//------------------------------//
// Episode 3: "X.A.N.A's Cupcakes" 
// Story: Code: Pony Evolution 
// by Romaji 
//------------------------------//




After the Amazing party.






"THAT. WAS. AWESOME!" RD Yells at the top of her lungs. Quieting down, she adds, "Pinkie, I never knew you could throw a party in a factory this awesome."
Pinkie, still bouncing, replies with "Well, of horse I could! I'm not the element of laughter for nothing."
Yumi facepalms. Everyone else does too. Even the writers. 
Pinkie, that joke- I mean pun- was so bad it crossed the fourth wall. So,... Congratulations I guess?
"Thanks, Omnipotent narrator! It means a lot to me!"
"Diane, Wat are you doing? Who ar-" Yumi starts, before getting cut off. 
Twilight speaks up, reminding her  "If you value your sanity, DON'T QUESTION HOW SHE CAN DO THAT. Or who she is talking to."
A sudden change in atmosphere hits the factory floor.
"Ah'm wondering where we'll be staying." AJ muses.
"Don't worry, darling. I'm certain Twilight can get us back for the night." Rarity comforts.
Silence.
"You can right, dear?"
Twilight's head hangs in shame.
"What's wrong? You can get us back right?"
Twilight finally speaks up. "I can."
"Oh, that's a relief."
"-But I don't think for another 12 hours."
"Nonsense! What basis do you have for that?"
"The Lyoko time out. Since Lyoko is another universe just like Earth or Equestria, the rules for entering it must be like those for other ones as well."
"Perhaps it's just a defect?" Rarity hopes.
"Yea, It sounds to me like a kind of arbitrary rule to me." Pinkie adds.
"You're right. Hey, Is there some place I can draw some a shape in the ground?" Twilight asks. "It's for a spell."
"I don't remember any spell that requires drawing stuff on the ground." Odd questions.
"Huh. The show isn't quite as accurate as I thought." Twilight notes.
"Let's be rational here. It's a miraculous that your adventures match up so close to the show." Ulrich says.
"I guess. I just thought, it might be, you know, that your universe is watching ours." Twilight replies.
Yumi's (now red) palm collides with her face. "If this works, don't come back."
Will punches Yumi in the arm. "That's rude! Just think of how helpful they'll be! Please come back! Especially you, Fluttershy!"
"Oh, yea. I almost forgot.There is a dirt patch in the corner of the factory floor. Should be large enough for all of you." Odd says.
Twilight looks confused. "Why is there a dirt patch THAT LARGE in a FACTORY?"
"Um, it's been out of use for decades."
"Seems like a waste to me. Unless, you know they want to hide something." Twilight pauses, with a slight grin on her face. "Hmmm, I wounder what that could be?"
"Couldn't be a super secret government project." Yumi says, while everyone laughs. 



Twilight drew the Equestria shape, (a quick reminder: ) and all the ponies get onto the 5 prongs of the star. (well, except for Twilight who stands in the middle)
"I'll come back... I mean, if that's ok with you." Fluttershy quakes, almost vibrating on the spot.
"Of course it's ok! I mean we are in their gang now!" RD comforts Flutters.
"Odd, you seem like a cool guy! I'll be like the bestestestest.... friends EVER!. FOREVER!" Pinkie squees, hopping a full meter into the air every word.
"Please excuse her. She's kind of full of energy at the moment." Twilight pauses, thinking over her words. "Well, she's kind of  full of energy at every moment."
"You don't say! I don't-" Rarity says, right before Twilight sticks her hoof into her mouth. Because, even with some of the best magic in Equestria, and wings, the best way to tell somepony to shut up is still to stick a hoof in their mouth.
"We're out of time. Let's try this now. Don't want to die here, or worse, be late."Twilight urgently says.
"Twhahlight, Ah think your priority list is a little off." AJ mentions.
Twilight's purple magic fills the groves. Once all the grooves are filled, the magic solidifies. The shape holds as Twilight begins to say the magic words: "Inversez la nature du réel et fiction: Trouver votre chemin de retour par revenir sur vos pas." [1]



~*****~



Digital (really Multiverse) Limbo
All of the mane six are here, in the white void. Black words are in front of them: "Time left on lockout: 9:12:12". The last number is ticking down one a second.
"Well, I wasn't expecting this." Twilight finally manages to say. "Hopefully, this place will kick us ba-" Twilight says, cut off by her (and everypony else too) being sent back to Earth.



~*****~



"Damn it. We're at least stuck here for 9 hours." Twilight sighed.
Will looks at Twilight strangely. "Like some kind of inter-universe time out? Huh?"
Twilight looks apologetic. "I don't know either. Any where we can stay?"
Odd looks down. "This thing, the whole Lyoko thing, is a secret. No one but the Lyoko warriors can know about this. We can't just reveal this to the world, what if they shut it off? That will kill you ponies and make it so X.A.N.A can't be stopped! If you come out of the factory, they'll question us on it and it will be Game Over."
Twilight's ears droop. "So we'll have to sleep in the factory?"
Yumi replies. "Unfortunately, yes."
"Don't be so Ms.grump pants! I brought beds!" Pinkie says, trying to lighten the mood.
That worked as well as you would expect.
In that it didn't work at all.



The ponies set up their beds on the factory floor.
Oh, If only they knew how stupid that idea was.



Some hours later..
"Gooooood Morning, ponies. Oh. I'm sorry. I meant BAD Morning. Unless you like having your friends for breakfast!" XANA says. In a voice that can only be described as terrifying. EVERY kind of terrifying. All at once.
No pony could even reply.
Although, could you?
"Um.. N-" Shut up, Pinks, that question is rhetorical. Besides, shouldn't you be more concerned about that buzz saw coming for your head?
Pinkie doges, landing on a belt going into the boiler room.
The rest are all in they're own little battles.
RD is currently stuck on a conveyor belt, buzz saws right above her head. She's sweating. She knows if she does so much as move her head, she's dead.
Twilight, wings singed by getting a little too close to an arc welder (Why does this factory even have this stuff? And, more importantly, why does it still work?), rushes towards RD, ready to get RD out of that predicament, when her wings flub up. She felt like facehoofing so hard. OK, for one, she DIDN'T EVEN HAVE TO FLY! She could have just teleported RD out of there! Apparaître ailleurs [2] works just as well as an alicorn! Second, Why did she flub up? She was overthinking flight!
Why didn't she facehoof? Because she was stuck on the underside of the conveyor belt dash is on.
Rarity and AJ got the drop on a buzz saw, oblivious to Twilight's (and RD's) predicament. Until X.A.N.A throws RD off the conveyor belt, just to replace her with AJ. Who, X.A.N.A, knowing her power, restrains her with magic. "Ah'm gettin' the feelin ya hate me for some reason."
X.A.N.A waits for a moment, calculating whether it could be wise to reveal this info. "You remind me of Yumi. I hate Yumi. In fact, I hate the entirety of Japan. But mostly Yumi."
While she's distracted, AJ scoots down, away from the buzz saws. She then bucks the blades, bending them.
Bent blades + high speed spinning = you can do the fancy mathematics.
Back to Pinkie... Wait, what is she doing? 
... Whatever, RD has an idea.
"Twilight!"
Twi gets squashed by the conveyor belt, (again) then replies, "What is it? I'm in a pinch."
"What would happen if we shorted some wires?"
There's Pinkie! I was concerned it might be Game Over. For the world. You know, if she was dead. "Well, everything in the factory would go berserk and then it would blow a fuse, ending the attack!"
RD's pupils grow wide. "Ok, we sh-"
"Already working on it! Also, when I give the signal, RUN. To the elevator. Nopony want's to be killed to death, right?"
Everypony nods. Well, except for that one stuck under a conveyor belt. (sorry, Twi.)
"Plan: Electric Nefarious Sweet Defilement in 3..."
Dash felt like facehoofing. Twilight was stuck under the conveyor belt! If she stays there, she'll die!
"2..."
Dash knows what's up. Twilight needs to get out of there. "AJ! Release Twi from the conveyor!"
AJ retorts back while running to the elevator, "Just drag her out by her ear!"
Dash consi... nevermind. Dash, pulling someone by the ear is a really, really bad idea. "BUCK IT! She's stuck!"
Pinkie, strangely oblivious continues the countdown. "1..."
AJ, being the more observant earth pony, bucks the conveyor belt, making an opening for Twilight to escape through.
Meanwhile, Rarity is in another problem. She tripped, and is now falling onto some live wires.
Or she would be, if Twilight didn't pick her up and through her at the elevator.
... That's going to hurt when she crashes.
Pinkie, somehow not noticing her friends are in grave peril, drops a disconnected buzz saw onto some live wires, shorting the factory.
Fluttershy, already at the elevator, (which is spazzing out right now, because of the short circuit,) sees Twilight, limping because SHE'S BEEN STUCK UNDER A CONVEYOR BELT.
She knows she's not going to make it.
...
Without help that is. 
So she flies.
She flies to save her friend. She flies through the bolts of electricity.
Because that's what being the element of kindness is all about.
Bolts of electricity singe... no, they don't singe her wings.
Her wings are on fire. Fluttershy doesn't care.
She has a friend to save.
"JUMP ON!" She yells at Twilight.
As Twilight does the strongest hop she can muster, (read: 5 CM off the ground. Need I remind you what she's been through?) Fluttershy flies just underneath, wings burning.
As she flies back, her wings are quickly becoming a trail of ash on the floor.
Flutters flies as high as she can before her wings burn out.
Thankfully, that was just enough.
Also quite thankfully, the sprinkler systems turn on, saving Fluttershy from becoming a former Pegasus.
Pinkie, finally paying attention, realizes something. "Wait, since we killed the factory power, shouldn't th-"
Pinkie was cut off by the elevator falling down to the lab.
... Even though a real elevator would stay on the same floor. ... dammit Pinkie, why do you have to make crap like this happen?
"It's your fault that I even said that! You shouldn't complain!" Pinkie says to me.
Needless to say, but for some reason I'm saying it anyway, nopony knew who she is talking to.
"Well duh! I'm the only one who can listen to you, Mr. omnipotent narrator!"
So there was no way you could have been unaware of your friends peril!
"Rule of drama, duh."
...
...
...
...
...
ANYWAY, while I was being distracted by Pinkie, Twilight Victoria Sparkle, (the middle name will be important, I swear) typed out this email to Odd:


Were you aware of the dangers of the factory you have put us in?
Our time was not really pleasant, because all the machinery ended up trying to kill us and turn us into.... I don't know, cupcakes.
Fluttershy stands out in this regard because-


Twilight chuckled to herself. "I'm starting to write this like a letter to Celestia. I'll backspace the part about Fluttershy."


I would like for you all to come down to the factory, as soon as you can without violating school rules.
Don't think I don't know about your many times you've broken code of conduct.
-Victoria


"And sent!"
Dash looked over at the screen. "Wait, so how does this thing send mail? I don't see a mail slot or anything."
Twilight really wanted to facehoof, but given the level of knowledge about the human world and technology, he really couldn't have known better. "Dash, the 'letter' in this sense is virtual, like your sword. It only exists in the internet, where it quickly moves to, in this case, Odd's computer. Make sense?"
Dash sort of contemplates it for a bit. Then he gets it. "OOOHH. THAT'S how it works!  You've gotten better at explaining stuff overnight!"
Twilight blushes a bit. "I try."



Odd yawns. Man, his brain hurts after watching 8 episodes of My Little Pony in English last night with French subtitles. Ulrich, who watched them with him for the first time, is still out cold. He realizes the irony in that he got up first, given that he is usually the one to sleep in later than Ulrich.
Anyway, just a- Hold on. The Supercalculator just emailed him. Opening the email up, he sees:


Were you aware of the dangers of the factory you have put us in?
Our time was not really pleasant, because all the machinery ended up trying to kill us and turn us into.... I don't know, cupcakes.
I would like for you all to come down to the factory, as soon as you can without violating school rules.
Don't think I don't know about your many times you've broken code of conduct.
-Victoria



"Heh. She's just as clever as the show makes her out to be."
He shakes Ulrich up.
Ulrich sees Odd through the kind of eyes you have when you just get up in the morning: foggy and defocused. "Is this opposite day or something?"
"No sorry, you still have to get up for school." Odd, noticing the irony, adds. "Wow, it kind of is opposite day."



At lunch.






"So Odd, you woke Ulrich up? If I didn't know better, I would guess today was opposite day." Will asks Odd.
"Well, he was staying up late with me to watch ponies." Odd considered some segways. They were all kind of bad, but he went with one anyway. "Speaking of ponies, Victoria said we should go to the factory."
Ulrich overheard this. "Dammit, why didn't you tell me?"
"Because the email said not to come over until lunch. She knows my record for breaking the rules."
"That answers nothing."
Odd smiles. "Did I have to answer you?"



At the factory, Fluttershy, brings back grass for the rest of the mane 6. You know, by using the French sewer system to go to that one manhole that's in a park for some reason.
Don't look a gift manhole in the mouth. Which is a really bad metaphor, given that a manhole doesn't have a mouth.
Pinkie speaks up. "Also, a manhole would be a really crappy gift."
"That it would dear, but why would even have came up?" Rarity, realizing the strange awkwardness in what she just said. "Well, that was disaster."
The extremely important lack of dialog that follows was interrupted by the Lyoko Warriors entering the room.
Which then causes another awkward pause, finally broken by Aelita. "You ponies eat grass?"
Twilight responds with a casual demeanor. "Well, of course we do! We may be talking, magical, and from another universe, but we're still ponies."