//------------------------------// // 33: Endgame pt. 1 // Story: Code Lyoko: EG // by Azure Sandora //------------------------------// Theme Song: A World Without Danger 33: Endgame pt. 1 When Trixie came to, she saw that she was back in her room. She was a little sore, but nothing too serious. She looked out her window and saw that it was morning now. Did she dream everything that happened last night? No… she remembered it all so vividly. Twilight was in danger, and those things were… “Twilight!” Trixie cried shooting out of bed. Before she could even think of whether or not what happened was real, she heard her cellphone ring, “Hello?” “Oh good, Snips and I were worried, Great and Lovely Trixie,” Snails said from the other end. “Worried…? Why?” Trixie asked. “We found you lying in the hallway unconscious,” Snails said, “We didn't know what else to do, so we just took you back to your room. Was that okay?” “Yes! Yes, you uh… you were wonderful,” Trixie said, realizing that she really didn't give those two enough credit, “T-thanks…” “Hey, what are friends for, right?” Snails said, surprising Trixie. She knew that they were her biggest fans, and that both of them had a monster crush on her, but they considered her their friend? Thinking about some of the things she might have said or thought about them made Trixie feel like a real bitch all of a sudden. “Snails, I…” she then realized something. Snails said that he and Snips found her outside unconscious. That meant last night wasn't a dream. It was real. Twilight was in danger! “Oh my God…” Trixie said to herself, trembling a bit. “Great and Lovely Trixie? Are you okay?” Snails asked. “Trixie has to go right now!” Trixie said, “Um… tell Snips I said thanks. I really really owe you guys.” She hung up and ran out of the room to the school gate. It was a good thing today was a weekend, because she needed to investigate something. She needed to know what was at the factory. It took a minute for her to find the place, as it was in a part of town she rarely ever visited. Still, she eventually found the abandoned building. Trixie slowly walked on the bridge, wondering what was so special about this place. She had heard that ten years ago there was an accident here. Did that have something to do with Twilight? No. Twilight would have been only 4 around that time. When she got inside she saw the elevator working going up. She quickly hid as Aria and Sonata stepped out. “Everything is about ready,” Aria said. “All that's left is to get the source codes,” Sonata added, as if finishing Aria's thought, “Pretty soon, both Lyoko and the real world will belong to us.” As they left, Trixie stepped out from her hiding spot and watched them. She remembered they were after Twilight yesterday. Were they connected to this “XANA” Twilight kept talking about? Trixie took the stairs down to the elevator. It seemed like it still worked. She slowly went inside and pushed the down button. When she saw the state of it, she half expected it to actually be broken, but sure enough the elevator closed and went to the floor below. Trixie backed up against the wall, afraid of how rickety the elevator was. When it stopped and opened though, Trixie was amazed by what she saw. The room looked so much newer than any other part of the factory. In the center was a large hologram, and hooked to said hologram was a really complex and powerful computer. “Twilight… is this… yours…?” Trixie asked walking around the room. As terrified as she was, Trixie had to admit that she was somewhat intrigued by it. She didn't tell people this a lot, but she did like computers. Her saying that she was a genius wasn't just for show. Truth was, her IQ was around 178. That was the one thing she didn't brag about. She sat down at the computer, where she found what looked like an instruction manual poking out of a partially open drawer. It looked like it had recently been opened. “Were those two reading this?” Trixie asked. She pulled out the book and opened it. Following the instructions, she actually figured out how to turn the screen on. She was surprised. While it was complicated, she could figure out how to work this pretty easily. “Scanners? Connect to the computer for added protection?” Trixie shrugged, realizing that doing that sounded like a pretty good idea. Hey, what was wrong with more protection, right? It took a few minutes to figure out how to get them to work, but after a while she managed to get the scanner turned on. “Now, according to this…” Trixie said looking back at the instruction manual, “Once I enter the scanner, it will automatically scan my information, and save it into the computer. Is this supposed to… take Trixie somewhere…?” She finished setting up the scanner, and then skipped to the elevator, taking it down. She knew that she was probably not supposed to be here, but she couldn't pass this up. It was rare for her to get to be herself. Besides, she needed to know what Twilight was doing. Trixie arrived in a bright room, all four scanners opened as if waiting for someone. Trixie hesitated for a second, but then slowly stepped inside, worried when the scanner she was in closed behind her. “Hey! HEY!” Trixie screamed, pounding on the door, “Trixie didn't think the door would close! Help!” she stepped back as bright lights started flashing around her, and she felt her body being lifted up. Back outside on the computer, an avatar shaped sort of like a witch was created and rendered. Inside of the scanner, there was a white flash. Trixie screamed as she felt herself pulled through a tunnel. After a few seconds, she appeared outside it seemed, and she felt her body put itself back together. Once she fully rendered, she dropped down, resuming her screaming session from before. All the way until she landed… flat on her butt. “Ow…” Trixie fussed nursing her backside. She looked around wide eyed. She was now in what looked like a desert. Everything looked weird though. It looked CGI, like she was in a video game of some sort. She stood up, immediately realizing that her attire had completely changed. She was now wearing a dark blue leotard like a playboy bunny, black sheer stockings, and dark blue high heels. Around her neck she had a long purple cape hooked with a magic wand shaped emblem, and on her head was a large witch's hat. “What in the world…?” Trixie asked looking around, “Not that Trixie doesn't like it, but this is a lot sexier than what she usually wears.” She noticed that next to her was a long staff with a red orb at the end. Did that belong to her? Was she some sort of mage? Realizing that she A) needed to find her way back home, but B) needed to learn more about Twilight, she pressed onward, her cape bellowing behind her as she sauntered ahead. After the time they had last night, Sunset and Adagio felt more invigorated than ever, so they had no problem getting back to work on the anti-XANA program. It was hard, as they didn't have Twilight there to supervise, but Sunset had an idea on how to go about it. “So… XANA is a multi-agent program, right?” Sunset asked Adagio. “Mm hm,” Adagio nodded, pacing back and forth in their room. “I was thinking, what sort of program would be needed to take out something like that? Wouldn't it have to be multi-agent as well?” “It would,” Adagio said, “We'd need something that could reach out and destroy everything that has XANA's IP address.” “Exactly,” Sunset said, “Which is why I think this is going to work.” “What do you have planned?” Adagio asked, now leaning over the computer next to Sunset. “We know that the source codes are needed, and they enhanced everyone's Lyoko forms. What if we're making this more complex than it needs to be? What if instead of figuring out how to implement it as a separate program by itself…” “We turn it into the same thing as the Lyoko source codes…” Adagio finished, “Wouldn't that alter Twilight's form?” “Probably,” Sunset said, “It would definitely give her the same advantage as the others. The only issue is how to use it. Can we just launch it into the air in Lyoko?” “Mm… I doubt it,” Adagio said shaking her head, “We'd have to hit something of XANA. Like an actual piece of him.” “An actual piece… huh?” Sunset asked looking up at Adagio. “It couldn't be just one of his monsters though,” Adagio continued, “It would have to be something directly connected to his network.” “Something like… the scyphozoa maybe?” Sunset asked. “It's the only thing I can think of,” Adagio said, “Anything else is just controlled by XANA, but its not directly connected to him.” “Okay then,” Sunset said typing furiously on the computer, “I think I know what to do now. Give me just a few minutes, okay?” Back in Lyoko, Trixie stopped and hid behind a rock as she saw two krabs patrolling. It looked like they were searching for something or someone. She looked at the krabs closely, and saw a familiar symbol on their heads. It was the same weird eye looking thing Trixie saw on the thing that was chasing Twilight. “That must be XANA,” Trixie said, “They look busy, I should probably go the other way then.” She slowly turned around, but screamed in shock when she saw a hornet hovering behind her. It shot her in the stomach, knocking her out of her hiding spot. Trixie: 70 HP Trixie slowly forced herself up, noticing the two krabs behind her. She screamed and ran away as fast she could as the monster chased after her. “Why are you chasing Trixie?!” Trixie cried, screaming and ducking under the laser shots, “She just wants to know about Twilight!” on instinct she pointed her staff out at the monsters behind her. The wand charged up energy, and then fired a purple ball at the hornet. It was stunned by the attack, and then fell to the ground exploding. Trixie stopped and turned to the monsters once she realized what she did. “This thing… is a weapon…?” Trixie asked looking at the staff. She then held it ready glaring at the monsters. Trixie VS Krab x2 The two krabs charged up their lasers and fired at Trixie, who used her staff to create a barrier. She then held her hand on the barrier pushing it forward, hitting one of the krabs and knocking it back. “Huh, so this thing can use a number of spells then,” Trixie said, “But I can't seem to kill them yet. Unless…” she looked at the eye symbol again and smirked. Trixie jumped away from one of the krabs attacks landing on a higher platform. “Presenting the now renamed Great and Powerful Trixie!” Trixie proclaimed, “Please hold your applause until the end of the show, as I will now make my two assistants disappear!” She pointed her staff at the krabs, this time shooting her orbs point blank at the eye symbols. Just as she thought, the monsters exploded instantly. “So the eye is a weakness,” Trixie said, unaware of the manta hovering behind her, “That's good to know. But I still can't find the-” she was cut off as the manta hit her in the back, knocking her off her ledge. Trixie: 30 HP “Not fair…” Trixie pouted, “You could have at least said something first. Attacking from behind is cheap.” Trixie turned around and saw three mantas now flying behind her. Realizing that these were probably stronger than the other monsters, Trixie ran for her life. She saw a tower looking structure ahead. Was that a safe zone of something? Was it an exit? Either way, it was better than getting shot at. Sadly, she never reached the tower, as one of the mantas fired her in the back again, knocking her to the ground and causing her body to break apart. Trixie: 0 HP Trixie's entire world went white, and at first she panicked thinking that she had died. However, the white opened up, revealing itself to be the door of the scanner. Was she still inside that machine the whole time? Was none of that real? No, it was real. She felt everything like it was actually happening. Trixie fell to her knees in the scanner taking deep breaths to calm herself down. Now she really knew that Twilight was in danger. Should she tell the authorities about this? No, that wasn't a good idea. If Twilight thought they'd help, she'd have told them herself. It looked like some of the school faculty knew about this, at least the Principal and Vice-Principal did. But who else knew? Did all of Twilight's group of misfits know? Was this why they were always together? “Trixie needs to get out of here,” Trixie said scampering to her feet and running out of the scanner room. She needed to see Twilight and ask her about this. What was that other world? What was this computer? And more importantly… What was XANA? “Annnd done!” Sunset said. “It's finished?” Adagio asked running to Sunset's side. “Yep yep! Everything we need to destroy XANA is right in this flash drive,” Sunset said holding out a red and orange flash drive. Adagio lit up and wrapped her arms around Sunset. “We did it! We actually did it!” she cheered. “Damn right we did!” Sunset said, turning around and returning the embrace, “Thank you so much Adagio! I couldn't have done this without you!” “All I did was act as a consultant,” Adagio said, “You did the real work. Why don't you let me take over from here? You deserve a good rest.” “Ahh… you know what? I think I wanna give this right to Twilight. Gotta let her know the good news, right?” “Oh, I can take that to Twilight,” Adagio said, “She's on the way to where I'm meeting my sisters anyway.” “You know I appreciate it, but I wanted to go see Twilight anyway,” Sunset pressed, “It's no big deal, Adagio. I'm just going to go and-” she tried to rise out of her seat, but Adagio pushed her back down. “You need to rest, Sunset Shimmer,” Adagio said, “Give me the flash drive, and let me take it to Twilight.” “I can't do that, Adagio Dazzle,” Sunset said, looking right at Adagio. “Why not? You act like you don't trust me,” Adagio said leaning in close to Sunset and kissing her tenderly on the lips. “You're right,” Sunset said returning the kiss, “I don't trust you, XANA.” Adagio's eyes went wide. She then smirked at Sunset, giving her the same sinister smile that XANA always gave inside Twilight's body. “You knew all along, didn't you Sunset Shimmer?” Adagio asked. “Anyone who's seen you would know immediately,” Sunset said smirking, “I remember when you took over Twilight's body, you had the same sexual mannerisms you do now. Also, I spoke to a few of the Architects in my spare time, and asked them what sort of person you were. It was Chaos who told me that you have an overtly sexual nature, and you prefer female forms, which tells me that you identify yourself as female, right XANA?” “Truth is, I don't have a single gender like you limited humans do,” Adagio said, “But, I do prefer female forms. They're so much softer, flexible, agile, and in my opinion,” she leaned in close, “so much more fun.” “Mm, I bet,” Sunset said with a smirk, “So I figured you wouldn't be able to resist the chance to have as much fun as possible, especially with another girl.” “Is that why you were so eager to date me?” Adagio asked, “You just wanted to keep a close eye on me?” “Eh, since we're being honest,” Sunset looked away smiling, “The form you're using is my type. Long hair, killer body, and smart as all hell. Come on, how was I not supposed to start lusting after you?” “You really are a disgusting human being, aren't you Sunset Shimmer?” Adagio asked. “Yeah, I am,” Sunset said, “I'm selfish, I use the accounts of rich people to pay for everything, I use people all the time to get what I want, and as you see, I'm not above using my body either. But one thing that I can honestly say about myself, is that my friends matter to me more than anything. Everything I do is to protect them.” “Why do you work so hard for them?” Adagio asked, “Why care so much when you yourself are so selfish?” “Maybe because I could have no friends at all, but instead I have six. Six girls who are truly the best friends I've ever had. So go on XANA, do your worst. I'm not afraid of you, never was, and never will be.” Adagio's face darkened into a hateful glare, “That, will be your undoing, Sunset Shimmer.” Adagio grabbed Sunset by the collar of her jacket and lifted her off from her seat. The two of them wrestled for a bit, but then Sunset kneed Adagio in the stomach, forcing her to release her. Sunset ran out of the room, but was tripped by someone holding out their foot. She looked up and saw Aria and Sonata standing over her, Adagio walking in between them. All three of them had the same sinister smile. “They're your lackeys, aren't they?” Sunset asked, “Either a krab or megatank or something, right?” Sunset was shocked when Sonata laughed. “Silly Sunset, you really think it's that simple?” Sonata said. “My existence can't be contained in just one body,” Aria said. “Besides, this means there's more of me to love,” Adagio finished. Sunset couldn't believe her eyes. “Oh my God…” she said looking up at the three girls that now circled around her, “The three of you are so close… and always finish each others thoughts. That means…” “I…” Aria said. “Am…” Sonata added. “XANA…” Adagio finished, her eyes glowing red. All of a sudden, Sunset's entire world went dark. “She made that too easy,” Aria said picking Sunset up and carrying her over her shoulder. “Yes she did,” Adagio said, “Let's take her to the core sector. She doesn't have a source code, but she will pose a problem if left alone.” “I'll get everything set up,” Sonata said, “I'll activate all the towers we need.” “While we deal with securing the core,” Adagio said, “Even though we're the same, remember that we are still separate. Watch yourselves at all times.” “Please be safe,” Aria begged, “Don't let anything happen to you while we're separated.” “I'll be careful,” Sonata said, “Just… don't leave me alone for too long.” “After this, we'll never have to be apart again,” Adagio said, putting her hands on her sisters' backs, “Good luck sisters.” The three of them walked out of the building, unaware of Applejack and Rarity hiding behind corners listening to them. “Damn it… We were too late,” Applejack fussed. “What's worse, they have anti-XANA program now,” Rarity pointed out, “What do we do?” “For now, we gather everyone,” Applejack said, “Call everyone an' tell them ta meet us in Twilight's room.” “Dah,” Rarity said nodding before she and Applejack ran off. It didn't take long for everyone to get there. Dash and Pinkie Pie ran in only a few minutes after they sent the text, and Fluttershy wasn't too far behind. Much to everyone's sadness though, Twilight was absent. “Guess she's still not up for it,” Dash said. “She's been through too much,” Rarity pointed out, “We shouldn't force her to fight.” “Exactly, especially with who we're up against,” Applejack sighed folding her arms, “Rares an' Ah confirmed it. Adagio, Sonata, an' Aria are XANA agents.” “I had a feeling,” Pinkie Pie said somberly, “I was really scared when I heard them talk.” “Daddy told me that they were related to XANA too,” Fluttershy said looking down, “I sort of suspected it, but I didn't have any evidence to support it. They didn't seem like specters or anything.” “That's because they're not,” Applejack said, “Ah don't know how it's possible, but from how they were talkin ta Sunset, Ah think they actually are XANA.” “Whoa, you mean, like, he came out here, directly?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Somehow, yeah. At least, as directly as he could,” Applejack said. “It doesn't make sense to us either,” Rarity said, “But I'm sure I saw Adagio's eyes glowing red for a second when she spoke.” “Hey, where's Sunset?” Pinkie Pie asked looking around. “That's the other piece of bad news,” Applejack said, “XANA captured Sunset, along with the anti-XANA program she was creatin.” “That was XANA's plan!” Fluttershy cried, “To help us create a one hundred percent means of taking him out, and then taking that for himself!” “The item of my undoing will be sealed away in my secret vault,” Pinkie Pie pointed out, “Damn it, XANA read the villain's hand book.” “So now what?” Rarity asked, “XANA has Sunset and thing we need to delete him.” “That's an easy one!” Dash said slamming her fist in her palm, “We hunt XANA down, save Sunset, get the program back, and kiss XANA goodbye once and for all!” “Yeah, we gotta take him out while we got a chance,” Applejack said, “He's got us good, again,” she rolled her eyes, “but we can turn this into a victory for us. All we gotta do is-” They were cut off by a loud barking from the computer. They all turned and saw Spike barking at them frantically to get their attention. “Schtoh sloochelys, Spike?” (What's wrong, Spike?) Rarity asked in Russian. Spike barked one more time, showing multiple screens of the Super Scan going off. TOWER ACTIVATED LOCATION: FOREST REPLICA 23 19 LAT, 42 LONG LOCATION: DESERT REPLICA 87 32 LAT, 11 LONG LOCATION: SECTOR 5 REPLICA 55 44 LAT, 23 LONG LOCATION: ICE REPLICA 94 17 LAT, 19 LONG The girls all looked in horror as tower after tower activated in all the Lyoko replicas they had tagged, probably also in a few of the ones they didn't get to tag yet also. “This… is terrible…” Rainbow Dash said. “So many towers… all at once…?” Rarity asked. “We need ta get to the factory,” Applejack said, “Let's get movin!” All five of them ran out of the school building, completely unaware that they ran past Trixie, who was looking at them all in shock. “Are they…?” Trixie asked before gasping in shock, “They're going back there now!” she looked around panicking a bit, unsure of what to do. “Great and Lovely Trixie!” Snips called out from behind her. She turned and saw Snips and Snails waving to her. Trixie felt so overcome with emotion, and before she knew it, she ran over to them in tears, hugging both of them. “Uh… you okay Great and Love-” “Trixie!” Trixie called out through her tears, “Please… just call me Trixie…” Snips and Snails looked at each other confused, but then wrapped their arms around the crying older girl, who for the first time in her life had no idea what to do. Something was telling her that Twilight was in a lot of danger. Even worse, the whole world might actually be in danger. In one of the Sector 5 replicas, Sonata walked in between two lines of creepers toward the last tower they needed to activated. As she placed her hand on it, the tower's aura changed to red. “Everything is ready here, loves,” Sonata said looking up, “How are things looking in the real world?” Aria, translated in her Lyoko Avatar in the real world, sat on a desk watching an army of robot soldiers deploy, all of them walking into carrier planes. “The soldiers are all being sent out,” Aria said, “Not only all around the world, but a few special robots being sent to the key locations we planned for.” “Good,” Adagio said, admiring a red gem that had an unconscious Sunset Shimmer trapped inside, “Now we just need the rest of the players to log in. Don't keep me waiting too long, Twilight Sparkle.” Just in case, they called the Architects as well, asking them to meet them in the factory. To Applejack's pleasant surprise, all four of them were present. Celestia immediately got to work checking on the news for anything unusual. It didn't take long. “Oh dear…” Celestia sighed. “How bad is it?” Applejack asked. “Absolutely horrible,” Celestia said pulling up the screen. They saw everywhere in the world were robot soldiers walking through the streets firing at people and buildings. “Is this XANA's final plan?” Luna asked, “To enslave mankind with robots?” “No, this is just phase one, Discord said, “Those are just soldiers. Remember, XANA wants to become God.” “Hey, look!” Rainbow Dash called out pointing to the screen. They all looked and saw Rarity's house in the background of a news report, and three robots were trying to break inside. Rarity covered her mouth in horror. “Mama! Papa! Sweetie Belle!” Rarity cried. “Check everyone's families!” Cadance requested. Celestia nodded and pulled up a map. It was there that four locations were isolated. One being in Cloudsdale, one being in another section of Canterlot, one being in the outskirts of Canterlot on a farm, and of course one being Rarity's house. “That's… Maud's house!” Pinkie Pie cried. “Damn it, he's targeting my house too!” Dash shouted. “It looks like some of the robots are starting to head to the school also!” Fluttershy cried, “We have to do something!” “What can we do though?” Cadance asked, “We can't fight robots in the real world! We're only human!” “This is true,” Celestia said, “But I might be able to change that for these five at least.” She looked at Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy. “Us…?” Rarity asked. “By using the Argo, I can translate the five of you here,” Celestia said, “Since I don't know where any replicas are nearby though, some of you may need to get to your houses on foot.” “I'm more than fast enough!” Dash said. “I'll manage too,” Pinkie Pie said. “Alright then,” Celestia said turning to the computer, “Once this is done, the rest of you will head to the school and help with evacuations. Fluttershy, can you help with that?” Fluttershy nodded, “I'll protect the students at the school.” The five girls ran down to the scanner room, and Celestia got right to work. “Transfer Applejack! Transfer Rainbow Dash!” Celestia said, both of them stepping into their scanners. “Scanner Applejack! Scanner Rainbow Dash! Virtualization!” Both Applejack and Rainbow Dash rendered and were dropped down in Sector 5. Back in the real world, Celestia must not have wasted any time, as a few seconds later, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy all rendered and fell next to them. The five girls wasted no time running to the Argo, stepping on the transporters to go inside. Instead of deploying though, Celestia started up the translation program. “Translate Fluttershy!” Celestia said as Fluttershy vanished from her cockpit. “Translate Applejack!” Applejack vanished from her cockpit. “Translate Rainbow Dash!” Rainbow Dash vanished, a cocky grin despite herself. “Translate Rarity!” Rarity folded her arms and vanished from her cockpit. “Translate Pinkie Pie!” Pinkie Pie vanished from her cockpit. Back in the real world, actually right on the bridge, five orbs of electricity converged. The orbs took form, turning into Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy, all in their Lyoko forms. Behind them, Discord, Luna, and Cadance ran out to meet them. “I'll drive you to your farm,” Luna said to Applejack. “Thanks Lulu,” Applejack said. The two of them ran to Luna's car and drove off. “I'm heading off too!” Pinkie Pie said running off on all fours, “Good luck on your levels, girls!” Dash got on her knees, and without a word used her Super Sprint to rush off at high speed. “Rarity,” Fluttershy called out, stopping Rarity before she ran off, “Good luck.” Rarity nodded and ran off, much slower than the rest, but her house wasn't too far anyway. “We'll meet you at the school,” Cadance said, “Go on without us, okay?” “Alright,” Fluttershy said, taking to the skies and flying off to the school. Discord and Cadance rode off in Discord's truck, and rode off to the school themselves. Back in the computer room, Celestia got to work on tracking down Sunset. “Don't worry,” Celestia said, “We'll find you, and bring you home.” Back at the school, Trixie had finally calmed down a bit. She was now sitting on a bench with Snips and Snails next to her, the latter of the two petting her back and holding her hand. “Are you going to be okay, Trixie?” Snips asked. Trixie nodded. “Tri- er, I am,” Trixie said smiling at Snips, “Thank you.” “You don't have to thank us,” Snails said, “We're glad to help.” “Snips, Snails, I need to tell you two something,” Trixie said, “Since the beginning of this year, you two have been with me, cheering for me, talking me up, and all I've ever done is treat you two like my groupies. Between that, and how I treat Rainbow Dash and her friends, I must be a terrible person.” “That's not true!” Snails said, shocking Trixie as he rarely ever got worked up, “You're not a bad person, and you've always been our friend!” “Yeah! Remember during the camping trip? Snails and I would have missed it, but you took the fall for us!” Snips added. “Also, it's thanks to you that we have so many other friends here in the school,” Snails said, “You help us become more confident, help us talk to girls, you even got me accepted into the Science Fair.” “You're our best friend, and we're proud to be your biggest fans, Great and Lovely Trixie,” Snips said, both he and Snails smiling genuinely at her. Trixie couldn't believe her eyes. Here she was preparing to pour her heart out and apologize to them for how she treated them, and they essentially said that they didn't care about any of that. They truly were her friends. “Snips… Snails…” Trixie said looking down blushing, “You two are-” she cut herself off as she looked out in the distance, and saw a small army of metallic soldiers walking toward the school. Each of the robots had a single green visor where their eyes would be. When Trixie looked closely, she saw that odd eye symbol flash in the center of the visors. “GET DOWN!!!” Trixie screamed, pushing Snips and Snails down just in time, as the robots all opened fire. “What's going on?!” Snips cried. “This is… XANA…!” Trixie said, trembling. “XANA? What's that?” Snails asked. “Hurry to the nurse's office!” Trixie said looking right at Snips and Snails, “Get Twilight, and take her someplace safe! Those things are after her!” “How do you-” Snips was cut off. “Don't worry about that! Just go, please!” Trixie begged, tears in her eyes, “Protect Twilight! She's my best friend!” Snips and Snails nodded, and immediately stood up running into the main building. As all the students ran away frantically from the attacking robots, Trixie sat there unable to move. “I don't want to die…!” Trixie said shaking her head, “I don't want to die!” one of the robots turned to Trixie and pointed its gun arm at her, “I DON'T WANT TO DIE!!!!” Right before it could hit her though, a golden arrow shot through the robot destroying it. Trixie looked up as someone descended from the sky standing in front of her. They were wearing a beautiful white dress and high heels, on their back were large white angel wings, in their hands was a golden bow, and they had a familiar mane of thick pink hair. “Are you okay?” the angel said. Trixie's eyes were wide when she realized who it was. “F-Fluttershy…?!” Trixie asked. Fluttershy turned to Trixie with a warm smile. Goodness gracious, she looked more beautiful than ever. Almost like Trixie was seeing her true form. “You're safe now,” Fluttershy said, “I'll protect everyone.” It made sense to Trixie now. If this was what Fluttershy was, it was clear to Trixie how Twilight fell in love with her. The robots all turned their attention to Fluttershy, who summoned another golden arrow. She began firing at all of them, leading them away from the rest of the students. Trixie couldn't believe her eyes. Since when could Flutteshy fight like that? And why were the robots focusing on her now? Was she connected to that computer too? One of the robots fired at Fluttershy, who took to the skies flying around the school. The robots unloaded their lasers on her, one actually hitting her and knocking her out of the sky. Fluttershy: 75% sync rate As she fell to the ground, Trixie saw her phase in and out for a second, like she were made of static. Was she… a hologram of some sort? It was almost like she was… actually from cyberspace. Or maybe from that place… Lyoko. “Oh my God…” Trixie said, standing up and watching Fluttershy as she fought, “She's… from that virtual world! She's from Lyoko!” The robots were about to gang up on Fluttershy, but Trixie grabbed an iron pole and whacked in in the head. As the robots turned to her again, Fluttershy readied two arrows. “Light Arrow!” she cried, firing into the robots destroying them. She then ran to Trixie and grabbed her arm, “Come with me!” Trixie nodded as Fluttershy led her into the forest surrounding the school. Knowing where Fluttershy came from was shocking, but it made sense to her now. How Fluttershy just appeared out of nowhere, and all of a sudden was Twilight's girlfriend. Either Twilight made her, or she was someone Twilight met in that world. Either way, Trixie knew she could trust her. Big Macintosh took his Grandmother into the barn and was whacking the robots away with a metal pole. He had no idea why these robots were here, but he had no intention of letting them hurt his grandmother or his father's farm. A bit away, a dark blue car rode up to the farm. The passenger seat opened, and Applejack rolled out. She immediately put her two guns together to form her shotgun, and walked over to the fight shooting at the robots. “Ah'll take it from here, Lulu!” Applejack said, “Thanks! Head back ta Canterlot!” Luna nodded and drove off at high speed. Macintosh looked at Applejack in shock, but then went right back to what he was doing. “Mind tellin me where ya got that get-up?” Macintosh said, “An' the laser gun?” “It's a long story, Macintosh,” Applejack said firing at the robots, “Jus' get someplace safe. Ah got this.” Macintosh didn't want to leave Applejack alone, but the look in her eyes struck him. Something told him that she knew what she was doing. Macintosh nodded to his younger sister and ran into the barn with Granny Smith, who was watching the fight through a window. “She looks different,” Granny Smith said. “Ah don't know where she got that outfit,” Macintosh said. Granny Smith shook her head. “No Mac, that ain't what Ah mean. She looks like an adult,” Ganny Smith said, smiling proudly, “Ah think sendin her ta that school was a real good thing after all.” Rarity was thrown into a wall, and then held up her sword in defense as one of the robots tried to slam its arm down on Rarity. When she got there, she was horrified to see that the robots were inside her house. Thankfully her parents and little sister were okay, watching her from the second floor. /Get out of my house XANA!/ Rarity shouted, pushing the robot off her. She then rushed at the robots and slashed with her sword wildly. /Go Rarity! You can do it!/ Sweetie Belle cheered. Both her mother and father were looking at Rarity in shock. Not just her outfit or the fact that she had a sword for some reason, but also because she was there, fighting to protect them. The robots fired at Rarity's stomach, making her fall to her knees. Rarity: 80% sync rate “RARITY!!!” all of them cried at once. As the robots loomed over her, Rarity gritted her teeth. /I won't let you… hurt my family!/ Rarity seethed, /Even if they don't agree with my life choices… they're still my family! I'll protect them…!/ she rose to her feet and got in her ready stance, /I'LL PROTECT THEM WITH MY LIFE IF I HAVE TO!!!/ Rarity screamed and rushed at the robots. Sweetie Belle bit her lip looking scared, but Rarity's mother turned to her father, who actually looked down in shame. Even now, she still loved him. Rainbow Blitz had his hand gun out firing at the robots that tried to approach him and his wife. Just as one of them charged up, something blue rushed in fast knocking it away. “What in the world?!” he cried. “Rainbow Dash!” Firefly cried in shock. Blitz looked into the robots and saw sure enough, his daughter was in the middle of them, dressed as some sort of futuristic ninja and knocking them away with two laser kunai. Dash jumped away and did a hand sign, and two clones walked out from behind her, both of them holding kunai and looking just as pissed. “Don't fuck with me, XANA,” Dash seethed, “He's a bastard, but he's still my old man! If you wanna fight… THEN I'VE GOT YOUR FIGHT RIGHT HERE!!!” Blitz and Firefly were too shocked to move, watching their daughter fight the robots almost like a professional fighter. Like… a soldier. “Hey!” Dash shouted, “This isn't a place for civilians! Get to a safe zone!” “But-” Rainbow Blitz started. “That's an order!” Dash commanded, looking right into her father's eyes. He nodded and turned around. “Dash!” Blitz called out, “I'm… proud of you.” He ran off, not knowing the shocked look on Dash's face. She looked down, tears briefly falling from her eyes as she smiled. “Thanks… Dad,” Dash said, before wiping her eyes and glaring at the robots, “Now I'm really gonna kick your ass, XANA!” Maud and Shining Armor were driving to the school in the latter's police car. When they heard most of the robots were attacking Canterlot High, the first thing they thought of were Twilight and Pinkie Pie. As they drove through town frantically, one of the robots jumped in front of the car. “Whoa!” Shining Armor shouted, stopping the car suddenly. The robot charged up its laser, but a pink ball hit the robot knocking it back. The ball landed in front of the car, turning into Pinkie Pie, who in her neko form had her ears pulled back in anger. She even hissed at the robot. “Pinkie Pie!” Maud cried, running out of the car and embracing her little sister, “What happened to you? Are you okay?!” “I'm fine Maud,” Pinkie Pie said seriously, “You and Shining Armor need to get to the school! I'll keep this thing off you.” “I can't leave-” Maud was cut off by Pinkie Pie embracing her, much like how Maud would for Pinkie Pie when she was crying. “This time Maud…” Pinkie Pie whispered in Maud's ear, “It's my turn to protect you.” In a rare display of emotion, Maud embraced Pinkie Pie tightly, actually crying a bit. “Don't die!” Maud ordered, “I'm begging you, don't die!” Maud ran back into the car, and Shining Armor drove off, finding another pathway to the school. The robot tried to run after them, but Pinkie Pie rolled into a ball and tackled it back down. “This isn't a game anymore!” Pinkie Pie said, glaring at the robot, “I'm serious this time!” Celestia searched all of the network, using Spike to search every replica they could identify. “Damn it! Where are you XANA?” Celestia asked in frustration. “Try right behind you.” “Huh?!” Celestia turned around, but was knocked out of the chair by a large sound wave. Adagio, Sonata and Aria, all three translated into their Lyoko forms, walked into the computer room. Sonata sat down at the computer while Adagio and Aria walked over to Celestia and grabbed her arms. “Looks like everyone's been translated,” Sonata said typing on the computer. “What are you planning XANA?!” Celestia asked, struggling against Adagio and Aria's grips. “Just a little get together with some old friends,” Aria said, “And guess what? You're the special guest of honor.” “I'll transfer Eos into Sector 5 first,” Sonata said, “After that, I can retrieve the source code bearers.” “Let's go, Eos,” Adagio said, she and Aria forcing Celestia to her feet and dragging her to the elvator, “We have to get you ready for the big event.” Celestia screamed and struggled, but it was no use. Like this, the girls were too strong. She had no idea what they were planning, but whatever it was, she knew that Twilight and her friends were all in mortal danger. Twilight looked out the window of the nurse's office in fear. Those robots belonged to XANA, right? Why was XANA attacking now. She was about to run to the door, but stopped when two robots appeared right at the door pointing their guns at her. Twilight screamed, but before they could fire, someone slid underneath one of the robots tripping it. She then saw someone else whack it with a fire extinguisher, actually damaging it. “Are you okay Twilight?!” Snails asked, he and Snips walking into the nurse's office. “What are you two doing here?” Twilight asked in shock. “Trixie sent us to protect you!” Snips said, “She was really worried about you, saying something about XANA being after you!” “Wait… XANA?” Twilight asked, “How does Trixie know about…” she saw the robots starting to get up, “Come on!” She grabbed their arms and ran out of the building. She saw Discord, Cadance, and Vice-Principal Luna getting the students to the gymnasium. Hell, even Blank Scroll was up and helping. She heard a cop car drive to the school, and her brother ran out, immediately running to her and embracing her. “Twilight! Are you okay?!” Shining Armor cried. “I'm fine,” Twilight said returning the embrace, “Wait, is that Maud with you?” Twilight looked behind him and saw Maud now working with the adults. “We saw that there were robots attacking the school,” Shining Armor said, “Maud called me directly so we could check on you and Pinkie Pie.” “My friends! Where are they?!” Twilight asked frantically. “We ran into Pinkie Pie on the way here. At least, I think it was her. She looked like a cat girl from an anime,” Shining Armor said, confusing Twilight until she realized what was going on. “They're… translating themselves!” Twilight said. “What? Twilight what are you-” “Shining Armor!” Cadance cried, running to them and embracing her husband, “I'm so glad you're safe!” “Cadance, what the hell's going on here?!” Shining Armor asked, “Is this pertaining to that organization you were hiding from?!” “Somewhat, but not directly,” Cadance said before turning to Twilight, “Are you okay?” “Thanks to these two,” she said turning to Snips and Snails, who smiled proudly, “What's going on?” “XANA is launching an all out attack on the school and everyone's families,” Cadance explained, “He's captured Sunset, and apparently has the anti-XANA program now.” “What?!” Twilight cried, “No… No!” “Twilight?” Shining Armor asked, shocked when Twilight fell to her knees breaking down. “It's no use! Without that, we can't stop him, and they can't fight forever!” Twilight cried burying her face in her hands, “I CAN'T DO THIS ANYMORE!!! I CAN'T FIGHT XANA!!! I CAN'T PROTECT MY FRIENDS!!! EVEN NOW, ALL OF THIS IS MY FAULT!!!” One of the robots turned to them and fired at Twilight, but Shining Armor jumped in the way taking the shot himself. Twilight looked up in shock, watching Shining Armor slowly fall to the ground. “SHINING ARMOR!!!!!” Cadance screamed. The shot didn't get him in the chest thank God, but it did shoot him in the arm. “Cadance… get Twilight… and run!” Shining Armor ordered. The robot walked toward them, but a golden arrow shot through it destroying it. “Twilight!” Fluttershy cried, she and Trixie running to them. Fluttershy immediately wrapped her arms around Twilight, “I was looking for you!” “F-Fluttershy…!” Twilight sobbed. Trixie sighed in relief and walked over to Snips and Snails. “You did good,” Trixie said, “Thank you.” she kissed both of them on the cheeks, making the two boys blush. “Anything for you, Great and Lovely Trixie…” Snips said bashfully. “We'd take on all these robots to help you…” Snails added, just as bashful. Trixie giggled and then turned to Twilight. “It's going to be okay now,” Trixie said. Twilight looked at Trixie intently through her tears. “Trixie… how do you know about…” Twilight was unable to finish her sentence, as she saw Fluttershy start to fade in and out like static, “Fluttershy?!” “Twilight…?” Fluttershy asked slowly, “I feel myself… losing synchronization…” Rainbow Dash kicked one of the robots away, but then noticed her hand was fading in and out. “What the hell?!” Dash cried, “I didn't get hit that hard!” Rarity fell to the ground, unable to focus as her body started to fade away. “RARITY!!!” Sweetie Belle cried, /Rarity no! Don't die!/ Rarity reached out for Sweetie Belle's hand as her body completely faded away. “Sweetie… Belle…” Rarity said softly before falling unconscious. “What's happening to her?!” Trixie asked as everyone gathered around Fluttershy. “She's losing synchronization with the real world!” Twilight cried, “She's being pulled back into Lyoko!” “Twilight…” Fluttershy said reaching for Twilight, “Stay away… from Lyoko…” “W-what…?” Twilight asked. “Promise me… that no matter what happens… you won't… come looking for… us…! Please…” “Fluttershy?! Fluttershy!” Twilight cried as her lover's body completely turned to static, “FLUTTERSHY!!!!” Fluttershy: Desynchronization is imminent. Returning to Virtual Space As Fluttershy completely winked out of existence, Twilight broke down completely. She knew that Fluttershy wasn't dead, but she also knew where she probably was. In fact, by now all of her friends were now in XANA's possession. Trixie immediately pulled Twilight to her feet and ran off as more robots fired at them. Sadly, Snips, Snails, Cadance, and Shining Armor were surrounded. “NO!!!” Twilight cried, about to run to them but was stopped by Trixie. “We have to move!” Trixie stated, pulling Twilight deep into the forest. When they all woke up, they saw that they were back in the Argo. Fluttershy was about to call Celestia to ask her what happened, but gasped in shock at what was outside. “Sonata,” Adagio said, “Transport them out of the ship.” A second later, all five of them were pulled out of the Argo. Before any of them could attack, they saw hundreds of monsters surrounding them. Creepers, mantas, krabs, blocks, it looked like XANA's whole army. Right in front of them was Aria and Adagio, who had Celestia kneeling between them bound in red bindings. “Yer not gonna get away with this, XANA!” Applejack shouted. Adagio laughed. “Silly girl, don't you see?” Adagio smirked at them, “I've already won. You're all in my custody, the program meant to kill me is in my possession now, and my soldiers are now patrolling every part of the world. All I have to do now is connect with every human being, turning them all into specters, and the whole world will be mine.” As Adagio and Aria laughed, everyone just backed away in fear. This was by far the worst situation they had ever been in. XANA now had ALL the cards. They didn't know if he beat them per say, but as of this moment… XANA definitely had them in check. To be continued… Ending Theme: Can't Fight the Moonlight