Theme Song: A World Without Danger
08: Down to Earth
Friday after class, Twilight got to work. She didn't bother saying anything to anyone as she ran back to her room. The program was almost completed. At first she thought about trial and error, but Fluttershy was quick to point out how that was a dumb idea. Instead, she began gathering information on the subject, learning everything she could about it before she attempted to create the program.
Trixie had even helped. Albeit she didn't know how she had helped, but the books on the holographic universe theory had actually helped Twilight make sense of a few things. Turns out, she was looking at the problem all wrong.
With new zeal, Twilight got right in front of her computer and got to work on the program. She was going to do it this time. She couldn't fail.
“Howdy Twilight,” Applejack said stepping into the room, “Ah brought ya dinner, since ya skipped it.”
“Thanks,” Twilight said not turning away from the computer, “Just set it down next to me.”
Applejack shrugged her shoulders and set the plate of food down. Twilight quickly took a bite and then continued working, almost like a machine.
“Ya plan on… workin all night?” Applejack asked.
“If I have to, yes,” Twilight said, “I asked Trixie if I could borrow one of those blinders people wear when they sleep, just in case you needed it.”
“Oh, uh… thanks Twilight,” Applejack said looking at the black blinder on her bed, “That's real nice of ya.”
Their conversation ended, Twilight put all of her focus on the program in question. It was going to work this time. It had to work this time. She had figured everything out, and it made sense on paper. Now as long as the universe followed the rules, she would be fine.
Applejack had gone to sleep a few hours later, and Twilight was still working on the program. Writing an entirely new program from scratch wasn't easy, especially if she planned on using it more than once. Hopefully she wouldn't have to use this one multiple times, but better safe than sorry.
Program: ERROR
Twilight sighed in frustration. That was the sixth dud. Still, she wasn't done yet. This was a difficult program to write, but she was going to write it no matter what.
Program: ERROR
No matter how many times she had to look at this screen.
Program: ERROR
All the greatest scientists had to suffer through failure after failure before they succeeded. The greater the achievement, the more failures they had to go through.
Program: ERROR
That was okay though, because each failure brought them one step closer to success. That was what made this so special to Twilight. She was trying to do something that seemed impossible.
Program: ERROR
But Twilight knew better. It wasn't impossible because the opposite was possible. She had checked it time and time again, and it was perfect. When they went into Lyoko, they became data. There wasn't anything that still registered as human in Lyoko, except for that 0.5 percent difference, which could contribute itself to the human DNA that was used to create that form.
Program: ERROR
So couldn't the scanners work in reverse then? If the scanners could read human DNA and turn that into data, then couldn't they also read data and turn that into human DNA?
Program: ERROR
It was possible, and she was going to prove it. She didn't care how long it took. If she had to stay up all night to get it to work then she'd work all night. This was her dream come true, and the only thing standing in her way was the one sign she kept seeing on her computer.
Program: ERROR
One error after another, each one pushing her one step closer to understanding completely what she was trying to create. She wasn't even frustrated anymore. She was anxious. She was getting close now. She had to be getting close. She told herself that each time she saw “error” appear on her screen, until she truly believed that she was close to-
Program: CLEAR
Applejack loved Saturdays. It was one of the few days she could sleep in. Working on a farm had taught her the importance of being early to rise, but coming to a boarding school taught her the joys of sleeping in late.
Though, she had to wake up at some point. Better she wake herself up now before Twilight kicked her bed again and forced her to wake up. One thing she didn't like about her roommate was how early she woke up at ALL TIMES. She and Luna were a match made in heaven sometimes.
Applejack stretched with a yawn, expecting to hear something akin to “finally up sleepy head?”, but it never came. Instead she heard light snoring. Applejack looked at the computer desk and saw Twilight resting her head in front of the keys dead to the world. She looked so peaceful and adorable.
Applejack walked over to Twilight and was about to take her to bed, but she stopped when she saw the program she was working on. Was this what kept her up so late. Out of curiosity, Applejack carefully pulled it up to see what she was working on.
Program: CLEAR
Applejack's grogginess slowly crept away, replaced with excitement and elation. On instinct she found herself shaking the sleeping teen awake.
“Mmm… huh? Applejack… what's wrong?” Twilight asked rubbing her eyes.
“The c-c-computer! P-p-p-program! Ya did it!” Applejack said pointing to the screen.
“I did it…?” Twilight asked in confusion, looking at the screen. Immediately she woke up and looked at it closely, “Holy crap I did it. I actually did it!”
“Ah knew ya could do it!” Applejack said happily. The two girls held hands and jumped for joy, completely unaware that Fluttershy had appeared on the screen.
“Did I miss the party?” Fluttershy asked, catching Twilight and Applejack's attention. Twilight ran over to the screen with the same excited smile.
“Fluttershy, perfect timing! I have great news!” Twilight said, stopping herself and thinking, “Wait, this isn't right. Applejack, what time is it?”
Applejack looked at her clock, “It's 'bout ten o'clock.”
“Perfect, everyone is up then,” Twilight said, “We have to call everyone here.”
“Um… now?” Applejack asked.
“Yes. Now. Right now.”
The way she said that left no room for argument, so Applejack shrugged her shoulders and walked over to Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pies' room, pulling out her cellphone to call Rarity on the way.
“Hey Rares, Ah know it's sorta early, but Twilight needs all of us ta come ta her room pronto,” Applejack said.
“Is it XANA?” Rarity asked.
“Nope, but it's directly related ta Fluttershy. All Ah can say is it's great news.”
When everyone arrived, the only ones who were dressed were Twilight and Rarity, the former because she slept in her regular clothes though. Rainbow Dash was still wearing a white tank top that barely covered anything and baggy blue shorts. One would think that Pinkie Pie would have worn really child like PJs, but she was actually wearing a light pink nighty that was sheer in certain parts.
Needless to say Rarity rolled her eyes when she saw them, realizing that they walked down the hall just like that.
“Ugh, what's so important that you had to have Applejack wake us up this early on a Saturday?” Dash groaned.
“Dash, it's past ten,” Rarity pointed out.
“That's early for me on a Saturday!” Dash retaliated.
“I'm sure,” Rarity rolled her eyes, “Speaking of sleeping, er… Pinkie Pie. Those pajamas...”
“Do you like it?” Pinkie Pie said spinning around, “It makes me feel so sexy at night.”
“Why do you need to feel sexy at night?” Dash asked.
“So I can have sexy dreams, silly,” Pinkie Pie said as if it were obvious. Sex crazed and a gamer? Pinkie Pie was a guy's dream come true.
“Don't worry y'all,” Applejack said sitting on her bed, “It's worth it. Go on Twilight.”
Twilight took a deep breath before speaking up, “I did it,” she said simply, continuing when Dash motioned for her to go on, “I made the materialization program.”
“Holy shit!” Dash shouted, “It's actually finished?”
Twilight nodded happily, “I finished it last night.”
“Oh my God! This is wonderful!” Pinkie Pie ran over to Twilight and hugged her, “You made the program!”
Fluttershy was wide eyed, as if she couldn't believe it. It looked like she was trying to speak, but couldn't find the words.
“How did you do it?” Rarity asked.
“I was surprised by how simple it actually was,” Twilight admitted, “Turns out the scanners simply turn your DNA into its data equivalent. All I had to do was make a program that does the opposite, turning data into its DNA equivalent. When this happens, Fluttershy will appear as a fully realized human with a human nervous system and everything.”
“Badass,” Dash said nodding, catching everyone's attention, “What? Yeah, I understood it.”
“Isn't this great, Fluttershy?” Pinkie Pie said to the speechless computer program, “You'll finally be able to live with us.”
“I… I don't know what to say...” Fluttershy said softly, “Is this real? Is it really happening?”
“It is,” Twilight said going to the computer, “I'm sorry it took so long. We ended up spending half a year dealing with this. I wish I could have gotten you here sooner.”
Fluttershy shook her head, “No Twilight, you took as long as you needed. I've enjoyed spending time with all of you, especially once you allowed me to access your phones.”
“I still think that's a little creepy that you can do that,” Dash said rubbing the back of her head.
“So, when do y'all wanna do this?” Applejack asked, “The program's made. All we gotta do now is use it, right?”
“I say we do it right now,” Pinkie Pie said, “I wanna give Fluttershy a BIG hug just like she gave me.”
“And the sooner we bring Fluttershy out here the sooner we can turn the computer off and say goodbye to XANA,” Rainbow Dash stated.
“While all that is true,” Rarity said thoughtfully, “We can't just materialize Fluttershy.”
“And why not?” Dash asked, “Like AJ said, the program is done. We just let Twilight do her thing, flip the off switch, and done deal.”
“But Fluttershy isn't human,” Rarity said, “She doesn't have social security number, ID, or anything that proves she exists beyond our confirmation.”
Applejack nodded, “That would be hell ta explain, how a girl just appeared outta nowhere with nothin ta prove who she really is.”
“Also, she would obviously be coming here to Canterlot High,” Rarity continued, “How would we get her enrolled without any records, especially if she's planning on staying in dorms? There is much prep work needed for this.”
Twilight sighed, “I really hate to say it, but Rarity is right. I want to just do it right now, but we do need to at least create an identity for Fluttershy.”
“How are we going to do that?” Pinkie Pie asked.
“Are you kidding me? That's going to be easy compared to the program I just wrote,” Twilight said turning to Fluttershy, “I'm really sorry Fluttershy, but we need to do just a little more work before we bring you over here.”
“That's okay,” Fluttershy said with a slight sigh, “I've waited this long. What's one more day, right?”
“I promise, I won't stop until I've gotten everything ready,” Twilight said, “You're not going to have to stay there any longer than you have to,” Twilight looked down seriously, “I'll save you from XANA. I promise.”
“I believe in you, Twilight,” Fluttershy said, “We all believe in you.”
“That's right,” Pinkie Pie said putting her hands on Twilight's shoulders, “You got us this far. The final step is getting Fluttershy's identity and we're all set.”
“Thanks guys,” Twilight said, unaware of the woman that was right outside her room listening to their conversation, “I promise, this won't take long. By the end of the day, Fluttershy will be out here in the real world.”
“I knew it,” Principal Celestia said biting her thumb, “It was Twilight. Should I be upset or grateful?”
She walked off to her office, torn between running up to Twilight and begging her to just turn the damn thing off and helping her. That machine was the worst thing she had ever done, and it took so much away from her. She was running away, and she knew it.
She was such a coward.
Celestia sat in her office thinking hard about what to do. Twilight was messing with powers beyond her control. The idea that she actually thought she could materialize Fluttershy… it was both immature and astounding at the same time.
This meant that she had been dealing with XANA too? How had she managed to survive all this time? How had her friends managed to survive? They clearly figured out how the super computer worked, which in of itself was impressive.
Still, to attempt to materialize Fluttershy…
“Sister?” Luna said walking into the office, “What are you doing here? It's Saturday.”
“You know I don't like taking days off,” Celestia said, “If I could, I'd work even on Sundays.”
Luna shook her head smiling, “I really don't understand you sometimes. You tell me to relax more, yet here you are working harder than me, and that's saying something.”
Celestia laughed, “Yes, I can see what you mean, but when you're doing what you love, you actually never work a day in your life.”
Luna raised an eyebrow, “You love working with teenagers?”
“I love working with kids in general,” Celestia admitted, thinking about the only child she failed to help in her life, “I… feel best when I'm helping them with their futures.”
“Tia, is something wrong?” Luna asked walking up to her older sister, “You look troubled.”
“Luna, I…” oh how she wanted to open up to her sister. After the incident ten years ago though…
“Please tell me what's wrong,” Luna said taking her sister's hands, “You can tell me anything, you know that.”
Not everything sadly, Celestia thought to herself before speaking, “It's about Twilight.”
Luna sighed gravely, “I was wondering when we'd get to talk about this subject. Her grades are still stable, but not as high as-”
“Lulu, please,” Celestia said, using her sister's nickname to calm her down, “This has nothing to do with her grades. Twilight's development as a person is one I couldn't be happier with.”
Luna looked at Celestia as if she had grown a second head, “You're happy?” she shrugged her shoulders, “Okay, sure. Let's pretend that Twilight's development isn't an issue. If that's the case, what's bothering you about Twilight?”
Celestia chose her words carefully. She wished that Discord were here, as he still remembered the incident, but he didn't come in on Saturdays.
“I think Twilight is… doing something dangerous,” Celestia said.
“Dangerous?” Luna asked.
“You've noticed that she's been spending a lot of time outside of the dorms, right?” Celestia asked.
“Yes, I see her and her new gang leaving it all the time,” Luna said, “But even I admit that's not too strange. They're still teenage girls.”
“True, true,” Celestia said, getting a little frustrated as she couldn't tell Luna exactly what was bothering her, “I just have a feeling is all. Could you keep an eye Twilight for me?”
“Sure,” Luna said with a nod, “I can do that. What about her friends? Should I watch them too?”
“If you want, but please focus on Twilight,” Celestia urged.
“I won't let you down,” Luna said walking out of Celestia's office. She was doing the right thing, right? It wasn't that she didn't trust Twilight. She was just terrified of what Twilight was trying to do. Maybe she should have been trying to help her though.
But if she did that, XANA would…
You knew it was bad when Celestia was being paranoid. She was always the more relaxed of the two sisters. In their teen yeas she even had a long phase where she dressed and acted a bit like a hippie, and some of that never went away.
So if Celestia was worried about something…
Luna's first stop was the rec room. Out of Twilight's friends she only saw Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, playing the new Blazblue game. It looked like a lot of fun, actually, and the two girls were really good at it. One of them was even playing as Carl, and winning.
Luna fought the urge to go over there and ask to take on the winner, instead heading off to the gym. They wouldn't want to play with the scary vice-principal of the school anyway. She sighed and continued making her way through the school to find Twilight and her other friends.
When she found Applejack, she was happy to see that she wasn't with Twilight (that was Luna's biggest fear). Instead she was with Rarity. The two girls were in the gym wearing their fencing gear, and going at it. Luna hadn't seen a fight that violent in a while, and she had enough mind to tell them to stop. If they didn't, one of them was going to-
Rarity broke through Applejack's defense pointing her rapier at the southern girl's chest, taking the point.
“I win match,” Rarity said, “So I decide movie.”
Applejack sighed, “Alright, you get ta decide the movie. Jus' don't pick somethin super sappy, alright?”
“I was thinking second Sin City movie,” Rarity said as the two girls walked off holding hands, “I've never seen it.”
“Funny, Ah was gonna pick that one too.”
All of that just to decide on a movie? Luna had heard two different rumors about those two. One was that they were mortal enemies, and the other that they were lovers. Based on how they walked off together, Luna was inclined to believe the latter more than the former.
And she had to admit, Applejack looked really happy.
Seeing them walk off made Luna's heart go in a weird place. She wasn't jealous of Applejack, was she? Maybe not for being in love, but she still had something that Luna didn't. Applejack reminded Luna of herself at that age so much it was scary. As such, Luna knew how she'd end up.
The sooner she grew up and realized how the world worked the better.
Still, she hadn't found Twilight yet. If she knew Twilight well enough, she'd be in her dorm. Luna chastised herself for not checking there first and ran off to room 2-B. Inside she saw Twilight sitting at her computer, working on something.
“Hmm...” Twilight said, “I think I need a particular file for this.”
Twilight got up, forcing Luna to hide behind a corner. Thankfully Twilight ran down the opposite way, but why was she leaving the dorms? The computer labs were the other way, and Twilight's personal computer was the best on the campus.
Twilight ran to the side of the school, which was a park filled with trees. Luna saw her open up a passage to the sewers and go inside. Now that was odd?
Luna slowly followed her down. When she made it to the bottom she was surprised by what was left down there. A scooter, a skate board, and a pink bicycle. Who would leave these down here, and why?
She looked ahead and saw Twilight riding off on a scooter. Not wanting to alert her, she merely ran after the teen, who stopped right under a manhole and began climbing up. When Luna climbed after her she found herself at the abandoned factory, with Twilight going inside.
“Why here?” Luna asked walking up to the factory. Suddenly she felt a sharp pain in her head that forced her to her knees.
“Tia, are you sure about building it here?”
“No one uses this place anymore, so its perfect.”
What was that? Some sort of memory? No, that didn't make sense. Luna hadn't ever been to this factory before.
She forced herself to her feet and ran after Twilight. Inside the factory, she saw the elevator go down. Was that thing still working?
Why was her heart racing so much? There wasn't anything here to be afraid of, right?
She saw a ladder nearby, which probably went down the same direction of the elevator. She went over to it and climbed down, stopping when she saw a raised structure like a rafter she could stand on. She didn't want Twilight to see her.
Speaking of Twilight, she was walking right up to what looked like a powerful computer hooked to a hologram.
“Fluttershy, are you there?” Twilight asked. Luna looked around the room, but saw no one there besides them.
“Yes Twilight,” a really soft voice said from the computer. Luna moved a bit to see what was on the screen and caught a glimpse of what looked like a 3D rendered character on it.
“Okay, I need to be able to access Lyoko's network for a bit,” Twilight said, “If I'm going to put you into the system it has to look like you've always been there.”
“I see,” Fluttershy said, “I can help with that.”
“What in the world…?” Luna asked. It sounded like Twilight was trying to hack into something.
“Oh,” Fluttershy said, “Twilight, it looks like we could use this.”
“Huh, your name is somewhat common here in Canterlot,” Twilight said, “And apparently this person vanished from the system a few years ago. Alright, I'm going to connect to this person and create a social security number for this identity. They're not using it, so why shouldn't we?”
Was Twilight creating an identity for someone? The idea that Twilight was so smart she could do this was astounding.
“And done,” Twilight said, “I'm heading back to the dorms now. Just think, soon you'll be out here with us.”
“I can't wait, Twilight,” Fluttershy said, “These days being in the real world with you is all I think about.”
“I'm determined to make that dream a reality,” Twilight said, “You'll be free from XANA soon.”
The computer seemed to disconnect from whatever it was connected to, and Twilight ran back to the elevator and went up. Luna climbed down all the way and got a closer look at the computer Twilight was on. When she touched it, she felt another sharp pain in her head.
“Luna, get out of there!”
“I can't! There are too many of them! XANA is- AHHH!!!!!”
“Luna?! LUNA!!!!”
“NO!!!” Luna screamed falling back. It felt like she was trying to remember something, but whatever it was she sure as hell didn't know what it was. She was sure she'd remember being here.
“What is this place?” Luna asked looking around, “Have I… been here before?”
She hugged her knees, trying to calm down. For some reason though, being here had her terrified beyond all reason, and something was telling Luna that Celestia was right. Twilight was doing something dangerous.
Something very dangerous.
After she had finished making Fluttershy's new identity, she called her friends to meet up with her back in her room so they could get ready to materialize Fluttershy. When she told them about how she had made Fluttershy's identity, of course she received mixed responses.
“Are ya sure it's okay ta jus' use someone else's identity like that?” Applejack asked.
“As long as we don't use her entire identity, it's fine,” Twilight explained, “The Fluttershy in the file has been missing for ten years, so by now her case has gone cold. Sadly, the chances of her showing up again are slim to none.”
“Is just seems so… grim to me,” Rarity said with a shudder.
“But its better like this, right?” Pinkie Pie said, “At least our Fluttershy won't have come completely out of nowhere.”
“Exactly,” Twilight said, “I basically took pieces of her identity like the date of her birth, and her original ID number. From there I just created her social security number and plugged it into the system.”
“So, is everything else set up?” Dash asked.
“I already created a fake letter of recommendation for Fluttershy to enroll here,” Twilight said, “And she'll be living in the dorms, so that takes care of where she'll be staying. All that's left is to bring Fluttershy out of Lyoko and into the real world.”
“Fantastic!” Pinkie Pie said.
“Oh how wonderful,” Fluttershy said from Twilight's computer, “I still can't believe we've come this far.”
“Believe it,” Dash said, “Now how about we go to the factory and pick up our fair lady?”
“Yes, I think we've kept her waiting long enough,” Twilight said turning to her computer, “Don't move from there until we arrive at the factory, okay? XANA might try to stop us from materializing you, so we need to be ready just in case.”
“I understand,” Fluttershy said, “I'm in my home tower like always, so I'll wait for you here.”
Fluttershy logged off, and Twilight turned off her computer.
“Okay girls,” Twilight said, “Let's bring Fluttershy to her new home.”
Twilight picked up the disk box for the program and the five girls ran out to the secret passage. They wanted to get there as fast as possible, so taking the secret passage was the best bet.
When they climbed down the sewers, Twilight and Rarity both grabbed their scooters, Dash grabbed her skateboard, Pinkie Pie got on her bike (only she was crazy enough to ride a bike in the sewers) and Applejack hooked her roller skate wheels onto her shoes. The five girls rode through the sewers as fast as they could, stopping when they reached the entrance near the factory.
They all climbed up the ladder, and ran into the factory. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity swung down to the elevator first, followed by Pinkie Pie and Twilight when the ropes came back. They went into the elevator, pushed the button, and descended down to where the computer was.
Once the elevator reopened, Twilight ran over to her seat and put in her microphone.
“Fluttershy, we're here,” Twilight said. A second later Fluttershy appeared on the screen beaming.
“Twilight, I'm so excited! Today's the day I finally come into the real world!” Fluttershy cheered.
“It is,” Twilight said pulling up her radar screen of Lyoko's forest sector. It was here that she saw something that made her heart sink. There were red arrows all over the Forest Sector!
“Well damn,” Dash said when she saw that, “Think XANA's angry, guys?”
“He knows we're almost done,” Rarity said, “This is his… what would Americans call it?”
“His last hurrah?” Applejack suggested.
“Dah, that's it.”
“This is terrible,” Twilight said, “There's no way Fluttershy's going to get through there on her own.”
“Even us goin in is pushin it,” Applejack said, “Can ya jus' materialize Fluttershy from her home tower?”
“I would if I could,” Twilight said, “But as she lives in a way tower I can't use it. Fluttershy and I already designated what tower we were going to use,” she pointed to another tower a good distance from Fluttershy's tower, “This one.”
“Can't you put it closer?” Pinkie Pie asked.
“Sorry but no,” Twilight said, “The tower is already set up. That was one of the things I had to do to prepare for Fluttershy. It's too late to change towers now.”
“Then we just have to get Fluttershy to that tower,” Dash said slamming her fist into her hand, “Come on guys. This is no different than when XANA activates a tower.”
“Dash is right,” Applejack said, “We'll jus' handle this like we always do.”
“Operation “Hey it's us” time?” Pinkie Pie asked. Everyone turned to her in confusion.
“Operation “Hey it's us”?” Twilight asked.
“I'm afraid to ask,” Rarity said.
“That's what I call it when we go into Lyoko. XANA activates a tower, we go in, tell XANA “hey it's us”, and then start kicking monster butt.”
It was Fluttershy who started laughing first, “Oh Pinkie Pie, that's so cute. I think Operation “hey it's us” is a wonderful name.”
Twilight shook her head smiling, “In that case, yes, time to launch operation “hey it's us”.”
Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie ran back to the elevator, and descended to the scanner room. When each one of them had a scanner picked, Applejack texted Twilight to let her know they were ready.
“Transfer Applejack!” Twilight said closing Applejack's scanner once she was inside.
“Transfer Rarity!” Twilight continued as Rarity stepped into her scanner before it closed.
“Transfer Rainbow Dash!” Twilight said as Rainbow Dash stepped into her scanner, smirking as it closed.
“Transfer Pinkie Pie!” Twilight said, Pinkie Pie smiling brightly the entire time as she stepped into her scanner before it closed.
On Twilight's screen, Applejack's Lyoko avatar was being rendered, “Scanner Applejack!”
Next up, Twilight began rendering Rarity's avatar, “Scanner Rarity!”
Thirdly, Rainbow Dash's avatar began rendering, “Scanner Rainbow Dash!”
Finally, Pinkie Pie's avatar was rendered, “Scanner Pinkie Pie!”
Once everyone was matched up with their Lyoko avatars, Twilight pushed the enter key on the computer, “Virtualization!”
When the four girls took form in Lyoko and landed in front of Fluttershy's tower, they were immediately greeted by kankrelats and hornets, who started firing at them. Rarity blocked the attacks with her sword as best as she could while the others took cover behind a nearby tree.
“This is crazy!” Pinkie Pie said, “How are we going to get Fluttershy out now?”
“Leave it to me,” Dash said running out next to Rarity. As she ran, she did a hand sign and split up into three Dash, and all three of them threw their kunai at the hornets killing them. Pinkie Pie jumped out after that and did her spin tackle killing two of the kankrelats while Applejack fired at the remaining ones with her shotgun.
“Alright Fluttershy, the cost is clear,” Applejack called out.
Fluttershy ran out of her tower and into Applejack's embrace, “I'm so happy to see you.”
“Ya ready ta get outta this virtual hell?” Applejack asked.
“Please,” Fluttershy said dramatically, “Take me from this place.”
“As you wish, your highness,” Dash said spawning two more kunai, “Which way Twilight?”
“Just start heading north,” Twilight said, “Careful, because there are more monsters coming your way.”
“Pinkie Pie, let's go on ahead and take out as many as we can,” Dash said. Pinkie Pie got on all fours and stretched.
“I'm right there with you, nya!” Pinkie Pie said. She rolled into a ball and rolled forward at high speed next to Rainbow Dash, who of course was using her super speed.
“Stay close ta us, Fluttershy,” Applejack said.
“We'll protect you from anything they miss,” Rarity said. Fluttershy nodded and followed her guardians as they charged forward.
Pinkie Pie was able to take out a number of kankrelats with her Spin Tackle. Once she ran out of momentum for that, she ran forward on all fours and resorted to using her Homing Attack on the kankrelats and a few of the hornets flying around.
Dash sprinted through the enemies in front of her slashing them up close with her kunai, and sometimes throwing them at incoming enemies, careful to throw them in places she could pick them up from as she could only respawn her weapons a few times.
Pinkie Pie and Dash reached the clearing first, where they were shot back by two bloks.
Rainbow Dash: 70 HP
Pinkie Pie: 60 HP
“Dash! Pinkie Pie!” Twilight called out. Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy reached them at that moment. As Fluttershy helped them up, Applejack began firing at the blok on the left while Rarity ran to the blok on the right.
“Otdelka!!!” Rarity shouted stabbing the blok in the eye killing it. At the same time, Applejack fired at her opponent dead in the eye killing it.
“Twilight, you should get the program ready!” Applejack said, “Ah can see the tower from here.”
“Got it,” Twilight said going into her backpack and pulling out the disk needed for the program. When she opened the disk case though, she was horrified to see an empty case.
“No!” she cried out, “The disk isn't in here!”
“What do you mean disk isn't here?” Rarity said.
“I must have forgotten to get it out of my computer!” Twilight groaned, “I'm so stupid!”
“Twilight, it's okay,” Pinkie Pie said, “Just head back and get it.”
“Will you guys be okay until I get back?” Twilight asked.
“As long as we don't leave this section we should be okay,” Fluttershy said, “Just in case though, I'll create cover for us while we wait.”
“Okay, I won't take long,” Twilight said getting up from the computer room and running out of the factory to the secret passage. The sooner she got back the better.
Fluttershy gathered everyone to the center of the clearing, where she knelt down and began singing. Around the five of them a dome of land came up surrounding them.
“That should protect us for a while,” Fluttershy said.
“Hopefully long enough,” Dash said, “We can't afford to screw this up.”
“Have faith in Twilight,” Rarity said, “She'll get disk and then we can proceed.”
“It'll be over soon, Fluttershy,” Applejack said taking Fluttershy's hand and stroking it.
“I know, I'm not too worried,” Fluttershy said, clearly hiding how afraid she really was. This was XANA's heaviest assault yet.
When Luna got back from the factory, she was in a daze. The images she saw in her head didn't make any sense, nor did the voices. They sounded like hers and Celestia's, but why didn't she have any memory of being in that factory?
And what were those machines? Did Twilight know what that computer was for? Why did being in that room fill Luna with so much dread?
She was tempted to tell Celestia what hat happened there, but for some reason she couldn't. Was this what Celestia meant by Twilight doing something dangerous? Did she know about that strange room?
“What's going on?” Luna said lying down under a tree. She hadn't even gone inside the school yet. She knew that if she went in there she'd have to face her sister, and she was terrified of what would happen when she saw her. Would she have to face what she saw in that room? Would she have to tell her?
Luna sat up slightly and saw Twilight running into the dorms. She looked really frantic about something. Had she just come back from that place?
“I need answers,” Luna said getting up and running after Twilight.
“Damn it!” Twilight shouted opening the disk drive of her computer. When she saw the disk in there she wanted to shoot herself. In her excitement she had left the very thing she needed. If Fluttershy died, it would be because of her carelessness.
And she said she was going to protect Fluttershy.
She put the disk in the drive, and turned to the door, stopping when she saw Vice-Principal Luna standing there.
Shit! She didn't have time for this.
“Twilight, we need to talk,” Luna said.
“I don't have time right now,” Twilight said walking to the door. Luna held her arm in the way stopping her, “Vice-Principal, please get out of my way.”
“Not until you tell me what's going on,” Luna said sternly.
“I have to get to somewhere really important. My friends need me.”
“Can they wait a few minutes?” Luna asked.
“No they can't!” Twilight shouted, shocking Luna. She pushed past Luna and ran into the hall, but Luna grabbed her arm stopping her.
“This has something to do with that room, doesn't it?” Luna asked harshly, “The one inside the factory?”
“How do you know about that?” Twilight asked, her heart racing.
“What is that place? What was that computer for?”
Twilight turned to Luna with an indignant look, “I can't believe you followed me!”
“Damn right I did, and for good reason! Celestia was worried that you were doing something dangerous! She's right, isn't she?!”
“Damn it, I don't have time for this!” Twilight shouted, “You want me to tell you the truth?! The truth is my friends need me, and one of them could die unless I go back to that room! I don't care who you are to me! If Fluttershy dies because you need answers, I'll hate you for the rest of my life!”
That seemed to hit a nerve, as Luna stepped back. Even Twilight was surprised by what she said to the older woman, who looked like she was close to crying.
“Luna, I'm sorry, but-”
“Let me go with you,” Luna said shocking Twilight.
“What did you say?” Twilight asked.
“I wouldn't forgive myself if I cost someone's life, but I need to know about that room,” Luna said looking down, “Twilight, I've never seen you feel so strongly about anything. If you're willing to hate me over this, then it must be important. Still, I can't let you do this on your own. Please take me with you.”
Twilight felt torn about this. She seemed sincere, but she was still school faculty. If she told Celestia about the computer...
“I'll take you,” Twilight said, “On the condition that you not tell anyone about what you're going to see. Not even Principal Celestia.”
“I promise,” Luna said somberly, “I won't tell anyone.”
Twilight turned around, “Come on. I'll fill you in on the way.”
Twilight ran off, Luna right behind her. They would be taking the secret passage of course.
Back in the Forest Sector of Lyoko, the smaller monsters moved out of the way to allow a megatank to roll up to the dome the girls were hiding in. Next to it walked two krabs. The three monsters charged up their individual attacks and fired at the dome, almost destroying it.
Inside the dome, Fluttershy looked like she was praying. Rarity had her arms around Fluttershy trying to comfort her, while Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash all looked tense.
“Pinkie Pie, what's right outside?” Applejack asked Pinkie Pie, who put her ears to the ground and closed her eyes.
“I feel a megatank and two krabs right outside,” Pinkie Pie said, “They're the ones that just fired. Hold on…” she gasped, “The megatank opened! It's going to fire again!”
The dome shook suddenly, and they saw some of the wall break away.
“Twilight… hurry...” Dash said gripping her kunai, “We're running out of time here...”
Twilight emerged from the manhole in front of the factory, and held out her hand to help Luna up.
“So… this XANA activates towers in Lyoko to do things in the real world?” Luna asked.
“Yes,” Twilight said, “XANA is extremely dangerous. He has no regard for human life, and seeks to become a god with absolute power.”
“And this friend of yours, Fluttershy, is also a sentient computer program?”
Twilight nodded, “She's sort of XANA's opposite it seems. My friends are protecting her right now, so we can materialize her and bring her to the real world.”
“I see,” Luna said thoughtfully. The two of them ran to the ropes where Twilight swung down to the elevator, surprising Luna, “Um… do I have to...”
“It'll be faster,” Twilight said, “If I can do it, I know you can too.”
Luna nodded nervously, stepped back, and jumped onto the rope swinging down to the elevator herself. Her landing was awkward, but she managed to not fall on her butt. She and Twilight walked into the elevator and took it down to the computer room.
“I'm surprised,” Luna said after a second, “This sentient computer program really made an impression if you're willing to go so far.”
“She may be a computer program, but Fluttershy is still a living person. Her life matters just as much as anyone else's,” Twilight said. Luna found herself smiling at Twilight, feeling more proud of her now than she had ever been. This wasn't just Twilight acing another test. This was Twilight standing up for what she believed in.
When the door opened, Twilight ran over to the computer and sat down, putting the microphone back in her ear.
“Girls, please tell me Fluttershy is safe!” Twilight asked as Luna walked into the room looking around.
“Thank god!” Rarity said, surprising Luna, “She's alright, but dome is going to break soon! We might not make it!”
“We'll make it, I'm sure of it,” Twilight said pulling out the disk and putting it in the computer, “As long as Fluttershy gets to the tower we should be fine. Fluttershy, are you okay?”
“Twilight… I'm scared...” Fluttershy said.
“It'll be okay,” Twilight said, “You'll be here soon.”
“Are they...” Luna asked.
“Yes, everyone is in Lyoko right now,” Twilight answered, “Remember the scanners I told you about? We used them to go into Lyoko.”
“Fluttershy sounds so…”
“Human?”
“Yes… human.”
“We don't know what she really is or what Lyoko was made for,” Twilight said, “All we know is that she and Lyoko are as real as this world.”
“You'll save her, right?” Luna asked, now worried for Fluttershy.
“I will,” Twilight said tightening her fist, “I promise.”
The megatank opened up and charged up. At the same time, everyone with a weapon pulled it out and got ready to fight, as they knew exactly how this was going to play out.
The second the megatank fired, the dome exploded and everyone split up. Pinkie Pie began plowing through the kankrelats with her Spin Tackle and Homing Attacks, Rainbow Dash ran all through the field throwing her kunai at the hornets, and Applejack and Rarity worked together to take out the krabs and the bloks. When that was done, the four girls ran back to surround Fluttershy as the megatank rolled forward. Two more megatanks rolled up next to it.
“Pinkie Pie, take Fluttershy and go on ahead,” Applejack commanded, “We'll catch up when we can.”
“Okay,” Pinkie Pie said, “Let's go, Fluttershy!”
Fluttershy nodded and ran off after Pinkie Pie while Dash, Rarity, and Applejack each picked a megatank.
Applejack VS Megatank
Rainbow Dash VS Megatank
Rarity VS Megatank
Applejack fired her shotgun at the megatank in the middle, Rarity ran over to the megatank on the left and started slashing at it with her sword, and Rainbow Dash threw a kunai at the megatank on the right and ran off leading it away.
The megatank that Applejack was firing at opened up and fired its blast at her, but she rolled to the side out of the way and reloaded her gun. She fired at it once damaging it before it closed, but not killing it. The megatank rolled toward Applejack, but she ran out of the way and began firing at it, trying to push it off the side.
Rainbow Dash used her usual strategy at the megatank, running around it in a triangle formation creating clones at the corners. The megatank fired at one of the Dash's, killing it instantly as it was a clone. The real Rainbow Dash jumped onto the megatank while it was still opened and threw her kunai right at its eye. She jumped off, pushing it into a raised platform doing extra damage killing it.
When she landed, the megatank that Applejack was fighting turned to Dash and fired at her, hitting her in the back.
Rainbow Dash: 0 HP
In the real world, the scanner Rainbow Dash used opened up, revealing an exhausted Dash leaning against the wall of her scanner. She forced herself to stand and walk to the elevator, getting the shock of a lifetime when she saw who was standing with Twilight.
“What the hell?!” Dash shouted, “Twilight, what's the vice-principal doing here?”
“Its a long story,” Twilight said, “I explained everything to her though, and she promised not to tell anyone. Luna's one of us now.”
“I couldn't see exactly what was going on,” Luna said, “But it sounded like you fought very well. The Coach would be proud of you.”
“Um… thanks...” Dash said awkwardly. Having the disciplinarian of the school here was going to take some getting used to.
The megatank that Rarity was fighting opened up to attack, but Rarity thrust her sword into the eye killing it. She then turned to Applejack and ran over to her blocking the final megatank's attack with her sword.
“Applejack, now!” Rarity shouted. Applejack rolled to the side and fired at the megatank's exposed eye killing it.
“We gotta catch up ta Pinkie Pie,” Applejack said. Rarity nodded and followed Applejack as she ran after their remaining fighter and their charge.
As for Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, they stopped a bit in front of the tower as three bloks walked in front of their path and fired at them. Pinkie Pie pushed Fluttershy out of the way and took a shot right in the stomach.
Pinkie Pie: 20 HP
“Pinkie Pie!” Fluttershy cried out. Three more hornets flew up to them and began firing right at Fluttershy, who ran off to take cover.
Pinkie Pie rolled into a ball and tackled one of the bloks killing it.
“Twilight! Fluttershy's in trouble!” Pinkie Pie shouted. The last blok fired at her back knocking her to the ground.
Pinkie Pie: 0 HP
Pinkie Pie's scanner opened up, revealing a horribly disappointed Pinkie Pie.
“Well, at least I wasn't the first one to die today,” Pinkie Pie said with a sigh.
Rarity and Applejack ran up to Fluttershy's side and began leading her back to the clearing.
“Twilight, we can't get her to tower!” Rarity said, “Too many monsters!”
“Got it,” Twilight said, “I'm coming in,” she typed on the computer setting up the transfer procedure, “Vice-Principal Luna, I need you to sit here. When I tell you to, push this button right here to activate the devirtualization program, pulling me and anyone still with me out of Lyoko.”
“You're going there?” Luna asked pointing to the hologram of Lyoko.
“Don't worry,” Pinkie Pie said, “Twilight is actually really strong on Lyoko.”
“Remember, you have really low defense,” Rainbow Dash said to Twilight, “Don't take any unnecessary risks.”
“I won't,” Twilight said. She ran to the elevator, going to the scanner room. Once there, she stepped into the scanner, making it automatically close and activate.
On the screen, Twilight's avatar was rendered. Once that was done, there was a white flash in the scanner, and Twilight vanished from the real world.
Twilight appeared in the air above the clearing in front of the tower. When she landed, she mentally targeted all of the hornets flying around. Charging up her light magic, she spun around so her back was to the monsters, and then bent backwards lifting a leg into the air and spreading her arms out and releasing multiple homing darts at the monsters killing them.
Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy were always amazed watching Twilight fight. She rarely entered Lyoko, but when she did, watching her fight was truly a site. She moved like a dancer, and seemed to almost become a completely different person.
“Is everyone okay?” Twilight asked.
“We took damage,” Applejack said, “but we're fine otherwise.”
“Twilight, are you sure its okay to be here?” Fluttershy asked Twilight.
“Someone's watching it right now,” Twilight said turning to Fluttershy and taking her hands, “I'm going to get you to the tower, Fluttershy. You'll be safe soon.”
Fluttershy smiled gratefully to Twilight, who turned to Applejack with a serious expression.
“Applejack, you and Rarity cover us,” Twilight commanded, “Once Fluttershy is in the tower, we'll be devirtualized and I can activate the materialization program.”
“Ah don't know what's goin on, but Ah got it,” Applejack said, Rarity nodding next to her.
Twilight took Fluttershy's hand and began running to the tower, while Applejack and Rarity guarded against the incoming shots from the krabs that took form behind them.
When Twilight and Fluttershy reached the tower, they were stopped by three krabs that dropped down in front of them. Twilight pushed Fluttershy behind her and charged up energy into her hands.
“Get out of my way, XANA!” Twilight commanded, “Fluttershy is coming with me!”
The krabs charged up and fired at Twilight, who led Fluttershy out of the way and behind a tree. The krabs walked over to the tree and surrounded it, locking onto Twilight. She charged up energy and threw a single blast at one of the krabs killing it, and then ran out away from the red shots of the other two.
“Rares, go!” Applejack said, “Ah'm almost outta hit points! Ya gotta protect Twilight an' Fluttershy!”
“Dah!” Rarity shouted running to where Twilight and Fluttershy were. As she ran, Applejack took a shot in the side, being devirtualized.
Applejack: 0 HP
In the real world, Applejack's scanner opened up, revealing a really pissed Applejack.
“Damn it!” she shouted slamming the side of her scanner, “Don't lose, Twilight. Please.”
Rarity ran as fast as she could, doing her best to dodge the blasts behind her. She saw Twilight trading shots with two krabs, one of which got in a lucky shot.
Twilight: 60 HP
“Twilight!” Rarity called out, also getting the attention of the two krabs. She ran under one of the krabs slashing its legs to knock it down, and then stabbed it in the head with her sword, killing it. She was unfortunately left wide opened as all three krabs charged up their attacks.
“Rarity, run!” Fluttershy screamed too late, as the shots all hit her, instantly devirtualizing her.
Rarity: 0 HP
“NO!!!” Twilight screamed, Fluttershy covering her eyes in fear.
When Rarity's scanner opened up, she was actually lying down on the floor of it, barely conscious. When she came to and realized she was back in the real world, she slammed her fist on the ground in frustration.
Rarity came upstairs, of course surprised to see the vice-principal in Twilight's seat.
“What is she doing here?” Rarity asked.
“Accordin ta Dash and Pinkie Pie here, she's part of the group now,” Applejack said folding her arms. She clearly didn't like this very much.
“Is Twilight going to be okay?” Luna asked.
“She'll be fine,” Applejack said, “Twilight's one of the strongest ones in Lyoko in terms of attacks. As long as she don't take more damage she'll be okay.”
“Why don't some of you try going back in?” Luna asked, “Surly you can-”
“We can't,” Dash said, “Once we lose on Lyoko, we have to wait a whole twelve hours before we can go back in.”
“This means...” Luna looked afraid of the answer.
“It means Twilight is our last hope now,” Applejack said. She tried to sound confident, but Rarity could tell how tense she really was.
Twilight was alone in Lyoko now…
The three krabs circled Twilight and Fluttershy, stalking them and almost taunting them. If Twilight's theory was correct, XANA could see and hear everything through his monsters, so they might have been taunting her.
“We're so close,” Twilight said through gritted teeth, “The tower's right there too.”
“Twilight,” Fluttershy said looking sad, “I don't think we can make it… XANA planned this too well. He won't let me leave Lyoko. You all should leave me and-”
“No!” Twilight said adamantly.
“Twilight, please-”
“I said no!” Twilight shouted, “I'm not leaving you here! I promised I would save you, so I'm going to save you! You don't belong to XANA! You belong with me!”
“Oh Twilight...” Fluttershy said, her eyes tearing up.
“I said that by the end of the day you would be in the real world. The days almost over, and you're not in the real world yet, so I still have at least five hours,” Twilight said glaring at the krabs. She charged up her magic and fired a blast at the krab in front of her killing it.
As the other two krabs fired at her, Twilight used her magic somewhat differently creating an energy shield right in front of her for her and Fluttershy to hide behind.
“When I tell you to, make a beeline for the tower,” Twilight said to Fluttershy.
“Twilight, just in case I don't make it, there's something you need to know. Twilight… I lov-”
“Whatever it is,” Twilight said not turning to Fluttershy, “It can wait for when you're in the real world. That way we'll have all the time in the world.”
Fluttershy looked really afraid, but she nodded with renewed vigor. Twilight released her shield and fired two quick shots at the krabs making them flinch.
“Fluttershy now!” Twilight shouted. Fluttershy wasted no time dashing to the tower as fast as she could. When she passed the krabs, they turned and started charging up to fire at her, but Twilight ran in the way just in time to take the shots herself.
Twilight: 0 HP
Twilight devirtualized right as Fluttershy fazed into the tower. When she returned to the real world, Twilight wasted no time running to the elevator and going back to the computer room.
“Twilight, are you okay?” Luna asked.
“I'm fine,” Twilight said trading places with Luna, “No, I'm better than fine. With this, we're almost done.”
“Twilight, I think the krabs are firing at the tower!” Pinkie Pie said, “They want to destroy it with Fluttershy inside!”
“I won't let you!” Twilight said typing furiously on the computer, “You lost XANA! Fluttershy is coming to our world, where you'll never touch her again!”
Inside the tower, Fluttershy was lifted up. It felt different than usual though. This time she felt like something was holding her, and she felt her body being scanned. Slowly, her entire body began to break apart as the tower around her shook.
“Initiating Code: Earth!” Twilight shouted, pushing the enter key.
Inside the tower, Fluttershy's entire virtual form vanished from Lyoko just as the tower came apart, deleted.
Back in the real world, everyone was looking at the screen anxiously as Fluttershy's avatar was scanned on the screen and slowly vanished.
Program: CLEAR
Everyone went to the scanner room, where one single scanner was closed. They all waited patiently yet nervously as it did its job. After a few tense seconds, the scanner opened letting out a huge dust cloud.
When the smoke cleared, they saw someone sitting in the scanner leaning against the side as if asleep. It was a girl about their age with familiar long and full pink hair, fair skin, and an attractive build, wearing pink eye shadow, a simple white blouse, green skirt that fell to her knees, pink knee socks and light green boots with a two inch heel.
Applejack slowly took off her hat looking at this in disbelief. Rarity covered her mouth with her hands, looking like she was about to cry. Rainbow Dash's look of shock slowly turned into a relieved smile, while Pinkie Pie was already smiling, clapping her hands and jumping for joy. Luna looked at the girl in disbelief, as if trying to process what she was seeing.
Twilight was speechless, and held a single hand to her mouth trembling. When the girl stirred and opened her eyes, Twilight was unable to hold in her tears.
“Where… am I…?” the girl asked looking around, her voice high and melodious. When she looked at the teenage girls surrounding the scanner she was in, a look of recognition came over her, “Everyone… is this…?”
Twilight couldn't contain herself anymore. She burst into tears and ran over to the girl embracing her tightly.
“Welcome to Earth… Fluttershy.”