//------------------------------// // Shady Business // Story: LEGO Equestria Girls 4 // by Chronicler06 //------------------------------// Chapter 4 Shady Business Twilight Sparkle sat in front of the campfire at night, alone with only her thoughts to keep her occupied. Suddenly, she began to hear a creepy and all too familiar voice. “Here I am…” Twilight immediately started glancing around, trying to find the source of that voice. “Over here…” Twilight stood up and continued to quickly look around. That voice sent a chill up her spine, and the fact that she had no idea where it was coming from only made her feel even more terrified. As she momentarily faced away from the campfire, the orange flames turned violet. As soon as she glanced back at the fire, Midnight Sparkle suddenly jumped out of the flames. “I’M ALWAYS HERE!!” “No!” shouted Twilight as she suddenly sat up in bed. At the other side of the tent, that shout caused Sunset Shimmer to reflexively jump out of bed and quickly stand in a fighting pose. “Wha— What happened?” she muttered, still half asleep. Twilight took a second to catch her breath before she shamefully replied, “Nothing. Sorry, Sunset.” Sunset relaxed and rubbed her eyes. Now that she was fully awake and could actually see, she quickly noticed something rather unusual. “Uh, Twilight,” she pointed out, “I think something happened.” Twilight opened her eyes and was suddenly alarmed to see that all the objects inside the tent — including the bed she was sitting on — were once again floating in the air while surrounded by some strange purple glow. She immediately screamed in panic, then the glow faded and all of the objects fell back to the floor. After taking a moment to get over the shock of what she had just witnessed, Sunset showed a more serious expression as she folded her arms and said, “Twilight, we really have to talk about this.” “No!” snapped Twilight irritably as she curled up. “We don’t!” Twilight and Sunset stared at each other tensely for a moment before the tent’s hinged doorway suddenly opened. Spike and Fluttershy peeked their heads inside with worried expressions on their faces. “Is everything okay in here?” asked Fluttershy. “We heard some screaming.” “Everything’s fine,” grumbled Twilight. Spike and Fluttershy glanced to Sunset, who responded silently with a shrug. Spike turned back to Twilight and asked, “Let me guess… you had another one of those nightmares?” Twilight refused to say anything and simply turned her head away. Spike glanced at Fluttershy and quietly said, “Silence usually means yes.” Fluttershy walked into the tent and sat down on Twilight’s bed. “Oh, I feel so sorry for you,” she said quietly as she pulled Twilight into a calming hug. “It’s going to be okay, Twilight. We’ll always be here for you.” Twilight let out a sigh as she began to relax, but still refused to say anything. Sunset glanced outside the tent and noticed that it was currently dawn. “I guess we’d better start getting ready for the day,” she remarked. “One of the Forestmen told me there’s a river and waterfall not far from here,” explained Spike. “We’re just waiting for the others to wake up before we head on over there.” “Sounds good to me,” said Sunset as she reached for her backpack. She glanced over at Twilight and added, “What do you say, Twilight? I’m sure a little swim will help you take your mind off things.” Twilight sighed again and reluctantly replied, “Might as well. Not like I’m doing anything else today…” As Twilight got out of bed and got her things ready, Spike and Fluttershy left the tent so they could get ready to go as well. Later that morning, all eight members of Canterlot City’s LEGO Team were gathered at the small river and waterfall that was only a short hike away from the hemlock outpost where they had been encamped. Most of the girls had changed into their swimsuits and were relaxing in the water not far from the base of the waterfall. Spike had decided to bathe behind the waterfall, mostly to make sure he couldn’t see them and they couldn’t see him to respect everyone’s privacy. “This is quite a lovely place,” remarked Fluttershy. “Indeed, darling,” agreed Rarity. “The beauty of the natural world is quite the wonder to behold.” Her expression slightly fell as she added, “Though I certainly would appreciate a few modern amenities to provide me with the proper care I demand.” “No one ever said roughin’ it in the woods was gonna be easy,” argued Applejack. “Besides, we’ll be outta here after we deal with Trixie, so ya might as well start hopin’ that we’ll find her real soon.” Pinkie Pie had climbed out of the water a moment ago, and decided to reenter it as only someone like her would. “Cannonball!” she shouted excitedly as she jumped off the shore and held in her legs. She hit the water and created a huge splash that drenched the other girls in the water. Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but chuckle and remarked, “I guess that’s one way to take a bath in the wild.” Meanwhile, Twilight and Sunset were finished in the water, and had already dried off and changed back into the clothes they were wearing for this area. There was an uneasy silence between them as they grabbed their backpacks and began walking away from the river. Once they left the river and entered the forest, Sunset turned to Twilight and carefully said, “Hey, I know you don’t want to, but I really think we need to figure out what’s going on with your magic. If you could learn to control it—” “But that’s just it!” exclaimed Twilight fearfully. “I’ll never be able to control it!” “Don’t be so sure about that, Twilight,” argued Sunset calmly. “I mean, take me for example. There was a time when I was convinced that I would never be able to build anything without instruction pages, despite my friends frequently telling me otherwise. And look at how far I’ve come since then. I’m now regarded as one of the best Master Builders in the whole Lego World.” “Easy for you to say,” grumbled Twilight. “Creative talents and otherworldly magic are two very different things.” “The subjects may be different, but the lesson remains the same,” stated Sunset. “Maybe it’ll take a lot of practice, or maybe it will all suddenly occur to you and you’ll instantly become an expert. Either way, don’t be so quick to dismiss what you’re truly capable of.” Twilight quietly mumbled under her breath, “I already know what I’m really capable of… and I’d rather not even think about it…” “What was that?” asked Sunset. Twilight immediately stopped walking and turned to Sunset and quickly exclaimed, “Oh! Uh, nothing! I mean…” She sighed and more calmly continued, “Sorry… I just have a lot on my mind right now.” Sunset stood silently beside Twilight for a moment for carefully asking, “Do you wanna talk about it?” Twilight sighed and turned away as she muttered, “I’d rather be alone with my thoughts right now.” As she began to walk away, she added, “Let the others know I’ll meet them back at the hemlock outpost.” As Twilight walked away deeper into the forest, Sunset sighed and muttered, “If you say so…” She then turned around and headed back to the river to inform their friends. Just over an hour later, Twilight continued walking alone through the forest. Although she was watching where she was going, she kept her head down most of the time as she remained occupied with her thoughts. Keep it together, Twilight, she thought to herself. Deep breaths, Twilight. You are not a monster. You’ve overcome Midnight Sparkle once before, and you can do it again if you must. She let out another sigh. I just hope that whatever’s causing this magic isn’t permanent. The last thing I need are any additional lingering effects to what I’ve already been dealing with. As she finished that thought, she suddenly bumped into something. She glanced up and realized that it was actually someone she had lightly bumped into. “Timber Spruce?” she asked. “What are you doing out here?” Timber briefly hesitated and glanced away before he smiled and smugly replied, “Looking for you, of course.” Twilight uneasily replied, “Oh, I, uh, went on a little walk to clear my thoughts and, well, I guess I just lost track of time.” She glanced around at the surrounding forest and added, “And I guess I’m a little lost in the geographical sense, too.” “Don’t worry,” assured Timber. “I’ll show you the way back to camp.” “Oh, thanks,” said Twilight with a smile. She gestured ahead and awkwardly added, “Uh, lead the way, I guess.” “Sure thing,” acknowledged Timber as he turned around and began walking, with Twilight following close behind. After only a few seconds, he decided to strike up a conversation. “So I heard that you recently joined the LEGO Team.” “Yeah,” confirmed Twilight. “This is actually the very first mission I’ve been on with the team. I don’t yet know how well I’m gonna fit in with the others, but I’m really glad I’ve been given this opportunity.” She then shamefully added, “Especially considering a certain incident I was involved in…” “You mean Midnight Sparkle?” asked Timber. Twilight turned to Timber and nervously asked, “Y-you heard of it?” “My sister and I live not far from Canterlot City,” reminded Timber. “With how far that incident reached, of course we heard about it.” Twilight shamefully lowered her gaze and mumbled, “So that means you actually saw…” “Actually, no,” Timber clarified. “Gloriosa and I were away on another goodwill mission at the time, so we didn’t actually witness any of what happened that night.” Twilight relaxed and uneasily remarked, “Oh, uh, I guess a bit of a relief.” After a brief pause, she asked, “So, uh, where were you at that time?” “We were in the Tribal Island Region,” answered Timber. He chuckled ad remarked, “Y’know, the funny thing is that, before that mission, the only thing I really knew about King Kahuka was that famous taunt he once made prior to one of the races during the old LEGO Racers competition. ‘Me, King Kahuka, beat you like tribal drum. And do victory dance! Ook, ah, ah, ook!’” As he quoted King Kahuka, he spoke in a deeper voice and even did a bit of a tribal dance. Twilight couldn’t resist giggling at Timber’s King Kahuka impression. Timber chuckled and added, “Although come to think of it, it seems like virtually all of the goodwill missions I’ve been on lately have been to old regions that much of the Lego World hasn’t even heard from since that racing competition over fifteen years ago. Sure wish I could’ve gone to one of those races.” By this point, Twilight had relaxed enough that she felt comfortable with continuing the conversation with Timber. “Now that you mention it,” she said, “I did in fact actually attend one of the races of that competition.” “Oh really?” asked Timber with a smile. “Which track did you go to?” “Royal Knights Raceway,” answered Twilight. “It was the closest track to where I lived.” “Oh, so you’re actually from the Castle Region?” asked Timber. “Spent my entire childhood there,” confirmed Twilight with a nod. “The old LEGO Racers competition was actually my very first exposure to what the world beyond the Castle Region was really like.” “Probably because they don’t exactly build racecars in the Castle Region,” noted Timber. “Exactly,” said Twilight with a smile and a nod. “I must’ve been only five or six at the time, but as soon as I had heard about it, I knew it was something new and different, so I really wanted to go see that race. Unfortunately, my parents refused to take me there.” “Why not?” asked Timber, slightly surprised. “I thought everyone was excited for that racing competition back then.” “Not my parents,” replied Twilight with a bit of sadness and disappointment. “Let’s just say they were some serious traditionalists, firm believers that all the differently themed regions should always remain separate to avoid issues like ‘cultural contamination’.” “Kinda reminds me of President Business,” muttered Timber. Suddenly realizing that he might have just insulted Twilight’s parents, he quickly added, “Uh, no offence to your folks.” “None taken,” assured Twilight. “In all honesty, I personally thought the same thing of them, myself, even though that was years before anyone had even heard of that guy.” “So if your parents didn’t take you to that race, then how did you get to see it?” asked Timber. “I convinced my brother Shining Armor to take me there without letting our parents know about it,” replied Twilight with a smug smile. “For that and other favors he’s done for me over the years, he’s one of the very few things I actually miss about the Castle Region.” She quickly got over that little sad reminder and continued, “Anyway, when I got to the track, it was arguably one of the most incredible, eye-opening experiences of my entire life. Just getting there and seeing minifigs from all the other regions who were also there to watch the race was astonishing enough for first impressions. Then I got to see the racers and their cars. Even though some of them were from the Castle Region — including Rob N. Hood, if I remember correctly — I had never seen anything like those cars. I remember being particularly fond of the cars and racers from the Space Region. I thought just seeing them standing there was amazing, but then came the race itself and I was really blown away. Seeing those things going around the track at remarkable speeds under their own power, I had previously never even imagined anything like that!” “Sounds to me like that was quite a life-changing experience for you,” remarked Timber. “I’ll say!” acknowledged Twilight with a grin. “When I returned home after the race, I immediately wanted to build a racecar of my own. Of course, I had no idea at the time that without a Power Brick, the best I could ever do was build a fancy cart that could only roll downhill.” “But you were able to figure that out, right?” asked Timber. “Eventually, yes,” replied Twilight. Her enthusiasm gradually fell as she continued, “But I was forced to cancel that project when my parents found out. Not only that, but they also refused to provide me with any means of learning more about the outside world. With my parents trying to hold me back and my brother too busy with his duties as a soldier and later as a knight, I became convinced that if I was ever going to accomplish anything I wanted, I would have to work alone… a mentality I consistently held right up until I joined the LEGO Team.” An uneasy silence fell between the two minifigs as they continued walking through the woods. After a moment, Timber turned to Twilight and asked, “So, uh… How did you leave the Castle Region and learn so much about everything?” Twilight sighed before she shamefully replied, “I used to think that what I did from that point on was totally worth it, but now… I’m not exactly proud of what I did. Just over a year after I saw that race, I encountered a group of smugglers and convinced them to start covertly sending me books from the City Regions, allowing me to finally learn all that I wanted to learn everything about without any restrictions. But of course, they demanded payment for their services, so I had to regularly steal a few coins from my family’s treasure vault to pay them off. “Thankfully, no one ever found out about the missing gold or that I had a steadily growing secret library, but I knew I couldn’t keep doing that forever. Then, just after my brother’s wedding a few years ago, one of the smugglers revealed to me that he was a Shadowbolt agent. They were looking for new recruits, and he believed that I would make an excellent agent. When I realized what that could mean for me, I took the offer without even a second thought. So one night, with assistance from some other Shadowbolt agents, I packed up my entire secret library, snuck out of my bedchamber in the castle, and fled the Castle Region. Since then, I have not once even set foot in any part of the Castle Region — at least, not until just yesterday. “When I initially joined the Shadowbolts, it was like a dream come true for me. Not only was I now free to learn about anything I wanted, I was also given whatever resources I needed to make new discoveries, to develop new inventions, to make accomplishments that most people could only imagine. But just like with the book smuggling, all of this came at a price. As a Shadowbolt agent, I was expected to complete whatever missions I was assigned, no questions asked. Not only that, but I knew my family back in the Castle Region would be looking for me, so whenever I got even the slightest hunch that someone would find me, I immediately packed up everything and moved to a new hideout, which would typically happen about once every few months, and always to an entirely different region.” “Wow,” remarked Timber, almost speechless. “You sure sacrificed a lot.” Twilight rolled her eyes and dryly stated, “Yeah, and look at how I got rewarded for all that effort; a monster named Midnight Sparkle.” “Hey, relax, Twilight,” assured Timber as he placed a hand on her shoulder. “That’s all in the past now. You’re much better off now. Not only are you part of the LEGO Team, one of the greatest organizations in the world, but also all that you’ve ever done is forgiven, thanks to Kjeld Playwell giving a full pardon to all former Shadowbolt agents, which I’m sure includes you.” “True,” admitted Twilight with a sad nod. “Look, Twilight,” continued Timber, “my point is that you’re now finally free to pursue your dreams without having to do anything questionable in exchange. Stop dwelling on the past, and start looking ahead to the future. You’ve just been given a second chance to completely rebuild your life, so make sure you make it a good one.” Twilight slowly smiled, then turned to Timber and said, “Thanks, Timber… Thank you for listening. I actually feel a little better, now that I’ve opened up to someone about my past.” She then frowned and nervously added, “Um, could you please promise not to tell anyone else about all this? I don’t feel quite ready to let just anyone know about all the shady things I once did.” Timber moved his hand over his mouth in the gesture of zipping his lip, then mumbled something while keeping his lips closed. Twilight raised an eyebrow and asked, “What?” Timber moved his hand back across his mouth to “unzip his lip” and smugly said, “I said, my lips are sealed.” Twilight couldn’t help but giggle and remarked, “You sure can be quite a goofball at times.” “What can I say?” responded Timber with a shrug and a smile. “It’s who I am. And it’s like they say, ‘always be yourself’.” “There you are!” Twilight and Timber both quickly turned to the side and soon saw Gloriosa Daisy, Sunset Shimmer, and Spike approach them from the surrounding woods. “Have you been out here this whole time, Twilight?” asked Sunset. “Our friends are getting worried about you.” “S-sorry, I didn’t mean to,” replied Twilight uneasily with guilt. “Like I said, I just had a lot on my mind. Good thing Timber found me. Not only did he help me find the way back, but it was also nice to talk to him along the way.” “Glad I could help,” remarked Timber. “I mean, it’s not like I had some other reason for wandering around the middle of the woods by myself.” Gloriosa stared at her brother and raised an eyebrow. Timber lightly punched his sister’s shoulder and dismissively added, “Eh, I’m just messing with ya.” Gloriosa smiled and rolled her eyes before she said, “Well, now that we’re all together, we should get back to camp right away.” “Yeah, that sounds good to me,” agreed Twilight. Just as everyone turned and began to walk back towards the hemlock outpost, all five of them suddenly stopped as they heard a strange noise off in the distance. It sounded like a series of beeps in a slow and constant pace, followed by a quick hiss as if a pressure release valve had just been opened. “What was that?” asked Sunset. “Sounded like a truck backing up,” Spike speculated. “But we’re in the middle of a forest,” Twilight pointed out. “In the middle of the Castle Region. There shouldn’t be any trucks here at all!” The next noise the group heard was a faint mechanical whirring. As Gloriosa turned to face the general direction of where those odd sounds seemed to be coming from, she furrowed her brow and clenched her fists. “That better not be who I think it is,” she grumbled under her breath, then began to march forward toward the source of the noise. The rest of the group looked at each other for a moment before silently deciding to follow after her. As the group approached the mystery location, they began to hear some other odd sounds, such as the banging of a hammer, the whirring of a power drill, and the rumbling of a diesel engine. It wasn’t much longer until they finally arrived at a small clearing with something quite unexpected. Two mobile cranes were parked on opposite ends of the clearing, a series of tall metal poles with some kind of technical equipment atop each of them were held upright on the far side of the clearing, workers in bright orange vests were inspecting all the equipment or discussing what they were going to do, and most unusual of all was a black limousine parked nearby with a certain minifig standing close to it while looking over the surrounding field work. This guy had light brown skin, a smooth black hair piece, and wore a blue business suit with a red tie that had a golden dollar symbol on it. Gloriosa immediately locked in on the businessman and marched right up to him. Since he was focused on the field work in the clearing, he had his back turned to the new arrivals and had no idea he was about to have some unexpected guests. “Filthy Rich,” spat Gloriosa. Filthy Rich immediately turned around and his confused expression lasted only a brief moment before it was quickly replaced with a smug smile. “Well, Gloriosa Daisy,” he greeted with a sneer. “What brings you out here to this fine land?” As the rest of the group approached from behind her, Gloriosa sourly grumbled, “For your information, I happen to be assigned here on a goodwill mission by the LEGO Team,” She then narrowed her eyes. “A mission being made much more difficult just by your very presence. What are you doing here?” “Isn’t it obvious?” asked Filthy Rich rhetorically as he gestured out across the field. He smugly explained, “I’ve hired these surveyors to get me an accurate lay of the land. After all… if I intend to purchase this region, it’s important to know what I’ll be getting so I can determine what would be a fair price to pay for it.” “Seriously?” asked Timber as he folded his arms and frowned. “I find it hard to see any real benefit for you to try taking control of the Dark Forest.” Filthy Rich chuckled and replied, “Believe me, this is hardly the only obsolete region I’m eyeing for acquisition.” “Purchasing entire regions?” asked Sunset. “Isn’t that what President Business did a few years ago?” “Please, that fool wanted total control over every aspect of everyone’s lives,” replied Filthy Rich dismissively. “I, on the other hand, am more interested in building a highly profitable business empire, and it all starts by purchasing some cheap land, a vast majority of which happen to be old obsolete regions that are doing nothing more than taking up space. For example, the Fabuland Region has been completely abandoned for decades. Once I can close a deal on that, I plan to clear away all those ruins and build the largest amusement part in the entire Lego World.” “That particular example makes sense, but why do you also want some of the older Castle subregions, like the Dark Forest?” asked Twilight. “What are planning to do here?” “I haven’t thought quite that far ahead, in all honesty,” admitted Filthy Rich with a shrug. He then smugly continued, “But if I can be sure that land like this would cost me very little, there is no way I’m going to pass up such a good opportunity. I’m sure I’ll think some way I can profit off of just about any region in the Lego World, once I own these lands.” “Whoa! Look out!” That shout from one of the numerous workers caused the group to turn to their attention to the commotion and immediately saw one of the tall surveying poles fall over and collided into another one, which then fell over and collided into another one, then another, and another, like a series of dominoes. When the last pole on the chain reaction fell over, it landed on a massive generator that one of the cranes was holding aloft. The weight of those fallen poles may not have been much, but with the generator alone close to the crane’s limit, it was enough to overwhelm the counterweight. The crane groaned as it slowly toppled forward, the generator smashed to pieces as it crashed to the ground, and the top of the crane’s tower slammed right onto the limousine and completely destroyed the rear half of it. “My limo!” exclaimed Filthy Rich. He growled in anger as he then rushed over to the workers gathered around the toppled surveyor poles. “Which one of you brick-heads is responsible for this?!” he fiercely demanded. “I swear, none of us did anything!” answered one of the workers fearfully. “Everything just… fell over on its own.” “Don’t play dumb with me!” shouted Filthy Rich accusingly. “This level of negligence is completely unacceptable! I’m holding you nincompoops responsible for destroying my limo, that generator, the crane, and over a dozen sets of advanced surveying equipment, and none of above come cheap! Unless you nitwits can put all the pieces back together, these damages are gonna come straight out of your paychecks, so get to it! And start with the limo!” “Yes, sir! Yes, sir!” exclaimed all of the workers as they all began to frantically collect all of the loose Lego parts and tried to reassemble all of the damaged or destroyed objects. One of the workers tripped over a wheel and fell flat on his face. Another one of the workers pulled out a loose piece from the limo, only to have part of the crane tower collapse right on top of him. Two more workers managed to grab the same Lego part at the same time and immediately tugged on it against each other until they both suddenly lost their grip on it, sending the part flinging into the air and hitting yet another worker in the head and knocking him out. Filthy Rich sighed in frustration and facepalmed. “I ask for employees and I end up with stooges,” he grumbled. Sunset walked over to Filthy Rich and remarked, “Well, whatever just happened, you might as well take it as a warning sign.” Filthy Rich glared at Sunset and firmly asked, “Are you trying to threaten my enterprise?” “No, but I do know someone who would,” answered Sunset as she placed her hands on her hips. “The Great and Powerful Trixie — the evil sorceress at the top of LEGO’s Most Wanted — is believed to be heading right for this region, so unless you wish to lose your own Creation Spark, you would be wise to get outta here right away.” Filthy Rich stared firmly at Sunset for a moment, then glanced around at all of the equipment and vehicles in the clearing. He glanced down at his wristwatch before he turned back to Sunset and grumbled, “Fine.” He turned to the workers who were busy rebuilding the limo and shouted, “As soon as you’re done with the repairs, pack everything up! This region’s under an evacuation order!” The workers quickly acknowledged Filthy Rich’s orders and immediately went back to work. As the rest of the group of five gathered near Sunset, Filthy Rich smirked as he turned his attention back to them and smugly stated, “Don’t think I’m through with this region just yet. Once you LEGO Team members eliminate the threat of Trixie — which I have no doubt you will accomplish — my employees and I will return and resume right where we left off.” “Limo’s fixed!” announced one of the workers. “Thank you,” muttered Filthy Rich as he turned away from the group and walked back to the now completely rebuilt limo. “That leaves me with one less headache to worry about.” He opened the door and climbed into the backseat. As soon as he closed the door, the driver started up the vehicle and drove off. The group of five silently stared at the limo as it drove off down the trail into the woods. As soon as the black vehicle was out of sight, Sunset glanced over at Gloriosa and saw that she still had a rather infuriated look on her face, so Sunset decided to place an assuring hand on her shoulder. —that no-good arrogant— Sunset quickly removed her hand when she suddenly heard that voice, which then faded just as suddenly. Confused, she asked, “Did you say something?” Gloriosa visibly relaxed as she turned back to Sunset and raised an eyebrow in confusion. “No, I didn’t say anything,” she replied. She looked around at all the workers cleaning up the mess, then smiled and said in her typically cheerful voice, “Well, now that that issue has been taken care of, I should head back to camp to let the others know you’re all okay. You just stick with Timber and he’ll take you back to camp.” “Are you sure you’ll be okay going by yourself?” asked Spike. “Oh, no need to worry about me,” assured Gloriosa. “I’m practically a natural at navigating forests like this one. I’ve got this!” She then turned around and began walking back to the hemlock outpost. As the rest of the group watched Gloriosa head off into the woods, Spike couldn’t help but ask, “Did anyone else see the look in her eyes when she saw that Filthy Rich guy?” “Unfortunately, you’re right,” Timber sadly replied. “Gloriosa’s had a bit of a grudge against Filthy Rich ever since he started asking to purchase Camp Everfree a few years ago.” “Well I’m sure you and Gloriosa turned down whatever offer he made, so why does she make such a big deal out of it?” asked Twilight. “It’s because he just won’t take no for an answer,” replied Timber bitterly. “He continues to make offers, even though we keep telling him that no amount of money will ever convince us to sell our family’s summer camp. On his most recent attempt, I literally had to build a wall just to keep the bulldozers out.” “You’re kidding, right?” asked Sunset incredulously. “Believe me, I wish I was,” muttered Timber. “Hey, anyone else see that?” one of the workers suddenly called out. Everyone in the area turned to see him pointing at a trail of glittering gem dust on the ground, close to where the first surveyor pole had fallen over. “What the heck is that?” asked another worker. “I’m pretty sure that wasn’t there before,” said another worker as he scratched his head. “Hey, Timber?” asked Spike. “Didn’t you say that creature from your story last night leaves behind gem dust?” “Sure did,” confirmed Timber with a nod. He then elbowed Sunset and remarked, “I guess you were right, in a way. Looks like Gaia Everfree decided to send a warning to Filthy Rich.” Sunset rolled her eyes and retorted with a smile, “Please, things always have a tendency to fall over every now and then. And I’m sure there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation for why there’s gem dust spilled on the ground.” “Don’t be so sure about that,” Timber playfully cautioned. “You would be wise to not try tempting fate with… Gaia Everfree.” He spoke the creature’s name in a spooky voice and wiggled his hands around. “Let’s just go back to the encampment already,” said Sunset impatiently. “I think we’re done here, anyway.” “Yeah, good idea,” agreed Spike. He turned away and began walking into the forest. “C’mon, Twilight.” Timber led the way into the forest, followed by Spike and Sunset. Twilight hesitated for a moment as she took one more uneasy look at the mess of damaged equipment in the clearing before she turned away and followed after the others. Could I have been the cause of that? thought Twilight with uncertainty. I’ve already caused objects to float in the air, so I suppose it wouldn’t be out of the question that I might have nudged that thing just enough to set off that chain reaction. Twilight kept her head down as she walked, but at least she made sure to stay close to the group to avoid getting lost again. Whatever’s going on here, I need to make sure I can avoid magic as much as possible. It’s just not safe having any of it around.