Vanellope hadn't had a petitioner since she'd been a princess. Usually, it was Sour Bill who spoke to the citizens of her game and told her about any issues, as well as telling her how she might solve these issues. Today, though, a racer appeared in the throne room. Their attire was dusty from the tracks, and Vanellope sorely missed the feeling of being coated in cocoa dust.

"President von Schweetz," said the racer, removing their helmet. Vanellope vaguely recognised the racer, though she couldn't quite recall their name.

"Yes?" said Vanellope. She'd just sat in this throne for a rest.

"The gamers are beginning to wonder why you haven't been on the Random Roster for a while," said the girl. "Today, one of us heard a player mention that they might have to tell Litwak."

"That's not good," said Vanellope, feeling her stomach give a lurch that had nothing to do with her pregnancy. If she lost her game, what would that mean for her child?

"No, it isn't," said the girl. "Do you know what to do?"

"I'll consult Sour Bill about it," said Vanellope. "Thank you for telling me."

"You're welcome," said the girl, and gave a bow before she put her helmet back on and left the castle.

"Sour Bill," Vanellope called, getting off her throne. In hindsight, she really should've seen this problem coming. Of course the players would have started to wonder why their favourite character wasn't on the Random Roster.

"Yes, president?" Sour Bill droned. Vanellope couldn't stand still, she had to pace, shaking.

"The players are starting to wonder where I am," said Vanellope. "But I can't race! I can't even fit in my kart. What am I gonna do?" She turned to face him, running her fingers through her hair with tears in her eyes.

"You could copy a decoy," said Sour Bill. "I don't know why we didn't think of this to start with."

"It's okay, we were all worried about me dating Ralph and then me getting pregnant on top of that," said Vanellope. "But how do we make a copy?"

"In the code room," said Sour Bill. "Come on, I'll show you."

"Has anyone made a copy before?" asked Vanellope.

"No," said Sour Bill. "Nobody has ever had a reason to, everyone who matters to the game cares more about racing than anything else."

"Yeah, and nobody else has ever been in my position," said Vanellope, rubbing a hand over her belly. "Now, c'mon, let's go. I need to make a decoy."

"It may be a little strange," Sour Bill warned. "But because it uses your source coding, it will essentially be you but with your default personality."

"Ugh, so a little princess," said Vanellope.

Vanellope opened the code room, and Sour Bill floated in alongside her after tying the red vines to an anchor in the hallway outside. He couldn't stand by and hold her, not when he needed to show her how to make a copy. Vanellope tapped a few of the icons that Sour Bill told her to tap, and then waited while the game loaded. She felt herself freeze slightly, and then her stomach twisted and it was all she could do to not vomit. Having it float through this space would not be very pleasant.

"Copy complete," a male voice chimed, and Vanellope looked around for the source of the voice.

"It's the voice of the game," said Sour Bill. "Like when you made your kart."

"Oh yeah," Vanellope remembered. "Now, where do I find this decoy?"

"Over here," said Sour Bill. He floated out of the code room, Vanellope following him, and closed the code room door once they were out. Vanellope watched him, and then she saw a movement on the floor and had to do a double-take. It was her, only… not her. What she'd once looked like, in her princess dress and her hair styled up in a bun.

"Loading completed," said the smaller Vanellope, sitting up and opening her eyes. She looked around. "Where am I? Who are you? I recognise you, Sour Bill, but… who is this other character?"

"Um," said Vanellope. She stared at the smaller Vanellope for several more seconds, then decided to tactically retreat. All the way over to Ralph's game.

"Hey," said Ralph when she almost ran into him. "What's the hurry?"

"I made a copy of myself," said Vanellope. "So now I don't have to worry about my game."

"Is that wise?" asked Ralph.

"Probably not but I'd rather avoid my copy," said Vanellope.

"What, is she evil?" asked Ralph, a look of concern crossing his features.

"No, no, she's great. She's what I was like when the game was first plugged in," said Vanellope. "A little sugar plum princess."

"So the opposite of you, then," said Ralph. Vanellope laughed, elbowing him.

"Exactly," said Vanellope. "So I don't know why, but she scared the sprinkles outta me."

"I imagine that meeting yourself would be unsettling," said Ralph.

"You have no idea," said Vanellope with a shudder.

"Well, think of this as a good thing," said Ralph, taking Vanellope into his arms. "You're free from all of your duties now, so you can do whatever you want." Vanellope giggled at the way he said 'duties', then kissed him.

"Actually, no she can't," said the droning voice of Sour Bill. Vanellope groaned and looked down at him. "Your copy is only taking over your racing duties, president. You still have to do all of the administrative work."

"Ugh, but that's so boring," said Vanellope.

"It has to be done," said Sour Bill.

"But I've been doing it all day," said Vanellope.

"Yes, so you have the rest of the day free," said Sour Bill. "What would you like to do? I know your friend Taffyta has been planning a shopping expedition with you."

"Hmm," Vanellope hummed thoughtfully. "Stay in with my Ralphie-boy, or go shopping? Such a difficult decision."

"I'll let her know what you've decided," said Sour Bill, and turned to leave. "You may stay here the night, but be back when the arcade opens tomorrow."

"Boo," Vanellope called after him, but he didn't appear to care. Smiling, Vanellope turned back to Ralph and snuggled closer into his embrace.

"Let's go back to my place," said Ralph. "We can relax with a DVD."

"That sounds like a wonderful idea," said Vanellope.

And it really was wonderful. Vanellope snuggled up next to Ralph on the couch, watching the movie through half-lidded eyes while shovelling dry, sugary cereal into her mouth. The room was in darkness except for the flickering screen of the television, and Vanellope was just about to rest her head on Ralph's stomach and fall asleep.

Then, the door burst open. Vanellope startled to full alertness, dropping the bowl of cereal on the floor, and not just because Ralph had suddenly jumped to his feet.

"Thought I'd find you here," said Taffyta. "C'mon, Vanellope, we're going shopping."

"For what?" asked Vanellope.

"Maternity clothes, duh," said Taffyta. "That outfit isn't going to last you through your pregnancy." Vanellope looked down to where her stomach protruded from beneath her hoodie.

"You may have a point," said Vanellope.

"And for other things," said Taffyta, a glint of excitement in her eyes. It took Vanellope a moment to figure out what Taffyta meant, but then it dawned on her and she grinned.

"Oh yeah! I'll just freshen up, then," said Vanellope.

One quick trip to the bathroom later, Taffyta and Vanellope walked out into the eternal twilight of Fix it Felix Jr. The air wasn't entirely fresh, but Vanellope had to admit that it was still a step up from the air inside Ralph's home.

"So, Sour Bill said you made a decoy," said Taffyta.

"Yeah," said Vanellope. "Have you met her?"

"Yes, luckily after Sour Bill explained it to me," said Taffyta. "Gosh, I can just imagine how confusing it would've been otherwise. But don't worry, I'll let everyone else know."

"Thanks," said Vanellope. "I probably should've done that."

"It's okay," said Taffyta. "I'm sure it must've been pretty weird, seeing your younger self like that."

"Especially when I can't remember being that young," said Vanellope.

"Well, maybe she can fill you in," said Taffyta.

"Hey yeah, you're right," said Vanellope, slowly starting to grin. But then the grin faded. "But how do I explain it to her? I can't say that she's me, or that I'm her only older."

"Well, once you figure it out, let me know," said Taffyta, grinning up at her. "So that I know how to do these things when I can grow up and get married and have a baby." Her eyes gleamed with excitement.

"Yeah yeah, you and your big dreams," said Vanellope with a chuckle.

"I'm learning so much from you," said Taffyta. "But you can also learn a lot from me."

"Exhibit A," said Vanellope as Taffyta dragged her to a clothing store in E-Z Living. She frowned as she caught sight of the dresses inside. "Taff, this is a bridal shop."

"Exactly," said Taffyta with a wink.

"Shouldn't this wait until, oh I dunno, Ralph proposes?" said Vanellope.

"Oh, fine," said Taffyta with a scoff. "C'mon, then. I know there's a good maternity store around here somewhere."

"Most of those dresses look like they're for fat people," said Vanellope distastefully once they were in the store. She picked up a pair of tracksuit pants and stretched them out. "Look at this." She laughed, and Taffyta giggled with her.

"Well, I hate to break it to you, sweetheart, but that baby is going to make your belly huge," said Taffyta, still giggling.

"Ah well, I never cared much about my appearance anyway," said Vanellope. "No great loss."

"How about this?" Taffyta suggested, holding up a pink dress. Vanellope gagged.

"My princess dress was bad enough," said Vanellope. "No pink."

"Alright, alright," said Taffyta, putting it away with a smile.

While the two girls shopped, Ralph lurked outside a jewellery store with another small game character.

"So, what ring do you think she'd like?" asked Ralph.

"I don't know, you're her boyfriend," said Rancis. "You know what she likes."

"Well, they don't have any peppermint rings," said Ralph. "I got her a nice necklace from Sonic's game before. But I feel like a candy ring would be more fitting for her."

"You could've said that before we trekked all the way out here," said Rancis with a groan. "I know it's not much distance for your huge steps, but I have little legs."

"Yeah, I noticed," said Ralph. "Never had to walk so slow before. If you'd accept a shoulder ride like Vanellope…"

"On your stinky shoulders? Ew, no thanks," said Rancis.

"Ugh, fine, we'll go back to your game," said Ralph. "I just hope these girls shop for as long as you think they will."

"If I know my girlfriend, they'll have to be asked to leave because the store is closing for the day," said Rancis.

Deep in the sugar crystal jungle, at the end of a path (cleared by one large body walking through vines, ferns, and bushes), stood one of the best-kept secrets of the game- a sugar crystal flower.

"Hardly anyone can get here," said Rancis.

"Well, that's not hard when everyone is pint-sized," said Ralph. He had to admit, the flower looked delicious- the brightly-coloured petals glittered with sugar crystals, as did the stem. It was sat nestled in some dark green leaves that smelled of mint, and Ralph just knew that the soil was composed of the richest chocolate. Gummy worms wriggled around in the chocolate mud.

"I guess you're right," said Rancis. "Anyway, the crystal you're looking for grows deep within the flower. But!" Ralph had raised his fists, but stopped when Rancis yelled. "It needs to be removed with a more gentle touch."

"Of course it wouldn't be easy," said Ralph.

"But it's worth it for her, isn't it?" asked Rancis.

"Yeah," said Ralph with a smile. "So what do I do?"

"Peel away the leaves and petals," said Rancis. "I might need to help you dig it out, though."

"Alright," said Ralph. He wasn't good at doing things delicately, but this was for Vanellope. He had to try. Pursing his lips, Ralph carefully pulled away the leaves and petals as Rancis had instructed.

"Now take the top off," said Rancis. Ralph did this gently too.

"I can see it," said Ralph, peering down the stem at the glittering crystal held within.

"Here, let me," said Rancis. "You'll need my little fingers to reach in and grab the crystal."

"Alright," said Ralph. He watched as Rancis reached into the flower's stem, and had to grin as the glittering crystal was pulled out into the light.

"Set that in a licorice ring and it'll be perfect," said Rancis.

"Thanks for the help," said Ralph, getting to his feet and dusting off his hands and knees. Chocolate was a nightmare to wash out. But at least he had the gem. Now he just needed a ring and the right setting to propose.