//------------------------------// // Testing the Limits // Story: LEGO Equestria Girls 4 // by Chronicler06 //------------------------------// Chapter 8 Testing the Limits A few hours later, the team of eight minfigs from Canterlot City were back at the hemlock outpost and were busy packing up their things and getting ready to return home. All of them were inside each of the brick-built shelters they had slept in over the previous two nights and gathered up all of the supplies they had brought with them. Those who packed lightly were the first to step outside and wait in the middle of the outpost, while those with more luggage simply piled up each bag or case outside before moving on to the next one. Inside the shelter shared by Twilight and Sunset, both girls were busy folding up their bedsheets and spare change of clothes. “So, Twilight,” Sunset spoke up, “are you happy to leave this place?” Twilight couldn’t help but smirk and remarked, “Do you even have to ask that question?” “Point taken,” noted Sunset with a smile. As she packed her bedsheets into her bag, she added, “But still, aside from the added anxiety from our new magic, I have to say you did pretty well for your first visit to the Castle Region in years.” Twilight sighed and muttered, “I still can’t believe I actually tried to run away from all of you like that.” “It’s okay, Twilight,” assured Sunset. “The important thing is that we’re still together, our mission is over, and we can finally go home.” Twilight smiled back at her friend and added, “And hopefully, this means we can leave behind all this crazy new magic.” “About that…” began Sunset with a frown as she folded up the last of her shirts and packed them away. “I can’t get my mind off of what Trixie had told us, regarding the magic she was after. She said that much of it had come right to her, and if she was telling the truth… then does that mean our new magic will be following us from now on?” “I sure hope not,” replied Twilight worriedly. “You already know what’s been troubling me, so I’m sure you know all too well what my biggest fear is, regarding that subject.” “I still don’t think Midnight Sparkle has anything to do with this,” muttered Sunset. “I won’t completely eliminate the possibility, but I’m sure there has to be a better explanation for where this magic is coming from.” “Either way,” said Twilight as she slung her backpack onto her back, “I’ll be feeling much better once we’re back in Canterlot City.” “Agreed,” said Sunset with a smile as she also slung her backpack onto her back. With all of their supplies now fully packed, the two girls left the shelter to join the rest of their friends outside. Once everyone was gathered together, they were soon joined by Gloriosa, Timber, and Rob. “I hope you girls enjoyed your time here,” said Gloriosa. “I certainly won’t be forgetting anytime soon about being part of your latest mission.” “Indeed,” agreed Rob. “Thy company was a joy to have among us, and we would welcome having the lot of thee return some day.” “And once Gloriosa and I are done with our goodwill mission here,” added Timber, “maybe you might be interested in visiting our summer camp.” Twilight smiled and said, “Sounds like a good idea to me. I’ll keep that in mind.” She raised her right arm and switched on the Jump-Gate return device on her wrist. She was just about to start entering the return code for Canterlot City when everyone suddenly heard the ringing of a cell phone. Sunset quickly realized the noise was coming from her pocket, so she pulled out her phone and took a look at the screen to see who was calling. “It’s Celestia,” stated Sunset. “I’ll put her on speaker.” She tapped her phone a few times, then held it out in front while everyone else gathered around. “Hi, Celestia,” greeted Sunset. “We’re all here, we’ve just finished our mission, and we’re about to return home.” “That’s good to hear,” responded Celestia on the phone. “I take it Trixie is no longer a serious threat?” “Not exactly,” replied Sunset uneasily. “Trixie remains at large, but we did manage to convince her to leave this region and stop looking for whatever she was after.” Celestia sighed and responded, “I suppose I shouldn’t have expected a result any better than that, especially before your surprise discovery in that region.” “Yeah, we still don’t know where our new magic powers come from,” acknowledged Sunset, “but it certainly helped us find and defeat Trixie.” “On the subject of your new magic,” said Celestia, “I’m afraid you girls won’t be coming back to Canterlot City just yet.” Everyone in the group glanced around at one another in confusion before Sunset turned her attention back to her phone and asked, “Why not?” “After you informed me about the new magic your friends possessed,” explained Celestia, “I shared this information with Luna, and she is now requesting that you girls meet up with her at her lunar base. She just wants to conduct some tests and interviews to gain a better understanding of what you are now capable of. And since the Wonderbolts Lunar Headquarters just installed their Jump-Gate, I’m sure that you’ll be able to finish the tests and return to Canterlot City by supper.” Sunset looked up to her friends and asked, “What do you girls think?” Applejack simply shrugged. “Sounds good to me,” replied Rainbow Dash. “I’d like to see how fast I can really run!” “I suppose it would be worth the investigation,” admitted Rarity. “Sure would be nice to find out what things I can or can’t blow up,” noted Pinkie Pie. “I don’t see why not,” mumbled Fluttershy with a shrug. “So I guess this means we’ll take a little detour before we return home,” acknowledged Twilight. “As long as it still means we don’t have to spend any more time in the Castle Region, I’m okay with it.” Sunset turned back to her phone and said, “Looks like we’re in agreement here.” “Thank you, girls,” responded Celestia. “By the way, are Gloriosa Daisy and Timber Spruce with you right now?” “Yes, Celestia, we’re here,” replied Gloriosa. “I’m afraid your goodwill mission will have to be cut short. Luna wants to interview all potential witnesses to these new magical powers, but since she’s not allowed to request anyone who’s not a LEGO Team member to come to her base, that unfortunately means the two of you are the only available candidates.” “Understandable,” replied Timber with resignation. “Give us a moment to get our things together and we’ll be ready to go.” “Thank you,” responded Celestia. “I’m terribly sorry for the inconvenience, but after the previous incidents involving Equestrian magic, my sister doesn’t want to take any chances.” “Well, thanks for calling us,” Sunset spoke up. “Tell Luna we’ll be there in a few minutes.” “Thank you, Sunset,” responded Celestia. “I’ll look forward to seeing the results my sister can uncover.” Celestia then ended the call and Sunset put away her phone. Gloriosa sighed as she turned to Rob and said, “I’m terribly sorry that we have to leave on such short notice.” “Aye,” Rob sadly acknowledged with a nod. “‘Tis a shame, but ‘tis for a good cause. My fellow Forestmen and I have enjoyed thy stay here and would surely not mind having thee return some day.” “Glad we could leave on good terms, at least,” said Timber with a smile. “And who knows? If we can get one of those Jump-Gates, we might be able to visit more often.” Rob gave a hearty laugh and remarked, “Were I not so attached to my home realm, I would be tempted to request the use of such a contraption myself to visit thy home region from time to time!” Gloriosa couldn’t resist a light giggle before she said, “You sure have been some pleasant company, Rob. But for now, Timber and I need to pack our things and be ready to leave with the Canterlot team.” “Very well then,” acknowledged Rob. He then gave a bow to the gathered teammates and loudly proclaimed, “Farewell and salutations, team of noble heroes!” He then turn away and walked off to the other side of the outpost. At the same time, Gloriosa and Timber both headed towards the brick-built tree they had been staying in. As Timber stepped inside, Gloriosa glanced back and said, “Don’t worry, this should only take a moment before we’re ready to leave with you. I’ve got this!” She then stepped inside and began gathering her supplies. As they waited for their new companions to get ready, the eight teammates silently wondered to themselves what kind of tests would await them at the lunar base. A few minutes later, inside the Wonderbolts Lunar Headquarters, the newly-built Jump-Gate suddenly made its distinctive low whooshing noise before the massive solid doors parted open. On the other side was the hemlock outpost where all eight members of the Canterlot City primary LEGO Team, along with fellow LEGO Team members Gloriosa Daisy and Timber Spruce, stood. Once the Jump-Gate was open, everyone walked through and stepped into the space facility on the surface of the Moon. As everyone walked into the room and the Jump-Gate closed behind them, they immediately saw Luna Playwell was already waiting for them. “Welcome to my lunar base, fellow LEGO Team members,” greeted Luna. “I am pleased that you were all willing to and capable of answering my request.” “Oh, it’s no big deal,” assured Sunset. “We just finished dealing with Trixie, so we were about to go home when we got the call.” Luna nodded and stated, “As pleased as I am to hear this, I presume your victory did not come without some complications regarding your new magical abilities.” “I’ll say!” remarked Pinkie Pie. “Turns out that not everything I throw can explode! The others are guessing that only sugary stuff can go boom when I toss it.” “Indeed,” said Luna as she quickly scribbled something on her notepad. “I’ll make sure to modify your test to account for this new information. Are there any other new developments since yesterday that I should be aware of?” Sunset hesitated to reply about her new magic, uncertain about whether she should just tell Luna what the others already knew or if she would be better off keeping it secret. Pinkie Pie cheerfully explained, “Sunset can read minds! Here, let me show you!” She immediately reached over and grasped Sunset’s hand and pressed it to her forehead. “Pinkie!” shouted Sunset as she was suddenly put in contact against her will with the pink party girl. However, after only a matter of seconds, Sunset’s minor frustration quickly turned to confusion. “Wait… something’s not right…” she quietly mumbled. “What is it?” asked Fluttershy. Sunset pulled her hand out of Pinkie’s grip and quickly clasped hands with Twilight, then Spike, then Fluttershy, then Rainbow Dash, then Rarity, then Applejack, and finally Gloriosa. As Gloriosa irritably yanked herself out of Sunset’s grip, Sunset worriedly said, “I’m not getting anything… My magic’s not working. Why is my magic suddenly not working?!” Sunset’s panicked statement certainly caused some concern among everyone in the room. If Sunset’s magic was suddenly no longer working, then was the same true for everyone else? Rainbow Dash decided to find out for herself. She immediately rushed out the door into the hallway, vanishing instantly in a rainbow motion blur. She instantly returned seconds later, now holding a blue popsicle in her hand. “Still got my super speed!” said Rainbow proudly before taking a bite from her popsicle. Rarity held out her hand and effortlessly summoned a small diamond shield. “I still have my ability to summon diamonds,” she noted. “I’d try to see if I can still blow up stuff, but I just ran out of cupcakes,” Pinkie casually remarked. “Don’t bother tryin’,” scolded Applejack. She turned to Luna and said, “Ah reckon most of us at least still have our new magic just fine. Not sure why it’s suddenly not workin’ for Sunset, so your guess is as good as mine.” “Very well, then,” acknowledged Luna with a nod as she put away her notepad. “And with Twilight still lacking any new magic of her own, it seems we will have five tests to conduct. After that, I shall interview each of you one-on-one, and then you will all be free to go.” “Sounds like a plan,” agreed Timber with a smile. Luna pointed to the doorway out of the room and stated, “Go left down the hallway and take the third door on your right. I’ve provided a spare change of your standard city clothes. Once everyone has changed, the intern waiting outside will escort you to our first testing chamber. You can just leave your luggage here for when we are all done and you can return home.” “Thank you, Luna,” said Gloriosa with a smile. “We’ll get started right away.” She then led the group of ten minifigs down the hallway to the changing room. As the group walked, many of them had feelings of anxiety for the upcoming tests and interviews, but they were sure they would at least get some answers on what they were now capable of doing. A few minutes later, the eight minifigs from Canterlot City were now back to wearing their regular city clothes, while Gloriosa and Timber simply wore a clean change of the same outfits they had been wearing. Everyone was now gathered at one of the many various testing chambers in the facility, and the first one up for experimentation was Applejack. “Uh, is this really necessary?” asked Applejack worriedly as she stared upwards. Applejack stood in the center of a large round chamber. On the curved wall in front of her was a large window, behind which stood the rest of the group to watch what would happen inside the chamber. But what really had Applejack’s attention was the end of a massive metal cylinder suspended from the ceiling. Luna leaned close to the nearby microphone and spoke into the chamber, “Not to worry, Applejack. This giant hydraulic press will descend very slowly, so if anything goes wrong, you’ll have plenty of time to escape.” “Ain’t exactly makin’ me feel much better…” grumbled Applejack. “I can assure you we have taken every precaution imaginable,” continued Luna. “That is why I have asked some interns to accompany you inside the chamber. Worst case scenario, they’ll jump into action and quickly pull you out.” “Can we just get this over with!” shouted Applejack irritably. “As you wish,” stated Luna. She stepped away from the microphone and tapped a few buttons on the nearby console. Soon, the giant press began its slow descent with a constant whirring noise. Applejack took a deep breath and stretched her arms out. “Well… here goes nothin’…” she mumbled to herself as she raised her arms up, ready to meet the gradually incoming massive force. In the observation room on the other side of the window, the rest of the team silently watched the hydraulic press make its slow descent. What they were about to witness gave them all varying feelings of anxiety, nervousness, and even excitement in some cases. Finally, the giant press was low enough for Applejack’s outstretched hands to touch it. She immediately tried to hold up the descending press, but it wasn’t long before she was forced to bend her elbows and knees. Although the press initially continued dropping at its normal pace, it was only when Applejack widened her stance that the massive machine began to slow. By the time it was practically resting on her shoulders, the giant press came to a complete stop. Applejack grunted and groaned as she struggled to stay standing up under the immense amount of force being pressed down against her. The massive machine was also starting to groan in certain places as parts of it were gradually becoming overwhelmed. Everyone watching practically held their breath, waiting to see what would be the first to break. A sudden loud bang signaled that it was the machine the ultimately failed. One of the large hoses along the ceiling suddenly burst and hydraulic fluid began gushing out through the rupture at high pressure. Soon after, another hose full of hydraulic fluid suddenly burst, quickly followed by another, and then another. Before long, every single hose had ruptured, and with the pressure within the press quickly dropping, Applejack was soon able to heft the massive chunk of metal off her shoulders and high enough that her knees and elbows were once again straight. Applejack let out a whoop of joy and exclaimed, “Boy, that sure was easy!” Her excitement quickly fell as she glanced around at the result of her triumph. Hydraulic fluid was now gushing all over the chamber, flooding the floor and even leaving one unfortunate intern completely drenched. She turned her attention towards the observation window and uneasily said, “Uh… sorry ‘bout the mess…” Luna leaned close to the microphone and spoke, “Don’t concern yourself with any damages. I’ll make arrangements later to clean and repair this chamber. For now, just get cleaned up and meet us at the next testing chamber. Hopefully, one of my interns will be available to guide you.” One of the interns inside the chamber stood next to the door out of the room and gestured for Applejack to follow. As Applejack followed the intern out of the chamber, Sunset remarked, “Wow… that was really impressive.” She turned to Luna and asked, “How much force did it take to do that?” “I cannot say for sure,” answered Luna as she studied the results on the small display screen next to the console. “But I do know that this press is capable of delivering thousands of tons of pressure, and if Applejack was able to overcome a force like that…” Nobody bothered to say anything in response. Needless to say, Applejack had well and truly demonstrated an unbelievable amount of strength. Luna scribbled something in her notepad, then put it away and spoke up, “Anyway, I believe we are done here, so let’s move on to the next testing chamber.” At the second test chamber, Rarity stood alone inside a large, square, seemingly featureless room. High up along one wall of the chamber was the observation window, beyond which was everyone else to watch what would happen inside the chamber. As Applejack finally joined the others in the observation room, Luna leaned close to the nearby microphone and spoke, “Are you ready to begin testing, Rarity?” “Ready as I’ll ever be, I suppose,” replied Rarity. “Very well, then,” responded Luna as she tapped a few buttons on the nearby small display screen. “For the first part of this test, there will be a target inside the chamber with you.” A small panel on the floor slid open and up from within rose a watermelon on a pedestal. “I am going to deploy a series of increasingly powerful weapons to shoot at the target. Your goal is to use your shields to prevent the target from receiving any damage.” “Sounds simple enough,” stated Rarity as she summoned one of her diamond shields and slowly moved her hands around to position the hovering shield to rest right in front of the watermelon. “You may proceed.” Luna tapped a series of buttons. A panel in the wall of the chamber slid aside and the first weapon to deploy out was a slingshot that flung a pebble at the target, but the pebble harmlessly bounced off the shield. The slingshot quickly retracted and the next weapon, a bow and arrow, was just as quickly deployed in its place. The bow shot the arrow at the target, but the arrow harmlessly bounced off the shield. The next weapon was a crossbow, and the bolt fried from that was also easily blocked by the shield. The next weapon was a flintlock pistol which quickly fired a shot at the target, but the shield managed to block it. Quickly following that was an old west revolver, and its shot was also completely blocked. Next was a laser pistol, and despite its more effective projectile, it still wasn’t enough to penetrate the shield. Then followed a laser blaster, and the more powerful shot was still blocked by the shield. Following that was a small grenade hurled at the target, but the shield was able to block the blast. The next weapon was a pirate cannon that immediately fired at the target, but not even the cannonball was able to make it past the shield. Finally, a rocket launcher was deployed and quickly fired a missile that exploded on impact. After every single attempt by the various weapons, the watermelon target remained completely unscathed. As a result of the rather explosive last few weapons, Rarity was brushing her hair as she brought the shield towards her to closely inspect its features. As she pocketed the hairbrush, she smiled and pleasantly remarked, “How magnificent! Not even a scratch!” “Well done, Rarity,” stated Luna as she retracted the target back under the floor. “Now let’s test your reflexes.” Rarity raised an eyebrow as she frowned and asked, “I beg your pardon?” “Not to worry, these turrets won’t actually shoot at you,” assured Luna. “All you have to do is summon a shield between yourself and the turrets as soon as they deploy. Think of this test as a way to prepare yourself for any real world scenarios where you must protect yourself and your teammates from sudden hostile activity.” Rarity sighed and muttered, “I suppose I must.” She turned her gaze up towards the ceiling and held her arms out. “You may proceed!” she called out. Luna tapped a few more buttons. As soon as a small turret suddenly deployed from the ceiling, Rarity immediately summoned a diamond shield to block the line-of-sight between herself and the turret. The turret spun its laser blaster around a few times, then retracted back into the ceiling. Just seconds later, another small laser turret suddenly deployed from another part of the ceiling. Rarity quickly summoned another shield to block the turret, which swiveled around a bit and then retracted back into the ceiling. This sequence repeated about half a dozen times, and Rarity consistently reacted very quickly. Soon, the rapidly deploying turrets began shooting their laser blasters, albeit while aimed away from Rarity. The additional realistic detail did little to slow Rarity’s reaction time. After successfully blocking herself from another half dozen of these turrets, she got an idea and decided to immediately put it to use. When the next turret deployed, Rarity placed her diamond shield not between herself and the turret, but rather right in front of the turret’s blasters. As soon as the turret started firing, the laser bolts were reflected back and ended up destroying the turret in an explosion. When the next turret deployed, she also placed a shield in front of its blasters, and that turret was also quickly blown up by its own laser bolts. One by one, Rarity repeated the process, blowing up turret after turret in the same manner. Eventually, every panel in the ceiling now had a destroyed turret dangling inside the test chamber. With every single turret now eliminated, Rarity smile at her accomplishment. “Destroying the turrets was not part of the test,” stated Luna through the microphone. Rarity turned back and when she saw the disapproving look on Luna’s face, she giggled nervously and muttered, “S-sorry about that, darling.” Through the observation window, some of the group looked at Rarity with awkward uncertainty, while others shook their heads in disapproval, and Pinkie Pie simply smiled and waved. “So…” began Rarity awkwardly. She cleared her throat and asked with a nervous grin, “Shall we proceed to the next test chamber?” Rainbow Dash found herself inside a test chamber that was similar to the previous one, except there was what appeared to be a common treadmill in the middle of the chamber. She glanced up at everyone on the other side of the observation window and asked, “That’s it?” she asked in mild disappointment. “You just want me to run on a treadmill?” “This isn’t any ordinary treadmill you might find at the gym,” responded Luna through the microphone. “This particular treadmill has been specially modified to run at absurdly high speeds. All you have to do is run on it, and we’ll find out just how fast you can really run.” Rainbow Dash grinned and boasted, “Then you’d better make sure you write that number down, ‘cause I’m about to break every land speed record in the book!” She then hopped onto the treadmill. “Let’s go!” Luna tapped a few buttons on the nearby small display screen and the treadmill began to move. It started off slowly like all other treadmills, but it soon began to accelerate. Rainbow Dash easily kept pace with the treadmill as it continued to speed up. Before long, the treadmill exceeded the maximum speed of ordinary treadmills, and Rainbow Dash had yet to even break a sweat. As the treadmill continued to accelerate, the rapid thumping of each stride Rainbow made became more and more rapid until it eventually blurred into a single continuous noise. At the same time, the whirring noise of the treadmill’s motor had become so loud that it was like listening to a racecar engine. “Her velocity has already reached triple digits,” noted Luna in astonishment as she stared at the numbers being displayed on the screen. “At this pace, she could outrun a racecar at top speed.” “Do you think she could break the sound barrier?” asked Pinkie Pie. “I’m afraid this treadmill’s not designed to go that fast,” Luna pointed out. As Rainbow Dash continued her ever accelerating pace on the treadmill, the nearby machine powering its motor suddenly began to spark and zap. As she continued her absurdly rapid running, Rainbow glanced over at the machine, then turned to the observation window and worriedly asked, “Uh, should it be doing that?” Just seconds later, the machine suddenly exploded and unleashed a huge shower of sparks all around. The sudden loss of power caused the treadmill to decelerate so rapidly that Rainbow Dash simply had no time to react and she ended up zooming forward off the treadmill and slammed right into ten layers of foam rubber that had been set up against the wall ahead, leaving a perfect minifig-shaped hole through at least the first layer. Just seconds later, the destroyed machine suddenly burst into flames. In the observation room, Applejack immediately grabbed the nearest fire extinguisher and rushed out into the hallway, with Fluttershy and Sunset Shimmer following right behind. Everyone else staying inside the room simply stared in shock at what they had just witnessed. “Ohhh, so that’s why you put ten foam mattresses up against that wall,” remarked Pinkie Pie. Applejack burst into the test chamber and immediately used the fire extinguisher to put out the fire on the destroyed machine. Fluttershy and Sunset quickly rushed over to the hole in the foam layers on the wall. “Are you okay, Rainbow?!” called Fluttershy worriedly. After a brief moment of silence, Rainbow Dash’s muffled voice responded, “I just have one word to say… Ow…” Once Rainbow Dash was checked out of the infirmary with no serious injuries, the group gathered at the next test chamber. Now it was Pinkie Pie’s turn. “So what do I do first?!” asked Pinkie Pie as she jumped around excitedly with a huge grin on her face. “First, we are going to test the hypothesis your friends have made, regarding your new magic,” responded Luna through the microphone. She tapped a button and a large floor panel slid aside, allowing a table to rise up with two packs of gum on it. “There are two packs of gum in front of you; the one on the left is sugar-free. You are going to toss them, one before the other, at this target.” Luna tapped another button and a red and white bullseye target rose up from the floor at the other side of the chamber. “If the theory is correct, then only the one on the right should explode.” “No problemo!” replied Pinkie Pie as she immediately grabbed the left pack of gum and tossed it at the target. The gum simply bounced off the target and tumbled to the floor. “Yup! Sugar-free’s a dud! Now for the sugary one!” She quickly grabbed the remaining pack of gum and tossed it at the target. When the second pack of gum hit the target, it exploded with a loud pop and left a black mark on the center of the target, almost like some kind of firecracker. “Yay! Explosion!” cheered Pinkie excitedly. “Nicely done,” stated Luna as she tapped some more buttons, retracting the now empty table and allowing another one to rise up into the chamber. Resting upon this table was a huge variety of all kinds of sugary treats such as cookies, chocolate bars, lollipops, cans of sprinkles, marshmallows, glazed donuts, and of course, frosted cupcakes. “According to Twilight’s theory, objects with a higher quantity and concentration of sugar should allow you to create bigger explosions, so here is a wide selection for you to choose from. I’ll gather and evaluate the data, so you just need to focus on hitting the targets.” Luna tapped another button and nearly a dozen more targets quickly deployed around the same part of the chamber that the first one was. Pinkie Pie squealed excitedly and shouted, “This is gonna be so much fun!” She immediately grabbed one of the cupcakes and tossed it at a random target. The explosion upon impact rattled the target, but it remained mostly intact. From that point, everything for Pinkie was a blur as she rapidly grabbed anything within reach and randomly tossed them at the targets. One explosion after another, some bigger than others, and Pinkie was absolutely thrilled with every second of it. Eventually, Pinkie paused when she noticed that less than a quarter of the sugary objects were left. She wanted to end with the biggest bang possible, and when she found a large can under the table, she knew exactly how to do it. “If it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing,” she remarked as she removed the resealable lid from the can and began to quickly shove everything that was left into the can. She crammed the last of it into the can — punching it a few times to force it all down— and then stuck the lid back onto the can. She giggle mischievously as she carried the stuffed can over to the targets, then she hefted the huge can over her shoulder and chucked it at the nearest target. BOOM!!! The resulting explosion was so massive that it blew out the observation window, sending everyone inside the room backwards onto their backs. As everyone carefully sat up and brushed off shards of glass, Luna muttered in shock, “That glass was supposed to be bulletproof.” With that note making it clear that the explosion was likely even worse than initially believed, Sunset immediately jumped to her feet and rushed over to the open frame where the window used to be. “Pinkie! Are you okay?!” she shouted desperately. The floor of the test chamber was now covered in bricks and debris from all the surrounding walls and ceiling. After a few seconds of complete stillness and silence, a small pile of grey 2x4 bricks shifted and fell apart, exposing a very dazed Pinkie Pie as she slowly sat up with her large magenta hair piece resting askew atop her head. “Maybe there is such a thing as too much of a good thing,” mumbled Pinkie deliriously. Later, once Pinkie Pie — and everyone else — was checked out of the infirmary with no serious injuries, the group followed Luna down yet another hallway. “Only one more test left to complete,” stated Luna as they all walked. “And as I’m sure you can guess by now, this one will be for Fluttershy.” “Does this mean we’re going to another test chamber?” asked Fluttershy uneasily. “Not this time,” replied Luna as the group arrived at a large doorway with the massive wide door currently closed. “Thanks to some recent events, I’ve got something very special planned for you.” Luna pulled out her ID card and stuck it into the nearby slot. With a faint beep and a small green light turning on, the door was unlocked. Luna pocketed her ID and swung the massive door open. The room inside appeared to be some kind of storage space for massive cargo. But what really caught everyone’s attention was the huge cage containing a massive beast that appeared to be some kind of weird fusion between a dragon, a rhino, and a scorpion. As soon as the beast became aware of the new arrivals, he immediately slammed against the surrounding cage and let out a mighty and terrifying roar. ROOOAAARRR!!! Everyone flinched in one way or another at the deafening roar unleashed by that beast. Spike yelped in shock and immediately leaped into Fluttershy’s arms. Pinkie Pie leaned close toward Rarity and pointed towards Spike as she asked, “Hey, Rarity? Isn’t that usually your shtick?” Rarity glared sideways at Pinkie and grumbled, “Yes, Miss Pie, thank you for reminding me of that.” “You’re welcome!” Pinkie blissfully responded before she returned to where she had previously stood. “Um, Spike?” Fluttershy quietly asked. “Could you, um… let go of me? I-if you don’t mind?” Spike opened his eyes and let out a nervous chuckle as he carefully released his grasp on the shy yellow girl and stepped aside. “What is that thing, anyway?” asked Sunset. “We have no idea,” replied Luna. “According to Captain Spitfire, this beast was confiscated from a smuggler’s ship just a few days ago. We’ve never seen anything like this, and the smugglers refused to tell us where they found it. Normally, our protocol regarding smuggled creatures is to return them to their natural habitat, but without any information on where this beast came from, that just isn’t possible in this case.” Luna turned to Fluttershy. “That is where you come in, Fluttershy.” “What?” asked Fluttershy in confusion. “Why me?” “If you truly are capable of communicating with all kinds of animals, then this alien beast will be definitive proof of that,” explained Luna. “I would like for you to speak with the beast, specifically to ask for any clues about its home so that we may be able to figure out where it is and thus return the beast to where it belongs.” ROOOAAARRR!!! Everyone flinched as the beast slammed against the cage and unleashed another mighty roar. Fluttershy nervously asked, “Um… a-are you sure this is a good idea?” “No need to be concerned for your personal safety,” assured Luna. “We have guards posted throughout the room, ready to take immediate action in case if anything goes wrong. Plus, we have researchers listening in to quickly gather and analyze whatever information you might uncover, so you won’t have to be near the beast any longer than you have to.” ROOOAAARRR!!! The beast once again slammed against the cage and unleashed a mighty roar. Fluttershy gulped and hesitantly said, “Well, in that case… I-I guess I should do the right thing and, um… do my best to help.” She took a deep breath, slowly exhaled, then began carefully walking towards the caged alien monster. ROOOAAARRR!!! Fluttershy momentarily froze as the alien beast roared directly at her, but rather than run away, she stood her ground and held up her hands in a calming gesture. “Easy, there…” she spoke calmly and carefully. “I’m not going to hurt you… I just want to help… and so does everyone else in this place.” The beast did start to relax a little as Fluttershy spoke, but the last phrase made the beast suddenly slam against the cage again and let out a series of loud roars. “There’s no need to worry about the bad people,” assured Fluttershy as she spoke slowly. “They have already been dealt with. Here, you will find only good people… like me.” The beast snorted and let out a low growl. “The good people here would like to help you,” continued Fluttershy. “They want to take you back to your home… but they can’t do that right now because they just don’t know where your home is. If you can tell me about what your home is like… then maybe these good people can figure out where you came from so they can take you back there, where you belong.” The alien beast glared silently at the shy yellow girl for a moment, then he made a series of growls and low roars. Fluttershy nodded, then turned back to the rest of the group waiting outside the doorway and spoke up, “He says he’s from a place with two suns and two moons.” Luna glanced upwards and asked, “Researchers, how much does that narrow the list of candidates?” Everyone waited silently for a few seconds before a response came from the speakers in the ceiling. “Significantly,” responded one of the researchers. “But that leaves us with about forty candidates. I’m afraid we’ll need more clues.” Fluttershy turned back to the alien beast and asked, “What else can you tell me about your home? What color is the sky? What color are the plants? Is there a lot of water where you live?” The beast made another series of low roars and growls. Fluttershy glanced back at the others and said, “His world has a yellow sky, red plants, and there’s not much water in the land he’s familiar with.” Luna glanced up and asked, “How many candidates are left?” After a few seconds, the researcher over the speakers responded, “Less than a dozen. I don’t know how much further we can narrow this list.” “Ask about any constellations!” Twilight suddenly spoke up. “The arrangement of stars in the night sky are always unique to each star system, so any recognizable pattern in them should pinpoint where he’s from.” Fluttershy turned back to the alien beast and asked, “Do you remember any patterns in the stars of the night sky?” The beast gave a loud snort and growled a little. “He says he’s a hunter and never pays any attention to such details,” stated Fluttershy dejectedly. The alien beast then made a long growl, followed by a few low roars. Fluttershy smiled and added, “But he did notice that on the night before he was captured, the darker of the two moons actually turned red.” “A lunar eclipse,” concluded Luna. She glanced up at the speakers and asked, “Did any of the remaining candidate worlds recently witness a lunar eclipse, specifically the one with a lower albedo?” Everyone waited anxiously for a response from the speakers. After a few seconds, the researcher excitedly announced, “We got it! One of the remaining candidates did in fact witness a lunar eclipse of its darker moon just two weeks ago. Taking that timeline into account and comparing it to the time and place of where the smugglers’ ship was caught, it’s a very close match! I would give it a ninety-five percent probability that this planet is the one that creature came from.” “Those odds are good enough for me,” said Luna. “Inform Captain Spitfire of this information so that she can begin preparations to deliver the alien back to where it belongs.” Fluttershy turned back to the alien beast and smiled as she said, “Did you hear that? They figured out where you came from, so now they can take you back there, where you belong. I’m afraid you’ll have to wait a bit while they get ready, but I promise you that they will get you home soon.” The beast made another series of growls and low roars. Fluttershy furrowed her brow and scolded, “No, you’re not allowed to bite any heads off while you wait.” The beast lowered its head and made a rather quiet growl. “No, not even one,” insisted Fluttershy. “The better you behave yourself, the sooner these good people will be able to take you home. That’s the way it has to be.” The massive alien beast gave no response as it turned away and lied down on the floor of the cage. Smiling at her accomplishment, Fluttershy turned away and walked back to rejoin the group outside the room. “Nice work, Fluttershy,” congratulated Sunset. “Yeah, that was awesome!” praised Rainbow Dash as she patted Fluttershy on the back. “That sure was somethin’,” agreed Applejack. “And you completed the test without breaking anything!” added Pinkie Pie. “Yes, thank you very much for your assistance, Fluttershy,” stated Luna. “Anyway, that concludes all of our testing. Follow me to the lounge closest to my office. I will have you called in one at a time for the interviews, then you will be free to go.” Luna swung the large door shut, then began walking down the hallway once more. As everyone followed Luna, Sunset leaned close to Twilight and very quietly asked, “Are you sure you want me to still keep it a secret? Even from Luna?” Twilight immediately nodded. Sunset sighed and whispered, “I can’t make any promises, but I’ll do my best.” About halfway through the interviews, Sunset was making her way down the hallway back to the lounge after finishing her interview with Luna. Although most of the questions were fairly easy to answer, she did struggle a little when it came to certain subjects regarding Twilight. She knew that as soon as she returned to the lounge, the first thing she would do was tell Twilight the truth and hope that she would be okay with it. As Sunset walked past the restrooms, she suddenly heard a faint crash from inside the men’s room. “Aw, shoot!” exclaimed Timber Spruce from within the restroom. Sunset immediately stopped in her tracks. She looked around to make sure no one was watching, then walked over to the men’s room and carefully pushed the door open just enough to peek inside. Near the sinks, there was a large pile of gem dust on the floor, along with some glass fragments. Just a moment later, Timber walked into view while carrying a dustpan and a large brush. “Stupid clumsy me,” grumbled Timber as he knelt down and began sweeping the pile of gem dust and glass fragments into the dustpan. Once the floor was finally cleared, he dumped the contents of the dustpan into the trashcan. Timber sighed and then muttered, “That only leaves me with a small pocketful. I’ll need to head into town and buy another jar. I just hope I don’t have to use any of what’s left until then.” Sunset carefully stepped away from the door and resumed walking down the hallway, hoping that when Timber came out, he would not suspect that she had been eavesdropping on him. Why would he be carrying around so much gem dust? thought Sunset. At first, it didn’t make any sense to her, but then she suddenly remembered a certain detail from Timber’s campfire story about how Gaia Everfree would always leave behind a trail of gem dust wherever she caused strange occurrences. She also suddenly remembered that she had seen two trails of gem dust recently. The first was in the clearing with Filthy Rich’s surveying efforts, shortly after everything had suddenly come crashing down. The second was while she and her friends were running for their lives from Trixie’s army, right after the entire army had suddenly tripped and fallen over. Putting the pieces together in her mind, Sunset thought, If he’s the one who’s been spreading that gem dust, then that means… he’s hiding something from us… She wasn’t sure what exactly Timber was trying to hide or why he was trying to hide it, but she made a mental note to keep a close eye on him from now on. It wasn’t long until Sunset returned to the lounge. As she opened the door and stepped inside, she called out, “Gloriosa, you’re next.” Gloriosa let out a quiet sigh as she stood up and walked past Sunset into the hallway and began heading towards Luna Playwell’s office for her interview. Inside the lounge, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Spike were watching something on the television, Rarity and Fluttershy were reading magazines, Pinkie Pie hummed cheerfully to herself while fiddling with a peculiar piece of paper in her hands, and Twilight was reading a book in the corner of the room. Sunset walked over to Twilight and sat down in the chair next to her. Twilight glanced up from her book and noticed Sunset had just returned, so she leaned over and quietly asked, “So, uh… did she find out?” “Not exactly,” Sunset whispered back. “She figured out that you were hiding something, but I convinced her to not look further into it by citing that you’re still traumatized from that Midnight Sparkle incident and would probably be more open to sharing this information at a later time.” Twilight sighed in relief and whispered, “Thank you.” She then returned to reading her book. As Sunset stood up and began to look for something to do to pass the time, she couldn’t help but think about Twilight’s extreme reluctance about letting anyone find out about her new magical ability. Sooner or later, people are eventually going to find out about it, she thought worriedly. The longer you put this off, Twilight, the more trouble this could cause for all of us. Spike was the last one to be interviewed, and as he returned to the lounge, Luna was right behind him. When Luna cleared her throat, everyone in the lounge dropped what they were doing and turned to her. “Thank you very much for your cooperation, everyone,” stated Luna. “I shall assign some researchers to look into the data and information I have collected, and will inform you of any interesting discoveries we make. For now, you are all free to return home.” “Thanks, Luna,” said Sunset with a smile. “Glad we could help out.” “Absolutely,” agreed Gloriosa. As everyone prepared to leave, Pinkie Pie suddenly spoke up, “Oh! Before we go, I wanted to show you all something I found on Luna’s desk.” She held up the piece of paper she had been holding onto since she had returned from her interview. “What is it?” asked Fluttershy. “It’s an invitation to a party!” Pinkie Pie excitedly exclaimed. Spike turned to Luna and asked, “You got invited to a party?” “More like a high-class formal affair that I have no interest in attending,” Luna clarified bitterly. Rainbow Dash chuckled and remarked, “Yeah, I’m with ya on that one.” “I personally would beg to differ,” noted Rarity with a scoff. She turned to Luna and asked, “So what’s the occasion?” “It is a gala being held in honor of Thomas Playwell for the recent announced that he will officially be his father Kjeld’s successor as leader of the Lego World,” explained Luna. “The gala is being hosted by Filthy Rich in his new cultural center in downtown Lego City.” “Filthy Rich?!” exclaimed Gloriosa in shock. Twilight turned to Sunset and asked, “Wasn’t that the guy we met yesterday morning who said he was interested in buying out some regions?” “Sure sounds like it,” replied Sunset. “If he really wants to be the next Lord Business, then this gala would be a good way for him to gain influence with the highest authorities.” Timber quickly snatched the invitation out of Pinkie’s hands and glanced over it as he asked, “Who else was invited?” “My sister also received an invitation,” replied Luna, “but like me, she has no interest in attending. However, she does have minor concerns regarding Mister Rich’s activities, so she requested a member of her branch’s reserve LEGO Team to attend in her place and secretly keep an eye out for anything suspicious.” “Are you sure he really wants to be the next Lord Business?” asked Fluttershy uneasily. “He never said it specifically,” replied Timber, “but with what he’s been up to lately, I would argue that’s very likely the case.” “I’d argue that’s definitely the case,” grumbled Gloriosa under her breath. “If Celestia thinks that Filthy Rich guy might be up to some funny business, then Ah say we should go there an’ find out for ourselves,” suggested Applejack. “But how would we do that?” asked Rainbow Dash. “I’m pretty sure the security there won’t just let anyone walk through the front door.” “Simple!” replied Pinkie Pie as she snatched the invitation back from Timber. “We’ll just show them this invitation and say that Luna asked us to go in her place, just like Celestia did with that reserve team member!” “But that’s only one invitation,” Rarity pointed out. “There’s no way security would accept a single invitation for all ten of us.” Sunset thought for a moment and soon got an idea. “Or maybe we don’t need that invitation at all.” Twilight raised an eyebrow and asked, “What do you mean by that?” “There are two ways to attend a party,” explained Sunset. “You could be invited and show up… or you could just sneak in and act like you were invited, even though you actually weren’t.” “Sunset Shimmer,” asked Rarity cautiously, “are you suggesting that we…?” Sunset has a mischievous grin on her face as she nodded and replied, “Yup. We’re gonna crash their party.” “Normally, I would be opposed to such a thing,” Gloriosa spoke up, “but since this is Filthy Rich’s party, I would gladly partake in this.” “Count me in, too,” added Timber. “An’ seein’ as this is your idea, Sunset,” noted Applejack, “Ah guess this means the rest of us will be taggin’ along, too.” The rest of the team nodded in agreement. “So what have ya got in mind?” asked Rainbow Dash with a naughty grin. Sunset rubbed her chin as she thought for a moment. Eventually, she smiled and replied, “Okay, here’s the plan…”