A/N: Hey guys! This is my first ever fanfiction, and I hope you like it!

Sadly, I don't own Wreck-It Ralph or any of the characters mentioned in the story.

The quote 'My candle is a part of me! Get rid of it, and I'm just a head!' is from Chapter 3 of the fanfiction author Bookish Delight's WIR story 'Double-Sided'. I used it because I thought it would work brilliantly in the context. Apart from that, all the writing belongs to me!

Chapter 1: A Whole New World

Candlehead took Vanellope by the hand and led her under the 'START' banner, followed closely by Taffyta. She could feel herself going into 'non-stop chatter mode' and resisted the urge to grin like a moron.

'Hop in here, Vanellope, and I'll show you around!' she exclaimed, vaulting into the Ice Screamer as its engine spluttered to life. 'Oh, wait a second- you already have a kart, don't you? I'd forgotten. Maybe we'll have to get you another one, as it's a bit of a disaster...but then, if you'd like to use yours anyway, then that's fine too. Or you could keep it as a memento, and get a shiny new one for racing and stuff! How does that sound? Well, what are you waiting for? Get in your kart!'

The words bubbled from her mouth at top speed, and she came back to earth to find Vanellope looking like she'd been hit with a sledgehammer. Taffyta rolled her eyes, tossing her lollipop casually over her shoulder.

'Don't mind Miss Motormouth,' she purred. 'She's overdone it on the sugar again. This way, President.'

Vanellope spoke for the first time since Ralph's departure. 'Aw, c'mon, Taff, let her have some fun! Show me the ropes, Hot Head.' With an impish grin and a blue flash, she glitched into her kart. Taffyta looked slightly miffed, but followed suit and leapt into Pink Lightning. Candlehead just stood there, wondering if she'd misheard. The President of Sugar Rush wants me to show her round?

'Yee-haa!' she shrieked, revving up the Ice Screamer. 'Follow me, Vanellope!' The trio hurtled towards the river in a cloud of sugary brown dust.

ooo

'And this...' Candlehead announced, veering sharply round a corner, 'is Licorice Lane, where all the shops are! Check it out!' Vanellope peered curiously over the edge of her kart. Ahead of her lay a wide avenue lined with bizarre buildings of every colour, shape and size. Candy creatures waddled aimlessly around, munching goodies or swinging bags from their tiny arms. Some stopped to wave and cheer as the three karts hurtled by.

Vanellope read the signs as they flashed past: 'Miss Sweetheart's Salon...Ciocolato Café...General Candy Store...Jeez, why do people need all this stuff?'

'You'd be surprised,' Taffyta said absently, twirling a strand of platinum hair round her finger. 'Rancis gets a great deal at Miss Sweetheart's Salon for a quiff and a 50's grease do...'

Candlehead tried and failed to suppress a snort. Rancis Fluggerbutter was notorious throughout the arcade for his vanity, and Gloyd Orangeboar, Sugar Rush's own court jester, took advantage of it to prank him in any way possible. The last time, he'd swapped his Special Formulated Extra-Fine Shampoo for a jar of golden syrup, which had resulted in a screaming yellow goblin wreaking devastation across the land for days afterwards. Only the underground candy-kart-wash had been able to clean Rancis up, and he hadn't spoken to Gloyd ever since.

Candlehead surfaced from the memories and caught Vanellope staring at her, her head tilted to one side. 'What?' she asked, a little too quickly.

'Oh, nothing really...' Vanellope mumbled, her gaze flicking downwards to the floor. 'It's just- I didn't know how much I'd missed for the past fifteen years, y'know? I didn't even know this place existed.' Candlehead recoiled, feeling guilt rise up in her stomach.

'Well- I didn't even know you really, for the most part...' she stuttered, trying to patch things up. 'I mean, I knew who you were, but I thought you were some kind of monster, trying to destroy the game...I'd had it programmed into my code, I guess, by King- Turbo, I mean- and, um, that's why, er, I, kind of, well...' She felt her cheeks flush scarlet and cringed inwardly. Well done, kiddo. Make the president hate you on the first day.

Vanellope blinked, then cracked a grin. 'Aw, forget it. It's all in the past! Let's catch up Little Miss Muffet before she leaves us eating her dust.' She gestured to the rapidly disappearing pink blob on the horizon. 'And then...you gonna show me round these weird little shops, or what?'

Candlehead shifted the joystick on her kart, a giggle of joy bubbling up in her throat.

ooo

Twenty minutes later, they were sitting outside on the sun-baked patio of the Ciocolato Café. Taffyta and Vanellope were slurping large ice creams, but Candlehead had ordered a hot chocolate with marshmallows. Even on this warm summer's day, it was best not to eat anything that might put out her candle.

'So, my loyal subjects...where next?' demanded Vanellope, crunching down pensively on her cone. Taffyta had managed to talk her into buying some new outfits from the Bonbon Boutique, and two elegant little bags dangled from each arm.

'Well, President,' drawled Taffyta, exchanging a wink with Candlehead, 'I think we'd better show you round your own home first, before you start getting any fancy ideas.' Vanellope sputtered indignantly, but then went quiet for a moment, her jaw dropping . 'You mean...the Peppermint Palace? That's where I live now?' she asked, unable to disguise the excitement in her voice. 'Like, it's... my home? I live in the castle? WOW!'

Taffyta grinned from ear to ear. 'Well, what did you expect, Van? You can't live in one of your-' She caught herself just in time, remembering all the times she had made it her personal mission to destroy Vanellope's little hidey-holes. '- in, er, one of the other houses,' she finished lamely, avoiding the president's gaze.

The trio hopped into their karts and drove over to the castle, its rickety waffle bridge trembling as they hurtled across. Vanellope peered curiously over the side of her kart, eager to get a glimpse of their next destination. Upon a majestic, sugar-dusted dome, surrounded by mounds and spirals of ice cream, stood-

'My castle,' breathed Vanellope, unable to tear her eyes away. 'Sweet mother of monkey milk, it's mine, all mine! Look at that taffy moat! Look at those turrets! Guys, seriously, just check out my pad! It's all...' She trailed off uncertainly and blinked at Taffyta, who was coming up on her right side. 'It is mine, right?'

Taffyta smirked. 'Yes, Your Glitchiness, it's all yours. Don't worry about it- by now, it'll all be back to how it was before.'

The karts came to a halt at the foot of the palace. There were faintly audible chants of 'O-re-o, oreee-o...' from inside the walls. Sure enough, two of the guards came waddling up to the gates, which clicked open immediately. Taffyta, Candlehead and Vanellope stepped into the entrance hall of the castle, the latter gazing in wonder at the arched windows, twirled pillars, and elaborate chandeliers. She ran her finger across the wall, licked it, and turned to the other two.

'Bit...pink, y'know what I mean?' she pronounced. Candlehead nodded obligingly. The president cracked a grin, then shouted with all the force of her small lungs, 'OI! SOUR BILL!'

There was no answer. 'Where's a grumpy green henchman when you need one?' Vanellope muttered, sucking in her breath to yell again. The gumball in question shuffled out reluctantly from behind a pillar. 'Ye-ees, President?' he droned, staring mistrustfully up at her from under drooping eyelids.

'OK, Billy-boy!' Vanellope said gleefully, clapping her hands. 'It's time for a revamp! Mint and chocolate frosting on the walls, and just a bit of pink for variety. Turbo was absolutely clueless when it came to interior design,' she murmured vaguely, indicating the great expanse of salmon behind her. 'Get some of the servants to help you- you're too small to do it all on your ownsome. I presume I do have servants now?' Sour Bill nodded mutely. 'Off you go, then! Oh, and show me a place where these lovely ladies and I can have a chat,' she added, twirling around to grin at Taffyta and Candlehead. 'You two can get me up to speed on what I've missed for the past ten years.'

ooo

'Number thirty-two...' Taffyta said thoughtfully, counting on her four fingers, '...don't ever insult Crumbelina's cooking- she's way too sensitive to criticism. Oh, and the palette swaps all think they're completely individual characters, even though we know they're basically just copies.'

'So if Nougetsia comes up to you going, 'Adorabeezle so doesn't have this freckle on her nose, does she?' you have to humour her, 'cause otherwise she'll throw a strop,' Candlehead piped up.

Sour Bill had shown them up to Vanellope's new bedroom, which was entirely furnished in mint green, complete with a massive candy-cane balcony. All three were lazing around on the soft marshmallow bed, watching the sun descend in the sky. Vanellope pushed herself up on one elbow, grinning from ear to ear.

'Well, I think you've answered all my questions for today, thank you!' she said grandly. 'Except one, that I've wanted to know forever. Candlehead, why on earth do you care so much about that kooky candle?'

Candlehead's hand went automatically to her head, and she was relieved to feel the protective warmth that meant her flame was still burning. 'Why do you think?' she spluttered. 'My candle is a part of me! Like an ear or a nose, just way more important! Without it, I'd be...I'd be...' She paused, searching for a word bad enough to describe her imaginary future predicament. 'I'd just be a head!' she declared triumphantly. Vanellope and Taffyta exchanged a glance, then burst out laughing.

'Candlehead, seriously...' Taffyta said teasingly, giving her a shove. 'Sometimes I wonder if that candle hasn't frazzled the few brains you have in there.' They lay back down on the bed, watching the candyfloss clouds meander by. There was a long, slightly awkward silence, but suddenly Taffyta cleared her throat again.

'Vanellope...well, I guess I ought to tell you I'm sorry that I, er, um...'

'That you persecuted me non-stop for the past decade?' Vanellope said dryly, a sudden icy tone to her voice. Candlehead's gaze switched frantically back and forth between them. Taffyta bit her lip, and the president's gaze softened.

'Aw, Taff,' she mumbled. 'I didn't mean it, and I know it wasn't your fault. It's just...it might take a bit of getting used to, OK? That...that people I used to avoid at all costs were supposed to be my friends all along. I'm not really mad.'

Taffyta's eyes were huge and beseeching. 'Van, I- I get it. But the way I treated you, it wasn't just 'cause you were a glitch, y'know? I actually thought you were some kind of virus, trying to get our game unplugged. But I understand if you just need a bit of space at the moment. C'mon, Candle. Let's leave Vanellope in peace.' She turned towards the door.

'Taffyta- Vanellope-' Candlehead said desperately, trying to find the right words. 'We don't need to go, really, do we? Vanellope knows we're sorry. She's just a bit upset, right? And...and...I think she needs us to...to be her friends. To cheer her up.' She gulped. 'We can't just leave you here, Vanellope. You know we'll never abandon you again, right? No matter which evil weirdo next comes along to mess things up.'

For one long, awful moment, nobody said anything. Then, before Candlehead could process what was happening, she found herself enveloped in two pairs of arms in some kind of crazy group hug. Eventually they drew apart, flopping back onto the bed.

'You know, Candlehead,' Vanellope said, smiling weakly, 'For someone who's kind of dumb, you're actually pretty clever.' Candlehead grinned, deciding to take that as a compliment. Taffyta shook her head and laughed, holding out her hand to Vanellope.

'Candlehead's right. We'll never give up on you again, Vanellope. I promise.'

They fist-bumped each other, all three at once.

A/N: So there we go! Read, review, all that jazz. I would like at least 3 reviews before I post the next chapter, which should be done in about a week.

Please review, even if you hate it! Any feedback is great! It will only take a minute of your time and it will make my day :)