//------------------------------// // Back to the City // Story: LEGO Equestria Girls // by Chronicler06 //------------------------------// Chapter 13 Back to the City The clear skies over the Castle Region were a brilliant shade of orange as the sun began to set on Twilight Sparkle’s second day in the Lego World. Now that the Great and Powerful Trixie had been captured, Twilight knew that the next thing to do was to report this to Celestia Playwell. To do that, she and her team would need to return to their spaceship, which was currently parked some distance away in a large clearing in the forest. Finding their way back to it through the woods would already seem difficult enough, but the approaching darkness of night would make such a search nearly impossible. Fortunately, Fluttershy was able to convince the large dragon she had befriended to help them. By riding on the back of that dragon as he flew around, they were able to find their spaceship in almost no time at all. Following Fluttershy’s calm requests, the dragon landed within the large clearing. Once he was on the ground, everyone hopped off and walked over to the spaceship. The last one to dismount was Fluttershy, who then gently patted the dragon on the side of his head and calmly said, “Thank you for helping us find our ship. You can return home now.” The dragon growled lightly and nodded his head in response. With the massive beating of his large wings, he rose up off the ground and flew away back to his cave. After watching the dragon fly away, the team boarded the spaceship and headed up to the control room. As they arrived there, Twilight explained, “According to the User’s Manual for the original spaceship, the control panel has a video screen that can allow us to remotely speak with Celestia, no matter how far away we are from Canterlot City. I’m not sure how to activate it on this new model, but I’m assuming it’s still available for use.” “I think I see what you’re talking about,” said Rainbow Dash as she walked up to the control panel, which was made up of two rows of a few sloped pieces that had two studs on top and covered four studs at the base, with various controls and buttons printed on the sloped part of those pieces. The piece that was exactly in the middle of the top row had a video screen and a single button — presumably the on and off switch. Rainbow Dash tapped that button, causing the video screen to switch on. However, the only image being displayed was black and white static. In addition, the only noise coming from the speaker right next to it was the light hissing noise of static. In other words, this thing was currently not working. Rainbow lightly pounded a few times on the top of the piece, but that didn’t do anything to fix the problem. She then pounded harder a few times, but that still did nothing. She kicked the bottom of the control panel in frustration and grumbled, “Stupid piece of junk.” “Ah’m pretty sure poundin’ on it ain’t gonna fix it,” Applejack remarked flatly. “Well, whatever’s wrong with it can wait until morning,” commented Spike, before letting out a yawn. “Right now, I’m ready to get some rest.” “Yes, I could certainly use some beauty sleep after a day like this,” agreed Rarity. Rainbow Dash tapped the button to switch off the broken video screen before heading back to the sleeping quarters with Spike and Rarity. Pinkie Pie wasn’t quite ready for bed just yet. “Does anyone want any snacks?” she asked. “I packed plenty of them.” Applejack shrugged and replied, “Sure, Ah don’t mind.” Fluttershy followed Pinkie and Applejack away from the control room without saying a word. The only one left at the control room was Twilight Sparkle. She was a little disappointed that they were unable to contact Celestia, but there was little she could do about a technical issue. She turned to the massive front window to look out at the forested landscape as nighttime quickly approached. She was well aware that she had a total of only three days to return to Equestria before the portal closed off for the next thirty moons. This meant that tomorrow was going to be her last chance to retrieve her stolen crown. Now that the excitement of defeating Trixie had worn off, Twilight was beginning to realize just how little time she now had. Only one day left, and they still had no idea where Sunset Shimmer had run off with the Element of Magic. Although it had been rendered completely useless by that deactivation chamber in the police station, its effects were expected to wear off just hours before the portal would close. Twilight realized that if they waited too long, taking the crown and Element of Harmony back from Sunset Shimmer could be virtually impossible, if she were to use its powers to her advantage. With all of these worrisome thoughts buzzing through her head, Twilight knew she wouldn’t be getting much sleep tonight. The next morning, everyone in the sleeping quarters were still sound asleep. The only one not present was Twilight Sparkle, for reasons that nobody was aware of. Their peaceful slumber was suddenly interrupted by a very loud high-pitched tone. Everyone jolted awake and covered their ears before the painful noise quickly stopped. It had lasted for only a few seconds, but it was more than enough to jolt everyone wide awake. Applejack was the first one out of bed. She rushed out of the sleeping quarters and quickly discovered Twilight sitting in the pilot’s seat up in the control room while fiddling with something on the control panel. “What the heck is goin’ on here?!” she exclaimed irritably. “Sorry! Sorry!” Twilight quickly apologized, holding up her hands in defense. “That was a complete accident, I swear!” Spike rubbed his eyes as he and the rest of the team arrived at the control room. “Twilight?” he asked in confusion. “What are you doing up here?” “Well, I’m trying to see if I can figure out how to fix that video screen,” explained Twilight, gesturing towards the video screen that still showed nothing but static. “I was hoping I could find a way to solve this technical issue, but I just don’t know what’s wrong with it!” She gripped her hair in frustration, then took a deep breath and relaxed. She then bitterly remarked, “I probably shouldn’t even be surprised, considering that most of these buttons and switches aren’t even labeled.” “We can always find out what they do by doing this,” suggested Pinkie Pie, before pushing a random button on the control panel. This caused the pilot’s seat to suddenly shoot up and out of the spaceship, taking Twilight with it. Everyone looked up worriedly at Twilight, whose panicked screams quickly faded as she flew higher. Rainbow Dash flatly said, “Note to self: Do not push that button, because that is the ejector seat.” The sound of Twilight’s screams quickly returned as she and the seat came back down. That was immediately followed by a loud rustling noise to the right, indicating that she had landed in a tree. “Ah’ll get her,” sighed Applejack as she turned around and headed outside. “Don’t forget to bring back the seat, too,” said Rainbow to the departing minifig. When she turned back to see everyone staring at her, she responded, “What? I gotta sit somewhere while I’m flying this thing.” It didn’t take long for Applejack to find the tree that Twilight had landed in. Up in that tree, Twilight was still shivering from her unexpected and terrifying flight, but had remained firmly seated within the pilot’s seat. Having grown up on a farm, Applejack had plenty of experience with climbing trees, so she was able to quickly climb up the various branches to reach the ejected seat and its unfortunate occupant. She touched Twilight’s arm, which finally snapped Twilight out of her terrified trance. When Applejack gave her a nod of assurance, Twilight breathed a sigh of relief and allowed her to carefully guide her down the tree branches and safely reach the ground. “Th-thank you,” said Twilight, slightly shaken. As Twilight slowly walked back to the spaceship, Applejack climbed back up into the tree. She pulled the pilot’s seat out from among the branches and casually tossed it down to the ground. After quickly climbing back down, she picked up the seat and carried it back to the spaceship with her. As Applejack placed the seat back where it belonged, Twilight sighed and said, “We need to figure out what to do next. Our primary objective is to stop Sunset Shimmer, but we still have no idea where she is. One of the main reasons we went after Trixie and Lightning Dust was because they might know where she might be.” “If we can’t contact Celestia, then we certainly won’t be able to contact the Wonderbolts Lunar Headquarters,” Rarity pointed out. “Even if they did manage to get some useful intelligence out of Lightning Dust, they will have no way of transmitting that information to us.” “Then I guess that leaves us with only one option,” said Twilight. “We’ll need to head back to Prince Shining Armor’s castle and see if he was able to get any information out of Trixie.” “Then let’s not waste any time,” said Rainbow Dash in determination, already starting up the engines. “This thing will take us there in no time.” The rest of the team soon got into their seats as the spaceship started hovering over the ground. Fluttershy quietly muttered to herself, “I hope he won’t mind us parking a spaceship right outside his castle.” Prince Shining Armor had just finish his breakfast and was about to leave the great hall when one of his guards came through the main doors at the front of the room. “Your majesty, they have already returned,” informed the guard. Shining Armor turned to the main doors and was surprised to see Twilight and her team step inside. With the threat of the Great and Powerful Trixie already dealt with, he wondered what could be so important for them to come back after only one night away. “What brings you girls back here?” he asked. Twilight, followed by the rest of her team, walked up to Shining Armor and asked, “Have you interrogated Trixie yet?” Shining Armor shook his head and replied, “No, not yet.” He was confused by the request, so he asked, “What kind of knowledge do you expect her to reveal?” “She may know where we can find Sunset Shimmer, number one on LEGO’s Most Wanted,” answered Twilight. Rainbow Dash stepped forward and explained, “She recently stole a magical artifact over in Canterlot City, but not before a police officer managed to disable it with one of those deactivation chambers.” “But its effects are expected to wear off later this afternoon, so we gotta act fast!” added Applejack. “Can you take us to Trixie right away?” finished Rarity. Now that he heard the full story, he didn’t need much time to make a decision. “Very well, then,” he answered with a nod. “Follow me.” He turned around and began heading towards a nearby spiral stairway. Twilight and her team followed close behind. At the bottom of those stairs, the group of minifigs arrived at the dungeon. Just a few paces away from the base of that stairway was the barred door of the only cell down here, with a guard standing beside it. Within that cell was the only current occupant of this dungeon: the formerly Great and Powerful Trixie, still bound by those golden chains. Trixie looked up to see who was visiting and immediately scowled when she saw who it was. “You again?” she grumbled. “Have you come to add further insult to Trixie’s defeat?” “That depends on how cooperative you’ll be with us,” replied Twilight as she walked up to the barred door. “You were with Sunset Shimmer two days ago, when she stole my magic crown. In fact, you actually helped her, before she ran off and disappeared. Care to explain what that was all about?” Trixie smirked and replied, “Yes, Trixie remembers. That city girl Sunset requested for me and that renegade Wonderbolt to assist with a little robbery, and then provide a diversion to keep you girls off her trail. The Great and Powerful Trixie was more than happy to comply, for I knew I was unlikely to get a better opportunity to begin my conquest of the Castle Region.” “Do you know where Sunset Shimmer went?” asked Twilight. Trixie laughed lightly and replied, “Yes, Trixie knows, but Trixie shall not speak.” Twilight glared at Trixie for a moment before saying to everyone, “Looks like we may need to try other methods.” She turned to Shining Armor and added, “Let us in there.” Shining Armor turned to the guard and nodded. The guard nodded in response and pulled out the key to the cell. He unlocked the door and swung it open. Since Trixie was already bound by those golden chains, she was unlikely to try to escape. Pinkie Pie immediately ran into the dungeon cell. She held up a flashlight in her hand and shined it directly in Trixie’s face. With a serious look on her face, Pinkie began her interrogation by saying, “Start talking! Where is Sunset Shimmer?” Trixie had to squint her eyes against the intense glare, but the smile remained on her face. “Nice try, but my lips are sealed,” she remarked. “No they’re not!” rebuffed Pinkie, before slapping a piece of duct tape over Trixie’s mouth. “Now they are!” Rarity rolled her eyes and gently pulled Pinkie Pie away. “Really, Pinkie, was that even necessary?” she asked rhetorically as she walked up to Trixie. She grabbed the piece of tape and quickly ripped it off with one yank. “YEOW!” Trixie immediately shouted in pain. After waiting a few seconds for the pain to wear off, Trixie looked up at the interrogators with that smirk back on her face. “Still not talking,” she said with contempt. “That’s it!” shouted Rainbow Dash impatiently. She stormed up to Trixie and leaned down so their faces were very close together as she insistently said, “We came here for answers and we’re gonna get ‘em! We have ways to make you talk.” “The Great and Powerful Trixie dares you to try your worst,” mocked Trixie in retaliation. Rainbow Dash turned back to her teammates and asked, “Should I give it to her?” “We ain’t got much time to lose, so have at her,” responded Applejack with a shrug. Rainbow turned back to Trixie with a smirk on her own face. “Alright, you asked for it!” She then reached forward, grabbed Trixie’s head, and quickly removed it — her hat and hair falling off in the process. Trixie was quite shocked by this, but that was only the start of it. Rainbow then dropped Trixie’s head and started lightly kicking it upwards, from one foot to the other. Trixie grunted in pain with each kick. It became immediately clear that Trixie’s head was being treated like a soccer ball. “Hey, Pinkie!” shouted Rainbow excitedly as she kicked Trixie’s head up a little higher. “Heads up!” With one powerful kick, she sent Trixie’s head flying towards Pinkie Pie, with Trixie screaming the whole way. “Heading back at ya!” exclaimed Pinkie excitedly before using her head to hit Trixie’s head and send it soaring back towards Rainbow Dash. Again, Trixie screamed as her head was sent flying through the air. “Nice header!” exclaimed Rainbow excitedly as Trixie’s head flew back to her. When it returned, Rainbow gave it a strong upward kick, sending Trixie’s head flying straight up and nearly hitting the ceiling. “Uncle! Uncle!” Trixie shouted desperately as her head reached the apex of its flight. “Trixie shall speak!” When Trixie’s head came back down, Rainbow Dash held out her arms and caught it. “Now that’s using your head,” she remarked jokingly, before walking up to Trixie’s body and putting her head back where it belonged. Trixie’s eyes rolled around for a few seconds due to her dizziness. Eventually, she shook her head to clear herself from her dazed state. The instant she stopped moving her head around, she felt her hair and hat being placed back on her head, courtesy of Rarity. She briefly glared at the fashionista, then sighed and looked downward in defeat. Twilight slowly walked up to Trixie and asked intently, “Now tell us, Trixie; where is Sunset Shimmer?” Trixie responded with a light chuckle before looking up with that smirk back on her face. “If she’s really the only one you were after, then you girls should have never left home in the first place,” she answered with a sneer. “Seriously?” asked Spike skeptically. “Stop playing games with us, Trixie!” demanded Rainbow Dash, getting in Trixie’s face again. “Give us a real answer!” “I just did,” taunted Trixie. “I take it you’re not the smart one of the group.” “So what ya said was a riddle?” asked Applejack. She then glared at Trixie as she crossed her arms and grumbled, “Ah hate riddles.” Twilight tapped her chin thoughtfully as she began to try to solve Trixie’s riddle. “Let’s see…” she muttered to herself. “If we wanted Sunset Shimmer, we should have never left home… That could mean she may be hiding close to home, and we just need to go back there… but where is ‘home’? That can’t realistically apply to all of us… but maybe to only a majority of us. If that riddle is intended for my team, then ‘home’ would be—” Twilight suddenly gasped as she realized the answer. “Canterlot City!” she exclaimed. “Sunset Shimmer has been hiding in Canterlot City the whole time!” “Congratulations,” said Trixie with a voice dripping with sarcasm, “you’ve just earned yourself the honorable title of ‘Nerd’.” Shining Armor responded by smacking Trixie in the face and shouting, “Shut it, Trixie!” “You’re sayin’ Sunset Shimmer never even left Canterlot City?” asked Applejack, slightly surprised. “Ain’t she worried the cops might catch her?” “She’s been number one on LEGO’s Most Wanted for years,” Rarity pointed out. “A petty criminal could never hope to achieve such a feat. To take on such a big risk as staying in the one city where she has caused the most disruption, we cannot deny that she is definitely someone who knows what she’s doing.” “Then what are we doing just standing here?” Rainbow Dash spoke up. “We gotta get going, now!” “Not yet,” Shining Armor interjected, much to everyone’s shock. “One more thing.” He turned to Trixie and stared at her intently as he questioned, “You said you could take me to my missing sister. Did you speak the truth, or was that just a bluff to get me to give up my sword?” “Trixie was being honest with her offer,” answered Trixie. “And how are you so sure of where she is?” asked Shining Armor. He scowled as he continued “Were you responsible for her disappearance?” “Trixie had nothing to do with what happened to your sister.” “Then tell me where she is.” “Why bother? By the time you get there, she will almost certainly be somewhere else.” “And what makes you say that?” “The Great and Powerful Trixie could see all, thanks to a special magical item.” Trixie narrowed her eyes as she added, “A certain something that you so carelessly destroyed.” Shining didn’t dwell on the revelation of his unintended mistake, so he continued, “So you’ve been watching my sister the whole time?” “Only bits and pieces every now and then. She was never a factor in Trixie’s plans. Not more than once have I ever seen her in the same place. As for why this is…” Trixie shrugged. “Your guess is as good as Trixie’s.” Prince Shining Armor stood silently for a moment to process the information. Finally, he said to Trixie, “I believe that will be all.” He turned back to the team of minifigs from a City Region and said, “We’re done here. I shall see you off on your departure.” “Good,” said Rainbow Dash impatiently. “Now let’s go!” As the group of minifigs left the dungeon and headed back up the stairs, the guard shut the barred door to keep Trixie locked up in her cell. The team quickly headed outside and left the castle. Their spaceship had been parked out in the field in front of the castle, so they didn’t have to walk very far this time. Halfway between the spaceship and the main gate of the castle, Shining Armor stopped and placed a hand on Twilight’s shoulder. Twilight stopped and turned to face him. “Before you leave,” said Shining Armor, “I would like to thank you for all that you and your team have done here.” “I’m glad we could help,” acknowledged Twilight. “I’m sorry we can’t stay and help you find your sister.” “That’s okay,” assured Shining Armor. “I’m sure I’ll find her someday. For now, it’s enough to know that she is alive and well, wherever she is.” “Well, at least now you’re feeling more optimistic,” Twilight pointed out. “I’m sure your sister would approve of that.” “Indeed,” said Shining Armor, smiling in response. “In any case, I wish you and your team good luck on your mission. Farewell, Starlight Sparks.” He nodded once in respect before turning back and returning to his castle. Twilight smiled as she watched Prince Shining Armor walk through the main gate back into his castle. “Starlight Sparks?” asked Rainbow Dash in confusion. Twilight spun around and was briefly shocked to see everyone on her team staring at her in confusion. Clearly, they must have heard the entire conversation. Knowing that they deserved a reasonable explanation, she replied, “I couldn’t tell him my real name. It would’ve made things way too awkward.” “What do you mean by that, dear?” asked Rarity. Twilight stared at her team nervously. She couldn’t think of a good bluff on why she couldn’t use her real name around Shining Armor. Her only option was to tell the full truth that she was actually a pony princess from another world. But would they even believe her? Spike could easily see the nervous look on Twilight’s face, so he decided to break away from the group and walk up to her. She needed some assurance from the only other person here who understood her situation. Twilight was still very nervous, but seeing her loyal assistant now standing next to her made her relax just enough to actually say something. “Should I tell them?” she quietly asked Spike. Spike thought about it for a moment before replying softly, “I think we should. They deserve to know what’s really at stake here.” “But what if they don’t believe us?” “Twilight, they’ve already followed you this far,” assured Spike. “You’ve proven to them many times that they can trust you. I’m sure they’ll understand.” Twilight thought about what Spike was telling her. She then smiled as she realized that he was right. “I’m glad you followed me here, Spike,” she quietly told him. “Me too,” responded Spike happily. He then frowned and muttered, “Unless, of course, we get stuck here for another thirty moons.” Twilight turned her attention back to the rest of her team. She didn’t want to reveal everything out in the open, so she told them, “Okay, let’s get back inside the spaceship and I’ll explain everything.” The team headed into the spaceship. Once everyone had gathered within the lower deck, Twilight pulled up the lever that raised the exit ramp shut. Now that there was no chance that anyone outside of this team could hear her, Twilight sighed as she prepared to reveal the truth to the Lego World versions of her best friends. She began, “You see…” Pinkie Pie suddenly spoke up and quickly said, “You’re from an alternate world and you’re a pony princess there and that magic crown that Sunset Shimmer stole has a magical element embedded in it that helps power up other magical elements, and without it they don’t work anymore, and you need them all to help protect your magical world, and if you don’t get the crown back by tonight, you’ll be stuck in this world and you won’t be able to go back for, like, a really, really long time!” Pinkie finished with a huge grin on her face. The room was filled with absolute silence for a moment. Twilight’s mouth was gaping wide open in shock and disbelief, as was Spike’s mouth. Finally, Rainbow Dash crossed her arms and deadpanned, “Yeah, I’m pretty sure that isn’t the truth.” “Nope, she’s pretty much spot-on,” admitted Spike. “How are you sure of that?” asked Fluttershy in confusion. “I’m from the same world, too,” said Spike proudly. “Except I’m not a pony, but rather a ferocious fire-breathing dragon!” He simply grinned after finishing that statement. Twilight was still absolutely baffled by how precisely Pinkie Pie was able to describe what she was going to explain to everyone. “How did you know all of that?” asked Twilight in confusion. Pinkie shrugged and simply answered, “Just a hunch.” “Wait a minute!” Applejack spoke up. “Lemme get this straight: You’re a pony?” “You’re a princess?” added Rarity. “You’re from another world?” finished Fluttershy. Twilight gulped nervously and silently nodded her head. Rainbow Dash maintained her deadpan expression as she commented, “That… is… awesome!” At that last word, her expression suddenly became much more excited as she smiled and threw her arms up. She and the other girls excitedly started crowding around Twilight, saying all kinds of words of wonder and amazement. “See? Told ya,” remarked Spike. Twilight was genuinely surprised to see her teammates reacting like this. She gently pushed them away and said, “Wow, uh… you girls actually believe all of that?” “Seriously? This is the Lego World!” answered Rainbow Dash. “‘Round here, we like to say the imagination is the limit,” added Applejack. “And if you wish to create anything, then possessing an open mind is simply a must,” continued Rarity. “And if you’re saying all of that is the truth, then we believe you,” finished Fluttershy. “Besides, if somebody is being all grim and serious about saying something and even feeling ashamed to have to tell everyone about it, then you know that person’s telling you the real deal.” Pinkie Pie commented. Twilight smiled as each of her teammates explained why they all trusted her and accepted her for who she really was. With all of the praising finished, she finally said, “Wow… you girls have no idea how much better this makes me feel.” Twilight was very relieved that she no longer had to keep any secrets from her teammates. With that issue now behind her, it was time to turn back to more important matters. “Well, now that we’re finally on the same page, let’s get back to our mission, shall we?” “Right,” said Rainbow Dash, nodding in determination. “First thing’s first. We gotta warn Celestia that Sunset Shimmer’s been hiding in Canterlot City.” She then quickly headed up towards the control room, with the rest of the team following close behind. Up in the control room, Rainbow Dash switched on the video screen. But once again, the only visual and audio they got from it was static. Rainbow Dash growled and kicked the control panel in frustration. “What is wrong with this thing?!” she shouted in frustration. Rarity turned to Applejack and whispered something in her ear. Applejack looked closely at the control panel and saw exactly what Rarity had just pointed out to her. “Huh…” she muttered in disbelief. She then walked up to the control panel and spoke up, “Well there’s your problem. This piece ain’t on all the way.” Everyone looked closely and, sure enough, the sloped piece which had the video screen was sticking up slightly higher than the surrounding similar pieces. Although this spaceship had been designed by Rarity, it was Pinkie Pie who had actually built it. Clearly, Pinkie had been a little careless with the assembly. Applejack pushed the loose piece down into place. Once that was done, the static immediately silenced and the video switched to show the face of Celestia Playwell. “There. All fixed,” said Applejack in satisfaction. “Let me guess, technical issues?” asked Celestia on the video screen. “Yeah, unfortunately,” sighed Rainbow Dash in disappointment. “Well, I’m glad you were able to solve the problem,” responded Celestia. “I’ve been trying to contact you for hours.” “Sorry to leave you worried like that,” Twilight spoke up. She was glad to see they could now speak with Celestia, especially considering what they had to tell her. She walked up to the video screen and explained, “The good news is that we were able to help Prince Shining Armor capture and interrogate the Great and Powerful Trixie. The bad news is that, according to Trixie, Sunset Shimmer has been hiding in Canterlot City this whole time.” “I am very pleased to hear that,” responded Celestia on the video screen. “The reason I’ve been trying to contact you is because I have received word from the Wonderbolts Lunar Headquarters that Lightning Dust has confessed to knowing where Sunset Shimmer has been hiding, and that is right here in Canterlot City. I have already informed the local police to begin searching the city at once, but I have yet to hear of any findings. In the meantime, I think we can all agree it would be best for you to return to Canterlot City at once. We still do not know what Sunset’s intentions are, regarding that stolen crown, but it’s crucial that we take it back from her before the effects of the deactivation chamber wear off. According to Flash Sentry’s police report, you have until about 5 o’clock this afternoon to do so. Good luck, girls.” Celestia then switched off the connection, causing the video screen on the control panel to now simply display the LEGO logo. Rainbow Dash switched off the video screen and began to turn on the engines of the spaceship. “Buckle up, girls,” she announced. “It’s time to fly.” As everyone sat down in their respective seats and put on their seatbelts, Rarity turned to Twilight and stated, “One thing I still don’t understand is why you couldn’t tell Prince Shining Armor your real name, Twilight.” Twilight realized that she — or rather, Pinkie Pie’s hunch — had forgotten about that detail, so she explained, “It’s because where I’m from, I have a brother… and his name is Shining Armor.” Rarity gasped lightly and asked, “Are you saying…?” “Yes,” answered Twilight, knowing very well what everyone on the spaceship must be thinking right now. “Prince Shining Armor’s missing sister in named Twilight Sparkle; the one who is native to the Lego World.” She paused. “In a way, I’m actually kinda glad she’s still missing. Who knows how awkward that meeting could’ve been.” “I can only imagine,” Fluttershy said softly in understanding. Finally, Rainbow Dash finished powering up the spaceship’s engines and switched them to Hover Mode. She grabbed onto the flight controls as the spaceship began to rise up over the landscape. “Next stop, Canterlot City!” she announced. She steered the spaceship in the direction of their destination and switched the engines to Flight Mode. The main engines ignited and the ship took off through the air. It had taken a few hours, but the spaceship carrying the team from Canterlot City finally arrived at their home. Onboard, Rarity leaned forward in her seat to check the time displayed on the control panel. She looked at it just in time to see the numbers change to read 11:00. “I’m afraid we have only six hours left,” she warned her teammates. “That won’t leave us much time if we return this ship to the LEGO Team Headquarters,” Rainbow Dash thought aloud. “I’m just gonna land this thing somewhere right outside of town and we’ll go from there. We’ll return it tomorrow, when we’ll actually have time to spare.” Rainbow Dash carefully maneuvered the spaceship around the city as she searched for a suitable place to land. It wasn’t long before they were flying slowly over an apple orchard. “Oh no, we are not brinin’ this thing down on Sweet Apple Acres!” stressed Applejack as she shook her head in disapproval. “Find another place to land!” Before Rainbow Dash could respond to Applejack’s demand, a blinking red light with a buzzing alarm noise came up on the control panel. Rainbow looked at the red light to see what the problem was while everyone looked on in concern. Once she read what the alarm indicated, she sighed sadly and said, “I don’t think we got a choice. Ship’s outta fuel.” Just one second after Rainbow Dash finished delivering the bad news, everything on the spaceship immediately shut off. All of the machinery inside fell silent. The only noise that could now be heard was the air rushing by outside. As the spaceship began to descend uncontrollably, Twilight said the only thing she could in a bad situation like this. “Brace yourselves!” she exclaimed. All seven minifigs onboard screamed as the spaceship dropped out of the sky. The ship crash-landed nose first, plowing into the ground and uprooting about three apple trees. Not far away, an elderly green-skinned and white-haired minifig looked out the window of her house to see what all the commotion was about. When she saw the carnage outside, she shook her fist out the window and angrily shouted, “Darn aliens! Always tryin’ to steal mah apples.” At the crash site, there was already some movement from within the wreckage. The first to emerge from under a pile of Lego pieces was Twilight Sparkle. She looked around and saw that, although much of the spaceship had remained intact, large chunks of it had completely fallen apart. She was amazed to see that she had come out of this crash virtually unscathed. She was even more impressed as she saw the rest of her team pull themselves out of the wreckage and walk away unharmed. Applejack looked up at the wreaked spaceship and shook her head in disbelief. “Great,” she grumbled. “Now we gotta clean up this big mess.” “Either way, we’ll deal with it tomorrow,” insisted Rainbow Dash. “Right now, we’ve got bigger problems to worry about.” Twilight quickly nodded in agreement and said, “Right. We need to find and stop Sunset Shimmer before my crown regains its magical powers. Let’s go!” There was no need to say anything more. The team quickly followed Twilight out of the apple orchard and began heading downtown towards Canterlot City. With only six hours left until the crown was no longer powerless, and only a few more hours before the gateway to Equestira closed, time was not on their side right now.