Twilight walked up to the VG-9000, plugging the Qwark vid-comic into the system. "You're the best at platform games, Daddy," she pointed out. "You'd better play."

"Do you really think this will work?" Clank asked. "Do you really think a vid-comic will restore Qwark's memory?"

"Short of finding a spell for it, it's the best bet we have," Twilight explained.

"Don't worry so much, guys," Ratchet said as he took the controller. "Let me show you how it's done."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yypJCrfX_98&list=PLuuI-DsrmXjmbWwEwH-q3dp6bq6Ual4sV&index=10

The trio listened to the intro sequence, and they couldn't help but comment as it went.

"How much of this do you think is really going to be 'real-life'?" Ratchet asked.

"Hopefully enough to jog his memory," Twilight commented dryly.

"We'll find out soon enough," Clank added.

As it went on, Ratchet cracked up. "A magic 8 ball?" he asked, shocked. "Whatever happened to journalistic integrity?"

"Just how magic was the 8 ball?" Twilight asked eagerly.

"Not at all," Clank explained. "They are toys based on physics and probability."

Twilight pouted...but then blinked. "Robotic pirate ghosts? How does that even work?"

"I know," Ratchet agreed. "Unbelieva-"

"I mean, it's theoretically possible to bind an ectoplasmic entity to a physical body, and a robotic one could be crafted specifically to house a given spirit, but the energy requirements to keep the ectoplasm contained without dissolving the shell is prohibitive! How did a pirate captain accomplish it? Especially for an entire crew?"

Ratchet and Clank turned to stare at her, their jaws slack.

"Umm...the gameplay portion's starting," she pointed out.

"Right!" Ratchet said quickly, turning back to the game.

"You...scare me sometimes, Twilight," Clank mentioned.

"Only sometimes?" Twilight asked, smiling with her tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth, eyes closed for greatest adorability.

"Indeed," Clank agreed. "The rest of the time, you're too cute to be scary."

Twilight giggled.

At Ratchet's request, Clank and Twilight stayed silent while he attempted to play. Admittedly, it had been a while since he'd played a Gamestation, and he'd never actually played on a 9000, or with this controller. As a result, he had some difficulty.

After some time, however, he reached the end and got the results screen. "You're out of practice," Twilight commented. "You didn't even get 100% completion, let alone a record time."

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up," Ratchet chided. "I suppose you could do better?"

"I'll try on the next one," Twilight replied happily. "There's supposed to be four in this game series."

They then watched the ending segment together.

"Just how many people in the galaxy are named Qwark?" Ratchet asked in disgust as they watched.

"Well, maybe he got better over time?" Twilight suggested nervously. While she couldn't refuse the evidence presented, she found herself wanting to believe the best of Qwark, for some reason.

At that moment, Qwark could be heard talking. "Well," he said, looking in a mirror the monkey on his shoulder was holding up, "who's that handsome devil!"

"Qwark!" Twilight said happily. "It worked! You've got your memory back!"

"Twilight?" Qwark said in surprise, quickly sinking to his knees to be closer to her level. "You're alright? After...after what I did to you, I never got a straight answer from Megacorp about your recovery..."

Twilight smiled. "Yes, I made a full recovery. I...I was a little upset you never came to see me."

Qwark hung his head. "I...I couldn't face you," he admitted. "After everything I'd done to you...first in Solana, and then in Bogon...I couldn't face you. I...I knew Ratchet would take good care of you. I...doubt if you'll ever be able to forgive me...I know I can't forgive myself. When I saw what I did to you...the monster I created from inside you..."

Twilight didn't know why, but she suddenly felt as though she were surrounded by butterflies, their tiny wings brushing her coat. Reaching out, she rested her hoof on his hand. "I do forgive you, Qwark," she said softly.

"You do?" Qwark asked in shock.

"You do?" Ratchet and Clank added together, no less shocked.

"Yes," Twilight replied. "You made many mistakes, with drastic consequences...but...I think I understand, a little bit, why it happened. And...all things considered, I don't think I can blame you. And since you are genuinely sorry - and I can tell you are - how can I not forgive you?"

Qwark sniffled, holding back tears. "Thank you, Twilight. You...you're a better hero than I ever was." He glanced around. "So, uh...why am I behind bars?"

Twilight giggled. "When we found you, you thought you were a monkey."

"Oh, yes. That." Qwark scratched the back of his head. "So, why did you come looking for me?"

"Because we need your help," Twilight began. "You see-"

"I'll brief him, Twilight," Sasha said, coming in. "While he's hearing his new mission and getting back in condition, I need you three to complete another job."

Qwark smiled. "A new threat to the galaxy? And this one we'll face together!" He reached out his closed fist to Twilight. "Like we should have done with Drek."

Smiling, Twilight returned the hoofbump. "See you when we get back!" she replied.

Sasha nodded. "There's a battle arena called Annihilation Nation. A recent prize they're offering for challengers is a Tyhrraguise, which apparently can let anyone disguise themselves as a Tyhrranoid. I need you three to win it, so we can determine if we can use it for future infiltration missions."

"It's based off the old Gadgetron Hologuise, which disguised people as robots," Twilight pointed out. "Making it a prize in the competition is an advertising promotion. It should work."

"In that case, we'll need it," Ratchet pointed out. "We're on our way!"