//------------------------------//
// 25: Forbidden Attraction 
// Story: Code Lyoko: EG 
// by Azure Sandora 
//------------------------------//

Theme Song: A World Without Danger

25: Forbidden Attraction

“This latest attack was interesting,” Twilight said on the computer, “XANA managed to take over a wasp swarm and used those to attack everyone while most of the students and staff went on a school trip.  Applejack and I stayed behind; me so I could work on Fluttershy's materialization program, but Applejack took a major fall for my sake.

“I really need to do something nice for her one day.  She's been a great friend to me.

“Oh, sorry, I got side tracked,” Twilight said pulling herself back to reality, “The interesting thing about this attack was what XANA did to Fluttershy.  She can only contact us when she's inside of a tower, so he waited until she was outside and then blocked all the towers with his monsters.  XANA's level in intellect is scary.  It was a good plan, but as usual we were able to pull of a victory.  XANA may be powerful, but at the end of the day, he's still just a computer program.  Once we've saved Fluttershy, XANA won't be a threat anymore.”

“Oh how wrong you were,” Sunset said sadly, pausing the journal to take notes.  She decided to use this weekend to listen to Twilight's video journal so she could learn a thing or two about XANA.  She had avoided it all this time because it was difficult to see Twilight as she was when the fight began.  When Sunset had met Twilight it was late into their fight, so she was beginning to feel the weight of it.

But the Twilight in the beginning of the journal had a strength in her eyes that Sunset found both alluring, and really inspiring.  It also showed just how dangerous XANA was if he was able to break Twilight like he did.

“Here you are,” Rainbow Dash said walking into the computer room, “Have you been here all weekend?”

“I stopped by the dorms to shower at least,” Sunset said grabbing a nearby can of Monster Energy Drink and chugging the rest, “Oh, and to get more of this.”

She threw the can behind her, where Dash saw a whole pile of empty cans of the stuff.

“Geez, trying to fight sleep?” Dash asked.

“I'm used to it,” Sunset said, “When you're in my profession, you learn early on how to live off of eight hours of sleep a week plus the occasional power nap.”

“I don't think you ever told us what you did before coming to Canterlot High,” Dash said leaning against the keyboard next to Sunset, “Or why you even came to the school.”

“Hopefully, you guys won't have to ever find out,” Sunset said, “Let's just say there are some people high up who would love to get a hold of me.”

Dash nodded with a slight frown before shrugging, “Eh, no big deal to me.  You've proven you're trustworthy in my opinion.  I don't give a shit where you came from or what you did.”

Sunset looked at Dash in surprise reading her.  She seemed… genuine.  Like she honestly felt that way.  “Loyalty” really went with her.

“Thanks Dash,” Sunset said with a smile, “It's reassuring that I have at least one true friend.”

“You kidding?  You have six,” Dash said, “Me, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Twilight.  You're a Lyoko Warrior now, and we always look out for our own.”

Sunset had to admit, it felt nice to feel so welcome in the team.  She was a last minute entry to the group, so at first she felt more distant from everyone, one of the reasons why she never took the secret passage, instead taking out of the way routes on her motorcycle.  To know that she was a member of the team made her feel like she'd be able to settle down here.

True friends were hard to come by with the life she led.

“So, what are you working on this time?” Dash asked, turning to look at the screen.

“I'm taking notes from Twilight's journal,” Sunset explained, “I want to learn as much as I can about XANA, and I feel like the best way would be to listen to past attacks.  That time at the swimming pool was crazy.”

“Y-yeah…” Dash said blushing, “That… wasn't too fun for me.”

“Why?” Sunset asked, “Twilight didn't get into too much detail on that one.  What happened at the swimming pool?”

“NOTHING!!!” Dash shouted, shocking Sunset, “Nothing happened at the swimming pool, alright!  I mean it!”

“G-got it!” Sunset nodded furiously, “Nothing happened that the swimming pool!”

Now she really wanted to know…

“Anyway,” Dash said calming down, “Did you discover anything?”

“Well, it's more so I'm noticing something about XANA,” Sunset said, “He tends to target you guys individually, unless there's something in particular he wants.  Some of these attacks were brutal.  Honestly, you guys are amazing to be able to deal with this.”

“When you're as awesome as me, nothing ever brings you down for too long,” Dash said arrogantly, “But seriously though, it's not easy.  Pinkie Pie had a few moments early on where she'd wake up in tears.”

“She's pretty sensitive from what I've noticed,” Sunset said thoughtfully, “I can tell her perkiness is a bit of a facade.  What about Applejack and Rarity?  I don't see them too much outside of Lyoko business, but I learned from Twilight's journal that Rarity suffers Chronic Anxiety.  With as many times she's been targeted, how is she not a nervous wreck?”

“Simple,” Dash said, “Applejack and Rarity have each other.  They've been hot for each other since this whole thing began, but they didn't start dating till three months ago.  They totally owe me for that, by the way.  I'm the whole reason they're together after all.”

“Right…” Sunset said with a suspicious smirk.  Somehow she thought Applejack and Rarity would remember that a bit differently, “So I guess they're together right now?”

“They're always together on the weekends,” Dash said, “I'm pretty sure they're on a date someplace, probably trying to kill each other in laser tag or something.”



The irony of Dash's statement, was that Applejack and Rarity weren't at the arcade fighting in laser tag.  They spent their weekend doing various things together: movie, lunch date, they even went shopping.  It was hitting the end of the day, and naturally they were at their special spot.  They would have been enjoying the sunset.

Except they were too busy enjoying each other, Rarity lying on top of Applejack, who had her arms wrapped around Rarity embracing her tightly as they made out.  Applejack wasn't ashamed to admit that she was happy to be at this stage in their relationship now.  They hadn't gone all the way yet, but they were clearly at second base, and on their way to third.  Applejack was happy, and as far as she knew, so was Rarity.

But Applejack was still concerned about Rarity's parents.

Rarity and Applejack separated after a few minutes, looking into each others eyes lovingly.

“Not gonna lie,” Applejack said caressing her lover's face, “Ah really needed this.”

“I think we both needed it,” Rarity said before resting her head on Applejack's chest, “It's relaxing, letting out emotions like this.”

“Have yer parents been givin ya a hard time?” Applejack asked, worried when Rarity tensed up a bit.

“Mama not so much,” Rarity said, “She's just concerned.  Papa on other hand…”

“He ain't hurtin ya or anythin, is he?” Applejack asked with a slight frown.

“Nothing physical,” Rarity said, “Papa isn't abusive.”

“Good,” Applejack said calming down.  She didn't care if he was her father, if he put one hand on Rarity, he forfeited his life in Applejack's eyes.

“It's just… lots of shouting…” Rarity said softly, “He wants me… to break up with you.  Says girls aren't supposed to sleep with other girls…”

“He… does know this is America, right?” Applejack asked, “That sort of ain't a big deal anymore, since the president made gay marriages legal an' all.”

“Papa says he doesn't care,” Rarity said, “He's old fashioned Russian, so he holds onto old ways.  He's been talking to relatives a lot about what to do with me.  Applejack, I'm scared he'll have me sent back to Russia.”

Holy shit.  Applejack hadn't thought about that.  Truth was, Applejack didn't think that they'd shun her, especially with Rarity's mom giving her the shop and everything.  The idea of Rarity being moved back to Russia scared her for more reasons than one though.

“Hm…” Applejack said closing her eyes, “That's concernin.  Ah ain't sayin that Ah'm opposed ta long distant relationships, but you movin back ta Russia would real put a damper on things.”

“Not just that,” Rarity said, tears building up in her eyes, “Homosexuals have hard time in Russia, and law doesn't protect them.”

“What, so people jus' harass them an' no one does anythin?” Applejack asked harshly, getting upset when Rarity nodded, “He's tryin ta scare ya inta bein straight, huh?”

“Russians are afraid of implications of homosexuality,” Rarity said, “Papa would see it as justified punishment for me.”

“That's fucked up,” Applejack said simply, “No two ways about it.  Ah know things are different in yer country, but here in America, that's jus' sick.”

“I don't know what to do!” Rarity said, her tears falling freely now, “Not just for my safety, but going back to Russia would mean I'd have to leave team!  What will you do if I'm not there?”

“We ain't gonna worry 'bout that,” Applejack said, “Yer not gonna move back to Russia.  If we have ta take drastic measure to ensure that doesn't happen, we will.”

“But, parents might-”

“Ah don't care what they say,” Applejack said sternly, holding onto Rarity tightly, “Ah ain't losin you.  Ah've already made up my mind that we're gonna spend the rest of our lives together, an' Ah ain't lettin no one; not XANA, not yer folks, anyone tear us apart.”

“Applejack…” Rarity said, pressing her lips against Applejack's in another kiss.  Sure, she turned into a knight on Lyoko, but Rarity was Applejack's personal princess.  She'd protect Rarity, no matter what.  Even if she had to protect Rarity from her own family.

She wasn't going to lose anyone else.



After walking Rarity close to her house, the two of them separated, Applejack making her way back toward the school.  She didn't bring her skates with her, so she was in for a long walk back to class, unless a miracle happened.

BEEP BEEP

A familiar blue car drove up next to Applejack.  She looked and saw Vice-Principal Luna driving close to her.

“You do know it's way past curfew, right?” Luna asked raising an eyebrow.

“Oh Ah know,” Applejack said with a smirk, “Which by the way, it's pretty late out fer you as well.  What would a good, rule abiding woman like yerself be doin out this late at night, hm?”

Luna's face turned red and she coughed, “I'd… rather not talk about it,” Applejack rolled her eyes.  Luna then opened the door to the passenger seat, “I'll give you a lift back to school.”

Applejack sighed and got in the car.  They were silent for a while as they drove back to the school, as Applejack didn't quite feel like taunting the older woman next to her.

“So what's on your mind?” Luna asked.

“What makes ya think there's anythin on my mind?” Applejack asked looking out the window.

“You are in the school disciplinarian's car after being caught breaking curfew, and you're not throwing taunts or jabs at me,” Luna stated, “Also, you just came back from spending time with Rarity, yet you're not smiling.  I know you, so spill it.”

Applejack sighed, “Am Ah too young ta know what it means to truly love someone?”

“Hm… Well, I'd say that there isn't an actual age you need to hit to know what love is,” Luna said, “But I would say that you have to be at a certain level of maturity to know.”

“An'… am Ah at that level yet?” Applejack asked.

“That depends,” Luna said, “How would you describe how you feel about her?”

“It's… hard ta explain,” Applejack admitted, “Whenever Ah'm with her, Ah jus' feel right.  It ain't jus' happiness.  It's a feelin like Ah'm with my second half, ya know?” Luna nodded, letting Applejack continue, “We ain't goin all the way yet, but honestly, Ah don't feel like we need to.  Ah think about it sometimes, an' if we ever did go that far, Ah'd be mighty happy.”

“Of course,” Luna stated.

“But… that ain't really on my mind when it comes ta her.  Ah jus' want ta be with her.  Ta hold her in my arms an' never let go.  The idea of us ever bein apart tears me up inside.  Lulu… Ah feel like… Rarity is…”

“You're what?” Luna asked.

“You'll laugh,” Applejack stated.

“Maybe,” Luna admitted jovially, “But you already came this far.  Besides, with the number of times you've laughed at me young lady, you deserve a taste of your own medicine.”

Applejack shook her head chuckling a bit.  She both hated and loved this woman.

“Ah think… she's… my soul mate,” Applejack said.  Luna looked like she was trying hard not to, but after a second actually started laughing a bit, “Ah knew Ah sounded ridiculous…”

“No no, it's not that,” Luna said trying to calm down, “I mean, yes that's horribly cheesy, but I understand what you're trying to say.  If you ask me, it sounds like you're feelings for Rarity have really matured.”

“They have,” Applejack said, “When Ah first saw her, Ah'll admit, Ah was physically drawn ta her.  Ah couldn't believe how beautiful she was.  That combined with how intense she was with her feelins.  Everyone else was terrified of her, but Ah wanted that intensity.  Ah loved it, an' it drove me crazy from the moment Ah ever laid eyes on her.

“Then Ah got ta know her better, an' Ah saw who she was on the inside.  She was lonely, an' in a lot of pain.  Ah saw glimpses of that pain, an' Ah wanted ta save her from it.  It wasn't until XANA corrupted her that Ah finally saw how scared she was of bein alone.  Ah swore after that day Ah'd never let her suffer alone again.  Now though…”

“What's happening now?” Luna asked.

“Rarity's parents found out 'bout us datin, an' they ain't too thrilled ta learn their daughter's a lesbian,” Applejack said.

“Ahh yes, I can see how that would be a problem,” Luna said, “They're giving her a hard time then?”

“Yeah they are,” Applejack sighed, “Between that, XANA, an' her Anxiety Disorder, it's a wonder that she's still sane.  A part of me feels like this is my fault.”

“And how so?” Luna asked.

“Well, Ah pursued her,” Applejack said, “Even when Ah learned that her country was against homosexuality, Ah still kept goin.  An' durin the Spring Fling, Ah put her in the situation she's in right now.  If Ah had controlled myself more…”

“Mmm… this was going to happen regardless,” Luna explained, “Honestly, the sooner it happened, the better.  Besides, if I remember that night correctly, she was flirting with you the whole night.”

“Well… she felt real sexy in that dress,” Applejack said blushing, “Ah mean, she was sexy in it, but…”

“See?  It isn't your fault.  You didn't put Rarity in a funny position,” Luna said.

“But what do Ah do now?” Applejack asked, “Ah love her so much, but there's a part of me that's thinkin the best thing Ah could do fer her… would be to-”

Luna stopped the car suddenly and turned to Applejack, “No, AJ.  What you're thinking right now isn't the right decision.”

“But if her parents try an' send her back to Russia-”

“She needs you right now,” Luna stated, “Now more than ever.  I remember when it happened, at the prom.  Rarity was broken, and she missed an entire week of school she was so heartbroken.  She was alone since then, all the way until you came into her life.  There's something really special about you, AJ.  You bring out the best in people.  You're strong, resourceful, and faithful, and right now Rarity needs that faithfulness.  Whatever you can do to help her through this, do it, and let her know that you're going to stay with her no matter what happens.”

Applejack actually smiled a bit hearing that.  If it had been anyone else, Applejack would have still felt funny, but there was something about Luna that always rang true.  They were a lot alike in that regard.

“Ah bring out the best in people, huh?” Applejack asked smirking, “So that means Ah didn't ruin Twilight?”

“Oh, you ruined her alright,” Luna said starting up the car again, “In the best possible way.”

Applejack smiled, and hugged Luna, “Thanks, Lulu.”

“That's what friends are for, AJ,” Luna said returning the hug.



As usual, Twilight pulled at the odd ropes binding her to the chair she was sitting in.  Also as usual, they didn't give in the slightest.  These had been created by XANA, and they only ever disappeared when XANA was controlling her body.

She didn't even know why she kept trying.  It had been three weeks since Twilight was captured, and her situation hadn't improved one bit.  She didn't even have the luxury of suicide, as XANA made sure any attempts to prevent him from using her body was thwarted personally.  She hated having XANA control her.  He always made her say and do things that she normally wouldn't.  It didn't feel like she was in the back seat either.  She felt her body moving, felt the words coming out of her mouth.  She just could do anything to stop it.

“Good, you're awake,” Tirek said walking into the room.  Next to him was a young woman with purple hair with a blue highlight in it and tied in a high ponytail, wearing a simple purple suit shirt, black tie, black skirt, fishnet stockings, and black high heels.  The woman always had her head down, and never looked Twilight in the eyes.

“Did you come to taunt me?” Twilight asked weakly.

“Oh no, that's not why I'm here at all,” Tirek said, “XANA has a mission for you.  It's a bit of an involved mission, so I thought that instead of making us do all the work, we simply have you help us.”

“XANA may force me to stay alive, but I'll never help your organization,” Twilight said with as much strength as she could muster.

“I think you will,” Tirek said, “Starlight, show her.”

“Yes, Mr. Tirek,” the woman, Starlight, said walking over to the screen.  Still never looking at Twilight, she turned on the screen in front of her, which showed Celestia in her cell.  Her wrists were chained over her head, her legs were forced to spread out with her ankles chained to the floor, and she had a series of wires taped to her.  She looked to be in terrible shape.  A scientist in the room pushed a button, and Celestia started screaming in pain as she was electrocuted with what looked like enough electricity to kill a person.

“EOS!!!” Twilight cried.  Unable to bear it, she closed her eyes and turned away, “Please stop it!  Make it stop!”

The scientist stopped after a few seconds, poor Celestia now practically hanging.  Thankfully she was still breathing.

“If you don't do exactly what XANA says, we'll kill Eos,” Tirek said, “You don't want that on your conscious, now do you?”

They were asking her to help them, obviously to betray her friends.  However, if she didn't listen to them, they were going to kill Celestia, and Twilight was in no position to do anything to stop them.  She looked around the room, Tirek still with a smug smile, but Starlight oddly looked away biting her lip.  After a second, Twilight sighed.

“Alright…” she said, shedding tears thinking about what she was about to do, “What do you want me to do…?”



The next day, Applejack went right out to the front gate of the school to wait for Rarity.  Without Twilight there to keep her company, the room felt too empty, and she hated the quiet.  Luna had offered to temporarily give Applejack a roommate to keep her company, but she declined.  Honestly, there wasn't anyone on campus that she could see herself sharing a room with.

“Hey,” Sunset said walking up to her, “You come out here everyday, huh?”

“It's a bit of a mornin ritual,” Applejack said, “Since Rares lives off campus, Ah like ta meet her here so she don't have ta walk in alone.”

Sunset nodded, “Sorry if me being here seems odd.  I'm just… I guess I'm trying to get closer to the team.”

“Ah noticed that yer a little awkward around everyone outside of Lyoko stuff,” Applejack pointed out, “Didn't have many friends at yer old school either?”

“Nope, never,” Sunset admitted leaning against the gate next to Applejack, “I've never stayed in one place long enough to make any.  You guys are the first people to really feel like friends to me, and a part of me feels like it's just because of Lyoko.  I don't know, I guess I just feel a little… awkward about that.”

“Funny, Rares was the same way,” Applejack said, “She an' Ah weren't friends before Lyoko.  Actually, she initially used Lyoko sort of as an excuse ta be friends with us.”

“And now look at you two,” Sunset said smiling, “I hear you guys are the school's power couple.  Students are hoping you two will get married after graduating.”

“Ah'd like that,” Applejack said somberly, “But Rarity's parents…”

Before she could finish, she saw a car drive up to the school.  Out of the car, Sweetie Belle skipped out of the back seat.  Applejack saw Rarity and her mother sitting in the front seats of the car, having what looked like a serious conversation.  Sweetie Belle walked over to Applejack.

“Hi AJ!” Sweetie Belle chirped.

“Hey Sweetie Belle,” Applejack said, “Is… everythin alright with those two?”

Sweetie Belle wilted immediately, “Last night, Rarity got into a really bad fight with our dad.  He said he was upset that she came home so late, but Rarity said he was mad because she was with…”

Applejack took a deep breath.  She didn't need to hear it to know why he was mad.

“Is Rarity going to be alright?” Sunset asked.

“I don't know,” Sweetie Belle said, “Papa really doesn't like Rarity dating another girl.  I think Mama's on Rarity's side, a little at least.”

“What about you?” Applejack asked, “How do you feel 'bout me an' Rares datin?”

“I'm happy,” Sweetie Belle said honestly, “Rarity used to be really tense all the time, fussing about how someone upset her or gave her looks, but after she started dating you, she relaxed.  Not even Blueblood made her feel this good,” Sweetie Belle took Applejack's hand, “You'll help her, right AJ?  I don't want Rarity to go back to how she used to be.”

“Ah'll make sure that doesn't happen,” Applejack said.  Sweetie Belle hugged Applejack and then walked into the school.  A second later, Rarity finally stepped out of the car.  She took a deep breath and walked over to Applejack, her mother watching her the entire time.

“Good morning,” Rarity said going right up to Applejack.  With her mother watching, she wrapped her arms around Applejack and kissed her.

“Mornin,” Applejack said, “Are ya sure this is okay?”

“Honestly, I don't care,” Rarity said.  She turned back to the car and shot her mother a look.  The older woman closed her eyes somberly, and then drove off.  Rarity took Applejack's arm and walked into the school, Sunset running to catch up with them.

“Don't you usually walk to school?” Sunset asked.

“Dah, but Mama wanted to talk about last night,” Rarity explained.

“Sweetie Belle mentioned ya had a big fight with yer dad,” Applejack said, “Wanna talk 'bout it?”

“Nyet,” Rarity said simply, “It's bad enough I have test first period.  Beyond that, I want to just relax today.”

Applejack could tell that Rarity was really anxious, and she just knew it wasn't going to end well.  She needed to talk about it, to let it out, but when she got like this there was nothing Applejack could do except be there for her.

“Then Ah won't press ya,” Applejack said, “Jus' know, if ya wanna talk, Ah'll listen.”

“Spasibo, Applejack,” Rarity said kissing her on the cheek.  They walked off, but Sunset stayed behind a bit watching them.

“She's an easy target,” she reasoned, “That's why XANA isolates her so much.”

She ran after her friends to the cafeteria, resolving to fix this issue next.  She had to protect her team from XANA.



Everyone could tell that Rarity wasn't her usual self.  She spent most of the day either clinging to Applejack, or sitting by herself reading.  If it wasn't for the fact that she was snuggled close to Applejack, they'd think they had an argument.

As usual, they gathered together at lunch, Sunset pulling out her computer so A) Spike could join them as well, and B) so she could show them the current map of the Digital Sea, which Pinkie Pie affectionately started calling the “Virtual World” with how many Lyokos there were.  They even found sectors not based off of the main four.

“With Spike's help, I've been able to narrow Twilight's location to one of these seventy replicas,” Sunset said.

“Fantastic!” Pinkie Pie cheered, “Boy, you and Spike work fast.”

“Unfortunately, until we tag one of these Lyokos at the edge here, we can't narrow it down anymore than this,” Sunset said closing the app, Spike whining sadly.

“Cheer up, you two,” Rarity said, “This is big improvement.  We just need to go into Lyoko replica like before, dah?”

“We also need to investigate the place that's generating the Lyoko,” Fluttershy said folding her arms, “I bet if we can analyze the computer, we can get information that will help us narrow it even more.”

“So we're going after school right?” Dash asked, “Applejack and Rarity don't have fencing on Mondays, so its actually the perfect day.”

“I… can't today,” Rarity said looking away darkly, “I have to go straight home after school.  You all can manage without me though, I'm sure.”

“Are you crazy?!” Pinkie Pie cried, “You're the tank in the party!  The one with the best defense and the strongest attack!  You not being available in the party when we're going into the next major dungeon is going to guarantee that we get a game over!  WE BARELY BEAT THE LAST BOSS!!!”

Everyone in the cafeteria looked in their direction, and Pinkie Pie smiled sheepishly sitting back down.

“While I'd word it a little differently,” Sunset said rolling her eyes, “Pinkie Pie does bring up a point.  These areas are more dangerous than our Lyoko Sectors.  They're all under XANA's control, and even when Twilight isn't there, he can see what we're doing.  We can't risk going in unless everyone is available.”

“That makes things harder then,” Rarity sighed, “I'm not sure when I'll be free to help again.”

“Eh, it's no biggie,” Dash waved it off, “You can't stay busy all week, right?  We can just go when you're schedule clears up,” Rarity sighed sadly, stood up, and walked away from the table, leaving the cafeteria.  Everyone turned to Rainbow Dash, “Nuh uh.  You can't blame me for this one.”

“She seems so much more tense than usual,” Fluttershy said, “Actually, Rarity's been like that since the beginning of the semester.”

“She's… goin through something with her family,” Applejack said cryptically, “Ah don't wanna put her business out there, but…”

“Her parents found out about the two of you dating, and they're like totally not okay with it because Russia thinks that homosexuality is unnatural and are currently giving her a hard time, and with the stress of fighting XANA and us not knowing where Twilight is, her anxiety is starting to bother her and since she's at odds with her parents she can't get any relief unless she's with you, but NOW they're interfering with that causing her even MORE stress,” Pinkie Pie said in a single breath, everyone turning to her shocked, “What?”

“How do you do that?” Sunset asked slowly.

“I… don't know what you're talking about,” Pinkie Pie said honestly.  Fluttershy placed a hand on Sunset's back and shook her head.

“Don't question it,” Fluttershy said.

“But, that's not the first time she's-” Fluttershy shook her head, cutting her off.  Sunset groaned in frustration.  It seemed like Pinkie Pie's logic was the one thing she couldn't figure out.

“So… I'm guessing Pinkie Pie was spot on,” Dash said, Applejack just taking a breath and rolling her eyes slightly as a response, “What are you doing here then?  Go after her.”

“Girls, Ah'm part of the problem,” Applejack said, “Ah wanna be there for her, but Ah don't wanna be the reason she an' her parents fall out.”

“Please,” Dash said, “She's falling out with her parents because they're close minded idiots.  She wants you to follow her, so go.”

Applejack nodded, stood up, and ran out of the cafeteria.  Rainbow Dash put her hands behind her head and smirked.

“Aaaaaannnd I totally did it again,” Dash said arrogantly, “I should have my own TV show.  Like… Dr. Dash or something like that.”

“Don't quit your day job anytime soon,” Sunset said, “This is a problem though.  If Rarity's parents keep harassing her, and make it hard for her to be alone, we're going to have a hard time preparing to fight XANA.”

“Can't we just use Return to the Past?” Pinkie Pie asked, “Rarity skips out on her parents to help us, then we use Return to the Past to redo the day.”

“We can't activate Return to the Past without a tower though,” Fluttershy pointed out.

“Also, we don't know if using Return to the Past still increases XANA's computing power,” Sunset added, “We can't risk using that whenever we want.”

“So what do we do?” Rainbow Dash asked, “We can't lose Rarity as a front line fighter.  We're coming into the endgame here.”

“I realize,” Sunset said biting her thumb, “I'll think of something, I promise.”



Rarity couldn't be in the cafeteria with her friends, so she decided to spend the rest of lunch outside on a bench.  The idea that she might get shipped back to Russia weighed heavily on her heart.  Being moved back to Russia would mean she's have to leave the team.  They wouldn't be able to save Twilight without her.  Even if her new form didn't have as high defense as her old one, she was still the strongest physically.

But the thing that was really scaring her was being forced to leave Applejack.  She made her happier than she ever was in her life.  Wasn't that all that mattered in the end?  If having a child was an issue, then they could always either adopt, get a surrogate, or artificial insemination.  There were a lot of options.  What did it matter if she dated a boy or a girl?

“There ya are,” Applejack said sitting down next to Rarity, “The others are worried about ya.”

“S-sorry…” Rarity said, not looking Applejack into the eyes.

“So, yer parents are makin ya go home early?” Applejack asked.

“D-dah…” Rarity said.

“Rares, Ah'm sorry yer goin through so much,” Applejack said wrapping her arms around Rarity, “Between this, an' XANA…”

“I'm fine,” Rarity said suddenly.

“Rares, yer not fine,” Applejack said taking her hand, “Yer stressed, an' yer anxiety is beginnin ta act up.  Why don't ya skip the rest of class.  In fact, we can go to our special spot.”

“Actually, I'd like to… go alone right now…” Rarity said softly.

“O-oh, Ah see…” Applejack said.  Oh dear, she sounded hurt.

“It's not because I'm upset at you,” Rarity said quickly, squeezing Applejack's hand, “I just need to be alone with thoughts.”

“Rares, Ah… Ah'm messin up,” Applejack said, “Everyone keeps tellin me that it ain't my fault, but-”

Rarity pressed her lips against Applejack's to cut her off.

“Nyet, you are not problem.  You are only thing that makes me smile now.  I just need to figure out how to deal with parents, but I'm not going to let them break us up,” Rarity pressed her forehead against Applejack's, “Promise me that you won't leave.  Even if parents try to send me back to Russia, love me.  Just love me.”

“Ah promise Rarity,” Applejack said, placing her hand on Rarity's cheek, “Ah'll be with ya no matter what.  An' ya don't have ta worry 'bout me not lovin ya.  Ah don't think Ah could ever stop lovin ya.”

This time, Rarity pulled Applejack in, wrapping her arms around her and kissing her passionately.  She didn't know when it started, but one day the idea of not being with Applejack became so painful that she had to hold her as close as possible.

They parted and looked into each others eyes as always.  Rarity then let go of Applejack and walked off campus, her heart feeling heavy once again.  This feeling was new to Rarity, as not even Blueblood made her feel like this when they were dating.

Was this what it meant to truly be in love?



In the Mountain Sector of Lyoko, red electricity flowed through wires to a tower high up, it's blue aura changing to red.

Elsewhere in the Forest Sector, Spike was lying in a tower taking a bit of a nap to recharge his energy when his ears perked up.

XANA ALERT

XANA ALERT

XANA ALERT

Spike stood up, growled, and ran out of the tower to find the way tower.  Once inside, he immediately jumped off the side, transferring to the Mountain Sector.  When he emerged, he saw mantas.  LOTS of mantas.  The entire sector was infested with them.

He backed away, rushing back into the tower he came from, connecting to Sunset Shimmer's computer.



Rarity just passed the Everfree Mansion and was turning the corner to her special spot.  Right as she turned the corner, three men in black suits and sunglasses walked in front of her.  Rarity was about to tell them to get out of her way, but a familiar red symbol flashed in their sunglasses.

“XANA!” Rarity cried.  She turned to run in the other direction, but a fourth man stood behind her, holding a white rope.  Two of the men behind her grabbed her wrists as the one with the rope started tying her up.

“NYET!!!  NYET!!!” Rarity screamed, writhing and twisting in their grip, trying in vain to resist.  After binding her wrists and ankles, the last man took her cellphone and they took her to a black car, throwing her into the trunk and closing it.

As she felt the car drive off, Rarity kicked at the trunk screaming frantically.



Sunset was in her advanced math class about to doze off, when her computer's alarm went off.  The teacher turned in her direction as she pulled out her laptop and opened it.

TOWER ACTIVATED

LOCATION: MOUNTAIN SECTOR

21 LAT, 18 LONG

“Miss Shimmer, I don't have a problem with laptops, but could you not have the volume up?” the math teacher asked.

“Sorry sir,” Sunset said packing up her computer, “I uh… have to go to the infirmary, like now!”

The math teacher looked like he saw though the lie, but he shook his head, “Just don't miss the rest of your classes, alright?”

I make no promises, Sunset thought shooting up from her desk.  Once outside, she pulled out her computer again and opened it, this time seeing that Spike was trying to contact her.

“Spike, what's the situation?” Sunset asked.  On her computer, Sunset saw a visual of the Mountain Sector, which was infested with mantas, “That's… not good,” she pulled out her cellphone and called Fluttershy, “Hey Fluttershy, XANA alert!  It's a big one!  Get as many people as you can and have them meet us at the factory!  If you can, try to get at least one of the Architects to come too!  Yeah, it's that bad on Lyoko.”



The specters took Rarity out to the far end of town, where the power plant was.  Once there, they took Rarity out and carried her deep into the power plant, near a transformer.  Three of them adjusted her ropes, sitting her down in front of a pole and tying her waist to a nearby pole, and binding her wrists and ankles together.  As they did this, the fourth specter was setting up something next to her.

Rarity struggled against the ropes, once again in vain.  Once the ropes were secured, one of the specters held Rarity's phone in front of her, and a text message appeared.

I Hope you're comfortable, Rarity.

“Let me go XANA!” Rarity screamed.

This is what happens to those who betray me.  You did this to yourself, Rarity.

“Friends will find me!” Rarity said, tears building up in her eyes, “They'll either rescue me, or deactivate tower!”

I certainly hope they come to rescue you.  At least, I hope at least one of them does.  Either way, if they come here or attempt to deactivate my tower, I'll have a surprise waiting for them.

Her phone went dead and sparked, breaking before she could ask what XANA meant.  She then noticed the man next to her finished what he was working on, and got the shock of a life time.

He was setting up a bomb!

He set the timer to thirty minutes, and then the four of them walked out of the power plant, leaving Rarity alone.  Her heart was pounding out of her chest.  She had no way of letting Applejack or anyone know where she was, her phone was broken, and even if they did somehow find her, she was all the way in the other side of town.

It didn't take long for a panic attack to start, Rarity screaming and pulling at the ropes binding her.  After a few seconds to a minute of that, she completely broke down into loud and heavy sobs.

“Pomogi mne… Applejack…!” Rarity sobbed helplessly, praying that somehow, someway, Applejack would know she was in danger.



“Come on… Come on…!” Applejack said pacing around, trying once again to call Rarity.

The number you have reached is not in service.  Please check the number, and dial again.

“Damn it!” Applejack said hanging up her phone.  The only ones in the laboratory with her Sunset and Pinkie Pie.

“Applejack, you have to be calm,” Sunset said.

“Calm?!  Rarity's phone is cut off, an' there's probably a specter out there!  Ugh, Ah shouldn't have left her alone!”

“Applejack, Sunset is right,” Pinkie Pie said putting her arms around Applejack, “Getting upset isn't going to help anyone.”

“We'll find Rarity,” Sunset said, “I've already hacked into a military satellite, and I'm looking all over Canterlot.”

The elevator opened up, and Fluttershy ran in with Dash and Discord of all people.

“Guys, Discord says he wants to help,” Fluttershy said.

“Ahh, I haven't been here in ages,” Discord said with an air of nostalgia.

“Lulu couldn't make it?” Applejack asked, sounding disappointed.

“She wanted to be here, but she's stuck in a meeting,” Discord said, “How bad is it that this old man had to come out of retirement?”

Sunset sighed, “Take a look,” she said pulling up the map of the Mountain Sector, showing hundreds of red arrows scattered around.  Everyone paled when they saw that, but Discord whistled.

“Looks to me like you have a virus infestation,” Discord said ironically.

“What are those?” Dash asked.

“Mantas,” Sunset said, “Every single one of them is a manta, and sadly that isn't even the worst of it,” she moved map over to the tower, “Look who else is there.”

“XANA…” Fluttershy said with a glare.

“There's no way we're getting through all of that without Rarity,” Pinkie Pie said, “I told her.  We need a tank.”

“Unfortunately, she still ain't pickin up,” Applejack said, “Rares, where are-”

“WAIT!!!” Sunset shouted, “I found her!” she slowly turned to Applejack, “AJ, you need to see this…”

Applejack walked over to the screen, and immediately saw red.  Rarity was tied to a pole, her wrists and ankles tied together, and she was crying.  She actually looked terrified, like she was panicking.

“Where is that?” Applejack seethed.

“Hold on,” Sunset said, “This is bad…”

“What's bad?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“She's being kept in Canterlot Power Plant,” Sunset said.

“What the hell?!” Dash asked, “That's all the way outside of town!”

“Would you believe that's not the worst of it?” Sunset asked, “That thing right there she keeps looking at,” Sunset said pointing to something a bit to her right, “That's a bomb.”

“A bomb?!” Applejack shouted.

“XANA's cheating!” Pinkie Pie shouted, “He's not allowed to do this!  This is too meta!”

Applejack turned quickly and ran back to the elevator.

“Hey, where are you going?!” Dash asked.

“Where do ya think?!” Applejack shouted, “Ah'm goin ta save Rarity!”

“AJ, she's on the other side of town!” Dash shouted walking over to her, “I know how you feel, but we need you on Lyoko!”

“Know how Ah feel?!” Applejack shouted, “You don't know anythin 'bout how Ah feel?!  Ah can't lose Rarity!  If Ah lose her, Ah'll die, Dash!”

“You know, Applejack does have a point,” Discord said, “We don't know if we're going to be able to get her out of there in time.  It's better if we have someone over there, just in case we can't deactivate the tower in time.”

Dash sighed in resignation, “How are you going to get there anyway?  You can't skate all the way there.”

“Ah'll think of somethin,” Applejack said, “Jus' get inta Lyoko an' do somethin 'bout that specter.”

Applejack took the elevator up to the factory, and Discord stretched.

“Well, with you girls short a few fighters, I guess you'll be needing a little extra help,” Discord said.

“Are you coming with us?” Pinkie Pie asked hopefully.

“Were you actually planning on leaving without me?” Discord asked, “Afraid this old man is going to slow you down?  You're looking at a Lyoko veteran.”

“Just don't slow me down, old man,” Dash said with a smirk.

“Okay, I'll transport you guys right outside of the tower Spike is in,” Sunset said setting up the transfer, “You're probably going to get bombarded by mantas the second you land, so be careful.”

Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Discord took the elevator downstairs to the scanner room.  Once they arrived, Fluttershy sent Sunset a text message letting her know to start.

“Transfer Rainbow Dash!” Sunset said, closing the scanner as Dash walked inside.

“Transfer Pinkie Pie!” Sunset said, Pinkie Pie stepping into her scanner as it closed.

“Transfer Fluttershy!” Sunset continued, as Fluttershy walked into her scanner right before it closed.

“Transfer Discord!” Sunset said as Discord walked into the final scanner.  He actually gave an elegant bow as his scanner closed.

Sunset pulled up Rainbow Dash's avatar and connected her to it, “Scanner Rainbow Dash!”

Pinkie Pie's avatar rendered next, “Scanner Pinkie Pie!”

Fluttershy's avatar came up and began rendering, “Scanner Fluttershy!”

Finally, an odd looking avatar that looked like a mad hatter her magician rendered, “Scanner Discord!  Virtualization!”

Sunset pressed the enter key, and the four of them all transferred out of the real world, pulled into Lyoko.



In the Mountain Sector, the four of them rendered.  After the girls landed on the ground, they turned to Discord to see what he turned into.  His form was interesting.  He was now wearing a tuxedo that was white with black stripes on the left, and black with white polka dots on the right, black dress shoes, a red bow tie, a top hat that was a reverse pattern of his tuxedo, and a black masquerade mask that had yellow opaque eyes, giving him a sort of mad and sinister appearance.

Unfortunately they didn't get a chance to admire him though, as they were bombarded by manta lasers from above.

“Take cover!” Dash ordered.  Everyone ran into the tower behind them, where Spike was sitting waiting for them.

“Sorry Rarity couldn't be here this time, Spikey,” Fluttershy said petting the cybernetic wolf on the head.

“First time back in the saddle, and it's the biggest show of my life,” Discord said, “XANA went all out this time.”

“How are we going to get through that?” Pinkie Pie asked, “Not even I'm crazy enough to go out there.”

“Well, it's a good thing I am,” Discord said, surprising everyone.

“Hold on,” Dash said, “What are you planning?”

Discord laughed, “Plan?  What are you talking about?  I never have a plan.”

Discord ran out of the tower, scaring everyone there.

“Discord, wait!” Sunset cried out, “You're going to get yourself killed!”

Right outside, Discord ran down the pathway.  All the mantas flying around there targeted him and started firing, but Discord did something odd.  He spun around really fast almost like a top, and moved in odd patterns around the road, dodging all of them.

While they were focused on him, Fluttershy flew out of the tower with her bow at the ready.

“Light Arrow!” Fluttershy shouted, firing at three mantas in a line killing all three.  Rainbow Dash shot out of the tower using her Super Sprint to out run the incoming shots, and Pinkie Pie used her now stronger Homing Attack to take out a few of the mantas that Fluttershy missed.

Spike ran out of the tower and targeted a few of the mantas flying around.  When they flew down toward him, he launched fireballs at them while jumping away to avoid their shots.

As they made their way to the tower, Twilight stepped out to the edge of the platform she was standing on and pointed at them.

“Bombard them with everything you have!” she ordered.  Another wave of mantas flew in their direction.  They fired at them, one laser hitting Dash.

Rainbow Dash: 70 HP

Discord jumped in front of her and held his arms out in front of him.  Out of his sleeves shot a barrage of playing cards that continuously damaged the mantas, actually knocking them out of the sky and killing them.

“Geez, you're insane!” Dash said.

“Thank you, Dashie,” Discord said jovially, “But you know, I'd like to think my skill in battle is pretty impressive too.”

Discord did a cartwheel to the side, leaving Dash confused.

“Now I have him calling me Dashie…?” Dash said.

Back near the tower, Twilight turned her back and walked back toward the tower, but Fluttershy flew up to her, landing behind her.

“XANA!” Fluttershy shouted pointing her bow at XANA.  She slowly turned around, and Fluttershy expected XANA to say something taunting to her, but she didn't.  Instead, she pointed her arm out and fired at Fluttershy with her strongest blast.

Fluttershy screamed and jumped to the side out of the way.  Just as she recovered, XANA held her hands out rapidly firing bolts of energy at Fluttershy.  As she flew around the attacks, Fluttershy took notice of the familiar manner XANA was swaying her hips as if she were moving to music only she could hear.

Wait, Fluttershy thought, XANA is overtly sexual in Twilight's body.  He didn't do those subtle moves.  The only one who moved like that while fighting was…

XANA stopped firing, spun around once, kicked her leg high in the air, and then bent really far back as her energy coursed through her body.  She then released that energy in her hands sending a wave of energy outward that did only minor damage to Fluttershy, but knocked her out of the sky.

Fluttershy: 90 HP

“Fluttershy, you have to attack!” Sunset shouted as Fluttershy rose to her knees, “Fluttershy!”

XANA held her hands out to her side one by one, moving her hips at the same time, and then lifted them above her head and shot a mini laser out at Fluttershy, who rolled to the side just in time.

That confirmed it.  It was…

“Why…?” Fluttershy asked pointing her bow at her opponent, her hands trembling, “Why are you doing this…?”

“Fluttershy, why are you-”

“This isn't XANA, Sunset!” Fluttershy cried, “This is… Twilight.  She's doing this… herself.”



Sunset sat back in her chair as Fluttershy's words hit her.  Twilight was fighting them herself?  This attack wasn't XANA's plan?  It was Twilight's plan?

“Twilight…?” Sunset asked trembling, “You're… helping XANA…?”



Applejack threw on her skates and shot out of the factory, skating to the middle of town.  She stopped when she realized two things.  One, she didn't know where the power plant was, and two, even if she did know, there was NO way she'd get there on her own in time.

“Damn it damn it DAMN IT!!!” Applejack screamed, kicking a nearby trash can, “What the hell am Ah gonna do?!  Ah gotta get to Rarity, somehow!”

She pulled out her cellphone and texted the one person she knew had a car who could help her.  Sure, she was in a meeting right now, but this was TOO important.  Rarity's life was on the line.



Rarity struggled with the ropes a bit, but gave up much quicker than before.  She turned to the bomb next to her to see how much time was left.

20:43

Feeling her heart rate pick up again leading to another panic attack, she closed her eyes and focused on Applejack.  She had to come for her.  She had to.

“Pomogi mne… Applejack…” she sobbed.  Out of all the times XANA targeted her for an attack, this was by far the most terrifying for her.  When something similar happened to Pinkie Pie, she recovered quickly, but still avoided large pools of water for a week.

Between the nature of this attack and her anxiety, Rarity wasn't sure she'd recover as quickly.



When Applejack arrived back at the school, Vice-Principal Luna was already waiting for her outside next to her car.

“Sorry ta pull ya out,” Applejack said, “But Ah really need yer help badly.”

“Say no more,” Luna said opening the car door, “Get in.  Fill me in on the way.”

As they drove off, Applejack told Luna the situation.  Needless to say, Luna opted to ignore the speed limit for the most part.

“Don't worry,” Luna said, “We're going to rescue her.”

“Do you know how ta disarm a bomb?” Applejack asked.  Luna took a deep, nervous breath.

“Sadly, I do not,” Luna admitted, “But hopefully the others will be able to activate Return to the Past in time.”

“Yeah, Ah hope so,” Applejack said looking out the window as the town zoomed past her.  Thankfully no police cars noticed them, but if they did, Luna would have probably ignored them.



Pinkie Pie was running on all fours away from three mantas as they fired at her.  One shot hit her in the back.

Pinkie Pie: 40 HP

She flipped to her feet and turned to the mantas, Discord right next to her firing cards out of his sleeves at two mantas.  Once they were dead, he ran over to Pinkie Pie, jumped up to one of the mantas, and slapped an Ace of Spades card on it.  When he landed, he snapped his finger, making the card explode and taking out the manta.

Pinkie Pie used her Homing Attack to kill one of them, but the last one shot her before she could target it.

Pinkie Pie: 10 HP

The blast knocked Pinkie Pie back, but she was too far from the platform and was now falling toward the Digital Sea.

“PINKIE PIE!!!” Rainbow Dash screamed when she saw that.

“Shoot!  I can't devirtualize her in time!” Sunset fussed.  Discord ran to the edge and threw a playing card at Pinkie Pie just a bit before she hit the water.

Pinkie Pie: 0 HP



The scanner opened up, revealing a bummed out Pinkie Pie.

“This level is brutal!” Pinkie Pie whined.



Back in Lyoko, Twilight threw blast after blast at Fluttershy, who was flying around out of the way.

She saw an opening to the tower and decided to fly toward it, but Twilight fired a small arrow knocking her away from it.

Fluttershy: 70 HP

“I'm sorry Fluttershy,” Twilight said, “I can't let you get into that tower.”

“Twilight, what is going on?!” Fluttershy asked forcing herself to her feet, “This attack, was this your plan?”

Twilight looked down in shame, “Targeting Rarity was all XANA.  The mantas, and everything else… that's me.”

“Why?” Fluttershy asked as Twilight stood in front of the tower blocking it, “Why are you helping XANA of your own free will?”

“I'm not…!” Twilight said, closing her eyes as tears built up, “They'll kill her… if I don't do this…”

It took a second for Fluttershy to register what she meant.  Wherever Twilight was being kept, Celestia must have been there to, and XANA was using her to blackmail Twilight.

Fluttershy closed her eyes and calmed herself down before speaking, “Twilight, let me pass.”

“W-what?!” Twilight asked, “Don't you get it?!  If I let you through, then XANA will kill Eos!”

“If you don't let me through, XANA will kill Rarity, and possibly Applejack along with destroying the power plant!” Fluttershy said, “Please Twilight, you're not one of XANA's minions.”

“I'm whatever I have to be!” Twilight said, shedding tears as she glared at Fluttershy, “Even if I have to kill every last one of you, if it means protecting Eos, protecting… Celestia… then I belong to XANA!”

She threw a large blast at Fluttershy, knocking her far back.

Fluttershy: 20 HP

“Fluttershy!” Sunset cried.

Rainbow Dash finally managed to run up to where the tower was and pressed her lightning bolt badge.

“Limit Break!” she shouted.  She summoned a large blue shuriken and threw it toward Twilight.  Said shuriken flew up, broke into three shuriken, and dropped down toward Twilight, who rolled to the side right before they exploded.

Twilight then charged up her energy to near max, and threw a large beam at Dash, who didn't have tome to get out of the way.

Rainbow Dash: 0 HP



Rainbow Dash's scanner opened up, and she slammed her fist against the wall next to her.

“Damn it!” she swore.



Luna and Applejack saw the power plant ahead of them being guarded by two men in black suits.  Those were probably the specters XANA created.

“So, you got a plan?” Applejack asked.

“I was thinking we barge in recklessly running them over, and you jump out of the car and skate inside to get Rarity,” Luna said, quite seriously.

“Ah knew you an' Ah were the same deep down,” Applejack said smirking.

“Don't think you're getting out of detention this week though,” Luna shot back.

“Ah said Ah was sorry!” Applejack fussed, “'Sides, ya got the feathers out in the end, right?”

“That's not-” Luna said, stopping when she realized how close they were, “Enough of this lover's spat.  Brace yourself!”

“Right!” Applejack said, tightening her skates.  Once they reached the gate, Luna turned the car to the side to hit both specters at the same time.  Applejack used the momentum to open the door, shoot out of the car, and skate into the power plant.

“Rarity!” Applejack called out frantically, “Where are ya?!”

“Applejack!” Rarity cried from deeper in.  Applejack followed her voice to where she was.

“Rarity!” Applejack shouted skating over to her and embracing her, “Don't worry, Ah'll get ya outta here!” as she went to deal with the ropes, which were too tightly knotted, Rarity gasped.

“Applejack, behind you!”

Applejack looked and saw two more specters, one holding his hand out.  He shot a blast of electricity out that knocked Applejack away from Rarity, over to the bomb.

10:28

Before Applejack could shoot up, the second specter ran over to her at super speed and grabbed her by the neck.  Applejack kicked him off of her and ran back over to Rarity, but the other specter fired another blast of electricity at her feet stopping her.

Applejack looked ahead and saw Luna getting overwhelmed by the specters she was fighting.  Looked like she wasn't getting any help in this.

“Ah gotta trust them!” Applejack said, “They'll get us outta this!”

She briefly looked at Rarity, who looked absolutely terrified, and then braced herself as the two specters began firing at her with everything they had.  Unless someone got into that tower within the next few minutes, they were screwed.



“Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!” Sunset fussed pulling up the phone, “Applejack, how are you doing?!”

“Ah wanted ta ask y'all that!” Applejack said frantically, “The bombs only got a few minutes till it blows, an' there are four specters here!  Fluttershy needs ta get in the damn tower NOW!”

“Got it!  I'll relay the message!” Sunset said hanging up, “Fluttershy, things are getting really bad out here!  Can you please get into that tower?!”

“I'm doing the best I can!” Fluttershy fussed, “But if I get hit by Twilight's attack one more time I'll devirtualize!”

“This is what happens when Little Miss Perfect plans an attack?!” Dash said, using her personal nickname for Twilight, “Geez, she's worse than XANA!”

“No wonder XANA wanted Twilight!” Pinkie Pie said, “She's OP as hell!”

“There has to be a way out of this!” Sunset said, “Come on, think Sunset!”



Discord was having no trouble at all with the mantas.  In fact, back in his glory days he was the one member who could kill them easily.  As such, with Spike's help he finished off the last one near him and ran to the tower, where he saw Fluttershy rolling, dodging, and flying out of the way of all of Twilight's assaults.

“Fluttershy!” Discord shouted readying a card.  He was about to throw it at Twilight, but a manta shot him in the side knocking him back.

Discord: 40 HP

“Interrupting my show?” Discord said scowling at the three mantas that flew down to face him, “You're not welcome on my stage.”

As he was forced to engage the mantas, Fluttershy used her opening to run toward the tower.  Twilight at the same time ran after her.  Right before Fluttershy could phase inside, Twilight stopped behind her with her hand at Fluttershy's head, her magic fully charged.  Spike ran up to the scene and braced himself to attack, but didn't move.

“Move, and I'll fire,” Twilight said dangerously.

“Twilight-”

“I swear, Fluttershy, I will devirtualize you, and Discord!” Twilight said trembling.  Fluttershy sighed.

“Twilight, if I don't deactivate this tower and use Return to the Past, Rarity, Applejack, and Lulu will all die,” Fluttershy said.

“If I don't fight you, Celestia will die!” Twilight said, “You don't know how close she and I are!  Even before I knew that she was Eos, Celestia was like a mother to me!  I… I don't have a good relationship with my parents, but Celestia was always a presence in my life, looking out for me like I wished my actual mom would, instead of… instead of treating me like nothing more than a doll!  I love Celestia!  I love her so much!” Twilight broke down, “If it were your mother, or someone you loved, what would you do?!”

“If it were me,” Fluttershy said, “Honestly, I'd probably do the same thing as you right now…”

“So you do-”

“But, I'd also trust my friends as well,” Fluttershy continued, “If you let me get into this tower, everyone will be saved, Twilight.  Rarity, Applejack, Lulu, and Miss Tia.”

“But… NO!” Twilight fussed, “XANA is going to kill Celestia to punish me!  I know it!”

“No Twilight, he won't,” Fluttershy said, “I have reason to believe that all of this is a part of his plan.  If that's true, then Miss Tia will be alright.  No one is going to be okay though, if I don't deactivate this tower,” Fluttershy slowly turned to Twilight, who looked like she was about to fire, but instead stepped back.  Fluttershy then embraced Twilight.

“F-Fluttershy…!”

“I'm your angel, remember?” Fluttershy asked warmly, “I'll protect everyone, just like I always do.”

Twilight was trembling, but she slowly returned the embrace closing her eyes.

“Alright…” Twilight said, “I… trust you…”

Fluttershy let go of Twilight, smiled, and turned to the tower, phasing inside.



Fluttershy to the center of the tower, and allowed herself to be lifted up to the higher platform.



0:30

Luna was kicked into a wall and fell to the floor, horribly injured.  The two specters walked over to Applejack, who had a led pipe in her hands and was swinging it at the specters.  Unfortunately they just phased out of all of the hits like holograms.

Applejack was hit in the back with electricity shot by the two remaining specters, and fell to the ground.

“Applejack!” Rarity cried.  She then looked at the timer, going into a full panic attack when she saw the timer.

0:19



Fluttershy ran to the control panel and began typing furiously to break the tower's security.



10

9

8

Rarity frantically pulled at the ropes binding her, not sure if it was to run to help Applejack, or to run away.  She was so terrified now she couldn't think straight, completely lost and in a complete panic.

Applejack stood up, but was engulfed by electricity shot by all four specters standing in a circle around her.

“APPLEJACK!!!!” Rarity screamed at the top of her lungs.



Fluttershy placed her hand on the touch screen when it appeared.


FLUTTERSHY



CODE


LYOKO




The specters fell down limp, black mist coming out of their bodies.  Applejack fell down unconscious, and Rarity turned to the bomb… which was still going off!

That wasn't connected to the tower!

“NYET!!!!!” Rarity screamed, watching in devastation as the bomb's timer went down.

3

2

1



“RETURN TO THE PAST NOW!!!!” Sunset screamed pressing the enter key.  As the whole world was engulfed in a white light, Sunset, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Discord, Spike, and Twilight prayed that they stopped it in time.



When Applejack came to, she was lying on the grass.  Was she in their special spot.  She heard someone sobbing uncontrollably, and felt weight on top of her.

“R-Rares…?” Applejack asked.  Rarity looked into Applejack's eyes looking relieved, but still shaken up.

“Alive…!” Rarity sobbed, “You're alive!”

“Rares!” Applejack said, immediately embracing Rarity tightly.  They did it.  They saved Rarity, and with literally only a second to spare.



Sadly, with the time they restarted from, they couldn't stay together for too long.  Instead they decided to both skip tomorrow's classes and spend the entire day together.  Just like last time, Applejack got a ride with Luna back to the dorms.

“Thanks,” Applejack said when they arrived back at the school, “Ya really came through today, fer all of us.”

“We're a team,” Luna said, “Besides, I wasn't going to let my… best… friend down.”

Applejack smiled and hugged the older woman, “Ah'm glad yer on our team, Lulu.”

“Me too, AJ,” Luna said.  Once Applejack exited the car and Luna drove off, Applejack turned back to the school, where she saw Sunset, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy all waiting for her at the school gate.

“Applejack!” Fluttershy cried running into her arms, “I was so worried!  I thought I was too late!”

“Y'all were jus' in time,” Applejack said, “Literally, y'all couldn't have cut it closer.”

“Sorry about that,” Sunset said, “Turns out, XANA blackmailed Twilight into planning and enacting that entire attack herself using Celestia as a hostage.”

“God…” Applejack said, now feeling terrible and afraid for Twilight and Celestia, “Think they'll be okay?”

“Fluttershy says she's sure of it,” Dash said.

“Trust me, XANA won't kill Celestia,” Fluttershy said, “Nor will he even try that again.”

“But we almost lost that time,” Pinkie Pie said, “Even if he doesn't target Rarity again, what if he uses Celestia to force Twilight to help him again?”

“It doesn't matter how successful the attack was,” Sunset said, catching everyone's attention, “XANA doesn't care about the process as much as he cares about the end result.  I looked at Twilight's journal again, and I noticed a pattern.  XANA has almost gotten you guys a number of times with his attacks, but no matter how successful parts are, he doesn't try it again.  He scraps the whole thing and starts over.

“Think about it.  XANA had a perfect plan keeping Fluttershy out of the towers when he possessed the bees.  If he combined that with, let's say, that time in the gymnasium, he would have won easily, but he didn't.  He never combines multiple attacks from past records, nor does he actually learn.  He's just trying multiple things until he finds something that works.”

“When ya put it like that, XANA ain't all that bright, is he?” Applejack asked, “Sure, he's dangerous an' all, but that process ain't the best.”

“Like I said before,” Sunset said, “He may be powerful, and smart, but in the end he's not a god like he thinks he is.  He's just a defective automated computer program with a serious god complex.  Once we learn how said program works, we can delete him easily.”

“Words I never thought I'd hear,” Dash said yawning, “Look, I'm tired.  Let's take advantage of our guaranteed one day of peace and get some sleep.”

“I agree,” Fluttershy said, “I'll see you all tomorrow.”

“Night night,” Pinkie Pie said sleepily.

“Good night guys,” Sunset said, “Good work out there, everyone.”

“By the way,” Dash said as they walked back into the dorm, “What did happen in the gymnasium?”

“NOTHING!!!” both Fluttershy and Sunset shouted at the same time.

Once alone, Applejack stretched and walked back to her dorm.  Sure, they won this time, but Applejack didn't feel better for some reason.  It was almost like she could feel something else.  Something she forgot.

Something telling her that this particular incident wasn't over yet.



Applejack fell down on her bed in exhaustion.  Last time she came in this late, she took a late shower before going to bed.  This time though, she thought about just letting sleep claim her.

Right before sleep claimed her, her phone rang.  She grabbed it and answered, not moving her head from the pillow.

“Hello…?” Applejack asked, alerted when she heard sobbing.

“A-Applejack…”

“Rares?” Applejack asked, shooting up from her bed.

“I'm… outside school gate…” Rarity sobbed, “Meet me…?”

“Y-yeah, sure,” Applejack said getting up, “Ah'll be right there.”

She ran out to the front gate, where she saw Rarity standing where Applejack would usually be.  Next to her was what looked like bag of clothes, and she looked absolutely miserable.  Applejack didn't say a single word to her.  She walked over to her, and just held her, letting her beloved cry into her shoulder.

“Come on,” Applejack said picking up Rarity's bag, “Let's head to my dorm, okay?”

“D-dah…” Rarity said softly.  The walk back to the room was silent, and the air was heavy.  Once they got to the room, Applejack sat Rarity's bag on the floor and they both sat down on Applejack's bed holding each other.

“Hate… parents…” Rarity said after a second.

“Rarity…” Applejack said, surprised to hear those words come out of Rarity.

“Second I came in, Papa started screaming at me,” Rarity said trembling, “Going on and on about coming in late, spending time with girlfriend, how it was unnatural.  I… almost… died today…”

“Ah know…” Applejack said holding Rarity tighter.

“It's too much…” Rarity continued, “I almost die, and then instead of asking why what's wrong, Papa attacks me… And Mama…” Rarity closed her eyes tightly, “Mama didn't stop him…! She just sat there, watching him scream at me…!  This is why I say I'm alone…!  I hate parents!  I hate XANA!  I hate EVERYTHING!!!”

“Shh… it's alright,” Applejack said holding Rarity as she broke down, “Yer not alone, remember?  Ah'm here for ya.  Ah'm always here, an' Ah ain't leaving ya ever.”

Rarity seemed to calm down, but when she looked into Applejack's eyes she still saw intense pain, along with… something else.  Rarity then pressed her lips against Applejack's, kissing her more violently than usual.  The make out session caught Applejack off guard, but more so the intensity of it.  What was even more surprising was what Rarity said next.

“Applejack… take me…”

Applejack was wide eyed.  Did Rarity just ask her to…?

“Rares… Ah don't…”

“I need this…!” Rarity said, tears building up again, “I… need you!” Rarity got up from the bed and stood in the middle of the room with her back turned to Applejack, “Hate, hate, hate.  That's all I feel at moment.  That's all I get at moment,” she turned to Applejack slowly, pulled off her shirt and threw it aside, and then dropped her skirt, leaving her in just her purple bra and panties, “You promised… to love me, always.  So love me… Please Applejack.  Just love me…”

Despite everything that happened, and despite how emotional Rarity was right now, to Applejack she looked more beautiful than she ever did in her life.  She wondered why, but then it hit her.  For the first time in their relationship, Rarity had dropped all of her shields.  This was the true Rarity.  The one that Blueblood hurt three years ago.  The one that felt isolated from her peers because she was a foreigner.  The one that Applejack had wanted to see for the longest time.

And the one that Applejack needed to rescue.

Applejack slowly stood up unbuttoning her shirt.  She let it drop along with her jean skirt, and threw off her stetson, left in just her red and black bra and pantie set.  No more words needed to be said.  She pulled Rarity in close, and gave her the love she had longed for.  This proved everything about their feelings for one another.  If the world tried to tear them apart, they'd fight it.  XANA, Rarity's parents, no one was going to break them up again.

They weren't just two teenagers lusting for each other.  They weren't just lovers.  They were… soul mates.

Ending Theme: Can't Fight the Moonlight