//------------------------------// // Going Medieval // Story: LEGO Equestria Girls // by Chronicler06 //------------------------------// Chapter 10 Going Medieval Twilight Sparkle led her team as they walked through a forest. After they had changed back into their normal clothes and stepped outside, everyone was uncertain what their next course of action should be. There was virtually nothing to be found in this wilderness, so they had decided to walk together in a certain direction until they found something. Twilight had to admit that it was quite a nice environment to be walking around in. After spending a lot of time in Canterlot City and the Wonderbolts Lunar Headquarters, she was quite surprised to see a place that looked so… natural. This wilderness consisted of real trees, real grass, real dirt, and virtually no Lego bricks at all. In fact, if not for the fact that she was currently in the body of a minifig, she would have felt like she was back in Equestria. As much as Twilight enjoyed such a peaceful stroll through the woods, she knew she couldn’t take her mind off of the task at hand. There were sure to be many problems, and they were already facing the first of them. “So, uh… any idea where we’re going?” asked Spike. “Beats me,” said Applejack indifferently as she pushed aside a low hanging branch. Rarity quickly stepped aside to avoid getting smacked by that branch as Applejack let go of it. “As I recall, Applejack, it was your idea to just head off in a random direction,” said Rarity. “Ah didn’t think it’d matter much,” said Applejack. “We don’t exactly know where we ended up, anyway.” “Hey, all I did was land the spaceship,” said Rainbow Dash in defense. “Nobody told me where to land.” “If only I had thought to ask Luna for a map before we left,” thought Twilight aloud. “Not that it would be of much help right now, unfortunately.” “Either way,” said Applejack, “we ain’t gonna get anythin’ done if we just stand around arguin’ with each other. Better to go somewhere than nowhere.” “Unless of course if that somewhere turns out to be a really, really bad place,” Pinkie Pie spoke up. “In which case, we really would have been better off just standing still in one place, because then we wouldn’t be in any danger.” “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it, Pinkie,” said Applejack. “Oh, so we’re going to a bridge of some kind?” asked Pinkie, not realizing Applejack had been speaking metaphorically. Applejack just ignored the pink girl and pushed aside another low hanging branch. She let go of it as she walked by, unwittingly causing it to smack Fluttershy in the face. Fluttershy stumbled a little before spitting out some leaves that had gotten in her mouth. She then removed her hair and brushed out any leaves and twigs that had been caught in it. As she put her hair back on, she heard something very faint that didn’t sound very good. “Do you hear something?” she asked her teammates. Everyone quickly stopped and listened carefully. It didn’t take long for them to hear the faint noise, which sounded like some kind of chanting that repeated over and over. Twilight quietly shushed the others and gestured for them to follow her. They quietly walked through the woods, down a hill across a small clearing, and back into the woods. The great thing about walking on soft ground was that it prevented their footsteps from making much noise. Hoo. Ha. Hoo… Hoo. Ha. Hoo… Hoo. Ha. Hoo… The team approached a row of bushes. They were now close enough to clearly hear the chanting, which meant the source had to be right on the other side. Each member of the team slowly walked up to the bushes and parted them just enough to see what was on the other side. They were shocked to see a dozen skeleton warriors — each armed with a spear and round shield — marching in formation down a dirt trail. Hoo. Ha. Hoo… Hoo. Ha. Hoo… Hoo. Ha. Hoo… The skeletons continued their low chanting as they marched on. They had just passed the row of bushes along the trail and were marching away, which meant they were not looking in the direction of the team of minifigs. Twilight suppressed a gasp as she realized she was actually seeing some of these skeleton warriors. Back in Equestria, she had heard the occasional horror story that included skeletons coming to life and scaring ponies. But this right here was no story; these were real skeleton people — albeit made of Lego. Seeing the pictures was one thing, but to actually see them out in the open was enough to send a chill through her body. The skeletons marched onward around a curve in the trail, the noise of their chanting growing ever fainter. Once they were out of sight, the seven minifigs retreated back from the row of bushes. “Looks like Trixie’s army is patrolling the area,” stated Rainbow Dash. “I’m not surprised,” said Pinkie Pie. “We are pretty close to her castle, after all.” “How do you know that?” asked Spike in confusion. “It’s right over there,” replied Pinkie, pointing up the trail. Everyone turned their gaze in that direction, looking up the trail, through the woods, and uphill to a scorched landscape. In the middle of that scorched area, atop a hill that dominated the area, was a dark castle surrounded by a moat of boiling hot lava. Dark storm clouds seemed to hover over the scorched area, occasionally unleashing a boom of thunder to scare off any would-be invaders. If there was only one castle that could define evil, this was it. Everyone was speechless for a moment as they looked upon Trixie’s castle for the first time. The first to speak up was Rarity. “Well… at least she isn’t modest,” she pointed out the obvious. “Doesn’t matter,” said Rainbow Dash as she began to walk towards the castle with determination. “Now that we know where she is, let’s take her down.” Twilight stepped in front of Rainbow to stop her. “No,” she said firmly. “We can’t just walk up to her castle like that. You saw some of her skeleton warriors. They’re fully armed, and we have no weapons to speak of. If we’re gonna stand a chance against the Great and Powerful Trixie, we’ll need some help.” “You mean like from Prince Shining Armor?” asked Spike. Twilight hesitated before replying, “Yes, but we can’t put all of our hopes on him. Besides, we don’t even know where his castle is.” “Then what do ya suggest?” asked Applejack. Twilight looked around as she contemplated what the next step would be. Finally, she answered, “We’ll keep walking around. Maybe we’ll find something useful.” With that, she turned away from the castle and began leading the team away from the dirt trail. Not much later, the team arrived at a clearing near the base of a small mountain, where they saw what appeared to be an abandoned mine. The entrance was boarded up, but what was important about this place was that they finally found a small collection of Lego pieces. Most of those pieces were currently assembled into carts, tracks, and other kinds of old mining equipment — many of which were not intact. “Well, at least we found something,” said Spike, trying to stay positive. “Yeah,” added Rainbow Dash dejectedly. “Too bad it’s all useless.” “True, but not in its current state,” said Twilight as she started forming an idea. “Perhaps we can salvage these parts and then reassemble them into something we can use.” “Like what?” asked Applejack. “If we’re going to stop Trixie, we will need some way to break into her castle,” continued Twilight. “Our best chance would be to build some kind of… siege machine, I suppose.” “Sounds intriguing,” said Rarity. “What specifics do you have in mind?” Back in Equestria, Twilight had read ancient history books that described how armies would attack various castles. Many kinds of siege engines were utilized in those days, from catapults to battering rams. However, those ancient works of engineering were definitely not made of Lego bricks, which meant she was almost clueless on what they would build right here with limited parts. Then again, maybe she wouldn’t have to worry about that. Twilight thought back on the different results of their attempts to rebuild the spaceship. The first attempt had everyone do everything, and that had ended in disaster. The second attempt went much better, because she had assigned certain tasks to certain people to make the most of their talents. She didn’t need a second thought to realize which method worked best. “I’m not thinking of what to build, but rather how we’ll build it,” Twilight replied as she turned to face her team. “This time, we’re gonna do things the right way from the start. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, your task will be to come up with the weaponry that will be utilized on the siege machine. Figure out how we can use some of these parts in a way that will help us break into Trixie’s castle.” “Awesome!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash, excited by her given task. “Sounds good to me,” said Applejack in approval as she and Rainbow gave each other a fist-bump. “Rarity,” continued Twilight, “you’re in charge of the overall build. Feel free to come up with any design you want. Just keep in mind that whatever systems you incorporate will need to work properly.” “Functionality before fabulousity,” said Rarity, nodding in understanding. “Got it!” “Pinkie Pie, Spike,” continued Twilight, “you will offer any assistance the others may ask for. I have a feeling you’ll have little trouble handling all of these pieces.” “You got it!” said Spike in acceptance. “Piece of cake!” exclaimed Pinkie happily. “Fluttershy,” said Twilight as she walked past the group and stopped next to a large footprint in the ground. “Do you see these tracks?” “Oh! You noticed them, too,” said Fluttershy as she looked over at the set of large footprints that Twilight was pointing at. Each footprint was a large square with three separate smaller squares at the front and one at the back. Fluttershy carefully looked over one of the footprints and said, “They were clearly left by something big. Judging by its shape, I think this creature may also have wings.” “Find out what made them and what its intentions are,” said Twilight. “The last thing we need is any unexpected problems.” “Sure,” said Fluttershy quietly. “I can do that.” “And what’ll you be doing?” asked Rainbow Dash to Twilight. “I’m going to find Prince Shining Armor,” replied Twilight. “If we’re gonna have any hope of capturing the Great and Powerful Trixie, we’ll need him and his golden sword to be with us when we make our move. Good luck, girls.” Twilight turned around and began to walk away. While everyone else started on their assigned tasks, Spike stood silently for a few seconds as he tried to make sense of what Twilight had just said. She was going to find Shining Armor? Spike was baffled by why Twilight wanted to do such a thing in these circumstances. He had to talk some sense into her. “Twilight, wait!” he called to her as he ran up to meet her. Since their conversation would inevitably involve the fact that they were from an alternate world, he wanted to make sure no one else would hear them. “What is it, Spike?” asked Twilight in confusion as she kept walking. “You can’t just walk up to Prince Shining Armor,” said Spike, keeping his voice down to keep the conversation private. “Don’t you remember what Luna said? His sister has been missing for a long time, and he’s been searching desperately for her. What if he thinks you are his missing sister?” Twilight suddenly stopped as she realized what Spike was trying to explain. This was not her brother, but a different Shining Armor, trying to find a different Twilight Sparkle. If she tried to speak with the prince, it would almost certainly be very awkward, and could possibly lead to some big problems. “Huh… I guess it never occurred to me that could be a possibility,” said Twilight thoughtfully. “That’s what I’m here for,” said Spike smugly as he tried to give two thumbs up, only to be reminded that his Lego hands lacked any digits. “In that case…” said Twilight thoughtfully as she tried the think of a solution. Her tone changed to determination as she finished, “I’ll just introduce myself under a false name.” Twilight smiled at coming up with such a brilliant idea as she began to jog away. Spike stood dumbfounded for a moment. Once Twilight quickly went out of sight, he face-palmed and thought, Ugh! She can be so stubborn at times! Deep within the dark castle of the Great and Powerful Trixie, a crystal ball sat atop a small pedestal. This magical artifact served as Trixie’s way to keep an eye on anything of importance in the region. With just a little willpower, it would display an image of whatever would be of most interest to her. Right now, that crystal ball was projecting an image of Twilight Sparkle, jogging down a stone path with a determined look on her face. Trixie stared intently at the moving image within the crystal ball. It didn’t take much for her to realize what Twilight’s intentions were, and where she was going. “So… you think you’ve got what it takes to defeat the Great and Powerful Trixie?” said Trixie with slight amusement. She turned away and walked over to the nearby window. “Well, let’s see how you can deal with this.” Trixie slammed the bottom end of her staff against the floor, unleashing a blast of magic that caused the cloudy skies to boom and crackle with thunder and lightning. Down below, cracks began to form in the ground just outside the castle. As the cracks widened further, white skeleton arms rose up out of the ground, numbering in the dozens. Twilight continued to jog down a stone pathway. The hard surface meant that each step she took made that now-familiar clacking noise. She wasn’t concerned about drawing any unwanted attention, mostly because she was sure she was heading away from Trixie’s castle. Instead, Twilight was more focused on looking at her surroundings, hoping to find something to indicate she was going in the right direction. So far, she was feeling optimistic. “It’s a good thing I found this path,” she told herself. “Paths are always good. They always lead to places of importance. Like a town, or a village, or a…” Twilight stopped as she reached a crossroad. One path continued straight ahead though the forest, but the other led to some location to the left. Twilight looked over to see where that path went. At the end of the path, not too far away, was a small castle atop a hill with gradual slopes. The castle consisted of crenelated walls that surrounded a large keep, which had four small towers atop it on each corner. The walls appeared to be about twice the height of a minifig, and the keep was nearly twice as tall as those walls. In the middle of the front wall was the gatehouse, which was currently open. Hanging over the front of both the keep and the gatehouse was a pair of banners on either side. Each of those banners was white with the symbol of a blue shield with a magenta six-pointed star in the middle and three smaller stars above it. “Castle!” finished Twilight excitedly. “That must be Prince Shining Armor’s castle!” Twilight immediately took off running down the left path straight for the castle. It didn’t take her long to reach her destination. However, just a few steps away from the gate, the portcullis dropped down, blocking her way into the castle. Twilight yelped in surprise as she quickly came to a stop. “Halt!” said a guard from atop the gatehouse. “Who goes there?” Twilight looked up at the guard. From what she could see, this guard had a blue and white square pattern on his torso, had chainmail on his arms, wore a rounded grey helmet on his head, and held a pike that he was currently pointing at her. It was clear that uninvited guests were not allowed in so easily, so she would have to explain her intentions to this guard. “My name is, uh… Starlight… Sparks!” said Twilight to the guard, coming up with her false name on the spot and hoping he wouldn’t suspect. “I wish to speak with Prince Shining Armor. It is a matter of great importance for his kingdom.” The guard briefly considered Twilight’s words. He then brought the pike back to his side and responded, “Wait here. I’ll send word of this to the prince.” He then turned and walked away. Twilight had no choice but to stay right there in front of the closed gate and wait for a response. She decided to take the time to think over what she had just said. She was sure that Shining Armor would be interested hearing anything of great importance, especially in regards to his kingdom. What did worry her was if the name she came up with would be convincing enough. Starlight Sparks wasn’t exactly very creative, compared to her real name, but it was already too late to reconsider it, so it would have to do. After waiting for over a minute, the gate reopened. Standing on the other side was the same guard from before. “The prince is willing to speak with you,” he said. “Follow me.” He turned away and began walking toward the keep. Twilight couldn’t help but smile as she followed the guard. Although there was no denying there would soon be some awkwardness in the upcoming discussion, she was at least pleased to see she was making progress. Back at the abandoned mine entrance, everyone was busy taking everything apart and setting aside the pieces. At one of the old models, Applejack removed three identical pieces — shaped like a pole with a base that could fit over one stud — and bundled them under her arm. She then walked up to Rarity, who was looking carefully at a mine cart that was on its side, and asked, “Hey, uh, where do ya want these doohickeys?” Rarity turned to Applejack and replied, “Those are called hinge rods, darling. Just stack them neatly over there.” She pointed to the side, where she had neatly set aside some other pieces. Applejack casually tossed the pieces she held over to the specified location, where they landed in scattered locations. “I said stack them neatly, not throw them into a pile,” scolded Rarity. “Personally, Ah don’t see the difference,” said Applejack as she walked over to another mine cart. “It’s all gonna get put together, anyway.” She then grabbed the bottom of the cart and flipped it on its side, spilling its contents all over the ground. Rarity glared at Applejack for being so careless, then turned her attention back to the mine cart beside her. She decided to start by removing one of the wheels, so she grabbed it and prepared to pull it off. Rainbow Dash was carrying a stack of large gears in her arms as she walked up to Rarity and asked, “What should I do with these gizmos?” “Those are 40-tooth spur gears,” emphasized Rarity, slightly frustrated. “Yeah, yeah, I’ll just toss ‘em over with those other whatchamacallits,” said Rainbow Dash, before carelessly tossing the gears aside to where some other Lego pieces had been set aside. Rarity glared at Rainbow and growled lightly. She then turned her attention back to the mine cart and began to try to remove one of the wheels. Pinkie Pie quickly ran up to Rarity and held up a part in her hands as she asked, “What about this thingy? Need any of these thingies?” Rarity was quickly losing patience as she turned to see what kind of part Pinkie was referring to. When she saw the part in question, she gave an unamused expression and flatly said, “Pinkie, that is a standard eight-stud brick. Everyone knows that.” Pinkie looked down at the brick in her hands. “Oh yeah!” she simply said with a smile, before giggling to herself. “Silly me!” She then ran off to do something else. Rarity sighed in frustration. Once again, she turned her attention back to the overturned mine cart and the wheel she wanted to remove. She pulled as hard as she could, but it just wouldn’t budge. She grunted in frustration as she stopped pulling and exclaimed, “Stubborn part!” Spike, who had been watching Rarity the whole time, decided it was time for him to step in. “Let me give it a try,” he offered as he walked up her. Rarity stepped aside and allowed Spike to try to remove that wheel. Spike gripped it with both hands and pulled as hard as he could, but he also failed to remove it. He smiled nervously and said, “Don’t worry. I got it.” Spike climbed atop the overturned mine cart and pulled as hard as he could to remove the wheel, but each tug got no result. Finally, on the fourth tug, both of his arms came off, sending the rest of him flying backwards to the ground nearby. When Rarity looked over to check on him, he asked, “Uh, can I have my arms back?” He nervously smiled and added, “Please?” Before Rarity could respond, Applejack walked up to them and said, “Ah’ll get that jazzamabob unstuck for ya.” She tossed Spike’s arms over to him and pulled up on the wheel. Just one mighty tug was all she needed to remove that part. “There ya go,” she said as she casually set it down beside the mine cart. Rarity shook her head as she sighed in frustration, yet again. For her, this team was going to take a lot of getting used to. As she helped Spike reattach his arms, she thought aloud, “I wonder how Fluttershy is doing?” Fluttershy continued to follow the large footprints intently. She had never personally seen anything like them, and was quite curious to see what kind of creature had left them. Fluttershy was so focused on following those tracks that she failed to take note of her surroundings. She passed a sign that simply read, “Keep Out”. She then passed by another sign, which said, “Danger” and had a silhouette of some fearsome creature. The third sign she passed showed an image of a minifig on fire. After that third sign, the sides of the trail were littered with charred pieces of armor and blackened skeleton parts. Fluttershy passed by all of this, and yet remained completely oblivious to any of it. She came to a stop and quietly said, “I can’t help but get the feeling that maybe I shouldn’t be here.” She simply shrugged and continued to follow the tracks. A loud snort suddenly caught Fluttershy’s attention. She looked up and saw a cave entrance just up ahead, where the mysterious tracks led. It was too dark inside the cave to reveal what was in there, but she could see a pair of glowing yellow eyes. Whatever this creature was, it was big, and almost certainly the one who had left those strange footprints. Fluttershy felt a brief breeze in her face as the creature snorted again. Hearing it a second time made her realize that it actually sounded more like a sneeze. It was a little odd to hear a massive creature sniffling, but the way its eyes moved showed that was likely what it was doing right now. Whatever this thing was, it was apparently sick, and Fluttershy knew exactly how to react. “Aww, you poor thing,” said Fluttershy calmly and in pity. “Sounds like you got yourself a very bad cold.” She picked up a slightly singed piece of cloth on the ground nearby and slowly began to approach the cave. “Maybe I can help you feel better?” The creature began breathing quickly and shaking its head like it was about to sneeze again. When the creature finally did sneeze, a fireball erupted from its mouth. Fluttershy could only gasp in shock as the fireball flew right at her. A small fire crackled lightly within the fireplace of the great hall. Not far away, a rectangular table stood in the middle of the hall, and seated at the end of that table was Prince Shining Armor. He sat alone, with nothing but a cup in front of him. He took a sip from that cup and sighed sadly. This minifig had clearly seen better days, but at least he still had the will to keep going. Shining’s attention was quickly drawn toward the heavy double doors at the front of the room as a guard opened them and stepped inside. “Your majesty, Starlight Sparks,” said the guard as he turned to the side and gestured for the guest to step inside. Shining had not been expecting much when he decided to allow the stranger to speak with him. It had been a slow day for him, and he was curious to hear what kind of “great importance” she wished to speak with him about. When Starlight stepped into the room, Shining’s facial expression turned from one of sadness and boredom to one of shock and confusion. He stood up and slowly began to approach his guest. Although he had never heard of anyone by the name of “Starlight Sparks”, he couldn’t help but notice that she looked strikingly familiar. But he knew by now that he should not be so quick to get his hopes up. He had been disappointed by many false leads before, and he was not about to let that happen again. He needed to be absolutely sure. Starlight — Twilight Sparkle of Equestria — walked into the room uneasily. She could easily tell the prince was not stupid enough to not see the resemblance. She knew her false name alone would not be enough to convince him that she was not his missing sister. She needed to think of some kind of convincing explanation. Twilight Sparkle and Prince Shining Armor finally stopped in the middle of the room, facing each other uncertainly. Shining dismissed the guard with a nod, who then stepped outside and shut the door. After a moment of awkward silence that seemed to last much longer, Twilight decided to speak first. “Um… Hi… your majesty,” she slowly began, remembering to bow respectfully at that last part. She stood back up and continued, “I-I came here with some friends on a mission from the LEGO Team, and we need your help.” She smiled nervously, waiting anxiously to hear how he would respond. Shining looked over the minifig who stood before him. After listening to what she had to say, he finally spoke up. “Forgive me for making assumptions, but you look quite similar to my younger sister, who has sadly been missing for years now,” he said. Twilight grinned very nervously and asked, “Really?” She was now very worried that he really would think she was his missing sister. If it was possible for minifigs to sweat, she would be doing so profusely right now. Shining looked at her thoughtfully for a brief moment. He then turned around and simply said, “But you can’t be my sister.” Twilight was absolutely stunned by that remark. Her feelings of intense nervousness now turned to complete confusion. She had not been expecting him to say that, and especially not so quickly. “W-w-what makes you say that?” she asked in confusion. Shining Armor sat back down in his seat at the end of the table and explained, “You said you came here with some friends. My sister would never allow such a thing. She always prefers to work alone.” He took another sip from the cup in front of him. “Besides, she knows better than to stick out like a damaged piece. You’re in the Castle Region, but you’re dressed up like you belong in one of the City Regions.” Twilight looked down at her wardrobe. Aside from that spacesuit, this was the only change of clothes she had. It had never occurred to her that what she wore would be of any significant factor. She decided to not question her good fortune and simply went with it. “Uh, y-yes!” she said, quickly improvising her response. “That’s because I am from one of the City Regions. Canterlot City, to be precise.” “I see,” said Shining Armor as he looked down at his drink. He looked back up at Twilight and asked, “So what kind of subject of great importance did you wish to speak with me about?” Now that she was past the awkwardness of — falsely — introducing herself, Twilight could now focus on what she came here for. She walked up to Shining Armor and stood next to him. “The Great and Powerful Trixie is on the move,” she said sternly. “She has already built a castle of her own and plans to start conquering the entire Castle Region at once. I was sent here with a team to put a stop to her, but we can’t do it alone. I was told that you possess a golden sword, the only magical artifact that can capture Trixie and put an end to her threat. Prince Shining Armor… will you help us?” Shining Armor pondered Twilight’s question for a moment before asking, “Is that all?” “Yes it is,” replied Twilight, nodding. Shining stared at Twilight with a neutral expression on his face. He then suddenly stood up and began walking away as he said, “We’re done here.” Twilight was baffled by this kind of reaction. “Huh? What? Y-you’re not gonna help?” she asked. “What about what’s best for your kingdom?” “If it doesn’t involve finding my sister, I want nothing to do with it,” said Shining Armor defiantly as he continued to walk away. He opened a door that led to a stairway, continued on through the doorway, and shut the door behind him. Twilight stood still, completely dumbfounded by Shining Armor’s reaction. It seemed that Luna Playwell had not been exaggerating when she said that Prince Shining Armor was desperate enough to find his sister that he would even neglect the very kingdom he was supposed to rule over. Twilight growled in frustration and smacked the cup off the table and to the floor. “What is wrong with that guy?!” she exclaimed angrily. “He wasn’t always like this.” Twilight turned around to see who had spoken. At the other side of the hall stood a pink-skinned minifig with violet eyes and long hair on her head that consisted of the colors violet, magenta, and cream. She wore a small yellow crown on her head and a lavender dress that covered her arms, most of her torso, and her legs. In fact, because it was a dress, the piece for her legs was actually a steep-sloped piece that covered four studs at the base and two studs at the top, with the slope being on the back side. She also wore a gold necklace with a pendant of a blue crystal heart. Considering these details, along with who she had just been speaking with, Twilight could easily assume who this minifig was. “Princess Cadance?” she asked in slight confusion. Cadance slowly walked up to Twilight and explained, “He used to be a much better person, many years ago. He always considered the greater good to be more important than any personal desires. It’s one of the reasons why I married him.” She stopped in front of Twilight and sighed sadly. “But just two weeks after our wedding, his sister disappeared. At the time, we had very few problems to worry about, so it made sense that he dedicated a lot of effort to find her. But as the years passed, he refused to relent on the search efforts, not even when bigger issues came up that demanded his attention. The people have been losing faith in him, and some of the search parties have even considered revolting, just so they can put an end to what they think to be a lost cause. If the Great and Powerful Trixie really is on the move, then I fear that not just this kingdom, but the entire Castle Region itself may be doomed.” With all of this information, there was still one thing Twilight was curious about. “How did his sister disappear?” she asked. “What happened to her?” Cadance sighed and replied, “No one knows. She was last seen entering her personal bed chamber one night, and the next morning, she was simply gone. There were no signs of any kidnapping; none of the guards reported seeing anyone enter or leave the castle that night. The window and door of that room had even remained locked. We just don’t know how she could have simply vanished like that without anyone noticing anything.” Twilight was stunned to hear all of this. It was astonishing to think that the disappearance of Twilight Sparkle of the Lego World could lead to such chaos. The fact that she had simply vanished without any trace at all was equally shocking. Twilight then suddenly realized that Cadance had mentioned what she said about Trixie, so she asked, “How much did you hear of my conversation with Shining Armor?” “I was about to speak to him when you were brought in to ‘discuss something of great importance’, so I heard everything,” replied Cadance. “So you also don’t think that I’m his missing sister?” Twilight wanted to be certain that no one would think she was the missing Twilight. “Despite the uncanny resemblance, I don’t think you’re actually Twilight Sparkle,” assured Cadance. “She always said that she liked to work alone, and considered friends to be nothing but a waste of time. I don’t see that kind of attitude in you.” Cadance smiled as she said that last statement. At first, Twilight was confused by why the other Twilight would think like that. Then she realized that she had actually once been like that herself, before she first moved to Ponyville. Princess Celestia had practically forced her into a situation where she needed the help of some friends, but there was no denying that she accepted and even embraced the outcome of that event. Perhaps the other Twilight could have had the same potential, had she not disappeared. Now that she had a better idea of what was going on here, Twilight decided it was time to get back to what was most important. She needed to find some way to convince Prince Shining Armor to defeat the Great and Powerful Trixie. Direct confrontation had failed, so she needed some advice on what she should do instead. “Does the LEGO team have a branch here in the Castle Region?” asked Twilight. “Do you know who the head of that branch is? I’d like to get some advice from him or her.” “You’re speaking to her right now,” replied Cadance with a small smile. “Princess Cadance Playwell.” “Oh,” said Twilight. She was a little surprised, but had to admit that it probably should have been expected. Nevertheless, she needed some advice from someone she could trust, so she asked, “So… What do you think I should do?” Cadance leaned in so her face was close to Twilight’s. She calmly replied, “Try to keep this in mind, Starlight: He is not here for you. You have to be here for him.” Twilight looked down to ponder this piece of advice. She wasn’t quite sure what to make of it at first. Twilight’s thoughts were interrupted by the loud toot of a horn outside. A split second later, that toot repeated two more times in rapid succession. Twilight and Cadance quickly turned their attention to the general direction they heard the noise from. “What’s that?” asked Twilight. Cadance had a very worried look on her face as she replied, “The warning signal. The castle is under attack!” She then quickly turned to the small door that Shining Armor had left through and ran towards it. Twilight ran after Cadance as she threw the door open and ran up the stairs. The stairs spiraled around until they finally reached the highest door. They ran outside to find themselves at the top of the keep, where Shining Armor was already looking over the entire castle and giving out orders. “Battle stations, everyone!” shouted Shining Armor. “Let’s move, move, move!” The guards scrambled around, grabbing whatever weapons they could and climbing up onto the walls. Twilight looked out into the distance to see who was attacking the castle. She could see an army of skeleton warriors, numbering in the dozens. They were gathered around a small encampment, where some of them were already hard at work building something that would no doubt be used to help them take the castle. The most striking detail of all was the flag that flew from the edge of the encampment. It was light blue and displayed a blue scarf and a star-shaped wand — Trixie’s symbol. “You were right, Starlight,” said Prince Shining Armor, grimly. “The Great and Powerful Trixie is on the move.”