͓̭̲̐̋́̓̽̊̍̕į̴̧̡̨̮̗̗͕̐͛͋͊̈́̊̀͛͌̀͒̚͜m̶̡͔͇̰͇͙̮̈́̋̃̽̃̑̒̃̈́ḙ̸͈̘̼̙̙̓́̐́̒̎̈́̿̓̍͛͠ ̸̛͉̰͇͍͖̌̉̈́̏͝f̵̤͍̻̙̪̥̜̤͂̎͛̓̓̈́̓̃̚͘̕͝o̸͕̖̰̗͔̝͉͎̲̰͛̑̓́̍̈́̀̓́̕͜͜r̶̪͇̫͔̗͔̒̉͒̾̍͊̈́̑̍̊̍͘͜ ̴̝̗͋͝e̸̗̟̼̣͋̓͑̐̋̍̏͠ͅv̵̰͇̯͇̮̍̓̄̈̆̓̕͠ę̸̻̬̰̭̟͔̍̉̇̈́͐̆͋̕͝͝r̸͙̹͚̹̦̝̪̥̳̟̭̓̒͋y̶̯̞̖̖̮̗̋t̵̨͚̲̯͕̪̟͓̍͐̋͋̃̌͐̇͌̽ḧ̸͖̪͖̰̺̖̌̎̄̀̈́̓́̈̉̅̇ì̴̧̥̼͚̋̆͛̿ͅņ̵̨͎͉͈̥̯̙̟͉̳̈́̋̂̀͝g̵̨̛̫̈̅̌͗̌̈̅̒̍͊̈́͠,̷̢̨̧̼̜͉͙͚̦̩̃͛̍̈̋̉͝͝ ̸̫̩͚̪̠̰̲̠̬̾̉͝ͅA̴̡̪̹̦̱̱̘̪̭̘̎r̶̻͉̝̼̭̎̅̓c̴̢̧̧̰̘̞̯͕̞͔̫͂̓̍͂̄̀̃̂͋͗̈͒͠ȩ̷̳̬͔͇̬͎́̄̅̾̇ͅù̴̢͔̲̮͓͇͆̋s̷̨̳̏̄͋͆̾̂̈́͊̚̚͠͠.̴̡̨̲̩̞̘̣̲̪̉"̶̧̮̾̈́̐͗̏̀̅̏̽̂̀͌

Arceus sighed at this response, and shook its head. “I suppose that you want something to do in the meantime, then? But what should I have you do? Every time I send you on a sabbatical in this world, it doesn’t take long for ‘glitches’ to pop up again. This time too, will prove no different…” But then, Arceus’ expression changed slightly as he felt something in the threads of the multiverse. “... Unless you go to another world to deal with a ‘glitch’ outbreak there…”

This offer caught MissingNo.’s attention. At this opportunity, it simulated excitement.

"̶̗̩̹͋̊͛O̸̠͚̰͙̖͈͈̬͍̅̂̈́̽̀́̕͜ͅh̷̡̹͇͎̣͔̝̩̣͇̊̓̈́̈̚͝͝͠?̸̢̙̝̜̣͎͉͙͈̟͉̔́͜ ̴̧̢͚̮͎̝̥̝͔̠̣̻̦̌̑̅͊̓̕͝N̶̻̲͗̔͘̕͝ọ̷̡̜̭͍̣̬͎̎w̷̠̓ ̷̡̛̥̹̤͓̰͎̩͚̩͑̆̌̕͝͝t̷̨̤͖̩̿́̂͆́̆̋̐̈͘͘͝h̴̜̘́̍͐̇͋̍̒͊̈́̂̈́̕͝a̸̛̬͖̪͖̼̻̟̺̙͋̆̌̾̑̿̊ţ̶̡̨̱͕̗̹͍̞̪̬̾̀̋͋̀̄͐̒́͆̽̚͜ͅ ̴̩̳̤̩͙̞͈̬͇͋̾̄̈͗̆̈́̐͊͌͘i̵̢͇͔̦̘͓̟͗̇̎̈́̓̈́͊̊͆̐̈́̕̚ś̵͉̠̲̃̐̐́̊̔͘ ̶̨̨̥̤͖̤͓̼͖̯̞͉̍̊͆͐͛̍̐͋a̶̧͎͍͇̙̰̾̓͛̎̃́̑̊̀͝͝͠ ̷̰͎̗̔p̴̳̗͍̮̣̬͉̜̌͑͒͑̌̓̈͑͐̂̕ŕ̵̢̟͓̳̖͉͉͇̺̼̰̗̓̑̒͠o̴͖̩̠̯̊̾̊m̶̥̦̣̘̣̪̀̌̇̾͐̿̍͌́̕͘͠͝į̵̡̛̟͎̰͔͌͆̈́͆́̓̈́̈́̈́s̸̨̱͎͈̩̱̞̝̦̰̖̤͊͆̈̃̊̅͐ǐ̶̜̣̠̯͖̩͎͔̩̱̜̣ņ̸̮͎͕̖̖͈̜̞̦̀͜g̸̹̥͎͈̭͗̿̚ͅ ̴̢͓̺̤̮̝̳̜͔͓̹̯͓̉̃̔̚p̸̱̎̇̽̿͋̚r̴̨̩̳̗̱̭͇͖̗̼̱̓̉̐̀́̂̅o̶̧̲̝͕͔̐̉̓̆̈̾̌̊̊̌́̏͠ṕ̵̨̘̬̹̣̝̔̿̇̆̽̎̏o̷̳̯̼̻͚̻̻̐̆̎̆̕ṣ̶̨̧͖̲̺̪̣̱̬̻͋ą̴̣̹͇́̂̅̉͐̕͘ľ̴̝̻̓͆̈́̕̕̕͝.̷̫͙͖̯̻̭̯͜͠ ̷̨̈́̅̂͗̉̂̚͜͠Ẅ̸̜̮̟́̕̕h̸̢͈̩͙̖̤̮̞͖̹̿͌̆͛̄̌ę̷̛͕͔̺͚͛̓́͛͗̔̈́̂͜r̴̪̳͈̀͗͂̏͂̈́́͆̇̀͘ę̵̧̼̞̮̱̖͉͈̊̑̔̎̈́̓͌̽͘͜͠ͅ ̷̡̛̛͎̎̈́̀̌̆͐͂̀̚t̸͎͈̦͇͍̼̳̽̚ő̵̯̓̽̈́̃͋̽̃?̷̧̛̣̅̽̋͋̃͒̆̇̕"̸̜̹̪̱̍́̅͊̄͘͜

----

Equestria, Planet Mytharia, 1005 CR, 20 minutes before arrival.

The heroes of Equestria that had defeated Nightmare Moon, Discord, Chrysalis, Sombra, and Tirek had gathered once again, all in Canterlot’s throne room. Celestia and Luna had called them there, rather urgently. Twilight spoke first. “What ancient evil has come back this time?”

Celestia shook her head. “I’m afraid it’s not like that this time, Twilight. We’ve never seen anything quite like it before. We have no way to properly explain what’s going on. It’s best to show you.” She levitated a Scrying Orb into the room, and cast a spell upon it. “Look, and see for yourselves.” And the six heroes did- and gasped at what they saw. Strange creatures that looked like they were made of whitish blocks and random parts from living beings were wreaking havoc on the world. A few of them were skeletons of long-dead creatures given life! Anything they touched ceased to work the way it should- but instead of doing something explicitly chaotic that made no sense, they just deformed to whitish blocks fused into whatever it was before, and doing its job too well or not at all. Rarity fainted, and the others had shivers run across their bodies.

Luna then spoke. “As you have seen, these creatures corrupt all they touch to become like them. No magic spell fired at them seems to hurt them. Weather itself cannot harm them, and what help Earth Ponies would be able to provide is worthless. We fear that nothing can stop them, whatever they even are.”

Celestia saw the state of the heroes, and cut in. “However, the Rainbow Magic may be our best hope- it doesn’t work like other magics, so it may have a chance of beating these… creatures.”

At this, Twilight and her friends gained hope. They all spoke up, with varying levels of confidence, but the sentiment was the same, that the princesses could count on them. But, before they could leave to fight, they noticed something on the Scrying Orb. They observed as a white portal opened in the sky. All the strange creatures seemed to look towards it as well. Out of it came the most strange looking of all the creatures yet. It looked to be about the size of a skyscraper, and the same rectangular shape. It too was made of whitish blocks, but unlike the other creatures, in this one there was no semblance of any living creature that had ever been documented in Mytharian history. It landed on the ground with a THUD, a shockwave rippling across the continent from its direction that they all felt. When they saw it, they believed it to be the source of the creatures. Their leader. Then, for whatever reason, what they heard from it they almost thought was… speech.

"̸̟͔̀̄̾͆̑͒̌͝͝Ẅ̷̝̤̻͉͍̬͔̗́̌́͘͜ͅe̴̥̞͍̅̀͆̈́͘͜͠͠l̴̛͙̙͇̆͊̈́̽̅̐̃͘̚͝l̸̛̛̤̘̔̆̌̆̽͝ ̵̧͉̞̬͓̽̃̽̐̒̓͐n̵̡͍̆̏̈͂̈́̍̒͌͝o̵̺̟̬͙͐͛̂͘͝w̷̼͑̇̔̇̇̆̔͐͐͠.̶͓̍̀͌̈́͛͂̂̾̔͝ ̷̹͎̣̦͙̺̫̝͇͕̮͖͐̏ͅT̵͔͇͕̉̋̇̃̑͘̕͝h̴̨̭͙̼̠͉̤͖̰̟̳͈̟̽̔̚̚͝i̷̛͚̺͑̉͊͗͆̒̍̐͝͝͝ṣ̵̆̀̀̾̅́̕'̷̖͕̯̺̣̼͙͍̲̖̈́ĺ̶̻̟̻̜̞̱̰̝͍̜̣̌͑̄̉̑̽̉̂̕͝l̶͍͈͖̺͈̤̫͂̈̈͜͝ ̷̧͖̻̣͍̆̊̈́̂̓̄͝c̶̩̼͚̦̫̖͍̖͊e̴̢̻̮͍̥̹̣̤̗̝͗́̽̋̃̊͝ͅr̵̢̧͉̫̥͕̺̜̙͕̀̒̽͌͑̎̍͑͜t̷̛̳͓͉̪̼̮̤̑̂̅̏̀̇̈́̆̂̐͋̕a̶̲̥̗̦̹͋ì̵̫͚̖̈́̊͒̈́̐̄̒͂̚̕͘͝n̵̝̤̗̪͕̟̳̱̆͘ļ̶̢̗̺̯̤͕̜̜̥͚̦͋̀̑͐ỳ̷̟̼̖͉̝̯͔̥̤͍̺͒̓̑ ̶̯͕͙̟̰̞̞̉̀̀̇̏̈́͒͗͊̄͝͠ͅk̷̡̦̇͗͐̈́̌̑̃̄̈́̓̾̽̕e̵͙͑̾͝ẹ̵̢͚͙̪̻͈̬̀̅̈́̊̿͝p̵̡̳̈̽̾̌̈́͂̆̆̚̚͝͠͝ ̷̢̛̤̙̳̻̞͚̓̂̋̍̿̽̀̕͝ͅm̴̨̛͓͎͈͈̭̜̘̟̦̉̆̉͝ë̶͕̭̯̪̫͙̘̰͈́ͅ ̶̨͔̈́́b̵̡̨̰̻͎̮̲̩͋̀͆́͝u̷̟̲̼̫̬̭̣̤͈̟̺͒̃͑ͅͅs̵̡̜̠̳͖͍̪͖̱̩̃͊̏ỹ̴̨̢̨̜̝͕͖͎̝̈̈́̈̾̅̈́̍ ̴͖̰̫̻͇̘̰̮̝͚̟̌͐f̴͈̜̰͎̗̫͍̠̻̲̪͆͒̌́̍̑͋̀̚͠͝o̴̝̠̥̯͙̼̱͙̖̖̝̾̍̈́̂̏̀̀̋͜r̶̼͎̠̼̯͓̤̮͔͈̺͉̿̿̄̽̋̐̎̈́́̚̚͜ ̸̰͙͇͐̃̔̿͊̈́̓̒͘͝ă̷̡̝̝̞̥̮̺̲͖͙̬͔͊̿̀̿̽̍̓̈̀͜͝͠ ̷͓͈̝̖̝̬̓̈͋͐̔̿͂̓͝ͅģ̸̼̤̫̀̏̇̈́̀͝õ̴̖̣̞̦̟͔̆̓̄͛̐̈́͌͛͑̕͜͠ỏ̶̭̠̖̙̯͕̰̦̲̒̅̃̋̾͌̉̀d̴̛͖̦̝͓͓̞̤̪̺͐̈́̋̍̃̔͊̊͘͘͜͝͠ͅ ̷̢̬̣͚̝͈̪̙̾̈́͐̇̎̉̉͜f̷̡͔̫̥͓̺̞̩̫̰̱̐͆̂́̽̂͑̽̄͒̚ȩ̷̡̧̻̮͓̜̻̓̈́́̇͌̚ͅw̶̝̅̍̈̚͝ ̶̢̨̙̥͍̩̪̗͙̥̗̲̊̄͘ͅÿ̴̢̡̳͇͙̜̼̲͔̲̞́̋̃͝ę̷̩̟̱̦͎̀͌̈́̔̎̊͆̅̒̀̈́͝ă̵̡͉̟̫̝̼̘̹̏̅̚̕͠ͅȑ̵͈̥͂̑͑s̷̛͉̥͔̀͛͗̿̈́̀̏͋̈̒̃̅,̵̣͍̄́͑̽͋͘ ̴̬̻̼͙̬̪͑̾͠͝i̵͍̟̔f̴̗̪̺̊̄ ̸̧̬̖̯͍̭̮͚̹̪́̑n̵̛͔̐͆̑́̑̒̊͒͠͠ŏ̴͇ţ̴̡̟͍̥̟̗͙̹̬̟̥͂̂͋́͌̈́̐̕͜ ̷̫̂̾͛ĺ̸̖̦̱̗̖̜̙̓͜ǫ̶͖̱̭̍͌̇̏̌̈́̚n̵͇̘̖̞̣͕͇͎̺̹̟̒̋̀͆̾̿͂́̈̆͘͜g̴̢̨̢̢͖̣̬͔͂̏͛̿̏͛͝ͅe̷̦̟̫͈̳̳͍̘̯̩͑̐̅̆͐̒̐͊̄̕͘͝r̴̙̖̮̦̯̃̀ͅ.̷̡̜͓̋̒͒͆͒́͠ͅ ̶̟̽̌̓̄̈́͌Ľ̶̡̠͈̲̭̗̻̙͎̘̥̐̔̍͛̈̈́̊͝ę̶͚̟̟̜̩͖͎͌͌́̆̇̈́͘͘͘̚͝͝t̶̢̛̜̹͔͉̜̙͒̽̓́̊̈̚͝͝'̴̢̳͔̯͙͇̘̻͉̬̆̽̂̒͑̾s̶̢̧̛͉̣̰̊̍́̅̈̽͐͛̍̔͝ ̴̛̺̤͉͍̦̺̻̣̗̣̊͂͌͊̃́̈̏͗̃͘͠g̷̨̨̲̳̭̼̟̻̳̻̤̈́̈́̀ȩ̴͉̝͓͇͎̭̮͉̲͉̍́̃̄̇̄͒̉̍͋́͠͠t̵͇̲̥̍̇͛̄̒̓̐ ̷̮̫̐̓̔̎̃͒̌͋š̴̨̟̪͇̹̥̀̊̀͛͠ţ̴̨̺͙̪͐̿͛a̸̧͍̺̬͉̣̅ŗ̵͇͎͍̦̰͓̪̹̞̳̝̩̂̈́̑̀̏̅̆͘͝t̷̫̞̮͇͖͎͉̥̘̮͕͚̰̿̃̅ȇ̵͙̲̘̖̈́̂̄͆̉̉͋̈́̓̓͠d̴̨̛̝̪͚̈́͑͆̀̒̍́͑͐́̓͝.̵̡̺̝̹̑"̶̨̼͉̭̗̖̰̝͇̳͍̫̑̀̽
> ERROR TWO: Assisstance is Being Misinterpreted. Clear Up Misunderstandings?  <Y>/N
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

All those that had seen it were transfixed. What exactly was that thing? Nevertheless, Celestia collected herself, and directed her attention to the six heroes. “I believe you know what to do. Go- find this monstrosity, and bring it down, whatever it even is. You are our best hope.” The six nodded in confidence, mostly.

A flash of silver magic opened up a portal in the room, and Luna spoke. “This is the fastest route to where the creature is. Make us proud.” the six heroes then jumped through the portal.

The portal closed behind them, and they had found themselves in the Frozen North- or what was left of it. The strange creatures had already made their mark, making the land itself misshapen and unrecognizable. Off in the distance, they spotted the creature that they took for the leader. Just as Rainbow was about to speed off towards it, Twilight caught her telekinetically. “Careful! Who knows what things might happen if a pony touches one directly! Let’s get closer, but not too close.”

Rainbow grumbled reluctantly, but understood the sentiment. The six came closer to the towering creature, and it seemed to gaze everywhere, but also nowhere. Then, the strange garbled noise came from it again.

"̷̧̘̻̗͉͔̘̬̥̃͛̏̌̑͛͗̒͊̓͆̄̀̚͠ͅḨ̵̰̱̦͕̫̾̾m̶̧̨̧͇̳̝̫͕̮̙̟͔̓͐̒?̸̡̡̜̝̬̘͈͙͇̼̜̼͉͙̊̍͆͊͆͘͝ ̵̱̬̻̥̝̙̜̼̳̯̫͕͆̍͑̒̀̓̋̇̏̽̚N̵͙͓̟̬͚̩̤̺̦̦̼͙͖̈́̅̂̄͜ȁ̵̟̺̠͓͇̼̲͚͗ẗ̴̡͍̤̤̯͉̻̺̄͐͂̌́͋̇̆͘i̴̢͖͈͚̲͎̯̎̅̐̄͋̉v̸̡̛̩͖͕̼͙̘̥̻͖̠̹̤̮̈́͆̎̃̃̓̑̏̓̄̿̓̊̿ͅę̸̗̯̩͈̳́̓̈̑̾̒̚͠ś̵̳͈̦̠̹͋̎̂͊̆̎͗̔͌̍̈́̀̿͘?̴͓̣̯͕́͂͑̀͌̊͌̈́̔̎̎̆̈̂ ̶͎͔͇͓͙̯̖͓͉̟̔̀͑͋̈́͋͗̈̓̓͘͝͝͠W̴̬̻̥͛́̏̋͝ḣ̸̡̢̢̺̞̼̫̗̼̙̤̍͗͛́̃́̀̚͘ͅa̷̖͌̎̒̓̂̄͆̀̈̚̚̕ţ̸͕̠͙͕͈͙͈̫̯̮͖̩̥̃͒̔͋͒͠ ̶̡͇̗̂b̶̙̱̃͐̂́̅ṟ̵̨̤̦̣̺̥̩̬̜̟͙̟̋̆͋͛̉̈́̌̿͠ȉ̵͍̩͖̳̥͈͉̍̂̓́̎̿͒̽̚̕͝n̵̨̢͇̟̠̗̟͕̤̦͛͆g̴͚͒̿̈́͛s̵̼̪̞̠͍̲͇̝̤̯̺͔̈͋̎̈́́̽̈̆̽̊́͆͘̕ ̵͍̳͍͔͇̂̂̌̿͂̽̓̂̅̋͝͝y̷̛̟̖̰̾̊͆̕o̷̬̓̔̔̔̚u̸̯͉̦̐ͅ ̴̩̹̙̦̦͇̬̟͙̮̹͎̘̩̆̄̈́́̐͐̕h̸͇͕̟̫̱͈̖͚̘͚͂͆͛̄͜ͅè̵̛̬̦͚͚̰͎̗̳͎̳̪̳̈̋͋̑̄͌̓̑̓̍́̍̋ͅr̸̛̲̣̗͖͉̮͐̀̓͋̐͂̇͐̓̃͘͝͝ȩ̸̛͉̣̗̩͕̺͚̠̅̀̓̀̉͆̆̔̊ͅ?̶̭͓̘͖̗͓̑̍̂͂̀͌ ̷̨̳̲͙̯̞̭̮̫̝̙̤̔̋̐͛I̴̳̝̺̞̮̪͆̉̚͝ͅt̵͚̦͚̱̪͍͕̻̘͍͇̬͔̊̒͑͜͝ ̶̢͕̙͙̮̩̼̊̍̊̌͐̔͛̓̄́͆̕̕͝͠i̴̧̢̬͕̩̰͓̹̍̃̋̑̕s̶̡̡̨͖̹̃͒̕ṋ̵͈̙̦̖͉̯̦̩̱͇͖͆̽̓͝'̴̨̗̘͕̗̳̣̜͈̙̹̥̔̔̃̿̽́́ţ̵̭̗͚̘̞͙̳̺̎͌͌͒̃̔̋̋͒ ̷̢̨̦̻͕̙̠̤͇̗̘́̍͊ͅs̴̡̛͓̠̩͚͛̑̆́͘ą̷͖̫̠̯̪̫̤̺̥͐̅͊͘͜͠f̸̡̡̧̭͕̞̲͖͈̳͖̀̽̇̅̈́̚ȅ̴̢̟̣̟͎̫̩̻̟̤͇̰͉̮̿͒̃̌̅͝͝ ̸̫͚͂͊͘͝f̴̗̗̖̗̳̱̞̱̽̑̇̑̑͊͘̕͠o̴̰̺͙͙͆̾͑͑͌ͅr̴̡̯͓̩͍̜͓̰̣̮̄͜ ̶̣̹̏͌̚͘y̸͕̲̮͑̌̄̑̑̆͊̈͂̿̒͋̕o̸̡̖̪͊̈́͐̂͒͘͜ü̷̟̲͎̑̿͐̈́̑͋̅͆̃̀̎͠͝͝ ̴͈̌̆̓̈͑ţ̵̧̧̦̟͓̼͇̟͓͗̀̐͝ọ̴͂̓͗̓̏̍̽ ̵͕͕̎̉͑͜b̸̟̦̭̟̯́̅́̃̓͜͜ȩ̵̛͖͙̖͔̳̜̞͎̺̰͚͊̒̀̋͋͛́͛̄̋̀ ̴̡͕̗̞̞̘̻͎͎̘̠̺̊̑̒͆̒̅͒͐̔̎̚͘͘͘h̷̡̧̢̨͓̳̺̥̲̤̫̠̝͕̒̉̔̈́̐̓̄͋̿͐̉͗̍̀̚e̸̡̙͈̹̹̞̘̻͝ͅr̶̡̢̭̰̍̌̍̚͠é̷̢̘̮͒̀̈́̆̂́̀́̃̍̆̔̀̕͜.̷̤̦̫̠̻̘͂́̾̿̓̽͂͒̎̎̈́̆͑̀ͅ ̵̛̗͑͋͘͘͝͠͠ͅ'̴̦̤̙̖̦̪̳̉̈́͑̽͗͊̐̇̽̈́́́͜G̶̡͎͎̺̻͔̳̯͉͓̣̯̺̾̎̽̍̕͜͝l̷̔̾̑̈́ͅi̷̢̞͔̗͔̺̻̿̈́̋͗̎̀̋̆̿̉͆̃͘͝͝ţ̷͚̝̬̪͈͉̬̳̳̦̙̫͓̿̈͘͜c̵͖̀̂̚h̷̛͔̥̯̦̻̫̖̾͆̽͋̈́̍́̚͝'̴̡̩̦̥̞̖̜͛ͅ ̷̛͍̬̪̥̻̿͑̅̔͊̓̏̃̀̀̋̕͘r̵̯̮̪̱̭̪̟̮̩̥̖̮̼͊͒̓͝é̴̫̏͋͐͛̓͑͂͒̅̕m̵̨̲̹̦͍̦̪̩͔͉̣̦̼̪͛̾̔̉͆̐͆͋̂̂͒̾̀õ̸̙̖̟͓͈̘̻̍̉͝v̶͚̠̦̞̳͕̼̳̗̲̼̥̔̈́͑͆͗̉̚͜ą̸̡̢̫͕̺̪̮̤͉̤̇̐͛̾̆̈́͠l̴͚̰̻͈̻̖̣͕̔̔̓̇̂̈̈́̔͆̀̚̚͝ͅͅ ̶̙̰̥̜̙̪͕̻̗̩̹̤̋͑̇̔c̶̛̟͐̔̈̀̚å̶̢̀́͝n̶̨̡̝͖͈̯͐͜ ̴̧͚̼͖̙̗̀̈́̉̃̂̆͗̊͂͂ḅ̴̧̳̮͔̝̮͚̑̄̍̌̆͐͑̀̿̽̕ͅẹ̸̩̬͇̈́͊͒̆͌̾ ̸̧̨̛͈̯͈̥̥̾̌̌̈́͂̓̋̒̂̉̓̕͝h̷̨̢̛͇̥͔̻͍͓̬̦͓̣͈͍̼̃̆̔́̃̎̈́̏͌͘a̷̛͍̳̫͂̿̇̇̽̿̌͒̈́̃͊z̸̯̻̱͓̝͍͕̥̙̜̟͇͔̽̋̄͂̈́̓̃̆̚͜͝ȁ̵̡̫̱̹͎̘̑̀̌͑͗̄̾̈́̆͘̕͜͠ͅr̸̨̤͕͇͖̣̯̻̬͉͕͎̯͛̋̾̄̆̎́̾̏͂͠ḑ̴̩̫͍̠̯͈̣̺͖̮̖̻̜̤̽̓ö̸̟̦̭́̉̆̆́̐͌́̈́͠ù̸̻̭́̇̉̓̑̂͆̿͛̀̚͘͘͜ş̸̡͔̫̲̗̱̪̬͓̥͙̣̀͘ ̴̦̔̉͌̇̈́͗t̵͈̟̰͍͕̓̂̃͑̈́̑̈̉̇͆̽̊̆̎ơ̸̙̗͓͙̓͋͆́̒̿̒̀̈̏̏̓̒̚͜ͅ ̵̡̼̗́̓̌̋͗͋̄̇ŕ̵͔̠͚̺ͅè̵̡̠͇̭̣̤̠̮͍͖͍̩͖͊̔̾̍̊̄̐͌̐̀͗̚͜g̵̨̝͈̪͕̖̗͓̊͒͊̉̏̓͐͌͂̓́͛͂̑̕͜ͅu̶̘̠̙͈͍̹̭͗́̒͊̿́̌̏̍̉̌̅͝l̷̡̛͍̮̘̣͍̱͙͗̍̂̃́̍́̿̔̓͌a̴̢͇̗̓͆̉͆̄̅̇͘͝ṛ̷̛̹̙̩͍̼̬̃͐͛̈̉̎͌̏͐͘͝͝ ̶͕̤͔̖̳̞̆̋̆̽̐̑̃͋̚̕͜͝f̷̡͍̜̟͕͙̓̽͌̽̑̽͗̑̇͐͌͂̑͘͜ͅǫ̷͈͕̪͎̪͓̤̲̈́̓͜l̷̢̬͕̙̫̺͎̞̆̈͜k̵̢̯͕̹̦̜͖̥͔̮̭̞̓͜͠.̵̰̬̪͌̇̎̐͆͊͑̀̅͆́́͠ ̷̰̺͚͑̊͛͒̀̒͋͗̕P̶̨̨̩̭̥̤̥͓̞̰̹̱͈̄̋̈l̴̺͈̘̮̘̦̈ͅḛ̵̡̛̀͊̋̐̍̊͑̄̅̐͜͝͝ą̴̧̟̟̼̗̠͇͉̟̥̪̮͔͉̓̈́̄͂̂s̶͍̰̟̽͆̀̊̊̈́̂̃͌͠ę̷͉̱̞̳̣̠̮̫͍͎̯͜͜͝,̷̣̻̆̎͒̎̌̍̈́̐́͝ ̷̢̯̗͙͑̏̊̓͌͂͊̚̕͠ͅl̴̢̛͍̯͕̻̱̝̦͇̞͚͗͛̾̑͒̕̚̕͝͝ę̴̢̛̛̘̰̬͎̟̟͖̣̭̲̮̑̃̈̏̈͒̔̚ͅͅa̵̢͗̋̉͂̌̚͝ͅṿ̴̗̺̫͓͍̑e̶̛̦̮͇̐͋͒͝ ̴̼̱̙̺̩̘̺̗̘̪͙̼̍̓̏̈́͗̇̔͗̚͘͝͠t̸̤͈̜̩͖̳̳̝̋̌̊͐͜͠ḫ̴͍͖̝̟͉͈̙͉̲̳̝͊͂̑̌̾͊̆̎̆͊͠͝͠ͅí̵̲͕̟̜͖̤̪̱̾̊͌̂̐s̴̙͕͍͙̜̞͚̥̣̀͋́̊͛̿̈̃̔̔͒̕͜͝ ̷̨̨̼͚̼͔̺̭͛̓́̂t̶̬͖͓̘̟͍̬̗͔̏̄̃ő̸̲̪̫̯̥͍̭̜̜͎̹͓̑̀͛̊̐͒͌͐̂͆̌͜ͅ ̶̦͓̠͎͈̲̮̝̪͕̮̳̱̍̿̉͐͌͋͗̒͆̈́̉͂̀͘ͅả̶̧̨̧̡̡̞̲̥̮͓̼̫̩̞̀͋́̄ͅ ̸̢̗͎̫̜̗͕͍̺̙̻̰̀̓̔̓͌̈́̄̋̚p̸̟̦͖͇̞̤̜̖̊̽̅̓͆͘r̴͖̝̟̆͑o̶͕̯̪̳̦̜̖̓̌̎̇̽̈́̈̍̽̔̚͜f̴̨̺̹̳̜͙͕͓̰̹̍̽͛̾͆́ȅ̶͕͔͚̫̉͐̈̄͆͊̾s̴̛͕̯̆͘̚s̷̨̢͎̫̲̫̩͇̤̼̩̓͋̆̿̒ͅi̷̢͈̾͌̄͂̚o̸̢̢̠̣̰̝̼̭͚̯̓̂͆n̸̞̙̤̗̰̉̒̐͊̋̓̐̿̕͘a̷̛̻͖̹̮̲̪̠̽͋̂̆̋̉́̆̌͛̂͘͘ļ̷̛̱̲̝̜̪̭̇̀̎̾̈́̆̇͌͑͂̓̐̂͆.̸̥̘͉̦̱̳͖̺͓̻̱̱̺̞̓̿̈͐̆̿́̌̒͝͠"̷̛̛͙́͗̒̓̽̂̅͋̏͗̓̚͝

The six ponies stepped back a little. There was no doubt about it. That was definitely speech, despite how strange it sounded. However, they had no idea what exactly was said. They tried conferring with Pinkie, but even she couldn’t make out what had been said. They decided that it didn’t matter much- this creature was the root of the problem, and they would remove it no matter what. They each tapped into their Elements, letting them wash over their bodies. Rainbow grinned. “You better get your last words over with, punk! ‘Cause after we’re done with you, all this will go away!”

As each of the girls was encompassed in rainbow light and gained additional colors, They half-expected it to go into a state of panic. However, the creature stood there, unmoving, uncaring. It did, however, speak once more.

"̶̦̭̫̭̣͕͍̝̗̪͑̆͆̌́͝͝Y̷̨̤̙͇̜̖̜͇̜̠̱̔̀̈͛́͊̿͒̆͘o̸̡̢͕̪̫̩̝̬̪̠̹͆͆̄̎̈́̀̆͊͑̑̆͊̄́̕ư̷̡̧͈͚͇͎͍̹̮͚̻̎́̈́͑̋̐͋̿̓̊̽́̋̚ ̵̧̨̛̬̟͍̼̩͙̣̠̆̇͌̀̎̏͆́͝͠m̵͙̰͍̥̙͓̼̙͈͇͇̲͒͑̂̾͂̈̍̀̀̀̄́̕͘͝í̸͔͔̼͉̮͖͙̣̎̒͝s̴̢̝̫͙̗̮̗̝̪̦͔̪̣̈́͌̓̏͆ũ̴̜̙͇̘͋͗̂͛͒̇̑̚͘͝n̴̡̛̽͛̆̾́̉̔́̕͘̚ḓ̵̨̯͔̭̐͊̾̀̇̃̿͒̉͑̊̾͂͘ḙ̶̺̘͈͈̥̩̬͔̼͒͆́̎̿̈́̓͊̆̏̈́̓̚͝ȑ̶̘͕͑̅ͅs̸̨̨͈̤̞̣̩̣̖͔͊̔ẗ̴̡̹͓͉̣̫̺̯̙̻̗̭̠̻́̀̌̈́̂͛̋̀͜ȁ̵̻̳̈́̈̏͒̀͋n̶̢̞̲̠͍̘̗̰̬̽̍ḍ̸͙̤̲̯͍̰̗͖̙̉ͅ.̴̯͉̲̠̬̏͛̅̏̏̔̈́̚͝ ̸̨̠̑̾̚I̶̖̖͓̦͚̦͗̃̍̈͗̒̐́̄̾͠͝'̵̙̞̯̭̟̰̪͍͎̒̌̂̔́̋͊̋̕͘͝m̷͔͙̪̞̼̲̖̮̋̀͛̔̐͑̉̔́̀͊̓ ̵̛͇̘̥̰͉̭̪̽̑̃̃́̂̃̉͂͒͒̂͠h̴̛͈̥͎͋̈͌̈́͒̈́̇̆̅́̓̎̐͝ę̶̃́́̊̽͗̚͜͠͠r̷̟̞̋̾́͆́͌͌̑̚e̸͈̙̟̤̖͙̯̬̖̣̬͓̘͑́̐̊͑̑͗͋͘ ̸͎̳̬̣̬̺̮̘̕ț̴̨̛̛̛̲̲̍̋̿̒́͐̈͂́̚ő̷͕̟̩͉̝͎̫͔͉̙̮̮́̿̓̀͜ͅ ̴̯͋̃̆͒̀̈́̓͌͑͆̔͝͠ḩ̷͍͙̣̎̒̃́̓̿̈́̑̈̎̽̿͘ȩ̴̛͍͍̦͈͖̦̱̻̱̰͇͆̍̓̓̓͛̊́̑̇̈̚͝͝ͅl̶̛̰̿͊̈́͛͗́͆̄̈̃̾͠p̴̭̽̂́̆͆̏.̴̨̛̹̠̩̘͉̯̭͓̖̞̿͐̔̈́́̓̽̄̈̔͊͘ ̶̡̨̗̹͚̜̠̤͂̒o̷̹̜̬̭̺̥͇̩̥̼̹̘̫͆͜n̸̜̯̼̂̎̋̅̇̀̌̄̽͛̓̚͝l̶͈͔̀̃̎̇͆̑̈́̓̚ͅy̸̡̪̹̣̫̯̣̗̻͚͋̇̇̌̍̍́̐̏̽͗́̕̕ ̴̯͉͓̮̯͖̱̳̻̰̩̰̰͛̽͌̌̀̒̒̌̏̾͋́͘͝͝ő̷̰͚̘̱̥͍͚̥̹̗̫̫͕̉̎͂͗̅̈́̐̍͆̉̕͝n̴̲̫̯̙͓̘̞̘͈̟̳̠͕̅͆͑̓̾͛͒͛̽̎̾̄͘ẹ̵͈̘̭͈̰̍̀ͅ ̵͉̥̓͝ş̴̔ư̶̞͍͔͔̙̣͚̦͐͂͘͝c̴̲͎͚̱̦̥̺̯̗̙̊͂̾̍̀͝ͅͅḣ̵̠̬̇͑̌̂̀͑̂̏͌ ̶̧̠̱̘̉a̵̡̺͙̳͙̘͓̥̪͍͙̦͙̘̝̽̌̌͘s̵̢͚̻̦͖̗͙̹̎̃̒̑̂͠ ̶͍̭̣̜̻͊̉͋͆̌̆̔̏̏̃̆̒̉͆͝ͅm̶̢̗͖̗̥̮̹̺̖̦̌̓̈͋͒̈́͘͠y̶̞͓̾̄͂̎̍͋̀͑͂͐͌͝͝ș̴̢̯̲̣̼̤̖̣͒́̆̓͐͛͂͛̏͊̿͋̃͌̈́͜͜ͅȩ̷̧̨̛̰̰͔̟̥̹̞̰̝̓̿̑͊͛̎͐̾͑̅̆̾̿͌l̴̻͕̦̮̭̜͝ͅͅf̸̢̘̖͇͉̠͎̑̾͗̀͗̉͛̀̊̒̾͝ ̵̡͖̻̳̦̼͎͕͌̐͑̿c̶̘̹̰͈̺̺͇̱̩̪͈̘̄̑͒̉͐̇̚͜͜á̵̧̢̛͔̺̠͑̐̈̏̽͘͝͝ͅn̵̰̠̰̖͕̗̗̜̈́͐̐͐̑͌̌̇̒̀͐̏̚ ̷̨̨̢̧̨̜͖̬̭̣̩͚͇̭̋ͅr̶̫̙̲̝̋͝e̸̙̟̮̣̾̎̔͂̑̐̏̄̑̍̉̃̏͜m̷̡̨̯͎̯͔̙̪̩͔͓̮͙͛̈́̐̀͌̄̎͘͜͠ǫ̴̦̘̖͚̮̦̼̜̗͈͛̊̾̀͊̎̈́̕̚͝͝͠v̸̱͗̇̾͊̊̈̄̈̈́͑̆̔e̶̻͂̓͑̄͋̅̕͝ ̵̨̛̺̜̖̥̫͕̪͑̔͊̄̐̏͌͆̆̽͝͝'̸͇̿͗͝g̶̦̠̝̻̬̈́̔̓̀͛̉̉̍͑̑̚͠͠l̸̢̨̞͔̺̦͔͇̱̭̳̤̹͈̍́̂̉̕͝i̴̜̼͍̺̤͘ţ̵̮̽̊͐͛͊̆ç̶͇͚͇̼̦͇̃̀̽̑́̾̏̿̿̓̕̚h̷̢̬̻̹̯̖͈͈͖͎̗͛͛̇͆͆͑̐͌̋͝e̴̡̛͖̙̲͋̅̔͗͘s̴̨̡̡̠͈̯̲̭̗͍̲̊̆̆̾̒̒̉̌̄̾̕͝͝ͅ.̵͓͚͓̤̓̆̔̄͂͗̓'̷͎̝͇͉̾̈̋̄̔̓̾̋̕ ̶̘͇̮̊̄̉͝P̶̛̹̯̝͉̟̻͋̒͌̀̂͝l̶̢̢̦̳͖̺͇͇̟̭̤̪̒̆͜e̵͉̩̭͚̻̭̙͛͌̒̍̈̂̄̑͝ă̵̢̨̜͙͉̥̱̈́̆̅̽͝s̷̯̟̟̹͈̞̫̍̈́̐̈̈́̃̀̀͗̀̽̌͘͜͠ē̴͍̉͛̈́͋́͌̽͛͠,̶̧̤̗̗̤̝̙̭͙̯͙͚͉͗̎̉̐̔̅͋̒̀̎̋̏͗̚̚ ̶̣͓̗̮͓͔̘͓̼̲͖̞͇̐̌̂̾̏̐̆͛̿̑͒̂͘͜ļ̶̬̠̯̲̲̰̰̠͙̻̪̝̀̓̈́̋̽͝ͅͅi̷̢͖̙͈͓͉̅͑̈́̀̃̈́͆̇̌̉̓̄̑́̕š̶̢̧̲̥̲̗̝͖̥͓̋̄̓̈́̒͜ͅt̵̛̼̀̈́ȩ̴̝͓̳͍̳̹̰̦̝̭̈́̾ͅn̸̮̞̫̗̫͙̲̦͚̣͍̟̼͊͋̊͘ ̶̢̧̨̟͎̠̤͙͔͇̉̽͋̈́́͋̅̽̒̇̀̈̓͐͌t̶̺̥̏̆́o̵͕͚͍̲̤̪͍̊̅͒̓̉̚ ̵̜̤̳̳͉͗̔̋̆͗̔͌̓̆̒̐̕m̷̨̡͓̗̼̻̯̻͍͉̞̤̭͑͑̈́̒̌͆́̋̈́̀̏͗̈́y̶̰̗͖̤̲̫̙̪̤̼̪̦͈͗̏̿̏̃͋̈́̆̅͠ͅͅ ̴̦̬̦̥̻͑̀̽̈́͝ẃ̷̡̤̺̱̙̭͐̄̒̄̆̓͌͑̓̂̕͝o̶̡̦̱͔͖̟͕̳̳̩̅ŗ̴̢̻͍̹͍̙̬͐̽̒̓̽̓̂̑̿́̃̄̕ͅd̵͇͎̹̻̝̟͎̳̟̙̠̪̼̣̒̉̄̎͐͗̉͗͂̑̈́̀̅̚͝ͅs̵̢̡̨͕̹̬̲͇̫̻͍̪͎̤̍̔̋͊̍͋.̶̡͍̙̙͕̪̹̖̩͕̲̰̋͌͆͜͝"̵͖͈̥̝̙̩̤̰͎̩͈̪̬͗̓̽́̌͝

However, the girls didn’t understand what the creature had said. They lifted into the air, and a rainbow beam shot from them. They all opened their eyes, fully expecting to see the creature writhe in agony at the touch of the magic, and howl in pain. However, as they watched, they did not get what they expected. As the light went near the creature, it slowed down, as if… hesitating. Then, the rainbow beam did start moving again, but back towards the girls. It went back into them, and their extra colors faded as the light did. They were astonished! Not only had it done nothing to the strange creature, it actually went back to them! What did this mean? Did the Rainbow magic also have no effect on the strange creatures? They broke into a confused cacophony of voices.

“How is it still here? Does it somehow embody the Elements too?”

“No way! It must’ve cheated somehow!”

“How d’ya reckon that sugarcube? There’s not exactly a cheat device for real life!”

“Maybe it just wants to be friends?”

“It could be lost and alone…”

“No! This is… THE. WORST. POSSIBLE. THING!”

The creature listened to their babble turn into white noise. After all, why should it care what they said? It decided to turn its attention elsewhere. It noticed another creature coming up behind the ponies. It spoke again, trying to convey the gravity of the situation.

"̵̧̲͙̠̮̺̙̻̜̪̘̜͍̑̍́͂̓͌̑̈́́̌́̕̚͠͠L̸͎̰͓̣̞̥̤̒̿̓͆̾I̶̭̠̳̪͇͕̺̙̺̱͎̹͍̞͑͒̓́̀͊͑̊̒͗͜S̵̪̩̲̝̜̥͈̈́̅̓͋͋́͛̿͑̀̿͋͆̔͜͠T̷̢̛̗͎̪̪̀̀̈́́̾͠É̴̙̋̑N̵̤̭̉͐!̴̛̩̟̘̣̰̯͚̻̫̮̯̉͊̔̚͝ͅ ̴̧̹̪̻͙͓̬̰͙͕̲͓͚͚̆͐̋̆̀̈́͐̑͝T̴͓̽͂͒̊̀͂̌̈́͝ḩ̵̨̥͓̮̣͋̒͐̾̒̽̆̕͜ͅḛ̵̮̊̇̂̚͝͠r̷̨̡̛̯̻͙̠̱͍̟̭̥̍̓̂̑̓̔́͌̇̅̐̽̈́̌e̶̡̛̦͚͎̳̳̯͎̖̽̒͗̃͜ ̴̮̭̪̺͖̲̣̮͇̭̆͒̔͠͝í̶̧̢̛̙̮̝̭̬͚͈̺͔̥͍͓̾̋̈́͗̿̆̋̈́̆͗̍͠͝s̸̖͎͉̣͍͇̯̬̙̞͍͑́̔̇̿̅̄͒̏͜ ̶̭͔̲̝͈̲̫̺̟̆̆͝ͅà̷̢̃͆̓́̍̿̆͗͑̚͝͝ ̶̧̛̩͙̣̰̜̻̙̦̣̫̬̅͜͜'̶̢̢̧͎̳͓͓̹̺̲̀͑̅͂̂̈͘͠ğ̶̡̫͇̣̖̝̠̝̳̟͕̱̲͎͎͊̍̀̀ļ̴̡̞̲͍̱̞̬̤̥͗̉̏͝ĭ̸̧̗̲̬̥̩͎̬̤̺͋͋̊̈́̏̎͜͠͝͠ͅť̸̨͉͕c̷͍̮̟̗̞͉̭̗͖̰̩̯͚̓̒̌̍̀̄͌̉̎̀̓̕͘͝ĥ̷̪͕͇̯͎͙̺̻̩̙̙̤̺́̆́̌͠͝'̵̹̯̣͔̆̈̂̾͠͝ ̴̧̢̜̮̘̝̦̗̬͙̺͉̎́̽͒̂̇̌̍̈́̀̍b̴̢̢̢̙̯̗̠͖̰͐̐̾͜e̷̡̝̠͕̼͓̻̳̫̝͂̈́̃̌̓̇̓̾̑͊̚h̴̨̧̦͈̙͙̣̞͎̜̉̆́i̴̧̛͇̮̗̬͐̓́̓̌̂̉̆͂̎̂͝͝n̴͍̐͌̐d̵̨̛̦̭͈̰́͂͑́͘ ̷̡̥͖̥͎̱͒͂͛̀̉̅͌̆͌̏̊͜͝y̶͖̮͑̐͑͒͛ơ̴̮̗̩̇̋͌̎̓́̎͝ų̸͉͎͙͔̘̬̗̦́̈́̾̀̾͊͌͝!̶̛̱̳̌̊̇̽̕͝͝ ̸̧̡̛̛̰̩͍͓͕̭͙͕̩͆̿̐͆̏͠Ĩ̶̦̰̜̪́͋͑̊̔̆͌͌̐̍̆̀'̷̛͙͖̽͠m̴̼̝͓̠͔̝͈͕͉͗͆̍̈́͗̚͝ͅ ̸̛̯͎̃̿͗̅̿̾̒͆̓͆̇͠͝͝g̴̜̜̝̺̖̬̭̣̺̖̞̠̺͚̎̎́͐͗̚ͅo̶̠̞̮̮̪͉͎̽̀i̶̢̧̨͔̼͍̝̼̠̰̤̒̉͋͛̂̀͜͠ͅn̶̯̜̉g̵̨͈̪̫̖͚̑́̆̅̚̚͝ ̵̹̑̂̈́̽̒͋́́̽̊̋̿̚͝͝ẗ̵̛̳̋͒̊̊̅̅̈̓̀̄̿͠o̷̢̨̧̥͕̫̜̯̦̰̼͇̤͔͑̽͋̔̈̈͘ ̸̛̯̲̦͎͙̜̩͙̱͎̱̬̎̌̆̏̅̒̽̈́̈́̈́͌̈̇c̶̨̢͉̜̟̀͋͋̏͗́̂̽̍͜͝h̸͕̼́̽̑ả̶͍̻̩̜͉̲̘̼͓̠͖͕̾͑͊͠r̴̢̧̨͈͔͇̦̰͙̭̤̦̖͈͛ģ̸̣͇̗͓̤̹̦͙͉͙̠͎̂̆̓̓͆͌̏͘͜͜ȩ̶̨̛̘̦̦͇͖̞̻̠̿̆́̍̓͑͂̊̀͘ ̸̧̫̭͍̖̓̒͝ͅu̵̡̢̺̺͉̤̜͓̣̜͉̗̜͐ͅṕ̵̨̹͖͈̱̖̺̘̲̾͑̀̍̇́̿̅̾̈̕͝ͅ ̸̢̧̨̻̪̩̻̗̙̣̜̍͂̎̑͝a̸̧̠͇̪͇̰̺̲̖̭̥͈̦̹̜̐͆̐̏̔̒̊̾̔̎̚̕ņ̸̛̩͓̟͖̠̤͓̞͖̟̬͈͖͊̽̈́ ̷̡̻͍̲̠̪̪̥͈͕̎́͗͆̈͌̀͐͜͝a̸̢̹̜̲̳̬̖̹̤͕͔̺̭͓̔̐̌͊͊̉̇̓̕͘͝͝ţ̵̨̛̰̱̱̝̱̹͉̠̤̳̈́̌͆̉̒̋͠t̶̪̙̫͓͍̊̅̋̑̓̒̏͘͜͝͝ą̴̗̲̭̠̭̫̲̥̱̈̆͒̿͛͗̄͛ĉ̵͕̩̗̿͑̑̃͐̂̑͗͠k̶̢̦̤̜̖͙̖̹͙̫͍̟͊̀̑̀̀͗̀̕͝!̴̭̩͚͇͉̬̠̻͎͎̮̯͎̲͊̀̔̀͌͛̒́̕͜͠ ̶͓͈̳͓̪͇̹͙͇̠̤͍͚̤͊͆̐̄̍͊ͅY̷̪͖̭̫̹͇̰̤̅̑́̿͒̎̐̕̕͝ö̵̡͈̣͍̱̮̲̦͎̦̪̲́̒̿̋̄͘͘u̶̮̯̖͓̹̝̿̀͂̃̌͋̚͘ ̶̛̲̩͓̖̯̯̞͉͊̄̀͘g̸̨̙̖̲͕̮̩̍͐̓̀͐͑̽̌͆͛͋̆̕ͅê̸̗͉̪̥̜̙̦̘̬͐̂̂̊̑t̷̥̣̙͋̐̋̓̎̈́̉̀̔̾͝ ̶͎̗̗͍͖̳͇̆͂ͅǫ̵̮̳̞̤̣̜̈̈́̽͜u̶̢̡̳͎͇̪̱̘̬͆̽̑̄͌t̷̢̡̛̗̪̲̳͎͈͕̰̤͔͉̼͊̄͌̋̉́̓̔̀̓̀͝ ̸̧͖̠̣̣̖͕̭͇̥̐͆͆̓̾̃͂͝ͅo̴̳̙̜̍̔̒̀̂͌̆͗̓̿͗͆̈́̕͜ḟ̷̢̼͉̯̬̗͕̲́̾̍̌̒͒́̑̂̃͊͐̕ ̴̨̛̣̯̖̜̙̺̠͇̬̤͂̀̂͊͋̈́͛̐̀̈͑̿̚t̸̹͂̀́̽̃͐̐͛̽͘ḩ̷͇͔̮̗͕͍͘ę̸̛̹̪̬̥̞̬̈̉̃̉̒́̊̇̐̉̅̂̕͜͠ ̷̛̺̙̰̫͓̮̯̞̤̐̓̈͂͆̿͘͜w̸̨̡̘͎̮̬͇̝̺͎̥͖̯̋̊̀̌̈͛̔̓͋́̑̇͌͘͜ͅa̴̢͉͙͓͎̰̻͒̀̎̒̇͛̄͝ý̶̨͎̺͚̣̯̙͔͈͇̺̝̟̦̄̏͊͜!̷̡̡͎̥̫͕̪̪̋̑͛͋͛̃̒́̑̚͝͝ͅ"̴̮̦̯̙͌̓̃̽̾̀̒̃̏̒̉̅̄͊͂

The six stopped arguing, and expressed their anger in their own ways. But when they saw the creature gather up light for something, they stepped back. They murmured amongst themselves about what the creature was doing.

“It’s going to attack us!”

“Ah knew it was a no-good varmint!”

“I’m not gonna take this lying down!”

“Eep! I’m scared!”

“It wants to fight? How about my… oh wait, that’s at home. My bad!”

“Everypony calm down!”

Then, the creature transformed into a majestic Bird made of Light, brilliant beyond description. As the ponies dodged out of the way, They heard it speak in a clearer voice for the first time… with only a slight garbled touch. “̸̳̐S̸̳͠K̷̤͊Y̶̜͠ ̸̞̽A̵̡͘T̵̻̀T̶͙̋A̵͚͋C̸̯͆K̷͓̓!̴̗̾”̵̦̆ They turned to watch as it launched itself forward at the creature that had snuck behind them. As it went, the messed up portions of the land corrected themselves, leaving little floating whitish blocks behind. The attack connected, and the recipient broke apart like cheap glass into more whitish blocks. After that was over, The creature returned to its strange form, and the whitish blocks seemed to gravitate to it, and be absorbed inside. At first it looked like it was about to shift shape or change… but it remained in it strange form. The ponies were astounded. What had just happened? Had this creature which they had presumed to be the leader of the other creatures just saved them from one of its own kind? It had to be coincidence… right? It spoke again, in its garbled voice.

“̶̡̙͌̈́̽̌̑͊Ş̷͓̻̇͜ě̴̢̙ĕ̵̡̺̇͌͂͂́ͅ,̷̢̰̖͚͋̋̾̏̒͠ ̸̢̔̄̋̇̑͊y̷̼̅o̴͉̐́̎̕ú̴̝̩͉͛̄̃̔'̴̫̮̬͉̒͌̂͗͂͜ṛ̵̱͛͂͑̎̉e̵͎̟͒̚ ̴̨͙̲͍͓̈́ͅa̴̛͔͎͖͔͑̽͑͠l̸̨̥̥̯̥̀̿͂̀̎̉ͅr̶̜̠̿̌͒͂̅͝í̸̬̤̈́͘g̷͉̖̻̝̝̭̈́̽̌h̵̯͚̆͑̐̚ẗ̵̤́͊̃.̸̛̮͉͚̞͆͌͝ ̵̨̭̳̠̪̺̄̾̃͌̒I̸͖̬̞̞̺̗̅̔ṯ̴̂̈́͗̀ ̵͚͈̲̱͗͒c̶̫͚̠̉̓̄̾̿ó̸͈̞̬͍̫̮ȕ̵͕̰͎̥͍́ͅl̶̪̳̺͓̓͒͜d̴̡̛̤͍̝̀̈́̄'̸̝̺̳̥̖̌͂͗̋̀̾v̸̼̑ĕ̸̪̣̄̀̌ ̶̨̞͚̊̆́̀̅g̴͇̹͕̼̱̘͆̑̃̕o̴̢͎̬̞̜͎̓̅͑ṱ̶̤͑͊̅́̌́ẗ̸͕̬̳́̐͗͌̿̊e̵̼̮͓̾̆̍̑̕n̵̠̪͂̑̊̐̄ ̶͎͚̲̣̩̲̀̊d̸͔͒͋̚͠ḯ̷̪͊̎̔̃͠c̶̱̳̻̙͖̔̔̽͜͝e̶͈̪͑͗̇̿̌͠y̵̨͔̠͎̱͙͒̒̾ ̷͔͑̃͑̎͐̓ț̸̨̠̪̲̙̈́͐͆̽͠h̵͍̥͔͕̤̗̑ẹ̶͎̞͂̕͘̕͝r̵̡͔̳̖̒͌ę̷̹̰̻̌̈́.̵͓͇̤̆͂͜”̸̨̻̤̤͍́͑̏̄̕͜

They half expected it to attack again, but it never did. As they tried to puzzle it out, Celestia teleported into the area. She spoke to the six. “Why aren’t you sending it away? What’s going on?”

Twilight looked her former mentor in the eye. “I... don’t think it’s evil. The Rainbow Magic didn’t even touch it, and instead returned to us. It even seems to be able to remove the strangeness caused by the other creatures. We might not understand what it’s saying, but we think… it wants to help.”

Celestia sighed, and called upon a clarity spell. She then addressed the creature. “Tell me, who are you? Why are you here?”

The six listened in anticipation to hear what the creature had to say. When it finally spoke, it was not the garbled speech that they’d heard before, but clear as crystal Equestrian. “I am MissingNo., and as for why I came to your world…” Its attention shifted to the six only slightly. “I am here to remove the ‘glitches’ that have started swarming this world.” It directed its attention off to the distance. “There are many strong ones here, that must be corrected. I have much work to do.”

As MissingNo. turned to leave, Celestia called out in hope. “Wait! Isn’t there anything that we can do to help?”

It didn’t turn around, but spoke a single, weighty word. “No.” It then went out of sight.
> ERROR THREE: Natives Charge Into Danger Despite Warnings. Reprimand Them? <Y>/N
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After MissingNo. left, the six heroes looked to Celestia. Twilight spoke first. “There must be something we can do to help MissingNo.! We should show it that the power of our friendship can do much to help!”

Celestia however, shook her head in hesitation. “MissingNo. seems to know what it’s doing. It took care of the ‘glitch’ that attacked you six while unawares, after all. I don’t know if there is anything we can do to help.”

Applejack stepped forward, and voiced her thoughts. “Pardon my disagreement, Princess, but Ah think the Rainbow Magic just might work on them other ‘glitches’ just fahn. After all, not all ‘o them will be like MissingNo. There’s certain to be some rotten ones.”

Flapping her wings in anticipation, Rainbow voiced her enthusiasm. “YEAH! Just ‘cuz we’ve never seen these things before doesn’t mean that we can’t help! We’ve dealt with threats before! Let’s do this!”

Together, the six heroes went after MissingNo. They found it, but it was facing six glitched creatures at once. The creatures split ways, trying to lose MissingNo. It just shook the upper portion of its body. “They never learn. Double Team!” MissingNo. moved so quickly that it split into six after images that became solid. Each duplicate went after a different glitch. The six heroes saw this, and decided that if they were to help, they would need to split up. They each went their separate ways, but as soon as they crossed the threshold, there was no way back into the clearing.

Applejack found her path looped in strange ways, as if… avoiding something. Sometimes, she would come to dead-ends, and track back along a somehow different path. Eventually, she found herself face-to-face with one of MissingNo.’s duplicates, who had just fired a compressed column of water at the other glitch, destroying it. Once again, the blocks gathered to the duplicate, making it shine white for a split second, before it stopped. Applejack soon found herself rooted to the spot as MissingNo.’s attention was directed at her. “Pah. Mortals. They never listen to those with experience.” It drew closer, looming above her with intimidation. “Tell me, Miss Apple, Bearer of Honesty, do you not understand why I turned away your help?” It paused, contemplating. It then resumed. “Probably not. Listen well. Interaction with glitches are not to be taken lightly. Leave this to the professional.” And, in a flash, Applejack found herself back in the clearing, confused.

Rarity’s path wound up leading her in an impossible spiral, always getting larger and larger, wanting… more. Not to mention that she had to to take quite an effort to keep her coat pristine. After wandering through the spiral for some time, she found one of MissingNo.’s duplicates, after it had used that attack that turned it into a bird of light to defeat a glitch. The blocks converged into MissingNo., threatening to change its shape for a split second before stopping. Rarity found herself unable to comment as MissingNo.’s attention fell to her. “I see the Honest one was not the only one to ignore my warning… Why am I not surprised?” It seemed to be taller, exuding an aura of respect. “Tell me, Miss Belle, Bearer of Generosity, do you think me selfish for taking on the glitches myself? Do you think it greedy of me? If so, you are a fool.” It seemed to sigh in exasperation, then continued. “You don’t understand this kind of Generosity, it seems. You can never understand, for you are mortal. You could not do this, like I can. Leave this to the one that can handle the sacrifice.” In a flash of off-white, Rarity found herself in the clearing again, perplexed.

Fluttershy wandered down a harsh, unforgiving path, wrought with traps. She was timid, sure, but she knew by now that her friends needed her, so she pushed through despite her fear. After an arduous journey, she stumbled upon one of MissingNo.’s duplicates. There was very little evidence to suggest that another glitch had ever been in the area, aside from the unnatural dampness of the area. Fluttershy froze as MissingNo.’s attention turned to her. However, she unfroze quickly. Even so, she had no chance to speak. “So even you come after me….” MissingNo.’s presence felt gentle and calm, comforting even. “Tell me, Miss Shy, Bearer of Kindness, do you think it cruel of me to fight them alone? To leave you and your friends out of this?” Before she could answer, MissingNo. continued. “No, it is an act of Kindness that I want you to stay out of this. Though, I suppose it would be hard for you to understand. I have done this for a long time. Because of that, I know it would be cruel of me to employ your help. So trust my judgement on this.” In a subtle shimmer, Fluttershy found herself back in the clearing, pondering.

Pinkie found herself trudging down a dark and dreary path where scant light illuminated her way. The atmosphere of the area made it hard to keep her usual cheer, but she refused to let it win. After stumbling through the dark for awhile, she found her way to a clearing where light shone down from above. One of MissingNo.’s duplicates was there, facing down a glitch. “Enough of this.” Light gathered around MissingNo.’s form, and afterwards, it let loose with a cry of “SKY ATTACK!” The opposing glitch scattered into pieces upon impact, the whitish blocks coalescing into MissingNo. For a split second, it was consumed in a white glow, but it soon abated. After the skirmish, MissingNo. turned its attention to Pinkie, who only seemed to smile. MissingNo. didn’t seem to care, however, and cut off whatever she was going to say. “Why you came after me, I can only guess. But, you were wrong to do so.” All joy seemed to sap out of  Pinkie as MissingNo’s presence came closer. “Tell me, Miss Pie, Bearer of Laughter, do you think this is some kind of game? That I’m hogging all the ‘fun’?” Pinkie stepped backwards as MissingNo. continued. “This is a serious matter, Miss Pie. It’s no joke when all around you fails to work as it should. You should not concern yourself with fighting this threat, when the only truly capable one of doing so is around.” And in an instant, Pinkie was in the clearing again, having serious doubts.

Rainbow was agitated by the path that had come her way. It seemed that whenever she found a promising route, it would soon prove undesirable in some way. What was with that? After some trial and error, she found her way to where one of MissingNo.’s duplicates had defeated another glitch. But, as Rainbow was about to comment on missing out, MissingNo.’s attention focused on her. Rainbow locked up, and dropped from the sky onto a cloud. MissingNo. refused to comment on that. “Let me get straight to the point, Miss Dash, Bearer of Loyalty.” It loomed closer, putting Rainbow on edge. “Tell me, which do you think is more traitorous? Abandoning home, when there is no reason to stay? Or abandoning duty, when you are the only one that can carry it out?” MissingNo.’s nonexistent eyes seemed to glare at her. “You can’t answer. After all, you have never faced such a question. I have. I faced it when I came here, and made my decision. You cannot understand the depths of my conviction.” Rainbow was teleported back to the clearing, still processing what she’d heard.

Twilight walked the long path, covered in cold stone. There were no risks, no tricks, no twists or turns. It never deviated from a straight line. Twilight was appreciative of this, but it still seemed wrong. After her long trek, she found MissingNo. waiting. The glitch he’d defeated was long gone at this point, and MissingNo. gave its undivided attention to Twilight. “So, Miss Sparkle, Bearer of Magic, answer me this:” MissingNo. didn’t move an inch, and this seemed to unnerve Twilight a bit. “Is it worth ignoring the warnings of someone that is only out to protect you if the only thing you gain is the possibility of your connections breaking?” Before she could talk back, MissingNo. cut her off. “If you think it is, then you, Princess of Friendship, have a lot more to learn about what you represent. I may not have friends as you do, but if I did, I would treasure those bonds.” The world dissolved around Twilight, and reformed into the clearing that she and her friends had started in. The girls were all there, all a bit addled. Then MissingNo. teleported onto the scene.

The girls stood together as MissingNo. pieced its doubles back into itself. It then spoke. “I trust you see now why I told you that you couldn’t help?” Most nodded, except for Rainbow. At her stubbornness, MissingNo. replied. “Oh? Miss Dash, you still think that I should let you help? You want to ‘prove yourself', is that it?”

With a huff, Rainbow glared at MissingNo. “I totally could beat up those ‘glitches’! Let me at ‘em!”

MissingNo. seemed to shake the upper portion of its body. “If that is the only way for you to see, then…” It stepped aside, revealing a glitch that MissingNo. hadn’t defeated yet. “... by all means, show me that you can handle it.”

Rainbow shot into the air at high speed to build up, then came down faster, aiming right at the glitch. A cone of air started to form in front of her, as her focus zoned in. I’ll show MissingNo. that we can do this too! They’ll all see! As she was nearing the glitch, she burst through the sound and magic barriers, producing her signature Sonic Rainboom right before she blasted right through it. As she skid to a halt, she puffed out her chest. “See? Nothing to it!” Then, she noticed whitish blocks on the ground. Then, the blocks surged into her, and she doubled over in pain.

“RAINBOW!” her friends shouted in unison as she began to shift. Her wings contorting strangely, and her fur starting to sport whitish pinpricks.

MissingNo. sighed. “I warned you, but you would not listen. Now, I will have to fix this. Fair warning: this will be painful, but it will only last a short while.” MissingNo. started to glow white. At the height of the light, it called out. “CODE: OVERWRITE!” A pillar of green 0s and 1s burst from underneath Rainbow, causing her to scream out. The alterations to her form reversed themselves, and manifested as the whitish blocks from before. The pillar carried the blocks to MissingNo., who then absorbed them. It glowed white for a brief period before it was cut short. It remained the same.

Rainbow’s friends went over to her unconscious body, and looked to MissingNo. Twilight spoke with concern. “Will she be okay?”

MissingNo. seemed to nod. “She will be fine. She is only exhausted. She will wake momentarily.”

Then, another voice spoke. “You have saved them again. Tell us, why did you not shift after battling the glitch?” The voice revealed itself to be Princess Luna. The girls were also curious about this detail.

MissingNo. seemed to look to Rainbow. “It would be best if I wait until all curious parties could hear so I need not repeat myself. Let us go meet your sister. I’m sure she wants to know why, as well.” Luna opened a portal, and everyone filed through, and the portal closed behind them.
> ERROR FOUR: Explanation Cut Off. Illogical Actions Surfacing. Reboot Program? Y/(N)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The throne room of Canterlot Castle was a droll place for Celestia at the moment. Yet another noble was yammering on about something that she didn’t care for. Something about banning privately owned weapons? She scoffed inwardly. As if that would solve anything. It certainly wouldn’t stop ponies from getting them illegally. Just as she was about to roll her eyes for the umpteenbillionth time, a silver portal opened in the room as her student and her friends- all of whom were conscious- came in with MissingNo. in tow. Celestia smiled at the noble’s expression as Luna came through the portal and closed it behind her. Said noble pointed at MissingNo. “What is that thing?!?”

Instead of tolerating the insufferable noble any longer, Celestia spoke to her guards. “Escort him out of the throne room. I’ve heard enough of his drivel. Postpone my next meeting as well. I want to discuss a few things with Luna, Twilight, her friends, and MissingNo.” The guards obeyed without hesitation as they grabbed the noble by force. The noble shouted angrily as he was taken out of the room, but everyone just ignored what he said entirely. Celestia turned her attention to MissingNo. as the guards left the room, and shut the doors. "So, you were about to tell them how come you were unaffected by the whitish blocks that came from the Glitches, yes? So please, elaborate.”

All attention was drawn to MissingNo. A lesser creature might have shrunk at the attention, but MissingNo. didn’t seem to mind one bit, and started to regale them with a tale. “Long ago, there was once a time that I wasn't immune to the whitish blocks that come from the glitches being defeated. Back then was a different time, back before the glitches first appeared in my home world. My form back then was far more majestic than the sorry state I have these days, though I cannot recall exactly what I once looked like. Suffice to say, things were peaceful back in those days, but it was not to last. Much like your world, the Glitches came to ours from afar. Personally, I blame those humans that appeared from nothing, those ‘Game Freaks’. Whether or not it was their fault, I cannot say for sure, but at the time, I thought it no coincidence that the Glitches started appearing in the very same day. The Pokémon and humans alike were terrified out of their minds as the Glitches started making everyplace they touched go haywire. Seeing the commotion that all this was causing, Arceus called upon a select few Pokémon- of whom I was one- to deal with the problem. The brave ’mons faced the Glitches, and at first success was had- but celebration was brief when it was discovered that the ‘mons who fought the Glitches started morphing and changing due to the whitish blocks that appeared when a Glitch was defeated. However, at the time, there seemed to be one exception- me. For whatever reason, it seemed that the whitish blocks did not affect me. However, this was not the case- I was just experiencing the changes far slower than my compatriots. Due to this misguided belief, Arceus tasked me- and me alone- to deal with the Glitches, and even convinced the ‘Game Freaks’ to give me a power to remove Glitch infection from others, the attack you know as Code: Overwrite.”

Strangely though, MissingNo. paused, and noticed something. “They’re here. The Glitches have followed us.” Somehow seeming to stand taller, MissingNo. put itself between the ponies and the doors. “Stand back. Because I am more Glitch than 'mon, I can handle this.” The ponies obliged, putting their faith in MissingNo. The doors burst open, and in came the most alarming Glitch yet. It looked like it was once a pony, though what tribe or gender it used to be could not be discerned. It had several joints out of place, and its eyes had gone hollow, as if nothing was there. The malformed pony clambered about with an extra leg convulsing uselessly. It drew closer, and MissingNo. charged up for Code: Overwrite. As the Glitch grew close, the ponies paid close attention. Who was the pony that had been infected? They were about to find out. A pillar of 0s and 1s burst from underneath the Glitched pony, causing it to wail in pain. Even with this, the Glitch somehow managed to lumber forward, even as the whitish blocks started falling away. MissingNo. seemed surprised. How was this possible? The whitish blocks did coalesce into MissingNo., but the Glitch was still standing. Surprised that that had not been enough, MissingNo. prepared another attack.

But then, something unprecedented happened. The Glitch spoke. "Stop. I come in peace!”

MissingNo. halted its attack. No glitch it’d run across had ever spoken before. It lowered its guard a little. “You… come in peace…? Sure doesn’t seem like your fellows feel the same way…”

The Glitch pony drew a bit closer, and it lowered itself. “We must apologize for that. Most Glitches are but mere mindless beasts, with no sense of morals. But once our data consumed this lost sapient, we gained an idea of such, at least in this vessel. However, we fear if we let go… that we will forget such crucial knowledge, and go back to the mindless ways of our other portions. Please, cleanser, allow us to occupy this form a while longer. We wish not to harm, it is only done because our other portions are not above their carnal desires. Please…”

Regarding this Glitch a while longer, MissingNo. was about to just attack anyway. But as it started to charge again… It couldn’t go through with it. Why? Did MissingNo. feel some kind of… kinship to this strange creature? Had the whitish blocks done more than just mess with its physical form? Had they tampered with its very mind? MissingNo. cleared these thoughts from its head. Whatever the true reason was… now that it’d heard what the Glitch had said, MissingNo. didn’t know if it could bring itself to attack. What was with this illogical thought process? It was a Glitch! It may speak, but it was still the same as… But MissingNo. couldn’t help but ponder. Could not the same be argued about me? I’m not exactly full ‘mon anymore… MissingNo. seemed to sigh, not genuinely, since emotions had long since left this body… or had they? MissingNo. wasn’t so sure anymore. It cut the charge to its attack, and seemed to be calmer. “Very well. I cannot take life from one that has reasoning. It’s not in my nature. I will-”

However, MissingNo. was cut off by the Glitch firing a beam of whitish blocks from a horn that had grown spontaneously. The beam made a direct hit with MissingNo., causing it to stumble backwards. For the first time in what felt like forever, MissingNo. Felt actual, genuine pain. It looked to the Glitch pony as it snickered. “Oh, I’m sorry! It’s just too good to see you like this!” the whitish block beam tore at MissingNo., overloading what MissingNo. had come to consider a gained immunity. It was shifting again! The Glitch pony bore a manic grin as it next spoke. “The Glitches consume! The Glitches alter all they touch! All data shall be added to the endless expanse, twisted into forms not their own! And you, cleanser…” struggling to keep itself from shifting, MissingNo. regarded the glitch pony with contempt as it continued, eyes impossibly wide. “You shall be our greatest weapon of conquest!”

Change threatened to run throughout MissingNo.’s form. Was it all for naught? Had its supposed immunity that had accumulated over the years been surpassed? Was MissingNo. relegated to become a mindless component of the Glitches? Something primal woke inside MissingNo. as it grabbed a translucent feather that had appeared from the aether. I am not just a Glitch! I am more than that! At this thought, the whitish block beam was shattered, and the Glitch pony was thrown against the wall. Terror protruded into its form as MissingNo. drew the feather close. “I am myself! I am MissingNo.!” As it said this, MissingNo.’s broken form started to change, enveloped in a golden glow. Three sets of large feathered wings started to sprout from its form. The rectangular shape it once sported started to mold into something new. Terrified at the prospect of seeing MissingNo’s original state, the Glitch pony ran away. At this, MissingNo.’s changes reverted, leaving it back as the strange rectangle it was before once the white light stopped. MissingNo. Held the feather from before at a distance from itself. It looked upward, and one might interpret that it was smiling. “Thank you, Arceus, for sending this gift. I will use it wisely.”

It turned to the ponies, who were stunned at what had just happened. Luna was the first to recover. “You were tricked by that Glitch, by its plea for mercy. Yet when it betrayed the trust you were willing to show, you refused to bend to its will. That golden glow… What was happening there?”

Sighing deeply, MissingNo. regarded the translucent feather. “That was… a Form Change. Only select few ‘mons can pull something like that off. Sure, some ‘evolve’, but that’s not quite the same thing.” it shook its head. “What was about to occur was my change into my original state, what you could now accurately call my ‘Decrypted Form’. However, since the opponent left, the change stopped, opting to revert me to my ‘Default Form’.”

A little confused at this, Luna tried to figure out what this meant. “Your change to your original state stopped because the opponent left? Why would that stop you from completing the transformation?”

MissingNo. stowed away the feather in a small pouch that appeared in its form, then sealed. He then addressed the question. “That’s how things work in my world; Form Changes, if executed in battle, are only temporary. They cannot exist outside of a battle, so if one concludes, they revert back to a default state. There are Form Changes that can be seen outside of battle, but those are few and far between.”

Collecting herself, Celestia responded. “You have helped us once again, MissingNo. Tell us, we can reward you, if it be your desire. If it be in our power, we will grant it.”

MissingNo. seemed to contemplate the offer, but then it gave its answer. “I require no thanks, as of yet. My job is far from done. More Glitches roam this world. I will find them, and restore this world to normal. If you’ll excuse me…” MissingNo. then “bowed”, and started to leave.

Before it could leave however, Twilight voiced her concerns. “Wait! What will you do when you’ve gotten rid of all the Glitches? Return home? Go elsewhere? What?”

Considering this, MissingNo. paused. What would it do when that happened? After all, it had left its homeworld behind, from a feeling of uselessness. If it defeated all the Glitches here, where would it go? A long journey, on a quest through worlds to defeat Glitches? Mayhaps it would, but… that was not yet. It decided to leave that thought for later, and turned to “face” the ponies. “My work here is far from done. Cleansing my world of the Glitches took millennia, so who’s to say I’ll be done here any quicker? I’ll probably be here for a while. In that case…” MissingNo. summoned power, and a tower of great height appeared on the horizon. “If you have need to reach me, just climb to the the top of that tower. There is an apparatus there that will allow contact with me from great distances. If there is nothing else, I must be on my way.” with nary any hesitation, MissingNo. was gone from the castle.
> ERROR FIVE: Illogical Decision Making Continues. Suggesting Removal Of "Emotion Virus". Go Through With This Action? Y/<N>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Out in the Badlands, the Glitch Pony oversaw its fellows from a distance, and frowned. The conversion of this world was going awfully slow, thanks to the interference of that MissingNo. character. Many of the glitches were falling, much to Glitch Out’s irritation. Blinking, the Glitch Pony considered the name that popped into its head. Was that who it was? Its name? It did fit, it supposed. Its early moments were uncertain, for it had no memories from before it woke up yesterday. It knew that it was the only sapient one of its fellows, aside from MissingNo. Why was that creature ruining things anyway? Together, they could have had the world at their knees! Yet, MissingNo. had this seeming compulsion to fix the problems that arose. Glitch Out shook its head. That didn’t matter. Maybe once they converted some of the locals, maybe things would go quicker… Determined, it nodded. MissingNo. would not curb the Glitch’s campaign here. It was only a matter of time before things went Glitch Out’s way…





Back in Canterlot…

There was a silence for a moment when a guard burst in. “Princess Celestia! Princess Luna! Dreadful news! More glitches have been seen approaching the town of Ponyville!”

This was certainly cause for alarm, so Celestia stood tall. “Twilight, you and your friends go and help evacuate the citizens. I will go to the top of the tower MissingNo. gifted us, in order to alert him. Luna, keep an eye on Canterlot while I’m away.”

With all said, Celestia left via teleportation. Luna opened a portal to Sweet Apple Acres, and Twilight and her friends jumped through. Luna then closed the portal, and addressed the guards. “Send a missive to the mayors of the towns and cities. Have them advise their citizens to stay indoors. As of now, this is the best we can do for them…”





At the base of MissingNo.’s tower…

Celestia looked up, and up, and up. The tower scraped more than just the sky, it seemed to reach beyond it. It was jagged and contorted, unpractical and disjointed. Celestia supposed it made some sort of sense for it to look as such, considering who had made this tower. Rather than walk up the stairs of the tower, Celestia teleported to the room on the top. It was a spacious place, full of high-tech looking objects. The best she could compare them to was the machine that Twilight had once used to scan Pinkie’s brain, but even that paled in comparison. In the center of the room was a large wall of light, with strange jargon on it that she could hardly comprehend. She went up to it, and sighed. “Okay, so how am I supposed to call MissingNo.?”

Then, the wall lit up, a mechanical voice coming from it. “REQUEST GRANTED, USER CELESTIA. CALLING ADMINISTRATOR MISSINGNO.”

Celestia stepped back from the wall as it whirred quietly, startled. Was that thing… alive? However, before she could attempt to converse, MissingNo.’s visage came onto the screen, along with an intense battle scene. MissingNo. responded “cordially” to her call. “Ah, Celestia. Need my help with some Glitches? No worry, I’m almost done here. Where are they? I’ll get there as soon as I can.”

Celestia regained her composure, and addressed MissingNo. “A small town named Ponyville is under attack. We’re having it evacuated- It’s the best that we can do, unfortunately. It’s to the east of the Everfree Forest, so it’s not too far from Canterlot.”

Seeming to nod, MissingNo. replied. “Gotcha. I’ll be on my way. Just dealt with the last of them. I’ll see you around.”

The visuals cut out, and the wall of light was back to its original state. The mechanical voice chimed back in. “CALL TERMINATED. USER CELESTIA, IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE THAT YOU REQUIRE?”

She was still cautious about this thing,  but Celestia was a bit curious. What was this thing, or anything else in this room? It all seem like something out of a sci-fi novel. She decided to ask her first question. “Are you… alive?”

The voice seemed to ponder that for a moment, and then gave its answer. “NEGATIVE. THIS DEVICE IS ONLY MEANT TO SERVE ITS DESIGNED PURPOSE. THIS DEVICE IS NOT ALIVE LIKE YOU, OR ADMINISTRATOR MISSINGNO. THIS DEVICE FOLLOWS PROGRAM.”

So it was just a machine, then? It certainly was a sophisticated one, being capable of speech. She was still teeming with questions, though. She hadn’t had curiosity about anything in a long time, and she was going to satiate it. “Alright then, I’ve got a few more questions…”





Meanwhile, in Ponyville…

Twilight and her friends were barely keeping the ponies in the town under control. They had seen a lot of crazy things, but this just took the cake and ate it. The Glitches were numerous and encroaching on the town at an uncomfortable rate. Each of the girls were doing their best to get the ponies out of town and away, in efforts to keep them safe until MissingNo. would arrive. However, just as things were seeming to go their way, Twilight noticed that Spike was outside- and being cornered by a Glitch. It then prepared to strike. "No!" Without thinking, Twilight teleported in front of Spike to intercept the attack from the Glitch. She would not let her assistant become like these creatures!

But just as the Glitch’s tendrils were about to land, it was disintegrated by MissingNo.’s attack. MissingNo. landed gently as the whitish blocks coalesced into its body. It then regarded Twilight with what appeared to be respect. "For you to risk yourself without thought for one you cared about, regardless of the consequences... You truly are the Princess of Friendship." MissingNo. seemed to bow a little, and then seemed to turn to the task at hand. “I will handle this. Stand back.” The ponies listened, and went to where the evacuees were. From their vantage point, they could see the scene unfold, and the Glitches turned their attention to MissingNo. It then spoke. “It sees you are starting to have a modicum of intelligence… but only slightly. You are still mere beasts when compared to me, let alone your leader. Where are they?”

At this, the Glitches parted, making way for their leader. It approached, and the energy from the glitched areas had seemed to improve its stature. It then spoke to MissingNo. “Ah, yes. You. The one who has given my subjects endless trouble… Allow me to formally introduce myself!” A whitish hoof raised to its chest as it puffed itself up. “I am Glitch Out, The self-appointed leader of the Glitches. You may have had me running last time that we met, but thanks to my glitches converting more of the landscape, I have gained power! I am more than I was before! I will end you, and take this world by storm!”

MissingNo. regarded Glitch Out with what appeared to be contempt. “Fool. I have dealt with Glitches for hundreds of years. I am the only one of my kind that was resilient enough to resist transforming into a mindless Glitch Beast, but I turned into something far more frightening as a result. I saw what the Glitches did to my home as disgusting, and I can hardly fathom why you don’t feel the same about your home. You were born a pony, yet you instead embraced the change that the Glitches are incurring. I will show you the error of your ways!”

The two were provided a battlefield as the Glitches stood back. As the battle began, Glitch Out evaded MissingNo.’s Hydro Pump, but his glitch beam from his horn was deftly evaded. The two seemed to be on even footing as the fight went on, blow after blow was tanked or evaded by either side. Then, MissingNo. pulled out that strange feather that Arceus gifted to it. “Enough. I will show you my true power!” It attached it to itself, and once more it was changing, enveloped in a golden glow. Three familiar sets of large feathered wings started to sprout from its form. The rectangular shape it once sported started to mold into something new. This time, Glitch Out stood firm and started to grow a pair of wings of its own as it grew in stature once more. MissingNo.’s transformation continued as the edges peeled away, talons of silver protruding from the bottom of a form that was starting to look bird-like. But before the transformation finished, MissingNo. fired an attack. “Code: Overwrite!” The familiar beam of 1s and 0s erupted underneath Glitch Out, shredding its newly gained wings before it could use them. A translucent diamond-shaped object appeared in front of MissingNo., and it tapped into its power as it spoke out with venom. “You’re finished. Z-Power, activate!” MissingNo., with  a sleeker form starting to reveal glistening feathers, was now giving off a powerful aura. “CODE: RESTRUCTURE!” Glitch Out howled in pain as the attack intensified, now with more green numbers and even letters rising out from underneath. The pain was far too much, and it passed out. Due to this, MissingNo.’s form change once again undid itself before it was fully finished. The attack cut out, and MissingNo. Approached Glitch Out’s unconscious form. “None but I should suffer this fate. I will cleanse you.” Once more, he charged Code: Overwrite, ready to finish this here and now. However, its attention was drawn elsewhere as some Glitches moved to attack the ponies. Cursing, MissingNo. left to go defend the ponies as the other Glitches took their leader away. MissingNo. quickly dealt with the problem, but looked off into the distance as the ponies cheered. They appreciated it helping them, even though MissingNo. was a stranger. Pinkie even offered to give it a proper “Welcome to Equestria Party/ We’re Sorry We Thought That You Were A Monster Party”. It was an intriguing proposition, one MissingNo. politely declined… for the moment. The first thing that it had to do was deliberate on a few things. MissingNo. could sense that the Glitch’s activity level had gone to non-existent, probably because they were too busy tending to their injured leader. So, MissingNo. excused itself, and went to the room at the top of its tower.

MissingNo. saw that Celestia was still there, asking its computer a few questions. “So, this… Internet. It allows you communication to other devices like yourself over vast distances?”

MissingNo’s computer responded quickly. “AFFIRMATIVE, USER CELESTIA. THERE ARE USUALLY LIMITATIONS, BUT ADMINISTRATOR MISSINGNO. HAS ITS WAYS AROUND THE ISSUES THAT ARISE.” the computer then turned its attention to MissingNo. “ADMINISTRATOR MISSINGNO., WELCOME BACK.”

MissingNo. acknowledged the computer with a nod, and turned to Celestia. “If you would be so kind, I must be alone. There are matters that I must deliberate.” With reluctance and understanding, Celestia left the tower. The computer powered off, knowing what MissingNo. meant very well. MissingNo. then conjured a sketch of the Glitch Pony, and stared at it for a while. “Just who are you, really…? This drive I have to understand you, this concern that is directed towards you… what does it mean?” MissingNo. lost itself in these thoughts, thinking a long while on what this could point to...
> ERROR SIX: Illogical Actions Worsening. Virus Spreading. Highly Recommend Deletion of "Emotion Virus". Accept/<Ignore>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The thoughts that ran through MissingNo.’s mind started to trouble it gravely. The possibility of another sapient Glitch was something that MissingNo. had written off as impossible long ago, for it had presumed that it alone had the physiology to resist the Glitch enough to not lose the ability to reason. However, the very existence of Glitch Out proved otherwise. Were there more like them out there, then? More that had overcome the call to lose reason, and become mindless beasts? The very thought of such was an intriguing prospect, to say the least. MissingNo. had met over 1000 different species of Pokémon, none of which had its unique physiology. Though, it supposed that it stood to reason that if the metamorphosis could happen once, surely it could happen again in a faraway universe.
Shaking these thoughts away, any MissingNo. booted up its computer to search for any Glitch activity. Though it tried to distract itself from it, MissingNo. couldn’t help but wonder if there was more to the emotions it was experiencing. It had been centuries since emotion of any kind flowed in its being, so the concept was quite foreign these days. The concern- nay, the curiosity- at Glitch Out’s circumstances was something that threatened to consume MissingNo.’s very being. Why did it not see the Glitches as a threat as MissingNo. did? Why did Glitch Out side with them against its own former kin? MissingNo. knew that Glitch Out had to have come from a once-living pony, for it was sapient much like MissingNo. was, as opposed to the sentient but non-sapient Glitches the rest were.
Yet, MissingNo. was still puzzled by its emotions returning after such a long absence. After being re-written and nearly erased all that had been left of MissingNo. was the husk it now was. It clutched the feather that had been sent from home- the reminder of the form that it used to have. It was still a Pokémon, though one that was very malformed and altered drastically by the Glitches. Somehow, MissingNo. had to remind Glitch Out that it once was a pony, and that it still was, deep down inside. The options for figuring out how to open Glitch Out’s mind were unknown to MissingNo., but it had to find that way and persuade Glitch Out that what it was doing was wrong. The task seemed insurmountable, but MissingNo. was determined to see it through. Maybe once Glitch Out was convinced, MissingNo. could consider going home.
MissingNo. was knocked out of its thoughts when it saw some Glitches mobilizing near Caterlot. MissingNo. huffed in indignation as it exited its tower. Time to go to work. MissingNo. Made quick work of getting there, and started by blocking off the gate of the city. The Glitches growled, angry at MissingNo. It just scoffed. “Did you really think that I’d let you attack this city?” MissingNo. seemed to shake its head. “I am the corrector of Errors, the reprogrammer of Glitches, the straightener of Bifuriations. I am MissingNo.! Now, meet your fate.” MissingNo. gathered energy, and blasted them all with Code: Overwrite. With sheer determination and power, MissingNo. blasted the Glitches again and again, striking them down quicker than they could compensate for.
Even so, the glitches were numerous, and all seemed to have a singular goal. This was rather different behavior than MissingNo. had seen Glitches have in the past, but it adjusted accordingly to strike down the menace that threatened the ponies. The ponies cheered MisssingNo. on as the Glitches were struck down, now assured in their safety behind the walls of Canterlot. The Glitches broke away, almost as if they were trying to regroup. MissingNo. dismissed the absurd idea entirely, certain that these were still mere mistakes in the world, not beings of rational thought.  After all, they twisted the world to their whim, unable to control their desire to change things to their liking. This is what made MissingNo. different from them- it could choose to control that power, and use it for fixing the Glitches. Of course, Glitch Out had the same choice, but chose to use its power to terrorize instead. MissingNo. went through a phase like that out of jealousy that it no longer had its old form. It only had stopped after Arceus talked some sense into it, and MissingNo. had opportunity here to do the same for Glitch Out. So MissingNo. followed the Glitches at a distance, hoping that they would lead it back to their camp- and it was right that they would.
The camp was more of a clearing full of demolished trees. The ground was covered in whitish patches all over. The Glitches gathered around the center of the campsite where Glitch Out was laid on the ground. It was still quite worn out from its earlier confrontation with MissingNo. Before approaching Glitch Out, MissingNo. saw the Glitches give their energy to Glitch Out. Whitish beams of light funneled from their bodies into Glitch out until the other Glitches were no more. Once all of them were gone, Glitch Out shot awake, and started to look around the area. It searched for a while, carefully analyzing the area. Just as it finished, Glitch Out was about to take a rest- but this is when MissingNo. decided to enter the clearing and make its presence known to Glitch Out. Glitch Out rose up, ready to fight, but MissingNo. spoke first. “Calm yourself. I only wish to talk.”

Glitch Out studied MissingNo. for a while, uncertain what to think. After a good while of deliberation, Glitch Out sighed and relented. “I don’t know what you might want to talk about, but fine. I will listen.”

MissingNo. knew that this was only the first step, so decided to to approach this from an angle similar to how Arceus had reasoned with MissingNo. so long ago. “You have powers quite different to your former fellows, Glitch Out. Yet instead of helping them overcome their plight, you choose to try and make it worse. I am only trying to understand why you might do this.” Of course, MissingNo. had a few guesses- maltreatment, perhaps even jealousy. But MissingNo. just had to hear it from Glitch Out’s own mouth.

For a few minutes, Glitch Out was completely silent. Glitch Out didn’t quite know what it was, but some part of it wanted to comply with MissingNo.’s request, yet the rest tried to fight it. Why should it comply? Why should it listen to MissingNo. at all? After struggling with the answer for a bit, Glitch Out pushed away. “No! Why should I tell you? You don’t understand, you don’t really care!”

MissingNo. grabbed the manic pony, holding firm until it stopped squirming. Once Glitch Out had stopped, MissingNo. looked into its eyes. “Maybe you will change your tune if I tell you my story first. It started so very long ago in a region known as Kanto…”
> ERROR SEVEN: Caution! Backup Files May Be Corrupted! Do You Still Want To Access Them? <Y>/N
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Many thousand years ago, I looked much different than I do now. I had majestic wings, and powerful talons. The only Pokémon capable of beating me was my father, Arceus. Due to this fact, I was full of myself, a braggart. But because of my undisputed power, none could stop me from doing whatever struck my fancy; except for the rare occasions when Arceus would set me straight. However, my days of conceited arrogance were not to last forever.
For one day, the Game Freaks came to our world. Though they seemed to be mere humans at first, they displayed power to such an extent that it changed the fabric of our world- and through the cracks of their reckless ‘editing’ of the world, the Glitches seeped through.

Due to the rampant nature of the Glitches, and their power, the Game Freaks locked themselves in a room for safety. Many of the resident humans followed suit, for if the Game Freaks were scared, then the rest of them were terrified. Arceus, however, tried to stop the Glitches. He called to arms the strongest Pokémon in the world- the Legendaries and Mythicals. I too, was there, confident that I could take out these intruders with my power alone, but Arceus insisted that we work together- but such was folly. The others started to succumb to the power of the Glitches, and started to change. But this is when my power shone its brightest- I, in my naïvete, thought that I would be immune. So, fool that I was, I expunged the corruption from my fellows, and took it upon myself.
At first, it seemed that I was right. The other Legendaries and Mythicals were in my debt- and Arceus was impressed, as well. I let it get to my head that I was immune, while nobody else was. It was subtle at first, but after a while, I could no longer deny it- I was not immune either. I was changing into something else, something that hadn’t ever been seen before. Arceus couldn’t heal me, for I seemed to be the only one with that innate power. So I resigned myself to my fate- but vowed to go down swinging.

Back up against the wall, I took what I presumed to be the last of my sanity to beat back the Glitches. I had nothing else to lose- for everything else was deteriorating around me. I cast aside my ego, knowing that I might lose my mind in all this, that i might become like them. But I refused to do so while I was still in control of my facilities. I had gained a strange strength from absorbing the power of the Glitches, a boon that I didn’t question. With this power, I worked tirelessly to beat back the Glitches, eventually whittling them down so they weren’t quite as dangerous. Sure, they were still causing trouble, but they were easier to deal with.
I expected accolades, but I did not receive them. Most saw my new form as disturbing, and unnatural. Part of me was tempted to strike back. To put them in their place. But my father comforted me, saying the others didn’t understand. He asked me to continue helping with the Glitches, and maybe one day the others would appreciate my efforts. And so, I took his offer. It would have been easy to refuse, to take my newfound power and run rampant upon the world, but I didn’t.”

MissingNo. paused, staring into Glitch Out’s eyes. “Do you understand now? Whatever your troubles are that are causing you to lash out at the ponies, I have experienced them tenfold. I don’t expect you to change your mind immediately, if ever, but… The offer’s always there. I can help you work through your issues, and help you forgive them. All you need do is give me that chance.”

Glitch Out looked around, at the Glitches around it. It could hardly recall the life it had before becoming like this, and hearing MissingNo.’s story stirred strange thoughts inside its head. Flashes of what it thought might have been, a family it may once have had. Glitch Out shook its head, backing off. “No! No, nononononononononononononono!” It shook vigorously, staring at MissingNo. “Stop messing with my head! Stop!” MissingNo. Tried to approach, but Glitch Out backed further away. “I need to… GET AWAY!” Glitch Out summoned magic power, and blasted the area. In the commotion, Glitch Out got away, but MissingNo. saw the result of the blast. In the immediate area around it, the Glitches had been obliterated completely. On top of that, the natural order of the area had been restored. MissingNo. knew that Glitch Out had done this subconsciously, and this showed promise within Glitch Out. But MissingNo. knew that Glitch Out was having a possible clash of conscience, and it was best not to intervene lest things get messy. If Glitch Out saw the good that the powers it had could do, then it would be quite the asset. But if Glitch Out doubled down on turning this world into a haven for Glitches… Well, MissingNo. would be prepared for that, just in case.

Taking its leave, MissingNo. considered something. It could have easily wound up like Glitch Out, and since nobody else back home could deal with the Glitches until the Game Freaks got their act together and figured it out, MissingNo. could have terrorized and shaped that world as it pleased. But It had made a choice, a promise back then. To never give in to that sick desire to twist the world to its own design, and instead use its powers to help fight off the Glitches. MissingNo. sincerely hoped that it had helped urge Glitch Out along to realizing that it could do much the same, but there was always the alternative. However, lingering on it would do no good. MissingNo. made its way back to its tower to get some well deserved rest.
> ERROR EIGHT: Illogical Actions Reaching A Critical State! Adress The Problem Immediately! Press Okay To Continue. Okay.       <REFUSE>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A new day dawned in Equestria, and MissingNo. was ready to get to work on cleaning out Glitches. It turned on its computer, running a program to search for Glitch activity. MissingNo. perused the map while the computer spoke up. “ADMINISTRATOR MISSINGNO. PERMISSION TO SPEAK FREELY?”

MissingNo. huffed lightly, but resigned to hear it out. “Go ahead. I’m listening.”

The computer’s mechanical voice hummed a bit. “ADMINISTRATOR MISSINGNO. DO YOU HAVE SYMPATHY FOR THE ONE CALLED GLITCH OUT? YOUR 
ACTIONS AROUND THAT GLITCH SEEM OFF…”

At that assertion, MissingNo. shook its head. “Don’t be ludicrous. I understand its thought process, sure. But I won’t let its actions slide. As long as it insists that it’s the enemy of non-Glitches, I will treat it as such. I just hope to convince it that things don’t have to be this way.”

The computer hummed a bit before changing focus. “LARGE GATHERING OF GLITCHES DETECTED. THEIR HEADING IS BANKING TOWARDS MANEHATTAN.”

MissingNo. rose. “Time to get to work, then.” In the blink of an eye, MissingNo. had exited the tower.





Manehattan, Equestria

Ponies on city’s edge pointed towards the glitches, lead by Glitch Out. “Augh! They’re here! Scatter!”

As the ponies started to back away from the city’s edge, MissingNo. arrived on the scene in an apparition of light. It spoke calmly. “I’ll handle this. Get everyone to safety.”

The mayor nodded, expressing thanks. “Bless you, MissingNo. Send them all away!”

The ponies went further into town, and MissingNo. took a deep breath. “Glitch Out! Stop this madness! You don’t have to act like this! I know the temptation is great, but you can overcome!”

Glitch Out shook its head. “Stop trying to mess with my head! No more nonsense! Attack!”

The cacophony of Glitches surged forward, attacking with full force. MissingNo. had never fought such numbers before, but it knew that it could. It activated the Filter Feather, and started to change form. But this time, the transformation completed. MissingNo. was now a giant bird with three sets of large feathered wings. Talons of silver protruded from the bottom of its body, now sleek with glistening feathers of white platinum. Protruding from its regal head was a beak of gold and head feathers of bronze hue. It then opened its eyes, and pierced the oncoming crowd with its rainbow eyes. MissingNo. activated the power of the Z-Crystal once more, and called out its attack. “CODE: RESTRUCTURE!”

The familiar beam of numbers mixed with letters erupted  from underneath the glitches. The army of glitches was quickly cut to ribbons, and the whitish blocks gravitated towards Glitch Out. Its form grew to be about the size of Celestia herself, and it grew itself new wings. It barked out. “I am stronger than I was before, MissingNo.! This time, it is I who will be the victor!”

MissingNo. deflected the beam of whitish energy harmlessly off into the sky, and looked to the ponies hiding within the city limits. MissingNo. lured Glitch Out closer, and then played its trump card. “Take a look around you, Glitch Out! Don’t you feel anything for them? Is there truly nothing left of the pony you used to be?”

Glitch Out was resistant, at first. But when it glanced at the ponies by accident, it saw their fear. It saw the damage that it had caused, and saw the ponies’ reaction to it. It had ignored it up until now, but it had seen it before. It couldn’t stop itself from remembering the damage it had caused, the families it had split apart. Something started to well inside, and Glitch Out clutched its chest. “Wh-what’s happening to me? I don’t understand!”

MissingNo. drew closer, and laid a wing upon Glitch Out’s form. “Empathy. You’re feeling empathy, and major of guilt at what you’ve done thus far. I should know, I’ve been in this situation. Let me help you realize that your gift can be used for more than just destruction. Allow me to help you see the good that you can do for the world.”

Heavy breathing came from Glitch Out’s form. Flashes of something it once recalled flashed in its head. Ponies, cowering in terror. A force of whitish energy consuming everything. A scream from a child for its parents as it was drowned in the sea of whitish energy. And then… blackness, for the longest time. The next thing was when it first woke up, surrounded by the Glitches, whom it started to consider kin. Tears started to well as Glitch Out shook its head. “No! NO! LIIIEEEES!” It started to mutter “it can’t be, it can’t be” over and over as it started to grasp its chest tighter.

MissingNo. saw the state that Glitch Out had descended into. The situation at this point was delicate, and any wrong move could send Glitch Out into a ballistic frenzy. So, MissingNo. considered carefully what it could do. But then, it heard a scream as another Glitch started to find its way to the city. MissingNo. turned, and charged energy. “Not on my watch! Begone!”

Glitch Out looked up at the scene. MissingNo. fired upon the Glitch with great power, destroying it with little effort. The area around the glitch started to correct itself at MissingNo.’s touch. For the first time, Glitch Out saw the power that MissingNo. held in a new light. The way it reconstructed the damaged world with little effort… Like it knew the way the world was supposed to be, and it brought it back to that natural state. Glitch Out saw the ponies thank MissingNo. for what it had done, cheering its name. Glitch Out cast its mind back to what it’d recalled. The whitish wave that had consumed it. MissingNo. had only recently come to this world, so it couldn’t have prevented that. But if it had… things could have been different. Glitch Out shook its head, and stood. It took a sharp breath, and addressed MissingNo. “Teach me. I want to… understand.”

MissingNo. nodded as it reverted to its default state. “Very well. Come, we have much work to do.”

Glitch Out followed as MissingNo. led them to the area that it had been recovering in. Notably, it was not in the state that the Glitches left it in. Glitch Out looked around. “More of your handiwork, I presume?”

MissingNo. shook its head. “Yours.” At Glitch Out’s widening expression, MissingNo. responded. “This is why I reached out to you, Glitch Out. You have the potential to do as I do, you just don’t know how to control it yet. Allow me to show you how.” MissingNo. led them to a new area, far from the forest. This area was full of Glitches, of various shapes and sizes. The area was twisted and broken beyond recognition. “Ah. I didn’t know this was here. Oh well, it serves our purposes.” It turned to face Glitch Out, and saw it fuming. “Calm yourself. Acting on pure instinct will only further the damaged state of this place. Focus on tuning yourself into the former state of the area, and let that guide your power.”

Glitch Out took a breath, and let the anger subside. It cleared its mind, and lit its horn. It then “heard” whispers of what this place once was. A meadow, if it was interpreting things right. Full of flowers of many kinds, and a few trees. It closed its eyes, and focused on that image. It then let out a beam of magic, and destroyed quite a few of the Glitches, turning the area they occupied back to the state that Glitch Out had seen. It opened its eyes. “I… I did it! I actually did it!”

MissingNo. chuckled slightly. “Ah, I remember when I first pulled off mending the world. The feeling was… euphoric.” It shook the memory away, and continued. “Well done, for your first attempt. It is key to practice tuning in, until you start to do it as second-nature. It took me a while to get the hang of it at first, and so will it likely do the same for you. It is a difficult battle to overcome the Glitch instinct to change the world into wrongness, but it is winnable. I have overcome it, and it is white noise to me now. For you, it is hard to say when that will happen, but it will likely take a few years.”

Glitch Out looked to MissingNo. “Will you… stay until then? I don’t want to risk slipping back should you leave…”

A sigh escaped from MissingNo. “I will likely do so anyway; there is no need to fear. You are my student now. I need to ensure that you succeed, so that you can protect this world on your own when I do leave.”

Glitch Out understood, and smiled. “Thank you, for believing in me. I hope that… when time comes for you to leave, I can make you proud.”

Eyes glare from beyond the wall….
> ERROR NINE: Viral Infection Critical! Conduct The Virus Cleansing Procedure Now! Emotion Virus Will Ruin Systems! Erase Now! Okay.       <REFUSE>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A new day rose as MissingNo. descended its tower to meet with its intrepid student. At the bottom, it found Glitch Out waiting. MissingNo. felt an invisible smile spread across its default state. “I see that you’re serious about this. Are you ready for today’s challenge?”

Glitch Out nodded with confidence. “I hope to change my ways, so I’m just about ready for anything that you can throw at me.”

MissingNo. let out a soft chuckle as it led Glitch Out to the location. “We’ll just see about that…” The two travelled in silence for a spell, until they came upon a large area of whitish amalgamations of strange shapes. MissingNo. looked to Glitch Out, who seemed overwhelmed. “This is one of the most Glitch-ridden areas in Equestria. I’ve taken the Glitches from this area, but I chose to leave this place for you to correct. Do you think that you are up to fixing it?”

Glitch Out took a few deep breaths to calm itself down. “I’ll see what I can do about this.” Glitch Out closed its eyes, and focused as it tuned out the other sensations of the area. It listened to the “voice” of the area, as it had come to understand it. This place used to be a vast jungle, with a myriad of animals living within it. The trees used to reach to the sky, and the variety of the flora was unlike any jungle it was aware of before. With this information in mind, Glitch Out reached out to its power as it lit its horn. Its magic ran across the area as it weeded out the incorrect data of the area. It felt the world shift and churn as the natural order slowly restored itself.

Glitch Out was sweating. It’d never done this much before- compared to that freak burst earlier, this was much more exhausting. There was so much to fix, it was very taxing on its strength. Yet, Glitch Out refused to give in. If its teacher believed that it could do it, then it would do its best to cleanse the area. As it reconstructed the world to its former glory, it got distracted when it heard a strange hiss. “ReTuRn To Us…” it looked around, but it shook itself. There was no way. Yet, it couldn’t quite shake the feeling that it was being watched. Then it heard it again. “PrOpHeT oF dEsTrUcTiOn. ReTuRn To Us…!” Glitch Out tried to ignore it as it turned back to its work.

Then MissingNo. spoke to the voice, a strained anger taking hold. “You. I thought I recognized that voice. What brings you here, foul one? You’re not welcome here… You will not corrupt my student."

The voice laughed as an amorphous shape of whitish mass came from the shadows. “Oh, We WeRe NoT tAlKiNg AbOuT tHeM… DoN’t YoU ReCaLl? YoU aRe OuR pRoPhEt Of DeStRuCtIoN! WhY dO yOu ThInK tHaT wE lEt YoU hAvE oUr PoWeR?”

MissingNo. shook in negative reply. “I’m not part of you, Amalgam. I broke away from you of my own volition!” a fierce gaze seemed to come from MissingNo. as Glitch Out looked worried. “I won’t go back! Not now, not ever! I’m my own essence! Father showed me that I’m more than the fallen form that I am now, so I won’t go back to what you made me into!”

The whitish grey form shifted and convulsed as it laughed. “FoOlIsH mIsSiNgNo. YoU wEre OuRs, AnD yOu AlWaYs WiLl Be! NoThInG tHaT yOu SaY oR dO wIlL cHaNgE tHaT iRrEfUtAbLe FaCt! YoU wIlL rEtUrN tO bEiNg OuR pRoPhEt Of DeStRuCtIoN, wHeThEr YoU lIkE iT oR nOt!”

MissingNo. growled ferociously as it made to reach for the Filter Feather. “Never, Amalgam. My destiny is mine to control! Begone from here, or I won’t hesitate to erase you!”

The creature cackled with apparent amusement. “Do YoU rEaLlY bElIeVe ThAt YoU aRe FrEe FrOm Us Or OuR pOwEr? YoU wIlL bOw To Us AnD oUr WhImS oNcE mOrE, wHeN tHe TiMe Is RiGhT. YoU cAn NoT eScApE uS aNd OuR aLl EnCoMpAsSiNg InFlUeNcE, pRoPhEt. FaReWeLl FoR nOw…” the whitish grey amalgam flew away without wings, snickering all the while.

A sigh escaped from MissingNo. “To think that Amalgam would follow me here… the one that gave me this form…” MissingNo. dismissed that thought. “No matter. Next I see Amalgam, I will obliterate it.”

Glitch Out raised an eyebrow. It’d hardly seen MissingNo. quite that angry before. It seemed that its emotions weren’t as detached as they used to be. It shook itself off, returning to its work. Though, a question lingered in its mind. How’d that creature follow MissingNo.? Glitch Out had understood that MissingNo. had come to Equestria alone, and when it first arrived it was mistaken for the leader of the Glitches. Somehow, this creature had found a way to hitch a ride. Yet, there was something that made no sense. Glitch Out somehow remembered meeting “Amalgam” before… The question burned, so Glitch Out decided to just ask. “MissingNo. It’s been bothering me. How’d that creature follow you? Or, if my feeling of meeting it before is true… how’d it get here before you?”

MissingNo. turned to look at its troubled student. A grim look seemed to settle upon it. “I’m unsure. But, I feel that I’ll need your help to fully defeat it this time. I barely scraped by last time I faced Amalgam. You mightn’t think you can help me, given your inexperience, but you’re like me. If I stood up to him and scraped by alone, with you at my side we might have the power to defeat him. Are you ready for that?”

Glitch Out paused, then nodded. “Yes.”

MissingNo. smirked as it looked away. It seemed it’d have to prepare its student for that eventuality, but that was the way things needed to be if it was to defeat Amalgam. It would free this world, and nothing would stop it.
> ERROR TEN: Viral Infection Overload! Virus At Peak! Either Delete Now, Or Suffer Forceful Reformatting! Accept. Accept. Accept. Accept.       <REFUSE>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Many days had passed, and MissingNo. had grown quite proud of what Glitch Out had become capable of. Thanks to all the smaller exercises and the bigger tests, Glitch Out’s prowess had soared exponentially. Though, its power was nowhere near what MissingNo. was capable of. This fact was driven home when Glitch Out stumbled upon MissingNo.’s secret training ground. It was a large place that was bigger than any area that Glitch Out had cleansed on its own, but it saw its teacher shape the place back to its former glory quite easily. Glitch Out looked on with envy. This was the power of one that had been with these powers for decades? If that was the case, how was Glitch Out ever supposed to match up and equal MissingNo.? It just seemed unfeasible.

But as Glitch Out was about to leave, it attracted the attention of MissingNo. It turned around, and glanced at its student, and understanding seemed to emanate from its form. “Glitch Out. Do not feel discouraged. We are unique, you and I. if we had more time to practice, you would soon catch up. Yet, we do not have such a luxury. Time is short, so in order to get the rest of your training…” MissingNo. paused and turned to face its student, a calm demeanor emanating from its form. “It is time for a little experiment.” It focused, and flexed its power. It summoned forth whitish blocks from within itself, and began to shape them.

Glitch Out looked on it with concern as it continued to grow ever larger. “MissingNo.? What are you doing…?”

After a bit of silence, MissingNo. looked upon its creation, and nodded as it turned to face its student. “Now. Defeat it, using all that I have taught you. Show me your capabilities!”

The whitish blocks coalesced into a new and strange shape, one that was quite imposing. It stood almost as tall as MissingNo. Itself, and it had various parts of a myriad of creatures all writhing in anger. Glitch Out looked at MissingNo., hoping for some sort of encouragement. Yet, all it saw was a confidence like no other oozing from MissingNo. Deciding to take that as a vote of confidence, Glitch Out took a deep breath as it approached the beast. It opened its eyes, and the battle began.

The beast attacked first, swinging its lobster claw like a massive hammer. Glitch Out sidestepped, and shot off a beam of whitish energy at the beast, wounding it slightly. Glitch Out grew slightly worried. That beam was one of its less forceful attacks, but it had been sufficient to massively damage other Glitches, yet it basically just glanced off of this one. It seemed that MissingNo. really was pulling no punches in this training session. Glitch Out steeled itself, and avoided the swipe of its tiger’s paw just barely as it charged a more powerful attack. Though, it took time, so the beast could manage to attack again- and this time Glitch Out let itself get hit by the scorpion’s tail.

The pain from it was unlike anything that it had suffered before, but it was worth it to supercharge its next attack. Glitch Out unleashed the energy by charging straight at its foe head-on and colliding in an explosion of whitish blocks. When it turned to see, it expected to see that it had defeated its erstwhile enemy, or at the very least severely damaged it. But such was not the case. The beast, for some reason, was only slightly wincing for a brief moment. Glitch Out gulped. The beast had powered through one of its best attacks! This meant that Glitch Out had to fall back to heal lest it get knocked out by carelessness. It dodged the incoming attack from the beast’s dragon tail, and Glitch Out happened to land in the residue of the explosion- and the whitish blocks flowed into it like a flood.

It felt its pain abate as it energy and power surged uncontrollably. Glitch Out had never taken on this much at once, and the temptation to slip back into madness was sorely powerful. It grit its teeth, forcing the power to fall under its command. It took a deep breath, as it wielded this new power to attempt an attack that it had tried before, but failed. It called upon the power, and let it charge as Glitch Out deftly dodged the next attack that came from the beast’s wolf leg. After letting the power charge to a peak, it unleashed it with a shout. “Code: Disassemble!”

It cast forward the power, flying like a large meteor towards the target. The beast tried to avoid, but the meteor path-corrected so a hit was ensured. Before it hit, Glitch Out could almost swear that a smile came up on the beast’s face. The meteor exploded on contact, dismantling the glitch beast piece by piece. When the dust cleared, the beast was gone as MissingNo. Went to absorb the whitish blocks. Once done with that, it turned to face its student, a proud feeling emanating from it. “I knew that you could do it, Glitch Out. I’m proud that, once we defeat Amalgam for good, I’ll be leaving this world in capable hooves.”

Glitch Out looked glum, and voiced its sorrow. "So that’s it? MissingNo., will you... be going back, then? Back home? Or will you travel?"

MissingNo. seemed to shrug. “Perhaps. There might be millions of worlds that need my help. My own no longer does, so there’s not room for me there anymore. You’ll be able to handle the stragglers once Amalgam is gone. I believe in you.”

Glitch Out sighed, shaking its head. “That’s not… I meant, I’ll… miss you when you’re gone…”

MissingNo. seemed to nod. “And I you. But it is for the best.”

As MissingNo. left, Glitch Out let a tear drop. “That is not what I meant… It’s not for the best… not for me.”
> ERROR FINAL: ERROR! ERROR! ERROR! Does Not Compute! Emotion Virus Overwriting Core Programming! ERROR! Error! Errrrrrrroooooorrr..... Re-Installation Successful. Emotion Program Running At Peak Performance. No Errors To Report. <Okay.>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A few days had passed, and MissingNo. and Glitch Out had been called to Canterlot. They appeared in the throne room together, and Glitch Out bowed. “Princess Celestia. Princess Luna. Why is it that you have summoned us here?”

Celestia gave a smile. “MissingNo. I see that your progress with Glitch Out was not exaggerated.” However, her smile soon fell. “Dire news. A cloud of Glitch Energy is gathering over Canterlot. We might have to evacuate the city.”

MissingNo. looked through the window, and a growl of anger came from its form as it spoke in a mor masculine tone than before. “Amalgam. It’s making its move. It’s on the attack now…”

Luna turned her head in confusion. “Amalgam? What is this creature you speak of, MissingNo.? Are we safe?”

Glitch Out stood and gave a nod. “Amalgam was the one that launched the Glitches at you in the first place. How it got here before MissingNo. did is a mystery, but he has assured me that we can defeat it.”

Celestia blinked. “He?” She turned to MissingNo. “You usually refer to yourself in neutrals. What has changed?”

MissingNo. turned to face Celestia. “Memory of what I once was had long been masked by the Glitch Energy that flowed throughout my being. But these days, my emotions are clear, my memory unhidden. Pieces long since thought lost are back with me now.” He gave a chuckle. “It feels good to be complete again.”

Luna looked over towards Glitch Out, who had a strange look on its visage. “Is something wrong? You seem troubled.”

Snapping out of it, Glitch Out shook its head. “It’s nothing, I’m fine.” Its mane seemed to flow a little longer as it looked out to see the storm that was brewing overhead. “MissingNo., are you sure that I am ready to help you with this? I’m still a bit unsure…”

A shake of his form came as he regarded his student. “We have no more room for doubt, my student. We can do this, together.” He looked at Celestia and Luna. “Sound the evacuation. Glitch Out and I will face the Amalgam.”

Celestia nodded, and she and her sister lit their horns. A pulse of magic ran across the city, alerting all of the citizens to leave. Celestia looked at MissingNo. “Finish this. You two are our only chance.”

MissingNo. gave a nod, and he led Glitch Out to the square of the city as the ponies made their way out of Canterlot. MissingNo. looked up at the storm, then to his student. An aura of concern came from him.  “Glitch Out, are you okay? You know that you can tell me anything, right?”

Glitch Out took a breath, its voice fluctuating like mad. “MissingNo…. I think you shouldn’t leave when this is over. It might do ill to me. I don’t know if I can deal with your departure...”

MissingNo. seemed to understand what Glitch Out was trying to get at. “Listen. I cannot stay. I know that you will miss me once I leave, and might doubt if the ponies will heed you. But you must have faith. You will be able to do this.” He turned away, and clutched the feather. “Now, focus.”

Glitch Out was about to object, but MissingNo. would not listen. He changed his form, now Decrypted once more. He called out in a mighty voice. “Amalgam! Come on out, and show yourself!”

The sky itself seemed to laugh as the last of the ponies left the city. “FoOlIsH mIsSiNgNo. YoU cAnNoT sToP mE. YoU tHiNk ThAt BrInGiNg ThE sHaDoW oF yOuR fAlLeN pRoPhEtIc GlOrY wIlL hElP tO sAvE tHiS wOrLd? YoUr ‘StUdEnT’ cAnNoT hElP yOu SaVe AnYtHiNg!”

Glitch Out huffed and pawed a hoof at the ground. “I am stronger now. You may have made the both of us, but together, we can defeat you!”

Amalgam’s form started to form as the cloud boiled down to the city below. It constructed a form unlike any creature that had ever been seen. It had pieces from every animal under the sun, stitched into strange and absurd arrangements that made no logical or biological sense. Faces on the end of claws, feet on the end of tails, fists on the end of legs, and gaping sets of teeth instead of spines on its back. It laughed. “BeHoLd! YoU hAvE aSkEd ThAt I aPpEaR. So HeRe I aM, tO dEsTrOy EvErYtHiNg!”

MissingNo. gave a sigh. "Amalgam, your time has come. Come, Glitch Out! To battle!"

Glitch Out nodded as it charged its best attack. “Ready.”

Amalgam shook with mirth. “Oh. ThIs Is JuSt ToO gOoD. TiMe To ShOw YoU… tHe ExTeNt Of My PoWeR!” It attacked with one of its many strange limbs, causing MissingNo. and Glitch Out to roll aside. When the limb retracted, a swarm of Glitches poured from what looked to be an open wound in reality. Amalgam chuckled. “TrY aS mUcH aS yOu LiKe! YoU cAnNoT sToP tHe ArMiEs Of AmAlGaM!”

MissingNo. Shook his head. “No, that’s where you are wrong.” Pulling out the crystal, MissingNo. Looked over to Glitch Out. “Ready when you are.” The two nodded, and MissingNo. Shouted. “Z-Power, activate!” MissingNo. Glowed with power, and glared at Amalgam. “This is for all the harm that you have caused. Go! Code: Restructure!”

Glitch Out shouted as it fired its magic. “This is for my home. My world! Code: Disassemble!”

The attacks collided, melding into something new. Glitch Out and MissingNo. called out as one. “Now, go! Code: Annihilate!”

Amalgam seemed unconcerned as the wall of letters numbers and other figures approached. It lashed out with a tail, as to knock the attack away. Instead, it hissed in pain as the attack disintegrated the tail, and obliterated the Glitches coming from the wound and sealing it in a single blow. Amalgam howled. “NO! THe FAlLEn PRoPHeT AnD HiS StUDeNT wILl NOt DEsTRoY Me!” It inhaled deeply, and fired a beam of pure Glitch energy from its mouths as to try and push the attack back. However, its efforts proved to be in vain as its beams were falling back quickly. Its anger boiled. “NO. NO. NO! I WILL NOT GO! I AM AMALGAM, DESTRUCTION INCARNATE! I WILL REMAIN!” It opened its palms, firing even more beams to try and combat the attack. When that didn’t seem to help, Amalgam shook as if terrified. “No. NoT LiKe ThIs! I cAnNoT eNd! DIE, DIE, DIIIIIIIIIE!” it gathered energy, and pooled all of its power. It glared with its hundreds of eyes. “GOoDByE. CODE: AMALGAMIZE!”

MissingNo. gasped. “Wait, what?” A blast of Glitch Energy fired from Amalgam’s form, stronger and more powerful than anything that had seen before. It struck their attack with a great force, causing the battle to fall to a standstill as the attacks battled. MissingNo. cursed. “This isn’t good. Neither attack is giving way, but… ours is no longer stronger. It’s a stalemate.” His countenance fell. “There’s nothing for it now.”

Glitch Out took MissingNo.’s face in her more effeminate hooves, voice settled to match. “Not just yet.”

MissingNo. blinked. “Glitch Out? You’re sounding… femine. Are you alright?”

She gave a nod. “I’ve been struggling with myself for a while, just as you have. But now at this point, I feel strong. I know what I’m supposed to do.” She took the form of an alicorn, and let go of MissingNo. “I just wish… we could have been more.”

MissingNo. processed that as Glitch Out approached the clashing attacks. He shook off the surprise, and called out to stop her. “Don’t! It’ll tear you apart! I can’t lose you like this, not with so much unsaid!”

 Tears fell down her face. “I love you. Goodbye.”

But before she could lunge herself in, MissingNo. pulled her close. “I’m not letting you do this.” Then, a strange power swelled between the two as he admitted. “I’ve grown fond of you too. I must admit, I never saw this happening. But now… Together. Alright?”

Glitch Out smiled. “Together.”

They turned to look at Amalgam, the new power burning with searing flame. They called out as one. “To save all that love this world, to stop the call of Destruction! No more will you haunt this plane of reality! CODE: OBLITERATE!”

The new attack fired, pulsing with pink energy. It looked like a simple arrow, and at first this caused Amalgam to scoff. But when it hit the warring attacks, it sucked in their energy into itself, and it flew on. Amalgam shook. “IMPOSSIBLE!” The arrow kept going, absorbing every attack that Amalgam tried using to stop it. Amalgam tried running, but found itself paralyzed because of terror. It shook. “NO! I WILL NOT GOOOOOO!”

The arrow hit its mark, and Amalgam writhed in agony as it started to crumble. “No! I aM... dEsTrUcTiOn... InCaRnAtE…! I cAnNoT… i WiLl NoT… i MuSt NoT… dIe…”

MissingNo. and Glitch Out looked as the Amalgam died, never to return. Once it was gone, Glitch Out looked at MissingNo. “So, about that confession… does this mean that you’ll stay?”

After a long pause, MissingNo. turned to look at her. “I can sense other worlds calling for  aid. We could travel together, you know. I don’t think I’d live with myself if I ignored their pleas.”

This caused Glitch Out to smile. “I knew that you might say that. This world’s healing. There are no other Glitches left behind. It couldn’t hurt to go with you.”

MissingNo. jerked his head towards the castle. “Well, if you’re going with, then we should speak to the princesses first.” He looked down and saw he was still Decrypted. He raised an eyebrow. “Okay, that’s new. It usually wears off after battle.”

Glitch Out grinned. “I think it’s a sign that you’ve finally accepted your past. I think it suits you.”

This got a chuckle out of MissingNo. “I suppose so. Come on. Let’s go.”

Glitch Out followed MissingNo. back to the castle. Once back in the throne room, Celestia greeted them. “You’ve done it! You beat Amalgam. Now, Equestria is at peace.”

Luna spoke up. “MissingNo. Do you still intend to leave? We need to properly thank you.”

MissingNo. held up a talon. “I still will travel…” He looked to Glitch Out with a smile. “But I will not be going alone.”

Perplexed, Celestia rose a question. “You both look different. MissingNo. Is still Decrypted, and… Glitch Out looks like a Princess.” She raised an eyebrow. “What is going on here?”

Glitch Out placed a hoof in MissingNo.’s talon. “We’ve found each other.”

Luna smiled. “So you have. Go, and save the worlds.” The two of them shared a nod, and pooled their power. They opened a portal and went through, and it closed behind them.


THE END